Saturday, September 26, 2009

Insanity

As some of you may already know, it has been a crazy week. Thomas was sent home from school early on Monday after needing his inhaler twice within three hours. He had to miss a whole week of tae kwon do mostly in follow up to that, which really stinks because it was board breaking week, and he has been gearing up for the board breaking portion of his upcoming competition in October, so we were planning to go to as many classes as possible. He has been on prednisone since Monday afternoon, and it's helping, but he's still not 100%. Just to complicate matters, I might still have brought him to class yesterday, but my blood pressure recently decided to play its ugly pregnancy game again, and I spent five hours being monitored in labor and delivery after my doctor's appointment on Thursday. It all resulted in a strict order for bed rest, understanding that I do have a little one at home, but with strong encouragement to get help from family and friends so that I can still spend 99% of my time lying on my side. YAY. So. No running Thomas and Gabe around any more. Even though all the side lying totally stinks, and I am already sore from not moving around, it's what I'm not able to contribute to Thomas' schedule that is really killing me. Plus I love this time of year, so the last place I want to be is couped up inside. Seriously, can I please scream? You all know I want to but won't because I'm not like that, but... AAAaaaaaa!

Long story short, it was a long week, and it's going to be a challenge to manage the bed rest until the baby comes, but I will do my best because I of course want to keep this baby healthy in my womb as long as I can. I will continue to try and remember the positive points, like the expected upcoming visits from family to help out. I will also try to use the opportunity to catch up on some of that knitting I always dream of but never get around to. And, when days like today happen, and I can't be at Thomas' first soccer game or whatever else he is involved in, I will thank Brian for indulging me by bringing the camera along and allowing me to relive as much as possible through his photographs. ...I do think soccer was, so far, a success!

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Blue Skies

My Saturday Sky
What a beautiful day! We spent all afternoon and evening enjoying every bit outdoors.
I hear we're in for more fantastic weather tomorrow. Ahh, September!

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Wednesday Randomness

I'm sitting here, drinking a delicious cup of raspberry tea and dreaming of what I'm going to do next. I figure once I've finished this post I might try to whip up a quick baby hat with some of the oh-so-soft and beautiful yarn I bought today:


I received some money and a gift certificate for my birthday this year, and I took advantage of the opportunity for some (mostly) guilt-free shopping. I really enjoyed it. I managed to get a lot for the money too: three long sleeved maternity shirts (one was free as a buy one get one free offer), a newborn sized Thanksgiving themed sleeper and a little fleece outfit for the baby plus a sleep bag (baby jammies that also act as a blanket over the baby's feet), a super soft stuffed monkey for Gabe (of course), a Mr. Potato head for Tommy and Gabe to share (couldn't help myself), plus the yarn pictured above, and I still had a little left over for some coffee and treats! I don't usually spend my money all at once like that, but since I stopped working I've been so careful with money that I guess I really appreciated the chance to shop just for fun. I'm sure I won't get to do it again for a while. Christmas is going to be extra tight this year. (I almost saved the money for that... although I suppose a couple of the baby things might be Christmas gifts).

After our little shopping trip today, Gabe and I came home and watched for Tommy's bus. Have I mentioned how excited he gets? Here he is, spotting one down the street:


He still makes that weird "ghckghck" sound at the end of lots of his words. Henceforth, he had either just said, or was about to say, "BUGHCKGHCK!" (for "BUS!") at the time that I snapped the photo. :)

He also loves trains and airplanes, which is fantastic because we hear both often at our new home. Not only are we pretty close to an Amtrak rail, but we live near a military base and airport, and these things make several repetitive circular flights over our neighborhood at certain times during the week. They fly really low, and every time Gabe hears one he finds it, points to it, and says, "Ro Ro!" which is Gabriel for "Airplane!" (Yeah, I don't get that one either.)


