Stitching Progress

I started a rotation (4 projects, 6 hours each = 24 hours of stitching time) in September and finally finished it on January 10th. I must have caught the stitching bug at that point because I just finished another rotation tonight - in 16 days! It helped that Peter had a stretch of night shifts in there, as I tend to stitch more (and stay up later) when he's working.

Here is what the pieces look like tonight. My last update is here.

Carousel (Theresa Wentzler)
Started: January 2007 (estimated at 206 hours completed)


I finally finished the horses!! I'm so excited about that. I got a small start on the bottom of the carousel but it will take a while. I'm already dreading the back stitching on this project ... ugh.

Celtic Summer (Lavender & Lace)
Started: Unknown but later than Feb. 2007 (?? + 36 hours)


Still working on the dress. I think this piece will be my next finish. Not for a while, though. I still have an intricate border and the word 'Summer' to stitch after I finish the dress. Oh yes, and the beading.

Nativity - Centre Panel (Marbek)
Started: unknown but later than Feb. 2007 (?? + 36 hours)


I worked totally on the ray from the star this rotation. It's coming, but it is slow going ... and I still have to do the rest of angel #1 and the complete angel #2 before I get to the manger scene! Have I mentioned this is all on panel #1 ... and that there are 5 panels?? This piece may go in my will ;)

Dance of the Roses (Lavender & Lace)
Started: Feb. 2007 (?? + 36 hours)


Not much to say about this one. I am still working on her massive dress.

Back to stitching ...

January 26

I've finally given up the desire to have a deep, structured blog, where I spend hours composing enlightening posts (haha!) ... that is just not feasible given where I am right now in life and all my other hobbies and interests. And, since most people just read this (I think) to learn what the kids are up to and to see pictures of them, it's probably not necessary.

So ... I'm stealing a few minutes of my free hour during the day (yes, there is one hour where all three are sleeping simultaneously - pure joy!) to type a quick update and share a few pictures.

As I mentioned in my last post, we have taken Nathan skating a few times. Well, actually, Peter usually takes him and I stay home with Hannah and Abigail. It was warm enough a couple of weeks ago that we took all three kids out. Abigail was under a blanket in the sled, so I didn't get a picture of her, but here are pictures of Nathan and Hannah (she just wore her boots).



I have pictures of the two of them side by side on the ice, but they are both crying, so I figured these were better.

And ... for good measure, a picture of Abigail

I can't believe Abigail is going to be 4 months old in a few days! It doesn't really seem possible. I have to dig out the high chair in the next little while. I think she would enjoy sitting in it while we eat our meals, and it won't be long before she'll be eating some cereal herself. *sniff, sniff*

I am working on tweaking the kids' schedules a bit. I finally have been trying to follow a consistent schedule with them but, of course, there were a few things that weren't working after my first attempt. As soon as I finish this post I'm going to head over to Excel to get it updated and hope that the changes work well. I find our days go so much more smoothly when we are at least trying to follow some sort of routine.

Peter and I are planning a trip south this spring to celebrate our 10th anniversary (coming up this August!). We are having lots of fun reading all about different resorts and the pros and cons of different locations and amenities. I'm getting so excited to go!

On the weight-loss / healthy living front I have run twice so far this week. Unfortunately I am dealing with some minor shin splints so I didn't run yesterday even though it was scheduled. They seem to be getting better and I am going to be very strict about not increasing my mileage more than 10% per week. That means I'm aiming to run 11 miles this week ... so far I've done 6.35 and have two more runs scheduled. Definitely attainable.

Well ... as Bugs Bunny always says ... 'that's all, folks!'

Wow - time for an update!

There are not enough hours in the day lately to get everything done, and this blog definitely gets pushed to the bottom of the list! So ... here's a quick recap of what's been happening in our household.

Nathan
Nathan was so much fun this Christmas!! It was the first year he really started to anticipate that something exciting was happening, and we had a million questions about how Santa works. Fun, fun! Of course, the day after Christmas he started asking when next Christmas is.

Nathan got a hockey net for Christmas and when it's not too cold Peter takes him outside to play street hockey in the driveway. Nathan has also been learning to skate a bit. He can go short distances on his own.

We have started doing some letter tracing recently with Nathan, too, and he loves it. I can only hope his love of learning continues once he starts school!

Hannah
We are currently weaning Hannah from the soother, at least during the day. Until last week she would have it pretty much 24/7 and I was starting to worry it was going to hamper her speech development. I needn't have worried, though. Hannah is a born talker. She is learning new words every day and it is so much fun to hear her try out new ones.

Hannah also started walking in the last few months ... finally! She does pretty well, but still falls multiple times every day.

I struggle to find things for Hannah to do during the days. Sometimes she enjoys playing with stickers, but other times she has no interest in them. I'm going to have to make some new play dough soon.

We have just started keeping Hannah with us for the first part of the church service. We did this with Nathan right from birth, but it was harder with two. However, I feel it's so important both from a spiritual perspective and to teach them to sit quietly.

Abigail
Abigail is such an easy baby! She started sleeping through the night around 6 weeks old and just spoils me. She actually woke in the night a few nights ago and I think I was in shock. She is a skinny little thing. At her 2 month appointment she was 23" long and only weighed 9 lbs, 12 oz. The nurse wasn't concerned about her slow weight gain - she said it's in her genes to be tall and skinny. She has very long feet, so maybe the nurse is right!

Abigail rolled over 2 weeks ago, and has done it a few times since. She loves to suck her thumb and often when I go to wake her from her naps I find her in her crib, already awake with her thumb in her mouth. I'm not allowing myself to think about how difficult it could be to get her to stop, and just enjoying not having to constantly search for soothers.

Health and Fitness
Both Peter and I have been trying to eat better (well, this is mostly on my part since I prepare all our meals! lol) and exercise, but for opposite reasons. Peter is trying to gain, and I'm trying to lose weight. Trying to work exercise into our daily routine does make for hectic days, but it's paying off.

I'm not sure how much weight Peter has put on, but I'm 2 lbs below my pre-pregnancy weight at the moment and trying to lose another 13 lbs before

....

we head somewhere warm for a trip to celebrate our 10th anniversary! Our anniversary isn't until August, but we're going to go this spring. I am so excited to have a week away, just the two of us!

So ... that is a quick summary of where we are now. I won't promise another post anytime soon, but I will try and find a few minutes every week (and next time I'll try to do pictures!)