My Name is Mommy (Old)

Sorta Ready...

2010-08-04T13:04:00.000-07:00

I've got the new site up and I'll be posting again soon. Please make a new bookmark for...

www.marieoliveira.com

I have wasted so much time in the past day trying to move the old posts and comments over. But, it just won't work. It always messes up the sidebar.

But, I did get a chance to try out the new design features that blogger has and I think they are awesome! I could really waste a lot of time changing the layout and color scheme.

Anyway, see you over at the new blog!

Under Construction

2010-08-03T21:31:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to move the blog and am having a lot of trouble keeping the sidebars straight. Hopefully I'll be back in business soon.

Pattern Paper

2010-08-01T20:23:00.001-07:00

Remember when I made a comment about using Uhaul packing paper for making pattern copies? Well, after cutting it out, I realized that it tears a lot easier than the pattern paper that I bought at G Street Fabrics. The product sticker on the roll says that it's "Alphabet Paper", but I can't seem to find it anywhere on the Internet.

So, I emailed Ruth at Sew Chic because she uses Ottobre patterns a lot and you have to make copies of those because they print about 100 patterns on the same sheet overlapping each other. Anyway, she was super nice and told me she uses Swedish Tracing paper.

This stuff looks awesome! It's much more transparent than the Alphabet paper and you can actually sew with it! The price is not so bad if you order three rolls of it, but that's a lot of paper.

I did a little more research online and found some ladies talking about some pattern paper that they got at Joann's in the interfacing section. And lucky for me, I'm going to Joann's tomorrow!

Some ladies were also talking about using interfacing, the kind you buy off the bolt. I'm thinking this might actually work well.

I'm going to try out the interfacing and Joann's pattern paper (if they have it) and I'll let you know how it goes.

Oh! And I ordered the clothing labels! I'm so excited about this! They should get to me in about 2 weeks!

Week 28 Belly and Something Else

2010-08-01T15:49:00.000-07:00

This is actually a week late. I'm 29 weeks today. I really can't believe I still have 11 weeks to go. This is taking forever.

Not that I'm feel particularly horrible. No nausea and I'm not feeling that fat. I'm just looking forward to having my body back. But then again, I have really been flip flopping about this a lot. Just 10 minutes ago, I was feeling Charlotte move around and really enjoying the miracle of life forming in me.

Maybe I just can't wait to have control of my emotions back.

Caleb comes back in two days! I've been avoiding talking to him because I knew I would start crying and I didn't want to upset him. But, Shane was talking to him and I thought I might be okay since I'll see him in less than 48 hours. Wrong. I cried.

Shane and I have noticed though, that I've taken the last month or so and really gotten my creative mind back. I've got lots of ideas for sewing and I've really figured out exactly why I want to be an excellent seamstress. (more on that later)

Of course, this has unfortunately fueled a fabric shopping spree that will be haunting my credit card for way too long.

And while I'm not ready to make stuff for profit, I have been thinking that it would be really fun to have tags made for the clothes that I make for the kids. I can pretend I'm like a real professional, haha! So, I've come up with my brand name, which is conveniently... my name! Marie Oliveira. That's my middle name. It's fancier than Marie Faile, don't ya think?

And I have two lines. One for girls (more specifically Ana and Charlotte) and one for boys (Caleb).

I'm going to order these tags from Custom Couture Label Co..

Since I'm broke, I'll order the girly ones first. That way I can also see if I like how they turn out.

What do you think? Cute?

And here is the boy version. I changed the ! (exclamation point) to a . (period) because you know, periods are so much tougher than exclamation points. I know, doesn't make much sense, but it's just for fun.

So, seriously. What do you think?

New Address

2010-08-01T14:05:00.000-07:00

I'm moving the blog over to a new address...

http://www.marieoliveira.com

It'll take a day or so to get set up, but once it is, you should be automatically redirected there from the old

Ummm... Did I say I wasn't going to start any new projects?

2010-07-30T17:47:00.000-07:00

I have no self control. For one thing, my super fantastic mom had a great idea to get Shane a Lay-Z-Boy for a belated-Father's Day, birthday, 10-year anniversary, early Christmas present! Not surprisingly, he's been in a really good mood lately :)

What does my self control have to do with that? Well, I paid for half the chair with my own savings. And yet, I keep buying fabric. I just can't stop myself.

And I also started a new project. (I did get Caleb's pj pants cut out though.) There is a pattern for cloth napkins at my local quilt shop just like these. I love that it's not just a flimsy piece of material with finished edges. But the pattern is $9!! It does come with a pattern for placemats, but I'd never use it. So, I found a tutorial online and made the robot napkin.

