Noah's profile

Noah's profile
Originally uploaded by willow.bird

Waiting

Waiting
Originally uploaded by willow.bird

Blair has waited and waited for this, and finally, the moment is here. The choir and orchestra are before him awaiting the down beat. All are ready...let's begin.

Blair did such a great job at his graduate recital. All of those hours of hard work paid off. He was wonderful!

Maternity Clothes

I reached the point where I had no other choice but to order some. I've only gained one pound since the start of this pregnancy (and technically, that's all the baby, as he weighs one pound now), but my belly is way out there. So, I ordered a pair of brown dress pants, which I had to hem, a pair of corduroys which ride under the belly and have belt loops so I'm hoping I can wear them next fall, a sweater, a "cardi coat", a tank top for layering, and a long-sleeved t-shirt. I'm really hoping that these things plus the four dresses I have will get me through autumn until it gets really cold.

I'm still knitting hard on one Christmas gift in particular. I finished a sweater for Noah and embroidered a bib with an elephant at school this week. When this Christmas gift is complete, I plan on making another pea pod wrap just to use some of my stash. The yarn really has to go before we move again, which will be this summer (even if it does wind up being just across town). I stitched up 13 tissue holders to give as gifts, and I'm planning on making some more to use some fabric.

My energy level is back to normal for the most part, so I'm hoping to pop in here a little more often. We'll see...

Whew!

It's been a busy past few days, but as this pregnancy progresses, I am noticing more energy! At least during the day, that is. Once I get home and sit down, it's pretty much over for me. I've been busy once I get home with working on Christmas gifts (so, no photos). The weather has cooled here, and that has me in the mood for knitting and sweaters and tights and scarves...and basically all things AUTUMN!

I'm really too tired to be doing this...

But I wanted to stop in and let you all know that Blair and I are having a BOY!!! The midwife also told us that the placenta previa appears to be gone! Noah Gilliam is growing well and seems to be very healthy, so that's alot less for me to worry about.

Short

I finished my socks. More to come later.

Passing as a blur

That's what the past week-and-a-half has done. The first week of school went great. I've felt better than I have in the past 7 weeks. Blair and I had a great weekend. We watched football and ran errands. We bought a glider rocker for the baby which I'm very excited about. I've been knitting a pair of socks and finished the first one. I have a good start on the second sock, so I'm hoping to avoid the dreaded second sock syndrome.

The weather here was cool and gray today. I'm so ready for autumn, and today really set that in my mind. Summer is so hot and miserable that autumn is a welcome relief. I'm ready for some autumn crafting of the knitting and sewing variety. I'll post pictures of my socks when I finish the second one.

Sorry this post is short and pictureless, but that's about all my brain can manage right now. Have a great week, everyone!

A second ultrasound

I went back to the doctor today for another ultrasound. This time I got to see the midwife, and she told me that my placenta previa is not complete (it's only a partial), and they are very optimistic that it will correct itself. I was able to watch the baby move alot today as measurements were taken. I got to see the heart, spine, and stomach. I go back in four weeks for an hour-long ultrasound where they will look at the baby's entire anatomy and tell us the gender.

These pictures show the legs, the head and an arm, and the whole baby.

A Busy Yesterday

Blair and I ran several errands yesterday, and when we got home I was in the mood to sew. I pulled out a large remnant I purchased a while ago and the leftovers of an old sheet and got to work. I made a new knitting bag, and new notions bag, and two cases for my dpn's. I actually still have two cases left to do for my circular needles, but it was getting late, and I was tired.

The only one I used a pattern for was the square bag. I pulled the pattern from Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross (which I've loved on here before). The pattern was simple to follow, but a little more time consuming than I really wanted last night. It turned out really nicely, however.

The knitting bag was made with the extra fabric that was leftover from the other items I cut out last night. I just took two rectangles and stitched them together and added handles. It worked well, though, because the square notions bag I made fits perfectly inside it.

These are the needles cases I made. I just folded the fabric into thirds, added a lining, and stitched pockets at the bottom. The circular needle cases I'm going to stitch will look very similar to these. Now, without measuring anything, I managed to make these to just the right size to fit perfectly inside my notions bag. How cool is that?!

