Spa Bliss

Can I just say, EVERYONE should spend some time in a spa, on a regular basis! I must sound dorky, but what a gift I was given today. My dear parents purchased a gift certificate for me months ago and I have been dragging my feet to get my appointments scheduled. Not sure why, but the calendar never seemed to work. Well, time is running out now, before the baby comes, and I HAD to get it done. So, I dropped D off with my parents this morning and headed to Olympus Women's Spa in Lynnwood. It's an oasis of calm, peace, and well being!!! I spent 4 hours there today, alone. Well, without someone I knew. It was the best gift ever. I soaked in the pools, splashed myself with mugwort tea, showered with wonderful soaps, read my book, got a massage, had a yummy Korean lunch, read my book some more, and enjoyed a facial!!! No crying child, I didn't have to lift a finger for anyone, and I had uninterrupted "me" time. Since the spa is just for women, swim suites and clothes are not allowed the pool areas. The first time I went, it was a little unnerving to be naked, but after 5 minutes, you realize you are built with all the same parts as the other women around you. And there are EVERY shape and size. So, the uncomfortable feeling goes away. I say all this to explain a sweet moment I had today. As I was putting my robe and things into a cubby near the pools, a woman walked by me and said, "OH! There's a baby in your tummy!!!" I smiled and said, "Yes, there is." And she said, "You are so beautiful! Just Beautiful!" I almost cried. It was such an endearing moment and a nice thing to hear at 37 weeks gestation! What a great day. I feel so calm, relaxed, and somehow more ready now for the baby to arrive.

All things Scary

As the month of October winds down, we celebrate Halloween! I do enjoy my pumpkins and the annual trip to the pumpkin patch is one of my favorite parts of the holiday. This year, the sun was shining and the place was packed, as usual. Somehow, I didn't get as much pleasure out of the trip as I usually do. I think it was just harder for me to wander the fields with my boys this year and I didn't get as many cute pics as I wanted. I did find my perfect gourd for carving, though. I like the green and orange ones best. After the patch, we all descended on our little house; stuffed ourselves with pizza, lasagna, and brownies; and created cool Jack-O-Lanterns. Fun was had by all! Here's some pics from the day.

Derick is going to be Bob the Builder for Halloween this year. I went to Value Village to get the clothes, and he supplied the cute!

I'm not sure what caused the change, but for the last week or two, Derick is having trouble falling asleep at night. I don't know if it's all the talk about Halloween or if it's just a coincidence but both Jeremy and I are unable to get him to go down easily like he used to. The routine is the same, the timing is the same......but he fights it like crazy. "Mommy, I have to go potty. Mommy, I want water. Mommy, cover my toes." When he finally runs out of things to ask for, he just cries and cries. We changed his bed location to make room for a night light. Didn't matter. We tried asking him to tell us why he didn't want to go to bed. He really can't tell us. Finally, we just started leaving his door open. That seems to be working, for now. He'll stay in his bed and drift off. Once he's asleep, we close his door so Daddy won't wake him in the morning. Pool little guy, I know the lack of sleep is getting to him, here's hoping now that we have something working we'll all get caught up.

It's a beautiful fall day and I'm feeling pretty good! A rare thing these days, I must admit. I thought I'd update a bit. We've been keeping busy. Jeremy and I spent two weekends re-arranging our computer room to make a nursing and changing station for Peanut. I now have a computer room/nursery! It's kinda crazy, but it works for now. It felt good to clean out our dump-it-in-here room and get a little more organized. Hopefully, it's just temporary until she's sleeping well enough to move her into D's room. We had our one and only baby shower last weekend. I enjoyed visiting with family and friends, some of which I haven't seen in months! Everyone was so thoughtful and generous. We now have plenty of resources to purchase a couple of items we need: a double stroller and a new baby carrier. Plus there's left over for a good sized donation to Peanut's college fund. Thanks to everyone for coming to celebrate with us! We are so very blessed.

