sunshine and wonder

Sharing FULL Scrap Room.

2012-01-19T16:01:00.001-06:00

So... back in May, I posted a sneak of my scrap room.

It was so cool to be in Creating Keepsakes' special issue (Creative Spaces),

and I figured I'd give it a couple months...

they probably wanted us to wait like 30-60 days or something.

I didn't ask about the exact time period. Maybe I should have. ;-)

So it dawned on me the other day that I STILL hadn't shared

my scrap room in full. UGH! I had to get on that.

So....

Without further ado...

My Scrap Room!

(you can click on the photos to make them larger!)

When you walk through the the french doors

(that we actually removed because I wanted the room to be an extension of the living room...)

And when you look to the left...

And when you look to the right...

*cute curtains from Pier 1... now discontinued :-(

And when you keep walking straight ahead to the right,

you turn that corner, and enter my little sitting area nook...

Took me a lot of tweaking to get the nook just right.

The loveseat is an Ektorp from IKEA.

Didn't plan to have this loveseat in here, as we bought it

as our "for now" furniture for our first apartment in Austin.

This cover was on clearance for THIRTEEN DOLLARS (yeah, down from like... $140).

So I was *ecstatic* that it matched perfectly. :-)

The bookcase behind the loveseat?

Believe it or not, that used to be a twin bed headboard!

My dad and sister added spindles to each side, and they made it

into an entertainment unit. And I inherited it from them. :-)

Jeremy added legs, so that it would sit perfectly behind the loveseat.

(Jeremy's brilliant idea, not mine. ;-) )

(It REALLY needs lamps and/or plants on either side. Some day... :-) )

So I re-painted it, altered the inside with October Afternoon's Hometown

scrapbook paper (one of my favorite collections of all time),

and added cute knobs and fun things. :-)

Pillows from Target.

Poms from Jo-Ann's dollar spot.

Stool from IKEA (painted to match my color scheme).

Knobs from Anthro.

Document boxes from The Container Store.

Everything else was found secondhand at thrift stores/antique stores/vintage shops.

So here are more shots around the room...

This is looking back toward the door of the room,

so the left wall when you first walk in...

elfa Shelving (on sale right now till Feb 13th!!)

Canvas bins.

American Crafts albums.

Photo drawers (a la Stacy Julian's LOM).

And a close-up...

Shoe storage holds punches.

Acrylic organizer (that I'm now finding a new home for...) holds stamp pads and stuff.

Ribbon cabinet.

Dress Forms.

Jane Joss fabric branch.

Be Inspired print.

Desk chair is a commercial/retail chair.

I got it at a vintage shop in Austin, but what's really funny...

these same chairs are used at Taco Cabana all over Austin! LOL. :-p

And my work table.

Cardstock and patterned paper under work space.

Embellishment drawers (original and altered).

Kit storage.

Friends frame with my altered switchplate.

At other angles...

"Reyanna" sign I've had since 1985.

My dad had them made for all of us kids.

He *only* took them out at Christmastime,

so I was so glad when he gave it to me to look at every day. :-)

After MUCH debate about altering it, I decided to keep it

in all its original wood glory. :-D

Alphabet sticker/Thicker organization (far left on paper shelf).

Bold boxes (under paper).

UglyDoll: Wedgehead.

Current kit/favorite papers in progress (on left) sit in this.

Phew.

I know... A LOT of photos. But I hope you enjoyed my scrap room tour!

Thank you for looking!

I hope to do a video tour too. :-)

That would have to be in pieces though because it would be LOOOOONG!

And you would probably get sick of me. LOL. :-p

If you have any questions or need more close-ups,

please let me know!

I can always do a follow-up post. :-D

Wanting Mama.

2012-01-11T19:01:00.000-06:00

I didn't get much done today...

After Hattie's first nap, we went to the post office and then grocery shopping.

That was the extent of me being productive.

I "wore" her in the Moby to both places.

She fell asleep in the car on the way home.

And then when she woke up, she just wanted her mama.

She was interested in a book for five minutes.

And maybe her OBall Rattle for another five minutes.

I sang to her.

I talked to her.

I just carried her around.

I tried to put her down for another nap,

but she wasn't having it.

She wanted her mama.

We laid down together.

We talked to each other.

I sang to her.

We just... looked at each other.

I tried putting her down,

but she just wanted her mama.

So I put her back in the Moby.

And she fell asleep.

I love these photos.

You can see my lunch plate and Nutella in the background.

I didn't have a chance to put them away.

My shoes are kicked off in front of the loveseat.

The mail is strewn about.

Her laundry, waiting to be hung up, lays on the floor.

But she needed her mama.

The chores can wait.

As the saying goes...

babies don't keep.

So I'm milking this for all its worth. :-)

It's okay that you needed me today, Baby Girl.

I'm all yours.

PhotoBoothing with Hattie at 5 mos.

2012-01-09T17:44:00.001-06:00

So... we had a crazy busy weekend, so Hattie is not herself today

for our PhotoBoothing session. She's just so tired! :-( Ah well.

I LOVE this outfit (given to us by our friend Michelle),

so I decided we needed to do our PhotoBoothing anyway. :-)

This was me trying to hold one of her favorite toys up over the camera.

She *always* smiles at this toy, but i don't know... because it was over the computer's camera,

these are the looks I got instead... LOL.

Then I decided that I'd put her closer to the camera,

so she'd see her adorable self on the screen and want to smile...

*sigh*

Still no luck. Okay, THEN I decided to tickle her chin.

That always gets a smile...

Nope.

Okay, didn't want it to come to this, but now Mom decides

she should act crazy, so Hattie will smile, and then I'll try

to get a quick smile in before the camera takes the photo...

Uhh... yeah. The result is... Mama looking like a silly fool,

while Hattie has a look on her face that says,

"My mom is ridiculous. Seriously? This is what she's doing to get me to smile?!

Oh, brother. Are we done yet?"

And so, I claim defeat. No smile this month,

so we just try to look pretty instead. ;-)

Rolling Over.

2012-01-03T11:16:00.000-06:00

Okay, so this is a month old (she was just under four months), and I totally forgot to post it. It's just too cute. :-p

So glad to get this on tape. She did it once, just minutes before this one, so I grabbed the camera... hoping she'd do it again right away. Success! :-D

I totally think she could have rolled over long before this, but honestly, she had never even *tried* before this! LOL.

Writing One Line a Day.

2012-01-02T10:46:00.000-06:00

So... in 2010, I decided I would write a sentence or two

(what I did, what I ate, where I went, a thought or two... whatever i wanted to write... as long as it was *something*)

EVERY day in this blog here.

Um.... Yeah, as you can see, I only did that 76 times out of the year. Oops. :-p

I found my problem. If it's online, I won't do it.

It didn't matter if it was a blog, Facebook or Twitter. I just like paper better.

So at the beginning of 2011, I decided I'd find myself a journal that provided me space to write a sentence or two per day. And I promised myself to give it a try... even though I knew 2011 would be tough... being pregnant and having a baby.

But all the more important that I document that year. ;-)

And I found the One Line a Day 5-Year Memory Book.

Well, actually, the Mom's One Line a Day was on sale ($11) when I went searching,

so that's the one I went with. I figured... "Hey, I'm becoming a Mom in 2011! Why not?" ;-)

(Even the fact that it's pink didn't deter me! ;-) )

There were some other ideas out there. Like this one from Ashley Ann:

But in the end, I wanted something small, something bound,

and something I could keep by my bed (on my nightstand) or by my computer.

And guess what?

IT WORKED!

I'm happy to announce that I have an entry for EVERY.SINGLE.DAY of 2011. :-D

Now... don't get me wrong... I didn't *actually* journal every single day.

If I missed a few days, I didn't sweat it. :-p Some weeks, I'd wait till the weekend to record the week,

but I still made sure to put a sentence or two for each day... even if I had to go back and do it.

If I couldn't remember, and I needed ideas...

Sometimes I'd go check photos I took, check Facebook statuses, check the calendar, etc.

It didn't have to be exact, and if I didn't remember something that happened,

I just recorded a feeling I was having that week.

For example:

On September 21st, I wrote,

"Hattie always wakes up smiling and cooing and giggling.

I love it so much!

I can't get enough of her.

And she's just SOOOOO adorable! :-) "

See?

Not necessarily what happened that day, but just something that was on my mind that week. :-)

So I wanted to have a good record for 2011, and I'm glad I actually made the effort.

I'm SOOOO glad I did because it was an important year,

and I love looking back.

When you're pregnant or have a new baby, things get fuzzy.

When you have little ones, the days mesh together.

They fly by.

It needed to be done. :-)

Kinsey has a cool idea on her blog too! This is her day-planner,

but you could totally use the block-style calendar to write in

a thought or two or what you did that day. :-)

What do you think?

Are you going to give it a try?

Do Project Life?

Project 365 with notes?

I'd love to hear how you plan to document 2012!

Visiting Santa Claus.

2011-12-25T18:32:00.000-06:00

Hattie and I ventured out to see Santa the other day. She was such a champ...

we waited in line for an hour to see him. LOL. Yes, since I don't have school-aged children,

I should have gone the week *before* school let out. Tee hee. Ah well.

Hattie is such a good baby though. She actually enjoyed standing in line...

all smiles and giggles and flirting with the kids behind us. LOL. :-p

She loved his beard. LOL. I think she had a handful of hair when we left... ;-)

It was SO cute when she looked at him! She wouldn't smile at him though.
But he didn't talk to her or smile at her (which was bizarre...),
so that's probably why. LOL. She was probably like, "What's the deal with this guy?!"

Okay, so I totally bought her the most adorable silver mary-janes to go with this outfit...

specifically for this photo, and they fell off in the stroller, and I completely forgot to put them on.

SO bummed. I'll have to dress her up in this again *with* the shoes,

so you can get the whole picture. ;-)

And then they let me take some too. I just brought my point & shoot... not the *good* camera, but they're still pretty cute. ;-) Santa is actually *smiling* nicely in this one. :-D

(See! She loved that beard! LOL. :-p )

Merry Christmas!

Singing Hattie.

2011-12-23T13:04:00.000-06:00

Not sure if she was singing or talking, but this is pretty cute... LOL. :-p

Growing Up: Hattie at Four Months

2011-12-20T07:56:00.002-06:00

Man, I have got to get better at this Mommy-Blogger thing! ;-)

What's that, Hattie? Time for your 4-month post? Umm... yes, I think so! :-)

At four months...

She's 25.5 inches long.

She's 12 pounds 5 ounces.

Favorite toys: Puppy Tunes; my Build-A-Bear (maybe I should get her, her own in the future. ;-) ); a soft, little lavender chimp rattle; her lovie; the O'Ball Rattle (this thing is SO cool!); 24/7 Doll (which she dropped while we were in the grocery store, and it's gone forever. :-( She may or may not be getting a new one for Christmas... ;-) )

And this crinkle book...

which she probably loves more than anything... LOL.

Still LOVES being in the Moby. She very rarely falls asleep in it though. LOL. :-p

Most of her clothes are 3-6 months. Footie pajamas and pants are still 6-9 months. ;-)

Has become quite vocal... talking to strangers she likes (usually older women... LOL) or singing along to music (like John Mayer...). And I LOVE this! Tee hee.

Still SUCH a great sleeper. (8:30pm to 9-ish am at night, and then three naps during the day).

Usually takes about three naps a day when our schedule allows. Getting better with being awake for longer periods though... Yesterday, we were out nearly all day, and she just had to take cat naps (30-45 minutes) in the car or stroller. She was a perfect angel all day. Didn't fuss or cry once. Hoorah! I'm wondering if this was a fluke... LOL. :-p (Or maybe just had cabin fever since I've been sick, and she was *ecstatic* to be out of the house... ;-) )

Really enjoys being in the stroller, but if I have it reclined, she sits up in it. And if I sit her all the way up, she doesn't like how the harness fits. LOL. Silly girl.

Is nearly sitting up on her own. She can sit up while holding her hands on the floor in front of her. And she can sit up on her own for a good few seconds.

Loves to grab her toes.

She gets flirty and giggles when people say hello to her. This face is *darling*, and i love it. LOL.

Enjoys books far more than toys that make noise and/or light up (okay, we only have one toy that does that... LOL).

Can sit up on her knees and elbows. (Holy cow, she may be crawling soon!)

Is kinda mobile... she can turn in circles on her tummy and scooch and scooch on her back.

She can pretty much roll over from her back to her tummy (save for one arm). And she can roll from tummy to back like a champ (I'll post the video! Tee hee).

Is very interested in spoons and forks when I'm eating food. I got curious... and gave her breastmilk on a spoon. Yes, she liked that. It was too cute.

She can hold a sippy cup (empty) and bring it to her mouth. Did this for the first time at 3.5 months. Craziness.

Still the sweetest, little baby ever. :-)

- December 6, 2011 -

PhotoBoothing with Hattie at 4 mos.

2011-12-15T19:47:00.002-06:00

A bit late this month with these, but just over a week. No worries. :-)

(This cute outfit was given to her by my dear friend, Michelle.

I love it with these polka dot pants! :-D )

In these next photos.... No, I'm not wearing makeup. No, my hair is not done. Yes, my scrap room is a mess. And yes, I was scrapping on the floor. Tee hee. It's okay though because I have a cute baby in my lap. ;-)

her serious face...

