Where do I start?

Wow. It's been too long since I've blogged. I have a good excuse. Well, I have an excuse, don't know how "good" it is.

Let me start with updates:

Audrey turned ONE in September!!!! My baby! That was a really fast year. Now at 17 months old she's walking/running, talking (her favorite saying, "Der oo go!" - translation: There you go!) and full to the brim with energy. She wears me out! She has 8 teeth (she gets 4 at a time... wonderful.) Audrey is a huge help to me. She puts the silverware in the basket when I do dishes, she pretends to feed me when she plays house, and she hands me things to fold when I'm doing laundry. My "big" girl. I say "big" 'cause she's no bigger than a minute. If she'd gain that last 1/2lb I could turn her car seat around, but no. My munchkin.

Michael is doing well. His paperwork is being processed to transfer into the Air Force (Yay!). We're hoping to hear what the decision is soon. And I'm so proud of him! He pins on LT Commander (or Major if he transfers to the AF) this fall!!! He's worked so hard. That being said he's currently deployed on a 4 month deployment and I look forward to getting him home safely this spring...

Just in time for BABY BOY!!!! Yup! We're expecting our newest addition early May. We are all so excited! I'm really looking forward to meeting him. It's been an interesting pregnancy. One of the signs I was pregnant (before I could confirm it) was tiredness. I blamed it on a busy toddler, not knowing my body was working overtime. And the exhaustion hasn't gone away. I know. I know. After the first trimester you're supposed to get a surge of energy. I'm still waiting for the surge. Audrey doesn't know what's going on, but I think she'll really like him. She loves babies. They'll be ~19 months apart. Should be interesting!

Baby boy is healthy and very very active... like his sister. He does jumping jacks that leave me at the brink of tears from pain. He seems to be very strong too, kicking out my tailbone on more than one occasion. Thankfully I've been seeing a chiropractor so that's helped relieve some of the pain. Yes, we're keeping his name a secret like we did with Audrey. It adds suspense ;)

And me? I'm doing well. Going crazy, but doing well. This deployment has been interesting. Some of the challenges center around disciplining Audrey, keeping the house clean, not killing the dog, and taking care of my body through this pregnancy. I've caught the flu 3 times since I've been pregnant. Wonderful. To help keep me sane I've been sewing (clothes, quilts, and scrappy projects). I love having an outlet.

Traveling has taken the form of a baby shower in CO for my wonderful sister-in-law (who's having a girl!) and an upcoming trip back to beautiful VA this weekend. My parents and sister came into town for Christmas. I loved having them here. They made December fly by! It's been a good winter.

So that's all for now. I'm really going to try to keep this ol' blog updated.

UGLY!!!! But I LOVE the fabric.

My latest project: repurposing. I found this terrible window treatment at the thrift store for a whopping $1 and immediately envisioned a dress for AJ. So the hideous trip was the first to go, and then the seams, excluding the top and bottom 1/2" hem. Then, using this shirring tutorial from Pretty Ditty, I shirred a section for the bodice and added a skirt, back and ties. It's a little short, but with AJ crawling with a passion it's the perfect length to not irritate. I still need to tack the top to the straps a little better.

You will probably hear/see me mention shirring or mock smocking quite a bit. It's my new favorite passion. I've already made AJ 2 dresses just this weekend with it.

My beautiful model ;)

It's done!

I feel like I've been "planning" on making this dress for weeks... I've had fabric since before Easter... and totally over-thought this process so it took me twice as long to sew it. Haha! At least it's done! I'll definitely be making another one.

Communication

Disregard this post if you don't give a rat's patooty about childhood development or the Paulus home. Sorry to bore you. :)

Communication - a process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs or behavior.

I share the definition because my daughter, Audrey, communicated with me for the first time. For the past 7 months I've been guessing what she needed. Bottle? Diaper change? Burp? Nap? You know. The mommy game.

