Sewing projects

 I have had a few sewing projects I have been working on lately.  Let me preface this by reminding you I am a knitter not a sewer.  I have only been sewing off and on a few years and am pretty much self taught.  So don't judge.  Okay so the top of my list was a baby gift for a girl friend.  She had seen this..

 I made max this earlier this year from this tutorial

 and before people start in about how it isn't safe to have things in a car seat and blah blah blah...it was literally -40 a good part of the last 7 months!!!  My baby would literally have frozen and  this was thin enough I felt safe but thick enough it kept him warm and cozy.  I used fleece and flannel instead of two fleeces and batting like the tutorial called for.

 

Anyway  Dee wanted a car seat swaddler blanky for her baby girl she has on the way and n since I love her so much I stepped it up a notch and used minky and some adorable chevron flannel.  I also used the left over fabric to make some burp cloths for her.

Another sewing indevor I took on was a quilt!!  My first one.  I had saved the receiving blankets I got with Max and wanted to make a quilt with them.  I dug through pinterest for a pattern I thought I could maybe manage and I chose this one.  I took a sunday afternoon cut my fabric and set to work. 

  I used some of the left over fabrics from other things I made him and love like the tandem bikes and minky. 

I think it turned out cute especially considering it is my first every attempt at quilting. Last but not least is this cute little bugger. I was shopping for some cute flannel to go with the minky for dees blanky when I saw this prequilted fabric and I thought it was too cute to pass up.  So I grabbed what was left on the roll ( just over a yard I think) and used my coupon.

 I backed it with some matching satin.

It is cute and snugly and light enough for this time of year.  This is just the type of blanky my little Max loves.  So it is perfect.  speaking of which he is ready for nap time!  Have a good day guys.

home progess (revamped lamps and diy) and back porch

I have still been working on pulling things together around my new home.  One thing that came up was that the old residents had put in a dimmer switch down stairs and they aren't rated to work with florescent or led bulbs so it was getting hot!!  Very alarming.  So a electrician came and put in a regular switch.  That left us with only bright lights down stairs so we moved our floor lamp down to the family room and I went to the goodwill and lucked out on finding two matching ugly lamps.  These were originally dark green with a flower painted on them. I took the little doohickey off that goes around the light bulb painted them krylon sea glass and got two lamp shades from walmart for 12$ each. 

I have them on either side of the couch.

I think they are cute and give off the perfect amount of light.

This lamp was too cute to pass up so I grabbed it a shade for 7$ at walmart too.

Another project that went up in our livingroom dining room area was this.  I took a frame that used to be above our bed in the old house lined it in chicken wire and spray painted it in the same color as the lamps.  I think it is cute and it pulls things together well.

The weather has occasionally been cooperating lately,  So we have been turning out attention to the outside space.  We got some plants to add color. A few for the front step.

And some for the back.  We got hyacinths, pansies, violets, snap dragons, and tulips.  I will be planting the tulips and what not in the yard once the ground is ready.

I also got two of these cute guys and painted them.

We moved the palette bench up to the deck.  We gave the deck a good thorough power washing and fixed any lose spindles.  I took some beach  buckets and drilled holes in the bottoms and we used those as planters I think it is super cute.

We also cleaned up all the cigarette butts, dog poop, sticks and other junk from the yard.  Last but not least we hung a baby swing from the deck for this little guy.

I would say it was a big hit.

Have a good day guys.

life saver baby teething tip.

 It feels like Max has been teething for ages and for the little buggers still haven't popped through!  I thought I would share with the other mamas out there a tip that has helped sooth my little guy and all you need is their pacifier and water.

 Take the paci and hold it under a cup of water and squeeze it so it fills with water.

 It should look like so.. you want it to have as much water and as little air as possible.

 Then toss it in the fridge to freeze.

This is a life saver in our house.  Hope this helps some of you mamas out there. :)

best purchases (most worth the money) for babies.

I thought I would write a post to show what we used with Max.  It is always good to know what was worth the money and what wasn't.  What to grab second hand and where to not.  Lets get started.

The jumparoo: Max loves this thing.  You aren't supposed to use rockers anymore and this gives you a few minutes to get something done with out worrying about them getting into things while they strengthen their legs and entertain themselves.  This also doubles as a exersaucer. so if you have this you can skip on that, save room in your house and some money.

 The vibrating bouncy seat: while Max wasn't a huge fan he is the exception and not the rule.  Every other baby in the family has loved these.  They have saved more then one life through out the 15 almost 16 years our family has used them.  They are pretty easy to find at garage sales this time of year.  Hold out for one that is in good condition, and make sure the vibrate and music have different switches so you don't have to have both on. buy it.

 Bumbo all three of my babies have loved the bumbo.  It has seen allot of use but it look new still.  It is a good thing, portable, and can be used as a booster seat to feed them in a pinch.  It helps them to sit up and later on holds them in one place.  It is compact so good for those who are space challenged. So it can go either way but was a must with all three of mine.  It is a perfect price point for a baby gift throw it on your registry and if you don't get it you can decide if it is a priority then.

