This week and last

So on my last photo dump, I posted a picture of the awesomely mismatched outfit Luke wore to church. Wouldn't you know, the very next week it happened again, only this time even MORE mismatched.

Unfortunately for your viewing pleasure, this past week he did good and wore a polo with khaki shorts.

Wait.

Now that I think about it, it may have been the same polo.

Awww maaan.

Anyway, that same Sunday my girl was sitting next to me before she went to play in the toddler room, and I looked down at her sweet feet. For whatever reason those sweet fat feet struck my momma heart. There isn't much baby left in her at all, but I saw it in the way she was sitting.

Am I right?!

Over the past week and a half we've hit the tee ball games hard.

Luke has done great! This last game was his best yet- hit the ball off a pitch both times he's been at bat AND got a kid out on base. It's been so fun to watch him finally get baseball and improve each week. Right now, though, we are working at staying in position at relying on teammates when the ball doesn't come his way. Dude's been known to run across the whole field and dive for the ball.

That Saturday was one of the children's consignment shops' first day to have costumes out. No way am I paying $20 each for something the kids will wear for a total of 4 hours. Mom and I went to dig, and we walked away with a race car driver and lady bug costumes for my bigguns. I refused to get anything for Elyse since she'll only be days old on Halloween, but then I had to eat my words later last week. I found some ladybug pajamas in her size at Target, and now this?

It has me a teensy bit excited for my matching Halloween girls.

Last Saturday Luke's game got rained out, so we went to Corner Bakery for a muffin breakfast, to the store for groceries, and then were home the whole rest of the day.

Sunday I finally made Elyse some of her own burp cloths. The ones I had made for Evan still look great and will work perfectly fine, but I thought she could have a couple in the hospital that weren't a tad faded from multiple washes.

 

And that brings me to this week. It's flown by. In fact, I keep forgetting that it's Friday. How does that even happen? This Sunday is the shower my girlfriends are throwing me, and then Monday is a shower for Jacob and I at work. Not to mention I'm full term on Sunday! Whoo hoo! Tuesday my doctor called me to see what day I wanted to go ahead and book an induction just in case I'm still pregnant, and we settled on the 14th. Ya'll. That means in 2 weeks and 2 days my girlie will be here. I'm so excited! Plus her monthly stickers came in yesterday and there is one that says "brand new".

In two weeks she will be brand new!!! Aren't these the most lovely design you've ever seen? The "love" is an 8x10 print that I got for their room. It doesn't really match their colors, but I didn't care. When they don't want it in their room any more, I'm totally putting it in mine. It's a new favorite! (from Lucy Darling. Check them out!) Actually, now that I think about it, it will look better in my room. Maybe I'll just go claim it back anyway...

My Room Revealed

I know it's only been a year since I redid my room, but it's actually already gone through a bit of a shift in the last couple of months. When the rooms got switched and combined and revamped, there was just no where to put the rocking chair next to the crib. I couldn't get rid of it though because...newborn! rocking! Plus that rocking chair had been used in Luke's nursery as well, so how could I not rock my last baby in the same chair as her brother and sister? Since Elyse will be sleeping in my room until she can sleep through the night, I put the rocker in my room.

 

Yep. You read that right. I have finally broken down and am going to let a newborn sleep in the same room as me. ON. PURPOSE.

 

I know. I'm the girl who stopped using a monitor after two weeks because the baby was still too noisy.

 

Come on people. It's sleep when sleep is a precious commodity. And I can hear a baby crying down the short hall that is between my room and theirs just as well as I can through a monitor next to my head. Swearsies.

 

But, I cringe at the thought of trying to keep a newborn that is up every couple of hours next to a 2 year old who, albeit sleeps very heavily, was trying to rest. Plus there is the middle of the night diaper changes, (heaven help me) sheet changes, and of course feedings that could potentially disturb Big Sister.

 

So. To accommodate a cradle in my already cramped room, I moved the sewing machine out to the garage (*sad face*) temporarily and put the bookshelf on another wall. It's actually not terrible!  I've been sewing on the computer desk in the living room, and have learned I don't really need the closet door to swing all the way open.

 

The last big change you'll notice is... the bed frame! I've been itching for a new bed frame for a long time, but obviously have not been in a place to be able to get one. Until. Until I saw my friend Niki put one up on an online garage sale forum, and knew that it was perfect. It's black iron, and I LOVE it. It flows so well with what I've done with the rest of the place. It wasn't terrible to switch out either. I got Jacob to go with me to pick it up, then he and Luke put it together for me. You should have seen how proud Luke was to get to be the helper.

