It's Autumn Time!

It's autumn time, it's autumn time, the leaves are falling down...

Do you know that Primary song?

I love Autumn! It is my favorite time of year. I love the crisp air, the colors, the smells, the cute sweaters and jackets, oh just about everything that comes with Fall.

I must say that I am loving Autumn in Seattle. It has been gorgeous!! The air is fresh and crisp but not too cold, so the leaves are all staying on the trees and looking fabulous.

Here are some things that we have been doing to celebrate Autumn:

Going on pony rides (It was fun while it lasted, but Lainy threw-up a few minutes afterward...I guess it didn't agree with her.)

Enjoying gorgeous views from our balconyGoing on walks
Collecting leaves and making leaf rubbings
Eating candy corn and drinking apple cider (but not together...gross)

Getting ready for Halloween! (We made this collage to hang on our fridge.)

In other news, I'm now in my third trimester of pregnancy! And boy am I feeling it. Maybe I have a skewed memory of being pregnant with Lainy, but I don't remember feeling this uncomfortable and achy until I was closer to my due date with her. Still, I only have a few weeks left! Hooray!

Stay tuned for Halloween updates and a visit from my parents (who are coming Thursday)!

All Is Well

Last night as Brad and I were getting ready for bed, I looked in the mirror and suddenly announced: "My eyes look better! More vibrant and alive!"

Brad looked me over with his weary eyes (from hours of studying and test-taking) and said, "Yes, sweetheart. You look very vibrant", then planted a kiss on my forehead.

So, I am happy to report that, judging by my new vibrant eyes, I am free and clear of the sickness.It was a crazy week. I'm glad it's over.

Here are some high (or low) lights, if you will:
1. Wearing a face mask the whole time we were at my doctor's office on Thursday. In fact, anyone who came in contact with me (doctors, nurses, etc.) had to wear a face mask and gloves, and we weren't allowed to leave one small exam room our entire stay.
2. Being tested for Swine Flu via a nose swab which was administered by my doctor in full sanitary get-up (face shield, gown, gloves, etc.)
3. Leaving the doctor's office with anti-viral medication to beat the Swine Flu that we weren't even sure I had, but feeling good about it just the same.
4. Taking anti-viral medicine, which was almost worse than being sick in the first place. Let's just say that I actually threw-up (a few times) for the first time while I've been pregnant.
5. Having my sweet and very patient little daughter come and "check" my ears with the ear thermometer a few times a day
6. Having a very thoughtful husband come home from a long day of school and, instead of start studying for his midterms, tell me to go rest while he entertained our daughter and made a delicious dinner.
7. Hearing from family and friends every day to check up on me and wish me well.

All in all it was definitely a memorable week. I kept thinking, "What a crazy world this little baby is coming into!" A world of flu epidemics and scary health concerns among other things. Hopefully we can all keep healthy and safe from now on!

Meanwhile, all is well in the Hansen home.

P.S. Thank you for your sweet comments and well wishes
P.P.S. We still haven't heard if I actually had swine flu...the test results have been slow coming back. However, Brad did enjoy calling me "Swiney", and I enjoyed making pig faces back at him whenever he did.

sick...and tired

i'm sick

it's not fun

Lainy has watched about 9 Disney movies in five days while I've laid on the couch...do you think that's bad?

every few minutes Lainy comes up to me and says: "Mommy still sick?"
"yes" I say
"Oh," she says, "Darnitt. Poor Momma."

i agree with her

i'm thinking about wearing a mask so I don't get her sick too...

tomorrow we go to the doctor to make sure it isn't swine flu...scary

i don't think it's swine flu

i think i'm just sick...and tired

darnitt. poor momma. and poor lainy and poor brad.

hopefully it passes soon

meanwhile, we're watching Fox and the Hound

T-Shirt Quilt

I made a t-shirt quilt. (Notice the lack of enthusiasm.) It looks pretty awful. (I'm not just saying that either.) However, it did teach me a few important lessons.

1. It probably wasn't smart to try to make a huge, queen-sized quilt as my very first solo quilting project.
2. It's really hard to get stretchy t-shirt fabric into nice straight squares.
3. It's important to check your bobbin thread frequently, or you might run 80 inches of fabric through your sewing machine before you realize the bobbin thread ran out after about 2 inches.
4. I might never be one of those amazing women (like my Mom and Grandma's) who seem to effortlessly create wonderful and beautiful things.
5. I like small, simple projects that I can whip-out in an afternoon (not big, complicated ones that sit and stare at me for weeks).
6. It takes 47 minutes to unpick 80 inches of fabric after you've sewed a row on backwards.
7. Sewing machine's are wonderful, but really annoying at times.
8. A quilt can make you cry and laugh hysterically all at the same time when you try to explain to your husband why it looks the way it does.
9. Quilts are still very useful, even if the rows aren't straight and the mitered corners are not exactly "mitered".

Who knew a quilt could teach me so much?!

Here's a picture (but don't look too closely please!)