Singer

Well, this is the end of February and it has been my goal to take and post a picture everyday so that I could make myself explore how to use my camera more.  I pretty much made my goal with an exception of the past few days I was out of town visiting family back in Des Moines. So this last picture of the month is of my Mom's antique Singer...I just love the design along the side of it. Why don't they make them like this anymore?

Color

Some of you know that color is kind of my thing. I obsess over it and everything I do and have seems to be full of brightness. When I try to remember something, I always remember what color it was first, or what color I was wearing on that day....funny, huh? My dad used to laugh at me because when I was a child I used to always say that when I grow up and have my own house I am going to paint the outside in rainbow colors. I wondered why everyone had boring tan, white and grey houses. I thought it would make everyone happy in the world if they saw more color.....well that probably won't happen, but when we are not renting anymore the inside of my house will be full of bright colored walls and the outside full of bright colored flowers...that is my hope.

:(

IZZE 4 WAYS

Beautiful BLUE Etsy Finds

seejayneknityarns-hand-dyed yarn

Cecylou-limited edition screenprint "This Kiss"

BlockPartyPress-ceramic "Fly Away Home" birdie earrings

Summersville-handmade screenprinted fabric

Even the Unnoticeable Counts

Amazon dropped off goodies!

My Love

So Embarrassing...

Maybe it is just me, but it seemed like when we take pictures of our house we like to take it of all the best, the most organized, the stylish..etc. Well, I decided that I needed to be more realistic and vulnerable to share with you the parts of my house that are popular, but popular with stuff...the most disorganized spots in our home. These are the places I always have intensions of sorting through but never seem to get a chance. I might need to make it my goal to figure out a way to organize these spaces and to keep it that way. Any suggestions?

shelf in kitchen(mail, cookbooks, towels, other randoms...)

Baby swing cluttered with coats, blankets, scarves...I don't know why they pile here, we have a place for these things, but for some reason they are more convenient here. (It's really kind of funny actually)

CDs never seem to go back into the CD case after listening to them.

Marathon cooking day

Today my friend Deyshia and I had a marathon cooking day. We decided that since we both always have so many leftovers when cooking for 2 that it makes sense to cook together and split the meals. I know its not the most exciting picture, but it describes my day. It will just be nice for those nights that I haven't prepared anything for dinner. I wouldn't be able to do this all the time, because I prefer a fresh meal, i love cooking it and then putting it straight on the plate and straight into my mouth. :) It's good girl time though with good smells, and it only took us 2 1/2 hours to make 7 meals! Wahoo!

Tagged

I was over at Katie's blog today and saw that she possibly tagged me....i assumed the Stephanie F. is me....:) If not, i will do this anyway. I am supposed to show the 4th picture in the 4th folder on my computer...so here it is....

I just posted this picture a couple weeks ago, so I feel like I am cheating if this was my picture of the day...stay tuned...I will post something later today. :)

My Creating Space

This is my favorite room in our house. Lots of space for artwork, a futon to hang out on, an area for Will to play...right now he likes laying on the futon...:)...and SO MUCH COLOR! Its too bad our landlady won't let us paint, but at least we have beautiful east side windows which makes for lots of sunlight in the mornings. Thad built these tables for me so I could have more space to lay out my work. I still have some pictures to hang, and to set a few things up, but I was to excited to start creating...

...and after I took these pictures I looked over at Will and noticed that he totally fell through the bouncy seat...haha, I don't think he understood why I was laughing so hard. :)

Strings

Our Nighttime Place

This is the first quilt I made a few years ago...I love waking up and seeing all the bright patterns every morning.

... and Will's side of the room...although he is currently sleeping with us still, but he likes to play in his crib. :)

This is my great-grandmothers rocking chair; my grandfather and father were both rocked in it.

... and Will hiding...for some reason he likes to put blankets over his head :)

Ciao!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hope everyone had a splendid Valentine's Day!! These are some beautiful valentines that we received in the mail from our nieces and nephew.I love getting mail, it makes my day....and a family picture of Will's first V-Day. Loves!

Will and George

U-Complete Me Tutorial

You have to check out this fun valentines tutorial here at Creature Comforts. I don't know if I will have time to do it this year, but maybe a fun project down the road.

Grow!

It's not too early to start a herb garden indoors! I figured when they start to grow more abundantly it will be about springtime and i can replant them in separate pots! I love having a little green around this time of year!

The Melting

I actually took these pictures yesterday. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous!!I love it, but I know we were only spoiled with it being this nice in the middle of February. These are a  couple pictures of the pond by our house before the sun set.

Lunch

lettuce+spinach+broccoli+celery+carrot=cucumber+grape tomatoes+apple+ham+shredded cheese+sunflower seeds+walnuts+Newman's Olive Oil and Vinegar dressing=

Colorful Yummy Goodness :)

Crackle

A Glowing Welcome

to nurse=nourisher

image by emily999

"...we proved to be gentle among you as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children." I Thess. 2:7.

