just in the nick of time!

just before Jaedyn was born i figured out how to crochet baby hats. i made her a good bunch and then decided she probably has enough to get her through the winter (and if not i'll happily oblige) but they are very cute and easy i wanted to keep going. i also decided that i had enough bits of yarn stashed away and if i wanted new yarn (which i really really do) then i needed to find a way to use up this old yarn first. so i set a goal for myself.... 10 baby hats by the new year to be donated to a hospital.

this was a pretty easy deal for me to keep as about 2 months ago we started watching ALL of the past LOST (aka greatest show of all time) episodes in preparation for the series ending season starting in February. it's hard for me to just sit mindlessly in front of the TV so i picked up my crochet hook and started making these hats. i played around with little tassel tops, ear flaps, stripes, different sizes. it ended up being very educational for me!

as of 10:30pm Dec 31st i finished hat #10!! i found this site that lists hospitals who accept baby donations and our local hospital happens to be on the list. easy enough!

year in review

last year i made some resolutions and i'd like to review them to see how i did.

1. lose 10 lbs -- as far as i know this did not happen. i'm still hovering around 130 which i'm comfortable at but would always welcome weight lose i'm just not sure it'll be in my new resolution list.

2. use only cold water to do laundry (unless we're dealing with poop or vomit) -- i'm happy to report that for a most part this resolution was kept. i didn't even notice any difference in my laundry (a good thing) so i'll keep on doing this.

3. read (at least) one book a month -- i read 9 books last year but i haven't read a book since July... sad i know! i had a great start with reading even more than my one book a month goal but then i think i got comfortable with my lead and slacked off big time. Chris got me a few books for Christmas this year and i plan on doing an internet fast until Jan 1st so i think i may actually be able to say i read 10 books this year! i really liked this resolution and may keep it on the list for next year too.

4. enjoy a family outing once a month -- unfortunately i have to report a big fat "no" on this resolution. we didn't even do the ice skating i talked about in the resolution itself... UGG! this year got away from me for sure. with me working long hours 1/2 the year and Chris not working at all this year it was a strange year to say the least. but really i wasn't even conscious about this resolution after March i'm afraid. i just plum forgot (note to self: review new years resolutions once a month!) not to say that good times weren't had.... we did manage to go camping and have a mostly lousey time :o) but we went! i'm not sure i'll revisit this resolution exactly but i might have some variation of it in the 2010 year.

so like i said i'll be off of the internet until next year. i need some time to unplug and focus on more important things. hopefully i'll get that last book read and figure out a nice direction for my life. see ya next year!

Christmas happenings

Mayden & Cameron on Christmas morning 2009

when the kids are in bed asleep by 7pm, you know it was a good day! hear's to a nice relaxing evening :o) more Christmas pictures are here if you're interested. i'll post a narrative later this weekend.

Greetings....

Merry Christmas!

from Mayden & Cameron

(mama, dada & bubbas {the pig} too!)

crafty girl

i've been trying to make it a point to let Mayden "help" me whenever she asks. it's about 1000 times easier to say "no" and just do it myself but she'll never learn that way sooooo... new plan.

recently she's been asking to help me with my crafting which has been taking up more of my time since Christmas is right around the corner. i should have learned a long time ago from my beloved Soule Mama to let kids be creative as i believe they naturally are. i have not been very good with this. learning more about myself this year i've discovered that i tend to be controlling. i am most comfortable with things are neat, organized and perfect.... this as you may have guessed is nearly impossible with children! so anyway i need to be more conscious of my tendencies and to let go much more (especially if i'm going to unschool)

about a week ago Mayden brought me this:

i knew it wasn't going to happen but i thought she deserved to give it a try if she wanted to so i humored her. she got frustrated very quickly but if we do this every few weeks she might actaully pick it up in a year or two.... who knows!


this week i've been in a mad rush to get my crafty christmas gifts made. Cameron had been sick so i was very far behind. Mayden askd if she could help me and my first instinct was to say no (i mean i was dealing with a sewing needle after all) but i got to thinking and decided maybe i could use a little help. plus Soule Mama's kids use the sewing machine and needles all the time.... i needed to give her the benefit of the doubt and see what she could do.

much to my surprise she totally did it! i mean i was blown away that she didn't once poke herself with the needle. proof that i need to let go and let her do things more often. letting go can be good, letting go can be good, letting go can be good... my new mantra!

the Christmas gift for her cousin that she did all by herself (minus the end tying) i promise you'll see more of these awesome little gifts once Christmas is over!

it is so

well, we did end up getting all that snow! 16.5 inches to be exact, it covered our little chair completely!

we've been having a lot of fun needless to say.