Unfortunately, who ever wrote the tutorial doesn't do math very well and it turned out to be a 13.5" square instead of 16". But, I think it'll be a nice size for Caleb. I made another, this time with 1" border instead of the 2". The napkin turned out to be a 15.5" square.

I think I'd like the border to be a little thicker, maybe 1.5". What do you think?

Aren't these mitered corners pretty?

And I made this pillowcase a week or so ago.

It was basically the same pattern as the pink one I did for Ana, but this one has a ruffled accent piece.

Projects: Pajamas for Caleb

2010-07-28T20:19:00.000-07:00

These are high on the priority list because I want to have them ready for him when he gets home next week. Next week! Yay! It seems like he's been gone forever and it's just wrong. It wasn't this hard when he spent a month with Shane's family when he was 2.5 years old.

I'm using View B, the long pants and long sleeve night shirt. I'll be making just pants with the flame fabric below. And then a set with some other fabric. He requested the flames. He said, "I want pajama pants with fire on them. But not real fire." :)

And just in case you didn't know just how crazy I am...

Yes. That's right. I iron the pattern paper...

And then I make a copy.

Okay, it's really not that crazy if you think about it. I find it very difficult to use the pattern paper with multiple sizes on it. I figure there are three options...

1. Waste money by buying a pattern for each size and then cut each size out.

2. Snip, fold and tuck the pattern to accommodate the size you want.

3. Take the time to make a copy.

When it comes to crafting I don't have a problem with taking extra time to do things thoroughly and correctly. I can unravel an entire sweater with out crying.

I have a large roll of pattern paper that I got at G Street Fabrics in Alexandria, VA for about $15. It's the only place I've ever seen it.

But, I recently discovered that packing paper works well too! You know, the kind from Uhaul. That's what I used above. It only becomes a problem when the pattern piece is larger than the packing paper. But, I think it would be fine to just tape some pieces together. It's at least a lot easier to find than the real pattern paper.

If you try this, put a piece of paper underneath the pattern, it will help you to see the pattern. And do this in an area with sunlight, if possible.

I use an "ultra fine" tipped Sharpie, then I cut the pattern out. I keep the patterns in a manila envelope. Darn. I forgot to take a picture. I'll do it sometime soon.

New Fabric! Yipppeeeeeee!!

2010-07-28T20:03:00.000-07:00

Shane said, "You've got a problem."

I said, "They were supposed to deliver it when you were at work!"

I felt a little devious for not admitting that I've got another box coming tomorrow. But thanks to UPS delivering so late in the day, I'll get ratted out, I'm sure.

Here's all the David Walker Robot fabric I bought from Fabric.com's Westminster Blowout sale! Cute, huh? I was a little surprised to see that the robot fabric has a light blue background, not white. But that's my fault for not paying attention because they only had one choice of this robot fabric.

It's still really cute with the red and blues. The orange doesn't go very well.

The orange, red and blue stripe go along great with the planet fabric. The blue doesn't, there was a teal that would have gone along perfect, but I didn't get it. Darn. But there's always Etsy.

I really do have a problem, don't I?

And I got 2 yards of Kaffe Fassett's Floating Flowers in Mauve because, well because it's Kaffe Fassett. I saw this on Etsy and I just have to have a little dress in this fabric now. I think the purple gingham is a nice touch.

Focus Marie! Focus!

2010-07-28T09:09:00.000-07:00

I got to sleep in until 7:15 this morning! Yay! Lately I've been waking up between 5:30 and 6:00. Ana's little noises wake me up, then I realize that I have to go to the bathroom, then I sneeze ten times in a row, then I have to blow my nose. That's when I realize there's no way I'm falling back asleep and I might as well just get up.

Then I'm so tired around the time Ana goes down for a nap. I end up taking a nap myself and don't get to take full advantage of not having to entertain a five year old boy.

So, this morning I'm so happy that I'll likely be able to function without a nap and I get to sew! The only problem with this is that I can't figure out what to work on. I have so many unfinished projects that I'm feeling overwhelmed.

Why do I do this to myself? WHY don't I just finish things??? Agh!

There is just something so fun and exciting about the process of starting, don't you think? Choosing a pattern, washing the fabric (if necessary), ironing the fabric, then cutting. I usually get a few pieces sewn together, enough to see how wonderful it'll turn out to be. You know, like three years from now when I actually finish it.

So I'm going to list all my ongoing projects on the right sidebar. I'm listing them thinking that it will help me to prioritize and get things done. I'll be able to check them off the list and that will feel really good. I pledge to not start any new projects.

I'll also make a post about each one soon. My camera is recharging right now, so I can't post pictures yet.

