I guess, technically, that point was the positive pregnancy test but it’s only been in the last fourty-eight hours that I am officially ready for this baby. Maybe it was denial, but it was so much harder to imagine that this baby is coming and I told myself if I could just get through the weekend, that at midnight on Sunday night I would be ready. So waking up Monday morning was a little weird, and caused a little anxiety but it’s okay - I’m ready! And I totally forgot just how ugly late pregnancy can be. Ohmyword…I will spare you the naaaaasty details but let’s just say Tim is an angel for gazing upon my body at this point and still finding it beautiful. How easy pregnancy is on me for the first 9 months is totally made up for in the last two weeks. For sure.

That’s all I can muster today. Please keep my family in your prayers as my grandmother passed away early yesterday morning. It was sudden and yet not, but it’s sad and exhausting nonetheless.

That’s me, folks! And now for the close-up

I am two weeks from my due date and can I just say how amazed I am that I’m just about done? I can not believe the end is almost here. I’m one of those goobers who loves being pregnant, but pregnancy is also kind to me so it’s easy for me to enjoy it. I have no idea what is in store for our family in terms of more kids so I’m just trying to enjoy the last of this for it really may be the last for me. But I don’t want to be pregnant forever - I’m anxious to meet my little boy.

It’s certainly been harder to connect with this wee one since I already have a child who occupies 95% of my time, but fixing up the nursery and what little crafting I have done for him have helped tremendously. I couldn’t find a newborn hat that I liked so what does one do when that happens? You whip up one of your own.

It’s actually supposed to fit a 3-6 month old, but let’s face it, this kiddo’s noggin is going to be huge (my kids get it honest - I am twenty-seven and still haven’t grown into my head) so I think it should be fine. I’m hoping to whip up a matching blanket but we’ll see - that takes low priority on the totem poll right now.

My to-do list is slowly but steadily dwindling down and I’m just hoping Max stays tight and cozy until the end of this weekend. I think once I get to next Sunday I’ll be ready physically and mentally and then next week I’ll be chomping at the bit for him to get out. We’ve got our bags packed, things are put away and organized, and most importantly, our Tivo is set and ready to be worked out. I normally hate summer TV but being able to record so much, and also the fact that networks are realizing they need to monopolize on the summer hiatus for most shows, I am very excited. Some of my favorites are SYTYCD, Burn Notice, and Psych. I also loved the first season of Flipping Out and was so happy to hear Bravo brought it back for another season. Not to mention we’ll be working our Netflix like no ones business since we’ll be shut in with a newborn for most of the summer. I’m actually excited about being forced to slowdown. It seems like life has gotten out of control lately and to have nature force you to slow down and change your cadence seems like such a welcome change, esp. during a time of year that naturally seems to want to give you a break.

People have asked me what my cravings have been with Max (no meat this time - I think I’ve had four hamburgers with this baby, unlike the 250+ with Conner) and it first started with cheddar on wheat thins, then it morphed into the white fudge covered pretzels (thank you Sams Club for the big box of Flipz!) and now it’s bean salad. Ohmygosh, I’ve been making it every week for the last few weeks and while I’m usually the only one who eats it, I don’t care it’s so good! The sugar, the vinegar…it’s really my version of pigging out on pickles but it’s so much better than pickles. I totally recommend this recipe, esp. if you want a chilled side dish for the summertime. Love it!

Four Bean Salad

1 (14.5 ounce) can green beans, drained
1 (14.5 ounce) can black beans, drained
1 (14.5 ounce) can red kidney beans, drained
1 14.5 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained
1 red onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
3/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 teaspoon ground dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon
1 1/2 teaspoons dried cilantro

In a large bowl, layer the beans, onion and green pepper and set aside. In a small saucepan, mix the vinegar, sugar, oil, mustard, tarragon and cilantro and cook over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat, pour over bean mixture and stir until all ingredients are coated. Let marinate for a few hours in the refrigerator and stir occasionally.

I have always had a hard time with birthdays as long as I can remember. It’s not so much the getting older part, but more the disappointment that comes when people forget. Does that sound incredibly sad? I’ve never really experienced great disappointment on my birthday, but there is always that fear I guess. But this year was just another year that I realized that fear was completely silly and I was showered with love and birthday goodness as I celebrated turning 27.

I do have to say I look forward to birthdays since I have some super crafty and thoughtful friends and scored some sweet birthday gifts. But the gift that I am THE MOST excited about is one that Tim got me and that is a workstation for my craft space that is being primed, painted and stained as we speak in my parent’s basement. I can not wait to have it nestled in my craft room and will post pictures as soon as it is done. The day was riddled with flowers and other thoughtful gifts as well, but this year was probably the first year that I really enjoyed my birthday. I do think people get better with age and I guess I’m realizing that I do, too. I have so much to be thankful for, and being able to celebrate being another year older should be cause for celebration and it certainly was.

I still have yet to begin decorating the nursery or really preparing for Max’s arrival, but I did carve out some time to make him a crocheted softie. I saw this pattern here and could not resist it, and although it was my first attempt, I do like the way it turned out.

