Thankful

It's hard to believe that the end of November disappeared in the blink of an eye.  I typically spend the month of November doing a daily thankful post on my facebook, but in the midst of waiting for baby to arrive the thankfulness got lost in the shuffle.  Now, here I sit on December 1st with the most fantastic baby boy wrapped up and cozy on my chest.  So I have decided to do one major Thankful post.

I am thankful for...

~the the fast arrival of a very perfect baby R.  These newborn cuddles, squeaks, feedings, and even cries are some of the best moments life has to offer.  I can't believe we thought our family was complete without this guy!  It's hard to believe how much you can love someone you just met.  I am trying my hardest to remember every moment of this newborn time, it goes by so fast.

~my wonderful and supportive husband, who endured what seemed like the longest last month of pregnancy ever!  And then survived a very fast yet emotional delivery.  The amzing man who after delivery spent two weeks showering me and our kids with unadulterated attention.  The man who continues to bring me water whenever I ask, tell me what time it is, make sure I'm eating enough, and find many little ways to make life with a newborn a little bit less hectic.  This man also didn't tell me I was crazy when I laughed while simultaneously crying about what we have gotten ourselves into.

~my amazing daughter, who has accepted this little baby into our lives like the true rockstar she is.  It is so incredible to see her immediate love for him.  She is already protecting him and trying very hard to teach him about every single thing we do. 

~my family, all of them!  For the showering of love on our family.  The quick visits from close by family, the dinners from family a little farther away, and the 26 lb. turkey from 400 miles away.  This quiet time with baby has been so nice to share with all of you.  Thank you for the love, the extra hands to hold this little guy, and the extra attention for the new big sister.

~my incredible friends who have not stopped sending good thoughts, little notes, thoughtful gifts, wonderful meals, treats, and more love to our little family.  I know I haven't been great at returning phone calls, writing thank you notes, and answering facebook messages these last couple weeks, but I promise, I will!!  I will figure out when each and every one of you can come over to check out our little man!

~my awesome girls at the studio.  Thank you for understanding why I need this time off, thank you for making me smile with all of your questions, and thank you for the warm welcome back the other night.  I truly love each and every one of you, and you all make me feel so lucky to be able to share what  I love with you.  I always thought that was just dance, but it turns out we get to share so much more with each other, don't we?

Thank you thank you thank you!  I have so much to be thankful for, this is just the tip of the iceberg... 

What is going on?!?

I do not normally share this much personal information online but this is what it has come to (beware the word uterus is used alot!)  I have many wonderful friends and family members who have been calling/texting/facebooking all week with baby inquiries.  So many in fact, that my iphone needs to be charged by 11:00 everyday!  I love you all, but am getting very tired of relaying the same story over and over, so here goes...

Monday morning at 10:30 I started timing contractions,  by 12:15 I called the doctor.  Woohoo!! But of course, neurotic me, was this really labor?  Into the doctors we went, I made big V come with me, we brought the suitcase, who knows, right?!?  No luck, "go home, relax," says the midwive, "if the contractions intensify, and the rhythm becomes steady then we know it's time."  Then she spoke those magical words, "you will hopefully have a baby in the next 24-48 hours."  Now, how do you not get excited???  We went home, big V went back to work (of course) and I got things ready.  Straighten up the house, pay bills, pack a bag for little V, tonight could be the night!

Tuesday morning, no baby.  Still having contractions, good ones, 5-10 minutes apart but no steady rhythm.  Ok, this may take a while.  The midwive did say 24-48 hours, right? 

Tuesday night, WOW!  These are getting pretty strong, still no steady rhythm.  I bet tonight's the night.  Make sure little V's backpack is ready for school, make sure she has a lunch packed and everything is ready for a middle of the night hospital run.

