Pre-Christmas

**Warning!! Terrible and unedited photography. Proceed at your own risk.**

 This year Forrest and I are spending Christmas with his family and Christi is spending Christmas with her in-laws, so we decided to meet up at Tammy's house the week before Christmas to exchange presents and hang out!

We did a bit of lounging around...

Forrest decided to get Kaleb (our nephew) knife claws

Some of us played with our gifts...

We goofed off a bit...

And SOME of us pigged out. Definitely not me ; )

It was nice to spend time together and thanks to Tammy for letting us mess up her house a bit to have a good time. Good luck cleaning up before you have your real Christmas festivities! 

Things Change When You Start to Feel Like a Mama

I know that I am just hitting the tip of the metaphorical iceberg as far as maternal instincts and hormones go, but I have noticed a big difference in the way I feel about myself vs. the world around me. For example, I have found myself on several occasions wanting to "go and talk" to other drivers who I feel were rude. Anyone who knows me, knows that A) I have little to no road rage, and B) I am one of the least confrontational people you can meet when it comes to strangers. All of a sudden now I feel like I deserve a kind of respect that never occurred to me before. This boy honked at me while I was pulling out of a parking lot and yelled out of his window that I was driving to slow. WHAT?!?! I am sorry if you couldn't get to Chick-Fil-A fast enough. Here comes the odd part-- I actually had to hold myself back from getting out of the car and going to explain to him how awful it was that he would treat a pregnant woman like that and MAYBE he should consider that I had the right-of-way and safety is just plain important! Who have I become? I had to ask Forrest that night how he would feel if I got arrested. He simply asked, "what for", and after I explained he was fully supportive of me. I am sure he would be proud in fact, since it usually baffles him that I cower in the face of standing up for myself.

Today at the mall I had to pee really badly and there were teenagers walking slowly in front of my and a friend (who also had a baby in a buggy) and I considered asking the teens to move aside "because I am about to pee my pants". Again...WHAT?! I have a feeling that if this goes much further I am going to be one of those women...those ladies...you know...a "mom". Does this happen to everyone else when they were pregnant, or did everyone else have spines to BEGIN with? I am turning into my mother, who used to throw fits about "poor service" with salesmen while I hid in corners and turned red.

Worst of all, is when I can imagine someone doing something stupid to hurt Augie. I have had incredibly graphic daydreams about ripping people a new one for even thinking about it. I know-- Daydreams? Coo-Coo!

Maybe there is just something about growing a human that makes a woman start thinking, "You know what, I don't have the time or patience for this!" *Proceeds to ring necks and take names*

Or maybe it is just me and I am going crazy...

23 Weeks, and Another Appointment!

Today I had my fourth appointment at ABC and decided to prepare a little beforehand. Lately I have been reading a lot more about what I am getting into, and came up with several questions that needed to be answered before I actually went into labor. First off, I asked her about what to do/who to call when I decided it was time to come in. Then I asked her about what tests I will have to take the remainder of my pregnancy. Apparently the only things I have left are a gestational diabetes screen and iron test at my next appointment in one month, and then at 36 weeks they do the test for group B strep. I had heard horror stories from various sources about the GD test being a huge liter of nasty sugar goop and having to fast all day. Apparently all I have to do is not eat after midnight, drink this little bottle of orange glucose water at 8 am, and go in for the test at 9am. Not too shabby! I also asked her how far over my due date they would allow me to go without having to intervene, since going over seems to be a pattern in my family. She said that 41 weeks and 5 days is the longest I can go over before they send me to be induced by their OBGYN  in the hospital. I REALLY hope that does not happen to me, because the type of induction they do is just the normal Pitocin route, which results in abnormally painful contractions. Seeing as how I am not superwoman, I doubt my ability to refuse an epidural when I am contorting in pain and made to lay still in a hospital bed while hooked up to monitors and being poked and prodded by nurses. My natural birth would be out the window! EEP! One good thing to note is that at 36 weeks they will give me raspberry leaf caplets and evening primrose oil caplets to begin getting things ready. The former is taken orally and leads to light contracting of the uterus to hopefully get the cascade of events started, and the latter is inserted daily into the area around the cervix. It apparently disintegrates and gets the cervix "prepared" better for dilation and such. Sounds graphic, I know, but I am excited there is something proactive I can do to help ensure NO INDUCTION is needed! If I go over 41 weeks and 5 days they feel that my placenta has a high risk of being compromised and that is no bueno for Augie. I also asked them how long I would be allowed to labor at the birth center, and they said that as long as neither of us went into distress we could go as long as needed. Finally, I asked how long after until we go home, and that is between 2 and 6 hours. WOO HOO! I love that I won't have to spend unneeded time in a nasty hospital bed.


