First normal day.

When Granny J was here, we tried to establish a routine.
I know enough about child development and ages/stages that predictable routines provide security and stability for all ages of kids.
But now I think it's for me...to keep my stability and sanity.

Morning has been very good so far.
Changing
Feeding
Boppy time (just snoozing on the couch)
breakfast for me
change
feed
bath - as slowly as possible (he likes it)

Snack
Rock to sleep
NNNNAAAAPPP
(for like 3 hrs!)
change
feed
....usually about now I'm like....
Okay now what.



Went to the doctor this afternoon. He's 11 lbs and counting.

Dalton Brice Sharples

D. 10 days old.

March 3rd 2012 - 1:44pm
.... I birthed a human...
That sounds gross

No really - March 3rd 2012 - 1:44pm I got to meet my 10lb 12 oz baby Dalton -- with no drugs to fog the experiences. Actually I managed to fog the experience on my own. I would like to post a 'birth story' -- but I would need Ben's help - seeing I don't remember half of it.
"Ben.... where did i get this bruise?"
"... it was the first IV they put in...."
...oh...

So. More on that later.

For now - I commit to post often (with a strong effort of daily) on our new human.
Right now he's sleeping. He struggled to totally give in to sleepiness and just stirred and stirred for a couple of hours. Come on dude... relax!

Best Wishes to Mom driving home. You were missed the second you left.
Now we have to stop talking about it or I'll start crying again. :)

Oh a lighter note..
Da boyz are sleeping.

The Changing Table

Alright. It is finished.
I only have a 1/2 room to work with for Baby Awesome's nursery.
(which really, is all I think I want right now)

The colors of Ben home-made changing table worked out out too! I thought it was going to be the DEFINITION of compromise (me picking the 'blueberry' and Ben picking the 'lime pop'.) On the sample paper they looked okay... and ... Ta Da!

We learned a couple of things about 'building' during the project'.
1. Measure twice/cut once? NO!
Measure 45 TIMES/cross your fingers that you don't cut crooked.

Also - we got a little crazy with the sanding. We bought an electric sander and we both were like 'whoa! I really can make some round edges!' I think one of the boards I nearly turned into a base ball bat... which during the next step of assembly and painting... difficult.
But. Eh. Does the job.

This is the mostly complete baby room. I have a few more pieces to get - then I think I'll do a 'nursery tour video' for the Grannys. :)

This is Baby Awesome's roommate.

Ben has been practicing his bed time stories.
"Once upon time... there was a lonely little hydrogen atom... All he wanted to do is bond with a friend... "
A Chemists' lullaby.

The Sanding Zone

HOW TO COME INTO POSSESSION OF A CHANGING TABLE:
By Kim and Ben Sharples

1. Establish that you can't afford a brand new one
2. Realize that there is only one hand me down store in your small town
3. Scan craigslist for a couple of months wondering when will the same 5 postings change. (Again- small town)
4. Suggest that you drive to a 'near by town' (2 hrs) to get a $30 table
5. Husband will calculate the drive time and gas balanced by the cost of the table and vetoes the idea.
6. Husband will decide to make his own.
(this is actually a cute and good idea. Man nesting.)
7. Find appropriate plans on the inter-webs.

8. Set aside several hours to visit home depot - there are many decisions to be made (muffin - this was the day I emailed you :) )
9. Do a cost analysis of all types, shapes, colors, thicknesses and sales of wood and make selections.

10. Become totally side tracked for an hour when you discover a power tool sale.
11. Call everyone you know for an opinion on whether or not to by the tools that are on the sale.


12. Pace up and down the isles until you decide against it.

13. Take LARGE pieces of wood home in your small Corolla.
14. Use brand new hand saw to cut pieces down

15. Set up a 'Sanding Zone' in small laundry room by closing bed room down and putting tiedie sheet in door way to kitchen --- because it just too STUPID COLD OUTSIDE to be sanding.
16. Thank Home Depot in your prayers for the sale on power sanders.
17. Have wife sand for a while while husband applies for jobs. (sanding is kinda like ironing :))

18. Screw most of the pieces together
19. Realize that you are missing a couple pieces of wood after reading the directions again.
20. Repeat from step eight.

