here she is.

So, I'm going to ignore the fact that it has been six months since I last posted and pretend that there has been no obvious lull in my productivity.  Because really,....barely noticeable right??  And I wish I could say that this lapse in attention has produced a plethora of projects all but awaiting their show and tell debut.  And so.  That is what I am going to say. (Cause really,....you can't prove anything.;) ) 

however,....let's pace ourselves.  

so for today.  let me introduce you to the star of our Fall.  Because I can't bust out pictures of me pregnant and then never post pics of the princess worth it all.  Even the moo moo and the need for post-show Buns of Steel workout videos....  

Some Splash on the Back...

We started our backsplash! :)  YAY! So excited!  It's kind of a slow process as we have to get the glass cut at a glass shop and apparently we are NOT their top priority.  Which is weird because I'm my top priority and it seems to work quite nicely.  So the measurements have all been made and marked and dropped off for the rest of the wall....and now we're just waiting for the phone call that they're done.  and then we can finish up the one wall! :)

So happy!  It's going to look so pretty! jewelry for the kitchen :)

and it just wouldn't be fair...

...if today didn't produce a new pair for my favorite little three year old! :)

there was a sale....

Our friendly neighbourhood fabric store is changing ownership and selling out all their present inventory.  It means that selection is dwindling....but what they have is super cheap!  So....flannel is selling at $3.00/m and seems to be floating around our place in abundance!  and well....my machine has found its home on our kitchen table for the week and I'm having a lot of fun!  :)  


Here's what quiet time produced today....

Baby Washcloths

Baby washcloths also on the list for replacement... and really easy and cheap to sew. Who knew??   brown for boys.  pink for girls.  :)  I would love to try some matching hooded towels...but we'll see when the ambition wears out..... :)

Burp Cloths

I found a great little pattern at Homemade by Jill for new burp cloths.  And being that baby #3 is well on its way and my old ones were well loved and should be replaced (umm....the burp cloths, not the children....  well, they're well loved.  just not needing replacement....)  I guess it's time to start doing some prep work.  Anyway - super happy with how they turned out - love that they have the batting in the middle and should prove to be good and absorbant!  I have some more flannel scraps I have to use up so that should ensure we're covered for both boy and girl options! :)

Strawberrypolooza

So - I'm not largely a competitive person....except when it comes to driving.  I like to be at the front.  (A fact which by grace alone is not reflected on my driving record.) Yet I continue to grow as a person and in my journey of self-discovery I have now also unveiled that in reality this small flaw in my character MAY extend to picking strawberries with my husband.  

My buckets CLEARLY the fullest in a FRACTION of the time (the two on the left versus Aaron's half empty one on the right).  I - CLEARLY established as the better strawberry picker...(despite being seven and a half months pregnant and at an obvious disadvantage)...and despite only one of us knowing that it was indeed a competition.  

However.....

I MAY also now have exactly seventeen pounds too many strawberries.  And sadly this may also translate in to commanding my unfortunate immediate attention.

Laundry Sneak Peek

Well I wish that our laundry room could be presented with one grandious reveal - with the traditional before and after pic presentations.  But, I think this blog has been very truthful in the reality of my life not at all representing an episode of Divine Design or Sarah's House - and NOTHING is ever finished in one easy motivated attempt.  I have kids, we are not professionals and we have a very limited budget.  Almost everything we do it DIY.  And....I'm a bit of a 'project hopper'.  Instead - I'm thinking this is going to come with about fifteen sneak peeks and a slow slow slow progression.  But today I am happy to announce that my new laundry/mudroom walls - have been painted and some base cabinetry has gone in! K - that seems like ummm....not alot.  but here's the pics....


Before... (you know I like to go back to worst case scenario for the glory shot!...)

To walls....

And now...

And we actually built the two cabinets on either side of the washer and dryer with our own four little hands and just bought the doors so, I'm actually pretty proud of them!  Saved us a ton of moola too!  They had too be higher to prep for the counter top that will eventually span across the length of the back wall.  


