Today's project

I took this really hideous dress ... which I've had sitting around for two years (it didn't look so bad on line, but draped on my fat rolls in a very bad way, obviously not really made for a plus sized woman, but it was on clearance so I was stuck).

added some sunflower fabric, and made this.

I'll be making a skirt with the bottom part of the dress, and perhaps a matching dress for kiddo with the scraps of the dress and the rest of the sunflower fabric.

Blast from the Past

Huh. I was skinny once. I didn't even have a double chin. (DisGrace says I didn't have one in high school either -- weird, I can barely remember that, but she remembers when I was thin). And I thought I was fat. My how the years and pounds change your perspective ...

I'm on the left, obviously. I loved that sweatshirt. Not sure if you can tell what it says, but ... "I think I'm having stress!" and the zebra's stripes are falling off. Pretty much sums up my teenage years.

The other folks in the pic were partners for a project and our teacher. The person behind the camera was another partner, and she's the one who posted this to FB this week. Wild.

thanks for the birthday wishes.

Here's a present back.

Friday Fave Five!

Today's friday fave five is in honor of ... my birthday!

1. Kaje took me to lunch last week. Soooooooo good. Love that chicken green chile salad from Bajio (of course, now we're wondering if there's something in the salad that caused baby's hives ... hahahaha). She also gave me a yummy smelling bath scrub ... I've only used it once (Monday) and my skin is still softer than normal from it. LOVE it.

2. Kiddo woke me up this morning with a present: An aluminum foil box she'd made the perfect length for pens for my desk, with two origami creations inside. She's so funny.

3. Mom sent money. I got new nursing bras. Hallelujah! The girls (and my back) are so much happier.

4. DisGrace bought me some yarn. I'm in a "use up your stash and don't buy more stuff" game with my online sewing forum gals until mid-May, so everything I've created lately has come from my fabric and yarn stash at home. Her gift doesn't count against me (fortunately) and it will be used in projects that are ongoing. Plus we're going to lunch Monday, can't wait.

5. Hubby took us to dinner at Winger's, which is where we went on our very first date. Then we drove up past the temple where we took our girls right after he'd proposed the first time (I hadn't said yes yet) and later got married.

And that's that. Yay for birthdays! hehe.

p.s. I'm old. I'm 33 and found more wrinkles. Must remember to apply wrinkle cream every night before bed. And floss my teeth. oy.

Cloth diapers

I have a confession, to those of you who know I'd intended to cloth diaper our son.

I haven't.

I've been buying disposables, even though I hated it, for various reasons (which I'm not going to get into right now).

But because of various things, I finally have enough made/gifted that he can get through a whole day in cloth. So, today was our first full day with cloth diapering.

Before you think prefolds and pins and plastic pants, let me say that's NOT what cloth diapers are about anymore. I do use prefolds but just snap a cute cover over it.

Or velcro a diaper on that has the absorbent stuff inside it. I don't have a pic of those.

I didn't get the stash made before the baby came (a month early), and I just never did it. But we were gifted two dipes he can finally wear (from some online sewing friends), and I *did* stock up on prefolds and made some covers when those prefolds came in, so with the one pocket I made myself finish last night ... we had enough to get through the day.

I'd tried doing part days and half days and one here and there when we were out of sposies, but hubby sort of mocked them. "He looks like he's uncomfortable because that is a HUGE diaper!" Oy. Cloth isn't going to be as trim as disposables. Period. So, since it didn't slow down the baby's crawling any, I'm just going to tell him to stuff it if he brings it up again. lol

P.S. We had zero leaks and I'm really impressed with the stuff we do have ... looking forward to many more cloth diapering days ... and saving the money I'd've spent on sposies since I already have everything to make tons of dipes. lol. Plus, I like them better for knowing when he's wet; the cloth doesn't change character, but sposies do; the gel swells and looks horrible, and I can't imagine it feels very good either.

Hive free ...

*Knock on wood*

Baby has been hive free since late Saturday afternoon. I did talk with the on-call pediatrician that night because he broke out again about 2 hours after I'd dose him, but everything seems fine. He hasn't had any trouble breathing, etc. He's good.

Took hubby to the doc today, too -- trying new drugs for him. Wahoo.

Gotta go get kiddo from her play date. yay!

Holy HIVES Batman

So, I put the baby to bed early last night because he was sooooooo tired. Crawling must use a lot of energy or something, because the day before he had a 4 hour nap, getting up at 6 p.m., and still went to bed by 9. Wild.

Anyway.

Last night, he woke up screaming an hour later. I noticed his forehead and cheeks were a little red, figured he was a little overheated, and took him in to my husband to watch while I finished up the report I was typing. Finished that, went to the bathroom, blah bla blah ... Got back in with the baby and the husband and hubby said, "He has a rash on his cheeks." "He what?" So I start inspecting baby.

Covered.In.Hives.

