BVG2 Update

Weekly visits to the doctor began last week and after today's visit I was measuring a little bit small and they couldn't be sure that she was head down {she isn't engaged in the pelvis so it was too hard to tell if she was or wasn't head down}.

As a precaution I was given an ultrasound. Unfortunatly, because Phil works so far from the doctor's office he wasn't able to make it, but Emrie and I saw her little sister again:)

According to the ultrasound measurements, she is measuring about one week small in all areas EXCEPT her head.  Her head measured right on track {this should come as no surprise to anyone who knows the Van Gelders hehe}. Even so, with three weeks left she was measured at around 6 lbs. 6 oz. and is expected to gain 1/2 a pound every week until delivery, which could put her right around 8 lbs. still.  Although Emrie was almost 8.5 lbs., 8 lbs is still a good size baby in my opinion, so I am not worried.  Oh, and she is head down, which is another plus.

Here are a couple of her smooshed pictures!

Come on little girl...only 21 more days!

10 Years

My 10 year high school reunion is this month.  Can it already be 10 years since I walked across that burnt stage {yes someone burned our commencement stage as a ‘prank’…it is called arson, not a senior prank}, received my diploma, cried with girlfriends and promised to keep in touch, then packed up my bags and moved to Indiana?

In some ways it feels like I have been done with high school for multiple decades, and at other times I feel like I am still that adolescent girl; naïve, ambitious and carefree.

I have had incalculable amounts of varying experiences and life lessons learned since high school which have shaped me and my course of life {as I am sure we all have}.  Am I where my 18 year old self thought I would be by now? Probably.  Did I take the path my 18 year old self projected? Possibly.  Am I WHO my 18 year old self thought I would be? I don’t know, but I don’t think so.

Realizing that I am doing and have done what I expected of myself and with some unforeseen detours, I even took the route I expected fills me with a sense of pride.  Pride because I knew myself fairly well at a young age, had solid plans and the endurance to execute them.  But those are just my accomplishments.

When I think about WHO I have become, I am both frightened and thrilled!  Frightened because I am not exactly the person or personality that I expected.  I don’t think about things the way I expected I would by now in so many ways; my world view, spiritual principals, parenting philosophy, etc.  BUT thrilled because I like who I am and even if I’m not who I envisioned myself to be 10 years ago, it is thrilling to know that I don’t have to limit myself to what I thought I wanted; I can be different, BETTER even! That makes the next ten years something to look forward to; to see how I develop and how God develops me!

It is interesting to reflect on who we were, who we are and who we will become. 

And then I wonder…Do we ever really inherently change, or do we just continue to compile our life experiences and develop who we inherently are and have always been?

Sew Your Own Ruffle Curtains

Once again, although I didn't do it exactly as she did, Positively Splendid's Custom Drapes were my inspiration for this project.

I wanted my drapes to be a little more girly, so I made ruffles instead of panels at the bottom and stitched pink ribbon and bows to the top.

In Emrie's first nursery I had two white panels, but in this room I wanted four. I couldn't find a matching set, so I just cut the panels in half vertically to make four.

The ruffles were each done in the same way as the ruffle crib skirt tutorial; measure the width of the panel and double it. That is the length each piece of fabric must be cut for the ruffle.

For the ruffles to be about 2 feet from the bottom of the panel, the top ruffle had to be 10" tall, the middle and bottom ruffles had to be 12" each {that way there is room for 2" to overlap and seam allowances}.

Now that the ruffle strips are cut, serge or hem all 4 edges of each ruffle. Then long stitch the top of each strip and pull only the top thread through to ruffle the strip.

Now pin the bottom ruffle first, and work your way up to the pinning the top ruffle. Then sew all the ruffles on.


For the ribbons and bows at the top, all I did was sew pink ribbon over the already existing loops and stitched the same ribbon into little bows at the base of each loop.

This is another really easy project with endless possibilities!

