A toilet hack

This post has absolutely nothing to do with potty training, though I'm sure I could find a way to tie it in (I'll spare you.)  I can also guarantee that this will be the last time I show you photos of our toilet.  You're welcome.

So I had read somewhere about a dual-flush (you know, one that uses less water for liquid waste) kit that you can easily retrofit to your toilet in under ten minutes.  No tools required!  It seemed too good to be true, but honestly I wasn't sure if we should get one since we rent and don't pay for our water.  Well, when we happened to walk by them at Home Depot on a paint run, Kraig could not resist.  He seriously was not going to walk away from them without one in his hand, despite my argument that it wouldn't save us money.  Obviously, Kraig is more of a tree-hugging hippie than I am because the water savings was enough to convince him.  Such a good man.

He was almost too excited about this kit.  Seriously.

So here he is getting all set up.

And a before shot of the throne before he fixed it up.

Buh-bye old flusher handle!

 I really meant to take more photos of the process, but he was done with it so quickly that I missed the whole thing!  Anyway, here is the brand.  It's only $20!  Supposedly it will save 15,000 gallons of water a year for a family of four, and save on average $100 a year.  Hey, we're about to have a family of 3 boys, if you know what I mean...

In under ten minutes- with no tools!- it was finished.  We let Owen have the first flush.  

Top button is for liquid waste, bottom button is a regular-powered flush.
The low-powered flush uses less than a gallon (.79 to be exact) per flush- half of a regular low-flow toilet which is 1.6 gallons.

It was really as easy as they said it would be.  Kraig is still really excited to show it off to visitors.  

Other water-saving ideas:

Drop a water bottle or quart-sized milk jug filled with stones or water into the tank of the toilet.  It will offset enough water to save a few gallons a day!  

Flush less.  Yup, you know the old saying. 

Don't use the toilet as a trash can (i.e. used kleenexes, etc).  This goes along with flushing less :)

Check for leaks or "running" frequently.

The finished product

We are so very happy with how our table and chairs turned out.  

 It looks completely different in our dining room, but it seems as though it always belonged this way.  It's much brighter and a lot more our style.

My favorite part is the distressed details.  Okay, I also love the fabric.  But look at this:

At some points you can see all 4 layers- the bare wood, the previous dark stain (which I think adds a nice contrast), the white primer, and the new yellow.  Love it.

Kraig thinks the table turned out especially wonderful.  Ah, thank you, sir!

All in all, it was a really great project to take on.  We had a lot of fun doing it, really, despite the tedium at times.  

So here is what we did in some sort of detail:

We sanded, but ditched that plan early on.  We used Rustoleum Painter's Touch 2x coverage White Primer (it's a bonding primer, meaning no need to sand the previous finish).  Kraig sprayed 2 coats of the primer within the recommended time frame (2 hours I believe) and then started with the paint (You don't want the previous layer to cure before applying the second, so plan on doing them one right after the other to ensure a good bond)

The paint is also Rustoleum Painter's Touch 2x coverage in satin finish strawflower.   We applied 2 coats of this as well.  It's important to do thin coats as opposed to one heavy coat to reduce buildup or drips.

I distressed with a very fine sandpaper by just rubbing lightly on corners and edges until I got the look that I wanted.  It was really easy.  I also wet-sanded the top of the table to be sure it was really smooth before applying the gloss.  There were some rougher patches on the chairs that I sanded as well before the gloss.   I used a combination of tack cloth and wet cloths to remove any and all dust in between stages and after sanding.

The finish is Rustoleum Painter's touch 2x coverage clear gloss on the chairs and Rustoleum Varathane Interior Heavy-use crystal clear polyurethane (in a quart) on the table.  We started out brushing the gloss on the chairs but it was super-tedious.  When I accidentally spilled half the quart on the grass, we decided to just finish the chairs with a spray version as opposed to brushing (though we did brush on one last topcoat to smooth it out.  Confused yet?)  The table finish is very smooth and we love it.  I'd recommend brushing everything with a clear finish, honestly, but we're happy with our chairs as well.

We did 4 coats of gloss on the top of the table, 3 on the rest of the table, and 3 on the chairs.  Whew!

