Brown Acre

Introducing The Pretty Pickle!

2013-08-03T13:32:00.002-04:00

Hey everyone! I just wanted to make sure that my followers here were informed of my new blog, The Pretty Pickle.

I just got it up and running, and while there are a few kinks to work out, I'm so super pumped to be using it. My shop is now also linked up with my site to make purchasing Pretty Pickle pretties that much easier!

Since it would be a little much to try to keep up with both blogs, I'm taking a break from this one for a little while. Who knows, I may come bak to it one day, but for now, make sure to add www.theprettypickle.com to your daily read!

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2013-07-28T08:50:00.002-04:00

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Vacation Week!

2013-07-27T13:20:00.001-04:00

This past week has been full of fun things!

My family and I went on a "vacation" of sorts to place near us.

Mom, Dad, KK, and a slue of children were the entourage.

Some moments were great (#makingfreakinmemories).

Some were....let's say challenging.

Come on, let's face it. Traveling with small children is never easy.

But we sure tried to make the most of every moment!

Monday: Idawild Park

It rained. A lot.

We got soaked. Several times.

Children complaining. Baby screaming. Soggy underwear and socks.

We lost my parents approximately 37 times.

But we made some freakin' memories, by golly!

My sister, "Aunt KK" was the reason we took this mini vacay. It was her week off from work and because she wanted us all to join her (being teachers, we had that option), she invited us to go!

A lot of my day was spent looking for quiet places to nurse and try to get my baby to sleep! I goofed up and forgot to give him his acid reflux meds that morning....lame. So he was a fussy baby for most of the day. Here, I found a gazebo that was empty of people...and chairs. So I plopped on the floor and began feeding my baby. And 5 minutes later, another downpour hit. My "quiet" place was crammed full of people! Oh well. I'm pretty sure hundreds of people saw my boob this day, even with the nursing cover. Ha!

We rode rides in the rain! Cra-Cra!

K and KB are on top and KK and I are near the bottom.

L-Rose sure enjoyed the rides! The highlight of the trip was after riding her first kiddie ride, L-Rose say "I RIDE it!!" She was super pumped and seeing the joy on her face was worth it!

Nana even got in on the action! We totally could not have pulled off this trip without my parents helping us. Thanks guys!

We only got a few minutes in the water park (of which I did NOT participate...no way I was getting in a swim suit less than 2 months PP) because we didn't know it closed at 6! It worked out fine though, as the kids had a blast, and we weren't stuck in one section all day.

Riding the kiddie rides.

Tuesday was a rest day. Whew!

Wednesday: Tanger Outlets! I didn't get any photos of this because we were to busy shopping!!!

K-man and KB spent the day with GDaddy, while Mom, KK, and I (along with baby) shopped the day away. It was fun. But I am more than ready to shed some more baby weight so I can look cute in clothes again. I did manage to find a few things though...=)

Thursday: Pittsburgh Zoo and a night in the motel

Ronan's first trip to the zoo was a success! We had a MUCH better day. The weather was glorious! not too hot, no rain, and a slight breeze. It was perfect. Ronan was less fussy and took some good naps even!

I missed an awesome photo right before this shot was taken. This leopard jump up on the glass right in front of K-man! Everyone screamed!

Love the elephants. My FAV for sure.

I have a picture somewhere of Kole and me at the zoo in this exact spot, when he was maybe a year old. We had to take another this time=).

My silly pretty sister.

Petting a deer!

Riding a turtle statue.

After the zoo, we stayed in a Comfort Inn and Suites for the night. It was nice to not have to drive home and relax a bit.

We ate at Max & Ermas which had pretty good burgers.

Afterwards, we went back to the hotel and got settled in, and went for a swim. The kids had a blast, including Ronan! It was his first time in a pool and he kicked and splashed and had a ball. Until he turned slightly purple....we got out early and warmed up=)

Water baby in a speedo!

Splashing with grandaddy.

After trying to wear out the kids at the pool, we retreated to our rooms and rested up for the next day.....

Friday: Carnegie Science Center

It was a beautiful day in Pittsburgh, PA.

We started off the excursion with the sports enter at Carnegie Science Center. There were so many fun sporty things for the kids (and adults!) to do.

GDaddy and Kole waiting in line for a virtual trip through the body.

Getting ready to rock climb. And sleeping=)

He made it to the top! Go K-man!

Next, we headed in doors to play for a bit. GDaddy took the older two to go through the submarine, which Nana, KK, and I took L-Rose to the little kid play area. It was soo cool!! Tons of contraptions and levers and buttons! Even a HUGE water table!

We bought tickets to the Omnimax Theater show "Flight of the Butterflies".
No photos allowed, but I did snap a pic of these beauties on display.

Then we headed to the robot room to play some more.

Nana, channelling her inner gamer.

K-man and his star wars robot guy....named something or other...

We even found a nemo for L-Rose!

experiencing weightlessness....and a wedgie.

There were a few tanks on the third floor that had cool creatures in them.

GDaddy is a cool creature too!

Carnegie closed at five, and we stayed till close. But we realized that we were going to be leaving during rush hour if we took off for home then! So, we channeled our inner adults (I learned from my Aunt Becky) and walked downtown to eat some dinner.
Jerome Bettis Restaurant was the best and closest choice and it was pretty good. I got a deep fried burger. Yup, you read that right. Interesting to say the least.

On our walk back to the car, we stopped by the river and took some photos.

Not sure who this statue is, but K-man called him his army. I think he was delirious at this stage.

What a fun and exhausting week!

Today (Saturday) is my rest day for sure. I haven't done a thing. I finished a show on netflix, read, drank coffee, and nursed a baby today. And I'm still in my PJ's.

Great end to a great week!

Family, Fun, Summer Galore!

2013-07-20T13:30:00.001-04:00

Whew! These past several weeks have seemed to fly right by!

We've been keeping so busy, I've neglected the blog, yet again=).

But I am so thankful for all that has been going on in our lives on (and around) Brown Acre.

First, I want to show you a new furniture redo! Like always, I get excited and forget to take those darn before photos. But the finished product is a beauty!

And she's still for sale! Click here for more info....

We've had such a great couple weeks with family!!

And next week is going to be so much fun too!! But I'll leave that for another post...

Ronan has gotten to hang out with several members of the family.

Here he is with Aunt "KK". This boy sure loves her! When I can't get him to sleep, I just hand him right over and within minutes, he is out! Notice the natural mohawk?!?

Sweet Cousin L. She sure loves Ronan! Always wanting to hug and kiss on him. It is just too sweet!

My sister, the kids, and I got to attend the Mannington festivities for the 4th of July. Here is Kole getting ready to battle.

KK won a cake at the cake walk! I was so proud! Fulfilling my childhood dream from a elementary harvest party where everyone won a cake but me. Go KK!!

G$ spent some quality time with Baby Ronan as well.

More love from the cousins.

Random, yes. But this chicken won't stay off my porch this summer. She flies over the fencing and walks right out to the porch to chill.

My Aunt Becky got to come in for a visit! It was so fun to hang with her! She's just great and "such a grown up"!!

This is what we do when we all get together. Facebook. LOL

My sweet baby! I adore this child.

Also celebrated this month was Nana's birthday!

We even got her in the hat at Mi Pueblo.

Then Kole had to take a turn=).

CRYING YODA!

My brother and sister in law also came in for a visit. What sweet people they are.

I always feel so inspired and encouraged by visiting with them.

Some gdaddy time.

Hopefully, you can forgive me for slacking on the blog.

We are just having too much fun!!

Stay tuned for next week's post! We have something planned EVERYDAY for my sisters vacay!

Can't wait!!

