Sweet moments...

Maria and Josephine spend a lot of time fighting like two cats with their tails tied together nowadays, so I am loving that they are at least sweet to their new baby brother (give it a couple of years, and I'm sure the story will change...). I sing to Edward a lot, and Josephine, who loves singing, has gotten into it lately, too. I caught her this morning doing just that, and ran to get the video camera to capture it. These moments are the best, the moments when I am so glad that I am home with my children!

Adventures in cloth diapering...part II

A number of months back I blogged about possibly trying out some newer fancier cloth diapers. I was a bit hesitant because of the cost, but when I figured out how much I was spending in disposables for nighttime use (my cloth ones never kept dry all night), I realized that I might as well splurge and get some of the Grobaby cloth diapers I have been drooling over for months

Here is Edward modeling a pair of them:

Anyhow, so I have to admit that I still wasn't thrilled about the idea of using cloth diapers on the go (running errands, traveling, etc.), no matter how absorbant they are. There is just something about carrying around poopy diapers that isn't too appealing...

But, I also don't like the idea of piling up nasty disposables in the landfills that NEVER biodegrade just for my convenience sake, but again, the poopy diaper thing - ewww...

Well, I have seen a lot on facebook lately about these Bio Soakers made by Grobaby (click here to see the website and more info). I didn't pay much attention to them - I had already already bought my diapers, so whatever. Well, come to find out, they are these inserts that go right in your Grobaby cover that you can use, toss like a disposable, and they are BIODEGRADEABLE!! Sweet! All of the convenience of a disposable, but environmentally friendly.

Here is a picture of what the inserts look like:


And here is how they go inside the regular Grobaby shell that you use for your cloth diapers. There are little adhesive strips that stick them right to the shell (see the purple square in the drawing below):

They look like an everyday disposable, but, again, they are biodegradeable, and are also way more gentle on babies' butts since they are hypo-allergenic, fragrance free, dye free, plastic free and chlorine free.

Now, I have to tell you, by posting this info (which I am happy to share regardless) I am entering a chance to get an intro package of biosoakers (50 soakers and a Grobaby shell to use them in) for free. Shameless? Maybe, but I do love these diapers, and I would tell anyone who asked me - giveaway or not. And besides, who doesn't like freebies? :)

It's a...BOY?!!

Well, the all-girl trend in the DeGaetano family has been broken. On Thursday, October 8th, at 5:01pm, I gave birth to our very first baby boy!!

Edward William DeGaetano

8 pounds

19 1/2 inches long

Yes, that's right - my runt-sized self gave birth to an 8-pound baby, and I have the sore pelvis to prove it. :)

Here's me looking oh-so-hot right after he was born. I pushed so hard to get him out that I broke capillaries all over my face, neck, and shoulders. It's funny how you forget how painful labor and delivery is - well is it fresh in my mind now - excellent birth control, I would say. :)

Oh, if you could have seen Lou's face when he gave the official "It's a boy!" announcement. His eyes were as big as saucers, and he had this adorable grin on his face, just so full of joy, as if he was a kid going to Disneyworld for the first time!

I have a son! Oh, how weird is that!! Coming from all girls, the whole "boy" thing is still kind of surreal to me, but in an amazing, kind of wonderful way...

My Dad has a grandson!! He stays pretty demure about this things on the outside, but I know he is sooooo excited to have little boy in the family.


I know a lot of women can't wait to get home from the hospital, but I actually love my time there - lots of quiet time to bond with my newest angel...

...and speaking of angels - I just love this sweeet little face :)

All wrapped up - so far, he still loves to be swaddled (my girls hated it once they were a few days old)

Maria in all her glory - our little mama has a baby brother to pamper!

Josephine has this "Aha! I now have someone that I can push around hehehe..." look on her face.

Two sisters and a brother - I wonder which he will like to do more - go hunting with Daddy or having his nails painted by his sisters...

They are so in love with this guy - he will never lack for attention!

The "going-home" picture. We tried to get one with everyone looking happy (Josephine, Josephine), but you know how that goes...

And for those of you who want the labor story, here's the deal. At 3am on Thursday, I thought my water broke, but I wasn't sure. I had the tiniest trickle, and let's face it, at 9 months pregnant, it could have been my water or just lovely pregnancy incontinence, so I just decided to wait it out. I went back to bed and "slept" (do you ever really sleep when you are that pregnant?!) the rest of the night.

