The carpet is in!

I am so super excited - our basement carpet is in!  We had Lester Timp install it, and I would highly recommend him - he did a fantastic job!  That is one more item to check off the to do list.  Here are some before and after pics. 

Landon's new room.  Yup, that is a jeep grill.  Of course he will have a jeep themed room.  Jer is working on getting the headlights to light up and then we will mount it somewhere in his room.  Maybe above his bed?  Super cool!  The grill is a little "nicer" than I preferred.  I need to research how to rust metal.  I am also so excited that the duvet I picked out almost a year ago is still exactly what I was picturing in my head. 

The hallway in between the bedrooms.

And the "gym."  Have I mentioned that my elliptical broke.  I am super bummed and replacing it before this baby is born is a must!

The carpet is so soft and so plush, Landon and I were having a good time playing on it tonight.  Ahhhh...

Decorah Eagle Cam

If you haven't checked out the nest cam yet, click on the link here.  It is so cool to watch, Landon loves it.  The eggs should hatch any day.  Lucky little birds, will have a 5 day old dead rabbit waiting to be their first meal.  Also, I love how the male and female take turns laying on the eggs.  So sweet.

Reusable snack bags

 

I have been wanting to make some reusable snack bags for a while and just haven't gotten around to it until this past weekend.  They were so super easy to make, and Landon loved eating his goldfish out of them! :)  I followed this tutorial here.  

I used PUL on the inside (PUL is like a vinyl fabric.  It is commonly used when making cloth diapers because it is water proof.)  I sewed velcro on the inside and used fun cotton fabrics on the outside.  

I attached a loop so we can hook the bags to the stroller, pant loop or whatever we need to hook to!  I made two different sizes.  One for sandwiches, one for snacks.  So fun!

 

The great part about these reusable bags is you can just throw them in the washing machine.  Love that!

Just because...

You haven't seen Landon dance in while.  

CAUTION: YOU MAY GET DIZZY WATCHING THIS VIDEO!

(And yes, a piece of wood and a kitchen ladle are everyday toys in our house.  I will dedicate a post to our everyday toys in the near future.)

Poor Elke...

Poor Elke has just not been herself this week.  We noticed last weekend, that she began constantly licking her paws.  Didn't think a whole lot of it, until it became obsessive.  To the point that when she stood up, there would be three puddles wherever she was laying (3 puddles because she only has three legs). 

I took her with me last night to run an errand.  When I got back to the car, there was blood everywhere from her back paw.  This scared the heck out of me.  I had already called our vet and had an appointment set up for first thing this morning.

We made it through the night, although she could barely walk, and was licking non-stop.  Upon getting her to the vet this morning, I found out first of all that she weighs 75 pounds.  No wonder she was so heavy to lift in and out of the car!  This is way up from her normal 60 pounds!  We also found out that the injury on her back paw was caused by her excessive licking and biting.  This I figured.  But why the licking all of a sudden?  Dr. Marty thinks that she may have developed some food allergies.  This is common for dogs, and usually causes dogs to lick their paws.  Random...  Anyway, she is to get no more treats or table scraps whatsoever.  The only thing she can eat is her dog food.  I'm not sure who is going to be hurt the most by that, me or her?  We also need to treat her back paw with an oral antibiotic as it is already infected.  (He did say I can give her some cheese just to get the meds down).  This worries the heck out of me that she has an infection, because her body did not react to antibiotics well and she had to have her back leg amputated several years ago.  Anyway, Dr. Marty also gave her a steroid shot to help sedate her so she can rest and help prevent the licking.  That shot could last up to a week. 

You can see her laying on her paw in the picture above.  She says, don't even think about touching me!  Anyway, sending prayers for our big girl.  She means the world to us and we want our crazy rope fetching, frizbee catching Elkeroo back!

Happy Birthday Eryn!

I can not believe my niece Eryn is going to turn 7 this week!  It seems like just yesterday she was born.  Time goes by way too fast!  Today we celebrated her birthday with lots of yummy food, including homemade birthday cake, and ice cream!

Then of course, it was present time.   When Eryn says she wants a Wii game, she gets 4!  I'm going to guess the Wii is going to rule the Sabelka house for a few nights!  We stuck with our tradition and got Eryn a new pair of Nike's.  Landon was just dying to tell her, but was actually able to keep it a secret.  (I think that's only because he was suckered in by Nolan's room.)

