Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Ten weeks until I get to meet Cooper! Also, next Friday Tim graduates from rookie school and will be a firefighter! I am so proud of him. I know the past eleven weeks have been tough, and he has worked so hard to get to this point. Got a little bit more done in the nursery, the book shelves are up and we have lamp shades! Still need to finish the curtains and the mobile, but then I think the DIY projects will be done! I'll post pictures soon!
Monday, September 24, 2012
And all through the house....
Not a creature was stirring....
Except for two giant pups......
A pregnant momma.....
And a Cooper baby in a tummy!!
Well, tomorrow I start my third trimester! It has been quite the journey, I don't think I ever expected there for be as many ups and downs as there have been.
It is weird that in 12 short weeks I should be meeting my lil' man!
Cravings? Sweets. Man oh man. And fruit. Can't get enough fruit! Today I made a combo of the two....I made some apple muffins with melted cinnamon sugar on top! Holy cow. Deelish. Let me show you the yummy picture!
Also, tonight I decided to just bite the bullet, sit down, and finish the bumper pads for Cooper's crib. I think they turned out pretty adorable, if I do say so myself!
Check back for a bump picture, probably on Wednesday!
Not a creature was stirring....
Except for two giant pups......
A pregnant momma.....
And a Cooper baby in a tummy!!
Well, tomorrow I start my third trimester! It has been quite the journey, I don't think I ever expected there for be as many ups and downs as there have been.
It is weird that in 12 short weeks I should be meeting my lil' man!
Cravings? Sweets. Man oh man. And fruit. Can't get enough fruit! Today I made a combo of the two....I made some apple muffins with melted cinnamon sugar on top! Holy cow. Deelish. Let me show you the yummy picture!
 |
| Recipe |
Check back for a bump picture, probably on Wednesday!
Friday, September 21, 2012
Hey everyone!! Well Cooper is now 27 weeks and three days along on his growing journey! No pictures this week, but since I've graduated to every two weeks appointments (read-I have to be awake and looking decent before noon) you will get a happy little bump picture next week!!
Worked a little more on the nursery this week. Want to see some pictures?
The curtains are not finished yet. I'm silly and made them too short so when ever I get the motivation I'll be adding some of that navy blue chevron you see on the chair to the bottom.
I've also only seen two out of the six bumpers for the crib! I might need to get going on that!! I ran out of ties which is why the project got put on hold. But since I've rectified that by purchasing more bias tape, I need to get started!!
Projects still in the works? Gallery wall. Book shelves. Mobile!
Hope you enjoy the bright sunny nursery as much as I do!! One of my favorite places in the house now!
Worked a little more on the nursery this week. Want to see some pictures?
The curtains are not finished yet. I'm silly and made them too short so when ever I get the motivation I'll be adding some of that navy blue chevron you see on the chair to the bottom.
I've also only seen two out of the six bumpers for the crib! I might need to get going on that!! I ran out of ties which is why the project got put on hold. But since I've rectified that by purchasing more bias tape, I need to get started!!
Projects still in the works? Gallery wall. Book shelves. Mobile!
Hope you enjoy the bright sunny nursery as much as I do!! One of my favorite places in the house now!
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
No blog this week. Mainly because I slept in and have to go to work now! But I did have my 26 week check up at the doctor and I had to do the dreaded glucose test. It was iffy for a few minutes there, but I did keep it all down! Then they drew some blood, and should have results in a few days. Here's to crossing my fingers for no gestational diabetes! And I've officially graduated to every two week appointments. Cooper measured just right and his heartbeat was nice and strong at 147 bpm! He also woke up a bit and was bouncing around while she was trying to find his heart beat, I blamed it on all the sugar they made me chug!
So how did I treat myself after the appointment? By getting donuts, of course!!!
