Baby Girls Nursery [reveal]

I can't believe baby girl's nursery is done - and before baby girl have arrived! I'm just going to stop right here and pat myself on the back. Seriously, I didn't think I would pull this off...and secretly I was okay with that. I've been trying to cut myself some slack as my body has been throwing me some curve balls, like debilitating braxton hicks. I truly don't remember having braxton hicks with the boys, in fact when I thought I was having them I was actually in labor  Girl's really are different right from the start!
  So, are you ready to drown in pink? Every time I walk past the nursery I smile - I love all the bright happy colors, and of course, all the pink! 

Many details went into this room, but I have to say I'm really happy with the end result. I started with three paint swatches, a watermelon pink, soft pink, and coral, and made that my palate from which all the projects stemmed. Here's a list of the projects:

mobile

cloth crib rail guards

baby quilt

hair bow holder

painting a feature wall

painting picture frames [that will hold pics of baby girl once she arrives]

painting shelf

custom painting of giraffes [made by my awesomely talented sister]

All these elements came together, along with items I already had [crib, chair, table, lamp, family blessing dresses, paper lanterns and tissue paper pompoms from a baby shower I co-hosted, my old stuffed animals, and a sweet book from my Aunt and Uncle for baby girl] to create a soft and sweet room for a baby girl whom is loved beyond measure already. 35 weeks...the countdown is on...and we're finally feeling ready. Did I mention I even washed her clothes? Yeah, these braxton hicks have me doing things a little earlier this time ha!

Superhero Room

My sweet little gentlemen have been so patient as I have worked on projects for their room. Really it doesn't look like I did much, but when I break it down maybe you'll see why it took me months to complete...literally. Or maybe you'll decide I'm lazy. Either way, it's done and I'm happy ha!

My little superheros are happy as clams to have their space just the way they wanted it! Here's a break down of the projects that went into this room:

Painting stripes on a feature wall

Making bunk beds from scratch [ the Hubby did this one. Only the base bed is in the room right now until Eli is ready for bunk beds]

Sewing superhero blankets

Creating the superhero art prints

Photographing my boys with their superhero blankets

Painting a shelf and mounting it to the entrance wall for special superhero items

My boys are loving their personal space, and play in their room now -cause it's a cool place to be ha! It brings me joy to see their sweet faces light up with each little detail that has been added. 

Oh, and baby girl's nursery is done! Eek can't believe I actually FINISHED that project on time! And Eli's baby book is done! Yep, that's a whole lot of ticks off the 'ol to do list! 

Photo Book

Monday night I compiled, completed, submitted, and ordered a quiet book for my boys. Yeah, it's as awesomely simple and fabulous as that! My boys are very visual little men, and are happily occupied for long car rides simply by Handsome Hubby and I telling them to find specific things out the window. We use a similar method during church to keep our kiddos listening to what is being taught and not making a huge ruckus for everyone around us [and truth be told, they are not perfect at keeping still/being quiet, but they do pretty well for their two and five years.] While listening to speakers, the boys will be given a word to listen for, and each time they hear the word they can collect 'points.' Points can be redeemed for candies some days, or for a show later, or sometimes they're simply collected - it doesn't seem to matter too much what the points are going towards, as long at they get 'points.' My boys are wonderful that way :) 
  Back to the book: So, to make their points system more enjoyable and efficient during sacrament, I made a quiet book with pictures I collected through a google image search. These images include temples, Prophets, Jesus Christ, and a few others. I then uploaded these images to Shutterfly and made a quiet book of wonderful pictures [that my boys can choose their points collecting word from] to help my boys find enjoyment in stillness, quiet, and learning. The best thing about Shutterfly is if you order books from them they will send you promotional codes every now and then to redeem a FREE 8x8 hard cover book - which is what I did with my quiet book! So, with a total cost of $6.99USD, it doesn't get much better than this! The code I was sent is MYBOOK. Give the code a try, and if it doesn't work for you simply call the company and I'm betting they'll honor it for you. 
Just in case the link [found at the bottom of this post] to the book doesn't work for you, here is a sampling of the photos found in my boys book to give you an idea of what to put in yours:

Click here to view this photo book larger

Shutterfly allows you to customize your photo book just the way you want.

Pursue Virtue

My boys are taking a little quiet time break with some "Little Einstein's"  right now, so I'm going to grab a moment to get some thoughts down on paper. I have been reflecting a lot lately on the type of Mama I want to be. The kind of person I want to be - the kind of role model I want to be. Not only are there little eyes watching my actions, and modeling my behaviors, here at home, but I come in contact with others everyday and those interactions sometimes leave me wondering,"Did I make an impact for good? Do they know they are loved because of how I treated them? Does interacting with me bring light and warmth to their life?" 

Almost as if my mind was being read, Mara over at A BLOG ABOUT LOVE wrote an intriguing and thought provoking post on this very subject. On being at peace and happy with who you are and what you are. Read her thoughts here; you won't regret it. Here is my summary and take away from Mara's words.

"Align yourself with [God] by pursuing His virtues: Peace, Love, Forgiveness, Compassion, Gratitude, Joy, Hope," Good Works, and Integrity. "...Once you do it, the power of virtue starts to snowball.  It starts to dominate and embody you, instead of the other awful thing that you were trying to rid yourself of.  Basically, when you pursue these virtues...you’re "at one" with the very energy that they represent...you’re "at one" with God himself.  You know, "light is attracted to light", etc.  There is an ENERGY associated with this stuff.  You will feel it!!!!!! " 

This is what I needed today. And so I pass it on to you - maybe you're in need of it too. 

