A Baby is Coming!

I am so excited! Nikolai has been a part of the baby thing too. We had our first ultrasound on the 13th (a while ago, I know). He was there to hear the baby's heartbeat, all of our first times hearing it. Well, that is not the reason for this post. It is for the different pictures we had taken to announce that a baby is coming! I found most my ideas by searching in Google Images. Sadly, I did not save a lot of the pictures and am having a hard time finding them. But it was so fun taking pregnancy announcement photos with my friend's Becka and Mike at Fannon Photography.

Nikolai's Shirt

Before I talk about Christmas, because it was crazy and we still aren't finished celebrating yet, I want to talk about Nikolai's shirt from the last post, Holiday Family Portraits. Yes, we still aren't finished celebrating yet. My niece was in California spending time with her Dad, step-mom, half-brothers and half-sister. So we were waiting to finish celebrating when she returned to Arizona. :)

Now, on to his shirt...

Holiday Family Potraits

I love my friends Becka and Mike. They are amazingly awesome people with some fantastic kiddos. I cannot believe how big their two little ones are (not so little any more!), one is now a teenager and the other has entered double digits! Oh my goodness! I wish we could see them more often! I cannot wait until the closing on this new house. A firepit in the back means marshmallows! :)

Nikolai is 2!

Saturday, our little boy turned 2! Reminiscing about 2 years ago, how at this time we were still in the hospital thinking we may be able to get out of there by Christmas (which didn't happen) and how new and different things were going to be. We remembered Nikolai coming into the world, and had people over to celebrate his birthday in the comfort of our own home (which I prefered much better than last year's cold wetness at the park!

... I also totally loved our cake again this year! Having the cricut is awesome! :)

Almost Here...

Christmas is almost here, and with that Nikolai's birthday! So it has been pretty crazy around here just trying to clean house before Saturday. Brandon is super stressed because he does not want to have the birthday part at the house. I don't feel like planning and paying to have it somewhere else. So here at the house we are currently in is where it will be, on Saturday. So soon...

Things are busy... Just an Update

I don't have anything for pictures on this post. Just trying to get things updated and out there for now. I feel like I haven't posted anything in forever, but it has only been a little longer than a week. Things have been a little hectic crazy, though it is not like we have been super busy or anything. It's just felt hectic crazy! I haven't done any crafting. :(

Happy Thanksgiving! 2012

I was really concerned about Thanksgiving this year. I felt so bad because we had made a decision to make dinner at our house instead of doing the tour de turkey that usually takes place. I felt even worse because as the day drew nearer and when the day finally began I felt I hated the holiday. How horrible, my once favorite holiday and I just could not bring myself to feel thankful, joy or happiness that it was here! Of course now I feel it was a great day and went better than I could have hoped. But isn't that how things seem always in retrospect? If you have to travel all over the place, how do you do it? Or if you made the decision to stay put, how did you come to that decision?

Printable Alphabet Cards

If you don't recall, I had a post a while ago about Alphabet Flash Cards I made for Nikolai. And he really loves them!

 

Well, a family member requested that I scan in the cards so she could have them too. Maybe I should have offered to make them for her? But instead I canned them into the computer. I did not have an X at that point in time and thought this might give me an opportunity to create and X card. Though it is not a cricut card, it is still an X card...

UFO Sunday

Well, I am not feeling quite in the mood to work on a project at the moment and I slightly discussed that in my earlier post.  But I will share some update of the Jelly roll project that I have going on. If I can get my pictures off my phone! Silly technology!

Happy Veteran's Day!

I want to thank our Veterans for serving our country. They do what so many others could and would not do. As a country, we would not be where we are today if it was not for them.

But I also want to take this moment to think about those veterans that are no longer with us.

*silence*

Happy Friday!

And I am excited because it is a long weekend, no school on Monday! And then next week it is Thanksgiving and we are thinking of just having dinner here! Instead of going everywhere, driving from one end of town to the other, and skipping naps. Well, this is just us as far as we know right now. It is going to be interesting.

 

Nikolai's birthday invitations need to go out by not this Monday, but the following Monday. Ack! That gives me one week to put them all together! I can do it. I can do it... It is going to sneak up on me before I know it though!

