Monday, April 20, 2009

Getting Creative

I've been wanting to make a small wallet just because. So, I finally got around to it. I'm not sure what I'll use it for or if I'll give it as a gift. I added a cute flower with a button center to add some flair. The inside of the wallet is lined with the striped material like on the flower.


I wanted some frames for the girls' rooms, but I didn't want to pay an arm and a leg for them. So, I found some unfinished wood frames at Michael's for $1 each. Then, I painted them to match their rooms. The pink is for Nat's room and the brown for Laney's. I still need to put a clear coat on them to seal them and then add coordinating bows. Total cost will be $2 for both frames plus whatever the sealer costs. Not too bad for some adorable frames for my little darlings. The only way they could be any cuter is when I get pictures in them of the girls together.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

New Pet

Natalie went to visit Michael's parents this weekend, so we decided to go out with some friends last night. Probably the last time we'll get to do that before Laney gets here. We ate at Olive Garden and then had coffee at Barnes and Noble. It was so much fun! That is, until we got home about 11. Let me give you a little background on earlier that day before I begin our story...

We have a mini Yorkie, Chloe, who is spoiled rotten. She loves to sleep on the couch all day long (unless Nat is chasing her trying to pet her). Well, yesterday she stayed in the kitchen staring and sniffing at the same spot by our stove and fridge. She didn't move much from that spot. I thought it was weird, but didn't think too much about it at first. We've had problems with squirrels getting into our attic and another one got stuck up there. (We have checked it out several times and still haven't figured out how they're getting in. Another honey do for my sweet husband.) So, I thought maybe that's what Chloe was smelling. I got a flashlight and checked around, but I didn't see anything. Michael did the same thing when he got home for lunch. And of course, Natalie had to check it out, too. I thought maybe we had a mouse, too. So, I figured we'd set some traps sometime this weekend. Okay, now fast forward a few hours to our arrival home....

We walked in the door and Chloe was so happy to greet us. That's nothing new. I walked into the kitchen and noticed animal pellets all over the floor. Great, it came out while we were gone. Then, I noticed mail had been knocked off the countertop and the fly swatter had been knocked off the top of the fridge. That's strange. Michael starts looking through the house following a trail of pellets. He calls out, "You have to come see this and bring a flashlight." My first thought, "Great, we have a huge rat in our house." So, I go to Natalie's room and look on top of her curtains only to see an animal hunched up there!!! I was almost in tears at the thought of something in my little girl's room. We couldn't tell what it was at first. So, we turned the light on and behold a squirrel! Not, just a little one either. It was almost the size of Chloe. We are pretty sure it fell out of an open vent in the kitchen (we have to have a cover custom made for it, so it's not covered yet) and Chloe chased it through the house and "treed" it in Natalie's room! I'm sure she sat there on the floor guarding it until we got home. The squirrel didn't move for a while. Now I'm thinking, "Great, this thing is going to send me into labor and I'm not going to get the house cleaned up from the mess it's made." So, we took some pictures and video while we figured out what to do. Now, the squirrel is barking at Michael and it's pretty funny. We weren't really sure how to get it out of the house so we called our friend Johnny, whom we had gone out to eat with earlier. He brings a pellet gun and Michael shoots the squirrel in the nose. It just looks at him and barks a few more times. We decided to close all the bedroom doors and open the front and back doors in hopes that it will run outside. Luckily, they got it down and out with no problems. Yeah! I'm so thankful that Natalie wasn't home. She wouldn't have been scared, but it would have been even crazier. I can just hear her now, "Me pet the squirrel. Me hold the squirrel." She would have thought it was her new pet!


What a way to spend a Friday night-good food, great friends, and an interesting squirrel chase to top of the night. Of course, I didn't go into labor so we're still waiting on Miss Laney to come. I hope your Friday night was enjoyable as well!

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Easter & Busy Bee

We had a wonderful Easter celebrating our risen Lord and spending time with family. Natalie loved coloring and hunting Easter eggs.
She actually organized all her goodies from her eggs. It's kinda scary how much she's like me! She also had a blast walking around in momma's shoes. She's definitely a shoe girl!

The other day I repotted my plants and planted some new ones mom bought me. Of course, Natalie couldn't resist helping mommy. She had fun playing in the dirt.


I also finished a few other projects. One of my friends really liked the bag I made for Natalie so she ordered one for each of her kiddos and a diaper and wipes case for each of them. Yeah!


Here's the bow board and some bows I made for Laney. The cream colored bow is actually Nat's. It went with her Easter dress.



I also whipped up a little boxy pouch. I found a really easy tutorial at http://threebears.wordpress.com/2007/10/15/little-boxy-pouch-tutorial/. It didn't take long at all!

I had a few orders for shirts for Mother's Day. They turned out really nice, too.


I'm still contemplating opening an account on http://www.blogger.com/www.etsy.com to try and sell a few of my things. It would be great to make a little extra money, but I know my time will be limited once Laney gets here. So, I'm still praying about it.

I want to recommend a wonderful book that I'm currently reading (thanks to my hubby)-The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. Michael hasn't read a whole book in the 5+ years we've been married, so for him to read this book and recommend I read it was pretty earthshattering. He wants to go through a total money makeover and wants me to be on board, too. So, I'm almost done reading the book. I have to say, that I'm very excited! It's definitely not a get rich quick book. I know it's going to be difficult at times to stick with it, but in the long run it will definitely be worth it. I highly recommend everyone to check it out. I'm hoping to find and read his book on Financial Peace next.


I'm not sure Laney is going to hold off until her due date. I can tell she's dropped and my contractions are getting more intense and consistent. I could be totally wrong, but we'll see. I'm ready for her to be here, but a little nervous about having two little ones.

Friday, April 10, 2009

Pretty Toes


My friend, Tricia, and I went and got pedicures today! Yeah for pretty feet! We are due two days apart so we planned a few months back to go before the babies came to get our toes done. Well, since we are only three weeks away and Easter is Sunday we pampered ourself a little bit. We had a great time and even went to one of the consignment stores to look at baby stuff. Natalie went with us, too. I thought she would like to get her toes painted, too, but she wouldn't have any part of it. So, I painted her toenails and fingernails when we got home.

Swing Set Please!

As I was surfing through blogs, I came across http://www.dad-blogs.com/component/content/article/372.html. They are giving away an amazing play yard from http://www.kidscreations.com/. We've been looking at swing sets and this would be perfect for Natalie and Laney. Of course, the only way we will ever own one like this is if we win this contest. Hey, it's worth at least trying. If you're interested, you should definitely check it out. C'mon what do you have to lose but an empty backyard? Good Luck!

Thursday, April 9, 2009

3 Weeks to Go!

We went to the doctor again today. He said that she's dropped some, but I'm not really dialated any. He thinks she's between 6 1/2 and 7 pounds right now. He doesn't think she'll come just yet, but she could always change her mind and surprise us.

Laney's room is finished with the exception of cleaning out a few more things, painting the trim around her door and replacing her plugs and light switch. Here are the pictures so far.


I also finished Nat's Easter dress. Now, to work on a bow to match it. I got some ribbon today, but I need to get some more at Wal-Mart tomorrow or Saturday.


I still haven't made Nat's pj pants. My sewing machine is on the fritz again. So, mom is trading hers for mine for a few weeks. Hopefully, she can figure out what it's problem is.

We had a friend take some family pictures for us last weekend. They turned out really well. Here's a few of my favorites.