alternative names

recently my sisters (nicole and heidi) have done alternative name posts ... so here are my family's alternative names ... you can get some too, and feel free to put your silly alternative names in the comments.

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rap names:
jodi: Sweet J Jodi Jammy a.k.a. Lo Force
robby: Mista Diesel Robby R
aidan: Capital Sugar Aidan Glide a.k.a. Stealth Swoop
finley: Jiggy Finley F Velvet
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gansta names:
jodi: Stanky Left-Hand Monkey Smuggla
robby: King Retardo
aidan: Fly-ass Ass Grabba
finley: Green Egg Tang Chasa
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pirate names:
jodi: Keel-Haulin' Kathryn Bonny
robby: Dancin' Booker Cooke
aidan: Cowerin' Randal Cutler
finley: Apathetic Deb Teach
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mexican wrestler names:
jodi: Canadiense sin Pantalones
robby: Tio sin Pantalones
aidan: Pirata Loco
finley: Pantera de Goma
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mafia names:
jodi: Fancy Pants Luisa
robby: Hot Knife Carlo
aidan: Al Bruno
finley: Lana the Brain
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superhero names:
jodi: The Fatale Hurricane
robby: The Supreme Tsunami
aidan: The Absolute Dude
finley: The Dynamic Vixen

finley jean's first day

introducing ...

finley jean baird

born on 23 september 2008; at 10:55 a.m.

weighing in at 6 pounds and 5 ounces

measuring 18 1/5 inches long

Jodi was trying to take a nap this morning (you know how that goes in a hospital)...when she started feeling some pressure. Called in the nurse, who called in the doctor, who told her to push. 5 pushes later - new baby girl baird was born! Mom and baby are both doing well - just tired. Finley Jean has dark hair, that looks to be curly. And one confirmed dimple, with a suspected second. Robby is so proud of his wife - and her "easy delivery". Talked to her briefly - she's so happy, and exhausted, and hungry. More later!

all is well!

thinking about the baird family...

This is Nicole - Jodi is in the hospital as we speak. I haven't heard yet from them this morning. 

Last night, she was in good spirits...ready for baby to be born! Jodi and Robby were watching "Heroes" on her laptop;  and she was hooked up to the requisite million monitors. The doc had sent her to the hospital because her blood pressure was still too high. Good thing: she'd started contracting on her own.  [Aidan got to have a sleepover at Gr'Ama and Papa H's house.]

Needless to say [but, i'll write it anyway!], Jodi will be very busy for the next little while. She's asked me to keep y'all updated with her blog. So, that's what i'll attempt to do. 

Keep this little family in your thoughts and prayers - and so far so good! 

one last project

well here is one last project for ya' before i start posting only about the arrival of #2 and every post centers around her cute face!!

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i offered to make a blessing outfit for caleb (my nephew, he belongs to my sister nicole) well, i figured i better make good on that offer before my life becomes consumed with #2. yesterday our ward had a "super saturday" and i opted not to sign up for anything since it was so soon to my due date and i didn't know if i would be able to participate. well i ended up going anyways, and i toted along my sewing machine, and my serger and all the things that need to some along with that equipment. (which was a blast 'cuz a couple of my friends brought their machines and we all worked on our projects)

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the outfit is actually very similar to the one that i already made for him (check it out, in case you forgot). instead of a normal t-shirt collar i made it kinda like a polo (which i think turned out ADORABLE considering it was an experiment), the booties are a new and improved pattern, so i hope they fit better!! and the tie is reversible, backed with the same fabric as the grey pants, which means he can totally rock the white shirt and the grey pants and wear the tie with the grey side out!!

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i think it turned out totally cute, and i hope nicole likes it as much as i do. pretty good for a satruday, huh?!?! it makes me sooooo excited to make #2's blessing dress ... i have so many ideas, i need to narrow it down and figure out what i want.

oh and the whole thing is made 100% from recycled materials!! (ok, not 100% i purchased the elastic, but does that really count??!!??!!) so it's a totally "green" blessing outfit. yeah for helping out the environment.

baby legwarmers

look at what i made for #2 ... i did three pairs in about 20 minutes. soooo easy ... i bought a three pack of socks on sale at target for $4.88, that sure beats $12 per pair at babylegs.net. i'll be posting a tutorial on craftivision on how to make them for yourself ... but i HATE the pictures i took, so now you'll have to wait until i can go out and buy more socks to cut up. sorry!!

this is what they look like on babies ... SOOOO dang cute.

