Moving

The least fun thing about moving is actually moving.

I’m trying. I’m finally not sick all day and instead mostly just in the evenings (you know when the Man and Boy want food, awesome.) But I’m not really packing either. We bagged all of our clothes and took a lot of it over to the new place, I’m taking my crafting/office stuff over too. Then I guess I’ll have to pack boxes. The current home is a mess and a half. Boxes everywhere, clothes, toys and things just strewn about. And I can’t be bothered with dishes. Obviously I’m very very busy.

And the office people might or might not be coming tomorrow. Maybe. Sooo… Do I leave my house in its current “homeless people live here” state or do I clean obsessively for the next 15hours? I’ve apparently decided on a delicate middle ground. I load the dishwasher then cleaned the floor. So now there is a whole bunch of crap on the kitchen counters but man… I really don’t feel like doing anything about that. So onto the bathroom. Magic eraser for the whole sink and tub, then vacuum the floor where all the hair and junk collects. Surely this is enough and they will ignore that the office is filled with odds and ends and endless boxes? Right?? RIGHT?? And the whole side of the bedroom is the same way!

Oh well.

The new place is so nice. We’re on the 4th floor (which is why I’m not doing a lot of moving myself, too many stairs for the pregnant woman with a toddler in tow), the person below us is actually a good friend of Brad’s. We didn’t realize until Brad posted a picture from the view of our apartment and the guy sent back “Hey thats my view too!” How lucky is that? My galloping toddler won’t bug someone below us that we don’t know! He’ll only bug someone that knows and loves Brad already! YAY!

Of course my favorite part of the new apartment will remain the Washer and Dryer in unit and that we have our own water heater! So even though the apartments are old and kinda out of date they have character and I’ll no longer have to pay to do laundry. Woot woot!

(Also, sunday was officially the first day of my 2nd trimester. I’ll feel better soon, right? RIGHT??)

The Container Garden

Eddie and I have started a container garden! We’re moving this month but I wanted to get a start on our strawberries and tomatoes and peppers. So far its been kinda up and down.

You should know… I really am kind of awful at gardening. I over-love my plants I think. I worry about their well being, coddle them and try to make them happy. I worry about water levels and sunshine and if its too cold or hot for them. I picked my Nana’s brain last summer for her gardening tips and I’ve been studying all kinds of Blogs about container gardens… I CAN DO THIS! And if not, maybe Eddie can (he does love his plants).

The first tomatoes I started sprouted but then the cats got me all tripped up when I was moving them inside and I DROPPED THEM! I tried to save them but nothing came to. So I got more. Nothing from those yet, fingers crossed we’ll see it soon though, I’m out of plant starter and Eddie would be broken up about the “baby plants”.

He loves them. So much.

The strawberries are a different thing all together. I got pre-started strawberries, supposedly its easier, from Big Lots for about $4. They’re only June bearing but I figure that’s fine because for $4 I won’t cry if I accidentally kill them (as I am talented at doing), but I’m possibly over loving them. They seem alright, the stalks are getting redder and thicker. Some of the sadder ones are getting leaves. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see!

This is from the first day I planted them. They look kinda sad.

Next month we’ll be adding a herb garden, squash, more tomatoes (and moving my current sprouts to the Topsy Turvy), and possibly carrots and lettuce! I’ll keep you posted.

My new favorite Blog? (Well, gardening wise!) One Hundred Dollars A Month

Check it out for all kinds of fun stuff, gardening, raising chickens, daily deals, and Mavis! She’s awesome!

 

New Additions

So much is going on now I might be going kind of crazy.

We found a new apartment, closer to friends with more room. Its on the 4th floor of an older apartment building so I’m kind of nervous. I’ve never been good with heights.

On Eddie’s second birthday we found out that our prayers had been answered and we’re having our second baby! I’m so excited. But this comes with Eddie’s terrible 2s. He’s been a handful, more emotional and demanding. He’s really excited about being a big brother though.

Nothing like being pregnant with a whining toddler. I’ve never felt so run down! All the time sickness and all kinds of food aversions and I’m EXHAUSTED all the time. I suddenly remember how much I hate being pregnant. Hate it. The baby is the end game though so I can’t wait to be done and meet the little stinker.

So today Brad’s got Eddie out at the park and I’m packing/cleaning for our inspection on the 3rd (we’re not moving out until May, why would they inspect on the 3rd of april? TO MAKE ME GO INSANE!) So the crazy hasn’t died down yet and I can’t wait to get back into blogging and crafting again but right now my head is telling me all the other things I need to do instead of that.  So hopefully I’ll talk to you all again soon!

Ta ta for now!

Wrap it Up!

Brad had the weekend off so I got to spend a lot of time trying to make my new sewing machine love me. Its an old Elnita 120 embroidery machine and a friend’s mom lent it to me. It was beyond me what it’s issue was back when they lent it so I’ve also got an ’85 Pfaff that is on loan from another friend. But it has to use a converter because she brought it from England and it shorts our circuits if I use it more then an hour. But I have learned a lot from the Pfaff, like how to oil it and load a bobbin, how to turn while sewing and sew around sock edges (baby legs projects).

