And She Was

sometimes i wonder...

2009-11-24T21:23:47Z

said by Bill as my pants began to fall off while pinning the ham for a new baby wrap (i had to crawl around on the floor, and i'm so big that my pants don't fit anymore):

"Yay, naked tailoring!"

*sigh

i married such a weirdo.
tommy is doomed to a very embarrassed childhood.
it reminded me of a bumper sticker i saw one day "I Embarrass my offspring" yeah, we are totally going to need that one.

paging nokomis1339

2009-10-29T16:21:21Z

you will either love these, or they will scar you for life...

pony one
pony two
pony three

yay prenatal checkup

2009-10-06T16:45:28Z

Finally!

I JUST finally had my first prenatal check up here in wonderful Troy, NY

we moved here in mid August.

you see, it took a while for medicaid in Jefferson Co. to transfer all my records here to Rensselaer Co. then, here we needed a managed care plan, something that we didn't have back home. so we had to go to the DSS office and sign up for one, which we did.

while there it was discovered that my old doctor never told medicaid that I was pregnant, so technically I wasn't covered because Bill made too much money as a grad student (HA!) but that was easily fixed by faxing my old doctor a request. (the upper income limit is higher if you are pregnant, so I'm still eligible)
then we discovered that due to some weird rules even if they had my proof right then, I wouldn't officially be covered in Rensselaer Co. until the beginning of October.
this was way back in the beginning of September.

:: heavy sigh ::

so thinking everything was taken care of we headed home, and made a OBGYN appointment for today, faxed the release forms to my old doctor, and waited.

we received my new medicaid ID, but the managed care plan (CDPHP) never sent us anything, so on Monday I called the OBGYN to find out what I could do, they said I didn't need the card as long as I had my ID and Group #'s, so I Called the DSS office to get them, this is when I found out that medicaid STILL didn't know I was pregnant, and not only that, but even though we were told that coverage was immediate when we signed up, CDPHP coverage didn't actually come into effect until NOVEMBER!

keep in mind, I'm 7 months pregnant by now, and should have been seeing a doctor regularly and should have started going every two weeks about a month ago.

:: slight sobbing ::

after I recovered, Bill and I talked it over and decided that I was NOT going to reschedule AGAIN (we had already had to reschedule a couple times, before everything was 'straightened' out) we would just have to go in as uninsured, and pay for the visit out of pocket.

:: gnashing of teeth, and worrying looks at bank account balance ::

yesterday afternoon I called my mother, who (thankfully) happens to be the Nurse Manager of where I went back home, to figure out why they never sent my proof of pregnancy to medicaid, and then explained the insurance problems to her.

my parents are awesome (or just really eager to have a healthy grand baby) and offered to reimburse us any medical bills we acquired until medicaid and CDPHP got their heads out of their butts, and then mom called my old doctors office to make sure all my records got send where they needed to go.

:: joy! ::

so this morning at the but crack of dawn I was up and getting ready. Bill and I had no trouble finding the office, and even got a good parking spot. (YAY!)
there had been a slight mix up about appointment times, and we ended up having to wait about 45 minutes for the office to open, and then another 20 or so to be called in, but I brought knitting, so it wasn't that bad.

when we signed in we told the receptionist about our insurance issues, and she called somebody (their Nurse Manager?) who looked up the medicaid information, and saw that everything was in order, just being stupid and slow, so they told us that they were not going to bill us for any of our visits until we got our managed care coverage. once we got that information, we have to give it to them, and they were retroactively bill us so that we don't have to pay anything out of pocket.
WOO HOO!!

:: happy dance ::

everybody at the office was super nice, and awesome, the doctor we saw today (Dr, Melody Bruce, there are several doctors, and nurse midwives there, and they like to rotate, so that when you go into labor, you will have seen whoever is on call at least once) was totally sweet and nice, and was super gentile during the checkup and pelvic exam. then we listened to the baby's heartbeat (nice and strong!). we discussed the usual pregnancy aches and pains, and diet etc.
afterwords we made our next two week appointment, which will also be another ultra sound to double check the due date, and also to be sure that Tommy is getting into the proper (head down) birthing position.

everything is coming together so well now, and this OBGYN group seems so awesome, I'm finally beginning to feel a bit more relaxed about this whole baby thing! :d

Southern Adirondack Fiber Festival!

