Crib for Baby!

The crib!!! I am so happy how it turned out. :-) I just need to buy a mat and frame for Peter Rabbit and hang him up above the crib. I also need to sketch out the other characters I need so the set will be complete.

The bumper up close. My mom made it. I just stitched in the ditch.

The little rabbit. :-)

My OB appointment went well. I had a problem with my eyes over the weekend and then had a horrible headache and both of my eyes really hurt. They think I had an ocular migraine, but they wanted me to tell my neurologist to make sure it wasn't something more serious. So I called, and now I'm just waiting for a call back. :-) Could be awhile. ;-) Also, my blood count dropped. I was already low, but it went even lower. Sigh. So they are getting up with my GI to see how they want to add some iron to my fomula or if that is even an option. Plus, they are talking about inducing me at 39 weeks. That is if the baby hasn't already decided to come out. lol They want to do it on a weekday so I can have all the different docs I need around. That way I can have my g-j mic-key replaced while I'm still in the hospital. We'll see how that goes.... Not sure I want it, but I understand the reasons behind it. :-) Maybe he will decide to be born on a weekday on his own. Who knows. :-)

I can't finish the tote bag I started yesterday until I get matching thread. I'm hoping to get that tomorrow. tThen I can put it together and post it up for y'all to see.

The toolbox is all ready for me to paint Mario on it! I found a really cool pic online of Mario throwing a fireball. I want to do another action pose on the other side. At the bottom of the toolbox I will have a mushroom, star, and a 1-up mushroom. The front will have his name with "Super" above it in smaller print. That was Ben's great idea. ;-) I haven't quite decided what I will put on the back. Maybe a question mark box. That would be kinda neat. Maybe some regular blocks and then a question mark box. I like that idea, but I might change my mind. :-D

Oh, my midwife is so sweet! She wants to buy me all the Peter Rabbit books. Well, I guess I should say Beatrix Potter books. The small ones that I've wanted for awhile!!! I think that is just the sweetest thing.... :-) I had to share.

I finally decided on the pattern I want for Tonya's tote bag! I just need to sew it together before Friday so I might do it tomorrow. We'll see. I have a couple days. :-)

My First Zippered Pillow

Here's my latest sewing project. It's a gift for one of our nephews. It was the first time I sewed a zipper! I watched this tutorial where this guy showed a super easy way to put a zipper in a pillow. So that made my life a lot easier.

I'm working on a tote bag for a gift today. I would like to finish my dad's gift sometime this week, too. Plus, I have a class to learn how to make a charm party tote. I'm making that for my sister. I'm in a sewing and a painting mood so I'm not sure what I will make this week. :-D I know I will make the charm tote b/c I will make it at the class.  ;-)

Lots of News

The baby is still growing well!!! Yes! Anyway, he is 2 lbs. 11 oz. right now. :-) Also I can breastfeed! They can switch my one med to another after I've had the baby. I am so thrilled! I can't believe I actually can.... Makes me so happy. :-) It is so much better for the baby, and I'm all about making him healthy. The only problem is that the new med can make my asthma worse. So we will see.

I finished a banner,and she wants another banner with monkeys. lol I wasn't expecting that. Plus, I might have an order for a fall banner so we will see.... I need as many orders as I can get! Every little bit helps. :-) So here's the latest banner. It was taken outside so it is harder to see b/c of the brightness, but I was able to fix some of it so it isn't as bad as it was.

I've been busy with errands this week so I haven't had much time to get some of my projects done. I think I might start working on the toolbox I'm painting for one of our nephews. It will have Mario on it. I'm more in the painting mood right now, I think. But I am hoping to work on the tote bag this weekend. We'll see.

Ben is off tomorrow! Yay! Not sure what we will do, but at least he will be around. :-) Maybe we can play Wii. We did that the other night, and it was so much fun! We played the Mario one for Wii. You know, the one that came out last year around Christmas. I love that one. It's so much fun b/c you get to play together. I also like Mario Kart, and I want to play Super Mario Sluggers b/c I like baseball on Wii. Especially since I can't play it for real. I at least feel like I'm playing b/c I get to swing the bat! Too fun.

