Raising Cubs in a Campground

We're down to single digits until BabyBear is suppose to arrive!I go back and forth between being content wiith the wait and hurry up and get here! My body hasn't changed in preparation for delivery since she started checking me three weeks ago. We had tossed around the idea of induction so my doc could be there (downside of being due the day after a holiday) but with only being a one and 25% it's not going to happen. The kids have a parade they ride in on Saturday so hopefully we'll be able to make that happen. I'd rather go late and let them participate than mess up their excitement about their decorated bikes. I'm measuring between 36 and 37 weeks and only gained 2 ounces in a week so things are winding down. I only have a couple shirts that are comfortable and sleep...well that hasn't been comfortable in a long while. Yesterday I developed a migraine which would have been even more scary if I hadn't experienced the symptoms before. Blurred v...

We knew our cat, Alice, was probably pregnant and we knew there was a chance her babies could be born before BabyBear, but HOW they were born....well. That's one story I couldn't have predicted if I tried! Last night we spent a half hour reading books in my bed while Ali snuggled up to Julia. It was the perfect way to end a stressful evening of park duties.  When PapaBear got home from the office the kids crawled into their own beds and I curled up in bed to watch a little Netflix.  Julia had taken a really long afternoon nap so I wasn't hopeful that she'd fall asleep anytime soon, but my hope was that having Ali in bed with her would at least keep her in her room. My little plan was working like a charm when I heard Ali meow really loud. I expected Julia to cry out in pain from being scratched the next second but instead it was Ali I heard cry out again. I jumped up (as fast as a 38 week pregnant woman can) and went across the hall to investigate. I arrived just in...

Yesterday we had 10 inches of Julia's hair cut off . And then it rained three inches so we couldn't go outside for any 'after' pictures. Today, the sun is shining again so I snapped a few photographs of the the results. First I want to document the transformation. After her very last bath with long hair.  The wiggle worm getting ready for the big cut. No looking back now! Check out the big grin on her face - she has no fear! Once the ponytail was cut off then another inch came off during the shaping of the cut. I don't think this photo does the cut justice, but I promised her I'd only take a couple of pics and then we could have lunch. Here is the shape of the cut from the back after she sat with her head against a chair for part of the morning... And the very best part - healthy, easy to comb, springy CURLS!

I hesitate to write this post tonight since I don't have after pictures to share, but I have some time to myself at the moment so I'm going to at least give you the written version of The.Hair.Cut. We did it. We had Julia's curls cut today...for the first time ever. She's over four and a half. It was time. Not just a trim. A full blown, cut 10 inches off, hair cut. We have the ponytail sitting in her room to prove it. She was excited more than nervous. Wiggly more than stationary. And more adorable than I could have imagined. I took her in with freshly conditioned and combed hair so the stylist didn't have to offer to wash it. (remember, we don't use shampo and haven't for over a year) She wet it, put leave in conditioner in, and combed it out one last time. The leave in conditioner was pretty sticky and weighed her hair down so much that I didn't take any good 'after' pictures yet (but you can see an 'in progress' picture on Twit...

Compliments of BrotherBear (age 6 1/2) and SisterBear (age 4 1/2) Click on the images to see them up close. The belly? Well that is plenty big at this size, but the expressions on the kids' faces are worth a closer look. I was waiting for a night when the park wasn't too busy and the light was right. Last night was that night so we spent about 20 minutes trying different spots near our backyard. The kids LOVED being in charge of the camera! Julia kept asking me how many fingers she was holding up. I kept asking her to keep two hands on my camera! My camera survived and they both did such a great job don't you think?

With about 32 days to go I'm finding myself in a conundrum. My brain thinks about the list of 30+ things I want/need to accomplish before BabyBear is born, but my body isn't getting the message. I'm needing a nap at 9am for Pete's sake! At least I'm off of bedrest so when I do get a burst of energy I can tackle a project or two. Julia loves a good project so I have a great helper by my side. (Less bending for me!) Today is Sam's last day of kindergarten and I think we'll celebrate with an ice cream cone from McDonalds. We'll be busy with park duties much of the weekend so I want to make our free time as special as we can. Luckily 'special' to them is getting out the slip-n-slide or turning on the sprinkler. My kids LOVE the water and don't mind that the lake is freezing still. On Memorial Day we took them down to the beech for the first time and they jumped right in despite 30mph windsthat made for some pretty big waves. They had life ...

My first day of vacation/maternity leave didn't go according to plan. Sure I got the kids off to school, cleaned the kitchen, and had a chance to rest and put my feet up for a few minutes before starting on the laundry -  but in the next moment everything changed. I got up to let the dog outside and either peed my pants or my water broke. When I checked and instead saw blood our day went in a completely different direction.  I called my clinic who returned my call within five minutes. (yet it felt like five YEARS!) then called my husband to see if he was close enough to pick up Julia from her last day of preschool.  He wasn't, so I grabbed a couple of movies for her to watch at the hospital with me. I went into survival mode, grabbing the hospital bag - mostly so I could have my chargers & toothbrush if I ended up staying.  When I got to Julia's school, her awesome teacher said to leave her, that she would take care of her. She ended up spending some time in th...

