Easter Egg-stravagnza

Spencer and I dyed Easter eggs today, so I thought I would share a little bit of our fun with you. We tried a little of everything, so some things turned out well and some didn't. Maybe it will help you in your egg dyeing escapades. Here are some pics:

First, gather your materials. Don't forget to boil your eggs. A lot of our cracked, I think because we had medium sized eggs, but I did some research and it looks like that's ok (but I don't make any guarantees). Some people crack theirs on purpose after they boil them for a-well-cracked look, so I figured it didn't matter when the cracks come.
Then, decide if you want some reversed dying opportunities. I tried glitter glue, regular glue (well, craft glue) and stickers. I will show you the results later. You can also wait to add these things after the dyeing is done.
Next, get a good helper...and a cute one is even better. Don't forget the apron!
Then, make your dye according to the instructions on the package. I separated it into individual styrofoam cups so that I could put them in the fridge and get a little more color. A little more work that I used to do when I was little, but we will see if the color is better. I also used vinegar, which is supposed to make the colors more vibrant.

Here we are adding glitter after a short dip in the coloring.




Then, all little cute helpers need a snack break, also know as snack basket in our house, for their hard work.After a little while, probably could have used longer, here are the results!


The glue worked well at keeping off the dye, but it would have been better if we would have waited for it to dry!




The crayon did AWESOME! Probably my favorite but I forgot about it til the end and only got it on one!Here are some cracked ones.

Here are the glittered ones. The glitter came off, but still kept it from dyeing. Probably did better than regular glue because it was actually completely dry. Where the stickers stayed on, it looks good, but they didn't coat exceptionally well, so that might not be best.




Here is the final results. We were kind of bored of this project by the end, so we didn't add any more stickers or anything, but maybe tomorrow we will get some more energy!

And luckily, Annie slept through it all, even this posting. But if anyone can tell me a better way to add pics, I sure would be happy!

Next up: Empty Tomb Cookies on Easter Day (you have to start Sat. night). Go here: http://faithfulprovisions.com/2011/04/11/empty-tomb-cookies-project-tutorial/ if you want to make them too!

Hi, 4 am!

Hi there, 4 am, which is really 3 am because of the time change!

annabelle and i are bonding this morning, meaning that tonight has not been a night of sleep in the horton house, and daddy has done his share for a bit (and i am typing one handed so there are few capital letters in this post). It also means that while someone likes to eat every 2 hrs, and her mom is ok with that, it takes almost an hour to eat then an hour to gt to sleep, which runs right into the next feeding.

one culprit in this senario might be the bratworst i ate for dinner. it gave me indigestion, and i don't think annie is a fan either. therefore it is early morning and we are both awake. she seems to be enjoying it much more than me!

13.5 hrs

Well, in about 13.5 hrs, we will be beginning our journey to meet our newest family member, Annabelle Grace Horton. We are set to arrive around 5 am at the hospital, check in, begin meds, and hopefully have a quick and easy delivery. I, personally, am ready to go right now.

Spencer is so cute about his new sister. He can say her whole name and loves to talk about her, give her kisses, and when you ask him what he is going to do with her, he says, "be nice." I have told him that we are going to the hospital to get her, and he seems ok with that. I have shown him pictures of us at the hospital with him, and he seems ok with that. I don't know excatly what he is expecting, but hopefully he will accept her fairly easily (for a 2 yr old who is being taken away from his mommy's full attention).

I have spent the last couple of weeks pretty uncomfortable-much different than Spencer and am already progressed much further than I was with Spencer-before he broke my water, so needless to say, I am pretty much ready for tomorrow to come.

It is fun to try to imagine how she will be the same/different than Spencer. The pregnancy has been different, for sure, and of course, there are the basic differences between boys and girls, but I kind of think she will have quite a different personality as well. I imagine her as being a lot like her Mommy, fun but quiet, a little more serious. I also imagine her being a little more girly than mommy is, but not overly "princess-y." It will be fun to see if she lives up to this, or is a complete tomboy!

So, hopefully, it won't be forever before I post again, and I will have some lovely pictures of our little family of 4!

We covet your prayers tomorrow as it is always scary to go into the hospital and you just never know.

It's been almost two months

since I posted anything to this blog. Things have been a little crazy since I started working part-time and really trying to get ready for this baby (who is tentatively scheduled to be induced in 9 days if she doesn't decide to come sooner).

