Life with my Owlets

Future projects

2011-07-08T15:33:00.012-04:00

I am really itching to sew...to start on some new projects. I went back to school this summer (started in May) so that I can finally start nursing school and finish it before we have any more kids (I won't graduate until fall of 2013. :( I have a feeling it will fly by). I've been pretty busy taking 3 classes, as well as trying to keep up with the house, errands, taking care of the girls and finding time to study... whew! Needless to say, sewing has been low on the priority list. I have one week left of classes, then exam week.... I'm already making a list of projects that I'm going to start as soon as I'm done. I'll share my plans with you!

We ordered a custom sectional (Norwalk) to replace our hand-me-down sofa that was given to us for our wedding almost 3 years ago. It will be here next week and I'm so excited! I'll be making pillows for it out of the three fabrics above.

Top paisley print and bottom pink print will both be tops (the middle one on the pattern) and the orange polka dot will be the shorts that go with it.

These will all be pillowcase dresses with a wide hem using the accent fabric that's paired with it.

These will be dresses...the purple one will be used to make the dress in that pattern above, as well as Portobello Pixie's Analise dress. The pink peacock fabric is a beautiful Japanese linen fabric...I'll probably use it to make dresses for the girls.

Hope everyone had a good 4th of July! Here's a family picture from the day (the best we could get! Sam almost has his eyes open. ;)):

Be back soon!

Seriously?

2011-06-07T19:37:00.004-04:00

Apparently I no longer blog... pretty sure no one even checks this blog anymore since it hasn't been updated since January! WOW. I haven't been lazy, but rather very busy... life has been very fun, but very hectic the past few months. These sweet girls are currently running around the house, letting me know it's time to put them to bed....

No time to give a proper update, but SOON! Maybe I will actually start blogging again. Maybe.... :) So, "hello" to anyone reading this and I will be back soon!

2011.

2011-01-04T13:32:00.003-05:00

When I picked up Adriana from school this afternoon the first thing she said to me was, "guess what year it is?? 2011!". She was SO excited that she had learned that at school. :) I'm pretty excited about this year too....I have a feeling that it will be a good one for our family! I don't make "new year's resolutions" (never have, probably never will) but some things I'm looking forward to in 2011 are:

*Springtime Tallahassee - If you're local, you know what this is. I'm hoping (if they accept my application) to participate in my first market and have a booth there this spring

*Willow Lane Designs growing and offering new products this year

*spending more quality family time as well as one-on-one time with my girls

*cooking and baking new things!

*finishing a lot of projects as well as finishing buying furniture for the house...it will be our 3rd year living here so hopefully we can finally feel like the house is "complete" (or close to it!)

*taking some fun vacations (they've just been talked about so far - we'll see if they come to fruition)

*Soraya turning 2 - she's at a fun age right now but her personality will be more developed by then and I'm hoping she'll be talking by then! (might be challenging though...she is very strong willed!).

*Adriana turning 5 and starting VPK - 5 is going to be SO much fun!!

I'm sure I'm leaving a few things out, but you get the point.

Goodbye 2010.

2011-01-03T10:14:00.005-05:00

I think it's going to take a while to get used to saying "2011". I can't believe 2010 is already over...it was a good year, though it had it's challenges.

January

*we had our screened porch made part of our house and was converted to Sam's office

*the week after the office was finished we all packed up and left for Atlanta

*Soraya's surgery was on January 29th (has it seriously been a year since she had surgery?!).

February

*Adriana was really sick with pneumonia in both lungs...Soraya was sick at the same time, but thankfully her cold didn't develop into pneumonia also!

April

*I officially opened up Willow Lane Designs on etsy (which is looking incredibly bare as of late...more details on that soon)!

May

*Soraya experienced the beach for the first time.

June

*I wrote about finding out about Soraya's cleft lip the previous year. Later that month her story was featured on Gabrielle Blair's blog.

*I took the girls and we went on a roadtrip with my parents and brother for a few weeks to visit family and spend some time in Charleston.

July

*we celebrated 2 years of marriage!

August

*Adriana started ballet and LOVED it.

*took one final trip to Atlanta (of the many that we took this year!) and Soraya's surgeon said we won't need to be back until she's 4!

September

*Adriana started PK3 two mornings a week! It's been great for her and for me!

*we celebrated Soraya's first birthday on the 26th with family and friends!

October

*we laid a stone patio down in the backyard (there were several home improvements done this year! we're slowly checking things off of the list.)

*had fun at Adriana's fall festival at school

*Adriana was a cowgirl (Jessi from toy story) and Soraya was a flower gnome for halloween

November

*we celebrated Adriana's 4th birthday...with friends, with family and then a 4 day trip to Disneyworld!

*thanksgiving with spent with family...we were thankful that my grandparents (A&S' great-grandparents!) were able to be with us. :)

December

*busiest month ever!!

*lots of sewing projects - started working on a nursery for a sweet friend/client.

*lots of events with school/ballet - Adriana had her first ballet "performance"...the sweetest thing I've ever seen! I loved it. I'll have to post a video on here. Her Christmas program at school was also lots of fun to watch! Adriana was the cutest little cow. :)

*spent Christmas with family and the following days trying to figure out where to put all of the new things we were gifted.

another recipe...

2010-12-15T17:06:00.002-05:00

photo taken from foodnetwork.

Last month I came across this recipe for harira , the traditional soup of Morocco - it's a chickpea stew with chicken, lentils and rice.... I'm making it again tomorrow. It's perfect on a cold winter night! I followed the recipe except used a little less broth and used canned chickpeas to make it cook a little faster. Of course we added more lemon juice to ours when it was done cooking - we do that with just about any soup, but it's really good in this soup! Try it...it's a new favorite of ours!

chocolate pudding pie

2010-12-08T09:47:00.000-05:00

For Thanksgiving this year I decided instead of making pumpkin pie (like I did last year) I would try something different and let my dad take care of the pumpkin pie....chocolate is one of my favorite foods and I hadn't eaten chocolate pie before - but when I came across this chocolate pudding pie I knew I had to try it! Oh, and I usually buy those already made ready to be rolled out pie crusts (I know, I know...) so I couldn't believe I actually made my own pie crust and it tasted good! I know it wasn't very pretty, but not bad for a first attempt.

and it was good!! those last 3 or 4 slices didn't last long at all. It's definitely something I'll be making again. I didn't beat the whipping cream long enough so it wasn't quite as stiff as I would have liked...lesson learned.

So mine wasn't as pretty as Deb's from Smitten Kitchen but I'm ok with that!

Here's her recipe:

One half-recipe of All Butter, Really Flaky Pie Dough, wrapped and chilled for at least 30 minutes

Pudding filling:

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 cups whole milk

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate (not more than 60% cacao), finely chopped

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup chilled heavy cream

Bittersweet chocolate shavings for garnish (optional)

Prepare pie dough: Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into an 11-inch round, then fit into a 9-inch pie plate. Trim edge, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang, then fold overhang under and crimp edge decoratively. Prick bottom and side of shell all over with a fork, then chill shell 30 minutes. While shell chills, preheat oven to 375°F with a baking sheet on middle rack. Line shell with foil and fill with pie weights*.

Bake on baking sheet until pastry is set and edge is pale golden, about 25 minutes. Carefully remove weights and foil, then bake shell on baking sheet until pale golden all over, 15 to 20 minutes more. Cool shell.

Make pudding filling: Whisk together cornstarch, 1/3 cup sugar, cocoa powder, and salt in a 2-quart heavy saucepan, then gradually whisk [tips alert!] in milk. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly, then boil, whisking, two minutes (mixture will thicken). Remove from heat and whisk in chocolate and vanilla until smooth.

Pour filling into cooled shell and chill, its surface covered with wax paper (if you want to prevent a skin from forming), until cold, at least two hours.

Just before serving, beat cream with remaining two tablespoons sugar until it just holds soft peaks. Spoon onto pie and garnish with bittersweet chocolate shavings, if you’re feeling fancy.

*First two pictures are mine and the last one is taken from Smitten Kitchen.

be back soon...

2010-12-05T20:46:00.001-05:00

I doubt there's anyone that even visits this blog anymore!! There will be some changes with the blog soon though... I'll be using it to share different projects I'm working on, recipes/food related posts, as well as some family updates among other things. I'm going to try really hard to keep it updated! Life has been crazy the past few months - but a GOOD crazy. I feel very blessed to be staying home with my girls while attempting to start a small business. I'll have a better update soon with some pictures of my current projects...for now, here are a few recent pictures!

One year ago today...

2010-09-26T21:47:00.001-04:00

I was on my way to the hospital to begin my induction....excited, but worried about our sweet baby's arrival. I was uncomfortable and tired of being pregnant...curious about what you would look like, how severe your cleft would be, worried about feeding and all that the cleft would entail.
Feeding was a bit of a challenge at first...getting you to stay awake long enough to eat. We had many syringe and tube feedings of expressed milk. Adriana was in awe of you.

All of the worrying was a waste of time...when I first saw you I started crying because you were perfect. God made you special for us and He knew what we needed. I loved your cleft and couldn't kiss those sweet lips enough!

A year later and you're still as sweet as ever. I miss that big wide smile that you were born with, but your new smile is just as beautiful. I'm so happy that you still have those big blue eyes! Still petite, but you don't have trouble eating anymore...you must burn it all off with all of the walking and dancing that you do! You're growing so fast and I wish that I could slow down time...it feels like just yesterday I was bringing you home from the hospital. I can't wait to watch you learn new things and develop your personality this year...we're so thankful for you, Soraya, and we love you baby girl!

A little behind....

2010-09-22T08:40:00.000-04:00

I'm a little behind on blogging. Life has been busy with the girls and their activities (Adriana's anyways), sewing, projects around the house and preparing for Soraya's 1st birthday party.... Here are some pictures of a few things that have happened lately:

Adriana started "school" (PK3)! She LOVES it!

I painted the girls' bathroom...it was an awful yellowish orange color. I painted it blue and went with a "beach theme". It's not done yet, but it's already looking so much better!

I made the owl cupcake as a practice for Soraya's birthday party this weekend....I can't believe my baby will be 1! She's walking everywhere now and she's growing up too fast.

I'll be back soon!

Cinnamon roll recipe!

2010-09-20T22:07:00.001-04:00

This is the recipe my mom uses for her cinnamon rolls and I love them!

Basic sweet roll dough:

In large mixer bowl combine 2 C. all-purpose flour and 1 pkg. active dry yeast. Heat 1 C. milk, 1/4 C. sugar, 1/4 C. shortening, and 1 tsp. salt till warm, stirring to melt shortening. Add to dry mixture; add 2 eggs. Beat at low speed with electric mixer for 30 seconds, scraping bowl. Beat 3 mins at high speed. By hand, stir in 1.5-2 C flour to make a moderately stiff dough. Knead on lightly floured surface till smooth (8-10 mins). Shape into a ball. Place in greased bowl, turning once. Cover; let rise till double (45-60 mins). Punch down; divide in half. Cover; let rest 10 mins.

Cinnamon rolls:

Basic sweet roll dough
1/4 C. butter or margarine, melted
1/2 C. sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
Confectioners icing

Roll each half of basic sweet roll dough into a 12x8 in rectangle. Brush each with half the melted butter. Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over dough. Roll up each piece, starting with the long side; seal seams. Slice each into 12 rolls. Place rolls, cut side down, in two greased 9 in. round baking pans. Cover and let rise till double (about 35 mins). Bake at 375 for 18-20 mins. Drizzle icing over warm rolls. Makes 24.

Confectioners' Icing

Combine 1 C. sifted powdered sugar, 1/4 tsp. vanilla and enough milk to make of drizzling consistency (about 1.5 Tbs.).

Catching up

2010-08-29T21:26:00.000-04:00

Life has been busy...and doesn't appear to be slowing down any time soon, so my blog has been suffering - I'll try to update it a little more often though! I can't even remember everything that's gone on since my last update....Here are a few things going on right now:

Soraya (at 11 months old):

*says "dada", "baba" and lots of other sounds...she said "mama" for the first time the other day when she fell and hurt her nose. It was SO sad since she was crying...hopefully she'll say it again soon!
*cruises around the house and will stand without holding onto anything, but is afraid to take any steps yet.
*has one tooth on the bottom...getting another on the bottom and looks like one will be coming in on the top soon too!
*sleeps from 8pm-5am (eats, then back to sleep usually till 6:30-7am)...sometimes she'll sleep until 6-7am
*no more baby food! loves bananas, baked sweet potatoes, blueberries, peaches, mangos, green beans, beans, bread, cheerios, etc....keeping my fingers crossed she won't be as picky as her big sister!
*had a check-up in Atlanta with her surgeon and cleft team Friday and they said she looked great! We don't have to go back for a few years...very exciting!

