Finished!

Well considering I have worked on Sweetcheeks bedding and accessories since the end of May, I'm happy to say that I'm finished! With the sewing, the bedding, the cute accessories, the organizing...we even moved in the furniture and got the wall hangings up. So when I say ''Finished" I mean done. On the first day of my last trimester I did the finishing touches and, while I hope Ms Sweetcheeks stays put for at least another 7 weeks, we're ready for her :) 

Her "side" of mine and B's room

 

 The changing table and shelf that I decoupaged

The finished crib set with blankets, boppy cover, and a few embroidered burp rags

Close up of shelf

Close up of wall hanging

And let's hope that Sissy is born with a ton of hair because girlie has a TON of hair accessories

And while I didn't take pics, I'm slightly embarrassed to admit that all 5 drawers of the dresser are full of clothes as well as a good chunk of the closet. {although a lot of her clothes were gifted/purchased from friends who have had little girls previously so I can't feel that guilty}

Honestly, I am amazed at the amount of money we saved! I purchased the fabric at Hobby Lobby. Overall I spent about $80 on the different fabrics (Minkee and bumper inserts included) and then used that fabric to make:

• the crib bumpers (tutorial found here)
• the crib skirt
• 1 rag blanket (based on the tutorial found here)
• 1 floor quilt
• the changing pad cover (tutorial found here)
• decoupaged the 'Maggie' wall hanging
• decoupaged the shelf over the changing table
• 1 small lovey blanket with minkee backing
• 1 binky clip (again, loosely based on this tutorial )
• embroidered/embellished 2 burp rags

and the really crazy thing? I still have a small amount of fabric left! I was floored at what all I was able to make. Well, floored and very proud of myself! The crib, dresser and changing table we already had so that was zero money spent.

Oh and just in case anyone is wondering where everything was from:

The buckets/tubs on the changing table are from the $1 section at Target. The Butterfly vinyl wall decals are from Target as well. The pink basket used to hold hair accessories, the pink lantern, the ''Dance like no one is watching'' canvas, the wooden name letters and circles, as well as the daisies are all from Hobby Lobby. We took off the ugly closet doors and hung up the hot pink curtains that we purchased at Wal-Mart.

So there you have it, Sweetcheeks "side" of the room...and after doing all of this I can't wait for us to move into a bigger place and decorate an entire room!

3rd Trimester here we come! Woohoo!!

Today I had my 28 Week appointment with Dr.P. Everything is going wonderfully. As of Friday I am officially in my 3rd trimester. My body is like a well oiled baby-growing machine...you know having four pregnancies in four years does have it's payoffs. So far I'm up a total of 9lbs, my blood pressure is staying steady at 120/64, Sweetcheeks' heartbeat was 148 and she is head down. Not that that really matters, as Dr. P said ''She could still flip 20 more times". My uterus is measuring about 2 weeks ahead but that's normal for subsequent pregnancies. I had my glucose tolerance test today and passed with flying colors. I had to come in at under 140 (what? mg...I think...I'm not sure) and mine was 115.

My only ''problem'' is the constant aching pain in my right hip. Because it's been persistent for over a month, he is referring me to a physical therapist. Normally he would suggest wearing a maternity support belt but because I've been dealing with it for awhile and nothing I can do at home is helping (Tylenol, heating pad, massage, chiropractic care, etc) he wants to take the next step. I've had 2 of the 3 boys without any pain medication during delivery and a natural childbirth is very important to me. If I were to have back labor on top of this hip pain, we are both worried with how well I would be able to manage the pain on my own. So I'll meet with a physical therapist who may have me wear a support belt and show me different stretches and ways to manage the pain and hopefully, correct it. He's had other patients whose pain completely disappeared in TWO weeks. Here's hoping!

My next appointment is on Aug 27th, it's a normal appointment and on that date I'll schedule another ultrasound. I seriously cannot believe we're this close to the end...less than 86 days to go!

Funnel cake & the Ferris Wheel

 Yep, it's that time of year. The sun is shining, the temp is over 100 degrees and the fair is in town. I think I can officially say that it is my family's favorite event of the entire summer. I myself love it. The kids were beyond excited to go, much like last year. And B has been salivating while talking about the turkey legs for weeks. But this year it wasn't just about the animals and cotton candy; they wanted to ride the rides, see the Ferris Wheel, play the games and then see the animals and eat cotton candy. Because we live within 3 blocks of the Fair Grounds, they know days in advance that the fair and Rodeo, are almost here. Slightly annoying when they ask at every single errand run if it's time yet, but they are literally bubbling with excitement. 

While I'm late blogging about the whole ordeal, we actually went on Thursday night. We waited until 7pm and it was STILL 98 degrees outside with a heat index of 102. After filling myself and the kids up with water and Gatorade, we threw caution to the wind and went for it. The downside was on Thursday the 4-H animals weren't there yet but it was a lot less crowded.

First things first, we snacked. The boys wanted cotton candy, I got my usual funnel cake and B, naturally didn't waste a second to get that turkey leg.

Pookie munching on his cotton candy

Peanut trying cotton candy for the first time; apprehensive at first but pretty satisfied with the taste

Bubba patiently begging to ride the ferris wheel

B with his treasured Turkey Leg

Finally it was ride time; up first I rode the Ferris Wheel with Bubba just as promised. I really thought we'd be those people who get to the top and the kid freaks out and they have to bring it back down but he did great! He made me nervous, trying to peek over the guard, excitedly pointing to things and making the bucket sway. But he loved it and actually wanted to ride it again, but I passed on that!

