Etsy

I love etsy - I love looking at all of the beautiful handmade items for sale. I have been encouraging my sister Tanya to keep it in mind for her fashion creations.

I received an email from Anne, (an O'Brien cousin), today, and in her signature was a link for her store on etsy. I have to post the link here - she has some amazingly beautiful jewelry and if you O'Briens check out the names of some of her pieces, you'll find different collections such as Nadine, Della, and Lucy.

So there is my plug for Anne's site - and I will admit, she has no idea I am writing a blog about it!

http://annemorejewelry.etsy.com

Coloring

Pulling Out My Hair

I feel panicky -

10 weeks is NOT that much time to get things in order around here!

We are going to embark on a major project upstairs - knocking out part of a wall between the two bedrooms to make a breezeway. Ian's room does not have a heat source so last winter he roomed with us.

And there is still soooo much organization to do!

And I am in the middle of a couple of HUGE projects to be completed ASAP.

And I may have gestational diabetes.

And I am patiently awaiting Ian's blood test results...

I need a vacation.

Congrats! I just won...

... a three hour glucose test on Friday.

Joy.

Yes, I failed my normal glucose test. I am soooo excited to do a three hour visit to the lab of Friday. I guess I'll finally get a chance to read the new James Patterson. I am also anemic. Again. Totally normal I know. I just hate taking pills. However, my platelet count is normal this time around, yay, don't have to panic about my blood not clotting. Everyone keeps asking me, "Were you diabetec with Ian?" (just because he was 10lbs.) - Nope, I was healthy as could be. He was big because I had a doctor who should have inducted at least a week or two earlier. Oh well, such is life.

Ian's rash has returned. He will be going in for a blood draw tomorrow to determine his allergies - which may or may not turn up anything being that he is so young. Or it could be multiple food allergies.

Our ebay sales have been spectacular and I am getting ready to work from home with another opportunity. Very exciting. Regarding the job I interviewed for, I should know something by next week. It's all in the cards, whatever is supposed to be will be. If I get it, great, if I don't it wasn't meant for me. Stay positive. :)

Ian starts his toddler group in July and we are also getting him enrolled in Gymboree classes. Dan has a few weeks left until he goes to swing shift (which I am excited about) - he will get to spend more time with family this summer!

More exciting things coming up - family reunion, our niece Kenzie's Birthday, Darby's 30th Birthday, a couple weddings, the baby shower (to be graciously given by my creative and talented mother in law), Steve's 60th Birthday, Darby & Autemn's 4th Anniversary, and then it's baby time!!! as well as Dan's 27th Birthday, and then my sister Tanya jets off to the land of college for fashion design, with our nephew Keenan's 3rd and Ian's 2nd Birthdays rounding it out.

I really wish I could fit a trip to Seattle (the zoo, Ikea!) in there but maybe I will just settle for a sophisticated glider swing for the backyard :)

Ouchies

Yesterday, we were at Fred Meyer, ready to do some major grocery shopping. I got out of the car and into the back seat to unbuckle Ian and get him out. I put the kid on my left hip and used my right hand to shut the door. I wasn't paying much attention and realized I couldn't move away from the car. I looked, and saw that my right ring finger was stuck in the door. It was parallel with the door so that the two sides were smashed towards the middle, one side being completely invisible. I was holding Ian in my free hand so I couldn't use it to open the door, however, the doors were locked anyway so I would have been helpless by myself. I frantically called to Dan on the other side of the car, "Open the door, Open the door, Open the door!" - It didn't really register with him as to what I was requesting because he hit the power lock button and said "It's unlocked" to which I continued saying "No, OPEN THE DOOR!" (I saw that blood was aleady dripping down my hand). He said he then noticed (through the car windows) that my arm was in an unusual position. He scrambled through the backseat from the other side of the car, and opened the door. I sort of tossed Ian into the backseat and burst into tears. Dan handed me a white shirt to wrap my finger in. The door had made a indentation/hole into the left side of my finger, next to the nail, and blood was seeping out from the top of the nail. My finger was completely swollen. (I thank god that my finger was parallel and NOT perpendicular because that would have been much much more painful). We jumped back in the car and the pain was so intense that I told Dan it was much worse than labor contractions - which he replied with "but you didn't have to push with Ian" - I love you hubs but not the time to be factually correct when I am trying to explain pain. (He did make me laugh a little because his statement was so innocent without sarcasm). I had him drive to my mom's so she could doctor me up. She whipped out her nurse kit and bandaged me with instructions for ice and home care. The bleeding didn't subside for about 7 hours and I couldn't take any ibuprofen to help with the swelling. I will tell you what though, had I not been pregnant, I would have popped a hydrocodone, but alas, it was just Tylenol for me (which did nothing really).

