Our Happy Chaos

Quilt for Nana - housewarming gift

2012-02-12T11:03:00.003-06:00

Nana, Brian's mom, has bought a cute house in the town nearest to us, a little over 3 miles away. She is moving here from Arizona. She was staying with us for a couple of weeks, then went to new Jersey to spend time with Aunt Bob and baby Tate, but is coming back home today. She finalized closing on the house on Friday, Brian moved a few items yesterday, going to the airport to pick her up as I type, then we will be helping her with moving more stuff from storage later today. We got her coffee pot set up, her favorite creamer and pop in the fridge, and left this quilt I made for her in her new home waiting for her.

I LOVE how this quilt turned out!

Front:

close up

back

Hope she likes it!

Random pics

2012-02-11T18:58:00.007-06:00

posing with "friends"

many expressions of Miss I

the boys

guinea egg next to a chicken egg - so cute!

sunrise looking out the front door - beautiful!

Iris is petite!

2012-01-31T13:28:00.001-06:00

I knew Iris was a little peanut, but my goodness! I took her for her 3 yr appt. and she is 27% for weight, 12% for height! 12%!!!! Thank daddy for your short gene. ;)

No shots needed this time. Iris was quite happy about this.

Quilt for Tate, nephew

2012-01-30T11:31:00.004-06:00

Brian's sister, Aunt Bob (Lora) delivered her 3rd child, Tate Elliott, last week. I sent this off to him on Friday. Hope he likes it.

I followed the pattern here: http://quilting.about.com/od/babyquiltpatterns/ss/easybabyquilt_2.htm

I liked how it turned out. Sometimes it is the simplest ones that I like best.

Front

Back

up close of back. I really liked this fabric. It reminds me of men's boxer shorts or a tie. I bought the rest of the fabric off the bolt so I can use it in later projects.

up close of the fabrics on front

I really like the white with scrolling vines. I am using this in Iris' butterfly quilt.

Japanese Martial Arts demonstration

2012-01-30T11:07:00.004-06:00

We have been doing simple things lately and staying home a lot. I have been feeling a need for something more cultural. This past weekend, we picked up Ziza and took the kids to Spurlock Museum in Urbana where they currently have a special exhibit of Japan's Warrior, Guardians, and Demons on display. In conjunction with this, they had a martial arts demonstration by people who practice at the Kobudokan Dojo in Urbana. I was surprised at how well the kids did and how interested they were in the things on display in the museum. Yay for getting older and being able to pay attention for a little longer!

Cute or weird?

2012-01-24T20:35:00.001-06:00

they look cute, but something about it freaks me out.
Zane looks like a priest or a monk. Iris looks like a knocked up teenage prom queen. Both of those images/thoughts together is creepy.....maybe I shouldn't look too hard into it. It is just a cute pic of my kids, right?!

Iris' first professional haircut

2012-01-24T20:19:00.003-06:00

Before

At the salon in town. It is called Heroes and Hairoines. Her salon is in her home, a front porch area that was remodeled for her salon. We will be back. Man, Iris' head looks HUGE in this pic!

AFTER - not a lot taken off, but the layers were evened out, it lays much nicer. I had been cutting her hair, but it is getting too long for me to make it look nice. I tried layering it myself and messed it up pretty bad...hence the visit to the salon to make it look nicer.

Iris and Evie - 3 years

2012-01-24T19:46:00.003-06:00

3 years old

2 years old

1 year old

6 months old

1 week old

3 Year Tribute to Iris

2012-01-20T10:53:00.002-06:00

The pics are not all in order based on date...the middle got jumbled up a bit. I figured I better just get it up before her birthday month passes! Enjoy!

Iris turns 3!

2012-01-16T11:38:00.005-06:00

Iris was given her purple princess party. :)

The purple princess castle cake

Nana cleaning Iris

Ziza preparing food trays

the birthday girl with mom and dad

Friends who embraced the purple!

Miss Katie - we love this girl! She was the boys swim teacher and the kids babysitter.

watching a movie on the big screen

Daddy wearing Iris' new lady bug hat.

blowing her candles out

she had a great day! Tribute video to come later.

My almost 3 year old!

2012-01-11T23:21:00.002-06:00

Iris is turning 3 years old on Saturday! She is growing up!!! I am working on a tribute video for her. We are going to have a little party. I am working on her quilt, plan to make her a couple of dresses, and got her 3 new books. This girl has a TON of personality! :)

with her big brother, Zane. Wouldn't it be nice if they were this sweet to each other ALL the time?! :)

Sneak peek of Iris' quilt

2012-01-11T23:13:00.003-06:00

OMG! I love it so far! I look forward to seeing it come together! It is so pretty and bright. I have all the fabric cut for the pinwheel blocks. I just have to sew them all together now, then piece the quilt top together. Iris is excited also -she always comments that it is her quilt I am working on when she sees me working on it. :)

My husband is a politician ;)

2012-01-06T16:19:00.002-06:00

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/politics-and-government/2012-01-06/paul-files-slate-delegate-candidates-march-primary.html
not sure how long this link will remain active

Brian is on the ballot for alternate delegate for Ron Paul in our district for the March primary election. yay!

— 15th District (which includes Danville, Rantoul, Paxton, Tuscola, Charleston, Mattoon and points south): for delegate, Allyson Saad of Georgetown, Jesse Green of Marshall, Ted Jotte of Marine and Michael Langley of Robinson; alternates are Stephen Bone of Bethany and Brian Latimer of Hindsoro."

2011 review - Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T23:21:00.002-06:00

Happy New Year!!!!! I am looking forward to another great year with my family on the farm!

I wanted to give a quick summary of what happened last year. The main thing that consumed our thoughts and time was the surrogacy and passing a beautiful baby girl on to a great family! We also had a garden and preserved some food. Carla worked on many quilts and other crafty projects. The quilting hobby has become her new obsession. We look forward to 2012!

January -
discovered I had low thyroid levels, worked at getting them stabilized through blood work and adding medication.
Iris turns 2 years old!

February
took boys to see Monster Trucks at Assembly Hall
start medications for surrogacy

March
embryo transfer for surrogacy
beta test confirms pregnancy

April
ultrasounds confirm growing embryo/heartbeat

May
Gareth finishes pre-school

June
got swim passes to local pool and boys start swim lessons
Carla turns 36.
Gareth turns 5 years old.

July
visit to Aunt Beverly's in Southern Illinois
Aunt Carrie visits from S. Dakota
Trip to Chicago area to visit Aunt Bob and Nana

July
Brian turns 35

August
got our new Amish made kitchen/table chairs delivered
Gareth starts Kindergarten

September
Arcola Broom Corn Festival/parade
Zane turns 4 years old!
Homecoming parade/football game

October
Zane starts pre-school
Nana comes to visit
soapmaking class
Halloween! Classic monsters
Great Pumpkin Patch

November
Thanksgiving
Family Reading Night - Gareth's school

December
Gareth's X-mas school concert
Delivered Grace - surro baby
Christmas

Quilt for Elizabeth, my neice

2011-12-27T23:21:00.003-06:00

These pics are not the greatest lighting.

Front

Back - panel. Added sides to make it a bit larger.

up close of fabric

machine stitching the binding.

extra project for one of my friend's boys - sent her these and some home made soap for a facebook home made project that we signed up for at the beginning of the year.

I am now excited to get started on Iris' butterfly fabric blocks alternating with coordinating different colored pinwheels set in white fabric.

Nana's 2011 personalized ornaments

2011-12-27T23:16:00.002-06:00

Thank you Nana! We love these!

Christmas 2011 videos

2011-12-27T21:52:00.002-06:00

oops. I forgot to include these with the previous post. Here ya go!

skyping with Nana on X-mas day

Gillian playing guitar

Cousins playing

Snowball fight - Gareth and daddy

Christmas 2011

2011-12-27T20:54:00.005-06:00

We are having a pleasant Christmas break. The kids got some gifts, we had a relaxing Christmas at home, a great dinner with Ziza (my mom) and my dad and his wife. The day after X-mas, we drove down to Southern Illinois to visit Aunt Bob (Brian's sister, Lora) while she was at her in-laws. She is due to deliver a baby boy next month and the drive from New Jersey was pretty hard on her, so we drove down to see her, rather than meeting halfway or her coming to see us. The kids had a great time playing with their cousins for the day. Today, we woke to the kids announcing that it was snowing. I think Gareth was getting dressed to go outside before I even got out of bed. We spent most of the morning playing in the snow. Good thing we went out there right away too because it was mostly all melted after lunch. The boys have off from school the rest of the week. I finished up some sewing projects and am excited to get started on Iris' quilt. I need to get back in the swing of things regarding housework. The end of pregnancy/c-section recovery had me taking it easy.....I got a ton of laundry to fold, sort through/get rid of old kid's toys, organize some closets and craft things, among many other projects.

