It's been "out" for a few weeks now...I'm expecting our second child (eeeeee!!!!! :D :D :D). But this is my fifth pregnancy. Yeah, not great odds. There was a time we really weren't sure if we would have more than one child. I learned to soak in every second of my sweet Lily Pants, and I grew up a lot. Growing up sucks, but then things start to click together and you start feeling like you aren't just out treading water anymore.
Anyway, I'm pregnant! We found out in early August after three long months of trying (I know this isn't long to some, but when I've always gotten pregnant on the first or second month, it felt like forever, plus we had been trying for over a year to keep a pregnancy) that we were expecting. Cue the insane, stomach-clutching worrying! I did blood draws, early ultrasounds, and took a bajillion different pills every night. Then I started getting nauseous. Oh, thank goodness! I loved that constant reminder that everything is ok. I still found myself keeping the baby at arm's length...trying not to think too much about it.
My midwife is amazing. I drive almost two hours to see her (the minimum around here is an hour anyway, so I figured I might as well be driving to someone who knows me, she delivered Lily, and whom I love), and I get reassurance and a hug at every appointment. I hit the second trimester and she celebrated with me when we heard the heartbeat on the doppler.
I'm 16 weeks today, and I still catch myself thinking..."I get to have another baby! Thank you Lord!" Lily will get to be a big sister, I will get to breastfeed again, I will get to have another baby!
Another awesome thing and another big announcement...we bought a house! We close the end of November and will take 2-3 weeks to paint and do some remodeling, then move in. I can't wait to NOT move again! Josh and I have been married 3.5 years, and this will be our 4th move in that time. Not cool! Hopefully this house will last us 10 years until we can save up for our forever home in the country. The house is on an acre, with apple trees, grape vines, raspberry bushes, and a massive garden. Hopefully within the next year we will add a chicken coop, more apple trees, peach trees, pear trees, and possibly a horse pen. :) Should be an interesting journey and I look forward to sharing it here!
Monday, October 24, 2011
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Bench Dilemna
There's this little thing called Junk Jaunt that happens every September out here. And it's dangerous. Aside from the crazy Beverly Hillbillies-esque pickup and trailers and their insane drivers, it's dangerously easy to spend a LOT of money on...well...junk.
I spent one hard-earned dollar on a bench that is just plain ugly. I saw the potential, though, and forked over a dollar (actually, I forked over a twenty and she handed me back $19, because I was silly and didn't break down my $20s beforehand...) and tossed it in the trailer.
The top has about four layers of--something. One of the layers (the bottom on) is cane, the top layer is linoleum. Yeah, linoleum. But I just loved the legs of the bench and thought it would be cute as an end table or padded bench in the Pants' room.I finally got around to ripping off the top couple layers and found cane in horrible shape on the bottom.
It's attached in there pretty good, too, not something I can just rip out, even if I knew if I could add new cane.
So. What do I do? Here are my options:
1) Paint it white and distress it, then add a padded top (after some plywood) and use it as a bench either at the end of Pants' bed or in our small mudroom. I'd probably go with a fun print for Lily's room and brown or something equally easy to hide dirt with for the mudroom.
2) Try to find a new top that matches (?) and paint it to match the rest. If so, where would I find a new top? The bench is so cute and would prefer this option, but I just don't know where I could find a new top. Do they sell those at HD or Lowes? Hmm... Also, if I could find a new top, I could paint it pink or aqua for Pants' room.
I also picked up a *few* other gems, including this medicine cabinet-turned-message center for our mudroom. This one was my first finished project.
It was a white washed wood and not super attractive with ugly, rusted handles and hinges and chipped laminate on the side, and I fixed the laminate, changed out the hinges and knobs, and painted it white, then distressed and stained it. I'll just add some cork board in the sunken parts behind the shutter fronts to be used as a message board. Those hinges and knobs did turn my $5 medicine cabinet into a $20 message center, though. :S
And last but not least (in fact, it cost the most), is the "new" dining room table.
I really went out on a limb on this one and spent $100 on it. It's pretty beat up, but I just love the legs, and I see tons of potential. I had originally planned on stripping the entire thing and restaining it to about the same tone, then adding black mismatched chairs. Then I saw this blog post at Crafty, Scrappy, Happy on her dining room table up-cycle. I loooove the white! What do you think about painting the bottom of my table white (um, hello! Wasn't looking forward to stripping those legs!) and having mismatched white chairs instead of black? My biggest concern is that I have a messy toddler and a husband who works in a blue collar field...will I be scrubbing those table legs constantly?
I spent one hard-earned dollar on a bench that is just plain ugly. I saw the potential, though, and forked over a dollar (actually, I forked over a twenty and she handed me back $19, because I was silly and didn't break down my $20s beforehand...) and tossed it in the trailer.
1) Paint it white and distress it, then add a padded top (after some plywood) and use it as a bench either at the end of Pants' bed or in our small mudroom. I'd probably go with a fun print for Lily's room and brown or something equally easy to hide dirt with for the mudroom.
2) Try to find a new top that matches (?) and paint it to match the rest. If so, where would I find a new top? The bench is so cute and would prefer this option, but I just don't know where I could find a new top. Do they sell those at HD or Lowes? Hmm... Also, if I could find a new top, I could paint it pink or aqua for Pants' room.
I also picked up a *few* other gems, including this medicine cabinet-turned-message center for our mudroom. This one was my first finished project.
And last but not least (in fact, it cost the most), is the "new" dining room table.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Off the deep end
Growing up, if we did something way out there, or completely not normal, we called it going off the deep end. Well, I've gone there and it involved bathroom products...wohooooo! Right?
