GroceryBag Holder

On more than one occasion as I look under my sink and see a ridiculous amount of plastic bags stuffed everywhere I've thought, "I wish Renee would make me a plastic bag holder."  I then sigh, close the cupboard and continue on what I was doing.

We use grocery bags to dispose of all of Catie's presents so they get used frequently.  A handful will get taken from the mess under the sink and moved to a mess under her change table.  I finally occurred to me that I am fully capable of making my own plastic bag holder.

I didn't want to come up with my own pattern so I Googled it and discovered that not only are there lots of patters but there happens to be one on my favorite blog, Make It and Love It.  I pieced together some scraps and came up with this beauty that's going to look adorable in Catie's room.

Pillow

I was in Pier One Imports the other day and I saw this pillow that I think is so cute.

I have no need for a new pillow on my couch as my current ones spend 90% of the time on the floor but I thought I'd show it here and if someone else needed a new pillow they could whip this up.

It's covered in tiny little fabric fans (you know how you used to fold paper into a fan when you were little?).  The fans are sewed in the center to the pillow and then when they open they look all fluffy and beautiful.  I think you'd have to use some sort of knit fabric because the ends weren't finished at all and they didn't fray.  Would a knit hold the creases well though?  You may have to starch or something, it would take some experimenting but I think it's adorable.

L

Lamp

My favorite craft buddy called me up the other day and asked if I had seen what Sharon did with her lamp.  I'd seen it and been super impressed but hadn't thought any further than that.  Michelle however was more inspired that I was and wanted to re-do her own lamp and did I want to do it with her?

Before I go any further let me show you the lamp that sits in Catie's room.

It's an important lamp, it has a super dim bulb so anytime we go to get her from her nap or if it's late at night we can turn on the light and it's not blinding, it's a gradual pleasant glow.  Very effective just so very ugly, and old.  This lamp is becoming a family heirloom it's so old.

The poor shade has seen better days.  When we moved I stacked all of our lamp shades together and put this one on top.  Then we carefully loaded our U-haul and off we went never giving a second thought to the fact that we didn't tie anything down... oops.  Luckily this shade took the beating and did a wonderful job of protecting all of my much nicer shades.

A quick stop at Value Village and $1.99 later and I was the owner of a new, and very lovely burgundy shade.

I tore off the burgundy, followed Michelle and Sharon's helpful tips and covered it with fabric.  I added the ruffle at the bottom, my favorite bias tape to the top and joined the spray paint bandwagon.  I'm so pleased with how it turned out.  The more I look at it the happier I am with the results.

Michelle's is super cute too, you can see her results here.
L

Before and After

Over the years I've learned how much of a difference a few baskets and some organization can make so I decided it was time to tackle this corner.

We have a microwave stand in our dining area that doesn't actually hold a microwave.  Instead it holds all sorts of junk.  The two shelves underneath are where I keep my dishtowels in a very messy pile and it's always looked awful.  Here's the before.

I picked up some baskets at Micheal's when they were 40% off and moved the cloths to the bottom basket.  The top basket now hold saran wrap, wax paper and all those boxes that had no place before.  I figure it's baby safe for a while at least as I don't care if she plays with dishtowels.  It looks so much better with such a small change.

I'm thinking that the stand would look awesome if it was painted red, I'll think that over and possibly wait until Spring to tackle it.

Toys

A friend of mine made some of these bean bags for her little girls and I thought they were such a fun idea that I whipped some up using scraps.  I'd been trying to think of what I had that could be used for church toys and these are perfect.  I think they're adorable and Catie loves them.
The little ruffled one is my favorite.

No Nuts

This was Catie's St. Paddy's Day outfit, my little peanut free M&M.

Re-visiting

Jenny just commented on this post and I couldn't remember what it was, having written it in May.  I thought it would be fun to re-post the answers since so much has changed since then.

1. First thing you wash in the shower?
Still my hair.

2. What color is your favorite hoodie?
I have a brown zip up hoodie that I got at a Hush Sound concert.  It's really soft and light so it's not too warm.  It's definitely my favorite.  One day Brad discovered how nice it was so we went out and bought him something similar so I didn't have to share.

3. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again?
You bet, Catie is very kissable.

4. Do you plan outfits?
My wardrobe seems to be shrinking more and more these days as things wear out or are now too small.  It makes getting dressed easier since I only own so many outfits, I still don't plan them though.

5. How are you feeling RIGHT now?
A little lazy.  Catie is sleeping so I should be showering but I'm doing this instead.

6. What’s the closest thing to you that's red?
There's a screwdriver with a red handle on the computer desk.  It's a handy tool that has been used for many different projects.