This morning, I took off the bandage (had rebandaged it about 3 times the night before), and the swelling has gone down a bit. My nail is not black just a tinge of lavendar with no apparent trama to the nail bed. The pain is mostly in the left side of the finger with lots of tingling. I decided that if the numbness/tingling do not go away by Tuesday morning (3 days post) I will have it checked out.

Hubs said I ALWAYS seem to hurt myself when pregnant rather than when not pregnant. This is true. In the past 3 years I have not had any accidental injuries unless I was pregnant. With Ian, at about 3 months, I fell backwards in a chair and hit the back of my head on a draw pull - I swear I blacked out for a few seconds and ended up with a dent in my head, followed by a massive headache and goose egg for which I could only take Tylenol. Then at 6 months, we were rear ended on the I-5 freeway, while at a stop in traffic. That was horrible. Again, migraines with only Tylenol for pain relief. And then at about 8 months I had microwaved some chocolate sauce (for way too long) and accidently poured it on my belly. I remember getting in the shower immediately and watching a couple layers of skin bubble up and fall off. That was horrible but I didn't even cry. I had to put burn cream on my belly for a long time. I still have a scar.

I think my pain tolerance has lowered.

Wednesday

Today is a big day for me - a job interview for a job I wouldn't mind having. The pay is great, the benefits are perfect, AND they just hired a woman a few months ago who is pregnant and will be taking 6 months of maternity leave after having her baby! How cool is that? The interviewer and I had a phone conversation about my pregnancy (which I voluntarily disclosed off the bat) and maternity plans. I was informed that the office just happens to be made up of women who are all mothers! Now I really hope I didn't jinx this! lol

On a different note, Ian starts toddler group tomorrow! Yay! Very exciting for him. Also, Dan was just offered a permanent position with his company, complete with full benefits and a raise. The medical and dental are the best I have ever seen from any other company and his company pays $1300 of the premium, leaving us with only $298 out of pocket each month! How cool is that? PLUS, his prescription has been costing us $180/mo (full price is $670/mo before insurance) and now that we will have better coverage, the copay is only $20. I am very proud of him. He loves his job and we are very blessed :)

Allergy Update

So by accident, we exposed Ian to cow's milk this weekend.

His rash had been gone, completely clear until Saturday morning.

Friday night he was enjoying a bowl of Sesame Street organic chicken and vegetable noodle soup with a side of Key Lime soy yogurt, and very vanilla soy milk when he spotted his mama sneaking hot McDonald's french fries from a bag. (Pregnancy craving!!!) - I thought, it's potato, it's a french fry, a couple of them can't hurt. So Ian had a handful.

Bad Move on mama's part.

The next morning the makings of a nasty rash began to appear on his face. I have been keeping a food diary for him and immediately Dan and I tried to think of things that could have caused his outbreak again. (And of course, I DIDN'T remember to add the fries to his diary). All day we tried to come up with the cause.

Sunday morning the rash was much worse. Dan and I thought, did he get into the box of Cheezits? Were we wrong to think it was a milk allergy? Seriously, I was beginning to get discouraged. Then it was like a lightbulb - The French Fries. I flew to the computer and typed in McDonald's website - they have detailed nutrition information posted, including food allergens. I began scanning for the info on fries and Voila -

"French Fries:
Potatoes, vegetable oil (canola oil, hydrogenated soybean oil, natural beef flavor [wheat and milk derivatives]*), citric acid (preservative), dextrose, sodium acid pyrophosphate (maintain color), salt. Prepared in vegetable oil ((may contain one of the following: Canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil with TBHQ and citric acid added to preserve freshness), dimethylpolysiloxane added as an antifoaming agent). *CONTAINS: WHEAT AND MILK (Natural beef flavor contains hydrolyzed wheat and hydrolyzed milk as starting ingredients). "


Oops!

So I guess we didn't need to wait 2 entire weeks to figure it out. Ian has a milk allergy that he will most likely grow out of at some point. Until then, he's going to keep the grocery budget high with his specialty foods.

Pool Time

Backyard Play

Ian had been playing in his pool this afternoon and decided a swimsuit was no longer necessary for running around in the backyard...

Faces

Hail Storm

We had a 20 min hail storm on June 11th -

Our back patio flooded with water and hail

Outside the front door

Just as the hail was beginning to let up - the front yard.