Could be better

...and in more ways than one.

I could be feeling at the tippy top. But no, I had to fall sick on Tuesday with something funky. Don't know what and I am glad that it is pretty much over. Just the exhaustion that comes from having a fever. Yuck!

 

Luckily little man hasn't gotten sick! Keeping fingers crossed that it stays that way! And my Dad, he was kind enough to take of Nikolai while I was sick, and was the one that suggested I stay home on Tuesday. Good thing too, I would not want to have to run to a bathroom in the middle of a lesson, or use the classroom trash can in the middle of a lesson. Kids and teachers don't need to experience that. But it is ok, because I feel much better now, just not super. I was even able to work on piecing! :)

UFO Sunday

I have been taking a break from almost anything crafty. I finished Nikolai's quilt. That was a huge accomplishment for me. I started the Christmas pants, but I ran out of elastic because of the Halloween costumes. Guess I will have to go get more or remove the elastic from my Halloween pants to cut and use for Nikolai's Christmas pants.

Friday Happiness VI

Well, despite the fact that we are still waiting word from the bank about the house that we put an offer on, I am glad for a good nights sleep!

 

After what felt like forever, Nikolai has finally slept a full night without waking and crying at some point! I am assuming it was allergies and teething. He is getting molars and I hear those are doozies for little ones when they come in.

 

I also had a fairly decent week at work too. I took Tuesday off to be with little man, and that was a much needed day off. We spent a lot of time together and even though I did not feel rested after returning back to work Wednesday, I found I was in a much better mood.

Happy Halloween: Pirates

Pirates for Halloween!

I am very excited about the costumes though. I think they turned out pretty good. Of course, the shirts and Brandon's pants were used for our Viking costumes from last year, and the fabric for Nikolai and my pants were from the leftover fabric from last year. Too bad this will probably be Nikolai's last time wearing that shirt. Two years was a pretty good run. I think we got lucky that it fit this year! :)

Friday Happiness V

Stresses aside, Nikolai is such a funny little boy. He makes everything totally worth it.

 

Right now we are refusing a bath of any kind. Maybe because it is a little chilly in the house this morning. Maybe we are entering a preference for dirt phase. I don't know, but it sure is hilarious.

Tough, Difficult Week...

There is no other way to say that. This week has just been one kind of week that I honestly feel I could have done without. That is aside from a few things. I could have done without a lot of it.

 

 

I feel that I need to get it out today. Vent it out. Let it go. Release the tension, stress, anxiety and everything else that went on this week.

 

Take into consideration my work schedule is 7:50-12:30 Monday through Thursday...

Jelly Roll: the first blocks

I have finally started the first blocks on the jelly roll quilt that I have been meaning to do. It is amazing how little time there is in the day! I feel so swamped and overwhelmed with work and IEPs and everything. Then to top it off, we are just playing the waiting game right now for the house. Short sales are so ridiculous. But, if all goes well and things go through, it would be so awesome to be able to actually use the craft room. Blocking it with a baby gate is just a big pain in the rear to get in and out. Not to mention the cat box nastiness just keeps us at bay anyway!

Friday Happiness IV

Aside from FINALLY finishing Nikolai's Quilt, there is much to be happy for this week... (Cause I think finishing it was last week, but I cannot remember at this moment...)

Sleeping Bag Liner

One other thing I wanted to have done before the camping trip was a sleeping bag liner. My sad little sleeping bag is only rated to 40 °F. It was a quick cheap replacement for a sleeping bag that got lost in a move around 3.5 years ago. Of course that sleeping bag had been around since the early 90's and it was time for retirement anyway.

Nikolai's Quilt: Finished

What can I say! I am so excited! I have finally finished Nikolai's quilt. My first ever blanket that I have free motion quilted on and I think it looks great! Even the binding looks good, the best I think I have done out of all the things I have done.

The best part, Nikolai likes it. It is his 'star' blanket because one of the blue fabrics has stars on it, and there are several friendship stars in it as well.

Friday Happiness III

I feel I have to make up for missing a Friday. But I missed it because of vacation! And, it was Nikolai's first airplane ride! To make it even better, he loved it!