The two products are some that we've had issues with quite a bit. With toothpaste, Josh has to have an SLS-free toothpaste to keep those cold sores away, and we were spending $5 per tube on Burt's Bee's toothpaste for him. Then for me, the deodorant was the issue. I have super sensitive skin and any deodorant I used, I would get irritation under my arms, no matter what. I had finally settled on Secret Clinical, and it was doing an ok job, but at almost $12 per stick, that's pretty steep!
Throw a little Simple Mom into the mix. Making my own toothpaste? I mean, seriously. WHY would I go and do a crazy thing like that? Thriftiness, I tell ya, I blame it on my mom for making my thrifty! Here is the recipe I use. Ok. It was a good thing for you all that I didn't write a blog about this in the first couple days of using this. It tastes nasty. Like, I gagged through the first few uses. But ya know what? I got used to it and we actually prefer it now. Our teeth feel cleaner, and after using regular toothpaste while traveling over the weekend, I realized that we were so used to that coating you get from normal toothpaste. I think I'll play with the flavoring next time and see how it goes, but at least it's cheaper and it works for Josh!
Next, since I had all the ingredients, I made my own deodorant. Here is the recipe I used (yes, I'm kind of a Simple Mom freak), and we both loved this from the get-go. Josh works a physically demanding job out in the heat, so he needed great protection from both sweating and odor, and this does it for him! Plus, I haven't had a single red bump since using this. It works great while exercising and there's no fragrance, which is generally what caused the irritation to begin with. We do keep it in the fridge for now since our house is warm in the summer, but it's no issue for us.
Hopefully this has inspired you all to go off the deep end. :P
The two products are some that we've had issues with quite a bit. With toothpaste, Josh has to have an SLS-free toothpaste to keep those cold sores away, and we were spending $5 per tube on Burt's Bee's toothpaste for him. Then for me, the deodorant was the issue. I have super sensitive skin and any deodorant I used, I would get irritation under my arms, no matter what. I had finally settled on Secret Clinical, and it was doing an ok job, but at almost $12 per stick, that's pretty steep!
Throw a little Simple Mom into the mix. Making my own toothpaste? I mean, seriously. WHY would I go and do a crazy thing like that? Thriftiness, I tell ya, I blame it on my mom for making my thrifty! Here is the recipe I use. Ok. It was a good thing for you all that I didn't write a blog about this in the first couple days of using this. It tastes nasty. Like, I gagged through the first few uses. But ya know what? I got used to it and we actually prefer it now. Our teeth feel cleaner, and after using regular toothpaste while traveling over the weekend, I realized that we were so used to that coating you get from normal toothpaste. I think I'll play with the flavoring next time and see how it goes, but at least it's cheaper and it works for Josh!
Next, since I had all the ingredients, I made my own deodorant. Here is the recipe I used (yes, I'm kind of a Simple Mom freak), and we both loved this from the get-go. Josh works a physically demanding job out in the heat, so he needed great protection from both sweating and odor, and this does it for him! Plus, I haven't had a single red bump since using this. It works great while exercising and there's no fragrance, which is generally what caused the irritation to begin with. We do keep it in the fridge for now since our house is warm in the summer, but it's no issue for us.
Hopefully this has inspired you all to go off the deep end. :P
Saturday, June 11, 2011
A new baby
My old Brother sewing machine has been having issues lately, and I was using my mother in law's machine, but we have known that I needed an upgrade for a while. I did my research and decided on the Pfaff Quilt Expression 4.0 to use and abuse next.
The husband and I made a weekend out of it, starting out at a bed and breakfast called the Traditions Inn in Columbus, Nebraska. How CUTE! The rooms were affordable and gave you that country feel even with the great downtown Columbus location. And the owner was just the nicest woman! We were late (thanks to trying to hurry and getting stopped outside of Albion...luckily it was just a warning!), but called ahead to let them know, and she was more than accommodating. We arrived around 9:30 and we debated between just grabbing a snack before bed and supper, but we realized that we were in the "big city" and could actually eat out at a nice restaurant late, so we went for that option.
Here is a sunset we enjoyed on our way there...the hubs even offered to stop for a picture!
And the super cut planter...need to figure out how to DIY that! Don't you just love the garden tool curtain rods in the breakfast room? I will do this in a mud room someday!
In the morning we headed to our first quilt shop, where I oogled over these gorgeous kaleidoscope quilts.
And then I drooled all over these antique quilts they had for decor. I love the little ruffle in the flower, and the yellow and white...how classic!
And then at the second quilt shop, I was told we weren't allowed to take pictures of the quilts unless we bought the pattern. :( Country Traditions Quilt Shop in Fremont was amazing and they had SO many quilts hung up! And SO much fabric...and SO many Pfaff sewing machines!
Here I am with the new baby! I was thinking about naming her Daphne, because it kind of goes with Pfaff. Ha...so funny. Anyway...She's awesome, and I'm loving having such an advanced machine. I've only barely scratched the surface on what she can do, but I'm hoping to hit one of the free owner's classes at the quilt shop sometime soon to expand what I can do.
I did buy one other little thing at the quilt shop that has made a huge difference in my sewing...fork pins! I am making this quilt from Moda Bake Shop for Lily, and she uses them in the tutorial, so it inspired me to try them out. They are SO handy, and so easy to use! I just love the look of a quilt with the seams pressed open, so now that I have these, I'll be doing that more often.
