wow!

Time flies! Apparently it has been about 6 weeks since my last update. Sorry!

Paul is fantastic. At his last visit he gained 5 pounds. He is the main chef around here now. He got an early Father's Day present and is using it to cook most of our dinners. He aspires to be a barbeque chef like Bobby Flay. :P As I speak he is outside working on more projects - currently a small enclosure attached to my glass studio to house the oxygen and propane tanks. But in the last week alone he has cut down a pretty big tree in the backyard, mowed the lawn twice, made several trips to Lowe's, and many other various things. And the last we heard... Staring in June we will only have to go to Boston once a month for Paul's checkups!

Alayna is starting to talk so much more. Her vocabulary seems like it is doubling all the time. Her favorite activites are digging in the dirt outside, coloring with sidewalk chalk, and going over to her cousin Eden's house to play. Very soon she will have 2 more cousins to play with. My parents will be here in about 3 weeks and will be bringing Thomas and Alissa along for the visit. We are all looking forward to that.





And I am finally getting the chance to just relax. I had been going like crazy preparing for my show in the Mont Vernon Spring Gala. The Mont Vernon Artisans hold a sale during that day every year and I was glad to be a part of it. Luckily, I was the top seller that day! I sold several of my wristlet keychains and 8 dolls! Yay! Here is a picture of my setup.

Alayna is down for her nap and when she wakes we plan on going to the Amherst Farmer's Market to score some produce for our dinner tonight! It is a beautiful, balmy 90 degrees here! Love it. Take care everyone!

Where to start...

Apparently it has been quite awhile since I have checked in on our blog and let you all know how we are doing.
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Paul is doing so great. His energy is returning more and more each day and there have been almost no issues to speak of. His appetite is really good too. At his last visit he was told he would be getting his central line (Hickman) removed during his next visit. He will have some anesthesia as his line is grafted in his body now. Just one more step on the road to recovery!

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Alayna is doing good and keeping busy with her activites. She loves the warm days that we have occasionally seen this Spring. It has been really rainy and windy the last week though.
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And I have been making a ton of dolls and jewelry.

I have finally perfected all the small details of my dolls so now I can just match up gorgeous fabrics and sew! I have been making necklaces, bracelets, and earrings with all the beads I have made during class. I even have Paul doing the wire wrapping for me on the hanging earrings. :P Here is my jewelry tree with some of my creations.

This pair of earrings is an example of Paul's handiwork. With the hoops I just place whatever I want on them and that's it. With the ear hooks, they come seperate from the actualy dangly part. I thread on the pieces onto a thin wire (headpin) and then Paul actually connects the two pieces together. He does a great job!!

The stone on this bracelet is one of my favorites. I call it my jolly rancher shape.

So if you have made it to the bottom of this post after all my pictures - thank you! I am sure I bored you, but I am so proud that I actually made this stuff. :)

great news!

Paul gained 4 pounds! It is weird because it didn't seem like he ate much, especially compared to the previous 2 week period when he gained nothing. He is also going to stop taking one of his medications that is supressing his immune system. This could be a critical time while we see if there are any reactions to his new marrow. With his immune system suppressed it couldn't fight the transplant even if it wanted to. So we will keep our fingers crossed that nothing happens.

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I made a new blonde doll and I experimented with some new design changes. I used appliques for the eyes and mouth instead of all handstitched and then machine sewed around them. I can get more consistent results this way. I also tried an arch stitch from my machine for the eyebrows - but the jury is still out on that. :P

I also made a cute tutu for one of the other dolls.

Bound to happen...

