happy easter!

We live in a hugely Catholic area, and Easter is a big freaking deal around these parts.  So much so that Kohls and Giant Eagle shut down, I kid you not.  For Britton, the big deal this year was "Easter Dinner."  Probably because I kept talking about it!  We decided to do fried chicken this year (Memaw made it), mashed potatoes, roasted brussel sprouts, deviled eggs, cole slaw, and Memaw's homemade Amish white bread.  We went ahead and did the "Easter Dinner" on Saturday evening, so Memaw and PawPaw could get back to Ohio at a reasonable hour on Sunday.  While sitting there eating dinner in the dining room, Britton goes, "Is THIS Easter dinner?"  And we all replied, "Yes!"  That satisfied her.

Earlier, while I was napping away, Britton helped Memaw make their annual bunny cake...

And on Saturday we had beautiful weather, and Britton got to play outside all day!

Come Sunday morning, the Easter Bunny had visited!  Britton asked me weeks ago what the Easter Bunny's name is, and not knowing if he has an official name I just responded "Edward is his name."  So this morning she exclaimed, "Edward came!"  I think Memaw and PawPaw were slightly confused on that part!

Peeps for breakfast?  That's how we roll...

Then we distracted Britton with breakfast-making so the hubs could sneak into the backyard to hide eggs.  It was getting ready to rain and we needed to get started soon.  Britton spotted the hubs outside, but we quickly made up some excuse about him taking Sadie out.  Yes, Sadie, the dog sitting on the couch.  Luckily she didn't question me!  Once all the eggs were hidden, Britton started her third (and final) egg hunt!  An Easter dress was required by her, even though we would only be in our own backyard.

baby deuce: 34 weeks

For the first time this entire pregnancy, for the first time in a long time, I was sick this week.  I woke up Friday morning heaving stomach acid so violently that I popped 100s of capillaries around my eyes and forehead.  I wasn't running a fever so I chalked it up to drainage.  I went ahead to my non-stress test that morning and the nurse asked me what happened to my face.  I told her about the throwing up and that I planned to explain it away by saying that the hubs woke me up by choking me.  She seemed wary of laughing at my bad joke, but domestic violence has a way of making people uncomfortable!  

Anywho, after my non-stress test I went to work.  And the waves of nausea started in again and I was certain my other end was going to erupt as well.  I wrote a quick email to my boss that I was going to work from home, gathered up some files and my computer, and a beta fish from the reception area (they had to get rid of them and asked if I would take one or else they would have to flush it and really, is that even an option?) and went home.  I never did get back to work.  I ate some egg noodles with butter (best nauseous food ever) and slept on the couch all afternoon with Sadie.  Memaw and PawPaw came into town early Saturday morning and took Britton out to breakfast so I could sleep in.  I ended up sleeping over 12 hours Friday night.  And another 2 hour nap Saturday afternoon.  I must have just caught a virus bug because I never did run a fever.

Other than those miserable days all is going well.  Memaw and PawPaw gave us a baby monitor this weekend!  We are ready, supply-wise, but so not ready for this baby to make an appearance quite yet.  I know how much work the "after" is and I'll wait at least another month if I can!  I'm achy and huge as a house and the baby likes to punch my intestines and hip sockets, but I'll manage.  I have an ultrasound on Tuesday to check for growth (or, in his case, too much of it) and luckily I've gained less than 20 pounds for the entire pregnancy.  

my calendar broke

Britton has been into what month comes after what month, what season we're in, what season we're about to be in, how long until her birthday - you know the drill.  The concept of time as a whole makes no sense to the 3-year-old brain, but she has figured out that it was winter, and according to her mommy, five days ago it was spring.  Except, well, it wasn't.  Not really.

On the day I got back from my shower, two weeks ago, it was a glorious 70 degrees and sunny.  The hubs and I combed through the nursery catalogue we received in the mail, drooling over hydrangeas, peonies, and roses like he normally drools over the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition.  I talked up gardening to anyone who would listen, and even bought Britton some Tinkerbell gardening gloves and trowel.  With spring right around the corner, we were ready.

And then it snowed again.  Not enough to get me out of work, but just enough to make the roads sloppy.  I think the final tally was four inches.  With more on the way every day until Friday.  Britton looked at the snow in disbelief this morning, proclaiming, "It can't snow because it's SPRING, Mommy!  You said!"  Yes, Britton, I did say it was spring.  I was apparently talking out of my ass when it comes to Pennsylvania weather.  So no giant order from the online nursery.  No gardening tools.  I may have heard a sniffle come out of the hubs when I told him we didn't need the rototiller yet. In defiance, he went out and bought a pole saw and hedge trimmer, neither of which we can use for weeks.  Britton made do by acknowledging that at least the snow allowed her one more afternoon of tubing!

