You know how sometimes you read stuff but you miss a word and then it takes on a whole different meaning?
That's what I thought happened when Mr Lemon read my grocery list and I thought bought me the wrong cake mix. He actually bought me exactly what I asked for, but I missed the words MOIST DELUXE on the box.
So since I thought he bought a plain yellow cake mix that I thought was going to turn out very very dry, I added a cup of prepared vanilla pudding.
That cake took 45 stinking minutes to bake. And then had the nerve to fall.
Mom tried to rescue it with plenty of from-scratch peanut butter icing, but it was pretty sunken in the middle.
It is SO GOOD. Seriously. All my cooking mistakes should have that result. It really tastes like pound cake. I'm gonna do it again on purpose sometime.
Imitation Pound Cake
Because my mom is not on Facebook yet and she's jealous of Facebook getting pictures and the blog not getting pictures
Mom is here for a few days to enjoy her grandbabies and get a real good laugh at me trying to manhandle (momhandle?) two under 2. Remember your mom saying "I hope you have children just like you"? My mom is totally getting a kick out of Zesty tripping all over the place, and kicking me in the shins on accident, and stepping on my toes ...
Zesty finally went down for a nap about the time we were ready to go paint the town red this afternoon (read: go to JoAnn's) so we decided to take pictures of Little Miss Pinky instead. When she was here helping me recuperate after Zesty was born, we took a "corner of the couch" series of him, and thought it would be cute to have a redux.
Ha.
She does not play well with cameras yet.
So I picked her up and cuddled her. And then edited the picture to post here :)
In which I ramble hormonally about having two distinctly different children
You may have noticed that I had the baby's real name posted on the previous post, but I've since removed it. If you're as woefully behind on reading blogs as I am when you see this, shoot me an email or check out my Facebook page to find out her real name.
And because it's my blog and I get my way on my blog, I've decided to change her bloggy name from Sprite to Pinky. For strange reasons completely unknown to me, I've always categorized the letters A-P as feminine letters, and Q-Z as masculine letters. I don't know why the division is not at M and N, or for that matter, why I think there are girl letters and boy letters. But anyways, now that she is here and in my arms 9 minutes out of 10, I just can't call her Sprite anymore on the blog. But, there is pink lemonade ... and she is a girly girl with lots of pink stuff ... so Pinky will work for me. I hope you can make the adjustment. I'm pretty sure I don't have enough spare time to go back through and edit every post with the name Sprite in it.
So Zesty and Splenda totally are in love with her. They love the idea of her, they love holding her, they love kissing her. They don't love sharing us with her. But, that will just take time, and hopefully Momma and Daddy are made of good quality elastic and can stretch around all three without snapping.
Here's a shot of the five of us (FIVE! OH MY WORD THERE ARE FIVE OF US!) when Splenda and Zesty met Pinky.
And the next morning Zesty decided to meet her all over again. That's her paci he stuck in his mouth. Hey, she wasn't using it. She's also trying to nurse his forehead.
He is fascinated with her fingers and toes. He takes her little arms and claps her hands together, and pats her head oh so gently. AND - my favorite - he takes her socks off and says "txtxtxtxtx" like he's tickling her toes! It is precious. Today when I was getting ready for the evening church service, I laid her in the bassinet. She let out a squawk, and Zesty came right over and tried to put her paci in her mouth. She didn't want it, so they played a little game of in-out-in-out, but she stopped crying, and he didn't try to take her out. Yet.
Pinky looks so much like Mr Lemon and Splenda. She has my chin and squeezy squeezy cheeks complete with dimples, but I'm pretty sure now that is where the resemblance ends. Mr Lemon apparently makes very pretty little girls.
She is already so different than Zesty. I would not say that he was a difficult baby, but she is waaaay easier. She wakes up in the night, but doesn't make an ordeal of it. She'll nurse, mess her diaper, and go back to sleep for awhile. She'll sleep with lights on or off, quiet or noisy background. She'll nurse anywhere, without startling at noises. For that matter, she'll take the bottle also without fuss. We had a nurse do a home visit Friday, and she said that babies are 90% alike by the rules, and 10% personality. Pinky appears to be laid back and content, and we're so glad!
Mr Lemon asked me the other day if I felt complete with one of each (boy and girl), and honestly, I never have looked at our family like that. I would have been thrilled if she'd been a boy, not felt gypped at all. I never really saw myself as being a boy mom, but I get down on the floor and play with Z's tools, and blocks, and play ball with him. It is my favorite thing to see him happy and dirty from playing! Now that I have a girly girl, I know that I will enjoy putting all her outfits together, and picking out hairbows, and tea parties! with dolls! I don't know how I lived without children before.
