Today is the day.

I go in this evening to start my induction. I am assuming that this little one will be born tomorrow unless this turns out to be the worlds fastest induction. I feel like there are both a million things I should be doing today and nothing all at the same time. This whole knowing when baby is coming is very anticlimactic. I enjoy spontaneously going into labor. It is exciting. In the end all we want is a healthy baby, but still I wish things were a little different. Oh well.

This morning I made the boys pancakes and am doing some laundry. I will probably find some ridiculous things to keep me busy throughout the day too. I will probably be too anxious to try and nap though. I need to finish up the Belly Journal and make sure I bring that and the baby book to the hospital to get foot and hand prints. My hospital bag has been packed for weeks, but I will go through it 5 times at least. I hate this waiting!

G&G R have been here for a week now. The boys are still loving it! They spent practically all day at a Children's Museum last week. They went in the morning and then we all went back in the afternoon. It wasn't a very large museum, but it had plenty to keep them happy. There was a model train and a big sandbox that was a hit with Fletcher. Archie enjoyed role playing at the train station. He kept giving me a ticket to Chicago! There was also a bubble platform that you could pull a cord and be enclosed in a bubble. Fletcher was not interested but Archie liked it.

Over the weekend, Dave and I headed to IKEA and got a lot of odds and ends for around the house. We put up new shelves above my desk, got a coffee rack for the wall, magnetic knife holder, storage boxes, and a light for the boys reading corner. We hung up the curtains that my Mom made for the nursery. We finally have the co-sleeper attached to the bed and ready for baby. I got some Aden & Anais swaddling blankets and some more waterproof pads. I finally finished a scrapbook page that I started about 2 months ago too. I am going to get some photos from Archiver's today since I have a coupon and need my 39 week belly photo. I know I am babbling, but I didn't think that my nerves would be so jittery today. Gah!

The beautiful linen curtains in the nursery!

I should probably get started with my last day as a mother to two children. Hopefully I will be able to post a birth story blog within the week. If not, at least I can post some pictures of our new little boy or girl. Here we go!

I caved. Induction date is set.

For a month now I have been evading my Doctor when she has mentioned induction. I have had 2 growth ultrasounds in that time b/c of my gestational diabetes and the baby is measuring pretty accurately for where they are supposed to be with the exception of a big head. My diabetes is 100% diet controlled and my A1C levels came back great. Still, the standard of care is an induction at 39 weeks. I am very conflicted about all of this, but scheduled the induction with the hopes that baby will come on their own before Monday. Both Archie and Fletcher were born before 39 weeks so the odds are good...I hope. Also, the induction is scheduled at 8 p.m. I actually laughed when my nurse said it was so mom could get in a night of rest while the pitocin took effect. Has anyone ever actually been able to rest during pitocin induced contractions? At least she she was able to realize what a load she was feeding me and laughed as well.

In other news, G&G R. are here!! Can I say what a relief it is to know that I can go into labor now and the boys will be well cared for. That is always my biggest concern about going into labor with other kids at home. We had a back-up plan, but nobody wants to go into labor at 2 a.m. and immediately worry about waking up their older child(ren), getting them ready, and taking them to a sitters house. Now we just get to wake up G&G and let them know we are leaving. I am so thankful for family!

Dave's birthday was on Monday. He is now at the ripe old age of 32! We went to dinner at Sweet Tomatoes and then had cake that I bought at Rheinlander Bakery, which also sells low carb, sugar free pastries! I had my first truly sweet dessert since my GD diagnosis. The Raspberry Mousse pastry was sinfully delicious. The Pistachio Almond Cream one was actually a little too sweet for me. That has never happened to me before. On the bright side, it did not spike my blood sugar so I will call that a win. For his birthday gifts I got Dave a coffee shop gift card so he can get out of the house during the day and work there for a bit if he wants. I also made him some wall art using my handy Silhouette Cameo. Not terribly exciting gifts, but I hope he had a great day regardless.

