New Life

This is my daddy and I'm keeping him.

By Angie Quantrell Angie Quantrell

startled gasp for breath

mama's trimphant labor

wrapping up daddy

 

Haiku by Angie Quantrell

Welcome, Autumn Nahara.
Born April 26 at 10:08 AM.

Another piece of Nana's heart...

It's Never TOO Early to Give Books to Kids

It's never too early to start giving books to kids.

Meet Gage. He is 6 months old and he already loves to sink his (2) teeth into a good book.

Read for life!

Welcome, Little One ~ Baby Gage Makes His Appearance

Welcome, Baby Gage!

Last stop before the hospital...

William Gage Aucutt was born at 12:37 PM on Friday, June 12, 2015, to a happy mama and proud daddy. Not to mention ecstatic brother, sister, nanas, papas, aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Mama preferred rocking during labor.

Mama and Baby Gage Burrito. The long wait is over.

Happy Nana with grand number 4. "This is Nana, Baby Gage, NANA." (Never too early to start teaching them my name.)

Daddy and his third little munchkin.

Baby Gage was 21 inches long at birth.

We were all shocked at his weight - 9# 1.4 oz. Daddy was closest on our labor room poll.

Excited and somewhat dazed brother and sister.

Monday Tea with Me (on Wednesday)

Baby Gage sneak preview!

Hello!

Due to many circumstances, some wonderful, some irritating and frustrating, I haven't been able to blog for a week!

I KNOW. I missed you.

Today, let's have tea. I have been dying to share tidbits with you. Grab a cup. Remember, I share, you share. I'd love to hear about your week.

1. The number one priority - Baby Gage has arrived! All 9 pounds 1.4 ounces of him. I shall blog about him on Friday and share photos. Of course, Nana has to do that. Do you have any new additions to your family?

2. I've spent the last two days trying to figure out computer and internet problems. Yesterday was the worst day with my time spent on the phone with tech help (I might add that Chasity at Costco Concierge was delightful, while Dell tech was not and hung up on her). I tried several strategies, from restore to virus scan. Nothing worked. Last night, I even lost the internet. Period. But this morning, ta-dah, I was able to easily get online and do what I needed. I know God worked a miracle overnight, because I went to bed with a non-working computer and no internet access. What's your biggest tech frustration?

3. Kevin survived a bumblebee in his helmet! We were on a short motorcycle ride out the North Fork Ahtanum Road west of Yakima. His visor was up so he could enjoy the cool mountain pine-scented air. And a bumblebee. He calmly drove on after he saw a bee wandering just outside his peripheral vision and heard buzzing. He pulled over at the next available safe spot. I jumped off and that's when we realized it was a giant bumblebee. Who immediately dropped down and flew off. Whew. Any other bee stories out there?

4. Raspberries are on, and they are oh so yummy. I love them fresh off the bushes. What's your favorite raspberry treat?

5. Getting ready to rip out a sage bush (the herb). I've come to the conclusion that nobody needs two, when one provides more than any family can use. Plus the extra one is taking up raised bed space. Sage, anyone?

6. Right in the middle of two grands and a great-niece (holy cow, I have a great niece) being dropped off yesterday, the cats (always on cue for chaos) brought in a dead bird. I am glad it was dead, or I would have had to chase it around the house trying to keep two kitties from destroying everything. As it was, I had to hold off the cats, especially Mabel who was trying to steal it from Monet, while I yelled for paper towels. The guts were gone, so I suspect that Monet found it dead, snitched it from someone else, or previously ate out the belly parts. ICK.

7. I personally trimmed the three birch trees in the front yard. Do you know how much a birch tree grows in one year? Enough to block visibility from our driveway and keep big trucks from parking. I do miss the privacy, but it is much easier to be safe now.

8. Bladder infection. Again. I should be on speed dial with the doctor. I told him they need a home test kit. Then I could take it at home (because I do KNOW the symptoms) and text the results in, which would let me avoid an appointment (this one being one where I was checked OUT instead of IN by the receptionist and I sat for 30 minutes before I asked what was going on - meanwhile Papa was on lunch break with the three amigos, forced to wear a crown while he made lunch).

