Patience

I am not the most patient person.  Never have been.  Patience comes in quite handy when you have a spirited two year old.  Being a stay at home mom is going to be a great way to way to better myself and work on my patience.  Or it might make me crazy.  Never can tell.

Take today for example.  I need Destructo to nap.  Every day.  He is so go go go and into things and just so spirited.  I laid him down at 1:40 as is the norm.  He proceeded to open a crate of toys that he can reach from his crib, get a pretend wooden grill set that came with his fire station doll house thing, and beat the heck out of his expensive crib that until this point was in really good shape.  It converts to a full size bed that we plan on using down the road.

I get onto him for this, remove said crate, tell him to lay down and he can get a slush on the way to Monk's house.  Monk is my dad.  He was grandpa until one day Destructo decided he wasn't, he was Monk and has refused to use anything ever since.  He will forever be Monk.  Destructo has also named my Aunt Cheryl "W", my cousin Rissy Bubba, my other two cousins hot dog and meatball.  Yeah creative my child is.

He then proceeds to pretend to slide down the rails on his crib and fight imaginary fires while screaming the entire time.  I have no clue what has gotten into him today though as normally he naps fairly easily.  No slush later and he had a royal tantrum but said he would take a nap tomorrow so he could have a slush.  I thought for sure he would doze off on the way to my parents since it is an hour drive.  He didn't.  Obviously he is just full of energy today.

Days like today are days that I feel like running away before noon.  I actually drink cherry coke like one would an alcoholic drink to calm their nerves.  We had no cherry coke or Pepsi or anything.  I actually sent Mr. Destructo a text advising him not to come home empty handed.  He didn't let me down.  An entire Route 44 cherry coke later and all is well.

Needless to say I think God will work on my patience the longer I stay home.  At least that is my deep hope.  Otherwise it won't be pretty on the day Destructo gives up naps for good.  I do plan on having him do quiet time in his room just to give myself a break.  I have heard lots of people have luck with this.  Let's hope I am one of them.

Join us for the Carnival of Natural Mothering

The Carnival of Natural Mothering goes live the first Tuesday of each month. I would love for you guys to link up with us this month!  This month's topic is movement.

February 4, 2014: Movement
It is so important for us moms to be physically active and to cultivate that in our kids. Important but not easy! How do you make time movement or exercise? How do you encourage it for your kids?

Go to this page to sign up. 

 http://www.growingslower.com/p/carnival-of-natural-mothering.html#BPGwSZk0uIcOVjDQ.99

Week 31: Pineapple

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Haha we ate fresh pineapple this week.  Poor Destructo kept telling me his tongue and mouth was "hot" after eating it.  I felt bad.  He didn't even eat that much and has eaten it before with no problems.  

How far along: 31 weeks.  This question is really redundant since I title the blog post with what week I am in.  

Total weight gain:  Up 17 pounds. 

 Maternity clothes:  Every day all day.   I can still wear my normal underwear and pj pants though and most of my big baggy tshirts.  

 Stretch marks:  I have a few new ones on my hips. Please let my stomach be spared.

 Sleep:   Eh I mean I wake up to go to the bathroom a few times a night, but overall not bad.  I dread the having to get up with a newborn a billion times a night.  Sleep deprivations turns me into a not so nice person.  I apparnetly really like sleeping.

Best moment of this week: Taking Destructo to Firehouse Subs and him telling me that it was a "great day."  I got a two dollar pickle bucket with fireman stuff on it for his dirty clothes "hamper" in his new big boy room.  I also got Mexican food for lunch one day this week.  This was awesome.  I miss eating out a lot now that I am staying at home and we are trying to be more frugal and eat at home more.  I also really enjoyed discussing baby names with Mr. Destructo.  I think mostly because this is the last time we will ever discuss names since we are nearly positive that we are done after this baby.  

 Miss anything:  Being able to quickly get up and out of bed.  I feel like a beached whale when it comes to that.  I also miss wine.  I am not a big drinker by any means, but because I can't have wine I want it.  

 

Movement:   A lot still at night.  I get feet in my ribs which sucks.  Kai did the same thing.  

Food cravings: Not really any this week.  I have noticed a weird aversion to eggs the last few weeks.  I just don't even like to think about eating them.  I hope this goes away soon.  I miss eating omelettes.  Mr. Destructo is an amazing omelette maker.

Have you started to show yet:  Yeah I feel huge, but a lot of people tell me I am pretty small.  I think I am bigger than I was with Kai for sure.

Gender:  Baby boy who will probably never have a name.  

 Labor signs:   None this week.  Still some Braxton Hicks, but not nearly as many as last week.  