Thursday, September 6, 2012
This week is my 25th week of pregnancy, and I can't even believe it! The first 22-23 weeks were sooo slow and were just dragging by. I really felt like my pregnancy would never end! Now it seems to be picking up slightly, and it seems unreal that little man is already 25 weeks along. I can't wait to finally meet him and see his little face!! He sure does a lot of working out and jumping jacks in there, so I know hes getting big and strong. Next week at my doctor appointment I have to do the dreaded glucose tolerance test.....ICK!! Hopefully I pass. And then I stop my monthly appointments and actually start going every two weeks! Weird it is already time for that!
Want to see a few pictures of the nursery coming along??
We are far from finished, but I don't think I can keep you waiting any longer :)
This is my fancy new chair I showed you before. Now it has a cute table next to it and that blanket with the minky on it that I made! In this picture you can also see the curtains which at this point are unfinished. The navy chevron from the blanket will be added to the bottom of the curtains to make them a little bit longer.
Here is the fabulous dresser that we ended up getting from friends and neighbors of my parents. They have moved to a different state and were trying to find a new home for this! We were happy to take it, and I think it looks great in the room!
And, looky there! There is little man's name!!! He is officially Cooper James! I can't wait to get those letters hung up over the dresser :)
See the little lamb up there too? Well, that is baby lamb. That is the lamb that I have had since I was born, and it has always been my favorite stuffed animal. Unfortunately she met up with Cruz one day and Cruz kind of destroyed her......well my amazing mother got some new fabric and completely remade her!! She is so wonderful :)
Also, that basket on the ground there is a handmade woven basket made in Ghana. The navy and yellow fibers in it look great with the colors in the room!
Next week maybe I will show off the bedding I have been working on!! Bumpers aren't very hard to make, but are a little time consuming! I also only made half of the ties that I needed.....so I need to go over to Hobby Lobby and grab some more bias tape :)
Have a great weekend everyone, and Go HOGS!! Woo Pig Sooie!
Monday, August 27, 2012
65 seconds. Doesn't seem like a very long time, huh? Just a blink of an eye.
Except when your uterus is contracting during this cute little thing called Braxton Hicks.
And they can leave me alone!!
This week brings the joys of runs of Braxton Hicks contractions. Sometimes at work, sometimes in the middle of the night.
But really, that is the only bad symptom (besides occasional vomiting and continual acid reflux) that I seem to be having now!
This is a super duper major improvement on all of my previous weeks of pregnancy! Go team.
Here is a picture of cute little baby boy! He is growing, moving, and grooving!!
Excuse the face. This is what it looks like when you only sleep for two hours. I hate Sunday nights/Monday mornings and cant sleep knowing Tim is going to be leaving. But he is in his 5th week. Including this one, we only have 8 weeks left before he is home full time! Can't wait to have my handsome firefighter home! We've got a baby to prepare for :)
Speaking of preparing, the nursery is making lots of progress!!
Last week my parents were awesome enough to come over and help me paint. Even though I got low odor/low VOC paint, it was still really strong smelling in there and I had to take a LOT of breaks. But it is all painted and looking great!!
I also got the crib all put together to surprise Tim when he got home this past weekend. I wanted him to get an idea of what it will look like all finished!
Look who else thinks the crib is awesome...
Macy! She loves being in the nursery! Since we moved in to the house over a year ago, she has never been in the room (it has been used as a catch all for things we didn't unpack...). Cruz also spent some time in the nursery and did great! We are trying to get them used to all of the new baby items and teaching them they aren't toys.
Another thing that happened was on Sunday we got the new recliner for the nursery!! I debated a long time about what kind of chair to get. Do we get a rocker? glider? etc. We decided to go with a brand new recliner. Since we plan to have baby sleep in his own room from day one, I knew we were going to need a nice place to sit during late night feedings. This one ended up being perfect!
This is called the Wyatt Glider/Recliner, and we got it from Haverty's in Little Rock. It is so comfy, both Tim and I love it!!
See those little pillows? Yupp, I stitched those up the other night! I loved the fabric, and only having 1/2 yard of it ended up being the perfect amount to make these two. A long time ago I picked up some pillows from Good Will that happened to be on sale for $1 each. They had old retro ruffled pink covers on them, but I knew the forms inside had to be in great shape. Totally worth it!
