let's go Hawks

tailgating with two of my favorite guys

Jordan and I finally got to go to our first Iowa football game of the season and thankfully they won! It was a nail biter down to the end and even went into overtime...any way it takes to get a victory, I'll take it! My mom stayed home from the game to hang out with Everly so Jordan and I were able to tailgate and enjoy some Hawkeye fun! It was a nice way to see how it will go on Monday when I leave again to start back at the hospital. But at least now I get to the spend the rest of the night and all day loving on my girl before Monday morning rolls around! Every weekend is a good one and a Hawkeye win makes it all that much sweeter!

on the clock...

I'm officially on the clock and down to one week left of staying home with Everly... next Monday I will be going back to the hospital to finish my last four weeks of my internship. While I'm excited to get back into the swing of things and finish it up, I'm dreading the thought of leaving her! Ughh....too many hormones and too many emotions, and not enough time! I am pretty thankful to be part of a department that is so family oriented though and understand what it's like to have a baby and to come back to work after having a baby so that makes it better. And leaving Everly with my mom will make things a thousand times easier...I would be a real hot mess if I had to drop her off at a daycare or with someone else!! Now I'll be spending the next week snuggling and loving on her even more than I do as I count down my days until I head back to the real world... which reminds me, I guess that means no more days on end of lounging in my sweats and glasses. Time for wearing real pants and making myself look presentable everyday again!

surprising (to me at least!) things about having a baby...

I'm a huge researcher. And worrier. And I'll just throw this out there, Google is not my friend when I have any sort of aliment. Therefore, I try to read anything and everything I can to know anything and everything about whatever I am wondering about. Before I had Everly, I was always flipping through a baby book - sidebar: thanks but no thanks for the advice What To Expect When You're Expecting...you should be titled What to Expect But Will Not Happen and Instead You'll Waste Precious Time and Energy Worrying About The Worst Case Scenarios When You're Expecting (and I digress. The book has some good info. But it was not THE book I would say every pregnant woman should read. There are several out there that are way better!) So if I wasn't flipping through a book, I was browsing websites and blogs or always asking friends questions about labor, recovery, baby items, and just baby stuff in general. I wanted to know everything because I hate the unknown. Because quite frankly, after our childbirth class, the thought of delivering a baby terrified me. I felt informed but still nervous. Thankfully, I survived to tell the tale and am happy to report that I was pleasantly surprised with how well I handled everything especially since we were thrown into the whirlwind by Everly deciding to arrive six weeks early...

1. the return to pre-pregnancy weight and size: I read several articles, talked to a lot of friends, and saw plenty of post-baby pictures (both at the hospital and of families at home) that led me to believe it would be weeks, possibly months, before I would be wearing pants with zippers again let alone my own pre-pregnancy pants with zippers. Of course, the first few days at the hospital after having Everly and when I stayed there in the NICU with her, I lived in yoga pants and sweats. Comfort is key those first few days - especially when hanging out in the hospital. But imagine my surprise when I got brave and tried on a pair of skinny jeans I had (because as I told Jordan, "I just want to see how much work I have cut out for me...") and they fit. Not only fit, but fit comfortably! I stepped on the scale for the first time a week after Everly was born and was only 9 pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight and a month after, I am back down to my pre-pregnancy weight. It helped how in shape and toned I was before getting pregnant combined with how active I was while pregnant. I walked EVERYDAY no less than 5 miles and some days up to 8 miles. I never let being pregnant be an excuse from staying active and I always let it be an excuse to eat extra fruits and vegetables. I will definitely be rocking my two-piece swim suit still next summer! 

2. stretch marks: speaking of two-piece swim suits, stretch marks are a funny thing and they say a lot of it is based on genetics. If you're wondering if you'll get them, ask your mom. Typically, "they" (whoever "they" are anyway) say that no amount of lotion or creams or fancy clothes or whatever will keep stretch marks away...the lotion and cream will just help your skin to feel moisturized and not make it as itchy. So of course I turned to my mom who said she got stretch marks and still has them so I was fully prepared to get them myself. I lotioned myself up morning and night anyway with cocoa butter and never got even the smallest hint of a stretch mark. Of course, I'm sure this would be a different story if I had gone full-term with Everly because I could tell my skin and stomach were feeling pretty tight those last few days. So I'll be interested to see if I make it stretch mark free the next time I'm pregnant.. But to those women that did get stretch marks, embrace them because you created a life and lived through it. And that is a beautiful thing. 

3. the epidural: I had always told myself and Jordan, "I'm not going into the hospital or labor and getting an epidural right away. I'm going to try and last as long as I can without one and maybe do the whole thing without it entirely." Jordan was fully prepared to help me through labor thanks to the techniques and everything we had learned from our class and I had some breathing/relaxation techniques for myself to work through while contracting. Thankfully, when we got to the hospital I was already 4cm dilated and my labor progressed so quickly, that by the time I was ready to start dropping F bombs and was ready to throw in the towel, I was almost 7cm dilated when I finally caved and asked for the epidural. And honestly, contracting while trying to hold still and stay in the "curled shrimp shape" was significantly worse than the actual needle and epidural placement itself. I was more focused on holding still and breathing so the doctor could get it over with so I could get back up and have some water then catch my breath.

