Photos from Kinley’s Birth

I’m trying to catch up on everything I’ve missed posting on here in Kinley’s first 6 months of life. When I wrote about here birth, I didn’t have any photos from the hospital so here are the photos and you’ll have to read the story here if you’re interested.

Waiting to get hooked up to all the monitors

So happy to finally have my baby in my arms

Spittin’ image of her father. Scary how much they look alike! In fact, my first words to her upon seeing her were “You look just like your dad!”

Her proud daddy :)

Her proud Grandma (my mom) holding her 3rd grandchild, but 1st granddaughter. [My poor dad had to leave the day before I was induced.]

Her other proud grandparents holding their first grandchild.

McKinley’s Pink & Green Nursery

I forgot to post photos of the finished nursery, so here are pictures my mom took in no particular order:

You can see on the floor the wreath I made from the crepe paper flowers I featured here. I’d like to say it’s now hanging on the wall, but almost 6 months later it still sits there on the floor.

This is some art I made to hang above the crib. My mother-in-law had these paper dolls in old magazines so I cut them out to use. First I got modge-podged a piece of scrapbook paper to a flat canvas board I got at the craft store (3/pkg). Then I cut out a smaller white piece of paper to glue on top of the scrapbook paper. I framed that with green ribbon. Then I used foam dots to make each paper doll stand away from the paper. To hang, I made little bows out of green with a pink rose in the middle and glued them to thumb tacks. I then hot glued white ribbon to the back of each canvas and used a ribbon thumb tack to hang on the wall. Cheap and easy…my kind of art!

This is the corner of her changing table/dresser. It has since been taken over by a jewelry box and more hair bows than you can imagine.

This is a close up of the items on the nightstand by the rocker. One of the ladies who lives on the street I grew up on hand stitched this prayer that I sign to McKinley every night. I have also replaced the generic baby picture with one of her very own (I won’t admit how long it took me to do that, though!).

The swing was moved downstairs and has since been packed up already (how do they grow so fast!?) and was quickly replaced with two large bins of clothes the spoiled loved little girl was given. I still have on my project list to paint the mirror frame white and actually hang it on the wall. One of Kinley’s favorite things, though, is to stand at the mirror and laugh at herself. Makes me smile each time she does it.

This is another shot of the wall art I showed you how to make here. It’s so odd to me to look at these ultrasounds now and think of them not just as a little baby that was growing inside of me but that they are pictures of McKinley. Hard to believe how small she was just one year ago!

So, that’s the nursery. Not exactly how I pictured it in my head due to the fact I chose not to finish it seeing how we’re moving into our own place soon and I’d rather save my money for that. But, it’s still cute and she loves it.

Happy 1 Week Birthday!

Well, I'm finally getting on here to make the big announcement...

McKinley Rae was born at 8:09pm on December 1st. She weighed 7lbs 9.6oz and was 20" long. We are so in love with our new daughter!

I ended up being induced because she was not coming on her own. I got to the hospital at 8am and my doctor started the pitocin at 10am. I was 1cm dialated when we started and by 2pm, I was only at 2-3cm, so she broke my water. I got the epidural around 3:45pm because I knew if I was like my mom, my labor would go fast once my water was broke. Pushing started shortly after 7pm and McKinley came into the world with her eyes wide open and looking all around at 8:09pm. So, I consider that all in all, I was only in labor 6 hours because I really didn't start to feel any contractions or anything until my water was broken at 2pm.

McKinley passed all her tests with flying colors...not a hint of jaundice or a funny shaped head from being born vaginally. I know I'm biased because I'm her mommy, but she is one of the most beautiful babies I've ever seen.

The hopsital has quite a money maker going on with the first photos of baby. Gone are the days of the baby with the hospital beanie hat and swaddling blanket. Instead, they have a professional photographer come in and take about 30 different pictures with all sorts of props at no cost. You're under no obligation to buy, but what parent is going to resist buying photos of their darling newborn baby?!

Here are McKinley's first photos from when she was less than a day old:

Be still my heart!

