Another week! yesss, anoooother post.

IT'S MY DAY OFF!!


Sorry.  I am exhausted after this weekend of working!  Saturday I worked 9 hours, and Sunday I worked 7, but had to close by myself, which just makes it feel like 2 hours was added on because of all the extra work!  Friday night was the winter auction at church, and I washed dishes for TWO hours straight.  They just kept coming, and I was wearing my leather boots and they are not made for standing in one place for long periods of time, haha.  I have today off, and then work the next 4 days (but luckily, they are all 5 hour days!).  I have so much I want to do today, but I am happy that I've just been able to sit around in my PJ's, play with Shea, and relax this morning instead of running around like a crazy woman cleaning.  Shea asked for Oatmeal today, so I thought, "Oh, good, I'm going to start with a healthy breakfast and then maybe we'll go for a walk!"  Well, I did eat some breakfast.  But I just finished a homemade latte and a small nanaimo bar as well...and there has been no walk yet. hehee.  OH WELL.  I guess I have to put that on my "diet diary" for my midwife though.


Just thought I'd share a few things I did on my LAST day off, because I took pictures.


I finally dealt with our ugly curtains in our living room!  I had to kind of switch around some curtains from other rooms to get enough, but thats ok, because these will probably stay in the living room long term, where as the other rooms will get new ones (and they aren't as necessary in the other rooms).  I made this white sheer curtain in the middle from an old swag (I think thats what its called...it was just a long sheer piece of fabric that normally wraps around the curtain rod to make a valance of sorts).  I cut it down the middle, and then sewed two pieces together for each side of it.  I love the look.  The other windows just have the brown curtains, but I hope to get more white curtains.  Because I love having light come in, but I HATE looking at our neighbor's house through our windows.  The old gross blinds were super moldy and I had to scrub out the windows too.  Gross.

I also went to Goodwill with Shea and SCORED big time.  I figured at least Candice would appreciate my finds. :)  I got these two red throw pillows for $2 each!  I love them and they have brown accents on them which match the curtains and my brown pillow.  I think I know have my color scheme for this room when we finally (hopefully) paint in here!  They cleaned up nice, too!

I also picked this up for Shea for $1.29.  These go for like $25-$30 new.  Isn't that ridiculous?  There were like 5 brand new ones there and he LOVES it.  It even makes noises (oh joy...) 

And I got tons of clothes for Shea.  He has really needed pants/new long sleeve shirts because he's been growing like crazy.  3 pairs of pants (nice brands), jacket, 3 shirts, shoes, a sweater, and a shirt for me all for like $20

I love good Goodwill trips :)

AND my sewing labels came!  I ordered custom fabric and just have to cut them up and sew them into little labels.  They turned out so cute (hard to see here).  Can't wait to add them to the clothing I've made for my shop and finally put some items up - this is pretty much all I've been waiting for.

And of course, last Thursday I took my belly pic.  I think it shrunk a little this week?  Who knows.  Maybe I've been eating less.  Hard to tell what is baby and what is me!  I need to start doing something other than looking down in all of these pictures, too. ha...I hate taking pictures like these of myself, I feel so awkward.  But I don't have any weekly ones from my first pregnancy, so hopefully it will be fun to have when I'm done.

Post-Kauai Post

Oh my gosh!  Who updated the blog?  It looks AMAZING!  I know it was either Angela or Becca.  I love it!!!!

We are back from Kauai.  We just went from Sunday through Friday!  I don't even want to tell you about the warmth and the relaxation and the wonderfulness.  You would be so jealous if you knew the wonderful week I have experienced.  And Washington, frankly, sucks right now.  We got away just in time.

We did Snuba, which is like a cross between snorkeling and scuba.  You have a scuba tank attached to a raft on top of you, so you can go down further than snorkeling but you don't need all the scuba training and stuff.  That was fun!  I saw two huge turtles - one under a rock that I was right next to, and one swimming (I almost said flying). 

Joe and I did a hike that was only 2 miles each way but it was BRUTAL uphill the way up. I was pretty proud of myself though, I had quite a bit of energy going up!  I took a nap when we came back, for which Joe made fun of me - but then he went to bed at 7 PM and slept until 7 AM!  I was bored when he went to bed so I went to the hot tub and talked to this Polish couple we had talked to a few times before.  I kept calling them "that couple with the girl with the big boobs" because, wow.  I guess I've seen really big boobs before, but maybe not in a bikini?  And the girl was so pretty and so tan, but also so nice and sweet. 

