Nesting??

Well...the time is approaching for the baby's arrival. You know how I know? Despite the construction going on in our bathroom and my not wanting to start cleaning until we are done getting things dirty, I dusted!

The other rare adventure of the day...cookie making! I make cookies only slightly more than never, so I had to document the whole thing! Kj wanted to help too. So she got the cast off measuring cups and spoons and some water and she measured teaspoonfuls in to the various cups. Then of course her and I did some taste testing of the first batch. They were, in her words, ooey gooey!



Say, did you know that if you click on the picture it gets enlarged? I found that out just now...no, I'm not very experienced in this blogging thing...this is probably an "of course" thing for all of you readers...

Blessed be the name of the LORD.

About a month and a half ago, I was in my sister-in-law's wedding. Being a married, quite pregnant, mother of a toddler, I didn't really get to know my groomsman/partner. But events of the last week have brought him to mind a lot.

Friday, he had a brain aneurysm while at the gym, followed by surgery and an induced coma. Our family was traveling to visit my other sister-in-law, and so we were updated by phone through my new brother-in-law, who had to stay behind to work.

Today, the following Wednesday, brought an email that this young man had died. He was strong and healthy and now he's gone. It brought to mind thoughts that you hear all the time..."Life is short." "Live in the moment." "Don't take things for granted." A verse written on my new brother-in-laws webpage: "The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." We don't know our lifespan, we don't know when the person next to us is going to be gone.

God truly only knows. It isn't a cruel thought. It is a glorious thought. While I think of the things that he and his family may miss out on...walking a wonderful young lady down the aisle, someone not a married, pregnant, mother of a toddler...graduating from college...among other life goals/happenings. God knows the opposite things he doesn't have to deal with. No more hurt, no more pain, no more disease, etc.

Of course, you can't go up to the family and tell them all that, can we? How do you connect with them, encourage them, comfort them? I guess, I personally don't have to know that answer for this young man's family, but my brother and sister-in-law need to know. Please, pray that they will have the words and actions to be near and dear to this family in their sadness. As a mama, I can only imagine that the pain of losing your "known" child is much worse, and longer lasting than losing your "dream" child.

"The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." Job 1:21

Doing what I like to relax...and what came of it.

I have been doing a lot of knitting and crocheting lately, as you all have read. Well, on Wednesday nights our family goes to a church supper. After that Kevin helps teach 1st and 2nd grade boys, and Kj plays in the nursery with the kids. There are a couple of other moms whose husbands teach or something and their kids are in class or the nursery. So, we have started congregating and visiting on the comfy couches in the entrance of the church. Since just before Christmas we've had a crew of craftiness. We've had cross-stitching, fleece hat/scarf making, crocheting, knitting, and other small projects. Others walk past and see what we are up to and stop to visit for a few minutes. It has been a lot of fun.

Well, one lady that has walked past often is a at-home-mom/photographer. She has commissioned me to make a few newborn props for her studio that she found online. So, after Kevin gets off work today, I'm off to the store to buy supplies. We'll see how many items I can get whipped up before our baby is due (mid-March).

I have a goal too. I have some Christmas money saved and I am going to add my earnings here to buy a serger. Something I thought would be fun to have and would help me with a few projects that I've thought much about. I'll keep you posted!

Busy busy busy

Lately, I always have something on my mind to do. Knit, crochet, sew, bake...I am in the midst of a little bit of each of these.

We acquired a large freezer from Kevin's parents and have finally begun to put things in it. We didn't even plug it in for at least 3 months because we didn't know what to put in it. Now, I'm starting to get a few extra things on sale at the grocery store and cooking some freezer meals for around the time the baby arrives. I'm trying to make extras of our favorite meals to stow away. I'm experimenting with freezing chicken-broccoli alfredo. I didn't make the noodles, but I put frozen broccoli in the bag first, then stuck that back in the freezer for a bit. Then I cooked up some chicken and cut that up, and let it cool. Next, opened the jar of alfredo (no, sorry, not homemade) sauce poured that in, then added the chicken. I squished it around a bit then closed it back up and stuck it in the freezer. Pretty easy. I suppose cooking and freezing the chicken would have been sufficient, but I am trying to make things as easy as possible. Open one bag or open two bags and a jar... :)

The next project on the list is a crocheted scarf. A friend found out I was making scarves and brought some yarn over for me. I didn't tell her that the reason I was doing all this crocheting and knitting was because I was trying to "get rid" of yarn. So, there are more to come.