2009-09-27T19:03:53Z

On Saturday Bill and I piled into the car and took a scenic drive to the Washington County Fairgrounds to attend the first annual Southern Adirondack Fiber Festival

It was a beautiful day, the temperatures were cool, perfect shawl weather, and it was bright and sunny all day. There were over 80 vendors there. On top of spinning, weaving, and rug hooking demonstrations, and a really interesting sheep sheering demo.

For the full rundown including bunches of pictures, check out my knitting blog.

Don't tell the feminists*

2009-09-22T13:30:52Z

But I think I rather enjoy being 'barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen'

I like being a housewife.
Weird.

I like looking at sales fliers and planning out the weeks dinner menus, I like writing up the grocery list, household chores like dusting and vacuuming and even doing dishes aren't terribly arduous or terrible (ok, I admit that we have a dishwasher, so my most hated chore isn't even that bad anymore)

And I'm a trained cook, so I actually look forward to making dinner on the nights when it is my turn. And have been doing weirdo stuff like making bread too.

And strangely enough, I'm really excited about being a stay at home mom. I look forward to being able to spend all day with little Tommy, and when he's old enough I have a list of books that I want to get for making my own baby food instead of buying it. I've already knit him several items of clothing, and have even more in the works. And packing school lunches sounds exciting (I think I've been reading the vegan lunchbox for a bit too long...)

I'm turning into the kind of person that I thought was impossible when I was younger. Of course, I'm not doing all of this on my own, Bill has been amazingly supportive and helpful around the apartment, and if I ever need a break or some help he's always right there and willing to assist. I think if I didn't have him around this would really suck, but with him I'm having fun.

* ok, only BAD feminists think that its bad for women to choose to do 'traditional women's work' if that is what they want. A good feminist just wants women to be able to do whatever they want and get equal standing for it.

spice it up sweetness

2009-09-16T19:52:12Z

this week I have made a batch of Chai spice, and a batch of apple/pumpkin pie spice.

yep, it's getting towards that time of year again for sweet spice blends, pumpkin smoothies, pumpkin pie, apple pie, spiced cider, chai tea and chai scones. (which I may eventually post my recipe for.)

and since I figure you all are thinking the same thing, here are my spice recipes:

(when making my batches 1 part = 1 teaspoon & 3 parts = 1 Tablespoon)

Apple/Pumpkin Pie Spice

9 parts ground cinnamon
3 parts ground nutmeg*
3 parts ground ginger
2 parts ground cloves*
2 parts ground allspice*
1 part ground cardamom*(this optional, and you rarely see it in pumpkin pie spice blends, but sometimes in apple pie blends, I really like what it adds in flavor, no matter what the application, so I use it)

mix everything together and enjoy in your favorite recipe

for Spiced Cider: stir 1/8 - 1/4 tsp into one mug of cider, and microwave until hot.

Chai Masala

3 parts ground cinnamon
3 parts ground cloves*
2 parts ground cardamom*
2 parts ground ginger
1 part ground allspice*
1 part ground nutmeg*

mix everything together and enjoy!

for Chai Tea: brew a strong mug of black tea with 1/4 - 1/2 tsp spice added. mix in cream and sugar to taste.

* I like to use whole spices and grind them myself when I make my mixes, but if you can't get whole, use the freshest possible ground you can get.

bonus!
cinnamon sugar for toast and other yummies

2 Tbsp granulated sugar + 2 tsp ground cinnmon

mix together and throw into a spare salt shaker

yumm!

awwwww

2009-09-08T19:58:51Z

today Bill has a seminar to attend after classes so won't be getting home until quite late.

a little after his usual return time, Esmerelda started acting really lovey and cuddly, and then wandered off.

a few minutes ago I got up and noticed that she wasn't at her usual spot in the window, so I went looking for her

her, fast asleep on Bill's PJ's.

awwwwwwww...

it's a cat thing

2009-09-05T18:31:36Z

yep, everybody is settling in very well over here.

even Esmerelda who has discovered a new favorite Chair to ~~shed all over~~, I mean

cedar platy park

2009-08-29T16:27:20Z

things are finally settling down around here.
we're mostly unpacked (except for the books, which we have no place to put, as we could not fit the book cases on the truck)

this apartment is HUGE compared to our old place. we picked up a couch, two cushy chairs, a wardrobe (but no Narnia), and a small table from the stuff my grandparents gave to my mom, and we still have TONS of room.

we have an actual living room, a nice sized kitchen (with a pantry!!)
a dining room area, including a closet to hang coats and hide the vacuum and such things.
the bedroom is a good sized, and the closet is HUGE compared to our old one, thanks to the extra closet space and the wardrobe, Bill can finally put away all his clothes instead of piling the up in a corner!
the bathroom is actually slightly smaller than the one in our old place, BUT the toilet and sink both work perfectly, and the water pressure is amazing.