 Belly button in or out:  Out yuck.

Wedding rings on or off:  Mostly off.  I can still get it on, but my fingers are very slightly swollen so I just don't all that much.

Happy or moody most of the time:   Pretty happy this week except for being pretty tired all week.

Top Ten Dreaded Moments the Follow Up

For new readers, I did a post about the top ten moments I was dreading the most in relation to Destructo growing up way too quickly.  I wrote this post around Thanksgiving of 2012.  So weird looking back in that he has now met most of these moments.  At the time, it seemed like these milestones would make him so much less a baby and they did.  But he is still a baby in my eyes and I assume always will be.  Do your kids every really grow up or do you always see them as babies at least in your minds eye?

To follow up though:

1)  Destructo weaning-- He weaned about 2.5 months after I posted this.  I had a good cry fest on the couch when I realized he had weaned for sure.  He did ask to nurse one day about a month after and I distracted him because at that point I knew we were done.   We still have a very close bond and he loves to cuddle on the couch with me and read books in the same spot we used to nurse.  But he did seem so much bigger when he stopped nursing for sure.

2)  His first hair cut still makes me sad to think about.  He literally transformed from a baby to a toddler in a few scissor snips.  I am bad about letting his hair get too long still because he looks more babyish when it is long than he does right after.  He needs a hair
cut right now.  Ugh.

3)  Shortly after that post, Kai got his first real sickness.  He got an ear infection and ran a 104-105 fever for three days.  It was awful and he felt awful.  I felt so helpless to make him feel better.  We spent hours at night just rocking in the rocking chair since it seemed to help him feel better.  Since then he has had hand foot and mouth, RSV, parainfluenza, and a broken arm.  It is never fun to see your kiddo sick that is for sure.

4)  He still hasn't fully potty trained although he is fully day time potty trained.  Either way this one doesn't make me as sad anymore since I have newbie who is due in two months.  I will have at least a few more years of cloth diapering addiction to contend with.

5)  He still hasn't fully hit double digits in shoes.  He can wear some tens but is probably more a 9.5 right now.  This also doesn't make me as sad now.  The pencil marks on my wall showing his height each month make me more sad.

6)  Yeah 2T sounds big, but 3T pushing 4T sounds even bigger.  I think I will be the saddest when the T disappears all together.

7)  His Daniel Tiger love affair is still going strong.  He does have other shows he likes nearly as much, but Daniel still hold top place in his heart.  In fact, his sign of the cross goes "Fahdah, son, Daniel Tiger, holy ghost.  Amen"

8)  This still hasn't happened and I still get a little teary eyed when I think about it.  His bedroom is nearly done and he will probably be in it by the end of the weekend.  I can't picture not checking on him at night and looking down into the crib that I have looked down into for nearly three years.  Nor can I picture him having free roaming of the house.  Ugh.

9)  Destructo turned a month before he turned two.  When he broke his arm, it was so hard to get him in rear facing and he had started really protesting car rides a bit before that so we turned him.  I still kind of wish he was rear facing just because it really is safer.

10)  And apparently this one wasn't sad at all since I had totally forgotten he said nope nope.  He has a million other things he says now that are funny or adorable.  One thing that will be hard is when he quits calling yogurt laylay.  He can says yogurt properly but stubbornly sticks to lay lay.  Oh and blueberries are boodie boodies.  I will really miss those too.

Second Baby Itis

I have a urge to buy all the things for newbie baby just like I did with Kai.  Apparently  my nesting involves buying lots of new way too teeny tiny clothes.  But since I had a bit of a shopping addiction and family that shared this same affliction with me, I have enough boy clothes to clothe at least triplets.  So I have had very good restraint in not buying tons of new clothes.  The only things I let myself get for Zach/Eli/insert name here are little brother outfits and a coming home outfit.  And with the exception of an adorable tiger butt sleeper, I have done very well with this.

It is a huge relief to only have to buy a few things.  We ended up getting Summer Infant Baby Touch Boost Color Video Monitor.  We wanted a video monitor that could be hooked up to two cameras mainly, but also kind of wanted one with the talk back feature since Destructo has been fighting sleep so badly and going in makes it worse.  We can tell him to lay down over the monitor and he does.  Worth every penny.  We actually lucked out and found this at Essex (a local bargain store) for 110 bucks.  Then we kept watching for an extra camera for it and found one for 50 bucks.  Woot!  We love it and Destructo loves when we talk to him.

