:: Brinna's ::

:: Sunday, July 18, 2010 ::

Wow, I can hardly believe that it has been 3 years and 3 months since I last wrote on this blog! I decided that with all the things I've been working on, and being a work at home mom (WAHM), I'd give it a go again. So many WAHMs keep blogs. I do enjoy Facebook for quick updates and staying in touch with so many people, but there are advantages to blogs. So we'll see how long it takes me to update again!

:: Brinna 4:29 PM [+] ::
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SOME JOSHUA PICTURES AT http://www.myspace.com/dragro
8lb, 7 oz ~ 21.5 in


I knew writing that post yesterday would induce labor! I want to thank all the people in my family who called my mother instead of me for updates. I am extremely grateful. You are all now free to call me, don't worry too much about letting me rest, I feel great.

I had a huge, a massive post written out for you all, and when I hit submit it ERASED IT and I am so mad right now. Seriously mad. I don't know how it happened, it erased everything after "SOME JOSHUA PICTURES AT". I wasn't just so mad I could scream, I DID scream. I hit back and it was utterly gone. I don't know what to say because there is no way I'm writing all that again right now. You'll have to call me to get the details cause in the foreseeable future I'm not writing my birth story again. RRRRrrrrrrrrr....................

:: Brinna 1:04 PM [+] ::
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Nearly a week later, and Joshua is still not here. One of these days, right? Meanwhile I dread the ring of my cell phone. Maybe I'm unique, but I do not want to talk about the fact I haven't given birth yet. I'm usually ok with talking once I brace myself and answer the phone, but if I don't get to the phone in time I won't be calling you back. And yes I know you always have some reason you're calling, you don't open with the big question, but I still know that's why you're calling! Because you sure didn't call every or every other day before! : D You're just gonna have to wait to find out when I give birth, like I am. Believe me, I haven't given birth and forgotten to tell you!

On the other hand, I've tried just about everything now...even castor oil (recommended by my midwife, not on my own). As I type I'm eating fresh pineapple, rumored to ripen the cervix (canning process destroys some enzyme or something), and pineapple was on sale at Walmart so why not? I love pineapple so it's not a problem. Plus fresh pineapple is supposed to help with heartburn, and being nearly 42 weeks pregnant, I'm getting that a LOT. Well technically it's throat burn, it hurts right below where I swallow, not in my chest, but I think it's the same thing. Well, the closest thing to work was castor oil, which surprised me and didn't make me miserable in the slightest. And, it gave me contractions, but they stopped. I've been having irregular contractions for days now. Maybe it will be one of those labors that suddenly jumps into gear and I'll have 2 hours before the baby comes because half the dilation is done from the 'false' labor. Plenty of bright red bloody show yesterday afternoon but nothing doing, Joshua is still inside. I was sure that my water broke early yesterday morning, but the tests were negative. And no, I didn't pee myself, I know the difference. My midwife said it was probably just a lot of thin discharge. At least I didn't get put on the 24 hour rule.

I got another task from the baby store last week, for a custom-sized crib set in cream satin. I did it immediately, took a couple of days, probably 8 hours work. It was pretty straightforward, but I had a terrible time with the ruffle binding I put on the bumper and blanket. It took me forever to figure out how to enclose the edges, and then forever again for it to look good. Thank the Lord that satin doesn't show old stitching lines. Well I dropped it off and they were thrilled, despite some things kinda wrong with it that I could see with my trained eye but would have had to spend a whole lot of time to fix, if I could have at all. Not that I pointed these out to them..I know there are errors in virtually everything on the market today, professionally done or not.
Also, I showed them the colorful little quilt I made, and they really liked how it turned out, so there's that.

The day or so after I wrote that I signed up for the trip to Atlanta, I got called by one of the ladies I kinda know from the Bible study, and she gently informed me that they couldn't keep me from going, but that some of the people going were upset that I was going. Apparently it's an 'old people only' trip, although it said nothing of the sort in the bulletin, and nobody I'd talked to that were the assigned people to get info from mentioned it. They were especially upset that I would have at least one child with me. I was very disappointed at the time, even cried when I hung up the phone (so sue me, I'm 10 months pregnant), but Andrew told me we can go as a family to the aquarium, which is of course better. No stay at the Hilton or art exhibit, but also no old people giving nasty looks. Can you imagine their reaction if I started nursing Joshua at the dinner table? :D

I have another nonstress test this evening. So far Joshua has passed all with flying colors, and has way more than enough amniotic fluid around him, so either I'm a crockpot like my dear mum, or my due date was quite miscalculated (maybe both). I know my last period date, but I also know that I didn't ovulate 2 weeks later, it was longer than that. The ultrasound dating is supposed to be accurate, but only God knows. Speaking of God, I've been doing a whole lot of conciously trusting Him lately. I know that His timing in everything is perfect, and that He has a reason for me to be so overdue. I may be horribly impatient, but all I've asked of Him is that I give birth in the birth center. I am required to be induced at the hospital at 42 weeks. Sigh...this may take another dose of castor oil......

