The Most Important Baking I'll Ever Do

Well, things have been a little crazy at the Zollinger house lately.

Also I'm not at the house.

Also my days are not crazy...they are pretty boring.

For those who may not know, we were expecting a baby in November! Yay!! I say "were" because we are now expecting him in September. We never "officially" announced it, because, frankly, we're weirdos. I had a cerclage (stitch) placed in my cervix just like we did with Brynn because I'm always going to be high risk. And things were going great! My cervix always measured on the long side and there were no signs that we'd have any problems.

Here is a belly pic I quickly snapped before church when I was around 22 weeks. Please note my messy bathroom and feel good about the fact that everyone everywhere has a messy bathroom sometimes. This is probably the only cute picture we will get for this pregnancy! 

Around 3 on Friday morning I woke up and something was wrong. I won't go into the details, because tmi, but I figured out pretty quickly that my water had broken. This is the same thing that happened with Austin and Daniel in 2013. It sounds silly, but I am glad I was asleep. It's been a little hard to relive all of that. 

Things are different this time around though, and we can't describe how grateful and lucky we feel. I did not lose ALL the amniotic fluid, and I was at 27 w 6 d when it happened. We rushed in to the ER really quickly and they transferred me to another hospital downtown. The first day was rough. There was about a 50% chance I would go into labor... but I didn't! Slowly they were able to start unhooking tubs and monitoring devices and by Saturday evening things had calmed down. 

I'm admitted now at the hospital until Baby Boy comes out. Hopefully we can make it to 34 weeks! At that point it's safer to deliver than stay pregnant. Our big concerns are infection, placental abruption, and just anything else that will cause early labor or complications for Baby. 

If Baby was born now, his outlook would be really good. He has passed the "micro-preemie" stage. Even though he'd have a long NICU stay in front of him, we are far enough long that we could probably avoid a lot of the scariest dangers of prematurity. I can't describe how amazing that feels. If this had happened even a few weeks earlier, I would have been much more scared. Certainly I'm nervous for Baby to be born too soon, but every cloud has a silver lining. I feel reassured that he'll come when he's meant to. I think he's a special person. If Heavenly Father wants to give him a few extra challenges early in life, who am I to question that? That might sound funny, but it's my way of turning over my children to Heavenly Father so that I can be the best mom possible. We feel very positive that everything will be okay. 

And Baby is doing great! He's a troublemaker but he's also a trooper. My fluid levels never got crazy low, and they have increased since it all happened! I am at a 14, which is a HUGE deal. Average fluid level is a 15! This is so great because Baby used the fluid to practice breathing. For right now, he's still able to develop normally. They monitor him often and he's doing all the things he's supposed to be doing. I even got this really cool 4D picture. 

Look at those little lips! 

So if anyone needs me, I'll just be here hanging out in my room in the ante/post natal area. I can't go home til he's born. The days are slow, but we've already made it through almost a week! I'm just happy he's still cooking. 

It's crazy strange that I'm not with Brynn all the time like I always have been. She's taking it all in stride. Toddlers are resilient. What's she eating? What's she wearing? How much TV is she watching? How can she go to bed without me checking on her??? How can I go to bed without checking on her?? Turns out, all the little things you worry about work themselves out. We're really lucky that my mom has been able to come out and hang with Brynn during the days. She visits all the time and we snuggle on my magical moving bed and watch movies and read books. It's strange, but it will be just a blip. In a year from now we'll look back and hardly remember the particulars of these days. 

Greg sends me lots of fun pictures like this: Just dancing and singing like Elsa. 

Today we are 28 weeks 5 days. We're just going to take one day at time and be happy for all the time we get. We'll certainly take prayers that baby will continue to grow and stay where he is for a bit longer! I will also take book and show suggestions. Also, does anyone know how to crochet? Thinking now might be a good time to learn. Also I've always wanted to speak French... 

I'm sure I'll be blogging more. Bedrest in a hospital seems to be conducive to free time. As long as Baby Boy is still baking, we'll take it! 

Elsa Dress

Just a quick sewing update post so I can shamelessly pin my own sewing to a Pinterest board!

A good friend asked if I could make her daughter an Elsa inspired play dress for her fourth birthday, and this is the result! Of course, it is Oliver + S Building Block Dress to the rescue again. I love how you can personalize the pattern so it turns out exactly how you want.

I was lucky enough to find some sparkly white fabric and rick rack. I went to a couple different stores before I landed on this PERFECT blue fabric as well. I didn't want to just go plain blue, and this pattern is kind of Nordic-y, which I think is fun.

This dress features double layered flutter sleeves, an invisible zipper, a shaped yoke with trim, a box pleat, waist seam pockets, and an exterior facing hem. I did have some trouble with getting that facing on without puckers, but it turned out okay in the end.

I've never been very good at bows, but I put this one together for R's birthday gift from Brynn.

Happy Birthday, R! I hope this dress brings you through many Frozen adventures.

Booky Books and Goodreads

All right, I've been thinking about what I want to do to chronicle the books I've read this year. And I think that what I've decided is that instead of putting them all up on my blog, I'm just going to try to be better at keeping my Goodreads account up to date.