Esmeralda has adjusted quite well, she still yowls occasionally at night, but it's not too terrible. She loves the large picture window in the living room with its wide sill, and sits there for hours watching people come and go. it's particularly amusing to watch her have her daily cat crazies on the tiled floor. she's crashed into the linen closet a couple times already. (yes, a linen closet, I am in heaven!)

Bill finished up his week of orientation even more excited than before, and can't wait until classes begin on Monday.
meanwhile, I'm working my way into a domestic routine of house cleaning and cooking and other such things.
it's amazing, everything looks so airy and nice here, that I am really motivated to keep it clean and nice, before our old place was so dingy, cluttered and dark, that it never really looked all that much different clean verses dirty.

and the kitchen is so nice that I don't get stressed out when I try to cook, it's awesome! I haven't wanted to really do a lot of cooking at home in ages because our old kitchen was so cramped and messy, I could never find anything, and there was no place to do food prep. but here I know where everything is and we have tons of counter space and a nice big table to work on. Bill and I have already had a "argument" over who gets to cook dinner more. (he likes cooking beaus it's a de-stresser for him after a hard day at school.)

there was a little problem with laundry the other day, but it seemed to be an isolated incident:
two separate people left their clothing in the dryers and never came back for them. (there are only two washers and two dryers in our laundry room) one of them left their stuff for over 12 hours! we were forced to remove the clothing from one dryer so that we could finish our laundry. it was a bit annoying, but over all I haven't really noticed the laundry room being all that terribly busy, and every other time I've needed to use it it's been deserted.

ok enough rambling for now, next time, more about how awesome Troy and Albany are!

unpack

2009-08-20T23:32:59Z

phase three of operation oh-shit-oh-shit-we're-moving did NOT go off without a hitch.

the move was HELL.
we fully admit that we probably should have started packing earlier, and there was a lot of loose stuff still by the time we got the moving truck.
then we had too much stuff.
a large majority of our possessions and about 80% of what was boxed up was books. unfortunately, the book cases didn't fit on to the truck, so we had to leave them behind. this means that we have a room full of boxes of books which we have no place to put. this also sucks because this is supposed to be Tommy's room, so we will eventually need it to be empty.

then there was the rain. yeah, it was supposed to be clear here when we moved, so while hot, it should have been relatively easy to just haul everything inside and go. but then we got hit by thunderstorms and poor Bill was soaked and a lot of stuff couldn't be brought in without suffering water damage, so there were long periods of waiting for the rain to stop. and really, we probably should have had a few extra hands helping, but we thought we would be ok, and Bills arms kept cramping up, and the next day he looked like somebody had beaten the crap out of his arms. :(

we didn't finally finish bringing everything in until 11:30, and it would have been a 4 hour drive back home for Bill's dad, who was a major help with the hauling, and had been driving the moving truck, so we made him stay overnight on the couch, and he headed off in the morning. My parents had things that needed to be done in the morning, so refused to stay or get a room, so they headed home. and left me worrying until they called in the morning.

thankfully, that seems to be the worst of it. we slept in yesterday and this morning. and have been slowly puttering around unpacking things. the kitchen has been fully unpacked and put away, and we've already gone on a few exploratory shopping trips to check out the local supermarkets (and to buy a shower curtain).
the living room is mostly done, but for one area which needs Bill to find the long phone cord so we can hook the computer up. (the only phone port is in the kitchen, with no convenient place to put the computer, so we need a long cord to reach the nearest convenient set up place.) right now, the computer is set up on the dining room table, and we have to limbo under the hanging phone cord if we want to go into the kitchen.

the bedroom is a mess, as most of our linens and clothing were just shoved into bags and tossed into the room. but I plan on tackling that tomorrow while Bill is at his first day of TA orientation. overall everything here has been awesome. even Esmeralda is settling in wonderfully. (although shes yowling a bit more at night, we think she misses Cayenne.) the living room has a large picture widow with a nice wide ledge that she loves to lay on and watch the world go by, and she has been especially lovey and cuddly.

