Dear...

Dear Olive...I am unbelievably anxious for your arrival. Pregnancy, during the time, always feel like it lasts forever; but when I think of announcing we were pregnant in February, I can't believe at how fast these months have gone!


Dear Oreos...it's been real. I've enjoyed these last 8 months or so. I won't be seeing you again until I reach a reasonable weight. Take care!

Dear Uterus...tonight's the big night. Please be good to me. Let's go with minimally painful contractions until I can get an epidural. Thanks.

Dear Lucy...I love you baby girl. We will always have a special bond, since you were my first little girl. However, please know that I will have a bond with Olive too. Each of you are special and I will always have enough time and love for you both. In fact, I may smother you two and make you abandon me during your teen years...

Dear Chico...believe it or not, my foot is not your chair; quit sitting on it.

Dear Dad...yes, I posted a picture of my big ole' nasty foot. At least the big toe is hidden.

Dear Heath...look at what you are doing to our little girl. I am literally lying in bed at night with two tech geeks. :) As long as it pays her bills when she gets older...haha.


Dear September...check out a calendar. You are the beginning of autumn. So, don't be giving me this 95 degree weather, trying to be like August. You are better than that! Seriously. Everyone liked you better before. Now, give me light jacket weather. Please.

Dear Lucy...I am sorry that I can't build tents like Daddy. First of all, I don't get zip-ties from the garage, I'm a little more old school. And, second, it's hard to crawl on the floor with this belly! I promise that I'll be back on the floor with you soon enough.


Dear Readers...sorry if during the next 6 or 8 weeks I am a little MIA. I will be taking care of a new bundle of joy! :) I hope to stop in and share my birth story, along with any updates and several photos; however, you know how I am about that sometimes! :{ Perhaps I will write you in the middle of the night, in lieu of smothering Heath with a pillow...haha. (Don't get that? Check out Tuesday's post.)

Dear Husband...I cannot believe we are bringing another miracle into this world. I am so happy to be sharing my life with you. You are the best thing to ever happen to me; you gave me these wonderful blessings! :) I wouldn't change a thing with our life and I appreciate and love you so much. Remember these words when I am a raging 'B' over the next few weeks. :)

Everyone - have a great rest of September and hopefully you will hear from me soon. Watch Heath's Facebook account for updates. I will also try to give exclusive updates to 'I Love Lucy Jean' Facebook group members. :) Ah, the perks! :)

Pray for us that everything goes well! :)

Week 28 Update

Okay, so here I am a bit late - yes. But, better late than never...

I'm still big. But, I think the gray does a little bit more for me than the yellow. Do you recognize the shirt? You should...I have only shown you a picture of me wearing it, like, 800 times. Okay, I exaggerate. Nonetheless, I thought it would be nice to compare the two.

The position is close, not exact; however, I think it is clear that I can, in fact get bigger people. I think everyone just forgot how big I actually was with Lucy.

How far along?
I am late posting this, so I am actually 29 weeks and 1 day now. :[ I have 76 days left and I am 73.2% done with this pregnancy! Oh, how I love to see those numbers go by!

Baby is the size of a...
At 28 weeks, she was the size of a Chinese cabbage. Which, my understanding is a tall version of a regular cabbage ball...head of cabbage? Oh, whatever the verbiage may be. Here is a picture of it, compared to a quarter.

Technically speaking, Olive is approximately between 2.9 and 3.5 lbs. And, she should be a little over a foot in length (14.8 inches).

Symptoms:
I have been having Braxton-Hicks like crazy. It seems like I have them more often than I did with Lucy; but, I am not for certain that I remember my pregnancy with Lucy clearly or accurately. It seems like so long ago and it seemed like it went fast - ha! I doubt that...considering that this one seems like it is crawling by, now that I can barely bend over anymore. 

I have tried to make a conscience effort to stay away from salty foods. However, to me that means if it leaves salt on my fingers when I pick it up, I should probably stay away. I still eat hot-pockets for lunch and snack on Doritos - both of which have high sodium levels.  My doctor didn't indicate that my sodium intake was a problem; I just don't want my face/feet/ankles to get any puffier than they already are!

I have found a friend in Frosted Mini-Wheats. :) I've always like them and well, we all know I love cereal. It has been the high in fiber item that my body needed! Hopefully it continues to work for me. I've been eating a bowl almost every night!

Anything new?
 I admit; I have forgotten what I have told you and what I haven't. I think I told you about my recent nesting. It has been in decline. My energy level goes down as the heat index raises. It is amazing how a hot day can just make me feel so tired. Anyway, we made a few more Olive purchases! :) We bought and received her crib mattress the other day! Heath picked it out, based on reviews of course. He even put the sheets on it and it is in the crib.  You are probably wondering why we needed a new one. Well, Lucy uses her mattress with her toddler bed. I like the water-proof idea for potty training...

