Lazy woman's art

I've had my eye on this project for a while, but have not been able to find any old windows. Then my sister-in-law Abbie the Architect-to-be ended up with a gazillion of them and kindly gave me four! I was rather excited imagining all the things I could do with these babies.

The things is, I am feeling very lazy. Pregnancy lazy. I haven't wanted to do much of anything since I've been so tired and feeling generally yucky. What I really needed to do was wash the window, remove the hardware, repaint it, carefully apply the paper, and then hang it. Instead all I did was wash it, cut the paper, and rest it on our headboard (I think that's a safety hazard though so I will have to do something about that one :). I still love it, though. I suppose someday I will get around to all the details.

I love that this cost me $0. The window was free and I just rounded up some leftover scrapbook paper. I might switch up the paper with some better pieces at some point, but it works for now.

FYI: You can usually find old windows at Habitat Re-Stores or other similar places.

Our Little Deer

For whatever reason, we have gotten her leg to stay on better today! She wore it for several hours with no problems. Maybe folding over the sock helped. Check out this adorable video of our little 'deer'. We are so proud of her!

First Leggy

This came in the mail as I was literally walking out the door to go to Atlanta for my doctor's appointment. I was soo excited. Even though we were already running late, I ripped open the box and shoved the entire contents into my overnight bag before leaving.

Here is Anna's first leggy!

I think it is so cute. The reason the foot is a different color is because they only make that size baby foot in one color. Obviously Anna's skin is much darker. We will have more feet to choose from when she grows a little.

Anna handled the new leg so well. She didn't mind it at all. She didn't cry. She just kind of looked at, pointed to it from time to time, and then tried to get around like usual. She has learned to be flexible and adjust well after her short leg, casts, bandages, etc. I am so incredibly proud of her! She likes to hug the leg and play with it, too. I have to keep her from chewing on it, though.

She definitely doesn't quite have the hang of using the leg yet. It's a little like watching a baby deer trying to stand up on their wobbly legs. She prefers to crawl because she can get around much quicker.

The difficult thing is that the leg keeps falling off. We tried using different combinations of prosthetic socks to make it a tighter fit, but then the leg doesn't slide far enough up her leg and it ends up being a good inch longer than her other leg. So getting the leg to stay on is a real challenge. Right now we are having trouble using it at all (once we realized the leg was too long with the double socks we didn't want her to develop bad gait habits so we are kind of at a stand still with it). The CP is sending us a sleeve that might help it stay on better. She said it's more work to keep clean since it's made of a gel that sticks to the skin and adds another layer to her already 3 layers of 'stuff', but I'm really hoping it helps the leg stay on. I think if we could just get it to stay on better, she would learn to use it quickly.

I would like to give a shout out to... me! Because I survived an entire month of being a single parent. Yes, a whole month. Ben spent the last month in south Georgia on a rural medicine rotation. I didn't mention it to many people for obvious safety reasons. It was a rough month. Combine first trimester pregnancy exhaustion and nausea with actually getting sick, then Anna getting sick, allergies, a trip to Shriners and an overnight trip to Atlanta and you have a very, very helpless, exhausted parent. I was literally at the end of my rope the last week. Thankfully, Ben is back and after 24 hours of help (like that crucial hour where he plays with Anna when he gets home plus a little help with the dishes) and I already feel 75% better. I have a lot of respect for single moms.

In other (bad) news, Anna appears to be developing more allergies. We now have to cross off more foods on the list thanks to some recent reactions: strawberries and BEANS and other legumes (the allergist said some kids who are allergic to peanuts also have problems with the entire legume family). None of those gave her a problem before, but they do now. I am really upset about it because we eat a lot of beans. We don't eat that much meat, and beans are our inexpensive protein that we use all the time. I don't know what I'm going to do now- cook meat every night? Buy expensive seafood for a protein? UGH!!!!!!! NOT HAPPY! That brings her list of no-nos to include: milk/dairy, eggs, peanuts, nuts, strawberries, peas, beans, lentils and according to the allergist, possibly citrus and tomatoes because they have the same bothersome chemical that the strawberries have. At this rate, we will be eating rice and meat for the rest of our lives. Before Debbie Downer signs off, I will end on a positive note.

