In the Glow of Christmas

It's been busy here lately, hence the pathetic lack of posts. Christmas preparations were frantic, but Christmas Day - and the days since - have been calm and lovely and filled with fun and visits.

Dinos from Santa

Happy with her stocking contents

Celebratory breakfast - coconut flour waffles and bacon

Three happy kids in their Christmas Eve jammies

Three less-than-happy kids, way past bedtime on Christmas Day!

Princess Light for Baby Belle

A brave knight for Music Man

A fierce, fire-breathing dragon for the whole gang

Mermaid Princess Honour for Princess

The whole home-made gang that kept me VERY busy recently!

The little quiet toys I gave the kids are made of acrylic felt. I'd love to be able to make another set down the road out of wool felt - once I can afford it! Also, I didn't include it in the photo, but the mermaid princess transforms into a girl - her tail comes off, and she has a little pink skirt. My Princess loves her princess!

(You might also notice that Music Man's knight is of a much fairer complexion than his sister princesses. My middle child has inherited my complexion, while my daughters bear much more resemblance to their father.)

Our Christmas Day was simple, and just right. The kids opened their stockings from Santa, then we had our big waffle breakfast, then the kids opened their gifts from us. They each got one "big" gift from us, their little felt friend, and a big pile of art and craft supplies to share. We really try to down-play the gift part of Christmas, and so far it's working. We realize this will get harder as the kids get older and compare gift lists in January with their classmates. Until then, I'll enjoy how excited Princess gets over a brand new pair of child-safe scissors.

Tonight my parents arrive, and Christmas will happen all over again tomorrow. They're bringing some gifts for the kids, and I'll cook a turkey dinner which my in-laws will join us for. Then two days later I'm throwing a (large-ish) birthday party for my sweet, loving, hard-working husband. I tell you all this to explain in advance why you're not likely to see many posts in the next week, but I assure you that "More blogging!!" is on my list of New Year's resolutions.

From our home to yours, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Time for a Quickie

I just spent a crazy 48 hours in my hometown, celebrating my mother's 60th birthday. While I was there, one of my nephews ended up being hospitalized for blood poisoning. It killed me to not get to visit with him and my sister more while I was there, but I have a minor hospital phobia which is multiplied a hundred fold while pregnant. (Every time I have to go to the hospital when I'm pregnant - for my GTT and WinRho - I end up getting crazy sick within 24-48 hours. Every. single. time.) Happily, my sweet little nephew is now at home recovering with his family, who I'm sure are as relieved as he is that the IV is a thing of the past!

I have a cold. I woke up with almost no voice this morning, and I've been coughing quite a bit. Since I'm sick anyway, I should have just gone to the hospital. *sigh*

I'm 10 weeks pregnant as of today. 29 weeks (or less) to go!

We're taking Princess, Music Man and Baby Belle to meet Santa at the mall once Francis gets home from work. That, in itself, would be crazy enough, but to add to the excitement we'll be meeting up with my in-laws, Francis' two siblings, their spouses, three nephews and one niece. Fingers crossed we can actually get a picture with all seven children!

It's way harder to stay Paleo in the midst of morning sickness, cravings and aversions than I ever thought it would be. I had a nice, healthy bowl of coconut curry cabbage (a long-time favourite) for lunch, then immediately fell face-first into some chocolate ice cream... which was swirled with peanut butter... and studded with teeny little peanut butter cups... *sigh* I'm seriously considering tackling a Whole30 once I hit my second trimester, and (hopefully) am feeling a little better. (No, I'm not hoping to lose weight while pregnant. I have no intention of limiting my carbs, and actually intend to eat quite a bit of fruit, sweet potato and butternut squash to make sure I'm getting everything I need for a happy, healthy baby!)

I'm still nowhere close to being ready for Christmas, and I'm starting to freak out. I have zero energy for anything once the kids are in bed. Honestly, they're tucked in between 7 and 7:30pm, and I'm usually under my own covers by about 8pm. I'm an old lady.

I won a blogger give-away! I'm so excited! Check out the beautiful headband/ear warmer I won! While you're at Rebekah's blog, be sure to click the link to her Etsy shop. It might be too late to order Christmas gifts, but it's always a good idea to treat yourself to a little post-Christmas pat-on-the-back-for-getting-it-all-done gift. :)

I opted not to enter Carly's give-away, just on the off chance I'd win - I didn't think it would be fair of me to win two great prizes in a week. However, YOU should go over to her blog and enter to win one of three different toys from Sears.