 

This little shelf is one I took from Jacob's house and painted it with leftover paint from the dresser and nightstand. One of the things I have on my tiny tiny registry are little storage cubes that will fit inside. I figured I'd need a place for a few jammies (we all know how newborn sized diapers leak), diapers, wipes, and burp cloths.

 

On the end of the bed is one of the blankets I've made for Elyse. It's just voile cotton on one side (with ruffles added. I couldn't help myself) and minky on the other. I'll probably end up tossing this one on the couch after she's done with it, I love it that much!

 

So now she's up to three blankets that I've made for her (chenille, minky, and minky). I know, I should probably stop. As long as I don't find any more lovely fabric that is just begging to be used for something.

Chenille Blanket

So way back a couple of years ago, I found a tutorial for an heirloom chenille blanket that I wanted to try out for the next friend that was pregnant. I never got around to making it for anyone, and it's probably a good thing because GOOD LORD did this blanket take more than I expect.

First it took a lot of supplies: 5 yards of fabric (1 1/4 yards of four different colors- 1 print, 3 flannels), two packages of bias tape for binding, 3 spools of thread (two for the lines, one coordinating the binding), and the chenilling tool.

Second of all, it took a lot of time. A. LOT. I don't think I've ever spent longer than two days on anything that I've made. The last project that took awhile was the car seat cover, and it was only a weekend ordeal. When I read the tutuorial, she said that it took her several hours to sew the channels across the entire thing, and I was thinking "They are straight lines! How could that take several hours and two spools of thread?!" Oh no. She was right. I estimate it took me about 6 hours to sew all the lines. I don't have 6 hours. I do, however, have 30 minutes here, 45 minutes there. Hence the reason it took me a solid week to sew this. Plus she said it took her about 30 minutes to cut the channels of flannel, where it probably took me about 2 hours. Plus, three different times I somehow managed to jump the stitching and cut through it, which made some pretty big boo boos, but I got them fixed (kinda).

Also before I started, I read a lot of the links in her comments of people who had tried it. Thankfully I read one where the girl talked about how it created a lot of fuzz and she was right! I'm so glad I knew to wash and dry it by itself. My washing machine had to be wiped out and the lint trap was completely full on the dryer.

One last thing- I found out I'm not so good at binding. Ha! I need to practice!

But it did turn out lovely. I can tell it will be really warm. Not sure if it will really be softer than the minky blankets I've made, but it will be cozy. Hopefully something Elyse will love for years to come!

Sew it up

So going back and looking at all of those baby baby pictures of Evan has made me super excited for Elyse to get here. Not that I wasn't before, of course, but seeing the leeeeetle baby Evan made me remember how sweet and snuggly newborns are and yay for getting that again soon!

 

Another thing I was busy with this past weekend was sewing. I made Elyse a couple of gowns for the hospital and obviously I couldn't help matching something for Evan. Believe me, I thought about making Luke one too, but I thought the purple floral might make it a giant mistake. (see, I really do love you Son!)

 

 

The first gown I made a few weeks ago. It took forever to try and find a plain white gown, I finally had to order one off Amazon. Which was frustrating because I literally spent as much in shipping as I did the gown its self. I LOVE how they turned out though! The flowers on the beanie are actually detachable, when I made it I put an alligator clip on the back so it can later be put on a headband or clipped straight into their hair. I'm hoping that the beanie fits Elyse better than the beanie I'd gotten Evan for when she was in the hospital. Girlfriend was a huge baby and the hat was still 2 sizes too big.

 

Because it's me, I couldn't help but put a little sumpin sumpin on the back for my girls.

 

Another thing I made was a diaper clutch for my purse. I know I'll only use this for a few months until I switch back to the diaper bag, but it's handy now, and I can use it in a year or so after I'm done with the diaper bag. I didn't use a pattern or measurements or anything, and apparently I'll never learn.

 

 

 

Trying to get the wipes case to fit properly was a GIANT pain, and consequently will probably shorten the lifespan of the product, but it's done for now. If I make another one it could be a little shorter and a bit more wide, but I'm rolling with it. Plus it looks pretty in my purse amidst all the Vera Bradley.

 

If you look carefully there is a VB wristlet, iPad cover, and checkbook cover in there. Normally I've got a little VB cosmetic bag too, but it somehow got taken out and replaced by a little plastic cup?

