tommy

 

Our little boy arrived June 2 at 6:19 pm weighing in at 7 lbs 12 oz. and 20 inches long. He made me wait 9 long days past his due date, but he was my easiest and fastest birth so all is forgiven. We have spent the last three weeks memorizing his sweet face (that has already changed so much) and soaking in these sleepy newborn days at home doing nothing but spending time getting to know one another.

The girls are over the moon and have been so loving to their little brother. We are slowly figuring out how to be a family of five and it is starting to feel like it has always been this way. I couldn't be more in love.

19/52 + 39 weeks

 1 - The girls have been mix and matching their swimsuits and playing in the backyard with the hose after school all week long. Lark doesn't seem to mind running around bare foot in our pokey weed-filled yard, but LM always makes sure to wear shoes. Just another small way they are total opposites that makes me smile.

2 - LM only has one more week of school and then she will be a Kindergarten graduate! I really can't believe how fast this school year went by, wasn't I just dropping her off for her first day? The timing is actually nice though since I will have a newborn soon and I won't have to worry about getting out of the house at certain times each day for school drop off and pick up. It will be nice to have her home to help me too. She is growing up and proving to be a big help to us around the house and with her sister. I have talked to her about how important her contribution is to our family and how much we appreciate what she can do. We also discussed how a newborn is going to take up a lot of my time and attention, especially at first, and how I will need her to lend an extra hand every now and then. I am certainly not going to overbear her with responsibility, but I am glad she will be there to grab me a burp cloth, or help her little sister put on her shoes. She has declared she will NOT change a poopy diaper, but she WILL put that stinky diaper into the diaper pail for me after I change it. Ha.

3 - Lark is still taking naps for me almost every afternoon but once her sister is home all day I predict they will slowly start to dwindle and I am actually okay with that - it will help with bedtime which she can drag out for a very long time. One of my favorite things she does right now is make up stories. She grabs a book and says she will read it to me and then makes up the funniest little stories with awesome dramatic voice inflections and facial expressions that crack me up. They usually involve a dragon, a princess, a castle made of cheese, some part of the book she is looking at, and a mixture of the Three Little Pigs or Peter Pan. It is truly entertaining, she is a ham and has a fun imagination. She has declared she will get the wipes when it comes to the poopy diaper changing.

4 - Tomorrow is my due date. I am feeling calm and ready. LM took this picture for me since I figured I needed to document my bump in this series for what will hopefully be the final time. Next week I hope to have a beautiful tiny face make his appearance here in place of my large and in charge belly.

Have a nice long weekend :)

living room tour

Here are some pictures of our living room that I snapped right after I cleaned it the other day. Usually the girls have their drawing supplies littered all over the coffee table, the pillows are on the floor, and various books and toys are scattered about the room and I like it that way too.

When it comes to decorating I am a slow one. I tend to take my time and let the decor of our home naturally evolve as I come across something I love here or there. Since we started out with practically nothing when we moved in it has taken some time to fill up the place. We've been living in our home for a year and five months now and I finally feel like our living room feels put together enough to share. I'm sure it will always be changing in little ways and I'm not sure that I'll ever feel like it is completely 'done,' but at least there are pictures hanging on the wall which is more than I can say about the rest of the house.

Since I don't have a large home decor fund at my disposal what you see here was almost all found at the thrift store or through our local classifieds. The chesterfield-style couch, West Elm rug, vintage Lane coffee table, and vintage bar stools were all found second hand for great prices. The little sewing cabinet under the gallery wall is an heirloom from my mother. I remember her sewing atop that cabinet my whole childhood and I am glad to have it in my home now. Most of the little finishing touches like the pillows, throw blanket, plant pots, and picture frames are from either Target or Ikea.

I'd like to add some hanging plants, keep working on the gallery wall, get a new floor lamp that makes more of a statement, and make or find some colorful pillows to add to the couch, but for now we are enjoying this space as it is just fine.

The girl's room is the next closest space to feeling finished, I'll share their corner of our home soon.

18/52 + 38 weeks

1 - LM has finally started showing interest in her dollhouse after pretty much neglecting it for the past couple of years. I thought she would love it when we first gave it to her, but she just wasn't interested even when I sat down to play with her. I am glad it is finally getting some much needed play time on record. I was about to claim it as my own and start decorating it for fun, ha. Now we can do that together.

