2012 Resolutions

And another year is about to start... I can't believe just how fast this year as gone.  It seems like it wasn't that long ago I found out I was expecting Eli.  It doesn't seem possible that Aiden is already well into his 2's - and acting it too!  :)  I lot got accomplished in the year, and a lot didn't.  Here is to hoping 2012 works out a bit better....

Life Goals:

-  Lose baby weight after Eli is born - not setting a number, but technically I could stand to lose 100lbs and still be a size 12....
-  Obviously deliver and recover safely in February
-  Potty Train Aiden by Oct 9 - his 3rd bday.
-  Start showering, putting on anything but lounge clothes and perhaps wearing my hair down more often.  Now, it's not like I don't shower, but since hitting 2nd trimester it's becoming an every 2-3 day thing, not a daily thing.  Also I spend most days in my nightgown, yoga pants or sweats and my hair up... so ya know, as I lose weight I'm hoping to want to put some effort into my looks again.


Reading Goals:

-  Read The Hunger Games Trilogy {already downloaded all 3 on my kindle!}
-  Try reading at least one new author. 
-  Seriously read a famous person's Biography.  This shouldn't be hard to do, but it was on my list this year and I still managed to skip over it.
-  My new goal is only going to be 20.  30 this year was a stretch, matter of fact I am only halfway through my 30th book - so umm, I'll be up until 1159pm reading tomorrow....

Sewing Goals:

-  Complete Brock's birthday quilt {his bday is the day after mine, Jan 6th.... eek!}
-  Complete Eli's baby blanket
-  Make a Tumbler block quilt
-  Make a Color Block quilt
-  Dick & Jane quilt
-  A quilt for my dad's birthday in Oct.
-  Try using more solids
-  Try making mom's Sunbonnet Sue quilt... I've never done applique and I'm terrified!

Well there you have it - some goals, in print, for me to work on this coming year.  I'm sure 2012 will be wonderful no matter what happens, after all baby Eli will be joining us!  Here's hoping my hubby gets a great job too....

Blogger's Choice FQ Bundle - My Entry!

Quokka Quilts Blogger's Choice Fat Quarter Bundle Contest. 

What's this all about you ask?  Well if you have to ask, you must not be in on the sewing blog circuit!  Fat Quarter Shop has a "bloggers choice" fat quarter bundle section, and Quokka Quilts thought it would be great if we all could dream of being in that category.  One lucky blogger's bundle will be picked a winner and they will receive a HALF-YARD of each of your 15 fabric choices!  What a bundle that would be! 

Here is my inspiration for colors....  I don't know why, but these colors have been in my "inspiration" folder for a long time, I just think it's such a different palate that normal.  I hope I did it justice.  I tried to find the right pink to use, but none of the picks I found worked the way I wanted, so I opted to remove the pink color from my palate.  I don't think it changed the feel too much.  I think one day I just may need to make a quilt from these fabrics even if I have to buy them myself!

My Inspiration from Design Seeds

My Fabric Choices

1.    Bella Solids Terrain Cactus YardageSKU# 9900-175

2.    Bella Solids Orange YardageSKU# 9900-80

3.    Bella Solids Purple YardageSKU# 9900-21

4.    Terrain Moss Seedpod YardageSKU# 27095-16

5.    Rainbowesque Batiks Purple Scroll YardageSKU# 22022-660

6.    Treasures and Tidbits Orange Tiny Florals and Dots YardageSKU# 10999-8

7.    Terrain Bloom Seedpod YardageSKU# 27095-13

8.    Meet Me At Sunset Pink Mumsy YardageSKU# STELLA-8-PINK

9.    Desired Things Olive Tonal Oblong Dots YardageSKU# 0082-4

10.  Autumn Gatherings Purple Leaf Stripe YardageSKU# 2JAA-2

11.  Bohemian Soul Day Rhapsody YardageSKU# BOH-503

12.  Rocking Horse Ranch Brown Suede Texture YardageSKU# 45390-A

13.  Chelsea Purple Leaves YardageSKU# 32546-3

14.  Grand Bazaar White Corridors YardageSKU# DS5069-WHIT-D

15.  Chelsea Green Stripe YardageSKU# 32547-4

 

Merry Christmas!



Bedtime on Christmas Eve



Getting Ready to see what Santa Brought - he's soo excited!

Here is a short video of him seeing that Santa came and ate his cookies and brought him Buzz and Woody!

The Polar Express

I am sure most of you have heard of the Polar Express book, or seen the Tom Hanks animated movie of it.  Aiden fell in love with the movie this year and we watch it 2-3 times a day.  Matter of fact, it's 10am now and we just started it for the 2nd time.  He loves the music, dances and sings along, he loves the train, and he gets excited every time they get to the North Pole.

