Short and Sweet

a shirt for a buck

2011-12-16T01:05:00.004-05:00

holy cow what a busy, busy holiday season it's been. lots of overdue posts but thought i'd start with an easy/fast one.

rarely do i find anything cute and adorable for the boy. i saw this and knew he had to have it. right when i was about to click on the "buy me" button it dawned on me that i could possibly make something similar at a fraction of the price.

i found and modified a deer silhouette. used this technique from a few years ago. made a quick bowtie and done.

and here it is on the boy. spiffy huh?

wired wednesday

2011-11-16T17:52:00.002-05:00

first facetime

steampunk duo

2011-11-11T23:34:00.006-05:00

the first suggestion husband had for our costumes this year: dolly parton & kenny rogers. me as kenny and him as dolly. as much as i know he wanted to dress as dolly, i had absolutely no desire to dress as kenny. i love making an effort with my costume and kenny seemed didn't seem like it be much of a stretch. suit, wig and beard...boring. maybe we'll save this one for another halloween. anyways.

husbands next suggestion: steampunk. (steampunk: works of steampunk often feature anachronistic technology or futuristic innovations as Victorians may have envisioned them, based on a Victorian perspective on fashion, culture, architectural style, art, etc.) yes, we would be explaining this to pretty much everyone who asked what our costumes were. our best explanation, "have you seen wild, wild west or the league of extraordinary gentleman? we're sorta like that."

so once we knew what we were gonna be, we scoured the internet for ideas and photos. here's my main inspirational photo.

we hit up the local thrift stores and even went to mountain city, tn to hit up an army surplus store. luckily we found bits and pieces at each place and our costumes started to come together.

breakdown of my costume. jacket: $8 off ebay, hat: borrowed from a friend, goggles: $7 off ebay, white shirt: mine, corset: borrowed from a friend's wench costume, green skirt: mine, white petticoat: $4 at goodwill, belts: $2 at goodwill, utility belt: $5 at army store, canteen: $3 at goodwill, skirt hikes: homemade, spats: homemade, shoes: mine, hair: $9 extensions, gun: $1 at goodwill.

i would breakdown the husband's outfit but i don't know what he paid for everything. most of his costume is also from his own wardrobe. i know i paid $3 for his nerf gun at goodwill and he paid $2.50 for his goggles at the army surplus store.

i think we both were really happy with the end result. the husband went so far as creating alter egos for each of us and coming up with a history for his own character. i know - NERD!

as you can see from a previous post, the aviator costume the boy wore sorta tied in with ours. this was the main reason i decided to make his costume this year.

next up: pumpkin carving party.

wordless wednesday

2011-11-09T23:24:00.000-05:00

boy and his new hat

transformation

2011-11-07T23:59:00.005-05:00

luckily we figured out what we were gonna be for halloween early on and i was able to search high and low for costume parts. 75% of my costume i already owned or made but there were a few things i had to purchase. this post will be about the transformations i performed on two pieces of my costume. this is my $8 ebay find. super bright but perfect in every other way.

a quick dye job and the color issue was resolved. unfortunately since the thread was coated it did not pick up the dye. i ended up taking a sharpie marker and just coloring the thread. i'm sure there's another method to fix this issue but i knew it would be dark at the party and i didn't want to spend too much time worrying/fixing it. although coloring thread took a lot longer than i initially thought.

the second transformation was my weapon for the evening. a $1 goodwill find.

i'm really happy with how this turned out. a total transformation. it's amazing what a little paint will do. i added some nuts, bolts and gears and about a million layers of paint. tomorrow will be the costume reveal.

the aviator

2011-11-06T23:15:00.001-05:00

this will be the first of many posts about our halloween holiday. i thought i'd start with the little man's costume. or i should say one of his three costumes. yes, my parents and aaron's dad both sent costumes for him. and since he had two to choose from i decided there really was no reason for me to worry about making him a costume. both were adorable and warm. (see above photos) but while out searching for bits and pieces for our costumes, i found a little bomber jacket for $2. and *ding, ding* i knew i'd be making him a costume now. especially since it would sorta tie into our costumes.

i was able to find a generic pattern to make an aviator cap. i lined the ear flaps and headband with fleece to make it a little more comfortable for him to wear. i also knew he probably would not wear goggles, so i made a pair using black felt, gold paint and clear plastic all of which i happened to have lying around. i attached them to his hat and used a piece of crepe paper to to make the strap. (i would probably modify this part since it was pretty much shredded after the second wear. but it served its purpose for the most part.) his scarf is actually part of the slip from my costume. the slip was too long for what i wanted to use it for so i cut it down and used the excess to make his scarf. his pants are his normal pants. and the last thing i made were his spats. i found a pattern on the internet to give me a general idea of what i needed to do. of course i had to modify them to fit a much smaller person. i also made these using the fast a furious method meaning i used velcro for the closure and instead of real buttons i used paint. i didn't finish the edges either, i decided painting those would seal them and save me a lot of time.

finally the last thing i made was his candy bag. i knew he'd be using this more than once so i didn't want it to be costume specific. right now i'm all about monsters, the cute and adorable kind, so i just went with it.

ave did great wearing his costume. i was a bit worried he'd refuse to wear the hat since we're just now transitioning from the summer to the winter hat but it wasn't an issue at all. his costume was a big hit and i'm glad i did decide to make it in the end. i'm already thinking about next year...well that is if he lets me pick his costume again. fingers crossed.

halloween illustrated

2011-10-24T23:38:00.004-04:00

with halloween around the corner, it's been a crazy madhouse around here. which is both good news and bad news. the crafting/designing bug is back after a super long hiatus. nothing like my love of the holiday to do that to a girl. but it does look like a crafting bomb exploded all over the house. creating costumes, planning and decorating for a party, and keeping after an active toddler has got me burning the candle at both ends.

once again we're doing our annual pumpkin carving party. this year the party is a little bigger and a whole lot better. at least i'm planning more than i did last year. tonight i spent some time working in illustrator, probably more time than i should have, making labels. i'm pretty happy with the way they turned out but it took me a whole lot longer than i expected. i'm so out of practice it's pathetic. hopefully i'm back in the game cause even though it took me long, i actually enjoyed it. yay graphic design!

i'll post pics after the party so you can see them in action as well as all my other creepy food and costume creations. happy halloween everyone!

way back wednesday

2011-10-19T23:46:00.003-04:00

@ 4 months

@ 21 months.

time is definitely flying by! as you can see, he's a little less prone to letting mommy have her way. i'm sure it's a sign of what's yet to come.

spicy goodness

2011-10-15T20:10:00.004-04:00

if you ask my husband he'll tell you i rarely venture into the realm of cooking. our meals usually consist of something out of a box. (either the at-home kind or the to-go kind.) now with the little one i've been trying to make more of an effort. and with recipes literally at your fingertips it's making it a lot easier. tonight i made spicy thai noodles. a friend posted the recipe on pinterest and as soon as i saw it i knew we would be trying it. and i must say it's the first time i was VERY happy with the end result. and it's also the first time my husband has ever uttered the words, "this could be served in a restaurant."

conveniently being of asian descent i had most of the the ingredients in-house. i did modify the recipe by adding cooked chicken during the tossing of the noodles phase. we also ate it warm which we both preferred. i'm saving the left over sauce and i'm hoping i can cook up some noodles tomorrow and have a ready made lunch.

on my make-shift star scale i would have to give this recipe a 5 out of 5.

wordless wednesday

2011-10-12T22:00:00.003-04:00

"boys being boys"

ok, not so wordless. thought i'd ease myself back into blogdom.

here is the first i hope of more to come.

no sleep for you

2011-07-11T00:45:00.002-04:00

one thing the boy is not: a good sleeper. rarely does he sleep for 10-12 hours straight. most nights i'll hear his little night light turn on a few times without a peep from him, and within 10 -20 minutes he's fast asleep again. lately this hasn't been the case. at his 18 month appointment the doctor said we could do away with the bottle (he refuses to drink milk from a sippy cup so we're still doing a bottle in the a.m. and p.m.), limit his use of the paci (from having it all day to a bedtime thing), and we no longer needed to use a monitor.

ok, a part of me was not ready for him to give up all these things at once. it's about the only strings to babyhood still left. and with all the traveling we've been doing, we haven't even attempted any weening. the only thing we have tried is giving up the monitor. the doctor said if the boy needs us he'll let us know. well no sooner were the words uttered the self-soothing nights have pretty much been a thing of the past. lately he's been standing, screaming, crying non-stop which he's rarely done before and now it's a nightly routine. tonight, went to bed at 8 and woke up at 12:40a and has been getting his freak on for 30 minutes now. so the monitor is back so i can make sure there is no real reason for him to be crying. but this cry-it-out method, yeah, not working.

i'm hoping it's all the traveling that's throwing him off cause if it's a permanent thing we might have a problem. mama can do okay with little sleep but no sleep that's a different story. off to comfort the little son of a gun. ugh!

bieberaholic

2011-06-12T23:58:00.000-04:00

testing the tweet feed with a video of the little man. yes, i am actually working on updating the site, technology first and then maybe a new look.

child-free?