That's about all I've got for now. I have to go convince Music Man to get out of his pajamas in time to go pick up Princess from school. It's been that kind of day!

Update

How far along? Eight weeks and one day pregnant! But it really feels like I should be much farther along by now. With each subsequent pregnancy it feels like the time goes slower and slower.

Total weight gain: Negative two pounds. I had initially lost four pounds, but have gained two back. My appetite is still generally terribly small, and the number of foods that sound appealing to me is even smaller. 

Maternity clothes? Just started. *sigh* I was hoping to hold out a little longer, but it appears that my body remembers exactly how to look pregnant after having done this three times before! Can't say I'm enjoying wearing the funny pants, but definitely enjoying shopping for them! Second-hand, of course. It was 50% off day at Value Village last week, and I scored two cute pairs of maternity jeans for a grand total of $5.09 after tax. I've also bought a couple of dresses, but they're regular dresses with enough stretch to work on a pregnant body. Is it just me, or do just about all maternity dresses look incredibly unflattering? 

Sleep? My dear, sweet, amazing, saintly husband has taken over with Baby Belle in hopes of teaching her to sleep all night and leave Mommy the heck alone. It's been such a Godsend, because the less I sleep, the less manageable my morning sickness is. Now I'm starting to get some uninterrupted rest at night, and I've been able to squeeze in at least a little nap just about every day, and that really helps.

Best moment this week: Now when Norah draws a family portrait (or any picture featuring me), she draws New Baby in my tummy. 

Movement? Too early, but I don't expect it's far off. With Princess and Baby Belle I could feel definite movement by 13 weeks. Music Man was never an active baby, so I didn't notice anything from him until about 17-18 weeks, and even after that he was a laid-back kid. I really hope this one's a mover, for the sake of the other kids who will get such a kick out of... well, kicks.

Gender? We've decided not to find out this time. *sigh* I want to, but Francis doesn't. Since I got my preference last time, I decided it was only fair to let him win this time. Plus it's a great moment in the operating room to hear my husband be the one to announce the baby's gender.

Cravings? Caaaaarbs. For the first little while, it was sweet potato fries. Couldn't get enough of them! Now, they don't really appeal to me at all, but I'm working my way through a giant batch of potato salad. Plus it's been much harder than I thought it would be to stay mostly Paleo. My sweet tooth gets the better of me every. single. time.

What I miss: Coffee. I'm not one of those never-have-caffeine-while-pregnant women, I just don't think my stomach can handle it right now. 

What I’m looking forward to: Christmas! I know it's still weeks away, but the Christmas buzz in the air is unmistakable. I love the get-togethers with family and friends, crafting, shopping, wrapping and baking. I'm looking forward to having my teacher husband home for two and a half weeks (!!) and having my parents visit for about half of that time.

Weekly wisdom: Take sleep whenever you can get it. Even if it means letting the kids watch a little more TV than they're usually allowed.

Milestones: Finally got in to see my GP last night. He informed me that my favourite OBGYN is really booked up right now, so it'll be a couple of months before I can get in to see her. That just means I'll be seeing my GP for my check-ups for now. He's great, and I really respect him, except... well, he's Movember-ing right now, and it's *really* hard to take him seriously. Totally baby-faced, but with a giant 'stache. It's pretty awesome!

Why I'm Not Losing Weight

I've been wracking my brain for a week now, trying to come up with a cute or clever way to say this.

But I got nuthin'. So here goes:

I'm pregnant.

Was there ever a better reason to not lose weight? :)

My husband and I recently decided we were ready for one more (this makes four!), and we're blessed that it happened right away. We wanted to time it so the baby will be born at the beginning of the summer (due July 9th, c-section will be scheduled around the 2nd), so I'll have him at home for two whole months while I recover and adjust. Then when he goes back to work in September, both Princess and Music Man will be in school full-time, so I'll still only have two littles at home for most of the day.

