She's Here!

I thought it would be most fitting to post her birth story on my actual due date, but I have been itching to post it since she arrived. WARNING: Some information provided may be too graphic or detailed. It is your choice to continue reading.

The day was July 4, 2011. We originally had plans to go to the in-laws for a picnic and a day filled with kicking back and enjoying all things summer. Wouldn't you know that our littlest one had a different idea of what that meant? I awoke at 5 am having some contractions, but they were irregular (varying between times), so I chalked it up to nothing. Finally at 5:30 I had had enough and decided to get up and get on with my day. I called the internet company because our internet had not been working for 2 days now (thank goodness for 24hr customer service). After troubleshooting the internet and setting up a ticket for someone to come out and fix it, I moved onto making laundry soap. Once I had finished that then I decided to lie on the couch and read a book on the Kindle. ***Let me note that the entire time I was doing all the above things I didn't have A SINGLE CONTRACTION!***  Thus, I chalked the earlier contractions up to Braxton-Hicks. So I'm lying on the couch reading and thinking to myself, "Wow this is really comfortable; I bet I could fall back to sleep here," when all of a sudden I have a contraction and feel a HUGE burst inside me (6:30 am). Alarmed, I quickly get up and RUN to the bathroom whilst water gushes out leaving a trail behind me. I became a human slug. I made it to the bathroom and started yelling the Hub's name. After about 6 yells of his name he wakes up and casually asks what's wrong. Why wouldn't he right? He didn't have any idea of what had just gone down. Then I not so casually yell back, "I THINK MY WATER JUST BROKE!!!!!!!!!! GET IN HERE NOW!!!!!!!" Thankfully, he listened, although, I'm not sure what I expected him to do,  we did calm each other down and confirmed that yes, my water did break and made our plan of action: I call the midwife and let her know while he gets himself and Bug ready for departure because we knew we'd be leaving (I am strep group B positive, so when my water breaks I have to go in for antibiotics). While making the phone call into the office, waiting for the midwife's call back, quickly rummaging my yet to be packed items together, barking orders to the Hub, and trying to remain as calm as possible for the now awake and severely confused Bug, my contractions were coming 2 minutes apart. 2 MINUTES APART!!! WE LIVE 54 MINUTES FROM THE HOSPITAL!!!!!! Bug and I headed for the car while the Hub grabbed some last minute things from his truck. While in the car I prayed voraciously, "Please, Lord, PLEASE let us make it to the hospital," over and over again. Bug says to me, "Mommy, you praying?" and I explained to that I was because Mommy was going to have her baby sister and wanted to make sure she had her in the hospital.
    After what felt like forever, we finally leave. We drive 1 mile down the road and drop Bug off at the neighbors where she was picked up later by the Hub's parents. Now we're off the hospital (7 am). My contractions had slowed down to 5 minutes apart by the time we reached the highway. Only 39 more minutes to go until we reach the hospital. Oh, did I mention that the inspection and registration ran out on the car that we were driving? Well, that's important, because even though we were on the highway with contractions 5 minutes apart, the Hub didn't want to speed too much for fear of getting pulled over. I informed him I didn't care and that we weren't pulling over for anything! Each time I would have a contraction I would let him know, so he could time them and I would close my eyes and try to think/breathe/relax through it. I didn't ask how far apart they were and he didn't tell me; it was an unspoken understanding that it was better if I didn't know. About 15 minutes from the hospital I had decided in my mind that I was going to ask for an epidural. I had to. I didn't remember it being this intense with Bug, why was it now?! I was battling myself because I really didn't want to, but I couldn't understand why it was so bad this time. I knew that I could not go another 17 hours doing this.
   After what was probably the fastest trip to Bing but felt like the longest, we arrived to the hospital. The Hub pulls up to the ER entrance (7:45 am) and I go to get out only to have a contraction in the middle of it. There I am standing half in and half out the car holding onto the door and frame eyes closed breathing through it. A lady comes out and asks, "Are you going to have a baby today?" I couldn't say anything but nodded. I just wanted her to shut up but she kept talking. Shouldn't there be triage training for dealing with women in labor? She was asking the Hub questions... Did my water break? What time? How far apart are my contractions? This is when I found out that they were 3 minutes apart. HOLY CRAP!! We're back to this again. She wheels me into the registration and insists that she needs to take my vitals and get my information. All the while she is doing this I am having contractions. I'm breathing, breathing, breathing, trying to relax but it just isn't working. Everything felt so much better when I was standing. She finished up and told me that she called up to Labor and Delivery to let them know I was here. If they aren't down in 5 minutes, then she will call again. I politely said okay and thank you and waited while thinking, GET THEM DOWN HERE NOW!!!!!!! ***I should note that while I was feeling like a monster, I remained polite to all those around me. It wasn't their fault and I never wanted to be one of THOSE women*** After one contraction during the waiting my escort arrived. She wheeled me up to the room and started hooking me up. I told her wanted to get in the tub. I was insisting to get in the tub. I knew that the tub would help me. She told me that they had to do some quick checks that would take about 10 minutes and then I could get in the tub. My midwife comes in and sees me gathers the information from Nick and I begin to plead with her about getting in the tub. She reassures me that she has the power to override whatever the nurse told me and will get me in there as soon as possible. All the while the nurses are trying to hook up an IV for the antibiotics, secure the baby monitoring devices, get the baby monitoring devices to work, and gather more information from Nick. My midwife says she has to check me and get one good reading on the monitor and then I can go in the tub. She checks me and I'm 7 cm with contractions coming on strong and quick. She says there is no time to go in the tub and starts calling out for assistance ASAP. Everyone is rushing around bumping into each other in an effort to try and get ready for this baby that was coming. Me? I'm lying on the bed asking for the monitors to please come off and still asking to get in the tub. Somewhere in all this rushing and craziness I see my mother walk in. After some contractions I look at her and she has this look of "Oh my goodness" and sympathy on her face. I tell the midwife that I need to push and she encourages me. She tells me to listen to my body and do what it wants. I push..a little (I reached the point where I had to push and didn't really want to because of the pain that was to come with it). I have to push again and I do. The midwife tells me she can see the head and I ask her to please not ask me to touch it (something she did repeatedly with Bug). After a few more pushes (maybe 6 total) H entered this world at 8:43 am working her little lungs to produce the sweetest cry you've ever heard. She weighted 7lbs 3oz, measured 20 inches long and her head was 13 inches.
    We didn't have a name for her at her time of arrival because Bug was to name her (first name). We were waiting for her to arrive so that she could pick the name from names that we had been discussing with her for the past couple of months. We had decided to let Bug name her for a couple of reasons. The major one being that we couldn't decide on one ourselves. The other reason is because the Hub's great aunt, who had recently passed away, was named by her sister and had always loved her name. We thought that was neat. Bug came and chose the name H for her baby sister. The middle name Raine was picked by the Hub partially for the beauty of it and partially for all the rain on our wedding day....tying us all together as a family even more.
    Now onto the pictures....

