Monthly Archives: August 2010

Very busy. Last Saturday was our local airport’s fly-in so we headed up to see the airplanes, helicopters, and cars.

I loved this bi-plane with the wooden propeller. If they would have been giving rides in it I totally would have gone in a heartbeat, nine months pregnant and everything.

Evelyn got to sit in the big army helicopter. She started putting on her seatbelt right away.  I especially like the motion w embroidery for Wisconsin that they had on all the seats.

By the end of the morning she had the ASL sign for helicopter down. Not an easy sign for little hands. Beyond all cuteness.

Then it was home for a nap and finally off to the pool to enjoy one last afternoon swimming before it closed.

She loves that she can sit on the bottom and her chin just touches the water.

It was actually warmer in the big pool and after a few pulls around with her daddy she was kicking and jumping of the edge into his arms. I hope after the baby comes she and I can go to lessons in the indoor pool. She loves it so.

Sunday we went out to my Aunt Janet and Uncle Mike’s house for his 60th birthday and to also celebrate the second birthday of my Cousin Chris and Jonah’s little guy, Brody. Good company and good cake.

Yesterday Aunt Gigi came back from school and she, Momma, the little girl and I headed down to Illinois for an Ikea shopping trip. I bought a bookcase, dresser, a comfortable chair, lamp, and a mini table with chairs. That’s a lot of boxes. Heavy boxes if you ask Momma and Gigi, who did all the lifting. Today I started putting together the little table and chairs. I can’t get one of the screws in the chair and I don’t have a screwdriver long enough to put together the table. So I moved on to the comfortable Poäng chair. I got it together and am happy to say I’m typing this while sitting in it.  I only pinched the palm of my hand a little. Now Scott can put together the rest.

Tomorrow I will get the nursery cleaned up then I can get it painted, hopefully by the end of the week. Then we can start moving stuff in and I can get clothes put away. I think I will feel a little more settled and ready for him if I just have a place to put his clothes and change him. I am also making progress on his quilt and hope to have it at least ready for quilting next week. Things are getting so close!

Maybe I can also find some time in there to rest, too.

Oh my poor feet! I didn’t have this issue with my first pregnancy but this time my feet have suffered. I think I first noticed it when I was trying to find a pair of shoes to wear to my brother’s wedding rehearsal back in May. I knew I had a pair of cute silver strappy sandals from my wedding to wear so five minutes before we were supposed to leave I dug through my shoe bin to find them. I could not get my toes past the straps. Panic. I’ll just wear my flat grey ballet slippers. Can only find one as small child has taken to hiding shoes. Panic. Husband and child are waiting in the car pulled halfway out the driveway. More panic. I remember I stuck a pair of grey high heels in the bag to go to Vinnie’s because they weren’t that comfortable but they did fit. Problem solved but depression set in. Will any of my nice shoes fit after this child is born?

I guess I’ll see. Some women’s feet never go back to their original size after progesterone and relaxin have done their dirty work. The trick is to wear supportive shoes. Not so easy in the summer. I have one pair of sandals that is more structured than the others but even these aren’t cutting it right now. My feet hurt so bad.

So I do a search for orthopedic sandals. Now I’m not opposed to some granny sandals. Some are really cute in a sort of ironic way. I think of Zooey Deschanel or Maggie Gyllenhaal. My momma had a cute pair that she wore for a long time.  I called her this morning to ask what brand they are and she said they are SAS (as seen above). I don’t think I can do SAS shoes. These are nun shoes. Maybe in a couple years when I’ve really given up. Just kidding to all you SAS wearers.

But not really.

I continue the search and find really awful shoes that I wouldn’t let my Grandmother be seen in and then I come across this article. Exactly what I’m talking about.

I’ve ordered this tan pair. I’m not sure if I’ll like the strap around my ankle but I’ll try it.

If I don’t like the strap there is also this style, which comes in a lot of colors. I love the red but I’m not really a red person (makes me think of this quote: “Why can’t you wear black shoes like the other mothers?” Ten points if you know what movie that’s from). I’d probably get navy. I might just get them anyway. Especially if I won’t have any other shoes that fit me.

Wow. I haven’t done one of these in a while. I’m up a little earlier this Monday and things are nice and quiet here, not for long I’m sure.

I’ve made a little progress on baby brother’s quilt and by that I mean I actually got the pieces cut out and arranged how I like them. Now they are organized for sewing. It is a half hexagon quilt, so not the most complicated pattern but not the simplest, either. Scott has off tonight so I’m hoping I can get some sewing done.

This quilt didn’t cut into my stash as much as I’d hoped. Probably because I bought more fabric to supplement what I already had. That’s okay, though. I’m hoping to use some of it for more projects for the little guy. And I certainly have more quilts planned.

Any book that has animals in it is a big hit around here as of late. Bonus if there is a fishy in it. You will read them at least five times in a row. She knows what most of the animals say.

Mama: “What does the rooster say?”

Evelyn: “Cock-cock-do”

Mama: “What does the horse say?”

Evelyn: “Neigh”

Mama: “What does the owl say?”

Evelyn: ” Whoo” (with her little hands in circles around her eyes)

Mama: “What does the piggy say?”

Evelyn: “Hi”

Okay, so we need to work on that one.

On Saturday my whole family went to the Milwaukee zoo. That means Papa, Momma, Blake, Gretchen, Clifton, Cassie, Kristiana, and our little family of three.

Everyone (minus Papa) rode the train. That’s Blake enjoying the ride.

We had a fun time even if it was really hot. They had misting hoses set up around the park that felt wonderful but my feet still got really swollen. I would like to go back when the weather is a little more tolerable and I’m not waddling.

After the zoo we drove downtown to see Scott’s brother, Andy, for a little bit. We don’t get to see him very much so it was nice to catch up over some good dinner. Thanks Andy. Then it was time to go home, especially because at this point only one of my shoes was on my feet.

Now for the goodbye.

Our kitty, Tibbs, has been gone for over a week. I don’t think he will be coming back.

He had been wanting to be outside more and more, to the point where all of his time inside the house would be spent begging at the door to go out.

He was also getting more daring about being by the road. I hope that he wandered away and found somewhere else to live but I know in my heart that probably isn’t the case.

It is a bittersweet thing, having him gone. He was our first cat. I miss him but I won’t miss the things that go along with a cat- the litter box, ruined furniture, torn up carpet. We can reclaim the basement.

I would be happy to see him if he came scratching back at our door but for now we’ll just say goodbye to Sgt. Tibbs.

Same story, different week.  It’s too hot. I’m too tired. Evelyn is too busy. Sigh.

I seriously have not done anything but I just wanted to say hi. I’m feeling the need to make some quilts so I’ve been planning them out and I’m going to practice some free motion quilting on my machine to see if I can finish them myself or if I will have to send them to a professional to be quilted. More to come on that hopefully.

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned my child’s obsession with shoes. We try on at least five pairs a day. They usually don’t match or fit which leaves sad and lonely single shoes around the house while one remains on her foot. The mates are in the bathrooms, bedrooms, by the laundry closet, outside thrown off the deck into the bushes or in the driveway. This has given her the nickname One Shoe Pete. Here she is trying out baby brother’s mattress for bounciness.

A new after-bath pastime: playing the drum machine naked while daddy plays his guitar.

And here is a picture of the little one growing. Growing big. I so wish I was done being pregnant. Only a few more weeks to go.