Introducing baby #3

I'm a little late posting on our blog but here is baby #3 and he's a boy!

Leland Ernest arrived on Thursday, October 29th at 10:31 am. He weighed 6 pounds 12 ounces and was 19 inches long - the biggest of my kiddos. He was a few weeks early like Peanut and Maemae, but is healthy and perfect. We were able to have our home birth like we planned and it was amazing, intense, and exhilarating. From first contraction to baby in my arms was 5 and a half hours. Thankfully, the day before I had ran errands and finished gathering up the home birthing supplies from the list my midwives had provided.

Not much time to blog or do anything else but hold our little man and play with the older 2 kiddos. Peanut calls Leland Baby Cute and Maemae calls him brother and sometimes Lee. They adore him and we're fortunate that they have no jealousy or hostile feelings towards him. He's been accepted like he was always part of their lives. My kiddos are the bestest!

And a few pictures before I jump into the shower before I get Elliot up for school.

One day old.

A couple days old.

In his first cloth diaper - one made by me. He's about a week old here.
First car ride to my beloved Target at 1 week old.

TTFN ~ C

22 months

Happy 22 months Sissy. xoxo

Busy in the kitchen

I've begun canning for my first time this year. 2 day ago actually. I have 4 pints of pickled pickles and 9 jars of pickled lemon cucumbers done on the counter that I did last Friday.

Today I have a huge list that I've already started on. Crockpot crammed full of tomatoes pureeing down, another large pot on the stove doing the same thing, my biggest sauce pan with puree in it becoming the beginnings of pizza sauce that will be canned. Then on to the 25 pound box of peaches on my counter that have to be taken care of today and finished in the morning if I can't get it all done. My stove top is going to be super busy. I'm wanting to get everything done today because Mike finally has a few days off and I don't want to have to do chores this week when he's home.

And during all this I need to make some zucchini bread and muffins and get those into the freezer. They make snacks and breakfasts so much easier on the mornings when I have absolutely no idea what to feed my kidlets or myself.

That's what I've been up to. Gaining a new appreciation for all the women who can summer after summer, trying to be as sustainable as possible. It's hard, long, time consuming work - but so worth it in the middle of winter.

TTFN ~ C

Oh, and looking at my last picture post, I clearly need to take the time to resize my photos. Oopsie they're ginormous. But doesn't everyone want to see almost life size photos of my adorable kids?

End of July beach trip

Mike had a job in Rockaway Beach OR at the end of July so we went with him and stayed the night at the beach. This was the week it was 100+ in Portland/Vancouver so at the beach it was 70s and had tons of people all over the place. The kiddos loved the sand and Peanut loved playing in the freezing cold ocean with Mike. We ate at a fantastically delicious restaurant in Cannon Beach, played in the sand for awhile, drove to Seaside and played in the sand and ocean some more. Then grabbed Taco Bell for the drive home and got home in the evening on the hottest day of the year. To our house that had window a/c units that I turned off because I didn't think they needed to run while we weren't there. Big huge fat mistake. Our house was 92 on the inside and took about 4 hours for those units to cool it down enough to breath comfortably. At least the kiddos had one in each of their rooms so it only took about an hour to get down to a nice and comfy 71 for bedtime.

Cannon Beach OR. It was so foggy and misty on the beach and this was around 11am.

It was much clearer at Seaside and I had forgotten to put sun block on us all so we came home with red faces and ears. Thankfully both kids seem to be like Mike and after the first day, their burns turn into tans and they didn't peel. I on the other hand, am not so lucky and I didn't even get very burnt.

More pictures soon.
~Crys

We are here.

Just been incredibly busy over the summer and our blog has been neglected. Mike is still working a ton, I'm home with the kids and working on starting a cloth diaper pattern where I make and sell them online. I also have an etsy store for the baby and toddler clothing I make but haven't done much since my initial stocking and opening. My sewing time has greatly dwindled in between the summer days and lots of playing outside and this pregnancy which makes me too tired to sew after 9pm.