P.S.  You like that hat, don't you?  Check it out here!

our weekend (and another easter egg hunt)

Our weekends have been running by us in a blur lately.  I don't know if it's a function of planning too much or refusing to sit idle, but I feel like the weekends are over so quickly lately.  First, I hit up Jo-Anns for fabric, forgetting it was the weekend before Easter.   Whoops!  All the Pinterest ladies were crowding the cutting counter, asking for help for their project du jour and I just wanted a couple half yards cut!  One older lady pointed at my belly and said, "She gets to go next!  She's going to pop!"  In fact, my number was next, but I gave her a thanks just the same.  These fabrics are for a quilt Caroline and I are making when she and Jessica come visit after I have the baby.  Don't they make a pretty rainbow?

I took Britton to dance class and the library on Saturday morning while the hubs went four-wheeling.  This was also his chance to try out the Go Pro camera his parents gave us for Christmas.  He has now taken over iMovie and is somewhere in the process of adding music to his helmet-cam video.  Just ask - he'll gladly show you the video!  Britton picked up a coloring book, courtesy of some state representative, in the racks outside the library (you know, the racks that hold tourist pamphlets and brochures about municipal tax rates).  This morning, Britton and the hubs went to town coloring the owl, who Britton named "Girly" thanks to her many pink hues.

Then, this afternoon, we were off to the neighborhood East Egg Hunt.  It was cold - we're supposed to get snow all week - and Britton was the only girl in her Easter dress.  For this hunt, you could collect as many eggs as you dropped off for the event, so that gave Britton ample egg hunting of 24 eggs.

They had refreshments for the kids only, but I did manage to snag the hubs a cherry Capri-Sun. Britton enjoyed her first Capri-Sun ever, and her rice krispy treat.  We passed on the "crafts" table, because really, we were there to hunt the eggs.  Waiting until 2:15 pm was hard enough for a kid that was up at 6:30 am, but the slight distraction of a crafts table wasn't cutting it for Britton.  You can see below that the field o'eggs were just staring the kids down!

They let the kids 3 years old and younger get a head start, so I helped Britton to the front of the line.  Here is the common area at the front of the neighborhood where the hunt was held.  Yes, it is in fact just a field with Easter eggs thrown everywhere!

The hubs counted Britton's eggs to make sure we hadn't gone over our allotted 24 eggs.  The attendees at the event seemed like the kind of people that would throw a fit if your kid took too many eggs.  And since it was cold and we didn't feel like doing crafts, we piled into the truck and went home to check out Britton's stash!

baby deuce's quilt

Sorry for the bad lighting - I can't wait for sun around here or I'll wait forever!

I finally finished the baby's quilt!  It's been sitting on my sewing table for weeks now, waiting on binding.  I finally got in gear and finished it last night.  It's in the same style as the Melissa quilt (here) and children's parade quilt (here).  In fact, the parade quilt fabric and this quilt fabric are by the same designer, Sarah Jane Studios.  The fabric collection is called "Out to Sea" and the minute I saw it I knew that we would not be ordering the quilt that went with the baby bedding!

A close up of pirate ship wheels, anchors and narwhals

I love the narwhal fabric, and it turns out that my niece Caroline is really into narwhals lately.  She and I are making her a quilt together when she comes to visit this summer, so I went ahead and ordered three more fat quarters of this same fabric, in the same blue and two pinks!  It's too cute to not have extra around.

Rope alphabet

Here is the panel.  It's ships with clouds and seagulls above. I did my regular all-over loopy free motion quilting.

The binding is a navy stripe.

I found the backing fabric at JoAnns.  I wanted to use a fleece, and had some blue polka dot fabric in my hand when I stumbled onto these stripes and anchors.  This backing fabric was a done deal the minute I laid eyes on it!

But, of course, I didn't buy enough and I was too lazy to go back out for more.  So I added left-over pirate ship wheels to the bottom.

