Summer is upon us…

As is my need to “nest”, I believe is the best term.  In addition to my need to nest, is my need to craft.  I really do believe I need to be banned from pinterest, only because every single time I go on, I go into a pinning craze and my list of crafts that I want to try out has become wayyyyy to long!  Don’t get me wrong, I will eventually get to all of them, it just may take me a few years.

In my most recent pinning craze (which just happened to be about an hour ago) I landed on the Purl Bee’s blog. And I believe I have found my new obsession.   If you find yourself with an hour (or day) to kill, I encourage you to check out this great blog.  It is the blog of Purl Soho, in New York (it has long been a dream of mine to live there, and this just solidifies that dream even more…) which is a crafty store that sells, teaches and encourages novice and expert crafters alike! LOVE IT!

While surfing this blog and their store’s website, it hit me like a ton of bricks.   I love to craft.  Love love love.  However, with all the crafts I do, and experiment with and grow to love, I don’t do anything great.  I do them all well enough to get by, but nothing looks AWESOME, the way the crafts do on the blog or in other pictures from other, far more talented, people.  So! I decided that I am tired of just doing an OK job on my crafting, and I’m going to start taking it to the next level of AMAZING.  That is going to entail starting at the very beginning of everything, and not cutting corners(which I am a huge fan of).  I need to re-learn all my stitches for sewing, knitting, and crocheting and practice them on a regular basis.  I need to not buy cheap-o materials with which to make everything – well, at least until I’m better at most things. I need to buy the right material for the right job, as well.  And, most importantly, I just need to make time and a space for me to make sure I can really do everything to the caliber of which I want them.  And, I need to focus on one “craft” at a time.  So! The rest of May is going to be dedicated to organizing and getting myself ready.  Then, come June, I am going to dedicate a month to sewing.  There are so many sewing crafts I want to do that I just can’t stand it!  I have the pieces I want to make, so now, I just need to get myself to the point where I can make them!

I will keep you updated on how this new plan to action turns out, and it is an evolving thing.

Baby update!

We are officially in the third trimester!  Little Lutes is healthy and ACTIVE! At our last ultrasound, we were also told that this little peanut’s head is a little large – and I place full blame upon my husband and his huge noggin….We are right on track for the end of August  as well- so start your baby pools!  My vote is for August 19th, but that’s just me This also means that I really need to get my butt in gear to get this baby’s room all ready!  My boss is out of town for the first week and a half of June, so I am going to focus the bulk of my energy on finishing all the furniture for the baby’s room and making baskets and storage items, and getting the room all ready!  It’s feels pretty weird (and a tad surreal) that it is already almost here.  I feel like it was just yesterday that we were talking about how to tell people I am pregnant.  Ah, how the time flies.

I know I say this a lot, but I really do have so much to do (and yet, all I really WANT to do is eat ice cream…. funny how that works) and I feel like I have no time to complete everything.  But, I do, so for now, I will stop typing and get to doing.

Until next time! XO

Fried food and things that make me drool in happiness

After almost 3 weeks of no internet (note to self, switch from century link as soon as possible), I’m back.

I feel like it’s been ages since I wrote, too.  And, well, really so much stuff has happened that it makes it feel even longer!  The move went well.  We are finally all settled in to our new apartment.  There are still pictures to hang, and boxes to unpack (the baby’s room is one big box right now) but, it finally feels more homey.

In the living room, I made all new pillows for the couch to go with our new color scheme for the living room as well as repaint all of our picture frames (that were originally all black) to also match the new color scheme.  We decided on yellow, brown and gray as our main colors in that particular room.  Not being able to paint walls or anything really has limited what all we can do, but here are some pictures of what I’ve done with what I’ve got.

I’m still working on the kitchen, our bedroom and the baby’s room, so more pictures to come once I’ve completed those rooms!

We also took a trip to New Orleans.  We decided now was the best time for our “baby moon” since both of our schedules get surprisingly busier once June hits.  That and I won’t be able to fly in June.  It was an awesome breath of fresh air for both of us and a much needed long weekend away together.  Dan and I have really tried to make sure that at least twice a year we take some time off and get out of town for a long weekend.  Even if it is just to go to the hot springs a few hours away, we really think there is a lot of value to making sure that we take some time for us and our marriage, no matter how hard it is to take the time off or how tight money is.  Since we get so wrapped up in the stress of day to day life, we need these little mini breaks to just rejuvenate our love for each other and re-connect on so many levels.

We decided on the big easy because we both love so much about New Orleans, plus Dan’s best friend from college and his wife (also a very good friend from college) and their son live down there! So they were an awesome bonus to a great vacation!

