False Alarm or Real Deal?

I wish I knew...I have been up most of the night with cramping and contractions. At 3 am I decided to take a shower and have some cereal. By 4 am I decided to text my mom to let her know that we may be taking a trip to L&D soon. Marissa came so fast that I don't want to wait too long, plus I'm GBS + so I need antibiotics during labor.  My contractions are coming every 4 to 7 minutes, lasting 45 seconds to a minute. I think this might be it...I wish I had some sleep tonight and I wish this headache would go away. Dylan, we are excited to meet you but you better not be playing tricks on your mommy!

Time Will Tell

I hope everyone had a great Christmas with their loved ones.  I know we did!  It was low key and relaxing.  We opted to have homemade lasagna, garlic toast and salad instead of the traditional Christmas dinner.  It made for a quick and easy clean up and left more room for dessert (cookies, peanut butter pie and pumpkin pie cake, mmmm!).  Time will tell how much weight I have gained after all the Christmas festivities. ;-)

Yesterday I had my 39 week appointment.  Dylan is comfortable.  I'm still at 2 cm and nothing really seems to be happening.  It could be any day now or I may end up being induced again...time will tell!

Danny's brother, his wife and their 1 year old are coming to visit this weekend.  I'm excited to see them.  A part of me hopes that Dylan holds out a bit longer so we can get some quality time with them but the other part of me hopes that he makes an appearance since we may not see them again for some time and it would be nice for Dylan to meet his Uncle, Aunt and cousin.  Again...time will tell.

Marissa was completely spoiled on Christmas.  She got many great gifts.  Her favorite gift so far came from her "Uncle Fuzz".  It's an elephant ball pop and she loves it.  She was giggling and blowing her hair with it all day.  It was quite comical!

Danny got me a charm bracelet for Christmas, it came with a flip flop and a breast cancer awareness ribbon.  Once Dylan decides which month he would like to be born in, we are going to go pick out birthstone charms for each of the kids.  It's a gift that I will cherish for years to come!

Opening presents:

Hair blowing in the wind:

Can you tells he is having a ball?

Trying to catch the air with her mouth?!

Reading with Grandpup:

Hangin' with Grammy (I can't believe she is wearing that Dallas hat in my house):

Hangin' with Uncle Fuzz:

Our little cutie:

I really need to start taking more pictures.  That's on my to-do list!



DIY Salt Dough Ornaments

I wanted to make a special keepsake for Christmas this year.  I decided to make salt dough ornaments with Marissa.  Though she is still a bit young to paint them herself, she was definitely "hands on."  She's gifting these to her grand parents as well.  :)

Rudolph the Reindeer 

 Santa Hands

Here are simple directions to make your own salt dough ornaments.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup salt
• 1 1/2 cups warm water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
2. Mix flour and salt well. Gradually add water, stirring with a large spoon. Finish mixing with hands. Knead until soft and pliable.
3. Roll out on floured surface about 1/8 inch thick. Cut shapes with cookie cutters. Place on cookie sheets. With a straw make a hole in the top of the ornament for threading string. Bake at 300 degrees F until hard, about 2 hours. Decorate with paint and varnish to preserve.

It Kills Me to Have...

...Dallas Cowboys fabric in my house.  I've been busy DIYing several projects for my mom and dad for Christmas.  I hope they don't mind that I'm practicing my sewing skills out on them.  I've made my dad a rice heating pad with a Cowboys cover and I've made my mom a Cowboys Christmas stocking and a pillow to go along with her no sew fleece blanket.  Fortunately (or unfortunately) for them, they get homemade gifts when I have no idea what to buy them!  Here's a few pictures of my latest projects!

Christmas Stocking:

Rice Sock Pad (blurry cell phone picture, sorry):

I hope my sewing continues to get better.  I know I still have a lot to learn but I'm having fun in the meantime. It has really helped to pass the time while we wait for Dylan to arrive.  It's therapeutic for me to craft and I don't do it nearly enough.  

~*Happy Holidays & Happy Crafting*~

P.S. - HAIL TO THE REDSKINS!!! :-D

~*Merry Christmas*~

Merry Christmas from our home to yours!

Friday Phone Dump/Free For All Friday Pics!

Marissa enjoying her very first dum-dum lollipop, not a habit we will let her do all the time but this was a special treat from her boyfriend, Cohen, at daycare:

Waking up daddy...apparently we let her go pants less often.