:: Brinna 11:01 AM [+] ::
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Yes, I am STILL PREGNANT. I expected to go a week overdue in the beginning, and I expect it now. I just hope I don't have to go to church on Sunday still pregnant...not that I mind going to church, but you get enough questions when you're nearly due, much less overdue, and I have no idea what I'd wear. Nothing I can fit into, and looks decent, even remotely looks Easter-y.

My last appointment was yesterday, and the only sign I can tell you that I have is the baby's heart rate has dropped a little, which they told me signals birth soon--obviously a few days, not necessarily that day of course. They also said when they were feeling the baby to see how he was laying, that if I was going to go into labor in the next couple days, feeling the baby usually produces a contraction. Which it didn't. So they thought it would be at least another couple of days. Taking me back to my original idea that I would be a week overdue, because in a couple days it will be a week. Which I'm fine with when I can expect it...otherwise you go crazy just waiting for something to happen. I was hoping to take a newborn to church on Easter, but oh well. :)

Anyway my next appointment is very soon, tomorrow. They scheduled a nonstress test on another girl who's also overdue, so I'm just coming in at that time. To make sure that he's still thriving in there.

Other news...the mother-in-law of one of the people Andrew works with has recently opened a baby store, and she asked me to make a sample christening gown. She liked it quite a bit, and would like me to continue to make them, probably custom-order. She said she has looked at a lot of people's sewing work in the past few weeks or so and that mine was definitely the best. Unfortunately it's too simple though, she wants me to put more stuff on it to make it look fancier, and I can't find any trim at the store that's suitable. I'm not sure what to do to it short of making another one that's fancier, such as with a sheer or lace overlay. Something I noticed when I was adding trim, which I guess she didn't (whew), was the back lower edges don't line up, one's lower than the other. Well, you don't really notice when it's hanging on the hanger, especially on the wall, so hopefully it will be alright. Only really noticeable when you line them up to check if they're even.

She would also like me to try and make crib sets in some bright colors that she can't find in catalogs. That part I've done before and is pretty simple, I did a crib set for Alice which came out well. Unfortunately when I whipped up a sample crib blanket/quilt it didn't turn out that well. Most of the squares are square, but as it turned out, one of the cottons had a bit of stretch to it so wherever I forgot to square off the edges, it's not square, and the one side of the border that was made with that fabric ended up nearly an inch longer than the other side. The frustrating part was, that fabric was twice as expensive, and I can't get that color in the other fabrics. I also made the mistake of choosing a directional print to pair with it, so not only did I have some fabric waste, but you can tell where it's not straight. Because I chose the worst fabric of all--STRIPED. Never again, what a nightmare. Ok for the smaller blocks where you cut it square, but for backing? Talk about revealing, haha. Andrew suggested I give that one away and make a new one, which was a frustrating concept but it wasn't that expensive and didn't take that much time, so it's probably the best idea. Even though it looks pretty good, it needs to be close to perfect or it won't work. So I went out and chose some more fabric, but by the time I got home it had grown on me so much that I think I'm going to have to go out and buy some different fabric because I want to keep the fabric I bought. :D

The end of this month I'm going to Atlanta with a group from our church, we'll see the new aquarium which is supposed to be very nice, and an art exhibit with some religiously oriented works, mostly on creation I think...staying at the Hilton, having a fancy dinner 'with your choice of salmon, angus strip steak, or chicken'. At least I think the last choice is chicken. Anyway it should be fun, and since Andrew won't have left yet, he'll keep Alice, and I'll only have one child to care for. Maybe I'll actually have a chance to get my hair cut!

Other than that I can't think of anything significant happening. Andrew's supposed to leave in the first or second week of May. It's inevitable...I just hope he isn't gone for more than a year...

:: Brinna 5:12 AM [+] ::
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Wow it's been awhile since I've posted anything here. I have been busy of course but not enough to give a reason for not posting. Anyway. I'm still pregnant, and I'm due in 2 days. Hopefully I'll be done within a week. : )

Today was my doctor's appointment and as usual, I didn't learn anything. They said I'm ready to give birth at any time. Tell me something I don't know... but maybe I'm nesting, because I made tamales today. I had tamales when we went out to dinner with our 'mentors' at our new church, and I've been wanting some again so I decided to make them. It cost $20, and the expense was mostly meat. $16 for a 4.25lb. beef roast. I also simmered some sort of peppers and blended them up with the broth from the roast, to put in the masa and the meat. I think it turned out really yummy. They say tamales are hard work but they weren't, it took half an hour or so to fold them up. The real time was in the roasting of the meat and steaming of the tamales. As if that takes lots of effort. : )

