The Newest Ballerina | Week In Pictures

I love this picture of Hannah eagerly awaiting the start of her first ballet class.  She's been looking forward to this day for months!  We signed Hannah up for Gymnastics and Ballet this summer through the Park and Rec department.  She started Gymnastics last week (and rocked the balance beam) but she was really excited about her new ballet shoes and leotard.

The class was filled with happy and excited little girls and the instructor was great.  We left the class on a great note... Until a we got about a mile down the road and I noticed my check engine light was on.

Now I didn't talk much about this online, but a month ago the same light came on as I was dropping the kiddos off at the babysitter.  I was going to spend the whole day by myself and was only a few miles from her house.  I figured I'd make it.  

Then the car died and smoke started pouring out of the engine.  Turns out I effectively killed my minivan and the repair bill would almost completely deplete our emergency fund.  

I cussed a lot that week.

So when I saw that (effing) light come back on I pulled over immediately.  

I called the mechanic and told them to expect us (yay for 30 day warrenties!!) and called AAA to get towed.  Then we waited in the (hot.) car for Chris to rescue us and for the tow truck to arrive.  Hannah and I snapped this picture while we waited.  William took advantage of the early nap time and quickly passed out.  It turns out we have another large repair bill coming our way.  JOY!

30 minutes later Chris showed up with cold drinks and cheeseburgers and made the kids VERY happy while we transferred car seats and gave directions to the tow man.

William has been going to Gymboree for a year now, and he really enjoys it.  He's selective about which activities he participates in - he won't sit quietly while the teacher introduces the theme of the week, but loves parachute time and always drags me underneath it with him.  I love that he wants to share that moment with me each week.  His giggle is infectious and it's always the highlight of my day.

William takes a solid 2-3 hour nap each afternoon, but Hannah rarely naps nowadays.  Instead she loves to make art in the afternoon.  This is an example of one of her collages.  (I'm really proud of her for coming up with this idea on her own.  She's done it with lots of different characters and it's always really cute and creative.)  

She picks out a picture from a coloring book - in this case the castle - colors it and cuts it out with scissors, then she glues it to a blank piece of art paper and creates her own background.  Cute, right?

She's also really into Legos.  We put together this Lego Friend's set earlier this week.  (Andrea's Mountain Hut #41031 - retired)  Sadly, Hannah is completely against creatively building with her pieces and insists on following the directions (which requires mom's help).  Hopefully soon she'll give free form legos a try.  Don't tell Hannah, but the baby got her a Lego's Junior set as part of her hospital big sister gift.  I'm hoping it'll help the transition and give her something new to do during quiet time when I'm busy with a newborn.

I also (FINALLY) started getting caught up with YouTube vlogs.  I posted Hannah's Reaction when we told her about the baby, and on Thursday I posted the gender reveal.  Links below if you haven't watched these yet:

Father's Day | Week In Pictures

Although school has been out for a few weeks, this week felt like the first week of Summer.  We kicked off our Summer activities with a week of Vacation Bible School for Hannah.

Each morning I dropped Hannah off at 8:45 and picked her up at noon smiling and happy.  

Each day she'd meet me with a bag full of arts and crafts, and singing beautiful new songs she'd learned.  

Each evening we read the day's bible verse and talked about the lesson she'd learned that day at VBS.  It was awesome to hear her asking these thought provoking questions about the story of Elijah.

The last day of VBS was Crazy Hair day, and although I did exactly what Hannah asked, she declared it 'Too Cute to be Crazy' and considered it a failure - but cute.

While Hannah was busy with VBS each day, William and I had a lot of time together.  One day he spent some time with his buddy, Chase, at the playground.  William is a year younger than this little boy, but they are finally at the age where they can play as peers.

William's current favorite show is Little Einstein's, followed closely by Super Why.  For months he was obsessed with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, so this is a nice change of pace with more educational shows.  He's become very interested in Letters lately so he particularly likes that about Super Why.

I still don't think William understands that there is an actual baby in my tummy (34 weeks this week), but he finally relented and attempted to feel and listen for the baby.  I'm pretty sure he's convinced I just ate too much ice cream and am making the whole 'baby' thing up.  His world is going to be rocked in July...

