Crafting Fun!

Baby Shower Fun!

My friend, Marcie, is having a baby soon, a baby girl, Isabel.

We threw her a shower this past Saturday, and I had a blast putting some things together for the event.

Of course I offered to do the floral arrangements and cupcakes :) Two of my favorite things to do, arrange flowers and bake.

The colors were pink, blue, and green.

I used willow balls and just tucked in some flowers for easy, but elegant arrangements.

I also made some burp cloths for her baby girl. As a new mom, I have learned that one can never have enough burp cloths!

The fabric options for girls are so much cuter than what they have for boys! I had a blast making these! Let me know if you'd like some! I have alot of leftover fabric :) (my favorite is the argyle pattern :)

And then there were the cupcakes!

The grand idea was to make everything from scratch; cake batter, frosting, and decor.

Well, 2 out of 3 is not bad. The cake batter was a disaster. I think i overfilled the cups and the all ended up touching each other, and the tops were sunken in. So I had to resort to a box of Duncan Hines, hey! it was an emergency.

However, the fondant was made from scratch, and the frosting too! The best homemade frosting I have come across to date! YUM!!!

Here is the final product! I still need alot of practice with my frosting piping and my fondant was a little cracked... but I had so much fun doing it! and i plan on doing some more! Anyone need a free wedding cake??!!! I'm feeling up to a challenge ;-)

New Loves

Being a mom opens you up to alot of new products. Some are duds, and some are great! So I have decided to start a LOVES list. A periodic review of things (baby things or otherwise) that I love! So, here goes!

LOVES:
1. Lots of Links: The simple plastic links that babies play with. No sounds, batteries or on/off buttons. Just colorful, textured rings. Good for hours (well... more like minutes) of fun with baby :) They can also be good to chew on once baby starts teething.

2. Boppy Infant Lounger: When you think Boppy, you think of nursing aide. But my sister-in-law Landey bought me a Bopppy Lounger and we love it! It's comfortable for baby to lounge in, and not very easy for him to roll out of. It's not recommended to let baby sleep in it, but Luke has taken many naps in it and loves it because it's cozy. Just keep an eye on the baby while in the Boppy. (the cute baby is not Luke; Luke's cuter :)

3. Easy Cake Recipe: You must try it to believe it. I was skeptical at first, but I can't get enough! You must like pineapple and angel food cake... but even if you don't, this combo is incredible! My friend Joann at work turned me on to this. It's a 2 ingredient cake recipe; originally a Weight Watchers' recipe. Easy, Low fat, Super-moist, and delicious! What's not to love?! Made some yesterday and can't stop myself from eating it all day today
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/pineapple-angel-food-cake-i/Detail.aspx (so moist, does not need the whipped topping!)

4. Kiwi Berries: yeah, who knew?!! never heard of them until my co-worker Malia brought some in from Sam's Club. Size of a grape, but looks like a kiwi inside and tastes like a sweeter version of a kiwi. No hair either, just pop the whole thing in your mouth! Delicious!

5. Texas Autumn: Wish I could bottle it up and sell it, but it would be priceless. Crisp morning and nights, and warm daytimes... like it , love it, can't get enough of it!!

Crotchet and Ties

What a great weekend we had!!

My in-laws came to visit, which meant free babysitting :)

It also meant free crotchet lessons from my mom-in-law, Mary. I would love to be able to crotchet Luke some cute hats and moccasins... but so far, this is all I can do.

I've made a blanket for a small mouse, and the other for perhaps a cricket?? It's not difficult once you get started, but the starting and ending part can be difficult.

I also recieved an awesome gift from my sister Naomi. Loved it! She bought Luke some Fabulous! clothes from H&M, since we don't have one here in Dallas, Yet.

The best part is that she also sent some ties that she made for Luke, 15 of them!! They slip over the head with some elastic, and they look super cute, don't u think? He doesn't like me to take too many pics of him in his undies :)

For a happier picture of his fabulous self and to see the ties, you can visit Naomi's blog.

Oh crafty day!

Yet another perk of being a stay-at-home mom... I have time to craft... well, kinda. These two crafts took almost 3 weeks to complete. I can only sew while Luke is awake (my machine is so loud!) So between feeding, changing, playing with luke, housework, excercising, cooking... I have time for a few crafts!

