race ya

Ok, so when Shark is working (from Wed-Sat) for some reason, I subconciously stay up as late as I can. Not sure why, or how really, but for some reason I stay up late when he's gone. Last night was no different. I'm trying to finish up my Christmas presents before Little Man gets here.... Yeah, I'm sure it'd go lots smoother if I stopped added little random projects to my list.

Anyways, last night, I was ready to head down to bed, and I randomly asked Bandit if he was ready. {yes, I talk to my dog like he's a person... he guards the door while I'm in the craft room.} When I turned to pet him, he wasn't there. He wasn't down in the living room either. I figured he was outside telling the neighbor dog to stop barking. When I got down to my room, Bandit was already there, in his bed. He looked up at me, as if to say, Well, it sure took you long enough!

In preperation for Little Man's arrival in 12 days {gasp!!} I've been cleaning up things, and throwing things out. (NOT tons of work, just some lazy work, really) Well, I've been searching Pinterest for organization ideas. And really, that's all they will ever be, is ideas. Maybe someday when it doesn't hurt to sit in a chair for an hour or when I don't have to use the bathroom every 15 minutes, I'll find time to get more organized. I know I'll need to get more organized eventually. Right now, I just want ONE solid place to put all my mail. I've got random piles all over the kitchen and living room.

SO that is my goal. To put the mail in 1 spot, 1 box or basket. And then once a week, come up to the office/craft room, and divide it into the filing cabinet. So, my first step is to make the box where all my mail will go. I'm thinking that shouldn't be too hard. I'm planning on doing something like this Mail Organizer from There's A Hole In my Bucket. But I'm thinking, I might use one of the *free* Priority Mailer boxes I take from my post office. We'll see what I come up with. :)

And have I given a shout out to the public library lately? We're back on our roll of getting audiobooks by the bagload. Now that Shark can listen to them at work again, he's going to need tons of them. He's working that 12 hour shift and says he'd love to listen to books! So I went today and got a whole new load of books. Shark's been into the Wheel Of Time series. Longest. Series. Ever. Seriously, I just imported 1 book of 34 cd's! Yeah, total listening time of 1.7 days! Granted, he'll be done with it in 4 days of work, but still, that's a lot of listening!

Oh, so I learned  a trick. :) While up in my craft room, sewing a project and importing books onto my computer, I was listening to my iPod. I put my iPod in a bowl and it acted like a mini-speaker! It was awesome, cuz iPod's only go so loud, but putting the iPod in the bowl made it lots louder. I might have learned the trick on Pinterest or something, who can tell?

Well, my little dog thinks it's time for bed. Time to race him downstairs! Good night! ♥

rawr

Ugh. So lately have been all kinds of crazy.

Little Man is not behaving. I'm not sure I'm ready for the whole mother-hood thing if he's not behaving. My mom is probably going into some hysterical-evil-master cackle. Yes, it could probably be karma. But really, karma, already? I expected karma to hit me sometime in high school. He does make me giggle. He just rolls and kicks and moves and plays his air-guitar or air-drums or however he rocks out and makes my tummy bounce and ripple. Oh, and he kicks Shark already. It makes me smile that Shark gets kicked sometimes.

My Halloween costume still isn't done. We haven't even bought pumpkins this year! I bought Halloween candy today! I usually buy candy at the beginning of the month, eat it and then have to buy more. This year I controlled myself, which considering I'm 8 months pregnant it was really really hard to control myself when browsing the aisles of delicously priced Halloween candy!

Just recently (ok, so it's been about a month now) I've been snoring. And not like little snoring, like really snoring. Like going to town on those logs. Like waking Shark up with my snoring. Yeah, imagine that! Me, waking Shark up with my snores! I noticed a few months ago that my breathing at night has changed. Like for some reason, now I can't breath thru my nose, at least not really well. But I've woken Shark up a few times with my snoring. His family will laugh cuz he's the worst snorer of the family. They were all kinds of worried when we got married cuz he snores so bad, they were worried I wouldn't be able to sleep. Thank goodness I'm a heavy sleeper. I mean, our whole little family snores. Shark snores, I snore, Bandit snores, pretty sure Little Man will snore, too.