If you haven't tried Goodreads and you like to read at least a reasonable amount, you should take a look. It's ridiculous how happy I am to have this nice little list of everything I've ever read and want to read. It is Book Lover's Utopia. 

So here's my Goodreads link because I know you want to follow me: https://www.goodreads.com/

So be my friend and let me see what books you are reading. This year I have read 10 books so far! My goal is to read 52 books this year, so I'm a little behind, but I have read some really good ones (The Chosen, Quiet, Speak, A Monster Calls...to name a few). 

Brynn's Upcycle Dress

Hey, today I'm feeling prett-ay crafty and awesome with myself because I actually did one of those diy things that's always floating around my facebook feed. I made Brynn a dress from a dude shirt! Yay! And I'm here to tell you all about it (read: brag shamelessly).

Please note, this is not really a tutorial. I definitely don't consider myself qualified enough to give crafty tutorials. This is more like a "HEYYY look at this cute thing I did here are some crappy cell phone pictures to prove I did it" type of thing.

But it's cute though, right??

So I went to Goodwill yesterday, which is not something I usually enjoy doing. But this trip was fun! I found this pink striped shirt in 3 seconds and I also walked out with 5 books for $2 and a giant heart-shaped cake pan because it's Valentine's day soon, so obviously I need a giant heart-shaped cake pan. 

So here's my shirt: 

And here's my ridiculously messy sewing room, because keeping it real: 

You know like on Pinterest and on blogs everyone's sewing room is neat and color-coordinated and cutely decorated? YEAH, JOKES. 

Also I have a cleaning up problem. In my defense, that chambray that is still on the floor made a darling dress for Brynn last week: 

So, back to my non-tutorial.

I used a dress to kind of trace the shape of the dress I wanted. At first I cut the collar off thinking I could keep the original neckline, but if you keep the neckline you can't keep the original hemline. So what I ended up doing is drawing the dress pattern from the bottom, and just making the dress long enough so that an original button was right under the seam line on the top. 

I used a bodice pattern piece to help drawing too. (From the chambray dress with the ruffles down the bodice front, which is why it's not a full pattern piece. I had to chop it up). 

So when I cut out the dress I did it on the fold so everything would be the same size/shape. First I did the front and then I used that piece to do the back. The neckline was just a little higher in the back. 

So then I sewed the shoulder seams. 

I wanted to do an easy neckline and bias faced is easy. But I was feeling way too lazy to make my own bias tape, and I wasn't sure I had enough material to make it anyway. So I used blue bias tape. Contrasting colors is like a thing people do, right? So it's not mismatched, it's a "fun surprise" or something. 

Neckline done! 

Then I used my trusty Building Block Dress book to draw a basic cap sleeve. 

So then I attached the sleeves and sewed up the side seams. 

I had Brynn try it on at this point (bribed her with a cookie) and I thought the dress looked a little too wide, kind of more like a lab coat than a cute dress. So I just trimmed off some on the sides and tried it again, and it was better. 

I did a gathered pocket on the front of the dress but didn't get any pictures of that part! Probably because Brynn was trying to "fix" my sewing machine by messing with the bobbin while I was working so I was a little distracted. 

But after the pocket and the sleeve hems the dress was done! 

Excuse the poor quality of photos. You can still tell she's cute, right? 

We like it! And it came together so fast. 

I told her to put her hand in her pocket and this is what she did. Brynn loves pockets! 

At some point I might put another button in at the front of the dress at the bottom to keep it closed better, but that can wait for now. I'm not feeling like buttonholes today. 

After I took pictures of Brynn, she wanted to take some pics of me, which is fair. 

After sewing, we had lunch, and Brynn wore her dress. And she needed some water which she wanted to get herself. 

Dangerous stuff, but I'm trying to let her be independent. She dropped her cup like half a second after this picture was taken, and then she slipped in the water. So while she was crying she told me her dress was wet and she needed a different one. So even though she only wore it for about 20 minutes I'm still happy with our Upcycle dress! I feel both crafty and thrifty! 

One of these days I'm going to stop sewing like a crazy person, but whatever. Not today. 

Confessions, Round 2 (And Some Profound Questions)

I couldn't find the floss to cut the pumpkin roll I made last week. And I realized the last time I used floss was to cut cinnamon rolls.

I don't know how to use half the settings on my dishwasher. It can't be that hard, but, I mean, what's the point? 

I watch The Magic School Bus with Brynn because I'm seriously entertained by that show. I've decided that Arnold should date Phoebe, D.A. should date Tim, Carlos should date Keesha, and Wanda should end up with Ralphie. I've really spent time thinking about this.

I do not know what Keto is. Seriously. What is Keto?

After years of boycotting Pinterest I am now obsessed. I have 3 followers.

I have never eaten a cake pop. I feel like I should. Are they good? Is it just a ball of cake?

I brush my teeth so vehemently I can ruin a toothbrush in like, three days. So I guess it's okay I don't floss.

I have no interest in watching "This Is Us." Who are all these people? Is there a plot to this show? Is it true someone died because their crockpot exploded?