Till next time. :-)

Looking at Photos...

2011-12-07T11:24:00.008-06:00

I was looking through photos today. There are so many photos, and I've posted about 5% of them. LOL. These are all from her 2nd week at home...

I didn't really feel like editing them. Just grabbed them and posted them. Hope you don't mind. ;-)

The pups were so sweet when Hattie first arrived. They didn't want to leave our side. :-) They're still pretty sweet with her. Ruby gives her kisses every day. Amber is so indifferent. She rarely even *sniffs* at her. :-p

She is SO his mini-me. She looks more like him every day, I think. *Some*times I'll see a glimpse of Reyanna in there, but yeah, she's mostly Jeremy. ;-)

And a sweet one of Jeremy's brother, Jesse...

(I loved that outfit!!!)

Holding her head up at ten days old...

So sweet and small...

And now she's FOUR months old. FOUR! When they tell you it flies by, they really mean it! ;-)

I'll post her 4-month stats this week. :-)

Thanking God.

2011-12-05T10:00:00.000-06:00

I thank Heavenly Father for this sweet girl.

I'm so blessed to be able to look at that sweet smile every, single day. :-)

Comparing BumGenius OS and Swaddlebees OS Cloth Diapers.

2011-12-03T11:14:00.006-06:00

We started cloth diapering Hattie when she was five days old. (We had received one package of disposables as a gift and just wanted to use those up...) Since then, I think we've tried between 20 and 30 different cloth diapers. LOL. Who knew finding a diaper for her would be so involved? ;-)

That being said, I just *wanted* to try lots of stuff. I could have definitely chosen one and used that one. But I wanted the *perfect* diaper... ;-)

one that didn't leak
one that has a stay-dry inner against her bum
wasn't too bulky on her
one-sized/I could potentially use till she potty-learns
came in a variety of color options
has snaps (I was willing to use hook/loop or aplix if I found a diaper I loved)

So anyway, we tried a bunch. And in that "trying" period, I found these diapers and wanted to take some comparison shots. :-)

BumGenius vs. Swaddlebees

Left to right on smallest snap settings:

BumGenius Freetime in Mirror

BumGenius Elemental in Butternut

BumGenius 4.0 in Clementine

Swaddlebees Simplex OS in Marina

(Oops... forgot to brighten up these next photos. Sorry. :-p )

And another one, with the diapers stacked...

Left to right on smallest snap settings:

BumGenius Freetime in Mirror

BumGenius Elemental in Butternut

BumGenius 4.0 in Clementine

Swaddlebees Simplex OS in Marina

Left to right, top to bottom on largest snap settings:

BumGenius Freetime in Mirror

BumGenius Elemental in Butternut

BumGenius 4.0 in Clementine

Swaddlebees Simplex OS in Marina

The BG Freetime definitely has the smallest rise of the three, with the SB Simplex OS having the largest rise. What's interesting, though, is the variation of crotch width:

Swaddlebees Simplex OS in Marina - 6.25 inches

BumGenius Freetime in Mirror 6.5 inches

BumGenius 4.0 in Clementine - 6.75 inches

BumGenius Elemental in Butternut - 7 inches

I didn't measure (in inches) the thickness of the diaper in the crotch, but the variation in trimness is really neat to look at. Just by feeling the diaper, it feels like they rank like this, in order of most trim to least trim:

Swaddlebees Simplex OS

BumGenius Elemental

BumGenius 4.0 (when stuffed with hemp)

BumGenius Freetime

*If the BG 4.0 was stuffed with its own microfiber inserts, it would probably rank the same or a bit bulkier than the Freetime. The Freetime has two semi-attached microfiber inserts, plus more microfiber sewed right into the diaper, against the PUL.

And here are the action shots. I'm only comparing the Swaddlebees Simplex OS and BumGenius Freetime here. :-)

Hattie's stats, for reference:

age: almost 4 months

weight: 12 pounds

length: 25.5 inches

waist: 13.5 inches

thigh: 7.5 inches

This is the Swaddlebees Simplex OS...

And the BG Freetime...

And just because she's so gosh-darn cute... ;-)

The SB Simplex OS and the BG Elemental both have organic cotton inserts that stretch the entire length of the diaper (when on largest snap-setting), but get kinda bunched up when on the lowest snap-setting. Because of this, both these diapers may seem bulkier on an infant, but would probably look great on older/bigger babies and toddlers.

Because the SB Simplex OS has the narrowest crotch *and* the highest rise, it may be the best fit (of the four) for your average toddler.

I'd also like to mention that the SB Simplex OS and the BG Elemental both have their leg elastics *not* incased like the BG 4.0 and Freetime. This *could* potentially cause wicking issues, but I know Mamas who use both diapers, with little to no issues.

We've decided to go with the BumGenius Freetime. It's pretty much all we've been looking for in a diaper. :-) I would have *preferred* a natural inner (cotton, bamboo or hemp) with a stay-dry liner, but this is pretty near perfect. I can always add a bamboo or hemp insert/doubler for added absorbency if need be. ;-)

**I think I'll be adding photos of the *insides* of the diapers as well. I'll try to get to that later today or tomorrow... ;-)

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-03T10:00:00.000-06:00

Hattie is so lucky.

FOUR (out of six) of her grandparents came to see her for Thanksgiving. Jeremy's mom and step-dad drove all the way from Albuquerque. And his dad and step-mom drove all the way from... well, San Antonio. LOL. That's only about 90 minutes, but still... they came to visit, and that was lovely. :-)

Hattie with Abuelita...

(Hattie LOVED being in the kitchen while she cooked!)

And she's always all-smiles when she's with Abuelito.

He's always making funny faces at her. It's so cute. :-)

Her Grandma and Grandpa (from Albuquerque) stayed four whole days, and it was so wonderful to have them! Obviously, Hattie was sad they were leaving...

It was such a nice Thanksgiving. :-)

Loving Bath Time.

2011-12-02T10:00:00.000-06:00

Is there anything cuter than a nekked baby on a foam frog in the bathtub? I think not. ;-)

Looking Back: One Year Ago Today

2011-11-21T23:12:00.007-06:00

One year ago today, November 21st...

Our lives changed forever.

One year ago today...

I saw that word for the second time in four months.

One year ago today...

I cried happy, but cautious, tears.

One year ago today...

Eight months seemed like such a long time to wait to hold our baby in our arms.

One year ago today...

We secretly hoped for a little girl.

One year ago today...

We found out I was pregnant.

One year ago today...

We thanked the Lord for blessing us.

One year ago today...

I knew I woud love being a mom, but there was no way I could feel what I feel now.

*sigh*

My love for her is so astronomical. I can't even put it into words. I cherish every second I have with her. I thank our Heavenly Father so much for blessing us with such a girl. :-) Every day I look at her, I want to cry (and sometimes I do) because of the love I have for her.

One year ago today...

Our prayers were answered. :-)

PhotoBoothing with Hattie at 3 mos.

2011-11-19T08:52:00.002-06:00

She's got poo on her jammies! Oh, no wait... it's just Pooh. Phew. :-p

She wanted to see how her side profile would turn out...

I'm hiding because I just woke up and look... umm... tired. LOL. :-p

I just love all the silly faces she makes when we do this. Tee hee. :-p

This next one makes me laugh so much! Heeeee!

And then Jeremy thought he'd get in on the PhotoBoothing action...

(I really need to take one of him holding Hattie [faces, side by side]. She is SO his Mini-Me. :-) )

And her sunglasses finally fit! Is it just me, or does she look like she could be one of those bugs in Men in Black? LOL. :-p Such a *cute* little bug though. :-)

I love our monthly PhotoBoothing project. It's quite fun. Tee hee.

Growing Up: Hattie at Three Months

2011-11-18T13:46:00.007-06:00

So... while the little bean is taking the longest nap EVER, I thought I'd blog about her.

Oh... there she is... I hear her... awake. Better go get her... LOL! (She must have known I was typing about her... ;-) )

Okay, I'm back. Little Miss is awake and all smiles. :-)

And without further ado, Miss Hattie at three months (yes, I'm well aware that "three months old" was 12 days ago... *sigh* )

*Note: I upgraded to OS X Lion, so now PhotoShop doesn't work. :-( I'll have Jeremy edit these photos (that *I* took with the *good* camera! go me!) as soon as we update PhotoShop for Lion. :-) These are iPhoto effects, for now. ;-)

(how much do you love that drool dripping off her chin? heeeeee!)

At three months...

She's 24.75 inches long. (97th percentile) (umm... and today, she was nearly 25.25 inches. WOW!)

She's 11 pounds 6 ounces. (11'6" on 11/6... cool!) (20th percentile)

Is still a tummy-time champ, and loves to be on her tummy for up to an hour now. She now plays with her toys while she's on her tummy, and i love when she talks to her Puppy Tunes (the one with black&white ears). He's her favorite. ;-)

Finally likes being in the Moby for about an hour! WOO! I keep her facing out now, since her head is strong enough to not be bobbing along. ;-) She loves this. :-)

Most of her 0-3 month stuff still fits, but probably not too much longer. :-( She's in 3-6 month long-sleeve stuff and is wearing 6-9 month pants. She's almost out of her 3-6 month footie pajamas though. *sigh* And her Skinniness can still wear Newborn-sized dresses. LOL.

Loves being in her bouncer, watching me cook. I LOVE when I hear her talking to her toys. :-)

On October 10th, she belly-laughed in her sleep. It was adorable. I totally thought she was crying, but no... she was laughing. LOL.

SUCH a great sleeper. At the beginning of her 3rd month, she was sleeping 7 hours straight (consistently) between feedings, and sleeping 5 more hours after that. Now, she's at 8-10 hours between feedings. Still sleeping 12-14 hours total. I need to start waking her up... only letting her sleep 12 hours. LOL. :-p

Still takes about 3-4 naps a day when our schedule allows. If we have a busy day (out and about), she'll only take one or two naps... She usually ends the day like that by being Miss Cranky-Pants. :-)

On October 17th, she grabbed her Chimpy toy (Jeremy named it... LOL) and brought it to her mouth. This was the first time she put a toy in her mouth. :-)

Finally enjoys being in the stroller! Yay. :-) Well, I finally figured out that she much prefers it if I put a blanket underneath her. Who knew? LOL. :-p

LOVES the bath and shower. In the bath, she kicks her legs like crazy. Always smiles and giggles. She loves the water. :-)

On October 28th, she could sit in the Bumbo! She likes to sit in it while I'm checking email or blogging. ;)

When she wants to be picked up, she sticks her right arm straight up in the air and waves it at me. It's SO cute!

She had two Halloween costumes: A Prize Watermelon (Jeremy and I were farmers...) and a Workout Baby. I had to come up with the 2nd one on Halloween night because it was much too hot for the Watermelon costume. LOL. I'll post photos and a video... one day. ;-)

Can finally stay awake longer than two hours. YAY!

Her basic schedule:

9:00 am - wake up and eats, then plays

11:00 am - snack ;-)

11:30 am - morning nap

12:30-1:00 pm - wakes up and eats lunch, then a walk

2:30 pm - afternoon nap

3:30 pm - wakes up, eats snack, plays

5:30 pm - eats another snack, then late day nap

6:30 pm - wakes up, hangs out with Daddy, eats dinner

8:00 pm - eats

8:30 pm - bedtime

4:30-5:30 am - late night snack ;-)

This little girl is amazing. We're so blessed. :-)

-November 6, 2011-

Growing Up: Hattie at Two Months

2011-10-31T08:36:00.000-05:00

This is what Hattie thinks of me not doing a Two Month post for her:

And perhaps this next photo is her "amazement" look? ;-) Surprised face? Hmmm...

(I *did* take notes, so this is really is what she was doing at two months... even though she's almost 3 months now... LOL.)

At two months...

She's 23.75 inches long

She's 10 pounds 8 ounces.

She's GREAT at holding up her head. She's so strong. ;-)

Doesn't like the Moby for longer than 15-20 minutes. Prefers to be held, facing out... taking it all in. ;-)

Still in 0-3 month clothes, but she can fit into some 3-6 month stuff and can fit into 6-9 month pants (though baggy, but long enough). Yes, long legs. ;-)

Can now kick and grab toys on her activity mat and bouncer. So cute!

She had her first stuffy nose on September 17th. :-(

Doesn't really like being in the stroller, but we're working on it. Doesn't like the carseat either. :-p

Enjoys bath time.

First giggle on September 24th, at 10:15am. (See, I keep track! ;-) )

Always wakes up smiling, giggling and cooing. Even if she just drops her pacifier and wakes up, I'll go in to check on her, and she looks up at me with a HUGE smile and giggles. I give her the pacifier back, and she falls back asleep two minutes later. Silly girl.

She can reach out and grab my glasses and necklaces. I find this hilarious and laugh every time she does it. Hee hee. (I'm thinking once her grasp gets stronger on my necklace, I won't find it that funny... LOL.)

She smiled at her toys for the first time on October 5th, the day before she was two months old. :-)

We're more in love every day. :-)

-October 6, 2011-

Meeting Mama and Papa.

