Always, Alli

Dinner tonight was spicy Ramen. I’m back to craving spicy food, which I love, since it is normal for me, even when I am not pregnant.

I craved spicy a lot while I was pregnant with Fuller. This pregnancy it has been fresh fruit and vegetables (and sandwiches), which is great for me, but not what I consider normal.

Spicy Ramen was a great way to curb the craving. Tomorrow, I’ll probably finish off the bananas.

Today has been a little rough. I just couldn’t shake how tired I was, which made me a tad grumpy and feeling directionless for the day. Fuller really wanted to head to the park, so I took him.

There were plenty of puddles and mud to avoid or enjoy, depending on your role in life. As the mom, I was all for avoiding the mud. As the kid, Fuller was attracted (and closer) to the mud and ended up with muddy knees and hands before we left the park. I didn’t care. I figured the fresh air was good for us both, and the sunshine was definitely welcome.

Even though we were there for about an hour, when we got back to the house I was counting the minutes until quiet time (there were about 50) so I could rest. I took a nap, but I didn’t wake up rested. I’m starting to realize I probably won’t have a good night’s rest until Baby Two is about six months old, if that. So I guess I need to start figuring out how to convert my grumpy, sleepless attitude into a better disposition.

So I committed to this photo a day thing. I didn’t promise that all the pictures would be good. Please remember that.

We got almost 4 inches of rain yesterday, resulting in flooding and closing of schools. Today I wanted to get a picture of the high water over by Chattanooga Creek, so Fuller and I drove there and I stopped on the bridge to shoot out the window. The problem was, I was a bit nervous and didn’t pay any attention to the controls of the camera. And the pictures were all blown out. So I doctored this one in picnik, and came up with something to show you.

I didn’t say all the pictures were going to be good. In fact, I think I remember saying that doing this project would help me learn more. Today I learned to check my camera settings before shooting.

This morning I was seriously bummed about my epiphany last night- I have no nesting gene.

My little sister blogged this morning that she too is missing the nesting gene, which actually made me much happier.

To combat the missing gene, I decided to use the genetics God did bless me with- list making. I didn’t start with the overwhelming stuff first, instead I wrote Damon’s list. I figured if I determined the things I needed help with and gave him the responsibility, it would make me feel a little less daunted. (And no, I didn’t tell him I was making a list. When he woke up, it was just laid out on the desk. And I added two items to it before he left for work.)

The picture above are the lists for me and Damon. The list on the top, the green, is Fuller’s list. He just got it in his head he wanted to write while I was sitting at the dining room table. He asked how to spell “lunch.” I told him and he wrote it out. Then he said, “Ok, we can get lunch at Wal-Mart. What else can we get at Wal-Mart?” That’s when I realized he wanted to make a grocery list.

Apparently I have passed on the list making gene to Fuller. How exciting is that discovery?

And the list has helped. I got started on two things today!

For my niece Genevieve’s first birthday, I made her a hair bow holder. (Never mind that her birthday was in September and she didn’t get it until Thanksgiving.) Sarah-Ginny requested something, anything, to keep all of Princess G’s hair bows in order. I had seen other hair bow/ hair clip holders on the internet, and a certain one that looks like a tutu kept entering my mind. Knowing I wasn’t going to get that detailed, I came up with a ribbon and tulle creation.

Of course I took pictures along the way and yesterday I finally set up an instructable for it, so anyone can copy or improve on my idea.

How to make a hair bow holder for girly girls - More DIY How To Projects

Technorati Tags: hair bow holder, bow organizer, instructable, craft

I had another doctor appointment today. I thought I was going to weekly visits, but I have two more weeks until that officially starts.

I took Fuller with me, which really he doesn’t mind. He gets to watch the iPod Touch (he called it a wallet with boxes, which took me a while to figure out what he meant), so he is happy. I took this picture because of the shirt he was wearing. He got it for his birthday but I didn’t think it was appropriate for him to wear until the baby actually got here. But when he put it on himself today, I didn’t bother making him change. I figured it would be appropriate at the doctor’s office.

The visit was mundane, with me repeating the main issues I have had for at least a month. I also brought up leg pain I am having. It is leg pain that keeps me up at night, making it harder for me to get the sleep I really need. It’s bad enough I’m up four or five times a night, but when you can’t go back to sleep because of pain, it really sucks. My doctor is pro Tylenol PM, so I picked some up this afternoon and am actually counting down the minutes until my bed time because my legs really hurt today.

Fuller has been getting ready to be a big brother by listening to books I read to him and talking about the baby in nice ways.

I’ve been getting ready by going to the doctor and sitting on the couch a lot. We have a car seat for Baby Two, so really we could have the baby any minute, right? Eventually I need to start accumulating stuff like the cloth diapers and other stuff I keep mentioning we need. I’m sure I’ll get around to it soon.

By the way, the nesting gene is not something I have. I have the “meh” gene. The baby will get here and we will deal. At least, that’s the way I feel today.

One of the many beautiful things to look at during worship, remembering that God made it too.

When you spend most of the day(s) in your pajamas and not really getting off the couch due to gestating duty, you might end up looking like our dog, Maple. Relaxed and not really caring what is going on in the room.

It is just as important for me to have a playdate as it is for Fuller to have a playdate. I invited my best friend and her kids to come over for lunch and it served both purposes. I got to catch up with Esther and not have Fuller demanding my attention every five minutes (being housebound for the last week will do that to a kid).

One of Esther’s awesome traits is she doesn’t care if my house is a wreck, the Christmas stuff is strewn about the house and spilling out of plastic bins. And since she is pregnant too, we get to commiserate over all those fun things pregnant women get to experience.

Playdates aren’t just for kids. Mommies need them too.

Well, I decided to take the plunge and start a photo a day project. The picture above is actually the very first picture I took today. Fuller was building with Legos and after proudly showing me the box he built for his truck, he said, “You want to take a picture?” It made me laugh and I obliged.

I am looking forward to this project and also dreading it. I really want to stretch my wings in photography and figure this is one way to force myself to do it. That’s the part I’m looking forward to.

The part I’m dreading is the every day. This will be a crazy beginning to the year, with Baby Two showing up and turning our lives upside down.

So, fair warning: some days you will get a picture and only a picture. Some days you might get a camera phone picture. I do photoshop or picnik my pictures, so not everything will be straight out of the camera, but some days it will just be something crappy straight out of my camera.

Please, I have no idea what I have gotten into. Just keep reminding me, “If Drew can do it, so can I.”