Mommy Madness

Ahh yes the joys of being a mother. Today I had one of those moments where I probably would have burst into tears if it had occured a week or two ago but today I had to surpress bursting into hysterical laughter for fear of waking the little man.

So here is how to story goes.....little man is having a grumpy morning. We have just finished a diaper change, mommy milk and bottle top up. I put him into his bouncy chair and he gets mad because he can't reach his toys. I prop him up so he can reach them and he promptly bursts into tears and starts crying. I pick him up, he settles down, I put him down on his blanket, he starts crying.....hmmmm goes mommy, maybe time for the cuddly wrap. On it goes, in he goes, a few more tears and suddenly someone is asleep.

Mommy thinks strange that he has zonked but I guess he feels the need to rest. Well let's see what we can do with him in his cuddly. Mommy carefully pours bottles of water with arms outstretched in front of her, trying to accurately pour a dozen bottles to send with her little man to grammy and grampas house for his first sleep over. Eleven bottles poured and mommy runs out of boiled water. Fill up yhe kettle and turn on. Okay finish this later thinks mommy. Now what?

Mommy should eat lunch now or it could be a while. What does the fridge contain? Hmmm, how about the leftover stirfry...that should taste good cold...we don't want to risk burning little man if we were to have some sauce drip now would we. Mmmmm, yummy lunch being carefully eaten over the head of sleeping little man...container held to chin...all of a sudden while spearing one of those juicy prawns the container does a flip, flys out of mommys hands, does a perfect 360 and lands on the floor.

Mommy stands in kitchen with horrified expression on face..Oh dear thinks mommy what am I going to do? Stirfry covers much of the kitchen floor with mommys feet in the middle of it. Do I risk waking little man by taking him out of cuddly? How can I clean up without doing so? Hhhmmmmm, dish towel onto feet and carefully remove mommy from the kitchen. Now what?

How about a picture to remember this crazy moment? Yes indeed. Then out came the handy dandy swiffer sweeper. A couple of dry clothes followed by a wet one or two and voila....the mommy saves the day as lillte man is still asleep. Now how about that lunch...

Oh yes, here is to photo of the day.

Heckedy Peg by Audrey Wood

I thought it might be fun to post about the books we have on PK's book shelf. Maybe write about the story, thoughts, likes/dislikes, etc. This book starts the listing by default as the first book picked up. I absolutely love the illustration. Th story is short and easy to read. You can teach about obeying your parents and the dangers of strangers with this book. Get's my vote as a keeper.

PK

Now officially hooked up to the net from home but of course not much time to spend updating site as to what I am doing or what PK is doing. Picture above was taken to celebrate the beautiful fall colours around us. PK is now 9 weeks and such a big boy. This morning he rolled on to his side for the first time (or atleast while I was watching).

1 week till D-day

Okay, we are actually only 5 days until the official due date and I sure look the part. I am ready and not ready all at once. Physically I am definitely ready to have this baby out. Mentally I am still happy being just me and not having this little bundle here yet although I am certainly looking forward to meeting him/her.

Here is a picture of todays project. I have 13 more cut out and am in the process of sewing together.


A picture from yesterday showing what a great spotter piglet and I can be. Very jealous of the guys with such great conditions...next year.


And a pic of the feet just because they look like overstuffed sausages.

Day by Day

Nothing too exciting going on in my world. Just getting bigger and bigger. Today is day 9 on the count down of last days of work.

This past weekend the painting crew - ie Andy, Todd, Keith and Sandra finished off the large sections of painting the shop. Now there is just little touch-ups and putting tread back on stairs, etc to do. I didn't do anything but mix paint but was so hot and tired that I barely had energy to even feel guilty.

Sunday evening was capped off with this beautiful view from our back patio.



And because someone wants to see this big belly of mine - a warped side view taken after admiring that beautiful sunset.

Car Seat

Wednesday night Andy & I went shopping for the one neccessity we need in order to bring the piglet home.....yes, there are other needs such as clothes and diapers but they won't let you drive home from the hospital without a proper car seat....so off to the big city we went.

