Crafty-Mc-Crafterson!

Just call me the "New Martha Stewart"!

OK, no, seriously..... I am not, by nature, a crafty person. I don't have the patience for them, or the free-thinking, go with the flow, creative mindset. When I was in my sorority in college I shuddered at the thought of having to make those darn flower pens for new members, and I much preferred to go to a party then attend "craft night".

But I am trying to expand my horizons. First, now that I am home, I like having different projects to keep me busy, and I like finding crafty-type things I can do with L, because he loves it. Also, I feel like as long as I'm diving headfirst into this new chapter of my life (Wife, mommy, SAHM..... as opposed to Sorority Girl, girlfriend, college student, etc.) I might as well explore other things that, up until this point in my life, I have mostly avoided. (This also included cooking, but that's another story).

Anyway, I completed a pretty cool craft, and I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty proud of myself.

**Disclaimer: I take no credit for coming up with this craft on my own. Someone else posted it on Pinterest (Are you on Pintesrest? You should be, it rocks!) and I followed it to this website to find all the instructions.

So here's what you need:

 -A Cricut Machine or some other sort of letter cutter (I"m not sure what this one is called, I borrowed it from a friend) If you don't have a machine of your own, or crafty friends who can borrow one from, you can use stencils.

-Contact Paper

-An exacto knife

-Blank Canvas (Any Size)



-Fabric (Enough to cover your canvas)



-Spray Paint (Trying to buy this stuff is like trying to get a Green Card, so make sure you look wholesome and not suspicious when you go in to buy it!)

And here is what you do:



-Using your machine, or stencils, trace and cut out the letters to the saying or quote of your choosing on your contact paper. 

-Cover your canvas with your fabric and secure it the a staple gun.

-Lay the letters out on top of the canvas to make sure you have the spacing correct.

-Once everything looks good, peel of the paper backing on the contact paper and stick the letters the canvas.

-Spray a thick and even coat of spray paint over the whole thing and let dry

-Once it is dry, peel of the letters

-And here is the end result! The fabric shows through the spray paint, making an awesome contrast, and you have super cute art to hang in your house!

Here are a few optional steps in this process:

-Refrain from yelling at lady in Michael's who tells you they don't sell fabric, even though you specifically called that morning and the guy on the phone told you they did.

-Cry and possibly utter a few swear words when you realize you cut your letters on the wrong side of the contact paper and they are all backwards

-Get tutorial from husband on how to use staple gun

-Make sure spray paint can is not pointed at you when you spray it

**Again, these steps are optional!

**Take that, you stupid flower pens!



30 weeks!

30 weeks! Here we go, final 10 weeks! God, I really, really hope the next ten weeks go by quickly! I am definitely at the stage of the pregnancy where I'm over it. I'm over answering the same fifty questions fifty times a day (Due in October. It's a boy. Yes, ten weeks does seem like a long time. Yes, it is hot. Yes, being pregnant in the summer in Phoenix is hard. This is my second.... and so on.) I know these people mean well, but I"m just getting worn out by it. I'm tired of the heartburn, and the leg cramps and not sleeping and no clothes fitting. I know, I am a huge complainer.......

On the bright side, for all the complaining, I really do feel better and healthier I think then I did when I was pregnant with L. I am so glad I have made myself stick to a strict workout schedule, even when it's the last thing I feel like doing and practicing self-control when it comes to ice cream. (for the most part... hey, I 'm not perfect!) Right now I'm doing three yoga classes a week (Power, candlelight, and just basic) a Pilate's and a yogalates. I'm having to modify some of the moves the further along I get, but I'm still hanging in pretty strong. I am also doing cardio five days a week, for at least 45 minutes each time. Seriously, sometimes I'll be in the middle of a class and all I can think is "I'm done. I can't do this anymore. This is crazy, I'm 7.5 months pregnant and I am going to enjoy the rest of this pregnancy on the couch with some cookie dough and not in this torturous class." But then the class is over and I feel so great and proud of myself and I find myself back there the next day.

In non-pregnancy related news, I cannot believe how big my baby is getting. I cannot believe he is going to be two in less then a month. How is that even possible? I look at him now and see such a little boy, no more of the baby left. (Except when I sneak in when he's sleeping ,then I can still see some baby!) He is officially sleeping in a bed with no toddler rails, we are working on the potty training, and his personality is shining through strong. He has lots of opinions about everything, he loves loves loves the dogs and cat, he is obsessed with raisins and mangos, he can push of the pool step with his face in the water and kick to me or S, and he absolutely melts my heart when he asks for a kiss.

