Freebs' Nest

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-22T10:24:00.007-05:00

I hope all is well with others in the world. Life is pretty good here, even though I still don't have a job. Last week I was scheduled to have an interview with the local university for an Administrative Clerk position but it was canceled due to the weather (the university closed). The following day, the university made an announcement that they were instituting a hiring freeze effective immediately. Got the dreaded call, "Sorry, we've decided not to hire at this time." Well, I hope I can hold out for this hiring freeze because I would LOVE to have this job. Of all the jobs I've applied for, this is the one that interests me the most, the hours are great (7a to 3 p), it's not far from home, the benefits (drool...), also the department sounds very interesting.

Well, in the mean time, I have been able to get my sewing room back in order and do a few small projects. Halloween came around and my daughter and I decided that she would make a great Alice In Wonderland. I love sewing under pressure so I finished her dress about 1/2 hour before we went out. She looked so cute.

My daughter loves to color. Every time we went out to eat we end up bringing a tote bag with her big pencil box full of crayons with coloring books. Needless to say, the table is over-run by her "stuff". I found a pattern on Electric Quilt's website called the "Ellie's on-the-go Art Tote" and thought it would be perfect for her. After a few adjustments, here's the end result.

I can't wait till she opens it for Christmas!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Wow... craziness

2010-07-22T10:22:00.007-04:00

Life has been crazy. Well, I had my sewing room about 75% set the way I wanted it, starting to put things in their place. In the middle of May our dishwasher decided to malfunction and leaked water under the floor in the kitchen and down into my sewing room. GASP! Luckily it wasn't too much damage to my room and insurance is paying for the fixes. But, in order for the room to be fixed, everything has to be moved out. UGH! So, for the last month, my whole room has been moved to the downstairs family room. The flooring we've ordered is on back order so those two rooms are still out of commission.

We have laminate floor in the kitchen and dining room, as well as the stairwell landing and downstairs hallway. Insurance is paying for the kitchen and dining room to be replaced, so we've decided to get all the laminate replaced. I'm so excited! We choose something called palmwood (http://www.greenchoiceflooring.com/Products/StrandWovenPalmwood.aspx). It's made up of old palm trees that are no longer baring coconuts. Instead of burning the trees to get rid of them, they are shredding them and making a composite type flooring. Trying our part to "green" up our house.

Speaking of going "green", I've been really focused on changing some of our cleaning products and even personal hygiene products to be more "green"/natural/organic. I've attempted in making my own laundry detergent with much success! I can't believe how easy it is and cheap too! There are many different recipes out there you can Google.

The recipe I use is:
* 1 bar of Fels Naptha laundry soap grated (either use food processor or cheese grater)
* 1 cup Borax
* 1 cup washing soda (e.g., Arm & Hammer washing soda - baking soda works okay but not as effective)

Mix all ingredients together in food processor. Put into a container and you're all set! Use 1 tablespoon per load. I also use 1/2 cup vinegar in my fabric softener dispenser instead of liquid fabric softener (or using the sheets in the dryer). You do not smell the vinegar on the clothes once they are dried.

ETA: I recently came across information that Fels Naptha has ingredients from petroleum products. I will be researching other, more natural soaps to use.

One of my problems with going "green" is that many of the personal cleaning products out there contain coconut oils. As many of you know from reading my previous blog postings, my daughter has peanut and tree nut allergies. At this time, coconut is not considered part of the tree nut family according to FAAN; however, my daughter does have an allergic reaction to this. Fortunately for us, it's not anaphylactic, "only" mild hives and itching. I did find a soap for my daughter from a brand called Kiss My Face that is olive oil and aloe that seems to be treating her skin well.

Last but not least, I lost my job. Yup, that sucked. However, I'm now happier than I have been in the last year. No more tension headaches. Yeah! Now I'm on to bigger and better things. We're in a good place financially so staying home is not quite out of the picture, but I am still looking for full or part time work. In the meantime, this leaves me time to create! So, I'm laying out all my options and see what I can come up with as far as crafty things. I might even open an Etsy store. That might be a little ways down the road but keep your fingers crossed for me!

Before Picture

2010-02-03T14:44:00.005-05:00

Here you go! You get to see my messy office. "I'm an Organizing Junkie" is having a 28 day organizing challenge on any room in your home. My goal is to tackle that crazy office I've been avoiding since we moved in 3 years ago. It's not only my office but my quilting/sewing space. As you can tell, I haven't gotten many quilts done recently. Hummm... I wonder why... Wish me luck!

D & C Follow-up

2010-01-30T08:14:00.004-05:00

On Tuesday I went for my 2 week D & C follow-up. The Dr had some results already but is still waiting for a little more for conformation. However, what he did tell me is that it looks like the miscarriage was not caused by my blood clotting, nor was it a genetic problem passed on from my husband or myself. There were abnormal genes though. Apparently I had what is called a "partial molar" pregnancy. This link from the Cleveland Clinic explains it pretty well. http://my.clevelandclinic.org/disorders/molar_pregnancy/hic_partial_molar_pregnancy.aspx

Because of the type of pregnancy it was and the concern with cancer associated with it (curable I'm told), I have to be monitored for 6 months and we cannot get pregnant during that time either. That really sucks. While I was there, they took the first blood test. If the results come back at zero, I don't have to go back for a month. If it's raised above zero, I have to go back in 2 weeks. Well, it was 46. That means that there is still more tissue in there. Yuck.

In the mean time, I've been cleaning my office/sewing room. One of my quilt friends is collecting fabric and sewing machines for a group of immigrants (I forget where they are from). I have a couple bins of fabric that I think I'm able to give her. We'll see. I'm still buried under mounds of stuff right now. I'll try posting pics but unfortunately I'm having trouble with Blogger.

Trying to Catch-up on My Life

2010-01-18T10:23:00.002-05:00

A dear friend of mine has been bugging me about writing in my blog. I didn't realize how long it's been. Well, let's get this started.

In May, my husband and I went to Hawaii. Don't get too excited, we had to work. We had a trade show to work for 4 days, so we only were able to take 2 extra days for vacation. If it wasn't for the company paying for our travel, lodging and food for 4 days, we probably wouldn't have gone for about another 10 years. It's so expensive for us. What we did see was beautiful. One of our favorite parts of the trip was taking a sea plane tour of the island. It was amazing to look to one side of the plane and see mountains and then ocean on the other side. It's just a gorgeous place. We were on the island of Oahu in Honolulu. If we had more time, we would have loved to explore more and other islands. We also did a luau but it was not on the beach (which it seems as everyone else has done one on the beach) but on a roof top. It was neat. The food however, was not quite right. LOL! We're not seafood folk so many of the items weren't on our plates. Along with some pork, we did take some rice that had some veggies however after a couple bites, I noticed tentacles. YUCK! I was done eating after that. As a souvenir, we bought a pineapple. It was one of the best pineapples I had ever eaten. We did a search online and found a site that showed how to grow a pineapple plant from the top of the pineapple. We don't plan on growing pineapples but just to have the plant as a memory is nice. We have a nice green planted pineapple top sitting in our dining room now.

In July, Hubby had another conference, this time in Boston. We decided to make it a family trip and brought our daughter along too. This was a short weekend excursion for us. The highlight of this trip was whale watching. It was the most moving experience to be that close to such a magnificent animal. We were on a New England Aquarium Whale Watch, here's a link to our actual outing... http://www.neaq.org/visit_planning/whale_watch/log/2009/07/july-16th-am.php

In the fall we decided to change our daughter's preschool. It was a hard decision to make but well worth it in the end. She has grown so much since we switch schools. She started writing her name at the new school, which really shocked me. She was a little over 3 1/2 and she was already writing her name. She is spelling out many words that she sees and even trying to sound words out. The school is much smaller than her previous school so there is more focused attention. I think this is fantastic! Now, don't get me wrong, I am not pushing her by any means to do any of this, she wants to learn all by herself. I just go along with the flow. Her little mind keeps me in awe. Yesterday she turned 4. I can't believe my baby is 4 already! She will be in Kindergarten before we know it. Wow.

Thanksgiving was very nice. My grandparents came along with my parents and brother. It was nice to have all of that family around. My grandmother cracks me up. She is a very dramatic person and I love everything about it! LOL! We had them playing the Wii and laughed the whole time. I hope I'm that active when I'm in my 80's.

About a week after Thanksgiving, I found out I was pregnant. Yeah! I started taking my Lovenox shots faithfully every night. The OB had my blood levels checked to make sure everything was progressing as it should. At the end of December, we went in for my ultrasound. We actually saw everything that we were supposed to this time, the only thing we didn't see was a heartbeat. :( The doctor decided to wait one more week and do another ultrasound. When we went back, the fetus didn't grow and there still wasn't a heartbeat. The doctor took another blood sample just to make sure and saw that my levels were high enough that there should have been a heartbeat. Two days later I had a D & C. I go back in a week for a follow-up. I'm not sure what to do now. Do we keep trying for another baby? I told my husband that I think I can do this one more time but after that, I'm done. It just hurts too much. We'll just sit back and see what happens.

