Travis is melting, secret santa and I've become domesticated

Travis noticed the other day that he looked like he was melting. Closer inspection revealed that he was rotting away. He diagnosed himself as having a depressed skull fracture.


Apparently when I cut the stem off the pumpkin I managed to cut a little too much off.

Mandatory Jack picture (so Kim doesn't complain). I love this one.


Only one more day left of maternity leave. Through the entire three months I've been taking care of Jack (obviously) but I also took advantage of the fact that newborns sleep, a lot. Before I met Travis I was not much of a cook, my baking was so so and I didn't craft/sew at all. My mom is not a homemaker in any way so I really didn't have anyone to learn from. Now after three months of sitting at home on the internet I have started to learn more and more about making food, storing food and that cooking isn't that scary. If you look at the links on the side that's just a small sample of all the blogs I've read trying to learn how to cook, organize, sew, craft and be an all around Suzie homemaker.

Look I even made bread and pizza all from scratch! Considering that my specialty three years ago was beans and rice I'd say I'm improving. Thank you Travi.
Oh the secret santa. I found a bag by my front door when I came home from the grocery store. There was no card or any note left behind. When I found out who left this for Jack I was quite surprised. Look what Jack got.

No time to make a long post. Jack just wanted to say "Hi!" to his buddy Sam.

Procrastinator? Slacker?

Two posts in one day!

Lately, Jack has had more awake time which means more time mom has to entertain him. He loves the mobile that hangs above his crib but that will only satisfy him for half an hour or so. We don't have a play mat (note to self: buy one!) and I can't park him in front of the TV. I read somewhere that every hour of TV watched before the age of seven increases the chances of a child having ADD. Something about all the flashing lights and rapid movement. Anyway, you can see how my craft/sewing time has been reduced to almost nothing. I can't even sew with Jack in the sling since I tend to lean forward while sewing. If he were in the sling I'd smoosh him against the table. I'm on maternity leave shouldn't this be like an extended vacation?

Yesterday Travis worked on the backyard. He had a truck full of compost which make my backyard smell like poop. Boo.Jack and I sat on the back porch to keep dad company. I sat in our new chair and quilted away on what I have decided to name "The quilt that will never die" all while listening to the Slackers. Putting this thing together was a breeze, hand quilting it has taken me over a year. I get so frustrated because it takes forever to move from frame to frame so then I stop. For weeks.
After a while the flys were too much to handle, it smelled terrible outside and I was tired of Ralph begging to come out so we went inside where my other quilt lays on the table just asking to be worked on.

So that's two quilts that need to be finished. Plus, I was planning on making a pig quilt for Donna's Christmas present this year which is probably not gonna happen. Last year I made the "Giant Janell Project" and there's no way I can dedicate that much time to quilting a single project this year.

Vacation

We took our first trip out of town as a family this week. A few days in San Diego disguised as a work conference for Travis. The hotel was nice, right on the water with a great view.We enjoyed the free food and drink offered but instead of attending meetings Travis hung out with me and Jack.


He's still got blue eyes.
Jack had no problem reminding us that he'd rather be held than stay in the stroller while on our walk.
We hung out with couples who had children as not to annoy those who left their kids at home or are childless (you know who you are). It was a good trip but we left a day early because I got sick and when I'm sick all I want is my own bed no matter how nice the hotel bed is.

A new family tradition?

Last year I painted two small pumpkins to look like me and Travis but for the life of me I can't find the picture of them. This year I decided to do it again and Travis asked if it would be a tradition. Why not? I gave Travis glasses made out of pipe cleaners (I know, I craft like a five year old). I'm supposed to be yawning but it looks like I'm yelling but either emotion is appropriate. Why didn't I carve them? I like carving pumpkins but I hate rotting fruit (yes, a pumpkin is a fruit) on my front porch. Painted pumpkins are fun because no one risks losing a finger, it's much easier clean up and it's easier to be creative with them. The downside is you can't light them up at night. I managed to get them done with Jack in the sling.

The magic of the Moby wrap is amazing. I tried two other slings before getting this and Jack wasn't having it. It's super comfortable, fits everyone in the family and can be used multiple ways up to toddlerhood (one word? two?). It does have a slight learning curve at the beginning but easy to get the hang of.
Even dad can wear it.
I finally managed to get a picture of him smiling this morning while he was in the sling staring at dad.
We recently found out that two of our favorite family's are each expecting a new baby this summer. This is Jack's reaction when he found out he'd be getting two more friends.
He can't wait to welcome new friends and beat the crap outta Thor in a snowball fight!

First Rain

Saturday morning we woke up to discover that it finally rained for the first time this fall. The weather has been nothing but hot, still felt like summer, so waking up to wet ground and a sunless sky was actually nice. I've lived here for most of my life and I can't get over the heat of summer. I love a cloudy sky, the smell/sound of rain, being able to actually see the mountains that we live near and I even like the crazy dense fog. I love jeans, hoodies, sweaters, boots and gloves.
Honestly, who doesn't love a reason to stay in bed most of the day, eat soup, read and watch movies? Rainstorms are the perfect reason to stay in side and be lazy "We can't go out, it's raining." I wish it rained more, like in Oregon.

I managed to get out and take some pictures out in the garden while Jack was still sleeping since I knew that the rain wasn't going to last forever, although I wish it would. I love my new fancy camera and use any excuse to break it out and take tons of pictures. Unfortunately, Jack doesn't care what I want to do. Since he's still only two months old so when he wakes up it's time for Mom to drop the camera and play with him. I do take pictures of him quite often but since he's still in that blob mode where he doesn't do much it's not to exciting. I've been trying to get pictures of his smile but everytime I pick up the camera he stops smiling and gives me the old man face. One day Jack, one day...