So, did anyone notice anything special about the picture I posted? Anyone? Bueller?

Look a little closer and you'll see that my baby girl's scrumptious cheeks are RASH FREE! Thank you, Aveeno baby wash and Hydrocortisone cream. No more angry red hives or crusty ears. Now I can move on to worrying about other things, like that annoying flat spot she's developing from having a right side preference, or that her poop may possibly not be the right shade of honey Dijon yellow. Lets hope I learn to stop obsessing over everything by the time she's twelve.



My emotional state has improved tenfold in the past week or so. Thanks, in part, to a massive blow out in which I aired all my thoughts and fears to DH and he thankfully didn't declare me loony toons and run for the hills. And also thanks to a baby who sleeps amazingly well so I haven't had to deal with any sleep deprivation thus far.

I used to think that a newborn being a good sleeper was a myth and anyone who said they had one was lying through their teeth (although I still secretly hated them and wanted to land a swift punch right in their well-rested eye). A quick read through my archives will have you understanding the sleep hell I dealt with when Beckett was a baby. But Avonlea is different. I now know that easy babies DO exist. I also know I had every reason to hate those bitches because it is A-FLIPPING-MAZING. You're free to hate me, too. But I was about due for an easy one this time around, if you ask me. DH is loving it too, because it means he doesn't have to walk a stroller around the block at three in the morning every. single. day. Thanks for that, Beckett. Yes, the man is a saint.

I should probably stop talking about it now, because my superstitious subconscious won't stop whispering that it's going to come back and bite me in the ass in a couple months. That'd be my luck.

We have a busy weekend ahead, filled with cleaning and packing and my first Tupperware party tomorrow. (Which, by the way, if you're just dying to get your hands on some air-tight-sealed goodness, jump over to my website!) Avonlea has an appointment with our chiropractor tomorrow afternoon to deal with this pesky side preference. Sunday will be devoted to packing, making lists, checking off those lists and then checking again to make sure I haven't forgotten anything, as well as cat-proofing the house so they can't destroy anything while we're gone. And then we're leaving bright and early Monday morning for the 8-hour trip to the land of cheese curds and no cell phone service, aka Wisconsin.

Eight hours.

With three kids.

I have a feeling the DVD player in the Pilot will become my new best friend, so much so that I may want to name my next child after it, much like babies end up being named Bob or Gary thanks to a good anesthesiologist. Samsung Melban has a nice ring to it.

And just like that, a month has passed.

I finally got everything finished in her room, diapers washed and in the drawer, now I just need a baby!

I'm pretty proud, I made almost everything in the room. Bedding, curtains, quilts, name letters, bow holders and bows were all me. The dresser was a flea market salvage and was pretty beaten up before I made it pretty. And the mirror was from Goodwill, and was originally a gaudy gold. Yay for cheap decorating!

You can see the full size pics at my Flickr.

Another week gone by with no blog posts! What is wrong with me? I haven't really been keeping up with Bloglines either and have dozens of unread blogs to pick through. But you know, it's actually kind of nice to not be chained to the internet so much lately. I've been sewing a lot, crafting a lot, learning to knit, and most of all enjoying my boys before they are no longer just "the boys." The Boys plus a girl. Eep!

Anyway, just wanted to make sure everyone knows I'm still alive.

Two of my three adorable men:


The third one getting in some big brother practice with my friend's adorable baby girl:


And some of Sawyer's artistic handiwork. The person on the left with the pink hair is me. Second from the right is Darth Vader, according to him. And above us are the sun, moon and rain clouds all at once. Genius.

Here are some pictures.

We did these the weekend before Easter. Don't mind my bloatiness. It seems to be a lovely side effect of pregnancy for me. Bleh. Aren't we adorable though?

I've been working on some things for Baby Avonlea over the past week or so - it hit me that HEY, I only have 8-12 weeks left before my world is rocked by a newborn! I need receiving blankets and diaper covers and all that other essential newborn stuff! Her nursery is still not finished but should be soon. Our neighborhood is having its bi-annual community garage sale next weekend and I'm hoping to find a dresser that I can paint and spiff up with some fabric decoupage and maybe a nice rocking chair. Other than that I need to paint her name letters, make her crib mobile, and hang some stuff on the walls. I better get cracking.

Receiving blankets:





Squishy soft minkee and thermal cupcake blankie:





And the first of many fleece soakers - I have plans for more to match some shirts she has, complete with embroidery on the bums.

I threw this together on the fly for lunch today, which is rare for me because I almost always use a recipe. Now, I'm no Pioneer Woman, but this was pretty tasty so I thought I'd do my first photo recipe. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1 3/4 cups ricotta cheese
3/4 cup grated parmesan
1 1/2 cups spaghetti sauce
2 tubes refrigerated crescent rolls
1 can mushrooms (or fresh if you choose)
1 tsp Italian seasoning
2 cloves fresh garlic
2 eggs
1-2 fresh zucchini
Approx. 10-15 stalks fresh asparagus



1. Brown the ground beef in a skillet on medium-high heat.



2. Add the Italian seasoning, mushrooms, spaghetti sauce and garlic. Mix together and allow to simmer.




3. In a separate bowl, mix together the ricotta, eggs, and parmesan cheese.



It should look like this:



4. Stir in the meat mixture and mix well. You'll have something like this.



5. Add in the mozzarella and mix it in as well.



6. For this part, I use a round baking stone from Pampered Chef. A round pizza pan would also work. Unroll the crescent rolls and arrange them on the stone in a ring like this.



7. Drop spoonfuls of the meat and cheese mixture onto the crescents, until the ring is full. Side note: you will have lots of filling leftover. Save it to make another ring or spoon it onto a bun for an Italian sloppy joe!



8. Fold the ends of the crescents over and tuck them in so the filling is enclosed. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.



When it comes out, it will look like this. Yum!



9. To make the veggies, dice everything up into bite size pieces.



10. Toss in a skillet with 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat.



11. Sprinkle in some Italian seasoning and garlic to taste. Saute until the veggies are crisp and cooked through.



12. Remove from heat and stir in some shredded mozzarella and sprinkle grated parmesan on top.



And enjoy!

Also known as Works In Progress. I have several I need to finish and I'm trying (keyword there is trying!) to finish them all before I start anything new. Which is very difficult because there are so many tempting NEW projects I could start. I hate having half-finished pieces cluttering up my piles though.

I finished the easiest project first - a quilted pillow. Now I have three quilts I need to tackle that all need sewn together before I can do anything else.



The little weenie dogs are actually cut from one of Beckett's old stained onesies.




I also received my promo material for Avie Adorned. How cool is this stuff? Business cards and "packaging" for my bows! I punch a hole in the cards and then clip the bows on for shipping.



Speaking of bows, I added several new ones to the shop last night. Check it out!