Been busy

Somehow in between packing, normal daily duties, chasing around Sass and my never ending craft projects I keep accumulating, I found the time to scrap a page for Sprout's scrapbook. This is from our 3D Ultrasound appointment.

I also finished the door markers for Sass and Sprout, here is the completed one for Sprout.

I can't wait for us to move in so I can set up both of their rooms! I will be cutting it pretty close though, seeing as I am headed toward my 33rd week already and we have a couple weeks before we move in! I really am blessed that this has been a pretty easy pregnancy and I can move around and do things pretty normally, despite having a big ol' child growing in me. :)

Yesterday morning Sass came into my room, looked out the bedroom window and yelled, "It's raining out! OH! There is jumpy squirrel!". Now what is odd about this you might think?? Well...I was still in bed and that woke me up, therefore meaning it wasn't I who got Sass out of her crib! She calmly let herself out!  So we decided maybe it might be time to be in a big girl bed. Surprisingly, after only 20 minutes and having to put her in bed twice, she fell asleep..............in her bed! She was really thrilled that she is a "big girl" and not a baby anymore who has to sleep in the crib. Funny, that mentality worked for her pacifier and sleeping in a bed, but does not phase her with potty training. :) Perhaps she must still like to be a baby in that aspect.

Her cousin Ava is 8 months older than she is, and she is coming to visit in July, I am hoping when Sass sees her going in the potty like a big girl she will have more interest in it. I still attempt everyday, but she gets upset and the last thing I want to do is push her and set us back even further. Kids can regress when a little baby comes around anyway, so I might as well just wait till after Sprout is here.

Well.......I have things I need to take care of, we have a craigslister coming to pick up a changing table I am selling today so I need to make sure it's all ready to go. Later blog world. 

I ♥ faces challenge again!

This week is all about smiles!  I have many beautiful smile pictures of my daughter, it is hard to pick just one. Her smile brightens my day and I am so blessed to be able to see it every single day. I hope you enjoy the picture I picked for this challenge. 

I also decided to try out a retro edit as well.

 click the button below to see other entries and even enter your own!

I'm in my 8th month...

Hard to believe how fast this pregnancy is going by. Maybe it's because it has been a very uneventful, easy pregnancy (knock on wood) or that I have a very busy toddler to chase around, or that I can still walk and function pretty much like always and still get my sleep? Who knows, but all I know is that it is sneaking up on me, and FAST. How soon it will be and little Sprout will be here, I am excited and also nervous. Nervous because I am hoping we have everything ready before she comes....we have a lot to do from now until then and honestly, it kind of scares me.

We are closing on our house on May 13th and are planning on moving in that weekend and a couple days after that, and then cleaning this house and getting it ready for inspection. All the meantime I will be even farther along and having to keep an eye on Sass the whole time. Times like this I wish we had friends or family in the area who would be able to help out. I suppose I am used to going at things along, but it sure would be nice.

I really want to set up Sprout's room, I really can't wait, but so much still needs to be done! I was going to order her crib off online last night just to notice it is out of stock online! GRRR!! Why did I wait?? I have no idea, but I don't know if it's coming back, so I either wait and hope it does, or run the risk of not ordering my second choice and that one disappearing as well.....and of course we still have to factor in shipping times.

We have nothing bought by the way, nothing.....we only have the things we have left over from Sass. So we have the car seat and clothes and bedding and stuff. But as far as other things I'd like to have, we need to get. Crib, mattress, swing, double stroller, bottles, BFing storage bags, pack n play (since the one we had with Sass has been recalled, not to mention she put holes in the mesh....), and just things like that.

I have been working hard on her decorations for her room. I just primered one of her things a while ago and it's outside drying, I still have to finish her mobile and I keep forgetting to buy fishing line when I am at Walmart!!! I worked on their door name markers last night, almost done with them. I need to put her letters together and do their frames. Not to mention finish the cabinet AND refinish the dresser...on top of packing this house, moving unpacking at the new place and getting it all set up!  

