13w6d, tutus and one LONG vent

I am officially out of my first trimester, and am mostly done with the icky feelings. Still very exhausted, because sleep alludes me even though I am freakin' tired. And still not gaining any weight, but seeing as I was a good 20 lbs overweight, I'm not concerned.

AND, I met my midwife. She is so sweet, so laidback, so my kinda midwife! She owns a birth center, but also attends homebirths. We are leaning towards another homebirth, but I am glad we have another comfortable, safe option if we aren't feeling 'home' (because I KNOW we will not be feeling hospital unless there is a medical reason for it). I was pleasantly surprised, though, that Andy thinks he'd prefer home... since our previous midwife missed Sasha's homebirth, I was thinking of the birthcenter for his sake, mostly.

And, Ali's wedding is in less than a month. Woohoo! Our trip out there begins in just over a week, with a stop in Colorado Springs to spend several days with my Jaimie, and at some point some time with my April (April! We've got to look at schedules... Friday, June 10th, in the evening??? or some time Saturday June 11th, during the day???) Combined, Ali and Daniel have 3 nephews and 5 nieces. Or, 3 nephews and 5 flower fairies. The 3 youngest - Lauren, Kate and Sasha - will be in tutus. (And shirts, my model was naked for the photo shoot - we're lucky she had the tutu on at all, as she was also throwing a tantrum.) I am really happy with how they turned out. Really, really happy. Sometimes I get my craft on and really kick some butt. ;-)



And, on the drama side of things, I am done with drama. Been done for years, but occasionally some sneaks in, and I get to figure out how to deal. So, here's my vent about the situation... feel free to ignore if you want, I just need to get it out.

A year ago Judy and I became friends. Very good friends very quickly. And I observed that her favorite way to deal with conflict was to get pissed at people and not talk about it, but choose to ignore/avoid the person she's mad at. I really didn't think anything of it when she had problems with her neighbor, because she always talked about how her neighbor frustrated her, and *hello* you can't pick your neighbors, so if you need to ignore them, so be it. I really didn't think much about it when a similar situation happened with the wife of her husband's coworker. Again, *hello* sometimes people are in your life whether you want them there or not.

BUT, seeing as we chose to be friends, how she confided an awful lot in me, and I in her, that we have loads in common, when I wanted to talk about an issue between our daughters, this is how the conversation went:

me: Aubrey said that Jax kept touching her during dance class and wouldn't stop, so she asked me to talk to you about it.

J: Well that's not what Jax said happened, but I don't want to talk about it. This isn't the first time this has happened, and I just told Jax to stay away from Aubrey.

me: That's probably a good idea, a break would be good for them.

And that's where the conversation ended because some people can't have an uncomfortable conversation in order to make things better. And the more I thought about it, the angrier I got. I'm left to assume that Judy thinks Aubrey is some evil bully (because I have no idea what Jax's side of the story is) as opposed to two grown ups helping their growing daughters realize that they can talk to eachother and figure out a way to get along, because any rational person knows that what actually happened lies somewhere in the middle of Aubrey's side and Jax side.

(No, this was not the first incident between the girls, but I ignored previous incidents as I've always encouraged Aubrey to use her words and work things out on her own if she can.)

SO, I haven't had a conversation of substance with Judy in over a month, and I am counting down the days until we leave on our trip, as by the time we get back, they will have moved to Connecticut. I know, very mature of me. But I've spent enough energy on this crazy lady when she wasn't implying that she didn't like my kid... I have no more energy to spend on her now. And, honestly, I am the one doing the avoiding, but it all relates to her not knowing how to communicate if there's something other-than-pleasant to talk about.

Thanks, feels good to get that out. :-) BTW, something kinda funny... Andy has always maintained that Judy's crazy. I should know by now to trust his take on people. And not necessarily avoid them, but keep a bit more distance than I kept from Judy.

Phew, look at all the dust and cobwebs in this blog!

*a-choo* Hey, it' s been awhile!

