It's a . . . .

baby! Yeah, we're sticklers when it comes to being surprised in the delivery room. Matt thinks it's cool to go out to the waiting room to 'announce' it to everyone, whether or not we know them. "It's a . . . !"

We went in for my 20 week ultrasound on Friday. Henry said "baby, baby, baby" most of the way there as he lifted his shirt and rubbed his belly. I really do believe he understands this as much as his brain can. For example, the other day we were watching March of the Penguins and when he saw the egg he got excited (he likes eggs almost as much as penguins) and I told him the baby penguin was in the egg. He immediately pulled my shirt up and patted my belly! Whatever. I think he's a genius at this point. I just hope he's not disappointed when he gets a brother or sister and not a baby penguin.

Henry was a bit squirmy while I was getting the ultrasound. Come to find out he just wanted a turn. Right. Now. The tech was so sweet to humor us, but I think he was a little bummed that he didn't get his belly hosed down with the lube. I might be wrong. And, it would seem that Henry enjoys my doctors office as much as he enjoys record breaking trips to the library. Have I mentioned that my child does not like the library? I may save that one for later.




Everything looks perfect and healthy with the baby so far. The doctor says no worries and to keep doing what I'm doing. He said to keep eating right and try to avoid sugar. At that point I burst out laughing. Sugar is what I'm craving. Too the point that I'm finding it disgusting. I even told him that. He said I am fine with my weight, so I can't be having too much. At that point Matt burst out laughing and said he's been surprised at the things he's found in our kitchen. I said, "yeah, like what, a ginormous bag of Starbursts?" Truly. I never eat those things. Then one day a girl I know had them, gave me one, and I felt like I wouldn't make it through the week without a pound of them! I swear I'm trying to be good.

Feeling blue, feeling green, needing red

The other day I ran into a store looking for some inexpensive shoes for Henry. Didn't find any, but grabbed a couple of expanding tank tops for me. I finally brought them upstairs and threw them into my room in a mad dash to clean up the downstairs. Then last night as I go into my room to get ready for bed I see my shirts lying next to my bed.



I literally cocked my head to the side and said out loud to myself "hmm, that's odd". So not only am I coordinating my clothing with my bed sheets, I am talking to myself about it.
It just made me notice, too, that I tend to have the same colors in my closet in varying shades ( I love blue and I love green, oh and yellow ). I'm trying to pull away from that a little bit and add a little variety, so I bought some red shoes today. I don't own any red clothing except one shirt, but a little red can go with almost anything, right?

Another One Bites the Dust

Woohoo! I finished a project. Sadly, they seem so few and far between.
The Fantasy Naturale Market Bag is finito. Great easy, quick pattern. On my next one I think I will make the handles longer and the bag itself shorter. It stretched a lot and is longer than I like. I may just gift it to someone taller than me. I used a cheap-o cotton yarn that I have no idea what it is. It was the first yarn I ever bought (not the best for a beginner) so I'm sure it came from Michael's. I plan on making more of these because it was so quick and easy. I started about a week and a half ago and didn't work on it every day. A knitter who works at a normal pace could probably finish this in 1 or 2 days, 3 max.

It is rainy and gloomy here today, so I can't really get a good picture. The first picture is to show the pattern - I am stretching it to the side. The second is the bag sitting in a heap on Henry's desk and the third is my best blurred image to show how stretched it is with a bunch of oranges and apples in it. I think I could cut out the bottom and add a hem and I could wear it as a shirt. But I won't.

Buttonholes, wha?

I have been attempting to sew. Emphasis on attempting, a seamstress I am not. In the past year or so since I decided I should be sewing I have made a pillow, coasters and a bird. Easy peasy stuff. Now I am trying to make a pair of pants. Specifically the Wide-leg Lounge Pant from Amy Butler's In Stitches. The pattern has been so simple (thank goodness) and easy to follow.
But, alas, I am now at the part that requires me to sew buttonholes and I have no clue how to proceed. I have a buttonhole lever thing on my machine and a buttonhole setting and no stinkin clue on how to use them. The machine was given to me by Matt's grandma so I will be calling her this afternoon and hoping for some help via the phone, so who knows.
The good thing is that up until now, my sewing has been going well. Actually, this has been my best sewing yet. Fairly straight seams, no thread jamming, and I think they may actually fit if I figure out the buttonhole issue!
Since I don't have the top done I will give a peek at the bottom of the pants. I used a vintage sheet and tried to manage it so that I won't have to hem the bottom, but they may be too long and still need hemming. I love this fabric!

Not Over the Weekend Yet

As you can tell from my weekend, it wasn't too crafty. I worked on the Market Bag while Matt drove to and from Chattanooga, but knitting in a moving car makes me sleepy. So other than that I don't have much to share in that department. In other knitting news though, Amaya is still working at it. Considering I see her only a few times a week and she won't knit without me it's going pretty slow. The good news is she is doing it on her own. She likes for me to knit the first stitch and then it's all her. Pretty impressive I think. But that's all I got.

So I thought I'd share more photos from our weekend. Oh, humor me.