2011-10-25T17:49:00.003-05:00

I'm not really sure why I don't blog more often. I mean, I'm busy, but I can't be *that* busy, right?! LOL. I'm really going to make a point to blog at least a few times a week. I'd really like to. :-)

A couple weeks ago, we took a drive to south Austin to get Coolhaus ice cream sandwiches. And yes, driving 40 minutes for an ice cream sandwich was most definitely worth it. :-D Hattie was indifferent...

Or maybe the sun was just in her eyes. ;-) I did buy her some sunglasses, but they just don't fit her tiny, little head yet. Hopefully, soon. :-)

This last week, my parents came to visit (from Colorado), and they got to meet Hattie for the first time! Hooray! We had to get a "generational" photo. If only my grandma had been there... ;-)

And super-cute Hattie with her sweet Mama:

And silly Papa:

Love this one of the three of them, even though they're looking at me instead of Jeremy with the camera. Tee hee. :-p

It was a nice visit... very laid back and mellow, just the way we like it. :-D

PhotoBoothing with Hattie at 2 mos.

2011-10-13T16:38:00.004-05:00

I thought it was time for Hattie's 2-month PhotoBooh shots. ;-)

I love how totally precious she is in this first one...

I could NOT get her to smile without looking directly at her! Then I remembered that she'll smile when I tickle her chin. Yay!

Two smiles for you guys! Hooray!

And these next two just make me laugh. :-D Tee hee.

*please excuse my "no-makeup-just-woke-up-so-I'm-in-my-jammies" look. ;-)

Look! Pink! LOL. One of only three pink things she owns. All gifts... ;-)

I hope to have her 2-month stats and rundown up soon. And with more photos, I hope! :-D

Nothing.

2011-09-28T16:24:00.005-05:00

I want for nothing.

I now have everything I've ever wanted.

My life is now complete.

Showing off.

2011-09-21T08:26:00.001-05:00

Since the first week Hattie was born, I've been begging Jeremy to take more photos of her. Yes, yes, I could do it. But Jeremy? Umm... he's amazing. :-) My photos don't do her justice. ;-)

Also, we officially took her stats on Sunday (the 18th) at 6 weeks old:

Weight: 9 lbs 12 oz

Length: 22.5 inches

Measurement around thigh: 6.25 inches (heeeee! so skinny and cute!)

And our beautiful daughter...

She's smiling at *me* here...

*melt*

I know I'm the mom, so I'm biased. But... wow, my girl is gorgeous. *sigh*

And she's mine.

All mine. :-) Okay, and Jeremy's too. ;-)

*sigh*

Touring Hattie's Nursery

2011-09-19T08:51:00.002-05:00

So... I have yet to get photos of Hattie's room, *but* here is a quick video I shot yesterday. I wouldn't say her room is "done" though. I would still like a rug and curtains and a bunting over her crib. And I *really* need to finish the mobile over her changing table. But here's what it looks like as of now: :-)

Growing Up: Hattie at One Month

2011-09-14T17:50:00.010-05:00

Can it be? Hattie is one month old?! Well, actually she's one month and one week, but I'm a bit slow getting here. Babies, you know, are a lot of work and take a lot of time. ;-) Good work and good time! :-D She's so much fun! :-)

And I so need to learn how to use our DSLR, so I can take more *good* photos. :-) *sigh*

At one month...

She's about 22 inches long. (probably a bit longer... she's very wiggly! LOL!)

She's about 9.5 pounds.

She is long and skinny. I have to sell the cloth diapers I have and buy different ones... because the ones I bought? Apparently, they are not for skinny-legged babies, and sometimes poopy leaks onto her clothes. LOL. (I totally thought she'd be a chubby baby!) Ah well. :-)

(A poopy-looking photo, but I just wanted you

to see how long and skinny she is. Heeee!)

She is finally in 0-3 month clothes. Some are still too big for her though (like the outfit above!). Tee hee.

On September 13th, she had her first *real* smile (as in, woke up in the morning, I said, "Hi, Baby Girl!!" And she smiled right at me. ;-) ).

She's such a great sleeper...

(This photo is during a nap, while I was right there.

At night, she's swaddled and on her back. And yes,

you do see yellow, orange and green. Pink is not her color. ;-) )

She's pretty much like clock-work: cat nap around 6 or 7pm, falls asleep at 11:30pm, wakes up at noon. I nurse her around 4:30am or so, and she stays asleep. She then wakes up around 8:30 or 9am to nurse again, then back to sleep till noon.

She does not like a pacifier unless she's sleeping or falling asleep. I didn't want her to have one at all, but sometimes she just needs to suck... and she's not hungry, so I won't do. She gets it, calms herself, then spits it out. :-)

She is SUCH a content baby. She only cries at night when she's super tired and doesn't nap well that day. And *sometimes* she cries when she's hungry... if I'm not fast enough getting ready for her. LOL. :-p

She wakes up in the morning (and from her naps), and she's in such a great mood. Just lies there, taking it all in. She doesn't cry... she stretches and looks around for a bit. I hang out with her for a few minutes before I pick her up. She's so happy. :-)

Loves being in the Moby wrap and helping me cook...

Loves to have her hands up by her face.

Loves tummy time (we started this at five-six days old, a day or two after her umbilical cord fell off). On the boppy, she's getting so strong on her tummy that she can push off with her feet and arms and fall forward onto her head... that is, if I'm not there to catch her. LOL. It's never actually happened, but I know it would if I walked away. (eek!)

Has a *super* strong head, and she can hold it up during tummy time and when I'm just carrying her around.

Is close to rolling over from back to tummy. She can do it with just a nudge from me. ;-)

She is so captivated by the telephone, and she loves when my mom or dad or Jeremy are on the other line (on speaker phone). :-)

She loves music! She has very eclectic tastes though... U2, Point of Grace and Raffi seem to be current favorites. ;-)

She had her first trip to The Container Store on September 4th! She LOVED it! Okay... she was asleep the whole time. LOL. But *I* really enjoyed showing her off to my co-workers. :-) And yes, *of course* I got a photo! That has to be documented. ;-)

I'll try to update more often. I really must have Jeremy (or someone...) teach me how to use the good camera. LOL.

Until next time... :-D

Sharing the Photos!

2011-08-26T08:05:00.000-05:00

Our photographer put the photos up on her blog! Hooray! You can also visit her Facebook fan page for more (you will need to "Like" her page to comment). We are so blessed that she was able to do this for us. Such a blessing. :-)

(The photos that are not in the hospital are all taken in our bedroom.)

Here are some of my favorites...

He really was the most amazing coach ever. I couldn't have asked for a better husband. I'm in awe of him.

I love that this shot is candid. It looks posed, and she captured it perfectly...

*sigh* It nearly brings tears to my eyes. He was so supportive... glued to my side the whole time. :-)

And the first time I saw our sweet girl...

*sigh*

Amazing, right? Leilani is amazing. :-)

PhotoBoothing with Hattie

2011-08-24T18:54:00.003-05:00

Hattie thought it would be fun to play with PhotoBooth today, and I was happy to oblige. ;-)

And apparently, three photos was her limit...

And yes, my scrap room is kinda messy right now. I have been doing much more important things. ;-)

We're doing pretty well. Hattie is a great eater and sleeper. She also can burp with the best of 'em! ;-) Jeremy and I are planning to do a cute baby photo shoot soon. I hope it's *very* soon! Heee!

We're so in love with her. Totally smitten. :-)

p.s. Our photographer will have Hattie's Birthday photos up soon! Hooray! :-)

Sharing Our Birth Story

2011-08-18T07:00:00.007-05:00

I guess I was thinking that I'd share my birth story sooner. I'm not sure why I thought that. I guess I expected to be my normal self sooner. Ah well. Twelve days isn't too shabby, right? ;-) And for those of you who know me personally, you know I'm long-winded and detail-oriented, and it shouldn't surprise you that this is quite long.

For those of you who don't know me, well... I guess you'll get to know me much better after this. ;-)

Also... we planned to have a home-birth. If this upsets you or offends you in any way, I urge you to not read our story. I did end up delivering our daughter in the hospital, however. If you have any negative comments or things to say that are not positive regarding this situation, please do not share them with me. I'm quite sensitive to this, and since I just gave birth and am quite tired and emotional, it probably would make me cry. Thank you for your understanding. :-)

*Photo by Jeremy Klein.

Hattie Camille's Birth Story

A little pre-story...

Thursday, August 4, 2011

I woke up early on that Thursday. I got up for a bit, ate some breakfast, then decided to take a small nap before I had to take my best friend (Camille) to the airport. So I slept, brought her to the airport, then came back home and decided to take another nap. (Go me!)

At this point, I was SUPER proud of myself. I'm really not a big fan of naps, and that day, I was tired enough to take TWO. I was stoked. I woke up around 5pm and realized that the baby consignment sale was starting in one hour. I could make it!

I was considered a VIP (Very Important Pregger), since I was pregnant with my first. I made it on time and waited around till they told us we could line up. I got a pleasant surprise when they announced that the "Most Pregnant Woman" got to be in line first. Uhh... at five days past my due date, I pretty much was a shoe in. ;-)

Woman working at sale: So when is your due date?

Me: July 30th

Woman working at sale: Uhhh... as in... the July 30th that was five days ago?

Me: Mmhmm... that would be the one! ;-)

Woman working at sale: WOW! You *do* deserve to be first! What are you doing here? Why aren't you at home with your feet up?

Me: Tee hee. I've had my feet up for two weeks! I needed to get OUT! :-D

So... I walked around the sale and found all the things I wanted/needed. (Score!) As I was leaving, a woman called out to me, "Hey, after all this walking, I'll bet you go into labor tonight!"

I chuckled. Mmkay, Lady. Sure. ;-)

I was having Braxton Hicks pretty much the entire time I was at the sale. They *did* feel pretty constant, but they weren't real contractions. I went home and laid around, watched some Friends, cleaned up a bit.

Around 10pm, the Braxton Hicks seemed to be increasing, so I sat down to rest and watch the finale of The Bachelorette (please no judging... ;-). Around midnight, I started having small contractions. They were about 5-10 minutes apart, and nothing to write home about. I remember thinking that labor could start and stop, so this wasn't necessarily the sign of impending labor.

Friday, August 5, 2011

Jeremy arrived home around midnight, I think.

At 1am, I decided to call Debra (my midwife) and let her know that my contractions had started, weren't very strong or painful, and I was lying down to get sleep. I only slept for two hours, but it was nice that I was able to fall asleep. :-) I was very happy that I had taken those *two* naps the day before. My body must have known. ;-)

Around 3am, I woke up, ate some chicken salad (mmm... chicken salad...), and did a few things around the house... just in case this *was* labor, I wanted to make sure everything was in order. I was pretty organized, and we had been keeping the house very clean, but there were just a few things I wanted to do.

Then at 5:30, my contractions started to get a bit stronger (still not painful), so I thought it would be a good idea to get some more rest. I think I may have taken some Benadryl to help me sleep. And I went in the guest bedroom because that's a more comfy bed (it used to be our mattress). Tee hee. Jeremy slept on the floor next to me, and we slept till 11am.

I got up, did some more things around the house, and then went to the bathroom. I noticed that I was starting to lose my mucous plug. It's possible at this point, that I was like, "Whoa! Could this be it? Could I go into active labor today?!" But I still tried not to get my hopes up. :-)

At noon, I ate two eggs and an apple. My contractions had slowed to seven minutes apart, and they weren't painful, so I sent Jeremy off to work. LOL. He was like, "Uhh... really? Are you sure? Will you be okay?" His job for the day was only 20 minutes away, so I wasn't worried.

"Of course I'll be okay!" Famous last words, yes? ;-)

I decided to take a nice, relaxing bath. About an hour later, my contractions started to pick up. At 1:30, they were getting a bit painful, were 2-4 minutes apart and 60 seconds long. I called Debra to let her know my progress, but told her I didn't think she needed to be there yet. (In hindsight... this was dumb. LOL.) I'm pretty sure at this point, I decided to call Leilani (our photographer) to give her a head's up. She said she'd be there at 7pm. I thought that sounded good.

I had a little snack, lost more of my mucous plug, and called Jeremy around 2pm. I felt kinda bad that he had only been at his job-site for two hours, but I told him I needed him to come home. (Debra was pretty shocked I had sent him off to work. Oops! This is what I get for not getting my hopes up! LOL. I was trying to stay relaxed, and therefore, tell myself that labor was *not* starting soon. LOL. Ah well. :-p )

Then I got in the shower, because when contractions are starting to get painful, showers feel SOOOOOO nice. My former gymnastics coach (and now, close friend) had texted me earlier and, jokingly, told me to stop the handstands for the day. Tee hee. She mentioned something about straddle-press handstands, and while in the shower, that thought made me giggle. BUT... it also sounded like it may help. I stood up in my straddle, bent over and put my hands flat on the shower floor. No, I wasn't planning on doing a straddle press to handstand, but I did rock back and forth from my feet to my hands... like I was getting ready to. This was actually really helpful through contractions! Yay for gymnastics! ;-)

Jeremy had to wait to be relieved at his job-site, so he finally arrived home around 3:30pm. I wanted to keep busy, so I threw in some laundry while Jeremy blew up the birthing tub. I lost more of mucous plug at this point too.

