Layouts & Rollovers

National Scrapbook Day was a success, I'd say.

• Nolan did well hanging at the church all day, eating, sleeping, pooping & entertaining.  He rolled over for the first time, which made for some good excitement.  I'm glad I remembered that my little camera has video capabilities!
• Madeline came with me and a friend joined us for the afternoon.  They made a couple of layouts, and did some good shopping at the giveaway table.
• Sean got in 18 holes in the morning and spent all afternoon putting up our new garden shed!
• Success for me was not measured in quantity of layouts... but I did finish up a few pages in my geocaching album and in my pregnancy album, so those are up to date.  That's all I got done, but it was still good to be there.

So here's what we've got to share.  First, the latest two in Nolan's album - I will do a full page of his first swim to go in between these.

The two that Madeline made yesterday:

  
These next ones are the new pages that finish off my "Baby On the Way" album.  You can see the first ones here.  I should do something with the cover, then it will be done.

I think I'll leave it there for now and post the whole geocaching album soon.  

Thanks for looking!

How do you 'due'?

Today is our due date - thought I'd give you an update on how the week is going.

I imagined Monday would be a nice relaxing day at home, tidying, baking, napping... But from 4 am to 7 am I sat up timing contractions...  Nothing major, but getting closer, so Sean stayed home from work and we got everything ready to go to the hospital if we needed to.  Things kind of petered out, then came and went until we finally went to the hospital Tuesday afternoon, just to see where things were at.

It was early labour; we were 3 sonometers, but there was no change after 4 hours, so home we went.  Today has been wonderfully relaxing - Sean went to work, and I cleaned, sewed, baked, had a friend over for coffee, went to a funeral, the library, got groceries, made supper...

That's where we're at.  We'll see what tomorrow brings!

On another note, what I was sewing were more magic bags.  My stash is down to zip & I have a request for more; figured I should get on that while I had an empty day or two.  Here are the covers I have in stock if anyone's interested, or needs one to get through this cold snap:

Week 39 Bellies

Just wanted to post an up to the minute photo for you.  Week 39!  According to our ultrasound, our due date is January 12 - that's tomorrow.  So, any time!  This week, next week... who knows.  Baby seems happy where it is for now; I will for sure keep you posted here.

Sean and Madeline wanted to get in on the action, too.  Beautiful, aren't they??

The jar is not half empty... it's all empty.

Bubbles the fish is no more.  It was a sad day when we gathered in the bathroom and M flushed him away.  Early this week he came down from the upstairs room and was looking quite ill.  We blamed it on M forgetting to feed him all week, but food and a clean home didn't help.  We noticed a red lump on his back half that seemed to be weighing him down, and I guess it was terminal.  Sad.  The life expectancy of a betta fish is 2-3 years, and Bubbles made it to just over 3.  He was a 'goodie bag' from a birthday party M went to in grade 4; none of the other girl's fishes lived out the year.

Now the good.  She loves her new room.  Recognize my old studio there?  Nope?  It underwent a pretty major transformation.  She's now using an alarm to get up in the mornings on her own, too.  Lots of new responsibility.

And an update on me...  At 38 weeks & 2 days, it's getting close to baby time.  I've gained 40 pounds!!  I don't think having Christmas right at the end of this pregnancy helped with that.  My feet and legs are swollen, too; I don't remember that from when I had M.  Some nights I'm pretty uncomfortable, some nights I get sore hips, but most are fine & I generally only have to get up once.  Can't complain about that!  I didn't go into work today because I'll be in tomorrow to help take down all the Christmas decorations & will be on my feet for hours; I figured today I'd stay home and alternate getting things done with sitting on the couch with my feet up.  It turned out to be a good productive day.  I went through all the baby stuff in the storage room and pulled out all we have for newborns (crib sheets, towels, onesies...), made the crib, put everything in there from Christmas and other parts of the house where it's been starting to collect (car seat, bathtub, diaper genie...), and it's looking pretty good.  I just need to pull out the old rocking chair from my storage room and then I'll take some photos for you.  And it's the same mushroom brown as our kitchen, with dark chocolate brown furniture, so the colors aren't going to give anything away for you!

I've got my hospital bag half packed, and I've got one full week of work left.  Lots of my duties were passed on this past week, so it's just wrapping up the last stuff that I've got left.  Hope to get it all done before the babe arrives - it would be nice to have a day or two to sit with my feet up and rest before the pain and sleeplessness hits!  Although that's what I'm doing pretty much every night anyway.