But today Audrey communicated. By rapping her fist on her high chair she was trying to communicate that she wanted her favorite toy (a wooden spoon). Yes, I had to do some guessing. But after I figured out that she was showing me what she does with her spoon and how she got a huge smile on her face when I rewarded her with it I realized she had just asked for her spoon!

Yup. I'm a proud Mama. Sorry you had to read my bragging... Can't help it. I sure do love that kid!

*Cough Cough* *Sniff Sniff*

My baby's sick. :( I hate colds.

"You have to let it take it's course." Just what I want to hear when I've got a cranky, stuffy 7 month old.

Off to Walmart to find Puffs Plus, Infant Benadryl, and hand sanitizer.

Yuck. Audrey's not sleeping well unless cuddled on me (which I love, but also means we don't have food in the fridge...) and every time she needs to cough she coughs in my face.

Yup. I'm coming down with whatever it is as well... Shoving vitamin C down my throat.

Praying Michael doesn't come down with it.

Piggy prizes

So the story goes, forgive me if I don't get it all right, that when my husband and brother in law (twins) were infants Mom and Dad P would award "piggy prize"s for the messiest diaper of the day. Understanding, of course that diapers in the early 80s were nothing compared to the "leak-proof" diapers of 2010. Or so one would think.

Audrey proved that to be false today as she has many days (more than I wish to recount). Yup. She got the piggy prize. She pooped all the way up her back to her shoulder blades. One of those diapers that you run the bath water and consider the best way to approach taking off the offended clothing. Scissors? Roll it? Over her head? Slide down her legs? You know it's going to be bad, regardless of how you take it off.

Oh, I forgot to mention that we tried prunes recently... yeah. It RAN through her system.

And the best thing about babies (at least Audrey) she couldn't give a rat's patooty about the mess her patooty's in. Sitting there happy as a clam. With her pants full of ... you know.

It's good to be a mom. It's good to be a mom. It's good to be Audrey's mom. Right. Keeping things in perspective. :)

Haha! On to the next adventure!

$$ in my pocket

So I've got the diaper bug again. Excuse me, the cloth diaper bug.

For the last few months I've been using disposable diapers because I found that I was only spending $4 a week to diaper Audrey... and it was easier since Michael was deployed.

But, the other day I spent $20 on a box of diapers and realized that I could have taken that $20 and bought 2 cloth diapers that would last me months rather than days and that I could use on baby #2* (and hopefully #3 +).

*note: I AM NOT PREGNANT

So now the search begins again for the most cost efficient cloth diaper system. I'm planning on sticking with prefolds and covers but I haven't decided which brand.

The debate is between Bummis and Thirsties, both of which I've used before.

I would love any advice! (especially if you've used the Thirsties Duo Diaper cover)

Mommy things

This week I'm learning how to cook baby food... in my ebay-won Beaba BabyCook!

It retails for $149 (ouch!) but I was able to get one second hand for $100. Already I've pureed carrots for Audrey's lunch and I'm about to cook 2 plums and steam them.

If you're looking for a good sight on making your own baby food check out this site.

I know there's a big debate about whether it's cost efficient to purchase and "extra kitchen item" to make baby food when you can easily steam food on your stove top. While it's obviously cheaper to make your own baby food it's not easy to decide how.

So, this week I'm going to be making baby food both ways: with the Beaba BabyCook and on the stove.

I would love to receive any tips and personal experience. Feel free to leave a comment!

Sitting around

Saturday I did a lot of sitting around and waiting. For what? My husband!!! Michael returned from his 3 1/2 month deployment Saturday night! I love having my husband home. He brings such joy and stability to our house. Audrey has transitioned well to him, thankfully! She's not in the "mommy only" stage yet. Thank goodness.

And I have finally slept! While he was gone I would sleep through the night, but I'd wake up just as tired as when I went to bed, needing to sleep lightly just in case I needed to help Audrey or defend my castle. Now that my bodyguard is home ;) I fall into such a deep sleep that it's hard for me to wake up. Michael brought Audrey to me while I was in bed, he was on his way to work, and she and I snuggled and fell asleep for an hour! The tiredness is catching up to me. I have a feeling I might be like this for a while. Oh well.

