Today I made a breakthrough with my fiddle playing. I adjusted my left thumb and it made all the difference:) I still have a long way to go, obviously, but being able to get that clear tone because my fingers were on the strings better really made me feel good. I am also playing around with adding fun little "fiddle sounds" at the end of songs...you know, the little diddy that sounds like 'brrrrring' at the end of a song? Okay, so maybe I just need to demonstrate with a video...if I get a chance I will upload my video I made today.
Max is sound asleep in his crib. He's trying out a sleep sack tonight. He looks ridiculous, but also cute! Ted and the other boys are watching NASA channel after Briggs got his first dose of Star Trek Next Generation earlier this evening. Did I mention that we considered the name Ryker when we were making baby name lists? Haha, I'm glad we went with Max:)
I finished a new needle felted tapestry this week. It is a picture of a gnome on a swing.
I'm enjoying a Lugene's Chocolate Milk Stout, and thinking about heading to bed shortly. This weekend we have no plans. Hopefully it will be relaxing.
Fare Thee Well,
jaylyn
Friday, February 6, 2015
Monday, February 2, 2015
Feb. 2/Groundhog Day
Just now getting around to my weekly blog that I had intended to write before the weekend, but our days ended up being kinda busy. I have a little time now while 2 of them are down for naps, and the other one is at school.
We were finally feeling the effects of having a newborn last week. Maybe because everyone including Max was fighting a nasty cold, or maybe because, well...we have a newborn. Either way, we were a tad bit sleep deprived and grouchy.
Ted had some successful rocket engines turn out well with his new technique he's using for pouring the propellant. Also, if anyone is reading this and would like to nerd out with him and talk all things rockets, that would really make his day!
I had 2 art shows over the weekend that I had submitted pieces for. The Love gnome in the picture from the last post is on display at the Lawrence Percolator, which I haven't even been down to see yet. It will be up until the end of February sometime. And then I had all my needle felted gnome tapestries on display (or in pictures) at the Lawrence Creates Makerspace Final Friday event. I decided to stay for the party at the event, and I met a ton of new fiber artists from the community. It was inspiring to say the least. I even talked with a lady who uses Spoonflower, to create her own fabric. That's definitely something that I would like to get into. Ted and I have several doodles that we've kept in a binder that I think would make some fantastic gift wrap!
My aunt Bev, uncle Gordon, and my parents came to visit us Saturday afternoon. They all swooned over Max, and I played them some songs on the fiddle. I learned the D scale this week, so I'm able to play a few "harder" songs now. Practice is going well, but it seems like whenever I master one thing, I neglect something else that I'm suppose to be doing. Like this week, I was doing much better with playing a clearer tone, but instead having trouble keeping my bow in the middle of the strings (in between the string adjusters and bridge) so the notes were sounding extremely off. Ugh, so much to think about at the same time! My teacher said that the fiddle/violin is the hardest instrument to learn after the organ. I'm starting to believe her.
I had an epic haircutting experience this weekend. Nevermind the embarrassing part about waiting in line at a barber shop forever and then being told they don't usually cut women's hair...that's a story for another time! But more importantly a whole 2 inches was chopped off! It needed to be done though.. all of my split ends were very uneven, and it was making it hard to "mess" with. I suppose after going 3 years without a haircut, I would eventually need to do some maintenance, but it was still a little sad for me.
Ted and I are trying to stay social, and we managed to go on a date...got a babysitter for all 3 kids, and went out for 4 hours with some friends this week. Oh Merchants...how I've missed you! If you didn't know, Merchants is one of our favorite craft beer serving places in this town. We also hosted a wing night on Saturday, and after putting the kiddos to bed we had a great game of Settler's of Catan.
Oh, and get this...we watched the Super Bowl last night. Ted was able to stream our computer to the t.v. so we could see it live. We made popcorn, ordered a pizza, and drank beers. We're so American!
