Post 194: Happy Holidays!

Well this year has been quite eventful! I had the joyus arrival of my beautiful baby boy, Lucas and the terrible heart wrenching news of my nephews leukemia, only to be brought up again by the outpouring of support around the entire WORLD! I can say, comming out of 2010, I have changed for the better and I will never be the same. I started as Mandi, and came out a Mommy. I opened up and I have spoke with people I never thought I would be speaking too and have been touched by stories that I had previously never opened my eyes to. I have no idea what is in store for the years ahead but I know after 2010 I will be spending a little less time on myself and a little more time on others. I am thankful for this and grateful that I will be little less ignorant for this next trip around the sun.
Happy Holidays!

Post 193: My life belongs to MONSTERS!

I can say that this last month has been completely OVERWHELMING! The word overwhelming doesn't even begin to paint the picture...

As I had mentioned last month, with Regretsy's help, we started a fundraiser for my nephew and his family.

(Aidan and Little Brother Amry)

My nephew, Aidan, was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia September 13th. You can read about it here. Since the fundraiser kicked off October 19th, we have raised over $50,000. How you might ask?? By selling his adorable monster drawings on Etsy. I have no idea what happend but the stars aligned and the world fell in love with Aidan and NOW I have a garage full of thousands of picture mailers, photo paper, printer ink, and lables. We are nearing the sale of 5,000 drawings in a little less than a month. THAT IS NUTS!

His art has gone to Austrailia, UK, Russia...just about anywhere you could think of and it completely blows my mind and still seems completely unreal. It doesent make Aidan well again but it makes us feel like we all have the world in our corner. And that, my friends, is an amazing and uplifting feeling.

So that explains the lack of crafting and blogging these days. :)

Post 192: Procrastinator...

Hello, my name is Mandi and I am a habitual procrastinator. sigh.

SO way back on July 10th some beautiful women threw the most fabulous baby shower at a tea room for me and Lucas. It was adorable and it could not have been more perfect. I suck for not getting these out sooner. I just got around to mailing their thank yous out today. These things have been sitting on my desk for over two months now!

I could have sent out the cards right away but I really wanted to send something more. And being pregnant at the time I had to keep it quick and easy...but I still managed to fail at getting them out at a decent time! Dangit!

Anyway, I guess now is better than never. I hope I do not seem ungrateful :(

If a friend was this terribly slow at getting her thank you to you what would you think of it??

Post 191: Aidan's Monsters!

We have opened up a new Etsy shop, Aidan's Monsters, to sell some prints of Aidan's artwork! 100% of the sales goes directly to help pay for Aidan's Leukemia treatments.

(Scary Guy by Aidan 8x10 - $12.00)

(Red Monster by Aidan 8x10 - $12.00)

Psst...You can even find this one on a tote here. PERFECT for a Halloween treat bag :)

If you do not know already Aidan is my 5 year old nephew who was diagnosed with leukemia one month ago. You can read more about his story at AidforAidan.wordpress.com

All of your thoughts and prayers are very appreciated.

Post 190: Pink Elephant!

Hey, its Friday! Annd to make my Friday even better I just received this beautiful ring in the mail! I won it from a fantastic give away over at Wichita Handmade! The ring is made by the one and only Pink Elephant Embellishments.

I must say the ring is even more adorable in person and very sturdy (and when you are me that is VERY important). The cuteness does not stop here! Swing by Pink Elephant Embellishments and check out some of her other cute jewelery!

Oh, and a cute baby update for good measure!

Lucas is now 2 months old and weighing it at 13 lbs 12 oz. He is a big ol boy and getting bigger every day. One of these days I will learn to balance Red Planet and a baby but it does not look like I will be opening the shop any time soon.

Post 189: Heartbreaking News

Earlier this month my family and I recieved some terrible, heartbreaking news. We were told that my 5 year old nephew, Aidan, has Leukemia. You may remember me mentioning him here a while back. Aidan will be facing two to three years of chemo. The doctors say it is 97% cureable which is great, we are just heartbroken at what Aidan will have to go through to get better.

Along with dealing with this terrible news my brother and his wife also had a baby this weekend and Wylie, my brother, is out of work for a month. Times are definitely tough for them. Instead of crafting I have been filling my time with ways to help out Aidan and his family. You can learn more about it at AidforAidan.wordpress.com

Post 188: Remember me?

So it has been brought it to my attention that I have not posted in a whole month! I cannot believe it has been so long. As you all can imagine I am adjusting to Mommyhood and it is a hectic, sleepless, exhausting time but I would not change it for the world! I live my days covered in baby spit up and up to my knees in dirty diapers and anything to do with crafting or the like is so far on the back burner I have no idea when I will get back to it. One hobby I have picked up is taking pictures of my beautiful baby Lucas. I am absolutely no professional and neither is my camera (hint hint, Husband!) but you can see our Project 365 here.

Post 187: Welcome Home Lucas!!

Lucas William was born August 1st at 10:16 am and weighed in at 8lbs and 15 oz!

My water broke at a chinese buffet of all places...embarassing huh? After 20 hours with no progress, including 10 hours of pitocin Luke arrived via c-section. He is the sweetest baby and my heart is so full of love. I am on cloud nine.

Post 186: Neglected.

Oh dear blog I realize I have neglected you. I hope you understand it will only get worse these next couple of months...

