Books and Braids and Beaches and Bods

This week:  I tried on a pair of pants that DID NOT fit me 2 weeks ago.  Turns out the 30 Day Shred is working!  I felt so good being able to button them!  I'm hobbling like a grandma because my knees are so shot, but that's the price I pay I guess...

 And!  My hair is long enough for braids.  This is SO EXCITING because the last time I had hair this long is when I was 20.  I have been a short haired girl my whole life, this is such big news for me.

 Summerfest is going on right now.  It's a sleazy huge music festival that happens every year and people act like it's the best thing and you just HAVE to go.  We never do, but we had free tickets and it was a beautiful day, so we went.  Otis fell asleep on me, Ingrid whined about walking, and the beer cost a ridiculous amount.  Probably won't be going again next year...

 The thing we WILL be going to again is this amazing place called Bookworm Gardens.  It is so cool!  A sprawling garden with little sections devoted to kid's books.  There's tons of stuff for kids to do, like play music, sweep a barn, water the garden, play in a log cabin like Laura Ingalls, scrub Harry the Dirty Dog, go in the Three Little Pigs' houses.  It was so fun, the kids ran and ran for two hours, we actually had to drag them away because it was lunch time.  We didn't get to see everything there, so we'll have to go back.  Afterward we went to a nearby state park and had a picnic and played on the beach.  It was another gorgeous day, we had so much fun! 

 And now it's the Fourth of July, we should be planning lots of fun things to do, but instead we're looking at all the rain in the forecast and thinking maybe we'll just stay in and paint our kitchen cabinets.  I have a show on Sunday and I am hoping it is not rainy the whole time since it's outside...Please cross your fingers for me!

Home

We have been spending quite a bit of time at home lately.  Days are spent doing laundry, which is never ending.  Vacuuming up after the dog, which is also never ending.  Baking scones, and having them not turn out, thus going through a bag of flour in a few days.  Reading lots of Clifford books.  Watching lots of Charlie and Lola.  Listening to Ingrid play with her new imaginary friends Dave and Julie.  (She also has a stuffed horse named Tim, where does she get these names?)  Watching Otis climb into and on top of everything.  The days actually fly by and I've been pretty happy with life.  We are going to look at four houses tomorrow and will hopefully find one that we can see ourselves in for the future!  I am so geeked that this is a reality for us now, instead of a far away daydream.  Yay Team Liddle!

Trying to use straws rather than sippies.

iPad with dad.

Still loves his horse!

Wearing her baby in a sling made from a scarf.

Keeping Busy

Day five.  Things are good.  Not much new.  I'm bored.  I'm feeling lucky nothing major is going on and Otis is staying in.  I'm trying to get the doctors to let me go home to do bedrest.  I've heard different things but maybe they'll let me since I'm stable and have a couple weeks to go.  That would be awesome, as my shower this morning was about 2 seconds long since I couldn't get any hot water AT ALL.  Blah.

But...I'm keeping busy making felt garlands in my bed.  I had two reorders, people that liked them so much they needed another!  And since I have time on my hands I tried a star shaped garland, it turned out so cute.  Brendan said you cut those all out by hand?  And sewed them by hand?  How do you have the patience??  Isn't it funny how we each have our own things we love to do--I found it very calming and relaxing to do that last night as I watched TV.

I've also got some books, I'm reading Friday Night Knitting Club right now and it's keeping my attention.  Any other books that are light and not depressing or hard to read would be nice.  I only have a VCR in my room so I have to send Brendan to the library to see if he can find the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice on VHS.  Hello, Colin Firth, you can take up some of my time :)

That's about it.  We're hanging in there and keeping Otis growing and hoping to make it to 34 weeks.  The midwife told me today if we do make it to 34 wks we may be able to have a midwife deliver and not have to switch to the doctors.  Yay!  That would be great. 