For the chair upholstery, I measured and cut each piece, allowing for a few extra inches on each side for folding.  I folded each side under for a more finished look before stapling, and I mitered the corners as well.  With this particular pattern it was important to keep it straight and line it up just right, but everything was really just done by hand and eye.  No fancy tools involved :)  I didn't even use a straight edge, I just cut along the pattern lines once I measured.  It was really quite easy.

Kraig sprayed a stain repellant on the upholstery before attaching the seats to the chairs.

And voila :)  We were finished!  It took a few hours of work each day for about 5 days.  I wouldn't say it was "easy" but it was very rewarding work.

The good news and the bad news

I debated posting this before a diagnosis, but figured what the heck.  Might as well "journal" how I'm feeling at this point.  Also, the font is being wonky for me.  Sorry 'bout that for all of you reading it at the actual site.




Our prenatal appointment did not go how I thought it would.  We had some good news as well as some bad news, but we're trying to stay positive.  First, the good news.

The birth center midwives usually take one week off per month so that they are not on call 24/7/365.  We didn't know when Stephanie (our head midwife) would be taking her vacation in November, and it of course made me a little bit nervous.  I want MY midwife at the birth.  Period.  The good news is that she is not scheduled for any births in September, so rather than taking week-long vacations she is going to take the entire month off and thus will be on-call for all of November.  Whew!  Now there's only a very slim chance of her missing my birth (either if baby comes too fast for her to arrive, or if her other client (only one other, yes!) that is due in November happens to be delivering at the same time as me.  Unlikely.  

The other bit of good news was that our birth team is changing.  Normally this would not be a good thing, but they messed up the scheduling for our junior midwife and she will no longer be on our team.  Instead, we'll have a CNM (certified nurse midwife) as well as the student midwife that has been present at our appointments as our backup team.  Stephanie is still the head midwife on our team, of course.  She is a CPM or Certified Professional Midwife (only legal in 27 states... I'm rolling my eyes at the other 23 states.)  The difference between her and a CNM is a CNM attends nursing school first, then midwifery school.  I'm excited to have two really knowledgeable women on my team, as well as a student.  I haven't met the CNM yet, but I am sort of glad she'll be replacing our previous junior midwife... I just didn't click with her.  Nothing wrong with her- but personality-wise I didn't feel a connection. I hope I connect better with this new midwife!

I suppose the other good news is the usual- baby is growing well (though I am measuring a bit small, yet still within the normal range) and the heartbeat was good.  His position was LOA which is a really good head-down position!  I'm excited that he's in position, though I know he could flip multiple times still.  At least he knows how to get there ;-)

So, the bad news.  I had my glucose tolerance test (to test for gestational diabetes) at our appointment and got an abnormal result.  I'll have to retest on Tuesday with a 3-hour GTT (the standard test is a 1 hr GTT, mine was an alternative 2hr test after a carb-heavy meal.)  I'm totally bummed about this.  My glucose reading wasn't super high, just borderline, so I'm hoping that I'll pass the test on Tuesday.  However, I'm not feeling optimistic about it.  I just have a bad feeling based on some "symptoms" I've had, and yet I also have some positive signs that would indicate I don't have GD (specifically I am measuring small.)  I had two unusual urinalyses (I had glucose in urine) at months 4 and 6 which would be a risk factor....  So I guess I just have to wait and see.

It's been a rough couple of days since my first test.  I feel like a failure, even though I haven't yet been diagnosed.  I think anyone who knows me knows that I have a very healthy diet- limited processed foods, no soda or sugary drinks, I cook at home from scratch much of the time, and I am a vegetarian.  Intellectually, I know there is nothing I could have done to cause or prevent GD (it is not a lifestyle disease- more on that later) but I still can't shake the feelings of failure.  I think it's because many people hear "gestational diabetes" and think that it IS a lifestyle disease- that it is caused by poor diet or unhealthy lifestyle choices.  But while that is sometimes true for plain ole' diabetes, it is not at all true for GD.  It's all about the placenta and pancreas' ability to work together well during the stress of pregnancy to produce the right amount of insulin at the right time.  


Obviously, I'm hoping that I don't have GD.  It's hard waiting for a diagnosis, and I'm really not looking forward to the retest (15 hours of fasting.  Ugh.)  This was a bump in the road that I was not at all prepared for, and it is pretty disheartening.  

