Pointless Pudding & Pictures and (not pointless) Answer Me This

Happy Sunday!  

Ya'll.  I went to the grocery store to get the Sunday paper (for the coupons) and it was one of those if-you-give-a-mouse-a-cookie moments.  If you send a pregnant woman to the grocery store for the paper, she'll get thirsty and buy some coconut water.  On the way to check out with the coconut water, she'll pass the snack aisle and see...PUDDING!

Have you ever seen anything so beautiful? 

 The pudding bug hit me a little late this pregnancy, at 27 weeks.  With Max I was like EAT.ALL.THE.PUDDING. in my first trimester.  In fact, the evening before my c-section I told Andres that we had to go to Harris Teeter rightnow because my parents were coming into town and they might want pudding.  So, on our last night as "just a couple" we were in the grocery store at 9:30 buying a basket full of pudding.  I don't even think I was allowed to eat anything at that point, but...we desperately needed pudding.  Your lives are enriched by my telling that story. De nada.

To enrich your lives further, I will share that I finally made a staircase gallery wall.  You are probably thinking I'm all pinterest-y right now.  My gallery wall is far from a pinterest-fail, but I wouldn't call it a smashing success either.  It's more along the lines of a pinterest-oh-look-how-cute-it-is-that-she-tried.  Bless her.
Anyways, I love it because every time I go up and down the stairs I get to look at my people:

Photo credit:  BC Photos

If you are thinking about adding a gallery wall to your home, here are my biggest tips:

1.  Trace the frames on paper and cut them out.  This way you can tape your design to the wall to test it out before you start.

2.  Use painters tape to measure the distance between photos.  

Once again, de nada.

I recently discovered a blog written by Kendra, a lovely mom of 7, called Catholic All Year.  She hosts a link-up called Answer Me This, where other bloggers answer a variety of questions. Sort of like blogger small-talk, which I completely stink at in person.  Well, I saw the first question and knew I had to participate.  The story of how I got my name is a pretty interesting, "it's-a-small-world" story, and it's one I like to share (when the opportunity arises).  Here we go...

1. How did you get your name?

When my mom was pregnant with me she taught second grade at a small, private Christian school.  One day during show and tell her student, Danielle, shared about her new cousin named Heather Lynn.  Heather Lynn?  Hmmm...Heather Lynn...I really like that.  It sounds Scottish, fits with our last name...and when will I ever meet the first Heather Lynn or interact with this family again? thought my mom.  My dad loved it too and six months later I was born and named Heather Lynn.

Eleven years later, my father passed away.  (Don't be sad or sorry.  It's ok!  You can read why  right here.)   One year after that, my mom began dating a man named David, who is now my stepfather.  One evening, David was showing my mom pictures of his family.  My mom stopped at one picture and said, "Oh wow! That looks a lot like a girl I used to teach named Danielle.  In fact, we got the name Heather Lynn from her sharing about her cousin with the same name."  Well, David told my mom that the girl's name was in fact Danielle and then showed her a picture of his other niece who just so happened to be named...Heather Lynn.

So, yes, I was named after a baby who became my step cousin 12 years later.  What a crazy, small world!

2. Do you have a set time for prayer in your day?

Yes and no.  No, in the sense that I don't have a time to personally and privately pray for any intentions.  Yes, because I always pray with Max before he goes to sleep.  We have a little prayer list that we run through:  First, we pray for a good night's sleep.  Then we do an Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be.  After that, we thank God for all the wonderful, fun things that happened during the day.  Our routine ends with me singing 5 or so hymns, usually ending with How Great Thou Art.  So, yes, I guess the answer is I do have a set time for prayer every day.  

3. Did your mom work or stay home (or both)?

She stayed home until my sister entered kindergarten.  Then, she took a job directing the Mom's Morning Out program at our church, which enabled her to be home when we left for school and when we got home.

4. Do you vote?

Yes, but only in the presidential election...um, should I admit that?  I really need to start paying more attention to local politics.

5. What's your favorite drink?

I would love to say margaritas, Bloody Mary's, and coke...but my body gets mad at me if I have anything other than water.  So water.  Sometimes I indulge, but it's never really worth it.  Just water.

