Just Call Me Martha.......

I say that with a wee bit of sarcasm ;).

Sometimes, while blog-hopping, I get so inspired that reality gets blurred.  What I mean is, I see projects that are way out of my crafting league, but I naively think, "That looks easy.  I can do that!"

Well, the baby's mobile was definitely one of those times.  It was something I saw online and LOVED and wanted to recreate for baby boy's nursery.  So I took my list of supplies and bounced my way to the nearest Hobby Lobby.   Total cost to make this was only about $8 (I love me some 50% off sales!), but it required about 5 hours of my time.

Imagine spending 5 hours cutting out 160 circles and painting 56 little hollow wooden balls and putting it all together with wire and ribbon and tiny, hard to see, beading parts.  Not my idea of a good time.

I guess it wasn't really THAT bad, and maybe I work slow, but I am not the most patient person.  I eventually persevered through the project and am so glad to be DONE with it!  Not sure if I would do it again, but I am happy with the way it turned out.  Let's just say it was a labor of love before THE labor of love.

I know it doesn't look like 160 circle, but trust me, I had to cut out 160 circles.

Here's another view:

So it was a lot of work, but I do think it looks great in the room!

In other decorating news, notice in the above picture that we only have the big "D" in the frame.  We atleast know that baby's name will end with Dollahon, but that's all we know for now.  I plan on adding two smaller initials on either side of the "D" for the first and middle names whenever Sean and I reach a decision on what those names will be.  And I don't think that's going to happen until our son pops out and shows us his sweet little face for the first time.

I know in the last couple of weeks I have told many of you, who have asked, what the baby boy's name will be with certainty, but just this past weekend, Sean decided he liked something else possibly better.  We still might use the other name, or we might call him something completely different.  We're flakey like that.

I usually am more opinionated about this sort of thing, but I like both names enough to let Sean pick which one it'll be.  I know, I am the perfect vision of a submissive wife.  Perhaps that should have been the title of this post instead :).

And finally, back to the room.  Here are the curtains that I bought/made.  They were much easier to create than the mobile because they took under an hour to put together.  My level of patience can handle buying black-out curtains at Target and simply adding a border to the bottom.

And, yes, if you have ever been to our house, that is the bench that use to sit on our front porch, doing nothing.  No one ever sat there.  I never put anything on it, except maybe pumpkins in October or an occasional potted plant, which would soon die because I'd forget to water it.  I cleaned the bench up and am quite proud of my repurposing abilities because it cost me nada!

So that's all I got for now.  Being closer to getting the room done makes my nesting urge calm to a quiet whisper.  Hopefully I'll have the final room ready in the next few weeks, but now I'm off to tackle the mountain of laundry that needs to be folded and put away before I have to go pick up the girls from school.

Happy Tuesday!

Lately

We've been busy with school starting and such.  School being in session has given me time to start on the nursery.  I wanted to show you a few things I've been working on for baby boy's room.  It's not near complete, but every spare moment and nickel I have is going to his nursery right now.

Originally I was going to stencil a bible verse on the piece of wood that once read, "Little Blessing" in Mary Ellen's nursery.  But then I found this quote: "Tall oaks from little acorns grow."  I LOVED IT!  It made me smile and think of the man my tiny son will some day grow to be.  It perfectly depicts the hope and miracle of new life.  So I had to use it.

The green in the tree isn't showing up well in the pictures do to lighting, I guess.  It's a light green that matches the green in the bedding.

The sign rests above the changing table/dresser.  I added these two baskets for diapers and powder and creams - all of which need to be handy!

Those are Sean's old baby shoes on the dresser :).

I'm also in the process of making a mobile for the corner of the nursery, near the crib, but not in little arms' reach ;)!

Mary Ellen is still in her crib.  With the girls sharing a room, I am in no hurry for her to move into a big girl bed.  The crib contains her.  I don't mind chatter and giggles.  I just don't want movement - getting out of bed - those types of shenanigans!

So we are using my younger sister's and brother's old crib, circa 1980s.  My parents have generously donated it to us. It's a dark brown wood and looks "vintage" to me.  And my dearest friend, Christie, has offered us some baby boy bedding, which I'm using.  Gotta love free stuff!  Pictures of those things soon!

At 32 weeks along, I have the nesting bug big time.  I feel like things are coming along.  I go from being impatient for our son's arrival to nervous, not knowing how I'll handle a third.  I know God will equip me.  It's just getting through the transition period, the growing pains, that I'm worried about.

The big sisters are excited about their brother's arrival.  They've been busy with school.  Mary Ellen now loves MDO.  She cries on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays when Hattie gets out of the car, and she doesn't get to go.  Two is fickle isn't it :)!??!