 

 I really wish we had a better family picture of us, but so far this is it. Hopefully my mom or someone else does.

Sister love.

Proud Daddy

 A little bit better shot of Mommy with her girls ;)

After 48 hours of observation, due to the lack of time in getting in enough antibiotics, we were released and are all home and doing great. Bug LOVES her baby sister and is VERY protective of her already. H follows in her sister's footsteps of being a great baby.

February Loves Us

February is looking to be much sweeter to us than January was, which is a great thing! Maybe it is the whole love theme of February, but whatever it is I will take it!

The Hubba-Bub was laid off at the very end of January. We didn't look at it as a bad thing, but rather a blessing. His job was causing him too much stress for what it was worth. Now he is enjoying time off with Bug during the day. Yesterday we took Bug back down to the sitters so that the Hubba-Bub could go to an interview in Albany (2 hours away). That might sound crazy to most people, but this is the type of job that he has been trying to get for what seems like FOREVER. It is as an union ironworker. The great news is that he got it! He will hear back from them at the end of this coming week once his pee results come back on when he will need to attend training. So what does that mean for us?

Well, we aren't sure. At first we were thinking he would just drive back and forth, but then realized that was not a practical solution. So then we were thinking that he would just rent a room (apartment) up there on a monthly basis. We might still do this, but now we are looking at potentially buying a house around the area and moving up there. We both really like this house

 (image taken from Realtor.com)

but aren't too keen on the price; It is our understanding that it can be finished to however we want though. The only problem with this is that there aren't any teaching positions available in my area. Maybe we'll buy a house Nick will stay in it until there is a position for me available or maybe we'll just go with plan A and save up.

Either way we're trying to get down to our financial bare bones. We're selling our beloved Rhino and my car. It is funny how attached we become to "things". I'm having a harder time letting go of the Rhino than my car, but we both know that it will be better for us in the long run, and we'd rather save up and buy new or new to us without any payments. Not to mention we're in big house saving mode.

October, I'm Really Starting To Hate you.

What is with October this year? I feel like it has been jam packed with things to do, and I never have enough time to do them. Not to mention all the time I've had to take off from work this month. It's ridiculous. I feel so bad for having to take time off, but there is nothing else that I can do. Does anyone else feel bad for taking time off or am I just crazy? Yea, probably the latter one.

This past week Bug turned TWO! I can't believe it and still don't want to. How can my little peanut be TWO already? Good thing she's cute or else I might have had traded her in for a newer model. Speaking of a newer model...Month one of "Operation Impregnate" (OI) was a fail. Here's to hoping that through all the craziness of October OI is a success.