The following morning was business as usual - getting breakfast, getting Maria off to school, etc. I was having contractions, but very mild ones, and not with any particular regularity. I went about my day, doing things around the house, spending time wth Josephine. I had hints all day that I was in labor, but I guess I was in denial. I skipped my workout (which I NEVER do, and this should have been a huge hint to me that I was in labor), because I just didn't feel right. I skipped playgroup (which I also don't do) for the same reason. All day I had no appetite (another symptom of labor), but I still didn't think I was in labor. The contractions had some kick to them, but weren't regular enough for me to justify the nuisance of going to the hospital and all that.

I set Josephine up with a sing-a-long video and laid down to take a nap at about 2pm. No contractions the whole time. Them I woke up and started to get ready to get Maria and WHAMMO!!! Contractions 2 minutes apart and seriously intense. I went and got Maria, shuffling to and from her school while breathing through contractions, and went home. I don't know where my brain was, but I still did not call Lou (I think the pain was stopping my brain from functioning - haha). I got the girls a snack, helped Maria with her homework, having to work a bit more to concentrate through contractions. Right about the time that Maria said "Mommy, can you stop breathing like that, please? It's really distracting", reality hit me and I realized that HELLO - I was in LABOR!!!

I called my Mom to come get the girls, called Lou to come get me, and got the girls' bag packed. It only took them 5 mintues to get here, but the contractions became way worse in that time. I could barely walk, and couldn't talk through them at all. Lou drove like a maniac the whole way to the hospital, running multiple red lights and cursing the traffic backed up on 81 south (it was at a complete standstill) while I huffed and puffed my way through killer contractions paired with some AWFUL back labor. By the time I got to the hospital, I was at 9cm and in that phase of labor where the pain is so bad you think you might start climbing the walls. Within a short time of our arrival, I was at 10cm and ready to push - big time. My doctor wasn't there yet (stuck in the same traffic that we were), but the urge to push was completely overwhelming, and much to the resident's dismay (who kept saying "not yet, you can't push yet, you have to wait"), I started. The doctor came in moments later, and after about 30 minutes or so of intense pushing (hence the broken capillaries all over me, and other such side effects that I will spare you the details of...), our baby boy came into the world. There was a bit of a scary moment in there - when his head came out, the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck, and Lou said that after it was cut, he turned purple, but he pinked up pretty quickly after that, and all was well.

So anyhow, there you have it. It's a good thing that I didn't put off calling Lou any longer, and that he ran all those red lights, or I probably would have ended up having our baby in my husband's truck. :)

We're all doing well here. The girls are overjoyed to have a baby in the house, and Lou is so thrilled to have a son - he is one proud papa, and it's the cutest thing! We feel so blessed that after everything that my body went through with the molar pregnancy, that we have been able to make another baby - it seems like such a miracle to me. :)

Approaching the finish line - I can do this, I can do this...

Here I am, 38 weeks pregnant and ready to pop:

As my pregnancy comes to a close (Yay!!), I find myself reflecting on the good, the bad and the ugly of being pregnant. I have thoroughly enjoyed the miracle of this pregnancy, but am ready for it to be over and to start the next chapter - meeting our new little one face to face.

Anyway, so here are my favorites and not-so-favorites of the journey that is pregnancy:

Likes:

• The way that people smile at you wherever you go, open doors for you, offer you their seat, etc. I don't know why, but people just LOVE a pregnant lady
• Sonograms - I love getting little peeks of the baby inside of me, moving around in his/her own little world. It just makes you feel so connected to him/her.
• Feeling the baby move for the first time (and in the months that follow) is just so magical. It's like this little secret that the two of you share. For example, you will be in the middle of a conversation or a class and the baby starts doing somersaults and no one knows but the two of you, like your own private connection that is just for your baby and you.
• How food tastes so GOOD! (well, the foods that don't turn you OFF, anyway). I don't know why, but for me, it seems like the flavor of lots of foods is amplified when I am pregnant, like my taste buds are exponentially more powerful, making lots of things even more yummy than usual!
• NOT finding out the gender ahead of time. I know, I know, you don't get to shop for blue or pink ahead of time, but I love having that anticipation the whole nine months. To me, finding out the sex ahead of time is like peeking at my Christmas presents early. And after the hell that labor is, it's really nice to have a fun little surprise waiting for me as a reward for all my hard work!
• When you pop - I love the cute little pregnant belly, when it's obvious that you are not just letting yourself go, but you are not yet so huge that you feel like a beached whale.
• Feeling like a rock star - When it comes right down to it, there is something really empowering about knowing that you are growing another person inside of you - it makes me really proud to be a woman and of all that my body can do!