Momma's girl
Pinky
It took me about .000000021 seconds to fall in love with this little sweetie.
Boring birth story, really. I was due yesterday, but my doctor had pity on me and induced me Tuesday. Which gives her a really great birthday ... 11/10/09 How's that for memorable?
Anyways, back to the boring birth story. I had been contracting in the evening for weeks now, but nothing in the morning or daytime to speak of. As of Tuesday morning, I was still only dilated to 3cm. This time the doctor broke my water, then started Pitocin. Then about 2 painful hours later I called the nice! bubbly! nurse! to check on that epidural. I got it about an hour later, so by 11:00 I was well on my way to getting something to eat. I MEAN to having the baby.
Around 1:45 I really was not feeling good. I was lightheaded, had thrown up 3 times because of the epidural. I was even obeying orders and not drinking much water or even ice chips. I had some, but not a lot. The nurse came in and laid me down, propped me up, etc, etc.
Then around 2:15 I started feeling the pressure to push. I called the nurse, and she checked me. Her facial expression didn't really change, so I said, "Hey, can I move these pillows now (the propping pillows)?" She said "NO. Do not move at all." They called the doctor to see how close she was and clearly it was urgent. Nurse told her she could tell what color the hair was! She even had to hold her in while I coughed.
Doctor got in the room, scrubbed up, and by this time I was motivated to get this going. I pushed for 4 minutes, and delivered my baby at 2:48pm. I knew what I was doing this time, didn't take time to mess around and get dramatic about it.
She is perfect. 7 pounds 11 ounces, 20 inches long. PERFECT. No jaundice, lots of dark dark hair, and she has a dimple in her right cheek. She loves to be held, of course, and has the most perfect little feet. She has my crooked right pinky finger, and I think my toes too. Definitely Mr Lemon's eyes, which does not disappoint me in the least.
We came home from the hospital yesterday evening. I can't sleep in the hospital, and Mr Lemon had to work, so I figured we might as well come home and get settled. She has this little habit of napping all evening and then being up until 2am. It's going to take some getting used to. Right now she's propped up her behind on the desk and has her head on her arms on my chest. So sweet!
Oh, you want pictures?
Pinky on the inside ...
...working on the outside...
Oh what a change in my life! (snicker, snicker - it's an old church song, if you didn't know)
Mr Lemon couldn't be more proud of this moment
Same great doctor that delivered Zesty!
(Here's her web nursery page if you wanna check her out there too.)
Another One
Valerie again, due to technical issues beyond my control (uh huh you guessed it, knowledge), I can't get the latest picture of Sprite to post (I am blaming iPhoto) so go here, then you can see bigger and more pictures of the little cutie!
Happy Birthday Sprite!
Sunday afternoon
No baby yet.
But guess what happens when Momma takes a potty break?
Do you have any idea how hard it was to not howl with laughter?
To revive my dying blog
This time change has Zesty all messed up. Yesterday he took about an hour nap before lunch, but then went back to sleep at 5:15. He woke up briefly at 6:30, but he was so sweet, I just had to cuddle him. The cuddling was effective, Mr Lemon even changed his diaper before we went to bed (that would be Zesty's diaper, not Mr Lemon's diaper), and he just rolled over and stayed asleep. Until 5:30 this morning!
At his 18 month appointment ... a month ago ... I know, I am woefully behind on the posting of developmental things he does such as GROW LIKE A WEED... his pediatrician showed him the sign for "more." Ever since, he asks for a snack by doing that sign and saying " 'Nack? 'Nack?" It is the cutest thing, and I just can't refuse him a 'nack when he asks for it. Here's a posed video of it ... he was already eating his fruit 'nacks. Which, thanks to my sister in law the Brainiac, I now know that a package of fruit 'nacks is 13 grams of sugar. She took sugar packets and poured them out on her scientific scale and found that a single sugar packet is 2.7 grams of sugar. So every pack of fruit 'nacks is almost 5 sugar packets. WOW. That is a lot of sugar. Not so much with the fruit.
Mr Lemon is upstairs putting together Sprite's crib. We're being sensible this time around and going with used/borrowed baby gear. We scored a changing table on Craigslist for $25, borrowing the crib and a bassinet from said brainiac sister in law. We also begged a rocking chair from his grandma for the babies room. When Zesty was going into a high chair, we went with a booster seat to save space. This kitchen has space aplenty, so we'll be on the lookout for a regular high chair on Craigslist when the time comes, since Z will still be in his booster seat.
