So the little boy I baby-sit for is such a doll and growing up sooooo fast!!! For Christmas, I thought it would be nice to give his parents photos of him at 10 1/2 months. So we put on a studly little man outfit and took a few shots. I created a collage of the photos to show because its so hard to just choose one :O)
After it was all said and done, we wrapped it up and gave it to his parents from him for Christmas.... because of course, he sat there and gave his cutest smiles for me ;o)
Baby projects had kept me busy for a while as I stressed about the details of the baby's room. I didn't want to buy new items so I decided to 'refurnish' items that we had or ones found at the dollar store.
#1 Taking a cd/dvd shelve and change into book/cd shelf for the baby's room..
Before being painted with the sliding doors off.
Sliding Doors being primed.
TA-DA!!!!! Finished Shelving.
It's supposed to look snowboardish for a boy.... I decided not to go babyish in the room b/c they grow so fast so our 'little man' will not be seeing baby blues and pastely colors.
The homeschooling group that I've been leading this fall got together and made Pumpkin candleholders. By rubbing some spices on the bottom of the 'lid' it was supposed to smell like baking pumpkin pie when lighting a candle in it. I hope that they got to experience it with their take-home pumpkins. I thought mine would last a few days while I was gone but Matthew came home to only half a pumpkin and a bunch of goo on material. He quickly discarded. Maybe it's the weather difference from back home but we know for next year!!!
Popeye and I occasionally do something fun... get out of the house sort of abnormal fun. Despite a very busy schedule, we decided to go to the Ag Expo. This thing is huge. Like internationally huge! Neither of us had been so we headed off somewhat early in the morning to check it out. We were supposed to meet some friends there but soon decided that we'd never find them..... There was a lot to see... Popeye in particular interested in the cattle breeding section, me in the home and family building (where though tempted didn't buy anything .... even though I wanted to ;o)
We agreed to disagree when looking at the field equipment though..... our backgrounds have us drooling over two very different brands. Don't worry, despite the title of the blog, we won't let it come between us.
Popeye was a Caterpiller fan, of course. He whooed and awed over the engine in this thing. I admit it was a pretty impressive monster to look up at.
Me on the otherhand, was raised to be a John Deere girl through and through. Here I am sporting the newest John Deere style and wishing I could get one for my daddy.
While I was up north my aunt amazingly put together a baby shower for me (and Popeye, though he couldn't be there). She had very short notice as I didn't want to promise anyone I was coming up until I was sure because I don't like disappointing people... namely grandparents and parents :O)
The baby shower was adorable!!
She had a corsage, yummy yummy cheesecake from the cheesecake factory!!, adorable pacifiers that she and my cousin had made from lifesavers and jellybeans, and of course yummy food!! We didn't think many people would be able to make it because of the short notice but how wrong we were!!!!! Even grandparents, friends, and awesome sister-in-laws who had to drive 2+ hours came!!!!!! My favorite part had to be seeing everybody (even if I didn't get to talk too long to one person). It's so hard when I go home to spend time with those dear to me... of course those who live away from their family and friends can back me on this!!
More pictures to enjoy:
Mom and me opening presents
Me and Zoie
Me and Cara (my first time getting to meet this darling little girl!!!!)
The main reason for heading up north was for my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary. This is a big deal anymore because so many don't seem to even make it to their 25th (or 10th in many cases) let alone 50 years of loving and putting up with each other :O) We spent a few whirlwind days getting ready for the big event which lasted about 4 hours..... ah , I love doing this sort of thing. Actually, I was very blessed to even be able to help because the daughters were the ones putting it on.... I just got to help :O) My sis was instrumental in getting the scrapbook done on time... we flew! Doing 30 + pages in about a day.... along with a few centerpieces.
It was all worth it though as grandpa and grandma thoroughly enjoyed the day. My mom and aunts did a GREAT job planning it all and getting things ready!!!! My Aunt Melody has a special touch when it comes to decorating and she did a great job making what was just a community building feel warm and inviting!!!! Her husband did a great job packing it all back into the van!!! :O)
So Melissa and I headed north, leaving at 11 PM because her cousin's husband Dennis was coming up with us and he is a night driver. This was great news though because it really makes the trip go faster... especially those big cities.