Conner got so excited about it but then his face dropped when I told him it was for Max. The boy is becoming schizophrenic these days about the baby - one minute he talks about him and is excited and the next he’s closing Max’s bedroom door telling me, “No baby, mama, no baby”. I know it’s a fluid concept still - a baby in mama’s belly - but I think setting up his room will help Conner understand a little more. Or it will further confuse him. Moms of toddlers - how did they react when you brought a new baby home? Did you talk about it a lot before hand? I’m just curious. I think Conner will do fine, but anything I can say or do to soften the blow would help.

One of the coolest surprises about moving (esp. during the winter time) is finding out what kind of foliage you are adopting. Imagine my sheer delight to find all these buds after a good rainfall last week. It’s so pretty and cheery - I love it!

Last week some of my crafty gals came over to have another polymer clay night and I am finding that the more I do with the stuff, the more I am growing to love it. Joy’s obsession with it began over a year ago and she will cover anything in it. Literally. Journals, pens, animals and children, whatever strikes her fancy. We joke around that we’re afraid to leave things at her house because she’s going to give them back covered in polymer. But in all honesty it really is a versatile craft in that you can do so much with it, and it doesn’t cost much to get started. Maybe she’ll do a Polymer-101 on her blog once she returns from jet-setting around Europe (*wink, nudge*).

So after making the beads for the bracelet that I put in the shop on Friday (and thank you to those who purchased them!!) I had some time to kill and decided to make something for myself. Joy made me a clay cross for my birthday last year that I use during my prayer time as a visual and something to hold for whenever I might need it. I love it so much and use it often, however it has gone awol since we moved. So I decided I would make another one and put my own touch to it.

I love how it turned out, especially the colors. For the center I used a wooden cross that you can purchase at craft stores in a bundle pack, that way it’s not too heavy and you just mold the clay around the shape. The beads added a nice finish to it, I thought. And since I had some clay left over and loved the way the colors marbled, I made two beads (surprisingly) and fashioned them into earrings. They’re not normally earrings I would wear, but I do love them so much I’ll probably get over it.

And that’s all for now. I’m planning a shop redesign and update for April, so I’m hoping to get a jump on that when we get back from vacation, in addition to other crafts that I am dying to complete. Here’s a pic of my little biker on his favorite toy, the strider. The no-pedals feature teaches them balance faster and it works - he’s getting pretty good at it! Have a great week everyone!!

I’m not going to say I sigh heavily when I’m “tagged” on any kind of blog-meme, because who doesn’t love to see their name and blog written on someone else’s? And since I really have nothing else to blog about (okay, that was a lie, I just don’t feel right blogging about some things yet - you understand, right? No? Fine, go pout.) I’m doubling-up on two tags I’ve been sent.

The first is from Subu and she got me with one of those share weird and borderline creepy things about yourself. I’ve done this before, and it’s not that I can’t think of any, if just…well yeah I’m so used to my overall weirdness, nothing is jumping out at me except the following three things. I love diving right into the inner workings of people, don’t you? So without further ado: more reasons you should not admire me.

1) I rub paper. I’ve mentioned this before but it bears repeating because this is a serious addiction. I’ll take an innocent piece of paper, fold it in half, then in half again, half again, until it’s a small square and then rub the corners until they’re dull. I will then keep folding and refolding and rubbing and dulling until it’s a mass of ripped, soft paper. I’ve done this since I was little and at the ripe age of 26 I still do it, especially if I’m bored or stressed. Sometimes it gets so bad that Tim will not give me dollar bills to hang onto b/c I will start rubbing them. Some of my friends can attest to this, and thank you to those who DO NOT CALL ATTENTION TO IT.

2) I used to think the piece of furniture called chest of drawers was actually called chester drawers. Like there was a company called “chester” who trademarked this particular piece, much like how everyone calls a tissue a kleenex, whether it’s a Kleenex brand or not. I did this up until a few years back when I said it to Tim and his face contorted in this half-confused/half-entertained look and said, “chester what?” It was worsened by the fact that I repeated it to him, with certainty, like that was in fact what they are to be called. I still do it if I don’t think carefully before I say it.

3) My family loves the Dairy Queen ice cream cakes, so for one of our birthdays (can’t remember which) we had one, and I love to eat the big flowers they put on top (made of 100% crisco, you know the ones I’m taking about). So on this particular cake, I had eaten this giant red rose, loving every bite of it. The next day I had to go #2 and my poop was completely red. As in COMPLETELY. RED. I panicked, and being the hypochondriac that I was at the time, ran out of the bathroom, crying that I must have some kind of cancer since my poop was red. I made everyone come and look at it, including our innocent foreign exchange student from Norway, to confirm that I must be dying. It was a few days later before we put two-and-two together and realized that red dye #40 is a very powerful thing to ingest. It will turn your poop red.

The second tag I got was from Bee, who I *heart* and would love to meet up with eventually, and I am to name five blogs that I have to read daily. My bloglines have taken a life of their own since I don’t have time to read blogs like I used to (and NoBloPoMo screwed me really bad in making me fall farther behind), but these five were the first that jumped out at me that I really enjoy and want to spread some linky-love.