Adriana (almost 4!):

*loves to draw and color...getting VERY good at staying in the lines and always surprises me by writing new letters that I didn't know she could write.
*started ballet last Wednesday and LOVES it - she's going to be the cutest little ballerina!
*starts "school" (PK3) Sept. 7th (2 days a week) and is SO excited....and so am I! She's going to love it and I'll enjoy the extra time to get some things done.
*is the sweetest big sister...she's always kissing her and helping me with her

I've been busy with sewing...and will be for a while it seems! I'm working on orders and trying to get some things made for my girls and my etsy shop... I can't believe Soraya will be 1 next month!! I'm trying to get some things together for a small birthday party with family and a few friends - the next few weeks are incredibly busy. I'll try to be back soon though!

Catching up with pictures...

2010-08-29T21:03:00.000-04:00

The cotton year

2010-07-26T08:11:00.000-04:00

Today is Sam and I's 2nd wedding anniversary!

This was us last year around this time:

This was the most recent picture I could find with both Sam and I in the picture! It's from May....sad, I know! I need to make sure we take one when we go out to celebrate our anniversary!

The past 2 years have been filled with many blessings and God has been good. We're so thankful to have a healthy baby (soon to be toddler!) and three year old with us as we celebrate another year of marriage today. I can't wait to see what the next year will bring!

Our vacation in pictures...

2010-07-03T17:04:00.000-04:00

These were posted from the most recent to the oldest....oops! The first picture is from our drive home...then all except for the last two are from our trip to Charleston - the last ones are Soraya sitting outside my aunt's house in Wake Forest, NC. I'll do a better, detailed update soon...it's been a busy, crazy past few days trying to get things unpacked and get the house cleaned up. My brother's still in town for about 2 more weeks so we've been trying to spend time with him. We'll just be spending lots of time with family this weekend and for the 4th of July - we haven't seen Mimi, Pops and Aunt Sonia in a long time, so Adriana is very excited! :)

Almost home...

2010-06-30T22:10:00.000-04:00

We've been traveling the past 2 weeks...which has prevented me from blogging as much as I would like. We have had a lot of fun but we're looking forward to going home tomorrow!! The girls can't wait to see daddy and sleep in their own beds...almost as much as me. It's been a long trip away with my parents and brother visiting family and now Charleston. I'll put up pictures and more details of our trip once we're home (I'm blogging from my dad's laptop in our hotel room...the girls are both sleeping and exhausted from no naps, busy days and many late nights. they are so off of their schedule!).

Today we mostly walked around and shopped - love King Street! J.Crew was having some good sales...I would post pictures and links to my purchases but it's not working on here so it will have to wait! Walked through the market...went to the fabric store (where I left my wallet in the car on purpose...but then ran out to get it so that I could buy fabric afterall...no self control!)...ate LOTS of good food the past couple of days.

Here are some posts from our trip last year with a few pictures to hold you until we get home (sorry for no pictures for now):

http://lifewithmyowlets.blogspot.com/2009/07/name-game.html
http://lifewithmyowlets.blogspot.com/2009/07/name.html

Soraya's baby story

2010-06-23T19:03:00.000-04:00

Last week I e-mailed Soraya's baby story to Gabrielle from DesignMom.com. She e-mailed back right away to tell me that her sister, Jordan's baby was also born with a cleft lip. Clefts affect so many people, which is why I wanted to share my story...in hopes that it will encourage someone else that may have just found out that their little one will also be born with a cleft lip or palate. If you're coming to my blog from reading Soraya's baby story - please feel free to ask any questions about cleft lip/palate! You can read my story here.

update with pictures...

2010-06-17T14:31:00.000-04:00

Summer is in full swing and we're loving it! The girls keep me very busy and I'm finding it harder and harder to get things done around the house now that Soraya is on the move. She gets into everything and our house is not "baby-proofed" yet, so I can't take my eyes off of her for more than a minute! I really do love this stage though (for both girls) and they are constantly making me laugh at something they do or say. Here are some recent pictures for now until I have time to give a more detailed description of our summer so far.

Adriana wearing Soraya's 6-9 month size pants!

Just woke up from a nap :)

trying so hard to figure out how to crawl on all fours! for now she just pulls herself around on her belly...she's pretty fast though!

memorial day at my parent's house - the one of all 4 of us didn't turn out that great...hard to get a good one of all of us these days!

milk mustache!

Thankful

2010-06-10T22:02:00.000-04:00

A few nights ago I'm reading a bedtime story to Adriana....the Bible story about the blind man that thanked Jesus for giving him his sight back. We were talking about thanking Jesus and how He hears us and answers us. I asked her what she was thankful for and she said "I'm thankful that Jesus loves me"...and then she said "I wish I wish I could be Cinderella!" (thinking of Cinderella's fairy godmother) - I'm not sure Jesus will answer that the way Adriana wants.

Learning new things...

2010-06-06T22:15:00.000-04:00

We've been busy lately having fun drawing, swimming, watching movies, hanging out with friends and just enjoying the spring! The girls have both been changing so much lately - I feel like they learn something new every day! They're both at really fun ages...can't they just stay like this forever?!

this year this girl is a fish! Adriana did pretty good about getting in the pool last year...however, as soon as the pool water warmed up enough she got right in and has wanted to go swimming every day since then. She surprised me the other day by showing me that when she wears little arm floats she can swim by herself! Such a big girl. Now we're working on learning to hold her breath under water...that one might take a while!

Rae/RaeRae/BumBum/Goochigoo (just a few nicknames...can you tell which ones Adriana has given her?) has finally started to really scoot around! I would say crawl because she is SUPER fast, but her belly doesn't get off of the ground :) She slides around on the floor looking like an inchworm. She can get up onto all fours really good now but hasn't quite figured out how to move like that yet. I'm in big trouble though I can tell - she gets into everything! Adriana likes to snatch things away that Soraya's not allowed to have but I still need to do some serious baby proofing!

One year....

2010-06-05T08:45:00.000-04:00

I meant to post this yesterday - it's hard to believe it's already been a year since I posted this. The bad dream that I kept thinking I would wake up from. I still remember everything about that day and how I cried for the entire 2-3 hours that I was at the OB's office (and many days, weeks and months after that as well) having things explained and having 3D ultrasounds done to confirm that Soraya did in fact have a cleft lip. I remember when I first laid on the table for them to just do a routine check of the face since they hadn't been able to get a clear picture when I had my 20 week anatomy check ultrasound a few weeks prior. I was just thinking I would be there for maybe 10 minutes and then I'd go back and pick up Adriana from my mom's house and go about my day... There was silence and I asked her if she would be looking for a cleft lip since I was born with one and she said that she thought she saw something...and the tears started.

I kept telling myself it could be so much worse though - but doesn't every mother want their baby to be "perfect"? I didn't know that 3 months later when I would finally see her for the first time that she would be perfect...and that 4 months after that when she had her cleft lip repaired that I would cry because I missed the cleft that I had grown to love so much. I missed that huge smile. Now when I look at her it's sometimes hard for me to remember exactly what she looked like with the cleft...and that makes me sad too.

It's been a difficult year but it's also brought so much joy and I can't imagine our life being any different. I feel very blessed and God answered so many prayers - and blessed me with a great group of women from my church that helped me through the hard times. I'm so thankful for Soraya and that she's a happy and healthy girl. I'm trying to take it a day at a time and not think about her future surgeries...but I know God will be faithful again and carry us through it.

growing up!

2010-05-14T11:48:00.000-04:00

How did my sweet baby girl go from this (3.29.08):

to this 3-going on 13-year old (5.7.10):

and I really can't believe that Soraya went from this (1.29.10):

to being a sweet but stubborn 7 month old that eats food, sits up, rolls and scoots backwards (5.7.10):

first time swinging and she loved it. her big sister never liked swings.

hands in the mouth ALWAYS. she likes to rub her feet together a lot too.

so serious.

Soraya will be 8 months old on the 26th and I can't get over that! Where have the last 8 months gone?! I don't remember it going by quite this fast with Adriana....even though I'm in denial also that she will be 4 years old this year. I wish I could slow down time...they're both at really fun ages and I don't want them to change!

Soraya at 7 months old:

*likes to sit up, roll around, scoot backwards

*likes to chew on her toes and fingers...teeth soon?!

*eats baby food for breakfast and dinner...will be adding a 3rd feeding soon as she nurses every 2-3hrs and still acts hungry

*likes to eat apples, bananas, prunes, pears, sweet potatoes, carrots, (baby food) mac&cheese....

*doesn't like to eat squash, peas, green beans...

*LOVES to get baths and splash in the water

*gets mad at her sister when she smothers her in kisses

*doesn't like to take naps - she sometimes takes a short one in the mornings (20-30 mins) and then sometimes a longer one in the afternoons (30 mins-1hr). some days she doesn't take one at all!

*sleeps from 7 or 7:30pm-5am most nights

Beach trip!

2010-05-04T09:28:00.000-04:00

Last Monday we took a daytrip to Seaside - Soraya's first time to the beach! It was hot, sunny and VERY windy! We all had a lot of fun and can't wait to go back soon. :) Adriana had fun building sandcastles (then destroying them) and Soraya took a good nap under blankets and towels to protect herself from the wind. One of my favorite things about the beach is the good food! We ate lunch at The Great Southern Cafe (pensacola pulled pork sandwich. mmmm!) and got some tacos and cupcakes before heading back home.

I've been busy this week sewing and cleaning...I'm trying to get a lot done before I leave for a trip up north this summer to visit with family. Pictures of projects coming soon - I just finished lovies (ribbon blankies) for the girls yesterday and I love them! They're so much cuter than the ones you can buy.

Tomorrow...

2010-04-25T21:01:00.000-04:00

I'm looking forward to lots of fun tomorrow and enjoying a beautiful day with my family and parents! This weekend went by way too fast and I didn't accomplish as much as I was hoping to...but that's ok! I'm going to take a day off tomorrow and worry about the house and sewing later this week. Tuesday morning we're having a brunch with my Bible study (that I don't get to go to anymore, but I'm still going so I can see everyone!). I'm taking these - haven't made them before so I'm hoping they turn out and are good! Who am I kidding...they're PW, of course they're good! More details and pictures from tomorrow will be included in the next post!

Soraya trying baby food apples....

2010-04-20T09:04:00.000-04:00

This is the reaction we've gotten from apples, peas, green beans, squash, peaches, oatmeal....she lets you know if she likes it or not!

Win a Britax Chaperone stroller!

2010-04-17T08:55:00.000-04:00

Ashley is giving away a new Britax Chaperone stroller on her website, Frugal Coupon Living! Click on the link for a chance to enter to win. I hate my stroller so much and I've heard a lot of good things about the Britax strollers...the giveaway ends Thursday, April 29th so we'll see!

Willow Lane Designs

2010-04-12T14:41:00.000-04:00

My etsy shop is finally OPEN!!!! What a relief...I've been wanting to open one for over a year, but life has been busy to say the least. I've dropped out of pretty much all activities and I'm hoping to have my mom help with the girls a few times a week so that I can sew. Right now I just have a few appliqued onesies in there, but I'm hoping to soon add some blankets, pillowcase dresses, ruffle capris, bibs, burp cloths, etc... I'll be adding new things slowly though. As you can see on the right side of the blog you can click to go to my etsy shop.

A few things I love...

2010-04-12T13:32:00.000-04:00

I hate soda. I haven't had a carbonated drink in a couple years. I find soda too sweet (but I love sweet tea - weird, right??)....a favorite drink right now though is Izze - it's an all natural sparkling juice...with just the right amount of sweet for me! I'm still getting used to the carbonation again though, so I can't drink a lot at once. Adriana had never had carbonation but she surprisingly loves Izze drinks too!

Craft Hope - click on their name to learn about their latest project! I'm going to try to do one of the sets of bean bags...not sure which one yet. It's an amazing non-profit group and they always have great causes!!

This 6 month old

She's growing up too fast...sitting up, rolling and eating food. She had her 6 mo. appt this morning (a few weeks late...) and only weighed 13 lbs 9 oz I think (I didn't get a paper today with her stats, but I know she said 13 lbs...and I think it was 9 oz!). She's going to be petite like her big sister. She has a smile that lights up her face and I love that her eyes are still blue! Life is getting easier since she's sleeping through the night in her crib (in her own room!). I just wish this girl would nap! She usually stays awake all day until bedtime (8-8:30pm). I'm lucky to get her to take one nap.

This 3 year old

She makes me laugh with her made-up stories and ridiculous pretend names. She rarely gives out hugs or kisses these days, so it makes my heart happy when she does! She is very sensitive and gets her feelings hurt easily...she's also started getting embarrassed if she gets hurt in front of others. She still loves princesses and tells me when she grows up she's going to be a mermaid (like Ariel and Mariana - from Dora). She's also giving up her naps...every once in a while I can get her to take one. No naps makes for a LONG day for me with no break...makes it a little harder to get things done around the house!

