june freehand scraps kit

Just wanted to check in real quick and let you all know that the June Freehand Scraps kit will be going on sale tomorrow morning. Here is a little peek at one of my projects. Be sure to check out the website to see the rest of the gallery. (www.freehandscraps.com)

i am still alive...

Haven't posted much because I am still feeling pretty BLAH. My back is much better now, but I have been feeling nauseous and very tired. In the morning I wake up with all these good intentions to get stuff done and am lucky if I get half of it done. This weekend was good though. We got all the stuff done on the list and our yard looks great! My dad helped me paint Charlie's night stand and bookshelf (well, let's be honest, he did most of the work!) I had the nightstand already but I picked up the bookshelf for $15 from an old guy on Craig's List. We found a scrap piece of beadboard to put on the back and painted it up and it looks awesome! I ordered some really cute knobs from a gal on Etsy, so when those come I will take pictures of the furniture to share. Now I just need to get creative for some things to put on his walls and I think his room is going to be adorable!

Monday night we ate burgers at my parents and went out to the Nampa Ponds to do some fishing. Charlie and I did not fish, we just wanted to enjoy the evening outside - it was gorgeous!


Charlie spent most of the evening in his wagon chilling out and munching down cookies. My dad was eating a cookie and Charlie said very sweetly to him "G-Pa, would you like me to hold your cookie for you?" We all laughed - what a little sneek!
Looking forward to this weekend. Rodger and Anita are coming over for hotdogs tonight and we are planning on fishing again. This time Charlie has his own little Cars fishing pole, so we shall see how that goes!

work, work, work...

The holiday weekend is full of work around here at the Smith household. There are lots of projects in the works - mowing, weeding, cleaning, laundry, painting, you name it. This is mostly because I hurt my back pretty bad on Monday and I've done nothing around the house all week (also the reason for no blogging!). I have had a couple visits with the chiropracter this week and am feeling much better today. Good thing because I don't think any of us would have had any clothes to wear tomorrow if I did not get to that laundry pile sooner or later! Peace has returned now that the house is out of disaster mode and life seems to have some order. We are planning to go to church in the morning and then my dad is going to help me paint an old nightstand to match Charlie's new big boy room. Hope you all are having a great weekend and are doing something fun!!
Nobody gets out of doing work at this house....

baby smith is lookin' good...

Yesterday was my first appointment with my doctor. I really like her so that is a big relief. I have had to wait quite a while these last two times I've gone in, so I hope that is not the norm! She wants me to see the maternal fetal medicine specialist in two weeks to have a complete first trimester screening so she almost skipped doing the ultrasound yesterday. She ended up changing her mind, which made me very happy because I wanted to see this baby! She searched for the heartbeat first. It was 180 bpm. She said "Oh, you are SO having a girl with that fast heartbeat!" Let's hope she is right! She looked at a few other things and said that everything looked great and right where it should be. Whew, big relief. We did see the baby move a little bit and it is always so amazing to see that little heart beating away on the screen. So, it is now starting to settle in - we really are having another baby! Eric and Charlie were at the appointment and we may have hyped up seeing the baby a little too much since Charlie was very confused as to what he was seeing on that little screen. He kept asking "where is the baby?" and when I pointed to the little peanut shape on the screen, he said "THAT is NOT a baby!" So funny. This morning he did get out his little Star Wars laptop toy and told me that he was going to see if he could see the baby on his computer.

In other baby news, look who has joined us:


We noticed the mama bird had been sitting up quite a bit higher in the nest so figured they might have hatched. On Saturday, I saw the mama bird was away so I quick jumped on the ladder to check it out. I was a little afraid mama was going to come back and peck my eyes out so I quickly snapped a few photos and got out of sight. They are very active now and we can see them very easily from the ground. It has definitely been a fun thing to watch and teach Charlie about. I think he is going to be very bummed when they are gone.

a gorgeous, productive day...

It has been an absolutely beautiful day today with a high of 85 degrees. This morning I picked up the garage, swept and hosed it out, washed the car inside and out and got ready for our neighborhood yard sale in the morning. Charlie helped by dragging out all his toys after I put them away and shoveled the rocks on the concrete after I hosed it off. Oh, the joys of a toddler. This is a picture of part of our backyard and the beautiful hanging basket of flowers that my dad got me for Mother's Day. Eric is convinced they will not last long, but I am determined to prove him wrong. :) We are supposed to have record highs in the 90's tomorrow - it took forever to warm up and now it is coming on strong! Hope you have a great weekend and that you are enjoying as great of weather as we are.

green haired monster...

