Gender Reveal- It's a....

Today at my 15 week check-up we were able to find out the gender of tiny baby.  Only.... we didn't find out. We had the ultrasound technician write down tiny baby's gender on a card and place it in an envelope. We immediately dropped the sealed envelope off at a friends house who had agreed to help us with a gender reveal.

We had a gender reveal party tonight, bit into some cupcakes filled with either pink or blue icing and discovered that we're having a..... GIRL!!!!!!!

Video of the reveal



The cupcakes (courtesy of Ally B's Bakery in Shreveport)

We're excited to welcome another sweet little girl into our lives.  Bring on the pink!  I'm already thinking of the fun things I can sew for little sister and the cute things we can do to the girls' room. We go back to the doctor in another 4 weeks for the full anatomy ultrasound (checking the heart, arms, legs, kidneys, etc..). 

In other news-- Aubrey has learned to give mouth kisses.  They're so sweet.  We tried to get a picture, here's the camera roll--

Happy 4th of July everyone!

Music for the Soul

We've established that I love most things NPR.  Here's yet another reason- their Tiny Desk concert series is phenomenal.  Artists perform in the studio at the "tiny desk" of NPR's online music host Bob Boilen. It's a great way to see some awesome artists in a scaled back, intimate environment.

A few of my favorites- for your viewing pleasure.  You're welcome!

Glen Hansard Tiny Desk Concert (6/17/2012)

Wilco Tiny Desk Concert (10/18/2011)




The Civil Wars Tiny Desk Concert (6/27/2011)

Lazy Weekend

This past weekend was perfectly lazy!

1. I finished some sewing projects. Did I mention I'm in love with shirring?  It's so easy and makes for a cute outfit (dress, skirt, shirt, whatever). 

 Aubrey's festive 4th of July shirt! (shirred of course)  Excuse the crazy hair and grey sweatpants.  

We were just trying it on :)

Tee-hee! This just makes me smile.  Look at her hair and her elbow rolls.

4th of July Tank.  A good use of scrap fabric.  

I made a few flags for some of the other babies from my office. 

2.  Weston and I watched a LOT of Downton Abbey.  What a great show!  We just finished Season 1 and are getting into Season 2.  Thank you to Suzanne for recommending it!

3. We had a fun dinner with our LifeGroup.  I'm terrible at remembering to get everyone together for a photo!

We've been meeting for almost a year and have a really great core group of couples.  When you start a new small group from scratch it can take a while to really form those bonds that make you feel like family.  But we're getting there!  We have so much fun together and support eachother in prayer.  We've watched friends get married in this past year and our group will welcome a few new babies in the coming months.  That is what I call "doing life" together.  Last night, they surprised Weston and I with a sweet gift for leading and hosting the group.  We weren't expecting anything like that at all-- it was such a meaningful surprise!  Thank you guys!

Bag Toss Tourney

LifeGroup Dinner

LifeGroup ladies crafting 

Pulling Weeds

I've recently taken a liking to digging in the dirt and enjoy spending time working on our flower beds.  I don't have a green thumb by any means, but I can water the flowers and pull the weeds. Easy Peasy!   My neighbor saw me pulling weeds one day and said, "You know they'll just grow back!"  That got me to thinking and I began to notice some things.

Here is what I know about weeds:

• Pulling weeds is a messy job.  You should wear gloves.
• They grow wild and crazy if not treated, removed or kept under control.
• They can drain the water and nutrients from the plants around them-- thus sucking the life from what could be beautiful plants.
• Some weeds appear teeny tiny- they might even have cute flowers on them.  But they have REALLY deep and tangled root system.  They're hard to pull and might require the use of a digger or even some help from a buddy.
• Some weeds are really big and have teeny tiny roots.  They appear big on the surface, but they're easy to pull.
• Some weeds grow rapidly and others take their time to grow.
• No matter what you do- your work is never done.  If you want beautiful flower beds or a beautiful lawn, you need to treat the weeds

So- as I was pulling weeds I couldn't help but think about how these pesky little things can resemble sin in our lives.  Sin can't be ignored and if left untreated it will suck the life out of you-- God's beautiful creation.  Addressing sin can be a messy job.  Sin can appear small on the surface, but have a very deep root system and can be difficult to eliminate.  Other sin may be easier to eliminate but it, like those stupid weeds, just keeps growing back again and again. Either way- if you want to grow as a disciple of Christ you can't ignore your weeds. You must run from sin. It can be hard to even know where to start. So here's what I do--- I Pray. 