Current Stats:

How far along: 23 weeks
Weight gain: 9lbs Woot Woot! Right on track.
Cravings:  Fresh fruit and carbs.
Sleep: I dream a LOT about Forrest now. I thought my dreams would be about babies!?!
Moods: A little but not too bad. Probably because Forrest has curbed the grumpy lately for me : )
Stretch Marks: not yet...
What I Miss: Sleeping more than 4 hours without peeing. 
Milestones: The kicks have gotten quite strong and I can SEE them!
Looking Forward To: Hugging my little baby bear! 

Sonogram Pictures

Last Monday I had my one and only (most likely) sonogram appointment and we found out that it's a boy! We also found out that he has a functional set of kidneys, a four chambered heart, a well formed cerebellum, a fully closed spinal cord (thank you Cheerios for fortifying with Folic Acid when I was too sick to take my vitamins), two feet, two hands, and a teeny little peenie! Here are the first pictures ever taken of Augustine!

Side view-- note the lovely spinal cord : )

The a fore-mentioned "peenie" 

I am in full on boy mode now and there is no stopping me! What used to be really puny registries at Amazon and BabiesRUs are now chock full of little animal prints, blue, green, and brown things, and (my favorite) fuzzy little hats with ears!!!! Anyone who likes to be crafty or decorative or just loves babies, feel free to email me suggestions of things to add. I must admit my friend Emily has been the one to find almost all the cute things I have added thus far. Thanks, Emily!

The main new thing I have discovered about Augie since my last post is that whenever I sit still for a while he just won't stop moving, and whenever I am moving he is still. It is funny to get ready for bed every night and have a fiesta going on in my tummy. I just love it. It doesn't keep me awake for too long, but I would rather lay awake all night feeling him have his little Taekwondo sessions than sleep anyway.

Third Appointment at the Birthing Center!

Today I had an appointment at ABC and I showed up late! Eek! I am never late, but I thought the appointment was for 9:30 and it was actually for 9, so we had to rush through it a bit. Some good news it that I have gained 10 lbs, bringing me back to my pre-pregnancy weight. So, I am half way through this thing and have gained zero pounds. I was a little surprised by this, since my belly sticks out a bit now, but I suppose maybe I have always had a pot belly an was just to vain to recognize it. (joke?) Anyway, in the next 20 weeks if I can manage to only gain 30 lbs I will consider it all a success. I was never really too concerned with gaining pregnancy weight until it was pointed out to me that gaining excessive weight in pregnancy leads to higher birth weights and therefore birth complications (i.e. the baby gets stuck). Since I am trying to do this all natural, I would really like to avoid that at all costs. Here is to me keeping up my walking and yoga, and keeping my french fry gorging to minimum. Also, today my midwife felt around on my tummy after she did the Doppler and informed me that I am measuring well an that I am "at umbilicus", which means my uterus has grown up to my belly button. Yippee!

Current Stats:

How far along: 19 weeks
Weight gain: none, zip, nada, 0lbs
Cravings:  food. all of it. tacos and fruit are the best.
Sleep: creepy, insane, awful dreams and dreams about food.
Moods: Forrest says I have been more normal than before I was preg. (no PMS?)
Stretch Marks: not yet...
What I Miss: being able to rough house with people/my dogs/etc
Milestones: tons of kicking!
Looking Forward To: sonogram next week to tell the gender!!

So, this Monday I have my next appointment and I can't wait! Who would ever have thought a person could be so excited to see a medical professional? Also I am seriously excited for Christmas-- it seems my excitement is inversely proportional to the temperature outside.

Point of the post? I totally feel the baby kicking all the time now! The first few times I was in disbelief but it really feels like nothing I have ever felt. Earlier in my pregnancy I was told by several moms and read in several books that it would first feel like a "flutter". I literally never felt anything that I would describe as a flutter. It essentially went from nothing to full on kicks. Well, I suppose they would  be better described as pokes, since they are soft and don't hurt. What's weirder is that the first time I felt them it wasn't just in my belly, but rather I felt it with my hand. It was the night of game 7 for the Rangers and I just couldn't watch anymore so I went to lie down and had my hands resting on my tummy. All of a sudden I felt a "poke! poke!" on my right hand and immediately froze with disbelief. A few seconds later I felt the same thing but on the other hand and yelled for Forrest to come feel. Needless to say the baby has still never kicked while he was feeling for it, but hopefully someday soon. Since then I feel it all the time without my hand having to be there, but it is always equally thrilling.

