I know, I know, I have a real problem with style choices. My blog has changed looks multiple times each and every day. There are so many things I like right now that I just can't commit to one "look"....so I don't. I change it up, then I change it up again. It is so bad, I'm actually annoying myself with it. I am all over the place! #crazypregnancyhormones
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Christ Centered Birthing Class
So let's talk a bit about this Christ Centered Birthing Class that I was so excited about, shall we? My first class was last Thursday and my next class is tomorrow night. I'm not so much looking forward to it, but I'm willing to give it another go.
Back in the early Spring (and as a New Year's resolution) I had made the commitment to further explore and learn about my Faith and spiritual side. Things have been going well, some days are better than others, some days I forget and turn into a complete crabby, negative Nancy. I try to do my best and I know that I still have a long way to go. I like to think of myself as a "work in progress".
My Christ Centered Birth Class is not the "work in progress" type. These women are very much tuned into their Faith and seem very sentimental about it all. Not that there is anything wrong with that, they just don't seem to be my type of people. I will continue to go because I know I can learn from them; however, it is hard to "buy-in" to people who act very differently than you do. I can talk about my Faith and what I believe in a normal tone of voice. I am open and matter-of-factly about it all. It is very different to be in the midst of people who can't talk about it without quieting their voices, almost to a whisper, while puting their hands to their chests in an effort to prove such passion about what they're talking about. It almost seems like it is all over the top to prove they have so much love and Faith within them. Do you understand the type I'm talking about? Again, I hope I don't offend anyone by talking about this...it just isn't my thing. Can I also add that out of the 4 of us in attendance I am THE ONLY ONE PREGNANT!!!
Yes, there is the instructor, who is pretty soft spoken, her sister, who talks a lot and is there to learn more about being a doula, another lady who seems pretty naive but also wants to learn about being a doula, and me...the token pregnant gal in a birthing class!!! So not only am in surrounded by ladies who are very much different than I am, but I'm trying to learn all I can about the biggest challenge I am going to put myself through (an unmedicated childbirth) and I'm the only one attending the class for the original purpose of the class...I can't stop going, who would be the token?!
How do I get myself in these situations??? I do it all the time. I try to better myself and end up feeling guilted to continue whatever it is. Again, I'm sure I'll learn a lot throughout the next 7 weeks but it is going to be a struggle to keep my motivation and glean from the class what I need to personally achieve what I am looking for. The whole situation is just a little weird...but oh well, welcome to my life.
Back in the early Spring (and as a New Year's resolution) I had made the commitment to further explore and learn about my Faith and spiritual side. Things have been going well, some days are better than others, some days I forget and turn into a complete crabby, negative Nancy. I try to do my best and I know that I still have a long way to go. I like to think of myself as a "work in progress".
My Christ Centered Birth Class is not the "work in progress" type. These women are very much tuned into their Faith and seem very sentimental about it all. Not that there is anything wrong with that, they just don't seem to be my type of people. I will continue to go because I know I can learn from them; however, it is hard to "buy-in" to people who act very differently than you do. I can talk about my Faith and what I believe in a normal tone of voice. I am open and matter-of-factly about it all. It is very different to be in the midst of people who can't talk about it without quieting their voices, almost to a whisper, while puting their hands to their chests in an effort to prove such passion about what they're talking about. It almost seems like it is all over the top to prove they have so much love and Faith within them. Do you understand the type I'm talking about? Again, I hope I don't offend anyone by talking about this...it just isn't my thing. Can I also add that out of the 4 of us in attendance I am THE ONLY ONE PREGNANT!!!
Yes, there is the instructor, who is pretty soft spoken, her sister, who talks a lot and is there to learn more about being a doula, another lady who seems pretty naive but also wants to learn about being a doula, and me...the token pregnant gal in a birthing class!!! So not only am in surrounded by ladies who are very much different than I am, but I'm trying to learn all I can about the biggest challenge I am going to put myself through (an unmedicated childbirth) and I'm the only one attending the class for the original purpose of the class...I can't stop going, who would be the token?!