Fast forward to Thursday morning.  (Yes, Thursday!) Still having contractions...  Does my body know what it is doing?  Have I lost my mind?  Is this really still happening?  I must have one cozy uterus!  Back to the doctor.  "You are having predormal labor," says the midwive. What?!?  "This is a dysfunctional labor, you are laboring with no results."  Ok, I have used dysfunctional to describe many things in my life, but now even my labor is dysfunctional???  You gotta be kidding me!   "You need to go home and relax, your body and uterus are too tired to push you into real labor at this point."  What?!?  Now I can't go into labor?  Unbelievable!  So guess what they do, send me home with a sleeping pill.  Yep, a sleeping pill and a prescription to get a good nights sleep.  The thinking is that this will force my body (and uterus) to relax enough that I will gain the energy to go into labor.  Then more magical words, "you will either begin hard labor after a good nights sleep or (OH NO! PLEASE  NOT THIS OPTION!) you will go into labor whenever it is time."  In the meantime, I ask what should I be doing?  The midwive tells me to relax, do what you would do to relax if you weren't pregnant,  my response?  I would drink a bottle of wine!  (Remember that whole dysfunctional thing I mentioned earlier?)  Of course the midwive laughs (thank goodness!) but strict instructions for no wine.  Home I go, feet up on the couch until bedtime and sweet sleeping pill induced sleep.

So now it is Friday.  I slept well.  (Remember the past few nights were filled with contractions all night.)  Hard labor?  Not yet.  Contractions?  Yep, still having them.  Will today be the day?  Who knows.  As big V reminded me this morning (much to my chagrin) , my actual due date isn't even until the 17th!  Oh lord...

But, did you know today is 11-11-11????  Thank you to all of you who have been texting me to remind me that today is in fact 11-11-11 and would be a great day to have a baby!  I get it!! I think any day would be a great day to have a baby, especially after the week I have had!

Still waiting...

Yep, still waiting.  I know he will be worth the wait, but who has contractions for this long???

In the meantime, I have been knitting. (Shocking right?!?) Check out the goods...

Finished this up for baby R.  (It's my first sweater!)  Love how it turned out, taking it to the hospital to bring him home in (hopefully very soon!)

My sister requested a scarf, of course little V had to put her 'modeling' skills to good use!

And I whipped up a quick cowl for my first knit-a-long.. (Check out the margins, I was actually timing contractions while knitting last night! Recording them wherever I have open space actually.  This can't go on for much longer, right?!?)

Waiting...

We are waiting.  Waiting for newborn toes and naps. Waiting for life as we know it to turn upside-down.  Going for walks, trying to get comfortable, taking baths, knitting, sewing, getting bills paid, preparing the house, but most of all waiting.  These little ones show up when they are ready, when it is the best time for them to make their grand appearance.  In the meantime, we talk about what he will look like, be like, how our life together will be, who will come visit, how little V will help, trying to help her understand life with a newborn, pretending we really remember what it was like 5 1/2 years ago.  Any day, any minute now.  All the while, waiting...

Leaves

Its hard to ignore the spectacle that mother nature puts on this time of year.  I am stunned on a daily basis by one tree or anothers brilliant show of color.  Of course, around here all of these great fall colors & leaves must lead to an art project...

A walk around the neighborhood to find the 'goods.'

A leaf butterfly,

and a few leaf people.

Leaf rubbing, collages, and poems are all on the agenda for this week.

What is your kids favorite ways to create with all of these beautiful leaves?

Carving

Like I'm sure many of you did this weekend, we carved our Halloween pumpkins.  This has got to be one of my favorite holiday traditions (despite the grossness of picking a pumpkin with the most 'innards' I have ever witnessed!)  We had a great night carving and just being together, laughing at the pumpkin 'guts' and planning what we would carve.  The pumpkins were carved and ready to be taken to the front porch when I turned around and it hit me,  my little V was washing her hands at the kitchen sink.  (Sounds silly, right?!?)  But there she was, no chair or stool to stand on, not even on her tippy toes, fully able to reach the faucet and soap with no help.  When did that happen?  This growing thing is really getting to be too much for me!  And here we go doing it again.  Maybe this time it will go just a millisecond slower...

Getting out the 'guts'...

Admiring the artwork...

All lit up!

Big V & I did 'pac-man' pumpkins, kinda fun!

Hope you all carved a few of your own masterpieces this weekend!

Happy Halloween!

Sunday Sweetness

Just a little glimpse into our quiet Sunday...

Hope you are enjoying your Sunday.

Poetry

There has been a lot of talk about poems and poetry around here lately.  A few weeks ago we picked up the newest Shel Silverstein book Everything On It and we have really been enjoying it (much like we love his many other books - The Giving Tree is our absolute favorite!)  We have also been reading The Tree That Time Built which is a great compilation of poetry all about nature and imagination.  Then there was that episode of Arthur on PBS the other day about poetry (he's an aardvark, right?)  After that little V decided it was time to get to work on her first piece of original poetry.  Out came the pencils and paper and to work she went...

