I Won!

I won and I'm so glad I did. I finished the quilt top!!! It's too bad it will probably take me another year to finish the quilt, but at least all those tiny squares are sewn into our queen size quilt. I must say...I love how it came out and I know I will love it even more when it is totally finished.

It has a very mid-century modern look to it with the solid colors and it's rings. I love that.

Now, all that is left is to make a quilt back, quilt it together with some batting, and bind it. Advice from any sewers...do I have to sew the binding on my hand to "do it right?" That alone will take me a year...

With the finish of this project I bid my sewing machine...adieu. It is safe to say I won't be needing to do any more sewing until after the baby is born, home, and settled a bit. But, as I've said before, my number one rule for myself is...to find time for myself doing what I like and make sure my kids see me enjoying these things, so tiny baby Lapour will soon see that it's Mommy has many interests.

Very soon I won't be calling it an it...according to the midwife today, "You will be having this baby tonight or tomorrow night." Well, ok.

Ethos

Piano lessons at Ethos.

Rhett is doing so great. He still says he "hates" piano sometimes, but then he plays a new piece and learns something new and I can see it on his face...piano isn't so bad. A little something about Rhett, he doesn't always like to admit it when he likes something.

A Special Delivery!

Cupcake delivery...

I won a dozen of the best looking cupcakes and they were hand delivered today! I won them from Posy and they were baked by Frost.

My choice...Dark chocolate, with caramel filling, and dark chocolate frosting with sea salt.

It was the best cupcake ever. Soon...we hope...there will be a different kind of delivery.

We Love the World Forestry Center

I'll stop talking about it...I swear, but I took the lens out for it's first outing today. It was fantastic. We love the World Forestry Center and when Groupon had a half off membership...we jumped on it.

For journal sake...as of yesterday, I was 31/2 centimeters dilated and 70% effaced. This baby is well on it's way. Any day now. The quilt top is coming along too, but I think the baby will win the race.

Pillowcases and Rhett's Doppelganger

I've collected some flannel along the way to make pillowcases for us. I intended on Christmas pj's and Christmas pillowcases, but the pillowcases didn't happen. So, I finally finished them. I love this fabric. I love the colors and I will love seeing it on our bed and sleeping on it at night. There is something about seeing pretty things daily that I can't get enough of.

Here is Rhett with his doppelganger friend...which one is Rhett?

The last order of business before the baby is born is finishing the quilt top. I think it will be a race...who will win? Baby or Mama? I'm sort of hoping the baby beats me...

The New Magic Lens

Spring break and an enormously pregnant Mama means a little more video games and tv than usual. Dan bought me Tetris for our Nintendo. I always loved Tetris and boy, does Rhett think his Mama is super cool that she can get 106 rows! Now, on to the lens...

I don't know if it is any big secret or a magical lens, but it is to me. Christi simply said I needed a low light lens for good indoor photos. That made sense. I didn't even know there was such a thing. After a little research and a trip to the Pentax camera store...I ordered my low light lens. The big secret...a 50mm lens. You can read about it here... Why did I want this lens? I hate indoor flash photos and we live in Portland, so we are inside a lot 8 months out of the year.

Big Belly and Big Hair

There isn't much lap room here anymore...

Mezmur on hair washing day.

The Last Supper

Dan and I went out to eat last night...and I brought my camera with the new lens! Never before have I been able to get good photos at a dark restaurant.

Delicious grilled romaine salad.

Handsome husband.

Oh, sparkling water...the "fancy" drink of choice this whole pregnancy. I will be welcoming red wine back into my diet very soon. Don't worry, only a little...I'll be nursing this baby around the clock, I'm sure.

I'll refrain from calling myself Jaba the Hut here...

...but after all the food I felt like Jaba.

Thanks to some great family friends for making this meal possible! It was like my birthday all over again. We love you!

I Bribed Him

My Birthday Present

I got a new lens for my camera for my birthday! Thanks to some tips from the ever talented Christi! It makes the lighting look so much better for indoor photos. Which will be great for the first photos of tiny baby lapour while we are in the hospital and for other indoor fun. I took a photo in our dark hallway and it looked like there was a light on! Amazing. I first practiced on my little ham...who loves her photo to be taken. Rhett said, "You may never take my picture again!" That's what he thinks. He is just ornery like that lately.

See the difference? New lens...

...old lens.

Get ready for some great photos of the baby!