The south has so many wonderful qualities (and many of them have fried in the title).  The people are all so lovely, and, well, the food….do I really need to say anything about the food? Yes?  OK, the food is frickin’ FANTASTIC! Fried anything you can imagine, delicious coffee and chicory, fried green tomatoes, fried catfish, po’ boys, beignets! ah, my list could go on forever.   Not to mention all the history, both good and bad.  Needless to say, I’m a huge fan of the south, but particularly New Orleans. We rode the street car, took a ghost tour (which I really recommend doing), saw Audobon Park (which is a great park!), and strolled around the French Quarter, and along the Mississippi River.  Dan’s favorite highlight was a restaurant called Port of Call. They serve BAKED POTATOES with the burgers instead of fries.  That’s right folks, BAKED-AWESOME-POTATOES.  Amazing. They also serve a particular drink known as “The Monsoon”.  In order to make a Monsoon, you basically take half a bottle of spiced rum, regular rum and some sort of fruit puree mixture.  Put it in a 32 oz cup. Enjoy.  Well, enjoy for about a half an hour until you are very drunk off of one drink.  And yes, since in New Orleans you can enjoy a delicious adult beverage while you stroll through the city (thank goodness for cities with no open container laws), why don’t you have two, like my husband did.  Needless to say, he doesn’t get drunk very often, but when he does, he sure is funny and talkative. And super cute  All in all, quite a lovely trip and if you haven’t yet visited New Orleans, I encourage you all to go!  It is great for a romantic weekend getaway, or a family friendly long vacation!

 

 We also had another ultrasound for little baby lutes!  This child is HUGE already!! But healthy, healthy, healthy!  The ultrasound was just amazing and now that I can feel the baby kick even more and it’s moving A LOT, I’m emotionally getting very ready for this baby to make it’s way into my arms.  Dan and I have been talking more and more about our hopes and fears and all that falls in between in regards to having a baby and ultimately raising it into an adult.  All of our happiness and excited-ness outweighs any fear that we may have (although it’s still present).  But we still always come back to one thing.  If we can’t do anything else for this child, we just have to love it.  And love the shit out of it. While we provide the basic necessities for the baby as it grows and develops, love is just the common thread in everything.  If we can’t do anything else, we can show, teach and “be” love for this baby.  That’s really all it boils down to.

We did also find out the sex of the baby.  The picture this post ends with is kind of a hint to see if you can figure out  A. What flavor the baby is and B. What the name may be.  If you do not wish to know, I encourage you to not look past this.  NOTE! If you know my mom and dad in-law, or my brother in law Tim, they are wanting to be surprised, so please don’t mention this to them  Thanks!!

LIfe is changing rapidly, and wonderfully.  We are meeting everything head on, no matter how scary and uncomfortable it is. I know I couldn’t (and wouldn’t want to) do any of this without Dan, or with the help of our amazing support system of family and friends. We are learning so much about each other and ourselves, and it is one of the most amazing times in our lives!

On that note, until next time! XO

Times, they are a-changing

Today has been a day of reflection for me.

Our lives have been changing so much so quickly, and I don’t think I have really given myself a chance to really embody and process all the change. Which a. is bad emotionally for me and for Dan (because once it does all hit me, I generally take it out on him – through anger – which I’ve been desperately working at NOT doing) and b. it makes me more emotional than I really prefer to be.  (Most of those that know me and know me well, know that I HATE crying.  In fact, I would rather eat an entire bowl of brussel sprouts followed by a whole glass of milk(without oreos), rather than cry.)

We are having a baby.  Holy. shit.  that is all I can say.  Sometimes I feel like I am still 16 and in no way prepared for this new being that will quickly be joining (and depending) on us (mostly me though). What if we don’t get it right?  What if we screw the kid up? What if I yell more than I should, or show anger more than I should, or not hug it enough, or not listen to it as well as I should, or, or, or…..there are a million “ors”. I know, I know.  I should be a glowing pregnant woman that has no fears because this is the most natural thing I can do and women have been doing it for generations.  BUT! No one talks about it with you. Not one book discusses what to do so it’s raised “right”.  And, how can they?  They can’t.  Because it’s up to us, the parents, to love this child and realize we will screw up at some point, but to always keep in mind this baby’s best interest.  There is no manual on “how to raise a perfect baby with great manners that eats everything, that loves everyone and everything, that will lead a life of morals and ethics, that will have a great job and lead the perfect life”.  Trust me, I’ve looked.  Dan and I swore off baby books and any “traditional” method for raising our baby – mostly because they scare the crap out of me, and the bar is set so high.  So, rather we just decided to love it, and let it become who it is supposed to be with us guiding it, and leading by example. Scary thought.  This is the main thing I have been processing recently.