Peanut is doing fantastic. Within the last 4-6 weeks, his speech and vocabulary has exploded. Not just a new word each day or 2 but talking on his own and in big sentences. And he's a big repeater....of the cuss words especially. Son of a bitch was a favorite last week thanks to Mike. He starts pre-school on the 21st (sniff!) and while I'm sure I'll cry my eyes out, he'll love it. We went to the meet and greet ice cream social last week at his school and he loves his class room and went to explore it all by himself while Mike and I hung back and talked to his teachers. He'll even ride the bus to and from there which is a big step for me - having someone else drive him is huge. And like every other mom out there, I've put off school clothes shopping for as long as possible because while I know he'll need clothes for fall and winter, I don't want to have to start shopping in the little boys section for my baby's clothes. But I have to because I can no longer squeeze him into toddler sized clothing no matter how much I don't want him to grow anymore.

Peanut also now is in big boy unders all day. Even at nap time. And poop in the potty is becoming a more regular deal. I'm ecstatic because it means less diaper laundry....until #3 gets here. He also is sleeping in his big boy bed all night and for naps. With us needing to tell him to stay in bed less times than expected. We did this change when we moved 3 weeks ago and it's working fantastically. And today, at nap time, while I was rocking Mae to sleep, he got up, used the potty, then went back to bed ON HIS OWN! This is huge. Before he'd make tons of noise so I'd be irritated and demand he gets back into bed then feel guilty when he'd say poopoop or uh oh (uh oh is code for gotta pee).

Maemae is still a pistol. She's demanding, loud, and very certain of what she wants and when she wants it. She's also all tom boy so I put her in dresses occasionally while I still have some control over what she wears. We love her to death and wouldn't have her be any other way. She's very attached to me and Peanut, with Mike being a good substitute most of the time. Her stranger danger senses have kicked in big time. If anyone gets too close to her and/or me, she gets very shrill and loud. And this happens to family and strangers alike. We hope it lasts until college so she doesn't start dating in high school but I doubt we'll be that lucky. She also now sleeps in her own room all night and, within the last 10 days, has been sleeping from 9-9:30ish to 7:30-8ish without needing me to help her back to sleep (usually). This is a huge step for us both and I'm grateful that it happened before baby #3 gets here. Especially since we're not fans of crying it out regardless of the child's age. Although there have been times when I can understand the frustration that may lead parents to that choice. She also is talking quite a bit but still prefers to do it herself or get it for herself.

Baby #3 is doing great. I am 28 weeks along and still have a due date of November 26. We have switched to a different midwife clinic (again) and are much much happier with who we are now going with. Not only are they CNMs, they are naturopathic physicians and see pediatric patients. So now we'll have a new pediatrician who is more in tune with the natural healing methods than our traditional pediatrician. Woo hoo! And the prenatal/delivery/postnatal care portion we have to pay is a significant amount lower. Always a good thing to save money!

Mike and I also have a good idea of the sex of this baby but we're not telling anyone what we think. And we're not sharing our name list so don't ask. :) We do have them narrowed down and are just waiting to see this little one's face before deciding our final selection. But I am a little disappointed I haven't had any strangers ask me the obnoxious and annoyingly rude question "What are you having?" because I so badly want to say a little monkey or a puppy to see their reaction, followed up by my normal snarkiness of none of your fricking business you nosey busy body who I'll never see again. But I must walk around with a don't talk to me look on my face because no one has asked.

And we moved again. Surprised aren't ya?! This makes the 4th move in 3 years during August/September for us. But our plan changed again so we moved out of the little dumpy house we were in for the last year into a much larger, 2 story (ugh stairs) house in Battle Ground. Yep, the one place I swore as a teenager I'd never live in and here we are. And I really like it, minus the fact the good Target is now 25 minutes away instead of 5. The kids get the living room as their play room and I get the formal dining room as my sewing studio. And Mike gets to sleep upstairs away from most of the noise during the day so we're all happy. His drive for work and the Guild is a little longer but overall, we're very happy here.

That about sums it up. I'll post pictures shortly since the kiddos are up from their naps demanding my attention. Mostly I think they want me to cave and put a movie on for them and because I need to sweep without their help, I think will.

TTFN ~ Crys

Boots

My kiddos love their boots. Peanut needed a new pair again and he picked out some super bright blue and green boots from Walmart.