2011-06-06T16:20:00.004-04:00

a few weeks ago we ventured back down to new orleans to celebrate rocky and marie's nuptials. this was supposed to be our first child-free weekend. little man on the other hand, begged to differ. granted, as the time approached i was having some reservations and he may have sensed my anxiety.

a few days before we were to depart he decided he was no longer sleeping through the night. one sleepless night and i would have probably been okay leaving him. he decides to not sleep the rest of the time leading up to our trip. so that left us with three options: 1) both go and leave him with a sitter, and pretty much worry the whole time we're gone. 2) awes go and i stay home with him or 3) we all go. well i can't leave him and burden our sitter with an uncooperative kid. awes doesn't want to go without me. and since we already have our tickets and hotel purchased and it wouldn't cost us anything to add the tyke he ended up tagging along. the little weasel.

we were THAT couple on the plane going down. you know, the ones with the screaming/inconsolable baby. luckily most of the passengers were sympathetic to our situation. thank goodness. he was still off the first night/day we were there. but soon after he was fine, back to his happy self. he slept through the wedding ceremony and we were able to attend the reception without incident. so the boy has been to the big easy three times in his short, little life.

overall we had a great time. were able to see friends we hadn't seen in a long time. do a little sight seeing with the little guy. and most importantly, we got to see our friends start their new life together. congrats rocky and marie!!

quick and easy pillow

2011-04-13T13:06:00.005-04:00

well not so quick but pretty easy to make. i've been wanting to recycle a sweater into a pillow for some time now. with my $3 recent thrift store find and scissors in hand i went to work. the reason i thought it would be quick, i believed all i had to do was cut it to the shape i wanted then sew it together. but when i went to sew it together there was no way the thick sweater was fitting under the foot of my machine. this meant i'd have to hand sew it. i decided it was best to use the yarn from the sweater so i unraveled one of the sleeves. (contrary to what weezer says, it's not so easy to unravel a sweater at least not with this one.) then with a simple whip stitch i was able to make this new/old pillow for our couch. a very easy way to update your throw pillows and only cost $3.

this is just one of the pillows i made, i'll be sharing some more in the upcoming days.

owl stop

2011-04-04T23:57:00.001-04:00

so much for blogging more. after a serious flux in crafting the last month preparing for the boone handmade market things are finally starting to settle down. i was pretty much burning the candle at two ends. chasing a one year old around all day then trying to craft after he went to bed. i have tried crafting during daylight hours but the wee one has made it virtually impossible. with a minor freak out at the sound of the sewing machine and getting his hands on all my non-kid friendly craft supplies i have decided it best not to craft while he is conscious. burning the midnight oil has become a norm around here. (not really anything new if you know me)

so in my attempt to keep the blog and craft thing going, i'll post the new things being created by a rude girl and start updating the shop as well. i'll also go into a little more detail about craft shows and all the new things people noticed in my booth pic in another post. for now i'll let my little owl stop tide you over.

we've been using a bottle of laundry detergent to hold open the baby gate at the top of the stairs. on sunday i decided to make something a little less of an eyesore and voilà a hootie was born. i used fabric i got from my grandmother a few years ago, some felt and a few buttons from my stash. i left the opening at the top, filled a 1/4 of it with rice and the rest with reclaimed pillow stuffing. i was able to put a flat bottom on him but i'm still learning how to construct a pattern so it's not exactly as nice as i'd like it to be. it probably took me a little more than an hour to make and i didn't do all that i would have liked to have done. if i do another, i'll probably add some wings and a few more decorative accents. but for a quick and easy project, i'm quite happy with it. and little man noticed it right away, brought it to me while i was brushing my teeth the next morning.

coming soon

2011-03-29T12:12:00.001-04:00

lots and lots of craftiness. stay tuned

spring is in the air

2011-02-20T01:27:00.000-05:00

or at least teasing us with a stint of warm weather. we've been taking full advantage and getting out as much as we can. i was actually able to walk 4 days last week. (need to whip this body back in shape)

the boy absolutely loves it. he's still a little shaky on his feet, but loving it nonetheless.

spaceships and laser beams

2011-01-26T23:48:00.003-05:00

website wednesday: spaceships and laser beams

for the boy's first birthday we did a low key party with just my parents and siblings who were here for the holidays. with his birthday so close to christmas it's hard to pick the right time to actually have a party. people have their own holiday schedules and throwing a birthday party in the mix, i know it wouldn't be on the top of everybody's priority list.

for his second birthday i've already started planning. looking at dates, themes, etc. (i know, who are you and what have you done with procrastinator sue!) i only have a couple of years before he'll want batman or some other licensed character party. *cringe* so i better get on it asap.

i was thinking about going with the robot theme i used for his nursery. and in my search i came across the spaceships and laser beams etsy shop. i love the fact that it's geared to little boys and that the art is bold and graphic. i hate that they've got me thinking monsters now instead of robots. i mean look at this adorable cupcake! how can you not want this to be the center of attention at your birthday party. i know the boy is the most important person there but this little guy would give him a run for his money. :)

hmmm, i guess i can look at it as having his next five birthday themes in the bag.

what's your sign?

2011-01-25T11:00:00.005-05:00

awes and i have been teaching the boy a few basic signs. he's been picking them up pretty easily but i'm not sure he's associating the meaning of the sign with what it actually is. for instance, when i tell him "please" he walks over and points to the graham crackers. i've shown him the sign for cookie but he prefers to use the "please" sign. if anything i'll have an overly polite boy who says "please" for everything. i guess it's close enough.

and his first "official" word. one where he associates the name to the object and can actually say it. nope not mama or dada. it's ball. he is his father's son.

hmmm, i just thought about it and my mom didn't put a sports option out when little man was choosing his destiny. i think he may be trying to tell her something. she may have a professional athlete as a grandson. ;)

baby steals

2011-01-19T23:15:00.004-05:00

here's wednesday's website of the week.

"At BabySteals.com we sell one quality baby or maternity product every day at up to 80% off until it sells out. It's not just a deal, it's a steal! A 'BabySteal'! No, we're not stealing and reselling babies. We drop one amazing steal a day at 9am MDT and another at 9pm MDT until it's gone, and they sell out fast. Once we're sold out, you lost out. On the weekends we give you a second chance on steals we still have, and you might get lucky and find more than one Steal a Day!"

i've only purchased one item from the site. stonz booties for the boy. with the winter we've had i thought it best we invest in some type of foot protection. i like these cause they can slide over his regular shoes, they're fleece lined, water-resistant, and they can be worn through a few shoe sizes. so he'll be wearing them next winter as well. we just got them in the mail and most of the snow has melted so we haven't tried them out yet. but i'm sure we'll be using them sometime in the near future.

restraint

2011-01-18T23:17:00.002-05:00

so it's taking every ounce of my being not to get the boy a pair of creepers. of course, these are a slimmed down version of the real thing (no platform). but they are cute nonetheless. awes absolutely hates them, at least the adult version. but i think if he saw these he might change his mind.

yes, i might be pushing my shoe fetish onto the boy. restraint seems to have flown out the window when it comes to the boy. so don't be surprised if you see him sporting them in the upcoming months.

lord help us if we ever have a girl!

website wednesday

2011-01-12T23:43:00.003-05:00

as if i didn't have enough going on, here's my latest love. if you love anything and i mean anything crafty this is a fantastic site to check out. fair warning, it can be an inspirational overload, at least it has been in my case. so enjoy my friends.

slope slider

2011-01-10T16:42:00.006-05:00

so the boy has already gone sledding three times this winter. i mean three separate weekends where we've had fresh snow. and this is not including christmas weekend. (i was too lazy to bundle him up for two minutes of sledding that weekend.) we really can't tell how he feels about the activity. he seems to be indifferent. at least at first. i'm pretty sure by the end of the season he'll be sledding down on his own. :)

you would think living in the mountains people would be prepared for this much snow. but apparently we live in the "south" and this is a ridiculous amount. poor kids, i think they'll be attending school well into the summer to make up for all the snow days they've had.

we are definitely having a white winter. surprisingly enough i'm not sick of it yet. ask me again in a month. the man, on the other hand, has been looking at beach vacations this week. anniversary in the caribbean this year! thanks snowy winter!

tweeting today

2011-01-06T21:00:00.001-05:00

please b a 24 hr bug. please have started 12 hrs ago. please don't ruin my date nite. u r, however, more than welcome 2 take 5-10 lbs when u go. thnx.

feral child

2011-01-05T11:43:00.004-05:00

apparently my child prefers anything dog related. kisses, toys, food, and i'm pretty sure if our dogs barked, avery would be barking as well.

by kisses: he opens his mouth to let the dogs lick inside and out. by toys: he would rather sit and play with their toys then his own. by food: the only baby gate we use upstairs is to prevent him from playing with and eating their food and water.

i've gotten rid of all the raw hides as well, he's decided they are tasty enough to gnaw on. i should have gotten video of his reaction when he got caught in the act. you'd make eye contact with him, i'd chirp something like "un-uh!" he'd keep gnawing, i'd stand up, he'd throw the bone and quickly crawl away, i'd sit back down and he'd go right back after the bone. he's a smart little bugger.

so if you want to get anything for the boy, might i suggest something canine in nature.

ginger kids

2011-01-04T23:45:00.005-05:00

if you couldn't tell, one of my resolutions is to keep up with the blog. to at least post a few times a week, if not every day. one of the main things i want to post about is crafting. what's on the agenda, what's in progress, what's completed. i'm hoping it'll motivate me to keep things in motion.

this year my family came to visit for christmas and it's always nice to have activities for everyone to do. and if it's crafty in nature, it's even better. one thing we did was decorate gingerbread houses and cookies. while out shopping before christmas, i found a gingerbread house kit that contained 5 houses. i thought this would be perfect - everyone would get their own house to decorate. little did i know the houses were pretty much the same size as the images on the box. they were TINY. the roofs were the biggest surface to decorate and they were about the size of a credit card. i'm a stickler for detail and it was a challenge to do anything on these houses. i think we're done with kits, next christmas we'll do everything from scratch. that is if i can get my act together in time.

we had better success with decorating the cookies. i found a cookie cutter that's shaped like a house so that made up for the tiny house fiasco. here are a few of my creations. as you can see, my cookies tend to be somewhat non-traditional in nature.

he's one!

