4 weeks and 5 days until my EDD...

Yeah I'm totally counting down. Last month of pregnancy is crazy-land for me and seeing the number of days until my due date get smaller and smaller helps me hang onto that last thread of sanity. ;)

5 Weeks To Go!

Today marked 35 weeks of pregnancy. Yesterday I had a prenatal appointment. Vitals were all normal. Fundal height has been right on the whole time but yesterday 2 weeks ahead! LOL! I've been saying she's tall, this little baby. Been saying it for months. And that she's low in my pelvis. Today my midwife was like 'wow her head is really low in there!' and then she commented how high up baby's tush was and asked if my other babies were long. Funny to have her confirm what I'm thinking about baby being tall. She doesn't feel BIG like my son felt just big all over and he totally was a chub, but she feels really really tall. Her head is so low I can't describe it in public without blushing and she kicked me right under the ribs the other day so hard that I felt bruised there for days. But yet my belly is only JUST this week at 34.5 weeks preggo starting to feel like it's getting maxed out for fullness, so it's not feeling like she's heavy big, just tall big. I don't have any new stretch marks at all yet and my belly skin has only begun to look stretched and itch this past week, and I've gotten dozens of new marks every time with the others starting around 5-7 months along and itched with the stretching something crazy too. I dunno, she just doesn't feel BIG, just super duper tall. It's funny, my firstborn was I think 21 inches but only 7 pounds 12 ounces and she could not fit size NB because she was so tall, but #3 was 9 pounds 2 ounces and only 19.25 inches tall and she was in NB for a month at least because she was flopping around lost in 0-3 months! Crazy. Anyway it will be interesting to see if this little one stays on this growth curve or if she stops growing taller and starts getting to be a little chub before her birth.

My feet have been swelling every night this past week. They were barely swollen at my appointment, which was surprising because being in the car usually makes it worse if I'm to the point of cankles. Odd. Anyway the midwife said it's a good sign they're coming and going and not constant. Yay? They still hurt though. The skin on the tops of my feet feels like it's sunburned or got scraped up with sandpaper or something from the stretching from the swelling. Tonight they are hardly fluffy looking at all though. Good because I plan to work them good tomorrow- LOL! I have a giant list of things I want done by 37 weeks. So now I've got 2 weeks to finish that list. Must push myself a bit harder!

Countdown... 37 days

Here it is 37 days to my due date and I'm feeling it for sure! Why is the end of a pregnancy such a hard time? Physically yes, but emotionally and psychologically too. Almost down to the last 5 weeks now and my feet have begun to swell a bit in the evenings. I'm tired all the time. I cannot breathe and bend over at the same time. :-) In fact, bending over at all is pretty much out of the question anymore. This precious baby is strong and fiesty. She feels small in size, but yet tall to me. Her siblings already adore her and are eagerly counting down the days until her due date. I know most babies don't arrive on their due date but I've had 3 out of 4 so far arrive within days of their EDD (including #4 who was born ON her EDD)so it's as good a guess as any, I'd say.
I'm excited and nervous. Would you believe a 5th time mom still has the fears of not being a good enough mom? :-) I wonder how another child will change the family dynamic, and, being a person who likes to plan things out, I wish I knew how to prepare for this unknown dynamic change. I can only let it rest with Jesus and be thankful not only for this precious gift of an already loved baby, but also that my Lord knows the future and will give me what I need when I need it.

Someone New

Someone tiny and new has joined our family and we'll get to see her for the first time in November, 2013!

It's sinking in that my youngest is over a year old now...

Beautiful baby,
Beautiful girl,
So precious and tiny,
Like a perfect pearl,
A treasure for Heaven,
Worth more than the Earthly,
A blessing is given,
From God to our family,
A beautiful baby,
A precious sweet baby,
A treasure, a soul,
A sweet baby girl.


My sweet youngest baby girl has turned one! In fact, because of the logistics of having a Christmas-vicinity birthday, we just had a party for her on Saturday! She's technically 13 months old now but it's finally sinking in for me I think... my babiest baby is almost a toddler! *bittersweet tears* How can time fly so fast? She is such a joy to all of us! Such a sweet happy baby! I was so blessed to marry my beloved husband, and every time God has multiplied our little family, we have all felt so blessed! Number 4 is no exception!

