28 weeks and Homemade Finger Paints

Well, after the fear that they were lost to the nether regions that all digital files go to when they are deleted, I was able to save the pictures taken on Jeff's camera (or I should say Jeff was able to save the pictures...apparently I didn't have the memory card pushed in all the way when I thought I did...) So I had some fun trying to photoshop last night and building a new scrapbook page. All I can say is I felt HORRIBLE! I haven't built a new scrapbook page since 18 weeks- that is 10 weeks without a picture or a journal entry... I then remembered that I am going to build a page to put all the ultrasound pics that we got at 20 weeks on, so I didn't feel so bad after that...

So...here you go- just so you can say you've seen me at 28 weeks....(trumpet fanfare) the 28 weeks scrapbook page!!!!!I had my 28 week checkup today (even though I will very shortly be 29 weeks...) I got to have the lovely glucose test, which I managed to pass...for future reference (since I had lots of friends that failed theirs...) apparently you're supposed to fast for it for at least 1 hour before your appointment- I fasted for a little over 3 hours before mine (I ate breakfast at 7 and my appointment was at 10:45) My sugars were on the higher end of normal, but normal. My midwife seems to think my last weight gain was a fluke, especially considering that I only gained 2 pounds between this appointment and the last. Everything else is normal as well, measurements are good, and Miss McMonkey McBean is starting to enjoy a head down position.

I had been having some kind of new pain for the last few days at night. It almost felt like it might be contractions, so I was getting pretty freaked out. I will wake up with pains that are steady every 5 minutes or so for an hour or 45 minutes and then they magically disappear. Susan explained that they aren't contractions per se....they are spasms of the uterus because I am dehydrated...so I have called upon the help of my sister the nurse to get my hands on one of those hospital water mug/jug things (since she has a few floating around her house) and I will be doing my very best to make sure that I am drink, drink, drinking water all day long. My midwife also suggested trying to drink a glass of gatorade every day to keep the electrolytes up.

I definitely learned a lot at this appointment. I guess I already need to pick my pediatrician...I thought that came later- but Susan is on top of things!

I was also surprised when Susan announced that my appointments will now be every 2 weeks instead of every 4- I thought that happened at 32 weeks, so it was a pleasant surprise. I won't complain about being able to hear Miss McMonkey's heartbeat every other week at all!!!

While I wait for McMonkey McBean's arrival I have been keeping myself busy crocheting. My new blog, etsy shop and facebook fan page for Brittanyboo Designs should be opening shortly so I can share the love with everyone. I've been making some really cute stuff. Right now, I'm just limited by how much yarn I have and what colors- which has been frustrating at times, but I've still managed to put some really fun things together that I will hopefully be able to sell shortly to make a little extra cash for our household.

I also have 6 confirmed voice students (I'm hoping that number will get to 10 or 15 hint hint...) Its been way fun to pick out rep again and have a schedule for the day. Its been weird for me not being in school this semester...

Speaking of school...Raylee is LOVING preschool. It can be exhausting some days, but I am having a lot of fun too, and I am learning a lot about homeschooling in the process. The other day Raylee and I learned about the primary colors and how you use them to make all the colors of the rainbow. The next day, we reviewed the primary colors, we learned a song about the colors of the rainbow and we made homemade finger paints!!! (no cooking required, I found a lot of recipes that required cooking them, but I wanted Raylee to be able to help, and I wanted her to have some instant gratification.) I came up with my own recipe by combining 2 or 3 that I found on the net for no cook finger paints and it came out really well.

You will need:

Food color
1/2 c. white flour
1/4 c. corn starch
1 c. water.

and a holder of some kind for your paint colors ( I used a portion of an egg carton)

Mix the flour, corn starch, and water in a bowl. If needed, slowly add more water to make the mixture smooth as opposed to goopy- it should be about the consistency of gravy.

In your egg carton or smaller paint holders, use food colors to mix your desired colors (we used a toothpick to stir the colors in our egg carton- it worked famously!) You may also want to think about a smock, large T-Shirt, or apron of some kind to cover your clothes. Once the food color is in the paint mix, it won't dye your fingers but before that it can. Because of this, I covered Raylee with an apron and she was allowed to stir the paints and tell me if she wanted more color in the mix, but she wasn't allowed to drop the color in (to save mess.)

Here she is holding up our finger paints! She was so excited. We will definitely have to do this as a fun project again sometime!

Here is Raylee showing off her art work. She finally got to the point where she would dip each finger in a different color and press them against the paper. I wish I'd had some paint brushes so she could use it to paint her hand....come to think of it...we may do this again for Thanksgiving and make a Thanksgiving Turkey using finger paints! LOVE IT!


The same day we did finger paints, we also learned about the letter C and how to draw it. We learned that C makes a [k] sound and the work cupcake...(like she needed to learn that word...I'm sure she already knew it, but now she knows what it looks like.) We made a Cupcake with C's on it...yes those are real sprinkles on the top. Raylee's new favorite thing is glue. I cut out the pieces for her, she glued them together and glued on the sprinkles. When it dried I had her write her letter C's on it. She is still very proud of her cupcake and points at it on our art wall every time she comes to preschool.

On Monday we started a new unit. We are learning about health and hygiene this week. I had gotten a package in the mail and inside the package was a very large sheet of brown paper. I decided it would be perfect for this unit. I had Raylee lay on the floor and we traced her body. She got to color herself any way she wanted. Its a life size Raylee ( If she was all the colors of the rainbow...LOL) Every time we learn something new about being clean and healthy we will have a new art project that we will glue to her body to remind her about what we've learned.

Raylee's colorful rendition of herself!

After we had her body hung up, we learned about washing your hands, why we do it, when we do it, and that we should sneeze and cough into the crook of our elbows. I demonstrated by covering my hands in flour, fake sneezing and saying the flour was like the bad germs that we can carry around sometimes. I shook her hand and covered it in flour, then I let her play with her scissors, which also became covered with flour. She got the message-it was so cute...she would fake sneeze like I did and say "Gee Aunt B. Why did you have to share your germs!?" I couldn't get enough. We did an art project where she got to cut out and assemble Mr. Soap (a print out I found online.) and then we glued Mr. Soap to the body. Tomorrow we are going to learn about bathing and how to wash ourselves properly in the bathtub. I'm thinking we will make and decorate a cut out of shampoo and conditioner and the stuff you need to take a bath to hang with her other hand.

We will also learn about the food pyramid and healthy eating. I'm thinking for that lesson I will have some new foods for her to try and some of her favorites. I'm going to find a kid's food pyramid worksheet to color and then we will glue that onto her belly. This week will be lots of fun!

So, I'm keeping busy (so I don't go insane) and I'm super excited about what is coming up. I'm almost down to the single digits as far as how much longer until baby gets here (I will be 11 weeks away tomorrow, then 10...its just going so fast!) It seems like I just barely found out I was pregnant...and very shortly, everything will change. The future is an exciting, beautiful thing! God is so good...he makes sure we get just what we need, and experience just what we need to when we're supposed to!

Hugs and loves until next time darlings!