50 for my 50th

For my 50^th post, I thought I would tell you 50 things about me and my family.

 

1.       Big Kahuna and I met in 1994, but didn’t start dating until 1999.

2.       We broke up 3 weeks before Christmas.

3.       We got engaged on December 23, 1999. (As in, we weren’t even dating when we got engaged.)

4.       We got married 8 months after he proposed.

5.        I was raised Catholic.

6.        Big Kahuna was raised Methodist.

7.        I became a Methodist while engaged to Big Kahuna.

8.        I hold no ill will toward the Catholic church.  I just figured out it wasn’t for me.

9.        We got married in the same church as Big Kahuna’s parents.

10.   I am the oldest of 3 kids.

11.   Big Kahuna is the 3^rd of 4 kids.

12.   We live in the house his maternal grandparents built.

13.   I have an associates degree in Paralegal Studies.

14.   Big Kahuna basically put me through paralegal school.

15.   He’s so awesome.

16.   Big Kahuna drives a concrete mixer.

17.   I work 3 days a week in a law firm.

18.   Some days we like our jobs.

19.   Some days we don’t.

20.   We were married for more than 4 years before Busby was born.

21.   Busby and Janet were born 16 ½ months apart.

22.   We planned it that way.

23.   The receptionist in my law firm had to tell me I was in labor with Busby.

24.   Busby was born in less than 8 hours of active labor.

25.   Busby was 8 lb 12 oz at birth.

26.   Busby weighed 20 lbs 1 oz at his first birthday.

27.   Busby didn’t reliably walk on his own until he was 15 months old.

28.   I was really, really big when pregnant with Janet.

29.   Janet was born less than 12 hours after the induction process was started.

30.   Janet was 9 lb 12 oz at birth.

31.   Janet was 23 lbs at her first birthday.

32.   Busby eats like a bird.

33.   Janet doesn’t.

34.   I am totally freaked and don’t know what to expect from McCloud.

35.   Busby and Janet love VeggieTales and They Might Be Giants.

36.   Big Kahuna is also a TMBG fan.

37.   Big Kahuna does most of our car repairs.

38.   Big Kahuna does all of our home repairs.

39.   Big Kahuna is awesome like that.

40.   My mother taught me to crochet and cross stitch.

41.   I’m grateful to her for it.

42.   My mother-in-law sent me to a beginner quilting class.

43.   I’m grateful to her for it.

44.   Big Kahuna bought me a really nice Viking sewing machine.

45.   I don’t use it enough.

46.   I wish I had more time for needlework of some kind.

47.   I love that my time is sucked up playing with, reading to, bathing, dressing, and caring for my children.

48.   I’m a terrible housekeeper.

49.   I’m a good mother.

50.   I’m a good wife.

 

Wardrobe malfunction

After the kids took their bath this evening, Big Kahuna was dressing Janet in her pjs. First he put Janet's right arm in the left arm of the pajama, then she put her own left hand into one of the legs, and looked completely perplexed when her hand met the resistance of the footie. Too, too cute.

You have got to be kidding me.

So I skipped ahead to week 38 in Your Pregnancy Week by Week. In the "Your Nutrition" section, the first sentence is, "You may not feel much like eating about this time..." I know that 38 weeks is still a few days away, but I have a hard time imagining that my appetite will decrease that much between now and Sunday. Because good grief, I'm pretty sure I'm going to eat myself out of house and home pretty soon.

I've been trying to be really, really good, and eating lots of fruits to avoid the concentrated sugars in all that chocolate and cookies and brownies I have laying around. (Seriously. We still have 3 1/2 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies in the house.) But how many oranges and bananas can I eat before the baby is born? Apparently enough to stave off massive amounts of weight gain. But still. We're down to one banana and 2 oranges left in the house. Grocery day isn't until Saturday.

I feel like this, too.

Go check out this post at Redbook's Mom Moment. This is so how I feel somedays. (Although I am way, way to large right now to be wearing formal wear.)

Countdown to Baby (3 weeks-ish left)

Today, Busby came up and hugged my belly and declared, "I love my baby sister!" Doesn't that just make you melt?

I had an ultrasound today, and everything is looking good. Baby is estimated to be 6 lbs 13 oz.!!! At this point with Janet, she was 9 lbs. McCloud is really, really low, head down, and (in my opinion) undecided whether to start forcing her way out. Her very low position made it impossible to get a good picture of her face. But we have learned that she likes to hold her toes. I'm pretty sure this means we will never get her swaddled.

I also had a regularly scheduled OB appointment this afternoon. In light of the baby's light weight, and lack of dilation progress, she's going to take the wait and see approach, at least for the next couple weeks. I'm taking the day-to-day approach. This weekend I had some fairly intense contractions, though few and spread out. But they were real, and I was almost sure we were getting close. I've probably jinxed myself by being packed and purchasing a baby book. Also, we've left a bag for Busby & Janet over at Grandma & Grandpa's already.

Maybe she's waiting for us to finally settle on a name, or get it down to a couple of choices.

In other news, we got the kids (namely Janet) to take a tub bath. When we were getting ready, she was all good until she realized that Daddy was not getting ready as well. I put her in anyway. The thing that got her involved was pulling the shower curtain and letting them splash for a good 5 minutes. That got her wet and in the water. She let me wash her down without complaint. Yeah!

Chowder?

A few weeks ago, Busby figured out he could ask me to turn the radio volume up. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't.

Well, Janet has latched onto this. She likes her Giants and she likes them loud. So before we are out of the garage, I usually hear a request of "Yowder, peas!" Unfortunately, she doesn't understand the need to listen to local traffic reports on our way to work. So I can turn it up, but then she yells "NO!" because we're listening to people talk, and not to the songs she wants.

I really think the Giants and Disney have something good going here. We have all of the Giants' children's albums*, and the kids love them. Busby and Janet have especially grabbed onto the "Here Come the 123's" and have learned most of the songs. The "7 Days of the Week" song alone is so worth it if it helps them learn the order of the days of the week. There are some bonus tracks that include the theme to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and a really fun song called "Hot Dog" that I believe is the closing song for Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Also, the live versions of "John Lee Supertaster" and "Bed Bed Bed" are fun fun fun.


* Am I dating myself here? Who says "album" anymore?

Thanks Ed!

Dear Ed, Thank you for sending the leftover donuts (from my favorite bakery) home with Big Kahuna. I ate way more than I should have, and I'm happier for it!

To thank you some more, I'm giving you, and everyone else, the following recipe:

Crock Pot Pork Loin
Serves: A bunch

Ingredients:
3-5 lb pork loin
1 14.5 oz can beef broth
1 package dry Italian dressing mix (like Good Seasons)
1 jar Hot Ghardinera (near the pickles at the grocery)
1 jar perrocinis (also near the pickles)

Put the Pork Loin in the crock pot. Pour the remaining ingredients, including the juice from the jars, over the pork. Cook on low 8-10 hours. Shred and serve on hamburger buns with BBQ sauce (I like Sweet Baby Ray's) or some of the pan juices thickened with corn starch.

(Thanks to Beth T. for giving me the recipe in the first place.)