Does anyone want to join me?

You can find the HTML code for a progress bar here. Make sure you read the instructions for the New Blogger. You can't just add the one line of code for each bar.

And then you can go here to get HTML rgb color codes. I like this site because you can just keep hitting the "random" button until you get a color you like.

They're Back!

2010-07-19T09:48:00.000-07:00

Well except Caleb. He'll be back in two weeks.

Shane is back to work and it's just me and Ana today. She's taking a nap right now. I didn't realize how nice it would be to have the opportunity to spend so much time with just Ana. She really is getting a very different experience than Caleb did since he had Shane and I all to himself for 4.5 years.

When she gets up she likes to just lay on me for about 20 minutes or so. It's really sweet. And I'm surprised with how much easier it is to play with her. Not so much because she's a girl, but because she actually wants to play with the toys we have. Caleb was never interested. I think I've mentioned this about a hundred times, but it's because it still amazes me.

I'm also surprised at how calm and quiet things are. The first night that we sat down to eat, it was actually uncomfortable. Caleb adds so much life to everything. It was eerie how quiet it was. It's nice to experience it though. I think we will appreciate him more when he gets back. I hope I will be more patient with him.

I haven't taken any new pictures, but here's some I took right before they left.

Ana learned how to climb up on the stool. Now we have to hide it because that would be really awful if she fell and hit her head on the tile!

Day 10 and 11

2010-07-16T20:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday and today kind of blurred together. Mostly, I straightened up the house and cleaned. I haven't been able to vacuum the whole house since we moved in since there were still boxes everywhere. I finally feel like the house is mostly put together now. I hope Shane will like it. Would you like a tour?

Here's the foyer, right when you walk in the front door. I love the way orange looks with aqua.

I still need to make a cover for the pillow on the chair. I bought these Amy Butler fabrics to make a cover. Hopefully I can tie the colors together nicely.

Here's the dining room.

And the living room. We are going to get a love seat and move the rocking chair into the nursery.

We were really tempted to get a new living room set. We've had this couch for about 8 years. The cover is a little newer at about 5 years old, but we've gotten really sick of it. But, furniture is so expensive and I really wanted to just make it work. So, here's my attempt. We're happy enough with it that we're just going to buy a matching loveseat from Ikea. But the cover will be white since it's cheaper. I can always wash it and a replacement would only cost $50.

This is really the only room that I am not very happy with. I need to change those pillows and I think the pictures are up too high. But, I've spent so much time already getting it to this point and I think the rest will just have to come slowly.

I finally got all the books out. Isn't it a bit ridiculous? I wish I could say most of those have been read. I put all my Japanese and Korean dolls and stuff out. I plan to fill the wall space with family pictures.

And this is my grandma dressed in the Okuda family kimono, which my mom still has. She was just a teenager then.

Besides cleaning the house up, I also straightened up my fabric. I folded and organized it all. This makes it's so much easier to use! It's really motivating.

My mom bought me these boxes (top left section of the bookcase) from Ikea and I'm using one to keep the pieces of a quilt I am making Shane's mom. I'm using the other one to keep small scraps of fabric. I'm using the ziplocks for small amounts of blocks. I have to make 100 of a certain block, so I have 5 ziplocks with fabric to make 20 blocks. That way, when I have a little time, I can work on it and have a small goal. It doesn't seem so overwhelming that way.

Day 9

2010-07-14T18:55:00.001-07:00

It's not officially over and I hope to get something sewn today. But, I just couldn't wait to post about Ana's room!

Lookie!!

Isn't it so cute? I'm so happy with it, especially because I had no idea I was going to do this. I organized my sewing area first and had a Martha Stewart pompom kit that I got on clearance at Michael's. I couldn't figure out where to store it and thought I should just make the pompoms.

I like how her room looks girly without being pink. Not that I have anything against pink. I don't think Ana has even one outfit that isn't primarily pink. But, being blue and green AND girly is a nice surprise.

And this is my little sewing area. I'm very happy with it. It's very handy having the bookcase close by. And our room feels so much bigger without all the boxes and junk on the floor :)

I'm so excited for Shane to get home and see how nice it looks!

I've really been wanting some fresh flowers. For months actually. And someone just won't take the hint. Also, I am just too cheap to even buy a $3.99 bunch of flowers at Trader Joes. What's wrong with me?

So, I went into my yard with all the sad and half dead flowers and picked some. Not bad. I really need to figure out how the irrigation system works so I can have some healthier flowers.