My hubby surprised me at Christmas with a BOB Sport Utility Duallie Stroller.  I had been not so secretly drooling over this stroller since finding out I was pregnant.  I needed a double jogger since my single jogger won't work with two kids.  Even at three, I doubt Destructo will be able to listen well enough to ride his bike alongside me.  Again we got this for an amazing deal (250) at Essex and then I sold my Jeep jogger for 50 to help out even more.  Expensive but cheaper than joining a gym with childcare which was the other option for me to get fit again.

The only other bigger ticket item I need is a new crib mattress.  Ours was given to us by a close family friend and between being used and Destructo being a jumper, it is in rough shape.  I really want  the Colgate Classica I Foam Crib Mattress because it is very light weight which would be awesome for sheet changes.  But we won't splurge on that for sure.  I plan on just getting a mattress at Essex for cheap.  If this baby is anything like his big brother, he will just destroy the mattress by jumping anyhow.

Other than that it is all super small things like a car mirror since our monkey flew the coop when we got a new vehicle.  I didn't realize how much I used that thing until I had to drive my baby nephew an hour to my parents house and didn't have it.  Baby meds like gas drops and gripe water.   The almighty sound machine.  New pump parts.  Easy peasy.  It is a nice feeling to have everything the second time around for sure.

But on the other hand, it isn't nearly as much fun to prepare when I don't get to buy cute things.  I did buy a super plushy soft blanket for him that is all his own.  And the coming home outfit I mentioned.  I saved Kai's coming home outfit and packed it away to give to him (who won't care whatsoever if he is like Mr. Destructo) and his wife (who will care if she is like me haha) when he has a baby one day.

Destructo's coming home outfit minus the giraffe hat

 I plan on doing the same for newbie.  I have the little socks, hat, and blanket to match too.  I love this outfit!

Newbie's coming home outfit haha minus the hat

But what I am letting myself buy is different brands of cloth diapers to try on him.  All for your lovely blog readers.  Yep that is it.  I need to do more reviews and spread my wealth of knowledge.  Not my diaper addiction.  Not at all.  Does it make me pitiful to say I have a cloth diaper registry that I am buying diapers off of regularly?  It started as a way to track newborn diapers I would like to do a review on.  Then it became way too much fun to add all the cute diapers I don't own yet. Then I realized diapers are way too much like pogs were back in the day which morphed into bouncy balls or Care Bears or red rose tea sculptures.  I guess I just have an addictive personality.  

I still can't believe this baby will be here in less than nine weeks.  Nine sure isn't many.  Destructo is so excited.  He keeps telling the baby to grow faster so he can come out.   I sure hope he is this excited when he has a newborn baby brother dominating his momma's time and attention.  I need to get some pictures of him hugging my belly because that is a moment I hope to never forget.  He is just too sweet when he talks to the baby and tells him he loves him.  Or when the baby is kicking like crazy and making me uncomfortable he tells him calm down little baby.  So sweet.  Two boys.  I am in trouble.  :) 

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Week 30.: Cucumber

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Okay again yeah it is technically a fruit, but try to tell Destructo a cucumber is a fruit.  Yeah right.  

How far along: 30 weeks.  Ugh I was dreading going from the 20's to 30's.  It means I am running out of time pregnant and that the sleep deprivation is right around the corner.  I really like sleep.  :)

Total weight gain:  Up 16 pounds.  I feel like I have gained a million though.  But since baby is around 3-3.5 pounds I guess I am not doing too badly.  He is also around 16 inches long.  Destructo was 20.5 inches when he was born and 7 pounds 1 oz.  I wonder if this baby will be bigger or smaller.  I have gained far less weight thus far with this pregnancy.  We shall see.

 Maternity clothes:  Yeah after wearing my yoga maternity pants all through pregnancy with Destructo and never stopping, I am sad to say they have a hole in the knee.  It is my mission to find another pair very similar to them.  I love them with an undying flame.

 Stretch marks:  I have a few new ones on my hips. Please let my stomach be spared.

 Sleep:   Crappier this week.  Mr. Destructo has been working long hours and I don't sleep as well when he isn't home.

Best moment of this week: Getting the newborn clothes out of the attic and getting them washed.  This was actually keeping me awake at night.  I mean I still have two months, but for some reason (nesting maybe) I had to have it done now now now.  But geez talk about making it real.  I open the nursery closet door to see teeny tiny newborn clothes hanging.  And I swear to you that they have shrunk since Kai was born.  Surely he wasn't that little.

 Miss anything:  Not going through a roll of toilet paper a day.  Easily getting into and out of the floor with Destructo.  Being able to pick up and hold Destructo easily.  

