My Latest Obsessions

Sorry for that unexpected week off, but Mr. Level-Headed needed to take the laptop to work each day so he could finish up a project for school. 

In all honesty, though, you really did not miss much. Our days have been centred upon three things: wrapping up the school year (hallelujah!), kicking off the 2013 soccer season, and putting up with my latest two obsessions. 

Oooohhh . . . obsessions . . . please tell.

Okay, so many of you have probably heard that last Saturday I woke up to the first nudgings from Thing 4. Let me tell you, they rocked my world! It was like suddenly the entire pregnancy became real for me:

WE'RE HAVING A BABY!!

And so I spent all of last week poking, pushing, talking and singing to Thing 4 in the hopes of feeling his/her ever so slight little kicks. Poor Avery at one point looked at me in exasperation and sighed:

Can you PLEASE take your hand out of your pants? You never let me do that.

I burst out laughing, and assured him that I was NOT doing what he likes to do, and that I was simply holding my belly to see if Thing 4 was kicking.

What a kid!

After a few sporadic days, though, Thing 4's nudgings have finally become very routine and are getting stronger everyday. Being the fantastic baby he/she is, Thing 4 gives me a couple of kicks in the wee hours of the morning and a couple more just before I go to bed. It's like he/she knows that his/her mama is a neurotic mess and requires these little shout outs to assure her that everything is okay.

And so that is how I have spent my week: with my hands in my pants, texting Mr. Level-Headed about every nudge, and giggling to myself whenever I feel these tiny bumps.

I am SO in love with this baby already!

My bump at 16 weeks and 5 days

My second obsession is also baby-related. No surprise there! A few weeks ago, when I visited a close friend of mine she referred to Thing 4 as my Bonus Baby, and that really struck me. Thing 4 is truly a blessing, one that I wanted dearly but honestly did not believe would ever happen. Right then and there I decided that I am going to thoroughly enjoy Thing 4's babyhood, and so I decided to do something I had always wanted to do, but never had the courage to do. I decided that Thing 4 is going to be a cloth diaper wearing baby. How exciting is that! I know many of you are gagging right now and probably rolling your eyes at me, but I am truly excited about this! After doing some research too, I learned that there is a cloth diaper company right here in Canada that manufactures all of their own products IN CANADA! Yes, companies like this still exist. They are called AppleCheeks and from what I have read and heard, they seem to be the cream of the crop in the cloth-diapering industry.

Sooooo, last Thursday my sister, Emily, and I went to a workshop on AppleCheeks cloth diapers, and we are hooked!

Oh, so here is where I drop a little bombshell. My sister Emily is exactly two weeks behind me and is expecting her first baby in the beginning of December. As if  being pregnant with Thing 4 wasn't already the coolest experience ever, I am also sharing this whole pregnancy thing with one of my sisters . . . yippee! It feels like I have won the jackpot of blessings lately!

Anyhoo . . .

Initially, Emily was adamant that although she was intrigued with the idea of cloth diapers, she really did not feel it was something she wanted to tackle alongside of becoming a first time mom, but I dragged her along with me anyway. About twenty minutes into the workshop and after hearing all the environmental positives of cloth diapers, Emily, who is a bit granola, leaned over to me and said:

Okay, I am totally using these diapers.

I wish I could say that like Emily my decision to cloth diaper is based upon a deep concern to care for our environment, but, unfortunately, I am totally shallow and am completely sold on this  idea entirely for the cuteness factor.

Look at these diapers:

How sweet are they? Oh, and they are the softest things you have ever touched. I can't wait to see Thing 4's tiny little bum all swaddled up in their fluffy awesomeness.

I thought I could sell Mr. Level-Headed on cloth diapers using the financial route because seriously, you save so much money using cloth diapers, but he wasn't falling for it. I tried the cuteness factor, but, surprise, no luck there. In utter frustration, I asked him what on earth would convince him that we needed to use AppleCheeks diapers, and do you know what he replied?

Will they make you happy?

Gosh darn it, I love that man! He is totally with me on this whole Bonus Baby notion. He never tires of receiving my texts, or having me interrupt a serious conversation  with "Oh, Thing 4 is on the move again", or having our bedroom slowly being taken over with all of Thing 4's belongings. He is completely in love with this baby as much as I am. I am such a lucky lady!

Speaking of belongings, Thing 4 is already accumulating lots of neat things: puzzles, books and artwork:

Thank you everyone for all your generosity. 

I think Shenanigans Inc. has truly hit the jackpot of blessings lately!

Have a great week everyone, and if you are ever wondering where I am, I am the one parked on the couch with her hand down her pants!

. . . tee hee!