I didn't get as much sun as I wanted to.  I did get more sun than I did on our honeymoon though.  It rained the whole day before we left so I didn't get a chance to even out my sun exposure.  I got burned but not too bad.  It's already darkening to tan - YAY!  If only I could keep it.  =(

We had breakfast in every morning - that was nice.  Fresh tropical fruit, pop tarts, bagels and cream cheese, tea and coffee.  Two mornings I went to the beach and just spent an hour by myself with a Bible.

It was really nice going back somewhere we had been before.  We hardly even needed to use our GPS!  We felt very comfortable and familiar with the area.

The flight there was pretty uneventful.  We packed our luggage so we wouldn't have to check any bags, which meant we had to pack all our liquids in 3 oz. containers.  We bought shaving cream and toothpaste in Kauai.  But on the way up, they were practically begging people to check carry-ons for free, so we let them check one.  Ha - I don't even know how it got to Kauai, because when we finally found our bag, it had no label or anything on it.

One fun thing, on the way there we had an interisland flight between the main Honolulu airport and the smaller Kauai airport.  Sitting in the row in front of me was a little girl who was crying, and the flight attendants were  trying to console her, telling her it would only be half an hour till she'd see her family.  I switched seats with the man who was sitting next to her.  She stopped crying almost as soon as I asked her name, and then she talked nonstop for the rest of the flight.  She was only seven and she'd only been away from her family for a couple days in Honolulu.  She kept saying things like "You know that big water slide at this park" and I kept saying "I don't live in Kauai, so I don't know where this stuff is."  But she kept saying "Do you know ____?  She's my teacher.  Do you know ____?  She's my godsister and I don't like her because she hit my puppy."  Anyway, everyone and the flight staff was like "wow, you're so good with kids" and I was all modest about it, like "Yeah, I like them."  Except for one Hawaiian lady who was like "The fasten seatbelt sign is on, you're not allowed to get up now."  I smiled and said "Oh, okay, thank you" and was thinking "Oh, really?  That's what that sign means?  Do I look stupid?"  I got up anyway though.  And Joe chatted with the old man who had been sitting next to the girl while I chatted with her.  Fun.

On the back our flight to Honolulu got delayed.  Which meant we were close to missing our connecting flight from Honolulu to Seattle.  But a lot of people on our delayed flight were also headed to Seattle, so we weren't too worried the plane would leave without us, because that would mean leaving without half its passengers and then dealing with a LOT of angry people.  Super stressful getting on the delayed flight, because everyone was stressed and mad, and there wasn't room for our carry-ons so we had to put one in the front with the strollers and stuff, and one under the seat of some random nice couple who had room under their seat.

I made Joe take some pictures just because I knew you would all be like "We want to see pictures!"  But I don't have them on my computer yet.  There aren't very many, either.

But here is a picture Joe just took of all three cats on the couch together.  I missed them so much!

Gloomy weather, housework, and lots of pictures!

This last week has been a little busy but a lot wonderful. Paul and I went to Moses Lake Tuesday to Wednesday, it was a short trip like always but absolutely wonderful. I miss my parents and wish daily that we lived closer. My mommy made Paul and I lots of wonderful food and caramel macchiatos. We laid in front of the fire, read our bibles, and just hung out. Pure heaven if you ask me.

These pictures area all out of order, but this was taken this morning. My little man snuggled me in bed while I read my bible and fiddled around on my phone. It was wonderful. I got this new app on my phone that allows me to make collages with rounded corners and everything and I am a little obsessed.

Amber's kitties missed her while she was gone. Every time I went over they would come swarm me for pets and snuggles. Now I have visited Amber a million times and her cat's never do this. They missed their mommy and I was their replacement. It was kinda fun. :)

The drive back from ML was gorgeous, well until we got past vantage then it turned snowy, slushy, dreary, but it was still a good drive. It flew by actually.

Eric has a new sleeping spot, the living room. It makes me smile every time I walk by upstairs and see him sleeping there.

Ok so definitely not a good picture of Paul and I. Both tired, I have no make-up and hadn't worn it for a few days and Paul is all scruffy but it is real life. We took it to send to my bro cause he got us that shirt and sweatshirt for Christmas. We love them and wear them all the time!

