Cleaning my washer

A friend on AMH posted this link with directions on cleaning your washing machine out. We have had increasingly stinky dipes since moving - like a strong ammonia smell, not just pee-stink. Thought it might be the water, so I've been experimenting with different washing routines, but nothing has helped remove it, and it's getting worse. Graeme woke up with a blister from his diaper this morning :-( So momma decided something drastic needs to happen. I broke down and got some bleach today at the grocery - after cleaning the washer, I am going to run a capful of bleach with all of our diapers - might even do 2 loads so the washer isn't too full - and see what happens. I'm glad the commissary has sposies for $5/40!!! It's funny, but I don't like using them (besides the obvious "green" reasons) b/c Graeme doesn't have hips or a bum, so when he wears sposies, all his pants fall off LOL! He doesn't get that from me, I can tell you ;-)

Six of my quirks (thankfully, only six)

Ivy tagged me to share 6 of my unspectacular quirks. Wish my husband was here, because he'd have no trouble helping me with this one, I'm sure. Neither would my sister or mother LOL!

So here are the tag rules
Link to the person who tagged you
Post the rules on your blog
List 6 unspectacular quirks you have
Tag 6 bloggers by linking them
Leave a comment on each taggee's blog to let them know they've been tagged.

What is a "quirk", anyway? (from Wikipedia)

A quirk is an odd habit. Most dictionaries list this word's origin as "unknown". However, as the surname arises from the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea, and because the island is somewhat notorious for idiosyncratic behaviors, we may find the word's origins there.Manx surnames have fluctuated in their pronunciations and, hence, their spellings. Prior to the twentieth century, the most common variant for this "phylum" was Quark.

Amanda's Un-fabulous Quirks (some of these are more like confessions):

1. I've developed a preference for iced coffee in the morning. So I brew the coffee, put 1/2 cup milk in it, fill the mug the rest of the way with ice, and that's how I like it. I don't like it hot very much - only if I get a coffee out do I like it hot (like at Starbucks - I tried their pumpkin spice coffee last week - Graeme and I treated ourselves (he got some new little cars and IFabulous got a coffee) - it was YUMMY!)

2. I'm a book-starter with a passion. I love starting new books - inspirational, life-changing, desparately needed fabulous ideas....and then the book resigns itself to a nice place on my shelf. :-(
I will say that I tend to actually read through books that tell me "how to", cookbooks, and parenting books for some reason.

3. I am "prone to clutter as the sparks to fly upward". It is one of my great aspirations in life to reform. And I am working on it every day.

4. I don't just *love* to listen to classical music. I'm rather appalled to admit that, but it's true. I do have moods where I want to listen to something specific, and there are CDs that have collections of great classical pieces that I enjoy listening to from time to time - but I am by no means an avid classical music enthusiast. And I honestly just do not enjoy listening to classical piano music. I can't enjoy it.

5. I need to brush my teeth before I take my shower.

6. I prefer only ketchup on hotdogs and hamburgers, and chicken fingers. My husband think that is a very strange habit. I can eat them with mustard or mayonnaise or sauce, but I just like ketchup best.

34 week belly pic

Here it is, finally :) Me in all my baby glory! No, we don't know if we're having twins...that's the most common question I get. (Definitely on the top 10 - "Things not to say to a pregnant woman") And then one of my sweet boy - still my baby for now :-)

Just a funny...

I bought a big tote full of over 100 Mega Blocks today at a consignment sale
We were out washing them and Graeme decided to climb in the tote with the blocks and take a bath, too. It was great fun! One of our scores was a Little Tykes firetruck, which he loved...firetrucks are his latest fascination.

I'll post pics of everything I got tomorrow, along with a belly pic, I promise!

Brownie recipe (with carrot and spinach!!!!)

I had to make these to believe it - there is a total of 1 cup of spinach and carrot puree in this recipe, and you can't taste it! I made a simple cocoa frosting to put on top, which only added to the scrumptuous-ness. Hey, if you're gonna make brownies, might as well have some veggies in them, right?!