I was inspired to try making baby shoes after I saw all the cute ones selling for $15 + on Etsy. So I found a simple pattern online, and here's what I came up with! Simplistic, but cute. and the ideas for the next ones are rolling! can't wait to start on the 2nd pair!

I wanted them to be kinda "fancy" moccasins, so I used a men's suiting material, and ultrasuede for the soles.

The cutest shoe model ever!!!

I also made a burp cloth (1st of many to come). I recieved some great burp cloths for my baby shower, but I would never pay that money for somthing my baby pukes on. So I bought some cute animal fabric from Joann's, along with some plain terry-cloth. Cut out some rectangles, roll over the seams, sew - and voila! Fancy burp cloth!

eBay and shoes and clothes, Oh my!

Well, now I've done it!

I have found eBay.

I know, I know. I'm a little late. But coming from a girl who still doesn't have internet on her phone and doesn't anticipate owning a GPS device for another 5 years or so... i'm actually not that behind!

So, my friend mentioned she bought her baby girl some dresses on eBay. Which sparked my curiosity.... what small, cute goodies await for my child on eBay???

I quickly get online, get a profile established, and I am shopping. oh, and I am happy to say that it is possible to eBay and nurse your baby at the same time :)

So, I knew I was going to have a problem when I went online at 4am this morning, after i fed my child of course :)

Needless to say, i didn't realize how many bids I had actually put in... haa haa haa... (nervous laughter)... well,the final total was 11. yes, it took me a few hours to bid on 11 items. and I have won 7 of them so far... and the ridiculous part is that i spent the same amount on shipping as I did on the clothes, that's crazy! Spent $ 23.53 on the clothes and 23.25 on shipping.

and since i'm confessing, here are some of the newest, fabulous additons to Luke's wardrobe... I think momma has a problem :)

(got these shoes for $0.99!!! )

Luke is Here!

Our little man has finally made his debut. Luke was born July 10th at 9:41pm after only 6 hours of labor.

So far motherhood has been rewarding, tiring and completely worth it! Luke is a good baby, only really cries when he's hungry or dirty. He loves being held by his daddy, and rocked by his mimi. He's already changed so much in the past 2 weeks, and I can't wait to see how he grows and develops. He is my little muffin, the 2nd love of my life :)

I have Ankles!

This is going to serve as a public service announcement to all my family and friends.

So, I know that a common thing that comes with pregnancy is swelling of your feet and ankles, mostly due to the weight of the baby compressing the veins in your legs and not allowing all the blood flow to return to the heart as efficiently as it should...
but i did NOT expect my ankles to look like tree trunks this past Thursday! I couldn't tell where my calves ended and ankles started... they put new meaning to the word "cankles". And my feet looked like super-thick pancakes. The beautiful arch in my foot was gone, along with all the space between my toes.

Then to add insult to injury, a complete stranger approached me at the library, and told me she couldn't help but notice my feet were swollen.... (by this time they looked like little loaves of bread rising around the straps of my flip flops). Ya, how embarrassing.. and she told me that that I should eat more celery because it would really help the swelling. You can imagine how I responded to her unsolicited advice. I gave her a cool "oh really, i've never heard that before." which in pregnancy is translated as, "bug off lady! it's none of your business how my ankles look! what gives you the right to come up to a complete stranger and comment on the way her legs look?! geez, get a life!"

So of course, the swelling did concern me, because sudden swelling of the legs could mean high blood pressure, which is very dangerous in pregnancy. So, I went to Kroger, took my BP, and of course it was high, not off the charts, but 15pts higher than it should've been. So, i freak out (a little), thinking they're going to induce me, and that poor luke is in distress, and my ankles are so big!

My doctor tells me to go ahead and go in to the office to get my pressure checked (often times the machines at the stores are inaccurate). So I go in, they check my urine, bp, weight... and all is okay.

so, hmmm.... i put on my thinking cap... what in the world could be causing all this swelling??!!

Then the lightbulbs turn on! I spent yesterday at the mall, and what did i have to eat at the mall?? why Chinese food and french fries. And if that wasn't enough, I finished out my day with pizza and ice cream and brownies.