Etsy art favorites

2010-04-09T08:18:00.000-04:00

These are just a few of the pieces of art I've saved on etsy. Be sure to check out their shops for more cute art! I've been busy this week preparing to open up my own etsy shop...I'm off to do more sewing - watch for the link to my shop this weekend or Monday!

Happy Resurrection Day!

2010-04-04T11:48:00.000-04:00

We had a great service this morning! This is just one of the songs from this morning that I'll be singing the rest of the day.

We didn't sing this one today, but it is one of my favorites.

Holy Week

2010-04-01T14:51:00.000-04:00

My sweet girls in their Easter dresses yesterday...they're both getting so big - I can't believe Rae is 6 months old! Where has the time gone?? I'm going to try to be better about keeping my blog updated...spending more time with my family and spending less time on facebook!

We've been enjoying the beautiful, warmer weather the past few days and Adriana is SO excited about going to the Easter egg hunt with our church on Saturday. They're going to have hayrides, a petting zoo, BBQ picnic lunch and lots of other fun things! I may be just as excited as Adriana ;) It's so much fun to watch her get excited about it. We're going to try making these Resurrection cookies from Darby's blog tomorrow to remind Adriana of the real reason we celebrate Holy Week.

Carrots.

2010-04-01T10:54:00.000-04:00

Sewing inspiration

2010-03-19T09:54:00.000-04:00

Did everyone see Simply Seleta's post a few days ago when she put up the beautiful renderings of A Field Journal's craft closet. Did you see the actual room after she finished??? I can't stop staring at the pictures...I'm obsessed. Our master bedroom's itty bitty "walk-in" closet is the same size and layout, so I'm trying to figure out how to clear it out so I can have my own sewing room too! Sam thinks I'm nuts, of course...if I can't find anywhere for all of our clothes and everything, it's at least given me some ideas for making my sewing corner in the living room a little more functional and attractive. Now I just need to find a sewing table!

Life has been busy, but good...Adriana was really sick with pneumonia in both lungs and Soraya had an ear infection at the same time. Everyone's finally healthy again and I've been trying to get our house cleaned and organized. It's been needing it for a while! Once I'm finished I'll try to put up some pictures - of our new office too. I'm hoping to get started on some sewing projects next week and get some things up in my etsy shop finally. I'm going to try to make several dresses, skirts, capris, etc for the girls for the summer....we'll see how it goes! I'll put up more pictures next week, hopefully...here's a few recent ones of the girls for now.

Pause.

2010-02-21T09:53:00.000-05:00

I wish life had a pause button. My girls are growing up way too fast! It's hard to believe that Soraya will be 5 months old on the 26th... I remember Adriana being 5 months old and it doesn't seem that long ago! Now she's 3 years old, going on 17...she makes me laugh. She talks like she's an adult and I can only imagine what she's going to be like as a teenager - let's just say I wish she could stay this small forever! :) Soraya did really well after surgery, but the past week or 2 have been rough because she's back to her normal fussy self, only worse if that's possible. I think she may be teething because she's constantly chewing (hard) on her fingers and fussing... She wants to be held all of the time or sitting up so she doesn't miss out on anything. Now I see why it's worth spending $38 for a bumbo seat! Unfortunately, I don't have one...and haven't quite figured out how to use the sling I'm borrowing either. We leave for Atlanta tomorrow for hopefully the last time for a while...Soraya's follow-up appt is Tuesday afternoon.

I'll try to be better about updating this.... I think about it a lot but then don't quite know what to say since there's not been much going on here. I'll put up pictures of the new office we had built soon - we're almost done with it!

After surgery

2010-02-04T10:12:00.000-05:00

These are also in the wrong order...the first 3 pictures are from Soraya's second day in the hospital - she was already looking so much better! The last picture is from when they first brought her to me...looking pretty rough! The rest is just documentation for me of her surgery - so I won't forget any of it! It's seriously long (I would be very surprised if anyone actually read all of it) but I wanted to put it up while I can still remember all of the details. :)

*************************************************

Soraya's cleft lip repair was scheduled for Friday, the 29th, at 8:20am, meaning we had to arrive at the hospital at 6:20am. Thursday night I could feed her for the last time at midnight...She couldn't hold out that long though, so I ended up feeding her at 11:15pm. I was allowed to give her "clear liquids" - water, apple juice, pedialyte - so I woke her up at 1:50am and gave her a few oz. of pedialyte and then again at 3:50am and gave her a few oz. of apple juice. I then got up again at 5:30 so I could pack all of our things since we had to check out of the hotel and leave for the hospital at 5:50am.

We arrive at the hospital and fill out papers, pay our co-pay for the hospital visit, and wait in the lobby until about 7:15. We finally get called back by the nurse and go to a room where Soraya has to be woken up so the nurse can check her out - listen to her heart, lungs, measure her and weigh her, etc. After she's cleared we're taken to a small room where we'll be waiting while Soraya's in surgery. Several nurses come in and out asking us the same questions many times (mostly when the last time she ate and had clear liquids was) and we meet Soraya's anesthesiologist, who says she will take care of her like one of her own. Dr. Burstein and his nurse assistant come in and talk to us about the surgery and tell us the surgery won't take long and I give the nurse Soraya's "lovey" and pacifier for when she wakes up from anesthesia.

A nurse comes and gives Soraya some medicine and we put her in the tiniest hospital gown I've ever seen.

Around 8:40am the nurse takes her back for surgery. First thing I do is pump since I'm about to burst and eat some breakfast. Sam is of course watching ESPN and the rest of our family is out in the lobby watching Adriana play with the toys. At 9:20am Dr. Burstein comes in the room and I think something is wrong since it's only been about 40 mins since they took her back. He says that she did great - only lost about 20 drops of blood. She's still asleep and they're going to monitor her before they take her to her room. We go out in the lobby to tell everyone she's out of surgery!

We find our room downstairs and meet our nurse tech, Geraldine, who tells us everything we'll need to know while we're there. After about 15-20 mins they roll a bed down the hall to our door and bring Soraya in wrapped in a blanket, wearing her "welcome sleeves" and hooked up to an IV and some other monitors. She's still asleep from the anesthesia and she's swollen, bruised and bloody. I sit and hold her for a few hours and every once in a while she'll cry and start thrashing (from the anesthesia) - she keeps trying to wake up. Sometime in the afternoon she starts waking up a little, so I decide to try nursing her. It's so awkward because of all the cords and arm braces and trying to be careful with her lip...she wanted to eat so bad but every time she tried she cried in pain. Dr. Burstein and his assistant came by to check on her and said she looked great - they reassured me that she would be fine if she didn't eat for a while.

Late afternoon Sam and I decided to walk around the hospital to get a break, so we took Adri and went to find a snack. When we got back about 30 mins later, there was a nurse hunched over Soraya - she had pulled out the IV in her hand and there was blood all over her hand and blanket. The nurse said the IV team would hopefully be there in about an hour to put a new IV in: the bad news was that she wouldn't have any pain meds for that hour (she was on morphine the whole first day) and it would be more painful going in this time around (she had kicked one out of her foot before surgery and they had already bruised her other hand trying to get one in that hand, so we were hoping it would go in her foot ok).

My mom and I went to find some chocolate at the gift shop and left Soraya with my dad and Sam...when we got back Soraya was having her IV put in her foot and thankfully the lady did a great job and Soraya didn't fuss at all. When 7pm came around and the shift changed, we got a great nurse for the night shift. She helped me try to nurse Soraya after her morphine kicked in, but when it didn't work she helped me feed her expressed milk with a syringe. She finally took some with the syringe I think around 9pm and then again around 11:30 before going to bed for the night.

Soraya surprised us by sleeping all night - from around midnight until 6am. She took more milk in the syringe so we were able to give her tylenol with codiene and get her off of the morphine. I had a really good nurse, Lillie, after our night shift nurse left us. Lillie was able to get Soraya to nurse around 8am - I was so happy we would be able to leave sometime that day and not have to stay another night. We finally got our discharge papers around 10:30am and waited for my parents to arrive with Adriana so we could make the 5 hr drive home.

After getting Soraya's medicine (tylenol with codiene and keflex, an antibiotic) and some lunch, we finally left around 2pm...Soraya slept for more than half of the trip and then fussed a little towards the end - we got home around 8:30pm and it was so good to be back!

Soraya's glue is almost all dissolved and I just see a few stitches still there - her nose is still a little bloody and she still has bruising... she's been so smiley and happy since Monday....She was so constipated from her medicine, but we're finally getting back to normal! It's good to have the surgery behind us and we go for our follow-up with Dr. Burstein Tues. the 23rd at 1:30. I'd love for him to say that it looks so good we won't have to repeat this in 4 years! We'll see. :)

Preparing for surgery...

2010-02-04T10:03:00.000-05:00

Sorry these are in the opposite order!

Soraya's surgery

2010-01-27T15:17:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to tell those of you that don't already know that Soraya's surgery is Friday morning for her cleft lip repair. We still don't know the exact time, but the tentative time is about 8:20am and arrival time is 6:20am. Please pray for Soraya's recovery and for Dr. Bunstein, her surgeon. I'm going to miss this big smile and will have to get used to her new one.

Blog name?

2009-12-02T13:05:00.000-05:00

I'm moving to wordpress....as soon as I come up with a name for my new blog! Not an easy task for me, so it might take a little while.

Family pictures!

2009-11-01T10:07:00.000-05:00

I've been wanting to have family pictures taken since Adriana was a baby....and (almost) 3 years later, we've finally done it! I'm SO happy with how they turned out...no guarantees when you're working with 2 kids - and Sam seems to always close his eyes for pictures. I love all of them though and now the hard part is choosing some favorites to print out! You can go here to see the proofs. I'm also taking the girls to the studio to have Ms. Judy take more pictures on Wednesday... hopefully they'll cooperate again and we can get some cute shots! I'll be back later with halloween pictures.... I had the cutest little butterfly! :)

2009-10-30T11:33:00.000-04:00

I don't know why I just discovered how to make collages in picasa...but I'm now addicted! I'm sure I'll be back with more pictures after this weekend. Adriana is SO excited about wearing her costume tonight to the trunk-or-treat at Faith Presbyterian...and we may go trick-or-treating in my parent's neighborhood Saturday night.

I'm hoping to have some family pictures to post soon also - my friend Christina's mom just started doing photography and had a special this month that we took advantage of...I'm so excited about finally having some good pictures of the 4 of us.

Day at the park...

2009-10-23T12:11:00.000-04:00

I love this smile! :)

We had some cooler weather so we took a walk to the park - Adriana would live at the park if she could. Soraya slept the whole time - the fresh air was good for all of us! I'm looking forward to more fall weather so we can spend more time outside and make more trips to the park.

Last Thursday night I started feeling sick....woke up at 5am feeling like I was going to die - I had a really high fever, was shaking uncontrollably and couldn't get out of bed. Sam helped with the girls and my mom came to the rescue around 7:30, when Sam had to go to work. Went to the OB that morning and they confirmed my self-diagnosis of mastitis (I had flu symptoms: achy, weak, nausea, fever, chills, etc... but I knew it wasn't the flu). I'm finally better, but now I think I have thrush.... can you guess how much I enjoy breastfeeding right now?

I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend and hopefully feeling 100% better! I'll try to update again soon....

Soraya's first month...

2009-10-23T12:06:00.000-04:00

First week at home...

2009-10-04T16:01:00.000-04:00

1st bath! she didn't really like it...not sure what happened to the coloring of this picture?
both of the girls getting baths!

I love her little toes :)

I love my girls!

I love this picture of Adriana - she's so sweet!

Soraya Cadence

2009-10-04T15:29:00.000-04:00

Last Saturday, the 26th, I went in at 6am to begin my induction.... labor started at noon and Soraya Cadence was born at 5:22pm weighing 5 lbs 13 oz and 19 inches long. We were expecting her to have a complete cleft lip and palate - and were VERY surprised when we found out that it was an incomplete cleft lip only. So thank you for all of the prayers - we really believe that God healed her palate. I've been able to breastfeed her, which is something I really wanted to do (I wasn't able to with Adriana) but wasn't expecting to be able to because of the believed palate problem. She's such a sweet baby and Adriana is the most loving big sister - she's always wanting to kiss Soraya or help her when she's crying (she'll sing to her or find toys that she thinks will help! haha). She already has two names for her... Pirate Jack Soraya (no idea where that came from) and squeaky mouse. :)

We've had a busy first week - at Soraya's 1st doctor appt on Wednesday they said she had jaundice and sent us to get her bilirubin tested at the lab...it was 15 (20 is when they hospitalize the baby), so they sent us back again on Thursday...15.7. Friday it was 14.7 and we were seen by the doctor - he said it should be getting better now but wanted us to get it tested one last time on Monday to make sure the levels are decreasing. Hopefully that will be the last time my poor baby has to have her heel pricked!

