It Wasn't Me

For the past couple of days Limey has been finding wee little birdies lined up along the side of the house, outside the back door.

When questioned, Pippin denied being involved and continued to act like the pampered and naive house kitty he's always been.

This photo proves otherwise.

Teaser Photo: Dining Room

This is so exciting!  The dining room is almost done.  Here's what is left to do;

1. Finish painting the floor.
2. Finish trim work (baseboard, window, bookcase).
3. Misc projects (dining chairs, sideboard, etc)

At some point we need to either buy a new wood stove or move the old one into this room.  Should be a fall 2011 project.

The teaser shot;

The most gorgeous dining table ever!

It's a Long Story

Here's the long winded birth story. Don't read if you can't handle the gory details.

First off a brief narration of the previous births.

DD1 Planned a homebirth. Had some "faux" contractions the night before, lasting until 5 am on the due date. At 5 am irregular, stronger contractions started. By 8 am I was thinking this is labor. By 11m my midwife had shown up and decided we should transfer because; baby might be posterior, baby was high up, irregular contractions, lots of pain and "felt like a big baby". At the hospital I had my water broke by the ob, pitocin given without my consent (for irregular contractions) and every drug they had on tap (none of which actually relieved the pain). Sometime after 4 I was dilated to 10 but baby was having decels so they immediately brought out the "you're going to kill baby without a c-section" crap. A staff Christmas party was looming. After trying to verify the decels with broken equipment and failing to confirm anything, the ob got bitchier and we consented to the section. She came out fine, no signs of distress. 7lbs, 19".


DD2 Labor happened the exact same way (posterior baby, back labor, timing) except this time I had a doula. She was great and helped me manage the pain. Then the midwife arrived. Different midwife from last time. She was not impressed with having to attend a homebirth vbac and was beyond horrible to everyone there. After telling me numerous times that I obviously wasn't capable of a vaginal delivery, I freaked out during transition (as is common) and begged for drugs. She happily ordered me an ambulance to transfer at 9 cms (3 pm). Pushed for 2 hours during which the baby actually turned halfway to the right position before coming out. Third degree tear. No drugs. 8lbs, 19". Recovery from tearing took months.


To sum up, two horribly painful back labors with babies in the OP position, irregular contractions but steady progress with dilation. While the second was better in that it didn't end in a c-section, it was in no way enjoyable and I had to fight my midwives for it.


Okay, third go around. I planned a homebirth with new midwives but we ended up moving to Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia has only recently licensed midwives and are in a transitional phase so there aren't really any available unless you live in Halifax.


Because I was so close to the due date, the plan was to just show up to the nearest hospital in labor and use the on call ob. This freaked me out a lot. The obstetric community doesn't exactly run on scientific fact and a lot of outdated practices are still in use. I had concerns about some standard practices that I would be refusing. I didn't want to piss off the staff but I wasn't about to compromise either.


After 3 weeks of some very convincing prodromal labor, I went to bed on the 20th with "faux" contractions like I had many nights previously. Around 5 am woke up with a really long contraction and burning back pain. Had a shower and tried to get back to sleep. Unfortunately the contractions were really bad while laying down so I got up to time them. Was annoyed because I had done this same routine several times already since arriving here. Around 7am it became obvious that the pain wasn't going to get any better so I got everyone up and had Limey get everything together to go to the hospital. Contractions were constant while standing and the pain was already really bad in comparison to the previous labors. I figured it was either labor or I was going to stay in the hospital until it was. I was really sick of faux labor by this point.


Drove the 45 minutes to the hospital. Went through registration with a nurse. Was 3-5cm dilated, 80% effaced when she first checked around 9:30. Contractions were 4-5 minutes apart. They had me walk around for a bit to see what would happen. Contractions slowed down but they were getting more painful so I was admitted.


I discussed plans with the nurse. Was completely surprised when she took no issue with anything. Didn't care that I wouldn't accept an iv unless needed for an emergency or epidural and agreed that even though I hadn't done the Strep test, that because I had no risk factors for it, they didn't require I have antibiotics (iv) for it. She did insist that I get blood work done just in case I required a c-section.