It sounds like Finn is waking up from his nap. I'm going downtown to Doodlebugs and A.T.C. before picking up Briggs so I better get to it. Laterz ya'll.
Ooops... I mean Fare Thee Well,
jaylyn
Thursday, January 22, 2015
Week 2 with Maxers
I would just like to say how awesome this week has been so far. I was a little nervous to jump into a new routine with no helpers here, but I'm starting to get the hang of it. Here is a typical morning at our house....
We wake up to Max being hungry anywhere between 7-7:30am. The boys hear noises and come climb into our bed and snuggle for awhile before I say, "We HAVE GOT to get up and get ready to GOO!! It's already 8!!" So then we throw some clothes on Briggs and Finn, pour them bowls of cereal, and try to get ourselves dressed and eat breakfast at the same time. Then it's out the door with all 5 of us.
We drop off Ted at the lab so he can write all morning. From there, I either drive Finn to school if it's a Tues. or Thurs. or we come back home and figure out what kid activity is going on downtown. Finn gets picked up at noon, and then we have lunch and naps. Or if it's a Mon/Wed/Fri I have to drop off Briggs at school at 1pm, and then we come home for naps until we have to pick him up at 4:30.
Naptime...my favorite time of the day:) Ted is usually home by this time, so we sometimes get our dishes done during nap time. I sometimes lay down for a half hour, then get up and practice fiddling for 15 minutes. My teacher told me to practice in little spurts so I don't learn something wrong and then have to re-learn it at our next lesson. This week I'm really working on my left hand and finger positions. It's very difficult to focus on so many things at the same time, but it was encouraging to hear my teacher say that I had perfected my right bow hand since we last met.
Our evenings are fairly chill. This week, our church has been bringing us meals which has been a huge blessing. We've enjoyed tacos and chicken alfredo leftovers for our lunches too. Then we usually watch a movie in our jammies and tuck the boys in to bed. Ted and I get to read our books and hang out after Max goes to bed. And he's been getting up usually twice during the night, which isn't too bad.
Max had a weight check today. He is 9lbs. 4.5 oz. That's quite a bit since a week ago when he was down to 7lb 14oz. I guess you can say he's a good eater!
Yesterday both Ted and I participated with Briggs at preschool. We were exhausted (except Max, who slept the entire 4 hours) after we had spent the afternoon with a group of 20-some preschoolers. Those teachers deserve a raise!
Finn started off this week being grouchy, but has gotten happier since. I think he's finally realizing that this baby is here to stay. On the other hand, his teachers at school say he's been a real sweetheart this week.
I was able to get a massage one night this week. It's just so nice to be able to lay flat on my stomach again. I came back home feeling fuzzy-brained and floaty.
Ted tried to launch another rocket engine this evening, but ran out of igniters before he could light it.
The gnome below is a piece that I'm entering in the Love Show at the Percolator in February. I finished his eyebrows today, and he's ready to go!
Fare Thee Well,
Jaylyn
We wake up to Max being hungry anywhere between 7-7:30am. The boys hear noises and come climb into our bed and snuggle for awhile before I say, "We HAVE GOT to get up and get ready to GOO!! It's already 8!!" So then we throw some clothes on Briggs and Finn, pour them bowls of cereal, and try to get ourselves dressed and eat breakfast at the same time. Then it's out the door with all 5 of us.
We drop off Ted at the lab so he can write all morning. From there, I either drive Finn to school if it's a Tues. or Thurs. or we come back home and figure out what kid activity is going on downtown. Finn gets picked up at noon, and then we have lunch and naps. Or if it's a Mon/Wed/Fri I have to drop off Briggs at school at 1pm, and then we come home for naps until we have to pick him up at 4:30.
Naptime...my favorite time of the day:) Ted is usually home by this time, so we sometimes get our dishes done during nap time. I sometimes lay down for a half hour, then get up and practice fiddling for 15 minutes. My teacher told me to practice in little spurts so I don't learn something wrong and then have to re-learn it at our next lesson. This week I'm really working on my left hand and finger positions. It's very difficult to focus on so many things at the same time, but it was encouraging to hear my teacher say that I had perfected my right bow hand since we last met.
