And then there were two

Today we are 19 weeks exactly with our second little boy. He's a tiny miracle in and of himself. He's also in trouble for causing so much stress at his anatomy scan. 

The kid wouldn't cooperate so now we have to go back for round two. He gave so much trouble that even after an hour and a half the poor radiology tech couldn't get clear pictures of his 4 heart chambers and full spine. He has a good, strong heartbeat of 158 though so I'm a tad more relieved. He's also super handsome. We found his big brothers scans and compared them. I make some really handsome boys!

It's all still a shock. All of it. We had been told that more children wouldn't really be in our family picture without a lot of money, advanced medical help, and plenty of prayers. We had finally prepared ourselves to be "one and done" when we got a huge surprise. God definitely had other plans in mind for our family and after almost 2 years of tears we were blessed with our brand new baby fetus. 

It's been an interesting ride with this little one. The pregnancy was so different than before that I, and everyone around me, swore we would be having a little girl. Again, plan and God laughs. We are officially having our second little fella and couldn't be happier. 

He's quite the mover and shaker. He's been flipping and kicking since 9 weeks! That's ridiculous and no one believed me until I told them where they could find him on the ultrasounds or Doppler. What can I say? This kid and I have a connection. 

It's going to be a long, strange, and kinda scary ride towards parenting two. I'm nervous and excited. Let's watch and see what happens next!

Makers Gonna Make

Tonight was again another awesome craft night.  Same place, same women, same fun to be shared by all crafters. I brought my sisters with me tonight so it was even better: Sisters Craft Night Out!

I have to say how much I love this place.  I have been looking forward to this night and coming back since last week. The Spiffing Jewelry Studio and Warehouse has such a great vibe and is gorgeous.  It's he most perfect office I could ever imagine and I seriously want to work there.   There are so many positive and pretty things I just can't even begin.  Here is just a taste from the bathroom.

I stole my inspiration from this post from a custome silver cuff at Spiffing Jewelry.  I love what is says and what it means.  "Makers Gonna Make".  It is true. It carries over to my life in other ways and boils down to "I'm Gonna Be Me".  Runners gonna run.  Momma's gonna mother. Pollyannas gonna  be positive.  It's a fun little motto to think on.  I really like the cuff. 

Anyways, tonight the crafters crafter.  The makers made custom eye shadows and brown sugar body scrubs.  I smell fantastic and I cannot wait to play with my shadows!

I made a chocolate spice fudge body polish that smells so deep and delectable. It really smells like a dark fudge. The recipe was simple and Pinterest worthy. It was not a fail at all.  The recipe for the body scrub is simple.  It's 2 parts brown sugar to 1 part olive oil.  The sugar should be moist and a little crumbly. Mine was a smudge to oily but I like it that way because I have super dry skin.   After the sugar and oil are mixed you add in essential oils or fragrances. I put in 2/3 tablespoon Ghiradeli chocolate powder, I believe it was Dutch processed, and about 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, maybe a bit more.  I thought I would be done but the scent was still a little flat.  I'll be honest and admit that I meant to grab the vanilla extract but had the great misfortune of dashing pumpkin spice fragrance in my scrub.  I didn't even realize until it was too late.  I'm glad though because it really rounded out the scent and deepened it.  The scrub smells really chocolately and dark with warm notes of spice and a hint of sweet cream.  I got lots of compliments on it. 

We also made custom eyeshadows. The pictures here don't do it justice at all! I made a lovely coppery creamy gold that I've been looking all over to find to no avail. I think I'll call it "Penny, Penny, Penny!" It's got a bright shine to it and photographs well.  The other two are beautiful in person but don't photograph as well; they are kind of subtle. The aqua I am going to call "Aquaholics Annonymous".  I love this color and have it in clothes, shoes, jewelry, accessories, etc.  I really am addicted. I'm not big on colors so this should be fun and the gold undertones and microfine glitter should be gorgeous.  Lastly, the dusky purple is really pretty and intense but hard to film the bright fuchsia microfine mica that really set this off. I'll try to get a better picture of this one. It reminds me of a grown up version of Harold and the Purple Crayon. I think I'll call it "Harry's Purple Pen".   They are all really pretty. So pretty  and were a lot of fun to make.

I'm again thankful for creative outlets, sister time, and the opportunity to meet new people and make new friends.  It's soul enriching and those opportunities can be hard to come by.  If you are lucky to find them you just have to give in and go with it. 

There are Messages Everywhere

Today I am thankful for messages and the ability to experience them. Messages are everywhere as long as you are open to them.  They may be a thought, a feeling, a smell, a taste, a look, any sense that sparks can be a message.

Today, the trainer in my workout caught me off guard by saying, "Stop comparing yourself. Comparison is the their of joy!"  I had never heard this wonderful quote by Theodore Roosevelt but it struck me hard in the chest and I haven't been able to shake it. This past week I devoted an entire session in therapy to comparisons and their damage. I can say that I am sure it hurts both parties equally in different ways.  This could be a great example of cognitive bias but in any case I am glad I heard this message and have taken it in.  It's a new motto for me and a guiding thought to live by. 

I also got to go to a book signing today with my sisters and hopeful future brother in law. We stood in line to meet Theresa Caputo, The Long Island Medium.  She is so cute and sweet in person. I'll start right off saying we did not get a reading but it was healing and special in our own way.  My youngest sister, Demi, loves Theresa.  We had so much fun waiting in line, even though it felt like 100 degrees outside.  November is way drunk here in San Diego and needs to pull itself together. It's Fall and I was by the ocean.  I should not have been in a sundress with sweat running down my body and burning like it's August!  I guess it was nice weather though to sit outside the new Sausage and Meat and enjoy good food and well made drinks afterwards.  I sweated enough to deserve to eat Churro Chicharones. I will say that yes, that sounds scary odd but they were delicious.

Demi was so excited to be there and was giddily shaking with happiness.  It was cute to see.  When it was our turn, Demi was overcome with emotions.  Theresa asked her, and only her, what her name was.  They hugged and Demi began to cry.  It was a happy thing. Theresa looked at me and it felt like she wanted to say something but couldn't because of the time. It felt like an understanding, as odd as that may be.  Maybe it's all schtick but it seemed genuine.  Outside, in line to meet Larry, Theresa's husband, Demi told us that she knew our Grandparents were there and Theresa wanted to talk to us but couldn't.  She also told us that she felt our Grandma in that hug they shared. It was beautiful for what it was and all that it meant.  I'm grateful for the experience. I'm blessed to have my sisters and Joe too for these fun little outings.