Big Girl Bed

Scamp finally moved from her crib to her big girl bed the night after Christmas. We bought a princess tent for her big bed as a Christmas present. We had tried several times beforehand to get her to move, but she was always too scared. She would ask us to make her a "plughouse" (club house) using a blanket on the top of her crib. She had to sleep like this every night. That's when I got the idea to put a tent up on her big girl bed.

We told her a few days before that she was going to make the move. She has been saying for several months that she is going to sleep in her big girl bed and baby sister is going to sleep in the baby bed. But, when the time came for Scamp to get into her tent bed, she requested to be put back in the crib with her blanket plughouse. Her daddy told her she couldn't have a plughouse for her crib anymore, only her big girl bed. She decided right then she would sleep in her new tent bed so that "the monsters wouldn't get her." She is obsessed with monsters! She is now in her big girl bed with no problems. The crib has been moved to baby sister's room. We eventually hope to put up a canopy on her bed to replace the tent. She has a traditional canopy bed that just happened to be her Meme's (Beef's mom). Plus, Meme is going to make the canopy.

What You Missed While I've Been...Pregnant

Scamp had a big third birthday back in September. We have so many cousins with birthdays in September that we celebrated four out of five of them on one day. It was raining so my mom set up the birthday tables in her garage. There were so many kids running around that we let them play out in the rain. At one point Scamp came running into the garage in the buff. She can't stand wet clothes and instead of telling her mommy that she wanted dry clothes, she took them off herself. Everyone had a big laugh except my dad. Those kinds of things embarrass him.


We celebrated my grandpa's birhtday, too. Here he is with all the grandkids and great-grandkids who attened plus a few other partiers.

We had rented a huge Bounce Castle for the kids the week before the party, but we had to cancel because of the rain. My brother-in-law had bought the cousins on Beef's side of the family a bounce house for Christmas, and he graciously let us borrow it. The rain cleared off enough that we were able to use it. Afterward, we cleaned the house and fit it back in the box for Christmas. Scamp was just as excited with the second round of bouncing on Christmas day.

Some Alone Time

Beef and Scamp were upstairs playing tonight, and I thought I would sneak a soak in the tub alone. Now that I'm pregnant it's hard to bend over the tub to give Scamp a bath so I usually get into the tub with her...which means soaking and relaxing in the bath is out of the question.

But, tonight I filled the tub with a hot non-toddler friendly temperature water and relaxed silently. I could here Scamp in the next room and didn't want to give my secret bath away. I soaked for about ten minutes, long enough to warm my cold feet.

The temperature of the water started to cool, and I was almost ready to get out when Scamp bounded through the door. I expected her to want in right away, but she insisted on pampering me.

"Let me feel the water," she said. "It's still hot." She then insisted that I close the curtain as she threw a few of her toys in for me. "That's my favorite," she said motioning to a rubber ring. "You can have duckie, too. Here's your pitcher. Let me pour this for you," she stated as she poured hot water from a miniature purple pitcher into a bowl. "Eat it." It was as if I were at a spa. The pretend soup was fabulous. Then, she couldn't bear the allure of the tempting bath anymore. "I can get in, too."

"Ok," I told her. She had earned herself a few minutes in the tub with Mama. Five minutes of splashing around sufficed, and she was on to her next adventure: dress-up.

Fun and Embarrassing Facts About Being Pregnant

Experts say your body does many marvelous things during pregnancy, and here are a few of my most frightful (oops, favorite) changes (besides being used by God to create another complete human being):

