Latest painting

Wow, it's been over a year since I picked up a paint brush and did a painting. I guess I have been focusing so much on the bigger projects of the house, that my little hobby got neglected for a while. Truthfully, I wasn't really missing it though. Don't get me wrong, I do love to paint, but when the inspiration is just not there, it's not as fun.

On Friday I was feeling the urge to paint again. I wasn't sure what I had in mind or what I wanted the painting to look like, but I knew I wanted to put a quote from the book of Ruth on it. We are doing a series on the book of Ruth at our church this summer. If y'all haven't read Ruth in a while, do it. Such a good book in the Bible.

Anyway, here's what I ended up doing.




"where you go I'll go, where you stay I'll stay." Ruth 1:16

The rest of the painting is pretty basic. Nothing to fancy.






It was also my first painting done on wood. I put it up on my big empty wall that I just painted going up our stairs.







Not sure if I totally love it or not, but it did feel good to get those creative juices flowing, even though it's a really simple painting. Hopefully it won't be another year before I do another one.

This time around

This morning I went to the hospital to get my RHGI injection (for those of you who don't know what that is, basically because of my blood type I am RH-negative, and without the injection my baby could be still born, or born with severe brain damage, anemia and heart problems). It sounds super scary, but the injection is suppose to reduce the risk of that. Phew! But while we were at the hospital, a whole flood of memories came rushing back to me.

First of all, this time I am having my baby at a different hospital, because I am under the care of a team of midwives, rather then an OB. But the basics were still the same. The injection is given in the birthing center, so Coral and I sat there as nurses were rushing around, nervous fathers were talking to Drs or getting on their gear for a c-section, newborns were leaving (poor mothers were struggling to walk as they left....Ahh I remember that). It was chaos (but yet it wasnt because everything was under control), and I thought to myself "praise the Lord I won't be staying in a hospital this time".

Let me explain. Because I'm with midwives, I'm still going to have my baby in a hospital (hello epidural), but this time, if there are no complications (such as a c-section) I will go home almost right after giving birth (well, as soon as the epidural wears off and I can walk). It's not that I hated my time in the hospital last time (ahem, minus a few awful nurses) but I am so looking forward to coming home and being able to relax and recover in the comfort of my own bed.

Not only that, but Coral wouldn't last 10 min sitting still in the hospital, and this way we can bring the baby home, then Andrew can go pick her up from his parents, and she can meet the baby in a safe, intimate place for just her and our little family. And that hopefully means I won't be spending that much time away from her, depending on how long my labour is.

Anyway, as I was sitting there, I was just really thankful that this time I will be in and out of the hospital as quick as possible (sheesh, we won't even be there long enough to bath the babe...which Coral will be stoked about because she has been asking about helping bathe the baby for forever now). Plus, I'm also really thankful to be giving birth with a group of women who I know, and who have been taken care of me for my pregnancy, rather then stranger nurses who come and go and a random OB that comes in for the final push. I know these women and trust these women completely...plus they are all so extremely nice and care about my needs and concerns.

Also, just an FYI if your concerned that I'm leaving the hospital too soon after giving birth, the midwives continue to take care of both me and the baby for six weeks after the baby is born...at my house...because leaving the house after recovering from giving birth is.....ouch.

Oh, and speaking of ouch, there is a reason why people who have given birth before, and are pregnant, should never go into the birthing center. Ladies, we all seem to forget the actual experience of giving birth right (at least the painful stuff, that's why we are able to have more kids after). Let me tell you, seeing those ladies trying to walk out of the hospital left me wide eyed, jaw dropped, and so not excited for that to be me in a few months. Gulp.

In two weeks...

Is it seriously almost the end of July already? Summer you are going by to fast....ok y'all know that I don't actually care that summer is going by fast, after all, I have a baby due in October that I'm getting anxious to meet.

But in two weeks it will be August. And August promises to be a GREAT month for the Hodgsons. First of all, August 2nd (mine and the hubby's four year anniversary of marriage...no biggie) Andrew will be flying to London, England with the rest of his family for a missions trip at the summer Olympics. Jealous? Yes I am, but when we we're deciding if I should go or not, we decided against it and I'm SO glad we did. As awesome as it would be to go to London, I'm just in no shape to be on my feet all day everyday for two weeks (working with different churches, face painting, handing out water bottles, meeting athletes at the airport, etc). And let's face it, I couldn't handle being away from my baby girl for two whole weeks.