Baby steps!....next project I believe is the floor....Tired of trying to scrub cracked concrete clean... :(

Petal Pink Cake

Claire turned five last week (which is really unbelievable in itself - can't believe my baby girl is almost ready for school...) and being the little princess that she is - when I saw this cake on I am Baker - I was definitely inspired and the promise that it was way easier than it looked gave me a glimmer of a hope I could even pull it off! :)  After all - my given audience was going to be four five year olds so really - not a scary crowd of critics.  But it truly was easy peasy and super impressive given the effort and the skills I started with!  Definitely use the butter cream icing recipe if nothing else.  AMAZING!  2 cups of butter, 8 cups of icing sugar and a cup of whipping cream.....really how could I NOT eat this every single day!?!

k - this MAY explain the twenty pound baby on the way.....

Yard Progress II

So once again... 

And I could not be more excited to be lookin' at this now....

I built three little cedar planter boxes and stained them to match our fence.  We're going to use the first two for a few vegetables and the last one is the long anticipated sandbox! Nothing fancy or elaborate but open space and well worth the investment and efforts to finally have a place for the kids to run and play and dig!  

Some New PJs!

Seriously LOVE seeing these kids smile!  SO worth the effort! :)

Out with the 'weeds'....

Did some weeding this morning with the kids... So happy to be spending more and more time outside again!  


However, perhaps giving THIS GUY his choice of gardening tools...

wasn't my smartest moment. 

Have a great day! :)

Yard Progress

So - you may remember our yard in all its glory when we took possession of our place...

needless to say, me and my 'green thumb' were not going to play well with it in it's current condition. :)  Last summer we tackled the fence - which we have been super happy with.  

and this spring...we have pulled out a whole lot of a gardeners love and good intentions and are left with this....

I can manage a big empty lot of black soil right??  This past week we even pulled out the plum tree situated in the middle of the yard which opened it up a ton.  Kinda sad to pull up a fruit tree, but not really plum fans and it was right in the middle of the yard so the plan is to someday replace it with another fruit tree further to the side.  We transplanted the raspberries further back on the lot as well.  We then hauled in a few yards of top soil to level out the old garden site and are now just sitting pretty, waiting for our sod! :)  So exciting! It is going to be so great to finally have a space for the kids to run and play - and put an end to the mud and dirt piles!


So yeah - not looking like a lot right now,....but if you squint you can see potential right??

Halfway Done...

Going on twenty-two weeks and it is definitely time to introduce you to one of the three cutest babies in the whole world!  K - too lazy to dig out and hook up our scanner to show off the actual ultrasound pics but trust me in saying it is travelling alongside the cheesecake stockpile "within"...

We could not be more excited and I am feeling really good - not expecting this feeling will last coming into summer and my anticipated intention to bring back the moomoo....(umm...."bring back" I guess lends to it being here at one point before...)

but yeah - fast forward to July, strategically position the oscillating fan and I could definitely rock that....

Easiest Birthday Cake EVER!

So my baby boy turned three this past week-end.  So very sad.  Funny how the time goes so fast but the days go SOOOO SLOWWW! :)  How is that possible??? We were actually out of town for the week-end so I needed to come up with a cake that could be done with minimal effort in someone else's kitchen.  My sister is a genius and remembered seeing a Dump Truck cake.  Ummm....PERFECT for Jaden and seriously COULD NOT BE EASIER!  A chocolate cake mix, some chocolate butter icing, a package of chocolate pudding, a bag of Fudgeeos and some gummy worms.  besides baking the cake - took about ten minutes to put together - the kids LOVED it and it was actually quite delicious.  It turned out super cute too.  

So....definitely my new favorite birthday theme.  Just wondering how many years I can manoeuvre it - i'm thinking a flower pot for girls??

Upholstered Headboard

Thanks to my dad's keen eye for savings and my hesitant decision making skills - we have a large piece of extra plywood sitting in our car port just waiting for a project...!  And I'm all about project creation.  Not necessarily project completion....but project creation....ABSOLUTELY.  So - part one of said plywood has been claimed for our guest room headboard.  To date this has been a glaring hole that bugs me every time I walk in to the room so I'm pretty pumped to fill the gap.  

I was looking for a black velvet-ey look-alike or a charcoal suiting-ish fabric to look fairly tailored with three rows of tufted covered buttons across.  But after doing one...Aaron and I thought it looked finished at that.  Which I was cool with of course, being that meant I was done. :)  It's not permanently installed yet, just propped up and ideally it will sit a couple of inches higher.  But I'm diggin' it.  What do you think?