3/8/13

DIY printable fun

I've slowly been putting the baby's space together, thanks to bed rest in the middle of December and then her making her big debut an entire month and a half early in January I was not ready with all my crafty goodness. I still have a million ideas and they keep changing, but one thing that has stayed pretty much the same is the idea of incorporating birds. A while back my Mom and I hand made little birds with the idea of hanging them as a mobile but, well, that's changed. I've got another idea in mind for them and am hoping to get it finished really soon. The husband has been on paternity leave for the last few weeks taking off 2 days a week to hang out and be a dad but it still hasn't given me enough time in a day to do everything I want. Its funny, just this morning he mentioned that he had read something stating that new Mom's on average have an extra 8 hours of work a day and boy does that sound right. Between feedings, snuggles, diaper changes, baths and ridiculous amounts of baby laundry there just isn't enough time in a day!
But back to the decor, like I said, I've had birds in mind and a while back I came across these fun and free downloadable feathers from Little honey pie that would be a fun little accent somewhere in Chickie's space. The colors are pretty much spot on as to what I have going already so that is always a plus! Be sure to check out the post for the printable and get your paper crafting on!

3/7/13

1 month of love

Phew, I am so behind on posting its not even funny. I am just now getting around to posting little Chickie's (my nickname for my little lady) first month photos even though yesterday she turned two months old! I shot these gems in our living room while she was in between feeds, and I was lucky enough to get a few shots in before she spit up all over the pillow...gotta love newborns. Life with a little one has been one fun and very tiring ride. But I wouldn't change it for the world, my Chickie is just way too cute. She is getting bigger by the day and is pounds of fun, in these photos she was around 5lbs 8 ounces. She's was super tiny but since has grown to be a little chunky. I just love her so much and now that she is sleeping a little more regularly things are all starting to fall into place. I'll be posting her 2 month photos as soon as I can get a little more time on the computer, seems every time I touch it the baby wakes up and needs something. Just like when dinner is served...I swear its like she smells the food and wakes up just as I am about to take my first bite!
photos by our designed life

1/21/13

I've been gone but have a great reason!

Boy its been a while since a logged in to blog land. And for good reason, I had my baby!! Baby A came much earlier then we had expected at just 34 weeks old and after 20 hours of medication free labor and an emergency C-section I had my little girl. Born January 9th at 11:20 and weighing in at only 4 pounds 7 ounces. She is doing much better, being so early has lead to her spending her first bit of life in the NICU, a place I had never imagined I would be. It was tough to see my little one with tubes and IV lines but thankfully she is quite the show off and has done nothing but reach her growth goals. We are so thankful to all the amazing nurses giving her round the clock care and making her nice and strong to come home. She has finally passed her birth weight and is cooing like crazy...we even got to give her a bath last night. Lets just say her lungs had no problem developing! The husband and I cannot wait to have our little girl home with us very soon...hopefully within this next week if everything goes to plan.
We just had the baby shower over the weekend (we were all joking in the hospital that I would have to Skype in to my own party) and I am now stocked up on tons of baby goodies including  my old bassinet. My Mom kept it in amazing shape over the years and its surprisingly way more sturdy then the ones found in stores now. I love the lace details and can't wait to see the little one hanging out in my old digs. Below are just a few shots we took of her growing in the hospital; turns out we are already those parents that have way too many pictures of their baby...and she is only 13 days old!
photos by our designed life

1/2/13

Hanging in there

Its officially been 15 days of being on bedrest and boy is this difficult. I've never been one to just sit around all day and do nothing {funny how when we are super busy we dream of being lazy!} so having to physically lay down and try to keep as calm as possible is becoming torturous. My poor husband, he thankfully had this entire time off from work or worked from home during the holiday week but today went back in to the office. Thankfully my Mom is stopping by for much needed tlc around the house...sometimes you just need your Mom. And though I have ample amounts of time for simple things like knitting, blogging and tv watching, I've noticed a major decline in the desire to be any kind of productive. Don't get me wrong, I am happy to take it easy for my little girl to finish growing but its really quite difficult. Anyone else out there go through bedrest before? I can't wait to meet our little one, in fact, with the thought of her coming any day now we rushed to get a car seat just in case and the husband already installed it into the car. But until then its just Uli and I chillin in bed watching hours of tv.

