Death to the Tomato

Remember my super-long list of sewing ideas and my sudden passion for all things creative? There's a problem already. I. HAVE. NO. TIME. and this really irks me to no end. I have purchased pretty fabric and have great tools, but I can't sit down to do anything until 9:30 at night. And 10:00 is bedtime for a pregnant person who has to go to work the following day.

This all hit me in the middle of last week when I was sitting at the table during dinner, which was probably take-out because I also cannot seem to find the time to go to the grocery store. I was looking over at the sewing machine and fabric and trying to decide what I might have time to make that night. And then I saw it. That ugly little tomato. I can remember my mom having one when I was a little girl, and I always wanted to play with it so badly. When she got up from her sewing to answer the phone one day, I realized this was my chance. I reached my little hand up to the table where it was nesting and gripped it tight. Ewwww . . . not a good idea. So a pincushion contains pins, hu? Who would've ever guessed? And from that day on I have HATED that stupid blood-red tomato with the little strawberry dingleberry hanging off the top.

I only had a limited amount of time to plot the murder of this ugly yet still necessary pin cushion. Mimi was about to go to bed, and then I still had about 20 other things to do before I could do the same. I thought fast and worked diligently, and this is how I defeated the fruit:

Ta Da! The happy little pincushion. It is so cute yet useful, and I didn't actually have to murder the tomato -- I just covered it up so I could never ever see it again. And I am sad to say that this is the last thing I have created while my list continues to grow. I actually had a friend e-mail recently after seeing something I made for Mimi and asked me how much I would charge her for pants and an A-line top. Well, at least $2,000 to pay for my time and stress! Ha! Really, hopefully it won't be much longer until I can somehow squeeze in a few projects because I will be faster . . . we'll see.

OH, BOY!!

. . . a boy is truth with dirt on its face, beauty with a cut on its finger, wisdom with bubblegum in its hair, and the hope of the future with a frog in its pocket.
-Alan Marshall Beck

I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!! Intuition isn't what I'm known for -- I never have "good" or "bad" feelings about anything, I can't predict the weather while standing outside -- but I KNEW this baby would be a boy! And I couldn't be more excited!!

We had the ultrasound on Tuesday, and all is well -- two hands, two feet, a heart with four chambers, a bladder, a heartrate of 160, and the cutest little profile I've ever seen. He's got Clint's precious little nose -- I LOVE it!

I couldn't wait to tell Mimi when I picked her up at school, and what did she do? She cocked her little blonde head to the side and ran to play in the rocks. Just what I expected!

Our parents are ecstatic -- now if I can just get my father to stop calling him "Bubba" . . .

And as for names, we're still letting the idea of a boy marinate. We need to practice saying his name -- pretend we are cheering for him at a t-ball game, pretend Mimi is calling him to play with her, pretend we are scolding him for breaking an expensive vase and spreading the dirt all over the floor . . .

Ah, the idea of a little boy is absolutely amazing . . . a dirty face, rocks in his pocket, cowboys and Indians, fishing with Daddy, toy trucks and Thomas the Train . . . I am so stoked with all the possibilities. I loved playing with Jay Shipp's cool boy toys when I was a little girl, so Mimi has no idea how much fun this will be for her (and maybe for me, too. I love racetracks!).

And Clint . . . oh my goodness, where to begin? I tear up thinking about what a wonderful Dad he will be to a little boy. Mimi has been great practice for him. God totally knew what he was doing by giving us a silly little girl first. I'll never forget finally getting to take a shower one night when Mimi was a newborn (after several days of not taking one!). I had just let the water run through my hair when Clint whipped back the curtain clueless and frustrated and said, "She's crying. I don't know what to do. Can you kinda hurry?" And then he admitted that he might get better as the baby gets older but he just didn't get infants.

