A Different Kind of Thanksgiving

With a lot of family out of town this year and us unable to travel, we weren't expecting much out of Thanksgiving this year. We were very pleased when my grandma emailed and asked if we wanted to join her for Thanksgiving dinner at Eagles Trace. It was great! We got to see my aunt, her husband, and my cousin as well. The kids were SO GOOD the entire time we were there, even in the dining room. They were interactive with their relatives and just sweet as pie :)

They enjoyed watching the parade and exercising on GG's bike before it was time for our dinner seating~


They definitely started to fade after the meal, but still kept up being really happy and fun to be around. My Aunt Melinda took a family shot for us and I'm so happy with how it turned out!

The kiddos playing around~

As my mom said, "You can really see the Asian heritage!" in this pic~

Rainbow Owls

I have a confession... I stink at hand sewing. Whew, glad to get that off my chest! It's kind of embarrassing to me actually, so I decided to take it head on while I was creating a permanent Abby-sized crater on my couch the past couple of weeks. My ambition collided with my rather extensive felt collection and turned into these babies~


Cute, right?! FAR from perfect too, but I did get better as I went :P I decided to make one for each kid and each of their cousins. I'm not going to say who gets which, but here are the girl's owls~

and here are the owls for the boys! That's right, my parents have a perfect split of grandsons and granddaughters :)

I'm looking forward to giving these to the kids!

When I picked up Micah from school last week (my first time driving in 2 weeks :P), he bounded up to the car proudly wearing his "crown" of feathers. The entire drive home he would remove it, count the feathers excitedly, and put it back on. He was so proud that he decorated the "crown" and painted the feathers himself... all of the handling left the feathers a bit limp by the time we got home, but I still had to capture his joy!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

A is for Argyle

I'm a big fan of argyle, so when I decided to do yarn wreaths for a couple of friends (and myself!) argyle was a natural choice. Now that all the wreaths have been given, I can show them to you guys! This first one was for my friend Devon~

I also made one for my friend Kelli, but I forgot to get a picture before I gave it to her! It was dark brown with camel and ivory diamonds. And finally, I made myself a Christmas wreath. I can't wait to hang it up!

32 Weeks

Jane was 32 weeks along as of last Friday! She is head down and is persisting in doing all sorts of break dancing moves in there. My doctor's appointment last week went well and I get to wait 2 weeks until my next one! I'm allowed to do a bit more with the restrictions being that I still shouldn't be lifting anything, standing for any length of time or exercising. And I'm still supposed to sit as much as possible... just knowing I'm allowed to get up if I want to has made me feel so much better! My body has definitely been letting me know when enough is enough (it doesn't take much to reach my limit), so I'm just trying to listen to it and sit :)

I got an unexpected ultrasound at my appointment (yay!) and little Janie is growing right on schedule! Everything measured perfect for her gestational age and the tech estimated her to be 3 and a half pounds. So glad she's still baking and so glad I can return to some measure of normalcy! Here are some numbers to freak a person out, if Jane were to come at full term (37 weeks) then we only have 32 days left to go! If she goes to her due date, it's only 53 days... weird!

A New Obsession

Riley Blake fabrics.... LOVE THEM!! Up until now, I have mostly gone into Hobby Lobby, Joann Fabrics, and Hancocks to find fabric for my projects. While I will continue to do this for the most part, I have discovered the fascinating world on online fabric shopping... particularly on Etsy and eBay. I was needing some charm packs or a layer cake (5" or 10" square cuts of every fabric in one line of fabric) and they are just really limited as to what you can find in person. So I hopped on Etsy and started piling up my favorite options and guess what? They were ALL designed by so and so for Riley Blake. I am now obsessed. When it comes to fabrics for kid's projects, no one else can compare. I'm definitely going to buy fabric for kids projects and gifts from Riley Blake from now on... and it's so much cheaper online! Here are a few of my favorites from my weekend search~

This line would have been my hands down choice for the projects I was buying for, but it isn't being released until January and I have a Christmas deadline on one of these projects... bummer! But I don't know if I'll be able to resist ordering some when it comes out~

I ended up with a layer cake (10" square stack) of one of the above lines, and I can't wait to show you guys my patchwork creations!

