Crib's new life

The cover is basically a long rectangle
quilt with ribbons attached into
the seams

There are teeth marks
all over the front rail
of the crib

Adding the strip of fabric was as
easy as it looks, and I think adds the
personalized flare of the rest of the room

Maybe it was only my son, but Calan basically killed his crib over the two years that he slept in it. I swear he was part beaver when he was teething. However, I was not about to buy a third crib for our little one. As Tim Gunn would say, I needed to make it work.

The second I saw a crib railing tutorial on Pinterest (see Pin link below), I knew that was the solution. The tutorial was pretty easy to follow. I did insert some batting in between the top layer and back layer of the cover.

For the crib sheet, I did just plan to buy 2 solid purple sheets from the store, but after seeing how easy some tutorials were online I figured why not. The truth is I accidentally bought too little fabric, so to make 2 crib sheets, I just added a strip down the center of each sheet. I love when mistakes workout better than the original.

Not really sure why, but the second I say the "Let her sleep" sign, I wanted it in her room. It just seemed to so sweet to me. I just wasn't sure how exactly I was going to use it.

This was a simple project, but probably my most expensive single project. I spent $30 to have custom vinyl cut. If you have access to the right tools, this craft would actually be very cheap.

Here's my very simple tutorial for my nursery canvas sign:

Supplies

• Vinyl cut quote (I designed my sign in Photoshop using Manquis typeface and sent it to Luxe Loft Etsy shop and she created a custom cut for me.)
• 16 X 20 Canvas
• Mod Podge or some type of sealer
• ribbon
• button
• fabric scraps
• needle and thread
• hot glue and gun

Directions

To me this project is pretty straight forward once you have all the supplies. Carefully attach your vinyl cut out to the canvas. (This was the hardest part. It did not want to stick, so it was a very slow process that was basically letter by letter carefully setting to the canvas.) Because it was not sticking well, once I had the quote in place, I sealed it with Mod Podge so that it would not come off. Then I took the ribbon and hot glued the ribbon in place on the back of the canvas. I made the simple five-point flower following Marie Madeline Studios Festive Posies tutorial. I hot glued the flower and button into place. And ta-da, done.

My Purple Pinterest Nesting Nursery Reveal

Her changing table and dresser area. The dresser was my great-grandmother's that I
have had for years. I painted it when my husband and I used it in our room years ago.
I knew one day I wanted to use it in a little girl's room. It was what I matched all my
fabric choices to. 

When I set out to decorate our little girl's nursery, I had no idea that it would become such a hands on project for me. I just couldn't stop once I got started. Basically every element and decoration I either sewed or crafted.

Here is the before picture. The room was set up as our
office and spare bedroom. 

It was most definitely a labor of love for me. Every time I finished one project, I just couldn't wait to start on the next. I think everything came together exactly how I had pictured it.

It would be really hard for me to pick out my favorite part, but I really love the sign above her crib. It probably was my most expensive craft, but I love seeing it from the hallway as I walk by her room.

The funny part about this almost perfect nursery is that she won't be in here much. She will actually be sleeping most of her time in our room upstairs in a pack-and-play since going downstairs for every feeding is not ideal and the room is so close to the kids' room that I don't want them to be disturbed either. And in about a year, I'll be moving everything around and turning this space into Calan's room and Calan and Maisie's current room into the girls' room. Kind of crazy, but at least the room looks cute for now, right?

The view from the door. This room was where he first had Calan before
we moved the nursery into the other room for him to share with Maisie.
I set it up differently this time and love the layout of the small space so
much more. 

I'll be hanging a black and white newborn picture of our little girl
behind the chair once we have our session with the amazing Rob Twilliger.

Here are some detail shots of her crib area. Calan pretty much destroyed the
crib railing when he was teething, so the crib railing cover is not only cute,
but pretty much was a necessity.

I am so glad this dresser is out of our basement storage and in her room.
It makes me so happy to be using it again. The drawers are filled with
her clothes, diapers, and blankets. It offers me so much storage. 

Here are a few more final touches to the room. The kids painted the purple
birdhouses on the dresser for her. Calan likes to remind me that he did it
for his sister. 

Each day this week, I'll break down the room a little more sharing my tips and inspiration for each of the projects. Here is what you can expect:

Tuesday: Crib area. I'll share the tutorials I followed for the crib sheet and railing, as well as some things I learned from making them. I'll also share how I made the sign for above the crib.

Wednesday: I'll share the window treatments and chair area, including the too cute lampshade and footstool.

Thursday: All things changing area. From pad cover to hanging totes to decorations. It is a packed filled area.

Friday: The wrap up and everything else. 

Poor Third Child

There is no ifs, ands, or buts about it, having your third child is so different than your first. While I am so anxious to meet our little one, I have not even come close to finishing my to-do list. However, this time around, I feel no pressure to get it done. 

Her clothes are washed, but I have no idea what her coming home outfit will be. I had Calan and Maisie's picked out months before my due date. 

Holding my little guy after he was born. A first-time mother
absolutely in love and clueless. 

Her car seat is washed and ready, but any and all other newborn accessories (a.k.a. swing, bouncy seat, etc.) are still dismantled and in storage. And the car seat is in the basement and not installed in the car.

Her bedroom looks great, but her dresser is a shmorgishborg of her things just thrown in there. 

I have not bought or prepared any of my after care items. I actually have no idea where my breast pump is. Probably should find that soon. 

Holding my little Miss Maisie. Showered with make-up on.
Second-time mother already ready to go home. 

And even with all my anxiety of having a fast labor and delivering our child on the expressway, no hospital bag has been packed. 

But yet, I feel absolutely ready to have our child. Why? Because this is my third baby.

I packed my hospital bag for Calan at 34 weeks partly because my doctors feared I'd deliver early and had me doing Non-stress tests twice a week. He came at 41 weeks. Yeah not early at all. 

At the time, I had no idea how quickly I delivered, so I followed whatever pack-your-hospital-bag list I had found that included everything from music, computer, lotions, pictures, etc., etc. Many, many things I never needed, but I had it all. 

Now we are at our third child. If I went into labor this very second, I'd grab a pillow, a purse, and a camera, and head out the door. If I had time, I'd throw a quick bag together, but if I didn't have time, I know whatever I needed someone could bring to me, even a coming home outfit. It's not like I live in the U.P., back woods, or rural area. Everything is obviously accessible. 

And all the things that I haven't gotten done are seriously not anything that I need to get done. They are just if it happens it happens. 

Can you tell I am on my third child?

I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but I am the third child in my family. I feel a type of kindred spirit with this little one. So, I know all the benefits of having older siblings before you. 

By the time you get to the third, you just know everything will just work out and as long as the baby is fed, clothed, and dry, you are good to go. Anything else is just fluff. 

So, little third child, you are the lucky one. You get the relaxed, confident, third-times a charm mother and not the overbearing, pack rat, first-time crazy mother I once was. 

37 weeks and counting

I'd love to say that this pregnancy has flown by, but man, do I feel like I have been pregnant for forever. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I feel like I have been pregnant for 3 years straight even though I did take a year off this time.

There was a time I thought I'd never want to be pregnant again. We had always planned on 3 back-to-back, but somewhere between double teething children, crazy toddlers, reflux, exhaustion, etc. I felt done. I could not imagine handling 3 children. Let alone, 3 under 3. It actually freaked me out.

But then life calmed down. It got a lot easier. It got a lot more fun. It got to the point where it was time to complete our family. So we went for it, and I am so excited to complete our family that the excitement and anxiety has made this pregnancy creep by.

But here I am at 37 weeks and I am positive that this is our last baby. We had always thought 3 would be it, but this pregnancy definitely has made that very real for me. It has not been a hard pregnancy. There have been ups and downs, but overall nothing too different from my other ones. However, I am just done with this season of my life. I am ready to move on to the next stage of growing and nurturing my babies.

I am already not looking forward to going back to the newborn stage again. It is going to be hard to transition back to feeding and nap schedules. In that sense, having Maisie and Calan only 13 months apart was so nice. I was barely out of that life when Maisie was born. I hadn't gotten use to the semi-independent toddlers that I have now.

I am looking forward to meeting our little one. I am looking forward to counting her little fingers and toes and snuggling with her. I am looking forward to smelling her baby smells and watching her begin her life as a Wilson.