The husband and I made a weekend out of it, starting out at a bed and breakfast called the Traditions Inn in Columbus, Nebraska. How CUTE! The rooms were affordable and gave you that country feel even with the great downtown Columbus location. And the owner was just the nicest woman! We were late (thanks to trying to hurry and getting stopped outside of Albion...luckily it was just a warning!), but called ahead to let them know, and she was more than accommodating. We arrived around 9:30 and we debated between just grabbing a snack before bed and supper, but we realized that we were in the "big city" and could actually eat out at a nice restaurant late, so we went for that option.
Here is a sunset we enjoyed on our way there...the hubs even offered to stop for a picture!
And the super cut planter...need to figure out how to DIY that! Don't you just love the garden tool curtain rods in the breakfast room? I will do this in a mud room someday!
In the morning we headed to our first quilt shop, where I oogled over these gorgeous kaleidoscope quilts.
And then I drooled all over these antique quilts they had for decor. I love the little ruffle in the flower, and the yellow and white...how classic!
And then at the second quilt shop, I was told we weren't allowed to take pictures of the quilts unless we bought the pattern. :( Country Traditions Quilt Shop in Fremont was amazing and they had SO many quilts hung up! And SO much fabric...and SO many Pfaff sewing machines!
I did buy one other little thing at the quilt shop that has made a huge difference in my sewing...fork pins! I am making this quilt from Moda Bake Shop for Lily, and she uses them in the tutorial, so it inspired me to try them out. They are SO handy, and so easy to use! I just love the look of a quilt with the seams pressed open, so now that I have these, I'll be doing that more often.
Happy quilting!!
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Running Momma, Day 2
I'm still a running momma! I was telling Lily to say "Go, Mom, Go!" when we were running, and although it may get old sometime, it was darn cute today. I'm more sore today, but the run felt better. I felt like I was running smoother and not bumbling along, and I didn't feel as self conscious. I have to admit that is part of what has kept me from running before, I don't know what I would look like to other people, but I realized today that it really didn't matter! I am doing something that is good for me and my daughter and I look better out running like a non-runner than I do on the couch. :)
I wore my ball cap the other day and when my head sweated under the hat, it itched, so I went hatless today, and my bangs were all in my face. So next time, I need to find some kind of headband or pin my bangs back. And I need to put shoes on Lily that she can't easily take off and no hat, because I had to stop and pick up the hat or shoes a couple times. Today, I also made myself cool down long enough to drink my whole 24 oz water bottle, and when I got back I didn't feel the need to crash on the floor for a while.
I feel kind of silly writing all of this out, but I want to be able to look back on this when I hit a "I don't want to run!" phase. I feel great today, a little sore, but refreshed and skinny (though I know it's too soon to see any real results).
I wore my ball cap the other day and when my head sweated under the hat, it itched, so I went hatless today, and my bangs were all in my face. So next time, I need to find some kind of headband or pin my bangs back. And I need to put shoes on Lily that she can't easily take off and no hat, because I had to stop and pick up the hat or shoes a couple times. Today, I also made myself cool down long enough to drink my whole 24 oz water bottle, and when I got back I didn't feel the need to crash on the floor for a while.
I feel kind of silly writing all of this out, but I want to be able to look back on this when I hit a "I don't want to run!" phase. I feel great today, a little sore, but refreshed and skinny (though I know it's too soon to see any real results).
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Muddy running shoes
I have them! Yeah! I started C25K today and though my legs feel like jello, I feel great. We are lucky to live right by the park, which has a lot of flat open space to run, so I decided to start there. I downloaded an app on my phone with a countdown feature, and aired up the tires of the jogging stroller. I waited out the rain this morning, then bundled Lily up for my first run.
For the first week of C25K, after a five minute brisk warm up walk, you're supposed to jog/run 60 seconds, then walk 90 seconds and alternate the jog/walk for 20 minutes. Since I haven't ran since high school, I started off slower and walked for more like two minutes in between, but still did the required amount of running. My run was definitely more like a jog, and the third minute of running was nearly excruciating, but by the end, the feeling of accomplishment was huge.
The next day is Thursday, then Saturday, and then next week I'll start doing it Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Here goes nothin'!
For the first week of C25K, after a five minute brisk warm up walk, you're supposed to jog/run 60 seconds, then walk 90 seconds and alternate the jog/walk for 20 minutes. Since I haven't ran since high school, I started off slower and walked for more like two minutes in between, but still did the required amount of running. My run was definitely more like a jog, and the third minute of running was nearly excruciating, but by the end, the feeling of accomplishment was huge.
The next day is Thursday, then Saturday, and then next week I'll start doing it Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Here goes nothin'!
Monday, May 23, 2011
It's the little things
Today, I am grateful for glass jars. Doesn't sound very deep or important, but the big things in life are usually the small things, so keep that in mind. :) I have various glass jars scattered about my kitchen right now in various phases of making something. A dozen and a half old quart jars I bought at a garage sale last weekend sit on the floor by the sink ready to be put in my canning cupboard, a pint jar sits on top of the fridge with sour cream in the works, two pint jars (old ones at that, one of them is square!) are in my crock pot with yogurt in the works, two gallon pickle jars are sitting in my pantry ready to have homemade vanilla made in them, 6 large baby food jars filled with homemade citronella candles are cooling on the counter...
No, not all of my days are filled with this much homemade-ness, but today I thought about my Granny a lot, and how much she made from scratch not because she wanted to, but because she had to. It also made me really want a milk cow, or at least a source for fresh raw milk...
Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!
No, not all of my days are filled with this much homemade-ness, but today I thought about my Granny a lot, and how much she made from scratch not because she wanted to, but because she had to. It also made me really want a milk cow, or at least a source for fresh raw milk...
Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Five Board Bench and Rolling Storage Crate
Let me tell you, if you've never built anything before and have an interest in woodworking, start with this bench! It went together very easily and the places where a beginner would make a mistake are on the sides and therefore easily covered up. :)
I used pallet wood that my husband found for me and just cut it all to length to fit in the bench, and it works perfectly. Even more perfect? I made it all by myself. :)
We used it about 2 weeks before I decided we needed something to go under it to hold our daughter's shoes. At the time, we had a puppy and I didn't want to just put the shoes in baskets that a puppy could easily get into, so I built the rolling crate from Ana's site as well.
I used pallet wood that my husband found for me and just cut it all to length to fit in the bench, and it works perfectly. Even more perfect? I made it all by myself. :)
Something new...
I'm going way out on a limb here, writing this out in the open where people could see it and hold me accountable, so bear with me and don't tease me too much.
I'm buying a jogging stroller. And I'm going to start jogging.
Whew. There, I said it. As I write this, I'm freaking out. I'm not a runner, I have never enjoyed it, but that could be because gym class in school is horribly embarrassing for the non-athletic type (ie. me). I joked with a friend about her running ("Why would you want to go and do a thing like that?") and afterwards I realized it was a very inconsiderate thing to say. Anyway, she told me how she started running and that she wasn't a runner either, and it got me to thinking...maybe it's for me too? Then she and other women said how relaxing and stress-relieving and solitary it is to run and that hit the spot for me. I need relaxation and stress-relief and solitude. Badly. This stay at home mom thing is fantastic, and I'm a natural introvert, so the whole not being around people all the time is great for me, but I needed to get out and do something!
So, it comes back to "Why would I want to spend the money on a single jogging stroller when we plan on having another baby soon?" Well, I honestly may not be able to carry any more children, so why should I put my life and my health on hold for a maybe? We lived in Crete for 16 months with no pictures on the walls and very few friends because "We're planning on moving soon." Well, it took 16 months for us to get out of there and it would have been a lot more enjoyable had we hung pictures and made more friends.
I'm buying a jogging stroller. And I'm going to start jogging.
Whew. There, I said it. As I write this, I'm freaking out. I'm not a runner, I have never enjoyed it, but that could be because gym class in school is horribly embarrassing for the non-athletic type (ie. me). I joked with a friend about her running ("Why would you want to go and do a thing like that?") and afterwards I realized it was a very inconsiderate thing to say. Anyway, she told me how she started running and that she wasn't a runner either, and it got me to thinking...maybe it's for me too? Then she and other women said how relaxing and stress-relieving and solitary it is to run and that hit the spot for me. I need relaxation and stress-relief and solitude. Badly. This stay at home mom thing is fantastic, and I'm a natural introvert, so the whole not being around people all the time is great for me, but I needed to get out and do something!
So, it comes back to "Why would I want to spend the money on a single jogging stroller when we plan on having another baby soon?" Well, I honestly may not be able to carry any more children, so why should I put my life and my health on hold for a maybe? We lived in Crete for 16 months with no pictures on the walls and very few friends because "We're planning on moving soon." Well, it took 16 months for us to get out of there and it would have been a lot more enjoyable had we hung pictures and made more friends.
Friday, May 20, 2011
A year down...
We started cloth diapering Lily a little over a year ago! She was 8 months, and we were talking about having another one soon, so we wanted to cut our expenses a little bit more, but seriously couldn't come up with another thing to cut out. Josh saw a segment on the local news by a cloth diaper shop and came to me later that day, "Did you know cloth diapers are cheaper than disposables?!" Um, yeah, but there was no way I was going to scrape poop!
Long story short, he talked me into it and we've never looked back. We love cloth diapering and would never go back. For the next few days I plan to go through how we do things and what works for us, but today I plan to tell you about why we switched.
Money! We did our research, and while our worksheet is gone now and I don't remember the exact numbers, it was cheaper for us to switch to a moderately priced one-size cloth diaper (we chose FuzziBunz for daytime and a combination of a Sandy's Motherease fitted with a homemade liner and doubler with Blueberry cover for nighttime) even if we only cloth diapered Lily from 8 months to potty training. In fact, if we kept to our plan, our cloth diapers would be "paid off" in 6-8 months (as in, we would spend the same amount as we would have with disposables). Well, we didn't stick to our plan because we found that Lily's sensitive skin didn't like the BumGenious suede cloth, so there's $80 sitting in the closet, along with the random fitted or cover that we used back when we tried to go cheaper.
What I'm saying is that if you're serious about saving money and willing to do a little bit more work (and really, it is only a little bit more work, not much at all!), check into cloth diapers. Your baby's bum will thank you. :)
Long story short, he talked me into it and we've never looked back. We love cloth diapering and would never go back. For the next few days I plan to go through how we do things and what works for us, but today I plan to tell you about why we switched.
Money! We did our research, and while our worksheet is gone now and I don't remember the exact numbers, it was cheaper for us to switch to a moderately priced one-size cloth diaper (we chose FuzziBunz for daytime and a combination of a Sandy's Motherease fitted with a homemade liner and doubler with Blueberry cover for nighttime) even if we only cloth diapered Lily from 8 months to potty training. In fact, if we kept to our plan, our cloth diapers would be "paid off" in 6-8 months (as in, we would spend the same amount as we would have with disposables). Well, we didn't stick to our plan because we found that Lily's sensitive skin didn't like the BumGenious suede cloth, so there's $80 sitting in the closet, along with the random fitted or cover that we used back when we tried to go cheaper.
