Stylin' . . . and chillin'

Sophia has her own sense of style, and it is definitely not bound by what others may think should be worn as clothing. My favorite recent outfit?

Ordinary jeans and shirt, topped by leg warmers and a slinkie. I've never seen anyone wear a slinkie before, but Sophia has introduced me to the concept. The whole outfit is a little tricky to get on, and requires some help from Mama . . . especially the leg warmers over jeans!

Last night I was up far too late (But it was worth it, hanging with some girlfriends!) and so was not too bummed when I saw that it was raining today. Sophia and I spent the morning cuddled up on the couch reading books together, wrapped in the new picnic quilt. Cozy times!

Tired mama, happy baby.

And that's all for now, as the Snuggler is sitting on my lap, not-so-patiently waiting to watch "Coos" . . . one episode of Blue's Clues per rainy day!

Granola

I have been informed lately that I am kind of granola. And while I was a little bit surprised to hear that I had earned that title, I am not the least offended. I guess I had it coming . . . I do own two pair of Birkenstocks (and even call them Birks), went thru a phase where I was making the bread for our family (That was a pretty short phase because John didn't like making sandwiches from it . . . you had to cut really thick slices or it would fall apart.), and now the kicker . . . we're having a homebirth!

To me having a homebirth is not that abnormal. My mom had the last four of us (I am one of seven) at home and my sister has had all five of her children at home, and with the same midwife I will be using. But I can see how homebirth would be foreign to people with no prior experience with it, and how it would be the final straw toward being "granola" or "crunchy."

FYI, I prefer the title "granola" over "crunchy."

You have to remember that despite having an almost-two year old, this will be my first labor and birth, as Sophia was born via C-section. I didn't even have any Braxton-Hicks during my pregnancy with her, and she was born a day shy of 39 weeks. My family has a tendancy to go late, so I figure with a due date of July 20th I'll be happy if the kid pops out by the first week in August. So we aren't just going for a VBAC, but an HBAC (H stands for home).

Now John and I have finally started preparations for the birth of Libby baby #2. And to that end we are going super-granola and taking Hypnobirthing classes. John insists that he is going to learn to hypnotize me with a dangling crystal amulet, but really that is not what it's all about.

The point is to learn to allow yourself to relax so deeply that your body can do what it is made to do, and to minimize fear of the process because angst really can slow things down and complicate birth.

So we go off to class every Tuesday night for five weeks, to learn to help me relax. And that is hard work for me, because my mind tends to be everywhere, buzzing all the time like a crazy hummingbird on crack that won't quit. Especially if I am trying to NOT think. Especially at the end of the first class, when we all curled up on our own giant beanbags (even the spouses) and listened to our instructor (who sounds like a female Kip from Napoleon Dynamite) read a relaxation exercise aloud and the guy next to me snored the whole time. Thank goodness Snoring Man and his wife weren't there this past week, so I actually succeeded in my attempt at super-relaxation.

What's up next in our homebirth adventure? I'm sure all you non-granola people are just a little bit curious, right? Pretty soon we need to order our birthing kit online . . . whatever the heck is in a birthing kit. And the birthing tub is already reserved thru our midwife, so that should be delivered a week or so before my due date. Then we just have to rig up adaptors from our shower to a garden hose so we can fill it in our bedroom when I go into labor. And then pray that our 1873 house is sturdy enough that a laboring mama and tub won't go crashing thru the floor.

That's it from granola-land for now. But be sure not to touch me on the shoulder when you see me. She-Kip says that from now on a touch on the shoulder is going to be one of my triggers to help me cue to relax ever deeper. Heaven forbid I get a touch on the shoulder when driving!

March "cleanup"

I was on such a roll last month, then got sidetracked from blogging by my projects. But I am back, and today is a wrap-up of March, then we'll be off and running with April's blog posts!

First of all, I would like to announce that I am going to be re-naming my blog, as we are going from three to four in the Libby family. So, I invite your name suggestions, keeping in mind my overall blog, with family, decorating, and running as three of my favorite themes. There will be a special prize for the author of the winning name (assuming I don't come up with a name on my own that I like the best!) . . . a batch of homemade Munsell lemon bars! If you don't live within a deliverable distance, I will come up with an alternate prize . . . So get creative, and feel free to put in as many names as you like.

On to today's post!

One of my very favorite things to do as a little (and not so little!) girl was to play dress up. We had some awesome dress up clothes . . . a long, long orange and red dress that you could wear off the shoulder, a black and gray old fashioned skirt and button top, and all of my ballet costumes. (Still have great pictures of you and me dressed up in them, Amber!!! But can't get my scanner to work, so no worries.)

We had three pairs of high heeled shoes to clomp around in . . . red peep-toe, black patent leather with a bow on the front, and cream pumps. It was a sad day when my feet grew past the size 6 or 6 1/2 that those shoes were!