6. How are your photography skills?

Well, ummm...poke around my blog and make your own conclusion.  If grainy iphone photos copied and pasted from facebook is a skill...then I rock it.

Pregnancy happenings

I had originally thought that I was going to do weekly pregnancy updates.  I only have maybe 5 photos from when I was pregnant with Max and  I wish I had more.  However, it turns out that I'm just not a weekly-pregnancy-update kind of person.  I do have some, and you are in major luck, because I'm going to share them here!  With YOU!  Are you excited?  Me too!  Let's get started!

This is was taken during week 19, on the morning of our big anatomy scan.  I was so excited to see the baby and anxious to find out if everything was developing as it should.  (It is!)  We did not find out if the baby is a boy or a girl.  We were surprised with Max too.  It is so much fun for us to be surprised and for those wondering, no, it's actually not hard for us to wait.  Just fun.

The next day was my friend, Robin's, wedding!   I have known Robin since we met at Centrifuge (church camp) in the 11th grade.  We ended up at the same college, then the same church, and then the same Bible study group.  She has always had a desire to get married and has watched many friends walk down the aisle.  I was so thrilled to watch her take her turn that I could barely control myself!  I was dancing in my seat and had the goofiest grin on my face the whole time!  Above is a photo of Andres and I at her awesome BBQ reception.  Robin did a wonderful job with the reception decorations--she was on a tight budget and it did not show at all!  She made her centerpieces out of cupcake wrappers (they looked like flowers), had beautiful Japanese lanterns and Christmas lights, and dozens upon dozens of candles.  It looked magical and she did a phenomenal job!

After all the excitement  of week 19, things slowed down in week 20:

Barefoot and....yeah.
We did go see Sesame Street Live, which was everything you can imagine it to be.

And then, suddenly, it was week 22.  My parents were in town and we took advantage of the opportunity to go to dinner at Maggianos.  I love their stuffed mushrooms and I also love not cooking.  And time with my husband.  I got a few pictures of the belleh before we left.  Yes, this is week 22.  Not 32.

I am aware of the belly situation.  I got really huge, really fast with Max too.  People are starting to ask when I'm due, and I can tell they are confident that I will answer with July or August.  When I say October, it always takes them a minute to recover.  Then we have to have a conversation about how "I have a long way to go,"  it's important to "stay hydrated, honey," and "you are all belly because you are so tiny."   That exact conversation.  All the time.  Whenever we go out.  I'm going to start to say I'm due in September because ain't nobody got time fo dat.

Five Favorites: I'm really hungry so I eat a lot

 Tomorrow I will be 27 weeks pregnant!  Almost to the third trimester...which right now feels like I'm almost done, but in reality I will have all the 30s to get thru, and I recall with Max that my stomach came all the way out to my knees when sitting, which begs the question "how did I manage to drive my car?"  Seriously.  If my seat was pushed back far enough so that my stomach avoided the steering wheel, how did my feet reach the pedals?  I don't know.  Anyways, pondering that question makes my brain hurt so I'll get a snack instead.  I eat snacks all the time because I'm hungry all the time.  My doctor actually told me that I could stand to gain a bit more weight...I only gained 1 lb in 4 weeks and she was like "eat avocados and cheese."  So I was all, yeah, avocados and cheese, PLUS ALSO...

1.  Ice Cream Sandwiches

Mmmm.  I had one at lunch, then gave one to Max.  He only ate one bite.  I had to finish it for him.  I'm planning on eating my third during Big Brother tonight.  Or maybe my fourth, because I'm contemplating getting one right now.

2.  Crab Legs

Maybe it's because I'm from Maryland, maybe it's because crab legs are just so dang tasty, but I've been LOVING them more than usual.  It's not the same as Maryland blue crabs, but buying a couple clusters of snow crab and boiling them in plenty of Old Bay seasoning does the trick.  

3.  Honey Nut Cheerios

Every morning for breakfast and every evening for second dinner.  It's like candy in a bowl.

4.  Green beans.

I know, weird, right?  But they're a vegetable, so I'm going with it.  For some reason I've been wanting to eat them straight from the can, but even Pregnant Heather has standards so I always heat them up.

