Check in on Monday!

Sorry for the teaser, but as most of you probably know that even when I'm posting "daily" it doesn't include Sundays. I take that day off for church and family. Today we went to the baptism of both a friend's husband and an 8 year-old girl whose family are members of our church. I was so happy for my friend that her husband has finally committed to taking this step in his life, and of course it's always exciting for a child to take that step too. I didn't make anything for Dan (the man getting baptized) but wish I had because he could have used the same gift I made for Emma (not my daughter, Emma, but the 8 year-old who got baptized). I made her a journal. I didn't have time to upload it yet so the point of this post is to promise to show it to you on Monday. I made her a pen to go with it but I didn't take a picture of that 'cause they're not that exciting to look at. Anyway, check back in Monday to actually see a stamped project!!! As a heads-up, I won't be able to get back into my regular posting because my sister is getting married next Saturday so we are driving to Kentucky on Wednesday and will be gone for about a week and a half. Have a great rest of your weekend!

Stamps for a Cause

Please check out Gina K's blog Stamps for a Cause and look at the amazing samples she has created with her newest stamp set for a cause. This time she's giving $7 from the sale of each set to the Make a Wish Foundation. What a great organization to support!!! I can't imagine the courage and strength it takes for a child to deal with the "adult" problems that some of them have to deal with in the case of serious illness, and the Make a Wish Foundation is so wonderful for making these little one's wishes come true. Please check it out, the stamp set is so versatile and the images are great!!!!

Poor Baby....

I only have a moment to post (he's already screaming again). Poor little Daniel has acid reflux and so unfortunately 95% (at least) of his waking hours are spent crying because he's in pain. The medicine the doctor gave us isn't work (at least not yet) so it's been kind of miserable in our house. I hate not being able to do something to help one of my children, it's hard.

I just wanted to say thank you to Tracy who sent some CUTE CUTE CUTE little booties for Daniel and Laura who sent an adorable card (aka Stampin' Soldier). Thank you so much. Also, thank you Lynda for the thoughtful e-mail. I'm still here, just trying to get through this with the baby and not totally neglect my girls. I have done a TINY bit of stamping (out of necessity - too bad it wasn't just 'cause I wanted to and had the time!) so hopefully I'll be able to share that soon. Take care everyone, and I'll get back to posting as soon as I can!!!

Stamps for Sale

I need to clear some space for new stamp sets (not to mention that my stamping stuff is kept in the baby's room and there's not much room for his stuff so I need to get rid of some!) and am selling the following RETIRED (no longer available for sale by SU!) stamp sets. I will only ship to the US (sorry!!!) and the price DOES include shipping. I will remove stamp sets as they are sold, but it may not be "up to the minute" updated as you are looking, thanks for your understanding. I accept PayPal (my e-mail address is mcclellans@stx.rr.com for my PayPal account) or checks made payable to Marie McClellan. If paying by check, I will ship upon receiving your check. PLEASE SHOOT ME AN E-MAIL TO THE ADDRESS JUST MENTIONED IF YOU WANT TO PURCHASE SOMETHING. Thanks!

***The condition of the sets varies from GENTLY used, to having some (or even all) in the set NEW and UNMOUNTED. They all stamp perfectly.

PG Name Price

178 All-Year Cheer I 26.00

178 All-Year Cheer II 26.00

74 Baby Talk 21.00

53 Bundle Up 19.00

36 Crazy for Christmas 19.00

140 Cute as a Bug 13.00

27 Dream Come True 21.00

183 Friend to Friend 23.00

40 Happiest of Holidays 13.00

28 Happy Hearts 13.00

63 Hip Hip Hooray 21.00

26 Mon Ami 13.00

57 Much Love 16.00

83 On the Move 19.00

106 Pocket Fun 19.00

127 Sew Seasonal 26.00

56 Simple Sketches 26.00

24 Tag Time 26.00

WHEELS

47 Gifts Galore 5.00

40 Swirling Stars Jumbo 6.00

Holiday Blocks: (set of 8 – former Hostess Incentive set – retired) All stamps mounted and gently used - $16.00 This set is GREAT for making gift tags!!!!!

Link to picture of set: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/309194?cat=4854

Pictures of Daniel

Here they are!!!!!

Here are Daniel, Mommy and Daddy shortly after he was born. Mommy's even still on the table!


Here are Mommy and her babies.


Here's a close-up of Daniel that shows his hair pretty well -- we're thinking another red-head.


Here's Daniel sporting the patriotic hat that the hospital gave him.


Here's Daniel dressed and ready for the 3+ hour trip home.


Here are Daddy and Daniel.


Here are the girls with the sign that was put in our yard by our squadron. The girls were almost more excited about the sign than the actual arrival of their baby brother!! LOL! Oh, and Daddy let the girls dress themselves this day (Sarah opted to NOT dress herself and stay in her Princess PJ's) :)

HE'S HERE!!!!

And he's the most beautiful little boy I've ever seen!!!! He's been officially named Daniel Peter McClellan, and he came into the world at 2:42 p.m. on 18 July, 2007, weighing 7.8 lbs and he was 20.5 inches long.

I PROMISE I will post pictures soon because if I don't, my dad might just come kidnap him in order to see him! ;)

I won't go into the details, but the birth did not go the way we had hoped. It all came down to us having to choose to use pitocin and double our risk of rupture/increase the risk of infant mortality or have a c-section. After being thoroughly convinced that to continue on with the VBAC meant I was a horrible mother, we chose to have a c-section.

On the bright side, other than being turned into a very black and blue pin-cushion and having legs the same size all the way up and down from swelling, it was the best c-section I've had of the three of them. I had some wonderful nurses - especially the night shift nurses and the labor/delivery nurse. I had an anesthesiologist that was a resident who was OUTSTANDING. The doctor "cleaned" me out so that my old adhesions weren't so prominent and even placed some kind of "thing" "in there" to prevent lots of future adhesions (scar tissue). Daniel is perfect and we are all just happy to be home.

Thanks to all of you for your thoughts and prayers. I'll be taking it easy the next week or two, but I need to get working on baby announcements that I never finished and "table toppers" for my sister's wedding. When those get done, you'll see them here! Thanks for everything!!!

Marie

Am I Allowed to be Impatient Now????

So, I've been having contractions pretty much 24/7 since 1:00 a.m. Saturday morning. Of course, they're not fun, but they're not getting "worse" like they're supposed to so that they're actually "pushing" contractions. They've gotten more intense than when they began, but they're only around 1 minute long (supposed to be 90 seconds to go to the hospital) and anywhere from 7 to 10 minutes apart (supposed to be 5 min apart for me to go in to the hospital). I guess it's good that they're happening, even though they make sleep pretty difficult. It means SOMETHING is happening, which means less to do later. My midwife friend, labor/delivery nurse friend, and several other people experienced in labor and delivery were all SURE that I would have been having the baby by now, but at least it looks like it really shouldn't go longer than possibly Thursday. At least the end is in sight, but I WANT HIM TO COME NOW!!!!!!! :) I want to go home, and I want to be able to sleep, contraction free, and to have a little baby to hold and love!! Anyway, I'm just getting impatient, but I understand that every birth is different, and this one just appears to be heading towards the longest, slowest-progressing birth EVER!!!! ;) Anyway, just wanted to let everyone know that despite the great start, my body and the baby seem to be perfectly happy to give me one minute contractions just far enough apart to not really do much other than dilate me! Take care, and I'll keep everyone posted!