We had a great trip 'up north' to Wisconsin, with stops in Oklahoma and Missouri along with way. Oh, I miss Wisconsin folks. We saw so many good friends, it was wonderful.

And then we had our oldest niece, Marcelle (16) stay with us for a week. More fun, and more craziness!

So now we've been trying to settle back into being us, and it feels good. Still busy and crazy, because that's life, but oh, it feels good to be back to normal.

And, in other news, I've opened a site on etsy. Right now I just have some stars there, but once I figure out some details on my beaded garland, I'd like to sell those, too. :-) Feels good to get my craft on, I have to say.
I also pulled out my sewing machine and made a reusable snack bag (think ziploc, but no trash!). I LOVE it! Need to play with it some and see how it works before I get too excited, but it's looking promising.

So, how's your summer going?

crafting and creating

I really wish I could bottle up all my Christmastime craftiness and creativity, to tap into the whole rest of the year! Seems like I'm overflowing with ideas right now.

Last year Emily posted about her 12 Days of Christmas tradition, and I thought it seemed like such a cool idea, so I copied it. Sort of. It's mostly unrecognizable except for the 12 Days part. Because I wasn't feeling creative enough, didn't have enough money or enouh time, to actually represent the 12 Days (a partridge in a pear tree, two turtle doves, etc.). But, today I am packaging up 12 little boxes and tins, each with some goodies inside, to send to my Grandma's brother, Tio Dick. I decided at Thanksgiving/Marg's funeral that I would send some cheer his way, and then, WHAMOO, his other sister, Mary Jane up and died, within a month of Grandma Marg dying. So, a box full of cheer is most definitely in order!

I bought $1 boxes and tins at Michael's, and I love them. They are so stinkin' cute. Paired with simple tags I made, I really like the way they turned out. If only every thing could be so cute! Each box cost less than $2 to fill... a mini slinky, a ceramic bird ornament, Reece's peanut butter bells, mini candy canes, a few cookies... you get the idea.


AND, I've been making ornaments. I made some very similar to these a few years ago, but this year I added beads. The jury is still out, what do you think?

I haven't fallen off the face of the earth.....

I'm still here. Still battling my morning sickness. The zophran worked wonderfully for exactly two days, and then the side effects of tiredness and weakness were too much for me to handle, and so I sometimes take the zophran, sometimes don't, and go back and forth between feeling just barely okay and just barely alive. I'm about a week away from the end of my first trimester, and I'm hopeful that I'll be better soon!

The baby bunnies are still here. One (I hope two!) will go to his new home this weekend. I need to take more pictures. Mama gets fixed tomorrow, and the babies get sexed tomorrow, so we'll know what we're dealing with. And my online research said that typically the cost of fixing a rabbit is $50 to $75. So I was thinking, okay, not bad. But our vet, no, she charges $110 for a male, $125 for a female!!! I did not think it would be that much more then the typical.

Lauren turned 3 yesterday, and woke up with a fever, so her party that should've happend has been post-poned until next weekend. Which is fine with me - more time to think about her cake. :-) Also, more time for her to change her mind as to what she wants, but hey, that's okay with me. I try to decorate with mostly just frosting, anyway, so she could change her mind as I'm frosting it and (so long as I can kinda create what she's requesting) it's not too big of a deal.

Every once in awhile I come across an adorable project that I want to try someday. Now, whether I do actually try it or just imagine making it, well umm, there are lots of projects done in my head, let me tell you! And a handful of half-started bits here and there in real life. This is one that I hope I do follow through with someday - it's so cute, and the tutorial makes it seem really doable, despite the picture. Seriously, I saw the picture and said, "Crap. There's no way I could do that." Then I read the instructions, and I could do it, if I sat down and did it. So check out this peek-a-boo lampshade, and tell me it's not so cute and maybe, just maybe, a little doable! :-)

There's a chain restaurant up here, Egg Harbor Cafe. They are only open for breakfast and lunch. And they are BUSY. We got a gift card to go there for Christmas, so we took Lauren's Godmother Paula out Saturday morning. Mmmm. My food was amazing. For one simple reason. They have green chili. Seriously. I was a bit nervous, but decided to try their potato and egg skillet, topped with ham, cheese and green chilies. It was amazing. I was in heaven. The chili was mild, but had such great flavor. I could go there everyday. And, breakfast for 5 was about $36 - not bad, I thought.

