oh my...it's august!

well, it's baby month. i'm freaking out just a little. i have no idea how to take care of three kids under three and a half. we have no idea if this is a girl or a boy so the nursery is not at all in the sort of shape any mommy would want to bring a newborn home to. the girls' quilts are far far from being done. i still have a few more closets to organize. everything that i did deep clean and reorganize has now been cluttered again.
 but that's not what it is all about anyways.

 and i am starting to relax about it all and on sunday i came to the conclusion (while glancing around our bathroom and taking in all the scattered bath toys, my old purses that the girls like to play with while i get ready every day, the dreadfully messy shoe situation on my side of the closet, the huge pile of ironing etc etc etc) that it probably won't look spic and span around here in the same way it did when we checked into the hospital to be induced with little R in 2008. i remember being so bored and having everything perfectly laid out and in the perfect spot for weeks leading up to her arrival... i would vacuum every day and dust every day, contented knowing that should she arrive at any moment, the vacuum lines would still be there and every wooden surface would be immaculate when she stepped foot in her home for the first time and looked around. hum. not so much this time. i'm okay with that. i think!
all that being said, i think it is safe to conclude that i cannot take on any more custom orders until a few weeks after baby arrives. just a little too much i need to tend to around here.

and one thing i really need to prioritize is my time with little m. i am scared for her--she will lose her big sister to preschool three days a week and somewhat lose me to a newborn all within a few days. i think that might be a lot for a 20-month old to handle.

if you all have any advice on how to make the transition easy or easier for her, please share it! i've been praying about this since the moment i found out we were expecting!
hope that those paragraphs weren't too whiny. we really are excited and are definitely counting our many blessings. we're just nervous!! now on to the good stuff!
 since the gender suspense is just about killing me i thought i would offer up a contest to all of you to help the time before we know if we'll be seeing more pink or adding in some blue go faster! so here are the details:
leave a comment on this blog post with your guesses as to the following:
-gender
-date of birth
-time of birth
-weight
-length
here are some possibly helpful hints about the girls' stats etc so you can make an educated guess! ha! if there's anything i've learned it's that babies and kids are unpredictable in every sense of the word!!
-our first born R was 7 days late--i was induced
-R was 7 lbs 7 oz and 20.5 inches

-our second born M was 8 days early
-M was 6 lbs 15 oz and 20 inches

-i have been measuring a week ahead of the due date this entire pregnancy--with the girls i was at least a week behind
-the ultrasound tech told us to be ready for baby anytime between the middle to end of august
-the due date was originally sept. 3 then they moved it to sept. 1 and then to august 29th
- i really really want this one to arrive before sept 1 (school cut off)
-most people who decide they need to stop and chat with a big pregnant lady trying to cart two kids through the store have decided that this one is a boy.
-i still think it is a girl but goodness--with all the boy comments i have no idea now!
-my husband predicts boy
-i never craved anything with any of the pregnancies, but i have strayed a little from my vegan diet this time around and i started eating chocolate--more to help the migraines at first and now out of habit!!
-i think that my belly shape is pretty much the same as it was with the girls
- heartbeat at my 35-week appt was 130s/140s...prior to that visit it had been in the 140s/150s

my chickadees and my neices at the park this morning!

alright! make your guesses!! i will pick one winner out of all the correct gender guesses, one winner who comes closest to date and time, and one winner who is closest on size to all receive some chickadee chickadee fall goodies! you only need to leave one comment with all your guesses!! thanks for playing!!

done!

aside from their quilts (the pieces of which are still stacked in much the same fashion as they were a month ago

),

i am so relieved and excited to say that the girls' room is finished! i love this bright, sunny spot and i hope that the girls will too for years to come. i tried to make as much of the decor as possible and i hope that they enjoy the handmade touches as they grow! the room is full of color and i wanted it to be fresh and playful, so i chose to use almost every pattern in heather bailey's pop garden line of fabric. lots of those prints may look familiar, as i have used many of them in chickadee chickadee clothing pieces!! take a peek inside their little space and let me know what you think!