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas. We did. It felt good to keep things simple and relaxed. Below is a slideshow of pics from the last few days. I also posted some of my favorite images below.

Siblings loving each other

Iris showing off her new fashions

Brothers

cousins

Daddy horsey

SNOW day!

Iris loves the dress up clothes from her big cousins.

My lil' scientist

Got some fresh air!

2011-12-18T22:34:00.006-06:00

It was cool, but beautiful outside today. We took a walk around the pond and the kids played outside. It was great to get some fresh air!

The kids LOVE to take these cushions off and play all sorts of things. Here they are fighting the aliens. Iris has all her "friends" (stuffed animals/toys) she is keeping safe. The boys love making weapons out of their Trio blocks.

Sweet Baby I. This girl has been adorable lately with her language development. She is talking so good and has this sweet voice. Her personality shines brightly as ever! ;)

My Zaners trying to make a fire. :)

Gareth-O successfully spearing an old squash.

Hand feeding some sunflower seeds to the birds

10 days ago I looked A LOT different! Look at me now! What big belly?!

Daddy with his old cat, grumpy looking Marvin. Brian used to be able to carry Marvin the kitten around in his sweatshirt pouch. They have been together for 10-11 years.

riding bikes on the country road

me and my sweet girl

climbing the straw, making silly faces

Have a good week!

Nothing going on

2011-12-16T19:47:00.003-06:00

The last couple of days, I have been able to transition positions without grimacing in pain. I have been able to do small housecleaning tasks. I cut some fabric for a project. I am slowly returning to the land of normal. I am still not supposed to drive for another week. Zane's pre-K teacher brought us a meal earlier in the week and my new friend from Arcola brought us dinner this evening. People are so nice. I love that I have kind, thoughtful, generous, genuine people in my life. I truly do know some awesome people. How did I get so lucky?

I promise I will have more interesting posts soon. ;)

Recovering from c-section

2011-12-13T19:40:00.002-06:00

not much is going on around here as I am restricted to taking it easy. I can't drive for 2 weeks, can't lift hardly anything, still being very careful with getting up and down. Today, I was able to pick up some things/tidy in the living room, but my incision area is sore a little this evening. I will do a little each day, but still need to be very careful. I am going to try to clean up the kitchen table and dust mop the floor tomorrow. I have read some quilting books we picked up from the library and looked at quilting magazines. I may try to cut some fabric to finish up a project I need to get a a friend before the end of the year. I am going to try to wean off the Narco painkillers tomorrow and be only on Ibuprofen. The boys started back to school this week. My mom is returning from South Dakota this Friday. We will probably go visit her this weekend. She has several appts next, but plans on coming out the following weekend to spend X-mas with us. That really is about it. I look forward to baking some cookies and bread, celebrating X-mas, working on some new quilts, meeting up with some friends, getting some other projects done around the house and yard, among many other things.

Surrogacy labor/delivery/recovery

2011-12-12T09:54:00.003-06:00

Let me redirect you to my surrogacy blog. http://gestanotherday.blogspot.com/
I am doing well. More updates to come later.

It's a girl!

2011-12-09T11:25:00.002-06:00

Carla had labor induced yesterday. Around 5pm or so it seemed like she might be ready to go. The pushing started but there was little movement of the baby and then the baby's heart rate dropped enough to be of concern so they performed a c-section. They were very quick about things and the baby seems fine. The procedure seemed to go smoothly and Carla is recovering today. It was a little bit scary but it seems like everyone will be OK.

The parents have named their new baby girl Grace. Grace was a big baby at 9lbs 3oz. Grace has a full head of thick hair and poofy cheeks and is very cute.

Carla is going to need to take it easy for a few weeks and it may be a month or so before she feels back to normal but she was in high spirits and seemed proud of the part she played helping baby Grace. I'm sure she'll post more about it when she is able. Today she has no computer access, and she was tired enough that she may be napping a good part of the day anyway.

For those that want to reach her today, she's at Carle Hospital.

[posted by Brian, at Carla's request]

Baby coming today, I think!

2011-12-08T05:56:00.001-06:00

We will be going to the hospital here in a few minutes to hopefully have this baby sometime today. Parents are hopefully driving safe and staying sane on the way here. I will update as I can. YAY!!!! :)

Gareth's 1st Christmas school music program

2011-12-05T22:08:00.003-06:00

Here comes Suzy Snowflake. Doesn't start off very good, gets a little better towards the end. Regardless, momma was proud! ; He has been practicing hard for this evening.

Kindergarten and 1st grade classes sang together. He is in the 3rd row up or 2nd row down from the top to the left side of center.

Enjoying a cookie afterwards!

Gareth had the choice to either be a speaker, dance, or play an instrument. He chose to play an instrument - the jingle bells. I think he has really been enjoying his music time at achool. He said he will be interested in playing a band instrument when he is able. When asked what he wants to play - he has said trombone. :)

Excited to get started on Iris' quilt

2011-12-05T21:54:00.003-06:00

Well, I have to trim the edges on baby Elizabeth's (niece) quilt and bind it, then have one little project to complete before X-mas, then I can get started on quilts for my immediate family. Zane has one already. I wanted to start on Gareth's rainbow one, but need to get some patterns to present to him to choose before I actually buy fabric and get started. I have researched lots of different patterns and have ordered some books through interlibrary loan and am waiting for those to reach me. At that point, after knowing I have some patterns available, I will present 3-5 patterns for him to choose from. I kind of want to do some kind of optical illusion one for Gareth.

Anyways, I have the fabric to get started on Iris' quilt. She really liked the butterfly fabric and bright colors I used for my niece, Tijuanda's, baby. They no longer had the exact butterfly fabric when I went back, but had something I thought would be suitable to her liking. I plan on making 9-12 inch alternating blocks of solid butterfly fabric with various, colored pinwheels set in white fabric. I am excited to see this one transform. I think it is going to be bright and pretty!

Day review

2011-12-03T22:43:00.005-06:00

No baby yet, so we went out and about today. We went to Gareth's school for Breakfast with Santa. It was a fundraiser for some high school group/activity, Gareth was happy to see some of his friends, and I got some pics of the kids.

They all enjoyed Santa more from a distance, but was willing to go get a pic and treat bag. I guess I should have prepared them more for answering the question what they wanted for X-mas, because they all had no idea. What do you mean you don't know?! Seriously though, my kids don't ask for things much. Hopefully, that means they are happy with the belongings/material items they already have and don't want for much. I imagine not having TV and commercials shoved down their face every 5 minutes helps greatly! There was just a stark difference between my kids and others.......while we were sitting, eating our breakfast, we were talking among other parents/kids and joking about different gifts they could get. We mentioned what would typically be unfavorable things to a kid. We said, how about socks and underwear? Gareth did not think that was a good idea, but we presented other things like clothes (he did not like that either), but as we said pajamas, some new fruit trees for the yard, a new toothbrush, he said "now it it is getting better". We were just joking, but I honestly think he was sincere in his likes of those things....weird, wonderful, smart kid. ;)

We also had to have a discussion before we went (and I am sure we will have many more as the years pass) about even if we don't believe something, that other people still believe in Santa or believe in other things and that it does not help to point these things out often times. I think Gareth has the urge to point out "the facts" to people for arguments sake. (He is his parents' child, FOR SURE!) I hope we can instill a balance of when it is appropriate to do this as he grows.

After the breakfast, we went to get chicken feed and cat food. The kids have been asking to go to a park for awhile, it was 52 degrees out, so we stopped at a park so the kids could exert some energy. I think they greatly benefited from the stop.

After lunch, momma took a nap. We watched Rudolph this evening after dinner and Brian taught the kids about the joys and dangers of sucking helium.

