Coming Soon....

I have not had any time.

It's sad, really, but I do believe that my priorities have shifted in a good way. I am spending my "spare" time sleeping, or studying for seminary, or sleeping, or cleaning my house, or sewing a picnic backpack to take on all the adventures I'm planning for this summer, or sleeping, or having new adventures (70 lbs of strawberries, driving the 4 girls and myself to North Carolina).

I plan to post pictures of our Spring Break. I have them uploaded to a jump drive, but I haven't moved them to my home computer. We had an AWESOME vacation! It's one of the best Spring Breaks I've ever had. A large part of that was our awesome hostess and her great family. We love you, Tuellers!

If you're dying to see pictures of our trip, check out her blog (she's much more with it, although with 3 kids, one being potty-trained, her husband working from home, and home schooling, I really don't know how she does it. I'm in awe!) She's posted a few of the highlights of our trip. Such cute kids! And, really, they all got along amazingly well. For having 10 people in a 3 bedroom town house, it really didn't feel too crowded or crazy. Although, their town house is larger than their home in South Bend was.

I have to throw in a "THANK YOU!" to the Moody's as well. We caravanned down to North Carolina with them. Their oldest son, Doug, was a good helper to have. He really kept Veronica diverted and occupied. The older two girls also loved riding in their van and watching the DVD player in the ceiling. Thanks so much for the help and the company!!!

Thanks so much, Tueller's, for opening your home, and letting us have so much fun with you. It was awesome!

Baby Shower Cake

Below is the final product of the baby shower cake I made for a friend. It was a challenge! But I had a great time doing this.

I had to make the "bonnet" twice. The first one wouldn't come off the bowl I used as a mold. The second round I coated the bowl with shortening, then even used a paper towel to keep it from sticking. I then placed it in the dehydrator so it would be ready for the morning when I needed it. Whew! It worked!


It was funny how nobody wanted to cut into the cake! The hostesses of the shower were really reluctant to cut into it. I didn't want to cut into it because it wasn't my party- but I ended up serving. Plenty enough for the 25+ people we had there (although nobody wanted to cut the face, either).

To see my trial run "mini" baby bassinet, click here.

Yellow cake (made by Kathleen). The double layered cake has a strawberry curd filling and is covered completely in butter cream icing. The quilt, baby face, and bassinet cover is made from marshmallow-fondant mixed with gumpaste (home-made stuff, yum!).

I wasn't entirely happy with this baby's eyelashes. I tried using a paintbrush and it was a disaster. Next time I'll stick with the toothpick.

I did end up making a true quilt- with piecing the triangles, and even placing a backing on (like I thought, the pieces would not stay together until I "glued" them with a thin sheet of fondant-gumpaste).

It was great to try my hand at something new! I wonder what will be next...

Miracles

I have seen and felt the hand of God in our events this weekend. In addition to being able to attend the temple on Saturday, we also had little miracles happen as Megan and I headed for Indianapolis. I cannot thank all of you enough for your thoughtfulness, your prayers, your thoughts, and for fasting. I am humbled, full of gratitude, and so grateful for Prayer, Friends, Family, and God.

Not 30 minutes into our drive, Travis called saying Ronald McDonald House said they had a room open up for us. This is a place that is run by volunteers and donations to provide a room, a common kitchen, laundry, bath, etc. for families with children in the hospital. For $10/night. I had just made reservations at $116 for a hotel, not a mile away from the hospital, that should have been fine, but was something I was not planning on keeping each night. Now I know I can go back to a room and shower, keep extra things locked away, and make myself some meals without having to worry about paying a hotel bill.

When we arrived, we were offered a full turkey dinner (mashed potatoes, stuffing, salad, gravy, raw veggie platter, cookies and brownies). We ate our fill and were then checked in. Apparently, this is a more self-serve sleeping place and normally they leave the bed linens folded on the bed for the family to make when they arrive. Well, we'd had some college boys who were volunteering that had actually made the beds! Rather impressive, and so very kind since we didn't get into our room until nearly 9pm. I let Megan stay up and we ate popcorn, snacked on some other treats somebody had left outside our door, and watched movie.

Check in was uneventful, until it was time for Megan to head back for the surgery. She was crying, and very upset. I know part of that was because she was up so late last night. Another part because she's in an unfamiliar place, with unfamiliar people, going in to something she knows is supposed to be scary.

Now, I'm sitting in the waiting room, wishing I had my cup of steamed milk and homemade wheat bread with fresh-ground peanut butter (instead I spent $5 on a cup of semi-warm, sickly sweet soy milk cocoa, ugh), and trying not to chew my fingernails as I wait semi-patiently for the doctor to come out and tell me that everything went perfectly.