Our evenings are fairly chill. This week, our church has been bringing us meals which has been a huge blessing. We've enjoyed tacos and chicken alfredo leftovers for our lunches too. Then we usually watch a movie in our jammies and tuck the boys in to bed. Ted and I get to read our books and hang out after Max goes to bed. And he's been getting up usually twice during the night, which isn't too bad.
Max had a weight check today. He is 9lbs. 4.5 oz. That's quite a bit since a week ago when he was down to 7lb 14oz. I guess you can say he's a good eater!
Yesterday both Ted and I participated with Briggs at preschool. We were exhausted (except Max, who slept the entire 4 hours) after we had spent the afternoon with a group of 20-some preschoolers. Those teachers deserve a raise!
Finn started off this week being grouchy, but has gotten happier since. I think he's finally realizing that this baby is here to stay. On the other hand, his teachers at school say he's been a real sweetheart this week.
I was able to get a massage one night this week. It's just so nice to be able to lay flat on my stomach again. I came back home feeling fuzzy-brained and floaty.
Ted tried to launch another rocket engine this evening, but ran out of igniters before he could light it.
The gnome below is a piece that I'm entering in the Love Show at the Percolator in February. I finished his eyebrows today, and he's ready to go!
Fare Thee Well,
Jaylyn
 | ||||
| Needle felted love gnome, made from wool and pipe cleaner |
Monday, January 19, 2015
Friday, January 16, 2015
Our first week home with Max
Max is 6 days old today. I wanted to jot down a few things from our first week home with him. So far he is awesome! I couldn't ask for a better baby. Since that first night, he has continued to sleep rather well for a newborn. I got up once with him last night. And by "got up" I mean rolled over and let him nurse while I continued to sleep. It's been really nice having him in the co-sleeper right next to my side of the bed. We're all sleeping pretty great this week, even the bigger boys.
Speaking of Briggs and Finn, they are in love with their new baby. Briggs is especially proud of Max, and volunteers to hold him on the couch while I get Finn dressed or help him in the bathroom. Both boys have been going to preschool this whole week, and going out to different places around town with Grammy Carolyn.
I haven't had much time to practice my fiddle, but I did learn Mary Had a Little Lamb and Twinkle Twinkle yesterday. I'm not so much worrying about playing the correct beat as I am with just hitting the correct notes and playing a nice strong sound. I've been getting better playing the A string, which was giving me trouble last week. For some reason I had a hard time not hitting the D string with the bow at the same time.
Ted has made lots of progress on his thesis these last few days. He had many meetings with his advisor and other faculty on his committee. Sounds like things are going well, and everything is right on track to where it should be.
Ted's dad, Scott, arrived this morning. We're going to fire up the grill this afternoon and cook steaks since it's so darn nice out! Even my chickens must think it's spring, as one is laying every day again. I have a hunch that it is my young Silver Laced Wyandotte, Pretzel.
Hope to keep this blog a little bit more up-to-date this year. I noticed that the last entry besides Max's birth was from 2013! Oh my...sorry everyone.
Fare Thee Well, (I decided that this is my new farewell)
Jaylyn
Speaking of Briggs and Finn, they are in love with their new baby. Briggs is especially proud of Max, and volunteers to hold him on the couch while I get Finn dressed or help him in the bathroom. Both boys have been going to preschool this whole week, and going out to different places around town with Grammy Carolyn.
I haven't had much time to practice my fiddle, but I did learn Mary Had a Little Lamb and Twinkle Twinkle yesterday. I'm not so much worrying about playing the correct beat as I am with just hitting the correct notes and playing a nice strong sound. I've been getting better playing the A string, which was giving me trouble last week. For some reason I had a hard time not hitting the D string with the bow at the same time.
