I Made it Monday: DIY baby legs from my lucky socks

These started out as my lucky knee socks. I wore them when I tried out for roller derby, and on the night I tested and interviewed for teams. They lasted a long time and brought me good things. Then one day, one sock developed a hole in the heel, and I may or may not have cried a little. I tried to fix it and keep wearing them, but nothing really worked. I held onto them, though. I knew I'd find a way to keep their magic alive.

Heather's blog, featured a tutorial for DIY baby legs, and I decided to go that route with them for our charming friend Miss G. The tutorial is crazy easy- they worked up in about 15 minutes.

Sunday Inspiration: Patience

"Patience required actively working towards worthwhile goals, and not getting discouraged when results didn't appear instantly or without effort. There is an important concept here: Patience is not passive resignation, nor is it failing to act because of our fears. Patience means active waiting and enduring. It means staying with something and doing all that we can — working, hoping and exercising faith; bearing hardship with fortitude, even when the desires of our heart are delayed. Patience is not simply enduring; it is enduring well!"

Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Boy Howdy: in which I rant, just a little

another photo by my SIL, of WBH, Stinky, and Uncle Bubba

When I talked to a friend at church (who has four grown sons) after our ultrasound, she laughed and promised me "Someday, you will come home, and walk in the door, and be overwhelmed by the smell. It's the shoes."

I shopped for my guys today. Battling other moms and wives at the clearance rack, I came home with a pretty good haul. Returning home, a former derby teammate was lamenting on Facebook about the excess of pink in clothes for her future rollergirl. I couldn't help but smile as I looked in my shopping bag and saw stripes, plaids, and solids in some very masculine colors.

A few days ago I went back to the place where I used to work to visit some of our clientele. When I told one of the elderly women that was so sweet to me each morning that I worked that I was having another boy, her response was "Oh. Well, that's okay, too." I wanted to respond by saying "Are you kidding me?! It's GREAT!"

I'm probably a little defensive about this. I've gotten a few responses like that woman's lately, and they bother me. Make no mistake, I couldn't be more excited about having another boy. I do think about having a girl when we see Miss G, a friend from church, and her stinkin' adorable golden pigtails (seriously, she's so cute I could just die). The truth is, we would be thrilled with any child we're blessed with, we are thrilled about this one, and the Y chromosome that helped create him.

So, there will not be any pink or pigtails in our immediate future, Nevertheless, I am thrilled that soon, we get to bring home a brother, a nephew, a grandson, our boy.

this moment/friday favorites

photo by my sister in law, Patty

{this moment} - A Friday ritual, borrowed from SouleMama. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.


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Marshmallow Fondant Recipe @ Make it and Love it: Looks easy and fun, and I may try it for WBH's birthday!

The {Me} in Media @ Sorta Crunchy: A good reminder, a great read.

8 Ways to Find Motivation at Home @ Simple Mom : I needed this one this week, I hope you'll find it inspiring, too!

Stinky, Son of the Beach

Our trip to the beach house this year was wonderful. We managed to avoid all the weather we'd been warned about on the news in the days before, which left plenty of opportunities for exploring.
In spite of the toys, tricycle, movies, and games we packed in the event that the weather turned on us, all Stinky really wanted to do was to explore the beach. Throwing rocks, drawing with driftwood in the sand, and finding crabs were first on his agenda. "He's a son of a beach," his uncle declared.

Stinky, WBH, and I shared a makeshift bed from two twin beds pushed together. It was cozy, and a little lumpy, but we made it work.

WBH arranged a treasure hunt for the Stinkster one morning, complete with map and poem. 'X' marks the spot. Note the stick in his hand- this is a "Gandalf" stick. You climb on top of rocks and shout "YOU SHALL NOT PASS" in the lowest voice possible for your three years. Just so you know.

RedBeard the pirate seemed to know just what Stinky would like.

It was a great time to get away. Our family saw a mated pair of bald eagles and their nest and a pair of juvenile bald eagles not far from there, a lagoon full of blue herons, and the obliging deer (with their babies!) that always take their dinner on the field surrounding the house. The rain we had hoped to avoid completely provided stunning rainbows over the water, but cleared up right away.

We know that it won't be long before we have to rent a second space as our extended family grows, but we managed pretty comfortably again. So long, beach house. We'll echo through your halls again next year.

I Made It Monday: Birthday Apron for Mom

There are a lot of great things about my mom. One of my favorites is that, even as I inch toward 30, when I make her something, she still says "Wow, it's beautiful!" For her birthday last week, I was really excited about this apron.

I may have mentioned before that I'm really particular about color. I work on it, but I'm really a pill about it. The seashell accent fabric was bought months ago, found in a remnant bin, to use "someday." The main fabric with the sand dollars was purchased separately, and I breathed a huge sigh of relief when I saw how beautifully they came together. It's based on this tutorial at DESIgns, but not reversible.

In other news, we've been on vacation, and it was beautiful. I'll write up a post on it soon, but WBH has a post-vacation bug, and I need to play catch-up.

Happy Monday, friends!

Pregnancy Update

A few "hope the pregnancy is going well" comments have made me realize that I haven't really written about it much lately. It's... going. Tomorrow, I hit 24 weeks. I still have some problems with nausea, restless legs, and fatigue, which have been frustrating, but this trimester has been uneventful, and I'm grateful for that.