Day 8

2010-07-13T17:41:00.000-07:00

Started off frantically trying to get in touch with Shane. I hadn't heard from him in 2.5 days. And although I was very aware that he has been all along having trouble getting a signal, I still couldn't stop thinking about how lost and completely destroyed I would be if something happened to him and the kids. But after chatting with his mom on facebook and his brother's wife on the phone, I felt better and decided to just wait patiently for him to call.

And he called about three hours later! But, I was still a bit emotional and couldn't talk to Caleb because I started tearing up at the thought of hearing his voice. And then Ana woke up while we were on the phone and she was crying, so Shane put the phone up to her and I said "Ana! Ana! Ana! Stop crying baby!" And she immediately stopped. And Shane said she just stopped and smiled. And I started crying right there in Target. Ugh. Why do I have to be the kind of person that needs a break from my family? I think I'm ready to have them back.

I mailed a box of boy clothes to Joanna. Parcel post though so it won't be there for a week.

Then went to Michael's and got a frame for the drawing I posted the other day. I also got some drawing supplies because after talking to my mom about it, I really think I want to start drawing again. It would be so great if I could even take a class some day.

Remember how I said I was going to translate the recipe for Oi Kimchi? Well, I've forgotten so much and it was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I gave up. I did get so far as to translate the ingredient list, so I decided to wing it. The only problem is that I was a little confused by a few things on the list of ingredients. For example, why is salt listed three times??

1/2 cup coarse salt
1 Tbsp salt
2.5 Tbsp salt

That's a lot of salt. I decided to use 3 Tbsp of Hawaiian (really coarse) salt. Then my aunt sent me this recipe. After reading the instructions I realized what the Korean recipe was trying to tell me. What I had translated suddenly made a little more sense. I'm still not sure what the 2.5 Tbsp salt is for, but I'm pretty sure I should have put 1 Tbsp, not 3!

Also, I was supposed to use a 1/2 "Dol" of ginger. According to my Kor-Eng dictionary, "dol" means piece. Thank you, but not very helpful.

Well, I think I'll try the recipe my aunt sent the next time I am able to go to San Jose and get the pickling cucumbers and bechu.

Bechu is pictured below. The English name is garlic chives. If you taste it raw, it really does taste garlicky.

Oh well, at least the lamb was good :)

The last thing I did was a little sewing. I finally made this cushion for the highchair. There was previously no restraints, so Ana usually took her meals standing up with one leg dangling over the side. She would play a fun game with Shane (who feeds her dinner) where she sticks her leg over the arm rest, then Shane lightly smacks her leg, she laughs and pulls her leg back in and then 5 seconds later when he's not looking she puts it back over the arm rest. Shane is going to be so excited that I finally made this!

The black buckle is actually from a purchase of Snack Traps. They include a black strap to attach the Snack Trap to things so you won't lose it. I just cut it in half and sewed it into the sides. It really saved a lot of time to use a strap already put together.

I didn't want to spend too much time on it, so I just sewed some lace whatever this stuff is, and tied into bows to secure the cushion to the chair.

I guess I was in a rush to get this done because I had sewed the sides and bottom up and realized I hadn't planned for a closure. So, I put this zipper in. And I was so happy because it was the $0.50 zipper I bought at Goodwill last week. The exact right color and length I would have purchased anyway! Isn't that lucky? It was a bit of a pain since I'm not very good with zippers, I ripped it out once. And it's pretty messy as it is. But, I don't have to look at it, so I don't really care. It's functional and for now, that's good enough.

Day 7

2010-07-13T17:03:00.000-07:00

First thing I did was go to a prenatal appointment. I'm 26 weeks along now. I've gained some weight and I'm right about where I was with Ana at this stage. We listened to the heart beat and I commented about how she was really moving around. And the doctor said that her heart rate was really strong. She said she thinks Charlotte will be a tomboy. Her movements have been getting very strong. I've often thought about how crazy it is that she's probably only 1.5 pounds right now, cause it feel like she's full grown sometimes. But, she's still very still in the mornings. It's funny how it seems like she's already on a schedule.

I've been thinking about Charlotte a lot this week and maybe it's because I miss Shane, Caleb and Ana so much or maybe it's because I actually have time to think about her. I'm so anxious to have her and it kills me that I still have 14 weeks to go. Not that I'm uncomfortable or anything. I just can't wait to hold her and smell her and see what she looks like. *sigh*

As for being productive, I'm not feeling like I'm getting much done. We have so much stuff.

I worked in Ana's room trying to organize all of her clothes. I was lucky enough to receive lots of girl clothes from a friend I made at Caleb's taekwondo. Her husband is a doctor and she used to work at Gymboree, so the clothes are really nice. Lots of Gymboree, Janie and Jack and Hanna Anderson stuff. I'm sure Ana will destroy all of it. We're set for clothes until she turns three. And of course I can't throw out any of Ana's old clothes, since Charlotte can wear them. And it's such a blessing to know that we don't have to spend tons of money on clothes. But. Organizing and storing it is a lot of work.