Our big excitement though was not long after we started. Dennis had to swerve quick to not completely run over a huge tire that had busted in the middle of the road. As it was, we still hit part of it. We didn't think too much of it though and kept on going. It wasn't about a half hour later the oil light came on and the car was smoking. We pulled over and sure enough... we had a bad oil leak. Unsure what was wrong without a good flashlight, we limped to a close gas station where thankfully! there was a police officer... Praise the Lord! He let us borrow his flashlight and Dennis was able to determine that there was a hole in the oil filter. That was excellent news! Easily fixed. The cop was ever so nice to drive Dennis to the nearest Walmart (about 1o minutes away) while Melissa and I sat in the car and waited. It wasn't long and we were back on our way.
We were however thankful for our wise husbands and a faithful God who knew that we would need Dennis along.... and a cop not far away :O) Who knows if we would have been able to figure it out on our own as we joke... neither one of us even knows how to change a tire :O)
~Olive
P.S. The rest of the trip went fast and we made it safely there!
This is the darling boy that I now baby sit for a couple times a week. I've only watched him twice so far but I was sooooo sad to see him go. His mom had me take his 7 1/2 month pictures (which is why I have photos of him) but he is such a doll. He smiles almost all the time and that's doing pretty good when you have teefers growing!!! He's such a snuggler too. He loves to bury his face down into your shoulder/neck, especially right after he wakes up. I told Popeye if our little boy is just half as cute.... we're in great shape!
So we found out that out spunky little one is a boy! There is definitely no doubt about it from the sonogram photos.
The baby is bigger than expected and the new approximate due date is Feb. 14.
The sonogram was super cute. The baby yawned and waved its arm. Despite the orange juice I drank and the piece of candy I ate, his arm was behind his head and the lady said that it looked like he was getting ready to take a nap. Hopefully that's a sign that our baby will be able to sleep through about anything.... :O)
I was on a mission last week to make bread. I was going to do it from scratch. From helping my in-laws it surely didn't seem that difficult-- in fact, I was very impressed out easy it was. So I thought, we'll save money and just make our own. hmmm..... my in-laws must have that special touch.
After trying to make a honey wheat bread twice and it not rising an inch, I was about ready to give up. I had decided after the first attempt that maybe it would still bake okay-- not wonderful, but edible. So I tried. Popeye and I joked, but in all seriousness it was like Veronica from the Archie Comic Books had cooked. It literally was a rock after they cooled. We should have taken the opportunity to play some baseball outside. My second attempt I did not bother baking them.
My third attempt was cinnamon rolls. A completely different recipe and new hope. They didn't look anything like cinnamon rolls. These things are globs of cinnamon, sugar, and dough in a pan. It kept sticking (and I did use a ton of flour!!!) to my counter top. They did end up tasty but looking horribly.
In all my days of baby expecting, I never thought once that I'd get weepy over bread. It wasn't working. It wasn't working at all. Three attempts in two days.... wayyyyy too many dishes I had to wash, wayyyyyy to much flour and yeast used. I called Matthew. WE NEED A BREAD MACHINE. He wasn't so sure.
Still determined and less weepy I went to the local consignment shop the next day where I had seen a bread machine. I didn't want to spend a lot if it wasn't going to work. We had a little bit of a store credit there anyway.
God was good. The bread machine I had seen was originally $20 only the week before but apparently it wasn't selling. They marked it down to $8. I don't know a thing about bread machines but this one came with instructions and recipes so I bought it. :O)
I love my bread machine! I only use it to make the dough and then I do the rest, but its been great!!! We've had Honey Wheat Bread, Cinnamon Rolls, and as I type French Bread is being kneaded for supper. :O) yummy.
Funny story : last night I was laying on the couch and decided to poke at 'the stomach' and see if anything would happen. (Baby movement is still somewhat random but becoming more and more active as the weeks go on. I poked, poked for a little bit and waited... nothing happened. About a minute later, having given up on my experiment, I feel a hard kick/jab right back to me. I sincerely doubt that the baby knew that that particular kick was going to be located somewhere around my bladder and make me have to use the little girl's room but I still had to laugh.... Our baby is a spunky one.