Looking forward to this year. I will be going on the quilt retreat again this year with one of my guilds. A week later, we will be taking my parents to Niagara Falls for a mini vacation. Other than that, nothing else is planned.

My goals for the year:

Organize my sewing room / office
Organize my family room utilizing the new cabinets my parents built and the shelves that I built
Finish 3 quilts
Work on a having a healthier life style by eating right and working out
(this one's a wish) To have another baby just as wonderful as our daughter

I don't believe these are too difficult. Let's see where this year leads us.

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you have many wonderful experiences.

Robin

Memory Makers Retreat, 2009

2009-04-21T07:47:00.007-04:00

At the beginning of April, one of my quilt groups went on a retreat to Amish country. We met for lunch at The Amish Door restaurant in Wilmot, OH. Later, we traveled to Gramma Fannie's Quilt Barn in Berlin, as well as Helping Hands.

I've been wanting to do a 30's quilt for a while and found a really cute bundle at Helping Hands Quilt Shop. Originally I didn't know what I wanted to make with the bundle. I picked up a Turning Twenty booklet and thought about making my 30's quilt with that. Then I really started thinking. The last quilt my great grandmother was working on before she died was a Dresden Plate. Since in May I will be going on a long trip, that would be a perfect hand quilting project. Now I have a plan! Back to shopping!

We also went to Miller's Dry Goods in Charm. Finally, we made it to our retreat location, the Charm Country View Inn. What a beautiful location. Set in the rolling hills of Amish country. We all unloaded our vehicles and set up shop. I think we had the max of people (about 23) that could go because we were packed in like sardines, but we all had enough space to get our projects completed. Since this was my first retreat, I made the newbie mistake of being hopeful about how many projects to bring. I brought a large tub of about 5 projects, with some smaller knick knack type projects too. Way too advanturous. I did get one top completed.

The only thing that I didn't like about the whole trip was that I didn't have cell phone reception. I had to borrow someone else's phone. On my way back home, about 1/2 hour into the ride, I finally got into cell phone range. I could tell because my voicemail and texts were coming in like crazy. LOL! I wish I could keep a couple of the voicemails that my daughter left me, so sweet! All in all, for my first retreat, it was great! I hope that I will be able to make future retreats.

How?

2009-03-16T10:56:00.007-04:00

I want to know how single parents can keep it together. My husband travels for his job about 20-25 weeks of the year... yeah, that's a lot. Most of his travels follow the school year because his job has him traveling to colleges and universities. So, needless to say, spring and fall are very busy times of the year. That's also the time I find myself more depressed. I find myself shutting down and doing the bare essentials to keep my daughter and myself going. Feed, bathing, clothing, and sleeping. Work is in there too. This also exaggerates the fact that I can't create a lunch menu and grocery list. My biggest struggle is what to feed that satisfies everyone in the home. My daughter will pretty much eat what I eat (which I can follow along with her food allergies); my husband, on the other hand, is more picky. So, what do we do? Go out to eat... Ugh! I've fallen into such a rut! One of my biggest problems is that I need someone to physically show me, go through my cabinets, help me with my list and coupons and get it all done! So, anyone that knows who I can contact to help me out with such a thing, please let me know. I think once I get that portion of my life figured out, I will be much more stable and personally successful.

I look back and want to blame my mother for this but yet, I can't blame her because she's a wonderful mother. She does everything for us. And, because of this, I never "learned". I want to know, I want to be self sufficient. I want to have a clean home. I want to have meals planned. I want to not eat out. I want to save money (which if eat at home, we'd save a lot of money).

Thanks for "listening" to me ramble. Some day I'll get it figured out. Hopefully it will be soon.

Sorry!

2009-02-23T10:10:00.005-05:00

It's been a while since I've posted. Things are doing better since the test results. We've decided to name our angel boy T.J. (Thomas James). That's helped my heart a little more. We're still trying for another baby so keep your fingers crossed.

Lately I've been enthralled with Facebook. It's a great way to get reconnected with people. At my 15 year high school reunion this past summer, we all talked about staying connected and someone mentioned Facebook. It really is addictive. I've also become "friends" with Annie and Kirsten Smith from "Simple Arts" podcasts, Jennifer Ruvalcaba (Patchwork and Pacifiers podcast), and Pat Sloan (lovely appliques). I think I just saw Alex Anderson so I might try to "friend" her too! :) There are quite a few quilting groups on there.

Onto quilty things! I recently finished up a block swap with one of my quilt guilds. We did a fake 9 patch, where only the center was a different color. We did brights with a black center. These all turned out very sharp! I can't wait to put them together.

This weekend I'm taking a workshop on the Lone Star. We bought a kit that included interfacing with the design imprinted and you sew and iron your pattern together that way. Here's what I drafted in my EQ6. My fabrics are a little different so I think the order might change. We'll see. I'll have a picture (I hope) to post next week.

At the beginning of April I'm going on my first quilt retreat. I'm very exited! I have a large bin of quilts that I have WIP that I'm going to take with me. Hopefully I will make some progress on them. It will be fun too, we're going to have a Secret Sister game going, as well as a massage therapist (a husband of one of the other quilters). It will be nice to get away with my quilty friends.

I've been holding off on one of my projects because I think I got myself in a little too deep. It's a really nice wall hanging/table runner of sea shells and the like. I bought it as a thank you for the owners of the company where I work, but it was over a year ago. It's mostly applique and I've never done applique before, but love the look of it. One of my goals this year is to take an applique class. I need to get this one done!

Giveaway!!

2009-01-11T20:09:00.002-05:00

There is a wonderful giveaway at $5 Dinners. Take a look and try your luck for the lunch tote. The styles are really cute. See the link at $5 Dinners for the styles.

Good Luck!

Lab test results

2008-11-17T15:47:00.004-05:00

I finally got the call with my lab results. "Normal male pregnancy". Hmmm. I thought there were 3? Initially when this whole situation was at it's high point I was okay because there wasn't a heartbeat or fetal pole to see and fall in love with. That call made it real, knowing that we lost a baby boy. When I read on message boards that people lost babies as early as I did and they name them a boy or girl name, I often wonder if it's just them naming them to help themselves cope. Now I know that they probably knew with testing just as I know now. Do I name him? Do I name him and not tell my husband? I have a hard time keeping secrets from him, how would I keep a name from him. What are his feelings? Does he feel we should put a name to the baby? So many questions that one part of me says it's just silly ramblings, the other says that it's a mark in my past and I need to name him.

**SOAPBOX COMMENT**
Okay, this totally disproves the comment from Pro-abortionists saying that it's not a baby until it's delivered. The ultrasound technician, doctors, or Hubby and I couldn't even see anything on the screen but yet the lab tests tell us the baby was a boy. A BOY! That is a baby. It starts when the egg and sperm meet.
**STEPPING DOWN FROM SOAPBOX**

Trapunto Workshop

2008-11-15T21:04:00.005-05:00

Today my friend Zegi and I took a machine quilting trapunto workshop with Nelly Vileikis. This was really fun and pretty easy (to understand that is). My biggest challenge is that I really haven't worked much with free motion quilting, so following the lines for me was a bit rough. Back in March I took a beginning machine quilting class and have only practiced about 2 times since. I'm hoping that this class has brought enough encouragement to my quilting desire to push myself to complete my sewing room organization. All in all, I don't think I did that bad. What do you think?

I think I need a little more practice time on following a line but otherwise, not bad.

You start off with tracing your design onto your fabric with water soluable pen. Pin traced fabric to poly batting (about a 12 oz or 16 oz). Use water soluable thread in your top thread and trace, with a basting length stitch, the areas that you want to puff up. Trim away any areas of batting that you do not want puffy along the stitching edge, being careful not to snip your fabric. Now make your quilt sandwich with a backing, cotton batting, and trapuntoed top piece. Quilt in the recessed areas as you see fit.

Nelly suggests to use water soluable thread that is removed with cold or cool water. If you use the warm water removeable, you run the risk of your fabrics bleeding. Also, keep the thread stored in a ziplock bag to keep it away from humidity so it won't become sticky.

Remember that dream?

2008-11-04T20:08:00.002-05:00

Earlier this year I had a dream shortly before my friend gave birth to her baby girl. I just found out that my friend's father doesn't have too much longer to live. From what I understand, they found a tumor on his heart. So sad. My prayers go out to her and her family.