Instagram pictures.

Kitten toes.

Childhood kitty.

Thinking hubby.

Greek yogurt, raspberries, and granola for breakfast. Yum!

Today I woke up at about 9 and have been productive so far.

3 bathrooms cleaned

2 loads of laundry

1 house vacuumed

Still to do:

make homemade pizza pockets

chop down some of the tree that has fallen in our back yard

wipe down kitchen counters (they are always getting dirty!)

a long day

I am feeling really beat today.  Just exhausted.  I worked from 1:30 to 9:10 tonight (had to close by myself), and work was busy today.  I didn't feel like being super energetic for customers.  I had to work with my manager who is the queen of over-sharing and weirdness (sorry, I try to have a good attitude toward her, but this part is just kind of true).  I had to go pick up Shea from Jeremy's parents house, because Jeremy has his men's group today.  So he puts Shea to bed and I go pick him up and bring him home.  I always feel so bad waking him up, he just wants to sleep!  But he's always so happy to finally get into his own bed.  Thursday nights are generally my "I can do whatever I want" night,since Jeremy isn't home..but really, all I want to do is sleep!  I think I'm going to make myself a snack and then finish posting.


Ok.  I have two mini pizzas on english muffins toasting in the toaster oven.  MMM.


So I just thought I'd share a couple of things.  First, just a cute Shea moment.  Lately he has been into putting on his Mr. Potato-Head glasses.  I got him to pose.  Then he OF COURSE had to put on his sunglasses and pose.  Then he had to get "Mama, potatohead gagis" (how he pronounces "sunglasses") and then he made me take a picture.  Yes, we be stylin'.

Then, I finally did something I have been wanting to try for a while.  Jeremy and I made our first batch of homemade liquid laundry detergent!  Here is the link to the blog I found it on if you want to check it out.  This is insane when I found this out.  I spent about 14 dollars startup cost to make this - about the price of buying my regular detergent which gets me through 50 - 60 loads.  This homemade stuff lasts for180 loads with my washer (640 if you have a new efficient front loader!), and next time I make it?  I only have to spend .97 cents for the bar of laundry soap!  The other ingredients last a while because I only use 1 cup of the washing soda, and 1/2 cup of the borax.  Not to mention all the ingredients are all natural.  I have heard that a lot of detergent companies do not have to disclose all of the chemicals they put in their soap, so I have been wanting to change to natural for a while, but those brands tend to be a bit more expensive.   I have run two loads with it today, and I am so happy with the result!  They smell good (the natural soap bar has a nice natural soapy smell to it), and I don't have to use fabric softener with it (more savings!).  And it only took about 20 minutes to make plus 10 minutes today filling my containers.  Definitely doing this all the time.  Its not really millions of dollars of savings a year, but I am really trying to focus on being a better steward with what I have, and this is one practical way I have found to do it.  And it was a fun project to do and have my husband be a part of a household chore with me.

Here is what I had to buy:  a 5 gallon bucket and the three ingredients (found at Walmart for super cheap). Then I collected empty milk gallons from work (since we buy our milk in cartons).  I filled those 5 bottles in the picture below and still have half the orange bucket full of stuff.  My sister is even going to buy some from me for a couple of bucks and it will last her way longer than anything else.

Can't end without my super silly boy hiding in our pillows while I was getting ready for work.  At least he popped out for a picture.  :)  OH and my ultrasound is scheduled for Feb 10th!  Two weeks from tomorrow we get to see our baby and maybe find out if its a boy or girl.  CANNOT WAIT!  Excited for a day off tomorrow too!  And my mini pizzas look amaaaaazing.  You should be very jealous.  :P

two days off

After working all weekend (I thankfully picked up a shift last Saturday on my day off), I am happy for two days at home relaxing with my little boy!  We have been so blessed this last week!  Not only did I get to have so much down time at home during the snowstorm (I finished a bunch of new outfits for my shop!), Jeremy actually made up for and MORE for my time off with work he got last week, and he had work yesterday and today.  We even received a random check from Geico for a refund for a former policy - apparently we qualified for a lower rate and didn't get it - it was for $100 - which goes a long way for us right now.


God is so good to us - I don't know how I can ever, ever complain about anything.


Yesterday was so beautiful out and my sister came and visited - I haven't seen her since Christmas.  Didn't get any pictures of our lovely walk on the beach, delicious lunch, and cozy sitting around drinking hot cocoa time.  It was wonderful.