5.  Frunas

What are frunas, you ask?  They are a Colombian candy and taste like the spawn of a Starburst and Now and Later.  Delish.  My mother-in-law just returned from Colombia with several packages and less than a week later...where did they go?  $13.00 seems to be the going rate on Amazon for a 48 pack, so I don't think I'll be eating these again anytime soon.  Which, depending on my weight check at my appointment next week could be a good thing.  At least there's stil the green beans...

 To see other people's favorites click right here.  Do it.

Preparing for Baby

Preparing for a second child is so much easier than preparing for a first!  We already have the majority of what we need and a clearer idea of what are "must haves" vs "nice to haves" vs "why in the world would anyone buy this baby junk?"  And since you are now asking, "Heather Frowow, what are the must haves?" I will tell you.  (Note:  these are my must-haves that we have purchased brand-new for this baby.  I'm not including ones we already own).

1.  A crib.
I know.  We already have a crib.  People may think we are crazy to buy a second crib, but here's the thing...Max's crib is the Rolls Royce of cribs.  It converts to a toddler bed, then to a double bed.  Those kinds of cribs aren't cheap.  Max's crib is now in it's toddler bed phase, so baby needed a crib.  Plus also, the nursery has a white beadboard so I needed white furniture this time around, ya know?  While Max is our Rolls Royce baby, baby number two is our All-American Chevy, so he or she gets this:

 

The Baby Mod Park Lane in white.  It's from WalMart, I got it while it was on rollback with free shipping.  See?  Our Chevy Baby.

2.  A crib mattress.

Obviously.  We got whichever one was $169 from Buy Buy Baby.  I splurged for the coil springs.  When I bought it I told the guy, "My first son has the Cadillac of mattresses.  We are looking for something good but cheap."  

3.  A dresser.

How hard can it be to find a white dresser?  Very.  After scouring all manner of furniture stores, we finally found one at the Durham Buy Buy Baby.  The exact model isn't online, which is why it took us so long to finally get to the most obvious place to buy nursery furniture.  

4.  A sleep sheep.

 

Rolls Royce Baby has the big version, Chevy Baby gets the travel sized version.  They are exactly the same, except in price.  The Chevy version is cheaper.  Yes, each of my children will have their own sound machine.  It's a must-have in this house.

5.  Baby carrier for the infant phase.

With Max I had great expectations about being a Moby wrap mom.  Let me tell you:  I LOATHE the Moby.  I'm short and petite, and the Moby is outrageously long.  It was way too much fabric on me and made me feel frumpy.  It was also complicated to put on...it required practice and who has time to practice when they are trying to calm a fussy baby?  I will say, that when it worked, I loved it...but getting it to work only happened 25% of the time and it usually took 15 minutes to get to that point.  The first time I tried to wear it I cried ugly postpartum, "what kind of mother can't even wear her baby?!?!?" tears.   This time around I splurged and got the Nesting Days baby carrier:

 

Practically everything about it...how to put it on, the fabric, the sizing...seems to be the opposite of the Moby.  The owner of the company, Julie, was great to work with (I ordered mine during a 20% off promo and they got so many orders that they had to delay the shipping date).  Julie emailed me to see when I needed the carrier and included a handwritten note on my receipt.  I am so excited to try this out!  You can order yours (or one for a friend) at www.nestingdays.com.

There you have it!  That is what we have purchased so far!  Of course, we still need things like diapers, wipes, clothes that are appropriate for an early Fall baby (Max was born in the middle of winter)...and I'm hoping to find a City Mini double stroller at a consignment sale later this month.  But I think we're off to a pretty good start!

Surprise surprise!

Wow!  I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted.  I'm definitely getting the itch to record our little lives again.  Things have been sort of slow around here because:

I'm pregnant!!!!