 

Movement:   I think he has finally turned and is head down.  I have felt a lot of higher movement today than I have previously.  I also felt hiccups today for sure for the first time.  I am curious to see if this baby gets them at the same time every day like Destructo used to.

Food cravings:  Right at this moment I want Chili's queso dip.  Badly.  

Have you started to show yet:  Yeah I am almost full on waddling now.

Gender: Bouncing baby boy. Or as Destructo said "another stinking boy."  I wonder where he heard that since it wasn't from me.  ::glares at my mom::

 Labor signs:   Braxton Hicks a lot this week. Some are even so painful I have to stop what I am doing and breath.  I try to look at it as hopefully my body is good and ready for labor when it starts.  

 Belly button in or out:  Out yuck.

Wedding rings on or off: On although it is getting tight on certain days.

Happy or moody most of the time:   Overwhelmed and stressed all week but that is mainly stemming from Mr. Destructo working crazy long hours and not being around much.  It is hard to chase a 2 1/2 year old while 30 weeks pregnant and makes me so tired.

Homemade Chicken Stock

I am was all domestic and a master chef today and made some homemade chicken stock.  I am trying to find more ways to be frugal, save money, eat at home more.  All those wonderful things.  So I decided to make a whole chicken for dinner which left enough meat to also make chicken and rice later this week.  The chicken was 5.71 since I caught it on a sale.  99 cents for a bag of frozen peas (of which we at half) and noodles and gravy which was maybe 2 bucks total?  So maybe nine dollars total.  The ingredients for chicken and rice are about another 3ish dollar so fifteen dollars total.

So for fifteen bucks I got two dinners, possibly a lunch of leftovers for me if we have them, and about 5 1/2 quarts of chicken stock.  Not too bad.  And I imagine this chicken stock is much healthier than store bought because there aren't any preservatives, no added salt (although I might add a small amount next time since it could have used it), and garlic added for good health benefits.

So what I did was cooked the whole chicken seasoning it with garlic and seasoned salt with butter on the skin.  I normally use lemon pepper, but wasn't sure how that would work with making stock after.  I cooked it on low all day and then got all the meat off the bones.  

I put the bones back in the crock pot with all the juices from cooking the chicken.  I added a whole bulb of garlic cut into three pieces, two bay leaves, some parsley, a 1/4 bag of baby carrots (although I think cut whole carrots would have worked better but I didn't have any), a small handful of whole peppercorns,  and the tops to a bunch of celery stalks I had been saving.  Oh and a few tablespoons of vinegar (apple cider works best but I didn't have any of that either.  It helps get the minerals out of the bones.  Then I filled the crock pot up with water.

I cooked it on low over night for about twelve hours.  Then I strained it through a colander and a second time through this wire mesh thing we have to keep grease from splattering up since I didn't have any cheese cloth.  It worked amazingly well so now I don't have to figure out where to get cheese cloth from.  Or you know what exactly that is haha.  Master chef here I tell ya.  

What would I do differently next time?  I would cook it longer probably closer to a full day.  I would add an onion cut into chunks.  More parsley since I didn't put that much since I didn't want to ruin the stock. And a small amount of salt.  Overall I consider this a huge success since I set out to do something, it didn't fail, and I ended up with frozen chicken stock.  Yay me.  

My beautiful chicken stock

I am a phony faker

Tell me I am not alone in being a phony faker.  I mean all mothers are.  Surely.  For example, when your precious child asks you to play trucks for the fiftieth time that day and you feign enthusiasm as you crawl around in the floor being told exactly how to play properly.  Phony faker right there.  No mother wants to play trucks 24 hours a day.

Or when you eat that bite of food/treat/whatever your learning to share child offers you and thank them over and over for sharing with you.  Phony faker.  

I am a phony faker when I pretend that wiping butts is better than changing poopie diapers.  Nope they are both gross and I long for the day Destructo can take care of this aspect of his personal hygiene.

When I eat dinner and rave about something even if it isn't something I want/like, yeah phony faker.

When I read the same book for the bazillionth time even though I know all the words and could actually sit with my eyes closed and just recite it, phony faker.

What are your guys phony fakisms?

When I go for a way too long walk that makes me ache (you know because I am pregnant and as I have said before pregnancy doesn't like my back) to see the logging trucks and am oh so excited when we get to see them, phony faker.

But we do these things with as much enthusiasm as we can muster because childhood is fleeting.  I don't want to have to look back when I am gray and wrinkled and wish I had played trucks a little more, or fought imaginary fires, or read whatever book he is obsessed with one more time.  I want to know that I was present in my child's life and had fun with him.  I want him to remember me as the one who always loved playing with him, or reading to him, or eating yet another playdough biscuit with him.  Because when all is said and done in my life, raising my kids will most likely be the most important thing I ever do.