I'll be sure to update as soon as I know more.






More details:


Here is some more info that I dug up for those who are unfamiliar with gestational diabetes. 


During pregnancy, hormones made in the placentawork to shift nutrients from the mother to the baby, and also to prevent the mother from developing low blood sugar.  The hormones work by stopping the actions of insulin- which is to regulate blood sugar.  As pregnancy continues, the hormones lead to higher blood sugar levels in the mother, so the pancreas works to produce more insulin (2-3 times as much) to overcome this.  However, if the pancreas cannot produce enough insulin blood sugar levels will rise, resulting in gestational diabetes.

The following factors increase a mother's risk of developing GD during pregnancy:
- Being overweight
- Being a member of a high-risk ethnic group (hispanic, black, native american, or asian.)
- Having sugar in your urine
- Impaired glucose tolerance (high blood sugar levels but not high enough to be considered diabetes)
- Family history of diabetes
- Previously large babies (>9lbs)
- Having GD with a previous pregnancy
- Having too much amniotic fluid (polyhydroamnios)
- Previously giving birth to a stillborn baby


It is important to note that many women who develop gestational diabetes have no known risk factors.

GD is managed by monitoring blood sugar levels 4x a day, monitoring urine for ketones, following specific dietary guidelines, monitoring weight gain, taking insulin (if necessary), and controlling high blood pressure.


Gestational diabetes does increase the risk of other pregnancy complications such as preeclampsia, large birth weight, and high blood pressure, as well as jaundice and hypoglycemia in the infant after birth.  However, well-controlled GD reduces the risk of those complications.  There is, however, still an increased risk for both the mother and infant of developing diabetes later in life.  

Pregnancy: 27-28 weeks

Hello Third Trimester!


Wow, has there ever been a marked decrease in energy as I enter the third trimester.  I am so sleepy.  I'm trying to remember to take my supplements daily to make sure my iron levels are high (fatigue is related to anemia).  Unfortunately my fatigue has been joined by sporadic hip pain and loose joints which lead to twisted ankles.  Ugh.  Must walk more carefully :-)

This week is my gestational diabetes test.  I am doing the alternative test which is a fasting finger prick followed by a carb-heavy breakfast.  Two hours later they do a lab draw to check blood sugar levels (as well as for Rh antibodies since I'm Rh negative.)  I opted to skip the 28-week Rhogam shot unless there is an event that would cause sensitization (car accident, other trauma to abdomen, bleeding, etc).

Speaking of appointments, I only have one more monthly appointment before we switch to bi-weekly and then weekly!  This is going so fast! (my midwife starts bi-weekly later than most, even.  If I was at a hospital-based practice I'd start bi-weekly now.  Crazy!)

I don't think I've gained any weight since the last appointment... which is odd and I hope doesn't cause her to be concerned.  I think maybe I've gained a pound (based on the last time I checked) but I've also been exercising more.  So we'll see.  (normal weight gain is ~1lb per week, or ~4lbs a month)  Personally I don't think it's that big of a deal since I, ahem, gained a little more a little earlier in this pregnancy.

Emotionally and mentally, I feel awesome.  I've noticed in talking with other pregnant women that I am surprisingly stable throughout pregnancy while many prego mamas suffer from serious mood swings due to hormonal changes.  I'm like a peaceful birthing buddha. Ha!  I think Kraig is thankful for that.  I am enjoying this second pregnancy but it's surprisingly different from the first.  It is much more "private", which I knew to expect.  People aren't swooning over me, asking a ton of questions, or trying to touch me (which I don't mind, though I know some are not okay with the belly-rubbing).  There is not as much advice given, which is a huge blessing. Generally it just feels like we are left on our own to prepare for this new little one, and I like that.  The attention was nice the first round, but we've got it under control this time.

I believe there will be a shower/blessingway at the beginning of October, and I do think it will be nice to have some concentrated attention if for no other reason than to really get excited about the birth (I'm already excited, but during that homestretch it will be much needed.)  I'm blessed to have friends and neighbors who want to celebrate me.  It's not an easy thing to build a community from scratch when we're so far from our hometowns, but we've done it and we're thankful for everyone here that loves us.  We have a great support system here and we couldn't be happier.  Now I'm feeling all sappy.  Whatever- cheers to new babies and friends that are like family.