The boys are loving having G&G here. They are going to the park, getting to fall asleep with them, reading stories, playing Lego, and just getting spoiled in general. When we went to the bakery they each got to pick out a cookie. I had them ask the gentleman helping us all by themselves and they were both so polite. Totally worth the sugar crash later...almost!

 It is not the greatest picture, but you get the idea.

 Archie with his piggy cookie. Appropriate.

 Fletcher and his baseball cookie.

Dave's Boston Cream Pie Birthday "cake"

Produce, gardens, and outdoor play.

This has been a rather uneventful week around these parts. We were pretty much homebodies only leaving to take a daily walk. In fact, I didn't go anywhere in a vehicle from Friday to Wednesday. We did get to have dinner with my friend and old roomie Heather though. She was in town on business for the week and it was really nice to see her. Archie especially enjoyed showing off for his new friend. Luckily the restaurant wasn't very busy as the boys were not cooperating and staying in their seats go figure.

We have successfully completed our first month of menu planning and bi-monthly food shopping. I had to modify a few of the last weeks recipes to accommodate for my new diet, but we actually had most things on hand. Turns out my new shopping habits are conducive to a diabetic diet! I am learning which fruits and veggies will last the full 2 weeks and what I need to use in the first week. These are just what I am experiencing in my refrigerator and climate.

Use within week:

• bananas
• strawberries
• blueberries
• avocado
• leaf lettuce
• mushrooms
• asparagus
• stone fruit (if you buy it ripe)
• fresh, cut herbs (freeze if you aren't using within a few days)
• green onions

Lasts longer than 1 week, but not quite 2:

• broccoli
• cauliflower
• cucumbers
• stone fruit (if you buy it slightly under ripe)
• tomatoes
• brussel sprouts
• melons (if you don't cut them right away. Once cut they last less than 1 week)
• bell peppers

Lasts the full 2 weeks:

• celery
• carrots
• spinach
• apples
• zucchini
• romaine lettuce
• lemons
• onions
• sweet potato
• garlic
• living basil plant (we keep it a cup on our counter and fill with water. Still going strong after 2 weeks.)

I have been chopping and freezing celery, carrots, bell peppers, green onions, bananas, strawberries, and spinach with great success. Frozen spinach is great in smoothies, soups, and casseroles. I just bought cilantro that I plan on washing and freezing later today. Our garden is starting to produce some vegetables as well. We have got spinach and mustard greens so far and the tomatoes and strawberries are looking good too. Dave planted around 10-15 different fruits and veggies so we will see what works well. 

 Dave and his garden!

 Spinach

Strawberries

On Friday we went to the toy store because Archie has been asking for a doll for weeks. After looking at about 5 aisles of dolls, however, he decided that he wanted cars instead. We did end up getting a sandbox for the boys though. They have a sand and water table, but the two always got mixed together so that is now just a water table and sand stays in the sand box - in theory. Our backyard is slowly being taken over by kid toys, but it keeps us outside a lot so I don't mind. 

Today Dave planted the peach tree that he bought last weekend and we are going to get some flowers planted in the front yard. I want to put salvia and columbine in the ground and then get some annuals in our pots for the front porch. There are some great non-flowering plants in our front yard from the previous owners, but I want more color. Spring is so beautiful in Colorado!

Watering our new peach tree. 

It's been a long couple of days.

I received the results of my 3 hour glucose test yesterday and they were not great. I have gestational diabetes. Luckily they are confident that it can be controlled by diet, but it is a lot of information to process and it needs to be taken seriously. I am confused, sad, scared, determined, researching, and trying to stay positive. My next appointment isn't for over a week so I a feel like I will just be treading water until then. We already don't keep any white/processed grains in the house and haven't for at least 2 years. I only buy whole grain/whole wheat bread, pasta, flour, rice, etc... We eat quinoa, put flax in everything, use nutritional yeast, cook with beans and tofu, and it takes us almost 6-8 months to use what little sugar I buy. I am just not sure how I am supposed to eat now since it seems like I am already doing the right things. Hopefully I can get an appointment with a dietitian b/c this is a daunting task to take on by myself. The risk of me getting diabetes later in life just increased too so I want to see what long term changes I can make so that doesn't happen.

