.:Meet the Ritchies:.

So this will be a two part post about our weekend, I guess I could do two separate but I’m in here now so I may as well just write it all out!

Our crafty Saturday!

Saturday was a big day of crafting in our house and it was so incredibly fun! I had started the day with the goal of making some cloth diaper covers and helping the girls create some fun dolls for our little friend Matilda who was turning one the next day. But first! (hey, a girl has to do what a girl has to do) I had to go get a pedicure at the Zenana Spa. It was great, my feet are super soft and my toes are a pretty purple color with sparkling rhinestones. So then I stopped by Joann’s Fabrics and picked up some poly fill for the dolls, and some other fun valentine wood crafts to paint. So I didn’t get back home until about 2pm, and then we had a quick lunch before getting started on our crafts. The girls were excited, and went right to picking out fabrics for their dolls dresses, tights and hair. They are so creative, I really only have to give them minimal direction and they just take off with a million ideas, as I try to accommodate with my supplies on hand. I found the doll pattern and tutorial here. And here is how they turned out….

Claire's doll parts...

Veda's doll parts...

Veda stuffing her doll with poly-fill...

The finished product!

Aren't they all so cute!

The girls were the creative genius behind it all, I was merely there to run the sewing machine. I love how they turned out! And I can’t wait to make some more for our other little baby girl friends! Veda is also planning to make one for Enzo and Claire has plans to make one for her baby sister who should be coming any day now! Unfortunately all that doll making took up the afternoon, and my energy, so I did not get any diapers sewn yet. But I’ve still got some time! He isn’t coming today anyway! : )

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Why my sister is the BEST sister in the world!

Andi and yes, that's me in all my chunky baby glory - 1977

The second part of this post is about our very long Sunday! Claire and I left the house at 5:30am yesterday, stopped for some coffee and muffins and then picked up my sister to head south to Springfield for a volleyball tournament. We arrived home last night at 8:30pm. Yes, that is a 15 hour day of volleyball action, and as exhausting as it was for all of us (especially Claire who played a total of 7 games), it was still a really fun day! I asked my sister to accompany me, should anything happen regarding my impending labor, knowing that it was totally going to be the longest day of her life. If you can imagine, sitting on metal bleachers, going from one volleyball court to another, listening to the sound of whistles, balls and cheering people while 6 games of volleyball are being played at once in a large gym, for 10 hours straight. That’s a lot to ask of anyone who isn’t financially invested in it for their own child.

And she did not complain about anything, not once. Thank you for being such a trooper Andi!! I love you!

At the end of the day I started to wonder if the noise was harmful to Enzo and even googled it on my iPhone. It’s not. He’s pretty protected in there with all that fluid he’s swimming around in. But he does get pretty wiggly with all the noise going on, so I know he can at least hear something fun is happening. And that means he didn’t rest very much at all. He made up for it, and we both got a really good nights sleep last night. Just think, pretty soon he’ll be hearing all of that on the outside!

Claire’s team did really well, they finished 2nd in their seed and were playing kids older than they are. They have half of their team who are 12 and old enough to be playing with 13 & 14 year olds, so because of that we are playing against these older teams. But the other half of their team are 10 & 11, so you can imagine the difference when we get on the court. But these kids are amazing, and they handle the pressure like pros. We have another tournament in a couple weeks, I wonder if Enzo will be here by then?

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Hope you all had an amazing weekend!

xoxo

Paul, Me and Andi - 1979

My older brother Paul was the middle child born to my parents.  His birth is one that many women would wish for and fear all at the same time.  My Mother went to her doctor appointment, an hour away from home, one week before her due date.  The doctor checked her and told her nothing was happening, he’d see her next week as scheduled.  So she and her friend, who was due around the same time, left and spent the rest of the afternoon shopping and eating ice cream sundaes.  As they were pulling out of the town, my Mom’s water suddenly broke.  Her friend who was driving took the next exit and drove right back to the hospital.  As the two of them were laughing about how upset the friends husband was going to be about the water breaking in his brand new car, they wheeled my Mother in a wheelchair to the exam room.  Upon checking her they determined she was having this baby right now and they quickly shuffled her off to the delivery room where my brother was born minutes later.  My Mom says she doesn’t even remember having a contraction.  Epic.  Frightening.  Magical.  All in one.

The following is a text message conversation I had with my brother yesterday afternoon:

Me:  Have you ever heard the story of when you were born?

Paul:  You shouldn’t be drinking, you’re pregnant.

Me:  Haha…. No seriously!

Paul:  Why?

Me:  It’s pretty amazing and makes me hope that birthing experiences are not hereditary!

Paul:  What, water breaks then child?  That fast?

Me:  Yes!  And Dad couldn’t get there in time!  Not like he’d have been in the room anyway, back then.  But yikes!