Here where we live they put on a Polar Express train ride every year.  My mom bought our whole family tickets to ride on the train and it was such a fun experience.  They even ask that kids show up in their jammies!

The conductor was hilarious - although his humor was lost on a 2 year old.  They danced up and down the aisles with the kids, served hot chocolate and cookies.  The hobo from the movie came through the train ranting and raving a few times, Aiden didn't really understand that it was the bum from the movie.  The conductor came through and punched every child's "gold ticket" just like in the movie, and then of course we got to the North Pole.

At the "north pole" we saw Santa's house and where the reindeer live on one side of the tracks.  We saw the toy warehouse and village on the other, and Santa and the Elves were outside waiting to board the train!  Santa went through each train car and handed out silver engraved bells to each child and took pictures.  Aiden wasn't sure about this particular Santa, but hasn't put his bell down since. 

Overall, if you have a chance to ride on the "polar express" in your town, please do.  Aiden loved it, Kris loved it and read along in the book when they read it aloud.  The hot chocolate was good, and it was something I know Aiden will talk about forever.  I've posted some of my favorites photos from the trip.

30 weeks

First bare belly

So I'm a tad late, but I am now 30 weeks along.  Everything with me looks healthy, Eli is growing well, roughly 3lbs and 15.7 inches according to online.  As of today we only have 60 days left until Eli arrives. 

My sleep has been pretty choppy though.  The unisom really helps me sleep better, but the hip pain still is nagging at me and keeping me uncomfortable.  My hips just ache all night.  During the day while I'm up and about it's really not noticeable, but 10 minutes of laying down and I get up to pee I can hardly stand.  It's horrible.  That's really my only complaint though. 

I ordered myself some hospital/postpartum clothes.  A couple pairs of fold down lounge pants, a light tshirt and a hoodie.  All on sale, gotta love that.  So now I can check one more thing off my list.  I got registered for the hospital and signed the paperwork to confirm the c-section date and time. 

Now all the little things are starting to pile up on me, like should I get a 2nd diaper bag?  How do we get Aiden out of our bed and into his own bed in 8 weeks?  I need to make our pre-baby appointment with the pediatric orthopedic surgeon so we know what to expect.  After December is over and we get the tree down I have to start pulling out the infant car seat and washing baby clothes.  It;s really hard to believe I'm already down to this point, it's gone so fast! *sigh*

Here is a picture of Aurora loving up on me.  I wasn't feeling good and she laid down with me.

Writers Workshop - College - Drunk Bowling

4.) Share a story from your college years

Oh to just pick one is tough.  However, the one that generally comes to mind is "Drunk Bowling".  It's really not as fun as it sounds... at least it wasn't for me!

So it was a weekend night and I work close (I was a store manager) for a campus coffee shop/internet cafe'.  I didn't get off work until after midnight but there were plans for a group of my friends to go bowling.  Of course bowling alley's have beer to purchase, so they planned to share a few pitchers while hitting the lanes, and they'd been drinking while waiting for me to get off work.  I was underage.


D-Rock and I - clearly wasted on another night

Fast forward - off work now.  My friend Derek - aka D-Rock - was also working with me that night and underage, so once off work we were supposed to "catch up" and then we'd all head to the bowling alley.  They pick us up and take us to my friend Chris's place.  Tequila shots were handed out.  After 2 D and I were still feeling nothing, so of course we took back a few more shots.  A handful of shots, a quick "snack" and off we went.  You can imagine where this is going...

Somewhere between Chris' apartment and the bowling alley, the Tequila kicked in.  Oh how I love me some Tequila, seriously, I do love it.  I remember getting shoes and setting up a cool nicknames on the screen, and it starts to go downhill from there.  Derek of course was holding strong just being nice and drunk, but I was not doing so hot.  It was my first turn up, and I remember starting to pull my arm back and then forward to release.... Boom - the ball drops hard on the floor.  No where even close to the lane.  I don't actually recall if I made another attempt or got the ball down the lane at all.



Different night, but Chris and I drunk again

My next memory is telling my friend Alison and my roommate Ashely that I needed to go to the bathroom.  My memory is gone from here on out for awhile.  I think Alison helped me to the bathroom, I can still hear her laughter. 

Next thing I can recall is Derek and Chris coming in the bathroom and Alison and Ashley taking off my bowling shoes for me while I was laying on the floor hovering over a toilet bowl asleep.  Chris and Derek pulled me out and took me to the car.  I was told I got sick getting into the car but managed to make it home.

