12 Week Challenge

Twelve weeks ago I decided to challenge myself to blog every day with  a theme for each of the days of the week {you can read about that here}.

Those twelve weeks have successfully come to an end and while I enjoyed the challenge of coming up with something different for each category twelve times over, it is time to close that chapter.

Our little girl is due on Sunday and even if she doesn't arrive on time, I have decided not to blog until she gets here.  I want to take the next few days {or hours, depending on when she arrives} to soak up every minute with Emrie and Phil as our last days as a family of three come to an end.

I suspect that when I start blogging again there will be more of a focus on the girls and all things baby.  Because crafting, sewing, photography, Jesus...etc. are a part of who I am, those topics will still be blogged about as well, but without a schedule.

In the meantime, keep a look out for news on the arrival of BVG2!!!

Sew Your Own Burp Cloths

I never understood the value of a good burp cloth until we had Emrie.  These things come in handy for far more than just burping {quick, get the poop off her leg...grrr, why didn't I bring the changing pad in...seriously, we are out of diapers NOW...WHAT, AND WIPES!} Good thing we had burp cloths handy.

Here is one way to make super heavy duty burp cloths. This amount of fabric will make 4 burp cloths

Supplies:
1/2 yard of flannel
1/2 yard of terry cloth
Sewing stuff

Directions:
Decide your shape and length.  I use a shape that is wider at the ends and skinnier in the middle so it fits over your shoulder pretty well.  My dimensions are:
Length:19"
Width at ends: 7"
Width in middle: 6"

Lay the flannel on top of the terry cloth.  Draw your shape on fabric and cut it out.  You will want to cut the flannel and terry cloth at the same time so they are exactly the same shape.

Pin the flannel to the terry cloth with right sides in and sew along the edge leaving a small opening so you can turn it right side out.

Flip the fabric right sides out, straighten it out and pin the edges down. 

Using a zig zag stitch, sew a decorative boarder around the burp cloth to help it keep its shape.

They offer really nice coverage {although undoubtedly spit up WILL get on the areas not covered:)

Now put it in your diaper bag and feel confident knowing you are prepared!

Or bundle a few together and it makes a nice gift!

What I Wore~Maternity Edition: Wedding Attire

Phil and I went to a wedding for a good friend of mine last weekend in Fort Wayne.  Being 39 weeks pregnant posed a bit of a challenge for finding something to wear, but thankfully I went to Clothes Mentor (it is like Plato's Closet but with adult professional wear).  In their maternity section I found this Motherhood Maternity dress for $10.  Can't beat that!

Freezer Meals

A while back I had several friends to take meals to, so I thought while I was making meals for them I would start preparing for the arrival of our little one as well and make some freezer meals {with the help of my wonderful friend Kasie}.  We spent the afternoon, cutting, chopping, cooking and pouring and ended up with 15 meals.  Here were the three recipes we made that day {I have made a couple of different ones since for variaty}:

Chicken Pot Pies

Makes: 2 meals
Need: Two 8x8 pans

Ingredients:
4 c. chopped cooked chicken

1 c. chopped onion 

1 c. chopped celery

1 c. chopped carrot   

2 c. chicken broth  
1 c. half and half                                               
1/3 c. butter 
1 tsp. salt 
¼ tsp. pepper                                                                    
½ c. flour                                                                           
Basic pastry (see below) {I bought a pie crust instead because I found that making the dough did NOT turn out well}

Prep: Chicken, onion, celery, and carrots

Cooking Night: Saute onion, celery, and carrots in butter for 10 minutes.  Add flour to sautéed mixture, stirring well; cook 1 minute stirring constantly.  Combine broth and half and half; gradually stir into vegetable mixture.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and bubbly.  Stir in salt and pepper.  Add chopped chicken, stirring well.  Pour chicken mixture into greased pans. 

Label: Thaw.  Lay pastry crust on top.  Cut slits in top to allow steam to escape.  Use a fork to press edges down around casserole dish.  Bake at 400 for 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown. 