4. labor pains: Like I've said, I was one of the lucky ones who had a very quick labor and who went to the hospital already in active labor. I didn't have to be induced or hooked up to an IV and monitors allllll day, or have any interventions to help my labor progress. Contractions are painful, yes. But Jordan and my midwife helped talk me through them and would remind me, "just take it one contraction at a time." Between each one, I would try to relax and drink some water....and not stare at the monitor in anticipation of the next one coming. Once it came time to push, my adrenaline definitely took over combined with the epidural's help, because I mainly only felt a lot of pressure like I was going to poop on the table (and thankfully, I didn't haha). I didn't have any sort of shot or extra numbing "down there" either so maybe I have a higher pain tolerance than I thought. And it helps that Everly was head down and had been since about 28 weeks so she was already locked and loaded in prime birthing position and her small size helped as well. 

5. bleeding: yes, there will be blood. But not in the amounts that the books and blogs that I had read made it seem like. I was expecting a lot more honestly, like in the amount that I'd wonder if I even had any left in my body, so I was surprised at how it really wasn't that bad or that much. Just like a really heavy period for the first day or two, for me at least, and then just a normal spotty period after that for about 7-10 days. I didn't have to wear the gigantic middle school style maxi pads for long which was a plus because it isn't very enjoyable to feel (and sound!) like you're wearing a diaper yourself while taking care of your own baby...

6. after labor pains: again, thanks to the reading and research I did, I had prepared myself for the worst and thought I would be walking bow-legged and not able to sit comfortably for weeks. Turns out I was up walking around, hugging people, and laughing like normal within 2 hours after having Everly. The worst pain was the cramping while breastfeeding and pumping. I had been warned about that but didn't expect it to be that bad but it was still bearable...I had been told it was a "good sign" if you were crampy while breastfeeding and that would help the uterus to go down to it's regular size quicker. The little squirt water bottle and witch hazel pads the hospital supplied me with were also a huge help. Along with the pain meds my nurse gave me. I only took them (tylenol and ibuprofen) for the first 3-4 days after delivery and then didn't have any after that. I'd say I bounced back quicker than I thought I would but I think a part of that had to do with living in the NICU with Everly and that I had mentally blocked out my own pain because I needed to be mentally present and physically aware of her needs and helping her get home sooner that I didn't have time to "be in pain and recover." I was definitely uncomfortable at times those first few days but seeing my baby and holding her really makes it all go away and worth it all like everyone always says. 

7. breastfeeding: I was signed up to take a breastfeeding class the second week of September...obviously Jordan and I didn't make it to that. So I was all sorts of nervous about breastfeeding because that was one of the things I hadn't done much reading or researching on yet since I figured we would have the class to get information from! Thankfully, I had some awesome nurses that gave me all sorts of advices, tips, and support those first few days. Everly latched on right away and we haven't looked back. It is a weird feeling but not a painful one...but it is a really awesome feeling looking at my baby and knowing that she is gaining weight because of me and the milk I'm providing for her. It is crazy to think that's all she is eating and how much I am helping her out by giving her breast milk!

8. engorgement: speaking of breastfeeding, engorgement is no joke. While at the hospital, they recommended I pump every 3-4 hours to help increase my supply and to give stimulation to encourage a good supply. I remember the first few days only pumping 10-15mL total and thinking I had accomplished a lot...then one morning, I woke up with rock hard boobs. And pumped almost 3oz total. And now I look back on that and laugh because there are times in a day now when I can pump 12oz total and yes that is in one sitting! My family jokes that I am a human milk machine and I'm starting to believe it...in less than 6 weeks, I have over 400oz of frozen breast milk stored and ready for when I go back to my internship. Thankfully, the initial engorgement period doesn't last for long and I get why some women give up on breastfeeding then and there. Because that makes it hurt! But it only ever hurts and feels like that now if I go too long between feedings or pumping without doing something about it...which means it's usually time to feed or pump again. If Everly doesn't wake up crying and ready to eat, then my boobs wake me up saying it's time to eat or pump!

9. going with the flow of (unplanned) things: I like to consider myself a huge planner. I like to have things lined up, ready to go, and be organized. And no matter how much you can plan for your baby's birth, you can't plan for the unexpected. Babies come when they are ready to, and that can mean a few weeks early, right on time, or even a week late. Usually if they're an early arrival, that means (in our case at least), that some decisions that have to be made at the hospital haven't really been decided upon or made yet. Like, do to the eye cream or to not do the eye cream? To delay cord clamping for 2 minutes or clamp right away? To have the baby get the Vitamin K shot right away or wait 24 hours? There are a lot of important decisions that parents have to make for their baby shortly after delivery and if the decisions aren't made by the parents, then the medical staff will make those decisions for the parent and baby. Since Everly was taken to the NICU within 10 minutes after she was born, Jordan and I didn't have the option to make a lot of choices. I had wanted to do delay cord clamping but since she was born so early and was small, we didn't have that option. I didn't want to do the eye cream right away but since she was in the NICU (and we didn't clarify a few things ahead of time), the nurses did that and gave her antibiotics right away anyway. And all of that was okay with me. Because at that moment, I trusted our medical team and that they were making the best decisions for my baby when I wasn't there to make those decisions for her. I learned quickly in those first few days that when it comes to having a baby, you have to just go with the flow of the unplanned things and trust that everything will have a way of working itself out for the best. 