The Joys of Pregnancy

The joys of pregnancy.  I mean most people have heard of morning sickness, weight gain, bloating, mood swings, strange cravings even if they themselves have never been pregnant.  Movies portray those pregnancy stereotypes all the time.  But there are more joys of pregnancy that no one ever warns you about.  

Take for example something so simple as going to the bathroom.  You will either be doing this a lot more or not enough.  Yes my friend both constipation and diarrhea can be normal in pregnancy.  And if this isn't enough, you will pee a billionty times a day.  Heck you might even pee a billionty times an hour towards the end.  Especially if you have a son who thoroughly likes to sit/kick/poke your bladder.  ::glares at stomach::

Everything swells.  And I do mean everything.  Your fingers swell and you can't wear your rings anymore.  Your feet swell and you can't wear your shoes and our relegated to crocs.  Even your womanly bits can swell.  And for a first time mom, this can be a bit alarming.  Consider yourself forewarned.  It can be scary.  But apparently totally normal.

Headaches happen regularly.  You get skin like a teenage boy.  Heartburn causes you to throw up sometimes.  Ahh pregnancy.  

But on the other hand you can bond with and feel the baby moving.  I like this during the day and while the baby is still small enough to stay out of my ribs.  This baby is a mover at night though.  Some nights it keeps me awake.  I try to look at it like a bonding experience.  In reality, it just makes me sleepy.  

What can I say?  Pregnancy isn't really my thing.  It is a means to a baby for me and the end result is very worth it.  But I will say this pregnancy has been much better.  Watching Destructo bond with his unborn baby brother has been awesome.  He loves to lay his head on my belly and talk to the baby.  If Kai notices the baby is kicking me and making me uncomfortable, he will tell him "Baby stop kicking momma."  It melts my heart each and every time.  Or when he says I love you baby.  I melt.  Into a soppy emotional puddle.  I really hope that when the baby gets here, he still loves him this much!

Eh this wasn't exactly how this post was going to go.  Oh well.  Sleep deprivation due to being big like a whale and uncomfy at night does this to you.  I just know that I am trying to treasure this pregnancy more since it is my last one most likely.  And a lot of days, I can.  It truly is a miracle how a fully formed human being can develop from two single cells.  God is amazing.  

Week 29: Acorn Squash

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Okay okay I know that acorn squash is a fruit even though most people use it more like a veggie.  But I miss fruit.  At least I am not getting fruit cravings from the last couple of weeks haha.

How far along: 29 weeks

Total weight gain:  Up 14 pounds on the new scale.  It does seem to measure a bit smaller than my previous one did.  I only gained 1.6 pounds in the past four weeks though which surprises me since it was over the Christmas holiday.  Stress has a way of doing this to you.

 Maternity clothes:  Yeah frumptasticalness all around.

 Stretch marks:  I have a few new ones on my hips. 

 Sleep:   Good this week.  I am sleeping on my own without any meds.  It is wonderful.  I am really loving being a stay at home mom (mainly minus one day a week.)

Best moment of this week: My mom coming over and helping me get my house organized and cleaned.  I actually asked for this for Christmas.  I am a good cleaner at times, but am so very very far behind after months/years of neglect.  But with her and me we made a good dent in stuff.  I really hope to get a bit more accomplished soon so it might be less stressful this time around when I throw my life into chaos learning all about newbie baby.

 Miss anything:  Being able to easily rock and cuddle with Destructo.  He is a layer on me and he tucks his arms in and this is getting so hard to do because of the big ole belly.

 

Movement:   Totally different this time around.  He is very active at night and early mornings (and anytime I wake during the night which Destructo wasn't.)  But he is also very calm during the day.  I still haven't felt any hiccups which I was feeling with Destructo by now.  He doesn't interact a whole lot with me or my hubby the way Kai did either.  Kai used to fight with you and have poking wars with my hubby.  

Food cravings:  Taco Bell this week but only because the stupid commercial where the guy is running from his girlfriends house keeps coming on.

Have you started to show yet:  Yeah I am almost full on waddling now.

Gender: Bouncing baby boy. 

 Labor signs:   Braxton Hicks quite a bit. 

 Belly button in or out:  Out gag me.  I hate pregnant belly buttons.  It is really bad this time.  Grosses me out every time I look at it.

Wedding rings on or off: On although it is getting tight on certain days.