Next post will be about the appointment, and then the week after....gender reveal!

This Month's Midwife Visit, and More!

This past Thursday I had my second monthly appointment at ABC, and since it was during lunch time Forrest got to come with! It was just a general "how are you feeling?" and "any issues lately?" sort of a thing along with my blood pressure and such. One thing to note that the midwife (I got to see the sweet Mrs.Carol this time) got a little miffed about was the fact that I had lost 10 lbs in one month since I last had an appointment. Oops. I blame it partly on the resolution of my...errmm..."gastrointestinal issues", but she thinks that I need to start carrying around cheerios or something with me and eating more frequently. I jumped right on that train and have kept a gallon sized bag of the little yum-yum's in my bed ever since. Guess what!?!? I haven't really gotten sick since then. I think my blood sugar may have a lot to do with my vomiting. Anyhoo, another really neat part of this appointment was that Forrest got to hear the baby's heartbeat via the Doppler. Quite a few times we would hear a funny "whoosh!" and she told us that was him/her kicking! Carol said the baby kicked a lot more than is typical. Karate star? Perhaps. Am I looking forward to feeling those "frequent" kicks at full blast in 5 months at midnight....Yikes.

Other tidbits:

Weight gain/loss: minus 10 lbs
Cravings: Morningstar vegetarian chicken nuggets
Belly growth: barely
Sleep: I suddenly have allergies, so not very good.
What I miss: As much coffee as I want and a clean house. (they go hand in hand)

The most recent appointment I had at the birthing center (last week) was my 10 week checkup. In reality, it was more like my first "real" appointment. I got to talk extensively with the midwife (there are several, but this is the only one I have met so far) and she asked me a slew of questions about my health and how things were going with my pregnancy. She also used a Doppler to check my belly buddy's heart beat. She warned me that this early is was trickier to find and might take a bit. After waiting FOREVER about two minutes she found the most beautiful sound that I have ever heard in my entire life! 170 BPM! I was so pleased and now I just cannot wait to hear it again next month. She also gave me a hug before I left. I love being crunchy.

This is a picture of me at 12 weeks. It is a terrible picture, and also the best we could do this morning at 7:30 before Forrest had to get to work!

My belly is definitely sticking out a bit, but it does not look "baby big" yet, so I just look like I ate a few too many burritos. Oh well, gotta start somewhere, right??

This week I have noticed a steep drop in my nausea and much awaited reappearance of my characteristic hyper energy. Forrest is just glad that he doesn't have to do any more dishes or laundry while I wallow in self pity. I AM BACK IN BUSINESS, FOLKS! Hopefully this means I will be able to keep up with blogging better, too!

My New Drug Addiction

I promised myself I would be doing weekly posts throughout my pregnancy, but alas, this post is a few days later than planned. I have a valid excuse though-- I almost died. Well, that is what it felt like at least. I hit the nausea part of pregnancy last week and I hit it HARD. So much for having a clean toilet bowl when all you can do is lean over the side of the bed to chunder into a bucket and hope nothing comes out of your nose (yes, it did). After several attempts at telling myself and others I could do it without Zofran, since I realllllly wanted to avoid the...ahem..."side effects" that come along with it, I caved. Letting that first pill dissolve on my tongue and slowly starting to feel like a human again had me immediately hooked. Two days later, of course, there were repercussions, i.e. a big glass of prune juice with Miralax dissolved in it and a few other details and wailing's we won't go through. Either way, I highly recommend this miracle drug. I think Forrest does too, as he was surely getting tired of me rolling around in bed and crying about how "I was never going to do this again" and "Why can't I just go ahead and die already". Dramatic? Yes, but I never denied I was a complainer before our nuptials. Accurate assessment of how I felt? Also, yes.

Other annoying things about my first trimester of pregnancy:

My mouth ALWAYS tastes bad

My nose bleeds when I blow it in the mornings

I vacillate from exhaustion to insomnia every few days

Even with the Zofran food always sounds, tastes, and smells icky

This is what my belly buddy should be looking like by the end of the week...

