What a Fun Weekend!!

Last week, my hubby turned 35. Not a big deal to some, but I always try to make his birthday a little extra special. He grew up in a family that didn't celebrate birthdays/holidays much as opposed to my family where we celebrated every little thing that came along and always in a BIG way.

A few weeks ago, I got a wild hair about throwing him a surprise party. I invited 15 other couples to eat with us at Rube's Steakhouse (YUM) and I hired our community's supreme baker to make a couple of cheesecakes. I had it set up with a girlfriend and her husband from out of town that we would meet them Saturday night at Rube's for dinner. In the three week period between the original invitation and this past Saturday night, I have never lied so much in my life!!! LOL I had his friends RSVP either via my personal email or via my cell phone. The only thing is whenever someone called, they always did it when he was in the house or with me!! It was hard to explain all of these "unknown" male voices to my dear hubby!!

Anyway, I pulled it off without a hitch. He never expected a thing and was totally awe-struck to show up to 30+ people all yelling "SURPRISE"!! It was awesome! Not to mention the food and friendship were great, too. And it really was a lot of fun putting it together.

This week is going to be a busy one with the kids...they didn't have school yesterday as the final day of their "Spring Break". Then there is Kindergarden Registration later on this week which means William will be home on Thursday and Friday. The weather this weekend is supposed to be rainy all day Friday and Saturday so I think we're going to take a family trip to the City for haircuts (we all need them!) and a fun family day out. There's a new dinosaur exhibit at the State Historical Society that I'm sure the boys will love.

I'm hoping to have all day tomorrow to get some quilting done. Lots and lots of stuff on the to-do list!

House Looking...But Not Buying

We went again yesterday to look at more acreages. I'd previously been to two (one of which the pictures were WAY better than the actual house) and the other needed way more work than what we were willing to put in. And both had hardly any outbuildings or ones that were ready to fall in if you touched them. (a husband's requirement!)

The ones we saw yesterday were...UM...Okay. One was in town and was a huge old victorian with a wrap around porch. Thought I'd love it. And I did. For it's craftsmanship, oak woodwork, and open-oak-curved staircase. GORGEOUS!! But not practical for my family. With four kids, four inside cats and a dog PLUS a quilting studio I am NOT going to give up, there just wasn't enough practical space. It really hurts me to say that because my dream has always been to own a Victorian house with a wrap around porch.

The second one we visited had a nice metal building wiht heated shop area and office (score for the hubby), detached two car garage and a house with ALL hardwood floors (score for me!). Unfortunately, it was S-M-A-L-L. I need space. I'm a closet claustrophic, I'll admit it. Large open spaces are what I need...

The third one we looked at scored BIG time. Of course, looking at it from the outside, it was the one I thought I'd like the least and actually ended up being the one I liked the most. LOTS of space, five bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths, 5 acres of ground, a metal shop buildling and two big bins. It had been lived in by a little old lady and, when she either passed away or moved to the nursing home, the son moved in and renovated it. All new everything...fixtures, carpet, hardwood (Pergo), linoleum, etc. It's bad side came after thinking about living there for 30 years and having to do all of the stairs. It was a split-level so when you walked in the front door, it was either up or down but no where else to go. And am I going to want to do that 30 years from now??? Am I even going to want to do that right now? Visions of carrying a sleeping baby with armloads of groceries came to mind... The other bad thing is the carpet that was redone was put in as a tight-weave Berber. And I HATE Berber carpet. Especially with kids.

Anyway, all of this 'looking' has me thinking about what I do want in the "perfect" house. Then I'm going to try and get my hubby to do the same so that we know what we're looking for. The thing that scares me the most is being able to find it around HERE.

My perfect house would have:

1) Five bedrooms
2) Three bathrooms (kids, master, 'community')
3) Large open room with separate entrance (or opportunity to make it so) for quilting studio with room to put a long-arm that I hope to acquire someday
4) Eat-in kitchen with an island big enough to sit six seats
5) Breakfast nook off the kitchen with a fireplace
6) Private balcony off the master bedroom
7) Double hung windows
8) Walk-in pantry in the kitchen
9) Fireplace in the family room
10) Rec room for the kids

I could live with a ranch style house if the basement were finished and a walk-out. That's all I can think of right now.

Otherwise, not much quilting going on here this week. I'm preparing to put in a book order over the weekend, ordering more Vintage Valentine patterns (see further down in the post for pics) and ordering some patterns from Jacqueline de Jonge of the Netherlands. You can see her patterns here. Very, very nice paper-pieced patterns. Let me know if you're interested in any of the above! I will be putting orders in on Sunday evening so payment by then is appreciated. Contact me for pricing and more details.

Even though I haven't gotten any actual sewing time in, my thoughts are quilting-based EVERY day. Since my trip to Minneapolis to IKEA, I'm slowly getting my things put together and moved into my studio. Of course, that type of thing always takes three times as long as you think it should!!

The kids are home from school today and Monday for Spring Break...so I'm off to help them clean-up in the toy room today. Then we're going to color Easter Eggs later on!

My Bargain of the Day!!

Yesterday, my SIL and I went shopping and, of course, we love to hit the consignment/Goodwill stores along the way. I just couldn't believe my eyes when I found this beauty in one of them for only $25. It immediately went to the front of the store with my name on it! I love the intricacy of the woodwork and the wheels are a Mariner's Compass pattern (my favorite!). My step-father was an excellent woodworker and I have all kinds of "quilted" tables in my house that he made before he passed away. This will fit in nicely. I'm going to use it in my office as a place to store fabric bolts, I think. Would anyone know what its original purpose would have been? The top has two trays (you can see the handles for them in the top picture), and then inside is really roomy with that little place with the holes. Can't for the life of me figure out what that would have been used for. Anyway, it's about 4' long and 18" wide. Parts of it break down for storage. It could use some cleaning up, and maybe a coat of poly to make it shine...but I think it's WONDERFUL (my hubby thinks I'm crazy!!)!!

