Off to see the Wizard!

So I'm pretty sure I sat down at least three times yesterday to write this post. And I'm pretty sure I have at least three or four versions of it at this point. (We won't talk about how many unpublished posts are in my "edit posts" box.)

But somehow I'm feeling a bit distracted, or forgetful, or something. I can't seem to ever remember what I was going to say or why I walked into a room or what made me stop writing this post. Only that every time I come back to it, I can't seem to pick up where I left off. Or be interested in what I had already written.

Alas.

So some highlights of them all might do:

(from yesterday's ramblings:)
Last night was our Fall Relief Society dinner. The theme was the Wizard of Oz (seriously doesn't get much better) and the focus visiting teaching. Dorothy, the scarecrow, the tin man, and the cowardly lion (the vt supervisors) all made an appearance. And there were ruby slippers in abundance.

Sadly I didn't take any pictures of how cute it turned out, but here are some of our "inspiration" pictures (as taken from the World Wide Web).

(I was going to put the links in here. So much work. If you really want them, put it in the comments. This one came with a template. So cute).

(I for-realsies made a cake that looked (almost) just like this. Except mine was a leaning tower of cream cheese frosting. But the inside did look as cool as this. Somewhere over the rainbow I might thinking about putting this much work into a cake again.)

I also wrote an almost whole (very long) post about how warm and fuzzy I feel inside when I think about the friendships that are budding up in my life. But it was quite long. And so it will have to be recycled another day. But there was a shout out to Lew and to Katie. Two people who make me happy to be at Relief Society Wizard of Oz dinners. (And a slew of others who don't, I don't think, visit here.)

So it's Halloween in a few days. Tomorrow? Sunday? Utah is the land of "celebrate Saturday!" so I do believe we'll be trick-or-treating tomorrow. Little Lion in tow.  Will I take pictures, you ask? I hope so. More for my sake than for yours, although the guilt you place upon me to post pictures is usually much more motivating than my urge to look back on happy events with fondness. So fingers crossed one or the other will get the camera snapping.

Which reminds me why I came in my room in the first place. To sew, not blog.

So I'm off!


Much scattered love and happy Halloween thoughts to you--

cj

A whoot whoot!

So you may recall me posting about our "Master Law School List"... a list that quickly was overturned as the application process really got underway. We suddenly applied to some schools we'd never even looked at because they offered a fee waver. And we declined to apply to others for various reasons (waste of money, bad weather there, no longer has an appellate program, etc).

In the end, however, we applied to 22 (!!) schools. Large and small, near and far, expensive and dirt cheap. The vast majority of them are schools we have a 50/50 shot of getting into. There are a few long shots and a few givens. And, as before, they all have their pros and cons. There honestly isn't a single school on the list that we would hands down, drop everything, accept if we got in.

That said, there are a few that are more tempting than others, for various reasons--location, programs, clerkship placement, cost, etc.

And Baylor has always been in the top half of our would-like-to-actually-go-there list. They run a very competitive school, mostly due to the required moot court program the third year. They run on a quarter system, meaning we could theoretically finish in as little as two years (instead of three). It also means Jeremy could do internships or externships during the fall and winter instead of only in the summer--when virtually every other law student in the country is trying to get the best positions. They are located in Texas (Waco, in fact)--which is ironically the last place I've ever wanted to live. And yet, the size and general location of the town is appealing. Not to mention the living is cheap.

And as of today, we know that they would be pretty cheap tuition too. The price just dropped to less than even the cheapest school on our list due to a decent little scholarship offer.

As you may have guessed, today we got our FIRST law school acceptance letter (to Baylor) with a scholarhips no less (so long as Jeremy stays in the top two thirds of the class)!

Such a relief. Seriously everyone, breathe.  So while we hope and anticipate many more acceptance letters to come (and a healthy number of wait-lists and rejections), and the decision of where we'll actually go to law school is by no means made... if all else fails, we are going somewhere! And without $200,000 of debt. That's happy.

You can read a pretty good summery of Baylor here. Or go to their website here. Or see a video (I always like the videos) here.

Pumpkins and Finger Paints

Ok, so I feel like I need to clarify here. I actually really like Halloween! I think (tragically) I've sullied my holiday-loving name forever with that last post.

I hope I didn't inadvertently give the impression that I'm anti-Halloween. Because goodness, no! While I do think we crazy Americans go to some funny extremes for our holidays, we have fun while we're at it!

To show that I do, in sincerity, have no ill will towards this pumpkin day, Raymond and I did some pumpkin painting this morning.  I've been wanting to do finger painting with him for weeks, and decided today was the day.

I taped wax paper to the kitchen table. Drew pumpkins and leaves all over it. And made some orange, red, and green finger paint (aka mixed flour and water and food coloring to the desired consistency and hue)

 Raymond didn't know what was happening, but he was excited!

It definitely took a few minutes of practice for him to get the hang of getting his hands dirty. But once he started, he didn't want to stop!! Oh the fun we had!