I'm a huge fan of Instagram now.  I find it to be an efficient way to follow brands and people that I love.  One brand I follow is Milk Makers, and recently they had a huge sale on their pregnancy cookies (which I saw during snack time) so I bought the 3 box bundle.  I can't recommend these cookies enough if you're pregnant.  They're so tasty, huge, and perfect to keep in your purse when you're hit with a craving.  My sweet tooth has been intense this week, so these were a lifesaver!

My birthday was earlier this month and I'm signed up for just about every birthday club that exists.  I'm cool with free burgers and ice cream.  I snapped this picture of Hannah and William while waiting for my Teriyaki Chicken Burger and Freckled Lemonade at Red Robin.  I order that every time I go and it's so, so, good.

On Saturday Kohl's sponsored a car seat check.  This was my first time having my car seats officially checked and it was a great learning experience.  I was able to pick the technician's brain about different layouts to accommodate foster children, and I was told that my car seats were the best installed they saw all day!!  We had to remove a headrest, and we switched Hannah to a seat belt install since she had just hit the weight limit for LATCH.  (I knew that she was getting close but waited to switch it until we had the seat professionally installed.)  She also helped me install the infant car seat base, so we're all ready for baby!  

Well, the minivan is ready for baby.  I still have some newborn laundry to do.

I can't get over how old William looks in this picture.  

My little boy is getting so big! (He turned 27 months this week.)

The week ended with Father's Day.  I snapped this picture at our Go To restaurant choice - Sweet Tomatoes.  Seriously, I love this place.  They have an extensive salad bar that the kids go crazy for, and everything is already bite sized, so when we get to our table I don't have to cut everything up for them.  Moms know - this is huge.  They also have these tiny little ice cream cones which the kids beg for.  Tiny dessert that appeases toddlers?  Winner.  I've signed up for their Club Veg and regularly get a coupon for 2 adult dinners with beverage for $19.99.  Hannah is a couple dollars and William is free.  Family dinner at a restaurant for under $25!  

I love this face.

Mother's Day and Father's Day are very laid back at our house.  There's no footprint art or ugly neckties given as gifts.  Instead we usually start the day with a great breakfast and go to church.  All day you are not the PIC - Parent in Charge.  No diaper duty, no mediating bickering kids, no bedtime duty.  You just get to enjoy your family and then when they throw a tantrum your partner takes over.  It's awesome.  Plus dinner is your choice.  

Overall this was a great week.  We were busy in the mornings, but spent a lot of quality time together in the evenings.

Note - This Summer is going to get crazy once the baby arrives in late July.  If you haven't already added me on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter make sure you do!  I update each of those platforms on a near daily basis.

Video Roundup for July 27th - August 2nd

With VEDA (Vlog every Day in August) and Vlogust kicking off this week, my YouTube subscription box is overflowing with videos.  In case you're having a hard time keeping up with the new videos and mine got lost in the shuffle, here are the videos I posted this week:

Epic Water Slide - Roadtrip Part 2 (watch Part 1 HERE)

I really love this video.  We left Grandma's house and on the way home we spent the night at a water park, camped at Yellowstone National Park, and the slept in a hotel in Boise.  I edited down over 4 hours of footage, so this video is full of the best clips from our vacation.

_______________________________________________

Birchbox vs Ipsy - July 2014

This month's Battle of the Beauty Boxes was perhaps the closest match up yet.  Fabulous cosmetics and skin care products, testing out new brands, and a few favorite products as well.  Which box came out on top in your opinion?

_______________________________________________

Julep Nail Polish Unboxing - July 2014

When I got back from vacation I had all my subscription boxes waiting to be opened and so I filmed them all in one day.  Thus, this is the week of the green shirt.   I really enjoy my Julep box each month because I have some control over what colors I receive and the products are always full sized so I feel like it's a great value.

