Lily Jane

Felt Heart Valentines

2012-02-13T10:21:14-07:00

Happy Monday, my dears! This weekend was a busy one with family flying in to town and a big day for baby Abram. His blessing day was Sunday and we had the whole family over for lunch afterward. (You should try these sandwiches and this cookie recipe. They disappeared in no time!). It was a ball to have so many people filling up our home with laughter. Not to mention the adorable children running around in packs. With all the celebrating, I got a bit behind on my valentine crafting, but I still want to share Valentine No. 3 with you today because there's still time to DIY a valentine! I'll be making these myself later this afternoon.

I found these felt heart pockets on The Purl Bee and knew I had to make them. Do you subscribe to their blog? If not, you should because it's chock full of great ideas and tutorials just like this one. We have a bag full of pink and red M&Ms just waiting to be stuffed inside these little darlings. They'll be a fun treat for friends on Valentine's Day and a great place for stashing secret treasures later on.

Have you been crafting love notes and such lately? Share your projects with us in the comments!

See Valentine No. 1 and Valentine No. 2

via The Purl Bee

DIY: Be My Funny Valentine

2012-02-08T11:44:55-07:00

In my quest to create three unique valentines this year, I stumbled across another thing Brady loves right now: some valentine-themed jokes. There is nothing funnier to him than a good knock-knock joke. So, for Valentine No. 2, I decided to make some microphone bookmarks with a joke on the back so the kids could be little stand-up comedians. When they're done making their friends peel over with laughter, they'll have a fun bookmark, to boot!

You can download the files here: front, back-page-one and back-page-two (each back has different jokes). Print the front first, then insert the printed page opposite of how it was originally and print the back. You may want to do a few practice runs until you become familiar with how your printer handles the paper. For my bookmarks, I used 80# cardstock, punched an 1/8" hole in the bottom of the microphone, and threaded some black embroidery floss through for the cord.

Do you have any funny (and clean, please!) jokes for Valentine's day? Please share in the comments!

See Valentine No. 1 and Valentine No. 3

DIY: Cereal Valentines

2012-02-07T10:13:10-07:00

We have three Valentine parties to attend this year. And some of the same friends will be at all of them. Which means we need three different Valentines to give. I wanted to branch out from the standard conversation hearts and red hots to come up with something fun and witty that Brady would enjoy giving and helping me make.

While perusing Pinterest, I spotted this idea and knew I'd struck gold. Brady loves cereal, to the point of not wanting to go to sleep because between bedtime and breakfast seems like an eternity to him. A cereal valentine was perfect for Valentine No. 1, but I wanted them to have a cleaner look. And some catchy little phrases. So Brady and I put our heads together and came up with this.

I made labels for each of the eight boxes of cereal included in the regular General Mills mini pack. You can print them right here. Just wrap your boxes in kraft paper (5.5" x 10") and secure with double stick tape. Then trim your valentine cereal labels on the dotted line, center the label and secure with another piece of tape. Tie a small wooden spoon to the side of the box using some red baker's twine, and voila! You're ready to get your sweetheart on. Enjoy!

You have a heart of Gold - Golden Grahams
I'm not playing Trix. I really like you. - Trix
You are my Lucky Charm. - Lucky Charms
I like you Oh so much! - Cheerios (all three varieties)
You make my heart Swirl - Cinnamon Toast Crunch
I'm Cuckoo for you. - Cocoa Puffs

See Valentine No. 2 and Valentine No. 3

Abram's Birth: Part I

2012-02-06T13:08:14-07:00

I've decided to break Abram's birth story into two parts. Part I: Why We Chose a Home Birth and Part II: The Birth Story.

Hello, my dears. Happy Monday! Maybe it’s the fact that I got to do some yoga this morning before the kids woke up, actually cooked breakfast (yes, it was Cream of Wheat, but still), and somehow managed to get Brady off to school without the usual hectic chaos - but today is feeling grand. I’m in the mood to accomplish loads of things. And eager to finally tell you Abram’s birth story.

Abram was born at home. We chose to do this, instead of a hospital birth, for a few reasons. First, I knew I wanted a natural birth. When Brady was born, I eagerly took the epidural when they offered it. And it was a lovely, pain-free birth. The only thing was, when the anesthesiologist had come in and inserted the needle into my back he had said, “oh!” Having a medical professional say, “oh!” while their working on you is usually not a good sign. Later, I found that the needle had punctured my epidural space (which I was told was unexpectedly tiny) and I became victim to some killer spinal headaches. Once at home, recovery progressed rather slowly, too.

So when I learned that my daughter, Lily, was going to be born with some problems, I opted out for the epidural. There was a good chance I would have complications again due to my tiny epidural space and I wanted a fast recovery. More importantly, I needed to know that she was clear of any drugs so they could accurately assess her abilities and health at birth. Thankfully, Lily’s birth was wonderfully easy. Oh, it definitely hurt but endorphins are fabulous things: I felt fantastic within minutes of giving birth to her.

Having such a positive experience with Lily's birth made going natural again with Abram a no-brainer. But I’d heard that it could be really difficult to not have any interventions if giving birth in the hospital. I’d arrived at the hospital doors about 15 minutes before Lily was born, so I didn’t know for myself; there wasn’t time to intervene! We had our fingers crossed it wouldn’t be quite so rushed this time around.