What I'm saying is that if you're serious about saving money and willing to do a little bit more work (and really, it is only a little bit more work, not much at all!), check into cloth diapers. Your baby's bum will thank you. :)
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Garden 2011 Update
So there's no need for pictures...just picture a bare spot of dirt, about 40'x35' with strings staked out to mark where our rows will go, plus some watered down rows and a couple bricks marking where we started and ended specific rows. Yep, that's it!
But we did get some things in the ground Sunday! Josh raked the bigger dirt clods to the walkways and I planted peas, carrots, and red onions, and he planted spinach, lettuce, and yellow onions. After we get out of our frost time here, corn, green beans, zucchini, watermelon, pumpkins, more yellow onions (to have two crops), more lettuce and spinach, bell peppers, jalapenos, and tomatoes will join the seeds in the ground (I'll probably buy the rest already started. Next year we are planning on starting our own seeds.).
Last year someone told me that they used newspaper and brown paper bags with straw on top between the rows to keep the weeds down, so we're going to try that with leftover cardboard boxes leftover from moving. The boxes are broken down and we will put the cardboard down probably when we plant the rest of the garden.
Now if we could just get an outside water faucet so I didn't have to haul 5 gallon buckets of water from the shower to the garden...
But we did get some things in the ground Sunday! Josh raked the bigger dirt clods to the walkways and I planted peas, carrots, and red onions, and he planted spinach, lettuce, and yellow onions. After we get out of our frost time here, corn, green beans, zucchini, watermelon, pumpkins, more yellow onions (to have two crops), more lettuce and spinach, bell peppers, jalapenos, and tomatoes will join the seeds in the ground (I'll probably buy the rest already started. Next year we are planning on starting our own seeds.).
Last year someone told me that they used newspaper and brown paper bags with straw on top between the rows to keep the weeds down, so we're going to try that with leftover cardboard boxes leftover from moving. The boxes are broken down and we will put the cardboard down probably when we plant the rest of the garden.
Now if we could just get an outside water faucet so I didn't have to haul 5 gallon buckets of water from the shower to the garden...
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Water works
I'm a big water drinker. Well, after coffee. But other than coffee, I drink a lot of water. I'm trying to cut back on coffee/caffeine, so my Camelbak water bottle has been my best friend. I have this one, and when I started drinking out of it, Lily decided it was the coolest water bottle around, way cooler than her sippy cups. So I checked into getting her one of her own, and though they are labeled for ages 3+, I got her this one to put in her Easter basket. She's had it a little over a week and the girl does not let it out of her sight. We are Camelbak lovers.
But just the other day I was looking into the stainless steel ones to give as gifts (they were on sale for $17ish), and one of the reviewers said to use flavorless denture tablets to clean them. Ah-ha! What an excellent idea! I clean ours every other day or so the best I can with a dish brush, but this way I "know" they are getting clean in those spots I couldn't reach before. I bought a pack of 40 denture tablets for $3.49 at our local (expensive small town) grocery store, so I'm sure you can find them cheaper on Amazon or Walmart.
So...there's another use for denture tablets. The little old lady in the grocery store looked at me like I was crazy when I asked her where the denture tablets were, but when I explained that I heard about cleaning water bottles with them, she said, "I'll have to try that!"
But just the other day I was looking into the stainless steel ones to give as gifts (they were on sale for $17ish), and one of the reviewers said to use flavorless denture tablets to clean them. Ah-ha! What an excellent idea! I clean ours every other day or so the best I can with a dish brush, but this way I "know" they are getting clean in those spots I couldn't reach before. I bought a pack of 40 denture tablets for $3.49 at our local (expensive small town) grocery store, so I'm sure you can find them cheaper on Amazon or Walmart.
So...there's another use for denture tablets. The little old lady in the grocery store looked at me like I was crazy when I asked her where the denture tablets were, but when I explained that I heard about cleaning water bottles with them, she said, "I'll have to try that!"
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Just be
How cliche is that? Just be? But really, I need to. Just be.
I've got issues. I won't go into details, but being given three precious babies, then having them taken away will kind of give you issues. But I'm learning...again...how to just be. Just be calm, just be relaxed, just be still and let God in. Let God just handle things. It's way, way easier when I let Him make things work rather than stress and over-think and freak out. I snap at my husband, I zone out when I should be in awe of what my toddler is learning. Just be here, in the moment, and enjoy life. Just be happy.
Take a deep breath and just enjoy life. Embrace the trials, because they make the great times that much better. I look at Lily and think, "How did I get such an amazing little girl?" and it's all God. He gave us her and when I'm busy worrying about if I'll be able to carry another baby, I'm missing out on the cool things Lily is doing right now. Just be content.
I've got issues. I won't go into details, but being given three precious babies, then having them taken away will kind of give you issues. But I'm learning...again...how to just be. Just be calm, just be relaxed, just be still and let God in. Let God just handle things. It's way, way easier when I let Him make things work rather than stress and over-think and freak out. I snap at my husband, I zone out when I should be in awe of what my toddler is learning. Just be here, in the moment, and enjoy life. Just be happy.
Take a deep breath and just enjoy life. Embrace the trials, because they make the great times that much better. I look at Lily and think, "How did I get such an amazing little girl?" and it's all God. He gave us her and when I'm busy worrying about if I'll be able to carry another baby, I'm missing out on the cool things Lily is doing right now. Just be content.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
From the girls
There is a group of girls online that has been around the nest for years. We all happened to stick around while others came and went, so we made our own little spot to hang out. They've been there for me through three miscarriages, let me vent, whine, and celebrated each baby with me. They got together and got me this after the last miscarriage.