This may be the pregnancy hormones talking, but how stinkin' cute!!

I also decided that I would take a belly picture every month, so this Sunday I will put up 8 weeks, though I doubt it will be too impressive. 

First Appointment at the Birthing Center

     Today Forrest and I met with the administrative director and one of the nurse-midwives at ABC. They were both really nice, welcoming ladies and we were quite pleased with the experience and the the answers we got to all of our questions. First we were shown around the center, which is essentially just a converted historic home. BEAUTIFUL. Both of the suites have birthing tubs (score!) and are decorated with lovely and comfortable linens and homey accents. After asking a slew of questions of the admin lady we realized that it would actually be MORE cost effective to use ABC than a hospital when all is said and done. After we had all our financial questions squared away we spoke with the midwife and I rather awkwardly jumped to the question "How will you know if I am a good candidate??!" She asked me several personal and family health questions and basically assessed whether or not I was really educated on what it all entailed. After regurgitating to her all the things I learned via school, books, and the wisdom of others in the fashion of a teenage girl trying to get picked for the cheer-leading team, she smiled and said it was clear that I knew what I wanted and that I would be fine.

     My first real appointment is when I am 10 weeks, and I cancelled any further appointments with my OBGYN. Sonograms are (unless something unhealthy is suspected) not really necessary and are costed out separately at ABC, so I decided to just get one done when I am 20 weeks to find out the sex, and then forgo any others. I will have an appointment once a month starting at 10 weeks, then twice a month after 28 weeks, then once a week after 36 weeks. Forrest and I are also going to be enrolling in Bradley classes starting in January. It was hilarious because the midwife and I were going back and forth discussing the Bradley class that they offer and finally I looked back at Forrest next to me on the couch nodding with a smile (basically what I look like when he asks insurance questions) and realized he had no idea what we were talking about. I quietly turned to him and said "Bradley is like Lamaze". He was pleased to be clued in as to what the heck was going on.

     Finally, I am really starting to feel the nausea now. This morning I woke up and immediately realized I had a limited number of minutes to eat something before I got sick. I quickly tried to whip up a fruit smoothie and before I could finish I was dry heaving into the kitchen sink. I then had to settle for three rice cakes, seeing as how after the nausea gets bad NOTHING sounds remotely edible that has any flavor. I am a bit nervous to go to work tomorrow. I wonder what they will think when I stop every hour to have a snack. Oh well. Worst case scenario I get fired and get to stay in bed sick instead, right? Sounds like a win win to me.
   

Number of weeks: 6 and 1 day
Symptoms: Still pretty tired and the nausea has begun. If I ever let my stomach get even half empty I start to feel pukey AND I have to stick to eating certain things, i.e. nothing too flavorful. Oh, and my pee is BRIGHT yellow like a hilighter no matter how much water I drink.
Cravings: Nectarines! 

New News Is Good News!

As per Sarah Giles suggestion I have decided to start keeping up with my blog again, especially now that I have some exciting things to blog about! As most of our friends and family already know, after about 10 months of "trying", Forrest and I finally got a bun to start baking in the ol' oven and we are simply ecstatic. Here are the stats so far on the whole experience...

Number of weeks: 5 and 1 day
Due date: April 3rd
Weight gain: minus 5 lbs (not sure why?)
Symptoms: Super dry/cracked lips, 4am insomnia, weepy at silly things, and EXHAUSTED.
Cravings: Avocado frozen yogurt...or anything frozen and fruity. Hot food makes me feel nauseous.

That is about all I have so far, since it is still very early in the pregnancy. I went to see my OBGYN last week and they just drew blood and made me pee in a cup, but I am scheduled to get a sonogram in 2 weeks to hear the heart beat. I might be cancelling that appointment, however. This is because Forrest and I have an appointment to meet with a certified nurse midwife at the Allen Birthing Center (heretofore dubbed "ABC") this coming Monday to see if I am a "good candidate" for an out-of-hospital birth. If they decide I am and everything else checks out, i.e. price, then we will quit the regular OB and I will be completely cared for by the "hippie ladies", as my sisters would call them. To be entirely honest I am a little nervous about the decision to do it since my whole family seems to think it is a terrible idea and that I will surely meet my demise because "our family just doesn't give birth well". At the end of the day I have educated myself quite a bit on the subject and I know it is the right decision. If for some reason there is a complication during labor, the ABC is right next door to Allen Presbyterian Hospital and they work in conjunction with OB's who will see me through the rest of my birth if need be.