How do I get myself in these situations??? I do it all the time. I try to better myself and end up feeling guilted to continue whatever it is. Again, I'm sure I'll learn a lot throughout the next 7 weeks but it is going to be a struggle to keep my motivation and glean from the class what I need to personally achieve what I am looking for. The whole situation is just a little weird...but oh well, welcome to my life.
Ramble, Ramble, Ramble,
I've decided I have to get better organized with my posts. And, considering I have to be at work before too long, this post will hopefully be my last rambly post and all others following will have 1 specific topic. This will likely mean more, smaller posts, but hey, that's fine by me.
In order to make this concise here are the topics:
~The blog in general
~Monday night sewing
~Painted chalkboard
~Baby Hogan at 27 wks and hormones
THE BLOG IN GENERAL
For anyone who checks my blog on a somewhat regular basis you'll notice that the blog has changed almost everyday. I really consider myself "a horse of a different color", in that my mood/preferences/style changes all the time. I just can't committ to one design for very long. I'm not sure I'll every find just the right combination of colors and textures to keep me content. So, if you open it up and it looks totally differnt the next time, don't think you've ended up in the wrong place...I've just gotten bored.
MONDAY NIGHT SEWING
Since the hubs plays golf with the guys every Monday night now I've decided to make it my sewing night...after the kids go to bed, of course. My projects have to be quick and painless because I have to finish them in the same night or they'll never get done. It is beginning to seem like Tuesday's at work are now "here is what I made last night" days. So far my creations have only be 2 scarves and some flowers, but I'm excited to keep it all up.
Here is this weeks creation:
PAINTED CHALKBOARD
Last weekend we had committed to painting our chalkboard wall downstairs. We've had a little chalkboard painted on a wall for a while now and I saw this pic of a whole wall painted like a chalkbaord and new the kids would love it. It went pretty smoothly, except the hubs convinced me that we only needed to tackle the one wall for now. So now, the chalkboard wall is complete but we still need to paint the other 3 walls of the room.
It should also be noted that I took this pic all by myself. I just set the timer on the camera and hoped it turned out alright...not too bad.
BABY HOGAN AT 27 WKS AND HORMONES
As you can see in the pic above, Baby Hogan and I are growing right along...as are the hormones. Hogan is kicking more and more and harder and harder. It's a lot of fun to anticipate his arrival and how are family will change. It's also a little crazy to think about!
I started my birthing class, that I was so excited about...more on this in a separate post.
Now for the hormones. I feel as though I've been handling everything quite well, but when something hits me wrong I become sour quickly. Let's just say that 1 little statement, that wasn't meant the way I took it, resulted in me in bed by 9pm...royally crabby! All is well again today though, that's all that matters.
So that's enough for now. I'll see about adding more posts on a more regular basis. Perhaps I'll even get another one up tonigh.
In order to make this concise here are the topics:
~The blog in general
~Monday night sewing
~Painted chalkboard
~Baby Hogan at 27 wks and hormones
THE BLOG IN GENERAL
For anyone who checks my blog on a somewhat regular basis you'll notice that the blog has changed almost everyday. I really consider myself "a horse of a different color", in that my mood/preferences/style changes all the time. I just can't committ to one design for very long. I'm not sure I'll every find just the right combination of colors and textures to keep me content. So, if you open it up and it looks totally differnt the next time, don't think you've ended up in the wrong place...I've just gotten bored.
MONDAY NIGHT SEWING
Since the hubs plays golf with the guys every Monday night now I've decided to make it my sewing night...after the kids go to bed, of course. My projects have to be quick and painless because I have to finish them in the same night or they'll never get done. It is beginning to seem like Tuesday's at work are now "here is what I made last night" days. So far my creations have only be 2 scarves and some flowers, but I'm excited to keep it all up.
