Updates

I've not had the ambition to be crafty lately, so I'll just post some of what we have done.

Last Sunday this snowman was built. I'm rather ashamed of the tiny guy - that's not what an Iowa girl thinks of when we say snowman. But the kids were just happy to have enough snow for one afternoon to make a creation. To the great sorrow of those children, one little girl who cried, he melted completely gone the very next day.

My husband did take a day off work to just play hookie in the beautiful weather we've had lately. It was sunny and 60 degrees, so we went to the park. Funny the difference one week makes here in the south - these pictures are less than ten days apart, The snowman and the park day.

I'll be spending my Saturday morning this weekend at the lab for bloodwork. I really bombed the one hour gestational diabetes test this week. You're allowed to score 140 - I scored 160. Three hours of bloodtests to be done to see if I have full blown diabetes. I've done this twice before and not had trouble, but this is the worst I've ever blown the one hour test.

I also had a weird episode of high blood pressure. I've Never Never had high blood pressure before, but one afternoon this week, I was laying down for a nap and all of the sudden my face became hot an swollen and I felt like my brain was going to implode. I am only a few blocks away from the doc's office, so I stopped up there to see what she thought of my condition. I was 160/90~!! She made me lay on my left side and I was quickly back down to 100/50 ~~ which is my normal range. I stayed in bed for the remainder of that evening, and have been feeling ok since. Just rather scary - and sure hope not to be on bed rest for a month!!

Change of Heart

Ms. I had been picking out her old baby dresses and pink baby clothes. She brings them to me and tells me how her baby "stister" will wear these, how her baby stister will be so cute in this. She has an entire wardrobe picked out. She has declared that her baby stister will sleep in her room and she will help momma take care of the baby.
In an effort to make this gender neutral, we mentioned that when a baby got older, she'd want to play with Ms. I's toys. What a rapid change in emotion!! She thought about this. She then declares she no longer wants a stister. She does Not want to have to share anything. Giving her old clothes away was fun, but if the sister gets into Ms. I's chapstick, there's gonna be some bloodshed.
So we're in the car on the way home from church
Ms. I "Momma, why does there have to be a baby anyway?"
Momma "Because the baby is a gift from God and we don't give special gifts back."
MS. I "Well, can't God just make the baby Distappear?"
Momma "I'm not sure that it would work that way honey"
Ms. I "But momma, I don't want a stister and I've already got brothers"
Momma "Look there's a birdie on that sign" <<>>

Productive Day

I completed one more new set of hairbows. These are also of the Dior bow pattern only in a smaller size. These were 6,9, 12 inch ribbon cuts, I think that I'll try to go down one more inch in length for each cut.

Ms. I had preschool today, she was very excited to wear her red dress with matching bows.

I also completed another bag. This one was a remnant of fabric from walmart, I estimate the whole bag to have cost me $0.79 in supplies, I'm rather pleased with the finished product. I made two out of this one remnant, I lined them with a pink fabric out of my stash and used green shoe lace ribbon as the handles.

The belly baby got her first case of hiccups in utero. I can feel her little jerking!! I just love having something so miraculous occurring inside of me. We don't know that she's a girl, but we sure do hope (at least me an Ms. I really want a girl - the boys of course are suaded the other way)

Tote

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I made a practice tote out of scrappy stash fabric. I used this free pattern and it turned out adorable. I have some cute princess crowns fabric that I bought as a remnant for $0.50 (i think it was about 9 inches, just enough for maybe two purses)~ I'll line it with pink and she'll have an adorable tote and a gift for a friend for less than a buck! She was rather upset with me that I made a "practice purse" she wanted her princess fabric sewn up ASAP. She would not pose with the purse, but my little guy was more than happy to slap a toy cell phone in there and call it his :)) This pattern was amazingly simple, it took less than an hour from start to finish. I used some stash ribbon for the handles. None of these fabrics really go together, but he didn't mind.

I also made two more of the Dior Bows last night. I used shorter loops and managed to only use one yard of ribbon per bow. It's nice to have this down pat in a nice round number, now I can cruise the ribbon remnants as well!! Last nights two new bows will be part of a Valentine package going to a very special preschooler back in Iowa. Maybe her momma will send pics :))

New Bows

I've made my first set of hair bows. They turned out adorable. I used ribbons that I had on hand, some were in a goodie bag from my parents last fall. Somebody else's stashed fabrics count for double right? Bonus points?

I purchased some of the blank hair clip things, and hot glued ribbons to them. Her absolute favorite was the Dior Bow http://www.offray.com/65c.html *could not make neat little linkie** that I only made one of because it came out so big. It's the one currently in her hair for the red fashion show this morning. Each bow takes less than seven minutes start to finish, so there will definitely be ribbon on my shopping lists!! I'll also need to purchase a size up in the barrettes for the bigger bows. The small ones work really well for the small bows, but this little girl has decided that bigger is better in the hairbow department.

I spent all Saturday afternoon playing with ribbon and making bows for her hair, she was soo excited to wear her red dress and bows to church this morning and then we get a call from the Pastor! Dern, canceled on account of wicked cold and a half inch of snow (it's now 2 degrees outside) I'm from Iowa, this annoyed me! Suck up you southern wusses, my baby girl wanted to dress up today!

On another note, we hit the Joanns fabric sale yesterday - brought home entirely too much fabric, but I got a beautiful yellow with pink flowers for a dress, and we got some really strange matching western satin an corduroy material for the boys. It's an hour an a half to Joann's, I most likely won't go there often :( Hancocks is closer, but they never have the really good sales like all clearance for $1 a yard. Keep me in mind if you see soft flannels for cheap :") I need to make some baby clothes this spring.

Mr J. has traced his new pajama pattern, and is cutting the tracing out this morning. We hope to have the fabric cut today and get a good start on his new jams. I'm waiting for the next pattern discount day at Hancoks to get a pajama pattern for the youngest boy, and they'll have matching green maplike jams.

Snow Day

This is really silly. We're from Iowa. This is not what we'd consider a snow day.

We have one inch of snow, and it's 27 degrees outside and school has been canceled, the gyms have been closed and all community activity is shut down. WHAT?@@@!!

I know that back in Davenport we would need at least 6 inches of snow or it'd have to be 20 below zero before they closed down the schools. The biggest gripe about this here in Missouri is that the snow fell last night- -- before 9 pm and they still didn't have the snow plowed or salted for the schools to open in the morning... What these people don't even have night crews for snow removal? OYE!!

I can still see grass through the snow and these kids of mine think that there should be enough to at least make a snow man on a snow day....

On a sewing related note - as soon as Mr J finishes playing in this snow/dust ~ we have the patterns picked out, a brand new roll of Swedish Tracing Paper, and seven yards of pajama fabric picked up in Iowa for $1 a yard at Joanns. (I sure miss that fabric store!!)

We'll be tracing and maybe cutting today..