Our little lime.

Today marks 12 weeks of pregnancy! I definitely feel like I'm over the hump of nausea and extreme exhaustion...and well into the "constantly hungry" phase of things. I have a little bump of a belly that I'm pretty proud of, even though others try to deny that they can tell it's there (really, I think they are just trying to make me feel good...they don't know that I want to be huge! :).

It's crazy to think that when we found out I was pregnant, the baby was only the size of a sesame seed...

And now, only 7 weeks later, it's the size of a lime!!


It's still a little hard to grasp the concept that in 6 months we will have a little one living with us, making us laugh and smile. We are excited beyond measure for what is yet to come!

Sew...a needle pulling thread...

Today felt like a true Saturday. I slept in (until 7:30am that is) and stayed in bed to finish reading my book, The Bonesetter's Daughter. For anyone looking for a novel to read, I recommend it!
Chris and Melissa stopped by and assured me we do not have pack rats nesting on our roof. When my mom was here, she pointed out a "squirrel" coming down the cactus in our backyard...but I had to remind her that we do not have squirrels in Arizona...sure enough, it was a pack rat...eww!! Not sure where it was coming from or where it went...just so glad it's gone. I then stayed outside and did a bit of yard work. It was a gorgeous day by Arizona standards (gray and overcast) and only in the 90s.
Then I decided to take an adventure trip to SAS Fabrics. I have driven by it a thousand times, and have always thought the "fabric by the pound" sign sounded intriguing, it also made me itch thinking about having to dig through piles of dusty fabric to find what I want. So, I had never made the stop...until today. Now, I'm hooked. It's not nearly as dirty as I had pictured it to be. And it's actually much more organized than I had expected. There are shelves upon shelves of little boxes of buttons and patches with the corresponding button/patch on the outside of the box (all ranging from 10-65cents. A wall devoted to spools of ribbon, ric rac, and biased tape. And of course, piles and piles of fabric. Some of it looks like it came out in 1960 and others are name brands such as Amy Butler. Its cheap, unique, and full of character. I promise I'll bring my camera next time.

With inspiration from SAS, I present to you today's creations:
A mouse pad, pattern from A Handmade Home.

A baby kimono top, pattern from Weekend Sewing.

Fun at home

Dominic wanted me to show all of you how strong he is getting and how he can now sit up all by himself. Crazy to think he'll be 7 months in just a few days!


I so rarely ever bake, as in baked goods kind of baking. But yesterday morning, I decided to take advantage of the fact that I was at home with an oven (a luxury we sometimes miss on the road), so blueberry muffins it was! (Sorry Ryan, somehow our winter stash of blueberries in the freezer has already dwindled to nothing...I don't know how that happened and it's only September!)


The recipe was from this great cookbook I have called, How We Became One. It is filled with stories and recipes alike...beautiful and tasty!


Yesterday afternoon I had lunch with our 80 year old neighbor, Marlena and two of her girlfriends. Every year Marlena has a Christmas party at her house, and I am by farrrr the youngest attendee, but absolutely love it. So having lunch with these women (who also attend the Christmas party every year) was like getting together with old friends. They were super excited when I told them we have a baby on the way, and they had lots of wisdom to share. After lunch the four of us explored the gem show (a large event held twice a year to sell beads and supplies for those who like to make jewelry, which all of us do.) Wow, these women know how to shop. Ahead of time Marlena told me she could only really stand on her feet for about 2 hours at a time...5 hours later, I literally had to drag her out of there because I couldn't handle being on my feet anymore. :) It was a great afternoon.

Then yesterday evening I got to take part in a true Tucson rancher experience. My friend Mackenzie's dad and brother train wild mustangs and then compete with them. They spend 80 days with these horses they get from the wild, and are able to train them so well that they can set off fireworks from the back of the horses without the horses even flinching. It was a huge event watching them practice their competition piece...filled with lots of food, and even some good country music.




Even though I have my clean bill of health, I'm going to be staying in Tucson for another week, since my original flight was scheduled out for next Saturday. Even though I'd like to leave today and get to see Ryan...our financial wisdom is urging us otherwise. :)

Clean bill of health!

I got my lab results back yesterday and met with my midwife. My liver enzymes are totally back to normal. I had another ultrasound...the baby was moving all around in there. :) Originally, my midwife wanted to see me again next Friday, but since all was good yesterday, she said I was free to cancel the appointment...yay!

