I Still Believe in Santa Claus

12.25.11

  After looking at every baby store possible between here and Nottingham, we still walked away without a UK car seat, pram, or pushchair-(stroller).  We of course came home with Hooter's wings. lol!   Then hurried home to make chili and cider for some friends for Christmas dinner. 

 For those of you who missed a skype session with me and the honeydew of a baby growing inside me, here we are again.

~35 Weeks~

Although my belly doesn't quite shake like Santa's, I definitely have a belly big enough to fill out his suit!  So I decided to make my own version, complete with Darren's red shirt, black belt, leggings (stylish fat pants) and a Santa hat we picked up in Nottingham. It has my name on it and also reads, "I still believe in Santa Claus." Next year Santa will have a few more presents to bring to the Page household!

Merry Christmas! 

Happy Birthday my niece, Megan!

Comfy

12.16.11

~34 Weeks~

 These are pretty much the only pair of pjs I own that still fit.  I wore them all day and all night. The last day of school before break and I let my kids wear their pjs. It was a pajama parade! Someone commented that I was taking casual Friday to a whole other level.  To which I replied, "What pregnant woman doesn't want to stay in her pjs all day and get paid for it!?" I love my job!

Pregnant for the Holidays

12.15.11

  It's getting harder to dress this bump! As more time passes, BP gets bigger and I get more uncomfortable! The last two nights I have been awakened with hardcore legs cramps and lil man telling me to get up and tinkle. I don't have that sensation of I have to go, he just gets pushy and I know it's time! I love that he's already taking care of his momma! 

This is a picture from last week's Weapons Christmas party. I sat down the majority of the night while Darren's co-workers brought me cranberry juice. Plus my ticket was drawn and I won $20.00! Not a bad night for this preggie!

Celebs that join me in the baby bump club this year...

5 S's

12.9.11

Have you heard of the 5 S's?? Well we learned them at our baby basics class last night. Apparently if I have these mastered baby will be a happy camper! So I'm taking note of them here, just incase. I will need all the help I can get in those wee hours of semi-consciousness. And come to find out, Darren is a way better at swaddling than I am! Who knew?

SCROLL DOWN FOR BUMP PICS!

Sucking
Sucking triggers the calming reflex and deepens a baby's level of relaxation.
Swaddling
Tight swaddling is the cornerstone of calming. Swaddling also helps keep babies from accidentally flipping onto their stomach. Avoid overheating and loose blankets. I recommend wrapping babies with their arms straight at their sides. Wrapping with flexed arms usually fails because the arms soon wiggle free. Swaddling is the cornerstone of calming. Swaddling is the only "S" that does not directly turn on the calming reflex. In fact, many babies struggle even more for a minute or two when first swaddled with straight arms; that's probably because their biceps are hypertonic from their position in utero—we don't know with certainty.
Shushing
Loud, harsh, white noise mimics the noise of blood flowing through placental arteries when a fetus is in the womb. The louder a baby cries, the louder the shushing has to be to calm him.  The "shhh" sound imitates the sound of blood flow that fetuses hear. It has been measured at 75 to 88 dB.³⁷ This white noise is approximated by harsh, loud sounds from hair driers (85 dB) and vacuum cleaners (75 dB).
The noise needs to be as loud as a baby is crying for it to trigger the calming reflex. Continued white noise (at levels up to 80 dB) can keep the reflex turned on and help babies stay soothed and asleep.
Swinging
Lying motionless deprives newborns of sensory stimulation. Swinging (rhythmic, jiggly movement) in rapid, tiny movements, like a shiver (two to three times a second), soothes agitated babies. Use slow, broad swinging to keep your baby soothed. Never shake a baby in anger. Slow motion, however, is usually ineffective at soothing babies who are upset. Turning on the calming reflex in a crying baby requires fast, low-amplitude movements of the head (to stimulate the vestibular apparatus). This motion is like a fine shimmy or shiver (my patients call this the "Jell-o head" jiggle). The head is supported so it moves with the body, and it goes back and forth only about an inch but very quickly—120 to 180 times a minute! This imitates the fetus's in utero experience and is completely different from the large amplitude, whiplash-like swings that cause shaken baby syndrome. Nonetheless, parents should be warned never to jiggle their baby when they're angry or frustrated.
Side or stomach position
All babies should be put to sleep on their back.* However, being on the side or stomach is best for calming the baby; it turns on the calming reflex and shuts off the Moro reflex. (The Moro reflex makes a baby's arms shoot out when he is startled by his own crying.) Being supine triggers the very upsetting Moro reflex. This "S" can be activated by putting a baby on her side, on her stomach (again, not for sleeping), or over an adult's shoulder. Some babies are so sensitive to position that, even on their side, they won't calm down if they are rolled the least bit toward their back. 