Halloween 2008

2008-11-03T15:26:00.006-05:00

Here she is! My Little Red Riding Hood. She looked so cute in her costume. I made her costume out of the costume suede knit from JoAnn's. The cape is a 3/4 circle with scalloped edges with a hood (of course). The skirt is a full circle with elastic waist. Her little vest was fun, I found this cute sheer with ghosts and stripes. I layered the sheer with a black cotton for support.

She and her cousin had so much fun Trick-or-Treating. Cousin A is more outspoken than Little Girl so when they would approach a house, Cousin A would scream "Happy Halloween! I want some treats!" LOL! Little Girl just walked up shyly and I had to whisper for her to say "Trick-or-Treat". She did really well though, she enjoyed the whole scene. When we got back to the house, the girls allowed us to trade candy (chocolates for Cousin A, suckers and skittles to Little Girl).

Now it's time for the rest of the holidays to come... I already started shopping for her last night.

Seamstress-in-training!!

2008-10-23T13:30:00.003-04:00

Excitement!!! I'm such the pushy mother. :) I know that Little Girl will be 3 in January but as any normal mother would say "she's just so smart and picks things up quickly". So, yesterday I went to JoAnn Fabrics and bought some of those lacing cards (you know, the ones with the holes that you sew string through). It says 3+ years on the box. You know as well as I do, nobody listens to that? She's almost 3 anyway, big deal, buy it. I bought the Disney Princesses one and the Winnie the Pooh set too. Gotta love branding... So I took it home, sat down with her and showed her what to do... She did it! She loved it! She was so focused, it was fun to watch her little mind at work. She finished up her first one and asked for another.... I'm in heaven! Now I just have to wait till she's old enough for me to trust with a real needle.

FAAN (Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network)

2008-10-21T11:43:00.003-04:00

Hi everyone!

As Halloween comes, the more nervous I become.... NUTS!! UGH! I can't tell you how often in the store I'm just afraid she's going to pick up something with nuts and have a reaction. FAAN (Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network) has been a great source of information and comfort for me and my family. Currently FAAN is holding a "Trick-or-Treat for Food Allergy" donation drive to help fund research and education about food allergies. If anyone is interested in donating (it's tax deductible) to FAAN on behalf of my daughter, please click the "Firstgiving" link on my sidebar.

Thanks for your help!
Robin

More toddler talk...

2008-10-14T20:04:00.004-04:00

Hubby had sent me this email earlier this week.

Little Girl and I were out on the deck listening to the THS band playing at the homecoming bon fire. She says.

"That's the Blue Devil Band"

"I have a Blue Devil Sweatshirt"

"Decker has a Blue Devil Hat"

"Listen Daddy, they're stomping their feet"

"Look, they have hats on"

To give you an idea of the proximity of the house to the football field is about 1/2 mile with many houses in between. We've taken her to a football game before so we think she remembers them marching in their uniforms. Her memory amazes me. Oh, and Decker is her "boyfriend".

From a toddler's mouth...

2008-10-14T08:53:00.002-04:00

... can come some embarrassing things to a parent. Here's a good example. Little Girl will be 3 in January so her vocabulary is quite extensive already. Because of this and her great memory, I am trying my hardest not to let her see me naked. (Hubby and I have been together for 12 years, it's kinda hard to change some habits). Anywho, the other day Hubby was keeping Little Girl busy while I was finishing getting ready. I'm in the process of putting my bra on and I hear her running down the hallway. As soon as she sees me, she stops and cocks her head to the side... "You have elbows?" she says looking at my chest. Needless to say, I was laughing too hard to even correct her.

Fast forward to yesterday. I was buckling her into her car seat when she proceeds to place her hands on my chest... "You have elbows?" Again, I am laughing but I'm able to get out "no honey." "Armpits?" More laughter at a quizzical looking child. What do you tell her? She'll repeat everything. I feel bad but I just ignored her question and changed the topic (which it's very easy to do with her).

"Baby" update...

2008-09-25T12:41:00.002-04:00

Today was the follow-up ultrasound. The sacs were still empty and didn't grow. I'm scheduled for a D&C next Wednesday. I'm just very sad. Thanks to everyone for all of your support and prayers. They have been a big help over this 2 week journey.

Love,
Robin

Baby update #1

2008-09-15T14:13:00.003-04:00

Today was the ultrasound with the high risk OB. They did find one more, making that 6, however they are only focusing on 3. They believe the others to be blood clots, cysts, or pregnancy tumors? The 3 larger ones are measuring +/- 6 weeks (where as I figure I am 8w5d). How can I be almost 3 weeks different? Anyway, I go back on the 25th for another ultrasound. If there is no fetal pole or heartbeat by that time then a D&C will be the next step. They want to do a D&C because there is too much going on in my uterus to feel comfortable about me going naturally.

So now, I guess I just sit back and wait...

ETA - I did call my regular OB to get my blood results. My beta levels are high, 45,000, showing that I am pregnant. She said that it is high enough to be thinking multiple babies too...I just got used to the fact that I was going to lose a baby, now I have to get used to the fact that my numbers are good and there might be triplets?! Someone up there likes to make my life a little challenging?

Loss for words and emotions

2008-09-11T14:57:00.004-04:00

Well, today was ultrasound day and things didn't turn out quite the way we expected. My appointment was at 10 am. As I wait for 20 minutes with that paper sheet over my legs, Hubby and I are talking baby stuff. The Dr comes in and the ultrasound starts. For those of you who haven't experienced this first ultrasound, it's not the one that they show on T.V. with the jelly in your belly... this one's internal, basically a joystick in your hoo-ha... not comfortable. Anyway, the Dr proceeds to twist and turn the wand and had a quizzical look on her face. She then tells us that she sees 3 sacs but no embryos. She asked that we come back in the afternoon to see the u/s tech for a more defined look. That appointment was scheduled for 1:40 pm.

I told Hubby I wasn't ready to go back to work, which was just around the corner. After a quick bite to eat, I dropped him off (we work at the same office) and he informed my boss and his boss of the situation. I then called a girlfriend of mine who had a similar situation a couple years ago. Thankfully she was home and able to talk to me. She was a big help to all of my wandering emotions. She listened to my questions, answered me truthfully and with great information. Thanks Kim for all your help!

I then called Hubby and he had me pick him up. We drove around almost mindlessly running some errands wondering what's going to happen next.

Now it's time for the u/s tech to see what's going on. "Hmm" she says, "I haven't seen anything like this in my 22 years. Were you on fertility treatments?"

"No..." I said. "Dr. saw 3 sacs, do you see more?"

"Yes. But I'm not sure if they are sacs or cysts."

"But you still don't see a heartbeat?"

"No."

Dr's consult... "Um, we're not sure what to do. We see 5 sacs or cysts, none of them viable from what we can tell. I would like to send you a high risk OB to get a second opinion."

"O.K." I mean, what else can I say?

So at this point, I'm waiting till Monday to see what the heck is going on in there. Luckily my ovaries look good...

I'll keep you posted...

"Yeah!" and "Boo!"

2008-09-05T07:58:00.005-04:00

All right, I can't take it anymore.... I'm pregnant!! Yeah!! The "Boo!" part, morning sickness has kicked in with vengeance! I was SO hoping that it wasn't going to be as bad as it was last time but it looks like it's going to be just as bad... UGH! The part that's harder is now I have a toddler that I have to take care of in the morning when Hubby is out of town. Luckily this morning was one of her best mornings. I am only 7 weeks along and will get my first ultrasound next Thursday. I haven't been able to fit in my regular pants since 5 weeks. Last time I was able to go the whole 12 weeks before announcing and wearing maternity clothes.

Hopefully my grandparents don't find out before they come and visit at the end of the month. My parents have agreed not to say anything but there's always room for a slip-up.

I'll post a picture of the little bean next week. Keep your fingers crossed that there is only one! :) (My MIL said that I couldn't fit into my clothes already because I was preggo with twins. Apparently they run in her family. :-s )

I started taking my Lovenox shots once I got the positive pregnancy test. I hate shots, however, I'm getting used to them. The medication burns and I have many small bruises all over my stomach. No bare belly shots for me! This is preventative for my blood clotting in hopes that my pregnancy will go full-term this time with no pre-eclampsia. Also, I continue to take the baby aspirin and Rx folic acid.

My due date is April 22nd but we are hoping for the 17th as that is my birthday, plus Little girl was born on the 17th of another month as well as my MIL is the 17th of another month. Hubby only has to remember months, no dates! :)

The 3 Stooges

2008-07-30T15:56:00.002-04:00

Last night we went to a baseball game with our friends. They had a loge so the kids were able to run around. Here's a picture of the Little Girl and two of her friends. The boy on the left is 1 month younger than her. The boy in the middle is 1 year older than her. Notice that she is on her tip-toes. :) She's such a peanut! They had so much fun.

Laughter is the best medicine!

