gifts received

 I have been spoiled lately and have to share the loveliness with you all. My sister Merrilee made me this adorable baby quilt, similar to this one she made last year for our nice, but instead of sewing a herringbone pattern she did a zigzag pattern for the quilting. I love it so much! To me hand made gifts are some of the most touching and memorable. I have received quite a few handmade baby quilts throughout motherhood.

 I come from a crafty family so you an imagine how many baby blankets, quilts, and afghans the four of them have all together. I honestly cherish all of them though! As do my children, they sleep with each one.

 Another thoughtful gift I received recently was a pretty blue circle skirt made by Dana Willard! I was so surprised when she sent me an email asking me for my address. I later received a lovely little package with a cute card and everything! She is such a sweet blog friend and I hope to meet her in person some day so I can give her a huge hug! Thanks Dana! :)

With home school, baby laundry, and two kids in diapers, it makes even finding time to make dinner hard, so blogging has slowed . But you needn't fear, I am still creating and crafting I just need to make time for taking nice photos and sitting at the computer. My sisters and mom came to see me and threw me a cute little shower. I am getting that post ready so check back soon .Our life is full these days, mostly full of love from family, and love for our sweet little Evangeline!

new wardrobe

It's getting warmer around here and that means it's time for light and airy spring time clothes. I have pinned a lot of really pretty kids clothes ideas lately, (see them here) and really wanted to make new clothes for lizzy since she is out growing a lot of her clothes. I sewed a super simple but really pretty floral top for Lizzy the other day. I got the fabric for a $1.50 a yard at Walmart. :) I have had some time to sew lately because the kids have been sick these past few days, and homeschooling is on hold while they cuddle on the couch watching movies. Lizzy got hit the hardest with a fever, bad sore throat and a cough. She slept on the couch for practically a week and finally perked up yesterday afternoon. So just us 3 girls went shopping for sandals, it was nice to spend "alone" time with Lizzy and have a little get away. It's so funny that going shopping with only two kids is a relaxing treat now that I have four. I feel a little frazzled at times but I really love having four kids. We already feel like Evangeline has always been with us. We forget that almost four weeks ago she was still inside me and we hadn't met her yet.

sewing again

Hello! I'm still here. I am recovering and we are all adjusting well over here. I have even found some time for sewing for Evangeline. I made her a kimono onesie with a pretty knit print I had left over from another project. I am editing the pattern a bit and planning on making a tutorial so be sure and check back soon. We all love out newest family member! She gets more beautiful every day.

Look what I made....

Baby Evangeline was s 6 pounds 6 ounces and 18 inches long, I did pretty good considering shes only the fourth one I've made. :)  All 4 turned out perfect in my eyes. I went into labor before we could turn her head-down and since my water broke there was no turning back, I had to have a C-section. I'll elaborate on that story in a later post for now I'll be taking  it easy. :)

last second preparations

With my appointment to turn the baby and a very probable induction coming this Thursday, I have been keeping busy trying to get things in order. Its isn't often that you know the real due date a week ahead of time so I am trying to take advantage of it. One of the things on my to do list was to get the baby's quilt made. This is the fastest quilt I have ever made so far. I finished it in two days! I would've liked the top stitching to be a little straighter but I am not a perfect quilter. But I believe when something is made for you by someone you love it is treasured even with all it's flaws. I love that all the patchwork fabric is from the thrift store, most of it vintage, because that makes it a little unique. The color scheme evolved by itself after I saw the fabrics in my craft room unintentionally stacked together. It was super fast to make because of the simple square patchwork pattern. I wanted it to be a soft blanket so I chose this super furry plush stuff for the backing. (I got it on sale at Jo-Anne's.) It is sure to be her favorite blanket since all of us think it is fantastically soft and cozy. Seriously we cant stop rubbing it!

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Happy Anniversary

Today is our 9th anniversary and I wanted to share some old school photos of us as brand spanking newlyweds! Trent looks so young with out a beard. I definitely prefer the beard, I think it makes him look like a mountaineer/lumberjack/pirate/artist/hottie. ;) I can't believe its 9 years today. I am so blessed to have such a loving husband. I really believe there is no one in the world better for me! Here is the quick version of our love story. I was 19 when we met and I invited Trent to join the church choir. We had mutual friends, therefore making it easy to run into each other often. We started hanging out a lot with friends then after two months we noticed our friends asking us where we've been. We thought "What? We've been hanging out with you all this whole time." To our surprise we realized we had really been exclusively hanging out with only each other for a month and a half. (Mostly at the bookstore.) We realized quickly after that that we couldn't keep away from each other for more than a day at a time and then soon came to the conclusion that we could and should never be apart again period. The main turning point was one night when I was day dreaming about kissing him (we hadn't actually kissed yet). I was thinking about my physical weaknesses and how unnecessary broken hearts and devastation can come from having a serious physical relationship before establishing a healthy committed emotional and spiritual relationship. I proceeded to tell Trent that I wanted him to kiss me, but only if I was the only one he would ever kiss again. I knew I was asking a lot but I felt strongly about it. He thought about my request and then kissed me one week later. :) And boy am I glad he did!! He did propose with a ring a week later, but that kiss will always be the "real proposal" to us. In some ways it feels like we have always been together, like we've known each other forever, and yet sometimes it feels like we're still those goofy teenagers who hung out at the bookstore. Thanks for the most incredible 9 years of my life honey! Here's to all the amazing years that are sure to come! I Love you!