 While we were on the Ferris wheel, Pooks rode the spinning bears with H (our friend's daughter who is six and the perfect Mother Hen at helping out) and the motorcycles. Of course Bubba was bummed that he missed out so he had to ride the motorcycles too. 

Since Pooks didn't want to watch that, he and I headed over to the carousel. 

This was the one ride that Peanut could have safely ridden on and he could have carried less. He was enthralled watching all the people, lights and rides. His balloon kept him pretty entertained too!

After the carousel it was all kind of a blur; there were slides, roller coasters, and rides with cars and spaceships.

By this time, it was after 9pm and we moved on to a couple games. Just like last year we let each kiddo play the ''Pick a Duck'' game.

Bubba and Pooks both picked ducks that landed them little dinky Hackey Sack toys but Peanut chose ducks that earned him a prize from the second shelf. He chose a Baby Jay and was pretty excited about it!

Overall it was a wonderful night. The kids slept like, well like babies. They were definitely exhausted. And today {Saturday} we did it all again! LOL. Well we skipped the rides and instead saw all of the 4-H animals, shared a Hot-Dog-on-a-Stick, another funnel cake (don't judge!), shaved ice, and eventually roasted corn. We played even more games with the boys scoring a stuffed animal each as well as a poster for bubba and pooks. We splurged and bought then each a light up Light Saber glow stick thing and called it a night. For the 2nd time this week they went to bed at 10pm and were out within minutes. 

And in case that isn't enough, on the walk back to the car Bubba told me that it was a lot of fun and asked ''Are we gonna go again next year Mom?"

I've been a busy bee

And because of that, the blogging is seriously slacking. I apologize. In my defense, in the past week:

-We dropped our Van off at the shop for repairs. It will take a week....at least.

-The heat index has been over 100 degrees for the past 7 seven days. Today we aren't in a heat advisory...oh no, we're in an "Excessive Heat Warning''. What is that you might ask, oh here ya go:

AN EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING IS ISSUED WHEN HIGH HUMIDITIES ARE EXPECTED TO COMBINE WITH HOT TEMPERATURES TO MAKE IT FEEL LIKE IT IS 110 DEGREES OR GREATER. PERSONS ARE ADVISED TO AVOID PROLONGED WORK IN THE SUN... DRINK PLENTY OF FLUIDS... STAY IN AN AIR- CONDITIONED ROOM... AND CHECK UP ON RELATIVES AND NEIGHBORS

Yeah, real fun stuff with 3 kids and being almost 7 mos pregnant. We've watched so much Phineas and Ferb that I no longer hate the show.

- Adding to the above point, our AC broke last night. From 10pm-11am this morning we had no AC and it was 83 degrees in the house. (another words--awful!) Thankfully it was an easy fix and we're back to enjoying the cool air.

- I completely finished Sweetcheek's bedding and I made a toddler sized rag quilt for E's 1st birthday

- I finished making the nursery letters that will spell out her name; just need to hang them up.

- I have made 9 hairbows as well as 5 flower clips for Sweetcheeks

- I sorted through all the the girl clothes that I've been given/bought, organized them, set up Sweetcheeks closet and put the bigger sizes away until we need them.

- I've started up a small hand-made business {not diaper cakes} that I will be unveiling soon. I'm super excited and have spent hours getting the website, business cards and of course, product just perfect.

Oh yeah did I mention that I have a husband, 3 small boys who have to be kept entertained as well as a very active baby growing in my uterus? Seriously she is feisty...constantly moving, poking, kicking, and elbowing me. I can hardly believe that she is already weighing in at 2+lbs and that I'm only 13 weeks from my due date. Realistically, (most likely) I'm only 10 weeks away from holding her in my arms. Next week I am officially in the 3rd trimester. Eeek! Here is a belly pic from today, 1 day shy of 27 weeks so I just rounded up.

For comparison, here is what I looked like 9 weeks ago:
Kinda makes you wonder what I'll look like on D-Day! I feel huge but know that I'll only get bigger.

So, in short...I'm crazy busy but will be sharing an exciting new adventure soon. {As well as pics of those cute boys}

Sno-cones, splash park and summertime

Tonight the temperature at 6:00 was 96 degrees. The heat index? Felt like 104. So what did we do??

We left the freaking air conditioning and spent the entire evening outside...FINALLY! The index has been over 100 degrees for the good part of the last 10 days. Needless to say, we've been avoiding going outside. Well by the boys' behavior and hyperactivity it was obvious that we NEEDED to get out of the house. Not just to get groceries or a treat but out, out. Let them run, burn off energy and be, well be boys. And it just so happened that this evening our city park was hosting a Jazz Festival.

There were about 6 artists taking the stage from 5-11pm as well as a Kid's Zone with petting zoo, insect zoo, bounce houses, etc. There were food vendors selling ice cream, sno-cones, pizza, hotdogs and BBQ beef sandwiches. There were Calvary horses and Army trucks/tanks and we took advantage of most of it. The kids loved the insect zoo and the bounce houses.

But their favorite part? The break we took from the festival. It was hot and they were sweating like pigs so we walked over to the splash park. At first they were all super hesitant but Bubba and Peanut warmed up quickly...Pooks took quite a bit longer and never did get quite as adventurous but they all had fun. Here are the pics in absolutely no order because blogger is being a pain in my ass hope you enjoy them :)