She's Here!!

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

Waiting on the World to Change

I am going crazy with the waiting. Had another NST and fluid check today. Joy is still quite happy firmly implanted in me. Very few contractions and plenty of movement. We'll see what my Dr says tomorrow.

Tonight Grace & I played with "elliot", her Lil'kinz. Webkinz World is totally fascinating! My mom has been updating her Multiply site. I had discovered another new soc-net site, CafeMom, a while back and explored it a little tonight. Today's Topic was about how you treat your kids when they are sick, which is quite timely since Grace has had a cold for a few days. I started feeling it today. I am wondering if Suzanne doesn't have the right idea! But this internet thing is a fun little time passer...

Nothing new to know now...

Still no Joy!

Went to the Dr again today- for fluid check and non-stress test (I feel like a car!) - she's active and has plenty of amniotic swimming room! Joy is positioned perfectly other than being up high and snug as a bug!

Grace woke up with the sniffles and a crackly little cough, but she was a brave trooper for the visit to OC- twice a week is taking it's toll on us! Last night we finished her first chapter book, a Disney Fairy book she got from her cousins for her birthday- Rani in the Mermaid Lagoon, and so she used the Barnes & Noble gift card that she got over a year ago (thank you Grandma Bernie!) to get another one, which she of course wants to start tonight!

She wants to do a theme study on Charlie and Lola; homeschoolshare has one with lapbook suggestions on I Will Not Ever Eat a Tomato, so I requested the book from the library- plus we'll also use the two we have- I've Won, No I've Won, No I've Won and I Really Must Color Now, a crafty and fun Charlie & Lola activity book I've been saving since I discovered it at a book fair last year. I hope to get going with it very soon after Joy is born so that we'll start establishing a good rhythm.

Yesterday we picked up a cute crib set- (Classic Pooh theme) from a friendly Freecycler whose son apparently never took to his crib! It is just what Joy's room needed to give it a sweet nursery feel. It has a bumper, headboard pad, ruffled skirt and an adorable wall hanging height chart- so it's perfect with the cute pink gingham sheet, a snuggly pink swaddler, all her clothes (hung smallest to largest, warmest to coolest) in the closet, the changing table fully converted back from it's bookcase status in Grace's room, shelves now stocked with onesies and jammies, sheets and blankets- oh yeah, I still need to get some diapers!!

Boy talk about baby on the brain...

Grace is 6 AND she lost a tooth!

Such busy-ness to report on (were I a reporter) in the lives of the intrepid Bellah family. We had a magical holiday filled with loving family visits, motherly moments of wonder and lots of yarn on my part! More on that later...

A hectic holiday, a burgeoning belly and constant clutter have kept me from the computer, but I am slowly regaining sanity and order. Grace's birthday week was filled with fun and capped off by a frivolous fairy party and (finally!) the loss of her first tooth last night- so yet another fairy visited our happy home...

I also update the VMC homepage for the month of January- we'll see when Joy decides to make her entrance and if I can actually participate in my own social blogging project!

Library Elf

I am really loving this wonderful online service that connects me to my local library with hold reminders and overdue notices. It keeps all your cards together (I always forget what Grace had on her card especially!)

Today I returned like 15 items, and when I got home there was a notice that I had one overdue item... I thought for sure it had a glitch, then looked in the DVD player and there was a disc! The case had fallen behind the TV and I didn't realize we still had one. So Library Elf saved the day with it's e-mail!

We are lucky enough to live within a large library system- I don't know how many libraries they have the ability to connect to- but if you use your public library as much as we do, you might like Library Elf.

http://www.libraryelf.com

Grace

Yesterday I had a Dr's appointment in OC and I went by myself- I also got to use a gift card I've had for almost a year to get some maternity jeans, and new shoes (crocs, again- but this time they are the Mary Jane style- and black so they'll go with anything!). After I stopped by my parents apartment and had a wonderful visit, including a walk through downtown San Clemente to my favorite deli in the whole wide world, Billy's. We enjoyed our sandwiches on the chilly patio and walked back to a warm cozy apartment, where with the flick of a switch a warm fire welcomed us!

When I got home and gave Grace the treats that her Papa sent for her she called to say thank you and ended up chatting for almost half an hour! She found a nice spot...


Or so she thought, as she laid across the stairs, Ford decided to jump over her and he's no little pup anymore, so one of his huge paws scraped her...


She proudly showed me the art lesson she had done with her Daddy. This first one shows her attempt at drawing Scooby Doo from memory on the top, then with a little help from Daddy on the bottom left and a third try by herself on the bottom right...



This one they did together..



And lastly she did this one all by herself...



She is now working on Shaggy...



Here is what Shawn used to teach her, his before and afters...



We are doing a lapbook on the Scooby Doo theme unit- I should have photos of it up in the next week or so...

Scooby Doo Unit

Grace has been really into Scooby Doo lately, so after she wanted to watch a third episode this morning I decided I better get cracking on a way to learn through the adorable Great Dane. So we started a lapbook. This is the first one I have created from scratch and I am going to put it together to post either on homeschool share or just here on my site for anyone else who is interested in the lovable gang.

It's almost finished!!