Basic pastry (for one 8x8):

1 c. + 2 T. flour
½ tsp. salt
1/3 c. canola oil
2-3 T. cold water

Combine flour and salt in bowl; add oil.  Sprinkle water in and stir until all ingredients are moistened.  Shape into a ball; chill.  Roll out between two sheets of waxed paper so the dough does not stick.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Makes: 2 meals or 4 meals
Need: Two 8x8 pans or four 8x4 loaf pans

Ingredients: 

2 lbs. cooked chicken, chopped (about 4 chicken breasts)
 2 cans red enchilada sauce
1 lb. cheese, shredded
1 pkg. flour tortillas (12-16 tortillas, depending on how many fit in your pan)
Optional Toppings:
Lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, guacamole

Prep: Chicken

Cooking Night: Pour the enchilada sauce on a platter and dip the tortilla in the sauce so both sides are covered. Make a layer of tortillas in the bottom of an 8x8 baking dish. Then add a layer of shredded chicken next, then add a layer of cheese on top.  Repeat the layering until the layers reach the top of the pan with a cheese layer on top.  Pour the rest of the sauce over the top. 

Label:  Thaw.  Bake at 375 for 20-30 minutes.  It will take a bit longer if not thawed.  Top with lettuce, tomatoes and sour cream if desired. 

Deceptively Delicious Meatloaf

Makes: 2 meatloaves
Need:  2 ziploc bags (plastic wrap and foil if you want to shape it into a loaf)

2 c. Italian seasoned breadcrumbs  

1 c. nonfat skim milk                                                                     

4 T. olive oil                                                                                      

1 onion, finely chopped                                                         

4 celery stalks, finely chopped  

1 c. carrot puree                                       

2 lb. lean ground turkey                                                          
1 c. grated parmesan

1/2 c. ketchup
2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 c. cans tomato sauce 

Prep: Onion and celery. 

Cooking night:  In a large bowl, soak the breadcrumbs in milk. Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set it over med-high heat. When the skillet is hot, add the oil. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, 7-10 minutes. Add the celery and cook 3-4 minutes longer. Scrape the mixture into the bowl with the breadcrumbs. Add the turkey, parmesan, carrot puree, ketchup, salt, and pepper, and stir to combine.  Shape into a loaf and place in a freezer bag. 

Label:  Thaw.  Place in a loaf pan.  Top with tomato sauce.  Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes.  Top with cooked, crumbled bacon. 

It is really nice to open the freezer after a long day and just grab a meal and throw it in the oven!

3 Trimesters Down ~ Here Comes Baby

We are just days from D-day. While this pregnancy was overall better than my first, there were still some rough patches in the third trimester {minor sciatic nerve pain, minor back pains and general discomfort at times...normal stuff}. The biggest difference at the end was that Emrie never really sat that high, so I just got the general kicks to the bladder, but this baby jabs me up under the ribs CONSTANTLY and sometimes knocks the wind out of me. I am really thankful I didn't experience the EXTREMELY swollen legs, heartburn or severe leg cramps that I had with Emrie.

I finally gave in and stopped running at 33 weeks {I only ran until about 26 with Emrie}, but continued to do the stairmaster, eliptical, walking and body weight exercises up to the end even though I had to slow down on everything.  Let's hope it makes delivery and recovery faster.

Take a look back at the FIRST and SECOND trimesters!
Let's do another little comparison between Emrie and BVG2:

I was induced at 39 weeks and 3 days with Emrie, so this is where the comparison pictures will end...but let's pray that this little baby girl gets here soon because not only am I uncomfortable, but we are all DYING TO MEET HER!!!

Naked Fruit

In my Monday Morning Bible Study we are reading a book called, "Naked Fruit" by Elisa Morgan.  The book is about the fruit of the Spirit and is written in a very 'girlfriend-to-girlfriend' way that is insightful and entertaining.

"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." Galatians 5:22-23.

I want to exemplify those fruits, don't you?  I would think we all do, but for many of us {at least for me}, Satan has put misconceptions in my mind about what the fruit really looks like.

"If you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all" - Every mom who ever lived

For years I confused the fruit of the Spirit with being 'NICE'.  I thought that I shouldn't get angry or being confused and sad were weaknesses and didn't demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit.  But that just isn't the case.  Jesus got angry, he just used self-control and didn't scream and yell like I do sometimes.  He spoke out of love, not malice or hate, but he still delivered some pretty stinging messages.