I didn't see Jeremy until about 8PM last night.  We stayed up drinking tea and playing his Carcassone game.  We played two rounds - I cannot beat him in this game, and it makes me really competitive.  


This morning we all had breakfast (EDIT: I realize this sounds like it is a big deal that all of us ATE breakfast, as if we don't have enough food for that, or something. haha.  OK we all ate breakfast TOGETHER) - I finally went grocery shopping yesterday, so we had delicious egg "McMuffins" with spinach leaves, tomato, and cheese and some cut up strawberries and bananas mixed together on the side.  And lattes, of course.  So yummy.  I packed Jer a sandwich and he headed off for the day.  Shea and I went out to Walmart to get some essentials and ingredients for a desert I'm making for the church auction on Saturday.


I realized today when we went out that I could not find even one of my reusable shopping bags from fred meyer!  I don't know where they went, because I had like 6 of them at least.  During naptime, I decided to remedy this by sewing some new ones.  I only got one done today, because I wanted to try out the pattern before cutting out a bunch of them.  HERE it is. It is huge.  I might make the next ones slightly smaller, but its nice to have one big one.  It will be good for library trips too!  I made it out of a sheet I bought at a thrift store  a while ago.

Before I got to the tote bag, I made myself a cup of hot cocoa (threw in a few butterscotch chips, mmm!), and cozied up in my bedroom to work on my baby blanket some more.  Its hard to see in this lighting, its more of a mustard/gray color.  Its probably bigger than it needs to be, but oh well!

My cocoa and full jar of marshmallows (that just makes me happy to see)

Son posing, of course (he even made me take TWO pictures).

And can't leave without my belly bump pic from last week.  Before heading to work, so in my work garb of course.  Looks smaller here to me, maybe I didn't eat much this day...:)

Well its back to work tomorrow during the day, and then I have a bunch of projects I'm finally getting to this week that I'm excited to see work out.  What are you doing this rainy day? 

Kauai!

Tomorrow morning, Joe's parents are picking us up at 6:45 and taking us the airport.  We are going to Kauai until Friday!  I am excited beyond words.

This storm wasn't too bad for us, because we barely even lost power.  But knowing that I will be in the sun tomorrow somehow makes me hate the slush more.  20% chance of precipitation each day we're in Kauai, and highs of 80s.  And of course, when it rains in Kauai it's a tropical rain, not an all-day drizzle.

I'm slowly packing, slowly cleaning.  Took extra stuff out of the fridge, froze leftovers.  The only thing left is half a gallon of whole milk - which Angela can have if she wants.  Heck, she can have anything in our fridge she wants.  She's watching our cats while we're gone.

I used my allowance to buy a portable DVD player for the flight.  I also have the Nook I got for Christmas.  I've got a pack of DVDs to choose from, and I checked out e-editions of twelve books from the library and downloaded them on my nook.  We have cribbage, we have snacks.  We are totally good to go for the flight.  Everything is charged!

See you later!

Food, snow, cats, cleaning, everything.

I went crazy the other day and cooked my heart out. I made curry, spanish rice, 13 frozen burritos, shrimp pico de gallo, and pasta with meat sauce. It was so lovely to have all this food in the fridge, and Paul was happy too! (Eric helped me in the kitchen)

My kitties have been crazy in this weather. They were rubbing themselves all over my swim towel (though they always do this), staring at me when I got home from work, and cuddling in the bathtub when we had the fireplace on cause it was super warm.

I made this asian stir fry thing from a package and made potstickers to go along with them. I didn't end up liking the stir fry because it was quite spicy and Paul was happy cause he loved it! All I had to do was sautee some chicken, veggies (mushrooms and carrots) and add the packet of seasoning and water. Easy enough! Those potstickers on the other hand, totally delish!

I have been making myself so many caramel machiattos (hot and cold) since getting my stovetop espresso for Christmas, they have been lovely (and cheap!). I also buy coffee at church because it's so yummy! Oh, and those clothes on the floor? That is what happens when the kittens get into the closet. 10 shirts on the floor and full of hair. Gross.

This was the snow on Sunday, well we thought this was snow. If we only knew what was coming for us.

