Grateful Sunday

  Soloman Farm Park

• I'm sick.  I'm not grateful to have pneumonia, per say, but I'm thankful for a husband who takes care of me.  I'm thankful that I'm at home and not in the hospital.  And I'm thankful that thus far, it's just me who is afflicted.
• On that note, pleaseohpleaseohplease, Universe, heal me by Tuesday so I can have a healthy vacation to Florida!
• I'm thankful for the thunderstorm that just made our power momentarily flicker off.  I love me some inclement weather.
• I'm thankful for tax returns.  Stay tuned for our exciting plans for ours...
• I love Mrs. Meyer's cleaning products.  They just smell so....clean.  And they actually work, which is not always the case for 'natural' products.
• I'm thankful for crockpots.  It's the only way to go when church is 1-4.  Or, if you're like me, 11-4:30ish.  Coming home to a hot meal really makes the day so much better.
• I'm thankful for the Starbucks hot cocoa mix that I got for Valentine's Day.  Not as good as the real thing, but perfect when I'm jonesin' for a Starbucks at home.  Like right now.

Flower Wreath Tutorial

We used to have a moss-covered letter on our front door.  You know, the kind they sell at Pottery Barn for $75.  I made it for less than $10, but it had seen better days.  Really, the most irritating part was when you accidentally bumped up against it and wore little bits of moss all day.  MacGyver was not a fan of that.

Well, I love these flowers, made by Emily over at Jones Design Company.  I've made a ton of them that I use in my hair or pin onto scarves and shirts, but then got the genius idea that they'd make an adorable wreath.

Well, it's true.  They do.  But a word to the wise:  this is a super simple project, but it takes a ton of time.  My advice is that you work on it during the evenings or naptime when you're just watching TV anyway.  Or maybe that's just me?

Anyway, for your crafting pleasure:

 Step One

 Step Two

 Step Three

Tutorial for those found here.

 

 Step Four

 Step Five

 Step Six

Happy Weekend Project-ing!

Thanks, Target

I've been experimenting with ways to re-create this pillow, for less than the 25 bones they want for it:

I found this tutorial, which seems to be working quite well.  So far, I've succeeded in making several grown-up hair accessories:

I've never been one for putting stuff in my hair, but I've been loving these things.

So there.  Even if the pillow isn't started done yet, I've got good hair.
And I'd never have made them if Target wouldn't have overpriced the pillow.  Thanks, Target!

For real? Legislators need some new hobbies.

I've been scarce with blogging because all I can think to blog about is Primary or pregnancy.  Neither topic is particularly riveting, really.  But this news story caught my eye and pissed me off enough to blog.  Thanks, Georgia.

Basically, this ridiculously stupid Georgia lawmaker (obviously a male) wants to pass a law that will make any attempt to remove a live fetus from a mother considered murder, unless the goal is a live birth.  Translation:  let nature take its course unless you're delivering a baby.

Where to start?  Well, I get the gist of the proposed law.  It's just an anti-abortion law gone horribly, horribly wrong.  He just wants abortion to be murder.  I also get that it will never, in a million years, pass.  But that's not what I'm worried about.  It just worries me that we have such uneducated, single-minded people running our country.

The next thing that pops into my head is my experience with ectopic pregnancies.  I've had two.  The unfortunate truth about ectopic pregnancies is that you can't save the baby and the mother.  You just can't.  It's not even a matter of having a choice, really.  If the ectopic pregnancy was allowed to progress, both would die.  The fetus isn't far enough along to survive without the mother.  So when both of my ectopic pregnancies were removed, the fetus was still alive.  We didn't have a choice.  It just happened to us.  We are not murderers.  We were unfortunate victims of a situation that just shouldn't happen.  There aren't any exceptions in this proposed law for situations like ours.

How about partial miscarriages?  Where a mother starts to miscarry but her body doesn't finish the job?  Technically, under this proposed law, she would have to bleed out and die.  Again, no exceptions.

Aside from the obvious medical-related reasons why this is utterly ridiculous, let's talk about the emotional damage we're looking at here.  Pregnancy loss, of any kind, is tough.  This law would require a fetal death certificate for any pregnancy loss, whether medical assistance was used or not.  In my opinion, that's not going to help anyone through the grieving process.  Being investigated for a natural event will cause feelings of doubt and guilt in the hearts of the parents.  Also, I'm pretty sure those things aren't free.

Basically, a Georgia lawmaker wants to 'investigate' every causes of pregnancy loss that is 'unknown'.  WTF?  Does this guy even know what a miscarriage is?  By definition, a miscarriage is a pregnancy loss, before 20 weeks, for which the cause is typically unknown.  As in, the doctor will say, "It's hard to tell what happened.  Just try again in 3 months."

Things like this are what makes me, a staunch Republican, question anti-abortion laws.  Personally, I believe that abortion (choosing to end a pregnancy when there is no medical reason for doing so) is wrong.  I believe that it is a sin.  But I'm not sure that I believe that our government has the right to dictate that.  I'm not really sure if I'm in favor of or against anti-abortion laws, but I do know that I'm against crazy proposals like this one.