There's a pumpkin, there's a pumpkin

sitting on my gate.

Such a scary pumpkin.

Oh my, it's getting late.

It's not a pumpkin, it's not a pumpkin.

it's a Jack-o-lantern!

Beautiful, fall Sundays

Yesterday was the kind of Sunday you dream about, nothing to do but just "be."  The sun was shining, it was a beautiful 60 degrees, and we did a lot of nothing.

Aren't they great?!?

Hope you're enjoying some beautiful, fall Sundays.

The needles are on fire!

The past week was spent with lots and lots of down time, doctors orders.  (No worries, things are back to normal now.  Well, as normal as can be expected when a baby is due in just 5 weeks!)  Laying on the couch always seems like a great idea until someone tells you that you have to.  So rather than tuning in and tuning out (there's really nothing on TV) I got busy with the knitting needles.  It was an extrememly productive week.  Check it out...

First off the needles, a pair of baby pants for baby R.  Aren't they cute?!?

A sleep sack for baby R.  Can't wait to see a little newborn all snuggly inside that sack!

Took a break from the baby knitting to whip up a quick cowl for myself.  I got this cool yarn on our trip to Colorado, I'm really excited about this one!

Father & son beanies for big V and baby R.

This neckwarmer is a gift for someone. (Kinda mysterious, huh?!?)

And I have cast on my first sweater.  I'm starting small, a newborn size shouldn't take too long, I hope... 

Bedtime

I was reading one of my favorite blogs today and it was a post about bedtime routines.  It really got me thinking abut our bedtime routine around here.  Because I work in the evening I am not typically home for bedtime and big V has full control of the bedtime round-up.  I have always had this idyllic idea of what a bedtime routine should be (quiet time to wash up, light conversation reflecting on our day, a meaningful story), but let's be honest, in real life you do what you have to do to get the kid into bed at a decent hour, then you try your best not to fall asleep right next to them.

Regardless of who puts little V to bed one thing is always included, story time.  We all know the importance of reading to your child to help them gain literacy skills (blah blah blah) but to me those few minutes of story time are magical.  I have always loved to see her reaction to a new story, see which books become favorites, hear her retell a favorite part of a story, watch her response to the illustrations, ask questions and explore her own ideas.  And now as she is learning to read herself, it's amazing to see the way all of those same aspects of story time are evolving.  Now she always wants to follow along to my words with her finger, attempt to read some of the stories on her own.  I know that any day now she will be reading the bedtime stories to me and I don't think I've ever been so excited for something.

I've always loved to read, to be transpoted to another time or place through the magic of a well written book,  I hope little V loves to read as much as I do.  (I think she's already pretty crazy about her books!)  Now that idyllic bedtime idea has evolved a little.  Just imagine, little V, me and a new baby R all cuddled up together with little V reading to her little brother...

What are some of your favorite bedtime stories?  I'm always on the lookout for new books!  We have been on an old fashioned fairy tale kick for about 2 weeks now.  (Rumplestilskin, The Pied Piper, The Fisherman and his Wife - remember those?) But some of our favorites include:  If you Give A Pig a Party, What I Be, Madeline, Fancy Nancy, Zen Shorts, and Olivia. 

Bummer...

Well, I was hoping to post today about how much fun I had volunteering in little V's kindergarten class, but we'll save that story for another day.  Instead, I got the first sick call from school.  Yep, it's fall and the first sickness of the year has struck.  Thermometers, tylenol, fluids, tissues, blankets, dvds, coloring books, you know the drill.  Let's hope this sickness is a short one...

A Poncho

It is done!  Back in August I picked out this pattern for little V.  We headed to Michael's and she picked out the yarn and the colors.  It took a while to get started, but once I got going it was such an easy project.  I love the feeling of accomplishment when a project is done and she is happy.  So happy in fact, that her new poncho was worn to school today!  Also a bonus that I got it done just in time for what is forecasted to be the first cold snap of fall. (Love that!!)

I think it turned out pretty cute, she loves the colors.

Learned a few things on that hood (at 11 pm last night!)

Now to tackle some knitting for baby...