If you haven't already "liked" my Pretty Pickle FB page, please do so now!!! I'm adding new things everyday this summer!!! Just click here.

Garden Update

2013-07-03T13:59:00.002-04:00

Brown Acres is a little neglected these days.....

...and for good reason! Baby Ronan is a month old and needs me alot. And I enjoy every minute of it.

Part of me misses the garden though.

Today, I got to make my rounds of the acre during morning nap.

Look how cute Marceline is! She is one of the silkie chicks I hatched early this spring.

This is an Americauna chicken named Hawk.

The weeds are growing great here at Brown Acre! This is K-man's raised bed from last year. It didn't get planted this year (for obvious reasons) but look what came up! These beautiful flowers! I don't know what they are though...poppies??

My poor, neglected garden. The deer have decimated a lot of stuff, other plants just aren't doing well, and everything got planted later than normal. Oh, and it is a weedy mess.

Our one peach that is growing! First year. I hope the birds or other critters don't get to it before it ripens.

My Raised Beds:

Garlic, broccoli, squash, and zucchini. Oh and some carrots.

I was a little random in planting at 9+ months preggo in May.

Weeds. And some beans, onions, and squash.

Poor, pitiful tomatoes. Deer and blight are going to get the best of me.

Lots of randomness here. Broccoli, squash, carrots, and I just recently planted some beans on the far right end. (See my harvest basket peeking in the back?)

Stupid deer. These are supposed to be beans. Sunflowers on the left end. Zucchini on the bottom. I replanted the beans last night. We shall see how this goes....

Some other critter (deer maybe? More likely a groundhog) got in and ate up my strawberry plants. Did I mention the electric fence wasn't working for a few days? I also have some pitiful looking pepper plants here.

Tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, and a pepper plant. Random, I told ya.

The flower bed. There is a big bear spot in the center...not sure what that it about. But the flowers on the left will be gorgeous when they start blooming. I love fresh cut flowers in the house and garden.

Here are the deer beans. They were blooming and beautiful. And then this. Ugh. Makes me sick.

Apparently, deer don't like oregano. It is HUGE! Weird thing is I didn't even plant it this year. It is from last year and overwintered somehow. I'm not complaining, ya'll.

Tomatoes on right. Corn on left. The tops of the corn was also eaten, but they have recovered. I didn't even know corn could do that! I hope we get some this year. I have never had good luck with corn for whatever reason. If not, I'm coming to your garden, Mom and Dad, and stealing some corn. Here's your warning=).

Cluster of tomatoes.

Nothing can kill swiss chard. This is overwintered as well. Sad thing is....I don't like swiss chard.

I did manage to plant one hill from last year. it is very weedy, but the squash don't seem to care. I have muskmelon, acorn squash, and butternut squash here.

My butterfly bush is going crazy! I love watching the swarms of butterflies landing on it all summer long. I got this plant as a cutting from my momma. Since then I have done three more cuttings from this one and planted them around the house. I may do some more around the greenhouse....speaking of....

The greenhouse is going crazy! Deer don't like greenhouses. Proven fact.

We planted these tomatoes super early this year to test out the greenhouse capabilities.

So far so good!! Except we didn't stake them...and now they are everywhere!

After taking these photos, I spent a few minutes tying most of the tomato plants up. It looks much better now.

Giant sunflower in the greenhouse.

Spillage of tomatoes.

In addition to replanting some beans last night, I also weeded five out of the 11 raised beds in my garden. It felt SO good to be outside and working in the dirt.

Even though I love to garden, soak up the sun, sweat, and play in the dirt, I love my boys so much more. Being their mom trumps anything else.

So, my garden is a mess this year. Things aren't growing. Deer are stupid.

And ya know what? It's ok with me.

Because I get to be a momma to two fantastic boys.

It doesn't get any better than that.

...even when they are crying=).

One Month Old! What?!?

2013-06-27T13:53:00.001-04:00

Can you believe this little face is one month old already???

Time has flown by....but also creeped along.

My sweet little Ronan is changing so much every day!

We have a doc appointment on Monday, so I am curious to see how much weight he has gained.

Currently, he is still in newborn clothes! But he fills them out much better now, and I have a feeling he will be in the 0-3 month soon.

I'm feeling myself again, thank goodness! Those post partum hormone changes can be rough! Luckily, I think that the worst is behind me, as I feel pretty good these days.

So far, we have no real schedule, other than eating every 1-2 hours a day and 1-3 hours at night. A couple of nights we have even had a 4 hour stretch!!! But that was after a particularly fussy day....

Nursing is going splendidly! I'm so thankful for this and can relate to the mommas who struggle with BFing because I totally did with my first. Luckily, Ronan has been great at it!

Ronan has been diagnosed with reflux=(.

It is the saddest thing to see him hurting. He will wake up out of a dead sleep just screaming and squealing and you can just tell that something hurts.

He is taking zantac twice a day, but so far we haven't seen much improvement in either the spitting up or painfulness.

Hopefully it starts working soon, or we will need to try something else. Some days, it is so bad that the poor little guy just can't stay asleep at all. It is exhausting for everyone involved!

Other days, he seems to catch up on sleep. Some days look like this:

And then some look like this.....

Overall though, he is the most wonderful little thing in my life. K-man is a wonderful big thing in my life too=).

I think we have had a couple grins from Ronan, even though they say they are from gas, it seems like he is smiling in response to us! I LOVE it.

I don't want to jinx us, but nights seem to be getting a little better. He is still up every couple hours, but most of the time goes right back to sleep....which is awesome.

Its hard to decide during sleep times if I should sleep as well, or shower, clean, sew, work on my shop, etc. Sometimes sleep wins. Other times the laundry does.

Speaking of the shop, I am trying to post some more aprons and other items for a bit more variety in my online shop. At craft shows, I always have folks that want to buy aprons online, but I don't post them very often, so I am trying to remedy that. =). The goal is to make a little bit of money with the shop so that I don't have to go back to work right away. Fingers crossed. I'm trying to work hard at getting the shop where I want it to be.

Soon, I will have the new blog up and running, and I am so excited!!!

The new address will be www.theprettypickle.com

I will blog and have my shop in one place...how convenient!!

I wanted to get some opinions on what you would like to see in my shop.

More Aprons??

More Earrings??

Baby items??

Purses, bags, totes, pouches??

More Customizable items?

Hit me with your best ideas!! Or shoot me a message on my FB page https://www.facebook.com/theprettypickle

I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to hear some new ideas!

My Baby Story

2013-06-10T16:21:00.001-04:00

I have a brief moment to write a quick post about my baby story! As most of you know, I gave birth to Ronan Thomas Brown on May31st at 6:36am.

He was 7lbs 1oz 19 inches long.

But let me back up...

I was trying to VBAC and when I went over my due date, even with all the home remedies and doctor prodding, my doc decided to induce me.

We got up early on Thursday morning, loaded our bags into the car, double checked the car seat, and went to the hospital.

11 days ago

In the parking lot.

Anxious, nervous, and excited!

They got me into a gown pretty quickly and things started to roll.

They started low dose pitocin along with antibiotics (which hurt like the dickens going in my iv) around 9am.

I wasn't progressing as they wanted so, they put a balloon type thing in my cervix to help it dilate. TMI? sorry.

At around 4 centimeters, I wimped out and asked for the epidural. I knew from the beginning I wanted it, but thought I would hold off a little longer than that....oh well. I'm not a fan of pain. =)

The epidural was quite the experience. They hit a nerve in my back, which made my right leg shoot straight up! It was pretty scary. Felt like the worst funny bone accident ever.

It started working pretty quickly, and I was nice and relaxed after that....