• Forgetfulness. "Could you repeat what you just said? I forgot." is the phrase that often follows my conversations with others. My best forgetful moment was when I was pregnant with Scamp and needed to do some shopping at Wal Mart. I got halfway there and forgot how to get the rest of the way. After taking several wrong turns I eventually made it.
• Dry Heaving Mornings plus the added feature of peeing on yourself during the process. Why am I sharing this on my blog? I thought you all might want to know! LOL! At least I'm at the stage where it's not happening everyday.
• Having to Quickly Leave the Room after a Hilarious Moment. People, please don't make my laugh so hard because I'm probably going to wet my pants. It's not funny. Stop laughing!!
• Weird Skin Formations. Ok, so this hasn't happened yet this pregnancy, but with Scamp these strange little bumps developed at various stages on my face and neck. I eventually was able to pull them off except for the one on my eye, which is still present.
• Changes in Vision. Besides not being able to see quite as well I've had a couple of episodes where I had spotty vision. Literally, I saw dark spots where peoples faces were supposed to be. It was really scary the first time it happened, but it goes away after about 15 minutes.
• Claustrophobia Magnified. This has been way worse this pregnancy. I've had to leave the church service to sit outside on more than one occasion because people were sitting too close to me. I felt like I couldn't breath and didn't want to pass out, so I had to excuse myself.
• Shortness of Breath especially in the morning. I don't sing out loud in church anymore because I become so winded I feel lightheaded. It's a very similar feeling to the previous episodes.
• Being Hungry and Full at the Same Time. It's strange to feel so hungry, but you just don't think you can fit another ounce inside your stomach. There's no more room.

So, many strange things happen during pregnancy and probably multiple others that I haven't experienced. It's still worth every weird occurrence and embarrassing moment to hold the little life God formed inside your womb. What beyond-belief things have happened to you?

Christmas 2008

 

Here's some of the best pictures we took for Christmas with my family. We always have a good time with lots of love and lots of presents. Scamp was so eager for Christmas to arrive this year. Her enthusiasm helped get me into the Christmas mood, and I even put the tree up before Thanksgiving. I'm also not a huge fan of Christmas music, but if Scamp's in the car we have one of her two Christmas CDs playing. I have more Christmas pictures to post later. Click on the collage to enlarge the pctures.

Whoville in Ice

Is anyone else having trouble uploading pictures to blogger? I have tried to post about our trip to Ice! three times now. I'm finally able to get some photos up!

This ice sculpture event is held every year with a different theme, and this year's theme was "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas." They provide parkas for every one. It is so cold inside. At first, Scamp was scared to go in because you had to make your way down a narrow hallway blocked by long plastic flaps, but once inside she was thrilled. Scamp and Beef both went down an ice slide. We saw lots of Who's, and the finale was the Nativity scene. It was quite spectacular. I hope to post some Christmas pics soon.

Think Pink

Today was the big ultrasound day. Everything seems to be happening much quicker this pregnancy. After several measurements and many minutes of chasing the little squirt around with the ultrasound (the babies' a fast little thing), the ultrasound tech told us some surprising news: we're having another girl! I was sure she was going to be a boy because I really thought Scamp was a girl, and I was right. Not that I wanted a boy over a girl.

One good thing is we won't need a lot of new clothes, crib bedding or blankets. Everything's already pink (or purple). I have at least 5 large storage boxes overflowing with Scamp's outgrown clothes. She's only in a 3T now. Plus, all her toys are pretty princesses and frilly dollies. Another plus is we are going to way outnumber Beef. He loves it! (Scamp usually takes his side though.)

Scamp is overjoyed to be a big sister, and she's getting exactly what she wanted, a baby sister. We are thrilled to have another girl. I wander what her nickname will be on Scamp's Place. I think I'll call her Squirt for now. I might even do a new blog title.

Belly Bump

As promised, here are the pictures of the "bump" at 18 weeks. No one has stopped me yet to ask if I'm pregnant.

My belly button started poking out a long time ago. I told Scamp the baby inside was growing and pushed my belly button out. She talks about this often. I wander how she really comprehends this.
The belly looks much more pronounced from the front. I definitely look pregnant from this angle.

Super Scamp to the Rescue

Super Scamp is seen here in a rare photo of her practicing to fly. Her technique was superb from the beginning, but her landings were a bit rough at first.
After only a few days of training, Super Scamp and her sidekick Kung Fu Kitty were needed at the local Fall Festival.
Apparently, a few pumpkins needed her artistic expertise, yet another of her many Super Scamp powers.
Later, she was asked to escort her super tall dad down the dark streets of our neighborhood. He was too frightened to trick-or-treat at the "Scary House," but Super Scamp had the monsters bring the candy out to them away from the danger. Her sweet and innocent disguise melts even the scariest of hearts. Tune in next time for more adventures of Super Scamp and her furry pals.

