our world

Well hello there!  It's been awhile since I've visited blog land.

First off, I feel like I have to talk about the twins.  

I have done nothing about Dean's suggestion to document my growing belly each week.  Except snap one more distorted, half body cell phone pic around 26 weeks.  It's not worth sharing.  If you would like a comparison though, at 28 weeks I measured 36 weeks pregnant.  :)

But I am feeling good!  Wait, perhaps I am lying if I consider the last time I've posted.  This week, I am feeling good.  I am doubtful you want boring details of the last couple months.  Lets just say that I know what you feel like if you have pregnancy anemia or even tachycardia.  Not good. And it's not fun.  I have never felt so drained and weak in my life.

Despite that, the twins are growing well. Good thing they take everything first, and leave me any leftovers.  At almost 29 weeks, I was surprised to learn that they measured 3lbs 3oz and 3lbs 2oz (they're getting big)!  Everyone at the office assured me that it was great news that they are growing at the same rate. 

And as is usual with me, having an ultrasound makes me think about these babies as real little beings that will join our world soon.  Which pushes me to consider names (the day after every ultrasound you will usually find me listing names and/or perusing baby name sites).  And over the last couple weeks, I have thought of my babies by name, sounding them out in my mind, trying them together and separately, seeing if they take root or not.

Oh! The joy and content I will feel when I can finally welcome them into our bright world, hold them and whisper their names against their soft, sweet smelling skin!  

But I am not ready.  Not ready for twins to join our family yet. I am only about 30 weeks along.

I know it has little to do with me, and everything to do with them, but my room needs to be spring cleaned. We need to put flooring in our bathroom and hang doors.  I need to wash sheets and set up the cradle. Sort clothes and place them in drawers. Wash car seat covers. Buy diapers!

And the list goes on.

And we, of course, went off camping this past weekend instead of ticking one little thing off our list.

I knew this would be our last chance to go for a good year or more.  So we hooked up the tent trailer and went.

It was such a fun and relaxing trip that I voiced going again next month.  Dean quickly nixed that idea! 

He is more realistic than I.

And so I cherish the memories and let my mind wander:  

To the sight of my children playing with their cousins in the woods.

To napping in the warm sunshine, lulled by the sounds of the creek and the birds.

To the taste of roasted apple slices dipped in cinnamon and brown sugar.

To our family conversations (and jokes) once tucked in bed in the dark of night.

To watching my youngest two eagerly unzip the canvas windows first thing in the morning 

          to see what kind of sunny world awaited them outside that day.

A gift for a friend, a gift for myself

I had thought I was burnt out on quilting, that I no longer had any desire to piece together scraps of fabric.  Even though I've used my sewing machine plenty, it's been a couple years since I've made a quilt.

But I have a dear friend expecting her first baby. I needed a special gift... and a homemade quilt is the answer (in my book anyway).  So away to the fabric store I went.

And I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of making this quilt!

Isn't it fun?!

It makes me want to get back to my fabric stash and the sewing machine and whip up a couple more.  I think I could put two quilts to good use soon. :)

This quilt did not feel like work.
It was a joy to make.
And that is a gift I gave myself.

Insta-organized

I have blundered upon another technological time-waster.
Instagram
(see right side bar).

And I have not picked up my dslr in a good week or two because of it.

Or perhaps being in week two of mothering and housekeeping a family with the stomach flu has more to do with it.

Either way, I kind of am loving having a 'camera' in my pocket or purse at all times.
It makes it rather easy to leave my bigger camera on the shelf.

It feels really strange to not have random pictures to share...but my camera card is empty save for projects around the house, the biggest of which you've seen - the laundry room progress.
And like I mentioned in that post, we are sharing the kid's bathroom sink with them.

The only storage we have in here is behind the one big door of the vanity.  I put a plastic 3-drawer thingy under there, but do you think the kids use it?!?
It drives me batty when they leave their toothpastes, brushes, and floss all over the sink.
I've tried the standing holders as well as the hanging ones. Neither of them are big enough to fit five tubes of toothpaste (Dentist's recommendations to keep the cavities in the few kids that have them).

So my solution was to hang trays on the back of the door, making teeth cleaning supplies easier to get to, and easier to put away.
One 99 cent pack of 8 cup hooks and one $1.23 pack of divider trays (for a junk drawer) from walmart had me in business.

I marked where each hook would need to go, predrilled holes (oak is a hard wood), and simply screwed the cup hooks into the door and hung the baskets on them. This way, they are easy to remove when its time to clean the dried toothpaste off.
The only hitch I ran into was that the screws were longer than my cabinet door was thick.  So they aren't screwed in all the way, but it still works.

How's that for organization?  We now have a clean bathroom counter.  And I no longer have to put away 5 brushes and pastes before I brush my own teeth.
It's the little things in life, like hanging trays and clear counters, that are making me happy this week.