As ready as I am for baby number 2 to get here, I struggle daily with how L is going to handle it. It makes my heart hurt to think that he is going to feel any less loved, or replaced, or jealous in way. I know it will all work out, and that he is going to be so lucky to have a little brother so close in age, but right now I can't shake the guilty feeling. I'm working on it though, and hopefully we can get him as prepared as possible before October gets here!



Seriously, have you ever seen a cute picture. He got out of bed to "read" his favorite book to himself during nap the other day, and then fell asleep in the chair.  This might be one of my favorite pictures ever!

And then here's a few 30-week bump pictures!



L's Big Boy Room!

Well, we have officially reached the third trimester! Hurray, finally in the final stretch! I'll do a preggo update sometime later this week, but not tonight. I know I've been kind of slacking on those!

With baby due in a short 12 weeks (doesn't that sound so much shorter then 3 months?) we have been in project mode around here. Basically we have had to move our guest room to our office, our office to our loft, and make the old guest room the new baby's room. This has involved buying new furniture, painting several rooms, and since I figured we were already in DIY mode I had S strip and re-stain all of our old guest room furniture to help make it look newer and more updated. Needless to say, we are no where close to being done with all this, but we are making progress. Both rooms have been painted, the office has been moved and de-clutter to a small desk in the loft, and today we moved L's nursery furniture into the baby's room.

What to do about baby furniture has been a bit of a dilemma for us. We didn't want to buy another crib set, since L is almost 2, but we needed to make sure he was ready for a "big boy" bed before we made any decisions. I also wanted to get this all done way before the baby came (even though he will be in our room for a while and won't even need the nursery), so L didn't feel like we were "taking" his stuff and giving it to his brother. So basically, we decided to convert his crib to a toddler bed on a trial basis, make sure he was ready, and then decide on buying beds. Well, we have never looked back since converting it. L did amazing switching for the crib. We put the baby gate up on his door at night and during nap time so he can't leave his room, and occasionally he will get out of bed and fall asleep in his glider or the floor, but for the most part he has been fine in the bed. If anything he lets us sleep a little longer in the morning because he will get up and play in his room for awhile.

So once it was decided that the new baby could have the nursery furniture we decide the best plan was to buy a bunk bed set that could be used as two twin beds. We figured we could use the top bed on it's own for L, since it has rails similar to a toddler bed and store the bottom bunk. Then once baby is old enough, the boys can share a room and use the bunk beds. Problem is with everything else we have to buy right now we were trying to find room in our budget to drop $600 (minimum) on a bunk bed set. Then something amazing happened. My Pilate's teachers came to me and told me they were getting rid of all their old baby furniture and they had a crib they were getting rid of if we wanted it. A crib that also could convert into a toddler bed. On top of that, this is a really really nice crib. It retails for almost $1100 but she wouldn't take any money for it, it was ours for free if we wanted it. Problem totally solved. We would use the new crib, converted into a toddler bed for L for the time being. This gives us plenty of time to wait until after the baby comes and we have more money in the budget to buy an actual bed set for him, but it also let's us transition him to "new" furniture and get the nursery set up so he can get used to everything before October. Sometimes it's really unreal how things end up working out, especially since I have been stressing about this so much.

So, after that long explanation, let me bring us to today. I kept L downstairs while S moved all of his nursery furniture out of his room and into the nursery. (We shut and locked that door for now so he can't see his old stuff in there). Then we made it a family event to put together his new bed and set up his new room so he could be excited about everything. S did all the heavy lifting and putting together, I supervised and L....... um, he helped.

I was dying with laughter when L kept sitting on S's chest while he was trying to put it together.



He also read Daddy a quick story to make sure he didn't get bored while he was doing all the manual labor.

And then once the bed was together? He wouldn't get out of it..... even when S was trying to move it to the other side of the room. (Yes, I was still laughing)

So, after all, that I give you  L's brand new, big boy room! (It does drive me a little crazy that the wood doesn't match exactly on all furniture, but I keep telling myself this is only temporary!)

