Nesting Projects

"How are you feeling?" That's the most common question I get these days.

First trimester I was exhausted, nauseous, and could barely make it off the couch to feed myself. 

Second trimester my energy returned and (still physically small enough to be comfortable) I was busy with traveling and growing my climber business.

Third trimester, the heartburn, backaches and generally feeling like a bloated beached whale has become the norm.

Now, with only 23 days until baby boy is due to join our family, I feel like I'm in hyper project overdrive. I'm mostly running on adrenaline and really should be napping more often, but how can I sleep when Avery's daily nap gives me 2 whole hours every day to attempt all the fabulous ideas I've found on Pinterest?!

Exhibit A: the infant carseat blanket cover-up thingy

- I first sewed one as a gift for my friend Stefani (she is due with a girl just a week after me)

- Then I decided it was WAY too cute/easy/fabulous to not have one for my own carrier

- You want one too?! I know, they're awesome. You can find the tutorial I used online HERE.

Exhibit B: a new boyish boppy cover & coordinating burp cloths
- A couple weeks ago, Stef bought a sewing machine and (having never even touched one prior) asked me to teach her to sew. This was our first project. I did mine step by step as she followed with her own fabric.
- She rocked it and now officially has the domestic sewing bug.

- Figured I'd sew up some coordinating burp cloths with my excess fabric... waste not! (I even sewed a mini-cloth for Avery to use with her baby dolls. She mimics everything.)

Exhibit C: dry erase family calendar
- Coordinating the schedules of 3 people gets a little tedious. Especially when I'm the only one of the 3 that seems to know what's going on with everyone.
- Solution : Large scale monthly dry erase calendar located in the kitchen. No more missed appointments or forgotten To Do's.
- Perhaps I should figure out how to wirelessly sync our smart phone schedules, but honestly, some things are better left old school.

Exhibit D: princess hat
- So this only took an hour of one morning, but Avery's been begging me for a pointy princess hat since last summer.
- I was stoked to use all scraps of stuff I had laying around. I love it when making my daughter's day doesn't cost a cent. And when hoarding craft supplies pays off, much to Matt's chagrin.
- Tutorial HERE.

Exhibit E: dresser overhaul
- This blue chair sat in our master bedroom for 8 years. It's very uncomfortable and was primarily used for collecting dirty clothes.

- So I sold it on Craigslist for $100. I then found a Basset furniture highboy dresser for $60, also on Craigslist. It was poorly primed and in need of TLC.

When operating an electric sander, always wear proper eye/hand/outfit protection. Safety first!

- Spent $40 on new hardware, paint, and polyurethane. Some serious sweat equity and now it's the gem I knew it could be. Avery's previous dresser was moved into our room to serve as the diaper changing station and to hold baby clothing, so this is her replacement. An excellent trade for that useless blue chair, if I do say so myself.

- HUGE shout out to my studly hubs and Mr. Eli for hauling that solid wood son-of-a-gun up our stairs!!!

Soooo, if you're wondering how I'm "feeling" these days, I'd have to say dead on my feet, in the best way possible. Especially considering that all of these projects were started/completed in the last 2 weeks (read: post 35 weeks prego). And I've still more or less managed to keep up with the regular watering/feeding/general maintenance of a 3-year-old and 31-year-old.  ;)