A Second Helping of Danae-isms

We are having a great week so far! Thank God! Only two accidents total, and yes, we actually do go out without a diaper on and not stay at home all day. :o) I'm praying it continues from here!

I thought I'd do another installment of recent Danae-isms for you. (Little Brother James, I know you especially like these, since you don't get to see the Little Peanut much.) So, here you go:

1) (Driving in the car, I hear sudden screaming and crying from the back seat.)
me: Danae, what's wrong???
Danae: My belly! Hurts! HUUUURTS!!
me: We are almost at the store, and then I can get you out of your car seat.
(Danae continues to scream.)
me: Should Mommy pray to Jesus to make you feel better?
Danae: YES!
(I say a short prayer. The screaming stops. A few moments later...)
Danae: Mommy! I'm all better! Jesus saved me!!!)

2) (Danae and I were running from the front door to the kitchen and back again, pretending to race each time.)
Danae: Mommy, go again!
me: Danae, Mommy needs a little break. I'm pooped!
Danae: Mommy, then you need to go to the potty.

3) (After we told Danae about the baby in my belly.)
Danae: Can I see it?
Daddy: No...it has to grow really big and then come out of Mommy's belly.
Danae (cupping her hands around her mouth, and then leaning toward the belly): COME OUT, BABY!


I'm sure there will be more to come from our quirky girl! :o)

Week of the Potty (Part 2), Great Diaper Bag, and Other Musings

Thanks SO much to those of you who gave prayers and advice for my all-day sickness. It started to subside this past week, and I was actually able to eat dinner! And thanks to my friend Julie on the advice about minty things and the esophagus...I reached for something minty again yesterday, and your words rung in my head! It's soooo nice having a friend who's a P.A. :o)

OH! Here's some advice to those of you who might be shopping around for a diaper bag or know someone who needs one. When we registered at Babies 'R Us for our Peanut, we selected a California Innovations (also known as Baby Innovations) sling back diaper bag.
Great diaper bag, neutral color (obviously!), and manly enough that my husband would tote in around on his back. It worked great, until about 4-5 months ago when the main compartment zipper on the side broke. I fixed it, (don't ask how...I'm not a girl who sews, and I somehow fixed a zipper by sewing. Ha!), but the zipper broke again. So, I decided to contact the company and, lo and behold, they have a limited lifetime warranty. After e-mailing them pictures of the non-functional bag, they e-mailed back and said they would replace it and to allow 3-4 weeks for delivery. Wouldn't you know, the new diaper bag was on our doorstep only 1 week later! Now that's what I call customer service! They've received my vote for Diaper Bag Company of the Year. :o)

Lastly, as if you couldn't tell from the beginning of the title, this week is now Week of the Potty Part 2. If you recall, we had the first Week of the Potty back in November, which went over well for a few days, and then we were back to diapers. Danae's interest in wearing big girl underwear and receiving Smarties when she used the potty fizzled. However, she was showing more interest in the past week, even insisting that she wear her underwear and not a diaper...which made me quite nervous when this insistence happened right before we walked out the door to go to a restaurant this weekend. We decided to be brave, take a change of clothes, and see what happened. Not only did my Little Miss stay dry in the car, she also used the toilet at the restaurant...TWICE! (Yes, Mom, I wiped the seat and lined it with toilet paper before sitting her down.) :o)

So, now we are back to underwear when she's awake, diaper at nap and bedtime. I have a feeling that this week is going to be a good one! I just have to get over using public toilets (ugh), possible urine on my floor, and my daughter's independence and constant insistence on doing it all by herself. I'll keep you posted! :o)

It's Farm Show Week! It's Farm Show Week!

This week is our state's farm show in Harrisburg. We look forward to this time each year, since it involves great fair-type food, lots of neat animals, and some fun events. Of course, Danae absolutely loved the horses and rabbits, and we left with her asking for her own bunny. Maybe in a few years. :o)

Here are some photos from the week. To see more, click on "Our Online Albums".

Friend or Foe

I've been sick. Sick, sick, sick. Yes, a slight head cold sick, (which is mostly gone), but it's more than that. I am in the throes of morning sickness (ahem, all-day sickness), and my most fervent prayer is that it would let up soon.

With my Little Miss, this sickness lasted a few short weeks, and it was really yucky. For about a week of it, I could stand only ginger ale and saltines, but it was all over by 8 or 9 weeks. With Number 2, I started out thinking I was pretty lucky. Even when the morning sickness started, I figured out what foods made me feel better and what I had to avoid, and I could still eat. But now...well, it doesn't seem to matter! Week 12 is here, nausea and I have become close buddies, and he doesn't seem to get the hint that I don't want to be his friend anymore.

So, to ease my mind and include you in my slight, soon-to-be short-lived misery, I thought I'd share with you my "Friend or Foe" list.

FRIEND: Kraft Macaroni 'n Cheese

Yes, I know it's super bad for you and I'll probably have a heart attack by the end of 2008, but I was this way with Danae, too. I could eat this stuff for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and beyond. Oh, and it has to be the regular, original kind...none of that spirals, Sponge Bob, white cheddar, etc.

FOE: most types of meat

Once again, this happened at the beginning of pregnancy #1, and then subsided later. In fact, by the middle of my first pregnancy, all I wanted for dinner was steak, hamburgers, and more steak! Hopefully my current aversion to this necessary protein will do the same thing this time around.

