July 28, 2008 by veronica.

Our house has been on the market for almost 4 months now. The good news? We’ve had a ton of showings. The bad? No offers. Some feedback has been weird and random, some positive, and some very irritating (I mean, seriously, we can’t do a THING about our neighbor’s yard). We changed realtors, which has helped, but the fact of the matter remains our house is up for sale in one of the worst markets in years. What drives me crazy is that buyers want everything for no money. If you want a cheap house, there are some nice mold-infested messes all over town. Our house is NOT one of them, and yes, it is priced accordingly. Granted, we are looking at houses to buy, too, but we know there’s a huge difference in quality between a foreclosure (or even short sale) and a normal, hey, I need to sell for life reasons house. And yes, there’s a difference in price, but you can’t expect to screw everyone over.
So here we are, Chris still commuting a total of 4 hours a day, and my tummy getting ever-bigger. I hit 34 weeks this week (Or 35 weeks, depending on what dates you line up on the wheel of fun). And even though I have complete confidence going into this birth, there’s still something very unsettling about being home alone with a 2 1/2 year old for almost 13 hours a day with my husband a good 2 hour commute away. The ideal world would have been to move by now, but we had to pull the trigger and move to Plan B. That would be the plan where we move in with Chris’s parents in less than 2 weeks and wait for the baby (and, ostensibly, wait for the house to sell) there. The advantages to this plan are NUMEROUS– Chris will have a shorter commute, someone can help me reach things when I drop them on the floor, the house will always be clean for showings, I won’t be alone for the majority of the day, and on and on…. Sometimes it makes more sense than anything else that could have happened.

We are now spending our days slowly filling boxes. Packing isn’t so bad when you only fill 8 or 9 boxes at a time. We are running out of storage space in our unit, which I take as a sign of immense progress. I have a group of items all organized for when the baby comes. We went through all of Lily’s things and took out the items that were gender-neutral. We have gathered the bassinet, the sheets, and we purchased some clothes for the little guy to wear when he comes home for the first few weeks. Everything that we need right away is in the “Baby Now” tub. It’s all good.

One of the things that you miss out on 2nd (and I’m sure 3rd and 4th) children is the wonderful process of picking out every single item you want for your baby…although it’s kind of nice knowing most of that crap you’ll never need anyway. Yes, we had to pick out some clothes for this kid, but it’s not the same. Some things, though, I have taken large amounts of joy in. Like what, you ask? Well,
1) We spent a portion of the stimulus check on BumGenius 3.0 cloth diapers and cloth wipes. A lot of them. But hey, they’re made in the US, so that’s more stimulation to go around! Once Baby grows out of newborn diapers, we will hopefully have to spend little, if any, money on additional diapers.
2) Last week, after receiving my second invitation to the “Strong Moms” club, I called up the “lovely” Similac corporation and told them to remove me from their mailing list. Hell, I made it 27 months with Lily, I’ll be just fine, thank you! (Yeah, I was a closet nurser, but not so much now….I am VERY proud of us for making it that long!!!!) Here’s to upholding the WHO Code of Ethics!!!!
3) I got to buy a new diaper bag! We just bought it last night. Lily’s bag gave out years ago. We researched, comparison shopped, discussed, but finally ended up buying the closeout version of the Sherpani Lena. I get it on Friday and I’m very excited.
4) I feel great for being this far along. As of last week, I have only gained 21 pounds this whole pregnancy. It’s been a lot of work staying within the guidelines. I watch what I eat, I’ve been going to yoga classes since January, and if all else fails, my midwife gives me a good talking to about the ills of stress eating. This is all good. With Lily, I was always swollen, always had a hard time moving around, and felt like crap for the last 3 months. Now I just feel really pregnant, which means that I have my days if I don’t pace myself.

All in all, things are OK. They could be better, but they could be worse. Right now, we are looking at them just the way they are. Well, trying. And maybe some day we’ll be able to look back and this will all make sense, but right now we’re just going to move on the best we can.

