DIY Name Art

Does anyone have a better idea of what to call these?  Decorative letters...name letters...name art?  Either way, I knew I wanted to display Carson's name somehow in his nursery.  I thought about doing a vinyl wall decal, but I couldn't find one that I liked enough.  I really like the idea of hanging letters from ribbon, but I think it's a little girly for Carson's nursery.

I decided to buy some wooden letters and go from there.  I found these cute MDF letters at Michael's and went during their MLK Day sale so I got all of the letters for only $7.50! 

Here are the supplies you'll need for this craft:
-wooden letters spelling out the name/word of your choice
-craft paint
-sponge brush & small artist's brush
-scrapbook paper (1 page covered all of my letters)
-Mod Podge
-scissors, pencil

Total Cost for MY project: $8.50  (I already had a lot of the supplies and I got my letters on sale)

The first step is to trace your letters on the back of your scrapbook paper.  Make sure the letters are upside down so that the patterned part of your paper will fit onto the FRONT of your letter!

Sorry for the super dark picture.....

Using your scissors, carefully cut out each letter.  I left the center holes for last......

Notice the 'N'?  I had to re-do that because I didn't noticed I had placed it on the border of the paper....oops!

Next you'll want to carefully cut out those center holes.  An X-acto knife would be nice, but I just used my pencil to poke through and worked carefully.  Using a sponge brush, apply a layer of Mod Podge to your wooden letters and place your paper on top.  Next, carefully apply another layer of Mod Podge over top of your paper.  be careful to go slow so that your paper doesn't ripple!

Next, using your craft paint and small artist's brush, carefully paint the edges of your letters.  You could do this first, but I was anxious to get the paper on to make sure I liked it!

Here is the finished product!  I had planned on putting his name on a floating shelf, but I couldn't find a shelf the right size.  I have a new idea and will post about it VERY soon (as long as it turns out)!

Sqaush It!

This week, Carson is the size of a squash.  Either an Acorn Squash (the Bump) or a Butternut Squash (Baby Center), take your pick!  This post reminds me of how some people (who shall remain nameless) pronounce squash like "squaRsh".  Drives me crazy and makes me giggle at the same time!  I'm officially 29 weeks and time is still flying!  According to the Bump, Carson should now be measuring 15.2-16.7 inches in length (head to heel) and he should weigh 2.5-3.8lbs.  That seems like a LOT, how crazy!

How far along? 29 weeks and I can't believe it!

Total weight gain: I promise to update you next week after my appointment on March 12....hopefully I won't be depressed ;)

Maternity clothes? Honestly, it's not like I can stop wearing them at this point!  I still wear a lot of non-maternity tops as well as pre-pregnancy PJ pants and yoga pants, but work pants & jeans MUST be maternity! (scroll down for my newest bump pic!)

Stretch marks? no
Sleep: I could use some more!  I'm starting to get tired again but it's not anywhere near as bad as my first trimester!  I can make it through the days still, I just get very sleepy :)
Best moment this week:  I finally felt Carson get the hiccups!!  I've been dying to feel this and I finally did other day and Nick was able to feel, too!  Also, we got our recliner!!!!
Miss Anything? I realize what I miss....having a TAN!  This warmer weather around Ohio is making me feel summery and PALE!
Movement: As I said already, I like making Carson move around in there :)  He isn't quite as active, but he has little hyper outbursts at random! 
Food cravings:  Anything OREO!  We currently have regular Oreos, "golden" Oreos (the Walmart brand is actually decent!), cookies'n'cream frozen yogurt, etc.  I LOVE Oreo stuff lately! :)
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope!
Gender: Baby BOY Carson!
Labor Signs: No
Symptoms:  I've had some cramping this past week.  A few times it was up near my ribs on my right side and no matter how I sat, I could not make it feel better!  Another time I woke up in the middle of the night with really bad tightness/cramping in my back and lower left side.  I still can't complain though!

Belly Button in or out? still an innie and I'm still nervous....!

Wedding rings on or off? on and loose!
Happy or Moody most of the time: happy as a clam!  (I hate that saying....)
Looking forward to:  NEXT WEEK!  Monday I have a doctor appt which will mean I now get to see Dr. G every 2 weeks instead of every 5 (thank goodness)!  Wednesday we're doing the maternity tour at our hospital.  Saturday we're getting an elective 3d ultrasound so we can see our adorable baby boy again...it's been WAY too long!  Can't wait!

Drum roll please.....here is what you've all been waiting for.  The new BUMP shot!  This week I'm going to spoil you.  Not only do you get my traditional bathroom shot but also a REAL photo from a camera taken by someone other than myself!  Whoa.  Don't expect that every week! ;)

Can you tell how my bump gets bigger throughout the day?!  The first two pics were taken around 8am yesterday and the 3rd pic was taken around 5pm!

