Blank Slate for Baby

I've been slower than might be expected in getting the nursery started, but I think I'm finally ready to dig in. The room's been painted a soft minty green and there's a nice cushy white rug to create the perfect blank slate. 


I'm honestly have no idea how it will turn out.  I have an eclectic sense of style, and almost never have an end result in mind. Having a theme isn't really my thing...little by little I find things I love and it eventually it usually comes together. So, I guess we'll all be surprised! 


I have started scouring craigslist for furniture and slowly getting together some decorating ideas and inspirations.  I'd love to get this done before the hot weather comes (which feels like forever, but I know it's coming!) and before I'm gigantic and uncomfortable.  So stay tuned!

Baby Gnome

I just finished this cute little sweater for the babe.  I call it the "Gnome Sweater" due to its unbelievably cute pointy hood.  I'm really glad that I ended up finishing this because I almost gave up on it.  If it wasn't for my Mom and her encouragement and ingenuity, I would have unraveled the whole thing.  It could just be because I'm a beginning knitter, but I had a bit of a hard time with this pattern and I'm not sure if I would recommend it.  The sweater ended up coming out ok, but there were a few adjustments I had to make to make it work in the end.  So, do what you will...don't say I didn't warn you! :)  Here's the pattern, if you're interested. 

And if baby boo is a girl, we'll add the flower pin for a bit of femininity :)

Hijacked

Nothing exciting today I'm afraid. Sore throat and sniffles hijacked my weekend and frequent naps took the place of scheduling blog posts.


Oh well. Nothing a little tea, honey and tender-loving-husband-care (and antibiotics) can't fix.


Back to our regularly scheduled programming tomorrow..with a new knitting project!

Multitude Monday

Giving thanks this week, for -

- Bri and Chris' cookies (the fun they had, even though they miserably failed)

- being productive

- Brian's care, when I'm feeling under the weather

- bed time

- perseverance
- after church lunch fellowship
-a finished project
- thoughtful gifts (a small vase!)
- baby appointments
- my students, powering through the MCAS tests
-a spring snow dusting (it's hard to be thankful for this, but I have to admit that it was beautiful)

22 Weeks

This Moment - a bundle of cuddliciousness

The other day, my friend and fellow teacher brought in her sweet new baby boy to meet the kids.  We were all absolutely smitten by little Theo and I had such trouble choosing just one moment to share! As he was being passed around from kid to kid (she is the most calm, laid back and generous mother!), I heard one boy exclaim, "He is such a bundle of cuddliciousness!" Very well said.

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. 

Joining with SouleMama

Got it before he ate it...

True.

Wanna know a fun fact about my husband? For as long as I've know him, as an act of defiance against fortune cookies, he eats them whole with the fortune still in them. I'm surprised this one lasted as long as it did...he'll eat the fortune without the cookie, too, of course. Drives me crazy, yet I guess it's somewhat endearing. 

Back to the scrapbook...

In high school and college I was really into scrap-booking.  It was an easy and relaxing creative outlet to engage in between studying and classes.

 Over the past few years my photos have gone(for better or for worse) from film to digital and this caused me to naturally drift away from my old hobby. I don't need to print my pictures to see them, so I just don't have a lot of photos hanging around anymore. 


I recently decided that this next stage of life would be the perfect time for me to pick up scrap-booking again. My siblings and I love looking at the baby books and photo albums that my Mom made for us as we grew up and I'd love to hand down something special like that to my kids, as well. 


I've been doing something a little different this time. I decided to give "hybrid scrap-booking" a try.  Basically, instead of designing a whole page, you get pages with different sized sleeves.  This makes it much easier to just stick photos in and then journal or decorated the areas beside them.  I may go back to full pages at some point, but since I don't want to spend an inordinate amount of time on this, I thought that this might be a good option.  


So far it's worked great.  I keep a file on my computer of pictures to print, then get them printed every couple of weeks. I have a little box where I keep anything that I want scrap-booked and then every once in a while I'll spend a night putting together a couple of pages.  I'm hoping I can stay somewhat caught up, but I hear that you don't have quite as much time to do these sorts of things when baby comes, so we'll have to see how I do. 


*For those interested, I bought my supplies at Scrapbook.com.
I got this album and these pages (among others).*

Happy scrap-booking!

Small Group St. Patty's Feast

Moments from our 2nd annual St. Patrick's Day Feast 

with our beloved small group...

we're not used to having so many people for dinner...so Brian is relegated to the very tall stool.

(thanks, Brian)

Thanks on the first day of spring...

This week I'm thanking Him for...

- The first day of spring!

- breath prayers

- kicks that make me jump in surprise

- Kimmie being home

- Not only 1, but 2 corned beef and cabbage dinners

- Brian's St. Patrick's Day prayer

- Nana's cooking

- taking the night off

- clean dishes, folded laundry

- breakfast with friends, with scones and all sorts of wonderful jams, jellies and spreads. 

- taking the kids outside, seeing the run around in the warm sun

- the first bulbs showing themselves in Sea Kettle's garden

righteousness and praise

Dear Baby - 21 Weeks

(the idea for this post was inspired by is a totally copycat of this lovely blogger..and we just so happen to be in the same week, too!)

This Moment - Thawing the kids

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. 

Joining with SouleMama

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind always be at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

and rains fall soft upon your fields.

And until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

- an Old Irish Blessing

(Enjoy my "green" photography treasure hunt, in honor of the day!)

Daddy Moment

The other day I casually mentioned that supposedly our baby can now hear us. So, Brian decided he should start reading to my belly.  Makes sense. People do that, right? 


I kind of thought he'd start with Dr. Seuss or something. No, it had to be Shakespeare.  Romeo and Juliet, in fact.  Unfortunately, he had to stop in the mid-way through the passage. It was getting too "risque". 


Baby James, I don't know exactly what it will mean for you to have an eccentric English teacher for a father, but we're off to an interesting start.  Just come to Mommy if you need some good old fashioned (age-appropriate) "Goodnight Moon" or "Peter Rabbit". 

Work Space

One of my mid-winter tasks was to tackle my little art/craft room.  

This picture was taken right after we moved in and it had since become a gigantic pile of boxes, art materials and crafty ephemera.  It was impossible to use or navigate in. And it was stressin' me out! 


So, off to IKEA, did me and the mister go. We found a hardy desk, two storage/book shelves and some pretty baskets. They did just the trick.


Now everything has a place and it's so much easier to use and work in. 

Behold!

Ahhhhh.