Naturally Optimistic

...because I am. Ugh. Hormones.

I purchased a crib sheet for Baby B #2's room yesterday - I didn't know which way I was going except for that the walls in his/her room are tan, the dust ruffle is tan w/multi-colored dots & that's about it... I found a cute crib sheet at Target (which I would photograph but it's in the wash) which has owls, trees & bees on it...(maybe turtles too? I can't remember). So, I thought "Owls - that's cute." And I started looking on Etsy for some cute art for the walls. I found exactly what I am looking for - except there are far too many choices. I like the idea of trees, squirrels, birds, bees, turtles, bunnies, etc. I think it'll be cute (& I won't spend too much out-of-pocket to throw the room together). I finished priming the baby's dresser & drawers today. I think it will be white or cream (depending on what we paint the trim in the room) with green knobs. As I said yesterday...I am anxious to get the thing out of the livin...

It would NOT be "The Speediest Home Improvers Ever!" We are so. Ungodly. Slow. I hate it. It took probably 6 months to get Dahlia's tiny room 'finished' (although we are still needing to hang one piece of art...). It took months upon months for me to strip the wallpaper in our bedroom (it was the EVIL kind of wallpaper)...and we're still living in what looks like ruins from post-war Europe. Lovely. Relaxing. Soothing. Sheesh. We have lived here for a year & a half & have ONE piece of artwork hung. WTH? The baby's room is in process - we have a time limit on this - obviously. That wallpaper wasn't as hard to strip -but was a pain in my rear. My Dad painted it - YAHOOOOOO - when they were up watching Dahlia while we went up the shore in January. Thank God. I primed the nasty closet last Friday (well, most of it - I can't reach the upper parts) and Steve has started priming all the trim...but it is slow going. He is a perfectionist. I primed t...

Started testing my blood sugar today after my 2 1/2 appt at the diabetes clinic. Let's just say I'm being very careful trying to get creative (already!) but both my after lunch & after dinner numbers are high & I'm already frustrated. Mostly because I'm very very hungry. I can't wait til 9:30 when I can have a snack. That'll probably jack me for the morning but what can I do? Otherwise I will wake up at 3 or 4am with a very rumbly tummy. (This is a photo of some "snack packs" I put together today on advice of my nutritionist...some good things to 'munch on' for snack time. I thought it was a great idea until I saw how SMALL they are! Except the peanuts. Those are doable. Each pack is APPROXIMATELY 15g of carb which is one carb serving. My 'snacks' are one carb serving each. I think I could eat 12 of these...in one sitting...) I need to exercise more but I am a slow, fat, beached whale these days & the thought of doing someth...

Mommy & her little picture-taking helper!

Daily Dose of Dahlia is in the process of being updated for Feb! I'm so behind!!

Well, as expected, it looks like I have failed my 3 hour GTT. I haven't gotten the official phone call yet, but I did get a notification to check my online health account. Pre-test results good! 1 hour results - okay; 2 hour results - Fail; 3 hour results - Fail. It's a pain in my butt, to be sure, but there are worse things I could be dealing with. At least I don't have to go through any major eating holidays (ie: Thanksgiving). Maybe this time I'll get lucky & won't have to use insulin. Only time will tell. In the meantime, I'm being bad & having a bagel & a big glass of orange juice for breakfast. Oh & I might just take a few piece of Valentine's candy in my lunch before I'm officially cut off.

Dahlia & I had a great time this weekend. It was our Girls Adventure, so to speak. We went to visit Grandma & Grandpa (Papa) Rossow in Austin. We originally picked this weekend because Steve was supposed to be skiing in Montana...but his trip didn't end up happening. Ours did because it was already planned! Friday we met Kathy & the Triplets at the MN Zoo. It was a nice break for us & we got in for free on her membership. Dahlia hadn't been there before & enjoyed running around. We walked the Tropical Trail & the Minnesota Trail - so we saw lemurs, birds, turtles, fish, a big snake, wolves, lynx, puma, mountain goat, deer....& I forget what else. We also took a gander at the snow monkeys. We had lunch with them there & then got back in the car to continue our journey. Dahlia slept from Apple Valley to Austin - which rocked. The weekend consisted of playing, lounging, eating, hanging out...it was great. Dahlia loved playing with Papa & Gramma ...

As I expected, I failed the one-hour glucose test (again). I mean I REALLY failed it. So, on to the 3-hour test next week. I don't hold out much hope. Time to start breaking out all the veggies, nuts & meat. Whohooo! Just what I'm craving.

Today I have my second GTT test. Whohooo! I had one at 16 weeks (which is terribly early in my non-medical opinion) due to me having gestational diabetes with Dahlia. That was fun. But I passed! Today, at 28 weeks, I'm not as confident that I'll get a passing grade. I guess I will know by this afternoon. I also get my first Rhogam shot! How come Steve doesn't have to do any of these very pleasant things? haha. Oh well..... Side Note: Dahlia went to bed like a NORMAL child last night & slept all night...in fact as of 7:48am (now) she is still sleeping!!! Whohooo!

