December 31, 2011 - New Year's Eve

What a way to end an old year than by getting a bath!Baths in the kitchen sink are always a classic picture-at least in my family.Bedtime story with daddy-a must!Silly faces!!Silly faces!!And silly faces!!

We are ready for a New Year filled with more baths and silly faces!

December 25, 2011 - Christmas Morning

Christmas morning was nice and peaceful around here.Everyone was sound asleep.It wasn't long before we heard some shuffling in the Living Room.Look at what Santa brought us!Candy.Abbie figured it was like every morning, when she sits in her swing. Except everyone was louder than normal.Daddy helped James find some goodies.A tea set from Santa. You can guess what she wanted to do right away.Santa brought Daddy some tools. Lucky for daddy, he doesn't have to use his really nice tools on crappy jobs. He can use these crappy tools instead.James loved his remote car from Santa.A Glow Worm for Abbie-just what she always wanted!A Fancy Nancy game for Clara, which happens to be her new love.A "replacement" waffle iron for mommy.
I can finally throw out the broken one and we can make waffles again! Yay!More cars for James.A Pink Giraffe from Grandma Bonnie for Abbie."Don't shoot your eye out" - just shoot the tree. I hope the scope is accurate. Despite James' facial expression, he was really excited to get more presents at Memee's house.Clara LOVED the Sleeping Beauty bubble night light Grandpa Choo-Choo got her.

October 22, 2011--Halloween Party

Note: It's hard to play catch-up, but it is my goal to get all caught up before the New Year.

So, for Halloween this year, we went to 3 different parties. The first one was at our local rec center. We had a lot of fun. I was "the Great Pumpkin" this year.Dale was "Charlie Brown".James was the cutest dinosaur and Clara was a "Fairy Princess".Poor Abbie! She was such a trooper! She was my ladybug. She was not too happy with the hood on.They really enjoyed going out this year--3 times!

Candy!
Candy!
Candy!

Is It Over Yet?!

Less than 7 weeks. That's all.
One would think that I'd be getting nervous. Nope!
Just annoyed at the poking and prodding. I feel almost like cattle!
And yet here we stand near the finish line--I say we like anyone else has had to "suffer". I guess you could say that Dale has suffered the endless complaints, and my kids have suffered with the constant "mood swings". But really, lets face it, when your body can only take so much and yet somehow a little bit more here and then some there, I say "ENOUGH!"
Put a fork in me! I am done!

My Projects

So, I have been on Etsy.com, browsing and searching for things-purchasing a few things here and there. And I came across these patterns which I absolutely love! They were very inexpensive, not to mention I have them down loadable anytime I want.

I have been looking for a simple way to make neckties for James. A girl in my ward has 3 sons and they all have matching, homemade ties that they wear for every kind of holiday. She hasn't gotten around yet to showing me how to make them, so I bought this PDF pattern instead. All, that is stopping me now is fusible interfacing--I need to get some. I am also in this kick of making my own baby things. I may not be venturing into the cloth diaper route (yet), but I am all about making my own nursing capes and baby foods! Both of which I have great websites for anyone who wants to know. I bought these 3 patterns for $12. That's less than one pair of cloth shoes you can buy at Target. Yes, fabric can be expensive, but I can make shoes to match any clothes she will be wearing.
These darling shoes are Reversible Mary Janes. I am so excited to make these! I have seen a few Mary Janes with gorgeous bows and flowers on them. We will see how well they turn out! Aren't these cute! These are called "Retro Baby Sneakers". I love these because I can make them for a boy or a girl simply by changing the color and size of the strap. I am seeing pink, purple, and/or red sneakers in this baby's future!Adorable! Adorable! Adorable! "Angelina Ballerina" are so (shall I say it again?) adorable! the loop at the heel provides a place to attach ribbon to her ankles. This is such a sweet pattern!Now, it's just getting the fabric and making the projects. As soon as I complete these projects, I will post the pictures for all to covet! I just have to keep my energy levels up long enough to start and finish, which will be the real tricky part!

9 Sundays to Go!

I was sitting with my Beehive class yesterday and was explaining to them that I have 9 Sundays to go before I go in for a Major "Extraction" surgery. One of my girls got a real serious look on her face and asked why I was having surgery. With a grin on my face, I reminded her I was having a baby. Her face nearly turned red from embarrassment and replied, "Oh yea. I forgot."

Yep! That's right! I am still counting down. Nine weeks left before Dale and I are outnumbered. I am trying to keep a positive outlook on the whole thing, despite my fear of needles and epidurals. Just describing the epidural to Dale was painful enough, and if you ask him, he never wants to experience one of those EVER!

Sleepless Nights and Early Mornings

Not that I want to rant and rave about my "poor condition", but being pregnant is hard work. The 3rd trimester is treacherous! Sure, you're in the home stretch, but MAN! Can't I just get a little sleep. With the constant poking of whatever body parts are poking me, I just can't seem to get comfortable. Just when you think all is quiet and you're eye lids start to sink, BAM! She gives you a jab.

She also knows when daddy goes to work. About 45 minutes before daddy's alarm goes off, she wakes up and rolls, and jabs, and kicks! It's like this every morning. You know, it's bad enough when you have to wake up at 1am for your routine bathroom time, and then 15 minutes later, add a howling mother dog, who wants to escape the clutches of her own brood. (Yep! About 2 weeks ago, Bennett up and decides to have 6 puppies--something that caught everyone off guard. We didn't even know she was expecting.)

So now, I wait! Wait for the day I can reclaim what's left of my body, and it's bruised innards. Wait for the day we can sell the puppies--which will actually be in less time than my pregnancy's ending. And wait for the day that I can wake up from a well rested night--oh wait! I won't be having one of those ever again. That's something they should warn you about when you sign up for the "Mommy Card". You'll never sleep again!

12 Weeks to Go!

Black makes you look slimmer right? Well, I have been dreading putting a pregnancy picture up, but here is one anyway. Unless it is done professionally, I do not like seeing pictures of me, with a prego belly.

Needless to say, I only have 12 weeks left before #3 gets here. Yes, we are scheduled for another c-section. I know what you are thinking, "Oh, that's too bad that you have to have surgery!" or the ever popular, "Oh, so you get the easy way out, having surgery!" Let me just tell ya a little something. I am still giving birth, it's just coming out of a "man-made" hole and not my "God-made" hole. We are really excited to meet this little girl, and hope she is just as wonderful as her older siblings!

It's Gone!

All of it is GONE!!! Ten inches of hair (and then some) has been detached from my head is now in an envelope, being sent to people who lose their hair due to cancer.I was so sad to see it go (it being attached to me for more than 5 years), but I've wanted to do something different. I will be updating our blog with a picture of what it looks like now.