9. Finished a writing deadline. Just in time to help Baby Gage make his appearance and cut the cord.

10. I have slept in all three beds in my house over the last week. Yes. Amazing fact. Most of those nights were accompanied by small children with long, long arms and legs.

How about you? Time for your sharing. Thanks for having tea.

Easter Eggs April Fool's Day

As suggested by someone who shall remain unnamed, but he knows who he is, "Wouldn't it be fun to take the kids to the park on April 1st and tell the kids to go find all the Easter eggs?"

Sounds good, right? Except he was talking about not really hiding any eggs.

Poor kids. Out there all on their own, hunting in vain for non-existent eggs!

April Fools!

Have you been pranked today? I have to admit that I have read a few things that I was really impressed with, only to realize that the posts were, indeed, April Fools' Day gags. One in particular, a newsletter I follow written by a lady in France, had me so believing her misfortune and subsequent community service in Paris of cleaning the skulls (she was very detailed, down to using her toothbrush and olive oil) in the Catacombs that I couldn't wait for her next newsletter that would surely let us know how it went! (You can find her blog at www.french-word-a-day.typepad.com).

Smacked right into that one!

What has been the best prank I ever pulled?

I'm so glad you asked. There is one for which I am quite proud, and I will never be able to reproduce it again. (Pun intended, which you will get after you read on.)

Years ago, almost 27 in fact, I was pregnant with our first child. Baby Quantrell (that was back before parents-to-be regularly found out what sex the babies were before birth) was due to make an appearance on June 22, our anniversary. But he arrived nearly 3 weeks early on May 31.

This was fine for me, not so great for him, and quite a surprise for some.

At the same time, my college friends (aka, Jello Molders, so named for our April Fools' Day pranks of some notoriety) were traveling to my home to throw me a baby shower.

(Haha, rubs her hands with newborn-baby-sleep-deprivation glee.)

Baby Taylor, a boy, was sleeping peacefully in his crib. I, however, had a special plan in mind.

This mama stuffed a big pillow under her shirt and went to greet the first guest to the party, Angela.

"Hey, how are you?" she said, as we hugged hello.

"Pretty good," I replied, leading her around for a tour.

I also led her to the bedroom, where, voila, there was a baby sleeping.

"Oh, are you babysitting?" she asked.

To which I whipped out the pillow and said, "No, this is baby Taylor!"

Baby Taylor the day of the shower, 5 days old.

Ta-da!

I do confess that she was totally lost and confused for a moment. Once she understood my purposeful misleading, all was great. And funny.

When the rest of the crew arrived, Angela was in on the gag. I re-stuffed my shirt and went through the same scenario. Much to my delight and their amazement.

Wow. Wish I had a video camera back then. That was so much fun. One of my favorite stories. And I will never be able to reproduce it again. (Get it now? No more reproducing of that sort for this Nana.)

Ahhh. Those were the days.

Gotcha girls!

How about you? What was your best April Fools' Day gag or stunt?

Gender Reveal Party - Part 2

Hayden holding his gender reveal cupcake - the blue filling inside indicates the baby is a boy.

Welcome to our gender reveal party! Only 3 people knew the sex of the baby before the party. After the reveal, everyone knew about Baby Boy Aucutt.

I decorated a lighted year-round tree with pink and blue fabric strips.

The pink and blue table - complete with bandanas, cupcakes, a wide variety of pink and blue candies, napkins, and plates.

Pink and blue cupcake tree. Cupcakes were baked in pink and blue cupcake papers. I mixed pink and blue sprinkles on top of white icing. A pink and a blue plastic diaper pin adorned each cupcake.

Guests sported a clothespin that represented which sex they thought the baby was. Daddy Collin chose to show his choice by clipping it to his beard.

One fun activity was to make (yes, I made them) all of the guests pose with mommy-to-be. The fun part was the guests had to stuff a balloon under their shirt so they looked pregnant. Everyone was a good sport! Chelsie's grandparents are proud to be GiGi and G-Paw.

Nana and Papa join the photo game.

Drinks were clear lemon-lime soda with blue and pink ice cubes. I used food coloring to make the colored ice. The blue was the worst for dying tongues. But it looked pretty.