Here are some reasons why you'll LOVE them:
- they make for quick and easy diaper changes and make potty training easier. (there is no need to completely undress them!)
- they protect your little one's sensitive legs from chill, or a light "extra" layer for under pants on cold winter days.
- they protect knees while your crawler roams on hardwood and rugs.
- feet remain free to allow for successful crawling, walking and running.
- help to keep sock on.
- one size will fit newborns to pre-teens.
- can be used on legs AND arms, protecting from cooler weather.
- extends the length of pants when baby is in a carrier, car seat or stroller (covers those exposed ankles!!)
- small enough to keep in your bag at all times, easy to put on in sudden temperature changes.
With so many innovative uses for this item, you'll want to have a few pairs on hand at all times. So be prepared to want to make LOTS of them.

newest member of our family

haha ... made ya look!! welcome "monty" short for "monty python" to our family. monty is a ball python. he joined out family at the beginning of july. robby's been wanting a snake and so we got one. aidan LOVES it and runs into the office hissing daily.

pregnancy update

negative ghost rider, the belly is still full! i had my appointment yesterday and my blood pressure was a little high during the appointment, and she checked me and things are progressing. she wants me to keep taking my bp everyday and call her on wednesday and go into the hospital if it gets over a certain number. then robby asked her a question about the bp monitor i purchased, so we got it out and she took my bp again. then she said to go to the hospital right away and take some more tests and make sure everything is going ok. i asked her if i could go home and grab some stuff and she said no to go directly to the hospital.

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so off we went. they ran some labs on my blood and urine and took my bp every 10-15 minutes. my bp was kinda all over the place, sometimes high and sometimes lower. but all the labs came back good (except i have another UTI .. ugh!!) so my doctor released me with the same instructions to keep track of my bp and call her on wednesday. my next appointment is scheduled for monday morning and she told me that she will probably induce me that day. so, still no baby, but most likely next monday we'll be having her (which i think is a good thing, 38 weeks is better than 37 weeks!!)

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so now you know. and here are some pictures. nicole came up last weekend for a visit and took some pictures of our family, i think they turned out great

jocole logo

i'm sure you're wondering what logo i decided on ... since i haven't updated after adding the poll. i was surprised by how many people voted ... 37!! sheesh i didn't know that many people follow my blog, since i've never received that many comments. for those of you who were curious as to the results ... here they are!

before i even posted the poll i was already pretty much set between #2 and #3 and then before the poll closed i decided on #3. i think it's interesting that design won ... although that isn't why i chose it. thank you to everyone who voted!!

belly thoughts

here are some random thoughts about this pregnancy:

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#2 likes to be on the right side on my belly, which often makes it lopsided! seriously ... if you push on the left side of my belly it is soft, and the right side is as hard as a rock.

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i've gained 20 pounds so far, and the circumference of my waist is 38 inches (and growing).

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my favorite compliment lately: "you don't look pregnant, except from the side" or "you can't tell you're pregnant from the back" ... meaning i've only gained weight in my belly (or that's how i take it anyways) i've been lucky enough to not gain any weight in my ankles or face or anything. i just have a little basketball under my shirt ... hehe!

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#2 isn't much of a kicker ... she's more of a pusher, or a stretch and hold it kind of gal.

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robby is still holding tightly to that 20% that it's a boy. he thinks the ultrasound technician was incompetent, and tells me if he starts laughing histerically in the delivery room ... then it's a boy.
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i've had 2 UTIs so far ... luckily it never progressed to my kidneys like it did when i was pregnant with aidan -- THAT was painful, and i had to be on antibiotics for the remainder of my pregnancy.

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i only threw up a total of 8 times!! huzzah!

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aidan loves to hug and kiss my belly ... and try to stick pacifiers and cheerios into my belly button!!

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i take 9 pills everyday: (1)iron (2)magnesium (3)calcium (4)fish oil (5+6)cranberry [for the UTI] (7)mega antioxidant (8)chelated minerals (9)tylenol

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i had a doctors appointment on wednesday (9/10) and my doctor is REALLY concerned with my blood pressure, and i now have to take it twice a day (which meant i had to go out and purchase a blood pressure monitor). if my blood pressure is still high at my next appointment (monday 9/15), she'll want to deliver #2 that day. YIKES! keep me and baby #2 in your prayers!!

introducing ... craftivision

i LOVE looking up tutorials and how-tos for various crafts and diy projects ... i've decided to share them all with you in one easy location!! i've created craftivision ... my new blog which will be a source of projects and inspiration. check it out ... it will be updated OFTEN (i'm gonna try for a new project every weekday)!!

an outfit for #2

so i was really bored on saturday night ... but i didn't feel like cleaning or re-organizing anything (i needed a break!) ... i needed a creative break!

