MIA...

...and I know it. :D Sorry!

Between some insane action on our house (finger's crossed!), pictures to edit for Andrew's family, a lingering cold and just being a mom, I've been neglecting this blog.

Here are some randoms about my life lately...

I've crocheted two potholders and just am waiting for my cold to completely dissappear before I head over to Granny's so she can show me how to finish them.

This cold really wiped me out for about four days. During said four days, I did absolutely no housework.

Tuesday was the planned housework day.

It snowed Tuesday morning. So, being a good mom (or trying to be) I bundled up little dude and myself to go play outside.

30 minutes after we came in, a realtor stopped by and then a half an hour later, another one! This led to a showing that night which required a marathon four hour cleaning session.

My back is still recovering.

Andrew's been working at the Ag Expo all week and so hasn't been around at night to help with little dude. But, since he leaves later in the morning he said he'd get up early with Mickey so I can sleep in.

The first morning, he forgot. This morning, Mickey slept until eight. Argh!!!!

Yesterday morning the first realtor dropped in to see the house and then I had a doctor's appointment. Both went really well.

The midwife said that since I'm "the most low risk second pregnancy ever" that instead of going every two weeks I can go every three weeks until I'm 36 weeks along. Sweet! That totally cuts out one appointment! :D

My glucose test results were great. 140 is when they get concerned and I was at 72. Heh!

My weight was a little high for me...180. But, the midwife and the nurse think I'm doing fantastic. If I wasn't so dang tired, I'd try to get some walking in.

I'm still editing pictures from Andrew's aunt and uncle's 50th wedding anniversary party. I didn't touch them for a few days because I was afraid they weren't any good. Then, I got sick. I really have to get them done by this weekend. I don't want it to go longer than two weeks. I've got 94 done and 70 left to decide on/edit.

Mickey got "stuck" in the play structure at McDonald's yesterday...twice. He's been there and been fine a half dozen times before. Not sure why yesterday was different but, I had to clamber up there and squeeze my six and half month pregnant body in there to "rescue" him.

After the second "rescue", we left.

Mickey had a fairly bad day yesterday. Cranky while the realtor was there, okay at the doc's, drama-y at McD's, a pill at home and then he woke up three times last night!

Hoping for a good day today!

Oh, and wish us luck on Sunday! I'd really love to sell this house! :D

Mickey's Crib Situation...updated!

Well, as of right now, Mickey's crib is torn down and the hardware is ready to be FedEx'd back to Jardine. This is the picture I took the other day of his temporary bed next to his crib.

I bought a quilted padded sheet to put in his Pack-n-Play and he seems to like it. He did wake up at six in the morning the first few days but he's back to normal now.

I just need to get my sick tuckus out of the house and find a FedEx drop off!

LEARN

Well, I finally picked a word for the year. I was thinking about going with Nurture as, like one little word guru, Ali Edwards, I have a little girl due this year. But, I like the flexiblity of Learn better. :D

So, here are the things I'd like to Learn in 2009

~how to be a mom of two
~how to be a mom of a girl
~more and more and more about my camera and photography
~how to crochet
~how to balance home and hobbies

So far, I'm doing pretty good! This Sunday, I shot Andrew's aunt and uncle's 50th wedding anniversary party and I rented a flash for it on Friday. Then, I spent all day Saturday and Sunday morning on the web, learning all I could on how to use it and make it look more natural and less flashy. I also picked up a grey card and learned how to set a custom white balance. Go me!!!

And, today, Mickey and I went to Granny's and I had my first crochet lesson! I'm making a pot holder. It looks really wonky in places and Granny keeps telling me to start over but I want to keep it to show my progress. (Besides, I'll worry less about messing up this way! LOL!)

Do you have a word for this year???

Border Punch Mini Tutorial!

Yep, another tutorial. Why am I calling it a mini tutorial? Well, it's quick and easy and it's only got two steps! :D Hope you like it!

Martha Stewart has a new Scalloped Heart Punch out for Valentines that is slowly gaining interest on the message boards. No, not that Scalloped Heart Punch, although it sounds like she re-released it, good move Martha! It's a border punch and it's pretty stinkin' cute! But, if you already have the Threading Water Punch or even the Stampin' Up! scalloped border punch you may be on the fence about buying it.

