Baby Update

I've been so busy with crafting and the holidays and stuff, I haven't given an update on the twins in a while. You might have seen on the side bar that we picked out names- Evelyn Violet Watson & Georgia Magnolia Watson. Our two other girls have flowers for their middle names (Olivia Rose & Penelope Lily) so we had to carry on the tradition. I've always liked the name Violet (like Violet Beauregarde in Charlie & the Chocolate Factory) and the Magnolia is my favorite flower. Very southern belle, don't you think? For the record, I wanted Clementine, but Braden said no way did he want a child named after a fruit, so he came up with Georgia. One of our favorite songs is Georgia On My Mind by Ray Charles, so I knew it was a good pick.

As far as the health of the babies go, I have been transfered to a high risk OB because their growth is still uneven. Evelyn is a bit bigger than Georgia, but the ultrasounds are staying good, so we just have to wait and hope for the best. Their main concern for me is pre-term labor, they want to try and keep the babies in there as long as they can so they can get as big as possible before they have to deliver. Most likely I will have a C-section, and it will be no later that 36 weeks which is on March 1st. They will probably come in January or February so I'll keep everyone updated.

In case anyone is wondering, I'm not feeling all that great at this point. I'm only 23 weeks and I'm measuring at 30 weeks so I'm way bigger than normal. There is a lot of pressure on my pelvis so it's hard to walk and sleep, and now my tailbone is out of alignment or something so it's hard to sit too. Basically it sucks but I have to keep telling myself it's only for a couple more months. So when you see me and I'm waddling like a fool, you know why:)

So that's the scoop on the babies. I've been scoping out some stuff I want to make for them and I'm linking them up here so if you have a baby or niece or grandbaby or whatever you can make some too!

First, check out the slideshow of Heather Bailey's Nicey Jane fabric-which will be all over the twins nursery.


And how cute is this Happy Stacker Pattern?



I'm also think about making this quilt for the girls in the Nicey Jane prints. I love the double ruffles on the sides. A lot of work, but sooooo cute. It will be my first quilt I make out of a pattern (not just the patchwork with the squares) so I'm kind of nervous, but excited to try something new.

Photography & Design Month-Amos Family Reunion

The big day was yesterday, unfortunately I couldn't take a whole bunch of pictures because my kids were running around like lunatics. And I could barely move- these babies are making life much more difficult. Between all the eating & visiting I did get a couple of good shots, and Eryn took some too so enjoy a glimpse of our day.


My dad & all his sisters & brother



The Massey Family & their new little baby boy Briston. He was just too sweet.



My cousin Kindy's baby Briley. Don't you just want to munch on those cheekies.



KaI & Kali, who belong to my cousin Fawn. Kai did NOT want me to take his picture, so I had to stalk him. Kali is a little model, check out those eyes.


And who is this kid? What a wierdo.

All these photos are now on the Amos Family Flickr Group for everyone to share!

Amos Family Reunion

Tomorrow is our big family reunion so we are all gearing up to head out to McCormick Park in Scottsdale and spend some time with family. There is a Colon Cancer Run in the morning (which unfortunately I cannot participate in. sorry, got this big belly.) in honor of my dad's cousin Chadeen who passed away on Halloween. I was asked to design the shirts for the run/reunion and this is what I came up with.



There will be TONS of pictures taken tomorrow, so I'm reminding everyone in the family to upload them all to the Amos Family Photo Pool on Flickr.

Those of you that can't be there will feel like you were! Also, if you didn't get your t-shirt order in on time, we are taking people's names and sizes so we can order another batch next week and mail them off to people.

Now I have to go get my kids ready to go see my Aunties and drive them nuts for a while.

