2010 January | I Should Be Folding Laundry

Archive for January 2010

Saturday Morning Coffee

January 30th, 2010

One of my favorite things I do on this blog are my posts called “Friday Morning Coffee.” I feel like I’m sitting with friends and just chatting with them. I hope you feel that, too. Because you are my friends, I’m serious.

Well, the past few Fridays and the next few Fridays, I have appointments with my chiropractor, so Friday Morning Coffee posts are becoming a little tricky. Because, you know, I’m not home.

So, today is Saturday and here I sit with a cup of coffee, brewed and delivered to my couch by my wonderful husband. It’s actually 11:31 in the morning, so it’s barely morning but I woke up at 9:54 today, so it’s MY morning. The kids stayed at Grandma’s last night so my sleeping in was brought to you by Grandma & Grandpa.

Last night, my parents came over to help us paint a bedroom. Not the nursery (yet…soon…SO SOON) but Noah’s room. For his birthday he asked for his room to be painted green. We just moved into this house 18 months ago and when we moved we attempted to paint his room green but when I painted a swatch on the wall it was the most disturbing color of green I had ever seen. So disturbing that I considered lobbying to congress to have the color removed from all color wheels everywhere.

So, rather than paint his room that color, we painted his room blue. He was kind of upset but he’s Noah so he was equally passive about it. However, many times he mentioned wanting a green room. So, for his birthday this year, we bought him a can of paint. Seriously, it was wrapped and everything.

paint

Last night, the kids stayed at Grandma’s so my parents came over and helped Brian and I paint Noah’s room green. We knocked it out in like two and half hours, no lie and it looks perfect. (we also ordered Mexican take out and that was perfection, too.) (I switched to Sherwin Williams paint and it covered Noah’s dark-ish blue room in one coat and hardly a touch up. I will never buy paint from anywhere else again. Also? The paint was $30, also? We have a lot of paint leftover and also? They did not ask me to write about their paint.)

{isn’t it interesting the way it looks like two different greens?} {it’s not.}

Anyway, they will be home tonight and he is going to be so surprised to see his beautiful errr…I mean, handsome green room! And Anna, well, we don’t want her to feel left out, so I bought her the most beautiful pink blanket you have ever seen. Her room is the coldest room in the house and little girl is always cold at night, so, this blanket, she will love.

pinky soft

But before they get home, Brian and I are going on a lunch date WITH DESSERT, we are shopping for nursing bras and nursing and name books and maybe slip on shoes because my belly is the size of your Thanksgiving turkey and bending over is well, sweaty. And next weekend? We are painting the baby’s room, because friends? Today? I am 31 weeks. OH MY GOD.

I love 31 weeks. (We had an ultrasound on Wednesday, according to measurements taken, our little nameless baby weighed in at 3 pounds 14 ounces, just slightly bigger than your average baby!)

baby belly 31 weeks

31 weeks

You Capture – Colors

January 28th, 2010

Hi friends!

Did you have some luck capturing colors? I guess I did except I did not make it outside because of all of the freezing temperatures and whatnot.

So, I looked indoors and I did find some color.

I found this color photo at my daughter’s birthday party. *cupcakesmadefromscratch.*

birthday girl

A few hours before the party I decided to reupholster our barstools, they looked like someone had dropped ice cream, chip dip, milk and Dr. Pepper all over them. Oh wait….that is what happened to them.

So, rather than buying new barstools, my sister and I headed to the fabric store and bought the most beautiful fabric ever. The only thing that would make me happier is if I knew how to turn this fabric into a beautiful tablecloth. But that requires a sewing machine and not a staple gun so I guess I’m out of luck.

close-up:

lovely fabric

And not so close-up:

birdy barstools

and of course you can’t have a party without sprinkles, can you? You can? Oh.

sprinkles

So, those are my color shots! I can’t wait for you to share yours and now it’s YOUR TURN! Please make sure you read the guidelines before participating. If you are new here, WELCOME! And if you’d like to join in but are too shy, don’t be shy, we are all friends here, we love seeing new faces and new photos! Join us!

next-week

FACES!

Get up close and show us some cute, handsome, stubbly, soft-skinned, furry, adorable, beautiful faces! Even yours, if you’d like!

HAPPY CAPTURING, FRIENDS!

History

January 26th, 2010

So, I’m sick. I think I have a sinus infection, which is annoying because I was at the doctor’s office yesterday and thought it was just a cold but today I feel differently, like SIIIIIIICK, so now what?

Do I go back? When I feel like all I ever do is go to doctor’s appointments?

Tomorrow I have an ultrasound to find out “just how big this baby is.” I’m very nervous because I think he’s really big – which means a delivery before March 29th which, well, we were hoping to actually go full term this time around.

Except I’m so huge already that I’m almost always uncomfortable and out of breath. I feel totally and completely swollen and unattractive.

And I can’t sleep.

(also….sick….do not forget about that one.)

And then I was going through some old photos and I found this one and I can’t believe that it’s actually my family, taken 11 months before I was even pregnant with James and Jake and I can’t believe how much we’ve changed.