So I've been thinking of late

That Halloween is a weird holiday.

When I was a little girl, it was one of my favorite holidays. Loved it. (What kid doesn't? Honestly). I loved having an October birthday, and I loved the oft-Halloween-themed birthday parties that accompanied. Seriously what is better than costumes and free candy?

But this year I've been really thinking about it, and I decided the whole thing is strange. Downright strange. We celebrate witches and pumpkins and ghosts?? We decorate with skulls and spider webs and creepy candles??

I definitely plan to still celebrate Halloween, don't worry about that! Maybe it's because I'm in TOTAL DENIAL that October is half over already that I can't get into it this year (although I just got some candy corn and I'm definitely getting into that...)

But where does this holiday come from? Really? I honestly don't understand why we celebrate it. And with such enthusiasm. It's weird, I tell you.

Maybe once my kids are older and can get into it more, I'll swing back into full Halloween mode. Have no fear, I plan on making Raymond a killer cute lion costume this year. We certainly are going to try to get into it. And I'll definitely be carving a pumpkin and making some pumpkin muffins. Even if it doesn't happen until November. (Is October really half over? Really?)

But is it just me, or is the whole premise of this holiday just a little strange? Be honest.

Image source

28.

I'm 28 today, my friends. Such a lovely age to be! I hope I never grow out of loving my birthday and the newness of a new age.

Twenty seven was a good year. Full of baby-turned-toddler, new skills, new friends.

But twenty eight.

Twenty eight will be a great year. I can already feel it in my bones. So much living is going to happen at twenty eight. A baby girl, law school decisions and decisions, moving, reestablishing, growing, loving. More than I can now foresee.

It's thrilling just thinking about it.

And you know, today I feel beautiful. Not just outward pretty, but deep down good about me. Glad to be me. Grateful for my ever growing belly. Glad for my strengths and talents. And glad that there is so much more to become and improve on. Birthdays always remind me that I am glad I am alive. Oh so glad.

32 weeks today.

Carry on!

This morning Jeremy's alarm pulled me dramatically out of a dream (nightmare?) in which I was in labor. Two months early.

I must say, that while I am excited, thrilled, and eager for the little lady to make her grand debut... pretty please, I don't want it two months early.

I'M NOT READY YET.

Exclamation point.

Most days lately I have to hold off the creeping feeling of panic that wants oh so badly to surface.  There is so much to do! Can I get it all done??

Of course I can. One calm creative day at a time, right? Just keep plugging away. Even while the projects pile higher and higher. It's going to be ok. I'm not sure if my To Do lists help to calm me down or feed the panic.

Either way they are getting longer not shorter. Alas.

Yesterday, for example, was the third rainy day in a row. Raymond, bless his sweet heart, had chattering teeth during both breakfast and lunch.  Fall rain brought chilly weather (hooray for fall!).  Don't worry, I did succumb and turn on the heater for a few warm minutes as a temporary fix. And then I got to work.

You see, the boy doesn't have many (any?) long sleeved shirts. Warm PJs? Yes. Shirts to wear all day? No. He does have a jacket, but manages to wiggle out of it far too fast. Since we are a one-car family and running to Wal-Mart wasn't an option, I decided to make some. I took one of his PJ shirts (that fits great, although a little short) and made a pattern (a la Dana's directions). Then I dug in our closet and found some old shirts that never see the light of day anymore. Because re-purposing is the thing these days, no? Yes.

For my first attempt, it didn't turn out half bad. I did fix the neck after he went to bed, however (hello baggy boat-neck), and made another in grey. Today I'm going to make more pajama pants (the boy is a heavy night wetter... he soaks through disposables, double stuffed cloth diapers, you name it) and shirts today. They were shockingly easy (for raglan shirt or dress directions, see this tutorial over at ikat bag).

And wala! New shirts for free. Free is my favorite price.

New additions to the To Do list: making flannel sheets (tutorial here). And the shirts and PJs of course.
Long time must-finish-now-for-peace-of-mind portions of the list:  finishing the small pocket diapers. I'm getting closer. I have 13 completely done, 4 just needing snaps put in, and seven needing elastic, top stitching, and snaps. I can do it!
Other fun project I accomplished this week: canning tomatoes! My mother-in-law brought over a BIG (laundry) basket of tomatoes from their garden. I spent all of Tuesday making tomato sauce. Thirteen and a half pints later my pantry is happy.(And so is my husband who doesn't like the store-bought stuff).
Confession: Because my To Do list is so ridiculously long and the panicky feeling is getting harder to curb, blogging has taken a backseat lately. Alas.
Goal: don't go into early labor. Shudder.

POST EDIT: Pictures of the PJs. I used a much-too-small, but oh-so-cute receiving blanket that I had never used much when Raymond was a baby. Of course there are things I will do differently next time... but for this time, I'm super happy with the result!!

Because I'm sure you're curious

Just how cute these pink and white and yellow diapers are...

Pretty darn cute if you ask me.

First stack done... many more to follow.