Restoration

10/26/10

I haven't exactly had time to start a bunch of new projects (wonder why....lol) so I will post something that I didn't before! We bought this dresser at a garage sale in the Spring because Abigail's room needed one! We didn't have a ton of cash to just buy all new furniture so I bargained shopped and looked for something that would look great....it worked! We bought it for $10.00 at a garage sale (basically and estate sale). They had a china cabinet too that was really cheap and I think would have cleaned up great but with no where to put it for a while we didn't get it...I'm a little disappointed we didn't but there is probably something else out there that we could find next year or later!

Kyle sanded it (no pic) down well.

Fresh coat of brown paint!

New knobs.

Finished product in her room!

The Birth of Abigail

10/21/10

So for all those curious, I will tell the story of my experience giving birth! It's crazy to think a week ago right now I was in labor at the hospital! Anyways, Wednesday the 13th I thought my water might have broke but I wasn't sure. It was about 9 at night. We went to the hospital cause they wanted to check me out. Well, it wasn't broke and we went back home. We went to sleep and I actually was able to with my rash! Well, I woke up and went to the bathroom, my underwear was soaked but I was sleepy and thought nothing of it so I went back to bed. Then I woke up later feeling like I had to go again and the same thing. So I changed and went back to bed. Ha. Then I woke up one last time at 3:20 AM and on the way to the bathroom it gushed out and down my leg. So I yelled, "Kyle my water really broke!" He was out of bed before he realized what he was doing.

At this point I just had lots of water coming out but no painful contractions. You just feel like you're peeing a lot with no control! When waiting to hear back from the midwife, I washed my hair and styled it! haha. So I went in about 4 in the morning to the hospital. I started from ground zero cause I wasn't dilated, even though they said I was the week before. Contractions started hurting mid-morning and I labored all day. But it was so calm and Kyle was so helpful. I just saw the whole thing as a sports competition. Every time I had a contraction Kyle would hold my hand and motivate me by telling me it was my last lap around the track or to hit a backhand in tennis. It worked and they weren't that bad to me. I got an epidural at 6:30 at night cause I was tired and the contractions were getting so strong I was going to puke.

Epidural=amazing! I could still feel everything but just had no pain. I went from 5 1/2 cm to 9 1/2 in 2 hours. Then I felt it was time to push and it was. I pushed 2 1/2 hours which was really tiring but so worth it. Abigail was born on Oct 15th at 2:19 AM. It really was a great experience and I actually enjoyed it more than my whole pregnancy which I never imagined!! God has blessed us so much and I will never forget it.1

Baby Bumper Tutorial

10/4/10

So I didn't get a full bedding set forAbigail and the only thing I really needed was bumper pads. So I decided to make them myself! I decided this was to be my first project with my sewing machine and it turned out great! I did it all by myself with no help and it took a lot of re-doing at first cause I hadn't used a sewing machine since Jr. High! But I feel that I know a little bit more and stuff came back to me from my FACS class. Anyways, here's how I did it....

I started with getting the fabric for JoAnn Fabric. I got a 1 1/2 yards of each pattern because everything I found on the online tutorials said to get about 2 1/2. So I went for 3 just in case. It turned out to be PLENTY and I was able to make a little pillow afterwards with still a lot extra. But be sure to measure your crib first! I also bought ribbon too. One spool would be enough. But I messed up and had to buy one more so you could be safe and buy two.

I made the pattern with paper. I just measured how long each side is of the crib and added 1 inch so it wasn't too short. I used the width of the paper as the length of how high the bumper would be (hope that makes sense).

I just taped the paper together to the proper length for the bumper pads. Then I cut it out.

I used 2 different patterns of fabric, so I cut them both out and pinned them together. You want the outside (side to look at) facing the inside for both fabric pieces.

Now I cut all my ribbons to tie on the crib. I did 2 each end of the bumpers because I didn't sew them altogether like some bumpers are, I just kept them separate pieces.

Then I folded them evenly in half to sew onto the bumper pad. I placed them on the ends of the bumpers and pinned them at the seam.

Make sure the ribbon is on the INSIDE of both pieces and not sticking out so it will be outside the fabric when you turn it inside out. Then you'll be able to tie the ribbon onto the crib. I originally messed up on this and had to cut the ribbon off which is why I had to buy more. Ha.

Then I sewed them together and left a hole to put the batting in. After they were stuffed I hand-stitched the holes closed! Here's a pic of the bumper in the crib....I am going to put a brown sheet so it's not so busy. But that's about it. It turned out to be pretty fun and now Abigail has a home-made bed bumper by her mommy :)

Getting Close

9/28/10 (38 week pic to be posted later)

I am not sure what God is trying to do with me but it's something. I am 38 weeks pregnant now and am having good and bad days still. I am very thankful that I'm not working cause I don't know if I could make it! The other day I prayed a lot about going into labor...but it hasn't been answered yet (the good thing is it will be soon!). But each day I see as it possibly being "today". I am experiencing cramping last night and this morning with more Braxton Hicks...but we'll see when it turns into the real thing.

