Whoooo's eight?

Luckily Greg has always been the cake decorator extraordinaire for the kids' birthdays. This year Wyatt requested a realistic owl cake and pizza party. I was able to assemble an owl costume/printout masks and party favors couch-side and family and friends contributed food to go with the pizza. It was fun for me to be in a social setting again! A lunar eclipse was the evening entertainment.

Good help these days

Just a small sampling of those who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to help us out. Meals, laundry, shopping, cleaning, child care-all the things I can't do right now. Bed rest would be impossible without our amazing friends and family!! Greg thinks we should take everyone's first initial and craft a name for #4 out of them but it would take the poor kid till he was 18 years old to learn to write it :)

Moms day

I snuck outside for a quick photo with my boys.

This year my mom and I got to spend Mothers Day together and we treated her just like a mother! She cooked and cleaned and spoiled us for a week and hardly sat down once! Later I realized we didn't even have a photo of the two of us! We loved having her here and hope we didn't wear her out too much!

We're so lucky to have Greg's mom home from international travels for awhile. She's been spending one entire day a week helping us out. Trevor loves to have Sue climb into the most ridiculous tight spots with him to play McDonalds drive through. and we all love her Jello creations :)

Old bedrest news

This is a month old and I KNOW I'm just laying around all the time but I seem to stay busy anyway!

Here I am with a 28 week baby bump-so happy I got to this point! With strict bed rest, the cerclage and weekly progesterone injections, my cervix is remaining strong and long! I have the handsomest nurse administering said injections and he's awesome. Did you know there is a tutorial on YouTube for how to z-track intramuscular injections thereby avoiding nasty lumps and itching at the injection site? Seriously. What did we do before YouTube? At 28 weeks I graduated from the care of my perinatologist and just see my regular OB now-still weekly which does get me out of the house. I had a bit of a scare with low amniotic fluids but that seems to be resolved. It involves drinking 3-4 liters of water a day and lots of excuses to leave the couch for bathroom breaks!

7 weeks down and 8 to go!

Lessons learned

Four long months since I last posted?! Not for lack of events that's for sure! Let's see...best way to sum up recent events...we feel like we are living in our own made-for-TV medical drama. I'll spare you all the details but I thought I'd share some lessons I hope I've learned.

*To never take my health for granted and the little things my body can do without me even thinking about it. How about swallowing your own saliva? We never think about tiny things like that until you see someone you love lose their ability to do this!!

*It may just be a little pain, easily ignored, but if it doesn't go away after weeks, don't keep ignoring it!

*If you are wearing a cast and you're desperate for a shower: wrap it up with heavy duty bags. Do NOT use the cheapskate store brand garbage bags!

*If you do get your cast wet, get it removed ASAP. Even if you only had it put on a day ago and you're embarrassed :)

*Our family and friends have pitched in and supported us so many times the last few months. We are so lucky and I feel like I can never thank them adequately. I hope at least I can be the same kind of friend in return.

*Once again my hubby proves his love by the way he handles all the bumps in our lives. He is so capable and willing to rise to the occasion without complaint! I need to let him know more often how much I appreciate him.

*If you have all the usual pregnancy symptoms, don't assume you're experiencing early menopause. There, I told on myself-go ahead and have your laugh at my expense. :)

*Doctors are not magicians, they do their best, and they pray for you.

At this point I am humbled and in God's hands and sure I have more to learn!





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Craft bazaar wrap-up

My friend KatieB had a blast at our first craft show!  We are already scheming what to do for "next time" a phrase that makes my husband shudder.  Actually he admitted he didn't suffer too much and it will only take me a couple weeks to catch up on housework, food and laundry-ha!  Since I started preparing for this bazaar ALL the way back in November I didn't have so many last-minute crazies.  Except for the night before when Katie and I did a trial set-up that involved a lot of laughter, a trip to the craft store right before closing, gobbling down a sandwich with too much mustard because I didn't take the time to prepare or eat it properly, very little sleep since we didn't go to bed until after 1 and then I spent the whole night crafting and creating and setting up my table in my head.  And guess what--now I have this extra time in the evenings to catch up on said housework or read a book, but I want to craft!  It's a habit I guess--could be worse habits right?

Down to business: I am retiring the ribbon hair clips so take a good look below if you have a girl in need of some new hair things.  I'd like to see them ALL go to good homes and they will probably appeal mostly to local folks...I love the zipper hair clips so I will probably keep making those and if I find the right headbands again I'll make more ribbon woven headbands.

Make a photo collage

Bazaar Creations!

My friend over at Crafted by KatieB and I are trying out a Holiday Bazaar this Saturday.  Shirley E. will also be selling her beautiful scarves and hats! Come visit us at Valley View Elementary from 9 am to 2 pm.  We've been busy sewing and crafting, and alternating between excitement and "what have we gotten ourselves into!" We'd love to see you there! Click below to get a sneak preview of some of the things that will be for sale.