Posted in Soapbox anyone?, Life, Raising baby | 1 Comment »

June 6, 2007 by veronica.

Did you know I had a daughter? Yeah, if you only looked at my recent blog posts, you’d never know it. So I am going to fill one entire posts with amazing and cute stories, and post some pictures that will make you go “awwww.”

As documented on Chris’s blog, Lily can count to 5. She can even recognize some of the numbers. She can say most of the alphabet, and likes to watch Wheel of Fortune and suggest letters to go on the board. Sometimes, she’s right. She knows colors and can draw perfect circles. We’re working on other shapes, but she really likes circles.

Now that Lily’s doing pretty well with the potty training, she’s moved on to teaching her Little People how to go potty. She sits them on the toilet in their house, and she helps them “flush” when they are finished. I am so relieved, though. I thought I would have to potty train the hippie and the sea captain!

For the most part, Lily is very good at following directions and doing what’s she’s asked to do. From time to time she does have her tiny moments of being an angry toddler, but I think it’s caused by a lack of communication skills on her part and by not having enough control over her own world. She is very much her own person, which I’m sure will be awesome when she’s 15, but it’s very tough to deal with at 21 months.

Lily’s hair is getting very long, and I’ve been able to branch out from the tiny pony on top of her head and experiment with other hair styles. My new fave are the pigtails. Last night we were at dinner with Chris’s parents when I realized she looked just like Boo in Monster’s Inc. I even made her say, “kitty” a few times. It made me laugh, and that’s all that counts.

So, to conclude, here are some totally cute pictures:

Lily got into Anna’s Lipstick   Playing dress up      Pigtails
       

Running at Oxbow     Feeding baby

Posted in Raising baby | 1 Comment »

March 16, 2007 by veronica.

Well, we did it.  We made the leap into cloth diapers.  We initially tried some borrowed prefolds with a velcroed cover, but I found out that they are really hard to use on a toddler.  Lily is simply too squirmy.  That, and she’s got a kinda small bum, so I had to fold them funny to get the diaper to fit.

So yesterday, before Anna and I hit the MOA, we made our way up Snelling to the best baby products store ever.  They are the only place in MN where you can go and buy cloth diapers in person.  This was crucial, as I really, really, wanted to feel the diapers and really get a feel of how easy they were to use.  Intially, I was there to look at the AIO diapers, but I had recently gotten interested in the pocket diapers.  However, once I was able to really look at them, I ended up buying the Kissaluvs fitted diapers.  They are super easy to use– they snap on and are adjustable.  Also, they are very, very soft.  The only minor downside is that they require the use of diaper covers, but we already had a few bought in anticipation of putting Lil in training undies, so we were fine there.

We’ve only had a chance to put her in them twice, but I already love them.  She will still wear disposables at night and when we go out.  It will just be nice to know we are cutting down on the amount of waste we are creating.

One final note, though.  When I told the store owner at Peapods I had questions on cloth diapers, she eyed me supiciously and asked if it was for Lily, whom I was holding at the time.  I told her that they were.  She asked me then why I wanted to start using cloth.  I was caught off guard.  It was like I was trying to invade some super-secret club.  I looked her in the eye and said, “You know, my thoughts on parenting have really changed since she was born, and I’d really feel better using cloth diapers, so I figured it would be fine to start now.”  I guess the answer satisfied her.  She was pretty helpful after that.  I just hadn’t realized it would have been so eye-raising.

Posted in Raising baby | 3 Comments »

March 14, 2007 by veronica.

People will always tell you that having a baby changes everything.  Well, hopefully, yeah. it does.  If it doesn’t, that would mean you (well, you or that Indian woman whose womb you rented) had a child and then you have the nanny take care of little Junior (see Spears, Britney) while you go out and party with Paris.  Having a child may even mean that you no longer think Ralph Nader is a shrill, Bush-electing hack.