Here's all the girl clothes after organizing into big ziplocks...

And here's the room after spending about two hours cleaning it up. Depressing, isn't it? I felt a little defeated.

On a happy note. I finished this pillowcase, which I bought the kit for when I was visiting my mom last week.

See the french seams inside? Isn't that so wonderful? It makes me feel so good to turn to the inside and not see a mess of threads.

I did also get one BIG thing out of the way. I filled out the tax forms to get our tax credit for buying the house! Yay! Just gotta wait for Shane to get back and sign it. I think we'll use some of it to upgrade the electrical system in the house and then stash the rest of it for emergencies since our monthly budget is now so tight. The light switch in Caleb's room actually gets warm when it's been on for more than about 10 minutes. Not good. So, we're pretty anxious to get it all fixed.

Day 6

2010-07-11T20:43:00.000-07:00

I had such a lazy day. I didn't even feel like taking a nap. That's how lazy I was.

Went to church and met Tim's wife. I think she'll come out to the bible study next week. yay! And I tried not to be judgmental towards the guy who filled in for our regular pastor, who is on vacation. He's in charge of the high school ministry and I think he's just used to talking to high schoolers, at which I am totally convinced that he is truly gifted. That's what I was trying to think anyway, when he started talking about taking a shower and wiping the "eye boogies" off. It was kinda weird. But like I said, I'm trying not to judge. Jesus wouldn't, right?

After that went to Bagel Bakery and scored a bag of six 1-day-old pumpernickel bagels!

Then went home and parked myself on the Lazy Boy for most of the day. I watched movies and made this...

I cut the pieces at my mom's and then sewed it all up today. It's pretty big and it took a lot longer than I thought it would. I think I'll work on a small one next.

I made the mushroom risotto, which was pretty good. But, I'm not sure it was so good that it was worth the expense and the trouble. The lamb steak was Da Bomb though! I broiled it in the oven and of course, it started smoking and the fire alarm went off. Because I just can't cook a steak without testing the fire alarm. But, it was so perfect that it was so worth the $3.50 and the trouble. Will be getting more lamb tomorrow. Maybe I will eat a lamb steak for dinner every night until Shane gets back :)

Oh, yeah. I didn't post a picture of the lamb and risotto because they all turned out really gross looking. Sorry.

Yesterday I unpacked a box with some of my old drawings I did in high school. I used to like to draw. Here's one I did when I was 18.

I can't remember exactly what I drew this from. Probably a photo out of National Geographic.

I was thinking that it would be so great if I managed to draw some portraits of the kids. Those would definitely be worth framing and hanging. But it's been so long. It seems scary for some reason. Like I'm scared to discover that I can't draw anymore.

Well, I probably won't have time to get to it this week. But, I'll think about it.

Day 5

2010-07-10T19:25:00.000-07:00

I'll start off with some pictures of the dress and sewing patterns I bought the other day.

So, here is the dress I got for Ana to take pictures in when she gets back...

Kinda Minnie Mouse-ish, no? I'm not sure about it, I hope she looks super cute in it.

And here are the two patterns...

I like that pink dress. I'm sure I'll never make it, but it'll be fun to look at every once in a while. Sometimes I like to pull all my patterns out and just look at them. Not sure why I think that's so much fun.

I got started on my sewing room. But, I didn't finish. I took it easy today.

I went to the Pacific Grove library and got a card and looked around. It's not part of the Monterey County library system. It's just a small town library. And interestingly, it has a better selection of everything I'm interested in. More than the entire library system of Monterey County! More craft books, kid's DVDs and magazines I'm interested in! I think one day this week I'll go down there and just read magazines. Another thing I won't be able to do with the kids, so I better take advantage of it.

Anyway, after the library, I went to the quilt shop, which is conveniently located across the street :) I got some sale fabric and only spent $20.

Then I went to Trader Joe's and Safeway to get food. I bought ingredients to make broiled lamb and mushroom risotto for my dinner tomorrow! Yum! I figure I better eat yummy things that the boys are crazy not to like. I was a little shocked at how expensive the ingredients for the risotto were. $7 for dried mushrooms! And I only got 1 oz, when I was supposed to get two! I really hope it comes out well and I don't end up wasting a bunch of money. But, at least the lamb steak was only $3.50.

Here's my dinner from tonight. Korean food, yum! I made the kongnamul, I think that's mung beans. It came out okay, but I need to put more salt.