Nursery Update #2!

I've been promising another update for quite some time and the reason I haven't updated is because I'm still waiting on that silly chair!!  We ordered it back in January around MLK Day.  Seriously ridiculous!  We went to the furniture store this weekend after I called and they said the order was delayed AGAIN until March 22nd (at least).  We picked out another chair for the same price and they knocked $50 off.  Good deal, right?  It should be in Tuesday but I'm not getting my hopes up!  (Fingers are crossed!)  If you missed my last update, you can read it here.

Here is what we have so far.......
Our new Ikea Hemnes Dresser & Expedit 4-cube organizer (for toys and books):

Assembly assistants :)

My other assistant :)

Almost done..or so I thought.  Those drawers took forever!

Finished product cmplete with my pink tool bag!

Can't wait to get more books for Carson!

I also have these name letters I made.  I originally wanted to put them on a floating shelf, but now I'm reconsidering.......any ideas?  (P.S.  DIY how-to post coming soon!)

We also went and picked up this table lamp that we had ordered a while ago!  I LOVE it.  I'm not sure about the table in front of the window yet, but it was C-H-E-A-P and I needed something to go next to our (non-existent) recliner....

Here is what you see when you are entering the room......you might remember his door sign from my DIY post here!

Kind of messy but you can see the new Ikea Rutbo light fixture!

Still debating on what I should put on his walls.........I was thinking his name will probably go over his crib (not so sure about the shelf idea anymore), and some picture frames here and there.  As far as other stuff, maybe wall decals?  I feel lost.  HELP!

Here are some of my ideas right now, but I can't make up my mind!  Any opinions??

I would order these in navy & lime....

Source: stickywords.net via Emily on Pinterest

I would order this in navy...

Source: stickywords.net via Emily on Pinterest

Cute, but I think I like the other one better...??

Source: etsy.com via Emily on Pinterest

I've always loved this idea but not sure what colors I'd order (navy & lime?)

Source: mylifeoftravelsandadventures.blogspot.com via Emily on Pinterest

Embroidery hoops w/ cute fabric.  I already have his name letters in green so maybe navy/blue fabrics??

Source: aedriel.blogspot.com via Emily on Pinterest

Does anyone actually like rutabaga?!

Time for my weekly update!  I still can't believe I'm a week into my third trimester....crazy!  According to the Bump, Carson is now the size of a rutabaga.  I'm sorry, but I'm not comparing my adorable son to an ugly rutabaga.  I searched online and couldn't find ANY decent looking pictures of a rutabaga.  So I went to the Baby Center website and they told me Carson is now the size of a Chinese cabbage.  A little improvement, right?

How far along? 28 weeks down, 12 to go!  I'm in NO rush though!

Total weight gain: Just like every other week, I have no idea!  I'll update you after my next appointment (March 12)....

Maternity clothes? Yes, still!  I'm still wearing a mix of maternity and non-maternity shirts, but maternity pants are pretty much essential unless I have a pair of big, stretchy pants! (scroll down for my newest bump pic!)

Stretch marks? no
Sleep: Pretty good lately!  I could fall asleep at work so I'm hoping I get some energy back soon...
Best moment this week: I've been having fun constantly feeling my belly to see where Carson is in there....I can almost always find a hard spot and make him move.  I'm such a mean mommy :) 
Miss Anything? Nah....
Movement: As I said already, I like making Carson move around in there :)  He isn't quite as active, but he has little hyper outbursts at random! 
Food cravings: I'm still loving fruit and sweets.  This week at the grocery store we bought Cara-Cara oranges.  I had never heard of them, but they're CUTE and tasty! 
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope!
Gender: Baby BOY Carson!
Labor Signs: No
Symptoms: Still the acid reflux but it's not bad at all.  I also have noticed that by the end of the day the front of my calves (near my shin bone) get REALLY sore....so random!  Sometimes it's only one leg, sometimes it's both. 

Belly Button in or out? VERY shallow innie...... :/

Wedding rings on or off? on and loose!
Happy or Moody most of the time: SO excited!
Looking forward to: getting the call for our recliner...STILL.  I'm kind of annoyed about it but at least we aren't in a rush to get it.  Supposedly it's coming in March 2nd but that's the 3rd date we've heard so I'm not counting on it!   I'm also looking forward to MARCH.  I have my baby shower thrown by my friends, spring break (no trip this year), and my 3d/4d ultrasound and TWO appointments at my OB.  I've never had 2 in a month...it will be so nice not to wait so long between my appointments now!

Here is my latest bump shot at 28 weeks.  I feel like it's smaller today ...it changes every day!

New Literacy Centers!