I have housing for Fort Hunter!!! They are giving me an already handicap house. It was built in 2006 and has three bedrooms and two baths!!! I was like, wow?! Really?! At first, they were going to give me a two bedroom b/c we will only have 1 child, but those houses are way too small for me with a power chair. Especially since they would totally have to revamp it for me. I am so thankful we will get one already ready for me! But there are some things they might still need to do that they didn't mention was done already. They said yes, make sure you mention everything I need so they can work on it. They are being so helpful and nice! :-) God has really blessed us with this. I have all the paperwork except for the doctor note saying I need modifications and which modifications I need. The woman said I can go ahead and send everything I have, and they will be put me on the list. I can't believe how quickly everything has come together! It is amazing. I know it is God working this all out. There is no other way.

I have a new provider to help me with stuff like taking me to appointments, going to the store, picking up my meds, and helping me with things around  the house. She is awesome! And so kind. She is a Christian, too. We hit it off immediately. She has 2 boys so she has great advice for me, too. Her name is Missy, by the way.

Missy is the one who gave me the advice of flying instead of driving to Savannah. I had thought about it earlier, but I wasn't sure if I should b/c of Ben having to travel alone. Plus, he would have to clean the house.... But Missy suggested paying someone to do it. Bingo! Great idea. :-) And then there is Kaylee. I would rather Kaylee go with me on the plane, and since it is winter she could go as baggage. It would be costly b/c I would have to by a big carrier for her and pay for her to go. But I would rather that. She would handle it better, I think. If I go to Dallas, I could get a straight flight to RDU which would make everything better. I wouldn't have to worry about Kaylee being accidentally put on the wrong plane, and I wouldn't have the problem of transferring to another plane with the baby. :-) Then I can stay there a couple days, and my parents could drive me down to Savannah to meet up with Ben. Hopefully, we can get into housing immediately and get all our stuff from the movers quickly. We are moving at a good time b/c most ppl move in the summer. So I'm just praying all that stuff works out well.

Lots of great new, don't you think? :-) Hope your day is going well!

Peter Rabbit!

I finished Peter Rabbit!!!!! It was awesome to paint in watercolor again! I aboslutely love the new watercolor boards they have out now! Man, it makes it so much easier to paint b/c you don't have to worry about putting too much water on it and having the paper came up. I want way more of these! Makes it so much less stressful to not have to worry about the paper, too. I'm hoping to transfer my lion to my one other watercolor board and start working on it this week. But before I can paint the lion, I have to finish this banner order. I'm hoping to get it mailed out by Monday so we will see. :-) Anyway, here is Peter Rabbit.

I got fabric for Cathy's tote bag at Hancock on Thursday. All the fabrics were on clearance! I love the focus fabic for it. I can't wait to make it! Sometime next week. Maybe even tomorrow. ;-) I have some more over the oven towels to work on, and I need to stitch in the ditch the crib bumper my mom made and sent to me. It's the final touch to it. Also, I got the fabric I wanted for the grocery cart cover! It was a remnant at a really good price and the fabric I wanted to use for it! Plus, I got the fabric to work on the pillow for Eli's Christmas present. It shouldn't be too hard to do. So this week is sewing week. ;-) I'll post pics of all the stuff I've made when it is done.

That's about it for now. Have a great weekend!

Feeling Better

I'm finally feeling better and more like myself! Yay! When I went to my OB appointment on Monday, my midwife took one look at me and was like let's get you out of here quick! lol I still wasn't feeling well from the surgery. I was so glad she took care of me quickly. :-) Oh! I found out what blood type I am! I am O- so that means I had to get a shot. LOL I just find it too funny that I've always wanted to know what blood type I am, and I've been stuck a bazillion times in my life and now when I finally find out I get another shot! Just like me to make it difficult. ;-) It's b/c of the RH Factor when you are pregnant and have that blood type.

So I drank that horrible stuff for the bloodwork, and of course, it made me super nauseated and hurt my stomach a lot. BUT I kept it done. :-) Talk about living on nausea meds. The thing that bugged me the whole time I was drinking it was that I know I am not diabetic. I actually get low blood sugar more than anything else. Ah, well.