2011-01-03T12:03:00.004-05:00

omg! the boy turned one. where has the time gone? my precious little baby is now a little boy and a smart one at that. cute, loving, inquisitive. his personality is getting bigger by the day. love this boy to death!

i wish i could keep him small forever but i love seeing him grow!

edible decor

2010-12-14T23:42:00.005-05:00

last year our good friends got us a whirley pop for christmas. it only took us a year to open and use it. and of course, the first thing i decide to do with the popcorn is a christmas craft project. our rotating tree was looking a little sparse when the lights weren't on so i decided to string a popcorn garland to jazz it up. it was pure torture for the dogs, they love popcorn. bosco literally sat underfoot the whole two hours it took me to string it. occasionally scoring a kernel or two.

behold. the finished product.

so far the tree is still standing. i was worried i'd come down to an annihilated tree this morning. we'll see if it makes it the rest of the holiday season. i'm not sure if the dogs realize what and where it is. let's hope they don't figure it out.

felt fetish

2010-12-13T10:36:00.002-05:00

i don't know why but i have a love affair with felt. lately my craft projects have revolved around the medium. right now i'm attempting to make 3 dimensional felt flowers. it's basically trial and error, trying to use paper techniques and applying it to felt. once i master them i'll have to figure out how i'll use them. i will be posting the new felt hair clips i made for the craft show i did few weeks ago. i've got a few new designs i came up with that i'm pretty happy with.

i finally finished the stocking i started last year for the little man. my brother and aaron both have/had stockings made by our mom's so i thought i'd do the same for avery. it's made from a kit just so i can get the hang of layering and what not. if i do another larger felt project i think i'm gonna attempt making avery a halloween bag. although this one is reasonably priced.

shop update is coming really soon. i promise.

halloween 2010 in a nutshell

2010-11-07T11:44:00.008-05:00

halloweens of yesteryear. yeah, we love the holiday!

everything is coming up poppy

2010-11-05T22:52:00.005-04:00

one of my first crafting projects in a long time: baby bedding for my friend, greyson. she's expecting her first, a little girl, in a few weeks and i volunteered to make the bedding for her as a shower gift.

she picked the fabrics and i did the rest. this was the first time i've made either a baby bumper or a crib skirt. i crossed my fingers and prayed the end result would be somewhat recognizable. i ended up using the directions from amy butler's little stitches for little ones book. the directions were fairly simple. but i'm not sure if i'm out-of-practice because i did find myself reading and re-reading each step. what am i saying? i've always had a hard time reading patterns. it's like it's written in some kinda sewing code or for the dyslexic.

in the end, i was happy with the outcome as was greyson. the nursery is absolutely adorable. almost makes me want to have a girl for our next. almost.

another crafty project i did for her shower: poppy cupcakes. brett and grey are 90% sure they are gonna name her "poppy" so as one of her gifts i got her this. which inspired me to to makes these for the shower.

they are homemade peach cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. i used prepackaged fondant to make the flowers, didn't trust myself to make my own. unfortunately i could not find black edible candy balls in boone, so i used yellow instead. they still turned out great and actually matched the cake at the shower, at least the coloring (ha, ha. if you saw the cake you would understand why this is funny). nothing like a baby to inspire some craftiness. tomorrow i'll post my ghetto-rigged teeth guard i put on little mans crib yesterday.

cutting up

2010-10-25T22:39:00.006-04:00

last week we had a pumpkin decorating/carving party at our place. we had appetizers, chili and butternut squash soup for dinner and cupcakes for dessert. the party was a huge success and i think we may have started a halloween tradition. unfortunately, not everyone was able to carve their pumpkin. we did a little too much chit-chatting and some friends had to leave before we got started. for those who did stay, we did get some crazy pumpkins. see photo below.

and here are two cuties who came but were a little too young to participate. there's always next year, boys!

red all over

2010-10-22T23:23:00.005-04:00

Red Rum - letterpress greeting

Red Love Grows with Dove

Hand Screenprinted Birch Forest in Red fabric

VIVID RED POPPIES Shoe clips

purple people eaters

2010-10-20T23:10:00.005-04:00

PASSIONATE PURPLE Recycled Magnetic LOCKET SET

Violet Hydrangea Ring Box

Handmade Purple Tiny Tile Bobby Pin Set

Penelope Necklace No. 2

perfectly pretty in pink

2010-10-19T21:19:00.006-04:00

this is actually proving to be more time-consuming than i thought. looking for the perfect item then trying to find the perfect corresponding pic, yeah it's taking me a lot longer than i expected. hence the lack of commentary.

one reason i'm doing this is to spark some inspiration. i've started crafting again. little things here and there. i was just asked if i'd like to consign some of my stuff at a local bookstore. i hardly have enough to keep my etsy store up and running let alone consign or have a booth at a craft fair. since the weather is starting to grow colder and our lives a little less hectic, i'm shooting to get back in gear. i need to set mini goals and a little sweat shop in my craft room. maybe then i'll get some stuff done.

Polaroid Coaster - Pink Fairies

Savoy Truffle - 9-Piece Enameled Bangle Set

Pair Vintage Table Lamps with New Custom Drum Shades

Large berry bowl strainer and scallop saucer in lilac.

berry blue

2010-10-18T21:09:00.006-04:00

Navy Blue with Honeysuckle print throw pillow

Dipping dish - beetle in ocean blue

Coco - 3 lovely blue wool felt flowers headband

Tattoo Style Anchor Love Pendant

go for green

2010-10-15T21:35:00.009-04:00

Peacock Parade Necklace

Sweet Little Blue Bird on a Pale Green Bowl

9 Mossy Green Felted Wool Acorns

Landscape leather bracelet

color feast

2010-10-14T16:17:00.008-04:00

this week i'm bringing back the color wheel. but this time i'm combining my love of color with my love of etsy. just in time for the holidays.

i meant to start this yesterday so i'll be a day behind. today we are yellow.

Copper and Honey Felt Flower Brooch

Sweet Sterling Silver Honeycomb Necklace by Rachel Pfeffer

Sweet Lemon Cream Soap Loaf

Gorgeous flower shaped filigree silver hairpins

AUTUMN WIND - Original Mixed Media Painting on Canvas

princess me

2010-09-24T22:28:00.009-04:00

another found image on the laptop. gonna have to bite the bullet and get a new printer/scanner if i want to continue with these weekly updates. i've pretty much exhausted my online stash of photos.

any suggestions on an all-in-one that's reliable and good for printing pics?

aaron's birthday weekend starts with a 10k in the a.m. for some reason, this is how he wants to start his day. ran a half marathon last weekend and now he's a running machine. somehow i foresee all our future trips/vacations involving some type of race or run. avery and i, a.k.a his travelling cheer section, are along for the ride. go a-wes.

the rest of the day will be spent at the nc zoo with the little man. please make the temps bearable. that's all i'm asking. thank you in advance.

fashion forward friday

2010-09-17T23:25:00.003-04:00

my printer/scanner is on the fritz so i've had to resort to photos i have on my computer/email. a few months ago my dad reconnected with an old friend who shared some photos he had from the 70s. i don't remember when this was taken but it's me with his two sons. it's crazy there are pictures of me out there that i have never seen and could possibly never see.

i was very fashion forward for a toddler. pairing stripes with plaid and a sundress. i guess i have my mom to thank for that.

in the bedroom

2010-09-16T12:19:00.001-04:00

sooner or later i'm gonna get around to decorating our bedroom. i'm pretty much at a loss on where to begin. i've been building somewhat of a furniture backbone but still need to get ideas on how to bring everything together. thank goodness for the internet. i stumbled across a really great website to find ideas for any room in your house.

above are the gender-neutral designs i like. below is what i'd love if i didn't have to worry about appeasing the man. yep, i'm sure i need a little girl or avery's gonna be surrounded in purple and poofs pretty soon.

remember them?

2010-09-10T01:32:00.003-04:00

yeah. they still do exist. although lacking the attention they probably deserve. fortunately for us the dogs and the boy have become instant pals. well, I guess pals is not quite the right word for it. marley barely acknowledges his existence and bosco has found a new salt lick. the boy, however, is thrilled about their presence. always following them around the room, picking up their toys and sticking them in his mouth, smiling/giggling when they do give him any attention. we'll see how long this idealistic situation will last. I think we might see some bumps as the boy becomes more mobile. which is gonna be any day now.

flashback friday

2010-09-03T23:19:00.001-04:00

to help me get back into the swing of blogging again, i'm introducing a weekly assignment for myself - flashback friday. i had another picture in mind but it would have involved walking downstairs and scanning the photo. so my lazy butt searched my laptop and found this lovely photo.

so this is a flash"way"back photo. i'm guessing it was taken in 1978. i look 3ish and brian 2ish. it's either seoul or taegu korea and we're with our youngest older cousin. i thought this was an appropriate first photo since my mom is about to head back to her homeland in a few weeks. she's flying solo but we're hoping the next time she goes, i/we can go with.

and so it begins...again.

he likes what he sees

2010-08-26T14:30:00.002-04:00

we've had a busy, busy summer. actually that's and understatement, we've had an insane summer of travel and family. although i love seeing everyone, it's so nice to have a weekend or two at home just relaxing. (although ours have been full of playing catchup on house/yard work) things are finally starting to settle down. so here i am, taking a breather, posting a recent photo of the boy.

more posts to come of how we've spent our summer vacation. they'll be short and sweet, but it'll be something.

isabella marie

2010-07-22T12:39:00.006-04:00

Born July 18th @ 11:19 pm, Isabella Marie Rich!!! She weighed 7 lb. 11.4 oz. and was 19.5" long, a big baby for 37 weeks!

congrats to my brother and sister-in-law and a warm welcome to isabella! we can't wait to meet you!

"blueberry sorbet...the kind you find..."

