The Waiting Game

Getting ready for Chickadee has been an ongoing task.  

As first time parents, we're all about going by the book.  

Which means we have no idea what to really expect.

We've taken the classes

and can successfully wrap our dolls like burritos.

We're trying to be as prepared as we can, but let's be honest, we tend to fly by the seats of our pants when it comes to stuff.

Good thing we got Chickadee a matching cape.

We may not be experienced, but we feel like we've got a few things under control.

We want Chickadee to be clean and smell good.

We think having a clean hiney is probably important.

We figure he'll want some tunes to jam out to.

We think know he'll appreciate us carrying around his bottles, diapers and clothes in pretty bags.

We've got it covered...right down to the hand sanitizer!

Old Man Winter Finally Strikes

We finally got our taste of winter for the year!  

After surviving last year's whopping 85 inches of snow we needed a break. Thankfully, the weather hasn't been too horrible up here this year.  So far, Albany has only had a little over 14 inches of snow and most of that came from the storms in late October.  

This storm produced 4-6 inches in the Clifton Park area.  The snow piles will probably stick around for a while, but local meteorologists don't expect it to take long for it to melt off.  

This weekend's temperatures are supposed to be up in the 50's so these just might be our only snow pics for the season!  Keep this up New York and we just might stay here forever!

Painting Projects

Guess who's been playing Craft Time at the Looney Bin again??  If you answered Heather, you're actually wrong this time!  Poor Picasso Brett has been slaving away with the paint brushes trying to keep up with Heather's decorating demands.  (And they ain't been one-coaters either)

Pick a brush, any brush!

Because paint & pregnancy don't really mix, it was Brett's turn to get his hands dirty.  Good thing the man's got skillz!  

Here's a sample of his handy work: 

Project #1:  Behold the $40 Craigslist dresser find.  It started out a lovely mix of white/peach/green.

FYI:  When you live in a two bedroom apartment (and it's freezing cold outside) there's not much space for big projects.  Not being able to get to the refrigerator was a good excuse for take out three nights in a row.  

Luckily, it turned out ok...even if Heather's Pinterest inspired stenciling design didn't work.  The body of the dresser is a matte black and Brett ended up doing the handles in the shiny black paint.

But the cutest part is what's inside...

Project # 2:  The $10 Craigslist rocking chair.  This one was already black and just needed a couple of more coats to perk it up.  Throw a $6 Ikea seat cushion on there and we're really gonna be rockin' & rollin' in style!

Project #3:  The Green Monster.  Ok, ok, it's really just a green wall.  Kermit the Frog wasn't kidding when he said "It's not easy being green."  It's also not easy finding the perfect shade.  You don't want to be to over powering, but at the same time, you don't want it to look like something that came out of Chickadee's diaper...which is exactly what happened the first go around.  

Good thing the second shade worked...'cause Brett was juuuuuuust about all painted out by that point.  Or at least so he threatened.  Stay tuned for final project photos!

Mr. Ed Update: On the Road to Recovery

Mr. Ed calling the Hogs
at the 2010 Liberty Bowl

It's been an exciting couple of days around here...well, actually the excitement has been in Missouri, but the ripple effects of recent events can be felt from thousands of miles away.

To bring everyone up to speed:  Heather's dad, Mr. Ed, suffered a significant heart attack while at home in Qulin, Missouri on January 26th.  After a full day of substitute teaching for the Twin Rivers School District, Mr. Ed came home and had a bowl of heart healthy Cheerios as a snack (how's that for irony?).  After a quick phone call to remind Heather's mother Phyllis to pick up some more milk on her way home, he was overcome with chest pains.

An urgent call back to Phyllis resulted in a call to neighbors Josh & Holly Johnson (Holly & Heather were BFF's in school).  Thankfully, Josh & Holly were able to get to Mr. Ed quickly.  Holly made a mad dash to the local Dollar General store for aspirin that helped save Mr. Ed's life.  In the meantime, Phyllis, neighbor Dennis Whitlow and family friend Danny Sentell were all there by the time the ambulance arrived to transport Mr. Ed to the Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center...nothing like a party, right?

Mr. Ed was in luck with good care from the hospital.  He was transferred to the University of Missouri Hospital in Columbia, Missouri where he underwent quadruple bypass surgery.  Mr. Ed recalls the five hour ambulance ride from Poplar Bluff as a recon mission to check out the newest school to join the SEC.

The heart attack left Mr. Ed with damage to the front of his heart.  Doctors used a vein from his leg and one from his chest to repair the damage during the five hour surgery.  Thankfully, Phyllis had the company of coworker & friend Candy Gabel during this time (Candy lives in the Columbia area).

Taking a spin around the hospital

We knew things were going good when Phyllis received a phone call from Mr. Ed just hours after his breathing tube was removed (at 4:00 a.m.) asking where she was and could she bring him his cell phone.  Although he spent a good amount of time in the ICU, it wasn't long before he was up and walking laps in the hall as part of his recovery.

Mr. Ed got to go home after 9 days in the hospital.  He looked like he had been in a cat fight and lost!  We know his recovery was sped along with the thoughts and prayers of our friends and families.  The outpouring of encouragement and support via Facebook, texts and phone calls was overwhelming and we are blessed to know that so many people care.  We are especially thankful to those who lent a helping hand to our family during this particularly stressful time, especially since we couldn't be there ourselves to do so.

