This Week

Is not a fun one at my house.  5 years ago this week (Saturday to be exact) Emma died.  I won’t be here much.  I’m trying to figure out what to do for her tribute this year.  Typically I do a photo montage set to music, but I might just have J put some video on the computer and share her, living, breathing, HER with you all.  If you’re the praying type, pray for us this week.  If you’re not the praying type, just send us lots of good vibes.  We can use all we can get.

Bellies and Blueberries

I am now 34 weeks 5 days pregnant.  Check out this belly.

We also went to the Gardener’s Market this weekend and got 2 cups of beautiful blueberries.  S and I made these Blueberry Oat bars.  They are FANTASTIC!  If you don’t have Agave nectar, honey works too.  Here are some pictures of the kiddos enjoying their bars.

As you can see, Miss Sassy Pants is thouroughly enjoying hers.

Check out the blueberries in Mr. Magoo’s teeth there!  He is crazy.

Now for sewing and knitting news!  I have some finished projects!

First knitting.  I have made a pair of longies, a diaper soaker and a hat for the babe.  The yarn for the longies and soaker is Pure Wool.  I love it, soft as all get out.  The dye wasn’t completely set, so my fingers kept turning blue, but I have given it a nice vinegar bath, so hopefully it won’t bleed all over the baby’s diapers.  The longies are Sheepy Pants and the soaker is a Pea Patch soaker.  Love the longies pattern, I’ve used it several times and it is by far my favorite!  Yep, they’re tiny, but the baby will be too.

Now for the hat.  I made this same pattern for my niece last year, and it turns out SO cute!  I don’t remember the yarn I used.  I got it from a boutique in Salt Lake this summer, I know it’s hand dyed by a lady in Salt Lake, I LOVE IT!  I have enough left over to make the babe some socks too.  So sweet.  My model is my preemie Cabbage Patch baby that I got when I was maybe 8?  It’s a bit big on her, so I imagine it will fit the baby perfectly at birth.  Luckily my babies have small heads.  I love that they get that from their Dad!  The pattern is Sweet Baby Cap.  I didn’t get gauge with this sock yarn, so I went ahead and did the 6 month size.  I still love it though!  I might make one for Miss A, we’ll see though!

Pretty sweet, eh?

Now for sewing.  My dear friend, Michelle, asked me to make some shirts for her little girl, Erin to wear to Kindergarten this fall.  Michelle and I met when we were both pregnant, her with Erin, me with Emma.  When Emma died, Michelle was one of the first people to call me.  She was and still is, such a support to me.  She lost a baby too, she gets it.  I have loved watching Erin grow, and see the things Emma would be doing.  So, I happily made Erin some shirts, they turned out so cute.  It was very nice for me to be making them.  Next Saturday, the 23rd, Emma will have been gone for 5 years.  It gave me some peaceful time to think about her, imagine her and talk to her.  I imagine if Emma were still here, she’d be just as sweet and cute as Erin wearing these shirts.  Anyway, here they are.

I am sure that when these make their way to Florida, Michelle will take pictures of her always willing model, and I will be able to post even cuter pictures of them.  They are never as cute on my living room floor as they are on the kiddos.

We’re off to Lava Hot Springs, ID this weekend.  So, I have packing, packing, packing, and sewing to do today.  Have a great weekend everyone and I’ll see you next week with pictures from our fun trip.

So much better

After that terrible day, we’ve had a lot of good ones. I love those two hooligans, even if they do drive me batty

So, I’m in a bit of denial that I am as pregnant as I am. I realize that as of tomorrow, I am 34 weeks pregnant. I also realize that if this baby is like Emma, s/he will be here in 3 weeks and 3 days. Considering I’ve never gone to 40 weeks, this baby will likely be here within the next month. So, to say I have 6 weeks left, is being a bit generous…but I just can’t believe I’m already almost done! I have lots to do before this kiddo gets here. I’ve made a list and it is on the refrigerator, and assignments have been made (J has a lot to do!). However, it all seems so far away. I think it’s time to do some hypnobabies scripts to get me in touch with this babe and with my body.

I love to read Stephanie’s blog, Adventures in Babywearing.  She is pregnant and due just days before I am.  She is planning her first homebirth, I am planning my 3rd, but we are both having our 4th baby.  She posted a playlist today for her birth, I am loving it!  I actually bought the Yael Naim c.d. today, and I am loving it.  I can see myself bellydancing to it while working this baby down.  What other music do you all love when you’re in labor?

I am going to leave you now with a picture of my babes.  It has been really hot and muggy this week (and muggy in Utah is rare!).  So, what better way to cool off than a popcicle in the shade?

Remember Who They Are

This is my new mantra.  Yesterday was a particularly difficult day.  I don’t spank, I don’t hit, I don’t verbally belittle my children…but I do yell.  Yesterday I yelled a lot.  It didn’t matter what they did, it made me angry.  I don’t know why, maybe it was the heat, maybe it was the pregnancy, but I think it was me being selfish.  I wanted to do what I wanted to do and Mothering wasn’t on that list.

They were just being kids.  They were being really good at being 2 and 4 and I had no patience for it.  Several times yesterday, S told me to be nice.  We were in the back yard last night and they got into the mud.  Normally I would say GREAT!  Get really dirty, then we’ll have a shower and get you cleaned up.  However, instead, I went ballistic!  I was SO angry with them for getting dirty.  I put them both in the bath, washed them, and got them out.  When I walked into S’s room, he was holding a picture of Jesus that hangs on his door.  He was holding it, sitting on his floor in his towel, and saying “Please help my Mom to be nice.  Please help me”.  It broke my heart.  Seriously, I have never felt more guilt in my life.

