Tender Mercies

I'll be the first to admit that I began "nesting" before I was in my 3rd trimester. I had no idea how much energy I would or wouldn't have when the 8th and 9th month rolled around, so I naturally had to get the big chores on my list accomplished while I still could. That's not to say I didn't ask for help from my husband, who lovingly crawled behind our apartment's washer and dryer to pull it out so that I could clean behind it (because we all know babies care if it is clean behind the washer and dryer). Amazing that he could fit, right? It really wasn't too difficult to get my 920 sq ft apartment "deep cleaned," but it always feels good, no matter the size of the house. Having no toddlers to run after or a job to go to each day has allowed me to entertain my love of cleaning and organizing and get all of my projects completed before baby. The only problem with me not being a procrastinator is that I completed my list 3 weeks b

Earlier this summer I was going through my memory box and getting rid of things that didn't excite me anymore. During this cleaning out, I came across my baggie of foreign coins that I had collected from my Dad's travels abroad as well as my living in Japan. Coins are fun to look at, but why just stick them in a box and forget about them? I would rather put them to good use and for me this was to turn them into a piece of art that I could enjoy on a daily basis.  Our home is decorated with nearly all homemade items. I'm not one who buys a lot of decorations so making something fun to put in the baby's room was exactly what I needed to do.   I painted the back of the board that came with the frame and then hot-glued the coins around the edge. The paper bills were glued on with an acid-free glue stick. My sweet friend cut out some vinyl lettering for me to stick on top of everything and we were ready to go. It's fun when projects turn out the way you had

Why send out thank you cards when you can do postcards? They require cheaper postage AND they don't need envelopes. That's a win-win. I decided to make and send thank you postcards for all those who have been so loving in giving us baby items because I had a slew of scrapbook supplies that were just sitting there waiting to be used for something. I am no perfectionist when it comes to scrapbooking, so these postcards aren't amazing, but I think they turned out alright! It may have taken me a good full day to complete nearly 50 of them, but I didn't spend any money on them except for postage and I was able to make sure everyone felt like they made a difference to us, because they did. Supplies Needed: Ruler Colored cardstock Assortment of stickers  Assortment of scrapbook paper Packaging tape (to put over the front before mailing--it helps keep the stickers in place) Postcard stamps Scissors or a straight edge paper cutter for more precision

I saw this quote for the first time a week ago on my friend's fridge. When I see most quotes I think, "oh that's a nice one," and then go off and forget about it within a minute. Not this one. This quote really resonated with me and I couldn't get it off of my mind. I'm still thinking about it a week later.  Early on in my pregnancy my doctor told me that I "was at risk for preterm labor" because of my past history (i.e, a uterine septum that was resected). They scared me with these words because I was born nearly 6 weeks preterm and I didn't want to have to go through that for my own. I wondered if my body would be able to do this whole pregnancy thing, especially with my past three miscarriages.  Now, here I am, two days away from being 39 weeks and have had no sign of impending labor, nor do I desire to be induced. As I try and keep my mind and body occupied while I await my baby, I have been watching many of my friends post pict