We also got Olive a sleeper. With Lucy, she was constantly in the big, bulky pack n' play that was hard to get around. Or, she was in the living room in a vibrating chair on the floor. Both worked, but we wanted something a little more convenient and easy to take when visiting family. We found this:

We are really excited. Plus, we also ordered a sleep-mate for Olive. It is a noise maker/sound machine. It makes a "whooshing" sound. We thought it would be nice to have.

New with Heath?
I think Lucy and Heath see me as...a lame, old relative that isn't any fun. It's like "I'll ruin their fun" if they hang around me. They are constantly running off and playing or doing things without me. I admit; sometimes it is nice. I get to rest, take a cat-nap, or watch Pretty Little Liars (which I usually don't watch with Lucy in the room). On other occasions, I just feel like I'm boring and lame to be around. I can't crawl on the floor, let Lucy ride my back like a horsie, and I can't even begin to fit through the "door" of the "house" they made and put in our living room (it's made out of Heath's new grill box, which as you can imagine is huge; but, the door is little :( ). I understand...I just never realized how much the pregnancy would limit me from doing things that I normally do. I have a hard time squatting down to cook with Lucy in the kitchen now too. But, things will get better.

New with Lucy?
Well, in the last couple of days I have noticed how much I have been telling Lucy, "No - that is Olive's." I feel really guilty about it too. When the crib mattress came, Lucy wanted to lay on it. So, we let her lay on it. We told her who's it was and why we got it, etc. But, then she wanted to get into the crib and lay on it. Then, she wanted to play with the mobile. Then, she wanted to take the stuffed animals out of the nursery. It made me realize how bad the jealousy is going to be.

Then, the other night she saw Olive's bottles that I had unpacked. She wanted to have them. I told her no. She then saw the formula in the pantry (I got some really good price-matching/couponing deals on Enfamil recently; don't worry I looked at the dates and it will be good until February 2013). She said, "mine." I told her no, she couldn't have it. It was a mess - all of it. I feel bad for her.

We are going to try our absolute best to make this transition easier for her; but, I may have to look into ways to do so...

Anything else?
The results of my gestational diabetes check came back normal. The nurse said the results, "looked good." Whew! :) I was pleased with that news. I was really nervous this time around, for some reason.  

I guess I don't have much else. I thought I would share one more thing though. BabyCenter.com sent me an email about birthing class questions. This was one of them that made me laugh:

 
Good idea for the future...haha! Where were they when I was in high school?

Have a great weekend everyone!

Lucy and the Chihuahuas

Lucy picks on the chihuahuas terrible.

Recently, I saved Chico from being beaten by a balloon on the corner of the sofa. She thought his growling was hilarious. We say that he just purrs like a kitten. :)

And, we have also had experiences like this...

Alright, so I admit it; she could never get Squirty in there on her own. I was forced to assist.

She also puts her "pretties" on the chihuahuas. Chico walked all around the house in his purple necklace. Squirt acted like we paralyzed her and wouldn't move. I was shocked that she even stayed upright; she usually flops to the ground.

At the end of the day, the chihuahuas love her too. She is just too easy to love.

Someday, you won't be able to separate Squirty and Lucy. I am sure of that - necklace or not.

"Ahh...Man!"

When your little girl goes to daycare all day and spends the weekend with family, it shouldn't be surprising that she comes home with a new phrase. However, Lucy has clung onto, "Ahh...man!"

Heath and I have decided that we say it, but only sparingly. She had to of picked this up from daycare or her cousin, Alex. The amazing thing is, she uses it in the right context. It's hilarious. Heath and I enjoyed the other evening when Lucy's personality was really starting to shine through!

She was wound up. I don't think it was from sugar, but that we were all together playing. She was all over the living room. On one pass, she cut the corner too sharp and hit her arm on the coffee table.

"Aowww....aowww....aowww...," she repeated looking at us.

"Did you hurt your arm?" Heath asked.

"Aowww," was the only response.We both laughed.

"You're okay," I told her.

Seeing that we weren't going to come running to her little arm's rescue, she gave herself a kiss on the arm. We laughed, as we continued to watch her roam the room. She started to run a little too fast and past the ottoman. Her toe caught the carpet and down she went. She just disappeared behind the ottoman as we heard a light thud.

Silence.

We waited to hear if she was going to get upset.

"Ahhh....man!"

We laughed until we almost cried. I can't wait to see what she'll say next!