Well if I continue feeling really good this pregnancy, I shouldn't have too many issues working and doing all the stuff that needs to be done. Fingers crossed! Well....as Sass is still napping, I might as well finish up some of my crafts. Later blog world!

Fix it Fridays (2)

Here is my second time attempting the Fix it Friday's Challenge over at i{heart} faces.

Here is the original

and here is my edit.

I use Photo Shop CS3. I used the naked action from AMP and tweaked a few of the settings. I mainly used it to help keep a clean edit. I then lightened the skin under the eyes, brightened and sharpened the eyes and tweaked the contrast to the whole picture. When it was all done I flattened the image and sharpened it a bit.

I wanted to keep the picture natural and just brighten eyes and brighten up the pic overall. Hope you enjoy!

Collage contest at i{heart} faces

Hello blog land.

I tried taking Easter pictures of Sass today (late I know, but she is very moody when it comes to pics! :) ), VERY unsuccessful might I add, but I decided what I did get, I'd edit and put into a 3 pic collage for the i {heart} faces contest. So enjoy!! :)  **I really should have edited these all at one time, not separately, but I was just trying out an edit and not actually done with them yet, but still wanted to enter the contest. Hope ya don't mind!! :P **

Come on over to i heart faces and join in on the fun, just click the button below!

I've been crafty!

Wow do I have my hands full! I have decided to make a lot of things for Sprout's nursery, and I am really excited about how it is all turning out.

Since her room is a more elegant theme, I figured I was free to do pretty much anything I wanted since I have no theme to tie me down, like...lady bugs or a pattern specific theme. Her bedding is pink and white minky dot, and I am accenting the room with Sage green.

The furniture will be white and I am attempting to furnish out her nursery relatively inexpensive as well.

So I have been looking at hundreds of sites trying to get some inspiration of how I want her room to look. I found several ideas that will make her room look classy and elegant and not cost me a fortune!

I am creating a canopy out of an old window scarf in sheer white that I have had for years. I am also making her mobile that will hang from the top of the canopy rod.

It will be two tiered and decked out in white pink and sage and let me tell you, so far it is really turning out, and the best part? I am making it for under 10.00, but will look much more expensive! Very custom and will match perfectly.

I am also refinishing this old cabinet I have that was green and had wallpaper stuck to it, talk about UGLY! I wish I took a before pic, it was just hideous. But with some white paint and new hardware, this baby will hold extra baby wipes, powder and other items.

We bought a vintage looking dresser off Craigslist today that will just go perfectly with her room....with some help of course. I really wanted a longer dresser, but I have had no luck in finding one. So I am thinking this will do just fine. I will sand it down, primer it and paint it white and add new handles and there you have it!

As I was searching the internet tonight on the best ways to re-salvage furniture, I ran across a blog that mentioned she gets her items for CHEAP at a place called Habitat for Humanity ReStores. So....curious, I looked them up and guess what??? There is one RIGHT BY MY HOUSE! I am so excited, if I find as good of deals as this lady does, I am going to be in HEAVEN. So Sass and I are going to pack up, head over and see if I can find the type of dresser I really would like. If I cant, I am still happy with my purchase today, BUT, if I can find what I want, I will just use the dresser we got today for something else.

So in my next posts I will add pics of the progress of all the things I am working on. So far, this is what is on my plate, and being the true Gemini I am, I keep adding more to it, before I finish what I already have. The excitement just takes over!

-Dresser refinish
-Cabinet refinish
-Three tiered frames decorated from scratch (paint, ribbon, embellishments) for both girls.
-Wall letters
-Canopy (really just need to buy hardware to hang, maybe some embellishments, havent decided)
-Crib mobile
-House shelf (paint and trim with ribbon)
-Door name plaques for both girls


Once I complete that, I'd like to finish up and start on...
-bow holders for both girls, or just one and put it in their bathroom
-alphabet flashcard wall art (needs to just be printed and mounted on canvas or something)
-string up the  butterfly and dragonfly mesh things I have had for years in Sass's room.
and a few more wall art designs I have seen in my travels!