Tomorrow is the big day when we find out boy or girl!!! We're so excited. Since we're so far away I figured I should have my picture taken.... no bare stomach though for those who were willing to 'show me theirs in exchange ;o)' (you know who I'm talking to!). (picture is at 19 weeks.)
Due to the end of the end of the month, my grocery budget was extremely low. However, the bright side is that I'm stockpiled in many areas... including meat, eggs, cheese. So this week's challenge was less than $15.00 for the week on good deals.
Mom L, Han., and B. went up to see the new baby (J&B's) and help while Beth. recovers from everything. Because of that, Popeye and I stayed out at mom and dad's house to watch the kids. We were there for a little over a week. Lyd and I definitely agree that it took both of us to do mom's job and we were still exhausted! We sure were glad when she came back :O)
I'm pretty sure that everyone who follows this already knows but it makes it a little bit more official to put it in print. Popeye and I are expecting a baby boy or girl (we won't know for sure until next month) on Feb. 22nd, or whenever God sees fit.
We tried to keep it pretty much a secret until we were sure the 'little lemon' as we affectionately call it this week, is planning on sticking around but.... I'm running low on shirt options and not all my skirts/pants fit at the moment (not to mention both of our parents have been asked directly if we were pregnant!), so we decided to spill the beans.
So my bro at home had his fish fry. While not everyone in the family was able to make it, we had a blast. My grandpa and grandma took my cousin KJ. and I on in the marble game- a family tradition game. I can't remember who won, but it really didn't matter.... the most amusing part was trying to get grandpa to focus on the game while we put napkins on his head and he ate his homemade ice cream. :O) That poor guy certainly gets picked on by his grandkids - (but secretly, we all know he loves it ;o). Everyone stayed till past 11, which is super late for family get togethers but we were leaving the next day and it was sad to say goodbye to everyone! It's pretty sad to be back home now.... we're hoping for another visit soon!!
We met some of our friends in Chi-Town for the day. It was definitely an interesting trip. Popeye and I had a miscommunication that I thought he knew how to get around, which he didn't. On top of that, we had a pick-up and while Popeye loved driving the pick-up the whole trip.... Chi-Town wasn't made for anything but Bugs and BMWs I truly believe. We eventually found a parking spot, said a pleading prayer that nothing happened the the pickup while we were gone and started walking. I love Chi-Town for the exercise. You can take the sub/bus, but for some reason we almost always end up walking when I'm there. We visited a museum, ate some ice cream and watched the little kids play in the water.... it was GREAT seeing our friends though!!!! Next time we want to go out on a certain someone's new boat ;o)
Popeye's brother and sis-in-law are expecting in August so while visiting his family, we had a baby shower for her. There were quite a few people there and I think it went really well. They received a lot of nice things that will definitely come in handy once the baby is born! As our other sis-in-law said (paraphrasing), 'you never realize how much stuff such a small person needs until you have your first baby!'. Isn't that the truth!!!! Well, they are now well on their way :O)
My little cupcake helper!!! She put the pacifiers on each of the cupcakes after I iced them. Instead of doing a real cake we did cupcakes... no silverware for the whole meal!!!
Instead of having a real cake, we did a diaper cake.... this is great for when the baby comes she can take it apart and use the diapers :O) We found the idea on the web and thought it was a GREAT idea!!!
Also while with my fam, my bro at home was putting up straw. This is second year in that enterprise and he needed helpers. We put Popeye's brother to work and Popeye even helped out a bit at the end. They got it done pretty quick though. Thankfully the weather is unseasonably cool.
So while with my family, we fished quite a bit. My bro at home was trying to get enough to have the family over for a fish fry- which he did succeed while we were there.
We went over at about 9 most nights and stayed until around 10ish and it was too dark to fish. The first night we went, my two less-than 1lb fishies was nothing compared to my little sis's 5 lb bass!!!!!! I think the guys were all a little bummed it wasn't them, but they got a lot of fish from that thing for the fish fry!!