2010-07-07T00:08:00.004-04:00

last week one of aaron's patients brought him a huge box of blueberries. i'm talking HUGE! we love fresh fruit but we both knew there was no way we were gonna be able to finish them off before spoilage. so i went to my handy-dandy phone and looked up a recipe using the epicurious application. (if you have a smart phone, i highly recommend this free app.) unfortunately aaron's not a big cheesecake fan and i'm not a big pie fan so that nixed about 75% of the recipes. i was able to find a sorbet recipe that used six cups of blueberries, which is about half of what we have. i actually had all of the ingredients in house. score.

i got everything ready and we opened up the ice cream maker. (yes, we actually own an ice cream maker, it's the only thing aaron put on our wedding registry.)

me: i have to put an egg white in there about 3 minutes before it's done so that it can emulsify.
awes: what's emulsify?
me: i'm not sure, i know they do it on "top chef" all the time so it must be some fancy cooking term.
awes: eww, nice

emulsify: combining two liquids together which normally don't mix easily.

30 minutes later we were dining on some fresh sorbet. aaron laughed when i put them our martini glasses and made it look all fancy. i didn't strain the blueberries mixture so it has a bit of a pulpy taste. but it's good otherwise.

let's march

2010-07-05T14:44:00.002-04:00

watching the Boone parade, if you can call it that. more like the politician parade. we had fun regardless. perfect weather, watermelon and happy baby!

asian baby. anyone? anyone?

2010-07-03T13:08:00.002-04:00

seriously, i don't think this kid has an asian trait in him.

bella on board

2010-06-30T23:24:00.006-04:00

this past weekend we had irina's baby shower. (she's due august 7th, so baby bella's arrival is just around the corner.) i just wanted to share some of the craftiness i did for the shower.

the invites:
it was decided we'd do a beach-themed shower. (if you couldn't tell by the decor in the first pic.) i was able to find a hibiscus image that sorta seemed girly but not too girly. and since the colors of the invites were brown and pink, my first diaper cake followed suit.

diaper cake:
ideally i would have loved to have used brown hibiscus flowers but i don't think there is such a thing. in the end i had to settle for these gerber daisies. i used about 70 size 2 diapers and one bottle to make the innards of the cake. tissue paper, 2 different ribbons, a feathery boa and gerber daisies contribute to the "icing" on the cake. all in all i was really happy end result of my first diaper cake!

the shower was a great success and my brother and sister-in-law are very well equipped for bella's arrival.

my dad went to NYC...

2010-06-28T00:58:00.004-04:00

...and all I got was this lousy t-shirt! lol! but I do look pretty darn cute in it.

if you build it

2010-06-24T11:42:00.006-04:00

some of the latest construction going on around the house. nothing like a baby to get you motivated to get stuff done. above is a flagstone staircase being installed. it's currently getting rocked and i'll have finished photos next week.

below is a bump-out to our deck. we decided since we can't use much of the back yard anyways, we'll make our own flat land via more decking. it's amazing how increasing it a few feet gives you a ton more space. eventually i plan on staining it black or a dark walnut so it's not so mismatch.

got to finish packing for our trek up to maryland for my sister-in-law's baby shower. we've got a jam-packed weekend but i thought i'd update the blog while i had a minute.

a little help from my friend

2010-06-19T01:20:00.003-04:00

if you're wondering if the dogs are getting accustomed to having the wee one around, here's your answer.

oh petunia

2010-05-25T00:18:00.004-04:00

a few months ago, katie's sister asked me if i had heard of the petunia picklebottom diaper bag. (she too has a infant a few months older than avery) she told me they were the cadillac of diaper bags. i had never heard of them and had forgotten about them til we went shopping in charlotte a few weeks later. when i saw them, i was instantly infatuated. yes, i couldn't believe i was ga-ga over a diaper bag either. when i saw the price tag, i cringed. no way was i paying that much for something that's sole purpose was to carry diapers, bottles and anything poopy.

i got home and looked on ebay, hoping i'd find a gently used one in a color/style i liked. i had decided i wanted the glazed boxy backpack in a somewhat gender neutral color. (i did consider aaron might be carrying this thing around) i had set my maximum price i'd be willing to pay...and i pretty much got outbid every single time. i felt like if i was going to spend that kind of money i might as well get exactly what i want. my birthday was coming up, so i decided this was gonna be a great birthday present to myself. my logic...since this was pretty much gonna be my "purse" for the next couple of years, i can indulge. yes, my reasoning is somewhat skewed when it comes to anything avery.

so when my bag arrived, i was surprisingly giddy with excitement. you would have thought it was christmas morning at our house.

now, a few months later, do i regret getting it? heck no! i absolutely love it! i take it with me pretty much everywhere. and it's been perfect for all the traveling we've been doing lately. added bonus: i've gotten so many compliments on it. yes, i love a diaper bag! (the one pictured above is the one i got)

vier monate

2010-05-11T22:13:00.005-04:00

he's 14 lbs. 14.5 oz. and still growing.

today we're leaving on his first plane ride. of course, i have a million things to do before we leave and he's not able to entertain himself for one second. so far i've done his laundry, packed his suitcase, fed him, burped him, played with him, rocked him to sleep (slept for half an hour) and now he's mad at me for leaving him on his playmat. how come on the the day i have things to get done he becomes so high maintenance?! ;)

boy, you got a purrrty mouth

2010-05-11T00:16:00.003-04:00

sometimes when mama has too much time on her hands, little man get's a make over. lol!

jerome came over a few weeks ago to borrow our mullet wig for an 80s party (yes, we own a kentucky waterfall wig) and since i had the box out anyways... avery and i played a little dress-up. more him than me. i'm tempted to put him in a dress just to see how purrrty he'd be. i've had three people ask me if he's a boy or girl. apparently his long lashes make people second guess his gender.

i am beginning to think avery's looking more like aaron than me. at least that's the comment i'm hearing these days. his hair is starting to lighten up and i'm pretty sure he's gonna keep his eye color...blue! who knew my asian traits would be dominated by daddy's blonde hair, blue eyes. my dad told me that my grandfather had blue eyes, so i may be carrying that gene. we'll see if they stay blue in the upcoming months. so far, it looks like it could be a possibility.

tomorrow i'll post his four month photo.

westphal warriors strike again

2010-04-24T22:49:00.004-04:00

"our ALS fund-raising walk in winston-salem was great fun and very successful. we had a fantastic turnout and the boone dermatology crew raised over $3000 for a worthy charity. in fact, the walkers took home the reward for most money raised by a corporate team! a big thank you to all of those who helped out! let's do it even bigger and better next year!"

this is the update from aaron's work website. as you can see the team has doubled since we first started walking in nc. thanks again to all those who walked, donated and contributed in any way to help us fight this disease. and especially thanks for sporting those ultra-brite t-shirts!! ;) and yes, little man also participated!

club tres

2010-04-12T23:03:00.005-04:00

it's hard to believe the little guy is already three months old, soon to be four. above is his month marker shot. i actually took a little time and messed with the levels and whatnot in this pic. i muted down the colors to give it a somewhat aged look. below are two more versions of the same photo. the first being the original, the second a super saturated version and the third a color highlight.

i quickly threw these together, just imagine how stunning my pics could actually be if i took/had some time. but for now these will have to do! yes, i know, my kid is really, really, ridiculously good looking. :) lol! if you've seen zoolander then you'll get this reference.

taste the rainbow

2010-04-11T15:28:00.003-04:00

Friday Avery and I attended a mommy and me class. the activity of the morning: painting. Avery was no joke, got down and dirty with the big kids. we both had a good time playing in the paint and meeting new friends.

blogging from my phone as I'm feeding little man. way to multitask. got an iTunes giftcard last christmas so I thought I'd go ahead and use it for the blogging app.

i love it when you call me big papa

2010-03-23T14:45:00.005-04:00

since i did progression shots with my pregnancy, i've decided to also capture the first year of avery's life in the same way. here are a few shots from his first photo sessions. i've decided to go ahead and add a watermark since this blog is public and i don't want anyone claiming my little man as their own. i know it's hard to believe but i know of two people who've had this problem. insane, i know!

the picture below is his two month photo. when i showed it to some family members the first thing they said was he looked like notorious b.i.g. and that's exactly what i thought when i was scanning through the pics. i'm sure it's the hat. tomorrow we'll be taking his three month photo. hopefully we get a little sunshine. yes, we actually got more snow yesterday and it stuck! blah. i'm so over winter. spring get and stay here already!

this is a test

2010-03-22T23:55:00.001-04:00

I downloaded a free version of an iphone blog updater. it's pretty limited. not sure if it will be worth the deniro to get the full version.

we haven't figured it out yet. but one of the dogs has decided ripping up dirty diapers is his/her new past time. I have my suspicions. a little newspaper toy sitting by the wastebasket has me thinking it's the one of the female persuasion. but I have yet to catch her in the act. hmmm maybe it's time to install a nanny cam.

living mobile

2010-03-22T14:23:00.005-04:00

if you're a friend of mine via facebook then you've probably already seen these pics. the first three months of avery's life, i've pretty much had to do everything via my cell phone. lucky for me, my cell phone can just about do anything. i haven't had the time to figure out if i can update the blog through my phone so that's why posts have been few and far between. little bugger is now entertaining himself on his playmat so i have a second to update the blog. still a short post but with lots of personality. yep, little man is getting to be so big!

a conversation between two friends

2010-03-03T13:22:00.003-05:00

neglected, i know. with the weather being the way it has, (got another 4 inches of snow yesterday.) avery and i have become big-time home bodies. what's the best way to cure cabin fever? fill your days with lots of activities. one of those activities has been our countless photo sessions. although most of the time avery is an indifferent participant.

i've been gravitating towards black and white lately. no particular reason. just love how it captures the moment, particularly the one below. i think if it was in color it'd be a cluttered mess.

