Nursery DIY

In a dream world somewhere I'm not exhausted, I don't have an uncontrollable urge to nest and clean everything, and I'm not enrolled in two grad classes. Also in that dream world I can make the millions of things I've pinned on Pinterest for Lyla's nursery. Unfortunately, I've only gotten around to one DIY project which is what I'm posting about today! :)

You have probably seen this project on Pinterest- cardboard letters wrapped in yarn. I think these are just  precious so about ooooooooh 3 monthes ago I purchased the letters from hobby lobby with good intentions... there is a saying about good intentions... Haha.

Here is what you'll need: Glue gun, glue sticks, band-aides for when you burn yourself repeatedly with the glue gun, yarn (I wanted a thick yarn so I used a wool yarn from hobby lobby), cardboard letters (from hobby lobby), and patience.

First, the project was not too pricey. The letters were $2.47 but the yarn was $7- $8 a bundle because I was being picky and wanted nice thick yarn. :)

Next, you have to decide which direction you are going to wrap your yarn in order to cover the ends and the top... The A was SO hard. I won't lie. This is where the band-aide's come in handy.

I started off using lots of glue but if you have an easy letter like this L then you don't need as much because just wrapping the yarn will keep it in place. For this letter I wrapped vertically (you can see that in this picture) first then went back and wrapped horizontally to over the sides of the letter. 

When you're all done, you'll have something like this: (I'm replacing that flower... just an experiment that didn't work out.) :) YAY~

All this yarn wrapping took it right out of Olivia...

I hope everyone is having a good summer!

- Amanda

Life and 29 Weeks

Hi Everyone!

How far along? 29 weeks, 1 day

Total weight gain? 22 pounds

Maternity clothes? OH YEA! I'm so hot already!! I wear lots of skirts and shorts. 

Sleep? Last week I started having trouble falling asleep. Once I get to sleep I'm okay but falling asleep after I get up to pee every 4 hours is becoming kinda hard. 

Best moment this week?  There are SO many moments!! We took our maternity pictures this weekend and its was a blast. We used Milano's Photography and they were amazing. Honestly, I was freaking out about the pictures because I freak out about everything and they made us feel so comfortable. I really hope they turn out good! 

Also, we are in the last trimester which is very exciting. I registered us for a bunch of classes at our hospital that I'm really excited to go to. It feels like when your pregnant, all you are is anxious to keep growing your healthy baby and then one day you wake up and you've gained 20 something pounds and you're about to meet your baby! The time flies by. 

Miss anything? I miss by back not hurting! WHINER <----. At the end of the day, my lower back hurts like whoa. This weekend Cade got me a belly band thing that looks like one of those back braces that you see the employees wear at wal-mart. Fortunately, I won't be wearing this on the outside of my clothes. :) Supposedly, its supposed to really help your back by supporting this bump!

Movement? Yes! Okay, because I freak out about everything I am constantly thinking about her moving. During week 26, she slept for what seemed like the whole week!! She would only move a little at night and while I was sleeping. Scared me to death. My Mom tells me "Just wait till she gets here and it'll be even worse!". Usually she'll move a little bit here and there throughout the day but mostly at night when I'm posted up on the couch. 

Food craving this week? I'm still pretty wrapped up in cereal. This week its Applejacks. :)

Anything making you sick? Nope. Just ready to be out of school. 

Gender? Baby girl, Lyla Joy Butler

Labor Signs? No! She is right on track. At 28 weeks, my belly measured 28 cm. I feel so big though! 

Symptoms? STRETCH MARKS! Gah. They are itchy and not pretty. Here is the deal, at a certain point, the belly gets big enough to where you can't see around it. I have these stretch marks below my bellybutton and who knows how long I've had them because I haven't been able to see the underside of my bump in a while. Oh well, small price to pay for a healthy baby girl!

Happy or Moody? I feel happy! I'm starting to get a little uncomfortable which can make me a not very nice person at the end of the day but overall, I am so happy to be growing our baby girl. 

Looking forward to? I looking forward to meeting Lyla. We can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel and her due date is in a few months. I am really anxious to finally meet her. I can feel her moving around in there and I'm so excited to see her face and meet her- know her personality. 

Also, we are having a 4D ultrasound on Saturday!! Our parents will both be there and we are very excited to share that with them! I can't wait. AND I have a shower on Tuesday given by the girls at work. I am really excited for that too! These ladies are so dang creative I'm sure this shower will be something from a magazine. :) 

Olivia and Me! 29 weeks!

Ha. Olivia is looking around my bump at the camera.

The nursery is painted and we've got all the furniture! Woo Who! I'm glad to have the ball rolling. I am almost done with the quilt and hopefully I'll get the bed skirt done in the next few weeks. I didn't take any pictures of how the nursery looked before we started. Boo. It originally had white walls and a dome light.  Here is the nursery so far. We have a long way to go but it's starting to come together. 