After pulling several different models off the wall, adjust the handles, pulling them in and out of the bases, comparing weights, handle comfort, padding in the seat, etc, etc....we settled on this one.



Strangely enough it is actually the same colour combo as the jogging stroller I have already picked up...something I didn't realize until I got home. Red and black...good for a boy or a girl...

Baby bump photos

Andy and I had a photo session on July 26 to take some photos of what the belly looks like at -7 weeks from due date. It is funny looking at them today, only a week later and it seems like the belly has ballooned since then but then I think the belly looks way smaller in the photos then in real life from what I remember it looking like a week ago so it probably isn't really that much bigger.

I have a whole selection of fun photos from that day. Some with Andy, some without, some of just the belly....I think it is going to be tough to choose the one photo to have blown up as there are several that I like. Here are some of my favs though.

This weekend we went to the lake. Three full days of relaxation. Pure bliss for this waddling girl. We spent Saturday working on choosing baby names. Actually came up with some names we both like - might be getting somewhere. The rest of the weekend we did next to nothing...a boat ride...sitting in the sun...sitting in the shade....going for a swim...man life was tough. Christine and Carson also joined us on Sunday which was so nice as we barely see each other anymore.

Etsy Finds Friday

Ele-friend by
Stephanie Hanson


Train Pants by Stitchgirl52

Fantasy Fat Quarter Swap

Yeah, I just received my fabric swap in the mail. This lovely package arrived just as I was starting to worry that perhaps it wasn't coming. I can't believe the amazing fabrics my partner chose for me. I love every one of them - which I have to admit I was a bit worried about. I can sometime be a bit on the picky side. There were lots of fun little extras in the package too - and a small pack of cookies just when I needed them most.

See what I got!

Thank you Iva.

Now what to do with them.....

Baby Booties

Last night I decided to whip up a little something in case we get the call that Brad and Leese have taken their trip to the hospital. I have been wanting to try making these booties for the longest time and have printed off numerous patterns to try. This pattern seemed the simplest and most straight forward so I figured it was a good place to start. I had picked up a suede jacket at a second hand shop a while back for the grand sum of $1 with these booties in mind.

I am now eager to make a whole bunch more using the suede for the sole and playing around with different fabrics for the top pieces. I think piglet will have to have a pair of all suedes as well. If I get the time I will make a new pair - with revisions - for Brad and Leese's little one and piglet can have the trial pair. I also have to figure out how to upsize the pattern so I can make bigger ones. This pattern says it is good for 0-6 months but I thought some 6-12 month ones would be good as long as the sole is non-slip. Especially for just around the house as indoor slippers that don't slip off :)

Shop in progress

This past weekend was satisfying and enjoyable but extremely tiring. We have started the process of painting the shop. We had hoped that with a large work party we would get it done in a weekend (as we had the house) but alas that was not the case. It looks like it is going to take a whole weekend again of painting to finish it up. The upside is that we can see how great it is going to look when done. A huge improvement upon the dreary grey it was.

I spent the weekend preparing meals, mixing paint (we had to darken the paint - good lesson to learn - always paint a large chunk before ordering up an entire house worth of paint - we added 1.5 cups of black stain to every gallon of green stain) and painting what I could manage. Emotionally I was a bucket of guilt - going between feeling like I wasn't working hard enough and doing my share to feeling like I shouldn't be doing any of the painting as it could be hurting piglet. Grrrrr... don't like it at all....but piglet has been kicking up a storm the last two days so I can't have done too much damage...I think...I hope..poor kid...such a naughty momma.

So here are some before and afters...what do you think?


The Dreary Grey


Bold and Beautiful Green

I am in the process of prime and painting the shutters to go on the upper windows - they will be cloud white - very cute - just loving it!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to Keith, Sandra, Krista, Darren, Carla and Todd for all the numerous hard hours of painting you put in..I only hope I can repay it someday.