And I also made some brownies with mint chocolate chips! Yum again!

Not sure how productive I will be tomorrow. I'm going to church at 9am. I almost forgot about it, but a friend from the AF, (Joanna, did you know Tim Doerr? ) will be there and I want to meet his wife since I've been trying to get her to check out the Woman's Bible Study I attend on Tuesdays. And I think she's interested in the quilt classes my church has once a month. I haven't been to one yet and it would be funner to go with someone I know.

Well, the silence is still a bit unnerving. I've been playing music quite a bit, which makes me think of Ana because she dances to anything. And oh yeah, I forgot to tell you that I talked to Caleb yesterday. He said "I really miss you mommy. I just want to play with you all day for like 160 days. But I can't cause we're over here. I'm sorry. " Ohhhhhh... isn't he so cute? I told Shane I was having second thoughts about him staying longer and maybe he should come back with him and Ana next weekend. But, he really is having so much fun with his cousins that Shane thinks it would be better to let him spend time with them. *sigh*

Day 4

2010-07-10T06:10:00.000-07:00

On my way home yesterday, I met my Aunt, who lives just outside of San Francisco. We went to Koreatown in Santa Clara, which is right next to San Jose. We started off at the Han Kook Market and bought lots of yummy Korean and Japanese goodies. They had an awesome pan-chan (Korean Side dishes) self-serve bar. My aunt bought some fish roe, but I forget what it's called in Korean. She asked for "du ge" or two pieces, and the lady put about eight in a plastic bag as she explained in Korean that she should freeze what she doesn't eat right next to the ice cream. Of course, all I understood was "ice cream" and I was like "Did she say 'Ice Cream'???" Thinking that she was saying the fish roe would taste good with ice cream. Oh my, how much I've forgotten. Anyway, it was $25 a pound, so my aunt told her it was too much. So the lady put back a piece or two. It so reminded me of Korea. How they'll just do what they want and your kind of powerless because they do it in such a nice sweet way and they laugh and make conversation and you just end up doing what they want.

My aunt helped me pick out some good pickling cucumbers and I'm going to try to make some oi (cucumber) kim-chi. I bought a huge Korean cookbook when I lived there and I've always wanted to try something out of it, but never have. Now I have the time to actually translate something and then try it out! I hope it turns out well.

We ate lunch at a Korean restaurant and it was fabulous. Then we walked around a little bit.

It's so nice to be around family. I love it! And I'm glad that I'm able to have a little bit of time to spend with my mom and aunt alone.

So, then I headed home. I had the terrible idea of driving through Santa Cruz instead of Gilroy, since I hadn't been that way in a while. There was horrible traffic and what should have been a 1 hour 15 minute drive, ended up being 2 hours. But Shane had perfect timing and called me in the worst of it, so it wasn't so bad.

And now I'm finally home! And let me tell you. It's quiet here. I did a lot of dreaming about this moment. Being home alone with nothing but crafting and organizing to do. So, I'm a little surprised at how uncomfortable it feels for me. I've never been one to *need* people around all the time. But, I guess I've just gotten so used to it.

Well, I was so tired that there was no productivity happening from me last night. I went to bed at 8:30pm. It felt good. Waking up at 5:30am? Not so much. But, I get to take a nap (or two) today, so it's all good.

I'll be spending most of the week setting up the house and sewing.

Okay, so I promise, I will be posting some pictures later today.

Day 3

2010-07-09T08:27:00.000-07:00

The Plan:
Watch The Last Airbender and spend the rest of the day sewing and napping.

What Really Happened:
The volume during the movie was messed up and I couldn't understand what the heck was going on, so we left. They refunded my money AND gave me two passes for a 3D movie. This was awesome because the tickets are $12 each for matinee! I gave my mom the two tickets so she can watch two free movies later. She was super happy and I was super happy that it didn't cost me anything :)

We went and had a sushi snack and decided to go for a little drive instead of going home and sewing. We ended up going to an Indian casino, where I played and lost $7. But, it was fun! I lost $2 on the Glitter Kitty machine, lol! I thought it was the perfect thing to do since I definitely can't go to a casino and have a little fun with kids in tow. I usually don't like to gamble because I keep thinking about all the stuff I could have bought, like a charm pack or 3/4 yard of fabric or Jamba Juice for Caleb and me. But it's fun every couple years.

Then we went to two quilt shops, where I got some good deals and didn't buy anything that I have no idea what to do with! I found the perfect fabric for a puzzle ball I am working on, can't wait to show you guys!

We got home and I almost finished the pillowcase that I bought the other day Ana. I'm impressed with the pattern because it uses french seams instead of leaving the seams raw.

