Flips, Kicks and Crying

Valeska is growing up way too fast. Every day she makes me laugh and just plain amazes me. She is such a compassionate and sweet person. We were watching Megamind and she started crying at the beginning because the baby had to leave his parents. She then proceeds to come cuddle with me and tells me that she will live with me forever and so will Dacian.  How sweet. It made me cry.

Dacian has been on the move the past few days. He has kicked pretty hard in the ribs and it hurts like hell. I think he is also doing flips. Ugh.

Inspirations and Dreams part 2

A quiet night with no TV and listening to Nox Arcana.

Inspirations and dreams

If only I had the money or lived in an area of the world where people throw away marvelous things. These are some pics I found on the interwebs that are my "yes pleases", inspirations and what my decorating dreams are made of. Hopefully it will all manifest some day.

Tables and Frames

Here is a photo update to how the coffee table, end tables and frames are looking for the living room.

Coffee table and end table given to me by my BFF. She was going to take them to Goodwill.

Before

Old frames that I couldn't stand anymore and wanted to throw away.

In the process of transformation.

Cofee table and end tables after.

Finished frames to be forthcoming.

Upcycled Chairs

I had 2 chairs that came with my kitchen table a couple of years ago. These were in used condition and just needed some paint and TLC. An old neighbor had given it to us when he moved out. I of course took them. I repainted the table and had gotten 4 other chairs for $25 a while ago. So, my dining room as been done for a while. My conundrum was that I still had these 2 other chairs just sitting in my house.

They of course were just a nice wood and needed to be reupholstered and didn't match my decor at all. I didn't want to get rid of them but was getting severely annoyed with them at the same time.

Yesterday I bought some new material in the damask print that I love and got a gallon of black semi-gloss paint at Lowe's for $24.

Last night I was so excited to start the project. Even though I was exhausted I painted the chair bases and reupholstered the seats with new padding and the material.

I am now absolutely in love with my chairs. They create a beautiful accent to my newly (in process) designed  living room. Tonight and tomorrow I will upcycle the wooden coffee table and end tables that my BFF gave me.

Strawberry Jelly

I am so proud! I made my first batch of homemade strawberry jelly from scratch today. This is the start of my canning/jarring preserving ambition. I want to stop throwing away produce because it goes bad. So, we had a huge thing of strawberries that we bought at Albertson's for only $4.99 the other day and there was no way we were going to eat all of them. I hated the idea of wasting and throwing away what just would go bad.

So, this prompted me to start preserving, which I haven't wanted to do for a long time. The process wasn't easy but it wasn't hard either. I had my BFF there to keep me company and help along the way.

I washed and cut the strawberried then hulled (cut out the center white part) them. I used the handy dandy food processor to mash them all up into a nice little liquid. I ended up with 2 1/2 cups of mashed berries.

I then used 3 1/2 cups of sugar, 1/8 cup of lemon juice, tablespoon of butter, and 1/2 a package of powedered pectin.

I put the berrries, sugar, butter, and juice together in a big pot. Put the burner on medium heat and let it heat up slowly.

I prepped the jars as per many directions (a lot can be found on the net so I wont put it up here unless requested).

Then turned up the heat on the berry mixture. Making sure to bring to a rolling boil and to constantly stir to prevent burning.  Once the stirring didn't disrupt the boiling I added the pectin, stirred well and boiled another minute. Then removed from heat.

I poured the mixture into the jars, sealed them and let them lay upside down for about 10 minutes. Eventually the lids popped in and they were sealed. I then let it sit for 24 hours.

Here is a pic of my new creation. Hopefully more delish concoctions to come soon.

Seka's Update

Freddy and I went to meet up with the school counselor last week with Seka. We told her what was going on and what nots. She seems a bit concerned over her saying that she wants to die. The good thing is she asked her if she did do it did she know HOW she was going to do it. Luckily, she hadn't even thought of that. Scary thing is, is she does she say it.

We informed the counselor of her very close proximity of being admitted into the GT (gifted and talented) program. I do say close proximity as she still has one more test to do but it looks like she will get in. The counselor believes that she really is bored and not nearly stimulated enough. So, for right now she will be called into the counselor's office to talk to the counselor once a week and will go every Friday to a group session. We hope that this will help her talk out her feelings without feeling like she is going to get into trouble.

Her teacher is also going to give her more leadership responsibilities in class that will also hopefully stimulate and reward her as well.

Spring break was a good one. I tried everything to keep her happy and one the up and up. She did very well.

Obsessed much?

I lost my portable internet card 2 weeks ago. Then we had spring break for a week so I couldn't even use my work's internet. I have been going absolutely batty without access to the internet. I could check my email via phone but that was mediocre at best. Today I finally got a new card. WOOOHOO!! So, I am back! I would say affirmatively now that I am obsessed with the interwebs.

Non-baby stuff for goth parents?

I bet you can tell by now that I am not into the super duper baby looking items. It's not that I "feel" I need to have everything "goth", it's that I just am not into all the super duper baby looking items. They are only a baby for so long and the baby could really care less what his/her room or item look like. However, high contrast colors such as black, white and red have been proven to stimulate a baby's eyesight and affect the intellegence of the child later on in life. I do believe this. All of my children have had high pattern rooms with very bright colors and are admittedly quite intellegent. Enough of my bragging.

So, what is a goth parent to do when they don't want pastels for their child or items to match the home decor? Enter in....................the Graco Edgemont collection. This was truely a dream come true for me since it is the patterns that I love AND it matches the decor of my house. Here is what we purchased and what I highly reccomend.

