Two Months & a Baby Blessing

Geth is now two months old. I feel like one day I was pregnant, the next I had a baby and now, day three, he's two months old. As my sister-in-law remarked today, "all of this" happened so quickly. In fact, I think all of 2012 happened in a blink of an eye!

Geth, the most smiley baby ever, was blessed last week. It was a beautiful day, filled with our wonderful family. Somehow, we managed to fit all 35 of them into our backyard! Our (1800 sq ft) home was filled to the brim with love.

Our first family photo since Geth's arrival

Poor baby ended up being too big for the blessing outfit I made him. Grandma to the rescue! She ran to the Janie and Jack outlet near her home and found this adorable outfit that fit. I hate to admit this, but I liked it better than what I made. That story, in full, is another post for another day!

Easter

Hmm, I think I should rename this blog "MIA" or "It's been a while", with how frequently I post. Oh well.

Easter 2013 was very low key and wonderful this year.

I didn't even attempt to make Easter outfits. I wore a dress that my mother gave me, E's dress was purchased at Costco, and Geth's was a simple onesie with a tie ironed on (the only thing I made). 

Oh, I never mentioned that I had the baby? Oops.

on my way to be induced

Well, I did.

Geth (his nickname/initials) was born three weeks early in a whirlwind of hospital stays and an insanely fast emergency induction. I developed a mild case of preeclampsia at 36 weeks. Mild or not, preeclampsia means induction in the last few weeks of gestation. So after three hours of induced labor (half the time of my first), our sweet baby boy arrived.

At nearly two months old, he is a perfect baby and we are all in love. I'm just now getting back into the swing of life, but happy as can be.

Hopefully that will mean more blogging, but we know how good I am about that.

Freebie: Cleaning Calendar {blank}

Per the request of the Bestie, here is my cleaning calendar with out the chores. Rather, I've left spaces for you to add in your own. My own chores are tailored to my needs, why shouldn't yours?

download

I also realized that I had a mistake on my own calendar. Saturday should say Swing Day, not catch up day. Oopsie! Here is the fixed version, in case that mistake bugs you, too.

download updated .pdf here

Freebie: Cleaning Calendar

I don't know about you, but I seriously hate cleaning. Some people have a Mary Poppins attitude towards the mundane tasks of house work, but not I. Nope, I don't find much fun in breaking my back scouring shower walls or scrubbing toilets. 

I do, however, get in what the Hubs calls "crazy cleaning mode". This is where I turn into a furious tornado of cranky cleaning, muttering under my breath how no one seems to ever put things away (myself included) and how gross our house is. 

No one likes cranky cleaning Kristin. Not even myself.

I've realized through the years that I do better with the unpleasant tasks if I break things up into baby tasks. So when a friend of mine showed me her cleaning schedule (found here), I knew it was for me. The design however, was not. Neither was the schedule or all the chores.

Last night, I sat down and designed my own Cleaning Calendar. I'm happy to say that doing one chore a day is really helping me keep on top of the house work. As my dear friend's mom says, "You don't have to like housework or cleaning or organizing. But if you want to live in a tidy, organized house that smells nice and isn't crawling with ants, you gotta do what you gotta do."

This girl has gotta take it in baby steps, with a pretty schedule. If you do, too, feel free to download and print my design. 

(click the picture to download)

Goodbye 2012, hello 2013!

Yikes! Has it really been two months since I posted here last? I really am a sporadic blogger, made even more inconsistent because of pregnancy. Only two months (give or take a few weeks/days) left of being a space cadet!

First things first, I made a goal last year to not buy any fabric in 2012. It was a highly undocumented goal, despite my best efforts. At some point, I'll put together a collage of the items I made through out the year. Although, I only managed to take pictures of a few of them.

But, I made it!! Hip, hip!

Things I've learned:

• I don't need to buy lots of fabric. Sure, the siren call of an awesome print is hard to resist, but I don't really need to buy it.
• Notions are pricey! I've started buying things in bulk when there are sales on notions, even before I need them.
• I use a lot of interfacing. A lot.
• Being creative is a challenge, but oh so rewarding.
• I have no boy friendly fabric.

I think I may do this once every few years, just to decrease the piles of fabric I accumulate. My stash is now half of what it was to start with. With a baby boy on the way, I'm sure my stash will grow exponentially. As of now, everything I have is girly!

Secondly, I'd like to post up our family letter for 2012. We had a fantastic year, with ups and downs like every other year. My little family has grown stronger, increased our faith in our Savior, and have been more thankful than ever for the help sent our way. We are eternally grateful for the blessing from our Heavenly Father and the loving support of our families and friends.