My Cute Little Model (aka: my little ham)

I have been crocheting hats lately. They are quick and easy for me to knock out and they pass time in the car or when I am watching tv in the evenings when the little bug goes to bed. My sis-in-laws friend was poking around the blog and saw one of Madeline in her hat and wanted one so....here it is. I added the flower for her to go with the hat. I never know what to charge for things; since they are handmade you cannot get them just anywhere but I think people would sometimes rather just go to the store and buy something cheap. I thought $15 was reasonable for a wool blend chunky hat with flower. She thought so too so SOLD. Woo hoo. I have left a little basket of these flowers and some other designs at my cousins hair salon and they have not sold? I am at a loss. I put $5 on most and $8 on the really big ones. They come with a hair clip or a pin so you can add them to your blouse/coat/______ fill in the blank. I just don't get it. Oh well. I am feeling some inspiration again. I just need to finish my friends pillows and then I have a few little lovies to make up and I designed a pattern for a Bible cover I want to try to make. That will be an adventure since I MADE it up and have no idea how that will turn out. Its only fabric huh? Well if there is a need for a nice warm hat, let me know I love making them...we can work out prices.

Time vs. Lack of inspiration & the battle of wills

I have no time it feels like. I put Madeline down for her nap and she wakes up. What to do. I hate giving up time with Nate and her in the evenings to sew but I just need to. There is also the lack of inspiration. I have no lack of fabric, just the other two problems...Its a dilemma huh? Right now was the perfect opportunity to sew but just this second we are in a battle of wills, she wants up from nap (only 1 hr and is still exhausted but screaming at me!) and I want her to sleep! I don't know how much of the crying is okay. She looks abused when I finally give in and go in and get her-eyes red and face blotchy and it looks like she breaks out in heat rash. My child does not give up! She gets madder and finally just wakes herself up completely screaming instead of giving in to the exhaustion. SHE DOES NOT SELF SOOTHE! Passy be darned and blankie or bunny too...she just gets really ticked.
Who can be inspired when there is the sad, screaming baby? By the way she is normally a very, very happy child, just not at sleepy time.
There, blew off steam, sorry.

Madeline's New Hat

When I travel I always take my crochet with me. It is so easy to get a hat or scarf done in the hour or two that we are in the car. Madeline normally sleeps when Nate drives and so here is her hat I made and a little flower as well. She did scratch her face (baby nails are vicious!) but I still love this photo.

Back to sewing

These are a few of the little tag blankets I have made. The first was for Madeline and the second in red was for a friend. I am selling them for $15.00 if anyone is interested.

A few new pics

It had to happen...

Well Madeline spent her first night in her own crib...I spent the night in the guest bed right next to it. (I know...) Her room is shared with the guest bed since we went from a three bedroom home to a two bedroom household. I had been having her sleep in a side-by-side bassinet since we are nursing and the more you move her around, the less likely she was to stay awake. Now she is only waking up once or twice in the night, mostly due to the stupid passie I gave her and if she drops it out of her mouth, she wakes up wanting it back and cannot put it back yet herself. The other times is just wanting to be on her side instead of her back. She generally goes to sleep around 8:30 to 9:00 and wakes around 5 or so to eat and then maybe sleep another hour to hour and a half if I am lucky. We are hopeful she will start sleeping through the night and learn some self soothing techniques, I'm working on it. She is so big now. She is in 6 month sizes and is only 15 weeks this week. I cannot believe how quickly time is flying.
Also Tuesday August 24th is our 8th Wedding Anniversary. We are going to let a friend watch her for a few hours on Saturday so we can go out to dinner to celebrate...Did I mention this is the first time really leaving her? I am not sure where we'll go, but am more concerned that my little stinker will take a bottle for those friends and not scream when they try to give it to her. Our friends are so excited to watch her which is nice, they have three older kiddos and love having a baby around. I know I will be anxious to leave her but she is in very capable hands. Well someone is singing my name "waaaaahhh, aaaaaa, waaaahhhhh!" and wanting her nightcap. :)

Mommy and Madeline (5 wks)

Tummy time on my play mat (7 wks)

My little black dress, Papaw says every girl has to have one...(6 wks)

So peaceful (8 wks)


Bright eyes after my bath (7 wks)

Just wanted to update some of my favorite pictures of my girl. I am so sad to go to work next week but know it is limited time back. Next week I go back on the 27th and then have Thursday and Friday off for closing and moving. I am happy to have a good friend watching her but it is still heart-wrenching to leave her. I left her alone with someone other than Nate for the first time on Friday and my heart almost came out through my mouth. I left her with a good friend and left her with some formula just in case. She ate it just fine. I wanted to see how she did with it if I am not able to pump enough while at work. She did fine however her belly did not like it; it took till Sunday morning for her to go #2. She was still happy even though constipated, go figure. She is a happy baby for the most part. She is only fussy if tired, hungry or gassy.