Waiting game

2011-12-02T16:51:00.002-06:00

Just a little note to say that this momma is tired - currently 39.5 weeks pregnant with this surrogacy. Everyone is anxious to meet this baby! The parents of the baby are super excited and my entire family looks forward to me being able to exert some energy on projects/tasks around here after I recover from delivery of this lil' person. Sorry for the lack of posts, my energy is currently being spent on growing the fat layers on this big baby I will have! ;) I will try to post when I am off to the hospital!

The holidays are among us!

2011-11-26T22:03:00.005-06:00

These pics are not organized in order, but I am simply too tired to fix it. The holidays are among us! :) It is wonderful watching the kids remember certain traditions of the holidays - they are getting old enough to remember things we do from year to year and I love watching their happiness/excitement. Gareth was super excited to see/eat cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving dinner - I think we have only had it on holidays. He took such pleasure in the meal, especially the turkey and pumpkin pie. Zane really was glad to have stuffing! They loved getting the tree decorations out and looking at/talking about the special ornaments from Nana, school, and homemade ones. They have enjoyed listening to X-mas music. We introduced them to How The Grinch Stole Christmas this evening and will be watching more holiday movies as the month goes on. We will be baking more in the coming month and sharing goodies with friends and loved ones. I like listening to them talk about stories of Santa and how "even if the stories are not real, they still really like them" - they think they are cool stories. (We don't hype up/perpetuate the whole Santa myth). Somehow, they still appear to think this is a wonderful time of year. ;)

They are all growing up so fast!

Baby I

Gareth-O

Zaners

decorating the tree

daddy shaping/spreading out branches of the tree (told ya they were not in order) ;)

Thanksgiving Day

interrupting daddy's turkey coma ;)

We have had an enjoyable, relaxing weekend. We purged/will donate 8 garbage bags of clothing/blankets today and plan to work on purging some of the kid's toys tomorrow. My closet and Brian's wardrobe got organized and it felt good to get rid of things that were taking up space.

I am almost 39 weeks along in the surrogate pregnancy! We are anxious to pass this baby on to his/her parents and me to be able to exert some energy doing some more things around here. I am pretty wiped out and am moving slowly these days! My guess in the due date pool is tomorrow! Let's see if if it happens! :) I have been feeling some strong, uncomfortable Braxton
Hicks contractions each evening for the last several days, but they always subside! It has been an incredible journey and look forward to seeing this baby where it belongs - with his/her parents!

Happy Holidays!!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-23T10:18:00.000-06:00

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Quilt for Kanade's baby

2011-11-18T21:45:00.002-06:00

I have been pumping these strip quilts out like a mad woman! I completed this and have got a good dent in making my new niece, Elizabeth's quilt too. After getting these strip quilts done, I have a few projects that I want to work on for X-mas/home made gifts, then I look forward to starting on our family quilts. Zane has his, but I want to work on Gareth's rainbow quilt, Iris' and Brian and I's.

Iris loved the butterfly quilt I had made for Tijuanda's baby, but unfortunately, the fabric store is OUT of this fabric. I looked into special ordering the fabric, but the cost was too high. I will just start from scratch with hers. I have several patterns I have bookmarked for Gareth's rainbow quilt, and wanted to start on his anyways, so look forward to that. I really like the ease and how quickly these strip quilts come together, but am ready for some new challenges.

The quilt below was made for a new playgroup friend from Arthur, Kanade. She is due to have another baby boy in December. A fellow friend, held a surprise baby shower for her Tuesday evening.

Front

Back

closer look at fabric: yellow, blue, green baby dinosaurs, stripes, dots, checks on back

ready to be gifted!

Elizabeth Evoi has arrived!

2011-11-15T16:39:00.001-06:00

My sister, Carrie, with her new daughter, Elizabeth, born this morning after a very long labor. Everyone is doing well. :)

Quilt for Tijuanda's baby girl

2011-11-13T20:54:00.003-06:00

My niece, Tijuanda, had her baby shower this past weekend. I got this strip quilt done in a couple of days. Iris saw the fabric and loved it and kept saying, "my quilt", so I guess I have to go back to the fabric store and buy more of this fabric to use in Ms. Iris' quilt! :) I have an idea of a pattern I want to do with Iris' quilt, probably big blocks of the butterflies, then I want to make solid color pinwheels set in the dot fabric, then maybe use the heart striped fabric to separate rows.....we will see.....

Anyways, here are the pics!

front

up close of fabrics

back

folded, ready to go

Tijuanda

My nieces, Tijuanda and Auntie Courtney

Me - almost 37 weeks in surrogacy pregnancy and Tijuanda is due is January.

my belly sits on hers! :)

Raging Bull

2011-11-12T08:05:00.002-06:00

Zane is learning about Pilgrims and "Indians" at pre-school this month. He has brought home a canoe he made and then brought home his "Indian" headgear, "leather" vest, and bead necklace. He was quite proud of his outfit and looked mighty cute. I think the teachers appropriately named him Raging Bull. :)

I guess I will hold off on telling him all the atrocities/diseases/discrimination that the white man inflicted on the native people until he gets a bit older.

Quilt for surro baby

2011-11-08T18:42:00.003-06:00

I made this easy strip quilt for the baby I am carrying. Per the momma's report, the baby's room is painted orange with dark brown accents with lots of letters. Well, I had difficulty finding any fabric I liked in the baby fabric section, so decided to try this and ended up really liking it.

I am on a roll with these strip quilts. They are so quick and easy to make. I made the boats and fish quilt for this baby's older brother, this one, and I have 3 more to do. I am making one for my niece who is having a baby in January, for a new friend that lives in Arthur and is due with a new baby boy in December, and one for my sister who is due in one week!

front

back

up close of fabrics

folded up, ready to be sent. :)

Straw makes the whole family happy!

2011-11-06T18:52:00.008-06:00

On Saturday, we got LOTS of straw delivered! It helped that it was a gorgeous autumn day so we got some outside work done. The kids were happy to play on the straw and daddy made a fort that they had a lot of fun in. The cats loved laying and napping on it. The chickens loved scratching in it. Daddy is happy to use it to insulate the crawl space and get other things done. Mommy is happy to use it for mulching the garden areas to keep the weeds down and improve the soil. Everyone had a great day using and playing in the straw! I am telling ya - it is the lil' things in life that are the best and most memorable. :)

Our annual garden area is getting better and better each year. I am so pleased. It is sometimes discouraging when one wants to see immediate perfection and doesn't get it. Well, perfection rarely happens on a homestead.......however, it is gratifying when you see years of hard work start to pay off. This old, diseased, damaged, apple tree in the garden area will be cut down soon and it will be our compost area next year to assist at getting rid of the stump.

the annual garden area

Brian lined up bales of straw along the pole barn. We are going to let the bales soak up some of the moisture in this area, then probably spread it in the spring slightly to build up the soil in this area. The pile is our current compost pile that had an old stump underneath that the pile is helping decompose the last couple of years. Look at those happy chickens on the bales. :)

Kids gathering osage oranges/hedge apples

We made this extra shelter area out of the hollow stump in the backyard. We simply put plywood and a couple of straw bales over the top to keep the inside dry and warmer. Brain cut a bigger hole on the side that the chickens and/or cats can crawl through to seek shelter. We will see if they use it. The chickens hate being in their coop during the day unless it is to lay eggs. Even in the coldest of winter, they come out and often hang out all huddled together in the fallen hollow tree below. Well, with the rooster and guineas added to the crew, we wanted to add an extra shelter for them.

They like hanging out in here during cold, wet days.

adding some straw mulch to our raised beds. We still want to get a couple more built before spring, but if we don't, we at least have our garlic planted!

Today, we were busy with ordering a new dryer, grocery shopping, fabric shopping at Jo-Ann's, visiting Ziza, I went to a freethinker meeting and met up with hopefully a new friend. We got a busy week ahead. Have a great week!

Walnut Point - Walk in the Woods

2011-11-01T20:33:00.007-05:00

Today was a beautiful day. After lunch, Zane, Iris, and I walked around Walnut Point State Park and played in the woods.

My lil' bobble head baby girl. ;) She has this huge head on such a small body. This picture looks like this adult sized head on a little girl's body - lol.

Some more pics of Miss I.

Zane hugging his lil' sis. :)

More Brother and Sister pics

My Zaners

35 weeks surrogate pregnancy

Halloweened OUT!