2008-07-25T11:28:00.003-04:00

This is a post (click here) from my friend in Chicago. Her baby is so cute!

Food Allergy follow-up

2008-07-25T10:04:00.004-04:00

I was looking over my old posts and realized I didn't post about the milk challange. She failed! UGH! It took two days to show but she failed. We gave her pizza with regular cheese on a Friday night, cheeseburger on Saturday night. By Sunday at lunch time, she was covered head to toe in one big red rash. I gave her Benedryl and she immediately cleared up. Bummer. Well, since it did take two days to react, we know that she's growing out of it. We're going to wait about 6 more months and then try again.

Chicago!

2008-07-25T08:31:00.006-04:00

I love Chicago! Hubby just had a work convention there earlier this week and I tagged along. My mom came to watch Little Girl. Being away from her was tough but the 3-4 phone calls home to hear her talk made me feel better. :) We left early Saturday morning on an 8:30 am flight. Shortly after we pushed off from the gate, the pilot announced that we won't be taking off until 10:10... well, I guess that gives me more time to work on my quilt!

You heard me, a quilt! I wanted to try the English paper piecing so before the trip I ran to JoAnn's and picked up some templates and fabric. Recently I've become a "fabric snob" and realized that quilting fabric at JoAnn's was not nearly as good as something from a quilt shop.
However, my thought process for buying at JoAnn's this time was that if I didn't enjoy the hand piecing, then I wouldn't be out much $$. But if I did like it, it would be a great throw until it dies. I was okay with that. So, in my search for fabric, I found a bundle of 20 FQs for $14.99! I couldn't pass that deal up. Here's a sneak peek.

We had planned to visit Quiltology just on the edge of Chicago but with the delay on the plane, we couldn't make it. Bummer. We did get there in time to eat a yummy lunch at Miller's Pub right before we went to see Wicked!! OMG! If you've never seen this show, you have to find a way. It's fabulous! With a theater background, this show amazed me. The costumes were amazing, the scene changes were flawless, and the show just flowed. The story line was great. Nothing from the "Wizard of Oz" was changed, this just had you looking at the story from another direction. Awesome. It's THE best show my husband and I have seen, hands down. I could keep rambling but I'll move on now. After the show, we met up with friends that lived in the area and went to Cafe Ba Ba Reeba, a tapas restaurant. Um, the food was good but I have a hard time spending so much money on a small dish of food.

Sunday was a relaxing day, we got to sleep in some (internal alarm clocks suck sometimes). We decided to take a walk to the Shedd Aquarium. What a wonderful place. Next time will bring Little Girl, she will love it. After lunch we went back to the hotel to rest. Hubby left for his convention and was gone for a couple hours. I just chilled out and worked on my quilt. He was back by dinner. We decided to sit out side and people watch at Su Casa. The food was good. The Gold margaritas were better! :)

Monday, Hubby had to work most of the day. After he left, I went an had a deep tissue massage at Spa Space. I hear it's one of Oprah's favorite spas, I can tell you, it's now mine too! I felt soooo good afterwards. When I got back to the hotel, I called my friend to see if she wanted to go shopping. She had just laid her son down for a nap, so she would call me when he was up. In the meantime, I took a nap. I was so relaxed that I then passed on shopping. I know! How do you pass up shopping on the Magnificent Mile?! But I did. Hubby's convention ended earlier than he expected so when he got back, we went to Navy Pier. I was able to eat some yummy roasted almonds (I miss nuts). Inside one of the buildings was a stained glass museum. I took a couple pictures of some that I would love to recreate in a quilt. Stained glass quilt is another one on on the "some day" quilt list. For dinner we went to the Reagle Beagle. If that sounds familiar to you, you were a fan of Three's Company, it was the bar they used to go to. We wished the food was as good as the atmosphere. The drinks were even worse. We thought about going to a piano bar that was close by but the drink list looked way to pricey for our liking. We decided to go to the store and get ourselves something for the hotel room. We played online trivia, drank, and watched T.V.... boring but relaxing at the same time.

Tuesday, we packed up to come home. No delays this time. That evening, Hubby took care of the Little Girl while Mom and I worked on my sewing room. Yes, it's still a work in progress. We did get a lot accomplished. I'm hoping that it will be up and running soon. With me recently cleaning (scrubbing the floor, painting the floor, and peel-n-stick tiling the floor because it's where the previous owner had the kitty litter box) the basement closet, I have a lot more storage space to put some of my "not so often" used items. The room is finally taking shape.

Little girl had her first gymnastics class yesterday. I'm so proud of her. She actually joined in after about 15 minutes! Once they started doing the actual tumbling/circuit, she was following along very well. We did have to stop early because she decided she need to have her diaper changed. UGH! I was embarrassed. All the other kids in her class (2 year olds) were wearing underwear. She still won't go on the potty. I know it will come in time... "no kid is in diapers in Kindergarten". It's still frustrating. I will give her anything she asks for (well, almost) once she does finally go on the potty. It will be a glorious day! :)

Cake spelling

2008-07-02T11:35:00.003-04:00

Have you ever seen that email about the WalMart cake misspelling? (google "WalMart good luck cake). We were celebrating one of our co-workers birthday today and had a similar instance with the local grocery store...

It reads... Happy Bithday Daun!

It should say... Happy Birthday Dawn!

Remodeling

2008-06-29T09:52:00.006-04:00

My husband decided to redo the shower in the master bathroom because the hot water wouldn't turn off. When removing the ceiling tile of the shower, this is what fell out. I feel like I could be on that HGTV show, If Walls Could Talk.

LQS closing!

2008-06-29T08:16:00.003-04:00

I've received an email that on of my LQS, Cotton Candy Quilt Shoppe, is closing! Often I wondered how these shops were doing because there are many around here. Recently at one of my guild meetings, we had a meeting in one of the LQS (Fabric Obsession in Medina) and they mentioned that there was going to be another one opening in Stow. I can say there is probably at least 10 within an hour of me in any direction, 3 of which I travel to frequently because their selections vary. One opened in Kent about a year ago called Katie Brooke Quilt Shop. They have a good selection of 30's & 40's, Civil War, and florals. I also visit, what some people call the "Verb" store, Stitch, Piece, and Purl. The third one is the one going out of business. They had good brights. I'm sad...

More food allergies

2008-06-27T08:10:00.003-04:00

Well, it's official, no nuts period. About a month ago was my Mother-in-law's birthday. Her brother had given her a German chocolate cake, you know, with the coconut frosting. We had a suspicion, that Little Girl might have some sort of break out with the coconut but we weren't sure. We kept her away but I still ate some. After I was finished, I scrubbed my hands and brushed my teeth (we were at our house). While I was cleaning up, my Mother-in-law and Sister-in-law were packing up to leave and gave kisses all over my daughter's face. About 10 minutes go by and she's covered in welts. We gave her Benedryl and wiped her down.

A couple weeks later we had a check-up at the allergiest and I mentioned this reaction to coconut. Her doctor decided to test her for coconut, along with almond, cashew, pistachio, pecan, pine nut, walnut, and three that we knew she was allergic to - peanut, egg, and milk. We received the results the other day.... positive/high to all but pecan, pine nut, and milk. Coconut was low but still enough to be aware.

Wait, a zero to MILK?! We were so excited! I called the doctor's office to verify... It's true! The did warn us to start off small and see if she has any flare-ups. Keep your fingers crossed for us! It will be so nice not to have to buy soy milk, it's twice the cost of regular milk. Plus, she will only drink water or milk, she hates juice. I've only seen her drink juice once and that was because she was real thirsty and that's what was available (we were at church). We can get her chicken nuggets! Did you know that chicken nuggets at fast food places have milk? We didn't at first. For a while there, we weren't allowed to give her beef so fast food was out of the picture until recently. Now she loves hamburgers. Can you tell I'm giddy? I'm rambling more than the normal ramble. :)

This makes me wonder... she was the same range for squash as milk. After I test milk for a while, I think I'm going to test squash again. You don't realize how many different foods are in the squash family... zucchini, cucumber, melons, pickles... WISH ME LUCK!

Productive!

2008-05-27T21:19:00.004-04:00

...on many things but not the sewing room. I think I'm having a similar problem that Jen is having with packing up... I can't seem to unpack. Most of the time I sit here and stare at my shelves that need to be filled with books that are in the boxes right at my feet.