We are moving… again. We move a lot.  Combined, this will be our 22nd move in 10 years. That’s a lot of moving. In the past, I couldn’t stay still.  I needed to satiate my desire to explore the world somehow, and moving every year was the best and cheapest alternative to moving around the world.  In the past, this also fulfilled my NEED for change.  I needed to have my little section of the world be different.  Whether it was because I was running away from something, or because I simply needed a change. Now, this is different.  I love this apartment.  It feels like home. A real home. Because it was our first home, together.  So much has happened while we have lived here. We got married here.  We got pregnant here.  We started our family and our life together, here.   Here is where we belong. Now, I know it is not practical to stay here.  It’s too small, and too expensive to have a child in at the moment.  It’s on the second floor, so that would be a pain to lug all the baby gear up a flight of stairs multiple times a day.  And it’s just not where we would be happiest raising our baby until we can afford a house. The apartment we’re moving to is better.  It’s bigger, has a dishwasher and washer and dryer in the unit, and is cheaper.  But, will it feel like home?  Will we be comfortable there?  Will we be happy there?  I don’t know.  Probably.  Maybe. I guess we’ll see.  But, it’s hard to say goodbye, even if it is just to an apartment.

THis time of year is hard for me.  LIke, really hard. My grandmother died the day before my birthday 7 years ago.  And this time of year is always the hardest because, well, because it still feels really crummy.  We lost my other grandmother two months before her, and my grandfather one year before her.  It’s hard to realize that none of them saw me graduate from college, get engaged, get married, and will never meet their great grandchildren.  It’s still hard to accept that they aren’t here, in the flesh. I know they are here with me, and I will never lose their memory. But, sometimes it would just be nice to talk to them.  To hear their laughs (they all had the most wonderful laughs, especially my grandfather), and to see their smiles. I will always miss them.  But I will love them more.

There is a lot of uncertainty regarding our future.  Regarding work mainly.  We got some bad/semi-expected news about Dan’s job yesterday.  It’s not the end of the world, but it does leave a lot of bitterness (mostly on my end) toward the school where he works. And it leaves a lot of doubt about our financial standing for next year.  It’s not like we will be penniless or that we will be so broke we can’t do anything, but it still has the possibility of putting a strain on our finances.  I know he’s worried about it, and his worry makes me worry, because I can’t do anything to ease his worry. We have had many discussions about what to do should this happen, and let me tell you, there is no clear cut way of dealing with it.  There is sacrifice for both of us as there should be.  And I don’t know that we will ever have the “right” answer as to how to deal. But, like my amazing husband always says, we will make it work like we always have.  And it’s true.  We always have made it work. And we always will.

I don’t mean for this post to sound so….weepy and negative.  And I honestly don’t feel weepy or negative about anything that is before us.  I know that everything that I’m/we’re feeling is 100% NORMAL! And if I didn’t have these feelings, that would be weird.  Yet, I need to, every now and then, remember to take the time to process what I feel, as I am today. And that life is full of changes, doubts, happiness, anger, fear, but mostly love.  Dan and I (and little peanut) are so lucky to have what we do have.  And yes, I do in fact, thank God for it every day.

Ahhh, life.  it is meant to be a journey. And by all means, we are journey-ing it up over here! But yet, life is good, really good.  And life is full.  And life is what we make of it by living it. (How’s that for deep? )

Next week, I promise, I will have more pictures and more crafts to show!! My washi tape arrived in the mail – YAY! And once we don’t live in boxes, crafts, they are a-coming!!!

Until next time!

It’s a craft-splosion!

Man oh man.  Moving is ______.  FIll in the blank with your favorite adjective (descriptor if you would rather).  I’m going with: a lot of work.  Especially when you are trying to also get rid of a lot of unused and unnecessary items.  In the last week and a half, Dan and I have managed to pack up one and a half rooms, donate at least 10 bags worth of clothing, and other items, and run out of boxes – twice.  Things are looking up though, and I finally feel like I am accomplishing my mission and showing my husband that I am able to let go of things, and really live more simply.

We have also still found time to craft amidst all the moving.  Although they are currently not available for pictures (because I think they are in boxes somewhere…) I have made some cool new jewelry that I’m pretty proud of, painted some picture frames (with lots more to paint), finished my un-born niece’s baby blanket, made some cool transfers onto canvas, and ordered some washi tape to show you a trick I learned from The 36th Avenue, a craft and design blog I love, on how to make a plain white curtain something awesome and simple! I’m really excited to use this idea to update the plain white canvas curtains we have, into something springy/summery and fun!  (on a side note, if you’ve never heard of washi tape, it is something that is taking over the craft world.  A japanese rice tape, it’s heat resistant, durable, and most importantly, super CUTE!  there is such a variety of different kinds of tape within the line that it makes it hard to choose. If you have seen a craft you want to do with washi tape, but, like me, are having a hard time finding it, I recommend Cute Tape.  They have a variety of awesome tapes (including washi) for a reasonable price.)