Sigh. I didn't get too mad because I knew he was right. He would get better -- he HAD to get better because Lord knows I couldn't do it on my own. Clint possesses traits I do not -- organization, financial responsibility, level-headedness, quick decision-making -- I needed him to get this father thing down, and luckily he did. He can also do other things I can't like throw Mimi over the back of the couch without hurting her and make her cackle for ten minutes. He can feed her cereal getting her completely drenched in milk and not care one bit that her smocked outfit will have to be changed and stain-treated. He will let her dig her little fingers deep in the dirt and then smush it in her hair while not stopping her. He lets Mimi be Mimi so she knows that she is smart and her opinions do matter. I chase her around with baby wipes and take crayons away from her when she colors on the dishwasher. This little boy needs Clint Darby to be his father so he will know that he is good enough. And I kinda think Clint needs him for the same reason . . .

Refreshed . . .

I love tulip trees and cherry trees and pear trees and buttercups . . . and sunny days that are just warm enough that I can wear flip flops . . . and taking my child to the playground and strolling through the neighborhood . . . the zoo and eating outside at El Porton. Ahhhhh . . . Spring is making me feel like a newer, happier version of myself. Although it will be a hellacious August when I am 9 months pregnant, right now I love that I'm in the middle of my second trimester during the most beautiful time of year. I have lots of energy and the weather only makes that better :)

I also love bright Spring colors and that I can stop wearing my Winter uniform of black and gray -- and I love seeing Miss Mimi in bright Spring colors. There is nothing better than her little chubby legs in bloomers or seeing her little pink toes peek out under ruffle pants. With that being said, this is what I've been up to:

I. Am. Obsessed. I had no idea how exciting it would be for me to learn how to sew. I carry around a note pad with me now and jot down ideas for things I would like to make, and the list is about 27 miles long . . . but I still have a 9 to 5, so finding the time has been nuts. Twice this week I stayed up past midnight (which is just plain crazy for a person who needs at least 9 hours of sleep), but I couldn't start until the most high maintenance child in the world went to sleep. I actually did not make the cute little snail applique (I bought it at Bumbletees www.bumbletees.com), but I bought matching fabric and did make the rest -- they were so much fun to do. So maybe I sewed the front of the pants and back of the pants together on my first try and if you turn the bloomers inside out they look like a big ole hot mess, but I am learning.

Okay, so enough about me. Last week we had the joy of hanging out with my brother's children at the zoo. We don't get to see them too often, so it is always so much fun to have these sweet kiddos around. Mimi is crazy about them!

Mimi and Lainee-Luckett sang E-I-E-I-O all during lunch! Luckett is such a pretty little girl, but she loves throwing a football and wearing a jersey (with a bow, of course).

When you gonna eat that pickle?

Okay, okay, so I know my child is a blog outfit repeater . . . hopefully my new hobby will help correct that problem!

The Cure for "Only Child Syndrome"

Uh oh . . . Baby Darby better watch out for her big sister . . . He he he. After Halloween Clint and Mimi found this fancy pitch fork on a clearance table at Schnuck's while I was shopping. She is finally tall enough to open her closet door and has discoved that is where I hide all kinds of interesting toys that I would rather she forget about. After running up and down the hall with this eye-poker-outer and knocking the dogs around with it, I was able to divert her attention to Sesame Street and find a new hiding place.

Honestly, I think Mimi will be a fantastic big sister . . . once she figures out that it will work to her advantage. First of all, she is a very spoiled little toddler who is smothered with more attention and admiration than I ever thought possible. I have been advised to start making her wait -- don't hand her a cracker and sippy cup as soon as she whines, don't pick her up as soon as she asks -- but she's so stinkin cute that this has been really hard for me. Once the baby comes, I guess she won't have a choice but to learn some patience.

She also doesn't yet know how much her little bro or sis will admire her. Mimi does some very interesting things that I think will make a baby crazy about her. She sings, she dances, she colors on everything, and is so mischevious. The baby will adore her. Kyle and Matt came over this weekend with sweet little Banks (who I could absolutely squeeze for days he's so cute), and he was so interested in Mimi's artwork and watched her intently. On a side note, Mimi didn't freak out at all when I held Banks this time. This is progress.