In other news, it looks like we will be moving. I'm going to start looking at other acreages this week and see what's out there for what price. There's one that I've had my eye on for quite a while now, but when I called the real estate agent this morning to see about it, she told me it needed a lot of work. We aren't opposed to that ~ actually, we'd rather buy something that way so we can fix it ourselves like we want it. But they want an OUTRAGEOUS price for it...and I do mean outrageous. $175k. Whew!! For our area, it had better be a mansion and have new EVERYTHING for it to be that much. I'm going to look at it anyway...but now I know why it hasn't sold yet. Most acreages around here sell for $80 - $100 so we're looking for something in that range or less if we have to fix it. We'll see what happens!! We won't have to move right away (we know we have at least until March of '08 to live here if we want) but knowing that we have to move gives us the chance to 'leisurely' look for something instead of being forced to buy something just because we have to have a place to live. Of course, all of this happens (what a LONG story!) AFTER my hubby takes a new job that began on January 1st. UGH. If we'd known then what we know now, he maybe wouldn't have taken that job and we'd have looked at moving away from here.

Hope everyone's having a great weekend! Looks like we're setting up for another big snowstorm here tonight and tomorrow...they're predicting another 6" - 8"!! And Miss Austyn is getting baptized at church here tomorrow morning. It could just be us and the pastor!! LOL

Happy 2007!!

Wow!! I am SO happy that the new Blogger is here!! I had so many problems at the end of last year that I gave up posting for awhile. I hope that those of you who used to read me regularly are still checking in every once in awhile to see if I still exist. My goal for this new year is to blog at least twice a week.

Would just like to wish everyone a Happy New Year!! I've completed lots of end-of-year projects but will write about them in a new post.

Here's to an AWESOME 2007!!

One More Thing

I am not a fan of those emails that get forwarded and forwarded and forwarded...in fact, most of the time, , I delete them. But I found this one particularly enjoyable and one that really makes us stop and THINK. And especially poignant during this week of Thanksgiving. I'm not sure if I believe that it truly came from George Carlin, as I've always thought of him as a raunchy comedian, but I haven't got the time to check it out, either. SO make your own decision. The thoughts are GREAT...no matter where it originated.

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways , but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We’ve learned how to make a living, but not a life. We’ve added years to life not life to years. We’ve been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We’ve done larger things, but not better things.

We’ve cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We’ve conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We’ve learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete..

Remember; spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn’t cost a cent.

Remember, to say, “I love you” to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

George Carlin

Whew! It's Hard to Keep Up!!!!

And yet another month has gone by. Bad blogger. Bad, bad blogger. Anyway, keeping busy around here. I have started my Christmas shopping and am not surprised that it seems that most of the rest of the world has also. Next year, I'm going to have to start in July to beat the crowds!!

The kids had a wonderful Halloween...our house was filled with the Grim Reaper, Dracula, an awesome chicken, a pink kitty cat and a hotdog. Pictures to follow...probably sometime this week. Our dachshund ate my USB cord that connects my camera to the computer so I haven't been able to upload any pictures. I see my new one FINALLY came in the mail yesterday. I bought it online and shipping was one low price...had no idea it was coming from JAPAN. No wonder it took so long.

I've been quilting on and off...wish I could get some really long hours of time in to get some things finished. Seems as though I just get started and then either big A needs something or little A needs to nurse. Always something around here!! I did get my MIL's lighthouse poncho from two Christmases ago done (and given to her so she can actually wear it this year!). I'm still working on Gage's peek-a-boo quilt, a couple of things for my quilting Secret Sister, a *really* cute quilt supply 'pail' for my two best quilting friends (you can see a pic of the sample one and buy the pattern here), and a BUNCH of pillowcases for the aunts and uncles this year. I'm also trying to get a list made for when we visit IKEA either before or after Christmas. I'm going to get some new furniture that will help me stay a little more organized in my sewing studio (I hope!).

We are done in the field until spring. What an awesome feeling!! Can't complain right now about the crop prices either. I love these kinds of years!! We're meeting with the family this week to finalize plans on buying the acreage and a small part of the acres. At $4k an acre, you don't get very far before you've reached 1/2 a mil. Scary thoughts!!!! We've got all kinds of irons in the fire right now and some big changes are going to be happening in our life here SOON...hope they are all for the good.

On Friday, we had our family pictures taken and the kids' pictures taken for Christmas. I have to say, they turned out awesome!!! Will share when they come back. I was very happy with the photographer we had and she was so good, she got Afton back on track when she decided she was going to have a meltdown in the middle of pictures. We celebrated Will's 6th birthday yesterday with a party for his friends from school. What a hoot 10 little kindergarteners are!!! Glad to have a day at home today to try and get caught up.

I will try and download everything off of my camera this week so I can share some new pics with everyone...we have a busy week ahead with a friend's funeral tomorrow, running around on Tuesday (and celebrating Will's birthday again with family) and preparing for Thanksgiving on Wednesday and Thursday (I'm hosting my side of the family this year)...

Hope everyone has an AWESOME week!! Be thankful for everything (and everyone) you have...I AM!!!

Everyday Ramblings...

Well, I haven't been able to accomplish much in the quilting arena lately. The babe is just too cute not to hold and cuddle all of the time. Besides, I'm in this mode right now that's all about "I'll never have another baby...boo hoo...." so I'm savoring every moment. We went for her 2 month check up (already!) on Monday last week and she has grown 3" and gained over 3 1/2 pounds...she is now 23" and 12#10oz. She is just getting so big!! She had to get three immunization shots and one oral immunization. Needless to say, she didn't feel very good on Tuesday so we spent ALL day in the rocking chair that day! Looking back, that was my worst day last week as Miss Afton decided that she needed to have a "Be Mean to the Dog" day and our poor little Copper just couldn't escape her wrath!! She loves him so much but she can be so ornery!! (And Blogger doesn't want to cooperate now or I'd post some new pics of the three I get to share daily antics with!)