2011-10-31T21:49:00.003-05:00

Daddy had to work late this evening, so I was by myself trick or treating with the kids. Whew! This mummy is worn out! We went into town this evening, trick or treated, then went to the community building for the costume contest. I won 3rd place in 13 to adult category! woot! woot! ;)

I only got 2 pics this evening - here they are! Happy Halloween! Can't wait till next year!

Happy Halloween! 5 year pic review

2011-10-31T08:59:00.004-05:00

2011 - classic monsters

2010 - Scooby Doo gang

2009 - honey bees and beekeeper

2008 - 3 lil' pigs and the big, bad wolf - pregnant with Iris

2007 - hodgepodge, Zane 1 month old

2006 - Gareth was only 4 months old, he wore a pumpkin outfit and we went to a few neighbor's houses.

Daddy transforms

2011-10-31T08:32:00.004-05:00

Brian shaved last night and wore this wig today to work. Can't wait for him to grow that scraggly beard back - his naked face looks weird to me. :)

Before

After

Halloween continues

2011-10-29T20:50:00.003-05:00

We went in to the big (400 people) town to trick or treat this evening. We have one last event on Monday evening, then the Halloween fun will end. Having a great weekend!

Gareth - Frankenstein

Zane - vampire

Iris - witch

Ziza (my mom) joins in on the fun! :)

I love my werewolf - he is an incredibly loyal canine who strives to please his master. ;)

Classic Halloween monster family!

Trick or treating

getting buckled in for the ride home. Great night!

Halloween festivities begin!

2011-10-28T22:01:00.004-05:00

I finished up the last minute touches on my mummy costume today, we went and watched the K-5 graders parade from the school, around the town square, through the senior citizen home, then back to the school. I picked up Gareth from school, then we went to Daddy's job to trick or treat. Ziza is here for the weekend. We have trick or treating options Saturday evening and Monday evening - we will get some more pics posted of the weekend's events. Happy Halloween!
I posted some of my favorites from the day, the put all of them in a slide show.

Arthur's Great Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-28T09:22:00.005-05:00

We went to the pumpkin patch in Arthur with Zane's pre-school. The kids got their first yellow bus ride. ;) Gareth was in school for the day.

we are at the bottom left

eating an early lunch

in the old school house listening to the school marm

having fun!

Have a great Halloween weekend!

Quilt - Boats and fish

2011-10-28T08:44:00.003-05:00

This quilt is for the big brother of the baby I am carrying. His mom said she redid his room in boats and fish theme, I saw this fabric, and wanted to make this quilt! I loved the fabric. I still need to work on the quilt for the baby yet, but had to take a break to get Halloween costumes done. I am waiting to send them/give them until I have both done, so if she sees this post - SURPRISE! :)

It is a little but smaller than a twin size bedspread. More like a coverlet....Hope he will like it.

Nana's visit

2011-10-22T21:55:00.004-05:00

Nana has been here since Wednesday evening. She is leaving Sunday (tomorrow AM). Her visit went by way too quick this time. The kids enjoyed spending time with her. When I told Iris I would read a book to her when she was requesting one read, she said, "no, I got Nana". :) geesh. Gareth enjoyed helping Nana play Farmville.

We went to Walnut Point and played at the playground and had ice cream at the concession stand.

Gareth-O

with Nana

Making a nest for the eagles to come lay/hatch their eggs.

posing Baby I

Iris is going to miss her Nana

Nana wither her growing grandbabies

Gareth took this one - man we are getting old! :)

Zane's first day of school - pre-K

2011-10-18T15:28:00.003-05:00

1st day of school. He has been wanting to go for some time now. He was proud of his backpack. My big boy!

Proud daddy and mommy and sister ;)

with his sister and new backpack

The school

entry way of school - hanging stuff on his hook

He had a good morning. The teachers said he had a tough time transitioning from free play to circle time. I bet once he knows what the routine is this will get better. She said he did great for his first day - wouldn't have even guessed that it was his first day. He told me he did not want to participate in the singing and dancing, maybe still too shy. I imagine that will quickly change.

from yesterday - we had some friends over to paint pumpkins.

Gareth's school picture - Kindergarten

2011-10-18T09:42:00.002-05:00

Not bad, but I know my boy is cuter than this.

Weekend Review

2011-10-16T21:05:00.004-05:00

It was a busy weekend.

Saturday, Brian mowed some of the yard. I made pumpkin pie and deviled eggs. We went to Arcola to a new friend's house for dinner and playtime. The kids had a great time. It was a nice evening for all.

Sunday (today), we went ran errands. We went to the fabric store to get some blue fabric so I can finish a quilt top. We ate lunch out. We got Zane his backpack for school - he starts Tuesday. He chose one with flames on it. He had a choice between Transformers Bumblebee, Superman, Batman, one with a skull on it, and the flame one. I think he chose well. We stopped by Negangard's Pumpkin Patch to get our large carving pumpkin and smaller ones to paint. Too many people have found out the best kept secret of Negangard's as their supply was much smaller at this time than previous years. There was still plenty to choose from. At 4, Gareth and Zane attended a birthday party at Gareth's classmate's house. They had a bouncy house/obstacle course that the boys exerted a BUNCH of energy - they loved it and did not want to go. It was nice to chit chat with people I have become familiar with in the community - finally starting to feel like I have a place here. I cleaned up the house this evening a bit. A couple of people are supposed to come over and paint pumpkins tomorrow morning.

We have a busy week ahead of us. Playgroup tomorrow, Zane starts school on Tuesday, Nana arrives on Wednesday evening, ultrasound/midwife appt. on Thursday, 1st quarter parent teacher conference for Gareth, Gareth is out from school on Friday, soap making class on Saturday, and take Nana to airport on Sunday. Whew! Busy week!

I'm off to bed early. Nite all. Have a good week.

Silly guineas, ducks and chickens

2011-10-15T21:46:00.006-05:00

I like our little birds we have.

The ducks were so cute as ducklings. They are beautiful now, but damn - they are overbearing, self absorbed, little creatures. They can cause a fuss when they are not happy and gossip among each other like everything is so dramatic! They can talk shit! We have 8 remaining from the 10 we started with. 1 died early on, just did not grow like the others and found dead one morning - this happens sometimes. The other, we suspect, was attacked by a snapping turtle when it was young, in the pond. It was very injured with a broken leg and open gash to its side, so we put it out its misery. Of the 8 remaining, we lucked out and got 1 male of each variety: khaki campbell and fawn indian runner. There are a couple of them that started laying already, but the eggs are small yet, but oh so good. They were raised inside the garage during their first weeks, then moved in to movable pens in the back yard. After that we kicked them out of the backyard and wanted to have them at the pond most of the day, then in a coop that was built in the cattle shed overnight. Well, after the traumatic event of witnessing their sibling be mauled, they were not getting anywhere near the pond. They were also finding a way back into the backyard. We no longer wanted them in the backyard as their poop is a mess and they are sloppy water drinkers. The water we give to the chickens lasts for days, but if the ducks are there, it lasts for hours! They were also not going into their coop in the evening despite our best efforts to chase them there. Well, we found the hole they were squeezing through to get into the fenced backyard and closed it up. They were still being drama queens about refusing to go into their coop, so we just gave up. They eventually started going back to the pond and even swimming in it now and rest overnight at the pond's edge or in between the garage and house. There is a narrow path between the 2 buildings that they feel secure in. The only problem is that it is not and if a predator discovered this honey hole, there would be a duck feast. We are going to put some straw bales with a cover over there soon so they can at least get better shelter from inclement weather. We will see if this suffices for the winter, but we may need to take extra steps.

Here they are in their little gossip gang on the pond.