Renting Mother Nature

Rent Mother Nature
This is one of those funny little things that you stumble upon in life and think...what a brilliant idea. There is increasingly becoming the need for farmers to become creative in the way they sell their items in order to be even slightly profitable...or even to be able to keep their farms going. Many are sharing memberships to their farms and each member gets a share in the produce but this is only good for farms that have an array of products or huge memberships for a single type crop.
Around here it seems the best option is to sell at the farmers market and perhaps farm gate sales but you also have a huge increase in insurance costs if someone is buying anything from you and if anyone is stepping on your property. You have to sell a fair amount in order to make it worth while.
Organic products are increasing in demand but the time and cost to become certified are not the easiest.
This is a great idea in that it expands the market - it is a gift item rather then a take home to be consumed item. It is value added in that the actual food item is worth only a portion of the total package. And it is fun and different. If it came from a Canadian company I think everyone would be getting something from them for their next Christmas or Birthday present.

Tarts, tarts and more tarts

Saturday morning was an assembly line of tart making. 125 lemon with fresh raspberries and 125 pumpkin to be exact. Made and delivered by 1 pm for a Saturday evening outdoor wedding.

Three double batches of lemon filling (the type you would find in a lemon meringue pie - yummy). Each tart had 3 fresh raspberries to top them off.

Boxes of lemon tarts ready to go.

Pumpkin tarts cooling down, more ready to go in the background and empty tarts waiting in boxes to be filled.

After deliverying tarts Andy and I went up to Honeymoon Bay to relax for the remainder of the weekend......ahhhh bliss.

Weekend projects

This weekend the boys decided to remove the chimney and work on finishing the siding on the shop so we would be ready for painting weekend. They had a little incident with a chimney that ran away from them and ended up landing an inch - no joking - away from Todd's 1960's chevelle which he had just insured that very morning. I was inside the shop when the crash occurred.

And this is what I was doing.....shutter making in progress. I have cut all the boards to make shutters for 6 windows on the shop. We are going to pre-paint then so we can throw them up after we paint the shop. Very exciting! I also cut some of the scraps into bird houses as we went to Andy's grandparents wedding anniversary party last night and needed a little something to take with us. I'll have to take a pic of one of the birdhouses sometime soon.

Piglet's change table

I stumbled across this change table at a second hand shop. I was going to buy one of those nice change tables that look like a dresser after the little one graduates from diapers but when I saw this little gem my mind went to...hmmm...$30 dollars and a little paint job or $380 and it still might not match the bedframe quite right. So what does someone like me do..you guessed it...and I think with a little paint she looks quite nice.

The before shot


And the after

Mosquitos are swell

Or should I say when one is pregnant and gets bitten by a mosquito one swells. This is a tame version what my mosquito bites looked like on my feet after our trip to the lake on the long weekend. I don't recall every reacting to mosquito bites. Yes, they get itchy and red but never do they swell up. The picture shows one at a "normal" reaction size and one at about the size the others were the day before - although they also went a white tone rather then red as in the photo. My other foot had about 3 or 4 or these beauties. Isn't being pregnant an experience!

Picnic Blanket and a Bag

This past weekend I realized that we are coming up on lake times once again...next weekend to be exact. And.....I still was sitting with this beautiful piece of fabric I brought back from Hawaii. So, I went for a visit to our fabric store and picked up some great water resistant fabric for the bottom.

I decided I might as well make it atleast something useful beyond just a square of material to sit on..so I put pockets in each corner. It quite often is a little breezy at the lake so whan I am reading a book or magazine I can slide it into the pocket when I get up to go get a drink or snack or .....visit the washroom one more time ;) The pockets will also be great for throwing the bathroom key in or a bottle of sunscreen or a snack to protect from the crows.

Picture looks a little funny as I draped it over a chair to take a quick shot but I'm sure you get the idea.


I also put on some little ties to make it easy to roll and carry.


Last night I decided to make a pillowcase bag. I had seen this on Martha Stewart's website and thought it might be fun. Wasn't difficult to do at all and is a fun use for an old pillowcase. Should be good for throwing craft projects in for the lake.