Health Update

Thanks to all who have been praying for my health! The update isn't really much...I had more blood drawn yesterday and I will find out the results tomorrow. All I know now is that I don't have hepatitis, mono, or an auto-immune disorder.

I'm quite thankful for my years as a Child Life Specialist and knowing some great distraction techniques for getting my blood drawn. Little does the phlebotomist know that I'm singing my ABC's in my head the whole time she has the IV needle in me. :)

Life in the sun

So, the truth is, I really don't want to be in Tucson right now. Tucson is great and all, but not when my mind was set on being on tour with Ryan for 7 weeks...its like having to come home from vacation one day in.
Having my mom here was great company. We stayed busy and she loves the taco stand as much as I do...


For the rest of the time I'm home, I'm determined to look on the bright side of being here.

So far today...
I got to work out with Ben and Mackenzie...Mackenzie is a good friend and Ben, her husband, is a personal trainer...free personal training is a great perk when I'm home!

I ate a great breakfast without having to leave the hotel room to use the lobby's toaster. AND, I knew that the water would taste good before swallowing my prenatal vitamin. Yay!!



In a little while, Dominic is going to come over and hang out! And then this evening I'm going to spend sometime with Samantha...both people that I don't get to see while out on tour. :)

10 days left!

If you want to give to Bitone, but haven't done so yet, there are only 10 more days until the Global Giving Campaign ends. They are still looking to raise $1300 to get a permanent spot on the Global Giving website. Thank you for supporting such wonderful children that mean so much to Ryan and I!

p.s.

It's official...I had to unbutton my pants last night while we were out and about because they were a bit too constricting. Big belly here I come!

Tour de Fall

I often get asked if I am okay with all of the touring we do. It always seems like a no-brainer question to me.
Are they asking me if I like being with my husband all the time? Yes!
Do I like traveling the country? Yes!
Do I like visiting our friends and family that live outside of Arizona? Yes!
Do I like living a simplified life where very little stress is present? Yes!
Do I like experiencing seasons we don't have in Arizona? Yes!
I really could go on and on...but this might not be as fun of a game for everyone else as it is for me. :)

The tour started a week ago today. Although I had to miss the first show in Flagstaff (due to my massive arms), I was able to meet up with them in Albuquerque. I always love getting to the venues, chatting with the people running the show, setting up my merchandise, and then finding a cozy spot to just sit and read before the masses start arriving. :)

In Albuquerque, it was this peaceful water fountain...


Our next stop was Wichita Falls, TX to visit our friends from Boston!! Jen (Ream) and Andrew Pellegrin...with new arrival Jude!


Oh, and for the first part of this tour...Ryan Alfred is joining us! He's great compnay... :)


Then to Kansas City to be with all the Hoods. :) (sorry no photos...).

From there, I had to fly home because the lab results (from when I had my massive arms) came back saying my liver enzymes were quadruple what they should be. The did a gagillion more tests to see if they could figure out why my liver enzymes were so high, but all of the tests came back negative. They re-checked my liver enzymes and they had decreased by 50%! They are still double what they should be, but they appear to be dropping on their own, which is a huge praise! My mom flew into town yesterday to be with me. We got to see another ultrasound...this time the baby's legs were straight up in the air, and it waved it's little arm...the high liver enzymes don't seem to have affected the baby at all! I have 2 more appointments next week to make sure the liver enzymes are continuing to decrease...and then its back to roadliving for me!!

Arm Update

I successfully napped up until I had to leave for my appointment today! Oh how I love the benefits of being pregnant...easy-to-fall-asleep-napping on a daily basis. :)

At my appointment today they called in two doctors and a nurse practitioner to look at my arms, and all were very concerned, yet totally stumped. They sent me for an ultrasound on both arms to look for a clot, but fortunately there were no blood clots. They also drew a lot of blood to run various tests to see if I have an infection, but the results won't come back until Monday. I'm praying in the meantime that God just takes away the swelling and pain as fast as it came!

Tomorrow I will be flying to meet up with the guys in Albuquerque!

Home Alone 4

I don't really remember how many Home Alone movies there were, but I think I can say without a doubt that it is the movie that I have seen the most times in theatre. I loved that movie.