I ended up doing childcare because the person who was supposed to be with Amber didn't show up, so after church we went to her Oma's for lunch and then came back to my house for some tea and to listen to the sermon! It was a lovely afternoon. :)

Eleanor in her snuggle mood. I love it when I am warm snuggled up in bed with a kitty. Makes me so so happy and full of joy and warmth.

My cute hubby sleeping on the couch after a long day at work. :) And have you even seen Shawn the Sheep?! Well it is the cutest (kids) show ever but Paul and I love it. Our friend Sara saw this toy and thought of us. Love it! Paul worked till 4 am one morning doing out of stocks for a store in Burien and this is what I woke up to in the morning, an empty cake container. Haha. Someone was hungry when he got home!

My favorite secretary at work fell and hit her head, it split open and required staples. We had a bake sale for her and I made cake pops and rice krispies. I didn't go to the bake sale since I didn't work on the day they were having it, I just brought treats in early. Everybody was raving over how cute they are. It was really simple and fun to make and I was so glad I could contribute to the bake sale.

Yesterday (thursday) our power went out at 6:30am. I helped Paul get the car out of the garage and closed the door after him and then went back to bed. I was awake till 7:45 am then fell back asleep till 10am and it was freezing when I woke up! Our thermostat said 58 degrees...We have gas heat but you need electricity for the blower. So I turned on the gas fireplace and huddled by that. After going back and forth in my head I decided to head over to Amber's at about 12. I was there till about 8pm when Paul finally got home from work (after a 2.5 hour drive home). We hung out for a bit then decided to call Amber and Joe and see if we could stop by to charge Pauls phone since we still didn't have power. They said yes, we headed out, we got a call, they lost power. So back home...and...and...we finally had power! 15 hours later and we had power. We didn't lose any food from our fridge or freezer because the house was down to 53 degrees and the doors had been shut. It was a blessing.

While at Ambers (with Janae too!) we played Dominion, watched IRobot, made waffles, popcorn, and lots and lots of tea. It was wonderful.

This is what the trees looked like outside our house this morning, icy and laying on the roof, lovely. The ice has now melted but the tree is still on our roof. Paul and his dad will chop it down this weekend. There is also a tree laying in our backyard and about a million branches too.

See my poor little car at work? I spent 10 minutes scraping off freezing rain and then powered my way through the snow surrounding my car. Whole lot got plowed...except for by my car.

It was a beautiful (but very long almost hour) drive home. I was trying to look scared in the picture but I just look tired and ridiculous. It was 12:30am by this point.

Cuddly kitties in a cold house, how could they not?

I have been finding toys everywhere lately, and somethings that my kitties think are toys but aren't. My fishing line from the bottom drawer of Alex...really cats? And one morning I woke up to 5 toys laying outside my door. They were busy throughout the night apparently.

Eleanor LOVED the bathtub last night when we turned on the fireplace. The house was so cold (53 if you don't remember) and the kitties had been alone all day. They were so happy to see us and feel warmth.

And that my friends was my week. I work the weekend and on Monday and hopefully all this crazy winter storm weather is over with, since the hospital is on a hill and it is annoying to get to work in this weather!

the REAL snow day

We had the perfect snow day yesterday.


Really.  Perfect.


Well, other than that Jeremy had to get up at 5:30 to go to work in Silverdale (1/2 hour drive in good weather) to clear snow at the center his boss maintains.  This was GOOD because I've lost 11 hours of work this week, and he got 4 hours yesterday, and at least another 3 this morning as well.  Anyway. I stayed in bed until around 6:30 or 7 when Shea woke up.  I let him snuggle up on the couch with a blanket and I cleaned the kitchen and made us breakfast.  Definitely a pancake day!  We had pancakes, scrambled eggs, and yogurt, which is a pretty normal breakfast for us anyway.  My boss closed the ice cream stores, so I didn't even have to worry about trying to decide if I should try and drive in this stuff (I don't think I would have anyway), and I got to cleaning the house.  Something about a snow day makes me want a clean and cozy house.  Dishes, vacuuming, and general tidying up happened.  I've even been really good about making our bed and keeping our bedroom clean the last week, too.  Still need to get to that today and do laundry.