My first Swap

Well I have completed my side of my first ever swap. This one was for four fat quarters with misc additional items thrown in the package. I now eagerly await my parcel to arrive in the mail with whatever fabrics my partner has chosen for me. Hopefully she likes the items I chose for her....and hopefully I like what I receive. I'll post a pic of the package that arrives once I get it.

This is what I sent...Robin, if you clicked on my site you better close your eyes now.

Ouch....little feet....and a graphic warning ;)

As I write this, piglet, bless his/her little soul, has chosen to amuse him/herself by repeatedly kicking/pushing me in the ribs. Gotta love him/her, not sure quite what he/she has wedged in there but darn if it doesn't make sitting at my desk uncomfortable. Good thing I still find all the movement amusing or it might be annoying.

As per Mom's request here is a picture of the current Big Mumma belly..Now at 6 months, 1 week....hence the graphic warning...tee..hee..


Thought I'd post a couple of pics of completed and updated baby projects.

First there is the completed palm tree with bassinet set up and full of freshly cleaned plush toys....don't think piglet needs any more stuffies.


Then an updated picture of the window area. I added another curtain as I didn't like the way it looked before. I then altered the bakers rack I had left over from Canadian Cart Concept days. Currently I am storing piglet's book collection on it...they will obviously have to be moved once someone starts moving on one's own but until then it looks cute. I think I have this desire to have a huge library of books for piglet. I have this massive wish list at Amazon full of little kids books. Kind of silly really as we have this great library in Mill Bay so why spend a ton on books. The collection I have so far is from my own childhood plus books I have found at second hand shops, garage sales, etc. I have noticed I tend to stay away from 'name brand' books (doing the same with clothes, decor, etc) - trying not to have much Disney, Blues Clues, Dora and other such known characters - I figure it kind of kills imagination and pulls kids into commercialism far too soon. Most of the books are full of beautiful illustrations and I try to keep with stories that are of the teaching manner, whether it be a value/moral or a how to do something or a history lesson. Can you tell I was a bookworm growing up :)


How about a picture of all the baby clothes I have been laundering. This pile doesn't count all the newborn to 6 month cloths already stacked in the closet. Putting more shelving in the closet is on the to do list now so that I can actually go through all the clothes and figure out what I may need. Looks like I have more then enough sleepers and onesies to keep me going for a while though.


Lastly is the sewing projects. First pic is of burp cloths that are completed. Second pic is of burp cloths that need to be pressed and final edge sewing done.



Well that's enough for now. More completed projects coming soon...

Life update

A pictureless post but then I guess I have been too busy doing things that I keep forgetting to take pictures for others to see.

On the baby front I have completed the palm tree - looks pretty good for a non-painter. I have cleaned up the bassinet and washed the bedding - thinking I might paint the legs to freshen it up a little. The quilt is almost complete. I have sewn all the front pieces together and picked up some binding so now I just have to sew the binding on and it will be done. I am part way through sewing together burp cloths - although I keep finding more fabric to make more burp cloths - still haven't found a 'suggested' amount of cloths to have on hand which makes it difficult to know when to stop ;) I think this afternoon I am going to go choose some flannel fabric to make some receiving blankets and wipes. After them I will have to start on diapers.

Garden wise - I planted up the majority of the veggie garden - just the periodic addition of lettuce, carrots, radish, etc to keep season long supply going. Found holes throughout the garden beds for the 4 boxes of dahlias I was given - I'll have to keep them cut back or I'll have a huge mess in the garden...teehee.. I planted one hanging basket..just cause you have to have atleast one hanging basket. This year it is hanging next to the arbour leading to the veggie garden. I also planted some nice trailing annuals in all the planters on the back patio, garage door planters and front entrance planters. I did a big harvest of herbs this past weekend - hopefully they will dry well as they currently are spread all over the livingroom.