It's a Chinese Dogwood, and after doing my research on where and how to plant it, I planted it in a row of peonies at my parents' house (since we are not in a long-term house right now). It got a cage so that none of the dogs (or runaway lawnmowers) got to it, and it's been looking great.
I am so thankful to my friends for the thoughtful gift. It's something happy to look at, and it really lifted my spirits when I received it in the mail (by surprise!) and planted it, and even just thinking of it since I planted it. I am so blessed to have such great friends, even if I've never "met" them. :)
I am so thankful to my friends for the thoughtful gift. It's something happy to look at, and it really lifted my spirits when I received it in the mail (by surprise!) and planted it, and even just thinking of it since I planted it. I am so blessed to have such great friends, even if I've never "met" them. :)
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
If you ever feel like a bad parent...
Make play dough. Your child will gasp and say "Mom!" and dig right in, giving you cheesy grins every 30 seconds. Ok, well, mine did anyway, and it boosted my confidence that I am actually doing a decent job raising our daughter. I mean, it is so simple that it is silly, but I'm serious.
There are a million recipes online for homemade play dough, and I recommend using one of them rather than buying it. It took all of 5 minutes to make (and it was kind of fun :P), and you know exactly what's in it...no weird chemicals or color additives. Here is the recipe I used, but I would imagine that they are all pretty basic.
There are a million recipes online for homemade play dough, and I recommend using one of them rather than buying it. It took all of 5 minutes to make (and it was kind of fun :P), and you know exactly what's in it...no weird chemicals or color additives. Here is the recipe I used, but I would imagine that they are all pretty basic.
We don't really have any "real" play dough toys, but the hammer and screwdriver from her tool chest, a spoon with holes in it, and a couple links worked great for the time being. I'll slowly find cool toys for playing, I'm too cheap to just go buy it. :)
Friday, April 22, 2011
Lack of words
I just discovered this blog and I wanted to pass it along. I've been uninspired lately, and while I have had plenty to blog about, we've been so busy. She's amazing and has a real grasp on things, be sure to check out her post Who will raise a princess for my boys? and I'm broker than a joke and couldn't be happier!.
Beneath My Heart
Beneath My Heart
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Party Line Finds
There's an afternoon radio show out here where people call in with their junk really great stuff for sale, and since Lily goes down around 1, I'm always around the radio for it (we don't have TV, so picture us sitting around the radio in the evenings). I'm a bit of a junker at heart, and responded to a call saying she had old doors and screens for sale. Gasp! I've been looking for an old door with character to make into a headboard. Josh, amazingly, was completely on board and said, and I quote, "Get what you want." Yessssss!
Anyway, here are my finds. This is the screen that I went to buy, and I just love it.
It's so simple and country. A good cleaning up and a couple coats of polyurethane and she's good to go. It's got some great details like the hinges...I wish I had a box full of these babies!
And the handle is even cute.
I had planned on using it as the headboard until my husband saw the barn door I also bought...
Now while the screen is a "she," the door is definitely a "he." He weighs a ton and it built like a brick. I really didn't want a window in the door we would use for a headboard (I have symmetry issues), but Josh loved it so much that I don't think I'll be able to say no.
I just love rusty stuff. :)
And then she had these sitting out for $10 each. I loved that this one had some messed up glaze, and I think it would look cute on the end of the mudroom bench. And yes, that's the blue dresser that I have yet to blog about. I'm waiting on my super cute drawer pulls to come in, then it will be up here for all to see.
While I was in the shop, I decided to take "in progress" pictures of a couple other projects I have going on. This is the bench I built using ana-white.com's Five Board Bench plans. I'm not loving it in black, but I hope with a little distressing I will like it more. I've also been thinking about stenciling something on the front of the bench, but I can't decide what...our last name? "Kick off yer boots!"? "Mudroom"? There will be a rolling crate made from pallet wood under it that I could also stencil something onto...
I also have had these two shutters sitting around since last fall when I rescued them from my brother-in-law's bonfire and I'm just kind of waffling on what to do with them. I've sort of decided to paint them white and use them as photo/art displays either in our dining room or Lily's room, but we'll see what happens. Any suggestions are appreciated. :)
I can't wait to show you the "after" pictures!
Anyway, here are my finds. This is the screen that I went to buy, and I just love it.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Nerves
I'm not naturally a super nervous person. I don't dwell on things and stress myself out often, but when I do, any little thing will stress me out. I'm thankful for a kind, understanding husband and a sweet little girl who is just so happy.
One miscarriage hurts a ton, but you can always try again with great odds, two miscarriages hurts a ton also, but the odds are still great that you can try again without intervention. You still have some hope, something to hold onto. Once you hit three, it's a completely different story. We don't know if we will be able to have another child, we don't know how much we will have to go through if we do have another one, we don't know how much it will cost. The odds aren't great for having a live birth after three miscarriages, much less if you have unexplained recurrent miscarriages rather than an actual diagnosis.
I've decided to be open about the fact that we've had three miscarriages in the hopes that it helps someone else. It all goes back to The Stuff You Use and I hope I am doing some good, somewhere. I'm praying for the mothers, especially one I know personally, that do not have their babies to hold and kiss and love as this Mother's Day approaches, and that they are surrounded by kind, loving people to show them how much they are appreciated. I'm a mother of four, not just one, even though I never held, met, or kissed three of them.
