We're having a . . .

BOY!!!

Looks like he might be a happy little guy.

See his grin?

He was certainly active. We watched him play with his umbilical cord and kick and grab his feet. There were moments where he had one hand in front of his mouth and others where he looked like he was rubbing his eyes with both hands. Near the end of the ultrasound, I started to feel sleepy in that chair, yawned a big yawn, and laid my head back to rest for a moment. Shortly after, the technician laughed and pointed out that he'd just laid his hand on his chest and laid back to take a nap. I knew how he felt!

If he does end up being a little fire-ball, I'm grateful mild-mannered Lil'S came first! I don't know what'll happen when the next one follows, but at least for now, it's going to be much easier to have a mild 2-yr-old boy and an active infant than it would be to have the reverse!

The technician tried to get a picture of him while he was grabbing his foot and again when he had both feet together at the same time, but he was too quick!

4-d

We've got another 4-d where he looks like he's rubbing his eyes with both hands.

We were worried about H's reaction if it turned out to be a boy, so the possibility of either gender was a topic we brought up a number of times with her. (She was so set on having a baby sister when we were expecting Lil'S that she started crying at his ultrasound . . . and kept crying . . . and kept crying. We certainly didn't want a repeat of that!) Right before we left for the appointment, I asked, "Hannah, what will you do if it's a boy?" Her response was fantastic: "Play monsters!" She then danced into the family room where Daddy was and sang out something like, "Daddy! If it's a boy, I'm going to play monsters with him and [Lil'S]!" She continued on about how she could run away and they could chase her.

We then all headed out the door in smiles.

What a relief!

Lil'S wasn't sure what to think about the whole thing. (He's turning 18 months on Thu, so it's a big week for him too! Hopefully I remember to get some good 18-mo pictures taken and posted.) He was a little concerned about the moving chair his Mommy was sitting in at the beginning. :) As Daddy held him during the ultrasound, he wasn't quite sure where he should be looking: at his Mommy in the chair, at the technician's computer screen, or the huge screen on the opposite wall. I don't know if he understood the whole "baby in mommy's tummy" thing. He knows about babies at least, so I think it'll sink in at some point before Little One comes. Eventually, he got down and wanted sit with Mommy, but then sister distracted him and he went off and played with her and the privacy curtain and anything else he could find while the technician took Little One's measurements and all. Gratefully there wasn't much he could get into trouble with. :)

What a fun afternoon!

Squash Seeds?

So, we've had these squash seeds sitting in the fridge the past few days, and my amazing husband baked them--and the others we added to the pile today--up with oil and salt. We'd heard for years of people snacking on pumpkin seeds (which always made my stomach curl, as I've always abhorred the smell of cooking pumpkin) and finally thought we'd give it a try. If you walked into our house, you'd think we were baking bread--seriously. Oh, our house smelled lovely!

The first batch was acorn squash seeds. I could not believe it, but they tasted like a mix between sunflower seeds and popcorn. It was awesome! (Although, more like sunflower seeds with the hulls, but not quite that bad.) The second batch was butternut squash seeds, which were faster cooking as the seeds are smaller. Once again, I couldn't believe what I tasted. They were light and crispy, like bits of flavored corn chips! I can't describe the flavor, though. You'll just have to try them yourself. ;) They were much more rich than the acorn squash. The chef-with-the-fantastic-accent recommended using them in place of croutons on green salads, and I would totally agree. Too rich to just snack on, for my tastes, but using them as salad or soup toppers? That sounds yummy!

Here are the instructions S followed, except we didn't wait for them to "pop". We considered them done when they were lightly toasted as we simply couldn't wait anymore!

eye stuff p.s. re: Lil'S

At H's most recent appointment, when talking about scheduling H's next appointment, her doctor looked at busy Lil'S and said she could check his eyes then too. I was so relieved when she brought that up because I'd actually been wondering earlier that week what we needed to do to make sure his vision stayed strong--would she be willing to just check him out mid-H's appts or should we pay the $60 for an exam however frequently or what. Phew! With how strabismus is a genetic thing (ha, one we weren't even aware would be an issue, amongst all the things we knew could be!), I knew Lil'S was at risk, and it seemed to me that there have been times his eyes have been slightly misaligned--usually when he's tired--and it's mostly noticeable in pictures, when the light is reflecting off his eyes. However, I think I'm also so used to looking at family members with slightly mis-aligned eyes that I wonder if I really don't know what straight looks like anymore! ;) I did realize since the appt that Lil'S's eyes would go wall-eye when he was a young infant, like H's did. I'd read in a baby book that that was normal up to about 4 months, so I'd really have to ask about that further to see if that's really correct, if he's at higher risk, yada, yada, yada....all those things mothers worry about.

Pictures for Miss E!

Waiting for the bus Monday morning.

Well, I've already posted on H's new amblyopia treatment. However, I wanted to post a few pictures for a friend.

Matching Outfits!