Oh the guineas. They are such interesting birds. We have the lavender kind, so they have these beautiful, purple-gray bodies with white specks on them. Then there is their heads. Oh my! Nature really fucked up on this on! lol The head just does not belong on the body! Their bodies are pretty, then there is this bald, blue knobby head with red jowls flapping around. What the hell?! It reminds me of those old cartoons where a woman's body was hidden behind a curtain that was slowly lifted up to expose a sexy body with whistles and cat calls happening all around, then the face is exposed and it is bug eyed, buck teeth, rotting teeth, warty skin, etc. However, these ugly headed birds have actually started to grow on me and I find them quite interesting and dare I say, sometimes pretty. :) We started out with 15 and only have 6 remaining. We found evidence of 1 being a victim for some lucky creature, but the 8 others we have no idea what happened to them. Last weekend, when we planted our garlic, both Brian and I looked up at each other when we heard a sound in the wooded area of our land and THOUGHT the same thing - we thought we heard guineas making a ruckus back there. Who knows, maybe the remaining ones are tough lil' birds surviving out in the wilderness. They have not made an appearance though and it has been several months since we saw them. The 6 remaining are pretty smart cookies as the stay close to home and have become lil' rock star groupies to the rooster we decided could stay as long as he treated his ladies well and did not bother the kids. OMG - these 6 guineas are up the rooster's ass all day long! lol I have since been calling the rooster Elvis as I SWEAR the guineas are his lil' fan girls, who absolutely ADORE him! A few of the guineas will actually chase away some of the younger hens if they get to close to their man. HILARIOUS! CRAZY! I have seen the rooster humping up on some of the hens, but never the guineas. I researched if they could cross breed and was surprised to learn that , why - yes, they can! Oh goodness, they are weird lil' chicken/guinea crosses! I guess we will see what comes of our lil' free love society! The remaining guineas have been quite the homebodies, so not have been as effective as we would like in eating bugs beyond the back yard. However, they have been great first alerters to anything strange in the neighborhood and will raise a ruckus to let everyone else know to seek cover.

How can you not love this beautiful bird? ;)

Here is Elvis, the rock star rooster!

and his groupies following close behind.

Gareth comes inside and says, "Mom, the guineas are on top of the roof". I say , "no way". He says "come look". Sure enough, there they were! Silly birds!

Life is sure fun on the farm! :)

Fishing in our pond

2011-10-15T21:36:00.004-05:00

These pics are from last weekend. Some of these pictures, caught fish are being held up, but they are so darn little they are hard to see. ;) The boys are just happy to catch something.

Preggo momma catches a lil' one

Zaners proud of his catch

Zaners being a goofball

Thumbs up for another catch

random pic of Iris taken at a park last week.

Gareth-O with the biggest catch of all of the day.

waiting for bites

casting his line

Iris hanging out by the worms and tackle box

Quilt for Debby

2011-10-14T16:17:00.003-05:00

I sent this large lap quilt off to Debby, a past co-worker, who signed up for a homemade item from me earlier in the year as long as she promised to make 5 things for other people. She received it this afternoon and loved it.

Front

Back

plaid, stripes with stars on the back

up close, ready to be sent to a loving home.

I have already started on my next project!

Zane and I visit the christian pre-school

2011-10-13T20:26:00.004-05:00

and I did not internally combust. It was not likely that Zane would be called from the Project HELP public school wait list after our neighbor with a pre-schooler moved, but I still held on to a shred of hope that he would be. Well, after finding out another child was called and there was probably no chance of Zane being moved into the program this year, we started thinking about what we would for the year. Zane is a bright kid. He is on par for his kindergarten readiness - we have no concerns about his abilities or knowledge. He is interested and participates in learning activities here at home often. However, living rurally, he has had limited opportunities for socialization. When we used to live in Urbana, there are numerous places to go in the community on any day to see and interact with other children. Not so much here......even when I go out of my way to go to places where children should be, either they are not there or people have not been very friendly.

Luckily, this has been changing somewhat and I am feeling more a part of the community. Last month, I met a woman at the Arcola library, and since then we have been meeting up weekly at local parks or people's homes with a few other moms and their children. It has been wonderful, the moms are really nice and accepting, and I look forward to seeing where these friendships go. With Gareth being in Kindergarten, I continue to make more connections with moms of his classmates, and strengthening the acquaintances I had already made while he was in pre-K. We have been making appearances at school activities such as the Homecoming parade and game, a band/chorus fundraiser, and School Open House. I think it helps for long time community members to see you want to be involved in their community, that you are invested, that you plan to stick around for awhile......

Well, the only other public option for pre-school around here is a christian pre-school down the road from us. Over the last couple of years, I have had several recommendations for the school. I usually smile politely or let them know we are not christian and not sure if we would be comfortable sending our children there. With the disappointment of Zane being wait listed for Project HELP and with Gareth going to Kindergarten full time, we started thinking about what is best for Zane and what he would enjoy most. He is such a likable boy and he wants his own friends so badly. I was somewhat saddened when his birthday passed and he requested all of Gareth's classmates he could remember to come to his party. Many of the friends he had made in Urbana before we moved, has since moved away.

I started asking more questions of people who have sent their children to the christian pre-school. I then called the school and someone called me back. I was open and honest about not being christian and not being comfortable with most aspects of religion teachings introduced to young children. Everyone's feedback was consistent with each others. Supposedly, they have a simple prayer before snack and they have a memory verse inspired from the bible the kids learn each month. I started wondering if it was something we could live with as atheist parents - that there would be more good things about the program than ones we did not like. I decided to check it out. Zane and I went and participated in the program this morning. He really enjoyed himself. The teachers are people I have previously met in the community and are very nice women. There was lots of free-play, different things to play with, circle time, reading books, snack, learning and craft activities, and music.

So, what were my thoughts.........yes, they did have a prayer that included the words heavenly father in the wording and they do have a memory verse the kids learn for the month inspired from the bible. Supposedly last months was something to the effect of 'helping hands help each other' which is not bothersome at all to me. This month's is something like, 'everything god makes is good.' A little more uncomfortable to me since I don't believe there is a god and if I believed that a god existed, I would not agree with this statement. There were also some crafts hanging up that had some phrases on it that included the words god. Since it was raining outside, the kids watched a video while the teachers prepared the next activity. It was a cute story about an airplane, but at the end of it, the video had some phrasing that talked about how we are all special because god made us, blah, blah, blah.....things that me feel uncomfortable because I am so turned off by this way of thinking. However, I observed the teachers, Zane and the other children. What I noticed was that there was no indoctrinating of the children with specific doctrine, it was general incorporation of phrases and words. It meant A LOT to me and I was slightly uneasy about it, but for the children, it seemed to go right over their heads, with most of it sometimes not even being heard, and with them being clueless about the bigger meaning of it all. The kids were there to learn and have a good time with friends. The teachers were nice and positive/helpful in their interactions with the children.

In the end, I don't think Zane will be a confused little boy with different messages being given to him. I think he will enjoy having more positive people in his life that like him, treat him well, and having the opportunity to establish friendships. IF he goes to the school and later comes home with questions about god and such things as that, well, it is an opportunity to discuss different ways people think about things and that is usually not a bad thing......hell, Gareth asked me the other day as we passed by a graveyard why people talk to dead people. After questioning him, I concluded he had seen in a movie people talking to dead loved ones at their grave site. It led to a discussion about death, souls/spirits existing after death, and heaven. I present it in a matter of fact way of different ways people believe. Of course, I always include what his parents think too. What I fear most is someone telling my children that their belief is the right way to think or presenting things in an absolute way and others are wrong. I still have some anxiety about it all, but stepping away from my ADULT understanding and my conclusions of what religion CAN do to young minds in the extreme manner, I can calm myself a bit and see that this place was NOT extreme, they were more focused on the educational/social aspect of pre-K, that the kids seemed to not understand or be interested in any of the god phrases yet anyhow, and that Zane would be getting out of it what we and he desires. I hope this continues to be the case.......

So, Mr. Zaners will be starting pre-school next week! I think he is excited about it. He brought home his craft leaf project and a number matching paper he worked on and proudly showed it to everyone at home. He is happy about going to pick out a backpack this weekend. He will be going on Tues, Wed, and Thurs. from 8-11.

What are Iris and I going to get done while the boys are away??????

Zane writing his name

2011-10-05T20:13:00.003-05:00

Zane and the shrinking bunny

2011-10-05T08:41:00.003-05:00

1 week

6 months

12 months/1 year

4 years

Training 'em early

2011-10-04T23:26:00.002-05:00

Zane and Iris can be great lil' helpers.

Walnut Point - Walk in the Woods

2011-10-04T22:41:00.003-05:00

Little frog napping on a bench

After LOTS of peeing on Zane, Mr. Frog settled down for us to handle him.

CLASSIC Zaners expression!

Big boy!

Iris - pretty in pink. I am liking her style. I love some of her favorites she often chooses: little pink high tops, her fashionable flower sun glasses, and her long, cozy sweater. She is taking after her momma - minus the color choice. ;)

hippy momma - 31 weeks today in surrogate pregnancy!