Then we waited....and waited....and nothing was happening. My body wasn't cooperating. Stupid cervix.

I eventually dilated to a 6.

This was later at night...not sure what time....

Mom, Kait, and Zach stayed with me all night. We decided to get some rest.

A couple times, several people rushed into our room and started turning me all kinds of directions. The baby's heartbeat was dropping, and when they turned me, it would go back up.

Around 6am, his HB dropped again and they couldn't get it back up. It was this point they said we must do an emergency c-section.

Talk about scary.

I was out of the room and unhooked from everything in less than a minute.

I was rushed to the OR where they checked the HB again. It had come back up, thank goodness, but they still wanted to proceed with the c-section. At this point, I had labored for almost 24 hours and was ready, though disappointed for the c-section.

I was afraid Zach wasn't going to make it to the OR in time, but after a few minutes I looked up and there he was=). A few minutes later, Ronan was born. I heard nurses talking about his head full of hair and couldn't help but ask what color it was. When they said it was black, I was shocked! Not what either Z or I had expected. =)

Ronan was whisked away for a few minutes because his oxygen levels were low, but they normalized and everything was good to go. I got patched up and sent back to my room, where Ronan was already waiting for me. He is beautiful!

My sweet baby.

Proud grandparents!

Uncle Joel is in love!

Daddy Z trying to figure out the diapering thing. This was late one night, and one of the black poo's I believe. Z said it was like tar!

Resting.

The hospital was pretty stressful after the c-section, because we hardly slept at all! Baby Ronan has had some belly issues that hurt and make him cry (shriek is more like it).

After a few more days in the hospital, we were able to come home.

Every day, Ronan gets a little less fussy. I think the belly issues are subsiding.

Nana has enjoyed coming to visit and singing to Ronan. His eyes go directly to her when she is singing and do not leave her until she is done! So sweet.

We've had some other vistors as well. It is so nice to be loved and thought of by so many!

While lack of sleep is definitely on the menu these days, we are so happy and blessed by this little life that has been given to us.

We love you Ronan Thomas!

Sewing Chair and an Update

2013-05-23T18:34:00.001-04:00

Tomorrow is my due date! Ahh! I can't believe it is here. And no baby yet...

But he could come at any time and I have an appointment tomorrow, so we shall see how soon my doc thinks it will be.

I'm feeling pretty good overall!

I've worked in the garden this week, cleaned a bunch of stuff (I've currently got the cleanest fridge in all of Colfax Land), and worked on this chair!

K-man and I went to an estate sale and bought this chair for a measly $3! Nothing was wrong with it either, other than it was missing one screw to hold the seat on....

I was super pleased with this find! I LOVE the detail on the chair back.

But this girl was in desperate need of a new cushion/fabric. It was so hard and lumpy and just plain ugly.

So, I proceeded to sand and paint the chair white. It was such beautiful wood, but I knew for my purposes I wanted it white. So white it became. I had to do a good three coats of spray paint.

I then distressed the paint using a fine sanding block to give it some character and add some age back into it.

Next came the recovering phase......

I stripped off the old fabric and found this lovely silk stripe underneath! I left it there just because I felt like it...=)

I wrapped the seat with four layers of batting (because it is what I had on hand...if I had foam, I totally would have used that instead).

I tightly stapled each side in place, then went back around and stapled until it was securely in place.

Next comes fabric.....

I thought I was going to use a french countryside toile in black and white, but then I remember this beautiful piece and everything made sense! I needed a new comfy chair for my sewing table....and this was PERFECT.

I love it when things come together like this.

So I laid out the fabric and laid the ugly old fabric on top so that I cut enough, but wasn't wasteful for the new top. I added a few inches on all sides because I knew that the batting would add some height.

Yes, my belly is poking into this photo...haha! I thought I was being so careful!

Here is the lovely fabric up close: Here is the chair painted and ready for the next step

Onto covering!

I start stapling on one side, pulling very tight and placing a staple (make sure if you have a directional fabric, it is running in the right direction...I actually had to redo this part because of that rookie mistake=)

I then pull from the opposite side, tightly and place a staple in the center.

Repeat with the other two sides.

Then I went back around and placed staples along all edges, pulling tightly as I went.

Almost done!

The last thing I had to do was screw the chair seat back onto the chair frame. Easy Peasy.

Check out the detail and distressing...

At my craft table...pardon the mess. I'm terrible about cleaning up after myself down here, but I did want to show how good it looked. Perfect height too.

I tried to get some better lighting outside...here it is.

Overall, I'm pretty pleased.

In other news, I've been trying to spend as much quality time with K-man after school as possible.

I know his world is about to turn upside down, going from only child to big brother.

He is going to be so great at being a big brother, but I know parts of the transition are going to be hard for him. So, I want him to have some good memories of fun things to last him over the course of the next few weeks, when my attention is on baby.

We caught a turtle.

Played some games...

And fed the ducks/geese.

these guys were aggressive! It was slightly scary but humorous at the same time.

We had a great walk the other day too! (Ok, so that served two purposes....moving baby down and bonding time=).

Can't wait for baby to get here! We are so excited!

Ready!? Get Set?!?........

2013-05-15T17:47:00.001-04:00

I am 39 weeks pregnant as of this Friday! Wowza.

As ready as I am...I'm not ready.

I know it is going to hurt....

I know I am going to be sooo very sleepy.

I know that I will be a human feeder.

I know how much our lives are going to change.

And it is slightly scary. Did I say slightly? I mean just plain ole scary.

Yes, I've done this before...kind of.

This time is so different.

In so many ways, both good and bad.

There are NUMEROUS things I am so excited for. Please don't misunderstand me.

I can't wait to hold this little man, whom I have felt growing in my belly for 9 months.

I can't wait to NOT be pregnant anymore! No swollen/hurty feet, goodbye water weight and double chin (I hope), reclaiming my bladder, fitting through tight spaces, the aches and pains that come with being 30 and not 20 years old and preggo...., etc.

I will miss the movement. But that is about it=).

Still, I'm nervous.

Say a little prayer for us in the next few weeks. I know we will need it.

So here is what I've been up to today to occupy my mind.

I got my hair done!

I even got my highlight touched up...don't judge. The cut is so perfect. And I freaking love the blonde.

But you'd better believe it will be some crazy color before the summer is out=). I will take into consideration any and all suggestions on color. Last summer it was hot pink. I dig hot pink.

Here are a few shots at (almost) 39 weeks.

I even included a bare belly shot! Soak it in, folks. This ain't ever happening again.

Our bags are packed! One for me, one for K-man (overnight for the g-parents). My dear hubby doesn't believe he will need anything except contact stuff. We shall see.

The nursery is complete! Kind of.

Here is the nursery as you walk in the door. The lighting was kinda harsh, so forgive the next several pics.

Details! Z's co-worker gave us this yoda hat. The monkey gets it for now.

I do have one other quilt to finish, but here is the first one that I finished! It is hanging over the crib.

This is another angle of the room. The dresser was painted navy by K-man and myself. He even helped me pick out new knobs! The rocking chair was a gift from my g-ma 10 years ago when I had K-man. I recently made the pillow on the rocking chair and have another pillow in the works downstairs. See! The decorating is never REALLY complete.

The Changing Table

Baskets from joanns, boppy ready to go for nursing, box shelves spray painted white (got from goodwill), and yoda at the ready. If you look closely, you can see a little pink bunny car perched on top of the box shelf on the right. The was a childhood toy of Z's. And on top of the box on the left, is the most perfectly made eggplant hat from my fav sister-in-law. She's such a talent. I want to be her when I grow up.

Here is another angle. The blue and green onesies were made by my MIL for the shower. They look so cute hung here too!

