Finn's Wall Hangings

We are working away in preparation for Finn's arrival!  Our list is slowly getting smaller.  Since Finn is taking over Lilly's room we decided to have the kids do some sharing.  For the wall hangings, we took apart Lilly's initial wall hangings (Lilly Elizabeth) so we could still use the white boards we had weathered.  

 We cut three pieces of burlap into a squares.  

 We doubled stitched the back of the burlap to give the edges a nice finish.

 Mitch drilled holes into the corners of the board and punched holes into the corners of the burlap.

 

Next, we put all the pieces together.  We are using heavy washers and bolts to secure the burlap to the boards.  Think that's manly enough for Finn??

 Mitch used wire to attach the new letters for Finn's initials.  

Here they are all finished and ready for Finnegan Thomas Longtin's arrival!

The 24 Hour...or 4 Month Baby Quilt!

So I fell in love with this quilt idea several months before we were even pregnant.  So when we got pregnant and found out it was boy I got started on this "24 hour quilt."  I started it in April.  I just finished it yesterday, July 9.  Yeah... leave it to me to take a simple project and make it very difficult.  I kinda took pictures along the way.  I'm very happy with how it turned out!  

This part I could handle.  Cutting the gray and teal fabric to be the same size.  

I didn't take pictures (probably because I was too frustrated) of the most challenging part for me which was cutting and sewing the white "patches" on each side of the quilt.  The corners kept gathering.  I finally went to my amazing mom and had her help me fix it!  This is the point were I just wanted to hand it off to her and say please finish it but I continued forward...

Here's my little helper.  He isn't supposed to touch the fabric or the crib.  Parenting is going so well for us!

Next, I lined up the fabric and two layers of batting.  To keep them lined up while sewing I had to loosely hand stitch the layers together.  

 Next, we spent several evenings sewing back and forth across the quilt.  

Then I trimmed the edges off the sides of the quilt.  I cut and sewed the edging together and attached it the gray side of the quilt.  Lastly I hand stitched the other side of the edge to the teal side.  

After all this work I am very happy with it.  Hopefully Finn appreciates it someday soon!

Easter News

What better way to celebrate Easter than finding out we have a healthy baby growing.  

Look what the easter bunny brought us last night!  

We had an ultrasound Thursday and found out Finn is growing just they way he should be!  We couldn't be more grateful.  We also feel fortunate to be feeling him move around all the time already, which is such a nice reassurance.  We hope Easter finds you feeling just as blessed as we are!

Happy Easter!   

We're Pregnant!

Yep, you read that right, we are pregnant again!  We are very excited and grateful to have this opportunity again.  We are currently 14 weeks along.  We found out we were pregnant on new year's eve!  It was a great way to ring in 2013.  Baby is expected to arrive in early September.  We have already been blown away by the love, support, and prayers this little one is receiving.  We can see God answering our prayers and taking care of baby each and every day.  We continue to pray for healthy development and peace as we patiently wait for baby to be in our arms.  We will be watched closely by the specialists here in Des Moines.  We feel very fortunate to be under their care!  Yes, we will definitely be finding out gender as soon as possible!

9 week ultrasound- baby was already moving and kicking!

Baby belly at 12 weeks

My mom and I made cookies and brownies to announce at Mitch's and my work.

12.31.12- Very exciting news!

Indoor Herb Garden

We saw this idea on Pinterest and we quickly set out to try it for ourselves.  The whole process took about one month.

The first step was to get the herbs started.  We decided to start from seeds so we had to plan time for the germination period.  

We put rocks in the bottom of our jars for drainage.  

Next we added the dirt, planted the seeds according to the directions on the seed packets, and watered.  

While waiting for the seeds to sprout we started working on the rest of the garden look.

We wanted the herbs to be labeled.  I found these antique forks at a consignment shop for a dollar a piece.  

We flattened the forks with a hammer.  

Mitch used the metal dies (he purchased in order to make my Christmas gift) to stamp the letters on the handles of the forks.  

Meanwhile, within about ten days the seeds started to sprout.  We did keep a fluorescent lamp on them during the day.  This really seemed to help them grow.  

Next, we had to prepare the boards that would hold the herbs on the wall.  To stain the boards we made a steel wool and vinegar concoction.  We let the steel wool sit in the vinegar for several days to corrode and dissolve until it was the desired color.  We sprayed the boards with three coats of this stain.  Apparently, this steel wool-vinegar mixture super oxidizes wood when applied, essentially aging the wood as if it had been sitting outside for several years.  Cool, huh?

Mitch drilling holes into the concrete.  This is never easy!

The finished product!  It is right next to our stove so it will be easy to grab herbs when we are cooking.