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This just in....

"Mommy, when I grow up I be Dora. D-d-d-d-d-dora. Dora Dora eenie meenie Dora."

But earlier this morning, she had plans to be The Little Red Hen when she grows up, and also maybe a gumball. We've also talked about being a pancake or ice cream cone or pizza. Umm, we really like food in this house. :-)

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Did you know that I can kick Andy's butt in Wii golf, even when I'm lounging on the loveseat? Even when Aubrey wants to try so I let her finish my turn and she hits it 20-some yards right into the hole? Aubrey beamed. I laughed. Andy cussed. And the Wii sat quiet the rest of the day.

And, my last little rambling for now.... every morning, and I mean every monring that we take Aubrey to school, I end up yelling at Lauren to get her shoes and coat on. WIthout fail. I hate it, but I don't know what else to do after I've asked her 6 times nicely to please get ready so Aubrey isn't late. Anyway, so unfortunately yelling happens here. This morning my neighbor called to see if she could take Aubrey to school since Lauren and I both are icky right now. So wouldn't you know it, Lauren comes around the corner with her shoes and coat on. I think tomorrow I will try to just say "Okay, let's get ready." and see how far that takes me, because it was so nice to not yell this morning.

no pictures, but descriptions WAIT, now there's pictures!

So, first, I replied to any questions about baking soda and vinegar as a comment to my original post. :-)

But, my real reason to post was because April wanted to see pictures of what I made for Jaimie.

It's a beaded garland-like strand with several mini clothes pins attached at intervals - to hang photos or children's art or bits of inspiration, or whatever..... it's maybe 3 feet long, with hook-like bits on either end. I picture it hung from side to side on a wall, but it could just as easily be hung up and down. I used beads in shades of aqua and shades of red. I know the color combination sounds weird, but it looks really great. Don't believe me, click here. I so want to have my kitchen be aqua and red.

I can't take all (or even most of) the credit for this - my cool Aunt Val made me one (pictured below) and I so totally copied her idea.

Crafty folk in my life be warned, I may copy your cool ideas. I'll give you credit, though. And I'll give you permission to copy any cool ideas I may come up with.

And, my camera doesn't truly capture the way these colors work together, but I love it!

Ten things

Ten things I am doing right now instead of packing. Because I only leave for almost 2 weeks in 36 hours. I've got plenty of time to pack, don't you think?

1. blogging - obviously

2. trying to figure out the mystery of the vanishing ring. Seriously, a few weeks ago a ring Andy gave me (the only one besides my engagement ring and wedding band he's given me, so that you don't wrongly think he showers me in jewels) went missing, got found and then went missing approximately 1 day after being found. I am puzzled. also, about a month before it went missing, my wedding band vanished. for whatever reason, I'm not concerned about that one - I'm convinced it's in one of our vents, and until I feel like removing said (old, stuck really well) vent, I like to think it's safe. Same time that wedding band went missing, my favorite Lia Sophia ring up and vanished, too. Maybe there's a ghost hanging around that likes pretty rings. Couldn't be the 2 1/2 year old. Nope, not a chance.

3. making baby caps - did you see this post of mine?

4 down, 3 to go if I have a chance. Probably won't have that chance, but that's okay, because check out #4.

4. making receiving blankets - same project as the baby caps.
I loved making these. The blue flannel is an old bed sheet - nothing fancy, just sewed two pieces together. The other one is old receiving blankets (that were all too small for this project) cute and pieced together - my first try at quilting, and I LOVED it! The picture really can't do it justice.