I've had a few projects totally tank lately. I ironed a velcro patch, totally melted it. I was almost done with the project. ugh. I used up 2 sheets of awesome color vinyl only to find I cut too deep and the vinyl wouldn't stick anyways. And some projects are just freaking taking FOREVER. Like there's no end in sight, but there HAS to be an end! I'm having a little wrinkly baby in 2 weeks. I need to finish my Christmas presents. It seems I have time to do all these little projects, like laundry soap, but no time to do the big things. I'm such a bum.

Food and baby things

Alright, so the past 2 weeks I've been kinda busy, well, not really busy but I've been doing stuff.

I made Pear Raspberry Jam. It tastes really good, I can't really taste the pear, but that just means the next batch will have double the pear in it. ;)

I made Butterfinger Blondies. I was so excited to try this recipe because I found it on Pinterest (and I've been working at MAKING things from Pinterest, not just pinning things!) and beacuse I LOVE Butterfinger! These blondies tasted amazing, and the buttercream frosting with the Butterfinger on top way absolutely delicious. The blog this recipe is posted on has TONS of amazing looking stuff, so stop over at SixSisters'Stuff!

I made laundry soap. Yeah I know, I'm ever so ambitious! BUT, I seriously can make a TON of laundry soap for way freaking cheaper than buying a small bottle. So, I have my soap making pot, grater, funnel and spoon. Plus, to make this first batch of soap, I had everything on hand. Sweet deal, huh! So yeah, I bought a 2.5 gallon water dispenser with a spigot to dispense the detergent. The recipe over at WhyNotSew said to put the detergent in 2 milk jugs, but I wanted something easier to get the detergent out (I can lift the spigot and pour soap into the cup ONE-HANDED!! So easy!)

I've made up some of the nursery decor. I've had these frames from work but they had some odd artwork in them that really wouldn't fit with any nursery scheme I could have come up with, I really bought them because of the blue frames. I got TONS and TONS of blankets and I decided to fix up the artwork.

So two weeks left until Little Man comes. Monday he gave us another scare. I was just sitting in my NST, playing on my iPod, when the nurse came and freaked out. Now this nurse has been freaking out over every thing, so I kinda just blew it off. The nurse turned me and moved me around, hoping to get his heart rate up. She had another nurse watch me while she went to find an OB. My OB came in, looked worried (which got me worried!) and said Little Man's heart rate dropped significantly for a long period of time right after a contraction, so they decided to keep me in the hospital for the day. So, they wheeled me into Labor & Delivery to get me a room, more for protocol and "just-in-case" anything else happened. Well, let me tell you the reception SUCKS in the L&D wing, and I had the hardest time getting a hold of Shark or anyone for that matter. So, as strong as I thought I was, I broke down shortly after the nurses hooked me up to the IV and all the monitors. The nurses came in, and dialed Shark from their desk, and transfered him to my room. I was crying into the phone and he was definitely freaked out and worried. I told him it wasn't an emergency, but they were watching me pretty close. So after 4 hours of watching what Little Man did (nothing else happened) they let me go. Shark and I walked around the Temple once we got out. It was a beautiful day and it was so nice to spend it together, once everything calmed down.

We found a cute little path that neither of us had ever seen. There were all these trees that had cute heart-shaped leaves. So yeah, now we're just waiting 14 more days until our cute little man gets here. We're hoping he waits that long. {please wait that long!!} So I've decided to be a complete lazy bum for the next 2 weeks. Pretty sure I'm planning on finishing up the Christmas presents and finishing little things for his room.

Love to all who have ambitious lazy days!

really 18 days

Ok. So, I know the ticker on the right side bar is counting down. And my last post didn't help clear things up at all, but really - I have 18 days left until I go into the hospital to get induced....

Yeah, I'm kinda freaking out.

The doctor's set the appointment for me to head into the hospital Tuesday night, at 8pm. Hopefully we'll have a kicking, crying Little Man on the 9th. But either way, that still means I'm going to be a mom next month. :)

I'm excited and nervous.

