Done Deal

Last I wrote, I was going to attempt to make Benny a super hero cape. Guess what folks, this waddling mama pulled it off! Last night, Shuky was oh so kind and did Benny's bedtime routine with him so I could go out and get what we needed for Shalach Manos (Purim is creeping up on us!) and I took advantage of that and bought the stuff for the cape.

I decided to be as frugal as possible, more out of necessity than desire, but shh. I found an old, red pillowcase (I have absolutely no idea where it came from). I searched through Shuky's shirts and found a black polo that I know he doesn't wear. Both were perfect measurements. All I had to buy were a few small things; needle, thread, pins, velcro. I already had felt for the applique in my craft box, along with tacky glue and a good pair of scissors. So, today, while Benny played and tested my patience, I sat and made his cape.

And I love it!

I almost want to call my sister in law to get dimensions for her kids so they can all be super together on Pesach. Keyword being almost. My back is KILLING after doing this today! We don't have a dining room table in this apartment so I sat at our kitchen counter most of the day. While Benny was in the bath, I sat on the floor in the bathroom sewing. Once he was in bed, I moved to the couch, but at that point the damage was done. But I don't care. He is going to be ECSTATIC when he sees the finished product tomorrow! If I get a chance to, I will try to make a little mask to go along with it.

After all, a super's most prized possession is his identity!

An Attempt

I decided that I am going to attempt to make some dress up clothing for Benny. We'll see if I ever actually make it to the fabric store, but that's another story! I have been searching for a good Fireman outfit for him and on one of the daily deal sites today, I saw an awesome superhero costume. It was a generic, no specific character. It was perfect! It was also $15 for the cape and another $11 for the mask and matching wristbands. I'm sure I could do it for less! We shall see, my friends. We shall see! My goal is to get to the store this week and pick some fabric up. Unfortunately, I do not have a machine to use so it will be by hand. But I'm confident in my abilities. It will come out quite nice! And then, if I really make enough, I can finally have a reason to hang the cute hooks I have for his room!

Off I go to search for patterns. :)

Here's to a successful project!

Damn You Hormones!

I find myself getting upset and/or annoyed at the silliest of things. The funny thing is, while overreacting, I'm aware that I am doing so. And yet I still do. Baby brain goes so much further than forgetting things and being an airhead. I guess I should be thankful that I am aware of the craziness that I am spewing, it gives me the chance to apologize right away to whomever I just confused the hell out of!

It's been forever since I posted pictures so I thought I'd share one of my ever growing girth.

I will be 33 weeks on Tuesday, G-d willing, so about 7 weeks left! I know I'm smaller than I was with Benny but I still feel quite enormous. Good stuff.

Love to all.

Sleep Cometh for Those Who Wait!

Last week, we started something new with Benny's schedule. We decided to cut out naps and put him to bed earlier. If you follow my blog, you know the challenges we've been having with getting him to sleep at a normal time. Or at all, for that matter. I was scared to give up his nap time, because, aside from him needing the sleep, I needed the peace and quiet, and sometimes, even sleep! I replaced his nap with down time, we sit and play a game or we cuddle on the couch and watch a movie. But I talk to him through out to make sure he is not falling asleep! 

He eats dinner at 6, bath afterward, pjs/brushing teeth/brushing hair, and he usually has a couple extra minutes to do a quick clean up before getting into bed at 7. We sing shema, turn out the lights, put on some music for him. When we are diligent in keeping things on time, he is asleep by 7:15. I have become neurotic about making sure we are never out later than 5:30. If we miss the 7 o'clock mark, it takes him longer and without downtime for myself during the day, I can't deal with that! 

Now, this does turn him into quite the kvetch for the last bit of his day, but that is a sacrifice I am willing to make. In exchange for him going to sleep so nicely, I try very hard to have extra patience at the end of the day!

The best part of this is that it doesn't really make him wake up much earlier in the morning. He still gets up somewhere around 7 or 7:30, some days I get lucky and he waits until 8! The good news is that he has no problem hanging out in bed with me for a bit. Until he starts demanding food. Then I have no choice but to get up and start the day. That doesn't mean he has stopped waking up in middle of the night, but those incidents are becoming more rare and easier to deal with as well!

He doesn't even argue anymore about going into bed. Tonight, I told him to run to bed as I was straightening up his bathroom. I found him tucked in, snuggling with his bear, waiting for me nicely. I didn't have to get into bed with him. I stood there, sang shema, gave him a kiss and away I went. Did not hear a peep of protest. My little boy is really growing up! 

