getting my craft on

Before we left for vacation I got a little busy with the sewing machine again.  I wanted to make a little something for my girls that were coming to see me.  And, since I normally make one thing, I decided to stick with what works: pillows.  I love some throw pillows.  I don't have enough of them in my life right now . . . our couch pillows are begging to be recovered and our beds are sorely lacking.  We also have some nooks and crannies that house random chairs that I think are throw-pillow friendly.  I'll be working on that.  

So here's what I came up with:

{exhibit A}

Case in point - chair in nook.  This one has two pillows on it in real life, though, so I think it's set. :)

I tried my hand at some fabric flowers.  

{exhibit B}

A different type of flower.  

That chair actually didn't live in that spot until I took the picture, and it's been there since then.  I think a pillow on it would ground it a little more, next to a table with the phone on it.

{exhibit C}

Another random chair in a nook.  This pillow I actually made on a cold December day whilst waiting for the oil man to come . . . and it lives on that chair, cheering me with its ruffles. 

I think my pillows could be improved if I knew how to make piping or cording or whatever it's called.  If anyone wants to fly out here and teach me, that would be great.  

murray highlights

When we left our sunny island respite, Matt and I were both so thankful that our vacation didn't have to end then.  He gets four weeks of vacation a year, split into two two-week segments, so we had another whole week to spend in Murray, KY, Matt's hometown.  Matt LOVES his hometown and I admit it has earned a little soft spot in my heart as well.  Who couldn't love a place that celebrates over the March 1st reopening of Dairy Queen?  Sounds like my kind of town.  Matt had a mental list of fine culinary experiences he had to complete during the week - a meal at his favorite Mexican restaurant, a drink from Sonic, DQ, etc.  Suffice it to say we've been on a leaner diet since we got back!  

Of course his favorite part about Murray is seeing his family and friends, who I enjoy hanging out with as well. Although I think falling asleep on their couch at 9:30 does not necessary qualify me as life of the party.  This time two of my girls made the trip to Murray so we could be together for a couple days!!  Apparently it was closer than New York. :)  Kelly, Kerry, and I have been friends since we lived in the same suite freshman year at Taylor.  We have all been roommates with each other during those four years.  Kelly lives in Charlotte and Kerry is in Knoxville and they met us at the airport when we flew in to Nashville!   

Oh, and Kelly is pregnant, too.  Kerry obviously is not.  Look at that little waistline.  :)

Kelly is due about 5 weeks after me, at the end of May.  It's pretty great having babies at the same time.  We have lots of phone conversations about babies kicking and what to eat and how our backs hurts and stuff like that.  Kerry spent the whole weekend making sure we had enough ice to crunch and adequate bathroom breaks. :) 

I've got six weeks to go and a little worried about how much bigger I can possibly get!  

I am SO thankful these girls drove across state lines so that we could be together!  I hadn't seen either of them since our wedding.  It was such a blessing to catch up! 

They left Monday afternoon and Matt and I were sitting with his mom when the doorbell rang.  In walked Matt's Aunt Bo, from Nashville!  What a nice surprise!  An hour or so later, Matt's Aunt Doris and Uncle Bob were standing at the front door, in from Glasgow, Kentucky!  We hadn't seen any of them since Christmas a year ago and were touched that they drove in to spend some time with us.  Around dinnertime, Matt started to notice a little more activity than usual at the house . . . and the doorbell started ringing again.  When we opened the front door and say "It's a Boy" balloons, I finally caught on.  A little shower.  For us.  So fun!!

Our baby now has a Murray State Jersey to add to the Oklahoma State bibs and University of Kentucky onesie.  Lots of teams to cheer for.

One of my favorite parts of the night was listening to the parents talk about Matt and his friends when they were in kindergarten.  Kind of amazing.  One of the most often told is how Matt hated kindergarten and refused to get out of the car, and how the principal had to haul him out, etcetera.  Or how Matt and his best friend Micah used to throw pretend grenades into the block houses in that the other kids would build.  I think we have a lot to look forward to.  

blue shirts

With our travel itinerary, we each received an Orthopaedics Associates of Murray shirt to bring down to Cayman.  On our last night there, we constructed a leaning tower of Adirondack chairs to get a family picture of everybody looking good and sporting some sun. 

