When you are cute and you know it...

...mommy and daddy are in big trouble. Still no baby quite yet but I feel very big. Only 3 days until Friday-- induction day! Hooray! Anastasia has been a bit of a monster the bast couple days... fussing about EVERYTHING and nothing. This is what happens when we go to grandma and grandpa's which is where we went on Sunday. She is so good when we are there but comes home expecting 100% attention. Friday will be quite a wake-up call for my little monster. :)

Anastasia picked out the name "Monny" for my mom a couple weeks ago and finally came up with a name for my dad: "Gawky"!!! lol!! I love it because my dad always made fun of the name we had picked out for her prior to when she was born. He always called her "Anesthesia" and the entire family started calling her that on accident because he had said it so much. My cousin even started calling her "amnesia". Maybe I was just being over-sensative, but I really wasn't happy with him butchering my daughters beautiful name prior to her being born. But now I feel Anastasia has gotten him back... with her new name for him and I secretly hope it sticks. I know I sound so evil and devious... but if you only knew my dad and how he tries to get under everyone's skin... you would understand.

No completed craft projects lately. I am working on embroidering a little fabric house for Anastasia for Christmas. In fact I have a list compiled for what both kiddos will be getting and hope to have most of my Christmas shopping/crafting completed by Thanksgiving. I did dye some pasta using this tutorial at Make and Takes blog. It was super easy and I used Rotini and gave Anastasia a shoelace to lace it. I think it is a little difficult for her but she enjoys playing with the pasta none the less. I may try dyeing rice in the future.

It looks like the sun has come out so I may wash the comforters and sheets on our bed. I have no clue when we last washed the comforters and I want my bed to smell fresh and clean!! ah. I love drying clothes in the sun.

Waiting and sewing and waiting...

Still no baby... but thats okay. I am trying to be patient and use my time wisely as things are a little more difficult with a newborn. I cleaned the house today (even the floors!!!) and finished this little wrap and contents for Anastasia. It is supposed to be a little play pouch for the car but I may wait and give it to her as a little gift when the new baby arrives.

Inside is a little doll, a taggie blanket, a box of gnomes, coloring book, notebook, pencils and 4 felt animal finger puppets. I plan to make more animals, but I was getting bored of making them today.

I love the little gnomes the best I think. Maybe I will post a tutorial sometime. Maybe there is already one out there. All I know is that it it definately a fun little project.

Yesterday I went to the doctor and had really no change since last week. I had figured that might be the case so I wasn't too terribly dissapointed. The doctor told me if I want to come in and have the baby at any time just give them a call. haha. I found that sort of amusing... just make a phone call to have a baby. I chose the more suspensful route. Will she come by the 3rd? Time will only tell. I am guessing she is going to be 7 lb. 2 oz. Nick is still at work and I have laundry to do. I want to make pumpkin muffins with cream cheese frosting... mmm.

Car Seat Cuteness!

This is what I did yesterday:

It took all day but I have wanted car seat covers that are easy to remove and clean. If anyone has a baby who spits up a lot or a toddler who eats in the car, you know how nasty car seat covers get! And you also know what a pain in the but it is to take the original covers off. I basically have to take apart the whole car seat to get the darn thing off! So now I made a little slip cover that velcro's around the straps so it comes on and off pretty easily. Our infant seat had a bit of mildew which cleaned mostly off but left some nasty stains... so all problems solved! I was so happy to find more of this Apple and Pear fabric by Alexander Henry at the Joann's in Fairfax last week!

And because Anastasia believes all photo sessions should revolve around her I took this picture too. I put the little apple and pear appliques on her shirt and picked up the matching 70's looking flower pants at goodwill for $1. So the entire set up cost less than $2! And it matches her new car seat cover! Can't beat that.

No baby yet but I don't think she will take too much longer. *crosses fingers* I have a Dr. appointment tomorrow so we will see if there is any new developments in the pregnancy saga.

