Since my previous post was about what I've been up to, I thought I'd let you all see what Grace has been up to the past few weeks.

Grace was sick over Valentine's weekend so she didn't really get to enjoy the goodies. I had to run to the store the day after V-day and they had their cupcakes and cookies half-off. She didn't hesitate to dig into her cupcake. I think she gets her love of cake from her Grandma Debbie... okay, probably a bit from her mom too!

One morning for breakfast I fixed Grace a bowl of chocolate frosted mini bites (or whatever they're called). She didn't each much of it, but she had a great time playing in it after the wheat bites absorbed all the milk.

I was in the bathroom getting ready and she came in with her hands looking like this. It looked like she had poop all over them. I totally freaked out and started checking her all over to make sure she didn't have some kind of an exploding diaper, and then I realized it smelled like chocolate.

A couple days ago I came out to the living room to this. Yep, that's a tube of diaper rash cream. She managed to get it off the shelf in her bedroom, pry the cap open, and have a hay day with it. I assume she thought it was lotion because she was rubbing it all over her hands and cheeks.

F.Y.I. Diaper rash cream is meant to repel moisture. It doesn't clean up quickly or easily.

P.S. I really am an attentive mother. I don't let my daughter run around the house getting into whatever she pleases. Sometimes she's just too quick and sneaky for me.

"Naptime" Crafts

The weather has been pretty cold here recently and we've had 2 (what?!) snowstorms, so I haven't wanted to leave the house much. To keep me from losing my mind I've been working on some projects during Grace's naptime. I'm a pretty lucky mommy because it's rare for her to nap for less than 3 hours in the afternoon. I find that I can accomplish quite a bit during that time.

Several weeks ago I headed out to a new baby/children's consignment store in town to check out what they had. I'm in the market for a new baby bouncer, but came across a steal of a deal on a Boppy nursing pillow, new with tags. Since it was naked (no pillow cover) I decided I would make a cover. I LOVE how it turned out and was surprised by how easy it was to make. The hardest, a.k.a. most time consuming, part was cutting the pattern out and taping it together.

This is the backside of the pillow. I even sewed that zipper on myself! Boppy slipcovers at Target and Babies R Us range in price from $9.99-19.99. I was able to make mine for just under $6, and it's completely custom.

I've seen these car seat tents all over the blogosphere and I think they're genius! I found a tutorial and whipped this baby out in about an hour. I've seen them priced online ranging from $20-35, but I managed to make mine for $8 and some change.

The straps are what I find genius. It holds the blanket in place while still allowing you access to the car seat handle.

I would've saved a couple of bucks if I had chosen a solid fabric for the underside, but I loved the coordinating stripe, so I splurged.

I decided to dress up some burp clothes with the leftover fabric from my projects. The one on the bottom is a two sided burp cloth. Sounded good in theory, but it was a lot more work than it was worth. I think it will be my only one.

This nursing cover, also known as a "hooter hider" was my first project. It cost me a bit more because it required more material than just fabric. The straps have D-rings to make it adjustable around the neck and there's boning in the hem between the straps so you can see your baby and have use of both hands without the rest of the world getting a peep show. I also splurged on some expensive fabric at Joann's making this nursing cover come to about $12. Still significantly less than a real Hooter Hider, but it could've easily been done for half of what I spent.

Lastly are these cute paci clips. I got a package of 12 pearl snap sets at Walmart for a couple of dollars and found the cute round suspender clips on ebay for pretty darn cheap. There's a great ribbon store close by and I was able to purchase the ribbon in 12 inch lengths to eliminate waste. When all was said and done each paci clip cost me about a $1.
Cute, huh?