See, I listened to his visit on MPR last week.  He was there talking about traditions, but part of what he was talking about was how economy now has corporations basically raising our children for us.  They deliver them, feed them, diaper them, watch them, and entertain them.  We have our children in large hospitals, where the unpredictable course of labor is regulated and determined by a bunch of doctors, rather than having them with midwives (at a much lower cost!).  We use formula, because so many American women think nursing is “nasty”, “embarassing”, or just too difficult.  Well, that and so many doctors and nurses will still tell you that formula is better.  Both Mom and Dad have to work outside the home to make ends meet…and so we can have “fulfilling lives.”  Because we work, we look for the easiest, fastest, and cheapest way to get things done…but at what cost?

I have to say, I am trying to stop feeding the machine.  Yes, I still nurse.  I am seriously thinking of having a homebirth for the next child.  I work part time.  And now, we may be going to cloth diapers.  I’m trying.  At the end of the day, though, it’s not about me…it’s about Lily.  But I find it interesting how I used to think that Ralph Nader was a hack, and now I’m finding some truth to what he says.  Becoming a parent really does change you.

Posted in Soapbox anyone?, Raising baby | 2 Comments »

January 22, 2007 by veronica.

Back when it snowed that 12″ in November, I had to take Lily out during the storm.  It was then that Lily first let me know that She Did Not Like Snow.  Period.  Thankfully, this was not a problem until recently, as we had not received any snow.  Lily was happy.  When last week’s snow hit, Lily was spared much exposure to the snow, as it ended up being way too cold to take her out in it.  Today’s snow storm, however, was different.  It was beautiful out.  Warm (for winter), sunny, and no wind. And you know what?  Lily liked being outside!  It took her a bit to get used to walking in her books–but that was more because she’s not used to them.  She had no fear of sitting the the snow, making a snow angel (with Daddy’s help), or being pulled around in our makeshift sled (aka laundry basket and leftover rope).  Maybe her magic fuzzy pink suit gave her courage.  Maybe it was her super-special scarf.  Or maybe she was super warm in her super cute snowpants.  Who knows?  I’m just glad to know we can now get a real sled and start taking her out to play…as long as we keep getting snow.

Posted in Raising baby | 1 Comment »

January 16, 2007 by veronica.

As I just told Chris, I feel like I’ve been such a slouch the last few weeks.

In my defense, Lily went from the stomach flu straight to hard-core teeething (2 or 3 teeth at once) to a virus complete with a 103 degree fever that lasted 5 days and finally went away Sunday.  She still has a nose that’s so stuffy that it makes it hard for her to nurse.  Anna, my sister, left Saturday after staying with us since before Christmas.  The house is really quiet, but it’s strange not having an extra set of hands.  There’s a huge list of To-Dos piling up, which include: dishes, various emails, blog posts, pictures to post, updating my website, putting away Lily’s clothes, and enrolling Lily in swimming and/or gymnastics lessons.

In the midst of the illness and holidays, Lily took it upon herself to kill my cell phone last week.  Her first attemt was only partially successful; she cracked a hinge of the flip part of my phone.  It still worked, but it was thisclose to falling apart.  I bought a new phone that night, and after we got home, Lily grabbed the poor phone and finished it off, ripping the screen from the keypad.  I feel so out of place with my new phone.  The ringers are all weird, so it takes me awhile to realize that it’s my phone that’s ringing.  I keep pushing the wrong buttons, losing calls, dialing the wrong numbers….but I know I’ll like it once I get used to it.

Compounding my problems adjusting to new consumer electronics was the arrival of my new/used iPod from it’s old home in Rochester, NY.  The very lovely Lizzie sent it to me, and I have to admit that I am so completely clueless when it comes to this thing.  Anna gave me a crash course, but I still worry that I’m going to do something and kill it.  I do love it, though.  I love the idea of being able to put all of the music I own onto it and carry it with me.  When I was 8 or 9, my Gifted Education teacher said that she wished that someday she could put all of her music onto the computer so she could listen to it.  It turns out she was so on with that, just 10 years ahead of time.  So with the camera phone and the iPod, I am now moving into the 21st century.   I’ll have to adjust.

