Friday Finds 4/1/11

I want to start my Friday Finds posts back up because I seriously stumble across some of the coolest stuff as I peruse through my favorite blogs and I really enjoy sharing them with others! However, I am going to try to keep it limited to my top 10 favorite finds because otherwise it can get a little out of hand!

So in no particular order, here are some of my favorite finds from this week!

This amazing plaque was made by Trina over at "A Love to Create". She gives a fantastic step-by-step tutorial on how to create your own plaque.

I desperately need to recover my throw pillows and when I saw this tutorial from "Cottage Magpie" on how to sew throw pillow covers I was in heaven! How gorgeous is that cover???

I have to try making one of these car seat tents for Addison's car seat! A blanket just doesn't seem to cut it sometimes! "Infarrantly Creative" gives a wonderful tutorial on how you can make your own!

This is a project that I truly enjoy as a previous teacher. It is something that would be fun to do not only with your own children but with your students as well! It's a Spring Scavenger Hunt kit and the idea comes from "I am Momma Hear Me Roar".

I love all of the fun starburst mirrors that have been popping up all over blog land but this particular one really caught my attention! I have been looking for the perfect clock for our dining room and I think I could probably recreate this into a really neat clock! Check out the tutorial over at "Flamingo Toes".

While I don't currently (hopefully someday) have my own iPad, my sweet momma does and I think this iPad case would be perfect for her! How stylish would she look carrying around her iPad in a case like this??? Melissa at "The Polka Dot Chair" shows how to make this adorable case!

Funky Junk Interiors has been one of my favorite blogs for quite some time now and when I saw this adorable sign that she made the other day, I just knew I had to share it with you! If you are curious to how she made it, make sure to stop by her blog!

I have been looking for ideas on how to store our dog food and when I saw this tutorial, I knew it was perfect! I definitely wouldn't mind keeping a cool looking can like this in my house! Stop by "Inspiring Creativeness" to see how Suz made hers!

As I was searching the web for Easter basket ideas for Addison this year, I stumbled upon this fun little idea from Twig & Thistle! There you can find the pattern and tutorial for how to create your own little Easter basket like it!

AmberLee from "Giver's Log" is trying a new type of mail packaging, Easter eggs! I am so excited to hear if they are able to mail without complications because I think these would be perfect to send to our nieces and nephews back in Iowa!

Well, that's my top 10 finds from this week! I hope you enjoy them! My goal is to try AT LEAST one of them out this week! Fingers crossed for that! :) If you have any favorite finds, please send me a link so I can be sure to check it out!

Our "Adopted" Family

One of the hardest things about living in Colorado is being so far from all of our family. We miss them so very much and hate knowing that they are not a part of Addison's daily life. However, the Lord has truly blessed us with what we call an "adopted family". One of the greatest things about living here is our church home. Specifically, the people in it. We have grown to love and respect them so much.

On Thursday evenings we are a part of what we call "Home Group" which consists of a small group of people who meet in our pastor's home where we discuss things of the Lord. It is one of our much looked forward to events in our week because of the relationships we have developed. The great thing about our group is how diverse we are. Nick and I, along with another couple are by far the youngest in the group. The oldest couple is in their 60s and we consider them to be such great friends. Some of us are married while others of us are not. A few of us have young children and others have teenagers. Some have never had children and some are already grandparents. However, none of this matters because of the one thing we do have in common: the love for our Lord. Through Him we are a family.

For Home Group tonight we decided to do things a bit differently and meet for pizza prior to our meeting. We had such a blast just spending time together and chatting. Addison is by far the youngest member of our church and the first baby we've seen in many years so she is loved on by many. Our dear friend "Uncle Joe" is always the first to grab her from me so that I can have a chance to eat. He has such a way with her and she has really taken a liking to him as well. It was so much fun watching him feed her tonight while the rest of us ate our dinner. She seemed to be entranced by him! :)At our meetings, I usually do not need to worry about taking care of Addison because someone else is always more than willing to hold her!

The love we feel from this small group is one I can't explain because it comes straight from the Lord. Nick and I have grown so much in Christ since becoming a part of this group. We would not love this area near as much if it weren't for the people in it and for that we are very grateful!

Now, obviously, they will never replace our real families but they definitely do a great job of filling in!

What Addison Wore Wednesday (3/29/11 - 3/30/11)

My mom gave me the idea to take a daily picture of Addison as a way to kind of document her life. Up until lately I have been horrible at doing this and I have made a vow to change that.