The other kids are over-the-moon excited. Especially Princess, who keeps talking and singing to my non-existent belly (I'm only a little over 6 weeks, after all!), and telling everyone that we have a new baby on the way. (She told the hostess at the restaurant we went to on Wednesday. The poor kid - she was maybe 17 - had no idea what to say.)

So there you have it. We're just going ahead and being counter-cultural again! You don't see many families with four or more kids these days (unless you live in our town), and you certainly don't see many women announcing a pregnancy before they clear the first trimester. So why the early announcement?

Well, two reasons. One is practical - in the past I had horrible, unending "morning" sickness that knocked me off my feet for months. It's hard to hide that, and it's also nice to be able to ask for help when I can't keep up. This time, fortunately, it would appear that a (mostly) Paleo diet has pretty much cured my morning sickness. I still get sick if I wait too long before eating or if I don't rest enough, but it's 100% manageable. (My previous three pregnancies were so rough I lost 10-15lbs in my first trimester each time!)

The second reason is personal/spiritual/philosophical/whatever-you-want-to-call-it. See, this baby is part of our family already. I don't generally like keeping family members secret. S/he isn't much bigger than a sesame seed, but there's already a teeny poppy seed-sized heart beating away in there! We really believe that life is beautiful and sacred and worth celebrating at every stage. And if, God forbid, we lose this baby, then we'll be grateful for the support we know we'd receive. I've been though a miscarriage before, with our first baby. I was just over 5 weeks pregnant, a point when lots of women haven't even figured out they're pregnant. We hadn't told anyone yet, only because I had an upcoming visit to my parents' house, and I was waiting to tell them in person. Because I miscarried before I got there, I had to explain everything in my grief, which was so hard. I really don't think that, for me, it would be any easier to deal with a secret loss than one everyone knows about. (That's just me - every woman has to go with her gut on this one.) So, that being said, we're gratefully accepting all prayers, positive thoughts and good vibes you'd care to send our way!

I'm hoping this time around to gain a little less weight than I did in the past, just by sticking to an 80% Paleo diet. (Yes, 80%. Don't even TRY to tell this pregnant lady she can't have some Baskin Robins once in a while!!) In fact, if I can keep my weight-gain to 20-25lbs, I'll end this pregnancy around the same weight I was when I conceived Princess! Fingers (and toes) crossed.

Where Did I Go??

Wondering where I went?

Oy, sorry. I've been thoroughly neglecting the blogosphere.

I have no good excuse, really. Just a whole long list of teeny little excuses that have all piled up. Like the incredible amount of time I've been spending sewing! I made Princess and Music Man's Halloween costumes:

I was given requests for a "pink and purple mermaid princess" costume, and a "blue dragon with a blue tummy and blue spikes" costume. I pulled them off, both without the benefit of a pattern. Baby Belle's costume, on the other hand, was a consignment store find. She's too young to care, it was the right size, a great price, and fit with the mythical-creatures theme!

In addition to the costumes, I've been churning out Christmas gifts at a steady pace. We try to keep our gifts simple, relatively inexpensive, and mostly hand-made. Most of the people we give gifts to don't need much "stuff", and it's more about the gesture. Plus the hours I put into making something should communicate that the person is important to us! (I'd post pictures, but many of them are for my nephews, and my sister reads this blog - got to keep them a surprise!)

I will, however, share this photo of something I made the other day, as it's similar in construction to several of the gifts I've made:

Felt Snow White!! She was the test-run and now on her way to her new home, and I'm now making a set of princesses, princes, knight and dragon for my kids for Christmas!

We also got to meet our first niece for the first time! My sister has two boys and my husband's sister has three, so having a nice at long last is a big deal for me (mostly because it gives me another girl to sew for).  This picture is also because a friend requested to see what I look like with short hair:

Baby Belle was so excited to see her newest cousin! She's finally at the right age to be completely fascinated with babies. (I should add that BB is older than her baby hair makes her look. She's over 20 months old.)

Then we had houseguests. Mostly just my mother who was here for 12 days, but also my sister, her husband and their two small sons came to stay for a couple of days. What happy chaos! Ten fun-loving people in a small, 3-bedroom bungalow! We feasted and played and had a marvelous time.

There's another important project I've got on the go right now that I'm not quite ready to go into detail about. But it's a biggie, and it'll most definitely be influencing what I post about here, so stay tuned for that one in the next day or two.