There is a sign on the Young Adult section room in the library that says "Teens Only" but I sneak in there sometimes anyway.

I yelled at Greg during our Half Marathon because he said "You got this babe." In my defense it was mile 12.




He forgave me. But he also beat me by 26 seconds so...have I forgiven him?

A Sewing Review

Last year I had a goal to spend quality time developing talents, and I had such a fulfilling time sewing for my home and for Brynn. This has really encouraged me to stop and think about some of my best and most favorite sewing projects, not just from last year, but from my whole beautiful little journey as a developing seamstress. 

This is the first dress I finished for Brynn--and, I think, the first article of clothing I ever did totally by myself! Look at that sweet baby in the yellow floral and pink rickrack. Sigh. Why do babies grow up? 

But, here it is, folks. The dress that started it all. Brynn's baby blessing dress. It's hard to see with the white, but this was a lined dress with a Peter Pan collar and flutter sleeves. I think I finished this dress on the day I went into labor (3 weeks early!) Turns out that it's hard to know what size your newborn will be, and the dress was a little big. But my sweet mother-in-law Geri helped us make it the right size by tacking a ribbon around the middle. Now I can't remove the ribbon because I want it to stay just as it was. 

I forgot how she used to always stick out her tongue like that. 

Now this dress hangs on Brynn's wall with my old pointe shoes. Cute decor, yes, but also a daily reminder of my love for my daughter and how much we anticipated her coming. That's one of the reasons I love sewing. Sewing is an act of love. It's creation and creativity that allows you to give something meaningful and beautiful to a person who is beautiful to you. 

For Brynn's first birthday, I made her this sweet little duckie out of the same white material from her blessing dress. I hope this toy gets passed down for years to come! 

Which brings me to the quilt. Ah, my first quilt. A little bit of frustration involved, but quilting taught me to be more precise than ever. Yes, there are a few mistakes I couldn't quite fix, but that is what makes it special, right? I did the big stitch quilting all by hand. 

I started another quilt in October or November thinking I would for sure be done in time to decorate for Christmas, but...maybe next year. Here is a square just for a sneak peek. I love the Nordic theme: 

And, last year, I discovered Building Block Dress! This book is a wonderful idea, and I've learned a lot. I can basically make any dress I want for Brynn now. 

Here is her sweet mint and pink empire waist dress with flutter sleeves and a square neckline. Perfect for our beach family photos. 

And here is our little girl modeling the dress I made for her second birthday. Wouldn't that be a fun tradition, to always make her a birthday dress? I love the placket with red buttons in front, and Brynn loves the pockets. "TWO pockets!" she says. It was the first time I had ever done a yoke silhouette like that.

And this is the dress that I finished just today! Another Building Block Dress from Oliver and S. I knew I had to make this cute gray fabric into a dress for Brynn the minute I saw it. I changed the collar shape from the original pattern, and I also added a cute inverted box pleat in the front and some pockets with a fold detail. Doesn't the blue look so nice with the floral pattern? And how cute are those little cuffs? 

There is just something about sewing that I love...how I can get lost handling the cotton and matching the colors and just sitting with a needle. How I feel like I'm part of a heritage of people who create beautiful little things out of love. I really want to go somewhere with this, and I feel like there are good things on the horizon. It's important for me to be the kind of person who participates in a culture of learning and creating and growing, and sewing is giving me that right now. 

Books - Last 2017 Post!

I read 47 books this year, HOORAYYY. Maybe 14 of them were classics I had never read before, which is cool, plus a lot of others were more current event-y books that I think are really important. Best book...hmmm....The Poisonwood Bible, but there were lots of good ones. What else are you reading?

Here are the rest of the books I read in 2017!

Notes From a Small Island - Bill Bryson. I don't know. It was funny I guess. Memoirs/comedy of touring the UK. I kept thinking Why am I reading this? But also I couldn't stop reading it. So there's a totally useless review for you.

The Witch of Blackbird Pond - Elizabeth George Speare. A book club re-read from my childhood. A great book.

Company Man - John Rizzo. Memoirs from one of the top lawyers at the CIA. Gave interesting background about the decisions to waterboard. Rizzo argues that President Bush did not know about specific interrogation techniques, but that Bush said he was aware so that he could take the fall, and that makes him a "stand-up guy." Anyway, interesting stuff. Also I appreciated his nonpartisan approach (Rizzo left when Obama was elected due to the fallout over the Torture Memos, but personally voted for both republicans and democrats based on how capable the person seemed and how upheaval would affect the atmosphere of Washington).

No Higher Honor: A Memoir of My Years in Washington - Condoleezza Rice. I don't know WHY I keep reading all these Bush era political memoirs but whatever. Liked it, like her.

Born a Crime - Trevor Noah. One of the big books of the year. I was glad I read it. Humor but also brutal honestly in talking about South Africa.

As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of the Princess Bride - Cary Elwes. Listened to this on audiobook and couldn't stop laughing. I wish Cary Elwes was my uncle and Andre the Giant was my, um, larger uncle.

The Monuments Men - Robert M. Edsel. I kept looking up stuff about famous artwork and I feel like I learned a lot. So many aspects of WWII I don't know about yet.