Her daddy has been AMAZING with her! The man who told me we could have kids as soon as I promise he'll never have to change a diaper completely took diaper and bathing duty upon himself after seeing all I went through during labor and delivery. I've changed maybe 10 diapers in her 1 week of life. He is completely wrapped around her little finger all ready. Guess it makes sense seeing how she is totally his mini-me.

We have been so blessed with McKinley. She has such a sweet and gentle spirit. She hardly cries...only when she's hungry. She sleeps a lot, even at night, and is a fabulous eater. So fabulous in fact that I've already lost 20 of the 30 pounds I gained during my pregnancy. God totally answered our prayers for our daughter.

And, for those who are wondering about her name...

We wanted to name our children after historical American figures, thus she's named after President McKinley and we'll call her Kinley for short. Her middle name is my middle name.

I'll probably be MIA again for a little bit as we're heading to Pigeon Forge on Friday for a week to celebrate an early Christmas with my family. To say that they're all a little eager to met her is an understatement!

And question for all you ladies out there...how come you're quick to tell us all about what labor is like yet you forget to mention the awful pain you'll be in for the following week. Ouch! Thankfully I only had a small tear...couldn't imagine what it'd be like if I had a large tear or episiotomy!



Still Pregnant

Hello?

Knock, knock, knock.

Is this thing on?

Why, hello. There is at least one of you out there who still reads this thing (Hi Chels!).

39 weeks today and still no baby. She's welcome to come anytime now. In fact, I'd really appreciate it if she decided to come sooner rather than later. After all, I've been off work for two weeks now without a baby to hold :( It has given me time to file all my papers that accumulated over the past year and clean out the upstairs hallway so I have a spot to work from home.

I've also been busy attending a surprise baby shower that our awesome church through us. We have such great friends there!

The nursery? Well, it's not quite done, but it's done enough to be liveable. To most people, it's probably done, but to silly me, there are still a lot of accessorizing things to be done. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get to that when I'm not busy making up some freezer meals to hold us over for a little bit once baby girl does arrive.

Today hubby had me out picking up brush around the property and throwing it on bonfire piles to help speed the process along. I've also done a lot of walking, squats, ate some fresh pineapple and I'm getting ready to have a cup of raspberry tea. Who knows if any of these things will actually work, but they're worth a try!

My mom flies in this Sunday night so I know she'd like for the lil' turkey to wait until Grandma gets here, but this mommy has has just about enough of being pregnant and wants to be home for Thanksgiving (yes, I'm helping make the meal...call me crazy, but I love cooking!).

What else is new here? Well, as you see in the photo...I chopped my hair off. 5 inches to be exact. I did it the day of hubby's Mayor's Ball this past Saturday. I tried a new place and I'm not happy with it at all compared to my regular lady, but I was trying to save a buck or two. Guess that's what you get.

Well, I probably won't be back for at least another few days (ok, more likely a week or so), but I do hope to resume blogging more regularly in the not too distant future. Don't worry, I will post an update, though, when the little one arrives with the big name reveal!

P.S. Too lazy to go back and grammar/spell check...sorry.

VICTORY!

Hubby & I with his parents

Last night brought sweet victory! After being slammed by lies from his opponents in the paper, truth prevailed and my hubby won in a landslide victory! In the almost 2:1 margin, his closest opponent was over 1600 votes behind.

What a fabulous night!

Now we can focus on finishing up work this week and then getting ready to have a baby in the next couple weeks.

I'm so proud of you, babe! I'm proud of the positive campaign you ran and how you stayed grounded in your faith and moral values. Truth always prevails in the end!

Wishing you the best in the next three years of your political career!

Going to be MIA

I’m sure you’ve noticed I’ve been slipping in my blogging again recently and I’m here to tell you it’s going to continue for a little bit longer.

You see that little countdown on the left of my blog?

It says 30 days until baby girl arrives. 3-0. Wow!