Poison Control Hotline

I've seen these lines on babysitting lists. And, I once watched a 'Punky Brewster' episode where they had to call it.

Did I ever really think I would call a poison control hotline? No. Never. We lock up the medicine and all of the cleaning products. Lucy would never get into that stuff.

Now, the question you are wanting answered: Did I call them? Maybe. Don't panic though; this is a mild story.

We will begin with me and Lucy, again, in the master bathroom. I was putting on my makeup and perhaps pestering a few facial blemishes. Lucy was digging through my travel bag, still packed from a trip we took last weekend. She used my brush to brush her hair. She moved my nail polish from the floor, to the top of the toilet, to the tub edge, and so on. She chewed on the lid of my perfume. I was watching and there weren't any choking hazards. I took away my perfume and any other liquids she could spray.

So, when she got quiet, I didn't immediately get concerned. I turned around and she had my deodorant in one hand, the lid in the other, and her mouth was wide open. By looking at my deodorant I could see the teeth marks. She didn't bite it; she just sunk her teeth into it. Little flecks of white were all over her tongue. I tried helping her wipe it out and promptly took my deodorant away.

My first thoughts? It's just deodorant; it can't hurt her. I'm sure I have accidentally eaten or licked deodorant in my time. I know for sure the dogs have eaten it!
Just to be safe, I turned it over.

I said aloud, "Are you freaking kidding me? Luuuuucyyyyy."

I picked up my phone and googled "Poison Control Center".

I called.

Ring.Ring.Ring.

I kept thinking, how am I going to explain this? I'm going to sound like an awful parent!

Ring.Ring.

"Hello, is this an emergency or can you hold?"

"Ummm.....I can hold?"

Thoughts: Oh no! Was that the right answer?

Several minutes went by, as I watched Lucy play. I started to regret my decision to hold.

"Thank you for holding. What is your emergency?"

"Well, my 18 month old daughter got into my deodorant and got some in her mouth. She didn't swallow it; I don't think. She just scraped it with her teeth. I read on the back that I should call right away."

"Yes. They put that one all products. What type of deodorant was it?"

"Dove Fresh."

"Is it a solid?"

Thoughts: Really? Does that matter? And, what do you mean they put that on all products? All deodorant products? Do they just want people to panic?

"Yes. It's a solid."

 "Alright. There isn't anything harmful in that product. You can just give her some drinks of milk or water. If she swallowed a large amount, she may have an upset stomach and might vomit."

"Okay. She didn't swallow any. She is acting normal. I will give her some milk. Thank you."

"Now, can I have your name and telephone number for our records?"

Thoughts: GREAT! I'm going to be on some child protective services list now! I can officially never call back or they will red flag me or something!

Reluctantly, I gave her my name, my telephone number, and my zip code. I'm officially a bad mom and on "the list". Perhaps I should never allow Lucy in the master bathroom again - bad things happen in there! :{

I have a whole new respect for the poison control center. I never would have thought...

Lucy's Ready. I'm Not.

We play with Lucy's baby dolls at home. She feeds them with a spoon. She puts them in the high chair and stroller. We have tried to teach her how to love her babies.

Last night, we were sitting in the living room. I had just pulled chocolate chip cookies out of the oven. I was blowing on one of them, trying to dodge the reaching Lucy hand coming at me. In between blows, I was chanting, "Hot, hot, hot."

Lucy began to mock me, whispering, "Haaa, haaa, haa."

Finally it was cool enough and I gave Lucy her bite. Yum. Chocolate chip cookie. Wait, "Lucy! No! Bad girl!"

I watched as Lucy stuck her chocolaty tongue out and scraped the cookie onto the floor with the side of her index finger.

One dish towel later, I was scrubbing the floor, the side of the couch, and Lucy's face, all covered in chocolate. She promptly took the towel away from me, wiped her babies mouth, the couch, and the floor as well. Alright - how could I stay upset with that? :)

She then proceeded to use the dish towel as a blanket. She went around the room, wrapping up every doll or stuffed animal. Once I figured out what she was doing, I tried to help her. She settled on carrying around a stuffed pig the rest of the night. He would come unraveled, then she would bring him to me or Heath for "re-wrapping."

Heath and I watched as she rocked him, hugged him, and even put him in her chair "to sleep." When she laid him down, she said "shhhh" and "night-night." Then, she leaned over and kissed him on the nose.

I teared up. It was the cutest and sweetest thing I had ever seen. Heath and I just kept looking at each other, beaming with pride.

I said, what everyone is now thinking, "I think she is ready for a baby."

Then I thought, "I'm not though!" haha.