Around 9:30, Tawny came over and asked if I could watch the kids while she and Tim ran up to a neighbors house to take care of their animals.  So John and Shea played, Cor played on the Wii, and Katie and I made paper snowflakes.  She loves crafty things.  When I suggested making the snowflakes she said, "yeah, I've just been so busy lately I haven't had time to practice my paper snowflakes" (this is a homeschooled 8 year old, mind you. Busy? haha, love it.).  I secretly just wanted to make them myself though.  Shea decorated one.  I hung them in our glass sliding door.  Oh and don't ask me why I took a picture of my vitamins and lemon water.  Just did.  And that sideways picture of those cookies is THIS no bake recipe (only I added butterscotch chips and coconut)

After Shea's nap, we went outside and played in the snow with the cousins.  Jeremy and Katie were out there really late working on this crazy snowfort.  I'll have to take a picture of it when I go out later.  It is bigger than me with a roof.  crazy.  And Shea went sledding for the first time!  He loved, loved, LOVED the snow.  And if my feet had not been freezing because I don't have snowboots and I was only wearing rainboots with several socks on, we would've stayed out longer.

After we played and played, I came home and grabbed some food and went over to Tawny's house to make dinner together.  I baked some homemade french bread (turned out awesome!  I used my bread machine for the dough, and then rolled it out, let it rise, and baked.  YUM.).  And then we pooled together the last of our raviolis and had pasta, bread, and salad for dinner.  So easy and yummy, and nice to have dinner with another family when snowed in!  The kids played and we stayed and watched them for a bit while Tim and Tawny ran up to the neighbor's to feed the animals again.  Nice ending to the day!  We came home around 8:30 and ALL of us went to bed.  I was so tiired.  Something about playing out in the snow does that to you!

Oh, and I finished the coveralls (almost).  Need a couple more buttons (hence the pin on the green side tab), but don't have any that match.  I'm seeing if a mom from my group will let me try it on her 1 year old to make sure the fit is ok.  Definitely need better day-light pictures too before I can post them on the store.  

And just for fun, here is Shea sledding (forgive my horrible video taking skills)!  Happy for the flip-cam I got for Christmas :)

Still tons of snow out there today!  Hoping it will warm up enough that I can get to work at 4 today.

Apple Crisp

I just made an apple crisp to surprise Joe with tonight, PLUS made another one and divided it into two disposable baking pans to freeze!  Pics!  I froze the topping separate from the crisp so it wouldn't get mushy.

I hope to start doing this with meals, too.  And I hope this will have two purposes:  to make easy dinners, and to give away dinners to help people out sometimes.

It was so nice to only get out and put away ingredients once, to only use one set of dishes and thus have only one load of dishes to wash.  I would like to get in the habit of always being prepared to make two dishes of whatever I'm making.

snowy morning and relaxing day at home

Thought I would post about our snowy day here!  The above is our yard this morning.  It was so pretty seeing the snow fall over the water in the distance.  Love it.  It actually started snowing while I was at work yesterday.  It was so strange though - it was totally sunny and then I walked into the kitchen at work and back out, and all the sudden it looked like a major blizzard outside!  My boss was on-top of it and texted me to have me call my husband and see how the roads were out in Indianola.  He said I should probably come home, so I left work after only 2.5 hours of being there.  I was supposed to work until 9.  I was so glad I left when I did though - the crazy driving was commencing, and I think I just missed the worst of it.  We spent the evening at Tawny's house for my nephew's 6th birthday party.

Today was a wonderfully lazy day.  I had today off (and tomorrow!) and I stayed in my pajamas until 11:30, which was when I started working out.  We got up and had breakfast around 8, Jeremy and I played some Mario (Shea dragged me over saying "mommy mario me" over and over again, how could I say no?).  Then I was so cozy on the couch with the fire going, I let Shea watch a movie and I napped for a while.  I was so tired!  We just kind of puttered around the house, cleaning and playing, and trying to keep warm (we had a major PSE bill, so trying to just use the wood stove now to make up for it).  We also went for a 2 mile walk after nap time.  We have a MAJOR hill right by our house which leads to the post office, the general store, and the dock.  I like to go up that way because people are always out walking, but the hill is killer.  My legs are definitely sore (especially after a 40 minute muscle toning work out earlier in the day - what am I thinking?)

Anyway, the pictures above are 1.) the girl coveralls I worked on during Shea's nap for my etsy store.  They are turning out cute, and probably need another 1/2 hour of work or so.  2.) Is Shea right after his nap in the guest/sewing room.  3.) Our special hot chocolate or "coffee" as Shea calls it for after dinner.  And 4.) the quick pasta dish I threw together for dinner (baked in 10 minutes in my convection oven!).  After a BIG tantrum, Shea gobbled it up.

