Buzz, Buzz, Buzzing Busy Bees

That pretty much describes our family.  Busy, busy, Bees!  Yesterday, we put Nicolas in a new school.  He starts preschool in August, so I wanted him to go a month early to acclimate.  Thank goodness, I did that.  He  is just so sensitive.  He cried for hours.  I stayed with him for about an hour and then left.  There were about 30 children in his classroom.  The school is very nice and clean.  He will be able to go swimming in the afternoons pretty soon.  They have a computer room for the preschool kids.  And, they have internet access to his room. 

I went home, and could not concentrate on anything but my little baby, so at noon I went back to the school to check on him.  When I walked into the cafeteria, I could see immediately that he had a rough morning.  His eyes were so swollen.  I laughed though, because he was sitting at a table surrounded by 8 girls.  I guess he knew where to get his hugs and kisses.  I asked him if he wanted to come home and he said no.  He wanted to stay there.  Yippee, I was so proud of him. 

Then I took my husband to the hospital to be scoped again for the third time.  He has GED or acid reflux.  Anyone think that is a laughing matter, well it is not.  My DH cousin died this year from throat cancer (age 42 and three kids).  A very very sad day.  I think my DH suffered alot from Steven’s death, and whenever his GED acts up he goes straight to the doctor.  We spent three hours in the hospital, and thank goodness everything was ok.  He has a hernia, but nothing to worry about, and nothing that needs immediate attention.  Eat well, exercise and stay healthy were the doctor’s orders.  Then we got his blood pressure and chloresterol results, which were the exact opposite.  Blood pressure is high and chloresterol levels were way too high.  It must be my german cooking.

After the hospital we picked up my son, drove to the pharmacy to pick up some medication, hit the Farmers Market on the way home, and finally arrived at about 4:00pm to a messy house.  To think I had to clean, and make dinner was just too overwhelming today.  So I convinced my DH to go out to dinner.  Lucky me I know.

Southbeach Hell

Lance and I are back on the Southbeach diet.  My mom recently did the Atkins diet and lost 8 pounds.  She looked great.  Of course, she gained at least three pounds at my house during her Easter visit. 

As much as the two of us go shopping, I noticed that I was wearing a larger size, and having a hard time closing the waist.  Ever since I stopped breastfeeding, my tummy has remained in a state of “bloatiness” or as I like to call it “pregnant state”.  I knew it was time to act, and no better time then the present. 

I really liked the Southbeach diet when I first did it.  The recipes were good, and it was not that hard to stay away from fruit and bread.  However, this time I feel terrible, and I crave sugar alot.  I guess it is because of my “no salt” diet, ever since I was diagnosed with high blood pressure.  Having to stay away from salt for almost two years, has steered me towards sugar snacks.  Too many of them I know.  Tonight I got so excited because I found a recipe called the “Southbeach Peanut Butter Cup”.  It called for 1 fudgicle, 1 tablespoon Peanut butter, and 1 tablespoon no fat whipped topping.  I could not wait to eat dessert.  Isn’t that pathetic?  This has been worse then quitting smoking, and I smoked for 19 years. HA!  I am in Southbeach hell, and I cannot wait to  eat strawberries.  Only 11 days left. Yeah!

Easter 2008

Well, we have had a house full of family over the last two months, and how wonderful it has been. First we had a visit from Grandpa Bill. The kids enjoyed it so much. Nicolas horsed around with him for hours, and Olivia well she just wrapped his heart around her finger. Bill stayed with us for three weeks, which gave the kids and him a special time to bond. Then he helped me by finding a spot in my garage for my new car. Yes, we are now the proud owners of a Honda Odyssey. What a relief to have such a nice big car. I hope Bill will come and see us again next year. The kids miss him, and his son misses him even more. Great memories are made during this time.

Next, my parents came to visit for three weeks. I think Dad really enjoyed driving the Odyssey. Mom enjoyed being with Nicolas (her favorite grandchild). Olivia was attached to Opi right away.

We celebrated Easter together. It was alot of fun. The kids were just so excited when they walked into the Living Room and looked outside to see all of those eggs. Nicolas ran after most of them, but Olivia filled up her basket just as fast. She is a smart cookie. She watched me pick them up only once, and then mimicked me. After that we enjoyed a Turkey dinner. It was a special wish from Mom, since they don’t get good Turkey in Germany. And of course, after that we all took a nap.

We also spent alot of time shopping for a frame for my new birthday gift. I think it turned out great, and I love the way it transforms our living room. Yes, we celebrated my birthday. Yes there was cake. Yes, the kids enjoyed it. Yes, everyone enjoyed it. Did I mention I am on a diet. Shopping and Eating was all we did, and both made me feel fat, so it is time to lose at least 10 pounds.