10. the instant love I felt when I first saw Everly: in one word, it was indescribable. I couldn't even cry because I felt so overwhelmed with love, happiness, and joy. It took a few minutes for the tears which even surprised me, but they were the happiest tears I have ever cried. I have never felt more proud to say, "it's a girl!" and to look at Jordan and tell him he has a daughter. Those first few moments the three of us had together will forever be in my memory and one that no one or nothing can ever take away. I didn't ever know I could feel a love like this until now. It's like a part of me and my heart had never been touched and now it is open and overflowing with love and happiness. I could just stare at her all day long in between snuggling and loving on her. Everly is the greatest thing I have ever created and she is the biggest blessing in our lives. Everything in the post, the good, the bad, and the ugly (and painful), was 100% worth it all. Because at the end of it all, we have an incredibly beautiful and strong, healthy baby girl. 

back to Texas...but not for good!

This morning my mom flew back to Texas... She has been at the hospital with me every single day since Everly was born until this morning. Saying good-bye to her last night was a total downer BUT a huge positive because the next time I will see her and my dad again, they will be back in Iowa...and this time, it will be for good!!! To add to the craziness that the past week and a half has been, my parents put their house on the market and in five days, it sold! My dad was dealing with that and setting up house showings while my mom has been here with me...and not only did he sell their house, but he also accepted a new job in Cedar Rapids. Whoo hooo!!! So many happy tears all around and I am beyond excited to have them not only back in the midwest, but living within minutes away from me! There's no way I could have survived living in the NICU without my mom's constant support, encouragement, advice, love, and company. And there's no way I would survive motherhood without her (and my dad!) nearby as well because I know they will always be here for me and Jordan and our kids no matter what. And that's the greatest kind of love to feel and I'm lucky we have that in our lives. We'll be seeing you again soon, Grandma and Grandpa!

Everly's Birth Story

I knew I wanted to be able to remember and recall every moment that happened when our baby was born so I'm thankful that I was thinking straight enough to be making little notes in my phone throughout the past few days and especially on the day Everly was born so that when she grows up and asks about her birthday, I can tell her every detail starting from the beginning of the weekend... **I apologize in advance for this being rather lenghty! But there is nothing gory about it!**

Jordan and I had our maternity pictures taken on Friday August 30th at 7:00pm. It was pushing 100 degrees with the humidity and of course we were having outside pictures taken. But we fought through the heat and got some really great shots (at least from the previews I have seen so far!) It was totally worth it though because I had been looking forward to our "bump" pictures for a while so a little heat was nothing! Jordan was also a real trooper and stood by in the heat and was helping me up and down through it all. I'm so happy we did the pictures when we did because we never would have guessed that less than 12 hours later we would be walking into the hospital labor and delivery unit...

After our pictures, we came home, had Jimmy Johns for dinner and then hung out with some friends that were in town for the Iowa football game the next day. It was a bunch of Jordan's guy friends so there was lots of football talk and other "guy talk" so I was emailing my sister some pictures and pinning lots of ideas for future crafts/projects on Pinterest. We all finally called it a night around 1:30 because we had big plans to wake up in the morning to go tailgating and enjoy a day of Hawkeye football!

I woke up around 2:30-3ish Saturday morning feeling like I was going pee so I got up to go to the bathroom and as I was walking there, some fluid came out, like I had peed my pants, so I kept going and hung out in the bathroom for a while. I had assumed it was my water that broke but refused to think that or admit it to myself because I knew I would start going crazy and freaking out! So, I laid back down in bed and went back to sleep off and on until about 6ish when Jordan woke up to go to the bathroom and when he came back to bed, I was laying there wide awake and finally said, "so I think I should call the hospital..." Of course he asked why and if something was wrong so I just calmly said, "well I think my water might of broken like 2 or 3 hours ago..." And that woke him up pretty quickly!! We debated back and forth about what to do because I wasn't feeling any contractions or any pain, no bleeding, or anything else besides some fluid still coming out every now and then. And again, I was just still telling myself I was peeing my pants because, you know, that's just what pregnant women do I've been told. We decided to look through the book we got at our birthing class (SO glad we went to it when we did!) and I went to the page about "Early Stages of Labor" that talked about when to call if you think your water breaks... Turns out that I met each and every criteria so we called and I felt like "one of those women" who call the hospital pregnant for the first time thinking they're in labor and then it ends up being a false alarm. The nurse told us to come in and get checked out and to bring a bag "just in case" so after hanging up the phone, Jordan and I just sort of stood there for awhile. Were we going to meet our baby today? It's six weeks early! This can't be happening! Then we stood in our closet just staring at everything...we didn't have a hospital bag packed yet (I KNEW I needed to get one ready, dang it!!) so we just grabbed our comfy sweats, some hoodies, the few nursing tanks/bras I had, and our bathroom stuff. Jordan's friends were awake when we left and I sort of laughed walking out the door and said, "you know we'll see you guys later to tailgate. This isn't really happening!" We finally got to the hospital around 7ish and the whole drive there I don't know why, but I was freakishly calm and Jordan was noticeably nervous. We talked about final baby names and what to do if we did have the baby today and who to call first... then we just stopped and said, "let's wait until we know what is happening..."

