blah blah blog

Hilsen Fra Danmark!

2012-01-02T12:36:00.004-06:00

Greetings from Denmark!

The darling doily is a Christmas gift from my

Aunt Judy. It is a replica of one that my

great-grandmother Fonnesbeck made. It fits

perfectly with my Danish vignette...

Thanks Aunt Judy!

Christmas warmth

2011-12-28T20:38:00.003-06:00

Here are some photos of the new warmies I got for Christmas!

The hoodie is the trade in for the watch from Karen

The wool coat is from Scott

I made the scarf with yarn and loom from Nancy

Thanks to all... I love it!

Santa's Little Elves

2011-05-17T10:08:00.004-05:00

Scott, Manni, and I have been busy the last few days....

We harvested parts from a junky old train set we got for $1

at a garage sale and created darling little wood trains

that go with his wood track. Now I can throw that other

track away!

Cows milk

2011-02-13T17:34:00.002-06:00

Soren had his first taste of cows milk today because I was busy throwing-up. Stupid food poisoning!

Pancakes

2011-02-08T20:01:00.002-06:00

I was introduced to a new recipe this past fall and I have used it so many times I decided I needed to share it. This recipe starts with whole wheat grain so it is really good for you since the fresh ground wheat hasn't had most of its' nutrition degraded by sitting around on the shelf.

Blender Wheat Pancakes

(from my friend Tawnya)

In blender add:

1 c whole wheat grain

1 c milk

Blend on high for 5 minutes.

Add:

2 eggs

2 t baking powder

2T sugar OR honey

1/2t salt

2T oil

Blend until all mixed together and then cook like a regular pancake.

Okay, now go try it! What else are you going to do with all that wheat? :)

officially a non-hippie

2011-02-02T10:22:00.003-06:00

To all those out there who have accused me of being a hippie over the years I have officially proved myself otherwise. If you'll notice below my "peace sign" patch is a little off. I changed the mercedes logo into a peace sign this morning! Thank you craigslist...without your bookmark bar logo I never would have realized that i had done it wrong :)

Snow Day

2011-02-01T15:54:00.005-06:00

No work today due to snow in Lubbock so I

decided to catch up on some mending. Here

are Manni's new patches. I did all the stiching

freehand on the machine. They turned out

so cute and old school.

Soren turns 1

2011-01-20T20:33:00.003-06:00

The 1 year old not so chunky monkey!

(from off the charts to 97th to 95th and

now only the 78th percentile)

Our little baby boy moments before taking his 1st steps!

He is a full fledged walker now...we spent tonight playing

red light green light (Soren kept winning!)

Albuquerque 2011

2011-01-20T20:21:00.006-06:00

We spent New Year's weekend in Albuquerque.

We went to the children's museum, rode the tram,

snowboarded at Sandia Peak, and just played in the snow.

It was very fun, we'll go back for sure!

Manni and Daddy working the circuit board at Explora.

Taking the tram up to Sandia peak (kids ride free!)

Soren seconds before crying to be picked up.

The blob I'm holding is Soren...

Remind anyone but me of "A Christmas Story"?

Thanksgiving 2010

2011-01-20T20:13:00.002-06:00

Here is a shot from the family pics we got last Thanksgiving.

Earth Day 2010

2010-04-23T17:16:00.000-05:00

We went to Walmart today and after putting away all the

groceries there was a huge pile of plastic sacks covering

the entire kitchen. So I decided Manni and I needed to

do a little Earth Day project. . . .

I had all of these cute mini T-shirts (from college) in the

Goodwill pile that I can't wear anymore after losing my

flat tummy and finding countless stretch marks.

(Thank you Manni & Soren)

So, we sewed my shirts into reusable shopping bags. Just

sew your T-shirt closed along the bottom edge and then

cut the sleeves off and widen the neck hole. You don't

have to sew the raw edges on the T-shirts if it is the type

of knit that rolls when you stretch it. I actually let Manni

(3 years old) help me sew the bottom closed. He was

ecstatic about learning to use the sewing machine.

