My brave little one

Tuesday was a big day for our little family. After a string of ear infections in the past few months, including a double ear infection most recently, Westley had tubes put in his ears. Lots of people assured me that it wouldn't be a big deal, it was fairly routine and that he would feel so much better with them. But try telling a mom not to worry when her 17-pound, 10-month-old son is in a hospital gown and being taken away by a medical team for surgery. Fortunately, it was a short procedure and he was back in my arms within about 10 minutes. Westley was so sweet and playful and didn't fuss at all when we met with the nurse, doctor and anesthesiologist. Afterward, he snuggled in our arms and took a bottle and was just a little angel.

It was a long day. He wasn't allowed to eat or drink anything after 2:30 a.m. the morning of the procedure, so I set my alarm for 2. After a couple hours of sleep, I got up to feed him a bottle. We both went back to bed. I was up again before long, though, getting everyone ready for the drive all the way across town to the clinic. We had to check in at 6:30 a.m. By noon, Brian was packed up and on the road for a work trip. With some help from family and friends (and a lot of grace), Westley and I got through the day just fine.

He is regaining his appetite and is his chatty sweet self. Whew. What a relief.

Thank you, everyone, for your prayers and support.

We got a kick at how well Westley's tiny hospital gown (the smallest size they have available) matched the hoodie I wore to the surgery center. It was a tiny little thing that lifted my spirits.

It's just uncanny

Do you know how many types of diaper bags and baby strollers exist? If you do, then you understand how truly bizarre it is that our friends Amy and Randy have the same versions (albeit in different colors) for their daughter Kira. Our items are on the left; theirs on the right.

I snapped this photo when we met up to hang out with them at the garden show Sunday.

These are the same friends who have two golden retrievers. And Amy's birthday is the same as mine. Yep. It's just uncanny.

Faith

Friday was a difficult day. I learned about the death of a dear family friend who was a neighbor to my parents for years and years, like an older sister to Mom and an aunt to my sisters and me. Faith hosted one of my wedding showers a decade ago. She loved quilting and Christmas and even decorated her living room in Santas. The shower she threw for me had a Christmas theme, and she invited guests to give me a small Christmas decoration in addition to the usual shower gift. She therefore made her mark on the first Christmas Brian and I celebrated together.

I feel blessed that she was able to meet Westley a few months ago when we ran into her at a local bakery. Mom, Brian and I had stopped one afternoon on a whim to purchase some gorgeous sugar cookies. It was a fun chance encounter.

Brian and I wanted to keep Mom company last night, but we already had made dinner plans with his parents and brother, visiting from Lawrence. So we all met up for dinner together.

I often find peace when I see patterns emerging in happenstance situations. It makes me feel as if things are just as they should be and that there is order in the chaos and confusion of life. Such was the case in this uncanny "We didn't plan this" moment involving Mom and my mother-in-law Janice. Check out the outfits they wore to dinner last night:

They say married people often start to look alike. What does it mean, though, when that applies to the in-laws, too?!

We hugged, shared stories and toasted both Faith and faith.

And I knew that my life is richer and more blessed for experiencing them both.

Our night before Christmas

Westley and Aunt Lynn looked awfully cute together when we met up at Grandma's for the traditional beef-vegetable soup on Christmas Eve.

We stopped by for dinner before attending the 11 p.m. candlelight service at Aldersgate.


Brian read Westley the copy of "Twas the Night Before Christmas" that his grandfather had read to him. We have a great framed snapshot of Grandpa reading the same book to a little Brian years ago. I want to frame the above one, too, and display them together. We also now have our own special version of the book: a 1938 copy Brian bought on eBay this Christmas. There's something exciting about starting new traditions, and this is a Christmas Eve one we intend to observe.

Speaking of Christmas Eve and books, I surprised Brian and Westley with a board book for West: "What is Christmas?" by Michelle Medlock Adams. Westley loves to look at books while we're at church. (Bonus: It helps to keep him quiet!) Brian surprised us with a "Milk for Santa" cup that is from a local potter. We left it and homemade sugar cookies out for Santa.