Here's how to get that look, and quite a few others, without it!

First off, you need your punches. I've got Threading Water and for this technique I'd recommend it over the SU one if you happen to have both. (Lucky girl!) I also have some teeny tiny punches, doesn't matter what style.

First off, you punch a row of scallops along your edge with your border punch. (See the brown paper below) Then, using the holes in your scallops if you're using Threading Water or putting dots in the centers of the SU scallops (or just eyeballing it!) you punch your teeny-tiny shape in the scallop. Wallah! You're done! I've done hearts (aqua paper), leaves (green, of course!) and then I got my round mini hole punch and did some punching each circle out and some every other. I love the look of the every other punch! (Another reason I prefer the Threading Water Punch!)

Here's a card I made for my mom's birthday this year using the technique and the star punch. Mom's got a thing for Americana-ish colors! She loved it!!!!!!!

I punched every other dot with a star and then colored through the top of the card onto the interior. This would also be a great way to get a stamped looking border of tiny shapes on your layouts.

And, that's it for my mini tutorial! (See, I told you it was short!) ;)

The Saga of the Crib Recall

The offender!

I got an e-mail last evening about a crib recall. It said that if your crib is recalled, to stop using it immediately. Stop and immediately were both in all caps and bold. OK, got the message. So, I sneak into little dude's room (he's already asleep) and maneuver my six month's pregnant body on the floor trying to find the darn stickers. Oh, and I couldn't find a working flashlight so I grabbed my cell phone for illumination.

I'll wait for a second while you finish laughing.

So, I write down the numbers and compare to the recall. Right model but now they want me to check the date code. Ummm, thanks for telling me that the first time! Decided phone wasn't cutting it so found the only flashlight in our house (replaced the batteries) and snuck back in. Yup, it's the right date range. Head back to the computer and now it's asking if it was made in Taiwan or China. ARGH!!! Just ask me all this at once people! Little dude wakes up this time and won't settle down in our bed so I let him run around while I finish my online form to Jardine and get myself ready for bed.

At ten, we finally get to bed and he is not happy! The cries were finally abated by a sippy of water and...the flashlight...off. Yup, little dude slept with our flashlight last night. Most kids have a soft blankie or a fuzzy stuffed animal they must sleep with. Not our dude. A plastic tractor, a soccer ball and now...a flashlight. Heh!

Now according to the website, I either needed to call during the day or fill out the online form (I chose the form), they would verify that info and send out a package that we are to send back containing some of the hardware and stickers from the crib. Then, in one to two weeks they'll send us back the voucher. Ummmm, excuse me? Most people who bought a crib probably need to use it on a daily basis! Fortunately, it looks like it won't take as long as they estimated. I got a tracking number from FedEx today for the kit...and they sent it two-day! Thank goodness! Hopefully, Jardine keeps this up because I'm not liking our options.

Option one~use crib. Yeah, you know me, that ain't gonna happen. I'm way too by the book when it comes to my kids safety.

Option two~use Pack-N-Play. Hmmm, might be okay. My biggest issue with the PNP is that at 26 months old, he's a bit too heavy for it to be comfortable for three weeks worth of nights and naps.

Option three~move little dude to a big boy bed. This is probably what I would have done except that we've got the house on the market still. Our house will appeal to more buyers if it appears to be more versatile. One office and one kid's room shows single folk and new couples/small families how it can work for both of them. Two kids rooms is kind of going to throw off the single folk...men, especially! LOL!

So now, I've come up with option four. I'm going to Babies R Us today and see if they will let me buy a crib today and then reimburse me when the voucher comes. I'm thinking they won't but you never know until you ask. And, it's much easier to say no to a voice on the phone and much harder to say no to a woman who is six months pregnant with a toddler in tow. Oh, and I'm thinking if I tell her that right after I get this taken care of I need to register for my current pregnancy she'll be much more amenable! ;)

Oh, and you may think I forgot option five~have little man sleep with us until the voucher arrives. Well, here's how the rest of last night went. He woke up about four times in the middle of the night including once when Andrew got home and it took a while to get him back to sleep. He also rolled off the bed at one point which caused some tears. (I had dumped a pile of laundry there to soften the blow...just in case.) Andrew wound up on the recliner and I wound up getting hardly any sleep and little man wound up getting up at 6:30. For this and many other reasons, he ain't sleepin' with us!