here

2009-08-20T00:15:52Z

we're here.

the move was hell.

very tired now.

more later.

move it out

2009-08-18T00:18:43Z

well tomorrow.

phase two of operation oh-shit-oh-shit-we're-moving is almost complete (bill is doing last minute packing of dishes from dinner as I type.)

tomorrow phase three begins, the actual move.

dun dun DUN!

as the computer will be packed up tonight or early tomorrow morning, I probably wont have a chance for another update until Wednesday. (hopefully, if the phone switched over properly)

wish us luck!

pack it up!

2009-08-15T15:13:25Z

phase two of operation oh-shit-oh-shit-were-moving has begun!

Bill has been spending most of the morning packing up books, while I putter around and try to stay out of his way. since most of the things that need packing are books, and Bill prefers to handle that himself (those boxes are HEAVY!) I haven't really had much I could do. I've packed up a few things here and there that I could do on my own, but a lot of the work for today needs heavy lifting.

right now Bill is taking a break from book packing and is hauling stuff out to the dumpster, as we seem to have run out of boxes... :-/
(ok, we haven't really run out quite yet, but it's getting close, and the boxes we have left need packing tape, which we don't have, but his mom said she would bring some over to us along with more boxes later this afternoon)

the place is really starting to look weird with boxes piled up everywhere, and things out of place as they get move to make room for boxes to to get to other things.
I think tomorrow I may be able to help more as most of the book packing will be done, and well be moving to other parts of the house, including the kitchen.

in the mean time I'll be spending the rest of the day sneezing. I swear there is a giant cloud of dust hanging over the house, from all we've stirred up as we pack and move stuff.

*ACHOO!*

purge

2009-08-13T19:41:34Z

phase one of operation oh-shit-oh-shit-we're-moving is underway

yesterday Bill started going through old papers and dumping stuff we didn't need and today i joined him by sorting through my crafty stuff. and we both sorted out magazines to be donated to the library for the book sale. we still have a bit more to do, but everything is moving smoothly.

meep

2009-08-09T14:46:32Z

doesn't it just figure that the time I feel like posting to LJ and I cant access it for three days?
anyways.

update time:

Bill and I have signed the lease on the new apartment in Troy and Bill has set up for our phone and power to switch over by the move date. (Tuesday August 18th)
bill has also reserved a moving truck, and his dad has agreed to drive it for us since he has lots of big truck experience.

on Thursday I went to my last appointment with the Clayton doctor. he says everything looks good, now I just need to find a doctor in Troy, because I'll need an appointment for almost as soon as we are settled in.

because of my weight, I don't really 'show' all that much right now, but I can definitely tell a difference, and my clothes are starting to get a little tighter. Tommy has been kicking regularly for a while, and the other night I was able to get bill to feel in time for a really big kick! Bill and I took a bunch of Dr. Seuss books home from my parents the other day and we have been reading them aloud regularly, it's really kinda fun.

last night my mom called me because the backyard neighbors had been having a yard sale and she picked up an almost brand new high chair, mobile, baby quilt, swing, back pack style baby carrier, a ton of newborn clothes and a bunch of other stuff for really cheap.

meep.

Posted using TxtLJ

2009-08-01T13:55:46Z

Test

HOME!

2009-07-25T15:44:55Z

yay we're home!

I slept almost 14 hours last night, it was an exhausting trip!

we looked at a bunch of apartments in troy and applied for a great one only blocks away from RPI!
(as well as very close to two different hospitals, this will be a very good thing come Dec 9th!)

Thursday night Bill took me to Diner at Peaches in Albany, OMG good food!

Troy is beautiful, so may flowers and trees everywhere! we also took a Tour of the RPI campus on Friday, it was really impressive! i think the best part was the discovery of a Ben & Jerry's scoop shop in the student union!

and we're off!

2009-07-22T13:18:12Z

today Bill and i a reading out for about three days in the greater Albany area to go apartment hunting.

well actually, we'll be staying in Albany but will be apartment hunting in Troy, (you know, where he's going to go to school.)

Bill has a stack of hopeful printouts, so our hopes are high.

wish us luck!

the first baby pictures!