We feel so blessed to have two healthy, sweet girls....thanks again for all of the prayers for Soraya - her first appt isn't until November 13th now, since it's just the lip (no device will be used since it's an incomplete!). We're looking forward to meeting with the surgeon and knowing what we'll be doing with Soraya...I'll try to keep everyone updated!

One last update before she's here....

2009-09-21T22:28:00.000-04:00

Today at my appt. I scheduled an induction for Saturday at 6am! I don't know if I'll make it to Saturday....but if I do, then that will be the big day! I'm still only about 1-2 cm dilated, but my OB said since my cervix is so thinned out and her head is so low, that I could dilate quickly. So we'll see what happens this week - I'm kind of hoping that I can make it to Saturday and not have any surprises this week, but Soraya may decide to do things differently. I had an ultrasound at my appt. today since she's been measuring small...she's measuring about 35 weeks and I'm 38 - but they said she's about 6 lbs. 4 oz! That's more than Adriana weighed when she was born (6 lbs. 3 oz), so I'm ok with that.

Our first appt. in Atl is October 9th - we have a feeding evaluation and then she'll get fitted for the latham device... I thought she would have the NAM, but found out the Dr. I switched to only uses the latham device. There are pros and cons to using the latham in my opinion - I would have preferred the NAM, but it actually makes more sense for us to go with the latham....we don't have to make weekly trips to Atl. to have it adjusted - but we have to adjust it ourselves here at home (turn the screw once a week to tighten it) :( NOT looking forward to that! Also, the NAM is removable...but the latham is surgically inserted to the roof of their mouth and from what I've heard, it's the worst of the 3 surgeries (worse than the lip and palate repair) - I'm assuming the recovery is so difficult because they're so young (she'll have hers sometime in November) and it sounds pretty painful!

I'll try to keep everyone updated...please pray for an easy delivery and a healthy baby girl. I'm especially worried about the feeding and how that will go -I'm going to have to work hard to get her weight up so she can have her first surgery! Also, I'm really hoping she won't have to stay in NICU as I'm under the impression that she does... We really appreciate all of the prayers - I'm so thankful for all of our wonderful friends and family! :)

38 weeks and counting....

2009-09-21T07:57:00.000-04:00

This morning I go to the OB for my 38 week appt....looking forward to seeing what he says! Friday I was about 70-80% effaced and 2 cm dilated. I'm hoping I've made more progress since then, but we'll see! I'll also be having an ultrasound so they can measure Soraya and estimate her weight - she's been measuring small...what can I say - I'm not made to carry large babies!

Coming soon!

2009-09-17T22:01:00.000-04:00

We won't be a family of 3 for very long... I can't believe my sweet girl is going to be a big sister! I've been having a lot of contractions this week and especially today and I went to a friend's house tonight - she's a labor and delivery nurse that I externed with in high school. LOVE her! - and she checked me (seriously...who else would say come on over to my house and I'll check you so you don't have to go to triage!)...2 cm and about 80% effaced and baby's head is really low (at my 37 wk appt last Mon. Soraya had dropped to -1, I was 60-70% effaced and not dialated at all)! I know I could stay 2 cm for a while, but I just have this feeling that she'll be here soon...

I go on Monday morning for an ultrasound (Soraya's measuring small, of course) and my 38 week appt, so I'm hoping to make it until then and we'll see what he says. I think we'll be inducing next Saturday, the 26th, if she holds out until then. My birthday is Monday, so I just really want her to stay put until after Monday! We have a busy birthday weekend ahead and I'm not ready for her yet.

I finally have a camera (early birthday gift from husband!), but I'm still figuring out how to use it and all of the settings... so my pictures aren't that great yet, but I'm just so happy to actually have pictures!! Maybe the next post will be a baby announcement...

Soraya's room....halfway done! We have all of the basics in there, so that's all that matters. I made the cribskirt (with major help from my mom since I've had no desire to sit and sew lately!) and while it was a little more difficult than I expected it to be, I'm happy with how it turned out. I'll post more pictures once it's complete (if it's ever complete). :)

36 weeks and counting down!

2009-09-09T21:21:00.000-04:00

We've been staying busy the past few weeks....On August 29th, my sweet friend Kailee threw a baby shower for Soraya - so much fun! Then my mom wanted my dad, Adriana and I to go to the quilt show in town that she helped coordinate this year. She had 2 of her quilts on display - the one in the picture (one of Adriana's baby quilts) and one that she made for me.

The past week I've been working hard on the nursery, buying all the last minute baby necessities, packing my hospital bag (as much as possible) and trying to get the house clean and organized before Soraya arrives. Hopefully I'll have some pictures of the nursery soon - it's still a work in progress (needs pictures on the walls, curtains, rug, etc), but is starting to come together. Tomorrow I'll be finishing sewing the crib skirt, making owl pillows and sock monkeys for the girls....I want to finish so many projects this week - I feel like I'm running out of time before Soraya will be here.

There's been a change of plans since I last posted... We'll be taking Soraya to the Childrens Hospital of Atlanta (Scottish Rite). It's going to be a challenge driving up there after we get out of the hospital...and then once a week for her NAM to be checked on. I've been hearing so many good things about the surgeon and hospital though, so I hope I'm making the right decision. I'll give more details/info once I know more. Please keep Soraya in your prayers (and that I will be able to handle everything!).

update on Soraya

2009-08-27T13:55:00.000-04:00

I met with the specialist this morning and he had some recommendations for hospitals - Shands in Gainesville, Nemours in Jacksonville and Arnold Palmer in Orlando....So I think we'll be taking her to Shands for her surgeries. I'll have to take her once a week to be seen to have her NAM device checked/adjusted - I'm assuming until her first surgery (usually around 3 months, but depends)? I'm not sure how often we visit after that. That's one reason why I think we'll be going with Shands....2.5 hrs each way will be long enough with a newborn and 2 (almost 3) year old in the car!

I'll be 35 weeks on Saturday and as of today at my appt. Soraya weighs 4 lbs 11 oz. Please pray that she's a big baby (I never thought I'd be saying that)! Adriana only weighed 6 lbs 3 oz when she was born and I have a feeling Soraya won't be very large either - but I want her to get up to the 10 lb mark as quickly as possible! There wasn't an excess of amniotic fluid and the specialist said that was a really good sign...so hopefully her palate isn't very severe.

We appreciate your prayers as we get closer to meeting Soraya... I'm not ready for her to come yet, but at the same time I want to know how severe her lip/palate is so I know what we'll be dealing with. Only a couple more weeks!

The things that come out of her mouth....

2009-08-12T16:03:00.000-04:00

I hope to never forget all of the funny things Adriana comes up with! She's not even trying to be funny, but she makes me laugh every day at the things she says....

This afternoon I had fox news on, but wasn't really paying any attention to it... I think Obama was awarding medals to people - I happened to glance at the screen and saw an Indian on there wearing a feathered headpiece. Adriana saw it too and said "Oh look! He's just like a peacock!". :) She had no idea why I was laughing so hard.... I suppose it did look kind of like a peacock to a 2 year old.

Happy 25th birthday Sam!!

2009-08-11T17:03:00.000-04:00

feeling huge...taken Aug. 10th - 8 months!

My mom took some pictures for me yesterday when my parents came over to our house for Sam's birthday dinner and Cake Shop cake! It's killing me not having a camera to take pictures - hopefully soon!!

I bought fabric and ric rac today to make Soraya's cribskirt...I've started organizing papers in the office and we're going to try to get it cleared out this week. I'm looking forward to getting the nursery set up and when I do I'll put up some pictures (even if it means borrowing my mom's camera to do so...).

8 weeks....

2009-08-07T22:29:00.000-04:00

until my due date! I'm definitely feeling it... tomorrow begins my 8th month of pregnancy and I am now exhausted all of the time, having difficulty sleeping, feeling lots of braxton hicks contractions - oh, and did I mention how tired I am?

I miss having a camera and being able to take pictures. Mine is dead, so no new pregnancy pictures - though my bump is getting big! I'm asking for this camera for my birthday....hoping Sam will actually get it for me.

Monday is Sam's birthday! Tonight we celebrated at his parent's house...tomorrow we're shopping for his birthday present in the morning and then my mom's watching Adriana so we can go to dinner and a movie (the last movie I saw at the theater was Horton Hears a Who with Adriana and friends about a month ago - I can't even remember the one before that!). We're surprising Sam with a cake from The Cake Shop (they have the best cakes!) - partly because I don't have the energy to bake a cake, but mostly because we love them! Should be a fun weekend, but I think I'll need another weekend to recover by the time Monday arrives. Isn't that how it always is?

I know blogs aren't as fun to read without pictures...so I'll try to get some with my mom's camera soon - or maybe I'll have a camera of my own soon! I think we'll finally be working on the nursery this next week and I'll try to get pictures up once we're finished with it. I'm off now to try to get some sleep....

More wedding fun!

2009-07-31T20:51:00.000-04:00

Last week I shared pictures of my wedding dress and this week Kelly'sKorner is having a "show us your life: wedding party and flowers/ceremony". These are just a few of (most of those involved - there were some I didn't get a chance to scan yet) the wedding party - and thankfully my wonderful photographers, Jonathan & Suzy Allain, were able to get pictures of the ceremony (I didn't scan very many though). They weren't "supposed" to take any once we were at the altar, but I told them to do whatever they wanted...so they hid, snapped away and got yelled at later. haha! I'm glad I have pictures of it all though.

my beautiful bouquet - LOVED my florist!

laughing because my matron of honor handed me her flowers instead of mine - they did look very similar though! :)
love all of my bridesmaids!! My cousin Karen, best friend/matron of honor Kailee (about 4 months pregnant!), friend Katlynn and sister-in-law Sonia.
my cute flowergirls - just a few of my second cousins!
Sam's groomsmen - my brother and his best friend, Billy.

As you can see, my wedding colors were "spiced wine" (deep purple) and green. I fell in love with the bridesmaid dresses from JCrew and planned my colors around them. I wanted to put up pictures of my centerpieces from the reception, but I think reception pictures are for another day...so that's all for now! :)

Homemade spaghetti sauce

2009-07-29T18:28:00.000-04:00

Ok, so it may be more of a meat sauce....but you could always adjust the ratio of tomato sauce/meat if you wanted it to be more saucy. I've never been able to find a spaghetti sauce in the jar that I love, so I figured I would try to just make my own sauce. When we were in NC last month, my aunt made her homemade spaghetti sauce and it was kind of sweet - which I never would have thought that I would like, but it was actually really good. So I decided to try something new - maple sausage. It's very easy to make so I thought I would share! Here's my "recipe" (I don't measure all of my ingredients, but I'll give my best estimation):

1 package of maple sausage (if you don't want your sauce very sweet you could try italian sausage)
1 yellow onion, chopped
about 5 cloves of garlic, minced (I buy the garlic already minced, so I used about 2 spoonfuls)
1 (28oz) can of tomato sauce (mine was 29oz for some reason)
a pinch of white sugar
a pinch of brown sugar
about 1 T. dried basil (I don't measure mine - just taste it and add more or less to your liking)
about 1 t. dried oregano (same as basil)
a little dried parsley

In a stockpot brown the sausage with the onion and garlic. Pour in the tomato sauce and reduce heat. Add the sugar, brown sugar, basil, oregano and parsley and simmer for about 45 mins-an hour.

I took frozen stuffed shells (too lazy to make my own today!) and covered the bottom of a 9x13 pan with the sauce. Then added the shells, covered them with the sauce and baked as the instructions said (mine was 35 mins). Makes about 4 servings.

If I had a working camera I would post a picture....because I almost never make a recipe unless I see a picture of it (am I weird like that??). Sorry if my measurements weren't very clear...I'm bad about measuring my seasonings! Hope the recipe made sense though.

1st Anniversary!

2009-07-24T15:36:00.000-04:00

It's hard to believe that a year ago on Sunday (26th) we were married! We've had some bad days, lots of good days and have made so many memories the past year. I love my husband more every day and look forward to many more years together!! Kelly's Korner was having a "Show us your life - Wedding Dress" today and it couldn't be more timely with our anniversary in 2 days.

I scanned some bridal/wedding pictures and I realize they have a copyright, but they're all I have (one more year and then I can purchase the copyright!).... so I hope it's ok! I absolutely LOVED my photographer and have recommended Jonathan Allain to everyone I know getting married. Jonathan & Suzy (his wife - photographs with him) were so much fun to work with and are SO very talented.