Contractions continued to be irregular and by the time I hit 5 cms I was in transition level pain. Limey tried to help me cope but I had meltdown. There was no way I was going to make it to 10 and then deal with the pain of back labor combined with pushing (which I remembered clearly now) drugs. The problem of course was that with DD1 none of drugs worked. Well, they made me incredibly loopy but that was it. I didn't want to be completely out of it for the birth but I also didn't want to be out of it from the pain. So I ordered the epidural. It took forever to arrive. Labor was slow and agonizingly painful. 5pm came and went with no baby. I had finally hit 7 cm when the epidural was inserted.


Limey had been watching the kids and came in to check on me. He was shocked. Not only was I completely relaxed and lucid, but also pain free. My legs were heavy and I could move them with a little effort. The pain was completely gone despite the fact that I was not fully paralyzed. An epidural that actually works with no side effects is awesome. I could still feel contractions but only as light pressure.


Labor continued to be slow. Contractions were all over the place in length. Amazingly the nurse said that pitocin would not be considered unless dilation stalled. If irregular contractions got the job done it was fine. Big difference from the first birth. Water broke on it's own shortly after. There were decels during contractions but the nurse had no problems with this and said as long as recovery was good on them it was fine. If recovery slowed down the ob would decide whether pushing the baby out or a c-section was faster and then we'd proceed from there. I wish that option would have been presented with dd1! Progress stalled at 8 cms. During the check, my new nurse found that the bulb from the catheter was in the way of the baby's head. She moved it and hoped that's what the hold up was. Limey decided it was time to get coffee. I told him not to be long, but considering how long things were taking he was sure he'd get back in time.


15 minutes later I was complete. We waited another 10 minutes for Limey to get back so I could start pushing. DD2 was asleep and DD1 was watching movies on the laptop. Nurse said that baby should be out pretty quickly that I shouldn't be looking at a 2 hour pushing stage like last time. Oh how wrong she was.


It was soon confirmed that baby number 3 was posterior just like the others. But whatever, DD2 came out vaginally so could this one. Or not. After an hour of pushing baby had hit the point where his head could be seen but he wasn't turning at all. We started getting decels with a slower recovery. Ob was fine with this, but things needed to started moving along. He tried turning the baby but he wouldn't budge. Another hour of pushing and the baby's head, which until that point had been perfectly round had started to become cone shaped from being pushed while not actually moving. Decels were still being noted. An hour of pushing that made no progress. It was really late by this point and I was exhausted. I could barely push any more. Some options were presented. The ob (who was soooo awesome btw) wanted to try forceps. He was sure it would work. We could go to the vacuum if that didn't work, but if neither worked or it decels got too bad during the attempt to turn the baby we'd be facing an immediate c-section. The attempt to turn would be done in the operating room with staff on hand to operate. I agreed but was devastated. I was convinced that I'd be having another section. I bawled for ages. Limey stayed in the room with the kids while I went to the OR. I was so upset that I refused to look at or talk to anyone. My nurse tried to stay upbeat while prepping me for a section. Everyone in the room was confident but I couldn't be upbeat with a surgical staff at the ready. My epidural was topped up so but even though I didn't experience any pain from the forceps, I could still feel the pressure from them and it was really bizarre. There was a pop in my butt cheek that radiated down my thigh. Shortly after that the doctor announced that the baby was spinning and then told me to push. Two contractions of pushing and baby flew right out.


Listening to the discussion between the doctors, baby needed a little help to turn into an anterior position but once started he flipped right around and that had been the only thing holding him back.


Once out there were exclamations of how big he was. Estimates of 10 lbs were given. I started bawling again but didn't want to hold him yet. I needed some emotional recovery time first.


A nurse traded places with Limey and he came in to check on me (I was being stitched up from another 3rd degree tear) and hold the baby. Baby boy was born around 11:30 pm after 18+ hours of labor. The longest labor yet. 9lbs 12 oz and 22" long.