Once Jordan and I got to the hospital, we made the long walk after getting parked to the Labor and Delivery unit. During the whole walk, more and more fluid kept leaking out and I looked like I had sat in a puddle. I was walking with some serious bow legs and have never wanted dry pants more in my life! When I finally got checked in and hooked up to monitors, the nurses said I was contracting every 4-6 minutes and was 4cm dilated already which I just could not believe. I looked at Jordan and said, "I thought everyone always said getting to 4cm was the hardest?! How is this happening?!!!" After they determined I was clearly in labor, I got admitted right away in a labor and delivery room. That's when I sort of lost it because then we realized we were having a baby THAT day 6 weeks early ready or not! We got settled into our room, which happened to be right across from Kinnick Stadium and we had a perfect view of the big screen too! That made us pretty happy and gave us a good laugh because we had tickets to the game! Shortly after being admitted, I got hooked up to the antibiotics and fluids but since I was contracting so regularly and consistently, I didn't ever need pitocin or any other fluids. Whewww thank god! I had always said I wanted as few of interventions as possible so I'm thankful my body was doing its thing and progressing naturally pretty quickly. I was doing great with just breathing, massage techniques, using the birthing ball, and Jordan's help that I didn't need any other pain management until I hit 6-7cm and I started freaking out. I think it was a combination of the pain and being so scared that it was happening so fast and that we were going to have a NICU baby. There was just way too many thoughts running through my mind that I couldn't relax and I couldn't settle down. Finally, I caved and I asked for an epidural and by the time it got placed, I was already at 10cm and ready to push...turns out when I had asked for it, I was in the transition stage and things were progressing fast. The anesthesiologist got done taping my back and I felt instant panic and said, "I feel like I'm either about to poop or have this baby like NOW!! There is way too much pressure for this to not be happening...NOW!!" So my midwife was in there already helping coach and checked me and was like "yep you just went from 6 to 10 in less than 30 minutes and you need to start pushing now...let's meet your baby!" Since things happened in such a whirlwind, the epidural wasn't in full effect completely but I think if it had been, I wouldn't have been able to feel the contractions and know when it push. It took the edge off that's for sure but I still felt in control and could tell when I needed to bear down and push. I pushed for about 45 minutes and between pushes, we talked about tailgating and football and then made guesses about the sex. And at one point I said, "I just have one last request, when the baby is born, I want Jordan to announce boy or girl" so it was a very relaxed environment and everyone stayed calm and helped me to stay calm and confident throughout the whole day. A few times my midwife would say, "you can do this and you're going to. It won't kill you and I know you're scared, but you can do this." Then 45 minutes later of pushing, our sweet baby was born and Jordan couldn't see because of the cord so I got to announce and say, "it's a girl! We have a baby and it's a girl!" As she was placed on my chest and wiped down then Jordan said, "we have a daughter and you're the strongest mom I know..." He was pretty awesome throughout it all even though I know he was just as scared but he kept it together so I wasn't a mess. During a few of my panic attacks, he would remind me that we were in the best hospital in Iowa and that we were strong people so our baby would be strong. Sometimes just getting a hug and him holding my hand was all I needed to calm down and relax through a contraction.

Everly was checked over by the NICU team right away but her APGAR scores were 9 and 9! Jordan went with her to the NICU for them to do the vitals and check her oxygen/respiratory system because the lungs were the doctors biggest concern. She has thankfully been keeping her oxygen level right at 100% so she isn't on any oxygen or any medications. She has just an IV for antibiotics and right now the only things we are working on is her feeding and trying to get her established enough to eat on her own. She has an NG tube and I get to nurse her every 3-4 hours then I pump and whatever I pump, they use that to feed her with her tube. The NICU staff are all being super supportive with breastfeeding and they make sure she doesn't get a pacifier or bottle to interfere with the breastfeeding and getting that latch/suck down. Thankfully her only cords are the leads on her chest for heart rate, pulse oximeter on her foot, and then the feeding tube so it's definitely scary and intimidating but I know it could be so much worse. Seeing them place the NG tube today made me cry and was really tough though...she fought it and it was just awful to watch because I felt so helpless! She is a champ and is being super easy going so far. We're hoping she keeps making improvements each day so we can get out of the NICU sooner than later. They're thinking a week for now at minimum but said that can change and hopefully no more than 2 weeks max. Once she gets the latching and feeding down on her own, the other things we need her to work on and do on her own will be regulating her own temperature so she can be in a crib, keeping her oxygen levels stable and high enough, and consistently gain weight. We have a few milestones and hurdles to get through before we can go home with her but for now, we will celebrate every small victory that she accomplishes!!

The whole morning (and day for that matter!) was a complete whirlwind. We walked into the hospital not knowing what was going on and then was quickly admitted into the Labor and Delivery unit. Once we knew our baby was coming early, we finally called our families and told some friends. When my dad answered the phone, he was expecting me to talk about tailgating and the football game so he was definitely caught off guard when I said, "well actually I'm at the hospital and we're having this baby...today." Panic mode set in for my dad and he kept asking how I was doing and the baby and if either of us were in distress. I could tell her was worried but I reassured him it was not a life or death situation and that we would keep him updated as the day went on. Jordan then called his parents and had a similar conversation with all of them as well. I knew both families would be worried when we called since the baby was going to be six weeks early but we kept telling them we'd update them and to not worry. Which is funny because somehow Jordan and I were both staying relatively calm while our family and friends were the ones freaking out.... and some of our friends didn't believe us that we were at the hospital to have the baby! Like I said, since things happened so fast, we never once updated anyone after the initial calls/texts that we sent out! The next time we called people, we had news to announce that we had a baby girl! I don't think you could have wiped the smile off my face if you tried and those phone calls were some of the best ones I've ever made. When I called my dad, he asked I was doing and feeling and I just said, "Well I'm doing pretty great...just hanging out and recovering because I had the baby and you're a grandpa again to a little girl." That's when I could hear a sense of relief from my dad and he told me that my mom had bought a one-way plane ticket and was on her way up to Iowa. I also found out that my sister was on her way from Milwaukee! I've never felt more loved or lucky to have two amazing women in my life and I was so thankful they both got to be there with me and my new little family on Everly's birthday!

