Amazon Birthday Goodies

Ok, so it's my birthday today and what better way to spend it than loafing on the computer and ordering books off Amazon.com. I received a surprise $100 check in the mail, and paired with some other birthday money, I went nuts. Here's what I ordered (ok, I ordered one more book, but it's about a very specific area of marriage, and those that are related to me (like my brothers) might throw up in their mouths a bit if they thought of me doing such an act, so this book will remain unnamed):

Yay for more BBC goodness! I mean, really. Can you own too much BBC?

My children love this CD in the car and I've grown tired of borrowing and returning it to the library.

I'm ordering this as an excuse to make Christmas gifts.

This needs no explanation - I have a platonic crush on Amy Butler and am not ashamed to admit it.

This book was recommended from a friend's blog. Anyone that says they stayed up until the wee hours of the morning reading a book has piqued my curiosity.

More sewing...ahh.

These Melissa and Doug toys are doing wonders for Samuel's letter recognition. He will point to letters on signs now and say what they are and what words begin with such letters. I love wood toys.

And that, my friends, was $123 (gulp) well spent. Apparently money burns a hole in my pocket because that went really fast.

As a side note, I am renting a lens for my beach trip this weekend. Get this - it's a 28-70 for my Nikon and it's only $25 for the weekend. However, they need a credit card verified for $1,600 in case something happens to this gold mine of a lens. I haven't used a credit card in so long! I had to dig into the depths of my wallet to even find my way old Amazon Visa and hope that it works. Maybe I won't be renting a lens after all! It would be fun to get pseudo professional pictures at the beach this weekend...

So, my birthday will wrap up tonight with dinner at Gustav's and a movie of my choice with my wonderful husband (who purchased the most beautiful bouquet of roses for me this morning). Oh, and did I forget to mention that I was also taken out to Macaroni Grill and was sung "Happy Birthday" to by a man in Italian and given decadent chocolate cake. If I weren't so humiliated, I would have felt much more serenaded, but oh well.

Things I'm Loving Right Now...

Just for giggles, I love to share what inspires/excites me. This here is a pink cheetah broom from Casabella (purchased at New Seasons). If I have to sweep, shouldn't I be staring at a pink broom while I'm doing it?
This should be required reading for any parent - I would even recommend it to aunts/uncles, grandparents, teachers, etc. It explores the effects of reading aloud to your child - as soon as they are born!! These children who are read aloud to have less crime rate, understand morals, have better language development, etc. It's incredible and it's really inspired me to get on the ball on a very regular basis of reading to my kids. It also lists must read list in the back so you know where to start with your little one!
And of course - MAC lipstick, but more specifically in "Casanova". It's the perfect pinky red and makes me feel feminine, even when I don't have more than two minutes for makeup in the morning.

Last, but certainly not least, hearing this from Samuel while he was bathing last night: "My belly is so full of gas, I can HARDLY MOVE!" (He lifted straight from the "Walter the Farting Dog" book).

My Sweet, Sweet Husband

Colin gave me the green light to order this sweet sewing machine for my birthday. Yay! It will do some of my thinking for me, which I really appreciate, but doesn't require a computer like the more technical sewing machines on the market. I think he really wants those curtains made...

I'm A Blog Slacker

A certain someone (you know who you are) is tired of looking at my last post of Baby Legs for days in a row. I'm a slacker and have been away from Photoshop for awhile, so I haven't been posting frequently. Why do I feel I have to run EVERY picture through Photoshop? I really have an addictive relationship with that program. Anyway, I will just picture dump from the last week or two to catch up. I just snapped this a couple of minutes ago (sorry for the flash photography, I really struggle with indoor shots and by that I mean I am too lazy to adjust my camera settings this morning). The boys love being on the spare bed and I loaded them up with books. Do notice I finally purchased "Walter the Farting Dog" which is a wonderful book for preschool boys. Although, Samuel always migrates toward the Clifford books. I read at least three a day, or the same one three times over.

These are the final fabric choices for my sweet little girl's quilt. Ok - so I've never made a quilt and am a little scared, but I love sewing and will give it a try. Next up for the sewing projects is curtains for our room - my husband politely asks me to start them every night as he is undressing in front of bare windows.
Here is the almost finished top I am making for little Ruby. I was stuck in buttonholes, so I am taking the easy way out and putting hidden Velcro tabs in the back. They won't show and they do the job, right?

Jude playing with knobs and whatnot.

I took the boys to the Children's museum last week (thanks to a free library pass) and they absolutely loved every minute of it. They could have stayed all day, except that I had an OB appointment that we all got to go to. Colin and I are considering buying the year long pass to the Oregon Zoo. It's under $100 and I could bring a friend for free each time. I figure since we aren't paying for preschool this year, we have to invest in cultural activities, right?

Here is Jude doing some "office work" at the Children's Museum.
Samuel too.

I appreciate Jude's multi-tasking here.

This was a big hit with them - digging in this rubberized gravel pit. A little boy's dream!

Here is how the boys spent one morning - they like to color together. It's very sweet seeing them interact and play together now. Although I spend a lot of time splitting up arguments over toys.

Grandma Mary came over one afternoon - she did Samuel's workbook with him while Jude colored. Then they both took the washable markers and colored on her.

Here is Samuel at breakfast one morning.

Jude is eating plain yogurt with cinnamon for breakfast. I would touch it with a ten foot pole, but he seems to like it and I feel like organic whole yogurt is a pretty good start to the day.