Taking Our Show on the Road

Micah has been VERY excited about his cousin's birthday party for the past month and a half and this past weekend it was finally here! We weren't sure if I'd be allowed to go (it involved us going to San Antonio for the weekend) but thankfully my doctor said it was ok to travel as long as I did bed rest once we were there. Sooooo, instead of spending the weekend on our couch I spent the weekend on my brother's couch... which was a nice change of pace, actually :)

The same day that I was admitted to the hospital two weeks ago, my brother's family got into a car accident. Ben got nasty air bag burns on his hands and Amy (my sis-in-law) broke her pinkie and had to have surgery last week. Just what every mom wants a week before throwing a party, a broken finger on their dominant hand :P Well, in a way it kinda worked out. I was able to sit on their couch and cut things out for her as well as icing cupcakes (try doing that one handed!). I wasn't able to go to the party, it was at a park, but from everything I saw it looked SO COOL! Way to go, Amy!! Nate took some pics for me because I hate to miss kids parties (not even kidding)....

Evan (the birthday boy) tearing up the superhero obstacle course WHILE holding a present, which is just plain impressive~


Micah's got some mad ups!

Lizzie, as a typical almost 2 year old, was doing her own thing~

Amy explaining how to take out the villains with the bean bags~

Almost there Bubba!

Super Micah!!

From the pics Nate got, I gathered that Micah was VERY dedicated to taking out the villains~

Lizzie prefers to try to council them into changing their ways~

Micah helping to rebuild the stone wall for the next super hero to bust through~

And of course a real live villain who, when attacked by silly string, would cough up candy for all the heroes~

Seriously great job Amy.... so many excellent creative touches!

Genetics

Anyone who has children has probably been amazed by what passes down to your kids. They will inherit mannerisms from distant relatives that they have never met or they will sit just the way you did when you were a kid. I've seen many such things in my kids already, but maybe my favorite is this one~


Do you see it? Hint... look at her feet :) From a VERY young age, both of my kids have walked around on their toes quite a bit. If they're barefoot, they do it more often than not. I was known for walking on my toes in my family and did it all the time even into high school age. I still do it without realizing it, just not nearly as much as I used to. Anyway, I love that both my kids do this... it's so much fun! Oh, and just cause it is stinkin' adorable~

New Skills

Trying to stay seated as much as possible has been a challenge, but I have been working on ways to be useful without leaving the couch and I have to say that last night I think I outdid myself a bit. I managed to make dinner... on the couch :) Nate brought me all of the ingredients along with the cookie sheet, cutting board and knife. All it took was a TV tray and the nerve to assemble the meal on the cookie sheet which was balanced on the couch cushion in front of me.

Micah liked it as he often stands on a chair to watch me cook and this was right in front of him! Now this does have limitations, aka I can't make anything that requires the use of the stove, and I had to be very careful to keep the food off the couch. BUT I'm excited and it makes me feel productive... I'm looking forward to making a homemade pizza tomorrow in my gourmet couch kitchen!

Sitting Still, but not Idle

I'm not saying I'm thrilled to be on bed rest or that I have the key to making it bearable or fun, but I have come up with a surprising number of things that I can do without ever getting up. The first one will shock you, but I've been crafting quite a bit.... try to contain your astonishment ;-) Turns out there is a lot you can do while sitting on your bum with your feet permanently stretched in front of you. Unfortunately, machine sewing isn't one of them so I've had to shuffle around my project list to bump up some projects more in keeping with my sedentary lifestyle. I've been hand stitching felt ornaments (3 so far), making wreaths, making necklaces (3) and wrapping numbers in yarn for impending birthday parties~


Which brings me to the second thing you can do on bed rest.... take cruddy pictures in bad lighting with your iPhone ;-) I want to post pictures of some of the other things I've been making, but I'm holding out until I can get some better pictures with my real camera.... and natural lighting.

I was in pretty good shape on Christmas presents, but with the help of 6 days on my posterior, Amazon, and a few other sites, I'm almost completely done now and I have things I really think people are going to like!

My situation has also allowed me to document some interesting family moments. I wish I could post this whole video, but that would involve getting up and finding the transfer cord whereas I can email half of it to myself without moving :) Just know that the back and forth screaming with joy part happened WAY more times in real life~

Too Much Rest?

Hey peeps. I figure most of you know by now what went on with me at the end of last week, but for those who don't I thought I'd let y'all know.