Today I had lunch with my In-laws, and after headed over to Hobby Lobby to get a little bit of Minky fabric. Have you ever tried to cut/measure/sew with minky?? Man, let me tell you, I won't be doing it again. But, I did take about an hour to make this cute cotton and minky blanket for baby!
So, remember the inspiration picture I shared last week? See the colors starting to come together? See the yellow and the navy blue? It is such a fun color combination!! The navy really helps make the yellow on the walls pop.
This afternoon I worked on making all of the ties to go in the corners of the bumpers. So those are done and ready to be sewn on! I've got to measure and cut all of the fabric for the bumpers and I will get sewing. I'm trying to get those done, because the fabric for the curtains should be delivered to my house tomorrow.
I will keep posting pictures as things get checked off my to-do list! Stay tuned!
Except when your uterus is contracting during this cute little thing called Braxton Hicks.
And they can leave me alone!!
This week brings the joys of runs of Braxton Hicks contractions. Sometimes at work, sometimes in the middle of the night.
But really, that is the only bad symptom (besides occasional vomiting and continual acid reflux) that I seem to be having now!
This is a super duper major improvement on all of my previous weeks of pregnancy! Go team.
Here is a picture of cute little baby boy! He is growing, moving, and grooving!!
Excuse the face. This is what it looks like when you only sleep for two hours. I hate Sunday nights/Monday mornings and cant sleep knowing Tim is going to be leaving. But he is in his 5th week. Including this one, we only have 8 weeks left before he is home full time! Can't wait to have my handsome firefighter home! We've got a baby to prepare for :)
Speaking of preparing, the nursery is making lots of progress!!
Last week my parents were awesome enough to come over and help me paint. Even though I got low odor/low VOC paint, it was still really strong smelling in there and I had to take a LOT of breaks. But it is all painted and looking great!!
I also got the crib all put together to surprise Tim when he got home this past weekend. I wanted him to get an idea of what it will look like all finished!
Look who else thinks the crib is awesome...
Macy! She loves being in the nursery! Since we moved in to the house over a year ago, she has never been in the room (it has been used as a catch all for things we didn't unpack...). Cruz also spent some time in the nursery and did great! We are trying to get them used to all of the new baby items and teaching them they aren't toys.
Another thing that happened was on Sunday we got the new recliner for the nursery!! I debated a long time about what kind of chair to get. Do we get a rocker? glider? etc. We decided to go with a brand new recliner. Since we plan to have baby sleep in his own room from day one, I knew we were going to need a nice place to sit during late night feedings. This one ended up being perfect!
This is called the Wyatt Glider/Recliner, and we got it from Haverty's in Little Rock. It is so comfy, both Tim and I love it!!
See those little pillows? Yupp, I stitched those up the other night! I loved the fabric, and only having 1/2 yard of it ended up being the perfect amount to make these two. A long time ago I picked up some pillows from Good Will that happened to be on sale for $1 each. They had old retro ruffled pink covers on them, but I knew the forms inside had to be in great shape. Totally worth it!
Today I had lunch with my In-laws, and after headed over to Hobby Lobby to get a little bit of Minky fabric. Have you ever tried to cut/measure/sew with minky?? Man, let me tell you, I won't be doing it again. But, I did take about an hour to make this cute cotton and minky blanket for baby!
So, remember the inspiration picture I shared last week? See the colors starting to come together? See the yellow and the navy blue? It is such a fun color combination!! The navy really helps make the yellow on the walls pop.
This afternoon I worked on making all of the ties to go in the corners of the bumpers. So those are done and ready to be sewn on! I've got to measure and cut all of the fabric for the bumpers and I will get sewing. I'm trying to get those done, because the fabric for the curtains should be delivered to my house tomorrow.
I will keep posting pictures as things get checked off my to-do list! Stay tuned!
Thursday, August 23, 2012
So, you know I must be feeling better for a few reasons.