I decided to read up on home births and research the statistics to make sure it was a safe option for our family. The more I read, the more I became convinced that it was the right thing for us. I found a wonderful midwife and began visiting her for my monthly checkups, bringing Brady along with me. It was the best experience to have a care provider that knew my entire family. She treated Brady like a grandchild and he always looked forward to visiting her office.

As for me, I looked forward to having a delivery that was free of a crazy last-minute drive to the hospital; where just my husband, the midwife and I could deliver our child; where my oldest could meet his baby brother as soon after as I wanted. I looked forward to uninterrupted sleep in my own bed the night after the birth. And I looked forward to giving a child life in the same place where my baby girl had left us two years before.

Stay tuned for Part II of Abram's birth story later this week. Tomorrow, I'm going to have some Valentine's freebies just for you, my lovely readers. See you then!

Photos by Craig and me

Counting Blessings

2012-01-31T16:12:41-07:00

The end of 2011 was a little bit crazy for us. I count myself lucky that I managed to get all the presents wrapped and under the tree before Christmas morning. Sending out Christmas cards became a project I simply had to drop. Instead, I hoped to put together a New Year's card to send out in January. And luckily, that's just what happened.

I was inspired by the thought of counting our blessings, since 2011 was a year full of wonderful moments and events for our family. Craig and I sat down and chatted about the things that made up the majority of our year, then I set to work quantifying them. In the end, we had events that, when the numbers were added together, summed up to 2011. I made four little illustrations to give some color to our card. And, saving the best for last, we also included a photo of the boys - because the photos are everyone's favorite part of receiving a holiday card.

It was a fun little project that I hope our friends and family enjoyed. And, of course, I want to send the same wishes out to all of you, dear friends: here's to countless blessings and a bright 2012!

PS - We turned that photo of the boys into magnets for grandparents and such. They turned out so wonderfully, that I'm planning on making it an annual thing.

photos by me

A Whirlwind

2012-01-30T11:13:51-07:00

Hello, again! I'm so glad to be back here blogging today. It's been a long time - yikes! The past few months have been...well, let's call them time-consuming, shall we? From November 19th, when baby Abram was born, until just now has been a whirlwind of feeding, rocking, shushing, feeding some more, sleepless nights, and days spent with a Baby Bjorn strapped to my torso. We love this darling baby, but he has definitely been a high-maintenance kid.

Luckily, things have started to brighten up; meaning, he's starting to sleep in his bassinet for longer periods. So now, however briefly, I can sit down here and do a few things! I have so many projects to share with you from the past couple of months, including the story of Abram's planned home-birth. Tomorrow, I'll start with how we welcomed in the new year.

What about you, my dears? Has your bundle of joy ever been colicky? How did you cope?

photos taken on my iPhone

Meet Baby Abram

2011-11-23T15:57:06-07:00

Things have been busy around our neck of the woods lately. Saturday, November 19th was especially eventful. At 12:51 in the afternoon the newest member of our family made his debut. I'd like you to meet Abram Joseph.

He's the sweetest little bundle with the most delicious cheeks. We can't get enough of him. He was delivered at home so I have more stories to share, but I'll be saving that for another day (typing with one hand while a babe is in the other is tricky business). I hope you all have a lovely Thanksgiving and have as much to be thankful for as me.

How to Be a Pirate

2011-11-01T12:06:24-06:00

Halloween has always been a bit of a struggle in the costume department as far as decisions go. There are just so many possibilities that Brady has never been able to decide on just one costume without a lot of convincing. But this year there was one thing he definitely knew he wanted to be: a pirate.

I really love making his costumes so we ended up doing a bit of creating and a bit of collecting. Here's how we made it happen:

Pirate Hat and Eye Patch: Borrowed from a friend
Vest: Sewn from the Oliver + S book, Little Things to Sew
Shirt: J. Crew, from his closet
Pants: From his closet
Sash: Cut from an old shirt
Pirate Loot Bag: Sewn from this tutorial and stamped with a crossbones potato stamp
Boots: Polarn O. Pyret
Sword: Target

We also had a bit of fun making this amazingly fast and cute vampire pumpkin that I saw in Martha Stewart Living. All you do is carve out the mouth area, wedge some vampire teeth into the hole, and add two red-headed pins for the eyes. Easy and adorable.

For a few Halloween parties we had over the weekend, Brady also dressed up as the old man, Karl Fredrickson, from the movie Up, which was the greatest. But he did that more for me than as his own idea. I'll share pictures of that costume and how we put it together on Facebook later today.

How was your Halloween? Did you or your children dress up? What were your favorite costumes?

Back to School

2011-09-07T11:28:27-06:00

Waking up at 6:30 this morning to make a special breakfast for the first day back to preschool was a pretty great way to start the day. The house was quiet, the day full of potential. And what better breakfast to have than a batch of homemade doughnuts with a side of blackberries? I don't think any 4 year old could have wished for more (not to mention me because, of course, I had to help him eat them).

As a back-to-school gift for his teacher we set aside some of the rainbow-sprinkled doughnut holes. Tossing them into a striped paper bag and adding a tag, we were good to go. Oh, but not until after the obligatory picture on the front steps.

Seriously, friends: I have the cutest kid. If it's back-to-school time at your house, too, I hope the year holds fabulous things for you. And plenty of doughnuts.

For the Children: Bonpoint

2011-08-29T12:11:20-06:00

Such darling newborn outfits from the French boutique, Bonpoint. If money were no object I would buy one of these for my new niece (who is almost here!) and one for my own little bun. And then I would take pictures of them both all day long.