Sayin' it loud and proud...

First, let me say that our sweet baby Colten has arrived. He's so perfect and beautiful! He was born via c-section at 8:05. He weighed 8 lbs 5 oz and 20 inches long. It's been a painful recovery but I know it's all worth it when I see that precious little boy. We are so happy to have Colten home with his brothers.

Now, on to the reason of my post. Let me say it loud and proud right here and now...NO I'M NOT BREASTFEEDING OR EVEN PUMPING!!! Gasp!! Shake your head in shame!! I know!!

I hope to give encouragement to anyone who may feel embarrassed or like a failure if you can't breastfeed. This is not an easy task to do. When I had Levi no one told me how difficult it can be to teach your baby to breastfeed. I thought they just came out and knew how to do it.

Levi was a struggle and the whole time Matt was off work was spent trying to get him to latch on. It was miserable. Jax was the same way. The entire stay at the hospital was stressful and I cried a ton. Jax never got it and never was interested in latching on.

This time around I told myself it's just not worth the stress and tears. We didn't want the hospital stay to be horrible and miserable. We went to the hospital with the intention of just pumping and saving my milk. After being in the hospital for a day I decided I didn't even want to pump.

Why? Because I have two kids at home that would tear my house apart every time I'm hooked up to that breast pump. It wouldn't take them long to figure out that when I'm hooked up to that pump they could do whatever they wanted. I know I'm not the first person to have a 4 year old and 2 year old at home and people have made it work. But again, it's stressful and I don't have time for stressful.

This hospital stay was perfect. It was easy and relaxing and actually enjoyable. Over the course of my pregnancy we stocked up on formula. It's expensive and we knew that going in this. I don't doubt or question that breast milk is best. I know all the benefits of it. But I've also raised 2 other kids on formula and they've turned out just fine.

Another benefit of using formula for us is the fact that it also gives Matt a chance to bond with our children. Since I have c-sections it takes longer for me to recover. I have to spend a lot of time in bed or on the couch. This way Matt is able to help out as well.

Just know that you are not a failure if you can't breastfeed. You are not a horrible person if you have to use formula. Your baby will be just fine and will not turn out weird simply because you used formula. Don't let anyone make you feel otherwise.

It still hurts...

It still hurts...a year later. A year ago today I had a miscarriage at 8 weeks. The pregnancy was not planned and was a total shock to us but we were super excited to welcome another child.

I won't go into all the details of how everything happened as I've already written about that last year. But I will say that every day for the last year I have looked at the picture that I got at my dr's appointment and saw the heart beat and said a quiet "I love you" to that picture.

Someday this child will be with us again and I know that Heavenly Father had a greater need for our child than we did. We didn't know if the baby was a boy or girl but it didn't matter to us. We'll find out in the eternities.

We named our baby Taylor Reese so we would not go through the rest of this life just calling the baby "it" or "baby". Taylor deserved more than that.

It's very bittersweet because here I am 3 days before I deliver our 4th child remembering the loss of our 3rd child. If I could have timed it any better I honestly would love to have this child today. It would turn a day of sadness for us into a day of happiness. But I know someday this day will not be painful for me anymore.

I am grateful for the knowledge that I have about eternal families and the beliefs that I have. I am thankful for the sacrifices that were made so that we can live again and see all of our family members again someday.

Closet Built-Ins

In Levi and Jaxon's room there just isn't enough space to have a dresser. If we didn't have the trundle bed then there would be plenty of space. But everyday when we have to pull out the trundle, the dresser that was in the room just got in the way.

A trip to Target solved the problem. I found these shelves/drawers at Target and they saved the day. I knew we could do a "built-in" look in the closet if we purchased two of these and stacked them on top of each other. I will say these drawers are not that big but it works for us...for now!

So of course here is a picture of the closet before. I had already taken the clothes out and Matt was just about ready to start pulling things down when I took a picture.