I went in for my normal OB appointment on Thursday and when I told the nurse I was having an increase in contractions, she decided to check me for dilation... Surprise! I was already 1 cm dilated and was admitted to the hospital for observation for the following 30 hours. After anti-contraction meds, steroid shots and constant monitoring the doctor felt I was good to go home on Friday late afternoon.

So from Friday at 4pm until now I have been on strict bed rest at home and we will find out more at my next appointment later this week. They didn't want to check me for dilation in the hospital since checking can sometimes get things started. At my next appt they will check and I will find out what kind of restrictions I can expect going forward.

I have to be honest, the whole thing is very discouraging for me. I feel lazy for not being able to do anything, frustrated at having to cancel so many plans, guilty for relying so heavily on Nate and sending him to get me water, or my computer, or a Baby Ruth ;-) and just plain antsy trying to sit still....

BUT....

It's worth it for Jane. And I feel grateful for the steroid shots that are maturing Janie's lungs in case she comes early. I feel grateful for a husband who is such a servant without complaining and for a job that will allow him to work from home. I am grateful for friends who are bringing us food, driving me around to appointments, offering to entertain our kids, sending me encouraging notes, and most of all praying for Jane's health. I'm thankful that Jane is still cooking and not stuck in a NICU incubator.

There is so much to be thankful for and I hope to have even more things after my next appointment!

Better Than Free!

Micah went to the theater this summer and he saw something that he has literally talked about every day since.....



Well, I decided we would get it for him for Christmas (it's good that he's too young to realize that it came out this week :) and I started looking for some deals on it. I started with the standard Disney new release coupon for $5 off. You can get it here. Then I moved on to rebates... Holy bajoly, there are some GOOD rebates for this movie!! Here are the three I decided on~
Rayovac
Band-Aid/ Johnson and Johnson
Kimberly Clark

The total rebate value is $25!! I found the 5 disc combo for the cheapest at Best Buy. It was $25, so after the coupon I got the movie for $20. After rebates, I'm getting paid $5 to take the movie!! Well, that's one way to look at it :) The reality is that you have to spend money on the rebates to get the money back... let's be honest. But here is my breakdown~

I got-
30 (double) rolls of Cottonelle toilet paper.... does anyone even make single rolls anymore?
2 large packages of Huggies baby wipes
80 Band-aids
1 pkg of gauze pads
1 roll of medical paper tape
32 batteries
Cars 2 5 disc pack which includes; the 3D Blu-ray copy, regular 2 disc Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital Copy of the movie

and it all is costing me $40 after rebates. The total regular retail value of these items (before coupons) is $95... not too shabby! The great thing about these rebates is that they are all on very practical items that I already buy... might as well get something back for it!

If you seek to join my crazy train, just know that the sale prices on the movie as well as the coupon from Disney are only good through Saturday.. just FYI!

Trick or Treat!

After feeling overwhelmed by crowds at the church fall festivals over the past couple of years, we decided just to skip the hassle and go trick or treating in our own neighborhood. Micah CLEARLY remembered trick or treating from last year (after a botched festival attempt) and he was pumped about it. Lizzie had no idea what was coming, but she caught on quickly.


As always, it's the pictures that are a little off that are my favorites~

"Micah, say cheese!!!"

"Ok now, Lizzie say cheese!!!"

Ah, excellent. It's cowboy Micah! I refused to invest money in his costume knowing he would likely refuse to wear whatever I bought or made. I had two possibilities from stuff we already owned, and cowboy won out~

He kept pulling his hat lower, and lower, and lower....

Lizzie the bee! Thanks to the wonderful closet of Abby Rose, we had a great hand-me-down costume for Lizzie this year~

And we're off!

Lizzie wanted to hold onto every piece of candy she got, so once her hands were full, we had to sneak new candy into her basket.

Lizzie's favorite part of trick or treating was visiting the houses with dogs. She would totally ignore the offered bowl of candy and just flirt with, talk to, and squeal at the dogs behind the storm doors. Micah loved getting candy, but I was pleased to discover that he had considerably more enthusiasm for handing out candy at our own house.... he is such a sweet kid and I love that he stood happily waiting by the door for his "friends" to come by so that he could give them candy and tell them excitedly..."Trick or treat!!"