Last week I was talking to my Mother and she said she needed a grandbaby fix. My parents came up Saturday afternoon. Saturday evening Mom helped me organize some fabric. It was sooooo nice to see an area "clean". Sunday, Hubby wanted to work on the garage because since we've moved in he hasn't been able to get his truck into the garage. Little girl played very well in the driveway on the misc things we pulled out. Her favorite "toy" was my old couch from college. It's one of those foam couches that folds out to a mattress. The couch has since moved to her room with a new slipcover. In fact, she now wants to sleep on the couch rather than her new bed! Novelty hopefully will wear off soon. Along with the couch, many other boxes were moved into the house... my sewing room now has several more boxes to open... OMG. I just need another eye to pull me out of this mess that sees what I don't. The good news is now we can get Hubby's truck in the garage, with an inch to spare in the front and back! He removed the inside handles off of the garage door because it was too close for comfort.

In my last post I showed you my EQ rendering of the attic window project. Saturday was the class with Peg Bingham. So glad I took that class. She made a great change to my color selection...

This coming weekend will be a "sewcial" with one of the guilds so I hope to get this top completed.

Vacation days

2008-05-22T14:00:00.008-04:00

Well, the plan to take 10 minutes a day hasn't worked. I've taken a vacation today and tomorrow to work on my room. So far, I've taken pictures of a couple projects and it's about 2:30 p.m. "What has she been doing?!" you say? I left the house about 8:30 a.m., got breakfast, and then drove to the Habitat for Humanity's Restore to see if I can find used cabinets for my room. They didn't have what I was looking for but it was fun to look around. They had a couple old (60's) sewing machines with tables.

After that, I walked around the mall. It was so nice to walk around without the stroller and not have to say "Let go please... Let go please..." I bought Little Girl a couple new PJ's and some cute jeans from Children's Place. Then I went to the book store and bought Diane Gaudynski's "Quilt Savvy." I've read good things about her book and I had some birthday money burning a hole in my pocket, so now I own it. :)

Okay, now on to the pictures. The first picture is of a few of the blocks that I made at a mystery quilt class with one of the guilds back in March. It was the first class I've taken and it was really fun. The directions were to pick a light, dark, and medium (suggestions were given) and do some pre-cuts. The pattern is called a Split 9 Patch. I love how the colors turned out. Once the room is together, the quilt will come together.

The next project is an Attic Window class being taught by Peg Bingham. Here are my fabric choices. Next is the EQ6 version of what it might to look like...

It might be a bit too much orange? What do you think? We'll see what Peg suggests.

Well, it's time to get working on the room... I'll share pics of the transformation... whenever it gets completed. :-p

Mother's Day

2008-05-12T11:39:00.001-04:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day! My day started out with Hubby getting the little girl up, hearing some paper wrestling, and whispering. This only leads to something cute, seeing this little body carrying a bag about as big as her "Here Mommy!" she says. She hands me the card. It's a cute little card with birds that she colored "Pink and Orange Mommy!" The card went along with the present, it's an Oriole bird feeder. What? Yup, an Oriole bird feeder. Apparently Hubby was walking down the gardening aisle when she screamed for it. It's orange, she loves orange. It is now filled and sitting on the railing of our back deck waiting for a hanger.

Later at breakfast, she was being a bit of a handful. One of her little habits that drives me crazy is to have her foot up on the table, while she's eating. After several requests for "foot removal", Hubby looked at her and asked, "is this how today is going to go?" With this question, Little Girl tilted her head to think... "Ummm, I think so!" We bust out laughing. And she lived up to that comment for the day.

In the end, I wouldn't have had it any other way. I love being a mother.

Quilting?

2008-05-08T07:56:00.004-04:00

I know that I say that I'm a quilter but if you look at my blog, it really doesn't look like it. Since we've moved into our home in October, I've been trying to get myself motivated and get my sewing room together. Recently my friend Quilt Bug has been doing 10 minutes of quilting a day. Working along with that idea, I've taken upon myself to do 10 minutes of working on my sewing room a day. It's coming along well. My file cabinets are about 3/4 organized. There are now 2 new wall shelves up and occupied. I drew out plans for cabinets and a built-in L-shaped table. Even went to Lowe's and priced out everything that I would need in hopes of using the stimulus check (or at least my half) on the "remodel".

Last night my hopes were quickly dashed when I asked Hubby what he had in mind to do with the check. He quickly reminded me that we had a slow leak between our bathrooms that is in need of repair. Unfortunately, I don't think this check will cover all of the costs. :( Let's jump back to when we bought the house. The home inspector mentioned that there might be a leak but since the home was a flip and was vacant for a year prior, he couldn't find any immediate problem. So from the laundry room, which is under the two bathrooms, we've been watching a couple areas. From time to time there will be a wet spot on the floor but couldn't find a wet pipe to blame. About a month ago, after taking a shower, I went to change a load of laundry. While there, it happended... a stream of water came pouring out of the floor board above my head, not a pipe. That means that it's in the walls. UGH! Normally we would have a few extra scheckles to pay for something like this but we recently had all the windows (all but 3 were original to the house with no screens) and the interior garage door (no seal at all, 1/2" gap) replaced. If you noticed all the repair work on this "flip" house that we bought, you will also notice that we are learning that this flip was purely cosmetic. Well, they did replace the furnace and hot water tank....

Why do we buy expensive toys?

2008-05-08T07:50:00.003-04:00

My friend sent me this video. It is too cute! If you don't laugh, something is really wrong with you. :)

"The Tinkler"

2008-05-07T08:43:00.002-04:00

One of my girlfriends sent me this article. I was laughing so hard because we have one at work too. There are even signs posted "If you sprinkle when you tinkle, please be sweet and wipe the seat!" Even with the signs posted, nothing has changed. We all know who it is and can't wait for her to retire next year! LOL!

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/personal/05/06/o.tinkler/index.html

Hippo Birdies Two Ewes!

2008-04-17T07:58:00.002-04:00

"Today is my Birthday! Na na, na na, na na! Today is my Birthday!"

(No shameless promotion here!!)

Baby is here!

2008-04-17T07:54:00.002-04:00

My girlfriend had her baby yesterday. I'm happy to say that the only thing I got correct from my dream was that she had a girl! I'm so excited for her! Her baby's name is Tessa. Isn't that pretty? Congrats my friends T & A!!

Pop can tab donation

2008-04-16T14:50:00.003-04:00

A few years ago, a friend of ours asked us to collect the tabs off of our pop cans. A friend of his had a son who was collecting them for a school contest. We have since been collecting the tabs with no idea what to do with them. Recently I was talking to someone about this and they mentioned checking with the local hospital. I Googled "pop can tab hospital" and was able to find my local children's hospital was collecting them to help patients on dialysis.

I ran across a Snopes.com article basically saying, it's a myth that some places are turning into a truth; however, if you want to make a donation, why don't you just give them the money rather than the tabs? Now, I would have to agree with said statement. But if you look at it in another fashion, it can be used as a learning tool as how the boy's school was trying to do. It made everyone aware of the little things we can do everyday to remind us that someone out there needs some help. Some people can't open up a checkbook and donate, be it for one reason or another. Since we all are recycling our aluminum cans, why not put a small piggy bank, cookie jar, tissue box, shoebox, whatever, next to the recycle bin and pop those tabs off. I would say first, check with your local hospital to see if they have such a collection. If they do, great!

Now, here comes the lesson on removing pop tabs easily... Please be warned, you will be putting your fingers close/in the opening of the can so getting cut is possible. If done correctly, you will not be injured.

With the can empty, turn the tab to be covering the opening of the can.
Using gentle pressure, use your thumb to press down the tab towards the hole while grasping back part of the tab with your index finger of the same hand.
When it pops off, you will already have your thumb and index finger holding the tab, so the next thing to do is put it in your container.

Enjoy your pop!

Don't get me started on pop, soda, drink, coke... I'll save that for another blog some day...

Dreams

2008-04-11T08:33:00.002-04:00

Last night I had a dream that made me happy and then made me sad. A girlfriend of mine is pregnant with #3 and is due any day now. In my dream, she had a healthy baby girl, 10 lbs (she has big kids), and her name started with a "C" (all I saw was the "C"). We were all happy for her...

Now the sad part... I saw my girlfriend's father crying and gave him a hug. He said he was said because this is the last birthday he will see. Let me back up a minute and mention that last summer he was diagnosed with cancer. I'm not completely sure of severity but to my understanding he was on a intense course of chemo. Unfortunately my girlfriend has moved across the country and I haven't been a good friend about keeping in touch, so I don't really know where he is in his battle. This dream really made me sad for her and I wanted to give her a hug when I woke up.

My only hope is that the first part of my dream comes true...

Is that real?

2008-04-02T16:05:00.004-04:00

I don't remember what podcast it was (I thought it was Alex Anderson's but I can't find it) but one of the topics was about Fraser Smith. He makes wonderful woodcarvings that look like real items. Quilts are one of his focus items. Check out his website www.gofraser.com. Then tell me, don't they look like you can just take them off the rack and cuddle up in them? They look so real.