"Comparison is the thief of joy" - Theodore Roosevelt

Another misconception I have held is that there is a certain 'look' to the fruit of the Spirit.   While it is wonderful to have role models and people you look up to, YOU AREN'T THEM.  God created you with specific gifts, talents and PERSONALITY!  God doesn't expect or even WANT all of our fruit to look the same.

My joy does NOT look the same as my husband's {I tend to jump around, laugh, cry, make noise, you get the picture...he just smiles and nods his head...hmmm} but that doesn't mean that either of us is doing joy wrong, just differently.  Likewise, different situations call for different examples of the fruit.

Consider all the different types of fruit; apples, pineapples, watermelon, oranges, kiwi, cherries...the list goes on and on!  They are all considered fruit and they all taste good, but they are all different.  Isn't fruit salad better with a little variety anyway?

I want to be the BEST kind of fruit God made ME to be !

Sew Your Own Changing Pad Cover

One way to accessorize a nursery is to make a changing pad cover that matches the bedding or other elements of the room.  This simple project takes less than an hour and is super simple.

Here is a tutorial that helped me from prudentbaby.com, but I did mine slightly different.

This will fit a standard changing pad {32″L X 16″W X 3-4″H}

Start with a piece of fabric 48"x32"

Draw an 8″ square at each of the outside corners and cut them out

Bring the two sides of a corner together, right-side in and sew the corner shut.  Do this to all four corners.

Cut a 50″ piece of elastic and starting at a corner, sew the elastic all the way around inside of the bottom of the cover, pulling the elastic very tight and using a zig-zag stitch for give.

When you’re done your changing pad cover will look something like this:

Put it on your changing pad and...

use to your heart's content!

What I Wore~ Maternity Edition: Shorts

It has been a record setting hot spring and it is only getting hotter, and though I'm not typically a big fan of shorts, these were a necessity!  This has become my go-to outfit...wear it with heels and you can go out...wear it with sandals for running errands!

Strawberry Pie

Nothing says summer like fruit...and better yet...STRAWBERRIES!!!

A few weeks back Emrie and I went strawberry picking with our friends Angie and Gracie for the first time.  Needless to say the berries were gone so fast that Emrie and I had to go back the next week to pick more!

Here is the EASIEST and YUMMIEST thing you can make with strawberries...

Strawberry Pie

Ingredients:
Lots of strawberries {about 2 pounds}
Strawberry filling
Sugar
Pillsbury Pie Crust {honestly, this tastes just as good if not better than when I made homemade crust and is SOOO much easier}
Whipped Cream

Directions:
Cut the tops off the strawberries.  Mix the berries in a bowl with the strawberry filling and a little sugar.  Cook the pie crust according to the directions on the box.  Cool the crust. Fill the pie crust with the strawberry mix.  Top with whipped cream. ENJOY!!!

Motherhood is Messy

Motherhood is messy from the very beginning.

Think about it. Delivery day isn't the tidiest {whoever said birthing a baby is the most beautiful thing must have meant to say it was the most incredible or amazing or unbelievable, but beautiful is NOT the word that comes to mind for me with puffy hands and swollen face, leaky fluids...you get the picture}.

Then there is the meconium {the first tar-like poop}.  Phil can tell you just how messy this stuff is when you are trying to change their diaper without turning on too many lights in the middle of the night and they start squirming and it gets all over the blanket, their onsie and your hands!

If you're nursing, that presents all sorts of different messes. And there are the spit up issues and leaky diapers.  Once they start eating solid foods, those spit up messes change colors and you have to match your wardrobe to accommodate those colors.

With the start of crawling begins the mess on the kitchen floor as all your cupboards are emptied and your living room begins to look like a daycare. 

Walking introduces injuries that are not only messy {split lips and scraped noses bleed FAR more than I anticipated}, but heart breaking as well.

AND THOSE ARE JUST SOME OF THE PHYSICAL MESSES!

The REAL messes of motherhood are much deeper and harder to see.  They are the emotional messes that begin LONG before delivery day, or even before baby is conceived.

The anxiety over deciding to start a family and tears that occur from months of fruitlessly trying.

Seeing that positive pregnancy test and crying from both relief AND grief at the same time {talk about messy, how is it possible that once you FINALLY get what you have wanted you would feel slightly sad by it...try working that one out}.

Of course there are the messy pregnancy hormones which make you cry, laugh, angry all at inappropriate times and for silly reasons, sometimes creating way more drama than necessary.