So that’s been life the past few weeks– new cell phone, new iPod, illness, and changes at work.  The practice is growing with the hiring of a new Admin Assistant.  I’ll be moving to Rochester full time (Well, still the 3 days a week) as one of the reps moves to Rochester.  We’re looking at moving out of our building into a new building, since there’s a very very large amount of office space for rent and we can negotiate a very good deal for ourselves.  My role there is changing, too.  I’ll no longer do any scheduling or day to day client management; instead I’ll just focus on the planning, trades, and transactional customer service.  Hmm…I have to write a job description for myself, and that looks like a good start.

I’ll make Chris update the website soon.  And I’ll get those dishes done soon, too.  I just have to wait for my iPod to finish uploading the new songs…or whatever it’s called.

Posted in Life, Raising baby | No Comments »

December 28, 2006 by veronica.

The week bewteen Christmas and New Years always strikes me as…odd.  I find it especially odd now that I am out of school and have to work during this week, as I have the past 5 years.  Half of the world is on vacation and the other half (like me) wishes we were.  There is so much out there to do, too.  I have pople I’d like to see, places I’d like to go, and stores that I want to shop at.  One perk this year is having the day after Christmas off so i could do some shopping.  But otherwise, the office is quiet, and once I have year end things done, there’s not much else to do.  But oh, that year end push is always brutal.  The strings I have to pull to get all of that business processed before year end!  My boss is in position to lead the area for production, so I have spent most of the past 2 days on the phone, pleading with all of the companies we deal with to HURRY IT UP, please.  It’ll come down to the wire, but we should be good.  And to think they wanted to give me this week off… Ha.

I started studying for my Series 7 exam.  Right now I am scheduled to take the test in February, but that’s only of my client who is due that month delivers on time.  I know my last post was confusing.  That’s because my former boss kept telling me to start studying, and then would come back to me a few weeks later to tell me that I should wait.  God, I do not miss that job.  It’s a pass/fail exam, so if I pass that, the next step will be getting my life/health insurance license.  So it seems that, while I was getting frustrated by the lack of opportunity to get my childbirth educator certification, I have plenty to keep me busy.

Also on the doula front, I have an interview to volunteer at Woodwinds Hospital in their doula program.  I was getting worried that I was too far away, but I just had a very nice talk with the director and I think (hope) this will work out well.  The program is set up so that I would be on call for 24 hours one day a month for one year.  This would enable me to get my certifying births faster than if I tried to get them on my own.  I don’t interview until the end of Jnauary, but I have my fingers crossed. 

Christmas was pretty good, all things considered.  With the Divorce, we had to make do in some ways, but it was super nice not having to go between 2 different houses.  The tummy bug did strike the Jacobsen household, but Anna, Lily, and I have been fine.  I have pictures from various events, and I’m hoping Chris will put one of the pictures up as the main picture on our webpage.  I will get those posted as soon as I have a minute.  Lily had a blast this year–and she was really well behaved.  It was pretty fun.  As far as gifts go, 2 are worth a special blog mention.  Chris paid for us to do a special introduction to ballroom dancing with 2 private classes and 2 “dance parties” at the Fred Astaire Dance Studio in town.  I kept begging Chris to learn how to dance with me, but I never expected him to actually do it.  Then my wonderful sister gave me a gift certificate for a half day at the City Looks spa in town.  I go for that tomorrow, and I can hardly wait!  They say it’s 3 and 1/2 or 4 hours… YAY!

I think that’s a pretty good mishmash of what’s going on.  I have another blog post I need to write of all the strange things Lily has learned in the past 2 weeks…she’s so funny.  She’s picked up some of the wierdest skills lately.  Like what, you ask?  Like recycling cardboard…on her own!  Some days I just don’t know about her.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and have a good New Years.  Oh, and please visit my doula website!  It’s done and I’ve been told very good things about it.  Let me know what you think and refer friends and family to it.  Any doula awareness helps!

Posted in The doula journey, Life, Raising baby | 1 Comment »

December 5, 2006 by veronica.