Lastly, I should mention the results of my 21 Day Sugar Detox:
EPIC FAIL!!

Holy cow. I have way more emotional-eating issues than I was aware of! I didn't get all the way through the 21 days. In fact, I fell face-first into a pan of homemade granola bars somewhere around day 10, I think. What I did learn, though, is that different emotions trigger different cravings. And mostly, those cravings have way more to do with texture than taste. The awarenesses I gained even from that short time were fantastic, and I'm looking forward to tackling the 21DSD again in the future.

For now, however, I really need to get back on track with my eating habits. Nicole and the gang started a Whole30 on the first of the month. My original plan was to join them, but I then decided to postpone until my mother heads home and life settles down a little. Now, however, I'm modifying my plans once again. I don't think this is the right time for a Whole30 for me, mostly because I know I'll need to be relying on some SWYPO foods in the next little while. So, instead of a Whole30, I'm going to do a Paleo For 30 challenge. Which means I can still eat Paleo-fied muffins without guilt, and if I put a little honey in a glaze for some meat I'm not going to stress about it. But I will not be pigging out on Paleo treats every day! I'm just going to work on getting back to the meat-veg-fats basics for 90% of the time.

And now, I'm off to feed my kids lunch, get them sorted out for nap/quiet time, and assemble a cake for a going-away party. I'll post pictures of that later - with more things to say!

End of Day Five

Wow.

Just, WOW.

Only five days in (and 16 to go) and I can't believe what I've already learned about my eating habits!* So many times I've wandered into the kitchen thinking, "I'm hungry. I need a snack." I go to grab a banana or an apple, and suddenly my hand freezes when I remember the detox. I look around the kitchen some more, stare at the leftovers or the three big bags of nuts in my fridge, then close the door and walk away bummed.

All I really wanted was an apple! When I want an apple, a handful of pecans just won't cut it.

But here's the thing: the "hunger" goes away. It doesn't get stronger, or even hang around. It's just... gone. Which makes me realize it wasn't really hunger in the first place. Chances are it was either thirst or just plain old habit.

The result of that scenario playing out repeatedly is that I've hardly been snacking. Actually, I've had three snacks in five days (all nuts). That's remarkable for me. I eat a substantial breakfast (usually 2 or 3 eggs with kale, some ground pork and decaf with coconut milk) and then I'm not hungry until lunch time, usually between 12:30 and 1pm. I've been typically eating leftovers for lunch (and averaging half an avocado at lunch each day) then I'm just starting to feel hunger when it's time for supper between 5:30 and 6pm.

And so far, I'm down 2.5lbs, and I suspect that's primarily from my mid-section as my jeans feel different already.

I am feeling so stretched right now. The cravings for sugar are still frequent and intense - hard to fight off, for sure. I am sure the next 16 days will continue to challenge me in different ways, but I'm hopeful that these new insights will stick with me on Day 22 and beyond, and maybe I won't be such a slave to my sugar demons anymore.

(I definitely learned a lot during both my Whole30 experiences, but never once felt as "deprived" as I do now. I'm surprised by how much I was really relying on fresh fruit, dates and sweet potatoes to fill the junk food void!)

Crazy Cravings!

I'm on day 2 of the 21-Day Sugar Detox, and already I'm struggling more than I did at any point in either of the two Whole30s I've done. Sheesh. I didn't realize just how much I relied on fruit to satisfy sugar cravings! Now that they're "off-limits", I'm realizing just how frequently (and intensely!) the desire for something sweet hits.

Take this evening, for example. I had a wonderfully satisfying dinner (taco drumsticks with guacamole dip!), and wasn't in the least bit hungry. But then I had a trigger- a moment of feeling like I "deserved a treat" because I had to (brace yourselves...) pick up a #2 accident off the bathroom floor.

Aren't you glad I shared that?

I figured if I had to do that, then surely I should reward myself with... with... huh. Nothing, I guess. But man, did I ever want to crack open the bottle of wine in the pantry and send my husband out for ice cream! Not that eating/drinking that stuff would solve anything (or make me any less grossed-out), but that was what I wanted.

So here I sit, an hour later, waiting for my licorice root tea to steep. I'll drink that and go to bed early, rather than stare at my kitchen and daydream about the dates I know are stashed away in the snack cupboard...