The candlelight service was beautiful, and likely my favorite part of Westley's first Christmas. He stole the show a little bit (and was even photographed by a friend as Brian carried him, sleeping in his arms, when he went up to receive communion).

Tiny twinkies

OK. It's been awhile since I've posted a "We Didn't Plan This" photo of people who unintentionally dressed alike. But this is the perfect reason to reprise my blog feature:


At church this morning, we cracked up when we noticed that the little boy getting baptized today had on the exact same outfit as Westley, right down to the adorable zippered sweater vest.

I love how West is looking at the little guy in this photo. I wonder what he was thinking. Ha!

April shower

I was blessed to have my two dear friends Nicole and Ann throw a baby shower for me last weekend at our church, Aldersgate UMC.







The girls put together such a thoughtful, wonderful shower. Their little details showed all of the time and planning they put into the event. I loved the blue punch, pictured above, with a rubber ducky floating in it. The ducky is a nifty baby product that will indicate when bathwater is too warm for baby. I'll put that little guy to good use.

They also had a table set up with a bouquet of cheerful tulips, scrapbook pages for my guests to sign and baby pictures of Brian and me:


I received so many thoughtful gifts, including some adorable handmade bibs, a beautiful white crocheted baby blanket (at left) and a quilt certain to become a family heirloom:






Brian's grandmother embroidered the blocks in this quilt in the 1940s. Janice, my mother-in-law, pieced the top and had it professionally quilted. I love how it links generations -- and the women's creativity -- together.

I also received books, baby necessities and a few more Classic Pooh items for the nursery. My friend Lyn found this Classic Pooh Christmas blanket. It'll be fun to make it part of baby's first Christmas:


My friend Crystal gave a creative gift: She borrowed the "Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue" wedding tradition for her gift. Among the items she gave me was a loaner on her baby car seat base, which is a great help to us. Brian and I plan install those soon and have them checked at a hospital safety inspection.












My Aunt Terry and Uncle Joey surprised me by driving into town from Columbia, Mo., to visit. Terry joined friends and family at the shower, and it was so great to have her there. Brian's cousin Joni and her two sweet daughters, Audrey (pictured with me below) and Caroline, drove down from the Kansas City area. It made the day even more special to have them there.


My co-worker and fellow preggo Lindsey had the honor of guessing to the exact dimension how big my baby bump was in the cut-a-piece-of-yarn-to-guess-how-big-mama-to-be-is-around-the-middle game. She admitted that she used her own preggo belly as a guide of sorts. We teased her for cheating but agreed that she was just being resourceful.
















Also in attendance were Brian's Grandmother, who soon will meet her first great-grandchild, and "Grandma Foos", a special woman in our lives. Her daughter has been friends with my mother-in-law since they were in high school. (Don't these ladies look stunning? Their color coordination was completely accidental, but looked fabulous.)

The best part part of the day was looking around the room and realizing all of the strong, loving women in my life who offer their advice and support to my growing family.

Thank you, ladies, for everything.

See additional photos from the shower in my Facebook photo album.

Quilter in training

After working from home and doing chores Saturday, Mom & I went to our favorite local quilt store to sign up for a class we're taking together in the coming months and do a little bit of shopping. (I received a gift certificate for Christmas, so my purchase of a yard of fabric and eight fat quarters cost me only $2. Woo-hoo!)

While we were there, I played with Halley, the store dog. (She's named after Halley's Comet.) She's a sweet little thing, and it's always fun to see her when I'm in there. This time, she was stylin' in her cute shirt:


It must have been a true dog day at the quilt shop, because most of the fabric I selected is a soft Moda flannel that features a cute dog that reminded me of Dakota & Lilly. I'll add it to my stash of baby quilt fabric.

