Projects

In between sewing and crafting baby things, I've been working on projects around the house. Yes, I have certainly been a busy bee! But I'm determined to get some of these things done 'cause if I can't do it with two little ones, I sure can't do it with three! I ran across a blog recently named "mommy by day, crafter by night" (at least I think that was it) and it's so true! Of course, I get a couple nap times during the week too when Will is occupied with other things. Anyway, on to the projects.
First is a behavior chart for Will. He's been in a funk lately and is just struggling to listen and follow basic rules that have been in place for awhile. He did this before Maggie was born too so hopefully it's a phase and he'll be back to normal after baby Jacob arrives. Until then, we instituted this behavior chart. I've really wanted one for a long time, but never got around to it. While perusing a link party one night, I ran across  Snickety Things blog whose author recently instituted her own chart and routine. This gave me some good inspiration and I was ready to tackle it. I used her idea for "working," "looking good" and "wow" plus her behavior categories, "chores," "room," "attitude" and "listening" but I'm not quite ready to institute a money reward system with Will and wanted to make a magnet board instead of the door hangers she used. I have been perusing thrift stores for awhile now in search of baby items and haven't had luck with those, but finally came across some other great buys for other projects, one of which was a frame for Will's chart. Here's what I came up with:

Three categories for behavior and four areas he's expected to behave, as mentioned above. I made the chart and smiley faces on the computer, printed them out and cut the faces. I thought a simple 'stop light' color code would work nicely, particularly because Will loves green and that's the best one to achieve. He has responded really well to this so far- having something visual helps both of us measure his progress/behavior throughout the day and he's well aware of the consequences for receiving reds and the rewards for receiving greens, particularly if he gets four of them. And he has a couple times- not surprisingly, the first time was when he spent the day with Daniel last week when I took Maggie to CRS.
So where's the magnet board I mentioned and the frame I bought at the thrift store? WELL, we bought a small piece of steel at Lowe's along with magnet tape, but the piece is too big for the frame. We thought it would be, but they don't cut the steel to size and I decided to get it on the premise that our friend, Brett, had something to cut it with. He doesn't. Well, Daniel thinks it works really well on the fridge, so I'll either return the steel or save it for another project. Hopefully I can use the fabric I cut to size for something else too. :)

This next project was completed last month but I haven't written about it yet. It's a camera purse and is inexpensive and super easy. These are all over the internet right now, but my original inspiration came from here. One of the things I miss most about my point and shoot camera is that it fit nicely in my purse and could go anywhere. When Will dunked it in water, I decided to save for a DSLR and about 9 months later had enough to purchase it! I love the camera, but it sure isn't space savvy like my little point and shoot. Many months ago I ran across this tutorial and knew I had to try it. Eventually I bought a purse, some foam and used fabric scraps to complete the purse. I didn't follow her tutorial exactly, in fact when the time came, I just winged it. I like hers better, so I may add more foam and update my purse. Here's what I came up with:

The best part was I wasn't worried about seams looking pretty or precise, I just closed the fabric around the foam- it's just sitting in the purse after all! I definitely recommend doing this, but follow her tutorial, it came out better than my "winging it" version! Come back soon to see some other projects I've recently completed!

Thankful Thursday- CRS

Child Rehabilitation Services, CRS, is a division of the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services (ADRS) and serves to assist families with getting equipment for their disabled children. Marliese told us about this shortly after Maggie's CP diagnosis- they only help with certain diagnoses- but it takes forever to get anything done. We had to be referred, fill out paperwork, have an interview and then get scheduled for a clinic where we visit CRS doctors/therapists so they can determine if she's eligible for the equipment we're asking for. In between all this, I made several phone calls asking if we were ready to take the next step. Marliese prepared me for all the hoops I'd have to jump through, but once Maggie's in the system, they cover the cost of equipment insurance doesn't cover. 

So, we finally went to our clinic last week- it's similar to a doctor appointment in that a lot of waiting is involved. We saw a nutritionist, speech-language pathologist, physical therapist and orthopedic doctor. The nutritionist gave me assurance that I'm doing well with her diet- she is small, only in 3% on the growth chart (which I think I've mentioned the pediatrician is always concerned about) but when you compare her weight to height, she's in the 20%, so that was nice to hear. Basically, she's a healthy weight for her height. The SLP actually said the words, "most likely she will talk" and augmentative communication devices will help with that. That is likely to be our next step with Sally, who has discussed this with me before, the communication sheets I've mentioned in previous posts are sort of the beginning of this. The PT and Ortho doc agreed she needs her own pair of AFO's/braces and recommended a gait trainer over a walker. We've used one before at therapy but have been using a walker more this year. The advantage of the gait trainer is that it straps her in, so she's more secure and independent. As she gets stronger, we can remove parts down to its base structure which is a walker. They gave me all the paperwork so this week or next we'll start the process of scheduling a fitting for her braces and ordering the gait trainer. Hopefully it won't take too long for everything to come in. I'd like her to have some practice in her new equipment before baby Jake arrives. 