Even though I am working part time, Spencer is also going to school part time,so that means that I get to hang out with him every afternoon when I am done with work. Somehow, that means I get about an extra 30 minutes of rest every day! But we have lots of fun and I feel so much less stressed than when Itried to work and always be there for him as well. We are able to just relax and play for about 2.5 hrs before daddy comes home. I wish I could be a little more intentional in our activities during this time, but unfortunately, Annabelle sometimes keeps me from doing a lot (it's always easier to blame the unborn baby, isn't it)!

But we have still had lots of fun together and are ready for Annabelle (at least as ready as you can get). I will be at38 weeks on Wednesday, so truly, she can come anytime, and I don't know how much longer she will make it! My goal, though I wouldn't mind any time now, is to have her on the22nd.In our family,we have lots of people with birthday's on the 11th or 22nd, so it would be kind of fun for herto fit into the theme. If she doesn't decide to come on her own, we are planning on inducing on Oct.25th. I can't believe it is really almost here!

So, I will try to keep things a little more up to date. Thursday was my last day at work but Spencer is still going to day care, so I may be looking for ways to keep myself still instead of running myself ragged all over town!

the cooldown

Times are flying by. According to my own personal calendar (which is slightly different than the doctors), little Annabelle will be here in less than 2 months! Last weekend, we put some of the finishing touches on her room and completely redid Spencer's room, so things are basically ready to go. At least til the last few things come up-like packing a hospital bag, etc.

And, since I am working part time now, I am trying to spend more time with just Spencer, doing all the "mommy and boy" things that I have felt like I have missed out on the last almost two years by having him in full time day care. It is fun to go to the park, now that we have had an under 100 degree day, and even just come home and play with him. Now, a few of those days, momma was a little too tired to do much, and some of our adventures have ended in disaster, but I hope he is enjoying getting away from school and having fun!

As for his new daycare class, its just not the same. Yesterday, I told him we were going to go play with friends, and he got really excited. I hoped that he had finally decided that the kids in his class were his friends and wanted to go play with them, but when we drove up, he said, "Allie's class!" We had to walk around the whole building! Luckily the class with ALL his old friends was shut so he couldn't see them, or I would never have convinced him to go to his new class!

We have just completed night two of, "mommy, lie down," "mommy, sleep," meaning that someone has figured out how to come and get me every time he wakes up to come and sleep with him. At first I didn't mind, but when it was every two hours, then every 30 min., it was over! So, we just had to send him, kicking and screaming, back to bed every 10 min for a while in the middle of the night last night!

Needless to say, parenting is hard!

Whose a big boy?

In anticipation of our newest arrival, Matt and I shipped Spencer off to Cici and Pappy's house for the weekend to create a big boy room for him. we painted and decorated and put together a big boy bed for him. I debated for quite some time whether to get a twin bed or a toddler bed, but in the end decided on a twin bed that can last him sometime. We didn't get the box springs, so we will have to get some better support before we can really do more than gingerly sit on it, but that will come. The goal was to take his baby room apart and end up with something that can last him through several years and many interests.

So, we opted for beige walls with one big blue and one big red strip. His comforter is striped similarly, and he has car and general transportation stuff all over the walls. He came home tonight with no idea the "big boy room fairy" had come to visit. But the second he walked in, he was elated. He jumped on the bed immediately and spent much more time than normal in there. His daddy came home late and he had to show his new room off, not even finishing his leftover cinnamon rolls from this morning!

He watched his Little Einsteins show and very easily laid down in bed. It has taken him a little bit to find a comfy place-he is not used to a pillow-but I think he is down for now. Let's just hope 1) he sleeps through the night and we don't wake up to a little boy climbing in bed with us, and 2) he doesn't fall out of bed!

Last week!

Well, gang, this is my last week full time, and boy is it a doozy! I don't really even have time to think about how it is my last week-better, i suppose, than having nothing to do but sit around waiting for Friday afternoon!

As of next week, I will be going PART-TIME! Hopefully, the reduced hours/responsibilities will allow me to be around more for my little guy who is growing up before my eyes. I will also be able to have Friday's off all by myself to get ready for Annabelle and just relax a little before I have two kiddos to run around with.

So, here's to the beginning of the next part of my life-although I am not leaving the old behind completely. I will just not be there as much.