Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Lydia


In exactly four hours, my baby will be one week old.

I have thought so many times over the past week of what I could possibly say to describe this experience. The facts? The feelings? The emotions? The joys? The struggles?




And it all boils down to this: I don't have the words to describe it.


So for now, I'll simply let Charles Dickens do the talking and I'll leave you with a few pictures.

"It is not a slight thing when they, who are so fresh from God, love us."


Lydia Lorene
Born 1/27
at 10:47 p.m.
7 pounds
20 inches

We love you, Lydee Bug.

Monday, January 25, 2010

Pregnancy Ponderings

In this edition of Pregnancy Ponderings:

-Anatomy of a Play Date
-Droppin' it Like it's Hot (even though it's kind of not)
-Roll the Credits


Anatomy of a Play Date

Can we just talk about play dates for a second?

When I was a kid, I would call up a friend and say, "Can you come play?" The friend would say, "Let me ask my mom," and would then scream, "MO-OM!!! Can I go play at Abby's house?!" The mom would say, "After you clean your room." Then the friend would say to me, "My mom says I can after I clean my room."

And I would say, "Okay. We can bounce bouncy balls."

Then the friend would say, "Okay."

And that was that.

But now there is this new thing.

The play date.

As I understand it, the play date is when the moms arrange for their children to play together WITH THE MOMS. A mom calls up another mom and says, "How's about a play date Tuesday at 10?" And the other mom says, "Let me check my schedule," then screams, "Johnny! Come hang your coat up!" Then she gets back on the phone and says, "I can after soccer practice, at 10:30."

And the first mom says, "Okay. We can eat bundt cake and drink Bloody Marys."

And then the second mom says, "Okay."

And that's that.

I don't like play dates. I think they are stupid. Plus, I don't think I would like a Bloody Mary at 10:30 on a Tuesday morning. With or without the bundt cake.

So if you know me, or my kids eventually know your kids, just know that my kids are going to call your kids and ask them to come over to play. And here's the best part...


YOU. AREN'T. INVITED.


Just think...you can do the laundry, take a bubble bath, or read a book. And heck, my kids will probably come to your house to play, too, and then I can do my laundry, take a bubble bath, and read a book...at 10:30 on a Tuesday morning.

And our kids can bounce bouncy balls without mommies (soused or otherwise) hovering all over the place.


Droppin' it Like It's Hot (Even Though It's Kind of Not)

For the life of me, I can't get a good picture of this number:
Maybe that's because at this stage, there is no good picture to be got. This little lady is hangin' out so low that I swear at any moment I'm either going to pee my pants or have some other, less attractive than peeing, sort of outburst.

Don't think about that too much.

To turn over at night is an immense undertaking, one which requires something akin to a five point turn, and I am keeping the Charmin toilet paper company afloat and the water bill high.

I finally found a nursing bra after going to five different places in two different towns. I tried it on in the shop and liked it then, and I happily forked over the $55.00 that it costs to give my kid free food. But when I took it home and put it on with another particularly lovely nursing item that I had just bought seven of, I burst into tears.


"I'm a...MILK MACHINE!" I cried. "I just bought fifty five dollars of ugly!"

Brian was sweet. But I could tell he was trying not to laugh.

I am, in short, an emotional train wreck and kind of sort of ready to be done being pregnant. I appreciate and am very thankful for this opportunity. But let's face it. The ending there is a little rough.

So come on baby, let's drop it like it's hot.

Roll The Credits

Today is my due date, and I do believe that this will be my last Pregnancy Ponderings post (until next time, if we're lucky). So I find it appropriate to give credit where credit is due.

This pregnancy was made possible by the following:

Heavenly Father, a man and a woman who love each other very much, matter, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, cherries, water, fries, tomatoes, carrots, ice cream, broccoli, whole milk, celery, apples, oranges, toast, honey, and cherry coke.

Any resemblance of the baby to any person, living or dead, is genetic and entirely intentional.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Quilt Update: QUILT COMPLETE!

Yesterday at 4:58 p.m., I put the last stitch into the quilt. It felt so good to finally finish it! It took me about 15 months from start to finish. I can't wait to give it to Brian's mom! Thanks to all those who helped me with it.
(this photo shows the colors better)
(this photo shows the quilting better)
I already have plans for my next quilt, which I will be documenting on this blog. I can't wait. Stay tuned!

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Nursery Decorating Episode 1 and a Baby Name!

Oh, hi there.


A while ago I purchased a couple of lots of old embroidery hoops on eBay. I knew I wanted to use them to decorate the nursery, but I wasn't sure how. So I himmed and hawed, thought of this idea and that. In the end, this is what I came up with...


I took my old embroidery hoops,


and some (not random) letters and traced them (backwards) onto some double stick fusible web.


I stuck the web to some fabric and cut out the letters along the trace lines.
Then I placed the letters on a background fabric and ironed them on.


Next, I framed the letters in the embroidery hoops,


And embroidered a simple backstitch around each for a more finished look.


I had four 3" embroidery hoops left, so I put some background fabric in those and sewed on clusters of buttons,


and tied a velvet ribbon around them.



Finally, I hung them all up in the nursery and took a bad picture of them.
Just in case you can't read that, we have chosen to name our little girl
Lydia
after my father's mother, the sweet lover of all things that bloom and grow, poetry, and sun warmed strawberries dipped in sugar.
(she also liked to drink Tab)

Friday, January 15, 2010

In Which I Reveal The State of My Mind: BIG B, little b, What Begins With B?

BIG B, little b, what begins with B?

Baby, bunting, bumper, Boppy.

B...b....B

Binky, board book, bootie, bag.

B...b...B

Boob cream, burp cloth, basinette,

bottle, blanket, bonnet, bath.

B...b...B!

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Shh, The Garden is Sleeping

Yesterday, sick of rolling about on the rug all day, I looked out the window. What I saw made me heartsick. Sure I'd seen it over and over again over the last few months, but on that grey Oregon day, it was particularly sad.

It was the garden.


And everything was dead.


The worst part was that it was a sign of my neglect. After the first frost I didn't go out and clean it all up like I should have. I let it fester.


So, realizing I would not have many more opportunities, I grabbed my gardening gloves and marched (read: waddled) out. I began with zeal to fill an entire garbage can with mouldering tomatoes, peppers, cantaloupes, squash, carrots, beans, and flowers.


I was pretty depressed about all the deadness surrounding me until I caught a glimpse of something red and shiny perched on one of the slimy old tomato branches that was about to go into the trash.


She was waving a white flag, and she wasn't dead at all.



We greeted each other warmly and she did some calisthenics on my glove before moseying over to a pile of corn husks, where I hope she has a mate and is having gillions of babies.


As I rooted around in the dirt I began to see a little movement, and then more and more until there in front of me were a bunch of pink, wriggling things.


That's right. Worms. Hundreds of them. Long ones, short ones, fat ones, skinny ones. All happy. All fed. All on the lookout for worm love.


If dogs are man's best friend, then worms are the gardener's.


So I took heart. The garden isn't dead. It's just sleeping.


And it's going to be a good year.

Monday, January 11, 2010

Before and After

Before...

and after.
Oh, what a difference a year makes.