2 - Lark came down with a fever so we have been taking it easy at home the last couple of days. Gratefully, I think she is on the mend after sleeping most of today.

3 - My next midwife appointment is the day before my due date and I really hope it is my last... fingers crossed. I feel ready to start this next chapter of our lives as a family of five. Both of the girls kept me waiting days past my due date though, so I imagine this dude will give me the opportunity to practice my patience too.

17/52 + 37 weeks

I wasn't very good at getting my camera out this week, as in I didn't get it out at all, so I am using this as an opportunity to go back in time a bit and post some iphone pictures from Easter this year...

1 - The girls wore the matching dresses I made them to church and then we drove up to my mom's little farm for a delicious family dinner and some festivities. It is the perfect setting for an egg hunt, don't you think? You can see our pictures from last year here (husband actually makes an appearance in them, this year we didn't even take a family picture, whoops).

2,3,4 - Scenes from the egg hunt. LM actually found a real Swallow egg in the middle of the field while on a walk with her cousins. She brought it home nestled in a little box and was so excited to show it to her class for show and tell that Friday. We put it up on a shelf to keep it safe, but she liked to get it down to look at often and one day she decided to keep it in her bike basket while riding around the driveway. Well, the bike tipped and I'm sure you can guess what happened. It was so sad. She ended up taking a picture of Swallow eggs in a nest instead.

5 - This week we got items like our baby bath tub and cloth diapers out of storage, and my awesome friends Danielle and Annie threw me a nice baby shower. So, I have a lot of washing and folding and organizing and counting my blessings to do now. I ended up cleaning out the dresser in my craft room to use in the nursery and we got a simple crib that is a keeper, so the main pieces in the room are starting to come together. It is turning out to be a quiet, peaceful little place that I like to slip away to and just sit and think and imagine while baby boy rolls about inside of me.  

16/52 + 36 weeks

1 - LM has been putting the roller skates she got for Christmas to good use all winter long around the house. Now that the weather is warming up and we've been venturing outside more she is getting lots of good practice on more uneven ground. Skating outside has been a lot more challenging for obvious reasons like hills, rocks, and sidewalk cracks, but she is getting the hang of it. Some days she wears her skates until bedtime.

2 - Lark is an early bird and always climbs into bed with us in the morning before we are ready to start the day ourselves. She is usually content to just rest quietly between us until daddy's alarm clock goes off, but some mornings end up looking like this if the game phone is charged and mama is extra tired. 

3 - Well, we made it to baby month! From now on my midwife appointments are weekly which is helping to make me realize how close we are to meeting this little guy - exciting! We did set up the new crib last week but unfortunately it didn't work out for us to use for the baby. We decided to go a different route which I think will be even better. So, now I am hoping this is the week we can at least put some piece of furniture in the nursery, ha. 

15/52 + 35 weeks

So, this week it seems we've all been taking turns sitting in this rocking chair, ha. I found it while searching on the local classifieds (which I do waaaaaay too much of lately looking for a dresser for the nursery) and it was just too fun to pass up. 

1 - Every day we set aside some time for LM to practice reading out loud. It makes me so happy when she figures out new, harder words all on her own. I am really proud of her because she tends to get easily frustrated when she can't do something right the very first time, but she has overcome a lot of that frustration when it comes to reading (and life in general). It is beautiful to watch her practice patience and try again instead of melt down. Yay, for maturity!

2 - You can't tell in this picture, but I finally got around to taking Lark in for her first haircut so she is no longer business in the front, party in the back, ha. Lately, she has been blowing raspberries on my belly and yelling silly phrases at the baby like, "Hey, pooper brother, I'm your sister!" and "We'll read books, you tooter." So, pretty much I think they will get along just fine. 

3 - At 35 weeks I am starting to have some sleepless nights. Our new crib arrived but we have yet to take it out of the box as it's been a pretty busy week for us. I think today is the day though and that will be fun. 

healthy homemade fruit snacks

Healthy Homemade Fruit Snacks

2/3 C fresh or frozen berries
2/3 C fresh lemon or orange juice
2-4 T honey, depending on your taste
5 T grass-fed beef gelatin

Directions:

1. Combine juice and berries in a medium sauce pan and cook over medium heat until the fruit begins to soften.
2. Add in the honey and stir until fully incorporated.
3. Take the mixture off of the heat and let it sit for a few minutes, then puree until smooth (I love my immersion blender so I can leave it right in the pot).
4. Slowly add in the gelatin while continuously stirring to avoid any clumps. If you do get some clumping put it back over low heat and stir until they are dissolved.
5. Once the gelatin is all incorporated and dissolved pour the mixture into a 9x9 baking dish and put it in the refrigerator to set for 1-2 hours.
6. Cut it into squares and enjoy!