This is looking into the nursery from the door. Hopefully I can find baskets for that console and that'll be the changing table. 

Looking at the door from the other side of the room. I plan on putting pictures in each frame of that window sitting on the dresser- then hanging it above the dresser. :)

Here is the crib and closet... opposite of the dresser. I just washed some clothes and Cade was hanging them up for me. :) Ohhhh, getting ready!! Eek!

Well, I'm sorry it's been so long. I hope to be updating more frequently when school gets out with fun little projects I want to put in her room. 

This last week was absolutely horrible. My friend Kim told me that things come in 3's and I do hope she is right. On Tuesday, when we woke up, we discovered that Cade's truck had been broken in to. They didn't take much but, GRRRR, it irritates me. How LAZY to rob someone else instead of work like the rest of us and get your things the right way. Blah. Later that day, we had to put down our oldest and last ferret, Braxton. He was Cade and I's first pet. He had such a wonderful, fun life. He could romp around with the best of them when he was young. Unfortunately, he had an insulinoma  which made his blood sugar extremely low. Usually he'd come out of it with a little Karo syrup and food but, last weekend, he just couldn't shake it. His blood sugar dropped to below 40, which is pretty much flat lined. We took him to his doctor and he had said that it was our choice. Braxton's sweet little life just wasn't what it should be. He wasn't eating, he couldn't play, and he couldn't go to the restroom on his own. Cade and I decided that it was time. Putting an animal to sleep is the absolute WORST part of having pets. I gave Brax some love and went and sat in the car. Cade stayed to be with him while he went to sleep. I miss him everyday but he is having fun with his sisters now and NOT feeling sick at all. 

We miss you B!

I hope everyone has a good week next week. I just know this one will be better than the last. :) As always, Olivia says Hey!

- Amanda 

25 Weeks

Hey Hey!

Hope everyone is doing good. It's been a while!! Everyone over here at the Butler house is rolling with it. :) I had my first experience with Braxton Hicks this last week. Holy smokes. Let me just tell you... apparently they can be pretty darn painful and achey. :( This too shall pass. At least Lyla's healthy and growing!

In my absence, Easter has come and gone! We spent the whole weekend with our families and it was fabulous. Lots of belly touching and eating. My kind of holiday! We decorated egg's with Camilla, which was so cute it hurt. :)

 Here we are dying our eggs...

And here we are... err... thinking about dying the eggs. :)

My sweet, sweet man on Easter. He is so handsome. :) 

Alrighty, on to the baby goods...

How far along? 25 weeks, 2 days

Total weight gain? 17 pounds

Maternity clothes? Yep, starting to break into the shorts. My extra white, slightly slowlen legs are lookin' mighty fine these days. Ha.

Sleep? I am sleeping just fine. I get up to tinkle a lot but, I'm still sleeping pretty soundly. 

Best moment this week?  We had our first baby shower this last weekend and it was AMAZING! I down right cannot believe how much great stuff we got. We sat up stairs for an hour looking through it all and gawking at all the teeny tiny outfits. It's surreal having all this baby stuff in the house. I had been pretty good about not buying stuff so all our baby shower stuff up stairs is awesome. I'm partial to the oober tiny socks. They are SOOO cute! I'll post pictures of the baby shower soon.

Miss anything? I can't remember anything. Holy cow... I mean, not a thing. Several days this week I walked out the door and left my lunch. I can't remember things for my classroom. I've been promising my kidos popsicles for weeks now and I HAVE them, I just forget to bring them. It's irritating because I am usually really good about remembering things! So yes, I miss my brain not being pregnant. 

Movement? All the time. She really likes it when I lay down on the couch. I can see my whole belly moving around. It's so COOL! She has her lazy days... I don't like those days. I miss her when she's not  moving. 

Food craving this week? I've been loving honey nut cherrios lately! 

Anything making you sick? Yes, summer not being here yet. 

Gender? Baby girl, Lyla Joy

Labor Signs? Braxton Hicks though that's not a sign of labor-- just friendly foreshadowing of the 'fun' to come. :)

Symptoms? My back starts to hurt at the end of the day. I can't really stoop down and pick stuff up quickly. 

Happy or Moody? At 24 weeks I was crying everyday, for no reason what-so-ever but this week has been really good. 

Looking forward to? We are having maternity pictures taken on May 19th. I'm really excited and a little nervous. I didn't really want to but Cade insisted that we'd want to remember this and he's right. I feel a little blah these days but one day we'll look back and be glad we documented all this. 

Here we are!

Olivia says hi!! Good Luck to all my teacher friends with the STAAR tomorrow!!