Ups and Downs were accompanied by ooh's and aaah's. He would open his mouth when we asked him to, and that later became a game (I think that he figured out it was a good thing).  And, I got to see my cousins! A bummer they live all the way on the other side of the country. It just means we get to travel to visit, and travel to someplace entirely outside our desert norm. :)

 

But this Friday we leave for camping. Two vacations in one week? How lucky are we? So exciting!

A shawl...

I am late posting an update on UFOs... Only because I was so busy yesterday with my Mom working on a little something special and we also did the BOM's October Block, Friendship Circle. Paper Piecing! :)

 

And, I actually haven't even touched another project really. Well, aside from planning out the blanket I wanted to use the jelly roll for, you can read more on that here.

Friday Happiness II

Happy Friday!  I am so glad it is Friday, and that Friday is my day off! Hurrah for being only part-time! Sometimes I wonder if I could survive a full day of teaching, and a full week! It just works out so perfectly because I can go teach, and then I can come home and play with my little boy (who currently wants to play by himself right now). So, extra bonus? I get some temporary 'me' time! :)

I have really been looking forward to these Fridays!

Planning, First Jelly Roll...

Well.. I did a practice piece for the jelly roll quilt and I love how cute it looks! I love having used scraps and thanks to Leah and her comment on my Where to Start? post, I was able to start there!

I have to say that I am just ecstatic about how it looks! I love it! I went kind of flying geese like on this because I am not really sure how else to tackle the size without loosing fabric to seams. And I found a pretty nifty chart (because I was thinking 4.5 was too big for the top and bottom). You can go to  Flying Geese Size Requirements and it lists the cuts for a finished geese from .5x1 to 4x8.. :)

The Literary Reader - Multicultural Titles

I am trying to develop a list of Must Read Books..

 

Mostly childrens books because 1) my son, and 2) my teaching..

 

I have found this awesome website called Paper Tigers and their blog is fascinating! Here is another cheer to the wonderful world of Blog-dom and Social Networking!

 

This website is focused on multicultural works for children. Now, one sometimes needs to be warry of multicultural children's books as they are not true to the different cultures. Authors perspective plays a HUGE roll in books. We learn that in school, to watch our perspective in our own personal writing, we have to be careful of other people's writing too.

 

This blog is awesome in that they have book reviews and suggestions for you! Of course, their website is even more informational! But, you'll just have to check it out for yourself! ;)

 

And so I begin my list by what I think sounds interesting...

 

The Tiffin - By Mahtab Narismhan

Where To Start? First Jelly Roll

I am really liking these UFO Sunday posts on Free Motion Quilting! This week I have a question!

I won this awesome fabric from swimbikequilt.com for promoting their 100 quilts for kids charity event and I have been trying to decide what to do with it! It is Fox Trails by Riley Blake and it is just so cute! I love the soft colors and the fun prints! But, I have been trying to decide what to do with this! This is my first jelly roll and I hate wasting fabric. I am not sure exactly how far this will go. Usually I just cut and sew from yardage!

But I can say that I am really looking forward to actually getting something made with this! :) Not to mention the learning experience that goes with it!

Friday Happiness

The stress continues, but I spent this whole week just thinking, "ooh, this is Friday Felicity worthy!"...

7 little teefers

I am so g;ad that Nikolai likes brushing his teeth. I know this wont last forever, and expecially since now he has 7, (yay for 7 teeth!) we really want to keep these teeth clean, happy and healthy. I will usually try to get the actually brushed before he takes over, because then I know they actually got the toothbrush to them! LOL. But he really likes to copy Momma and Dada when brushing his teeth! :)

My Listed UFOs

So, following this Sunday thing of unfinished objects, I have started taking pictures and trying to remember what it is that I have yet to finish. I figure that Nikolai's quilt no longer counts as a UFO and instead a WIP. Don't worry. I will post updates on his quilt later. I have 1/6 of the quilting on the inside to do, quilting the borders then the binding! Yay! Thanks for your comments, it has made the process so much more fun! Nikolai and I sing and dance (as well as I can seated anyway) to the kids station I have through Pandora. I think he is as excited as I am!

The Happiness Advantage - Friday Felicities

Don't you just love the blogging and social networking world! Isn't it amazing that you can seem to find certain things right when it seems you need them the most?