My Quilt

It's still not done.  I've been plucking away at it, and it's huge, so I should expect that it's going to take so long.  However, the whole point of making it was because it's hot and we have a down comforter.  Anyway, I got all the squares sewn together and have found it's still too small.  So I'm adding a border and then hopefully it will be big enough to cover both the man and I. 

And then hopefully I'll be able to just whip on the backing and be done with it!  Ingrid will enjoy it, as her favorite spot in the house lately is mama and daddy's bed.  Every morning (at 6am, no less) she runs from her bed into ours to read a big pile of books.  She demands we stack up at least ten books, and then will sit for ages, carefully paging through each one.  It's so funny to hear her read them to herself, I just love it!

Yesterday was Also...

Ingrid's birthday!!  When I found out my due date was on Brendan's and my anniversary, I was really bummed.  Everyone else was like "oh, how sweet!  Isn't that amazing?"  But I knew what would happen--her birthday would trump our anniversary.  We would spend all our time focusing on her growing older and bypass the fact that Brendan and I have been together for x amount of years. 

But who can blame us?  It's so much fun to see the excitement on her face.  Yesterday we made pancakes which I tried to make in the shape of a 2.  Then she got to open her presents from us.  She was extremely pleased with her haul:  a new wooden tea set, two Charlie and Lola books, Yo Gabba Gabba inspired finger puppets (the cutest things ever, from this lady on etsy) and a toddler sized Brewers hat. 

It was a good birthday!  Now today we have our 2 year doctor's appointment and tomorrow my mom comes--with a sandbox for the back yard!!  Party this weekend, and then we are done with festivities for another year.  Happy Birthday, Ingrid!

A Fun Weekend

Our weekend was pretty fun.  Saturday morning I went out with my friends Jami and Heather.  We met at the Kiwanis sale, where I got some good finds.  A couple Health Tex tshirts, a pair of overalls, a super cute vintage kid's pillowcase, and this:

I love it!  Isn't it perfect for a baby's room (hint, hint, Brendan!)  It's kinda dirty and the frame needs to be painted, but I love it.

Other highlights from this weekend:  new crayons for Ingrid!  She is so hard on her crayons, they only last a week or so before becoming tiny little shards...

Eating yogurt while wearing a crown.  Of course.

And this morning Ingrid read her books while wearing Daddy's hat.  She loves hats, the bigger the better :)

Today we are off to go to gymnastics and hopefully stop by the store and get some goodies for care packages we're making.  It seems strange, now that Brendan's car is working again and we have the car all to ourselves, we're out and about all the time whether we really need to or not.  Why can't I just stick around home even if I have a car to use?  I have to work on that!!

Baby Shoes and Books and Books

Awhile back I got a pattern for kimono baby shoes.  It intimidated me because I don't usually follow patterns.  But I do want to be able to follow a pattern so I can make more interesting things, so I sat down and tried to do it.  The first pair were WAY wonky, and I ended up somehow making two left shoes!  Not sure how that happened, but it was good practice anyway, and showed me what I needed to do better next time.

So, yesterday I sat down again and had two cute fabrics cut out, and in between playing with Ingrid I'd sneak in a seam here and there (there's really only like four seams to sew in each shoe!)  By the afternoon I had finished a whole pair, and here they are:

I think they are so cute!  Others did, too, and I got a custom order for a whole baby shower gift set including the shoes.  Sweet!  Luckily Ingrid was a little less clingy today so she let me sew for two whole hours.  It was great.

Then we went to the thrift store, which we hadn't been to in a long time.  I gave away three huge bags of stuff, and only came home with one, so that's good!  We got the cutest dress for a friend's baby:

And books and books and books.  I found so many books this time!  And I had to buy them all because I'm so sick of the books we have right now.  I like to take half Ingrid's books and stuff them in the closet for a couple months, then rotate them out and it's like we have new books again!  Or, like today, I go wild in the Salvation Army and come home with ten new to us books :)

 













Now it's time to rest, as we were up at 6am...

Book Sharing Monday

This week we are sharing Won't You Be My Kissaroo? by Joanne Ryder, illustrated by Melissa Sweet.