I asked my husband the other day if he ever wishes he was a mother...haha...he did not quite get it, of course he doesn't, he is a man. It has just come to my attention lately that I feel so blessed to be a mother and all the duties that come with it, especially being able to feed my baby. What a great feeling it is to be the primary nourisher. Will has gotten pretty chubby, so I know he is nourished. The Greek word for nurse is nourisher. Will is now over 4 months old and has really caught on to feeding and can eat quit quickly now. I think back to when he was a newborn and how difficult it was for both of us to catch on to nursing(maybe because I had a c-section or maybe not), but enduring through it was well worth it! I compiled a list of things I have learned along the way about breastfeeding, the blessings, and the benefits of it. Some of you may agree and have similar experiences and maybe some of you will learn something you did not know. I am not an expert but it was such a mystery to me before having a child. It is one of those things I did not quite understand until I started to do it.  I just feel I need to share this with everyone because first of all it is God's design, but also because being social about it and sharing your experiences helps boost confidence...and this is about something so important. There are many things I experienced through nursing that I thought I was the only one it happened to, when in reality it was totally normal; people just don't like to talk about it. So here is my list, feel free to comment on any stories/blessings you have experienced as well, I would love to hear about it.

*Nursing satisfies babies hunger/thirst, but also is a way to comfort.

*feeding on que helps him to not only grow strong, but to learn to trust.

*No emphasis on schedules: not looking at the clock.-Sometimes Will likes to eat every hour and half or less, but then other times he may want to sleep for 3 hours and then eat.

*I have read it is impossible to run out of milk if I have been feeding frequently enough (so far that is the case)

*I learned that it is ok that he does not sleep through the night, that is the way his body was designed for now. Why does everyone think of that as a negative thing?

*Breastfeeding is preventative against breast cancer for mamas.

*I learned that babies use 100% protein from the mother's milk and less than 50% can be absorbed from cow's milk or formula, so that baby has to take twice as much, which is extra work on the kidneys.

*nursing is a good way for me to loose weight faster-I gained a lot during my pregnancy, but I learned that that extra weight was needed for energy while breastfeeding.

*I learned Will's que for feeding is sucking his fist or crying...but I learned that it is better to catch him before he starts crying so he doesn't get to worked up.(That is a benefit for having him sleep close to me at night)

*when he cries I can put him up to my breast and that usually takes care of whatever he needs(hungary or comfort) unless he is gassy.:)

*it is less work: I don't need to prepare a bottle, it is ready anywhere and anytime.

*the breastmilk is packed full of great immunities that is needed for my babies development.

*I realized that I liked wearing nursing tank tops ($12.00 at target), because it is not only more comfortable, but makes it easier to cover up when I am not nursing at home.

*going to La Leche League-talking with other mothers helps to understand and boost confidence.

*It makes me want to have more children; the closeness and the love.

*I learned that the earlier and the more often you nurse gets you off to a good start and boosts your milk supply.(just making it a priority)

*I never used a bottle, pacifier, or nipple shields and Will seemed to be just fine.(Using these might create nipple confusion and interrupt with latching on)

*I learned that position is important. He can not swallow well when his body is not straight or his mouth is not open wide enough.

*making a nursing station at home for those early months with pillows, a stool under my feet, water(it makes me super thirsty), a snack(need an extra 500 caleries a day while feeding), my phone and a book or the remote.

*nursing laying down helps me get an extra few minutes to sleep- although is still kind of hard while milk supply is really strong. I have woke up in a puddle of milk a few times. :)

*Even though Will was in the NICU for a week they were able to bring in a cot for me to sleep there at night so I could encourage him to eat as often as possible. (early and often)

*I learned that talking to him and encouraging him to eat helped to keep him awake and eating, or openning my mouth wide for him to see what to do.

*I found that taking a hot shower, or expressing a little milk (hand or pump) helped my boobs to feel better :)

*expressing also helps build up milk supply while baby is still learning to latch on.

*I read that there is foremilk and hindmilk. The milk that comes out first is thinner and has a bluish tint which satisfies the baby's thirst, and then toward the end is the hindmilk which looks more milky, thick and white, which satisfies the baby's hunger. (Wow, this was definitely God designed, it is so detailed)

*it can be challenging, messy and time consuming, but is God's design in infant nutrition so that's why I do it.

For more information click here for a good article.

"Yet you are He who brought me forth from the womb; you made me trust when upon my mother's breasts."-Psalm 22:9.

Simply Be

Question...

If you could have Heaven with everything you have ever wanted and loved (all the riches, foods, things that would make up an amazing world to you), BUT IF CHRIST WERE NOT THERE, could you be satisfied with Heaven?

Thought provoking question..huh?...EVERYONE should check out my sister's post from yesterday. It will really change your thought process. Just click here.

Photoshop fun!

The other day I discovered that you don't need photoshop on your home computer to do this, you can just go to photoshop.com and use these basic shop tools to create fun pictures like this, and its free!

original

pop color

sketch

Living Room Wall Art

This is a fun and easy project I found on www.ohdeedoh.com. Some of my favorite fabrics I stretched over embroidery hoops to make fun wall art in our living room. (sorry I think these pictures were a bit over exposed)

Tutorials

I love finding new patterns and came across these the other day. I thought I would share them with you crafters who read my blog. I am usually not very good with patterns for I tend to go off and change things how I like them and then they don't turn out quite right, but I have tried out a couple of these. Enjoy!

Yoga Bag by Amy Butler

Classic Tote by Sew Mama Sew

Breastfeeding Cover by Heather at Sleek Mama

5-minute skirt by Angry Chicken

Easy Apron by A Feathered Nest

The Mama Backpack by Happy Things

Baby Sling by Angela White Breastfeeding 123

Cozy Day

He Loves Me!!