Baby is Already Making it's Debut!

11 Weeks

I forgot to post this last weekend but this was Valentine's Day when I was 11 weeks and starting to show already...more like the chubby phase but still never showed this early with the last 2!  Maybe that had something to do with being so sick my last two pregnancies I always lost weight in the first trimester because it was so difficult to keep anything down!  I am now 12 weeks!  I have been sick a few times but nothing I can complain about considering my past pregnancies.  Just really tired all the time,  

We had an early ultrasound because we couldn't get a heartbeat at my midwife appointment...same thing has happened with all 3 pregnancies...

Heart rate was 168 bpm so I'm thinking it's a girl right?  

I'm happy either way since I love both my girl and boy but it's fun to speculate!

It was an awesome Valentine's Day, my hubby and I don't really ever celebrate the holiday but we had this ultrasound and brought the kids and they were showering me with love and affection throughout the ultrasound, so excited to see the baby! They kept trying to kiss my tummy while it was covered with that ultrasound jelly!

Valentine's 2.0 Felt Heart Cookie Set

Valentine's Day Post 2.0

Felt Heart Cookie Set

and

Valentine's Day  Fun

My friend found this super cute felt cookie tutorial on pinterest (I think) and we decided to do it last night, just in time for Valentine's Day for our girls.

 

J said it was a wonderful gift!

My brother is arriving tonight for a visit before he goes off to start training for the AF Para Rescue program and so we cut out lots of hearts and the kids spend forever decorated them all for him and then J carefully, thoughfully placed them all around his room he'll be staying in the surprise him...

We also had an impromptu playdate with our friends and they made necklaces together gluing a heart doiley on a paper heart, then adding a sticker, ribbon and we took their picture and printed and cut out and glued to the back...and they decorated and ate Valentine's cupcakes

And here are the crossword puzzle valentine's we made and passed out at the retirement home with our MOPS group

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

Happy Valentines Day!

Will you be my Valentine?

I've been having fun using all the premium tools on picnik since they are free until they close and switch over to google in April.  This one I did sepia, then cross process then faded and obviously font, stickers and border added  :) FUN for someone like me who used to know a little photoshop but hasn't used it in years.

Lacey Heart Valentines Shirt

FYI-Head on over to Wanna Be Balanced Mom today to see my latest guest post featuring my new tutorial.  It's a super cute customizable character (make it  like your child) and rainbow magnet set to be used as a "chart" to get your kids eating healthy called Rainbow in My Tummy!

Doily Heart Valentines Day Shirt Craft

From Family Fun's February Issue

We have been really making use of our February issues of Family Fun Magazine! After making the Indoor Snowman...we made these Valentines Day shirt activity is something J was DYING to make when she saw it in the magazine.  I found the turtlenecks on clearance at Target for $1.78 and just cut the neckline as I did with her other clearance turtleneck shirt and made the turtleneck part into a headband (SEE HERE) We also tied a piece of tulle into a bow on the headband.  We did everything else the same, put a heart shaped doiley on top of the shirt and then the girls sponged on fabric paint.  After you remove the doiley, this is what it looks like....

You can find the instructions for this Adoily-able Shirt Here.

And we are making a bunch of valentines for our MOPS group that the kids can hand out to the residents at a retirement home so we used one of the valentines ideas from the February family fun too.  Instead of useing madlibs, We rolled up crossword puzzles, wrapped in a heart doiley and secured with a ribbon.

Rose Petal Tutu Tutorial - Land of Nod Knock Off

Rose Petal Tutu knock off from Land of Nod

The Tutorial in 10 Easy Steps!

Supplies
Elastic band for waist
2 1/2 yards Tulle/Netting
Matching thread
Floral Rose Petals (I bought the box of rose petals located in the wedding isle at Hobby Lobby or Joanns)
Matching Ribbon 1.5-2 inches (I recycled the ribbon from a bouquet of lilies my hubby brought me 2 weeks ago for our 3 year wedding anniversary!)
Big Flower for embellishment

1. Measure your child's waist and write it down, then measure from your child's waist to their knee, write it down. Now take the measurement from the waist to knee and double it and add a inch. My daughter's measurement was 10 inches from waist to knee so I needed my netting 21 inches wide. (10+10+1=21)

2. Cut the netting so that it's the correct width, (mine being 21 inches wide) by 2 1/2 yards long.

3. Fold the netting in half lengthwise, and sew a seam all along the open edge.

4. You now have a very long tube of netting. Flip it right-side out.

5. Sew a second seam parallel to the first seam, wide enough to fit your elastic band through.

6. Now match up the open ends of your tube, and sew a seam starting from the bottom of the skirt. Stop your seam 2-3 inches from the top, leaving an opening for inserting the rose petals and the elastic.

7. Insert the desired amount of Rose Petals into the skirt through the opening. I used about half a box of rose petals.

8. Insert elastic band into casing. I put a safety pin on one end to help pull it through, and I also used a safety pin on the opposite end and pinned it to the end of the casing so the whole elastic wouldn't pull through. Sew the ends of the elastic together.

9. Finish up the seam to close the skirt. Trim away any excess netting if you need to. Flip tutu right side out so seams are inside.

10. Place the ribbon and the flower in the desired position, mine is off centered, and pin in place.

ALL DONE!!!

This project only takes about 40 minutes to complete. The Rose Petal Tutu on Land of Nod is $30 but this cost me $6.55 to make (and the big flower was 2.99). I spent a total of $11.66 on supplies and have enough left over to make at least one more. I used a 40% off coupon at Hobby Lobby for the box of rose petals, and used ribbon I already had. You don't necessarily have to use rose petals, if you have floral stems lying around the house, you could pull the petals off and put those in the tutu.

ENJOY!

Rose Petal Tutu

Rose Petal Tutu Knock Off

I LOVE going through those expensive catalogs such as Pottery Barn and Land of Nod, they are full of great ideas and many of them are so cheap and easy to replicate. This is my most current knock off, a best seller on the Land of Nod website, it's the Rose Petal Tutu. I thought this would make for a great Valentines Day gift for my little sweet pea who is obsessed with wearing princess dresses and tutus.

Land of Nod's Rose Petal Tutu

Just in time for Valentines Day!!!

A tutorial on this one is coming soon...

My Version...

And on the topic of Knock Offs, There was a really fun and interesting post by Holly on her Homebody blog that I quite enjoyed entitled "Who's Copying Who?" She showcases some of Pottery Barns new items that seem to look just a little too familiar to those in the crafty blog world. A lot of people make knock off versions of Pottery Barn items, but it this case, it seems Pottery Barn may be knocking off the blogs...only charging an arm and a leg for their versions! lol.
This inspired Holly to host a Pottery Barn Knock Off Party! it's scheduled for Tuesday, February 16 GO HERE to link up your PB knock-off. It can be something new, or something you did a while ago.



Meanwhile, my sweetpea and I made some YUMMY Chocolate Chip Cookies today with a recipe out of my Better Homes and Garden Cookbook....Soft...Chewy...and Really Good!