Spider Plant

I found a neat little planter at a second hand store in Libby not too long ago and thought it was perfect for Boston's room. I had some clones hanging on my spider plant so I broke a few off and stuck them in the water beads.







Oxygen is good for a baby's room. I just hope this is the only spider I find in there!

Our Twenty-Third Week: In Pictures

Rock & Roll Time

On Tuesday Ryan had a meeting for work in Kalispell, so Boston and I rode along and met up with my mom, sister, brother and niece. We spent the whole day visiting second hand stores! I found a lot of cute little outfits and a few toys for Boston. My best find was this foot stool to go with the rocker I refinished for Boston's room. It was a total steal at $3.75! I thought I would just leave it pink, he won't care. KIDDING! I'm going to order a solid color (we have enough prints going on in the room already) to recover it with. I could just order more of the fabric I used for the rocker cushions, but you all know how I feel about matchy-matchy in my home. I'll probably do a solid orange to compliment.



And for reference, his chair:


Side Note: I realize I STILL haven't uploaded the "after" pictures yet. I've been slacking on the shelves. I hope to get the room finished soon and get the pictures posted. I'm so proud of how it's turned out so far!

Closet Cleanout and Reorganization

I was sort of sad to have to clear out most of Boston's newborn-3 month clothing and restock with his 3-6 month stuff. About 1/4 of his 0-3 month outfits still fit him. Of the ones that didn't most were just wayyy too short for him and he looked like he was wearing Simon Cowell V-necks! He's a long boy! I kept a gift bag in the closet to put his outgrown clothes in. As you can see in the picture below, it was starting to really overflow, so I just decided to get a tote and tackle this closet. I want to keep everything as neat and organized as I can so it will be easier to go through and use for future kids.

Here is the closet before the restock:



And with the new clothes (and some old that still fit):



I can't believe my baby has grown so much already! It really does go by too fast!

Crib Bedding: Quilt Dunzo!

I'm so excited to announce that I finished the crib quilt. FINALLY! On Mother's Day I just decided to do it. Get it done. We went out to my in-laws like we do every Sunday and with my mother-in-laws supervision and guidance I finished it! I feel so accomplished! This is the first sewing project I've done since quilting class in high school. It's weird too because I used to LOVE quilting and sewing in general.

I also have the mobile on the crib finally.



I'm finally getting around to posting his name picture. It wasn't posted before he was born because his name was a secret, and I guess I just forgot to ever post it! It's still not hung though! Since it's going to hang above the crib, we have to get something to not only hang it, but secure it to the wall so it doesn't fall on or get pulled off the wall by little man. I just made the print in Photoshop and painted the frame white. I quite like how it goes with the quilt and the room in general.



And a view of them together.

Nursery Progress

I'm sure a few of you are wondering why I never posted the final finished pictures of Boston's nursery. Well, mostly because I'm not done. Is a room ever REALLy done? I've been slacking hardcore on his quilt. I'm happy to report that I have all of the blocks sewed together, I just need to attach the back and add binding.



Here is a little list of the things left to do for me to consider the room "done", at least done enough to post the after pictures.

-Finish quilt
-Hang his Boston picture
-figure out new shelves, secure to wall, and load with stuff

Ikea Ekby Bjarnum Shelf
Basically that's IT! Not a lot left to do. My biggest dilemma (well Ryan's really) is to get shelves that will fit the Ikea brackets we bought. I could give in and just figure something else out altogether, but I'm stubborn like that. I have had these shelves pictured in my head for many many months, and I've waited so that I can have them as pictured.

Crib Bedding: Crib Skirt Done and Quilt Blocks Laid Out

The crib skirt is done and all put together. I loooove how it looks with the rest of the room! Thanks for hemming it for me Char! Boston is still in the co-sleeper next to our bed, and not in his crib yet. I've been using the crib as a stuffed animal storage container haha!