*cheese*

After our successful snap, Adam started to play photographer extraordinaire and we ended up with a bunch of blue-shirted candids.  90% of them involve someone throwing Connor around in order to hear his full-on belly laughs.  I reserve the right to not post pictures of myself from this photo shoot as I looked really lumpy in all of them.  I've supplemented with extras of the nephews. :)   

Funny, Connor calls Adam "Uncle Wigwam."  Consistently.  It's very cute.  Uncle Matt is easy to say. Also he called me Uncle Erica.  

island living

I've been on vacation and so relaxed I couldn't even be bothered to blog.  Not only did we visit a tropical island, but we spent almost a week in western Kentucky, as well!  Matt's family kindly scheduled a trip around Matt's vacation days and we had a wonderful, stress-free week in sunny Grand Cayman.  It was perfect, especially for Matt and me, since we couldn't WAIT to leave the snow behind and see some warm days again!  We have 1.5 childless months left, and we are living them up.  

The house had several landings leading down to the ocean, perfect for kite flying:

There's the belly!

We hadn't met our four-month-old nephew yet!  Little Evan is quite adorable!

Sunrise, taken by Adam on his phone on a walk back toward the house:

Sunset, on our little beach:

Going to great lengths for some coconuts:

And teaching Connor how to drink from them!

Watching for fishes.

Our snorkeling expedition.

There was some question as to whether I'd be able to swim on my stomach or immediately pop over and look like Snoopy floating in the ocean.  I was able to snorkel and we saw some amazing creatures, from a 4-ft long lobster (honestly) to a couple Eagle Rays.

More realistically, this is where I spent 90% of my time:

I got through a few books.  Loved it.

The family I nanny for vacation in Cayman frequently and happened to be there for part of the time we were.  They came over for a morning swim.

We had 5 little boys in the pool!  

Not pictured: kayaking, popsicles, napping, or the 8 million glasses of ice water/watered-down cranberry juice I consumed during the week.  Ice water is my new vice.

It was a wonderful time to recharge, especially for Matt, who works quite hard.  I can't imagine a better 'babymoon' before our life changes forever.  

a little valentiney

Oh, sugar overload.  Isn't that what Valentine's Day is about?!  

My tiny little bit of Valentine's decorating involved buying THREE bags of m&m's and one bag of caramel Kisses and pouring them into my precious heart ramekins.  Excessive?  Yes.  I did have a coupon.  :)  It's not like I walk around buying m&m's all the time, but at the holidays I'm a sucker for their color-coordinated cuteness.  Christmas, Valentine's, and Easter - count me in.  

My favorite - peanut butter, in case you were wondering.  I had high hopes for the pretzel but they were disappointing - not salty enough.  I need a bit more kick to my pretzel.  

I made a cheesy little 'love' display.  Makes me thankful.  Baby is representing in his 10 week ultrasound photo.  Precious little bean.  

 

Speaking of excess sugar, I made some Valentines scones on Saturday morning while waiting for Matt to return from his LAST night of call.  (!!!!)  

I had to buy these napkins at Target because they had a lovesick bulldog on them.

The scones, by the way, were super easy and super yummy.  And super bad for you.

And that's the extent of my Valentiney enthusiasm, seeing as my Valentine left for work at the grand hour of 4:45 this morning.  And after he clocks out of a 15 hour work day, we'll both be glad to just be home tonight.

step one

About two weeks ago, I made our little registries at Target and Pottery Barn Kids.  Then I went ahead and ordered something off my own registry!  I was anxious to get started on the nursery and I needed some of the bedding as a jumping off point.  I made a bold step and picked something I saw online without ever physically seeing it.  We don't have a Pottery Barn near us.  We went to the outlet a few weeks ago and they didn't have our bedding . . . but I loved all their other patterns so I was pretty sure I'd like the one I found online . . . but I was anxious to see it in person.  I ordered a little pillow sham and waited anxiously for it to arrive.   And waited.  And waited.  I checked UPS regularly until they had a list of "Delayed due to weather" a mile long.  Until finally, literally two weeks later, Matt and I came home to a battered package tucked between the screen and the front door.  There was also a crostata in the door, too, that a friend had dropped off.  A dessert AND my pillow sham?  An awesome Friday night.