I'm done with photoshoots for the year. I'm done with blog books for the year. I'm done feeling pulled in 10 different directions. I'm done feeling like I'm not doing any of my jobs well. I'm done having an office. (The desk is moving to the master bedroom & the crib will take its place) I'm done taking Julia to preschool twice a week. (Today is the last day.) I'm done taking Julia to speech twice a week. I'm done living in a messy house. I'm done telling my kids to watch another movie because Mommy has to work. I'm done spending 6-8 hours at a stretch on the computer. I'm done scrambling to figure out what we're going to have for dinner. I'm done leaving clothes in baskets (or on the floor) for weeks at at time. I'm done with 34 weeks of this pregnancy. I'm done being absent from my blog.

Why a new design when the cutest cubs on the block look so adorable in my old header?  That's exactly why. They are OLDER now and it didn't seem right to have pictures from when they were 2 and 4 in my header any longer.  I also wanted to make it easier to find different topics, reach me via email and twitter, and I wanted to include space to highlight companies and products I love.  (Be sure to stop back and see the shout outs to my favorite companies just as soon as I complete the button install)  Speaking of buttons....I have new ones!  You'll find them on the right sidebar. Didn't my designer do an excellent job?  I love it Barbara - thank you! I hope you take a minute to poke around and see what's new in BearCountry!  Oh and don't forget to click the follow button as all new material will be posted at my new address: campgroundcubs.blogspot.com under the new name of Raising Cubs in a Campground . To sweeten the deal I am going to give away a ...

Yesterday marked 30 weeks of being pregnant. I celebrated with a medium french fry and my OB appointment. I also wandered Target for over an hour just because I could. It was SO cold and rainy but I wasn't going to stop me from getting out of the house. My blood pressure is normal, I've gained 4 pounds since my last appointment, my doc answered some questions I had about how newborn care is handled at the hospital, and we heard babe's heartbeat chugging along at 154 bpm. I go every two weeks now which will help make the time go faster - not that it needs to. I have plenty to keep me busy for the next 10 weeks. Six of those weeks I'll still be working and taking care of the kids/house/pets/garden. Tomorrow is the big.garage.sale.run where I stock up for the year on the clothes and other great deals. Julia and I found quite a few bargains today already, but tomorrow I'm on my own (thanks Grandma!) for the morning and early afternoon hours. Even though I know we...

I already had a stash of cloth wipes from when Julia was in diapers. The nice folks at Kissaluvs sent them to me as a thank you for a photo of Julia they used in a Mothering Magazine ad, but over the years they've taken a beating and I wanted some new ones. I turned to Google and read how to make my own cloth wipes from pieces of flannel. I found four receiving blankets at a garage sale for 50 cents a piece and cut up part of an old flannel sheet we had to make the patterned pieces stretch further. (One receiving blanket will only make four 8x8 wipes). The first version I made is the one on the left - I sewed a piece of flannel to the back of an existing terrycloth wipe. Then I zigzagged the edge to cut down on the fraying. The center wipe is two pieces of the same receiving blanket sewn wrong sides together, turned and then top stitched. The wipe on the right with the adorable animal print is the one I stretched further with an old cream flannel sheet. It was fun to u...

How's that for a mouthful of a title? I've written about this topic before and why it's important to condition straw bales before planting. For a refresher check out this post . (You'll also get a glimpse of what last year's garden layout was.) I'm using 15 new bales again this year, but I also left a couple of old bales in the formation for growing carrots and pumpkins. This is our new layout that takes into account a few things I learned from our first two years using this method: 1) I need more room between the rows so we put two bales at the top of the formation. 2) Extending one side gives vines some extra room and I can still get into the middle of the garden. 3) Using bales from the previous year for growing carrots will give them a 'softer' place to grow. Carrots don't like dense soil so it makes sense they wouldn't like the dense bales. Also, too much nitrogen reduces the number of female flowers on pumpkins. I'm going to try a ...

I'm sure we all agree that the big events of childhood - the firsts we all photograph and document are important, but Alphabitty Moments are about the ordinary moments that fill in the gaps. They are the little things that might go unnoticed if it weren't for the discipline of highlighting one of them each week.  It all started with a post I wrote here called The Little Things and has snowballed into a book I won the grand prize for in Blurb.com's Best Blurb Book contest. My little 64 page book filled with 26 words (one for each letter of the alphabet) is the first in a series I plan to make for my kids. I invited others to join me in recording their own children's Alphabitty Moments on Thursdays. So far we have cycled through the alphabet four times. I'd love to have you join us in this unique memory recording exercise.  If you need some inspiration you can always read through my other posts on the topic here . ***Note****  The Thursday carnival is on ho...

We have the greatest neighbors. They technically are our only neighbors seeing that we live in the country and the houses aren't close together. They are across the road from us and have lived on their farm since the 70's. J and J are so kind to us - sharing their surplus of garden goodies and letting the kids catch frogs in their pond. We fed their chickens for them last Fall and have plans to do it again this year when they are out traveling the country. It's a win-win. We don't go anywhere anyway so it's easy for us to walk over and feed, water, and collect eggs. They reap the benefits of having fresh eggs and meat, but don't have to be tied to home. Today we went over to meet the new 'crop' of chicks. There are 18 fuzz balls staying warm in the garage. Soon they will move to their nice digs in the chicken coop. I've never seen such a NICE chicken coop before! I had no problem doing chores in my CHURCH shoes last fall - it's THAT clean! We ...

Our family welcomed Josie into the family with open arms. But I think she looks pretty content in her daddy's arms don't you? Sharon and Jamey you are great parents! We are so happy for you!!!