7. Tell me about the last dream you remember having?
I have a hard time remembering my dreams.  It was different when I was pregnant but now that I'm not I seldom remember them.

8. Did you meet anybody new today?
I don't meet many new people these days.  I spend a lot of time at home or with people I already know, there aren't many opportunities to meet someone new.

9. What are you craving right now?
A shower and the option to not have do my hair.

10. Do you floss?
I went through this phase where I flossed really regularly and I was so proud of myself, then I went to the Dentist and they told me to floss! I was upset and quit. It never makes a difference to them anyway. – as a little side note, I just read this article talking about how Dentists often make more than Doctors these days but their real money comes from cosmetic dentistry and the market is getting so competitive that they're much less likely to give you a hard time about flossing because they don't want you to change dentists, I'm not sure that's such a bad thing. (I left this answer from last May, it still stands)

11. What comes to mind when I say cabbage?
My Grandma O'Reilly. When I think of cabbage rolls I think of her which doesn't really make sense because I don't think I've ever eaten her cabbage rolls, maybe my Mom tells me they were good? (This one too)

12. Are you emotional?
Yes but things have calmed down since pregnancy.  I would say I'm only slightly above an average person's emotional level.

13. Have you ever counted to 1,000?
I'm pretty sure I haven't nor do I have the desire too.

14. Do you bite into your ice cream or just lick it?
I definitely lick my ice cream.  I have sensitive teeth so biting is out of the question.

15. Do you like your hair?
My hair and I are friends off.  My wonderful Mom arranged for me to have an amazing hair cut yet the stupid hairdresser messed everything up.  He decided to do what he wanted instead of what I wanted.  The end result is a very high maintenance hair cut.  I'm procrastinating taking care of it right now and I'm wishing we didn't have plans later so I could just leave the fabulous bed head.

16. Do you like yourself?
Just about always

17. Would you go out to eat with George W. Bush?
I'd go out to eat with just about anyone, I LOVE going out to eat.

18. What are you listening to right now?
Our very loud dyer and the washing machine.  As usual I'm washing Catie's clothes and Brad got some new jeans that need to shrink a little in the height before he can wear them.  I'm also hoping that Catie isn't crying behind that noise, she should be sleeping.

19. Are your parents strict?
Not at all. I was the last of 5 kids so they were pretty lenient with me

20. Would you go skydiving?
I've never really felt the need to skydive, though this did just remind me of a strange dream last night that had something to do with jumping out of a plane, and parachutes, and I'm pretty sure Dave was in it... odd.

21. Do you like cottage cheese?
My sister-in-law Jolayne gave me an awesome lasagna recipe that has changed my mind about cottage cheese.  I sort of thought it was poor man's ricotta before but now I see the value of it.

22. Have you ever met a celebrity?
I sort of met Sarah Slean once… and by met I mean I spoke a few words to her after her concert. That's really it though. (since May there have been no new developments in the celebrity meeting department)

23. Do you rent movies often?
Almost never.  We all about the box sets so we've started revisiting the ones we already own.

24. Is there anything sparkly in the room you're in?
How many sparkly things are there in an average room?  I'm wondering how often people would say yes to this questions.  I guess my wedding ring is in the room, it's sparkly.

25. How many countries have you visited?
Still four.  There hasn't been any traveling since last May.

26. Have you made a prank phone call?
I hate any sort or pranks, I think they're just an excuse to laugh at people and I don't like it. You know that show that comes on, Just for Laughs? I HATE that show! (All still true)

27. Ever been on a train?
When I was really little my family rode the train to Golden. The only thing I remember are the sandwiches Grandma brought and that I thought we were going to Silver. (still my only train ride)

28. Brown or white eggs?
White? I don't really have a preference nor do I know the difference

29.Do you have a cell-phone?
Yes, Brad and I recently got iPhones and I LOVE mine!  I feel like it's changed my life and I look forward to opportunities to use it.

30. Do you use Chap Stick?
All the time, I have perpetually chapped lips

31. Do you own a gun?
No way, and there will never be guns in my house. People get hurt by guns.

32. Can you use chopsticks?
Yes but when it gets down to just rice I'm done, it's not worth the effort

33. Who are you going to be with tonight?
Tonight is FHE so we'll be with the Muise's and the Hornburger's.  Possibly the Pierson's too.

