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

Fabric for baby quilt

How about a picture to go with the previously talked about baby quilt. I didn't want a "babyish" quilt so went with some great tropical themed prints and mixed in some complimentary patterns to make what I think will be a great unisex quilt that should become a lap quilt latter on if it hasn't been destroyed. The cream coloured background is actually the fabric for the other side.

Palm tree

As promised I have remembered to bring in my camera and cord and am going to upload some of the many little projects on the go or recently completed.

So first up is the moon and palm tree project for piglets wall. Though not quite finished the pictures show what it will look like fairly accurately.
Drawing the moon

Painting of the moon

Palm tree half finished

Baby projects

Wednesday night was a night of fun shopping. I went to the fabric store and chose fabrics for a baby quilt for piglet. Five great new fabrics to add to one that I had brought back from Hawaii with me. The Hawaiian piece is a dark blue with white/yellow plumerias on it. New fabrics I picked up include #1 - multi colour stripe, #2 - yellow leaf like design, #3 - goldfish on dark blue, #4 - parrots in tropical forest and #5 multicolor dragonflies on black. I will post pic at later date when I remember to bring camera and cord with me to work.

I also picked up a cream coloured rosebud fleece for the other side of quilt. Bindig is still to be determined.

Added a green leaf flannel to go with a Hibiscus print on black cotton that I picked up in Hawaii for a couple more burp cloths.

Guess I have some sewing to do.

First attempts for cookbook

Okay, so I have started playing around with recipes with the cookbook in mind. So far I have a grilled pineapple salad with a spicy sauce that has possibilities as well as a rhubarb sticky bun that was commented on at Mother's Day brunch. Both will obviously require making again with any changes to improve further and ingredient measurements written down more accurately.

I have made several other items that though they were good were not worthy of a cookbook with my name to it.

Still haven't figured out a format so it is hard to focus on what type of recipes to be playing with. I was just thinking right now that maybe something about fruits and veggies in a new way.

In other news I have had to find a new person to take over my pregnancy care as my regular doctor has chosen to discontinue deliveries. Luckily I was able to get in with the midwifery group in Duncan, which is slightly ironic as I had originally thought I would go with a midwife but then chose to stay with my regular doctor for the consistancy factor. Sometimes life just takes you to something you wanted anyways. I have to say I am extremely comfortable with this change - far more so then the suggested new doctor options.

Ultrasound went great. Apparently nothing showed up to worry about. New due date is September 12. Triple screen tests came back - low risk - which is a sigh of relief - not that we had reason to be concerned but it is good to know that we are at only 1% chance of these birth defects.

Little Piglet / Jefferson / whateveryournamewillbe is kicking a lot these days. Can't wait until Andy can feel it. He is starting to really become comfortable with the whole idea. Even said hello to our little guy the other day. It sure makes a world of difference for me. Just makes me feel like yes everything will be alright.

Now if only this darned cold would go away!

Challenge myself

Okay, so I have been doing a lot of thinking about what I will do when I am home with the little one. There will be only so much housework and yardwork that one can do and one has to have something that doesn't seem like working on one's home all the time. Something that is my own. Something creative and hopefully productive.

So here it is. I am going to write a cookbook. Sound crazy. Maybe a little, after all what do I know about writing a book. But here is what I do know. #1 - I like to cook. #2 - People tell me I am a good cook. #3 - I like to try new recipes all the time (there are times when Andy will ask if we can have something normal like spaghetti with meat and tomato sauce because I have made him so many new dishes that he wants something familiar) #4 - I like to change the recipe to my taste after trying it a time or two and therefore creating a Sonja recipe.

How I will be challenged - in more ways then I can even imagine. Learning about writing and producing a book. Creativity in my cooking. Keeping records of what did/didn't work, how to improve a recipe, etc, etc. Keeping on track so this doesn't become a ten year or never to be completed project ;)

I am thinking I need to come up with format first so I then have a way to organize recipes as they are created. Do I go from appies through dessert or spring through winter or specialize in a type of food like veggies or pasta. Oh my! HHHmmmmm, my Rustic Rhubarb pie might just have to be the first recipe to enter it's way into the book. Perhaps something like West Coast backyard....recipes using home grown and locally sourced food items....

Lots to think about.

Java Jolt

Mmmmmm...coffee......you got to know I am feeling better as I can now enjoy a cup of coffee again. Not that I should be...it would be better for piglet if I didn't but we all have our little things. I am not having more then two cups a day so I guess I am doing okay. I really need to make sure I have lots of calcium rich foods and then it's all good....right?!?

