DIY Bow Holder

Do you ever get that adrenaline rush after you finish a project? You're giddy, can't stop staring at whatever it is you've made, and can't wait to make something else? Crafting is my addiction and I'm not afraid to admit it.

 E's hair bows have been scattered everywhere for quite some time. I had a ribbon holding some in our closet. Some tule hanging from her wall in her room which was just tacky and then odds and ends in a basket in the dresser. In summation: chaos! So I was perusing Pinterest for some inspiration when I came across this. HELLO ADORABLE!  Only thing is they wanted $29.99 for it. After doing a quick search I came to find that these things range from $25 - $45!!! I knew I could make one myself and I did! SCORE!

 Supplies: Cardboard box, tulle, ribbon, fleece/ batting, lace, cheap satin, hot glue gun. I got my lace, tulle and satin 50% and I had all the other supplies on hand which put this project at a whopping $2.87. Now that's more like it. All you do is cut and glue. Watch your fingers... I burnt myself more times than I care to admit. If you want it to look more finished you could make two and then glue them together. or simply add ribbon to hide the seams. I didn't really care since it was going to be against the wall anyways.

 I had a feeling Peanut would be tugging on those ribbons so instead of just gluing them to the cardboard I punched holes and looped them through. Then to keep it from sliding and ran it through the sewing machine on a wide zig zig.

 Cover with ribbon, add some bows and a few sparkles and TA DA! You're finished and rather proud of yourself for saving a bundle of money!

 I just made all of those mini polka dot bows this week as well, so this dress is looking pretty full. I suppose I'll have to make another one. What color should I do this time. Best part is I can make it whatever color I want! Oh the joys of DIY!!! Happy Crafting.

Bare Booty

 One of the highlights of my day would have to be naked time right after E's bath. I really don't think it gets much cuter than seeing those little chubby cheeks running around our bedroom. Jakob is terrified that she'll poop on the floor (which has happened... once.) So naked time is usually short lived. I just had to snap a few pictures of E reading some books. She is too cute to handle sometimes. 

Man Night Plus A Princess

As of late most of our friends lives have gotten pretty busy so we haven't had a ligit man night for several weeks now. Even with busy schedules the invitation is always open to come over to our place Saturday night and socialize/ play some sort of game. A few weeks ago Jakob, Duke and Chuck had a flash back to the past. The guys brought over their computers and they played some old school video game. It was hilarious.(Picture above is of Jakob, David and Duke this past weekend.)

My favorite part of man night however is watching little E interact with all of her "Uncles." We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends that take the time to stop doing what their doing and play with E. It warms my heart to know that if I needed anyone of them they would be there to help our little family. Friends like that are hard to come by and I am so very grateful that we have so many!

Family Date Night

 Friday night was family date night and I couldn't think of anything better than heading over to the park for a picnic. I think E stayed on our blanket for a total of 13 seconds before she was off exploring. She's starting to warm up to the swing. 

 Had to stop to pick the single flower on the grass. She then gave it to Mama to keep safe.

 Lets explore some more!

 I just love her new neon shoes, straight out of the 80's. I really need to get up to Canada and whip out some of my baby clothes. They'd totally be in style again! 

 A picture of Mama and Daddy because, after all, it is date night.

My favorite picture of the evening, i just adore that little laugh and smile. It was a wonderful date night. I couldn't have asked for a better evening with my favorite people. Pure Bliss!

Barbie

 Watch out Barbie, there's a new doll in town!

 Daddy took this picture and he's pretty proud of it. :)

 She doesn't wear her sunshades often but when she does it melts my heart. Here she's wearing mine and they almost cover her entire face. Such a doll. Having a girl is so much fun. We're going to have to get little aviators for Duke.

Mother's Day

I just love Mother's Day. Not only because I have an entire day devoted to truly enjoy and remember what a blessing it is to be a mother but also to let our mothers know how much they are loved and appreciated. 

So here's to our mothers: Thank you for holding our hands when we weren't brave enough. For comforting our sorrows and bearing our burdens. For cheering us on and sharing in our triumphs. For reading us stories before bed and exploring the world together. For teaching us it's okay to fail and long as we tried our hardest. Thank you for your never failing love, patience, and wisdom. For listening to our troubles and bandaging our scrapes. Thank you for the pillow flights, camping trips, and the late night homework assignments.