Morning

Our backyard at 6:30 this morning

The Millwood water tower, or rather, a tree in our backyard. I love the way the tower is not the focus of the picture.

TV

It's mornings like this one that I really miss cable. I am not a huge TV watcher but at 6:00am with a big bowl of Lucky Charms, there's not much else to do. Primarily I miss the Food Network and HGTV. TLC was also a favorite, as was the Discovery Channel. I am silently wishing I could just zone out to Flip This House or Paula Deen about now. Ian is sleeping upstairs in my bed and Dan is at work. I should be getting some more shut eye but pregnancy brings often brings rude awakenings. Who knew cravings went beyond food?

I Love Best Buy

Telepathy works, I kid you not. Well maybe. Today, we bought a new digital camera, be still my heart. I am excited to take new pics of the E Man and start working on new books. Shutterfly even gave us a code (when we purchased the camera) that allows us all sorts of free goodies from their site.

In other news, my sister, Tanya, graduated from high school last Sunday. She has about 15 weeks of Spokane adventures left until she's off to Seattle. I am slightly envious, lol.

I had my 26 week check up today. My lovely doctor was out delivering a breech baby via emergency c-section, therefore I elected to just see a nurse today instead of waiting for the other doctor in the office. My office has about 6 docs, but there was only one other one at the downtown office this afternoon and he is the only one (as of yet) that I refuse to see. Not that he's a bad guy or a bad doctor, he just doesn't have very good bedside manner. --- (When I had hyperemesis, he kept trying to push pills at me even though I was recovering and said I didn't need them. Not a very good listener).
Anyway, there is a new flavor for the "glucose challenge" - I really thought I was going to be cursed with the "flat orange pop" flavor, but I have been given a bottle of lemon lime. Will it taste like flat 7up? I will let you know. They gave me the freedom to take it anytime between now and June 23rd. Don't they know that I am the world's worst procrastinator? If I don't have an appointment for a blood draw, I am likely to "forget" about it. So here's hoping I get that done next week!
Next doc appt is June 25 just because I didn't see the doc today, and then 3 weeks from there and then every 2 weeks after that until August.

Ian is doing very well on his new milk free diet. His rash is gone and he's sleeping better. He's also eating much healthier (not that he was on a junk food diet or anything before, I am just more cautious of my food choices for him now).

Lastly, I want to say a little prayer for Monica. She was supposed to get her induction this week, pending a final doctor's visit) and may have to wait because her doctor's office is without power as are other buildings in her city. I feel your pain sweetie!

Potty Time

Today marks the first day Ian used his potty chair. He followed me into the bathroom and started messing around with his chair. Dan and I quickly undressed him and set him on the seat and he peed in the potty. Yay! Of course we're not expecting miracles right now but we can be hopeful :)

2 Week Trial

Ian's doctor agreed that he is most likely having a food allergy. An allergy test at his age may still show a false negative, therefore we are doing a 2 week Milk-Free (and berry free) diet. The list of things he cannot eat during this trial is extensive. Last night we headed to Fred Meyer to get items like milk and whey-free pancake mix, soy yogurt, soy milk, veggie dogs, dairy free cheese, etc. $100 later Ian has food for just himself for the next 2 weeks. His rash is almost completely gone this morning. There is no redness and just some faint bumps on his cheeks. Dan made Ian his new pancakes for breakfast this morning and he gobbled those down along with some chocolate rice milk and a banana. After 2 weeks, if the rash is clear, we will re-introduce a small amount of milk. If he does not have a breakout over the next day or two then he does not have a milk allergy. Then, we will re-introduce berries and look for similar results. If none of these things are causing his outbreaks, we will be looking at other causes (detergent, pet allergy, etc). So here's hoping we get it under control!

Milk Allergy?

Ian has sensitive skin like I do. The past couple months (maybe longer?) he's had an eczema rash on both of his cheeks. I've used a special Aveeno eczema cream to soothe it and sometimes it fades a bit but never goes away completely. I started noticing foods he was eating within a couple hours of his rash getting worse. It has come down to milk and milk products (yogurt, etc). When he would have yogurt or milk, within an hour or two his rash would become very red. The last time he had milk was on Monday at breakfast, and today, his rash is almost gone. It's actually the best I have seen it ever. He has also been less irritable AND since he's been without milk, he's been sleeping through the night. Is all of this just a coincidence? We have had HORRIBLE nights for the longest time with Ian waking up 2 or 3 times a night. I chalked it up to teething (even though he hasn't been teething every single day for months) but now I am wondering if it was due to dairy. He normally would have his last glass of milk around 6:30 or 7pm and then brush his teeth and head to bed at 9pm. Since we've removed dairy he has slept through the night beginning with Monday night. I put a call into his doc's office to ask if he should get an allergy test or if I should experiment with cow's milk alternatives (soy). Waiting now for the return call.