Family is fun, and I think everyone enjoyed our most recent visits. Now it is back to the humdrum monotonous day-to-day stuff!

Olivia is Walking!

I had forgotten how wonderful it was to watch the baby walking for the first time.  Maybe because Nicolas just got up on the walker and strolled right across the floor without ever looking back.  He never crawled either, he just ran through the house at 9 months.  He had great balance on his feet.  She on the other hand is taking her time.  She has been standing for quite some time, however she did not dare take her first steps until Saturday morning.  Once she succeeded at taking at least two steps, she never sat back down.  She tried it again and again until she managed to walk approx. 10 steps on her own.  I was hoping that she would wait until omi and opi came to visit, but I think she will be running by then.  This is so fun!

She also got two bottom teeth in this morning and we did not even notice.  She spent five hours at the dealership and never even whined.  She is just remarkable.  I want five more of her.  That makes 6 teeth in less then 1 1/2 mos.

We bought a car.  How is that for some more good news.  We got a great deal on a used Honda Odyssey Touring 2005 model.  Yes I feel quite spoiled, but also quite safe.  Time to seriously start cracking down and saving money.  Yippee!  I am excited that we finally have a car where everything fits and we can get everyone in the car.  Nicolas is just tickled pink with his sunroof and DVD player.  I love the GPS and satellite radio, fold away seats, hydraulic powered doors…should I say more.

I hope this means February will look a bit more positive.

Cool Slideshows

Cool Slideshows

Introducing Olivia Ann McCloskey

I think it is about time that I introduce our newest member of our family,Olivia Ann. She was born on January 25th, 2007 and weighed 6 pounds and 7 ounces. She was tiny and small and born three weeks early, most likely from a cold that I caught from my son Nicolas. I was not ready to go into labor so early, but in the end, the entire experience was great. The hospital gave me a nurse for 12 hours. She (Kelley) did nothing else but take care of me all day. No other nurse(s) was there during the birth. I really enjoyed that experience. It felt more personal. I could concentrate on what was going on. The part I hated was the epidural. The doctor had to try five different areas on my vertabrae before finding the perfect spot. That was needless to say very painful and a waste. In the end, I asked them to turn off the epidural because I could not feel anything. I mean nothing at all. I could not even feel my toes, and I felt like my throat was closing. So by the time the baby came, I could feel almost everything again. My upper thigh area and lower back area were still numb. I actually pushed the baby out on my own this time, and it was easy. Labor always scared me, and since I felt nothing while giving birth to Nicolas, I was a bit nervous this time. I liked the fact that I was pushing, and that Lance had to hold my knees and tell me to push. He actually watched the head come out. Giving birth to Olivia was a very good experience, and not at all scary.

So, she is now 12 weeks old, and has just begun smiling and cooing. It is so nice. She is also starting to follow things with her eyes, like her mobile. Up until now, she has spent most of her time sleeping. We did have one bad experience. She ended up in the hospital after three weeks due to a high fever, but they never did find anything. It was probably something viral. Of course, the hospital had to perform a spinal tap, xrays, put an IV in her hand, etc., to rule out menengitis. One of the doctors told me that because Olivia was so young, she would not remember a thing an hour later. I on the other hand, would. That is why I was sent outside of the room when they performed the spinal tap. I cried for five straight days. Everything hormonal flooded my body during those days. It was dreadful. I blamed myself for not keeping her brother away from her. The head doctor told me that there is nothing I could have done. “This is very typical of winter babies”, he said. Interesting philosophy.

It took another three weeks before I could touch her without her screaming at the top of her lungs, but she is a good baby. She has been gassy, with slight tummy aches every now and then, but there is no colic in this child, for which I am eternally grateful. I decided to stay away from everything dairy which helped alleviate the problems. She weighs about 10.5 pounds right now. I am still breastfeeding, thanks to my sister’s and mother’s relentless pushing. It was tough sticking to it. The nights are long, and you always feel like something is not right. I can understand why so many women give it up so early. I should also thank the hospital. I called them on numerous occasions, and they were always friendly and willing to spend time with me.

We are having alot of fun with Olivia, and are so happy that she is here. Now comes the tough part, where she has to sleep in her own room and cry a little to let go of mommy. The nights are still long, but I am hoping that she will soon sleep through the night. I will keep you posted.

If you click on the downward arrow, you will see that there is a page two to Olivia’s pictures. These pictures are of her room. It is not finished yet, but I wanted to show off my parents work. My mom decorated and my father painted. He even painted this old military dresser that my husband wanted to throw out. I love the way everything looks. My mother sewed all the pillows on the daybed, and the pillow on the rocking chair. There is no crib in the room yet, because she was still sleeping in our room. The crib is not finished, and that will be my responsibility. As soon as I am done, I will post pictures. Thanks mom and dad.