Delayed

I've been off in school for the past two days, learning and refreshing my memory in two very important tasks - standard first aid and CPR level C [meaning for adults, children, and infants.] I have been meaning to do this for forever, and finally a week and a bit ago I just called up the school, registered, and that was that. My Hottie Husband is certified, and re-certifies through work on an annual [or maybe bi-annual...not completely sure] basis, but seeing as I'm the one at home with our sweet kiddos we both felt the need to have me be up to date on life saving techniques. 
I walked in the door this afternoon so relieved to be home with my sweet little family, and was quickly made aware of why it is so important to have this training. Not only do they teach you what to do to save someone in a variety of circumstances, but the emphasis on staying calm is drilled into you at every step. So, when Eli began choking on supper [while sitting on Husbands lap, so he didn't see the visual signs of Eli's distress] I didn't hesitate or get scared, I simply told Hottie Husband Eli was choking, and he helped Eli dislodge the food. Soon after the boys were in the bath [part of their bedtime routine every night] and Eli swallowed water and began choking. I calmly reaching into the bath, retrieved my choking little man-o, and helped him dislodge the water. Once he finished puking up water and food I grabbed Darius out of the bath too - no one wants to marinate in puke ha!
And so now I sit here, having handled two previously panicky situations with ease [all on the day that I walked out of class a certified First Aid responder], and know that the $150 for the two day course is completely and utterly worth every penny. Honestly, I would have paid more - I had a fabulous instructor who went into more depth than the book or videos provided, and left me feeling ready to apply my learning.   
Don't follow my example in putting off this course - but do follow my lead in finally taking it. You'll be happy you did when your little man-o needs your help.

If you live in the Calgary area, register for your course with St.John's Ambulance by calling 403-250-2922. Ask for Dell Pratt as your teacher - he was seriously that good.

Projects

I'm 33 weeks today and feeling the crunch! This weekend will be spent picking up supplies for the various projects and getting them going...I'm be working into next week for sure, but that's okay cause I'm getting the ball rolling!
Curious what projects are currently underway? Here's a list of the DIY links I'll be utilising:

Making the master bed headboard. I am still on the fence as to whether I'll be making the headboard or buying this one from Ikea.

The deciding factor will be cost; if I can find the right materials for as cheaply as the tutorial did (she spent $67!!) then I'm making it! The king sized headboard from IKEA is $299, so we'll just have to wait and see which happens.


Transferring photos to canvas for the boys room. At an activity for the women's group in my church, some women made canvas prints of their families...I'm doing super heroes ha! The boys should love them, provided they turn out.

source

When I was at the Easter Sale for Coco Rose Couture yesterday, the beautiful and talented Bree, owner and creator of Coco Rose explained to me how to make the hair clip holder that she sells in her shop! I couldn't believe how generous she was to explain, in detail, how to make these! So, baby girl's room also has a project in the works! [Follow Coco Rose Couture on facebook; Bree often does giveaways that are completely incredible!]

source

Besides these projects we have the babies room to clear out, the basement to clear out, an item being picked up that we sold on kijiji [yeah!], family dropping by on both Saturday and Sunday, church Sunday, and possibly helping some friends out Saturday afternoon...I'm ready for bed already ha! 

What projects do you have going on this weekend? Do you blaze through a pile of projects at once, or tackle one thing at a time? 

So grateful

My sweet little slippers; now waiting for chubby little feet to fill them again

Back when I was pregnant with Eli, I watched a you tube video on quilting and thought,"how hard could that be?" So, I bought fabric, made a quilt top, quilted it by hand, then stopped. The you tube videos for binding the quilt left me feeling very overwhelmed. When visiting with some friends one day, one of the friends, Laura, noticed my heap of quilting materials in a basket in the corner of the room. She asked if she could see what I had done, and I of course whipped it out [hey, even if I had no clue how to move forward I was extremely proud of what I had accomplished ha!] She admired my choice of fabrics and patterns, loved the shiny gold thread which I had used to hand quilt, and asked what color I was going to bind the quilt in. I admitted that I had no clue how to make the binding tape, let along bind the quilt, and so hadn't thought much about what color to bind it in. Laura offered right then and there to come back to my home the next day, help me make the binding tape, and teach me how to bind the quilt. The offer alone had me close to tears I was so grateful! 
Laura spent many hours with me, teaching, guiding, and praising my efforts. She gave me the encouragement and support I needed to be able to complete a second quilt [for Darius] before Eli arrived on the scene. We had known and loved one another before this time we spent together, but those hours really did form a bond and an appreciation for one another that I am forever grateful for.
Last night as I finished up baby girls quilt, I found myself thinking of my dear friend Laura. She passed away just over a year ago, on Valentine's Day. She left behind a legacy at forty five years old that many people will not accomplish with twice the time. Teaching me to finish quilts was just a small example of the service and depths of talents that Laura had and shared. I miss her, and I wish I could be driving over to her place this morning with baby girls quilt in tow. Even though I know I can't show her my latest quilt myself, I know she would be repeating to me what she did with both my boys quilts;" No one can say that buying a quilt for their baby is the same as making one. Sure you save money some times, and save a lot of time when you buy the quilt already made, but wrapping your children in a quilt you made with them in mind is like wrapping them in your loving arms. It's just so much more." 
I am grateful for Laura and the lessons she taught me; and I know shes happy with baby girls quilt - imperfections and all.