Happy 8th Anniversary to my dear husband

2011-10-04T20:48:00.002-05:00

I posted a tribute video that shows some of our shared memories a few days ago. However, I wanted to say some words about my husband. I know he is aware of these feelings I have, but I wanted to share with the rest of the world how great this guy is.

Some background info: We met 9 years, 3 months ago via match.com. I have dated some nice guys in my life, but no one that was perfect for me. Keep in mind perfect for me does not mean a perfect person (they do not exist), but one who will be the best chance at a long term successful relationship. I believe that I have found that in Brian.

I decided to do match.com after ending up with some nice men, but none that were ideal for me. I am attracted to men who are financially conservative, intelligent, sarcastic sense of humor, and would be a supportive, fun, and loving partner and one day father to my children. I ended up with many men that could fit this criteria, but they would also be religious. I am not religious and feel even the best of relationships can have their challenges and did not want major differences of politics and religion to put extra strain on the relationship. This was a major reason why I did match.com - to find more compatible men. I had so much fun meeting more like minded people. I recommend this method of dating if you have any quirks or specific requests in a partner - narrows the field greatly!

Well, Brian e-mailed me, we met for lunch that week, had a hike/picnic date later that weekend, and the rest is history! During our first dates, I liked his smile, positive/logical/reasonable outlook/philosophy on life, pretty blue eyes, his broad shoulders and chest, cute butt, and sexy legs. I like that he thinks about things other than the mundane. I don't think I would be happy with someone who simply goes to work, comes home, watches TV, plays golf, watches sports...ugh - that would be a nightmare!

I like that he is passionate about his views on politics, even if I don't understand or agree with them all. I like that he shares similar life philosophies as mine and I don't have to apologize or constantly explain for being an atheist. I like that he can tolerate a lot from me, but will not allow himself to be trampled over. He is supportive of me and encourages me to continue to seek new adventures.

He shows me and the children physical and emotional love EVERY day. He is more than a wonderful father. He is emotionally stable, disciplines when needed, but does not hold grudges. He can discipline strongly one minute and the next second calmly explain things to the children and makes sure they understand he loves them. I witness this interaction often and feel the kids do understand. It is a wonderful feeling that I have watching the relationship between Brian and our children. Nothing can happen to him because I NEED him to be around when we have 3 teenagers to deal with! I think he will do an amazing job during this time.

I like that his focus is on his family and plans for the future, NOT making it up the corporate ladder to more money. He provides for his family just fine. No, we are not raking in the dough, but if we have to "sacrifice" for the good of the family, I would rather have him present, involved, less stressed, than have a man who is stretched thin from working too much and not spending quality time with his family. I don't feel lonely or most of the parenting falls on me because he is off working so much. My children do not miss their daddy because he has to work so much. I do not want to sacrifice my children's young formative years to a daddy who works too much for the "hope" of good things later to come. I want good things now AND good things later! Good things to me are not what is brought about by making lots of money, it is what one feels inside by being loved and feeling connected to others. I appreciate the efforts Brian makes towards providing all these things for our family.

I like his live and let live (with the exception of harm to others) perspective on life and differences of people. I like that he challenges others when they do not do the same and/or spew stupid shit out of their mouths. There are so many things I love about my short lil' man!

I am so glad to be walking beside him through this short journey of our lives. I enjoy working towards common goals together. I look forward to raising our children, working/improving this land, and one day playing/teaching our grandchildren.

One day, long from now, when we are old,wrinkled, tired and gray, we will lay down together and never wake up - like in the movie The Notebook - we can not have it any other way. ;)

Happy Anniversary!

Weekend Review

2011-10-02T20:40:00.005-05:00

We got a few things done this weekend around the yard and house. We went to Rural King to pick up bird feed. We were there at the right time as they were having a treasure hunt in the straw for kids. The kids got candy, quarters, and a free pumpkin. Today (Sunday) was gorgeous outside. We picked up some lunch and went to the park and played. Nice family weekend.

Look at that ornery face!

Iris loves her daddy.

Brothers

Almost 31 weeks in surrogacy pregnancy - only a couple more months before passing on a beautiful baby

Lil' beauty. Daddy thought she looked like her Aunt Bob on this pic.

Daddy playing with his boys

Iris is coming to get us!

Cute Zaners with boots on the wrong feet. :)

Daddy

Where is my pudgy lil' baby?! He is lanky right now! What a handsome boy.

Have a great week.

Happy 8th Anniversary Brian and Carla!

2011-10-01T12:24:00.002-05:00

Well, it is not official until October 4th, but I got the video done and wanted to post it! Enjoy some of our shared memories! We have made a great life together so far! I look forward to many more experiences with my short lil' man!

Zane - 4 year tribute

2011-09-28T10:41:00.002-05:00

Meant to get this done before his birthday, but our laptop is slowly dying, so we are transferring data over to another computer and had to figure out the updated program. Pictures may not be in perfect order. Here ya go! Happy 4th Birthday little man!

I need some new songs to use for backdrop to the videos. I have my favorites, but like to mix it up.

Happy 4th Birthday Zane!

2011-09-26T11:56:00.010-05:00

Zane had a great day. We celebrated yesterday. Papa, Luz, Camilla, and Ziza came to celebrate with him. We played all day. He got everything he asked for and then some: chocolate cake with chocolate icing and cherries, cowboy hat, and a pinata.

Hard to believe this kiddo is 4 years old! What a big boy!

Ziza

Luz and Papa

Camilla and Iris checking out the remote control spider

Checking out presents

Pinata time!

Daddy made them twirl around to get dizzy before swinging the bat. :)

Iris playing with sidewalk chalk.

Negangard's Pumpkin Patch

2011-09-26T08:05:00.012-05:00

For the fourth year in a row, we made our trip to Negangard's Pumpkin Patch south of Philo. We grabbed some butternut and acorn squash to store/eat and will return next month for more and pick out jack-o-lanterns to carve.

I get A LOT of people stopping by with searches this time of year for this place so here is some useful information. They are located at 1883 CR 700 N Sidney IL 61877. About two miles south of Philo on Rt 130, you will see an orange pumpkin sign to turn east at 700 N. Drive for 3 miles until you see LOTS of pumpkins in front of their lawn on the right. They are open from 9 am until dark, 7 days a week until Oct 31st.

They have the best prices around from I have seen. Butternut squash for .50 each and acorn squash for .25. The pumpkin prices are very inexpensive also. We love this place!

Gareth - 4 years of visiting!
2011

2010

2009

2008

Zane - 4 years of visiting
2011

2010

2009

2008

Iris - 3 years of visiting
2011

2010

2009

Put those ones back kids - we will come back later for pumpkins!

The kids

entire family

every once in awhile I have someone take my pic - usually I am behind the camera - here is proof I exist! :)

Happy Autumn!!!!

Zane's birthday weekend begins!

2011-09-24T20:30:00.003-05:00

Oh goodness. I think Zane is having a great birthday weekend! His birthday is Monday - he will be 4. His requests have been: chocolate cake with chocolate icing and he said we could add cherries to it and make a black forest cake like his recipe-making game he plays on the computer, a pinata, and a cowboy hat.

We picked out the cowboy hat today, the cowboy boots arrived from Aunt Carrie in the mail, and we found this stick horse at the local thrift store. We let him have all his cowboy gear today and he was thrilled. He is one handsome cowboy! We are going to have a few people over tomorrow to celebrate.

Giddy up!

taking a breather

CUTEST cowboy EVER!

Adios - riding off in to the sunset.

Tri-county Titans Homecoming Parade and Game

2011-09-23T21:09:00.005-05:00

Today was a pretty fun day. Our school district is celebrating Homecoming this week. Iris spent the night at Ziza's last night so missed out on the fun, but the boys had a great time and the parade and football game. I was impressed with their parade and the turnout at the game - tons of people!

Our neighbor, Jonika, was a member of the homecoming court - she was a crown bearer. She is the little one in the back.

Gareth with his classmate, Ms. Lucy.

At the game - Homecoming court

we were winning at half time 12 to 6

The big home stands - lol! Gareth's ENTIRE graduating class is 24 kids! :) It reminded me a lot of Paxton, the little town I grew up in.

wrangling the boys - time to go home. They did not want to leave the game, they were having way too much fun running around with other kids!

I think Gareth enjoyed his first ever Titan Homecoming experience!

