Birthday plans

Morning:
Homemade baked doughnuts
Scrambled eggs
Juice
Opening presents

Lunch:
No idea what we're eating...ice cream from Handel's sounds good :)

Dinner: (birthday boy's choice)
Grilled ham and cheese on homemade baked oatmeal bread (sooo yummy)
Steamed corn
Fried apples

I was hoping Nate would take the day off to go to the butterfly gardens with us in the morning and then to just relax and play WOW in the afternoon, but it looks like he is choosing to work.

Happy Birthday, Nathan!

Warning: mushy content ahead :)

To the love of my life
To the father of our girls
To the one who supports me so well even when I come up with five new projects I want to try
To the father who is so sweet with his daughters
To the daddy who rocks his littlest one back to sleep when she wakes up too early
To the one who reads his oldest just one more story and patiently plays pretend with her
To the husband who helps me by doing dishes, folding clothes, picking up groceries, changing diapers
To my friend who shares my love for books and good conversation
To the man who makes me smile and laugh and go weak in the knees
To the only one for me

I hope your birthday tomorrow is an enjoyable one.

Love, Tricia

Mixed-up

If someone gave me an hour and a half every day to be in my room with the fan on and some calming classical music, I would totally sleep. But Becca...she won't stay still long enough during her rest time to even get near sleep. *Sigh*

Couldn't avoid it

I think Ally is sick too. :( She's got the runny nose...just started this afternoon and it's already woken her up this evening after she went to sleep. Poor Becca's nose is so red. I feel like I might be getting something too. The back of my throat is a little raw and feels thick. Ick. No fun. Pray God would bring health to our house.

Sick

Becca wasn't feeling well today. Her nose was a faucet all day long (I can't tell you how many times I heard, "My nose, my nose" which is Becca's way of telling me that her nose needed to be wiped) and was quite red by the end of the day. She also didn't eat much and asked to be held a ton more than usual. I can't get her to blow her nose, even though I've tried multiple ways of explaining it. I'm open to suggestions.

Anyway, I'm hoping the cold will be short-lived. She actually slept today during nap time, so I know her body is working hard to fight the germs. I also am hoping that Ally stays healthy.

Becca was feeling well enough tonight to ask me to cut her bangs. They've been past her eyebrows for awhile now, so it was about time to bite the bullet. I'm not very confident when it comes to hair cutting, but they turned out all right.

Project completed---crocheted doll dress and hat

I finished off weaving in the loose ends for this doll dress and hat on the way into church this morning. They are for Ally's doll which we will give to her for her first birthday. Not sure if I'll make any more clothes right now. If I do, I might sew them. Most of the dolls around here end up without clothes on most of the time anyway. Why is that?

These were crocheted using patterns I made up.

Shown on Ally's doll:

Bagels

Inspired by Serina's long ago post on making bagels, I finally took the plunge using this recipe. Success! They were so good.

I used all-purpose flour for three of the cups and white whole wheat for the other cup of flour. We also sprinkled the tops with a cinnamon-sugar mixture. I did it all without my stand mixer and it wasn't hard at all. We ate most of them yesterday and I put the rest in the freezer overnight and set them out this morning to use for lunch. They were just as good.

I may post pictures when I get them off my camera.

House news!

The appraisal came in at $5k over the purchase price. We are so relieved and thankful. We have a closing date almost set in stone, so we are getting closer to owning our first home!

Projects--works in progress and to dos

Scrapbooking/Pictures
1. Becca's baby book of her first year (working on the last three months and then I'm done!)WIP

2. Alexandra's baby book of her first year (I'm doing this one digitally through iPhoto--I've started, but am a little behind) WIP

3. Picture albums for all pics that aren't in scrapbook (will start once I've finished with Becca's baby book)

4. Our wedding album (we didn't order one from the photographer)

5. Photos of Ally's baptism framed

6. Photos of Becca at 15 months framed (a collage of a little photo shoot) WIP

7. Photo of Ally as a newborn framed

8. Do a photo shoot of Ally once it gets warmer and frame


Knitting/Crocheting
1. Crocheted dress for Ally's doll (a birthday gift for August) COMPLETED

2. Baby/toddler leg warmers--knitted

3. more??


Sewing
1. Doll sling for Becca's birthday

2. A spring/summer dress for Becca (my first!--I just bought the pattern and Nate's mom is going to help me)

3. Decorated burp cloths to have on hand as gifts (I have the DSQ pre-folds and the fabric already) WIP

3. Crayon roll for Becca for church...possibly also a little bag to hold the crayons and paper and her offering.

4. Another A-line skirt for me (I have this pretty, neutral corduroy fabric I got on sale)

5. PJ pants for Becca (I have some cute penguin flannel fabric--might save this one for a Christmas present).

6. more?? like I need more!


Home related
1. Finish purging and reorganizing the loft area--WIP

2. Finish purging and reorganizing our closet--WIP

3. Make (or buy) curtains for our new home

Nice Weather

It reached a high of 67 degrees here today. I couldn't believe it. It'll be back down to the thirties soon, so we tried to enjoy it. We ate dinner out on our balcony and the girls played out there with Nate while I made dinner. I was so glad to be able to air out the apartment a bit by opening all the windows. It gets so stuffy in here in the winter time.