Here is this weeks creation:
PAINTED CHALKBOARD
Last weekend we had committed to painting our chalkboard wall downstairs. We've had a little chalkboard painted on a wall for a while now and I saw this pic of a whole wall painted like a chalkbaord and new the kids would love it. It went pretty smoothly, except the hubs convinced me that we only needed to tackle the one wall for now. So now, the chalkboard wall is complete but we still need to paint the other 3 walls of the room.
The hubs sanding down the texture of the wall
Primed and trimmed
The finished product...or part of it
It should also be noted that I took this pic all by myself. I just set the timer on the camera and hoped it turned out alright...not too bad.
BABY HOGAN AT 27 WKS AND HORMONES
As you can see in the pic above, Baby Hogan and I are growing right along...as are the hormones. Hogan is kicking more and more and harder and harder. It's a lot of fun to anticipate his arrival and how are family will change. It's also a little crazy to think about!
I started my birthing class, that I was so excited about...more on this in a separate post.
Now for the hormones. I feel as though I've been handling everything quite well, but when something hits me wrong I become sour quickly. Let's just say that 1 little statement, that wasn't meant the way I took it, resulted in me in bed by 9pm...royally crabby! All is well again today though, that's all that matters.
So that's enough for now. I'll see about adding more posts on a more regular basis. Perhaps I'll even get another one up tonigh.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
I have inspiration coming out my...
*DISCLAIMER: I'm tired and had a lot of different topics to discuss. I'm sure this post jumps all over the place and I apologize. If I read it tomorrow I will try to edit it a bit...at this point I just don't care. Hope you enjoy!
As you can see, the blog is getting a little bit of a facelift. I have been so inspired by some/all of the blogs that I follow. They offer such great info and are so cute and sassy. I'm trying to add more to my blog but I'm not sure what I'm doing...so please be patient as I learn. Please also offer advice if you seem to know more than me (I'd really love to learn how to put a signature at the bottom of each post...suggestions welcomed!) These awesome blogs can be found under the link Blogs I Adore at the top of this page. I've also added a separate page that will someday be a welcome/all about me.
My list of things I want to make/fix/update just continues to grow. I am getting such great ideas for sewing, decorating, and life in general from the blogs of others. I'm also finding that my tastes have changed significantly since being pregnant this time. I used to go for modern/formal decore and clothing. These days I am all about fun and functional, cottage casual. I can't get enough cardigans, belts, flowers, ruffles and scarves. I'm obsessed with finding a cute pair of flat riding boots that I can wear this fall will all of the items I just mentioned. Although I've always thought of these things as cute they were never "my style"...now they most certainly are! Craig's still adjusting, as he's anti-accessories and prefers clean lines. He'll survive!
I/We continue to pluck away at the list of things I/we want to accomplish before the baby gets here. I found my fabric for curtains and my Grandma was nice enough to come over last Sunday to help me sew them...which, thankfully, turned into her sewing them. I will post more pictures of the living/dining rooms once the rooms are finished. I'm ordering more fabric for 2 more panel to add to my big window and plan to also frame some fabric art for the walls.
Grandma Janet, sewing away
Me, struggling to grasp the simple concepts of measuring and cutting straight
On the list for this weekend is painting the family room and possibly constructing a loft bed for the boys' room...how cute is that, "the boys' room"! Here is a link to a really cute bed that we like and seems relatively easy...How to Build a Loft, courtesy the handmade home. The family room will have one HUGE wall of chalkboard paint and the other 3 walls of hopefully a fun color. We have yet to decide. I'd love to eventually build a bookshelf for one of the walls in the family room too, but that will have to wait for now.
Today marks 26 weeks and the growing continues. Clothes are still fitting but my recent obsessions with belts is getting painful. Today I had to take my belt off...I was wearing it above the baby bump and it was pinching my skin between it and my underwire. Fun, let me tell you! The girls continue to grow out of control too, and I don't mean Scotland and Paislee. I'm popping seams and fraying straps on my bras...woe is me.
This is the most perfect circle I think I've ever seen.