Maemae doesn't have rubber boots but only because they didn't have her size, or a size even remotely small enough to use. She does have some cowgirl boots and she loves them. And she's very fashionable. This was before the put on her red jacket and insisted I zip it up for her - when it was 84 outside already. She threw a huge hisser when I tried to put sandles on her to leave the house so she got to wear her boots all day. I'm sure they'll be on again when she wakes up and we go to dinner later.
Oye, the pictures are huge but I'm too lazy to go back in and resize them. Plus Mom and Dad are on dsl finally so they don't have to wait an hour to see them anymore.

TTFN ~ C

New tools!!!

Well, I haven't posted in forever, but felt compelled today.

After returning from a successful trip to Vegas (I came home with 5 bucks more than I left with after buying dinner at the airport before the flight home), I decided "hey, that was money you were willing to lose if you sucked at the gaming tables...so...why not buy something with it?". So...I did!

I've been wanting some shop tools, but had been holding out til we bought a house, but, now that we aren't buying for probably another year...I decided I'm not waiting for the tools anymore!

After spending hours on Grizzly.com deciding what I wanted (I already knew, just had to stare at them for hours again anyway), I got the cash deposited back into the bank so I could place my order. 3 days later...they were brought into the garage by a FedEx freight guy that hated his job, but who cares about him, its tool time!





6" jointer!
14" Bandsaw!


Mortising machine!

Tenon cutting jig!
And last but not least, I ordered a planer also, but went with a different brand than Grizzly based on some reviews from other wood workers on a web forum I like to visit. This one has 3 blades as opposed to 2, and there fore churns out a smoother cut...or so the users tell me, its not supposed to arrive until May 27th!


Now its time to save up some money so I can go buy some lumber. I have several projects already lined up to do, dining table and chairs, then an entire bed set for us. After that, I'll do bedroom sets for the kids too. I need to win the lottery clearly!

Next Wednesday I'm going over-sized sturgeon fishing, can't wait!!!!!!!!!! I should have some pictures to post of that outing too, yeah!

Hi

It's been almost 2 months since I last blogged. I barely have time to get dishes done each day before I want to crawl into bed so blogging is way down on the list of things to do. And it will probably stay that way throughout the summer.

Our kiddos are doing well. Growing like weeds and ready for it to be nice all the time so they can play outside.

Baby #3 is due on Thanksgiving. Which will make all of our kiddos 22-23 months apart. I've been feeling pretty good, no real morning sickness, just some extreme tiredness each morning and I'm ready for bed by 7:00 each night.

And since my last post was about the Twilight movie, yes, both kids napped the entire time, waking up about 5 minutes after it was over. Despite being a low budget film, it was pretty good. Changed a few things from the book, but that was expected. And I've re-read the series again, twice since watching the movies. Both taking less than a week to get through all 4, but not the crazy first time reading spree I was on.

Kiddos are waking up and I need a snack. Here's a couple pics taking within the last few weeks.

TTFN ~ Cry

Peanut's new way of watching a movie.

Clella playing some t-ball a few weeks ago during our last heat wave.

Today's nap time

is going to be devoted to this:

Yes, I am one of the people who paid full price to buy the movie today. And if I didn't have my kiddos, I might have been at Walmart at 12:01 am to buy it then. I can't wait for naptime. All I have to say is my kiddos better nap for 122 minutes.

TTFN ~Crys

Today's pictures

I love my kiddos. Especially on mornings like today when I see how much they are starting to interact and be together. Peanut loves to play and wrestle with Maemae and she's OK with being mauled by him. She giggles hysterically when he bear hugs her and tickles her. He's so gentle with her most of the time that it makes my heart hurt because you can tell how much he loves his Baby Mae Sissy.

Maemae does give as good as she gets.
Peanut trying to grab my camera.

Mae trying to grit her teeth to make them stop aching. Working on getting the rest of her big one year top molars to cut through.

Our little tripod baby being silly.

We haven't been up to anything new the past couple weeks. Mike works a ton, the kiddos make me crazy and exhausted. Our days off are spent relaxing at home most of the time, trying to recover from work (Mike) and from being up multiple times at night for a teething babe. We are all over the nasty cold that was going around thankfully. Poor Peanut caught it twice, but the 2nd time was much quicker than the first. I haven't sewn for any length of time in a while but do have a few projects in the works. I'm contemplating on making some diapers to sell but am not sure if I'll have the time to make the commitment. There's a boutique in downtown Vancouver that needs a local mom to make some fitted diapers and I'd love to be able to make some cash by sewing. But, I have to finish tweaking my pattern and testing it on Maemae before I can start production to sell. I want to, but don't always have the time I need to get anything done. And sometimes it takes too long to remember where I was in the process to pick it back up again. By the time I remember, one of the kiddos either needs me right this second or I can't see cuz it's late and bed time. One day soon, my kids will let me sew....right?!