I was finishing up some work one night, and Mimi was trying very hard to entertain herself and get my attention. Once she realized I was busy I guess she did the only thing she could think to do -- she started chasing herself. At first I thought she was chasing Spike because I heard her say, "I get you! I get you!" but then I realized Spike wasn't playing along . . . Mimi was running around the kitchen table chasing herself! I've also noticed her having conversations with herself. Could "Only Child Syndrome" turn into schizophrenia?

The child has also begun to realize that she's cute -- which is sweet but maybe a little scary. A few days ago Clint told her she looked pretty, and she said, "I so pretty." Every time she sees me pull out the camera she stands as close as possible to me, makes a cutesy face (see below), and says, "CHEESE!" Then she wants me to show her the photo and every other photo stored on the camera so she can point out herself and tell me that's Mimi.


And I think I may have found a way to make my little child even cuter.
TA DAH . . . my very own sewing machine!

Oh my goodness, I am SO excited about this! I have wanted one for a couple of years, but I didn't think I would have the time. Honestly, I don't have the time, but I need to make time. Over the past few years, I have had zero creative outlet. I know this may come as a shocker, but I actually majored in art my first couple of years of college. I wasn't good enough to make any real money drawing flower arrangements and making pottery, so I switched my major to education (where the real money is, wink, wink). Now I talk about colonoscopy preps all day, and the career isn't doing much to fill my void. The final straw came when I was in a children's boutique a couple of weeks ago and saw several little outfits that looked so simple. Then I looked at the price tag and was appalled. I know I could totally do that, and it's time I stop saying it and do it. So here goes the new hobby . . .

And "hobby" is the key word here. I am definitely not quitting the day job to become the new Project Runway star. Last night it took me a good hour just to figure out how to thread the machine and then another 30 minutes to just sew a couple of inches of stitches. By the end of the night, I had sewn one piece of fabric to another and was really ambitious by trying to applique an "M" and a square. Don't look too closely because it's a hot mess.

Tonight I made my first functional item -- a burp cloth. So I didn't actually "make" it. All I did was sew a cute piece of fabric on a cheap Gerber cloth diaper, but I'm still really proud of it. I tried to open a pattern for bloomers, and my heart started racing and I broke out in a sweat when I saw all the diagrams and crazy sewing terminology. I think the burp cloth will have to do for tonight.

Bittersweet?

I am very grateful, yet I complain. Is this a side effect of pregnancy? My family is blessed with so much and instead of finding the "dopeness" I sometimes look at the "whackness" (5 points for anybody who can tell me what movie that is from!).

So from now on you are allowed to pinch me if you hear me complain about frivolous nonsense. Is it too late for a New Year's resolution?

And you wonder where I am going with all of this . . .

It is the middle of the winter and we have experienced some dang cold weather lately. I don't like being cold, I hate taking the time to bundle up myself and Mimi, and I was beginning to feel there would NEVER be an end to all this . . . until last weekend . . .

So maybe I do live in Memphis, where everyone feels crime is rampant, but we do have the most fabulous zoo in America! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Memphis zoo -- and so do Clint and Mimi. Jordan, Luke, and their beautiful new addition Georgia Grace (Mimi calls her Gigi, of course) spent the night with us Saturday night (and no, I didn't take pics), so we had an excuse to sleep in a little on Sunday morning and skip church. The weather was fan-tastic, so we headed to the zoo for the morning. Mimi hasn't been in a while, so this was like a whole new experience for her. She helped us name a few of the animals and tell us what sounds they make, and she was definitely not able to do that last summer. The zoo added Teton Trek, which includes a really cool lodge, grizzly bears, and wolves, and is a fabulous place for Mimi to take off and run!! This is her trying to jump out of my arms to run to the water fall.
Although she loves to run, run, run, she found a nice spot to rest with Daddy.

So I stick my finger in his belly button for good luck?

And back to the obsessive coloring. Although we are so happy Mimi loves to color, I freaked out a few days ago to find that our entire kitchen and some of other random white furniture in the house had been decorated. I yanked the crayons out of her hand and told her that was a BIG no no! She was really upset and didn't understand why the whole world couldn't be her coloring book. After taking a second to calm down, I realized that this is one of the greatest things she has ever done -- she has become a creative little toddler. I am so happy that she is big enough to do things like this, and so what? Crayon washes off, and it's not like we have anything fancy she can ruin. I still have an ugly white dishwasher for goodness' sake.