Getting his haircut has never been his favorite thing to do. It has been a disaster ever since the first one. This morning we had a long talk about how we were going to get a haircut and if he was good he could get a special treat. He was very agreeable and mature about it. He said he was ready to go and in fact kept asking about it while we ran a few other errands. He used to cry even when we just pulled into the parking lot, but not today - he was excited today. He even did good getting in the chair and putting his cape on. But the brave front flew out the door once she got out the clippers. Then it was a full-on tantrum and fight until the end. I guess we made some progress this time. Hopefully it just keeps getting better, it has to, right? The only thing he does like about getting his haircut is that they spray colored hairspray in his hair when he is done. He always picks green.

Note to self: We definitely do not need anymore outdoor toys.

look who has a big boy bed....

Believe it or not, Charlie was still sleeping in his crib up until yesterday. He loved his crib and never tried to climb out of it, so we figured, why change it? In his crib, he loved to sleep on his belly all crammed up in the corner with his face pushing against the bars. He always had marks across his forehead when he woke up. I think he likes to sleep all squished up because of his time in the NICU. Anyway, with the new baby on the way and now that he is potty trained we knew that it was time to make the switch. We skipped the toddler bed and got him a twin sized bed. We have been talking about it a lot with him so he knew it was coming. We said good-bye to his crib and got the new bed all set-up. He went through his nighttime routine and was not phased by the change at all. I went to check-up on him around 11:00pm and he was laying on his back with the blankets laying all nicely across his chest - such a funny sight since I am used to seeing him on his belly all crammed up in the corner. He did start crying about 3:00am and when Eric went up to check on him he was out of his bed and saying "I want back in my bed, help me please!" Eric had moved the stepstool away from the bed in case he rolled off and he could not get back up on the bed. I think soon we will have a stepstool in every room -ugh. In the morning, he did the same thing he always does, he just laid in bed and sang songs and waited for us to come get him. I wonder if he knows that he can get out on his own?

He loves to play it up for the camera with dad's encouragement - here he is pretending to snore.

Thank-you for all the sweet birthday wishes yesterday! I have the best friends and family :)

the big 2-9....

So, today I turned 29. I usually don't get stressed out about getting older, but I have to admit this one stung a little. Only one more year until the big one. I have thought a lot today about where I am vs. where I thought I would be at this age. The only thing I regret is that I don't have my degree yet. When it comes down to it, that is really not too bad - I can still finish that at any time. I am not surprised that I am a mother by now since I got married young, but I am surprised by how incredibly blessed I feel and how much motherhood has changed who I am. Maybe age has played a part as well, but now that I am a mother I am much more sensitive to the world around me and my everyday moments. Ten years ago I was engaged and my life was about to change in a big way. If I could tell that 19 year old girl anything, it would be to just enjoy the next ten years as much as possible - to know that you are about to marry the most amazing man who is going to take care of you through the MANY twists and turns that life is going to throw your way - and to get ready for motherhood because even though everybody tries to tell you how incredible it is going to be, there is no way you will truly know until you feel it for yourself. I guess at the end of the day after much thought, I realized that I am 29 and I couldn't be happier.

Eric also turned 29 last week, but he did not seem to feel the same way about turning 29 as I did at first. This could be because he was convinced he was turning only 28. Once I did the math for him and it sunk in, I think he was a little bummed out - he must have just been in denial.

On a lighter note, check out this cake:

My sweet big brother Jon sent this cake to me all the way from Vegas. It is from a place called Nothing Bundt Cakes and I have to say that this cake is HEAVEN. This cake is seriously the best cake I have ever eaten. I might even go as far as to say this was better than my wedding cake and I never thought that would be possible. Jon had told me how good these cakes were, but I really was not prepared for it to be THAT good. If you ever have the chance to try one, do it! It is a franchise that is growing rapidly so there may just be one coming to your area soon. Or you could just have one shipped like Jon did. (Holly, I saw on their website they are coming soon to Denver, you will have to check it out, I am serious!)

It is also my nephew Roger's birthday today. Happy Birthday to you! We miss you and hope that you had a great day!

let the fun begin...

Last week I had an appointment with the nurse at my OB's office. The doctor I had with Charlie moved out of state, so I had to find a new one for this pregnancy. I have not met the doctor yet, but I am very impressed with her nurse. I told them about my previous pregnancy and they reviewed my charts and decided it would be best if I come in right away and get some blood tests done. They took a TON of blood. The nurse even seemed to be surprised at how many tests the doctor requested. Luckily, getting poked and getting blood drawn does not bother me at all. Then the nurse came in the room with this:


I was VERY familiar with these two items from when I was in the hospital before Charlie was born, but I never had to use them at home. The nurse explained that I had to complete a 24-hour urine test and was to bring in the bottle of urine when the 24 hours was up. She was so cute about it because she kept apologizing about having to do it. She kept looking for a bag so that I would not have to carry these out in the open for all to see in the waiting room/parking lot. I just laughed and told her this was just the beginning of the complete invasion of privacy I was about to endure anyway and what did I have to hide at this point, right? I have been putting off the test and still have not done it. I am planning on doing it on Wednesday since I will be home and do not have to work. Don't worry, I won't share how it goes....I have probably already shared too much??? :)

happy mother's day!