Slideshow customized with Smilebox

Jack o' lantern grins

Last week these guys spent more time in costumes than regular clothes.  They dressed up for a school party, a fun evening at the cousin's and of course trick or treating. We continued the tradition and went with Bob, Katie, Ryan and Emmalee.  As the kids get bigger they cover more territory! Carson was a penguin and Wyatt was a ninja.  They mostly put together their own costumes this year.  Trevor has been a kitty for the last 3 weeks but did wear the dog costume for trick or treating.  Greg and I spent (will probably spend) quite a bit of time being kitty cats also at Trevor's insistence.  I forgot how insistent (meaning bossy) 2 year olds can be.  We have a whole bucket full of animal ears and tails that I sewed about 4 years ago. 

Greg had a birthday. and he requested cheesecake.  This photo shows Trevor waving away the smoke from the candles.  Imagine if I'd really put 38 candles on!

I got creative with our food.  One night we had canned chicken breast sandwiches on bagels with cheese on top--stuck under the broiler for a couple minutes.  Tip:  I add some Kirkland brand No-Salt Seasoning to the chicken, and mayo of course--yum!  Sliced olive faces and a cucumber stem turned them into jack o' lanterns.  My kids always love witch fingers (carrot sticks with olives on top).  I put that in their lunches throughout the year also.  I attempted to make jello worms using straws which I saw on Pinterest, but I think my straws were too narrow.  The Jello did look uncannily like clots of blood.  UGH--I can hardly type that.  Some people refused to eat it.  I also hollowed out some apples and we drank hot apple cider out of them.  That was a hit!

We finally carved some punkins and roasted the seeds.  Whew--fun times!

Shiny new button

You might notice, over to your right there, I have a new button!  Bet you didn't know that October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month.  As a teenager I spent four summers working with children with different disabilities, but my favorite kids were those with Down Syndrome.  Seemed that they saw things in a different, often more joyful and startlingly accurate, way.  My day was always made better when I was partnered up with a child with Down Syndrome.  When we got the news that our little niece was to be born with Down Syndrome we gained new perspective on that phrase all expecting parents say: "I just want my baby to be born healthy."  Well, of course, but guess what?  Even when you find out your baby is not going to be perfectly healthy you still long for that child.  I love how my bro- and sis-in-law explain about their baby:  "She was born with a little something extra." So far, my boys have noticed their cousin's tiny feet and her funny tuft of hair that sticks straight up on the top of her head and that's it.  Someday they will notice the "something extra" about her and we will learn from her about "perfection."  Click this link for more facts about Down Syndrome and my niece's story.

They like her pretty well, too.

Looking up to her big boy cousin!

I solve homework woes

My sis-in-law suggested some positive affirmations to help with our homework struggles.  No one else struggles with after school homework, right?) Here is my solution to help my Homework Super Heroes.  By the way, we have 2 types so far:  the perfectionist who spends far too much time and energy getting every detail just so and the avoider who does the work quickly and accurately once he decides to tackle it.  Here are the positive messages:  I work calmly, I solve my problems, I finish my work and then have free time.  I concentrate on my work, I block out distractions.

To aid the older one in working without distractions and help him be more independent (see: I solve problems) I decided to donate the use of my craft table for after school homework.  Now I have added incentive to keep it neat.  Maybe more positive affirmations are in order:  I maintain tidy work spaces, I maintain tidy....

craft room--finishing up

 Here are updated photos of my craft room.  So far, I have done a few projects and worked some every day and I have managed to clean up after myself EVERY time!  Amazing.  See if you can spot the changes to the decor. 

 First, the clock needed a makeover.  I used the EK circle cutter and my Stampin' Up circle punches.  By the way, this circle cutter works great--it is still a bit tricky to use just like all circle cutters.  BUT it will probably be replaced by my "new" Cricut which cuts circles even better!  The paper colors I used for the clock are a little too pastel, but the paper has some sparkle to it, which I like.  And, YES, I can still tell the time--it's quarter to the multi-flower circle!

Ah...love my Cricut!  This was an old cupboard front I picked up at Habitat for Humanity for a few bucks.  I added fabric rosettes to cover up the hole where the knob was and cut out *LOVE* using my Cricut.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I decided I should actually display a few projects in my craft room!  Hand print trees and 3 photos I took last fall.  See the close-up below.  I uploaded the photos to Picnik and chose the sketch feature.   I printed them at home and then used my Stampin' Up ink spots and craft sponge to add color.  I love to look at these on the wall as I work.  Picnik has lots of free options for editing your photos--it's really fun to experiment with your photos on this site. 

 Two more make-overs:
 

Our old coat rack turned ribbon holder

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I recovered my plain bulletin board using fabric, spray adhesive and upholstery brads.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Craft room: Mess to Masterpiece

And no room to work...

With piles all over the floor...

Remember the mess--the embarrassing mess I showed you?  Everything now has a place and is mostly in its place.  I am a LUCKY lady to have a husband who built this room so I could have space to craft and the kids could have space to play and store toys and games.  I VOW to spend as much time cleaning up after myself as I do creating!  I can do it--to honor my hubby and be an example for the kidlets, right?!




Well...feast your eyes on THIS!

Another reason I needed to organize was that I acquired a new-to-me Cricut (thanks Billie) and it needed a little home of its own in this room.

Before

After

I'm so excited to have this space all organized.  This time everything has a dedicated place to be and so I think I can maintain order.  Maybe I need to post a photo once a week.  Nothing kicks you into gear like promising to post photos for all the world to see!  Next...some of the decorating/personal touches I'm adding.