Short Kid

I can never find pants that fit - especially now that I'm carrying an extra 20 (twenty! yikes!) pounds on my short little body. I'm not too fond of that extra twenty. I don't plan on keeping it around too long. But I need pants that fit me right now and they need to be real pants, none of those drawstring/elastic/maternity pants that I've been living in for the last eight months. Oh and they need to be cheap since hopefully they will be too big for me soon. So I found pair of khakis on the clearance rack of a local clothing store and also a pair of jeans at a thrift store both of which fit in the waist but were way too long for me. Not to worry though because weeks before, I found this awesomely easy tutorial about hemming pants while keeping the original distressed hem intact.
I just wanted to share it.

My vertically challenged friends and Bowen cousins can thank me later :)

Our Story

I'm finally posting our birth story! Sorry it took so long. It was more difficult to describe my feelings about it than I thought it would be but here it is and it's super long so consider yourself warned:

I woke up to fairly intense contractions at 2am Tuesday morning (July 14th) I got up and walked around a little then tried to go back to sleep. I put on a Hypnobabies track on my iPod and started practicing my relaxation. I could relax quite well through the contractions but I couldn't go back to sleep. I thought about getting up and timing them on contratctionmaster.com but the thought of getting out of bed and sitting in a chair didn't appeal to me at all. So I continued laying in bed relaxing and breathing through each contraction. I could tell they were getting more intense and that we would definitely be having a baby that day.

I stayed in bed until 4am when Rob rolled over and asked me how I was doing and I said, "I think we may need to go to the hospital." I think that shocked him a little because every night for the last month he would roll over and ask how I was feeling and my answer was always, "Fine." I decided to get out of bed and eat something before we went because I knew I would need my strength and I also knew the hospital had a ridiculous rule about not eating or drinking during labor (don't get me started on why I think it's insane that hospitals starve women when they need nourishment the most) So I ate a bowl of cereal as the contractions kept coming harder and faster. Rob took a quick shower and got the car packed and ready to go. Rob got Elliett out of bed for a quick second so we could hug her and tell her we loved her before we left. Thankfully since we're staying with Rob's parents we were able to just leave Ellie to sleep in her own bed.

We left for the hospital and we figured we could drive quickly because this was the only time in our lives we could actually speed and have a valid excuse :) I listened to Hypnobabies the whole way there and I was able to talk to Rob and joke around with him between contractions. During contractions I would just relax and breathe. Having intense contractions in the car made me realize how unreasonably bumpy the roads are between our house and the hospital. Not exactly the most comfortable car ride I've ever had.

We got to the hospital at around 5:15am and got settled in our room. The nurse checked me and I was at a 9! I was so excited because I knew I was almost ready to push. The contractions were getting much more intense and although I had prepared for months for an unmedicated childbirth I decided to opt for an epidural for the pushing stage. By the time the anesthesiologist came and did the epidural I was at a 10 and ready to push. I am grateful for the relief I felt for a few minutes before I started pushing. Part of me feels like I failed by getting an epidural but part of me feels so proud of myself because I labored all on my own without medication until it was time to push. I was still able to feel a lot while I pushed which was amazing. After pushing for 3 contractions our baby girl was born at 6:50 am! Just an hour and a half after arriving at the hospital. She was 7 pounds 11 ounces and 19 inches long with tons of red hair. She had swallowed some fluid on the way out so after they put her on my tummy for a minute, the nurse took her to the warming bed across the room to suction her more. Rob went with her while the doctor tended to me. It was so hard to be away from her already. I felt so overwhelmed, so relieved, so scared to be a mommy of two, and so in love that I just cried and cried. Rob went back and forth between the baby and I keeping watch over both of us. We still hadn't decided on a name for her - we had a list of about 15 names we kind of liked but nothing that we just loved. Rob looked at her and smiled and said that she looked like a Piper Kate. It totally fit her. She was perfect in every way.

To this day I am amazed by the power of my body. I wish I could describe what it was like to feel my body doing exactly what it was made to do. This birth was so different from Ellie's. I loved having Ellie in my arms but I felt like more of a bystander during my labor with her because I went immediately to the hospital when my contractions got stronger, got to the hospital when I was at about a 5, got hooked up to the monitors, got an epidural, slept off and on for 7 hours, pushed for an hour and she was born. It was wonderful to hold her but I felt like a total train wreck afterwards and I was miserable for two weeks after.