Here is Colin holding a bundled up, very tired Jude in his lap. I just realized he is cutting two very big teeth. He went to see his naturopath yesterday and I learned that he is allergic to fruit, nuts and is fighting a virus. It's always something with Jude!! I also learned that I can give him the homeopathic Nux Vomica to tame his nasty temper. I love having a naturopath!

On the pregnancy front, I had another horrible bout of morning sickness and I was down for the count all day. This little girl is working me over! My body doesn't know quite what to do with all these hormones, I don't think. Oh well, it's all worth it.

I Can't Wait...

...to start buying frivilous stuff like Baby Legs for my sweet baby girl. Or conning a Grandma into buying some (Mom: if you're reading this, you can just click on the words "Baby Legs" above and order right there - he he). I want to do ridiculous things like buy a new infant car seat in bright pink, with a pink matching stroller. While she is wearing a pink polka dot outfit. And perhaps a pink diaper, if I can find one. I'm going to Fabric Depot this morning to get more quilt fabric in, you guessed it. Pink.

And We're Having A....

GIRL!! I can't believe it!! The ultrasound looked pretty good from what I could see, so I think baby is pretty healthy. Now for some names....

I Love Tea

Ok, I have an addiction to tea. I really gave coffee a college try with this pregnancy, and it hasn't worked. So, I start each morning out with tea - Earl Grey, basic black, or this LOVELY delicious tea that my friend Sarah introduced me to: It tastes sweet and wonderful with milk and sugar. And to my shock, Albertson's has it son sale for $2 a box! I had to practically sell my kidney to buy my last box there!

I took the kids to the Children's Museum today - I try to get Jude's mind off wanting to be grumpy because it's catchy, and I don't want any of that. Unfortunately, we could only stay for about an hour because I had a doctor's appointment, which I tackled with two tired kids by myself. Can we say FUN? All is well and no one got strangled, thanks to fruit leather and the dirty basket of toys the office provides.

I have my ultrasound and 9:15 tomorrow morning - I got a wild hair last night and asked Colin if we should wait to find out what we are having until the baby is born. He said I could wait. He won't. Now really, that's no fun. However, please be praying above all for a good healthy baby. I'll post how it went as soon as possible.

Baby Wyatt

My brother and sister-in-law, Dave and Joy, welcomed Wyatt into the world last Thursday. He ws such a sweet little baby to meet - as you can tell by these pictures, he slept through meeting the family. Grandma Barb sees him for the first time.

Here's Barb again.

Dave is showing Big Brother Wes his new baby.

And here is the precious bundle.

I Finished a Book!!

It's true!! I actually finished a book. This book is called "The Coconut Oil Miracle" and I would highly recommend it. It's amazing what this oil can do for you - curing digestive ails, skin issues, aiding in weight loss, etc. It was a quick read and included recipes. I have about three tubs of extra virgin coconut oil and use it on my skin and have used it to cook with (although I would recommend the Spectrum coconut oil you can purchase at Fred Meyer as it has no taste or smell).

I am still reading "The Omnivore's Dilemma" and "Wild Swans". Hey, I never said I was a fast reader. I just picked up "Wild Swans" again last night before bed and had forgotten how great it is! I am also reading "Love and Respect" for my Friday bible study. Great book for marriages.

I just discovered booksamillion.com. They have some great kids books on clearance right now with free shipping (code DNTEAT). For some reason I felt compelled to order myself a couple of books as well: "Amy Butler's Little Stitches" (a sewing book by the famed Amy Butler on how to sew all things for babies) and "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" (I can't stop reading books about how terrible our food supply is! It's like a train wreck....).

I hit the Labor Day sales pretty hard yesterday. Somehow I managed to squeeze $70 extra out of the budget this month (we will be eating beans and rice and rice and beans for two weeks). I dropped my sweet little munchkins off at my aunt's house (thanks for watching them!) because my boys and fabric stores DO NOT MIX and headed to Fabric Depot. I was amongst the crazy ladies who were waiting not so patiently to see which 200 bolts of designer fabric would be 50% off. I find this an amusing people watching experience - there are women throwing elbows, running into your ankles with shopping carts, etc. I am not one of those women, I promise. I picked out a couple of beautiful cuts of fabric for apron and bib making and slowly drank my chai tea latte, absorbing every sweet, silent moment without my kids. Mind you, I tried to take my kiddos to that very same store the day before and there was pulling of fabric off shelves, weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth (and the kids were in bad shape, too). Anyway, I ended up with clearance stuff as well - I've been looking for drapery fabric for our room at a reasonable price and finally found some for $3/yard. Yay! Randomly, I also found a few patterns, some writing pens and some ribbon for wrapping for 75% off. Now, if I could only find time to sew all these things...

I also hit Michael's because I had a 50% off coupon. I ended up buying a cupcake carrier which also carries sheet cakes. I find myself carrying baked goods to other people's houses often, and for $10, you can't beat that with a stick. As a side note, I think I may try doing fondant cakes sometime soon. Anyone have advice on that?

My morning sickness has now given way to exhaustion. But I seem to stomach coffee ok (as of this morning) so perhaps I can caffeinate my way through the next 5 months. We have our ultrasound scheduled for September 10th, so we will be finding out how baby is doing then. Is it normal to get really nervous for ultrasounds? I somehow feel like because this was surprise baby, it is too good to be true and there will be a limb missing or something.