Thank you for teaching us about our Savior so that we might return to live with him again, for your never failing faith and understanding. Thank you for teaching us to be independent but always being there when we'd call you. Thank you for all of the lunches, dinners and snacks.

 Thank you for not only being a mother but a friend, coach, and teacher. For pushing us to be more than we thought we could be. Thank you for the hugs, the laughter, and all of the joy. Most importantly thank you for leading the way and showing me how to be a mother. I hope and pray that I will be able to fill your shoes as I raise our children. We love you more than words can describe!

Here are just a few reasons why E loves her Oma! 

And let's not forget Gramma.

I have been so blessed to be a mother. There truly is no greater calling. I thank my Heavenly Father every day for blessing me with the opportunity of raising sweet Ethnie (and all too soon little Duke.) This is life's greatest joy and I wouldn't have it any other way!

27 Weeks / 6 Months

How far along? 27 Weeks.

Total weight loss/ gained? +22 lbs.

Name? Duke .... ?.... Tobler. Middle name is still undecided. Duke is a hard name to pair something with.

Maternity clothes? Yes. I'm rocking full blown maternity pants now. I'm so grateful for the maxi skirt trend right now. I've been living in them!

Stretch marks? Nope.

Sleep? It's good one night and horrible the next. Meh, such is life.  

Best moment this week?  Seeing Mom Tobler again. Looking forward to having her back at the end of May. What a busy lady! Another best moment this week. JUNKING OUT! I got rid of 4 trash bags of clothes and "things". I also went through E's baby clothes and gave away three trash bags there. It feels so good to de-clutter and get rid of the fluff. Our garage was about to explode!!!

Missing anything? Nope. Life is good.

Movement? He's on a pretty good routine so I know what to expect his movements. He's a busy fellow. Hopefully he'll be as even tempered as E but I don't think I'll get that lucky twice. 

Food cravings? Asian. Salt. Smoothies and Slurpee's. Yup, that about covers it.

Anything making you queasy/ sick? Heartburn, yuck! Anything sugary ie. brownies usually brings on the heartburn aka: fire breathing dragon. It's all up in the throat and it isn't much fun. Pasta and ham sandwiches give me indigestion. Weird right?

Labor signs? I'm contracting like CRAZY. I'm starting to think this little man will be here sooner than later. I'm down with having a end of July baby. Anybody else?

Belly button in or out? Out.

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Mood? HORMONES. I think this has got to be the worst part of pregnancy. Sunday I just about flipped my lid because I couldn't find A THING to wear. Jakob had to remove me from my closet before I started to cry. Yesterday I down right humiliated myself by being super rude. Didn't mean to be, I just put my foot in my mouth as per my usual self. So for those who are reading this. Please forgive me in advance. I am so grateful to have such a fabulous husband who understands and tolerates my erratic mood swings. I married a saint.

Any fun symptoms? Not anything unusual. The charlie horses are here. But other than that I feel fabulous. Aside from terrible mood swings I was made to be preggers. 

Looking forward too? Mother's Day. T- 3 weeks and counting until I'm on maternity leave! It's just too hot to be a clown outside in the summer when your 6+ months preggers. Come June life is going to get CRAZY busy. August will be here before I know it!

Kill Shot

 Sunday evening was an eventful one. For the past week Jakob has let the trash sit outside in our courtyard which had attracted a few flies; some of which got into the house. I hate flies! They give me the willies. I could feel the stress balling up inside of me as they zipped around our kitchen. Luckily my husband loves me and before we went to bed Sunday evening (Mom & Dad took out our trash, what sweethearts! THANK YOU! Our dumpster is quite a ways away.) Jakob and I hunted flies. If there is anything I have learned being a mother it would be make chores fun. I gave Jakob a nurf gun and he shot the flies. 

He got one, and somehow the silly thing came back to life.... which is how we ended up here. Jakob shot it up in our ninja hideout, but he was too short to see if he was really dead this time. Nothing a swiffer, bar chair and foot stool won't fix. 

Golly I love this man. I love that he'll hunt flies for me and I love even more how proud he is after "battle." He strutted around the house saying "Try not being attracted to me right now." Hilarious. BEST. HUSBAND. EVER!