All in all, I couldn't have asked for a better birthing and labor experience. It happened naturally and quickly, just like I had hoped and I had very few medical interventions. Jordan was an amazing husband as always and made a great coach, supporter, and teammate for me. I wouldn't have wanted anyone else by my side and even when he wasn't saying or doing anything, just the comfort of him beside me was enough love and support for me. I had a super easy pregnancy and felt good the whole time, minus a few aches and pains on various days here and there, but overall, I really had few complaints throughout the past 34 weeks. I can't believe it's over and that now I have a sweet baby girl. I've never felt an instant love for anyone or anything like I did the moment I saw her and when we first locked eyes. I knew in January when I found out I was pregnant that my life was going to change...and I knew in a second when I saw Everly that my life has changed for the better. Jordan and I are so in love already with her and can't wait to see where our adventures in parenthood take us.

Friday Funnies - 6.7.13

It's Friday and it's girls weekend for me and guys weekend for Jordan! And today is also a special Friday because it's my parents 33rd wedding anniversary! Wow!! Way to rock, Mom and Dad! Hope you have a wonderful anniversary and 33 more years of wedded bliss - you two are my biggest supporters and have always encouraged me and loved me in all that I do. Thanks for being so awesome and the best parents a girl could ask for! Hope you all enjoy the weekend - around here it's supposed to be rainy and gloomy but that won't stop our fun! Since it's my parents wedding anniversary and my mom is spending the weekend with us, today's Friday Funnies is dedicated to moms and the job of being a parent. Enjoy!

image via Pinterest
how is it that Mom's always know where everything is?!

The Mom Song

this is genius...and I better get this memorized for when I am telling my kids all of this same stuff!

Here comes Mom and a girls weekend!

It's finally that time...... time for my mom's plane to be landing in about an hour and a half for our Girls Weekend to be kicked off! Eeeek! I can't wait to spend four days with my mom and get in plenty of shopping, spoiling ourselves and Peanut, some manis/pedis, and a baby shower. Not only all of that but also my sister and her girlfriend will be here on Friday night for the rest of the weekend too! Whoo hoooo! Jordan will be leaving for Chicago on Friday afternoon so it will be just us girls all weekend and I can't wait....he probably would go crazy if he stayed here with all of us for the weekend! Time to finish getting ready and head to the airport to pick up my mom!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all of the incredible and amazing Moms that I am lucky to have in my life! You all inspire, encourage, support, and love me endlessly. Whether it's by blood or not, you've all helped shape me into the person I am today. Thanks for being such awesome role models and I hope to be the kind of mom to my own children like you've all shown me! This day is for all of you special and amazing women out there - The mom's whose babies are grown, mamas whose babies are little, or even brand new! The women who are anxious and excited moms-to-be and for those mom's whose babies are angels in heaven. I can't forget to include those who wish they were moms and to the mom's whose own mamas are in heaven. No matter your age, you always need your mom!

And a big huge shout out to my own loving, wonderful, and amazing Mom. You are 

the most caring, selfless, giving, understanding, and compassionate Mom that God could have ever gifted me with. I don't know how I ever got so lucky to have you as my mom, but I am so blessed. You have taught me the importance of honesty and hard work but that it's okay to relax at times. Because of you, I have learned compassion, empathy, patience, respect for others, and to always be a giving individual. I can only hope to be this kind of mother to my own children, and I know I am lucky because I have had the best example ever by watching you. I love you, Mom, forever and always!

Happy Mother's Day, Mom! I love you!

"To the Greatest MOM the world will ever see!"
my first Mother's Day card from Jordan... he's so thoughtful! :)

bring on the week

This is the start of a busy but yet awesome week! First off, in baby news, I am officially in the second trimester, crazy! And at this time next weekend, I will be hanging out with my whole family....yay!! My parents are starting their drive up to Iowa/the midwest tomorrow and are making quite the rounds to see old friends and family. On Friday, Jordan and I are heading up to Madison to my brother's to spend the weekend with everyone. Ahhh I can't wait! This is a busy week with two papers due and a tough quiz but all of the studying and school work will make the week go fast hopefully! I seriously can't wait to be reunited with my family in less than a week! Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend and has a wonderful start to their week!

crochet infinity scarf: broomstick lace

After starting one project and then giving up on it a few too many rows too late, I switched gears and found a different pattern that I wanted to follow. And turns out, while it looked a lot more difficult to do, it proved to be significantly easier! I worked on this over a three day span while lounging at home and watching some movies! It was a perfect side job to be working on between napping and relaxing! I found the pattern on All Free Crochet (thanks Mom for leading me to this website...I'm already looking for my next pattern!) and I followed the Broomstick Lace Collar pattern but I extended it to make a chunkier full scarf instead of just a collar! The pattern looked intimidating at first but if I can figure it out and successfully make an entire scarf for my first ever crochet project, I think it is pretty do-able for anyone else then too! Happy crafting and have a good week!