So now, I'm sitting here listening to Audrey talk on the monitor while she tries to go to sleep and watching Michael file our taxes. It's a great day. My family is together. Complete. As it should be.

One of my favorite times of day...

SNUGGLE time! After I get Audrey out of her crib, but before I get her ready for the day we snuggle on the guest bed for a few minutes. She talks to me, practices her crawling, tries to grab my glasses. We play peek-a-boo. This morning she found her thumb and nestled in for a little nap. Oh the joy of being Audrey's mommy!

It's been a while

Sorry it's been so long. Kinda what happens when you're doing this whole parenting thing by yourself while your better half is deployed. Thankfully I won't be alone for too much longer (excuse me while I do my excited dance...)

I'm sitting here listening to Otto tear something else up in the backyard. He switches from the watering system to the cardboard box that holds our chiminea. Wonderful. More for Michael to take care of when he gets home... I've taken care of my fair share lest you think I'm leaving everything for him.

Audrey's just laid down to take her 3rd nap. She doesn't normally take that many naps... Oh well. More time for me to get things done around this messy house.

So what's been up with me. Well, I'm tired. It's been a long 3 months and I'm very ready for my husband to be home. I know I sound like a weakling. I've heard the "You're lucky you're not an army wife dealing with 18 month deployments." Yes, I am. But I also know that the Lord gives me the strength to press on through any deployment be it 3 or 18 months. And I've prepared for a 3 month separation, so it stands to reason that I'm ready for Michael to be home.

Audrey has kept me very busy in the meantime. She is on the go all the time! At 5 1/2 months old she's beginning to sit up unassisted (for a little bit till she comes crashing down on her face), she grabs anything and everything within her reach and immediately puts it in her mouth, she holds onto my fingers and stands up very well, talks, giggles, and blows raspberries. She's almost crawling... she gets up on her hands and knees, rocks back and forth, and then scoots... backwards. :) At least she's moving.

Children grow up so fast! Looking back at pictures Audrey's changed so much! You'd hardly recognize her. It's so hard for me to think of all the things I've seen her do while Michael finds out second hand. I sent him a video the other day and he replied that that was one of the first times he's ever heard her laugh! Come home, Michael and enjoy the joy that is our daughter!

I'm proud to say that this has been a productive deployment for me. I'll make a list to prove it:

Installed a security system
replanted watering system
fixed a broken watering system
organized our bills
spent 2 weeks in Texas
and 3 in Virginia
built 1/2 of my project desk (hoping to have it finished before Michael gets home)
made a meal plan
had windows installed in our VA rental
fixed Michael's credit score (with help, thanks Dad P!)
got Audrey sleeping through the night
and I've kept my sanity (for the most part)

What's left to do is another story:

clean the house
sew 3 large sewing projects
finish the desk
potty train Audrey (just kidding)
organize my pantry
and paint my nails...

Thankfully I have a few weeks left to do it. I'm contemplating whether or not it's really worth it to clean my house before Michael gets home... it's just going to get trashed again with all his stuff. Oh well. It'll make me feel better.

So there you go. Little ol' me. Workin' away. Keepin' busy and stayin' sane.

New blog

My "Mommy" blog:

Hope you enjoy!

Audrey Jo

Wow. What a wild and awesome month and a half!

Michael and I welcomed our little bundle of joy and energy Audrey Josephine on Sept. 11th. Since then our house has been bursting at the seams with diapers, laundry, leftovers, and guests. It's been a fun time.

We're now at the end of our slue of guests (Thank you so much for coming!) and our new life is settling in. Neither of our moms are here to fold my laundry, vacuum and mop for me anymore. I was spoiled for 5 whole weeks. Ho hum. Gotta jump into my new shoes as a wife and mother.

That being said, there's a load of laundry calling my name. Shut up, Laundry. I'll deal with you later.

Introducing....

Audrey Josephine Paulus

September 11th 2009

at 7:33pm

4lbs 8oz and 18in