 

I came across Hoosier Toni's post Friday Felicities in my news feed in blogger and opened it. I will be honest I do not always read every blog post that pops up in my news feed, But this one caught my attention and led me to Felicity Quilts and something she does every Friday called Friday Felicities.

 

 

Well, it peaked my interest. Especially how my last couple of weeks had gone and I had to look into it. Felicity, over at Felicity Quilts will post about what she is thankful for (i.e. gratitudes) every Friday to keep things positive. She had gotten her idea from The Happiness Advantage.

Nikolai's Quilt: The Quilting Starts

I said that I needed to post updates and progress on this quilt. (it has been about 1.5 years since starting this thing), and I said I would link up with Free Motion Quilting.com... So I need to stick with that because this needs to get done...

 I started it, my first time free motion quilting a quilt. The quilting part is more for the back than anything else, and I am sort of wishing that I used a light colored thread... But Brandon likes it, and Nikolai keeps wanting to touch it.

Cool Finds and Juice Boxes

Well, the juice box thing is a little old. I just have not yet shared it with you yet. This is partly because I have forgotten and partly because I have not taken the time to go through the pictures that I have of him.

Nikolai's Quilt

Nope. It is not yet finished. Still rolled up and waiting to be quilted...

Here it is from January before I officially moved it off of the project wall, layered it with batting and the backing, only to have rolled it up and let it sit in the craft room for the last 8 months...

Finished Octagonal Placemats

Oh my gosh! This has been a project for a long time! I shared the picture of my first time free motion quilting with my darning foot in this post My Second Quilt Plan back in March. So this has been at least since then! And looking at my pictures, it was put together in February! I had posted them on Craftsy.com then Craftsy - Octagon Placemats. I guess considering it has taken me over 6 (7?) years to finish a blanket I have been trying to crochet, 6 months isn't that long to finish a project!

A Nice Little Reminder...

A few weekends ago, I was so stressed. It was the beginning of school and I trying to figure out about converting my provisional teaching certificate into a regular one (I have just been calling it a real one). I was trying to find out about what I needed to convert it into a real one. Of course that is a story all on it's own...

Alphabet Flash Cards

I have so much that I need to share, and it is probably going to take me more than all weekend to get it all out. Not too much special stuff going on right at this moment, but everything that has to do with little man is always special! :)

A New Year...

School year, that is... And it has begun, my first week is all said and done.

I have some great stories. They range from one of my cases (charge?) stating what they did that cause the group work to not get done (let alone started) and trying to fix it to literally falling on the floor with laughter.

I love it. I love the kids, the teachers, the energy, the freshness of the new year and the eagerness to the new start. There is something freshly sharpened pencils and unused erasers that is exciting. The smell of new books and paper fill the classroom (before lunch) adds to the new year energy.

I am amazed at the difference between my 4th, 5th and 6th graders. The amount of maturity my 4th graders have gained before starting this year as 5th graders is amazing! They aren't the little kids they were before. It is incredible the difference that one year has made for these guys.

Then I read a post on a blog that I follow and feel like I am going to cry. I see this title I Cried Today on my blog list under Old Red Barn Co. and I feel my eyes burn a little. I have cried little for leaving my little guy to go to work. It is a necessity. I need to work, and I like to think that these kids need me. I can see these how much these students have changed over the summer and I find it wonderful. I see my little guy change every day. And it adds to my excitement.

But, my little guy is staying at home. I am the one going to school. In a way, I'm missing this precious time with him. He is growing up so fast. Before I know it, he will be one of those 5th graders awing a teacher at the difference by the growth that takes place over the year.

I cannot help but feel a little bit of sadness that time is passing, things are changing, and my little guy is growing up.

I saw parents faces as they watched there little kids go to school. Another year gone, another year older, and where has the time gone? I am looking in the monitor and see a little boy that takes up (it seems) more than half the length of the bed. He is growing bigger. Already a year and a half. Where has the time gone?

It is amazing how fast the time goes when changes happen right before our eyes...

Potty Training...

Begins...

Yesterday...

Nikolai woke up with a dry diaper. I was surprised because he had quite a bit to drink on Sunday. At least Sunday evening. And so I figured that it would be a great time to try setting him on his potty seat. We have one of those seats that sits on top of the regular potty. Well, he peed a couple drops. So, I decided to let him roam diaper free. Brave? We will see...