Can you sense the worried, guilty, am I hurting my baby thing in the background. That's me the worrywort. I know I need to eat more veggies and last night I even managed to make it multi-salad night for dinner - just what the body ordered. Cucumber salad, carrot salad (made with yogurt again - yummy)and two different pasta salads - one cheese/ham with veggies, the other chicken peanut with veggies. It is so nice to actually feel some desire to create a meal again and not just what is quick and easy and minimal effort.

This past Saturday I went with a group of girlfriends to have lunch and our tea leaves read. It was what I would call an interesting experience. For some reason my reading included my being sad, that everything was going to be okay and not to worry. For a while there it had me a little worried but she also said that I had lost my "pixie like self" and needed to re-find it. It was an afternoon of contemplation about how I had been feeling for months...even prior to getting pregnant and strangely enough she was right. So believe it or not I had the best Sunday in absolute eons. I just felt good, physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually. It was the "get over it" moment I had been needing without even realizing it. Happiness comes from within and I have been wallowing in something negative that's for sure.

Sunday Mom and I went to the baby show in Sidney. It was such a fun day. Tons of fun little gifts to be had from lots of different stores, etc. I found out there is a store in Victoria that specializes in cloth diapers so I will be making a trip in there to figure out which kind I am going to use. Seems like there are all kinds of options depending on what you like so that is exciting. I also found a company that has bamboo onesies - they are so soft that I actually bought one. Believe it or not that is the first new item I have purchased for the baby since the piggy bank that I bought to tell Andy we were pregnant with. I also got the name of a store that carries all kinds of the baby wraps that are really good for people with back problems - like me - so I'll have to make a trip in there.

Last night I got a phone call that was exciting - apparently my good energy really came out on Sunday as I won the stroller that Island Child Magazine had as their door prize. Crazy! They are dropping it off on wednesday.

Perhaps this Pixie is starting to perk up :)

The start of something better

I think...knock on wood... that I am coming out of the worst of the morning sickness. I barely throw up now. First thing in the morning is still rough and my first couple of hours of the day aren't completely normal but the afternoons are getting better. I don't have to run to shove food in my face to keep from heaving. My stomach will actually growl telling me to eat before making me feel sick - heaven.

I even had enough interest in dinner last night to make two salads. I discovered that mixing mayo and yogurt actually makes carrot salad taste even better and it is lower in fat then normal carrot salad - yum! Dinner last night was much better then what Andy has referred to as "the pasta diet". Hopefully it is just the start.

Tummy has popped out. Had to go buy some new clothes to wear as my jeans were too tight. So funny poking at the belly, it seems so huge when you consider the baby is only slightly larger then my fist but nature is a funny thing. It's kind of nice to look pregnant only cause it makes it feel a little more real then just feeling crappy all the time.

Andy is positive the baby is a boy. I don't have a feeling either way although I hope it is a boy for Andy's sake. A little guy to follow him around and try to do everything that daddy does would be so cute and I think Andy would connect more with a little boy then a girl but most importantly I am just hoping for a happy and healthy baby. So my focus is to stay calm and happy and to try and eat as healthy as possible, stay away from what they tell you to stay away from. Oh and convince myself that sleeping on my side is comfortable. I tell you - first I lose sleeping on my belly now I have to stop sleeping on my back and that is when I can actually get to sleep and stay sleeping.

My goodness, can I complain much! Now that I have purged I feel much better. Change is a wonderful thing isn't it?

Ultrasound

So yesterday I got to go to have an ultrasound. Earlier then normal due to some bleeding but right now the joy of getting to see our little one on screen far outways the concern and worries I had over over the weekend.

There is officially a baby inside there. Just one for the record. And surprisingly enough it turns out we are 2 weeks less pregnant then we thought. That should move our due date to around September 18 (Trish and Albie should get a kick out of that). I guess names like Marina and Poet are no longer valid names as remembrance for where the little one came to be. Perhaps Mary, Chris, Joy or Noel might be more appropriate. Oh well, we have 6 months to figure it out.

Week 12

So time seems to go fast yet also extremely slow right now. Every day seems to drag on forever. I know that it is mainly due to feeling so tired and never knowing when I am going to feel sick again. I thought I had it all under control but now I get hit at all hours of the day with varying degrees. Some days it is just the cough and gag as I call it, others it is a full out run to the washroom. I know we are getting close to this coming to an end and I am fully living into it. Feeling good and full of energy - soon....very soon. Until then I will continue with the crackers and gingerale.

Exciting news...a not so exciting body

On monday we began sharing our exciting news. Andy and I are expecting!

And so begins an emotional rollercoaster. The what have we done, how is this going to change life, etc, etc. I am very excited don't get me wrong but when I feel like heaving for the first 5 hours of the day it can be slightly difficult to remain excited every moment of the day. I am currently feeling exhausted - all the time. I just want to curl up in bed with a million blankets on me and nap - nothing more - nothing less.