I've been going to appointments twice a week for the past 3 weeks. They've been kind of stressful. I know everything is fine, but the nurses all freak out cuz Little Man's heart rate doesn't accelerate to what he "should" get up to. I told them, I'm on a heart rate regulator, it caps my heart rate, it caps his heart rate. They looked at me and flatly said, We can't assume it's the medication. We have to assume something is wrong with your baby and just order more tests.

SOO - on top of the now-pointless tests, I have to go in and do MORE tests. Ultrasounds every time I go in. Ultrasounds are fine, I get to see my Little Man! Which is pretty fun, but seeing him on the screen is just making MORE impatient to get him HERE!

So, I've been trying to not freak out, all while trying to remain patient. {Cuz, you all know I am such a patient person! HA!}

(Yesterday, he stuck his tongue out, yawned way big, and grabbed his nose!)

So, in 18 days, my brothers and sisters will become aunts and uncles. My mom will be a grandma and my dad will be a grandpa. I will be a mom, and Shark will be a dad!

We are all excited for our newest leaf on the family tree to get here! {and to start kicking someone else for a change!}

Love for all things new! ♥

PS: mom, I just have to address my thank you, and stamp em, and get em out! You should be smiling!

38 Days

So basically Little Man has 38 until he gets his final eviction notice. I don't think he'll last the full term. Neither do either of my doctors. My OB is planning around Nov. 7th, which would be awesome, cuz my cardiologist is the attending that week, so it would work perfectly! Anyways, here's an update of what's been going on lately.

So I've been going to the Dr's twice a week for nonstress tests for baby. This is my 2nd week going, I started going last Monday. And to technically pass the test he has to get his heart rate up to 155 and then back down to 130, twice in 30 minutes. The nurse's freak out because he just barely gets up to 150 and then just hangs out at 150 for a while. They try everything, they buzz him, they move me around, I poke him and jab at him, I drink soda, I drink juice, trust me, we try to get him to move around and acelerate his heart rate! So they're all worried that he's not moving for funtioning enough, and after the first test, they called me back in to do an emergency test. He passed that one no problem.

Well, I talked to my cardiologist, and asked him if the heart rate regulator medication I'm on could be limiting his heart rate as well, he confirmed that it could and it probably is. He also said, the nurses and aids will have no idea what's normal for me and my condition, and they will freak out and get all worried, but until my OB gets concerned, I've got nothing to be concerned about. This past Monday, baby decided to nap all day, during all the tests, and my OB was kinda concerned about his movement, until I told him, this kid moves NON-STOP. As soon as they shut off the ultrasound machine and I sat up, he got the hiccups and did a few summersalts, but he didn't do it while the Dr's were watching. I told the Dr's that he kicks, punches, rolls, moves, gets the hiccups all the time. My OB is no longer concerned. He said to keep counting little man's kicks and movements, and when I notice a decrease or less than 10 in an hour to call and come in.

Thursday's tests he totally rocked at and moved the whole time. Shark and I had a game plan for yesterday. Food. Baby moves whenever I eat something. So I ate a big sugary breakfast, then stopped at BK and got a burger and soda on the way to the hospital, and before my last ultrasound yesterday, I stopped at the cafeteria and got some pizza. He put on quite a show. In fact, I don't think he's stopped moving for 10 minutes today. He's just been switching sides and rolling and punching me and putting his knees in my ribs. Restless. Shark and I aren't worried, I just wish the nurses wouldn't freak out. I told the doctors, it's kinda hard to not get worried when nurses are throwing around words and phrases like "snot moving, could be still born" and "come into the Emergency OB, we need to check to make sure you're baby is still functioning" - Mark and I have talked to the cardio dr and my OB, and they aren't worried and trust us to let them know when something doesn't feel right, so we're not worried.

Shark asked my OB what the procedure would be if something were wrong, the OB answered, we'd deliver him. And to make sure there aren't any surprises, the carseat is in the car, and I have a bag packed, in the car anytime I go to the hospital now. We don't need ANY surprises like we had on Mother's day where the Dr's decided to keep me there! So we're ready.... :)

My dad sent me some funny commercials that are airing in WI.

