let it snow!

We all woke up yesterday morning to snow falling.  The previous afternoon we took Granny on a tour de Pittsburgh, including the tunnel entrance to the city that must be seen to be believed.  I have been in a car from Florida to Canada, Virginia to Oklahoma - coming into Pittsburgh, despite what you might think of the city itself, is amazing.  And I'm always hesitant to not show people around who haven't been to the city before.  I can just see Granny getting back to Oklahoma and her friends asking if she saw Heinz Field or PNC Park or the confluence of the three rivers or the US Steel skyscraper that looks like a castle, and her having the deflated answer of "no."  So we showed her everything, and then stopped by Handel's for real milk-fat-tongue-covering goodness ice cream.  Even though it was only 35 degrees outside.

And then Saturday morning Granny got to see it snow!  It was a fantastically perfect snow.  It snowed all day but never really stuck.  The roads were completely clear.  But the flakes never stopped swirling. It was mesmerizing.  

And having nothing to do with snow, but just a part of the never-ending build up to Christmas around these parts, here are Britton's gingerbread men.  She loved doing the icing herself, and covering these guys with sprinkles.

happy thanksgiving!

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!  We had Memaw and PawPaw come into town on Wednesday, and as a special treat the hub's grandmother, Granny, flew out from Oklahoma to visit.  Britton hadn't seen her since she was eight months old, so it was a great reunion.  

We started out cleaning the house on Tuesday, and I had promised Britton she could wash dishes.  I spoil my daughter, you see?  Actually, she wanted to wash dishes and hadn't ever had the chance to do it, so I figured I'd get some work out of her.  Every princess needs to know how to wash dishes.  So do princes.

Britton also wanted to help out with the cooking.  Memaw brought Rice Krispies and marshmallows (which we ate whole in front of the hub to gross him out) and made Rice Krispie balls.  

I made my mom's crab dip.  I can't have Thanksgiving without her crab dip.  The hub went to Costco no less than two times to find the Phillips crab meat, as it is a mandatory ingredient.  And when the hub mixed up Triscuits with Wheat Thins, he volunteered to go get my Wheat Thins at a depressing Thanksgiving Day Wal-Mart.  The man knows how I feel about this crab dip.

I found apple cider at Soergel's, which is an apple orchard and farmer's market near our house.  Their cider came out of their fields, and it was the freshest cider I've ever tasted.  We put it on the stove over low heat, with a bag of mulling spices in it.  Glade and Yankee Candle have nothing on us!

Memaw and PawPaw gave the hub a deep fryer for his birthday.  After some false starts with the propane, they decided they weren't redneck enough.  So the hub pulled out the four-wheeler for sitting purposes, and brought down some Crown Royal drinks.  Because there's no point in deep frying a turkey if you can't drink on your four-wheeler at the same time.

Ready to eat!

I got my nap while Memaw was finishing up the side dishes, so the men decided to get in naps when dinner was over.  With the Cowboys playing on television (well, if you can call that "playing") they zonked out.  Memaw and I took Britton on a walk to spy on our neighbor's Christmas lights and get the blood circulating.

Four generations...

With Thanksgiving over and Christmas around the corner, we pulled out the gingerbread house kit and went to work!  We had watched a Shrek movie that happen to be on television, and Britton loved the little gingerbread man.  She wanted to make gingerbread man cookies, but I offered up the gingerbread house kit instead.

And Memaw, the hub, and I worked at getting the Christmas decor finished outside.  No Christmas decor was put up inside because we just never got to it.  We will put up Christmas trees this weekend and all the little odds and ends, but I really wanted to get that front porch completed.  And our little row of Santas all lit up!

it's time to tell

The hub and I have decided to ruin Britton's only-child status by adding to our family. And unlike today's hipsters, we went with another child and not another dog we treat like a child. So, what I'm taking the long way to say is....

 I'm pregnant!

We weren't planning on it, but we weren't preventing it. And honestly, not even three years ago, I was certain Britton would be an only child. It was so hard after she was born, whether because of her protein intolerance or our lack of baby knowledge, but I remember the night the hub and I agreed that the only way we could get through it was to know we'd never have to do it again. And for three years, we meant it. We really did.

But time has a way of softening the hard edges, and the idea of Britton growing up without a sibling was gnawing at me. And, as ridiculous as it may sound, I wanted a chance to do it again - without the fear of the unknown, without the inability to deal with a protein intolerance, without postpartum depression and anxiety turning me into a mother who hid in the pantry so my baby wouldn't see me. I want a chance to do it right.

 The hub and I are scared, there's no doubt. Because it's all going to be new again. We may have experience raising a baby, but we have no experience in raising a baby while parenting a child. I get it that this experience will be different, as I'm pretty sure that I'm not going to give birth to Britton's clone! And my pregnancy has been completely different. I was sick every morning of my first trimester.  But with Britton I had morning sickness for three weeks only, at nighttime.  Instead of the sweets and fruit I craved with Britton, all I want now is carbs and easy cheese in a can. Yes, you read that right, and no, I'm not proud of that.  I'm tired all the time, and my belly stuck out the minute the test came out positive.  I've been in maternity pants since 11 weeks!