As you can see, the blog is getting a little bit of a facelift. I have been so inspired by some/all of the blogs that I follow. They offer such great info and are so cute and sassy. I'm trying to add more to my blog but I'm not sure what I'm doing...so please be patient as I learn. Please also offer advice if you seem to know more than me (I'd really love to learn how to put a signature at the bottom of each post...suggestions welcomed!) These awesome blogs can be found under the link Blogs I Adore at the top of this page. I've also added a separate page that will someday be a welcome/all about me.
My list of things I want to make/fix/update just continues to grow. I am getting such great ideas for sewing, decorating, and life in general from the blogs of others. I'm also finding that my tastes have changed significantly since being pregnant this time. I used to go for modern/formal decore and clothing. These days I am all about fun and functional, cottage casual. I can't get enough cardigans, belts, flowers, ruffles and scarves. I'm obsessed with finding a cute pair of flat riding boots that I can wear this fall will all of the items I just mentioned. Although I've always thought of these things as cute they were never "my style"...now they most certainly are! Craig's still adjusting, as he's anti-accessories and prefers clean lines. He'll survive!
I/We continue to pluck away at the list of things I/we want to accomplish before the baby gets here. I found my fabric for curtains and my Grandma was nice enough to come over last Sunday to help me sew them...which, thankfully, turned into her sewing them. I will post more pictures of the living/dining rooms once the rooms are finished. I'm ordering more fabric for 2 more panel to add to my big window and plan to also frame some fabric art for the walls.
Grandma Janet, sewing away
Me, struggling to grasp the simple concepts of measuring and cutting straight
On the list for this weekend is painting the family room and possibly constructing a loft bed for the boys' room...how cute is that, "the boys' room"! Here is a link to a really cute bed that we like and seems relatively easy...How to Build a Loft, courtesy the handmade home. The family room will have one HUGE wall of chalkboard paint and the other 3 walls of hopefully a fun color. We have yet to decide. I'd love to eventually build a bookshelf for one of the walls in the family room too, but that will have to wait for now.
Today marks 26 weeks and the growing continues. Clothes are still fitting but my recent obsessions with belts is getting painful. Today I had to take my belt off...I was wearing it above the baby bump and it was pinching my skin between it and my underwire. Fun, let me tell you! The girls continue to grow out of control too, and I don't mean Scotland and Paislee. I'm popping seams and fraying straps on my bras...woe is me.
This is the most perfect circle I think I've ever seen.
The last week has been fun. We've started going on family walks more often. Craiger runs while the kids and I stroll along. Thank goodness the kids are as slow as they are, if not I would be pushing it too much. Our walks usually involve a lot of sweat and tears, sometimes some scraped knees with blood, and tonight it involved peeing on a tree...and an arm. Apparently Sully lost control of his "monster" and it turned against him.
Speaking of peeing, Ms. Paislee's had a heck of a time lately. She was fully potty-trained but has seemed to develop some issues lately. She's doing a great job of helping me keep the bathroom floors mopped each night...yep, she's peeing on the floor at least once a night. She actually managed to do it twice within an hour and a half the other evening. She's in the habit of waiting til last minute, and then the vain little thing that she is, gets distracted by herself in the mirror on the way to the toilet. She also likes to dance...one of these 2 times she peed on the floor she told me, "well, I was just dancing, mom". Paislee, NOT A VALID EXCUSE!
Scotland has just continued to be sweet little Scotland. She's just precious...especially when she's tired. She's snuggly. She arrives home each afternoon from school completely exhausted!
Speaking of peeing, Ms. Paislee's had a heck of a time lately. She was fully potty-trained but has seemed to develop some issues lately. She's doing a great job of helping me keep the bathroom floors mopped each night...yep, she's peeing on the floor at least once a night. She actually managed to do it twice within an hour and a half the other evening. She's in the habit of waiting til last minute, and then the vain little thing that she is, gets distracted by herself in the mirror on the way to the toilet. She also likes to dance...one of these 2 times she peed on the floor she told me, "well, I was just dancing, mom". Paislee, NOT A VALID EXCUSE!