I am going to be VERY Busy, not to mention, we are moving in a few weeks to our new place and I need to PACK this house! Time is approaching rapidly and its time to get moving! Oh, and did I mention I only have 10 more weeks till Sprout is born?? Yah, so.......here is to all my projects and I hope I get them done quickly.

Check back to see my progress!

It's Thursday!

I trust everyone had a great Easter Sunday....or whatever it is you do, I hope it was a nice day!

The weather here has just been gorgeous, though it is raining at this moment, the smell and the nice temperature coming in my windows, coupled with the fan blowing in just heaven for me. Today was on the rather warm side.

On Saturday (3rd) we got to peak at little Sprout in there! She is just adorable, and very similar in looks to her big sister Sass! I must admit I make cute babies! She had all her limbs in her face, getting some real good shots of her fingers and toes, but not so much of her cute chubby face, so the owner told us to come back Wednesday for a free session to get better results.

Wed, she was a lot further down, so her little nose was squished, but she only had 1 arm in her face and 1 foot, so it was a success compared to Saturday, we got another disk full of cute images I couldn't wait to show off. She is a chunky cutie in there for sure!

More Sprout news, she actually has a name now, but we are keeping it secret from family and friends...though hubby and I thought this would be a fun thing to do....we seem to be the only ones who think so.

I got some nice pictures of the Cherry Blossoms, and let me tell you, they bloom and go away VERY fast. The next day, passing the same tree, you wouldn't have known it. What once had pretty pink blossoms, now is covered in green leaves. We never did make it down to DC for the festival. Honestly, we didn't want to deal with the huge crowd, but I do want to attempt the parade this Monday.

I have been trying to think of ideas for Sprout's nursery, I went to the craft store and got some things I'd like to make, but honestly I am kinda getting a headache. Time is coming down to the wire and we still need to pack this house, move in there, unpack, have things ready in time in case she comes early (I only have another good 10 weeks or so left), we haven't even bought her her crib yet, or any furniture....we just have a lot to do.

I have been trying to save money, and also eating healthier. I need to get a system down..make charts or something, I have a lot of plans, but I am kinda at a loss for follow through.

Sass and I were out of the house for 6 hours today! We went to Walmart to return some craft items I no longer needed that I recently bought and got the correct size for Sprout's 4th of July outfit that matches Sass's, and got Sass a new outfit that had her favorite princess Ariel on it for 6.00. She grows so fast, I feel like I am always buying her new clothes.....ooooh that's right, I am. :)

Well I am 29.5 weeks along, and I still feel pretty good for the most part. I have my days (like tonight, I was a bit worn out and tired from running around for 6 hours) but usually I feel good. I can still sleep, have no real bad aches and pains, and I have only gained about 15-16lbs or so, so I don't walk funny or anything yet ahaha. But Sprout is real low down, so I can feel some pressure to where it sometimes hurts to walk a lot, but this pregnancy is a cake walk compared to being pregnant with Sass!

We are going to some places this weekend to get what we need for Sprout, we have most things from Sass left over, but some new things are needed. I want to go to Ikea and this unfinished wood store to check out their prices. I might have to order the crib from online since I doubt the stores around here carry what I want. Figures.

Well, I have been looking up how to make my own jam, and fruit roll-ups and I am going to be making our own bread here soon too...so I need to get back to that and the coupon sites...So until next time!

Fix it Fridays

This is my first attempt at Fix it Fridays on I {heart} faces. And oops...I didn't download the larger file, so...this isnt as high quality as it should be. :(



First I used Light room and I tweaked the exposure, brightness and contrast a little bit. I then moved the picture over to PS CS3 and sharpened it, a little levels tweaks and then added a vignette. Its a simple edit, nothing real fancy. Hope you enjoy it.