If she is anything like her brother and sister, I will surpass my due date of April 25, which means I still could have four more weeks of waddling around to go. Not sure I can handle it. Patience is  not one of my strong suits and with each pregnancy it seems these days get harder and harder. My excitement to meet my little one is so strong. I just want to bring her home.

Calan can't wait for her birthday. I made the mistake one day saying that we would not be able to meet her till her birthday and of course to him that just meant there is going to be a party and cake. So, he is getting just as impatient as I am for her "party." I will most definitely do a little party dance the second I feel a contraction.

As I head into my last weeks, everything is going great with the baby. I am measuring spot on. My blood pressure is good. My weight is good. Everything is good. So I wait and twiddle my thumbs and count the days.


Next week, I will be posting everyday about her "Purple Pinterest Nesting" nursery. I can't wait to share it with you. If you are impatient like me, I posted pics on Instagram. Each day, I'll share a little about my inspiration and DIY projects I did to complete the nursery. Oohs and Ahhhs are welcome, only half-kidding. I am just so in love with how it turned out and love that almost everything has a personal touch to boot. 

DIY Family Rules

Months ago, Bob and I sat down and decided on what our family rules would be, and it has taken me this long to finally finish the project.

It was one of those projects that I knew kind of what I wanted to do, but wasn't giving myself the time to finish it. I had all the parts, but putting it all together was another story. And there were mistakes along the way that stopped the project.

Moda Hometown Charm Pack by
Sweetwater

This past summer when I was at my mother's, I ran across Moda Hometown Charm fabric squares that I really liked the color combination for our family room. At the time, I had no idea how I was going to use them, but I decided that I needed them for something.

Then, during my MOPS fall sessions, it inspired our family to set up our family rules and our family mission statement. I knew then that my squares would be part of the project, but still didn't know how.

I designed our rules and mission statement in Photoshop and originally thought that I would Mod Podge them to canvas with the fabric squares around them, but that did not work out well. The paper bubbled horribly and it was not looking well at all.

Sometimes mistakes are meant to be. I think
they turned out better in the frames I found
on clearance at Micheal's.

After that, I tabled the project for awhile. We are talking 3 months. It was definitely becoming one of those projects that I thought I would never get done.

But, lucky for me, my nesting instincts kicked in and I needed to get this project done.

I was shopping at Micheal's for some odds and ends for the nursery and ran across some great frames on clearance. I knew right away, that they were just what I had been looking for to complete this project.

The sizes were perfect. The floating 8X10 center with a white mat border gave me exactly what I needed to finish the project.

I love it when you know in your mind what you want and you actually find it and it makes the project better than what you imagined in your head.

I used fabric Mod Podge to prepare the squares of fabric
for the project. Coating them first eliminated fraying
when I cut them for the prject. 

To make this project, I printed out our rules and mission statement on off white card stock, cut them to size, and used double-sided tape to keep them in place in the frames.

Next, I coated my fabric squares with fabric Mod Podge. Doing this first, made it so the fabric did not fray once cut. I then just cut and placed and organized the fabric along the white mat border provided with the frame. Once I liked what I had, I Mod Podged them down.

Even though this project took me months to complete, it was so simple and straight forward once I found all the pieces to make it work.

I love having a clear direction of our family on display where our family spends most of the time.

The frames flank our fire place in our family room. 

What do you think? How do you or would you display your family's rules in your home?

Linking to Thursdays are Your Day @ 52 Mantels

Good-bye Egg Junk; Hello gooey goodness

Growing up, my family's holiday breakfast tradition was infamous. It was my favorite part of EVERY holiday. We'd wake up, do whatever special thing there was to do(a.k.a. present opening) and then we'd all dive into my mom's egg junk that she served us on her good China.

Her egg junk was just your typical egg bake casserole made with whatever meat, veggie, cheese ingredients she had on hand. No matter how it was made it was always the best part of any holiday.

I just assumed that I would do the same things with my children. My husband loves egg junk, so he was all about making breakfast as big of a tradition for our family as it was for my family.

Then Maisie happened. You can't have egg junk with a daughter who is allergic to eggs.