We still need more Lucy-alone-time. Either way, it is nice to know that any future babies will have a wonderful bigger sister in Lucy. :)

And, this is where the pig slept all night -

We tried to get pictures of Lucy holding him and rocking him; but, she wouldn't sit still for us. These were the best, blurry images we could get, haha -

Motherly? Yes. Model? Not yet, anyway. :)

Rookie Move

Lucy was hitting a bag of chips with a plastic drumstick. I told her, "No. No."

She insisted on hitting it and looked me straight in the eye while hitting a few more times. I said, again, "No!"

Then, I put my hand on top of the bag; so, she would quit hitting it.

What does she do? She, of course, whacks the crap out of my hand.

Rookie move...

Next time I'll take the drumstick out of her hand.

The drumstick hit a nerve and I couldn't feel my index or middle finger for a good 2 minutes. My hand is bruised. It hurts.

Lesson learned.

Renovations: Trash

I've broken down. I am so proud of myself and my progress, that I just HAD to share. Remember in my first post about our Basement to Playroom Transition, I told you that we had a pile of junk in our den so large that you'd report me to Hoarders on A & E?

You better start looking up their number. I'm showing you all one photo.

Click on the photo to see the madness up close.

Believe it or not, I thought we had put this stuff in here in an organized manner! haha.  Needless to say, while the construction is going on in the basement, I got very tired of looking at this pile of junk. I walked past it everyday going to and from the garage. :{

So, as soon as they got my closet's done, I was jumping at the chance to start filling them up! I had already started to sort keepsakes and just had to put them in organized totes for easy, stack-able storage.

I am not even kidding - it took me about 15 hours to get this far:

I think I found every picture ever taken in that original pile! I have approximately 1,000 photos that I need to put in albums - ugh!  Now I question why we ever made doubles.....can anyone help me with that one?

I did pretty good at getting rid of things though. Here is what ended up on the curb Monday morning:

1) Yes - I took a picture of my trash, on the curb.

2) Yes - The sanitation workers took it all, surprisingly.

And, 3) I think we went over why one of the trash cans doesn't have a lid, yesterday.... :{

Who knew Lucy's diaper boxes would come in so handy?

Finally, since I have been involving you in my decor ideas and dilemmas, I thought I would share a couple of pictures of items I got this weekend for the room.



Sorry this picture is so blurry. I was trying to keep Lucy and the chihuahuas off of it for at least two seconds, for a picture on  my phone. This was the best I could do.

I was excited to find this mat, with all the colors I want to incorporate into the room!  Also, Lucy was with me in the store; so, I let her hold onto it, in the cart. She loved it! She hugged it and hit it, with tons of smiles. She even tried to chew on the corner a few times, which I had to halt.  I could tell she was excited too!



I am not sure what I'm going to do with these yet. I have a bookshelf and an entertainment center that will be going back into the room. So, perhaps I will put them on the shelves. Still not sure....they were on sale (I'm a sucker!) and they matched the colors well; therefore, they had to go home with me. :)

Are you now understanding how we got that big pile of crap in the first place? haha.

I will be sure to continue the updates. Heath and I have finally come to the consensus that we are about 2/3rds done with the room! Yay!

Wish us luck!

Any ideas on colorful, canvas totes or white toy shelves? Again, I could use the help finding these!

Oh, the Guilt Look

I get it almost nightly in our house.

The scene in the evenings is often that of me sitting on the couch, while Heath is on the floor with Lucy.

Don't get me wrong, I play with her. But, she isn't that interested in anything for too long and moves on, usually across the room. I simply can't keep up. The window, balloon, baby gate latch, curtain tie, remote, iPod Touch, shoe, or sock is far more interesting.  Believe me too, the list goes on!

Heath, however, will remain on the floor almost every evening, even if he is watching television or Lucy is across the room.  This doesn't stop him from giving me 'the look'. It is very much opposite of this face, which everyone else sees.

Here he is:

Don't let that cute face trick you though. He can give a pretty guilty glare at home...

Alright, alright, so I'm exaggerating a bit. But, he does say all the time, "Come down here; play with us."

Play with us?

With us?

Hmmmmmm........

Where is Lucy at?

Stacking the toys...

and the pride of stacking them, without 'the tower' falling.

I think Heath just wants me to play with him!

Renovations: More Wall Space!

We have one wall completed in our Basement to Playroom Transition!

I bet you thought you'd see photos too. Sorry! Not yet! I do, however, have some of my wonderful, very 'to-scale' diagrams (yeah right!). :)

We have the wall by the furnace, water heater, etc. done. So, again, this is what our basement looked like before:

The boxes on the left are stairs and the squares/circles are the furnace, water heater, etc.

