Projects complete!

I have been doing great on my to-do list. I finished up the second practice

shirt for the girls. One fish & one whale complete with button eyes. The photo quality is pretty poor but you can see the finished product and the entertained recipients. Their little smiles made me happy. I am far from being a pro, but the second shirt was much easier. Thanks Stacy for the fabric glue tip. That was the extra little stabilizer I needed. Now if I could just get the stitching closer to the edge of the fabric. I need more shirts to work on! I have also completed two other projects for the girls' boy cousins. They are not assembled, but I will show & tell once I have them absolutely completed. The girls and I are heading out this morning to try and find two Christmas presents that have been requested and are supposedly on sale now. Hopefully our Target has them and we can fill that order too. The sun is out now, but it has been absent the past two days. I hope it sticks around and dries up all the huge puddles that this past weeks rains have left. I still can't believe how much rain we get here! Have a great weekend.

Whale-of-a-project

This was this past weekend's project that didn't get started till today. This is my first sewing project aside from hemming one pair of pants about three years ago. This is not looking great. It is a test project for another applique that I want to do. This is an idea I got from Erin at http://houseonhillroad.typepad.com/. She makes it seem so easy. These are the problems I am having:

* the fabric is not laying flat which I think I can use a bonding fabric to eliminate this problem until I am more comfortable with my machine, but if anyone has advice . . .

* my stitches are very herky-jerky but I think this is a comfort thing too. However, if anyone has advice on how to move the fabric while stitching to make a smooth, continuous stitch please comment. I am all ears!

* I am not stitching close enough to the edge of the fabric. I chose not to finish the edges before appliqueing to the shirt this time. I think once I get the stitches close enough to the edge of the fabric I will be please with the edges.

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If anyone else with an experienced eye sees anything and wants to comment please do. No hurt feelings here. I really want to reach a comfort level with my machine so I can do these types of fun projects in less time that the scary piece above took me! Have I mentioned I am open to advice??

Putting myself out there . . .

I have called two SAHM groups since arriving in TX. So far I have not met up with any of them, but I am making plans to join one next Wednesday for a park outing. Never mind the fact that their playgroup starts about the same time my girls usually go down for naps, but I figure the girls will love to skip their nap and we really need to make an effort to make some friends. The group has no national affiliation and consists of 25 members. Judging from their website & myspace webpage many are younger than myself and have at least two kids. I don't know why I feel any hesitation to go other than they all know one another and I will be the "new kid" so to speak. Not a good feeling. I am sure they are all nice and I know I will have plenty to talk with them about since we are all women and moms. My husband says it is a girl thing, the standoffishness that women can vibe out to one another. I understand what he is saying, and I recognize it, don't understand it, and do it. Weird. Guess it is all part of being a woman. Normally I will talk to anyone who makes eye contact, but there are those times I just don't feel like talking or introducing myself and prefer to pretend I am invisible. I guess that may be what he picks up on??
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On the pregnancy front, I had the YUCK-O glucose test today. After fasting and then drinking the syrupy-sweet orange goo I had to then sit in the tiny, off-white sitting area for one hour and wonder what my children were doing to my husband as they were all at home. Turns out they took it easy on him and all were happy when I arrived back home. Hopefully the test results will come back in the normal range. After getting two wild girls down for naps I plopped in front of the computer and gobbled not one, but two salami & cheese sandwiches. I know deli meat is a no-no during pregnancy, but fasting should be too!

Meanwhile back in Beaumont Land

Well, the girls and I are at an all-time low in productivity. That is how it feels anyway. My husband's work has kicked into high-gear the past couple of weeks, and he is back in marathon-training-mode for a January marathon. I feel as soon as he walks in the door from work, he changes and heads back out for a run or gym time. Part of me is jealous that he is physically able to do it. The pregnancy is definitely slowing me down - not that I was in marathon shape before I got pregnant. I am sure once this baby arrives I will have no interest in training for such a run, but right now it sounds great!

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This past Sunday was a wet one here and we ended up spending it at the zoo. The weather broke and it turned out to be nice, but the first hour or so we were spent dashing in between raindrops looking for indoor exhibits. The girls got to pick out new umbrellas from the gift shop which was a huge hit, and luckily I had two in the car for Martin and myself.

Other than our weekend day trips to Houston, not a lot has been happening in my corner of the world. I am trying hard to find entertaining things for us to do, and some days are successful. I have big plans for the weekend which involves me & my sewing machine. I have read the manual and think I am ready to make friends with it. We will see how it goes. Martin learned to sew as a kid, so I think he can probably come to my rescue if I need it, but I really want to do this myself. I will let you know how it all turns out!

COOKIES!!

After signing the girls up for preschool I was feeling a little down and wanted to do something really fun with them after their naps. The weather here is very wet so outside play is rarely an option. I opted for some inside play - baking cookies. They had fun and I tried to ignore the flour on the floor and little fingers in the batter.
They were pleased with the results and got a pre-dinner cookie treat. Just to clarify the guilt I previously mentioned: I have nothing against preschools, but I also know that if I weren't having a third baby then I wouldn't be sending them to preschool for another year. The guilt has diminished and I know they will have fun and that they are ready. I just feel a little selfish is all.

We had a family outing to the OB today. I met my new doctor (very nice) and we had an ultrasound which revealed another girl! Three little girls. I can only imagine the fun they will have together. My husband is totally outnumbered now but he just smiles. I think he actually likes it. Of course he likes it. He is Daddy. Number one man in the house. I am thrilled. I am also relieved I kept so many of the girls clothes. This little lady will have quite the wardrobe!

Big Day

I am a little shaken by today's event. This is coming a full year earlier than I anticipated. I registered the girls for preschool. School starts in September. That is roughly eight weeks. That is it! I know the girls are ready for this. I am not sure I am. I get knots in my stomach when I read the information packet that they gave me. These photos are what I consider our "school" here at the house. Art supplies and odds & ends that help me entertain the girls when outside play is not an option or when we just want to use our hands.

Pretty skimpy compared to what the preschool director showed me today. The preschool's art room looked like so much fun. I would be tempted to toil away a couple hours in there myself. They will also have a music room, a class room and an imagination room filled with toys that can be used & played with in a variety of ways.

I read about a neighborhood that had a back-to-school breakfast the first day of every school year. The parents would pack the children on the school bus and then meet at a designated house to have Mimosas and breakfast treats. I thought it sounded like such a fun idea, but I am guessing that I won't be in the frame of mind to celebrate school starting quite yet. Maybe I will host a similar party for kindergarten.

Family Outing

Our first Texas outing was to Kemah. Our choices were Kemah, the Houston Zoo, or the Galleria. I was up for any and all and we will hit them all eventually. Kemah turned out to be perfect for the girls. It is close to a Marina so we spotted lots of boats, we saw a school of Mullet swimming (spotted by Ainslee), lunch by the marina and tot sized rides for the girls.

The weather was overcast which was a huge blessing. It is definitely more humid here than in FL and the clouds provided great cover for our fair family.

The girls had a great time so we all had a great time. Isn't that how it works at this age? The ride home even consisted of a ferry ride. Try explaining to 3 year olds: "Our car is on a boat and we are being boated from the island to the mainland." They didn't quite get it and kept asking to ride the boat when passing the other ferry.

The evening was quite. Baths & early bedtimes for all. Today I am hoping to go see a movie with my MIL while she is in town and maybe even a kid-free lunch. The opportunity doesn't come often! Hope you are all having a great weekend.