"happy chaos"

kate and natie

2010-02-17T22:56:00.003-05:00

this weekend we'll be making our way back to illinois to celebrate the nuptials of nate and katie westphal. they were married a little over a month ago in jamaica. unfortunately, with the birth of avery, i was unable to attend. so i'm looking forward to seeing everyone and introducing the little man to friends and family.

if i get a chance tomorrow i'll post some pics of what a cabin-feverish mom does when she's snowed in. yep...still snowing in the mountains.

the photo above was taken by my youngest brother-in-law's talented girlfriend, karla jensen.

snow baby

2010-02-08T14:35:00.002-05:00

so this has pretty much been our winter so far. snow, snow, snow! of course it's nothing like the record breaking snowfall the rest of the east coast got this past weekend, but it's been pretty consistent for us. there was probably a day, maybe two that we haven't had snow on the ground since avery's arrival. so we are getting a little stir crazy waiting the arrival of spring.

yes, i started this post about 3 hours ago and am just now posting it. someone asked me what i do all day and it's pretty much the same thing avery does. eat, sleep, poop! lol! avery is starting to nap on his own so it frees me up to get a little housework done. so blogging has taken a backseat to other duties. i would like to get back into it, mainly so i can document the goings-ons in the westphal house. it's hard to believe it's already been six weeks since avery's arrival. time is definitely flying by!

welcome to my roboto crib

2010-01-14T12:07:00.007-05:00

here are some long overdue pics of avery's nursery. i ended up going with different bedding i found on ebay. i loved the original one i picked out but this one seemed more appropriate and matched a little better with the prints.

of course, he has yet to sleep in here. spending a majority of his time either in our room or the living room. as you can see, i tried to make it not so babyish. i think i somewhat accomplished that.

below is the robot painting my sister-in-law and i worked on while she was here for my baby shower last month. it turned out great. you can also see the name plaque i was finally able to hang after his birth.

right now i'm uploading more photos and trying to figure out how i can share them via snapfish. apparently it says i can load them to blogger, so we'll just see about that.

avery mark westphal

2010-01-06T15:04:00.005-05:00

avery mark westphal arrived december 24, 2009 at 6:26 pm. little man came in at a whopping 8 lbs. 15 oz. and measured 20.5" long.

shortened birth story: at around midnight the previous evening, i started having consistent contractions about 7 minutes apart. then aaron and i went to the hospital around 3 a.m. when the contractions started coming closer together. when we arrived at the hospital i was only 2 cm which was what i was at my appointment earlier that morning. my contractions were about 3-4 minutes apart so i decided to labor naturally til the doctor arrived to check the next morning. she arrived around 9 a.m. and checked and i had only progressed to 3 cm. she then broke my water and the baby had a bowel movement while in utereo. since his heart rate was good she wasn't too concerned. i decided then to go ahead and get an epidural and that's when we decided to add pitocin to help progress the dilation. around 4 p.m. the nurse came in and asked if i shifted positions cause the baby's heart rate had dropped. she started shifting me around to find a position the baby would like. unfortunately it was difficult to do. the doctor checked again and i was only 4 cm by this time. she thought maybe since my contractions were coming so close together it was causing the baby stress. she also said the baby was still riding high and if i didn't progess much in the next few hours we'd have to consider a c-section. at my final check, barely any progress had been made and with that and the meconium in the amniotic fluid we decided it was best to do a c-section. we went in at 6 p.m. and 26 minutes later i could hear the cry of our little big man. "no wonder you weren't making much progress," the doc said, "he's huge!" after getting a clean bill of health we were soon holding avery in our arms.

so our lives have been pretty hectic the last few weeks. hopefully with a little down time i can update the blog fully. i'll try and post daily til i can get updated. lots of pics and news to come. stay tuned.

baby still on board

2009-12-22T23:55:00.005-05:00

yep, baby westphal is still on board. he's been teasing me the last few days with contractions, but not on a regular basis and not painful in nature. at first i wasn't sure i was having them, but as time passes i'm pretty sure that's what they are. they just feel like really strong menstrual cramps at the moment. very tolerable so i don't think he's coming any time soon. we were hoping he'd arrive today, my dad's birthday, but we've pretty much given up on that idea.

at my last appointment, i was only 1 cm dialated and 50% effaced. i go in tomorrow for my last check up before my actual due date. hopefully progress has been made. i'd be quite surprised if it hasn't since i'm having more contractions. fingers crossed.

i'll try and update more tomorrow. right now we're just taking it one day at a time. part of me is excited to get this party started but there's still a part of me freaked about what's to come. physically i'm very ready to have this baby. very ready!

above is my 36 week pic and below is my 38 week pic. i'll have to take another one in a few days, i can hardly believe i've almost made it to 40 weeks.

serious slacker

2009-11-25T14:33:00.003-05:00

here's my 34/35 week progression shot. as you can see, my face is starting to fill out. almost as round as it was in high school. not too much to report on the pregnancy front. next week i'll start my weekly visits to the ob/gyn and before you know it baby westphal will be here. i can't believe i only have 30 days left!!

i do have one complaint...swelling. unfortunately, the swelling is getting worse the bigger i get and thus cutting my time on the computer to a minimum. if i sit/stand too long, my ankles become unrecognizable and my legs are a complete mess. thank goodness it's winter and i can cover up the veiny/bruised goodness. as far as self image goes, it's crazy but my legs bother me more than the baby gut does. hopefully once i'm no longer carrying 45 pounds of extra weight, they'll go back to normal. fingers crossed.

next week i'll post pics of the nursery. it's pretty much complete. all i have left to do is make a robot print to place between the windows and i also have to finish painting a cabinet i decided had to go from brown to white. it wouldn't be such an issue if the primer i bought, that specifically says 'no sanding needed,' actually worked. i gave the whole cabinet a once over with the paint and it pretty much peeled right off. i just finished putting on the second coat and next week i'll hopefully finish the paint job.

right now we're waiting for the arrival of nate, katie and their pooch jet. they'll be spending the thanksgiving holiday with us and it'll probably be the last time i see them before the baby comes and their wedding. aaron's dad, mark, and youngest brother, danny, came down saturday with mark's girlfriend linda. we went down and met them in asheville and no sooner had we walked into aaron's grandma's house, mark made the announcement that he and linda were engaged. it caught us both off guard. actually i think everyone he told was a little surprised. so it made for an interesting visit. i don't think it's quite sunk in. (there's a long history here and i think it's really hard for anyone to be truly happy about this, especially the boys.) hopefully with time the shock will wear off and we'll all come to accept it. we'll just have to wait and see.

i better get back to cleaning, according to their gps, nate and katie should be arriving at 3:47 pm. LOL!

misfit mama

2009-11-06T00:19:00.003-05:00

been hiding under a rock the last few weeks. i need to update about our trip back to illinois and the other going-ons at the westphal house. my schedule is actually full with birthing classes, volunteer work and dr. appointments. i am also trying to clean house before baby arrives but i may have waited a bit too long to do so. the baby gut is definitely getting in the way and having three stories to climb in our house is not an easy feat with minimal lung capacity. we measured and i now have a 40 inch waist/gut. whoa baby!

other baby news to report: hiccups, he pretty much gets them on a daily basis. movement, i honestly feel like he's making more room for himself with the amount of kicking and pushing he's doing. heart rate, 141 bpm at today's appointment. head still down and all else is looking good.

next appointment in two weeks then weekly after that. it's slowly starting to creep up on us and baby westphal will be here before we know it! thought i'd share my 32/33 week pic. since it was on halloween, mama had to dress up. funny thing about the shirt, i bought a huge stash of band tees to eventually cut up and rework at a later date. they fit me perfectly now, go figure! ;)

roly poly

2009-10-22T19:40:00.004-04:00

today was the big ultrasound day! the lady was quite surprised when i showed up alone. she told me people usually bring a barrage a peeps for the viewing. i really didn't even think about asking anyone to come along. awes is working everyday this week and this is pretty much the last week baby westphal would be viewable before space becomes limited in there. i knew i'd be getting a video of the whole session to share with anyone who wanted to see so i wasn't too concerned. i am kinda happy i didn't bring anyone along because i don't think the session would have lasted as long as it did if someone else was there.

the lady warned me there was the possibility we wouldn't get any good pics since i was a little further along than they'd like to see. she said the optimal time is between 28-30 weeks. the video below is pretty much what she got as soon as she put the wand up to my stomach. "whoa, i don't think we're gonna have a problem with this little one." she told me. she kept telling me how she always has a hard time getting good face shots and how she usually only gets shots of the hands and feet. but baby westphal was the complete opposite. she got plenty of good face shots and had the hardest time getting a shot of a foot or his "bits and pieces."

so the whole time she's doing the ultrasound she's recording EVERYTHING for me! i now have an hour long video of the whole session. unfortunately i don't know how to get video clips easily off the dvd she gave me (not sure if i have the right software or file formats.) so i had to play it on the computer and record with my phone. that's why the quality isn't that great. this is literally the first 41 seconds of the session. she pretty much switched over to 4d mode afterwards. i'm gonna have to find a really good spot to make a shorter clip of that part.

the session lasted a little over an hour, which was half an hour longer than they told me it would last. "you're my last patient today so we can take as long as we want." sweet. i came out with an hour long dvd, a huge stack of photos and a disk of all the photos she took during the session. i definitely think it was money well spent.