So, the crafts on the agenda for after we move are:

-Finish painting all the pictures frames for the house to match decor in specific rooms

-Paint the crib and dresser that we have for Little Peanut (both are vintage(one was my dad’s when he was a baby – so super old! ), and both contain lead paint – something of which Dan and I are very weary, so we will seal and paint to our heart’s content to protect this little baby).

-Make homemade and all natural: facewash, face brightener, lotion, healing salve, and cleaning products

-Make Washi tape curtains

-Work more on Little Peanut’s book

-Make some maternity clothes out of existing clothes (I found a great tutorial here, on how to accomplish this.)

-Paint the clear glass vases I have to also give them an updated style

-Make SOMETHING for our dining room table centerpiece (Do you have any ideas of what I can make????)

And finally….

-Make a fun burlap sack peg board!

Whew….I’m tired just thinking about all this.  There will be a blog post about each project with pictures to show you  what all I’m doing – so you don’t just think I am lazing around the  house all day, watching Law and Order SVU.

Also, on a side note, a little update about Little Peanut and me.  We are rapidly approaching 20 weeks, which means, we are half way there!! I’ve started to feel the gentle movements of this little baby, and it is pretty cool (and pretty weird.  Like there is an alien inside me right now….) We go for the 20 week ultrasound in about a week and a half, and there we will find out the gender, and if everything looks right and healthy and in it’s proper place.  We had our monthly check up last week, and everything was just fine. LP’s heartbeat was great, and probably one of the happiest sounds I could ever dream of hearing.  We will be finding out the gender, but not sharing it with anyone for a while.  As I told my mother, you’ll know, you just won’t know when or how, you’ll know. Ah, I do love suspense!!!

I wish everyone a happy Friday and a happy weekend! I hope you all get to do something creative or fun!

Until next time!

Decorating is a pain in my….

OK. Admittedly, I am not a great “decorator” , per say.

I have eclectic taste that ranges from turn of the century vintage, all the way to Danish modern (although I do tend to go more on the vintage side than modern). I tend to purchase items that I love and with an,  I-can’t-live-without-this-or-I’ll-die kind of attitude, but with no real conception of how I’ll end up using them in my apartment.  I also have a tendency to take whatever my friends and family are giving – or throwing- away, fully knowing that I can’t use them at that particular time, but just can’t BEAR to see said item go in the alley or garbage for someone else to take.  I think it’s a psychological problem that they call “clutter-lover”.

When Dan and I started dating a little over 2 years ago, there was something-off- about him that I noticed right away.  He was an EXTREME minimalist, with zero interest in decorating or style.  And when I say that, I mean it quite literally.  In his apartment, he had one desk, one chair, one bean bag chair (yup, still stuck in college) one bed, one lamp and  very few clothes….. WTF?! Who lives like that? I’ll tell you who. Simple people, that like to lead simple lives, that read, a lot (the book collection at my apartment was more than tripled when we moved in together….) He didn’t understand my need to have enough stuff to nicely fill two apartments.  Or, my need to never throw things away ( like my syllabus from freshman composition, or my french paper that I wrote on the wonders of the food market my freshman year of college).  He didn’t understand all the memories that were attached to the broken glasses from highschool that I still had, or the solitary BFF earrings that, I’m sure, were from middle school.  But, he was resilient, and in time he encouraged me to purge and really get rid of superfluous stuff, which I did and I will say was very therapeutic.  But, no amount of purging would cure his or my inability to decorate in a cohesive manner.

Whenever I moved to a new apartment, which has been quite a bit over the last 10 years, my mother and sister would usually help me “decorate” . Which for them meant perfectly planning the layout of the room,  including placement of pictures etc. While my version went a bit more…well, lets just say it didn’t involve planning or perfection.  Rather than thoroughly thinking  through the placement of things, or  measuring anything, I just put it up on the wall and made 10 holes, rather than just one, trying to get it right.  Which is the same theme that reverberates throughout my choosing “themes” for rooms, or anything really to do with decorate.  Buy first, think later. That was my motto.  So, my decorating style has always been a bit bohemian meets eclectic meets vintage meets rough around the edges meets I have no idea what I’m doing.  Needless to say, I drive my husband crazy when I say “lets redecorate!”