So, Andrews going, but COMING are some of my favorite people in the whole world, the Holdsworths! I get Christy and her two little men for as long as I want (seriously, she said that. I get her till I'm sick of her. I'll probs make her stay forever). And then when Andrew gets back from London, Matty (Christys hubby) will be coming. We are SO excited!

So that's a good chunk of August gone right there. Oh, and sometime during that time, while the Holdsworths are visiting their family out here, Coral and I will head to Port Rowan, because Coral has been talking about going to the beach with her nana and papa.

And here I was thinking of all the ways I could entertain Coral (and myself) for two whole weeks while daddy is gone...now I'll be kept busy the whole time!

August, I am so excited for you.

Pregnancy update

It's been a while since I updated you on my pregnancy. We are currently a little over 27 weeks pregnant! Only three more months to go...maybe less if I pop early. It's funny because when I was pregnant with Coral, I assumed I would be late having her, so I always thought in terms of "three more months to go, but probably more because I will probably be late." This pregnancy is the opposite. I'm always thinking in terms of "but I might go early". Just watch, baby Hodgson will be late this time and those last few weeks will drive me CRAZY.

Everything with the pregnancy is going fine. I had the dreaded glucose test yesterday, which if you have ever done it, y'all know it sucks. I failed the first time with Coral, praying I don't fail with this baby and have to do it yet again. What is IN that stuff? It left me feeling dizzy and nauseated all day. Even today I feel a bit out of wack. One things for sure, orange pop is forever ruined for me. I get my blood taken tomorrow at the hospital, and then Thursday get my needle for my RH negative blood type. Sheesh what a crazy week of pregnancy tests eh.

This pregnancy so far has seemed totally different then my pregnancy with Coral (don't read to much into it y'all, that doesn't mean it's a boy).

Differences:
-constant nausea....still. With Coral I was extremely sick the first four months, and then threw up off and on the last two months. This pregnancy I have been sick the whole time.

-growing much quicker/gaining more weight. I still had a "food baby" with Coral around this time. Looking at pictures I am almost the size I was at the end of my pregnancy already....again, I still have three months to go. But they say you pop out more/faster with your second.

-discomfort. Maybe it's because I didn't get that big with Coral that I really wasn't uncomfortable? All I know is for months my entire body has been so sore. Back pain, leg cramps, you name it.

-baby on my bladder. Haha you know how some women would say that the baby kicked and they suddenly needed to pee? I never had that with Coral, but I get it all the time with this little one. I could be making supper, out grocery shopping, at the park, when BAM baby moves or baby kicks and I have to go instantly. I'm talkin right away or I'm going to pee my pants.

-not preparing, but yet over preparing. With Coral I read a TON of books. The whole time I was pregnant I constantly had my nose in a book, trying to collect as much information as I could about EVERYTHING. This time, I haven't read a single book. Not even the one that tells me week by week what is happening with the baby. But yet I'm over preparing in other areas. Things such as planning on making freezer meals, setting up the nursery way early, etc.

- not caring about food this time. Don't all first time moms do things by the book as much as possible? Ok so I'm a snacker, and that never changed with Coral or this pregnancy, BUT with Coral I was more cautious about what I ate. Things such as not eating any processed meat because of nitrates (meh, I'll have a sandwich with lunch meat in it here and there), not eating any soft cheese (yah right. I don't know how I did it with Coral. Feta, goat cheese and Brie are staples in our house. Can't live without them. I do make sure they are pasteurized though). Basically I'm a lot less cautious about what I eat. Haven't gotten food poisoning yet!

Similarities:
-ooooh the heart burn. Make it stop make it stop!!!

-peeing all night long. Meh, who am I kidding, I did that before I was pregnant.

-excitement. Folks, I am bursting with excitement! Both pregnancies seem/seemed like forever for me. I just want to meet my baby already!