Oh, and I forgot to mention yesterday that during my shopping trip, I also bought this pink raincoat with little frogs all over for Ana...

She really didn't need it, but I'm a sucker for Janie and Jack sales because the clothes are so cute and well-made. Regular $55, it was on sale for $20.99. It's lined, which is great since it's so chilly here during the rainy season.

I also bought Caleb and Shane each a card at Hallmark, which I filled out and mailed yesterday. It was so nice to have the time to sit and write something thoughtful. I used to be a thoughtful, generous person. But, over the past few years, I've grown away from that. I wish I could be more relaxed and less intense.

I seem to have trouble thinking outside of the basic needs of my family. I know that's important on it's own. But, not having the people I love the most around me, makes me realize that taking the time to do special little things, like writing a note to say how much and exactly why I love them so much, is so very important. Not only for them, but also for myself. To be able to stop and reflect on the big picture, rather than what I'm going to make for dinner or how I need to go to Target because it's the last day that diapers are on sale.

Anyway, Day 3 was yesterday, I'm headed home (from my mom's house) today. Still have more than a week until I see Shane and Ana. Seems like forever away.

Day 2

2010-07-08T10:06:00.000-07:00

Went shopping all by myself! It was a little weird to have so much time to just wander around the mall and not have to rush. I'm not much of a shopper, but I had a lot of specific things to get this time.

I got two maternity jeans, a maternity shirt, a dress for Ana to get pictures taken in when she gets back from S. Carolina, some Godiva truffles :), a backpack and matching lunchbag for Caleb, and some soap from L'occitane. The soap was the only thing I didn't get at a discount and it was ridiculously expensive. But I just love ending the day with a special bar of soap. I think it's better than perfumy lotion.

Anyway, it's kinda funny to think you guys actually care about what I bought. I was watching something the other day on TV and they were talking about how everyone is so into "ME". Like how people post on FB about how they had cereal this morning for breakfast.

But the funny thing is, I actually do care about that stuff when it's coming from certain people. People who I wish I could actually eat cereal with. And I wish that many of you had been there to shop with me, maybe you feel the same. It actually would have been nice to get a second opinion on the dress I bought for Ana. It's a bit Minnie Mouse-ish. Not sure if that's a good or bad thing. I'll post a picture when I get home and have my camera.

I didn't take a nap. I think I was on a high from my successful shopping trip. I went to Goodwill after the mall and got two sewing patterns for $0.50 each (pictures to follow later) and Levi's jeans for Caleb for $3.50. So, when I got home, I had a snack and my mom and I went to Ikea. Got some good stuff for me to set up my sewing and scrapbook areas, which I'll so this weekend. Then went to a quilt shop and bought a pillowcase kit for Ana, which I might actually put together before I go home.

Didn't get to talk to Shane, but service is really bad in the middle of Nowhere South Carolina.

So sorry about the pictureless posts. I'll make up for it in a few days.

Day 1

2010-07-06T20:53:00.000-07:00

of my resite that is. I feel kinda weird calling it a vaca since I'm not spending this time with my husband and kids.

Anyway, it was horrible sending them off at the airport. I cried.

Then I headed up to my mom's house, a 1.5 hour drive. I couldn't believe how tired I was, at 10:30am. I really had a hard time keeping my eyes open. I knew I had been tired, but I think that the presence of the kdis and having to care for them masked some of my tiredness.

So, five minutes after arriving at my mom's, I took a nap. Then we went to Joann's and then back home and took another nap. That's right. I'm starting this off the right way, with TWO naps!

Also got to read some, I started Count of Monte Cristo.

Talked to Shane a little while ago and they arrived safely. Caleb was good, Ana was a bit of a handful, but nothing a dumdum lollipop couldn't cure. Man. I know that all the rest I will have over the next week and a half will be so good for me, but I really miss them.

24 Week Belly Pic

2010-07-02T07:16:00.000-07:00

There it is. Getting big. I've been having a lot of Braxton-Hicks contractions. Probably because I was overdoing it with the move because it's calmed down quite a bit in the last few days. I'm so glad we had help moving, otherwise I might really have hurt myself.

The insomnia is getting more frequent. Happens a couple times a week now. But I think it's severely aggravated by my allergies, which seem to be much worse now that we live in a forest. I wake up a lot because I can't breathe through my nose or because I need to sneeze eight times in a row.

Other than that, Charlotte seems to have calmed down quite a bit. She still moves around a lot, but it's not so spastic. Maybe I was allowing my preconception about her being a boy to influence my thoughts on her earlier movements. She seems to be very sleepy in the morning because I don't feel her moving much.