I knew what I wanted my dress to look like - strapless, lots of lace...unfortunately, my budget would not allow for the one I wanted. I eventually was able to find one that I loved though :)
So here are some pictures from my wedding day (next week is wedding party and flowers and I'm going to try to remember to join in on that as well - I love weddings!):

Tomorrow I'm surprising Sam with a daytrip to the beach town where we honeymooned - we love going there and I love that it's close enough to be able to go for the day! We'll drop Adriana off at my parent's in the morning and spend the day relaxing at the beach and just enjoying the time away. I can't wait!!

A name.

2009-07-18T08:23:00.000-04:00

My stomach doubled in size while I was away on my trip! I'm 29 weeks today and the time is starting to fly by...I can't believe I'm in the 3rd trimester already. We have a lot to do to prepare for her arrival, but at least she has a full name now - Soraya Cadence. Adriana will be calling her Soraya Riley though, as she refuses to like any other middle name for her. Riley was almost Adriana's middle name - when her first name wasn't Adriana...and it was going to be an option for this girl's name, but not with Soraya. Adri's just stuck on Riley and when you ask her what Soraya's middle name is, she says "RILEY!" - I told her she can call her this and she was very happy about that.

Soraya's crib bedding will hopefully be on it's way soon and I'm really wanting to get the nursery put together in the next several weeks, so I'll try to post pictures of my progress! Poor Sam's getting kicked out of his office...

As for the doctor's appt yesterday, we didn't really learn anything new like I was expecting to. We got to see her sweet little face (they always do 4-D ultrasounds when I go) and her little hands and feet (she likes to have them right up in her face)...she kept putting her fingers in her mouth and she opened her eyes for us at one point! So just please keep praying for our sweet girl. The doctor said everything else looks great and that doctor's will want her for their "before and after" since she'll have great results (should be easy for them to correct with surgery and you'll never know she had it). I'm a little nervous since the doctor has said that there's a possibility to have preterm labor when your child has a cleft palate - so please pray this doesn't happen....we're not quite ready for her to be here yet!

the name game.

2009-07-15T14:42:00.000-04:00

So we've been back from our vacation for 2 weeks now I think - so I know an update is long overdue! I just haven't felt like sitting down and trying to compile 2 weeks worth of fun from 3 different states into one post.... I started on it about a week ago and saved it, but I'm not sure when I'll get around to finishing it!

For now I have baby on my mind, as I'm starting to nest (I'm in the early stages - I was a little crazy with it when I was pregnant with Adriana...) and it's driving me crazy that her nursery is still an office and we've done nothing to prepare for her so far...and lately I've been wanting to find a middle name for her so we can just be done with the name game! We don't agree on names at all for girls (we had a boy name picked out!) but we've decided her first name will be Soraya (so-RAY-yah, not so-RYE-yah)....and I'm having a hard time with a middle name - especially one that Sam likes. Last night he said his favorite from my list was "Everly" (Everley?), which sounds a lot like "Emery" to me (a name that I've always wanted for a girl that he always said no to). I still like Cadence too...or we may just find something completely different that we love! I'm just hoping it's soon that she'll have a name.

Tomorrow morning (9:30) I go to the Fetal-Maternal doctor for another ultrasound....he's hoping to be able to see how involved the palate is. I think he's going to also have some surgeon recommendations for us, although I still need to call my plastic surgeon and get his recommendations as well (I've been putting off phone calls - big surprise!). Please pray that the appointment goes well - I'm taking Adriana with me and my mom's coming (Sam can't take off work)... I'll try to update if we learn anything new.

Vacation!

2009-06-14T21:06:00.000-04:00

I'm looking forward to leaving soon for a vacation! Unfortunately, Sam can't take off work so he won't be coming along... I'll be going with my parents (and Adriana, of course) on a roadtrip to visit lots of family (Raleigh, NC and Pennsylvania) - some that I haven't seen in years and haven't met Adriana yet....and on the way home we'll be stopping in Charleston, SC for 3 days!

I'm going to try to enjoy the break - when we get back it will be time to call more doctors and set up appointments.... I'll be calling a local plastic surgeon I've used in the past for recommendations on surgeons for Soraya and waiting to hear back from my Maternal-Fetal doctor to see what recommendations he was able to find. We'll be setting up our "team" for when she arrives - I'm not sure yet who all we'll need on the team, but they typically include: geneticist, plastic surgeon, ENT (hopefully we can use the one I've had for a past surgery), audiologist, nurse coordinator, oral surgeon, orthodontist, dentist, speech pathologist and social worker. Just writing that makes me anxious - it's very overwhelming.

I have an OB appt (normal one!) July 6th, a few days after I get home - I'm going to call this week to see if I can schedule a 4-D ultrasound for that day or another day that week (it will be my 26/27th week, which is when they can do it)...I didn't have one with Adriana and I regret it! I've already seen 4-D images of Soraya from my appts with the Maternal-Fetal doctor, but I want to have it on video.

I meet with the Maternal-Fetal doctor again on the 16th of July for another ultrasound - he should be able to tell at that point how severe the palate is (he doesn't think it goes all the way back to the throat - pray that she's in a good position that day so we'll know for sure!). If you google about cleft lips/palate you can find some pretty scary images....thankfully, Soraya's is a unilateral incomplete cleft lip (meaning, it doesn't go all the way up to the nose - great news), which is what mine was.

I'll update when I get back - hopefully with some pictures from our trip!

Thank you.

2009-06-09T22:59:00.000-04:00

Another one I love is Psalms 139... I remember reading it often when I was pregnant with Adriana and I am this time around as well - only it holds new meaning for me now.

Verses 13-18:

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. Thank You for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous - how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in Your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.

How precious are Your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can't even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, You are still with me!

Even though I still have moments where I feel overwhelmed by everything - when I read about the extensive team of medical professionals we'll be needing (which makes it seem so real and scary) - most of my days have been filled with a peace (Philippians 4:7) that I can't explain...except to say that your prayers are working!

We meet with the Maternal-Fetal doctor tomorrow (this time I'll be with Sam and my parents, making it a little easier to say the least) at 10:30am (eastern) and would really appreciate your prayers that the appointment will be informative and encouraging. I feel like I'll never be fully prepared for her arrival, but I hope to at least have an idea of where we're headed... I'll try to update tomorrow once we know more.

Psalms 91

2009-06-06T00:08:00.000-04:00

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety, He is my God, and I trust Him. For He will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease. He will cover you with His feathers. He will shelter you with His wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection. Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day. Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday. Though a thousand fall at your side, though ten thousand are dying around you, these evils will not touch you. Just open your eyes, and see how the wicked are punished.

If you make the Lord your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home. For He will order His angels to protect you wherever you go. They will hold you up with their hands so you won't even hurt your foot on a stone. You will trample upon lions and cobras; you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet!

The Lord says "I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name. When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them. I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation".

*New Living Translation*

This has been one of my favorite passages for many years now... it is so encouraging to me and full of HOPE. I just love the picture this creates of our Father - wrapping His "wings" around His children and protecting them. I've been reading it a lot lately as it gives me peace about everything. I know there will be difficult days ahead, but I know that we will be ok - I will be ok - baby Soraya will be ok... His angels are protecting us. Thank you for praying for us during this and for all of the encouraging words - you'll never know how much it means to me!! I feel so blessed to have my family and all of my sweet friends.

Prayer...

2009-06-04T18:45:00.000-04:00

If you read my blog (if I know you or don't know you - sitemeter seems to tell me I don't know many of you that read!) and you pray, I could use your prayer.

I went to my OB appointment this morning - last time I had gone they were doing the ultrasound where they check all of the anatomy and they were able to check everything except her face...she was in a bad position and was too stubborn to move so they couldn't get a good shot. I went by myself for this one since they were just checking the face and then I had my normal check-up afterward. Well, they discovered she had a cleft lip and were unable to tell me much so they sent me 2 floors up to the Fetal-Maternal doctor for an ultrasound with him...and it's a cleft lip (left side) and pallet. I really don't know much yet.... he was saying all kinds of things and I think I was just in shock and overwhelmed, so I didn't take much in.

I was born with a cleft lip, but no pallet (which is worse) - my surgery was great though. I guess I knew that there could be a slightly increased risk for this one to have it (I think he said it's only like a 5% chance though), but I just never really thought it would happen - Adriana had no problems, so I guess I assumed this one would be the same way.

We go back next week with family to sit down with the specialist and discuss it all... For the 2+ hours that I was there I kept telling myself that it could be MUCH worse and I should be thankful that it's something that can be corrected. It was still a shock though and I'm trying to just focus on all of the positives and am very thankful that she appears to be healthy in every other way - very healthy heartbeat and she's a good size...

Please pray for us as we deal with this emotionally (I was emotional just being pregnant, so today's been pretty rough!) and that we'll find the right doctor/surgeon and that the baby won't have any other complications due to the cleft lip and pallet. Hopefully I'll have more details to share once we meet with the doctor again next week.

Zereshk polo!

2009-06-03T16:18:00.000-04:00

So it may not look like anything special - my camera quality is very poor and due to my white screen (Sam cracked the LCD and now it's white with black seeping into it) I can't see the picture (or any options - can't take the flash off anymore) until I upload it to my computer.... but yesterday I made zereshk polo for the first time! I worked hard on it all afternoon, so I was very glad when Sam approved and thought it tasted really good. I know of a few improvements to make next time, but I still think it will never taste quite as good as his mom's! I've always loved his mom's food, but when I was pregnant with Adriana I CRAVED it so much - and I am again with this one as well... so I'm trying to learn how to make some of her food to hold me over until we go to dinner at their house (which is usually once a week or every 2 weeks - I can't wait for too long!).

I think it's really interesting that a persian dish can vary so much depending on who's making it. I would search for recipes for different persian favorites of mine and they're really different it seems from how Sam's mom makes hers.... I guess that's how it is for all food though! If anyone else loves persian food and wants the recipe, just let me know and I'll post it - I have a feeling most people don't even know what zereshk polo (zereshk are the little red berries in the rice - barberries; and polo is rice) is, but trust me - it's REALLY good!!!

In other news, Adriana has been going to VBS (well, a backyard Bible club that our church is having) this week and is loving it! I've been loving the little break as well - tomorrow, unfortunately, is the last day... she's been coming home with a cute little craft each day and I've loved getting in the car and hearing all about all the fun she's been having with the other kids.

It's hard to believe I'll be 23 weeks on Saturday - the pregnancy's starting to go by faster now and I'm feeling her kick and move around a lot more. We have a first name picked out - Soraya (so-RAY-yah) - but we're still working on a middle name... so far, my favorite is Soraya Cadence. Sam's not really a fan, but maybe it will grow on him or we'll think of something else!

I'll try to be better about blogging...we've just been having fun with friends and keeping busy - I'm loving the summer!
3 generations on Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-10T16:03:00.000-04:00

I love everything on tinyprints... unfortunately, their website isn't working for me today - because I was going to put up pictures of some of my favorite "baby girl" announcement cards that they have. I'll be needing some in about 4 and a half months when we welcome our 2nd baby GIRL! We found out Friday that we're having another girl and it was the best Mother's day gift. I'm so excited that Adriana will have a little sister! We were both convinced it was a boy, so it was a nice surprise. I hope everyone's having a great Mother's day - I'm off to spend some more time with Adriana now that she's up from her nap... looking forward to TCBY tonight with family (free ice cream for all the mom's today)!

Almost done!

2009-05-07T15:31:00.000-04:00

All of the flowers are in and all of the mulch has been put down! Well, we haven't cleared out the part on the far right side, below the window (office/nursery window) - we need to clear it all out and put down mulch and we're going to put a small hydrangea bush (mini penny) under the window. I'm still trying to decide on an edging for the beds - I'm thinking I might just go with timber (cheaper and easier to find than stone). I think it'll look a lot different once the plants fill out - they have a lot of growing to do...hopefully I don't kill them before they mature (at least they have a one year guarantee!). Sorry for the MANY pictures...

We plan on taking these 2 random shutters off when we take them all down to paint - I didn't notice at first that there was one with each window (there's not room for a second one because of the chimney there)... I think it'd look better without them and just have shutters on the smaller windows (office/nursery and the one in the garage - far left).
We plan on making a new walkway to the mailbox (and hopefully one branching from that new walkway and going around the side of the house to the driveway, so guests don't have to walk through the grass). I also want to get 2 big, colorful pots filled with flowers/greenery and put one on either side of the concrete "porch" (at the very front).

As you can tell, it'll make a big difference to get the edging put in!