The guys just left on our 7 week tour, and I was supposed to be in tow, but got left home alone. On Wednesday I woke up with sore/stiff arms, but I didn't think much of it...just thought it was muscle soreness from lifting weights or something (don't worry folks...the midwife says it is fine for me to lift weights still. :) Then yesterday I noticed that not only were they still stiff, but they were swollen and I couldn't straighten either arm. Today the same swollen/sore/stiffness continues and my doctor urged me to not leave town yet, and get seen by someone at her office later this afternoon. So, here I am in Tucson with nothing to do. It's kind of nice actually. This morning I dropped off some donations that had been sitting in the garage for months. And now, I think I'm going to go and take a nap before my appointment.

The plan is for me to fly to Albuquerque tomorrow afternoon and rejoin the van! Please pray that is okay and God would heal these chubby arms. :)

2 + 1 = 3!!

Life is an absolutely incredible gift! After having had a miscarriage in April, I was extremely excited, yet nervous when we found out we were pregnant again earlier this month. Then the moment came yesterday when we got to see our little baby's heart beat for the first time! I of course started crying, and that made the ultrasound device move all around on my belly, and then the tech had to reposition it so we could see the baby again, and then I'd tear up and my belly would shake again...it was a sweet moment. :)





It was an early ultrasound just to verify everything was okay and confirm a due date (March 28). So you can't really make too much out of what is what...but we think the head is towards the right, and the legs on the left, with the fluid sac underneath it's bum.

We've been keeping track of what is happening each week. We started out reading about it when it was the size of a sesame seed, and already it has grown to the size of a grape!

In addition to it having a developed neural tube and heart beat. It has arms, legs, webbed fingers and toes, and this week it's heart finishes dividing into four chambers, and the valves start to form — as do it's tiny teeth. Isn't that crazy...all in just the past 9 weeks!!

Belly pictures will come as soon as it looks like an actual prego belly versus the current flub state I'm entering into now. :)

Pink Floyd Flash Back Night

Last night we hung out with a group of friends at Carlos and Beth's house. Being that everyone there plays music on a very regular basis, much music was had.
Paul, on keys, was in Ryan's first band in high school, Swivelfish. His new band, Music Video will be touring the country come September and stopping in Grand Rapids (Founder's Brewery) should any of ye be interested in going! And Ryan Alfred, sitting on the floor with his back to the camera, was in Ryan's college band, Iluminada. And, he's also our new roommate. :) I think everyone knows Cameron on the couch. And, Carlos on the other couch sitting next to Ryan, is in a band called American Android.
Given almost everyone is in a different band...Pink Floyd cover songs were the common thread to jam on together.
If you watch the video long enough, you'll get to see some of Paul's (keyboardist) interpretive dance moves.

Happy 50th Lori!

Two weeks ago we threw Lori (Ryan's mom) a surprise 50th birthday party! I think she had an inkling about the party, but little did she know that she'd be up on "stage" singing. I know most people would probably think "that's a horrible thing to make someone do at their birthday party!", but trust us...Lori is a singer and an entertainer deep down. :) First up, it was "Falling Slowly" from the Once soundtrack...a duet of her and Cameron. Then, the night became more full of surprises... "Lazy Afternoon" which was a solo she sang in her high school chorus. And lastly, "Puppy Love" by Donny Osmond which was a childhood favorite of hers to sing around the house. It was great to see her over dramatized dance moves that naturally came out as she was singing that one...

Camera returned!

I have my camera back now, so it's photo time for events that took place 2 weeks ago. :)

Ryan's cousin, Danell, is a fashion designer for high-end ball gowns. She's made the gowns for Mrs. World, Miss USA, yada yada yada.... she's good! A couple of weeks ago she had a solo show in Flagstaff, AZ and asked Ryanhood to come up and play a set before the fashion show, and then also play as the models walked down the runway. I am pretty much in love with the town of Flagstaff...it reminds me of a little town I'd see in Vermont on tour. A little downtown area filled with local shops and streets filled with people who want to support them.

Welcome to Flagstaff..."When You See Only the Dark, Know the Light Will Soon Return"...


The band...


The gowns...


The wonderful designer, Danell Lynn...

GLOBAL GIVING FOR BITONE!

In January Ryan and I spent time at this wonderful wonderful place called Bitone Home for Children in Uganda. As many of you know, we have big dreams to go back there and spend much more time soaking in the abundant joy of these children. They come to Bitone from backgrounds of extreme poverty, loss of parents due to death from AIDS or the LRA rebel group in northern Uganda. Yet, at Bitone these children are given a new beginning...one that involves great joy that is found through healing in music and dance. All of the kids go to school, are able to eat 3 meals a day, and have counseling to talk about what they have been through, as well as learning traditional African music and dance. It is truly an incredible place.

