We were home from the hospital  the next morning to meet his very proud big sister.  She LOVES him like nothing I've seen before and is showering him with TONS of hugs and kisses.  He is nursing great and has already exceeded his birth weight (Fridays weight - 8lbs 9oz).

1. Patiently waiting for the arrival of our second child....only 19 days until his due date!!!

2. Trying to keep the house clean, it's been a struggle but I think Chris finally came up with a good chore plan that keeps us both doing our share of the cleaning/laundry around the house.  It's crazy how much we can get behind on dusting and moping the floors when both of us are exhausted by the end of the day!  And what's even crazier is the amount of mess having 6 people plus 2 dogs (my sister, brother in law, niece and their dog have been living with use for 2 years while saving for their own house) living under your roof can cause!

3. Trying to get the funky smell out of our diapers!  Stay tuned for my full review of Rockin' Green.  I have done an overnight soak and just before I left for work this morning threw them in the washing machine for a good rinse.  I'm not sure how they came out but I'm really hoping they don't stink or hurt my little girls tushie anymore!  I'll have a complete review & my first giveaway on Monday -  Stay tuned!

4. Knitting!

Yes siree...I've been knitting!  Who would have thought me to be a knitter?  I had tried it in the past but was always bored before the project was even finished.  All of my projects were scarves and I'm not sure I ever completed any (even the ones that were suppose to be gifts).

This time around I've been really enjoying it!  I started out with a sweater, I didn't think I've ever be able to do it but I started with a pretty simple pattern and just worked away on it.  It's for Hannah and probably won't fit her now (the sizing is really strange on it for some reason) but I felt pretty good when I got everything sewed together.  I still need to put buttons on it but it's pretty darn cute!


You can find the pattern here.

My next project was to tackle socks.  I REALLY wasn't sure I'd be able to do socks.  I had heard how difficult turning the heel could be and that socks were a real pain in the butt but you know what, I actually really enjoyed doing them.  Once I figured out the pattern and how it was suppose to be done I caught on pretty quickly and did a heck of a job if I do say so myself!   My first set was for "baby brother" and my second set was for Hannah.  I think they turned out really sweet!  I did find that the biggest size 2/3 years was a little snug on Hannah when I was finished but I'm not sure if that was the way I knit it or because she has big feet (size 8-9) or both.  Obviously I don't know about "baby brothers" because he isn't here yet!  But I can't wait to try them on him!




You can find the pattern here.

I found it using a really cool "knitting social network" called Ravelry.  Check it out here.  It's got tons of free patterns, lots of help from people working on the same things, it's a great resource for someone new or old to knitting!  I'm LOVING it over there!  You can find me over at Ravelry under the username kshiell.  Add me as a friend if you're a knitter!  I'd love to see what you're working on and chit chat! :)



So the next thing I'm working on (I just bought the yarn last night) is a pair of mittens and a hat for Hannah and my niece, Keira.  It's just a really simple pattern apparently and I'm looking forward to the finished product!  You can find the pattern for it here again I found this on ravelry.

Anyway, I am totally loving knitting right now, it keeps me relaxed and calm and happy!  I love being able to create something from scratch and since I'm not doing my photography stuff right now (I'll get back to that in January, when I'm half way use to having 2 kiddos at home!!!) it gives me something creative to do.

Well the results are in and it looks like we have a winner....

Really, it's all about names lately!  With "baby brother" due in just 1 month, we really need to start thinking of a name for this kid.  Boy names have been very hard to make a decision on and from one day to the next I change my mind.  I'm getting frustrated and a bit worried that this little guy is always going to be called "baby brother" (although for the first little while I think it'll be cute that we all still call him "baby brother" just out of habit), I'd still like to have an offical name for him the day he's born!

So I'm calling on you guys, all of my readers (haha) to help me choose the "official" name for baby brother!  Of course, whatever you choose doesn't necessary mean we will for sure call him that but I'd appreciate your help! :)

Here's the list of names and a quick poll that I'd love for you to quickly fill out!

A little background, Alfred has to be the middle name, it's a family tradition that the first boy born in a family has the middle name of the great great great grandfather (I'm still not sure that's enough greats) of Chris's father.  So keep that in mind when choosing "baby brothers" name.  We are also not oppose to having two middle name, ie including Christopher would be very nice.  So if you can think of a nice combination of first name, middle name including Alfred and Christopher, with our last name that starts with S.  Then I'd really appreciate you and all of your help! :)







Thanks thanks thanks!!!!