Projects...

I LOVE making things. LOVE IT. Probably because I feel so productive and have something to show for my efforts. :) Below are the most recent projects I've completed.

We were short two stockings this Christmas and I just happened to have some cute, but very worn out pajama pants... (These got done just in time... on Christmas Eve!)

Growing up we had an advent calendar that I loved. I did my best to recreate it and made one for my sister too (though her's turned out much better than this one).

A sister in our Primary presidency had a baby shower last month and I felt compelled to make a quilt... mostly to utilize my new sewing table (which works totally awesome by the way).

My sister came up last weekend and we all went out to dinner for Valentine's Day. Instead of ordering dessert I decided to try to make it at home. Has anyone had the Molten Chocolate Cake at Chili's? That delectable secret is no longer a secret. Oh man it was GOOD!

Now I've made bread and rolls before. I love to eat homemade bread but I never get it to turn out quite right. Last week I made bread all the way from scratch. From scratch, I mean I ground my wheat into flour and then made the bread. Ooo, it was good. I think we ate a whole loaf the first day. :)

And lastly, around September last year I found out one of my best and long time friends was having a baby, due around Christmas. So in October I bought material, cut out my pieces, and... did nothing. For FOUR months! I kept changing my mind about the layout and just plain didn't do anything about it. But last Friday I finally finished it and got it sent off. Hooray! Though not my finest sewing job, I'm pleased with how it turned out. I especially love the flannel lobsters on the back. :)

The question now is, what should I work on next?? I might try making some bookshelves but we'll see.

R.I.P. or not....

I jinxed it. Because I wrote that Isis had a WEEK of awesome sleep, that night and to date, she has reverted back to the exhausting/irritating/unexplainable sleep pattern. SO... this is my last post ever about her sleep. You can safely assume that we're all tired. And I'll just assume that when she does sleep through the night it is too good to last. :)

I just want my headstone to emphsize "RESTING in peace."

Valentine's Day

Jeremy always says, "why do we need to celebrate Valentine's Day when everyday is Valentine's day at our house." And, really, that's pretty true. But in honor of "the day of love" I have to post about the two greatest loves of my life.

(how perfect that her face was framed by a heart!)

My first few months into motherhood I wasn't sure I liked it. (I certainly didn't love it.) I kept thinking of everything I was missing out on or couldn't do anymore. I hadn't realized how drastically my life was going to change after Isis came.

But I didn't know then how completely I would fall in love with my sweet, perfect little girl. She truly is the absolute joy of my life. I love her giggles and sweet singing and her attempts (and successes) at speaking. I love her contagious smile, and her little nose, and her tiny active hands, and her strikingly beautiful eyes. I love the quite moments I get to hold her close as I rock her to sleep. I love watching her play. I love her excitement for life and everything she does - from going to the park to jumping to taking a bath to getting to drink the milk out of her cereal bowl. Isis embodies all the good, happy, peaceful things of life. I love her more than I ever knew was possible.

And, of course, my wonderful husband!
Jeremy is undeniably my best friend. He's seen me at my best and worst and loves me anyway. He makes me laugh every day. I love how we met. I love how he loves being at home with his family more than any other activity. I love watching him be such a good dad. I love that he is such a good example of patience and kindness. I love spending time with him! I've discovered that there is nothing in the world so comforting as being wrapped in the arms of my loving husband. Jeremy is the love of my life and my eternal companion and I couldn't be more blessed.

I AM SO BLESSED!!!

Happy Valentine's Day to all my family and friends! Really, what is life without people to love? :) Enjoy the day!

Ha Ha Ha, the Joke's on Me

Well, first a HUGE thank you to everyone for their suggestions and even more for your sympathy. Sometimes it's easier to get through things just knowing you're not alone and others can commiserate with you.
Having said that I should now note that since my sleeping nightmare post, starting that very night in fact, Isis has slept through the night. The whole night. FOR TWELVE HOURS!!! EVERY night for the last week. I didn't even get to put into practice any of the suggestions I received. Wow. I guess she just needed to take her sweet time and do it when she was ready. Interesting timing though. :)
That got me thinking, if I just need to vent on my blog to get my problems solved I've got a list I could start on.... :)
But again thank you to for your help, concern, and kind words. Now I have resources to draw on if it starts up again or happens with the next kid. :)

Help, Please...

Last night as I lay awake (after getting up with Isis) I decided to solicit my friends for advice for three areas in need of help in my life. However, now I can only remember two of them, so we'll go from there. If you have suggestions, experience, or help, please do!
These explanations will be lengthy so I feel I'm giving the complete picture; so you understand the situation and my reasoning.
1. I was under the impression that once kids learned to sleep at night, that's what they do. I can understand occasional night time wakings (being sick, wet diaper, being startled/bad dream). But isn't that the EXCEPTION?? We're lucky if we get ONE night out of the week where Isis doesn't wake up. Three nights ago she woke up three times during the night, one hour right after the other (not enough time, by the way, for me to actually fall back asleep). So my questions are: **Why is she doing this? Her diapers are not soaked, she's not sick....
**How do I stop her from doing it? I have tried letting her "cry it out." I hate it, but I've done it. Isis will seriously cry and cry and cry for HOURS (I think her record is 3). She does NOT cry herself back to sleep. And she's not really crying. She's making a loud crying/ screaming/ moaning sound so that we'll (I'll) come get her. It's gotten to the point where I'm so tired if I close her door and mine I can fall asleep again.... but then I feel guilty. And during the week, I can't just let her scream because Jeremy has to get his sleep (the little that he does) so that he can go to work. **Where is the compromise?
**Is she EVER going to stop doing this?

And while I'm on the topic of sleep, how much is she supposed to get? Am I a bad/lazy mom if I don't want her to get up and start our day at 5:00am? Is that normal? If it is, I'll readjust my mindset. But sleeping from 8:30pm to 4:50am doesn't seem right. Where's that ideal kid that sleeps 12 hours? Definitely not in this house. I try to keep her on a fairly consistent schedule but... here, look at her schedule and tell me what you think or that I should fix:
Somewhere between 3am and 5am - wake up; I put her back to sleep
8am - awake, read books/play for 1/2 hour
8:30-9am- breakfast; then play at the park, run errands, whatever
Now Isis takes a nap anywhere between 11am and 1pm and sleeps for two hours. This is the next predicament because when do I give her lunch? If she goes to sleep at 11, she just ate breakfast two hours ago. But if she falls asleep before I get lunch to her, she could not eat lunch until 3! Isis is tricky too because she never says or acts like she's hungry.
After her nap we play some more and do whatever we need to do.
7:30pm we eat dinner; yes, it's late but we eat when Jeremy gets home (like right as he walks in the door)
8pm - bath, scripture reading & family prayer, then to bed

Alrighty, what do I fix? Good grief maybe I just need to go to a parenting class. Funny thing is, I took one in college.... when I DIDN'T have any kids! Yeah, that was helpful...
Oh, if you have any great ideas for kids' lunches (like a 2 year old) I NEED them! I'm stuck in a rut of peanut butter & jelly or grilled cheese. We need a change.

Okay, that's enough for one post. If you managed to read this far, you are a true friend. :) I also hope that means you will try to help me out. (p.s.- be gentle, in my tired/emotional state I really don't need to hear what a crummy job I'm doing. I just need some suggestions... or sympathy :) ) Thanks in advance.