I can't believe my baby has  room like this. I can't believe he is almost 2, and I can't believe he is going to be a big brother. How can 9 months of pregnancy drag on FOREVER and yet 2 years be gone in the blink of an eye?

Anyway, next up on our list is to finish the baby room, the guest room and add some finishing touches to the loft.... and I think I'm going to ask S to paint the kids bathroom while were at it..... so more updates to come!

Long day

Wow. Today has been one-of-those-days.  You know, the kind where at the end of it all you really want to do is crawl under the covers with a bottle of wine (unfortunately not an option at 6.5 months pregnant!). I'm ready for today to be over. I try on this blog to mostly write about the good and the fun things that we do. This is for two reasons, first off, who really wants to record the bad times, and two, I really try to find the good and the fun and the special in our everyday life. The good days by far outweigh any bad days we have, and the laughter and the hugs and the kisses outnumber the tantrums ten fold.

Except for today.

And I"m going to write about today because you can't really appreciate the good days without having a few bad ones thrown in the mix. And it's not like anything really bad happened today. It was just a long, long day and L was a terror though all of it. And the thing is, is L is a really good, easy kid.  I know we are really lucky, but today he decided to remind it just how bad it could be. All day today there have been tantrums. Pretty much the only words I have heard are "no" and "mine", both of which have been shouted at me continuously. At our playgroup he refused to share with the other kids and threw a fit if anyone tried to play with the same toys he was. (Normally he is amazing at sharing). He went into a full kicking and screaming fit in the library when I couldn't pick him up. Nap time was a battle of wills, which he eventually won. Dinner was the same.

I am exhausted and frustrated and have cried three times today. And I know that L is exhausted and frustrated and cried out to. He's just having a bad day, which we all have, but it's so hard at this age for him to communicate exactly what is bothering him. Today was the kind of day, where as a mom I wish I could have done more. I feel like a failure because I couldn't turn this day around for either of us. Instead of finding some genius solution I just sat down and cried right along with him.

But tomorrow is another day, and I know (hope?) that my sweet little boy will be back. We are entering the "terrible two's" stage and I know there will be more days like this, but I'm also just as certain that the "unicorn and glitter" days will outweigh the "tiny little person screaming at me" days.

So today is done, L is about to go to bed, and I"m going to settle for some hot tea instead of the wine. And I'm looking forward to a clean slate tomorrow.

Goodnight all!

Happy Birthday!

Happy birthday S!

Today is my hubby's 27th birthday! We (I) love birthdays round here. Really I love any kind of celebration that I can wrap presents, bake something, put up decorations, etc. I had planned on putting L down for an early nap today so I could wrap all the presents, bake and frost cupcakes, and shower and be all dressed and pretty by the time S walked in the front door from work. Unfortunately my day was somewhat derailed when......

I FELL DOWN THE FREAKING STAIRS!

Um, yes, you heard my correctly. L was still asleep when I got up this morning so I decided to pile my arms high with all our laundry and run it downstairs to start a load before he woke up. Unfortunately, with a massive pile of dirty clothes in my arms, not only could I not hold on to the handrail, I also couldn't totally see where I was stepping. Not to big of a deal on a normal day, but at 6 1/2 months pregnant, with my balance way off center, it was not a good idea. So down I went. Clothes flew everywhere and I tumbled. Luckily my butt took the full brunt of the fall (trust me, I have a huge bruise to prove it) and then I went backwards on to my back, but it still wasn't pleasant. I immediately panicked and called the triage nurse at my Dr. Office. Now, pretty much from the moment I fell, the baby started kicking me (I think he was mad about all the jostling around!) so that eased a lot of my worries, but I wanted to check and see what she said. She didn't seem overly concerned either, since I didn't fall on my stomach and I could feel the baby moving but she still recommended I come in for an ultrasound just to make sure everything looked OK. Long story short, we got checked out, the baby is fine and I am fine except for a bruised bottom and a slightly bruised ego.


But back to S's birthday. He still got cupcakes (they just weren't frosted when he got home) I got pretty and showered, but not until later, and his presents ended up in gift bags instead of being lovingly wrapped. Oh well, that's life, right?

But still we celebrated. We headed to a local Mexican restaurant that S likes for a big family dinner and rented a movie for us to watch after L goes to bed. Not exactly hitting the town, but I would rather be home with my two boys anyway!

So, S, Happy Birthday! L and I love you so very much.