Anyway, I went back and updated my goal list earlier this morning and discovered there were things on there that I'd completely forgotten about over the past several months! I did get a really cute little 30's purse done up for my friend Sharon, tho. It was a Pat Sloan pattern from the Quilts and More fall issue. Here's a pic:

I think it turned out cute...lots of trims and embellishments really dressed it up!
Now it's early October and time to start on Christmas presents. I'm proud to say that I HAVE done a little bit of shopping. Miss Afton is really into Hello Kitty right now and I found her the most adorable rhinestone necklace that is Hello Kitty's head at Jordan Creek Mall. I'll have to take a pic and post it later. I also found a Hello Kitty twin sheet sale on clearance at Target (gotta love those Target clearance items!) for $7.50. That's right. A whole whopping $7.50. Woo Hoo!! Other than that, I've not done any other shopping. Truth be told ,this will be the year (again) that I wait until the last minute to decide what I'm going to do. Sigh.

We did draw names for our Christmas Exchange at our last small group meeting and I have been *waiting* for it to be the year that I got this person's name...she will be SO easy and I already have a couple of things in mind for her. Both are handmade, tho ~ so probably better figure on getting started on those!!

My plan for this week is to repurge (again) my quilting studio so that I have some flat surfaces to work on. I did a bunch of paperwork yesterday and it felt good to get the last four month's worth of stuff filed and put away. Why, oh why, do I let it get so out of hand?!?! I guess I'd rather be quilting ~ no matter where it is in the house ~ than dealing with anything else. I need to get my Bernie in for a good cleaning but hate to be without her for too long! I have my Singer 201 I can sew with in the meantime.

My friend Barb and I attended a local quilt show over the weekend. I wouldn't say there was anything *spectacular* there as far as patterns went, but the quilting (mostly long-arming) was absolutely GORGEOUS!! I did get a list of names so I will be checking out some of them for my upcoming projects. The show was very nice, tho ~ this group does a lot of vignettes within their cubbies of quilts and it's always fun to see what they come up with!

On Friday, Barb, Sharon and I are going to the DMAQG show in Altoona. This year, they're also having the Midwest Feedsack Collector's Show next door and I'm really looking forward to going! Sharon is a long-time feedsack collector and absolutely LOVES 30's fabrics (I'm getting there, slowly but surely!). I think we'll have an awesome time (we usually do when we're together!!).

Our next quilt show here happens in August of 2007 and we will begin in-depth preparations for it soon!

I Fell Off the Face of the Earth...

or at least it feels like I did. Has it really been a month since I last blogged?? Where, oh where does the time go? My baby was 7 weeks old on Tuesday this past week and I guess that's a reminder as to just how fast it flies. It seems like just yesterday when I was whining about how long the pregnancy was taking and Could_We_Get_Her_Out_Of_Me_ALREADY!!!! LOL

I will start out by telling about the "big news" I mentioned in my last post when Blogger wasn't playing nice and wouldn't let me post photos. On August 20, Jim and the boys and I went to see Big and Rich in concert...again. Wink had to wear his "Big Kenny" hat that I made him last year, of course...AND we had tickets in the fifth row. I think one of the neatest things B&R does is bring a little kid up on stage at the end of EVERY concert and present them with a guitar just like Big Kenny's. Wink kept asking me if I thought it would be him...and I said, 'we'll just have to wait and see'. NEVER did I think it REALLY would be him!!! But sure enough, Big Kenny noticed him towards the end of the concert (it was the hat, I'm sure!!) and the security guard came over and got him shortly after that during the encore. We were SO excited and so was he!! Now, for those of you who don't know my Wink, he is SO shy. The security guy didn't even give him a chance to say NO, he just pointed to him, J handed him over the crowd and up on stage he went!!

Needless to say, we were THRILLED. What an honor to be picked from a crowd of 11,000 people to get to go up on stage. And especially since Wink just absolutely loves Big Kenny. :) So here's just one more pic of him on stage with the guitar Big Kenny gave him...it says LOVE EVERYBODY on the back (just like Big Kenny's!) and it is hand-signed on the front by Kenny and has the B&R logo. Wink also got a really nice case to put it in and a bunch of pics that are also autographed. Now he wants to take guitar lessons!!!

Anyway, it's been a month and we're still riding high :) Can't wait to see them in concert again :)

On the quilting front, my small group finished up our Round Robins and had our 'celebration party' last Thursday. OMG - the quilts turned out absolutely GORGEOUS!! I will post pics of them soon, I promise!! I also made a really funky little purse this past weekend for my friend Sharon. I used up the 30's prints leftovers from her Round Robin and embellished it with some ribbons, rick rack and old buttons. I gave it to her yesterday and she seemed to really like it :) Now to just get back to my list of "to-do's"...

I've been busy just trying to keep up with everything...a rambunctious two year old, a newborn, two boys in school with homework, open houses, book fairs, etc...and a grumpy-ass husband who is thinking all of the rain we've been getting lately is WAY too late in the season and is doing nothing but ruining his mood by delaying harvest. Bad thing is...doesn't look like there's an end to the rain in sight... we've had over 8" in the last three weeks and now this weekend it's supposed to rain again today, Friday, Saturday and possibly Sunday. It's nice to still have him home most nights at a decent time...but it just delays the inevitable and ~ at this rate ~ we'll still be in the field when Santa's doing his nightly duties in December!! I also heard that the Almanac has predicted this to be a wetter winter than normal...I'd better start getting the boys' snow gear ready now! They've already told me they can't wait for snow on the ground!