One miscarriage hurts a ton, but you can always try again with great odds, two miscarriages hurts a ton also, but the odds are still great that you can try again without intervention. You still have some hope, something to hold onto. Once you hit three, it's a completely different story. We don't know if we will be able to have another child, we don't know how much we will have to go through if we do have another one, we don't know how much it will cost. The odds aren't great for having a live birth after three miscarriages, much less if you have unexplained recurrent miscarriages rather than an actual diagnosis.
I've decided to be open about the fact that we've had three miscarriages in the hopes that it helps someone else. It all goes back to The Stuff You Use and I hope I am doing some good, somewhere. I'm praying for the mothers, especially one I know personally, that do not have their babies to hold and kiss and love as this Mother's Day approaches, and that they are surrounded by kind, loving people to show them how much they are appreciated. I'm a mother of four, not just one, even though I never held, met, or kissed three of them.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Little Red Step Stool
I finally went with what looked like the easiest one. My dad and I bought wood, screws, and paint at Lowes
and got to work. I had used a circular saw before, but never a jig saw. Let's just say it was a good thing we bought extra. The first two sides I cut were so "off" that they weren't even close enough to sand down to match. It was bad. So I tried again and they were almost perfect! I drilled the holes, forgot to glue them (let's all hope it doesn't fall apart!), and screwed it together in a matter of about 15 minutes. Filled the holes, sanded it down, and got right to painting (my favorite part).
The red is Valspar Heirloom Red and it is absolutely perfect. It's like that barn red that is bright, but not too bright. I put two good coats on it, sanding after each coat, distressed the edges a bit, and then a coat of polyurethane. The only poly I had was semi-gloss and it's a little too shiny for my taste, but it will do. Lily (and her playmate for the day) loved it!
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Nestie Quilt Along 2011
Hey all! There I was, just quilting away on a billion other projects and I said to myself, “Self, let’s do something scrappy!” I asked my dear Nesties if they knew of any scrappy quilt alongs were going on in blogland, but they ended up talking me into doing one myself. Eek! Well, of course I like easy patterns, so I thought a nine patch quilt would be fun.
So, while I’ve never even written a tutorial before, I’m going to try my hand at this quilt along thing! I think if we start it with the goal of doing a nine patch a day, we will get there sooner than we think.
To start, let’s do the math. I’m more of a do it as you go type, so this is new for me! Haha For the throw size, you will need a total of 140 (4.5”) nine patch blocks. If we do one block a day, you’ll need 20 weeks for this project. Of course, you can work ahead if you want, but this is just a project to work on your stash and get a quilt done on the side of other projects. Sometimes you just need to look at something else. Anyway, back to that nasty math part! To make 140 nine patch blocks, you’ll need a total of 1260 2” squares. That sounds like a TON (ok, it really is), but just stack those fat quarters and cut a few at once. Or just cut as you go. If I did my math right, you should be able to get 1260 2” squares out of 14 fat quarters. I’m leaving the amount of different fabrics up to you! For those of you who want to work out of your stash and use anything and everything you’ve got, have at it! For those who like a coordinated, thought-out look, go buy 14 coordinating fat quarters. For sashing, you’ll need about 2.5 yards (I estimated…I always buy extra and cut up the leftovers for my scrap bins) of a solid color, and then another fabric for a border (optional). And batting, binding, and backing of course, but I usually by those fabrics after finishing the quilt top. Everyone is different, though.
Ok, so let’s imagine that you have 1260 2” squares cut out. Or 9 of them, that works too… Take two different colored squares (A and B) and sew them together. Then take two more different colored squares (A and B) and sew them together without taking the first set off the machine. Same with the third set.
This is called chain stitching and will save you time and money (that little bit of thread will add up!). Anyway, do a third set of the two fabrics and cut the ends. Leaving that chain together, sew the last three squares to the chain you have, making sure you have two ABA rows and one BAB (which will be the middle) row. Make sense? Sorry, I'm not great at this! :)
Now, I press my seams apart. It makes for a smoother finished quilt and it is easier to do the actual quilting when it comes to that.
However you do it will be fine, but this is how I do it. Easy, right? Now do that every day for the next 140 days.
I’m not cool enough to know how to make buttons or logos or flicker groups, or whatever , so we’ll just do check ins on the nestie crafts board, if that is cool with you ladies! Please post a comment here to let me know you're doing the quilt along with us (with your Nestie name if possible). If I'm missing anything or you have questions, please don't hesitate to let me know or ask! I've never really done anything like this, it's more just for me to have someone to be accountable to for a block a day type thing, so if I'm too disorganized, let me know! lol
*****Edited to add: One of the members made a Flickr group for us to share photos and discussions on. http://www.flickr.com/groups/nestiequiltalong/ *****
Organized Simplicity - Ch 1
We're all out to live a simpler life, right? Well, I recently found simplemom.net and was encouraged by her posts about what we're already doing, and wanted to see what else we could do to simplify. I went out on a limb and even bought her book! I've read most of the way through, but wanted to put a couple points here that I highlighted.
The quote at the beginning of the chapter really hit home with me: "Too many people spend money they haven't earned, to buy things they don't want, to impress people they don't like." -Will Rogers. How true is that? We purposed when we got married to live a debt-free (or almost debt-free) life, which means we do without sometimes, when our friends are spending a lot of money on things we would really like to have.
Most of the first chapter talks about her and her husband's first years of marriage, how they were in debt and working towards paying it off so they could move abroad. A couple key points hit home with me. For one, house sizes have doubled in size since the 1950s! We are living in a house right now that was built in the 1950s and it is definitely NOT 900 square feet, the average for that time period. Yes, we're a little cramped (mostly because I insisted on having my sewing space in the dining room :/), but ya know what? It's easy to clean, easy to maintain, and we are closer together! I've lived in both small and large houses and I prefer the small ones by far.