So after last weekend when I was all gung ho on the chicken coop/glass studio and all of the work I did on it that I wouldn't typically do... of course I didn't leave unscathed. The entire week I was fine until Friday. I was out running a couple of errands and all of a sudden it felt like something was in my eye and it was watering like crazy. About 20 mintues later I drove half way across town to my eye doctor and my eye was still watering and was hurting really bad. A couple of doctor visits later, with numbing drops, dilating my eye, flushing it, having to wear a protective eye bandage and 2 days of not being able to open my right eye - only to find out there were some very tiny insulation fibers stuck in my upper eye lid. My cornea was getting scratched and that is why it hurt so bad. Luckily it is about 90% percent better now. Still a little soreness and blurred vision - but it will heal. :P So no new pictures of that because I haven't been out there. Paul however, has wired the outdoor fixture, the junction box, and 4 outlets. Thanks babe! :)

I have a project coming up for the Mont Vernon Artisans that I will be incorporating a handmade doll. I had been wanting to try and make one for quite awhile so this gave me the little push that I needed. So far I have made 3 of them. The first one I won't even show you a picture of - that bad! But I was able to see where I needed improvements and changes. So these 2 little girls are the latest ones.

During my last glass class I started working with borosilicate glass. That is a much harder and slightly more difficult rod to work with as opposed to the soft glass I had done previously. But all the effort is so worth it! The colors turn out amazing. There are different reactions depending on how hot you fire it and where you place it in the flame. Here are just a couple...

I also made a set of earrings that turned out really nice. I will have to share those later. So if you couldn't tell - I've been busy! Tomorrow is hospital day. Have a great week everyone!

Moving forward...

So Paul took a big step yesterday and ventured out into the world! He was given the ok to go into one of his favorite stores - Lowe's. We needed to pick up some things for my glass studio and Paul couldn't wait to go there. Sorry the picture isn't the clearest, but it was taken with my phone.

And I also have a sort of before picture of the studio. In it's former life it was a chicken coop. A nice chicken coop! I didn't get a picture of it full of stuff but this is while Anita and I were working on it. We did a majority of the insulating with a little help from Paul and Anita's husband Dave.

At the end of the day we got a majority of the wood paneling up too. I even used the circular saw myself to cut several pieces! Look out Bob Vila! :P Next up will be finishing paneling and then painting!

I should be in bed...

But I can't sleep. So I will give you all the latest and greatest around our house.

Paul had his appointment in Boston this past week. His numbers are rising and he is doing well, although he didn't gain any weight. I thought for sure he would have been up a couple more pounds! He has been doing some physical activity so he might be burning off more too. With the weather warming up he is itching to be outside getting things done. And he is - just more slowly and with more breaks. :)

Alayna has been a busy little beaver. Every Thursday we have our kids Jamboree class at the Y. It is a child/parent class that we joined with Anita and Lina. She has been twice so far and is getting the hang of it. After our last class we also had an appointment to tour a local preschool, Little Einsteins. It seems early to be thinking about this but there are only 2 spots I would want her to be, Montessori or Little Einsteins. And of course they are coveted schools with limited openings and waiting lists. I put down a deposit to hold her place for Fall until I can tour the Montessori. Our little girl is growing up so fast! Makes me sad.

And I have been making beads like crazy! I don't have any pictures to post of them, unfortunately - my sister has been snatching them up as quick as I can make them. :P My instructor sent me a message saying she had seen my latest batch and they turned out awesome. I am really excited to see them this Tuesday. My class will be ending at the beginning of April so I am probably going to set up my own little studio here at the house. I will take pictures of that soon too.

We hope that you are all doing well and enjoy your (hopefully sunny) Sunday!

You're how old?!

Today is my babycakes birthday!

We woke up this morning to several inches of snow! After the gorgeous weekend we had and the majority of our snow melting, I was hoping it would all be over. No such luck. But I made waffles this morning for the birthday boy. And hopefully I can head out later to get him a calorie laden cake!

Full bellies...

Tonight for dinner I made a really delicious pasta bolognese and was so excited when Paul finished his whole plate! He also ate 2 breadsticks. This is the biggest meal he had had in months! And then for dessert he even had a little slice of strawberry cheesecake. :)
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Last night I was able to go to open studio at the arts center and make some more beads. I will get those when I go to class tomorrow night. But while I was there... I got most of my beads from last week! Have a looksy!