What makes it even crazier is that it’s still looking like she’ll be coming early so it’s not even 30 days most likely. Yesterday I saw my doctor again, and according to her we have an “old baby” in the womb because of her size and how well she appears to be breathing already. She’s sending me for another ultrasound tomorrow to check her weight, but it’s sounding like my doc may even decide to induce me before my delivery date. Granted it could just be because she doesn’t want to spend her Thanksgiving Day at the hospital either, but doesn’t bother me at all! Ha!

So, in trying to finish getting the nursery ready, filing a year’s worth of papers that I let accumulate (what in the world was I thinking?), getting ready for possible out-of-town guests this weekend, training my replacement at work and trying to get everything set for my last day on Nov. 5th, things are a little crazy around here.

Oh, and hubby’s re-election campaign is also in full force which means that until Nov. 2nd comes and goes that’s pretty much where all our focus is. I’ve had to design three mail pieces for that which takes up more time too. And, it’s hay season which means we’ve been trying to get hay off the fields before the frost sets in.

Yeah, busy doesn’t even begin to sum up our lives right now. I may actually get a break when the baby comes! Ha!

So, all this to say, I’ll try to blog when I can, but I don’t think it will be too consistent over the next few weeks.

Tutorial Tuesday: Box Pleat Crib Skirt

I’m slowly making progress on the crib bedding and last week I finished up the crib skirt. I’m so happy with how it turned out.

It is 18” long which is the perfect length because it hides the drawers under the crib when the mattress is at the top setting and it will just brush the floor when I drop the mattress down to the middle setting. I guess I’ll just have to go without when/if we drop the mattress down to the very bottom setting.

(Side note: HUGE thank you to some great friends from church who gave us their old crib. Ideally, I would have taken the time to paint it white, but at this stage in the game, it works just fine how it is.)

As you see in the picture, the crib sheets are pink (2 light and 2 dark) and the bumper will be out of the green fabric with the striped fabric as binding and ties. My mother-in-law made the binding for me quickly this past weekend and I’m hoping to get the bumper complete this week, but we’ll see.

I made up my own steps for sewing the box pleat skirt as I went along, so I’m sure there is a faster/more proper way to do it, but here are the steps I took to make an 18” skirt with two different fabrics and a box pleat (NOTE: I only had the skirt hang on the front and sides of the crib since the back is against the wall. If you want a 4-sided skirt, repeat the steps/materials for the front.)

MATERIALS

For under mattress:
1 - White sheet cut to the (length + 1”) x (width + 1”) of your crib

For front of skirt (double if you’re making a 4-sided skirt):
1 - Main fabric (green paisley in my case) cut to 15” wide x (length + 8”) of your crib
1 - Accent fabric (stripe in my case) cut to 5” wide x (length + 8”) of your crib

For sides of skirt:
2 - Main fabric cut to 15” wide x (length + 1”) of side of crib
2 - Accent fabric cut to 5” wide x (length + 1”) of side of crib

 

For the front and side panels, place the top of the accent piece against the bottom of the main piece right sides together and sew using a 1/2” seam allowance.

Fold the bottom of your accent piece up a 1/2” and pin. I did this step second so I could ensure that my accent strip was exactly 4” wide because I’m not the best when it comes to cutting my fabric straight, but you could do it before you attach your accent piece to your main piece if you prefer.

Sew hem using a 1/4” seam allowance.

Trim excess fabric along the hem you just stitched.

Press seam between the main piece and accent piece open and then press it back over and sew 1/8” from your original stitch line to create a top stitch on your main fabric. (I did this for the sides, but didn’t do it for the front – it’s optional).

 
Trim the excess fabric from the seam.

To create the box pleat (only on the front panel), I laid my fabric right side up. Find the middle of the panel and place a pin there. Fold one side of the fabric over the middle pin (right sides together) so that you have 1.75” to the side of the middle pin. Refold the fabric back on itself (wrong sides together, but right side again facing up) and pin. Repeat on the other side. Each fold on the side of the middle pin should be 1.75” long from the middle pin to the edge of the fold, giving you a total pleat of 3.5” from the edge of the fold on one side of the middle pin to the edge of the fold on the other. Here’s a closer look at the pinned pleat.