Contractions were the same, so I decided to get back in the bath tub. Mmm... warm water. :-) After being in there an hour or so, my water broke in the tub. How convenient! (And cool to watch! LOL. ;-) ). It was 5pm at this point, and after my water broke, my contractions definitely started to pick up. Cue active labor! ;-)

Jeremy called Debra and told her about my water breaking. I could hear her on the phone, "Don't you think it's about time I came over?" And Jeremy said emphatically, "Yes, please!" LOL.

I'm really not sure of everything that transpired in the next 90 minutes before Debra arrived at around 6:00 or 6:30pm. It's pretty much a blur. I *did* call Leilani to let her know to come soon, so she could get *some* photos before things got too painful for me. And I did get into the birthing tub, which we couldn't keep warm enough... because there were only two of us. Oops. (Yes, should have called the midwife team sooner. Note to self for next time... ;-) )

And things progressed pretty normally from there. I'm really not sure of the timeline over the next four hours, but I do remember pretty much what happened. I didn't look at the clock, and I didn't ask. I felt like I had a pretty good hold on contractions until transition. I mean, yes, they were very painful, but Jeremy was an AMAZING coach. And I'm pretty sure that somewhere between 7 and 8pm, the rest of our midwife team arrived: Mary (a CNM) and Kate (their apprentice/midwife-in-training).

I moved around from the bed to the shower. I'm not really sure why I never got back into the birthing tub. I felt very focused, and I did whatever Jeremy and my team suggested. Once I was at 5-6 cm, Debra noticed a tinge of meconium in my amniotic fluid. It was super thin, and therefore, nothing to be concerned about. They weren't worried, so I wasn't worried.

I remember Mary and Debra saying, "You're only at 5-6 cm, so you have a while to go yet." And I remember thinking, "You have GOT to be kidding me! A while?!??! What does that mean? I'm in pain here!" LOL.

I think another hour passed, and I was still at 5-6 cm. They thought this was because the baby was posterior, so I labored a bit in three different positions before they checked me again. After laboring in those three positions, the baby had spun to an anterior position! (Hooray for the midwives' expertise!) I remember it feeling really nice when Jeremy or Kate pushed on my back during contractions. My legs were really hurting, and Kate massaged those during contractions, which took a bit of the edge off.

So I must have hit transition while the baby was spinning to anterior. I don't remember thinking, "Oh, this must be transition!" because, like I said, I was super-focused. But now, looking back at that time where instead of doing my low-deep-voiced moans (like they suggested...) during contractions, I was pretty much screaming... I'm guessing that was transition. ;-) And yes, wow, that was definitely the most painful part of the entire labor. WOW. I do remember thinking how amazing Jeremy was being and how blessed I felt to be lying in his arms while going through that horrid pain.

And just like that... they said, "10 cm!" I couldn't believe it! It felt like it flew by, honestly. :-) I tried a few different pushing positions, and I pushed for almost an hour. At that time (unbeknownst to me), thick meconium had come out in my amniotic fluid. I watched as Mary and Debra walked away to talk for a bit. They came back and told me we had to get to the hospital... just in case the baby had aspirated any meconium. It's always better to be safe than sorry.

I didn't argue. It didn't phase me, really. I wasn't upset. I was a bit worried how I'd get dressed, get in the car, and have to labor and push in the back of our Jeep. LOL. I visualized myself doing it all before I actually did it. I guess that helped.

I was on all-fours in the backseat, with Debra behind me. Jeremy was driving. Debra said, "Now, Jeremy... *don't* run any red lights!" And I replied, "WHAT?!?! WHY NOT?!??!" LOL. I just wanted to be out of the car as soon as possible. The hospital was only 2 miles away, so calling an ambulance really wouldn't have gotten us there any faster. There *was* traffic at 10:30 at night that Friday. *sigh* I remember thinking, "Why don't these cars MOVE?! Don't they know I have a baby coming out of me?!" LOL. Tee hee.

The drive felt like it took forever. I finally got there, climbed out of the car, walked inside, and sat in a wheelchair. The guy wheeled me (Jeremy walking behind us) up to Labor & Delivery, where I was the only woman in labor, and a HUGE team was at a nursing station waiting for me. Seriously, there were like 10-15 people! I'm sure they have everyone on standby in that ward. LOL.

I was SO glad that I just got to climb into a bed. No ugly gown. I kept on my own nightgown. No tests. No questions. I was glad they were leaving me be. That felt nice. Well, you know... as nice as it can be when you're trying to push a 7.5 pound baby out of your body. ;-) I pushed for an hour-ish more, once I got there. That felt like a long time to me, but it felt good to push. It didn't hurt nearly as bad as all the labor leading up to this point.

The hospital staff was awesome. They let me push in several positions, and they didn't break the bed down. I had Debra coaching me in my left ear. Jeremy was on my right. It was so awesome to have Debra there. She knew exactly what to say and when to say it, and that was a tremendous help.

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Debra said to the team of nurses and doctors, "Now Everyone, DON'T tell Jeremy and Reyanna the sex of the baby. THEY want to find out for themselves!" Between contractions (I pushed for each one), I had no pain and was perfectly calm. We even talked and joked sometimes between them. I joked, "I think the baby is a boy, and today, August 5th, is my dad's birthday! That would be neat!" So everyone was saying things like, "He's almost here! Let's get him before midnight! You almost have your son!"

As the baby was crowning, they let me feel the head. Very strange. LOL. Did not feel like a baby's head. Tee hee. But I'm glad I got the experience. I had my eyes closed for each contraction because I was so very focused. When the baby came out, it honestly felt like I exploded. LOL. I didn't open my eyes until a few seconds later. (She was born at 12:10am on Saturday, August 6th. She didn't make it in time for my dad's birthday, but I was glad she was born on the 6th... so we have my mom's birthday on the 4th, my dad's birthday on the 5th, and Hattie on the 6th. :-D )

When I finally *did* open my eyes, they had taken the baby across the room to make sure he/she had no meconium in his/her lungs. Debra said to me, "They're just taking him over there to suction his lungs." And I thought, "Aw man! She just told everyone not to tell me the sex of the baby, then she goes and tells me! GAH!" LOL. But I ignored that and said to Jeremy, "Go see the baby! Come back and tell me if it's a boy or a girl."

As he walked over there, I heard our baby coughing and screaming. They remarked how amazing it was that our baby coughed. Apparently, babies don't usually cough right after they're born. (Our baby is so awesome! ;-) ) This was a great thing though! Coughed up everything it had in there! And we were told the baby was perfectly fine... no meconium! HOORAY!

I watched Jeremy look at our precious baby. I loved the look on his face. I was so glad that Leilani was there to capture this for us. He had this HUGE smile on his face. He was enjoying whatever he was looking at. He turned and walked toward me, still this huge smile on his face.

He leaned down to my right ear.

"It's a girl........" he whispered slowly.

Goosebumps ran over my entire body. They still do as I think of that moment. And with a HUGE smile on my face... and in complete and utter disbelief, I said, "Noooooo....... A girl?! I can't believe it! We have a GIRL?!" The whole delivery room burst out laughing. A few seconds went by, and I said, "I can't believe it! A GIRL?!?!!" Everyone laughed again. I think for the next hour, I said, "A girl?! Really?! I can't believe it!" LOL.

We had our daughter. The one we prayed long and hard for. We were beyond excited, and we were SO glad we waited for this surprise. Truly, the best surprise EVER! They brought her to me within minutes, and we just got to stare at her. She looked exactly like Jeremy when Jeremy was a baby.

The hospital staff asked, "What's her name?" And Jeremy replied, "Hattie!" And I said, "WAIT! NO! I have to spend time with her first! We have to talk about this!" LOL. It didn't take long though. I ran through the other names in my head, but she was a Hattie. Hattie Camille. It really did fit her perfectly, and I was glad that name was the favorite for both of us.

Hattie was perfect. She was 7 pounds, 10 ounces and 20 inches long. Her APGAR scores were 8 and 9, and she had no jaundice and no meconium in her lungs or stomach.

After Hattie was born, I had two cups of Jell-O, two cups of pudding, and some juice. I was feeling tired, but pretty much okay. A few hours later, I got into a wheelchair to go to the bathroom. They wheeled me three feet away from the bed, and I felt like I was going to pass out. I promptly told the nurses. "Are you sure?" they asked. "Yes, I'm sure! I'm going to pass out!" And... I did. I guess I was out for a minute or two. They had to bring in the ammonia to make sure I stopped passing out because I was in and out of consciousness. I felt really crappy at that point.

After I was okay, and they were sure I wasn't going to pass out again, they told me they were going to put me back into bed. They wheeled me back those three feet, and I announced I had to throw up. They got the bag there just in time. *sigh* And I threw up. A lot. I felt like I couldn't stop throwing up, actually. It was a horrible feeling. They decided to give me some medication to stop the vomiting. And I'm pretty sure I passed out again after that... this time in my bed, and I think I may have slept for a couple hours.

I felt a bit better after waking up, but still pretty out of it. I remember thinking, "Where am I? Is this the same room I gave birth in? Where's Hattie? Oh, good. Jeremy has Hattie." :-) (She was in our room the whole time, and she never left our sight.) My body just doesn't handle physical stress well. I ate well in the hospital, and I really took it easy. My blood levels weren't staying stable, but they released me anyway... with strict instructions to keep up on vitamins, iron, and rest.

It was a hard recovery at home too over the next week. But Jeremy took GREAT care of me! I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful husband... he brought me water, food, did laundry, cooking, cleaning, took care of the baby when I needed to rest. We also had friends from church who brought us meals when we needed them. I still nursed through this time, and it was really rough. I was very weak and dizzy, and I had choreiac episodes that were scary too.

It took me a bit to recover, but I recovered well. We have wonderful friends and family who all pitched in to help. It was amazing to have that support. :-)

And from the time my water broke and I started active labor, till Hattie was born, it was only seven hours (including 2.5 hours of pushing)! Yeah!

I understand that planning a home-birth isn't for everyone. As I look back on our experience, I can't help but wonder, "Would I do anything differently? Would I change something? If I knew I was going to end up in the hospital, would I plan a hospital birth from the start?"

And I can say with confidence... No. I wouldn't change a thing. I loved our midwife team. I loved being able to spend 60-90 minutes with them at each prenatal visit. I loved the support, encouragement, and expertise they brought to this experience. I love that with everything that happened, I was still able to have a natural, unmedicated childbirth.

I loved being able to labor at home. Transferring to the hospital while being 10 cm was not ideal, but I would not have wanted to transfer when my water broke or I was 5-6 cm... having to labor for hours in the uncomfortable atmosphere that a hospital provides me. And I certainly wouldn't have wanted to transfer during transition. We did what was right for our family. And everything turned out perfectly. :-)

*Again... If you have any negative comments or things to say that are not positive regarding this situation, please do not share them with me. I'm quite sensitive to this, and since I just gave birth and am quite tired and emotional, it probably would make me cry. Thank you for your understanding. :-) And thank you to everyone for your support and encouragement throughout my pregnancy!

Announcing...

2011-08-17T22:18:00.004-05:00

The birth of our daughter...

Hattie Camille

born August 6, 2011

12:10 am

7 pounds, 10 ounces

20 inches

perfect in every way

Ruby meeting Hattie.

A Longhorn fan already... ;-)

And we're so in love. :-)

*Birth story will be posted tomorrow morning.

A Note.

2011-08-10T21:44:00.003-05:00

Hi there!

You don't know me. I'm brand new.

I'm keeping my mommy very busy right now. She hasn't been feeling well, but she'll be back when she can... to update more about my arrival. :-) Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Love,

Hattie

Celebrating 30 Years... for both of us!

2011-08-03T09:43:00.007-05:00

So I really had planned on making an epic Golden Birthday post. Umm... notsomuch. I didn't even *post* on our birthday.

*sigh*

We did have a great day though... baby or no baby. ;-) We decided to hit up Torchy's, which is one of our favorite places in Austin. I was so glad my bff, Camille (who flew in from Rhode Island!!) could be there too. She finally got to have some Tex-Mex, and it was her first taco on corn tortillas. Umm... yes. I would say she's a Tex-Mex virgin, for sure! ;-)

Then we went to Big Top, which we LOVE. Jeremy and I hadn't been there in quite a while, so it was great to go! Jeremy took this neat photo of the chocolate cases:

We didn't get candy though (shocking, I know!), but we mainly go there for the old-fashioned soda fountain. Camille got the most delicious limeade EVER (Sonic who? ;-) ), Jeremy got a cherry limeade, and I got a coconut Italian creme soda... all of which were amazing! :-) And I may or may not be having a serious love-affair with anything coconut right now. Just sayin. ;-)

Can't have a birthday without cupcakes, right?! I was stoked that we were able to stop by Delish, which has gluten-free cupcakes... just for me! Okay, not *just* for me. Tee hee. But wow, they are DELISH! (No pun intended.... okay, it was intended because I'm not one to actually *say* "delish," but they really were delicious! :-D )

Jeremy and I didn't even get a photo of us together on our 30th birthday on the 30th. LOL. We'll try to remedy that today... four days later. No worries. :-) But Camille and I *were* able to get a photo. Yay!

I did get one recent shot of Jeremy. Umm... I'm not sure what he'd say about me posting his bum (a very nice bum, mind you ;-) ) for all of the internet to see, but this photo is just too funny...