Dresden Fan Coaster

I found this awesome tutorial from Miss Print, and it is so cute! It's a Quilt as you go Hexie Coaster! I have the perfect fabric for it and I would love to have one on my desk at work. But, while I was getting ready, I figured I might try a dresden fan instead! I found some super cute fabric for a fan. Then I thought, Hey it works to have 2! I can trade them out for washings! :)

Pictured Animals

Nikolai seems to really love animals! He can call several by name, and make sounds for them. I got him several little toy ones from Target and Michael's and they seem to be his favorite toys (that and his cars!)

Since I just found out that I may have to go into work THIS Thursday instead of NEXT Thursday, I am scrounging to complete crafts that I have been meaning to do but have been nesting on my craft table instead.

Card Mini Albums

I found, through someone's pin on pinterest, this awesome DIY for creating a mini album of your wedding cards! Something Turquoise - DIY Mini Card Album and it is such a great idea! I used this tutorial to make one of our wedding cards and one of the cards from the Baby Shower for Nikolai!

It was so fun going through all the cards we received from our wedding the the baby shower! It was a nice reminder of how many people love and support Brandon and I. I got kind of emotional (silly hormones) and had to give a hug to my hubby when he got home! :)

His First Haircut!

Before Haircut

We decided that his hair was getting kind of shaggy and sadly we were going to cut it. 19 months was a good run before cutting it. We just didn't want to loose his curls! We know they wont grow back, but it would be cool if they did! I wanted to cry afterward. He really doesn't look my baby, but a little kid!


After Haircut

Cost vs. Convenience



Ok, so I kinda talked a little about this on facebook, kinda. But, only a little... Through the Pinterest grapevine that is, I found this cool looking recipe for Personal Sized Baked Oatmeal Cups by Sugar-Free Mom. I thought this might be a better alternative to the Fiber One bars that Brandon had been taking to work with him, meaning cheaper and healthier (and healthier they are). Brandon thought the Fiber One bars would be cheaper, and I happened to disagree. So this became a "who is right" type thing. But, the fact that these are better for you and freezable made this worth it! And I have to say, yummy smelling and yummy tasting! :)

Happy 4th!

Even though it is 3 days later. I love fireworks, hotdogs, hamburgers, cars and celebrating the wonderful Independence Day.

We have been to Brandon's parents church these last few years, and L. Baker usually brings her Chevy Suburban. It is about a '70 something, but don't you just love that paint job? So festive! I had to take a picture of it this time around!

Striker Spacer (or) Door Jammer

Ok. So this is for the striker plate on a door. Well, more for the door and goes around the knobs to lighten the sound between the door and the striker plate. I have seen people make them from cloth, and I have seen crocheted ones that tie around the knobs to prevent kids from slamming doors. We need it for the morning/night when our door is closed.

A Type of Tote

Well, I got these two casserole carriers from my Grandma a little while back and they are so handy for carting casseroles to potlucks and such. I had been thinking of seeing if I can duplicate them (I don't think I am that great at crocheting). My mom wanted some for herself so I finally took my crochet hook clutch off the bookcase, picked out my largest hook that was not already wrapped up in another project (a blanket that is taking me 7+ some odd years and not near done), and we picked out what yarn colors she would like me to use from my basket. I like the color combos (don't they look fun?) and since making these, I can think of so many other uses for them!

18 Months

I cannot believe he is 1.5 years old already! He doesn't seem so much like a baby anymore and is such a little toddler, temper tantrums and all! I know I have probably said so many times that he isn't like a baby anymore, but he has been more and more like a toddler every day! Lately things are either cold, cute or cool. Things that he is not supposed to do he says, "it's fun". For things he doesn't want he just repeats, "no, no, no" and then comes the hitting. He has gotten better about the hitting though. That is, until Brandon gets home. At least the doctor (visited 6-22) is impressed. :)

Labyrinth Lap-Quilt Top

I have finished the labyrinth quilt top for a lap sized quilt and I thought the border was too dark as I was putting it on but now that it is pieced, I really like it! Cannot wait to get it sandwiched and quilted! I just don't have enough backing for it. :( It only took me about a week to put together. I am so proud of myself! The fastest I have put together a top! It is the first pattern/layout/ truly planned quilt I have done. I love the way that it looks!