The Mattress

Next mile stone completed - mattress + water proof pad + sheets = more prepared.
So - baby stuff is expensive. In order to help out on the financial front - If found a mattress on craigslist for 20 bucks! A lucky find.
After work Ben and I stopped by Hastings while I got confirmation from the seller and the address of where to come check it out. On the way to the car - we spot a lock smith guy in a van with a dead battery. We offer and he accepts our help - I say to him with the price that he give us directions to this mattress address I have. As Ben is fishing out the cables, I read off the address to him and he give me a little bit of a shocked stare... saying... 'you know that's not a great neighborhood...'
*Now. I need to explain that because of my previous work experience I have learned that there are shady people in 'good looking neighborhoods' and good people in 'not good looking neighborhoods'. And Wenatchee's standard of 'not a great neighborhood' looks like Kaysville compared to some of the places in Ogden I have been to. Okay.. moving on...*
Ben and the lock smith attempt to jump his van. For whatever reason they couldn't get it to work and sparks were flying every where. The lock smith guy said thanks but no thanks and that help was on the way .. I'm sure freaked out by our sparking Corolla. He gives me the directions to the mattress house one more time then checks out my prego-state and says "Does he know where you are going?"
Dude... we're not crossing into enemy lines...
We get in the car and mr lock smith asks Ben if he's clear on the directions and if we had a flash light with us.
Okay okay I get it! You are scared you are going to see us on the news that night...
COUPLE FOUND IN DEAD IN CAR IN WORST PART OF TOWN.
whatever.
It's hard not to be on 'high alert' after such a warning or that the street you are looking for is called 'Terminal".... but ... I gotta tell ya. It wasn't bad. Across the street from the elementary school. Mini van in the drive way. It was a little family with young kids - and the Mama ran a day care out of their home. She was trying to switch out the couple of cribs she had for pack and plays to save space. Very sweet family. I could have stayed for tea and crumpets. Ben and I laughed all the way home about the 'wrong side of town' and what a sissy Mr. locksmith was.

The mattress was great, pretty much like new. I still bleached the sugar out of it but saved like 40 bucks and DODGED DEATH on the bad side of town.
good grief.

Annnnnnnnd.... we're back.

I'm not even going to try and catch up. :) We'll just say that last months have been BUSY. Vacation(s) were awesome but bittersweet.
On to the next.

Now that the dust is settling...
...Baby Awesome is center stage.

This is my favorite discovery over the break. And will be one of the first pictures I take :)

Next is this...

I only have 1/2 a room to work with but should be enough. The other day I had a mini panic attack and laid out everything I have in order to take stock. I'm trying to think in the mind set of only the first 3 to 4 months. There is a good chance we'll be moving again in 3 months ... so to prevent unnecessary packing - I'm only trying to gather up the essentials. BUT WHAT ARE THEY? :) (this is the opportunity to post useful help).

In other most recent news:
Ben starts a new rotation today at the hospital. The ICU. Ooooohhh. That should be interesting.

Yesterday I was released from young womens and now into the relief society secretary. Also should be interesting. I have be doing other things for so long... It's kinda new grounds for me.

Some sad news. We did have to send Reggie to heaven before the christmas break. It was one of the HARDEST things I've ever done and neither of us could talk about it for days with out loosing it. However, I don't doubt my choice. He was big time suffering from heart failure and it was best.
I'm sure I'll have more to say later.

So Tally is learning to be the "Main Dog". We've had to do strange things for her in order to accommodate Reg (ex: Tally won't drink out of Reg's water - i'm guessing because of the floaties... so we would stop up the bath tub and fill it up just a bit for her water. When she was thirsty she'd jump in and out of the bath tub to let us know.) No more of that ridiculousness. Your own bowl.
It's tough being the Main Dog.

Fall Time so far

I really need to get better about blogging more often - rather then saving up 10-hundred pictures to show off.
Okay - so here we go.

Happy Fall in Wenatchee!
Harvest time in the "Apple Capital of the world" has been awesome. It's going to be really hard to get produce at the store when we're used to apples for 50cent a pound - like Honey Crips! Yah.

Seasonal Decorating has been fun. We have an old house and a pretty creepy large yard on the corner of a busy street. So I don't send the dogs outside unless they are dressed up. :)

I saw this in the Oct. Martha Stewart Living. It's chunks of card board cut like board planks. They look pretty good. I think the big window needs another one.

Pumpkins. Carved with the beehives with my favorite one in the back. The one that plugs in...

This is more like September - but did some pretty serious peach bottling from an amazing u-pick orchard. I already told you about that...

Alright, I can't seem to change the order of my pictures.. So I'll be saving my favorite part for the ...middle.
I've had this idea to be a 'creepy guy' in our yard. We have a lot of over grown bushes, tall and droopy trees, weeds... you get the ideas - we don't really keep it up. But PERFECT for a mysterious back yard.

So I Frankenstein-ed this guy together.
This is the view from the side walk.


He's about 9 feet tall with a back bone made from a pole a scavenged from my weird back yard, 2 black sheets, old shirt, card board and duck tape.

I stuffed the shirt like a scarecrow and constructed cardboard-like football guard pads. He's also got like a card board hood - and all wrapped in a plastic baggy/poncho style. I do live next to the Cascades after all...

This is the view from my kitchen window. My favorite view. BECAUSE I can watch the jr high kids come slowly down the side walk, laughing and clinging to each other... then SPRINT up the road.
Yah, I've seen it several times.
wwwwhhhhaaaaahhhhaaaa

On to lighter news. Apples. Beautiful.

And finally. Ben's traditional butternut squash soup with sausages and blue cheese. Oh man. I know it looks scary enough - but it's awesome.