I used my new studio space to make some magic bags for an order I got, and also to work on my December album - I think I've added just about everything I'm going to for this year.  I have some scrapbook pages in mind & would like to find time to putter around down there on those.  Realized the other night though that if I'm down there after M's bedtime, it's a little light and noisy for her.  Have to wait till she falls asleep, maybe.  Or maybe she'll just have to get used to it.  :)  Did I mention I got a fireplace??  Sean bought me an awesome one for downstairs - it's going to be a pretty sweet place to hang out.

I think that's all for tonight...  have a good one and I'll be back soon with a report on M's soccer tournament tomorrow, photos of the nursery and of the new piano...  Cheers!

Basement Renos

To make room for the babe, my studio is moving out to the main part of the basement so M can move into that room and then we'll turn her room into the nursery. Here's how it's going so far:

First we packed up everything in the basement...

 

...ripped up the carpet, and the ugly end wall went, too.

Lots of the stuff ended up in my studio.

New carpet, new wall, and new cabinets & countertop!

Then we emptied the studio...

...into the basement that was oh so beautifully empty.

I'm busy finding new places for everything.  Yesterday we bought and hung new cabinets over my desk, and today Sean painted M's room.  It's moving quickly - we're grateful for holidays and feeling like we'll be ready in time. Got a car seat yesterday, too. :)

Feeling a bit like Mary...

Just wrote this on my work blog and thought I'd share here, too:


In some ways I'm feeling like Mary.  


In the 'big uncomfortable can't wait to meet this little person' way.  
In the 'God is amazing and I'm not sure where life is going, but I know He's in control' way.
In the 'I have great husband that I trust will hear God and lead us well' way.


In some ways, though, it's way different.


We usually travel at Christmas, but this year, being 'great with child' we are free to stay put.
My doctor and hospital and health care is here and ready whenever I need them.
This little one of ours was planned - no major surprise like Mary's baby.  I suppose by the time she was this far along, she was used to the idea.
I imagine she got a lot more negative attention (being an unwed mother) as opposed to all the positive support I've felt the whole way through.


I wonder...


Was Jesus pushing up under her ribs, causing her to not sleep very well at night?
Would she have wondered about each movement like I do, trying to figure out if that's a foot or an elbow, and which way he's positioned?
When was 40 weeks for Mary?  Was she perhaps due in January like me, but had Jesus early due to the travelling?  Christmas marks 36 1/2 weeks for me - right in the 'any-time-now' zone.


Just a few thoughts as I experience a Christmas feeling in some ways like Mary must have.

Grateful on a Monday Morning

 I am a little tired this morning, but will pop in a workout video anyway, when I've finished here.  Monday mornings are always a full-head-space time for me: planning the week's meals and shopping list, thinking of the week and our plans and what needs to be done when, doing cleaning and chores and fitting in work, too.  I don't dislike Monday mornings, I just am aware that they take a different level of attention, and I'm feeling like a nap to start off the day wouldn't be a bad thing.  I am thankful for this Monday morning.

I've been napping more lately... I think that's ok for being almost 33 weeks.  I am thankful for this little active one inside me and look forward to our meeting! 

Especially since things may get infinitely more crazy before baby comes in January.  We are looking at the possibility of moving.  Looking after our future and investing... we want to buy another place and keep this one to rent out.  We already have people anxious to move in here, but we don't get to go look at places till tomorrow.  There are two that are possibilities in our minds, but I am convinced that our God is big and powerful and on our side, so I am praying for a great house at a great price at the perfect time.  I have my ideas of what those would be, but I am trusting in Him and in Sean and we'll keep you posted.  I am thankful for potential and exciting times.

I have had better mornings lately getting M out the door - my attitude has improved as I've been more aware (thank you, small group) of what I am letting into my life and how that affects what comes out.  I want to have a heart full of peace and joy, so when I tell M to get a move on in the mornings now, it's usually more patient and kind, sometimes joyful even - she likes her silly mom and if I can help her mood stay up, I will keep trying.  Amazing how that makes so much sense and how little we think about it - My actions affect her actions.  My words and tone of voice affect her words and tone of voice.  My attitude affects her attitude.  And until she learns to control those things on her own, I will keep trying to lift her up in all those ways.  How easy it is to bring her down (and let her bring me down!) - but I am the adult!  I am the parent!  I am the one who's responsibility it is to be aware and intentional about my actions, words and attitudes.  How else is she going to learn it?  So I am thankful for a week of good mornings, and look forward to more as I keep working on me.