Back to the Elnita, I’ve named it Harris because my cats think they should live in it so I spent all night friday clearing out the cat hair. Its not in bad shape, and everything I’ve read about this machine indicates its a pretty good starter machine. Except one thing, I don’t have a threading guide for it. So I’ve just been.. playing? “Oh that didn’t work, lets re-thread”.

We’ve gone from all the thread being jammed into the bobbin area to loops on the underside of the fabric. I’ve gotten loads of great advice and I can’t wait to try it all because hand sewing is just NOT fun.

Theres something kind of fulfilling about starting out with only a basic knowledge of sewing machines (Hey, one semester of home ec back in 7th grade totally almost counts as “basic”) and sticking with it until you finally start seeing results!

I’ve just finished some of the decorations for Eddie’s 2nd birthday party. We’re going Yo Gabba Gabba! I made little signs with sayings from the show and Muno gift bags. Luckily Party City has a lot of things for Yo Gabba Gabba parties so I can finish up for not much (seriously, decorating this party and paying for food with a budget of $60 is looking so do-able now!).

Have a great week everyone!

My friend awarded me this I forgot to share!

 

Yeah I Did That

A couple of years ago I was very paranoid about how other people saw me. Like to the point that going to the grocery store was painful, almost terrifying (I love self checkout). But yesterday I took note that I’ve completely stopped trying as I padded through the aisles in sweats that I haven’t washed in G*d only knows how long and instead of putting on a bra I just put on Brad’s heavy coat.  Wow.

Its like the time I went to the store with he’s shirt that says “Welcome to Baltimore DUCK MOTHER F*CKER” on the back and didn’t even realize it until some kid gave me a thumbs up. Sleep deprivation does weird things to a mother. Or just me. I seem to see a lot of Mothers who are really well put together.

Its like the mystery gunk. I have, on numerous occasions, gotten back into my car after spending hours shopping at Target and noticed that I had baby snot/baby yogurt/a weird black streak/something oddly shiny on my face for however long. And no one says anything. Ever. Like “Hey lady? You have a black mark on your forehead.” In all fairness Eddie is almost always spotless and adorable and wearing matching clothes even if I do look like a bag lady. So maybe that is kind of redeeming in the eyes of the public.

PRE-Baby if I left the barn filthy I wandered through stores with pride “Yeah I’m filthy, I worked HARD today.” Now my general appearance screams “Yeah, I just don’t care anymore.”

Tiny Farms

I’m working on growing things. Like… things to eat. I love flowers, but I get sad when they die of over love. And yeah, I admit to over loving plants. But I think I can take a step back from veggies and things. Maybe.

So on Pinterest I’ve been searching and reading a lot of blogs about homesteading, tiny farms, and apartment gardens. Last year I tried to grow strawberries but someone stole them off our back porch, but we’ll be moving to a 2nd or third story apartment soon so I figure that will be the perfect time to start a garden.

I have a new favorite blog for gardening advice- One Hundred Dollars A Month, she’s pretty awesome. I can’t wait to move somewhere we can have livestock so I can get some chickens!

I am a farm girl at heart so I hope even the prospect of a mini garden on the balcony will make me feel like I’m contributing to the family. Well, you know, besides watching the boy and cleaning and cooking and all. Haha

Meanwhile I ordered these: Micro Greens. And now I’m reading about what the heck they are. But they sound interesting.

On another note, don’t tell people you made them Christmas presents if you can’t send them until the end of February. Pretty sure everyone in my family is more convinced of my flakeyness then ever before. But we just haven’t had any extra money for shipping things. And I’m kinda flakey.

Have a great day everyone!

Abbie!

My younger sister is getting a handle on her sewing skills and I’m branching out on my crochet skills and we’ve decided to enter the state fair together with some of our crafts!

Its too exciting! I know its not a big deal but its always good to get to do stuff with the Abba-girl. She’s totally awesome.

Because we have different dads Abbie gets to look like a super model at 13. Some things just aren’t fair. Haha!

She’s weird and obsessive just like me, all into Pokemon and comics like I am and its awesome because I totally don’t have to wait for Eddie to be like 9 before I start collecting Pokemon again. Whew. That’s a relief.

Both of my younger sisters are really good artists so its fun spending time with them and looking at the stuff they’ve drawn. I can’t wait until we can have a girly weekend and get our nails did and stuff.

Getting to be a big sister is fun, I never expected it, there is such an age gap between us that the “sister” radar was at first just trying to avoid baby sitting and is now trying to guide someone into not making the same mistakes I did and sharing happy memories of getting to be a bridesmaid at my wedding, getting to be a friend to confide in and of course… complaining about our parents.

Sisterhood is fun!