Listen To Your Mother

This week has made me frazzled.  I should probably say this month.  Maybe even this whole winter spring that we've had.  Frazzled.

Jenna and I went to an event tonight at the Riverview Theater- a show called "Listen To Your Mother."  It's tagline is, "Celebrating Mother's Day with a national series of live-readings shared on local stages and via social media."

Fourteen Twin Cities mothers got up on stage in front of a packed house with only a podium and a microphone and shared  a story they had written about motherhood.  Some stories were funny (hilarious, actually), some stories were painful, some were sweetly poignant, and yet they all brought the theater full of women (and some men) together in a way that was magical. 

In the era of "Mommy Wars" and criticisms and judgments and all the things women use to tear each other down in order to build themselves up, this two hours listening to real people tell their stories was refreshing. 

I'm still a little frazzled, and I even had a blog post in my mind earlier today all about our morning routine and how our toddler likes to complicate it by, among other things, insisting on wearing "squishy Tangled undies" even though I have no idea which ones those are and it takes her 5 minutes to find undies that are suitable for her discerning undies palette. 

But I'm going to skip that post for tonight and just kind of revel in the fact that as I was listening to the stories earlier in the evening, I had my beautiful three-year-old daughter on my mind and in my heart, and my other beautiful daughter kicking and jabbing me in my belly throughout the whole show. 

So now I'm feeling more blessed than frazzled.  And am looking forward to our "squishy underwear" negotiations in the morning.

Weekend Wrap-Up: The Work Weekend- Part 2

We are getting THISCLOSE to being ready to put our house on the market, thanks (once again) to our amazing family members who came over to help us this weekend!

Seriously, we're so close...so so so close.  A stager came on Saturday morning to go through our house and tell us how to make it look the best it can.  She was really helpful, and very complimentary.  Maybe she says it to all her clients, but we kept hearing "Oh! Cute!" or "Oh this is darling!"  I hope that bodes well for being able to sell it quickly.  We have a few little things we need to get to spruce it up, and a couple more things to do in our office and the back porch.  And then some major deep cleaning.  And then get pictures taken.  And then have someone from the city come and make sure it is sell-able.  And then get the for sale sign, get it online, and away we go!  I might have missed a few steps, but I think I got it for the most part.

So, as I alluded to from the blog post title, we WORKED this weekend (I call this Part 2 because, while I didn't work last weekend, everyone else did).  And worked and worked and worked some more.  I took some pictures of our progress, and put it in a little collage so as to not have a million pictures of just our house stuff.  People were working hard!

The living room was rearranged, the upstairs bedrooms were cleaned and organized, the kitchen was painted, rearranged and organized, the guest room was cleaned and organized, the basement laundry/workroom was cleaned, organized and shelves were put up, the family room in the basement was cleaned and organized, and the trim on the outside upstairs window was repainted along with our address numbers.  WHEW.  Our house hasn't look this good...ever.

I was definitely in the nesting mode and had much more energy to do things than I have had the past month.  I was also (at times) on toddler duty while other people were doing major work, so it was nice to be able to have an excuse to take a break and hang out with my girl.  She's been a bit weepier than normal.  I'm sure she is having a hard time understanding all the changes that are happening and everything else. 

But she had a fun overnight at G-ma and G-pa's on Friday night so Chris and I could get ready for and meet with the stager.

Yummy breakfast

Cuddles with Pa

On Saturday we also managed to have lunch out with friends (though I didn't take pictures, bah!) and a trip to the park.

Notice the coat?  Yeah, it was still COLD here in MN yesterday.  Today has been better.

After nap time today the Helds came over and we played and had our first grill-out for the season.  Rolling down the hill was a big hit.

Mabel and Callie at the bottom of the hill

Neither one looks like they are actually rolling, but they did get the hang of it.

There she goes!

It was LOVELY to be outside without coats on.  It wasn't too hot, so I wasn't uncomfortable, and there was a nice breeze and spring smell in the air.  I hope hope hope that this weather is here to stay.

