You're my favorite deputy!

There's a new sheriff in town and he has officially outlawed bibs and boosters, and assistance with anything.  Reach for the stars, Woody! 

Baby Girl Willy

I had an ultrasound this week to follow up on Little Sweet.  She is catching up in growth and measured just below average  at 3lbs 7oz. Yay!  If I make it to 40 weeks, her weight should double in that time.

The pics are fuzzy but her lips are delicious little pouty puff lips just like Soren's (and Aaron's), and it looks like she has the Reese/Corbin head shape, rather than the Quincy/Soren mold. Even though Quincy and Soren were both posterior babies and came out "Sunny side up", they were easier deliveries. Corbin and Reese were my tougher deliveries because of their heads. Corbin got stuck and had to be vacuumed out. Fingers crossed this little girl has a less traumatic arrival.  

The ultrasound tech loved this pic because even though the angle distorts her mouth a bit, you can see her opening her little eye for us. I see you winking, little one! 

A few things from my appointment: 

-my iron level is still low and even with taking supplements is only at a 10, which paired with my low blood pressure explains my desire to lie down all the time. 

-The swelling in my ankles/legs seems to go down significantly over night as long as I spend a few hrs during the day with my feet up. Since the swelling isn't accompanied by headaches or high blood pressure, there really isn't anything to worry about. Well other than having muffin tops on my feet and legs that look exactly like my mom's (hollah, Lady!)  

-my platelet count was really low at my recent blood draw. There isn't anything we can do to naturally boost platelet production, so this is more just an informative test. If platelets get below a certain level, I won't qualify for an epidural. There's still time for the number to up or down enough to matter.  We have another draw scheduled closer to delivery date in 4 weeks so we will know then if I need to prepare for a natural child birth. I am actually totally ok with this, it's really been more for Aaron's benefit that I got the last two epidurals. It's hard for him to see me in pain, even though the pain has a purpose and I welcome it, it's too hard for me to see him struggle with being unable to help me. It's just been easier to get the epidural to calm me down so he doesn't have to. I feel like I could do a natural delivery just fine, though, so if that's the case, I'm up for it. 

-my physical measurements are only a week behind, now. Belly is catching up too. Must be all those donut Fridays. And donut Wednesdays...

-the Braxton Hicks aren't bad at all this pregnancy, relative to previous pregnancies. The advice to sit for 2 hours a day should help keep them from being regular or effective in starting labor. 3 cheers for NO bed rest necessary! 

-Turns out I had strep throat. I've been extra exhausted since my mom got here. I'm talking NO energy or muscle strength at all some days. I thought it was allergies and a sinus infection, and I am known to burn random fevers all the time when I'm pregnant because of whatever autoimmune issue I have that causes my body to think I'm fighting infection even if I'm not. So I didn't give it much thought that I might actually be sick. My dr took one look in my mouth and asked if if been exposed to strep. Uh yes. I'm on day 2 of a zpack and feeling SO much better! Who knew? I think it's proof that pregnant mothers just get so used to being tired and feeling like garbage all the time that we totally forget to notice the red flags for infection. Oops!

-I feel grateful for how well this pregnancy is going. It's been remarkable!  Sure, I'm tired some days, but that really just means more naps and I have no problem at all with that. I'm just so thankful to be pregnant.  Now, if we can just get through Friday... Halloween festivities might do me in. 

-the children are getting really excited about the baby. Reese and Quincy want to take a girls date and go pick out some clothes/baby essentials. I got to watch Britney's baby for a few minutes during her parent teacher conference yesterday and Corbin loved holding him. I can tell he's going to be very helpful and careful with his little sister. Soren is quickly rejecting all "baby" gear in exchange for self paced independence. Bibs, baby spons, and high chairs are all ancient history for that kid. I'm grateful he still loves his crib and tolerates the stroller most of the time.  And he still lets me call him Baby, so all is well with the world. Corbin better be a minimum of 50 years old when I stop singing Baby Mine to him at bedtime. His prayers for his baby sister are precious. 

Not worth it.

Quincy: can I go outside and play? My homework is done.

Meg: sure! As long as your bedroom is clean, then go ahead. 

Quincy: actually, I don't want to go outside that bad. 

Right Choices Corn Maze

It was a beautiful and unseasonably hot day in Northwest Arkansas. Since grandma us here to play this weekend, we decided to get out and have some Autumn fun. We joined up with the Zebleys and Meadows for a day at the pumpkin patch. The drive was gorgeous. 

I can't believe how much our little family has grown in just a few years.  This pic hangs in out living room from the last time we were at this particular pumpkin patch. Corbin was Soren's age, and Reese still had all her baby teeth. 

How did they grow up so quickly?! 

They've added a cool jumping pillow. The kids did three rounds before getting sufficiently hot and sweaty enough to check out the rest of the activities at the patch. 

Soren was not a fan of the jumping mat and took a couple horsey rides instead. On the second round, he decided he was  unsure of the horse and asked to get off. Corbin, on the other hand was completely trusting and hopped on to finish up Soren's turn. 