Owl Activities

One of our favorite books is Owl Babies by Martin Wadell. Being as I think owls are one of the neatest animals ever and seem to fit the fall and halloween theme quite well, I decided this would be owl week. Anastasia likes to make the "whoo whoo" sound but often mixes it up with "moo". So first off I made these pom-pom owls lightly based off of the tutorial here. I actually used BellaDia's Pom-pom tutorial here. It was so easy and addicting. I want to make an entire pom-pom zoo! :) We used the owls as characters in the Owl Babies story. I have read it so much and even have voices for Sarah, Percy and Bill. Then I prepared this owl puppet activity:
Anastasia painted the cereal box body and I cut out all the pieces. When it dried I helped her glue it all together. Later I gave them to her to play with and she ripped off the wings. Oh well. I am thinking of turning an oatmeal container into a tree stump for the owls to live in. And lastly here is Anastasia's painting activity:
I like to leave art supplies out for her to use when she wants, but as anyone knows with a toddler, that can be VERY DANGEROUS. My friend Regina gave me this idea for keeping water colors accessable to toddlers. I used a small greeting card box and put cut-up watercolor paper, 2 cut out colors from a crayola water color set, a paintbrush and a bottle cap for water. She still has to come to me for the water so atleast I know what she is doing before she paints the walls. I also keep a sketchbook with 3-4 colored pencils out for her, and some paper with crayons readily available and sticky notes with pens ready if she wants them.

Still no baby for those of you wondering (Annie!). But I have been feeling pretty crampy today... but like everything at this point, that could probably mean ANYTHING.

One more thing....

She is SO READY to come! If today's adventure doesn't stimulate labor... I don't believe anything would work.

Sunday Adventure

We woke up this morning and decided to go to church in Winchester and check out the Apple Festival. It was more of a craft-fair with those greasy food vendors everywhere than a real festival. And the crafts weren't really too exciting. But we did find the best apple cider ever (they gave it away for free) from Rinker's Orchard and purchased a gallon. Other than that we were a little dissapointed and still had a free afternoon as it only took us 45 minutes to browse the entire thing. So I suggested a trip to GW Forest (my favorite place it seems).

We ended up driving to the little town of Fort Valley (formerly Powell's Fort) and the very small Fort Valley Museum. The two people working there from the Ruritan Club were very friendly and informative making up for the lack of real information in the museum. They pointed us along the road to "Woodstock Tower." I had never even heard of this rickity metal tower at the top of the mountain so we had to check it out. Thank goodness for the Jeep because the dirt road up the mountain was narrow and steep. Too bad for my washing job the other day. We made it to the top and took the little 1/4 mile or so hike up to the tower. It was so spectacular!!!! The view from the tower was just breath-taking. Anastasia so desperately wanted to go up but unfortunately neither of us felt safe carrying her or letting her climb on her own. So she threw a little tantrum. Other than that though, it was GREAT.

We then hiked back and heard the road going down the opposite side of the mountain we came up would take us to Woodstock. I had to pee and was totally game for the adventurous road that was described to us. 14 switchbacks (I tried to take a picture of the insanity). Nick put the Jeep in 4-Wheel drive and I thought it was the most fun thing ever. I wasn't driving though. I am sure that would have been a little scarier. Thankfully only one other person was coming up as we were coming down because that would have been stressful. But it was a great little Sunday adventure!

I also was inspired to make an apple pie for dinner... I mean, dessert. It was AWESOME.

Life for me

Its been a busy few days and I think this baby is coming early. Maybe that is wishful thinking about how uncomfortable I have been feeling at times, but I really have this feeling. And if she doesn't come by her due date (Oct. 3rd) I decided to go ahead and be induced. I was induced for Anastasia for supposed "medical reasons" and the labor and delivery went very smooth so I am hoping for the same... whenever, however she comes. :) Plus the due date would work out well with Nick's work schedule and my mom's (who will be watching Anastasia). I feel like picking a day for my daughter to be born on is a little like cheating... but thats okay. At the last appointment I was already 2 cm dialated (which I figured) and I wouldn't be surprised if I am a little further now. I just can't wait to meet her!