Baby’s Frilled Sundress

Baby’s Frilled Sundress
Originally uploaded by janiceteeps.

A cute dress made by one of the girls on the Ottobre list. She has done a few cute projects that I may copy for Olivia. Her daughter has dark hair, and the colors were cute on her. Her fabrics are definitely of a nice quality, most likely from a childrens heirloom fabric store.

Creativity and my mom

I love it when life just throws you things, and suddenly everything just comes together – like a game of connecting the dots……..

I recently discovered a line of fabrics through a group on Yahoo, which I would have never looked at if I was not having a little baby girl on Valentines Day. At the same time, yesterday I was introduced to a blog, again which I would have never looked at if I was not pregnant with a little girl. It turns out that this blog www.HELLOmynameisheather.com just happens to be written by the woman who designed the above mentioned beautiful line of quilting fabrics. I really enjoyed reading it. This woman is not only very creative and a talented writer, but has two children, loves to sew and is a stay-at-home-mom. She has also managed to have a career on top of everything else. How absolutely wonderful! I am so envious.

After reading everything I could about her and her beautiful life, another thought would not leave my mind, and it was something my sister said to me earlier on the phone. I was telling my sister about how Nicolas, my three year old son, was once again sick with the flu. This is the second time in less then two months. I thought he had a cold, however yesterday (day 6) he got a very bad fever. I knew then, that he had a bug again. I spent the entire month of December taking care of him and my husband, because they both had the stomach flu. I was 9 mos. pregnant at the time, and still feeling pretty good, however this is no longer the case. I have four weeks left, and I am not always my cheerful self. Finding time for myself is a bit harder, because I am always so tired. I have a tendency to blame life for alot of things, and I guess that was what I was doing again to my sister. She, however, very quickly turned everything around, and reminded me about how mom did such a wonderful job of taking care of us when we were sick. She put us in bed, with the tv on, serving us food all day, and entertaining us. She always made us feel so special.

My mom! Yes she did do a wonderful job of making us feel special. My mom is and was probably the most important friend and inspiration in my life. She had also managed to raise two girls, sew most of our clothing, and sew much of our interior decorations. She was and is the best interior designer I know. She is also the best cook, always coming up with new ideas. (Having a german background helps.) She has always dressed and looked beautiful, and has a heart of gold. I could go on and on, but I guess the point I am trying to make is that she was the best Stay-at-Home-Mom.

So, last night I fell asleep thinking about Heather, my mom and myself, while my son Nicolas laid next to me in my king size bed. I no longer felt sorry for myself, and the fact that this little girl’s nursery was not going to be finished on time. Instead I felt like I was being a good Mom, and that my creative side would find time tomorrow or the next day to still accomplish something.

Potty Trained

Nicolas is finally potty trained. Yeah! One morning he just woke up and said “No” to diapers and insisted on wearing underwear. I was so happy that I bought all that underwear in Germany. It is so comfortable compared to anything I have found in the US. There were of course a few mistakes, however in less then three weeks we had all the problems resolved. He even sleeps in underwear, and so far there have been no accidents in the bed or elsewhere. The funny thing is that everything you read confirms that this is the easiest way to potty train your toddler. Just wait until he is ready.

We are very proud parents right now, and he is finally ready to go to preschool. Now we face just one other problem. We cannot get any pants to fit. I was so happy to finally see him grow into a 2T, but with no diapers around the waist, his pants were hanging around his knees. A belt would be the perfect solution, however he needs to be able to take off his pants on his own. There goes that idea, and suspenders, and the four pair of overalls I bought during my trip in Germany. Yippee Yeah. So I sit down and sew a pair of brown corduroys for Christmas – Size 92. He is 95cm tall, or 37.5 inches. The pants will fit him next year. Nice pattern though. I will post a picture. Next I sew a size 86. Nope, this one is way too big too. I finally sew a pair of vanilla denim jeans in a size 80 waist with a size 92 length, and they fit perfectly. I cut out three more pair of pants, so he does not look like such a slob anymore. He just started Preschool, and I realized how little clothing I had for him. Once I get these pants done then he will have a nice supply again. I also noticed that most of his german pants have a cuff. I let out the cuff on some of his older smaller pants, and he can wear them again.

Christmas 2006 Pillow

I got very excited about celebrating Christmas with my 3 year old son this year. I introduced him to Santa Claus and Jingle Bells, and he was so excited about this holiday. The only thing I had not expected was that he wanted Christmas to start that day, but we still had more then six weeks left before Santa was going to arrive. I had a daily battle with him. So I made him this little gift and he loved it.