He really threw a major tantrum tonight.  I was letting him watch a little Curious George while I got dinner ready, and I paused it in the middle and said we'd finish it after dinner.  BOY did he throw a fit!  All out screaming, "NO NO NO", rolling on the floor, smacking his face in frustration.  Oh my.  It was hard not to laugh sometimes at his ridiculousness, but I managed somehow.  We went through a series of counting to 3, some time outs (which amazingly, he will sit in his chair flailing and screaming without getting up now), and even putting him to sit in his bed one time.  Finally, after I just ignored him for a bit (he was definitely beyond listening to anything I could do) he gave up and asked for dinner.  I lost my cool a little bit at one point.  I didn't yell at him or anything, but my voice got more frustrated than I would've liked it to be, so I felt kind of bad.  He did really well eating his dinner though, so he got his hot cocoa treat, and then I snuggled with him on the couch during the end of his show.  We sat by the fire and read books for almost half n hour, and then two more in bed.  We sang (oh how I love to hear him sing worship songs with me, and then he gets all embarrassed and giggles when I tell him he is such a good singer, melts my heart!), prayed, and he went right to bed no problem.  So, the evening managed to end well, even with the trials a two year old can bring!

Anyway.  The house is clean, it is very windy outside, and I'm hoping for more snow, since I don't have to go anywhere tomorrow anyway!  Hoping to finish up sewing projects and enjoy more cozy time at home.  OH, and did I mention that my boss texted me today to tell me they increased my pay by $1 an hour?  Every little bit helps!

Snow Days

FINALLY it snowed.  This whole winter has been unusually mild, I've been wearing my fall coat up until this week.  I forgot how much I love the snow.  Its so beautiful as it swirls in the air and everything looks so clean and bright.  We went for a walk on a trail nearby and the woods covered in snow is just magical.  I took a picture of our house to show you what kind of place we're living in.

We have the whole first floor and I'm loving being on the ground level!  Beatrix enjoys the snow too.  The previous tenants left some of their kids' toys in the yard and Beatrix is loving the balls.  

One thing I really appreciate about our blog is how mobile it is.  Even though I've moved four hours west to a whole new town where I know no one, I still have this blog to read and can hear about your lives and I can tell you about mine.  I'm so glad I don't have to find new blogger friends!  

We have been doing really as far as finding community here goes.  This is our second sunday at church, and we have just been so warmly welcomed.  The first Sunday we had three invites for coffee after the service, last Tuesday I went to a women's Bible study and this Friday Justin played hockey with the church league.  Then today we had lunch with the pastor and his wife.  I am just so thankful that we have been so blessed here already.  I wasn't really looking forward to moving to a rural town, but so far I have been loving it.  

Thanks girls for being a part of my life and being constant friends.  Love and hugs to all!

a long post.

Wow, I feel like I have so many little things to tell you about!  I was blessed with such a wonderful day today!  It was kind of a normal day, but I feel immensely aware of God's peace and grace and ABUNDANCE in my life right now.  And I'll explain why as I tell you about my week.

First off, I had my second midwife appointment this last Tuesday.  And it is always so fun to hear your  baby inside of you!  Shea was actually very well behaved and the most exciting news is that my ultrasound is scheduled for the first week of February!  I can't believe in just under 4 weeks we will get to "see" our baby and maybe find out the gender!  I also felt him/her move last night for the first time while in bed.  It feels so funny when they are this tiny.  I also got my bloodwork back and was totally surprised that my iron levels are great!  I think its from the lemon juice - it helps me absorb more of my iron supplements.  But she also told my vitamin D levels were so depleted I had to take 10,000 MG a day for the next 5 weeks at least.  I now take a prenatal, an iron pill, and 5 Vitamin D pills every morning.  I've been really good about it and have been feeling super great and full of energy after doing this for a week.  I also started making a soy protein shake with a banana in it for breakfast or a snack during the day, so hopefully that will help with my potassium levels.  I have never been this health-conscious with my food before.  Gotta have a healthy baby though!

