Weekend Fun

 This weekend we took a trip to a family farm.  It had some animals, a corn box (like a sandbox but filled with corn), pumpkin patch, and corn maze.  We had a great afternoon enjoying the fall activities.

O measuring herself

A barn with a slide

Top of the haystack--then of course strike a pose

Daddy swinging O around on the 

How a child sits, while waiting on the hayride.

Punching our cards in the corn maze.  We found all 5 spots.

The last of the points we had to find :)

O photobombed us.

This Week (In Photos)

O made a doll house out of cardboard and a hot glue gun.

See that huge pile of clothes on the table behind O?  I have been sorting, photographing and selling them online this week.  Wow, 5 years of saving clothes is a lot of stuff to sort.  

Marshmallow math.  We practiced skip counting.  We added and subtracted.  We ate too many marshmallows.  We had hot cocoa.  It was lovely.  One of the precious moments this week school work was not complained about by either party.  Speaking of schooling, have you read this article?  Lately, more and more of our school time is play time with a few bits of 'school' lessons thrown in there.  Heart training and character training seem to fill my days lately.  And I think that's ok, because it will be a lot harder to instill values in my strong-willed little girl if I wait until she is older.  OK, and I am stepping off the soap box :)

We also made pictures with the marshmallows, and tried to guess what it was before the creator was finished making it.  I made things like hearts.  O made things like a coastline.  What?  Yes, that picture is of a coastline.  Needless to say, I didn't guess it correctly.

I spent way too much time looking for these keys this week.  I try to set our home up so we have a nice little area to place keys, coats, wallets, bags, etc. close to the door.  My husband enjoys walking through the house and placing things in random locations.  It makes me crazy.

I took O to the playground this week.  There were a few seemingly well-behaved children there about the same age, so O had some playmates.  Score!  That gave me some time to work on this hat.  I was going for a Hello Kitty hat.  Next week, you may see a post entitled, 'Failed attempt at Hello Kitty Hat'  Those eyes are just not looking right.

When I could keep food down this week, I wanted lots of kiwis, pumpkin flavored things and potato chips.  3 kiwis were devoured standing over my kitchen sink, (ahem) 3 pumpkin flavored doughnuts, and a bag of chips.  Whoa.  Far cry from Whole 30 I'd say, but this food actually stayed in my stomach so I will call it a win.

I had about 30 minutes yesterday, that I really should of/could of done school things with O.  Instead I read my Bible.  I think I chose wisely.

I royally burnt some cheese toasties, and O asked me to keep the black part on, because she likes it when I make them that way.  Haha, my daughter thinks that's what a cheese toastie should taste like, because it happens so frequently.

I made and photographed a few burlap baskets this week.  Now, to drive them to the shop. 

Have a good weekend :)

Did I really just have to say that?

To go along with yesterday's post, here are a few things I never thought I would say as mama.

'Please take your toes off your plate.'

'Worms do not belong in the house.  Take it back outside.  Did you throw the worm on the pavement?  You are going to hurt it.'

'Ugh, is that a booger on the wall?  Why did you pick your nose and wipe it on the wall?!'

Me:  'Please do not spit the water back into the bottle when you are drinking.'
O:  'But I decided I didn't want anymore, so I wanted to save it for later.  Isn't that clever of me?
Me:  'No I do not think it was clever for you to save it for later!'

'Are you wearing underwear?  You must wear underwear!'

'O I am not stealing your food I am holding it for you while I put you in the car seat.  Chill out ok?'

Me: 'Do you have your shoes on?'
O:  'No, but that's ok.'
Me:  'I don't want you to step in dog poop, please be careful.'
O:  'I'll be careful.  If I step in it, I will just say, 'uhhh Pappaw, I stepped in dog poop.  He'll take care of it.'

O:  'Daddy you be Jesus, I'll be Mary.'
F:  'What about mommy?'
O:  'Um, she can be Snow White.'
Me:  'How does Snow white fit in with the story of Jesus?'
O:  'I don't know, but you always tell me you don't want to be the mean step mom so I made you the princess.  Wasn't that nice of me?'
Me: 'Uh, I guess?'

Broken Record

I repeat myself at least a dozen times a day.  My husband can attest to this.  I need to come up with some new catch phrases.
On any given day, here are a few things that come flying out of my mouth before I realize what is happening...

'I can't find (fill in the blank).'

'Why would I buy that?  I can totally make that.'

'Well, I tried.'

'Well, I burnt the food.'

'I am just distracted right now, that doesn't normally happen.'

'Is that what you are going for?'

'I feel like I just cleaned up in here, why is there stuff every where?!'

'PLEASE stop rough housing in here!'  (said with a please, but with a tone and glare that are not so polite).

'Do NOT put anything on that table, Please.' (our dining room table is still yet to be varnished.  I am very protective of it.  So much so, that O asked me, 'why are you so worried about that table mom?  It is just a table.'

'Hmm...I didn't really think this through.'

'The idea in my head worked a lot better.'

'I can not remember what I came in here for....Ohh what is this?  I will work on that.'  Proceed to pull out project #7 for the day.

'Well, the house was clean earlier today, but then we started working on ____'

'Today is not going as planned.'

Blue or Pink, What do YOU Think?