Keep them refrigerated to last longer.

If you follow me on Instagram (@stacyhartsew) then you already know that we made some healthy homemade fruit snacks the other day. I shared the recipe there, but wanted to share it here as well to help spread the word since I know a lot of kids love fruit snacks while a lot of parents won't buy them because of the icky ingredients. I fall into that category so I was excited to come across this recipe and try it out.

One of the main reasons I wanted to make some for my kids wasn't necessarily to give them a store-bought fruit snack alternative, but to offer them a food packed with natural collagen, protein, and all of the other health benefits provided by gelatin (if you live in Utah I got my Great Lakes grass-fed beef gelatin at Real Foods Market, otherwise you can find it online here, but you can use regular gelatin as well).

The recipe was easy to make and my kids have been enjoying snacking on them throughout the week, even if at first it did catch them off guard that they didn't taste exactly like the super sweet sugary fruit snacks they expected (I used 2 T of honey, but in my opinion it could have used more).

After we made these I came across this recipe using different combinations of fruit and veggie juice which I think I'll try out next time. It also adds in vanilla which sounds so yummy! Have you ever made homemade fruit snacks? What is your favorite flavor combination? We made a batch of strawberry and a batch of blueberry. I find myself partial to the blueberry.

14/52 + 34 weeks

Catching up for last week...

1 - If it were up to LM all of our Easter eggs would have been dyed purple. She is purple obsessed these days.

2 - Lark has started to test her ability to climb the apple trees in our backyard. She gets a little higher each time. I have no doubt she will climb up far enough to make me nervous by the end of the summer.

3 - I mentioned in my last post that I hung up all of the clothes I have collected for baby boy so far. Well, now they are the only thing in the nursery because this last week I sold our crib and changing table on a whim. Call me crazy to sell such an important piece of baby furniture while 34 weeks pregnant, but I just sort of wanted to see if it would sell? And it did! That same day. So I was left a little bit in shock as I looked into our empty nursery. But the extra cash allowed me to choose a new crib that I like a whole lot better, so phew, maybe I'm not so crazy after all? Now everyone in Utah stop searching for low mid century dressers on KSL so I can snag one up, okay? Please and thank you.

13/52 + 33 weeks

1 - One of LM's favorite things to do right now is put on a twirly dress and do her make-up. And she is crazy good at putting it on. Seriously. Like she can apply mascara without getting any on her eyelids, or nose, or all the places I accidentally get mascara on myself all the time, ha. She is allowed to apply a little bit of mascara, blush, and lipstick, but I always make sure to talk about how make-up is just for fun and she is beautiful with or without it. She is my girly girl.

2 - Lark also likes to play with my make-up, but more so in a naughty-caught-spilling-it-all-over-the-bathroom-counter kind of way. She destroyed this pink lipstick all over the mirror a while ago so the only way to get any out is to stick a Q-tip in it. She starts out on her lips but quickly starts coloring outside of the lines, meaning all over her face, arms, legs... She is my mischievous one.

3 - I feel like I don't really have anything new to report pregnancy-wise this week. I hung up all of the clothes I have gathered for the little guy so far (which isn't much) and hung them up in the closet. I keep going in there just to look at them. :)

handmade (squirrel) Easter dresses

You may remember that instead of having the girls wear vintage this Easter I mentioned that I wanted to sew them dresses, and I am SO happy that I made the time with a little motivation from KCW - I love how these turned out!

I used a vintage pattern but made some alterations, like changing the zipper up for an open button closure in back, skipping the peter pan collar so they would read a little more modern, and using piping on the bodice instead of bias tape. Since vintage patterns only come in one size I was lucky that I had a size 4 which is right between LM and Lark's sizes. Having sewed vintage patterns before I knew they run a little big (at least on my girls) so I was pretty sure that I could make two size 4 dresses and it would fit them both. Luckily, I was right!      

