This sign needs to be in my kitchen. It's just exactly how I feel.

Due Dates

Yes, today is my due date. No, nothing is happening, nor am I expecting anything to. I think it's kind of funny, this whole concept. I mean, they are just an estimate. I'd rather wait a few more days, give my midwife a chance to recover. She delivered on baby on Friday (a friend from church) and then another one this morning. She needs a break so she can be ready for my labor. So we're okay with waiting. That and Aaron has a couple of tests this week. Don't want to mess those up.

In the meantime, I'm getting lots done. Organized the toy room, stocked my freezer, doing my daily laundry, getting last minute shopping done, getting ready for Halloween. Laurel has her pre-school party tomorrow, so we're ready for that. I'm working on two stitcheries for Christmas - one is done, just needs to be quilted and bound. The other I just started the final stuff on. So those have to get done before December. Which means I should be working on them rather than blogging!

I will keep this posted and updated as best I can. But I'm not going to do it daily.

Birthday for Laurel and William

We celebrated Laurel's and William's birthdays a smidge early, just in case someone decides to make an appearance before then. We had a great time - Ehren, Teresa, Erich, Ryan, Queen Corey, Hannah, Alex, Mom, Dad and Aaron and I were all there. It was a lot of fun and I got to organize the toy room today to make room for the new fun things.

Laurel's beehive cake - I was quite proud of this one.

My little princess, blowing out her candles.
Mr. Will, sitting with his Opa (of course) getting help with his candles.
The Tonka trucks were the hit of the party - Will especially liked getting rides in the dump truck. Thanks Ehren and Teresa! I'm sure we'll get many bruises on the legs from these, but they sure are fun. Will was already loading Laurel's Lincoln Logs in the back and moving them around.

Tagged

The rules:
A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
B. Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves.
C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

Jennifer tagged me - but I have no idea who I'm going to tag!

1. I. Adore. Hostess. Cupcakes. I know, I went to culinary school and should have more refined taste than that, but I can't help myself. It started way before cooking school!

2. I love to read fiction set in India, China, Japan. Memoirs of a Geisha, The Hindi-Bindi Club - I'm fascinated by it all.

3. When I was in my early 20s, I made a list of all the things I wanted in a future husband. I got them all - including the motorcycle.

4. I love retro aprons - I've collected patterns for them for the past couple of years and now I'm starting to make them for myself. They are so girly and fun.

5. I'm going back to school in January to begin to finish my bachelor's degree. Slowly but surely. I'm not waiting anymore.

6. I love that my childrens' birthdays are all close together. They may not love it in the future, but it sure makes my job easier. This way, they all get new toys at the same time and there's no fighting over them. At least, not yet.

I tag: Rebecca. She's the only one left!

Glorious Fall

We got to go camping (sort of - I'll explain later) up near Mt. Rainier this last Friday with my parents, Alex and Hannah. This is my official favorite time to go up there now. It was so beautiful. Thank goodness not every tree was an evergreen - we saw so many different colors. Laurel collected leaves and moss to take to preschool. Will enjoyed throwing rocks in the river. We all hugged a tree. The weather was perfect.

As for the camping part, well, we don't expect women who are 8.5 months pregnant to sleep on the ground. At least not this girl. So we got a cabin at Camp Zarahemla. It was nice - beds for everyone, a stove and refrigerator. We still cooked our dinner in the coals. Mmmmm - foil dinners just can't be beat. Aaron educated Hannah and Alex in the art of making smores. It was just . . . fun.

Here are some photos of the trip.




I adore this photo, and I'm especially proud to have taken it myself. Can't call it skill - just luck with the leaves and lighting. But it's just shows perfectly the relationship my little man has with my Dad. Those two - William wouldn't hold hands on the hike with anyone but his Opa.

Can I Wait?

Josh Groban's Christmas album is released tomorrow. Know where I'm going to be at 8 a.m. tomorrow morning? Waiting outside Target so I can get my copy right away. I am oh so excited about this. Those who know me best know that there is never a bad time to listen to Christmas music. And now we are adding my favorite singer to the mix - hooray! I know, Aaron is supposed to get it for me as a "new baby coming" gift, but I want to make sure I get the special one with the DVD included.

I'll let you all know how wonderful it is - it won't be anything but. He does duets with Faith Hill, Brian McKnight and Mo-Tab. Can't beat that. I've heard a part of his version of Silent Night and it is great. So I'm not worried. And I know I'll cry when I hear "I'll be Home for Christmas" because it has messages from the troops overseas.

Don't bother me tomorrow. I've got a date with my stereo!

Great Big Sister

I just love moments like this. I'm in on the computer and I hear Laurel "reading" to Will. It's a silly little book, but she has it memorized and she's reading it out loud to him and he's loving it. And then, when she's all finished, she asked him if he wanted to read it again. "Mmmm-hmmm" is the reply.

Big smiles from me. This made my day. And it sure makes up for the messy house (almost).

My friend Lee did this on her blog. I thought it was interesting, so I did my own. Sounds like me, I think.

You Are An ISTJ

The Duty Fulfiller You are responsible, reliable, and hardworking - you get the job done. You prefer productive hobbies, like woodworking or knittings. Quiet and serious, you are well prepared for whatever life hands you. Conservative and down-to-earth, you hardly ever do anything crazy. In love, you are loyal and honest. If you commit yourself to someone, then you're fully committed. For you, love is something that happens naturally. And you don't need romantic gestures to feel loved. At work, you remember details well and are happy to take on any responsibility. You would make a great business executive, accountant, or lawyer. How you see yourself: Decisive, stable, and dependable When other people don't get you, they see you as: Boring, conservative, and egotistical

What's" Your Personality Type?