Change is good....right?

First big change: My parents are going on a mission. They opened their call last week.  They are going to London, baby!

Love my mom's eyes in this one.

This is where I hoped they would go so I can go visit them and fulfill one of my life dreams of going to England. They'll be area family history consultants or something like that. I can't imagine a more perfect mission for my dad, except maybe doing the exact same thing in Scotland.  They go to the MTC February 3rd which just happens to be 10 days before I'm due.  My mom is relieved they aren't going foreign speaking and my dad is relieved the average high in the summer is like 72 degrees.

I've probably been their most vocal nag supporter for the last few years but now that it's really happening, I'm second-guessing my enthusiasm. But I'm really excited for them to go to England and I'm excited for my sister and her family to move from AZ to house-sit while they're gone. I just don't like not having my parents around. And what happens when I run out of strawberry jam?!

Second thing: Finishing off part of the basement.  One more kid coming and I think I need more room. We are finishing off a bedroom and the laundry/storage room. Sarah seems excited to have a new room but cross your fingers that she still thinks it's a good thing when she actually moves downstairs. She does not like change (She cried and whined for two days after I cleaned out and reorganized her dresser). I'm hoping these two rooms will be done in January and the family room done sometime in Spring (please, dear husband?)

This is going to be built-in shelves. Sarah's room is to the left, laundry room to the right. I'm standing in the future family room.

Sarah's room.

Sarah's closet.

 Laundry room. Imagine lots of shelves. It's going to make the rest of my house so much more organized.

And that's just 2 weekends of progress thanks to Justin, his dad, and brothers. 

Third thing: The reality that another kid is coming is starting to sink in. Maybe it's the feet in the ribs. Maybe it's that I can't see my toes or sleep on my back or stomach. Whatever it is, it's creating a well of anxiety that I cope with by sewing. A lot. I was previously coping with my baby anxiety by buying clothes she doesn't really need because man, girl clothes are cute. Here's some blankets I've made over the past month.

This is a patchwork quilt I made. I started it right after I found out it's a girl. It took forever but I liked doing it. I feel like I'm channeling the talents of my grandmothers.

This is a quilt top I bought last year because it was so stinkin' cute and was hoping I'd have another girl to make it for. My mom and I hand quilted it then I finished off the binding.

And this is a receiving blanket I made. I like them bigger than the store sells so I decided to buy flannel and make my own. I've made 3 others so I think I should be good.

I'm also making a car seat canopy and comfy strap covers. And then some curtains for Sarah's room. Whew! I've got to get all my sewing out of my system because that is one of the hardest things to do once I've got a baby.

And because I can't post anything without a picture of my kids. Here they are riding their bikes as promised after taking their fall pictures. My husband is hot. And nice. So win-win for me. (Is that what win-win means?)

This is Halloween

Well this first picture is the day before. I love having a little boy. Who else would put monster trucks in my ice dispenser?

I also love having a little girl but she is a tornado. I told her to clean up this mess she made while I was sewing. Can you see her cleaning?

That's because she laid down and went to sleep to avoid cleaning. Little pill.

We started Halloween morning off by driving to Mapleton Elementary to see my nephew in the costume parade. I sang "This is Halloween" all the way there. My kids don't know the song and frankly, I only know that line but I sang it because it's the only Halloween song I know.

Here are my kiddos avoiding getting into the car.  "To infinity, and beyond!" yells Henry.

My super hero also picked me a bouquet of leaves. He loves his mama. And Mapleton Elementary smells the same as it did 20 years ago, just in case you were wondering.

After lunch, Sarah painted her pumpkin.

Henry threw his around the kitchen then climbed on her chair to see what she was up to then he took a nap.

After some skilled negotiation (I swear I could sweet talk a man off a ledge using the skills I have developed as a mom) I got my kids into their costumes. Henry was a piece of cake after he got his shorts on over his pants. Sarah boo-hooed about everything not being right.  Fortunately by the time we got outside, armed with their candy buckets, she forgot about how her skirt was too puffy, and her tights were too tight, and her hat wouldn't stay on when she ran, and her hair wasn't in two braids and on and on. Waa waa waa.

 Henry didn't get what we were doing at first but he caught on fast.  

We hit up nearly every house in our neighborhood. When the kids couldn't carry their own buckets because they were too heavy, we called it a night.

The kids watched Charlie Brown when we got home and ate a ridiculous amount of candy.You'd think those purple tights would be the first thing to come off considering she was near tears putting them on, but no, that would make sense.

Halloween done. It's not my favorite holiday so I'm kind of relieved. All four decorations I put up were put away the next morning.