The bible teaches us in Psalm 130:23-24 (NIV)

"Search me O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."

When I get to thinking about my sin, I meditate on that scripture and ask God to search me and lead me more towards him. 

Gran's Visit and Fathers Day

This past week has been a lot of fun!  My mom (aka- Gran) came to visit for a few days, I visited my best friend, and we celebrated Father's Day.  Lots of pictures in this post!

Gran's visit:
My Mom doesn't get to spend much time with Aubrey since we live so far away.  While she was here, Gran was able to keep Aubrey for a couple of days while Weston and I worked and they had a big time snacking, exploring all of the toys, reading all of the books and singing songs.  I just know that Aubrey loved getting to spend some time with her Gran and we enjoyed it as well!

Picking Gran up in Dallas.  We had lunch with Matt, Christine and the kids.

Gran and Aubrey 

Father's Day:

It was Weston's second year to celebrate Father's day as a Dad.  He is the best husband and Dad in the world-- Aubrey and I (and tiny baby) are so very blessed.  We couldn't ask for more!

Happy Father's Day!

We visited Weston's parents for Sunday lunch and were able to spend some time with his parents, Paw Paw, Hodson, Tiphanie and Dustin and their sweet babies (Caroline and molly).  Aubrey and Caroline, who are both very close in age just played their little hearts out.  They were so cute.

I missed my "window of opportunity" for a really cute picture of them playing the piano together.
But this one cracks me up!

Aubrey and Caroline playing piano with their "Cookie"

They're saying "Weeee!"

Best Friend Visit

This past weekend I hopped on a plane to visit my best friend of twenty-seven years!  When you've been friends with someone for pretty much your entire life, you officially move past best friend status and more into "sister" status.  That's definitely true for Emily and I-- we've fought like sisters, we love like sisters, and we know each other like sisters.  When you're truly family, entertainment is not necessary and you simply pick up where you left off without much fuss.

Emily and I on my wedding day

So that's what Em and I did!  She's  34 weeks pregnant and I'm 13 weeks pregnant-- so we were just two (one very pregnant and one not very pregnant) peas in a pod. 


Our weekend pretty much went like this: 
Visit and talk about babies
Snack
Potty break
Visit some more
Take another potty break
Venture to Target for various items
Totally worn out from a walk through Target - snack and afternoon nap
Yet another potty break
Crafting
Dinner
Locate the Pepcid and the Tums
Watch a movie
Turn in early
......
Repeat

It was an awesome weekend!  Check out these ridiculously cute bow-tie onesies we made for baby William using some of Greg's old ties!  :)

Source: Me. Super cute bow-tie onesies

Source: Me. Super cute bow-tie onesies

Saying Goodbye

When the husband and I were first dating I would usually poke fun at him for listening to these silly "old folks" shows on NPR.  But then, while on a little roadtrip, we cruised along listening to what became three of my favorite NPR shows:

• Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me; The NPR News Quiz
• A Prairie Home Companion- which this blog is fondly named after
• Car Talk

Now I'm officially an NPR nerd, loving ALL THINGS NPR with the exception of what seems like a monthly pledge drive. The pledge drive is likely the only time my radio finds its way to any other station on the dial. 


With all that being said, I was really sad to hear that the guys from Car Talk will produce their last show and then hang up their hats.  I don't know the first thing about cars, nor do I really care so long as the car is in fine working order.  But I just love this show.  


The goofy brotherly hosts, Tom (age 74) and Ray (age 63) Magliozzi- also know as "Click and Clack the Tappet Brothers"- are simply hilarious.  They seem to know everything there is to know about cars, they tell funny jokes, conjure up a weekly riddle or puzzle and endlessly give each other a hard time. If I'm driving around in my car with a big smile on my face I very well may be listening to Car Talk.


You can listen to a little snippet of the show here.