The only thing I am missing is a fantastic rug. But I can't make myself pay an arm and a leg for one. I wanted a big, fluffery, white shag rug. But, alas, it's not going to happen.

And I'm ok with that.

Sometimes, you just gotta let go.

=).

Wish me luck!

Nursery Part 2: Polka dot walls and crib skirt

2013-05-02T14:18:00.004-04:00

Today, I've been busily getting some things ready for baby. I'm pretty sure the nesting has officially kicked in.

I have a list of to-do (both baby related, and everything else related=) that I have been trying to cross things off of. The nursery is almost complete!! I'm just waiting on a few key pieces to finish it off.

I saw this tutorial on pinterest, went to the blog, and follow this girls instructions for a Polka dot fabric wall treatment. I had to change some things around for it to work for me, and I wanted to share what I did!

BEFORE:

AFTER!!

It turned out awesome!

Here is the process that worked for me.

I chose my fabrics based on what I already had for the room. I needed something to make circles with, so I grab some various embroidery hoops I had stashed away and used those.

I used flannel, home decor weight fabric, and quilters cotton.

I traced around the inner part of the circles, varying sizes and fabrics.

Then, I cut everything out.

Well, almost everything. I ended up going back and cutting out more pieces to fill in places...

Next, I blared some John Prine. Quite important to the overall success of this project.

I painted the nursery a while back, and was lazy and didn't patch some random holes that were left by the previous owners of the house (yes, 5 years ago.)

So I knew I wanted to use this particular part of the wall to cover most of those holes.

I randomly started laying out my circles and rearranging them in a way that looked good on the floor....

And then I promptly discarded that and just started sticking things wherever....it worked for me=)

In the tutorial I was following, she says to drench each fabric circle with spray starch and then it will just stick to the wall like a sticker....

Well....it didn't work. I don't know if it was the fabric or the slightly textured walls, but this is what was happening with the Home Dec. weight fabric (that I also used here for the curtains).

Bummer.

Good thing I have a large stash of random craft supplies in the craft room!

I ran downstairs (ok, totally lying....I waddled), and grabbed my craft spray adhesive.

To the rescue!

I can't speak for long term use, as I just did this project this morning, but I did pull off and re-adhere some circles as I went and they still stuck. But perhaps after drying for a whole day it wouldn't work.

Either way, I was pleased with the results. I used to spray starch on the front side of each circle, and spray adhesive on the back side of each.

The spray starch helped to smooth things down evenly.

Here are some more shots of the finished wall!!

I'm so very pleased.

See the tiny viking hat?!

In love with this treatment! It was pretty easy once I got the hang of it.

Now, this next part isn't a full tutorial, since I didn't take many pictures.

But I wanted to show off the bed skirt that I made!

I love the look of the ruffled skirts, but felt they were too girly for a boys nursery.

So I ended up make just a simple straight skirt.

I measures the crib length and width and cut my pieces about an inch larger on all sides to account for hemming.

I had three sides One for the front and two for the sides. (I didn't make one for the back, as it is up against the wall, no one will see it, and it seemed like a waste of time/fabric).

I ironed each edge 1/4 in then 1/4 an inch under again to hem.

Then, I attached some ribbon along the top edges of all three pieces.

This way, I can adjust the skirt as I adjust the height of the crib bed. When the bed lowers, the skirt won't drag the floor, because I will just re-tie the skirt higher up! Genius!

I then decided the front needed a little something......

....and I found some rick rack and ribbon.

I sewed both of those on just the front.

It kinda wrinkled up a bit at the bottom...maybe my tension was off on my machine or something. I dunno. Either way, its not perfect, but I still love it!!!

I'm currently washing baby clothes as well today!

Nesting away.

I just hope I get it all done before he gets here=).

Nursery Part 1: Mobile and Curtains

2013-04-28T16:11:00.000-04:00

Hello! Guess what friends?!?! I worked my last day on Friday this past week!

WOOT WOOT!

I'm officially on maternity leave. Thank goodness. It was getting overly exhausting and there are just so many things to get ready for Baby Brown!

I can't wait to spend the next couple weeks finishing the nursery, washing tons of clothes, and perhaps a little organizing of K-mans room too! Oh yea, and resting. Let us not forget that part=).

Yesterday was my shower and let me tell you, it was so special and amazing!

My family and friends are so cool. My BIL planned most of everything and he did an amazing job (so did everyone else who pitched in to help things run smoothly!!).

I was so busy with visiting and such that I didn't take hardly any pictures! My mom and some others did though, so as soon as I get my hands on them, I will post them here.

On to the nursery!

I'm going to try to post several times this week, with updates on the DIY (or not so) projects in the nursery.

Remember these?

My crafty friend, Jay, custom made these houndstooth circles for this mobile project!

He does such amazing work. I keep telling him he needs to expand and get on Etsy! The man does a bunch of craft shows, though, with his It's Saw Good business, and that keeps him busy.

Thanks Jay! These were so perfect!

I started a month or two later assembling the mobile...procrastinate much?!?

First, I cut a 1 inch strip of fabric from the nursery colors/theme I had purchased for the quilt, crib skirt, pillows, etc.

Then, I used a glue gun to wrap/attach the fabric to the inner part of an embroidery hoop. I used a medium sized hoop, but I'm sure any old hoop would work for this. I tried to smooth down the frayed parts...although fray check would probably have worked better...I'm just always in a rush=)

I assembled my parts next.

Here is the finished hoop in the navy houndstooth fabric, with the houndstooth circles.

These are my supplies.....kind of. I told my husband what to get at the hardware store....and it wasn't exactly perfect. I tried to use it (honest!) but the gold just wasn't cutting it, and the invisible cording was too large. I ended up using silver screw eyes and super strong fishing line instead. But thanks anyways Honey!!

This next photo is terrible. Sorry.

But I (and Willie Nelson, the cat) wanted to show you how I attached each circle.

I just eye balled how much fishing line to use...yea no exact measurements here. Jay so sweetly put a tiny hole in the top of each circle, so I threaded the fishing line through that and tied it off with a super good knot. Don't want this falling on baby's head in the middle of the night.

I then attached the top of the line to the hoop by again, tying a good knot. I cut off excess and voile!

Repeat with the other 2!

I just eye balled where to attach them on the hoop by splitting it (in my head) into thirds. Luckily, the fishing line, once tied, still fairly easily slide around the fabric so I could position it better.

I also left varying lengths for each circle, so they would hang and you can see them all at once.

Here it is!

here is a better shot...

there we go!

I also made the curtains here! I used the old curtains for a template, added a hem allowance to all edges, and made the casing for the curtain rod. I used home dec. weight fabric, which is thicker and more substantial than a regular old quilting cotton. Sorry, I didn't take any pics! I was on a roll.

I simply tied them back with some white ribbon and hung on a nail on each side that was there previously.

Turned out pretty nice eh?

Just wanted to include this sweet action shot of my K-man assembling a vibrating/rocking seat for Baby Brown. He is going to be such a great big brother.

http://easylivingmom.com/

Weekend wrap up...in Photos!

2013-04-13T10:32:00.001-04:00

What a week!

Craziness has abounded this week as schedules were uprooted and rearranged, and every free moment was spent getting stuff done!

I'm pushing hard to get everything ready (with the house, garden, chickens, etc) before baby decides to make his entrance.

It is exhausting, but I really want a week or two before my due date to just chill out and not worry about things being unfinished.

I guess my motto is HURRY UP SO I CAN RELAX! =)

Z was out of town for a few days, so I rearranged my schedule a bit (went into work late...thanks boss!) so I could get the K-man on the bus. I used to be in charge of this task kindergarten and 1st grade. But then my job changed and I had to go in earlier, so my husband took it over.