Using a 1/4” seam allowance, run a quick stitch across the top of your pleat so you can remove the pins.

Hem the sides of all three panels (2 sides and front) by folding the fabric up 1/2” and sew using a 1/4” seam allowance. Trim excess fabric.

  
With right sides together, pin the top of the front of your skirt to one of the long sides of the white sheet. Sew using 1/2” seam allowance.

Repeat for the 2 sides.

You’re all done! Place it on the crib under the mattress and step back to admire your work. Well, maybe iron it again first unlike I did and then step back to admire your work.

You’ll notice the crepe paper flower wreath peeking out the top of the crib. Sorry I haven’t shown you yet what I’ve done with it like I said I would last week, but this very pregnant momma is running a little behind.

The best part about the crib bedding is that I get a custom look for a very affordable price. For all three fabrics (the green paisley, pink stripe and green lattice print) I paid less than $50 and I have enough to make the skirt, bumper and valances for the windows.

The downside of my crib skirt making experience?

I completely forgot to account for the fact that due to the drawers underneath the crib, the side of the skirt is not able to hang down so half of my fabric is just bunched up on top of the drawer. Haven’t decided yet if I’m going to take the drawer out and forgo it or if I’m going to hem my sides up shorter…I hate cutting off perfectly good fabric :(

Linkin’ up to Tutorial Tuesday at Hope Studios. Hop on over to check out more awesome projects.

DIY: Framed Nursery Art

This nursery remodel is being done on a very tight budget. Thus, I’m having to think outside the box for some ways to make a big impact with small funds.

I was shopping the local dollar store the other day and came across 4x6 unfinished wood frames that were 2/$1. I snatched two packs of those puppies up and headed home to work on them.

A few coats of white craft paint with some pink and green dots around the edges made them coordinate beautifully with the nursery colors.

I used some scrapbook paper I already had on hand as mats behind the three ultrasound photos we have of our little one at different stages throughout the pregnancy. (Ignore my poorly centered taping of the photos.)

The frames still needed something more, so I hung them with ribbon I found at the craft store (7 yards/$2.50 on 50% off sale) by hot gluing the two ribbon ends to the back of the frame. To hang the ribbon on the wall, I used some green ribbon that came on a shower gift I received to make tiny bows which I hot glued to some thumb tacks and then poked through the pink ribbon into the wall.

The final touch for this area was to use a vinyl decal I picked up a year ago for $5 at Kohl’s when it was on 80% off clearance. Score!

Here is the finished result:

Here is the total cost for the project:

4 x 6 wood frames: $1.50
White, pink & green paint: Free
Scrapbook Paper: Free
Photos: Free
Pink ribbon: $0.50
Green ribbon: Free
Thumb Tacks & Hot Glue: Free
Vinyl Saying: $6 (but I kinda consider it free since I bought it over a year ago)

TOTAL: $8.00

The best part is I can easily change out the pictures as our little girl grows.

I’m linking this post up to Tutorial Tuesday.

Apple Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

If you love carrot cake, you will LOVE this cake. Heck, even if you don’t like carrot cake, you will love this cake.

If I remember correctly, this recipe came from one of my mom’s best friends. Her name is not Jill, but she must have gotten it from someone named Jill because the recipe is called “Jill’s Apple Cake”. Whatever it’s called, make it today. You will not regret it!

JILL’S APPLE CAKE

Cake: 4 c. diced apples (I use Granny Smith)
2 c. sugar
½ c. cooking oil
2 beaten eggs
2 t. vanilla
1 c. nuts, chopped (I use walnuts)
1 c. flaked coconut
2 c. flour
2 t. baking soda
2 t. cinnamon
1 t. salt

Frosting: 1 stick butter, softened
1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
2 t. vanilla
1 box powder sugar

In a large bowl, combine apples and sugar. Set aside. In another bowl, combine oil, eggs, vanilla, nuts, and coconut. Add to apple mix. Combine remaining ingredients and add to apple mix. Stir to combine. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes in 9 x 13 inch pan. Mix frosting ingredients and spread over cooled cake. Take a bite and try to avoid devouring the whole cake instantly!