I'm still debating, but I think I might put 2 or 3 more flowers in on the side of the house - I found some I like that grow well in the shade (someone planted that crepe myrtle way too close to the house, but I hate to take it out).
sage 'indigo spires' salvia - attracts butterflies/hummingbirds!
gerbera daisies - will be nice in bouquets!
heliotrope - attracts birds, butterflies and hummingbirds
artist purple ageratum - attracts birds, butterflies and hummingbirds
these haven't been doing as well since it rained hard the other day - hopefully they'll perk up again soon once the sun comes out in full force.
can't remember the name of this one...didn't have a tag when I brought it home

happy single wink dahlia - I bought 2 of these...love them!'flambe orange' chrysocephalum apiculatum - these remind me of little tiny 'billy buttons', which I LOVE
penta (star flower) - also attracts butterflies
'sunsatia mango' nemesia - bought 4 of these and might buy more to fill in the back... I love that they look like wildflowers

my poor 'dark angel' dahlia (purple).... I don't think it liked the rain. It used to have a beautiful flower, but it's closed up. I'll be watching for a comeback and will take a picture!'mexican butterfly weed' asclepias curassavica - put 2 of these in front of the living room for the same reason as the lantana!
from top to bottom: zinnia (?), star white zinnia, star gold zinnia, profusion apricot zinnia
some kind of zinnia I think - forget the specific name of it
lantana (sonset) - bought 4 of these so we can watch lots of butterflies and hummingbirds from the living room windows!

Just a reminder...

2009-05-01T16:11:00.000-04:00

Just a reminder, this is the picture that I took of our house right before we bought it....and not much has changed since then (except a new roof)... do you see all of the dead plants everywhere?? It needs some color! Pictures will be coming this weekend :)

April Showers Bring May Flowers!

2009-05-01T14:24:00.000-04:00

Can you find Adriana in there??

Can you guess what we'll be doing this weekend? We had a lot of fun today going to pick out flowers at the local nursery! Adriana's been talking about planting flowers all week - I went to Walmart yesterday and bought some peat moss and fertilizer and I told Sam today was the day for me to go buy some flowers, so he gave me a budget and I was able to get 17 plants....a good start! They're just for the flower beds that line the side and front of the house.

We'll (Sam - I like having the pregnancy excuse for this one!) be digging out EVERYTHING currently in the "flower bed" (it's an overgrown MESS from the previous owners) and starting over. I'm hoping to go back either this weekend or beginning of this week to get some greenery and some small flowers to fill in - I know we'll need some more for the perimeter of the house. Then we'll need to get some stones to line the flower bed and some mulch to lay down...and we'll be doing the same thing, making a circle around a big tree in the front yard (I'm sure we'll need to go back for flowers for this area!).

I've been SO looking forward to planting some flowers and adding some color to the yard - the dead azaleas and weeds everywhere are just a little depressing... after the planting in the front takes place I'll be hinting to Sam about painting the front door and shutters (they're going to be a dark green, almost black...I think I decided on BM's River Rock?? Erika sent me samples last summer and I think that was one she suggested - I need to check!). Hopefully I'll be posting pictures of a nice yard soon!!

Slowly getting there....

2009-04-29T22:14:00.000-04:00

Adriana has been in her toddler bed (crib with the side removed) for over a year now and she has definitely outgrown it! Beds can be really expensive though, so it hadn't been at the top of the priority list - we still need many other pieces of furniture for the house as well. With the new baby coming in 5 months we knew we were running out of time to get Adri out of the crib - I had tried looking online at Walmart and Target for some cheaper options, but the only thing I could find that might work was from Walmart and it had horrible reviews about it not being very sturdy...and if I'm going to spend the money on a bed I want it to last a long time - it's an investment (we're getting a full-size so she can grow into it or we can use it for a guest room in the future). Well, Sam's parents were kind enough to offer to buy Adriana's bed for us and we'll just have to buy the mattress then. I'm so excited that she'll finally have a big girl bed and her room will hopefully start looking more like a little girl's bedroom. :) Should be here in 2-4 weeks - here's the one we picked out!A while ago when it went on sale, I bought PB's moroccan tile duvet cover in "clementine", pictured below (the one that's made up in the bed, not the Ikat duvet)...now I just need a filler for it! Something cheap :)

So far this is the only picture I have to hang in her room - sad, I know! I'm hoping maybe I can use some of my money from selling shirts to buy some more art from etsy for her...

I have these pillowcases from PBKid's - I loved the entire set, but decided to just stick with the pillowcases for now and I'll find some fun sheets at some point (I'm going for the "eclectic" look, if you haven't noticed yet! I love it and it's cheaper)

I'm hoping to find some thrift store unmatched nightstands that I (my husband?) can paint hot pink or some other fun color... her bed is white and dresser is white, so I need something fun!

Then all I need is a bookshelf (horizontal one preferred), some fun lamps for the nightstands...and I would love to get the chair in her room recovered someday (imagine awful orange and brown 60s/70s floral fabric). I would recover it myself but it doesn't seem like a simple one to do.

Oh, and a rug... I really want to get this one, but this one's a little cheaper...BUT the husband doesn't want to spend the money at all right now. So we'll see what we end up with! :)

I'm just excited for Adriana's room to start coming together! I'm very thankful that Sam's parents were so willing to buy the bed for her - she would probably be sleeping on a cot on the floor for a while, because I know Sam wasn't about to buy it! I'm trying to be content with what we have right now though - we have a lot to be thankful for.

P.S. Any advice on mattresses? I don't want to spend a lot, but I want to make sure it's a decent mattress for a growing little one to sleep on. I plan on pricing them this next week, but really don't know much about them except for Sealy and Simmons (and I just know the names, nothing about the quality!).

Grandpops!

2009-04-21T19:03:00.000-04:00

Ever since she woke up from her nap around 4, Adriana's been saying "I wanna go to grandpop's house!"....and I have to keep telling her we can't go until in the morning - I've lost count of how many times she's said it. I'm not sure if she even remembers who "grandpop and grandma" are, but she sure is excited about our trip to see them tomorrow morning. My mom's been wanting to take a trip down to see them for a while now and I haven't gone down for several years, so I decided to go with her for a couple of days. We're taking lots of toys, books and her bike and we're looking forward to just relaxing while we're there! Until we return, here are a few pictures from this past weekend - Adriana's friend Ethan had his 3rd birthday party and Adriana had so much fun playing in the sandbox, eating cookies and playing in the sprinkler.

(almost) Wordless Wednesday

2009-04-15T08:34:00.000-04:00

*Please excuse all of the balls of "fuzz" - as much as I love my West Elm rug in the living room (It's very soft and padded), I DO NOT love how much it sheds... I'd have to vacuum at least once a day to keep up with the fuzz I find that gets carried to different rooms of the house (and we don't even have a vacuum yet - I have to keep borrowing my parent's Dyson). Needless to say, it's vacuuming day!

A good start to the week!

2009-03-30T15:56:00.000-04:00

Just a few things that make me happy today:

*I saved 50% at Publix today (I spent $81, saved $42)....I should have saved about 70% (spent $73, saved $50), but they stopped taking food lion coupons (had one for $2 off of my produce) and then I forgot my $6(!!!) coupon. I'm definitely going back to use it just so I can get some meat for FREE. All in all, a successful trip.

*Adriana made it through our trips to Walgreens, CVS and Publix in panties with NO accidents (that was my fear of our first outing in big girl panties!). I'm SO happy that she's potty trained... I think she's been ready for a while, I just needed a little motivation from hearing my friend potty train her daughter (Adri's age) in pretty much one day (really? why did I wait so long?)! I didn't think I had the energy, but it really wasn't bad at all. It's kind of snuck up on me...over time I realized she'd been keeping her pull ups dry for a while! Besides last night (she woke up crying at 2:30am because she had just wet her diaper and she was SO sad about it), she's even been staying dry overnight....I'm waiting for a while before I try panties at night though - I'm not up to changing the sheets in the middle of the night until I know they will be few and far between!

*We have an owl that pretty much lives in a tree in our yard. I don't think it's the same one as the pictures I took the first time I saw one - this one looks like it has more white on it and is slightly smaller....but I guess I could be mistaken. It's definitely the same owl day after day that I see sitting in the same branch in a tree beside our driveway. We LOVE going outside to get in the car and looking for "Mr. Owl" to say hi.

*Japanese fabric....well, any fabric! I started out looking for a specific elephant fabric for my mom (she's going to make an "ellie" quilt for Adri), and of course I find 100+ other fabrics that I NEED. I wish Japanese fabric wasn't so expensive, because I love it....I would show you the fabric I'm planning on getting to use for a dress for Adriana, but they don't have very much left (it's kind of hard to find) and I know you all would love it (selfish, I know...but I really want it! I'll show you once I buy it). :) I love ALL of the Echino collection - I want some for pillows!

2009-03-19T14:49:00.000-04:00

Just playing around before bedtime a couple nights ago... I realized the other day I'm never in any pictures anymore - they're ALL of Adriana. ha!

This beautiful barred owl was sitting on our fence when my husband drove up from work last night. By the time Sam came running in and I could grab my camera, he had moved to the tree in our backyard.... I got so many great pictures of him just sitting staring at us - he would turn his head all the way around to the back (looked a little weird - like maybe he was wanting to sleep?). He then flew right over our heads to a higher branch in another tree in our yard... this owl definitely made my day! I think you all know how much I love owls and how many people can say they had one in their yard?! Adriana keeps talking about the owl...I don't think we'll be seeing him again though!

I am SO excited about driving over to Seaside for the day on Saturday - my parents are going to go with me and Adriana (Sam already had plans to go see his best friend in Destin for the weekend and we were not invited, so I think we deserve to go to the beach as well!). I have plans to eat at The Great Southern Cafe (I'll be getting the pulled pork sandwich...yum!)....and maybe B&A Taco Bar...or Pickles (what can I say, I'm pregnant!). I know we'll be getting some Dawson's ice cream! Don't worry, we won't just be eating while we're there, even though that would be fine with me. I just love Seaside...we plan on making many trips there this summer - hopefully one of them being for the 4th of July.

Still alive...

2009-03-17T21:18:00.000-04:00

I can't believe I haven't updated this in over a month! What can I say - life's been busy! I think I lost count for a while because I've been saying I'm 11 weeks pregnant for a while, but I'm 12 weeks this week (finally...it seems to be taking forever to get out of the first trimester!). I've been feeling sick the last month or so particularly, so I'm looking forward to feeling better (and finding out what we're having!). I quit my part-time job a week ago and am hoping to finally (and I mean it this time!) get my shirts up on etsy. I have one shirt ready, so only about 9 more to go! I want to have about 10 ready to ship before I list them...and I hope to add some more every week. I'm very thankful I've already sold several shirts in the past 2 weeks (a nice surprise after quitting my job!).

So that's what we've been up to - nothing too exciting! I'll try to update more often and with something more interesting. I'm hoping we can make it to the beach one weekend very soon since it's warming up and has been beautiful weather! If we do go, you can be sure I'll have lots of pictures to share.

2009-02-08T21:56:00.000-05:00

Baby #2 is on the way! I think I'm about 6 weeks along, but can't wait to go to the doctor.... :) Baby bump pictures coming soon - I'm definitely getting bigger much quicker this time around!

Dancing Machine

2009-02-03T21:32:00.000-05:00

She cracks me up... she loves to dance and is always coming up with some crazy new moves! She was our entertainment for the half-time of the Superbowl.

Owl love.

2009-02-03T21:12:00.000-05:00

All of the above came from none other than Target (oh yeah, have that turtle/owl frame too). For those of you that know me, you know my love for owls.... so when I went to Target a couple weeks ago, I couldn't pass up all of the adorable Valentine's Day accessories they had! I might have gone a little overboard, but what can I say...Adriana loves owls too! She saw the owl pillow and said she "wanted to kiss it" - haha. We had so much fun decorating the windows/french doors with the "stickers" (window clings) about a week ago - we couldn't wait any longer! I'm saving everything else for her to open on Valentine's Day though....but I have to admit, the mug is for me.

I'm loving Valentine's Day this year....even more so than I normally do. Maybe because it means it's getting closer to spring and warmer weather (I thought I wanted cold this winter, but I'm now over it)...or maybe it's because of the cute owl things from Target....but I think it's mostly because I'm loving life right now - having a 2 year old makes holidays (even small ones) so much fun and I have so much love for her (and her daddy - can't leave him out!).

One more thing...

2009-01-29T15:14:00.000-05:00

Like that last post wasn't enough.... Here's a picture from the last time we went to the Georgia Aquarium:

She was almost 4 months old (March 07) and slept through it all. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures at the aquarium this time - oh well! How time flies though...

Atlanta Vaca!

2009-01-29T14:01:00.000-05:00

Last weekend my little family of three took a quick trip up to Atlanta, for a much needed escape! The trip was too short (I could spend a week or two in Atlanta and still not be ready to leave...), but it was a lot of fun. Our friends (Sam's best friend and his wife) drove over Thursday night from their home in Destin and we all got up early Friday morning and began the 4.5 hour trek north...