So, out of curiosity, I looked up the recommended sodium intake for women. The Mayo Clinic recommends 2,300mg per day for healthy people. Then I looked up how much sodium I took in: and that was funny! Not funny Ha ha, more like shocking, sad funny. Here it is...

Food Sodium (mg)
Chow Mein 1060
Mixed veggies 530
Mushroom Chicken 780
Veggie Eggrolls 540
Sweet & Sour Sauce 180
French Fries 140
Triscuits 280
Slice Sausage Pizza 830
Slice Everything Pizza 970
Vanilla Ice Cream 60
Toffee Ice Cream 75
Brownie 82
TOTAL: 5527mg

In a few hours, I managed to eat double the recommended amount!!!! Yikes! And this doesn't count cereal for breakfast, or any of the snacks I can't recollect due to selective pregancy amnesia.

So, I went on a rampage and took the advice we always give to our heart patients at work.
Walk, limit your sodium, drink more water (this sounds counter-intuitive, but helps to flush out the sodium) and wear compression stockings. This is all recommended by the Mayo Clinic as treatment for edema (swelling).

I am happy to announce that as of last night, I have ankles again! beautiful, slim, womanly ankles! and space between my toes! And I'm 2 lbs lighter which means I had alot of extra water hanging out.
So ladies (and guys), learn from my mistake, watch your sodium intake. I've counted calories, but never kept track of my sodium. It's crazy to see how much sodium food has. Another reason to cook at home. It allows you to monitor the amount of salt that goes into your food, not to mention the amount of fat, sugars, etc.

My only regret is I didn't take pictures of my feet. They were something else :) I hope to never see them like that again.

Hiccups

Ok, new favorite part of being pregnant... feeling Luke get the hiccups. so cute :) This is the 2nd time it's happened. I think he hates it though, because as soon as I felt them, he did a total flip and kick to my ribs :)

Maternity Pics

Photo Shoot
Well, my sister, (won't mention any names :) , insisted that I should take maternity pics.. so I did, for Free, by Deric, in the backyard. I prob got 5 good shots out of 50... (I'm gonna blame it on the hormones and the fact that it was 95-100 degrees outside). Here are the keepers.....


And the outakes.....

Baby Showers

As promised, here are the pictures from my baby showers.

The first was thrown by my friends at work:

They all pitched in and bought us this AMAZING high chair... doesn't it belong on "the Jetsons"??! Luke needed it... well, okay, maybe Lukes mom needed it! I admit it! it's really for me! The food was awesome, and the gifts could not be any cuter! I cried. Thanks guys!!!

The topiary is made out orange flavored cupcakes... yum!

My second baby shower was thrown by my friends. Hosted by Crystal. My mother-in-law, Mary, was also able to attend. She knit Luke the cutest blanket :) Orange and tan of course. Anyway, about the shower...The food and decor was fabulous! They had brunch, complete with ham/biscuit sandwiches with blackberry mustard, Petitie fours, quiches, meat/cheese platter, punch, YUM! Cassia made amazing flower arrangements out of cowboy boots, so cute! And the gifts were awesome, I have a fully stocked nursery now! Thanks girls!!

From Left: Cassia, Me, Natalie, Kylie, Keeley, Mary (mom-in-law), Laura

Kinley in front

The Girls! From left: Joanna, Sarah, Cassia, Marcie (made cutest diaper cake), Crystal (Hostess with the mostest!), Amy (w/cute baby Brinley), Lindsey, Laura, Natalie

All things Baby

I can't believe my due date is only 4 weeks away!!! Yikes.

I've had 2 baby showers, and they were so above-and-beyond what I expected! My co-workers threw me an awesome shower and collectively bought be the awesomeest, coolest baby high-chair ever! (could i be more excited?!!)
Then my friend Crystal hosted a shower at her house, and it was awesome! The food and decor were out-of-this-world! I had blackberry mustard for the first time, yum! And we recieved a pile of the cutest most adorable gifts :) thanks guys! I will post pictures as soon as I compile them.