Transition

What's Owen so excited about?

Oh yes, his new bed! (!!!!!!!)

Wow, how did we not get a proper photo of the bed?

Also, yes that's some sort of powderpuff (?) pillowcase.  I don't know.

Also, no those are not his real sheets, and those curtains are going to change too.

HERE'S THE IMPORTANT PART:

He's sleeping like a champ in his bed.  I'm afraid to even say that for fear of jinxing it.

He has not climbed out.  Well, unless you count the fact that his wake-up time is now a whole hour earlier and he comes in to wake us up.  I'm hoping that he's just excited and will soon stay in bed if for no other reason than because he's really truly tired.  Otherwise, an intervention will be necessary.  We're not waking up at 6am every day.  Give me 6:30 or 7:00 at least!

It's bittersweet for Kraig and I.  We moved our first child out of his crib!  He's not a baby!  He's a big boy and oh my, that is the bitter part.  The sweet part is that he is unbelievably excited about this bed.  He loves it, he was ready for it, and he is growing up.  That feels good.

We're so proud of him and so glad he's doing well during this transition.

food.

This post is terribly late.  Apologies!

Kate and Paul might love food even more than we do.  It's no surprise that we ate (and ate, and ate, and ate) a lot when they were here.  One day included no less than 3 breakfasts and 2 lunches.  I'm not kidding.

We also had Paul's famous vegetarian banh-mi.  Oh, so delicious.  (and a really poor attempt at a photo.  Eek.)

We did a quick lap around the Portland Farmer's Market (there are over 200 vendors- I do mean a QUICK lap).

And we ate brunch at a mexican booth I'd been wanting to try. 

(Hint: there are a few more days' worth of posts and photos here and here and here.  Thanks, Kate, for the wonderful photography!)

Our first refurbishing project

We bought this cute little table and chair set off of Craigslist the day we moved to Portland.  It's served us well, but it is by no means a quality set of furniture.  Specifically, I think the finish on it was one of those stain-and-sealant-in-one types, because wow did it ever chip and scratch easily.  

It was in DIRE need of a new paint job.

Check it out.

Chairs, before

We started out by lightly sanding.  This was a giant pain in the butt, even though our end goal was just to rough up the surface, not remove the old finish.  I can't imagine if we'd had to get down to the bare wood.  

Kraig: "Take lots of pictures of me doing work"

I did a little research online and found that we could just buy a bonding primer that would not require us to sand first.  Winner!

We promptly stopped sanding and made a trip to Home Depot to stock up on supplies.

I'm slightly embarrassed to show you this next photo.  Here is the table before we primed.... 

Scratched, burned by the iron (thanks Kraig!), ruined by moisture.  What a piece of work.

 I think you'll agree that it needed help, and fast.

Kraig did the painting because it was spray paint (hello toxins!)  

Primed and ready for paint!

It took a lot more primer and paint than we thought.  Another trip to Home Depot to pick up (a lot) more paint, and we were set.

Here's a chair after a few coats of yellow paint.

Beautiful!

I planned to distress each piece, so here is another photo pre-distressing.  I love the detail at the top of the chair.

Owen loved "helping paint" (i.e. he could run around outside while there was no painting going on, then we were relegated into the house. 

Meanwhile, I got to work on the upholstery.  We loved the contrast between the cream-colored seats and dark wood in the original piece, but clearly the near-white cushions showed the marks of a toddler....

So we bought a beautiful blue and white print to re-cover them.  We also purchased a can of stain repellant.  Live and learn!

I worked on distressing the chairs once I was finished with the seats.  I love, love, love how it turned out!

They weren't finished yet, though.  Don't let me fool you!  That chair is not sealed and that seat is not screwed on :)  

So I got to work on sealing the table and chairs once they were all adequately distressed.  (It was a no-odor varnish and I applied it outdoors.  Safety first!)

I had a little "helper" for this part.  Thanks, Bear!  Also, do you like our spray-painted lawn?

I'll post with the products we used and more detail about our methods along with a finished product photo soon :-)  Overall it was a very fun project!