I told hubby, and we took him to the ER. They gave him Benadryl (an antihistamine) and Decadron (an antiinflammatory), watched him for about an hour, and sent us home with instructions to get some Benadryl and give it to him every 6 hours if there is a rash/hives, but to bring him back in immediately if he started having trouble breathing or something. And to let his pediatrician know about it.

Not a problem, right? Except apparently, according to new label warnings, Benadryl isn't supposed to be used in children under two anymore (or to make them sleepy, but that's another subject).

After hemming and hawing about it all night (and checking on him every 30 minutes for rashes/breathing/cyanosis), I gave him some more when more hives erupted this morning, 12 hours after the first episode, because really ... controlling the allergic reaction and making sure he doesn't DIE, following the ER's orders, is more important. Plus, my nephew Bubba had taken it when he was tiny and he's still alive, so I figure he's safe enough.

I'll call the doctor on Monday.

I'm just glad it happened *before* hubby left for work with our only car, and that his boss and mine were understanding about why we didn't work last night.

Friday Fave Five!

1. Lunch with Kaje. Had fun, caught up, exchanged birthday gifts (ooo, so going to use mine in the shower tonight -- lovely scrub) ... seriously, why is it SO HARD to get together with friends these days? Took nearly 6 months to get together with my college buddies recently, over a month to get together with Kaje ... sheesh.

2. Catching up with The Architect's wife ... talked to her for a bit today, too, and am going over for her birthday party tomorrow. Wooo! She's getting the same thing Kaje did (a chapstick holder for your keys), and I'm making a crayon rollup for my nephew (her son) whose birthday party is also tomorrow (convenient that).

3. The honest and kind person who turned in my car key at Bajio. It fell off my keychain and Kaje and I spent forever looking for it, then I asked the person at the register and they had it! Saved me more time and stress and anxiety. And I put it on a different ring on my keys so it won't fall off again.

4. Loving my sling again these days -- baby boy wants to be carried even though he can crawl, and he wants to be on my hip. It's quick and easy to put him in that. Although, for longer periods, I really need to master a hip carry with the wrap because it gives so much more support.

5. Books. Board books, specifically. They keep the baby occupied. He eats them, but at least I can pee in peace sometimes.

Kiddo's Easter skirt

It twirls, almost straight out. Didn't manage to get a pic of me in mine (drat).

Oh and here's kiddo in her Christmas dress that I started and mom finished. The overlay still isn't done, but ... it's beautiful anyway.

And here's a bunny I made for kiddo. I'm working on one for Bambino.

We have a crawler!

He's been rocking and scooting and going up into a pushup stance and then lunging forward for over a month. This morning while I was sleeping (haha), he crawled to daddy. Hubby didn't tell me (*snort*), so then tonight kiddo and I tidied the floors a bit and vacuumed and let him play some more, and he crawled off to daddy again. Refused to crawl to me, even though he wanted me.

Stinker.

Dear fellow bloggers ...

I know there are many, many of you whom I do follow. I know some of you care and some of you don't (and the ones who don't probably don't read my blog). Sadly, over the last two weeks while being sick and having a sick baby, I have fallen behind in reading ALL of the blogs and have no time to catch up with the 122 blog posts across all the blogs so ... I read what I could (some of it as we went along, just couldn't read them all every day) and I marked the rest as "read" and absolved myself of all guilt involved ... So, if I chose not to read or comment on yours, my apologies and please understand I will do better.

Until we get sick again.

So, pray for warmer weather and fewer viruses to invade our home.

Happy Easter

Had a bad mommy moment Sunday and bambino smashed his little face. He's fine now though.

Kiddo loved her Easter skirt and thought mine was cute too.

Hubby goes back to work tonight. He's been off since last Wednesday. Loved having him around, but ready for my nights to be back to being MINE again. lol.

Finally feeling better after the ear infections. My right ear is still stuffy intermittently however, and baby still has a snotty nose. We suspect he may have seasonal allergies. Wahoo.

Kiddo is on spring break this week. Oy.

FRIDAY FAVE FIVE!

1. Hubby's been off this week so we've been able to spend time together, even if I'm so sick all he can do is wipe my nose (just kidding). It's been great, reminding me of our honeymoon and those first weeks dating (not because of the snot, but because of the closeness). Coincidentally, our 3rd anniversary of our first date was Wednesday. In the last 3 years, we've faced some challenges, but are stronger than ever and more secure in our relationship than we had been, even when we got married! hahahaha.

2. Surprise birthday parties, as long as they're not for me. We had one for kipluck tonight -- and hubby cooked kalua pork and yams and taro. we also had rolls and fruit and mocktails and rainbow birthday cake. yum.

3. Taking a few minutes with kiddo and running to the store without the baby. She liked the mommy time too.

4. Catching up a bit with Hinny today. I don't miss my old job, but I miss her like mad. She asked me to come back today ... tempting, if only to get to talk to her every day again! hahaha.

5. Sonic's sprite with grape. Almost like a lime rickey from arctic circle, but the lack of lime is actually good for me (since it can give me heartburn). Crap. Instead of a pepsi addiction, I'm now addicted to that stuff. Only I don't get headaches if I don't have it every day. hehe.