He doesn't *usually* climb in their carrier (our euphemism for "crate" ;-) ), but he did this to cuddle with Ruby... and it was too funny when he did this the other day. I had to take a photo. Amber is looking on, saying, "What the heck is going on around here?!?!" Tee hee. :-)

So... that was our birthday! Yay! I usually do a birthday post about how Jeremy and I were born on the same day. You can see last year's here. But this year, I just wanted to show pictures of what we did. Fun, yes? ;-)

And... no baby yet. I'm really not worried or stressed or anything. Don't worry. I mean, yes, I'm getting uncomfortable, but not miserable. I am feeling chubby and pregnant at this point. LOL. But it certainly doesn't feel unmanageable or "I'm ready to be done!" No, nothing like that. Just patiently waiting. :-) Yes, I can't WAIT to meet this sweet baby. He/she will arrive when he/she is ready! :-D

As for the Texas heat, and this summer being on its way to being our hottest ever... I can honestly say it's not phasing me. LOL. I LOOOOOVE the heat! Seriously, every day, I just spend time hanging out on our porch. I love it so much. :-) It doesn't feel any different to me... you know, having this extra 42 pounds or whatever. It still feels glorious. And I'm not all *that* strange. Camille feels the same way. At least we're in good company! ;-)

And since I haven't shown photos of the baby's room in its completion yet, I thought I'd share some art I made. :-) I know there are tons of these on the internet... usually done with hearts or butterflies, like this one here. But I thought doing it with Mickeys would be wicked cool. :-)

This is the "if it's a boy" version:

And the "if it's a girl" version:

It's actually the same piece of art, but the peach Mickeys are covered up with charcoal Mickeys. Tee hee. :-p These were just SUPER quick photos I snapped. I'll take better ones when I post photos of the room.

The room is *pretty* much done. The side table doesn't have knobs/pulls. And two of the containers in the closet don't have labels (*gasp*). And the mobile above the changing station isn't done. But really, that's it! I'm SOOOO excited to show you the room! I'm loving how it turned out.

Soon. Very soon. :-) I'll try to get hubby to take them tonight... providing I'm not like... you know, giving birth or something. ;-)

Polling the Audience.

2011-07-24T20:59:00.004-05:00

Well, less than one week away from my EDD (July 30th). I kinda have this feeling I'm going to go over, but since it's our birthday, of course we're keeping our fingers crossed. ;-) And then when we heard about this couple, we even *moreso* are keeping our fingers crossed. See? It could happen! ;-)

So... let the guessing game begin! I set up a poll on the side there ------------------->

... if you want to take a guess on whether it will be a boy or a girl.

And if you want to guess on birthdate, weight, length, that'd be fun too! I can't guarantee you'll win something because after Baby K arrives, I'm pretty sure I'll be busy and tired. ;-) But hey, I could make something happen for one of you if you get several right! :-D

I'm just so excited to meet this little one. Such a surreal feeling. VERY surreal.

Sneaking Some Peeks...

2011-07-15T07:20:00.001-05:00

My friend, Bethina was over yesterday with her sister and little ninjas. Her youngest loved that we had the carseat on the floor. She climbed right in to break it in a bit! ;-) This teeny thing is not even 20 pounds yet... at age 19 months. I know, I know! Oh, for cute!! :-) Couldn't help but snap a photo...

And while I had my p&s out (so sorry... they're not as good as DSLR photos...), I thought I'd take a few quick shots of our nursery in progress. The room is not completed yet, but wow, it's getting close!!!

Side table with lamp and cute baskets (I'll do a whole breakdown of all products once the room is completed!)...

Art sitting on the floor (yes, I made that Mickey print... be still be my beating Disney-loving heart. I'm in love with it... if I do say so myself... ;-) )....

Blankets and cloth diapers all ready to go (haven't written-out labels yet)...

Diaper covers and cloth wipes...

Our ever-growing children's book collection...

The chair cushion and pillow I *sewed all by myself*... (Heeeeee!)

So excited that it's almost done! And then... I think I'll just hang out in there. Okay, I already do, but you know... I will more often. ;-)

Two weeks left till my due date?! REALLY?!

Growing: 37 Weeks

2011-07-13T23:15:00.004-05:00

(Hee! Look at my belly button! Baby must have been pushing it out all kinds! :-D )

And some stuff about me at 37 Weeks (okay, I'm a bit past that now)...

Notes: I'm feeling pretty good, I think... I mean, pretty good for being 2-3 weeks away from my due date. ;-) I have some pain in my pubic bone from cartilage-softening. But I keep telling myself this is a *great* thing, so that there's lots of stretching going on! ;-)

I'm really enjoying being pregnant... even in the Texas heat (which I love, by the way! LOL). And even on days when I'm uncomfortable and/or in pain, I don't want to take one single day for granted. I know what it's like to lose a pregnancy. I know what it's like to be wanting a child and not be pregnant. I know what it's like to think it would never happen...

So I'm really trying to enjoy every second of this. :-)

Inches grown around tummy: 16 inches

Weight gained: 40 pounds (I started out under-weight, so this is fine... I'm actually really glad about this weight gain so far!)

Sex of baby: it's a surprise!

Heart rate of baby: baby is always moving up a storm, so the heartbeat is always moving between 130 and 160. :-D

Baby's Size: According to the average at this time, Baby K is about 6 1/3 pounds now and over 19 inches long! Craziness!

Movement: Still lots and lots! I love when I can see the butt or foot or knee sticking up. It's just so cool! And I love seeing its little limbs moving across my tummy. :-D

Cravings: peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, bean and cheese burritos, rotisserie chicken

Weird food notes: A friend of mine made some lemon cupcakes for me last week at my church baby shower, and I... seriously... can NOT stop thinking about them. I only got two, and it was NOT enough. They were the most delicious cupcakes EVER! I think about them every, single day. LOL. :-p

Baby's Room Progress:

Room is cleaned out! PARTY!
Clothes, diapers, blankets, etc are all washed and put away in bins! YES!
Rocking chair cushion and pillow are MADE (sewn by me!) ... okay, I still have to hand-sew the closing of the pillow... ;-)
Still have a few projects to do (more wall art and finish side table).
I'll try to get in there with my camera, so you can see another in-progress shot. ;-)

So when Jeremy took my belly profile photos last week, I think he was feeling a bit left out. This is his "before the Phantom Fetus" shot....

And the "with his Phantom Fetus" shot...

And I thought it would be fun to get one of me looking down at my belly...

This next photo of Jeremy... How cute is he??!?! REALLY? :-D My heart melts at this shot. He's so excited to be a daddy. :-) He talks to our baby every night, and he always wants to talk about being parents. Love this guy. :-)

This is so surreal. I can't believe the baby will be here in a matter of WEEKS! As in... like... two or three! Just CRAZINESS to me!

Creating a Fast Dessert.

2011-07-01T19:32:00.005-05:00

If you're thinking this looks delicious, you would be correct. ;-) I really wanted dessert tonight, but I didn't want anything *too* sweet or sugary. My poor, pregnant body can't handle dairy anymore, so I'm afraid my ice cream binges will have to be put on hold. *sigh* A sad day, indeed. ;-)

So... anyway, this was SUPER fast and easy. We air-pop our popcorn, and I try to always have a bin (this hexagonal container) filled with it, so we can have a quick, healthy snack. So I broke that out, and here's what I did:

Pour popcorn on top of waxed-paper-covered plate.
Put half of a handful (1/3 cup maybe? it doesn't matter...) of chocolate chips in Pyrex measuring cup.
Put 1 tablespoon butter in with the chocolate.
Microwave butter/chocolate in 20-second increments, stirring in between.
When melted, drizzle chocolate on popcorn. (read: dip knife in chocolate and then "whip it" at the popcorn. LOL.)
Put plate in fridge till chocolate hardens.
Enjoy. :-)

Quick. Easy. Cheap. Delicious. :-D

What's a quick and easy dessert you've come up with?

Walking Around the House.

2011-06-24T06:00:00.001-05:00

So... in addition to finishing the baby's room, we've been doing other projects around the house. Whether it be painting, staining, rearranging, redecorating, I consider all of it "getting ready for baby." Jeremy may or may not agree with me. ;-) Tee hee.

I found an AWESOME oak table on Craigslist (forever ago!) for $40. I know. A steal. I'm excited too. ;-) It seats six of these antique chairs (hand-me-downs from my dad), so I think it's a pretty good size. Yes, it needs work, but at $40? Umm... we can handle the work! ;-)

The table (now covered in a table cloth to hide the... *ahem*... flaws) will be sanded and painted white. The chairs have been sanded, and we're just starting the white-stain process. Then I will reupholster them with fabric I got on clearance (another steal of only $7 for ALL six chairs!!!)...

(The paint sprayer is hanging out here after he finished the first coat of the chair and table for Baby's room.)

Here's a peek of one chair we've already stained (yes, I'm going for the weathered look, and I love how this turned out)...

And here are poms that are still hanging up after my baby shower. LOL. I like how they look. Tee hee. :-p

This china cabinet came from Jeremy's grandparents' house. Umm... it's been 1/2 primed for like... a year now. Oops. I DID tape it off to finish, but then Jeremy was like, "Oh, that glass just pops out." Umm... okay. LOL. It will be painted off-white. We'll get to it! ;-)

This trunk... I found at Ross or TJ Maxx for $35. We use this as our coffee table. The tray was at a consignment store for about $5. The bowl and coaster set are from a thrift store. The seashells are from our front yard in Rhode Island. LOL. ;-) (And that's our Shutterfly wedding album there too. Awwww! ;-) )

The side table (a hand-me-down from my dad... I BEGGED him for it. I love it so.) holds glass jars (I just washed out food jars), some silk tulips and some 1950's photos of my dad. That little basket holds cat/dog toys.

I have some more vases/glass jars on our bookshelves. They're mainly filled with flowers, rocks, sand and shells. I like the beachy thing. I miss our beach.

The small baskets (with the white tags) hold DVDs. The large baskets hold games. Under those, are little cabinets with books.

A peek of our photo wall in the living room. I had the macro lens on the camera and was way too lazy to change it, so you only get a small portion. LOL. Sorry. :-p (Buoy photos taken by Jeremy in Rhode Island... our next-door neighbor's fence).

Just another close-up of the other side of the book shelves.

And one photo of our guest bathroom...

That framed art of the little girl (it's chalk on sand paper by Dave Kurz, by the way)... That needs to be hung up. It *was* hung up, but I changed my mind about placement and took it down. Tee hee. It'll go on that wall to the left... just above the flowers.

And that's what I'm working on around the house. Things we need to get done... things we have gotten done (yay!). I know I need to share more photos of our house, so that's why I did this post. I definitely plan on doing more posts like this! :-)

Getting Things Accomplished!

2011-06-23T13:16:00.008-05:00

So... we did SOOOOO much yesterday! YAY! *sigh* I LOVE being productive. LOVE it. I'm glad I've had a bit o' energy. ;-) You know, between breaks. ;-)

Honestly didn't think *that* was going to happen yesterday either... because we're pretty sure Jeremy got food poisoning yesterday. Poor guy. Was throwing up....

Jeremy: BLEHHHHHHHHHHH!

Me (from the other room): Did you just sneeze?

Jeremy: No... I just threw up my cereal.

Me: AWWWWW!

... and he spent the ENTIRE day in bed. (I took good care of him too! :-D ) But... when he woke up (at 4pm... LOL), he was ready to get some stuff done. YAY! :-D

He finally got around to painting the rocking chair and side table I got for the baby's room. He borrowed his dad's paint sprayer to make the job easier. Hoorah! (We still need to seal it with this Safecoat Acrylacq.)

This rocking chair was $50 at an antique store I love. Not sure it's actually an antique, but it's SUPER sturdy and comfy and adorable. And of course, I needed it to be white to match our crib...

This side table? It was FREE! It was *outside* the Goodwill drop-off. And the guy said they couldn't sell it because a piece of wood chipped off. Umm... okay. He said, "You can take it! Just don't let anyone see you!" LOL. Umm... okay! :-D

(Yes, Kissa is making a cameo in this post, and no, I didn't want to crop her out... because she's too adorable. :-D )

(I'll be sure to show before/after shots of both the rocking chair and table when they're completely done and in the room!)

I sorted baby clothes. That was kinda fun. Tee hee. This is my "to wash" pile of Newborn and 0-3 month clothes. (Yes, that top one is blue. No, I don't know if we're having a boy or a girl. I just had it, so decided to throw it in there. :-D )

And the "to wash" cloth diaper/cloth wipes pile. I'm VERY excited to wash these and put these away... probably more excited than any other job. Tee hee. (Yes, another blue item. I LOVE blue. Sorry. And if we have a girl, she will wear LOTS of blue. Because I LOVE blue. That is all.)

Next... two vintage items I would love to see in Baby K's room. This scale? How adorable is it?! Seriously?! LOVE it! It was a gift from my next door neighbor. :-) And this cute vintage baby box was $2 at my favorite antique store (where I got the rocking chair). Love that it matches our color scheme.

