The Letter A

Jack has started a preschool curriculum at day care this week! This week they started the letter A, the color red, and the number one. I love that he gets this structured time of learning with other kids his age.

Today they had show-and-tell with the letter A. Jack brought his African musical instrument that PawPaw and Dee brought him from Liberia. He was very excited to show his friends!

14 Week Appt.

Everything looks great! Dr. Manuel heard that precious heartbeat going at 160 beats/minute immediately and said "Sounds like a baby!" At my next appointment (Oct 14) we will find out the sex of the baby and get a detailed ultrasound to make sure everything is growing properly.

Praise Jesus!

Boy or Girl?

Many people have asked me if I want another boy or a girl. I'm really not sure! I guess that's a good thing because I will be excited no matter what.

Having a girl: Of course...shopping for a girl! The dresses, the bows, the shoes. Oh my goodness. The crib bedding, the nursery, the sewing to do! I drool over girl fabric at Hobby Lobby. Then, there's the grown up girl! A shopping buddy, chick-flick watcher, crafting companion, and ballet dancer. Prom dress shopping, WEDDING dress shopping, and talking about boys. Very, very fun.

Having a boy: Let's face it. Boys are so much fun!! I love that Jack is obsessed with sports and the outside. He is so low maintenance when it comes to clothes, which is great for the budget. I've had a blast with Jack this week getting his haircut, going to the football game, and playing basketball in the living room. I would love for Jack to have a brother to grow up with. Plus, I think I'm probably a better mom for a son than a daughter. I really don't deal well with drama.

So, what do I think I'm having?? Another boy. I don't know why, that's just my gut feeling. If I do have another boy, this would be the 7th Iles boy in a row. Clint and his brothers say they're building a dynasty. Give me a break...ha!

Then, on another note...something has to give at some time, right? I mean, you can't just have THAT many boys in a row in a family, right?? So, maybe it IS a girl.

Names we have picked out:

Girl: Sydney Kaye. Done. No doubt about it.
Boy: John Garrett and Scott Clinton are the two we like right now.

My 14 week appointment is Monday. I'll update then!

Go Trojans!

Friday night we headed to the ASH football game to cheer on the Trojans! Jack had a great time eating a hot dog and playing with his friend Blake. We only stayed until half-time, but the Trojans ended up whooping up on the Pineville Rebels 34-14. Jack, like any good Louisiana boy, knows that LSU wears purple and gold, so all night he was cheering on the Tigers, not knowing that ASH also wears purple and gold. So cute!

$3.00 Shirt

If you haven't already noticed, I'm really just going to keep up with this one blog now. I'll blog about family life, pregnancy, sewing, and whatever else comes up. I teach at Alexandria Senior High and this year we are #5 in the state for football. It's so fun to see the athlete's names in the paper and hear their name on the radio and think "Hey! He's in fifth period...great kid!" Well, one football player, Imoan, calls Jack his little brother. And Jack basks in the glory of it all. Every Friday we go watch the football players load the school bus and Imoan scoops Jack up into his arms and let him drink some of his gatorade and gives him high-fives. I love that Jack has a little connection to those boys...and I hope those boys realized what a big impact they make on little boys all over Alexandria.

Well, Jack needed a football shirt to wear to the ASH vs. Pineville game Friday. There are no ASH t-shirts for toddlers anywhere in Alexandria, and to special order one would be at least $20. Not happening. So, at the suggestion of a friend, I'm making him an appliqued shirt!

Now, I am not great at applique, and I'm a little concerned that this shirt is going to look "homemade" when I'm done with it. Oh well. The shirt was $3 at Walmart and I had all the other materials to make it. I think it looks pretty darn cute so far! I'll post again when it's done. For now I'm going to watch "Everybody Hates Chris" on Nick and Nite.

The Kitchen is Done!

The painting project ended up being LONG and DRAWN OUT...isn't that how all "easy" projects end up being? The painter at Sherwin Williams talked us into semi-gloss because it would be easier to clean. He assured me over and over that it would not be shiny. Well, after two coats of semi-gloss it was TERRIBLE! Oh so shiny and you could see every roll mark and brush mark. So, on Labor Day we went back and bought a gallon of eggshell finish and it looked great even before it dried. We are so pleased with our kitchen!!

Spare Me

Whenever I'm starting a sewing project, I have two choices for fabric: Hancock's or Hobby Lobby. Now, Hobby Lobby has cuter prints and cheaper prices, so it seems like a no-brainer, right? WRONG!! The ladies that work in the fabric department absolutely make me dread going there. They follow you around, talking incessantly. And if Jack is with me, it's even worse. Well, I decided to just suck it up, be more like Jesus, and go to Hobby Lobby and be nice to the people.