Also last weekend, Josh and Nikanne took us to see Celine Dion in concert. I know, I can hear you groaning now. But can I just say, she is amazing!!! Legs that go on forever and a voice that is out of this world. I am still humming her tunes from Saturday's night out. It was nice to have one more date night before the baby comes. Derick stayed at my parent's house and Sunday morning was lazy and relaxing. Jeremy and I went out for coffee and treats, and made a trip to Toys-R-Us for some items on our list.

The Van is in the shop this week. As we were heading out on Sunday morning, I started the car and smoke started coming out of the dash!?! Quickly we shut it off, and Jeremy poked around the stereo a bit before we decided to let it sit and take the car. Monday morning, Jeremy took it to Renton Honda with a list of things we have been meaning to get done, plus the freaky smoke issue. It's getting lots of love: a new transmission, wing window repair, a oil change, tire rotation, and a new part that will help the oil stay cool when we are towing our trailer. They couldn't find much wrong with the dash, so hopefully that was just a freak thing. I miss my van, but Derick LOVES riding in Daddy's car. He's so into Daddy right now!

Here's a few pics of recent fun moments.

Derick and I had a blast playing Lego's on Wednesday night while Daddy was at a meeting.

Random thoughts from an expecting mother's heart

Have you ever carried a child inside your womb? It's an experience like no other I have ever known. Mostly positive. But as we approach the end of this part of our journey together, I am starting to struggle. Peanut is 34 weeks now, and putting on the weight that will help her survive on the outside. (And I am putting on weight too!!) I am so much more tired now. Sleep is elusive; I toss and turn much of the night either trying to get comfortable or trying to revive a leg or arm that has fallen asleep. And if I have to get up to use the bathroom, my mind wakes enough to keep me up, solving all the problems of the world (ok, well my world anyway). Derick and I are clashing now, more than we ever have before. I think it's mostly me.....I take all his negative behaviour very personally. It's not like he means to hurt me, he's just two and a half. I just take it that way. I'm trying my best to get us out of the house and enjoy this fall weather. It's one of my favorite times of the year. But each outing wears me out so quickly now. Many times a day, I feel the tears well up in my eyes, for no real reason.......just because. Darn those hormones! It's kinda embarrassing, even for me!

Recently, I was trying to explain to Jeremy the kind of connection that mothers have to their unborn children. It was a day that the baby just wasn't moving so much and I was worried. So, I was checking in with her. I do that several times a day. I'll stop what I'm doing or take a moment to sit down and mentally go inside. I'll wait, still and quiet. Sometimes, several minutes go by. It's like I'm blind and deaf, and the only sense I have of my child is the sense of touch. It's amazing how we rely so much on all of our senses to care for our young ones. But with a unborn child, there is only one way to check on them. (without medical assistance) Those fetal movements are the line of communication between us. And as soon as I get a twitch, roll, or kick, I breathe again. My baby lives.

Here's some recent photos of this pretty October.

Derick at the pumpkin patch

Mums in my yard

Derick and I on a tractor ride

Being Outside

There's a special kind of magic for Derick and I when we spend some time outside. Today was that kind of day. The morning had been bumpy; 3 time outs before 9:30am! But, once we were outside, everything was fine. We met some friends at a local park and walked the trail, picking up leaves. The sunshine was coming through the trees and the mommy's laughter and chatting filled the space with fun and light.

After our walk, we pulled out the craft supplies and made art with our nature finds. It felt so nice to have conversations with friends in the fresh air. We watched the kids play, and enjoyed the warm fall sunshine.

Just as a cloud was coming along we all headed home for lunchtime and naps. It seemed the magic followed Derick and I home! He ate his lunch peacefully and told me he had to go poopy before any accidents happened!!! We took care of the potty needs and then curled up together to read some stories before nap. I really don't know what it is about the air outside, but I will savor these moments when they come!

