The No Good, Very Bad Week

So . . . this week . . . not the greatest. Remember the {ew!} stomach flu? The stomach flu that was supposed to last 24 hours {that's what everyone kept telling me}. 24 hours, my foot! After throwing up pretty much every 15 minutes all day Saturday, Sunday was a little better. And by Monday I was feeling quite a bit better. I even did a quick clean of the new house, and went on a {tiny} nature walk with the girls. I had kept water down, chicken noodle soup, and even some crackers. Oh yeah, I was feeling pretty confident.

So I made some dinner for my family. Twice baked potatoes {I have a serious love of potatoes}, steaks, salad, and rolls. I was very careful. I ate slowly. I did not over-eat. I didn't even have but a bite of steak. But shortly after dinner I just wasn't feeling right. I knew I should've stuck with the dang chicken noodle!

I went to bed thinking that if I just got some sleep, I'd feel better in the morning. Instead, I was up all night, rekindling my relationship with the toilet. By Tuesday morning I was just miserable, and {sorry if this continues to be WAY too much information}, I just didn't have anything left to throw up.

So . . . any guesses as to where I spent a little time on Tuesday?

This was my view. Pretty, isn't it?

No? Need more clues?

I wound up on IVs for 7 hours. When they told me I'd be there that long I almost spun right around and left. Usually I'm not a baby, but when it comes to pregnancy, I didn't want to take any chances. The extra fluid turned out to be just what I needed, and I am now feeling much better!

But I have to say, all the stomach bug business has put quite a damper on my week!

How about y'all? Please tell me you are having a better week.

Happy Birthday, Kameryn Faith

Oh my goodness, how is it possible that my sweet little Kameryn is 2 years old already?!
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I truly do not know where the time has gone.

{Warning: Picture overload ahead!}

~~~~~~~~~

{Squeal} Look at how teeny tiny you are, Miss Kameryn! Sierra's little six year old hands are bigger than your head!

This was one of the very few times that your thumb ever found your mouth, and I thought it was the most.precious.thing.ever!

I'm sorry, but there is nothing sweeter than a soundly sleeping baby. Those pouty little lips are too precious.

Your baby giggles. Sniff.

I've always loved this picture of you. So serious. Just takin' in the world around you.

All tuckered out after your first Tricks and Treats!

Was this really a year ago? Your first birthday was kind of quiet {due to some sicky sisters}, but you enjoyed it just the same.

Maybe a little too much ;)

Again with those pouty lips, you sweet thing!

Our trip to the tulips. You weren't as impressed as I was.

One of my all time favorite shots. This captures you beautifully. So full of life and energy.

Lovin' the outdoors.

And today, when I tried to get a few shots of you, you pretty much ignored me. Until I was about to put my camera away. And then it was "Cheese. Cheese, Mama!"

Well, give me a cheese, then! :)

~~~~~~~~~~

Just for my own {dwindling} memory :)

The things I love the most:

♥ You are the best cuddler ever. You could snuggle for hours.

♥ You spend a lot of time looking through photos. I have never known a child your age who loves looking through albums and scrapbooks so much. Each time we go to Nana's you take out all 400 albums and search them thoroughly. And our photo storage boxes get drug out at least once or twice a day.

♥ You love to be on the go! You are happiest when we have errands to run and things to go and see. You love to be outdoors, and you continue to enjoy people-watching.

♥ You can be so sweet and helpful. You genuinely enjoy doing thoughtful things for others, and that just warms my heart.

A few things we're working on ;)

♥ You REALLY enjoy the word "no". We need to work on this, sugar dumplin'.

♥ You tend to hit your sissies sometimes. Actually, you hit Kenners quite a bit. If she gets too close, if she says something you don't like, if she doesn't let you play with her babies. Sometimes even for no reason. Let's grow out of it quick, mmmkay.

~~~~~~~~

You bring so much joy to our family, Kam! Happy 2nd birthday!!! Oh how we love you.

Ew, Stomach Flu

It's been a miserable couple of days at the Fraijo house. I caught my second stomach bug in two months, blech! I'm kind of wondering where my immune system has gone ;) When I was a teen I was always sick battling strep throat, tonsillitis, pneumonia, or some sort of virus, but since becoming a mama it seems my immune system kicked into high gear. Apparently, no longer. Anyway.

~~~~~~~~

These photos were taken before I developed the close, personal relationship with the toilet.

I love moments like these. Kenners and Kam struggle to get along sometimes. So when they're snuggled together, it just melts my heart.