_______________________________________________

Citrus Lane Unboxing - 17 Month Old Boy - July 2014

I have been receiving Citrus Lane boxes for over 3 years and really enjoy them each month.  I like that the products are a surprise each month, but that they're catered to my child's gender and age.  Here's William's box which included this great pretend cell phone from Plan Toys

A big thank you to all of my subscribers!  I've almost reach 17,000 subscribers which is incredible and humbling.  If you haven't checked out my channel yet, here's the link:  TheBubblelush

Weekly Recap

There has been a lot of content added to YouTube (and this blog) this week since it's the start of VEDA: Vlog Every Day in April, and my personal goal - BEDA: Blog Every Day in April.

Since it's easy to get overwhelmed by all the stuff out there in the internets, I figured I'd wrangle all my posts here in a nice Weekly Friday post.

_______________________________________________

Carla After Dentist

Chris brought the camcorder back to the recovery room after I had my wisdom teeth removed.  Check out the ridiculous conversation we had.

WITL 53 - Birthday Boy! William turns 1!

We celebrate his birthday early in the week with a family dinner and a trip to the pet store, 

and end the week with his big party.  

I put up a Week In The Life (WITL) vlog each week with clips of our daily lives.  It's like a video scrapbook.  If you're new to the channel it's a good way to get to know us quickly, and if you're a long time viewer it gives you a peek into the children's personalities as they get older.

Are We TV Compatible?  TAG video

We are dedicated to our TV shows here at the Bubblelush household.  I go through our DVR and talk about what shows we love, what shows the kids beg to see, and why we watch them.  

Are our DVRs compatible?

The Four Rules of Bubblelush - WITL 54

Between the craziness of spring break and getting my wisdom teeth removed, this week was a hot mess.  Come along and see the crazy that was our family last week.

_______________________________________________

Goodwill Kid's Haul

Check out the bargains I managed to snag for the kids this week at Goodwill.  I swear, I just went in for an Easter basket and I left with a cart full of stuff!

5 Tips For Keeping Kids Engaged While Grocery Shopping

My husband manages a grocery store, and I shop each week with two crazy kids, so I feel that between the two of us we know many of the tricks to preventing meltdowns in the grocery aisle and making shopping trips fun - and educational - for Littles.

When YouTube and Real World Collide

I wanted to take a minute and thank my subscribers, as well as send a special message to anyone that happens to see me out and about in the 'real world'.  I really have the best job in the world, and it's because of loyal subscribers like you that I do - so Thank You.

_______________________________________________

My Facebook 'friend' page is approaching the 5000 friend limit, so you have to subscribe to catch my posts (Carla theBubblelush) or you can like my 'fan' page and never miss a blog, video, or random photo update (theBubblelush).

Popular Facebook Posts this week:

We discussed the new Consumer Report's 5 Best Car Seats for your Baby article: read it here

as well as the Secrets of the Costco Price Tag: read it here

I'm also on Twitter and Instagram - so don't forget to follow me there as well.

14 Weeks!

Maybe that's why my stomach is so sour...

Big huh!? Future infant has tripled in size from a mere three weeks ago! Luckily, I haven't done the same.

The baby spends its days making faces at everything I say. Maybe not, but it is learning to control voluntary muscle movements (this will help him fling food across the room later in life). He can squint, frown and grimace - his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another.

He or she is a peeing machine. The kidneys are producing urine, which is released into the amniotic fluid on a regular basis. Maybe this is why I'm literally double fisting water all day long. I've been trying not to drink much with dinner or I'm up multiple times at night. Regardless, I'm up at least once. (I keep reminding myself that this part of pregnancy is only going to get worse.)

One of the neatest processes I've read about is the formation of fingerprints. Believe it or not, he actually created them himself while swimming around in the amniotic fluid. As he moves his hands, the skin on the tips of his fingers forms unique ridges and folds. That's why no one on earth has the same fingerprints, not even identical twins! Cool, right?

Baby's arms are now in proportion to his tiny body, but his legs are still on the short size in comparison. But just like the fingers were first to form, development seems to work from the top down.

He's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over his body. The liver has started making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and the spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells.


I'm feeling fine :) My stomach is a little weird on the drive home from work each day, but I'm troubleshooting with the size and frequency of meals during the day to try and get rid of that. I've also noticed that my butt and hips are killin' me at the end of the workday if it has been a computer heavy day. I'm going to go ahead and blame Relaxin for relaxing the joints and muscles in my body. Supposedly it is to help your pelvis expand and loosens the joints in your hips to make room for baby to come out. Lovely. Production peaks this week and will stay in my system till the birth. I just need to remind myself to take MORE breaks MORE often.