Here is dapper dan in all his coolness ready for a warm spring day at school!

I'm totally not ready for this "swagger" that boys tend to try to pull off as preteens.....

Daffodils are blooming! I picked a bunch and decorated the table with my best chicken and owl wear. The table cloth is vintage and embroidered...picked it up at a yard sale for a buck!!

I spent a good deal of time in the evenings this week putting together furniture in the nursery.

A shelf, changing table, and crib! And almost all by myself! I was slightly impressed.

Here is the changing table.

A sneak peek of the room!

In case you didn't already know, the nursery is going to be in green, navy, and white. Geographic prints are the theme....I'm not much of a jungle, forest, baby color type theme. I wanted something that could easily grow with baby.

Subtle stripes on the walls were created with the same white, just high gloss and flat paint finished. I am pretty pleased with the outcome...just wish Wal-fart was better at paint mixing....but thats another story.

My two fav things in the room...this print and monster! I picked up the monster at a craft show and the print, I've been eyeing the artist (click here to see her stuff!) for years on etsy....

After working hard at my job, then working hard putting together furniture....this is what my feet looked like.....

GROSS! Cankles galore and my actual feet were like marshmallows.

I took this pic earlier in the week.

So proud that I can wear this dress because it is not maternity....lol. It's the little things.

It is so hard for me to feel pretty and cute in maternity clothes, but this day, I loved my outfit!

We did take some breaks......

To visit with some dear friends!!

It was so nice to hang and eat fried junk with two of my dearest friends, one who has moved very far away and out time together is so cherished! This photo shows K-man and Hud just chillin' and talking about cheese burgers....=)

Love you girls!

I'm off to pop some tags.

Happy Weekend!

Babymoon

2013-04-07T10:58:00.001-04:00

This past weekend we were so fortunate to be able to go on a retreat to seneca rocks! I've been calling this mini vaca our "babymoon".

It was so relaxing and nice to be able to visit with my Aunt and Uncle who live this close!!

They are such wonderful people that I feel a special bond with for many reasons!

Aunt Cindy made some A-mazing meals!! She was a rock star in the kitchen.

Here is the river that runs beside the yard. The sounds of a river are good for the soul. My blood pressure went down several points these couple days=).

Here is a view of the house and the shed/building. I just love the rustic awesomeness and bright blue skys.

UB and AC are way into gardening, just like us! They have some cold frames and are in the process of setting up a hoop house, which is going to be so sweet!!

I just love this quilt block painting that UB made and put on the building. Totally rad.

We drove around and took in some sights while there. This is the view of Germany Valley from the overlook. Crazy Beautiful. Photos can not capture the feel and amazingness of this valley.

I wanted atleast one pic of the both of us=). So my cuz, E snap some great ones. I am 33 weeks in these photos.

I can't believe that is me in those pictures! My belly is huge!

And he is my super cool catbug cousin and his friend.

Zach checking out the info at the overlook.

Some other fun things we did (other than just chilling out, which was super fun in itself), was thrift shopping! We went to a few hardware stores and various places, but they thrift shops were my fav.

I found these super cute wooden chickens! They were calling my name!

Look what we found in the back room! UB was pumped about this.=)

Popping some tags.

Cool Cousin eating cheese puffs on a stick. Stay classy, that is our motto.

We also shot some guns. I actually got a turn as well! The baby only jumped once=).

It was such a fun trip with lots of visiting and resting involved!

Thanks Aunt Cindy and Uncle Brian for having us!

Chicks!

2013-03-24T15:10:00.001-04:00

A couple weeks ago I wrote a blog and mentioned there was a lot more cheeping going on downstairs....I didn't mean to wait this long before I explained myself!

Here are our newest additions to the chicken flock.

We ordered 13 chicks, for a new total of 15 (I hatched 2 myself, 2 weeks prior to getting these babies).

We have the original 2 silkies: Marcelline (after the character on Adventure Time) and Lady Edith (Downton Abbey fans anyone?!?)

These two are about 5 weeks old.

All the "new" chicks are about 3 weeks old. They are all currently in that weird teenager stage of feathering.

3 Buff Orpingtons: Still in need of names. I would like 3 old timey names names that rhyme. Or maybe sweet garden names...like ButterCup, Daisy, and Rose......

4 Speckled Sussex's: No names yet.....suggestions welcomed. I have a hard time telling the difference between the Ameracaunas and SS.

3 Ameracauna: One is chipmunk, because of her coloring on her head and back. The other two don't have names yet either....These chicks can come in all different kinds of coloring....I can't tell who is who yet with some....

and 3 Cuckoo Marans: K-man has names one Pelican, because of her large beak. The other two still need naming.

We have a bunch of naming to do!! I love old timey names, but have let K-man do the naming in the past, so we have a random assortment of names going on with our big girls.

The BIG girls:

Francine (a Barred Rock) was named after the farmer (Frank) from whom we got her. She is queen of the roost.

Patricia (a white leghorn): One of the first two chickens from our first go at chicken keeping...so she is at least 4 years old. Kman said this was the most beautiful name he had ever heard....=) I felt as though we rescued her from her previous owner. It was a terribly kept farm with sick and dying animals everywhere!! Very traumatic to visit.

Red (white leghorn?) stumbled into our lives randomly one day by just showing up in our yard. Seriously. We tried to find her owners but no one claimed her. She was named Red because her comb was so vibrant!

Goldie (a Golden Phoenix Bantam), was named for her breed and because she is "golden" when it comes to being around people. I used to rock her to sleep on the porch last summer!

And lastly, Jersey Girl (White Jersey Giant), is a big but gentle spirited chicken.

Isn't it funny how these girls have personalities all their own?!? I can't wait to see what the babies personalities will turn out to be. We are going to have to start selling eggs once they all start laying!!

K-man snapped a pic of me while handling chicks last week. Not the best quality, but I wanted to share my ever growing belly with those of you that read my blog=). I always feel like I have to put my hand there for viewers of the pic to get the full effect. lol.

Please don't pay attention to my gross basement=).

There is snow in the forecast! Perhaps one last snow day!??! I'd be totally ok with that.

Random Photo Update

2013-03-05T18:20:00.002-05:00

Hello All! Here is a "snapshot" of what has been going on at Brown Acre!!

New woodstove!

We finally got the new stove installed! After a couple leaks and revisits from the contractor, it is working so wonderful!! We have really enjoyed sitting in front of the fire in the evenings....so relaxing.

I hatched some chicks!!!

These are two silkies that made it through the hatch. One other hatched, a black copper maran, but she died due to a weird leg ailment (not splayed leg, more like walking on her knees and scooting on her belly). It was very sad that she died, but I figured it was survival of the fittest. Still, not a fun moment.

The two silkies are thriving! They are already so big! 2 weeks old and getting to that weird adolescent stage with funky half feathers and down.

Here is a quilt project that I was working on. A friend requested a baby quilt with her son's name embroidered on it. Sorry about the bad lighting!

Here is 27 weeks! I am currently 28 weeks along, but I wanted to share this picture anyways. I swear, if my butt or thighs get any bigger, I might lose my mind. Seriously.

Big Girls! Just wanted to show off the girls since I haven't posted a picture of them in a while.

Tulips are coming up!! How exciting!!! I'm ready for spring.

I actually worked in the garden for several hours the other day because it was so beautiful outside.

I fixed a raised bed that was falling apart (yes, i used a shovel, rake, and hammer thingy all while being hugely gigantic.)

Check out the birdhouse gourd that climb my pear tree and I left to dry! Looks kinda funny.