Fast forward - I remember waking up to Chris snoring nearby, and being on the bathroom floor of my apartment with a blanket and pillow.  My poor friends had no idea that when I feel sick I like to sleep in the bathroom, so they said they fought me for awhile before giving up and just letting me sleep there.

Needless to say I didn't win that game, but they played on and had a good night.  To this day it's one of my most, or in this case least, memorable college stories!  Next time I'll tell you about the one and only time I tried pot - and the same group tried to play Pictionary.  Oh I was a real treat in college!

Writer's Workshop

Writer's Workshop

Eli update

I'm 29 weeks now.  Only 10 more weeks to go.  We got to set our repeat c-section date last week, we picked February 15, 2012.  So 2.15.12.  Not bad, but I am still secretly hoping my water breaks and he decides to come on 2.12.12.  A girl can dream can't she?

I've started to gain a bit more weight, I'm still only up a total of 11lbs in 7 months.  Kris' family all said at Thanksgiving that I look "small" this time.  I guess that's a good thing, I do feel like I'm a bit smaller even though I'm at a heavier weight.

26 weeks pic - new one next week

I failed my 1 hour Glucose test, so yesterday I took the 3 hour test.  Everyone complains about it, but frankly it was a nice break for me.  They put me in a room with a black reclining rocker and dim lights and told me to just read or sleep the time away.  Didn't have to tell me twice, I enjoyed 3 hours of quiet time!  I hope I passed, but if I failed then we will deal with it.  Either way, just having to deal with this has really given me a kick in the butt.  After Eli is born I really need to get back on WW and lose the weight.  Like seriously lose weight, I have 100lbs I can easily lose, 115 would be a nice touch though, that would put me at about 155.  So yeah you will all need to really motivate me.  I need to be a better size so I have energy to keep up with my boys!

I'm still feeling pretty good, most days.  Some days I'm a lot more uncomfortable, but that's to be expected at this point.  I have been having some insomnia though, so I have no moved on from Tylenol PM to trying Unisom.  It does seem to help a lot to get me to fall asleep.  Eli is a very active little guy, Aiden felt him kick the other day.  His face was priceless, he kept telling daddy "mommy's baby felt hand" aka I felt mommy's baby on my hand.  He also kept telling Kris to touch my tummy to feel baby.  It was a very sweet moment.

Writer's Workshop

1.) Have you decorated your Christmas tree? Share a favorite Christmas ornament.

Have I decorated my tree - what a silly question! It's been up for a month now!

As far as my favorite ornament? That's really tough. Every year we each get a new one on Christmas eve to put on the tree. It's always something that sums up that year, for you personally. Like this year Aiden is getting a Toy Story one because he's in love with Toy Story. The year Aiden was born I got a washing machine that actually lights up and "spins" because I'd never done soo much laundry in my life!

I think the one ornament that will always be special to me though is the "Our 1st Christmas" from the year Kris and I got married. I don't know why we picked the one we did, but it's just super cute. It's 2 little "smore" people toasting each other. My favorite part is that they are holding little stick hands in the back.

Annoying

Ever have those days where little things just annoy that crap out of you? I'm having one of those today. Perhaps its thanks to hormones or pregnancy insomnia, or waking up at 512am. Whatever the cause its 830am and im about to go crazy. My husband wakes up and finally joins us after sleeping an extra 3 hours... That's #1. Then he opens and eats 2 nature valley oat and honey bars... The crunching sound ia awful... That's #2. Then he decides to eat a bowl of cereal. Again, more loud crunching... That's #3. He isn't a cereal milk drinker so he dumped a full bowl of milk. Such a waste to me, I can't stand wasting... That's #4. I wonder how many more things will annoy me today....

Oh Adam Levine.

You make me lose my mind.  I mean, I'm sorry, my husband is sexy to me, very sexy indeed.  And I love his body and smile and all that jazz... but Adam Levine... well I think he's my celebrity weakness. 

How can you not find him sexy?  I have loved Maroon 5 since I first heard them.  I love how all their songs have sexual lyrics, but are so catchy some people don't even realize what they are singing.  That makes me giggle.  I mean, they really are dirty sometimes. 

Along came the show The Voice and my mom and I were beyond excited.  I mean, not only do we get to watch a great show, but we get a regular dose of Adam looking all sexy and his coy smile and his sense of humor is right up my alley.  Oh, hubby, I'm soo sorry, but I can't stop thinking about Adam's sexiness.

I am in a mood today, let's blame pregnancy hormones mmky?  I thought I'd share a little Adam love with you ladies... You Are Welcome!

26 Weeks.

Well Eli is coming along very quickly.  I can't believe that in less than 13 weeks our little boy will be here.  At my next appointment at 28 weeks we get to set my c-section date.  I'm really excited to actually have a date set. 