However! I am vowing to change my catastrophic decorating ways. I have decided that for this new apartment, I am going to go about my decorating more thoughtfully and adopt a more minimalist attitude about our “style”.  Which frankly, gives me a panic attack just thinking about it. Mostly because it means I have to research how to decorate like an adult and move away from decorating like a college aged person.

Luckily, with the help of Pinterest and  Martha Stewart Living (I have my doubts on her as a person, but GOD DAMMIT if she isn’t crafty and talented…. it’s such a conundrum loving her) I think I can do this, and come out of it alive.  I will say that also going with our “all natural” lifestyle, I am loving the blogs about how to re-purpose things around the house in order to maintain recycling in all aspects of our lives, and to add a bit of coolness to our soon to be new home. Luckily, I have my minimalist husband that is quickly, and rather excitedly, learning how to say no to my ideas and fancies.

I am hoping that with some craftiness and a new perspective on life and simple living, that my apartment can go from this:

  

To this!:

I welcome links to any blog or websites that offer insight on how to decorate, and any insight you, my readers, may have.

Until next time!

Another day older….

And maybe another year wiser?  My grandfather, being the blunt man he was, always used to delegate to his children and grandchildren when they reached their “smarts”.  For example, at 18, you may have reached your 18 year old smarts, etc. 21 year old smarts and so on.  Rarely did anyone actually reach the “smarts” of the appropriated age at that time. It usually came  many years down the road, and my grandpa would shout out, “Ah ha! You got ‘em! You finally got your 18 year old smarts” and the person to whom that was directed was probably in their late 30′s… Well, I’m one day at 28.  I think I have finally reached my 18 year old “Smarts”, and can only hope by the time I’m 38, I’ll have reached my 21 year old smarts!  But really, the final call is up to him.

There are a few things learned in my 28 years here on Earth. But there is much more to be learned.  One thing I think the “older” generation (and by that I mean my grandparents age) really got was that young people spend too much time trying to be older, and the old spend too much time being young.  Just be you, act your age, and enjoy the life that you’ve made for yourself.  It doesn’t mean you can’t try harder to be a better version of yourself. It just means that… well, it just means that you shouldn’t waste this life trying to make the next better.  If there is one thing that Dan and I have learned and discovered through our life changes and the choices we have made in our marriage, it is that love and long walks go a long way.  We started our marriage saying that we wanted to deepen our love and understanding for each other, and through nurturing our diet, our creativity, our craftiness, and taking long walks and having good conversation, and lots and lots of laughter, we have headed out in the right direction. And I will begin my 28th year alive knowing that we are going on a good path.

But! Enough of that! On to the crafts!!!

Here are some of the pages I have complete for Little Peanut’s baby book.  My goal for this child is to keep the bulk of what I make and purchase for her/him as gender neutral as possible. Mostly because I detest the color pink, but also because it is something that rings deeply for Dan and me, that our child should be able to grow into their own identity.  Maybe it is a bit new age-y and hippy, but, we are what we are, and I have been known to be called a hippy and to be honest, I like it.

All the script  was cut out with a Cricut cutter and I used a variety of cartridges. I went for more of a childlike, but still “sophisticated” script and for more muted jewel tone colors, rather than pastels(if you’ve met me, you know I am not a pastel kind of person).  I bought all the embellishments at either Hobby Lobby, Michael’s, JoAnn’s, or I went through my mothers stash.

This is the first page of the book.  I wanted to show Little Peanut where they came from.  So, I took a baby picture of both Dan and myself and then an adult picture of the two of us, to show the transformation into adulthood. (weren’t we CUTE!!!)

This is a baby book of firsts!  So, what better way to start it off than with a First Photo page!  This was the ultrasound picture of Little Peanut at 12 weeks and a few days. The journaling is just about what that day was like. But you see where the planters peanut reference comes from.

I figured that being brand new parents, this was a first that we needed to capture.  Really this is taking the baby home from the birthing center, but first car ride sounded better The green section is for a picture and the brown is for journals.

I thought this would be a pretty cool page to make.  Mostly because both sets of grandparents will be there at this time (I think) and it will be proceeded by a few pages of just pictures of baby with Dan and me, baby with grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends, cousins, etc.

This one will be particularly great.  Because, usually all the naked baby pictures somehow magically “disappear” but not with this.  This will be here and with us, forever.  (Muhahahahaha!)

These are just the pages i have done.  Dan and I discussed the pages we want and we know we are going to do: 1st camping trip, 1st hike, 1st baseball game, 1st time down the shore (for when we go back east and to the Jersey Shore), first plane ride, 1st haircut, 1st tooth, 1st time eating something other than breast milk(going to try to think of a better title for that page ), and we will end with 1st birthday.  I am still trying to map out all the pages I want to do, but the good thing is that I can do whatever I want, really.  :)

Hillarie’s baby blanket is almost done!  Surprisingly, this one is taking less time.  I think because I am not distracted by the overwhelming need to sleep or vomit.