This is a way better use of my cute T-shirts than sending

them off to the Goodwill. Now I get to use them forever!

Manni boy

2010-04-23T17:07:00.000-05:00

Peanut and Mannix have been dying to play together but

can't while she is in recover from her 2nd surgery to

repair her blown ACL. Just a few more weeks and they

will be able to wrestle again.

Manni loves bugs. Unfortunately most

of the ones he "plays" with end up accidentally squished

or drowned in the kiddie pool etc.

Sobe at 3 months

2010-04-23T17:01:00.000-05:00

Here's our fat little Sobe at 3months

This photo is to show my Dad that Mannix is in fact

larger than Soren!

(Okay maybe not around the middle though)

Back in business (the sewing kind)

2010-04-15T12:44:00.000-05:00

Hooray! I got my sewing machine back today! I found a smaller sewing machine shop on google and went to rescue my machine from the 100 machine backup at Rachel's.

For all you Lubbock sewing people, take your machines to Darlene's Sewing Etc.

http://www.lubbocksewingmachines.com/

They had my machine fixed overnight with great service at a fraction of the cost of Rachel's.

I am extremely satisfied!

Spring flowers

2010-04-12T13:38:00.000-05:00

We don't have much grass but the weeds growing in our

yard are quite pretty! Manni picks me a bouquet every

time we go out to play.

How I turned a bag destined for the Goodwill into a diaper stash

2010-04-12T13:09:00.000-05:00

The only thing I ever talk about anymore is diapers. . .

I've been on a mission to start cloth diapering Sorbaby.

To save resources have decided to sew my own diaper

stash. I have been using several designs and have mostly

gotten my ideas from http://diapersewing.com/and

http://fernandfaerie.com/frugaldiapering.html but the

design below was Scott's idea.

Cut a 15x32 in rectangle from an old receiving blanket

Sew a 4x15 in terry cloth rectangle to the edge

Fold so the terry cloth is in the center 1/3 of the diaper

and sew along center edges of terry cloth strip to secure.

Zigzag open edges of diaper and your finished!

So easy and no cost involved if you reuse old materials.

Waterproof cover made from an old Gortex

coat and polyester soccer jersey.

For this cover I modified the Ultrex/PUL pattern from

http://diapersewing.com/to fit my baby.

Okay so here is the bad part of my mission:

The gortex had lost some of it's waterproof ability since it is

so old (bought in 1995 and worn a ton between Alaska,

Snowbird, and Mt. Hood). So I can't really use this cover. :(

I was going to buy some new PUL and repeat this pattern

but then my sewing machine broke so I can't. :(

I decided to just buy some ready made covers from

bummis and proraps so I can start cloth diapering now

instead of waiting for my machine to get fixed (2-3 weeks)

What will I do without my sewing machine if it is too expensive

to fix? This is one of the few machines that Scott can't/won't

work on. BUMMER!

Matching Boys

2010-04-12T12:52:00.000-05:00

Thanks Tia Mayra!

The matching outfits are darling!

The boys playing in the new car that I scooped up as a

garage sale bargain. (Don't worry I didn't let Mannix

actually drive while Soren was in the car.)

Luckily Scott was standing right there as a backup

because Manni got tired of holding Soren while I was taking

the picture and just let go!

The boys all ready for church

We have a giggler

2010-04-12T12:38:00.000-05:00

Sorbaby at 3 months

Sorbaby has been giving us some darling giggles lately.

Mama and Manni getting some giggles during bathtime

On a serious note. . .

Have you noticed what a chunky monkey Sorbaby is?

Check out the double chin and cheeks.

Blessing photos

2010-03-21T22:47:00.000-05:00

Thanks for coming everybody! We loved the visit and

miss having you here (Manni is especially missing all of

the attention from his Aunts, Uncles and Grandparents.