I had to laugh talking with the nurse on the phone last night. She told me no juice, which we never keep in the  house until earlier this week. I was told to take my iron pill with orange juice and now I am being told to stop drinking orange juice and instead take my iron pill with a vitamin C pill. It was just the cherry on top of a long, difficult week.

In other news, Archie had his PreK evaluation today. They gave us the worksheet that they used to test them and it was pretty spot on to his strengths and weaknesses. Dave said that he got really sad when he had to leave. Less than 3 months though and he will be going 5 days/week. While they were at the evaluation, Fletcher and I took a walk. This diabetes diagnoses has me more serious about taking walks at least 5 days/week now. We went to the open space down the street and saw ducks and birds. All the prairie dogs were hiding though. I took Archie to this same park after his swimming class last week and he called them "fairy dogs". I almost loathed to correct him because it was so cute hearing him call them by that name. We did learn that prairie dogs make sounds like birds which was interesting.

 28 weeks

Mid May Roundup

So we are officially into our second cycle of meal planning and already we are seeing the benefits. I spent less money on the 2nd shopping trip of the month. Dave said he saw a difference in the amount we had leftover from the previous paycheck. The best improvement for me, however, has been cooking one meal that we all eat together as a family. My kids are getting better at eating what I put in front of them and the food I am giving them is nutritious, healthy, and hopefully not terrible tasting. Yesterday they ate their entire dinner which consisted of peas and lentil pancakes. Fletcher got seconds! The lentil pancakes were courtesy of an old issue of Vegetarian Times. Following is just the copied and pasted recipe for Jack Burgers, which was a reader submitted recipe.

Jack Burgers

Makes 10 patties  |  30 minutes or fewer

“Working with children and youth is my calling, so most of my cooking experiments are kid-friendly,” says Mary Jane Wagner. “My husband and I have five children of our own (three grown, two teenagers), plus two teenage boys from Ghana live with us. I make these for my family, and four teenagers can eat quite a lot! They enjoy them with ketchup or barbecue sauce.”

1 15-oz. can Eden Foods lentils with onion & bay leaf, rinsed and drained
1/2 large onion, finely chopped (1 cup)
2 medium carrots, shredded (1 cup)
3/4 cup prepared marinara sauce
3/4 cup walnuts, finely chopped
3/4 cup Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free pancake mix
1  Tbs. Bob’s Red Mill nutritional yeast

1. Combine all ingredients in large bowl.

2. Spray large skillet with cooking spray, and heat over medium heat. Scoop batter by 1/3 cupfuls onto hot skillet, and cook 3 to 4 minutes, or until bottoms of patties have browned. Flip, cover pan, and cook 5 to 7 minutes more, or until browned on both sides and vegetables have softened.

I couldn't find the Eden Lentils so I used Eden Brown Rice and Lentils instead. We put a little mustard on them when they are done and called it a meal. They ended up making more than 10 patties though so I have leftovers to give the kids for lunch. I added this one to our tried and true recipes spreadsheet. I also started a Meal Planning Binder, but cannot get much further on it until we get more ink for our printer. I plan on printing out my spreadsheets, scanning some recipes from cookbooks, and printing our more used recipes off of Pinterest and Keep Recipes. 

In other news, I have officially hit the 3rd trimester of this 3rd pregnancy. Scary to think that in less than 3 months we will have newborn around these parts. He/she still moves around all the time and those kicks are powerful! However, this is my favorite part of pregnancy. I love feeling that little one and knowing they are safely growing inside of me. It is once they are born that I have far less control! The nursery is finally cleared out and ready to get painted. I chose Behr Dolphin Fin Grey for the walls b/c I feel it is a color that handle a lot of different styles as our children grow. For right now, I plan on decorating in oranges, blues, and greens to match the Skip Hop Treetop Friends bedding I bought.