5. taking pictures of gingerbread houses that may collapse (or be eaten) any day now, (please notice Aubrey's favorite part of the gingerbread house - the girl in the window. some of the candy has been disappearing each day, pretty soon we'll be able to make new frosting and attach new candy - the evolving gingerbread house

along with girls that have had way too much cake batter, and insist on sitting in plastic tubs while watching tv sideways. by the way, I thought about not washing the mixing bowl - she got it pretty dang clean!

an apron I made awhile back and never showed you,

and our two bunnys (please forgive the gross cage - they are hard to photograph, and my best chance was before I cleaned the cage - that little black turd of a rabbit is one messy dude - he pees EVERYWHERE (when I say everywhere, I mean even my curtains. ewwww. he's got distance, that's for sure!).

6. admiring Aubrey's artwork. I call it a leaf. she calls it her phone. Lauren insists that she made it at Ms. Col's, and that it's a leaf phone. Leaf, phone or leaf phone, it's beautiful and I love it!

7. making popcorn for snack time tomorrow

8. cleaning the kitchen. no, not really, but I should. see #9

9. making cake for work tomorrow because it's the 3rd Thursday of November (the popcorn snack is for 1st graders - Mr. R just might kill me if I sent cake to school (or, if I were a teacher and someone sent in cake for no good reason besides it being the 3rd Thursday of November I would kill). This cake is amazing - mandarin orange cake with pineapple frosting. I will share the recipe when I have more time.

10. not folding laundry. that's right, I am not folding laundry, and all my efforts to not fold laundry will prove quite unhelpful in my future plans of packing, so I figure it kinda fits in with this list. I am instead playing with these two sillies.

Okay, so maybe listing 10 things was kind of a stretch, but I am definitely not doing what I should be doing!

I will try to post bits of our adventure, but life may get in the way, we shall see. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Feeling Generous

If you are feeling just a little crafty, or have so many old t-shirts lying around you feel like you are drowning in jersy-goodness, how 'bout turning those tees into baby caps?

I'm mentally evaluating our tee stash as we speak, and will see what I can do in the coming days. Seriously, this looks to be a very easy project - minimal sewing skills (you could even get by without a machine) and no predisposition towards crafting required.

craft projects of the week

First, Aubrey's Flower Princess crown. Her back-from-summer-break Daisy Girl Scout meeting was to be a "princess picnic" and, well, we don't do too much princess in our house, so I made Aubrey a crown. I'd been wanting to make her one for awhile, and turns out the princess picnic was the motivation I needed. All the fabric is felt, the ribbon a grossgrain that I machine sewed on with a fancy machine stitch and verigated thread, and her initial, along with the middles of the flowers, are just little glass beads. This was so easy to make. And pretty quick.

Next (and last craft project of this post) is the play dough. Aubrey's been asking for months if we could make play dough, and she always happened to ask in the middle of making dinner, or driving to the library, or after brushing teeth before bed. So, finally, tonight, I remembered that she's been wanting to do this and I got it started. My helpers were so helpful, picking out the two most beautiful colors - "bwue" is what Lauren chose, like the ocean, while Aubrey opted for yellow. Egg yolk yellow, if you ask me.

As you can probably tell from the picture, there seems to be more green play dough then the afore-mentioned bwue and yellow. Yup. Because when asked if the two could be mixed, I took a deep breath to calm the OCD and responded sweetly with, "It's your playdough, what do you think?" A resounding "YES!" immediately followed, along with requests for bowls, for the proper mixing. Tools are everything, you know.

I predict that by tomorrow at dinner time, there will be no visible evidence of there ever having been two seperate, distinct batches of play dough made today, and that the hulk green that we've created will be made into pizza, cookies, blueberry pie, towers and assorted family members.

(And, because I am sure you are so curious, the bowl pictured is my favorite bowl, and since it is my favorite, it is also Aubrey's favorite. This means that sometimes we fight over it. No, not really, but if she weren't one of the loves of my life, I just might fight her for it!)