Just Hangin'

I finally made something for the house!



It took a while - cutting the material, sewing the channel on top for the ribbon, printing the letters, tracing the letters on freezer paper, cutting the freezer paper, ironing the freezer paper onto the fabric, mixing the paint with fabric medium (not sure why?), painting, then (the hardest part) threading the ribbon into the bunting. Oh, and hanging. With nails. With an 8 month old under foot....

Eight Months! (But, really, 6 months in this picture. That's how behind I am!)

For the girl, another time consuming project, especially because she wanted to "help." Sigh....    

It is super cute though....and visible when you reach the top of the stairs, which I love. :)
Finally, I surprised her with this in her closet. VOILA! Decals!

Let the Wild Rumpus Begin!

To say things have been busy is an incredible understatement. We bought a house, THE house we've been waiting for. Then, we put our house on the market two weeks later with fingers crossed and baited breath, hoping that the timing would work out in our favor and that we would NOT have to pay two mortgages. I was floored when the first person who came to look at our hose the DAY THE LISTING WENT LIVE put an offer in. Then, the second couple who came to see it made an offer. We had a bidding war! It was so thrilling and nerve-racking. We had to put all our trust in our agent to pick the right offer/credit/timing/candidate. Luckily, we didn't even need an open house. The showings were hard enough on me -- wrangling two kids and two dogs and finding a place to go for an hour or more with only an hour's notice. I am so thankful I only had to do that 3 times alone. In addition to the inconvenience of showings, I felt like I was living in crazy town with all the boxes and disarray of trying to LIVE in a STAGED home....Oh, and then we had a house guest (hi mom!) and a birthday party at the house (what WAS I thinking?) and the start of the school year at a school in the new 'hood and a teething baby. Luckily all those things went off without a hitch.

Then, we moved into the new house. Slowly.....over a couple of weeks. I am more of the "rip-it-off-quick-like-a-band-aid" type so this kind of hurt. I am still not 100% settled -- that band-aid is still dangling by a thread. I will consider it completely gone when I start hanging art on the walls. And, oh, the walls........ (all the band-aid colored walls)!

This is our game room, the pièce de résistance of the house. Our play room. Romper room. Office, guest sewing room. Artist's loft, library, and wild rumpus room. The space I've always wanted for our family. A room to call our own....

Canvassing

With very little time for crafting or sewing these days, I have to be very choosy with what I set out to make. Do I have the materials on hand? Can it be completed during nap time? Is it USEFUL? That last one is so important as my house is filling to the brim faster than an overflowing toilet. When I saw these canvas sacks on The Sleepy Time Gal, I knew they were the perfect project for me. I made five in one day and could have kept on going, but I forced myself to stop. It is July 4th after all and I should do something more...patriotic. Although, I did have visions of Betsy Ross as I was hand sewing the bottom flaps in....

I labeled mine a little differently -- I wanted the writing on the rims of the bins instead of the bottoms, and since I'm not very precise patient with paint, I used a fine-tip Sharpie marker. I traced some removable vinyl letters and added a "flourish" at the end. I like the retro look it created. Very Schoolhouse Rocks.

I left one bin blank for the girl and gave her some fabric markers to decorate it as she wished. After all, it is a blank canvas!

Almost enough to make me want to go camping

Tiny Clothes

Made some baby pants....

HAMMER TIME!!!

It wasn't long before the request for doll pants came in :)

May the Fourth Be With You

Welcome to the world, James Turner Coats the Fourth!

The highlights:

-- The epidural DID NOT WORK. Not fully, anyway. I was ready to push before any numbness started. Labor just went that fast. Later, during recovery, my only real pain was from the epidural site in my back. Irony....

--I may not remember her name, but the amazing L&D nurse (a quiet and rather introverted young woman, who was not in the least bit obnoxious with her "push-push-push"es and counting [why the counting???]), wore a peacock feather on her headband, and the image of that will forever be imprinted in my brain.