In fact within hours of finding out she was allergic to eggs, I was talking to my husband and mom asking them what I am going to do now for the holidays if I can't make egg junk.

The beauty of egg junk is that it can be made the night before making the morning rush of holidays a little less stressful.

Well, I think I have found our holiday tradition. We make overnight sweet rolls.


I have now made these a lot, and every time, they are delicious and they are devoured. Are they healthy? Hmmmm. Not really. Are they egg-free? Yep. Are they delicious? Absolutely. 

Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner.

Of course, we don't just eat the sweet rolls. For Easter, I had a yogurt bar with mixed berries and granola as toppings. My husband whipped up some hash browns, sausage, and scrambled eggs. It was a feast and it felt just as special as my mom's egg junk.

Now to come up with a fun kid name for the rolls. Egg junk just had a great ring to it. Hmmmmm.

Little flower dress

Per usual, my little model was not so into modeling for me. Good thing she's so cute. 

Lucky for me, Maisie needed 2 cute dresses for Easter weekend. My husband and I decided that going to church Saturday evening instead of Sunday would be easier for our family and nap schedules. So, of course, Maisie needed another dress to be cute in.

I bought material to make a peasant dress, but realized that I basically would be making a dress that looked like her Easter dress - white bodice with a blue pattern skirt. I scrapped that idea and hit up Pinterest to figure something else out. 

I found an adorable version of a pillowcase dress from Shwinn & Shwinn, another amazing sewing blog that I follow, though a lot of her stuff I just dream of one day being able to sew. My skills are not quite there yet. 

However, her peek-a-boo pillowcase dress, was right up my alley, and would work perfectly with the fabric I had purchased.

The dress uses box pleats to gather the neckline. The tutorial does not go into specifics on how to do this or what spacing to do, so that took me a little while to figure out, but it was not impossible to do. Just take your time and measure and iron and pin till you think  you like what you have. I started with the front piece and got my finished neckline width and then figured out what my back box pleats needed to be to make that work out. 

If you need a couple of box pleat tutorials, this one worked for me and this one. 

I finished off the look with just a white t-shirt ($5) and white leggings ($5) from Old Navy and some silver glitter shoes ($9) from Payless. 

Pretty adorable, right? 

The main dress fabric is Keepsake Calico - Techno Tossed Flowers Blue.
On sale for $7 a yard. I used 2/3 yard for this project. 

Detail of the front.

Back view

Linking post to Trendy Little @ Sunny with a Chance of Sprinkles and Trendy Tot and Toddle Along Tuesday.

Right of Passage

Like I said Monday, it is a right of passage to wear matching Easter outfits. My sisters and I look absolutely thrilled, and now I am doing this to my children. I am a mother with no shame. I am guessing this picture is circa 1982.

The love, the hate, and the testing

Sibling relationships are definitely different than any other relationship in your life. I have 2 sisters and a brother and we all have different relationships with each other; some healthy, some not so much.

Because of my own issues, I have always worried about what kind of relationships my children will build or destroy between each other. It was one of my main concerns having 2 girls since girls are truly more drama than boys. My sisters and I are in our thirties and drama is probably the best way to describe our relationships.

Sibling relationships was one of my main reasons for wanting children close in age. Calan will never remember a time when he was without Maisie. They are together for better or for worse.

My children have finally gotten to the age where they can love each other one second, hit each other the next, and then love each other again. The roller coaster has started.

Some times it is so amazing to watch them together and watch how Calan as the older, protective brother takes care of his sister. He always makes sure that she has what she needs (as long as it isn't something he wants.) He definitely sees her as a playmate.

Maisie adores Calan. She usually wakes up before he does from nap time and gets pretty upset when we can't go get him. She'll keep going to his bedroom door till it is time to wake him up too. She follows him every where.

However, they have also gotten to the age where fighting has started. Maisie is not the "give up whatever Calan wants" type of girl anymore. If she is playing with something and Calan tries to take it, she clearly yells no. If he gets it, she tries to grab it back. If that doesn't work, she cries and gets me. Calan on the same note won't give up a toy for Maisie and if she grabs it from him, he bops her on the head.

Oh, the fun we are having right now.