I'm very thankful to have access to this service so that we can get the necessary tools to help our little girl develop and become independent, she sure wants it. I'm thankful, also, that our out-of-pocket expense in regards to the equipment should be very minimal. Living away from family certainly comes with challenges, but the more I deal with Alabama's Early Intervention system, with UCP and their child program- Hand in Hand the more I realize God has us here for a reason. AL has one of the best EI programs and all the resources connected to it- there's many states we could live in where we wouldn't have access to the quality programs and services they have available here. I'm thankful for God's wisdom when he placed us here. 

Waistline Wednesday- 32 weeks

Wow, only 8 weeks to go! It's been a couple weeks since I posted about my expanding waistline and the sweet, tiny little boy who resides in my womb. I'm happy to report I've made some preparation progress since my last post. I've finished bibs & burp cloths, bought a crib and finished wall letters for the nursery. I'll buy or make more bibs when he gets older, but I have enough for now and plenty of burpies. I finally found a crib on Craigslist, right before I was about to give up and buy a new one. I'm going to give a couple thrift stores and Craigslist one more go-around before I buy a new dresser. Once we have one, we'll be ready to set-up the room he'll be sharing with big brother Will. At that time, I'll reveal the pics of all the projects I've been working on. We officially agreed on the name we've been considering as a top choice for awhile, thus the finished bibs & burps. We plan to name him Jacob Daniel.
Dear baby Jacob,
Daddy plans to call you Jake, which means you'll eventually be just Jake. That's okay, though, we don't call Will William either. We thought about choosing Jake as your given name, but I really like Jacob, its biblical connection and its two syllables that are sometimes needed. You still move plenty and have seemed very active while I'm sewing- which has been alot lately- and when music is playing. Perhaps we have another music baby on our hands. But you're also active other times and your movements seem to be occurring later at night than they used to. I still enjoy feeling you move and grow inside me and love showing other people your movements. I often tell your brother, sister and daddy, "look, watch him move, he's all over the place in there!" Your siblings were also very active, so I think you'll fit right in. We look forward to meeting you little Jacob, Jakey-poo, won't be long now! Nursery reveal pics coming soon!

Craft room reveal

This has been a long time coming! I should really put craft room in quotes because our dining room has actually been converted to my craft room. Nonetheless. Last fall we ran across some cube storage solutions at Michael's and I told Daniel how nice it would be to have a craft room. He asked why we couldn't just convert the dining room- it was my craft area anyway, especially since I started sewing. He was immediately ready to go to work taking down my computer desk from the other room and moving everything around in the dining room. I, however, wanted to have a better idea where we were going, how much storage I needed and how to set up the room. I purchased cubes little by little as I could (during their 50% off sales) and acquired the last several with gift cards and Christmas money at the end of last year. So why the long wait after that? Well, there's a lot of little and big reasons but most were my uncertainty about what I wanted and how I wanted it.  But it's finished now!

What we originally started with:

Last fall Daniel did assemble the six cubes I was able to purchase, so things moved around a little. This is our 'before' the day of the move- I waited a little too long to take the before shots.

And the mess in between:

The after:

There are small changes I would like to make, but spacing issues made all our placement decisions necessary. In a perfect world, I would have my very own room- like a bedroom or large bonus room/basement space I could decorate and arrange to my hearts desires- but I'm happy to have a space, period. My hubs worked very hard to make this room happen for me and we made it work as best we could with the space we have available. Thanks babe, love you! Looks like some storage is too readily available:

Little moosie keeps crawling in and helping herself to my paper stash. Maybe one day she'll craft with mommy :)

Will the bicyclist

We gave Will a bike for Christmas for his 'big' gift. He's ridden it off and on since then- only a little during the winter months and some in the spring but was a little nervous. The last couple weeks he's gained some courage in that area and no longer needs me to hold on or walk beside him. Will is full on riding his bike big boy style! He wants to ride every day now and will go all the way down the street and back up by himself. I'm so proud of you little man!

 he prefers jumping off to turn around, but I'm sure

he'll get more confidence soon

 "I did it!!!"

T(wo) minus 2 months

Do you get it? Like, T minus 2 minutes. Anyway, Moosie turned 22 months the other day...that means only two more months 'til she turns 2! Can you believe that? I sure can't. I've started planning ideas for her party but haven't crafted anything yet.  What has Maggie been doing this past month? As I've mentioned before, her development is not as discernible as with typical children, always slow and steady. She's always been a pretty good communicator- pointing/looking at things and shaking her head yes or no when she couldn't say a word. But this past month she's been getting stronger, which could be contributed to the communication sheets I mentioned before. Whatever the reason, Maggie is making more sounds and babbling as if she's saying complete sentences. She regularly points out when things are "yuck" and says "uh" or "uh uh" for uh oh and says hot now. She'll tell me the car is hot and also that she wants a hot dog (just like brother) so she knows the difference as well. Maggie has been crawling and pulling up to high knees and a stand on furniture.   Her crawl is not a typical hands-and-knees one, but she gets around and can stand for a short time without assistance. Each month she gets more independent and can play more with big brother now:

 getting her hair wet. A few days before this, she filled

one of the rakes with water and splashed herself. I

wasn't able to get pictures, but she was soaked. Thus

a diaper only this time.

she loves smiling for the camera

 more smiles for the camera playing with the dollhouse

at Grandma & Paga's

 

 such a huge mess, but it's so fun and sweet watching

them play together side by side

 clean-up time!

