An Update...

Now that I have reached my 30th week of pregnancy, I am going to the doctor every two weeks. Yesterday I had a check-up with Dr. Arze. Now, Dr. Arze isn't my favorite doctor of the group, mainly because I hold a grudge...when I was pregnant with Bella, he happened to be the doctor I saw the first time they had to check my cervix. It was not pleasant, and I'm afraid I've held it against him ever since! To be fair, he seems entirely capable, and always makes sure to give you a lot of information. In fact, yesterday he started talking the moment he came in the room, talked the entire time he was in the room, and talked till he left- all so quickly that I probably couldn't tell you three things he said!

Anyhoo, I had gained two more pounds, bringing my grand total up to (drumroll please!) twenty pounds. Which honestly was less than I expected. I also got my flu shot (regular, not H1N1). My belly is measuring right where it should, and Baby Abby's heart rate was 157 and sounded great.

This morning our pediatrician's office (Riverside Pediatrics in Elizabethton- LOVE them!) did a flu shot clinic, and Bella had an appointment at 8:50. When we got there, the nurse told us we could either do FluMist, a live vaccine that is administered through the nose, or a regular flu shot, which is inactive virus. I chose the flu shot, because Bella did fine with that last year, and because the nurse said the FluMist vaccine gives them a runny nose and cold-like symptoms for a couple of weeks. Bella did great with her shot, she cried for a couple of minutes and then was ok. I gave her a dose of tylenol as a precaution and we went on our way.

As far as being prepared for the arrival of Baby Abby, sadly I am not! My mom, who is my official 'nursery painter', has been in Panama City for a week, so the room still isn't painted. And until the room is painted, we aren't going to put furniture in it...and until the furniture is in it, there's no reason to go through Bella's newborn clothes, bring them up from the basement, and wash them and put them away! I also need a new infant carrier/carseat base. The one Bella used was a hand-me-down from Ashlyn, and was pretty much worn out! In addition to that, I need to find some sort of a double stroller that I can put both girls in. So I still have a lot to do (and buy!)

The bad news is, I'm starting to creep into that 'uncomfortable' stage of pregnancy. Abby moves a lot, and likes to kickbox with various of my internal organs. Plus, at night, whichever side I am laying on my hip hurts, so I have to turn over a lot. I know it's all worth it. But I can't say that I will be sad when delivery day gets here!

Her big bed!

Now that Bella is two, I figured it was time to convert her crib into her big bed. Especially now, since I can use her crib mattress for Abby! So today Kenneth went and picked up her new mattress and box springs at Zaks and took the crib apart. The back of her crib makes a headboard.....

And of course Bella had to help daddy!



As usual, the instructions were not helpful at all. I had to buy some extra nuts and bolts at Lowe's while I was out- we did this by me taking a pic of said bolt with my phone, sending it to Kenneths, and him texting back "Looks good. Get 4." Believe it or not, they fit perfectly!
Once the bed was together, of course Bella had to try it out....



Kenneth got it done in time for her to take her nap in it today, which was good. I wanted her to be able to try it out before night time. Well, it took a while, but she finally fell asleep. She loves her "big bed"!

In stitches...

Whenever the air starts to get that 'fall' feeling, and the sunlight starts to change just a little, I start craving mums, pumpkin-scented candles, foddershocks, and most importantly, my sewing box!

I started quilting about 5 or 6 years ago. It sort of runs in the family. My maternal great-grandmother, Janie Kate Loyd (love that name!) was a prolific quilter. She could whip up a Log Cabin quilt in no time flat. And a good thing, too. She hung them by the old highway up in Temple Hill and sold them to passersby, and from what I hear there wouldn't have been food on the table some days if she hadn't! Her daughter, my grandmother, took up quilting, too. When she was a child the women would gather at the old church in Rocky Fork to quilt, and she would sneak under the biq quilting frame to watch their needles work and listen to the gossip- although it was tame by today's standards. Back then, even when no men were present, they referred to pregnancy as "so and so is getting big" or "in a family way" !

Anyway, I became interested. My first quilt was a very simple pattern called a Nine Patch. each square is made of nine smaller squares pieced together. It took me a year to hand piece and hand quilt it (I took the summer off!), but when it was finally finished, it was so rewarding! I gave it to my grandmother as a thank-you for teaching me to quilt!

Actually, I've given away all my quilts. After the nine patch I did four baby quilts for various friends and relatives, and then a Dutch Doll for my other grandmother. I took some time off when Bella was born, but yesterday I felt that familiar craving in my fingertips, and got out my sewing box!

Right now I have two irons in the fire: This first one is a variation on the Log Cabin, it's a little simpler but still very pretty and very colorful.

And this one is a true Log Cabin. I had planned on making it in yellow and blue, but fell in love with these fabrics.

Both of these are hand pieced. I have a sewing machine, but to me it's just so relaxing (and a little more authentic) to do it by hand . It's also a lot slower, but that's all right! I'm hoping to finish the true Log Cabin by spring, but with a two year old, a new baby on the way, and holidays coming up, that may be a pipe dream!