I'm fifteen weeks and two days along, with a due date of May 11, 2013.  And because I am an old mom (ahem) I submitted to the battery of tests that tell you if your baby has any of the diseases or issues everyone fears.  Because of my advanced age (seriously, having a kid at 34 makes you old) my probability for Down's Syndrome was already out of the normal range.  So I got this incredibly new DNA test that tested the DNA of the placenta cells in my bloodstream - no amnio, no invasion.  And good news, I am 99.9% clear of any chromosomal abnormalities.

But the genetic counselor also found sex chromosomes in the test.  And she wanted to know if I wanted to know.  See, when I was pregnant with Britton I had a chance to find out the gender, but the hub wasn't there so I didn't find out.  He said if it ever came up again, just to go ahead and find out without him!

So I got to call him up afterwards, tell him there were no issues with the test, and that he was going to have a......

son.

fall festival

Britton had Fall Festival today, which is when her daycare puts on a Halloween/Thanksgiving singing show for the parents.  The hub and I had to sit through four classes before Britton's class showed up to the stage, but the kids were so cute (they started with the babies and went up in age from there) that it wasn't a problem.  

I figured we'd have some problems when Britton's class filed in and Britton did not want to get onto the stage.  I told her to go with her teacher and give big smiles, but really all she did was stand there with her fingers in her mouth and pretend to be mute.

The hub was behind me videotaping, and I played the stage mom, mouthing to Britton to "smile big!" even though everyone in the room knew Britton wasn't smiling or singing or getting those fingers out of her mouth!

But the show must go on, so the hub videotaped and I snapped 100 pictures (they all look like the one above) and we appreciated the memories of Britton singing all of those songs as recently as this morning even if she was pretending like she had no idea what everyone was singing during the show.

"Oh no!  Not the paparazzi!"

Of course, on the way home, I asked Britton why she didn't want to sing.  See, it's not that I care what the other parents think, and Britton has always been shy.  I don't really care one way or the other if she wants to participate in her school's show, but I did want to know if there was a specific problem today that made her not want to participate.  And you know what that kid said?  "Mommy, I didn't want to sing while you were taking my picture."  Then she put her leaf crown back on and gave me a big smile for the camera while idling at a stoplight.  Touche Britton.  Touche.

the money pit: our new bathrooms

We hired a great contractor to totally rehaul two of our three bathrooms, and it turns out he can start at the beginning of December.  Say what?  So the hub and I met up with him on Saturday at Lowes so he could help us pick tile, the vanity, and the tub.  Bob, who has a fantastic Irish accent I could listen to all day, was more than willing to offer up his expertise.  And I imagine that he was willing because how many homeowners you think stumble into Lowes on their own, only to leave with every wrong choice?  My guess is at least 60%.  The tile department alone is overwhelming.

Here is our hall bath, which is Britton's bathroom.   I originally ordered a much darker, almost black, vanity, not realizing that "espresso" meant "black."  Luckily I happened to walk by the "espresso" vanities and realize my mistake before the order was processed!  Instead I went with this warmer, not-as-stark, vanity to compliment the grey tile.  The almost-black vanity would have been too cold and harsh.

The shower accent tile will be lined on either side with a clear sea glass green tile border, to separate it from the large wall tile.  I ran with this and ordered some green glass knobs from Restoration Hardware for the vanity.  I know it's not completely "neutral," but sparse light green accents will be fine.

And since we are waiting on the master bathroom until the hub and I get our bonuses after the new year, we decided to spring for the downstairs powder room.  We already had a new toilet installed there, and the floor is hardwood, so the only thing that needs replacement is the vanity and mirror.

I will be sure to share "before" and "after" photos of the process!

school picture time

Gone are the days of the starburst backgrounds and black plastic combs.  School pictures (at daycare, no less) now come with background choices and props!  And they sent Britton home with an entire package, priced her page.  Knowing that there was no way I was going to turn down any of the poses, I passed on the classroom photo and collage print.  

Britton's teacher actually tried to intercept the photos from me when I opened the package.  She wanted to explain that the other teacher had chosen the purple background, not her!  I told her that no, Britton had actually marked it on the sheet because she wanted purple and I didn't much care what color she wanted.  Her look of relief was priceless, but I don't think she should have been worried.  I think the purple turned out adorable!

Posing WITH props and WITHOUT Winnie?  A miracle unto itself!

the melissa quilt

Jessica is friends with a fellow teacher, who is due with her second child within the next few weeks. Melissa and Jessica are good friends, and I wanted to make Melissa a baby quilt from myself and Jessica for her soon-to-be-here baby girl.  Jessica and I decided on a purple and aquamarine color scheme, because she told me Melissa liked the "Brooklyn" bedding from Pottery Barn Kids.  I figured that even if she didn't use that bedding to decorate the nursery, I knew she would like the color combo.  I used a pattern I've used before, and I just love the ric rac!  Jessica gave the quilt to Melissa recently, so I finally get to share it with you!

Front:

Back:

Ric rac!  The bird fabric is Alexander Henry's "Starling Cute"

I quilted it in my loopy free motion, and included my patented "hidden heart" on one of the birds.