34. Are you too forgiving?
I would say I'm not forgiving enough, I could certainly forget about things quicker than I do

35. Ever been in love?
Two times that really mattered.  Brad and Catie.

36. What is your best friend(s) doing tomorrow?
Brad will be at school and Michelle will probably be at home with Rigby.

37. Ever have cream puffs?
I love cream puffs, maybe I'll make them for FHE in two weeks when it's at our house.  They always bring up memories of making them in Magrath with Jenn, Michelle and my Mom.

38. Last time you cried?
We watched the movie Up the other day.  Parts of it were really silly and dorky and unnecessary and parts of it were the sweetest thing I've ever seen.  The beginning and the end made me cry.

39. What was the last question you asked?
Are you ready for a nap?  I do lots of talking to Catie during the day.

40. Favorite time of the year?
Spring because it's softball season

41. Do you have any tattoos?
I almost got one once, I was drunk on all the fresh from high school freedom and I went as far as going to the tattoo parlour and picking one out. Thank goodness I changed my mind, I just wanted something rebellious so I think I got a second earring instead, I know… I'm so wild.

42. Are you sarcastic?
I love spending time with people who have a really sarcastic sense of humour, I'm occasionally sarcastic but who isn't at times?

43. Have you ever seen The Butterfly Effect?
I always confuse this movie with some dumb one where they go back in time and accidentally kill a butterfly and it brings about the end of the world.  I haven't seen the Butterfly Effect, the other one was on tv one day.

44. Ever walked into a wall?
I have a scar on my eyebrow to prove that I did once but I was so little I don't remember. I often don't give myself quit enough room to clear corners and end up walking into desks and stuff.

45. Favorite color?
Green

46. Have you ever slapped someone?
No, but I always wondered what it would be like.

47. Is your hair curly?
Only if I work at making it curly, it's a little wavy on it's own

48. What was the last CD you bought?
I just bought an EP by Wakey!Wakey! and it's awesome and everyone should love them.

49. Do looks matter?
Yes. We'd all like to think they don't but they do.

50. Could you ever forgive a cheater?
No. Every situation is different but I'm going with no for now.

51. Is your phone bill sky high?
Higher than we'd like it to be but it's manageable.  I hate how expensive cell phones are in Canada.

52. Do you like your life right now?
I love my life right now.  I love being at home with Catie and school is going well for Brad.  We like our ward, we like our house and our community.  Life is great.

53. Do you sleep with the TV on?
No, I am not one of those people who turn on a movie and then fall asleep. When I was pregnant I wanted a tv in our room so I could spend all sorts of time in bed but that desire has since left and I'm glad we didn't get one.

54. Can you handle the truth?
Yes, it's better to know

55. Do you have good vision?
I've always had good vision, I'm lucky that way.

56. Do you hate or dislike more than 3 people?
I'm not sure I do
57. How often do you talk on the phone?
Not as often as I would like too.  I have this awesome phone so I feel like I should use it all the time.  I do spend lots of time talking to my Mom and Michelle and I talk somewhat often these days.

58. The last person you held hands with?
That seems pretty obvious

59. What are you wearing?
A pajama shirt and Brad's pajama pants since Catie threw up on me this morning.  I told you I'm supposed to be showering.

60.What is your favorite animal?
Really big cats, Lions, Tigers, Leopards… I'd love a pet one if it wouldn't eat me.

61. Where was your Facebook picture taken at?
Our living room.  It's of Catie and as usual I thought she was adorable.  The photo was taken using my iPhone.

62. Can you hula-hoop?
Probably not, I used to be able to but I'm not sure that's a talent you keep without practice

63. Do you have a job?
I'm a full time Mom and loving it.

64. What was the most recent thing you bought?
I just bought some baskets for a microwave cart in our kitchen.  I was trying to organize and baby proof at the same time, we'll see how it works out.

65. Have you ever crawled through a window?
I don't believe I ever have… I put a mattress though a window once. It wouldn’t fit down the stairs so I used the window instead.

66. Is your hair up?
Not ever these days.  It's too short to be pulled up.

67.Is your phone right beside you?
My phone is in the living room on the couch.  Hope no one called me because I wouldn't have heard it over the dryer.

68.Do you have a gf/bf?
No but I have a husband

69.Do you wish you were somewhere else?
I'm generally pretty happy where I am these days.  I wouldn't mind a nice vacation somewhere but that'll come one day.

Hope this hasn't been terribly boring.
L

Fingers!

This post goes along with yesterday's.

As I was carefully unpicking the princess chair so I could use the pieces as patterns I came across this warning tag and I was surprised at just how alarming it is!