Sophie's new 'do

We have only ever taken Sophie to be groomed twice.  She's sported four different hairstyles in the 6 months we've had her.  She had a puppy cut before we got her, which grew out into a fuzzy mess because we let it go too long.  Then she was shaved as short as it could go- all except her schnauzer face.  When that grew out, she looked like this-

Which is cute, but also a bit mangy.

We brought her to a new groomer and they wanted to try a schnauzer cut (short on the back with longer leg hair and skirts on the sides) but wanted to give her more of a "maltese" face.  (She is a maltese- mini schnauzer.)

I guess we didn't really know what that meant, but we loved the outcome.

See her "skirts"?  It's definitely more noticeable when she's not sitting, but she is so darn hyper it's hard to get a clear shot of her standing.  Silly puppy.

I love her new sleek face- I think she looks so cute and feminine.  They left her pretty curls long on top before cutting it shorter just behind her ears toward her back.  It looks really great.  I love it!

The coast and a hike with some wonderful people

Kraig and I are not hikers (yet).  We didn't have the proper gear, we didn't know how to go about finding great hikes, and we certainly didn't have the experience.

But two weeks ago we bought some hiking shoes and were determined to explore some of the most beautiful areas Oregon has to offer.  

We took our first "real" hike (i.e. with a plan in mind, good shoes, and a spirit of adventure) with a much more experienced group of folks.  

Here's where I would start waxing poetic about the Djupes and how it's hard to describe them in certain terms, i.e. as "family" or "friends" or just really special, wonderful people that we have in our lives.  They're all those things.  We loved having them in town!  (It was also confusing to give them titles to Owen.  We settled on Aunt Kate and Uncle Paul since it seems most fitting and yet not at all accurate in the technical sense (Kate is my cousin)).

Anyway, they love hiking (and biking and rock climbing and camping and all sorts of adventurous things that two pansies like K and I try to avoid.)  Not only do they love it, but their boys (ages 4 and 2) love it and are REALLY GOOD at it.  I was impressed by how quickly they would speed ahead of us, exploring all the little pinecones and trees.  Their agility was seriously amazing to me as I struggled to maneuver different sections of the trail. Seriously, if I'd put Owen down on this trail of steep inclines, tree roots, fallen trees, and rocky, sandy patches he'd have fallen flat on his face in 2 minutes or less.  Either that or he'd have been begging to be picked up.  He's just not a hiker.  (Yet.)  

I could go on but this post is going to be really long already with all the photos, so just enjoy.

Our view for our picnic lunch.  That is Cannon Beach and Haystack Rock

This is Crescent Beach, just north of Cannon.  It's empty because it's not accessible by car and the trail to it is for experienced hikers.  Seems everyone opts for Indian Beach (like we did).

Our pic-a-nic basket

Haystack rock

Little blurry- taken by some lady who was a "professional".  Meh, it's a family photo, right?

TheKate with Owen and Bear

Getting ready for our hike!  Paul and a hiding Bear

Totally excited and ready to go!

And we're off

See the agile 2-year-old in front of me?  I liked his pace.  

Ecola point- sometimes there are sea lions on those rocks

Oh my was this steep and sandy.  They picked me to go first since I chose this direction at the fork in the trail.  Oops.

The steep trail gave way to Indian Beach.  Finally!  Our destination!

Don't let Bear fool you.  That water was seriously cold.

I love this photo.  Gust will sneak up and plant kisses on arms, shoulders, cheeks.  He's such a lover, but often I'd miss what was happening until after he'd already done it and had run off.  We were lucky to catch his sneak attack in action.

"Terrible Tilly" Lighthouse.  Oh, and surfers.

I love the Oregon coast- there is always a mysterious haze to be seen.

Sand in the eyes.  Mom to the rescue.

She is a talent behind the camera.  Seriously.

A little jellyfish washed ashore!  The boys were happy to check it out.

Two of many takes:

All cleaned up and ready to hike again, we hit the trail to head back toward the cars.

This was the most treacherous section of the hike.  About 2 feet of walking space before a cliff edge.  Egads.

Potty break- err, I mean, a really cool old tree.

Happy hiker!

We were lucky these clouds reached the shore just after we returned from our hike.  Hiking in dense fog doesn't sound fun to me....

So here's what we learned:  Hiking is fun.  Even 2-year-olds can do it.  The main reason people hike is for the views.   Oh, those views.