Jason's Creation

 

Jason had me take a picture of the sandwich he made the other day.   He was pretty proud.  It is a really good looking sandwich.  Good looking guy, too.  I'm so lucky.

The Crib Skirt

I am not a person who does well with...fabrics.  Don't get me wrong, I've figured out how to separate my darks from my whites, and I know to change the water temperature to cold when I'm washing something delicate.  However, I have not figured out where the blue blotches around the collars of a few of my shirts are coming from, nor can I get rid of them. 

Even worse are my sewing abilities.  I can sew on a button, but it is not exactly a beauty to behold-  more like barely functional.  One summer, the relief society of my single's ward decided that we were going to learn how to sew.  We had weekly lessons and help sessions as people who had sewing experience helped the rest of us to each make ONE PAIR of pajama pants to be donated to a local children's shelter.  I went to EVERY SINGLE help session.  On the last one, a few kind souls helped me frantically piece together my final product.  My pants were not the size I had originally intended, but hopefully they will fit some little kid.  One side wasn't quite the same as the other, but it was close enough.  Also, I had spent enough money on fabric and materials that I could have PURCHASED at least 5 pairs of pajama pants.  That was my last experience with real sewing.  My Grandmother was an excellent seamstress and created beautiful dresses for me, but this gene has apparently skipped my generation.    

And yet somehow, when I decided I wanted a crib skirt, I started to look at DIY blogs and websites.  The challenge of "nesting" for this baby has been finding the space for... anything.  We have a one bedroom apartment, and Jason and I were both over 30 when we got married.  You can accumulate a lot of stuff in 30 years, and we have struggled to fit our OWN stuff in this cute, but small place.  Now suddenly, I'm trying to find a home for baby clothes, blankets, bottles, cribs, strollers, baths, high chairs, swings, toys, diapers, baby shampoo, and a ridiculous amount of other items.  Babies are small, but their stuff is NOT!  The space under the crib became valuable real estate.  However, the crib skirts that you buy at the store seem to only function to make the cribs cuter- they don't actually go all the way to the floor so that you can hide all of the crap that you want to store under there!

 

 I found a youtube video that explained how to make a crib skirt WITHOUT SEWING ANYTHING.  This was very important to me, because, as I mentioned above, sewing is not something I feel comfortable with.  Here's a link to the video.
Young House Love: How to Make a Crib Skirt

I took poor Jason to the fabric store and spent a good hour painstakingly picking out fabric, velcro, and the "heat n' bond" that would create the hems for my no sew crib skirt.  I also decided to make a bed skirt while I was at it.  My bed doesn't have a traditional frame, so none of my bed skirts have ever fit.  It seemed to me that the basic premise would be the same, so I went for it.  I ended up spending $38 at Fabricland.  This is why I don't understand sewing things for yourself- so much work and it's not cheaper anymore!  I justified it this time, though, because I was creating TWO things that I needed and could not buy to fit my specifications.  Here's what I started with:

   
Then I got to work.  It took me a few days.  Look at what a crafty homemaker I am!

 

The process was stressful, but not unmanageable.  I learned that sticky velcro doesn't really stick to fabric, but the heat 'n bond added the extra stick to make the velcro last.  Here's the finished products. 

The crib skirt- and yes we eventually put up the front rail.

The bed skirt

Yeah for new creations! 

The Family Reunion

Okay, it has been a WHILE since I have added to this blog.  I've had several experiences where I've thought: "this would be a good post."  It just never seemed urgent enough to actually put in the effort.  Now I'm realizing that I'm starting to forget about the amazing summer that I've had.  Plus I'm two days overdue, my baby's "nest" is ready, my husband is back to work and writing in my blog is suddenly a way to pass the time.  So I'll start with writing about the Allen family reunion.  The story of this reunion actually starts on my wedding day.  This is me with my cousin Jeni:

 Our fathers are brothers.  Our mothers are best friends.  We are two months apart.  We basically had no choice but to be close (but let's be honest- she's one of the most amazing people I know, so being friends with her was never difficult.)  She's the only cousin who made it to my temple sealing in Canada.  (Lots of cousins sacrificed to come to my Arizona reception, but she left her kids and traveled the extra miles to see me at the temple.  She's hardcore like that.)  She and her Mom were traveling with her Dad and our Aunts- three out of the five siblings that make up my Dad's immediate family.  They started discussing the need for an Allen family reunion.  We used to have them every couple of years when we were young.  They are some of the fondest memories from my childhood.  Families got bigger, though, and our grandparents passed away, and suddenly the reunions stopped happening.  As I was cutting the cake and posing for pictures, my Uncle, Aunts, and Jeni decided it was time to get together again.  Jeni, along with doing a wonderful job of raising her little family, manages a sorority house at U.C. Berkeley.  The house is empty during the summer, and she offered it as a possible venue for the proposed reunion.  With this generous offer, she was given the appointment of Reunion Co-Chair.  It was decided that she would need help pulling it all together, and so, without my even being made aware of it,  I was appointed as the other co-chair.  Not because I had any skills, talents, or resources that made me a logical candidate!  It was simply because she had the venue, and I was the cousin closest to her in age.  I learned about all of this after the wedding and after everything had been very much decided upon.  I was excited, though.  Northern California is one of my favorite places and the Allens are among my favorite people.  I was happy to be a part of it.  Shortly thereafter Jeni announced she was pregnant with her third, and soon after that, I became pregnant with my first, and that is how two pregnant friends, with no prior experience, thousands of miles apart from each other, suddenly became responsible for organizing a vacation weekend for 80+ people.  Here's some things I learned from this experience:

• Communicate!  Jeni was SO good at this.  She knew we had to let people know about the reunion, and remind them about it often.  She and her Dad started emailing surveys right away to get contact information and figure out when people could attend.  There were more surveys and lots of emails over the next year.  A month or so before the reunion, a Facebook page was started where people could ask questions and get ideas.  Jeni and I had to stay in close contact as well. Things started to get dangerously close as she was about to deliver her little girl, and as I started getting sick with mine.  We had to continue to touch base even during this time so that we could be ready for the big event.
• Don't over-plan!  People (or at least, Jeni and I) don't like being forced into too many structured activities and games.  Also, since everyone (besides Jeni's family) would be traveling to a place they don't normally get to go to, we knew that people would want to see the sights.  We decided to do breakfast and dinner together and have activities planned for the evenings.  Friday night was "getting to know you activities."  Saturday was "game night" and Sunday night was the talent show.  (An Allen family reunion tradition.)  We would then encourage sight seeing outings during the day.  As the reunion evolved, Sunday became more of a structured day, but this happened naturally as we learned what people wanted out of their reunion experience.  We learned later that we should have planned a bit more for the children to do while we were doing our activities.  (Especially on Friday and Saturday night.)  Oh well: live and learn.     
• Delegate!  I was personally put in charge of food.  I don't know how to cook for 80 people, so I turned to others that I knew could.  I assigned "coordinators" for each meal.  They were in charge of planning the menu for one meal and organizing the preparation of it.  (I divided everyone over the age of 8 into committees to help with meal set up and clean up.  That way the meal coordinators didn't have TOO much to do on the nights when their meals were up.)  I was so afraid of asking too much of people, but everyone did SUCH a wonderful job.  Lots of people commented on how amazing the food was- and it really was spectacular.  We ate WELL- every night.  I told coordinators to give me a shopping list of what food to buy.  Now I wish I had asked them to buy their own food and then get reimbursed from the reunion funds.  I didn't want to ask too much, and I was worried that people wouldn't be able to arrive early to buy the food.  However, if I had asked them to do it in the first place, they would have found a way.  Lots of people ended up doing their own shopping anyways.  For the meals where they didn't- it ended up putting too much on me and the few people that were there early.  Plus- it's difficult to shop for other people!  The right ingredients are hard to find, which makes it difficult for the cooks later if things are missed.  It's also difficult to fit everything in your car.  Luckily my brother is a genius at tetris.  Check out this packing job: 

• Put someone else in charge of money.  I spent a LONG time excruciating over how much to charge for the reunion.  We ended up making it quite affordable.  We charged per person (with kids at a cheaper rate) and no family paid more than $200.  I was quite proud of that.  (Of course, it helped that our venue was free.)  Once I figured how much things cost, I put a guy cousin that was good with computers and organization in charge of collecting the money and reimbursing the costs.  It was the best decision I made.  (Hopefully he will forgive me.)  He did an awesome job, and I didn't have to worry about money again.  
• There's so much more I could say about planning this reunion, and I'm sure that Jeni (and her parents, who ended up helping a lot) would have plenty to add.  It was work, but it was more than worth it.  
• My one regret: I wish that I had spent more time bonding with family that I don't get to see very often.  I was in a vulnerable place during the reunion.  I had just spent almost a month away from my husband.  I was also about to say good bye to my Mom and brothers, knowing that the next time I would see them, I would be busy with a new baby.  So I spent a lot of the reunion with Jason and my immediate family.  When we went out for sight seeing, I didn't wait to see what other families were doing- I just left with them.  I had a good vacation, but I could have used a bit more "Allen Family time."  Here's the two pictures that I took of the actual "reunion:"   

 
Here's some other pictures from our trip:  

  I really did have an amazing time, and I loved being around all of those awesome Allens.  I love them all so much, and I loved taking a small part in planning this event that brought us together.

 

Oh, and guess who's in charge of next summer's Harvey Family Reunion!?