Lemon Pies

2010-03-21T22:32:00.000-05:00

This is a picture of the lemon merangue pie I made Scott

for his birthday. He made me one for my birthday and it

was so runny and gross that we threw it out. Then he

tried again but used orange instead of lemon juice. . . that

was even worse than super runny! So I conferred with

Aunt Judy on the recipe and then tried my (expert) hand

at it and it turned out delicious!

We made a strange new pie last night. . . I forgot to take

a picture before we ate it though. It was a lemon curd

cheese cake with chocolate grahm crust. Sounds pretty

strange but it just tasted really lemony and creamy. I

may repeat but not with a regualr grahm crust.

I just threw this pic in since he is so cute!

At home studio pics

2010-03-18T14:39:00.000-05:00

Scott and I made an attempt to get studio lighting pics at home. . .

we have this swanky camera that we never use to it's full potential

so we decided to try some of the features besides auto. We set up a

shop spot light with a white sheet in front of it and a blue sheet

from Manni's bed as the back drop. The results were darling

but very yellow from the spot light. Dad taught me some cool

photoshop tricks and I got some pretty cute results albeit

a little yellow still. . . pretty good first attempt!

The kids and their Nanny

Soren 8 weeks old

My boys

2010-01-27T13:49:00.000-06:00

It is so crazy having two little boys! The strangest thing

is looking at Soren and then having Manni walk up with his

large toddler head and body. Soren looks exactly like Mannix

did as a baby so it is really freaky to see the small and large

version at the same time.

Here I am with my boys and my beautiful flowers from

my midwife Christine. She brought them to me before I

went into labor so I could have them during the birth as

a visualization tool. They were so pretty!

Manni and I made a mobile for Soren. It was a fun project

and they both seem to enjoy it equally!

1 week after Soren was born we realized that Manni hadn't

had a bath since before he was born. OOPS! I guess the

neglect starts immediately. So we got both of our dirty

little boys clean at the same time!

He finally arrived!

2010-01-27T12:39:00.000-06:00

After walking countless miles in Walmart, Homedepot,

and Target I finally went into labor 5 days over due on

Jan. 18th at 1am. Hooray!

Scott got up at 4am to set up the birth room

12 hours later we had our baby Soren Lee. I am so glad
that we opted for the home birth so I could relax in the
birth pool through many of those long hours. The water
made the labor a lot more manageable. He was a very big
boy and wanted to start nursing as soon as Scott cut the
umbilical cord.

Soren Lee Fernandez
This little boy was HUGE!
Born at 4:38 pm Jan 18th 2010
8 lbs 14.5 oz, 20in
(the five extra days really helped fatten him up!)

We went to pick up Mannix from our friend Diane's house
and took Soren along for the ride. This is Manni's first
look at his little brother. He was so excited to have his
little brother but mostly he just wanted to go home to
get his brand new train set!

Manni did great at Diane's
house and only cried once. Diane thought he was feeling
lonely but he had actually just accidentally spilled yogurt
on the carpet and was feeling terrible for making a mess!
Diane sent us home with birthday gifts me and Soren
and dinner too. What a great friend! Thanks Diane!

As soon as we got home we started getting out trains.
Mannix was VERY happy. That was a LONG wait for
a 3 year old.

Later I was relaxing with Soren in the recliner and Mannix
came over to check out what we were doing. I asked Manni
if he wanted to hold Soren and he ran off saying "Just a
minute." When he came back he had a favorite Thomas book
that he wanted to read to Soren. I think this will work out
great between the brothers.

This is Christine our midwife getting
Soren's footprints on his birth certificate.

Scott was so amazing through the entire labor and delivery.
He didn't leave my side except once to take the dog outside.
(those were hard contractions without him)
After it was all said and done he needed as much R&R as I
did. I think it is stressful watching your wife labor hour after
hour. Here he is admiring our new little boy.

When are you going to be here Soren?

2010-01-15T21:04:00.000-06:00

My Estimated due date was Jan 13th and still no baby yet.

This is me at 40 weeks + 2days.

I've had tons of contractions for a week or more

but they all eventually fizzle out.

When is this baby going to finally come out?

I've been trying to keep busy while waiting for baby.