Skip Hop Treetop Friends

The nursery in progress

I am slowly going through the 6-8 bins of clothing and purging what they boys haven't really worn too much. It only took having two kids to realize that they really don't need massive amounts of clothing especially with the amount of laundry that I end up doing on an almost daily basis. If this baby is a girl, I will probably get rid of a lot more since we are pretty much content with having 3 kids. Having less space for storage also makes it easier for me to get rid of things.

Mother's Day was this past weekend and it was quite a nice day. I got to sleep in, the boys gave me picture frames that they made at a Lowe's Build and Grow clinic, and we went to out for breakfast at one of my favorite places. The boys were pretty well behaved and we took them a park afterwards.  All good things must end though and Fletcher ended up getting croup again and then Archie got it a few days later. At least the weather has been lovely so we can play in the backyard while they are sick. The last time we were sick  we were cooped up inside and it was cold and snowy. 

Me and my boys on Mother's Day

Well I am going to straighten up before the handyman gets here to fix a pipe and install a fan. With all this money we are saving meal planning we can finally get someone in here to get a lot of our odds and ends sorted out!

Also, I am going to try and keep this blog updated more often from now on. My lovely sister and brother-in-law will be moving to Japan soon and I want to be able to keep her updated as often as possible. Living away from family hard, but thankfully with blogs, social networking, VOIP, etc.. it can be a little easier. 

So this is what's it's like having two small kids.

Where does the time go? In the 7 months since my last post, which feels like last week by the way, we have done a whole lot although it doesn't really seem like much. The days sometimes seem to drag on and on, however, the weeks fly by in the blink of an eye. My boys are 7 months older, I am 6 months pregnant with our third child, and we have lived in our new house for over 7 months. We love our new town! Dave and I will still drive around and think how lucky we are that we live here and get to raise our children in such a great environment. I always hear that things will work themselves out and yet I am always surprised when they actually do work out.

You may have caught the 6 months pregnant statement above. Baby R. #3 is scheduled to arrive in August. We are leaving the gender a surprise mainly because I want to pretend for a little longer that we won't have 3 boys in 3 months! I will say though, that my boys are the cuddliest, sweetest Momma's boys ever! Both boys like to feel the baby move and will say hi to my belly. It is so much fun being pregnant with kids that are old enough to kind of understand what is going on.

25 weeks

 Archie is going to be starting preschool in the fall! He is so ready to start school, but I am not sure how ready his Mom is going to be though. How did he get so big, and smart, and old? He is writing letters, numbers, and drawing shapes. Just this week he has begun to sound out letters into words. His vocabulary is astounding too. Not a day goes by that I have to remind myself he is still just a 3 year old boy.

Very seriously reading the map at the zoo.

Fletcher, who recently turned 2, is also changing by leaps and bounds. He is speaking in sentences, colors really well, has great coordination, and definitely has a mind of his own. He is fiercely independent and want to do everything by himself. He won't be starting any sort of school until fall of 2014, but it will be nice to have some time with him and the new baby while Archie is at school this year. Hopefully, having that time as the oldest in the house will help him forge some new paths for himself.

Enjoying his birthday cupcake!

We are moving!

In 10 days we are doing back to back closings on our soon-to-be old house and our soon-to-be new house. Needless to say that things have been pretty crazy around here lately. I think that once we move the general craziness will continue through the new year. Between unpacking, visitors (always welcome!), and traveling we will be in a state of chaos. It's all good though, because we are so looking forward to starting our new lives closer to Denver, Boulder, Rocky Mountain Ntl. Park, and a boat load of other places we are excited to explore.

Soon-to-be old house

Right now we are living with boxes. They have taken over the front room, dining room, and are infiltrating our bedroom. Luckily we have a storage unit, but it is already jam packed. I do not know how we amassed so much stuff over the last 5 years or where it is going to go in our 1000 less sq. ft. house. I guess I just need to get crafty with storage. I am always up for a challenge!