15 Year High School Reunion

2008-04-01T08:17:00.003-04:00

Yesterday I received an email from someone in my high school class announcing the planning of the 15 year reunion. I can't believe it's been 15 years already. Years have gone by and I know that I have matured. One can only hope that others have matured as well. Looking back at our 10 year, one guy started out like he had changed but ended up being the same old obnoxious "kid". I felt sorry for his wife as she looked mortified at his actions. It was amazing to me how much some people changed and on the flip-side, how some didn't at all. I tried to keep in touch with a few but it seemed to dwindle after a short time. It's hard to remember some of these people. I wasn't one of the "popular" crowd. My family had moved to the area when I was a sophomore, so I only spent a few short years with this class. I remember when we were practicing for the annual "Powder Puff" game my senior year, I felt as if I was being left out and walked away. A little while later, one of my friends came by and told me people were asking her where the "cute little girl with glasses" went. I'd been in that class for 3 years of about 150 kids and they didn't even know my name. I wasn't unpopular, I had plenty of friends that were "lifers" in the school and very active. I'm interested in seeing how many of my circle/extended circle of friends will show up as compared to the popular crowd that was listed in the email (I was on the email because my mom works with one of the popular girl's dad).

Quilt Expo - Part 2

2008-03-31T09:15:00.006-04:00

This past Saturday, Quilt Bug and I went to the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo. We had a good time. We took a free-motion quilting class with Sheila Finklestein, which was very helpful. I had many questions that she was able to answer. I felt bad for Quilt Bug because she kept having trouble with her machine (not her fault). Finally she was able to get the ball rolling. I would have to say we both did pretty well for first-timers. Speed seems to be the key.

We also took a binding class with Connie Spurlock. I have to say, I think I got more out of her batting lecture then her binding lecture. The binding finish didn't look "finished" to me. It was just overlapped and then you had to whip-stitch it closed. I don't know about you but I prefer to make mine look like you don't know where the beginning is. I prefer the Liz's Lumpless Finish method myself.

At the end of the Expo, they had a big drawing for 4 new machines and other miscellaneous prizes, so of course we had to stay and see if either of us would win (you needed to be present to win). Well, neither of us won a sewing machine. :( However, I did win something!! It was funny because when they were calling names, you could hear groups of people cheer because they all seem to come in big groups. Quilt Bug and I came together so when the called my name it was very quite except for me screaming "That's me!" and they didn't hear me! I was really afraid that they would pull another name before I got there to get my prize. Finally I made it up to the stage and picked up my prize... a magnifying lamp (like it), a CD for creating a blazer (like it), a booklet for measuring accurately for garment creation (handy to have), and this pattern....

I'm really sorry but I'm sure I'm going to offend someone in saying this.... This thing is beyond words. Who would make this? I'm offended in the fact that someone would use a sweatshirt and put velvet on it thinking it would work well. You pay half as much for the sweatshirt than you do for the 1 yard of velvet. I am skipping over the fact that this is just not pretty. I would say that someone was trying to do a "Renaissance" feel with this but went a little bit in the wrong direction. Okay, I'm going to stop before I say something even worse...it's just bad. It almost reminds me of a blog I read a while ago about the 1977 JCPenney's catalog.

Easter 2008

2008-03-28T14:48:00.006-04:00

Here she is, Miss Easter Dress... She loves her dresses. She loves to spin and spin and spin and watch it flow. Such a little girl she is. Who taught her these things? I don't remember teaching her to twirl? Is it something that little girls just know how to do? It's been so long since I was a little girl, I just don't remember.

Mommy got a new Easter dress too. To go along with the new haircut. You can't tell but it's that new "in" style that Victoria Beckham has, the wedge. Let's see how well I maintain this one...

Quilty excitement!

2008-02-15T13:55:00.002-05:00

Monday night was one of the monthly quilt groups I attend. While at the meeting, they passed out brochures of the Sewing and Quilting Expo that is coming to Cleveland the end of next month. I had looked in the past at some classes but decided it just wasn't the right time. This year I saw that they had a beginner machine quilting class. That is something I really need. I'm very comfortable with my piecing abilities to get the tops made but to quilt them has normally been "stitch-in-the-ditch". I've been wanting to take a class like this for soooooo long. The time has finally come! On Tuesday morning I was so excited that I just signed up for the class, along with a binding class. Later I emailed Quilt Bug to let her know I just went ahead and signed up, come to find out she was going to sign up for the same classes! Yeah!

I've been watching my email for conformation, afraid of the email going into the junk/spam folder. Nothing. Quilt Bug asked me if I had heard anything. Nope, nada, nothing. Being of paranoid mind, I call the 800 number. We made it into the classes! Whoohoo!! The lady was so nice to let me check to see if Quilt Bug made it too. We were concerned that because this event is so big and the spaces were limited, we might not get in to the classes. I'm soooo excited!

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad!

2008-02-15T12:52:00.001-05:00

Just a quick note to wish my parents a Happy 39th Anniversary!!

Love you both!

Muppet Personality Test

2008-01-09T07:44:00.000-05:00

Yes, it's true, I'm Dr. Honeydew in disguise...

You Are Dr. Bunsen Honeydew

You take the title "mad scientist" to the extreme -with very scary things coming out of your lab.
And you've invented some pretty cool things, from a banana sharpener to a robot politician.
But while you're busy turning gold into cottage cheese, you need to watch out for poor little Beaker!
"Oh, that's very naughty, Beaker! Now you eat these paper clips this minute."

The Muppet Personality Test

Happy Day After New Year!!

2008-01-02T20:32:00.000-05:00

Well, I guess I'm a bit behind as usual, didn't quite post on the 1st like I was planning. Maybe I should make that one of my "resolutions", being on time? I told hubby the other day that I don't make resolutions, I make life goals, that way I have longer to work out the kinks. :)

Here is a list of my "goals"

cook more at home - we eat out almost every day of the week, no joke. Hate is a pretty strong word, but I do HATE eating out. Plus, we recently found out that our daughter has multiple food allergies. We knew she was allergic to squash from a test we had taken when she was an infant. Now we know that she is severely allergic to peanuts, moderately to eggs, and mildly to milk and green peas. Next Monday I have an appointment with a dietitian to help me with food suggestions.
workout - I love to do yoga. The rec center near my house offers a yoga class but it's off-site and doesn't offer childcare at the off-site location. I would need childcare when Hubby is out of town. What's the point of having a membership that includes childcare if I would still have to pay for a sitter?! I have found that our cable offers "on demand" exercise shows which include yoga. I have done pretty good and worked out the past 3 mornings. Let's hope I can keep it up.
sewing/quilting - this would entail me getting my sewing room up in order. Once I get the room together, it will give me the opportunity to sit and relax with my sewing machine and be creative. My first project will be to start on my daughter's quilt.
baby - hope that trying for child #2 doesn't take as long as #1 did... I don't need to advance on the rest of the steps, you get the idea.

I want to wish everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year! My fingers are crossed for everyone this year that they are able to scratch off at least one completed resolution this year.

House - Part 2

2007-09-30T20:17:00.000-04:00

Well, the couple came back with an offer that following weekend. After going back and forth with offers, we finally "settled." It's by no means what we wanted, or needed to get out of this house but it's done. On Monday we signed the paperwork to accept the final offer. Then we were in the "oh sh*t" factor. We didn't have a house to go to. Well, we can move in with Hubby's mother but that would only be temporary. Needless to say, we have had a few sleepless nights.

On Tuesday, Hubby went to resubmit our paperwork for a preapproval. There was a new mortgage broker, which happened to be a girl that he worked with when he worked for the bank. They got to talking and she asked where we wanted to move to and how much we were willing to spend. Then she started telling him about a house that her dad and her were flipping. It was a little out of our price range but she offered to show us. Hubby called me and told me about this. We have driven by this house many times seeing the FSBO sign but not willing to call, knowing that homes in this area are normally out of our range. We decided to go look at it......it's exactly what we've been looking for!! There are 4 bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths, fenced in yard for the dog, great neighborhood, and they did a great job flipping it. We gave her a verbal offer that night. Wednesday night we went and signed a contract! It's amazing how things just work out.

Friday was the home inspection on our current home. Not too bad. We have a few things to fix but it shouldn't be too bad. Tuesday is the home inspection on our new house. I don't think there should be any problems. We close on the old house on a Wednesday and they want to be in on Thursday. Because Hubby and I work "normal" hours, we have to move out the weekend before. Hopefully since the house that we are buying is a flip and vacant, we can move our things in early. We'll see. We are renting a storage unit and moving things in there already, just in case.

Here's a sneak peak of the new place...

Fingers crossed!!