--He was placed on my chest immediately after being born, which was something that I sorely missed with K. (She was born "stunned" and whisked away for oxygen.)

--He was 8 pounds 11 ounces, 21 inches.

--The epidural did. Not. Work.



--The pitocin was given at sunrise, 7:45 a.m. He was born 4 hours later at 12 noon on 3/12/12, the first day of the SXSW music festival.

--There was not a decent hotel room available in all of central TX for the grandparents and their dog, thanks to SXSW. (They left the next day anyway due to crazy, ill-timed illness....)

--The doctor who was on call for delivery was next door delivering another baby when he started crowning. And they asked me to wait and NOT PUSH. That is the last thing you want to hear at a time like that! That is like asking a swimmer coming up for air to just wait a minute and not breathe. Or something like that.... I'm sure the look I gave T read part, "WTF?!" and part, "Get ready to catch your son!"

--The first time K saw her little brother.



--His coming home hat and blankie that I made, which all the nurses commented on :)



--How his little face has changed in just a few short weeks.



--All the memories we are just beginning to make together.....



There is a lot I don't remember about K's birth, or her newborn phase, but I'm pretty sure these overwhelming feelings of gratitude and being "blessed" are new. There seemed to be a little more worry and risk associated with this pregnancy, either real or imagined. I was of "advanced maternal age" but I also had a 6.5 year old at home who understood what was going on and was so concerned mommy was going to have her belly cut open and go to heaven. Just a little guilt to add to my own paranoia.

Ironically, I would categorize everything about baby #2 and his arrival as "Easier." Luckily, everything went smoothly, and aside from being induced 6 days early due to his size, there were no medical issues to speak of. He's a strong, healthy boy who didn't even have jaundice -- one of the numerous, albeit minor, things we experienced with K.... I don't want to start comparing siblings, nor do I want jinx anything, but he is far less fussy than I remember his sister being, and breastfeeds like a champ. It was a rough start for K in that department. Some of this may be because we're more experienced parents, some of it may be his temperament (here's hoping!) Either way, we are so happy he's here. So thankful. So blessed....

Daddy Daughter Dance

Every year they go, and I, inevitably, end up looking through old photos

the whole time they are gone....

Hundreds, hearts, and hugeness

The much celebrated (who knew?) 100th day of school is approaching and K had an assignment to create something with 100 pieces, non-food items only (darn). I saw this and had to steal the idea from Simply Modern Mom. We LOVE googly eyes around here!



I've also been making some small tchotchkes for Valentines Day.

Crocheted hairpins:


Crayon hearts:





It's been a while since I've posted a belly shot. This one shows off my lovely stretch marks from my first pregnancy! All in all, this time around has been so much easier: no swelling, no crazy carpal tunnel, less heartburn. And I truly thought I had it pretty good the first time around. I hope this continues for the next few weeks and that the delivery goes as smooth as it did with her too (or smoother would be nice!) People are really in my business now - when are you due? you look like you're going to pop! sure it's not twins? today I had some moms at the school that I've never met stop and ask what I'm having. When I said a boy they all laughed and said they knew it from how I was carrying. Strange to know that people are discussing your stature.....

To the Circus

I made my first online fabric purchase recently. Very exciting.... The To the Circus line on spoonflower was too cute to pass up, and with five different baby items to cut from one yard, it was just the thing to get me motivated for some new projects.

So far, I've made the book:




Two bibs, backed with terrycloth (ahem, an old towel):




And a lion stuffie, who is awaiting a little jingle bell for the inside and some more fluff.

High and Low Tech

Some recent projects I've been working on include:


Camera strap cover for mom's new DSLR. I thought the lens cap pocket was a nice touch. Pattern found here.


Kindle cover for me with the leftover fabric. Made the pattern up myself -- it's even lined and padded too!


Crocheted dish scrubbies. Made this pattern up as well.

Next post, some things for baby made with a wonderful fabric find on Spoonflower.