my first finished crochet project!
Broomstick Lace Infinity Scarf

a new project in the works

Over the weekend, I bought a new crochet hook and some yarn after looking up some patterns and of course, browsing Pinterest. I figured, "hey, this stuff isn't too expensive to invest in! And if I can't figure it out, I can just give it to my mom because she will be able to use it all!" So needless to say, it has been a bit of a struggle to get started and I think that is because my body and head just refuse to learn it right handed which means I have to fight it out and scour the web for left handed directions/tutorials/videos and figure it out from there! I found a realllllllly cute pattern and scarf so now I just hope mine comes out looking halfway like the picture does...once I have that done, I will be sure to post pictures and an update on the project! The one good thing I have learned about crocheting so far is that it is a nice, mindless project to work on. It doesn't require much thought or physical involvement which is good...with the combination of working this week and the stress of waiting to hear from hospitals, I need some mindless activity to help me unwind and relax! In other news, the week is half over at least and that is something to celebrate!

faux (and cheap!) "Canvas" Prints!

After doing a lot of Pinteresting and blog surfing, I have came across several tutorials on how to make your own canvas print. I love the look of the canvas prints but I really hate the price! I am too cheap and too crafty to pay a price like that for one print! So I have been determined lately to make my own "faux canvas prints" and combined a few tips and tricks from various tutorials I read and came up with a system that worked out great for me and the results are awesome!!! Even Jordan stopped dead in his tracks as soon as he walked in the door today from school and was awe struck. His response was, "wow! Those are really awesome!!! When did you get those?!" To which I was happy to respond with, "I MADE THEM!" It's days like today when I am extremely grateful to have my mom's crafty and creative genes!

Here's what you will need:
-foam board (I got mine from Lowe's and they will cut it down to the size that you need so they cut a whole board into 16x20 pieces so one board gave me 15 totals pieces!)
-spray adhesive (I used Loctite spray for general performance/ lightweight bonding)
-engineering prints from Staples and the sizes I ordered were 24x36 so I had enough overlap to fold and cover the sides of the foam
-packing tape

1. spray the foam with the adhesive and then wait 5-10 seconds for it to get a bit tacky **otherwise it makes the ink smear when you wipe across it to smooth it/get the air bubbles out** Also! Make sure to not over-do-it with the adhesive because otherwise it can soak through the prints since they are so thin and that's when it will smear...so definitely wait the 5-10 seconds!
2. flip it over and fold up the sides making sure you have sharp corners like wrapping a present and tape the folded edges across the back with packing tape!
3. And that's it! I used some Command strips to hang them since they are so lightweight and definitely do not need to be hung by nails!

the final products!!!
I got the quote canvas from Janelle for Christmas
And two of our favorite wedding pictures perfectly compliment it!

Definitely loving our new wall decor and happy to finally have some awesome wedding pictures up! We have a digital picture frame that we got as a wedding gift and have it loaded with wedding pictures as well which I love seeing them change but these big 16x20 prints look awesome and for the price, that makes them even better! 

Well one week later....

After indulging in an ungodly amount of calories over the past five days, enduring too many belly laughs to count, and working the cramps out of my face from smiling....we are in fact, alive and survived Thanksgiving and Christmas with the Cross Family. And I am so sad that it is all over. The time definitely went by way, way too fast. My parents got to Iowa last Monday night and we all enjoyed some pizza and beers along with some laughs and good conversations. They headed up to Wisconsin on Tuesday while Jordan and I had one last day of work/school for the week. We packed up all of our stuff and hit the road first thing Wednesday morning and didn't stop going until we made it back home yesterday afternoon!!

Thursday was Thanksgiving obviously but more importantly, it was Teagan's 5th birthday! Holy smokes, where does the time go?! I can't believe that she is five now.... She is growing up into such a smart and sassy, hilarious and beautiful little girl! It is so fun watching her grow up and I'm lucky that I have gotten to play such an active role in her life. It would make me sad being so far away from her and Kemper that they don't know me when I come around! Anyway, we celebrated T's birthday after Thanksgiving dinner. She was spoiled with gifts, had a blast beating up on a pinata and then topped it off with cake....which I made! Yummm homemade chocolate cake with peanut butter icing! We capped the night off by having a bon fire once the kids went to bed....

We then quickly shifted gears and went right into Christmas mode on Friday! We watched the Hawks lose, again, first thing which was a total bummer. Not only did they lose to Nebraska which gives them a share at the Big 10 title but it also confirmed they are for sure not going to a bowl game.  Extra sucky. We got over it quickly with a few drinks that we had during the game at least. Then after successfully stuffing our faces again with the Thanksgiving leftovers, we let the Christmas festivities begin! My mom had planned a "fashion show" for all of us...she made all of us tons of awesome projects and crafts! It included some crochet infinity scarves and gloves, fleece hats and jackets and lots of new Iowa gear. Score! My mom just keeps blowing all of our minds with how crafty she is and it rocks! Presents were a big hit with the kids and watching their eye light up with each gift they opened was enough to keep all of us happy. They are so cute and were so thrilled with everything they got...very heart warming to watch! After the kiddos went to bed and so did our parents, things got real crazy. Us adult "kids" played a new game that Scott and Kat got that is called "Cards Against Humanity." Basically, it is like a very very inappropriate version of Apples To Apples. But ridiculously hilarious and awesome. I'm not sure if we have ever laughed that hard before while playing a game before.....it will definitely be played again at our next reunion!