Yesterday I had my tote class!!! I love it! I'm giving it as a gift, and I can't wait to make more as gifts. :-)

I used a different pattern for the front and back so it's more interesting. It was so fun and easy. I have a banner order! She wants it like the dragonfly one I just did but w/o the ladybugs and in her school's colors. She's a teacher so it will be in her classroom. :-) Also, it sounds like there is another banner order coming soon. The big kind this time.

I go to GI today. I'm going to bring my Audrey Hepburn picture and work on it. I'm doing her in pencil, and when she's done I'm hanging her up in the art/craft room. Since I go to Temple so much I'm going to bring her to all my appointments until she is finished. Then I'll bring something else. I love finally hitting on to this idea. Before I was kinda like, but ppl will see.... I hate to be in the spotlight, but I need to get some things finsihed so I'm going to be brave and do it! I'm so excited at the possibility of getting some pics done this way!!!

Well, I need to clean the bathroom. I also want to make Ben a dessert today. I just haven't decided WhAt to make. lol It might be tomorrow, though b/c the day is going by fast, and I will be on the HOP later. We'll see what happens. :-)

Surgery Update

My surgery turned out more complicated than it was supposed to be. Ben and I got there a little before 9:30 and didn't leave to go home till 2:45! It was a looong day. :-) They got me in a room by 10 and started an IV, and then the anesthesia guy came in and went over all my info with me. Then the assistant to the GI doc came and talked to me. The GI who did the replacement I've never met before, and I never did meet him!!! I was knocked out before I saw him. So that was kinda weird. lol Anyway, they took me to the surgery room at 11 and got me all set up, and then I was asleep.

When I woke up, I could hear myself coughing, wheezing, and having a hard time breathing, but I was still so out of it. They were trying to get me to use my inhaler. I tried but just didn't have the strength and wasn't even sure where it was. lol They finally got it in me. I heard them telling the recovery nurse my blood presure was staying really low, and I was having tachycardia the whole time in surgery. And now the asthma attack. So they got a nebulizer to me really really quick. I don't even remember all that. I remember them telling me several times to wake up and breath. I finally woke up enough and was breathing the stuff in better. I had the treatment for about 20 minutes, and I felt lots better when it was done. My blood pressure finally rose so I didn't have to take any meds to raise it. But my heart rate stayed fast the whole day. I think when they went in to suck up the stuff from my stomach that my pill must have still been trying to digest. I don't know, but it was fast all day so I felt miserable.

I wasn't able to feed after midnight and then the surgery took 2 hours instead of 30 minutes! Then they told me I couldn't drink anything for an hour and couldn't feed until 8 pm!!! I was like oh, no.... I was feeling so shaky and weak. I fell while trying to transfer to my power chair. Ben helped me. It was just like oh, wow I am weak. So I was sick all day and just needed rest and lots of it. I finally managed to eat a little something and drink some Ginger Ale. I was so happy to start my feeds!!!

The other problem was that when they went to replace my tube, they noticed that the tube was really coiled up and was in stomach. The end of the tube was going into the small intestine, but it was too close to my stomach. So that probably explains why I have been sooo sick the past couple of weeks with intense nausea, feeling full, stomach upset, and losing weight. I'm glad we got this thing fixed and out of me!!! They think it messed up so bad b/c of my growing stomach, and I didn't have enough cord to continue down into my small intestine. They made sure I had enough this time so I'm hoping and praying it stays where it's supposed to so I don't get so sick again!!!

I slept for about 11 hours before the surgery, and last night I got about 10. But I still don't feel well today. I was ok for the first hour I was up, but the more I moved and did stuff they sicker I got. My head is really hurting, my throat is super sore from the tube down me for 2 hours, the sides of my neck near my ears are very tender to the touch - probably from the tube, too - and I just feel exhausted. I wanted to paint today, but I don't know.... Ben said I should just rest and not do anything. :-)

Ben's 12 hour shifts started up today. He will be working 12 hours every day for 3 weeks. That means weekends, too. I miss him already. lol I'm used to him being around on the weekends so it's weird. :-) We might not be able to get leave for our anniversary. It would be nice if we could just b/c next year the baby will be here and this is our last time of just us for awhile. But it's ok. As long as we spend time together that is what matters. :-) He's going to see if they will let him use his 4 day for reenlisting for our anniversary. So we'll see what happens. :-)

I might have another banner order! That will be nice. :-)

Well, that's my long update. Hope everyone is doing well!

