Lazy days...

I've been pretty lazy about blogging lately. I guess I just haven't felt very inspired these past few weeks.

I am feeling much more pregnant lately. My belly isn't really that huge (compared to what most pregnant ladies look like about now) but I'm starting to feel like there's not much room left inside me.

My students kept asking me towards the end of the school year, "Do you hope it's a girl or a boy?" and at the time, I really didn't know! I told them that I was glad that God is the one who decides for me, or else I'd never be able to choose. And that's the truth!

But now I am so happy to have a little girl on the way. Before we knew what she was, I had to stop myself from thinking of all the cute outfits I could make for a little girl, just in case it was a boy. Now, it feels kind of surreal that we're actually having a baby, and that I can think about cute outfits to make, so I almost have to remind myself that this is really happening!

She's going to be about six months old when it starts getting warm for the summer next year, which is the perfect age for sweet little blouses and bloomers. I want to buy some vintage bed sheets to make outfits for her, like these ones.

From Red Hen Studio

From Just Smashing Darling

From Vital Vintage

From Aestheticara

And while she's a tiny baby in the middle of winter, I'll have fun dressing up little onesies, like this link my sister shared with me:

From Grey Luster Girl

But like I said, it's still kind of surreal that we have a baby on the way. I'm sure I'll get hit with the "nesting" urge in a month or so from now and want to sit at my sewing machine all day, but for now, it hasn't happened yet.

Have any cute baby projects? Send them my way!

♥

23 Weeks

Here we go! Finally! Here's what I look like at 23 weeks pregnant. Supposedly the baby is twelve inches long (head to toe), and I know she's probably in a pretty bunched-up position most of the time, but it seems like my belly should be way bigger if I've got a twelve-inch child living inside me!

For reference, here's the timeline so far:

7 weeks

And now, here we have...

People ask me all the time, "How are you feeling?" And my answer is, "Great!" And I do seriously feel great. I'm not tired, I can eat everything, my belly isn't very big yet so it doesn't really get in the way of anything, and I can feel our baby girl moving and kicking inside me all the time. I'm so thankful for how God is growing her day after day. It's easy to be doubtful and anxious and wonder all kinds of "What Ifs", but when I stop to think about what is true-- that God is in control of her development, and I can do nothing about it, and that God will always give us what is best for us-- my wrong thinking turns into thankfulness and amazement over this child that he is growing inside of me right now.

And on a practical note, leggings and tights are the most wonderful things in the world!! I am so thankful that maternity leggings exist, and I would live in them every day if I could!

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Baby Girl!

I haven't blogged much lately, mostly because life is a little crazy right now. For example, here's one corner of our living room:

We're moving in five days! Five! It's coming up so fast, and school is out on Friday. Wooo!

But what I really wanted to show you are the pictures of our baby girl that were taken at our ultrasound appointment today!

There she is at 19 weeks, or technically, 18 1/2. I can feel her kicking all the time now, and Adam even felt one big kick last night with his hand on my belly! 

People have some favorite things they like to tell me, though. 

"You totally don't look pregnant at all!!"

"You're how far along? You don't even look pregnant!"

"I was bigger than you when I was 6 weeks!" 

"You're pregnant? I can't even tell!" 

I suppose those are good things to hear, but I do hear them several times every day. 

Here's a little timeline for you. (As you can see, we got a little more creative at 13 weeks).

Seven weeks

Thirteen weeks... a tiny tiny bump?

Seventeen weeks... People still can't tell, but I sure can!

Mayyyybe we'll snap one more shot before we leave town, but the way things are going, the next picture will probably be at the end of June, when we arrive in Cincinnati. By then, there should be some big changes! 

Our move consists of a two-week road trip across the country with Adam's brother Aaron and our sister-in-law Amy. They're in the mountains of Utah right now, and we're going to meet up with them next week, after we stop at the Grand Canyon! Then we'll head east, making stops at places like Devil's Tower, Mount Rushmore, our good friends Julie and Spencer in Omaha, the Munger Moss Motel, and New Orleans.

Life is going to change a lot in the next five months!

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Elizabethan Evening

I'm going to use my sewing skills in a way I never thought they would be used before!

I'm going to create a Renaissance outfit. Ha! I know, it sounds so nerdy. It kind of is though! It's actually for a school event-- in a week-and-a-half or so, my school's annual "Festival of the Arts" is happening, and this year, it's something completely different (in the past it's been more like an art show)-- it's an "Elizabethan Evening". Think Shakespeare and stuff like that.

The elementary classrooms are each going to run a booth in the "peasant marketplace", and the junior highers are going to perform Shakespeare one-acts and monologues and that sort of thing. Fourth grade is doing a wool booth. You might be wondering what in the world we will sell at a wool booth, and my answer is FELT! Felt is made from wool, right? (Except we're using eco-felt... not really wool, I know, but... it was the most budget-friendly plan). I taught my fourth graders how to use a needle and thread, how to tie a knot at the end of the thread (that was the most challenging part for most of them), how to sew two basic types of stitches, how to keep your thread from unraveling when you're done sewing, and how to sew on a button. I was so proud of them for sticking to it until they got it! It was the quietest classroom you've ever heard for two hours straight. Even the boys (who weren't very excited about the project in the first place) were into it. Once we're done with all the items, I'll post a picture of everything they've made. Our goal is 75-100 items!

But back to the Renaissance peasant outfit. We have to be in costume for this Elizabethan Evening, so I went thrift store hunting for some clothing items that had potential, and I think I found a workable ensemble.

First of all, here's an image of a basic peasant outfit:

image credit

Here is what I picked up at the thrift store:

The skirt is perfect as-is, unless I actually start looking pregnant in the next ten days. The brown top is going to become a vest-like item, and the white shirt is about three sizes too large, which is good because I have more room to work with in modifying it. The collar is coming off, and the sleeves will hopefully be more "billowy" when I'm done. This is definitely my nerdiest project yet!


Sun Thrift is one of my favorite thrift stores, and I picked up some more plates for my plate wall while I was there!

I can't wait to actually put my plates onto the wall, but not while we're only living in California for less than two more months.


Last but not least, I mentioned earlier this week that I would post a picture of the baby after my appointment yesterday, but there was no ultrasound. I did get to hear a very cute heartbeat though. I'm so excited to find out if it's a boy or a girl!


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