Great news for Peanut - he has learned to pee and poop on the potty! Each time he does, I want to break out in a happy dance and yell with happiness. Today is day 3 of not asking every 4 minutes if he needs to pee-pee and he's doing fantastic; only have had 2 accidents. I never really believed all the people who said one day it will click for him and he'll be ready to have big boy unders on. But it really did happen, 37 months from his birthday he was ready to not wear diapers. By him going down to 2 diapers a day (nap and bed time) sure has cut down on the diaper laundry that I have to do.

And maybe Maemae won't be too long in following. She's very interested in everything her brother does so maybe he can lead by example and she'll be one that is out of diapers by 18 months. I can dream. :)

Time to load up my kiddos and go get some dinner. Mike is up and on a man-date with my dad. They're at a some fancy-schmancy NRA banquet dinner. Then next week they have another man-date for the Rocky Mountain Elk Fountation's annual banquet. My man sure gets around. :)

TTFN ~ Crys

One day soon

I might make a real post with more than 1 picture. Time seems to be going by twice as fast lately and I just can't find the time or energy to blog. Too many other things demanding my attention during the day that by the time it's bedtime, I can't think of the 20 things I thought to blog about during the day, let alone have enough energy to stay awake and write. Maybe next week.


TTFN ~ Crys

Happy Birthday Peanut!

Happy Birthday Elliot. We love you so very much. XOXO Mama, Daddy and Maemae.

Ramblings from our house

We haven't been up to much lately. Maemae has 8 teeth now, runs after Peanut, and continues to change her napping schedule constantly so I have no idea from week to week when her ideal nap time is. She has a few words she used often and loudly - Hi, Byebye, Dada, something that sounds like the sylabols of Elliot and Brother, and here. And she knows when I saw get in you chair, it's meal time. This girl loves to eat. And it happened overnight. One day was pureed everything, then bam! only food from our plates. Makes it easier for me at meal time. If only Peanut was that easy when it came to food. Instead, he's a grazer and will only eat from a limited menu. He did finally said "I love you" to Mike and then me last night. Melted both our hearts and of course, now he refuses to say it. Typical of him. He is using new words regularly, just not very many or enough to keep me from being 100% worry free about his lack of talking. Or lack of desire to talk.

I haven't been too busy lately. Been reading (always reading something), sewing and finishing up projects I've started before starting new ones. I do have an etsy shop now, but have to wait to see if the CPSIA laws will be amended to allow me to continue and expand what I have there. Basically the law is going to require everything marketed for children 12 and younger to be tested for lead and phthalates. EVERYTHING. Even if the materials I use have already been tested, because I'm altering and creating a new product, the finished item is still suppose to be tested. If not amended, it's going to put the majority of small businesses for children's items out of business. It has been amended once already to allow second-hand and consignment stores to keep selling clothing and toys at their descretion, but it doesn't allow me to sell my clothing, blankets, and burp rags without testing for lead and there's no way I can afford that.

On a good note about sewing, I finally got my machine back from the shop and it's heaven to work with. Sews beautifully and I'm still kicking myself for not taking it in a year ago when it first started having problems. Next time, I know not to hobble it along until I'm so frustrated I want to shoot it and by a new one.

Another thing I do is torture myself and look at real estate listings. And found one that has everything we desire - great location, acreage, nice sized house with minor updating needed, a shop, a yard that would be nice if it was mowed, even a pasture for a cow and eventually a horse. But we're still paying off debt, are in our current lease until September, and don't really want to stretch our budget that tight even though my heart aches knowing that it won't be there when it is our turn. We've even suggested to each other going to look at it, but I don't think I can. I know myself too well. It has the basic requirements that we want and I would fall in love. Then I would fall into a depression because it isn't financially our time to be looking for real estate. But deep down, I really really want to go look at it hoping there will be a huge flaw that I couldn't get over to turn me off from dreaming about moving my little family there. But I'm not going to. To torture myself a little more, I did email the listing agent with a couple questions, but don't have the heart to go through the process knowing we aren't quite there yet to be home owners again. Times like this make me really wish I kept my little old Neon car that was paid off instead of getting my mothership with the decent sized monthly payment. That free and clear title was so worth the compact size of it.

