clarification

I am NOT in labor.

So sorry for the confusion Celestie Pie!

Yesterday was Ryan's birthday.

The poor guy. His wife really is not functioning very well these days.

I'll have to make it up to him later....

Happy Birthday Baby!

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday Baby...

Maybe in a couple of months I can try to re-create the "Marilyn Monroe" birthday song for him, right now I am having a hard time walking and breathing at the same time.....

The Day The Cowboys Came To Town...

A couple of weeks ago, "The Cowboys Came to Town" and what better clean family fun than to see young men risk their lives all for fun? so off we went! And what a great time we had!



There was fire,


Stretching,




Praying.. for what I'm not sure. (to hang on for 8 seconds or to avoid a concussion...)

Some of the fine specimens

The kids loved the clowns..

Rebel child. She just about got kicked out for standing on the fence. I have no idea who her parents were. They sure weren't watching her. Cute kid though.

And spurs. Lots of spurs. And chaps! Oh yeah. There were chaps. My only regret is not getting a pic of the zebra chaps....

Eat Your Heart Out Vera Bradley!

Do you remember when I won that great bag from Lisa over at "A Happy Little Family"?

It totally motivated me to do some sewing on my own.


We have a great little quilt shop here in our little town, so I decided to drop in and see what they had going on. They had several classes offered this fall, and I thought taking a class would be a good idea for me. I already have a box full of unfinished projects...why add one more??

And this is the class I chose:

An Amy Butler "Birdie Swing Bag"

I roped my friend T. into taking the class with me, and we had so much fun!! We unfortunately did not get the bag finished that evening. (probably due to the talking) But we were determined not to shove it in the "unfinished project box". So, last Friday, the boys took the kids to a movie, and T. and I finished our bags!


I was so excited about the finished project, I immediately cut out another one, and made it up the next day!

And this is it!

I totally loved the blue in the store, and thought that my mom would like the black and red one, but now, I think I like the black better.... maybe I'll keep them both...

Amy Butler has some really great patterns at her site, "Amy Butler Designs" I've already bought another pattern book....

My Birfday Too

Ok, it may seem that we only have one child as many photos as I post of her. But she been just sooo cute lately!

She did not like the fact that it was Will's birthday only. She wanted to share. She also wanted to share his cake. And touch it. And lick her fingers. And touch it again.

We took this photo after she put both hands palms up and said: "I dis wanna sit by it". ok.

Socially Acceptable Cosmetic Surgery

Today Ryan had LASIK surgery.

You cannot see the bug shields over his eyes very well. SHOOT!

He's probably going to kill me when he finds out A: I took a pic while he was sleeping, and B: I posted it on the blog.

He was nervous this morning when I took him, but after the Valium and massage, he felt better.

The laser part only took 15 minutes, and he was only at the office for about 2 hours. (the massage...)These things make him kind of queasy... really queasy. So he is glad it is over.

He slept all day and is up and about now feeling fine. And very excited about not wearing glasses tomorrow!

Happy Birthday Will!!

How could of we ever guessed that this chubby little baby would bring such adventure to our lives?

How quickly I've forgotten his sweet little innocence. Oh. That is because it left quickly.

But I have hope for the future.

Happy Birthday Young Man!

disclaimer: He does not have a dirt spot on his head. His hair is black in that one little spot...

Coffee Buddy

On Tuesday Mornings I meet with Beth and Tracy for "Monday Morning Mommies at Modocs". We have coffee, talk about our kids, our husbands, the (not so) importance of comfortable shoes, current events. Sometimes we cry. Sometimes we laugh through our tears, but mostly we just laugh.

Last week on my day off, Bea and I had coffee.

It was a bit different. I had to blow her coffee.

She wasn't near as interested in my stories.

Best of all, we both had our jammies on.

It's Snowing! It's Snowing!

It is coming down slowly, in big pretty flakes...makes one want to cuddle up with a cozy blanket in front of a crackling fire with the one you love...


The kids think that it is going to look like this in the morning...

Will, Josi & Elle, January 2008

But, sadly the ground is not cold enough for it to stay....

A Girl After My Own Heart

The other day as Elle, Will and I were madly scrubbing the toilets, gathering the trash, and folding the laundry, I realized I had not seen Bea for awhile. And this is where I found her.

Giving herself a pedicure.

While the rest of us were slaving away....

Playing Baby

Now that the bassinet is in the living room, the kids have taken to playing "baby". Bea is usually the baby, and she likes the bigger kids to wrap her up and rock her in the bassinet.

Here she is all wrapped up.

I guess she wanted a snuggle buddy this time....

I hope they get done playing with it by the time the 'REAL' baby needs it.

Baby Update

At this exact moment, I am 35 1/2 weeks pregnant. 4 1/2 weeks left to go.

The baby is the size of a melon. (lets just hope it does not have a "melon head").

The baby is positioned with it's head down, but still rolls back and forth.

In the rare moments that the baby is awake, it's quiet, I'm sitting down, and NOT having a contraction, I've been able to rub over the baby bottom, feel it's knee, and foot. It is fun that it responds to my touch already...

Family Keepsakes

Ryan's parents came to visit for the weekend two weeks ago. When we were talking, Ryan's Mom said she was sorting through some things and found something of Ryan's....

This.

A sweet little baby blanket.

I washed it up in some Dreft, and it is waiting for a baby....

Because I Couldn't Wait 'til Christmas...

Earlier this fall when my friend T. and I went to Shipshewana for the day, I picked up this great little sweater for Bea. It was meant to be one of her Christmas gifts, but I couldn't wait.

It fits her perfectly, and is great for the fall weather we've been having.

Her famous "Cheesy" grin.

Then she wanted a picture of her shoes. No idea where that came from....

Ugly Feet

I think all boys have ugly feet. Except for baby boys. Baby boys have sweet feet. But at what age do they turn ugly?

Apparently 7.

Ugly. AND hairy.

(he took this himself)

But look at these little feet.

Sweet.

Halloween

The kids had a great time carving their pumpkins...

The Neighborhood Dads loaded up the kids on a hay wagon and tricked and treated the neighbors.

The Neighborhood Moms stayed home and passed out the candy. Good idea huh!

I wanted her to be a lion, she wanted the "pitty, pitty, pincess".

And yes, she does have a large blue bruise on her forehead. These things happen.



























Will was a boxer, check out those pecs!




















And Elle, she was ME.

It was a really great costume, and everyone thought it was funny.

Side Effects

As some of you know, on Monday night when I was happily folding little baby clothes and putting them in the changing table, my feet swelled up beyond the point of recognition. Swelling is a wonderful side effect of pregnancy that I have oh so enjoyed before. But this happened so quickly and did not dissipate overnight so I called the MD on Tuesday morning. After a few test, she decided that I am fine, and should drink lots of water and keep my feet up as much as possible.


Elle is doing the cooking, and I am catching up on my television watching...and not on my blog.

Respect

As I stated yesterday, if you did not vote, you have no right to complain.

I voted.

I'm not complaining.

My hope is that we can be a nation of prayer, and earnestly pray for our new leader that he may have the wisdom and strength to do what is best for our country. And that his wife would be a support to him, and that his children would adjust well to this big change. And that we as Americans can be supportive within our beliefs, and respectful in our differences.

regardless if you voted for him or not.

VOTE

No vote on Tuesday?

No complaining on Wednesday.