Hamsie Update: 29 weeks!  Eeeeeeek!  Third trimester!  Eeeeeeeek!  She is approximately 2.5 pounds and a little over 15 inches long.  Baby center says "your baby's head is growing bigger to make room for that developing brain."  Gulp.  If our first child is any indication (solid 98th percentile head throughout her first three years), I'm in trouble.  My doctor promises this one will be easier... hopefully with a lot less need for a vacuum.  Anyway. 

 Shall I keep going?

Callie Update: Whining.  Oh my goodness the whining is in full swing.  She has got the whiny voice down to a science and I guess we just need to get used to it for the next 15 years.  But she also is a lot more into cuddling now, which rocks.  She was never a super cuddly baby or toddler, so when I hear "Mom, I want to cuddle," my heart gets all melty and we find the nearest couch or chair to snuggle up on. 

Kona Update: She still loves drinking water, eating and laying in the sun.  She has been walking with a little limp at times.  We can't tell if she is faking it because other times she'll run around like a crazy dog just fine.  Maybe she is all confused with the changes too.

Chris Update: He's a house-working machine.  He's making things happen on the house front and I'm just so thankful that I have him to handle all that stuff.  He's our rock.  And he got to go hit golf balls for the first time and his shoulder feels pretty good. 

Kati Update: I'm large.  I waddle.  I groan when I stand up or switch sleeping positions at night.  But other than that, I'm good.

Favorite-Things-Phone-Dump Friday

Happy Friday!  This has been a crazy, busy, unexpected week.  All in a very good way.  I'm too tired to go into details but I will soon...there is movement on the house front and we are in the midst of real estate chaos and loving and hating it at the same time.

On to the pictures...

Favorite Thing #1: Summer-like weather on Monday was great, but made me SO HOT my feet needed to be cooled off

Favorite Thing #2: By Wednesday it was snowing again.  WHAT?!?!?  At least I was cooler

Favorite Thing #3: Sparkling juice to celebrate deadlines met and exciting changes happening in the next few months

Favorite Thing #4: Can't get enough cuddles with this girl

Favorite Thing #5: UM...Can't think of a single positive thing to say about snow on the ground on May 3rd, besides the fact that I haven't felt pressure to do any kind of yard work or gardening so far this spring

Favorite Thing #6: Play date with Ciri and Gianni

Favorite Thing #7: Happy girl smiles in a fort

Have a great weekend!

Youhavegottobekiddingme Part IV- QOTD

Me: (looking outside at the snow) It is SNOWING outside. (laughing disgustedly)
Callie: Why are you laughing?
Me: Because it is supposed to be spring. It is supposed to be NICE weather outside.
Callie: Yeah, not MEAN weather!

You hear that, Mother Nature?  My toddler just called you mean.  How about easing up on the SNOW in MAY?!?!?!?!

5 Random Things that Start with S

1) Sweating- Oh. My. Goodness.  My third trimester the first time around was in the winter, so I do not really remember being too horribly hot.  This time around is a different story.  I literally feel like I'm baking something and the heat is radiating from the inside out.  I suppose that I am.  So much sweat.

 

2) Siblings- No pressure, Callie. A friend on Facebook posted this link about the influence of  older siblings.  Therefore I'd like to take *some* credit for how awesome my younger sisters are. :)

 

3) Spring = Stress. It has always been true at work since it is high stakes testing and spring fever kids and tired out teachers.  And this spring we've got the added stressors/bonuses of getting ready for a new baby, and trying to sell and buy a house.  But it is all a good reminder of how lucky we are and the amazing support system we have.

 

4) Sugar- I'm usually a salt girl.  If I had the choice between a bag of Doritos and a piece of cake, I'd more often than not choose a bag of Doritos.  But this pregnancy has been about sugar: sugary drinks, sugary snacks, sugary treats.  In moderation, of course.

 

5) Sleep- I'm going to miss it.  I was asleep by 9:45pm last night and slept relatively well until 6:00am (the tossing and turning and yes body pillow, no body pillow is just par for the course now).  That is a glorious (mostly) uninterrupted 8 hours and 15 minutes. 

Weekend Wrap-Up

Oh. My. Goodness.