We went for a sail with the Porter's this past weekend. I do enjoy going out with them a couple times a year but I can say that I don't think I would ever become a big sailor. Much rather be in a speedboat with a destination in mind...luckily Andy is of the same mind.

Anything else.....oh yes, I made myself a pillowtop shirt..I was hoping it would make a great maternity top throughout the hot summer but I have a feeling it is only going to last another week or two. It will be a cute top for next summer though.

Well, I think that is all for now.

Jumbo Shrimp with Sorrel Pesto Pasta

MMMMMmmmmmm good.

Last night I decided to use a little of my garden goodness. Raided the herb bed and stripped down my sorrel plant to make a fresh pesto. So here it goes.

2 cups sorrel leaves, washed and minced
1 Tbsp fresh crushed garlic
2 Tbsp orange juice (or use lemon for an ultra lemony flavour)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup parmesan cheese (or other hard cheese)
1/4 cup toasted pinenuts (or other nut)
1/2 tsp sea salt

Mix above ingredients together in bowl you are going to use to serve the pasta in. This size batch will coat roughly a 4 person serving of pasta.

Boil water and cook desired pasta - I used a whole grain rotini as this pesto can stand up to the stronger flavour of a whole wheat pasta. Add raw prepped jumbo shrimp to pasta roughly 3 minutes before pasta is completed cooking. Drain and toss with pesto. Voila! Serve with fresh bread & butter and veggies & dip for a quick and easy summertime dinner.

Getting to know your friends

Thought it would be fun to post my answers to this email sent to me on-line. Fun to look back at it in a couple years to see how things have changed

1. What time did you get up this morning? 6:38
2. Diamonds or pearls? diamonds
3. What was the last movie you saw? twister
4. Where is the most beautiful place you've ever been? so many...so hard to choose....maybe the swiss mountains
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? oatmeal with yogurt, fruit, nuts and seeds
6. What is your favorite food? usually burritos....right now salty and sweet foods
7. What food do you dislike? liver
8. What is your favorite CD lately? don't have one - I keep flipping radio stations (classical, rock and country have all been featured this week alone)
9. What kind of car do you drive? sunfire
10. Favorite sandwich? bacon, tomato and pickle
11. What characteristics do you despise? lying
12. Favorite item of clothing? jeans
13. If you could go anywhere in the world for a vacation, where would you go? Peru
14. What color is your bathroom? off white and pink - yuck
15. Favorite brand of clothing? cheap ;)
16. Where would/will you retire? probably live on vancouver island and travel to different destinations
17. What was your most memorable birthday? 30 - I was totally surprised
18. Favorite sport to watch? Watch on TV or in real life? Live hockey
19. Furthest place you are sending this? Merritt
20. Who do you expect to send this back to you? dunno
21. Person you expect to send it back first? dunno
22. Favorite saying? no worries
23. When is your birthday? may 17
24. Are you a morning person or a night person? night
25. What is your shoe size? 7
26. Pets? chickens
27. What did you want to be when you were little? which age? marine biologist - 13
28. What are you today? secretary
29. What is your favorite candy? reese's peanut butter cups.......oh dear, now I will have to go get some after work....darn
30. What is your favorite flower? casablanca lily or maybe a pure red amaryllis
31. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? August 30 - the first day of "retirement"
32. What are you listening to right now? Iceberg radio - Pop galore station (currently playing Madonna - Forbes top earner in the female singer category - girl's still got it!)
33. What was the last thing you ate? ginger biscotti and chocolate milk (afternoon sweet craving)
34. Do you wish on stars? sometimes
35. Do you believe in Angels? not in the physical sense
36. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? yellow
37. Pet peeves? self-centered people
38. Favorite Television show? CSI
39. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Rupert
40. Do you like the person who sent this to you? yup
41. Favorite soft drink? root beer
43. Hair Color? brown
44. Favorite restaurant? super casual - Kim Wah's, nicer - The Grapevine
45. Siblings? yes
46. What was your favorite toy as a child? My Little Pony's and Barbies
47. Summer or Winter? summer
48. Hugs or kisses? hugs
49. Chocolate or vanilla? chocolate
50. Do you want your friends to e-mail you back? yes
51. When was the last time you cried? a couple of weeks I think
52. What is under your bed? box of wrapping supplies (paper, ribbon, cards, stickers, bags, etc)
53. Who is the friend you've had the longest? Kathryn
54. What did you do last night for dinner? homemade chicken burgers and mccain oven fries with lots of ketchup and a lemon tart for dessert - too much
55. Favorite smell? my hubby
56. What are you most afraid of? losing my hubby
57. How many keys on your key ring? about 5 i think......got the man's truck today - only 3 on that ring
58. How many years at your current job? 3 years, 2 months
59. Favorite day of the week? saturday
60. How many towns have you lived? victoria, shawnigan, apsley, vancouver (east and kits), cowichan bay, cobble hill
61. Do you make friends easily? not really....kind of shy.....silly really...have to come out of that for piglet's sake
62. How many folks will you send this to? just a couple