Our new addition to our already too small dining room:  O_o


Dylan's wooden elephant I painted for him:

Changing table/Dresser in the nursery:

Marissa visiting Santa at my work...still not a fan!

But she likes the presents that he brings...

38 Weeks & ENT

Yesterday I had my 38 week appointment.  I am now 2 cm dilated, 60% effaced and Dylan's heart rate was 151 BPM.  Everything is looking great and the Doctor said Dylan is in position and starting to drop.  Tuesday night I was having quite a bit of cramping so I'm sure that contributed to my dilation.

Overall I'm feeling pretty good.  I can definitely tell that this is a second pregnancy.  My muscles seem to be much weaker and I have a lot more pressure, aches and pains.  My bump also feels like it is a bit bigger than with Marissa, so I'm sure that contributes to why I have now taken on the penguin waddle.

A few things I don't want to forget about my pregnancy with Dylan:

• I definitely have a sweet tooth, preferably chocolate.
• I love feeling his hiccups, a lot of his movements remind me of Marissa but I think he might be a little bit longer than Marissa was (she was 19" long).  He gets under my ribs sometimes which I really didn't have with Marissa.
• I'm still wearing my rings; with the exception of my wedding band.  I can't believe I'm still wearing them!  I really missed them with Marissa.  If I don't lay off the chinese food I am not sure my fingers will hold off on swelling much longer.
• My weight gain is almost pound for pound, week for week with my weight gain with Marissa.  I was hoping to not gain as much...no such luck (again, laying off the double stuffed oreos would probably help).
• I've been popping Tums like candy and chocolate seems to make my indigestion worse. 
• It's bitter sweet knowing that this might be my last pregnancy, ever...I know nothing is set in stone and we'll see how our family feels after Dylan arrives, but I'm trying to enjoy these last few days of pregnancy (I know, call me crazy...who enjoys being 38+ weeks pregnant!?).  Each kick, punch, roll, hiccup, frequent bathroom break, waking in the night, not being able to bend over easily and sometimes painful to walk pressure is all worth it!  

38 Weeks 3 Days:

And not in PJs:

Yesterday I also had a follow up appointment for Marissa's last ear infection.  Unfortunately, she still has some fluid in her left ear.  That makes 5 ear infections in the last 7 months.  The pediatrician gave us a referral to several Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) specialists in the area for a tubes consult.  I am hoping to call next week to get an appointment set up though I know it may be hard to get her in with the holidays and Dylan's arrival.  Per the pedi and some reading I've been doing, some ENTs are taking a more conservative approach to tubes and letting children grow out of the ear infections rather than inserting tubes right away.  We'll see what the Doc thinks is the best plan of action for Marissa.  I have also been reading up on some natural remedies for ear infections, more homeopathic courses rather than antibiotics.  At this point, I'm willing to give them a try, as I really hate pumping her with antibiotics so often.  It's times like these I wish my Aunt Norma was still here, she was always so good at researching homeopathic remedies.

To end my day of doctor's appointments (I swear it feels like I live in doctor's offices these days) I treated myself to a Ginger Bread latte from Starbucks and a pedicure with a friend.  It was much needed, much enjoyed and much deserved if I do say so myself. :)

DIY Applique for Marissa's Quilt

I wanted to add a special touch to Marissa's receiving blanket quilt that I'm making and I figured what better way than to add a monogram?

With the help of this tutorial on Grits & Giggles I was able to put a monogrammed "M" on Marissa's receiving blanket quilt.

I still have a lot to learn with my sewing machine and while it is far from perfect, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

First I cut out an "M" on my Cricut machine and traced it onto heat and bond paper.  Then I ironed the heat and bond onto my fabric of choice.  I chose green to coordinate with Marissa's quilt:

Once the heat and bond paper was cool, I cut out the letter "M" and removed the paper backing:

Next I ironed the applique "M" onto the center of my center quilt square.  This bonds the applique to your fabric:

Finally, with my sewing machine I did a zig-zag stitch along the edges of the "M".  This is where my imperfections can be seen.  It definitely takes practice and I probably shouldn't have made this my first project.  Overall, I'm happy with how it turned out and I'm excited to use this technique again.  Practice makes perfect, right?  