Oh, and THEN the baby gets here!

Holding your baby for the first time brings the strangest emotions that messed with my mind in the weirdest way.  Who's kid is this? When is someone going to come get her and take care of her? If she is mine, why do I feel so ambivalent toward her? Do I even like her? What was I thinking?  Why don't I love her? When will I love her?

Those were NOT the sentiments I anticipated to feel when I first held my daughter, which then created a sense of guilt, which messed with me further.

That first night, week, month at home.  Will this get better? Why is she STILL crying? What was I thinking? Why don't I love her? When will I love her?

One day you wake up and realize you DO love her! She makes you laugh and you can't wait to see her in the morning.  Suddenly you can't imagine your life without her and you wonder when your messy emotions shifted.

Just when you start to think you have your own emotions in check, you realize that your emotions can change at the drop of a hat.  You are feeling warm and fuzzy inside because she looks so sweet in the dress you just put on her, you can't wait to take her to lunch with your friends and then she smiles up at you and throws up all over that little dress as you are strapping her into the car seat and you LOSE IT!

And then she gets a little older and starts demonstrating her own messy emotions.  She wants to do things for herself, but is frustrated that she can't.  She is so dependant and you, but wants to assert her independence. She gets mad when you discipline her and you are a mess trying to figure out when and how to best discipline her.  It is a very complicated dance.

Motherhood is a roller coaster of emotions for both you AND your children.  There are no clear cut, easy rules for dealing with the messes {both emotional and physical}, but that is what makes motherhood worth the ride!  What fun would the ride be if it was all at the same flat level the whole time; the dips, curves, climbs and drops keep it interesting.

And let's be honest, aren't messy kids just the cutest!

Early Father's Day Surprise

I have been very blessed with not only a WONDERFUL husband, but a wonderful father for my girls.

Since staying home, I have struggled sometimes with not making my "own" money, so days like Father's Day and Christmas and birthdays are a little hard for gift giving because in the back of my mind I feel like Phil is buying his own gift.  And I know he has already seen the credit card statement so he probably knows what is coming and exactly how much I spent.

That made this Father's Day present that much more fun!  I had a little money socked away from a side job I had done a few months back that Phil didn't know about {I don't usually keep secrets from him, but this was for a good reason}. 

Our grill had 'burnt out' a couple of weeks ago and although it still sort of worked, it would take about 45 min. to cook a couple of burgers. That gave me the perfect gift idea for him {so stereotypical for Father's Day, I know}.

So Emrie and I went to Lowe's, paid cash for the grill, had them assemble it, used our neighbors truck to get it home and hid it in the back yard. 

We planned to give it to him on Father's Day, but then he asked me that night if we could have his boss' family over for a bar-b-que on Thursday night.  I didn't want to remind him of the fact that our grill barely worked, so I said yes and decided to move Father's Day up a little.

Quickly, we made a banner and a card, rolled the grill out to the middle of the patio and surprised Phil with the grill!
 

Her little card said, "Daddy, with these little hands, I give you my heart although you have always had it since the day I was born.  You are my prince charming and will always be my first true love! Love, Emrie.

Here is the website where I printed off the banner. Plus they have all kinds of cool other printables.

He was really surprised and super appreciative, but most importantly, I think he was impressed that I kept a secret from him haha!

Sew Your Own Bunting

Of all the ideas I have stolen from Positively Splendid, this is actually not one. She did do her own version, here, but I got this idea from my sister-in-law, Danielle who made these cute little cards. Then I did my own version.

Since Emrie's big girl room had an 'E for Elephant' vintage-eclectic theme going on, I felt like bunting fit in just right!

Cut out triangles to whatever size you would like {mine are 8" across the top by 12" down the middle} in the fabrics you want AND an equal number of same sized triangles in sturdy felt board.
Sew the triangles onto the felt board {I used a straight stitch, but you could do zig-zag or some other decorative stitch if you like}.

Trim off the excess.
Sew the triangles together across the top.

Hang the bunting and enjoy!

What I Wore~Maternity Edition: Flowy Top

I am really thankful that loose, flowy tops are in style right now because they make for great maternity shirts that you can still wear later {plus you can down play the bump if you want to and are good for hiding the after baby belly}.

None of these pieces are maternity, but they work for summer errand/play dates...etc.