Oddly this was the best delivery so far. Once the epidural was in, I was actually able to enjoy the labor. The staff was awesome. The ob was great. They treated us respectfully with no snark, god complexes or rush to get me out of there for a golf game. The really wanted what we wanted out of the birth. It was great.


Recovery is going to be a bitch. I stayed in the hospital for two days before requesting release. I'm bruised and torn from the pushing and forceps delivery. Sitting hurts, walking hurts. It's a good thing Limey is on parental leave. Baby is great. He only has a tiny swelling on the side of his face from the forceps. He may be 10lbs but he doesn't look it. He's just as skinny as the girls were and the newborn dipes and clothes are huge on him. All the weight must be in his giant cheeks.


Despite wanting 4+ kids I am seriously considering making this the last one. There is clearly something going on in my pelvis. 3 posterior babies with difficult births. I could deal with the pain by going straight to an epidural but having to face either a c-section or 6 months of recovery from major tearing is not something I want to deal with again.


So there you have it. At least breastfeeding is easy for me!

Biggest One Yet

More details when I feel better.

Better Than Delivery

Pizza is awesome on the grill.

It's also really easy.  Just roll it out the dough so it's a bit on the thick side and then put it on an oiled grill.  Once the bottom is crisped up flip it over and add your toppings.

Next year we hope to build an adobe oven for pizza and bread making, but for now the grill is still better than delivery.

Hot N' Fresh

It's becoming obvious that I underestimate my own gluttony.  I ignored the eye roll Limey gave me when I asked him to grab a 20 pack of mini donuts from the donut stand at the exhibition.  When he suggested we get the 40 I brushed him off.

Sure enough as soon as I got one of those hot, cinnamon donuts in my mouth I realized the error of my ways and sent him back for another 40.

Damn they were good.

Annapolis Valley Exhibition

We'd gone to a couple of farm events back in Ontario but none of them were as awesome as this one and it's only day 1!

Here's a bunch of photos from the event.  We didn't stay long because I've been contracting since 3 am and I needed a bit of a rest.  Hopefully we can get back there tonight.

Some of the cows were absolutely massive.  Limey no longer wants one.

We definitely want dairy goats! Gorgeous!

A Saanen/Nubian cross.

Horsey!

Absolutely massive Buff Orpingtons

More giant chickens.  This time two Australorps

Kids in the wild.

Alpacas

La Manchas

Juicy, Juicy

Omg.  Local sun warmed peaches are a revelation. 

I avoid buying peaches from the grocery store for three reasons;

1. They are expensive

2. They are always hard

3. They are inevitably tasteless

This is the first time I've lived somewhere that was warm enough for local peaches.  They were inexpensive, sweet and juicy.  We originally only bought a carton but once we got into the van and tried them, we realized they wouldn't make it home.  Limey went back and bought 3 more cartons.  I think we ate about a dozen before I took this pic.

Paint Colour Surprises

Do the charts ever match what goes on the wall?

Here's the colour we picked for the dining room. Trying to go more grey.

CIL Cloud Motif

When we had it mixed it looked really white and I was concerned that we'd be taking it back to get a little more colour added.

I had Limey paint a patch on the wall so we could see how it looked.

It's a lot darker than expected and from where I'm sitting almost looks purple. This is annoying because the exact same thing happened with our previous dining room. We matched the blue to the blue venetian plaster in the kitchen and it turned out lavender on the walls.

The thing is, I can't be bothered to take it back.  I'll just try again on another room!  I'm thinking Benjamin Moore's Pigeon Grey for the front foyer.

Julianne Moore's Apartment

What do you think?

The Drywall Buddy

The original plan for the dining room ceiling was beadboard.  Unfortunately nobody seems to carry it within an hours drive.  I'm fine with drywall but Limey hates that job more than any other, especially when it involves a ceiling and no help.

So necessity being the mother of invention, Limey presents us with the Drywall Buddy.  As he says "my Buddy won't help me carry the drywall up the ladder, but he doesn't mind holding it when I get up there."

My husband is weird.  Have I mentioned that?

Living Room Status: Mostly Done

I still can't find slipcovers for the couches so they'll be staying brown for now.  No point covering them with a brown slipcover which is all stores carry apparently.  Art work will go on the walls as I find or paint some.