 Boppi.: I love my boppis.  I have used one with all three of my kids and Fire Monster loves hers soo much still and sleeps with it every night that she wouldn't hand it down to Max.  He had to get his own.  They aren't meant for sleeping I realize but we are weening max off of the rock and play and he is always trying to sleep on his belly now that he is a crawler so I feel that it is the lesser of two evils.  He is 7.5 months and I keep a close eye so don't shoot me.  They are to help with breast feeding which saves your back and arms but I have been leaning toward the laid back nursing method, but this guy still gets plenty of use for little thing like this.  Buy it.  If you can get one second hand handed down or something jump on it!  Just grab your self a different cover. :)

 breathable bumper if you are going to do a bumper it is the way to go.. buy it. (they are a pain to put up at least with this crib)

 Rock and play...YES YES AND YES BUY IT BUY IT NOW!!  RUN TO THE STORE AND GET ONE.  I think I wouldn't have had any sleep to date it if I didn't have this.  It is one of the few things that I bought first hand (it was around 50$ at target) and was worth every penny. It is like a cradle with straps that go front to back and not side to side. Max would only sleep in this for ever.  He napped in it during the day and it went by our bed at night, it got collapsed and brought to the cities to sleep in when visiting family.  It folds pretty flat to pack up and fold easy and is easy to drag around the house where ever you need it plus you can save on the play yard and bassinet.  BUY IT.

 High chairs:  I never spend much on a high chair because I trade my kids to a strap in booster seat pretty quick because I want them to be used to eating at the table like the rest of the family.  That being said I bought this one on clearance at walmart for 30$ and I love it.  It collapses flat and tiny so it goes to the cities with us and it is great.  If you are going to make your kid eat in it until they are like 3 sure spend big money but I don't believe in that.  Plus then you have to store a big high chair when you are done with it! Nope this is a save for me.

 Swing:  these are very black and white.  Either babies like them or the don't.  They are either a waste of time or huge life saver. I would say before rushing out to buy one (which can be expensive if you want a new one) try a girlfriends on your baby first or borrow one to see if they like it before spending big bucks.

 One thing I say is a splurge is their skin care.  Their skin is so sensitive and they regular stuff is soo harsh.  It really gave my kids skin issues, really brought out problems with eczema and cradle cap.  When I first changed fire monster to burts bees.  I was at my wits end she had cradle cap soo bad her poor hair was just matted to her head.  I bought some at the co-op and it was immediate drastic change.  I have sworn by it ever since.  Max has a small patch of cradle cap and I just max a bit of sugar with it to make a gentle scrub for that area or brush it with a baby brush. 

Well those are this 3 time mamas thoughts.  Have a great day guys.

things I miss and things I don't miss about pregnancy.

 I wrote this list at the end of my pregnancy and since today max is 5 months I thought I would share it! 

Me at 39w

Things I will miss:

Having a built in table for my ice cream/ cereal

feeling the baby move

feeling like you and the baby share some great secret because its just the two of you

naps

the glow

 

Things I won't miss;

being kicked from the inside

nausea

trying to sleep through being kicked (ummm still happens just from the outside) 

swollen hands and feet

mega thick hair (still got it lol) 

not being able to reach things because my belly was holding me soo far back.

Things not to take forgranted:

rolling over in bed

sleeping the whole night

not hitting my belly on everything 

bending over

shaving the backs of my legs

sleeping on my belly or back

wind, beer, and margaritas

having a inny

reaching my feet,

real medications (still can't have those)

hot tubs

blue cheese

lunch meat

long time no see..

 Well Guys I am sorry it has been forever since I posted!!  The time has just flown by.  After the big scary mess that happened with Max's home coming.  I have been really staying home as much as possible and just taking care of and enjoying the little monster boy.  He was pretty colicky for a while there but he has come around.  He has his first cold right now but seems on the up swing and is in good spirits. He is now today 2 months old!!  He has started to sleep a good 5-6 hour stretch at the first half of the night which is heavenly.  I attribute it to a great (longggggg) bed time routine.  We give him a bath if it is bath night, then it is a baby massage to help with the tummy,pajamas and swaddling into a sleep sack,  then two to 3 bedtime stories, and a good feeding then bedtime.  He has really started to turn around since we started this nightly.  Plus I make sure he gets in some tummy time and enough exercise to get strong and wear himself out

Here are some recent pics..

Him rocking his dinosaur hat.

 His sweet little hands..

 Him enjoying his bumbo.  He loves it!!  We tuck a blanky to help stabilize him and I stay right there the whole time.  But it is good for him to build his muscles and he thinks it is hilarious.

 Playing with his mama..he is really starting to like to play and smile and even giggle or squeal every now and again.

 His reaction this morning when I was making monkey noises at him..lol it was a big hit.

 cutest dimples ever!!

This was him headed out to the drs the other day to get his cold checked out.

He is sleeping in his rock and play beside me right now (he has been in there all week to help elevate him due to his cold) but since we are up doing extra feedings and steamy bathrooms to help the cold that means less sleep so I am off to sneak in a nap before the girls get home.  :)  I will try to get better about posting.

max's newborn photos

 Today me and my g.f. Amy spent the morning torturing Max and sticking him in all kinds of weird places and naked and taking pics of him.  I though I would share the newborn pics we came up with :)

He was a bit fussy because he is going through a growth spurt but he we had fun and got quiet a few good ones we could use.  We must have worn him out because he has been sleeping pretty much all afternoon.  :)  Hope you guys enjoyed I am off to feed the monkey and cook dinner for the rest of the crew.. Have a good one!