Sunny Baudelaire

My daughter went through a stage where she bit things. Random things, like the foam in her bike helmet, the nose on her stuffed elephant, and the Magic Eraser? What kid bites magic erasers? It reminded me of Sunny Baudelaire from the series written by Lemony Snicket. If you have a grade school aged youngster, these books may interest you, but "If you are interested in reading a book with a happy ending, you would be better off reading some other book." After reading the books we enjoyed the hilarious movie, where Jim Carey plays Count Olaf.

Tulip Girls

Lu Lu thought of this creative activity all on their own. Her older sister joined in to make one too. I love that the girl in the first picture even has petal slippers.

Dear Malfoy....

I found these notes after my girls played a game in which they attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. They say,

• "Dear Malfoy, Help! We got tied up by that girl that loves you. I'm stuck in the dungeons. From Goil and Crabb."

• "Dear Malfoy, The ball is tonight. Who are you going with? It is at 1:00. From, the Manager."

Cat!

Kids art makes me smile. I love the colors. I love the faces. Under this picture the caption reads: "My cat goes on my part of the bunk bed." You can see the little cat on the bottom bunk, snuggling up to the little girl in the bottom bunk. So cute.

My Exercise Partners

In this picture I am enjoying the fall weather, just before the snow came. During Thanksgiving it snowed and snowed and snowed. So much so, that the weatherman declared it the snowiest November, EVER! I will post some snow pictures this week and let you see what we are enjoying. The only problem is that my outdoor exercise has been greatly reduced.

Homemade Halloween Costume

My daughter wanted to be popcorn for Halloween. This was after she saw me looking on the Pottery Barn website for Halloween costumes. I did not want to pay over fifty dollars for a costume. Besides, my mom always made my costume for me growing up and I loved wearing them. So I did a little research, surfed the web, and came up with this...

I used an old box, cut a hole in the top for her head and holes in the sides for her arms. Then we painted the box white with acrylic paint. I was going to paint the stripes on with red acrylic paint, but noticed that the paint seemed to scratch easily since it was a glossy box. I went the colored duct tape route. Next, I opened up my computer program; the print shop deluxe, created the popcorn banner, and printed it out with my color printer. I attached it to the front and back using packaging tape.

For the finishing touch, we popped some popcorn and hot glued it onto the top! Let's just hope she doesn't eat the popcorn while at her school Halloween party.

The other daughter started reading the Guardians of Ga'hoole books at the start of school this fall. Then the movie came out and she changed her mind from wanting to be a witch for Halloween to a Barn Owl. So I turned again to my trusty Google search and found these easy directions for an owl costume. I put my own spin on this by creating wings. She does not like the mask on the original website so we will create our own.

Five Days Old

Our Neighbor invited us over to her farm so the girls could see the new babies that have been arriving this spring. The highlight of the day was feeding the baby lamb warm milk from a bottle. Both girls took turns holding the bottle for the baby, even though LuLu was a bit shy at first. Nothing says "Spring" more than the emergence of new life. Blossoms unfold, grasses emerge from the long wintry slumber, and ewes are born.

So sweet, soft, and new.

Eight Months

Note to self... be sure to check daughters pockets after nature walks. This will help avoid pine cones and their pieces strewn throughout the wash.

The Theme at our House

Seasons

The cool weather has set in. All the flowers are gone, except those ones my daughter planted that had half their roots exposed. I rescued them and gave them some more soil. They are still blooming. They are nestled close to the house near the door. I don't know why they are still blooming because it's getting pretty frigid out. My neighbor gave them to my daughter in a little bucket as a gift and she planted them all by herself. This time of year reminds me of the song Turn, Turn, Turn by the Byrds.

To everything - turn, turn, turn
There is a season - turn, turn, turn
And a time for every purpose under heaven

A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep

To everything - turn, turn, turn
There is a season - turn, turn, turn
And a time for every purpose under heaven

A time to build up, a time to break down
A time to dance, a time to mourn
A time to cast away stones
A time to gather stones together

To everything - turn, turn, turn
There is a season - turn, turn, turn
And a time for every purpose under heaven

A time of war, a time of peace
A time of love, a time of hate
A time you may embrace
A time to refrain from embracing

To everything - turn, turn, turn
There is a season - turn, turn, turn
And a time for every purpose under heaven

A time to gain, a time to lose
A time to rend, a time to sew
A time to love, a time to hate
A time of peace, I swear it's not too late!