U-G-G-L-Y, yeah they're uggly

2009-10-20T15:21:00.007-04:00

just a few days away from hitting the single digits as far as weeks go. it's crazy to think it's less than two months now til our family of two becomes three. i almost put four becomes five because i'm the crazy dog lady! ;)

i had my monthly check-up last thursday and everything is on par as far as progress goes. his head is already down and his heartbeat was around 123. i assumed that i'd be getting another ultrasound at my next appointment but was told since i've had a few more than usual that it wasn't necessary. of course i already had my mind set that i'd be getting one so as soon as i got home i made an appointment at another womens center to get the ultrasound. since it's elective i'll have to pay but i'll get 3d/4d and a 30 minute dvd of the little one. it's thursday afternoon so hopefully i can figure it out and post a video update afterwards.

i am starting to get to that "uncomfortable" stage which isn't too bad YET. i think one of the main problems i'm having is swelling. for a while it was my feet swelling at the end of the day. now it's pretty much all the time. my doc said some women are just more prone to swelling than others. with my family history of varicose veins i wasn't too surprised i'd be one of those women. awes has me wearing compression stockings and wants me to do some more walking to get the blood circulating. my remedy is to lay down with my feet elevated, the easiest thing to do of course. i also found out why i was getting that faint feeling i wrote about last time. apparently with all the kicking and pushing baby westphal is doing he's hitting some of my big veins and interrupting the blood flow. little bugger! a few nights ago he pretty much did it all night long and it was impossible to get any sleep. hopefully those nights are few and far between.

last week awes and i started our birthing classes. i just thought it'd be beneficial for both of us to gain as much knowledge as possible. we've been reading books but i thought doing a more hands-on approach would help us as well. some of the things the class teaches include: relaxation and breathing techniques, info on pain management, infant cpr and a tour of the birthing center. after the last class we're considering using a doula. we're still researching it but i'd love to hear if anyone's used one for their delivery.

it's kinda hard to see in the pic but i did break down and get a pair of ugg boots. well a generic version of them. with all the swelling going on i didn't have much of a choice. although with today's weather i could have easily worn flip-flops again. at least i got the darker colored ones instead of the khaki ones so it isn't as atrocious. sorry if i've offended any ugg wearers, lol! ;)

lazy sunday

2009-10-11T18:51:00.000-04:00

a run for his money

2009-10-08T13:40:00.003-04:00

i'm not exactly sure what this kid is doing inside me but the rest of me is not liking it.

a: "how you feeling?"
s: "not so great, for some reason i'm feeling a little faint when he moves. like my blood pressure is dropping."
a: "you should elevate your feet."
s: "okay, it's only happening when he moves, not when he kicks or stretches. like he's doing corkscrews or something. he must be flip-flopping in there."
a: "weird."
s: "no kidding."

so i spent the rest of the evening on the couch with my feet above my heart finishing off the third season of dexter.

i'm pretty sure i've gotten to the point (28/29 weeks) where i can give my dad a run for the money as far as beer/baby guts go! ;) i'll have to do a side-by-side comparison next time i see him.

i had to go out and purchase a cheap pair of boots (which, according to awes, look like ninja boots). with the weather getting cooler i was hoping i could just transition into my regular boots. nope, i tried putting on my boots from a few weeks ago and my monster calves have become more monsterous. i found a pair that has some give and goes about half way up my calf. i almost consider getting the ugg boot just cause they'd be easy to get into and out of. but to me uggs fall into the crocs category. i don't care how comfortable they are, they're ugly as hell and i just can't see myself wearing them.

this weekend we're having a garage sale at aaron's office to raise money for the als walk we participate in every year. all the money we raise is gonna go towards als research. we're hoping to make this an annual thing so here's hoping the weather cooperates and we have a great turnout.

jack sprat

2009-09-30T13:30:00.005-04:00

still chugging along. here's my 26/27 week belly shot. sometimes i wonder if you saw me from the front if you could tell i'm pregnant. sorta like one of those flat characters where you look from the front and she's super skinny and then from the side she's huge.

i was hoping i could still wear my normal clothing and i'm learning it's pretty much a lost cause. this week i switched out my spring/summer clothes for fall/winter wear. i threw on a sweater this morning and it pretty much covered about half of the baby bump. i now own an extensive collection of belly sweaters. looks like cardigans are gonna be my best friend this winter.

i tried hitting up the thrift stores in hopes of finding some decent pants or maybe even a pair of overalls. apparently the only ladies that donate maternity clothing are of the large or x-large set. so i broke down last week and bought another pair of maternity jeans and a maternity skirt. i can fudge a bit and avoid buying maternity shirts but there's no avoiding the mom jeans now.

as far as the health aspect of this pregnancy, i don't have too much to report. as predicted i failed the one-hour glucose test and passed the three-hour test after the second hour. still feeling good. occasionally getting winded when walking and definitely getting swollen feet at the end of the day. baby boris is moving around like crazy and you can actually see the kicking, poking, prodding and stretching he's doing on the outside. i didn't think i'd be one of those people who'd have her hands on her belly all the time and now i'm grabbing people hands and putting them there so they can feel the movement too. funny how things change.

the nursery is about 85% done. still looking for a rocking chair to put in there. i really don't want one of those typical gliders because i want it to eventually transition into a reading chair as he gets older. hopefully i'll be able to find something in the upcoming weeks. once i find the chair and get some window treatments, it'll pretty much be done. i'll post pics soon.

i did start an online registry at babies r us and target. i went from not having a single baby shower to now having three! i would love some input on what i overlooked and what you think is a baby must-have! thanks.

iron like a lion in zion

2009-09-27T15:20:00.004-04:00

as promised, here is the flickr set of aaron's recent trip to zion national park.

rock and roll

2009-09-24T12:56:00.004-04:00

here's a pic of what is currently happening at the westphal abode. our house is officially becoming a mountain home. we've been talking about rocking the exposed sides of the house since we bought it a couple of years ago. it just looked unfinished to us. and with the pipe bursting last winter it left a huge water stain on the cement in the front. it's amazing what a little rock can do, the house looks like it's gotten a featherlift.

here's a little preview of aaron's hiking trip to zion national park.
i'll post the flickr photos once i upload and resize all the them. also i'll post my 26 week belly shot in a few too.

ready for some football

2009-09-21T19:54:00.003-04:00

i meant to post this last week. last saturday was app. states home opener. unfortunately we lost to mcneese state in a close game 40-35. app. state is 0-2 for the season. we still have faith in the mountaineers. aaron said they started the season last year 1-2 and still had a winning season. fingers crossed they do great next weekend and the rest of the year.

we do have season tickets but for the first game we switched seats with dr. stanley's family and got to sit in the new, posh club section. my fanny appreciated the padded seats and i'm sure when it starts to get cold i'd love the overhead heaters. for the rest of the season we'll be in our regular seats, which are a little closer but not nearly as luxurious. it's hard to believe this is the stadium for a small I-AA school. it's pretty pimping! ;)

aaron get's back from vegas/zion tomorrow. i'll be posting pics of his trip in the next few days. sounds like he's had a great time and has some great photos to share. stay tuned.

caution: wide load

2009-09-15T15:01:00.004-04:00

it's so weird cause i don't realize how big i'm getting til i look at the photos. of course it all depends on what i'm wearing, what angle you see me from and how straight i stand. i actually wore this shirt pre-pregnancy and am now wondering if it makes me larger than i think it does. it does appear like i'm smuggling a bowling ball under there. i'll have to do some sequence shots when we get closer to the end so you can see the progression.

seems like i always have something wrong when i go to an appointment. today's appointment was no different. last time it was the low-lying placenta which resolved itself at my last appointment. this time i didn't pass the one hour glucose test. i was seriously on the cusp of passing. on my instruction sheet it says if you score 140 or below you pass but it also says if you score 140 or above you'll have to be screened again. of course my docs are "better safe than sorry" so i have to go back friday for the three hour screening. i don't know why i got the impression i'd only be drinking a dixie cup worth of modified juice. i think one of the many times i was down in hickory getting my blood drawn, there was a pregnant lady was getting her glucose tested. i could have sworn she was only holding a small dixie cup of orange juice. when the girl handed me the 10 oz. bottle of juice and told me i had to finish it all in five minutes, my jaw almost hit the floor. if you know me, it takes me a whole day to finish off one 12 oz. can of soda, if i even finish it. i have a feeling that i'll pass on friday, a majority of women do. plus i think the nurse took my blood a little early. i bet if she would have waited five more minutes i would have passed. i guess we'll just have to wait and see.

as far as weight goes, i'm riding a little high. i just calculated where i should be and where i'm at and right now and i'm at the higher end of the spectrum. i kinda think that may be another reason why my docs want to retest me. it probably wouldn't hurt for me to go on a low carb diet. i was told for this test i could eat a couple hours before my test but to avoid carbs and sugar...yeah, the only thing i could pretty much eat was peanut butter. i have discovered that i consume a lot of carbs. and with being pregnant i've probably doubled my usual intake. i'll have to look up a diet plan and see if i can at least modify my diet. if i fail my glucose test on friday, i really won't have a choice.

and finally, the crib and dresser arrived last thursday! yippee! aaron put the crib together and i put the dresser together so the nursery is finally starting to look like an actual room. i also was able to get an additional $75 back since both pieces went on sale before they were shipped. and i must say i'm quite impressed with the quality of both pieces considering we only paid a little over $200 each. here's a link to the crib in case you were wondering what it looked like. sweet, it just went back up in price so i got a bargain. hopefully the prints i ordered come today, so nursery pics to come in the near future.

i better go. i've been thinking about crafting again and i opened the door to my craft room and it looks like it's become a dumping ground for anything and everything. so my next task is to clean a little craft house.

on the outs

2009-09-11T22:33:00.004-04:00

here are the pics from our long weekend to the outer banks. so we started our summer with a trip to the beach and ended it the same way. unfortunately the weather wasn't so cooperative this time around. we did manage to get at least one day of sunshine. we had a fun time hanging with jill and jerome and pretty much the rest of their family.