And, we were planning on putting a wall up, to safely cover the items that we didn't want Lucy to have access to. Like this:

Once Heath and my father-in-law put up the wall, they realized the small door to the landing was unnecessary. Here, this will better explain. We ended up with this:

The red arrow denotes my easily accessible path to a small storage space! Yay! No extra cubby door!

    Wall
-   Cubby Door
=  More Wall Space

Again, the landing is just a drop in the ceiling, so I could leave the window exposed. I wanted Lucy to have a second exit for emergencies, and for the light to shine in. In addition, it is nice to open it up and let some fresh air in! :)

All of this will be much clearer with photos! I apologize for my awful diagrams! haha.

On a fun note, I have bought a few items for the room, for storage!

I bought two of these little stacking boxes.



I bought one of these, it's teal.



I bought one of these, thus far, in lime green.

Since I am not even sure what will go in these things, I stopped buying more, for now.  Once I start to fill the room, I will have a better idea of what we need.

I have been eyeing these:

I want something similar to these; but, I am just not sold on one yet. :{

I also want some canvas totes; but, remember, I have to somehow incorporate red into the decor. Since the carpet is bright red! Ugh!  So, I want something cute, perhaps polka dot, that ties all these colors in:




We'll see....I may just have to get some cute artwork or something, and use these solid colored totes. I'll figure it out.

If you have any suggestions for cute, white shelves, or fun decor, I would love to hear them! Let me know! I could use some help!

Guess what? Tomorrow is Friday!

Our ABCs

My house has given it's best. I'll give it credit. It tried very hard not to let Lucy take over. But, without the playroom finished, the poor house lost.

The living room was the first to go. My leather ottomans with lids, used to be filled with blankets and our electronic gadgets. Now? Toys. Each cabinet has baby locks on it, and we have to use a swing door baby gate to go in and out of the room (because of stairs - ugh!).

Now, the kitchen has succumbed. We already had the highchair, the safety latches for the cabinets, and a baby gate. We also had a small, ride-on car in the corner. The cherry on top? New ABC magnets on the fridge - lots of them!

When I first brought them home, Lucy was napping. So, I used the two pack to spell out our names, our last name, the dogs' names, and even some random words. The magnets were neatly ordered just as I, being super anal, would have it. :)

Heath: "You know they won't stay like that."

Me: "I know!"

I said this in a slightly annoyed tone. He knew that I was being a bit particular about it, and there was a good chance that it would continue as long as the magnets stayed.

To my credit, they have been on the fridge, post-Lucy play, for four days now and I haven't reorganized them. Every time I walk by the fridge though, I see the beginning and the end of our last name. The middle? Who even knows where those letters went? They might possibly be under the fridge. I know it's only a matter of time until I put our names back together. It's for learning purposes right? :{

Anyway, enough with my antics...

Here is something else about ABCs that has been circling the Blog and Facebook worlds.  I thought I would join in too.

Cori's ABCs

A - Age: 20 something

B-Bed Size: Queen. Sometimes I wish it was a king (no offense Hun!).

C-Chore you hate: Sweeping/Moping - it is a wonder it ever gets done.

D-Dogs: Our two chihuahuas, Chico (black, 6 yrs. old) and Squirt (tan, long-haired, 5 yrs. old)



E-Essential start to your day: hitting the snooze button. I am not a morning person!

F-Favorite color: dark red

G-gold or silver: I like both; but, lately I've been into white gold and silver.

H-Height: average

I-Instruments you play: Trumpet, French Horn, and little Tuba. I also rocked the bells in 4th grade. :)

J-Job Title: ---------

K-Kids: Lucy, my beautiful little girl

L-Live: to the fullest! :) In the Midwest...

M-Mom's name: Mom, and Mimi :)

N-Nickname: Momma, Mum, Sweetheart, Babydoll, Cori Dee, and occasionally, the dreaded Corky. :{

O-Overnight hospital stay: only when I had Lucy. I stayed three nights! One of them I was in labor all night.

P-Pet Peeve: Lots! Improper grammar (like double negatives!), when people say "a hunerd" instead of "a hundred", when people say "warsh" and "warsh-cloth" instead of "wash", loud talkers at movies, and when people's jeans get stuck on the tongues of their tennis shoes (not in purposely, Justin Beiber kinda way).

Q-Quote from a movie: "So it's not gonna be easy. It's gonna be really hard. We're gonna have to work at this every day, but I want to do that because I want you. I want all of you, for ever, you and me, every day." - The Notebook

Photo from IMDB.com

R-right/left: righty

S-Siblings: an older sister

my sister, my mom, and me

T-Time you wake up normally: the alarm starts going off at 6:20 am. I usually drag myself out of bed around 7, depending on if I need to take a shower.