This weekend I have so much to do! Luckily, I have what I can only describe as God-given energy and I feel ready to take on the world! Hopefully, I can finish a few of my remaining projects this weekend:

-Sewing baby bumper, crib skirt and quilt

-Hanging shelves in nursery and arranging books (awww, i got some cute books :)

-Wash all baby clothes and hang or put away

-Pack hospital bag

-Buy remaining baby things

and probably more things that i can't remember at this minute...

oh yeah, erica keeps telling me to take some cute maternity pics.... and i was going to... i even considered paying a professional to take them. Then I googled maternity pics to see if I could get some ideas...hmmm... yeah, the majority of them were of mostly naked pregnant women, sometimes with a naked spouse/partner in the pic too.. hmmm... I think I'll pass! Not that those women didn't look beautiful or sexy, but you normally wouldn't post mostly naked pictures of yourself if you weren't pregnant, so I don't see why having a baby makes it okay.... it's still a really intimate picture.. that's just my rant/rave about all this.

I might take some pics in the backyard (fully clothed!) and Deric will have to be the unpaid photographer :) baby belly will definitely be in the pics, we'll see if my face makes the cut... i just do not pose well for a pic.. says alot about my maturity level :)

In other domestic news... the garden is in full swing! We had our first harvest of okra and tomatoes... This year I decided to grow 2 types of okra, the regualar green and then a beautiful scarlet variety. I also planted 3 heirloom tomato plants and 1 regular red plant. The pic below shows the black prince tomato (more of a brown, maroon) and a yellow-heirloom variety.. and isn't that scarlet okra pretty??? once i get a full crop, i'll post some of my fave okra and tomato recipes. The only other thing we have growing is a yellow watermelon, but that won't be ready to eat until late August, i think.

Nesting

I think the nesting has officially started. We spent all day working around the house, trying to get baby's room ready. So far, we have the crib, dresser and new sofa bed set up, all from IKEA, which I am LOVING' these days!
Technically, we are ready to house a baby!
that's crazy, i'll be 34 weeks this week. yikes!
I've been trying to finish my sewing of the bedding (will post pics later), but my sewing maching broke, so I am helpless, for a few days only i hope.
So, yes, have ALOT to do. Hopefully Luke will stay put until i'm done... luke, listen to your momma!

DA BELLY

I'm just going to apologize in advance....

The next, oh.... hundred or so blogs will be about baby... yup, i've tried to hold back long enough.. but a new baby has a way of consuming most of your thoughts, actions..

Today, we will talk about: Da Belly

Yes, the ever-growing, ever-thightening, most inconvenient belly.... I love it! Despite all the negative descriptions, it does hold our little one...

What I dont' love is that it slows me down, and i can't bend over anymore, and it hurts to roll over in bed... all small things, but can be very frustrating..

.... but all is forgotten when the belly starts moving! yes, i become mesmorized by the way it changes shape and form with baby's movements... I can say that i've fallen in love with the little guy already!!! and I forgive him for the way he's stretching my body :)

So for those who need a visual, here it is: Belly at 32weeks

Playing catch-up

I'm feeling a little guilty for not keeping up with my blog. First of all, I really do like to blog, just don't get around to it. It's such good therapy.. rambling about nothings...

I just noticed that my last entry was December, yikes!

Well, a few things have happened since December!

The biggest change has been pregnancy! yes, they warn you that everything changes, but not that everything changes!

1st Trimester:
Could not eat: onions, asian food, coffee, salad

Wanted to eat: Chef Boyardee ravioli, fried chicken, McDonald's (anything), pizza, hamburgers, mom's cooking (which was not available so, i improvised and made chicken noodle soup in a large pot, had too much of it, do not want it again for a looooong time)

Felt sea-sick on&off most of day... not really morning.. never threw up.. (ok, threw up once, but only because my throat hurt and my mom recommended a salt gargle... never doing that again)

Was under the impression I could gain 2 lbs a week... and eat 300 more caloires a day....

2nd Trimester:
.... until i read my baby book for the 2nd trimester and it said, "you can now start eating 300 more calories a day..." WHAT?!!! what was I doing all that extra eating for during the first trimester??!! grrr... that's what happens when i don't bother to ask the doctor specific questions...

Needless to say, gained more weight than wanted... Lesson learned :) read the fine print!