2009-07-16T23:27:57Z

Bill and I are back from the ultrasound appointment!
it went well, although i was originally very nervous about drinking a quart of water and then not being able to pee for an hour and a half. but i made it through alive, and have a ton of pictures of our little baby!

the appointment was full of surprises, we discovered that we are actually about a month further along than we originally thought (at about 19 weeks) and the little critter is due around December 9th.

we were able to watch the heartbeat (at which point I cried) to count fingers and toes and the tech took lots of measurements.
then we were able to see his penis!

WE'RE HAVING A BOY!

this first video is four seconds of heartbeat

and this is a short clip of little Tommy dancing! :D

Baby on Board

2009-06-22T00:39:24Z

for all those weirdos who don't read my husband (oaksong)'s journal, I have a little announcement...

I'm pregnant!

unfortunately I'm also suffering from an abundance of morning sickness (or as I like to say, every freaking time of the day sickness) which is why I haven't really been all that active the last couple of months. (it's sad, Bill actually bought me my own special little bucket that I take from room to room with me in case of a puke emergency)

we don't know the due date yet, I have a really messed up menstrual cycle so going by my last period is unreliable. we have an appointment with the obgyn on the 14th of July for the official examination, and we should know by then. Rough estimates put it around mid January though.

ok, time for my nap. (oh yeah, pregnancy has turned me into a cat, I sleep 12 hours, get up, eat, go back fro a nap, get up for lunch, go back for a nap, and then maybe stay up for a little bit before going to bed. but you know when I'm asleep is like the only time I'm not feeling sick. :( )

whew

2009-05-31T21:26:28Z

Bill and I just got back from the most awesome weekend ever.

in which we attended the wedding of riki_kiki_taco me as co-maid of honor and he as sexy in a suit guy.
the wedding was awesome and about 500 times more festive than mine, (mostly due to the fact that Lee's family REALLY likes to dace, and that over half those in attendance were Oswego alumni) the fun included a rousing game of volleyball with the bride in her wedding dress, and me getting all weepy over their first dance. also, Bill and I got plenty of slow dancing in, he rocks. Bill also took like 5000 pictures, and will posting them eventually so keep an eye out.

then today before heading home Bill took me out on a date at the Rosemont Gifford Zoo at Burnet Park. where we spent hours wandering around checking out all the cool critters and taking pictures and just plain enjoying ourselves. we even watched feeding time at the penguin exhibit.

then we headed home.

and we found a new birds nest on out bathroom window. no eggs yet, but none the less, awesome!

like I said, awesome weekend. now I need to go collapse.

alien_sunset @ 2009-05-17T09:14:00

2009-05-17T13:14:03Z

On Thursday my Grandpa Homan died.

it wasn't exactly sudden, he had been failing for a while, then Monday he became non responsive and they rushed him to the ER. on Wednesday evening the took him off life support and Thursday morning he was gone.

even when you are expecting it, it's hard.

on Friday Bill and I drove up to Carthage to see the rest of the family that had come up, but a lot of them had gone out shopping, so we missed them.

today is the calling hours, and we'll be going. I really want to see my Uncle Tom, he was in Syracuse picking up Uncle Kevin from the airport yesterday.

you can see the obituary here

wavy gravy?

2009-05-09T14:38:49Z

calling all Wavy gravy Ice Cream fans.

I'm working on putting together a copycat recipe for the ice cream that my husband describes as "it tastes like god would taste if you made it into an ice cream"

so far I have the description from Ben & Jerry's flavor graveyard, and a general idea as to how to proceed, but I need more info:
I need to know what it tasted like to you, more cashew or more Brazil nut? lots of caramel, or not very much? how many roasted almonds were in it? was it overwhelmingly fudgy, or was there only a modest amount of swirl?

once I start making test batches I will need testers, if you live close enough and used to love Wavy Gravy let me know and I'll pass some along.
(please! Bill and I should not be eating a lot of ice cream! although I will warn you, the ingredients are not cheap, so I don't know how many batches I will be able to afford to make)

thunder/storm phobic dog?

2009-05-09T12:46:21Z

i have a couple of people on my FList who may be interested by this:

several ways to treat a thunder(or storm) phobic dog

framed!

2009-05-05T18:35:13Z

a while ago I challenged bunnykissd to a week of figure drawing. and we both came out alive and with better drawing skills.
as a reward we sent each other ATCs, and this week, Bill and I finally framed ours.