Imagination and Creativity Rule in our house

Well, most of the time these days. Over the last month or so, Derick's imagination and story telling has really developed. He just LOVES to tell you a story. And his favorite topic? You guessed it: Trucks! If he's in the mood, and you sit down next to him, he'll tell you how he, "just got my truck back from the shop. And they fixed it. But it was broke. But the front tires are working. The back tires are not working. I gotta take it to the shop to fix it. It got stuck in the mud. I just picked it up......" It really could go on and on. And he loves to talk to anyone on the phone. That's when the stories get really long and repetitive. He just doesn't want to give up the phone! I love to listen to his mind and how it works. Jumping from one idea to the next without alot of filler yet. It's very sweet. And he'll repeat stories that he's overheard too, so we really have to remember he's always listening, even if you think he's not. At the dinner table, he likes to ask Daddy how his day was. "How was your Day, Daddy?" Then, he'll ask, "How was my day?" Prompting us to make sure he's included in the asking. And, he'll usually answer with a, "Well, my day's pretty good." Such a sweet boy!

Recently, we took a trip to the dollar store to pick up some craft supplies. He was being good, so I let him pick out a couple of monster trucks to take home with us. The next day, after his 30 mins of morning TV, we were hanging out in the living room. He brought the trucks up to me, held the purple one in front of my face (quite close, actually I was a little worried for my eyes) and said, "Say hello to Valerie!" So, I did. Then, he held up the yellow monster truck and said, "Say hello to Valerie's Dad!" I couldn't keep a straight face! And, to this day, if you ask him their names, they remain Valerie and Valerie's Dad. I'm not sure where he got the idea for these names, but it makes me smile every time I think of it.

Happy Birthday, My Love

Yesterday was Jeremy's 36th birthday and we had a low key, family kind of day. I thought it was a perfect way to celebrate Daddy. We started the day with an OB apt for Peanut, and all of us went. It's been a while since Jeremy had heard her heartbeat, and the Doc let Derick hold the instrument which he enjoyed. All is well in there, and we left with alot more thinking to do about whether to have a C section or try for a VBAC (Vaginal Birth after C Section).

On our way home, we stopped at the new fast food joint in the Highlands, Carl's Jr. OMG! The burgers were HUGE and really yummy!!! I thought it was like getting Red Robin burgers, to go. We are SO in trouble knowing it's there.

After nap time, Jeremy and Derick played games on the computer. It's Derick's newest obsession. I have never seen him sit so still for so long!!!

Jeremy chose Azteca for his birthday dinner out, and we had a yummy meal there together. I know alot of you know how meals go with toddlers, but I have some pictures to prove what a un-relaxing time it can be.

Just getting settled in the booth; I had to work with the waitress to even get one, she wanted to put us along a wall with open access on either side of the table. She obviously doesn't have small children.

Derick has already tried to climb over the wall to see the people in the next booth and sat in the window sill, while banging on the glass with his crayon. We still don't have coats off!!

Derick climbing on the table, and reaching for anything that he *might* want to play with!

Finally, some smiles!

After dinner, we stopped in for ice cream at cold stone. YUMMY!

Happy Birthday, Jeremy. You are such a fabulous father and loving husband. We are so lucky to have such a special, regular kind of guy in our lives!

A morning for the Birds

Derick slept in a bit this morning, so I crawled out of bed and snuck downstairs to enjoy a few moments to myself. The morning was foggy and cool. It felt like fall and I loved it! After getting some coffee going, I stood watching out the window, into the back yard. To my delight, there were a lot of birds in the yard. I got to see a rare sight at my feeder......a Red Winged Black Bird and his mate were enjoying some bird seed! Of course, as soon as I grabbed my camera, they flew off! But it was a special moment. I did get a couple of pics of a male Purple Finch feeding and I enjoyed watched the juncos and house wrens flit around the yard. It was a very peaceful way to start my day.