1) Will Blog for Shoes - not trying to be the “oh I love your blog, too!” b/c I really do. Bee deserves a stellar pair of shoes, a tiara and a stunning sash that reads, “Miss Congeniality, with a side of sunshine coming out of my rear” You make me laugh with your wit and I get a smidge giddy when your blog is lit up on my blog reader.

2) Oh Amanda - I loved her blog from the beginning and since meeting her in person I look forward to reading about her life and talking with her any chance I get. And never mind that her little girl is one of the prettiest I think I’ve ever seen.

3) Greenbean Baby - Ellia is an amazingly talented artist who makes the coolest things from paper. I found her blog a few months back and have enjoyed reading about her craft, and how she juggles it all with two children as well. She is certainly an inspiration!

4) Jessica Claire - while I am fascinated by photography, I’m just the hobbyist. However I love looking at photographs and Jessica’s are probably my favorite. They’re so stunning and brilliant and I feel like the colors leap from my monitor and are total eye-candy. I love looking through her gallery and if you can appreciate amazing photography, I highly recommend her site.

5) The Superficial - okay, this one is a guilty pleasure and he’s pretty crass, but if anyone can make fun of Hollywood and do it with so much wit and inappropriate suggestions, it’s this guy.

Now, if you’ll excuse me I must continue my day of running around frantically and then join the largest slumber party I’ve ever been too - eighty-five church women locked in a building for twenty-one hours. Y’all pray for me.

I wanted to coincide this giveaway with my new clutches that will be in the store on Monday (not the end of November - woot woot!) but decided you all are worth not having to wait (and maybe that means another giveaway?). And I do have to say this isn’t just a piece from my stash - I hand-stitched this embroidery, thinking of my adoring readers, all 17 of you.

So if you want to be included in the pile, leave a comment with your name and a valid email address (none of this girl@yahoo.com - legit ones, people!) and answer the following question and I’ll pull a name Friday: If you could participate in any reality TV show, which would it be and why?

Ahhh it feels so good to be up and running again! You don’t realize how much you come to depend on this little thing called a computer and when it dies on you, you’re left feeling like one of your arms has been cut off. But now I am typing on a brand new computer, everything’s been transferred over and reinstalled and *sigh* the world is as it should be.

Thank you guys so much for the crafty-love - you rock my face off! I was a little bummed after the craft show when I only sold two items (both earrings to Joy and Melody, whom I adore you even more for that wonderful gesture), none of them being a clutch, and then within two days of them being in my etsy shop, five were sold. It totally affirmed me and I thank you guys so much! I’m thinking a giveaway on this site may be in order…anyone interested in scoring some crafty goodness?

I really did enjoy doing the clutches, so after I picked my jaw up off the floor when the fifth one sold, I got out my sketch book and thought up some ideas for a few more, and will have them in the store just before Thanksgiving. So stay tuned if you missed out. My next project is a ripple blanket for myself. I made one for Chloe’s birthday and after about the seventh row I decided I was doing my own because I *heart* it so much. The colors make me salivate and the yarn is so soft. Yummmmmmm.

Saturday, Tim and I sent little man over to my parents house so we could spend some quality time together…cleaning out the basement! Isn’t that so romantic?? As much as I did not want to do it, oh my gosh did it need to be done. We threw out a ton of stuff and sent a bunch of it into temporary storage for a yard sale we’re doing this weekend. As glad as I was to have that icky chore done, I was so ecstatic I didn’t see any creepy-crawlies. I do not mess with bugs that like to linger in the dark. Ugh, just the thought makes me itch violently.

The weather here has been so amazing, I am loving it! Fall is still my favorite time of year, and now that it’s actually here it’s even more confirming that I don’t think I could live anywhere that the seasons didn’t change. Conner and I went for a walk this morning, even tho it was a bit on the chilly side but I am so giddy over it. The next few weeks will be full of fall decorating, autumn crafting, pumpkin patch visiting and lots of family time. Now I leave you with some pictures of my favorite lil’ pumpkin:

Look at those eyelashes…*swoon*

Somebody needs a haircut

Okay, a couple things worth noting:

1) High School Musical 2 premiers tonight on the Disney Channel - woot woot!

2) Tim really wants to name our next son (if there is one in our future) after our dog, Jaxon. Seriously. Tim spent all of Wednesday evening renaming Jax (as a way to make this possible), Max, and calling him that. And even before he left for work this morning, he gave a compelling argument why this is okay - Indiana Jones was named after the dog, after all. I’m scared that he’s not joking about this.

3) My brother and sister in law had their third child, a little boy named Even Joseph, this past Sunday and we’re so happy for them (except the part where her water broke and she had the baby an hour later, with no meds, which was not part of the original plan)

4) My friend Erin is turning 31 tomorrow (yay) and for her party I was asked to once again be a cupcake wench. The more I’m asked to make them, the more I think Kelly is right about us opening a shop together. Anyone interested in investing?

And thanks for the all the book recommendations. Do any of these have large print and pictures? Because that’s pretty much a requirement for when I read. Did I neglect to mention that? Just kidding. Sort of. Okay, have a great weekend!