I would have added length to LM's skirt, but I had just enough of this darling squirrel fabric to eek out both dresses. The purple chambray is from a Target shirt I found at the thrift store in the XXL section. I used almost every inch of that as well, including using the sleeve cuffs as one of the dress belts.

I received the organic cotton squirrel fabric c/o Sew Fine Fabric. Squirrels are totally the new Easter bunny, right? ;) But seriously, this fabric was such nice quality and sewed like a dream! I believe the main difference between your sewing project looking more professional versus homemade (I don't really want to put a negative spin on that word, but you know what I mean, right?) is all in the fabric choice and Jodi is 'obsessively selective' when it comes to stocking her shop with only the best. I have my eye on all of these fantastic prints 1/2/3/4/5 and am thinking about using one in particular for a baby boy quilt. And... I just now realized I have never sewed anything for a boy before, ha. That will be different!

The girl's and I almost can't wait for Easter now that they have these new dresses to wear - bring on the egg hunt!

See all of my KCW projects here.

kcw: gingham tank top with pocket

 

I decided to participate in Kids Clothes Week again. It's such a fun motivator for me to get back in the sewing room and make something! A quarterly challenge like this works well with my personality since I tend to be a binge sewer. Usually when I feel like sewing I'll spend a few days holed up in my craft room whipping up several projects in succession, then I feel like I scratched the itch and don't touch my sewing machine for weeks at a time. Do any of you do the same thing? :)

For my first project I made LM a tank top out of a dress I found at the thrift store. It can be a super cheap way to get fabric if you can find a print you like in good condition for a good price. I still have enough of this fabric left to make another shirt or possibly a skirt.

I just used a tank top she already had to draft up a pattern and then added a colorful pocket. It's a little big on her so I'm sure she'll be able to wear it next summer too.

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This tank fits right in with the black and white theme that was going on the last KCW I participated in, but the project I am working on now veers from that color scheme entirely. Can't wait to share more. Are any of you sewing this Spring? 

You can see my KCW profile and all of my projects here.

12/52 + 32 weeks

1 - LM chillaxing in her new suit and shades. The girls have been taking swim lessons for the first time the last couple of weeks and they are doing so well! Before they started both of them wouldn't go under the water without a lot of coaxing and now they are jumping off the diving board. It's so fun to watch your kids grow and gain confidence - such a rewarding part of being a parent!

2 - Lark feel asleep on the couch, so of course I took about a million pictures of her sweet, sleeping face. As one does.

3 - I think I'm starting to realize I actually have to give birth soon. Anyone else feel like they spend most of their pregnancy in denial? Ha ha. I really need to buckle down and practice my meditation and breathing because this baby is going to come out whether I am prepared or not, and I really want to feel like I am on my mental A-game for another natural birth.

And here's one more picture for you, just for fun :)

11/52 + 31 weeks

1 - LM has been on a My Little Pony drawing binge this week. Our house is littered with pages of her work as she has spent hours at the coffee table completely in the coloring zone. I don't mind this phase one bit, I love seeing her creativity. Her rendition of the Queen of the Changelings was especially impressive.

2 - An afternoon snack of orange smiles. This picture reminds me just how badly I need to take Lark in for her first haircut. More often than not she won't let me put her hair up which looks so cute, and when it's down it's just...well, not so cute, ha ha. The mullet needs to go.

3 - The girls spent an afternoon outside playing and collecting what flowers they could find that have bloomed so far this Spring. Each time they found one they would bring it in and place it on my belly.

Have a great weekend!

shop update: Easter pt. 2

Eyelet Lace Bonnet//Pink Flocked Bonnet

 White Apron Dress//Yellow Floral Dress

Blue Eyelet Pinafore//Pink Eyelet Pinafore

 Blue Sleeveless Dress//Sheer Bonnet

 Green Bonnet//Bunny Pocket Dress

Peach Button Dress//Pink Skirtall

 Pink Lace Up Dress//White Sheer Bonnet

 Blue Plaid Dress//White Pom Bonnet

 Rainbow Lace Dress//Blue Flower Wreath Dress

White Sheer Dress//Pink Bonnet

Novelty Print Romper//Cut Out Sleeve Dress

Yellow Scallop Bonnet//White Batiste Dress

Hello! Part 2 of my vintage Easter clothing update is now available in the shop. There are some really lovely dresses as well as some cute little bonnets that would make the holiday extra special for your little one. You can see it all here, thanks!