I digress...

Back to the busy week. First of all Monday started with me having to redo an assignment for grad school because I didn't state the necessary information in the more obvious manner. Excuse me for sounding snotty for a minute; as an professor of education you would think it would have already been obvious which parts of the assignment were differentiated. I guess it wasn't, so I whipped up a new section and copy and pasted the information from above to the lower section. VIOLA! Then I resubmitted it and got an.....A!

Tuesday was the down day. No interesting reports here.

Wednesday was Bug's real birthday and I would normally take the day off and spend it with her doing something fun and exciting, but I couldn't do that this year. It just so happened that the school's family night was scheduled on Bug's birthday from 6-8 and I HAD to be there. AWESOME! After being thoroughly angered by this hiccup we decided that we would simply celebrate her birthday on Thursday as a family. I still wasn't happy about the decision because I felt like a scammer. The good part was that Bug's Poppy and Gramma came over to celebrate with her. She got some very snazzy princess boots for winter, an outfit, and a baby doll almost as big as her. I love these pictures of her loving her baby up. Isn't she so sweet?

Despite the dreading, family night went well and much faster than I thought it would. I raced home to hopefully put Bug to bed. Luckily she was just getting ready for bed, but unfortunately as soon as I arrived she tapped  into her reserves and ended up staying up much past her bedtime.

Onto Thursday... It was Thursday and I still didn't have anything farmish for the kids' favors for the party. Then AMAZON saved my life. I love that I get one year of free prime membership for being a college student. I guess going to graduate school really does pay off. So I found some really cute farm things and ordered them. I only could order the items that shipped with prime and said "Order in the next TWO hours for delivery by FRIDAY, October 22,2010!" Hello checkout and order receipt! Whoops! I accidentally left if for the two shipping...within 30 seconds of receiving my instant receipt I went back and changed it to one day shipping and paid the $3.99 per item to get it the next day. ***This is important information for later. Now I had the favor bags all set. One less thing to worry about for the birthday bash.

It was all going a little too smoothly for the week and then I got the phone call. It was my mom. I had to go pick up my brother. That's all I'm going to say regarding this matter because it is really personal. Let's just say it wasn't long after receiving my mother's phone call that I got another phone call from a place where they only limit one call. Yup. All I could think was "What about Bug's BIRTHDAY!?" I thought she would never get to celebrate her birthday. Did I mention that on Thursday we watch a friend of our's daughter that is one month younger than Bug and they were to arrive any minute? The only thing that I could do was leave the Hubba-Bub home with Bug and hope for the best. I think I had more faith in him than he had or showed. After 1 hour I was back home with little brother in tow and finally ready to celebrate Bug's birthday. I just hoped that she was still ready. All I had to say to the girls was, "Want some ice cream cake?" and they were hooked. After that things went great. Bug and L ate their cake and opened Bug's presents then took turns playing with them. They are so darn cute together :) I love watching L and seeing Bug interact with another girl her age. They play so good together too!

Now it was Friday and I only had one day until Bug's party. There was still so much to do and I felt like I had no time. I mean we still had to finish the countertop at the bar area, paint the picture frames for the wall collage, put pictures in them, make cupcakes, buy party supplies (plates, cups, etc.), buy party food, find a tv stand, make a dress for Bug, etc. Oh and I was supposed to get my hair cut too. I was actually supposed to get it done on Tuesday but that feel through and was impromptu scheduled for Friday. It started out as any other day and when I got to work I had decided that I needed my hair cut ASAP. Luckily I work at a school that also houses a trade school and we have a cosmetology center on site AND one of the aides that comes in one of my class is a licensed cosmetologist. The stars aligned and VIOLA! I was getting my haircut. I love the way it came out!

I'm loving the length, layers and ease of it. It's a mom-cut but still young. Thank you to my SIL for tipping me off on the Katie Holmes Elle Cover.

Then it was time to leave half day. I left in the middle of a mix of snow, sleet, slush, rain coming down. Wonderful. Our first encounter with the lovely stuff this year. I was not impressed, but as soon as I arrived to the nearest town with a superstore in it everything had cleared up. I shopped for the party supplies that I still lacked, party food, and even picked out a tv stand that I liked. The bad? I couldn't pick up the tv stand to get it in my cart. Maybe if I had been a little more conscious that morning when getting dressed and didn't put on my wedges with a total tread of -100, then I could have managed to flop it into the cart. So whip out the trust iPhone, seriously people- don't leave home without it, and snapped away at the UPC. When I arrived at the register and told the cashier of my dilemma she said no big and called for someone to bring it up. 10 minutes and letting 5 people cut ahead of me later I was finally able to checkout my beautiful new tv stand. Thank you slow moving cartel bringing man (SMCBM), thank you. I check out and....what's this? Where did SMCBM go? Oh c'mon! Don't these people know that I still have to get home put this thing together, make a dress, food, etc? This is completely unacceptable. The shock must have registered on my face, because it was at this point that the cashier told me to go to customer service and they would call SMCBM back up to bring it out to my car. Another 15 minutes later and beginning to debate whether I should put in an application and start checking people out while I wait to help pass the time, finally SMCBM arrives again with a friend! Great! No wonder it took longer. We trek out to the car and load it up. Once again, and truly this time, thank you SMCBM.