Lately, I've been bored with my centers.  I have quite a few in my rotation, but I really wanted to mix it up more.  After making some new purchases thanks to PTO money, I was more motivated to actually come up with something!

The first center is definitely not something I created....all I had to do was order it!  I plan on integrating something else into the center later, but for now, my kiddos are just getting used to taking care of these plastic pieces!

I also purchased a pocket chart with my PTO money.  I had one pocket chart but it was being used as my center work board.  A while ago, I inherited a free pocket chart stand so I don't know why I waited so long to actually buy a pocket chart!  Each week, I put in a new song for our letter of the week.  My kids LOVE singing.  At pocket chart center, my kiddos get to use these "star pointers" and sing the song!  This helps build fluency.

This last center was inspired by some free ABC stencils that my mother-in-law gave me.  I wasn't sure how I wanted to use them so I decided to create a center.  I made a worksheet with 3 columns: word wall word, stencil, magnet letters.  My students pick a word wall word card out of our ABC pockets (interactive word wall) and record the word.  Next, they "write" the word with the ABC stencils.  Last, they build the word with magnetic letters.  The kids love the multiple steps and manipulatives! 

A Pinterest Inspired School Project!

In my classroom we love making class books!  My kids love making them and they REALLY love reading them!  We've been mastering syllables lately so I combined 2 ideas from Pinterest to create a new class book!

Here is my inspiration:

Source: larremoreteachertips.blogspot.com via Emily on Pinterest

Source: emmi.co.uk via Emily on Pinterest

We have a binding machine at my school but the pages always fall out of our class books and it is SO tedius putting the pages back into those plastic spirals!  I decided to give this (free) option of binding a try!  All you need is a paperclip (or a few) and rubber bands!  It didn't work out as well as I would have hoped, but so far, it's holding up pretty nicely in our classroom library!

As you can see, I had to improvise and use small paperclips (I'm totally out of the jumbo right now)!  It still worked ok and we just had to talk about why it's important that we do NOT mess with the special binding! :)

Hello, Third Trimester!

I'm 27 weeks and I'm officially in the THIRD trimester!!  Seriously, I can't believe how time flies!  I am still feeling great but I'm ready for time to SLOW down!  I feel somewhat prepared for Carson but when I start talking to other mommas, I start feeling kind of anxious.  I have a feeling that I'll never feel totally prepared and I'm starting to finally be (somewhat) ok with that! 

According to the Bump, Carson is now the size of Cauliflower.  I think I might create my own food comparison chart because the foods on the Bump are rarely apetizing!  Measurement and weight estimates are the same as the past couple weeks.  You can read some of my other updates here!

How far along? 27 weeks....starting out the third trimester!

Total weight gain: I'll say somewhere between 10-15 but I honestly have no idea.  My next appointment isn't scheduled until mid-March so you can all be in suspense until then!

Maternity clothes? For shizzle!  (Yea, I just went there...)  I love my maternity jeggings from Old Navy and really wish I could wear jeans to work!  My work pants aren't so bad but I miss my Express dress pants! (scroll down for TWO new bump pics!)

Stretch marks? no
Sleep: Pretty good but in the mornings I feel either super awake or super tired - it is never consistent!
Best moment this week: We got a TON done in the nursery after our trip to Ikea this past Saturday!  I will be posting another nursery update soon!  If you missed the last update, you can read it here.
Miss Anything? Not this week :) 
Movement: Carson is a little less active, but still has kicking sprees (which I still love).  I'm hoping to schedule a 3D/4D ultrasound so I can see him moving in there!
Food cravings: I've been eating tons of bananas but I don't think it's a craving, I'm trying to avoid more charlie horses!  I also HAD to have a DQ twist cone dipped in chocolate the other night.  It was delish!
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope!
Gender: Baby BOY Carson!
Labor Signs: No
Symptoms: A symptom I've had that I had forgotten to mention was acid reflux!  I've heard this is the same thing as heartburn but I really have never had either so I don't know!  All I know is that sometimes when I am in bed after eating a snack (aka every night), my throat feels burn-y (nice vocab, eh?) and I sometimes feel like I'm going to throw up in my mouth.  So lovely!  Luckily it goes away if I drink a bunch of water or just walk around a bit!

Belly Button in or out? VERY shallow innie...... :/

Wedding rings on or off? on and loose still!  I'm paranoid that they're going to get tight and stuck so I'm constantly messing with them!
Happy or Moody most of the time: SO happy!

Looking forward to: getting the call for the recliner we ordered!  I am SO impatient because I just want to set it up and sit in it!  I called the store to check on our order a few days ago and they said it looks like it will arrive to their store on Thursday (today)!  Fingers crossed...

And now for my newest bathroom bump shot!  People at work have finally started to say that I look pregnant and they can tell I "popped"!  :)

27 Weeks!

First front shot :)