Another quote from the book, "Frugality is trendier, but life's craziness hasn't slowed." It takes a little more work to be simple/frugal/debt-free, that is no doubt, and it's not worth it to some people.
Anyway, the book has just really hit home with me. Josh and I have prayed our kids will like to be outside, like to play with sticks and rocks instead of gadgets inside. So far this spring, the sticks and rocks are winning out over all of the toys inside for Lily, and it makes this momma heart glad.
The quote at the beginning of the chapter really hit home with me: "Too many people spend money they haven't earned, to buy things they don't want, to impress people they don't like." -Will Rogers. How true is that? We purposed when we got married to live a debt-free (or almost debt-free) life, which means we do without sometimes, when our friends are spending a lot of money on things we would really like to have.
Most of the first chapter talks about her and her husband's first years of marriage, how they were in debt and working towards paying it off so they could move abroad. A couple key points hit home with me. For one, house sizes have doubled in size since the 1950s! We are living in a house right now that was built in the 1950s and it is definitely NOT 900 square feet, the average for that time period. Yes, we're a little cramped (mostly because I insisted on having my sewing space in the dining room :/), but ya know what? It's easy to clean, easy to maintain, and we are closer together! I've lived in both small and large houses and I prefer the small ones by far.
Another quote from the book, "Frugality is trendier, but life's craziness hasn't slowed." It takes a little more work to be simple/frugal/debt-free, that is no doubt, and it's not worth it to some people.
Anyway, the book has just really hit home with me. Josh and I have prayed our kids will like to be outside, like to play with sticks and rocks instead of gadgets inside. So far this spring, the sticks and rocks are winning out over all of the toys inside for Lily, and it makes this momma heart glad.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Green Dreams
Now that we (finally?) had our last snow of the year, it's time to start thinking about throwing that garden together here in Nebraska. I have only put in a garden twice "on my own," but this year, I'm thinking big (for us anyway)! So far, I'm thinking:
-Tomatoes (8 plants)
-Bell peppers (4 plants)
-Jalapenos (2 plants)
-Green beans (two rows)
-Sweet peas (two rows)
-Onions (two rows, one yellow, one red)
-Carrots (one row)
-Garlic (a bunch or two)
-Zucchini (one hill - never done this before!)
-Watermelon (one hill - again, never done this before!)
Eventually I would like to grow corn, potatoes, and strawberries, but I think I already have enough (plus it takes a year or two for strawberries to really get going). I am thinking I will probably have to do all of the canning/preserving on my own since I'm further from my parents now, so I'm hoping this is manageable. I am also thinking about trying to find some other women with gardens to get together at the church for a big canning day, but I'm not sure if I know anyone who would be interested.
The next step is to mark out our garden spot and start tilling. We have two pickup loads of compost ready to be tilled in, then a fence to build. Then it will finally be time to plant. I love the process, every part of it, including the weeding. :)
-Tomatoes (8 plants)
-Bell peppers (4 plants)
-Jalapenos (2 plants)
-Green beans (two rows)
-Sweet peas (two rows)
-Onions (two rows, one yellow, one red)
-Carrots (one row)
-Garlic (a bunch or two)
-Zucchini (one hill - never done this before!)
-Watermelon (one hill - again, never done this before!)
Eventually I would like to grow corn, potatoes, and strawberries, but I think I already have enough (plus it takes a year or two for strawberries to really get going). I am thinking I will probably have to do all of the canning/preserving on my own since I'm further from my parents now, so I'm hoping this is manageable. I am also thinking about trying to find some other women with gardens to get together at the church for a big canning day, but I'm not sure if I know anyone who would be interested.
The next step is to mark out our garden spot and start tilling. We have two pickup loads of compost ready to be tilled in, then a fence to build. Then it will finally be time to plant. I love the process, every part of it, including the weeding. :)
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Welcome...
to my pantry! I am loving the ample room I have for storage in this pantry, and I'm finally able to start buying some organizational products to keep it tidy. I debated on going with the OXO pop storage containers that my parents have and love, but decided on the Rubbermaid ones (they're cheaper at Walmart though). They are awesome! They stack well, are labeled with the number of cups it holds, and I like the red lids. :P
It is still a work in progress, I have another 20 or so to buy (I didn't want to spend a ton of money on them before I knew I liked them), but I'm really excited about having all of my dry food stored properly. Lame, I know! I also need to sort through my pantry to get rid of things like this:
Six year old peach juice anyone?
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Mini Market Tote
I whipped this up (quite literally, it was such a quick project!) yesterday while the baby napped, and I'm so in love with it that I could make about five or ten more pretty darn quick.
Seriously! How cute is that? Here is the tutorial I used, from Chubby Hobby. I thought the tutorial was a teeny bit confusing, but probably because I use iron-on interfacing and she used sew-on.
Anyway, the bag is adorable. I originally made it to have a small tote to carry all of my reusable shopping bags in, but it just happened to fit the portable DVD player (that we needed some sort of bag for anyway) perfectly, so now I need to make another one.
**Edit: I wanted to also add that I used two 1/3 yard pieces of fabric and chunks of leftover interfacing, so I'm not sure how much exactly I used.**
Anyway, the bag is adorable. I originally made it to have a small tote to carry all of my reusable shopping bags in, but it just happened to fit the portable DVD player (that we needed some sort of bag for anyway) perfectly, so now I need to make another one.
**Edit: I wanted to also add that I used two 1/3 yard pieces of fabric and chunks of leftover interfacing, so I'm not sure how much exactly I used.**
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