I make it home and we start to assemble the beauty. By we I mean my brother and I. I'm not kidding when I say it took at LEAST two hours to assemble. The directions were AWFUL, but it looks great! Now onto Bug's dress. I had this AWESOME  idea to "Sound Of Music"-it and make a dress out the left over material I used to make the curtains in the living room with, which just happened to be painter's canvas. I know, I know, I know...WHAT WAS I THINKING?! Anyways I made this dress from it with a bottom ruffle as muslin. When it came time to try it on Bug (after fighting with my sewing machine about its stubborn refusal to shirr until 12am), she was already sleeping, but I could tell  it was too big and too stiff. I know you're probably saying, "Really? Stiff? Who would have thought painter's canvas would make a stiff dress?" Consider this one a FAIL! I went to bed extremely tired, disappointed, and thinking my baby girl was going to wear her birthday suit to her birthday party.

Somewhere between the tv stand assembly and the dress failure it dawned on me that my Amazon package of barnyard goodies for the kiddos hadn't arrived. I was concerned. I checked my Amazon account and was stupifided. The expected delivery date was 10/25/2010. WHAT! I called up Amazon immediately and was asking questions to which I was told, "We're sorry, but unfortunately there is nothing we can do at this time because you're order is already being proccessed and readied for shipping. We cannot overnight it because it would have had to been sent out by 3:30 Pacific Time."  After some much needed venting to the poor individual who just happened to pick up my phone call I was refunded my $3.99 per item shipping charge and given a 20% credit to a future purchase with Amazon as an apology. Good, but still left me with nothing for the kiddos. I ended up sending the Hubba-Bub to the dollar store in town on Saturday to cover that base.

The party was good. I just wish I hadn't waited until the last minute to do things because it could have been so much better and cuter...::sigh:: Here's my proudest piece of handy work which was created in help by my awesome inlaws:

I got the idea and how to from the taste of home website from a google search. Google saves the day again!

Everything went great during and after the party. I'll  leave you with these beauties that I captured while trying to take a picture of myself for the hair reveal:

Maybe I should have used these for the big reveal, because I'm guaranteed to look good compared to a dog's butt. (Or so I hope)


How was your week?


****UPDATE!****
I received the Amazon order TODAY (Monday) and went straight to the computer to complete the return information. At which point I stop dead in my typing when I am presented with a screen that says because it wasn't Amazon's fault I will have $5.99 deducted from my refund to cover the return shipping charges. Unacceptable Amazon, unacceptable. Not feeling confident in my ability to remain calm on a phone, call I decide to give the contact via chat option a chance. After explaining the entire thing to the person they said they would email me a return label to return the order free of charge. Then I ask the simple question of "Can you please tell me when I will see the $11.97 credited to my account that was promised to me on Friday?" and am told that they don't see this on my account; they only see the credit towards another purchase. Thank goodness I didn't call in. I then explained how the other lady told me I would get refunded my $3.99 per item one day shipping charge, and they happily said they would process it for me and I should see it in 2-3 business days. I have my shipping label in my email waiting to be printed and slapped on that forsaken package to be returned to my once beloved Amazon. Sorry Amazon, despite your attempts to "fix" this, you've fallen a couple of notches in my book.

Good Ol' Days

When I was younger we used to make apple cider every year. The whole family would get together and we'd churn out the cider. It was an all day event, if I remember correctly, but it was well worth the time it took. I can remember getting excited as the day approached that we would do cider. Not only because it meant extra playmates for me, but also because I loved that fresh goodness that poured out the wooden V into the containers. The press that we used has been in the family for what seems like forever. It was made by my great great great (I think 3 greats, but could be more) uncle. It is all wooden and I'm sure by now is a bit rickity but would still do the trick just fine.

Earlier this week we went apple picking down to the neighbor's and up here to make apple cider this weekend. We filled up a large 50gallon drum with these beauties. Here is one that was just too good to let go without making a blog debut before meeting its cider fate:

Then on Saturday we all gathered down the road (at their house) and made some delicious cider. The cider press is half handmade by our neighbor and his friend that comes and does cider every year with them and half bought. Here are just a few pictures of the event...I am kicking myself in the butt for not taking more! Chalk that one up to another lesson learned...

 The Hubba-Bub was in charge of filling the apple shredder. The shredded apple bits fall into the barrels lined with a bag (You can't see because of the guy in the white shirt) and once full is slid down to where the other barrel is.

