Memorial Day Weekend

Jared and I don't really like the beach. We would much rather hike in the mountains somewhere or sit under a shady tree and read a book. However, we do enjoy spending time with our family, especially down in Lewes and when it is only 70 degrees outside. :)

Saturday was my perfect beach day. It was sunny, but not hot.  And the water wasn't too cold. Also, the beach was quite empty and it was relaxing. After and before the beach, we were well taken care of and fed lots of good food, including Grottos Pizza!! 

Even though his mom and dad don't like the beach, someone in our family really does enjoy the beach. We built Martin several sand forts so he could splash in the water without the waves hitting him. He played for two or three hours before finally crashing for a nap on Grandma's shoulder. 

On Sunday, Aunt Sarah came to town and we went over to my parent's to visit with her and play some fun games and eat good food. 

And today, Monday, we have been hanging around the house. Martin and I made rolls, read books, banged on some pots and pans, and played in the sprinkler. The sprinkler wore Martin out; he fell asleep in his high chair while eating lunch. Jared finished putting up the fence in the back yard so Martin can't escape and run into the street. He just needs to paint it now. It looks good now still wooden, but the paint will make it look super cute. 

Did you do anything fun this weekend? It has been so long since we have had a holiday. We just enjoyed being a little family and spending time with people that we love. :) 

Strawberry Pie

You need to make the strawberry pie recipe that I posted last year!!! Look under recipes. I can't link things when I am using the blogging app. 

In case you need convincing... 

Martin Naps

This is how my baby sleeps. He falls asleep for almost every nap and at bedtime like this. I don't know how it is comfortable. He starts off covered by his blanket, but he usually falls asleep on top of it. We sneak in after he is asleep and cover him back up. 

This is how he wakes up. He sits in his crib and reads books. Sometimes he is so quiet I think he is still asleep. Normally, he reads quietly in a funny little voice, to himself. 

This is one of his favorite books.  I have it memorized. 

Strawberries

Every year I say I am going to pick 100 quarts.  One of these years I will make it. I have picked 30 so far this year. Strawberries are probably my favorite fruit, but it is hard to pick a favorite with peaches and blueberries around as well. 

I made strawberry shortcake for Jared's birthday last night (his favorite). Today I am making a strawberry pie, my favorite. 

Today is just a relaxing day around the house. Martin and I started the morning off by going to pick strawberries with Grandma Cindy. Then we came home and read a few books and played. Once Martin went down for a nap, I finished Til We Have Faces by CS Lewis.  I bought it for Jared's birthday and he said I should read it. It is unlike any other book I have read by Lewis, but it is really good. If Jared hadn't warned me that it was based on a Greek myth and a bit strange, I might not have enjoyed it as much. 

I am about to go make that pie (Google America's Test Kitchen and Strawberry Pie - it is super easy and more predictable than the jello recipe - I might have it listed under recipes) and then fold clothes. Hopefully, I will finish both before Martin wakes up. :)

What is your favorite fruit? Do you have any favorite strawberry recipes? Jared likes strawberry pretzel salad too (why is it called a salad?). I will probably make that this weekend.  

I also want to start back on my deep cleaning list now that I am starting to have a bit more energy. Are there any projects you hope to finish by summer? 

Birthday cooking

I used to love Acorn Market and then they were sold. I went for almost every business lunch and they catered my baby shower at work. I always get the chicken salad sandwich and it used to be amazing. Recently, it has been mushy and watery and not worth the money. The other thing that I love are their cookies. Well, I found online that the lady who used to own it had a blog and posted several recipes. :) One of those recipes, that she posted, was her cookie recipe!! 

So for Jared's birthday, instead of a cake, I made two batches of cookies. They were amazing. I didn't take a good picture, but they are fluffy and perfect. When I make them again I will post the recipe and pictures. I am selling a dozen of them at the silent auction at church tonight. 

I also made these rolls for Jared's birthday dinner.  We had fried chicken, fruit salad, and green beans. I never make white bread anymore; these taste like cake. I suggest you look at the pictures and be convinced to make them. 

http://www.thefrugalgirl.com/2009/11/wednesday-baking-glazed-honey-pan-rolls/

And today, to use up the leftover rolls, I made mini hamburgers.  They are so cute. Again, no pictures.

 Martin had been on the move and I have been chasing him all over.  We have also been reading a lot of books lately.  I hope he loves to read when he is older. Jared is working on our new fence today on the sides of the house. We hope it will stop Martin from running into the street. I will post pictures when it is finished. 

And here is a picture from last night's birthday celebration, after Martin had put on his pajamas. He loves his aunts and uncles.  

Pillow seats

I am planning on making Martin a little playroom this summer/fall. More about those plans in a later post.  Jared and I bought new feather pillows (from ikea for only $10) and so our old ones have just been sitting in my sewing room. I knew there was something I could do with them.  It dawned on me a few weeks ago that they would make great little places to  sit for Martin while he played or read. As he demonstrates below reading, The Godly Man's Picture by Thomas Watson. 

It is actually one of his favorite books right now.  He sits down with it and flips back and forth in it for a few minutes.  Then he walks around and sits down again and flips through it again. It is very funny.  I have even started to put the book in different places on the bookshelf to see if he will find it. 

So, back to the old pillows.   They were a little flat and not the right shape.  I measured the width and found it was about 18".  So I measured off 18" in the other direction.  

I took my ruler and drew the line all the way across. I squished as many of the feathers as I could down into that end.  Then I sewed on the line and a second line close to it. Because there were still a few feathers in the end I was cutting off, I sewed a third line to keep them in the end that would be thrown away.  Then I cut between the 2nd and 3rd line. 

After, the cut I was left with these ugly pillows. 