(Please don't look at the goober face I'm making)

I finally felt I needed to post a belly pic so people will believe I'm really pregnant. Now I am almost 14 weeks -- this was taken around 12 1/2. I am quickly growing out of my clothes (much faster than last time!). The past six weeks have been pretty excruciating at times with all the nausea and exhaustion, but there is a silver lining. As of about a week ago, the terrible symptoms are lifting a little . . . and so is my mood (thank goodness! I'm tired of being Negative Nancy). Some days I felt so bad that I would forget why I was even going through all this. I would remember that my body was doing something different, but I would forget that it was actually making a baby.

Now I totally realize that there will be a sweet, little bundle at the end of all this. And I really do love being pregnant (I think I can already feel the baby moving a little -- is that crazy?). I had a great pregnancy overall with Mimi and I don't anticipate this being any different. As I go through my day I try to think about how my routine will be different -- I will be getting 2 ready in the morning, we will be giving baths to 2 at night, and we will get to snuggle with 2 before bedtime. Awwww . . . I'm so excited!!

Our Obsessions

It all started when Miss Jackie gave Mimi If You Give a Mouse a Cookie in her Valentine goodie bag at school. She and I were reading it a few days ago, and when we got to the page where the mouse has giant crayons and paper she freaked out.
"Color! Color! COLOR!!"
"That's right, Mimi. The mouse is coloring."
And then she started trying to scratch the crayons off the paper with her little fingers.
"COOLLEERR!!" she sobbed. "COOLLEERR!!!!!"
Oh my goodness. I had to think quick. Where had I hidden her crayons? I pulled them out a couple of weeks ago and learned she had quite the appetite for them, so I yanked them out of her mouth and put them away. Ah, the junk drawer. Of course.
"CO-OO--OO--LERS!!! Wah ah aha ah wah!!"
Crayons and construction paper were promptly placed in front of Miss Drama Queen, and the house grew eerily quiet. I stood ready to pull purple chunks of crayon out of her mouth if necessary, but after a few minutes I realized I wouldn't have that problem. She put blue in her right hand, red in her left, and ever so carefully began her masterpiece of random lines. Then on to the purple and brown. Wait, maybe the blue again. Oh, just to see the artist come out.
So this is Mimi's new obsession. If she hears Nate Berkus on Oprah talking about "COLOR," I have to be ready to have the Big Bird coloring book and 8 pack of fat Crayolas ready. It is fabulous to have something to actually keep her busy in restaurants now!
So Mimi's obsession is coloring, and mine is, well, her. Or her new hairstyle rather. Yesterday she woke up with some serious bedhead after naptime, and I thought why not pigtails? Oh. My. Goodness. She is such a big girl now. I took about 15 pictures of her on my phone, and I have looked at them at least 75 times today. I showed them to all of my nurses, ". . . and here she is with pigtails coloring, and here she is watching Sesame Street, and here she is with pigtails standing on her head."
Have I lost it yet?

SNOW DAY!!

We woke up to a fluffy, white wonderland on Monday morning -- what a nice surprise! As soon as we had breakfast, we bundled up Mimi like Ralphie's little brother and headed outdoors to teach her how to throw snowballs. Some of our neighbors had their adorable black puppies out for a walk, and they were so fun in the snow.
We attempted to make a snowman, and Mimi tried her best to help. The fact is that I'm from Mississippi, and building snowmen is not what we're known for . . . so his head fell off by the end of the day.Clint thinks it's so funny to let Miss Mimi run around completely naked after her bath every night. I was standing in the kitchen last night and saw a flash of a little pink thing fly by the door. Once we wrestled her into a diaper (and Clint put on her pink house shoes!), she decided she wanted to dance in the kitchen. She kept making the music play on her Fridge Farm and had some silly dances to go with it. Even Ruthie got in on the action! Clint has been teaching her how to twirl!!