It's a Boy!!!

Ezra Dylan arrived early Saturday morning, just 16 minutes after arriving at the birth center! He is a beautiful and healthy little boy. He weighed 7 lbs, 13 oz., and was 20 1/4 inches long.

I had some complications after his birth that resulted in a trip to the ER (in an ambulance!), but we are home now and doing well. We are so thankful we have lots of family around - such a huge blessing that definitely lowered the stress that comes with an unexpected hospital stay!

Benjamin and Joanna spent a few days with grandparents and now that they're home, we're busy adjusting to being a family of five!

A Trip to the Museum

The first Thursday of the month is a free admission day to our local Natural History Museum, so we decided to check it out last night. Since dinosaurs are popular at our house, the dinosaur skeletons were pretty exciting!

A Shirt for Me

For some reason, I always seem to have a difficult time finding clothes that fit me well. When I was shopping for a few summer things last year, I found this shirt at Old Navy, and although it was a little more than I typically pay for clothes, I bought it because I liked it.

I am so glad I did! This shirt was a staple in my wardrobe last summer - and will be this year as well. It's really lightweight, so it layered well even in the summer, and it's loose and flowey, which was really nice after having a baby, and was helpful for nursing as well. I wore it a lot last summer, and I was just thinking the other day that it would be nice to have another shirt like it.

(From last summer - I can hardly remember when Joanna was this little)

So, I thought I'd try to make one. I measured the original the best I could (a little difficult because of the gathers), and tried to make one the same size. I did alter the top front of the shirt - straight across instead of a "v" shape - to make it simpler to put together. I used a calico, which is a bit heavier than the material on the original, but I'm hoping it will still have a similar fit and look.

I like the way it turned out - and I'm excited to have a couple of options with this shirt (and at a much cheaper price - mine only cost a couple of dollars for the yard of fabric!).

A little more time...

With just a couple more days until the baby's due date, it's getting harder and harder for me to be patient - I'm so ready to meet this baby! But since it's not going to come on my schedule, I'm really trying to just savor each day that I have left, to appreciate having just a little more time...

...time to prepare for busy days ahead by making more food to have on hand. Such as the double batch of granola bars in my cupboard, two lasagnas and four jars of strawberry jam in the freezer, and cupboards full of food thanks to my beginning-of-the-month grocery shopping!

...time to do a little summer sewing, such as this light jacket for Joanna - made easy by tracing an existing jacket, and keeping the sleeves attached!

...time to enjoy just a few more days of just having two little people to focus on and care for.

Handmade Home Sewing

I really hadn't planned on doing any more sewing before the baby came, but after not making anything for a couple of weeks, I was anxious to do something. So a few projects were in order.

All of these patterns came from, or were at least based on, projects in Handmade Home by Amanda Soule, which, after making these things, has officially become my most-used sewing book!

After making some of the hot pads at Christmas time, and keeping one for myself, it has become my all-time favorite pot holder to use. I really wanted to make some more, but since I really didn't need any more pot holders, I resisted...until I remembered that I had a couple that were quite worn out. I decided that by using these old pot holders to make the new ones, I would not only save these ones from the trash, but I'd be able to save the batting for other projects!

I am so excited to have more of these to use - and I love that I was able to use something old to do it!

These are my version of the rag bag - made a little differently from the ones in the book. Hanging from a hook in my linen closet, these look much better than the plastic grocery bags I was using to corral the holey socks and pieces of old t-shirts that I use for messy cleaning jobs.

The Broadturn Bag - I've been wanting to try this pattern for a while, and I like how it turned out. It was a fun change from the typical tote bags I usually make, and I'll be trying it out today when I go grocery shopping!

This project will probably be in the works for a while - the start of a rag rug. I had a couple of old sheets and an old tablecloth to use, and I was about to use scissors to cut them all into strips when I realized that I could tear them instead. That was a huge timesaver! I think these three things might be enough to make a whole rug. Right now I'm in the middle of the long and tedious job of ironing the raw edges in, which is the part that will probably hold me up!

Freezer Food

I don't know how many times I have been thankful for the little chest freezer we purchased last year. Sitting in our dining area, it might not add to the aesthetics of our home, but it has, many times, made life easier for me and saved us money! I've been filling it up over the last month with food to be used after the baby is born.

I haven't made too many main dishes, but I have lots of partial meals and baked goods made up. With hamburger and hot dog buns, tortillas, English muffins, pizza crusts, cookie dough, muffins and waffles, plus things like black and refried beans, chili, and a few other things, I should be able to keep our meals quick and simple. And I'm very thankful for that!

Simple Syrup

On a whim, I gave Seth a French press for Christmas, thinking he could make his daily coffee himself, quickly and simply. Thankfully, he loves it and uses it almost every day. We have been buying flavored syrup for his coffee, but then came across this simple recipe for making our own. He likes vanilla flavor, so I added a tablespoon of vanilla extract. Seth says that his coffee tastes just as good as it did with the purchased syrup. I love that it is super quick and easy, all natural (and no corn syrup!), and less expensive. And it always makes me feel so good to be able to make something myself!