His Room...

It was the other day, yesterday, Monday... I felt good to watch him, but sad at the same time.

I have no pictures. I didn't take any.

Dylan's Busy Book

I am so excited about how this turned out, and I even finished it by her birthday party! If you didn't see my fiasco of attempting to cut fabric with the cricut (testing it so I could make a quiet book), you can read those posts here for part 1, and here for part 2.It works, though I would make some changes. It looks so cute. I wish that I knew how well Dylan likes it. At least I know she uses it. My mom said she has difficulty pronouncing busy and it comes out as Disney. So she says Dylan's Disney book. Cute. If she asks for it, that must mean that she likes it right? Well, I also added two coloring book, 12 colored pencils, and a pack of 8 Ariel the little mermaid crayons that she colored with at our house. Gotta love stuff from the dollar bins at the stores! :) So I wrote down the measurements of the fabrics so I could share. :)

Itsy Bitsy Spider...Bite

Poor Nikolai. I have been on this cleaning kick since the summer has started. I need to get all caught up on the slacker I have been when it comes to cleaning and chores. And I have gotten a lot done; all caught up on laundry, getting there with the dishes, cleaned out the refrigerator, swept, mopped and sealed the floors (still dislike saltillo tile), and I have cleaned the litter box.

I Can't Believe She's 4!!

My niece... It was 4 years ago that we flew to California to see the little one for the first time. She was so tiny and so little. And now. She is 4!

It seems like little time has passed, like she should still be a baby. And we celebrated her birthday on Sunday. She blew out her candles, though the wind kept trying to do it for her. The kids had a piñata. Nikolai found that interesting. Dylan had fun opening up her gifts.

10 years ago....

It has been 10 years since I graduated High School! Crazy to think that it has been 10 years already!!

I know, I know... It really is not that long, but it is a mile marker non-the-less! This year will be our reunion too. That is kind of scary and kind of exciting all at once. I am looking forward to it. Really, I am!

So, in honor of it being 10 years, here is our senior class picture!

Mother's Day Weekend...

This last week was interesting with my Birthday, mother's day, quilting with my mom, being sick... Aside from the sick part it was pretty fun. I had an interview (yay), an IEP meeting, and we went to the movies. Not only that but we also bought a new (kinda, not really) car for Brandon. Busy week...

Cutting Fabric with the Cricut - Part 2

Ok. In my last post I mentioned that I was going to try to make a Quiet Book for my niece for her birthday. Well, you can go ahead and scratch that idea off the board. I have pretty much ruined a 12" x 24" cutting mat for my Cricut Expression because of mishaps with attempting to cut fabric with the darned thing. Don't get me wrong, I love my cricut. Not to mention the mistakes were entirely MY fault. Nothing to do with silly technology that can never seem to get anything right. No. The reason I am not doing the quiet book (for now anyway) is because I dislike applique so much! Something about going around small pieces of fabric on a slightly larger piece of fabric is so tedious and time consuming. I do not have the patience for it. I prefer the slightly larger projects. Who needs that bit of personalized embellishment? Ok... so it adds something.... But still... I guess I will continue on with how I have managed to ruin a bran-spakin-new 12" x 24" cutting mat... It all started with my great idea of cutting fabric...

Cutting Fabric with the Cricut - Part 1

Ok... My newest crafting idea involves the new "My Quiet Book" cartridge for the cricut and my niece's birthday (which luckily is in the end of May, and I have some time). And this means cutting fabric with the cricut! Scary! I'm scared I am either going to ruin the fabric, or ruin the stuff that goes with my cricut.

So Starts The Busy Month of May...

Today is Arbor Day. I did not plant a tree, nor did I do a lesson with my kids about Arbor Day or just about trees or nature. Nope. Instead we did the fun and awesome "Math Quest" with 4th graders (it has people talking about it). There was an observation and I was nervous even though it wasn't me getting the formal observation, but still I knew there would be some informal notes or something thrown in there...

But instead I am looking at this busy month and thinking regrettably, "when will it end?" and it hasn't even started yet.

