Raising Cubs in a Campground

IF this babe in my belly decides to make her debut on her due date, I have exactly 100 days to go. I just hope I don't get 100 more stretch marks in the meantime! *sigh* Carrying a baby at 34 is not the same as 27 or 29. (Tells self to drink more water) Some weeks go fast, but others like this past week d.r.a.g. by. My SIL is due any day now so that helps pass the time. She doens't know what she's having so the excitement is building every day! I scored a beautiful glider off of Craigslist this past week so the itch to get the nursery put together is building. There is a LOT of heavy furniture that has to be moved to make the transition from office to nursery and a even more organization of stuff inside that furniture that has to happen before it can be moved. Fun times. I'm waiting to hear back about a dresser that would be perfect , but someone beat me to it. If they don't take it, I will gladly drive around the flood to get it because that's what I'd...

We celebrate special days in our house. The kids really look forward to the privilages that go along with that day, but no matter what we manage to forget to celebrate on the exact date sometimes. It really doesn't matter - in fact when we forget I don't even tell the kids - I simply announce that "tomorrow is your special day!" and go with it. This month we were a day late for both of the kids so it all worked out. We didn't do anything fancy today, but it was still special . Sam chose cereal for breakfast, pizza in his lunch, and waffles for dinner. Daddy even put strawberry sauce and powdered sugar on top! He's going to be talking about that meal for months! He asked to go to the library after school. I picked out a new dinosaur book for him to check out. We played outside for over an hour when we got home. Sledding, 'snowboarding', climbing the mountains of snow that surround our yard, and throwing snowballs - kinda the last hurrah before the...

I posted a few photographs from our trip up North back in the Fall, but not very many. Instead I was busy putting together a book with 200+ photos in it. Oh what FUN that was! I used a combination of cell phone and DSLR shots to tell the story of our four glorious days in and around Duluth. I make a living designing books for other people so it was a real treat to make one using my own photos! (the four arrow icon in the lower right will allow you to view the book full screen) Up North by Carrie Pauly | Make Your Own Book Did you make it all the way through to the end? If you did you'll know why this book is extra special to our family! I managed to get myself in a few photos thanks to PapaBear and Sam's willingness to take over camera duties every once in a while. Today's Mommy and Me Monday selection is from our last night when we stayed in a camper cabin in one of our favorite parks - Jay Cooke. We had the park almost to ourselves - something you can't...

I'm not brave enough to start my own seeds...maybe some day...but for now my garden prep involves mapping out where and what I'm going to plant. This is my third year of straw bale gardening and I'm excited to expand it to include some foods grown specifically for BabyBear. You can read all about our strawbale garden successes and failures by clicking on the tab under my blog header. I'm very grateful for this blog and the things I've recorded here so I can look back at the things I've learned and not make the same mistakes twice. I started a garden notebook last year and used my blog archives to update my notes last week. I highly recommend this! It's wonderful to be able to look back at the different layouts I've used for planting, what grew well, what I shouldn't bother with, and to record plant dates and harvest dates. What a great resource to pass down to my kids some day! Thanks to some pictures I took of the garden I'll even be able...

One thing that I've learned over the 6+ years I've been a mom is that while we never really want our babies to grow up, there is something really special about witnessing them grow into themselves. The relationship changes and I think it only gets better! Take Sam for example. He didn't talk in sentences until he was two and a half. Now we can have long conversations about life and I'm loving it! Last night he was suppose to be in bed but we were having such a great talk I didn't even consider cutting it short and sending him to bed. He soaks up knowledge like a sponge, doesn't forget a thing, and is learning SO much in school. In January he learned to read, in February he learned to count money, and this month he's starting adding and subtracting. He enjoys school (except for the parts where he has to sit too long) and is friends with everyone. He's excited about the baby coming and is going to be such a great big brother! He also has a name picked...

The girl with the curls and incredible the artistic ability. The girl with a smile that is contagious as her giggle. The girl who grew two inches this winter but still fits in my arms. The girl who loves to make lists and likes to help mommy around the house. The girl who wants to share a room with her baby sister and name her Lucy. This is our Julia.

I had an appointment this afternoon with my OB. I saw a midwife for my first two pregnancies, but with the trouble I have it ends up being an OB who is consulted so often in the first half of pregnancy that I opted to just start with a doc. Don't get me wrong, I loved my midwives, but I've learned that the nurses are the ones that get you through much of the labor part anyway so I'm OK with seeing an OB. I have my birth plan written out already and being that it's my third time, I have a pretty good idea what I want and don't want and have no problem speaking up for myself if necessary. We will be delivering at the same hospital our first two were born at, but there is an entire new birthing area now. I've heard from my SIL who is due in five short weeks that it's really nice. I'm looking forward to touring it sometime down the road and asking some of my questions. News for this week: I'm feeling a bit better - that strange feeling from last week ...