Thursday I cleaned my Jeep after a trip to Fairfax for the doctor, a trip to Whole Foods (no Emeril for a change) and one last trip to Joann's (it might be a very long time before I make it there again). It took me 3 hours to wash, dry, vaccuum and clean months of toddler toys, crayons, crumbs and other nasties out of the Jeep. But as any pregnant woman knows, when you get an inclination to clean something, it MUST be done. And I cleaned the whole house yesterday.

Today my mom threw me a little shower with some close friends and family. I got a few final items I needed (20 bibs!!!!), as well as had a yummy cake and other good food (a number one priority for me right now). Everyone brought a freezable meal. Anastasia enjoyed HOURS of undivided attention and I even went to a HUGE community yard sale on my own while my mom watched her. I rarely go shopping without her, and as much as I am in love with my daughter, it was really nice to shop on my own for a change. I found a few great deals and went to my favorite consignment shop and found some shoes for Anastasia so we are pretty set for the fall/winter. And with the woodstove almost ready I feel like I can handle this cooler season.

I will try and get a pic of my big belly tomorrow...

Say "ahhh" for Fall!

I love cool fall mornings. I love pumpkins and red leaves. I love my snuggly sweaters and comfy blue jeans. I love wearing my Keen shoes. I enjoyed packing my bag for the hospital with my favorite sweater, jeans and smart wool socks. It will be nice to wear my old clothes again! I have been cleaning and crafting so I assume that is as close to nesting as it gets! The nice weather is the most theraputic thing that could come to this pregnant woman!

I made Anastasia a new doll from a pattern I tested for "Kit, Chloe and Louise" at Wee Wonderfuls. I am SO HAPPY with how she turned out and Anastasia seems to like her "baby." And I like that she isn't plastic and that the dog doesn't seem inclined to eat her. So I am hoping that she will be content to care for her new little friend while I am caring for mine. haha.

I also finished another craft swap and sent out my finished product today. It was a stationary swap and I would post pictures, but I don't want to ruin any surprises.

I came up with my Christmas list yesterday for the girls. It is mostly for Anastasia but I have a couple things to get for Isabel even though at 2 months she will probably just be happy looking at Christmas lights. In fact, I think she is going to be a pretty happy baby overall. I could be terribly wrong (like when I thought she was a boy), but that is just my instinct. For great Christmas crafts Skip to My Lou has AWESOME Christmas ideas. My goal is to keep Christmas low-key as far as gifts go. My favorite idea that someone mentioned at a cafe I worked at, is that Santa only brings 3 presents. They represent the 3 gifts of the wisemen and/or the three bags of gold the original St. Nicholas brought as a dowery for the 3 virgins in the legend. Then with a few gifts from Nick and I and of course the rest of the family, they should have PLENTY of goodies.

I should probably go take down some laundry, fill my hummingbird feeder and pick some fall flowers for the table while Anastasia sleeps. Ah. I love fall.

Spirit

I finally finished the book "Raising your Spirited Child" by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka. I highly recommend it for anyone with a child that doesn't fit into the "normal" or "easy" category. There are SO MANY workable ideas for dealing with tantrums, sleep problems, energy, etc. I think the description on the book says it all, "a guide for parents whose child is more intense, sensative, perceptive, persistent, energetic." Unfortunately some of the ideas are a little above the toddler level, but I feel that overall the suggestions are completely workable.

Its kind of funny for me to have this incredibly intense and strong-willed child when I am such a laid-back and relaxed person. I babysat atleast a dozen babies and kids growing up and nothing could have prepared me for the little person I got! lol. I must say though that she posesses a lot of qualities that I wish I had. I know she will grow to be an awesome person, but she sure makes for a troublesome toddler at times.

On another note, we had a very pleasant weekend. We hit up a couple of farmer's markets on Saturday, went to church on Sunday and took a drive out to Winchester (to Gander Mt. and Borders) Sunday evening. Weekends go way too fast. After our drive we came home and Anastasia was completely beside herself. She started making this awful screaming noice (think raptors from Jurassic Park) when she doesn't get what she wants. She was doing this mixed with angry crying about every little thing. So I gave her a cup of milk, her bear and had her lay in bed until she was ready to calm down a bit. Thankfully the little "time out" was all she needed and she came back to the rest of the family a happy little camper. I think we will be using this tactic often to tame tempers.