Ben had an interview this week and he has another next week. He has an edge in both places because they need someone who is fluent in Spanish. We are hopeful that he will find the right job and we will know where we will be moving soon! It's a little tricky with timing, because most places who are actively looking for a PA want someone who can work soon, and Ben can't work until August or September when he completes his boards so he has to find someone who is willing to wait for him. But we are hopeful. We are really limiting our options only considering places that are part of the rural health federal program, but we feel it will be worth it in the long run.

New page of resources

I put up a page of resources on the above tabs section. Check it out! If anyone has any additions, please leave a comment in this post. I added the amazing NBC Rock Center piece on Oscar Pistorius from last week, so go watch it!

I was also feeling like the blog looked a little schizophrenic, so enjoy the new setup.

14 months and first leggy fitting

First off, ya'll posted some really nice comments on my last post about VBACs. Thanks for all the support!


Anna is 14 months old! She is so cute these days. Babbling like crazy. She says "ball," "Daddy," and "all done" and her favorite word is "birdie" which she exclaims and points every time she hears a chirp outside. I love, love this stage. She continues to have such a wonderful attitude and is always happy! Ok, except when she is at a hospital or doctor's office. Then she is miserable.

Speaking of such, we had a trip to Shr*ners today. The ride there and back went great. She took both her naps in the van and handled the 6 hours of driving beautifully.

The appointment was not a big hit, however. As soon as she saw the CP she started screaming! I don't know if it was the scrubs or what, but she clung to me and would not let go for dear life. The CP tried leaving the room and giving her some time to calm down, but each time she came back in Anna would start screaming again. I've never seen her react so strongly before. The CP was so great, friendly, and wonderful so that wasn't it. I guess she's just been through so much and being there hit a chord. Maybe she was afraid the lady was going to try and take her other foot off! We at least got the first 'draft' of her leg on and had her stand up on it, if only for a second. I wish we had more time to evaluate the fit but she was so beside herself the CP thought it was best not to push it. She did say it was completely normal and that many kids freak out when getting a new leg cast or tried on because it's such an emotional thing. I really think it wasn't so much the leg, though, as it was the hospital setting and the uniformed people that bothered her. She handled the casting just fine last time. I really loved the CP and am glad we decided to stay with Shr*ners. The leg was so cute and I can't wait to get it in the mail! Her first leggy will arrive in less than two weeks! I am sooo excited! I know it will take slow steps to get her adjusted to it, but I am happy for this next stage in her life. When I saw her standing on two even legs for the first time ever, I got really emotional. It was a wonderful sight.

Here is some leggy inspiration from two dear friends' babies- cutie pie Dylan and sweet Anna (hope they don't mind me posting these :)

Anna's been having some more allergic reactions lately (like hives on the fingers at a restaurant even when I wiped down the entire tray and table. Apparently she touched some sort of residue. Urg!!) so I went ahead and organized a little purse for her medication. I was getting stressed out wondering where the pens were and didn't want anyone to have to dig through a bag to find one if she ever needed it. I also wanted everything together with the instructions so we could just grab it and go whenever we go out with her. This is what I came up with:

I like how I can hang it by the door to remember to take it with us. And when other people are watching Anna, they will have everything right there in a bright case.

On a random note, I scored big time in finding a woman who sold me some maternity clothes in my size. I knew I needed a few since my clothes were almost all sweaters and pants. Most of the stuff I got from her were dresses and a bit nicer than I would normally wear day to day, but I figure dresses are the most comfortable in the summer anyway. I fully plan on making good use of them. So if you see me dressed up this summer, you know why. I'm glad they are pretty modest necklines, too, which I always have a hard time finding. I attempted to wear something strapless for the first time in years to Ben's graduation. Not happening again anytime soon. I've gotten more sensitive to necklines since having a toddler on your hip all too often results in shifting clothes.  Here's one of the dresses and my first baby bump picture:

I realize I look huge for only being 10 weeks along. I blame it on the fact that I just finished a very large meal. I've always been that kid who had the potbelly after a big meal ;p

These clothes I got were an especially nice find since apparently Motherhood Maternity has decided that all pregnant women are rich.... and growing exponentially. Their size Small seemed so ginormous that when I compared it to one of their tops I had from years ago in a size Medium (which I found at a yard sale) this is what I found:

The WHITE shirt is the old Medium. The pink one is the current Small. Yes, their old Mediums are now smaller than their current Smalls. At this rate, all American pregnant women will be giants by 2050!