Amputated Fingers!  Perhaps these chairs are more dangerous than I thought.
L

Re-Cover

I've been looking for one of these saucer chairs for Catie because I've been wanting to recover it.  They're expensive to buy new though so I've been looking for a second hand one and so far I've been unsuccessful but I think garage sales will help.  If you have one kicking around that you no longer want or find a cheap used one let me know.

Until then I thought I would practice.  We have these awesome friends who live down the street.  They loan us all sorts of things and if we ever mention we want something they happen to have it and are no longer using it so they loan it.  We've been so grateful for the toys and clothes they've loaned to Catie but I've started to feel a little ungrateful, like we take take but never give anything in return.  I figured something I could do for them was to recover the pink princess chair they have for Natalie.  I'm proud of the results, I especially love how it looks so puffy and comfy.  Here is an after picture and one to show why I want one for Catie, she's so cute in it hey?

Tools

This was a project I worked on a couple weeks ago and I've been really anxious to post it but it as a present for Porter once his little brother came and I didn't want Michelle to see it first.

Rigby came and so I was able to give Porter this little gem (I know it doesn't look like much on it's own)

It's a toolbelt just his size.  The loop is for his hammer and there are pockets for the different tools.

Here's a better photo to give you an idea of how cute it looks.  This is taken from the blog Make It and Love It which is where I got the awesome idea and tutorial.

The perfect part is that Porter already had a tool bench that he loves complete with all sorts of tools so he'll have lots to carry around in his very own toolbelt.
L

For Conda Rae

Now that Catie has reached the 6 months mark she's graduated in 6-9 month clothing.  It's been fun to pull out some of the really cute pieces I have for her, one being this adorable dress that Conda Rae gave her.  I love it and I'm excited to put it into the rotation.
L

Growing Up

My little girl has decided it's time for her to be big. 

She's sitting on her own so much more securely, she's started eating solid foods and today she decided she only needs two naps a day.  I can't believe how fast everything is going.

I went and saw Michelle's brand new sweet little boy and it seemed like so long ago that Catie was that size.  The head was floppy and he was just a wonderful ball of limbs, he was delicious, yet as I handed him back and picked up my own girl I had such a feeling of renewed love, like this one was mine.  The other one was sweet and lovely but this one was mine.  As she sat in my lap I was so happy to hold her.

We proceeded out to dinner where she sat contentedly in her high chair the entire time "eating" (she doesn't actually swallow yet) her asparagus and I was so proud of this girl, so happy to be her Mommy.
L

First Food

With 6 months comes the time to introduce solid food.

I've decided to follow a method outlined in the book Baby-led Weaning.  The basic idea of the process is that you skip over purees and cereals and go directly to finger food.  You also let the baby feed themselves, you don't put the food in their mouth.  It you're interested there some great information on the method here.

So far I feel like we've had great success.  We started on Monday with some carrot, chicken and potato.  the only expectations I had was that the three types of food would all make it in her mouth at one point and that was definitely achieved.  She sucked on them and even gummed the food up a bit.  She was much less interested in breakfast the next morning but I feel like things are going just how I hoped they would.  Here's hoping for continued success.
L

Thrifty

I'm not typically the type of person that finds really good sales.  I think we all know that one person that manages to find the best deals but that sure isn't me.  I never want to take the time to hunt for the good stuff but somehow this weekend was an exception.

We went shopping and among out great finds was a .47 cent shirt for me, a $4.95 sweater for Brad and multiple items for Catie, the most expensive being $7.99.

One of the finds for Catie did include some jeans that I later discovered had a broken button closure.  Since I'm pretty sure I can do anything crafty these days I pulled out a hammer and some extra pieces that had come with some other jeans and I know have some cheap, fixed jeans.
(Pardon the poor picture)

It feels great to be the sales finder for once.
L

Bath Time Catie

Giraffe

Catie has a new favorite toy. One day after her nap I went to get her and she was staring longingly at a giraffe on her mobile. I picked her up and leaned her close and she was delighted to grab it. I took it
off for her. And it's been a favorite ever since.
 

 
 

Laughing means I love you

This is one of those videos that some of you will probably be bored with and a few will really love.

As a preface, I'm aware that it's a really bad video but it's the sound that matters so much more than the picture although the little smile at the end makes me happy.  I was home alone, playing with Catie and filming with my iPhone so you can imagine how great a picture I got.  Just turn up the volume and enjoy a few precious moments of baby laughter.

This is Catie playing with my hair (she LOVES hair).

Felt Food

I've recently jumped on the felt food bandwagon and I've made a few pieces that I'm really proud of, I can't wait until she's ready to play with them!