I made these pictures larger so you can see the pattern on them.

I am so proud of the collection and wish to share it with everyone. Kudos to Graco for creating a collection that is not only sophisticated but functional as well. Keep up the good work!!

Specialist Appointment

We went for our specialist appointment for the echogenic foci that was found on Dacian's heart at the anatomy scan.  The office staff was so wonderful and nice. The ultrasound tech was so much more friendly then the previous one we had. She was explaining everything to us. I had no problem asking questions this time around. The doctor then came in and was an absolute doll! The doctor asked if either of could be related and we laughed really hard and also asked if we were of asian decent.

She reminded us again why were there and they both looked at his heart. Freddy was right. He does have a perfect heart. It happens that the walls of the valves are just a bit thicker so it showed up brighter on the orignal ultrasound.  I swear I almost cried.  They did the full scan over again and explained to us how everything looks perfect. *deep sigh of relief*

We asked if he was still a boy and yep, he is not shy about his goods at all. She even showed us his tail bone when going over his spine. Freddy asked if they could see if he had hair and at this point she said it is peach fuzz but definately something. This really was a moment for the two of us to treasure forever. She told us he is a big boy and measuring a week ahead and is 1lb 12oz already! (mind you I am only 25 weeks along).

Here are 2 of the 3D photos they gave us today.

I will also be switching doctors tomorrow. I love my doctor. I loved the attention I got when I was pregnant Valeska. This time around though I am disappointed. I have only seen him once. That was at my first appointment. I have seen all the other doctors and one in particular twice. I have grown to really really like her. I found out the other day that she opened up her own practice. I called today to see if I can go to her and got an appointment immediately for tomorrow. :O

I am hoping since she knows me better then anyone else and what has been going on with the pregnancy and all of wishes that I will get more personalized attention.  I will post an update on how that goes.

Thank you to all of our well wishers and prayers sent to our little man. It means more then anyone can know to know that we have such a wonderful system of support online and in r/l. I hope love and light will always follow you.

Valeska and Depression?

This week has not been a good week for Valeska. She got in trouble at school for talking too much and not finishing her work on Monday and today she comes home with her spelling test and at the bottom is says "boo at Mrs.Olsen". I also found out that she told her friend that she is going to kill her. I guess she has been telling people that and that she wants to die.

I talk to her for a quite a while. I am a bit worried. My mother and sister have depression. The highs can be really high and the lows can be really low. We talked and talked and talked. Monday Freddy and I are going to talk to the school and see if she can't talk to the counselor once or twice a week.

I think the GT (gifted and talented) program at school will help her to keep focus. I hope my baby does not have depression. The meds scare me but a 6 yo talking about dieing scares me even more.

Cavallero Fangs

Yes. I am eccentric. I have been known to be over the top. It is all in good fun. I like escaping the realities of life sometimes. I like to be a character or a "side" of me even if it is for a short while.

While at Gothla.US a few years ago I met a wonderful man named Leo Cavallero that had a booth. He was making theatrical vampire fangs. You know my gothy heart almost stopped beating. I was so happy to meet someone who did that. Downside, I had braces on that year. Enter in, heartbreak.

Luckily I went back the next year and was honored at the fact that Leo actually remembered who I was. Freddy was so nice and new how bad I wanted a pair that he purchased some for me. He happened to have won a free pair as a door prize. Lucky bastage.

Leo did an absolutely wonderful job and I wore them for quite the many show. Here is my "Keshali" dance with my serpentine style fangs that he helped make specifically for this character.

Ok. so you can't see the fangs that well but they worked out perfect.

He is so reasonably priced and does an absolutely amazing job. So you need to get your own by Cavallero Fangs. I swear it is totally worth it. Contact him NOW!

Nerdy Nursing Pads

Since I am on a Hyena Cart kick: here is the ultimate in awesomeness for nerds that breastfeed.

Just click HERE to go and purchase yours. I can't even begin to say how my heart squeed when I saw those. Even my boobs can be nerdy too. :D

Hearse Wallet

I am a sucker for cute and unique things. Obviously the "greener" the better. If you haven't been to Hyena Cart you need to. It is like the eco/crunchy/granola version of Etsy. It really is awesome. While looking around today I found this treasure.

How cool is that? You should buy it! Go HERE to get yours today.

Quintessential Pram

Being a romantic goth myself I have always wanted a pram (pictured above). I would have always died to have one and be as elegant as I could be with my little bambino in tow. How awesome would that be?

Well, I don't live in Europe nor in the Victorian era. You can get Prams but they are terribly epensive ($800+). There is the Uppa Baby Vista. But, it is still above the $650 range. There are other beautiful modern Prams.

Again, quite expensive.  So, what is a modern goth mom on a budget to do?

Enter The First Years Wave stroller.

My dear SIL told me about this at Christmas during a visit. She was looking at getting one and I instantly fell in love with it. Most retail stores sell it for $350. The price tag on Amazon.com was only $278 plus shipping. Still a bit out of my price range but definately doable.  (btw, there is a great review of this stroller on youtube)

So, one night during a wild online shopping spree for the baby, I decided to look it up on ebay. Low and behold there was one available from a discount warehouse for only $210 with FREE shipping!! Well, you know I snagged it up.

Now, I can be that stylish romantic goth with my bambino in tow in a Pram. One of the best things is that it also converts into a toddler stroller without any extra parts or pieces. Again, watch the review on youtube. This stroller will last us from birth till he walks all the time. I can't wait to use it!!