I'm starting to look pregnant from the front now. I've been waiting for that cute round belly to appear, but it hasn't happened yet. I'm carrying very low and still have my belly button intact! Carrying low has it's benefits though. I can make it up and down the stairs and not be out of breath!

~33 weeks~

Showers of Love

12.4.11

 Onesies and bottles and bibs, oh my!
We were definitely feeling the love today! 
Some of the loot from the baby shower...

 I needed a wide angle lens to capture it all! 
Thank you again friends and family. You spoiled us rotten!

BP will be snug as a bug
and of course always rockin' the cutest clothes!

~32 Weeks~

And still growing!

Pies and Lullabies

11.29.11

Baby Page has certainly been enjoying a lot of sugar. (Ahem, the perfect pumpkin pie I made-thanks to Rachel.) I also had pecan and a pumpkin cheesecake with cool whip. Yummo!
And every night I am playing BP classical lullabies. (Thanks, Sarah) He seems to be responding to the music, however he's always active at night.  So moral of the story, our child will be hyper, yet smart. Sounds like the gifted kids I have in my room! :)

The wind is blowing stronger-winter is nearly here! Which means I'm almost in the season for delivering. EEK! More good news.  Darren will be changing jobs this week. He will work in load barn now, which says a lot about his performance. He says they are the best of the best and train others. I'm just happy he will finally be on my same schedule and baby can actually hear his voice!

I'm also anxious to open up all these packages for my baby shower! Christmas has come early to the Page house. Guess I better put up that tree!

Hello Belly, Goodbye Feet!

11.21.11

This is my current view from up top....major belly expansion happening over here!

~30 Weeks~

 Still resorting to self-taken photos in the mirror. Even in the loo! :)

And our newest addition, a 3D TV.

Darren is very proud.

P.S.-We love our new place! I have the downstairs pretty much done. I have unpacked only the stretchy clothes.  Still working on the upstairs bedrooms, but another week and I'll feel at home! Happy Turkey Day, everyone! Looks like I'll have more than one bun in the oven this year! :)

On the Move!

11.13.11

 We spent Veteran's Day weekend in Nottingham hoping to trade in the Porsche for a Range Rover, but the deal fell through. Darren and BP would have looked sharp in a Range! Turns out 11-11-11 wasn't so lucky because we lost at the casino too.  On the plus side, we ate at Hooters-twice-and bumped into an old friend we've known since Hill.  Schoon and his girlfriend Anya had the same thing in mind-WINGS! (When in Nottingham.)  I was able to do some baby bump shopping, which is another great way to spend time there.

 

 I have been getting things sorted for our move this week. We get the keys tomorrow and I've packed up personal belongings and a blow up mattress to spend the night in the new house tomorrow so I don't have to drive so far to work. The packers come Tuesday and Wednesday, then it's back to the Thetford house Thursday and Friday to clean. We should be officially moved out and on base by the weekend.

  I mentioned earlier that I am registered at target.com, but just realized they will not ship anything heavy over here. So hopefully I will find what I need here. We will be using the Base Exchange and AAFES for buying what we can't get off our registry, plus day to day items. I always love getting gift cards-hint, hint! :)

Tsgt. Darren Page/Amy Page
PSC 41 Box 5162
APO, AE 09464

BP is moving and growing more than ever! 
Darren saw him moving and still thinks it's weird. 


~29 Weeks~

Mocktail Anyone?

I have perfected my new favorite mocktail.

(baby friendly) 
Mango Mojito

It's the little things.


ice cubes
1 tbsp. lime juice
 1 tbsp. simple syrup

1 part tonic water

2 parts ginger ale

1 part mango juice
garnish with lime and mint leaves

Happy Halloween....

10.31.11

From me and my "BUMP-kin"!

 (mine is much cuter and smarter of course)

~27 Weeks~

Not bad for painting it on myself. I had a total of 4 trick-or-treaters tonight, which means BP and I have a lot of candy eating to do! Or maybe we'll just pass it off to Darren.

Third Trimester is here already! I go in for my gestational diabetes check this week. At 28 weeks I can sign up for a breastfeeding class and then I have a couple other "mum to be" classes I am signed up for in December. We are moving into base housing November 15-18. Just in time to start the nesting phase!

For those of you who are wondering, we are registered at target.com. They will ship to our APO address, which will stay the same even with the move.  I am unsure of when my baby shower will happen since we are moving. With the holidays coming up it may not work out.  I had one at school already, so I'm happy with that.