7 Weeks

Seven weeks to go!  It's really hard to believe that we are in the homestretch.  This pregnancy has gone by very fast, although somedays not fast enough!  I have to admit I have been very overwhelmed by the thought of having another baby.  Of course we will love this baby to pieces, and enjoy every minute with him, just like we have with little V, but I wonder, are we out of practice?  We have gotten very used to the rhythm of life with a 5 year old, a very independant and free spirited 5 year old.  Between the generosity of friends and family and 1 very intense trip to Babies R Us, the house is now filled with baby gear.  (WOW, babies need a lot of gear! How did I not remember all of the stuff we need? What else don't I remember? )  As I look at all of these baby items I am still overwhelmed, but it is changing.  Changing from "Oh my goodness, what are we doing?"  into "Wow, can you believe there is going to be another little person to love around here very soon?"  Yes, I am nervous, and a little apprehensive (How will little V handle all of this?)  but most of all I just can't wait to see his little face!  What is he going to look like?  What kind of little person will he be?  Seven more weeks and we are headed back to the land of diapers, nightime feedings, and best of all that new baby finger grip...

I guess I'm going to have to change the name of the blog!  It's no longer just me and two Vs, we are adding a little R... Any suggestions?

A rainy Monday

Today is rainy, not drizzly, rainy.  Constant and steady, with no end in sight.  It's the kind of day that makes you want to wear flannel jammies, drink a pumpkin spice latte, do a little online baby shopping, and finish up a knitting project.  Makes a dreary day sound pretty good, doesn't it?!?

How are you spending this Monday?  Hope you're staying dry!

A special friend

I have a very special friend.  She is the kind of friend who always seems to know when you need a little pick-me-up.  Out of the blue you will check your facebook and there is the nicest note you have ever received.  It can be the busiest time of your year and there she is with a little gift and a note.  Not just a note, the kind of note that ressures you that someone is noticing all your hardwork, not just noticing but appreciating. 

This friends also knows one of my favorite things to do is knit, so she surprised me last June with a gift certificate to my favorite neighborhood yarn shop. After much deliberation, I chose the perfect pattern, found the perfect yarn.  You see, I wanted this to be the kind of pattern that I would use all the time.  I needed the yarn to be soft enough for everyday, and bright enough to make me smile.  I knew that everytime I would wear this I would think of my friend and how wonderful she is.  There needed to be a little of her sunshine in this yarn and this project.

Here is what I ended up with...

It's beautiful isn't it?  I think the colors are perfect.  And soft, it's a blend of alpaca, silk, and cashmere.  (I don't really think it gets any softer!)

And here is what I made...

It's this pattern.  It's part scarf, part shawl, the weave is open enough to wear in the spring, and it can be wrapped up to keep me warm in the winter.

 



I think it's perfect (just like my friend.)  I am very lucky.

Autumn

We are not quite into the full swing of fall, but it's close.  You can smell it in the breeze, feel it in the morning air, and (the most official sign of autumn) the honey crisps are at the grocery stores, I could go on and on.  I love the fall, and I'm sure this post will be one of many devoted to all of the wonderful things I love about this time of year.

Yesterday, little V had her first half-day of the school year (seems awfully early, doesn't it?)  We took the oppurtunity of a few free hours and a beautiful fall day to make our first visit to the cider mill.  More things I love about autumn, cider, caramel apples, cinnamon-sugar donuts, and those honey crisps...

It was a beautiful afternoon!

Ballet Shoes

New ballet shoes.  Every ballerina needs a new pair in the fall, it's just like back-to-school clothes.  Little V is very excited to dance again this year, especially since she is in "big girl classes" now.  But look at that elastic, shouldn't the straps come sewn?  There is a part of me that really dreads sewing on the straps every fall, but this year I really enjoyed it.  It provided me with a little quite time in what has been a very chaotic couple of weeks and it got me thinking, how lucky I am that dance is something I can share with my daughter.  It has always been a part of my life and while I was sewing the ealstic on her little ballet shoes I thought about how much a part of Little V's life dance already is.  Of course, her mom owns a dance studio, but everything she does has a little bit of dance in it already.  She loves music, she loves to move, she has literally been dancing since she was in the womb, and her favorite thing to do is have "dance parties."    I hope she always dances through life...

There is the finished sewing job.  It's certainly not perfection, but it works.  Every year Little V picks a different color thread to use, it's our little secret, her ballet shoes look like everyone elses on the outside, but inside a little splash of purple!