Planting okra this year!!

Garlic is coming up!

Here is the raised bed that I fixed. I was super proud of myself for being so physical with my SPD ailment=).

KMan with the chicks.

If we get a snow day tomorrow....I'm posting again!! I have a ton more photos to share.....and just as a sneak peak, there is a lot more cheeping going on downstairs right now!!

Growth

2013-02-17T14:35:00.003-05:00

Happy Weekend!

There is some growth going on at Brown Acre, and I wanted to share it!!

But first......

We had a great v-day and hope everyone else did too!

Kole and I made our traditional heart cake and we all decided that we did not like strawberry icing.

Next year, we will just dye the vanilla stuff pink=).

Kole and I worked on his valentines for school. This is what we came up with.....

I had them printed at wal-fart. I hate that place. And they screwed them up by cutting off the tops! Grrrrr at you wal-fart.

Even so, I think they turned out super cute and everyone commented on them. So overall, even with a wal-fart mess up, they were still worth it.

Today (saturday) I have been crafting a little, cleaning a little, and waiting on my boys to leave and go to the BBall game at WVU so I can go shopping=).

I have plans for tractor supply (you'll see why in a moment), kohls, joanns, and perhaps motherhood (have I ever told you how pushy they can be there?!?).

Here are a few things I accomplished today in preparation for the big craft show in March.

My famous fabric earrings=)

Sneak peak of some baby items that I will be featuring at the show. These are pacifier leashes (or whatever they are called). Trying to make gender specific as well as gender neutral ones to please everyone. And you better believe I will be making a few for BB.=)

So that is the first growth...growth of the business.

Next on growth, I have always wanted french copper maran chickens. They lay the darkest eggs EVER!! I did some research and my favorite company does sell chicks, but for $10 a piece! Thats alot considering other breeds are only a few dollars. Couple that with the fact that they wont be able to ship them until july, I decided to take matters into my own hands.

I purchased an incubator with a gift card we got for christmas.

And ordered some eggs!

I not only got a few kinds of Maran eggs, I also got some silkie batams! I can't wait till they hatch.

Which should be on Monday!!!!! WOOT WOOT!! So exciting.

I just took them off the automatic turner as this is 3 days out from hatching. This is my first time trying anything like this, so it should be interesting. I hope some of them hatch. I will be so sad if I screwed up somehow and get no chicks on monday=(.

Here they are....just chilling. I haven't candled any so its a crap shoot for which are actually growing...

Because I want to be prepared (well as prepared as possible) I made up the little chick home today. I wanted to use as much of the stuff we already had laying around and so far so good!!

Hopefully, this is going to work for them.

I used an old tote container, wood shavings left over from a previous project over newspaper, and the old reptile light stand from when we had turtles....I'll just put a new heat lamp in.

I am running to tractor supply today to purchase some feed, a waterer, and a feed dispenser.

Once the chicks go in, I'll cover the top with left over chicken wire to protect them from the cats.

Should be a fun experiment!

Next area of growth.....

Seedlings!!!

This is my set up for now. I moved a table to an unused corner of the basement and set up my awesome grow lights. So far, I only have two flats under here, but its still early in the game. I have a feeling this table will be full come march.

I just planted some lettuces and chives today.

These are tomato plants! A little early, I know. But I wanted to try out the greenhouse this spring so its all an experiment.

Broccoli Raab. Delish? We shall find out!!

And last but not least, BB is growing too!!

This is 26 weeks.

(Did you notice the metal thingy in the bottom corner? Another post on what that is soon....)

So much growth. So many changes.

Lovely Long Weekend

2013-02-03T16:59:00.001-05:00

It's been a wintery long weekend! A snow day on friday, and more snow on the way...we may get another this week....fingers crossed=).

Here are parts of my weekend in photos.

The chicken water keeps freezing, so every morning, I have whipped up some

warm, fresh water (with a splash of organic apple cider vinegar) for the "girls".

I also whipped up some oatmeal for the girls and took it to them while it was steaming....they loved this treat!

I was rewarded with some delish eggs that we used in breakfasts this weekend!

K-man and I decided to make some "ninja" bread cookies...totally from a box.

Here we are getting a mini lesson in rolling dough and using cookie cutters...

...meanwhile, I made some awesome muffins!! (sorry, also from a box. But they were really good=)

Here are some of the finished ninjabread men. It was so fun to decorate them!

We made the best of this one whose head fell clean off.

My personal fav. The ninjabread backpacker.

I went shopping during a weather break with my bff and we found this! Twice the size of my head. And I thought mine were getting large.....lol

We attended KB's bday party during a snow storm...such troopers! We ever help decorate a little=).

Happy Birthday sweet girl!

Having some fun jumping in the bouncy house.

Looks like more snow is in the forecast, but I wanted to share what our lovely long weekend has held so far. Today has been super lazy and will continue to be as well casually watch the SuperBowl (commercials...).

Peace out girl scouts.

New projects and Life Updates

2013-01-26T10:00:00.001-05:00

Well hey.

I always feel bad when I neglect my blog for a few days/weeks (or even months as I have been known to do in the past).

Things have been kinda hectic on Brown Acre the past few weeks.

Isn't this pic cool! the center egg is the first laid by my Golden Phoenix Bantam, aka "Goldie". So tiny! We have gotten 2 more since then! I thought she would never lay an egg!!

#1 Today, I'm 23 weeks pregnant!

And, oh the exhaustion! If I could take a nap between 12:30 and 2 everyday I would be a much nicer person. Unfortunately, there is no napping for a full time working gal. The students would probably go bonkers if I decided to lay my head down on my desk...even for a few minutes (and trust me, I've thought about it).

BB is moving around a bunch now! I have actually watched my belly moving....strange stuff!

Still, every time Z tries to feel some kicks, BB stops moving. Oh well. K-man, on the other hand has felt a couple different kicks...even while waiting in line at the post office!

I'm getting more anxious everyday about getting things done before he gets here, naming him!!, and all the other general worries about having a newborn all over again.

The newest symptom is preggo brain. I swear my head feels "cloudy" all the time! Like I can't put a thought together or finish a sentence.

.....what was I saying???

Seriously.

#2 I had my hearing that determined I will not have a job next year, unless someone retires. Boo.

I had a little visit from some higher ups a few weeks ago, so I knew this was coming.

But it still is stressful.

Another program is getting cut in the county and that teacher has more seniority than I, so I get bumped out for next year. The board members were clear about the fact that they think I am a great teacher and has nothing to do with my abilities as a teacher. That made me feel good, even though I already knew it, but it doesn't change the fact that I have only 5 years of teaching under my belt.

I'm staying positive about the situation though. Someone could retire and I could magically be back in...or they won't and God will open up some other doors for me.

He has a plan! I'm excited to see what it is. At the same time, I'm nervously awaiting the big reveal.

I'd just like to know now, so I could prepare....but His timing is best...I just have to keep reminding myself of that.

#3 I have been trying to complete projects!

I signed up for a craft show in March, and I know that it is going to take more time than ever to get ready, simply because everyday I get bigger, getting around is more difficult, and I am more exhausted! No late nights of sewing for me anymore!

One of my newest projects that I will feature at the craft show will be Ipad and e-reader cases! (Funny thing is, I don't own either of these...lol....but I have tested them to make sure they fit with those owned by family.) I made one for my sis and she loved it.

Here is one of the prototypes:

I'm going to try to add lace to each one for my signature look.

Also, check out those new labels!! Yea, I made them. It was a process with my Mac. I don't have photoshop (I should probably invest in it...) so I had to create my "reversed text" on my other small non-mac and then send it to myself via email, open it on my mac, then customize further...whew! But I did it all by myself=).