Have a great Monday!  What are you thankful for?

I thought I'd link up with all the other grateful people over at A Holy Experience today...

DVD Player on the Dark Side

Here is a little round up of the week...

Today Madeline and I spend much of the day at the church, decorating for Advent.  It's a huge job, but a huge transformation, and there were quite a few youth out to help.  I'll post pictures sometime if I remember to take some.

We also went to meet a little girl that M is going to babysit next week.  Her first real 'other than family and small group' babysitting job.  The family goes to our church and we will all be at the Christmas Banquet together - we also live quite close, so it's a great set up for them, and for her.

I'm in 'making' mode, but it's all for Christmas, so I can't show off anything yet!  It has been nice to sit and relax and be productive at the same time.

I got a photo of 7 months, a few days late...  I'm wearing the same clothes as in the 6 months shot so I can compare month to month.

Baby is still doing fine - moving differently now that there's less room.  (S)he had the hiccups twice now - kind of a funny feeling.  I've been feeling fine, but I do notice that I run out of steam sometimes.  I had a few naps this week, including one on a pew at work!  I weighed myself this morning and have gained 25 lbs so far.  I gained 30 with M, I believe.  We're getting closer all the time to having the house ready - Sean's been steadily picking away at the fixing up of stuff.

We went to Sean's work Christmas party last night - it was dinner and a show at the casino.  They give you oodles of time between eating and when the show starts - they want you to go spend some money on the games is my guess.  We did a walk through, and I find it just really sad.  Yeah, some will win a bit here and there, but for the most part, it's just people throwing money away.  The rest of the night - dinner and show and visiting with the co-workers - was not bad.

Madeline had pyjama day at school this week.  She didn't have any slippers, and I remembered a couple pairs of 'Granny Slippers' I had stashed away, so I dug those out.  This has been her every day since then:

'Granny Slippers' because they were knit by MY Granny.  AKA Elf Slippers.

The other end of her - the frog eye covers are a recent and every night addition to her pj's.  She uses them actually over her eyes all night long, and as a headband like this lots of other times.

The reason she's reading on the couch ( I just took those shots) is because our movie was a dud - AGAIN!  We borrowed the Star Wars Trilogy a few weeks ago, watched Star Wars and The Empire Strikes back both two weekends ago, and watched the Return of the Jedi last Sunday night.  We got half way through it when it started acting up and freezing, and we had to concede defeat.  The next night at small group, we noticed our friends also had the set, so we borrowed theirs.  Tonight we had enough time to watch the final half, only to have it zap out at the exact same spot!!  Different discs, same player - is it unreasonable to think that the machine has it out for the Rebel Alliance?  Maybe it's the Ewoks it doesn't like - it quit right between 'Speeder Bike Chase' and 'Leia Meets Wicket.'  Sigh.  Someday I hope we get to finish it - Madeline's classical education will not be complete if she doesn't know what an Ewok is!

That's our week & a little snapshot of our lives right now.  Thanks for checking in!

Question: How much is the going rate for babysitters for you / your friends / in your area?  We're curious, because M and I both thought $5/hour would be fine, but apparently some think that's slave labour wages!

What's your favorite Star Wars moment? (Each of the three times I've typed that, I've typed Star WARD.)  Hmmm... maybe if baby's a girl??

A Catch Up Post

A morning with room to breathe and catch up.  Lovely.  High on my priority list is catching up with you, so let's jump right in!

The Scrapbooking Retreat was a nice weekend away with lots of pages accomplished, and hours spent with friends.  I am photographing them right now and finishing up a few details on some of the pages as I go, and should have them posted for you today or tomorrow.

Baby is 30 weeks along and growing nicely.  Ten more weeks only till we get to meet!  I am still feeling fine, but am noticing that it is harder to bend over as easily.  It is also time for wearing winter gear, and my jacket and coat, while still able to do up this week, will not last me all the way through.  I am looking online for used ones, but may splurge on something new if I have to.