Walk in the Woods - Douglas Hart nature Center

2011-09-21T09:34:00.003-05:00

I took Zane and Iris to Douglas-Hart Nature Center in Mattoon yesterday while Brian was working from home. We played inside the nature center and took a walk in the woods. They provide fish food to take out to their pond to feed the fish/turtles. This big, ol' pregnant momma waddled through the forest and was WORN out afterwards! I am currently 29 weeks along in the surrogate pregnancy - things seem to be going well, except for 3rd trimester tiredness and crazy, emotional hormones taking over! lol

discussing plans for the day

Looking at fungi on a tree stump

I love this hat on her - I need to find another cute beanie hat for her.

She looks tiny in comparison to my big belly!

Pic taken by my Zaners

feeding the fish and turtles

explaining to me how he would hunt for deer

sweetie pie!

Tri-county Titans Homecoming week - Crazy Wacky Tacky Day

2011-09-21T09:21:00.003-05:00

Our school district is celebrating Homecoming week this week and the younger kids get to participate in some of the fun planned this week for the students. On Tuesday, it was Crazy Wacky Tacky Day. They were supposed to wear mismatched clothing and be wacky and tacky. This is how he went to school - silly boy! His socks did not match. He said on Monday, it was boys dressed as girls and girls dressed like boys - guess the school figured that it would be hard for Kindergarteners to process this - dunno why they were not asked to participate that day..... Gareth understood it and thought it was silly and talked about it.....tomorrow is color day - different grades are supposed to wear different colors. Kindergarteners are to wear yellow. Friday is Titan day - wear school colors of orange and purple. We might try to go to the homecoming football game this Friday. Fun!

Random update

2011-09-19T08:58:00.002-05:00

Oh, what have we been up to?
Nothing too exciting.

Gareth had his school open house last week. He was such a big boy showing us around, introducing us to his teachers and classmates. He sometimes complains about having to get up so early, but I think he is really enjoying going to school all day. The first thing he often does when he comes home is go in the kitchen and get a snack and drink. He acts like he is starving! I guess they wear him out good! Just in the last month, his drawing has improved greatly - I love seeing what he comes up with. He will ask for requests and will draw what we ask. His favorite things to draw right now is family, friends, flowers, and rainbows. Love this kid!

Zane continues to be full of life! This boy needs to be in sports! He is crazy with his body! Poor daddy gets worn out/beat up from playing with this kid. There is a pre-schooler (who is our neighbor) that will be moving the beginning of October. If we don't get a call for Zane to join at this time, I don't expect him to be able to go till next fall. We will see. We are doing some learning activities here at home. He is very bright - catches on quickly. He is a numbers boy, knows them well. He is starting to improve with his letter identification. We are gearing up for his birthday that is 1 week. We will be celebrating the day before (Sunday). His only requests have been for chocolate cake with chocolate icing, a pinata, and a cowboy hat. I have no idea why he thought of a cowboy hat! We are going to try to make that happen and have a few people over to celebrate.

Lil' Iris- so full of spirit! She continues to be a bookworm - loves her books! Her speaking skills have greatly improved and she seems much happier, less frustrated since she can use words. She can be so stubborn and so sweet in a matter of minutes of each other! I like seeing her sense of style/personality develop! I think she is and will be an interesting kid!

I have been having mommy time on Thursday evenings. My craft nights with Urbana friends will most likely be ending soon since the main host is moving out of state - boo!!!! Last week, I went shopping for more fabric to start on some new quilts. I continue to quilt and sew in my spare time. I have hit 3rd trimester in the surrogacy pregnancy and often fall asleep right after the kids go down. I had allergies and or a cold this weekend so spent most of the day on Sunday being a big ol' lazy bones. I feel better today though so that is good!

I met a couple of nice women the last few weeks. One lives about 45 minutes SE of here. We met up a couple of weeks ago at a park. She has a 4 year old daughter and we have some crafting things in common. I then met a homeschooling mom in Arcola with 7 year old and 1 year old daughters. She hosted a play date at her house last week and had a couple of other women there with their children. Everyone was really nice - I look forward to seeing where this goes! They all have similar experiences to mine being fairly new members of a small community. It can be really hard establishing friendships in a rural area!

While waiting outside for Gareth's bus to arrive this morning, a very brave coyote came and grabbed a duck. It was about 25-30 feet from us! Brian started yelling and going towards it. Coyote dropped the duck and ran! Duck has a little blood on it's feathers, but won't let me catch it to see how injured it is. It is keeping up with the others, hopefully will be ok. Damn coyote!

A quick garden update:
we are still getting tomatoes from the garden. We canned some and froze LOTS. Next year, I need to plant the tomato plants further apart from each other! It was a jungle out there! Our winter squash suffered badly from the 7 week dry spell we had, no easy access to water weakened the plants, making it susceptible to pests, and many have been demolished from the squash bugs. The guinea fowl are SUPPOSED to be in there eating the bugs, but don't go in there on their own and when corralled in there, don't stay in there for very long. We have harvested some acorn squash spaghetti squash, small pumpkins, and some gourds, but not near as much as I would have liked. Looks like a trip to Negangard's Pumpkin Patch to stock up on winter squash to store will be in order after all! The garden was a definite improvement from last year and we expect it to get better each year. We will be cutting down an old apple tree in this area and expanding an area that we originally had saved for a chicken run. We will be ordering lots of straw for mulching and will be covering the garden with more dried manure and putting lots of straw down to smother the weeds. We have also added some raised beds outside of the annual garden area that we will still to fence in to keep predators out. We have ordered 5 pounds of garlic to put in some of the raised beds this fall - can't wait! Also next year, we will have an outdoor spigot installed, plan to get a large rainwater water tank to catch the rainwater from the pole barn, and want to install some birdhouses and bat house near the garden area. Keep doing small things and hopefully see improvements each year.

My sister is due mid November with a baby girl who will be named Elizabeth Evoi, after a paternal grandmother. Brian's sister recently found out she will be adding a boy to her 2 daughters in late Jan/early Feb. Lots of babies being welcomed to the family! I am due to pass on a beautiful baby early December!

I think that is about it. Have a good week!

Arcola Broom Corn Parade

2011-09-10T19:24:00.004-05:00

On our way to the parade.

found our spot

Gareth-O

Zaners

Ms. I with her fave sunglasses on and accessories

Cute Daddy-O

Waving for candy

horses are last in the parade :)

tired kiddos and Ziza walking back to the van

Am I the only one who gets nostalgic for small town parades, ESPECIALLY the marching bands?! I cried when the first band came by, so filled with emotion....crazy! :)

Zaners and mommy get stuff done!

2011-09-10T19:13:00.003-05:00

Thursday night, I dropped Iris off at Ziza's on my way to craft night to spend the night at Ziza's. Friday, Iris was at Ziza's all day, GAreth was at school, so it was just me and Zaners all day. We got stuff done - he is a great lil' helper! We made a new batch of home made play-doh, home made laundry soap, chocolate chip cookies, and zucchini bread.

Here is he stirring the batches of play-doh.

Here is he grating the Fels-Naptha bar of soap.

These ingredients, plus water make a pretty good homemade laundry soap. We usually follow the recipe over at this website.

Walnut Point -Walk in the Woods

2011-09-09T08:05:00.004-05:00

While Gareth is in school all day, I try to plan some fun things to do with Zane and Iris. We especially like to go places on Tuesday and Thursdays when daddy is working from home to get out of his hair while he works. We have been going to a nearby libraries, parks, and going for walks in the woods. We met up with a lady and her daughter earlier in the week from Charleston area and recently met a homeschooling mom with 2 daughters while at the Arcola library. I am excited to have met a couple of nice people and look forward to seeing where the friendship goes. Our friend, Lala, moved to Oregon and my crafting friend, Kate, will be moving at the end of this month. How come all the cool people move away?!

Anyways, here are some pics from yesterday from our walk in the woods. Ms. Iris was a grouchy butt for most of our outing. Zaners had a lot of fun.

what a girlie girl! She has been liking shiny, glittery, light up shoes lately. When picking out clothes, she most often picks out ones with "flowers on it." She likes looking pretty and decorated. Can we say nature over nurture?! She is developing into her own little person, a stereotypical girl in many ways, but full of piss and vinegar and STUBBORN!!!! I think she is much happier now that she is communicating with words more. She can be so sweet sometimes, but oh so challenging also! My baby girl!

Have a great weekend!

