Tuesday, November 29, 2011

PUPPP-date

Examination of the viewing stats for this blog over the past few months has led me to a realization: the internet somehow thinks I am an expert on PUPPP. The Nerdmama blog appears on the first page of Google search results! Whoever thought a skin condition would make me popular? I seem to recall my skin being the reason I was mercilessly teased in junior high... you know, besides being an insufferable, geeky know-it-all. :)

For anyone who is wondering how my life has been post-PUPPP, here's the scoop: the medical community says that PUPPP usually doesn't scar. Well, remember how my OB said I was just lucky because I got GD and PUPPP? I was lucky enough to get PUPPP scars, too! Woohoo!

I have a ton of tiny scars from where the blisters broke open all over my legs. My arms aren't too bad, but there is a lot of noticeable discoloration on my forearms from where the worst of it was. My stomach, amazingly, escaped mostly unscathed, although I am going to need some serious resurfacing before I am ever seen in a bikini again.

I saw my dermatologist about the scars a couple months ago and there's not really a lot I can do about them. He suggested bleaching them, which I did for about two months before losing interest. I really should get back on that, though, because it had started to work--and the bleaching cream was doing wonders on the stretch marks, too. For the record, it's this stuff:

Available at drugstore.com for under $6!


It's cheap and it's effective. If you're looking to get rid of PUPPP scars, I recommend it. My dermatologist actually told me to get this brand, too--he said that it is just as effective as prescription creams, and you get more cream for less money. Nice. I am all about more for less. If you're not into buying online, I've also found this stuff at Walgreens (but not at CVS or Target).

I'll let you guys know if I ever get rid of the scars. I also just updated the navigation header with a new page, entitled PUPPP Help, which includes a series of links to websites with information on PUPPP and information about possible treatment options. I hope it helps anyone who gets the rash, because let's face it: late pregnancy is already pretty miserable, there's no reason to be in more pain than you have to be!




Friday, November 25, 2011

Thanksgiving

The House of Nerd enjoyed a good Thanksgiving last night. Grandma and Grandpa came over and joined the Nerdparents, Pax and the pets for turkey, stuffing, veggies and pie...

...after a series of small disasters, of course. After all, it wouldn't be my life without some minor crises! First, the turkey did fit into either my mom's roasting pan (brought over by my dad at 9 AM) or my roasting pan. I wanted to use my mom's because it is slightly larger (by virtue of being an oval instead of a rectangle) and it has a lid. The turkey was having none of it:


After wrestling the bird between the two pans, it ended up in mine. I then had to call my parents again and my dad brought me a roll of aluminum foil at 10 AM, since I'd run out. I got the foil tented over the turkey and went to put the 21-pound fowl into the oven... when the pan got stuck in the oven rack somehow and I spilled the turkey. I had broth in the bottom of the pan and it went EVERYWHERE. My husband helped clean up and the turkey made into the oven without incident on the second attempt. It was worth the effort, as it came out fantastic:


Of course I had a couple of helpers for dinner:


Here's my "tablescape". Doesn't that sound fancy, "tablescape"? It's a fancy word for being motivated enough to actually set the table properly for once in my life.


This stuff makes my holiday: jellied cranberry sauce from a can. It's so wrong, but oh so right, and I always, always make sure that it comes out in the shape of the can. It wouldn't come in a can if Ocean Spray didn't mean for it to be served that way.


Here's what our meal looked like, pre-gravy and sans-cranberry. Oh, and sans-Swede. Have you guys heard about Swedish turnip/Rutabaga? It's a vegetable, a nasty, nasty vegetable. My father likes it and no one else in the family will touch it (including, now, Paxton).

Oh, and this is still a parenting blog, so you'd better have some baby:



I hope everyone else (in the US, at least) had an excellent Thanksgiving! I got up insanely early today to do some traditional Black Friday shopping with my BFF/Pax's nonbiological aunt and we got some pretty good deals. :)


Saturday, November 12, 2011

Friday, November 4, 2011

Liebster


Mom on the Edge awesomely awarded me with the Liebster Blog "award"--it's an award passed around through other bloggers to celebrate up-and-coming blogs with less than 200 followers. Thanks for thinking of Nerdmama!

Here's how the Liebster works:

1. Copy the award to your blog.
2. Thank the giver and link back to their blog.
3. Reveal your top five up-and-coming blogs, and let the bloggers know.
4. Spread the love!

Here's my Top Five mommybloggers:

1. Soup: Midwestern Mama Cooking up Life in the Heartland
2. It's MOMbojumbo

And finally, a brand-new blog that was just started by my friend Joanna, one that you should all go read and follow right now because she is just that amazing:


I'm realizing that I am pretty biased towards NEO mommybloggers (MOMbojumbo, Toes in the Air, Planet Hausfrau...). Even Joanna is a NEO transplant. The only one not from the area is Soup--but that doesn't make her any less awesome, she's still one of us gorgeous midwestern ladies. :)


Tuesday, November 1, 2011

The Halloween Costume

My husband and I had a wonderful costume planned for Pax. Really, we did. See, the geekling has terrific crazy hair. David Tennant hair. So it made sense to dress little Pax up like the Tenth Doctor.

Well, fabric and patterns were acquired, but midterms got in the way. Basically, Pax's costume ended up being a pair of black Chuck Taylor socks and a onesie with a blue tie.

We'd say that we dressed him up like a nerd, but that'd be too obvious.