And, thanks, Mom, for sewing hundreds of pairs of ballet shoes for me.



What a week!

Last week was one of those weeks that you don't really have so much as endure.  Kindergarten started great, then the landslide kicked in.  So by Sunday I was in desperate need of my favorite thing, Mom & Little V time.  Into the kitchen we went!

We made this granola, which is a household favorite.  (Have you made your own granola?  It's so hard to buy granola once you've made this super easy, super yummy granola. Check it out!)  We made these granola bars, this was a first timer in our house and WOW!  You've got to try them!  We started our very own clay fairy house, which I am hoping will get a roof sometime this upcoming weekend.  (I'll be sure to post pictures of the fairy house, Little V has made the coolest furniture for the inside.)  And we finished the night off with homemade chicken pot pie.  (Sorry no link here, it is my Dad's recipe and he swears it's top secret!)

It was a great end to a not-so-great week.  And because of it, there was no way this week was going to start poorly.  Yesterday was a pretty good day, as far as Mondays go!

Hope you all have a great week!

Kindergarten

Ok, I'll admit it, I cried.  It's just not easy sending your baby off for the whole day, to a new school, with new kids, and a new teacher.  I know I'm not the first one to cry at the first day of kindergarten.

Little V was so excited this morning.  Woke up before her alarm went off and everything.  She didn't even want us to walk her into school, but we had to, I needed just a few more minutes with her.  She was so confident going into her classroom and finding her desk, only a few more hours before I get to pick her up and hear all about it!

 I think the first day of school calls for cupcakes, these funfetti cupcakes are just the ticket!

Old Fashioned

About a year ago I started what has become almost an obsession with doing things from "scratch."  No more cake mixes, making my own jam, learning to sew, starting to knit again, I even made bread.  All of this led to what we named our "homemade Christmas" last year.  Now you know that sense of accomplishment you feel when you make a really good dinner for your family or the flowers that you planted in the spring are still thriving come fall?  Well all of this homemade goodness has led me to some pretty cool feelings of "heck yeah! Check out what I made!"
 
Today I took this to a new level (well, for me anyways!)  I canned.  Yep, I preserved food for the winter.  I know I have talked about how much I love making and eating homemade jam before, but this preserving food thing was new to me.  So why not jump in with both feet!  Yesterday we hit up the farmers market and today I canned peaches and homemade salsa.  Imagine my kitchen as one big sticky, steam filled, sweaty mess, and me an even bigger sticky and sweaty mess.  But I must say, the salsa tastes great and the peaches look beautiful.  I will have to let you know how everyhting tastes in the upcoming months because right now I can't bring myself to open any of the jars, all I can do is look at them with love in my eyes and that cool feeling of accomplishment. 

Why canning? Maybe it's the "earth-mother" side of me (as my great friend S would say) or maybe I'm just old fashioned.  Who knows, I know my mother never did it and I don't recall my Grandma's ever doing it, but I'm sure my Great-Grandmas canned a thing or two!  I can assure you, I will do it again. 

The salsa going in for a "bath."

My peaches, almost ready to go in.

Do you have any canning experience?  What should I try next?  I'm thinking about canning tomatoes, definitely some apple butter this fall or maybe jalapeno jelly...

Oregon

We just returned from a awesome trip to Oregon.  Why Oregon?  It is one of the few states both Big V and I have never visited, and thanks to the generosity of some great friends we said why not! 

We spent a very full 7 days in the cascade mountains, hiking, rock climbing, fishing, exploring, and enjoying the mountain air we love so much.  We also took a couple days and went out to the coast at Cannon Beach.  What a beautiful and picturesque place, I have never seen a shoreline like it, huge rocks and cliffs topped with lush green forest, so beautiful.  We had a great time, one that we won't soon forget. 

It has been an incredible summer, filled with lots of new places and great times.  Now we are preparing for our next big adventure, kindergarten...

Girl Party!

Friday night, little V had her girl cousins over for a little "girl party!"  We had a great time doing all things girly.  We started the afternoon with a dance party, made our own individual pizzas for dinner (Big V had the great idea of cutting the pepperoni into the girls inititals to keep track of all that pizza pie decorating.)  After dinner the girls took a bath together (wow, was that a lot of hair to wash, condition, & comb!)  Then we settled into the living room tent to watch (what else) princess movies!  Phew!!

Rise and shine, back at it for a morning filled with painted fingers & toes and double french braids for all! 