Crochet Cotton Ripple Dishcloth {Free Pattern}

Here's another dishcloth pattern I designed. I only knew how to do a ripple in double crochet stitch at the time and really wanted to make a ripple dishcloth but not to have all the "holes" double crochet stitch would leave. I didn't want my fingers sticking through the holes touching all the ickies I would be washing. Lol! So I tried and frogged and tried and frogged again until I got just the right size ripples, just the right number of them, and all in single crochet so no giant gaping holes for my fingers to slip through.



This dishcloth takes about and ounce and a half of cotton worsted weight yarn, and a G crochet hook.
CH = chain, SC = single crochet, SK = skip.

COTTON RIPPLE DISHCLOTH pattern by Jessica Mama Mirage (2010):
ROW 1: Ch 45 (multiple of 7 plus 3) loosely, sc in second ch from hook, skip 1, *sc in next 2 ch, (sc, ch 1, sc) in next ch, sc in next 2 ch, sk 2, repeat from * 4 times, sc in next 2 ch, (sc, ch 1, sc) in next ch, sc in next 2 ch, sk 1, sc in last ch, ch 1, turn.
ROW 2: Sc in first sc, sk 1, *sc in next 2 sc, (sc, ch 1, sc) around ch 1, sc in next 2 sc, sk next 2 sc, repeat from * 4 times, sc in next 2 sc, (sc, ch 1, sc) around ch 1, sc in next 2 sc, sk next sc, sc in last sc. Ch 1 & turn (omit on last row, row 25, of cloth).
ROWS 3-25: Repeat row 2 until cloth is square. Tie off.
Weave in tails.

Last time I got 2 comments asking for another pattern. I have a really cute leaf pattern and I am still undecided whether or not to bother typing it out. Unlike this ripple and the previously shared triangle, the leaf dishcloth is kind of complicated! If I get comments from 7 different people on this post before the end of January 2013, I'll share the leaf. If not, I may share it anyway and I may not. Time will tell. ;)
~*Jessica

Crochet Triangle Dishcloth {Free Pattern}

I've been meaning to post some of my crochet patterns for a while but life has been busy! :) Here's one for a triangle dishcloth in crochet. Why triangle, you may wonder? I made one on a whim once to use up a leftover ounce of cotton yarn from some other project, and discovered that a triangle dishcloth fits the shape of my hand perfectly and as such is AMAZING for wiping things down, such as the kitchen table! You know how usually you wind up kind of wrapping the dishcloth around the ends of your fingers and pinching to hold onto it? Well no more hanging onto your cloth with these triangles. As I said they just fit the shape of your hand and make a bowl of cherries out of scrubbing the kids' fingerprinty mashed potato or spaghetti sauce smears off the dining table, even after they've dried on. :)

This pattern takes approximately 1oz of worsted weight cotton yarn per dishcloth, is crochet in continuous round in single crochet, and works best if you have 2 subsequent sizes of hook like E & F or F & G or G & H. I think an F & G work best if your guage and tension are usually spot-on.

If you are using a 2oz ball of yarn such as Peaches & Creme or Creme de la Creme then you can get 2 dishcloths out of it- I would recommend starting a dishcloth at each end and crocheting 1-3 rounds on one cloth, then 1-3 rounds on the other, alternating until you run out of yarn in the middle, so that both cloths are the same size regardless of your personal hook choice or guage. A perfectly matched pair of dishcloths makes for a sweet gift.

This is an easy pattern and is written in a way that beginners will hopefully have little trouble understanding it. RND is round. SL ST is slip stitch. CH is chain. SC is single crochet. You may need to look up the magic ring if you're unsure what this means. Try YouTube for videos. Visuals make everything less confusing, IMPO!

Want to add it to your Ravelry que? http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/mirages-easy-triangle-dishcloth

EASY TRIANGLE DISHCLOTH pattern by Jessica Mama Mirage (2010):