To make the purees:

• Carrot: steam carrots until soft. Puree in a blender or food processor until smooth and creamy. Add water if needed. Can freeze in 1/2 cup portions - and this is an easy add-to-pancakes or french toast for an extra boost of nutrition.
• Spinach: steam spinach until wilted, only about 1-2minutes. Puree in blender/food processor until smooth and creamy. I like adding this to scrambled eggs or things like meatloaf or meatballs.
  

(from Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld)

Ingredients:

• 3 oz. semisweet chocolate
• 1/2 cup carrot puree
• 1/2 cup spinach puree
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 T butter or margarine
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 large egg whites
• 3/4 cup oat flour, or all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat an 8x8 baking pan with cooking spray (or I used my Pampered Chef medium stonewear pan)
2. Melt the chocolate in a double broiler or over a very low flame (I put a small pyrex glass dish over simmering water in my saucepan on the stove - it works perfect)
3. In a large bowl, combine the melted chocolate, purees, sugar, cocoa, butter and vanilla and whisk until smooth and creamy, 1 to 2 minutes.
4. Whisk in egg whites. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt with a wooden spoon
5. Pour the batter into the pan and bake 35-40 minutes (don't over-cook!). Cool completely in the pan before cutting into 12 bars. *It's important to let them cool before eating, it's not until they're completely cool that the spinach flavor totally disappears*.

Enjoy! You really need to give it a try :)

Midwife Visit yesterday

The midwife came again yesterday - she'll come once more in 2 weeks, then every week after that until the baby is born. Marilee is her name, and her assistant is Wendy. I like both of them a lot - their personalities mesh well with mine, which is wonderful! And I just love that she comes to my house. She does that b/c she likes to get to know her clients in their own environment, so that they feel really comfortable with her being there for the delivery. After yesterdays visit, I am genuinely excited about a home birth again - I have days that I'm worried about it being like last time, and I have better days - it was an encouraging visit, which I needed! :-)

Here's what we covered yesterday:

• I'm going to start taking Evening Primrose Oil (500 mg/3x daily) - it works to soften the cervix, and adds stretchiness to all the tissues of the uterus, which is esp. important for VBAC mommas, to aid in stretching out the scar tissue areas and keep them pliable for the labor.
• Asked her about uterine rupture - a very, very slim risk for VBACs, but a serious one. I obviously feel comfortable enough with the risk to have a home birth, but sometimes it has bothered me - just having that possibility, though extremely slim, is in the back of my mind. Her response helped a lot - she explained there are warning signs they are diligently watching for during a VBAC labor: the baby's heart rate being a key one, as well as whether the uterus is soft between contractions. If there is *any* indication that there even might be a rupture, they will rush me to the nearest emergency room, no questions asked, and call ahead for them to be ready to do an emergency c-section. They also carry all the equipment for stopping severe bleeding that they would have in a labor/delivery room - I don't know what it's called...that was good to know. VBACs can sometimes bleed more post-delivery, so she has VBAC mommas start a regimine of extra iron supplements at about 36 weeks, to boost the hemoglobin levels to decrease any need to go to the hospital post-partum for loss of blood. What comforted me the most was how thoroughly she answered my questions, and how calm and yet confident she was about how to handle it all, were anything to happen.
• I need to get a belly band to support my belly. I carry low and all up-front, which some mommas just do, and it can actually contribute to the baby having difficulty descending through the pelvis - since the baby's head ends up sitting forward of the pelvic bone, instead of above it. Why didn't anyone say something about that LAST time???!! Duh!

• Everything looks good! Baby is ROA right now (right occiput anterior - that's pretty good :) Graeme was OP (posterior) and that's what we want to avoid.
• Marilee *does* want me to get an ultrasound - I asked her if, at this point, she still wants me to pursue getting one - b/c she likes VBAC mommas to get one to confirm that the placenta is not located over the c-section scar. So, we should find out what this baby is, if I can get one scheduled in time LOL! (On the other hand, no complaints if baby gets here early ;)
  

You can teach an old dog....

...new tricks! Remember awhile back when I tried the Fly Lady clean sink thing? Honestly, it didn't last for very long, and I got bogged down in self-pity and discouragement (like usually happens when I don't get something right the first time - perfectionist, ugh!) - however, I determined to do what I could. Okay, maybe having an empty, shiny sink every single day was a little much. While Mark was gone for 10 weeks, I determined to never leave the kitchen a mess. I'm almost embarrassed to say that LOL - but yes, before this, I could leave the kitchen a mess and it wouldn't bother me...until I went into it again to do something else.