With Piper it was completely different and I attribute it to two things: I had an idea of what it was going to be like and I had studied HypnoBabies since March. I LOVE HypnoBabies. I would recommend it to anyone and everyone who is pregnant whether they want a natural child birth or a fully medicated one. It helped me enjoy my pregnancy so much more, I felt so relaxed and at peace with everything and I felt much more in control. When labor began, I was able to relax through each contraction as it came which really helped conserve my energy for the pushing stage. One of my proudest moments in the delivery room was when both my OB and the anesthesiologist were in the room before I got the epidural and I was laying on my side, listening to HypnoBabies on my iPod in one ear and breathing slowly through a contraction the anesthesiologist turned to my OB and said, "She certainly doesn't look like someone who is at a 9." And my OB said, "No kidding!" When the contraction was over I asked what they meant by that and my OB said, "Well, most women who are at a 9 or a 10 without an epidural are screaming or moaning or crying and you are as calm as can be." After another contraction my OB said, "I want to know what you're listening to on your iPod." So I told him and he said, "Well it must be working!" It was a huge step for him because he (and nearly every one else I told) thought I was crazy for even trying HypnoBabies. After Piper was born (and I stopped crying) I felt awesome. I was a little tired and sore but I felt fantastic compared to when I had Ellie. I was up and walking and in the shower within a few hours. My recovery this time was way better. Rob took such amazing care of me. I am so blessed to have such a caring and compassionate husband. And he is head over heels in love with his new little girl. I firmly believe that every daddy needs a daughter. It is so amazing to witness the bond that forms between the two of them. It happened with Elliett and it happened again with Piper and it made me fall so much more deeply in love with Rob. :)

So even though I had the goal of not having an epidural, I really feel like this was the birth I was supposed to have. I love that I was able to experience my entire labor and I also love that I was able to somewhat enjoy the pushing stage. I really think I could have done it completely unmedicated if my OB had been more supportive of natural childbirth, if my nurse hadn't been such a nazi (I really wanted to scream at her while I was pushing and even Rob was getting annoyed with her because she kept yelling at me like a football coach to push) and if Rob had had more time to study HypnoBabies with me so he could help me relax more deeply. That sounds like I'm trying to blame everyone else but that's not what I mean to do, it's just that when you're giving birth, it's not just you. You have a team of people helping you through it and to have the birth experience you're hoping for, those people need to understand and believe in the same things you do about childbirth. I kind of felt like it was me and Rob vs. the OB and the nurse as far as natural childbirth goes. But I am eternally grateful to them because they were able to help our baby girl arrive safely and they took wonderful care of us.

I am really happy the way everything worked out for us and I am especially happy to have Piper Kate here with us finally. She is such a happy baby and we are all totally in love with her!

Here are a few pictures from that day:

Listening to HypboBabies at 9cm


After Piper's first bath


One proud daddy


One proud mommy


First meeting

More Ellie-isms

Ellie: Who gave my baby sister to me?
Me: Heavenly Father,
Ellie: For my birthday?

~~~~~~

Ellie: Mom - why are you crying?
Me: Because I'm happy sweetheart.
Ellie: I cry when I hurt my knee.

~~~~~~

To my brother Preston:
When I'm a big girl I'm going to play soccer and light fires and be a farmer and ride a horse.

~~~~~~

Ellie: Mom - can I say crazy?
Me: Yep - you can say crazy.
Ellie: Mom - you're crazy!

~~~~~~

Ellie: Look, Mom! Cows!
Me: Yeah!
Ellie: Mom, do we pet cows?
Me: Yeah, sometimes we can.
Ellie: Cows poop on the ground.
Me: (giggling) Yes sweetie, they do.
Ellie: I don't poop on the ground.

The Many Faces of Elliett

I love this girl :)

Island Park

As a Hemsley family tradition, we spend every summer holiday camping in Island Park. Well, this summer due to moving and having a new baby we figured one out of three isn't too shabby. We had a great Labor Day weekend with Rob's family. His parents have a trailer and are generous enough to lend it to whichever family has the newest baby. Since Piper was only 7 weeks old for her first camping trip, we won the trailer for the weekend :) We went hiking and fishing and played at the docks and looked at the stars and roasted lots of mallows. It was awesome!