I have told "piglet" (doesn't my darling husband come up with the most wonderful names) that we are going to be over this nausea thing by monday. Do babies that are less then an inch long listen to these requests? Probably not. I just want to feel normal at work again. It has been a rough week with the boss away and I am supposed to hold down the fort. Can't exactly call in sick now can I.

I am sure in a couple of weeks I'll look back at this and think - it wasn't really that bad. Until then I'll just keep slugging through it.

Time Flies

Wow, an entire month has come and gone since last I posted something online. I'd like to say that I have been so extremely busy that I just didn't have time however that would be untrue. More a case of forgetting the camera, then forgetting the camera cord, then not really wanting to type anything or maybe just not wanting to share of myself. It has been a quiet month, a month of thoughts and ponderings but not ones I want to share with others. Not that I am having bad thoughts but that I have been thinking a lot about life and what the future year(s) will look like for me. Deeply personal and not thoughts then I am even ready to voice out loud yet. I am sure even Andy is wondering about the quiet....soon, I shall share....but for now it is just swirling and forming and coming together.

I have been doing some little things. We have started to paint the trim in the house. So far the front entrance and part of the family room has been done. Nothing more then a couple hours of work but it sure makes a difference.

Last night I moved the poinsettia planter outside. This may sound like a simple end of season cleanup however I have had some of these poinsettias for 2 or 3 years. Every year cutting them back and gradually coaxing them to grow again - bushing into a beautiful big display of greenery all year long - the problem is that they create a sticky mess underneath them and I now have two large areas on the carpet that hopefully will come clean with a good wash. I realized that it would be much more pleasant to chose a different plant for the house and have a happy husband then keeping the plant and having a husband that mumbles about sticky floors. Crazy how you can become so attached to things - it is a plant - yes there is the fact that I have time into it - watering, trimmimg, etc but is it really worth it - NO! Not when your partner in life is upset about it. I think this is the start of some serious cleaning up and purging. Should be interesting.

Tooth Fairy Pillow

So this is an absolutely adorable pillow for when the tooth fairy makes a visit. I know, I know, I don't have kids yet but if I someday have a child I think I would like to make one of these and what better way to not lose the idea then to post it here. It even has a heart pocket in the back for the tooth to go in.

The Tree is Trimmed

Not much to say. I am working on some Christmas presents for family members so I can't say much in case someone drops by here between now and Christmas morning. I guess that means I will have photos galore to share after Christmas but for now mums the word.

We did however finishing decorating our tree and the bannister. The pictures don't do the real thing justice but give a bit of an idea what the house looks like. And yes, those are pumpkins on the stairs, leftovers from autumn decor.

Isn't it True

Trust that little voice in your head that says, 'Wouldn't it be interesting if...'; and then do it.
-Duane Michals

This is such a profound statement because my entire life is full of wouldn't it be interesting....but not full of doing it. And it is the fear of failure that holds me back. More because I have a spouse that I don't want to let down. To put financial burden on. I am not fearful of it for myself. I have been there and gotten through it. Pulled myself out of a big financial hole with the support of friends and family but I didn't have a mortgage then, I didn't have a spouse that counts on me to do a percentage of the household bills. I don't know...maybe that is an excuse to cover up the fear of failing.

Maybe it is because I feel like I am the queen of procrastination and don't feel that I would accomplish anything on my own or maybe that I don't think I could actually create something that would generate more financially then I current make.

Life.....one sure can complicate it.

Everyday brings something

It is amusing how we feel like we haven't done anything...like today is no different then the day before and yet if you actually look at the day and what you did, experienced, who you talked to or saw, everyday is unique. I was going to say that there is nothing going on in my day today. That it is just another normal day but that would be a lie.

Today is different then yesterday because.....
-I ate rice crispies for breakfast.
-I remembered to take my vitamins.
-I am listening to Christmas music at this very moment.
-I am going shopping after work for Andy's Christmas present.
-Andy and I are going to decorate the Christmas tree tonight.
-I just finished eating meat and veggie pies we brought back from Pender Island Bakery.

All this and I am only at noon!

As a side note I wanted to show some pictures of some wood children's items that I think are really neat. Perhaps when I get my scroll saw....someday...soon I hope...I will make some of these.

Poet's Cove

This past weekend we went to Poet's Cove. I have this incrediably giving boss that does things like take his staff to an out of town resort for a weekend get away as the staff party. The place was beautiful, the food was great, the islands of North and South Pender were lush and green. We had weather from sunny through snow while there. A fun and enjoyable weekend