This one makes my husband glad we don't live in WI, and that I don't have a Packers Checking....

Love to all!♥

Diaper Hanger

So, my SIL has a way cute diaper hanger. She's got a whole matching room decor set. I love it! But I also know that I wouldn't be able to find a diaper hagner that matched his blanket.

So, in my wanderings on Pinterest I found a tutorial for a diaper hanger.

I found the tutorial on SewDangCute Crafts. I skipped the ruffle, and the piping. I did a totally basic one. And I used remnant fabric from making his blanket!! I didn't have to buy any fabric!!

Shark looked at it and said it was cute and a good idea, but that'd we'd have to refill it every day! ♥

Baby's Room

Alright, so I technically finished the baby's room. I just have to finish the curtains (and by finish I mean start on!) and I have to finish the mobile... Yeah, I'm still working on that one, I might be almost done... We'll see.

I took pictures of the room, and kind of circled around, so I got the entire room.

I love his room. Shark tells people, The baby's room colors pretty much sums up my personality. I love his room, and am so excited for it to be HIS!!

I've got to do some little things still, like get a hamper, get bins for under the crib, curtains, do some decorations I can't make until he's born. Just some little things. I'm excited for Little Man!!

Love to all who love babies! ♥

Baby Blanket

So, I've been working on Little Man's quilt. I've been working on it for a while. It's taken me a while to get it done. The pattern I love is the Wonky Log Cabin I found from Quilt Dad. I found this pattern back when I made a blanket for my niece. I love this pattern because it's very forgiving and easy to work with. Plus, I get to pick like 12 fabrics that I can incorporate, which makes it playful and fun!!

Here are the squares as I got them done. The finishing dimensions of this part of the squares is 9"

Once I got the squares done, I put on a 3" floating white border. Then I cut the square down to 12". {This is the only thing I regret about the blanket, is that it's small. The blanket I made for my niece was bigger. The Wonky patterened squares were 12", and the the final dimension on the white float border was 15". Oh well...}

I cut out Little Man's name on the Cricut and then used those letters to cut out fabric letters. I layered the fabric letters with blue fleece (from an old project).

 I sewed these letters on the flannel backing for his blanket.

I sewed a square between the white float border and the patterened log cabin to secure the backing to the front {quilting style}.

And here is the finished product!  I really do love how it turned out! At first I bought green binding, but I'm REALLY glad I went with the blue!!  I really do love this blanket. It's not heavy enough to be a quilt but I love that it's a small blanket, something he can carry around with him as he gets older!! :)

Love to all those who love babies!! ♥ 

Bear Lake

So this past week, my MIL booked her time share up in Bear Lake. The boys had to work and shoot things, so they weren't there, so the ladies crafted all week. :) It was pretty fun!

I made some headbands. I used this tutorial from Happy Together!

Some Tinkle Tents, Pee Pee Tee Pees, Wee Wee Wigwams - whichever you call them! I used this tutorial from Make it and Love it.

I made a whole bunch of burp cloths. I used thos Tutorial from Cloud9!

I made football onesies! I saw this on Pinterest. I dyed onesies brown using Dark Brown Rit dye. I ironed some Heat-n-Bond onto come white fabric, cut the white fabric into 1" strips and then into 6" and 1.5" strips, then ironed them on. Then I took the very taxing task of sewing around ALL the edges of the white strips. I sewed down the vertical one, then across each of the horizontal strips. And in true football style, the horizontal strips cross OVER the long vertical strip. :)

I also got started on a Christmas present. I'm not going to show you that yet, but eventually I will. I'm trying to remember to take pictures of everything this year!! We'll see how that turns out.

It was a pretty fun week. We went swimming at the pool (the lake was REALLY cold!). We watched movies, talked, had famous Raspberry shakes, and made tons of stuff!

Ta Da! Love to those who could craft all day long and not be bored! And to those who couldn't! ♥