See below for links to the websites where I found these great projects

http://thethriftychick.blogspot.com/2009/07/simple-car-seat-tent-tutorial.html

http://www.vanillajoy.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/boppy-slipcover-pattern.pdf

http://www.vanillajoy.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/boppy-slipcover-instructions.pdf

http://www.blisstree.com/breastfeeding123/free-pattern-to-sew-your-own-nursing-cover/

http://createstudio.blogspot.com/2009/06/two-sided-burp-cloth-tutorial.html

A bit anxious

It seems as though I wasn't paying much attention when it was explained to me that human gestation is supposed to be roughly 9 months... not 6. I guess this little girl is a little anxious to greet the world, but don't worry because we have things under control and we got her calmed down enough to hopefully stay put for another 8 weeks or so (fingers crossed). I was having some lower abdominal pain on Friday and as the day progressed, so did the pain. At about 4:00pm I was on the phone with Justin and told him how I'd been feeling and he suggested I call my doctor since it was still office hours, rather than having no other option than to head to the ER if it got too bad. I thought my doctor would tell me to take it easy and if the pain and cramping turned into something else, go to the hospital. She didn't. She told me to head straight for the hospital to be monitored. She didn't want to take any chances. So I packed an overnight bag just in case (I've learned to be prepared from our experience with Grace), woke Grace from her nap and headed to the hospital. Justin was meeting us there since he was on his way hog hunting with a friend from work. I ended up staying in Labor and Delivery for about 6 hours (thankfully not overnight) hooked up to fetal monitors. The first few hours were good. I had only had 2 contractions. Then they started coming a lot more frequently - about every 4 minutes - although they really weren't painful, just uncomfortable. The on-call doctor decided to give me a couple of oral medications to relax and calm things down and after about an hour I wasn't contracting anymore... YAY! Since I wasn't dilated or effaced at all they sent me home for the weekend with orders to take it easy, call my doctor on Monday, and the most awful thing you can think of - NO CAFFEINE OR CARBONATED DRINKS. I don't know if I'll make it 2-3 months without a Pepsi. I guess I can do it if it helps this little baby go full term. So today has been a good day. No contractions, although I'm being extremely cautious with my activities. I'm scared to do anything that might disturb my uterus and make it mad enough to go into labor. We're keeping our fingers crossed and our faith in our Heavenly Father that we have a healthy baby... in a couple of months!

Snow

It's been snowing all day here in East Texas. We had a pretty nice covering this morning, but about 11am it warmed up enough to melt what was on the ground. Now that it's about 5pm it's cold enough that it's sticking to the grass, trees, and cars again. One thing I love about living here is that we don't have to deal with snow in the winter. I guess today is the exception. I knew the weather was going to be like this today, so I went out of my way yesterday to make sure I wouldn't have to go out in it. We've been in the house all day with the blinds and curtains open so we can watch the snow fall outside.

P.S. I can hear the little kids in our neighborhood outside laughing and playing in the snow. They don't get to experience this very often. The sound of their giggling makes my heart happy.

Favorite Blogs Tag

My good friend Dallas tagged me in her last post. I am to list for you my top 5 favorite blogs/websites, so here they are: 1. Hip 2 Save - www.hip2save.com. I'm right there with you Dallas. I check this website several times a day. This lady can save you tons of cash! She posts awesome deals all throughout the day that can be used online or in stores. Check it out! 2. Craft Blogs - I'm clumping these all together in one because I check them all regularly and pretty much love them all the same. They are : www.sistersstuff.blogspot.com; www.crapivemade.blogspot.com; www.craftgossip.com; www.createstudio.blogspot.com; www.littlebirdiesecrets.blogspot.com. These sites are full of ideas and tutorials for sewing, scrapbooking, homemade gifts, recipes and more. I love 'em! 3. www.sugardoodle.net - If you're a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints this website is a must! I teach primary in our ward (CTR 5) and I would be lost without sugardoodle. There's tons of great ideas to help with your lessons, coloring pages, and handouts. 4. www.scribbleitonline.com - My fave vinyl website. I have other vinyl sites on my sidebar that you can check out too, but this one is my favorite. They have an endless supply of quotes to choose from, as well as graphics. You can also make a totally custom order (which I've done) and the owner of the site is very sweet and quick to answer any questions and get your order placed. 5. www.thepioneerwoman.com - My favorite place for recipes. Her directions are very detailed and include step by step pictures. She's also hilarious, so trying out her recipes is entertaining AND delicious. Those are the 5 that I visit the most, but I have a bunch more that I love too. I can't wait to check out all of your favorite blogs too! I tag: Monica Hilary (where have you been lately? haven't seen much of you on fb or blogger) Amber (I don't know if you do the whole tagging thing, but I know you are an online shopper and bargain hunter) Brooke Jamie