Oh, and I think today's little "incident" is the universes way of telling me to let you take care of the laundry from this point on!

Suzie Homemaker

I'll be honest, I'm not much of a cook. That's not to say when I do cook that things don't come out OK, I"m just not one of those people (Hi, mom!) who can open up the fridge or the pantry, see what I have on hand and then throw together a delicious dinner with no recipe. No, I need recipes, preferably with directions that have been written in a way that a young child can understand. I need to know when to chop, how to dice, what order to do steps in and precise timing. The thing is, is I actually do kind of like cooking, I just feel like it takes me so much time and effort to make something nice, that in the past I have been much more likely to throw together sandwiches or quesadillas or order something in.

However, now that I am staying home I am really trying to channel my inner-housewife. I subscribed to "Taste of Home" magazine, broke out my cook books, and have made myself familiar with our local Trader Joe's. Because it's summer I've been doing a lot of yummy marinades and having S grill up the  chicken i prepared when he gets home, but tonight I got a little bit adventurous.

A little bit of this:

And this:

And you get this:

Pita pockets stuffed with pear Waldorf salad and a light lemon dressing. Super yummy, super light for the hot weather, and easy to make. Also, very cheap. I had pretty much all the ingredients in my house all ready!

And for dessert?

This:

Plus this:

Equals this:

Blueberry cobbler, served with a little bit of vanilla bean ice cream. Heaven. I have memories of my mom making cobbler when I was kid and it was always the most delicious thing ever. I also always thought it was so exotic so I like that it's actually pretty easy to make.

What can I say, just call me Betty Crocker. Or Bree Van De Kamp (Desperate Housewives reference). Your choice!

Happy fourth and a vacation update!

Happy later 4th of July everyone! Sorry for the delayed update, but we were on vacation all weekend down in California. It was fun, but unfortunately L had a pretty major fever for the majority of the trip. It was actually kind of weird. First of all L hardly ever gets sick, and if he does it last maybe a day. On Thursday he was running a low grade fever (like really, really low grade, 99.4 or so) and we just chalked it up to teething because his canines are coming in. On Friday morning the fever was still low but still there so I decided to take him in to the doctor just to be safe since we were leaving that afternoon. Of course, as all spontaneous doctor appointments seem to go, by the time we got there he had no fever what so ever and was the happiest boy you have ever seen. The doctor agreed it was probably teething, and maybe a virus so to just keep an eye on him. We packed up the car and were on our way, with my fears completely alleviated that he might be sick. L slept most of the six hours in the car, which we were grateful for, but when I got him out of the car I noticed right away that he was hot. Really hot. A quick temperature check revealed a fever of 103.8, highest he has ever had. Of course I freaked out and was ready to rush him to urgent care then and there, but S gave him a cool bath and some Tylenol and we managed to bring it down. But this was how the next three days went, the fever would spike, I would freak, we would bring it down, it would like he was getting over it, and then it would spike again. None of us slept very much, I worried a ton, and my poor baby was miserable.

Finally, when I was at the end of my rope and putting my foot down about taking him to urgent care, the fever broke for good and we managed to have one good day. There was a lot to fit into one day but we did out best:

We did some swimming. L seemed to be a little bit concerned about going into a pool that was not the temperature of a luke warm bath, but I guess living in Phoenix will do that to you.

He played on Grandpa's tractor, which I am pretty sure he thought was the best toy in the world and that he will be asking for one for his birthday. I guess maybe we could get some yard work out of it, right?

L loved chasing around Elli, who is one of his grandparents three dogs. I'm not sure why he took such a liking to her, but I think it was because she was a mutt and bared the closest resemblance to Charlie.



We helped Daddy celebrate his 27th birthday (which isn't actually until July 15th) with his family. His sister made him a guava cake and L helped him open all his presents.

And then we ended the night with L playing us all a jaunty little tune on the toy piano Grandpa pulled out of storage for him.

And then there was the fourth. Can you beat a view like this for the fourth of July? The weather was a beautiful 80 degrees, it was sunny, and my child was healthy..... can't ask for more then that. 

I love this last picture. L with his Daddy, grandpa, aunt and uncle.

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This update is rambling on pretty long already, but in a quick, unrelated update my last official day of work was last Thursday. I have officially started my life as a stay at home mama and I am so excited! I'll keep you posted!