Ted has made lots of progress on his thesis these last few days. He had many meetings with his advisor and other faculty on his committee. Sounds like things are going well, and everything is right on track to where it should be.
Ted's dad, Scott, arrived this morning. We're going to fire up the grill this afternoon and cook steaks since it's so darn nice out! Even my chickens must think it's spring, as one is laying every day again. I have a hunch that it is my young Silver Laced Wyandotte, Pretzel.
Hope to keep this blog a little bit more up-to-date this year. I noticed that the last entry besides Max's birth was from 2013! Oh my...sorry everyone.
Fare Thee Well, (I decided that this is my new farewell)
Jaylyn
Monday, January 12, 2015
Max Wren Morehouse
Our third son was born on Saturday morning, January 10th. We waited so long for this little guy to get here! Here's his story:
On Friday night, I crawled into bed feeling frustrated with my situation. I was hours away from being 42 weeks pregnant. Like the past 3 weeks, I went to bed having contractions but didn't think much of them. It was 2am when I woke up feeling pretty uncomfortable. I laid there for an hour trying to fall back asleep, but no luck. So I got in the bathtub and thought about what I should do. Something told me this time was different than all the other false alarms. I got out, woke Ted up, and told him that we should call our babysitter.
Danielle got to the house ten minutes later (She's so great!) We grabbed the suitcase and drove to the hospital. It was 4am when we checked in. I kind of felt like we may have come too early, but it worked out okay because it took awhile to get upstairs to a room.
The nurse checked to see how far I was dilated at 4:45am. I was between a 3-4, so the same as I had been earlier in the week. By that time though, I was starting to have the urge to hold my breath when a contraction hit, so I had hope that we would be staying! She said she wanted to check me again in a few hours to see if anything had progressed. In the meantime, I got in the bathtub and Ted got the 70's folk music playing. The contractions at this point weren't too bad. Just being in hot water and floating around really made it seem like I was just having bad period cramps. Sure enough, by 7am, I was dilated to a 6. My doctor gave the go ahead to stay. I tried the birthing ball for awhile, but felt too squished. I mostly stayed in the tub and had Ted in charge of filling it with hot water. I got super tired and somehow, even though the contractions were getting intense, I was able to almost sleep in between them.
I decided I had had enough tub time and wanted to get things going. Ted reminded me that the more upright I could be, the quicker things would happen. So I tried standing beside the bed, held the rails, and just tried rocking my hips back and forth. The nurse came in around 9:15am and I asked her if she could check for progress. I was between a 7-8 and having a lot of bloody show. (Sorry for the mental image, but this is a birth story after all) Boy, did that stir things up though. I immediately felt the contractions hitting harder and I had Ted run out to the hall after her because I felt like I was going into the transition phase. I didn't think it was time to push exactly, but I felt like it was going to be very very close to that time. I told the nurse to call my doctor because I just wanted to get this thing over with!
Dr. Kimuri walked in the room at 10:00. She told me, "As soon as I break your water the baby is going to be right there and you can push him out". I said, "Do it!" So my water was broke at 10:04. I felt a gush of fluid and everything move downward. The baby's head was right there. I guess his pulse dropped really fast and the nurse was saying something to the doctor about it and I got really scared. I made it through 2 hard contractions that were no longer cushioned by that bag of water before saying, "Okay, I'm pushing now!" They weren't even ready with all their gear that they're supposed to put on, but they yelled across the room that it was fine to start pushing.
All that I remember during these next few minutes was that Ted somehow had moved to the other side of me, I looked down at my stomach and it was deflating like a balloon, and someone saying that the baby was crowning. I guess I pushed 4 times total, and I looked down and saw our baby and said, "YAY HE'S OUT!!"
The doctor immediately put him on my chest. He took a little while to take his first breath, but then started crying. His hands and feet were really purple- black colored. (Poor circulation like his mom) After he started warming up and his cord had been clipped/clamped by Ted, everyone was taking guesses on his weight. I guessed over 9 lbs, Dr. Kimuri guessed 7 1/2 lbs. The nurse put him on the scale and we were both wrong.