My favorite part of the show is the funny credits they run at the end of each episode.  As any good NPR show will do, they run through a list of "staffers" that work extremely hard to put the show together.  I kid of course....


Here's an example of some of their "staffers" From the Car Talk Wikipedia page:
" Car Talk Statistician "Marge Innovera ("margin of error"), customer care representative Haywood Jabuzoff ("Hey, would you buzz off"), meteorologist Claudio Vernight ("cloudy overnight"), optometry firm C.F. Eye Care ("see if I care"), Russian chauffeur Pikov Andropov ("pick up and drop off")... and law firm Dewey, Cheetham and Howe ("Do we cheat 'em and how")."


So, I'm sad that they're producing their last show.  But then again, these guys are old so they've earned the right to retire and relax.  If you haven't listened to Car Talk before, you can listen online on the NPR site or also on iTunes (I would imagine).  Do yourself a favor and let these funny little radio hosts put a smile on your face.  Then you need to listen to the other two shows I also mentioned above!


Goodbye Car Talk :(

My first skirt!

Last night I completed my first shirring project.  For those who don't know- shirring is a technique where you place elastic thread in your bobbin to create a smocked or gathered look.  Who doesn't love elastic anyways?

Like this:

You basically sew several straight lines, normally somewhere between 8 and 12 with normal thread on top and the elastic thread in your bobbin.  The fabric will just continue to gather and gather the more lines you sew.  This is called shirring.  Finally, you hit the shirring with the steam from your iron and it just shrinks up like magic.  

Great tutorial on shirring here.

How sweet is this little skirt?  It took me a while, being my first time shirring and all, but I think it turned out alright. This one's a gift, but now that I've got the technique down you'll probably see miss Aubrey wearing nothing but stretchy, elastic, shirred garments.  

I love the ruffle!

Great tutorial on sewing and attaching ruffles here.  I tried attaching a ruffle NOT using these instructions and it was a total pain in the neck.  Then I used these instructions and it was easy breezy!

Good luck!

DIY Curtain Panels

If you're a Pinterest person you've likely seen a million posts about things you can do with Painter's Drop Cloth.  

Source: Lowes

"What's the big deal with drop cloth anyways?"  Well I'll tell you what the big deal is-- it cost about $9 per drop cloth at your local home improvement store, the fabric is appx 9ft x 6 ft and it's a blank, neutral canvas for whatever you want to create!

Drop Cloth Curtains:
The problem- our ceilings and windows are both pretty tall and regular 84-inch curtains just wouldn't work. I either needed to make a trip to Dallas for Ikea curtains or make my own.  So I jumped on the bandwagon and used Drop Cloth to create drapes for our living room! Excuse the photos- as I've said before, photography is not my forte. 

I was able to make 6 curtain panels for a total of about $18. I simply needed the panels to frame the window and did not want to actually pull the drapes closed.   So I purchased 3 drop cloths and cut each in half (from top to bottom) for a total of 6 panels.  I hemmed the raw edges from where I cut down the middle and also hemmed the bottoms of the curtains to the length I needed.  *NOTE- after hemming all the curtains length-wise I got really lazy and used the iron-on hemming tape to hem the bottoms of the curtains. I used curtain rings to hang them- but you could also sew a pocket at the top for the curtain rod or even purchase and install grommets.  Just depends on what look you're going for.  I myself was going for quick and easy!

A few tips:
1. You need to launder the drop cloth 1-2 times before working with it.  Otherwise it will be really stiff and a little stinky.  Once laundered it looks like beautiful linen, but way less wrinkly.
2. Drop cloth packaged to look totally the same may be a little bit different.  Just compare what's inside the packaging to make sure the fabric is the same.
3. One of my drop cloth panels had a weird seam in the middle of it. I honestly didn't notice until I had already cut it.  Had I noticed earlier, I would have tried to exchange it.  So- inspect your drop cloth before cutting!
4. If you're cutting the drop cloths down the middle, just fold the drop cloth in half and cut.  It doesn't have to be perfect.  I'm somewhat of an idiot and the thought of folding down the middle and cutting didn't even occur to me.  I sat on the floor with my tape measure and a level, like a fool.