A cup of punch.

Pink ice cubes.

My sister and I painted our fingernails pink and blue.

Decorated cupcakes before the reveal.

I took one group photo of everyone who thought the baby was a boy.

A much smaller group thought the baby was a girl.

The revealing moment - Collin sees blue.

Even big brother, sister, and Daddy had to pose with Mommy.

All in all, the gender reveal party was a great success. We had loads of fun. I deem gender reveal parties the new wave of the current generation.


Angie Quantrell is a soon-to-be four-time Nana. When she is not chasing the grands, she writes, blogs, takes photos, and is working on simple living.

The 2nd BIG Question

Oh my.

Today I was asked the second BIG question in the world of kids. Our conversation about birthdays, babies, and parties took place in the best ever spot for kid-conversations - the car. Captive audience, right?

"Nana, how does the baby get out?"

As in, mommy has a baby in her tummy and I can't wait for the party this weekend to find out if it is a boy or a girl and I am so excited for it to get here maybe right after my birthday and how will mommy get it out?

I'm a firm believer in honesty + developmentally appropriate + answer only what the child is asking ... Let them ask whatever they want, but answer simply. Add more info as they continue to question.

"Oh, mommy will work very hard to get the baby out."

"Will she cry?"

I could see this conversation was not going to end quickly. Having been at her two previous birth events, I could safely answer. "No, but she will sweat. It's hard work to have a baby."

"Yes, but how does she do it?"

Not sure what mommy and daddy have said or how far they want to go with this five year-old.

"Oh, she has lots of help from the doctors and they all work hard to get the baby out."

And that was the end of that. He was satisfied. For now. The conversation went somewhere else.

Welcome baby number three. Your brother and sister are very excited for your arrival.

A few of you might wonder why I called this the second big question. Simply, "Where do babies come from?" seems to be the number one biggy for children. For adults, of course, popping the question - "Will you marry me?" - is the number one question. Or at least it used to be.

Angie Quantrell loves interacting with young children. One never knows what to expect when having car conversations.

Quiltin' Nana

Have scraps. Will quilt.

This nana loves to quilt. Let me clarify that. I love to make BABY quilts. I've tried bigger ones, and the rows go all weird. I love sleeping with big, beautiful quilts that others have created. But the ones I make are for babies - les bebes. There is no way of telling how many quilts I have pieced over the years. The reports from new mommies confirm that babies love cotton, colorful, washable quilts. While I don't have time to do intricate, age-old quilt designs, I've found that patchwork patterns thrill new parents and their precious ones just as much. At least, that's what I tell myself as I give them as gifts. :)

This Quantrell nana's quest to quilt for queues of bebes began when the quantrell babies were very young (trying to see how many times I can use 'qu' in a sentence). I discovered a delightful patchwork quilt, with no less, and I am not exaggerating, close to two hundred tiny squares. The quilt was sized for a baby. Wise choice on the part of the seamstress, or she could well be still sewing on that quilt. Each quilt piece is about 1" x 2" long. I still have the quilt, but it is lost in storage with all of my other quilts. I loved how my babies stared intently at the colorful pieces as they lay on the quilt. I draped it over the back of the couch, the car seat, the crib...focal point deluxe. I especially enjoyed that I could throw the soiled (now honestly, babies never make a mess, do they, of one kind or another?) quilt in the wash. It always came out softer and more comfortable than before the soaking. It is easy to choose a theme and colors based on the sex of the baby or parents' interest or a large collection of a certain fabric color (justification to save every piece of fabric that passes through my fingers).

So, determined to recreate this piece of wonder, I made quilts for both of my babies. And then I started making quilts for other babies of friends, relatives, acquaintances, door prizes, shower gifts, auction pieces...I really would like to know how many I have made in all. My baby-baby is 18 1/2. Making quilts since she was 1 or 2, several, if not over a dozen, a year...that adds up to quite a few. My list this year is getting longer all the time. Quilting my way through it piece by piece.

I recently added embroidery to my grandbaby's quilt. We will never forget his birthday, weight, time and year of birth, or his name. With love, bebe, from the Quiltin' Quantrell.