Crayons!

What can I say? Nikolai really likes his crayons! He LOVES his crayons, especially to write on the wall with (no pictures for that though) so I try to keep him confined to his highchair when using his awesome, washable crayons! :)

A PBnJ Sandwich

Nikolai enjoyed his peanut butter and jelly sandwich! Or I should more appropriately call it a walnut butter and preserves sandwich! :)  I have to say that the cinnamon walnut butter was actually pretty good! Not to mention it is a great way to get in Omega-3's, some healthy oils and fats, protein, and don't forget the fiber!  I need to make more!

Sticker Organization!

I have been needing a better way to organize my scrapbook stickers. I have been using these containers, which seem to me more like page organizers for current projects (which is now what they are currently being used for). I was thinking something with tabs that I can put in my bookcase and see the categories that I have and can pull out what I want when I need it. But as I was walking through Target I realized I could probably do a binder and sheet protectors. That way they are all in one spot and I can grab what I want out of there when I need it. No need to be too complex.

PaciPouch

Yeah, I found this pacifier pouch idea online while skimming through something; Pinterest.com, Craftsy.com... I have no idea. But I loved it and immediately thought of one of my best friends that was supposed to have a baby at the end of March. (at the time it was spring break which was in the middle of March). So, I just had to try it! And, the best part was that it didn't take very long at all! I could totally knock out a ton of these in a day! :)

Hookin' a Clutch

Well, a crochet hook clutch that is...  I am so excited about this because I made it, by myself and without a real pattern. Umm.... actually, I did follow some things suggested in the tutorial over at Little Birdie Secrets, like the space between stitches for the hooks and needles, the button and loop... and that was about it.

A Bit of Crafts

I know I started this blog with all intention of documenting Nikolai's development, share growth, and all the fun things of a wonderful baby turning into the toddler and eventually growing into the person they will ultimately become. But I am feeling a bit selfish. I have all these ideas in my head and maybe I just need a place to store them? I can use that as an excuse, but I am just being selfish.

I don't know if this is because of all these wonderful craft blogs I have been reading (I may just list them on here for you all to look at too), or just because I have wanted to do this for some time. I have been reading all these wonderful blogs that I discovered through the craftsy website and their fun craftsy block of the month quilt along for beginners, and following links through pinterest to fun activities, patterns and other blogs full of fun ideas. I am being swarmed, no, bombarded with ideas and things that I want to do and I need a place to store and document what I have done so I can share with everyone and maybe inspire a mind or to as well.

Wait a second, isn't that what Craftsy and Pinterest are for? Maybe, but I think it would mean more for me if I can link it back to my blog here and share what and how I did the project rather than linking to what someone else has done. I have a lot of fun (and have waisted a ton of time) on those two websites because they are just so much fun!

I know I have added a few things on the blog already to share some ideas and some projects that I have done. I know that was not my original intention of this blog. So i am letting you know that it will occur more often, because I feel a need to share. I will be using this Nikolai space to also share my craft ideas. Selfish I know, but I think it will be fun. :)

Until next time,

Happy Blogging! :)

Happy Easter!!!

I think this counts as Nikolai's first real Easter. He was able to search for eggs, and partake of the kids enjoyment.   We decided that because Brandon wanted to go to the sunrise service at his parents church (which I had no idea it was outside, silly me), we needed decent and cute outfits for Easter. This meant a cute dress/skirt for me (one that Brandon does not think looks like a tablecloth), a cute shirt/pant combo for Nikolai, and a decent shirt for Brandon (he already has dress slacks). So we spent ALL day at the mall that Saturday. By the end, I was told that I need a girl-friend to do that stuff with because it was just aweful!

First Family Camping Trip

Well, about  a  two weeks ago (3/30-31/2012) we took our first camping trip as a family. Brandon and I had not been comping in so long and have been wanting to go on a trip for a while, but just figured it would be too difficult doing it with a little boy.  We were invited to parker canyon lake with some friends, so we got a new tent to house Brandon's air mattress and Nikolai's pack-n-play. It all fit into the 6 person tent pretty well, Nikolai slept the whole night through, and I nearly froze in the freezing weather. Thankfully Brandon has an awesome sleeping bag.