I'm off to pick the boys up from school this afternoon...I've been promising them we'd go to the apple orchard. I'm in the mood for Caramel Apple Upside Down Pie (yes, I'll post the recipe later)...and I think I'm going to can a bunch of apple pie filling for us to eat through the winter. I did get around to canning some caramel spiced pear butter and Pearberry Jam a couple of weeks ago...I guess all of the rain is good for something :)

I Am In Love...

We had a baby! As I wrote before, I was scheduled to go into the hospital on Monday night, July 31st to be induced. We checked in about 10:30pm and I was in bed with an IV in by 11pm. Things went well. No contractions to speak of showing up on the monitor, so I was given Cytotech to help thin and dialate my cervix. I'd talked with other moms who said absolutely DO NOT have this done...but I'd already experienced it with my #2 son and it made my labor go SO much more smoothly and quickly than any of my others. I gave the big okay to do it again with the hope that it would progress like the other.

J and I spent most of the night resting as the contractions weren't too bad and I knew I had a long day ahead of me on Tuesday. My OB's partner came in about 7am to check on my progress and broke my water. We started a pitocin drip shortly after that. I thought I might be brave this time and go as long as I could without an epidural...but that thought didn't last very long :) By 10:30am, I was dialated to 5 and we decided it was time to call the anesthesiologist. A young gal came up to do it ~ very professional for her age ~ and inserted the catheter. I prayed that we wouldn't have problems like the last delivery where they couldn't find a good spot to get it in. No problem with that this time...rather the epidural only took on one side instead of both. So I was completely numb on the right, but could still feel very strong contractions on the left. What to do, what to do... We finally made the decision to have it 'adjusted' with the hope that would fix the problem. But to no avail. My next choice was to have it removed and re-inserted. I had to laugh at the options...by that time, I was hurting pretty good and it was either re-do it or go without. Hmmm...difficult decision there. LOL

The second time worked like a charm...TOO much you could say. I went numb not only from my belly button down...but from my belly button up almost to my neck. This caused panic and alarm with the delivery room nurses but I was feeling mighty fine by then as J would continue to tell me that I was having another contraction and I would just smile and nod and say, "That's nice!". I couldn't feel a thing!! I guess their concern stemmed from the fact that you can develop breathing problems with the anesthetic working across your chest region...so the solution to that was to SHUT IT OFF. Ahem. I just paid $1500+ to have that little thing put in me not once..but TWICE and now they wanted to shut it off. Ok then. I guess the anesthesiologist wanted to make sure I really got it good the 2nd time around!!

Shutting it off wasn't as bad as I thought it might be...I had enough of it in me that I lasted quite a while. The nurses checked me again at 1pm and I was only dialated to between a 5 and 6 (so practically no progress in two hours) and I had gone that entire time without the epidural turned on but still felt pretty good. J and I joked that we would be there ALL day with as slow as I was progressing. Then IT happened. The anesthesia wore off just like that and the contractions were right on top of one another. Another check had me at 10 and ready to push...just a short 20 minutes later than when previously checked!!! I panicked without the epidural so they turned it back on...but it's a slow process when you're watching it through that little tube. Drip. Drip. Drip. UGH!!!! I guess my main delivery nurse felt sorry for me because she called the anesthesiology department again and the guy in charge showed up with a nice big syringe full of stuff that he put directly into my line. I admit it. I am a WIMP. W.I.M.P. If I had to have any of my kids without that, I would have only ever had one. Period.

My OB showed up shortly thereafter and actually spent almost an hour at the end of my table!! J joked with him that we were really getting our money's worth this time! With our last daughter, he barely made it through the door before it was over. :) It's funny the kinds of conversations you can have when you're in that position...I tried my best to keep my sense of humor throughout it all!! I cannot say enough, tho ~ how much I totally love and respect him as my physician. He has been SO good to me since I started seeing him almost 15 years ago and has been the attending OB at all of my children's births.

Anyway, our little Austyn Caeline was born at 2:12pm on Tuesday, August 1st. She weighed in at only 4oz lighter than her sister...9#1oz and 20" long. I am glad we decided to have her when we did or she would have been a 10#er at her due date!! She has an entire head of dark black hair like Daddy and is an absolute doll!! You can see her hospital pics here. Under the picture is a tab that says next picture...click on that and you can see more.

I have a bunch more pics of her on my digital camera, but my USB port is not cooperating right now so I haven't been able to download them into the computer yet. I'm hoping to be able to get to that in the next day or so.

SO...I am in love once again. All Over. It's just such a giddy feeling. I love my new baby girl, I love my "big" (2 year old) baby girl, my 5 and 9 year old big boys and especially my hubby. There is just something about it this time that makes it seem as though our family is truly complete now. And they all have been SO good since we came home from the hospital...makes me want to cry just thinking about it!! I am one of the luckiest Moms on the face of the Earth...

We Have a Date!!

I had my weekly OB appointment yesterday. Things look good...my GBS test came back negative, clean urine, measuring great, swelling was about the same but my blood pressure was up quite a bit. Not to worry ~ I'm pretty convinced it was just nervousness.

We discussed induction and, although I didn't really expect Barney to agree, we are going in on Monday night to have this baby!! I will be 38 weeks 2 days but she won't be born until late Tuesday night or early Wednesday so I will technically be 38 1/2 weeks by then. Tuesday is 11 days before my actual due date, but I am thinking she is probably about 8# now so that really isn't a concern. And both of my previous pregnancies were induced at 7 - 10 days early due to size (my last baby was 9#5oz)...I like to grow them big and healthy, I guess!! I am HOT, TIRED and just plain worn out and ready to get this over with. Who knew that pregnancy could be so emotionally draining, too? Ever since I had the unexplained bleeding starting at 7 weeks with this one, I have been extremely paranoid and worried about every little thing. Soon, that will be a thing of the past and I'll have this little girl in my arms where she belongs :) I love my kids and I normally love being pregnant...but age and my mother's built-in worrying about every little thing have really gotten to me this time!! LOL There will be NO MORE after this one which is bittersweet...but Jim already has his consultation appointment set up for August 22nd!!