Original

My Edit

It ended up being a beautiful day!

What a beautiful day it was today. I love when the temperature is just right, not hot, not cold, but comfortable.....but today could have ended up not so beautiful, and it almost did.

Today was just an ordinary day, we woke up, had breakfast and we were getting ready to go for a walk and to the park. Sass has been asking about the park for days, and now that the rain went away and it was warm and sunny, I couldn't pass it up.

So again, like usual, we were upstairs, I was looking in my closet for something to wear. With me getting bigger by the day, it takes a good while to find something that fits and looks decent. Sass in the meantime was running around like usual, looking at her books and leaving them on the floor, playing with the flashlight, which when she was done, laid it on the floor still turned on.

I can here her singing and talking like usual, I glance out my closet door periodically to check on her. Well I had just looked at her and she was ok, so back in the closet I go. But just then, something told me to look at her again, and as I did, Sass not 2 feet away from me, has managed to unscrew the metal door stop out of the wall and was about to stick the screw into the electrical outlet. I got to her just in time before she managed to stick it in, I literally grabbed it out of her hand as it started to go in. The events that could have happened keep replaying in my mind and it scares me so much. My precious baby could have been seriously injured, or worse....

Today was just an ordinary day, and how fast it all could have changed.....the flashlight she had moments before was still on the floor switched on, the book she was reading was still in the same spot she had left it, and my world could have been shattered in that one second. I have to thank God for this one...because I do believe he told me to look at her again.

We have the outlet covers in the house, they cover the walls in the living room, the kitchen, her room...everywhere, except our bedroom. She isn't in there that long, but you can bet that every single outlet in this house will have a cover on it. I will take no chances of an incident like that happening again.

But since my day was saved, Sass and I finished getting ready and off we went.

The fruitless pear trees down my block are in full bloom.....

unfortunately. I say unfortunately because of the terrible odor those beautiful trees put out, but they are pretty nonetheless so I had to take some pictures of them, because before long, those blossoms will be replaced by ordinary leaves.

Sass has this thing with not cooperating with the camera, fact is, she hates it. If I manage to get a smile from her, or even a head on shot, I am either just lucky, or I caught her off guard. Like here, she knew I was trying to take her picture, I had to yell, "BIRD!" and she looked up at me for one split second.

She will look every way but at me when she knows I have it, resulting in a lot of candid photos...which is nice to have an all, but sometimes I would like that big cheesy grin! I suppose though I can settle on all the side shots I have of my beautiful girl.

She was excited as we pulled up to the park....but she only went down the slide once.

All it took was one little shock from static electricity to put her off,

so she spent the rest of the time picking up rocks and sticks from the ground. Oh yes, and trying to play with birds. She loves birds and always asks to play with them. As they flew off, frightened by a charging toddler, she yells at them, "Come back birds! Come back!". It's so sweet watching my child play. Words can't express how much love I have for her.

After the park we went to subway where she surprisingly ate her whole meal! She and food have had an on and off again relationship the past few weeks, it thrills me to no end that they are back "on" again. Then it was off to walmart where we'd spend the next 2 hours walking up and down the isles.

I got her a couple big girl purses, she likes to be like mama, and she couldn't choose between the pink one with a heart or the one with monkeys so.....she now has them both. She places one purse on each arm and proceeds to yell for several isles, raising one arm..."this one has hearts," then the other, "this one has monkeys". Though those two purses she seemed to enjoy so much were thrown in the cart once we went down the bubble isle. She now is also the proud owner of a new bubble wand. 

Alas, we get home, hubby is already here and I finish up on dinner. We end the night by watching New Moon and now here I am, the house is quiet and I get some me time to edit some pictures and blog.

Tomorrow I am going to attempt to take Sass to see the Easter bunny, she flips her lid even at the mere mention of her Easter dress, so I am curious on how this will end up. So with that, I am off for the night! Goodnight blog land.