Family Newsletter

I spent some time writing an update of our family for the Harvey Family Newsletter.  Since this blog is doubling as my journal and a way to keep friends and family updated on my life, it seemed like a good thing to include here:

Jason and I have been having lots of fun getting ready for baby for the past few months.  The baby is kicking a lot and the second trimester was good to me.  We're all happy that tired sick Katie seems to be gone for the time being.  (Although I'm still a much pickier eater than I have ever been.)  We finally found out after ultrasound number 2 that we are having a girl!  (Of course they don't promise 100%, but the technician seemed pretty confident.)  We are now working on names.  Luckily, Jason and I have pretty similar tastes.  I was the type of girl that had names picked out for all of my children by the time I was 14.  Now that it's real, though, no one name seems good enough to fit my baby.  I'm sure it will come to us.  We've also been filling our tiny home up with baby stuff.  We've gotten some great hand me downs from some of you and are very grateful.  As the weather has been warming up, we've also been enjoying the garage sales. We've made some great deals  We got a stroller for 15, a two person camping chair for 10, a nice breadbox that will fit more than two loaves for 5, and a bunch of nostalgic toys.  Sometimes Meaghan and Mom will come with us, and it's become a fun little hobby.

I'm actually writing this update from Arizona.  My brother, Jacob, got married this weekend.  Some of you might remember him from my wedding.  He's the baby of the family at 23 years old (13 years younger than my oldest brother.)  He was always the most social out of all of us, and the family joke (that we didn't find very funny) was that he would be the first one to get married.  I'm really glad that I, at least, managed to beat him.  He married a beautiful girl named Heather.  They've been dating for almost a year, so I have had a few opportunities to get to know her, and she is lovely.  The wedding went well.  They were one of 14 sealings being held on Saturday morning in the Mesa Temple.  The reception was in my parent's back yard.  A huge dust storm hit about an hour before the reception started, making it impossible to do all of the last minute set up that needed to be done.  We weren't ready when the guests arrived, so that was a little stressful.  After the winds settled down, though, the weather was a little cooler, so that was nice.  The decorations and food were wonderful.  When all was said and done, it ended up being a great event.  

In a few weeks, we are having a big Allen family reunion.  This will include all of my Dad's siblings and their children and families.  The last time this group got together was during my mission ten years ago.  Somehow my cousin and I got delegated to be the co-chairs for this event.  It will take place in Berkeley California where my cousin manages a huge sorority house that will be empty for the summer and can accommodate the 84 guests that we are anticipating.   I am hard at work on all of the last minute plans.  (Jason and I also have plans to go see/meet Brandon and Demarae while we are there, so we are excited about that.)  Since I wanted to have some time to hang out with friends and family in Arizona, and I wanted to save money on a plane ticket, I decided to stay here for the weeks in between the wedding and the family reunion.  I will travel up to California with my Mom.   Jason (who wasn't able to get away from school to make it to the wedding) will meet me for the reunion.  It seemed like a good idea when I bought the tickets, but now I'm finding it pretty hard to be away from Jason.  We are having to go back to our "long distance relationship" roots, and I'd just rather have him with me.  I think Jason is enjoying the extra time that he has to play Diablo 3 online with his brothers, but I know that deep down in his heart, he is missing me, too. :)  He's also busy doing his calling, home teaching, and marking finals for the end of the school year grades.  In a few weeks, he will be done with school and we are looking forward to a nice relaxing summer.   We love all of you and hope you are all doing well.  

Mother's Day Gift to Me

This post is a little late, but I had to show the cute present that was created for me for Mother's Day.  One of my Beehives presented me with this cute homemade poster:

It says, "You are Special, " "We love you!" and "We're so lucky to have you."  The inside of the flowers had Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.  They didn't quite make it home from church, though. :)  I thought it was so creative and sweet.  She also gave me a card with a bunch of words that reminded her of me, like "Future Mother, Charitable, Kind, Genius, Arizona, Tolerant, Creative, Sun, Trustworthy, Angel, Smile, Happy, Optimistic, Laugh, Teacher, Thoughtful, Willing, BoyorGirl, Creative, Lucky..." 

I remember when I was a Beehive, I thought my leaders were SO awesome.  Honestly, when I first got this calling, I was really intimidated, because I felt like I wasn't awesome enough!  Immediately, though, I was filled with love for these wonderful girls.  I think it's the love that makes you awesome to them.     

Happy Mother's Day

First of all, I would just like to do a shout out to my Mom- the absolute best Mom that I could have ever had.  She always feels guilty at Mother's Day Sacrament Meeting.  She says that she hears all of the stories about wonderful things that other mothers did, and it makes her feel like she never measures up.  The thing is that there are millions of ways to be a good Mom.  She may not have done the one or two things mentioned in Sacrament, but she definitely did a half a million other amazing things.  And she definitely got all of the essentials.  We were well taken care of, loved and taught well.  When my Dad wasn't stepping up to his responsibilities, she took over both jobs, and she did great.  She is still my best friend, and I am so grateful for her.