The shelves were going to be centered in the closet so Matt started out by taking down the support wood and then cutting out a space that was the size of the shelf. The space he cut out was 12 inches since that's what the size of the shelf is.


The shelf was a perfect fit. Matt made sure to screw directly into the studs so this shelf wouldn't go anywhere.


Matt did the same thing for the bottom shelf. He measured out enough space for the drawers to fit in between the existing wood and cut that out. Then screwed the shelf into the studs.


Now, if you notice the shelves don't go all the way to the floor. I knew this would be a problem when I came up with this idea but it was an easy fix. With scrap wood in the garage Matt built another shelf. This also gives more support to the drawers and it's one more space to store stuff.


I went to Hobby Lobby and picked up some knobs that were 50% off. The drawers just looked too plain for me.


I put all the clothes back in and this totally works for us now. I do need to get some baskets to put on the bottom shelf where Jaxon's diapers are and on the other side for more of Levi's clothes.


If I wasn't about to pop I would probably do something cute in the closet like paint stripes but I just don't have the time for that. Plus, I can't really fit in this closet right now!

We spent $70 on the drawers and $10 on the knobs. I'm sure we could have maybe saved a few dollars by building this ourselves but sometimes it's worth it to spend the extra money for something that is already done for you.

How's that for a built in look!?!

Linking up here:
House of Hepworths
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Cheap Crafty Mama
Someday Crafts
Savy Southern Style
The Taylor House

Ceiling Medallion Wreath for Spring

A year ago I scored a ceiling medallion on Freecycle for FREE! I wanted to use it for a Spring wreath and now I have my chance. This is super easy to do.


I spray painted my wreath a light green color from Valspar. Then I bought the stones from the Dollar Tree and hot glued them on. Since I hung this outside several of the stones have fallen off. I would use super glue instead. I already had the ribbon and just tied a bow to accent the wreath.



Easy and cute! The longest part was waiting for the spray paint to dry. Happy Spring!

Linking up here:
House of Hepworths
Christina's Adventures
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Cheap Crafty Mama
Someday Crafts
Savy Southern Style
Domestically Speaking

A big boy bed complete!

Since baby #3 will be here soon (very soon) Matt built Levi and Jax a bed for when we put them in the same room. This was Matt's first time actually building furniture and I must say how proud I am of him. Matt did an amazing job and the bed turned out perfect!

We found the plans to build the bed over at Ana White's website. She has TONS of plans for different types of furniture. The room Levi is in currently is a bit small so we knew we needed a twin bed with a trundle to maximize the space we have.

The plan we chose was the Michael Collection Twin Platform Bed. This bed does have the option to either be a daybed or a regular twin bed with a headboard. Matt didn't build the headboard since we are still undecided how we want the bed to be permanently. So that will come later.

The first thing Matt built was the trundle bed part (no pictures sorry!). The plan we used for the trundle is also from Ana's site. He did that first in case he had to adjust any of the measurements on the other bed (which he did have to do). So it was a good thing to build the trundle part first. On the platform bed he made it a bit taller to allow for the bedding on the trundle to go underneath. Then he made the platform bed a bit longer too so when we push the trundle under it doesn't scratch the platform bed.

*Note* Double check the measurements of your mattress you will be putting on the trundle. The measurements on the plans for the trundle were not accurate for our size of twin mattress so those were adjusted as well.

Then Matt built "headboard" and footboard first to the platform bed.


Then he built the rest of the bed. Sorry! No pictures of all the in between steps but they are pretty simple to follow.


Matt filled in all the gaps with putty and caulk and then sanded and painted. The color of paint we used was color matched at Sherwin Williams. The color is Benjamin Moore Aura's Black Beauty. It was much cheaper to go to Sherwin Williams than to buy directly from Benjamin Moore.


The bedding was purchased from Walmart for $45 for each set. That's not a bad price since each set came with a fitted sheet, flat sheet, pillow case, pillow sham and comforter.

Now I just need to add a few details to the room and Levi and Jax will have a train room they will love!