As his recovery at home continues, we want to thank everyone for their well wishes and support and want to warn you:  Mr. Ed promises to be the loudest when calling the Hogs from now on.

Prayers for Jordan

**Warning - some images may be graphic **

We got news that our brother-in-law, Jerry Jordan, was involved in a terrible car accident last night while on his way home from coaching a basketball game.  An intoxicated driver behind the wheel of a Ford F-150 blew through a stoplight at the intersection of Pineville-Matthews Road and Johnston Road in Charlotte just after11:00 p.m.  The driver of the F-150 t-boned Jordan's Infinity, sending his car into a utility pole.

Local news stations, CBS affiliate WBTV and NBC affiliate WCNC, both reported on the accident.  Initially, Jordan's injuries were thought to be life threatening, but he was quickly stabilized while at the scene of the accident and did not have to be air evacuated.  The F-150 that struck Jordan was covered in "Kaiser Siding and Roofing" decals, although it's not yet known if the driver was an employee of the company.  Police did report finding pills inside the truck following the accident.

WBTV followed up with their coverage of the accident on their morning show.



Thankfully, Jordan made it out of the accident alive, but with several bumps and bruises and a deep gash just above his eye.  He had to be cut out of his car...this is what's left of his vehicle.

It's scary to think how much worse this terrible accident could have been.  We ask our readers to please keep Jordan in their thoughts and prayers as he recovers.  It truly is a miracle that he's alive.

* Images courtesy WCNC, WBTV & Jordan family

Unpacking Fun

Unpacking 180 lbs. of luggage takes time.  Seriously, it took like a couple of days.  It's a hassle sorting and finding a place to put it all.  But it sure was fun to do this time!  Here's a peak at what's heading into Chickadee's closet...

The Journey Back

It's amazing that 1.5 people can return home with nearly 200 lbs. of luggage!  Special thanks to Mr. Ed & Angie Doncaster for helping Heather & Chickadee make it to the airport!

Skipping Candles, Straight to Forks

Ice cream cake is always a reason to celebrate, right?

One Stitch at a Time

For those who know Heather, you have no doubt that she'll probably be buried with a glue gun in her hand.  During her college days, she was a notorious sorority girl who could glitter just about anything.  Since then she's gone through 'phases' of crafts...including stain glass painting, cross-stitch, scrap booking, creating shabby-chic furniture, sewing and in the most recent times, quilting.  Loyal I Heart NY Y'all readers can't possibly have forgotten her last project?

While visiting her family over the holidays, Heather discovered two things: 1) There's no internet connection, 3G or Verizon cell service in the outskirts of Qulin, Missouri and 2) There are only so much LMN & Hallmark movies you can stomach after the family goes to bed at 8:30 p.m.

Boredness soon gave way to productivity after the sewing machine was cranked up!  Fortunately, our friend Brandi Hodges opted to come up from Jonesboro and serve as sidekick during craft time at the looney bin.  She was a such huge help that made the projects go by faster.  Thanks Brandi!

The first project was a simple one.  Heather & Brett's nephew, Hudson Jordan, was due a baby blanket.  Inspired by some super cute sock monkey fabric found at Hobby Lobby, this is what Heather cooked up (with Brandi's mad ironing & cutting skills):

The photo fabric is available at Wal-Mart and is super easy to use!  Just by printing a few pictures off of Facebook, the center squares were already done.  Unfortunately, they printed a hair too small and had to be give a border of red stripes to make them fit perfectly.  (Math has never been Heather's strongest field)

The quilt pattern used for Huddy's blanket is called Shoo-Fly and is super easy to make.  It's basically a Nine-Square block with triangles for the corner spots.

Remember that monster duvet cover Heather quilted last year?  Well, there was plenty of fabric left over from that project!  Heather used as much of it as she could to make a small baby quilt for Chickadee.  Don't worry, there will probably be more projects featuring the black & white fabric since she barely made a dent in the stash.  It's not put together yet, but here's what each side looks like.  Hope Chickadee enjoys it!

Split Rail Fence pattern

The last project is still ongoing.  After cleaning out the dresser drawers, Heather realized she had tons of t-shirts.  Many from her college & Alpha Delta Pi sorority days at Missouri State University.  Rather than get rid of them, she decided to create a t-shirt quilt.  It sounds intimidating, but turned out to be super easy.

Gotta gather the Greek goods

With a little help from some lightweight fusible interfacing, Heather was able to salvage precious, but no longer really wearable, t-shirts & most importantly save drawer space in her home...it's about getting rid of the clutter in 2012!

To start, all you had to do was cut the shirt in half...

The hardest part was being brave enough to cut the shirt!

...and then frame up what you wanted your quilt block to be.  Leaving a little around the edges allowed the interfacing extra room.

To get the interfacing to adhere, Brandi put down a damp dishrag and ironed over it.  A quick trim up around the plastic guide and it sure didn't take long before the t-shirt material was an "official" quilt block.

We combined four of the the front pocket designs to create a block (top left square) and pieced together the front & back of one shirt to make the lettering more even (top right square).

Because it turned out smaller than expected, this work in progress plans to add a couple of more shirts found after the fact and then some photo blocks of sorority pictures to fill it out.  Here's the pseudo-finished project:

It's amazing what you can create when you don't have access to a cellphone or a computer!