In its rightful place on the back of the new glider!  The hubs got the chair put together over the weekend, and it was just waiting for this quilt to be complete.  Honestly, I don't know how much we will end up using the quilt as a blanket.  But as a play mat on the floor, or later a blankie being dragged behind him, part of a sofa fort - yes, I hope so.  

st. patty's day easter egg hunt

We started off our St. Patrick's Day with Lucky Charm cereal, because we're stereotypical like that.  And a green dress, just so Britton wouldn't be subjected to cruel pinching.  Really, ever since I graduated school, St. Patrick's Day doesn't hold much meaning for me, because you're not likely to find me out drinking green beer!  But today happened to be the first of many Easter Egg Hunts for Britton, so at the ripe early hour of 7:29 this morning, she was ready in her Easter dress to leave the house.

The Easter Egg Hunt began at 10:30 am.

First, I delayed her with the task of finding her Easter basket. It took all of 5 minutes to retrieve.  So then I distracted her with a couple of episodes of Fresh Beat Band.

By then the hubs was up and we decided to go to Wal-Mart on the way to the hunt.  We had ordered a glider rocker and a changing pad, and they were shipped to the store ready to be picked up.  I figured a little more distraction would help Britton take up the hour she had left until the hunt.  After getting what we needed at Wal-Mart, we were out of there and on to the community center.  The Easter Egg Hunt was held indoors, which is great because it was a balmy 30 degrees today.  Here's Britton chasing down her 10 eggs (yes, each kid had a limit)!

Skittles -yes!  Peppermint patty - no!

After less than three minutes of collecting eggs, we found a table and sat down to open them.  Britton wanted to know what goodies lay ahead!  Now, I was expecting that she would get some eggs and we would be out of there.  I was not expecting a person dressed as the Easter Bunny to show up.  Amateur hour on my part, I know, but I just didn't foresee it.  In walks this Easter Bunny and Britton about lost it!  She was shaking and scared, and I told her we didn't have to go meet him or take pictures with him. Turned out she wanted to go sit about 10 feet away from the bunny and just watch him.  That's fine with me - she needn't be unnecessarily exposed to any costumed character that embraces the double thumbs up!

baby deuce: 32 weeks

This week I officially start twice-weekly NSTs (non-stress tests) and every-other-week doctor visits.  My available sick time is going to get eaten up like it's going out of style!  Above is my typical outfit these days when I'm out of work - only pair of maternity jeans without holes, sneakers for my swollen legs and feet, a stained shirt with a drip on the belly usually, and a fleece that no longer zips because I'm too cheap to buy a maternity coat.    

The pregnancy is getting hard, but not as hard as having a newborn will be, so I don't complain.   I've never been one of those people that wants the pregnancy to end so I can hold my baby in my arms.  I like being pregnant, and since it will end without my decision I just wait for that day to come.  

My gestational diabetes is still being controlled by food - no insulin.  And I somehow lost 3 pounds last month, so even though the baby went from 2 to 4.9 pounds in a month, I have only gained 12 pounds total for the entire pregnancy.  Admittedly, I had some extra junk in the trunk to begin with!

We are still stuck between two names.  The middle name will be Robert, after my dad, but the first name is still in a tie.  I think it's harder this time because there will not be a next pregnancy to use the other name on.  Meaning, since we're not having a third kid, there's no chance we will have another boy and get to use the name we don't choose.  I don't want to wait until the kid is born to decide, because I remember how hormonal and weepy I was then.  No good life decisions are made during or directly after birth!

Tomorrow we are picking up the rocker glider and extra changing pad.  I spied a great idea at Jessica's house during my visit.  She has a two story house too and keeps her changing table on the first floor.  Brilliant!  So we're putting our changing table in the living room, and an extra changing pad on the baby's dresser.  Since we will be spending the majority of our time downstairs, it just makes since to have a designated changing place for him, plus a place to keep extra clothes so I don't have to go up and down stairs all day.

i forget to remember

The other morning, on the way out the door, I noticed that Britton had on a thoroughly awesome outfit. Notice the flowered tights, pink headband, twinkly shoes, and princess necklace.  This girl is so impressed with herself, and I can't blame her one bit.  I have to let go of control when it comes to what she wears, but that's fine as long as she's weather-appropriate.  

And then it occurs to me that I only remembered this outfit by looking at photos on my phone.  Monday's pictures became Thursday's memory moment.  There was a time, not so long ago in the grand scheme of things, where I actually had film developed into a stack of photos.  Now I have photos on my phone - my 25 year old self is wondering how we got here.  I have a friend at work who tentatively admitted to me that the only photos that exist of her ten-month-old son are on her phone.  I get that completely.