FRIEND: Fig NewtonsI only realized this yesterday, when I had a huge craving for one of these cookies, purchased a small box from CVS, and now have only 2 left. Make that zero, since I just polished off the last two. (Yes, in case you are wondering...I ate them all by myself...in less than 24 hours.) I'm sure I will be totally sickened by them tomorrow and will never eat them again this year. Hey, at least I'm getting some sort of fiber, even if it's from processed figs.

FOE: Chocolate
Hello??? I'm a girl, and I can't stand chocolate right now? Ugh. Sometimes I just want to take a bite into a piece, and when I do, I instantly feel sick. Oh, well. It'll be waiting for me.

FRIEND: Cereal (most non-sugary kinds)Oh, thank you Lord that I can still eat cereal! Even before pregnancy, cereal was my #1 favorite thing to eat as a snack, especially when watching television with my hubby in the evening. The sugary ones make me feel a bit sick, but most kinds that don't have strong flavors are a go! Yippee!

FOE: Minty stuff I thought these little Andes Candies would help ease nausea...you know, since they are minty and all. Most people say that mint helps, right? Nope. After eating a bite of one, I tasted that thing for several hours afterward. It was one of the worst evenings of sickness I have had yet!

And to end on a good note...

FRIEND: Water Oh, how sipping this throughout the day makes me feel better! And I came to this realization only yesterday! I drink lots of water when it's warm outside, but in the winter, it seems like my water bottle gets pushed to the back of the Tupperware cabinet. (Why is that?) Anyway, I know you are supposed to be drinking lots of lots of water when you are pregnant, so maybe this whole nausea thing was due to lack of fluids. (I can tell I'm a bit dehydrated.) I'm really hoping that this last favorite on my list really sends the all-day sickness running.

So, that's it for now. I'm sure all of the good foods on my list will go to the bad list at some point and vice-versa, but at least I'm making it through the day without losing my internals. :) Should you have any suggestions or advice, feel free to pass it along! Oh, and have a happy day! :)

New Year's Eve Pedicures

While Curt is away on a missions trip in Mexico, the Little Miss and I spent a few much-needed days away at my parents' house in NJ. It's so good to get away sometimes!

On New Year's Eve, I was hankering for a pedicure and searching for a local place for myself, my sister, and my nieces to go get some pampering. Instead, we decided to go the cheaper route. :o)While half of the family was out for an afternoon of bowling, we decided to open up Dad's foot spa Christmas gift (thanks, Dad!) and took turns trying it out, cleaning our feet, and enjoying time together. We even convinced Dad to join us and pampered his feet. :o) To see more pics, click on "Our Online Albums".

Trust

As the end of 2007 draws near, it's time for that natural feeling of reflection of the past 12 months. This year has definitely been one of learning, trials, and lessons. For the Ulrich family, this included setting personal running records (yah!), meeting anniversaries and birthdays with gusto, watching our precocious toddler reach numerous milestones, taking trips to various fun places, accepting the deaths that crossed our paths, hurting from ruined relationships...and, in the end, learning to trust God's sovereign hand over each and every step we took and event that came down our path.

Probably the biggest lesson in trust that the Lord gave us was toward the end of 2007. In November, we learned that I'm pregnant with number two. :o) While such news is happily accepted by the average person, people like me, (who like to know when things are happening and enjoy planning out the big happenings in life), tend to feel blind-sided, shocked, and panicked. Yes, deep down I felt a sense of happiness and excitement, but I'll be honest: my selfishness and lack of God-trust embarrassingly overshadowed those good feelings. Both Curt and I are self-employed, meaning we pay for our health insurance. To top it off, our current health insurance plan does not have maternity coverage, and I was supposed to start a different plan in January that did have maternity coverage. (Needless to say, the new health insurance company ousted me when they found out about the good news.) So, that left me pregnant, without insurance coverage, and anxious over the whole dilemma.

At any rate, through the unnecessary worry and panic, Curt and I saw God's hand in the whole thing. We learned of a local birth center and that we DO have options that ARE affordable. We learned that having peace in the midst of of a bit of chaos is SO much better (and smarter!) than being anxious. Above all, we learned that trusting in God is what we are supposed to be doing as Christians, not planning every aspect of our lives and expecting things to go our way all the time.
So, as I learn to put aside my controlling/planning ways, I'll keep you posted on how this new chapter in life goes. We're on this journey for a reason, and I'm truly looking forward to the growth that can take place. Keep checking back as I update you on my bigger belly, all-day-long sickness, and life as a pregnant mom of a 2-year-old. Oh, this is going to be fun! :o)

Big Girl Bed

Well, the time has come for our Little Miss to move from her crib to a big girl bed. While we weren't sure if a just-turned-2-year-old would be ready for a bed, but we mentioned the idea to her a month or two ago, and she was excited about it from the get-go. Curt and I found a great bed on eBay, got it home, and painted it Ballerina Pink. We bought wooden letters for her name and painted them lavender, then added a princess crown to the outside of the footboard.

Nana then bought the Disney Princess bedding (Danae's choice, of course), and the Christmas gift bed from Mommy and Daddy-O was complete!

Her first night in it was Christmas Eve, and she did rather well. After laying down and then opening and closing the door a few times, she finally stayed in bed and slept the entire night. I know we'll have lots more nights and mornings of her getting up by herself! :o)

Oh, and a belated Merry Christmas to all!