I found this old lamp at the goodwill a few months back. I tried spray painting the base (not the glass though) but that was a disaster. I then came up with the brillant idea to wrap jute twine, in different widths, around the metal base. This took FOREVER! Such a tedious project....and with my crafters ADHD I had to take several breaks. The motivation to complete it was this AWESOME lamp shade I found at Target. Check out the green glass base...can you see the small light inside???? How cool is that!

Lastly, I made a maternity pillow. I was going to include the tutorial in this post, but I decided to wait and do that another time. Here is the finished product!!

If I would change anything, it would be to make it slightly longer....but other than that its been comfy!

I will leave you with the most awesome mugs ever found at the Goodwill ( I love that place).

How cute are these?!?

Have you ever found something amazing at a thrift store? What was it!??

Peace out, Girl Scouts! Have a fantastic weekend!

Linked to:

Fabric, my love.

2013-01-06T18:30:00.001-05:00

What a wonderful weekend!!

I have accomplished little to nothing as far as house work/projects/work work goes.

But it was great even so!

We kicked off the weekend with my sis and her children staying the night on Friday. Always a blast!! KB and K-man enjoy spending time together (even if the arguing like siblings drives their mothers crazy!) and Z and I enjoyed playing with the sweet L-baby! That girl is always (well almost) happy! She just grins and giggles and is so ornery for a 1 yr old!

After they left on Saturday afternoon (and after naps had by all), we just lounged around, ate, and watched movies. So NICE!

Sunday, we attended church and then were off to the mall for the sole purpose of perusing the fabric store for inspiration for BB's nursery. We had lunch in the food court and then proceeded to Joanns.

I had 25% off total purchase and 50% off one item coupons to use and upon entering the store, I discovered all redline fabrics were also 50% off!! I got some fantastic deals!!!

Here are the fabrics I purchased for BB:

Green and Yellow terry cloth, navy and white graphic print in home decor fabric, blue chenille, navy and white houndstooth, and lime green and houndstooth fleece (for a fast blanket).

And...... These beauties!

(not pictured Pellon SF101 interfacing)

Sometimes, I just purchase whatever strikes my fancy, is on sale, and makes me smile! Some of these will become aprons, others purses/bags....

I got all this (17+ yards) for $50! I was seriously impressed with myself.

I decided to check in with motherhood maternity to see what deals they had going on. I got a new pair of maternity skinny jeans and two tops. It's hard to feel cute and pretty with some of the maternity selections out there, so I'm glad I picked these up.

After shopping, I was exhausted! I made it through the door, plopped on the couch, and made my dear husband rub my swollen feet/ankles. It was awesome.

Don't judge my slightly cluttered house and weird feet=). And yes, those are sponge bob pj pants.

Finished up the weekend with K-mans fav dinner, Spaghetti and Meatballs (all homemade I may add).

Now, off to read and relax a little before bed. Back to work tomorrow!!

AH....I love weekends.

20 Week Update

2013-01-05T13:17:00.000-05:00

Wow! I am 20 weeks pregnant. Halfway there. So crazy!!! It is finally beginning to sink in that we are REALLY going to have a baby, an infant, that is ours. In the house. That needs stuff. And attention. And will deprive us of sleep. And fill our hearts with love we didn't know there was even room for.......a little overwhelmed?!? You betcha. A ton excited?!? Oh yea.

This week I have felt baby brown (hence forth known as BB) so much more than ever. He is the size of a banana this week. The kicks aren't painful or even completely obvious until I am sitting or laying quietly, able to really feel whats going on. My placenta is in the font of my belly so usually kicks are low or to the side, but occasionally I will feel one dead center. Just feels like he is kicking through a pillow=). Just last night, K-man and I were lounging on the couch and I started feeling some movement. I told K-man to put his hand on my belly just to see if he could feel it too. Low and behold, BB decided to give his hardest kick ever!! K-man drew his hand back in shock and yelled "I felt him!!!" It was pretty exciting=). Now, if we could just get BB to do that when Z is trying to feel.....Z's voice must be calming or something....

My ankles have already started to swell. I have been trying to watch my salt intake and put my feet up in the evenings to help, but its so hard!

Other than that.....

The second trimester rocks!! For the first 14 weeks I was pretty miserable. So tired. And sick. And emotional/crazy (Ok so I'm still crazy emotional! Just not the angry kind anymore....). Ugh. Just nauseated all the time. I could hardly make it through a day at work. And forget about any upkeep at home in the evenings.....I didn't talk to my friends/family it seemed for most of this time. It was just really difficult to find the time and energy to hang out.

But since about 14 weeks, I have started feeling like myself again. Thank goodness! My energy has slowly but surely come back and I don't gag at the thought of chicken or salad!! Which is totally a good thing on so many levels, but mainly so that I can start eating better. I have gained too much weight in my own eyes up to this point because all I could stomach for 14 weeks was fried carbs. And I ate every hour atleast and kept myself full so that I didn't puke. Needless to say, I am pounding the salads and healthier options as much as possible now, and trying to get some exercise in there as well.

My k-man is so excited about being a brother. He talks about the baby everyday, all the time. He wants to buys new things for BB and is always looking for what he can do to help me feel comfortable in the evenings. Such a sweet sweet boy.

Zach is equally excited, but feeling the pressure to find a name for the little man. We both are. We like different and unique names, but not something that will get him made fun of later in school. We also like old names that aren't over used already. But nothing has really stuck with us yet. I hope that when the right name comes along, we will just know.

Being a second time momma, I know I am poking out there much more quickly than I did with Kole. I hate the pity look I get from people when I say I'm due in May. HAHA, its like they aren't sure if I can make it! So I have just started saying "I'm 5 months along" when people ask. That seems to sit better with them.

Now that I feel like myself again, the reality is sinking in and I feel the need to get some stuff done. I have only purchased a few things for the baby so far, and I need to put together a registry, as I plan on having a shower. It's been 10 years since the first one.....I think it is acceptable to have another this time around.

I also would like to have the nursery done by sometime in March. I have a couple different themes in mind, but I can't decide. I know what I DON'T want though....I don't like the traditional jungle, farm, car, etc. bedding that seems to be out there. Looks like I am making most of the nursery stuff=). The few items I have bought for BB have all been navy and white, without meaning to match. So that tells me those would be great colors for the Babys room. I love the idea of using suiting fabrics, houndstooth patterns (and chevron), and keeping a more casual yet sophisticated room. I also really like navy, white and greens......such a good color combo..... My other nursery idea is vintage farm. I can just picture vintage toys and cream colors with pops of red. Lots of artwork depicting realistic (not kiddy like) animals.

Navy Inspiration:

Photo Credit

Vintage Farm Inspriation:

Photo Credit

What do you think I should go with??? Or should I go a whole other direction??

Dreaming of Spring.....

2013-01-04T18:11:00.002-05:00

It hits me about this time every year....I miss dirt.

I miss warm weather, my garden, fresh produce from my backyard, chickens who lay, sunshine, growth,.......the list could go on and on.

It's possible I have that winter weather depression thingy.

So to get myself out of the funk, and get my head into a gardening "space", I am pouring myself into seed catalogs and planning my 2013 garden.

Here is my little green book!!

I started this book at least a year ago, if not two. Before pinterest was a huge deal.

I keep it in my purse at all times...so when inspiration strikes, I'm ready!

I glue things from magazines, I write down random ideas, make lists, etc. Every topic is covered as well! From christmas gifts, to crafts, to garden it is all covered.

Basically, if you were to pick up this book and read it, it would be like peeking inside of my brain. Probably pretty confusing...lol. But it has been so helpful to me in keeping track of it all!!

