Sew Much Fun

One of the (many) things that I love about having a daughter is the fact that now I have an excuse to make all sorts of fun craft things. Not that I really needed an excuse before Elin was born, but now it seems I have more motivation to create girly, frilly, pretty things. I have been having a great time finding craft ideas online and letting my imagination go wild, telling myself "I could make that"... whether or not whatever I attempt actually turns out is another story.

Last week I was bitten by the crafting bug and felt the urge to make something for Elin. Unfortunately, my supply of 'girly' craft supplies (ie: pink fabrics, ribbons, glitter, etc.) is quite sad. I do, however, have a surplus of Broncos and sports-related fabrics.

The result....

A Broncos Headband/Bow

"Dear God, please let the Broncos have a winning season"

A few days later a good friend of mine came over with her sewing machine and we were inspired to sew pillowcase dresses (all the rage these days) ;) We looked at one that she had bought for Elin off of Etsy.com and pretty much figured out our own pattern. It was SEW much fun to sit and sew, drink coffee, and chat together! I can't wait for our next project, Susanne!

Even Luke got in on the sewing action

Drumroll please....

TADA!! The finished dress!

(I honestly think I'm more impressed with the fact that I actually finished it, and quickly, than I am with the dress itself. I have a bad habit of letting craft project sit half-finished for months)

It definitely helps that my model is SEW darn cute!

Martha Stewart, I am not. But I did have fun and look forward to future sewing/crafting fun! (and I am on the hunt for some fun 'boyish' crafts/sewing projects, so Luke won't feel left out, don't worry) :)

These Days...

We've been back from the Tour de Weddings 2011 for a few weeks now and have somewhat settled into life in Redlands. For the first few days I was struggling to remember where I had unpacked various items and felt completely scatterbrained. Now I know where things are (for the most part) but I'm still battling a bad case of scatterbrain-itis. There is so much to do around the house, beyond the normal daily stuff like laundry, cooking, cleaning, kids, etc. that my desire to multi-task is backfiring on me and I end up being far less productive than I want.I Oh well, I guess that's just how life is going to be and I'm ok with it... or I will be ok with it (I don't have much of a choice)

We've been trying to find a healthy balance between working around the house - painting, yard work, etc. and relaxing and enjoying our kids in the summer months while we are both home (gotta love the perks of both of us working at a school). :) We have done quite a bit around the house but that'll be another post another time. We have had fun playing around the house, taking walks, getting together with friends, and really just enjoying the DeBoer Four!

Getting silly with photo booth on the computer

Matt got an I-Pad for school. While he's been busy learning how to use it and apply the apps to teaching 6th grade Luke has been busy learning to knock down the pigs in Angry Birds. :)

We've gone to the park a few times (mostly in the morning or evening when it isn't so hot!). Elin definitely likes to lay out on a blanket and watch the wind move the leaves and tree branches

We've been torturing our daughter by forcing her endure 'tummy time'. She is not a fan, to say the least. She will tolerate it for a little while then quickly starts complaining. It is paying off though - neck muscles are getting stronger and stronger!

She definitely prefers to lay on her back, especially if she has company

I love this picture. I couldn't resist putting it in this post.

Its as though she's sticking her tongue out at me -

"stop taking nudie pics of me in the tub yeesh!"

Sweet sibling love!

The DeBoer Four.

This family picture isn't all that bad, actually! We'll take what we can get.

Andrea & Jordan's wedding week

Thankfully, Luke got over his hive-attack after a few [miserable] days. We were extremely thankful that he was completely over his illnesses Andrea's wedding! On to the main event of our trip to WA... Andrea and Jordan's wedding! That's right, both of our younger siblings are now married. The wedding was fabulous! Andrea did an incredible job with all the planning and organizing. It was so great to see how the entire extended family and friends rallied around the couple and the DeBoer family for the wedding day - helping with flowers, appetizers, decorations, setting up/tearing down, etc. What a blessing! The wedding was at this great venue (which was actually a personal residence) with sprawling, beautifully landscaped fields and an airplane hanger~ which is where the reception was held. It was gorgeous! Unfortunately, it rained the day of the wedding so the ceremony had to be moved into the hanger. But it was still absolutely gorgeous! Beyond the weather being less than cooperative, everything else was picture perfect. You'll have to just take my word for it. Again, I have a pathetically small amount of pictures from the actual wedding day. I know other family members were taking pictures so I'm hoping to steal some of theirs eventually. Until then these will just have to do.

Matt and his sister, the beautiful bride, on the dance floor

Luke and Ava (1st cousins once removed...I think) cozying up to watch a movie on the I-touch before the ceremony. Too cute!!

Luke was pretty wiped out after the ceremony. He didn't take much of a nap that day (maybe dozed in the car for a grand total of 15 minutes, if that) and played throughout the ceremony in the back fields with an awesome babysitter. He put his head on my shoulder after dinner and was out.

...But not for long. Once the music and dancing started, he was wide awake and ready to boogie down!

After the wedding we still had several days left in Lynden with family. We had a nice balance of relaxing around the house and taking a few day trips.

