She's Crafty.....

Okay, this is one of those "hold me accountable" posts. A lady at my church offered to teach a quilting class. I LOVE quilts, there is something so comforting about them. One of my prized possessions is a quilt my Granny made for me when I was little. It's made out of scraps of my mom and my uncle's old clothes. This little quilt is so tattered and loved that it is a shock that it is still in one piece. That being said, I went to this class and after we all were talking we decided to do "baby steps". This lady is amazing at quilting and there is no way that I could measure up-especially since I haven't used my sewing machine in 4 years! So, I am going to attempt to make a quilt for baby Reese. We went to the fabric store today and let's just say, when I am pregnant-I am REALLY indecisive-so much that it gets on my own nerves much less those around me (poor Kris). So this was a big task. Luckily I found the colors/patterns I wanted, and ALTHOUGH THIS MIGHT CHANGE, I am think about doing Reese's room in the colors red, chocolate brown, and creme, maybe in a "monkey" theme.

Here is the material I picked out.




I really, really hope that it turns out well, but I do not have high expectations of myself on the first one. We will see. I will post the progress, and remember to be kind because I am highly emotional at this point :). Wish me luck!!!

Look Out American Idol........

I have missed most of the American Idol try outs this season. Kris HATES to watch them. He has to leave the room because he gets embarrassed for the people. I on the other hand, only like to watch the try outs. Anyhoo- I am thinking if they can make it to try outs (you know who "they" are if you watch), why can we with our self written new song "Clean Diaper"?

New "Members" of the Family........

Let me back up a little, at our church Christmas party, Santa made a visit (you may remember the video). Abram received a present from Santa-it was a "bless your heart" kind of present. It was a buffalo. Abram wanted nothing to do with this toy, so he found a home under the seat of my car. I was cleaning out my car last week and putting his toys and books in a basket to go through. That is when he saw him. It was weird really, I don't know why I missed the song "Reunited" in the background. He picked up that buffalo and started hugging it, and kissing it, and petting it........and named him "Bo".

Abram has NEVER been a stuffed animal kid. He has a few very adorable (expensive) stuffed animals we have tried to get him to like-which are now sitting in a box. However, something about this dollar store toy-which got a hole in it the first day he started playing with it-has mesmerized him. I mean seriously people, Bo had to go to the grocery store with us, and see and smell all of the fruits and vegetables, Abram shared his food with Bo, Abram had to brush Bo's teeth after breakfast, Bo went to time out yesterday for hitting, if Abram gets a kiss-you guessed it-Bo gets one too, maybe I would like him better if he wasn't so ugly-don't judge me, you are about to see a picture. Moral of the story? I think I am heading to the dollar store this week and hoping there are a few more "Bo's" on the shelf.



"Bo and Dice" and yes, there is a loose string on Bo that I am not willing to pull or cut for fear the whole thing will come apart.


Then there is "Dines". Whenever we go to Target, it's a bit of a drive. SO while I look around, Kris takes Abram to the toy section to play and run around. Last night was no exception. We meet up and Abram is carrying 2 dinosaurs. It was really cute the way he was playing with them. He even went up to a little girl and yelled "RAR! Boom Boom Boom! (as he stomped his feet toward her)" which made me think, "Yep, Abram is going to be that boy that picks up grose things to scare little girls, and right now I am okay with that. ANYWAYS, we in the toddler department and he sits down on the floor and starts playing with them. I look at Kris and say, "We should get him one, in fact I don't think we'll have much of a choice." Than Kris tells me how much they cost, so we "accidentally" lost one on the way to the check out. So then "Dines" (named by Abram) joined our family. In fact, "Dines" had to have his own bed and blanket last night because he wasn't allowed to sleep with Abram. You should have seen the tears, the flailing, the hyperventilating he was crying so hard. Nevertheless, "Dines" needed his own bed, and eventually he went to sleep. When Abram woke up, it was the first thing he asked for. Although if "Dines" falls apart or breaks, he might have to really be extinct, because dinosaurs are pricey. Bizarre, why is he growing up so fast?

You Know When.........