In the yarn project bag is also a knitting project. A neck gator using a circular knitting needle. I had never tried this before and had to search to find out how to actually use it. The directions emphasized that you make sure the first row was not twisted. I checked, and double checked, and triple checked on the first few rows, and then on about the sixth row, you know what I found...Yes, the gator was twisted. So, my neck gator has a very nice little "tuck"/blemish in it...a fix so I wouldn't have to start over!

The next project. I wanted to make a dress for Kj again this year, and figured now was the best time to do that. So, that is 98% finished. All that is left is to figure out how I am going to finish off the ends of ribbon that are the shoulder straps. It is unraveling some, otherwise I would just leave it. I just don't want to make it bulky at the ends...




Let's see, anything else? Ah, yes...

~ Hooded bath towel for Kj.
~ Fleece scarf...if I have the right size fleece leftovers (approx. 7"x32")
~ Wash the dishes from surprise birthday party last night
~ Clean the bathroom before my mom and sis come to visit
~ ...I'm sure there are more...

(Jan. 22...black and red scarf, Kj dress...finished!)

What timing!

The question of the week: Why not add another project to the before baby to-do list??

My husband and I have been saving the last several months for a home improvement project...Thinking it wouldn't be a monumental task, we hoped to have it done before our next baby came (mid-March). Since that time we have been saving, talking a little about what we expect/want, and thinking it could be done in a timely manner. About a week ago, we decided that we needed to just start, even if we didn't get a whole lot done right away. We could at least start with purchasing some of the supplies. So, this past weekend, we passed our nearly two-year-old off on her grandparents (lucky them!!), and we started.

Here is our progress...

New hardware for the cupboards. I started doing this and got most of it done, but the new hinges were a little deeper than our old ones, so Kevin had to do some drilling.


Working more on taking the old plastic tiles off of the walls. We learned through an internet search that heat helps to take the adhesive off the walls. So, here is Kevin trying to use our bathroom heater to test that. It really does work. It makes for a little quieter job as well, so we can do it while Kj is sleeping!


We also purchased our new faucet and some new towel rods. All very exciting. We even found flooring that we like. Now to order that, and figure out if we or someone else will be installing it!

It is crazy how exciting buying these items is when you are a homeowner. I never thought I would get so excited about drawer handles, faucets, and linoleum! :)

Scarves...

In my second trimester surge of productivity, I am trying to finish off projects that have been around for a while. One of the projects I am working on right now is a "using up some yarn" project. I have made already finished 3 scarves and am working on a 4th. I stopped after the 3rd one to move on to other things, but have found that it is nice to have a little something going that I can take a few minutes to work on here and there. It gives me a little break from all the other everyday things that take so much of my time. Kind of a chance to take a breath and figure out my next action plan.

In the few days that I took off from this diversion, I realized that I had come to almost "need" it. I got overwhelmed by the dreariness of the sky and thinking that I had to play with Kj all day! Amazing what calm a little handiwork can bring. Thank you God for using knitting and crocheting to do this!!

Bridal Shower Gift...

I was given a mission recently to make a "cute" apron. My sister-in-law is getting married and that was her one request of me. She asked her mom, "Can I ask for something specific from someone for my wedding?" The answer, "It depends." And with this request the answer was, "Yes." So, I set out looking online for a prefect pattern for a "cute" apron. I had a few rough sketches and some ideas. I even had part of the plan laid out in my sewing room. The only thing was I couldn't find a complimenting fabric for the pieces I had laid out (cloth napkins with snowflakes in the corners). So, one naptime I looked through my boxes of fabrics from other projects and hand-me-downs. I found 3 pieces (2 bits and 1 large piece) that I decided would be prefect. A few days previously I had been to a craft store and seen an apron book. I found the prefect "cute" apron. Now, I just had to remember what it looked like and figure out how to assemble it. Once done, I decided that since Kj's aunt was probably going to be the only one to make cookies with her, she needed a matching apron. So, I simplified the design and made it toddler size. Very fun!