At 38 weeks pregnant I started this baby quilt for Soren.

I was worried that I wasn't going to

finish it before the baby came. . .

little did I know that I had PLENTY of time to finish it!

My second project was to finish a patchwork quilt that

I've been holding onto for over a decade.

Nana hand pieced the front together and then I

machine quilted it to a yellow checked sheet.

It turned out darling! It's my new favorite blanket

and so soft with the sheet backing.

Scott drew this mural on Manni's cupboard before he was born

and it sat halfway finished for the last 3 years.

It's amazing what waiting for a new baby and a Christmas break

from college can motivate people to finish up!

When Soren is born we are going to give Manni a

wooden train set. He is completely wild for trains

and can't wait to get his hands on his very own train set.

(I'm hoping this will provide me with tons of great

breatfeeding time). We decided that a train table

would be smart so the baby doesn't mess with his train

or block projects. Scott and Mannix built this together

while I was working on Nana's quilt.

It only took me a year and a half to update this blog!

2009-11-15T21:17:00.000-06:00

2 months til baby

What a difference 3 months makes. The top photo was taken in August at 4 months pregnant and the lower photo just a few days ago at 7 months.

Homemade Chalkboard

We painted a huge 4x8 foot plywood board that we had laying around our garage with chalkboard paint the other day. It was a fun project and we love having a huge chalkboard! It is totally messy but Mannix loves to draw. Pictured above is a self portrait with the letter A on the side.

Fernandez Halloween Carnival 2009

We made our own Halloween carnival this year since I was too paranoid about H1N1 while I'm pregnant to go to our ward party. It turned out so fun though! The three of us worked on getting the party ready all day long. We were all completely exhaused by the end of the day! We made all of our games from scratch including a bean bag toss, ring toss, duck pond, fishing pond, and skeeball. We had corndogs and fries for dinner and made fall shaped sugar cookies to decorate for dessert. It was about as authentic a carnival as you could get at home! It was probably more up to Mannix's speed than the ward party too since he didn't have to compete with the big kids.

Bean Bag Toss

Decorating cookies

We did go trick-or-treating this year though despite my pregnancy induced neurosis over H1N1. I recycled the costume I made last Halloween since it still fit and Manni is totally into Woody the cowboy from ToyStory. But we forgot to take a picture so I am including the photos from last Halloween to showcase my costume making skills! The great news is that I got the H1N1 vaccine so I'm a normal person again, except I'm still pregnant. . . What will I choose next to obsess over?

Mama's boy

2008-05-08T14:07:00.001-05:00

Manni brought a pair of my sock to me and
wanted to put them on. Then he walked around
in them for the rest of the afternoon. It was
funny. He loves his socks and shoes and mama's
socks and shoes.

What can I say. . . I'm a sucker for kisses.

There's mama's big boy. Notice the muscles in his arms.
What a big boy.

Time flies. . . I can't believe I have a 16 month old boy!

Firsts

2008-05-08T13:55:00.001-05:00

I bought Manni a shovel and pail kit from Walmart. This
was his first time playing with them. The boys had a great
time digging in the dirt and loading up the truck with grass
and dirt.

This is Manni's first popcicle (other than
breast milk popcicles). He was/is getting his
canine teeth so I froze some juice to help
sooth his gums. Too bad I'm not still breast
feeeding or it would have been a milk-cicle.

I made some chocolate pudding and let Manni try some.. .
another first. Then I let him dig in while I worked on the
dishes. When I finished the dishes this is what I found!

(The date on this pic is actually April 2008.)
Strawberries haven't been in season since Manni has been
over 1 year and able to add them to his diet. I was so
excited to let him try strawberries. He really liked them
this first time but when I've tried to give them to him since
he just pushes them out of his mouth with his tounge.
He is more of a grape/banana boy I guess.

Caged animals

2008-05-08T13:51:00.000-05:00

What can I say. . . the boy loves getting in the animal cage.

Sorry about the sleeping bag Dad.