Friday's agenda: Zoo Atlanta!

We arrived around noon and drove straight to the zoo (thankfully we made it one piece, even after the GPS decided to take us through the worst part of ATL and I was wishing my car had tinted windows). Adriana loved it - It was a lot of fun and she keeps saying she wants to go back... I even got her to ride the carousel with me! Some of my favorites:

One of my favorite parts was the petting zoo! I wasn't sure how Adriana would handle it, but I think you can tell from the pictures that she loved it!

We stayed with my cousin Scott and his wife, Daniela - we don't see them often so it was nice to visit for a short time (only wish it had been longer!). Adriana loves her cousins Jadan & Ava!

Saturday's agenda included the Georgia Aquarium, shopping (I was on a mission to find a Ribba frame for Adri's picture!) and Rumi's Kitchen for dinner (soooooo good!!). We were going to stay that night and leave the next morning, but Sam wanted to go ahead and drive home....so we arrived home around 12:45am.

So it was a whirlwind weekend, but full of many fun activities! Now that I'm home I've been in a "spring cleaning" mood and am determined to get my house decent enough to take pictures of what it looks like so far.... It still has a ways to go (we're lacking many pieces of furniture and the walls are seriously lacking some art), but it looks so much better than when we bought it! Sorry this is an essay and there are so many pictures...I had some major catching up to do though! I'll try to post house pictures soon...

Mast-o- khiar

2009-01-15T22:02:00.000-05:00

not my picture. it's from here.

I just finished the last of mine that I made Tuesday night with chelo kabob... my first attempt at persian cuisine and I'm happy to say that Sam liked it! My kabob definitely didn't look as good as his mom's (I didn't flatten mine enough - they looked more like burgers), but the taste was very similar. Sam also thought there was no way I could make the mast-o khiar with store-bought plain yogurt, but I didn't have time to attempt to make the yogurt, like his mom does. He was very surprised - we both loved it. I think the trick was adding a lot of the mint and salt and pepper to give it lots of flavor! Here's the "recipe" that I used (an adaptation of the instructions his mom gave me):

16 oz. of plain yogurt

1 lg. cucumber, peeled and cubed.

approx. 2-3 tbs. dried mint

salt to taste (I didn't measure mine, but prob. a tsp or 2)

pepper to taste (maybe 1/4-1/2 tsp)

chopped walnuts (optional)

Just mix it all together and refrigerate!

Very easy and sooo good! I CRAVED this stuff when I was pregnant. I'm glad to know I can easily make it myself now... If anyone tries this let me know how it turns out.

Chocolate covered potato chips.

2009-01-09T10:55:00.000-05:00

photo courtesy flickr.

Does anyone else love these as much as I do? I know it sounds gross, but they are SO good! A couple years ago the lady at the RMCF convinced me to try one and since then I've been hooked! I just finished the ones Sam put in my stocking from Peterbrooke and I'm already wanting more... I'm not a big chip person, but these are addicting. I'm thinking of making my own this weekend - I'll let you know how they turn out!

Be on the lookout for some owl love soon - my Target trip to get shampoo for Sam did not go so well the other day - in terms of saving money that is.

Hump day...

2009-01-06T17:59:00.000-05:00

well, tomorrow is - but I'm counting down the days until the weekend already! Not much is new around here, just busy with everyday things.... I know my new header is a really old picture, but I couldn't find a decent family picture that would work so that will have to do for now! Tomorrow I have work and I have a lot of cleaning to do before then, so this is just going to be a short update. I'll be putting up the pictures of all (or most) of my designs on my other blog in the next couple of days...Sam's been talking about making a website for me that people can go to order shirts and purchase them from that site, but we'll see if it actually happens. I'll do a better update soon....off to eat some dinner now (zereshk polow).

New blog....

2008-12-26T15:45:00.000-05:00

No, I'm not quitting on this blog - I'll still have it! I finally have started a blog dedicated to my "Willow Lane Designs" creations... It will take a little while to get it going, but I am determined to devote more time and energy to make it work this year. I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas and are looking forward to another wonderful year - 2009! I'll try to do a Christmas recap soon....for now I need to go start on the laundry and clean up the kitchen before the little one wakes up from her nap!

She's finally here!

2008-12-19T15:19:00.000-05:00

My sweet friend Kailee and her husband David welcomed their second daughter, Kinley Reese, into their family early this morning, weighing 8 lbs. I couldn't wait to get to the hospital this morning to meet her - she's adorable! I know Avery's going to be a great big sister and Adriana keeps talking about Avery's "baby Kinley".... we're going to have fun with a new playmate! Hopefully I'll get some more pictures next time I go to visit, but here are 2 that I got this morning:

sweet little baby yawn!

We love you and look forward to watching you grow into a precious little girl!

9 days.

2008-12-16T21:41:00.000-05:00

I can't believe that Christmas is only 9 days away and the high today was 78 (and felt warmer)! We went to the park today with some friends and it really felt like it could have been summer - definitely not December! Does anyone else wish it were "cold" (40s and 50s)?

The next 2 weeks are going to keep me pretty busy... Next week I have to work a lot since the other receptionist will be out of town for Christmas. (Tuesday/Wednesday all day, Saturday 8:30-2, following Monday for a few hrs). I'll be exhausted by the time Christmas is here! I'm really looking forward to Christmas this year though....our first Christmas in our house! I'll have to post pictures of the house soon - we have a tree up, stockings hanging (which I made one weekend), wreath hanging to welcome visitors. I told Sam that was what I wanted for Christmas - to be able to decorate and make it feel like the holidays. I'm hoping to be able to make some gingerbread cookies with Adriana this weekend!

I hope everyone is looking forward to Christmas and remembering the real reason we celebrate. I think it's sad when people shorten "CHRISTmas" to "x-mas" or think that in order to be politically correct, they should say "Happy Holidays" (now, I know that's what my background says, but they didn't have one that said "Merry Christmas" and I just thought it looked cute). I'm not sure how much time I'll have to blog as Christmas approaches, but in case I'm not able to in the next 9 days - Merry Christmas to all of my readers.

2008-12-08T23:05:00.000-05:00

I love Christmas time! However, the past several weeks have been keeping me quite busy, so please forgive my lack of posting.... I'll try to do a better update soon - with more pictures, of course!

Willow Lane Designs.

2008-11-16T09:34:00.000-05:00

There they are! Sorry for the very poor picture quality.... they're pretty blurry! I didn't take the pictures when I had the best lighting and I didn't want to use the flash so that the color would be the most accurate. Some of them (the last few) you've probably already seen, but thought I would post all of the ones for sale... the owl and the elephant have already sold, but I'll be making more this week hopefully. I blackened my phone number on the tags, but if anyone would like shirts/onesies, you can always e-mail me (WillowLaneDesigns@gmail.com) or call me if you know the number. I'll post more birthday pictures in the next couple days....

Two Birthdays!

2008-11-14T09:17:00.000-05:00

That is what Adriana's been saying for the past week, as she holds up one finger on each hand. She thinks since she is turning 2, then it's her "two birthday". I can't believe she is already 2! This is such a fun age though and I can tell we're going to have a lot of fun this year!

Last night after I put Adriana to bed I ran up to Publix and Target to get some last minute things (and some balloons!) and came home to decorate the house while she was sleeping. Her big present was a bike (pink) and then I wrapped several small presents (playdough, trucks, book, coloring book, music toy, baby bottles, etc...) and hid them around the house so she could find them when she woke up. She woke up and immediately saw the balloons and got so excited...she loved running around finding all of the presents (I think the baby bottles are her favorite - she's sitting on the couch right now with them, surrounded by her baby dolls watching Little Bear). After she opened all the smaller presents Sam brought the bike out... I'm so glad I got this one rather than the ones in the store - she loves riding around the house on it.

Well, the birthday celebrating has just begun! Tonight Gigi and Papa are coming over for dinner and presents and then I think Sunday we'll celebrate with her Mimi and Pops and Aunt Sonia. There will be more pictures to come, but for now you can see the ones from this morning on my flickr. I'm glad I found my camera cord after cleaning the house last night...

You may remember........

Adriana's first birthday!

What we've been doing....

2008-11-13T14:23:00.000-05:00

Well, I was hoping to have some pictures to show what we've been doing, but unfortunately my camera cord is nowhere to be found! This may be due to the mess all over the counter top or could be because of the clothes and papers piled up in the bedroom...

I feel like I'm so behind on cleaning! I'm not concerned with having a perfect home, by any means, but after it starts to pile up it definitely drives me crazy! I started working a couple weeks ago, so that's kept me pretty busy... and I've been making shirts that are now for sale at Synergy Salon (where I work) if you're in Tallahassee (or I can ship... I take custom orders). I'm hoping to eventually get some up on etsy too, but for now my focus is on the salon since that opportunity was presented to me. I'll post pictures of my most recent ones once I find the camera cord! I've already sold 2, but thankfully I took pictures first (and I plan on making more of those styles since they were 2 of my favorites).

Tomorrow's going to be a fun day... but those details will have to wait until tomorrow! I'm off to clean and sew and hopefully find everything that is missing.

They're up!

2008-11-02T00:09:00.000-04:00

Here are the many, many pictures...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24221378@N02/sets/72157608102387759/

I'm off to bed now... I'll post some of my favorite pictures in the next couple days in case you don't feel like looking through all of them. Don't forget to turn your clocks back tonight - extra hour of sleep!!

Sneak Peek

2008-10-29T22:55:00.000-04:00

Pictures from the pumpkin patch and fall festival are coming soon! I'll try to get them put up tomorrow - I work till 6, so we'll see if I get a chance. I promise they'll be up soon though! Adriana loved it - so much that we went twice! We went as a family one Saturday and then a couple weekends later Adriana wanted to take Gigi... and Papa surprised us by showing up as well. I'm working on some more shirts... and some warm blankets! Hopefully I'll actually have everything up and ready to sell on etsy sometime the first week of November. Well, I'm exhausted... lots to do tomorrow! Check back soon for pictures!

What did I do?

2008-10-26T22:32:00.000-04:00

I don't know what I got myself into.

My head hurts. My neck hurts. My ears hurt.

I've been listening to 3 British people speak for the last 2 and a half hours... I'm supposed to be transcribing a 2 hour audio file by 1pm tomorrow. I'm only at the 8 minute marker. seriously. British accents + mumbling + background noise = CONFUSED. I wanted some money, but I thought it would be easier.... this is definitely not worth the money I bid! I just want to go to sleep.

I'll try to post pictures from the fall festival soon... it was a lot of fun. This is going to be a busy week! Hopefully I can just make it through tonight and tomorrow though...

Photoshoot

2008-10-16T20:56:00.000-04:00

I love this sweet girl. We had a good day. After finding another one of those nasty creatures (I'm tired of saying the "s" word) in the house this morning I was determined to make Adri take her nap in her toddler bed and get used to sleeping in it.... she now likes her "pretty" bed and is fast asleep.

We had fun playing in her bed after her nap, so I thought I would take a few (well...maybe more than a few) pictures - I had to bribe her with some "l-m-n's" (m&ms) and "acorn" (candy corn)... is that bad?

I actually put all the pictures on my flickr from our photoshoot, plus some "after" pictures of the hall bathroom.... it's not done yet, but it's the room in the house that's the closest to being done. The pictures don't really show the accurate paint color because I had bad lighting, but didn't want to use the flash... I'll try to take some better ones one day when the bathroom's a little brighter.

Well, I'm off to watch the FSU/NC State game with my husband...

Unwelcome guests...

2008-10-15T22:36:00.000-04:00

I want to move. I hate my house. I just looked down and saw this a couple inches from my leg.

I'm sorry if you don't want to see the picture. I didn't want to see it in my house either. But it's I think the 4th or 5th one so far.... I've lost count.

Does anyone know how to get rid of spiders?? Or should we just pack up and move? [partly joking, but if it were that easy I would be out of here in a heartbeat] Oh, and Adriana sleeps on the floor [with spiders]. I told Sam after he killed the spider a few minutes ago that if we don't buy a bed for her soon she's sleeping somewhere else - I really can't stand to think of those spiders crawling on her while she's sleeping...oh, did I mention 2 of the spiders were found in her room (and one bit her)? Ok, I'm going to have nightmares about spiders now... any ideas on how to keep them out of the house??

Needing Inspiration!

2008-10-14T14:28:00.000-04:00

I've had a really hard time coming up with ideas for Adriana's "big girl" room... I want something fun and eclectic...a mix of modern and vintage... a room that will inspire her and enourage creativity - right now it's a very empty, boring room. Her walls are a neutral color since I couldn't decide on a color theme at the time we were painting the house.... Besides that, all I have for the room so far are these:

Alphabet print from etsy....Adriana LOVES the alphabet - this will go above a bookshelf in her "reading corner".