Madeline and I took a trip to Winnipeg last weekend and had a good time.  Often when we go it's for a holiday and we spend most of the time with family, but this time I planned to fit in a few extra days and made plans with friends a month in advance - it was good to see Melanie and George and Jen and MaryAnn and catch up with them.  One of Madeline's best friends from her class here moved to Winnipeg the same day that we drove out.  They got to have a visit and a sleepover on Friday, after Nicole's first day at her new school.  I know it helped M to see her again so soon, and hopefully it helped Nicole's transition, too.  Then on Saturday night she had a sleepover at Granny and Papa's (or at my place, as she calls it) with Grace, a friend from church there - it's funny to think she has friends there other than her cousins, but it's good.  The women's event that we actually made the trip for went well.  I spoke twice during the day and think it was well received.  I also sold my magic bags at a vendor table and made some good change, which was a nice extra.

A funny story from our trip - when we were packing up, my brother had just changed Z's diaper and made a crack about how back in the day he would have tried to hide it in our bags...  The first snow of the season came as we were driving home, and didn't make the roads too bad, but did lengthen our 6 hour drive into 7.  M was sleeping when we arrived, so I told her not to worry about unpacking, but to go straight to bed and look after her bags in the morning.  Can you guess what she found in her bag as she unpacked, looking for something to wear to school?  Yep - Z's dirty diaper, which had smelled up the entire thing.  She of course had taken all her clothes with her and ended up wearing the same thing as the day before, since it was the only thing that didn't smell.  It was all quite funny, really.  Her comment?  "Uncle Clayton, you stink!"

That's all for the moment, but watch for more posts coming soon!

Six Month Bump

Happy now?  Here's a couple of shots of the bump and some of my new clothes...  The sweatshirt kind of reminds me of one I wore pretty much every day in junior high.  (Remember that, Mom?)

Happy news from today - I'm going to the scrapbooking retreat next weekend!  This is the same one I've gone on with the girls for the last two years, that I had planned on NOT going to this year for a number of reasons.  It kept coming to mind, though, and the reasons for not going got less important, so today I checked into a few things and it's a go!  Looking forward to hanging out with Carla, Suzanne, Holly, Kathy and Brandie all weekend.  Now I have a week and a half to get pictures printed and some idea of what I want to work on.

This is what I accomplished at last year's retreat.

And these are from 2009.

One of these days I'll update the scrapbook on the sidebar there...

Just Another Sunny Day

A little bit of bad, but mostly all good today:

I found a dead bird on my porch.  I heard a thump and though the mail had come (and that the letter carrier had slammed the lid harder than usual).  Then later I heard the mail come and figured the first thump was a bird.  It was - and when I went to get the mail, there was a perfectly beautiful (other than the lifeless factor) specimen.  I used a plastic bag to gather it up without touching it and took it out back to the ferryman (aka the dumpster).  I wondered, though, after, if the bird's family and friends will be looking for it - will they wonder where it's gone?  Should I have left it there for a while so they would know and have closure?  Hard to know how deep birdbrains go.

Tonight is our 5th pre-natal class.  Half done.  If you live in Regina and plan to have a baby sometime, I'd recommend taking those through the Y - Sally Elliot is educational and entertaining.  Baby has been moving lots lately - it has been hugely fun to feel and watch, especially playing games with him/her.  When we push in, (s)he nudges back in the same spot.  We generally all hang out on the couch after supper and play with my belly.  I made a trip out to Thyme this morning to do an exchange - I will be happy to have another pair of pants to wear!  I have a coupon for there for next week (spend $100, get $50 off) - I'm looking forward to getting a pair of jeans and some t-shirts.  Basic everyday stuff.  I got a bag of maternity clothes from a friend, which has helped; if anyone else has an item or two to share to get me through the next three and a half months, I would be glad to borrow.

Today I went on auto pilot twice and made the wrong turn - on my way to get M for piano I turned to go to work.  On my way to pick up M from piano, coming from a different direction, I turned to go to work.  You'd think I missed it today or something!  I took the day off, partly to use up the vacation days that I never end up taking, and partly so I could camp out at a coffee shop and write my talk for the Women's Wellness Day in Winnipeg on November 5.  If you live in Winnipeg, call Maranatha Evangelical Free Church to get tickets for that.  It sounds like a fun day, (don't worry, it's way more than just me talking), and it would be great to hang out with you!

We had our first small group last night.  We enjoyed the group we were in last year, but because of scheduling changes, we ended up joining a group with some of our other friends.  One couple we know quite well, one couple we know half of really well, and one couple has just been acquaintances till now.  We are looking forward to hanging out with them this year.