And a peek at the in-progress closet. Honestly, this pale grey (Benjamin Moore's Silver Lake) looked purple to me at first, but now I just love it! This stuff (sitting on the changing station) is just set there for now. None of it will stay put. That cute bag? I LOVE it (and it's blue, of course!)! I'll use it as the diaper bag, and then I can use it any way I want after that! :-D Adorable, compact, blue, lots o' pockets, and on-sale! Perfection.

This is also an "in-progress" shot. That lamp? I painted it to match the closet. Then I covered the lampshade with one of our room fabrics. Oh my. SO excited to see it on that cute little table (top of this post). And my Disney figurine collection. Jeremy may or may not argue when we go to actually hang it up. *sigh* Tough. I love it. It reminds me of my childhood. I love it. End of story.

A little peek at the crib and crib skirt I made! GO ME! (See how it matches the lampshade? WOO!) Umm... I still need a mattress cover and sheets. Tee hee.

And that's it! Well, we also went through a million boxes and worked on cleaning out the garage. See? Didn't we totally get a lot done?! It's crazy that we only have like... five weeks left until we hold this little one.

Lusting After PaigeBooks.

2011-06-21T15:39:00.005-05:00

Okay, she's my friend, but I'm not biased!... Paige's books really are AMAZING! And Paige is celebrating her 1000th (!!!!!!) blog post by giving away TEN of these babies!

Here are my three favorites:

(seriously? aqua, yellow and WHITE?! this one has Reyanna written all over it...)

You should totally head on over there and enter to win! No, I'm not getting any perk for blogging about this (psh... I wish! ;-) ), I just thought it was awesome and had to share!

Listing My Favorite Things

2011-06-16T22:44:00.018-05:00

So Oprah has a list of her favorite *things*, and I think it's always fun to see other people's lists. So... I thought I'd make my own too. (This is not counting people or puppies or things like that... just *things* this time...)

Now, after EVERY.SINGLE.ONE of these products, I could write the subtitle, "This is the best EVER!"... but I won't. That could get annoying. Tee hee. :-p Just know as you're reading these, that I think these products are AMAZING and AWESOME, and living without them would be... well, it would NOT be fun! ;-) Just sayin... ;-)

I use these items every single day. Seriously. Honestly. No joke. :-D

1. Mint Eco-Lips lip moisturizer

2. L'Occitane Olive Organic Lip Balm (kinda expensive for lip stuff, but PERFECT for when it's too hot for chapstick... those things melt! LOL! And... it lasts forever!)

3. Vita-Mix blender

4. Nalgene 32oz water bottles (I NEVER leave home without one! EVER! ;-) )

5. Built NY 32oz bottle tote (I use it with my Nalgene... and mine is black instead of red.)

6. Built NY Gourmet Getaway lunch bag

7. Vera Bradley All-in-One Wristlet (They now make one to hold the iPhone... you know, if you have one. I don't have a smart phone [I wouldn't use it... LOL], but if you do... ;-) This is my favorite new color, English Meadow. I don't own anything in this color YET, but I will... some day... ;-) )

It's awesome because it has a wrist loop (I also hook my keys on there if I'm just running into a store quickly), an inside zipper pocket (where I put cash and coins) and a few places for cards (I only have a few...), and under *those* pockets, it has a lengthwise pocket that holds more cards, which I use to hold punch/value/membership card thingies......

And then on the *outside* of it, it has an ID window thingy. I keep my driver's license and debit card in there, so I don't have to unzip the wallet to get out the two things I use most! ...

8. Copco Sierra Cold Tumbler w/ straw (perfect for my smoothies!)

9. Maybelline Mineral Power Concealer

10. Company Store Microfleece Blanket (psst... I waited till it went on clearance and got the twin size for $13!!!)

11. Moleskine journals (Volant in x-small, a TINY size, now in COLORS!!)

12. Viva Choose-A-Size Paper Towels (they feel like towels!)

13. Eco Sponge (these last FOREVER... I just put them in the dishwasher once a week. Love that they don't smell bad after months and months of use. You should probably still change them though... LOL.)

14. iMac

Growing: 33 Weeks

2011-06-13T07:08:00.007-05:00

(I look really tired in this photo. Taken at like 10pm... LOL.

Also, my lordosis has gotten worse since I've been pregnant,

and I just noticed this today! So I tried to correct it in this photo,

by purposely trying to straighten out my back. Tee hee.)

And some stuff about me at 33 Weeks...

Notes: Finally feeling pregnant! LOL. Getting up in the middle of the night (and the morning) is SO difficult! LOL. Honestly, I feel like I'm 100 years old... you know, normal 3rd trimester stuff... a bit of swelling in hands/feet, arthritis in hands and wrists, pain in my back and sciatic nerve (I had this before pregnancy, but it's just flaring up now...), and stiff and sore. Thankfully, this all pretty much goes away within 30 minutes of being out of bed. YAY!

Feeling a bit tired too, but I'm *trying* to take naps to help that. That's tough for me. I'm not a fan of naps. Tee hee. Still feeling pretty great during the day though, and I know it gets harder and harder over the next few weeks, so I'm just trying to stay positive. :-D

And... I'd take all this over 1st trimester nausea and sheer exhaustion any day! ;-)

Inches grown around tummy: 15 inches

Weight gained: 34-ish pounds (I started out under-weight, so this is fine)

Sex of baby: it's a surprise!

Heart rate of baby: cancelled my appointment (due to exhaustion... tee hee) for this last week, so I'll know in a few days!

Baby's Size: I haven't shared this before, but it's fun to know! Baby K is about four pounds now and over 17 inches long! Craziness!

Movement: TONS! I love seeing the wave-like movement going on in there! Today at church... a couple, sitting next to me, noticed my belly was moving around like CRAZY. The husband was like, "WHOA!" And gasped and giggled out loud. It was pretty funny. The woman on my other side said to me, "I guess your baby likes music!" (we were singing) LOL. It was pretty neat. :-)

Also, a funny story: At birthing class this last week, our instructor asked everyone if we thought our babies had rhythm. Jeremy's hand shot up, and he said, "I love feeling our baby move around! Reyanna says the baby gets hiccups, but I think he or she is beat-boxing in there!" LOL! It was hilarious. He totally made the whole class laugh. :-D I love him. He's so awesome.

Cravings: milk, sandwiches, ice cream

Weird food notes: Cake & ice cream is probably the most fabulous food combo EVER. Just sayin... ;-)

Baby's Room Progress:

Crib skirt is made! I haven't taken photos yet because I still need to attach part of it to the crib frame.
One piece of wall art is DONE!
Still need to make mobile.
Still have LOTS of projects to do (more wall art, side table, rocking chair, cushions, etc).

Also, Jeremy's family and a high school friend of mine threw me a shower this last Saturday. Jeremy and I also had a few close friends there, and it was lots of fun. (I will *probably* post photos...) While I was showing my step-mother-in-law how the baby was moving, Jeremy snapped this photo...

It's nice that I now have a pregnant photo of me NOT wearing black! ;-) Heee! I should probably take some more. LOL. :-p I have a church baby shower this week, and I'm SO excited about it as well! Hopefully, I'll remember my camera... ;-)

Updating.

2011-06-08T12:41:00.014-05:00

I feel like such a horrible blogger! I'm sorry. :-p

Truth be told, I've *wanted* to blog. I REALLY have. I LOVE blogging! But... I got my feelings hurt my something someone said about the photographs on my blog, so I stopped taking photos (gasp!) and stopped blogging... or simply blogged less.

*sigh*

And that? Is horrible! I mean, people are entitled to their opinions... that's not the horrible part. I don't claim to be a photographer... in the slightest. (I use my point & shoot for everything. I don't even know how to use my DSLR [hubby does!], but I'd love to learn.) The horrible part is that I let this get to me! And I feel guilty for that. I shouldn't have.

Anywho, I will be better. :-D

I have been SOOOOOO busy lately! I have LOTS of photos to take and share here, and I'll do that soon, but this is what I've been up to ... tee hee. :-)

Worrying:

All the time. About all kinds of stuff. LOL.

At least I'm not worried about giving birth! :-D

The worrying is starting to get me down though.

I gotta stay positive! :-)

Watching:

(My favorite season!)

Eating:

(Namely, Century Sundae and Strawberry Cheesecake!

Photo found here. Not sure of original source.)

Lounging in:

(Very comfy!)

Inspired by:

Source: houseofturquoise.com via Reyanna on Pinterest

and this:

Wearing:

(One of my favorite shades!)

Attempting to make my own baby book, using this:

Growing (just about at 33 weeks! And look! I have a butt now! ;-) )...

Wearing glasses (they're tinted, so that's why they're dark :-D ) and no make-up (tee hee):

That's about all that is going on here! We're still working on lots of projects. We re-arranged our living room the other day, and we're LOVING how it looks. We're so weird... every time we go in there, we say, "I love our living room!!" LOL. :-p Photos soon! Promise! :-D

Growing: 30 Weeks

2011-05-20T07:39:00.004-05:00

Okay, technically this photo was taken at 27 weeks... just before I left for Colorado (I'll do another post about that). It's funny: I'm actually getting used to (though, still craziness!) the sight of my belly, so I feel like it hasn't grown all that much in the past two months. But then when I actually *compare* the photos, I notice I've *definitely* grown! LOL. :-p

And some stuff about me at 30 Weeks...

Inches grown around tummy: 13 inches

Weight gained: 30 pounds (I started out under-weight, so this is fine)

Sex of baby: it's a surprise!

Heart rate of baby: 150-160

Movement: TONS! He/she has pretty much taken up residence on the right side of my belly... more specifically under my ribs. LOL. But really, I don't care where he/she lives in there, because I love all the crazy moving around. I'm pretty sure he/she is doing flip-turns in there (a swimmer)! ;-)

Cravings: milk and watermelon

Weird food notes: I am still loving dessert, but I'm eating it *much* less frequently. Plus, yesterday, someone brought me some chocolate chip cookie sandwiches: sandwiched together with frosting. I only had one, and I think I may be set (read: sugar high) for the next 10 weeks. LOL. ;-)

Baby's Room Progress:

Closet shelving is up!
Room is cleaned out. (yay hubby and FIL!)
Crib is built. (again, thanks to hubby and FIL!)
Planning to start making crib skirt and rocking chair cushions today!
Still need to make mobile.
Have LOTS of painting projects to do (wall art, side table, rocking chair, etc).

It's hard to believe I'm *almost* there! We're getting more and more excited by the day! :-)

Giving Away... CK's Creative Spaces!

2011-05-20T07:26:00.006-05:00

Ack. Silly Blogger. Sorry that glitch caused me to put this off so long. But we do have a winner!

That means that SillyPea Jen is our winner! WOOO! Congrats, Jen! Please send me your address, and we'll get that Creative Spaces issue off to you! :-D

Thank you to everyone who entered! Also, thank you for the well-wishes. It is super fun to see the issue completed and beautiful. It truly is an honor. :-)

Creating Keepsakes: Creative Spaces!

2011-05-11T07:51:00.006-05:00

****************Comments now closed.****************

Oh my! It's FINALLY here!!!! Seriously... do you know how long I've been ~~patiently~~ waiting? :-D

You guys know how much I love organizing, right?! Okay, if you don't, then you don't me very well yet... you will soon know... ;-)

I LOVE organizing! So when Creating Keepsakes asked me to be a part of this issue, I was *beyond* stoked and flattered (read: jumping up and down, excited).

Here is a sneak peek of the mag (actual pages! Click on "Open Publication")...

Open publication - Free publishing - More craftroom

This issue went on sale yesterday, and if you want to order it, you can use this free shipping code: SPACESBB (all caps)

(Code expires May 27, 2011.)

Free shipping! YAY!

And here is a little sneak of my room!

You can also see a little part (one of my faves too!) of my room on the CK blog here.

Excited yet? Wanna win a copy? :-D Just leave a comment here to be entered to win!

NOTE: Due to the Blogger glitch, I'll choose a winner on Thursday, May 19th. (Internationals welcome too!)

Visiting Jason's Ranch.

2011-04-25T06:30:00.001-05:00

I totally can't believe I forgot to post these photos!! ACK! Sorry... they are a bit old now. I won't even tell you how long. LOL. :-p But it was COOOOOLD, so it wasn't recently. ;-)

Anywho, I met Jason when I was 16. He was 8. I was an elementary teacher's aide for a class next door to his, and one day the total-sweetie-that-he-is held the door open for me. I signed "thank you very much!" to him, and he FREAKED OUT. LOL. :-D I'm talking *jumping-up-and-down* excited! Heee!

I was, seriously, like one of only five people he'd met (in his life!) who could Sign, and that stoked him out. (Yes, we lived in a VERY small town.) I became his babysitter and Sign Language translator at church after that (no, I'm not a certified translator; I've just always loved to Sign), and I continued doing that through college (whenever I was home...). Now he's grown and graduated from college too. (How did THAT happen!??!?)

He invited me out to his family's ranch (only two hours north of me) one day, and I jumped at the chance to see him!

{You may or may not be able to tell that I'm wearing... like... four VERY warm layers.}

We jumped in the ranch-vehicle-thingy (yes, that's it's technical name) and headed out to meet and feed the cows...

They heard us and came running. They knew it was time to eat, I guess! ;-) They had some HUGE longhorns...

And some little baby guys too... (awwwww!)