Roller slides

Top of the big red barn 

"Mommy! Wook! Piggies and sheeps!" 

Burlap sac slide

Cornboxes

Water pump duck races

And the cow train.

Annual Blurry Halloween Costumes

I don't know if it's because they're always really excited about Halloween, or what, but every year my dream of Pinterest worthy photos of adorably motionless children showing off their Halloween costumes end up looking like this: 

And that's the best I could capture, folks. 

 

Don't forget the essential laundry baskets in the background.

 

Or the toilet. 

My costume this year was done in 20 seconds and only took a sharpie and some cynicism. I'm pleased with the result. Had I known Aaron was going to dress up as a baller, I would've drawn a basketball on my belly instead. 

2014 Halloween is brought to you by: 

Little Red Riding Hood

Pebbles Flintstone

A Pirate 

A Chicken 

A Baller

and a Jack o lantern. 

On out to the car, Soren tripped and busted his bottom lip open and bled all over the front his costume. We handed him a Popsicle to pacify his tears and headed to the ward party. He was a sticky, gory mess by the time we got there, but was so funny asking for a "treat" at all the cars like a big kid during the trunk or treat. He walked around saying "bawk bawk bawk" and a sonic boom was heard as the world exploded with cuteness overload. 

Quincy's favorite part was the rawhide bone in her hair. I accindently bought a flavored one so she smelled like a beef stick all night. 

Corbin loves his hook and suggested we draw a mustache on his face on Halloween. Done and done, buddy. 

Reese loved the decorated cars and rebuked me for being a terrible party pooper and not participating in the van decorating festivities. Maybe next year, Reese. 

My favorite part of the evening was absolutely Aaron's costume. Those who know him well know that he hates dressing up in costumes. Yesterday Afternoon, I called him at work and told he had to come up with something to wear, because last year all the bishopric members dressed up and it's a big deal. 

I was totally blowing smoke. I don't even. Think all of our bishopric members were in town for the ward party last year. Hahaha! Either way, he fell for it and came home in a panic, threw together his fletch costume and then I had the joy of teasing him all evening when he saw that most of the adults there were in street clothes and discovered he'd been duped into costume awesomeness. We laughed so hard and it was easily the best part of my night.  I married a good sport. :) 

Bedding for Baby

A few weeks ago, I found this quilt online and fell in love, hard and fast. 

$145?! For real?

For a baby quilt.

 

Fine then, I will make my own. 

I hit the local fabric stores, but none of the color options felt quite right. 

The coral pink and avocado green were missing. DIY was out. :( 

Back to buying it. 

I waited watched and waited more until the etsy shop had a flash sale and it was 30%off.

By the time I tried to check out an hour after the sale had begun, the quilt was sold out and discontinued. Oooh I was so mad!

So back to making my own. 

For the record, I have no clue what I'm doing, but it's going well. 

Carly and Kasey helped me put together a color palate and I ordered fabric online. 

The prints are for pillows, bumper, changing pad cover, etc. 

I then enlisted the help of one of my quilting goddess friends, Eunice for templates and wisdom.  She came over for an hour today, showed me some sewing tips and helped me get started by setting up a guide on my machine and sharpening my rotary cutter. 

I love Eunice because she is a true teacher. She tells me tips and instructs on correct methods for cutting and sewing (stuff I've always faked my way through before) and patiently corrects things I'm doing wrong or inefficiently, but she let me do the work. I'm thankful for her gift to teach because it gave me the confidence that I could do this totally on my own. 

She left once I got going and so far, so good! Some of the colors in my photos look a little "off" but in real life they're great together. 

Look how much I accomplished in just a couple of hours today, and I haven't even used any curse words! Here's to a successful day two. The aqua herringbone will be the back, and I think I'll make bias tape binding with coral pink. 

The best part, I read the fine print on the description of the original inspiration quilt and it is in fact, not a quilt at all! The triangles are a solid piece of printed fabric, and it's just top stitched in horizontal stripes across the top. $145 for two solid pieces of cotton fabric slapped together?! So glad I decided/had to make my own after all. I like the colors better, it's more personal, and a true labor of love to create something special for baby girl Willy. 

It isn't perfect, and I'm ok with that. 

Getting Broody and feathering my nest.

I'm becoming one Brooding Betty lately. 30 weeks means the final countdown is on. Saturdays are booking faster than I can assign projects from the to do list. I know there's always a chance I'll end up on full blown bed rest any time, so it's time to get crackin' on baby projects. 

This Saturday, I converted Reese and Quincy's old dresser (that I bought for like $5 at a garage sale several years ago and painted white) into a changing table for the baby's nursery. 

I used a homemade chalk paint recipe that my friend Virgina taught me and added plaster of paris to the paint. Not that I plan on drawing on the furniture, but because I didn't have the time, energy, or desire to bother with sanding or pre treating it. 

1TBS plaster of Paris (dilute with a little water to pancake batter consistency) for every cup of paint. Stir. I also used a valspar paint with primer because I love the product consistency and quality. 

It set up nicely and was very thick, self leveled beautifully and dried nice and hard almost like a water based enamel. 