I'm easily pleased.

So, I really like the pattern we chose.  My inspiration was a placemat I got at Anthropologie this summer that I wanted to make into a pillowcase.  It was a patchwork of blues and khakis, and I thought it would be a great pallet for a little boy's room in a house by the sea.  The Pottery Barn bedding hits pretty close, with the addition of a light green, which adds a little dimension.

I realize I sound a little crazy writing so passionately about my pillow sham . . . but I've been thinking about it for so long, it's nice to have something concrete!

So, once we had a sample of our bedding colors, we were ready to head out and get our paws on some paint.  We got it last Saturday and Matt got to work that night, painting away.  He's since banned me from looking at the room since he's getting fancy with some trim, so we'll all have to wait for the big reveal.

But I WILL show you my Pillow Sham!!

I love it . . . the ticking . . . the gingham . . . the contrast stitching . . . some of my current loves.  

I also like how they snuck a little red in there.  I like red accents.

So, I'll stop talking about the pillow sham now.  It's just step one in getting our little room ready for our little buddy!  

slush puppies

I hit another bump of un-inspiration and have been taking a break from prattling about the weather.  But sometimes I miss writing about nothing, so here I am again.  Today's topic will be Matt's call schedule.

Last week we hit the stage of the residency where Matt is required to be 'on call' in the most brutal sense of the term - as in physically at the hospital, and most likely working.  His other rotations have had call situations where he could go home at a certain time and wait for a case to come in before going back to the hospital.  This latest stint requires that he work a full day (starting at 6:30 am) and then be on call through the night.  Since our local hospital is a fairly large one, he ends up working the majority of the night on emergency patients.  It's pretty rough, but we are SO thankful that he is getting this part of it out of the way before the baby comes.

So Matt's first call day was last Wednesday, during which I managed to get my car stuck at work and was driven to and from my house by the family I work for.  Now I know why Long Islanders love their Jeeps.  Because they are Necessary.  It was kind of stormy that night and Moose woke me up at 2:30 in the morning going bondoogles over some snow or branches falling, but other than that it was uneventful.  It was a little unsettling being at home without a car, but the condition of our driveway meant I probably wouldn't have been able to drive myself out without a Hummer.  My car remained stuck until Saturday afternoon, by the way.  It's just been that kind of week!

Last night Matt was on call again.  This time I made it home with no problem.  It was the leaving home that was the problem!  I lost control this morning on our slushy driveway and plowed right into a little snowbank.  Fortunately Matt was on his way home and dug me out in no time.  I felt bad that he had to stand in the rain and shovel after working all night . . . what a guy.  He's very good at digging me out of messes!  So we've got one more day of call this week and I'm wondering what scrapes I'll get myself into.

The light at the end of this wintery tunnel has been our upcoming vacation with Matt's family.  We're headed to a tropical island and I am euphoric.  I have been experiencing some symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder (primarily irritability, increased appetite, and weight gain) and am looking forward to a big dose of Vitamin D to get me back on track.  At least in the irritability department.  I think the increased appetite and weight gain could be attributed to the cabbage-sized baby boy I've been hefting around.  Then again, the irritability, too.  :)  

We are so thankful that our friends have volunteered to watch our firstborn, Moose Tash Yezerski, while we're gone.  Brendan and Erin took in our boy the last time we headed out of town on our Seattle Adventure.  They are SO sweet to have him again.  I think that speaks highly of Moose's character - or at least their kind souls!  We know he'll be loved and taken care of.  Last time we even got "Daily Moose" photos, including my favorites below.

We don't have a fancy front-loading washing machine, and Moose was really enthralled with theirs.

Apparently they had tucked him in for bed and then left the room to get something, so he got a little miffed and followed them out into the living room, dragging his blanket behind him.

In conclusion, another note about Moose - I think it's absolutely hilarious how much he loves bedtime.  At night we say "Let's go to bed, Moose," and he gets up and walks right into our room and sits down on his bed and waits to be tucked in.  It's so funny!  What a guy.