Enough about my woes and wants. Evenutally, we'll be home owners again. It might not be the blue house I'm currently in love with, but something will be there when we're ready to plop down our (Mike's) hard earned money for. Hell, maybe our taxes will be heavenly and we can pay off a few bills and have some left over for a very very small down payment. Maybe?! Puh-leeze!

TTFN ~C

Speed reading week is over

I finished Breaking Dawn, the last Twilight book, on Saturday night. 11:50 to be exact. No use in stopping during the big climactic scene to try to sleep even when my eyes are burning. I would of woke up super early, thinking about it. Then I would of had to finish it and be mad that I didn't finish it the night before and sleep in until the kiddos woke up.

So, 4 huge books in a week. Approximately 2300 pages in those 4 books. Thankfully I don't read like this on a weekly basis. Nothing would get done besides the very basic cooking and cleaning and the kiddos would be running around in their diapers (or naked as Peanut likes to do when he doesn't have clothes on. Or even when he has clothes on for that matter.) because I can't be bothered to do laundry.

I can admit I understand the frenzy and love people have shown for this series. I'm not going to name my next child after a character in the book like some fanatics have, but I understand it. I'm pretty happy with how the series ended. Sometimes when reading a series, I'm not ready for the end or the end should of ended a book or 2 ago. This one felt right. And even knowing it was wrote for a young adult audience, I was still captivated (duh!) until the very end.

I read yesterday that the movie, Twilight, is going to be out on DVD on March 21. You know I'll be at Target first thing after breakfast, snatching my copy off their shelves. Then turning it once nap time hits so I can watch it uninterrupted. This gives me enough time to read the series another 2 or 3 times. :) I already have a start with finishing Twilight yesterday and broke open New Moon this morning.

Well, Peanut's wanting to get out of bed, nap time is over. Off to be the regular Mama that I am. Until they're in bed and I can read again like a normal person. You know, for an hour or so until my normal bedtime. Not until the wee hours of the morning.

TTFN ~ Crys

Still Obsessed

I'm forcing myself to take a quick break from the Twilight series.

I did get books 3 and 4 yesterday. Thank you Target, for having them in stock and not making me try to keep my toddler from causing mayhem through Borders. Started the third book yesterday around lunchtime, finished it this morning about 9:30. I would of finished it last night (or very early this morning), but Maemae is teething again and was very restless so I figured 12:30 was late enough for me to be reading in case she didn't sleep well.

Book 4 is right next to me, all ready to suck me into it. But my little Peanut is telling me he pooped pooped so I'm off to my Mama duties.

Is it nap time yet?

TTFN ~ Crys

P.S. I'll post a normal post later this week when I'm back to normal and not possessed by Edward and Bella's lives. :)

My latest obsession

Mike bought me a new book for Christmas. One that has been on my list to read but last I looked, the library had 64 holds on it and I wasn't going to buy anymore books if I can help it. I hadn't really read what this book was about beyond it had great reviews, is now a movie, and is the first of four. A book out of my normal genre of reading, but one that I think I'd like since it's basically a romance and I'm all about the romantic-happily-ever-after-he-loves-her-she-loves-him books. This first book is a healthy sized book, 498 pages. I figured the length of it and my will power to not blow through it would make it last at least 4 days.

So I ran out of things to read last week and picked up this new book while nursing Maemae before her nap. I sat, rocking her, long after she was asleep and could be put in bed....reading. The book I wasn't going to get sucked into and whip through in 2 days. This book:
To be honest, I think it took me 3 days. The first day I was reading another book and wanted to finish that one first. So I was up for the next 2 nights, reading way past this Mama's bedtime, sucked in, wondering what's going to happen to everyone. I finished it at 1:08 am, Saturday night. Really Sunday morning. Whatever. I finished it. And almost cried because I didn't have the second one to start as soon as the kids had breakfast.

I am weak. But know I know I have no willpower from letting a book suck me into it. Books and good chocolate do NOT last in my house.