And, on a side note, I’ve started to feel the “flutters” of LIttle Peanut!  Which means, I can feel the baby moving around ever so slightly.  It’s pretty cool, and pretty amazing, I will just say.

But, to end the longest blog post in the history of blog posting, I am going to try making homemade chalkboard paint in the next few weeks.  I have a project at work and at home that require different colors of it, so I found a recipe and am going to try it out!  Wish me luck!

Until next time!

The taste of coffee in the morning…

Is the best part of my day.  First thing in the morning, after Dan is already gone for work, and it’s just the cats and me at home, and I get to sit on the couch and have my cup of half caf coffee with my french vanilla creamer( trashy, I know….but it’s my one big indulgence) and I get to look out our big living room windows and think about the day ahead, or think about nothing at all except how beautiful the mornings are, is, by far, the best part of my day.

I never used to do this when I worked a 9 to 5. Mostly because I hated almost everything about life at that point, and sleep and staying in bed as long as I could were the only things appealing to me.  But now, now everything has changed a little bit.  I am preggers, and trying to enjoy this time pre-baby, I am married to a great man, I have my hobbies that are soothing to me,  I have a job that I enjoy, and I am truly living a life of which I am proud to be living. Life is not exactly perfect 100% of the time. We don’t have as much money as we want. We don’t live in the house that we dream of, we don’t do as much of what we wish we could.  But, I’ve finally realized, at my ripe old age of 27, that complaining about the imperfections in life isn’t going to do anything, you either have to get over it and move on, or confront the situation, and do something about it.  I wish I could say that I am great at this all the time, and that I’m going to write this fantastic book about how to do it and it’ll be easy and life will be all sunshine and margaritas from here on out…. sadly, this is not the case.  (Although, think how GREAT life would be if it were actually sunshine and margaritas all the time, with the occasional shoe purchase….) It is a long and slow process and some of us reach the peak sooner than others, but here’s to hoping that we all do at some point in our lives.

My family’s lives were that much closer to sunshine and margaritas this last Thursday/Friday!  My sister, Sarah, called my mother and said that she was having contractions and was going to the doc to have him just check her, and she would keep us updated as to his verdict.  At 7:00, we were all driving up to Loveland to wait out the labor until we got to meet the newest member of our great family! After five and a half long hours, and only six pushes later, he was here, my handsome little nephew, Jonathon Theodore Morehead. Born at 12:28 am March 9th, 2012, and  weighing in at 6.9 lbs and 17 inches, he was a little guy, but with the sweetest face!

He was also 3 weeks early, which meant that he forced his Aunt Lizzie to complete his baby blanket, that had about a weeks worth of work left on it, in those 5 and half hours. One thing is for sure, my grandmother was right there helping me do it, because in sure Van Otterloo fashion, I rose to the challenge and completed his blanket before he was born! Go me!!

It is not the best of blankets, and probably could be a whole lot better, but I was on a time crunch and, really, I don’t think he’ll mind .

Now, it is time to work on my other, soon to be born, niece’s blanket! It is to go with my mother in May when she goes out to England to be with my sister and brother in law, so I only have a month and a half to get it going and done!

I wanted to leave this post today with something that is sure to make you all laugh.

Yes, this is my husband, and keep in mind, the father of my child.  He’s almost 30. And he is riding a stuffed toy dinosaur that is meant for a 2 year old….I guess it goes to show that you really are only as old as you feel! Love this man!

Until next time!

Spring is almost here!

Daylight savings is this weekend, and (for once) I couldn’t be happier to “spring forward”! While sleep is a hot commodity nowadays, and I dislike losing an hour of it, I am happy to have one more hour of sunshine!

Dan and I were talking yesterday about both of our (but mostly my) lack of motivation in the winter months, or the dark months as we call them.  While nothing is better than sitting at home snuggled into a warm blanket with soup and hot cocoa on a blustery evening of snow, that’s all we did… we sat.  We didn’t do anything that we said we wanted to do like go snow shoeing or maybe even do a winter hike or camp in the snow (call me crazy, but I’ve always wanted to do that).  Granted, we handmade all our christmas gifts, got the news of the impending bundle of joy and wished farewell to my sister and brother in law… but excuses aside, we were just purely unmotivated to do anything past our daily routine of work, come home, relax for a couple hours, then go to sleep. We decided it is because it is just so darn cold outside!! Dan doesn’t ever seem to be that bothered by it, but me, well I can think of at least 10 things that are more tolerable than being outside in 10 degree heat (or lack there of).