U-underwear: Umm, yes....? Victoria Secret?

V-veggies you dislike: Spinach, raw onions, peppers, squash, tomatoes

W-What makes you run late: sometimes Lucy, most of the time it's shear laziness and being slow

X-x-rays you've had: teeth a couple of times and my hip/pelvis once

Y-Yummy Food You Make: tonight we are having grilled chicken wraps! :)

 Z-Zoo animal: I love to watch the monkeys and the polar bears

Happy Hump Day!

I don't go by "Strawberry Shortcake" anymore...

...call me "Shorts" or just "Straws-B!"

Let me explain...

I was recently sent an article from my friend about how toys are changing, evolving, if you will. Girl toys are apparently becoming more sexy and flashy.  You can read the article too, here, on MSNBC, if you want.

I read it and these were my initial reactions: 1) Yes - I can see them somewhat updating the dolls. 2) Hmm...I don't really remember Tinkerbell dolls. 3) Why are Bratz Dollz not on here? Sorry - I may be off on the 'Z' placement, instead of 'S'. Stupid. Anyway...they're awful. And, 4) Strawberry Shortcake got a makeover? I'll have to google her!

I am apparently completely out of the girl toy loop! Where have I been? Take a look at some of these changes! Although they aren't all 'sexy' changes; I just had to investigate.

Strawberry Shortcake
When I played with her, she was petite and had an enormous head. She had semi-crazy, boy-hair, and big eyes. She was so out of proportion that she couldn't even play with Barbies...she was just too odd. This is what they have now!

When you say Strawberry Shortcake, I think of two things: Enormous head. Gone. The smell of strawberries. This is still TBD.

Polly Pocket
When I played with her, she could actually fit in your pocket! She was microscopic almost. Face details? Who needs a face, when you are that small and all you do is stand in little circles? All I knew was that she was blonde and occasionally wore a pink shirt and jeans. Period.

Is this a barbie? The face looks exactly the same. Again, why is Polly so big? I could NOT fit all of those things in my pocket. And, since when does Polly wear skirts? And, change clothes?

My Little Pony
Although they still sell the 'My Little Ponies' that I remember; they are making new ones too. The ones I remember were short and stocky. They looked young and little sheepish.

This is apparently 'My Little Pony Princess Celestia'...?  Why is she so lanky? Is it because she is a unicorn? Those are some pretty fancy 'shoes.'

Rainbow Brite
This was it; the one that put me over the edge. Rainbow Brite had yarn for hair. She had cloth legs and was unable to stand on her own. The only part of her that was hard was her head, which resulted in some major top-heaviness. She had these crazy hairs that stuck out the side of her ponytail; it made me feel even more connected to her. haha.

Who the heck is this impostor? I refuse to believe that she is really Rainbow. I refuse to believe that she is the Uncle Fester that went to the Bermuda Triangle, lost her memory, and showed up 10 years later. It simply isn't her.

At least I was comforted when I saw that Raggedy Ann was still her same old, hobo self. Whew! :)

As you can see, many changes have been made. I am not sure I am completely on board with the changes being 'sexier'. I do think that they are becoming flashier and the dolls appear to be wearing makeup or more of it. I always thought of these dolls as young. Now, it seems like they are all older...which makes me sad. Little girls should NOT be in any hurry to grow up. Hopefully, parents are relaying that message (as if that really works though, right?).

And, I realize that all toys have to change, "to keep up with the times", if you will. But, again, it makes me sad. I hope Lucy can stay grounded and cherish her youth for as long as possible. I guess I should start working on my spiel.

Which one shocked you the most? Have you seen any toys that have shockingly changed?

All photos were from Amazon.com.

Basement to Playroom Transition

This last weekend it began....begun? had begun? Anyway, you know what I mean...we started thee transition.

 When we moved into our home, it was obvious that the basement had been a playroom.  There were still tiny, dirty hand prints lining the wall down the stairs.  And, who would ever choose bright red carpet for any room other than a playroom? Yes - the carpet is bright red!

Immediately, we envisioned it as our children's playroom too.  That was back in 2007 though...before we were even married...before we filled that room with more junk than you can imagine...before it became the room where items go to die be stored.