The left side of the photo (all the wooden parts) were handmade and the right side (metal parts and barrels) were bought and are vintage. Once the apple shred fill the barrel and the barrel has been slid to the right side of the "machine", then the boys went to work spinning that handle round and round as it lowers a press and squeezes the juice out.

 The juice comes out the bottom and flows out the spigot. The flow out of this spigot is weak because it was towards the end of the pressing.

The guys just hanging out as the last batch presses out completely.

We got a total of 14 gallons to split among the three of us. Our freezer has some juicy goodness awaiting Christmas, one in the fridge now, and one sitting on the kitchen windowsill readying itself for fermentation (Hubba-Bub's idea).

The best part of the day is when I would fill my cup with the cider coming fresh from the spigot and drink it. I would be brought back to the days of my childhood and couldn't help by feel that warm smile in my heart and belly.

I'm not sure how to go about this, but I'd like to share with you a very touching blog post written by a best friend of my "adoptive" sister. Let me first explain that last little bit of information for those of you that might be scratching your head right now.

1. I'm not adopted.
2. My parents did not adopt any children

What did happen is that I was babysat by a very loving family from when I was about three months old up until they moved away in the when I was in the seventh grade. I would be there as much as I could and was allowed. (Not that my childhood was anything horrible, but it was always fun to have sleepovers!...and still is) What resulted in my failure to leave was a loving bond and an "adoptive" family.

These people are the some of the best people that I have ever met or will meet in my life. They are inspiring in more ways than one can imagine. I feel privileged to have them in my life on such a personal level. Please stop over and read this post on Multiple-y Blessed about one of my "sisters"; I think if you do, you'll understand just how special not only she is but the whole family is as they all have their own yet similar incrediblenesses.

And while you're there, check out Kim's incredible family story too! She truly is multiple-y blessed! Not to mention she is quite an incredible woman herself! (Sorry Kim for stealing your word!)

Goodbye Summer

Today was the last day of summer for me. I return back to work tomorrow. I'm still in a bit of denial about the whole situation. I just worked out my curriculum this weekend. I'm not ready to give up my lazy days of summer. They haven't been too lazy with a toddler running around the house, so maybe I should say my free days of summer. The freedom to cuddle, kiss, hug, laugh with Bug whenever I want. The freedom to pick up some fabric and go to the sewing machine. No stress, no worries. I love the summer and all the fun I've had.

We ended the summer with a BBQ and campfire with the neighbors. It was the perfect ending to the summer. The food was delicious and the company even better.

I'm thinking this week will be the hardest and am praying that I'm right. Keep me in your thoughts tomorrow.

P.S. I LOVE my job, but HATE having to leave my Bug.

Guess What?!

I have some BIG news! 

Not too BIG though.

Remember when I looked like this?

I <3 it!!

Well, hopefully soon (or actually 9-10 months soon) I will be looking like that again. I'm not pregnant YET, but we've decided to start trying again!

I've always thought it weird when people tell others that they are trying to have a baby. In some ways it is just a bit TMI, yet I cannot resist myself, so now I know why people tell. I've been wanting another baby since Bug was born, but we have patiently waited for things to calm down and for what seemed like the right time. We hope to get pregnant this fall. If all goes REALLY as planned, then in September, so the baby will be born in June (the end of- HOPEFULLY). This way it won't interfere with me missing work and such. I'm so stinking excited about this I can hardly contain myself, and then I think about the sleepless nights and almost change my mind, but then I look at all these cute babies and Bug swaddling her baby gently and kissing it lovingly and know it's the right time.

Keep those fingers crossed people!

Grandpa Trask

I should warn you that this post is personal. I know you're thinking, umm well aren't most of them? Yea, but this is different.  If you don't like reading personal-emotional stuff, then consider yourself waned and you can politely move on without having to read any further.

A little over a week ago I read this post by Kristin from Simply Kay Kay. Since then I have been wanting to write this post, just to release it, but haven't been able to emotionally. The post was about how her daughter randomly said that her grandmother (Kristin's mom, I believe), who has passed, had dyed her hair. She forewarns the readers that it might give them goosebumps, but in reality she should forewarn that it might causing crying too.

Most of you already know that my father passed away when I was younger. For those that don't, he passed away in 1998 at the age of 33 as a result of a logging accident leaving behind myself (13 at the time) and my brother (8 at the time). Some days it feels like it has been forever and others it seems like yesterday. There has been a lot of things I wish my father could have been here for: high school graduation, college graduation, marriage, etc, so I couldn't help but to become emotional after while reading Kristin's post because it truly saddens me that Bug never had a chance to meet him and vice versa. I know that they would have adored each other and melted each other's hearts. I often think about him looking down on her and what he must be thinking. I can only hope that Bug has a relationship with him via means unknown and understand that although he is not here and has never met her, he loves her more than I can express.