The man who started Bitone, Branco Lawrence, is also Ugandan and comes from a similar background of poverty as the children. He went to college in Kampala for music, and decided that starting Bitone Home/Troupe was how he wanted to use his music degree. Recently, he was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship (!!) and just moved to the US for 2 years to further his studies in hopes of bettering Bitone when he returns. This however leaves Bitone in an interim position. They have someone there that is running the home and taking care of the children, however the financial resources are much tighter.

We have the opportunity though to help raise ongoing support through Global Giving. If we are able to raise $4,000 in the next 30 days (we have until September 17th) Bitone will obtain a permanent spot on Global Giving’s site, which will allow Bitone to raise money for operational costs, equipment, costumes, instruments, all resources that must be obtained in order for the organization to become sustainable.

Our approach to doing this is quite grass roots...if we can get 400 people to give just $10, we'll be there! Will you please consider giving $10, and then also copying and pasting this to send to friends and family who might also be interested?

Just click here, or go to the link below to give...
http://www.globalgiving.com/projects/bitone-25-ugandan-disadvantaged-children/

To learn more about Bitone and the children they serve:
http://www.bitonechildren.org
http://www.bitonetroupe.blogspot.com

Bad Axe

So, this weekend sparked an opportunity to do another grocery store demo job. They pay pretty well, so I always jump at the opportunity, but 15 minutes into the job remember how horribly mind-numbing and painful they actually are. This weekend's demo involved going around the grocery store and offering people to smell the new Axe Instinct body deodorant spray. I'm thankful that our roommate, Ryan Alfred, first made sure I had at least seen the Axe commercials via youtube before going to the store, because EVERYONE made some sort of reference to them. I guess they are good advertisers...much better than my mobile advertisement at the store.

Scared of the Dark!

We had quite the weekend (of mostly fun!), and I have photos to share, however I left my camera at Ryan's aunt's house, so photos will have to wait a few days.
But for a quick re-cap and preview:

Friday night: Flagstaff, AZ for Ryan's cousin's fashion show...Ryanhood was the band for the night!

Saturday afternoon: Ryan's best friend from college (Ryan Alfred) moved in with us!

Saturday night: Lori's (Ryan's mom) surprise 50th birthday party!

Sunday night: Chang and Shira's wedding! (a very unique Chinese / Jewish ceremony and reception!)

But, for now...with no pictures, I present to you, "Scared of the Dark!"
The not-so-fun part of the weekend happened on Saturday night after we got home from Lori's birthday party. We went to bed about 11pm, but I woke up around midnight because I heard noises in the backyard. I looked out our window which faces the backyard, but couldn't see anything, so I laid back down. About 2 minutes later, we (Ryan now awake as well) heard something again. This time Ryan propped himself up to the blinds to slyly peak out, and had me flip the switch to the flood lights in the backyard (conveniently located right next to our bed). And, when the light came on Ryan immediately saw someone run away from our house and towards our front gate. Scared, we called 911, and they got there within a couple of minutes. The cops saw that our gate to our backyard was open (which is always closed) and right inside of the gate was a mangled window screen. We realized that the only window that the screen would fit was in our master bathroom (located INSIDE our bedroom...about 12 feet from where we were sleeping), so we went back there and sure enough the screen was off and the window was slid all the way open! So scary! It's hard not to think about the fact that if we had not turned on the light, he likely would've been in our bedroom within minutes (or seconds even)! We are so thankful we were woken up. I honestly don't care if someone wants to break in and take everything from our home, and even our home...but just not while we are there. It is so hard to regain that feeling of safety again. Needless to say, we've slept with all the lights on in the house for the past two nights now. Perhaps tonight we'll get back to our "green" selves and take it down to only a few lights.

Tags made with love!

My friend Jill is creator of many things, and a gift giver through and through. Earlier this week I was gifted with one of her many thoughtful creations...

Tags to give a finishing touch to my crafts! So now with each sandwich bag, is a special note to let people know that it was made with love.


Thanks Jill!!

Bedroom Makeover!

For a while now we have been wanting to add a little color to our bedroom. So, this past weekend, with Home Depot gift card in hand, we picked out our paint, and took to the walls.

Before:


After: