Merry Christmas to everyone! Enjoy spending the next few days enjoying family,
food and Jesus's birthday!

I ordered our Christmas cards from Minted, using my gift card I won in the DIY Program Challenge.

Read more...

New in the Shop

Happy Fall everyone! I've been hard at work these past few weeks, getting some new items in the Etsy shop for the upcoming season. I also take custom orders, so if you see a certain style or fabric you like, just let me know!

Fabric Flower Double Rosette Headband - Irridescent Green & Purple on Green Elastic

Felt Flower Headband - Purple and Green on Green Jersey

Felt Flower Headband - Pink on Soft Pink Jersey

Felt Flower Headband - Bright Pink on Brown Elastic

Felt Flower Headband - Royal Blue on Soft Blue Jersey

Fabric Flower Rosette Headband - Fall Colors on Chocolate Brown Elastic

Fabric Flower Headband -Fall Colors on Chocolate Brown Elastic

Fabric Flower Headband -Fall Colors on Burgundy Elastic

Felt Flower Headband - Bright Pink on Soft Pink Jersey

Fabric Flower Headband - Blue and White on Jersey

Felt Flower Headband - Blue on Blue Jersey

Fabric Flower Headband - Black and White on Grey Elastic

Fabric Flower Rosette Headband - Black and White on Silver Elastic

Read more...

Creeeeeeepy!

So last night I was laying in bed, perusing through my iPhone because I couldn't sleep. It was probably about 11:30 p.m. Emmalyn had been asleep since 7:30 and Jason was out like a light as well. I have the monitor right next to my bed and can always hear the soothing ocean sound from her bedroom. Suddenly I heard an automated-type voice in the monitor that said, "Congratulations! You've just won a prize!". Holy crap. That took me by surprise. I started hitting Jason to wake him up and tell him we needed to go check Emma's room. His half-asleep response was, "Oh, I didn't hear anything." He then told me that I was probably dreaming. I was NOT dreaming. We made our way into her bedroom, where there was of course, nothing. So...I have no answer to where that voice came from other than I know that sometimes monitors can pick up other frequencies (radios, other monitors, etc). So, maybe it was picking up something from the neighbor's house? Either way, it creeped me out. Has anyone else ever heard anything weird on their baby monitor??

Read more...

My Week in iPhone Photos

July 17
Emmalyn and my first time meeting little baby Alys, daughter of my friend, Trisha.

Pulling up and standing, and practicing walking along the couch. Daddy supervises.

July 18
She LOVES her bath time. I think her favorite part is watching the water fill up the tub.

Playtime before bed


July 19
It's baby food time! Total cost for over 70 ounces of food? $7
Butternut squash, apples and sweet potatoes

July 20

Work field trip to the Orange County Regional History Center in downtown Orlando.
Love all the vintage orange grove packaging designs.

Dinner at the Ale House. Such a big girl sitting in her high chair!

July 21
Work from home day. Emmalyn keeps herself entertained while I plow through my to-do list.

Dinner time. Feeding herself some avocado.

Trying some shredded cheese for the first time.

Attempted to make a cappuccino in the Magic Bullet. Not bad!

Saturday morning playtime. Watching Beckham eat her breakfast. Emmalyn has taken quite the interest in the dog food.

Do you take photos with your iPhone? Link up at A Good Life, iPhoneagraphy, and instaFriday.

Happy weekend everyone!

Read more...

Emmalyn's Birth Story

Well, Emma's 8 months old. To say I've been a little busy these past few months is an understatement. Better late then never I suppose.

November 14th, 2010
It was a Sunday morning. Jason decided he was going to play a round of golf with his buddies (one last outing before baby). I wasn't due until November 23, but I had a feeling that the little one was going to come early. My mom had me two weeks early, and even if that's not hereditary, it was still something stuck in my mind.

My lower back had been aching for a few days. Nothing too bad, but just a constant lull. I chalked it up to the fact that I was lugging around 35 extra pounds. I mean, my ankles were swollen, my toes looked like sausages, my wedding rings didn't fit --throw a back ache in there and it's called the third trimester.

So, while Jason headed out to play golf, I plopped myself on the couch with a heating pad on my back. I napped on and off all morning and into the afternoon. When I woke up from my nap at 2 p.m. (still on the couch), I called my parents in Wisconsin. They were visiting my grandma with my sisters and brother-in-law. My grandma got on the phone and started asking how I was feeling, how the baby was, etc. When I told her my back had been hurting, she said, "Oh, that could mean you might go into labor soon!". After chatting for a bit, I got up to go to the bathroom. As I waddled walked into the kitchen, I peed my pants. Okay, I DID NOT pee my pants, but it sure felt like it! So many thoughts going through my head...Did my water just break?? Is this how it's supposed to feel? Shoot, Jason's not here. I don't have contractions. Am I supposed to have contractions? Did I just pee myself? Do I call my doctor?

I got a towel. I wiped the floor. I laughed because I remember months before telling Jason that he wouldn't have to worry about cleaning up if my water broke at home. That I would take care of it. Now here I was, taking care of it. I laughed again when I remembered that my mom's water had broken in the kitchen of our old house when she went into labor with me. Now I know THAT is not hereditary, but is it ever ironic or what?

I went to the bathroom. I sat on the toilet. I called my neighbor, Jenny. She'd had a baby 5 months earlier. She'd know what to do. She answered, we talked babies and labor for a few minutes. She offered to bring me over some spaghetti (I was planning on laboring as long as I could at home). I called my parents, who had just left my grandma's house. They almost didn't believe me--I mean, I had just talked to them ten minutes ago and I wasn't in labor then!

I called Jason. His golf game was done and they were all at Beef O'Brady's eating wings and watching sports. I told him that my water had broken for real and the baby was coming. He was practically running out the door before I could finish my sentence! Beef's was only a few blocks away, so he was home in less than five minutes.

I called my doctor. Since it was a Sunday, the office was closed, but the answering service paged him and he called me right back. I told him everything that had happened so far and he said, "Well, it sounds like your baby is on her way!" He was on call that day/night, so he was at the hospital anyway. He said he'd see me later and to call if I needed anything else.

Since my contractions hadn't started, I decided to jump in the shower and get the rest of our hospital bag ready. We had been mostly packed but there were a few last minute items I needed to pack last (iPod, contact case, camera charger, phone chargers, etc). At about 5:15 p.m., the contractions started. At first they felt just like cramps. Okay, I've been having those for the past 15 years of my life and they weren't so bad. They were pretty far apart and not very strong. I wandered the house doing various things for the next 30 minutes. At 5:45 p.m., I told Jason we should head to the hospital.

We stopped at McDonald's on the way so Jason could get some double cheeseburgers (I guess he didn't get to finish his wings earlier). I got an ice cream cone. As we drove to the hospital (about 15 minutes away), the contractions were about 5 minutes apart and getting progressively stronger. I threw my cone out the window about half way there because I couldn't eat and concentrate at the same time. We finally made it to the hospital. Jason parked and grabbed our bag as I waddled out of the car. We walked through the ER on our way to the 4th floor. I had to stop and take a few breaks to breathe, leaning against the walls, the elevator, Jason. They buzzed us into to triage and we made our way to the nurse's station. By this time, the contractions were coming like rapid fire. Did I even have a break to breathe? It didn't feel like it. Meanwhile, the nurse is looking for me in the computer. Come on...I pre-registered like they told us to in our labor classes so that I could AVOID the delay. "Oh", she says, "What was your birthday again? I typed it in the wrong spot. No wonder I couldn't find you." SERIOUSLY. I can't breathe and you want me to remember my birthday and tell you? Vocally?

She finally found us in the system, printed our paper work. Another nurse came up to me and asked me a few questions, including if I thought I was in labor. Yes. If my water had broken? Yes. The rest was a blur. I just wanted a room. I needed to sit, to lay down, anything except stand hunched over a nurses desk in the hallway. By this time it was almost 7. They got us a room and nurses were bustling around getting everything ready. It was surreal. I almost didn't believe it was happening. We were getting so close to meeting our daughter!



When they checked me, I was 5 cm dilated and the contractions were less than 2 minutes apart. I felt good about the amount of time I had labored at home and the nurse's seemed surprised that I was that far along. Jason helped me get through each contraction, telling me when it was close to being over while watching the monitors. Then he went to the bathroom to throw up. Guess the cheeseburger and wings didn't go over so well. Then I threw up, thinking about him throwing up. I felt a lot better after that.



Originally I was going to see how I could do without an epidural. Breathing, concentrating....I tried. It was too much. I wasn't getting a break to even breathe. At this rate I didn't know if I'd be too tired to push when the time came. So, I opted for the epidural. It was about two hours before the anesthesiologist was available to put it in. I guess I was at the bottom of the request list. It definitely gave me some relief for a couple hours. Our hospital visitors were even able to come in and chat with us for a while. My in-laws, brother-in-law Jeffery, and friends April, Doug, Zack and Amber were all there. Jason was texting updates to my family in Wisconsin.



At about midnight I was ready to start practice pushing (which just means that the doctor is not in the room), so it was just my labor nurse and Jason. I pushed for about 40 minutes. At this point, the epidural was gone, but I didn't care. I wanted to meet my daughter. The doctor came in shortly after and we knew baby Matthews would be here soon! I pushed for 40 more minutes. I don't even remember the pain, but I knew it hurt. Pushing was the only thing that was going to make it stop though, so I kept going. Suddenly, the head was out and with one more big push, our daughter was born! It was Monday morning at 1:55 a.m. on November 15, 2010. She weighed 7 lbs 9.7 oz and was 19 inches long. Simply perfect.



She was placed on my belly and we locked eyes. I was in love. The nurses took her to the warming table to clean out her mouth and nose, since there had been meconium in the womb. My doctor asked them to lower the side of the bed so I could see our baby. She was so beautiful!







We all took turns holding her. Everyone who had been in the waiting room came into the L&D room to see our daughter. She didn't have a name yet. We were still undecided. But it was now 3 in the morning. The name could wait. She wasn't going anywhere.









Welcome baby girl. We've loved you for so long. We can't wait to begin our life with you.
Love, Mommy & Daddy

Read more...

Pregnancy: Week 30

How far along? 30 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: +5 pounds (total of 30 pounds gained)
Maternity clothes? Always!

Stretch marks? None yet (fingers crossed).

Sleep: I just bought a body pillow to help make sleep more bearable.

Movement: Every day!
Food cravings: Since the baby is getting bigger, my stomach seems to be getting smaller. Running out of room, I suppose!
Gender: GIRL!
Labor Signs: Braxton Hicks contractions a few times a day - painless though!

Belly Button in or out? In, but it's stretching!

What I am looking forward to: Baby shower this weekend!

Read more...

Pregnancy: Week 28

I'm officially in the third trimester!

How far along? 28 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: +6 pounds (total of 25 pounds gained)
Maternity clothes? Yes, although I'll occasionally squeeze into non-maternity t-shirts that belong to Jason.

Stretch marks? None yet (fingers crossed).

Sleep: I'm still waking up at least once every night, and it's getting more uncomfortable to sleep.

Movement: Every day!
Food cravings: Lately it's been cereal.
Gender: GIRL!
Labor Signs: Braxton Hicks contractions a few times a day - painless though!

Belly Button in or out? In, but it's stretching!

What I am looking forward to: Going home for a baby shower!

Read more...