Tuesday was also my day off, and I spent it cleaning, working a on a project (more in a moment), and then after nap, Shea and I went over to Tawny's (my sister in law who lives adjacent to us) house and had a play date.  The kids always have so much fun together, and I love sitting and talking with Tawny.  She is the perfectly sweet older-sister-I-never-had type to me, and I love her so so much.  It was just relaxing.  In the evening we went to a young couple's house for dinner who just started coming to our church.  It was so fun.  We played balderdash and another silly game, and ended up staying until almost 1 in the morning, just sitting around the table talking!  I don't think Jeremy and I as a COUPLE have ever clicked with another couple the same way.  And I am glad that Shea goes down to sleep easily anywhere, because otherwise we would be missing out having to be home for him to go to bed, or having to arrange childcare.  GIRLS when you have babies, make sure you make it a normal thing to have them sleep different places.  We would have zero life if we didn't do this.

And now today.

We stayed up kind of late last night.  Jeremy got a new cd and we sat by the wood stove listening to it while I crocheted some more.  I woke up the next morning and got a call from a place I applied to the night before, and they wanted me to come in for an interview that afternoon.  We had a fun morning - went for a short walk (would've been longer, but Shea got soaked at the beach), cleaned the house, played with Shea, did laundry, and then I headed out to my interview, planning on going straight to work afterward.

Here is what has been so interesting to me.  I have had several job interviews in the last couple of weeks.  Jobs keep coming up that I am pretty much perfect for and I've been getting calls immediately.  BUT, none of them have worked out.  Which has been very funny.  The people say they like me, that they believe I am very capable and can do the job, but for some reason, I don't get a call back.  Could be the pregnancy thing.  Could be because I really want to be home, not working and the "long-term plans" question never ends well.  I keep hoping that maybe something will come up that will be better than where I am at, but it is flexible enough for me to work less when the baby comes, or not a big deal if  quit.  Then I realized something.  God might just be making these not work out for me for a reason.  How can I be praying that I will no longer have to work and just be home with my children and to support my husband, and yet be pursuing these jobs?  So afterward I was feeling a little discouraged, because I just didn't know what to do.  It is very tempting to say the right things and commit and get myself stuck working with two children because the extra money looks so enticing and takes some pressure off of Jeremy for the meantime.  But I know if they offer me this job, I have to say no.  Why?  Because God has it planned out and we are getting by with what he has given us, and I need to just abide in that right now.  

I had some time to kill, so I got some dinner to take with to work and sat at a Starbucks reading and journaling for a while. It has been a long time since I've done that, and I realized how much I need that quiet, reflective time in my life.

So I went to work, and I asked my boss for a raise - haven't heard back yet though.  I had a nice night. It was slow, so I finished my AW Tozer book.  Then  an older man came in who comes in every once in a while and he started talking to me.  He is a construction worker from across the street and we chat about my kids and things like that.  Then he tells me, "you are a very good worker.  I know Ana and Jerry (my bosses) very well..."  Then he asked me my name as if he was going to pass that on to them.  It just made me realize that I am in a good place and I AM being faithful with this small job and the small things God has given me, and I need to be aware that He is continually blessing us.  I don't need a glamorous position - only God knows my every need.

Anyway.  Now onto some pictures.

So the project I was working on.  I am finally opening my Etsy shop!  Here is my blog.  It is a false post - I do not have the store officially set up yet (hence no link), because I want to finish a few more items to put in it first.  I figure this is one way I may be able to make it work for me to be at home and doing something I love to do!  I plan on making my children's clothes and blankets mostly, but I had this already pre-cut, so my first item will be this simple little bunting banner I threw together.  I'm starting by only using material I have to see if I can actually make any money off of it.  Kind of a test run for now.

This picture is just because I have lots of citrus in my house to juice in the mornings, and it made me so happy to see it all in my kitchen window, I had to take a picture.  I almost don't want to use it, because it is so bright and happy.

Here are some pics from our walk today.

And here are some belly pics.  OK.  This is a little embarrassing for me.  Now a word.  I would never post these on facebook or anywhere else public because this is just...a little skimpy to me.  But Jeremy took them and he only seems excited to take a picture when I'm practically in my underwear.  I'm always fighting with him about it and then I finally let him take the pictures vowing to delete them immediately.  But these aren't really too bad to show to you girls and I just can't get over how funny Shea is in that second picture, so I had to share them with you!  Hopefully its safe on this blog! Oh, and that first picture should say 14 weeks, but I'm too lazy to fix it right now.  And I am so huge compared to last time, its weird.  I still had a flat belly at 15 weeks with Shea!