Ph 5am song

Early one mor-orning, the sun wasn't even shining,
I heard the baby cry-ying and he wouldn't go back to sleep.
We snuggled downstai-ai-airs unti-il he was snoozing,
I laid him on the floo-oo-oor and he wouldn't go back to sleep.
He started to play-ay-ay with his fa-avorite toy-oy-oy,
It was a small drum sti-i-ick, and then he went back to sleep.

Park Day

Saturday we decided to head to a nature conservation area.  Like a previous time, with Grandma, it was already mid-afternoon and a 20 minute drive to this new-to-us area.  So, we packed up some good food, drove through Wendy's for a burger to supplement and headed out.  What we forgot was that the prairie is much windier than in town and so, we were all a bit wind-whipped when we were done.  Also, forgot the pacifier for Miss T and she didn't want to be carried faced in and so she cried through most of the trail.  Consequently, Mama walked faster and kids got tireder...well, lesson learned.  Bring ear-gear, snacks for all and try again later.  It was a beautiful place and Kevin found the spot he would have settled if he had been a pioneer.  ;)  Here are some pictures of some wildlife and some sister love!  Enjoy!

Idols

I read the article: When your kids won't bow to your idols, this past week.  Then, this weekend we took care of 2 extra kids (3 years and 6 months) for a few days.  Through the weekend the thoughts from the article kept coming to mind.  How am I reacting?  What are my idols in this situation?  It really impacted how I dealt with having Baby L...not suddenly, but gradually.  Last night, she fell asleep in our arms and we tried to lay her down a couple times after only a minute or two of snuggling. 

Then, it occurred to me that babies were made by God to be snuggled by there mama, because every time I lifted her up and layed her head against my chest, she instantly fell asleep (instantly - true description!).  Oh, when I realized that, I savored that time with her, and cried over her loss.  After a good long snuggle, she layed down just fine!  Then again at 3:30 a.m. (she typically woke up around 5:30), I enjoyed a long snuggle instead of the frustration of a baby awake in the middle of the night.  This sweet, beautiful, smiley little girl needed that mama loving!  While Kevin is missing Brother N, I am grieving Baby L's loss and desiring to snuggle her again (and mostly because of the real life application of this article.  My idols: sleep, baby obedience a.k.a. control, and yep, hmm...control!).

Nursing Shawl in 5 Minutes or Less

I had the idea to make a nursing shawl because a friend of mine had one.  I kept forgetting to ask her where she got it, and then finally, figuring it would be more than $10, I decided to check Pinterest to see if they had any ideas for dimensions or other DIY versions.  I found this idea and another.  So easy! 

Now, the issue was finding the fabric.  I have 3 little ones at home and am very pregnant, so thought I would check my stash and my scarf collection (which isn't too many, but more than I regularly use). 

After folding the scarf in half, I pinned from the fringe up to about 15 inches from the fold.  Then, I sewed with a similar color of thread, tied it off and tried it on.  Done.

 One of the instruction links showed that you could use it for a pregnancy shawl, nursing cover, or infinity scarf.  I didn't try it as a scarf yet.  Maybe another day.  And below is my nearly 37 week pregnant belly. 

Bits and Pieces...

~  Kevin's birthday cake...I want to remember was based off of this recipe.  Yumm!!  Rich.  Lasted many weeks in the freezer, only taking bits out at a time.

~  Hobo Tin Foil Meals:  Onion soup mix is a great way to season them.  I made a homemade no MSG, no gluten version from here.  I substituted vegetable broth bullion for beef in the recipe to suit vegetarians in the family!  Great!

~  I was gone for a week from my regular laundry duties.  The first load I did when I came back...no soap.  Oops...didn't realize this until I had already started the dryer.  Yes, I used the dryer on a beautiful summer day.  I didn't know if I could handle hanging things out.

~  Oh, big news.  Baby on the way.  Haha.  I have all-day morning sickness this round.  I've never experienced this before.  It's awful!  But I did have some great help last week as I stayed at my parents house with the three kids.  Kevin had to go home to work, and missed us, but had fun anyways, I think.  Baby G missed Kevin too, I think.  He's been waking up in the night every night since Kevin's been around.  Otherwise, he's been sleeping through the night for at least a month.  We might have to go camping again if this keeps up.  Just to get him back to the all night sleeping.

~  So tired.  Better get to bed.