Even before Sophia was born, I knew if the baby was a girl that I was going to be working on a dress-up trunk pronto. And she was, and I have! Post-Halloween I scavenged the Auburn WalMart for fun costumes, and came out with quite the bounty. A Tinker Bell costume, several skirts, purple fairy wings, and a brown hair (Not blonde!) wig were my favorite items. Then a good friend added a pink princess costume and a couple other things, so Sophia has quite the trunk already.

Within the last month Sophia has really gotten into the whole dress-up thing, and she totally owns it. If I suggest it . . . bad idea. If she thinks of it . . . we go all out!

I had tried to get her to put on the wig on several different occasions, but no go. Until one day in March when she decided on her own that she wanted to wear it. Then it stayed on for a good half hour!

Of course, you can see what she thought of my suggestion that she add a dress-up skirt to the ensemble. Yeah, wig only, no skirt, no dress. I don't know where she gets her stubborn/independent streak from!

Other March fun was the making of our new picnic/beach quilt. Of course, we have only been able to use it inside the house as of yet, but boy, does it make a great fort! I made it eight feet square, so it beats out any other blanket for building a little living room retreat.

Plenty of room for one kiddo and all of her paraphernalia . . . sippy cup, cracker snack, blanket to lie down on, big pillow, and three library books. And believe it or not, this pregnant mama managed to wedge herself in there for some story time. Now that's a big fort!

One of my favorite bloggers wrote a post about adventuring with your kiddos that inspired me to head out the door on a walk one day last month with Sophia. Our destination?

Going to get ice cream!

I talked my sister into coming as well with her five kids, and we set off, a long parade of us walking the mile it takes to get to the local ice cream parlor. Not quite an adventure in an orange grove, but the best I could do on a late-March day in Maine.

And that's all you get for pictures, just the "before" because I forgot to charge my camera battery! I hadn't had to charge it since Christmas (One of the most wonderful things about my new camera is the CRAZY battery life!), and it died only a few minutes into our adventure.

If I could have gotten any more pictures, you would have see the Tripps and Libbys stoically eating ice cream in front of an eight foot drift of snow . . . the remainders from plowing the snow out at the ice cream parlor when it opened this spring.

And you would see everyone BUNDLED up, because it was a cool day that turned downright cold while we walked (28 degrees cold!).

And you would see Sophia wrapped in a fleece blanket that I had chucked in the bottom of the jogger at the last minute . . . just her little face poking out so I could pop bites of ice cream in for her.

And I am still pretty sure that getting cold on the walk back didn't do Sophia any favors, as she was diagnosed with an ear infection the next day! (I know, it was already brewing, but still . . .)

BUT!!!

It was a great adventure. And Sophia has reached an age where she likes for me to tell her stories while we cuddle, so I have another one in my repertoire now. I'll probably embellish it a little more over time . . . maybe we walked thru snow to get ice cream, or fought off a bear on our way . . . and of course Sophia will be the heroine.

Golf and pigtails and messiness

As some of you may know, John is an avid golfer. As long as being an avid golfer means you go about four times a year, plus a few to the driving range. Golf is an expensive sport!

You may also know, if you have been reading my blog, that we here in the Libby house are very eager for spring to come.

Not very surprising to me, then, when John came home from Wal-Mart with Sophia's very own golf club/ball/bag set! And all for the grand total of $5, a total steal for how much enjoyment she has gotten out of it. Especially considering we haven't even been outside with it yet!

Sophia searching for her lost golf ball for the very first time!

And now we must move from golf to pigtails.

I could have included many more pictures of pigtails, so count yourselves lucky to only be inflicted with three! We have done pigtails a few more times since that first time, and each time they stay in marginally longer. Someday they will last a whole hour!

Now on to the messiness!

Really? Is it necessary to wear your full yogurt bowl as a hat?!

Yes, Mama, it is.

Now this is not golf or pigtails or messiness, it's just silly Sophia. Little Miss Independent decided I was taking too long bringing her oatmeal in from the next room, so she was done with rolled up sleeves. Apparently she couldn't figure out how to get the right side unrolled without turning her onesie into a toga. Not the cutest picture ever, but I love the toga!

Time to celebrate!

Today was a day to celebrate the little things that make a big impact:

~ Riding with the car windows not just cracked, but down a few inches.

~ Going to get ice cream with Sophia, and sharing her first-ever baby cone!

~ Seeing the large pile of "stuff" in our yard left over from when we cleaned out the basement in the fall reappear as the mountains of snow melt. (This is how I gauge the melt this year, so backwards!) Hmmm, guess this one is a mixed blessing, as it involves several trips to the dump later this spring.

~ Wearing flip flops! Legitimately, that is . . .

~ Feeling hot in my long sleeves.

~ Going on yet another "nature" walk with Sophia . . . we never did get much past our driveway, there is just that much more to discover today.

~ Perhaps we have filled our oil tank for the last time this winter . . . fingers crossed!

~ Listening to Sophia repeat the last word of every sentence I say, my current favorite is when she says "syrup" . . . "syr-pup."

~ Going in to see John at work on a whim, brightening his day and ours.

~ Long naps and a kiddo with a big appetite!

~ Summer squash soup and berry muffins for dinner tonight.

What brightened your day today?