I also found out that, although Veronica did rather well last night, Miranda woke up nearly every hour. Huh? No, I didn't get their names mixed up. My two-year-old has felt my going to Indy very acutely, and has not be pacified that Nanaunt was there for her. Miranda really, really wanted to come to Indy with me. Hopefully tonight will be better, and she'll settle in with Nanaunt and have a lot of fun with her.

Oh, and because I had the car with the tell-tale bike rack, the seminary students didn't know that the teacher (Travis) was waiting for them in the classroom. Many of them waited in the parking lot for 15-20 min until finally coming in to check things out. One student, at least, headed home because he thought nobody was there. I did tell them they were having a sub! I even told them it was Travis. Hopefully tomorrow they'll all show up!

I'll update the blog again as soon as I can. Hopefully shortly after we get Megan into her room and settled. Here's hoping it's all good news.

Car Seat

Veronica got a new car seat yesterday.

I dithered about it, walking through the baby aisles at the shopping stores, hemming and hawing about what to get. I have a hard time paying $100+ for a car seat. Mostly because I've already 7 seats over the last seven years (between infant carriers, convertible, boosters, second seats for babysitters, etc). I also went from attempting gender neutral (which is pretty impossible) to all-girl without being too frilly or easily-shows-dirt (also unbelievably impossible). I looked and looked and found one I'd consider until I started hyperventilating at the price tag. Is it just me or have they become even more expensive in the last year?

So, I dithered a little more and finally, knowing that Veronica was much too long to really be sitting in her infant carrier, and big enough (she's 20 lbs and 6 oz at her one-year-well-child check-up) to sit forward facing, I found two that I liked. One was pink and brown, the other was half the price ($90 vs $40). For me, for the most part a car seat is less about the safety (they all hit about the same marks, last I checked- PLEASE CORRECT ME IF YOU KNOW DIFFERENTLY- and the only thing you're paying extra for is style, comfort, ease of use, etc.) I know how to install them, having actually taught classes to others (although I'm not officially trained), and I'm a stickler about having car seats in correctly. I still think they're a rip-off.

Anyway, so I wondered if I should pay double and get the pretty cute one, or just get the generic utilitarian one. In the end, my cheap side won out, but only because I figured I could change it to something I did like.

I brought it home, put 'Nica in bed (she still was in the infant carrier) and got to work. Two-and-a-half hours later, I LOVE this seat! I love it even more than the $90 seat at the store. It's totally original, girly but not frilly, should wash and wear well (i.e. won't be easy to see dirt/stains), and I love the print.

I still have some material left over to sew the skirt I bought the fabric for in the first place. But even if I never sew myself the skirt, I'll love putting my little girl in this seat!


I think 'Nica liked it, too. Or maybe it was the fact she got to sit forward and be a "big girl".



***Note: I did NOT sew a new cover! I merely stitched the material over the top of the previous cloth, folding over the sides and (attempting to) stitch in the ditch. I did include "button hole" finishes for the strap slots (yup, all 8 up top and all 5 below) and that was the most time consuming portion. It isn't perfect (at some of the edges you can see the cloth below, and sometimes my stitching wasn't straight), but I love it so much more than the original cloth that my sewing mistakes pale in comparison!***

Happy First Birthday, 'Nica!

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If you know anything about Veronica Selene Bailey, it's that her other middle name is "Smiley!" She is always such a joy to be around, and she will share her smile with the slightest provocation. She is truly a Sunshine in our life, and we're so glad she's part of our family.

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Happy First Birthday,
'Nica Smiley!

Download this mp3 from Beemp3.com

Milestones

Last week brought two wonderful events in our house. Well, maybe wonderful.



Veronica started talking. No, not full sentences, but definitely more than just "mama" and "dada". I've mentioned before that when she's happy she says, "Dat-dat-dat-dat" and when she's sad or wants something it's "ma-ma-ma-ma". But last week she looked over at a mess and said, "Uh-oh!" And, she's started using a "mmmmmaaahh" sound for when she wants more food. And, she's said, "uh-huh" when she knows she's not supposed to touch something. Yeah, she's starting to talk. Hurrah! Now if she'd only start walking.



It's been many months coming, but last Monday I decided that I was ready to work on Miranda learning how to use the toilet. I have dedicated a number of posts to potty training. Did I follow all my own advice? Mmmm, kinda. Did it work? When I remembered to remind her. And, it helped a TON that her sisters were helpful to remind her. And, it helped that she was ready, already understanding the urge to urinate (we're still working on pooping). Of course, both times we went to the farm, she had accidents. I think it's being outside, no toilet, and playing without mom around were huge factors. Still, other than maybe one accident every other day, she's done phenomenally well! And I am SO GLAD to not have to change bottoms! (We're still using diapers at night, but that's for a number of reasons.

