The car seat is in the van. Our bag is packed. The hospital has been toured and the trip timed (40 minutes -- yikes!). The camera is charged and ready. The guest room is (finally!) all put together. Tiny neutral baby clothes are washed in Dreft and neatly folded in the nursery. Tiny pink and blue baby clothes are sorted into two piles and ready to be washed. Big brother is (finally!) napping in his own bed instead of the crib. The closet is abundantly stocked with diapers and wipes, soaps and lotions, burp cloths and wash cloths. (Thanks to my fabulous friends!) The bassinet is our the bedroom. Braxton Hicks are growing stronger. Nights are growing more uncomfortable. We are all growing more eager to meet baby.
And now? We WAIT.
Oh, but in the meantime, I get to pass the time with what I do believe has to be my very favorite 'baby gift.' From my hubby:
Oh yes, he did. (And to those who know my hubby, you will not find it surprising in the least that he got a screamin' deal on it. Otherwise it simply would not be sitting on my kitchen counter.)
You've seen it, haven't you? Tom Hanks, a Castaway on a deserted island, makes fire and announces it to the night air with great pride. (If you're not familiar with the scene, you absolutely must click here to see the 11-second clip on YouTube.)
So I had a Tom Hanks moment this week. I know how he feels!
Okay, not literally. But you get the idea.
I've been knitting for a couple of months, and the most I've been brave enough to do are things that are relatively small and flat. Like scarves. Lots of scarves. And one headband.
But my friend Meg encouraged me to give this a try, and if she she could make a pair while caring for two-year-old twins and a new baby, then surely I could do it, too. After watching a few more clips on the internet to learn two new variations of knitting stitches, I gave it a go. And I did it!
I...HAVE MADE BOOTIES!
See that picture up there? I made those. Oh, yes I did!
I have no idea if they will actually fit baby's feet or not, but I will at least love how they look on the shelf in the nursery. And I love having done something special for baby as we await his or her arrival.
I also have more confidence to attempt to follow other knitting patterns that previously intimidated me. Thanks, Meg!
NOTE: No, I am not taking orders. These took me the better part of two weeks worth of evening free time, lots of concentration, and the sacrifice of not having feeling in my hands because knitting is accentuating my pregnancy-induced carpal tunnel syndrome. But they were so worth it for my baby. Or perhaps if the price is right. If you have, say, $100 or so to throw my way.
It's been a time of transition in our home. And it continues to be. But we are so blessed to have the space to take our time in this phase of moving the kids into their new rooms, leaving the nursery just as it is for baby's arrival.
Pardon me while I freak out for just a brief moment at the nearness of this blessed event.
[Insert dramatic pause]
Okay, phew! Back to nesting!
For me it's been a super fun process. For John, who likes to paint about as much as he enjoys a good charlie horse, it's been a bit more of a chore, but he's tackled my to-do list with ambition and joy, and without making me nag him. Too much. The last few weeks have been loaded with patching old holes, taping, painting, pulling tape, touching up paint, making new holes, and moving furniture.
After a few tears were shed over the idea of leaving her beloved bedroom, we helped Lucy move into her new room (which was previously our guest room, which is now in the basement, which will be covered by another post at another time).
She liked the idea, and she loved the purple accent wall, but I know what sealed the deal and finally made her jump up and down, declaring one day she just couldn't stand it if she didn't move into her new room TONIGHT, was the canopy. I'm so grateful I had the forethought over a year ago to make her valance extra long, just in case she ended up in this room. Big sigh of relief that it does indeed fit on her new window. Once she was in her new room, it was time to paint the pink room blue and get it ready for Josiah. John did an amazing job executing these stripes, which I had previously only seen in my head, and I'm very happy with how they turned out and complement the safari theme. Joey's a roller, so we are starting him out with a mattress on the floor. So far he has not actually slept on this mattress, but like I said, this is a time of transition.
