Picture Heavy

Ok... so I am attempting to play catch up on the blog since I have been so absent lately... which I totally blame on this...

meet 'the bean'! cute, I know.

We made it out to the Maple Syrup demonstration at Cunningham Falls this past weekend and it was beautiful... the weather and the surroundings.


Teaching Chase the fine art of throwing things in the water... things being rocks and sticks, we're not litterbugs.


The cuteness in this picture overwhelms me. I love him so much.


Kid in a tree stump? Adorable!


I love my boys ;~)


Trying to get a good picture with an antsy toddler... always a challenge!

We bumped into Dave, Kari and Lexi while we were watching the demonstration...

How cute are these dads and their kids???


Showing mommy how to throw things into the water... this was a GREAT deal of fun.


Bamma caught a ladybug and we watched her crawl around for a few minutes. We also discovered that lady bugs might be the only insect I am not afraid of.

Since the weather was (I emphasize was) so gorgeous, we made it a point to spend time outside.

This looks evil on our part but the sponge was for me to clean the water table and Chase grabbed it and started cleaning the deck... yeah, I'll stick with that story.


Grandpa getting in on the water table action. So far everyday Chase has asked to play in the water table... really hoping the weather improves soon!

Adam and I learned our lesson last year... a strong and steady fence is needed to keep Riley out of the garden!

Poor dog is so angry he can't get in here. {enter evil maniacal laugh here}

Always trying to take advantage of good weather we spent some time on the deck playing basketball...

with gardening gloves... you know, like you do.


dribbling and chasing the ball...

but more fun than anything was when daddy would toss the ball on the roof, let it roll down and catch it in silly ways...

life is never dull.

We (re: Adam) were also smarter about planting our seeds this time... instead of throwing them all in the ground halfway through spring, we (re: Adam) actually read the packet and planted according to the directions.

And he of course had his faithful assistant.


I think I am most excited about the sunflowers... that was my pick for this year ;~)


Can't wait to see some growth!!!

Storyville

Some pictures from Storyville!


Chase absolutely LOVED playing with the 'kitchen stuff'


burying carrots in the 'dirt' with Andrew...


working on his blueprints...


taking a break to read a book (and create a table out of his legs)...


stopping by the post office to mail a few over-sized envelopes...


went to the market to pick up a few groceries...


explored a fallen tree...


sailed in a boat...


read books with Andrew in a lighthouse...


and read books with Andrew on the water...


and did a little construction...


then passed out from a long busy day!!!

It was really lots of fun although making that drive in my first trimester was rough! I say that and I am planning another trip to Annapolis tomorrow. I never learn ;~)

I'm Here

But I am So. Unbelievably. Tired.

I have very little nausea (knock on wood) but the fatigue is completely draining me.

Things are going well with the little bean so far ('bean' being his or her nickname). We had our first appointment on St. Patty's Day and were able to see and hear the heartbeat! I have pictures to show but I am too tired to scan them in and post right now.

In other news there are some changes coming on Adam's job front. I won't go into it right now but please pray for us as we (re: Adam) make some big decisions.

Last Saturday Adam dressed up like a cowboy and danced to American Honkey Tonk Bar Association in front of about 400 people. It was awesome.

Every year there is a benefit for the San Mar Children's Home and every year people from around the area put on skits for an evening of entertainment and fun. The lawyers (Adam and 2 other lawyers) danced to the aforementioned Honkey Tonk... local business woman danced to "she works hard for her money"... 2 male doctors dressed up as Sony and Cher and sang "I got you babe" and so on and so forth. Like I said... awesome.

Oh and last week I won a gift certificate!


Adventures in Babywearing was holding a 21st century baby shower for I Should Be Folding Laundry which consisted of some pretty awesome giveaways... so I entered some... and I won one! I can't wait to spend my gift certificate at the Sweet Tea Shoppe!

I have other things to share but I am just too tired... my bed is calling.

Sewing 101

I was so excited to make my apron with the beautiful fabric that you guys helped me pick out!


This is how I started the class...

until Kari overheard the teacher say something about a pillowcase.