When we were in the car today I was identifying red and green lights for him by saying either, "Red Light! Stop!" to which he would answer, "Uh Oh! Bop!" or "Green Light! Go!" to which he would enthusiastically shout, "Go, go, go!!!"

He's just so stinkin' cute, I tell you!

Monday, September 14, 2009

Go Pats!

How Could I Forget?

I may not have had time for many non-house projects this summer, but I did manage to knit a new version of the mini sweater ornament. This is the mini-mini, if you will, as it's significantly smaller than my usual. (Click here for comparison.) This one is Tommy's. He's been asking for one, and I thought I would use some of the leftover sock yarn that he had picked out last year for this project. I changed a lot within the pattern, which I had already altered some, and I have to say that I was pleased with the result. I think there may be a few more of these in store before Christmas. If I can find the time, that is.

I'm also working on a soft cabled baby afghan for a friend, but I have a long way to go on that one. I'm hoping to at least squeeze in a couple of newborn hats and/or socks before the baby comes too. A girl can dream, anyway!

Catching Up

I've had to start working on my blog in pieces, adding photos one day and completing posts on another, hence the long delay followed by an abundance of new pics and reads today. In the meantime though, I've managed to organize some family videos and such on a new website, the link to which is now available on my facebook page. I also started work on some items for my etsy shop (not yet stocked) in hopes of getting some items up for sale by now, but as usual, life got busy. I've been running around a lot, and between school events, doctor appointments, tae kwon do and Thomas' upcoming board breaking competition, and soccer, amongst other things, I don't know when I'll ever find time for all these great projects I have in mind. Of course, also knowing that the baby is due in just about two months and may come early if this time is anything like the last two, I am going nuts, wanting to get everything ready. We're still waiting on just one more estimate on the upstairs first, and then we have to coordinate everything, so I can't really take anything out yet unless I just want to pack it up again, only to unpack it a second time once the upstairs is completely renovated. That, at least, should be a treat once it is all finished. We are all looking forward to the final product.

For now, I wait and distract myself with all the other things I have going on. Soon I hope to post a little more about the house and the few little changes we've made so far.

Oh! I announced it on facebook but totally missed the mark here... WE'RE EXPECTING ANOTHER BOY!

My Second Grader


After today he'll have had a full week of school. So far, so good, knock on wood! I'm so proud of him for adjusting to a new school so quickly and with excitement. Gabe and I miss him during the day, but we have fun watching the buses and look forward to greeting Thomas in the afternoon. Have I ever mentioned how much I love them both?

Thursday, September 10, 2009

September Fun

Every year we visit one particular apple orchard, not necessarily to pick apples but to enjoy all the other fun outdoor activities along with some fresh cider doughnuts and a cup of the wonderful juice. This was the first year that we made the trip so early in the season.
I think we'll be going back.

A Beautiful Day in Late August

Taken at a family get-together in New Hampshire on the last Sunday in August:

We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day...

nor for a more tired out little monkey who fell asleep moments after being strapped back into the car.

It was wonderful to catch up with family, especially Tom and Gabe's many young cousins.

**I've posted many more photos on flickr for family to see, so if you were there but missed my E-mail, let me know and I'll forward the link.

Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Fun Find

Our home's previous owner was the farthest thing from a pack rat I may have ever met, so even when we first saw the place the rooms she didn't use all the time were practically empty. I didn't expect to find much when we moved in, but I did buy a few old pieces of furniture from her and was amused by the paper she had used to line what is now Gabe's dresser.

Bradlees!
My best guess was that this flyer came from either the late 70's or early 80's.
I do remember attending roller skate nights at my old school...

Gotta love the shades!

Look at those jackets!

Gone are the days of cassette players and polaroid cameras...

Super short gym shorts! $1.99!

Funny, I don't remember my friends wearing cowgirl hats on the swings, and... do they even make that kind of swing anymore?

I saved the best two for last:

Rockin' the 'stash in that $4.99 shirt...

and super cool in all denim and a cowboy hat!