Scotland has just continued to be sweet little Scotland. She's just precious...especially when she's tired. She's snuggly. She arrives home each afternoon from school completely exhausted!
Sneak Peek
I just couldn't wait til tonight to post. Here's a sneak peek of the infinity scarf that I threw together last night! I'll never show you the seams...they aren't the prettiest but they work.
Now to improve my self picture in the mirror skills...
Now to improve my self picture in the mirror skills...
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
A Day of Firsts
In an effort to keep this short and sweet I will list all of our firsts today:
Paislee and Sully as they arrived home after mom had to pick them up.
In other news, I am excited to start my birthing class. I've signed up for a Christian Birthing Class that will be held at a local church. It starts next week and goes for 8 weeks. This will get me to within about 6 weeks of my due date. Hopefully I will learn and practice all the relaxation and coping methods I need in order to survive a natural delivery...I'm so excited!!
And while we're on the baby train I have to explain my new, legitimate nickname. The Clark-Maker. This is not just any nickname that one would give themselves. This came straight from Craig's grandma, and I am proud to hold the title of Clark-Maker, it is an honor! As long as Craig will let me I will keep kicking out Clarks!
I think that is all for now. So for all of you random followers who I don't really know, I hope you enjoy my family. I'm sure I'm forgetting a lot of things that I've tried to remember to mention since my last post 2 weeks ago, but for now I'm done. This post has taken way too long to post because I keep having trouble with formatting. If you're lucky ;) I'll post again tomorrow.
- First day of Kindergarten for Scotland
- First day of full day preschool for Sullivan
- First day of preschool (period) for Paislee
- First time on the bus for Paislee
- First time missing the bus for Sully and Paislee (they were not put on the bus to come home)
- First time Scotland decided to walk out the front door on her own (while mom was changing clothes before our evening walk)
- First time having to pop-a-squat in someones yard so Paislee could potty while on said walk
- First time posting pics of the kids on the blog...thanks Craiger!
I have to explain this first pic. Of course the camera was acting up and wouldn't take a quick pic. This led Sullivan to start making dumb faces which led to mom hollering at him. Then he started crying. Paislee's leg is red because her shoes have lights in them and Scotland isn't looking because she rarely does. This is how 95% of all of our group shots turn out these days.
Scotland's bus arrived first, and we knew it would. However, it was about 10 minutes early. Even though we had just headed outside to wait for the bus this rushed us and we didn't have time for a little pep-talk of what the day would hold. Scotland ended up getting rushed to the bus while mom snapped horrible pics along the way. You can tell in this pic that she's not impressed to be put on a bus with random strangers while mom and dad wave and shout "I love you". Just after this pic both mom and Scotland had a few tears...I'm proud to report that we both survived the day.
So after Scotland got on the bus and rode off to school we had some time to kill. I was able to get a semi-decent shot of Paislee and Sullivan.
Getting on the bus for the first time, for Paislee. Sully is a pro!
Kindergarten wears a girl out. I was first upset that she wasn't in the car seat that we listed in her IEP...then I asked Craig (he's the one who got her off the bus) and realized that she's strapped into the seat tight enough that it held her in while she was limp.
She managed to wake up a little bit, but was tired all night.
Paislee and Sully as they arrived home after mom had to pick them up.
Here's the hubs, Craiger. Doesn't he look impressed to have his pic taken. Those are his brand new Armani Exchange glasses that he's so proud of. Looking pretty good if I do say so myself, dumb face and all!
Here's a pic of me. I don't know why I didn't just take our pic together...we both would likely have looked better.
And here's Baby Hogan, 25 weeks
In other news, I am excited to start my birthing class. I've signed up for a Christian Birthing Class that will be held at a local church. It starts next week and goes for 8 weeks. This will get me to within about 6 weeks of my due date. Hopefully I will learn and practice all the relaxation and coping methods I need in order to survive a natural delivery...I'm so excited!!
And while we're on the baby train I have to explain my new, legitimate nickname. The Clark-Maker. This is not just any nickname that one would give themselves. This came straight from Craig's grandma, and I am proud to hold the title of Clark-Maker, it is an honor! As long as Craig will let me I will keep kicking out Clarks!
