Beachin'

We are here. And friends, it's beautiful. Really. But I'll quit there, because I don't have pictures yet.

The most beautiful thing of all is that Phoebe is currently napping, and I was able to spend a blissful hour of quiet by the pool with In Style magazine. Vacation is a wonderful thing.

Priorities

We leave for the beach tonight, so clearly I should be blogging right now. Really.

Last night as I nearly cursed out my sewing machine, I started thinking about home ec. And how I didn't take it. (Choral was way more important in middle school, and I got way more field trips that way.) And really, back in the day when home ec was required, field trip ratio was like, totally, the ultimate way to decide how to take an elective. That and, I somehow fancied myself on Broadway someday. (I think, if American Idol was out back then, I would have definitely fancied myself on that; way cooler.)

Anyway. I digress.

You couldn't have beat me over the head and convinced me that somehow home ec was important back then. Not in middle school, not in high school. And really, I'm not sure that home ec really is important. But my mom couldn't convince me, either, that sewing and baking and gardening would all be valuable skills in life. The only thing I was convinced of was that I needed to graduate with a 4.0.

So off I went, on my own, with a hodge-podge of skills. (At least I knew how to clean a bathroom, sort of.) That hodge-podge served me very well... until I turned into a professional homemaker. Seriously, friends. I feel like I am light years behind where I should be in the cleaning, cooking, baking, gardening, decorating, etc. realm. You couldn't have convinced me then that these priorities would be mine... but they are. And I hope they're my daughters'.

Last night, as it took me over five minutes to stitch a single, 12 inch, (mostly) straight line... I wished that I'd done something other than "home ec by immersion" and made it a priority back in the day. Somehow I think it would have been easier to learn it little by little, over the years?

For the record... Mom, you were so right.

Confessions of a Pregnant Woman

I was getting a headache from cutting squares out of some really gorgeous fabric (that I, incidentally, paid an arm and a leg for). So I decided it was snack break time.

Most normal people, just a couple hours after lunch, would grab some fruit. Or maybe a handful of chips. Or a half sandwich or something.

Me?

I just heated up half a box of buffalo popcorn chicken from the freezer and devoured it. Alongside a baby Coke.

I love being pregnant.

Whirlwind

First, we had a wonderful time visiting with Mops and Pops these past several days. Michael had an extremely successful seminar (praise the Lord!) on Friday, so we honestly spent the rest of our time in a fairly celebratory spirit. Highlights of our trip included:

• time spent with Mr. and Mrs. Stev
• photo booth fun, and Phoebe's first carousel ride (she did not think it was all that fun)
• lunch with Fave
• dinner at Surin and a movie date to Iron Man
• visiting with Aunt Janie
• taking Phoebe to the park I played at as an itty bitty, visiting Granny and Granddad
• hearing Pops speak at church
• barbecue lunch at Mops and Pops house with quite the crowd
• race day -- maybe next year I won't be pregnant and can actually participate! (yes, Rachel, I know you can run pregnant... just not when you're in my shape!)
• a pregnancy massage
  

And friends, those are just the highlights! We really were blessed to spend so much time with Mops and Pops...such precious memories we have!

We have another busy week ahead of us this week, too! We head to the beach Thursday for Andy and Elizabeth's wedding, so I have plenty of preparing to do for that. And in a stroke of exciting, unexpected news... Fave and Gus will be coming to stay the night tonight!

In light of the busy week we do have, I'd better close this off with a few pictures from the week... I promise to be back before we hit the white sands!

Proof that I do occasionally drive; Michael set up the camera on a timer. Don't we look serious?

Phoebe cracking up at Aunt Janie

Phoebe and Mommy in the ladybug at the park...when I was little, they had horses. I can guarantee there are pictures somewhere!

I'm just amazed at how teeny she looks in this swing...yes, she's 14 months old!

And The Winner Is...

I am impressed at how many of you guessed girl for our newest baby! I know that I'm a day late on my drawing... but the winning "guesser" is:

Kelly!