Corn Maze 2008

 

Fall is my favorite time of the year. It's also one of our busiest times because we try to fit all the fall activities (bonfires, hayrides, corn mazes, fall festivals) into one month, therefore our weekends have been stacked full. We went to a corn maze near our home a couple of Sundays ago with Beef's parent's church. The weather was just right. I remember 2 years ago when we went to a similar corn maze, but the temperature was freezing and almost too cold for the kid's to enjoy. But, this year was so pleasant that as you can see Beef was wearing shorts!

Can you believe Halloween is this week? Scamp has chosen her costume already and has worn it twice, once to a birthday party and once to our church's fall festival. Maybe if I don't tell you what the costume is it will give me more incentive to post again very soon.

BTW, I'm 17 weeks along and am feeling much better. We will find out the sex of the baby in two weeks. Maybe I'll post some belly pictures with the results of the doctor's visit, too.

13 Weeks and Counting

You all are probably wondering where I've been. I've had to take a big break from the computer and reading due to nausea. Actually, my morning sickness hasn't been as bad as it was with Scamp, but blogging and checking email cause me to feel sick. I've been trying to catch back up, so if you've emailed me and I haven't responded this is why. I still have over 200 messages to check in my yahoo account. Thank goodness a lot of them are junk mail.

It's only one more week until I'm out of the first trimester, and I'm hoping the nausea will subside. I did have an ultrasound a couple of weeks ago to make sure the baby was planted in my uterus and not my fallopian tube again. Great news! He/she is right where they're supposed to be. Scamp was so excited to see the tiny baby on TV. She claimed the ultrasound photo as her own. We still won't know the sex of the baby until another 5 weeks or so.

This pregnancy has been somewhat easier due to less nausea although I am uncomfortable a good portion of the time. I'm ravenously hungry all the time, and it's been hard to try to limit sweets and other highly fattening things that taste so good during pregnancy but may cause excess weight gain. Ok, the dietitian is coming out in me.

I do have to monitor my weight a bit more because of the back problems pregnancy causes for me. I have a mild form of spina bifida (spina bifida occulta), a birth defect in which the spinal cord may be protruding through an opening at the end of the spine. In my case (and my mother's since mine is genetic), the spine was not protruding out at birth, but the lower vertebrae are fused together. This has not had much affect on me besides the fact I will never be able to touch my toes, and I have to use extra caution with certain exercises. But, due to the weight gain with pregnancy, I will continue to have increased back pain with all activities. I had to wear a belly belt with Scamp and go to physical therapy because even walking caused severe pain.

Anyway, back to the positive side. I am so thankful that everything is ok thus far with the baby. God has blessed us, and we are trusting that He will continue to carry us through the pregnancy. I miss you all and hope to resume normal blogging very soon.

Scamp's Big News

You don't want to miss this! It's short. Let me know if you can't view it.

Do You Want to Know About Me?

A month or so ago I asked my blogging friends to give me questions to answer about myself. Today, I'm going to begin to answer them.

Karen asked, "I know you have a passion for writing. Have you always loved writing? If not, how and when did it start?"

It's hard to say when my love of writing began. I didn't write anything outside of assignments for school, but a couple of teachers starting in middle school commented that I had a gift for writing, which sank fairly deep. I entered a "Just Say No" writing contest in the 8th grade and won for my school. I was thoroughly surprised. Writing had always come easily to me, but I didn't think anything of it. But, by high school I realized more of my desire to write when I joined the high school newspaper.

My newspaper teacher was very encouraging and inspiring. She saw a gift, which I was yet to see, and pushed me to write better and better. I later become the editor-n-chief (one of two I might add) my senior year, an accomplishment I'm proud of still today. I loved writing for the newspaper, but I didn't want to seek journalism as a career. My teacher was disappointed that I wasn't going to continue writing after high school. I did, however, discover my love of writing poetry that same year. I wrote to cope with my feelings of depression. Beyond poetry, I wasn't that interested in writing.

Through my early twenties I only wrote for school assignments in college besides poems ever so often when I had the inspiration. I married at 23 and wrote several love poems to my sweetheart husband. As our relationship continued we began to have problems and sought counseling. My counselors encouraged me to journal, not just poetry, and my love of writing deepened.