On the quilting front, I have been working on my Round Robin that is due next Thursday. In cutting the borders, I discovered I didn't buy enough fabric (duh!) so had to make due. I'm actually quite proud of myself and my "ingenuity"...I found the most *awesome* Christmas fabric in my stash that matched just perfect...only thing was it was a stripe. I don't really know what to do with stripes which is why it was still in my stash, I'm sure!! Anyway, I decided to make stack-n-whack cornerstones using this fabric even though I've never done a SNW and don't even own any of Bethany's books!! I dug through my quilt book collection and came up with something very, very similar and had a great time figuring it out!! Today, I will get my embroidery traced on and started so I can get the embellishments added on over the weekend. I forgot to take a pic before I started on it, so you will just have wait until I finish to see what it looks like! I already know I am going to love it!! And hope to do more fun stuff like this on my own quilts down the road.

A HOT and Busy Weekend!

Temps have been near 100 here for the past few days and that's just too much for this fat, extremely pregnant mom to take. So I've been staying in the house and enjoying the AC. I haven't really felt all that great for the past week or so and it seems to be getting worse...guess that's how it is in the middle of summer in the Midwest chasing three little kids around and extremely pregnant with the fourth :) I made the kids start to clean out the toy room on Friday and we finished up yesterday. Two big bags of stuff to Goodwill and a box to Freecycle later, it's done. My boys just have TOO MUCH stuff and it kills me to think about getting rid of some of it after the $$ that's been spent. But we just don't have the room and with the addition of another little one, they're just going to have to make some choices. They did actually sit down in there yesterday and watch a movie...something they haven't done in a LONG time because it's been such a mess. Even though I hated to do it, I made them do it ALL themselves just so they could maybe appreciate what I have to do to clean up after them on a daily basis. They were pooped when they were done!!!

On the quilting homefront, I am working on my next round robin. I have the most *awesome* idea for this one and the person who 'owns' it is really into cardinals and Christmas so I'm adding a little bit of glitz. I'll try to post a pic later on today of what it looks like now before I start and then in a couple of weeks, when I hope to be done with my part, I'll post another pic so you can see what I added. Let's just say it will include a couple of techniques that I've not attempted before but feel confident doing including making my own rubber stamp (which actually was pretty fun!!). I was disappointed that I couldn't find what I needed at the local LQSs (and that IS plural because I think I've hit 7 of them in the last week) so had to order the last couple of things from the internet. This round is due on August 3rd so I should have plenty of time to get it done as long as I get my borders on and what I want to do drafted on it today. It's going to be a nice hand project to work on!!

It's a busy week this week starting with tonight. I'm going out to dinner with my book club...with the exception of Alice's bookstore opening a week ago, I haven't seen them or had dinner out in about 6 months. Now that April's quilt is finally finished, I'm taking it with me to present to her (I am kind-of embarrassed that it's taken so long). I know she will be happy to have it and I will be happy to have it out of my house :) Then I have an OB appointment on Tuesday afternoon, dinner out with some friends that night, the annual Midwest Cookbook Collector's Convention on Wednesday and CCQ on Thursday. Guess I'd better get my rear in gear and get lots done on Monday and Friday!

And how could I forget...six years ago today at 6:18am, we lost my mom to colon cancer. It's been a lonely six years without her as she was one of my best friends. One of her best friends who still lives in town and belongs to one of my charity groups tells me all of the time that she knows how proud my mom would be of me if she were alive today. I also think she would think we were crazy for having such a large family but she would absolutely ADORE my kids...Wyatt was so special to her. In a way, it still feels like yesterday, but realizing that Wyatt will be 9 in a couple of weeks and knowing she died when he was almost three and we didn't have any other children yet brings me back to the reality as to how long it's actually been!!! Today, we will celebrate her life and the time we got to spend with her...

Where Did June Go????

I can't believe it's Sunday the 2nd of July already. What happened to my month of June? I guess time flies when you're having fun...or so they say :)

I haven't made time or found time to quilt in the last couple of weeks and it is driving me CRAZY. I thought I was going to have the afternoon to work on some projects until my hubby just informed me he made plans for us to go visit some friends out of town later on this afternoon. UGH. Not that I don't *want* to, because I love visiting with them...I just have so much stuff that I want to get done before this baby arrives!!! And it's hard to get anything done when you're not home to do it!!

I'm embarrassed to say that I don't think I accomplished ANYTHING off my June list and will now have to move it all to the month of July. Pretty soon, I'm just going to have to give in and remove some things because my time is running out.

Of course, if this pregnancy were going perfectly, I wouldn't lose so much time to problems, either. Yes, I ended up in the hospital again this past week. I started having contractions on Wednesday about 11:30am and I thought they were just Braxton Hicks...but when they didn't go away and started getting stronger...you guessed it...they were the real thing so down to the hospital I went...ALONE. Sometimes I think the hubby just doesn't have his head screwed on straight. But I didn't push the issue of him coming with me and he didn't offer. Anyway, after 6 hours and 4 doses of terbuteline, the contractions settled down and stopped and they sent me home to rest. Thankfully, I haven't had any since then. And the "boss" (my OB) says that if I make it just two more weeks (I was 34 weeks yesterday)...they won't try and stop them again. I'll just be able to go ahead and have her. And am I ever READY!!!!

This weekend I catered a wedding event at our local lodge for 275. It wasn't too bad...the menu was pretty simple but I'm completely exhausted today. Which is why I had in my mind that an afternoon full of quilting therapy was just what I need!!

Gratitudes

1) Our new puppy has added so much fun to our lives! Yes, potty training is a PAIN and I still think cats are easier BUT he is such a little card and there's nothing better than seeing the joy in my children's eyes as they play with him and discover how much fun he is!