With all of that said, yesterday was such a great day of long awaited warmth! I finally feel motivated and creative again and I have been waiting for this feeling to rush over me for quite some time!  I don’t know if it is 100% the weather, or if the second trimester awesomeness is upon me – I no longer want to vomit at the sight of broccoli, and I do not want to kill something every time I wake up!  I wake up with energy, I like food again, and I am finally experiencing what most women experience to make them somewhat enjoy growing a child in their bellies!(It doesn’t hurt that the doc said I could take Benedryl when I am having problems sleeping, which means I actually get to sleep… MIRACLE DRUG!!!!!)

SO! We have a few ongoing crafts for the new babes as I said in the last post.  I am working on baby blankets for my sister’s babies! One is due the end of this month – little Jonathan Theodore, and the other is due the end of June – little Ava Jean! Both are a gingham pattern that I borrowed from the lovely Martha Stewart…. While Martha says to use three strands of yarn for each color block, I am finding that two makes a more baby friendly – breathable blanket.  Three strands is great if you are knitting a throw blanket to keep on the couch, or even a summer bed spread – I would say use cotton yarn rather than a wool based yarn though.  Surprisingly, it doesn’t take very long to make.  I am halfway done with the one I started a few months ago(again with the lack of motivation… we see it in practice), but it really does only take about 4-6 hours of solid knitting time to finish one 6 block row. (I find it useful to watch a season of law and order svu on netflix on my days off to aide me in this…)  My sister and her husband decided to do J.T.’s room in dinosaurs and sports (they are masters of compromise those two), and with green as the base color for the room, so J.T.’s blanket is a green color on the darker side with an oatmeal color accent.  I also strayed from Martha in the fact that I am doing all solid green and green with oatmeal accent only.

Ava Jean’s blanket colors were purchased before we discovered she was a girl, so I am doing the same pattern, but her blanket will be more of a tealy blue(not too masculine at all!) and cream colors.  Since my sister and her husband live in a base house over in England, I don’t know what their colors are, but you really can’t go wrong with tealy blue and cream!

My next project is a baby book for Little Peanut, Dan and me.  My mother, sister and aunts are all crazy good at scrap booking and card making, so I am sure I won’t ever be to their caliber.  I am a perfectionist, so it will look good, but the aforementioned ladies take the cake on being perfectionists!!  The goal is, since we don’t think we will A.  find out what the baby is or B. if we do find out, we will keep it a surprise for everyone else (mean, aren’t we…) that I will create a gender neutral book for this baby keeping in line with our gender neutral room decor that we prefer. I also want to make it a book for the first year.  So, I am going to start off with the basics, first car ride home, first holidays, first tooth, first doc appt., first crawl/roll/step, first laugh, first smile, etc.  For all you mom’s out there, what are some other first’s that I can include! 

I will also be creating a wedding/honeymoon album for Dan and me.  We had a wonderful wedding and an awesome honeymoon, and I am finally getting around to putting that together.

We are also moving in a month to a larger apartment! So, I am going to be making some curtains, as well as some other household items that we need……

I have a very busy couple of months ahead of me and I may or may not end up a little bit more crazy than I already am.  It’s worth it though!  Pictures to come shortly!

Babies a go-go

So many wonderful things have happened since i last wrote a post. We discovered that my oldest sister, Sarah, will be having a baby boy in March sometime, and that my little sister, Hillarie, will be having a baby girl! Hillarie and her husband Robert moved to England for 3-4 years for Robert’s tour of duty.  That makes talking to her and seeing her rather difficult, but luckily, we live in an age where there is skype.

We also discovered that I am pregnant, too! Sex is unknown yet, as right now I am only 11 1/2 weeks along….and Dan and I still go back and forth on if we want to find this little gem out…somedays yes, and somedays no.  Sometimes it sounds so wonderful to wait and meet the baby and be completely surprised on the day it is born, and then other days my practical side says, “you hate surprises….”. We did hear the heartbeat last week.  That was such a surreal and amazing experience! We didn’t get to see anything, just listen, and I am OK with that.  I was nervous leading up to the appointment, mostly because I just wanted to hear the heartbeat and know that the baby was there, that it was real. Almost everyone said I wouldn’t because it was still so early. I don’t think I have prayed as hard as I did to hear the heartbeat, ever.  And someone was listening.

We are using Rose Midwifery Care through Rose Medical Center, and they are just amazing! THe nurse midwife came in and talked me through all the questions they ask new mothers, which include a lot of medical questions and lifestyle questions. Then, came the full exam.  Dan was such a trooper. Standing in the corner watching everything that has happened to me every year for about 8-10 years, which is normal to me, but very strange, and a little nerve wracking to him.  After that, we spoke a little bit more about what was to come next, then I went and had copious amounts of blood drawn and we went home and got to share the good news with our families and our friends.