I haven't been very good about writing updates each week, but something happened yesterday that I wanted to record. After I ate breakfast I all of a sudden felt sick to my stomach. Nothing new..I've been sick since November. This was different, yet familiar...strangely familiar. I was instantly reminded of my first pregnancies because of this "new" feeling. It's hard for me to describe, but it's a feeling/smell/taste wrapped into one. It's terrible and has me back in bed so I don't throw up too many times in one day and end up needing iv's. I haven't felt like this at all with this pregnancy, but it brings me right back to the rough days of my first two pregnancies. Weird. I know. In other 22 week news...I'm finally not having nightmares when I sleep, I crave citrus, I'm trying to cut back on my pop consumption, I am still in my regular clothes (with a couple of new XL shirts and a Bella Band), I'm down to 1 Zofran a day and o...

Thanks to the nice folks at CSNstores .com I've been given the opportunity to review the sleepy wrap . Since our little one isn't due until July I am sharing it with my sister in the meantime. Little Rosie was still hooked up to too many monitors to easily position her in the wrap, but she's headed home, hopefully early next week and can really give the wrap a workout. More on that in a minute.... I am an experienced sling user, but this was my first time with a wrap style baby carrier. It was intimidating at first to pull out that loooooong piece of fabric from the box. (Which by the way was shipped and on my doorstep within 72 hours of ordering. Thanks CSN Stores!!!!) Thankfully there's a wonderful instruction booklet (with photos!) that walks you through the steps. I was surprised by how many different ways you can hold your baby in the wrap as they grow! Bonus! Once I arrived at the hospital I had Katie give it a try. There's a learning curve when it come...

Outside my window... mountains of snow on top of layers of ice. I am thinking... that I really need to be better about doing yoga so my back doesn't hurt all the time. I am thankful for... a doc who would call in a prescription for pink eye without having to see Julia first and that she's on the mend from Influenza A after five days of being lethargic. I'm also thankful to be 21 weeks and already have seen the good news that BabyBear's cyst is gone. You can read more about how we found out the gender here . From the kitchen... oranges and grapefruit. Can't get enough fruit these days. Oh and fresh baked bread...or what's left of it. I'll be popping another loaf in the oven for lunch tomorrow. Yum! I am wearing... black yoga pants, black thermal shirt, and my park* socks *When we worked for the National Park Service we were given a clothing allowance to purchase uniform pieces. I always ordered extra socks because they are super comfy and last a ...

I'm 20 weeks today, but all I have for belly photos to share is this one from 15 weeks, 6 days. OK, so now that I've got that out of the way it's time to share how we found out. I knew I wanted it to be special...something unique to our family....something I hadn't heard of before..... Here's how we did it: All four of us went to 19 week ultrasound appointment at 4pm on Friday afternoon, February 11 th ( incidentally , the same day in 2004 I told PapaBear we were pregnant with Sam) We arrived armed with a Christmas present that hadn't been played with yet and a couple of candy canes. I wanted to focus on the screen and what the tech said and not have the kids be bouncing off the walls. Sam surprised us all by chatting with, Angie, our technician, through the whole thing. He could identify hands that waved and asked questions about what he was seeing. Julia was content to eat her candy cane and play with her new toy. When it was time to look everyone looke...

As I slowly but surely have more days with less medication (learned the hard way yesterday that I can't go cold turkey. The result? Repeated vomiting all morning long) I am able to be in the moment with my kids more often. When the fog lifts there are some really really sweet moments to be had - especially related to this new life growing inside me. A couple recent examples: Julia: Good night Mommy! Good night baby! Hope you sleep well. {kisses my belly} Sam: {Julia is already asleep in her bed when Sam comes in} Good night Julia. Jesus loves you! Julia: {in the bathtub saying a prayer} Thank you for my bath and the baby! Sam: {Julia asleep in her bed, Sam touches her on the shoulder} God bless you! Those are some good tugs on this mama's heart strings!

My niece, Rosie, was born on January 11th, nine weeks early. Today she is one month old, yet is still one month from her due date! Crazy! My sister was on hospital bedrest for 5 weeks and was such a trooper through it all. I am so proud of her and know she's going to be a great mom! I finally got pictures of Rosie off my camera and loved this one the best. She was a tiny little thing at 3 pounds, 9 ounces, but so strong. She was off the vent the same day she was born! This photo was taken when she was less than 24 hours old. Thank you to everyone who prayed for my Rosie! A little update on her progress: She moved out of the NICU within days of birth and is growing and learning how to nurse in the special care nursery. I hope to get up to visit them next week and take more photos of this special little blessing.