Just a Flash

I had a moment today, but not even a full moment, it was only a second.

I was driving home thinking about Michelle about to have her baby and that lead me back to thinking about when I had Catie and how Mom was there and Brad was there and while thinking about the experience I had a tiny flash of a moment where I thought, "I want to do that again."

It sure didn't last long and it was not difficult to remind myself that it's a really awful thing to go through but I felt like it was real progress and a real step in the direction of one day having another baby.
L

P.S.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that this project also took 7 HOURS. I'm
sure a little more experience would have sped that up.

The Crafts Continue

One of the best gifts we got for Catie was this bouncy chair.

Out of anything I had this is the thing that I used the most.  Catie would spend time in it playing with the toys while I made dinner or when I had other things I needed to do.  It was somewhere I could put her yet she was still stimulated and we loved watching her grab for the toys.  The only thing I didn't love about this chair was what an eye sore it was.  It could have been worse and had Winnie the Pooh on it but this wasn't a whole lot better. 

Michelle and I had talked a couple times about the possibility of recovering our chairs (she has one too) but it didn't ever happen.  Michelle is due to have a baby any day now and is going to be using her chair again so she was re-motivated to tackle this project and was the initiator.  We headed over to the Fabric Addict to buy our fabric, revealing our novice sewing skills when we asked for basting tape instead of bias tape.  We both ended up picking the same fabric and headed home to make our chairs.

Michelle had raised her concerns over the project a couple times but I just brushed them off, I'd looked at my chair and it was pretty simple.  I hadn't looked at the amazing construction that went into hers and it caused us a few more problems but with the minor casualties of a broken seam ripper and multiple pin priks my finished project looks like this:

I'm so thrilled and can't believe it looks this good.  It's definitely not perfect but I think I'm the only one that will notice the imperfections.  You can check out Michelle's here. 

The unfortunate part of this project is that Catie is now finished playing with this chair so it has to be put away until the next baby.  It'll be fun to pull it out then and have such a beautiful chair.
L

Sitting Up

There are lots of things that Catie does really well, she scoots backwards better than lots of babies her age.  She has great hand-eye coordination, she holds her own bottle and she rolls all over the place but there is one area where she definitely lacks, sitting up.

I keep seeing pictures of babies younger than Catie sitting on their own so well and this is the best we can ever do.  See how she's holding herself up on the ground?  It's progress and it's adorable but I keep waiting for her to really start sitting.  I'm certainly not worried about how she's progressing just getting excited for her to be able to sit a little more securely.

L

Looking for the Positive

I'm really trying to make the most of this haircut I hate so here's a list of the bright side

1. The return of accessories.  With such long hair earrings always seemed unnecessary since you really couldn't see them anyway.  It's been fun to dig into my stash and remember what's in there.
2. The return of lipgloss.  There was a point in my life when I had a problem with lipgloss, I owned a ridiculous amount of them and was never without at least one (usually 5).  I live in a seriously windy city so wearing lipgloss with long hair was just gross, I was forever peeling goopy hair off my lips.  Now that my hair doesn't reach my lips I'm free to pull them all out again.  There is one draw back to the gloss though, it means less kisses for Catie, I'll have to find a happy medium.
3. I can lean over and play with Catie without her getting handfuls of my hair tangled.  She can still reach but can just barely grab enough that it's cute, not painful.
4. No longer do we find long strands of my hair everywhere.  Give me a couple vacuums and all traces should be gone.

At least I can look on the bright side right?
L

The Details

Forgive me for no properly sharing this gem of a stain remover as I should have.

The cleaner is called Proxi.  I did a quick Google search but didn't really see where it's sold, sorry.  If you live in Lethbridge I can hook you up but otherwise you're on your own.  It's labeled as a carpet and upholstery cleaner as well as a stain remover and you spray and walk away.  No rubbing.  You're supposed to spray and then let it dry for optimal cleaning.  Catie's onsie's are so gross and the mess is so frequent that I usually don't let it dry, I toss it in the wash right away.

This is moments after the latest clean up project.  I rinsed the onsie and that's it.



This is 15 minutes later, I didn't do anything but spray it.  These results would be more impressive if I waited longer but I had laundry to do and wanted to get this in so 15 minutes is all you get.  If I had waited a couple hours the stain would be almost completely gone.  When I pull this out of the wash it will be white without any remainder of the stain.

As a small celebration and I'm sure far too much info for anyone who isn't a mother, today's poop was less runny, I'm hoping this daily mess is on it's way out.
L