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so i drafted up some patterns ... finished completely demolishing the shirt that i started to cut up for caleb's pants ... and here is what i came up with ... i think it's pretty darn cute!!

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i think it's great that out of 1 t-shirt i got a pair of pants, a dress and a diaper cover!! i also think i could get a pair of booties ... but i haven't tried to cut those out yet ... maybe tonight after aidan goes to bed.

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the ruffles on the butt of the diaper cover came from the same fabric i used to make this and this.

are you bored of my sewing madness yet??

welcome to my nest

ahhh ... i'm totally nesting ... i guess it was bound to happen since i only have 4 more weeks until #2 is due to pop out.

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WARNING: the before pictures are scary ... and quite frankly i'm a little embarrased to post them, but how can i show you how much i accomplished otherwise? you've been warned.

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things i accomplished this week(in no particular order) -- yeah for LONG naps (for aidan) and late nights (for me):

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10 loads of laundry (washed, dried and put away) (3 loads of towels, 1 load of aidan things, 4 loads of whites, 2 loads of darks)

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4 loads of dishes (washed, dried and put away)

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my bathroom completely cleaned and reorganized. (i had to move all my makeup and hair stuff onto the counter because aidan thought it was the funnest game to empty my makeup drawer (the LONG skinny drawer) -- and hide products, some of which are still missing -- even after what the next part of my plan was!!!!!)

after i showed robby the bathroom ... i mean c'mon people i was pretty proud of it ... he commented, "but the question is, how long will it stay like this?!" ... OOOOO ... motivation, now i have to prove him wrong, so i'm gonna try to keep the counters clutter free!!
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next ... my bedroom completely cleaned and reorganized. there were just piles of CRAP everywhere (i've noticed i have WAY too much clothing, maybe after #2 pops out i'll try to get rid of some of it!!) ... where in the world was #2 gonna sleep? so it needed to be done. i think it looks a million times better, and i'm really proud of all that i accomplished.
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this is the left side of our bed ... yikes!! when i got out of bed after it was all cleaned it immediately brought a smile to my face, what a great way to wake up in the morning!!

this is the right side of our bed! (the storage bins now hold all the clothing that i want to go through -- 3 of them (i have a stack of 3 more on top of those ... waiting for organizing baby things), and 2 of them (on the left) hold knit clothing that no longer fits robby or me and will be turned into other things via my trusty serger!!)

when aidan woke up this morning and ran into my room to play, he was disappointed when he saw the bins ... he couldn't get into anything anymore. poor kid!! haha! those 2 rolling drawer carts hold all of what we have for #2 right now. organized and ready to clothe her when she pops out!! now all we need is something in here for her to sleep in. and i'm gonna try to get robby to move the changing table back into our bedroom, hopefully that happens on saturday.
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i also reorganized my closet ... i know it doesn't look like much, but believe me ... its WAY better. before i had piles of madness in front of it, it was hard getting to the clothing actually in the closet, and i moved things around. (sorry ... no before pictures, but i'm sure you're scared enough as it is) i think this configuration will work well. the top shelf is all my purses (yikes ... i have a bunch!) the second shelf has my pants and my boots. then on the left side of the closet hangs my skirts (on 4 tier skirt hangers, from target ... LOVE them!!), then dresses, then my shirts, and then i have a hanging thing that holds my shoes (tennis shoes, slippers and flip flops!) and then under my shirts i have 2 rolling drawer carts that hold my undergarments, socks, swimsuits, lingerie ... etc. and this is behind my bedroom door, i LOVE this. my nice (church) shoes all lined up in the pockets and my jewelry ready to be worn. it makes me soooo happy! this is front of robby's side of the closet. as you can tell it needs reorganizing, but i'm leaving that to him (well at least i'm hoping he'll take care of it!)

this is my pile of laundry that still needs to be done ... YIKES!! (this pile has since shrunk since i took the picture ... but there are still probably 3 more loads to do -- definately more managable)this is on top of rob's dresser ... it just seems to accumulate all kinds of crap!!! (all of which is mine ... not his)our headboard ... another dumping ground!!