Update - Dr.'s office just called. They want Ian to come in tomorrow. The nurse agrees that he may have a milk allergy, especially with the behavior changes. She thinks Dr. Lee will want to do an allergy test or at least talk about changes in his diet. Will update this post with more info tomorrow afternoon.

Score

Dan and I decided we needed another play yard (one for upstairs, one for downstairs) and yesterday I found a great deal on Craigslist. I actually wasn't even really looking for anything, just cruising the ads and I came across a $90 yard, barely used, with bassinet, changing table, mobile (pooh & friends), and a padded mat for $35. I had to pause. $35!?!!? Who was this lady? My craigslist research showed people listing yards circa 1990ish (with dirt, stains, etc) and still wanting an average of $50. PLUS most of the other yards listed had pictures that were taken outside. I am always cautious of those. Who takes a pic of indoor baby gear outside in the dirt? I mean, just HOW TRASHED is your house? Well not this Winnie the Pooh Graco yard - pic was inside, floor was clean, walls were tastefully painted, decor was primo. I called Lady and said "My husband will be home in less than 10 minutes, I'm coming to get your play yard!" - I was lucky, the ad had only been listed for less than 2 hours when I found it (and I am not scouring these listings everyday or anything). Hence, I am proud of my find. And until baby Darby is born and gets the most use out of, Ian will be renting the space for time out. :)

Photo Withdrawals

I need a camera. Plain and simple. I keep looking at this broken piece of junk and wish that it would work!!! What do you even do with a broken camera? I can't bring myself to toss it in the trash, it just doesn't seem right to throw away something that used to cost soooo much. (and with everyone going green, it's the new trend, would it be fair to the landfills?). But I don't need it sitting around my house, laughing at me, taunting me, yet I want it gone, NOW.

I have my eye on a few models I'd like to have, and of course, realistically, there's probably only 2 I'd be willing to spend any money on. I am thrifty. I like the best deal for the least amount of money. I am telepathically begging my husband to let us buy a camera this month, even if it is a cheaper version of my now non working point and shoot POS still taking up residence on a shelf in my house.

Yuck Day

Today is a bad day for me. I do not want to go into detail but being hormonal magnifies the blues a million times. That being said, my beautiful adoring son did the most adorable thing today. He picked up my cell phone and began opening and closing it repeatedly while chewing on the antenna. Normally, this is when I confiscate the celly but today, I just don't have the energy. I am glad I didn't rush over to take it from him because a few minutes ago, I watched him open the phone, put it to his ear and say "Noooooo" .pause. "Nooooooooo" and hang up. It was the way he said Nooooooo - not with the normal disciplinary tone you may expect him to copy from his parents but it sounded more like if I had said "Ian, would you like some cookies?" and he would rightfully respond (haha) with a non chalant "Nooooo" (as in no big deal, shrug it off, nah). I love that little man.

Birthday Bliss

First I want to thank all the well wishers for the kind comments on myspace and for the emails and cards you sent. I appreciate it!! Today is my 26th birthday. I always thought of my 20s as the "practice stage" - that no matter what happens, I can redeem myself in my 30s. I believe that when I turn 30, I will magically become a grown up - therefore if I don't have it all together by then I'm in trouble! lol. I've also said that by the time I am 30 I will be D-O-N-E having children.

Last Friday, my sister and my mom treated me to dinner and Sex & The City. It was fantastic. We haven't done a day with just the three of us in such a long time. Saturday morning, Dan took me shopping for some much needed clothing! And later that night, Steve and Janie joined us for dinner at The Melting Pot downtown. Oh my was I in heaven. There is nothing like a chunk of rich brownie dipped in warm dark chocolate. Mmmmm. Little E-man spent the evening with his great grandparents. Yesterday was a lazy day with a craving of Baskin Robbins Chocolate Milkshake (at 9:30pm).

Today, Ian and I enjoyed my annual Birthday Breakfast together and as of press time, he is sleeping soundly upstairs. I am debating following suit. I did tell Danny that under no circumstances was I going to do ANY housework today, as a bday present to myself but I do not see that bday wish materializing. The living room is strewn with books, baby shoes, toys, and bits of fruit loops. Hmmm clean or nap.....