He asked if I wanted to get out and help feed. Umm... no. I'll stay in the vehicle *away* from the stampeding cattle, thankyouverymuch. :-)

I'm pretty sure this caramel-colored cow loved me...

Or the camera? LOL. Not sure, but she (he? she?) was *always* looking at me, and honestly, trying to get as close as possible to me! LOL.

See?! Love, I tell ya! ;-)

Then it was time to feed the goats!

SO funny... when we came around the corner (before the goats heard us), we noticed one goat on top of another goat. *ahem*

"Are they doing what I *think* they're doing?!?!??"

Umm... yes. And even a stampede of other goats could not break them up! ;-)

After the dust had settled, so to speak, the poor white goat got pushed all around. Err... yeah. Caught in the act! ;-)

They composed themselves and joined the others. I'm sure their date resumed later when the "kids" were asleep. ;-) (Kids. Get it?! Get it?! Tee hee. :-p) Ahh... good times.

And one last photo of the cutest goat I'd ever seen...

Seriously, wanted to take him home!

But not really because goats eat things like... umm... shirts and blankets and... scrapbooking paper, I'm sure. :-p

And that was my day at the ranch! Hopefully, I'll get to go again. It was pretty fun! :-)

Scrapping!

2011-04-23T06:47:00.002-05:00

I really haven't done a lot of scrapbooking posts in the past... umm... eight months?! After my miscarriage in September, I just didn't feel like doing *any*thing crafty. And it was really hard to get back into it. Ironically, this was the first project I decided to do:

It's a pregnancy journal, and I'm totally excited about it! I've already added photos to the first five months (okay, one photo is missing... :-p ), and I did take notes, so I just need to add those to the insides of the envelopes. I'm totally stoked to see it finished and have it to look back on. :-)

{It's made with Maya Road envelopes, the Bind It All, October Afternoon Mini Market stickers,

plus the SC Metropolitan kit.}

Then I did a layout with some old and new Jillibean Soup...
Those photos are actually from when we went to NYC in 2006!!! Crazy I'm finally scrapping them! ;-) That was our Christmas card photo that year (I just LOVE the colors... and my super-cute hubby ;-), and this photo of the puppies is one of my favorites EVER! They LOVED Central Park. LOVED it. We let them off the leashes a few times, so they could run and play, and they had a blast!

{Inspiration for that layout came from this pillow at LL Bean Home.}

And this is my newest layout. I just did this the other day...

My sweet Ruby. :-) She really is the cutest and sweetest dog ever. Truly. :-D I used this month's SC Singin in the Rain kit. I did use some white Mister Huey though to tone it down a bit. I like how soft it ended up being. :-)

Oh! And the inspiration for the design of the layout came from cards I saw at Tokketok.

Thanks for stopping by to see my new projects!

Loving My Sister.

2011-04-22T12:50:00.004-05:00

My sister needs a blog.

Badly.

Not only does she have style...

But she's totally crafty (she made that flower on her bikini bottoms to match the top!), an awesome photographer, a super-mom (due with her fourth... the same week as I am!!!), and she finds the most amazing deals at consignment stores/thrift stores/vintage stores. Her ENTIRE house is DIY on a dime. I love it. She's so inspiring.

And soon... she WILL have a blog. She will. If I have to drag her to Blogger... kicking and screaming. :-)

Seriously... how beautiful is she?!?!

Creating Baby's Inspiration Boards.

2011-04-14T15:32:00.008-05:00

I don't think I ever would have thought to do inspiration boards. But they are SOOOO helpful! Now I love doing them because it helps me stay focused on color schemes and themes.

These are my boards for the baby's room. (Sorry, I can't make them bigger... perhaps looking at them on my Olioboard page will make them bigger!) I created these ones at Olioboard, which I now MUCH prefer over Polyvore. So much more user-friendly. :-D

This one is the unisex version, since we're having a surprise. We will leave it like this if it's a boy...

Or change it up a bit (add in some peach and coral accents) if it's a girl...

Both have the same main elements (including white furniture, grey IKEA rug, and the paint color for the walls). And I am doing a *very* loose Disney theme either way (art, mobiles, etc). LOL. I wasn't going to do a theme at all, but I really want art on the walls... and I'm a *huge* Disney fan. Hubby would only go along with it if the artwork is either vintage or black & white. I'm going to try for both. But if it's modern Disney characters, but still black & white, I think we'll both still be happy. :-)

I'm trying to DIY as much as possible since our budget is close to non-existent. We already have the crib and the rocking chair (that looks almost exactly like that one!), and I'm giving makeovers to wall art (frames and stuff not generally used to hang on walls...), a lamp, and a side table (all of which was free and/or we had on hand). This way we can keep costs down, and I much prefer the look to things that I make/re-do myself. :-)

I'll keep you posted! :-D

ETA: I do LOVE Steamboat Willie art, but I haven't yet decided if that's the route I want to go. We'll see. ;-)

Labeling.

2011-04-08T17:44:00.004-05:00

I didn't used to label everything. I felt like I knew where everything was, where everything belonged.

Then I got smart. LOL.

Now I label *everything*. Even if I know where something is, I've realized that when I have labels, I get to it faster, and it just looks pretty. ;-) (Not just in my scrap room, but other places in my home too. The pantry, the fridge (!!! LOL), the linen closet, the laundry room, the master closet, etc.) But here are some of my favorite labeling places in my scrap room.

My blue baskets... I got a whole box of little white tags (from Staples or any office supply store), and I removed their white strings and just tied some red gingham on them. (This blue basket no longer holds these 6x6 pads, but I still have the same labeling in effect.)

These red and orange boxes. I have SOOO many of these (in three colors) all over my scrap room. I use the SAME blue cardstock for each label to give them a bit of unity (plus my own handwriting... tee hee).

My blue vintage suitcase that holds my paint? It totally needed a cute label, so I used an SEI ticket, some twine and some alpha stickers.

Okay, I lied. Not ALL the Container Store boxes have blue tags. LOL. I thought it would be fun to put some of my favorite patterned papers (these are October Afternoon). The two colored ones are memorabilia, and the one with a newspaper-looking label? It holds newspaper clippings of family members and memorable events. You could also use this method for holding colored papers and such. No actual "title" or "label," but just the "color" of what's in there.

My scrapbook albums have SUPER quick and easy labeling. These are those rimmed tags you can get in a box at the office supply store. I just used a punch to punch out circles from cardstock and write the title. They're stuck on with glue dots. See? Easy and fast. :-)

*Sometimes,* I like to get all crazy crafty with my labeling. ;-) These labels were just punched, and then I used paper clips and twine to attach to the drawers. This idea is loosely based off of Stacy Julian's method of how she labels her albums.

They are my embellishments by color, so I also added some of my favorite coordinating-color embellishments.

I thought long and hard (heeee ;-) ) about how I would label my photo drawers. I wanted something... umm... not boring? LOL. I got these vintage (from Kentucky!) mini-postcards from a long ago Studio Calico kit. I cut them to size to fit in each of the four drawers' book plates. I just added mini stickers for the titles.

One of my favorite storage items in my scrap room are these canvas bins. I'm kinda obsessed with these. I'm not even kidding. I have EIGHT in my scrap room (I will add two more at the end of this year, I think... LOL). I also have them in our linen closet (for sheets, pillowcases, first aid stuff, dog stuff, etc), guest bathroom (towels), and they WILL go ;-) in the baby's room (in lieu of drawers).

The labels? Are Sassafras linen cards! I don't even have to trim them (YES!!!!!)... they fit *perfectly* in that little label pocket! Then I use mini alpha stickers (all in black to keep it unified) to identify the contents. :-) Here's a close-up:

And those are just some of the fun ways I use labels in my scrap room. I *do* own a label maker, but I only used that to label my Cropper Hopper folders.

So have you gotten creative with your labeling? I'd love to hear some of your ideas! :-D

Re-working Our Closet

2011-04-02T00:00:00.001-05:00

I shared our closet here after we moved into our new house. But after living in it for a while, I discovered that there were a few changes I wanted to make. So... I thought I'd share them. :-)

My scarves used to hang on a pants hanger (which did work great for taking up little space!), but I realized that I hardly ever wore them because I couldn't really *see* them all, and they hung in the way back with my other long-hang stuff (dresses). So I got some new hooks and attached them to the shelf above and hung them right next to me belts:

I really like them like this! I can see all of them now, AND I wear them more. YES! Also, our hamper used to live where that step-stool is, so I just moved it to Jeremy's side of the closet. :-) This way the step-stool is RIGHT under the top bins and my dress shoes (that live in these on the top shelf), which also creates easier access. Double YES! :-D

And I replaced the shelf with this elfa shelf basket to hold my purses! My necklaces have always hung here too, but I've just never showed a photo. LOL. :-p

Then above my purses, you can see my bins o' stuff. ;-)

Here's a close-up. I switch them around depending on what season it is. But that hand wash bin?! That one always stays here. I used to just throw them in a pile or throw them in the hamper, hoping I'd catch them on laundry day. HA! I LOVE this solution. If you have hand-wash-only items (or simply items that are machine-wash, hang-to-dry), I *highly* recommend a special bin for them. Ahhh... makes my life so much simpler. I put bras here too. :-)

The other bins hold hats, slipper socks, and gloves/beanies. I also have one to the left of the purses, and that one holds my slippers. :-)

And those are the changes I've made! I'm loving how much more functional it's become!

Any cool ideas for organization in your own closet?

Growing: 22 Weeks

2011-03-25T06:19:00.002-05:00

Comparing this photo with the last, I seriously feel like I've ballooned in the past 40 days (even in the past three weeks)! LOL. I was planning on taking this photo at 20 weeks, but time got away from us. Eh... having monthly shots is my goal, so I'm still good. ;-)

And some stuff about me at 22 Weeks...

Inches grown around tummy: 11 inches

Weight gained: 18 pounds (I started out under-weight, so this is fine)

Sex of baby: it's a surprise!

Heart rate of baby: in the 140s

Movement: finally felt the baby on March 16th! YAY! Now I feel him/her ALL the time, and I LOVE it. Jeremy LOVES it too. :-D

Cravings: cinnamon raisin Mochi (still), toast, cereal, sandwiches

Weird food notes:
Whenever I make waffles, I have to stop myself from eating every, single one... in one sitting.

Cantaloupe is my new favorite fruit.

I feel like my body *needs* dessert after every meal. Yes, this includes breakfast. ;-)

By the end of my pregnancy, I'm sure I will have eaten my weight in butter.

I hate juice... but I really want some.

Baby's Room Progress: Painted closet! Hopefully, shelves will go up this weekend! ;-) Started altering table lamp (gotta use what I have.... LOL). "Preparing" side table for complete makeover. I'll post photos as things get completed!

Refurbishing the Laundry Room... DONE!

2011-03-24T06:03:00.003-05:00

All I can say is, "It's about TIME!" LOL. Seriously, I've been wanting to post these photos for SOOOOO long. Sorry about the delay. Hope it's worth it! ;-)

And because no renovation post is complete without the horrible "before" picture:

Umm... that's embarrassing. LOL. There *was* a shelf there when we moved in, and we had to TEAR it out of the wall, so that's why it looks so gross. I did the spackling, priming, and painting myself, and here's what it looks like now:

And the top, without the washer/dryer:

Want to know what's in all the containers? Left to right, top to bottom: cleaning supplies, trash bags, paper towels, carpet cleaning supplies, rags (in flowered basket), wash bags (for delicates in washer), lightbulbs, trash (for lint and things), cat food. And then on far right is detergent, fabric softener, OXY clean (in spray bottle), Downy Wrinkle Releaser, and dryer sheets/toothbrush (for scrubbing)/cap for pouring detergent.

I should have done close-ups of the wall above the shelves. Darn it! I *will* try to get some of those, so you can get a better look! ;-)

And some close-ups:

The left-hand wall that holds brooms and such is not *completely* done yet. *My* part is done, but hubby still needs to get out his Dremel tool and do one little project for me. I'll post that in the future when it's done.

And the breakdown...

Benjamin Moore Robin's Nest Paint (matched at Home Depot) - $9 (umm... they messed up, and I got a discount)

Plywood (for top of washer/dryer) - free (again, Home Depot messed up... lucky me!)

Shelves - had on hand (for your reference: would've probably been around $150, *without* my discount)

White baskets - $16

Yellow folding cube/bin (Walmart Clearance) - $5

Pink basket - $10

Liberty of London basket (Target) - had on hand

Yellow baskets (IKEA and spray painted yellow) - had on hand

Spray paint - $5

Trash can - $5

Cat food container (I added white contact paper to outside)- had on hand

Aluminum spray bottle - $5

Glass bottles (for detergent and fabric softener) - $9

Yellow tulip container - $4

Jenni Bowlin Labels - $3.50

Yellow Clock (Target) - $5?

Styrofoam (covered in white cardstock and used as blocks on wall) - $4

White fabric (JoAnn Fabrics: for curtain above washer/dryer) - $2

White frames (Michaels and Target) - had on hand

Hambly Overlay (in two frames) - $3

Laundry Tote (on floor, for clean clothes) - had on hand (I actually have two... one is missing from this photo)

Total spent: $85 - ish

Altering a Jar with FabRips.

2011-03-23T18:35:00.006-05:00

I totally forgot to post this pickle jar I altered with FabRips!