Dislikes:

• Morning sickness - puking multiple times a day (stomach bile is the worst kind), feeling half dead, finding food abs0lutely repulsive (when even the sight of it is nauseating)...need I go on?
• The "fat" stage - when none of your "skinny" clothes fit right, and you don't look pregnant, just down right fat. You are bloated up like a whale and just feel so gross all the time - yuck.
• Gasiness - not much explanation needed here - nothing makes you feel less glamorous than letting one rip, over and over and over and over...
• Swelling - FAT FEET - EWWWW!!!
• Rude people - Why is it that when you are pregnant, it is suddenly okay for others to tell you that you are "huge", "enormous", "about to explode", etc. I have had people tell me these things with all three pregnancies (along with the ever-so-precious "are you sure you aren't having twins?" joke) and I still find it as annoying as ever. There have been many a time when someone overweight has said to me "you look about ready to deliver" (when I was months away), and I have been sooo tempted to retort - "Wow, so do you!" Of course, being the good christian woman that I am, I don't. :)
• Being handicapped - I take very good care of my body and am a very independent person, so the last stage of pregnancy (the stage in which I am currently) is really hard on my ego. All of the aches and pains (of which I have MANY this time around - much more so than the with my previous pregnancies), the huge belly that is so cumbersome, the grunting whenever I bend over, the inability to do the things I normally could (like lift really heavy things, be able to fit my kids on my lap...) and the general feeling of being exhausted ALL the time is very difficult for me emotionally and psychologically.
• Sleep issues - The part of pregnancy when you are now waking up EVERY hour to go pee, deal with back pain/pelvic pain (or in my current case hands going numb from carpal tunnel) and the general pregnancy insomnia.

Of course, you have to take the bad with the good in any situation. So, as uncomfortable and exhausted as I am now, and as much as I am so ready for this part to be over, I also feel extremely blessed that I have had this opportunity, for the third time, to grow one of Heavenly Father's precious spirits inside of me and welcome him/her into our family. What an amazing experience it is, and how lucky I am to have had it... :)

Go Syracuse! (and no, I am not talking about the football team - I could care less about them)

As you all know, I have lived in Syracuse my entire life (with the exception of the 3 months that I lived in Utah back in the fall of 1998). I spent all of my teenage years scheming up ways to get myself out of this place. My three best friends and I constantly complained about how much we HATED Syracuse, how crappy it was here, and how much better ANYWHERE else was. Well, we all left for different parts of the country for college (Boston, Pittsburgh, Philadelpha and Provo), and I find it ever so humorous how ALL of us have eventually ended up back here, in Syracuse, the place in which we vowed never again to live.


But the truth is, I whined about a LOT of things when I was a teenager, and really, Syracuse isn't half-bad as far as places to live go. It took me going and living somewhere else to learn that. Now, mind you, I am not completely blind to the flaws of this place, but EVERY place has it's quirks and downsides - the south has crappy supermarkets, unbearable heat in the summer, and hmmmm - hurricanes, anyone? The southwest has that same heat problem (from what I've heard from those who live there, you basically spend the entire summer inside to avoid the heat), and I've heard enough stories about the oversized insects and nasty scorpions to make me NEVER want to live there, and the threat of earthquakes isn't so cool either. The midwest is known for it's tornadoes, and the list goes on and on. Syracuse is no exception to this rule. We have an average of 65 days of FULL sun per year ( a pretty pitiful amount), and spend the rest of the time with partly sunny or overcast skies. We are home to the second most polluted lake in the WORLD (ewwww), and the geography of the city is kind of strange, with patches of nice neighborhoods sprinkled all over the city, never too far away from the not-so-nice neighborhoods. But all of these places described - the south, the west, etc., have their many good points, too, and again, Syracuse is no exception.


I have heard a LOT of complaining over the years from people who have moved here about how AWFUL it is here, how they can't wait to get out, how there is NOTHING good here at all, and I have decided that it is time for a rebuttal. Now, these complaints have come from friends of mine, and I mean them no ill will, but this IS my hometown, and I feel that I need to defend it at times and point out all of the wonderful things that central New York has to offer that you can't find almost anywhere else.


Hence my list of "Why Central New York is Great". I am going to list 25 things that are great (not to mention unique) to this area. They are in no particular order (and are not limited to the city of Syracuse), just a list that Lou and I came up with (and it didn't take us long, either!) I know that for those of you who have lived here, this list will bring back lots of fond memories...