1. I am working on my nursery.
2. I am posting on my blog.
3. I am getting around to trying all of the awesome Pinterest ideas I've been pinning over the past 5.5 months.
Well, last night I wanted to get going on some laundry. It seems never ending. (Isn't that such a silly statement. Obviously it is never ending. Even if you are doing laundry, you are [probably] wearing clothes that will need to be washed too!!) I have a couple of blankets that have been sitting on the floor of my laundry room waiting to be washed and put away since....oh....the beginning of the summer. Lets face it, who needs blankets in this crazy Arkansas summer heat! So last night was the night. Until I went to get started and had barely enough detergent for one wash.
Poop.
We have one of those awesome new HE front load washers, and I absolutely love it and wouldn't change it. But man, is that detergent expensive. A while ago, a trend started of making your own detergent, both powdered and liquid. Everyone was claiming that just a little bit of extra work and mixing, and you would have detergent for a year for a fraction of the price of buying pre-made detergent.
All of the recipes I have seen use pretty much the same ingredients:
1. Borax
2. Baking Soda
3. Washing Soda
4. Fels Naptha soap
Some people add a fabric softener, others add oxyclean or other products.
I had pinned a recipe that I thought would work best for me, and have just been waiting for the time to make it. You can find the recipe I used here.
So, off I headed to Walmart to pick up everything I needed. Here is the price breakdown for what I bought:
1. 5 gallon pail 2.58
2. 4 lb box of Borax 3.38
3. 4 lb box Baking Soda 2.12
4. 3 lb box Super Washing Soda 3.24
5. [4] 5.5 oz bars Fels Naptha soap $0.97/each
6. Oxyclean $7.52
7. [2] 55 oz Purex Crystals Fabric Softener $8.96/each
That adds up to $31.68 (including the five gallon pail which will not need to be purchased next time I need to make a batch, and this number is pre-tax of course. That will obviously vary depending on where you live).
Okay, the cool part? You only need 1-2 TABLESPOONS per load, depending on load size and amount of soil. So, if you did approximately 6 loads of laundry every week, this recipe will last you for an entire year! I mean, come on, does it get better than paying only $31.68 for a WHOLE YEAR of laundry? If you have an HE washer like me, you were probably used to paying between $10-15 every few months depending on the type of detergent and size of the bottle you were buying.
So, does it work? Does it dissolve? Does it leave spots?
YES, YES, and NO!!
My front load washer has a tray that you pull out where you put the detergent in. There is a cup in there that says it is for liquid detergent, and in that cup it says "remove for powdered detergent." So if you are curious if you can put powder in your HE front loader, just look! I've done two loads, and haven't had any issues with the soap not dissolving, and I don't use hot water. No spots are leftover either!! I added two bottles of the Purex crystals, and it seems to be enough scent for me. I'm a sucker for lavender scent! However you can add less or none if you prefer or have allergies to scents.
The awesome person who posted the recipe that I followed used the empty Purex Crystals bottle to store smaller amounts of the soap in her laundry room so she wouldn't have to work out of the big 5 gal pail. I thought that was absolutely brilliant, so I tried it out!
Pretty cute way to store it, huh?
Okay well I had a few issues with that. When I grated my Fels Naptha soap, I used my food processor. My soap was more the thickness of shredded cheddar cheese instead of the consistency of say..... parmigiana regiana (is that how you even spell it??). The point is my soap cheese was thicker. It doesn't seem to affect the dissolving ability, but it doesn't want to come out of the top of that cute little bottle!! Luckily I had saved the carton that the Oxyclean came in and am using that instead.
Next time I make the detergent I will do one of two things:
1. Find already powdered Fels Naptha soap (or zote soap if I can find it)
2. Microwave the bar of soap so that it will crumble and become much finer when put in the food processor
But, I won't have to make it until next year hopefully!! Granted, with the baby coming soon I think laundry loads might go up for a bit. Apparently they drool and puke and poop a lot. Who would have thunk it.
Anyways, I highly suggest that you go and try this out!! I mean, who doesn't like saving money where you can!! If you do, let me know how it goes for you!