Today seems like a good day to talk about my current (and most exciting) creation project ... I'm making a baby!  I'm due on September 8th.  This post might get kind of personal (this blog is my journal, too), so skip it if you're afraid of too much information.  

When Jason and I got married in July, we were hoping for a honeymoon baby.  We both wanted big families, and since we were starting in our early thirties, we didn't want to waste any time.  It didn't happen right away.  This turned out to be a HUGE blessing, because we had been married about two months when we learned that I could not get Canadian Health Care.  I wouldn't be able to get it until I had my Permanent Residence, which takes at least a year.  I wasn't even qualified to get on Jason's supplemental work insurance, because that insurance is "ADDED" to your Canadian Health Care... which I didn't have.  We started looking around for insurance companies. but since all Canadians already have insurance, the only option was travel insurance.  Most travel insurance companies laughed at me when I asked if they would cover maternity care.  We finally found one company that would cover 80% of maternity costs, but only if your due date was 11 months after the start date of your insurance plan.  (They wouldn't cover a "pre-existing" pregnancy.)  So we bought the insurance plan and tried to not get pregnant for a while.  This was a hard time, because I guess I was too vocal to my friends about my desire to have a honeymoon baby, and suddenly everyone wanted to know if I was pregnant yet.  Around this time, my cousin recommended a book to me that I would now recommend to any married woman.  It's called Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler.  It helps you chart your cycle so that you can determine when you are fertile.  (It's much more exact than the "rhythm" method.)  You can use this information to get pregnant, or not, depending on your goals.  So I started charting.  We tried again in December, and by then I was pretty sure about my timing.  But on January 1st, right before my period was due, I started having those familiar cramps.  A day or two later, I had an interview with President Komm, a member of the Temple Presidency at the Vancouver Temple.  I had been wanting to start volunteering at the temple.  I can't work in Canada, because my status is still just a "visitor" and I wanted to use my free time wisely.  He asked if I could give a two year commitment, and I told him that I wanted to, but that I was trying to get pregnant.  He assured me that that was a more important goal, and I could work at the temple without the two year promise.  Then he gave me a blessing to set me apart as a temple worker.  Almost his whole blessing was about how I would be a mother a Zion.  (Note: He jokingly now takes partial credit for my fertility.)  A few days later, I realized that my period still hadn't started, and my cramps weren't consistent.  They just came and went, which is unusual for me.  I looked it up online, and found that some pregnant women have cramps around the time that their fertilized egg is implanting.  So a few days later, when my period still hadn't started, I took a pregnancy test...

The pregnancy so far has definitely had some high points and some low points.  I'm almost five months along now.  I love feeling this little baby move inside of me.  Jason felt it for the first time this week which was a really neat experience.  My doctor has a little in office ultrasound machine, and I know I'm biased, but I've looked at lots of pictures of fetuses, and ours is definitely the cutest.

The major low point was the poorly named "morning" sickness.  Oh my goodness... my respect for the sacrifice of motherhood has increased by leaps and bounds.  My first trimester was TERRIBLE!  I was nauseous all day long.  Everything smelled terrible and made me feel awful. It was the worst at night.  I would either throw up multiple times, or I would cry because my stomach hurt so bad and I couldn't throw up.  I went to bed earlier and earlier in efforts to avoid the misery.  It really started to effect my attitude.  It's just hard to be happy when you've been sick for six straight weeks.  I'm feeling 100 times better now.  (Thank goodness.)  I'm still a much pickier eater than I've ever been before, and there's smells that I just can't handle.  But the improvements have been vast.  And now I'm FINALLY starting to show- hurray!

Yummy Crepes

Whoever came up with Saturday morning breakfast is a genius. 

Today, I used my favorite crepe recipe- courtesy of my good friend Lydia. Hopefully, she won't mind me sharing.

In a blender:

2 ¼ cups flour

1 ½ Tbs sugar

¾ tsp baking powder

3 cups milk

3 eggs

¾ tsp salt

¾ tsp vanilla

3 Tbs melted butter

Tentatively whip until blended, then blend 1 min., cook and serve.

They come out just like you would find at a European creperie.  For toppings, I cut up some strawberries, used the leftover Mock Devonshire Cream from the YW Tea Party, and spread on some Hazelnut/Vanilla spread.  (A Nutella-like brand my hubby found called Duo Penotti.)  It was dessert for breakfast at our house!

Picture Courtesy of www.closetcooking.com

When we were full, I used the Pinterest trick of putting the leftover batter in a cleaned out ketchup container.  It's in the freezer and ready for the next time we want a treat.