B is for Bear

Here is the next masterpiece in Conner's nursury collection ;)  So the "b" is an upside down lower case "g" - you do what you can.  I would love to write more, but I am tired from a long day.  Hope you enjoyed B!

Peace and goodnight...
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A is for Alligator!

YAY! I finally finished my first painting for Conner's room! Only 25 more to go... this one took me about three hours but I love how it turned out. I just used a 12x12 stretched canvas, acrylic paint, some cute pics found online for inspiration, and wooden letters.

I painted all 26 canvases alternating colors (orange, brown, beige, yellow, red, blue, etc...). Then free handing the pics of animals for each canvas. I found the wooden letters at Michaels for about $1.29 each and painted those as well. I thought the floating letter would add a little texture and depth to the paintings.

Hopefully these will be completed before he gets here... 3 hours x 25 paintings = 75 hours of painting! Here's to determination!

It was really fun painting this one... Conner has been really active tonight and I was home alone listening to the "Kate Nash" station on LastFM.com. I was singing along and all smiley and happy the whole time. Dave was off watching the Packer game with his buddies and so it was just me, the dogs and Conner. I was having these fantasies the whole time of my son asking about all the paintings and learning the alphabet a ridiculously young age because he had been exposed to it since birth... then I fantasized that he asked me as a father-to-be himself if he could have them for his unborn child's nursery. It was kind of cool to just sit and be creative and let my mind go wherever it pleased. It was really important to me as an artist to incorporate something that I had made into his nursery and have that something be educational and inspiring. I hope I hit the jackpot with this idea!

So, what are some things that you have done for your kids? Please share your ideas and pics and experiences, I would love to hear what you have all come up with...

Peace!
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Preggo Update - Week 26

One more week down!!! 


Conner:

Size - about 14 inches long and about 2 pounds

Activity - Our little squirt is super active and kicks about once every 10 seconds.  He is getting higher and is starting to turn from breech to a transverse position.

Labor signs - Most contractions are happening at night and are less often. They are getting a little stronger, but mostly feel like a pressure or tightening below my belly button. 


This week Conner is very active.  His eyes are beginning to open and close and he is beginning to make breathing movements.  He is sucking his thumb which calms him and strengthens his jaw and mouth muscles.  He is responding to me too.  When I gently push on my belly, he will kick back.  He also responds to my voice and loves the shower.  I am starting to notice more of a routine with him.  He is quiet in the mornings and evenings and is most active in the afternoons and late nights.  He also LOVES music.  I sing to him and he moves around in there like crazy.  He is my tiny dancer...


Me:

Size - I feel better now than I have in a few weeks.  My hair is thicker and my belly is bigger but still in it's cute stage.  I feel beautiful and look pretty pregnant.  I even received my first "stranger compliment" today.

What I am wearing - Still sporting my sexy maternity pants, but have begun to feel more confortable in my maternity tops that are beginning to fit better now.  Instead of hanging on me, they are complimenting my growing belly. 

Strange stuff - I am awake about every 2-3 hours in the night.  I have had to make huge efforts to fall and stay asleep.  Because I am up so often in the night, I am very tired through the day.  Excercise and hot baths have been helping.  I think I am also going to try earplugs...

Food cravings - grapefruit, potato chips, and lunchmeat - oh and sorbet

Status of belly button - on it's way to becoming an outie

What I miss - still missing sleeping on my tummy and I had an intense craving for grapefruit vodka and tonic (with a dash of lime)  mmmmmmmmm...

In General:

Best movement this week - felt his butt stick out by my belly button and felt him roll over completely.

Most looking forward to - getting his nursury finished and spring

Words to live by - Allowing my husband to help me.  He is so willing and I have been stubborn, but when I did it put me in a better mood and he did an awesome job.  (We cleaned the house together...)

Milestones - Watching my belly move when he moves.

Well, we are one more week closer to meeting our son.  This week was huge because we were able to see him move and really feel him.  We also made our plans for lamaze and my family and I began to plan the shower.  Things are really begining to feel real and exciting.  This year is going to be so amazing...
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The Roots are Just as Important as the Flower

I remember being a little kid and my grandmother from my mother's side stayed with us for quite awhile. She would wake up early and sit in the rocking chair that my father made her and watch us get ready for school. When we would get home there was almost always a warm batch of fresh german rye bread made from scratch by a recipe that she had memorized. She was fluent in "old German" and we would sit and talk back and forth as we were learning the language in school. My grandmother made her own noodles, made magnificent quilts, and made almost everything she wore by her own hand. I look back on that now and admire that she was able to do all of those things. I want to someday be able to teach my children the importance of these things and where they come from.


My husband made a short list for the new year too.  The number one thing on his list is learning a new language.  He has a dream that he, Conner, and I will someday become fluent in German and travel to Germany able to communicate with the locals and appriciate the culture.  I am three quarters German and Dave is about a quarter German.  I am a third generation American and would love to learn where my family came from.  We would love for our son to grow up learning two languages and to go on in life understanding his roots and the culture from which he was raised.  Being in the United States I think we tend to let go a bit of our traditions and fall into the melting pot.  I have always thought it was sad that our different cultures blend and with each generation the line becomes more and more blurred between who our families were and who they are now.  We want to change that in our family by bringing back some of the traditions that our great grandparents celebrated and a huge part of that, we believe, is the language. 