Happy or moody most of the time:   I am a bit moody/stressed/depressed this week only because I have been so busy decluttering and even though I got a lot done, there is still so much to do.

Glow Bug Diaper Review and Giveaway

Destructo modeling his diaper

I received a diaper from the Glow Bug  company free of charge to review.  I can say it met my expectations and then some.  It is honestly one of the first diapers I reach for now.  These diapers are a great value at 12 for 150.  They are sold in packages and come packaged in a free wet bag.  Or you can get a four pack of diapers for 57.  

These diapers have cross over snaps which is a plus in my book for skinny minis like Destructo used to be.  I was always able to get the best fit with either Velcro or cross over snaps.  They also have a hip snap to help prevent wing droop.  I have a ton of leaks with my diapers that don't have this feature because Destructo is such a wiggle worm that the diaper wing ends up twisting and turning and eventually the lining wicks soaking his clothes.  This diaper has four rise settings and is said to fit from 7 lbs to 35 lbs.  I will check back in and let you know if it fits a seven pounder once the new baby gets here, but it fits Destructo well still at 31 lbs.

The inside of the diaper is made from a stay dry material which makes it great for an over night diaper.  It also has gussets all the way around it to contain poop.  The inserts can be snapped into place in the sleeve to keep them from bunching and moving when baby active.  I never did this and still didn't have any problems haha.  And yes I am just that lazy lol.  

But the very best feature of these diapers (other than the cute designs of course) is the fact that they have two pocket openings. One is on the front and one is on the back of the diaper.  I love this feature.  I can choose which side to pull the inserts out from by which side is the least disgustingly poopie.  You don't realize how nice this feature is until you get a diaper with it and then you wish they were all that way.

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Overall this diaper met all my expectations and then some.  What is even better is you guys can win one of these diapers!

Disclosure:  I was given a pair of the Glow Bug cloth diaper for free to review and keep.  I was not paid to review them and all opinions are honest and my own.    See my full disclosure policy tab for more information.

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Destructo's Favorite Books at Age Two and a Half

Yes lovely readers you read that right two and a half.  You know almost three.  Especially since he is actually over 2.5 now.  He is two and a half plus a whole two months tomorrow.  My baby is getting way too old.  And I can only imagine that once newbie baby gets here the time will fly even faster since I will be even busier.  Slow down time.

Anyways here are Destructo's current top ten favorite books to have me read (over and over and over again.)

He loves to look at books and be read to

1)  Clifford books.  Any book that contains the giant big red dog is a winner winner chicken dinner in Kai's book.  He has favorites of course, but overall just loves Clifford.

2)  My Busy Books: Thomas and Friends  This book comes with a large map of Sodor and has ten small plastic trains to drive all along the tracks.  I thought it would be great for restaurants and church, but it is really too big.  He loves it though and loves making us drive trains with him.

3)  Any books by Leslie Patricelli .  Destructo's beloved Tubby books.  These are the most boring books to read, but he truly loves them.  He even calls himself Tubby at times.  He has three of them now and loves all of them equally.

4)  Five Little Monkeys Storybook Treasury Destructo got this for Christmas and loves it.  It contains five stories one of which is the typical monkeys jumping on the bed story.  It also contains a crap ton of stickers.  He hasn't noticed those yet.  I pray he never does.  Only because he refuses to take stickers off the sheets himself and whines at me until I give in and do it.

5)  Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs  I hate this book with a fiery passion.  It is long, boring, and the story is kind of stupid.  But it is a favorite so I had to include.  But if you don't already own it, don't buy it for your kiddo.

6)  The Little Duck I had this book as a little girl and found it for fifty cents at a consignment sale for Kai.  He couldn't care less about it until recently and now requests it regularly.  I love that he loves the same book I did as a kiddo.

7)  Lego City: Trucks Around the City  We checked this lego book out of the library a year or more ago and he loved it then.  He got it for Christmas and I think we have read it a million times already.  It has legos and trucks.  What more could a little boy ask for?

8)  Cordoroy Goes to the Doctor  We got this book free from the Imagaination Library.  It is such a quick book to read which makes it not only a Destructo favorite, but a mommy favorite.  haha

9) Fire Engine Man  This book was one Mr. Destructo picked out for a Christmas gift.  It is so perfectly perfect for him and us right now.  It is all about a little boy who is going to be a fire engine man when he grows up just like Destructo.  What makes is so awesome is he has a little brother that he shows all this stuff to and we can really talk about the fun Destructo is going to have with his new baby brother.

10)  This book is called Emergency something or other but I can't seem to find it right now and since Destructo is in bed fighting sleep it will have to wait until I can go in there tomorrow.