tomorrow is the first home game for appalachian state football. hopefully i can somehow maneuver my tshirt to cover the belly. it'll be a little too warm to sport the sweatshirt this time around. i'll post my latest belly pic tomorrow although you can see from the beach pics it's grown a bit! ;)

mr. roboto

2009-09-04T16:17:00.004-04:00

i ordered some prints for the nursery. what's more boy than robots? i ended up getting three robot prints and one raygun print from john golden's shop on etsy. i also ordered a picture collage that spells out the baby's name. i told aaron we couldn't hang it til after the baby's born. so there's no more back and forth debate on the baby's name. by ordering the collage i've made it official. still not telling! ;)

we're still waiting on the crib and dresser combo. it's estimated delivery date is now september 26. good thing i ordered it early. i've gotta call cause i just noticed both items went on sale and the invoice hasn't been updated.

this weekend we're headed to nags head, nc for the holiday weekend. jill and jerome rented a beach house and invited us to come along. it's gonna be a long trek across the state. it's about a 6.5/7 hour trip to the coast. it's funny cause we can get to a beach in south carolina in less time. hopefully the weather cooperates and hurricanes and tropical storms will pass us by. i should have pics to post when we get back. not sure what our internet situation will be while we're there. i might have to resort to using my phone to keep updated with everyone. and i think i finally figured out what was wrong with my feed. so hopefully when this posts to facebook it'll have pics and copy. fingers crossed.

tattooed fingers, tattooed toes

2009-08-28T14:37:00.005-04:00

since everyone is dying to see the tattoo progression shot...behold.

whoa, i just looked at them side by side and i can definitely see some stretching going on. i have to laugh, cause both aaron and i looked at it last night and said it looked the same. little did we know. i'm still wearing the same jeans with a little assistance from the belly band.

so a little over half way and it's not looking too shabby. at least it's stretching out evenly. i think i'm more concerned with what it will look like afterwards. that's where the real test lies. it'll be a wait and see game til the very end.

misfit baby

2009-08-25T21:35:00.004-04:00

today was another baby doctors appointment. i had to get an ultrasound to check on the placenta problem they found at my last appointment. and just like the doc told me it's migrated upwards and, as of now, is no longer a problem. the doc quickly did a 4d ultrasound for me and was able to get a decent face shot. i can now rest seeing the baby actually has eyelids. i was a little worried for a second there. the nurses at aaron's office have given baby westphal a new nickname, squiggy from laverne and shirley. i actually think he could be a future member of the misfits, but that's just me. it's not actually his hair, just a shadow the machine put on his forehead, but it is funny to think that it is. i don't think he's sucking his thumb. that's what everyone has been asking me. i'm pretty sure it's just his hand up by his face.

the rest of the appointment was pretty standard. i did get a regular flu shot, which was a first for me, at least that i can remember. i'll be getting the swine flu shot when it arrives in the next month or so. my quad screen also came back negative which was great and one less thing to worry about. and, drum roll please, i've gained a whopping 8 pounds in the last month. so from start of the ivf process in march to now i've gained about 20 pounds. i'm gonna guess i'll gain another 20 before it's time to deliver. yeah right. we'll just have to wait and see.

at my next appointment, which is in three weeks, i'll be doing the dreaded glucose test. i have a feeling if there's any test i'm gonna fail it's gonna be this one. pretty much all i've been eating are sweets and carbs. i wouldn't necessarily say i've been craving them but set a box of french fries in front of me and i can pretty much guarantee they'll be gone in no time flat.

here's my 22 week pic and my attempt to look a little slimmer. ;)
i finally finished the 20 pairs of scrub pants i had to alter. so hopefully in the next few weeks i'll be able to concentrate on some other sewing projects. i do have a few already in mind.

like mother, like daughter?

2009-08-20T23:41:00.003-04:00

so my aunt's comment had me ransacking my baby photo album, looking for a pic of my mom during her pregnancy. OMG! she wasn't kidding. i can't even imagine being any bigger than i am now and i've still got 18 weeks to go. i'm hoping it's just a growth spurt and i'll even out. i should be so lucky. i go in tuesday for another ultrasound and we'll see how much weight i've gained. i would not be surprised if it's another 7 pounds. i think i've figured out where i'm packing on those pounds, around my torso and in my thighs. i've gone out for a second time to update my undergarment wardrobe. i've gone from a 34 to a 38 and a small to a medium in about a month. my next pic i'm gonna bust out the skinny jeans cause i think those dresses are making me look bigger than i actually am. i wish! i hope!

welcome to the champagne room

2009-08-19T12:20:00.007-04:00

at least it's where we'll be at 2 a.m. come december. finally getting around to posting pics of the finished paint job.

{before}
{after}
so we have one thing crossed off our list in preparation for baby westphal's arrival. well, we do have a wardrobe somewhat started. no, we haven't gone on a spending spree. most of the stuff we've accumulated over the years. you know, parents hinting around for a grandbaby with an outfit or two. most, if not all the rest has been bought on sale or on consignment. we've come to the conclusion, there's no reason to pay top dollar for baby clothes. of course i say that now, but i'm sure i'm gonna see something absolute adorable that i have to have. so i'll say, generally, there's no reason to pay top dollar for baby clothes. which brings me to our next project: reorganizing the closet.

i've been meaning to post these for a while but i've been having terrible eye allergies. at least that's what we think they are. i went in to the doc and he could see the lipids were inflamed under my eyelids. at first he thought i had make-up caked up under there but after trying to remove them he found it was something more permanent. one eye was worst than the other and oh so painful. i couldn't open my eyes without them instantly watering. i've been taking a topical antibiotic for the eyes and allergy meds to help soothe them. they are finally getting back to normal. apparently being preggers may have caused the flare-up. with my immune system compromised if i get sick it'll be twice as bad. so it looks like i'll be getting the flu shot this year.

this week i've been feeling baby westphal kick more often than not. it's weird to describe the feeling, sorta like someone's just pushing on you. not painful at all, at least not yet. it is a weird sensation and when it started happening i started to bug out a little. (the scene from alien comes to mind). now i find myself giving a little push or shove to get him moving some more. aaron's felt him a few times. he probably gets more excited then me! ;)

we have decided on a first name. and although it is tempting to tell, we're gonna keep it under wraps. still debating on the middle name but i think we've gotten it narrowed down to a few. so i've got a secret! ;)

20 down...

2009-08-12T23:39:00.006-04:00

20 to go. the halfway point has come and gone and so far things have been going good. my appetite has returned with a vengeance. holy cow, i seriously didn't think i could eat so much. so long kids meals, hello super-sized ones!

the last few weeks i've had to make the switch to maternity wear, at least out in public. i don't mind sporting the half shirt at home. and yes, i've been sporting the dresses more often than not. i think i've worn them more the last few weeks than i have in a lifetime. when the pants don't fit...

luckily last weekend was a tax-free weekend here in nc. so aaron and i did some shopping. me more so than him. we did get a few outfits for baby westphal, but our main agenda was to get me something to wear. i'm now the proud new owner of two pair of maternity pants, a handful of shirts and some maternity dresses. luckily i was able to find some normal clothes that can double for maternity wear. like the dress i'm wearing in the pic.

the nursery is done, at least painted. i'll post pics tomorrow of the before and after pics. already loving the color and am thinking about the rest of the decor. the crib and changing table are still on order. expected delivery between august 14 - september 1. so for now it'll remain empty. i'll have to post some of the decor i'm considering and get peoples opinion. i'm finding i'm a bit girly in my thinking and it's really hard not to be so cutesy.

i did start my registries. greyson and i hit up "babies r us" and target last week. i'm having a hard time picking out things to put on it. if anyone has any suggestions, i'd love to hear them. yeah, the stroller i registered for turns on a dime... which makes aaron very happy. lol!

nice girls swallow

2009-08-07T14:26:00.005-04:00

to help me get back into the swing of crafting i decided to participate in an altoid tin swap. it was small and easy, so a good way to get my feet wet again. my partner received today so i can post some pics of the tin i made. i went with her swallow theme if you couldn't tell. angela, you might recognize some of the stickers i used. they came in real handy with this project. thanks!

{back}

{interior}

{close up of embroidery}

right now i'm in the process of altering about 15 pairs of scrub bottoms from an XL to a medium. i've decided it would be a hell-of-a-lot easier to make them from scratch. i also started painting the nursery sky blue. the more rooms i paint, the more i hate the color that is originally in the rooms. it's so blah! i'll post some progress shots this weekend. hopefully i can get it all done by sunday.

baby gut

2009-07-29T21:06:00.004-04:00

i'm not sure if it's "officially" made an appearance. seems like in the morning it's a bump but by the end of the day it's turned into a gut. so here's my 18 week belly shot, actually it's closer to 19 weeks. i've decided it's impossible for me not to make a silly face when taking pics of myself. this pic will give you an idea of what's to come. i'll have to check and see if my camera has a remote. if you could have seen what i went through to get the photo: placing a stand-in lamp for focusing, running back to the camera to focus and set timer, running back and moving the lamp and posing in less than 10 seconds. it was a pretty funny sight to see and i have a feeling it'll get harder the bigger i get. i'll be a pregnant blur by the time 40 weeks rolls around.

yesterday i had my official ob appointment. i stepped on the scale and i had gained a whopping seven pounds in the last month! of course i was a bit confused cause the day before i weighed myself at home and had only gained two pounds. so your guess is as good as mine as to how much i've gained. my appointment was pretty uneventful. we got confirmation that baby westphal is still a boy. he said everything looked good except that my placenta was a little lower than he'd like to see. so i was diagnosed with low-lying placenta previa. the doctor didn't seem too concerned. he said it would probably migrate upward the further along i get. i'll have to be closely monitored and have another ultrasound in four weeks to make sure it does. seems like me and the ultrasound machine are becoming fast friends. the doc did do a quick 4-D ultrasound. unfortunately the baby's arms were blocking his face but you can kinda make out some of his features. hopefully next time we'll get a better pic.

on target

2009-07-28T23:38:00.003-04:00

i absolutely love target. i ordered the baby bedding a few days ago and it arrived yesterday. i wanted to go somewhat gender neutral just in case we switched teams. and i wanted it to be modern and chic. it's gorgeous and i'm very happy with my purchase. i can now make some progress on the nursery, namely painting the walls. today i ordered the crib and matching dresser. i'll share that purchase later. i feel like we are starting to make some progress getting prepared for bbw (baby boy westphal). tomorrow i'll post today's doctor's appt. along with a long overdue belly shot. i finally have something to share. i'm amazed how things just pop out of nowhere. ;)

it's an...