The bead above is the best one I did. You can't tell from this picture but it looks kind of like a marble. I used 3 glass rods - aqua, brown, and clear. It also turned out well in that it is symetrical - which is quite tricky for a beginner like me!


If the bead isn't turning out quite right you just get the smashers and make it flat! :P

These beads are ok - but I don't care for the coloring. I like it better mixed with clear which I figured out towards the end of the class. And the single black bead is too small to be a focal bead but would go good mixed on a bracelet.

This flat bead also looks better in person.

Wishful thinking...

Well, we are once again buried under snow and the temperatures have dropped. In hopes of Spring soon arriving I changed the wallpaper of our blog. Think warm!

Lots of firsts...

Yesterday was a really busy day for us.

We had a couple early morning appointments at our house for different things and then at 11:30 was Alayna's first class at My Gym. It is similar to a Gymboree class. It is a classroom enviroment but an active one. The first 5 minutes were free time and the kids got to run around and check everything out. Then it was circle time and that is where things got rough. It was already Alayna's nap time so when I tried taking her away from the equipment and with everyone else - she wasn't having it. She had a mini meltdown so we stepped outside for a bit. Then we tried going in again and I knew it wasn't going to work. So next week we are going to try an early morning class and see if that works better for us.

I am also looking into Pre School's for her in the Fall. Since she stays home with me I am trying to get her socialized and introduce her to different situations. She is very outgoing and plays great with other kids - she just doesn't listen to the teachers in the ballet class we went to or during circle time. I am sure some of it is her age but also that she hasn't done anything like that before.

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And last night was my first class of bead making with my friend Anita! I was really excited to go! Anita had already taken the classes at this arts center last year and she does great work - she even sells her beautiful beads! I don't consider myself very artsy - but I sure had fun! These are all the rods of soft class that we worked with.

There are 8 people in the class of all levels. You work in front of a propane torch and heat up your mandrel and glass rod until it melts. Then you twirl the glass on the mandrel and *try* to make a bead. You can make all sorts of shapes and use tools to help manipulate the glass. It definately takes practice.

And here is the lovely bracelet I made last night.

Just kidding. All of those beads were made by the instructor, Marta. :P but I can't wait to see how mine turned out next week. They get dried in the kiln overnight and when I go back I get to see them! Stay tuned...

Do we have a winner?

One of my adorably cute bunny shirts is being featured and given away to one lucky winner over on Simply Sentimental, the blog! Click for your chance to win!

Up 2

Today was our day down in Boston. There is nothing better than having a quick trip down there, a good visit, and a quick trip back home. Paul gained 2 pounds and everything else is great. It must have been that cookie dough ice cream cake I got him from Cold Stone Creamery!

I have been up to my ears in orders from Alayna's Closet. It is so nice to see them coming in. My Easter Bunny shirts and outfit are selling really well. And I was even featured in this blog because she loved her shirt so much!


I still have several days until I have completed all outstanding orders. so back to work I go!

It's snowing again...

We have just been plugging away, doing our thing, and waiting for Spring. Not much new has happened around here. So no news is good news I guess!
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Alayna did go to her very first ballet class this past week. Eden and Annelina also took the Baby Dance with Me class.


It was only 30 minutes long and I think I spent half of it chasing Alayna around the room. The moms stay in the class and interact with the kids and music. There are some basic steps thrown in, although the class is pretty unstructured. Mostly the girls all looked so adorable in their tutus! Here is Alayna and Eden doing their first Arabesque en Barre.




This was only a trial class and I am not sure we will be signing up the girls just yet. Alayna especially doesn't understand the whole classroom setting and I don't know if it will benefit her. But boy is she just delicious in her ballerina outfit!

Have a fantastic week everyone!

Etsy :: Treasury West List

Check out Alayna (and my shirt) being featured in this Treasury on Etsy! Leave a comment and it might make it to the front page!