2007-09-14T11:08:00.001-04:00

We have had our house for sale since January. We started with a realtor and only had 3 showings during a six month period. In July we put the house up FSBO and in the past week have had 3 contacts. One came back last night for a second showing with the parents! Oh please! Please! Please! **fingers crossed**

It's not like we HAVE to sell the house but we are ready to move. The frustrating part is the town that we want to move to is almost twice the price for the same square footage. UGH! I'm excited about the adventure of starting from scratch again, painting, building, etc. I'm also excited at the prospect that we are talking about having another baby within this newly created madness!

Ahhhhh... life and it's wonderfully maddening changes...

Goin' to see Great-Grandpa!!

2007-06-11T09:44:00.000-04:00

We just received an invitation to my Grandfather's 80th birthday party. This is very exciting for me because my family get togethers are very few and far between. Plus, we make the best of every moment. Unfortunately, Hubby is not able to come with us due to work. :( Thus, this leaves me to travel with our daughter all alone. I gave a brief, very brief, thought about traveling with my parents but that will be a long drive (about 14 hours one way). I don't think the little girl can handle it that long. So, thankfully with hubby's travel points, we were able to get flights and only have to pay $20 (for taxes)! I love travel points!!

The next concern was how was I going to push a stroller, carry her car seat, diaper bag, and any other misc accessories? The internet is a great research tool. Initially I found that car seat that converts with a "pop" of a handle, but that was about $230. Just a tad out of my price range. In looking at reviews for that stroller, someone mentioned the gogo Kidz Travelmate. How cool is that?! They were out of stock but I went to one of their online retailers and found it in stock and can ship in 1 to 2 days. The great thing is that we will have this for our trip to Disney too. Keep your fingers crossed for it to work like we hope it does! :)

She loves it!

2007-05-25T11:04:00.000-04:00

Our daughter was given a crocheted afgan as a baby gift that she has fallen in love with. I decided I wanted to make another one. Much time was spent searching for the pattern. I ended up settling for another baby blanket. While looking at yarn, there it was! The afgan was on one of the baby yarns. It was very easy for a beginner. Well, needless to say, she loves it! The moment I handed it to her, she took it everywhere.

I think I can... I think I can... I think I can...

2007-05-23T09:37:00.000-04:00

Goals

1. Make time to work on a monthly budget
2. Make time to create a weekly (not weak) meal menu
3. Make time to exercise
4. Make time to be creative
5. Keep house clean
6. Blog more

Hmmmm... Let's see how I do with these

My baby is growing up!

2007-05-16T09:12:00.000-04:00

I can't believe how big she's getting! Well, in developement... she's still a peanut. Here she is on Mother's Day reading her little book on her favorite chair. Hubby and I looked back at pictures from a year ago and it's amazing on how much she's changed (4 months old vs 16 months old).

Back in February we moved her from a home care to daycare. It was a little bit more on the wallet but I'm amazed on how much she has progressed in the passed months. She is doing sign language and singing. She loves to be taught new things. Right now she's trying to figure out how to put her shoes on her feet. It's very cute.

Quilt for the Co-Worker

2006-09-13T15:23:00.000-04:00

One of the girls at work has decided to stay home with her children during a difficult time. Her son will be going through a year (at least) long process of surgeries to repair his nose that was removed by a dog bite about a year ago (he was two years old). I am very sad to see her go. She has been a great support to our group of 5. She has great stories and is a good confidant. We have been planning for her departure for over a month and this Friday will be her last day.

I decided to take it upon myself to make her a signature quilt. I sent an email to all of the employees asking for signatures to quilt pieces. Out of about 105 employees, I received 50+ signatures. Only 3 offered to donate $, which I declined and referred them to the website that she posts updates on her son. The company didn't offer to cover costs, which I didn't expect. I am doing this all out of my own pocket. I wanted it to be a good quality quilt so I bought good quality materials totalling almost $100 for a little larger than a lap size quilt (large so she can cuddle underneath with both her boys).

My husband travels from time to time for his job. This is the first quilt project I've done since having the baby and it's really difficult to snag time. My goal was to have it done for today because we were all going out to lunch for a nice meal. Unfortunately, the quilt wasn't done. I am far enough along that I will have it done by Friday.

My whole point to this blog is to scream at how stupid people are. One of the ladies, who is not in our team of 5 but another group like ours, just emailed me. Her email...

Did you give her the quilt??
Where is it? Don’t we get to see it, since it is really from the whole company?

Is it really from the whole company? When the only thing you did was sign your name? You did not do one single stitch, select the material, offer one cent?

I originally thought it to be from the company... until I received her email. I guess it's the way her email comes across "since it is really from the whole company". It also has to do with the person that sent the email. Yeah, I don't know how to explain her but she just has a way of stricking a nerve. It's going to take me a little while to get over this comment. Just very ... not understanding to how much work I put into this?? I don't know... UGH IT. JUST. PISSES. ME. OFF!!!

6 Months

2006-07-17T12:39:00.000-04:00

Well, today she is 6 months old. Wow! She is doing so much now.

This past week she had her first taste of cereal. She loves it.

She is almost sitting on her own, about a minute. Unless she gets excited and then it's two milliseconds.

She found her toes.

She has figured out how to roll around. I think she will soon realize that it will help her accomplish other tasks.

And of course... she still loves to smile. It just warms your heart every day.

My peanut

2006-06-25T23:18:00.000-04:00

It's hard to believe that it was a year ago this past week I found out I was pregnant. Now she's a little over 5 months old!

Friday we took DD to get her next round of vaccinations. It was supposed to be at 6 months but due to the way they schedule things in that office she's not even 5 1/2 months. Fortunately the time span from her last round was within the limits and she was able to get them any way. Daddy got to hold her feet this time. I wish there was a better way to do that. It just hurts me to have to be a part of that torture.

She also had her measurements taken. She was 23 inches (5th percentile), 12 lbs 10.5 oz (15th percentile), and 41 1/2 cm (50th percentile). I don't understand why they used a full term chart and her actual age to figure percentile. Shouldn't there be one for preemies?

The doc was impressed how she well she can sit and stand (assisted of course) and maintain great head control. She is rolling over now, which concerns the doc because of SIDS. I fully understand that but how do I control her from rolling over everytime I put her in the crib. She gets mad at me if I try to move her. At what point do you stop worrying?

The picture...

2006-04-04T09:35:00.000-04:00

Sunday DH and I were at Babies 'R' Us doing some shopping. Within that store they have a photography studio so I said to DH that we should get DD's first pictures taken. He did remind me that it was close to feeding time. I thought she was going to be okay...thought. Well, we only were able to get one picture taken. Luckily it was a cute one and because she was less then 3 months old we got 12 birth announcements free! We didn't have to pay anything (except now I get emails from them daily).

Factor V Leiden

2006-03-22T14:39:00.000-05:00

Okay, I was recently diagnosed with Factor V Leiden (hetero) and MTHFR (hetero). In reading material out there, I feel as if I am a walking time bomb. I've posted questions but nobody wants to answer me. I'm scared! Reading what some people have to do to monitor themselves makes my anxiety level rise. I don't want to have to worry about that. I just want to live my life like it was before I knew I had this. I am afraid of having a clot. Apparently a pulmonary embolism, DVT, and stroke are common. My mom had a clot after she had me but she was never tested. She was given blood thinners until the clot was gone. I'm sure didn't think twice that it could be caused by something like this. I told her and the rest of my family that they need to get tested. I don't think they believe that it's as serious as it really is. My dad's mom had a stroke when I was a child. Who knows if this was one of the underlying causes.

Feelings right now:
Anxiety
Fear
Sadness
Hope that someone will help
Hope that my loved ones will listen

I have a wonderful husband and beautiful daughter that I want to spend many, many, many more years with. I will find an answer... and it won't kill me.

The search is over...

2006-03-20T08:43:00.000-05:00

Well, after a couple weeks of searching.... She finally found her thumb. The trial of the ring and middle finger didn't work, the index finger didn't work, Daddy's loved sucking position of the thumb knuckle didn't work. She finally found Mommy's fave, the thumb. We've been trying to avoid this little incident with giving her a pacifier but unfortunately those have a tendency to fall out. Nope, not the thumb. It's there, 24/7/365. Hummmm.... well we'll just have to wait and see how long she'll be interested in it. I didn't stop till I was about 6 or 7 (I do remember I was in first grade).

Yesterday

2006-03-04T11:36:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, March 3rd, is DD's original due date. Who knew she would come almost 7 weeks early? I took her to see her nurse friends at the Special Care Unit. They were so excited to see her. She's gained almost 2 pounds since she left a month ago. I had to dress her in Buckeye gear because they all joked with DH about how much Buckeye gear he had. DD even had a little bracelet that they giggled about.