1) Gannon's Isle - GREAT homemade ice cream, and although they are not open year-round (wink, wink, Christina), their ice cream is fabulous, and nothing spells refreshment in the heat of the summer like their lemon-lime sherbert twist - mmmmm....

2) Dinosaur BBQ - Great food, funky atmosphere. All those who have been to this biker joint know what I'm talkin' about.

3) Hinerwadels Salt Potatoes - a central New York original. They started here, and you can only buy them here, and they are a summer stable - soooooo good.

4) Hoffmans Hot Dogs - the best hot dogs EVER!! I don't eat hot dogs, but I love Hoffmans, and you can only get them in central New York.

5) Pick-your-own berry patches - strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, currants, gooseberries, etc. Tons of kid-friendly pick-your-own patches that are a fraction of the supermarket price and taste WAY better. One of the highlights of the summer for our family.

6) Apple picking in the fall - an annual tradition for most people in the area. It's a fun family activity, and once you've had apples right off the tree, the ones in the grocery store just don't cut it anymore. The fresh ones are crisp, crunchy, juicy, and there are tons of kinds to choose from all Autumn long.

7) Farmer's market - yes, there are farmers' markets elsewhere in the country, but they are not exactly everywhere you go, so I think that it's neat that we have one right here in Syracuse, and it's a pretty good size, too, with a good variety of fresh, locally-grown produce, flowers, baked goods, hand-made crafts and soaps, etc.

8) Wegmans - ahhhh, wonderful Wegmans, recently named THE best supermarket in the country by a nationwide survey. Not that I'm surprised. It has competitive pricing and is cleaner, bigger, offers better customer service and more selection (not to mention better quality produce) than any other grocery store out there. And can you say "Bulk foods department"? Plus, they have VIP parking spaces for expectant mothers - now that's my kind of grocery store. They have branched out to PA and VA in recent years, but started out right here in central New York.


9) The New York State Fair - whether you like State Fairs or not, this one is the second largest in the nation, and attracts hundreds of thousands of people every year from all over the country. What's not to love about a place where you can see (among a thousand other things) a butter sculpture and eat maple cotton candy and pizze frittes?

10) Enchanted Forest - an ENORMOUS water theme park that is absolutely packed with fun things to do, including a dry-rides section and the Story-book forest, which portrays the Mother-Goose nursery rhymes in larger than life figures and scenes.

11) Great Children's Museums - there is a good one in Syracuse called The MOST Children's Museum, and an even MORE impressive one in Rochester, called the STRONG Children's Museum. Most who have been there say it is one of the best children's museum they have ever seen.

12) Festivals - nothing to do here? Yeah RIGHT! There are festivals almost every weekend for 6 months out of the year (and even some during the winter), including, but not limited to the Cherry Festival, Strawberry Festival, Tomato Festival, Apple Festival, Italian Festival, Latino Festival, Oktoberfest, Scottish Games, Middle-Eastern Festival, Greek Festival, BalloonFest, HarborFest, WinterFest, Taste of Syracuse, and on and on and on.

13) Salmon Fishing - Okay, maybe not many of you out there are afficionados of this sport, but it is something to which central NY can claim bragging rights. This area, is, as far as I know, the only one on the east coast where you can take advantage of the salmon run every fall. People come here from Canada and all over the east coast to try to catch one of these huge fish.


14) Beautiful beaches - For an area that is not coastal, we don't do too badly when it comes to beach options. There are some spots close to Syracuse that are just beaches on lakes (not awesome, but they still get the job done!!), but if you want the faux ocean experience, you only have to go about 40 minutes or so to get it! NY is home to one of the largest of the great lakes - Lake Ontario, and because this lake is so big and SO deep, it makes waves just the ocean does (just on a smaller scale). Go to Sylvan Beach, Selkirk Shores, Southwick Beach or Fair Haven, and you will have your beautiful day at the beach - in the MIDDLE of New York!

15) The Adirondacks - One of the famous mountain ranges of the country - hundreds of places for camping (anywhere from completely roughing it to staying in nice cabins), or if that is not your thing, you can stay up at Old Forge (a cute little town up in the mountains) and visit all the shops. The Adirondacks is especially breathtaking during the fall, with all of the color changes.

