What Ana Does

With the world in a topsy-turvy place, here's a few puppy pictures to lighten your day. We fostered these two chocolate lab puppies for the last week. They went off to good homes over the weekend, and we kinda miss their snuggles and kisses (not their mess). They were founds in a cardboard box in a parking lot of a grocery store -- way to young to be away from their mama. We originally just went to volunteer with this organization last Sunday when this large group of 22 abandon dogs came up from Georgia, but they were short a foster family for these two. I'm not heartless, so of course I said YES. Polly and Pixie were spunky gals that even Bruce loved, and we hope they're doing well in their new homes.

With every new quilt I create, I focus on learning something new -- as well as continue working on all the other techniques that are hard and baffling. Quilting is hard, no doubt! Fish Quilt for Lon This week, I'm making a quilt for Dave's sweet cousin Sophie and her brand-new baby boy Lonnie. She said her nursery is under-the-sea themed, so I quickly found a fat quarter of fish and coordinating fabrics from my own collection -- and got down to work. I'm improving on the stitch-in-the-ditch quilting, a part I really enjoy the most. And the binding is getting better. But with this quilt I really tried to get the mitered corners correct. I ended up scoring 50% -- two corners came out perfectly. The other two I sewed to the blanket and had to redo. Seam-ripper to the rescue! I even had some leftover fabric to make a quick pennant to string over the crib. And I might get a little pillow out of it, too. Why not use up all that cute fishy fabric? The goal is to get th...

We're all excited to have our first nephew in the family! Baby Harper has his eyes open to the whole world this morning ... and is ready for a family of women to dote on him every single day. Lucky boy. 6th Time An Auntie, But First Nephew

I found this little gem on the blog we created for Leah when she was a toddler. Sometimes I can't believe I'm not her anymore. I can't believe Dave and I are not just building our family. Getting to know our little Leah. Waiting to meet this little baby. Leah on Her New Playset in our New Jersey Backyard. Alice is in the Photo (Under the Stripes), You Just Can't See Her Yet. This time went by in a blur of sleepless nights, tantrums, tickling, laughter, dancing, chasing, zerberts, worry and tears. What would I tell her if I could get a message back in time? A Few Minutes Later ... Snotsville!

Odd fact of the day .... The French government pays for a mother’s tummy tuck after the birth of her third child (you do have to have at least 3 babies to qualify). Found on this blog about raising kids in Southern France. Yes, I'm day-dreaming again. Related posts: All the fancy quotes My love of France runs deep, people

Me and My New Nephew Here's my dream job : I set up a desk in the maternity wing of a hospital and assist new parents with naming their babies. In this position, I'd inject more variety in the names and clean up the odd spelling choices people make (and, I have to assume, later regret).   Not that the "popular" names are bad. Olivia, Sophia, Emma/Emily and Lily are lovely names! And Braden, Aiden, Jayden are also beautiful for boys. But as a the bearer of the most popular name in my generation, sharing your name with three girls in your class stinks. So, while, yes, I love pretty names -- being a Jessica A, Jessica R, or Jessica C. is not awesome.   And why am I qualified for this job? I love names. I collect names like a hobby. New names are rolled around on my tongue, tested for possible playground variations and inherent characteristics. Then, I mentally collect a list of favorite names that change completely every few months -- just in case. Here...

Since early winter, we've noticed that Alice's legs just seem to be getting a lot longer. So in January, I started keeping track on the wall in the laundry room. Here are the results: that's about an inch taller in less than two months! From now on I'll chalk her meltdowns and frequent snacking to growing pains.

I remember this day all too well with Alice. You're excited. You're nervous. You wish things would go quicker so you can stop being pregnant! Then you enter the delivery room, see the shiny instruments laid out like a horror movie and you want to flee. Fast. Now. But the need to NOT be pregnant anymore outweighs thoughts of flight. And you just want to meet this little girl you've been dreaming about for what feels like years. You'll get to hold her. Soon. Good luck Albertons! We're excited to meet the new addition to our family.  Soon To Be Four! And here she is: Adriana was born at 12:44. 7bs, 11oz.