Is this the cutest little project you've ever seen? Sierra made this "paw cloth" {to wipe dirty paws before furry friends come into the house} ~ almost entirely by herself. We don't have any indoor animals at the moment, so she wants to give it to Jeremy's good friend who has many dogs, for his birthday.

And this little pumpkin . . . she turns 2 this week! Oh my my, where does the time go? So hard to believe that at this time two years ago I was {im}patiently awaiting her {EARLY} arrival from my hospital room.

Brownie-Making

This is what Brownie-making looks like in our house . . .

how about yours??

~~~~~~~~

Also, the same little choco-holic pictured above just may be using the "potty" like a big girl these days. At least most of the time ;)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What Do You Dream About?

Life is busier than ever! I always thought there was a busy time of year, and a time when things slowed down, but I'm finding that it's just busy year round here ;)

~~~~~~~~~~~

Our stairway railing/banister was finished the other day {and by finished I mean it was constructed. It is by no means finished}, and now the real work begins. Spackle, putty, sanding, more sanding, painting, and staining are all on the list of things to do. It's funny how you hire people for certain jobs thinking "whew, that's one less thing I have to worry about!" only to find that there is always something {lots of times many somethings} that have to be done to the "finished product". Ahh well. Such is the life when you are the contractor.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I seem to dream a LOT more when I'm pregnant than when I'm not. Or maybe it's just that my dreams are more vivid or that I remember them more, not really sure how that works. Anyway. I won't delve into the dream I had the other night about my mom signing me up to compete in a pageant . . . while pregnant. Um yeah, that wasn't pretty. But I will mention the dream I had last night. See, I have a "gender" dream each pregnancy before finding out what we're having. And I've been right every time . . . so far. This pregnancy I've had several dreams about new babies, but it's always a little foggy regarding who the baby actually belongs to. In one dream I was holding a new baby boy, but then it seemed as though the baby actually belonged to my friend, Amanda. In another dream I was taking care of a brand new baby girl, but then I found out that she belonged to my older sister. Sigh. But night before last was the clearest one of all. Wanna hear?

Mkay. I was in labor. Jeremy and I hopped in the car to head to the hospital, and Jeremy decided that he needed to stop at the market {this is actually very believable. When I called Jeremy to tell him that I was in labor with Kenners, he decided there was time to stop by the taxidermist on the way home from work. After that, he thought it was a good idea to put gas in the car, and stop by the post office. I was about dying by the time we actually made it to the hospital}. Anyway. I ended up having the baby in the market. Not actually the best scenario if you knew what our local market looked like. Jeremy delivered the baby, and we decide that we needed to get to the hospital ASAP. Once we're on our way, I look at him and ask "Well, what did we have???" And he says "I don't really know, I was in such a hurry to get you to the hospital". {Not real believable, I know. But it was a dream, people!} We get to the hospital, and are waiting for the nurse to come in. I unwrap the baby, and . . . . . .

It was a boy!

LOL! I realize it was just a dream, but . . . you never know ;) I fully expect we're having another girl, but it just cracks me up what goes on inside our heads!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And that's all the stories I have for you today ;)

Hope you have a fabulous weekend!

Does This Pregnancy Make My Bum Look Big?

Mmmkay, I'm trying to embrace the pregnancy "chub", but good grief. If I didn't know better {or have an early ultrasound}, I'd suspect twins! Then again, the weight is rather . . . how shall I say . . . dispersed. Anyway. Once I can get past the severe exhaustion and unexpected vomiting episodes {particularly those that take place in grocery store parking lots, ahem.} I am SO gonna get my boot movin' a little more. And maybe try to cut back on the potato chips and french fries. So bad, I know. But in my defense, I *have* been eating a lot of salad, fruits, and veggies too.

Alrighty, enough of that.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Time for a little question and answer period {since I've been horrible about returning email these days}.

Q: How am I feeling? {Thank you so much for asking!}

A: Better. I'm tired all the time, but the nausea is getting better. It sneaks up on me though!

Q: What kind of camera/lens did you get for Christmas?

A: Well, I've had my new {lovely} camera since last August. I had been wanting an upgrade for a long while, and purchased the Canon EOS 7D right before Sierra's birthday. At the time, I wasn't able to buy a lens for it, so I had been using my 50mm 1.8. Fine for outdoors, but a little tight indoors. So . . . I hemmed and hawed over which lens I wanted, and I'd heard so many wonderful things about the Tamron 28-75 ~ that's what went on my list. What a fun surprise to actually unwrap it on Christmas morning! And in case you're wondering, I do so love it :)

Q: What kind of camera bag did you get?