Easter

2008-05-08T13:44:00.000-05:00

We did an easter egg hunt at the park with the play group.
Mannix was so excited to find an egg!

After he picked it up and opened it to find toys and candy
he didn't want to find more. He just wanted to play with
his egg. We eventually did start hunting for more though.

Easter morning we did a hunt again in our living room and
Manni knew what he was doing that time. He ran around
to all the eggs and put them into the basket. We even let
him eat some of the candy inside! He REALLY likes candy.
I had to hide the eggs so he wasn't constantly crying for more!

The Bathroom project

2008-05-08T13:32:00.000-05:00

Our first major project on our new house is
the Master bathroom. We are going to
completely gut it and start over. (the cupboards
are going to be taken out to widen the shower)

This shower had been leaking for years and
was in dire need of repair when we bought
the house.

That is me in the guest bathroom looking into
the master bathroom shower. Scott did a great
job with the demo while Manni and I were safe
and clean at our rental house

Scott and I framed the new wall and I put up
the cement board.

We installed the new drain and then poured
a new cement floor with the proper grade for
drainage.

I wish I could put finished project pics here now. . .
unfortunately we had to move into this house from
our rental and the move totally halted our
bathroom project.

More to come. . . .(hopefully soon!)

Growing boy

2008-03-04T12:37:00.000-06:00

My little boy is getting so much bigger! He is giving full-fledged
kisses now. . . it is very sweet.

He is really into balls now. He is getting the hang on throwing
which is great since he can throw the ball for Peanut. I just
give him a ball and then the two of them are on auto-pilot.

This is Manni's first bath not in the baby tub. He was totally ready
for it and he had soooo much fun splashing with Daddy.

This is the terrible rash Manni got from teething that
sent us on the food allergy goose chase for an entire month.
I am so glad I don't have to force him to drink soy milk
any more.

This is my favorite outfit.
He is such a toddler running around now.

Sewing projects

2008-03-04T12:33:00.001-06:00

I spent an entire month putting this stocking together.
It turned out darling but it took SOOOOO much work!
I'm realizing now why you ususally only get an elaborate
stocking from grandma and not from mom.

My new apron. This was a one hour project!

I was in desperate need of an apron. Now I feel like

a real homemaker. :)

B-day for Mom and Dad

2008-03-04T12:29:00.001-06:00

I'm 30 now!! Crazy.

Scott's 31st birthday treat. . . chocolate decadence. Manni loved it!

Manni's birthday part 2

2008-03-04T12:24:00.001-06:00

The spread for Manni's birthday party at Scott's Grandma's.

What a pretty pinata!

Mannis getting ready to whack his pinata.

Candy!!

Manni's 1st birthday

2008-03-04T12:17:00.001-06:00

For Manni's 1st birthday he got lots of great presents:
books, balls, ten men in a jug, and a big Tonka truck!

I made him a super yummy carrot cake!

He loved his first taste of cake. . . what a mess!

The road to Lubbock

2007-11-13T11:59:00.000-06:00

Before leaving Oregon we had to do all of our favorite things:

We went to the woods.

We took Manni and Peanut to the beach

We toasted hotdogs as the sunset on Cannon Beach.

We got serenaded by Granddad.

Then we had to say goodbye to our friends. Manni will miss

his best friend Clark!

In Utah we visited Scott's Aunt Mana. She made us lots

of yummy food!

My nephew Sam helped us take Peanut for a walk.

We went to Lundstrom park with my sis.

Hanging out with those silly Teuschers.

We visted our friends Deane and AnnMarie and Manni got

to play with Kayla.

Manni getting fresh with Kayla

We stopped to see Elaine and talked about family history.

We went for a picnic in Provo with Nancy, Judy, Heidi,

and Marilyn

The Guthries all got up EARLY to say goodbye when

we left for Lubbock

Manni did great on the LONG 27 hour drive to Lubbock.

We made it to the KOA in Lubbock and had some much needed

relaxation. We took Manni swimming for the first time at the

KOA. He had such a great time!