Duvet cover...from PB but got on ebay (it's her birthday present from my parents - nothing exciting, but needed!)

I just got the pillowcase - didn't feel like spending that much on sheets (maybe if they go on sale...).

And I hope we'll get this owl pillow in the mail one day....when I ordered it, it said it would be available to ship after Oct. 31st....now it says January 31, 2009!!!!! Maybe since my order was already in, it will still be here after the end of October? I'm keeping my fingers crossed anyways - I guess it can be a Christmas present if it's not here in time for her birthday.

Does anyone have any ideas? I've tried looking online - stores, blogs, etc... I just can't find any cute inspiration rooms that I could actually afford a single item from. I know

I want to get some more throw pillows that will pull in all the different colors... I'll eventually get some more art for her walls from etsy... I need to get a bookshelf to keep her many books organized... She needs a rug for her room (any ideas on what color??)... oh yeah, and she needs a BED. She currently sleeps on the floor (an egg crate and duvet doubled to add some padding) and loves it, but I don't really love the look and it could be a little cold down there in the winter.

I was hoping to have her room ready by her birthday...but I'll be happy if it's looking more like a bedroom by Christmas! I'll post pictures if we make any progress on it. Any ideas are welcome - from friends or random readers (I know you're out there!).

Just hanging around....

2008-10-13T14:42:00.000-04:00

That's all we've been doing the past week or so... Adriana's been having fun playing with our neighbors across the street - A single mom with 9 year old twin girls... one of them comes over almost every day asking to play with Adri. Adriana loves their dog Macie and their many cats... I'm SO glad we have nice neighbors that Adriana will enjoy playing with while we're living in this house.

Just a few of the things Adriana loves to do:

*"go to work" (see previous post)

*dance in the living room (Elizabeth Mitchell's Catch the Moon & Three Little Birds are her favs. - thanks Darby!)
*play with her "babies"
* color
*watch Little Bear
*go to the park (slides are her favorite part)

She's full of life - it's so much fun to watch her grow and learn new things! She's been doing really well with the potty-training. I'm really impressed with her - I won't go into details, but she goes on the toilet at least a couple times a day... some days I only have to change a diaper once or twice (haven't changed one yet today)! She'll be 2 a month from tomorrow, so I'm hoping we'll be close to being done with diapers by then, but we'll see if she's ready.

Here are a few pictures from last week... We're hoping to go to the pumpkin patch this week/weekend, so I'll post pictures of that once we do. I finished my pumpkin bread pretty quickly, so I'm thinking I might try these this week for something new...I'll let you know how they turn out!

2008-10-08T12:03:00.000-04:00

*Sorry you have to turn your head sideways to watch the video.

This is her latest thing...she gets her shoes on, grabs her purse, asks me for the keys and heads for the door....she tells us that she's "going to work". :)

Dos.

2008-10-05T20:48:00.000-04:00

9:00AM - Adriana pees in the "potty" (toilet).

3:00PM - Adriana pees in the "potty" after waking up from her nap (with a DRY diaper).

Looks like I might be needing one of these sooner than I thought! Though I'm not keeping my fingers crossed... but both times it was her telling me she wanted to go - I didn't have to do anything to get her to go (except remind her she'd get an m&m - that's enough incentive for her!).

photo from babybjorn

She did it!

2008-09-30T20:56:00.000-04:00

Sunday was a big day for Adriana.

She peed in the toilet.

I was so proud of her! I thought that by now I would have been working on potty-training her, but I surprisingly haven't been too anxious to lately. I ask her throughout the day if she wants to go on the potty, but we'll either try with no results, or she's not interested... I remind her though if she does go, she gets a special treat (m&ms or gummies)! So Sunday night I had just taken her diaper off and was about to put her in the tub for her bath, but she was looking kind of funny, so I asked her if she had to go potty - she said yes - I helped her up and after a few seconds she actually peed! I made a huge deal about it and we went and told daddy, got a pack of gummies to eat during her bath and called Gigi (my mom) and told her the good news! I'm not going to start trying to potty-train just yet, but I'm hoping this is a step in the right direction! I'll need to order one of these soon I believe.

Well, Adriana woke up this morning with a cold....no fun! Poor thing hasn't felt like doing much of anything - we had a "fruit party" [I hope this isn't a sign of things to come - but she LOVES to party! She's always talking about having parties - cake parties, fruit parties...] after dinner...she had some oranges and peaches and asked to wear the party hat. Of course when I get the camera, she wants the hat off - don't let the "tears" fool you.. her cold is making her eyes watery!

This afternoon I finally made some pumpkin bread! It's one of my favorite things to eat.... I love pumpkin anything (I've had my "sweet cinnamon pumpkin" candle burning for a couple weeks now).

Mmmm.... can you smell it?? I can't wait to wake up tomorrow morning and eat some for breakfast! Here's the recipe in case you want to make some now:

2/3 C shortening

2 2/3 C sugar

4 eggs

1 can (16 oz.) pumpkin

2/3 C water

3 1/3 C all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2-1 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. ground cloves

Optional: 2/3 C coarsely chopped nuts & 2/3 C raisins (I don't add these though)

Heat oven to 350. Spray 2 loaf pans with a cooking spray. Mix shortening and sugar in large bowl. Add eggs, pumpkin and water. Blend in flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and cloves. [Stir in nuts & raisins if you have them]. Pour into pans. Bake for about an hour (do the toothpick test). Let cool slightly (about 5-10 mins), then loosen edges with a knive and remove from pans. Let them cool completely on a baking rack.

I prefer mine cold from the fridge... I wrap it in aluminum foil and keep it in the fridge [it also freezes well if you make a lot].

Enjoy!

P.S. Here's the pear shirt I'll be selling and a dinosaur shirt I made for Jake's 2nd birthday.

Is it Friday yet??

2008-09-25T16:05:00.000-04:00

Maybe it was the busy weekend of celebrating my birthday with both families that has me completely worn out, but I just have no energy this week.... The weather has made me very happy though - this morning I woke up and it was 58!!! It was so refreshing. I love the fall! For some reason though, I've had a headache and have been dragging all day so I haven't been able to fully enjoy it - thankfully Sam's on his way home from work early and will be arriving shortly with a Pumpkin Spice Latte (my staple coffee for the fall)! Surely that will help me get through the rest of the night.

Since I'm too tired to write about my birthday weekend and this week, I'll just post some pictures instead.

Saturday Dinner with my parents (at our house):

Sunday Dinner with In-laws:

Can you tell what Adriana was interested in? She thought it was her birthday or something....

Monday Lunch with Shannon and Karen (and kids):

Wednesday Park with Shannon (then hanging around the house):

Today we went to the library for the first time and Adriana loved it! We checked out 18 books and I think we'll be going back often....we've already read through all of the books at least once. I finally received some supplies in the mail, so I can get back to sewing... I have a boys shirt I'm working on for a gift for Monday - I'll try to update again soon...sorry for the picture overload!

Let there be light!

2008-09-19T21:51:00.000-04:00

I can't believe it's been this long since I've sat down and updated this. There have been several times where I have thought to myself "oh, I'm going to blog about this tonight" and it just didn't happen! Life is busy. but it's good.

A couple days ago the electricity in our master bedroom and attached bathroom went out on us. My dad came over and we tried everything it seemed - checking all the outlets (there was one outlet by the bed and the outlets in the bathroom worked...nothing else did though) to see if maybe one didn't have a good connection...checked the breaker box... Well, we were getting ready to call an electrician tomorrow morning (thank you David - and subsequently Kailee...sorry it happened to be the weekend your family was visiting!) - my mom dropped off a floor lamp tonight so I could plug it into the one bedroom outlet so we could manage for the night. I'm plugging it in and it gets halfway in when the two lamps on my dresser flicker on (they had been turned on when the lights all went out before)! So Sam turned the power off, got one of the new outlets [picture me holding open my cell phone crouched beside him on the floor in our pitch black bedroom], changed it out, turned the breaker on and....there was light! We were so happy it was solved without having to pay an electrician. Did I mention we just bought a new water heater 2 days ago as well because we had no more hot water [it was from 1988].

So that's been our crazy house the last few days.... Before the power in the bedroom went out, I was busy making more shirts. I wasn't able to get any done after we lost power, but I have several things planned for the next week or so - there will be pictures! I'll hopefully be opening my etsy shop shortly... just trying to think through some things and figure everything out. I've been tempted to rent a room to sell things at a salon that my friend works at...it's completely separate from the salon (has it's own door off of the front porch of the salon) and I wouldn't have to sign a lease - it would be $275 on a month to month basis. I just need to take it slow though and think through everything first...

I will be working at said salon (Synergy, if you're local) starting October 28th. It won't be much (Wed. 12-6) and one Saturday a month, as well as whenever the other receptionist is sick or on vacation... unfortunately two of the days in December are the 23rd (all day) and 24th (just until 2 I think). Oh well... the benefits will be nice (free hair!!) and I'll get to see one of my good friends, Lauriel (she does my hair - my wedding hair too) every time I work.

Well, sorry this has been so long and (probably) boring. Just thought I would update with all the new things going on... I'll post pictures soon of my latest projects. It's also my birthday Sunday, so I'll post birthday pictures next week - we're celebrating all weekend long! Tomorrow with my family and Sunday with Sam's family...should be a lot of fun! Can't post without a few pictures...this is how I started off my birthday weekend - park this afternoon with my big girl (and Gigi). I'm loving this cooler weather!

this bird will soon have a red eye, once i find the right button..then the shirt will be complete!

What we've been doing....

2008-08-30T16:22:00.000-04:00

Since Sam's in Destin for the weekend to visit a friend, Adriana and I joined my parents at TCBY last night for some ice cream. If you can't tell, Adriana loves it (and having her picture taken).

Also, I've been busy trying to applique some shirts for Adri. My inspiration came from here - my creations won't look near as cute as that camper. So far, this is what my weekend's looked like...

*Sorry for the poor picture quality - I was sewing late into the night....

my fabric finds this week.... I got enough of the fruit fabric and green polka dot to make a dress/skirt or shirt for the babe, as well as plenty of appliques.

These shirts are all I've done so far... I have many more ideas for this weekend, but I want to finish these up tonight first. I had to stop stitching the giraffe on because I made a mistake and will need to take some of the stitching out... so they're not done and far from perfect, but here they are!

The owl's not switched on yet - only ironed - he looks crooked in the picture, but he's not. I'll get better pictures when they're complete!

*I'm no artist and these were all drawn by hand, so they're not perfect lines or proportions, but I did my best.

Well, there will be more pictures coming soon! Hope everyone else is enjoying their Labor Day weekend!

Fay, Fay, go away....

2008-08-23T13:21:00.000-04:00

I don't know if it's the sound of the rain hitting the roof or the dark, grey skies [making you think it's later than it really is] that make me feel tired and lazy... but I have felt like doing nothing but sit at my computer or in front of the tv the past 2 days. This is not good! Hopefully the rain stops soon so I can be more productive the rest of my weekend - wishful thinking I'm afraid. Forecasters are calling for rain all week...

So our front & back yard looks like a river (Adriana says so anyways)... not this kind of river though.

I'm very thankful to be here, not there.

On this rainy weekend though, I'm loving these items (in no particular order):

Owl Planter - I must be a Chi-O at heart because I have a love for all things owl. I'm not sure why.

I'm hoping to get this fun rug for our bedroom next month - I'm sure it's not the highest quality, but for $68 (and $6 shipping!!) I don't care if it doesn't last long...besides, I don't know how long I'll be loving a zebra printed rug (and then won't feel as bad getting a new one since I didn't pay $300+ for it). All I need for our room then will be 2 nightstands, a mirror, headboard and some art on the walls and then I'll post some pictures!

How cute is that? The price however, not so cute. I plan on making one for Adriana - all you need is canvas, dowel rods, ribbon and a marker, right?? I figure it can't be too hard and won't cost more than maybe $20? (not sure how much the canvas will be, but it can't be too much) It won't be any time soon, but I'll post pictures if I end up making the growth chart.

Now for some art from etsy:

I just made my first ever purchase with this item. Adri loves saying all of the letters and I think it matches really well with the sheets I plan on getting for her. My mom's going to make the quilt that goes with the sheets (a lot cheaper and will be so easy for her) and I'll get the owl pillow and the 2 owls. To go with the trees on the sheets, I thought this would be cute hanging on a wall (with her own name, of course):

I'm also loving this "yellow warbler".

And how cute is she? Though I don't think she would match Adriana's room, I still love her.

I could go on and on with all of the wonderful items on etsy... I could literally spend hours on there (and probably have). I'll let you know how my first purchase goes. More to come soon....I hope everyone's staying dry!