I think the hardware would look fabulous painted gold to add a little girly glam to the room, but we'll see if I get to it. I have a lot of other things I would like to do first: 

-The walls and ceiling in the baby's room still need to be painted (they're still lavender from the previous homeowners).

-I have a tricky pattern picked out for the quilt I'm attempting to make (uh, wish me luck), and all the other bedding (bumper, sheets, changing pad cover, curtains, etc) to sew

-I scored a fantastic ugly vintage owl lamp this weekend from an online yard sale. It's absolutely hideous, creepy, and unpleasant but it has potential to be a totally fabulous and unique piece when I'm done reviving it.

-the daybed in the baby's room will stay, and I'd like to use the leftover quilting fabric to cover a bunch of pillows for it. 

-I still need to buy a crib (we are sooo not moving Soren out of his crib any time soon. He likes it there, can't/doesn't climb out, and we like that he likes it there and can't/doesn't climb out.) I found this simple/inexpensive one on Walmart.com and I think it will be great.

I love this one too, but it's more expensive and I can't decide if it's worth the cost difference for style preference. 

Luckily, my level headed husband can decide and casts 90% of his votes for "whatever is cheaper" and I love him for it. 

-I'm still on the hunt for a rocking chair (the one we used for the other 4 kids finally fell apart when Soren was about 6 months old) for the same reason the crib hunt has taken forever...I'm cheap and indecisive. 

-instal a changing pad and on the dresser to convert it into a changing table.

-get an infant car seat and a double stroller (our old double stroller served us well for 7 years before giving out. Not a bad investment.)

-and finally, the extra fun part: fill all the drawers of this adorable dresser with baby girl clothes :) I've never known I was having a girl, since both Reese and Quincy's genders were a surprise on delivery day, so I'm really looking forward to doing a little bit of shopping to pick out some things for her. 

Anyway, that's quite a project list, but least one thing on the list is done, and it only took an hour and $12 for paint. 

I didn't do much nesting before Soren was born, because a) I was stuck on bed rest for what felt like for-ev-er and b) we were maxed out on space, so there wasn't really a space that needed to be prepared for him. He slept in a pack not play in our room and in the middle of the living room for like 7 months while we got the house ready to sell and then moved. I  forgot how much fun it is to prepare my home to welcome a baby.  It's filthy and neglected right now, so messy corners better watch out. No drawer will go unpurged in the next 10 weeks. I'm a girl on a decluttering mission and a germ a phobe anti-hoarding gene. Closets everywhere, beware! 

Nesting begins! 

Sleepless Sunday Selfie

This guy. 

Mr Saunchy woke up out of the blue at 10pm tonight. This is very unlike him as he's normally a pretty great sleeper. He was inconsolable until I picked him up and brought him upstairs with me. Sneaky trick. The kid is all smiles now, giggly, and has been sitting happily in my lap for almost 2 hours with no sign of wanting to go back to bed anytime soon. It's midnight. 

He is totally still, and as long as I don't bring up the topic of going to bed, he is content all snuggled up right here with me here on the sofa, like a big kid. Where was mr silent, still, and snuggly during sacrament meeting today? Every time we went in the chapel he pointed up at Aaron and shouted, "hey Daddy! My daddy! I want daddy, Dad-deeeeeee!" Until we were back in the hall again. Unable to keep up with him running around and unable to keep carrying him, I finally took us into the mother's lounge (which was luckily empty) and parked myself in a chair in front of the door. He literally ran laps around the tiny room like a puppy that had been released from his kennel after being cooped up for hours.  I listened to sacrament meeting over the sound system and enjoyed the comfort of a rocking chair, while worrying what my other children were up to. Luckily, the sister missionaries and Darcie went and sat behind them and passed them sticky notes and pens to draw with. What on earth am I going to do when I need to go nurse a newborn? 

Little funny guy has been playing it cool on the sofa tonight. It's nice to know that he IS capable of being still, anything to remain just inconspicuous enough to avoid bedtime. I am enjoying his company. He's being wa my too cute to do anything but laugh, and wonder what in the world drugged him up with super speed today. 

I think (hope) I will go back to bed after the crew leaves for school and work and we will both sleep in tomorrow, because we can. 

Spanker Creek Craft Fair

The children were out of school today so Carly and I braved the craft fair with 8.5 small people with us. It was lunch time and the craft fair was the last of several stops on our errand list.  We hit up the fried everything booths right away and got some sustenance to keep the grouchiness at bay. 2 foot long corn dogs, fresh lemonade, a funnel cake, some nachos, and a shaved ice later, I was sufficiently broke and the kids were ready to walk around. We saw some cute things like these little wood pallet chrismas trees and some other fun crafts, sampled the cinnamon pecans and kettle corn, listened to a surprisingly fantastic James Taylor wannabe performer, hit the tractor display, rode the cow train, and headed home. It was an adventurous Columbus Day and I feel about as exhausted and nauseated as an early American settler that just crossed the Atlantic on the Santa Maria. Totally worth it it for a day out of the house with great friends!