Paul:  I’ve been the easiest kid since birth.  What can I say.

Me:  You win.

Paul:  You afraid if you have that boy in the driveway, you’ll have to name him “Quick Ritchie”?  Sounds better anyway.

Me:  I would prefer the sweet hospital room!

Paul:  Good luck.  Tell Mark to get his mitt out.

Me:  Thanks for the pep talk.

Paul:  Any time.

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I love my brother.

xoxo

37 weeks or 260 Days

Wow.  It’s hard to believe we have less than 3 weeks until our proposed due date, but that my friends is reality.  We are super ready and anxious to meet the little guy face to face, and start enjoying his snuggly softness and yummy new baby smells.  I’m pretty sure he won’t go without being held for long in our house, with the girls and all of our family being so close.  He’ll probably have people waiting in line to kiss his little cheeks!

I’m feeling great (no, really!) and feel very prepared for his arrival which technically could happen at any time.  The only complaint I have right now is the waiting, I’ve never been very good at that.  I’m an instant gratification type person and when I want something, well, I want it RIGHT NOW.  And this is no different.  (Do you hear that Enzo? Anytime would be great, sooner the better!).  The nursery is set up, the bags are packed (his is completely, mine is for the most part except for last minute little things).  I’ve made some music playlists for when we are laboring in the hospital, or for while I’m home in the early stages.   I have a pedicure scheduled for this Saturday at Zenana Spa & Wellness Center, finally going to use a gift card from my beautiful friend Julie.  And Claire has a volleyball tournament on Sunday in Springfield.  Don’t worry, I’ve enlisted my sister to go along with me (Thanks Sis!) so that if something should happen, like you know, maybe some contractions start? then she can safely drive us back to town.  It will be a fun girls day out!  See, all of these things which could be totally de-railed if he should happen to make an appearance in the next couple days.  As I told the girls at work, I think I’m trying to sabotage myself.  I’ll let you know if it works!

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We did a few more decorating touches to the nursery this week – including hanging the bamboo mobile from my Aunt Sherrie.  It’s super adorable!

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And I put together a little name pennant to hang on his wall above the crib:

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And our jungle cards that I ordered arrived in the mail!  They are even cuter in person!  I can’t wait to order other themes as he gets bigger!

(Giraffe print is a gift from Mark's co-workers, will get that hung up this weekend!)

I’m going to try my hand at making cloth diapers on Saturday.   I already have the patterns I need and I’m sure my fabric collection will have what I need for this purpose.  I just want to have some newborn sized ones to begin with, before we start our Tidee Didee Diaper Service up.  And I imagine he’s going to be long and skinny so he’ll need a tiny little diaper for his tiny little bum!   (See, just one more thing to do that could potentially get sabotaged by his sudden arrival! haha)

The big day is coming soon!  Claire is predicting he’ll arrive on the 3rd, and my Mom is feeling the 12th will be his day.  What do you think?  We’ll let you know when things start to happen!

xoxo

Despite all the rain we’ve been getting lately, this post is actually about a way more fun type of shower – Baby Showers!

Yesterday, my wonderful friends who I happen to be lucky enough to work with, threw us a baby shower.  Karen truly outdid herself with the super delicious double layer (chocolate and white!) cake with tons (tons!!) of frosting.  And also the sweetest, most crafty and beautiful banner that she asked her Mom to make for us, which we will be putting up in our hospital room and then hang in his nursery!  Thanks Gina & Karen!  You girls are the best!

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Don’t worry, you’ll get better shots of the banner when it’s in the photos taken at the hospital, I think it will make the perfect backdrop!

And today, Mark’s co-workers are throwing us a shower up on the hill that is also a Tex-mex themed potluck!  I am excited to meet more of the people he works with and put some faces to names.  They are so sweet to do this for us.

I hope you are enjoying a great Friday, even if it’s pouring outside like it is here.  They promise sunny and dry weather soon, let’s hope they are right!

xoxo

I could start this post by telling you that I have had a very productive weekend, but honestly that just would not do it justice.  I made up for all the other weekends when I just sat on the couch and thought about all the things I wanted to get done  before baby comes.  It started with cleaning the house, including scrubbing out the shower and bathtub.  Mark took Veda to ballet on Saturday morning and when he got home he found me in the shower, scrubbing away, he says “babe, I can do that!” and I replied “no, this is good for me, they call it “nesting”.  And he really couldn’t argue with that.  I had a long list of to-do’s, and as we get closer to our due date they were starting to feel like “to-do-right-now-or-never’s” and I feel so accomplished right now as I type this post!  Here are some things I did:

•  Sew Crib bumpers and crib sheet

Done!

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• Closet make-over (Mark removed the door and installed the shelves that I bought from Ikea.)

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• Make some homemade cinnamon rolls for the Seahawks vs. Bears game on Sunday morning!  Yum!