On Saturday I definately felt the baby "drop" increasing pressure on my bladder, lower abdominal area and back. I remember Anastasia dropping at one point but I didn't think it happened as often in the second pregnancy. Either way she definately dropped reminding me that labor and delivery are not as far away as I might think. I keep thinking I have all this time, but a contraction the other night reminded me at 4am, that I better finish getting my ducks in a row before my ducks get tossed in the air and fall wherever they may.

I am taking the 2 huge trash bags and box of donations (I have already donately over $1000 worth of items this year!!!) to Goodwill since Nick put them on the deck where they were rained on. And it looks like rain again. I am going to pick up some diapers for Anastasia to wear at my mom's house and pack our overnight bags today. I feel like if I am ultra prepared, I might buy myself some extra time before baby comes. Sort of like the concept of bringing an umbrella keeps the rain away... lol. And There is nothing in the world like a toddler and brownie batter.

One Minute!

Thats how long it took to load 4 pictures! Before Comcast came it took about 5 minutes to upload 1 picture!!! YAY!!!! Here are some pictures of our week:

George Washington Natl. Forest
Here she is in the creek! What a blast!
Best Buddies! This is Anastasia's favorite reading spot!

Here is the little Mermaid doll I finished a few weeks ago. You can now find JoEbi's pattern in her Etsy shop. Anastasia and I also made the little marshmallow foam and cotton ball sheep this week. Anastasia has been very interested in farm animals so maybe we will do some more farm activities.

So tomorrow the Comcast guy (or gal) comes out to hook us up with high-speed Internet!!!! I am SO EXCITED!!! If we weren't in Andrews Holler (that's how they say "hollow" around these parts) maybe we would have better luck with this Verizon Broadband thing.

Things have been crazy around here lately. My mom came out on Thursday and we took a little hike and a dip in the creek at GW Forest. It was really nice and Anastasia had a blast with "Monie" (moh-nee) the new name she calls my mom. I have no idea where she came up with that. My mom's name is Kathy and we never call her that. lol.

Then Friday I had a doctor's appointment in Fairfax and I took the scenic way out there because I took a stop in Winchester. I finally got to meet Dr. Bruchalski who is awesome. I have met most of the other doctors in the practice and finally got him this week. Its always nice to have a doctor tell you how you are the ideal patient and the perfect size and weight when you are tempted to feel like a big FAT COW. :) Overall I could just sense the peace that surrounds his character and I understand how he is a HUGE asset to the pro-life movement. He doesn't sit there and preach, he makes a point to use his profession and gifts to change lives and give life. What a gem!

Saturday we were lazy as long as possible before the empty fridge determined that I should go out in the rain and get groceries. Then I cleaned a bit between Anastasia's fits of rage (she didn't nap). Nick was working on the bathroom and came running out bleeding all over the place. He had cut himself and it seemed really bad so we put a towel on it and headed to the ER. We got there and decided that the bleeding had in fact stopped and that we didn't really need to waste our money and time to go in there. So we went home and Anastasia had fallen asleep at this point (FINALLY) but had a really rough night of sleep.

Sunday we had our friends Andrew and Regina and their 6 kids over for lunch after church. I thought it would be totally chaotic especially when the large loaf of bread I bought had been completely consumed and buried in Anastasia's bed by our resident fur ball. Thankfully there was more than enough food to go around and all of the kids were so good. Anastasia had a blast! Our tiny house seemed very accommodating which was definitely awesome! I am definitely more comfortable entertaining in this house than I ever have been before despite its quirks.

Today I washed all the dishes that I didn't feel like doing yesterday and listened to talk radio (what has Nick done to me?!?!) Then Nick brought home Brats and kraut from work for dinner (read his blog for more info on the German goodness he got his hands on), and not only helped cook it but also did the dishes afterwards! What a treat for me.

I also got my voter registration card in the mail a few days ago. DMV had my address all screwed up so it took a while to get it. I have never been so excited about an election before!!! and now I've got the power to decide! wahahahaha.