All of these thoughts are really early in the pregnancy, but it seems to be the only thing I am interested in planning so far. Hopefully soon the hormonal urge to decorate a nursery will kick in and I will have some pretty pictures to show.

I think I am becoming a grown up.

I was walking Mosby in our hood today and we came upon a house that had a Rottweiler chained with a wire to the front of the garage, and as we passed it snarled and lunged at us from the end of it's chain. (Side note: we live in a pretty nice neighborhood, in which this kind of "home protection" is totally out of character and unnecessary) I am sure that the people who own the dog (and think that it is perfectly acceptable to chain an animal to the front of your house under the hot sun) would argue something incredibly shortsighted, like "Well as long as you don't come on our property what's the issue?" or "He won't hurt a human" (like the small kids that are playing THIRTY FEET AWAY!). I want to strangle this unknown individual. I understand that some dogs are more territorial than others, and that protecting a house and family is a desirable characteristic in a canine companion, but we do not live in the freaking ghetto, people! There is a difference between having a gun in your house, ready for an unwanted intruder, and carrying an AK on your back and cocking it as the mailman drives by. Do you cock an AK? I don't care. Anyway.

WHAT. THE. CRAP. *said in huffs, due to the lack of breaths in during previous rant*

What do you think? Am I wrong/overreacting? (post on Facebook thread to make it easier)

A Weekend of Poorly Documented Activities

Forrest and I spent the night in Eustace Friday evening, and went on to Tyler with Seguin for the day on Saturday, in order to help Chisum and Erin move into their new apartment. My Syler-in-law lovingly agreed to watch Mosby for the day at the farm and he had a ton of fun roughing around with all his doggie-cousins, especially Hadrian. After seeing how cute they all were together I was rather remiss that I had left my camera at home, since the dog play and moving day could have made for a cool blog post. The amazing feats of strong-man athletics that Chisum and Forrest pulled to heave some of the furniture up to the second story were quite impressive, and at times seemingly painful. Cut to Sunday, Forrest starts to develop several scratches and bruises , and the mother of all hematoma's on his left arm. I mean, I am really surprised at how huge and awful looking this sucker is. This is what it looks like today, three days after the move...

Gross, right? Boy can seriously bruise.

Anyway, for Easter we are heading back to Eustace and I will be SURE to bring my camera and post funny puppy antics, and maybe even a video. Other future posts: my new job and how exhausting it is. So much so, that I am too tired for that post today....goodnight! (8:00pm, not joking)

Mr. Toad Visits the Garden

     Earlier this month when my parents came to visit for my birthday, my mother and I spent one morning doing some gardening and getting my yard ready for Springtime. These are a few of my new, non-sentient residents, which I am pretty sure are called Asiatic Lillies. They should flower pretty soon, so I will have to post more pictures then...

This is the side-yard ledge outside my dining room window.

     Since most of the things we planted were bulbs, I kind of got bulb fever and decided to soak a clove of garlic in a wet towel for a few days to see what happened. It has become my newest experiment to see if I end up with a complete bulb of garlic by the end of the season. Apparently a planted garlic clove will create a new bulb while it grows (once again, according to my mother) so if this works, and it actually tastes good when harvested, then next year I might invest a whole plot into garlic cultivation. MMMMmmmMMMmmm. As my husband can attest, I like almost anything I eat to be 1)spicy and 2)VERY garlicy. Lucky man to get to sleep next to me, huh? Here is my little project...

Cup of garlic, anyone?

       Finally, today while I was watering all my little plant-a-roo's I found a new friend seeking refuge from the hot weather. Mr. Toad did not disclose how long he would be staying, but I hope he decides to hide if he see's a certain uncoordinated black puppy stumbling his way. He may look inept, but I assure you, Mr. Toad, he will toss you in the air like the cat toys he steals from Gremlin. Good luck to you...

"Le Ribbet?"

I will be updating again this week to show my easy and free way to turn your regular leash into one of those "easy walk" leashes that will prevent your pup from wanting to pull you around.

Lenten quote for Sunday: "If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man's life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility."
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

If Only Corpus Were Next To McKinney...

I had a wonderful 25th birthday! My mom and pop came for a visit and stayed for two nights.

