366 Project: January Pictures

I have seen for the last several years in digital scrapbooking galleries and forums different people who are working on 365 photography projects.  You simply take a picture every day.  I take lots of pictures, but not every day.  It has seemed like a daunting undertaking to me, but this year I thought I would give it a try.  I didn't want to post any of the pictures because I wanted to see if I could last at least a month first.  I wanted to take photos of the boys not just of the main events but everyday life with the whole family.  This will force me to do just that.  Here are my January photos:

1:1

Lego love.

1:2

Back to school...not so thrilled.

1:3

The first of five fabrics for the nursery arrived today.

1:4

I just love their matching shoes☺ 

1:5 

Washing and sorting clothes in preparation for the baby brings back lots of memories when Logan and Lucas were babies. I am so thrilled I get to experience the baby stage all over again.

1:6

The first project for Lane's room is complete...my first rag quilt. It's not perfect, but it was made with love. I am pleased with the results.

1:7

Both boys had their first Upward basketball game of the season. This was Lucas' first time playing basketball. I was so proud of him. He looked so grown up and this picture shows his true personality. He wasn't going to let Warren have the ball. This same thing happened a little later and Lucas had his legs wrapped around Warren trying to get the ball. It's funny to see the difference in personalities with my boys.

1:8

This has been my view for the last few days.  I have been busy working away trying to get the bedding made for the nursery.

1:9

I just love my Granny.  She knows what I like!!  She made chocolate gravy and

we have enjoyed it for breakfast!  YUMMO!

1:10

Painting project for the nursery.  I am so glad the boys got to make something for their baby brother.

1:11

This cracked me up so I ran and grabbed my camera.  Landon was cleaning out the nursery and he just threw it out the window rather than trying to get the pieces down the stairs.  John Weatherly was also there to aid in process.  It was a desk and a cabinet that I was no longer going to use.

1:12

My little helpers.  Seriously, I couldn't have made it the last few weeks without them.  They have helped me do laundry, dishes, and anything else I have asked without complaining.  Today we were taking clothes and other baby items to the nursery and they helped tremendously.

1:13

We had a little bit of snow overnight.  This is my fourth year not teaching and my kids aren't in school, so I am not sure why I still get so excited hoping for a snow day.  It doesn't even affect me in any way.  I guess it's just engrained.  We don't usually, but we did take a snow day today too☺

1:14

Both boys getting ready for their games.  They both played so well!!  It is such fun to watch.

1:15

I have a love-hate relationship with toys.  I love the joy it brings my boys when they open up new toys or to see them playing and watching their imagination at its best.  However, I hate the constant battle getting them where they belong.  I walked by the living room this afternoon and laughed when I saw this.  Lucas really plays with his toys and he rediscovered his Buzz and Woody yesterday.  They went everywhere and even had to be buckled in the van. 

 1:16

Lucas loves to dress up and sometimes you never know what he is going to throw together for his costume.  This is a swimming mask and a cape.  He cracks me up. 

1:17

I ended up back in the hospital today to be monitored.  I wasn't quite like the last experience, thank goodness.  I was having some contractions, and I was given another shot. 

1:18

My new diaper bag arrived today!!  I love it!  

1:19

I love this picture!!  There was a picture like this that won in an I Heart Faces Challenge for props.  I wasn't far along when I saw the picture so I have been wanting to do this one with the boys.  Landon took this one☺ 

1:20

Craft Night at church!!  They really surprised me!  I walked in and saw the tables decorated for a baby shower and I was wondering who it was for.  It took me a little while to figure out it was for me!  haha.  It was SOO sweet!

1:21

I finished the minor prophets today.  I am going to go camp out in the New Testament for a while now. 

1:22

Lane's first monogramming done by mommy.

1:23

We enjoyed a breathtaking sunset this evening! 

1:24

The boys have enjoyed the unseasonably warm weather for this time of year.  They played outside today and had the best time in their treehouse.  Lucas went outside with a load of stuffed animals and I asked him what he was doing with them.  He said they were having a meeting in the treehouse.  I had to go check it out. 

1:25

Logan finished building his Black Pearl lego set.  He was so proud of it!!

1:26

I have some blooming buttercups in the yard. 

1:27

"Friendly" game of war turned into meltdown central with Lucas.  Logan ended up getting out really early in the game, and Lucas lost it when I took his joker in a war.  They can be very competitive.

1:28

If you ever see me with my kids and wonder what in the world they are wearing, just know that I let them dress themselves.  This was the outfit he came up for today...after he had changed two other times.  He creates a mess in his closet for me.  Also, if you look at the picture from the day before, it's the same shirt.  He must have gotten this out of the dirty clothes. 

1:29

Bedtime bible stories.

1:30

This was Logan's idea.  He wanted to pretend like he was holding the sun. 

1:31

Logan is helping his dad sand down the toy table and drawers.  It is going to get a fresh coat of red paint for the downstairs.

Project: Nursery

When we found out we were expecting again, I was excited to get to do another nursery.  I knew very early on that I wanted the theme to be hot air balloons whether it was a boy or a girl.  I don't know why, but I have always been fascinated with hot air balloons.  I think they are whimsical and beautiful.  Someday I want to ride in one☺  It's on my bucket list. 

When I decided to do the theme in hot air ballons, I began looking for bedding.  I found NOTHING that was cute!!  I found a few blogs with some cute rooms, but they were all custom and sewn by the moms.  I also didn't find any hot air balloon material.  I have had to be creative with how exactly I was going to make a hot air balloon room.

I really wanted to make the bedding for Lucas' nursery, but we were building at the time and he didn't even have a nursery until he was nine months old.  When I had Logan, I couldn't sew, so Lane is the only one who gets an all handmade, custom room by mommy. 

I sold all of our furniture in a yard sale about a month before we found out we were expecting again, so we have had to rebuy everything. Babies are expensive, but definitely worth it!! 

I found lots of ideas on etsy.com and a few of pinterest.  I have lots of tutorials on how I made some of the things in the nursery.

My embroidery machine program isn't working right now, so I had to applique old school.  I cut out the fabric and pieced these together. 

Digital Wall Art:

I created these and had them to be printed at Wal-Mart as large prints (20x30).  I LOVE how they turned out!!

I made some burp cloths with some leftover fabric.

Because I chose brighter colors, I had some trouble finding things to match because most baby bedding and accessories are in pastels. I had to make literally everything!

I have posted several tutorials on how I made several of the things in the nursery.  A few things I didn't do tutorials on were the curtains, crib skirt, and changing pad cover. 
*Curtains are easy to make if you can sew a straight line and measure. 
*I used this tutorial on making the crib skirt with only one exception.  She used a double pleat, where I just did  a single.
*I used this tutorial for the changing pad cover.  I thought this would be a simple project, but it ended up being more complicated than I thought.  I made an orange and a yellow one, and I won't make any more of these!!  It was my least favorite project in the nursery!! 

My fabric was purchased at fabric.com
Remix Zig Zag Bermuda
Orange Stripe Citrus
Remix Dots Brown/Aqua/White
Michael Miller Ta Dot Apple
Remix Strips Bermuda

Here are links to my tutorials:
Rag Quilt Tutorial
Recovering Crib Bumpers
Mobile Tutorial
Hot Air Balloons
Canvas Letter Tutorial
Crib Sheet Tutorial
Hot Air Balloon Clock