Baby shower gift

On Sunday I was invited to a baby shower of a friend I hadn’t seen in a very long time. She had decided not to learn if the baby is a boy or a girl, so the gift I chose had to be somewhat neutral. I didn’t have time I procrastinated to long to go shopping for anything so I went through my stash to see what I had. I found some cord from a sleeping bag i made, some cozy fabric from a blanket I made Sofie when she was born, some felt, fleece and lots of prewashed flannel from the burp cloths I made for Sofie. I also found a shoe box and a jar.

With my stash stacked on my work table I realized I had no idea what to make of it. So I started looking through my Evernote box and some of my favorite blogs.

Owl teether by Rubber Punkin

At Rubber Punkin I found a really cute Owl teether.

Using the cord and cozy fabric for the front, knit fabric for the back, fleece and felt for the eyes, ribbons for wings and feet and wet wipes plastic bag for crinkly sound inside together with stuffing, I had a somewhat gender neutral little owl.

Template for Bib by Homemade by Jill.

At Homemade by Jill I found the perfect template for a bib.

The flannel front is from a sleeping bag I once made and the back is made of a baby towel we never used.

Burp cloth template by Homemade by Jill.

While I was browsing Homemade by Jill I also found this template for burp cloths. These are so much better than the squares and rectangles I made for myself when Sofie was born as these stay put on your shoulder without making to much bulk there.

Front and backing is flannel and there is a layer of cotton batting in between. The cloths are layered like a rag quilt and the edges are cut up and frayed just like them. So fast and easy to make.

At one of the MOPS meetings this year we made Brown Sugar and Baby oil Scrub and this was a big hit with most of the moms I know. I didn’t try mine as I gave it to Isabel’s teacher, but I decided to make this for the momma to be. All I did was cram as much brown sugar into the jar as I could then pour in baby oil and try to stir carefully for it to blend.

Then I took the shoebox and covered it in my trusty contact paper. I made card and tied it on with string. I didn’t get to see the mamma open this, but I really hope she liked it.

Grateful Sunday 19

Today is my birthday. I was born on a Tuesday back home in Norway after what was a high risk pregnancy. They were afraid that my mom would loose me, either a miscarriage or just have me too early. They were very wrong. I was still high risk as my mom neared the due date because I was breach and because they were afraid was getting too big for my mom to birth naturally they started her early in the morning on April 10th. By mid day my mom had had enough and cranked the drip up and by 6 PM I was born a perfectly healthy baby girl.

I was born in Bodø, Norway.

In my life there has been many people and things that I am grateful for

181. My mom, who raised me mostly by herself as my dad was away for work and who despite her many faults raised me well.

182. My dad, who always worked hard to make a good life for me and my mom, and who taught me to be strong.

183. My dads mother who taught me the importance of telling others you love them and how to love God.

184. My moms mom who taught me all about crafting and perseverance .

185. My dads dad who taught me all about being a friend and after his death became sort of my guide to finding Jesus in my life.

186. Being able to forgive those who hurt me for years by the love of Jesus.

187. My friends who showed me I was an important friend to them.

188. Having the resources that I needed to become an exchange student, which led to me meeting my husband.

189. Becoming a member of the youth group at my American church where they wrote down all the qualities that they appreciated about me and thereby boosting my self esteem.

190. Having so many friends in my life that really care about me and who teaches me so much about love and grace.

I have celebrated my birthday for two days now. Yesterday I treated my best friend to a day at a spa and my husband took care of the kids all day. Today my husband had to work, but me and the kids went to church, they had a babysitter while I went to a baby shower and my husband treated me with a huge bouquet of Tulips and took me and the kids out for dinner. I am so grateful for my husband, my kids and my life. 

Our week in pictures

Monday: Big girls day out with Cupcakes, Frappuchinos, Dinner and LEGO.

Tuesday: Sofie and I went to a Concert with MOPS featuring David Harsh. Isabel and dad went ice skating and then out for lunch.

Wednesday: We went out for breakfast and had Doughnuts. Yummy. Then we went to Pier 1 and tried the Papas an chairs there.

   

Friday we went to Olympia as we wanted to show Isabel the capitol of Washington. We got to see a demonstration where people got arrested. We took a walk down to the water to watch the water fowl. Isabel went running, that girl is going to become a world famous runner some day I’m sure. Sofie had so much fun walking and running too. Dad and Sofie had some bonding time. And I carried everything and took all the pictures but one.