Max Wren Morehouse
Born 10:12am on Saturday, January 10th, 2015
Weighing 8lbs. 10 oz
Measuring 20 1/2 inches long
He has just captured our hearts these last 2 days. Such a sweet baby. He looks so much like Briggs right now with his little mouth and narrow lips. He has cheeks like Finn had too. Max's hair is looking strawberry blonde right now. I'm crossing my fingers that he's going to be my red-haired baby that I long for!
We came home yesterday afternoon. My parent's and Jared's family came to visit us. Last night Max slept for 6 hours straight, giving us a nice long stretch of sleep too!
On Friday night, I crawled into bed feeling frustrated with my situation. I was hours away from being 42 weeks pregnant. Like the past 3 weeks, I went to bed having contractions but didn't think much of them. It was 2am when I woke up feeling pretty uncomfortable. I laid there for an hour trying to fall back asleep, but no luck. So I got in the bathtub and thought about what I should do. Something told me this time was different than all the other false alarms. I got out, woke Ted up, and told him that we should call our babysitter.
Danielle got to the house ten minutes later (She's so great!) We grabbed the suitcase and drove to the hospital. It was 4am when we checked in. I kind of felt like we may have come too early, but it worked out okay because it took awhile to get upstairs to a room.
The nurse checked to see how far I was dilated at 4:45am. I was between a 3-4, so the same as I had been earlier in the week. By that time though, I was starting to have the urge to hold my breath when a contraction hit, so I had hope that we would be staying! She said she wanted to check me again in a few hours to see if anything had progressed. In the meantime, I got in the bathtub and Ted got the 70's folk music playing. The contractions at this point weren't too bad. Just being in hot water and floating around really made it seem like I was just having bad period cramps. Sure enough, by 7am, I was dilated to a 6. My doctor gave the go ahead to stay. I tried the birthing ball for awhile, but felt too squished. I mostly stayed in the tub and had Ted in charge of filling it with hot water. I got super tired and somehow, even though the contractions were getting intense, I was able to almost sleep in between them.
I decided I had had enough tub time and wanted to get things going. Ted reminded me that the more upright I could be, the quicker things would happen. So I tried standing beside the bed, held the rails, and just tried rocking my hips back and forth. The nurse came in around 9:15am and I asked her if she could check for progress. I was between a 7-8 and having a lot of bloody show. (Sorry for the mental image, but this is a birth story after all) Boy, did that stir things up though. I immediately felt the contractions hitting harder and I had Ted run out to the hall after her because I felt like I was going into the transition phase. I didn't think it was time to push exactly, but I felt like it was going to be very very close to that time. I told the nurse to call my doctor because I just wanted to get this thing over with!
 |
| Contraction beginning... |
Dr. Kimuri walked in the room at 10:00. She told me, "As soon as I break your water the baby is going to be right there and you can push him out". I said, "Do it!" So my water was broke at 10:04. I felt a gush of fluid and everything move downward. The baby's head was right there. I guess his pulse dropped really fast and the nurse was saying something to the doctor about it and I got really scared. I made it through 2 hard contractions that were no longer cushioned by that bag of water before saying, "Okay, I'm pushing now!" They weren't even ready with all their gear that they're supposed to put on, but they yelled across the room that it was fine to start pushing.
All that I remember during these next few minutes was that Ted somehow had moved to the other side of me, I looked down at my stomach and it was deflating like a balloon, and someone saying that the baby was crowning. I guess I pushed 4 times total, and I looked down and saw our baby and said, "YAY HE'S OUT!!"
The doctor immediately put him on my chest. He took a little while to take his first breath, but then started crying. His hands and feet were really purple- black colored. (Poor circulation like his mom) After he started warming up and his cord had been clipped/clamped by Ted, everyone was taking guesses on his weight. I guessed over 9 lbs, Dr. Kimuri guessed 7 1/2 lbs. The nurse put him on the scale and we were both wrong.