Everything has been moving just a bit slower these last few months.  I have been extremely tired, and nauseated and cranky and sad and, and , and, and…..pretty much everything and anything a person can feel or not feel, that has been me. I will say that that has been the weirdest, and at times, the scariest part.  The emotional response.  Men, don’t get it.  Unfortunately. And women, they get it, but know they can’t do anything about it. And it is strange how far apart from the rest of the world it sets you. And how lonely it feels at times.  But, the second trimester is quickly approaching and there is light on the other side now.  I have a bit more energy, not nearly as nauseated, and am getting anxious and excited for everything.  Mostly, I just can’t wait to meet this child and look into its eyes, and tell it I will love it forever, no matter what.

On the “crafty” note….Due to severe fatigue, crafts have been placed on a slight hold.  Although, I am in the middle of doing Sarah’s baby blanket and then starting Hillarie’s baby blanket….those are my biggest crafts, and my favorite to make! I am trying a new knitting pattern.  It will end up being a gingham style and I am going to attempt to try monogramming each blanket with the baby’s initials somewhere.  I’ve never done it, and it doesn’t appear to be too hard, but, in the world of crafts I think “hard to do” is a completely relative term.

Until next time!

Bread…..yum!

I baked my very first loaf of bread from scratch yesterday.   And let me tell you, it was INCREDIBLE!  Perfectly thick and crunchy crust and soft on the inside, and the perfect round boulee shape – perfect for a bread bowl full of your favorite soup!

The recipe, was one I came across on The New York Times website dining section.  It is the perfect no-knead bread.   And seriously, I have never made anything so simple – not even soup – not even cereal!  Total hands on time is less than 15 minutes, and bake time is an hour….the only part that takes time is the “curing” ,for lack of better words, of the dough.  You have to let it sit for 18 hours. But, it is really interesting to watch the whole process.  Since you are using such a small amount of yeast in the dough, it needs the full 18 hours to rise.  And I would say to make sure that you set the bowl in a relatively warm place in your house – I didn’t, and I think the bread could have risen more, but was still about double it’s size and delicious.

Sorry! No pictures to post on this one – I’m making more this week, so I will try to edit this post with some pictures of the whole process!

Dan made it home from his fall trip with his class! He had a fun time.  He got to sleep in a teepee and ride on part of the old Oregon Trail!  For those of us that played the computer game in grammar school, it was a dream come true to hear Dan’s rendition of what it would have really been like.  But, it also made me glad that I was not alive in those times, as they had to walk over 65,000 miles (or something crazy like that). And contrary to popular belief, no one rode in the wagon except the driver.  Everyone else walked. Even kids.  For 10 hours a day. In not great conditions.  Sounds like fun!  He even met a gentleman who had just completed the Trail with his two grown daughters this year.  They did it exactly as it was done, wagon and all,  and it took a little over six months to complete. Very ambitious!

I did however realize this trip that I do not enjoy when my husband is gone for long periods of time.   It makes me very thankful that he doesn’t do it very regularly.  My heart goes out, and wishes it were as strong as those women’s like my sister, whose husband is in the Air Force and will have to be without him for long periods of time, or women whose husbands travel all the time, etc.  I suppose after a while, you would just be used to it, but I don’t know that I ever could.

Next project(s)! Christmas presents!  I know, I know, Christmas? We haven’t even passed Halloween!  BUT, when you are hand making 14 people’s gifts, a girl needs some extra time!  I am going to have fun though!  Dan and I thought long and extremely hard about things that we could make every member of our large family, things that express who they are, and their interests.  But also things that are functional and fun!  So, we made our list and have purchased almost all of our supplies.  Normally, we have a $30 budget we spend on everyone at Christmas.  not a huge budget, but not really a small one either when you consider that total that is $420 total – but we usually spend a little bit more….So, with that said, we have not come anywhere near that amount yet!  And we don’t foresee spending too much more to complete the gifts.   This is a good thing, because I happen to be a craft whore, and that includes ribbon and wrapping paper.  I LOVE RIBBON AND WRAPPING PAPER! there, I said it.  If I could own a store of JUST ribbon and wrapping paper, I would be in heaven.  AND, now I can afford to spend a little bit more on those aspects of the season – which makes me happy, and Dan twitch .   Unfortunately, since my mother reads my blog, there will be no pictures until the very end, but I am excited to start this!  What would/have YOU make/made for someone for Christmas?  (Keep in mind, I am not above stealing your idea – I will give you credit though!:) )

Have a wonderful week everyone!

Love!