2) The baby has been moving lots and letting me know in her own subtle way that she is okay. I enjoy being pregnant but I'm ready to endure sleepless nights to have this little bundle in my arms! (Only 4 or 5 more weeks to go!)

3) The solitude of a shopping trip to my local LQS ~ without children ~ and without a time table.

4) The coolness of our central air conditioning on a really hot Iowa afternoon.

5) The memories I have of my mom as we celebrate her life by mourning her death on the 16th of this month.

We Have Had the Worst Luck!!

It's been a bad dog year for us on the farm. Last year, the week before Thanksgiving, my beloved Magi dog died. She had 'disappeared' for a few days the week of Thanksgiving and we looked and looked and couldn't find her. Of course, when you live on the farm in the middle of nowhere, when they're gone, they're usually gone without a trace. Anyway, Jim finally noticed that our other dog, Max, was hanging out more than usual by the propane tank and when he went there to see what was up...there was Mags. She was 13 years old and had lived a good life with us here on the farm.

Then, a couple of months ago, the boys' Beagle dog, Lucky, lost his life on the paved road south of our house. I think I wrote about that little incident some time back in my blog... We had only had him for three years and he had NEVER strayed from the yard until this spring when Jim started bringing home chicken manure to spread on the field for fertilizer. I guess the pull to that stuff (YUCK) was just too much :( It led him to the neighbor across the busy paved road and he and that dog became buddies. We guess that he was probably on his way over to "visit" when he met his demise.

Then, on Monday this week, we lost our only other outside dog, Max. He had lived a good life with us here on the farm, too ~ and was getting up there in age for a farm dog. He was 11 1/2. A couple of months ago, we started noticing he was having problems walking and the vet said it was probably the beginning of hip dysplasia. At the time, it wasn't really bad enough to do anything about and we talked about what to do with him this fall. I was afraid it would get worse over the winter and he would get laid down somewhere and not be able to get back up and then freeze to death. I guess we don't have to worry about that now :( Jim made the comment a couple of weeks ago that he thought he was depressed at being an "only" dog and was getting lonely. But he had some pretty bad habits (like killing everything that came through the yard and destroying the siding on the buildings when a rabbit or something ran in there and he didn't know how else to get to it)....so we had made the decision a while ago that we wouldn't get another outdoor dog until he was gone so as not to instill those bad habits into another one.

After the boys' Beagle died, they each decided they wanted a dog...of course, they couldn't AGREE on just one. Wink wanted a mini-dachschund and Wyatt wanted a golden retriever. Since we knew the dachsie would have to be an indoor only dog due to size, and we knew we didn't want to get an outdoor dog before Max was gone, the decision was made to get a dachsie first. Thus the addition of Copper to our family almost two weeks ago now. Of course, now that Max is gone, we are plagued with the never-ending question as to why Wyatt can't get a dog now, too.

Unfortunately, this has to be a firm mom decision...with only 5 - 6 weeks left until the new baby arrives, I just can't take any more on my plate. And potty-training one dog at a time is enough for me! But it does feel strange to come home in the dark and not hear that familiar bark greeting and cold wet nose when you get out of the vehicle to go to the house...

Lots of New Things!

Whew! Yet another busy week at our house! We are proud to announce the addition of yet another four-legged family member...Wink got his new mini-dachshund puppy on Monday afternoon. His name is Copper and, while I was *extremely* apprehensive about having a dog in the house, he is doing wonderfully and has only had one minor accident thus far. We are crate training him and the first few nights were full of lots of crying (from both the kids and the dog) but things have calmed down considerably since then. Here is a pic of him playing with his new favorite toy...a stuffed pig that oinks when you squeeze its tummy!

He really is a nice companion and the boys just love him to death! They are always holding him (spoiling him) so he will end up being a lap dog for sure! Wink is already asking if he can sleep in bed with him once he's reliably potty trained. Works for me as long as I don't have messes to clean up!!

In other news, I finished up my RR quilt to exchange at Thursday's CCQ get together. It was another great quilt to work on...all of the girls in my group do such a great job and come up with the most awesome ideas!! I got a new one to work on that's due in six weeks and then will only have one more after that before we get our own back. I can't wait! Here's a pic of the one I just finished:

Now to just come up with something great for the next one!

In other quilt-y news, I feel as though I'm getting farther and farther behind on my list of to-do things... Since my trip to Minnesota was cancelled this weekend, I'm hoping to have time to do some clean-up in my ever-so-messy studio and then get to work! I am about 1/2 done with putting blocks together for the girls' quilt that I started on about a month ago. Sharon went over some applique basics with me on Thursday so now I can start with the leaves on the blocks I do have done.

Pat called this week saying she had my Wizard of Oz baby quilt finished so I need to take time out to go get that sometime next week. I *still* do not have the binding hand-sewn on my friend April's quilt so will have to make that a priority this week, too.

So many things to do and never enough time!!! LOL

On a lighter note, I've been reading a few blogs where the author lists her gratitudes for each day. After the tough day I had with the kids yesterday, I've decided that I'm going to try it to keep myself in a positive perspective. When you're fat, tired, HOT and extremely pregnant...sometimes, it's hard to look at the bright side!

Today's Five Gratitudes

1) My kids and the fact that they're all healthy enough to *want* to kill each other

2) My husband who comes home every night and makes supper, usually without complaint

3) The companionship of our four-legged friends...without my cat, sometimes I think I'd go nutty!

4) As much as I hate to admit it, I am really thankful for the computer...the chance to talk with other like-minded individuals and the extensive information available about ANYTHING

5) A gentle breeze on a really hot day...the kind that makes you think it might just be 10 degrees cooler than it really is :)

I Forgot that I'd Been Tagged!!