Beach Trip photos

Here are some pictures from our trip to Hilton Head island!




Digging in the sand with Daddy...

Taking a break with mommy...

The most beautiful thing on the beach!

I loved jumping in the pool to Daddy!

Heading for the waves!

Blogging from the Beach!

Today I am updating my blog from sunny Hilton Head Island! We arrived yesterday about 3:30 p.m. and got everything unloaded an #11 Sea Oak, our rented beach house. It's really nice, with 5 bedrooms and 5 1/2 baths on about 4 different levels! Arabella and Ashlyn had a ball exploring it. It's the kind of house that's layed out funny, with two differrent staircases and lots of space to run around in.

Once we got unloaded, we took the girls down to the beach to play. Bella is a lot braver this year, she ran right out into the waves and kept wanting to go out deeper! She and Ashlyn had a ball! My parents and grandparents went out to dinner, and the rest of us stayed at the house and had pizza delivered, since it was late and the girls were tired. And tired toddlers don't do well in restuarants!

We spent this morning at the beach. The girls ran and ran and ran. They found starfish in the tide pools, they splashed in the waves, they played in the sand. It is very warm down here, I think the high was 90 today, of course with high humidity, but there's always a breeze down by the ocean so that helps. At lunch time we fed them and put them to bed, then I went back to the beach with Kenneth and we took a walk as the tide was coming in, which was nice. I did get pretty tired then! Chasing the girls all morning took most of my energy! Needless to say, it wasn't a very fast walk.

Now the girls are napping and everyone else is showered and resting. When they get up, we'll all head out for some yummy seafood!

I can't post pics from here, so I will do it when I get home!

And we're off, like a herd of turtles!

So this morning we are leaving for Hilton Head Island with my family. Why am I updating my blog, instead of loading up the car? Because once again my daughter has proven that the later she stays up, the earlier she gets up! Her usual bedtime is between 8:45 and 9:00 p.m. Last night it was about 9:20 before we put her to bed, and she layed in there and talked and jabbered until after 10:00! Theoretically, you could expect her to sleep until after 7:00 (she usually gets up at 6:30, like clockwork!). Instead, at 5:15 a.m., she is wide awake!

Which is why I had plenty of time to blog before we load the car and leave at 7:40! We are heading to HHI with my parents, my mothers parents (pappaw and memmie), and my sis and her family. This is our second annual beach trip all together. We've all pitched in and rented a beach house on the ocean, this one is about two houses down from the one we rented last year, and from the pictures I've looked at online, is layed out pretty much the same. It has five bedrooms, and is really big, so even though there are six adults and two little ones going, you don't feel cramped.

Last year we all went in together and rented a U-Haul, one of the small ones. At first I thought that was pretty ridiculous, but once we got finished loading things in, it was full to the top! It's like the Griswald's Beach Vacation! My dad takes two or three bicycles, Dave and Kenneth take their golf clubs, then there's beach chairs, beach toys, beach umbrella's, more toys for the kids...Not to mention the ginormous cooler my memmie takes, packed full of every conceivable lunch meat, cheese, breakfast food, condiment...and of course her fabulous "Hundred Dollar Cake" ~if there's anything better than a cake with chocolate and coffee in it, I haven't found it yet! Then my mom takes a huge box of snacks, drinks, etc. And this is just for breakfast and lunch, since we eat out for dinner each night! Oh, and of course Sherry Renfro's Emergency Cleaning Kit~ just in case the house doesn't meet her standards of cleanliness, she throws in Clorox, toilet bowl cleaner, etc...Anyway I guess we prove the old saying, "Its better to have it and not need it!" This year Dave borrowed a trailer from someone.

I'm really looking forward to our trip, it's nice to spend time with the family, although I wouldn't say its exactly "relaxing", what with a two and three year old to chase around! But there are so many of us, you always have help keeping an eye on the little ones. My memmie and pappaw seem to have the most fun, they love playing with the great-grandbabies.

Of course, this year I'll be 27 weeks pregnant for our beach vacation, so I don't know how much running around I'll be doing in that heat and humidity! This baby has made me uncomfortable a lot earlier than Bella did- hips and back hurting, tired, etc. Oh, lets not forget the all important weight gain! There's always the possiblilty the whale watchers will spot me and attempt a heroic rescue of the beached whale!

Anyway, its almost time to grab some breakfast and load up the car!

Baby steps to the Nursery...

Here's a quick update on Baby Abby's nursery! We are making slow and steady progress! I got my bedding a couple weeks ago, so today I hung her window valance, just to see how it will look! I'll have to take it down to wash and iron later. We also hung a room darkening shade, since her window faces east and gets the morning sun.


The room is cleaned out and ready to paint in a few weeks. I'll probably go with some shade of pink!

Bella likes "Baby Abby's blankie".

Before we do anything else to Abby's room, Bella gets a big girl bed- we are converting her crib into a full bed, so she gets a full mattress, a new bedspread, sheets, and curtains in her room! Then we can use her old crib mattress in Abby's crib.