We learned a college roommate of mine, her five-year-old girl also has strabismus, but in both eyes. I chatted with my old roommate on Facebook last week, and she said her daughter had just had surgery to try to keep her from losing her depth perception. I'm glad surgery went well and she's on the mend! We showed H their family blog, which she was so excited about. The girl wore an outfit very similar to this on her first day of kindergarten, and H was very excited to go match her. She wanted her hair in braids with ribbons tied on the ends, like Mary and Laura in the Little House on the Prairie series we've been reading with her. Too cute!

Getting her backpack ready

Heading out the door with Daddy

H's silly self portrait with our cell phone.

You can see her right eye is dilated from the atropine drop. We're grateful that at least getting the medication on her eyelids seems to blur her vision for a day, and maybe two. That will hopefully make it easier for her to adapt to having the drops full on.

We started atropine last week Tuesday. It really was pretty good timing as I was able to send her teacher a letter about it that morning and then meet with her briefly that evening at Back to School Night. Her teacher sent a note home the next day saying that she complained about the sun being too bright, a typical issue when you're eyes are dilated, so we headed off to Walmart's Vision Center to see what we could arrange for her for sunglasses. We couldn't grab just any old sunglasses since her vision would be compromised out on the playground, so I expected we'd have to pay out for Rx ones and just consider it a necessary medical expense. Price for prescription sunglasses: $80. Mr. Vision Center Employee put on his thinking cap for us and found that there was a pair of clip-on tinted lenses that just happened to fit her little glasses. Price we paid for clip-ons: $16.01 with tax. Thank you, Mr. VCE!

Mr. VCE taught H how to use them, and we laid out a plan with her to keep her clip-ons in their case in her lunchbox. After she was done eating her lunch, if it was sunny outside, she could put them on her glasses and go out to play. When she came back into the gym to grab her lunchbox, she could put them back in their case to keep them safe, and then she'd always have them.

Well, we never got to test out that plan, as that night H was lying in bed on her side and reached up with one hand to pull off her glasses. As she pulled, she broke off the ear piece she was lying on. Sigh. This was at least the third time her frames had been broken since she got them in March--the Vision Center employees know us very well, and of course H dresses up especially for them before each visit--but at least we didn't have to pay for replacements with Walmart's warranty. I'm wondering now if the frames are really $2 quality, so they figure they're getting a $7 profit, which would work if the frames didn't break so easily. Or maybe they're really 50c quality. The plastic isn't very strong--that or else I have strong kids, which is pretty true. Although I really couldn't compare them to other glasses outside of the reading ones I never broke as a 9 or 10 year old. (Lil'S broke her glasses twice by just pulling on them. I realized he was the culprit of a previous incident when one night he picked up her glasses off her nightstand and, before I could grab them from him, grinned up at me with his "Check this out, Mom!" smile and, without even a hard yank, pulled them apart. Talk about easy to break.) Unfortunately, this time around the Vision Center was out of those frames (imagine that), but at least they weren't discontinued and could be ordered. We're hoping for a phone call any day now, but at least by this Friday.

So, no more drops for the time being. At least we're not in an atropine study, eh? We were planning on still having her wear her patch each afternoon but eventually decided to just not even make an issue of it in order to focus on getting her to bed on time each evening. So far, so good. Her sleep needs to get under control, or when it's time to wear the patch or use the eye drops, her resistance will be seven-fold what it would be otherwise.

Another thing that might help H cooperate with her treatments is that she has met a girl who wears a patch to school: a fellow kindergartener who even shares her name! She said she first saw her at the library, but now she sees her at P.E. twice a week, which is combined with all the other kindergarten classes. I told her today to ask her who her doctor is. It would be fun if they went to the same place. :)

Shopping Deals

Okay, I just got H two shirts (plus-size 7 & 8) for upcoming years for $5.15, tax included, free shipping. I like Lands' End! (Not when they ship me Overstocks items that should have been labeled Not Quite Perfect, but in moments like this I'm willing to forgive.) Yes, some combing through and patience was certainly needed, but I'm thrilled to have shirts that will be the right fit for her to wear--and their being cute is a bonus!

You can get dark chocolate men's dress pants for about $17 right now. Sadly, I think only one of S's shirts will work with that color--other than his white shirts--but it's a great deal. (if they're not actually NQP!) ;)

Here's my free shipping, no minimum purchase code, ladies. Please use it! It's good until 9/20.

code: EXPEDITION2

pin: 9111

Happy Shopping!

p.s. Can anyone tell me how to find BLACK mens' dress pants for cheap? L.L. Bean has khaki ones for about $35, and Old Navy has black ones online for $30. (Will the ON ones wrinkle in the wash? I don't have time for laundry....I've got to have wrinkle free!) I did just found some links for printable coupons for 30% off one item, which would make them $20 (plus tax) if they're the same price in stores. I think that's what I'm going to need to do. . . . Lands's End and L.L. Bean all have black ones for $50 or more! (Except wide-wale corduroy, which are a deal at $20, but I'm pretty sure S won't want them. He's not cold-blooded like I am.) Maybe this weekend S will have some pants to wear to work that are not stained, ripped, or shredded at the bottoms! I'm tempted to try Goodwill, but I'm afraid of not being able to find ones that fit the above description. . . . I've been lucky before, though. Maybe I'll be lucky again. . . .