And we love, love, love the trio of one-of-a-kind paintings that Auntie Anna made and gave him for Christmas to match the bedding. I won't even attempt to describe how she used things like butter knives and pen caps to achieve the textures and images. She's amazing! A few shelves for his special things make the room feel like it's really his now. (Can I tell you how much John loved drilling the holes in his pristine blue wall to hang these shelves? He's a gem.) Ahhh! One more thing checked off my ever-growing nesting list!
Some parents say bribery is the worst thing you can do for your child, especially when it comes to something they are expected to do. They say that it ruins their work ethic, or teaches them to expect rewards instead of responsibility.
I say PISH POSH! It works for me!
We've been trying to convince and coerce Lucy into giving up sucking her thumb for several years now. She had a brief breakthrough at the dentist when she was four, but then went back to the comfortable old habit shortly thereafter. We've had arguments and discussions and tears as we try to help her give up the habit.
It started last week with a thumb that was red and sore and literally cracking from dryness. Then it took a "magic bandaid" and a word from a friend (thanks, Christy!) to get her started. Then it took several nights of tears and reapplying bandaids and convincing her that it was necessary to save her thumb from being damaged forever. And then it turned into "You've already gone X days without it, so if you... then we will..." And now, Lucy has been thumb-free 24/7 for TEN WHOLE DAYS!
We realized this week that all the promises we made would have to be upheld, so we started following through with our bribes.
First, she got a dollar from daddy for making it the first whole week. Second, she has been allowed to chew gum for the first time, which she remembered as part of The Bribe from a year and a half ago. And third, today she got to pick out her own fingernail polish and had her nails painted for the first time ever.
I think she is proud of her accomplishment, and we haven't had any tears over her thumb since those first two nights. I think she also sees that the benefits of giving it up (a.k.a. the bribes) are greater than the need for sucking it. A three-fold bribe for years of effort and anguish. Totally worth it!
I'll give you three guesses as to what the above picture is. If you happen to say, "Well, of course, that's your china cabinet," then you would be right! At least it was. Until some serious nesting kicked in and some serious laziness got kicked out.
I'd been letting Lucy use the hutch of our china cabinet to collect her random crafts and coloring projects. It was out of the way and mostly out of sight. They seemed to be fulfilling the biblical command to multiply, yet any suggestion of throwing out or paring down was met with tears and protest.
But it had to go. Gradually. Each day while Lucy was in school, for about a week, I carefully selected certain pieces to keep and others to toss.
It inspired me to change everything in our front room. It used to be that you'd walk in our front door and be greeted by a plethora of toys and toy bins. The half of the room that is 'officially' a formal dining room was being unused because we only have one table. Unused, that is, except for the china cabinet. I believe you've met.
A few weeks later, and some stellar help from my oh-so-willing hubby, and we've got a room that has purpose, function, and is far more pleasing to the eye.
And look! My china cabinet is visible and is being used to display the things I want it to. That corner cabinet holds most of Lucy's craft supplies and projects, plus games and puzzles, and we brought up our previously unused table from the basement for her to spread out on.
And please notice my window mistreatments. Thanks to The Nester for permission to cheaply and imperfectly tack up some fabric to soften the room a bit without breaking the bank.
There's a fine line between the painting and piano and the toy bins and cabinets, but hey, that's life for us right now.
Don't you love my pretty green wall? 'Prairie Grass' also adorns the walls in our powder room, so I didn't have to spend a dime on this project. (Bonus: it perfectly complements the decades-old forest painting hanging above the piano and the fake tulips I used to stage our condo.) I love to paint, but John wouldn't let me paint while pregnant, so I did all the taping and prepping, and he got to do the fun part. This is where the china cabinet used to be, and now the toys are out of sight from the front door. Photos of family and friends remind the kids of who loves them as they play, as they sit on shelves that used to be in our condo living room. Joey loves to play closer to the kitchen, and I love that the only cash I spent on this whole project was for the yard of sheer fabric that I split between two windows and the irresistible big brassy B on the photo shelf. I heart Hobby Lobby's 50% off sales!
So as my nesting continues, it's great to feel like this room, which has bothered me for the year and a half that we have lived here, is finally how I want it to be... for now.