ROUND 1: With your smaller hook, do the magic ring (you can look it up on YouTube if you're unsure what this is) and crochet 6 sc into said ring, then cinch it up tight and as you continue on in the following round, crochet over your tail so you won't have to weave it in later. Do not slip stitch, do not chain up, do not turn: this pattern is worked in continuous round.
ROUND 2: Sc in first sc of round 1, (sc, chain 1, sc) in next sc, *sc in next, (sc, ch 1, sc) in next, repeat from * once more, that was round 2. Do not slip st, do not chain up, do not turn. You will continue to work in the round continuously without chaining up or turning for the duration of this pattern.
ROUNDS 3-17: Put a stitch marker or a scrap of contrasting yarn between your last st of rnd 2 and your first st of rnd 3. CHANGE HOOKS! From here on out you will use your larger hook. Sc in top of first sc of round 2. Sc in next also. (Sc, ch 1, sc) into the first chain-1 space of the previous round. * Work 1 sc into each of next 3 stitches. (Sc, ch 1, sc) into next ch 1 space. Repeat from * once more. Sc into last st of round. Move your stitch marker/yarn scrap up to the end of this round and continue on in this manner: work 1 sc into each sc, work (sc, ch 1, sc) into each chain 1 space, move your stitch marker/scrap up with each round. Do this until you have 16 rounds. Round 3 has 3 single crochets in between each (sc, ch 1, sc) corner as described above, round 4 has 5 sc between corners, round 5 has 7 sc between corners... and henceforth you add 2 sc per side per round. So on round 6 you have 9 sc per side, and on round 16 you should have 29 sc per side of your triangle, not including the (sc, ch 1, sc) in each corner. Your final round, round 17, should have 31 sc per side, not including the (sc, ch 1, sc) in each corner.
ENDING: As if you were beginning a round 18, **sc in each of next 3 stitches. Then slip stitch in each of next 3 stitches. Tie off, remove your marker, and hide your last yarn tail.
**NOTE: Depending on how you crochet and the size you'd like your finished product, you may stop on any round before round 17, or keep going for another round or several. Wherever you end, do it as if you were beginning the next round, as detailed above. **
If your finished dishcloth is warped or lumpy looking you can put a damp cloth over it and iron it flat through the damp cloth, then straighten the edges out and leave it to cool and dry someplace with good airflow.
For gifting purposes you may like to roll them like a crescent roll and tie with a scrap of yarn, then unravel the ends of the yarn scrap for a decorative look.

A couple more pics with triangle dishcloths in them:






Did you like this pattern? Want more? Let me know which one you want me to post next! I have written up dishcloth patterns for a ripple and a leaf shape, and have contemplated copying down a pattern for a Sunflower novelty dishcloth I came up with too. :)



~*Jessica*~

Dear friends and family,
It has been a while since I've blogged. Again. I'm so bad at keeping this up, aren't I? What have you all been up to?
My days are full of drool and diapers and endless questions. I wouldn't have it any other way! :) I absolutely adore being a mom. I would be thrilled to have 20 children and 400 grandchildren if such was possible!
My oldest, Chicklet, is in 1st grade and loving it! She's sweet and smart. In her spare time she loves making presents for her siblings and Daddy and I.
My son is finally 4. I say finally because... well... if you've ever had a 3 year old then you know. ;) They warn you about age 2 but trust me, 2 has nothing on 3. Then comes 4 and you finally start seeing fruit from the last 2 years of emotionally agonizing over this child every minute of every day! 4 is a wonderful age. Thank God for age 4! :)
Then comes Weetsie. Her nickname came from calling her "sweetie-weetie" as a baby and then "sweetsie" and finally just "weetsie" and somehow she's now 2 1/4 and Weetsie still sticks. I have been trying to remind myself to start calling her by her real name more often though because the poor child actually thinks her given name is Weet. Hehe... She's mischievous and opinionated and cuddly as can be! Tonight she had a toy alligator and I found this out when I was answering an email and suddenly there's a mouth full of plastic teeth about an inch from my right eyeball, and a tiny voice by my right elbow giggled, "LOOK Mama! Itsa crocodile!" Why yes, dear, I see. How can I not as it's about to poke out my eye with it's plastic chompers? Lol!
And speaking of chompers, dear sweet baby Honeypie is getting 4 at once! But as always she's in good humor and sweet as can be. She's the most relaxed and happy baby I've had. Making up for her siblings giving me fits in their infancy! I will say I've never had a baby sick so much though. None of my others got sick as nurselings.
Sweet Honeypie is loved by everyone and probably a bit spoiled. :) She'll be a year old in a few weeks. I can't believe time has flown so fast!
And it's almost Christmas. Wow! My favorite time of year! I've been crafting away like crazy! How about you?
And now it's time for Honeypie to go to bed and me and the world's most wonderful husband to watch a movie together while I do more of said crafting.
God bless you all with a wonderful December!
~Jessica