Congratulations, Kel! I will be sending you a has-yet-to-be-created-but-will-be-soon apron!

10 Things

I really have no time to even have the computer on this morning.

Interesting, then, that I'm posting on the blog, no?

Anyway, Michael is holding a seminar tomorrow out of town. His girls (all three of us!) and his dog get to be his traveling companions. And this starts a very, very busy three weeks for us. Anyway, we leave this afternoon and will be gone until Monday... it doesn't hurt that the seminar happens to be very near Mops and Pops! But I was thinking... there are a lot of things making me happy right now, and I just needed to make a little list.

So...here's what's making me happy, at this very moment:

1. My non-fat non-decaf (I know, I know...) mocha from Starbucks
2. A sleeping baby, at least for the time being
3. Upcoming trips (today) and next week, to the beach
4. My new haircut, which requires very little work in the mornings
5. New fabric from purlsoho, and fabric projects on the horizon
6. Spring weather
7. A big sister and a little sister
8. Hyland's Teething Tablets
9. Four little tiny green baby cherry tomatoes
10. The fact that I am not wrapping up my school year today and tomorrow, trying to enter grades and clean up a classroom!

Have a happy, blessed day today! I'm off to do something way more productive!

A Happy Day

Well, we went to the doctor today. It was fine. The end.

Just kidding!

I don't have the pictures online yet, but we had a wonderful ultrasound. We were able to see so much, and I am always amazed at how miraculous God's tiny little creation is. They were not able to get a picture of the baby's face this time around because the baby was all snuggled up. However, they were able to get a picture of, well, the important stuff.

The news?

Phoebe's going to have a little sister to play with in October! We are all thrilled to have another little girl in the house! And since I know most of you will ask...we have not settled on a name, although we've narrowed it down to a few favorites. We're not keeping it a secret; we'll let you know when we know!

For those of you who guessed girl on yesterday's post (and that was, actually, most of you), I will draw from your names for a handmade surprise. And I promise you'll love it if you win! I will try and let you know tomorrow if you have won. Thanks for joining the fun with all the guessing!

Like Christmas Eve

We've got a big week ahead of us, for all of us. Most notable on the calender? We find out tomorrow if Phoebe will be having a little brother or a little sister!

I have my own feelings, and I'm not going to reveal that here...although I've shared them with a good many of you. But what do you think?

Here's the deal. I'm going to let you guess. Of the correct guesses (you do have a 50/50 chance of being correct here), I'll randomly choose a winner. I will send the winner...something. My brains are kind of mashed potato-y today, so I'll let you know when I figure that out. But it'll be a good something, I promise! You have until 3:00pm tomorrow (Tuesday) to comment with your guess!

To help you with your guess...here are a few things about my pregnancy.

• I was moderately nauseous until about week 12 or 13. This was nausea without the puke, just like Phoebe. I did, however, have one and only one second trimester visit to the porcelain throne -- just like with Phoebe.
• I have had almost no food aversions, other than big hunks of meat. I have also had few cravings, other than the usual mac&cheese and pizza stuff. I have, however, developed a general disinterest in food throughout this pregnancy.
• I have yet to gain any weight. In fact, I've lost about 5 pounds. I have only recently started "showing"...and it's enough for a relative stranger to ask when I'm due. I'm carrying rather low, I think.
• I have had really, really yucky hormonal headaches with this pregnancy. (I did not with Phoebe.) I've also had a little more dizziness.
  
• This baby has been less active than Phoebe on all of our ultrasounds, but is currently very active.
• Heart rate for baby has ranged from 144-154, for those of you who actually think that matters.
• Due date is October 13.
• Michael's family is very "streaky" with families... as in, all boys or all girls. I don't think that is genetically relevant, but might add some more fun for the guessing.
  

I can't think of anything else relevant, and it's just a guess anyway. Our appointment is tomorrow at 1:30, so I'll post the "results" sometime tomorrow night. Either way, we're all excited!

So there you go... leave your guess by 3:00pm Tuesday!