I picked out my fabrics and went to the cutting table and the woman asked, "So, what are you making?" Now, why didn't I say a purse, or a dress, or ANYTHING except for what I was actually making?? I nonchalantly said "a nursing cover." She asked what that was and I explained that it was a cover for breastfeeding when you're in public.

And then it happened. My nice little outing to the fabric store without Jack where I had decided to be more like Jesus turned into an all out mental battleground. As the lady was cutting my fabric she delves into very detailed stories about how engorged her breasts would become. Then, if that wasn't enough, she starts to imitate her son's suckling with her mouth. If she hadn't been cutting my fabric I would have run away screaming with my hands over my ears. I was standing there, not making eye contact, mentally screaming "MAKE IT STOP MAKE IT STOP!!!" When she finally finished cutting the fabric, I said thank you and bolted from the fabric section, horrified.

Why me, why me.

Well, here it is. The nursing cover. I've been dying to do some baby sewing, but it's hard to find any gender neutral fabrics or projects. So, I made myself something. The way I figure, even if I have a boy, the nursing cover is for me, right? So, I made it girly.


Here's the front side. It has 16" of boning in the front, so you can see the baby. It also has straps that go around the neck.




And here's the back. It has a little pocket (not sure what for!) and a terry cloth square for obvious reasons.

I got the tutorial at www.freshlypicked.blogspot.com

Labor Day Weekend

Ahhhhhh...the joys of a long weekend. This school year we had four whole weeks of school before Labor Day! Four weeks is a long time to work without a break. Yes, I know I'm a spoiled 9-month school employee. However, 20 straight school days with seniors staring at you like you must be the stupidest person on earth is QUITE a long time.

This weekend started off with a bang! Calvary Day Care called me at school at 2:30 to say that Jack had a 103.3 fever!!! I rushed over there and rushed Jack to the doctor's office. It isn't strep or the flu. They think it's mycoplasma - the bacteria that causes "walking pneumonia." Six hours and $120 later Jack is sound asleep with only a 100 degree fever. For now.



Jack taking his breathing treatments. He looks a little "under the influence"


Happy Jack earlier this week with chocolate all over his face. Why did I give him a candy bar in his carseat?? I'll never learn...

Did "walking pneumonia" stop our weekend plans of painting?? No, sir! One of us would lay on the couch with him and watch TV while the other painted away (using non-VOC baby friendly paint, I might add). After Jack went down we stayed up until 11:00 getting the primer done. Sherwin Williams tinted the primer for us, so the color you see is actually a couple shades lighter than the finished product. I'll update at the end of the weekend with our completed kitchen! I still need to make the curtains and frame the botanical prints that came in today. Wish us luck!

Across the World...

Those of you who know us best know that we have a heart for adoption. I could write post after post on this (and I will when we actually start the process one day), but I will spare you for now.

God has specifically laid Rwanda on our hearts. Most of you know the heartache Rwanda has been through in the past few decades, and their need for orphan care is so tremendous. However, they didn't open their doors to international adoption until a few years ago. Since then, slowly but surely, precious little Rwandan children have been placed in loving homes, many of these homes being Christian ones.

This week a family in Virginia will be leaving for Rwanda to pick up their two sons, Daniel and Etienne. Won't you stop and say a prayer right now for the Higgins family?

You can follow their journey at higginsadoption.blogspot.com

Home Improvements

We have been busy around the house this summer and still have several projects to go as we get ready for the new baby! From past experience, I know that I'd better get any house projects I want done now, because next spring and summer will be filled with getting to know our new addition! I'll do a different post for each project as we move along. First up...KITCHEN!


We bought our first home back in December and I have been trying to figure out how to improve our kitchen ever since. The walls are dark red and has wood cabinets and wood floors. I finally figured out that it has just too much in the "red" category!
We are painting the kitchen "Lemon Verbena" this weekend. It's actually a green color. You can see the sample sloppily painted on the wall in one of the pictures.

Also, I never could decide just what to do above the kitchen table, until I saw this...



I found some botanical prints on Ebay. $14 for a set of 8. I'm going to buy some simple frames at Hobby Lobby this week. Won't that look fabulous!? I'm so excited!!

Another project for updating the kitchen was to make some cushions for this church pew my grandparents gave us in the spring. We found the cushions at Bed, Bath, and Beyond for $5 a piece, then I made the pillows for the back this weekend. I can't wait to see it against our new green wall!