hope and honey: 10/1/09

a princess and her carebear

we have had a long and fun-filled day here at casa hart - pumpkin patch and carving, trick or treating, and a halloween party for the kiddos tonight. so i will just quickly "treat" you to a few of my favorite photos from the end of our day. maybe more details and photos to come tomorrow. i say maybe, because there is always the possibility that i will head to the hospital at any moment. :)
there was hope that all the walking today would help kick start this labor. oh well. . .

seriously? does it get any more adorable than this?

mouths full of candy - just practicing for the treats to come :)

scarves and apples = fall

one of my goals for this year was to finally learn how to knit and crochet. what has taken me so long? well, i finally began last month. jesse had thoughtfully brought me home a pair of knitting needles and gorgeous yarn from a business trip a couple months back. i checked out a book from the library - horrible idea - like i am going to learn without clear visuals. then i began an on-line search for video tutorials. jackpot! this great website was invaluable. i made a few tiny pieces while learning the basic stitches (which are happily used in our dollhouse) and for my first real project, i started simply. the above photo shows an almost completed scarf. now that i finished, the below photos show the lovely model wearing her mama's hard work. the apple was my way of getting her stay still while i snapped the shots. don't they just scream fall?

ready and waiting

it is finished. after much hard (but super fun) work, we have officially finished the nursery! it is the most complete room in the entire house. funny how that works. maybe something to do with the whole deadline of a due date. now we just need a little cashew to fill the space. until then, luca, gia, and i will spend time building block towers on the rug and reading books on the daybed.

the above images are thanks to our friend darren, who generously offered his time to help with the photo shoot. (and he brought some awesome equipment for super cool quality!)

green bear in the making

my sweet bear, originally uploaded by annaleahart.

needs ears and a tail. just melts my heart seeing that sweet face. one of those "please don't grow up to fast" moments.

tired fingers, happy hart

the preparations for our little cashew are coming to an end. we are putting the final touches on his nursery. here is a look at the last major project i completed yesterday. hours upon hours of stitching were spent sunday to create embroidered art and i enjoyed every minute. i am pretty much loving it. i can imagine being propped by pillows on the daybed staring up at this wall while nursing, luca and gia playing on the rug below. just 26 days until our due date. . .

the great-grandpa paintings, my fabric scrap garland, and five pieces of embroidery on linen

wall detail

my favorite of the hoops has this fantastic quote from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis - a must read!

initial H from a vintage embroidery book

words to live by and pass on to the next generation

luca facts

what you would learn about this four and a half year old if you spent a weekend here:

he loves green.
he loves bears.
he pretends to be a green bear, sometimes a green carebear.
he loves classical music, particularly bach.
he wants to live on top of the eiffel tower.
his favorite letter is B (because it is the first letter in bear)
he loves jello, particularly lime because it is green.
he is so excited about his little brother and is now asking everyday if today is the day he will come out.
he thinks his mama can make anything and his papi can fix anything.
he hates loud noises.
he loves all things little and cute. especially if they are green. or a bear. or julia smith (a one year old from our church).
he pretty much taught himself simple addition (all single digit numbers).
he is adorable.

my big sisterly duties

include keeping him looking studly for free

look at that handsome but scruffy guy

i like the length, but he is feeling in need of a clean-up

well, maybe more than just a trim

looking good mr. model

yeah, i don't know about this

not so blah anymore

the alarm went off and i just wanted to pull the covers over my head and go back to bed. we have had a seriously slow start this morning. sick kids, a tired mama and gloomy skies = a long day.

what is good medicine for a case of the blahs? for me it was seeing this post on apartment therapy today. sitting in my jammies and sipping steamy sweet chai, i loved seeing these photos of our house. this place gives me so much joy - a testament of the love i have for my family and the home we are creating together.

you know what is even better medicine for my soul? getting long awaited phone time with one of my besties. better get the kids set up with a movie so i can talk to her uninterrupted. ttfn!

blog love

while on the unintended internet disconnection last week, our nursery was seen here. thanks heather for including our photos in your "cute as a button, kid's rooms" post. she has a really great blog featuring vintage inspired design.

well then. . .

. . . so that's what it feels like. i mean i know i have done this twice, but i guess you forget how hard it is to breathe when your abdomen is tightening up and how long a minute can seem when you are focusing on that intense feeling of a contraction.

yep. while i have been feeling these guys for the last couple weeks (nightly), i just experienced my first real reminder of what is to come.

a tuesday in october

our kitchen door countdown. updated by luca this morning

finally hung downstairs

strawberry wine painted by jesse's grandpa, vernon loutrel hart

the house smells like a cider press

rosemary and oregano from the potager find a winter home

the fall pillow covers are finished

made using scraps from my fabric stash. another "free" project.

the nursery details are being finalized - loving the new finished garland

paintings by great-grandpas. to be hung over the nursery dresser.
ship on a stormy sea painted by my grandpa, robert paul
hart family crest painted by jesse's grandpa, vernon loutrel hart

finally found: a lamp for the dresser. dragonflies found sleeping in my mom's storage space.

cashew embroidery finished

baking bread

crawling like a baby

hmm. . . i think i need to clean the bathroom mirror. just a bit spotty. loving my top from target though.

oh yeah. and lots of this.

cozy legs

cozy legs, originally uploaded by annaleahart.

using this tutorial from during quiet time, i finally made a pair of baby leg warmers. so stinkin' cute!

cut off

i am trying to write this post while listening to some jason mraz, but the problem is i keep stopping to sing and dance in my chair. sorry if it is a little choppy.

last saturday, the power cord for my computer stopped working. too many hard pulls by running little feet i guess. so i have been cut off from my on-line community for seven days. i finally finished sorting through my inbox - now just to return those e-mails. here is a quick rundown of the week:

fantastic weekend at home - first one in a month without travel. lots of work in the garden prepping for the winter. plus a super great lazy sunday at home that ended in a gorgeous fall day walk and a yummy curry dinner with friends.
one of my closest friends, karen, gave birth to her firstborn on saturday afternoon. welcome to the world hamilton enoch danger hayes!
sewed fall pillow covers - love them so much - photos to come
lots of cleaning and keeping up on a chaos free home. this has been a big goal of mine in preparing for cashew's arrival. i have not been successful in the past about keeping a consistently well-maintained home. the new discipline has been a huge encouragement.
a visit from my good friend kelsey. we moved within the same week in march '08 and this was our first prolonged visit since then.
ultrasound on tuesday morning to check cashew's growth. he is looking great! approximately 5 lbs 12 oz and may possibly be the smallest of the kiddos at birth.
made apple crisp several times using our half bushel from the orchard trip last week. planning an apple pie filling cooking marathon for monday to freeze for the holidays.
finished my first knitting project - a scarf for gia, which was almost lost on a walk home from the library. :( but found by grandpa a block and half away. :)
had a migraine all day thursday -tons of support from our friends. thanks to everyone who offered to help and those that took luca and gia while i rested.

now i am off to pack for my last mamacation before this little one decides to arrive. starting at 10am tomorrow morning, i will spend 28 hours with some other great girlfriends. and to top it off i will meet little hamilton on sunday afternoon. woohoo!