2009-07-24T13:24:00.004-04:00

alien! see i wasn't exaggerating when i said the baby looked like an alien last ultrasound. and now i have the proof! ;) last thursday i went in and had another ultrasound done at the free clinic. the main purpose of my visit was to have a gender scan. it was still a bit early, 16 weeks 6 days, so there was a possibility we wouldn't see anything or the baby wouldn't cooperate. fortunately the baby was ready to reveal it's secret. so without further adieu here is the money shot everyone has been waiting for.

i know it's always difficult figuring out what is what in these pics so i went ahead and labeled as much as i could to make it a little easier. what you're seeing is a shot from the underside with the baby's legs spread eagle. the little red circle is baby westphal's bits and pieces. so we're pretty sure it's a boy. i asked the ultrasound tech if she could give me a percentage, like 75% boy 25% girl. she told me she's about 95% sure it's a boy and she'd be quite surprised if i was told otherwise.

next tuesday i go in for my official ob appointment where i will be getting another ultrasound to hopefully confirm what we already know. i did go and get a few outfits after i found out. i refrained from going overboard and kept all my receipts just in case. here's one last pic to share. a profile shot.

rebirth

2009-07-23T15:53:00.005-04:00

okay, a bit on the dramatic side. i finally finished all the twilight books and can now continue on with daily life. my first priority was to upload all the photos from the last 2 weeks, i guess it's almost 3 now. time sure does fly. included but not limited to is our trip back to illinois/missouri, a few pics from the boone derm picnic and adrian and katie's visit to the high country. i have a few pics on a disposable camera i have yet to develop so they should be coming soon as well.

things should be getting back to normal around here. and either later tonight or tomorrow i'll update the baby status.

where are you?

2009-07-15T17:31:00.003-04:00

i've been sucked into the twilight series. returning home from illinois last week, i picked up the first book at the airport. finished it in two days and i promptly went out and bought the second book. finished new moon last friday but have had to refrain from reading since we had a busy weekend. music festival, company picnic and a visit from adrian, katie and lily occupied my time. today i went out and bought the next two books, eclipse and breaking dawn. i needed to insure i had the fourth book handy when i completed the third. yeah, i'm a bit addicted. edward cullen has become my new legolas. i'm such a sci-fi nerd. i went from elves to vampires. so sad.

nothing to see here

2009-06-30T15:59:00.005-04:00

seriously. 14 weeks pregnant and nothing to really see. but i thought i'd document anyways. i'll probably post every other week. depending on if there are significant changes. so it begins.

sorry for the bad photoshop infusion. i really need to invest in a tripod. propping my camera on it's side, with notebook and camera lens took some work. and getting in the same angle...impossible. i did a quick cleanup, hence no shadow on the left. i'll try and figure out a better way to do this in the future.

had another ob appointment last thursday. pretty much a check up from the neck down. heard the baby's heartbeat with the doppler this time. 150 bpm. also got the results from my bloodwork all came back normal. so far, all is still good. and i'm actually feeling better all around. a bit more energy and starting to get somewhat of an appetite.

we leave tomorrow for southern illinois. pretty much have a whirlwind schedule ahead of us while we're there. unfortunately we won't be making it to robinson or springfield. i think we need more days in the week to squeeze everyone we want to see in. i'll try and update while we're there, but no promises.

michael is #1

2009-06-29T14:51:00.002-04:00

yes, this was a nine-year-olds tribute to the king of pop. a few months ago i picked up my old sticker album from my parents house and was surprised when flipping through that this page existed. actually, not too surprised, i was quite the fan. still am. and yes, a few tears were shed upon his passing.

r.i.p. michael.

oak island

2009-06-26T17:19:00.003-04:00

this past weekend we headed to the beach with the caraway clan. here's a few pics from the trip. awes and i had a great time hanging with the caraways and we both hope we can do it again next year.

baby got back

2009-06-19T14:13:00.005-04:00

yesterday i decided to give the free clinic a shot. since i'm officially starting my second trimester, i thought it'd be nice to see how the little one is progressing. i called in the a.m. and they were able to squeeze me in an hour later. this was my first abdominal ultrasound. at first the tech pointed out the heartbeat. "see the little heart beating?" uhhh, no. "right there." pointing to a little speck on the screen. okay. suddenly there's a clear view of the face. almost alien-like, with the big eyes. it's mouth opening and closing. is it eating i asked? "no, it's breathing." it was cool and creepy to see. i wish i could have gotten a video of it.

the tech continued to take measurements. baby westphal is measuring right where he/she should be. unfortunately by the time the tech got around to taking pics for me, the baby decided to flip completely over. she tried to jiggle the baby to turn over for us, but that proved to be futile. so here is a nice pic of the baby's back side. you can see the spine (the brighter line in the pic), it's little head, and even an ear.

i'll go back on the 17th of july to the free clinic to have another ultrasound, hopefully i'll be able see what we're having. if not, i have my official ultrasound with my ob on the 28th of july.

pickles and ice cream

2009-06-18T17:05:00.002-04:00

well not really the ice cream but pretty close. i was watching unwrapped the other day when they did a little segment on bob's pickle pops. i immediately thought how appropriate considering my current situation. so far i've only consumed one jar of pickles, but i can hardly blame the pregnancy for that. i've pretty much loved pickles my whole life. i am debating if i should purchase a packet. maybe if i get a hardcore craving i'll take the plunge.

pacing the panic room

2009-06-15T15:09:00.004-04:00

i was looking for creative ways to do pregnancy progression shots when i came across this site, pacingthepanicroom. actually it's about the only site i found that had a clever take on the process. i'm far from showing but want to do something on the creative side when the time does arise. any suggestions? check out the site to see more candid and cute shots.

atari 2600

2009-06-12T21:12:00.004-04:00

jen asked me to make a few blankets for a friend and informed me that said friend would be naming their son, atari. of course i couldn't resist and whipped up a quick stenciled onesie to go along with the blankets. i think it turned out pretty good considering the cutting i had to do. i tried using the least difficult of the space invaders. pretty neat.

daily morningness

2009-06-08T13:21:00.004-04:00

one of my friends, janett, started up a website yesterday and asked me to participate. mornings lets you follow a group of photographers (amateur and pro) all around the world as they show you a little piece of their morning. the good, the bad and the ugly. this project is wholly inspired by the book, "A Year of Mornings, 3,191 miles apart" by Stephanie Congden Barnes and Maria Vettese.

i originally took this photo, the first thing i see when i open my eyes, but it was a little blah so i went with my old standby. lucky for me, marley was up for a photo session this morning. i'm not much of a morning person, so it'll be interesting to see how long i can go. if i can post one a week, i'll be happy!

little buddy

2009-06-03T15:34:00.007-04:00

so this is about a week after the fact, but here's a pic of my latest ultrasound. little krispie has now graduated to having buds. it's amazing how fast it's growing, and how fast it'll continue to grow. not only did i hear the baby's heart beating i could see it. it's little heart just fluttering away in it's tiny little chest.

i had my first ob appointment last thursday and was surprised that instead of seeing my normal nurse practitioner i'll be seeing a doctor. apparently my pregnancy is still considered high risk (at least to this group) because it happened through IVF. my RE reassured me that as long as i was carrying one baby it should be considered a normal pregnancy. i guess it's better to be safe than sorry.

at my appointment i was told i have to wait another 8-10 weeks before i get another ultrasound. it's so weird to have already gotten two in the last two weeks to having to wait what seems like a lifetime for another one. the girls at aaron's work told him about a clinic in town that'll do ultrasounds for free. i'm almost tempted to go every friday to check on the baby's progress. ok, maybe every other week. ;)

another thing i learned at my appointment. even though the baby measured a couple of days early at the first ultrasound they stick with my original calculated due date. unless it fluctuates by more than a week they keep the same date. which makes sense since at the second ultrasound the baby measured two days older. so my official due date is december 25. yes, baby westphal is officially a christmas baby! yep, he/she is gonna be one of those poor kids that gets birthday presents wrapped in christmas paper.

as far as symptoms go my major problem is being EXTREMELY tired all the time. this baby is sucking the life force out of me, literally. i'm told that once the second trimester starts that'll dissipate. fingers crossed it does, i hate feeling like a huge slug. another problem i'm having is being hungry but nothing looks or tastes good. i think it's my body subconsciously avoiding morning sickness. it's just really odd that i have to force myself to eat. according to my ob it's normal and is considered a form of morning sickness. so i guess by definition i am having some slight morning sickness but no vomiting or extreme nausea. thank goodness.

the computer went on the fritz last week and has been getting repaired the last two days. i love apple. luckily i purchased the apple care program with this computer. why would you not with a huge purchase like this. i called monday morning and they physically sent someone here to boone yesterday to fix it. it had a defective fan that was making all this noise and the guy replaced it and went ahead and replaced the motherboard while he was at it. i can't believe how quiet it is now. amazing.

so this means updates should be coming more regularly. we've got a busy month ahead of us. aaron's dad and grandmother will be here next week. then the caraways will be heading our way and we'll all be heading for the beach in a few weeks. the summeys will officially be residents of boone in a few weeks. and aaron and i will be heading back to illinois to celebrate the 4th. we fly in on the 1st and will be there til the 7th. yes, busy, busy, busy!