Keep on the Yellow Brick Road {Young Women New Beginnings}

I can breathe a huge sigh of relief today as our New Beginnings program is over. It was a really nice evening and there were great talks given. I am grateful to be able to work with the youth in my church and hopefully have some sort of impact on their lives.

For the program I made all of the decorations down to the name tags. It was time consuming but to see it all put together last night made it worth it.

The projects I made were:
*flag banners
*ruby red slippers
*bracelets
*name tags that went on the shoes
*the yellow brick road that went on the floor (not pictured, my phone battery died)
*picture of Dorothy

Click each picture to see larger version









We served for refreshments Aunt Em's Country Jam & Bread, There's No Place Like Homemade Cupcakes and Ruby Red Slipper Punch. I think we should have done more since there wasn't any food left at all!

Each of the Young Women leaders represented a different character in the Wizard of Oz (Dorothy, Tin Man, Scarecrow and Lion). We tied in a trait about each character to YW and Personal Progress. Here's how we did it.

YW President-DOROTHY (All YW): Dorothy represents all the Young Women as they seek to follow the yellow brick road of personal progress to find their way “home,” back to Christ as they find/strengthen their testimonies, create a relationship with their heavenly father and realize they are daughters of God.

Me 1st Counselor-LION (Courage): The Lion represents the Young Women having the Faith and the courage necessary to follow the path that Christ has laid for them as they go to church, go to mutual, work on their personal progress, and stay on the righteous path. The Young Women need courage to be able to stick to the standards and morals of the church and be examples to those around them.

2nd Counselor-SCARECROW (Brains): The Scarecrow represents the knowledge and wisdom the girls will gain when they work through their personal progress books. They will gain an education of many subjects, be spiritually enriched and gain a more eternal perspective.

Secretary-TIN MAN (Heart): The Tin man represents the testimony the Young Women will hopefully gain in the Young Women’s program and while they journey through the different aspects of Personal Progress. The Tin man also represents love, charity, and service.

I am so proud of our Young Women and all that they accomplish. It was a wonderful night. Thank you to all of the other leaders that helped make this night a success.

Dorothy's Ruby Red Slippers

For our Young Women's New Beginnings program we are doing a Wizard of Oz theme. I've made a TON of decorations for the night, which is in 2 days!! It's going to be perfect...I hope!

One of the things I made was the ruby red slippers like Dorothy wears. Let me just tell you that I made 34 of these things. 34!! These are easy to make but I got burned out really quick making these since I had to do so many.

These shoes are great if you are doing a Wizard of Oz party, Halloween or Princess party even.

I found my pattern at Skip to my Lou. The pattern was printed off and then shrunk down to 85% on a copy machine. The same things was done for the shoe lining as well.

Click on each picture to see larger version


The sparkle paper was purchased at Hobby Lobby when it was 50% off. I cut out my pattern and traced it on the back of the paper.


Then, I cut out what I had traced and folded it in all the right spots. The original pattern was used as a guide to make sure all the folds were in the correct spots. If you had a tracing wheel you could go right over the dotted lines on the original pattern. But, of course, I don't have one of those so as usual I had to do this the old fashioned way.


Once I had everything folded I used wood glue to put the shoe together. I used wood glue because it made the shoe more stiff and I figured it would hold better than a glue stick. All the flaps were held together with paper clips while the glue dried.



For the inside of the shoe I did basically the same thing.


I traced the pattern on the back of the blue gingham paper and then cut that out. Pay no attention to the darker lines on the pattern. I was trying to save myself a step and it didn't work.


I put the lining inside the shoe but it was never a perfect fit. Since I am a perfectionist I trimmed the portions of the shoe that were not matched up. I cut the extra off the toe part so that everything lined up. I used wood glue again to hold the lining in place.


And here you have it all finished and pretty. These will have candy inside and wrapped in clear wrapping to look totally cute.

I will be taking pictures on Wednesday so you can see how it all turns out.