In other news, and quickly too, here is what we have been up to:

• Dave & I celebrated our 4th anniversary. By celebrate I mean we got dessert from Whole Foods and ate it after the kids went to bed. Moving is expensive!
• Today is my 31st birthday!
• Fletcher is starting to recognize letters of the alphabet.
• Archie is almost 3! He pays attention to everything and is quite empathetic which makes me an extremely happy parent. 
• Fletcher cracked my iPad screen. I guess I should be happy that it took 3 years for the first electronic item to be destroyed by a child. I thought typing it out would comfort me, but I am still annoyed. 
• I am actually kind of excited to live in a hotel for the 4 days in between houses. Somebody else can do the laundry and clean up after me for a change. The sad thing is that I will probably still clean. 
• My Mom and Dad are coming to help us move. I am wondering if there is a horse track near Denver and that is real reason my Dad is coming. Kidding! kind of. 
• That's all I've got people. 

He cooks, he cleans, and he loves his Mom!

Today Dave went to the store and took Fletcher. To make it fun for Archie I decided we should make some whole wheat chocolate chip cookies. I have let Archie help me cook before, but this time I let him take over. I was his sous chef and he was the head chef. Granted, the clean up job left by the head chef wasn't terribly fun but he had fun and didn't mind that Fletcher got to go the store with Daddy. The cookies were actually really yummy too. 

May and June updates

I cannot believe two months have gone by and I've severely neglected this blog. I have been quite active on my scrapbooking blog though! I will try to remember what has been going on around here but my thoughts are all over the place so maybe I will break it down into categories.

HOUSE

After 9 months of Dave commuting to Denver, we have finally put our house on the market. Our MLS listing went live this past Thursday and we've had 6 showings since then. So far no takers, but the feedback has been mostly good. People think it is fairly priced, the problems areas they have identified are ones we are already aware of, and it shows well according to the Realtors. We have already sank too much money into this house the eventual buyers will just have to see all the positives over the few downfalls. I think it is a great house and we really are not trying to hide anything from prospective buyers.

On the flip side, we went out looking at houses in Arvada yesterday. We saw five properties and they all had good and bad qualities. They were all in the right ballpark but nothing I was totally in love with came across our path. We love the town though and know that our right property is out there.

VACATION

In May we took a trip back east for Brian and Erin's wedding in NY. We flew into MI and drove to NY. My Mom came with us to help watch the boys while we attended all the wedding festivities. We had a fantastic time and the boys traveled beautifully. Rochester was a very beautiful town although we only really saw near where Brian and Erin live. Their wedding was lovely and the reception was just gorgeous! On our way back to MI we stopped at Niagara Falls. I think the boys had fun and I had forgotten how magnificent those falls are. The Canadian side is also 1000x's better than the US side. Go figure.

Back in MI we were able to catch up with some friends but not all unfortunately. It is so hard to get everything done that we want to when we are back east. The time flies and then we have to return home. At least we will closer to the airport next time we have to travel!

HEALTHY JOURNEY

About one month ago I started calorie tracking and a week later I started the couch to 5k (c25k) program. My weight was holding steady at around 160 for awhile but then started climbing again. I decided that I didn't want to be the person who gains an extra 5 lbs. with each kid. I was 150 when I got pregnant with Archie and 155 when I got pregnant with Fletcher. Well I am proud to say that after only 1 month I am 150 lbs. My goal weight has always been 145 b/c that was where it hovered for a majority of my 20s. I think my 30s may actually be better than my 20s!

Today is the last day of my 4th week of the c25k program which is an 8 week program. I joined Gold's Gym b/c the air quality here has gone to crap since the Waldo Canyon fire broke out last week. Running on a treadmill is actually way easier than navigating the hills around here.

(left is from 1 month ago, right is from 2 days ago)

MY BOYS

Archer and Fletcher are growing and changing daily. Just when I think they are the best, they surprise me with some new phrase, activity, or even just a smile! Conversely, just when I think I cannot do it anymore, I find a strength inside of me that I didn't know existed. These children are equal parts fascinating, loving, annoying, demanding, and wonderful. We still want a third but are in no hurry as our second still doesn't sleep through the night.