Update on me, I am great, loving nursing and find it amazingly rewarding to be able to nourish my punkin. It is hard being tied to her that way sometimes if I need to leave or am in public and there is no easy place to nurse but we are getting really good at discreet nursing. I am apparently

trying to kill myself, either that or Nate is...I was getting into the car today and in a hurry to get it cooling down for her and whacked myself in the nose with the door. I don't think I damaged myself too bad which is great since I had sinus surgery several years ago to fix my septum. When I got home I was trying to get into the fridge in the garage and didn't realize Nate had put the power drill on the top of it while doing some work. I do have some "cat" like reflexes because I caught it before it hit me in the head. It would have probably knocked me out...So hopefully tomorrow will be better and I will go about the day unscathed. I called Nate to make sure he had my life insurance paid up and he laughed and said he still needs me for now. hehe.

Well please be in prayer for us with the next few weeks coming of me going back to work and moving. There is a lot of stress coming our way but God is good and he has gotten us this far and answered our prayer of selling the house and he did it in under three weeks. I am going to have good help between my mother and step mother-in-law coming this week to torture themselves and watch the baby...I feel so sorry for them, such a burden I know. Well wish us luck, no posts for a while till after we get settled

Things I hear myself saying...

1. "Stop hitting yourself in the head". -said once upon a time to my brother-in-love when I was picking on him. Now said to Madeline to stop hitting herself or pull her own hair...
2. "Yea, poopie!" -said now when constipated
3. "Oh yeah 4 hours of sleep is awesome!" -now said that she is sleeping four hours at first then giving me around another two afterwards.
4. "Stop licking the baby." -Said to the "mother hen" dog who wants to take care of Madeline.
These are a few of the things I hear myself saying on a daily basis and they are music to my ears!

Madeline is here

Madeline was born on May 12, 2010 at 4:30pm. She was a healthy 7lbs 8oz and 21 inches long. And she has a full head of hair, light brown with blonde and red highlights (I pay good money to have my hair look like that). I went into labor on Tuesday and into Wednesday. We went to the hospital around 5am on Wednesday and labor progressed pretty well from there...I got to 7 cm and took the epidural, I had been up almost 48 hours and was worn out and as soon as they gave me the epi, my water broke. Around 3pm I was still at 9cm and she was not descending and they had the pitocin level pretty high so they advised c-section since she was not moving into position. They thought the cord could be wrapped around something and preventing it. I opted very quickly for the c-section since that is always a nightmare people have. I was glad then I had the epidural since if they hadn't done it already I would have had to be knocked out completely for the surgery. The surgery was pretty quick, around 45 minutes and went well. I of course didn't care ultimately how she came out, just that she was healthy. I am so greatful for her and she is just perfect. God has blessed us so much with her!

I am exhausted from the lack of sleep and she is getting stomach aches in the middle of the night, but so worth all the lack of energy. I now sleep in the day and am up at night, similar to how it was in college. The time is flying and she is 2 wks old tomorrow. I am off for almost a full 12 weeks and am praying that I don't have to return for long. I am sad now even thinking about having to leave her. I just will be an ostrich for a while and not think about it...

Here are some photos of her and the new family.

Madeline's eclectic room

A friend had the cute blankie made for Madeline

Her changing station and light from Ikea

Her bed with quilt. I still have to quilt it and put the binding on.

More pics of the quilt.

Close up of the dust ruffle.

I love the Amy Butler paisley fabric. It would all be in that fabric if I could have done it. I like the others too but it is by far my favorite. The dresser is antique and the changing table is actually a buffet table from Ethan Allen I picked up when we lived in Albuquerque. We bought the bed new and a friend gave us their rocker. It is comfy, doesn't match though, but I am about practical. Most things will only be used for a little while anyways. The chaning buffet was perfect for the changing table and I like all the compartments that are in it, and there is a shelf in the bottom cabinet part. I do have plans to put up white curtains and then sooner or later make a paisley valance to go over the top...but I am not going to do it just yet. There are still more pressing things to do at the house to get it ready to sell. We don't have anything up on the walls because I don't want to have to deal with the holes and patching them when we sell. Lazy, I know but true. Hope you all like the room.