My "Welcome to the Third Trimester" pic... Just for comparison's sake: 28w, 2d with Dahlia Bigger? Smaller? I can't tell. Looks like I'm carrying Baby B #2 exactly the same though, no?

Well today is a momentous occasion on a couple of counts.... Six years ago today I met Steve IRL (that's "In Real Life," Mom). We had met a few weeks prior to that online & had been emailing back & forth. The night before (Feb 5) we had our first telephone conversation & he asked me out for the next night! The rest as they say...is history. And today marks the beginning of the 3rd trimester! How did THAT happen? Ay yi yi. I'm definitely feeling more like a beached whale each day & my energy level is decreasing. I suppose that's natural, eh? Oh yesterday when I came downstairs this sweet treat was waiting for me. What a swell guy.

Last night, after a very fun bathtime, I put Dahlia to bed. She requested we read "Horton" and so we did. Dang that's a long book. Anyway - she's been on a Horton kick lately. About 3/4 of the way through she fell asleep! Unusual because typically she will stay awake & try to weasel many many stories out of her Dad & I each night (she often falls asleep when we read before naptime). I laid her in her crib and that was that. I did hear her cry out once in the middle of the night - but it literally lasted 3 seconds & she must've been asleep. Then not a peep til about 7:30 this morning! It was awesome! I didn't even wake myself coughing (had to get up a few times to pee, but what do you expect?). Aside from my sore throat that will not go away, I am feeling a MILLION times better today. Thank goodness!

I get all worked up over something & then I need a few days to take a breath, step back and reassess. Yeah, the sleeping thing sucks. For sure. It sucks that I have a cold & feel like crap & need to get some decent zzzz's & I'm not. But I'm pretty sure Dahlia won't turn out to be a terrorist if I sleep with her occasionally. She slept much better last night. Til about 5am. at 5am my brain has switched to "early morning" instead of "middle of the night" thoughts and that is my magic hour where I have no qualms about getting her up to snuggle with me. Because quite frankly the alternative could be that she's DONE sleeping & demand to just get up. It was close this morning. She wanted to read & "get up" but luckily dreamland called her back & I got a couple more hours of sleep. Pre-Dahlia-waking I slept like crap (unfortunately) due to my dang cough that just won't go away and really only persists after I la...

Last night bedtime went great. Dahlia was in a great mood, had a fun bath, read 3 stories & off to bed. Steve & I were both in bed by 9:30 - a full night's sleep awaited us. Until I had to keep getting up to pee (3 times before 3am - ARGH). Then I started coughing. Awesome. And then at 3 Dahlia woke up & started yelling for me. I was determined to NOT bring her into bed with me. We tried some water, cajoling, cuddling, talking to, explaining, rocking, singing, milk & finally I gave in. I was so mad at myself for doing it but I also NEED to get some sleep so I can kick this stupid cold. So around 4:15-4:30 or so we snuggled & she slept great. I finally slept too. When I was getting her dressed this morning I tried to reiterate that TONIGHT she will sleep ALL NIGHT in her own crib. She repeated it back to me, but I'm doubtful whether or not she gets it.

So to add insult to injury...(sickness, no sleep, 0 in attendance at Friday's GR screening) we just found out today that neither film (WHITE MAN'S WORLD or JIMMY BLACK'S CADILLAC) were accepted into the Fargo Film Festival. *sigh* Our beloved Fargo - such a fun little festival. So many interesting films & people; great parties, relaxation, good wine. I was really really hoping to attend Fargo this year. A chance to take a few days for me (the last for quite a while I think). To immerse myself in film, to sleep in, to network, to be there as a "director" (that is if JBC had gotten in). But it wasn't meant to be. This comes on a particularly harsh day (see previous post, new pay cut starts this week, budget woes mount). I was looking forward to Fargo as well this year because my good buddy Rob Nilsson is showing his new film there. Suckity suck suck suck.

My folks came up this weekend to take on the Dahlia-nator while Steve & I headed up the shore for a much needed break. We left on Saturday afternoon & took a short walk on the SHT at the Split Rock River Loop. Being that I'm starting my 3rd trimester (!!!), had to pee & was cold, our walk was not too long, but it was pretty & good to get fresh air. Then back on the road to Grand Marais. We stayed at the Best Western up there which was really nice! The rooms have very recently been renovated - the theme is obviously Lake Superior & the North Shore as there are granite countertops, the artwork is very Grand Marais-y (rocks, water, etc), even the patterns on the carpet seemed to say something about the lake. We were on the first floor & looked right out onto the beach & lake. Quite lovely. as we entered there was soft jazz playing on the (awesome) Smarter Image clock radio & we were both quite impressed. The bathroom, also rocked. Slate tile, glass door...