We are so happy and thrilled!  We found out the day after Max's second birthday, January 27.  It was such a surprise!  I had originally written out the whole "how we found out story" but it was way too long and, ultimately, a bit personal.  Here are the bullet points:

• On January 27 I had an appointment for an x-ray
• "You're late."--radiologist
• "I promise I cannot be pregnant."--Heather
• "Sign this waiver."--radiologist
• "Ok."--Heather
• "Wait!  Postponing the x-ray will not make a difference in your care.  Go take a test."--doctor
• "Ok, fine."--Heather
• Heather drove across the street and took a pregnancy test in the grocery store bathroom.
• Negative.  SO frustrated to have wasted an afternoon.
• Appointment rescheduled.
• Drove home.  Checked test again.  Wait.  Wha???  Huh??   Confusion ensued.
• Drove to Target.  Bought more expensive test.
• Went home.  Took test.  Definitely positive!  :)

See how many bullet points there are?  Imagine that written out.  Paragraphs upon paragraphs. I know you are grateful that I spared you.  This baby is such a happy and much wanted surprise! 

Max's Little Blue Truck Themed Second Birthday

On January 26, my little Max turned two!  We celebrated by having family and close friends over.  This year has been all about reading The Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle at bedtime, so a Little Blue Truck theme it was!  I wasn't sure how popular the theme was or what ideas I'd be able to find, but pinterest came to the rescue!  I created a board and married several ideas together.  I'm really happy with the results.

I hung this sign on our front door to welcome people to the party.  I laid out all the food in the kitchen and put several toys in the family room for the kids to play with.

Max had received the barn for Christmas and it was the perfect toy for a Little Blue Truck party as the Little Blue Truck is from the country and farm animals are his friends!  I also used the "farm" theme in the food:

Fishing hole:  goldfish crackers
I also bought truck cutouts from Hobby Lobby and set out crayons and stickers so the kids (and adults!) could decorate a truck.

Tumbleweeds:  barbecue meatballs
Pig Pen:  pigs in a blanket

Farm Fresh Eggs:  deviled eggs
Veggie patch:  veggies and dip

Chicken feed:  chips and salsa
Orchard:  clementine oranges

 Shovels and pitchforks:  forks and spoons

Our island was our dessert table.  I made chocolate cupcakes and displayed them on 2 stands plus in the wooden blue truck.  I found the truck for $3 at a thrift store and spray painted it blue. Not pictured are hay bales (rice krispy treats) and mud (chocolate pudding mixed with cool whip, chocolate chips, and crushed oreos.)  I also made a "watering hole" for drinks.  I served sodas, lemonade, and water.  Drinking glasses were mason jars and the straws had blue polka-dots, found in the dollar section at Target.

When everything comes to together it looks so simple, but I had been working on everything off and on since September.  I found most of my supplies at Michaels, including alphabet stamps...only to find similar stamps in the dollar bin at Target later!  Oh, well!  You always find what you need when you are not looking!

Max got a cd player from his Abuelitos.  He loves it.  I'm not sure I can say the same for the adults in the house.  Not even a chocolate cupcake could entice him away...

It was the perfect day to celebrate our little man turning two!  He is our greatest blessing and we are so happy he is ours!

Max's First Trip to the Zoo

This little turkey says guess what I did over Thanksgiving?!?  I went to the zoo!

We were up in Maryland over Thanksgiving and took advantage of the freezing cold temperatures to traipse around the National Zoo.   I was so excited to see what Max would do when he saw animals up close.  (Yes, you can actually see animals up close at the National Zoo, compared to the NC Zoo where the habitats are so large you need binoculars to see the elephants.  For realz).
Our first stop was at the elephant house.  Max LOVED the elephants!  Unfortunately, we don't have a picture of him loving them, but we do have pictures of a panda bear, orang utan, and an I -don't-know-what:

PLUS ALSO!  No zoo trip is complete without pictures of fake animals!

One neat thing that happened was that the lions started roaring back and forth!  It was so cool, especially since the lions aren't usually active at all!  Max started roaring with them.  It was adorable!

I told Max that he could choose one special treat to have at the zoo.  Of course, he chose the carousel and I made sure he had an elephant to ride!

.

 It was so neat to take Max to the zoo for the first time and then go back to my parents' house and look at pictures of my first zoo trip at the same zoo.  I remember going to the zoo several times growing up and for a field trip in 7th grade...and now I'm walking around the zoo with my own child!  Crazy!