Prego Pictures

Easter Weekend

39 Weeks

Jocelyn's Quilt

Jocelyn & her new quilt.

My best friend Emily had her second little girl, Jocelyn. I had made her a quilt from the new Amy Butler fabric, its not a traditional "baby quilt" but oh the fabric is so great! Clementines had some of the line in fat quarters. I had to have it for this quilt. I really like how it turned out. I am not overly happy with the orange and blue polka-dots but love the rest of the quilt. Em really liked it to so that is important too. The pattern was a really quick and easy one. I like how piecy it is.

Week countdown...

Well one week and one day till D-day. I am getting anxiously excited and really ready to meet her. Everyone seems to have some theory on when she will arrive, mine is when she is ready and tired of pushing out instead of down. She is funny. I will rub my belly and she will push out as hard as she can and have me rub her back. It cracks me up...rotten already. But hopefully it will help soother her when she does come out. Even my dad is anxious. He advised me last night on the phone that he is around town the next few weeks but after that he has to travel to Texas and cannot just jump on the plane back home if I go into labor. (Well Dad, I'll see what I can do? lol.) I am still feeling fine, no more back pains and even though there is not much sleep going on I feel rested enough. I have not worked on the room lately since we are getting the house ready to put on the market. I will post pics I promise when I get it ready. I will be quilting on Sunday so that is hopeful at least. I would love to have someone just quilt the blanket for me but I refuse to pay all that money, plus it is more special if I do it I guess.
Everything is packed and ready to go to the hospital, Nate has been packed for himself and the baby for a month. Cute huh, think he's ready and waiting? I do have a new belly shot Nate took yesterday and I will post that soon as well. Say a prayer that she comes soon on her own and also that we get all the work done at the house that needs to be done so we can focus on her when she arrives.

Well if it walks like a duck...it might be me.

But I'm not quacking yet. I am now waddling. It is kinda funny but I try not to...I catch myself and correct it when I notice it. I have not had any problems in my pregnancy but Monday I was struggling! I have low back pain normally but it hasn't bothered me since I've been pregnant but something got me and it took me down! I was out till Wednesday. Poor Nate has been sooo good to me and has cleaned, cooked and even carried me to the bathroom. I am about 80% back to normal now and have been to the chiro every month since I've been pregnant to keep the back pain from happening and it has worked up till then. I went to the chiro on Monday and again on Tuesday. It really did help along with ice, I highly recommend chiropractic care to any pregnant person especially. Please pray my back pain stays away for the next 5 weeks of my pregnancy. I cannot believe that sentence!!!! Only 5 weeks? Wow this has gone by so fast and no posts about how quickly the baby grows okay :).
Her room is pretty much ready, I need to quilt her blanket but the main part is done. The dust ruffle is complete and on her crib already. I am going to put up curtains this week too, I didn't make the curtains, they are cheaper to buy but I am probably going to make valances to go with them though.
We are praying about some major things in life right now too. We are trying to work it for me to stay home...that's our goal. We will be putting the house on the market shortly after a few more cosmetic updates and with all our hope we will sell it asap! I have around 10 wks of FMLA to use before I have to go back to work after she is born so I will have to work till it sells but hope is in sight. I don't mind working but I don't want to do daycare if we don't have to. We do have it lined up for now with a lady who only watches 2 children at a time but it is pretty pricey and it is still not me watching my own child. It is one of the best options available since it is so private and she will get great care there. I am also wanting to try the cloth diapers too to save money and be green but I am sure the babysitter is probably not game for that, plus with nursing it will be easier not working and having to pump. I have a million and one excuses not to work but we just have to make sure that we are of course following what God has planned for our family...So we pray, alot. I'll update again soon and will post pics soon.

Stuck

It is beautiful outside...sigh...I am in cubicle land staring out over them at the sunny day. *sigh* I leave in 30 minutes to my 45 minute commute home. But I have a sun roof at least in the new vehicle.
Oh yeah, we traded in our lovely little Lancer, which will be greatly missed, for a Mercury Mariner. We are in love with it. It is very luxurious compared to our other small vehicles we've had. It is an older model 2007 but it is pretty much fully loaded. Leather, heated seats and automatic everything. We are excited about the new "baby-mobile" and the room it will have. Ms Madeline will have lots of room for all her stuff we need to travel with. :)
Hope everyone else has some sunshine outside to look forward to playing in!