Now to cover them... I used several tutorials online for envelope pillow cases. It took me about ten minutes to finish them. It was super easy.  I used some upholstery fabric from ikea that I bought on sale for $1.99 a yard. For both pillows I cut a 44"x18.5" piece to cover them. So, to cover both pillows cost me $2!!!! 

I am pleased with how they turned out.  Hopefully, the rest of the room turns out well.  I am debating what color to paint the room. Maybe I will just paint the ceiling... So many ideas.  

The above picture shows the envelope back. I have wanted to try to make pillows for a while, but they scared me.  Let me tell you, these type of envelope style pillow covers are so so so easy.  I am thinking about recovering my couch pillows now, but they don't really need it. 

Week 13

Who knows how many times I will do this, but I thought I would give a pregnancy update.  This is probably more for me to look back on with future children and have something to compare to.  I didn't write down anything with Martin. 

This is week thirteen and it is that awkward stage where your pants, all of the sudden, don't want to button closed. This happened gradually last time. This time around I was fitting nicely into all my pants until this week. Bam. Something changed this weekend. Now I feel quite squashed and am about about to start the rubber band trick because maternity pants don't work until there is a belly to hold on to. 

Otherwise, things are looking up. I have been much less nauseous and have a bit more energy.  I went to the gym last week and I walked the park with my dad today. It was a lovely day for that. 

Week: 13

Pounds gained: 8

Cravings: Until this week I was just hungry all the time, it didn't matter what I ate. This week and last week I have been wanting fruits and veggies.  It is a good thing our CSA box starts this week and that strawberry season is soon. I have eaten a bunch of apples lately. 

Projects completed: A stuffed animal elephant and a copy of our wedding cake (I was looking through my recipes for a bread recipe last night to go with dinner and saw the recipe for my wedding cake and thought, I should make that for our anniversary, no wait, I should make that now. About an hour later a 1/4th recipe of a beautiful peanut butter cake, with chocolate ganoche layers and cream cheese frosting was finished. I might still make the whole recipe for our anniversary). 

Books read: The Problem of Pain, The Abolition of Man, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer (542 pages).  I have been doing a lot of reading recently. I am almost finished a 719 page book on North Korea, but Jared is reading it too so I have to share with him in the evenings. 

And here is a list of symptoms that people don't talk that much about (I may add to this, I am sure I am forgetting something). I think the first trimester is the worst. The last couple weeks are also pretty rough, but it is almost the end so it is doable. :) 

1. Random hiccups. I hiccup once or twice randomly throughout the day. I did it a few times while I was in labor with Martin and the nurse commented about how she had never heard of that happening. I must be weird. 

2. Being hungry all the time!! I didn't find that I was that hungry while I was nursing, but during pregnancy is another story.  I eat small meals and snacks all day long and still feel hungry all the time. Which is why I gain weight, but it all comes off with a little work afterwards. 

3. Waking up 2-5 times a night to go to the bathroom. This is the one that no one warns you about. It is exhausting. Thankfully, it goes away during the 2nd trimester. 

4. Heartburn when you eat too little or too much or garlic of any kind. 

5. Feeling so angry. Ha ha. This happens to me during the first few weeks.  I get mad about the littlest things and feel like stamping my feet and crying. 

6. Crying about silly things.  Jared asks when he will get his wife back because of this one. Although, I haven't cried as much this time. 

7. Everything smells. You will notice smells that are stomach turning.  Things that don't normally bother you suddenly make your stomach do flips. Coffee grounds are the worst for me. 

8. Being exhausted. I never nap, except during the first few weeks I am pregnant and the first few weeks the baby is born. When I worked, I would nap during lunch break, when I came home from work in the afternoon, And go to bed at 730. I am not quite that bad now, but I do like to go to bed early. 

But all in all, having a baby isn't that bad. It is exhausting and you wonder why you are doing this to yourself (again).  In the end, it is all worth it. I would trade a longer labor for a shorter pregnancy. Pregnancy seems to drag on forever. Labor is refreshing because you know it is about to end. Nine months is a long time, thankfully, I only have six more to go. Woohoo. 

We love this weather. 

And our picnic table that my Dad made us. :) 

Siblings

I happen to think having siblings is the best!!  I love all my siblings so much! They are all special and wonderful in their own way.  I am also happy that, in November, Martin will also have his own little sibling.  

He is pretty excited about it because I tell him that he will love it.  He watches the neighborhood kids playing basketball every day after school and looks so much like he wants to run out there and join them.  Instead, he settles for yelling (or maybe cheering) for them out the window.  

I would love to have a girl this time because dresses and skirts and doll clothes are fun to make. However, I want Martin to have a brother, so I am not as eagerly anticipating the gender reveal sonogram in about six weeks (well, not as much as last time).  

Martin will probably spend some time looking like this when he realizes he is not the center of our universe anymore.  Ha ha.  Cindy says you have to take pictures like this to remember the whole experience.  :) I have dubbed the ones, the whiney ones.  I don't know where he has learned it.  He will start this fake little cry and peer through his fingers to see if he has caused a reaction.  After about five or ten minutes, and no reaction, he stops and goes back to playing nicely.  

Often he whines when I have to take something dangerous away, I wonder if God feels the same way when he takes something away from us that is harmful. Having a baby has made me rethink a bunch of passages in the Bible. I will post some later.  

I want one

Look at this gorgeous little cabin (that is really an rv and can be used to travel around). I love Frank Llyod Wright's designs. I want to visit some of his houses.  I think it is neat that this is based off some of his designs.  

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/this-charming-cabin-on-wheels-travels-with-you-design-news-203100

http://m.fastcoexist.com/3029935/this-adorable-cabin-has-a-secret-its-actually-an-rv#3