13 Weeks!

Our baby's a peach!

The baby can make a fist and suck their thumb now. (technically it was doing this a few days ago because we caught both on the ultrasound!)

Other milestones include the bones and skull and solidifying and the ribs are appearing. The intestines have finally moved completely into the belly instead of in the umbilical cord. The baby's tooth sockets are all ready to produce teeth when the baby is 6-7 month old, and the vocal cords and larynx are completed. While those seem like great developments now, I'm sure I'll be shaking my fist at week 13 when I'm up at 3am with a fussy baby.

I feel fine. The exhaustion has gotten a lot better - I still haven't' needed a midday nap in a while, but I'm in bed and asleep by 9 most evenings (With a 5am alarm clock). My appetite is back, but I still haven't gained any weight. I'm down about 9 pounds now.

Our Midwife appointment is coming up in a few days. I'll post some details about that on Tuesday!

12 Weeks!

So I'm a slacker.

Since I'm 12 weeks 5 days...
I figured I should probably do the 12 week update.


12 Weeks:
Future infant is now the size of a plum -
about 2.1" long and weighs about half an ounce.
The most dramatic development this week: reflexes.
The fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if I prod my abdomen, the baby with supposedly squirm in response, although I can't feel it. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder.

Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in the brain, synapses are forming furiously.
He's getting smarter by the minute!

His face looks human now: His eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his head, and his ears are right where they should be.


I feel a million times better. I can get through my work day without taking naps in the backseat of my car at lunch. I'm not that nauseated anymore and can stand to eat most foods - my portions just have to be REALLY tiny. My sense of smell is incredibly heightened. When I come home at night, it seems like I can immediately smell everything that's happened that day - the dishwasher soap, the chips Chris snacked on, the stick the dogs snuck in the house and are chewing on, the onion he diced for dinner and, obviously, whether or not the litter box has been cleaned out. My new superpowers annoy Chris to no end. The blankets smell funny, the water tastes weird, and, in general, I have an adjective to describe everything.

On Thursday (13 weeks) I officially enter the 2nd trimester and breathe a huge sigh of relief.

I went down to Lebanon last week (February 15th and 16th) to see the folks and tell Ashley the good news. Chris and I bought two onesies - a girl and a boy theme - that both said something in praise of their aunt (Jess & Katie - you can both take credit when he or she wears them though) and put them in a gift bag. We traded belated Christmas gifts and she was super surprised when she saw them. Then she thought it meant we were having twins and freaked out again. She gave me a bunch of her maternity clothes so I'm all set as far as casual attire goes. I'll still have to buy some more work friendly tops though. I filmed her response and will post it on youtube tonight.

Hope everyone is doing alright!

ALSO - we had our ultrasound yesterday. The baby looks great. I'll post the video and talk about the experience on the blog tomorrow.

Love ya!
Carla

11 Weeks!

Hi everyone!

So I turned 11 weeks yesterday. Less than 2 weeks till I'm out of the first trimester and as of Monday there will be less than 200 days till the due date. I can't really say that it's flying by, but we're making progress.

The baby is as big as a lime, but that can be deceiving because next week it'll be as big as a plum, so by lime they mean Key Lime I think. Regardless it should be just over 1.5 inches long and weight a quarter of an ounce - or 7 paperclips. I just counted out 7 paperclips and weighed them in my hand and let me tell you, it doesn't weigh much. :) The developemental highlights this week are fingernails and toothbuds. Maybe that's why I'm craving all this cheddar cheese. The calcium. That's my excuse and I'm stickin' to it.




The intake appointment with the midwifery practice was a joke. They had us fill out all this paperwork on our family medical history (that we'd already filled out for the fertility clinic) prior to our appointment, and then when we got into the room with the nurse, we had to repeat all the information so she could put it in the computer system. Dumb. I think the only reason they didn't do everything on the phone was so they could get me in the office and on the scale. It was a waste of 3 hours of sick time.