Not much going on...

The belly is growing and I am getting less sleep, as is Nate. The round ligament pains are often and I am looking forward to May. I am so excited to finally meet her! I don't mind the aches and pains and the lack of sleep is only a taste of what's to come I am sure...The room is almost finished, I will post pics when I am done. I have to decide what to do with the curtains and quilt the blanket. Dust ruffle is complete as of last Sunday. I am looking forward to a more quiet weekend. The showers were a ton of fun and I loved seeing everyone but they wore me out. I came down with a Sinus infection last week and stayed home from work for three days. I did nothing...I hate when I am at home and cannot do anything. Sick or not it feels like wasted time. I wanted to clean and do other things and sew...I laid on the couch like a bump on a log. Maggie, Zeke and I caught up on our zzz's. Nate is in nesting mode again since there is lots to do before she gets here. He wants to tile the bathrooms first and then its on to yard work. Spring has sprung and we will soon be cutting grass and planting in the yard. I look longingly at my garden and know I will not have time. I will not miss pulling weeds but will miss all my fresh veggies! I will still have my herb garden and strawberries. I hopefully will have a decent crop of them if the rabbits don't get them. Since we have the ferocious beast that kills rabbits we may be okay this year since she has marked her territory. Rabbits run in fear of my shih-tzu! :) Laugh all you want but its true, she's a kill!
The house has been babyfied, there is baby stuff everywhere, clothes, diapers, car seat, stroller, etc. This kid has more clothes than I'll know what to do with. I have a ton of hand-me-downs and a ton of new clothes too. I am very thankful, I am sure she will use them and dirty them quickly. I love little girl clothes, they are so fun and cute! I am so excited to meet her, Nate is ready too. I want her to stay in and "cook" long enough of course but am getting anxious...its not as if we waited 4 1/2 years already, whats another 7 wks? Pray for patience for this for us. I'll update soon.

There's something wrong in the sky...

There are no clouds, there is this yellow/orange ball in the sky! Oh, that's right, its what they call the sun! I had forgotten what it looks like its been soooooooo very long since we've seen it in Indianapolis! I am thankful today for the sun and the weekend forecast, they are talking 50's in March! It will be nice to have some warmth!

Good Graffiti

On my way into work today I noticed a truck with writing on it. Since all the snow and mush has now accumulated on the vehicles leaving a 2 inch layer of dust you tend to see things written on the back of vehicles of course. It simply said "JESUS SAVES" in large letters. Well that is very true and a great "graffiti" to see on the back of a big truck. Much better than "wash me"...Maybe some people will take it to heart today.
Just a good thought to start out a Friday!

Quilt Block

Here are the two blocks for Madeline's quilt. There will be 6 of each block. I have all of them finished and put together. I have one more row to sew on and then the boarders. I am excited it's getting done. I love the look of all the coordinating colors! I just thought I'd share an update.

Blessings come in.

I got my results back yesterday. Everything is fine. I do not have gestational diabetes! Praise God, I love chocolate and ice cream so I was really worried. All joking aside, I can do anything for 11/12 wks. No problem but I know it can make her a lot bigger and it would increase complications with birth possibly. So not having it makes me very happy. I also just got my yearly review at work and did get a little raise. Any raise is great in this economy. We have a lot to be thankful for in our lives, Nate & I both. Plus yesterday we found out we don't owe any taxes either, we get a nice amount back. God is good and we are thankful. I am making our very, very favorite meal tonight in celebration of all our good news. I thought I'd share the recipe, enjoy.