Woah

So Isabel (Baby #2) is definately 100x more active in the womb than Anastasia. I feel like when she kicks, or somersaults or whatever the heck she does in there, that I am just going to burst!! Yikes! Last night she did some weird manuever that kept causing bizarre pains in my back. I keep thinking she wants out and the funny thing is, if it weren't for the discomfort of her womb yoga, I am perfectly content being pregnant for another month (maybe content is a generous word). Seriously, I am enjoying this time with Anastasia (19months is the best age yet) and enjoying my quiet nights alone. I feel peace though about this baby finally... like she will come when she is ready and we will all eventually find the balance between two little fireballs. I am fairly certain that due to her crazy moves all the time there is NO WAY this could possibly be a "calm" baby. I have also been SO HUNGRY the past couple weeks. I think she is using all my energy in order to do her gymnastics.

For the first time ever, I am totally pumped for politics. Where I once voted for the lesser of two evils, I am excited to be able to vote for Palin!!!!!! I never thought I would be totally stoked about a woman in office, but I seem to have forgotten the influence of many aweesome queens in history. I feel Palin represents womanhood on every level, especially when it comes life and family: the two most essential building blocks of America (aside from Faith of course). Being that those are the two most important things to me, I feel confident that she will defend those very establishments as Vice President. She is not a swayer but a mover and a shaker. Obama... you better be very afraid.

Pickles, Brothers and Friends forever

That was my past week in a nutshell. But I will digress...

First of all my Uncle Mike makes the best dill pickles in the world from the Cucumbers in his garden. I won't eat any store-bought anymore (I am sure New Yorkers feel the same way). He didn't get to make any this year because all his cukes died so I got some of last year's batch. Only because I am pregnant and obviously NEED PICKLES!

My brother came to town from Wednsday-Sunday last week. His visit was too short but he is so happy in Montana. Andy and my parents came over for dinner Friday night and we had a really great time. Anastasia even remembered him. It was nice hosting our first real dinner at our own home. Its funny because I love having dinners and people over and Nick would rather be out chopping wood alone. lol.


(Anastasia and her Uncle Andy)

Saturday we enjoyed a cookout at my parents and saw all the relatives in the area (that speak to each other anyway). The highlight was a big game of badmitton... which became beermitton... which became brawlmitton. Obviously I didn't participate too much in the last two activities but I was impressed that I was able to keep up with the birdy with baby inside. In fact I was expecting to be uncomfortably HUGE with this baby because I got so big right away, but I have definately stableized a bit and feel better at 8 months than I did with baby #1. I must say it was too short of a visit with my brother and I am hoping he ends up in NYC so we might get to see him more often.


Sunday Nick worked hard around the house and I tidied up a bit. Don't ask what the point is of cleaning up with a toddler is, because I don't know. Especially as Wendy came with her toddler and baby... so the two toddler's together made sure to untidy everything. Good thing they are both super cute. So Wendy came yesterday and we enjoyed a trip to the park, and a trip to a friend's BEAUTIFUL farm and a farmer's market. At the farm, the kids liked the dogs and cats more than the actual farm animals. lol. Unfortunately Ben was an older boy and Anastasia was a hyper-sensative little girl... and they ended up spending more time in tug of war which Anastasia lost... and would burst into tears over. She was a little stressed by the time they left and seems to have recovered well :) It was really great to see Wendy and her adorable boys. Don't they all look so sweet and innocent together in the wagon?

(Look at all the curls!!!! AHH!)

Today feels like Monday and Friday all at the same time. I think I was spoiled having Nick off 4 days in a row. Anastasia enjoyed storytime at the library today and we went to the park with our new friends Heather and her son Luke who is about a month younger than Anastasia. Luke seems to really like Anastasia but I think Anastasia was still a little overwhelmed from the recent visit to be overly social. Maybe next week :)

I have some sewing to do.....


Oh and for those of you with little girls, check out Little Birdie Secrets for a chance to win some girly babylegs. They also have a well-spring of crafts for everyone. (I love finding new blogs).