I've been going through my seed catalogs!!!

These three were just the closest to my computer. There are several more scattered around the house.

I have a list of new things I want to try this year!

~Dry Beans: Calypso, Tiger Eye, Lina Sisco's Bird Egg, and Jacobs Cattle.

~More and different varieties of squash, like Lakota and Spaghetti Squash.

~Plant a cutting flower garden on the terraces behind the house: varieties will include but not limited to: sunflowers!!, zinnias!!, Cleome, Snapdragon, Butterfly Flower, etc. Perhaps sell some flowers during the summer at the local marketplace here in our small community?!?

I've also been making lists of what needs done before the spring so I can keep track of it all! I've written down eureka moments of where to move and start certain crops, what is needed to make our garden/greenhouse more functional and enjoyable, frost dates and dates of when to start each different crop......its an extensive list that I am sure to add to as time goes on.

I just love this.....

So, my mind is full of sunshine, but my acre is full of snow.

Just checked on chickens....5 eggs...woot woot! Maybe there is hope after all=).

Speaking of chickens....guess who is getting chicks this spring!??! So pumped!!!

Good tidings to you....

2012-12-26T21:39:00.002-05:00

Christmas is over...phew! It was so much fun, but very exhausting! With families to visit, weather not cooperating, and last minute procrastinating I'm not embarassed to say I'm kinda happy its over.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the season...

Wintry Weather!!

My sweet Nephew R chowing down on some salsa. It was HOT!

K-Man loving his new spy gear from Santa.

The christmas morning gift surprise.

Sweet Cousins. I love my lil sisters expression here!

My very silly boys. It WAS a Merry Christmas!

Sweet boy lovin' on his momma.

My husband always has something to surprise me with on christmas morning. This year, I was so tickled with his gift.

Yes, he bought a domain for PrettyPickle and has a web designer ready to help with getting it up and running after the holidays!! Woot Woot!!

I can do all my blogging, selling, recipes, tutorials etc. in one place. Maybe I can be a blogger for a living....? One can dream.

One more party to attend tomorrow and the festivities are over. I'm looking forward to just hanging out with my awesome family.

Happy New year everyone!!

I'll be posting a baby bump update within the next couple days, so be on the look out!!

It's a boy!!

2012-12-21T21:31:00.000-05:00

We are so excited to announce that we are having a boy!!

Here is K-man in the doctors office right after we found out. He was so excited!

Our ultrasound tech gave us that pretty blue ornament...sweet right?!?

It has been one hectic day....week....month!!

I haven't posted for a while but I just wanted to document my thoughts on this day=).

Sorry if they are jumbled....it is late and I am exhausted!

After finding out that Baby Brown (BB) was a boy, we went out to the "crack" (cracker barrel) to celebrate. It was very nice to spend time with my boys and enjoy this special moment.

We then headed out to my parents house, for a photo shoot with my sis. She took some awesome photos! I wanted to reveal on FB through a picture, but I couldn't decided on how so we just did it all....haha! Here are some of my favs:

I feel so blessed and special that God chose me to be the mom of 2 boys.

He really has such great plans for our lives!!

After the photo shoot, we just chilled and ate snack foods until we realized the roads were getting covered with snow! A huge storm had moved in and things were getting messy out there.

We hurried and said goodbye to make the usual 45 minute trip home.

It took a bit longer than that to get home....but we made it! The roads were just terrible and we crept along the whole way.

Finally home, I whipped up dinner, and proceeded to announce on FB=) Thanks to everyone for being so patient! I know I kept lots of people in suspense. But it was worth it right?!?!

I. Am. Tired.

So now, I will lay here and watch some shows until I drift off to sleep.

It's been a good day.

November News

2012-11-24T13:19:00.001-05:00

Wow! November has been a big month for us! I am always shocked at how quickly we go from trick or treating to christmas decorating...it just flys by!

Here is the first bit of exciting news that we are sharing this month.....

We are going to have a baby!!

This pic freaks me out a little....haha!

So precious. 14 weeks.

We had our most recent ultrasound earlier this week and had such a great time showing the photos off to our family during the holiday.

I was SHOCKED at how much the baby moved! It was flipping all around and making it difficult for the tech to get pictures! Later on in the appointment though, the baby chilled out and we got these awesome profile pictures.

This video is slightly blurry...not sure why. But it was a special moment that I want to share with you.

Baby Brown is the size of a large naval orange this week. Wow!

We are due on May 25th, just a few days after my bday.

My latest concern is how I'm going to plant a garden being super hugely pregnant!?! I may just have to put my boys to work, while I sip ice water and recline on the porch.

Other big news this week.....My K-man turned 9 years old!! WHAT?!?! How did that happen????

We had a lego themed birthday party...go figure. My child has loved legos for so many years now, it just seemed appropriate.

We were lucky enough that the community building (right down the street from our house) was available that evening! I didn't have to clean my house...woot woot!

A friend of mine made this awesome cake!

Cassandra loving on some collos pizza!

Time to sing!!!

This cake was super heavy!

The birthday boy in his lego shirt I made hugging the lego man.

So silly!

Aunt KK and Baby L

The grandmothers!

Theres the shirt. The back has a lego man head with K-mans name and the front is a lego yoda saying "9 you must be!"

He read every card.

Snow globe from his bff cousin KB.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Aunt C was such a big help. I was slightly exhausted by this point. Just. want. to sit.

Lego tower competition!

Uncle Z is the best!

Here are some of the decoration photos I took before people arrived.....

Lego man head pops, lego waters, lego head straws, lego head cups, polka dot plates and napkins....

I made the bunting with lego font and red construction paper.

The tables......I even put some legos at the adults tables so we would have something to play with!

Dot candies...

I wanted the lego candy, but lo and behold, when I drove the 20 minutes to the candy shop, to spend a stupid amount of money on stupid lego candy.....they were completely out! Lame. These tasted better anyways!

The kids had a creation table all to themselves. They had a great time building and creating.

Another bunting.

Favors for the kids. Coloring books, bubbles, playdough. Also off the the right, we had a guesstimation station.

Some of the family and friends enjoying food.

Z and his Dad solving world problems....

My brother and sis being so silly.

The moms!

Can you find the lego head?

Later on this week we had thanksgiving!!!

It was so good!

Lots of family and amazing food.

This is the only photo I got the whole day!

Over all, it was a wonderful (yet busy) month!!

I can't wait to start decorating for christmas!!!!!

Pickled~French Breakfast Radishes

2012-11-11T16:06:00.001-05:00

Yesterday morning, I harvested the last of the produce from the main garden.

The deer had gotten in and eaten the tops off of my carrots, but I was still about to find and pull them. They look great! I will freeze them for later use in soups and such.

The radishes are another story.....remind me why I planted these?

I don't even like them.

But the hubby does, and I like pickled things so I looked up this recipe and gave it a shot.

First was washing them really good. Root vegetables sometimes make me nervous with all that dirt.

Then, I sliced these babies up very thinly and packed them into a pint sized jar.

All the while, I had this brine simmering on the stove. Some sugar and salt, water and vinegar, garlic, peppercorns, and dried cayenne pepper.

Lastly, I ladled the brine mix (making sure to get the garlic and pepper) into and over the radishes.

Aren't these gorgeous!?

I have to wait 24 hours before testing them....the recipes says they would be good on sandwiches in place of dill pickles.........but you know how I love my pickles, so this is a stretch for me. I guess I'll just have to wait and see!

Now for the rest of the radishes...any good recipes out there I should try?

On another note: K-mans birthday is coming up! Here is a sneak peak of the theme this year. Can you guess it?!?