Etsy :: Treasury West List

yum!

Today I had to take Buttercup and Hannah to the vets for their annual checkups and I decided to stop and pick up dinner. A few weeks ago the doctors gave Paul the ok to eat takeout pizza. He hasn't wanted to try before since his belly was still nauseous. But now that he is doing well and eating atleast 1 or 2 small meals everyday - I thought I would give it a try. I brought home a couple of take and bake pizzas from Foodees, and Paul had one small slice of each! That is so good to see!

Small steps. :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Today is going to be a quiet day at home for us. The weather is pretty chilly and windy outside.




Alayna and Eden have already received many wonderful gifts, cards, balloons, flowers, and candy from us and other family and friends.





I also wanted to let you all know about Paul's appointment this past week. It was moved to Thursday and went really well. My good friend Anita watched Alayna for us so I could go in with Paul. He still weighed the same as the last two visits, 184. But he was given the go ahead to start eating raw fruits and vegetables. This whole time he has been on a neutropenic diet, which means everything has to be cooked, and he couldn't have any thin skinned fruit or vegetables. But he has been craving a salad. So I went to the grocery store and stocked up and made him his first salad. He ate it up and best of all - kept it down! He also changed one of his medications - as far as time and taking it with food - not Ensure. So far it seems to have made all the difference in the world. He isn't feeling nauseous in the late afternoon and is eating a small variety of meals. If he keeps up his eating at this pace, I am confident he will have weight gain at his next appointment! Keep your fingers crossed!

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And I wanted to wish my niece Ellae good luck in her tournament this weekend! She is a tremendously talented goalie for her soccer team and they are in Phoenix for a competition right now.

And everyone else - Happy Valentine's Day !

Hugs and Kisses! muah!

Wishing you...

Much love, Paul, Amanda, & Alayna!

Isn't she cute?

Paul keeps telling me that he keeps checking the blog "to see how he's doing" and there's nothing there... So I guess it is time for me to update it! :)

Paul is doing good! His demeanor and attitude around the house is pretty much his usual self. Which is fantastic, but he is still back to drinking Ensure's about 90% of the time. He hasn't thrown up lately but he is still nauseous enough to not want to eat solid foods. And of course his energy level is not the same yet. Hopefully by the time the weather starts to warm up a bit more we can all venture outside for some exercise and building Paul back up to where he needs to be.

Alayna and I have only been out a couple of times this past week. The weather was brutally cold out and with whipping winds it was darn right miserable. On Thursday Anita and took our girls to The Mall of New Hampshire and let them run around inside. They had a ball in the Disney store and we also took a ride on the carousel. Can you find us?

And last night my sister, Anita and I decided to go out for our first ever girls night out! We went to dinner to Texas Roadhouse and then went to Leda Lanes for some candle pin bowling fun. I haven't been in a couple years so I was kind of rusty *cough cough*. Can you see how fast I am gong with my sweater flapping in the wind! :P

My sister staring down the pins...

Anita had the best bowling form out of all of us.

Unfortunately we never even got close to 100 in the 2 games we played. There is always next time!

Happy Day!

So I am excited to report that there has been a stay on the new CPSIA law regarding items for children 12 and under! They are pushing the compliance date from 2/10/09 to 2/10/10 - so I have one more year to stay open at the very least. During this time they will be working on exclusions that would make it not so black and white. Yay!

In celebration, my newest outfit perfect for Easter egg hunting in the cool New Hampshire weather...

I haven't quite decided on the carrot on the jeans (it is temporarily taped on). I think it is cute to go with the bunny but Paul said he doesn't like it. What do you think? I am working on this outfit for a special customer of mine - but it will soon be available in Alayna's Closet.

Oh! I guess since today is SuperBowl Sunday I have one thing to say... Only 23 more days until Spring Training begins!! Can you tell I don't like football. :P

Have a great day everyone!