16) Howes Caverns - there are a few of these around the country, and central New York is home to one of them. 156 feet below the Earth's surface you get to explore a prehistoric underground cavern that is six million years old. Ancient limestone formations, stalactites, stalagmites and flowstone are a few of the amazing things that you will get to check out in these caverns.

17) Skaneateles - home to Skaneateles lake, this is a charming little town with cute bed & breakfasts, tons of local shops and restaurants, and a number of festival during the year.

18) Ithaca - tons of stuff to do here - museums, galleries, small-town shops, festivals, not to mention the beautiful waterfalls, hiking trails, biking trails and famous ice-age gorges.

19) State parks - central NY is LOADED with these - all the hiking trails, biking trails, waterfalls, beaches, and beautiful scenery you could ask for.


20) Proximity to city/country - It really cracks me up when people complain that Syracuse doesn't have more to offer (bigger libraries, more shopping, etc.). Did they think they were moving to New York City? Syracuse has a population of about 147,000, while New York City is around 8.3 million. This is, by no means, a big city (so don't expect it to have big city amenities!), but we are close to one, if that's what you're looking for. This is one of the things I LOVE about NY - you are close to good local shopping (Carousel Mall is the second largest in the country and there are cute small shops in other areas of the city), but only about 20 minutes from the country, so you can get away from the city anytime you want. Also, we are close to New York City, so if you want some serious city action, you are no more than a car-drive away.

21) 4 seasons - I know this is not an attraction for everyone, but I happen to love the change in seasons, and in central New York, the nice thing is that the weather is not too severe during any of them. Our summers are not brutally hot (like they are in the south), and our winters, although they are cold and a bit snowy, are NOTHING compared other places like Maine, Illinois, North Dakota, etc. And anyone who has experienced fall here knows that it is extremely beautiful.

22) Vast amounts of greenery - I love all the green!! The grass, the bushes, the trees, the beautiful rolling hills, etc. Every spring we see a rebirth of everything green and get to enjoy it all summer long.

23) Fall - again, those of you who have lived here know that this is no joke - absolutely beautiful. Cool, crisp air that smells soooo good, apple picking, pumpkin patches, bright, vivid color changes everywhere you look - oh, how I love it...

24) Affordable housing - okay, may not sound exciting, but when you are house-hunting it is!! This is one of the few areas of the country that was not siezed up in the mortgage crisis, and that is because our homes are actually reasonably priced!! This means that the not-so-rich like my family could actually fathom buying a house, which is wonderful. My brother-in-law is looking for a house right now, and told me that our teeny little house would sell for at LEAST $250,000 in Chicago, where he is looking. Do you know how much house you could buy here for $250,000?!!

25) Site of the restoration - last but not least, no other area of the country can claim this. The gospel was restored here and the gold plates are here, and if nothing else, that makes this place pretty dang special. :)


So there's my list - feel free to add your own favorites!! :)

Just because I can...

There have been a couple of times that I wanted to upload a short video clip of this thing or that, so I finally installed the software that came with our videocamera to allow me to do this. Imagine what a bummer it was to find out that because our videocamera is so old (we bought it when Maria was a baby), it is not compatible with Windows Vista (which is what we have on our computer) - crappy! Well, we are not exactly about to go out and buy a new videocamera so that we can put videos on our computer, so I resigned myself to not being able to share videos - oh well.
Well, lo and behold, our new camera (the regular kind) that we bought in June (our old digital finally died on us) just happens to take short videos, and THEY can be put on our computer -woo hoo! So, there is nothing particularly fascinating about this video - just my girls being funny with their baby dolls, but I put it up just because I was so happy that I can!! Technology is so cool sometimes... :)

The catch of the day!

Who says that an eight-month pregnant woman can't bring in a good fish?! Well, nobody actually said that, but I still think it's pretty cool that I did. :) It's Labor Day, and Lou wanted to take the family fishing (one last fun hurrah before the grind of school starts tomorrow) - it's salmon season here in NY, so we headed out to Salmon river. We got there around 3pm, and by 7pm, we were thinking it was a wasted trip. We got three fish in the duration of an hour who ALL broke our line and got away (frustrating!!!), which pretty much killed the girls' enthusiasm. They started acting up, and my back was killing me, and we were about to cash in our chips and head home when I got another fish on my line - and I GOT it!!

Here I am proudly displaying my King Salmon:

It was nowhere near the 40lb monster I got two years ago, but it was 15 pounds, and seeing as it was the only thing we brought home today, it was good enough for us! One is always better than none. Anyhow, so that's our exciting news for the day - hope you all had a great holiday weekend, too!