Another milestone is I might be the first person in my family to break a bone. Seriously. I jumped into the shallow end of the pool Tuesday night, heel first. My right heel took the full force of the jump, and hurt incredibly. I thought maybe I just bruised it, until I wanted to puke after trying to walk on it. I put off going to the doctor, and placed a call to my internist. He had his nurse call me back 6 hours later and ask me to go to the urgent care. I'm still TICKED about that! Why didn't he just send me there earlier? so I could avoid the dumb three-hour wait to be seen? The x-rays were not exciting, but it seems there might be a crack in the talus (heel bone), right about the place where it's hurting. At any rate, the doctor didn't have much more advice than what I was already doing (stay off it, ice it if it gets swollen, take tylenol or ibuprofen as needed). Although I did come away with crutches. I don't know if they are worth it or not. Maybe if I'm out walking around, but I almost think they are more of a hazard around the house than a help! Besides, although I can't put any weight on my heel, I am able to walk on the side of the ball of my foot. So, I'm somewhat hobbled, but mobile.

Can I just say I'm ready to be DONE with doctors' visits? Only, we have at least 2 more; one a follow-up on Zoë's sleep study, and another visit for Megan's kidney function test (next week in Indianapolis). Hopefully we'll be done for, oh, say, maybe 10 years? or the rest of our lives? Is that asking too much?

Freak-Outs and Contentment

Do you ever have those freak-out moments about your child? Oh no! She's not ______ing yet, like her sisters/friends/cousins are!

I think because Zoë was my first, I just didn't know what to expect. Megan I had fewer worries about, knowing that siblings were different. With Miranda, I was freaked out that she wasn't going to talk as much or as well as her sisters. I need not have worried. Just yesterday she was telling me about the wicked witch that was coming to get her and she was going to throw water on her to make her melt like ice cream. Oh, and she's going to dance with her Prince Derek because she's Princess Genevieve from 12 Dancing Princesses. Uh, my two-and-a-half-year-old is not verbally challenged (in vocabulary, sentence construction, grammar, content, or invention).

So, looking at my fourth child, Smiley 'Nica, I try to remember that she has all the proper developmental milestones in appropriate time frames. Still, I was worrying because she was later rolling over, later sitting up. It doesn't always help to have friends who have babies with birth dates mere weeks (or days!) from 'Nica's.

Still, I was relieved, and very happy, despite my inner cringe, that 'Nica is crawling!










Maybe I needed her to have a slight delay in crawling so I could still enjoy and rejoice in her milestone, instead of just cringing that now she can go where she wants, on her knees, in dirt (yeah, I'm not so good about keeping my floors very clean, but parks are worse), with her face and hands close to paper that she loves to stuff in her little mouth.

The great part about 'Nica crawling? I can set her down and come back later and she'll not have moved hardly at all! I think she is just such a content baby, for the vast majority of the time, that she doesn't feel the need to look elsewhere. Of course, there's the freak-out side of me that then starts to wonder if she'll be lazy and have no self-drive or motivation. But, that's borrowing trouble, and I think with the genetics she's got, she should have plenty of self-motivation and ambition (with plenty of examples from immediate family members).



'Nica is such a fun baby! She's my most cuddly, snugly, smiley, happy baby. Oh, and it's even better when she's sleeping through the night! *sigh* Yes, I have been greatly blessed this week that 'Nica has been sleeping from 9-11 hours, instead of 6-8 (which isn't bad except she'd go to bed at 9 and wake up at 3am, meaning no break for me, especially since I'm in the habit of staying up 'til midnight or later when Travis is out of town). And, as I complain about that 6-8- hour stretch, I need to add the comment that she just nurses and goes back to sleep, not that she's up for the day. I had a friend subtly point that out, and I am SO GRATEFUL that she doesn't decide to stay awake!

Now, if I could just get the big sisters to stay asleep through the night.

Aunt Becky's Visit

Where do I start? We did so much, and had great fun!

We so loved having her come spend these last 10 days with us. We hated to see her leave, and my girls are already planning on having her come back next year (for her birthday!?!)

So, I'm going to try and recap, but do it with only ONE or TWO photos per day. Whew! Let's see if that's possible?*

Saturday- Airport and Field Museum

Sunday- Church & easy afternoon

Zoë was bouncing Veronica on the chair
and they were cracking each other up.