My friend Tina tagged me a couple of weeks ago when I was having so much fun making trips back and forth to the hospital...Here it is, girlfriend! I might be slow but eventually, I remember!!! LOL

5 Things in my fridge:
~2% Milk
~Ketchup
~Pepsi
~Water
~Yogurt

In my closet:
~My husband's clothes
~Extra sheets/blankets
~The one pair of jeans from high school that I can't bear to throw out...even though I know I'll NEVER fit into them again
~Extra candles
~Costume jewelry

In my purse:
~Not much! It's really small
~Coupons
~ATM Cards
~Calendar
~My quilt sizing cheater card

In my car:
~Big and Rich CD (always in the player!)
~Garbage can
~The keys (so I don't lose them!)
~Wipes
~Band Aids and Antibiotic ointment in case we have any "accidents"

On my Tivo:
~Don't have one!!

Whew! It's been B-U-S-Y!!!

I can't believe I've let so much time go by since the last time I posted. On one hand, this pregnancy seems to be moving so S-L-O-W...but on the other hand, weeks go by and I wonder where the time went!

A week ago this past Thursday found me in the hospital again...this time for swelling issues. It was just my ankles when I woke up that morning (not unusual for being 28 weeks pregnant at the time) but by noon, my hands and face had joined in the party. A phone call to my OB's office sent me to the hospital to be checked out once again. Testing for pre-eclampsia came back negative but the Fetal Fibronectin test that they did came back positive for pre-term labor. Saw my OB the following Tuesday to find out what I should do...he's so laid back that we're doing N-O-T-H-I-N-G...N-A-D-A...Z-I-P. Go to the hospital if my water breaks or I start bleeding or I start having timeable contractions. blah.blah.blah. I also found out there is a high rate of false-positives for that test which, I figure, is why he is not worried. After all, it took a Pitocin jump-start and close to or more than 24 hours to have my three other kids...why in the world would this one think she should make an early appearance?!?! LOL Anyway, the test is only good for a two-week period of time...so I figure if I don't go into labor by Thursday this week...all is well. :)

On the quilting homefront...I've been working like a madwoman on a new quilt (I know, I know, shame on me). I picked the pattern up at Market and absolutely LOVE it!! It will go in the girls' room when it's finished. I chose a yellow background floral print that I've had in my stash for the past five years as the focus fabric and it is Gorgeous!! I'll post pics soon. I'm really putting it together because it has some simple applique and 1) I figure if I DO end up on bedrest due to problems...I need something to do and 2) the applique is minimal and the same shape over and over again so it will be simple to learn and easy to practice with for more complicated designs down the road.

Unfortunately, starting a new project means that I didn't get my May Goal List completed...but I'm not stressing and moving those to June. Some of them may be moved even further back since my trip to Minnesota this month had to be cancelled...BOO HOO... Barney says no travel further than an hour and a half to two hours from the hospital considering all that has been going on. While I understand and agree with that...it's still very disappointing as Sharon and I have been planning this trip since LAST summer after we had such a great time!!

I have accomplished much more on my "home" to-do list...last week, the kids and I spent a day cleaning out Miss A's room and getting it ready for Baby A. Everything has been rearranged and Baby A's clothes are all washed up and ready to go. Then we spent a day and a half on the boys' room...sorting their books (can't believe how many duplicate copies of stuff they had!), rearranging their closet, getting rid of stuff and switching their beds. Will has been complaining for MONTHS about getting the top bunk so we finally made the change (much to Wyatt's disappointment). We are going to try a six month on - six month off arrangement. Hmph. We'll see how that goes!! We also cleaned out the remaining storage stuff from the hallway and either pitched/put it away. Ah...the feeling of success!! Now we just have our bedroom to finish up there and it will be all done! I'm putting it off until next week, tho ~ too many other things this week to do.

Speaking of which...the t-shirts for the Barn Quilts will be ready for this weekend's BTF celebration. I'm starting to put them together this afternoon and hope they go quickly. I'm really in the mood to quilt and would like to get more of that done this week, too.

Well, off to re-prioritize my June goals, change the laundry around and get the kids out of bed. Need to get the day "officially" started!

It Never Fails

Just when I have a good thing going...BOOM...something else has to come in and screw it all up!! I had a great time in Minneapolis this past weekend at Market. The fabric line up for Fall is terrible (IMHO)...just not my style. But the talent out there for new patterns and such is absolutely incredible. Hopefully sometime this week, I'll have a chance to post pics of some of the goodies I picked up while there.

Unfortunately, I overdid and knew better. By our arrival home on Sunday evening at 5:30pm, I was pooped. Then we had to attend a graduation reception so it was late before I got to bed. On Monday morning, I couldn't get the baby to move, so I headed down to L & D to get checked out. Five long hours of NST and an ultrasound later, I was headed home. She was fine...I was just a little paranoid and I'm sure she was just a little tired from my over-activity over the weekend. A couple of other good points, tho ~ I did spend Saturday night with my step-dad and great aunt and uncle to celebrate the life of my birthmother as she had died exactly a year before. Then on Sunday, we stopped at IKEA before heading home and it was AWESOME! I found so many neat things I'd like to have when I get really serious about redoing my quilting studio :)

This week seems to be flying by...can't believe tomorrow is already going to be Thursday. I have spent the last three days/nights trying desperately to get caught up and also get my printer fixed. The big job I've been hired to do is due in two weeks and without a printer, I am royally screwed. Jim and I thought we had the problems solved tonight...but to no avail. I think I'm going to have a big bonfire and give it a proper going away...

Anyway, off to bed now for some sleep. My little redhead decided it would be fun to get up at 6:15am this morning which she NEVER EVER does. It's early to rise for me tomorrow to help Wyatt pack his lunch for his school picnic and then try and continue with getting caught up around here. I was hoping I'd get some quilting in this week, too, but the days are flying by...