I've been really tired lately. I probably keep saying this. But it's truer than with the other pregnancies. Insomnia, no naps and having a five year old boy to entertain is a recipe for exhaustion. I pretty much find something every day to get overwhelmed and cry about.

The good thing is that just as I'm about to lose my mind, Shane and the kids will be going to So. Carolina to visit his family in just four days. Shane and Ana will be gone for 10 days and Caleb will be gone for almost a month. I'm trying to not feel bad about how excited I am about this. I mean, I love them and all, but a girl needs a break once in a while. Since I have to start my little respite off by dropping them all off at the San Francisco airport, I thought I would just keep driving north and visit my mom for a few days. I can't remember the last time I got to hang out with my mom sans kids. We'll go watch a movie! Visit fabric shops and Joanns! Go shopping at Ikea and the Folsom Outlet Mall! Sew! Knit! Read! Take naps!!!! Woohoo!!

So again, I'm trying to not feel bad that I'm SO excited to be without the people I love the most. We'll see how excited I am when I leave them at the airport.

Ana Turns One!

2010-07-01T04:57:00.000-07:00

I can hardly believe that Georgiana is ONE! What a joy she has been! Sometimes I look at her and I think that Charlotte better not be so cute or I'm going to want to have ten more kids. haha! But seriously, she really is so cute the way she smiles so easily and finds such joy in the littlest of things. It makes me think of that opening line in Gone With the Wind about how Scarlett O'Hara is not beautiful but men never notice when confronted with her charm. Except my Georgiana IS beautiful. It just makes me think of that line, because she really doesn't need to be in order to get attention.

She started taking a few steps on her own about a week before her birthday but it wasn't until her birthday that I finally got a good picture of it. And here it is two weeks later and she's practically running. We went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium yesterday and so many moms asked how old she was and couldn't believe how well she was walking. I think part of that is because she's so petite and looks younger than a year old. But, I really am surprised myself at how quickly she went from a few steps to walking very fast. I'm pretty sure she is going to be a runner. I don't think I'll be able to let her run ahead, knowing she'll stop and wait, like I've been able to do with Caleb since he was about two.

I can't remember when kids start saying their first words but she's still stuck on bababa, mamama, and dadada. She's got 6 teeth. I can't remember how many Caleb had at one year, but I'm sure it was more. She still manages to chew things like apples though.

I feel bad that she didn't get a proper celebration for her first birthday. It's nice that she doesn't really seem to care though.

Her birthday feel right in the middle of the week we moved. The new house was ready to move in on Sunday (June 13th) and we moved everything with the Uhaul on Friday and Saturday (June 19th and 20th). Her birthday was on the 16th. Dad came over the day before to start getting the house ready with new appliances and such so I knew I wouldn't have time to bake a cake. So I made cupcakes the day before her birthday and then put everything together on her birthday.

I was planning on having a proper birthday party for her, this weekend in fact. But, getting unpacked has proven to be much slower and difficult than I thought it would be. Maybe we'll do something when everyone gets back from S. Carolina in August.

Anyway, I hope things will be calmer next year and I can make up for the lack of grandness with a super duper second birthday party!

2010-06-23T21:02:00.000-07:00

I'm writing this from my computer! Yay! Turns out that Ana just knocked the hard drive loose. It's really good to have an Apple laptop sometimes. It's so easy to just take it to the mall to be fixed.

Unfortunately, I'm still not writing a proper update post. Sorry, but I'm tired. It seems that with every pregnancy it's harder on my aging body, we have more stuff going on and I get to take way less naps. Not a good combination.

Caleb is in taekwondo camp this week, which is allowing me a little bit of a break, but I've been spending pretty much every moment driving to appointments and meeting with plumber, tree trimmers and cable guys. I think I've unpacked two boxes so far since Monday.

Okay, well enough of the complaining. I'm tired. But, things are starting to wind down and hopefully I'll post some pictures and give some better details in a few days.

2010-06-22T20:57:00.000-07:00

Ana got a hold of my laptop because I haven't figured out yet where to put it the new house and stupidly left it in her reach. Not sure what she did to it but t won't even turn on now. I'm writing this from my phone. I'm taking the laptop into the Apple store tomorrow though.

She is something else that kid! And as I was trying to get my laptop on she insisted on doing pull-ups on the ironing board as Shane ironed. Thank God Dad already put locks on the kitchen cabinets!!!

2010-06-16T19:44:00.000-07:00

Carpet cleaned - check!

All locks rekeyed - check!

House cleaned by professional immigrants - check!

Natural gas turned on in the house - check!

Mail being delivered to our new home - check!