Several times this year I've had the privilege of helping out in Lucy's Kindergarten classroom. I've enjoyed watching the kids interact, putting names with faces from Lucy's classroom stories, observing the teacher and how she expects great things from the kids, and getting to know just a smidgen of what Lucy experiences every day.
This morning, I snuck into the classroom just a few minutes earlier than when I was scheduled to come. Her teacher, Mrs. S., and few kids saw me, but Lucy didn't. I sat down in a pint-sized chair behind a table in the back (which, by the way, is just ever so slightly awkward when pregnant!), and got to witness something that I thought was very special.
Lucy had been chosen to "show and tell" some of her school work. Her workbook was displayed on the screen at the front of the classroom where the kids all sat on the big rug, and she used the pointer stick to read her sentence to the whole class.
"I can go on the monkeybars," she read as she pointed to each word she had written on the page.
What was of particular interest to Mrs. S. was the spaces she put between her words. She explained how she put a finger or sideways hand after one word before she started to write the next. A very nice example, said Mrs. S.
It didn't matter at all that the word "monkeybars" was completely misspelled. It didn't matter that the tail of her "g" was completely above the line. It didn't matter that her stick-figure drawing had all kinds of mysterious swirlies all around it.
I suddenly found myself misty-eyed with pride and realizing I needed to pull it together before the whole class saw me blubbering over her handiwork.
The class gave her the "seal of approval" where they clapped as if they had flippers and made sounds like seals. Very cute.
And then she saw me. (Thankfully I had pulled myself together by this time.) And her face lit up like Christmas lights. I think mine did, too. As soon as they were dismissed from the rug for the next activity she came and gave me a huge hug. (I think I got three big hugs from her in the classroom today.)
I love that she loves that I'm there. I know one day (all too soon, I'm sure) I will probably be a source of embarrassment to her, and on those occasions I'm going to have to remember this morning -- the look on her face and those precious hugs she gave me in front of all her classmates.
In more than just one way this morning, I was a very proud mama, indeed.
Josiah is earning a reputation as his father's son. He's not obsessive, just, um, orderly.
My favorite is this last one. We didn't actually see him do this, but after the kids were in bed we discovered the entire nativity scene lined up to see the baby Jesus. We didn't have to speculate to know whose handiwork it was.
And these were just the ones I had the camera handy for.
Ah, my little bean counter. He makes Daddy so proud...
I thought I would post a few pictures from this past month or so before the next holiday comes along or the seasons change yet again.
Our first dusting of snow, while the leaves were still changing color (and still ON the trees). Our resident deer family regularly walks behind our house in the fall and winter. Two new fawns have been accompanying the other dozen in recent weeks, and we often catch them hopping our fence early in the morning. Playtime after the October snowstorm. Something we love about Colorado: the snow is beautiful, but when the sun comes out it's back to short sleeves. Needless to say, this poor snowman didn't last long. Joey learned the joy of puddle stomping as the snow rapidly melted. It was the first time he didn't complain about wearing his boots. In fact, he wanted to wear them everywhere, all day. You saw the kids in their costumes in my last post, but here's our whole family at our church's fall festival, Neewallah Palooza. John decided the night before to dress up as Coach McDaniels, so I had to come up with something. A cat-ears headband and a cheap black eyeliner for my nose and whiskers was my big costume investment this year, though Joey kept calling me Mickey Mouse. We had a very special visit from my dearest friend Cessy and her darling little Edie Pearl while John was out of the country. What a sweet time of just being together and enjoying the days! Edie loved the fringe on the scarf I made for Cessy. Believe it or not, this is the only picture I got with all three kids. Here's what happens when two friends finally get the kids in bed and collapse on the couch, catching up and telling stories, without setting the timer for the cookies in the oven. Fifty-five minutes later, I wasn't sure if we couldn't breath from the smoke or from laughing so hard. A memory that was well worth opening all the doors and windows on a 40-degree night at 10pm! And one of my favs from this fall. Love those fall colors!