LOVE YOU ALL!

~ Amanda 

22 weeks!

Hey everyone!! Another update on Lyla! We are 22 weeks and 2 days along. She is the size of a papaya (which I had to Google, ha). Everything is going great. I'm feeling good, feeling her move constantly, and well, just blissfully happy.

How far along? 22 weeks, 2 days

Total weight gain? Somewhere around 15 pounds

Maternity clothes? Umm, oh ya. Though I'm most comfortable in a t-shirt and stretchy shorts. It's already starting to warm up outside so sweat bullets if it breaks 75 degrees outside. Oh this summer is going to be just fabulous. :)

Sleep? Like a rock lately. I'm getting up about twice a night to tinkle.

Best moment this week? There are so many moments every week and everyday. It's tough to pick one out as more important than another. My favorite moment this week was when Cade inquired if I could "even still see my feet". Ha. I looooove my husband and he has such a great sense of humor about all the weird stuff that happens to a woman when she is pregnant. Wonderful.

Miss anything? No. Not this week. :)

Movement? All the time. It's one of the most wonderful feelings I've ever felt. EVER. I will really miss this feeling when she's born.

Food craving? Deviled eggs... maybe its just easter getting to me.

Anything making you sick? We have crayfish in our class right now and I feel like when I leave school I smell like those nasty little bugs. Ugh. I am also really grossed out by beef. Weird.

Gender? Baby girl, Lyla Joy.

Labor Signs? No

Symptoms? Only having to tickle every hour or two.

Happy or Moody? I am feeling great! Very happy!

Looking forward to? The third trimester. We are almost there!! That'll mean only 12 more weeks till we meet baby girl! I'm so ready.

22 weeks, 2 days... barefoot and pregnant!

Alright, Cade's grandmother gave us a rocker a couple of years ago and we always said we'd use it in our nursery one day. We'll about two months ago the rocker disappeared. Cade told me he had taken it to his Dad to get it glued together and in good shape so that I could have it reupholstered for the nursery. On Friday night Cade surprised me with the rocker... ALREADY reupholstered!!! Yall... he did so good! Here it is, finished!

The woman who covered the rocker for us kind of gave us a back story on the chair. When she refinished it, she found almost 5 different fabrics. The rocker was made in 1876... can you believe that? Cade's grandmother's mother was rocked in the same rocker Lyla Joy will be rocked in. It makes my heart swell to think about what a huge part of history we'll have in her nursery!

One last thing! I've been looking for bedding for her crib for several months and I can't find anything that I like. I decided that I wanted to make a quilt for Lyla's crib... something she will always have. I found the fabric at Quilt Asylum in McKinney... if you ever need any fabric or patterns, this place is wonderful! They are a little pricey but its worth it. Here are the first three blocks I worked on tonight. It's going to be CUTE when its done. :) I'll keep y'all posted.

Talk to you all soon!

-- Amanda

20 Weeks

Girlfriend is BIIIIIIG. When I say girlfriend, I am referring to myself. Lyla is only 13 ounces.

How far along? 20 Weeks, 3 days

Total Weight Gain? 11 ish pounds... 10 of which I gained in the last four weeks... that's got to be some sort of a record. Holy cow.

Maternity Clothes? Absolutely! Lyla kicks me if my clothes are too tight. She's modest. :)

Sleep? I've been tossing and turning some but I attribute that to trying to get back in my sleep pattern after sleeping 24-7 during spring break.

Best Moment this Week? Easy: Cade and I were sitting on the couch a few days ago watching TV and Cade had his hand on my stomach. (I put it there all the time hoping he can feel her move). Lyla randomly kicked him... his face I will never forget. He whipped his head back and looked at me... it scared him in a good way... all the color left his face, he sat up, and put both hands on my belly with the biggest smile on his face. We both just sat there and laughed. It was amazing.

Miss Anything? I need a margarita... like whoa.

Movement? Mmm hmmm. I feel her several times a day. Not all day and not hard but I can definitely feel her. Eeek!

Food Craving? I'm like a bottomless pit. Last week I really wanted deviled eggs. This week I want BBQ.

Anything Making You Sick? Yes... getting up early after a week of vacation... I can call that a pregnancy symptom if I want. :)

Gender? Baby girl.

Labor Signs? No.

Symptoms? Stretching still. Feels like a mild period cramp.

Wedding Rings? Yes

Happy or Moody? I feel wonderful. Very happy.

Looking Forward To? 24 weeks. It's crazy we are on our way to the third trimester. Wow. I feel like we just found out we were pregnant... all I did was wish I looked pregnant and now I'm all blown up and half way through. It's amazing. Also, getting started on the nursery. We have our first baby shower in the middle of April. Woo who!!

