Sneak Peek

I have been working on my window treatments for the big, boring, bay window in our living room.  Things just always take a bit longer than planned when a momma has to take sick kiddos to the pediatrician, my mind changes or trying to find the right time to use the power tools.  (LOVE my husband's DeWalt saw!)

So, here is a little sneak peak into what I have been doing toward dressing up that naked window.

Intriguing, I'm sure.  Hoping that by Monday I will have a fully dressed window to show you.

Telling Time

My oldest daughter is now in public school.  That hasn't put me on the teaching sidelines by any means, though.  The most recent concept that she has needed help in fully grasping has been the 'quarter-to', 'quarter-past', and 'half-past'.  I got tired of constantly having to redraw a clock on the whiteboard or erase the hands on a clock drawn on a piece of paper.  So, while she was at school one day, I sat down and made a template to put contact paper over.  This allows her to use a dry erase marker over and over on the same page.  Now all I have to do is call out whatever time I think up and don't have to help 'reset' the clock while getting supper on the table.

To make it even more appealing to a 6 yr old girl, I trimmed down the edges and put it on a bright pink paper.

If you would like a copy of your own, here is a link to download the pdf.  Please only use it for your private use.  (I know it's not valuable, but it did take some time to create this!)

Baby Quilt

Larissa inquired about the quilt in the previous post, so I thought I would brag on my mother.  :)  I can remember growing up watching her sew, paint and just plain work hard around our house to make it a home.  She taught me a lot while growing up and I'm constantly having to call her up for refresher courses in my adult life.  (Sure glad she is patient!)

She has been making baby blankets as gifts for a few years now.  Everyone is unique although she always uses the same Trip Around The World pattern.  (Her flannel stash is HUGE!)  Having the connections I do, I get to pick out the color combination each time I have another little one come along.  Here is the latest completed blanket. 

She takes the time to hand quilt each blanket.  AMAZING!

It was a bit odd picking out fabrics for a little boy, but a LOT of fun, too.  See?  No pink!

When Mom ran across some John Deere flannel, she immediately switched out whatever I had originally picked for the center and put in the tractors.  Very appropriate and so thoughtful since my husband grew up on a farm.

All of the grandkids have one.  No small task - since there are currently 8 grandkids in the family (the oldest being 6) and 4 more on the way by Sept..  I just hope and pray that all of them realize later in life what a treasure they have been given by their Nonnie .

TA DA!!

A bit of a huge beige blur, but ignore that.  This is the benefit of having the boxes emptied, kids clothes in the closet and one large black trash bag of trash out the door.  Now our little man can arrive and I will have a place to nurse and change him in the middle of the night.  (Or hold him and sleep.)  Guess it was worth all the work, sore legs and extra contractions. :)

Kids' Closet

While the guys were happily working away in the basement, my mother and I decided to tackle the master bedroom.  May not sound like much, but for some reason this area becomes the dumping ground for everything we can't find a spot for.  We literally had paths running through the room there was so much clutter!

My mother reminded me that about the time the wee little one makes his appearance, it will (hopefully) be time to switch the kids clothes for the season.  (GROAN!)  Not a favorite chore of mine.  

Solution - Do it while Mom is here to help me.  Misery loves company, right?  

Here is the look of the storage closet in my bedroom.  A before picture would have just been down right embarrassing. 

I believe we emptied out 3 large rolling under bed storage bins (see them in the top pic?) and about 10 large diaper size boxes (what? isn't that what you store things in?) containing girls' clothes sizes 7 right on down to newborn.  Unfortunately, we ran out of hangers and I really didn't have the energy for a Wal-mart trip, so a few more boxes will be emptied and hung when Mom and MIL come for baby arrival.  Now, I will be able to just go in the closet, grab out the right size and season and move it to the appropriate closet.  Theoretically.

By the end of the day, we had all the clothes sorted through by size and season.  BLAH!  One box of 12M size clothes is on its way to my beautiful little niece to use this year.  4 large boxes are destined for either a yard sale or Once Upon A Child.  That way we will have the funds to outfit our ever-growing oldest.  (Or a vacation.)  Seriously, how many sizes of pants and shoes can one kid go through in a year?!