We have a pair of mystery trees in our yard...Andrew thought they were figs but figs they are not. They're producing small orange fruits similar to kumquats, but we don't think they are. Definitely some sort of tropical fruit though. Andrew thinks they taste like mango.
Going back to what I said about mentors, we joined a church this past Sunday. It's a conservative Presbyterian church. It's the first church Andrew and I have been members of as a family. We'll be doing a baptism/baby dedication for Joshua and Alice sometime before Andrew leaves, which is getting farther away, not closer, all the time. Praise be to God...he might be staying until mid-May now. He might even get to see Joshua smile. : )

I painted the nursery a couple of weeks back, and I hope to post pictures now. I'm not entirely done with it, I need to do something about the sun...it looks funny. And I'd like to paint a little hut or two near the palm trees, as well as use some little stamps I got on sale from Michael's which are in the shapes of a seahorse, an octopus, a starfish, a whale, and something else sea-themed.

We finally got rid of our pool! The backyard seems a whole lot bigger now. And we'll probably have a lot less bugs in it too, that thing looked like a swamp. No exaggeration. We hadn't done anything with it since last fall. We sold the frame, pump, and filter to someone through savannah.craigslist.com, and they were going to buy a new liner anyhow, so we didn't even have to clean the old one. And it was gross!

Alright, here's a few pics....this first is of Alice dancing around with an azalea, while eating a mystery fruit.

And here she is again, after stuffing more than she can eat in her mouth.

Here's an early shot of the tamale process...

And just in case it's the last chance I get (you never know right now), here's my belly, at the full 40 weeks, minus 2 days. Quite a difference from the last belly shot I posted....hehe sorry about that.

And here's the room I painted...colors are awful, using my old crummy camera instead of Andrew's nice digital SLR.

:: Brinna 4:15 PM [+] ::
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Hello all,
I'm sorry I haven't written in sooo long. Of course I've been a bit busy, but mostly I've been struck by indifference when I do have some time.

I've been doing a fair amount of sewing for myself, I've been visiting Joann's and clearing out the remnants. They're usually 75% off the normal price. True, they're no bigger than a yard each, but I got a couple baby patterns and I'm starting to make baby clothes. I hope to sell some, but I'm not sure how to get them out there.

I've been doing some knitting as well, mostly a little layette set (minus blanket) for Joshua. I figured I better do something for him, since I did so much for Alice. It's in antique white, just a little cap, dress/sacque, and booties. I'm hoping that they'll be the right size for when he gets baptized. I don't know why other religions/denominations do it, but at least in the conservative presbyterian it's basically a baby dedication, not salvation, so I finally agreed for our children to get baptized. Hopefully that will happen before Andrew leaves.

Today is one of my doctor appointments. I'm 34 weeks and 2 days, so in 2 weeks he won't be preemie. I'm looking forward to that...I've been having more and stronger contractions than the first pregnancy, and I keep telling him to stay in a bit longer. I'll probably start walking again then, if nothing else I'll be healthy for the ordeal. : ) Despite the midwife saying I've gained too much weight, I've gained less than the first time. However, I don't feel as healthy...perhaps it's because I have a toddler and a house to run this time. : ) After sitting on the couch at the end of the day (when I finally take a break), when I get up, I really feel it. I walk funny for a minute. Oh well, I still haven't started waddling!

It looks like Andrew will be here for the birth, but don't stop praying! Who knows when they'll send him away, and I'd like him to be here for a month or two afterwards as well. God knows best, though...

:: Brinna 10:28 AM [+] ::
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I finally completed my Christmas shopping yesterday. I went to the mall at 9am, so it wasn't bad really...and it's almost always nice to get out of the house.

I'm glad I've been doing Christmas baking lately, apparently we won't have time to in Virginia. Last Christmas I was there we made a ton off cookies etc but not this year. I would have been really disappointed if I'd waited and we didn't make any.

Today I painted the nursery's base coat. We used paint we got at Lowe's, on the 'oops' shelf. Above the moulding we painted a medium-dark grayish blue, and under a medium-dark greenish blue. It's definitely darker than I thought it would be but looks nice. Tomorrow morning I'll sponge light blue on top, to make sky and clouds, and below the moulding I'll rag/marble the upper paint on the greenish paint, in the hopes that it will be kinda multi-colored like an ocean. Later I'll paint some things like fish and seagulls.

I have 3 Christmas cards now! Yay! I sent 8 and have received 3 so far. I better get some more, people, start mailing... hehe.

Tomorrow afternoon we are leaving for Virginia, probably taking someone with us and dropping them off at Richmond. We'll get there awfully late, but better than never. Unfortunately Moby has to come with us, but better that than paying someone to take care of him.

Alice is starting to talk a whole lot...she knows about 15 words that make sense, but she says a whole lot that doesn't make sense. I'm so glad, I wasn't really worried but still. I think I'll get her a potty when we return from Virginia. Never too early for it to sit there..

I'm sure there's something else I could talk about but I don't know what off the top of my head, so Merry Christmas!! and a happy new year!!

:: Brinna 1:40 PM [+] ::
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