Harvest Dinner Week Finale

The Watson Harvest Dinner just ended. My kitchen is cleaned, my husband is picking the turkey clean for leftover turkey sandwiches tomorrow, my sisters are folding my kids clothes for me, and I am happily taking a much needed rest. I love family dinners as much for the aftermath as the actual event. I now have a clean house for the rest of the week (or at least however long it lasts, maybe until Tuesday.) We made it through the day with only 2 mishaps:

1) I decided to bake the extra apples soaked in bourbon with the turkey, but I put them in a parchment paper lined pan. Well, the paper caught fire, and literally blew up from the alcohol. It blew our oven door open and shot a fireball out of the oven, but thankfully no one was hurt. Braden just about had to change his pants, but it all ended ok. And the turkey was just fine!
2) Penelope, after eating 3 pumpkin rolls and some pumpkin pie, threw up bright orange puke then slipped in it. I scooped her up and stuck her in the tub, and by the time I came back in the kitchen my dad, Ashly, & Ashlyn had cleaned it all up for me! Gotta love family.

Photo Weekend Part 2

Well, photo weekend Part Deux turned out to be a bust. Landen got attacked by ants and now has bites all over his feet. Unfortunately he is allergic to bug bites, so it makes his feet swell up ridiculously. After a bath in baking soda, some rubbing alcohol, some calamine lotion and a 1/4 tsp of childrens Benadryl, he was fine and drowsy. Yesterday, was just a crazy day in general. I had to take Penelope to urgent care at 8:00 in the morning because she fell off our ottoman in our bedroom, and bashed her head on the corner of our dresser. When I picked her up she had an enormous goose egg on her forehead, and I felt like Mother of the Year. Nothing like going to Urgent Care feeling like a child abuser. Anyway, here are more shots from Sunday, and I'll add some of Kathie and Isabel from yesterday that turned out fab.

Photo Weekend Part 1

Last night we all went out to the Farm at South Mountain to do our Fall Family photo shoot. Those of you that have been in my yellow kitchen/living room know that my black & white photo wall is a little sparse. Plus Penelope looks totally different now, so we needed some updates. Eryn took a ton of good ones, and I got a couple good shots of the kids, and even though Braden was totally miserable, I think it was a success. I'll put more up tomorrow, and some from our 2nd shoot tonight with Kathie's family, but I needed to put some of Landen up, since he didn't have any good ones on Wednesday. My favorite is the one where Peepers boots are in the air.

Amos Family Photo Pool

There is a big reunion coming up in November that is probably going to result in a boatload of pictures, so in order for everyone to have access to all the pictures people have taken I started a Flickr group for all the family to join to share photos! I've loaded all the pictures of Harry & Delt and I'll be adding more of our own family soon. Everyone is welcome to join and upload their own photos of their families so we all can see them in one central place. Feel free to download any photos you want, and print out to keep. If you have any questions, you can email me at watsonfam2007@gmail.com.

Fall Photo Session

Why is it that when I try to take my own kids out for a shoot, it all goes to hell? I can't get one picture where everyone is looking at the camera and not falling to pieces. We got 2 out of 3 in both shots.

Landen is straight IMPOSSIBLE to photograph. I couldn't get ANY good shots of him. La La is pretty hard too, but Peeps always aims to please.




We got a lot more photos to take this week and all next month, so keep checking the website for some updates.

A Nice September Saturday

Out of nowhere yesterday, Braden switched off the Tennessee/Florida game, turned to me and said. "Let's go have a picnic."
I thought I had fell asleep for a minute and was dreaming this conversation. "Um, ok" I said, and we got up to get the kids changed and packed up. All the suggestions for KFC and pizza didn't sound so great to me, so a brilliant idea popped into my head, and we drove to Agritopia.

