Unconditional Love????

Cole: "Mom, can I have more apple juice?"

Me: "No, it's all gone. There's no more."

Cole: (mumbling and with his hands over his mouth) "I don't love you anymore."

So I stopped what I was doing to turn around and look at him. 

Me: "What did you say?"

Cole: (still mumbling through his fingers) " I love you."

Me: "No, that's not what you said. What did you say?"

Cole: (covering his face) "I don't remember."

Right.

Still working through this one....

Is it a Boy or a Girl????

We hope to find out soon, but in the meantime, cast your vote. I put a poll up on the left side of the blog so you can do so.

BTW, I know the blog look is weird and I plan on working on it. I plan on it. But I am like 6 weeks behind in client work and the aesthetics of my blog will have to come later. BooHoo, but I'll have some very happy clients who will now be relieved to know I am back in business and ready to deliver! Thanks for being so patient with me!

Now go vote!

Toddler Care

Some days are good, some days are bad, and some days are really really bad. This is the 3rd good day in a row and probably something to celebrate. But I'm still leery and scared because the last time I celebrated, it bit me in the bum. For 6 weeks. So, we'll just say I'm having a good day, good enough to blog briefly.

I'm sure you're wondering just how bad my days have been. Let's just say that my toilet and I have become a lot more intimate than I am comfortable with. But even sadder is that my toilet and toddler have also become a lot more intimate than I am comfortable with. We spend a lot of our time in the guest bathroom he and I. There are strict rules that must be followed:

the toilet bowl must be clean at all times
the toilet must remain flushed at all times
the toilet seat and rim must be wiped down after every use
the blue stool must be present at all times
the shower curtain must be open and draped up at all times
there must be clean hand towels readily available
a clean glass must also always be readily available
and absolutely NO pooping in the guest bathroom (or at least I must never know about it)

Little Man has really grown into his own and now has to take care of his Mom. Here is a teeny-tiny dysfunctional glimpse of the happenings of our house these last few weeks:

Yes, that's my three year old holding my head and rubbing my back as I throw up. He's also saying, "Mommy, it's ok. You're going to be ok."

I know. It's pretty sad. He then gets me wet towels and fills a glass of water and then demands that I drink,...and then swallow. And he watches me, and waits, to make sure I swallow.

The Dad Life

Seriously, I haven't blogged since the 21st of June? I need to get better at this. BUT I have been reading other people's blogs and found this video and the creased dockers, lawn love, checkbook magic, and that popcorn bowl I was immediately reminded of my man. Except, he's waay cooler than those dads, ya know, just like my kids.



and I wasn't kidding about the popcorn bowl. It's exaclty the one I got from 1-800-Flowers when I had Cole. From the proud Papa. Here's proof....

Mind over Matter

I want to be asleep. I really really do. But it appears that my previous letter to morning sickness has pissed it off. I felt horrible yesterday. Horrible. All day I was trying to keep things down. I wimpered and lay in bed all day. Then, I made a lentil soup like my Aunt Ana used to make me. And I just ended up flushing it down the toilet. So tonight I was sitting in the living room just trying to kill time. So I watched a Lifetime movie. Not just any movie, but one I'd already seen. I hate rewatching movies. But I felt crappy and I wanted to avoid barfing again.

But I finally gave in and got in bed. I kept repeating these 3 words in my head, "Mind over matter". It's all in my head. I could have thrown up many many times but I have kept myself busy. My mind busy. So I tried to think about random stuff. Stuff to get me to doze off. Then I remembered I hadn't prayed in a while. The last time I had prayed I had prayed that morning sickness stayed at bay because I had a project I had to finish up for a client. I also prayed for some more work. I felt fantastic the following day and then ended up getting super duper busy with BIG jobs (as in more than one). I must have gotten caught up in all the excitememnt and feeling awesome that I forgot to pray again.

So I thought of this as I lay there feeling guilty for not having spoken to Him in a few days. And all I could think to pray for was to be thankful. Thankful for morning sickness. For the sign of life within me. New life. For an answer to a prayer we had recited over and over again. And I felt better so I decided to blog. Now that I'm not afraid of the barf, I think I'll join my Baby Daddy in bed. Who by the way had a crappy Father's Day because I was feeling icky. So I might have said to him that his gifts were making me nauseous...Happy Father's Day. My poor Man, he even thanked me!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY WILL!!!!!

An open letter to Morning Sickness

I cannot stop eating. I love food. I have to admit that I have had visions of me putting my whole fist in my mouth just to momentarily kill the hunger. And this usually occurs as I am driving home from having just eaten. I have put on 4 pounds in 4 weeks with this pregnancy. I am already wearing maternity clothes (nevermind that I probably should have gone up a size before pregnancy, I am just happy to be able to blame it on something rather than just my own lack of discipline.) I am sporting the belly of someone who is in her 4th or 5th month of pregnancy. Yeah. I'm in my second. I'm blowing up people! I'm blowing up!!!!

When I was pregnant with Cole, I had horrible morning sickness,..all day. And all night. I think I lost 6 pounds in the first trimester. Water wouldn't even stay down. So I looked svelte during my pregnancy. Except towards the end that my face got swollen. But I didn't even notice it until I had seen a picture I had taken and that made me wonder if maybe I didn't look so hot after all. But you could only tell I was pregnant when I would turn around to face you and my big o' belly would knock you down. I have a feeling that my ass is gonna get pretty wide this time around. I laughed when people said that with the second pregnancy your body knows what to do and it springs into action. That you get bigger. "No,...not me. I'm a teeny little thing." I was always kinda reassured that the nausea would help me lose those extra pounds and would assure me that I again would gain no more than 22 pounds in pregnancy.

Dear Morning Sickness,


I hated you. I hated the thought of motherhood with you around. I couldn't even imagine motherhood with you lurking at every bite and sip. I couldn't see past that toilet I became very close to. Oh, and those brown paper bags. How they saved me a time or two. I remember the ride to the airport to catch a plane to Oregon. I thought you were in my past. And you snuck up on me. There was not a brown paper bag in sight. But I managed to swindle a plastic baggie from brother or sister and then we became very close-baggie and I. I learned a lot about keeping quiet under pressure. Vomit pressure.


You also brought me closer to my OBGYN and all his staff. We were in there every week to check on baby. The contractions my stomach did all day everyday worried him. So we had to go in and get checked all the time. Sick. Nauseous. I hated you as I had my sights on that OB's bathroom. And when someone would go in there, I'd break a sweat. In a panic I would look around for somewhere to quietly relieve myself. Because you were a sneaky little thing. You liked to keep me on my toes.


But I survived your 12 weeks of torture. I did. Yes I did. So this time around, I was ready for you. I had my people lined up to help battle you, and bring me wet towels and headbands. And to watch my other little terror. The 3 year old. Remember him? Now that I think about it, it occurs to me that you two might have been in cahoots. You haven't showed up but sometimes, he talks so much he makes me nauseous with this pregnancy. 

So where are you now tough guy? I'm in my 7th week,...I'm just sayin' 

Thinking of you,


Vannessa

Also, Cole is super duper excited about being a big brother. He has given himself a new honorary title: Brother Bear. Hmm, thinking that's a cute shirt idea......But in the meantime, this picture of Baby Bear (at 6 weeks 6 days) will have to do....

Baby's 1st picture!

So far so good!

We're measuring a week behind which accounts for the scare we had a week and a half ago when the Dr wasn't liking what he wasn't seeing. That explains a lot! We are now looking at a due date of the 30th of January 2011. We even saw the heartbeat flutter! Pretty neat!