i am back

I am finally back to blogging after taking some much needed time off. As you know I went to visit family for a couple of weeks. We had a blast and stayed very busy visiting everyone, playing outside (something we couldn't do here cause of the cold weather), went to the butterfly garden, zoo, and so much more. Here is a picture of my son feeding our Sulcata tortoise at my in-laws' home. We had to leave the tortoise behind in the warm weather but we hope to one day live in a climate where he can come back home with us. We call her Taffy and she is still growing and will grow to be around 100 lbs or so.

So as you can see we stayed pretty busy. The down side of being in a fabulous town with tons of great restaurants was that I was suffering from extreme morning sickness. Yes, I am finally pregnant. I've got the 9 home pregnancy tests to prove it!

For those of you who don't know, we have been trying for a second baby for too long. I found out I was pregnant before our trip but the morning sickness didn't set in until we got to AZ. Unfortunately, it's just now leaving but still comes back for a little surprise visit. I am hoping it's not something that will stick around my whole pregnancy. So in addition to being on vacation, and 24 hr. morning sickness, I have also gotten sick twice now. I am finally getting over the second cold but find myself to be a magnet for little sick kids.

And then a couple weeks after we left my mom's house she got in a serious car accident and totalled her car. She is ok and recovering now but has to wear a back brace for 3 months or so and might need surgery still. It's been so hard being so far away and because I am pregnant I can't fly out to help her. She really needs someone who can lift her out of bed and take care of here. At this point I am lucky to get myself out of bed. This pregnancy has been completely different than the walk in the park one I had with my son but either way I am grateful.

I am trying to get some spring cleaning done and we are also house hunting. The snow is starting to melt and I am really looking forward to being outside as much as possible this summer. So that is my update for now.

where did the time go?

I suppose I have been busy. My mom came to visit for my b-day and Halloween and that was a lot of fun. I had a fireman in the house.

And we did fun things like draw happy faces on marshmallows and watch their faces blow up in the microwave. I think I had a few too many smores.
The day after my mom left my back porch looked like this. So we raked it up and then the leaves fell again and it looked like this again.
A few days later our back porch looked like this. Luckily, it's starting to melt now and the sun is out but I am sure it's just a matter of days before the snow comes back.

The snow made me start thinking about Christmas which is right around the corner so I decided to make this.

and every throw needs a pillow, right? I plan on making some more with my scraps.

Oh, and I almost forgot. I got a haircut as well (and a little color). Sorry for the bad photo I think that is the effect of taking a picture in a hotel bathroom myself.
My in laws will be flying in to visit tomorrow for a week so I am sure I will be mia again for a while. Hopefully I will have more fun pics to post when I am back. Take care.