NOTE: My hubby is not a big frosting fan so he loves this cake, but thinks there is too much frosting. Next time, I’ll probably only make 2/3 or 1/2 the frosting recipe. It is by far the best cream cheese frosting recipe I’ve ever used, though.

Thanks for the delicious cake recipe, Jill – whoever you are!

Tomorrow I’m going to link this up to Tutorial Tuesday

Feature Friday: How to Make Crepe Paper Flowers

source

I’ve been working on a project for a mobile to hang above the crib. I saw a picture in one of the Pottery Barn catalogs and I’m making my own (much more affordable) version. I’ll show you the tutorial for that next week.

For now, make yourself some of these beautiful crepe paper carnations.

I modified her tutorial a little bit. Here are the steps I used:

1. Cut 36” strips of crepe paper streamer (2 rolls/$1 at the dollar store)

2. Fold strips in half and use scalloped craft scissors to scallop one long side

3. Starting with the short folded edge, roll up tightly a few rolls

4. Continue rolling, gathering and rolling slightly looser until you reach the end of the strip

5. Twist/pinch the bottom together tightly (use a small dab of glue to secure the end of the streamer to the rest of the flower if desired)

6. Separate the layers until it reaches your desired fluffiness

These flowers would look super cute on cards or canvases for wall art too. Join me next week to see what I did with the 60+ I made (4 rolls worth of streamers).

Have a great weekend!

33 & 34 Weeks

Due to computer trouble, I didn’t get a chance to post last week’s pregnancy update, so I’ll lump it together with this week.

Here’s the picture from 33 weeks:

And here’s the picture from yesterday (well really this morning) when I am 34 weeks. Only 6 weeks until we should get to meet our lil’ turkey! We are so excited!

I am so thankful that I still have quite a bit of energy. Of course it’s getting harder to squat down and pick things up, but that’s to be expected. I finally found a position that allows me to get some sleep without my back hurting too bad so that’s great. Everyone still tells me I look so tiny. I know they’re probably just being polite because I feel gigantic!

Here’s what to expect this week:

Your baby could be as tall as 20 inches right now and about five pounds. Need a visual? Hold a five-pound bag of flour in your arms and imagine it's your soon-to-be-born baby (cradle it, and you'll only get strange looks in the baking aisle). Then stack three such bags one on top of the other (and get ready for some more strange looks). That's how tall your baby is.

Your baby's fingernails now reach the end of the fingertips and may even curl over the tip, making a manicure one of the first things you'll need to do for your little bundle.

Computers...Yuck!

Can I just say how much I despise computers sometimes?

My laptop officially bit the dust about a month ago so I'm only able to blog when I have free time at work or can sneak in time on my hubby's computer (shhh...don't tell him!).

Well, then the internet was down at work because our SonicWall was fried. When it was brought back up, the installer put a lot more restrictions on it than he was supposed to so then we had to wait a few days until he lifted the restrictions and restored them to their previous settings.

Anyway...all this to say I'm still here and I have some things I've been working on to blog about soon. Some things like apple cake, artwork for the nursery, mobile for the nursery, pregnancy updates and more bragging about my handsome hubby.

Be back soon (barring more computer glitches)!

Feature Friday: Waxing Leaves

Well, I started to pull out the fabric I needed to make the fabric pumpkins I featured last Friday, but then I reminded myself that I have a baby due in a little less than 2 months and that I have many projects to finish for her nursery before she arrives. This coupled with the fact I really have no additional space to store any extra decor when the season is over caused me to put the project on hold for now. So, as much as I’d like to make some fabric pumpkins for this fall, I’ll have to stash that idea away until next year.