I also got the quilt blocks all cut out (FINALLY!!!!) and laid out how I want them to be sewed together. I quite like the fabrics together. I was sort of worried it would look more like a hot mess than a cute quilt, and I think it looks pretty cute. I can't wait to get them all sewed and finished! The only other things we need to do are:





1. Hang Boston's name picture above the crib. Ryan ordered some hardware that will secure it to the wall. You have to slide it and lift up to get it off the wall that way. The last thing I'd want is that picture falling down on my baby!

2. Get the shelves and get them installed. I sooo can't wait to get this done, I have a bunch of cute stuff stuffed in tote drawers just waiting to be displayed. Other than that, his room is pretty much DONE! Well, I mean any room is always going to be a work in progress, but when these things are finished, I'll feel good about calling it a day on this nursery!

The Big Checklist: Even Though He's Here...

Even though Boston has been here for almost three weeks (has it really been that long already?!) I am still not done with everything in his room! We are really getting there though. Here's my ongoing big checklist. Not much left to cross off!



- Cut and hem curtains and add elephants
- Install curtain rod and hang curtains
- Put crib together
- Paint all picture frames, frame art and hang.
- Make crib skirt
- Make crib quilt (contingent on crib measurements once it's set up)
- Make pillows
- Put up shelves (this one might be awhile, I got the wrong brackets at Ikea)

Here is the list of things still to get:

- Crib Mattress pad
- Moby wrap
- Burp Rags
- Wet bags for diapers
- Newborn grooming supplies
- Non-baby looking diaper bag
- Night light

I've been working on cutting out the quilt blocks every week when we go to my in-laws for dinner. It seems that when I'm at home I don't want to work on it for some reason. Maybe I'll get a fire lit under me and get them all cut out so that I can just start sewing, that's the fun/easy part. Cutting them out sucks! I've worn a horrible line into my cutting mat. It means I have to run the rotary cutter over and over and over the fabric to cut it. I only have about 6 different prints (6 blocks per print) left to cut out, so I got that going for me.

Ryan's mom finished the crib skirt. I have to iron it and get it "installed" in the crib and then that's finished. I can't wait to see the crib all put together with the bedding! I guess the only hang up now is my getting that quilt done!

As for his shelves. I realllly want to get this done. I have 2 options. Either have Ryan's brother's family that's coming up from Astoria sometime in May make an Ikea run and get the right sized shelf, or have Ryan custom make something. Either way, it will be nice to get them up! There is a lot of stuff hiding in drawers ready to be put out!

Closet and Drawerganization

I've had this post ready to go for quite some time, I just forgot to post it. So here is the before and after of Boston's closet.



Here's the closet before any painting or shelves.


After painting and having the shelving installed.


Chock full of 0-3month clothing! The stuff in the tote drawers will go on his shelves when those are done.


A few more views:






Also, here's a peek into a few of his dresser drawers. I just love little baby shoes and socks!


I still have a long way to go to get enough cloth diapers! He should be able to start wearing them in about a month, I can't wait!

Thanks Kiley!

Boston's cousin Kiley (well Aunt Melessa) gave him all sort of her old toys. He's going to have so much fun with them when he's a bit older!

Whose Husband is a Rockstar? That's Right, MINE!

This picture is worth more than a thousand words. Ryan built the missing parts we needed for the crib and got it all put together. I am SO happy! All I have to say is Karma is a B-word, and the lady that sold us that crib should be getting a nice full plate of it after what she put us through. Now I can get the measurements for the skirt and quilt and get rocking on that tomorrow when I go to the in-laws for our Sunday night dinner! Can't wait to get started!



I was SO overjoyed to have this finished! Next Daddy project is hang and secure Boston's name picture to the wall above the crib. And find shelving to fit the brackets we got at Ikea! Can't wait to get the room 100% done, but we might still be about a month away from that. Oh well, I'm loving life day by day and not worrying about what's not done yet. My little man is such a blessing and I couldn't be more happy with my amazing life!