P.S. I had a Dr.'s appointment this morning and baby is still breech. The Dr. scheduled a "turning" Thursday March 1st. If she cooperates we will immediately induce labor while she is still head down. If she doesn't turn we will wait a week to see if she turns on her own and hopefully avoid a c-section.

getting ready for baby

I have been crocheting up a storm over here, mostly making baby clothes. I am still working on perfecting the patterns and will for sure be letting you know when they are available! :)  Baby Girl's birthday is coming up quickly and we are trying to get all our ducks in a row in preparation. March 11th is the due date, but at my last appointment she was breech. The Dr. said we may induce labor early, after turning baby head down, so we can get her out without resorting to a C-section. A C-section sounds kinda scary since I have never had surgery in my life. Hopefully all will turn out as planned or better! :)
Another thing we have been doing over here in preparation for baby's arrival is building a triple bunk bed in the kid's room! Our 2-yr-old is still sleeping in our room in the crib and he needed a new place to sleep. The new bunk bed is pretty much finished except for a few accents and paint. Because the bed is located where the closet was we are in desperate need of new toy and clothes storage! I am trying to figure out a nice way to arrange the room so it feels effortless but well-styled. I need to be innovative and creative since I want to do all the storage on a super small budget. I'll share before and after photos as soon as it isn't a huge mess in there.

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blogging about...

I have always admired bloggers that share real aspects of life. I guess I feel a connection with them because I can relate to them personally. Here is the real life version of our house right now. Trent just took down a show and we haven't gotten around to putting the paintings in the art shed yet. There are stacks of library books that are probably over due. (I think our family's over due fees provide the majority of the library's revenue. Seriously, almost every time we go we pay $10 in fees!) My craft table is drowning under a pile of baby girl clothes I've accumulated in the last 5 months. ( I can't believe I have three weeks left!) What you don't see pictured is; the huge beyond huge pile of kids clothes that my kids either don't fit or don't wear, that I am donating to the local DI, a cluttered kitchen, a homeschooling desk covered in papers and books, and toys littering almost every room! :)  Real life for us is often messy, cluttered, and disorganized but it is also filled with art, dancing, friendship, learning, music and, LOVE!

relaxed Valentines party

 We had a few friends over for a fun little Valentines party. We made cards, decorated felt flags, ate cookies, and danced to vintage records. :) It was really laid back party. I basically sat and chatted with all the moms while the kids went at it. I loved seeing what the kids made with what I put out, they got really creative! It turned out fun, and the relaxed feel was really nice. You know, with me being eight months pregnant that was all I had energy for anyway. My sis Mer  had come into town for the weekend and helped me get things ready. She was super awesome and made the cookies because I was running behind with party prep. They were so yummy thanks Mer!!

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cookie cutter sandwiches

 

Make your Valentines Day lunch super fun with heart shaped triple layer peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. To make today's lunch feel a little more special we cut our bread into tiny hearts and made PB&Js stacked three layers high. It is so fun to do and super easy for kids to do by themselves. My kids loved the tiny sandwiches but if you want a bigger sandwich just use a bigger size cookie cutter. This is a spin off from the ham and cheese version I did back in 2008, you can she it here. :)

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recovering stools

 Lately I have been bored of our decorating in the living room and dining room and I have been thinking of ways to add a bit of fun to those spaces. Somehow our collection of antiques has grown so much that our home really needs to be balanced out with something colorful and fun to keep the space fresh and young.  We really love old timeless things that have a history or connection to the past, but we are young and fun loving and our home didn't reflect that side of us. We needed an element that says "we don't take ourselves too seriously". So in an effort to bring whimsey to our dining room I recovered our bar stools. They were dirty and boring, & needed a face lift bad!

I recovered them with vintage fabric I had purchased a year ago at a local thrift store. I love how they look in the space! They really added that missing element of fun. And I love that they look a little like toad stools.

 Here is what they looked like before  :(

 

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