A: I got this one, below, and I ♥ it! It has enough room for my camera, a couple of lenses, batteries, cards, and probably even my wallet and cell phone. I'm not sure it's appropriate to love a bag this much.

Small, Jill.e. Camera bag in Bone.

Q: Are we staining/painting our cabinets, or will they remain natural?

A: It's hard to tell from the photo, but the cabinets actually are stained. Or lacquered, or whatever you call it ;) But no, we aren't doing anything further. I love them just the way they are, and in my opinion it would be a crime to cover them up with paint. But that's just my personal opinion.

~~~~~~~

I think that's it. Unless y'all have any other questions ;)

Some Babble, Some Photos

I've been dragging my feet on this because I'm not typically a resolutions type of girl. I figure, I break most of them anyway, so why bother? But, I do have a few goals for 2011, and although I'm a little late to the party, I thought I should jot them down. You know, as a reminder.

#1 on my list of things to do this year is read through the Bible. Confession: I have never read through the entire Bible. And I really want to. I downloaded the 90 day schedule, and it's looking like a lot. Especially right now when we are in the final weeks of house building, I'm pregnant, etc. etc. But I realized that I can always find excuses not to find the time. So I'm going for it. I doubt I'll have it finished in 90 days, but even if it takes me six months, it's a goal I want to achieve this year. {Anyone else gone through the 90 day program? Any thoughts are greatly appreciated}.

#2 I would love to make some time for activities that I used to enjoy, but have completely left behind since becoming a mama. Dance team and pageants used to be a huge part of my life. It may sound silly and shallow {?}, but I would love to be involved again. No Mrs. America for me, I can't imagine competing now, but I would LOVE to make it an annual tradition to attend the Miss Oregon pageant each year. And there is no reason that I can't attend local dance team competitions in the spring. The more that I think about it, the more I realize how important it is for me to show my girls what I used to be involved in, and even more importantly for them to see that I haven't always just been "Mama" ;) Besides, these are activities that I know my daughters would enjoy too.

And I suppose if I was going to add a #3 it would be to make more memories with my family. Last year we didn't get away much. This year I would love to plan a couple of trips to the beach, maybe a museum, the zoo, and more local attractions. Of course, now that the interest rate is going back up, and we'll be refinancing a brand new house soon, having even one extra cent around is looking pretty bleak. But a girl can dream.

~~~~~~~~~~~

And while I'm here {computer time has been limited these days!}, I may as well do a quick house update.

I cannot say enough about the finish work that my husband has done so far. He bought the unfinished wood trim, sanded, lacquered {then sanded and lacquered again, and again!}, and then put these GORGEOUS window trims together.

You can't truly get a feel until you see it in person, but oh my. He did an amazing job. Seriously, I'm thinking he's going to have to make it a side job ;)

And look what was installed Christmas day . . .

Cabinets! Woohoo! The countertops are done, linoleum is being installed on Tuesday, and Jeremy and my dad have been tirelessly working on the floors. It's coming together :)

Happy New Year!

Wow. 2011. How is it even possible? While I'm not quite sure how time passes so quickly, I am sure of this: 2011 is going to be even better than 2010. Not that 2010 was a bad year, mind you. But, we did have quite a few "rough moments". And everything seemed a little off with such an enormous house building project at hand. And consequently we didn't get away much. I'm hoping that we can correct that this year ;)

So . . . technically I'm supposed to be taking a blogging break. But I had to check in and share some pics.

We had a wonderful Christmas.

Someone got a new lens and a new camera bag! Squeal!

Poor girls got sick a few days before Christmas, and Kam was especially miserable on Christmas Eve. Luckily she perked up a little just in time to open presents on Christmas morning.

She got a new baby, and was beyond excited.

Sierra and Kenners were happy with more AG accessories,

clothes, books, and . . . .

brand new cameras. They've been snappin' photos ever since.

Even Jeremy found a few things under the tree to be happy about ;)

Later in the morning we headed up to Jeremy's parents' for more Christmas.

And a special surprise Santa left for the girls:

We've all been enjoying it! {This from a girl who once said "Never will there be a video game in my house!" Ha!}

A few days after Christmas we woke up to an even bigger surprise! The girls were SO excited to see so much white. Sis had to teach Kam how to make a snow angel.

And Kam couldn't keep her mittens on to save her life.

And last night we rung in the new year rather quietly. We made these yummy pretzel stick treats, took them next door to my mom and dad's for our annual Bingo marathon, and made it home by 9:30. Just in time to put one sleepy little pumpkin to bed. Another one followed shortly after, and Sierra managed to make it until about 12:02.

Hope you all are enjoying the first day of 2011.

Here's to a blessed year!