Aloha Friday #54

I needs me some advice, lovely people!

My Little Prince is due in 3 weeks, and I'm all of a sudden freaking out!

I know baby girls. I know how to care for them.

Boys? Baby boys are a mystery to me. I'm woefully unprepared.

For example, I just learned, this last week, that when changing a baby boy's diaper, you must point "it" down or you'll have a mess on your hands.

I didn't know! See? Woefully unprepared.

So here's my question: What else do I need to know about taking care of baby boys?

And if you don't mind answering another question: To circumcise or not to circumcise? I'm leaning towards not, but we just started discussing this. Terribly, woefully unprepared.

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Check out An Island Life for more questions you just may have the answers to.

Wordless Wednesday--Soccer Star

My soccer star had her last game tonight.

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For more pictures, visit 5 Minutes for Mom.

The Itchy, Itchy Shake

The inevitable has finally happened:

There is a lice outbreak at Cinderella's preschool. *shudder*

I have no idea who the offender is. I don't think I want to know.

Cinderella, of course, is fine; she doesn't even know what a louse is.

I, of course, itch all over. It's a mental thing.

So, after preschool today we headed on down to the local health food store to get some tea tree oil (recommended by a hair dresser friend). The lady at the store told me to mix 2 cap-fulls of oil with every 8-ounces of shampoo (and conditioner, but I rarely use conditioner on Cinderella's hair), and we'd be all set.

Tea tree oil won't kill lice, but it will help prevent Cinderella from getting it. It creates a nice lice barrier.

Needless to say, both girls have already had a bath today. Right after lunch, in fact. I would have done it sooner, but if I didn't feed them first, they would have revolved.

The only downsides to this are 1. the cost of the oil ($12 for an ounce!!!), 2. the fact that I now have to wash Cinderella's hair EVERY DAY (which I don't already do; don't judge me too harshly), and 3. the EWWW factor I am currently experiencing.

I feel like I need to wash and/or burn everything in the house. I know I'm panicking, but EWWW! Lice are nasty.

I had lice. Once. It was not a pleasant experience. Especially the part where I had to lie down in the bathtub surrounded by dead lice bodies while my mom washed the lice shampoo out of my hair. *shudder*

Excuse me while I go freak out over every piece of lint in Cinderella's hair.

And scratch my head for the next week.

The Many Faces of Sleeping Beauty

Surprise

Confusion

Entertained

Disgust

Joy

Concern

Alice Cooper

Fate or Coincidence?

Have you ever met someone and had the feeling that this person and/or his family were somehow supposed to be a part of your/your family's life?

I have.

When we first signed Cinderella up for ballet lessons, I put her in the 4/5 year old class. She was the only one in the class, so her instructor asked if we would transfer her to the 3/4 class. No big deal.

That's where I met Ballet Dad.

Ballet Dad is a nice, easygoing, laid back, talkative, stay-at-home dad. We began to chat week after week, due to the fact that there were only 3 kids in this ballet class: Cinderella, Ballet Dad's daughter, and another girl who just dropped out, forcing the instructor to cancel the class.

Ballet Dad was nice enough every week, but definitely not one of the ladies I'd befriended last year at ballet.

Then Cinderella started 6 weeks of soccer.

And who do think was on her team?

Ballet Dad's son.

Prince Charming met and talked with Ballet Dad some after finding out our children were involved in the same activities.

That night he asked me if I thought Ballet Dad looked familiar.

I thought about it and couldn't really answer one way or another. I thought he might look familiar, but I'd seen him at ballet for long enough to confuse my memory.

Prince Charming was fairly certain we'd met Ballet Dad before, so we wracked our brains, trying to come up with ideas of where we could possibly have met Ballet Dad before.

Then Prince Charming saw the picture (one of almost 4000) flashing by on the slide show on our computer's screen saver.

Last summer, when Cinderella was 3, Prince Charming did a parent/tot swim class with her. Guess who else was in the swim class?

Ballet Dad. And his daughter.

That's 3 entirely different activities over the past 5 seasons that our children have been a part of together.

Granted, Moses Lake is not a huge city, but seriously. Ballet AND soccer? At the same time? The exact same swimming class time and session?

Add to this the fact that Ballet Dad's children go to the Christian Academy, which our church is heavily affiliated with, and we've potentially got fate working for us.

Or coincidence.

Status Report

Five weeks left until the Little Prince makes his appearance.

I'm still not ready.

We really need to start collecting some baby clothes. I actually broke down and bought some 0-3 month sleepers today. I never buy 0-3 month clothes, for myself or others.

I bit my tongue so hard during church last Sunday that it not only bled, but also left a bruise. On my tongue.

I have schoolwork to finish, but I'm just too tired.

I nap every day now.

Leavenworth was fantastic! I had a whole post planned about it, but I almost think it's too late. Maybe not. We'll see.

Cinderella started preschool 3 weeks ago and is absolutely loving it!

She also started ballet again, but the class is being canceled since there are only 2 girls in it. She'll be transferring to a combo class, which includes ballet, jazz, and clogging. I'm going to have a clogger in the house! Lord, help me!

Her last soccer game is next week. She still doesn't quite get it.