Last boat ride of season

2011-09-09T07:58:00.003-05:00

The previous owners left this row boat for us when we bought the place. We look forward to using the pond more as the kids get good at swimming. We would like to get a dock put in in the next couple of years.

Ready to go!

Bowling

2011-09-04T20:26:00.011-05:00

The kids had a great time. Gareth got a spare that he was very proud of getting. One of the next things Gareth wants to try out is miniature golf.

Gareth-O's turn

Zaners!

Baby I's turn!

Mom and Dad's turn

26.5weeks preggo with surrogacy - look at that big belly! :)

Looking at the scoreboard

Drinking a chilli willie

Sleepy girl

2011-09-01T09:09:00.002-05:00

Weekend review

2011-08-28T16:14:00.002-05:00

We had a great family weekend. Saturday, we went into town for community yard sales, plated at 2 different parks. ate ice cream, and walked a trail at Walnut Point. We got a little yard work done. Saturday afternoon, I got the tractor stuck trying to cut a path down to the creek (Brian helped get it out), got sticky plants stuck on all of our clothes walking in our woods, and had to get a poke berry out of Iris' nostril! Sunday, we took a trip over to Decatur and went to the little zoo. Wonderful weekend!

Above are some of my favorites, below are all the pics I took.
Have a great week!

Walnut Point

2011-08-19T10:36:00.005-05:00

This past week, I had the neighbor girl, who is Gareth's age, as her mom was teaching. We went to the library and the park on Tuesday. Thursday, we went to Walnut Point State Park and played.

Arriving at Walnut Point playground

girl on a mission

Zaners looks mighty cute in my straw hat

This boy has shot up this summer. At his Kindergarten physical, his percentiles for height has reached near 50%! Maybe he will get some of his momma's femurs after all. ;)

being careful on the dock

cute kids

yes, they are a gang of trouble ;)

drummers drumming

look! I exist! me and my sweeties

Zane and Jonika being silly! These 2 get along pretty good, both full of energy!

Have a good weekend!

Tree quilt

2011-08-19T09:53:00.003-05:00

I have been working on this quilt for some time, in between other projects. This one took some time as I was doing techniques for the first time. The tree blocks were piecing smaller patches of fabric. I like this pattern and the plan was to make this for Brian and I's bed. The fabric I chose ended up not really matching our bedroom colors. I have since found a fabric that I think would be really good, so might still make this pattern with other colors for our room.

I still really liked how it turned out and it was hard to give this one away after all the work I put into it. I thought about using it for a wall hanging in the living room,but instead I gave it to a friend who will be moving away soon. She helped me with my first quilt, gave me fabric, dealt with my amateur, repetitive questions, and hosts many craft nights with ladies that helped me stay sane. I will miss her!

up close of tree block

up close of "leaf" fabric

back side quilted/stitched

up close of back stitching on tree

I made several mistakes on this quilt - lots of caught, puckered fabric on the back and it caused the wrap around binding to be off a bit and not look as nice as I would have liked. However, the overall project I worked hard on and am proud of the completed project.

Ready for the next one! I do need to to announce that 2012 will be the year of the family quilts. This year, I made Zane's quilt and all the other ones have been for other people and will continue to be till the end of the year, probably. I am sure I will have extra little projects for new babies and celebrations and what not. However, I plan to work on Brian and I's, Gareth's rainbow quilt, and Iris' quilt for our beds.

Gareth's 1st day of Kindergarten

2011-08-19T08:55:00.004-05:00

Ok, to all the mommas I thought was a little crazy that they cry when sending their kid off to school for the whole day, I apologize! I officially joined you this morning! He just got on the bus, will be gone all day, and seemed ready to face the world! I seriously did think that....I am always excited for the kids to have a new adventure and spread their wings. I want them to be independent thinkers who are self sufficient in this world. I know that most mommas are crying out of pride for their children, but I was filled with so many different emotions, that I was a little surprised at my weepy self! I was filled with pride, love, worry, happiness, protectiveness......

I tried to prepare him as much as possible, talking about where to go and how to do things. He has to get off the bus, walk down a hall, and wait in the gym. He chose to take his lunch today and we practiced getting his change and buying a milk carton. We talked about his pre-K friends he would recognize and new friends he would make. I am anxious to see him at the end of the day and hopefully get a report other than "it was good and I don't know." I hope he has a good day!

waiting for bus

proud parents

life is full of wonder - go capture it young man!

Bus is here bright and early

ready to face the world, did not even look back!
Have a great day, young man!

New kitchen floor, tables, chairs!

2011-08-14T21:10:00.004-05:00

It has been a couple of years since we ordered Simply Amish furniture. We have always wanted a strong farm table that could fit all our family and grandchildren. This table will serve as our next tornado shelter, it is so freaking strong - lol. We are very pleased with how strong and beautiful it is.

We have 6 - 18 inch leaves to add to the table to expand it. With these additions, the table can stretch to 14 feet long!!!!! Who is coming over for dinner?!

I couldn't have our beautiful new furniture on top of our dingy, old, stained wood floor, so Brian installed a nice, free floating vinyl tile this weekend. It makes the kitchen look so much nicer and bright.

Park and Nature Center

2011-08-12T20:01:00.002-05:00

Gareth's first optometry appt.

2011-08-08T12:20:00.002-05:00

What a big boy! He is growing up so fast. His eyes are just fine. He did great during the appt.

Random update

2011-08-08T11:22:00.003-05:00

How long has it been?! Awhile.....anyways, what have we been up to? Nothing much, but still keeping busy...does that make sense?

The boys are almost done with swim lessons, maybe one more before school starts. Zane is no longer actively taking lessons, but goes and hangs out in the big pool water while his brother does formal lessons. Zane is strong, likes the water, but still very fearful of going under, so we decided to not push him until next year. He likes hanging out in his floatie, flirting with Katie, the lifeguard though. Gareth has the skills and has gotten better, but has his daddy's sinking body, so he has to work very hard at keeping afloat. Brian said when he was a kid, he would fill his lungs with air, but would still sink to the bottom of the pool. We will probably start with lessons next summer and see if they can be weaned off and do it on their own.

This lion water fountain is on the square in the town we live closest to. People my age talk about drinking from this fountain when they were kids! I had to stop by the post office before swim lessons the other day and the boys wanted to go across the street and get a drink.

Gareth will start Kindergarten next week!!! Wow! I am still waiting to hear if Zane gets to go to pre-school. I HOPE so! He would love it. I HATE waiting for news!

Iris is a little bookworm - her favorite activity is to be read to and"read" out loud herself. She is pretty darn cute with her expressiveness as she reads. She is talking a ton. She is quite fiery, that one! She has been exploring her boundaries lately.....oh what a little pill sometimes! I ask her to pick her toys up and she says " I don't want to." argh. She remains pretty stubborn about it too. She then cries like she is dying when she gets in trouble! Oh the drama!

This is a pretty common scene around here this summer - the boys hanging out in their underwear, playing on mom and dad's bed, and making weapons out of Trio blocks. We often go to bed and have to fix all our blankets because they have all been twisted up and torn out!

The garden is much improved this year and hope that it keeps getting better each year. We have frozen several meals of beans, froze several containers of shredded zucchini, and processed/canned our 1st tomato harvest last night. We got tons of cucumbers, but have been eating most of those, so did not pickle any. We are going to have a ton more tomatoes, hopefully some peppers (they don't seem to be producing very well), and the winter squash are vining out nicely.

We are expanding our garden area outside of the backyard fence are making several raised beds for root crops and a blueberry area. We intend of planting garlic this fall and get the other areas ready for blueberries, asparagus, and probably carrots, beets, radishes, lettuce, among other things.

I am currently 23 weeks along in the surrogate pregnancy. Things are going well. It does limit me however with how much work I can do in the yard. We have been talking about what I can do to financially assist the family after the surrogacy and we have several routes we can take. I can try to find part time work outside the home, but then that decreases the work that can get done around here. We really would like for me to stay at home, work the land, and find a way to make a small amount of money from the land. We have talked about building greenhouses and try winter harvesting. We have talked about me doing a second surrogacy. There are several things we could pursue......we will see what direction life pulls us towards....

I continue to work on quilting. I am almost done with another one. I will post a pic when it is done.

With this heat we have had this summer, the outside labor has been delayed. We look forward to some cooler temps so we can get outside and get more work done.

I look forward to school starting and getting into a routine of sorts.

That is about it...how about that for random?!