A Lazy Summer Day

I did so much work in my classroom yesterday that I decided to stay home today and enjoy a little more summer break. We've been exceptionally lazy. We've watched Harry Potter und der Feuerkelch (the fourth movie in German). I'm knitting a shrug from the book Fitted Knits by Stephanie Japel. It's the second one of these I've made, and I really love the pattern. For those of you who are knitters, I highly recommend buying the book. After the thunder storm last night, it's been a dreary day...the perfect kind for staying in and knitting. I must say that I am exceptionally ready for autumn. For crisp mornings and sunny afternoons making bread. For tea (decaf this year) early in the morning and football in the afternoons (after the bread making, of course). Lots of football. And knitting. Lots of knitting. Lots of lazy autumn Saturday afternoons with football and knitting and the smell of homemade bread. Ah, I can't wait.

Meet Baby Chadwick!

We went to the doctor today for an ultrasound, physical, and blood work. The baby was a millimeter too short, however, to do the Down Syndrome test today, so I go back next Friday for another one and my physical and all my lab work. The ultrasound showed that I have a "complication" called placenta previa, which should fix itself in the next few weeks. If it doesn't by 28 weeks, they'll do something about it then. I was told not to worry about it, but anyone who knows me in the least will know how that goes. We saw the heart beating, and it's beating at 160 bpm, which is good. The ultrasound tech held the wand still so we could see the baby move, and it's a very wiggly baby!! I got some Zofran to help with sickness, and I hope this Rx works!! Blair was enamored with the ultrasound. He leaned all the way forward in his chair like a little kid that can't get close enough to the TV! He's going to miss the appointment on the 21 because he's going home (to TN) for his ten year high school reunion. I wish I had a friend or someone to go with me, but I guess I'll make the trek alone. I was a little disappointed that they didn't go ahead with the rest of the appointment today, because I had some questions, but next Friday isn't too far away.

Eleven-and-a-half weeks...and still sick

All day, all night. It doesn't stop or ease. But, I've read that the sicker you are, the more hormones you have, and that's good. We have a doctor's appointment Monday and our first ultrasound! We're both really looking forward to that, and I'm hoping they'll give me some different medicine for my queasiness. With school coming up, I'm a little concerned about getting through my mornings. Most of my start-of-school prep work is done, and I'm really excited about getting in there and getting started. I feel like this post is a little more discombobulated than usual, but that's pretty much how my brain is working right now. I have no way to end this, so I'm just going to say goodnight.

A Haircut

I finally got a much-needed haircut today. I don't know if it was the pregnancy hormones or just the summer heat, but I decided a couple of weeks ago that it needed to go.

The before:



And the after:

We had such a nice day here in West Tennessee today, that Blair and I spent the morning out in the yard. He cut down a small tree for my parents, and I picked blackberries. After that we sat in the swing for a while and enjoyed the sun. I took some pictures and posted them on Flickr.

Of Summer Travels and Babies

Blair and I have traveled more this summer than we have since we've been married. We went to Asheville for Memorial Day and we flew to Tennessee for my brother's wedding. Blair went to Germany for a month and I went back to Tennessee to spend two weeks with my parents. Last week, I traveled to the beach for a faculty retreat, and tomorrow morning at 5:30 we're rolling out yet again for Tennessee. We'll be gone for two weeks, and I'm thinking that will be our last trip for a while.

Several of you are probably wondering what babies have to do with our summer traveling. Well, not much, really, except that we found out we were pregnant during one of those long trips!! That's right. There's a little Chadwick growing and developing right now! We have a very big year in front of us, but we are both so excited and can't wait to go through this journey together.

A Crafty Evening

I decided to spend my last Blair-less evening by vegging out in front of the TV. Not my best idea or finest moment, but in the stillness that was thoughtlessness, I had a great idea. While I was in Tennessee, I bought a bird cage at a craft store. I had played around with some ideas for it, including making some fabric birds. Last night, I decided to make and hang paper birds in it instead. I took several sets of two pieces of 5.5X3.5 paper and glued them together and let them sit for about ten minutes. Then I traced a bird pattern from The Purl Bee and cut them out. I got one big bird out of each rectangle and two small ones out of a rectangle. I used a yarn needle to put a hole in the tops of them and just used white sewing machine thread to hang them from the cage. I'm really pleased with how cute it turned out. It looks really neat when the air blows over it, because the birds look like they're flitting around. I'm knitting a nest to go in the bottom.