Thank you Kristin for that post which has inspired me to express what has been in my heart since the birth of  my daughter, and thank you readers for bearing with me while I get a little personal.

What a week!

This week has been wonderful! To start off the Hubba-Bub took Monday off and spent it with us girls as just a day to bum around the house with each other. Monday night came along and guess what? My Silhouette came! YAY! Unfortunately though I haven't been able to use it because I've been busy with other things.

Tuesday we went down to the neighbors for a visit/play date.

Wednesday we babysat the baby from the neighbors we visited the day before so she and her two sons could go see Toy Story 2. While babysitting and dying because of all the cuteness happening between Bug and the baby I tried "fixing" my camera. With new batteries and literally beating the crap out of it, the screen returned to normal. Every once in awhile if I moved just ride it would go all wacky again, so the beatings would continue. THEN it was nap time.

For all you mommies out there with a toddler and a baby, I'm not sure how you do it! Kudos to you. 

I put the baby down and then Bug. The baby was crying which made Bug cry which made the baby cry. It was a vicious cycle. Finally I decided they just weren't going to lay down and took them for a Rhino ride. It was 1 of me and 2 of them. How did I do it? Baby in the sling and Bug squished between the baby and the side arm rest on my lap. Within 10 minutes they were both zonked out and I was praying someone would see us and take a picture of this spectacle, but no one did. You just have to use your imagination. I carefully drove home and transferred the sleeping babies to their rightful sleeping places. Oh I forgot to mention that on our Rhino drive I spotted that I had a package hanging from my mailbox! A PACKAGE! Any guess as to what it was? My new camera. Of course the day I get my camera "fixed" the new one comes. I debated whether to keep it or not and decided that I will because the old one isn't' that reliable anymore.

Thursday we had to go to Bing to run pick up camping things, more specifically a tent and air mattress, for tonight's campout. The tent we had picked out online was $60 ONLINE, but in the store it was $78 and they wouldn't budge. Whatever, we needed the tent. The best part about this whole day were the other deals I scored in place of the tent inflation. We went to the thrift store before hitting the superstores. I got 4 pairs of shorts (Old Navy, Hollister, LEI x2) for $3.99 each, a pair of red ON wedges for $1.99, a magazine rack for the bathroom (this is for the Hubba-Bub) for $1.99, two white goblets for $3.99 ea (a bit pricey, but candles will look GREAT in it), and a square white basket for storing Bug's undies for $1.99. Then at Wal*Mart, after being panhandled by the tent, I went to the fabric section and found the PERFECT fabric for a top panel on the curtains I want to make for the living room AND throw pillow fabric for both $1.50/yd!!!! Say WHAT! Here I was thinking about buying this (can't find it on there anymore! but it was #12.98/yd!!) on fabric.com, but thought I better wait for a sale when I found $1.50/yd fabric that will look just as good if not better! I HAD TOO! After the stores we met up with a lady off CL who sold me two sewing machines for $10. One works, and one works kinda (I'm hoping she doesn't know what she was doing and I'll be able to get the kinda one working). Then it was time to have some kid fun! I took Bug to a story garden near the zoo we went to a couple of weeks ago. She loved it. Here are some pictures of it via the NEW camera.

The first little play house.

Climbing to the bunk

This was on the way back through. She climbed up it again and laid down to go "ni-night"

I.love.this.tree.

Worm farm.

In the adobe.

"Come back Goldie Locks!"

We both had a blast playing there and can't wait to go back next time. The next time we go we are going to make sure the Hubba-Bub can come along too.

(I have some more posts coming regarding the new camera, the silhouette, the new sewing machine, and a few sentimental ones. I promise soon! They're in my head waiting to be typed up)

4th of July

Our 4th of July was quiet, but I loved it that way. There was no rushing around from house to house to make sure everyone ELSE was happy. Instead we concentrated on what WE wanted to do and DID IT. :) Yes, we're selfish like that (only once in awhile though). We spent the day as a family goofing off in the morning and then went swimming down to my mom's because it was so hot we couldn't stand it. When we were done pruning ourselves we headed home for a S'more feast! We spent the rest of the night by the "camp fire" eating s'mores, running around the yard chasing each other, and laughing.

Swimming with the baby, because we can't do anything without a baby these days. :)

Getting ready to jump!

Ice cream pit stop on the way home from swimming.

S'more time!

Yummy!!!

Playing with Buddy (Mom's dog) while we had our fire and treats.

Upset because we told her "All done". Poor girl.

We didn't go see fireworks, and we were ok with that because we were having way too much fun to stop, get the car loaded up, and go. I love my little family.

I hope you're 4th was as fun and love filled as ours was. Thank you to all those who fought for our freedom and continue to fight for it!