Daybook and Coffee

FOR TODAY
Outside my window... The world is waking up, birds are chirping and the sun is starting to lighten up the sky. This is what I love with getting up at 5 in the morning.
I am thinking... How peaceful it is. Today will hopefully be a day of peace.
I am thankful for... The inspiration God is granting me for a artwork today.
From the learning rooms... Isabel is working on understanding what we read in Norwegian. She is understanding more and more, especially when she doesn’t think about it.
From the kitchen... I really should make apple muffins and a birthday cake.
I am wearing... My favorite blouse with my skinny jeans. My pink Rumba watch, my faith bracelet, my heart necklace and flower ear rings.
I am creating... A mixed medium picture for my bedroom using a quote from 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.
I am going... To the Spa today with my best friend. As a birthday gift to myself I am treating her because she deserves it.
I am reading... At least I wish I was reading, but on my ereader there is a few books that I am working on.
I am hoping... That I get a babysitter for the kids tomorrow so I can attend the babyshower of a friend.
I am hearing... My husband watching a soccer game on his pc and Sofie watching a children’s show on TV and whining behind me.
Around the house... There is so much that needs to be done.
One of my favorite things... Is being able to create out of what I have on hand.
A few plans for the rest of the week: Babyshower tomorrow, birthday celebration later, Bible study on Tuesday, riding my bike with Sofie and running again.
Here is picture for thought I am sharing… The love between a daughter and her dad. Enjoying the day and the moment together.

 

Linking up to

 

 

 

 

Spring Cleaning Optional Day

We are still on Spring Break and on Thursday we decided to go see the capitol of the State of Washington. The day turned out beautiful, the kids did great on the drive and we had a wonderful day exploring part of Olympia. Having lunch at the farmers market, seeing people protesting at the Governors office and taking a walk down to the Lake where we were bird watching. We didn’t get home until bedtime and we were exhausted.

I still wanted to do the days task of cleaning my refrigerator that Ask Anna had posted, but it was too late and I was too tired.

Friday morning I cleaned my refrigerator as soon as I got up. It needed it.

The shelves in the doors where crusty. They are so easy to clean as they have a blue liner that you can take out without removing the whole shelf, but I tend to forget and then I end up having to clean the whole shelf instead.

There were a few items that needed to be disposed of, but most of it was fine. I had an extra shelf that I had had to remove from the right side due to oversized bottles not fitting anywhere else. I made room for the shelf on the left side and it seems to work out just fine.

The door to the right had a lot of stuff that needed to go. Now it is easier to find the things I use the most.

  

The left side door really doesn’t have much in it, and didn’t need any rearranging. The freezer is not too long since I cleaned it and it is so full I can barely get the drawers out. I will see if it needs to be cleaned again next time I manage to empty it out. The coils and under the refrigerator gets cleaned at least twice a month here due to my furry friends. It is amazing how fast the little dust bunnies gather under there especially in the spring when both the dog and the cat is shedding.

Spring Cleaning Day 3

As you know I am spring cleaning with Anna from Ask Anna and several other bloggers. Today’s task was cleaning our vents.

Today we started out the day with Seattle’s best Doughnuts. You see mine on the plate behind Isabel’s head. It was sooooo good.

Then it was home to clean my vents. I have three of them, one for each bathroom.

 

In the powder room it was easy as the vent was on the wall. The cover came off easy and I got to vacuum in there and wash the cover. My husband commented on how quiet it ran afterwards.

In the master bedroom I couldn’t get the cover off and had to clean it as it was hanging there. I used a microfiber cloth and the dust and dirt came off easy enough.

In the kids bathroom I got the cover off, vacuumed a little in there, washed the cover off and put it back up.

To get to the vents in the bathrooms I had to climb up high. With my 5 foot 2 inches I don’t really get to see on top of things very often, but what I saw today really made me cringe.

       

 

 

  

The vanity lamps were so dusty on top and the light bulbs were brown with burned dust. I scrubbed them of with a microfiber cloth and now they are nice and shiny again.

In the master bathroom there is a window. I can not see on top of the latch normally and today I could see how nasty it actually was. I cleaned every nook and cranny here.

Then on top of the bathtub/shower ledge there were so much dust that it looked like a piece of fabric was covering it. Now it is nice and clean.   

I also got a picture of my bookshelf that I cleaned up yesterday (Tuesday) and I finally got to dust in the kids bedroom.