My daughters are enjoying the holiday season. They loved the time we spent visiting family and playing with cousins over the Thanksgiving break. Holding the little tiny baby chihuahua puppies at my parents house was definitely a highlight of the trip. Every time we mention that we are going to Grandma's house they inquire as to what pets they will get to see. We were all saddened to hear that Socks passed away this week. She was a dog my in-laws have had since before I married their son. She had kidney failure. When they girls heard the news they were both heartbroken. They wanted to know where she was buried and how she had died.
Now they are busy making cards and letters for Santa. Lu Lu told Z that she must remember to say "please" when asking Santa for a Christmas gift. In the car on the long drive home Lu Lu mentioned that if she were rich she would share her money with people who were poor. This conversation was started when we read Fantastic Mister Fox. The three Farmers in the story are very rich, nasty men. We read the book twice, once on the way to Grandma's and once on the way home from Grandma's. And then there was that part during the visit when we saw Fantastic Mr. Fox in the movie theater. It is such a different, creative movie. I recommend it because it's got great music and may get your kids thinking about sharing.

Adventures

We took the North Pend Oreille Valley Lions Club trian ride. It was the weekend right before Halloween. The girls bundled up in coats and hats and blankets. We choose to ride in an open air car with a pic-nic lunch consisting of rotisserie chicken, potato salad, and cranberry apple juice. The ride began in Ione Washington where we boarded the train. It took us along the Pend Oreille river north toward Canada.

We got to stop at Box Canyon Dam on the trestle bridge. This is a view of the river from the bridge. Then we looked down, down, down into the water below us. Our ride snaked along the mountain and through two tunnels. We stopped in Metaline Falls and were robbed by Ma Cutter and her gang. It was quite the adventure and very majestic.

Bet you didn't know I was such a neat freak.

According to Lulu this is me. Those squiggles by my head are toys. I am saying, "That's a big mess!"

Infant car seat

I had to drag out baby item #4, the infant car seat, wash the cloth cover, and wipe the dust out of the crevasses. My second baby gained weight so fast that she did not use it very long. In fact she was over twenty pounds and could not sit up on her own. I had a dilemma while out shopping. Since she had to move to a bigger car seat that had to stay in the car, I did not have the luxury of snapping the portable seat into the shopping cart. She would tip over if I set her in the little seat and drool all over the shopping cart handle. I was too cheap to buy a shopping cart cover that we would use for three months. Maybe I should have gotten that cover, I could use it with #3.

Moses Basket

Here is baby item #3: The moses basket. My mom had a basket that we slept in from the day we came home from the hospital until we were about three months old. I don't know where her basket originated from, but she used it for all seven of her babies. When I had my first baby I lived a couple hours from home and got to borrow the original basket. When my second daughter was born I lived in the mid-west and was not within driving distance for borrowing it again. My quest my own basket began. I found this one on eBay, I loved the neutral colors, and bid more than I should have to win it. I wanted to be able to pass it down to my own daughters when they have children.
My mom's favorite movie was The Unsinkable Molly Brown. In the beginning of the movie Molly floats down a river in her cradle through the rapids. She washes ashore and is found by her adoptive father. Her life is never easy, but she does not give up. At the end of the movie she is on the sinking Titanic, and finds herself yet again in perilous waters. I won't give away any more details in case you want to watch this movie for yourself. I mention it here because this basket got me reminiscing about my mom and her baby basket. Don't worry, I promise not to float my baby down any rivers.

It's that time of year again. Not too hot or cold with cherry blossoms in full bloom. Perfect weather for tree climbing, planting the garden, and watching the hummingbirds fly in for breakfast.


Remember this project? I can't believe I started it over two years ago. Well, I have used the seam ripper.... a lot. I am halfway done machine quilting the layers together. I am racing the baby. Will she arrive before I finish? Anybody want to place a bet? I have to finish machine quilting the top and then put on the binding and I only have 26 days!