No "outty"- YET! :)

It's Official!

10.16.11

The final announcement of Baby Page (BP) has been made! 

It really feels official now. 

So excited to meet our baby BOY!

~25 weeks~

Sorry for the iPhone photo with half of my face.  I did manage to get cute Mr. Jack-o-lantern in the background though.

I'm thinking of painting my belly orange like a pumpkin for Halloween since I don't have a cute trick-or-treater to dress up just yet.  Darren says no.

He also refuses to take random pictures of me and this little nugget. He thinks it's weird every time BP kicks, but he's coming around. I finally got him to put his hand on my belly to feel and then of course little man didn't even budge! 

Better luck next time. 

I put away the iPhone and finally found the Canon camera we own and used it on our Framlingham Castle tour today. Only 35 miles from our back door, people! Can't believe we didn't find this gem sooner.

Quite the photographer that Darren Page.  The lighting was perfect.

P.S.-We signed for a house on base Friday. They move us in next month-yippee!!

Goodbye September!

10.01.11

Looks like I completely neglected the month of September.  I guess 5 weeks of non-stop working (weekends included) and trying to stay busy while the hubby is gone will do that.  I've managed to be very productive at home and at school. One day I hope to feel as if I am ahead of the game. Not such an easy task for a teacher. Who am I kidding, it's impossible!! This year's class has a lot of interesting dynamics. They keep me on my toes! I never know from one day to the next how the day will go.  The good news is they have supportive parents and a firm, but understanding teacher to keep them going.

In other news, England has been extremely HOT! Not such a good thing for me lately. :D I can't stand anything on my feet and walk around the classroom with no shoes, which isn't setting such a good example. Hot feet=grumpy teacher.

Darren is unfortunately still in Idaho.  As long as there are jets to work on, he stays.  I always hope they are going to be back when they say. Darren always expects the worst so as to not get his hopes up. So I'm learning-expect the worst, hope for the best. The good news is that he will get a couple days off once he returns, then one day of work to turn in gear and do paperwork, and two weeks off. If he gets home by next Friday, then we plan on getting in the Porsche and seeing where she takes us. We have a  three day weekend for Columbus Day. No set plans, but Darren would like to see Scotland. It's a long trip in such a tiny car, but oh so exciting!

Darren doesn't read this blog (knock on wood) but I think I will try to get his car detailed before he gets back. It's looking pretty sad and dusty in the garage.  Plus he bought me some nice gifts back from Korea, so I owe him. A Rolex, or should I say Folex, gold watch and a Burberry London tote. Perfect for weekend getaways.

Summer Recap 3

July 22-August 11

HOME SWEET HOME!

The Meier Crew:
Brad, Rachel, Joel, Tina, Amy, Anna and Sarah

Dad and Joel took care of the burgers and weenies...

Meier Backyard BBQ

I thought I would be able finally get out of the heat, but I was wrong. One of the hottest summers in Iowa since 1955. No lie.

while the kids kept busy on the gator and go cart. 

ALL 10 OF THEM!!

 The following weekend we drove up to Owatonna to the Serengeti Indoor Water Park. It's always hard to plan a weekend getaway with the fam, but we made time for it and it was a lot of fun!

My sister Sarah and her husband Joe stayed behind, just incase the newest addition came along.  He arrived four days later and I was there to see him enter the world!!

Ryerson Hayden Luyobya with his proud Auntie

Of course going home isn't really a vacation with all the driving around. I love going home, but I hate leaving everyone.

Summer Recap 2

July 2-July 22

HOTLANTA! From the moment I got off the plane I knew I was going to have to dress light and find ways to stay cool. So that's just what Danielle, Debbie and I did!  We beat the heat.

On the fourth, we watched fireworks in the Centennial Olympic Park. We could hear the voice of Crystal Bowersocks in the background as we were waiting in the queue to get in.  

We were supposed to see Taylor Swift live in concert, but unfortunately she got bronchitis and had to reschedule. Boo! 

We stayed active by bowling

and hitting up the gym, but enjoyed our lounge time too with movies and karaoke. 

Then it was on to Florida, or Flarda as those crazy southerners say! 

We enjoyed digging our toes in the sand and catching some rays.

 Debbie.

Such a goofball, but I love her to bits!

We didn't do a whole lot of swimming in the ocean with all the seaweed, but we took advantage of the pool!

We enjoyed Panama City Beach the most and decided it would be the place that the Stauty's and Page's meet up or retire together to some day.

 

Me with the best woman I know, Danielle.