Learning should never stop

Since returning home Monday, I have been attending new teacher training at my new school. CCS is a school that provides a classical education, which means most of this week has been very philosophical. My brain is very tired. I haven't exercised it like this since I graduated from college (and yes, I know, that was only two years ago). I'm very excited about the education this school provides, and I can't wait to start implementing some of the new ideas I've learned this week. Next week, we have a faculty retreat at...are you ready for this?...THE BEACH!!

Sewing

I've done a fair amount of sewing since I got to my parents' house Monday. Today I made some wedding gifts for my mom to give. I used Last Minute Fabric Gifts by Joelle Hoverson to make these travel bags. I've made dozens of these in varying sizes, colors, and fabrics (including felt), and they always turn out nicely. They look really cute in the white eyelet.

I also made (from the scraps) these checkbook covers from Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross. This is the same book from which that pajama pants pattern came.

Also from Weekend Sewing, I made the Lucy's Kimono pattern. This is a baby pattern, but can easily be enlarged for a child or adult. Blair and I have several friends who are expecting, and I thought this would make a sweet gift.

I've really enjoyed having the time to sit and sew (especially in the air conditioning), and, hopefully, I'll be able to turn out a few more items next week!

A Day Spent in Relaxation

Today, the dogs and I relaxed. We got up early and had breakfast with my mom, and then our day of nothing began. While I did this



the dogs did this.



Then, I did this



and they did this.



A little while later when I had finished this part



the dogs were busy with this.



I was concentrating hard on the next section,



and the boys were working hard at...



Once I had completed the top,



I checked on the dogs.







Then I took myself to a movie. All-in-all, we had a good day!

Headed Home

After getting Blair to the airport, I returned home to prepare for a trip of my own. Tomorrow morning at 6:30, I am headed home for two weeks. I've had a busy weekend of packing and a friend's wedding. I'm sure you've noticed I haven't posted any pictures on the other blog. I probably won't until Monday or Tuesday. I am taking my camera and cable with me, so there shall be new posts.

I've chatted with Blair a couple of times, and he's doing well. Murray misses him more than I do, I think. He's very mopey. However, once we get to MiMom's, he will be just fine.

Talk to you all in a few days!!

A Great Day

Blair and I had a busy day today, despite the fact that is was my first day off. We started the day by taking pretzels and covering them in yummy, unhealthy chocolate. Then we covered these with chocolate and orange sprinkles. Then we sat down to play a game of Risk, which we didn't finish because we decided to go to the beach. I also think our washing machine has rabies, but that's a completely different story.

Yesterday afternoon I was feeling particularly crafty and sat down at the sewing machine. Forty minutes later, I had five drawstring bags.

Those bags came out of the same book as the pattern for these shorts. Weekend Sewing, by Heather Ross, is a wonderful book. Go buy it. It has several very useful, cute patterns, and they are all easy to follow. These shorts actually come from a pajama pant pattern. Memorial Day weekend, I sat down and made a cropped pant version of these and they fit like a dream! I had enough of the blue-and-white pinstripe to make a pair of shorts. I can see myself getting a lot of mileage out of this pattern.

Wait!! What is that I see? Could it be a boogie board??? Mais, non!! TWO! I finally (after nearly four years) convinced Blair to overcome his fear of dirty ocean water and buy some boogie boards. He got out into the water and had a blast! It was truly the perfect day to go to the beach. Perfect weather, perfect water, and not many people.







Finally, these videos are really for my dear mother, but feel free to view them yourself anyway.

Time for a New Beginning

Yesterday was my last day at the pre-school. A day of relief and a little sadness. While my administration did not bless me, my parents did greatly. My kids walked in all morning long looking like the magi. I got bags and make-up and treats (a candy apple covered in caramel, white chocolate, milk chocolate, and dark chocolate chips), a candle, and several other goodies. Thanks to all who thought of me. Here's a little collage of my gifts.