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.