Obviously, the kids have gotten older and well, Brian and I have, too. But when I look at Brian and I, we look like babies. Babies who just don’t know much of anything. I sort of want to warn them “WATCH OUT…BE READY.” But we probably would not have listened because, well, that’s just what people do, they don’t listen because they just don’t really understand.

I see this photo and I think “yes, I’m sick, I’m massive with a huge baby and huge ankles and sausage fingers and I’m almost always sweaty but my God, there is this baby in my belly who is almost here and there is nothing more important than that.”

NOTHING.

So, rather than warn all four of those people in that photo, instead I just want them to live just like they did, just how they knew how. And right now I’m going to do the same. Swollen fingers and all.

(and probably with a cookie in my hand and definitely a prayer in my heart.)

Turning seven

January 25th, 2010

I swear she was just born yesterday. But I see her face and listen to her speak her big words and realize that I am mistaken, she really is seven today.

I can remember staring at her when she was sleeping as a baby. She would be lying in her crib and I would stand over her, just staring, I loved her profile, her nose, lips and chin, something about the way they all went together were so stunning to me, captivating.

My family's photo shoot

And now, seven years later, I do the same thing, I look at those same features, except now she’s in her big girl bed in her big girl room with her big girl pajamas. I kiss her on her soft, soft cheek, every night, I whisper to her that I love her so much, I wish her sweet dreams.

I look at her nose, lips and chin and I always remember her as a baby.

Like her brother, I feel like she’s an old soul in a little body, she understands so much, nothing gets by her. She’s been known for that since she was a toddler. You could never try to trick her because she always knew what was going on.

She is our daredevil. The girl who will run into Lake Michigan in her clothes, if you let her, the one who would live outside in the snow, the girl who wants to run and jump at every opportunity, the one who doesn’t hesitate when she sees a roller coaster or a merry-go-round.

This year, she learned to read like I can not believe, she rides a bike beautifully, her sense of style has emerged. Most days her outfits and accessories are unbelievably trendy, other days, a little frightening. Either way, I love her interest in what she wears.

Her love for this baby that will be joining our family is immeasurable, she talks about him so often, she loves that he’s a boy, she KNOWS he’s going to be so cute and she can’t wait to snuggle and hold him.

I know she was (is) profoundly affected by the loss of James and Jake, I know she fears the same thing happening to this baby but I’m so grateful that she is trusting enough to LOVE him without boundaries and she does. She tells him so every single day.

She is love and light and so beautiful and smart, her skin, her hair, her fingers, her toes, her everything spark something in me that remind me everyday how lucky I am not just to be a Mom but to be HER Mom.

****

And her annual Birthday interview, of course. (the interviews are done the night prior to the actual birthday.)

****

Hi Anna.

Hi.

Do you know anyone who is going to be seven tomorrow? Anna.

Are you excited? yes, so excited.

Why? Cause I’m turning 7 and I get to go to Chuck E. Cheese with our cousins.

What did you choose for your birthday dinner? Pizza

What’s your favorite fruit? Apples, of course.

What’s your favorite vegetable? Peas, of course. Why did you ask that silly question?

Do you like broccoli? Yes, a lot. They look like trees, when I eat all of the leaves off of them it looks like a tree in winter.

If you could drink anything all day long, what would it be? Apple juice and a Capri Sun, lots of them, of course.

What’s your favorite song? Starstruck and Love Story and You Belong With Me and Hallalujah from the Hope for Haiti show.

What’s your favorite thing to do? Work at my (new) desk.

Where did you get that desk? Daddy made it, of course, in the basement. For a surprise. It has a bulletin board on top of it.

So, do you know that Daddy put the desk together and Mommy picked it out with him and he actually didn’t “build it” right? I didn’t know that.

Are you still impressed with your Daddy’s work? Yes. So.

What are your favorite things in life? Friends, games, cute babies, good books.

What’s your favorite book to read? Books by Geronimo Stilton.

What’s your favorite season and why? Spring because you can play outside and you can wear short sleeves and things and you can go to the beach, sometimes and you can play outside a lot and go to your friends house and lots of things that I can’t even say.

How many pairs of shoes do you have? A bunch.

Like four pairs? 18. I think.

Do you think you have a shoe problem? Yes.

Do you love flip flops? OF COURSE! WHY NOT?!

What do you want for your birthday? A DSi game and more arts and crafts for my NEW DESK. More books. More shoes and things. Hair things, of course, because I’m running out. THE END.

What’s your favorite color? Pink, purple, white, green and hot pink, indigo and blue, of course, baby blue.

What’s happening on March 29th? My Mom is going to have a baby? and I’m SO EXCITED.

How is the baby going to come out? They’re going to cut her open, they have to pull him out.

How do you feel about the doctor’s cutting your Mom open? I don’t know.

Are you going to kiss and snuggle this baby? OF COURSE, WHY NOT?! I bet he’s going to be so cute.

And who do you love? Mommy, baby, everyone!

At this age

January 24th, 2010

They are both six. I love this time year, when they’re the same age for five days.

six year olds

But tomorrow, my tiny baby girl turns seven.

six

And completely unrelated, this weekend, we ate these and I’ll show you how to make them like really, really soon because everyone should eat just one in their lifetime.

not just any old donut