Gotta jump on the crafting bandwagon again

Okay, baby is born and almost 1 week old, ALREADY.. wow... so, no more excuses. Gotta get things rolling for the Christmas season. Only 69 days left and so much to do. My goal this week is to get a couple of these completed. One for each boy, and perhaps, maybe for Alexis if I can make one girlie enough (and measure her head without her wondering why LOL). Thats it, I have a huge crafting bucket list but I am only setting out for 1 goal per week, otherwise I will become overwhelmed and not do anything at all. We can't let that happen. Who knows? Maybe after setting just ONE goal, I may finish it ALOT faster and do more than one thing per week. We shall see what happens as the week pans out.

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1.03.01

My birth story

On Saturday October 9th I started having contractions, about 5 minutes apart so I went to L&D. They hooked my up to the TOCO but decided that they weren't strong enough so they sent me home. I stuck it out for 2 days and went back on Monday October 11th when they were 3 minutes apart and quite a bit more uncomfortable. I was sent home yet again as I was only 2 cm dilated and they thought I would fare well at home laying around rather than doing the same exact thing at the hospital. Tuesday the 12th the contractions were more severe but 7 minutes apart so I thought I would walk. I didn't want to go back to L&D to be sent home again. I went to bed that night in a lot of pain but wanted to try to stick it out until the morning. 1:30 am on the 13th I woke up and my water broke. My husband went to get his mother so she could stay home with the kids and we were off to the hospital. I made it to L&D about 2:15 am. I was hooked up to the Toco again and the contractions were closer together and more severe. They checked me and I was 100 % effaced and 9 cm dilated. Luckily the midwife was on call and in the hospital already. She no sooner made it to the delivery room and Connor was ready to come out. at 2:39 am Connor was born at 8lbs 4 oz 21 1/4 inches long. I guess having to wait around for almost 3 days paid off. they didn't even have the time to hook me up to any IVs so absolutely no drugs, no epidurals and not really much pain at all. No tearing, no stitches either. This was definitely an easy delivery compared to my first. If I was guaranteed this easy every time I would definitely do it again (if Mike wanted more lol).. but we are done, and I am happy with my 2 sons and my stepdaughter.

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1.03.01

Laundry Laundry Laundry

I am keeping myself as busy as possible the last couple of days, in hopes that it will induce labor. Connor was expected to make his appearance into this world yesterday, but he decided it was too soon so now mommy just waits. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE being pregnant and I know I will miss it, especially since we don't plan on doing this again, but I can't wait to see that precious face looking back at me. Today is definitely laundry day, lots of washing, folding and putting away. Maybe that will trigger something. Too bad my washer is on its last thread and I can only do half of a load at any given time. Each time I start another load, it sounds worse than the time before. I hope it can stick it out for a couple more months, we just can't afford a new washer right now, and I have no desire to go to the laundry mat in the middle of the winter months.. YIKES. Living frugal is very hard work, but its a fun challenge. Once you can figure out how to cut costs every which way, you learn not to depend on money so much anymore, which in return can lower your stress on how you will be able to afford the next thing. Christmas is a challenge too, but luckily, I LOVE creating things, especially for my children. I have a lot up my sleeve but have been holding off on it until after Connor gets here. Plus it doesn't help making things when the kids are home and wide awake, wouldn't be a very big surprise now would it?

searching for inspiration

I want to make Preston into a robot for Halloween. But not out of cardboard boxes, he will need to sit in the car, and boxes would make that difficult. I am hoping to get away with spending less than 5 dollars per kid for a costume, since I am going to be making them by hand. Mostly using stuff around the house. Alexis is easy, she wants to be a vampire, black clothes, white face and some fangs. I can handle that. But a robot?? this is going to be tough. I wonder if aluminum foil would look good enough.. lol. If Connor ever gets here (due date TODAY! Ugh), I plan to make him into a candy corn, that should be fairly simple. Especially considering he will not be trick or treating this year (obviously). I would love to hear some feed back on some robotic costume ideas. (one of his favorite "brobots" is Iron Man, but he loves them all.

No time to post today...

I am hoping today is a baby day... It seems very hopeful. My next post may just be "HE IS HERE" so lets keep fingers crossed. :) Now, go and enjoy your Sunday!

She did what with what?

Ok here is what I started with:

Now, I am sure many of you know where I am going with this. I have seen it done many times before and just couldn't wait to try it out for myself... so, no. I cannot take the creativity credit here.