Love Debt.

In my many attempts to distract myself from grading papers, I often find myself perusing the world of craft blogs. (As I'm sure you've noticed) One of the blogs that I found today is called Love, Actually; a blog devoted to "creative ideas for love on a budget." Can you seriously get any cuter than that?

I don't know about you, but I'm always looking for ways to surprise the Hubba-bub with my love. I love this idea from there. 

I have seen these at stores before, but these are just sooo much cuter!

I think I might make my own version of them and lovebook cover for the man of my life this Valentine's Day. We usually aren't very big celebrators of Love Day, but I'm thinking this year it would be nice to make gifts for each other. After all, they are the ones that mean the most, aren't they?


What are you plans for fast approaching Valentine's Day? Do you have any traditions?

Oh What A Weekend!

Friday:
I awoke at 12am to the beautiful feeling of wretched butterflies fluttering their way to my mouth, which caused me much discomfort for the next 5 hours off and on. I slept on the bathroom floor, and every time I tried to stand or stretch my body out from a fetal position, those pesky butterflies would reveal another escape attempt. Needless to say I ended up filling out a sub-request form online at intermission and stayed home for the day. It is a good thing too, because although the butterflies had succeed in escaping and finally none where left, I still had the after-shock of their exiting that hit erratically throughout the day. (If you haven't figured out what I'm talking about yet, I was vomiting and then dry-heaving) Oh, did I mention that I spent about 5 more hours lying in the fetal position in the bathtub too? That's right. And when I wasn't in the tub I was sleeping in my bed. Thank goodness Nick had taken the day off too (per my request) and was taking care of Bug, who was starting to get a fever. The day seemed to drag, but as it geared towards night I was starting to feel a little better. I continued to coat my stomach with that pink-chalky-goodness and was thankful to still be alive.

Saturday:
I woke up not feeling 100%, but definitely feeling better than the day before. Nick on the other hand, well he had what I had the day before. Bug still had her fever and I was pumping her full of Tylenol and Motrin to try and keep it under control. I have to say that she is a trooper. You wouldn't know she was sick unless you felt her head. She was as active as always, and as cheerful as always. Nick on the other hand, well didn't fair quite as well. He was bedridden for most of the day and when he wasn't, well he was couch-ridden. At one time he thought it would be better if he "just got up and did something," so he went outside and hopped on the snowmobile for a quick ride. Silly boy. The butterflies that had haunted me the day before had mysteriously leaped inside of him and finally found their escape into the fresh woodsy air where they belonged. When he arrived back home, he said it took all he could do to get back and how stupid of an idea it was, to which I thought "I told you so!" and said "I'm glad you made it back." I tried pumping him full of the pink-chalky-goodness, but he wasn't into worshiping it as much as I had. Finally the night had come, and we were praying and hoping that he would feel better in the morning because he wasn't feeling any better than he did earlier...He fell asleep and....

Sunday:
I'm feeling better. Nick's feeling better. Bug's still got a fever. That's right, poor Bug has had a fever for 3 days now! This is getting to be a bit ridiculous and has even called for some even more ridiculous measures. She kept "waking" through the night and would whimper, but calm as soon as I arrived in her room and rubbed her back or belly (whichever was up at the time), so I simply decided instead of running back and forth every 15 minutes I was getting a blanket and bunking up with her in the crib. (Not the first time I've climbed in there with her, but still an unusual moment) She still continued to wake, and I still continued to rub and soothe, but it was so much easier on the two of us with this close proximity. Finally at around 5 am I had enough of sleeping in positions only a circus contortionist could manage, and climbed out bringing Bug into bed with Nick and me. Nick was in a deep sleep and didn't even really notice Bug until about 2 hours later and then he retreated to the couch. Bug slept really good for the next 3.5 hours!!! I continued to pump her full of the meds to keep the fever at bay and called the doctor. They said to continue doing what we're doing and maybe take her to get her ears checked if she's messing with them (she wasn't). After some loooooooong much needed naps today, she is FINALLY feeling like her old young self again.

Our Dream House

{click HERE to see more}

Well it may surprise you that our dream house is fairly modest. None of that 3-story-$300k+ houses. It is pretty simple. Nick and I both feel that if we are going to buy a house it needs to be something that we would want to live in for the rest of our lives. We do realize that you can sell houses, but we think that when we buy a house that is where we will stay. Let me explain the house a bit.

First and foremost I would like it to have a full basement. It has 3 bedrooms and 2 baths on the main floor. The second floor is something that we would have to finish off. Perfect for a playroom, craftroom, storage, and/or guest room. The basement we could finish off into a den area or one of the other rooms already listed. The floor plan of the house is open. The living room open to both the dining room and kitchen with a nice little room off the dining room for the laundry/mudroom. All the bedrooms on the same end of the house and near each other. Maybe not the blue and white color for the outside; I don't hate it, just not crazy over it. I am thinking more of a grey/black/white exterior. It is just perfection!

