He's Warming Up To Her
I say that because when Leslie first brought Finn to the hospital to meet his little partner in crime, he didn't like her at all. He wanted to look at the trucks in the window. Then, last night he agreed to give her a kiss. This morning he went from trying to hit her to kissing her and saying, "Ba-bah," which is his word for baby.
Spooky Schuller. Funny how little control she has over her facial expressions.

You can see her hospital picture at:
http://www.kadlecfoundation.org/template.php?id=1348

Lucy Schuller
This is the little angel sleeping right now. We just brought her home from the hospital about 4 this afternoon. Let me say, she loves to eat and poops alot!
These sweet little booties were waiting for us when we got home, courtesy of Uncle Justin, Aunt Whitney, cousin Ivy Fredin. Thanks, Fredins!
I put this blanket folded up on the bed to use later and when I went in to take Lucy's picture, I found that Travis had covered her up in it. Good dad, huh? This quilt was also in the package from the Fredins. How cute!
A grateful mom and her baby after her first nursing. She took to eating pretty well and I was so glad she was actually here! The short labor story: went in to be induced at 12 noon; got 4 pricks for the IV; got Sitetac (sp?) to get labor going; labor didn't progress very well; got Pitocin and an epidural that worked wonderfully; Dr. put in an internal monitor on baby and mom and more fluid into womb; dilated from a 2 to a 10 in about an hour; pushed 5 minutes; Lucy born at 2:05 AM, 1/29/07; no tearing and beautiful baby. It is a miracle and I feel like I'm on Cloud 9 still. She was 7 lb, 1 oz and 19 3/4 inches long.
Like most newborns, loves to have her hands by her face. She makes these worried looks sometimes. She is sweet as sugar.

She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain
Whitney, this picture is for you. I wouldn't normally post a picture of my silhouette (pregnant or not), but this was a special request for a special girl.
Here's where the little princess will slumber (the keyword is slumber). I'm hoping for a champion sleeper. Maybe that's asking too much. I made the cover for this vintage bassinet a month or so ago.
Oh, the diapers! There's something about seeing little newborn diapers that is so adorable I can hardly stand it. These ones have a little cutaway for the umbilical stump. It's almost here and I can't believe it. This may be my last post for a while as I will probably have my hands full until I get used to two children. I hopefully will be admitted to the Birthing Center tomorrow at noon. If not, I guess I'll just keep eating and wait until they have an available room.

2 AM, Can't Sleep
By the way, that picture is Finn cleaning out his ears with some Q-tips he found in the garbage. He sees his Dad do this every morning after his shower, he must have figured he could do it too. Gross! Don't worry, we promptly removed them from his grimy hands after a quick picture snap.

I can see the headlines now, "9 Months Pregnant Woman: Dies From Lack of Sleep." I'll tell my sad story, since apparently I can't sleep without taking Ambien before bedtime. At first I was taking Tylenol PM for my pregnancy-induced insomnia, at the suggestion of my OB. Then, when that wasn't really doing the trick, he gave me a prescription for Ambien. This was great. When I went to pick up the prescription for 30 tablets, the pharmacist informed me that my insurance only covered 15 pills every 30 days. Great, I thought. What am I going to do that last crucial week of the pregnancy. Oh well, I've got 2 weeks to figure that out, I thought. Well, now that I have three more nights* of being pregnant and only one pill left, I decided I'd see if I could go without pills for a couple nights. Wrong. I have been tossing and turning since 10:30 PM and I am not looking forward to the next couple of nights. Yikes. Is Ambien really that addicting? So, I joined Travis out here at the computers (he's playing Battlefield) and I'm thinking maybe I should start playing Battlefield too. At least for the next three nights until Mrs. Queenie makes her appearance into the world.

*I thought I was going to get induced tomorrow (Friday, the 26th) but upon visiting my OB for my last appointment, he said he was on call Sunday, the 28th and he could induce me then. So, I have to endure the next two days which I'm sure will be the longest two of my life. Here's what I think I will do to pass the time: Children's Museum, mall, eat the chocolate chip cookies I made tonight, and maybe start playing Battlefield.

24 January 2007

I watched an interesting documentary last night that I had borrowed from the library about American boys. It followed the upbringing and growth of boys from birth to high school, showing various lifestyles and settings. It also talked about how boys fantasies (especially about violence) are often misunderstood and oftentimes punished in American schools. They contrasted this with schools in Japan, where children are allowed to self-discipline themselves. For example, teachers in Japan are taught not to intervene in children's squabbles and let the children work it out themselves. They found this a more effective method and the Japanese children were better able to deal with conflict resolution. In this Japanese school, the older children helped care for the younger children. Their reasoning was so the older kids learn how to care for other people. In America, something like 70 percent of boys come from homes where their biological father is not present. That is so sad. Boys lack proper male role models especially during their crucial teenage years when a parent's attention and connection are so vital. It also explained why some boys get involved in gangs. They explained how boys want so badly to prove thier manhood being involved in gangs, but the boys are being misled. Basically, there are alot of faulty notions about what being a man is and how to show manhood. I hope my children learn balance and understand the fundamental truths about who they really are so they don't get caught up in all the false lies and misconceptions during their teenage years.