While I was there, I pointed out to Lisa, my friend and the store's owner, that we were dressed similarly with vests and a gray-and-black color scheme. She had remembered a past We Didn't Plan This occurrence at her store and suggested I post this picture:

They didn't plan this ... or so they say

I've been delinquent in sharing this great photo that my long-time friend Chrissy e-mailed me of her and her mom Monica. They live in Iowa, and Chrissy and I were best friends in first grade. Our families have been close friends ever since. They (and Chrissy's sister Nicki) are beautiful, sweet women who are very smart, talented and thoughtful. They're like family to me.

In an homage to my "We didn't plan this" Friday feature of yore, here's how this twinkie thing went down earlier this month, straight from the horse's mouth: Mom and I got up on Sunday and didn't see each other until we were showered and dressed. We both picked out jeans, a pink sweater with a lace cami underneath and brown boots. I thought you might get a kick out of it.

I love it!

We didn't plan this, part 12

Brian was being helpful today by ridding our computer of programs and software that we don't regularly use. He didn't realize that I have come to rely on a certain photo editing program on our computer and bid it adieu, so I couldn't do the normal photo enhancements that I usually do. Boo.

But, nevertheless, it's clear to see that Lori and I both decided to wear classic gray and black to work today. (Did you know that gray is the hot neutral color this year?)

And Suzanne, Annie, Beccy and Marcia all picked a purple palette today. (Christina, pretty in pink, was coerced into this photo. Isn't she a good sport?)











Although I am so NOT a K-State fan, purple seems to be my lucky color this fall. Remember my unfortunate error last month of wearing a purple shirt to a dinner in which former KU football coach Bill Snyder spoke? Well, KU defeated K-State that Saturday. I wore purple earlier this week as a good luck charm for tomorrow's KU game against Nebraska. May the 'Hawks remain undefeated. I would have my co-workers to thank!

We didn't plan this, part 11

This week's matchy-matchy examples are somewhat disturbing.

On Thursday, Theresa and Sherry, the top dogs calling the shots in the newsroom, came dressed in uniform. The similarity was quite bizarre ...







And today, my boss Lori and I followed suit.

Two complete coincidences or wardrobe displays of power? Hmm ...

We didn't plan this, part 10

Reasons why I love October: pumpkin pancakes (I've already had them twice at IHOP in the last month), pumpkin bread (like the homemade loaf I purchased from a local corn maize) and pumpkin beer (yummy spicy flavor of cinnamon and cloves).

I also love pumpkin colors, including this knit shirt that I break out in October. Bonnie must've been thinking the same thing!

OK, we DID plan this ...

Part nine of my "We didn't plan this feature" brings a special installment: Opposite day! Because, at the urging of my creative co-worker Denise, my newsroom team DID plan white shirt day. With me are Karen, Chris, Denise and Bonnie. (We drew lots of comments from other co-workers, who said we looked like a catering team.)

In an ironic twist, though, my co-worker L. and I did not plan this. And, to honor a previous appointment we made, we went to lunch together in Old Town as twinkies.

We didn't plan this, part 8

Two months into my "We didn't plan this" tradition, I introduce my first multi-gendered entry. Chris, who sits right by my in the newsroom, and I were both green today. But not with envy.

Drinks & drills

Saturday event No 1: Drinks

I started off my morning at Copper Oven, a favorite brunch spot where girlfriends of mine from Connect meet about once a month to catch up on life. We were devastated when the waitress informed us that the cappuccino maker was broken, meaning no Chai lattes. Mary Beth, who's pregnant and drove up from Derby, was especially heartbroken. But we somehow survived with straight-up cups of coffee instead. Lori R. brought her mother-in-law Connie, and Crystal joined us, too:

Saturday event No 2: Drills

About an hour after brunch, I met up with a different group from church at Habitat Village, an area near 33rd & Arkansas where churches and other civic groups are building Habitat for Humanity homes. Teresa and I went to town hanging drywall.

My dad, a very handy guy who has participated in previous Habitat builds, joined us there. (Trust me: Between the two of us and my friends, there were plenty of Catholic/Methodist jokes to go around. My dad said it would be all good if we'd just abstain from eating meat on Fridays. Yep. That was one of the jokes. Such is the life for a converted Irish O'Toole girl.)