The Hemsley cousins minus Ali and Piper in their matching t-shirts

The kids painting their crocodiles


Ellie painting her crocodile - check out that look of concentration. She was so excited to paint that she would ask grandma every hour on the hour when we were going to paint.
And I have to say, Rob's mom is so fun to go camping with. She always has fun activities and toys for the grandkids, plans a hike or two, takes the kids kayaking, looking for frogs, crayfish, and minnows, and teaches them how to make yummy treats on a stick over the fire (just ask me about the biscuit cooked around a marshmallow and dipped in butter and cinnamon sugar - yum!)

Ellie and her cousin India hiking with their favorite uncle Ry Ry

Piper napping in the old school Moses basket

Piper and Rob sitting by the fire. She was absolutely mesmerized by it

She slept a lot :) and she loves to sleep like this

Piper asleep in the wrap and showing off her new matching cousins shirt- she spent a lot of time in that wrap and she falls asleep every time. It's a life saver!

Thrift Store Finds

Ever since I did my ottoman project last winter, I've been on the lookout for other cool things I could make into even cooler things. My trips to the thrift stores have been few and far between since Piper came along but these are the goodies I found shortly before I had her. I was wanting to create an office/sewing space in a little nook in Rob's parent's basement where we are living. I already had the desk which was a birthday present from Rob about 6 years ago (thanks Pal!) but I needed a small filing cabinet and some containers for my stuff. I wish I had taken before and after pictures of everything I found but I'll know better next time.

This little bench isn't part of my little nook but I love love love it and I miss it so bad because it's in storage right now not getting any love or attention. I found it at DI for $5 and it was covered with forest green wildlife fabric. Ick. I have a major thing for orange and this was the perfect fabric for it!

This little filing cabinet was inspired by this one I saw on one of my favorite blogs. I saw hers and was on the hunt ever since for one similar. This was $5 at DI and was the usual office gray and covered in rust. Some sandpaper, primer, and spray paint and I'm in love!

I almost had to fight a lady for these at the thrift store :) She was nice enough to let me have them mostly because she thought Ellie was so dang cute. They were $4 for the set. and one of them came with coffee grounds in it (for free! I'm so lucky!) so I ran them through the dishwasher then primed and painted them. My Mom mod podged the cute paper on the lids to cover up the classy fake wood stickers. They hold my sewing stuff like scissors, pins, seam rippers, etc.

This was another office gray metal box of some sort for $3 and it got the requisite coat of primer and paint. This is where my label maker lives along with more sewing stuff.

Here's my my favorite place in the basement. I 'm not kidding you when I say I smile every time I look at it. I seriously love my little space! The only thing that would make it better is a giant window above my desk to let in oodles of sunshine.

Create!

My brain has turned to mush since having little Piper. It's not her fault at all, it's just that having the responsibilities of taking care of two little people and two big people has taken its toll on my capacity to process and retain information much past Ellie's current shoe size, the last time I nursed Piper, and what I had for breakfast.

Which explains why, right now, I have an intense need to create. I want to have proof. Something tangible. Something real to prove that I actually accomplished something in what little free time I have.

I ran across this quote from President Dieter F. Uchtdorf again the other day and it really spoke to me:

The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before.
We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty.

I know this quote can to relate to many aspects of our lives as women but for me right now it made me realize why I have such an intense need to create something: it's in my nature.

So what do I want to make? Maybe the more appropriate question is: what don't I want to make? You should see my list of bookmarked tutorials and patterns and how-tos. It would make your head spin.

May I share just a few links just to give you an idea?
(I'll spare you the hundreds of knitting patterns I have bookmarked)

• I made this quilt for Piper in different fabrics and it should be done being quilted in a few weeks. I am so excited to get it bound and washed!
• I need a small purse for quick runs to the store so I don't have to haul the diaper bag everywhere so I'm going to make the Buttercup Bag and maybe this purse thingy to match
  
• This skirt is going to be stinking cute on Ellie. I'm thinking of making a mommy-sized version for me and a mini version for Piper. This shirt too.
  
• One can never have too many cute little bags for stuff.
• Headbands for the grown out mop top I'm sporting these days.
• Paper doll kit and crayon roll for Ellie for church.
• Message boxes and notepads for fun little gifts for everyone I know.
• Fun messy stuff to make with Ellie and her cousins: Slime, Oobleck, Moon Sand, Marbelized Paper.
• Monograms and silhouettes for Piper and Ellie's room.
• The Amy Butler Weekender Bag that I have been DYING to make but I know it will take me a year to finish.
  
• And this awesomely simple quilt just for the heck of it.
  

Now, who wants to come over and hold my baby and entertain my three year old for a month while I finish all my projects? Anyone? :)