Chicken with Mustard Mascarpone Marsala Sauce from Giada De Laurentiis
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, each breast cut crosswise into 3 pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
5 tablespoons butter, divided
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 cup dry Marsala wine
1 cup (8 ounces) mascarpone cheese
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves, plus whole sprigs, for garnish
12 ounces dried fettuccine
Directions
Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over high heat. Add the chicken and cook just until brown, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate and cool slightly.
While the chicken cools, melt 2 tablespoons of butter to the same skillet over medium-high heat, then add the onion and saute until tender, about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and garlic and saute until the mushrooms are tender and the juices evaporate, about 12 minutes. Add the wine and simmer until it is reduced by half, about 4 minutes. Stir in the mascarpone and mustard. Cut the chicken breasts crosswise into 1/3-inch-thick slices. Return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the skillet. Simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat until the chicken is just cooked through and the sauce thickens slightly, about 2 minutes. Stir in the chopped parsley. Season the sauce, to taste, with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the fettuccine and cook until al dente, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Drain. Toss the fettuccine with 3 tablespoons of butter and season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Swirl the fettuccine onto serving plates. Spoon the chicken mixture over top. Garnish with parsley sprigs and serve.

This is easy, however time consuming but soooo very worth it. I found this for Nate when we lived in Albuquerque and we have made it for every special meal since then. You don't want to think about the fat grams in this, just enjoy and eat it. I leave the parsley out and will use Shallots instead of onion sometimes. Blog back and let me know if you make it. I hope you love it as much as we do.

More on pregnancy...

So I love being pregnant. It is so neat to feel her move! I am really amazed at how strong she is sometimes. I look down at my tummy and see little movements and then sometimes pretty big ones. I can tell she is laying on the left or the right side too. It is one of the neatest things I think I will ever experience. I am so thankful to God for giving me this gift! Aches, pains? Sure a few but so worth it! It is some small temporary pains for a long term gift! I have been feeling great other than the normal pregnancy aches. I did have to do the three hour glucose test yesterday so I am praying all comes back well with that. I cannot believe it but me, who loves to eat, has only gained 12 lbs! I had some extra to work with before I was pregnant of course. I am thankful for that too. I know more is to come the bigger she gets but that is on track to a healthy weight gain for pregnancy. I have a hard time losing weight with my thyroid condition. But it will be done when she comes. It should be nice weather and since I’ll be home 3 months almost then walks are definitely in our future.
Her room is looking like more than just a jumble of things thrown in it. We now have her bed and we are starting baby showers on February 27th. I am so excited to see everyone in my family again. I know a lot of them prayed for a baby for us, so it makes it extra special. I cannot believe how quickly it has gone by. I am sure the last month may drag on but the rest has flown by, it makes me sad to think how quickly the baby stages fly by too! I won’t think past that though. I have not been too emotional but little silly sentimental things make me cry. I have a song at church that I would sing when I was praying about a baby. It now makes me cry in church, which is strange since I’m not normally emotional. There are other little things that make me cry too, like I said just little sentimental things. I will post a new picture soon as the belly is increasing…

Oh the creativity of a pregnant woman...

So now 25 weeks and counting I have entered into the heartburn, indigestion and two a night potty breaks. I am still loving being pregnant but am having to come up with many creative ways to sleep. I propped myself up with 5 pillows two nights ago to help the heartburn. Last night I used my mommy body pillow like a coil to help with hip pressure. There are normally at least 3 or 4 pillows around me, the bigger I/she gets the more I need. Poor Nate will soon only have a 1/4 of the king sized bed. It seems when you get your shoulders to stop hurting from learning to sleep on your side the pressure goes to the hips and then visa-versa. The indigestion I am used to since before pregnancy but she has had her feet/hands/something up near the top of the belly and pushing on me. I politely try to move her back down and she kicks me, ornery already, it is kinda funny. She's like no mom. I'm comfy, leave me alone; so I do. She is rotten already. I figured many of my pregnant friends have had their creative moments on how to get comfy so if you have any good suggestions I am game.

New Picture-21 weeks

We took this picture at Nate's Uncles house for our Christmas picture this year. We always buy an ornament for the year and this years has a spot for a photo, what better than a belly shot?

New Purse & new quilt

I finished the quilt the week before Christmas, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it! I pieced the back of the quilt too and then I used some of the special features on the sewing machine to sign it as well.

The back of the quilt

The new purse that I made. I love the fabric and the pleats. I made it for trade with my facialist/friend Christina for my next facial and massage.

Late post, Tables of Christmas

Tables of Christmas is something our church does every year. This year there were about 140 tables. We went with a candy theme this year. The ornaments were all made of candy or about candy. Instead of snow on the table as decoration we used Skittles, the napkin holders were Twizzlers. It was a great time and the speaker was very good. We are already in the works for designing next years table.

Me & Epha

Me, Kim, Tricia, Epha, Kim & Amy

These are some of the other tables at the event...