My struggle is the bad days. On Saturday I developed this rash on my belly. My stomach has been itching really bad and I don't like the rash cause it itches too. I felt kind of miserable that night. It hasn't gone away and was better yesterday. Then, I think it's the season changing, but I have been waking up at night and this last night I developed a stuffy nose and feeling drained. So now I have a cold along with this rash. I just didn't think I'd be getting all these ailments at the end of my pregnancy. It's hard cause I am not feeling well right now and I think about how I'll feel if I go into labor tonight.....ughhh.

But through it all I need to remember to praise my Lord and Savior. I have so much to be thankful for. I am having a baby girl soon, I have a wonderful husband and family, and I can stay home and rest right now. I remember the story of Job and how he lost everything and the Apostles being in prison and stoned for their passion for Christ and they still praised the Lord. How am I worthy of anything less? I have a comfy home and can talk about the Lord all I want without torture. My goal in this life isn't to be comfortable, it's to bring glory to my Savior and King. Soon this will be a memory and I just want to glorify God through this time because He deserves glory ALL the time. So that's my lesson in this blog and this day. The Lord is good all the time and always deserves praise.

"But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

2 Corinthians 12:9

Scrap-booking Frenzy and Tips

9/25/10

So if you know me personally you know that I love to scrapbook. I have scrapbooks of Kyle and I's dating years, high school, engagement photos, wedding, honeymoon, first Christmas, 1st year, our house being built, and now our 3 year photos/pregnancy professional pics. Whew! I am also in the process of a scrapbook documenting my whole pregnancy and I've started a baby book for Abigail. I guess I do love scrap-booking!

Well I wanted to show some of my latest scrapbook in this blog. Maybe it'll give some of you hesitant scrap-bookers ideas to do your own! For this one I had found a scrapbook from a long time ago that had nothing really done to it so I made it our 3 year book. It's just a black leather one. If anyone has any ideas for the outside I would like to know cause it does seem kind of plain!

Here's a page I really like.

Love these...it's amazing what some ribbon can do!

I was 29 weeks pregnant. I love the woods...great nearby park.

I like these of just me and my soon-to-be baby girl inside :)

**Tips for new scrap-bookers!

- Pick a theme for your book (wedding, full year, k-12 for kids, etc). If you just mash a bunch of pictures together you'll get frustrated and it'll look strange if there's no theme to it.

- Buy half-off! Hobby Lobby especially has half-off their scrap-booking supplies about every-other week.

-Buy a scrap-booking kit. You can spend less money on a scrapbook that comes with paper, stickers, die-cuts, ribbon, etc. If you buy from Hobby Lobby at their half-off then you can get one for $15 or possibly less. That's a great deal and that'll help you have enough stuff and stay organized.

- Stock up. When you see clearance stickers or stamps buy them cause the more stuff you have in your collection the easier it is to whip something up and not go looking for it when it's time and spend full price.

Hope that helps!

Stay-at-home Wife and soon Mommy

9/20/10

So this is my first week EVER of being an official stay-at-home wife/mom. It's very exciting! I love being able to just do things around the house and not worry about keeping a schedule and such. But I am definitely not one to sit around and waste time. I keep just as busy being home because I don't like to feel lazy. Except sometimes I try to do too much (surprise, surprise) and today I started feeling bad and had to lay down. I talked to Kyle on the phone at lunch and he was like, "Steph, you don't have to run around the house all day long, you need to rest too!" Ha, ha. It's just hard!

I did get a lot accomplished today. One thing I'm doing is making freezer meals so that when I have Abigail I won't have to worry too much about what to prepare or taking too much time to prepare things at first. I don't want us to resort to eating out and I don't want that burden on Kyle cause he has enough work to do. He's not even home and has been working for 12 hours so far. Anyways, I bought homemade French Bread and made my garlic bread for 4 future meals and just wrapped them in foil. All I have to do is pull it out, let it defrost, and throw it in the oven. It's just like buying the boxes at the store except without preservatives and added fat! I also made lasagna, spaghetti sauce, and vegetable spaghetti sauce thing for lunches for me. I put those in individual freezer bags and will heat up noodles...it'll be like a frozen dinner. I have more things to make but that's what I did today.

I am so thankful to the Lord for allowing me to fulfill my dream of staying home to take care of my family. He has blessed me beyond comprehension. 6 years ago I had just met Kyle and had butterflies were in my stomach wondering what would happen with this cute guy. Now I'm his wife of over 3 years and pregnant with his daughter. I know it was all God and through prayer and His grace, He has made this all possible.

Delight yourself also in the LORD,And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:4

Baby Progress

9/18/10

I'm 36 weeks and 4 days right now. About 3 days ago I started having Braxton Hicks contractions a lot! I'm still having them regularly and I went to the doctor yesterday. They said I am dilated about 1 cm and my cervix is softening!! I also got the strep B test, so not a big deal! Anyways, now I've started having a cramping feeling on and off. So we'll see what happens in the next week or so! I am pretty safe now to have her and the midwife said I could exercise again but no weights. So ball bouncing, walking outside, possibly elliptical here I come!

Here is a pic of me just over 36 weeks....oh boy am I big!