Hurry Up and Wait

I'm watching the news right now anchored by a very pregnant anchor woman and it is reminding me of how incredibly frustrating those last few weeks of pregnancy are (her expressionless bloated face and listless voice says it all). I remember crying to my doctor just days before Everett was born that he needed to come out at that moment, I was literally going insane. I also had absolutely zero sense of humor and wanted to kill anyone that looked at me.

I was just in Portland these past few days hoping to witness the birth of my friend Calie's first baby. The little booger has decided to take his sweet time so I am gonna miss it. Ha... the amount of annoyance I have at this surprises me, only because I have such sympathy and know that as much as I wanted him to come Calie and Anthony want it 100x more! Oh well I guess they just have to suffer like the rest of us had to!

The Portland trip was not all a bust. I actually was able to spend some quality me with just Calie before she is ever changed by motherhood. Everett got to spend some quality time with his G-Ma and great aunts. Doug even came up for the weekend and got some racing in! We all got to spend most of our time indoors as the rain came pouring down. It was then I decided I could never live with that much rain.

Ev in his new tent from IKEA

Jumpin in the puddles at G-Mas

The Cotton Year

Happy anniversary my husband! We have managed to fill these two short years with so much joy. I often feel like I don't remember a time that I did not love you. Sometimes two years seems like two hundred, only because you have managed to make my love for you evolve and grow in ways I did not know it could. I feel safe in my own skin, and everyday my trust and faith in your love for me expands.

I could not have chosen anyone better to be the father of my sons. Your example of a man is exactly what I want them to emulate. Your strength, perseverance, industrious nature are all qualities our children will receive from you. Thank you for loving our babies as much as I do.

I cannot and refuse to imagine my life without you. I have never been happier being your wife. I promise to be your constant support and cheerleader. Where you go I will go. Where you die, there I will die also.

I love you buddy and am looking forward to 100 more anniversary celebrations with you.

Diaper Stewart to you!

You can call me Martha... or Katie, or whoever your favorite crafty gal is. I think I should be added to the list. Now, don't get me wrong, I do not have a bend towards crafts. I usually have very high expectations and very low patience - which leaves a lot of things half finished and ugly.

But (Ha! You knew that was coming)... One of my forever friends, Liz, is having a baby and I am, along with two of my other forever friends, throwing her a shower. Now I wish with all my heart I could spend thousands of dollars on fun frilly girl items (they are expecting a girl) but my wallet is not a magic lamp. Instead I bought a few items and a practical pack of diapers. Diapers are very boring to wrap and I have had a lot of time on my hands lately so I decided to make a Diaper Cake! Have you seen these? They are kind of cheesy, but a creative and fun way to give a practical item such as diapers.

I scoured the internet looking for ideas and instruction. I found a LOT of stuff... I guess these things are all the rage. This was my favorite:
How To Make A Diaper Cake - A funny movie is a click away I'm just waiting for the punchline, it's so Saturday Night Live to me.

Anyway, just in case you need a creative, crafty way to wrap the diapers you are giving at your next shower here is my version of the Diaper Cake instruction manual.

****Spoiler Alert! Liz, if you do not want to see part of your present do NOT read on (yeah, right!)****

Materials:

• Diapers, be sure to get buy ones that the mom will actually use, don't be cheap! The amount will vary depending on the size of diapers you buy and the size of cake you are constructing (I used 50 Luvs brand size 2's and 18 size 3's).


• One 8oz baby bottle filled with candy.


• A ton of small rubber bands, clear if you have them


• 6+ larger rubber bands


• Colored ribbon (to match the baby colors). If you are using an opaque ribbon use white solid ribbon underneath to cover the rubber bands. Approx 20 feet.


• Double stick tape


• A cake plate, platter, or round cardboard at least 16 inches in diameter.

Step 1:

Roll folded diaper top to bottom, and wrap with one elastic. Try making your husband help while he makes "arty" suggestions about how to roll, get annoyed. While your baby steals half the diapers and runs away screaming. Continue to roll until all the diapers are done.

Rolled Diaper

Husband

Step 2:

Begin assembling the bottom tier. Take one diaper and wrap it with on of the larger rubber bands. Add diapers in a circular motion inside the large rubber band. Band the layer with another rubber band. Add diapers to that rubber band to make another layer. Make a total of three layers. Set aside.

Bottom Tier

Step 3:

Assemble the middle tier just like the bottom but do one less layer for a total of 2 circles around the one middle diaper.

Middle Tier (with ribbon done already)

Step 4:

To assemble the top tier take your candy filled bottle. If you ate the candy out of the bottle during steps 1-3 please replace it, or at least write a nice note. Place a large rubber band around the bottle and add diapers again in a circle completing only one layer.

Top Tier

Step 5:

Time to add the ribbon! Using your double stick tape wrap the ribbon around each tier securing it every so often with a small piece tape. Be sure you covered the rubber bands and don't use too much tape or it will ruin the diapers. What is the point if the mom can't use the diapers you spent 25 bucks on? You can add bows or flowers or whatever you want at this point. I chose to keep mine simple.

Step 6:

Once all the tiers are prettied up you can assemble your cake. Secure the bottom tier to the cake platter/cardboard with double stick tape. place double stick tape on the top of the bottom tier and carefully place the middle tier on top gently pressing to make sure it sticks. Add the top tier the same way.

At this point your cake should look like this:
If it doesn't you are not as good as me. Begin to eat the rest of the candy from the bottle.

Phew! you're done! If you want to be. To go above and beyond you can add additional ribbon, accessories like pacifiers, onsies, blankets, or little plush animal. There are thousands of ways to do these.

This craft is so easy but looks complicated which impresses people. This is the ONLY kind of craft I enjoy. I hope to do more of these for the 500,000,000 friends that are now pregnant that I have to attend showers for (I am of course exaggerating, I don't have that many friends).

I hope you get the opportunity to do one too! Just don't show up to a shower I'm attending with one!

Snakes and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

It's official! We make little boys in this baby factory! We had the ultrasound for #2 today. They even gave us a CD with the pictures on it (for $5 bucks...racket). Everything is perfect. He is growing normally, no signs of abnormalities or chromosomal disorders. Just a healthy little stinky boy!

We are happy about having another boy for many reasons. Our pocketbook being one. Also I am looking forward to bunk beds, and frog catching, and t-ball, all the fun things boys do. I think Everett will love having a little brother :-).

Here are the pics we received today!