Hattie started playing soccer a couple of weeks ago.  Sean is her soccer coach.  She loves it.  He......... is learning to work patiently with 4 and 5 year olds :).

That's all for now!  I hope this newest blog post finds you well and beatin' the heat with as much grace as possible!  I am so ready for a REAL cold front!

And Just Like That........

I suddenly have two mornings a week with no children in the house for the first time in four years.  Today was the first day that they both went to school, and I have to say, even though I know this free time will only last about 10 more weeks, I really didn't know what to do with myself, other than to watch the clock and wait until 12:45 when I had to go pick them up.  I did manage to get the bathrooms cleaned and four loads of laundry folded and put away in peace and quiet!  And then on Thursday, I have a midwife appointment; plus I have a nursery to put together and decorate, so I know I'll find stuff to do with myself ;)!

Hattie is a pro at the school stuff and had no problem at all on her first day.  She was all smiles and "Miss Social Butterfly!"  Mary Ellen did fine when I dropped her off, but then I heard her crying while I was still in the building.  She stopped after about 5 loooong minutes.  Then I left, to leave on a good note!   The director of the preschool called me around 11 a.m. to tell me she was a happy camper, playing, and there had been no more tears.  I think I needed to hear that!

I am so proud of my girls who were both smiley and happy to see me when I picked them up at 12:45.  First Day of School 2010 - a HUGE success!

Sunday Best

Don't they look like angels?  Then why are they so mean in church?!?!

Every Sunday we wake up and get ready early to make it to our church's 9 a.m. mass because that is the only mass where nursery is offered.  A big part of me feels like the girls should go to church with us every Sunday.  How will they ever learn how to act in church if they don't go?  But nine times out of ten when we skip nursery, or they cancel it, and we take them into church with us, we wind up regretting our decision by the time the priest gives the homily.  Hattie is pretty good, though she gets antsy, but at least she's a quiet antsy.  At 4, she knows how to behave for the most part.  It's Mary Ellen who is our little trouble-maker - she's nearly two, afterall!  She loves to be loud and point.  She loves to get others' attention and make them smile.  We usually end up in the narthex or cry room with her, missing most of what the priest is saying.

One thing I have learned, though, over the 4 years that I've been taking kids to church with me, is that less is more.  I use to load up on snacks and juice and books and toys.  All of this would entertain little minds and fingers for about 15 minutes, and then they would find it more entertaining to throw said books and toys.  Crumbs would wind up all over the floor and juice spilled or leaked all over the pew.  Now when we go and take the kids, we bring nothing but an extra diaper and wipes (just in case!).  Somehow that has cut down on a lot of the noise and movement, but we are still definitely working on how to act like little angels in church!  And I know adding a third isn't going to make this job any less challenging ;).

Random Summer Shots & Thoughts

I can't believe summer is almost over.  If you had asked me two weeks ago if I was ready for the summer to be over and for the girls to start school, I would have said, "No way!  We're having too much fun!"  However, last week, the dog days of summer kicked in - and so did the heat! - and I am READY FOR SCHOOL to start ;).  Hattie is READY FOR SCHOOL to start!  Mary Ellen has no clue what's coming with MDO, and I have to admit, I'm a little sad to send her.  She's my baby, but I know I will enjoy the two mornings a week, kid free, to go to midwife appointments as those are about to get more frequent with the 3rd trimester and to start decorating baby boy's nursery of which I have done nada.

Overall, this summer has flown by, minus the last week of it.  We've enjoyed lots of trips to the pool & playing outside in the mornings before the mosquitos and heat get too bad.

We've had popsicles in the bathtub.

We've had numerous playdates.  We've gone to Chickfila one too many times.  Been to the library to checkout books about a dozen times, and we've played dress-up almost every day. 

Hattie woke up from naptime and begged me to be a kittycat one afternoon.  I obliged.  And of course, whatever big sister wants, little sister wants, too! :)

We went to Splashway (located in the middle of nowhere but loads of fun) one day, Kemah another day, and Galveston beach yet another.

We celebrated Hattie's 4th birthday and will celebrate Mary Ellen's 2nd birthday in a week {sniff, sniff}.

And I've been reminded over and over again how blessed I am to have this life with these beautiful children and this hunkiness of a man! :)

But now, this mom is tiiired!  And summer couldn't be ending at a better time.  I know the heat will last long after school starts, but it'll be nice to spend the 3rd trimester of this pregnancy a little more relaxed and low-key.  I think I just might nap through the fall before things get crazy again with the birth of our son and then the holidays!  But, I think, as Robert Frost says, "I have miles to go before I sleep."  Life's not gonna slow down for this worn-out preggo!  But the blessings are definitely worth the time and energy.  100% worth it!