Front view

Some pictures of our newly installed front garden. We have never liked the shape of the front bed, not only did it suck for mowing but it just didn't look right. So a couple weekend's ago we decided enough was enough and reshaped, planted and bark mulched. It looks so much better.

Shaping the bed also known as turf tossing (Before)

After

Before

After

Before

After

Boy toys

I thought I'd show a couple of the recent projects worked on from the view of how handy some of the "boy toys" have been. Definately saved on time by having the big truck and tractor around.


Fencing materials - all in one load

Hedge trees - all 50 of them

Moving the trees the easy way

Baby names and obsess much!

Okay, so there is the extremely difficult task of choosing a name for our child. We of course need a girl and a boy name. Preferably two of each just in case the baby pops out and doesn't suit the name we chose at all.

Then there is the difficulty of Andy wanting a 'normal' name and I want a not too common name. For some reason my darling husband thinks I can't chose a 'normal' name. It's not like I want to name my child Apple or Poppy or Phineas or something far out like that, I just don't want my child to be one of four children in the same class with the same name. I want my child to have a name similar to what my name is like. Different enough that you don't know a lot of other's with the same name but not so unusally that people are asking what your name is again and how do you spell it because it sounds so unusual that people don't know how to even begin to spell it or alternatively see it spelled and don't kow how to pronounce it.

I also want to have a boys name that is a strong name - no wussy girly names - a name that is going to suit him if he choses a high powered career but perhaps can be shortened to something more casual for friends and family or more casual type career. Something like his father - Andrew - but goes by Andy.

For a girl I want something feminine and girly but also could be used for a high powered career if she goes that route. The name I am pushing for right now goes that route but Andy wants to divide it into two names. My issue is that it creates too casual a name and too common a name. For whatever the reason the name I chose out of the blue, it's very pretty nickname is in the top 20 names in BC for 2007 - not good! But if we kept with the long form it isn't nearly as common and there are some other options for nicknames - not quite so cute but certainly less common.

Oh bother........who knew one could get so worked up about something. Mind you on the other hand I have discovered that the short form for the boys name we keep tossing about and I was worrying about being too common actually doesn't even hit the lists for the last couple of years. We might just be in luck with that one. Maybe it can just be a boy and then the problem is solved.

I printed out the stats listing for 2007 and 2008 and have crossed out all names that were used 50 or more times. This included adding up things like Jaden, Jaiden and Jayden as I figure you pronounce them the same way so they are basically the same name. Perhaps from this listing we can find a name that we both like but isn't too common or atleast keep from choosing a name that we thought was unique and turns out to be common as anything. Darn all these people that are using names I have had in the back of my head for years.

Am I obsessing much or what?

Laundry

Just for fun. I pic of the beginnings of making my way through the piles of babies clothes making there ways to me. Thought I'd get a jump on the laundering and have everything clean ahead of time. Now I just need some shelving to put it on :)

Window view

A couple of pics of the changes I made to the window in piglets room.

Mobile hanging

New curtains

Close up of sea creature curtain hangers