This was my best batch yet!

• Organize nursery and clear out things to actually make room for baby.

Enzo's bag is packed for the hospital, rug purchased from Ikea, our baby pictures hung, it's starting to come together!

I love how the blankets made by the Grandma's look against the crib colors!

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•  Maternity photo shoot with my super awesome  and supremely talented friend Elena.  This was the most fun!  I don’t know how this girl has so many talents, but there really isn’t anything she can’t do (did I mention she also makes beautiful jewelry!).  She came over Sunday afternoon and we took advantage of a very short window of time outside when it wasn’t raining to get a few shots.  And then she took a couple more inside.  It was really fun and I am so in love with the “sneak peak” she just sent me!  I get to see the rest of the package tomorrow and then I plan to frame them and put them up on the nursery wall.  Here’s that “sneak peak” I was talking about…

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Oh how I love the editing process!  Look, no stretch marks!  Haha… thanks Elena, you are the best.  These are so incredibly beautiful and I can’t wait to see the rest!

• Pack my hospital bag.

Well, this is the one that I have not completed, but I started packing so that’s something.

It’s been a great weekend and I am feeling more prepared now, so if the little guy decides to come early, well then, go for it!  We’re anxious to have him here.  I hope that those of you who had today off are enjoying your day.  I was going to try and do a little work but photoshop isn’t cooperating, so instead I will keep working on nursery projects.  The next thing I want to make is a name penant to hang above his crib on the wall and also build the bamboo mobile that my Aunt Sherrie gifted us.  Craft on!

xoxo

Just found a site that lets you keep up with all your favorite blogs!  Check it out and follow us!   Bloglovin baby…

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Hello friends!  This has been such a busy week for me at work, hopefully you have had a great easy week yourself and are happy it’s Friday!  And Friday of a three-day weekend I might add!  Woo Hoo!  I’m really excited about that.  I have quite the To-Do list written out for myself though, so I will hopefully be super productive. Although truthfully all I want to do is sleep and sleep and sleep some more!

One of my favorite bloggers, DesignMom, wrote about Wee Gallery this week and OH MY CUTENESS I could not resist.  I had to order a set of photo cards for Enzo’s nursery.  I think I will take her suggestion and hang them on the wall by his changing table so he has something to look at.  And then when he’s bigger and gets curious (and better hand-eye coordination) then I will let him play with them.  I chose the jungle set, since that’s so far how his nursery has been loosely themed.  Aren’t they ADORABLE!?!

Wee Gallery

They have several to choose from including farm animals, pets and sea creatures.  I honestly could go crazy and order one of each!  But I think I’ll just bookmark the site and remember them for next Christmas!

Happy Friday!

xoxo

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Things to do before Enzo arrives:

•   Sew crib bumper pads

•  Take tour of hospital family birth center (we want to know exactly what door to enter so there is no need for getting directions on “the day”)

•  Purchase necessities like nursing pads, a nursing bra, newborn size disposable diapers (for that first week)

•  Pack hospital bag

•  Do closet makeover in nursery

•  Read up on the Bradley Method of childbirth

•  Get a pedicure at Zenana Spa with my gift card from my beautiful friend Julie

•  Think of a special gift to give the girls for being “big sisters”  (any ideas???)

The time is going by fast now that we are in our last trimester.  It felt like the first two took sooooooooo long and now this one is just zipping by!  Enzo is super active and although they claim he will slow down in the last month as he runs out of room to maneuver in there, somehow I don’t think that’s his plan.  He just pushes and kicks even stronger.

I go through moments of nervousness and readiness.  I am ready for him to be here, but nervous about the unknown of delivery and how that all will go.  With Claire it was very “virgo” of me, I had an appointment on a Sunday morning to go in and be induced two days before her due date (my doctor was leaving town and I was set on him delivering her).  So there was no excitement of “Oh! My water broke!” and counting the time between contractions and all that jazz.  And Claire’s delivery was not a smooth one, ending in a c-section.  This time I envision it being so much different.  More exciting and spontaneous, but calm at the same time.  I am looking forward to the full support and encouragement of my husband.  And sharing the joy with all of our friends and family when Enzo finally arrives!

And of course, daily blog posts about baby!!!!   Wooot woot!

Less than 42 days until his due date… ah yeah…

xoxo

My dear friend Alison is an Auntie!  Her sister had a baby boy last Friday, and I just had to share this picture of him…

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Anders Evershed

7 lb. 6 oz.

Born December 31st at 7:05pm

Congratulations Auntie Ali!  He’s absolutely beautiful!!

(can you believe in less than 6 weeks we will have one of those of our very own!!!)