**let it snow**

we're suppose to be getting a significant snow storm starting midnight tonight. i set up a photo album documenting the accumulation. it will be updated every few hours starting Saturday morning. check here for pictures!!

the end of the garden 2009

our little garden has served us well this year. lots of zucchini & spinach as well as some others. i learned a lot and have bigger plans for next year. i was way off this spring/summer with a lot of my planting times so i'll need to pay more attention to that next year. i'm not sure if she was serious but my grandmother offered to email me every time my pop-pop (an expert gardener) does something with his garden... and then i'll go run out and do the same!! i can't fail that way can i?

so this is what the garden looks like now.

dead zucchini but still lovely lettuce & spinach. in fact May and i picked most of the spinach this morning and made a green smoothie. i'm happy to announce that she drank about 1/2 a cup of it!

Jaedyn in a basket

Happy Thanksgiving!

we started the day off with the Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day Parade and ended it with a yummy dinner at mom & dad's house.... thanks mom! below is a video of Cameron dancing to one of the marching bands in the parade, he loved them! pictures are here.

Jaedyn's newborn photoshoot!

it seems that little miss Jaedyn has taken over my blog (and rightfully so)! yesterday on her 1 week old birthday i was able to do a newborn photoshoot and got some really cute shots. below are my two favotires but there are more here if you'd like to see them all. i might be going back this weekend for some more so stay tunned!

Danica Lin & Jaedyn Lin

before tonight i hadn't seen these two in the same room... what a sight it is! Danica is of course a PRO at this mothering thing already. they are both doing really well. Danica is really tired and uncomfortable but that's par for the course at this point unfortunately. if Jae's test comes back good tomorrow morning they'll be going home then! we're going to give them a break from us until Monday or Tuesday when we'll introduce May & Cam to their new cousin! check out more Jaedyn pictures here

comparing cousins

May & Cam aren't allowed in the hospital as they have new restrictions because of this H1N1 flu so they'll have to wait until their cousin is home (which might be tomorrow!!) to meet her. until then i thought it would be fun to compare them! see any resemblance?

Mayden Rae

Cameron Jude

Jaedyn Lin

she's here!!

Jaedyn Lin Wallace

November 19th 2009; 12:24pm

6lbs 12oz - 19 inches

after a very hard 17 hours of labor Jaedyn was born via c-section to some VERY happy parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, great grandparents etc....

Danica is doing okay obviously totally beat from a hard days work! she had a fever (which is down) so they had to isolate the baby & do some testing to make sure there is no infection. they'll know more in 24hrs. i'm sure she'll be fine. she was sooooo peaceful and alert when we had her for those few minutes... CAN'T WAIT to get to know her more!!!

more pictures are here

she's coming!

Danica's water broke around 7:30 tonight so i guess i'd better share these pictures i took of she & Tim before their little bundle of joy arrives in a few hours... there are a few more you can see here. stay tuned for baby news.....

fall days!

ive been lazy with this blog lately... sorry to my 4 readers out there :o) click here to see our halloween pictures.

happy halloween!

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get your umbrella ready!

we had Danica & Tim's baby shower on Saturday and it went off without a hitch! unfortunately mom was feeling pretty sick that day (and still is) but even though she managed to get the job done. we started out with a simple green & brown theme because at that point we weren't sure about the babies gender (fyi, it's been confirmed a GIRL now) we even managed to surprise Danica -- at least until she hit the driveway! there was a great turnout despite the rainy weather, this baby (and her parents) are surly loved! everyone seemed to have a great time... i know i did!

i was just happy this baby didn't make an appearance before the shower... she can feel free to come anytime now! for more pictures, click here!

photo contest

i just entered the picture from the previous post in a photo contest sponsered by The Weather Channel. there is a (much needed) cash prize for the winner.... please help me win by voting

click here to vote for me!

thank you!

thinking about it...

flashbacks: my name is mommy!