Please note that the fact that we're both wearing camo pants was a complete coincidence. (You guessed it. We didn't plan this.)

Dennis, a fellow youth group sponsor, brought The Cutest Puppy In The World, Brooke. She's a tiny yellow lab who spent the afternoon hanging out in the bed of his pickup truck while we worked.

After managing to wash the construction dust out of my hair, Brian and I had sushi and went to the symphony. And afterwards, I got my elusive Chai from Starbucks. Mmm!

We didn't plan this, part 7

Laurie, a quilting friend of mine, and I both sported brown to our monthly Quilt till you Wilt evening. We closed the place down at 11 p.m. after putting a solid three hours into our projects and taking some time to shop. She and I discovered that we both have a love for pink and green fabrics.

My mom, mother-in-law and aunt-in-law Lynn were among the group tonight. We traded stories about kid lies, wardrobe malfunctions and more.

One of the great things about being a quilter during this time of year is all of the great earth-tone fabrics that capture the colors of the season. I'll post a photo of my favorite fall quilt project to date soon. I brought it out of my sewing studio yesterday to display in my living room. Ah. Fall is here!

My mom and I fell in love with this pumpkin pillow project, displayed at the store where we met to work tonight:

We didn't plan this, part 6

I'm all about diversity for my "We didn't plan this" Friday blog feature, so today was all about the feet. (OK. Truthfully, I wore a blouse with a paisley print that would've been next to impossible to copy, so I had to rule out the top.) But, fortunately for me, my co-worker Annie and I both wore strappy brown sandals and denim skirts:

And who on earth could've predicted that Denise and I would've had the same hair and makeup styles today?!


(That was her idea, by the way. Clever, huh.)

We didn't plan this, part 5

Today was an especially matchy-matchy day at work. First, Suzanne, Karen and I were classy-cool in black and white ...

... and Diane and Lori were pretty in pink:

After work, Brian and I enjoyed a free party at the Brickyard before we made an appearance at event No. 1 of my 10-year Maize High Class of '97 reunion. Wow. Some things never change, eh? We told everyone that we invented Post-Its. Just kidding. (Can you name that random movie reference?)

In other "We didn't plan this news," Brian and my high school friend Mindy joked tonight that they both were wearing jeans and red shirts over white long-sleeve tops. Weirdos.

We didn't plan this, part 4

I was a little worried walking into work this morning when I realized that the chances were nil that someone else would be wearing my '60s-chic-style black and white geometric print dress. It could have been a repeat of last week, when nobody matched me at work at all!

Fortunately, Denise had on a solid black top with a cute little black and white polka dotted scarf/belt. Here we are in our classic, classy getups. (It's a bit of a stretch, I know. But at least I didn't post a photo of other people matching like I did last week.)

They did plan this

Today was supposed to be the fourth installment of my Friday feature "We didn't plan this". But nobody at work was wearing purple and gray. So my co-worker Suzanne, who inspired this whole who's-matching-me-at-work-on-Fridays thing, challenged me to hit the streets to find a stranger matching me. Problem is I didn't leave work for lunch and I went straight home from work to help Brian prepare for a little dinner party we were having.

And so, I am forced to offer this as a substitute:

Thankfully, our friends Tony & Nicole (NiTony) arrived to dinner wearing T-shirts with flip-flops on them. And they did plan it.

We didn't plan this, part 3

My very fashionable co-worker Molly and I both wore brown and khaki outfits to work today. (Her slacks were very cute: seersucker with brown stripes.) I'd like to introduce a new feature in the we-didn't-plan-this-Fridays: accessories! As you can see, Molly and I both carried straw handbags today.

My handbag is from Target, a splurge I made this spring. When I was shopping, I tried to find a necklace and bracelets to coordinate. When I had no luck, my mother-in-law offered to help me make my own, pictured below. In April, Brian and I went on a long weekend trip to Dallas with some friends. I packed only outfits that went with these accessories, which wasn't as difficult or freakish as it sounds. After all, brown, blue, green, orange and yellow works. That way I only had to bring one handbag and just a few pieces of jewelry.