Saturday morning however, came way toooo early! We all hit the road to Charles City and made it to Grandma's! Just when I was thinking I couldn't possibly eat any more food, I managed to stuff myself completely. Again. There's just something about Grandma's home cooking that is irresistible. We all played several rounds of cards together and Jordan finally won two games! Third year of being at the Cross Christmas was the charm and he hit the jackpot twice! Which made me happy because then I didn't have to pay in anything, mwahahaha! 

And just like that, our four days together came to an end once we all woke up on Sunday morning. We were all avoiding saying good-bye to one another because we knew what it meant. That our parents would be driving back to Texas and that meant that none of us know the next time we will see them. And that sucks. Just leaves a giant pit in my stomach. As if I wasn't trying hard enough to fight back the tears, hugging my Dad goodbye after he just said goodbye to his own mom and sister with tears in his eyes and his noticeably choked up voice, was really tough. My dad can always put on a smile though and gave one last bear hug before getting in the car. Let's just say I was a hot mess of emotions on the first thirty minutes of our drive back home....

I'm thankful beyond thankful for the family I have in my life and these past four days just weren't enough. But I am so grateful for the time we did get to have together, the laughs we shared, the hugs and love we exchanged and the memories with each other that we made. I love how much Jordan fits in with my family and how we can all have so much fun with each other without having to do much. I can't wait until we are all together again and am already looking forward to that. I hope the day comes when we all live within a few hours of each other again because this whole living in Texas thing sucks for all of us! Wahh real life! Well I hope everyone enjoyed Thanksgiving and the time spent with family and some delicious food! I know we definitely did and now I'm dreading the pile-up of school and work stuff that I have been ignoring...well, happy Monday!

Mad about Monday?

It's Monday. I got the afternoon off unexpectedly and my parents are on schedule to get to Iowa about 2 1/2 hours earlier than I thought they were going to! How can I possibly be mad that it is Monday?!! Ahh I'm so excited to be able to spend some quality time with them tonight and enjoy some laughs, cold drinks and good conversations before mass chaos hits on Wednesday and the whole family is together. I love them all, don't get me wrong, but with so many of us it can be hard to get a word in sometimes! I'm thankful to have such a close knit family and for the special times that we get to share with each other! Tomorrow afternoon is going to be my baking extravaganza because I got put in charge of desserts for Thanksgiving and I'm really looking forward to it. I have quite the list of treats to make and it includes caramel apple cheesecake with streusel topping, chocolate cake with peanut butter icing and my famous puppy chow! Yummmy! Can't wait for all the good home cooking and treats this week...thank goodness my metabolism is still on my side!

Thankful For November

Ah it's November already! Holy crap, can you believe it?!! I know that I definitely can't! With November, comes Thanksgiving, the start of many gatherings with family and friends and also that wonderful thankful/loving/giving/caring and sharing feeling that everyone starts to have. And it always makes me wonder...why don't we act that way year round towards everyone including strangers? Why is it just the "holiday spirit" that makes us more generous, more thoughtful and more caring? I know during the rest of the year we all get busy and caught up in our own lives everyday but I think it's important for people to take a step back from time to time and realize how much a random act of kindness could mean to someone else, whether it's someone they know or a complete stranger. So with that, I'm going to kick off the month of November by recognizing something that I'm thankful for each and every day. Today I am thankful for my awesome parents because without them, I literally would not be here today. But because of them, I am who I am today. They helped shape me and taught me to be independent, responsible, caring, giving, and respectful. They have always encouraged me and supported me, been there for me when I was wrong and gave me direction again. I can count on them as a friend but know they're always there for me as a parent. I owe them more than they know and hope my own kids look up to me as much I do to them. I'd be lost without them and love them both so much. Alright November, you're about to make my heart feel really full!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

You are the most amazing and wonderful person 

and I am so lucky that you are my mom.

You make one hell of a mom, mother-in-law, wife, sister, grandma, aunt, cousin, and friend...just to name a few of your awesome roles and titles that you own! Without you, I wouldn't be nearly as independent and goal-driven as I because of you. You constantly support all of us and encourage us to go after what we want in life and that's something I could never thank you enough for. Some of my best qualities are a direct reflection of you and I'm proud to be your daughter and to have you as a role model in my life. You have taught me to always stay true to myself even if that means pissing people off along the way and to always put my family first. I respect you more than words can say and more than I could ever show. You are truly amazing.