Valentine's Day Gift

I thought I would take this week as an opportunity to brag on my family.  Yep, of course, mine IS the best, but I decided to show you how much they were willing to do for this over-zealous nut in the last month of her pregnancy. :)

Unfortunately, and fortunately, I'm not one of those people who wants to have dozens of flowers and jewelry given to her on days like birthdays, Christmas or Valentine's.  (I find I'm rather disappointed after receiving such things.)  Odd I know, but that's okay.  Want to see what really gets my attention?

LUMBER!!!

Okay - so this isn't every girl's dream of a romantic gift.  But, just look at what you can do with it.....

Create a storage room on the far end of the basement........

Or, frame out a space for a future bathroom and a wall to hide all the unsightly utilities and hubby's power tools.

My sweet husband did all this work (with the help of my loving father) in just 2 days!  Aren't they SUPER!!!

The next step is some electrical work.  Oh, to have heat in the basement instead of my babies playing down there in their winter coats!

Think I can push to have this remodel done before the baby arrives?  (I'm not holding my breath ;) )

Cuddle Blanket and Pacifier Clip

I took a quick sewing break from working on my window treatment to make this little cuddly baby blanket for a friend this week.  She just had an adorable baby girl about a month ago.  Having 4 girls of my own, I know how overwhelming the pink can get after awhile, so I decided to go with purple instead.

The fabric is some left over from some blankets made for a friend in Alabama when she had her twin girls. (I ought to post those sometime.....)  The green is some of that silky soft minky fabric I used to make the burp cloth a couple of weeks ago.  I decided to go purchase the binding instead of making my own and avoid a whole lot of frustration.  True to form, I was working on this until the last possible minute.  (And trying to finish supper and help with homework and help work on Valentine's Day cards for school.)

So, a little outfit and the blanket should have been enough, but I decided to throw in one more little something.  What does every new mother/baby need?  Something to keep that pacifier (or toy) from falling out of reach at the most inopportune time, of course!

Easy enough to make.  Just a simple clip purchased over the internet, a length of ribbon and a snap.  My machine decided that it would rather eat the ribbon than sew on it, so that end was done by hand.  The snap is plastic and was put on with a snap press.  (I must admit, I'm so looking forward to making some clothes for the little ones this spring just so I can use snaps instead of buttons or zippers!)  It worked out really well to attach the card to the gift bag using this pacifier clip, too. :)

Baby Update

I only have exactly five more weeks until I get to kiss those sweet little cheeks!  I'm not even going to promise to have a slew of post already waiting to be published post baby.   I know my limits! :)

Wall Art

Sitting on a shelf waiting for me to find hardware.

Continuing with my decorating theme, I thought I would show you some inexpensive (aka - CHEAP) wall art I did.  These frames were purchased at either Wal-mart or Target during a sale.  The pictures where repurposed from a wall calendar I had saved from '07 by Cheri Blum.  (love her stuff!)

Close up of one frame.

Easy project for anyone to do!

Begging For More!

Ever serve your kids spinach, carrots and sweet potatoes and have them begging you for more?  Me either, until Saturday night.  Now, my oldest is a parents dream when it comes to eating veggies.  Baby spinach salad with tomatoes, bell peppers, carrots, cucumbers and feta cheese is one of her favorite side dishes.  She won't touch a baked potato for anything, though - go figure!

Anyway,  the other three leave a bit to be desired in there veggie consumption.  But, Saturday was such a special night here.  A friend recommended the cookbook Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld to me over a year ago.  I've even had it on hand for that long and just put off using any of the recipies thinking it wouldn't work on my kids.  Boy, was I wrong!

Hubby and I kept stealing glances across the table as each child tried the homemade chicken nuggets smuggeling copious amounts of sweet potatoes into their little bodies.  Score one!  Dipped in buttermilk ranch made from a can of great northern beans.  Score two!  And for dessert?  Yummy chocolaty brownies filled with spinach and carrots.  HOME RUN!!!  My kids couldn't get enough of it all.

Next on the list - Another batch of brownies for home and one for Hubby's office, Blueberry muffins with flaxseed meal and yellow squash, and pink pancakes with beets and apples.  How scrumptious!

Who knew eating your vegetables could be so good?!