Matt and Elin taking it easy

Elin and Auntie Andrea sleeping in on a rainy morning (days before the wedding, I just had to post the picture. It is too sweet not to.)

Great Grandpa DeBoer with Elin

Taking baths in the kitchen sink. I love the look on Elin's face in this picture. And no, we didn't do the dishes at the same time.

More relaxing with Elin

We took Luke to this awesome new playground in Lynden. Seriously, this playground was amazing! Luke, however, was less than impressed. He was much more excited about exploring the creek, throwing rocks into it, looking for fish... you know, doing boy things. :) I guess that just goes to show that God builds a better playground, hands down!

Picking raspberries off the bushes in Grammie's backyard. We picked enough for snacking, making jam and even a raspberry pie! Yum.

We took the ferry to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island one day. It was ridiculously cold for being the middle of July! (So cold in fact, that Grandma and Grandpa DeBoer felt bad that I only had a light shirt on and bought me a jacket! Thanks again G&G!) The weather eventually did warm up a bit and we had a great time walking around, looking at the boats, and checking out the shops.

Luke and Matt on the ferry.

Luke still talks about riding on the 'Big Boat'

Elin, all snug as a bug in her stroller.

I think she slept the entire time we were on the island, honestly.

We also went to Birch Bay one evening for dinner. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows, skipped rocks on the water, and had a marvelous time.

Again, I think Elin slept the whole time we were at the bay.

Showing off the perfect skipping rock... at least according to Luke

Roasting marshmallows with Uncle Eric and Aunt Candice...

...and stuffing his face.

Even sharing some with mom!

Flying!

Before we knew it, it was time for these DeBoers to fly back to California and resume a normal life... whatever that is. We had such an incredible time and are SO looking forward to round 3 of the wedding circuit in December (Eric and Candice in Ohio)!!!

Holy Hives!

**Remember how I said to remember the whole strep throat/amoxicillin deal from the previous post... here's the rest of the story***

After spending 10 days with the Thomson side in IL we headed to Washington to spend 2 weeks with the DeBoer side for Andrea's wedding. We haven't spent much time in Lynden since getting married (like 10 days, total, in 6 years) so we were looking forward to being back in Matt's hometown, relaxing with family and helping with the wedding preparations.

At some point during the flight from Chicago to Seattle we noticed that Luke appeared to have a lot of red dots all over his arms and legs. He had been playing outside at my parent's house the night before so I just chalked it up to mosquito bites. As time went on, however, we realized that these were no mosquito bites but hives, clearly an allergic reaction to something. We were racking our brains trying to think of what he may have ingested or been exposed to that may have caused this. I called his pediatrician while waiting for our bags at baggage claim and was told to give him Benadryl. So we stopped at a pharmacy and gave Luke a dose of Benadryl on the road... and another dose after dinner... and another dose before bed... it wasn't working. In fact, things seemed to be getting worse. He was noticeably uncomfortable and itchy and his lips and hands were swollen. So, I called the doctor again. He told me to up the dose and if things continued to get worse and his mouth kept swelling we'd have to take him in to be seen.

'mosquito-bite' hives - first night in at Grammie's house

Uncomfortable but putting on a happy face

The next morning thing were worse so we took Luke into see a doctor at Lynden Family Medicine. I must say, the doctor we saw was awesome. He was so nice and understanding, actually taking the time to sit and talk with us and really listen to all our concerns, etc. Since we weren't home and able to see our normal pediatrician, it was such a comfort to have a caring, understanding doctor see Luke.

We told this doctor that Luke had recently been diagnosed with strep and was on his 8th day of amoxicillin and that I am allergic to amoxicillin, so that could possibly be contributing to his hives. He told us that 'old-school doctors' used to have trouble diagnosing strep vs. mono. They would prescribe amoxicillin or some other antibiotic and if the patient didn't break out in hives, it was strep. If they did break out in hives (even after several days on the meds), it was mono. So he ordered a blood test. Ding, ding, ding... Luke had mono! How and where a 2-year-old got mono is beyond me but the next few days were absolutely miserable. We, obviously, stopped the amoxicillin and continued giving him Benadryl, alternating Motrin and Tylenol and pretty much just laid on the couch watching movies and resting.

Poor Baby!

After 2 days, Luke's hives were still horrible and he appeared to be in such discomfort that I called the doctor again. I'm talking, the kid, who is normally extremely active and doesn't want to be held/cuddled for long, would not move any body part except his eyes. He would wince and cry when we moved him at all. It broke my heart! The doctor (again, I have to sing his praises) agreed to prescribe him prednosone, a steroid, to help with the swelling and itching of the hives. Thank the Lord, this worked. By the time Luke had the steroid in his system for 24 hours, the hives were going down and he was getting back to his active, happy self.

I hated the fact that he was sick and so uncomfortable but on the upside, I got lots of quality cuddle time.

Still puffy (part from the hives, part probably from the steroid) but getting better! Ready to play ball, hives or no hives, that's the Luke we know and love :)

Proof that he made a full recovery ~ just 3 days after starting the steroid Luke was splashing in the creek, playing at the park, and wearing us out. :)