I was gifted with quite a few good smelling things, which I love, including several nice candles, Wallflower Plug-Ins, and a lovely bouquet of yellow roses! Now the whole block smells good. Thanks mom. ; )

My mother also brought her "first ever grand-pup" an amazingly vexatious enjoyable squeaky toy, that was difficult to get him to pose with, so this is the best picture I could get.

Now-- due to the fact that my mother is the energizer bunny and has far more energy than any 63 year old young woman should* (she has always been immune to the objections of an exhausted daughter), we packed quite a blast into just a couple of days. We went to the garden shop and basically landscaped my front yard in one morning, and went to Whole Foods and stocked my fridge with "things that are good to eat in case you are pregnant" that afternoon. Yes, I do love this crazy woman. My father spent most of his time reading books from Forrest's extensive, and apparently impressive library.

While they were here I also gave my dad a haircut, as per my mothers request. I am an amateur, sure, but if there is one thing that my father likes more than annoying my mother with his mountain-man shaggy hair, it is free things, so he gladly acquiesced.

Not too shabby, right??

 My father also played a lot of fetch with Mosby, and now that his benefactors-of-fun-times are gone, this is what I am left with. He has been uncommonly mopey since they left Thursday morning!

Year 25 was a sensational birthday, and thank you to all my family and friendies who sent me merry wishes, because they worked. : ) 

* For those who might wonder, I think my mother's secrets to energy include, but are not limited to:
-Going to bed each night at 8 and getting at least 9 hours of sleep,
-Drinking and eating anything that Dr. Oz tells her to (i.e. Chia seeds, Tart Cherry juice, Spirulina, Flax Seeds, etc.),
- Wearing a silver jacket that calls upon the questionable "fancy footwork" powers of the late Micheal Jackson.

A New Additition...

So, as some of you may know I have wanted a puppy to call my own for quite some time. The fact that I stay home during the day and have an unreasonable fear of any noise I hear in the house has only made this desire stronger. We had been looking for a while and thinking about what kind of pup would be the right kind for us. I knew I wanted something big enough to scare potential intruders and with an instinct to protect. Forrest knew there was no way he was going to harbor a midget dog, or "rat" as he calls them, and that he wanted something that would learn to be obedient and revere him (like all creatures under the sun should : P ).

Everyone, meet Mosby!

According to the Petsmart we adopted him from, he is a Shepherd mix and will grow to be over 60 lbs at least. We will see. I think it seems promising, seeing as how he is only two months old and already closing in on 20 lbs. We have noticed that he also has some lab, since he has webbed toes, and some terrier because of his scruffy face.

Mosby is proving to be quite smart. He has already learned to "sit"...

to "lay down"...

to "go to bed"...

However, we are still working on "leave Gremlin alone!"

 **Note** The picture taking should vastly improve in quality soon, when Forrest's fancy camera gets done in the shop and I learn how to use it.

Bath Fizzies made simple and cheap...

Ask my husband and he will confirm my favorite thing to do every day (sometimes on cold days more than once) is take a nice warm bath. Every evening before bed I soak, read, and give Forrest time to play his football video game thing. It is no wonder why I love making my own bath bombs. It is cheaper than buying them at fancy stores and you can control what is in them. For instance, a little extra oil if you have dry skin, or what kind of scent and how much.

Here is how to make them:

You will need baking soda, citric acid, corn starch, Epsom salt, a light oil (I use EVOO but other people use different kinds),  your favorite essential oil (scent), and water. For this batch I used Rosemary Oil which smells just like Vick's Vapor Rub in the bathtub....mmmMMMmmm!

Just mix 1/2 C of the baking soda with 1/4 C of the citric acid, corn starch, and Epsom salt. Stir a bit and add about a tablespoon or so of the olive oil and as much of the essential oil as you enjoy (should be within about 1/2-1 tablespoons worth of drops). Mix this around and create a well in the center where you should put about 1/2 tablespoon of water and then mix it all very quickly before the water fizzes the powder too much.

Use a tablespoon sized mold (I just used an actual tablespoon) and scoop up a mound of the mixture and press it firmly in the mold with the heel of your hand.

Tap the mold onto the palm of your hand gently to release the bomb and carefully place on a dry surface. They will be very breakable at this point, but if they cant even be handled gently then go back and add another 1/2 tablespoon of water. You should end up with 14-16 bombs if they are a tablespoon each.

Leave them out for at least several hours or overnight to dry and firm up, and then place them in a cute watertight jar to set next to your tub!