Have you been to Joe's Farm Grill. It is awesome because there are a ton of picnic benches outside in the yard both in front and in back of the restaurant, plus a lot of pretty garden areas for your kids to run through. Our kids ran around outside for a while, and drank orange soda (they NEVER get soda, so it was a real treat for them). Then once we got our food, we went inside to their midcentury modern style eating area and our kids actually behaved. For the second time that night, I thought I was dreaming. I got the barbecue blue cheese burger (which was awesome) and my kids got a grilled cheese. They stuffed their face full of fries and we left content and in good moods. We drove to the park by our house, and played for 2 hours. While we were there Braden ran into an acquaintance of his, and we talked to his wife and his friend's wife the whole time. Turns out it's a small world after all. They had 3 little girls (two were Lala & Peepers age), and their friend had 5 kids, the last one twins. All 11 kids played like they were longtime friends and our kids got put to bed all bathed and really tired out.

I have a feeling that this is going to be the best autumn we've ever had. I think I'll go watch "You've Got Mail" and buy some more pumpkins today . . .

So many things are happening at once in my life, that I feel like I'm living in that house Dorothy traveled in to Oz. I closed my eyes and woke up in September. How did that happen? A lot of my life is lived like this, all the important things happening so fast that I barely have time to appreciate them before something else comes along that needs my attention. All the babies, and marriages, and graduations keep coming and coming to the point where I forget just how many kids and brothers and sisters and cousins I have now. Sometimes I wish things would just slow down so I can at least give everyone a big kiss.

Last night however, I was given a golden opportunity to do just that. My dad has an Aunt & Uncle who live here in Mesa who he was going to go visit, and he invited me to come along. My cousin Mindy, who is their granddaughter, had emailed me a while back and had asked if I ever had time, if I could go and take some pictures of her grandparents. I said, "Of course, I'd love to go" and got in the car with my dad to visit his beloved Uncle Harry & Aunt Delt.

I had only met these two a handful of times, but I do remember being a little girl and going to their house up in the white mountains to visit. I must have been under 10 years old, but I do remember Aunt Delt's smile, and Uncle Harry's laugh. I also remember my dad's stories of how Uncle Harry had gotten struck by lighting 10 times or so, and other funny things about him.
When we got to the house, we were greeted by their sweet nurse Marsha, who presented us to Delta & Harry. They looked just like I remember them. Aunt Delt with her chestnut hair and beautiful smile, and Uncle Harry with his laugh and fiery disposition. All my memories came flooding back, and we spent the rest of the afternoon reminiscing and looking at a big photo album one of their granddaughters had made. There were so many pictures of them in there, just about my age. Aunt Delt was gorgeous. Like really really gorgeous and young chasing 2 little girls around. And there were pictures of handsome Uncle Harry and my dad's grandfather Poppa, his dad Paul Jr., and my Uncle Paul III. There was pictures of his cousin Joanne, who looked just like her grandson Kai. There was even pictures of my dad and his mother Rosemary. It almost took my breath away how much it reminded me of me & my own little boy, who is the spitting image of my father. The time finally came however, to go home, so with a hug and a kiss, we told Uncle Harry & Aunt Delt goodbye, with tears in both our eyes.

The weight of the evening didn't really hit me until we were driving home. My dad played his music, as I tried to choke back a flood of tears. As we drove west on the freeway, I looked at the sunset barley glaring in the sky, almost letting the twilight take it over. It seemed a perfect metaphor for life. Every now & then, we need to stop and take a look around us and appreciate the moments we are given on this earth; for they are, like the day, over so quickly. Don't get so caught up in the day, that you forget to appreciate the sunset.

Aren't they just lovely?

Dear Cousin Jordy

Dude, I'm an idiot and deleted your email. I read it first though, and tried to go to your blog to send you a message, but for some reason its not working. WTH? Anyway, let me address your questions here publicly.