I felt better about raising teenagers after watching this movie. Basically, boys need attention and connection from their parents and they will be able to "make it" through the tough teenage years. Also, their friends are very important for forming self image and feeling accepted. I am also glad that I'm not a teenager still. It was a difficult, but I guess rewarding time for me.

It Exists!

I've always said that brownies from a box taste better than homemade, but last night I proved that theory wrong. I tried this Ina Garten's Outrageous Brownies and found them to be just that. Travis even liked them, which is saying something because he's not a huge chocolate fan.

Here's the recipe for Outrageous Brownies (adapted from a recipe for chocolate globs in the Soho Charcuterie Cookbook):

1 pound unsalted butter
1 pound plus 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips, divided
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
6 extra-large eggs
3 tablespoons instant coffee powder
2 tablespoons real vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups flour, divided
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups diced walnut pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 13 by 18 by 1 1/2-inch sheet pan.

Melt together the butter, chocolate chips, and unsweetened chocolate on top of a double boiler. Cool slightly. Stir together the eggs, instant coffee, vanilla and sugar. Stir in the warm chocolate mixture and cool to room temperature.

Stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the walnuts and chocolate chips with flour to coat. Then add to the chocolate batter. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until tester just comes out clean. Halfway through the baking, rap the pan against the oven shelf to allow air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Do not overbake! Cool thoroughly, refrigerate well and cut into squares.

We've Been Here
Super baby watching his favorite and only movie, "Cars," while doing stunt tricks on his own machine. Since we got that movie, there hasn't been a day he hasn't watched it. I hope I'm not turning my 18-month old's brain to mush in the process of having some really nice alone time.
It snowed yesterday and Finn and Travis went out to explore. Finn loved it, of course, and sometimes I think he would be happier living with the squirrels in our yard than being cooped up inside all day with a grouchy, rotund mom.
One of the projects I've taken on to occupy my time waiting for Baby #2. It is really fun using my new sewing machine (Christmas gift from Travis). Although you can't see it probably, this is Elmo fabric, which I thought was kind of cute. My next project is another little baby quilt made out of polar fleece. I'll post it when I get done.

Another note, I went to the Dr. today and he said if I haven't had the baby by next Friday, they could induce me, if I opted, either Friday or Saturday. I kind of want to be induced so the baby doesn't get too huge for me to deliver it. I kind of want to wait to let nature take it's course. I think I will end up getting induced. I had a good experience that way with Finn's birth.

12 January 2007

The three Harry Potter-ish marks on Finn's forehead are a result of him banging his head on the floor after a tantrum. At only 18 months, he has learned how to concern his mom by throwing his hands in the air and banging his head on the floor, the wall or, in this case, the threshold from the carpet to the linoleum. It works. I hate it when he does this and I am trying to ignore him so he won't get my attention from it.
This boy loves music and takes after his daddy. These old headphones make a great toy.
"Finn, do your funny face." This is what you get.

10 January 2007

I will post a picture to go along with this entry later. The camera is on Finn's changing table and he's asleep, so I don't want to wake him up.

Anyways, I am having some random thoughts during my lunchtime. I remember when I lived in Boston 4 years ago and I would walk the 1/4 mile home from All Seasons Home Remodeling to my red duplex during my lunch hour. The house was always empty, cold and dark and I remember feeling really lonely, sitting at the card table in the kitchen eating leftovers or whatever I had for lunch. Then, I would climb the stairs to the third floor and into my bed that lay directly on the wood floor, and try to fall asleep. Usually I could only take a half-quality nap because the sunlight directly over my bed made my room really bright. Then, my alarm would go off exactly five minutes before two and I would muster the courage to get up and walk back to the old office down the street. I did this every weekday for almost a year. It makes me grateful now to be on my own schedule and be able to stay home with my own child. (Even if I did just change the most stinky diaper I've ever changed in my life. Not to mention it was bright green. Hmmm... what is this child eating?)

Travis got home and I got kind of sidetracked, so I guess I'll have to post another lunchtime tale another day. I had a few more thoughts, but oh well. I probably should eat some more for lunch besides two cups of hot chocolate. TTFN.

9 January 2007

"And the mean man shall be brought down..."

I don't know what it is, but lately EVERYTHING I cook is disgusting (with the exception of the rootbeer floats that I assembled last night). I can't seem to get it right and it's a little frustrating. My low cooking self-esteem started Sunday when I put green pepper in the baked beans I was making. Wrong thing to do. Then, tonight I somehow added WAY too much salt to the chicken stroganoff and it was unpalatable (even for a starving pregnant woman). This is it. I've had it. I am seriously in a bind and I feel like calling Tyler Florence from Food Network to come tape his Food 911 show here at the chicken coop. This is the show where this handsome chef comes to rescue cooking disasters. I don't think he's ever taped a show in an old shingle-sided house, so maybe this would be a new thing for him. At any rate, I know pregnant women are always making sob stories and I'm not trying to complain, but seriously folks, I am becoming an embarrassment to Travis and Finn. Does anybody have any foolproof dinner recipes they wouldn't mind passing my way?

4 January 2007

Finn and his new church clothes. Wrong time of day? He wasn't ready? Why is the kid crying?
Vroom, vroom! This is the sound we hear all day long, with truck in hand, over laps, through chairlegs, around in circles.
Quiet at play with new cars made by Great Uncle Harland Schuller. These were (duh!) a huge hit!