I realized tonight that I am officially in-the-habit of cleaning up my kitchen before moving on!!!! There is hope! I can change! It crept up on me, and all of a sudden, I just realized it.

So, for those of you reading this who might need encouragement or feel embarrassed about a habit you wish you could master, I have these words to say to you: it can happen. Like the Little Blue Engine, remember: "I think I can, I think I can...." :-) Just keep chugging!

Busch Gardens

We went to Busch Gardens a few weeks ago with Uncle Brian, Aunt Alyssa and Andrew. It was fun! Graeme got to ride a few kiddo rides, including the carousel, which just fascinates him. It rained for a few hours towards the end of our visit, but we stuck it out until it got really bad LOL! So, without further ado, the pictures:

Yellow-wo-wo-wo

Graeme's new favorite word (and fav. color!): Yellow! Though, he says it more like "Yellow-wo-wo-wo". It became his favorite when we went to Johnny Rocket's two weeks ago, and he got a yellow balloon. He and the balloon were inseparable for two days. And it's still alive! He still loves his balloon. One day he took a nap with it...that's how much he "wuv'd" it :-)

Baby #2 update

Thought it's about time to get a post up here - if you're still reading this, kudos to you and I'm sorry I've been so quiet. I've got some pictures to upload soon, so stay tuned ;-)

My due date has been moved up to Nov. 10, and I'm measuring 2 cm. big, so *maybe* this baby is coming sooner than later :-) I'm just hoping it's here before Thanksgiving!

We still don't know the gender, and might not, which is fine with me at this point. We're having to work around insurance, doctor stuff - so we may not get in for a sonogram before baby gets here. Then again, we might! I'd love to know so I can stock up on clothes, since we don't have cold-weather clothes for a newborn, but I can get some gender neutral things for the first week, and I'm sure my mother or sister will be happy to head out to the near-by Carters outlet and stock up for me after the baby arrives - it'd be a drag, I'm sure, but they'll sacrificially do it LOL!

I've had several appointments with my new midwife here in VA, who is just great. Baby was in a good position this last Thursday, and feels like a good, healthy size - not "too big"...I keep getting comments from people "When are due?" (I say, Nov. 10) "No way, are you sure? Are you having twins???!!" And then I laugh half-heartedly and say, no, ha ha. I think I'm just short-waisted and carry all in front. All in all, I feel better and (feel like) I look better than I did with Graeme, so that's a positive. No swelling yet (and I was already quite swollen by now with Graeme), lots of energy, though I am hot all the time - looking forward to this weather cooling off. The only problem with that, is I'm going to need cold-weather pregnancy clothes for only 6 weeks...bleh. I'm going to try to buy as few pieces as I can to layer and get me by - this pregnancy has spanned three seasons, and as usual, three sizes (sm for the first 2 months, med after that, and now into some larges).

I am seeing a wonderful chiropractor, Dr. David Capps and his wife, Lola, who are continuing the Webster technique, which I started with a chiro in Augusta at about 20 weeks. Chiropractic care during pregnancy can really help encourage good positioning, and I am determined to do everything I can this time to help that. Graeme's c-section was due to poor positioning, I have been told that by both the attending doctor and my midwives. Upon looking back, I can see things I could have done to at least help that. Seeing a chiro, better sitting positions, a more careful diet - last time, I reclined in the sofa quite a bit that last trimester b/c of my swollen feet, which is one of the worst things you can do as far as encouraging a good position....so this time, I am working on sitting upright, walking more, cutting back on refined sugars and high-fat foods (like my dearly loved favorite, milkshakes), all to try to keep from growing a huge baby and helping him/her be in a good position. This article gave me a lot of ideas.

This baby kicks a lot more than Graeme did :-) Maybe that's an indication of personality, I don't know! Graeme was pretty content to snuggle in my tummy - he'd move around at night, but pretty reserved besides that.

If we get a sonogram, I'll be sure to post what the baby is and pictures. Otherwise, it'll be a surprise. Mark says the only "problem" with that is we have to come up with TWO names LOL - we have a hard enough time deciding on just one. Ah, well.