I was going to take a before picture, and I do mean before picture. A picture showing the worst state the 'Red Room', as I call it, had ever been in.  Imagine this: totes stacked 4 high and 2 wide over in the corner, extra blankets, sleeping bags, and an air mattress shoved on the shelf in the other corner, DVDs and my beloved, puffy-cased Disney VHSs packed on not one, but two shelves, in the third corner, and in the fourth? Holiday totes and open boxes with random decorations protruding out the top. Lucy's baby clothes had officially taken over 4+ totes and we couldn't even get the lid on one of them. Her baby bottles, bouncy chair, and swing, in which she completely outgrew, were stacked on a recliner. The recliner still somehow faced the TV, not that we could actually use it.

You see...it didn't start this way. Things didn't start all strewn about.

There was once a Lucy-less time when the 'Red Room' was a workout area, a place to sort the laundry, and storage place for all of our keepsakes, in nice, organized totes in the corner. We had an entertainment center, a TV (it was old; but, it worked), a DVD Player, a treadmill, and even a table next to a neatly organized 'arts and crafts' area. Recently though? Mayhem.

The before, before picture would have been so awful that I am sure you all would have reported me to 'Hoarders' on A & E. Luckily, I forgot to take a picture though; so, I'm not even tempted to show you the mess. You will just have to imagine.

After we spent our Saturday morning cleaning out said basement, Heath did take some photos of the empty room. I will share those with the big reveal! :)

We took all of the stuff out, except for the big items (entertainment center, a twin bed, the treadmill, and a desk). Wow - listing these things makes this room sound huge. It's not...or it's about to not be...one of the two. You see here is the current lay out, minus all the junk:

I did the artwork myself....haha. It is totally to scale too. Not really. I am hoping that you can recognize the stairs and the window (especially with the tag: "window"), without too much explanation. However, the random squares and circles may require some explanation. I am not sure what each is or does; but, I know that they include the Heater/A.C., water heater, and water softener. What is the fourth one? No idea....I just know that two are rectangular and two are circular....haha. I am a stereotypical woman when it comes to that stuff. I could point out the heating/cooling unit though! I know that is the one on the far left.

These were exposed! Yes - this room was used as a playroom, with carpet, and these were, just, out there!

Our first priority was to cover them, safely. Our second priority was to make more storage and cover up those totes.  This is what we came up with:

I don't want to cover the window, as small as it is; nonetheless, we will be making a sort of 'cubby' type area there (where it says 'landing'). It will have a door, so we can put totes inside, and will be about 6 foot tall; but, the teeny tiny window won't be blocked and that's all that I care.

The construction begins this weekend and it is a chance for me to get my organization/decor in order. I have told you before: I love organizing!  I love putting things away! :) I am pumped about the thought of putting all of our stuff back! I literally want to yell "yay" right now.

So, I will be sure to share all of the things that I am looking at to help organize the room for Lucy. All I know right now is that the entertainment center is staying, the treadmill is moving to the 'den', and her toy box will be moving in.  I am looking into buying some more shelves or canvas totes though....more on that later.

Wish us luck; we'll need it!

Cabin Fever

I am not one to complain about the cold. I would much rather be cold than hot. It is so much easier to wrap up in a blanket, than it is to shake a heat headache and be all sweaty, without exercising.

I am not one to complain about the snow. I still get snow days, as an adult! It is so beautiful (until it gets all dirty along the side of the roads). And, for the holiday season, it is a must!

However, this year I am kind of getting sick of it - for the first time.....I think ever. I am not even sure why. I thought originally that it must be because we keep getting tastes of good weather and then it's cold again.  No....that isn't right....this is the Midwest; I should be used to that by now! Perhaps it is because I never leave the house. No...that isn't it either; I leave the house every single day and am hardly there sometimes! Hmmm, what is it?

It must be Lucy. I just keep thinking of all the fun things that I want to do with Lucy and you know what? Most of that is not inside the house.  There is only so much you can do in the house before you just want to bust out.

So, I decided to indulge my yearnings for spring, believe the groundhog, and wish for spring to be right around the corner.  Here are ten things that I can't wait to do this spring, in no particular order:

1) Plant flowers
The snow piled up so high on my mums that they died. :( So, I'm going to give winter a glare and a fist shake, tell him that he can't keep me down, and plant some more.  How do you like me now?  Side note: I thought long and hard, way harder than I should have, about if winter was a he or she just now. Mother nature? Jack Frost? Hmmmm....as you can see I settled on Jack. Anyway...

2) Hang up Lucy's Swing

She got a swing for her birthday (thanks Grandma!) and I can't wait to push her in it. She loves the one at daycare; so, I'm excited to spend evenings in the backyard pushing her.

3) Cook-Out

Heath and I enjoy cooking out, even sometimes the healthy stuff!  Yes - there is such thing, like grilled chicken. I'm sure Lucy will enjoy it too.