Another Banner

Here's my latest banner. It's for a little girls room. Dragonflies and ladybugs. I hope the Mom likes it!!! The little one is just one, I think so she's not going to care yet. lol

I'm really happy with it. :-) I'm glad my orders are done before the surgery tomorrow. The thing is I'm so out of it I don't think I'm going to get much accomplished today. Sigh. I wanted to sew, but I need Ben here to change the needle for me. I was going to paint, but I'm too tired. I honestly don't want to do anything. I had to get up too early, and I have to get up early tomorrow, too. Yuck. I'm just going to watch movies tomorrow probably. Anesthesia makes me feel tired all day. Oh, I can't feed after midnight. I hope I get home at a reasonable time tomorrow. I don't want to be stuck there for too long....

I read a book on the bus ride today. Like usual. But this one I started and finished on the bus. lol I already wrote my review on my other blog. It was pretty good. Not boring at all. It was about Anne Bradstreet - the Puritan poetess. :-)

I can't wait for my tote bag class!!! So excited. :-) Should be lots of fun. The women at the shop are always really sweet.

It's still really hot here. It's just too hot to walk Kaylee. She hasn't gotten out much in a couple weeks. With the heat index, we stay around 108. 

That's about it for now.

Surgery Again

So I will have my g-j mickey replaced Friday afternoon. Sometime around 1-4. The bad part is I can't feed until I'm done! I just went through a stomach bug and lost weight, but I have finlly gained it back!!! Thank you, God!!! I don't want to lose again b/c it was a hard hard battle to gain it back. :-) Anyway, they are planning on giving me IV fluids at least. So that's good. I will have it in the OR this time so they can monitor me better since I'm 6 months pregnant now. The OB will also send down someone to check the baby's heart rate before and after surgery. So Thursday I have the anesthesia appointment. My GI appointment got switched t next week - well, they are trying to switch it to next week. Good news! I finished the baby quilt!!!



Good news! I finished the baby quilt!!! It's a rail fence quilt, and it is my first quilt! I alternated green and blue pinwheels. So excited it's finished! I'm thinking of doing the Square Dance quilt next.

Also, I'm taking a class on how to make a tote bag with a pocket. That will be next week. I already have the fabric. I'm going to give it one of my sister-in-laws. I plan on making more tote bags as birthday gifts, too. :-)

I finished a commissioned banner on Saturday. I'm hoping Ben can send it out today. Here it is.

Here's my fall banner. I finally took the time to finish the little details on it.

I have another banner order I'm working on. It's for a little girl's room so it should be fun. I'm doing a smaller size. It'll be 10x15 b/c her name has 7 letters. Also, I'm adding ladybugs and dragonflies, and if I figure out how to paint lightning bugs, I'll be adding them, too. I've done the background color, and a coat on the border so I'm hoping to get the boring stuff done today so I can get to the fun of drawing and painting the dragonflies and ladybugs. ;-) Oh, I also have to draw her name, too. Letters are kinda fun to me. :-)

I've also been sewing some Christma gifts for the women I know. I need to finish my dad's gift, too. It's a painted figurine. Ben added the porch to the dollhouse, put the door in, and added the windows! It's coming along!!! I can't wait to make the furniture and stuff. I can see cute little lacey curtains in the widows.

Oh! I drew Peter Rabbit!!! I want to paint him so bad, but I need to finish this banner first..... But he's all ready now!!! So excited. I need to go ahead and add him to the paper so I can just paint right off.

Oh, no! I just remembered I was supposed to make a painting for Ben's work! Oh, man! I need to work on that ASAP! I have to decide what to put it on first. Ben kinda wants an Apache blade and a Black Hawk blade.... Sounds boring to me. lol I wanted to draw a sillhouette of both of the helicopters. But that's way more difficult. lol So we'll see. :-)

I'm off to work on the banner. Oh, I still haven't gotten my school assignment back, and I haven't heard anything from my story I sent out. Unusual to take this long with my school assignment, but not unusual for the story I submitted to the magazine. lol Ok, I'm going for real now. ;-)