Monday- Amish Country, including the famous Quilt Garden Tour; we stopped for lunch at our favorite picnic place, Krider Gardens. They have these awesome mushroom statues that are so fun to take pictures on. Becky tucked the Rhodadendron flowers into the girls' hair and we got some great shots of them.






Tuesday- Silver Beach in Michigan, on the eastern boarder of Lake Michigan. The weather was PERFECT, and we were so glad that Travis was able to join us, too!

Veronica hated getting her feet in the water.
Every time her feet got wet, she'd start crying in a way that'd break your heart.
But, she loved her Aunt Becky!

Wednesday- Trip to Indy for Megan's doctor appointment, but we managed to make it a super fun day with visiting the Indianapolis Zoo, swimming at the hotel, and eating dinner at a restaurant.

Veronica hung out in the stroller for the most part, but she didn't nap until late afternoon!

Miranda loved watching the antics of the Lemurs playing "leap-frog"
over the turtles on the log that is behind us.

We chose to get wet at a splash pad, but soon after we saw the Giraffes,

... we needed those umbrellas!

Becky was great to help Miranda see things over the fence.

We ate dinner at a Mexican restaurant. Miranda saw this carousel pony, and wanted a ride.
She named the horse "Taco".

We needed to work off some of those chips! Swimming was a great fun way to do that.

Miranda begged to go swimming the next morning.
Sadly, we did not have any more time.

Thursday- More zoo, the drive home, and Becky's Happy Birthday!

Becky's Birthday Cake- I made it before we left for Indy.
Megan was as excited as Miranda (see above picture).
I can't remember why Zoë was so upset.

Friday- We went to the Farm, where I have the co-op garden, and then the girls painted their pets that Megan picked out at the hospital gift shop.

If any of you have spoken with Miranda after we've gone to the farm,
or mention anything about a "cat"
you will have already heard about "MY Calico Kitty Cat!"
Above, you can see how Miranda absolutely adores her Calico Kitty Cat.

Zoë was so sweet holding this little rabbit.
"It's ears are so warm against my face!"

This is where Veronica was most of the time- and she loved every minute!

We picked strawberries and I let each girl eat one on the way home.

Megan and Miranda ended up with juice dripping down their chins and arms!

Zoë named her fish "Prism" because she was rainbow colored.

Megan named her lizard, Lizzie.

Saturday- We were exhausted! and decided to have a low-key day. The rain helped our decision. We watched a friend run the end of a 1/2-Marathon, and then Becky made paper boats with the girls. They didn't get to float them, tho', because the rain came pouring down. So they had a "picnic" in the entryway watching the rain and the puddles.


Sunday- Church & Family Pictures

Monday- College Football Hall of Fame after a picnic lunch, chocolates from the South Bend Chocolate Company, and a family bike ride with a second picnic (dinner) on the Notre Dame campus.

It was fun to see the girls actually kick the ball.
They must get their athletic talent from extended family...

The BYU school song was playing when we came out of the museum.

Veronica and Miranda enjoyed riding in the trailer.
Our neighbor let Becky borrow a bike,
and we had a great time riding around campus in the sun.

Travis took Becky on a tour of the lab and the fish facility.

This picture of Becky was taken by our budding photographer, Miranda.

Tuesday- originally we planned to go to Amish Acres, but it was raining (again!) and so we decided instead to pick up some supplies for some projects: painting umbrellas and making slipper socks!

The girls ran downstairs to check on their socks the morning after Becky left to see if they were dry enough to wear. It was then a flurry of cardboard and giggles as the tried on all their decorated socks and ran around seeing how they felt. Megan changed her's a few times, Zoë stuck with the rainbows, and Miranda was thrilled beyond belief to be able to wear her ballerina socks. Veronica wasn't happy in the picture because she cared more about milk than what was on her toes.

Wednesday arrived far too quickly! While I dealt with a flood in the basement and a plumber clearing the main line, Becky played with the girls. Then we loaded up and drove to Chicago to spend the last few hours before Becky left at the Shedd Aquarium. We even got to see the new baby beluga.

I have a quote on my calendar:

Only an Aunt...
can give hugs like a mother,
can keep secrets like a sister,
and share love like a friend.

We had the best vacation with you, and look forward to your return. We love you, Becky!


*Were you counting pictures? I was: 57 pictures, an average of nearly 6/day. Well, I couldn't just put two per day- we had more activities, and the girls weren't always in the same shot! Oh, we won't count the number of pictures Becky and I together took- it's up into the 1000s. I only picked my favs... and not all of them!