It's all about how great kisses are--

"A breakfast kiss is nice and sweet. It's fun with sticky lips can meet."

"A puppy kiss is very wet, as silly as a kiss can get."

"A bedtime kiss will tuck you tight and keep you cozy through the night."

It was fun to read this to Ingrid, as every time I said kiss she'd lean her head toward me as if to say, "yes, you may kiss me now." Thanks for the permission, kid, but I'd kiss you even if you squirmed away from me. I'm your mom, I get to do that :)

Book Sharing Monday

Because it's Ingrid's first birthday tomorrow, we went for a book called The Birthday Presents by Paul Stewart, Illustrated by Chris Riddell. It's about a bunny and hedgehog who give each other presents they think the other will like. The hedgehog thinks the bunny's burrow must be gloomy and dark, so he gives him a bottle of moonlight. The rabbit thinks the hedgehog must be frightened by the noisy, bright space he sleeps in, so he gives his friend a box of coziness. Each one feels he doesn't need the gift given to him, but they find other ways to use them.

The rabbit drinks water from his bottle so he'll never be thirsty again.

The hedgehog uses his box to catch slugs so he'll never be hungry again.

It's a cute story with even cuter pictures!

Thank you, thrift store gods!

I've been trying to remember that I don't need to buy new stuff. I would like to look at second hand or consignment stores for things as much as I can. It's both cheaper and better for everyone involved--I get a deal, someone got to clean out their closet, no one had to make another item or use up anymore resources, and usually the money goes to a good cause. However, I sometimes forget. But after this week I think someone was trying to tell me to check the thrift stores first!!

I wanted to get the book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom for Ingrid and when I went to Salvation Army, there it was! In a big huge bin where you could pick as many books that fit in a bag and pay one small price.

Then I saw this old timey top toy and wanted to get it for her, and when I was at Goodwill today, guess what was there!! For 50cents!

Also, I noticed our sheet was ripped and thought, oh great, I have to buy a stupid sheet set. I hate buying sheet sets b/c we don't use the flat sheet and I have loads of pillowcases. I only need the fitted sheet, really. But if you buy the fancy ones that come separately, they cost a fortune. Again, I go to Goodwill today and there is a perfectly nice Marshall Field's yellow queen size fitted sheet for $1. Sold!

I just think to when I've needed something and 9 times out of 10 I go looking at a thrift store and can find it. I love that! Ingrid loves her thrifted items, too :)

Book Sharing Monday

This week we went for Wee Willie Winkie by Salley Mavor. It's the classic rhyme but with these amazing pictures. All the scenes are done from felt and beads and embroidery. I took some close up shots so you can see all the detail. It's beautiful!

Book Sharing Monday

This week I chose Richard Scarry's Best Storybook Ever.

I had this book when I was a kid and I just love to look through it again. It has pretty much everything in it--pictures of different boats/trains/planes, stories about mice/pigs/cats/bears, number/letters/colors, and stories about different places. My favorite is Cous Cous the Algerian Detective. I don't know if that's politically correct now, but the book is from the 60s :)


Go see Serendipity if you're interested in Book Sharing Monday!

Book Sharing Monday

This week we went for Harry the Dirty Dog, by Gene Zion, pictures by Margaret Bloy Graham. It's about a dog who hates baths, runs away from home, gets REALLY dirty, and then returns home to find his family doesn't recognize him. Until he gets a good long bath, that is. This book was given to us at my baby shower and has become one of Ingrid's favorites, as you can tell by the chew marks on the corner :)

To find out more about Book Sharing Monday, click on the link at the right of my blog!

Book Sharing Monday (a day late!)

The book I chose for our first share is The Milkman. It has simple rhymes, great pictures, and a fun story about a milkman and his cranky cat delivering their goods one morning. It is one of my all time favorites!


We found out about Book Sharing Monday through a blog I follow and I thought it was such a great idea! There should be a link somewhere on my page if you want info on joining.