Fletcher is a full fledged walker and he has recently learned how to stand up without holding onto anything. He has mastered the stairs and even is learning how to go down them on his belly. His personality is so different than Archie's too. Fletcher has no fear. He will climb over the edge of the couch without pause, stand at the top of the stairs and laugh, and climb onto the table without ever looking down. He is also a lot more demanding than Archie ever was. Fletcher needs constant attention and is not content to play by himself. He is a lot more like me and Archie is a lot more like Dave.

Archer is talking up a storm and picks up on concepts really quickly. He is super smart and I sometimes forget that he still only 2 years old. I have more intelligent conversations with this kid than I do with some adults. Right now he is very much into water play. He helps we water the garden every morning, has recently discovered water balloons, and he even washes his hands all by himself. He knows how to use our Google tv remote, Dave's tablet, and my phone without assistance. His new favorite phrases are "that's not cool" and he ends every query with a "maybe".

I think that is all I've got for right now. The house needs to be cleaned b/c we cannot leave until it is show worthy as we might get a call for a showing at any time. Oy.

House progress

Yesterday we rented a U-Haul van to move a bunch of boxes and some furniture to our storage unit. The trim on the first floor has been painted, we got an estimate for painting the exterior, Dave has the contact info for a realtor in Denver, and we are going to be working on the basement next weekend. This week we plan on getting the trim upstairs done and I would like to have the guest room packed and ready for staging. We are both just done with this house. I am sure I will be sad come moving day, but for now I just want to get it sold.

The boys are doing well. In the past week Fletcher has really started moving everywhere! He's up, he's down, he's here, he's there, and he's making a mess wherever he lands. He has also been sleeping even worse than before if that is believable. There have been a few nights where we literally cannot set him down. He is making our decision to space out baby #2 and #3 further than #1 and #2. Archie has started taking art and music classes at Gymboree. The level 6 play and learn class wasn't really a good fit for us but it worked out great. He loves bringing his art work home and showing it off to us all week.

This week I finally just said to heck with it and cut off all my hair. I was tired of Fletcher pulling at it constantly plus it was kind of boring. My hair stylist is fantastic and she did an excellent job of giving me a cut that was both what I wanted and what works with my hair. I am not looking forward to having to find a new stylist when we move.

Well here are some recent pictures in case you don't feel like reading my thoughts but want to see the kiddos.

Archie playing in the infant car seat

Fletcher's 1st haircut

I cannot get a good picture of the 2 of them together.

My new haircut

He has finally learned to drink from a bottle

Loving the great weather in their Radio Flyer

Our Color Me Mine results

As I posted last week, we went to Color Me Mine on family fun day. We picked up our finished pottery pieces yesterday and they are not nearly as scary as I was imagining. I apologize for the lighting but it is early morning and I made do with either the flash or above head lights.

inside of my pencil holder

side view of pencil holder

Archie's bear plate

Family Fun Day

Dave took the day off work today so we could go up to Denver to meet with friends before their plane left in the afternoon. However, every time we make plans it tends to snow and ruin them. That happened today. Since Dave already had the day off though, we decided to do things as a family. We started off going to breakfast where both kids were surprisingly well behaved. Then we went to story time at the library and Archie picked out some new bed time books. Next door to the library is a great toy store so we headed there afterwards. Nap time was approaching so it was back home for a bit.

When naps were over and lunch was had, it was time to go play at Gymboree. When we got there, however, it was closed. Across the parking lot was a Color Me Mine where you paint pottery and they fire it for you. Archie and I painted while Dave helped and watched Fletcher. I painted a pencil holder and Archie painted a bear shaped plate. He had fun, but the plate is just hideous! Dave and I joked that it would be the plate you had to use if you were bad.

We went to the mall so Archie could run around for a bit and then we also got some ice cream. Dinner time was approaching so it was back home for the night where I made a quinoa roasted bell pepper chili. All in all, we had a fantastic family fun day. It was great having Dave home on a weekday without him having to do any work.

My attempt at getting their picture together.