I haven't been craving anything.  Bagels and cream cheese and yogurt are constants in my diet, but nothing has really taken over my mind.  Sleep is getting worse, my hips really ache at night so I spend half the night rolling from side to side.  I can still sleep on my stomach with a leg up as long as I have a bunch of pillows.  I have started taking Tylenol every night which helps a little.

I did pull my round ligament muscle on the weekend.  That was painful!  It took a few days to loosen up, I pretty much lived laying down with a heating pad on me.  Eli moves around a lot, he hasn't settled into head down yet, some days I feel a lot of kicks up high, others like last night were down low. 

The pregnancy clumsiness has really set in.   I broke 2 plates this week already.  Also yesterday I ran the dryer again to "fluff" the clothes and then asked Kris to fold them.  Turns out there was no laundry in there.  I swore I did laundry.  I guess not. 

WW: New Bedding

Thank YOU Pinterest!

I haven't even finished eating my lunch and I HAVE to share it with you.  It is to die for, I feel like I ordered something from a fancy restaraunt.  Inspired by the pin below, I made my own today....

Here is how MINE looks....DELISH

Source: anediblesymphony.blogspot.com via Kerri on Pinterest

Semi-Wordless Wednesday

Aiden's allergist told us that since only peanuts came up if we wanted to introduce other nuts that was okay, but we should be consistent with it.  He said almond butter {a family favorite of ours anyway} was a good option so long as we made sure Aiden had some on a weekly basis to keep him accustomed to it.  Enter Barney butter.  It was his suggestion for a 100% peanut free almond butter, a bit pricey at $7.99 a jar, but look at the results....  Such a hit!  He keeps going into the pantry and getting it and a spoon and asking for "pebub bubber".  We are working on him calling it Almond butter, but for now I'm just one happy momma!

{ps - sorry for the crappy cell pictures}

Deck The Halls...

Oh you better believe it.... Halloween is over, I have no decorations for "fall" or "thanksgiving", so it's right to Christmas for me!  I always have waited until the day after Thanksgiving to put Christmas things up, but this year I'm pregnant and wanting the house to feel homey... or so that's my excuse!

The tree is up, the mantel will be decorated and the lights will be strung up around the windows.  I've been listening to Christmas music all week too.  :)  And the best part... I'm not alone!  My momma has done a bit of decorating too! 

Fall Fun



Eww Yucky!

Wordless Wednesday: Halloween



"Tick or Teet"

Pin it and share it... "Taco Casserole"

I've been wanting to add new recipes to our meal menu, and finally found the perfect chance.  Katie @ Bower Power is having a pinterest challenge of sorts.  Pin something, make it, and then share it! 

So here we go.  I found a recipe that I knew would be a hit with us, the original poster called it "Mexican casserole",I pinned it HERE, but I have my own version of a Mexican casserole, so I will be calling this one "Taco casserole" instead.
The recipe was super easy, and really quick! Here is the recipe from the original poster, blog chef.....

Mexican Casserole

Prep time: 20 minutes Cook time: 10 minutes

image above from blog chef

Ingredients:
1lb ground beef
1 (1 ¼ ounce) package taco seasoning
1 (15 ounce) can refried beans
2 cups Colby jack cheese
1 cup salsa
1 (2 1/3 ounce) can sliced black olives (drained)
1 tomato (chopped)
2 cups corn chips (crushed)

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: In a large skillet brown ground beef and drain. Add taco seasoning and cook according to package directions by adding the amount of water stated on the package. Set aside. Heat refried beans in a medium sauce pan over medium heat until hot. Stir in 1 cup of cheese and 1 cup of salsa. Stir until combined.
Step 2: Place crushed corn chips onto the bottom of an 8×8” casserole dish. Pour the bean mixture over the chips in the casserole dish. Add taco meat on top of the bean mixture. Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of cheese on top of the taco meat. Sprinkle green onions and black olives over the cheese.
Step 3: Bake in the oven at 375 degrees until the cheese has melted and the casserole is heated through. Take out of the oven and sprinkle with chopped tomatoes.
Yield: (4 Servings)

How MINE turned out

I did a few things different, for example I added the tomatoes and olives before baking and topped with sour cream and diced avocados when serving.  Also, I buy the 5lb logs of hamburger and come home and separate and preground each pound.  So for this recipe all I had to do was dump my preground hamburger in the pan to warm up and I added the taco seasonings well it reheated.  Saved a bit of time.

All in all, I loved this.  It will be on our regular menu for sure.  Hope you all enjoy it too!

Want to see what others did this week?  Head over to join in at the Bower Power Pinterest Challenge!