Sending lots of birthday hugs and wishes from Iowa down to Texas today!
Love you, Louskilou

Sew Cute: tank top dress

Before my parents left to continue their roadtrip around the midwest before heading back to Texas, we did a little early birthday celebration here for me with Jordan, my parents and Janelle. My mom first gave me a present that left me super confused. It was a sewing kit and a huge book called "Guide To Sewing" and she had wrote a really sweet note in it. The only reason why I was confused was because I didn't have a sewing machine....and she knew I had been wanting one for a long time! Mainly thanks to all of the awesome projects I have seen on Pinterest and also so I can start being awesome like she is and just make my own stuff when I can't find what I want in stores! Anyway, so in my head I was all like, "gee thanks a heap for the sewing kit and sewing book...just rub it in that you have a sewing machine and I don't!" until she totally blew my mind and handed me another box with a sewing machine in it!!!!!! Ah yesssss!!!! Is this seriously my life now, married, turn 25 and freak out about getting a sewing machine?!! Yes, yes indeed it is and I love it. So, I practiced for a little bit with a test piece of fabric that I had and then scoured Pinterest to decide what my first project would be and I decided to go with a tank top dress! 

total time: 4 hours....this really IS a simple project BUT since it was a first one, I admittedly used the seam ripper a lot more than I would have liked to and spent more time rethreading the machine than probably necessary.

total cost: $9.00. The tank top was $3.50 from wal-mart and I found the fabric in the 60% off section at JoAnn's Fabric

tutorial: I followed this tutorial from A Small Snippet Blog and it worked out and was pretty easy to follow along with actually! I changed the sash by adding elastic to it and used snaps instead of keeping it long enough to tie. 

And here's my final product.....

my first handmade tank top dress!

Happy Mother's Day

My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. 

All I am I owe to my mother. 

I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual 

and physical education I received from her.

 -George Washington

like mother, like daughter

Happy Mother's Day, to my beautiful and amazing mom! My life wouldn't be the same without you and I'm so lucky to have you as my mom! I know I can always count on you to give me the advice I need to hear, not just what I want to hear. You push me and encourage me to test myself and go the limits when I don't think I can do it. You have helped shape me into the person I am today. I know I haven't always been the easiest to deal with and I'm glad we both survived through my teen years. Thank you for putting up with me through it all and most importantly, for always being my friend. I only hope my kids look up to me as much as I look up to you! All my love, Katie Lou

A tisket, A tasket...A cute handmade flower girl basket!

My wedding project list seems to be getting smaller and smaller by the day which is an awesome feeling considering in 3 days, we're at the 4 month mark away from the wedding! Holy smokes, how did this creep up so fast?!!! I can't believe we've already been engaged for 8 months and only have 4 to go! All the wedding blogs and magazines I've read all say how fast the time goes while engaged and planning the wedding....and now I couldn't agree more! It's been fun and exciting, stressful and emotional, and we've had lots of happy and sad tears! This has really proven to us though how well we work together and help to balance each other out which makes us really look forward to our wedding day! Now, I'll show off my latest wedding project! The flower girl basket for my niece, Teagan!

Here's what you'll need:
-a "basket box"
-paint and paintbrushes
-sand paper
-hot glue gun
-any fun extra to decorate it with (I'll point those out in the pictures)
-And Jordan says "a steady hand"

Total cost: I had all of the paint and brushes and my mom got the box from Hobby Lobby and made the tulle flowers....so I'm estimating a total cost of $10ish on average

Total time: 2-3 hours

Start off with a plain, smooth "basket box"
as I like to call it!

Paint it any base color of your choice.
I used the paint left over that we got for free!
And I enjoyed a Shock Top Lemon Shandy while crafting :)

After sanding it off around the edges and in the middle
(to give it sort of a rustic look)
I free handed the words: Here Comes The Bride with a pencil

Very slowly and steadily, I traced along the words....
a short stiff bristle brush works best for this!

Once it all dried, I used the lace off of the flower girl basket
from my parents wedding and wrapped the handle with it!
Then I hot glued the tulle flowers onto the side of the handle

purple and green flower "poofs" on the side
to finish it off!

And that's it! Super easy and so stinking cute! Plus, a fun wedding heirloom to hold onto to pass on for future weddings! Who isn't going to love seeing my 4-year old niece Teagan carrying this down the aisle?! Now I just need to pick up some petals for her to throw and she'll be ready to strut her stuff....I'm praying that she doesn't chicken out now the day of the wedding!

The Biggest & Best Cupcake Stand

And now, I present you with the coolest, most awesome and biggest cupcake stand ever!!! This was a joint effort of crafty thoughts and hard work and sweat between me, my mom and sister. And the end product is pretty cool I must say! Since I love monograms, it's no surprise that our cupcake stand would be none other than a giant E!!!!

Mom & Janelle masterminded  the exact measurements
that we would need....

Then, we built it and put it together in less than 2 hours!
Teamwork makes everything better :)

I painted the whole thing on a beautiful Saturday afternoon
and Paisley got to enjoy some sun too!
I also got two free quarts of paint from Ace Hardware!
This saved me $40 and I was able to get ANY color so I talked Jordan into coming with me
and we picked out  a cream and purple for this project!

One week later and on another gorgeous Saturday, it was time to paint the outline!
Jordan taped off all of the edges for me and got my painting area all set up!

Done!
I love how the E really pops now with the purple outline!

The only thing left is to figure out the size of base that we need to put the E on....since it's so tall, I'm scared that at the reception, some of my young cousins (or probably drunk friends) will run into the table while reaching for a cupcake and knock it over! I'm sure Janelle will figure out the perfect calculations for the base because math just isn't my thing and well, it needs one. I don't want it to be a hazard to people just trying to get a cupcake!  This goes perfect with the rest of the wedding theme so far and I love how unique it is! Just one more DIY project that was a success! Thanks again so much to my mom and sister for helping turn my wedding dreams and ideas into a reality with all of your help!