Ummmm, excuse me? I thought we were making an apron?? As it turns out the teacher changed her mind again (pillowcase to apron and then back to pillowcase) but failed to let us know. Awesome.

Not only is the fabric not what I would have picked for an apron, I don't even have enough of it. The pillowcase had 3 types of fabric, all varying sizes... not the straight 1 yd. for the apron we had been told. *sigh*

Luckily we were a little more knowledgeable about our machines and already had our bobbins spun and needle threaded... which afforded us some time to go pick out new fabric.

So my apologies my loyal readers... I could not use your suggestion. But here is the fabric I did choose...

My thinking behind it was a pillowcase for Chase. He has his own pillow in his tent so I figured make him his own special pillowcase.... hence the boyish colors ;~)

Oddly enough the straight line eluded me all this time. I mean I got it pretty close but I would veer here and there and the finished product... well you could always see a bend in the stitch.


I don't know if you can see the line markings on the machine, next to the presser foot... yeah, I didn't see those until Saturday. As it turns out, they are there to help you create a straight line! Who knew! I was trying to create a straight line by watching the needle... which is near about impossible. Taking your eyes off the needle and aligning your fabric with the marking... 100 times easier and more precise. Which also does wonders for your backstitch! Lesson # 1 learned!


My sewing buddy Kari practicing her straight line.


When it came to pinning the fabric together... I had it totally wrong again.

Apparently you do not pin parallel to where your seem will be, you pin perpendicular...

And you don't ever lift the fabric to pin... there is a much better way which lessens your chance of moving the fabric! Lesson # 2 and # 3 learned!

Quite possibly the best part was where the classroom... not tucked away in a room somewhere... not even behind glass windows... nope. Right out in the middle of the store where everyone was walking and shopping.

Definitely made for some great people watching.

My finished product...


And Kari's finished product...


This was definitely a fun class and I plan on going back and doing some of the other ones they offer! Hopefully next time they will give me the correct information!

Too sneaky...

I think I was a bit too sneaky with the last post ;~) I left more people wondering about this picture...

when I should have just said in 9 or so months, Chase will be a big brother!

According to my calculations, I am due Nov 1st... we'll see what the doctor has to say when I go to my first appointment next week.

Chase walks around saying "Mommy has a baby in her belly" and he gives it kisses already. When asked if he wants a brother or a sister, without fail he says 'sister'. However, then if you ask if it's a boy or a girl, he says 'boy' ;~)

So far I've been feeling fine... slight wave of nausea here and there and an overall sense of tiredness but definitely manageable. Let's hope it stays that way. I am still in the very early stages of pregnancy ;~)

Thanks to everyone for the congrats and well wishes!

600 posts, sickness and more crafts

Well, in that order, this is my 600th post! Whew I talk a lot... something every teacher from kindergarten to high school could agree on. Luckily I have an outlet for it now.... well most of it... I still talk Adam's ear off nightly.

Unfortunately I've been sick the past few days... I caught cold on Tuesday and am just now starting to shake it. Needless to say Chase and I spent Wednesday in... and what better to pass the time than crafts!

Chase was insistent that we paint... something, anything... he didn't care. I was all out of wooden crafts so I spent sometime looking around and came up with this...

I knew I saved that oat container for a reason! We cut a brown paper bag and glued it on...


instant craft! Plus Chase loves 1. things with tops and 2. things he can put things in... a virtual gold mine for him.

This time I did work on encouraging him to let one color dry before we add another (with the help of the blow dryer) as well as one brush for one color. He took to it pretty well.


I may have helped him out with the top...

Another idea I had was to capture his handprints... I mean it's always fun to paint your hand and we all know how quickly those hands grow! It would be cool to have those size handprints to compare to in the coming years!


Chase was a BIG fan of mommy painting green paint on his hands!


And he loved smooshing them down... giggled the entire time...


My little goober. And as you can see, we stole one of Daddy's shirts and claimed it as our own smock. Chase was in heaven and wore it for the rest of the day.... long after the crafts!


Chase adding his own flourish as well as yelling "SMILE" which he hears me say about 100 times a day.

And finally... proudly displaying the finished product...