A Thoughtful Friend

I have known my friend Joan since early 2004. She joined a Sims 2 group that I hosted and has always been a great friend, even though we've never met in person. She told me she wanted to make Boston a pillow for his room. She took a lot of care and spent a lot of time making something very special for him. I was so touched when she told me she wanted to make this for him.

When Lady died, she made a cute little collage of Lady, another dog and her guinea pigs, all of which have passed away. Here is what she said about it:

I was in the mood to do something crafty and when I heard that Lady Bird, a dog that was close to my friend Amanda died, I got an idea. I realized that we have lost way too many pets in the last 12 months so I decided to do a tribute to them. It's that happy place that we keep in our memories. Because of that blizzard I got time to do this. So here's too those pets that we can't see any more, but will always be with us inside.



I thought that was beautiful.

Anyhow, I got the package on Wednesday. When I opened it, at first I thought it was just the pillow. About 20 minutes later I really got to looking and in the bottom of the box was that picture, framed and wrapped up. It instantly brought tears to my eyes, I was overwhelmed with happiness. What a thoughtful thing to do! I'm so glad I get to display these wonderful gifts in Boston's room and I know that as he grows up he will love them as much as I do.



Thank you so much Joan. You've been a wonderful friend for 7 years now (has it really been that long?!?! Wow!) Your gifts were much more special and personal than anything anyone could have bought in a store.

Curtains Part 3: Elephants and Elephants and Elephants, Oh My!

DONE!!!!!! Sorry, I really just wanted to shout that from the rooftops. For some reason, this turned into the project that would never end. It took forever and a day to get all those ink elephants onto the curtains. Bending over a table and painting intricate faces for 2 days REALLY took a huge tole on my back. I could barely walk yesterday, and I'm pretty much just hovering today. But I'm quite happy with how they turned out, so that's good!

It was hard to get a bright picture since it's so horribly overcast outside today. Yuck, I'm so ready for spring!




Here they are before getting their faces


We're really coming down to the wire! I just hope I can get it all done in time.

Ryan's Baby Things

Ryan's mom found a few of his old baby things while cleaning out her garage.



The outfit in the middle is the one Ryan wore home from the hospital!

Rocking Chair 100% Finished

I know I already posted the finished rocking chair, but my mother-in-law ended up making the arm covers. So here it is updated with those.

The Big Checklist: Coming Down to the Wire

I think it's time for another checklist post. It seems that every time I make one, I see in writing all of the things left to be done and I really kick it in gear. I've been juggling many different projects the last week or so. I need to just focus my energy on one thing, get that done, and check it off the list. I feel like I have project/house cleaning ADD! I can't focus on one room/area. I bounce (literally I'm sure) around my house from room to room doing a little of this and a little of that every day. Today I spent a good deal of the day ironing and putting elephants on one of the curtain panels. I have about 4-6 more elephants to add to that one and I'm finished with it! Then I'm going to force myself to work on the next till it's finished. THEN that whole project is done and crossed off the list.

Next I'm going to go about cutting my quilting fabric into squares and get going on that. I didn't get the most accurate of measurements because the crib is still not ready of course. But I think it will be close.



Here are the items left to do from my February 6th post. I omitted the things that are 100% finished:

- Cut and hem curtains and add elephants
- Install curtain rod and hang curtains
- Put crib together
- Paint all picture frames, frame art and hang.
- Make crib skirt
- Make crib quilt (contingent on crib measurements once it's set up)
- Make pillows
- Put up shelves (this one might be awhile, I got the wrong brackets at Ikea)

Here is the list of things still to get:

- Crib Mattress pad
- Moby wrap
- Burp Rags
- Wet bags for diapers (Ordered)
- Newborn grooming supplies
- Non-baby looking diaper bag
- Night light

I have a LOT of updates to post tomorrow and in the coming days.