November 13, 2005

it's kinda funny that from the time May was born C and I have been "mommy" and "daddy". That's just what we call each other now. Does Adia exist anymore or shall I always be mommy? I suppose I don't mind, it's my new identity. I embrace it.

good light

so i've been dreaming about a digital SLR camera. i almost pulled the trigger but under the circumstances it probably is best that we don't have a $550 (and that's just the body!) credit card cloud hanging over our heads. sooo back to dreaming!

flashbacks: over the two month hump!

September 30th, 2005

YEA we're done with the first two months!!! No more laboring, birthing, hospital visits, figuring out breastfeeding, crying (both of us), weekly visits to the doctor for weight checks, pumping, stressing. And instead there is much more sleeping (6 consecutive hours!), smiling, playing, walking, laughing, cuddling, scooting & babbling!

gosh i love this girl so much...is she not the funniest person ever?!?! And she's only 3 months old, the best is still yet to come!

backyard play

my rechargeable batteries have been losing their rechargability lately. fully charged they give me the dreaded red low battery sign as soon as i put them in so i tossed them and have been using traditional batteries instead.... man they don't last very long either.

don't you just hate when you're trying to catch a moment and....

luckily i had a spare set nearby...

video from our PA trip

a few videos for Aunt Sharon's viewing pleasure.... i wish i got more of the adults for you (sorry)

Pink Lemonade to be exact

we just got back from saying goodbye to the oldest member of our family- Grandmom Lemonade. she was 93 and my great grandmother, making that the kids great-great grandmother... whew!

since i can remember as a little girl every time we'd come visit our grandparents up in Muncy, PA we'd always take a day to visit with Grandmom Lemonade. i remember her house and it's mirror wall with the gold etchings, i remember that "crystal ball" at the bottom of the hill in her yard, i remember the organ in her basement that would entertain us kids for a good while. her sense of style (notice the pearls) and sassyness will always be remembered!

i have all of the pictures from the trip in a private album on facebook. if you're interested in seeing them just let me know and i'll add you to the list.

this picture to the right is so special to me. it shows Grandmom Lemonade, her son (my pop-pop), her granddaughter (my mom), her great granddaughter(me) and her great-great granddaughter (Mayden). 5 generations... it boggles the mind!

the jailhouse rocked

Sunday night the kids of the church we attend (my dad's church) including my kids were in a play called 'Jailhouse Rock". they'd been practicing for months and months and they did GREAT! it's amazing how kids know to turn it on at the right time. practices were okay but the live performance was awesome! Cameron even had a little part. he was the frog for one of the songs the kids sang. again, he wasn't very into it during practice but he nailed it on Sunday! the second video shows Cameron giving the first few rows a show of their own. he danced and danced the entire show... he was @ most practices so he knew the songs just as well as everyone else :o)

fields of yellow

we live next to an old dairy farm. they currently rent it out to farmers who use it to grow vegetation. last year they grew corn and this year it's soybeans. until recently i preferred the corn because at least we could walk through it. however, this week the soybeans have turned a bright beautiful yellow...

R is for Reading

as you can see we have too many books. i guess this is a good problem to have and while Mayden's not exactly reading yet she is making major steps and getting very close to basic reading. i'm pretty sure she'll be reading easy books before she turns 5. is anyone surprised? no, didn't think so. she's been an overachiever ever since the day she was born!

right now she easily recognizes the word "No" when i'm reading to her. she'll jump ahead and say "No, what?" she's also able to spell her name, Elmo, mom, dad and knows most of the sounds each letter makes. i've been really enjoying reading with her before bed, it's amazing watching it all come together for her. she's getting so excited about it and so am i! i'm dreaming of car rides where she can just bring along a book and read to herself during the trip... silence!??!

baby #3

don't get too excited! while i'm sure i will love this little one just as much as my own.... she (or maybe he) is technically not my own. my sister is due with her baby near the end of November and i can't wait for this bundle to get here! i can't wait for the look on Danica's face when she realizes how effing hard being a new mother is --haha-- but mostly i can't wait to spoil this child! i dream of much holding, loving, buying cute things (already done), new baby smelling... and then giving her BACK to her parents while i get a full nights sleep :o) i finally get to know the joy of being an aunt!