So our sweet baby girl is still a hard worker- she doesn't fight me as much getting in the walker, so she may be able to walk with it independently soon. I love you my girl!

Waistline Wednesday- 29 weeks

Wow, like four weeks has gone by since my last 'baby belly' post! Since that time, I've had a birthday, went on vacation, had a surprise party and stayed pretty busy in between. What I haven't done, is make much progress preparing for this baby. Not from lack of trying, though. I've searched craigslist and went to thrift store after thrift store and have just not found what I need. We didn't have to buy furniture with the other two because the showers we had with Will and I used my childhood furniture for Maggie's room, plus Will's crib and changing table. Now we need a second crib and another dresser, so I'm trying to go secondhand to keep costs down. Hopefully I'll find what I want/need soon.

As for other baby projects, I'll be starting those soon. Now that we know our colors, I'm shopping for fabric and other crafting supplies. Of course, some of that is slightly on hold because I want to be 800% sure of a name before I start sewing. Baby boy, we didn't name your brother until he was born and I told you we should have a name before you arrive, but that may not happen.

In the meantime, you've just been growing and moving plenty! I had the sugar test last week at my final 4 week check-up, now I'll start going every 2 weeks. We have just over two months before you arrive, can't wait to meet you baby boy!

30 is colorful and fun!

Earlier this year my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. In fact, the diagnosis came not long after Maggie's CP, so it was extra difficult information to process piled on top of that and a few other things had recently happened. She had surgery, then a second surgery then radiation. Her last radiation visit was the week we were at the beach and she decided a celebration was in order. At first I thought she was just saying "Yes, I'm done with radiation, let's have a party!" You know, metaphorically. But she called while I was at the beach and told me she was really having one and it would really mean a lot if I could make it.
So we went up to TN this past weekend to celebrate what turned out to be a surprise 30th birthday party for me! Yes, our family loves surprises and seem to be the only ones who still do this anymore. Aaaaand, I think I've mentioned I'm the most difficult person to surprise. Ever. So it was an extra challenge to 'get me' I think. They didn't even tell Daniel 'til the night before. Mom and my cousin, Rachel, started talking and planning over Memorial Day weekend, if I have the story correct, and came up with a beach/luau theme. What fun! They worked together and brought in my sister, Tracy and sis-in-law, Becca to help with ideas and making decorations. Everything turned out great!

 All my pictures were taken after the party, so I may be able to
update when I get my dad's pics

 My mom still calls me "little gal" and made this menu

for my Cabana Cafe, super cute

 My sister made all the tissue poms and hung the 

streamers, I love the pops of color

 Becca made the banner, love, but I should've tried

to get a closer shot to get the details

 Tracy brought these beach buckets- they were used

for chips and then given to the younger kids after

 Even real sand made an appearance at the party

Daniel had the job of keeping me busy all afternoon and it was not an easy one. I agreed to lunch but didn't want to be gone long, especially with my cousin in town...she and/or my mom usually give me a hard time when she's visiting and I leave for one reason or another. So I just intended to have lunch and come back- a little break from the kids since Maggie just went down for a nap and Will had no interest in leaving his cousins. Then Daniel bribed me with a trip to JoAnn's (craft store) and a neighborhood with open houses and a model home. I love walking through houses even if I'm not in the market for one. Once I got through those doors, time just slipped away. 

What is wrong with my hand? Seriously. Am I about to start a claw fight with somebody? After the big entrance, I was temporarily distracted because the loud "surprise" apparently frightened Will and he was crying when I first saw him. Also turns out Maggie woke up shortly after our departure and helped with decorations. That's my girl! She knew it was mama's big day and had to be part of it. :)

Here's my beach cupcake cake! Rachel worked with the bakery, over the phone from St. Louis to get this cake put together. I'd say they both did a great job describing and executing the design! Have I mentioned before I'm the worst candle blower-outer ever? I really am. Pretty much never get all the candles first try. And then my sister spread them out in little clusters all over the cake. Nice. But guess what? I got 'em all! Correction- I missed one. The one she missed and I told her to light. The last one. So my embarrassing moment of not blowing out the candles was overshadowed by the embarrassing moment where I started to celebrate after getting all the candles, only to find out I missed one. Oh well. I had a great day and am so blessed for the women in my life who went to great lengths to make my 30th a memorable and special one. Thanks ladies!

Everyone was very generous- I opened movies, gift cards, cash, a wind chime that my aunt Rose sent down from St. Louis and this generation picture frame my mom made of herself, me and Maggie. She and dad sent down gifts with Rob that I opened on my birthday, but this was something extra from her.