Wish me luck at Babies R Us today!

Baby Talk

Well, I gained eight pounds over the last five weeks. Ooops! Apparently, being practically housebound for two weeks causes me to overeat. And, lets not talk about the multiple holiday dinners lately. Oh heck, lets! Two for Thanksgiving and FIVE for Christmas!!!! Yep, I definately overdid.

Differences between this little girl and my little man. Well, she made me sicker right from the start. With Audrey, I felt nauseous at random times and some days for the entire day and nothing really seemed to help. With little dude, it was just "afternoon sickness" and it was very mild. Some saltines, some Gatoraid or Sprite and I was good to go! I'm pretty sure I've got more heartburn with her, too. Seriously, my piece of toast with jam and glass of milk breakfast gives me heartburn! It's kind of funny though. With all the heartburn I have a hard time feeling when I'm starting to get hungry. I go from blech to starved in seconds!!! LOL!

Similarities with the two of them. Well, I was exhausted with both of them at the beginning. I did get a respite with Mickey but, I think the car accident took away my mid-pregnancy energy burst with Audrey. I never threw up with either of them. I didn't get all mushy over them until they really started kicking. Oh, and with both of them I had a hard time telling if it was a kick or not at first. They both also really kick a lot the further along I get. I was also in the process of losing weight when I got pregnant with both of them.

You know how some women "just know" that they are pregnant. Yeah, not me! With Mickey, I took 10 tests the first month (nothing) and then two or three the second (positive) month. Just could never tell either way. With Audrey, I was a few weeks farther along, exhausted, not losing weight anymore and really hungry when I finally realized I was late. Took one test and oh wow we're pregnant! Not in tune with my body at all! LOL!

The End of December and 2008!

Sunday, the 28th, we had our last Christmas event of the season. Andrew's mom's family does a meal the Sunday after Christmas each year at his Aunt Irene's house. It started about noon and was a lot of family, games and food! Mickey and I ended up leaving after about five hours. There's only so much little dude can handle without a nap. (And I was needing one too!) Andrew stayed and then rode home to his sister Kathy's house and got to our home at who knows what hour! His sister Sandra flew home to Hawaii that next morning.

Monday, the 29th, and Tuesday, the 30th, were the days I was finally able to get out and shop! I had two missions. Mission one~take full advantage of all the after Christmas sales on decorations and wrap. Mission two~buy some adorable baby girl clothes (on sale, of course) to quell the need for pink I've been having since we found out that we are having a girl. I'm happy to report that both missions were accomplished!

Mickey did very well considering that we were gone for about seven hours each day! We'd leave about eleven (no matter my intentions on leaving earlier) and get home right on time to put him to bed. LOL!

Yesterday, I had to hurry and get all the ornaments, ribbon and lights off of the tree. Why the rush, you ask? Well, we spent New Year's Eve in Scott's Mills, setting our Christmas tree on fire with a group of Andrew's friends from high school. Of course, just dry trees going up in flames wasn't going to be enough for our men (boys!) and so they adorned our trees with leftover fireworks from the Fourth of July! It was pretty impressive!

Mickey liked the show but the really big bangs weren't his thing. He did have a great time with all the other kids there. Jackie, our hostess, has this awesome upstairs playroom that is just a kid mecca! He'd had a nap earlier and he made it to midnight and didn't fall asleep until we left at a quarter to one. He was very well behaved until right when we were walking out the door and he had to say goodbye to some toys he'd been playing with. I hope his sister is half as well behaved as he is! :D

Andrew has today and tomorrow off and he spent the day resting and watching football. I was motivated to get the rest of our Christmas stuff down because without the tree, it just doesn't work! Tomorrow he plans to clean the garage and hopefully take down the Christmas lights. I'm going to try to get my photos edited and printed so I can go to Scrapbook Attack and work on my December Daily album. I'm not too optimistic about this happening due to our current lack of groceries! :D

I hope you all had a wonderful New Year's Eve!!! :D