I wasn't able to get the second book until late Monday morning. Had to go to 3 different stores to find it. Saw it there next to the first, third, and fourth ones, but only got the 2nd one since the last 2 are hardback and a little more expensive than what I like to spend on books I'll go through in about 36 hours.

Whipped through the 2nd book in 2 days. Almost cried again when I finished because I didn't buy the 3rd and 4th one when I saw them. Ordered them through my book club. All 4, good price, and hardback - will stand up to the multiple readings I'll give them. Started re-reading the first book again since I'm sure there are little things I missed in my haste to know if Edward and Bella are still in love with each other at the end. Read the author's website top to bottom to kill time - seriously, I read everything on there.

So, I checked my order status tonight, thinking I'll have my new beloved books in a couple days because they ship quickly. And almost cried when I saw the words BACK ORDERED. NOOOOOO! They can't do this to me. So, tomorrow, after I call and cancel my order, the kiddos and I will load up in the mother ship, go to Target, get books 3 and 4 in the Saga, then go to the gym if I can control my obsession long enough to start on a New Year's resolution (and give the kiddos play time in their child watch area). Maybe I'll even have enough will power to leave book 3 in the car and actually do a workout while the kids are playing.

Or maybe I'll grab a chair outside the child watch area and start reading, uninterrupted for 90 minutes. The maximum time they can be in the child watch area without having to pay for more time. Or I wonder if the indoor track will be empty enough to walk and read at the same time.

I do have to add the disclosure that Mike was home each day of his weekend to take care of the kids. You know, the feeding, changing, playing, not ignoring them like Mama was with her new book kind of care they deserve. If he hadn't been home, I would of been up each night much later than I was, making up for the time during day I was doing all of that. So thanks lovey. Thanks for the book and thanks for understanding I NEEDED to read. XOXO

TTFN ~ Crys

Snow

It's snowy, icy, and frickin' cold around here. So glad I didn't have to go anywhere last night or earlier today. Mike had to work but put the chains on the truck and trucked on into Portland to save the city from itself. Chains were required on the freeways and all Portland roads. Luckily he bought some last year for a drive to Moses Lake WA and didn't return them. Here's a picture from last night before Mike moved the truck to the street and got to putting them on.

That's all for now. I haven't been in the chatty blogging mood lately. Maybe after the holidays, I'll be able to get back to regular updates. Or maybe tomorrow. Who knows.

I'll try to put up a picture of the kiddos in their Christmas tree shirts, but if I don't, Merry Christmas. Stay safe out there.

TTFN ~Crys

Happy 1st Birthday Baby Girl

Happy first birthday little MaeMae. You are loved more than you'll ever know. XOXO Mama and Daddy and Brother.

Happy Thanksgiving

Hope everyone's turkey day was a nice one. Our Thanksgiving was very low key. Mike started his workweek on Wednesday night so we were home all day. I cooked a turkey for dinner and Mom and Dad came in to help us eat it. I wasn't very happy with my stuffing, but it's been so long since I've made it, I'm not too upset about it. The awesomely delicious apple pie makes up for it. We're going to their house on Sunday for the big family dinner. I think I'll get to try making stuffing again since mom's recovering from being sick again.

I made the kiddos turkey bird shirts and they turned out pretty cute. It's impossible to get a nice picture of them together and none of us were in the mood for a long photo shoot to get really good pictures so here's what we have. We'll try again Sunday.
Maemae has a cold so she's still tired, was beginning to yawn, and just wanted Mama to hold and snuggle with her.

The kids and I ventured out for some shopping this morning. None of the 5am craziness since there was nothing on sale worth getting out of bed that early for. We left at 10:3o and got back at 1 and only went to 2 stores. But about 1/3 of my Christmas shopping is done, some in the closet and some on the way from amazon.com and I have a list for the others. I'll be able to finish it next week when Mike can stay home with the kids.

I'm off to sew and to figure out what I want Clella's 1st birthday invites to look like. Can't believe in 19 days my baby girl is turning 1.

TTFN ~ Crys

more pics

At Mom and Dads.

Mom and Dad's - walking with Peanut while Dad and Mike work on firewood.

Yummm bananas.

What Peanut does if the baking cabinet is unlocked and Mama's taking a time-out to read a blog.

TTFN for real now.