A great time was had by all and the best part was that whenever I would stop little V for a quick "mom check-in" and ask are you having fun, the response was always "so much!"

Colorado

Last weekend we spent four of the most fabulous days in Colorado.  We headed west to see one of our favorite bands play at Red Rocks (mature, right?!?)  Let me explain, this band we find amazing, this venue we have always wanted to visit, and we knew with another little one on the way, this opportunity would not be possible for the next couple years.  So off we went on our wild west adventure!

We loved the concert, but we also took lots of time to explore.  We followed dinosaur tracks, waded in ice cold creeks, shopped in cute little shops, ate like champions, fed stingrays, chased run away cars, took hundreds of pictures, panned for gold, tapped the rockies, and enjoyed every second of that fresh mountain air.

After taking acouple days to process the beauty we witnessed, I can sum up the trip with a few simple words... WOW, Everyone should visit Colorado!!

The beauty of the mountains is breath taking, the  of the towns we visited were perfectly quaint, and the people we encountered were so incredibly welcoming.  All of these factors have left us wondering if we shouldn't head west, for fun, for gold, for life...

Quiet in Nature

We just returned home after an incredible long weekend in Colorado.  I am looking forward to sharing lots of details and pictures of our trip, but honestly I need a day or two to wrap my head around the awesomeness that was our trip.  We had many wonderful expreriences, met wonderful people, and enjoyed every second absorbing the beautiful scenery and fresh mountain air. 

To help us decompress from the day of traveling and to give myself a little time to put all of these dreams of the west in order we headed over to the nature center this morning for a little quiet time...

What will we find today...

A stop to draw what we have seen.

What was that sound?

"If I stand still, the butterflies will fly right to me."

Loving the ducks.

Birthday

Yesterday was my birthday.  I had a fabulous day hanging out with my BFF, we talked and talked and talked some more about all of those crazy things only a friend who has known you forever would understand and all the while her rock star daughters and little V systematically played with every toy inside and out that take up residence in this house.  (I think everyone was happy!)  My mom, gram & bumpa stopped by for a visit and were entertained with one of little V's famous concerts (There will be concert coverage in the very near future!)  We finished up the day with one of big V's famous Mexican dinners followed by one of little V's favorite movies that ended (the way all good movies should) with a dance party during the credits.  And, all throughout the day, I received several calls, texts, and Facebook posts from friends and family sharing birthday love.
I am so overwhelmed with the birthday wishes I received.  I can't believe how many people took a minute to send love.   Thank you, everyone, for making it such a special day

oops...

Well after yesterdays venting session, which I thought was equal parts crazy & hilarious, big V said I sounded psycho.
 I hope that my friends out there who have experienced this maternity thing could see the humor, and understand a little bit of where I was coming from.  I hope everyone knows how truly excited I am to meet this little guy, and I promise I will not hold it over his head his entire life how completely uncomfortable I was while he grew!

Maternity

You know those pregnant women that just glow?  They look so cute, they're always pulled together, they really actually glow!  Where you one of those kind of pregnant women?

I'm not.

Yes, growing a human is an extremely beautiful thing.  I am in complete awe of the entire life process, and I think it's pretty incredible that I have the ability to create and nurture a life inside of my body.  But...
I'm uncomfortable, it's hot out, my clothes don't fit, maternity clothes are just not attractive, it's getting difficult to bend over, I'm not supposed to sleep on my back, I can't sleep on my stomach, my emotions are like a freight train that has jumped the track, I have veins that are bulging out of my legs, my appetite is crazy, I can't seem to ingest enough ice cream to satisfy myself, I can't go for a run to take care of the freight train emotions and ice cream in one shot, everything makes me tired, and (to top it off) I can't do the one thing I REALLY want to do (which would help me deal with all of this madness) - sit on the front porch and drink a nice chilled glass of chardonnay.

Whew!! Aren't you glad your not my husband right now?!?

Jam

Please tell me you have eaten homemade jam.  There is truly nothing like it.  I am very spoiled, my mother-in-law is always up for some jam making and for years we have always, thanks to her, had a supply of homemeade jam.  When you get accustomed to this goodness it makes it impossible to open a jar of smuckers.  So last summer I gave it a go!  First I followed the "bell guide to canning", boiled the jars, make the jam, boiled the jars again.  Whoa, what a process!  Then I talked to my MIL about the whole process, thankfully she came over to help with the second batch (blueberry goodness, I named it!) and showed me her masterful "way of the jam."  BINGO!! Jam making made simple and oh so delicious!!!