 

And speaking of growing too fast, look at this little guy!  I can't believe he is 4 months old already!

And the Sabelka grandchildren.  They are actually in order from oldest to youngest.  With our second little guy on the way, poor Eryn is so out numbered.  I think it was my Dad that said she is just going to remain the princess.  Oh...

Sugar high

This weekend was a lay low kind of weekend.  Yesterday, Landon and I met up with Auntie Jo Jo at the Bridal Store.  She picked out and we ordered our bridesmaid dresses.  Yay!!  After having lunch with Jodi and Aunt Cathy, cousins Eryn, Nolan and Derek, we headed to the grocery store and then home.

Up on the agenda:  Homemade baked doughnuts.  I have been eying these up on a food blog and had to try for myself.  Oh.my.goodness!  Good thing the recipe only makes 6!

Landon had just woken up here.  The only reason I got a smile is because there was two plates of sugar sitting in front of him.

This afternoon, Landon asked if he could play a game on the computer.  This is a first, as we haven't ventured away from playing puzzles on the computer.  But guess what I managed to find.  Dora Candy Land.  Landon is in love and we all know he is currently obsessed with Candy Land. 

Here's to another week!

24 weeks

I am so amazed how fast this pregnancy is going.  I am really loving being pregnant.  I love to feel this little guy move and just know that he is growing and a God has created a miracle within me.  The next sixteen weeks can slow down.  Oh wait, or they can go fast, then we can actually meet him in person!  Either way, I'm sure he will be here before you know it.

For those that are interested, here is what is going on at 24 weeks.  Baby Merrill weighs just over a pound and is about 12 inches long.  His space is getting smaller so being able to do somersaults will become increasingly harder for him.  He can pick up on voices, and should notice if a bright light is being shown on him.  I feel him move several times throughout the day, but no one else has been able to feel it yet.  I guess he is just super fast!

Aside from feeling like I just look chubby and not pregnant, I continue to feel exceptionally well.  The first 12 weeks, I was super tired and lost my ambition to exercise.  That has since come back and I have enjoyed some running along with my walks on the treadmill.  I still continue to walk several miles 3-4 times per week on the treadmill.  My running has come to an end, for my stomach is expanding and it was getting to uncomfortable.  I am extremely tired at night again, and am usually asleep by 8 pm.  I love getting up early, but have not felt like it lately.  Sleep, sleep, sleep....I guess I must be stocking up. 

We continue to be thankful that I have had a healthy pregnancy thus far and continue to relish in this joy.

Our geese are back...

Despite having a couple inches of snow over night, the temps warmed up nicely today.  When we got home from work/daycare, we realized that our geese are back!!

Looking back to last year, they came back on March 5th.  And the year before that, they came back on March 7th.  (That's one perk to having a blog, you remember all these silly details!)  Anyway, I was surprised today, thinking they were early, but I guess they are right on track!

I sure hope this means the snow is over, and spring is on it's way.  I am seriously done with the snow!

And just for kicks and giggles.

Landon has had so much fun playing with some of my vintage cameras lately.  When I went to get my camera to take a picture of the geese, he had to get his camera as well. 

Your car looks like this...

when your garage looks like this...

To get these doors done, we moved them up to our garage.  When they are in your face, and its inconvenient to park outside, you will work on them every night!  

Sunday...

This morning, the boys (Jer, my Dad and my brother Randy) got up bright and early and hit the road to head to Waterloo.  Their mission, Home Improvement Stores.  I can't wait for these trips to come to an end!  Because they were on the road by 7 am, they were back before lunch.  In the meantime, Landon and I let my Mom sleep in and then headed to her house to pick her up. 

You see, Mom hasn't hardly left the house since her surgery over a week ago, and was getting a little stir crazy!  She is doing so AWESOME!  She is walking so well, and I'm so proud of how well she is recovering!

They boys got back around lunch time.  I threw together a quick lunch while my Dad helped Jer bring all our doors up to the garage.  (Our garage is now a staining/varnishing station).  More on that later...  After lunch, it was time for Grandma and Grandpa to head home.  Not before a round of candy land though!

Candy Land

One of Landon's favorite obsessions games right now, is Candy Land.  I bought it, unsure if he was able to understand the concept of the game, but he caught on quickly.  We play it several times every morning and evening.