Then, I gave birth to our beautiful daughter, Scamp, almost 3 years ago. I started my blog with Scamp as my inspiration, and God revealed to me (again) the passion that had always been instilled in me. I hadn't realized my passion before or at least how deep it was. God had been preparing me all along and continues to today. I want to share my life struggles and how God has miraculously brought me through. I feel as though I am only beginning. I'm at the cusp. He opened the door for me (and another blogger) to start a book review blog entitled Teen Lit Review. I'm able to share my love of God through this ministry. But, He's still preparing in me a deeper message, and in what outlet it will be shared I'm not completely sure. I do believe, however, part of it will be in writing.

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2: The Movie

MPAA Rating: PG-13
Moral Rating: Average
Intended Audience: Teen

The sisterhood is stretched thin as each girl moves in their separate directions in the sequel to the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Tibby is living her dream to attend film school while Lena is taking an art class. Bridget is leaving for Turkey on an excavation dig, and Carmen, believing they all will be home for the summer, cancels her plans of attending an acting internship until she realizes they all will be going their separate ways. Their hope is that the pants will once again hold their friendship safely in place even as they take their own paths and perhaps find new love.

The movie highlights many issues young women will face on their journeys into adulthood: heart break, sex, losing loved ones but most importantly discovering that wounds even well-denied ones need to be dealt with and allowed to heal. The film also addresses such topics as believing in oneself, facing the death of loved ones, forgiveness, and healing family ties.

The girls have grown into young women and have naturally progressed into more mature situations. The biggest issue is pre-marital sex. The film begins with Kostos explaining to Lena that he is now married due to a pregnancy. Later, Tibby and Brian celebrate their anniversary with a bottle of wine although each only has one sip before progressing into making out. Tibby decides it’s time for the next step in their relationship, sex. Not much detail is shown, and the scene quickly cuts to Tibby on the bed wrapped in a sheet and Brian entering the room clothed with a towel. The tone becomes serious when Brian announces the condom broke. Tibby is horrified that she may be pregnant and soon withdraws from Brian and the rest of the sisterhood, refusing to talk to them or return their phone calls.

Lena is taking an art class for the summer, which will include painting a nude model. She is extremely embarrassed by this especially when a handsome guy approaches and asks if she’s a virgin, because of her obvious embarrassment. The guy ends up being the model, and Lena is even more mortified. The scene is made to be comical and no private parts are shown although the camera goes in for a close-up at his bear chest, arms and legs giving the impression that Lena is admiring his body. Spoiler warning: Kostos and Lena spend the night together on his boat. Kissing only is shown, and we are left to wonder whether they were intimate or not.

Besides pre-marital sex many viewers may be offended with the overuse of the various exclamations “Oh G**”, which totaled over ten times. Jesus name was also misused, s*** was exclaimed, and the milder b****** (illegimate child) were all used at least once. H*** as well was used on more than one occasion.

There was no violence in the movie.

Some fans of the books may be saddened to see books 2, 3, and 4 spliced together into one movie. At times, having the background knowledge of having read the series made some of the scenes less confusing especially when new characters were introduced (although some of the plotlines have been changed from the original books). However, those who enjoyed the series as well as those who’ve only seen the first movie will still enjoy the same quirkiness of all four girls. Their well-known personalities shine even as they face more mature situations. Many young women will be able to identify with at least one character, and each character is equally fleshed out for all to enjoy.

The main theme in the film is, of course, true friends will remain even in the toughest of situations. But, romance and the issue of sex before marriage is also a heavy plotline that is shown in a secular light. Tibby’s pregnancy scare does not result in her determining that she should wait until marriage for intimacy but has more of a lesson about trust in others. Brian’s character (Tibby’s boyfriend) is supportive and loving vowing to make things work if Tibby is pregnant. Although these are good lessons to learn and qualities to exhort, sex within the context of marriage is not mentioned. The more accepted notion of saving sex for being in love is honored. I think the film does at least spread light on the fact that sex outside of marriage is not always the glamorized version the media portrays but can have some serious consequences like teen pregnancy. God’s perfect plan of intimacy within the context of marriage was not only designed for our benefit, but for the protection of children resulting in the union as well.