Mother's Day is usually pretty lame around here because Eric always has to work at the Parade of Homes. We were lucky enough to get to go out last night with my parents to the Texas Roadhouse for dinner and then to a movie. We saw "Made of Honor". It was a cute movie. A typical girlie romantic comedy. Grandpa Rodger and Grandma Nita took Charlie first thing yesterday morning and they drove to LaGrande, OR to visit with Great Grandma Ida. He spent the night at their house last night and are supposed to be dropping him off shortly. So, really I was able to celebrate Mother's Day yesterday by having a day to myself to do whatever I wanted. Unfortunately, I did not do much because I do not seem to have much energy lately. I think the baby is sucking it all out of me :) I am very happy that I have not had any major sickness, just a little nauseousness in the mornings. Definitely nothing to complain about.

Here is what I made for my mom for Mother's Day:



The basis of the project was taught by Wilna at the Scrap Etc. event that I went to a few weeks ago. The original intent was so put little notes and pictures in the envelopes, but they were the perfect size for gift cards so I decided to go that route. One envelope had a note in it and the other three had gift cards for some things that I thought my mom would enjoy. I am pretty happy with the way it turned out. This is definitely something I don't think I would have taken the time to do otherwise, but the idea was so cute and I am happy I finished it. I think my mom liked it too. :)

Happy Mother's Day to you mom! Thanks for always being there for us. I love you.

out of the mouth of charlie...

I have been getting such a kick out of Charlie's flourishing personality and imagination lately. Just these last few months he has grown leaps and bounds in this area. Today at Target we were having an actual conversation and I stopped and thought, I cannot believe this is happening! He just knows so much!

Here are a few things he said this week that just cracked me up:

- Whenever I fix his hair, apparantly I always tell him he needs to look good for whomever we may be seeing that day. So a few days ago as I was fixing his hair he looked up at me and said "Mom, who do I need to look good for today?"

- He was playing in our closet yesterday as I was getting ready for the day and I saw that he was struggling with getting something off the shelf. I offered him help, but he said "No, don't you know superheroes don't need help?"

- He just got a new pair of crocs for the summer. A few people have commented on how cute they were and he told them "Thanks, I got them at Little Feet Shoe Store. My mom got a good deal on them." No idea how he knew this, must have heard the saleslady and I talking?

- My mom had some birds that kept flying into her window a few weeks ago when Charlie was over at her house. He was a little scared but my mom kept reassuring him he was safe. My mom called me the other day and he asked to talk to her. The first thing he said when he got on the phone was "Birdies! Leave my GiGi alone!"

This age is incredible. Everyday I look at him and cannot believe what a little person he has become.

a HUGE thank-you....

I haven't meant to be MIA this week, but I guess it has just been a busy one. First, I want to talk about the March for Babies last Saturday. THANK-YOU from the bottom of my heart to all our friends, family and co-workers for your support. Eric set a goal of $1500 and for a while I was doubtful that we were even going to get close (I know, not very reassuring of me, was it!). By Saturday we had so many wonderful, generous people donate that we were able to get to $1415.00! As I watched all the pledges pour in on Thursday and Friday, my heart was overflowing with gratitude. Thank-you, we love you all so much.


As for the walk, well, let's just say that we are OUT-OF-SHAPE! Neither of us had a clue exactly how long it was until we got there and found out it was almost 7 miles! I was thinking that was farther than I had walked in a long time, but we were just walking, so how hard could it be? Needless to say, we were both pretty sore by the end and I was absolutely exhausted when I had to go into work that night and work until midnight. We were happy to do it. We may just need to do a little training prior to next year's event :)

Charlie got to chill in the wagon all morning. Didn't have a clue why mom and dad were so tired...

Ahhhh...the finish line - a glorious sight!

And the three of us celebrating our victory! St. Als had a booth set up so we got to see some of Charlie's NICU nurses. They were so happy to see him and couldn't believe how big he has gotten. The family that had a little boy in the isolette next to us (that had a pretty similar situation to Charlie, but was bigger) was there and she is pregnant as well. We both agreed that we would not be seeing each other again this time in the NICU. :)

In other news, the May kit for Freehand Scraps is up on the website. I really like the pages I made for the gallery this month. Here is a little peek, you can check out the rest at http://www.freehandscraps.com/