More fun with fabric

While I sit around and nurse this boy I plot, scheme, and redecorate. My creative juices are flowing again and I am itching to fluff it up around here. Which means I might make some new pillows. Haha! With it being almost time for fall I like to change things up a bit. I have been eyeballing one of these fabrics for some time and unfortunately, it is a very bad photo. I look at my sample and try to talk myself down from the ledge. It is kind of expensive for me, so I will only use it on the front of the pillows and use a solid linen on the back. Hopefully, a yard will suffice. Its the turquoise velvet by Robert Allen in the top left corner. It would coordinate just fine with my rug and the other colors in my den. The paisley is just fun and it kind of reminds me of some Pottery Barn pillows I have admired. The turquoise ikat is just killer and I would like to have cafe curtains for my kitchen window out of it. It also comes in kind of a rusty orange which I also really like. The last swatch is a super zig zag pattern by Premier Prints, I would like to make a lumbar pillow for the couch out of it. I may have to go by my favorite place in the world, Richtex Fabrics tomorrow since it is my birthday and get a few sample to peruse.

I really need to finish my bedroom, but I just can't seem to pull it together in there. I do like a collected look, but nothing matches in there except the pillow shams to the quilt. I got off to a good start but I despise the lack of symmetry in there. I have been wanting two matching bedside tables for a long time, but I have yet to find anything I really like that I can afford. Goodwill is fresh out.
Anyway, I have way too much extra junk in there right now that isn't going anywhere for the time being. The baby cradle and our old recliner. The recliner is disgusting but it was the only thing I could comfortably try to sleep in the last little while of my pregnancy. I did not realize how junky it looked until I took one of my friends around to see the house and we went in there. It looks like the area where you pull up to and dump your stuff off at Goodwill. Brutal.
Another thing is... nobody really goes in there except me and Andy so I try to concentrate on the places people see the most. Also, the places I try to keep the cleanest. Praise the Lord the kids bedrooms are upstairs.
After I work on my pillows, my next goal is to fancy up the mudroom. I would like to encourage the punks to put their stuff up every once in awhile. I was thinking since they love yellow so much, maybe they would be more likely to get excited about work if it was fun to look at. I already have 5 built in lockers and a bench, all I need is some of these fabrics...

Baby Project complete

Well... my latest project is complete. We had baby Drew two weeks ago today, August 28, 2010. He weighed 9 pounds and 12 oz. There has been some controversy over his height though, he first measured a lenghthy 22 1/4 inches. But since I have taken him to the doctor twice he has shrunk...Is this a common phenomenon? I don't think the other boys did this. Anyway, needless to say I am really relieved for that one to be out. I feel like a million bucks. I don't look like a million but I certainly feel better. He is a sweet, sweet baby, so far. He is good nurser, he poops constantly, he has already surpassed his birth weight, he's now 10 lbs 4 oz. I am in love with him. His brothers are too. They are constantly asking me a million questions, mainly can I touch him. No! Well... are your hands clean? They seem to perpetually have runny noses and dirty hands and faces. They also smell like like goats. I am trying to remember they are my children too. Most people are overly concerned with other people's germy kids, not me. I can't get past my own. They are sooo precious about their tiny brother though. They are very proud of him, they all want him to look like them. He looks the most like his Daddy. He has enough hair to see the tiny little cowlick, just like his Daddy and his big brother, Sam. He is kind of chubby so he reminds me of Johnny. I have yet to see much of Jack in him. I don't seem to make cookie cutter children. Although, every time we are in a store someone says those have to be Andy Malone's children. Certainly, John is a carbon copy but Sam and Jack look alike. They are all different but similiar, I suppose.
Something about birthing a baby makes me want to buy stuff. I guess I am going to have to get a Christmas list going...
1. Blabla Mobile
2. New sling-I ordered one from Seven slings after recieving an email saying I qualified for a free one. I had to pay 11.95 shipping and handling. Ridiculous. It came in. Chintzy. I had such high hopes. So now I am back to the denim NOJO I have had for 9 years. It is not a cool pattern, but it has been the most user friendly one I have had. And yes, even though we are tv-less I have heard about the recalls. I find it difficult to believe that you don't notice your baby suffocating. Trying not be judgemental. I do wear mine really high up and I don't cover their faces.
3. Anything Kissy Kissy. I had a few pieces of layette from Jack but big boy can't get them over his head. He seems to carry the most of his weight in his face, very chubby in the cheeks.
Basically, everywhere I go I think he needs something.

My sense of smell is still in pregnancy over drive, hence the goat smell from my kids. I cannot get over the smell of the Target brand of baby detergent. Now that I have associated it with my boy, it could not be more delish. Same for the original Johnson's baby lotion. My favorite pregnancy smell was lemon scented Pine-Sol and bleach. Not mixed, of course. Just good old fashioned clean.
So far, other than the aforementioned products I have learned of a few new can't live without after baby goodies. namely the belly bandit. My good friend Jennifer bought one and graciously allowed me to borrow it. She gets back in to pre-baby shape sickenenly fast. It has truly helped. My belly was somewhere around 42 inches, straight out in front. It has been two short weeks but it has gone down considerably. I haven't actually measured it. I only mentioned the measurement to let you know how desperately it was needed. It is a small and I started wearing it when I left the hospital. I had to really struggle to get it closed the first day, every new day has been a little easier. I could switch to a smaller size now, but my budget has been cut. They recommend wearing it constantly and sleeping in it, but I have taken it off to sleep. I am hoping it will continue to support my saggy skin even after my uterus shrinks back to its normal size. I feel like my belly actually does look better at this point than it did with my third. I give it a thumbs up. I also have a couple of new nursing tanks from Motherhood. They are fabulous, the opening goes up, no clips or anything. It is excellent for sleeping in. I have had to wear it all the time, since I haven't "adjusted" to my new bras yet. Another life saver these gel pads from The First Years
Now, if I could find something to make the giant man hands go away, I'd be in bidness.