my high school friend natalie is an incredible artist and a few years ago she sent me a tutorial she was working on for scallop bunting to test out (can't find it now, but here is her fun design blog and it might be hiding somewhere here). i made two banners using her pattern for the nursery and R's old room but this one i just made a few weeks ago is my favorite!i enlarged the scallop a little and just love how it outlines the top of the room and incorporates all the fabrics that will feature in their quilts. i made my own bias tape for the banner using this pop garden print and my handy dandy bias tape maker so that i could bring even more of the fun fabrics into the room.

i made the ties to hold the curtains back using this print from the pop garden line. i have a few yards leftover and can't wait to sew some things for the girls for next summer! the canvas propped on the bookcase i made by painting it a light shade of green...i cut out the tree and tire swing and birdies and butterflies using my silhouette and some happy shades of scrapbook paper. the other canvas features this pop garden print and then i had some leftover butterflies from the mobile (see below) so i hot glued them here!

so glad we could reuse this pottery barn teen rug we had in R's room before!

 

these were kind of randomly thrown together but i think i am okay with how they turned out. i quilted smaller versions of what will soon adorn their beds (hopefully!) and stretched them across canvases and i used hot glue to secure the fabric in place. for the middle one, i used my silhouette to cut out none other than silhouettes of two girls holding hands and skipping. i added skirts and hair bows to the image for some color pop. i could have done a better job with these for sure, but they'll do!

 

i wrote about how to make these letters in this post! such an easy and fun project!!

 

originally, i just made these two flower pillows, but i decided that each girl needed two so i made a yellow and white one and a white and yellow one--you might be able to spy them! this is such an easy way to add color to your little girl's room!! and you can do it all using just fleece and a hot glue gun!! (the website for the flower pillow tutorial can be found in the post linked to above.)

i took inspiration from a pottery barn kids butterfly mobile i've always loved when i set out to create a whimsical chandelier of sorts for their room (and to hide that plain ole fan a little bit better!) click on the above picture for a link to the pbk version. i used my silhouette to cut out the butterflies and i hot glued them to white thread and then hot glued all the strands to two rings (10 inch and 8 inch) that i found at michael's.

when we did R's room before M arrived, i found the most adorable etsy shop for children's artwork! emily creates the cutest prints for kids and i am just in love with her prints that include Bible verses. i chose this verse for little M and this verse for R. i also ordered two prints that i personalized with their names--this one and another cutie pie one, but i don't see it in her shop right now! find emily on facebook and send her some chickadee chickadee love! she's awesome to work with and i love supporting other Christian moms and their small businesses!

i am so very happy with the beds we decided to go with--it was a long debate but i am glad i went with the frames with the most precious feminine touches.

the beds are from stanley furniture's young american line. the color options are endless! we went with the lighter shade of green and i love it!

 

other bits and pieces...
dresser--ikea--hemnes 3-drawer chest
drawer pulls--hobby lobby...i loved some i saw at pbk but the HL ones were $1.50 each while the pbk ones were almost 18 times that each! now i see they are on sale, but i am still happy with my HL find.
bookcase--target--cottage bookcase...it was on sale when i bought it...now i see it's not. i am happy that i finally have a way of organizing their books!!
sheets--pottery barn kids--brianna pink sheet sets

and now... i wish you all... (read the sign!)

i'd sleep too but, i have lots more quilting to do!!

 

some side projects

pictures of some things i have been working on in between orders and kids and growing a baby! yesterday, i looked in my youngest's closet and decided that an ole talbots kids dress she had needed a little uptick...i chopped off the bottom of the dress and made it into a skirt for my oldest and turned the top of the dress into a collage like dress for little m. i think i found the dress at a consignment sale to begin with, so it was cheap from the outset but now i feel so economical because it has been transformed into two outfits!

 (not the best pictures...they were itching to get to the park!)

 bucket hat for an 8-year old! biggest size I've ever sewn for!

 baby three's quilt!

 

popsicle tanks for my girlies and my nieces!

 

gift for a friend's second daughter!

 

pillowcase dress, headband and a matching reversible purse!

  some projects for a sweet friend about to have her second baby!!

i have a few other things to show you, but they are tucked in drawers in my girls' rooms and they are sound asleep, so taking pictures of those goodies will have to wait!