See, I had this to-do list. And it wasn't like a "must get done today" list. It was more like an "over time" to-do list (like... paint china cabinet, make huge batch of bean soup, make a mini album, etc). Instead of having that daunting list, I decided that I would write each one on a strip of paper and stick them in a jar. So when I needed a project or a to-do, I'd just choose one!

So here's how it went down...

I cut some strips and laid them vertically... making sure only the top was stuck down. Then I took another strip and wove it through the vertical pieces. I cut off the remaining amount:

Then I took a 2nd strip and wove it through, making sure to have it be over and under the other strips:

(Okay, after I did this step, I decided to "change it up" and make the horizontal strips all different patterns... tee hee.) So after I had three woven in, it looked like this:

Then I took some bigger pieces of FabRips and just laid them on top of the lid. I used my CutterBee scissors to go around the inside of the lid, getting rid of the FabRips that hung over:

Then again with a little piece, so that it was all covered!

And I needed a small piece for the edge, so it would still look pretty. :-)

I did use the bicycle stamp on some white paper, cut it out, and glued it to the top (see top photo), just for something else cool to have on the lid. ;-) And then I added some Thickers on top of the FabRips on the front! And... DONE!

A totally fun project AND a great way to hold my "to do" lists. ;-)

Jumping Up and Down.

2011-03-19T07:37:00.001-05:00

I have become one of those crazy moms who gets all giddy when she sees her little baby on screen. No tears. Just laughing and giggling and barely-controlled glee.

I am sorry, but my baby is cuuuuuute! Sure, he/she is only like 11 inches long and looks like a bunch of black and white squiggly lines, but look at that profile! ;-)

And not only is he/she cute, but he/she is super flexible! ;-) We're sitting there, waiting for a good shot of Baby K, and what does he/she do? The legs came up (how cute are little baby knees?!?!?), he/she grabbed that foot, and it went straight for his/her mouth! My baby is *already* a flexible gymnast. ;-)
Seriously, it was the cutest thing ever. It's playing over and over in my head. And every.single.time I think about it, I get this goofy grin on my face, and I want to jump up and down at the thought of *my* baby in there! HA! Just too cool for words. :-)

Baby is doing VERY well, by the way. A very strong heartbeat and actually he/she is growing faster than expected and measuring about a week ahead of schedule! (Baby may "even out," so they won't be changing our due date...)

We were also *very* strong when the tech discovered the sex of the baby. Nope. We don't want to know. We love surprises WAY too much. And yes, I'm a planner, and yes, I LOVE organization (a lot), but I love surprises way more. And you know... I'm actually saving loads of money *not* buying baby clothes right now. LOL. :-p (Because honestly... those of you parents who know, how do you resist adorable clothes?!?!?)

This post has gotten ridiculous, so I'll be stopping now. :-) Thank you for reading my babbling. :-)

Altering a Notepad.

2011-03-18T07:20:00.003-05:00

I love to alter stuff. LOVE it. SOOO much. I *just* may like it better than scrapping. Yeah, probably. Maybe just a little bit. LOL. :-)

I got this cute notepad as a gift a few years ago. It's pretty, but not my style, and it certainly doesn't match my scrap room (that's important, you know)! ;-)

And when I got my new Studio Calico stuff in the mail, I HAD to do something with it. Quickly. :-D I'm not into the super-embellishing (though I do *love* looking at projects with lots of embellishments... tee hee). I just wanted a nice, small touch. I really like how it turned out...

I used the FabRips to do the edge/spine, and I folded them over, so you could see the pattern on the inside too. :-)

Here's another angle, so you can kinda see the FabRips at the top...

Products used:

I had so much fun with this project! Have you seen the new Studio Calico stuff? Done anything cool? Altered anything lately? Link me up! :-D

Re-capping the Last Month.

2011-03-17T14:34:00.008-05:00

I've been meaning to post these photos and things from the last month or so, but haven't gotten around to it. :-p We have had SUCH a busy February/March!

We ended up getting ONE day of snow in Austin. Amber was in HEAVEN!

Poor Ruby had a growth on her eyelid, we had that removed, and two days later, she had to go in for emergency surgery because an ulcer *in her eye* developed and then burst. They had to sew her eyelids closed for a couple weeks. Poor thing. :-( She's doing SOOO much better and healing nicely. The doc thought she'd lose her sight completely, but it looks like it's coming back! YAY! :-)

Then Caroline came to visit! We had so much fun! We ate, shopped and took photos. That's about it. LOL. :-p (Okay, I DID scrap one page. LOL. :-p)

Two days after Caroline left, Paige came to visit! Of course, she brought along cute, little Fox!

She came for our baptism (and was awesome enough to take this photo [with two missionaries] afterward), and it was SOOOO nice to have her here. :-) We had such an awesome time!

Then the weather got SUPER nice... like 70s and 80s every, single day. And Kissa? She is LOOOOOOVING it...

She spends ALL day outside, just sleeping on our deck. She never leaves our backyard. LOL. You know, unless of course Jeremy is on his iPhone because Kissa *loves* that thing. ;-)

Okay, not really... she just loves cuddling with whichever one of us is sitting on the couch. LOL.

And that's about it. :-) Oh, and I *did* finish our laundry room... finally. LOL. I'll post photos soon. Promise. :-D

Looking at the Stats...

2011-03-16T01:59:00.005-05:00

I just may like the headless belly shots better! ;-) Tee hee.

How far along: 20.5 weeks (photo taken at 19 weeks)

Inches grown around tummy: 10 inches

Weight gained: 15 pounds (I started out under-weight, so this is fine)

Sex of baby: it's a surprise!

Heart rate of baby: 154 (so my sister thinks boy because her boy's current heart rate is 153... LOL :-p )

Cravings: cinnamon raisin Mochi, stir-fry, and dessert after every meal (tee hee)

Movement: have not felt baby yet... but probably this week, I hear! ;-)

Next ultra-sound: March 17th! (I'll scan the photos!)

Other things: I'm tired (especially if I *do* something... ha ha), but sleeping at night is not my favorite. I toss and turn and get up to pee like... umm... a lot. :-p I get these waves of energy, where I want to do anything and EVERYTHING around the house. Then I start getting Braxton Hicks and have to sit down. Tee hee. Scrappy mojo has not come back yet. Grrr. No swelling or stretch marks yet (knock on wood), so I'm enjoying that part of it. :-)

This whole thing is SOOOO surreal! But I'm loving every second. :-)

Choosing a Winner!

2011-03-12T09:44:00.005-06:00

So... using Random.org's generator, the lucky number is...

Which means... Jennie M is the winner! Yay! Congratulations, Jennie!

Send me your address, and I will get that stuff out to you! :-)

Thank you everyone SOOOO much for your sweet comments!

Giving Away... Lots of Stuff!

2011-03-07T13:41:00.008-06:00

It's my 9th Blogiversary!

HOORAY!

Yup, I've now been blogging for nine fun-filled years. And I'm giving stuff away! Hooray again! ;-)

So I thought I'd give away some of my favorite things this year. :-D

First up... I loved this bag from World Market SO much that I bought three of them. LOL. (Well, two for me to use and one to give away to you guys!) The outside is burlap, and the inside is a wipeable plastic. I use one for paper scraps in my scrap room and the other for non-paper trash. I hang them on hooks (well, technically a bookend hooked to my elfa hanging standards). It's about 18" long! Isn't it the cutest trash bag ever?!?!?

Next up is one of my favorite water bottles by Reduce. They're BPA free and only 20 oz, so small enough to stash in your purse! That's why I love it so. :-D Also, these SUPER-cute rhinestone magnets and a camera keychain that when you click the button, it flashes and makes a "click click" sound. Probably impractical for most sets of keys, but SOOO cute.

This next item may seem silly to you (in a giveaway, at least), but I don't care. I LOOOOOVE these (I even made a layout about them here)! And *because* I love them so, the wonderful people at Hearos sent me some to give away! You'll get a bunch of earplugs (with case) and the matching sleep mask too. :-)

(Images from Sleep Pretty in Pink website.)

Isn't this knit hat adorable?! It's made by Maggie of Assorted Musings. I bought it at the Austin Etsy Fair... just for YOU! :-D

What would a giveaway be without some Studio Calico? ;-) This is the More Patterned Paper Add-on from February's delicious kit! It has that exclusive Crate Paper that sold out in about ten seconds! ;-) So cute! :-)

And...

A $25 Studio Calico gift card!!!

Mmhmm... I love you *that* much! Thanks so much for reading my blog!

Just leave a comment to win! :-D

p.s. Last year, I closed the giveaway to international readers, but hey, if you wanna pay the difference in shipping, I'd be more than happy to open it to you too! ;-)

p.p.s. You have until this Friday, March 11, at 11:59pm EST to enter!

Happy 9th Blogiversary to Me!!

2011-03-05T16:45:00.002-06:00

Well, nine years ago today, I started blogging. I should have WAY more blog posts by now than I do, but well... I just don't blog every day. I should change that. ;-)

Today got crazy, and I have to leave to go watch some cool, little girls. I'll have to post my giveaway tomorrow or Monday. Sorry to leave you hangin. Hope you'll come back then though! ;-)

Painting and Nesting!

2011-03-04T12:54:00.009-06:00

So... many of my friends suggested we start on the baby's room, so I'm not painting and building and hanging stuff in my ninth month. Sounds good to me! ;-)

Perhaps halfway is a bit early, but we don't care. Since we're having a surprise, I'd love to still plan things out!

First... colors! I thought we'd really go with one of these two color schemes:

... but... I LOVE aqua and grey together. And especially if it's a girl, I would love, LOVE to have peach/aqua/grey. Just so cute. And *then* after I saw Vivi's beautiful nursery, I knew I had to do that color scheme.

Did Joni not do an AMAZING job on her daughter's room? It's gorgeous! (LOVE her website too! How fun is it that she makes nursery inspiration/style boards?)

Anywho... So my sister suggested we choose white/aqua/grey/beige... and then add peach/coral for a girl and charcoal for a boy. She's a genius, I tell you!

So... I needed to set out on a search for an inspiration piece or fabric with these colors. And wouldn't you know it? The 2nd day of my search (and after looking at HUNDREDS of swatches), I came across this gem of a baby line...

Seriously?! How cute is THAT?!?! SOOOO perfect! We had already decided on the paint color we wanted, so when I received the swatches from here, I was OVER THE MOON excited that they matched perfectly. Wahoo! Then I used the swatches to choose a grey and beige. So yummy. :-)

It's much more fun to see the progress of a room, don't ya think?! ;-) Here is what the room looked like when we moved in:

And here it is after we painted it Benjamin Moore's Antiguan Sky. (Please excuse the messy bookshelf in the center. That *will* be removed.) I really love how it turned out. It's so lovely. The closet will be grey, and that's what I'm doing today. :-)

What do you think? I'll keep you updated with the progress!

p.s. Tomorrow is my NINTH Blogiversary! Check back for a giveaway! :-D

Growing: 4 Weeks - 16 Weeks

2011-03-01T19:01:00.003-06:00

Man... nearly 19 weeks pregnant and yet to share belly shots. I'm such a scrapbooking slacker. :-p Also, I always take these after I get out of the shower, so hair and makeup are not done. And now that I'm posting them and seeing them on here, that will change next time! LOL. :-p I look so tired! LOL. Ah well. :-p

Here is me at 4 weeks (the day after we found out, I think...):

Then at 12 weeks (the 8 weeks photo is MIA... it must have accidentally gotten deleted. Oops. :-p ):

And 16 weeks (my hair looks SOOOO silly. I should look in the mirror before taking these! LOL):

So that was 2.5 weeks ago now. I may or may not be bigger now. ;-) I'm going to say... yes, bigger. LOL.

Sharing the New (and Improved ;-) Version!

2011-02-03T12:56:00.004-06:00

Our wonderful friend, Traci, brought this to life for us. So excited. I'll probably have it made into a Shutterfly book too. You know... sans wonderful music. ;-)

Quoting my Pregnancy Brain... and Oh, These Crazy Hormones.

2011-01-25T10:45:00.001-06:00

Pregnancy Brain Quotes of the Day:

(when I noticed that my alphabets had fallen off my layout) "Oh no! My vegetables fell off my layout!"

"Hey! Let's go lawn the mow!"

Pregnancy Story of the Day:

Night before last, we were watching a movie, and I was eating dinner. I had three biscuits on my plate. Just as I was eating the last bite, I thought in my head, "Ahhh, bummer! I'm all done."

And then... without ANY warning, I just burst into tears. It was so sudden that I actually had NO idea why I was crying. LOL. Hubby looked at me and was like, "Ohmigosh! Are you okay?! What happened?"

I then realized that I was crying because I finished my biscuits! LOL. And though I was hysterical by that point, I burst out laughing... uncontrollably, mind you... at the thought of crying over finishing BISCUITS when I had five more in the kitchen! So here I am... empty plate, crying and laughing, not having any idea what is going on in my head. LOL.

I looked up at Jeremy and said through tears, "Umm... I think I need more biscuits." These hormones are CRAZY! :-p And yes, I went to the kitchen and got four more biscuits.

Mmhmm. This is fun. :-)

*Photo by Cooking Light.