So how do I plan on doing this? The other day I stumbled upon a FANTASTIC blog called "Laura Thoughts". If you have never read her blog, then you MUST check it out! Anyway, she has an adorable daughter named Catie and Catie has some of the cutest outfits so instead of posting "What I Wore Wednesday" she posts what she calls "What Catie Wore Wednesday". I thought this was a great idea and a great way to force myself to take a daily picture of Addison.

So without further ado, here is "What Addison Wore Wednesday"!
Now since I just started doing this yesterday, today's post is sadly only going to have 2 pictures from the week.

Tuesday

Puma Onesie: Ross
Pink Fleece Pants: Wal-Mart
Puma Socks: Ross

Wednesday

Dress: The Children's Place
White Onesie: Target
Tights: Target
Bow: Target

So I hope you enjoy the "What Addison Wore Wednesday" posts because you are going to be seeing a lot of them! :) I may even decide a little of what mommy wore as well! We will just have to see how I am feeling. My personal wardrobe is very limited still as I am not quite fitting into all of my pre-pregnancy clothes yet.

Introducing Addison Joy!

As I mentioned in my previous post, I did give birth to our beautiful daughter on January 17, 2011 at 7:43 in the morning! She has brought us so much joy and we couldn't be more proud! Over these past few months we have watched her grow and develop so quickly. I can't believe how much time has flown by! Part of me wishes I could just freeze time and have her stay the way she is but part of me has also loved watching her change and learn new things!

Becoming a mother is not at all what I was expecting, it is so much better. I could literally sit and stare at her all day. The love I feel is so overwhelming. It is nothing I can explain but if you are a mother, you know exactly what I mean. My daily thoughts and conversations are completely altered. I don't find value in the same things. My passions are different. Addison has changed my life and made me a better woman. I feel much more complete.

Here are a couple of videos I made where I talked about her developments.

Back to Blogging

So I apologize for not blogging. After I got pregnant, I was extremely sick and exhausted for quite a while and then never found the energy to actually stare at the computer. Once I had my daughter, I then forgot all about my blog and focused my attention on her. However, as of lately, I've had a strong desire to start blogging again. Maybe it's the amount of admiration I have of my daughter and the joy that I have from her. Who knows. All I know is I want to be able to share my thoughts and passions with those who care. So dear friends and family, here I go again! Let's see how much time I find to do this. Give me a chance to get back into the swing of things because it may take some time to get into the habit again!

Advice for Moms

So my good friend Megan (who's expecting her 2nd little one VERY soon) posted this on her blog today and I just HAD to share it with you! It completely cracked me up!

Good to know, right?

21 Weeks!

Good afternoon everyone! I thought I would get on here to do a quick update! :) I am 21 weeks pregnant today and LOVING it! I had my doctor's appt. yesterday and it went very well! Sweet Addison is doing great and what a joy it was to hear her little heartbeat again!

Here's a picture of my growing baby bump! This little girl is getting HUGE! We love her so much!

One more thing for you. I have another new development that I thought I'd mention. Here is my new view of the floor. My toes have officially disappeared!
Thanks for hanging in there with me! I hope you all have a wonderful evening!

It's official...I'm a sweller!

My rings no longer fit so I had to stop by Ross the other day to pick up a fake wedding ring. I thought about just going without, especially after my husband said no guy would hit on a pregnant lady, but then I decided to avoid those judgmental glances from those who assumed I was pregnant outside of wedlock. However, this task was not an easy one because the only rings they had were huge and full of bling! I suppose it's like every girls' dream to have a real diamond ring of that size so why not buy a fake one that somewhat looks real but costs a lot less? Right?

So, Wednesday, while standing in line to check-out at Sam's Club, this older gentleman kept looking me over and I could tell he was just checking out my status. Pregnant? Check. Married? Check. Rich? DOUBLE CHECK. The reason I say that last part is because the first thing he says to me is "Wow, I really like your ring!" I could have DIED! I wanted to scream "Do you really think we can afford something like that....EVER?" Instead I politely thanked him and explained that it wasn't real and my wedding bands no longer fit my fat fingers. He almost seemed relieved to know I wasn't this rich, stuck up, snob who just happened to be behind him in line flaunting my jewels. Instead, he went on to strike up a very lovely conversation about having a child for the first time and the joys it brings. He was genuinely interested in my life and, honestly, it meant so much to me. I realized that there really are good people in this world, even if it doesn't always seem that way. For the record, I think he would have been nice to me either way, but it was somewhat easier knowing I wasn't among the rich and the famous.

