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).

Craft Crazy

So this week I taught Anastasia how to wash her hands. She is too small to reach the sink so I made her this little tray that I set on my milk maid stool:


I pour the water from the pitcher to the bowl (eventually I will let her do it) and then she washes her hands. Then we have a small chunk of soap in the little bucket that she rubs between her hands and we rinse again. Then we dry with the little towel (washcloth) and she gets a little dab of Burt's Bees baby lotion in a bottle cap (otherwise there would be lotion everywhere.) She loves the lotion part. I have already used this set-up to tame tantrums. As she gets overloaded I ask her if she wants to wash her hands. I also set up another tray with tissue for wiping her nose, a toothbrush, hairbrush, a wet wipe for washing her face and a towel to dry. It was great because she loves brushing her teeth so I could brush her hair while she was brushing her teeth. Here she is with the cap-full of lotion in her little autumn attire:
I also found last night that if I set up her activities the night before while I am WIDE AWAKE, we are more likely to actually do the things in the morning. So today we did lots of activities from lentil-pouring to painting. We also have a new friend that I call Ruby. She is a hummingbird that frequents our window-hummingbird feeder. She is seriously there like every 5-15 minutes. Today she chased away a chickadee who stopped on a nearby tree to check out the feeder. It was funny watching this tiny bird with an attitude chase away a cute and curious 3x her size bird.

I have been sewing like mad again... and loving it. My mom bought me a bland Moses Basket (at my request) from the Consignment shop.

Here is what I did with it:

I am so in love with this apple and pear fabric that I have seen online quite a bit. I found it at Joann's a couple weeks ago and only bought a half-a-yard since I didn't have a vision for it. WELL I then was inspired to use it for the baby's basket and wished I had purchased even more!!! AH! How appropriate being that we have 2 pear and 3 apple trees and they are autumn fruits like our autumn arrival. I have dozens of ideas for making appliqued items from some of the scraps of material... I know I am crazy. Now hopefully #2 will actually sleep in this thing. A lady from the farmer's market said she would save me a lamb skin (poor lambs) to put in the bottom. Another lady is selling me an entire sheep's fleece for my crafting endeavors (like learning how to wet and needle felt). I don't know how much a fleece is... but I am a little concerned... especially because I have to clean it and then dry it...

I recently tested out a doll pattern for fellow blogger JoEbi and will be uploading pictures of it soon. It was for a cute little mermaid and she turned out lovely. I love all the Montessori and creative activities she does with her little boy in Japan. Then I got picked to test-drive a future WeeWonderful's pattern... the same designer (Hillary Lang) who I made Olive from. I love all the WeeWonderful dolls and items... so I feel so privileged to get to help out... and I get ANOTHER cute doll for me... I mean, Anastasia to play with.

So back to life.... I have dishes from our not so great enchilada dinner (that none of us ate). The only thing worse than cleaning up after a meal, is cleaning up after a gross meal that nobody would eat.

I don't think we need a Christmas tree this year as Anastasia is having so much fun decorating the dog with Mardi Gras beads... And I think I am going to take it easy and craft all day after A's Dr. Appt. I am beat.

My computer is slow because of the clouds I am sure, but we should be getting comcast here soon.

5 weeks or so....

I am getting to that point where I think a little someone inside of me is sucking all my energy up. I remember the last month or so with Anastasia feeling this way, and I can honestly say I am ready not to be pregnant anymore. Am I ready for another little baby? Is there truly such a thing as being completely ready for an entirely new life entering and turning your life upside down? I don't think it is possible. Its one of those things you just have to go with the flow until everything falls into place I guess.

I haven't had time for sewing in the past few days. I feel like I am constantly busy, and don't actually get anything done. There are two reasons for this.

1. I haven't been sleeping well (except last night) because I have been laying down WIDE AWAKE. So I spend my mornings like a zombie until about noon, and by that time I have to spend the rest of the day cleaning up the mess that my daughter created while I was in my stupor.

2. Anastasia has been teething and has been a total grump. Then I get grumpy and by 2pm we are both ready for a nap.

Then Nick gets home, and we are all happy. I try to make up for lost time and use my energy to get everything done in the evenings. Then I think I can't wind down enough to sleep until 1 or 2 or 3 am. And if Anastasia wakes up (when she wakes up I should say) I can't always fall back asleep for hours. So that is why I am like a mouse in one of those wheels that runs and runs and gets nowhere. Thankfully I don't have TOO much longer to go, and with my brother coming to town and Wendy visiting, I have plenty of pleasant destractions to look forward too!

I spent the weekend cleaning the deck, and Nick helped me put up a clothesline (inspired by our recent electric bill). So now my clothes smell sun-fresh, and I have added yet another chore to my list. :) Its all worth it though, I have successfully dried 3 loads in the sun, and feel like we are enjoying our yard more.

Our dog has still been acting bizarre. Hopefully she will be "normal" again after baby #2 arrives.

The bathroom is still in the works but Nick finished ALL the plumbing. Yay! So I have a sink, and even a mirror in there now.

I have been sorting through TONS of baby clothes to try and organize things. I thought one girl had lots of accessories... but having two is seriously out of control. lol.

Well I had best go help settle Anastasia down to bed seeing as it is 10:30 pm.

Starting School

After I learned that being a Nurse wasn't my vocation, I began toying with Veterinary Technician or Elementary teacher. Now I feel as a stay-at-home mom, I get to do a little of each (and a lot of other stuff). I decided it would be fun to have a pre-preschool for Anastasia starting this fall. Mainly my plan is to read books each week according to a specific theme, do projects along the same theme and have several Montessori activities. I am also toying with the idea of purchasing the Before Five In A Row curriculum just to make life a little easier when I have baby #2 around.

Above is a picture of Anastasia doing a practical life activity. Regina lent me a laminated placemat with an outline of a place setting on it but I wanted to make a bigger one and a more permanent one. So I made one out of a rectangle of fabric that I lined with home-made bias tape and painted a place setting on it. She actually did it correctly this morning (even though she put the napkin over the fork). I also picked up a chalk board at the thrift store for $1. She loves it but also enjoys using the chalk on walls. So I taught her how to wash chalk off the walls with a sponge. I like that it is a fairly "safe" art activity that I can leave out for her whenever inspiration to draw comes along.

You can't really see in the picture, but she is also wearing a wool diaper cover I made out of a sweater. I wasn't sure how effective it would be, but it is AWESOME. I can make 2 covers and a pair of pants from one Sweater and they work perfect for night time. I am just happy that she doesn't leak or stink when she comes to snuggle or sleep in our bed in the morning. So now I am in LOVE WITH WOOL.

As you can see, I have a better internet connection (hence the picture). I moved the laptop to the kitchen and it seems to be better. I have lots of craft projects in the line up... so more pictures to come. Anyways, the dishes are calling and Anastasia is getting bored (which is not a good thing usually).