The kids playing together at the KOA Kampin Kabin.

Playing with the fun instruments Karen gave us at the KOA.
Hooray we are glad that we made it safe and sound!

Living in Lubbock

2007-11-12T18:13:00.000-06:00

We are officially Texans now! We have been in Lubbock for

just over a month. Scott has a great job as a mechanic and

Manni and I are busy at home learning and playing.

What a cute little giggling boy.

Manni loves Peanut!

Manni and Mommy on his 10 month birthday!

Peanut and Kiki favorite place to hang out is Manni's room.

Daddy and Manni are buddies. He is always so happy when

Scott comes home from work.

Manni is a great eater! He loves his veggies. . .especially broccoli!

The bonk on his forehead is from the coffee table.

Learning to walk is SO dangerous!

We got this fun standing up toy to encourage him to play

standing up. It really worked. . . now when he is playing

he prefers to stand while he is investigating his toys.

Manni and Peanut waiting for Daddy to come home.

Manni is helping Mommy do the dishes!

This is the display for my handmade cards and scrapbooks

that I am going to sell at the local flea market.

I'm a Master

2007-06-14T01:21:00.001-05:00

I am a stay-at-home mom now! I have been playing with
Manni, keeping up on housework, walking the dog, and I
finished planting my vegetable garden. . . . and I've only
been home 3 days!

My congratulatory flowers from Brenda, Ashleigh, and Kathy.
How sweet. . . I love flowers. My official last day at work was
June 8th. I just have to get my thesis bound and then I am
totally done with school (hopefully forever!)

I turned in my thesis on Memorial Day and we went to the
woods to celebrate. We took tinfoil dinners and smores. It
was much needed relaxation.

My boy kept me smiling while I was working on my thesis.
Hard to concentrate on c-Myc transcription when he is
soooo cute!

My work station in front of my laptop. I was a permanent
fixture at that spot for about two weeks straight.

Daddy and Bubba got a little worn out while I was working
on my thesis day and night.

Spring update

2007-06-14T00:53:00.001-05:00

My Mothers Day lemon meringue pie with double meringue
since Scott doesn't like it! Also, I am wearing my Mothers Day
present that we got at Saturday's Market - the amber necklace.

Mothers Day! Coming home from the Saturday Market. . .
View of the Portland Convention Center across the Wilamette.

Singing to my boy. His favorite. . . .The baby trees.

Cute! Daddy and Manni relaxing on the couch.

Giddyup Cowbody. Yeehaw! Manni loves Peanut. Scott
and I can get him to laugh but Peanut can get those good
belly laughs out of him. Sometimes he screams with joy!

Manni's first tooth. . . hard to see but it is the faint white

spot on the bottom. Ouch for mommy!

My current favorite outfit. Nancy suggested it was

cute for halloween. We think it's great for everyday!

Manni's blessing outfit. I love the little blue blazer.

What a cute little man!

(He was blessed 4/15/07 in San Angelo, TX)

We will miss you bud!

2007-05-25T14:22:00.000-05:00

Our first pet Bud died today.
He was a good lizard and we loved him even though he despised us. We will remember him as kinsington, buddykins, and the mieser.

March 1st update (Manni around 2.5 months)

2007-03-01T14:06:00.000-06:00

Daddy and Bubba

Peanut is getting bored now that we are so busy with Manni. I have been good about getting the stroller out for walks a lot though.

Manni is turning out to be a little thumb sucker.
You can tell that the boy has been a good nurser by looking at his fat body!

I I love that goofy look on his face. This is my favorite nighty but he is too big for it now. What a big boy!

He is so cute when he smiles

I can't tell if this is a a half laugh or crying face. Cute blanket from Judy.

My sweet boy boy.

Pretty cute family. I still have some baby weight to lose!

The 2007 Portland snow storm. We got to put Manni in his ski outfut even though it was a littlr big. Peanut loved playing in the snow. I wonder if she remembers Utah?

Manni's first bottle. I'm sure glad I got that nice breast pump. It has made going back to work manageable.