So, moving on. My hands are swollen like tomatoes. Nasty. Also, these feet are looking a little pudgy in my usual flip-flops. Why oh why do I need to start this business so early on in the pregnancy? I am sure it will only get worse! It is something that runs in the family. My mom swells, my grandma swells, I suppose that only means that I should swell too. All I know is that I hate it.

Does anyone have any remedies for swelling of this sort? My blood pressure is always really good so I don't really have concerns for preeclampsia but still, it stinks!

Well, that's my rant for the day! I hope you are enjoying your Friday! We have a Realtor coming to take pictures of the house today and I couldn't be more thrilled about it! Finally we can get a move on this whole house selling business! Keep us in your thoughts and prayers will ya? Take care!

Nursery Update!

Since discovering our little one was a girl, I have been in nursery mode! Planning is something I love to do so of course I wanted to get the ball rolling on this HUGE project that our little girl will soon call home!

Over the weekend we went to Babies R' Us to purchase the furniture that we thought we wanted. However, once entering the store and seeing all of the furniture in person, our mind was quickly changed as to what set we wanted! We thought we wanted a cherry set. However, once we saw the deal on a different set, our mind had changed! While perusing through the cribs, we came across this beautiful white set that instantly caught our eye. The crib was the exact style that I wanted and when we were checking into the details on the dresser and changing table unit, we noticed that they had a sale going. If we bought both the dresser and the changer, we could get the crib for free! WHAT? The crib was $300! How could we pass on a deal like that? We couldn't, and we didn't!I fell in LOVE with the white set BUT, to make things even more complicated for myself, I also fell in love with the bedding that was in the white crib! :) I thought I had my mind made up on a different set but now I'm just not sure! Granted, this set at Babies R' Us is a lot more expensive than the set on Ebay but HEY, if someone else is paying for it off our registry, what does it matter? Right?

Opinion time. Do you like this new set or the old set that we have picked out? The comforter on the new set has beautiful butterflies and flowers that literally pop off the blanket at you! I know a baby won't be using it for a long time but we plan using it somewhere else in the room. The accessories that come with this new set are gorgeous as well!

New SetPros: Lots of color! Looks great with a white crib! Great accessories! My favorite bedding set!
Cons: Costs around $180. Only a 6 piece set.
Old Set
Pros: Super Cheap (costs around $80 with shipping)! A 13 piece set!
Cons: Not very colorful. Might look washed out with a white crib. I haven't seen it in person.

Now while we were out shopping this weekend, we stopped by a thrift store and came across a gorgeous micro-fiber rocking chair/recliner that was in near perfect condition! We couldn't pass up it either so we went ahead and bought it for the nursery! It is very comfortable and I fit in it SO well! Here is what it looks like.
Now for the layout of the room! It's a fairly small room and has an odd corner. One entire wall is unavailable for use because of the HUGE closet. I had to really concentrate on how I wanted to do this. Who knows if it will even work out how I have planned! I used the Better Homes & Gardens' room-arranger to set up the look. They allow you to put in all the measurements of the room and the furniture that will be used! It's pretty cool! So what do you think? Do you think it would work?Now for accessorizing! Here are a few things that we hope to put in the room! Some items will be handmade by me and others will be purchased!

Our Insurance Battles.

After losing my job in May and then discovering I was pregnant, I always knew we would run into issues with insurance later on down the road. However, I did not know how big the issues would end up being!

One option I knew I would always have is COBRA. I called the school to find out some information on the program and I was informed that COBRA would be charging me $475 a month with minimal coverage! WHAT???? We can't afford that!

I then proceeded to check into other options only to be denied time and time again because of my "pre-existing condition".

Whoever decided pregnancy is considered a pre-existing condition should be shot. Just saying.

Nick and I went ahead and met with an insurance representative to go over our options. The best he could do for us was $399 a month with fairly decent coverage, but not the best for our financial situation. However, we went with this plan until we could find something better because, let's face it, my time was running out (my current coverage ends at the end of this month).

We are still doing our research and will probably check into what programs we qualify for. We are going to be tight on money these next few months, that's a given, but we are learning how to budget our money to best suit the needs of our family.

Now let's just pray our home will sell.

It's a Girl! :)

That's right! We found out on Tuesday that our little one is a beautiful baby girl! We are absolutely THRILLED! Nick could hardly stop himself from smiling the rest of the day! She is perfect in every way!

Want to hear her name? Addison Joy! We LOVE it!

Now I am just excited to buy some pink! Pink is my absolute favorite color so you can be sure our daughter will be decked out in TONS of it! :)