A) Of course you can copy my piano. Why would I care? That's why I put up my stuff on the blog anyway, to spread good (actually great) ideas. We used a custom celery green color from Sherwin Williams, but if you go through some Pottery Barn magazines from the last year, the green they use on their furniture is the same color. They use Benjamin Moore paint (which is more expensive) so if you can find a place that carries Benjamin Moore you can get the Pottery Barn color samples there, or look for the names online at Potterybarn.com

B) Braden painted it black first, so when he went through and distressed it and sanded the edges, the black as well as the wood tone shines through. The whole process goes like this:
1. Sand down all the wood parts to get rid of all the grime from the last century and give you a more even canvas to work with.
2. Wipe down, then paint all black. If you can rent a sprayer or know someone who has one, it will make your life so much easier. Old pianos tend to have a lot of intricate carving and detail & it is a bitch to try and hand paint all that.
3. After the black, spray the green. I think Braden did maybe 2 thick coats to get that rich green color & cover all the black.
4. Seal with 1 coat of satin topcoat or glossy lacquer . We used satin polyurethane.
5. Go though & pound the thing with screwdrivers, hammers, chains, ninja stars, whatever you have. Although, depending on where you got your piano, you may be able to skip this step. If its from a church, you probably need to distress. If it's from a saloon, you're good.
6. Once we finished all that, Braden sanded the edges down to get a burnished look, glazed the whole thing with some Sienna brown stain, and then did 3 or 4 topcoats to protect it from my sweet baby angels' constant state of destruction. But really, the more it gets banged up, the cooler it looks.

C) Other color ideas for furniture: I like to look on Country Living a lot for ideas. I also love the standby Pottery Barn of course, but really Pottery Barn Kids has more painted furniture. I have a lot of kids though, so their stuff is practical for me. Decor 8 always has great ideas, and the Farm Chicks vibe is lovely. Basically I just blog hop until I find a person I really like, then try to figure out what her house looks like.

D) Bridal Shower dessert: This one is a little tricky, since I don't know the theme of the shower. If you are trying to get an autumn feel at the party, try the peachy keen tart. It is soooooooooo easy and quick and people will die, it's so good. Late summer fruit is perfect for this time of year. Make a bunch, and pull out the vanilla ice cream. Cupcakes are also a great option for showers, but a little more work. Berries are on sale this time of year, so you can substitute the strawberries and make raspberry cupcakes. Also, Magnolia's vanilla cupcakes are also a big hit. But I always say, if you're gonna be a bear, be a grizzly so if you feel up to a challenge, make Nie's chocolate cake. People will ask you to divorce Cart to marry them to make them cake. Hell, just make it for Cart, and you'll get whatever it is you've been begging for. How do you think I got these last babies?

Love you & Miss you guys & can't wait to see you again. Are you coming to the reunion?

September is here!!!!!

Wohoo! Praise jesus, I'm so glad "fall" is only 21 days away! It's still scorching hot, but at least the cool weather is inching its way in. Last night there was a wicked thunderstorm to ring in the new season. Olivia started dance class today, and has little bunnies Saturday. Come by the Mesa High Football game on Friday the 11th to see her & Isabel shaking their booties with the cheerleaders.

College football starts this week and the NFL season starts next week, so I can be expecting nothing from my husband. It's been a long hard 7 months for him without football. So, in honor of being ignored, I'm going to start up my Halloween projects extra early this year!! There are so many Halloween goodies coming out, I don't know what to do.

House of 3 had the most awesome Halloween digital kits to spook up your house. Visit their blog to see some cool Halloween wall art & other fun projects. I already bought the haunted tree kit, and I can't wait to make some pillows for my couch!


Two Peas in a Bucket has some fab kits too, like these rhonna farrer kits from last halloween.


And check out these gorgeous velvet pumpkins that a local artist makes with real preserved pumpkin stems! You can buy some at Domestic Bliss in Mesa, but I think I'm going to try and make some of my own this year! Now I need to go scout out JoAnne's for some pretty velvet. I think I need black for my yellow room.

Handmade Parade: Frou Frou Tutu

Frou Frou Tutu is my sister Eryn's sweet new pettiskirt & tutu shop. She makes the cutest pettiskirts I've ever seen! She just started her blog too, so go check it out! She will be selling her fab frocks at the Handmade Parade Outdoor Boutique in November. Check out the adorable matching accessories, like these flip flops and headbands. Love them.