14 Months

So, my whole "trying-to-post-everyday" thing... yeah. That worked well.

It's really been a long, hard two weeks. I've waffled between elation and discouragement, and I just haven't wanted to post anything pitiful. I'm fine, we're all fine, really -- I think I just need some time out of the house. Fortunately, we have a grandmother to the rescue tomorrow afternoon. I'm getting my hair cut, and then it's off to the bookstore, or Edgar's, or wherever the heck I want to go. And then I get to go out on a date with Michael! Hooray!

There have, however, been a lot of happy moments these past couple of weeks. Here are some fun pictures of sprinkler time, which was definitely happy:


Yesterday was also Phoebe's 14-month birthday. We celebrated not with cake, but with a Daddy working from home until lunch. It was wonderful for all of us! I feel like I should update the list of things Phoebe is doing, for my own memory's sake:

• Saying (at least we know she's saying it) "Jake", "treat", and "drink"; she has not, however, been talking much since she got sick last Saturday.
  
• Drinking milk from her cup consistently and in quantities that please her mommy
• Signing her combo sign: "yes please, more, now, I'm so excited!" whenever she wants something or sees something she likes
• Walking everywhere. And fast. They get fast so fast!
• She loves to brush her hair and her teeth... and she'll pretend to do both if you ask her to.
• She can find her nose... all other body parts are also her nose.
• Phoebe loves to collect things into baskets, bags, and other containers. She doesn't care what it is. For example: today, she emptied my basket of (clean) dishtowels all over the floor, picked them up, put them in the basket, and did it over again. She also, incidentally, loves to put things into the trash and the dog's water bowl.
  
• She has finally started building with blocks, rather than just knocking them down -- and she thinks she's pretty big stuff. :)
  
• She will say "amen" by raising her arms at the end of a prayer, but only Daddy's prayers. (This has taken the place of "praise the Lord", I think?)
• She's started to become more patient with book reading...although she is selective about the books that she will be patient with. Her current favorite books are Goodnight Moon, Brown Bear, and Clifford's Animal Sounds.
  

There's more, of course... but these are pretty much the major "new" things going on in Phoebe's world!

In other news, we go to the doctor next Tuesday to find out if Phoebe will be having a little brother or sister!

Tardy

I realize I'm a little late in wishing everyone a Happy Mother's Day, but I'm going to do it anyway. So Happy Mother's Day, friends!

We here like a little adventure on Mother's Day. We don't like to celebrate in the traditional sense -- homemade cards and flowers and breakfast in bed. We like to celebrate with paid professional members of the medical community.

Last year, my first Mother's Day, we had a lovely afternoon. But then, we celebrated the evening in the ER at Children's, since Phoebe came down with a fever and was not yet eight weeks old. (She was fine, by the way, especially since she'd already her shots.) In keeping with tradition, Phoebe had another fever this Mother's Day, and has actually made it into a three-day celebration.

Although we did not have the excitement of an ER trip (two in one year is enough, thanks), we did head to the pediatrician this morning to rule out strep or an ear infection. Fortunately, she has neither and it's just some yucky viral infection that will run its course...eventually.

I woke up feeling pretty down about Mother's Day yesterday. I had a big "woe is me" pity party in my brain, because I would be spending the day worrying about someone other than me. But as I got a nap in and a reality check, I realized how wonderfully blessed I was to have this pitiful, sick little girl really needing her mommy.

What a privilege it is to actually live out being a mommy, in good times and in bad. And in all the noses wiped, Lamby's washed, vomit sanitized, and sleeps in a rocking chair... it was a blessed Mother's Day indeed.

Protection

I've been thinking a lot about God's protection these past few days. We pray for it often -- at bedtime for Phoebe, and over our home, and when we travel long distances, to name a few. Michael is also incredibly perceptive of protection that we may not otherwise notice; if he's caught in traffic, he'll wonder later if God was protecting him from some kind of tragedy. But I've been thinking about it more, a lot, lately.