Two of our family rules are 1) Speak nicely to each other and 2) Never hurt one another. So the fighting, usually ends in time outs and apologies. Pretty sure as their mother, the time outs and apologies are basically useless since they fight 2 seconds later, but it is the best thing I have right now. After each time out, they have to apologize to the other and give a nice touch whether that is a hug or a kiss. Both of them have no problem apologizing and they both love hugging each other, so no big deal there either. I love how Calan always runs to Maisie saying "Sorry Maisie Daisy."

It is hard to stay on top of their fighting since they really are over it 2 seconds later. They really never seriously hurt each other, but if I am not addressing it now, I feel like it will only get worse as they get older. My thought is that their sibling is their first friend and should be treated better than other friendships. So, if they aren't speaking nicely or acting nicely toward each other, they need to be corrected by me.

I know that I will never be able to stop sibling rivalry, but I also want them to know how important it is to treat each other with respect and kindness. If I can instill that in them, I hope that they will build a healthy relationship well into the future.

They decided to lay down in the kitchen and pretend to sleep. Calan made the "beds"
with their blankets.

Night time quiet time. Calan sharing his blue blanket with Maisie since hers was in
their room. 

Matchy, Matchy Easter Outfits

The kids' 2013 Easter outfits. 

When I decided to start sewing at the beginning of the year, I had no idea how much I would love it and how much I would be able to do in such a short amount of time. I am pretty famous for doing things for 3 weeks and then giving up, well it is now March and my list of sewing projects I want to do just keeps growing.

As a sewing mommy, I believe that it is right of passage to make matching Easter outfits for your kids. With Calan and Maisie so close in age, it just had to happen. I am positive when they are older they will complain that I made them wear them, but I can't help but think they will be pretty adorable all dressed up.

I first decided to make Maisie's dress and at the time I had no intentions of making anything for Calan, but as my skills have improved and my idea in my head of what I wanted him to wear was not matching anything at the store in our price range, I decided sewing was the only option.

The front and back of Maisie's
dress. I used Peek-a-Boo Pattern
Shop's The Natalie Dress.
The skirt fabric is
KeepsakeCalico Circle Daisy Navy.

A few weeks back, my favorite sewing blog and pattern shop had an adorable dress on sale. I knew that would be Maisie's dress. She posts discounts every Thursday. Then last week, she had a 25%-off pattern sale that included her new spring line, which included a cardigan that would be perfect for Calan's Easter outfit.

For Maisie's dress, I wanted something that looked spring-ish, but wasn't too pastel or flowery. I fell in love with the skirt fabric. I just choose white interlock knit for the top, and got to work. It was my first time sewing knit, so there are a lot of mistakes on the top, but it looks fine on her. I have gotten a lot better since I've sewn this dress. A part of me would love to re-do it, but I want to do more projects, so the top stays as is. I made the dress more empire wasted than the pattern calls for. I think it looks better on a toddler that way.

The pleats were pretty easy to do. I had a few seam-ripping situations, but overall the project fit well within my beginner-sewer status.

I used Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop's
V-neck Cardigan and
Delia Creates' Lil' MisterBow-tie
for Calan's outfit. 

With Maisie looking adorable in her dress, I knew that I couldn't leave Calan out. I love how the cardigan and bow-tie turned out. I am matching it with a white dress shirt I bought at Kohl's and a pair of gray cordaroys he already had. I can tell by looking at the cardigan just how much better I have gotten at sewing knits. I am still not the best, but I can tell from my first time on Maisie's dress to my fourth knit project of Calan's cardigan, I have much better control. There are a lot of tips on sewing knits online. Using a walking foot and a double needle has made sewing them look like I have been doing it for years instead of just months.

The patterns I followed were The Natalie Dress and V-Neck Cardigan from Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shops. The patterns are great because they go from 3 months to 8 and 12 years, repectively, so I can use them for years to come.  For the bow-tie, I followed an easy tutorial from Delia Creates. (The tutorial was easy, but it did take me a while to figure out how to tie a bow-tie; those things are adorable, but tricky.)

Now to figure out what I am going to wear. Decisions, Decisions.

And my not so willing models showing off their outfits. Toddlers and pictures do not mix.