Just a simple shot of the glue gun and the candle stick holders are attached to the hurricane candle holders... voila!  but wait... there is more:

I wanted to snazzy it up a bit, with an impermanent bow made out of tulle. I plan on filling these with candies tomorrow for Alexis' 9th birthday party. It will be a very easy change once I want to decorate with something else. Yes, you heard right, I want to fill these with candies. 

This whole project literally cost me, well, nothing. Since I had all of the supplies in my house already. The candle holders were used so I of course had to wash them real good first. I have seen all of these supplies (including tulle) at the dollar store, so you can make a pair for under 5 dollars if you wanted to. I for one, thought this was way too easy. I wanted something time consuming to do while little man was napping, and it took me less than 10 minutes from start to finish. So, now I must find something else to do... lol. 

I think these would make very nice centerpieces for a wedding or a shower, so go grab that glue gun and get to work!

Need I say more??

Needless to say, it is a beautiful afternoon, so I couldn't allow myself or my 2 year old to be stuck indoors all day. I am hoping it will be just as nice after his nap so we can enjoy more of the prettiest blue sky I have seen in quite some time. In case you didn't know, blue is in fact, my favorite color. I just love how a little bit of nature can lift my spirits and put me in a wonderful mood! I hope everyone is having just as nice of a day. :)

a few ideas I want to try:

I saw this fall wreath idea on Little Birdie Secrets and really want to get Preston involved with some glue and a touch of nature, what fun would that be for a 2 year old?

and since we have nothing but laminate floors in our apt (which I LOVE.. I hate vacuuming lol), I really really want to try these gripper socks I found on I am momma, hear me roar!

While we are already at Cheri's site, I am also going to mention I have got to make these adorable hats she made for her boys. I think (maybe??) I could pull it off for my boys too.

And I just love how the burp cloth and onesie match here on homemade by jill.

Ok.. so I have a list of things I want to make and it goes on and on and on and on and on.. well.. you get the picture. Once I get the ambition and the means to get stuff done, I will be posting my creations on here like crazy. Keep checking back, and if you have any really cool gift ideas you would like to share, I would LOVE to hear them! I am more likely to get moving if I have someone to compete... *ahem*  work along with.

I may or may not add more ideas to this post.. if I don't save them somewhere, they may get forgotten.

Remember, 'Tis the season for all things homemade, so have fun coming up with wonderful things for those you love.

Another boring day

It would/could be a good day to make something cool, or even something yummy.. but I lack all sorts of ambition.. Soooo... I spent most of the day lounging around on the couch. It was a nice day to be lazy, but now that it is evening, I feel unaccomplished and just plain *blah*. I don't know, maybe I will come up with something to do later.. or just sit and watch another movie. Who knows. I am just counting down the days until my baby arrives... (5 days til due date)... so maybe that's what I will be doing tomorrow. Don't forget, Beauty and the Beast came out today ( I didn't get it, but I am hoping it will be under the tree for me this year).

Swag Bucks

If you haven't tried Swagbucks yet, you should. Its just like google, but you can earn points. When you earn enough points you can redeem them for prizes or real cash. I myself buy Amazon Gift Cards. So far I have earned 60.00 for Amazon. That is free money, I did nothing but search the internet. You should click here and to check it out. No gimmicks. If you don't like it, simply don't use it. Happy Swagging! :)

Nothing new today

But I must say, I love the blog My Delicious Ambiguity. Mostly because I have a young toddler at home. I also have a stepdaughter who is 9.I also am expecting another little one, in one week (give or take) I am learning this mommy hood business one day at a time, and it can be rough sometimes, I must admit. When I stumbled upon My delicious Ambiguity I was thrilled to see kid friendly projects.. even for toddlers. They do all of the research and find ideas for me, since I don't have to search all over blog land for ideas, I have more time to work with my kids. I love getting the kids involved, it keeps them busy, keeps me from going crazy. When I saw today's post here I was tickled pink. Hopefully my next post will feature some projects I got my kids involved in. I hope you all have a chance to check out this blog and enjoy time with your kiddos. I know I will :)

A couple gifts down, many more to go...

First off, a couple very simple cricut created picture frames. No idea who I will give them to, and I hope they are forgotten by Christmastime, because I just had to share.. lol

just ignore my mess in the background.. I am not a very "neat" crafter

Next, a couple of trash cans I picked up at the dollar tree.. I just thought they would be perfect for the boys room, they could be used as diaper pals if they must. 

Its amazing what you can do with some scrap paper and some mod podge.. Love that stuff!

Have a nice day!

The motivation fairy visited

I actually got stuff done today, housework that is. I am counting on crafting this afternoon, working on some Christmas gifts. I am hoping to post some pictures later today, so keep checking back. :) Enjoy your day!