Saturday morning, we were rear-ended pretty hard as we avoided a collision with another car and a pedestrian meandering slowly across an on-ramp. The truck that hit us was going pretty fast, and it was wet. We also had two babies in the van. The damage to the van's back end is fairly extensive.

But God's hand of protection was all over our van. First, I was in the front seat -- and no air bags went off. New Baby is fine (I went in to be sure on Monday) and growing, just as he or she should. Also, neither wee one in the van really even noticed that we were hit; their car seats held up great. We also had back seat passengers -- which is rare -- and they were protected from any injury. I'm also particularly grateful that one of the passengers with us was a police officer, and although he couldn't file an accident report, he could reassure us through the steps of what we needed to do. We were all pretty shaken up, but we walked away without a scratch.

The LORD protects you; the LORD is a shelter right by your side. The sun will not strike you by day, or the moon by night. The LORD will protect you from all harm; He will protect your life. The Lord will protect your coming and going both now and forever.
Psalm 121:5-8

Culture and Leisure?

I'm not very cultured, nor do I lead a very leisurely life. However.

I've written an article for Culture and Leisure Magazine, and it's now in print! It was a really fun thing to do -- certainly a first -- and I got to write about my two most favorite people in the whole world, so it wasn't really work anyway!

Should you, for whatever reason, care to read it... it's begins on page 49.

Enjoy!

C'est Fini!

Up until about a week ago, I had not successfully sewn a seam on a sewing machine in almost twenty years. (Mom helped me with a patchwork project back in the 3rd grade... that is the only sewing machine project I can remember.) But Mom was determined to get me grooving on the machine, and feeling confident.

So after sewing about four seams on an old pillowcase, we decided I was ready to sew a dress. Because that's the next logical step, right? Right.

Anyway, it only took about twenty hours or so to finish this thing, but it's done. And Phoebe thinks she looks like a movie star in it! Although every time she moves I'm afraid I will hear a seam start ripping... since I didn't lock my seams at both ends until about halfway through the project. Whoops!

So now I'm starting over -- same pattern, different fabric -- to see if I can actually do it right this time. Hopefully it won't take as long!

The great thing about having done a dress as a first project is that I feel like purses, pillows, drapes, and the like are a no-brainer. And I at least can sort of interpret directions now. But most of all, I am so not afraid to sit down and make a mistake...because lawsie mercy have I made plenty already!

The Yard

Well, it took two weeks, but I finally have all of our plants in the ground. In the front yard, we re-landscaped the two large beds (as in, yanked out all of the hedges we hated) and have planted a colorful array. Hopefully it will all grow up beautifully by midsummer -- but it's so hard to be patient!

In the back, I planted my vegetables and herbs. We've got four tomato plants, a few pepper plants, parsley, cilantro, basil, chives, cucumbers, yellow crookneck squash, and zucchini. That is, if everything decides to grow. We also of course have the rogue sunflowers growing under the birdfeeder -- those will have to be thinned out soon.

The deal is, I have never liked working in the yard. Never, never, no not ever. Until now! I am certain that I will be singing a different song come July. I'm still overwhelmed by the "big projects" (for example, our side bed has been completely ignored), but I can handle digging a hole here and pulling a weed there. In fact, I've really, really enjoyed being outside, having the quiet (when I'm by myself) and literally seeing fruit from my labor.

The fun part is, Phoebe LOVES to be outside. Even moreso, she loves to be in the dirt. She helped me pull weeds a few weeks ago, and now she's hooked. She also loves to help water the plants with Daddy -- which I think is particularly delightful. These pictures were too cute not to share...

The hose is way fun. We wised up and put her in a swimsuit for this watering adventure.

"Daddy, can I help?" So sweet!

In other yard-related Phoebe news, we had our first somewhat major outside injury yesterday. Phoebe was wobbly-walking to see Jake through the storm door, and she completely face planted into the pillar on our front porch. She wound up with a little bit of a fat lip; fortunately, she loves to chew on ice "popsicles". You can hardly tell there was an injury today, thank the Lord!