My belly has morphed over the last few weeks from "Wow, Rae's had a big lunch" to undoubtedly a baby bump. Many people have been surprised that I still have 16 weeks to go after seeing it. That's what happens when you have no waist to begin with- there's nowhere to go but out. Gummi Bear is a mover and a shaker, unless someone is trying to feel him move. Then, he likes to hold perfectly still. Stinky is definitely getting into the idea of being a big brother, and tells me that he loves the baby in my belly. I'm apprehensive about making the transition and how he'll adjust. There's a bit to be done to prepare for the arrival- clothes to sort through, a crib to find (Stinky's was re-called), but I'm procrastinating all of those a while longer in favor of stressing out about this week's vacation (halleluliah, here it comes, but so much to do!).

And that's about it. I hope that the third trimester will be as uneventful as this one.

Happy Monday!

Sunday Inspiration: For One Who Inspires Me

"I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails. I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp. I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbors children. I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden. I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder. I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived."

Marjorie Pay Hinckley

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Happy Birthday to my mom, who embodies this quote with her whole self. She is a woman who knows that it is more important to feed the sheep than to tie pretty bows on them, and a woman I love and admire more than I can say.

this moment/friday favorites

{this moment} - A Friday ritual, borrowed from SouleMama. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Some posts I've really enjoyed this week:

Different For Each Family: Simple Mom gives the pros and cons of some ways of simplifying. This reminded me to pull out my drying rack while the weather is still nice!

12 Free Bag and Purse Tutorials: How About Orange puts some of the best ones out there all together. The only question is where to start.

The Crazy Days of Summer: Just Organize Yourself is starting a great series about getting prepared for summer. Oh, summer I am ready for you.

Have a wonderful weekend!

We Made It: Auction Items

This is not a good picture, but I do think it was a pretty quilt. WBH and I were contacted about donating items to an auction, and I had completed this quilt top a very long time ago. An auction seemed to be just the right time to finish it off, so it would quit making me feel guilty. I wish my finishing had been neater, but we were in a hurry. Now, if you're looking for some really, really, awesome workmanship...

WBH crafted this pendant for the same auction. We hear it was a hot item, and will be featured in a zombie-themed wedding (I really want to see the pictures from that!) later this year. It led WBH to a discussion with a friend about other body parts that could make interesting pieces of jewelry, but we'll leave it at that for now. I hope your day is great!

Mother's Day Recap

My gift from WBH and Stinky: Stinky drew a picture of me, and WBH converted it to a metal pendant. I think they've really captured my essence.

It started like most of our days have been: Stinky sneaking into my bed at 2am to be snuggled for the rest of the night. Lately, I'm just to sleepy to fight it. We woke again later,and WBH was up to make us belgian waffles. Apart from the breakfast and the necklace, my other Mother's Day wish was a shower uninterrupted, which was kindly filled.

What really put the cherry on top of this lovely morning, was seeing Stinky walk to the front of the congregation to sing with the rest of the children. Seeing him crane his neck to see where we were sitting in the back and then wave his hands, I couldn't help but remember a Mother's Day a few years ago, when I wasn't sure if or when motherhood was coming for me. It was a painful day, watching the children sing a Mother's Day song that year. Seeing our little man singing with the kids, I was filled with gratitude for the blessing of being his mom, the mom of another one to come, and the blessing of having WBH at my side to parent with. I even felt gratitude for that painful year. Without that time, I don't think that moment would have been as sweet.

Sunday Inspiration: Mother's Day

"Because we are being constantly exposed to the world's definition of greatness, it is understandable that we might make comparisons between what we are and what others are—or seem to be—and also between what we have and what others have. Although it is true that making comparisons can be beneficial and may motivate us to accomplish much good and to improve our lives, we often allow unfair and improper comparisons to destroy our happiness when they cause us to feel unfulfilled or inadequate or unsuccessful. Sometimes, because of these feelings, we are led into error and dwell on our failures while ignoring aspects of our lives that may contain elements of true greatness.

"In 1905, President Joseph F. Smith made this most profound statement about true greatness: 'Those things which we call extraordinary, remarkable, or unusual may make history, but they do not make real life. After all, to do well those things which God ordained to be the common lot of all mankind, is the truest greatness. To be a successful father or a successful mother is greater than to be a successful general or a successful statesman.' "

Howard W. Hunter

Saturday at the Seattle Center

Since we were meeting a friend in Seattle later that day, we decided to make a day of it, and visted the Seattle Center. Stinky still recognizes the "mountain that sprays water!" but I'm hoping he'll have gotten over the torture of last year enough to try it again when the weather warms.

I love the Science Center, and when my parents included us in their membership last year, we were really excited. Stinky's favorites are the mechanical dinosaurs and the water play area. I'm a big fan of the warm, fragrant butterfly room. I could sit there for days, I think.

In the Mars exhibit, Stinky got to build a rocket with WBH. It's serious business, as you can see.

On our way out, we saw some police horses, and Stinky was excited to greet them. This one shares a name with Middle Sister's boyfriend. Good thing we got a picture of this end, or the resemblance might have been too much (kidding, of course, he's a great guy). Just past the police horses, a protest rally was in full swing. Stinky recognized that they were yelling in Spanish and started yelling back, "GRACIAS! GRACIAS!"

Oh, and if you see me in person, ask and I'll share the story of how I managed to electronically "flash" a crowd at the Science Center without removing a single item of clothing. It's a beauty.

Words Without Pictures

The USB cord to upload pictures off of our camera has gone kaput, which stinks, because I have some good stuff to update- craftiness, family fun, police activity. I'm going to try getting them uploaded tomorrow. We've been busy.

I hope your week is going well, and for now, while I'm not usually one to share these, I hope you'll find inspiration in this video featuring one of my favorite bloggers. It makes me want to try harder today.

Sunday Inspiration

"Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end if the day saying, 'I will try again tomorrow'"

Mary Anne Radmacher