Oh, Georgia.

N is for Nesting: Tutorial Round-Up

When I was pregnant with the Sunbean, we had 8 ultrasounds.  Yes, eight.  I was high-risk and my OB is *slightly* ultrasound-happy.  Not that I'm going to complain about all those peeks at our sweet girl.  Point is, we knew the Sunbean was a girl.  That 3D ultrasound pretty much sealed that deal.

Therefore, I had no qualms with going girl-crazy.  Everything we have is girly, girl, girl.  Perfect when you're having a girl.  Not so much when you're having a little dude.  What's a nesting momma to do?  Make some boy stuff, of course!

Let's start by talking about how ridiculously picky I am when it comes to boy stuff.  Even I know I'm ridiculous.  Get this:  I don't like light blue for boys.  Call me crazy, but I think it's feminine.  I don't like dinosaur and puppy-dog embellishments.  I just don't.  And I'm not too crazy about sports-team gear on my kids (unless it's a Buckeye football Saturday).  And that pretty much rules out 99.999% of baby boy stuff.  Oh, unless you're a millionaire and shop exclusively at Baby Gap.

I've been scouring fabric stores for some fabric to make a few blankets for my little guy.  I wanted some flannel and some knit.  It took me approximately 36 seconds to turn my nose up at everything at Joann's.  Hobby Lobby's flannel is a joke.  Boo.  I even went to two local quilt shops that sell the pricey stuff.  Seriously, some people don't like cars and trains on blankets for little boys.  Fabric designers haven't gotten the memo yet.

Anyway, I did find some knit and some cotton I fell in love with, so here's what I came up with, and the fantastic tutorials I used.

I did find some knit, at Hancock of all places.  I'm still going to order some Michael Miller stuff, but I wanted to practice on something that isn't $12 a yard.  I love a soft cotton knit blanket for a newborn, and this tutorial was perfect.  I made mine smaller since I want to use it right away, but I'll probably make the next one a little bigger.  And that hat.  Makes me excited to meet this little person!

Next, I wanted to make a soft flannel blanket.  Well, that's a pipe dream.  Couldn't find flannel I loved, so I went with some cotton, with a flannel back.  Still cozy.  This tutorial wasn't too bad.  It took me forever because I've never done mitered corners, but now that I know what I'm doing, these babies will be my go-to baby gift.  Pretty stinking easy.

My first-ever mitered corner.

And that pretty much sums up my Saturday night.  Exciting, I know.

Real Life

N is for Nesting: Bags for my Bag

Here is the first of oh-so-many nesting projects.  I do not remember this intense nesting feeling with the Sunbean.  Maybe it's because I was working, so I wasn't home all day?  I have no idea, but this is borderline insanity.  My head is filled with thoughts and lists of things I want need want need to do, and I'm scrambling to come up with both the time and money to get it all done!  Can I really take 3 more months of this craziness?!?

Well, at least I have a blog to document this, ah, blessed time in my life.  So last night I whipped up some catch-all bags for my diaper bag.  I have two Petunia Pickle Bottom diaper bags, a bigger one and a smaller one.  When Little Dude gets here, I'll need to use the bigger one, but I hate having to switch all of my 'necessities' out just for a quick trip to the store or {gasp} a trip to the salon, sans children.

This way, I have my wallet, my coupon-and-important-paper-bag, and my pencil-nail file-tampon bag.  If I need to switch bags, I'll just need to grab those three things and go.  Here's how I did it.

Step One:  Gather Supplies

 

Step Two:  Grab the Scissors

Step Three:  Put On Your Zipper Foot

Step Four:  Turn On the Iron

Step Five: Regular Foot Goes Back On

Step Six:  Turn

Step Seven:  Admire Your Work

 

Project Smile

Here's what's keeping me happy these days:

• Sewing projects.  Hello, nesting.  I've even been sewing for other people.  Nothing like fulfilling your nesting needs and getting paid at the same time.
• This fantastic snow!  The 'Blizzard of 2011' was a tad anti-climactic, but MacGyver got to spend a whole day with us, which was great.  And by great, I mean I slept in and sewed all day.
• The Sunbean has an 'eggoo' in the front yard.  In case you don't speak toddler, that's an igloo.  MacGyver made it for her, and she loves to play inside.  It has seats and a window.  She runs around all day calling herself a penguin.
• I made up a recipe the other night.  As in, didn't have something in front of me telling me what ingredients to add.  Nothing exciting, but it fulfilled my craving for Chinese food and there weren't any leftovers.
• This is definitely making me happier than it should, but I went to check out the Peg-Perego stroller at the outlet and I LOVE it.  Like, seriously made my day.  The Sunbean cried when we left.  I think she liked it, too.  The best part?  $150 less than retail.  Score.
• And finally, Netflix during naptime.  Need I say more?