I think that is all for now. So for all of you random followers who I don't really know, I hope you enjoy my family. I'm sure I'm forgetting a lot of things that I've tried to remember to mention since my last post 2 weeks ago, but for now I'm done. This post has taken way too long to post because I keep having trouble with formatting. If you're lucky ;) I'll post again tomorrow.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
I'm tired
I've been lacking in the energy department this week. One minute I'm feeling great and the next I just want to sleep, wherever I am...the car, my office, at home. I blame it on the fact that I'm growing a human inside me, see...
But in all reality it is likely due to not sleeping well, because of said human growing inside me, poor diet and lack of exercise, see...
Yep, that's a big bag of M&M's that I nearly finished last night
And this is the huge box of Milk Duds that I ate today at work...I have a problem.
Yep, that's a big bag of M&M's that I nearly finished last night
And this is the huge box of Milk Duds that I ate today at work...I have a problem.I truly feel that if I had not had the issues at the beginning of this pregnancy I would have been able to keep up my running/working out routine. Instead, I had to take it easy for a few weeks and then lost all motivation. I know women do it, but I feel really weird trying to run with a pregnant belly. Sure, there are other things I would do for exercise but, ehh, I'll just lounge around instead. Perhaps once the weather finally cools down I'll feel like doing more.
Speaking of doing more, as soon as my fabric arrives I will be making curtains! Here is 1 yard of the fabric hanging up for "make sure I like it" purposes.
I think this fabric is going to add the fun punch of color that my house has been lacking. I'm very excited to get the whole house transformed to meet our needs and personalities...we're a pretty vibrant bunch.
On another note, you'll notice this post is simply all over the place with topics, I feel more and more that I am up to the challenge of natural childbirth. Just the other day I bought "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Natural Childbirth". How can I go wrong with a title like that?! The more I read the more excited and up to the challenge I feel I am. I guess it must just be a phase I am in. Last year was my first half marathon, followed by my second half marathon, a 5K run/8 mile bike race, a sprint triathlon, and what was supposed to be my first full marathon. I feel the urge to challenge myself these days...and since it can't be by a physical competition I guess I'll settle for hours of unmedicated labor followed by pushing a small watermelon out of...well, you know.
To save you time reading more random ramblings here are the random thoughts I had today:
Speaking of doing more, as soon as my fabric arrives I will be making curtains! Here is 1 yard of the fabric hanging up for "make sure I like it" purposes.
I think this fabric is going to add the fun punch of color that my house has been lacking. I'm very excited to get the whole house transformed to meet our needs and personalities...we're a pretty vibrant bunch.
On another note, you'll notice this post is simply all over the place with topics, I feel more and more that I am up to the challenge of natural childbirth. Just the other day I bought "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Natural Childbirth". How can I go wrong with a title like that?! The more I read the more excited and up to the challenge I feel I am. I guess it must just be a phase I am in. Last year was my first half marathon, followed by my second half marathon, a 5K run/8 mile bike race, a sprint triathlon, and what was supposed to be my first full marathon. I feel the urge to challenge myself these days...and since it can't be by a physical competition I guess I'll settle for hours of unmedicated labor followed by pushing a small watermelon out of...well, you know.
To save you time reading more random ramblings here are the random thoughts I had today:
- Doesn't it suck to have a song you love to belt out in the car but it isn't in the right pitch range for you? By the time the song is over my throat and neck hurt from straining to hit some of those notes. And boy do I sound awesome!!! ha ha ha
- Lawn mowers, although they have motors, are still not cars. Stop driving them on the road as if they were.
- Please don't interrupt a pregnant lady from her lunch for a mundane question that you could figure out on your own. We don't like that.
- The older I get, the more bold I am and the shorter my fuse gets. I've always considered myself somewhat timid in some environments, but what I'm finding is that if I am challenged in that environment there is no timidness to be found. Its funny how you learn so much about yourself as you age.
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