12/31/12

Fancy sipping

Happy last day of 2012 friends. I've had the lovely pleasure of being wide awake since 1 am thanks to tons of baby kicks, seems I am now able to function on just 2 and a half hours of sleep. I sure wish I could actually get things done around the house but being on bed rest has me tethered to the couch all day and night. But at least I am still feeling healthy right?
But back to celebrating another years end. While everyone is dressed to the nines and sipping fancy concoctions, I will be home taking in a glass or two of organic sparkling pear juice and hopefully watching the famous ball drop. And speaking of fancy drinks how fantastic does this homemade ginger ale look!? I haven't sipped soda since New Years Eve of 1998 as a bet with my Mom and the only exception to that rule has been ginger ale yet I never thought of making it myself. Seems relatively easy and though it takes a few days to get nice and fizzy I bet its totally worth it. I've already made it a point to show the husband since I cannot cook and he even agreed its doable so hopefully I will be drinking my own version of this soon.
Wishing everyone out there a very safe and joyous New Years celebration.
image via design sponge

12/27/12

Its been a long week

I've been missing lately and am just now finally feeling up to having a computer in front of me. Thank goodness for my iPhone or I would have been completely out of the loop for over a week! Last week I was admitted to the hospital, seems the pain I was having wasn't as normal as I had originally thought and had to be monitored, poked and prodded for 3 days. Talk about stressful. But the good news is that baby was always doing just fine, it was me that was having a few issues. Now we just have to focus on having her stay put, at only 8 months she's still a wee bit too little to be making her big appearance. Since last Wednesday I have been on official bed rest, I even have to limit the amount of crafting thanks to a doctor that thinks its just more work. So I've been laying in bed with the dog watching hour upon hour of Netflix and Hulu...anyone have any recommendations I could check out???
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday, I was thankfully able to be released from the hospital Monday afternoon a mere hours before my family's big Christmas dinner. And even though I had to sit on the couch all night and have everything brought to me it was so nice to be able to spend time with my family and get my mind off of hospitals and test results.
Now I'm off for another round of laying around and doing a whole lot of nothing, my poor husband has had to work major overtime around here getting me meals, walking the dog and doing countless chores all while keeping up with his regular work schedule. What a guy.

12/19/12

Instagram love

These last few weeks have just flown by and I suppose it doesn't help that I simply can't keep my eyes open.  Yesterday I sat down at 2 after having a nice lunch and then before you know it I woke up at 5:15 in total darkness. Whoops. Baby growing sure does take a lot of energy. I've slowly but surely been getting ready for all things holiday and just need one more gift to get. Are you guys ready for the holidays?

As I mentioned, the husband and I stopped off at Renegade Craft fair on Saturday and I picked up a new Lerf Ewe cup to add to our growing collection, I think we are up to 7 now! I just love how no two are alike and artist Klai is such a wonderful person to chat with. We have grown to know her over the years and even though we see her only once a year she always remembers us. Talk about a great memory!

The husband has started to get things up on the wall to get ready for baby, it only seemed natural to put up our do your best print for her. I also hung a photo of the husband and I that we took for our baby announcement and a darling mouse illustrated patch. I still need to paint the frame but am not sure as to what color...these are sitting right above a dresser that is a creamy white so I'm just not 100% as to what color I want it to be.

And lastly in this weeks Instagram love is our main holiday decor. Our fireplace/radio/record/8 track player has been all dolled up with festive packages and a few natural ornaments. Since we live in a small apartment and didn't want to drag a full size Christmas tree up I opted for a small rosemary bush. Last year I made that fabric bunting and decided it would be the perfect way to spruce up our little bush. Not a whole lot of color but its just the way I like it, simple and to the point. How have you decorated this year?
images by our designed life on instagram