Stress relief

Why cry about your crumbling house when you can smile at the cuteness running through it?

Lil'S playing with Daddy's mask, amongst other things, this morning.

Stress!

Wow, life can be stressful sometimes. We just got rid of one major stressor (for a while anyway) and were handed a new one. I'd say I wonder what's next, but I think I'll just focus on these for a while. . . .

- Well, pregnancy. It's not bad, really. Fatigue is pretty well my lot in life right now, and I've learned to manage it. Hip pain and pressure are certainly a little more challenging, especially when they are such that I have to stay off my feet or hit me when I'm not expecting them. And my asthma's not all that bad, although gagging or actually losing breakfast after taking my meds isn't that fun....

- H's eye treatment: This is what we were just hit with. We've finally got her cooperating with the eye patching--would have done it sooner but life's been crazy and she was sleeping horribly, which means no even mentioning the word "patch" unless you want to listen to a melt-down. We were paying her a dime for every half hour she'd wear it, we got her a couple library books about girls who wore patches, and we even found a friend of mine's daughter is dealing with similar issues, so now she has a pen pal! And then we go to the doctor, who recommends more aggressive treatment: atropine eye drops to blur her right eye through the entire day. Well, it's not surgery, so I'm thankful for that (although I'm sure there are going to be moments where I'll think that's debateable). This is the same child, however, who asked or tantrumed every day for nursing for six months when I was trying to wean her; she does NOT back down from what she wants--even when I'm being a good, consistent parent! Gratefully, her desire to ride the bus and go to school overrode her desire to not have eye drops--at least long enough for her to say so. We still had to pin her down and just put them on her closed eye (doctor said that was better than nothing), but, hey, we got that done and she still caught the bus as it was late. That's called a heaven-sent blessing. She got her reward for at least partially cooperating. I am just hoping now that she got enough medication exposure, although that really can just come with time and experience. She doesn't have to have full-success with the med just yet.

- Diet-shhmmiet.....okay, this is going to be a little different issue with diets than most people may complain about. (Not that I'm really complaining, just listing these things. There is a difference....although maybe there's a mite of complaint in here too. I'm working on that.) I never thought I'd be one of those families where the mom is particular about what everyone eats. This causes this, that does that, etc. Insanity. Well, here I am, having to do all that! What a paradigm change this has all been! S is on a starch-free diet, as in microscopic bits of starch are no-nos. These days, various forms of starch are added to nearly all processed foods, ha, unless they're the expensive version. ;) So, in addition to no grains, most processed foods are off the list as well. And I guess I'm using the term "processed" very loosely, as we tend to avoid highly and even moderately processed foods. Go look at a package of shredded cheese--they add starch to keep it from clumping together. Yogurt (except Stoneyfield). Chocolate milk (but not Hershey's syrup!). Pretty much anything fast food, so my occasional sanity savers are GONE.

Lil'S appears to have a mild allergy to egg. It's simply bizarre. He doesn't get rashes if he doesn't eat egg. If he eats egg, he doesn't get rashes right away (outside of diaper rash, he's been quick to get those after he turned a year or so), rather he starts reacting to things he usually doesn't react to: the rubbing of the back of his dry diaper, our weekly calzones. We had him off egg for months, had him skin tested with no reaction, and after two mornings with egg, oh, look at those pink cheeks--face and bum! I put a different brand of diapers on him, and he just developed a new rash where the new diapers rubbed. This is obviously not your typical allergic reaction, but it's apparently led to his immune system being oversensitive, so looks like we have to watch out for it. And, with S's no-starch diet, what do you think we all eat every morning? Eggs. Lil'S was simply in heaven the mornings we finally let him have some, and I'm incredibly grateful he's an easy going child now as his complaints to not get them are fairly mild.

H - she's so completely out of her mind tired that she hardly eats anything. Either she's too tired to eat or she's too wired to eat. So, high-calorie (high fat/protein) has been the goal with her. An egg for breakfast (snuck in cheese today!) is the most we can ever get into her at breakfast time--a mere 70 calories, but she's simply just not hungry. Ah, well.

Me - lactose-intolerant, overly so. But I've been able to cheat lately. And I've also splurged with the expensive soy yogurt (Stoneyfields' is MUCH more palatable than O'Soy, which is where I'm cheating as it's milk-based culture rather than soy based. My excuse is the 6 probiotics, though.) Our finances can't support all this much longer, though! What else am I going to eat while tired and pregnant, though? Five bowls of cereal through the day just doesn't quite cut it anymore. That's just not healthy. Variety needs to happen somehow.

yes, insane.