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And speaking of babies… I have been a crocheting fool these last few months, making pairs of booties in different styles, trying out my knowledge of reading patterns and such.  It’s worked out perfectly because it seems that there’s an epidemic happening at work, we have around 15 pregnant women in our department (and several more in the building, other departments outside of mine).  So I’ve been able to make fun things for the baby showers.  Here is a pair of booties that I made for a sweet baby girl named Sloane Ella who was born on December 26th (same birthday as my stepmom Marta!)…

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little pink hearts on the bottom

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And here is a pair that I made for a co-worker who is due one week before me, with a boy as well…her baby shower is in a couple hours!

They are "ankle boots", aren't they adorable!

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I hope to get several more made and then put them up on my etsy site.  I made Enzo a pair, of course, and had to defend them to Claire that they aren’t too “girly”.  She thinks of them as Ugg style boots and she says that boys don’t wear Uggs.  She’s right, boys don’t wear Uggs, but these are crocheted booties and they are for babies, and therefore – well, regardless of my defense, Enzo will be donning a pair not very long from now!

Check back soon for a 34 week photo update!

xoxo

Oh my, the holiday break is coming to a close and we’ve done so much in our time off that I don’t know where to begin! We had a great Christmas celebrated with all of our families. We did the annual get together with the Ritchie’s at Aunt Judy’s house, which was a lot of fun and everyone is doing great! Then we hosted the Wilson family at our home on Christmas Eve and it was so wonderful to have everyone here together (even if it was a tight squeeze in our house). The girls were with their other parents for these occasions, so it was nice to get them home on the 26th and see them open all of their gifts!

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The girls were so busy with crafting this week, since they got so many gifts that involved making things. We also painted the changing table for the nursery, and some shelves and rearranged things a bit.

We got the girls the Michael Jackson dance game for the Wii and had fun playing it!

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...doing the Thriller routine..

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I love how serious Mark's face is here, and I think Charlie was hoping to join in the fun...

I did some laundry in preparation of baby’s arrival, and became totally overwhelmed with gratitude at the generosity we’ve been shown from our friends. Mark’s sister has a very good friend who had a baby boy last summer and she graciously gave us two large boxes of clothes and things. To say that she has set us up for the first 6 months of clothing would be a serious understatement! There is so much, in fact, that little Enzo probably won’t get to wear half of it. I just can’t think of an adequate way to say “thank you” but we’ll do our best! It really is getting close and we are so excited to have him in our arms soon! I have to say that at 33 weeks, I have reached a point where I no longer want to be in front of the camera lens, as it only reminds me that I am getting “pregnant in the face” (as my friend Karen put it) and it’s not very flattering. But I do love my growing belly and the fact that he is getting stronger and stronger each day. He has started to keep me up a little at night now, no longer sleeping peacefully while I am. I think that he’s just getting me ready for when he arrives and sleep is something that doesn’t come easily to any of us.

The dogs have definitely enjoyed having us all at home, mainly because it means they’ve been inside the majority of the time and usually snuggled up to somebody who will pet them and give them loves. Oh, and let them sit on the couch…

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a tisket a tasket, Charlie in a basket!

extreme Rudy close-up!

Happy New Year!

We hosted our annual New Year’s Eve bash again this year. We themed it “Live from Our House… it’s Saturday Night!!!” and asked everyone to come dressed as their favorite SNL character. There was great participation again, our friends never seem to disappoint!

Andi & Tony were the Spartan Cheerleaders...

...and entertained us all with a few routines!

George came as one of the Blues Brothers, looking quite sharp!

...um, Mr. Christmas?

Leroy was the other Blues Brothers (total coincidence) and Eddie was a "Wild and Crazy guy"!

Perry came as Pete Schweddy, with a tray of Schweddy Balls...

I didn't catch who Mike & Sophia were, and I missed their routine in the kitchen (Mark said it was really good) but does it matter? Look how freaking adorable they are!! I wanted to steal that dress off Sophia right there on the spot!

Alex & Drew

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There was a little too much chaos for Rudy, he took refuge at people's feet for a bit, then retreated to the cold outside...poor guy...

The kids almost outnumbered the adults this year, which was great! They were very loud and crazy, but had a ton of fun. I like that we can provide an atmosphere for families to celebrate the holiday together, even if it means grumpy kids the next day who sleep in until 11am, and then have their eating schedule all messed up throughout the day because of it (it’s 9pm right now and Claire is just now hungry for dinner…oops).

Ethan

Waiting for the countdown, don't worry those are all non-alcoholic sparkling beverages...

Me.. feeling huge... : )

And then the clock struck 12 and we all hipped and hoorayed!

Sombra, Andi & Tony (and Ebin's head)

Eddie & George

Perry & Amber!

Leroy & Sombra!

Andi & Tony!

It was so much fun to have everyone here to celebrate the end of the decade, and we wish nothing but greatness in the year 2011! Did you make any resolutions?

Happy New Year from the Ritchie's!

xoxo