Next I will be adding the matting and backing and finishing the blanket off with a satin ribbon edge (Danny calls these "ribbon" blankets and he loves how they feel, I'll have to keep Marissa's blanket hidden from him). I know that my time is about to be cut very short with a newborn, but I'm enjoying my crafting in the meantime.  :)

   

Pinterest

Well, I finally broke down and joined Pinterest.  I had been holding off because I knew it would be an addiction/time waster.  The crafter/decorator/chef (and now sewer) in me got the best of me and now I'm hooked!  I had been thinking ahead towards Marissa's 2nd birthday party theme and I think I've decided on a pink and white Minnie Mouse theme.  Marissa loves Mickey Mouse Club House and the ideas are endless for a Minnie Mouse birthday party.  I've already started "pinning" ideas to keep in mind.  If you remember, I started planning Marissa's 1 year Pink Lady Bug Birthday Bash last January...so I'm not really that far ahead of myself. :-D

Time to find a Disney Cricut cartridge and start stock piling decorations and ideas.

38 Weeks and A Pregnant Woman's Idea of Cookies

I'm 38 weeks along today!  Overall I'm feeling pretty good.  We had a busy weekend visiting with Danny's family and "Auntie C" came to visit for the first time in a year.  So I'm a little exhausted and wishing I had another day to recoup from the weekend, but alas Monday is here.  I know I'll be cooped up in the house once Dylan comes (I don't want to be out and about too much with it being cold and flu season + winter weather + toting 2U2 is going to take some time), but I really just want to be a home-body lately. 

Dylan seems to be behaving himself and staying put like momma requested.  He feels like he has dropped some and he feels like he's getting pretty heavy.  I have an appointment Wednesday to see if anything is going on.  In the meantime, we're enjoying these last few days or weeks as a family of three.  I'm trying to soak up this time with Marissa (temper tantrums and all).  She is looking like such a big girl; I know she'll be a great big sister! 

Last night I made cookies...but they weren't just your everyday run of the mill cookies.  Feast your eyes on these:

Peanut butter chocolate chunk cookies stuffed with a peanut butter oreo = warm, gooey amazingness!

They put me in a coma and I fell asleep on the couch before 9:00 pm. 

Who Needs Santa...

...when you have an angel like this?



37 Week Appointment & Santa

Today was a family day to run errands and go visit Santa at the mall.  Needless to say, Marissa wasn't thrilled with the old man.

Trying to escape...

So, Santa went about as well as we had expected.  These pictures are priceless so of course we had to buy them.  Maybe next year she'll entertain the idea of the old man!

I had my 37 week check up today.  I am 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced.  Dylan's heart rate was 142 BPM.  The doctor offered to strip my membranes but I declined.  I'm not quite ready to jump start labor.  I've been having some mild braxton hicks contractions and cramping the past few days, but nothing too serious.  The doctor estimated that Dylan weighs 6 pounds right now and that he may weigh 8 when he is born.  Dylan might hold out until after Christmas but I guess time will tell!  My next appointment is on Wednesday, so we'll see if I've made any additional progress.  

I really need to pack my hospital bag, but I've been having too much fun with my sewing machine.  I picked up some supplies to finish Marissa's quilt today and I made a Christmas gift for someone special. :-D

DIY Receiving Blanket Quilt

I started Marissa's receiving blanket quilt tonight.  I need to get matting and backing to finish it off.  I hope this is a nice keepsake that she has for years to come.  I may add some embellishments but I haven't decided yet. I've enjoyed doing some crafts, I figure I better take advantage of my time while I still have it.

Sew Much Fun!

I am finally learning how to sew!  My MIL showed me a few things on Sunday and I have been practicing straight lines by making cloth wipes out of some of Marissa's old receiving blankets.  I'm feeling pretty proud of myself and hope that I can get more crafty with my sewing machine that I've had for over 6 years. :)

Here's my first sewing project!

A friend suggested making a quilt out of Marissa's old receiving blankets as a keepsake so I might try my hand at that.  I made a quilt with the help of a family friend when I was 12, so we'll see if I can remember what to do. 

Full Term, Baby!

I'm 37 weeks today which most people consider "full term."  I still want Dylan to cook a bit longer  for his lungs to mature and make sure he is 100% ready for the world.  :-D

21 +/- days to go!