1. I am working on my nursery.
2. I am posting on my blog.
3. I am getting around to trying all of the awesome Pinterest ideas I've been pinning over the past 5.5 months.
Well, last night I wanted to get going on some laundry. It seems never ending. (Isn't that such a silly statement. Obviously it is never ending. Even if you are doing laundry, you are [probably] wearing clothes that will need to be washed too!!) I have a couple of blankets that have been sitting on the floor of my laundry room waiting to be washed and put away since....oh....the beginning of the summer. Lets face it, who needs blankets in this crazy Arkansas summer heat! So last night was the night. Until I went to get started and had barely enough detergent for one wash.
Poop.
We have one of those awesome new HE front load washers, and I absolutely love it and wouldn't change it. But man, is that detergent expensive. A while ago, a trend started of making your own detergent, both powdered and liquid. Everyone was claiming that just a little bit of extra work and mixing, and you would have detergent for a year for a fraction of the price of buying pre-made detergent.
All of the recipes I have seen use pretty much the same ingredients:
1. Borax
2. Baking Soda
3. Washing Soda
4. Fels Naptha soap
Some people add a fabric softener, others add oxyclean or other products.
I had pinned a recipe that I thought would work best for me, and have just been waiting for the time to make it. You can find the recipe I used here.
So, off I headed to Walmart to pick up everything I needed. Here is the price breakdown for what I bought:
1. 5 gallon pail 2.58
2. 4 lb box of Borax 3.38
3. 4 lb box Baking Soda 2.12
4. 3 lb box Super Washing Soda 3.24
5. [4] 5.5 oz bars Fels Naptha soap $0.97/each
6. Oxyclean $7.52
7. [2] 55 oz Purex Crystals Fabric Softener $8.96/each
That adds up to $31.68 (including the five gallon pail which will not need to be purchased next time I need to make a batch, and this number is pre-tax of course. That will obviously vary depending on where you live).
Okay, the cool part? You only need 1-2 TABLESPOONS per load, depending on load size and amount of soil. So, if you did approximately 6 loads of laundry every week, this recipe will last you for an entire year! I mean, come on, does it get better than paying only $31.68 for a WHOLE YEAR of laundry? If you have an HE washer like me, you were probably used to paying between $10-15 every few months depending on the type of detergent and size of the bottle you were buying.
So, does it work? Does it dissolve? Does it leave spots?
YES, YES, and NO!!
My front load washer has a tray that you pull out where you put the detergent in. There is a cup in there that says it is for liquid detergent, and in that cup it says "remove for powdered detergent." So if you are curious if you can put powder in your HE front loader, just look! I've done two loads, and haven't had any issues with the soap not dissolving, and I don't use hot water. No spots are leftover either!! I added two bottles of the Purex crystals, and it seems to be enough scent for me. I'm a sucker for lavender scent! However you can add less or none if you prefer or have allergies to scents.
The awesome person who posted the recipe that I followed used the empty Purex Crystals bottle to store smaller amounts of the soap in her laundry room so she wouldn't have to work out of the big 5 gal pail. I thought that was absolutely brilliant, so I tried it out!
 |
| Photo Credit |
Pretty cute way to store it, huh?
Okay well I had a few issues with that. When I grated my Fels Naptha soap, I used my food processor. My soap was more the thickness of shredded cheddar cheese instead of the consistency of say..... parmigiana regiana (is that how you even spell it??). The point is my soap cheese was thicker. It doesn't seem to affect the dissolving ability, but it doesn't want to come out of the top of that cute little bottle!! Luckily I had saved the carton that the Oxyclean came in and am using that instead.
Next time I make the detergent I will do one of two things:
1. Find already powdered Fels Naptha soap (or zote soap if I can find it)
2. Microwave the bar of soap so that it will crumble and become much finer when put in the food processor
But, I won't have to make it until next year hopefully!! Granted, with the baby coming soon I think laundry loads might go up for a bit. Apparently they drool and puke and poop a lot. Who would have thunk it.
Anyways, I highly suggest that you go and try this out!! I mean, who doesn't like saving money where you can!! If you do, let me know how it goes for you!
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