I've Held Off...

I've been a good girl this week...holding off on any new projects and continuing to work on the RR I absolutely, positively NEED to get done and passed. Finally got all of the 1/2 square triangles sewed, cut, pressed and trimmed last night so it's on to making the last 19 blocks today. I hope to have that done tonight so I can pass it off tomorrow. I'll post pics before it leaves here.

Another neat thing has been going around the quilting blogs so I thought I'd join in once again.

Six Weird Things About Me Hardly Anyone Else Knows

1. I eat all of my food one thing at a time. There isn't a conscientious order to it, although I have noticed that I tend to eat my main entree last. I DO NOT mix my food together except in the event of it being purposely served that way (i.e. chicken and noodles over mashed potatoes). I rarely ever eat dessert.

2. I have this HUGE and I do mean HUGE fear of locusts. My brother used to pluck them off our backyard tree and chase me with them as a child. When the bzz-bzz sound starts in the summer, I stay in the house. One year, when we were first married, Jim brought a shell of one into the house and I cowered in a corner in the living room and screamed and cried until I almost threw up.

3. I always wash my hair first when in the shower and leave the shampoo on until I'm ready to get out. I guess I figure my hair will end up cleaner the longer I leave it on there.

4. The favorite part on my cat is the hair in his ears and I cannot pet him without making a psseeet sound and pulling on it. I would never own a short haired cat that I couldn't do that to.

5. When my mom first died, I refused to have any intimacy with my husband for four months because I was afraid she could see us. (Yeah, I know...it's REALLY a weird thing but she was the first "close" person to me who had ever passed away and I guess the thought of her looking down on us made me feel better in some odd way. Even though it's pretty apparent I'm over that now since I've had three children since then!)

6. I like and have an interest in WAY too many things...I think I could go to college and be a professional student because I could stand to major in about 10 other things right off the top of my list. No wonder I'm a SAHM...I could never make up my mind what type of job was right for me...everything became boring after about six months!

Guess that's about it. It was a fun exercise but it took some thinking!!!

Here's to Another Great Week!

Yeah! I feel so good to have gotten some of the things off my to-do list accomplished again this weekend.

DONE! 1) Declutter the kitchen. I KNOW there is a TON of stuff I could get rid of out of my cupboards. And it was all given away on Freecycle and is already outta here!!

DONE! 3) Sweep and scrub the bathroom floor. Declutter the bathroom closet. Hehe...I "got out" of doing this as Wyatt LOVES to clean the bathroom (he's a strange child!! LOL)...so he did it instead of me! Of course, I had to slip him a couple of dollars for his savings account...

DONE! (almost! Have a little area left to do) 4) Clean off the tops of my built-in cabinets and declutter.

STILL TO-DO in the next couple of weeks:

2) Clean the ceiling fan in the kitchen and the lights in the kitchen, dining room and bathroom.

5) Open up all of the windows and put the finish coat on my remaining built-in cabinet so I can get the glass put in the doors and my dishes put away.
6) Go to Ace and pick out the new paint for Afton and baby's room. Then it's on to cleaning out her room of the furniture that's in there, removing the old border, priming and then painting!! Need to really get a handle on this before I get any more preggers.

It feels SO good to have these things done :) Now onto some quilting for this week. When I originally made out my list of things to get done, I never really put a "timeline" on them so I think I may go back and do that sometime this week. For right now, I need to get my Round Robin finished up because it's due on Thursday and I'd also like to get that Wizard of Oz baby quilt borders straightened out and finished by then, too. If I work quickly and have time, I may even get my Triple Irish Chain Colorwash finished and ready for borders, too!

Then the fun thing for me this week is to pick out a quilt for MYSELF to make...I have birthday money to spend that's burning a hole in my pocket PLUS I have a full card at one of my favorite quilt shops that's worth $25 in merchandise. WooHoo! $125 to spend on something for ME :) I'm seriously thinking about purchasing the fabric for the 3D Dresden Plate that I'd like to get done before next year's quilt show...OR I could save it for Sharon and my trip to the MN Quilt Show in St. Cloud in June...OR I could spend it getting the remaining fabrics I need for Afton's big-girl bed quilt...Oh, the options!! LOL

For right now, I'd better go get my rear in gear to finish moving things around in the kitchen. Our new refrigerator is being delivered tonight!!!!

I'm Joining in the Fun

As I'm reading the blogs of other quilters, I'm finding that we have an awful lot in common in addition to fabrics and creativity! :) A couple of fun things I thought I would do is follow in their tagging games and start one here myself.

All That History

20 years ago (1986): I was ending my freshman year in high school looking forward to what were *supposed* to be the best four years of my life (yeah, right!).

10 years ago (1996): Married to Jim for three years now and moved back to Jefferson. Still trying to settle in. Working as an insurance agent and loving it until I find out in October that I'm pregnant with our first baby.

5 years ago (2001): Doing ALOT of adjusting to life as my mom has been gone a year or so and Will was born in November of 2000. Quit my job to become a SAHM (who'd a thunk it?!?!) And who could forget the worst day in US History on my MIL's birthday?

1 year ago (2005): Celebrating 12 years of marriage and the one year birthday of our third child...Afton Elizabeth! Still living in our small town and hating it...but learning to live with the life choices I've made which is a HUGE step for me (that high-end executive job still sometimes calls my name!) Facing yet another huge loss as my birthmother dies in a six-week time period from very, very aggressive cancer.

1 month ago (2006): We found out that our new baby will be another girl! Due in August, this brings our child count up to four (and enough!). And yes, we do know what causes pregnancy.

Today: A busy day full of accomplishment on my to-do list. I ALMOST have a clean house!

Tomorrow: Put together my Wizard of Oz baby quilt borders and work out the final details on the Round Robin that's due next week!

Tagging: I'll tag Jinx, Amy, Tina and Tracey...