This post contains affiliate links which compensate Adventures with Captain Destructo with a % of the sale. Using these links doesn't cost you anything extra, but it helps support this blog and my family. Thanks!

Week 28: Eggplant

How far along: 28 weeks

Total weight gain:  I finally got a new scale!  Go me.  Aldi's had a really nice one for 16.99 and it actually has a setting where you can set your goal weight so once baby gets here I can start my quest to lose the baby weight (and jog with my new awesome stroller woot woot.)

 Maternity clothes:  Yeah New Year's was so frustrating just for the record.  It is so hard to put together a nice outfit when you feel like a whale and it is freezing cold out and all the nice maternity clothes you own are short sleeved.

 Stretch marks:  I have a few new ones on my hips.  Please please let me not get any on my belly again this time around.  Oh please.

 Sleep:   It has actually been decent this week until I got a sinus infection from my cold.  My head hurt so badly that it was hard to lay down and sleep but other than that I am only waking once or twice to pee amazingly enough.  

Best moment of this week: Finally getting to feel like more of a stay at home mom.  I am still working one day a week but I am finally getting the clutter tamed a bit.  Plus it is so nice to get to spend some extra time with Destructo.  It also snowed a dusting and it was so fun to see Kai getting to watch it out the window.  

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 Miss anything:   Lunch meat this week.  Only because I have started making Mr. Destructo sandwiches for his work lunch to save money and live more on a budget.  

Movement:   Every day.  He isn't as active as his older brother except at night when he moves non stop.  My favorite times to feel him move are when he responds to Kai's voice talking to him.  I hope Kai still likes his brother this much once he is here.

Food cravings:  Still just milk.

Have you started to show yet:  Yeah it is very evident.

Gender: Bouncing baby boy. 

 Labor signs:   Braxton Hicks quite a bit. 

 Belly button in or out:  Out 

Wedding rings on or off: On although it is getting tight on certain days.

Happy or moody most of the time:   Very happy this week.  I really like being home with Destructo all day and finally feeling like there is a light at the end of the my house is a disaster all the time tunnel.

Week 27: Rutabaga

Come on.  A rutabaga.  I picked a bad set of fruit to follow apparently.  I am not even fully sure what a rutabaga is.  Oh and again just like last week it isn't a fruit.  It is a vegetable.  And it is super ugly vegetable at it.

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How far along: 27 weeks.  Last week.  

Total weight gain:  On my parents scale I am 17 pounds up.  I have gained so much less weight this time around than with Destructo.  I had gained 28 pounds at the end of second tri with him.  And only 17 pounds this time.  

 Maternity clothes:  Yep even my baggy regular t-shirts are tight now.

 Stretch marks:  I have a few new ones on my hips.  

 Sleep:   Mr. Destructo has a horrible cold and that alone is keeping me up.  Add in having to pee a bazillion times and yeah sleep is scarce and very missed.

Best moment of this week:  Christmas get togethers with extended Michigan family.  I loved seeing the new clothes that my Aunt Cheryl got for baby Zach/Eli/no name forever baby boy.  I have enough clothes to cloth triplet boys so I have not bought anything new for this baby.  I did buy a coming home outfit but that is it.  It is nice to know he will have some brand new just for him clothes.  I also picked up the softest blanket on clearance at Target for him this week.  He has a few loveys as well.  It is a lot more fun this time not having to worry about how we are going to afford everything we need.  We have the majority of things.  

Oh and a best moment of last week that I forgot about is getting my Bob double jogger stroller for Christmas.  I can't wait to try it out with the boys when I am cleared to exercise.  

 Miss anything:   Being able to comfortably let Kai cuddle on my chest.  My belly is in the way and it kind of hurts when I do let him.

Movement:   Every day.  He isn't as active as his older brother except at night when he moves non stop.  

Food cravings:  Not this week.

Have you started to show yet:  Yeah quite a lot.

Gender: Bouncing baby boy. 

 Labor signs:   Braxton Hicks a lot this week.  A few an hour sometimes.

 Belly button in or out:  Out 

Wedding rings on or off: On although it is getting tight on certain days.

Happy or moody most of the time:   This week has been stressful.  I feel like I have so much to get done and so little time.  I don't like it.

Meal Planning is Hard...

Especially when you have a sinus infection that alternates feeling like your head might explode with feeling like a brick (err bag of one hundred bricks) has been dropped smack dab on your forehead.  I want to start meal planning now that I am only working one day a week.  As a stay at home mom not making an income, we need to make cut backs and not eating out constantly will save us a lot of money.  