There are so many great pictures and memories from this trip.  I was lucky enough to see several of my good Air Fore family/friends and also made a few new ones.  What a great summer vacation!

Summer Recap 1

June 18-July 2

Scott, Tammy and Liz came to England! Here they are in Kensington Gardens, London. I think Liz has most of the pictures because her camera wasn't working so she put her card in mine. We toured the Tower Bridge, which was a first for me. It rained quite a bit while they were here, but we didn't let it ruin our fun!

We spent a couple days around Thetford and Cambridge and then drove north up to York and to the northwest to the beautiful Lake District. Ahh! Only 30 miles from Scotland.

Here we met the nicest couple with a quaint B&B. They introduced us to the locals, including a wonderful chef, John who made the best meals! We even participated in quiz night at a nearby pub.  Although I didn't particularly like driving around the narrow and windy roads, it was all worth it.

We toured Castle Howard and the Roman walls in the city of York and  ended our road trip with the tour of Windsor Castle near London.

FFW to Summer!

06-05-11

I'm going to fast forward a bit because I'm afraid after the next two weeks I will be extremely busy and there will be not a whole lot of time to blog.  I have exactly 11 days until school is out, 9 in school. YIPPEE!  Then Scott, Tammy and Lizzo (Darren's aunt, uncle and cousin from Texas) will be flying into London for a two week visit. We plan on driving up north as far as Scotland and making a loop back around sight seeing Great Britain.
After that I will be flying to Atlanta see one of my very best friend's, Danielle, for three weeks. American food, right side driving, affordable shopping, and sunny beach, here I come!  Of course I will be very close to HOME SWEET HOME. So that leaves me another three weeks to see family and friends in Iowa. Family, see you some time between July 22-August 11! Eek! I can't wait!
My new nephew will probably make an appearance before I get there, but I'd rather him come early than late! It's hard to believe we have lived here a year and it's been just over a year since I have seen everyone. Next year everyone comes to see ME!! Just sayin'. Love to you all! Have a sunshiny, carefree summer! And to anyone reading this,  watermelon and corn on the cob are must haves!! Thanks in advance. :D

The weather is already summery and heavenly here in England. This is a picture of the River Cam in Cambridge where the rowing teams were practicing while I stopped to snap a photo after a 6 mile walk!

Modge Podge

5.16.11

I'm trying not to forget to blog. It seems like every time I post it's because I have just suggested a friend check it out. So Hello, Meredith! Hope you like it and check in from time to time! Miss having you as a co-worker. I'm thinking back to the good 'ole No Hope Pope days.....good memories there!

So the day for Darren to deploy is fast approaching.  He is set to leave Saturday night for Korea and will be gone four months. The days leading up to this deployment have been pretty amazing. We're in a good place in our marriage and have so much fun together.  With deployments come a deeper appreciation for one another and we know that spending time together is important. Hey, we took a whole week off and didn't get sick of each other! I think that says a lot!

So here is a recap of our week off May 2-8.
First stop-one of our favorite places, Nottingham. We didn't get to eat at Hooter's this time, but we did more gambling-no big wins, and we randomly stumbled upon Nottingham Trent College one night. So beautiful all lit up!  It looks like  fairy tale castle.

And this was our quaint victorian hotel close to the city center.

Then on to Manchester, where we saw Man U beat some team I can't remember the name of. Darren and I really enjoy football over here....I think he likes it more than the NFL-shhh! Don't tell him I told you!
The best part of the trip to Manchester was THIS.....

I call her, "Champagne"! And she drives like a dream! I managed to trade them the SMART at a very good price and didn't turn back! I have always wanted a Lexus and she's all MINE!  Of course I have Darren to thank for doing the sweet talking. He also recently traded his Range Rover for a Porsche-I know, I can't keep up either! "ROXY" is in storage while he's gone.

Next stop, LIVERPOOL! You can't see Liverpool without seeing something related to the Beatles. Paul McCartney's house was a little out of our way, the museum was too price, so we had to settle for a large photograph.

Ahh, they were so dreamy back in the day....some day we will visit Abbey Road in London where they took their famous picture. Haven't crossed that one off the list yet, but Liverpool-check! Great shopping and night life there.
We made our final stop in Peterborough, a little town about an hour from Thetford. We have been there before via train, but decided this time we would take more time to see their famous cathedral.

While uploading my pictures, I realized that I didn't even blog about the Royal Wedding! Although I didn't attend, I was able to watch most of it at school on the computer.  I made a day of it, we made virgin mimosas in class and some of my students dressed up. Then after school a few teachers and I had afternoon tea in Bury at Harriets, a very popular tea house, where they serve the BEST scones on Earth!