The girls have matured. They are faced with mature situations; therefore, the audience should be more mature for this sequel as well, perhaps older teens and young adults. One can still leave the movie in a positive light. The message of hope, healing and having loving, supportive friends shine. But, be prepared to talk with your teens about the tough issue of sex outside of marriage.

For another Christian review of the movie visit Christian Spotlight on Entertainment.

Bloggy Giveaways Carnival Winner

I used the Custom Random Number Generator to generate the winner for the book Snow Angel by Jamie Carie.

The winner is:

Shilo from Samsakara

Congratulations!!

The Things Scamp Does

I'm here catching up on my blog stuff while Scamp is supposed to be in her bed sleeping. I hear some banging from upstairs and go to investigate. She's in her bed trying to hide because she's taken her pants and pull-up off so that her pet kitty (stuffed) can wear them! I bite my tongue to keep from laughing. I help her back into her clothes, well pull-up anyway because kitty still wants to sleep in her pants, and then put her back to bed. It's always a riot around here!

A Week Alone

Where has the time gone? I've neglected my blog posts lately as well as my Bloglines! Hopefully, I'll catch back up soon. This week Beef is in Arizona for his work. It's the first time he's been on a business trip since we've been married. We both got teary-eyed on Sunday afternoon when he left. Scamp has been doing fairly well without her daddy being gone. He left for his flight while she was taking a nap. When she woke up, she cried for him but we went to McDonald's and the bookstore to keep her mind off his absence. She asks about him everyday.

I've been trying to conserve my energy for the week since I'm solo in taking care of her. Tomorrow, we are going to my sister's to spend the night to help watch my nephew, so that should be fun. Beef will get back on Saturday. Scamp and I will pick him up from the airport, and I'm sure she'll be ecstatic.

Bloggy Giveaways Carnival

I can't resist a giveaway -- lots of drawings to enter AND lots of new faces to meet. The quarterly carnival is for one week, July 28 - August 1. Go to the Bloggy Carnival Giveaways site to participate.

Anyway, I'm Shawna, the mom around here. Scamp's my rambunctious almost 3-year old who inspires much of my blogging. And you'll see my hubby, Matt (aka Beef) around, too. I love to write and have picked back up my love of reading as well. Recently, another blogging buddy and I started a Christian book review site for parents and teens called Teen Lit Review. Please stop by if you get a chance. We are doing a book giveaway there, too.

Now, let's get down to the real business. I'm giving away my personal copy of the book "Snow Angel" by Jamie Carie.

Synopsis (from book jacket): When Noah Wesley heard the faint sound outside the door of his remote Alaskan mountain cabin during a violent nighttime blizzard, it was no less than the voice of God that urged him to take a closer look, soon to discover his snow angel.

Unconscious and more than half frozen to death, her name, as Noah would later learn after boldly saving her life, was Elizabeth, a beautiful young woman, fragile yet fierce, and intent on discovering gold like so many others in that region during the late 1800s.

But why Elizabeth was so drawn to the gold, and why she would chase it even through a pounding storm that no man would dare face, was a secret to be shared with no one else, not even at the invitation of Noah's deep blue trusting eyes.

I was a bit disappointed in how the book started, being Christian fiction and all. The plot was pretty cliche, nothing original. It was, however, very romantic but not one of my favorite romances. It was enough of a good read to pass on though.

Rules to enter drawing:

1. Leave a comment. You don't have to be a blogger, but please leave a way to contact you if you aren't.

2. You must be a US resident.

That's all. Because I'm late to enter the carnival I'm extending my drawing to August 7, which gives everyone a week to enter. Entries will be taken up until noon CST on Thursday, August 7.

Rescue of a Fuzzy Baby Kitty, Part 2

For part one of the rescue, click here.

Mid-day, Monday

Scamp and I return from a shopping trip after which she fell asleep in the car. I had had no more thought of the kitten until I hear him begging for his mama again in the original jungle bush. I lay Scamp inside in her bed and start my search of the bush from the side closest to the back of our neighbor's house gently calling, "Kitty, kitty," when I hear someone else from the opposite side saying the same thing. It's our neighbor who heard the kitten meowing as well. We didn't know we were searching on separate side's of the bush. I explain our attempts of rescue beginning last night, and he basically leaves the hunt up to us because his son is allergic to cats.