I realize it’s been such a long time since my last post…almost 2 weeks! Chris has been ripping apart our computer for…some…reason. Something about reloading and making images and automatic backups. So he spends the time I usually post tinkering with the computer, and I’ve finally found a spare minute to write an update.
Since my last post, we had Thanksgiving. I made the most beautiful turkey ever, but my methods can not be replicated. See, while trying to time everything else right, the turkey got a little…break in the middle of cooking. I’m sure it had to do with redistributing the juices, but the little bird came out of the oven perfectly browned, juice, and flavorful. Lily had a blast, too. Chris and her Uncle Lenny taught her the finer art of house construction using Duplos. She tried to help, but she broke more than she built.

It was a pretty good day. We did brave the sales at 6:45 the next morning; if nothing else, it was one of the few days we’ve had to spend just as a family in a very, very long time.

This past Friday, Lily finally began calling me “Mommy.” Up to that point, she didn’t call me anything; if she did, it was “Daddy.” I’ve decided that makes me a real mommy. It doesn’t change anything I do, it just means that now a little person can run out into the world and call me her mommy. I have to pay attention now to any and all shouts of “mommy!” in public, for they may be coming from my child. I celebrated by sitting on the couch during her afternoon nap and watching a Lifetime made for TV movie.

We started potty training on Sunday, and Lily has been successsful quite a few times. The chair is a little too big for her and her feet barely touch the floor (if at all), but she still does a pretty good job. I’m now in the process of trying to figure out what to give her as a reward. The potty came with stickers, but Lily doesn’t understand them yet. Usually when she gets a sticker, she rips it into tiny pieces and sometimes eats a piece or two. I was thinking of using an edible reward, but she’s too small for candy, so I have to think about this for awhile.

And as I finish writing, Lily is waking up from her nap. I think she wants her mommy.

Posted in Life, Raising baby | 14 Comments »

November 20, 2006 by veronica.

Two things happened yesterday that I had to share.  Lily spoke full-on, coeherent statements on 2 separate occasions.  The first was while looking at fish at Petsmart.  We were bored, and it’s free entertainment.  While going by the wall of tanks, Lily pointed at the pretty guppies, and said, “Look at that.”  I about fell over!  It was so cool!

Then, and I’m sorry, but I’m proud of her because it’s one step closer of getting rid of diapers, she was playing in the living room last night.  She got very quiet, like she usually does when she’s dirtying a diaper.  We asked if she was doing something, and she said, “I’m poopy.”  And you know what?  She was.  Maybe that’s TMI, but like Mr. Rogers said, everybody poops.

 And the HELP portion of this post involves my sewing machine.  It decided to keel over last night, right while I was working on making rice socks.  My thread keeps breaking every time I start sewing.  Does anyone have a sewing machine I could borrow some time this week?  I’d need it for just a few hours, and I’d even use my own thread.  PLEASE???  Until I figure something out, I have an opened 25 pound bag of rice sitting on my kitchen table.  Please help me….I’ll be eternally grateful.

Posted in Raising baby, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

November 2, 2006 by veronica.

Halloween this year was pretty much a non-event in our house.  We didn’t hand out candy because there are really only a few kids in our neighborhood. We didn’t take Lily trick-or-treating; she can’t eat the candy and it was friggin’ cold here.  We did dress her up, though.  We ended up just going to visit some friends.  Lily was a lilypad.  I just couldn’t justify spending $20 on something she’s wear for an hour, especially since we weren’t taking her out.  So I bought blue sweats for “water”, used self-adhesive craft foam to make the lilypad and flower, and had her wear my tiniest kermit on a ribbon sash.  Voila.  Easy costume.  She can even keep wearing the sweats since the foam peeled right back off.  Super thrifty, if you ask me. Super thrifty and very punny.

Here’s a picture from this morning.  Lily was on a reading kick.  She made both Chris and I read to her over, and over, and over.  And when we got home tonight, she did the same thing.  Looks like she’ll be a reader.

Posted in Raising baby | 1 Comment »