And I have no clever way to end this post except to say that there is still no baby, and the doctor said if I haven't had her by my Monday appointment that we would discuss an induction. I know I'm just being impatient because I'd already had Zesty at 39 weeks, but still. I don't know if I will make it until Monday. My belly cannot possibly stretch any further.
Week 39
The internet was broken this weekend at the House O' Lemons. This did not stop Mr Lemon from bringing down the only radio in the house - my alarm clock - and listening to Kentucky get stomped Saturday night.
No baby yet. Things are a little different this time around. I'm not scared of having a contraction, but I also don't start writing down a time every time I have one. I also don't call the doctor just because I've had contractions for an hour, even though their handy little piece of paper says "call if you are contracting regularly for an hour." Why call? They're just going to tell me to sit down, put my feet up, and drink water.
We're waiting to call the doctor until I know it's real this time. Like the kind of contractions that I can't talk, walk, or sleep through. The kind that make me tackle my husband in the night. Not the kind that just put a funny expression on my face. Those are just puny.
But, tonight is the full moon, so I've got my hospital bags and Zesty's go-away-to-somewhere-else bag packed. All the baby's stuff is washed and put away, the bassinet is ready, and I took Zesty for a nice long walk today in the stroller. Now he's pushing the umbrella stroller around the living room. Which is a nice change from pulling the books off the bookshelf.
And right after I typed that about the full moon, I decided to go on a little Google trip and see if I could find any cool convincing websites about babies being born under a full moon. Can't really find any that have conclusive studies, just that the lunar cycle could affect the pressure of the amniotic sac.
Not that I could tell if my water has broken or not. I've been violently coughing (read: no bladder control) with an upper respiratory infection for over a week now (it's better, thanks for asking) but this weekend I am not ashamed to say that I wore one of Zesty's disposable diapers to bed each night so that I wouldn't wet the bed while Mr Lemon was home. Let's just say I've really been keeping up on the laundry, since I only have one jean skirt that fits me right now.
Segue to a more pressing matter ... Sunday morning my son was h.o.r.r.i.b.l.e. in church. Smacking at me, pulling my glasses off my face, etc, etc, etc. Kind ladies tried to distract him with toys and cereal, all of which I -hopefully politely- refused because when he is in a temper fit, he will look for stuff to throw. He'll ask for his paci just to be able to throw it. If we're at home, I just put him in his crib until he calms down, but what do you do with your kids in public? I'm not afraid to smack a hand or take him to the bathroom for a talk with the spanking spoon, but he just would.not.stop. until Daddy came down off the platform from playing the drums. I realize it's a phase, but what do you do until the phase passes?
[insert title here]
The new apartment ... it's starting to feel like home now. I fixed chili for lunch, and no-bake cookies this afternoon for snack, and we have the internet. OH INTERNET - I have missed you.
Since we only moved 4 doors down, we didn't have the perilous trial of losing any boxes in the move, but we still managed to lose a set of curtains. They were nicely folded, and then they were ... gone. We found them this afternoon under a pile of clean laundry.
(Which has yet to make it upstairs and into drawers. Because THE INTERNET IS HERE.)
I haven't taken pictures yet, I'm going to wait until time for the bloggy Christmas Tour of Homes. Which reminds me ... I need to buy another stocking for Sprite, and figure out where I'm going to come up with the chimney that the stockings need to hang by with care.
I'm so so pleased with how the kids' rooms have turned out. Splenda's room is simple, but girly. I put a bookcase in there with her flowers from our wedding, and all of my books that she reads and re-reads, including my prized collection of Louisa May Alcott books. I only enjoy reading LMA books that are old editions.
Zesty and Sprite's room is almost ready for Sprite. I'm still organizing her many clothes, but it's really just an excuse to look at them again. Zesty LOVES playing in his room, and did very well napping and sleeping overnight in his new room, to my great delight.
One downside to the bigger apartment is that we lost quite a bit of closet space. As I mentioned previously, we decided the parents need more space, so we really sacrificed the closet to have the biggest bedroom. To fix that, we hung a 4' wire shelf behind the door. It works out just fine.
The kitchen *muah muah!* I love the bigger kitchen, and the space to walk around to do stuff! I'm probably going to hate it the day that Zesty figures out how to open the fridge and pours a whole gallon of red Koolaid on the floor, but for now I likey very much. I have a pantry, which is making my feet do a little happy dance every time I walk by.
Everything is organized and in its place, and now I'm just trying to rest up before the baby comes. I've been contracting pretty regularly, sometimes even painfully, but it's nothing to call the doctor about yet. I have an appointment in the morning, so maybe she can get things moving for me.
What've you been doing lately?