Next time I'm near the fabric store I want to buy some toile to make cushion covers with.  We're still looking for a suitable coffee table and end tables.  I predict Limey will be adding them to his To Build list.
 
That said, here's the pics.  Mostly done.  Check out the before shot here first.

Love this blue!

Hmm, might need more of these.

Half-Day Trip

Every day feels like vacation here.  It's just a short drive to numerous tourist towns.  We went to Digby for a seafood lunch yesterday.  It was hot and sunny, perfect for lunch on the water.

Ugh

Limey started pulling down the ceiling in the dining room.  Most of the ceilings in the house are some kind of ceiling tile with grids glued to them.

Underneath the tile are studs, which are attached to another layer of tile which themselves are attached to more studs which is attached to the original plaster ceiling.  It's all got to come down right up to the plaster.

If that wasn't bad enough, he also found 4 mouse nests and a tonne of mouse droppings.  The plaster ceiling is soaked in mouse urine.

So far there have been no pleasant surprises.

I thought the Kukkee house was bad.

Bay of Fundy

No pics of the living room yet as Limey is still bashing away at the dining room.  We did take a little break to visit the Bay of Fundy.  100 billion tonnes of water flow in and out of the Bay daily.   It was in the middle of a tide cycle when we went.  When Limey was here last the boats were on dry ground.

Here's some pics.

Carpet

If there's one thing I hate it's carpet.  I can deal with area rugs but wall to wall carpet makes me cringe.

When we moved into Rose Cottage five years ago, the living room was covered in shag carpet.  I have allergies and the previous owner was a smoker so the carpet was the first thing to go.  Underneath that carpet?  A bucket full of dirt.  Because no matter how much you vacuum and shampoo your carpet, dirt falls underneath where no vacuum can touch.

It's disgusting.  Even with area rugs, you have to roll them up regularly and sweep up the mess underneath.

I've been complaining about the carpet in the dining room since we moved in to the "Green House" as DD1 calls it.  It's a thick pile and feels greasy underfoot.  Hate it.  So Limey decided to rip a section up to see what was underneath.  What did he find, you ask?

Who doesn't love to rip up carpet?

Yes, boys and girls, that is carpet underneath the carpet and then parquet. The really gross part? The second carpet is damp and when he started pulling up around the baseboards, the bugs living there were pretty gross too.

Wall to wall carpet should be illegal.  There I said it.  To prison with all you carpet layers!

Limey wants me to be post a full pic of the dining room before he tears all the carpet up.  Here it is.

Plush carpet in a dining room, really?

Try not to look at the glimpse of the living room in the above picture. I'll take a finished living room photo tomorrow when the lighting is better.  Evening shots are always yellowy for me.

See the underlay in this shot?  I remember scraping that stuff off a floor (who's?) as a kid.  It makes you all itchy.  Guhrooooohsss.

So my job for the evening?  Googling how to refinish parquet...

Edit*  Ha!  It's not even parquet!  It's peel and stick tile!  I guess we'll be replacing the floor soon.  But first we have to level it.  Hopefully Limey bought a winning lottery ticket tonight.

Friday To Do List

• Finish bookcase
• Put shelves up in bedroom closet, pantry and bathroom
• Set up compost pile outside
• Install light fixture in living room
• Remove all carpet on main floor
• Start building kitchen table.

I found this awesome farmhouse table plan on Knock-Off Wood .  It's an awesome site showing how to build all sorts of cool furniture.  Limey already has all the wood in the barn for it, we just need to decide how to finish it.

I like the look of greyish brown wood but I can never find a stain that matches the colour. The other option is to paint it white and then distress it a bit by rubbing off some of the paint.

As for chairs, I have no idea. Maybe a dining bench on one side. I keep checking Kijiji as the furniture stores have nothing appropriate. Maybe I'll get Limey to build chairs too!

Damn Insurance Companies

In order to get insurance on the house we had to agree to replace the oil tank in the basement.  I think it was about 14 years old.  Which meant paying someone to remove it, replace it with a new one and refill it.  It cost us a small fortune.