You have one of those "inspiring" moments? Well I just read this quote on a friend's blog, and it made me happy.

"I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails. I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp. I want to be there with grass stains on my shoes from mowing Sister Schenk's lawn. I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbor's children. I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden. I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder. I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived."

--- Marjorie Pay Hinckley

I think I am feeling a bit inspired, who knows what I will be up to tomorrow......

Just Call Me "Super Mama"........

If you have ever been around kids before you might appreciate the meaning of one of these.....


and if you are familiar with one of those, you may know that this is your arch enemy......



So even though you may have told your "little muffin", "Don't let go, no really, don't let go, we won't be able to reach it." and yet he does......

and then the tears start. You try to ignore them, but you also know that after he put on a 20 minute show at the local Chick-Fil-a upon getting this balloon, after trying to steal an old ladies' birthday balloon (another story). That every single person knew in that restaurant how happy this child was when he got the balloon with all of the dancing, and "yay"-ing, and "da da da da!" (save the day superhero call)-ing and all of the "orange boon! so happy! orange boon!"-ing, that this child was indeed in love with this balloon.

So you invent this.........



and when you get the balloon, your 2 year old screams "Mama! Da da da da!!" Your superhero anthem, that you-yes you, have in fact saved the day. I am thinking about a copyright.....and maybe a costume :).

I'm Wondering......

What do people do in Alaska in the winter to entertain their children when they are stuck inside everyday all day??? I consider myself a pretty creative person, however, I am feeling quite large and unmotivated. Any suggestions? Websites I can get ideas from??? HELP!!!!!

P.S. keep in mind with your suggestions that there aren't a ton of "kid-friendly spots" around here. THANKS!

Confessions......

I have some confessions to make:

Over the weekend I just so happened to be having a great hair day. So there I was, admiring my just flat ironed hair, when something shimmered in the light. Upon looking at it closely I FOUND THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, "THIS" wouldn't take a very good picture, so you will have to use your imagination. Picture amongst thick red hair something as WHITE AS SNOW people. That's right a huge WHITE HAIR!!!!!!!!!!!

No, this wasn't my first. My first was on my 21st birthday. I was working at a daycare and one of my kids came up to me where I was sitting and announced to everyone I had a gray hair. When I told her she was crazy, she pulled it out and showed it to me.....awesome. AND BEFORE I GET THE "POOR BABY, SUCK IT UP" comments, let me just argue the fact that I have just come to love the color of my hair in the last ten years. I have ALWAYS wanted a different color. NO ONE wants to have red hair when they are little AND when someone jokes about "the red headed step-child" and you actually ARE a red-headed step child, things aren't so funny. One of the things I was looking forward to is the old wives tale about red hair being the last to go gray (I might have made that up). Plus, I am pregnant, so everything is ultra dramatic and I am scared TO DEATH of dying my hair, much less dishing out a fortune for someone who actually can do it correctly. Oh the drama (placing hand on my forehead)!!

Secondly, I think I am addicted to vacuuming, no this is not a joke. It started in Alabama and I brought the addiction here with me. I vacuum 3 times a day and then when something gets on the floor I obsess about it. I love the lines on the carpet after I am done. I think I am going crazy.

Thirdly, I am also obsessed with making and eating the majority of chocolate chip cookies WITH WALNUTS. If they don't have walnuts and aren't home made you can forget it. Wow, (insert sarcasm) can't wait to see what that's going to look like in 3 months.

Fourthly, I almost threw up when I saw on the counter I have 98 days until my due date. I am under 100 and for some reason that feels really close. Yikes, scarrrrryyyy!

Fifthly (I am making up words now I think) I am ready for a new blog look again. This was calming, but now I don't feel calm, so I will explore my options-don't be surprised if you click on this site one day and it has bright, crazy, give you a headache colors on it, because that is how I am feeling right now.

On the upside, Kris, Abram, and I had a dance party last night, and it was the funnest ever. It's been way too long since we have done that.

Okay, that's all I've got for now. Are you scared? You should be, you have to stick it out with my craziness for 98 more days-and don't get me started on post baby blogs!!