I've thought about writing so many times in recenty weeks, but somehow the days pass and the page remains blank... I'm certainly not one to make excuses, but please remember that I am five months pregnant and caring for two young children beside. I must admit that I'm more tired than usual these days. And I have fewer brain cells to work with, too.
I've been wanting to tell you about the huge October snow storm we had that gave Lucy her first THREE snow days ever. Day One was exciting and fun. We loved staying in our jammies all day, making cookies, soup, caramel corn, and hot chocolate. Day Two was endurable. We watched more TV than we probably should have. Day Three was supposed to be her class Halloween party, and she was supposed to go to school in her costume, but we managed to fight back tears (yes, I said "we") and got to play in the 24 inches of snow with daddy instead, though it was almost entirely melted by the next afternoon. I've been wanting to tell you about how adorable my kids were on Halloween. Lucy originally wanted to be a ghost, and I was tempted to let her, thinking of how easy and cheap the costume would be. But then she fell in love with the idea of Tinkerbell and her glittery wings. Josiah was Bob the Builder -- an idea I came up with two days before the 31st. We already had the plaid shirt and overalls, so I added a cheap $2 construction hat from the party store and a dollar tool belt from Walmart and tied some of his plastic tools to it. Done. And very cute. He really got into trick-or-treating, too, and he still says "trick or treat" to an occasional store clerk or friend who answers their door. Lucy is The Saver and wants to ration her treats until they become rock hard and we throw the rest away in August. Joey, on the other hand, just wanted to eat them all as soon as they were handed out. He went home with mostly empty wrappers. Eh, it's only once a year, right? A year ago I wrote to you through the wild ride that Joey took us on. Did you remember that November is the anniversary of his hospitalization? It feels like a lifetime ago (and to him it was half of his lifetime ago), yet it's hard to believe it's already been a year. He's been so wonderfully healthy, growing, and happy, with the occasional two-year-old tantrum, of course.
And I've made progress in the area of Nesting that I want to share with you! I hope to post pictures soon of the new arrangement of our front room and playroom. The months ahead hold so much more nesting potential, I really don't want to get too far behind in showing you.
Most recently I've been wanting to tell you the way I could not have survived the two weeks that John was in Argentina if not for the love of my neighbors and friends. The word community has come to mean so much more to me than just the group of people living nearby. It's love and support and a lifeline during some long, hard days.
Please know I have not forgotten you, my dear blog. I long to write more. And perhaps I will soon. But let's just not set our expectations too high...
Okay, that's probably an exaggeration. But it might be fair to say that yarn is taking over my personal spending budget. At least it's cheap! After I perfected (and got bored with) the knit stitch, I went back to the internet and learned its counterpart, the purl. Now I officially know the two kinds of stitches required to knit just about anything. Not that I can, but I'm working on it.
Here is my very first project, completed. It's pretty stiff, so I'm not sure I'll actually wear it, but I do love the colors. I got this sweet, soft baby pink and made a headband for Lucy. I'm also working on a scarf with the same yarn, at her request. And my grumpy darling, modeling this super fluffy soft red scarf, which I actually do plan to wear. Might have to make him one of his own since he enjoys snuggling with mine...This fat yarn was irresistible in bright orange, and it makes the project go so much faster because it's so fat. Did I mention it was fat? I'm a beginner, but I'm enjoying it. It's fun to find and experiment with different types and textures of yarn, to use different sizes of needles, and to figure out how some beautiful patterns are made. I'm enjoying meeting my need to create while at the same time sitting on my duff on the couch.
And the best part is that I can relax, create, and feel the little bitty baby movements going on inside my belly (that I miss out on when I'm too busy and active) all at the same time. I have to admit, this is the way to craft.
I'm living in Colorado and consider being a Christ-follower, a wife, and a full-time mom to three beautiful children to be challenging and adventurous.
Oh yes, he did. (And to those who know my hubby, you will not find it surprising in the least that he got a screamin' deal on it. Otherwise it simply would not be sitting on my kitchen counter.)