While I was away at Adrea's cabin, many people were helping us out with our house and Callie.  Thank you thank you thank you to Boom, Bops, G-ma, G-pa, Auntie Yoda and Auntie Cat.  Dan is coming over to help us in the next couple days and Mari is going to be painting our bathroom soon.  Getting our little house ready is truly becoming a family affair and we are very thankful.

But I have to give a special shout out to my husband.  He was a rock star this weekend.  He worked hard on the house, but also made time to hang out with Callie.  There is still a lot to do, but his hard work every day gets us closer to our goal of getting it on the market.

I'm really trying to help when I can (well, when I'm not laying around at a cabin!), but I can't do much bending over or heavy lifting or anything that seems to be helpful.  So I'm just telling myself it is okay that my contribution will be organizing some closets and growing a baby.

Anyway- the cabin weekend was lovely.  It was a little cooler up there than here, which we didn't really think about when we chose footwear.  We pulled up, opened the car door, and couldn't help but have a giggle fit when seeing the unmelted snow that our flip-flopped feet had to navigate.

We were able to sit outside in the afternoon for a bit before it got too chilly.  And then went down to the lake too...once again navigating the snow in flip-flops.

Sunbathing with snow on the ground- totally weird!

The icy lake...still beautiful

We spent the weekend laying and chatting and reading and playing games and eating and napping and watching movies.  It was a great little escape and very relaxing.  :)

Callie had a fun weekend too.  She got to hang out with Boom and Bops all day yesterday.

City girl!

She got to hang out with G-pa, Auntie Cat and Chris last night.  This morning she and Chris went to Sunday school and she got to play with her pal Charlie, as usual.

She spent the afternoon at G-ma's until I picked her up in the late afternoon.  She's a lucky girl!

Hamsie update: 28 weeks along...the size of a Chinese cabbage...can blink her eyes (which have lashes)...developing billions of neurons in her brain...adding body fat...moving a lot throughout the day.

I feel like my hands are constantly on my belly because I just love it when I can feel her kick and punch. She is definitely zapping my energy more these days and sleeping comfortably is getting harder.  I'm more sensitive to heat now, so remember when I was complaining about all the snow?  Now that it has been nice and hot here, HOLY COW I'm warm.  And I can only imagine how fun that will be in June and July.  So I know I just need to get used to it.  My kids at school are always very curious and ask questions all the time.  The thing they most want to know about is if we have a baby name.  And they are quick to offer suggestions, like the one I got last week: "You should name her Ms. Gosselin Junior!" 

Interesting.  We'll take that into consideration.  Or not.  We haven't really had time to think or talk about much of anything baby-related, including a name.  Poor 2nd child...good thing I know many 2nd (and 3rd) children that turned out great, despite being 2nd fiddle to the much revered 1st child (like myself :)).

Favorite-Things-Phone-Dump Friday

IT IS WARM AND SUNNY IN MINNESOTA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Like warm enough to wear SHORT SLEEVES outside with NO COAT!!!!!!!!!!!!

The fact that it is almost May and it is the first time I could do that is a little weird, but I think *knock on wood* that spring is finally here.  Actually, maybe we'll skip spring and head straight for summer.  Who knows?  But it is wonderful. :)

On to the phone dump...

Favorite Thing #1: Flowers from my in-laws on Monday to kick off my birthday week!

Favorite Thing #2: Hanging out with baby Avery (and her parents too, of course!)

Favorite Thing #3: After a snow storm on Monday, a sunshine and light jackets seems pretty great by Thursday.

Favorite Thing #4: Hamsie cuddles!

Favorite Thing #5: The almost 28 week baby bump...feeling large and in charge.

Favorite Thing #6: Spring haircut and a lollipop!

Favorite Thing #7: See that dumpster?  That means we're making progress on getting our house ready to sell.

I'm very much looking forward to the weekend, as I will be heading to Adrea's cabin for a couple of days to relax and recharge.  And while I'm gone, Chris and various members of our family will be working on our house and/or hanging out with our toddler.  I have a knack for getting out of town at the exact time that work is done at our house.  So thanks in advance to all those involved in helping out this weekend.  I REALLY appreciate it!!!!!! :)

Have a great weekend!