Another Satisfying Project Finished

This is our computer chair. It is in our family room...the room we spend most of our time in. Here are the cushions that we have used on this chair for at least 2 years. They are the cushions I made for our old rocking chair before Rhett was born.

I never finished them...

Here is our new cushion! In the sunlight!

Here is a close up of the fabric and piping.

Here is the underside and the little opening to slide the foam in.

So happy to have another project down before the baby comes. Oh...there are more to come...if this baby can wait.

A Simple Flannel Blanket

I bought this very cute flannel when I had just found out I was pregnant. I think it is the cutest pattern. I was thinking of all sorts of fancy things I could do with it for the baby, but I settled on a cute and simple blanket. I simply serged around the edges and added the ric-rac on the underside for an extra bit of cuteness. I can't wait to see our pink little baby wrapped in this blanket!

37 Weeks

37 weeks. I'm going to dedicate a whole post to all the comments I've been getting from strangers, but one that I get ALL the time is, "Oh, it looks like the baby has dropped." I just say, "Maybe, but I think it is more likely just gravity dropping my belly lower." Then, I proceed to lift my belly up and drop it down, so they can see for themselves how gravity works.

Patience is tough when you are pregnant and so close to the end. You are tired, tired of not being able to stand longer than 10 minutes, tired of not being able to run around the park with the kids, tired of being too tired to make dinner...also, the excitement of meeting your baby is reaching an absolute peak. Will it be a baby M (girl) or baby ? (we can't decide on a boy name!)? Will it be chubby like Rhett was? The thought of Rhett (and Mezmur, but she is young and probably won't care as much) meeting his new sibling for the first time gives me butterflies.

But...I DON'T want to wish this time away. THIS is one of the best times of my life. The last time I'll feel hiccups coming from my baby on the inside! The last time I'll ever see a knee sweep across my belly. I'll miss Rhett kissing my belly hello and good-bye, because it is at kissing level. I'll miss Mezmur ramming her head into my belly when she runs to give me a hug. I'll miss Dan and I sitting on the couch at night while we watch our shows (we just finished Big Love on DVD and now we are watching 24) and feeling the baby move around. Even the contractions I continue to have (about 5 an hour)...I'll miss. I also know I'll miss the time I have to finish up some projects around the house and the extra time to just plop on the couch with Rhett and read a quick chapter of our book (The Mouse and the Motorcycle).

For now, I'm so calm about everything. I won't say again, "I'm due April 1st, but I hope it comes sooner!" I'm enjoying this time so much...but I CAN'T wait to meet my new baby!

I am loving all the baby name guesses! Bring them on. What do you think M stands for? The boy name initials are A and T, but we aren't even sure about those names, but feel free to guess.

2 Year Anniversary

This week we celebrated this moment...two years ago.

We DO NOT call it "gotcha day." We don't give gifts and other fancy things, but we do give Mezmur an extra hug and thank God that she is here.

This Took Me About 3 Years To Finish

Soon after we moved in I took down all the closet doors, because they were those awful doors that never got shut. The plan was to make curtains for all the closets. I finished one of those curtains and all the rest either have no curtain or in Rhett's case...was never finished. I looked at this every time I went into his room. I bought the blue curtain, but it wasn't long enough, so I planned on adding a panel. I got the perfect fabric and just pinned it on until I had time to finish it...well, it took about 3 years.

See...safety pinned together.

Now, it is finished!!! It took me less than an hour.

One more project down!

The next project is as equally exciting as this one! A project that is simple and has been mocking me too! This project will take me a little longer, but will be equally satisfying.

Another Overdue Project FINISHED

This is our ironing board. The ironing board that Dan and I use everyday. I would do my best to avoid the ripped area, but if a hot iron got on that cheap Ikea batting it would melt and get on my fabric...or Dan's shirt.

We have been living with the ironing board looking like this for at least a year.

Here is the finished product. It isn't perfect, but it is WAY better than what we were ironing on. Because the ironing board is made of metal I needed to add a good amount of batting, because sometimes when I would iron something you could see the metal pattern on the fabric. I had to add a bath towel under the old cover to help with this...making the ironing board a bit lumpy.

I first used some FOE (fold over elastic) for the underside, but it wasn't tight enough, so I added a second layer of elastic to make it tighter.

The squares for our quilt are coming along. I'm almost done with half of the squares!!!! Wouldn't it be great to finish the quilt top before the baby gets here?

Tomorrow, I'm working on another project that has been mocking me for YEARS!