So for the first time I meal planned.  Well I have attempted before and it lasted like oh three days.  I made this weeks meal plan and started next weeks.  What I need to work on is meal planning in regards to the weeks sales.  I sort of do this already because we stock up on meat when I find good sales so I can take from our freezer.  But I want to get better with sides and veggies too.  

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Haha that is totally me.  In a dress and apron making healthy meals.  Totally.  

I also hope that in meal planning we have more left overs which I will eat for lunch.  Another way I am cutting our grocery bill is by trying to cut fruits up as soon as we buy them.  We waste so much fruit when it goes bad because life gets busy and I don't have time to cut it up so Destructo gets the easy fruits like bananas and blueberries that require no prep.  Veggies too.  I will eat raw veggies if they are easy.  I hope to feel better tomorrow and am going to cut up and dice a bunch of green peppers we have.  I bought them for a veggie tray that I never ended up making and they are going to go bad.  I am going to freeze them and use them for cooking.  Normally we buy prediced frozen green peppers, but this will save me from having to do that.

Couponing will probably also happen again although I know I won't be able to get as good deals since we tend to eat a lot more healthy than we did pre Destructo and I also make all my own cleaning supplies now.  But every little bit helps.  And this just reminded me I have a few free item coupons for Publix that are probably about to expire. Yay for free rubbing alcohol, cocoa butter, hand sanitizer, and baby cereal.  

Oh and as I was about to publish this post, I came across this blog post from The Better Mom blog.  It has a lot of info about meal planning and has a meal plan you can use.  Yay for some guidance.

So how do you guys do meal planning?  Any tips you care to share with me?

Valentine's Day Diapers

The next major holiday is the day of love, dia de amor, a day when a guy in a diaper runs around shooting arrows at people making them fall in love.  Ahh Valentine's Day!  So I decided to put a post together all the cloth diapers that could accessorize your precious baby's butt on the day of red and pink and white.  Click any of the diapers names for more info on them.


You have the solid typical Vday colors.

Bumgenius Elemental in White

Rumparooz G2 in Crimson

Fuzzibunz Elite One Size in Cotton Candy

Fuzzibunz One Size  comes in all three colors.

Rumparooz G2  comes in red and white.

Moraki All in Ones come in red and pink.

There are a ton of other diaper brands that have red, pink, or white diapers but you get the point.  Any of these colors would work spectacularly on Valentine's Day!

A few prints I found that scream Valentine's Day to me are:

Bumgenius Freetime in Carroll

This diaper also comes in BG 4.0s and Elementals for you other BG lovers.

Wolbybug OS cover in Pink dot

Kawaii Goodnight Heavy Wetter in Red Garnet

Yay for polka dots.  I love dots.  

Okay there you have it.  The best accessories for the fluff butt nearest you.  In my case, he is currently screaming at me that he won't sleep from his crib and whining pitifully that he needs his light on to keep reading his book.  You know if I knew then what I know now, I would have taken full advantage of all the sleep my parents tried to bestow upon me.  Man I would love to go back to the days of being forced to take a nap.

This post contains affiliate links which compensate Adventures with Captain Destructo with a % of the sale. Using these links doesn't cost you anything extra, but it helps support this blog and my family. Thanks!

Week 26: Lettuce

Okay the fruit?? this week is lettuce.  Lettuce isn't a fruit.  I protest this.  And it makes me think of my Italian friend Michela and her green lettuce.  Ahh I miss her.

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How far along: 26 weeks.  You know two weeks ago of course.

Total weight gain: Not sure since I still don't have a scale.

 Maternity clothes: All of them.  Except the ones that mysteriously disappeared in between my sister's pregnancy and mine.

 Stretch marks:  I have a few new ones on my hips.  Still hoping that I only get them on my hips and butt like I did with Kai.

 Sleep:  I get up to pee at least three times a night.  Other than that not horrible.

Best moment of this week:  Christmas get togethers with family.  Kai was really cute handing out presents and pretending to be Santa.

 Miss anything:   Milk.  It has been my one really bad craving and my lactose intolerance is making that difficult.  I have had to quit drinking it and I just really want it.  Wahhh.

Movement:   Every day.  He isn't as active as his older brother except at night when he moves non stop.  

Food cravings:  Milk

Have you started to show yet:  Yeah quite a lot.

Gender: Bouncing baby boy. 

 Labor signs:   Braxton Hicks a lot.

 Belly button in or out:  Out gag me.

Wedding rings on or off: On although it is getting tight on certain days.

Happy or moody most of the time:  Happy  but a bit stressed this week since I am trying to get all the last minute Christmas preparations done.