Molly

Sometimes, little, old ladies really make my day! Recently, while sitting in a waiting room, I had the following conversation:

Little, Old Lady (LOL): So, do you know what you're having yet? (Referring to my belly)
Me (ME): It's going to be a surprise for everyone!
LOL: Aha. Well, if it's a girl, you should name her Molly. Or Gracie. Or Tia. I prefer Molly though.
ME: Thanks for the tip, I'll put those names on my list for you! Although I'm not particularly fond of Tia, my mom is from South America so that is the term we use for Aunt!
LOL: So just go with Molly. Do you have any other kids?
ME: Yep, got a two and a half year old boy!
LOL: Oh. (pitiful pause) You're going to have your hands full!
ME: So it would seem!
LOL: What's his name?
ME: Well, his name is Benjamin but we call him Benny.
LOL: Hm. I don't like the name Benny.
ME: (Not sure how to respond. Fear not, she continued on, solving my dilemma for me!)
LOL: I love the name Benjamin, just really don't like the name Benny!
ME: Did you ever see a baby and just know they need to be called something specific? That's how it was with him, he was a total Benny when we first saw him!!
LOL: The only kid I ever saw like that was a Molly.

Poopy Woes

I feel like I shouldn't complain. But I have to! Benny is doing great with wearing underwear during the day. We don't do pants yet or underwear when we go out, but more or less, everything makes it to the toilet! But when it doesn't, I really wish I could be somewhere else! Some day, I will invent an 'Instant Toilet Training' kit, not sure what form it will be applied in yet, but you just wait! It will be on the market before I have to do this with another tushie!

Speaking of which, 9 weeks left as of today. Which means there are less than 10 weeks until Pesach for everyone out there not ready to start freaking out. Now's the time!

PS Benny's hair is really getting long. I love it! But of course, everywhere we go, people wonder what his gender is. Regardless of how boyish he behaves and is dressed! He could be wearing a shirt that says 'I am a boy' and people would still question.

Getting Stuff Done

Each week that passes brings more to my to-do list. We have Purim coming up. Working on costumes and shalach manos ideas. Then comes Pesach. Working on clothing for everyone, along with making sure everything at my father's house is being taken care of. We have baby coming right around the same time, G-d willing, but not much I can do on that front! Then, after Pesach, Shuky has finals (I'm going to start praying now that we all survive that ordeal again!) and then off to NY we go!

In the meantime, we are still waiting for all our W-2s to come in so we can file our taxes and get our money already!

Still working on organizing things around here, too.

I'm trying to find a camp for Benny in NY. And get his uphsernish planned. And hoping Shuky gets a good internship or job for the summer.

Also, my OB appointments are now every two weeks. I guess that means we are really getting close!

I'm exhausted. Always am. At least I am sleeping better at night!

Sugar Full!

Last week was a long one. Aside from the fact that Shuky was out of town for most of it, I had a little side fun to deal with. At my 28 week appointment, they did my glucose test, as is normal. My levels were a bit too high, just over the line according to the nurse who called me, and I had to go in for the three hour test. With Benny, I did not have this so of course, as soon as I picked up that phone call, I freaked out. When a nurse calls and starts the conversation with, "Do you have a few minutes to talk?" you don't start getting happy and mushy feelings in your stomach! Along with the test, they gave me a diet to follow for the three days proceeding the appointment. Diets are usually not an issue. This was a different kind of diet, though. They gave me a very detailed minimum of what I had to eat at each meal, I was welcome to eat more if I wanted. I have not eaten so much in a VERY long time! And at the end of each day, I was left feeling gross. And bloated!
On the fourth morning, I had to go in for the test. Of course, I had to fast from 8pm the day before. I got there at 8, only to find out that the nurse had not actually put the order in for the tests. Around comes 8:30. They finally get started. For those of you who have never had this done, here's how it went. It started with a urine sample, a blood test, and a huge cup of the gross glucose drink (which tastes like the syrup they use to make sprite without any dilution) chugged down. Then they set the timer for an hour. At which point they took blood and asked for another urine sample. This happened two more times. It was a total of three hours (from when they finally started) and four blood/urine samples. The blood was all drawn from the same spot, although I'm assuming that's not a requirement but more the choice of the person drawing the blood. By the third sample, that spot on my arm was really starting to hurt! The nice thing about the experience was the amazingly comfortable, enormous recliner they had right in the lab. They told me to relax, sleep if I wanted to, they would let me know when it was time for the next round. They don't want you walking around too much, in case you work the glucose out of your system, so relax I did! Took a few minutes to walk after each time they drew blood, refilled my water bottle. Then back to that chair I went!
Thankfully, Moishy was home with Benny so I didn't have to deal with chasing him around for those few hours!
And, of course, the day of the test, Shuky's phone broke in New York so I couldn't even reach him to calm my nerves at all.
By the next day, they had called to let me know everything was fine. Sigh of relief! Bring on the sugar!


Anyway, today is my 30 week mark. I'm ready for the countdown to begin! For all you out there thinking about upcoming holidays, that means there are only 11 weeks left until Pesach begins. Never a good thing to realize!! Good luck with all the preparations!

Have a good one!