So with that I want to ask my readers if you have integrated a second language into your families and if so, how did it work for you.  Do you follow any traditions from your ethnicity and culture that differ from the mainstream American?  Do you think that your children understand and value the things that you are teaching them?  Please share with me your thoughts and practices.

Peace,
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Preggo Update - Week 25

Well, I am officially in the third trimester... here is what is going on in there

Conner:
Size - about 13.5 inches long and about 1.5 pounds

Activity - little squirt is super active and kicks about once every 25 seconds when awake

Labor signs - Some contractions if I am really active are getting stronger. Sometimes they knock me on my butt

This week his spine is continuing to develop as are the blood vessels in the lungs. His nostrils are fully formed and will most likely open by the end of the week. He looks like a real baby now just very thin and small. He will be starting to move from the breech position and rotating around to get to where he needs to be for birth. He even has hair! (Hopefully... mommy was bald till she was 3)

Me:
Size - none of your beeswax ;) a little weight gain since week 22

What I am wearing - super sexy full panel maternity pants, long sleeved cotton shirts that cover my belly, and warm socks - full blown maternity clothes.

Strange stuff - I can't sleep for more than 3 hours at a time and my hands are always falling asleep due to carpel tunnel (common in pregnancy) I can cry on a dime and am pretty much always happy

Food cravings - fruit and chocolate

Status of belly button - still an innie

What I miss - sleeping on my tummy and wine

In General:
Best movement this week - Daddy being able to finally feel his kicks

Most looking forward to - baby shampoo :) and sleeping next to him

Words to live by - always wear slippers while playing Wii bowling - had a few close calls

Milestones - feeling constant movement through the day - no more scary worries

Well, so far so good. We are in the last stretch of my first pregnancy. We have a lot to do but we are feeling really good about where things are headed. Hopefully I can keep up!

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Anti Resolutionist

My mother is a genius. She is one of those people who is always looking for something new to fill her time and new ways to become a more well rounded, better person. Every year, instead of making a silly resolution that she is sure she will neglect or forget, she makes a list. She looks closely at her life and makes a list of things that she would either like to change, improve on, start or stop doing, or just be better at. These lists make so much sense because not only does she get to take many different aspects of her life into consideration, she can actually see the improvements. My mother just remodeled her kitchen and in doing so put a chalkboard wall by the back door. She puts her list there so that every time she walks by that wall she sees a pleasant reminder of her progress. My mother made a list of ten things last year and at Christmas I asked her how it worked for her... she accomplished all ten and then some. You rock mom... you are the bomb ;)

So in the tradition of my mother's dedicated lists, I have decided to make my own and watch my progress through the year... plus it will give me some great stuff to write about!

To Do List for 2010

1. Have a baby - this is a given, but it will be monumental to me so it is number one.
2. Love the crap out of my husband - show him how much I love him and not ever take him for granted
3. Make a dentist appointment
4. Finish Conner's nursery
5. Take down the Christmas tree before February
6. Feel pretty at least once every day
7. Organize the basement
8. Finish one more semester of school
9. Beat Mario Brothers on the Wii
10. Make a cork board from my wine cork collection

Not too shabby if I might say so myself... It is simple, meaningful, and most importantly - doable! Wish me luck!

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Bump!

A nice start to Conner's room... the canvases will be painted with the alphabet and animals, there will be big yellow stars on the ceiling, green trim around the baseboards and window with some window treatments, and some added storage. I cannot wait to get started!



Thank you to http://www.stinnettstudios.com/ for the photography!

Introducing.... (dum da da duuuuuum).... ME!

Insert round of applause... picture me bowing. Thank you, thank you! So glad to be here!

OK, that was a little self indulgent of me but I couldn't help myself. This blogging thing is completely new to me so I am taking advantage of it a little here. I guess we should get to the important stuff, like what brought me to blogging and what I am all about. My sister in law has been blog savvy for quite awile now and has on many occations tried to include me in her successful blog, www.jenniferreviews.com. Needless to say I have always been too shy. We were talking last night and she shared with me information about mommyblogs. I was amazed that anyone could get out there and put in their two sense - so the next day BumpStop was created.

I mainly think it will be fun to share my more often than not humorous steps in marriage, pregnancy, and soon to be mommyhood. I have so much to say and talk about, but mostly I have a lot to be thankful for and that is another reason I want to share. I have a wonderful husband Dave who has been nothing but a pillar of stregth and honesty for me. We have a cozy home in a mid sized town in Wisconsin, we have two dogs, and a great group of people that we have managed to hang on to for quite awhile. We are not perfect but we have learned to laugh more than anything and accept who we are,(He taught me that, told ya he was great). We have our first son on the way. Our little man will be named Conner James. He will be the first little one for my husband's family and the second for mine. I have two wonderful sisters, one of which is a mom and has been by my side every step of the way through my pregnancy so far. I have a brother who is more talented than any other living person I have ever known and two great parents who have cleared much of the battlefield for me by laying down on the front lines. I love them.

My home life is great. I spend way too much money at IKEA but it makes for a pretty palace. I love color and texture and warm places and that is my house. Our home is modest and comfortable and where we love to be. Our dogs, two black labs Dot and Daisy sit at my feet as I write this panting quietly, most likely falling asleep to my tapping on the keyboard. They are the best friends I could ask for and they love me which is pretty cool.

All in all I have it pretty good. I hope that my writing will bring a smile to your face.

Peace,
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