What I Wore~ Maternity Edition: Maternity Pictures

After some very poor planning on my part {I decided very last minute that I wanted to have maternity pictures taken} I quickly pulled together something to wear for the pictures.

I wasn't sure what feel I wanted to go for, so I brought two pairs of shoes, one more sweet, one more country.  We will see which I liked better in the pictures.

Thanks to my girlfriend, Julie Davis of Julie Davis Photography, who quickly got us a photo shoot.  I can't wait to see the pictures!

Coffee Cubes

Coffee isn't typically my thing. I have never been one to drink it in the morning or with dessert for a couple of reasons.  I like my cream with a little coffee {coffee is too bitter to me} and the caffeine in coffee makes me REALLY jittery.

However, I don't mind coffee flavor, especially if it is iced {like a frappuccino} and lately I have been battling another round of insomnia, so a little pick me up is just what I need.  So why not make coffee ice cubes and put them in milk or a milkshake or almond or rice milk for added flavor.

Yummmmm....

Kid Koncerts

There are so many wonderful things about summer...and all the free activities is definitly one of them!

Kid Koncerts are held once a week and are the kid version of woodstock...hahaha!

So pack up your blankets, snacks and Birkenstocks and wonder on over to your spot on the grassy knoll!  We will be there singing and dancing along:)

{sad that it rained today, so we didn't go, but we will be there next week with hippy dresses and bare feet}

When Projects Go Awry

The best laid plans of mice and men...

For just about every successful project I have done, I have had about half as many fall flat on their faces!

Last week I worked on two projects...One a better success than I anticipated....One a HUGE flop!

The good news is, we often learn from our mistakes AND our successes.

Project: I wanted to make a strand of yarn balls for the baby's room.  Seemed easy enough...until I had spent 2 hours in the garage sitting on the ground dipping yarn in a glue mix and having them slide off the balloon while the balloons deflated in the heat.  What a waste of Emrie's nap!

Solution: Hobby Lobby had these lantern lights for $14. The time and headache saved was worth it and the bonus is that they serve as a nightlight too.

Lesson learned from this project: Every once in a while it is WAY better to just buy what you want. The headache and time wasted just isn't worth it!

Project: There was some water damage in our half bathroom on the mirror.  The problem was that the mirror was so well glued to the wall that to take it off would require wrecking the wall which would require new dry wall {not worth it}.  I went to see if I could get a custom frame made to glue to the mirror {the other issue was that the mirror went right to the sink so a frame would have to fit on the mirror, not around it}.  WITH my 60% off coupon a 2x4 foot custom frame was going to cost $170!!! Not to mention, it wasn't going to fit because a true frame needs to go around the mirror, not on it. 

Solution: I bought 2 pieces of baseboard from Lowe's, cut them on 45 degree angles {which was a HUGE task in itself since I haven't had a protractor since 5th grade and I only own a hand saw}, glued the pieces together with "Tough as Nails" to make a frame.  Sanded and painted the frame white and sealed it with polyurethane.  Then glued it to the mirror with "Tough as Nails".  Not only did it fit PERFECTLY, but it looked WAY better, was way easier {especially if you have the right tools, but I didn't} and WAY cheaper at about $30.  The best part of all...it was a surprise for Phil since he had been mentioning that he wanted it done, but didn't know I was doing it.  He was SO pleased with it that I want to do it to all the bathroom mirrors just to get his reaction again:)

In case you were wondering, here is how I solved the no protractor 45 degree angle issue.  I cut the lid  off a kiwi container, used my sewing tool, I cut a perfect 90 degree angle and then used the tool again to measure 45 degrees.  Now I could use my kiwi container as a template. {You could also just use the corner of a piece of paper that is folded in half diagonally}.

Here is the water damage we wanted to hide

The pictures aren't great...but I am really happy with how it turned out!

Lesson learned from this project: Every once in a while making it is WAY cheaper and the only way to go!