Chattanooga choo choo

We took an overnight trip this weekend to Chattanooga, which is just over an hours drive from here. We left wondering why we don't take this trip more often. Actually, I left wondering why we don't live there. There is so much to do and see, it's easy to get around whether you are driving or using the electric (free) shuttle downtown. The town loves sculpture, it's everywhere. It's near water and mountains. I couldn't resist picking up those real estate magazines and dreaming.



We wanted to take this trip to go the Tennessee Aquarium so Henry could see the penguins. This boy loves penguins. We weren't sure what his reaction would be when he saw the real thing but it fell somewhere between utter joy and just plain awe. He didn't want to leave the exhibit, but since it is fairly new it was quite crowded. The penguins were really fun to watch though. They seemed fairly interested in us too.



There was no possible way we could have crammed in everything we wanted to do in the day and half we were staying there, but I think we made out okay. Especially with Henry getting a little less nap time than he would have liked. He was a trooper and really enjoyed himself too.
The first day we went straight to the aquarium which took just over 3 hours to navigate (with a lunch break). After that it was off to the hotel for a nap. Then we drove across the river, to visit some local shops and eateries and check out Coolidge Park on the waterfront. There was a storytelling festival going on at the park but it was ending when we got there. Also the hand-carved carousel was getting ready to shut down for the evening. So, Henry played in the fountain a bit and then we grabbed a bite to eat. Leaving the restaurant we noticed the dance steps on the sidewalk.




The next day we drove around downtown a bit. Chattanooga has a nice downtown. Very green for a downtown area, I think. At least compared to ATL. And again, sculpture is everywhere. We wanted to take Henry over to the carousel for a spin today and then check out the art district. We parked near the foot bridge and walked over to the other side of the river. Did I mention it was windy? As in 24+ mph gusts. That made for an interesting walk over the bridge. Also, I am afraid of heights. Seriously afraid. So of course my child wanted to walk next to the rail. That even made Matt nervous. I let Henry look for a while as I had a death grip on his shirt, but I couldn't look over. I was a nervous nelly for sure, but we made it.





The carousel was fun, I think I enjoyed it more than Henry. He actually looked a bit peaked a few times, and I made him ride it twice. We asked if he wanted to go a third time and he shook his head no.



Next it was off the art district. We loved it. I seriously cannot describe what a nice surprise this was. The Hunter Museum of American Art is there, but we just walked around outside and around the area. Sculptures everywhere! We had no idea it was there. It started in front of the museum and then down around the water front to a sculpture garden and was interspersed with the shops and galleries. We even know two of the artists in the permanent collection. Great coffee shop in the area too, I recommend the pistachio butter cream cake.





It was such a treat to spend Mother's Day weekend with my guys, especially since last Mother's Day I was put out of the house most of the day and spent it shopping. For a bra. I don't like shopping and I despise bra shopping. So, needless to say we had such a great weekend that I tried to talk Matt into calling in on Monday so we could stay an extra day (didn't work, he's too busy and starts a new project today).

I hope all of you mama's out there got to spend a great day with your loved ones, too!

Oh My Aching Heart

Lyle, Lyle, Lyle. Why? oh why? would you schedule your concert for July when I won't be here? I didn't get to see you two summers ago because I was giving birth (so worth it, I'm just saying). Last year I didn't come see you because you were playing with k.d. lang and the tickets were crazy expensive (no offense to k.d., but we wanted to see you & not pay full price for basically half a show). Oh, Lyle. I'll miss you yet again.
Next year, try to check with me before you schedule ATL in your itinerary. Please. Please?

I can't believe it's been over a week since I last posted.
I've been busy doing a little spring cleaning and reorganizing a bit. I guess maybe I am starting my nesting phase. I remember that with Henry. I tried to donate half of the things in our house, I felt so cluttered. Now I have that doubled with all of Henry's toys and 'things'. Fortunately, I have been good at weeding out the things he has no interest in as he grows. We also have two televisions in the house (one of which was my mother's day gift last year) and I have been trying to convince Matt that one (the older, larger one) needs to go. I am getting quite a bit of resistance on that. We also have a few appliances (leftover from the kitchen remodel) sitting in the garage that need to go. I've been trying to clean up the garage so I can get a decent picture of them to put on craigslist, but that's been in the works for months now, so we'll see. Hopefully by the end of summer!

I have been a bit crafty too. I've been doing a few rows here and there on the Peanut's blanket. I also started to knit a market bag (ravelry link) just to do a quick project and because the markets have opened here. I also have cut the pattern to the wide leg lounge pant from Amy Butler's In Stitches. I hope that they'll still be wearable after the bulge really expands (that is if they are wearable to begin with). I haven't attempted to sew pants since my home ec class in junior high and I haven't sewn anything since December. Fortunately, the pattern has been easy for me to understand, because I do not do well with patterns at all.

The weather here has been so nice so we've been outside most days too. I think I've unleashed a beast in this boy.
Over the weekend we let him paint in the driveway and then filled up the wading pool. He immediately undressed and has pretty much been naked ever since. Let the good times roll!