4) Open-Up the House

I know I just mentioned getting out of the house.  But, sometimes you just have chores to do! So, if I have to be in the house, at least I can open up the window, enjoy the fresh air, and watch the curtains blowing in the breeze.

5) Go for Walks/Runs

As I mentioned yesterday, I am starting to really enjoy running. I am looking forward to running outside several times a week and not depending on mother nature to set my warm or cold schedule.  Also, Lucy got a wagon for her birthday (thanks Abuelo!). We were able to take her out once this year already and she loved it. I can't wait to take her out again. I think we will be making lots of trips around town in it.

6) Spring Clean

I know what you are thinking, "Who wants to clean?" Alright, so it's less about the cleaning and more about the organizing. I thoroughly enjoy organizing things. I'm a freak. I envy those people on HGTV that come into people's homes and organize all of their stuff!  I do not envy, however, the organizers on Hoarders. Yuck.  I am looking forward to 'remodeling' our basement into a playroom, organizing everything, and putting it all back! Yay!  That includes cleaning out the closets and medicine cabinets. :)

7) Go Fly a Kite
No, not get out of town; but, actually fly a kite. Lucy got a kite for her birthday. I used to fly a kite every Easter with my family, when I was little. I am excited to do it again, and especially with Lucy. I imagine she'll be mesmerized.

8) Introduce Lucy to New Animals

Now that Lucy is older, she can appreciate things more. She will enjoy going to my mom's house to see the animals (cows, horses, chickens, cats). My grandparents even have a rabbit on their farm for her to meet. And, of course, she can see that not all dogs (or 'Chicos' as she calls them, because of our chihuahua named Chico) are chihuahuas and rat terriers. There are such things as big 'Chicos' too. Also, before it gets too hot, I want to take her to the zoo. She would just love that.

9) Get Jazzed up about Rain & Tornadoes
I, like many others, am petrified of the horrific capabilities of a tornado. I can't imagine the destruction. And, the only real tornado I've seen was like an EF1, or something pathetic.  So, I really am incapable of imagining it. However, I love a good storm. I've loved thunder, lightning, and rain for as long as I can remember. I think it's calming and I love sleeping while it rains. I also love the adrenaline rush of a good tornadic storm. And, you are right; "tornadic" doesn't sound like a word; but, it is one because the weather people drive me nuts with it! That and football announcers saying 'trickeration'. WTH?   

10) Easter!
This is kind of the kick-off to spring, in like a lion! It will be a lot of fun to dye eggs with Lucy and have her be able to somewhat collect them. Perhaps she will have more fun throwing plastic eggs and eating the real ones! Either way, anytime we get together with family is a good time!

By the way...at work today I saw a high schooler visiting, because of a special event. She must be yearning for spring as much as I!  She had shorts on today - not gym shorts like..."I just got done working out or I'm too cool to wear real pants because I'm so athletic."  They were like kahki Daisy Duke's!  Someone needs to calm down their excitment. It is still 32 degrees out and their is still snow on the ground, honey!

Anyway, happy 'winter to spring transition' everyone! What are you excited to do this spring?

Move the Dog Food

It officially happened. Lucy got into the dog food.

I had always been told that she would get into the dog food and undoubtedly eat it. So, we had prepared as best we could. We put the dog food on the other side of the baby gate allowing the chihuahuas to climb up and then back down the stairs for snacks and water. Then, Lucy also started climbing up and down the stairs; so, we had to move the dog food.

We decided the kitchen was a good place, over in the corner. Lucy hardly spent any time in the kitchen when she wasn't in her high chair - that was until I started making Christmas cookies. She was done with snack time and grew very impatient of 'the chair.' So, I pulled a few Tupperware bowls out of the cabinet, gave her a few wooden spoons, and let her bang away on them. It was a great past time for her, for about 10 minutes. Even Heath thought she would be fine playing while we worked on the cookies. Other things in the room became more interesting though, such as the heater vent or the door stop.

We had Christmas music playing and I think Spongebob was even on in the living room, which we could hear. But, that wasn't enough to dull the sound of the hard, dog food from clinking on the side of their shiny, silver bowl. I didn't even have to look; I knew it was Lucy!

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no........." I hollered, getting progressively louder and harsher, as I ran with peanut butter fingers to snatch up Lucy. I immediately pulled her hand out of her mouth and started digging for food. She thankfully only had one piece and it was placed directly between her four top teeth and four bottom teeth. At least she was going to try and chew it!

The look on her face? Surprised, at me that is. The taste? I've seen worse reactions to green beans and little licks of vanilla ice cream! Dog food however, was apparently not so bad.

I guess we will have to move the dog food again! She'll just have to stick with heater vents, door stops, and Tupperware!