On Tuesday we had a nice slow morning, so we had a little "jam session."  This batch has been named raspberry rad-ness!

Oh raspberry jam, I love you, you make my mornings brighter!

If you would like to be let in on the "way of the jam" let me know, I think everyone should make some jam.  It's really much easier than you think.  I'm not going to pretend to be a food blogger, so I'm leaving out all of the important details, this is really just an ode to jam.  I leave the food blogging to the experts, for example, check out my girlfriends beautiful blog Simply Scratch.

8 years in

Last week Big V & I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary. Then last weekend, we were very lucky to be a part of a good friends wedding.  While I respect and am very proud that we have been married for this long, I know there are many people out there who have logged in many more "married miles" than I.  But I believe we can all admit, you really learn alot about someone in 8 years of marriage.  All of this anniversary and wedding business got me thinking... Big V & I wrote our own vows when we were married, now that we are 8 years in what would I add to those vows?

Big V,
Here we are, 8 years into marriage.  We have learned so much about love and living and each other.  I would like to add the following things to my wedding vows...
Even though you may know I am wrong, thank you for letting me figure it out rather than pointing it out.  Sorry, I always point it out for you.  I'll try to work on that.
Thank you for accepting my ever changing opinions.  (Lord knows I change my mind A LOT!) I like to think I'm keeping things interesting by keeping you on your toes... (I never knew you had such good balance!)
I'm an awful housekeeper, I make piles but will not accept your piles.  Just putting that out there. (8 years too late, huh?!?)
I will always watch Friends if it is on, thank you for still laughing at it (even when it's the episode you have seen 24 times), and thank you for laughing at all of my Friends references.
I am a miserable pregnant woman.  There is no way I could've know that when I first made my vows to you,  but now that WE know that, thanks.  I can't believe you were willing to put yourself through the awfulness of pregnant me twice!
I always laugh at my own jokes, thanks for joining in.  Actually, thanks for joining me in all of this.  This crazy life we have together is better than I ever could have imagined...

To begin again...

Well April 5th, that sure was a long time ago, huh?!?  I'm back, the question is do you still want to listen?

The past months have been full of life.  The new shades of spring and the change in the seasons, the move from indoors to outdoors, school days to lazy summer days that aren't quite lazy enough, the completion of another dance year with a big recital and registration for the new dance year, vacations planned and taken.  Yes, we have been busy.  Lots of plans, lots of transitions and little changes all preparing us for the big change we are facing in this house... the addition of another child. 

Can you believe it?!?  This November we will be welcoming a little baby boy into this house, he has already been welcomed into our hearts. 

Thankfulness abounds around here; there is furniture to move, projects to complete, and most importantly fun to be had!  Everyday providing a new twist and I hope you're ready to hear some of these new tales for as one child is growing silently (but definitely not still) in the womb, there is a rambunctious 5 year old trailblazing her one and only kind of path straight ahead...

The Artist

Both Little V and I are on Spring Break this week, and we are looking forward to a few days of relaxation and fresh air.  Now, if only Mother Nature would cooperate with the spring part!

Today, my little artist has been hard at work. 

We are really looking forward the adventures a week off will bring...

The Big Party

A few weeks ago we celebrated Little V's 5th Birthday with her first "girlfriend party."  What a day!  As you may have heard, nail polish is kind of a big deal around here right now.  So, of course, we had a "mani-pedi party."  (This is really quite a feat to pull off, especially for this mom who doesn't really know the difference between eye shadow and cheek tint!)  We had a total of 9 girls over for an afternoon of nail polish, necklaces, and dance parties.  (Yes- 9 girls equals an awful lot of fingers and toes to polish, but we survived!)

This is the AWESOME nail polish cake, created by my fab sister-in-law T.

The birthday girl getting polished.

A view of a few of the girls, so you can get a sense of the chaos!

Both V's, Big & Little.

There is my fab sister-in-law and one of her beautiful daughters.  T provided much needed back-up in the painting department.

Just had to include those cute little toes!

It was a great day, Little V and all the girls had a great time, and it only took a day to get the house back in order!  Now, if we could just get all the thank you notes finished...