Baby item #2

The baby item of the day is the Boppy pillow. I bought one with my first daughter in hopes that it would aid in breastfeeding. I took it to the hospital so the nurses could help me when I was figuring out how to breastfeed. I only made it six months. For my second daughter, we used the Boppy to prop her up while her sister fed her a bottle. I only made it six weeks due to a terrible yeast infection in my breasts that caused immense pain and bleeding, the baby developed thrush, and we were both miserable. In order to clear up the infection I had to use a pump and sterilize it after every use. I cried a lot during that six weeks. Third time around I still don't know what I am doing. I can't say for sure if I will get the hang of breastfeeding, but I won't be disappointed if I can't. I am going to need all the help I can get and I am bringing out the Boppy.

Sending love...

Here is the wee little one at 30 weeks. We went in for another ultra sound and came out with some great photos. In this picture on the upper right hand side: nose, and lips (in the shape of a pucker). She did some amazing acrobats and had her foot up next to her mouth, which reminds me of her sister who was also very flexible in utero. We got great news: The subchorionic hematoma has completely been resolved. There was no sign of it! YEAH!!! Oh, and DH mentioned last night that we should probably stock up on diapers!

I went in for my third ultrasound today. Just checking in to see how everything is going with the "little darling." She is growing and moving and keeps me awake at night doing flips off the walls of my uterus. At my last doctor appointment I was told that my hematoma had changed shape. It grew in one direction and shrunk in the other. So I got the doctors orders for another ultrasound to follow up on that ornery thing. Some problems come with perks... more pictures = more reassurance that she is doing well.

Drum roll please....

We went in for the ultra sound to make sure the baby's measurements correspond with the due date. We also checked on the subchorionic Hematoma. I had hoped when the bleeding stopped that it meant the hematoma was gone. I was wrong. It is still there and measures 4 cm x 1.5 cm. I don't know what the original measurements where but I hope it is smaller.
The technician said everything looked good with the baby. And... it's a girl!

Beatitudes for Parents

Blessed are the parents who make their peace with spilled milk and with mud, for of such is the kingdom of childhood.

Blessed is the parent who engages not in the comparison of his child with others, for precious unto each is the rhythm of his own growth.

Blessed are the fathers and mothers who have learned laughter, for it is the music of the child's world.

Blessed and wise are those parents who understand the goodness of time, for they make it not a sword that kills growth but a shield to protect.

Blessed and mature are they who without anger can say no, for comforting to the child is the security of firm decisions.

Blessed is the gift of consistency, for it is heart's ease in childhood.

Blessed are they who accept the awkwardness of growth, for they are aware of the choice between marred furnishings and damaged personalities.

Blessed are the teachable, for knowledge brings understanding and understanding brings love.

Blessed are the men and women who, in the midst of the compromising mundane, give love, for they bestow the greatest of all gifts to each other, to their children and - in an ever-widening circle - to the world.

Written by Marion E. Kinneman

I had the privileged of knowing Mrs. Kinneman's daughter, Connie Roudebush. She was the kindest, sweetest person I met in Indianapolis. She told me about nature hikes, daffodil fields, and the symphony orchestra. She invited me into her home where she let my youngest play with her antique toys. She always greeted me with a hug. She encouraged me in my role as a mother. She gave me advice and friendship. She passed away in April. I was thrown into a pool of grief at her passing. I was heartbroken when I heard the news. I felt I had so much to learn from her still.

Her memorial service was beautiful and filled with inspiring music. It was music that she loved, "Water Music" by George Frideric Handel, "Arioso" by Johan Sebastian Bach, and "Sanctus" by Franz Schubert. Her granddaughter gave an incredible remembrance speech about her love of the outdoors, her family, and her community. She had an outgoing personality and made everyone feel like they were her best friend. This post is to honor her.

This quote is from the back of the memorial service program. "Like a stone dropped into a pool, the ripples of a loved one's life spread on and on to touch the lives of others. Your loved one is yours still to love and cherish and hold in your heart. For neither time, nor distance, nor death itself can diminish a love that endures forever."