You know what I am looking forward to??  Like, a LOT?  Pumpkin pie.  My own homemade pumpkin pie.  I think I might make that tomorrow.  I have pastry ready because I made Sean a birthday apple pie last week (it was so-so - I used ready made filling from the Bulk Barn and it's not near as good as my made from scratch pie, in my opinion), and I got all the ingredients, so now it's just a matter of getting it made.  We've got two family dinners this week, and I'm taking the potatoes (the yummy make ahead cheesy ones) to Carla's, and a lazy perogie casserole to the Ward's.  That means I can make a pie and we can eat it all ourselves.  :)

Little Baby on the Way Book

I took a free inspiration class over at Big Picture Classes called Words to Live By - the purpose was to get creativity flowing by doing a 6x6 page on a different word each day, led by each of their teachers.  I did 10 of the 12 pages, and focused on this little one that's coming.  It was fun to play around, and will be nice to have a little something to remember this time by.

Update...

Ten days since I posted last - I realized that yesterday and wondered why, then realized it might have something to do with this time of year...

Let me fill you in on what life is like around here these days:

Madeline started grade 7 (Tues, August 30)

And piano lessons started the same day.

My bump is growing.

Bought my first maternity clothes today.

The neighbor has the new fence finally up!  Not finished yet, but it's progress.

We are going to perinatal classes once a week - some things are good to know, some of it feels like too much information... It is a fun date night, though!

We are on the hunt for a new piano.  Ours is terrible and needs replacing; we do have a free one offered to us that we have to decide about.

We go back to two services at church this week; between that and getting a community newsletter out, I've been putting in longer than average days.  Now that we've got this series up and running, it should go back to normal... Oh, except for the women's conference in two weeks.  :)  It's all good.

M got the teacher she wanted and all her friends are in her class, so she's a happy girl.  We have to decide on swimming lessons and / or indoor soccer and get her registered, then we're in full swing for the year.

We took a little trip to Winnipeg last weekend for the long weekend - that will be another post coming soon with lots of pictures...

Next on the agenda around the house is the bathroom.  We have to take out the toilet to put in the flooring, and the sink is cracked, so we have to replace either that or the whole vanity.  We are also looking to update the medicine cabinet / mirror situation.  There is a Lowe's store opening her right away, so we're in process of looking around at Rona & Home Depot to price out what they've got, then we'll check out the new store when it opens.  Then, let the renos begin!

Belly Shots & a New Addition to the Shop!

A couple of shots of the little bump to show you - this first one I took last week, and the second one was on Sunday.  I like that it's got my family in the background...  Sean had golfed in the afternoon, and M and I got slurpees and walked around the lake, then watched a movie at home.  When Sean got back we roasted hot dogs and marshmallows and spent the rest of the day outside.  Beautiful weather this week.

 

 )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )(

I found some canvas in my studio that I bought a while ago to make a gift.  I used it all up and made some bags for the shop!  Sturdy canvas bags that are perfect for library books or the beach: I have two of the green & blue available, and another pink & black that has vertical stripes.  Only asking $8.

Spilling the Beans

I think I felt it.  I knew it would happen sometime this month, but these first few, you don't know if that's really what it is.  There have been a few times over the weekend where I wondered if that's what I was feeling...

What am I talking about?

This little jumper:

Yes, it's true.  I think I've finally told most people in person, so I can start filling you in on the details here now. I am at about 17 weeks, and due in the middle of January.  We have been married 4 1/2 years now and finally came to a point where we decided that yes, this is the route we want to go - our family of 3 has been great, but all three of us agree that a new little one around will be something we will never regret.

This is the other reason it was time to go through the storage rooms and all that baby stuff - not just for the garage sale!  I got rid of our old crib in the garage sale, but we've got a much newer one given to us already.  We have a stroller, a high chair and a booster seat for the car - I think the only other big ticket item we'll need is the car seat.  That and boy clothes if that's what it happens to be.  Oh, and a change table, I guess, and a snuggly that Dad won't be embarrassed to be seen in, an RESP, maybe a new toy or two, and boxes and boxes of diapers!  Other than that, babies don't need much, do they?

I really feel that for me, there is no greater job in this world than to raise up children who love God.  I look forward to being Mom to one more. 

I am very grateful to God for this amazing gift, and I am grateful that I get to share our news with you!  Linking up today with all the others counting the ways they're thankful.