I have a feeling they are also going to take issue with the wood stove in the kitchen, despite the fact that they have been insuring it for the past 5 or so years with the previous owners.  We'll see what they say when they come inspect it.

I sorted out the newborn clothes and cloth diapers today.  I need to hook up the printer so I can print out a birth plan.  Essentially it's going to say "don't come near me or I'll kick your ass".   Yeah, it's going to be an interesting birth to say the least.

Limey started making built in bookcases for the living room.  Pretty similar to ones from the previous house.  Hopefully it'll be done by tonight.  He also picked up some shelving for the pantry, bathroom and bedroom closet.

I miss my bookshelves.

What else...I ordered the last books I need for dd1's curriculum this year.  I have to make a list of supplies (science and history) to pick up next time I'm near the educational toy store.  Also have to send in a registration form to the government registering her as a homeschooler.  In Ontario, you don't have to do anything.  Here you have to send in a form stating the curriculum you are using, or if you unschool, a vague generalization of your plans.  At the end of the year you send in another form stating what the child has learned.  Seems a little pointless to me but whatever. 

That's about it for now.  Hoping to go in to labor soon.  My back is killing me!

Blue Jays

A blue jay in the yard was a very rare occasion at the old house.  Not so here.  The previous owners left up all their bird feeders and the most frequent visitor is the jay.  There are often groups of five or more squabbling over the seed.

In other news, Limey has just started on painting the living room. There was a ton of patching up to do in there. It must have been really drafty in the winter with all those gaps he filled.

We had a momentary freak out when he started painting the edges of the ceiling. It contrast to the standard white of the previous paint job, the new white looked very pink. He finished the ceiling, did a sample patch of the blue and now the white looks white again. I definitely did not want a pink ceiling!

I've been completely useless these days. My pregnancy SPD has me pretty much stuck in a seated position all day long.  So I've just been researching our farm plans for next year and shouting out orders. We're really looking forward to getting animals. We'll likely start with chickens and rabbits and see how it goes from there.  There was an ad in Kijiji the other day for newly hatched muscovies. I came very close to emailing for them.  I can't wait!

Limey thanked me the other day for "making us move". I've been dreaming about moving to the country and homesteading for a couple of years now and he has always been dead set against it. Certain events in the past year made him change his tune and now that we're here he's the most content I've ever seen him. His only complaint is that none of his friends are here to share it with.

Somebody come visit!

Reno #1 Living Room

I had all sorts of grand plans for a shabby chic/cottage type living room this go around, slipcovers, white painted furniture, all that jazz.  Then I made the mistake of putting our old furniture into the new living room.  I actually quite like the way it looks.  We'll see how I feel when the walls are blue.

As much as I loved our chocolate walls, I want to go lighter in this room so I picked out a nice greyish blue.

CIL brand; Blue Veil.  It's a bit greyer in life.

One half of each french door is screwed to the floor.  These doors open to the dining room

More french doors and another window.  These doors open to the foyer. 

We are starting with this room first because it requires the least amount of work and we'll have that immediate satisfaction of having an entire room completed.  The walls are plaster and it has the original wood trim.  Limey has lots of sanding and patching to do in this room as you can see from the photo but essentially that's the entire reno part of the job; sanding, patching and painting.

There are lots of gaps in the trim and walls.

Scrape, scrape, sand.

The only other thing that needs to be changed in here is the light fixture.  The ceiling fan is coming out and this is going in;

With the exception of the sunroom, all of the main floor windows have been switched out to double glazed vinyl (purists are cringing everywhere). Not entirely impressed with the orangey laminate flooring in this room.  It would have been nice if whoever installed it had taken the time to fix the dip towards the foyer first but I can live with it.

As for decor, I'm still not sure where to go with it at this time.  New cushion covers are wanted and Limey will probably build a floor to ceiling shelf unit for our books on the foyer wall, surrounding the french door.  After that some end tables, a coffee table and artwork should finish things off nicely.

I may or may not make some shades for the windows, following this awesome tutorial for making them out of old mini blinds, but that's a decision for another day.