When I was visiting Jessica last weekend, I admitted that I couldn't remember Britton being Emily's age.  Emily was wearing an old outfit of Britton's, and I couldn't remember Britton being small enough to wear it.  And Jessica said that she doesn't remember events so much as she remembers the photos of those events.  That struck me because it is the best description ever of how my memories are.  This isn't an issue of spending too much time behind a camera (or phone, for that matter) and not being present in my life.  This is an issue that so much of my life is taking precedence over my brain space.  Between 10 hours of work a day, remembering grocery lists and library day and making dinner and reading bedtime stories, and sitting down to catch my breath before crashing on the couch, and sneaking 10 minutes here and there to quilt or watch a non-Dora show, or whatever, my brain is getting filled up and pushing out all these great plentiful memories of my daughter.

Last year, I kept a "sentence a day" journal - where all you wrote per day was one occurrence, even only one sentence if that was enough, and it almost always revolved around Britton and her day.  I lost the journal habit when we moved, but I need to get back to it.  So many things happen that I want to remember.  Like the morning we were going to daycare and I went a way Britton didn't want to go and she got snippy about it, and then upon getting to school, out of nowhere, she apologized "for being rude."  The first time I'd ever heard the word "rude" from her.  Or the other night when she asked me if her baby brother wears clothes in my belly, and if he has a mommy in my belly with him to take care of him.  If I don't write these memories down, they will be gone forever.

And it scares me because soon it will be two kids fighting over memory space, and years of childhood not yet reached, and I'm just hoping that I don't have to look at my phone to remember it all.  

baby shower for baby deuce

I ran out of work at 10:30 am last Thursday, ready to get on the road to go visit Jessica!  I wasn't bringing Britton with me, since I was going to do a presentation at Jessica's school and there would be no one to watch her, so I didn't want to rub it in her face I was going to visit family, a trip she surely would have wanted to go on.  I may have told a small white lie that I was going to "do a presentation" (true) for work (not true) and offered no other details.  

On Friday morning Jessica woke me up at an ungodly 6:00 am to get ready for school.  One of her civics teachers had asked if I would ever do a presentation on the law for his class.  I said sure, and that morphed into me presenting to all three civics classes for five class periods.  I somewhat entertained the kids with my public defender stories and threats of juvenile court, and only had a handful fall asleep during each presentation.  I'm counting that as a success!  Unfortunately, though, I am not used to talking so much (surprise, I know) and I wound up with a sore throat and drainage.

On Saturday Jessica hosted my shower!   Cammy entertained Jason while Jessica and I decorated. And Caroline and Garrett even helped with food prep.

Sugar Plum Bakery - I love this cake!

In the nick of time, we got the house clean and decorated and ready to go.  Jessica picked up some great decorations - she had previously asked if I needed it to be "baby" themed, and I said no.  I don't really care if the shower is covered in ducks or alphabet blocks or the like.  So Jessica ran with this beautiful modern color scheme, and the decorations and table and accessories all came together well!

My aunt Jill, my cousins Stephanie and Kristen, Stephanie's daughter, my brother-in-law's mom and sister, Jessica's good friend Melissa and her new baby, and our longtime friend Jen and her son all came over to celebrate, and we had a great low-key fun time together.  Everyone grabbed some grub, hung out and caught up, cooed over babies, watched not-babies-anymore play outside, and of course we opened presents!

A canopy cover from Jen proves that new items have been invented since I last had a baby!

Jessica got me this awesome print for the baby's room!  It was the hub's and my favorite gift!

If my son is half as chill as Jason, I will consider myself LUCKY!

I got some great baby clothes, toys, an activity chair/bouncer, bottles, bathing kit, and other fun baby things.  And Jessica and my mom got me a gift card so we can go get a rocker glider and ottoman for the baby's room!  We're so close to having everything we need, minus the baby.  And definitive baby name.

I drove back today, cursing the daylight savings time for costing me an hour of my time today.  I got home in time to enjoy a beautiful 70 degree day with Britton and the hubs, watching Britton riding her bike and pushing her on the swing and the hubs making burgers on the grill.  Add to it that Britton wrote "Mommy" for the first time (hard to tell, but it's there) and my day was perfect.

Thank you again to my awesome sister Jessica for a fantabulous visit and baby shower!  I needed this weekend of laughter and fun, and I had a great time doing it.  See ya'll when Mr. Deuce makes his appearance!