Hmm, I think that's about it for now. At least that's what I'm saying so I can get off the computer and have a nap. Pregnancy exhaustion + having a toddler = naps. Lots and lots of naps.

Oh ps, what was I thinking being pregnant right in the middle of summer??? A winter pregnancy is much more comfortable.

The Nursery is Ready!

I didn't have to do much to the nursery to get it ready for the baby...thank goodness because it seems like the entire rest of our house has been or is being made-over in some shape or form. I had just re-painted the nursery back in October, so no painting had to be done. Phew. Just some art had to be added, some new pillows, and some fresh new sheets (Coral drools a lot when she sleeps....new sheets were needed big time).

Yesterday I ended up going through all of Corals old baby clothes. What a task that was. When Coral would grow out of her clothes, I would just toss it in a bin until the bin was full. So yesterday I had to dump all the bins and sort by size, gender neutral, and girls clothes. It took FOREVER. I also was panicking about the amount of clothes a newborn needs..oh right, they spit up, they have poop explosions, they get multiple outfit changes a day. No biggie if we have another girl, but if have a boy, Andrew and I are gonna need to get our shop on ASAP after he is born. Luckily though, because we didn't find out the gender for Coral, we have a bunch of gender neutral sleepers that will get us through the first few days.

So, the stuff was sorted, and placed in the nursery.






I have a TON of yellow and green receiving blankets. Where did I get all of those last time? Funny thing is, I have a ton of pink receiving blankets as well and as soon as we found out Coral was a girl, the gender neutral blankets got replaced....most of them have never even been used yet.

Then, today I got Coral to help me put a new sheet on the crib, and some fun pillows to spice it up a bit. I'm not going to use the bumper pads we had from last time, because I honestly felt like it was a waste of time putting them up, and a waste of money. Coral started rolling over at three months and they had to be taken off.




Do you remember my post on the nursery a few months back? The color is a light beige on the wall, with orange and navy accents. Ok I know it's not the most feminine nursery if we end up having a girl, but I still think its fun and pretty darn cute. Plus, Corals a girl and she loves the orange and navy.

Do you also remember from my post the pallet art I had made to go above the crib? Well we STILL hadn't put it up yet, and I'm glad we didn't. Andrew was playing Play Station in the basement with his brother, and the surround sound was LOUD (don't worry, Coral can sleep through almost anything once she's asleep). It was so loud, and the base was so strong that it knocked a picture off the wall in the nursery. Yes, the whole house shakes when they game. Anyway, I decided right then and there that nothing would be hung over the crib, especially the extremely heavy pallet art. So, stickers it is.

















I was so excited when I found something in the exact orange of the nursery. I love it. It's huge, and took me forever to put up.





And, the rest of the nursery is the same as before. What are your thoughts? Cozy for a baby? Oh also, no the mattress isn't staying on the bottom setting, and it won't be a toddler bed for when the baby comes. We have friends visiting from BC in August and their little man will probably be sleeping in this bed, and we will convert it after.

Again, sorry about the small low quality pics. Blame it on the iPad.

Someone's in her big girl room :)

Coral had her first sleep in her big girl room last night. She was more then thrilled about it. She's obviously known for a while now that she would be switching rooms eventually, and was SO excited when I woke her up yesterday and asked if she wanted to buy a mattress for her new bed. Of course she actually had no say in which mattress we bought her, but she thought she was "helping" the whole time.

She went to bed last night like a champ. I must say it was a little bit strange doing her bedtime routine in her new room. After I tucked her in I went into her nursery and was a little bit sad. It was so weird not having her in there. It was her first room. So many memories in that room.

As she was falling asleep last night, I could hear her saying through the monitor " OH I have to tell gramma about my new mattress. I sleep in this room now, and the baby is going to sleep in Corals other room." Phew, I'm glad she gets it. I truly was worried with how she would transition since that room has been HERS for two and a half years. This morning she told me "I'm gonna sleep in my big girl room AGAIN!!" Now we will just wait and see if she is still ok with the transition once I start putting things for the baby in her old room.

Speaking of...time to start some more organizing. Isn't it amazing how much an infant/baby/child needs?