This week’s feature is a tutorial I’ve had saved in my favorites since last fall, and while I’m going to wait and do it next fall for the same reasons mentioned above, I thought some of you might like to do it now.

Go find yourselves some beautiful autumn leaves, a block of Gulf wax, a disposable pan and some newspapers and then hop on over to Clover Lane to learn how to make these beautiful Waxed Leaves:

Waxing Leaves at Clover Lane

If you make these, leave a link in my comments so I can check out your finished project. And, don’t forget to leave a comment on Clover Lane thanking her for the easy and affordable tutorial for autumn decor. While you’re there, why don’t you let her know I sent you.

Our 3rd Anniversary

Three years ago today I married the most amazing man – my best friend, my lover, my confidant, the one who helps make me a better person.

It’s hard to believe it has already been three years.

The first year of marriage flew by in typical newlywed bliss. We questioned how people ever got divorced in their 1st year of marriage. The second year was a little rocky, mainly because selfishness crept in and we started to understand why people got divorced. Thank goodness we relied on God and persevered because this third year of marriage has been a huge blessing.

Has this third year been easy? No. We’re struggling financially, we still live with hubby’s parents until our place is built, we’re once again facing frivolous attacks in the press related to hubby running for his second re-election, etc.

Has this third year been full of blessings, though? ABSOLUTELY! We have loved getting involved from the start with a new church plant and the friends we’ve made there. We had the opportunity to purchase the 100 acre wood & farmland parcel my hubby has dreamed about owning since he was a kid and in turn got to bless our friends when they used it for their wedding reception. We’ve enjoyed trips to watch my brother graduate from college and visit extended family in Michigan. And most importantly, we’re ecstatic about the birth of our first child this November.

 
Three years ago when we stood at the altar, we never would have imagined where we’d be in three years. All I know is that thanks to my hubby I am a better person because being his wife has pushed me to grow in patience, love, and kindness. It has taught me to think less of myself and more of others.

I love you so much, sweetheart, and am eagerly looking forward to watching you interact with our daughter as you take on the role of daddy. I have no doubt you and her will have a special bond that will last a lifetime.

Tutorial Tuesday: Homemade Caramel Apples

This past Sunday hubby & I hosted the leadership meeting for our church. Thankfully it was a cool fall day so a giant pot of chili with cornbread and salad was a perfect meal to feed 20 people cheap and heartily. I made homemade caramel apples for everyone to enjoy for dessert.

Want to make your own caramel apples? Just follow these simple steps:

I used a mix of Jonamac & Macintosh apples because they were the most affordable to buy in bulk. If I wasn’t making 26 apples, I would have used Granny Smith because I like the contrast between sweet caramel and sour apple much better.

I used thin sticks I found in the kid craft area of my local craft store. Place the stick in the BOTTOM of the apple to help it sit better once covered in caramel. Chilling the apples until you’re ready to use them helps the hot caramel stick better.

…and unwrap…and unwrap…and unwrap. I used three bags of Brach’s Milk Maid caramels. Two bags would have probably been more than enough. Place your unwrapped caramels in a microwave-safe bowl. Resist eating any. Oh, alright, go ahead and enjoy one. You have to make sure it’s good caramel after all.

For each bag of caramels, add 1 Tablespoon vanilla and 1 Tablespoon of water. Microwave, stirring after 90 second intervals, until caramel is melted.

[Unfortunately my camera battery died so I couldn’t get a picture of Step 5]

Dip the chilled apples in the hot caramel. Swirl the apple to let the excess caramel drip back into the bowl. Set dipped apple on a lightly greased sheet (with Pam spray) of waxed paper. Repeat. Reheat caramel as necessary. If desired, dip apples a second time once they have set.

[I found more batteries!]

Once your apples are covered to your liking and the caramel has cooled, place each apple on an upside down cupcake liner (I found these in the $1 section at Michael’s) and tie a ribbon around the stick. Chill until ready to serve.

Check out the other great tutorials posted today over at Hope Studios Tutorial Tuesday.