Could not eat: Sushi, not by choice!!!!

Wanted to eat: EVERYTHING IN SIGHT!!! Mostly asian food and sushi, almost jumped my co-worker who innocently decided to sit next to me with her sweet & sour pork... oh those little morsels of battered, deep-fried pork, with neon-red dipping sauce... oh how I wanted it!!!

I also experienced my first hormone-induced fit of rage.. was at Central Market (kind-of a Whole Foods type-place), checking out and i asked the checker if her lane was opened, because she wasn't standing in front of it.. and the answer i got was, " yes, i'm open, that's why the light above my register is on." WHAT??@!!! what do you think i am??!! an idiot?? Like i don't know what the light above the register means@!!!!!!! oooh, that started it! then i had left my planner with my grocery list in my basket, and as she takes it out, she Slaps! it on the counter!!!! ok, enough with the attitude! I happened to be onthe phone with my sister nina, and i broke into a string of Anger-induced Romanian and I told nina that if that checker even so much as looked at me again, I would reach over the counter and drag her outside and beat her with my planner! but i'm over it :)

Coolest thing about pregnancy so far: feeling baby move. People say it's cool, but nothing prepares you for the first time you realize that it's not lunch you're feeling, but baby. and when he does a complete somersault, your whole abdoment shifts, so cool! I like to pretend i know what he's thinking or saying when he moves... like for instance when I was joking with my friend on facebook that I would make my son wear white patent leather shoes on easter... yup, i got a big kick for that statement... guess he doesn't like that idea :) and then when Deric first told him to be a good boy, he gave a big kick too... i think of it as a "high five" to daddy ;)

Next on agenda: name-picking, crib buying, decisions on diapers (cloth vs. disposable), and a bazillion other things i know i'm overlooking...

keep tuned, more momma-drama to come!

Catching Up

It's been only a month, but, yikes! it's been busy

• painted all doors in house, and replaced hardware.. from old bronze yucky to new smooth, shiny silver
  
• Remodeled master bathroom


• Put some new landscape in the front yard, nothing fancy, it was a diy project


• went to young married couple party at church with sunday school class, lots of fun!!!

• Spent thanksgiving with the inlaws at their ranch in the Tx panhandle (Deric and his brothers moving cows)
  

• Spent only 1 day Christmas shopping! It was in and out, no messing around, no trying on stuff for myself (even though I was super tempted and there is so much cuteness out there to be bought!!!!)
• Had an open house at work in our dept, made lots of food, all junk of course!
• One of my fave cousins, dave got engaged!!! yay! they look so cute, don't they?! So happy for you guys!
  

• And, to leave the best for last......... We're going to have a baby!!!!!!!!!!!

There he is! Little Nugget Waters! Has a little hearbeat already, and a liver bud, and just got elbows!! I'm about 10 weeks along now. I knew something was wrong when I couldn't finish my sushi...and I always finish my sushi! Yes, hormones are weird... I never know what new thing will make me gag from one day to another. Other than that, I have had any vomiting or craziness, just the nausea and some weight gain. Otherwise, I don't really feel pregnant..

So people have been asking if we have names picked out, nursery done, etc... No , no , no. .... I think we're going to wing it... seriously, women have been giving birth since the beginning of time, it can't be that hard! It's not like we're going to completely wing it, we are planning on seeing a doctor regularly (even though Deric says I only take their advice as suggestions.... well, they aren't always right! trust me, I work in the medical field, docs are human, just like us, make mistakes, have biased opinions...)... any hooo, I am reading 2 books on pregnancy and Deric is reading a book on Gospel parenting... and I have thought about names for like 10 minutes one day (still clueless)... and I did look up ideas for nurseries online...

So What I mean to say is that we're not complete procrastinators... just enjoying the process :) Mostly trying not to get too crazy about it all. Yes, it's a big deal, yes, a baby changes everything, but I know my tendencies to over prepare and try to do everything to perfection, and I have found that perfection is a hopeless battle. So, I will relax, enjoy the process, take 1 day at a time, pray contstantly and hope for the best!

And I can't wait to meet him! yes, it's a "him" until otherwise noted.

That's all folks! stay tuned for more craziness!