Max Wren Morehouse
Born 10:12am on Saturday, January 10th, 2015
Weighing 8lbs. 10 oz
Measuring 20 1/2 inches long
He has just captured our hearts these last 2 days. Such a sweet baby. He looks so much like Briggs right now with his little mouth and narrow lips. He has cheeks like Finn had too. Max's hair is looking strawberry blonde right now. I'm crossing my fingers that he's going to be my red-haired baby that I long for!
We came home yesterday afternoon. My parent's and Jared's family came to visit us. Last night Max slept for 6 hours straight, giving us a nice long stretch of sleep too!
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Summer bounty
I am pretty excited to say that this year's garden has been the most productive thus far! Not only did the rainy spring help to establish deep root systems, but we haven't had to worry about drought this late in the summer either! Lots of rain and cooler temps in August is putting me in the fall mood for sure. I've been busy cooking away my tomatoes, peppers, and beans in practically every dish. We consumed all of the onion harvest (which wasn't too hard, as my onions did poorly again this summer). I've also been leaving boxes of small tomatoes outside by the egg fridge in case anyone would like to take some away. Every 3 days I usually just take them all and put them in the dehydrator for sun-dried tomatoes. So we'll be able to enjoy them at a later time!
5 chickens lay eggs at this time. Although, when we got back from vacation, one hen had gone broody. The isolated chick cage became known as the "Broody Buster". It took about 3 days to bust her of that mood, but she's back to normal again. Also, a few months ago one of the sisters I got from Oersheln's flew over the fence, wasn't able to get in the coop that night, and was attacked by some animal. So as for the chicken count, I'm at 6.
July was a crazy month. Ted went on a weekend trip with a buddy to hike a 14-er mountain in C.O. Was home for a few days, then left for a work trip to N.M. to do lidar work with his boss for a week and a half. He was back another few days, then left once again for his Exxon short course, which was another week long. We reunited in M.T. (Billings) at the end of the month, did some hiking and outdoorsy things at Red Lodge, visited with family, and witnessed the beautiful wedding of my cousin, Troy, and his wife, Breeann.
From there, we flew to upstate N.Y. to the lake house, and spent another week with more family. We spent many hours on the pontoon boat, relaxed and played some fun games in the new cabin, and got to ride around in the top-less, door-less, windshield-less Bronco!
This week Briggs started pre-school! He ABSOLUTLY loves it. The teachers are great, there's a cool playground equipped with a treehouse and miniature 2 story house outside, and their classroom even has a pet bunny! On Saturday, my first baby turns 3 years old. All I can say is "Wow"!
5 chickens lay eggs at this time. Although, when we got back from vacation, one hen had gone broody. The isolated chick cage became known as the "Broody Buster". It took about 3 days to bust her of that mood, but she's back to normal again. Also, a few months ago one of the sisters I got from Oersheln's flew over the fence, wasn't able to get in the coop that night, and was attacked by some animal. So as for the chicken count, I'm at 6.
July was a crazy month. Ted went on a weekend trip with a buddy to hike a 14-er mountain in C.O. Was home for a few days, then left for a work trip to N.M. to do lidar work with his boss for a week and a half. He was back another few days, then left once again for his Exxon short course, which was another week long. We reunited in M.T. (Billings) at the end of the month, did some hiking and outdoorsy things at Red Lodge, visited with family, and witnessed the beautiful wedding of my cousin, Troy, and his wife, Breeann.
 |
| Day hiking trip at Red Lodge |
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| Yearly picture |
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| Finn's turn! |
This week Briggs started pre-school! He ABSOLUTLY loves it. The teachers are great, there's a cool playground equipped with a treehouse and miniature 2 story house outside, and their classroom even has a pet bunny! On Saturday, my first baby turns 3 years old. All I can say is "Wow"!
 |
| 1st day of school |
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