Immediately, my heart softened and I scooped this sweet 4 year old boy into my arms and we both cried.  I remembered who they are.  They are children.  They are children of God, the ones that have been entrusted to me to raise and to love and to take care of.

So, back to my new mantra - Remember Who They Are - they are children of God.  How would I feel if someone treated them the way I did?  I would be downright angry.

So today, no matter how hot, tired, impatient, and frustrated I am, I will not take it out on them.  They are just too sweet, and too small for too short of time…and we never know how long we’ll get them for.

I didn’t forget

I’ve just been CRAZY busy over here! This week is World Breastfeeding Week. The month of August is really breastfeeding month also, so there are lots of activities to do…mainly, breastfeeding

To celebrate this great week, I’ve decided to show some of my favorite breastfeeding photos. Enjoy

Now I’m looking forward to more breastfeeding adventures with this new babe. Happy World Breastfeeding Month!!!

A little Knitting…

I have been knitting, the bug has bit me again!  Usually, I don’t get into the swing of knitting again until Fall, but this year, I know that there are things that MUST be done before Fall!

I have finished a soaker for the baby and some longies for him/her also.  No pictures yet because the yarn was bleeding (my fingers turned blue when knitting!), so I am setting the dyes as I type.  I have cast on for another pair of longies and hope to have them done by middle of next week.

I have to do socks for the 3 munchkins also before the baby gets here.  I really want to have them all have matching socks :)  All 3 need hats, as does J for this winter.  Also, we are coming up on our 7th anniversary in October.  The traditional gift for this anniversary is wool.  So, I am going to knit this sweater for J.

It’s a pretty awesome sweater, and luckily J is small enough that I will make a size small :)  So, I can actually afford this sweater! :D  However, to get it done by October 19, I need to get started on it ASAP!

For me, I want him to buy me yarn (I am not sure what yarn yet) to make this sweater.  I am in LOVE with it!!!

I also need to make a sweater for the babe, and I really want to make a blanket for this one too.  But, I can only do so much, so I doubt that the blanket will get done.  Although, I have some beautiful organic cotton that Val gifted me…that would make such a nice soft blankie for the babe….

Ah, I find I run into this situation every year about this time.  So much I want to knit and only a small amount of time to do it in.  Luckily I will have lots of nursing knitting time, I love knitting with a new babe, they nurse and I knit, and they leave the yarn and needles alone!!!  WAHOO!!!!

Drumroll Please…

After visiting random.org, I have come up with a winner!!!! Are you ready??? Are you sure?? Ok, I won’t keep you in suspense. The winner is #34, Amy! Here is her comment:

Oh my goodness - those dresses are just too cute! I would love one in 18 months or 2T for my little princess! Also, I’d love the BrainQuest in the 4-5 year old range.

Thanks so much for hosting such a great giveaway!

You betcha Amy! Head on over to my Etsy shop and see what one you’d like, or if you want, I will just pick out a fabric and surprise you!

For those who didn’t win, remember, I will do free shipping in my shop. Go to my shop, pick out what you want, order it, don’t pay the shipping, but leave me a note in the paypal comments that you got free shipping from the contest!!!

Thanks everyone for playing and visiting my site! I hope you come back again soon to see what’s going on here

P.S.  I have added the link for my Etsy shop, sorry I didn’t have it in there before

32 weeks

I had to edit the title of this post to 32 weeks.  If you’ve had more than one child, maybe you’ve had the same problem I do…never knowing how many weeks you really are!  For some odd reason I thought I was 33 weeks last week, but no, I am this week!

I’ll have more belly pics soon, and an update on our clan!

In Desperate Need

of Ice cream.  That would be me.  Please, bear with me, I am trying really hard to win some free ice cream.  You all know I’m pregnant.  You all know I am really pregnant and really hot, and that I REALLY love me some ice cream.  Well, I came across this contest and this website and haven’t been able to stop thinking about it ever since.  Especially when I saw the Death By Chocolate Frozen Custard.  Oh.my.gosh.  The baby is doing flips in utero just to know I’m thinking about something called Death by Chocolate!  I think that this has been exacerbated by the fact that it’s the end of the month and we have no.money.left and I REALLY want ice cream.  So, that, my dear friends, is why I deserve to win this ice cream.  I still have 8 weeks left of being pregnant.  This could help a lot and bring a lot of peace, happiness and harmony into my home.

What is THAT?!?!

Is it a woman on a bike, pulling 2 kids in a trailer, with a watermelon in her shirt??  No, it would just be ME, very pregnant, but not willing to give up bike riding.

I love living in a small town.  I love that we can bike virtually anywhere we want to.  I love that my bike is more upright so that I can ride.  I don’t love that it is getting harder and harder to go up small hills while riding though.  I think my days are limited…but I am going to do it as long as I can.

I know that bike riding isn’t for everyone..but with the cost of gasoline and the economy the way it is, we all need to be finding some way to conserve energy.  So, if you aren’t a bike rider, get out your good walking shoes, or take the bus.  Let’s give our planet a break and start being a bit smarter about how, when and if we drive.  Come on, if a 32 week pregnant woman can do it, you can too right??