20 weeks, 3 days

Talk with you all soon! (Olivia says hi!)

Olivia's 2nd Birthday!

First, can I braaaaag about how we have not done a single thing over the past 4 days... its been WONDERFUL! :))) We went to New Braunfels for a few days to get away- we watched friends, I finished the binding on my last quilt (only 2 years late...), and we went and ate for our 3 year wedding anniversary. Overall, we had an outstanding spring break... AND its not over yet. :) Ya who!

Well, Olivia turned 2 years old on March 13th and my super crafty friend Christy gave me a pupcakes recipe for her mini party! Needless to say, she LOVED them!!

Here is the recipe (Thanks again Christy):

CUPCAKES

MIX:

3/4 c. whole wheat flour

1/8 c. oatmeal

1 t. baking powder

1 t. baking soda

1/4 c. plain yogurt

1/4 c. water

1/8 c. vegetable oil

1 T honey

1 egg

1/2 c. grated cheese

ICING:

8 oz of lowfat cream cheese (softened)

1 T. plain yogurt

1 T. honey

Here we are before the celebration. :)

You can't see it from the picture but she is scratching the floor to get to the pupcake... there was a sense of urgency...

Here she goes! She's an icing first, bone last kinda girl. :)

Hope everyone's spring break is going well. Enjoy the rest of your week! Olivia says hello!

18 Weeks and Chicken Salad

Hey there everyone! SHE'S ALIIIIIIIIIVE! :) Sorry its been a while. I'm a horrible blogger. The end.

So, chicken salad. Yesterday at a co-workers baby shower there were chicken salad sandwiches and in the land of pregnancy, once you've got food on the brain... its pretty much all you can think about. SO I decided to make some chicken salad. I am a fan of chicken salad with ranch in it. I can't help it- call it the country in me. My favorite recipe is from pioneer woman here: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/05/chicken-salad-the-way-i-like-it/ but I add somewhere around a 1/2 cup of ranch to a 1/4 half and half.

Picture courtesy of The Pioneer Woman

So we're coming up on week 19. WOW! I can't believe we're almost half way. Few more weeks. I technically haven't blogged about her yet but IT'S A GIRL!!! We could not be more excited. Cade swears he knew it all along but I had no clue. I never got that intuition that other women always talk about. In fact, if I had to guess, I would have put money on a boy. Shows what I know. Her name is Lyla Joy. Joy is my grandmothers name! It was very surreal finding out! When we were at the doctor she said that she had noticed 'it' a few weeks back. Our doctor showed us her little femurs and feet then said "Looks like your having a baby girl!". Eeek! All cards on the table... I'm so excited/scared its ridiculous. When I asked our doctor how she knew because everything was so tiny, she said "Well Amanda, there is no penis so that's usually a sign." Hahaha. I friggin' love our doctor. We immediately went out and bought girlie stuff. I'll post some pictures!

How far along? 18 weeks and 6 days

Total weight gain? Somewhere around 7 pounds ish. To be honest, I don't even know. I do know that I can eat like a black hole.

Maternity Clothes: Um, there is NO way I can fit into anything without an elastic band. Ha.

Sleep: Doing good- I'm just have incredibly vivid dreams, lots of nightmares.

Best Moment this Week: Its been a while since I posted, but the best moment we've had since we found out the gender was telling my grandmother we named our daughter after her. She danced all around the kitchen screaming and then started bragging to my grandpa. It's a moment I'll never forget. Also, I'm pretty sure I can feel her moving in there. It's not very often but I think I can feel her. :)))

Miss Anything: Not this week. OH! I'm missing not having back ache's and ligament pain... does that count?

Movement: I'm pretty sure I feel her wiggling in there. It's not often but at least every other day. Eek!

Food Craving: None this week.

Anything Making You Queasy? No, I'd eat just about anything these days.

Gender: GIRL!!!

Labor Signs? Absolutely not

Symptoms: Ligament stretching is like WHOA this week.

Wedding Rings: Yes!

Happy or Moody: I'm doing good... I know I can be moody. But I feel like I'm doing okay! I tried watching army wives and couldn't because I kept crying.

Looking Forward to: SPRING BREAK! Whew!!! Man I need the break... we're going to see Cirque du Soleil for our three year anniversary on Sunday... I'm really excited! I know Lyla girl will love it too! Then we're headed to New Braunfels to get out of town. (It's also Olivia's 2nd birthday on the 13th and were having 'pupcakes')! I'll blog about spring break... there will be fun stuff going on!

Alright, here are the pictures promised!

GOOD LORD... what is cuter than this little swimsuit!?

Just... can't.... stop....

The diaper bag. :)

18 weeks 6 days... and Olivia!

I love this sweet girl!