My pregnancy with DD was quite an experience. Even getting pregnant was more of a challange than I expected. It took us 10 months. After the first 6 months I called my OB and asked to see her. She told me that she would only see me after a year. Being as persistant as I am, I found a new OB. I had been charting my temperatures during those months and took them to the new OB. She said that with what she saw, I should have been pg. She ran some of the preliminary blood work, checking my thyroid levels and such. Everything came back normal. She even had DH tested (I still think he's a trooper for this). During that first visit I told her that I didn't think I had ever had chicken pox. Upon hearing this, she ordered me to get vaccinated which ment 3 months of taking time off from TTC. The last thing I discussed with her was some bladder issues I was having. After sending me to a gyno urologist, he sent me to physical therapy. WHAT?! PT for your bladder?!! Well, it worked. DH and I also believe that it helped us get pg too. I think every women should learn about taking care of their pelvic floor muscles.

I knew I was pg 3 days before it was to start. I didn't want to eat my dinner, which eatting any meal is a big deal for me. The night I finally got the BFP (Big Fat Positive) was after being at a dinner for my GF for her second baby shower. I came home and POAS (Peed On A Stick)...BFP!!! I immediately called DH to "check something out." I showed him the test and we both cried. It was awesome! Not at all the way I wanted to surprise him but the result was still great. Next on the list, who to tell and when.

A couple days later we left for vacation to Disney World. There we spent time with his sister, her BF and another friend of hers. We had a blast, luckily we didn't eat much with them so my disgust for food didn't show too much. We eventually decided to tell DH's sister. Well, let me put it this way, DH kept dropping hints but he wouldn't let me tell her. I finally had to yell at him and he said OK. LOL!! I think he wanted to tell her too. She was so excited to be an aunt. When we came home from vacation, we then told the grandparents by giving them bibs with "I Love Grandma/pa." This baby is the first grandchild on both sides. Can you say SPOILED?! LOL!!

We decided to wait till the common 12-week mark to tell the rest of the world. I did tell my boss because morning sickness struck at 6 weeks with avengance. I ended up having m/s till the 5th month with being on Zofran for the nausea the whole time. Boy was I glad that was over with, what could be worse than that? Hmmm....

Week 26, here comes the rash...OMG did it itch!! I have never had something itch so bad in my life. DH recalls waking up in the middle of the night to find me sitting on the edge of the bath tub just itching away. He says it was a bit disturbing. LOL!! I just wanted to itch my skin off it was so bad. The OB had blood work drawn for that to make sure it wasn't something related to my gall bladder. Luckily it wasn't. It started to clear up with some nice steroid cream.

Week 29... DH and I were at a wedding and I had to sit the whole time because I was having Braxton Hicks. Feet up, drinking water. It didn't really stop till I came home and went to bed. At 4 am I woke up in the middle of another contraction. I went to the bathroom, came back to bed and had another contraction. I sat there for a couple minutes and had another contraction. After a call to the OB, DH took me to the hospital. We spent about 4 hours in the OB ER triage when they admitted me. I tested positive for fetal fibronectin, which ment if I wasn't treated, I could deliver within a week or two. They put me on magnesium to stop the contractions. I would never wish magnesium on anyone. It makes you loopy, hot, and you can't drink! I was only allowed 90 cc of liquid every hour. My urine had to be measured to make sure I was letting out what I was putting in. I spent 5 days in the hospital before they sent me home with a turbutaline pump.

The turbutaline pump was the ticket home. Unfortunately it ment bedrest and monitoring at least twice a day. Luckily with my bedrest, I was allowed to go downstairs and sit on the couch during the day. I had to put a contraction monitor on my belly twice a day. If my contractions were more then 6 an hour I had to take an extra dose of T and monitor again. In the beginning it was a trial period to see the level of my tolerance for the meds. Because of that trial period, I was monitoring, what seemed like, 12 hours a day. It finally became level after about 5 days. On the 5th day I had to change the pump site. For a person who hates needles, this was a difficult task. One of the nurses came out to help me, we arranged this before I even left the hospital. After some shaking and blubbering, I finally did it. I was a little more comfortable after I did it a couple more times.

During my weeks on bedrest my blood pressure started to rise. This was no way a result of the turbutaline (which makes your heart race). After multiple daily readings of my BP, the OB ran some more blood work. Now, the blood work taken in November for my rash showed my liver enzymes at 16 -very good. In January my liver enzymes were over 100! That sent up a red flag. The next thing they had me do is a 24-hour urine collection. CAN YOU SAY YUCK!! I had to collect my pee for 24-hours and keep it refrigerated!!!! UGH!!! It still gives me the willies just thinking about it. (LOL!! I just realized that we have a new fridge now. Hehehe. Not because of that reason but it's a good one!!) My count came up to 297 and 300 is concidered toxemic. Needless to say, I was put in the hospital again for survaillence. My BP came down a little in the hospital so they sent me home again. That was on Friday, I was sent back on Monday to be induced because my BP at one point was 164/110! Looking back at how I felt then and how I feel today, I was pretty ill. The headache was bad and seeing stars is a big no-no. I was put on mag again but this time it was to keep me from the posibility of having seizures because I was now diagnosed with pre-eclampsia.

Let me back track for just a second, remember I said that I was a person who didn't like needles? Okay, when they originally admitted me it was just for monitoring. My OB talked to a high risk OB and then it was decided to induce me. That leads to I.V.s... it took 4 trys before they could get the I.V. in me. I was so bruised. Once again... I HATE NEEDLES!!

What you see on "The Baby Story" don't believe. You can't have a baby in a 1/2 hour. After I came home I started to watch the clock on the wall in those delivery rooms. It ticks on and on for sometimes hours.... Anyways... Monday night I was giving Cervidil. Tuesday morning the Cervidil was removed and Pitocin was started about 10 am. At 11:30 I was only 2 cm but they decided to break my water to get things going. Early afternoon I was about 3 cm and in so much pain I asked for the epidural. Again, back to "The Baby Story", those women all seem to be about 5 or 6 cm when they ask for the epi. I told the nurse that I can't because I'm only 3 cm. She proceeded to tell me "Honey, you are on pitocin, take the epidural". During this time of wait, the baby's heartrate was starting to drop. It seemed like every nurse and dr rushed in and watched me. I was repeatedly to told to shift positions to get the rate back up. Come to find out later that the cord was around her neck.

Around 5:30 pm things started to progress. I suddenly felt as if the baby was going to fall out. They called the OB and she arrived at 6:00 pm. Since I was early and had pre-e, I had to be moved to an operating room just in case a C-section was needed. I pushed for an hour. Back to "The Baby Story," pushing is not the same. It looks like you will push for 10 seconds, wait about 10 seconds and then push again. Nope. You push for 10 seconds with the contraction. After the contraction is the wait to the next contraction. Tick Tock Tick Tock. During this wait the doctors talk about the meetings that they just had or what their vacation was like. "Um, excuse me... I'm lying here on a table with my legs going in completely opposite directions showing my goods to the world and you are talking about your vacations? Shouldn't we be doing something, like deliver my baby?" It was not what I expected. DD was born at 7:03 pm. My nurse was happy because she was able to see my baby be born, her shift was over at 7 pm.

DD was in the Special Care Unit of the hospital for 2 1/2 weeks. When she was born she weighed in at 4 lbs 15 oz and was 18 inches long. I thought that if the baby was 5 lbs she would be sent home. That's not the case. A premature baby doesn't know how to suck. It's one of the last things that is developed inutero. It took her that long to figure out how to take a bottle which gets frustrating because you want your little one home with you. During her time at the hospital, she was also treated for jaundice. That's another thing that delayed her coming home.
She is now home and doing very well. We love our baby girl and couldn't imaging life without her. I did find out that what could have been the cause of the pre-e is that I have two blood clotting factors. I have to take folic acid and baby aspirin for the rest of my life. When we decide to have another baby, I will have to have heparin (blood thinner) injections daily during the pregnancy. It's all worth it, even though I don't like needles.

Motherhood

2006-02-27T20:09:00.000-05:00

Who knew that this beautiful little bundle could soak up all the time in the day? I am awake by 7:30 am and dog tired by 7:30 pm. Her feeding schedule is 1, 4, 7, and 10 am and pm (I take the 1 and 4 am feedings). Cleaning bottles and changing diapers. Trying to figure out what her crying is about. How do you interact with at 6 week old that was premature? What am I supposed to be doing with her? Today she woke up at 3 pm very fussy and oh so gassy. I got her calmed down by putting her in the Snugglie and walking around. She ate at 4. After her bottle, I held her in a sitting position on my lap till DH came home and we decided on what to make for dinner. By that time she had been up for 3 hours total. If I didn't have her in my lap, she would fuss. She just wanted to look around. What do you do for 3 hours? Make funny noises. Talk to her. Sing to her. It's amazing how time flies and you feel like you've accomplished nothing that you wanted to do in the day but loved every minute of what you did do... play with your daughter.