I've been really pleased with how they turned out.  They were easy and inexpensive!

You could trim your curtains with colored fabric or ribbon or even add a ruffle detail to the top, bottom, wherever. Katie at Creative Outlets of a Thrifty Minded Momma stenciled her curtains.  How cute is this?

Source: Creative Outlets of a Thrifty Minded Momma

Some other things you can do with painter's drop cloth.

Drop Cloth Pillows:

Source: A bowl full of lemons. 

Drop Cloth Towels (what a great gift!!):

Source: The Junk Nest

Drop Cloth Upholstery:

Source:  Inspired by you

 Happy crafting friends!

18 Month Check-Up

Just a short little post about Aubrey's 18 month checkup and some other stuff:

Luckily she’s over her ear infection and is back to healthy and normal.  She’s between the 25^th and 50^th percentile and height and right at 50^th percentile in weight. She weighs about 25 pounds and is starting to slim up a bit-- losing some of that baby chub and getting a little bit more tall and lean. (insert frowny face- baby chub is the best)  

The doctor seemed to be pleased with Aubrey’s verbal skills.  She told him things like, “Hey. Bye.  Thank You.”  J  She pointed at things in the examination room, something I’ve never seen her do before.  It was so sweet to see her point with her little pointer finger!

Lately she’s started saying “Bye…. See.”   I’ve determined that she’s saying “Bye… See ya.”  I have noticed that this is something that Weston and I say a lot when we say goodbye to her.  We didn’t teach her to say that, but she’s picked up on it (the first of many things she’ll pick up on I’m sure).  She's also gotten really good at saying "Uh-Oh."  She says it super loud so as to be sure everyone has heard that there was an Uh-Oh. 

The other night we taught her to whisper.  She thinks it’s real fun to whisper things.  She’s been giving lots of hugs and kisses as well, which just makes my  heart melt!  In the mornings she likes to sit at her little table and snack on some cheerios and drink her milk while we get breakfast ready.  She also has begun to let us read entire books to her.  Weston reads Olivia to her almost every night that he puts her to bed.  She actually lets us read the entire book without trying to turn the pages and close it.

In other news:

1. Gran comes to visit on Sunday!

2. Even though Weston and I spend a good bit of time talking about "parent-things" like diapers and spaghetti and humming the theme songs to Thomas the Train and Super Why... we try not to be totally lame and boring.  Occasionally we get a baby-sitter and do "cool stuff".  Like last night-we hit up a concert, which is one of our favorite things to do.

Welcoming The Newlyweds

Not too long ago, I came across this super cute Newlywed Front Door Surprise.  I was inspired- and as luck would have it, I knew some dear newlywed's of my own that I could surprise with this fun little welcome home gift!

So a few of us put a little something together for the Newlyweds to greet them as they returned to their home to start a new chapter of life together.  I hope it brought a smile to their faces!

To my friends, Susanna and Brian: wishing you guys a lifetime of happiness and fun surprises!

Flower Vase: Empty pickle jar from my fridge.  I soaked the labels off and covered it with a burlap fabric scrap.  You can also mod-podge the jars to give them an antiqued look.  Cool tutorial on how to do this here.
Flowers: Hydrangeas from our front yard
Funny looking bow:  Crepe Paper I had laying around the house :)

Fishing, Crafting and a Mommy-Daughter Date

It was another great weekend at the Brown House.  Weston was gone for a good bit of the weekend fly-fishing with some guys from the church and Aubrey and I spent some serious quality time together.

Here's what we did:

Aubrey read some books

We loved on Chloe and said "Good Dog."

We did some crafting

This was a gold 11x17 picture frame I picked up at an estate sale.  I spray painted it white, distressed it a little, and covered the back with stenciled burlap. I thought it was a fun little accent for the guest bedroom (which needs some serious sprucing up.) 

Played in Aubrey's new kiddie pool in the back yard 

Not pictured.  But notice the rosy, sun-kissed cheeks below!

Went on a date to Chick-fil-A.  

Fished up some sewing projects

4th of July Dress for cousin Brooklyn

And finally Dad came home!!  Aubrey was beyond excited- she wouldn't let go of him.