I scheduled my nuchal translucency scan - or NT scan - for Monday February 22nd at 2:30. It'll be just after Chris gets off work so I'll just meet him downtown. (The NT scan is the down syndrome/trisomy18 screening. We're not too concerned about either, but we more just want to make sure everything is progressing alright instead of waiting till the 18week gender scan). The scan measures the fold in the back of the neck and has to be done between 11weeks and 13weeks6days. I'll be 12 weeks 4 days so right in the middle of the timeframe. I'll also have a bunch of bloodwork done at this time.

Then I have my first real appointment with the midwives the following Monday - March 1st (13w4d). I'll get a physical and whatever else.

We're working with the midewifery group at OHSU (Oregon Health and Science University). They're the same hospital we did all the fertility treatments with. If I have to be transferred to an ob later on it won't be so disruptive and they have a level 3 NICU right there if anything goes wrong. So hopefully there will be less interventions, but it's still a hospital.

In other news, Caesar is at the vet getting fixed as I write this email. I'm sure he'll be fine, but I'm taking the afternoon off to spend with the boys (and to elongate my already 4 day weekend. Thank you Presidents Day! Shopping sales AND and extra day off? How kind!)

We're going to a Valentines couple party thing with some of Chris' coworkers on Saturday evening. It's a cocktail party with wine tasting so we'll probably tell them then so
(1) I can get out of being offered yummy wine all night and
(2) so I can get cut some slack for the bump that refuses to be hidden in a cocktail dress.

On Sunday, we're going to one of our favorite restaurants for Valentine's dinner. Unfortunately it appears to be everyone else's favorite restaurant and, even when booked well in advance, the only available reservation was at 4:45pm. We expect a to be eating with a rockin' senior crowd. The restaurant is a fondue place- the appetizer is cheese pot based - obviously - the main course is raw meat that you cook in the heated broth and desert is, well, sinfully chocolatey. Before you get concerned about undercooked meat - I plan to bring along the iPod touch with its stopwatch feature to make sure everything is WELL done. :)

I think I'm gonna go down to Lebanon on Monday to see the parents and hopefully tell Ashley. I'd like to tell her in person so I can then shout it out on Facebook. I've known for 7 weeks and I'm ready to start telling people. So until you see the news of facebook, please continue to keep it quiet. Thanks!

Chris told his boss on Wednesday but I still have to sit down with mine - which I am dreading. I don't think anyone has dropped this bombshell on him in decades and the agency definitely doesn't have a standard operating procedure in place for handling my shift in workload. My coworkers are going to hate me. No, I'm not being dramatic. They're really going to be upset all my work they're going to have to do while I'm out on leave and I'm gonna hear ALL about it from them. Meh.

I hope everyone has a nice Valentine's Day this weekend!

10 Weeks!

'ello Lovelies!

So I'm 10 weeks and 2 days. morning sickness has gotten much better and I have a love/hate relationship with food - I either love it or I hate it. Like the ribs tonight - hate. Potato Salad - love.

The baby is as big as a kumquat (which apparently aren't in season yet judging from the 4 grocery stores we visited) or a prune. Future infant is just over an inch long and weighs as much as 4 paper clips - or 4 grams. The head is more upright. The wrists and arms can bend. The webbing on the hands is practically gone, as is the tail. The baby is also starting to move. Nipples and hair follicles are beginning to form. Fingerprints are visible. And its feet are 2mm long (1 tenth of an inch). It's also now officially a fetus instead of an embryo.





We have an appointment next Wednesday with the midwives. I'll know more then.

We took advantage of BabiesRUs' trade in program and turned in the old crib that mom got from our neighbors and the trashed pack n play we used with both puppies. In exchange we got two 25% off coupons that we used on the crib and stroller/travel system. When we go back in a week or two to pick up the crib, we'll use another coupon on a cosleeper/bassinet/pack n play.

Here's the crib we got: Babi Italia Lifestyle Pinehurst Crib in Tea Stain

Here's the travel system: Baby Trends Expedition

8 Weeks!

Future infant is now the size of a raspberry


I hate food, I'm constantly nauseated and I'm exhausted.
Other than that, I feel great.:)

Attached is a picture of an 8 week fetus.
I'm sure it already has Christopher's squinty eyes.

:) Carla