Hello Friends.  Welcome to the (virtual) party.

This is the card I made hacked to send to family, but then I didn't get stamps and get them in the mail in time....sooo maybe you can enjoy it instead.

Welcome to our house.  We tried to decorate for fall, but the ideas in my head don't always translate well.  I made this wreath a few years ago.

So, do you have any guesses?  Now's your chance (final tally was 8 for boy and 2 for girl).  I find it amusing when people say they can tell because (fill in the blank).  Anyway, come on in, and check out the living room.  

I am making slow progress on decorating.  I sit down to make a pillow case, look at all my material, fuss with it a bit, and put it all away.  Zero inspiration.  2 pillows made and we've been here since August.

The newest (pillow) edition.  Dare Mighty Things is a quote by Theodore Roosevelt.

O colored the pumpkins when she was 2 1/2.  The candy was meant to be decor, instead every time I walk down the hallway I sneak a few.  Bad Idea.

We have fall colored leaves all over the house.  No pretty red leaves outside yet, but inside it is bright and cheerful.  The wood sign was made by O when she was 3 1/2.  I need to pick up another craft for her to color this year.  (And yes, that is Handy Manny on the TV.  The official party starts in an hour.  The house is clean.  I want it to stay that way.)

Our map is a new edition.  We added post its to show where some of our friends are.

I know, I know.  You aren't here for a house tour.  You want to know what we are having.  

To the kitchen.

A few quick pictures of all the hard work I have been up to.

 And then there is our bird.  Mango.  Have you met him before?  Loud, little bird.

We are not friends.  Yes, the photos are a bit blurry...because the bird is charging at me.  See that toy in the background?  I bought it for him.  I feed him and give him water.  I even taught him the hokey pokey a few years ago, and how to play peek-a-boo.  Still, he hates me, and loves F.  He bites me, and nuzzles up with F.  How does that make sense?!

Want to play a game?

Any guesses for when baby will get here?

My due date is Feb 15, 2014.

What about baby's size?

O was 7 lbs 10 oz and 21 inches long.

If you post your guess in the comments, and you are the closest, I have a special homemade gift for the lucky winner :)  

Also, while I have your attention....name suggestions?  I love hearing what names people like.  It is fascinating.

And Now for the long awaited moment.

Grab a cupcake. 

Take a bite.

Pink is girl.

Blue is boy.

Baby Boy!

We are thrilled.

This little guy seems to be more laid back than his sister (not hard to do).  At the ultrasound, he sat perfectly still with one arm above his head, and hardly any wiggles.  That is a far cry from our little O, who was practically dodging the technician and doing somersaults the whole time.  

Did you guess correctly?  

This Week (In Pictures)

I watched O about break her neck dozens of times as she tried to master a handstand and cartwheels.  Do you think she would take advice from a mama who was in cheerleading, dance, and gymnastics?  Nope.  She's got this.  Fine.  Kiddo you are going to crash into our TV, and will get to explain that to daddy.

School--Yippee.  I am burnt out (yes it is only day 32--we skipped school on Tuesday).  We did Domino math and used Scrabble letter tiles to make words.  

O was on another sewing kick this week.  She is bursting at the seams with ideas for things she wants to make/sew/create.  I, on the other hand, have zero interests in creating anything right now.  I want to sleep, and stare off into space when I am awake.  Not so good, when I have shops to refill and blog posts to write.    

Why did we skip school on Tuesday?  Well, F and I celebrated our anniversary by going to an ultrasound and a doctor visit, and my mom watched O for us so we had extra time to eat out--twice!  We ate at a local diner (The Snug) for lunch and The Back 40 for dinner.  Both were yummy and I ate a whole lot of food.

The Back 40 has all kinds of quirky decorations and every piece has a story.

This guy stared at me all dinner long, but I didn't mind because I was enjoying orange bread, pumpkin ice cream, pickles, and ham and potatoes (sound like pregnancy cravings?  I am a walking stereotype).

Tune in next week for the big reveal....He or She what will baby be?  :)

Whole30 Update

We completed 7 days, with yummy meals.  I tried to remember to take photos, but I am not terribly good at that.  I forgot most days.

We had plates full of veggies, fistfuls of protein, healthy fats, and a bit of fruit every day.
Day 1:  No headaches from lack of sugar.  No sluggishness.   We felt fine, minus the fact that I was sick all day with 'morning sickness'.
Day 2:  F said he felt 'the crash' at 2pm.  I didn't feel sleepy, but I couldn't actually eat any food that day.  It took me about 4 hours to eat breakfast, and actually keep it down.  Yea, I am 19 weeks at this point and should be way past morning sickness.
Day 3:  Same as day 2.  F is tired but no headaches or any other symptoms, and I can't keep food down.
Day 4:  I kept some food down, but had a serious stomach ache.  I really just wanted to eat carbs.
Day 5:  The hubs and I talked.  I lost 2 pounds in the first 4 days of the diet.  Not good.  If I didn't keep food down on day 5 and 6, we were calling it.
Day 6:  I quit :)

I really wanted to do this, but we can't always get what we want....
It was/is more important that I am gaining weight, and keeping food down rather than eating 100% clean/strict paleo.  My stomach can't handle it right now.  Maybe after baby comes we will try again.