P.S. All things Coconut. For some reason, I'm craving coconut like mad. And I took my monthly HPT and it was negative, so don't go there.

Sharing

Why is it that you try and try to teach your kids to share, and the only thing they want to share is GERMS, which you'd be happy if they'd just keep to themselves?

Yeah. I'm not grumpy about having an ear infection and other crap. Not at all. hahahahaha.

Biggest Loser

I am NOT the biggest loser. I am a loser, though.

I whine about my weight a lot and am addicted to The Biggest Loser, and I really do want to get in shape ... even found a personal trainer who seems really great -- had a lot of advice for the physical challenges I have.

So ... if that's all the case, why do I make things like Coconut Cream Pie (made with coconut milk and no dairy) or german chocolate cake (oh gosh) or tonight's funness, chicken pot pie (from scratch) and coconut oatmeal cookies?

I'm apparently craving all things coconut these days.

Anyway.

I told hubby tonight after watching the biggest loser with him that I'm a big loser. Then I laughed and said, "No, I'm not the biggest loser. I'm just a loser." He laughed too.

Then I offered him cookies. He said, "no thanks, not after watching that!"

hahahahahaha.

Anyway. I don't like Ron (manipulative jerk) and Helen bugs me, but she's bugging me less as the game goes on for some reason. Tara is bugging me way more these days. And I'm really bummed Sione went home -- I've been pulling for the boys from Tonga since I found out about them being on the show!

So that's that. Now you all know my TV vice. If I happen to miss it on Tuesday nights, I watch it as soon as the episode is available at nbc.com.

hafta go put baby back to sleep. I can tell this week is going to be a bust as far as work. Woo.

Monday Momday

Yeah, so baby boy has double ear infections. Explains why he doesn't want to be put down and why he only wants to sleep sitting up (on me of course) and why he's so unhappy. *sigh* Poor bug. Hopefully the drugs kick in soon and he starts to feel better.

As far as chore wars goes, so i know everyone else in my group seems to have given up on this, but i'm going to do it anyway. so if any of you check back in, I'm there, trying to get my house back in order after having a sick baby for a while again. woo. and if anyone else wants to join, just lemme know and I'll get you a link.

Seems as though Mr. Grumpy Pants wants me again *surprise* so I'm going to try *again* to get him back to sleep. Fortunately, he's not screaming, just fussing a bit. yay.

seven pounds

sob.

that is all.

Friday Fave Five!

1. Getting my VAIO back.

2. Happy Sumo. It is pricey, but hubbers got a gift card for Christmas, so we decided to have it for dinner on Wednesday. It was sooooo good.

3. Inexpensive PC repair. PC Provo -- if you're in the area and need help with your PC, seriously, they rock. (and you can take dead monitors and computer components to them to be recycled)

4. Not getting pranked on April Fools and choosing not to prank hubby with the "I'm pregnant" gag. I asked hubby today what he would've done, and he said, "I'd've gone straight to the doctor for drugs." ha. He does better when I'm more stable, and hello, pregnancy is the epitome of not stable.

5. Learning to knit. It's actually fun. All I've made are some cotton dishcloths, but after I finish some of my other crocheting projects (I knit and crochet while watching movies with and without hubby), I'm going to do a scarf or something.

And that, my friends, is that.

It LIVES!

So happy.

*happy banana dance*

I love my computer. I missed it.

Squeee!!!

My computer is done!!! I get to go get it in the morning. YAY!

What I've been working on...

Just random projects. Keep your eyes peeled for the Easter skirt in a week or so. It's almost done, but I'm making one for me, too!
Kiddo's "Miss Price" school project. She did good and with almost no help from mommy (i just used the glue gun to attach it a little more permanently).
A crochet hook rollup. So nice to have them all in once place and out of the way. The little green pocket holds yarn needles and snaps closed.

An afghan for hubby; finally finished.
Bibs for the baby. He's drooling everywhere and needed something with a waterproof back. I made 9 total, 3 of each pattern.

So, viruses suck

And I don't just mean of the human variety.

For those not in the know, my laptop (y'know, the one hubby bought me for christmas, the really nice VAIO) got a trojan Monday. It is currently living at the PC hospickle. The PC doctor says it has a very nasty virus that doesn't want to leave the host, so it's still there.

I kinda figured that, when antivirus AND spyware couldn't get rid of it.

Bah.

So, I went and bought a little Acer Aspire One, because it has XP on it and I need XP for work. My mommy has one, too, but hers is pink, so it's better than mine. I like it just fine and got it to sync to a normal monitor, so I don't go blind using it. BUT it doesn't have enough memory to run everything I need for work and one of the USB ports on mine is faulty, so as soon as the VAIO gets home from the hospickle, it's going back.

Then I'm going to have support at work build me a PC there and rent it from them and just have the VAIO for backup at work ... and be able to write and game and stuff just on the VAIO. woohoo!

(did I say VAIO enough in this post?)