These candy corn pettiskirts were specially made for Halloween, which unfortunately is before the Outdoor Boutique, so they will not be available.

Lucky for you guys, they will be sold on the Handmade Parade website in the the Frou Frou Tutu shop, along with some other select items before the Outdoor Boutique. These pettiskirts are in limited supply so don't wait if you want some saasy skirts for your own girly girls. The shop will be going live next week, so save your pennies for these treasures.

Congrats to Mean Talking Ash & my new brother in law Dustin

Holy crap there's so much marriage going around it's making my head spin. Wedding coming New Years Eve 2009.

Baby Update

We went for our 2nd & 3rd ultrasounds yesterday & today and they all came back with pretty much the same answers: It's too early to tell anything for sure.

As of right now we still definitely have 2 babies, and they are sharing the same placenta (identical twins) but the ultrasound tech and doctor we saw today are pretty confident we'll be able to see the separation of the 2 sacs in two weeks. So we'll go back then, and hopefully have more answers. But everything was pretty positive today, so I'm confident they'll be fine.

They currently look like this:


Gross hunh? They look like little pollywogs. And yes, that is what my butt looks like. Thanks for asking. More updates to come in 2 weeks.

Congrats to Lancer Bug & my new sister in law.

Hooray! You're married! Wedding coming April 2010.

Happy Weekend!

My kids, Braden, & I are heading out to the Desert Ridge Resort & Spa with my family & Kathie's family for a fun weekend away. We're going to be swimming, eating, and Braden will be golfing. I'm so excited to have a mini vacation to finish off the summer. School started this week, so I'll be having cheer in the mornings preparing for football season in September. I'm ready for fall and cooler weather to get here so I can kick my kids outside to play when they drive me bananas. I'll be back on Monday to our regularly scheduled programing. I'll leave you with these breakfast in bed recipes to try from Paula Deen: spinach gruyere puff pastry, spicy cinnamon cake, and oven baked dutch apple pancakes

Flash from my future

I got an email from Jcrew today in my inbox, promoting their crewcut kids line of jewelry. The stuff is totally cute (and cheap), and I would definitely wear it myself, but the thing that really sparked my attention was the photo.

I swear, this is Isabel and Olivia 3-4 years from now. Olivia's the blonde one being a brat, and the brunette is Izzy, being pissed at LaLa. Oh, best friends.

More fun stuff in store

Whew! I'm so glad to get that off my chest. I HATE keeping secrets. Bleh. I had to keep it for 2 whole days and it was the WORST. Braden took the news pretty well, I'm happy to say, so now we have to prepare ourselves for this 4th baby. It is definitely going to be my last pregnancy, so I'm going to try and appreciate everything this go around. And of course, lo and behold House of 3 came out with this adorable Baby Book Kit as if on cue. I need to get it and make a big book for all my kids, since they were all so close together.


We decided to throw a little announcement party for our family to celebrate the big news (I'll use any excuse to throw a party) so I made up little invitations

(front)

(back)

I also have more news tomorrow that I will share that everyone should get excited for. It's gonna be awsome.

Rainy Day Tuesday

Wow, it was a dark and stormy night last night. I was awakened at 4:15 a.m. by a huge crash of thunder that was right outside our french doors. Then of course our kids woke up soon after, so there was no going back to bed. After some delicious B & E's (bacon & eggs for those of you who don't watch Dane Cook) we dressed our kids up in their raincoats & boots that Momma Suzy got them and let them play in the puddles outside.





It was a fun filled morning until 7:45 when they all had doctor's appointments. Landen got 4 shots, and Penelope recieved 5. We went home, gave out tylenol and juices, and had a family nap at 10:30 watching The Incredibles. Hopefully it will be stormy tonight and rainy tomorrow morning so we can relive this morning (minus the needles of course).