Sleeping Beauty now has 12 teeth and a whole slew of new words added to her vocabulary. My favorites are "shoe" (said clear as a bell), "taintoo" (thank you), and "yeah."

The school in our backyard now has 4 walls and a roof.

The PUD has been replacing all of the utility poles on our street for the last 3 weeks (more construction!).

A new house is going in next door (even more construction!).

We are going to have to pay for road improvements and sidewalks, as well as give up some of our property for these sidewalks (stupid easements).

That's the last 3 weeks in a nutshell. Plus whatever I forgot.

Like the new look?

An Apology to My Faithful Readers

Sorry about the lack of posts lately.

Pregnancy exhaustion has just taken hold of me and thrown me to the ground.

It's a battle I've been all too willing to lose lately.

I'm hanging on, though. I promise.

Wordless Wednesday--The Hammerheads

Cinderella had her first soccer match today.

The Hammerheads vs. the Pioneers.

I'm pretty sure the Hammerheads lost.

But it was cute watching them!

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For more pictures visit 5 Minutes for Mom.

All Things Bavarian, Except for the Italian

Tomorrow afternoon, Prince Charming and I are heading off into the sunset. Just the two of us.

We're going to Leavenworth. Just the two of us.

When I left my job right before Sleeping Beauty was born, I was gifted with a two-nights' stay at a B&B in Leavenworth. We're finally going to be able to use it. Just the two of us.

Prince Charming and I have never left the girls overnight before. Cinderella, twice, but those were leadership retreats through our church. And she was older. Sleeping Beauty has never been left behind before overnight.

Yes, I'm totally nervous about leaving her. She's my cuddle-bug. Her napping is all wacky lately. She's got some intestinal yuckies going on (sorry mom-in-law).

But the screaming (mostly in play; rarely in anger)? The bad napping? The nasty poopies? I can do without all of those for two days.

It's time for a break, just the two of us.

So, we're going to Leavenworth tomorrow. And hopefully we'll get to enjoy some good Italian food while we're there.

Mission: Impossibly Dumb

What an idiot!

Seriously?

The Buddha Belly (Button)

Being pregnant definitely does have its perks.

(And I mean besides getting a new baby and bigger boobs.)

One of my favorite pregnancy perks is my belly button. And getting to finally clean the thing out.

I have, by nature, an incredibly deep cavern of a belly button. It's so deep, that when I'm not pregnant, I can't even reach most of the creases and crevasses, even with tweezers.

(Actually, it's so deep that this is the first pregnancy where it's finally decided to pop out. I've never had my belly button pop out while pregnant before. It's kind of weirding me out.)

So, I have been taking great advantage of my swollen abdomen lately by indulging in some nice, deep cleaning of my belly button.

And it feels great!

Not the cleaning part; that part doesn't necessarily feel good. The satisfaction of having a clean belly button is what feels good.

It's the deep, dark little things in life that obviously entertain me.

Are you completely grossed out yet?

The Waiting Game

I have 66 days left.

About 10 weeks.

A little over 2 months.

I can barely bend over, or sit upright.

I feel huge, even though I'm not.

My maternity clothes are getting tight.

I'm exhausted, mentally and physically.

My girls miss my lap.

We have a name, but no clothes.

We have a nursery, but it's being used.

We have two kids already, but no experience with boys.

And the only thing we can do now is wait.

Just wait.

Wordless Wednesday--The Last Days of Summer

Sleeping Beauty enjoying the last days of summer.

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For more pictures, check out 5 Minutes for Mom.

Wordless Wednesday--Just Like Daddy

When Daddy gets on the laptop, he needs to be prepared for "help."
Fortunately, we have way too many old computers in our garage.
Now, Sleeping Beauty has her very own "computer."
Just like Daddy.

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For more pictures, check out 5 Minutes for Mom.

Sugary Sweet (and Orangey, Too!)

I went in for my glucose test today.

First of all, it's cruel not to let a pregnant woman eat first thing in the morning. Not that I'm always hungry right away, but I do get the jitters if I don't eat within an hour of getting out of bed.

Second of all, it should be illegal not to let a pregnant woman drink anything (not even water!) for 12 hours. (Seriously, though; who doesn't drink at least something before the test? I always do.)

Thirdly, why is the testing lab never open on a Saturday? That would be convenient, you know, while our hubbies are most likely home to watch the kids. Instead, they make us drag our kids with us to the lab, where they (the kids) proceed to whine because they can't have any of the sugary drink. Then, we either have to stick around for an hour (whatever!), or drag our kids around town, praying we make it back in time to have a needle shoved in our arm (for at least the third time this pregnancy) while our children watch horrified and fascinated.

Not that this is how my morning went. Oh, no. Cinderella didn't actually whine about not getting to taste the drink (which I don't think is that bad, honestly; at least the orange one; I've never bothered to taste the others). She was more into looking longingly at my "orange soda" and wondering why she couldn't have any.

We then somehow managed to get the grocery shopping done and back to the lab in under an hour.

Fortunately, it's all over. Unless it's like last time. Last time I had to go into the hospital and do the three-hour glucose test. Talk about misery! An extra two hours without eating. And honestly, how many times can you go out and run errands in a small town? At least I didn't have a child with my that time.

Now, my stomach is happily digesting my lunch. And I need a nap.