The optional finishing off the upstairs allows Nick and I to close off the upstairs when we are older and live on the main floor. :) Maybe we're crazy for thinking and "planning" that far ahead, but we can dream, can't we?!

So when would we like to get into this dream house of ours? Well, that is something we keep going back and forth on. First we have to get this house/land signed over to us, which will probably entail a purchase price. Then we have to decide what we will do from there. Are we going to wait and save up to pay for the basement, well, and a hefty down payment? Or are we going to finance all that as part of it? I'm not sure. I'd like to save as much as possible, but at the same time I would like to get into the house as quickly as possible. "Haste is waste." So very true. We have been waiting and probably will continue to wait some more. Our goal is to be in during the summer of 2012, but as that is fast approaching I'm beginning to think that 2014 is more realistic. We'll just have to wait and see where we stand when those times come around.

I can't wait!

Not so sure...

I'm not really sure what is going on lately. I've been in some sort of a slump. I feel extremely tired, nauseous, and just moody. Yes, I realize that these sound much like the symptoms of the 9-month bug, but I'm pretty sure it's not that.

Yesterday I left work 45 min early because I didn't feel good. I came home and slept until Nick came home. Luckily he was able to pick Bug up at the daycare so that I could sleep. Then this morning when I was getting ready, I still didn't feel well. It didn't help that I slept with my contacts in (DUH TO ME!) and was fighting off a migraine. All day today I have been SUPER tired and thinking that today is Friday. News flash: IT IS NOT!

I do have tomorrow off. That is because tomorrow is the service for Nick's grandmother, who passed away this past Saturday, but that is it. Can you believe I couldn't use my bereavement time for that? I had to take a personal day! What crap is that?! I'm really not looking forward to tomorrow. I hate these kind of things, but I know that it is important to go. I hope that Nick will be ok. He seems to be doing well with it, but he also hasn't been up to his parents or up to Gram's since, so I don't know how that will be. I hate to see him upset, which rarely happens, but when it does it's just that much worse.

Daycare Saga

We absolutely love Bug's daycare. The problem now is that they will most likely be moving to Texas this summer. Our provider's son goes to college there and her daughter was just accepted. She had mentioned this to me earlier this year to see if I would be interested in taking on over the business. I told her that I might be, it would depend on the circumstances. She wasn't sure if she wanted to run it from TX, or just sell the house.

This past week she let me know that they were planning on selling the house. The house is REALLY nice, but with it being so nice, they want a pretty penny for it. Too much for what we can afford right now. I was thinking about asking her if we could maybe do a rent to own sort of thing, but I'm not sure. It is a little on the big side for what I'd like too. (7 bedrooms 3 baths)

I was just doing some random searching online for homes in the area, but more in town. I found a house in town that I LOVE and it has 10.5 acres with it. Are you kidding me?! I think this would be perfect, but it's going to take some convincing on Nick for him to warm up to the idea of being "in town". It would be perfect for a daycare though!!! Who knows what will happen...I might just be dreaming a dream, but I'm living in the moment of it. :)

Back to daycare...

So I'm a little stressing out already because that means we'll have to find another provider for Calla, and she LOVES it there with those kids and Miss.M. and Miss. K. I don't want to go have to go through that whole worrying about how she is doing, etc. again. Why couldn't they just wait one more year, because by then I'll be able to bring Calla up to work with me for their preschool program. I'm still not sure of my thoughts on bringing her to an all day preschool at age 3, but I have some time before I have to actually decide that. I think I'll let Calla be the judge on that one.

I hate to think about any of it...so I'm just going to pretend it isn't happening, and see how far that will take me. Any guesses? lol

Boo!

I haven't written on here in awhile and finally have the time and the ambition to. I have been searching the internet for my next craft project. Well I've found so many that I can't keep track of them all. I do have to take pictures of Bug's birthday present (a horse). I am really pleased with how it came out!

The past weekend was Halloween. We decided we would carve our pumpkins Saturday night because we weren't going to have any trick or treaters, and we weren't taking Bug out. Here are our pumpkins:

Nick carving away at his mummy. So serious.

From left to right. My ghost/boo. Bug's gremlin. Nick's mummy.I think they turned out pretty good!

I also made Bug's Halloween costume at the last minute. I wanted to make a lamb costume for her, but thought the owl was cute too. I had the supplies for the owl, so guess which one won? You guessed it. It really does look much cuter in person, for some reason the camera makes it look so flat.

We couldn't pull the mask down further because she'd freak out. She kept ripping it even like this!

Me being silly with Bug's mask on.

When we finished all the silliness, we roasted our pumpkin seeds. Yummmmmy! They came out delicious. I can't keep my hands off them.