Matt finally comes back out and sends me to the spot my neighbor previously claimed on the front side of the plant while he guides me to the kitty's lair. He has his eye on the him and tells me I have to lay down and reach about a foot and a half into the oblivion of this vast tree to grasp the now silent kitten. After two attempts, I lay hold of one of his paws and manage to wrangle him around his fuzzy belly pulling him out, claws and all. If he'd been any bigger than his five-week old self, I wouldn't have been able to handle those sharp nails. I quickly settle him into my chest and gently pet him. He's calm at last, and we take him inside for a bowl of milk. Scamp's still asleep, and we know what will happen. She'll quickly become attached to this little creature and will not want to share him. But, we are determined not to keep him.


We make a soft bed for him in Scratchy's carrier, but the poor little thing isn't happy unless he's snuggled up in the crook of someone's neck. Needless to say, I let him out until our own baby wakes up. "Look what Mama and Daddy found, Baby," I say as she peers down at the infant kitten. She's so excited and uses her stubby little fingers to pick him up. "My baby kitty," says Scamp. "No, Baby, that's Janice's baby kitty." Janice is one of our kitty loving friends who we think would have the ideal home for this new bundle of fur.

While Scamp's petting and strangling, oh wait, gently caressing the kitty around the neck, we call Janice and leave a message about the kitten. We hope she calls back soon because Scamp can't keep her hands off him, and we don't want her to become too attached. We intervene numerous times on the kitty's behalf while Scamp is holding him, but as soon as she sits him down, he's off following her. Finally, I leave for my 7:00 pm Bible Study, and Matt's left to supervise. When I arrive home two hours later with kitten chow in hand, Janice is there holding "Scamp's Baby Kitty." Scamp is already beside herself that she isn't in charge of the petting for the moment.


Bad news for Scamp. It's time for bed. She's had four hours plus of constant interaction with the kitten and wants him to sleep with her. But, Daddy tries to explain to her that the kitty is going to a good home at Janice's house. "Don't take my baby kitty, Janice," cries Scamp as tears of desperation streak down her face. Scamp begins screaming as Matt carries her upstairs to bed. What kind of parents are we? She finally settles down and goes to sleep. The next day wasn't as bad as we thought it might be. Scamp only mentioned the kitten once and without tears I might add. Later that day, I talked with Matt. He said he nearly broke down and let Scamp have the kitty as another indoor pet. It broke all our hearts to let the kitty go, but we have too many friends and family members who are allergic to cats. Scratchy will be out last indoor pet.


Kitty is doing well at Janice's. She has family staying over, and they all take turns sleeping with the kitty cuddled up on their necks. Janice has the pictures to prove it. We may even let Scamp visit baby kitty when he gets a little bigger and doesn't look so much like a tiny baby anymore.

Vintage Fashion Show 2008

It was Vintage Fashion Show (Hosted by Studio Six Limited) time again at the county fair last night. Everyone from Sonny and Cher to Marilyn Monroe to Elvis accumulated under the pavilion. I can't believe I stood next to Cher. She seemed only slightly irritated for not being the only big star present. I was pretty nervous about my segments of the show, especially given the star-stacked line-up.



My friend Robin and I had been preparing for our 1970s disco dancing routine since last week. The blue dress I'm in is actually a vintage disco dress I found at a store called Flashback. I got several outfits including a 1970s leisure suit which I'm sporting below.

I went all out Farrah Fawcett again with the hair. Remember last year? It seems my hair was made to fan and flip 70s-style. That little orange number under my pant-suit is a long-sleeved bodysuit. Except for the Velcro on the bodysuit (I won't mention where, but I'm sure you get the picture), it was very comfortable. Maybe I'll wear it on my next date night!

I loved the disco dress. So much fun to twirl! Everyone who participated had a great time. My MIL was the Eva Gabor character in Green Acres. Scamp was supposed to do the twist in her poodle skirt along with myself, Robin and her 4-year old daughter, but she woke up with a fever yesterday morning. She's feeling much better now. I was so excited about having a video this year that I went ahead and posted before the conclusion to our kitty rescue. I'll have that up in a day or two.