 

 

I don't know. Life with kids I guess. But on the plus side, I drop my keys down into the cup and they don't get lost, so....I'd say that's winning.



Getting ready for baby, part 2 (girls' room)

So, I'm finally posting pictures of the girls room. Mind you, we actually did all of this the week before we left for vacation. This has got to be a record hold out for me! It took 4 adults 8 hours to get the kid's rooms switched around. Luke had the bigger room, and whomever was going to have to share would be the ones to get the bigger room. Obviously. (Evan's original nursery is here)

When you come down the hall, this is what you see. Evan has done great in her big girl bed. Only in the last week have I really had trouble with her getting out of bed to play after I tuck her in. She's learned how to turn on the lamp on her night stand, so I frequently find her reading in her chair or playing with her babies.

 

The last couple of nights have been better though. Right before I leave her room we go through all the things she likes to play with and say "nooooo" to them. "Do you get out of bed and read stories?" "Noooooo." "Do you get out of bed and play stroller?" "Nooooooo." It seems to help to go over these VERY SPECIFIC rules.

 

I'm a teacher at heart. What can I say.

 

Coming into the room you see the crib on the same wall. Does the bedding look familiar? ;) I just finished Elyse's name this week, and I'm not sure how I want to actually attach it to the walls. I hand painted Luke's name for his nursery. I did Evan's name in fabric which was used throughout the room. Elyse's name is scrapbook paper decoupage to wooden letters. I like that each kid has a different technique and a totally different look. 

 

And this is the final corner. The dresser is the only thing that didn't get moved in this whole process. Mostly because I didn't want to deal with trying to hang that mirror somewhere else. And look at those ruffly curtains! So unlike me, but looks so good with everything else.

Closer up of Elyse's space. Yes for now I have Evan's birth stats pillow in her bed, but only until she's born. Swearsies. And it may not look like it in this picture, but there is actually enough space on either side of the crib for there to be room for her twin sized bed (eventually). Whoo hoo for no more furniture moving!

 

 

Yes, it's a lot of stuff in a little space. But that's what happens when you put two girls in one room. The only thing that makes me a little nervous is knowing how much stuff a little person accumulates, and at least Elyse's brother and sister were starting with a semi blank slate when they were born. The good thing about small spaces: it forces you to be thoughtful about what goes in, so you don't end up with a ton of useless junk!

Getting Ready for Baby, part 1

It's a well known fact that I made most everything for Evan when I was pregnant with her. Heck. It's even got it's own label. And while there are a few things that can be reused for Elyse (a plus in making all those burp cloths with just an 'e' on them!), there were a few things that were going to need to be made new. 

The first thing I realized was a new nursing cover.  I loved the nursing cover that I'd made for Evan. I loved it so much, that last year when I redid my bedroom I turned it into a pillow for my bed. 

So. A new one was in order. I'd also learned some things from making the last one. I didn't want to make a border, it was messy from the back and hard to piece.  I wanted it lined because this is a winter baby. And finally, I didn't want the boning in the top to make it "easier" to see down in like the ones you buy have. It turned out the weight of the boning weighed the cotton down and ended up flashing more people than helping with privacy. Plus when you folded it up to put it back in the diaper bag, the corners of the boning eventually wore little holes in the fabric.

Another thing I wanted to make for Elyse was some blankets all of her own. With Evan being a summer girl, the blankets I made were cotton and one has her name on it. (me? put Evan's name on something? never.)  This time I wanted to make something a little warmer, which calls for minky. Minky is the biggest pain to work with, it slides everywhere, bunches up, and sheds like a snow storm, but once it's finished it's so soft and warm.

 

The third thing I've made so far is the car seat cover. (It's what took all weekend in the last post)  Imma level with you. I've always thought these were dumb. I've never had a cover before, I've never thought they were necessary. Why would you not want people to see your baby? Are you so afraid of germs that you have to hide her away like that?

Once again, my naivety from having two summer babies came through. It hit me one morning that I will have a new infant right as the temps are dropping, and while blankest do fine for her body, that sweet little face would be blasted every time we stepped outside. I suddenly found the appeal of the car seat cover (now don't get me wrong. when I see people using them now in 100+ heat I still think they are crazy). I made mine with a minky underside and ruffles. Come on. You didn't really think that I of all people would just have a plain car seat cover, did you? It was hard enough to just finish the blanket without adding any detail!