Stuff for the home

Thank you so much for all of your sweet comments after the last post! I was striken with the flu right after I posted, and have spent most of the past week on the couch (and yes, I got the flu shot). I've been on call all week, but we have yet to have a birth, and while I need the numbers, the chance to be a slug has been sooooooo wonderful. Henri was very good about playing fairly independently/not burning down the house, and Steve ignored my constant whining. Anyway, I hope health is returning to the house, morning sickness finally seems to be easing up a bit (lost 7lbs so far! only eating clementines will do that for you...), and we seem to be emerging from the holiday scramble to a semblence of normalacy.

Henri has become hyserically fun lately. She's generally in a good mood (except when she's throwing a fit, and then watch out!), is completely into imaginative play, continues to love books (though now they're long ones that I enjoy reading as well), is starting to talk in complete sentences with proper use of pronouns, is clearly an oldest child with a deep concern that everyone and everything be just so, catches on to everything we say and do, is girly without being over the top (it might be coming, but I'm really against the princess culture so am keeping Disney off the radar for now), is pretty easy going, loves to grocery shop....I just love to watch her. It might be the realization we won't have just her any more, but I find myself really loving this age (not a suprise, I knew the 2+3 age would be a favorite) and wishing we could stay like this for a long time.

But as proof that we can't stay the same, we have two new additions to the family! Well, the first one we've had for a year (ice cream maker), but Steve just got it out and made ice cream for the first time this week. I'm not  a huge ice cream lover, but it turned out quite good and Henri was very excited about the proces.
The second, is (drum roll, please).....my Miele vacuum! We've been saving for six months and today we went to a shop down the street. I was planning to get a lower model, but the prices at the shop were the same as Amazon, and the sales guy brought the price down to between the models, so it was a much better deal. And then there's a good return and servicing policy, which made it better than online. Anyway, I got it home and cleaned every nook and cranny. Henri wanted to use it, and I let her have it for a minute, but it was way too satisfying to give up for long. I know this is a very sad commentary on the state of my life that I can get this excited about a vacuum, but trying to keep some semblence of order with a broom (and in the past few weeks not even trying I've felt so lousy), well, it was pure joy to see that dirt disappear.

Not sure I'd posted this before, but Henri's new bed! She's been sleeping in a travel sized pack-n-pay her whole life and is totally in love with her "sleepy bed".



I don't blame her, it's got plenty of room to stretch out and the matress is really comfy

We had a warmish day and walked down to the park. Most of the playground was still under snow, but the all-important swing was free

A pinecone treasure

Strawberry ice cream. Nice flavor, no yucky film on your tongue like some homemade can leave

Ok, I know ultrasound pictures are a bit ridiculous and hard to see, but I thought this blob was pretty cute. Looks like we'll be encountering the same problem we had with Henri's birth of a huge head....

My vacuum! Got it just in time, too, as the warm weather means all the nasty spiders are sneaking out. They have no idea what's waiting for them, bwahahaha!!!!!!!!!!

(It's Sunday now...it's taking me days to write these lately) It's been a slow week for births (which means I've been totally stressed about never finishing this program) but I just got a call my continuity client is in early labor, so I'll be having a long night tonight, and then I'll have a project to work on so I'll feel productive. I have a midwife appt this week and there should be a heart beat on the doppler which will be nice to hear. Other than that, just the usual plugging away. And vacuuming :)