Homemade Christmas!

I've decided that I'm doing a homemade Christmas this year.  I'm way excited!  I have lots of things to make so you all can't get mad at me for thinking about Christmas in February.  I have ideas already for my moms, dads, nephews, brothers, and sisters.  I'm still trying to solidify a few, but if you want to know what I'm making, ask.  Except, of course, what I'm making you - that's not fair :)  We did a homemade Christmas when I was 7 or 8 and my whole family participated.  I loved it.  My grandma made us all some fuzzy blankets and we all still have them.  My parents made a Barbie house for us, and it's in the garage waiting for Kaitlyn to be old enough and have cousins to join her.  It was so much fun, and we all still remember it and cherish the gifts, long after more recent ones have been forgotten.  I think it's a great way to share the true spirit of Christmas - giving of yourself!

Cheesy Grin!

Kaitlyn has started doing this smile all the time.  It's so adorable!  Also, Jared and I think it makes her look just like her namesake, my Grandma.

Thyroid Issues

Some of you know that I was recently diagnosed with hyperthyroidism.  This means that my thyroid is making too much hormones and my system is way screwed up.  If left untreated it can lead to heart defects, coma, or even death.  So, not too happy about that.  The three treatment options are medicine, radiation, and surgery.  We ruled out surgery because I don't want to be out of commission that long; and I only approve of surgery that gets me a baby :)  While medicine sounds nice, it's not safe for pregnancy or nursing.  Although we aren't planning to get pregnant, it would suck if we were surprised and the medication caused birth defects.  So, we decided to go the radiation route.  This meant that I would go in on President's day for a small dose of radiation and then a scan to see how my thyroid was working.  Tuesday afternoon we got the report:  my thyroid isn't working AT ALL.  Maybe the pregnancy caused my hormones to go crazy, we're not sure what happened.  However, my thyroid stopped working and dumped all of the hormone into my system.  Meaning that I was having symptoms of hyperthyroidism but I don't actually have it.  YAY!  I don't have to get radiation, I can go back to breastfeeding Kaitlyn, and I don't have to spend 4-5 days locked in my old bedroom at my parents' house with minimal human contact.  I have now been diagnosed with thyroiditis, and I will have to go in for more blood tests to figure out treatment options.  The good news, though, is that once all the hormones have left my system, I'll probably go on medication to replace the thyroid hormone and it's safe for pregnancy and nursing.  Thank you so much to everyone who has offered love or support at this time.  Especially to those of you who offered to take Kaitlyn while Jared was in classes.  It is so great to know that we have caring friends and family to turn to in our times of need.

6 month stats

We went in a bit early for Kaitlyn's 6 month check-up because of my thyroid radiation induced vacation in my old bedroom next week.  Kaitlyn is healthy and growing - which is great!  She now weighs 13 lbs 10 oz and is 24 1/2 inches long.  Her weight and length are in the 20-25 percentile, but her head is off the chart.  That's right folks, a little bobble head :)  Kaitlyn has learned so much!  She can repeat sounds and roll over.  She loves her dog Scout and has also started to give hugs.  She especially likes to play peekaboo.  We suspect that she can roll from back to front, but she has no motivation to do so which is why we haven't seen it yet.She is a very good sleeper and unless she's teething she sleeps from 10 to about 6.  The biggest thing lately is that she has cut both of her bottom front teeth!

Here's the updated cabbage patch pic:

For comparisons go here.
The dr said we should take the bumpers out of her crib so she doesn't roll over and suffocate.  But I went to get her up from her nap today and found this:

What do I do now?

On How to be Lovely

Some of my former roommates and dear friends have started a blog about becoming lovely.  They post thoughts, stories, pictures and video clips about what it takes to be lovely.  The best thing about it is that it's about enjoying yourself how you are and not worrying about what size you are or how much you weigh.  I have been featured as a guest post, but I thoroughly suggest you go check out other posts, too.

3/100 - How Many Roads? by Dean Hughes

This is the third book in the Hearts of the Children series.  I really liked the Children of the Promise series but was never able to get into the sequel series.  However, I got interested a few months ago and began borrowing them from my sister.  I've got to say, I find Gene to be a bit boring, but now that he's in Vietnam I'm assuming his character will get some more dimension.  I kind of feel like Hans is thrown in so that we can know about the GDR, but I don't really feel vested in his story.  I do, however, LOVE Kathy and Diane.  I really like the way these young women are standing up for themselves and learning to be individuals but still maintaining their morals in a time when women were fighting for equal rights.  This is a very good series, I may even like it better than the first one.  This is in the books I own but haven't yet read category.

2/100 - Wicked: the pop-up version

Okay, this one fits in the kids books category.  I really loved the concept of this book and the illustrations were gorgeous!  I have tried to read Gregory Maguire before and REALLY didn't like him.  But, loving the music I wanted to know more about the plot of this show.  I haven't yet been able to see it, but as soon as were are near a production that isn't $150 a seat Jared has promised to take me.  In the meantime, this book was really good.  I did have a problem with the fact that so much detail went into the first half and then the last half of the show was all crammed onto one page, but it was still a good concept and I really enjoyed it.

1/100 - Marley & Me by John Grogan

So, the first book I read for the 10/10/10 challenge was Marley & Me by John Grogan.  It fits in my movie adaptations category.  I loved this book!  I saw the movie last fall and absolutely loved the real-life characters and the antics of their crazy golden retriever.  When I read the book, however, I became even more enamored with the story.  The movie follows pretty close to the book's storyline, so there weren't any big surprises.  The thing that I loved about this book, though, were the insights that Grogan gave to his life.  It was like reading someone's journal - which I guess it sort of was.  I highly recommend this book to anyone!

A Psych-ic take on the Bible

Gus: Sean, have you even read the Bible?
Sean: Yeah, Genesis, Exorcist, Leviathan, Do...the right thing?

Totally amazing.  Also, their commercials are wonderful:

Aren't These Cute?

So, I found this blog online that had a free template and instructions on how to make these cute purses.  Also, they have the February VT message on the inside!  I made these for the ladies I teach.  They were very easy and took about 10 minutes apiece.  I used regular ribbon instead of the paper handle.  You can go there and download the template, too.  Or, if you let me know, I can make some for you - $1.50 to cover costs.