Today is my 26th birthday (woo hoo) and today is also the day the MIL gets in town to help me and the husband adjust to our new up coming lives as parents! Baby Lucas is not here yet but I have a feeling it is any day now. At my last doctor visit I was told he was measuring nearly 9 lbs with two more weeks of growing to go!! Ah! Sooo, we have to make the decision for c-section, induction, or waiting it out. I am just hoping he decides to make his own appearance in the next few days. *finger crossed*

(Lucas William @ 31 weeks)

I have managed to make some progress on the nursery and hope to share that with you all when I am not too lazy to take some decent pictures. But for now here is little sneak peak of what a took a couple of weeks ago...

My 'quilt' that turned out to be a blanket due to lack of time and energy to do much else to it...

Well, enough for now! Hope you all have a fantastic week :)

Post 185: Hot Air Balloons!

This weekend the husband and I accompanied some friends to watch hot air balloons! The balloons were so big and beautiful!At night they were so beautiful! We got to see a bunch of them glow and it was quite a sight.
I only wish I were smart enough to charge the camera before we went! Maybe next time.

Post 184: Last Minute Projects

I finally finished Luke's crib 'quilt'...It was supposed to be a quilt at least, but I got lazy and it ended up being a patch blanket. It is cute none the less (if you ask me). :D

I'll post nursery pictures next week so stay tuned!

Sooo, nearly every woman I know is expecting a baby in the next month or two so I have been sewing my tail off trying to finish up shower gifts before baby Luke gets here! It has actually been quite fun to work on some quick easy projects. I like seeing the results so soon! It is also a fantastic way to use up all the bits and pieces of fabric I have gathering dust.

Lil' Taggies:

(I was going to post more pictures but they are all blurry!) My mind and photography skills went out the door once pregnancy hit. ah!

I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!!

Post 183: Folk Facebook Giveaway!

Check out this giveaway!!

Is that not the most adorable little pouch ever?? You MUST enter by going to Folk's Facebook page, becoming a fan, and simply leave a comment on the giveaway image. Contest ends July 24th. Easy peasy right?? Don't forget to mention Mandi sent you!

Post 182: Baby Belly and Some Babbling

This month sure has been a busy one! I have been meaning to keep up on posts but have not found the time. Hopefully I can start to make up for it this week.

So a few random babbles...

The husband and I managed to drag ourselves out in the heat and humidity to watch Fourth of July fireworks. I didn't think anything of it and just brought along a picnic blanket. Bad idea. I forget how hard it is to sit on the ground let alone get up with all this extra baby on me! Speaking of baby, at my last appointment (according to the ultrasound) Luke is measuring 39 weeks, 7lbs and 14oz (with 4 more weeks to go)!! "He's a biggun" as my dad would say.

36weeks 3 days

On Saturday some of my fantastic girlfriends threw me and Luke a beautiful baby shower at the most ADORABLE tea room (I wish I would have remembered my camera). The food was DELICIOUS and I have been craving it ever since, but my husband refuses to accompany me to some place so girly. Sigh.

Friday the husband won tickets to Vince Neil (ridiculous). I passed and went to the movies to see Despicable Me (Totally adorable movie by the way). It was my first 3D movie so I felt all giggly and excited about it. On the way home I hit a pot hole...maybe a crater and bent two rims on my car. That was an expensive mistake!

I also had a little summer book exchange with my BFF Leanne of Folk.

We sent each other 3 books from our stash. The ones I received are:

1. The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

2. Pavilion of Women by Pearl Buck

3. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Annnd, along with the books, to accompany all of the ridiculous Twilight hoopla, she sent me these lovely buttons.

Is that not hilarious! I'm all about Team Luke and have buttons for my hospital posse to sport. That is, as long as they are not too embarrassed, hehe.

Post 181: Happy 4th of July Weekend!!

Happy 4th of July to all my fellow American bloggers! I hope you all have a lovely weekend full of festivities. This will be my first Independence Day celebrated away from family. I have decided I am too pregnant for the 8 hour drive. Sooo I will be celebrating by painting my master bedroom and straightening the house for the arrival of Luke and the in-laws.

180: Good Morning

Good morning breakfast, I love you.

Good morning Gus and stupid looking teeth, I love you.

Good morning flower, I love you.

Good morning most perfect looking spider web I have ever seen, I love you.

Good morning sunshine, I love you.

Good morning Lucas, I LOVE YOU!

Post 179: Fancy Fun DIY Project

I was browsing through some blogs this morning and stumbled across this fun little project at Ticklish From A Distance. Now, if I can ever get through my never ending to do list I would love to get started on this and see how it goes...I am sure some of you ladies have some Mardi Gras beads you could make some good use of ;p

I think it looks so cute outdoors. Perfect for a flower garden.

You can find the tutorial here.

Post 178: Bedroom Inspiration

Sooo, this week I am hoping to tackle the master bedroom. I have been putting it off for way too long. I have posted a few lovely pictures of rooms I looove.

How awesome is this beautiful yellow bed?

I know I posted this in the previous entry but it is too fantastic to not include again.

More grey...
I love the modern twist to this room...I am really excited to get started I am hoping I can follow through with it without getting too exhausted. If you have some pictures of fantastic grey and yellow rooms be sure to share them with me!

(all images found on flicker)

<3

mandi

Post 177: Happy Weekend

This baby thing has me totally exhausted. I plan on spending my weekend getting lost in books and enjoying obnoxious amounts of sleep.

(image from flickr)

The house is coming along at a decent pace considering how out of it I have been. My next room to tackle is the master bedroom. I love the room above with its pretty yellow and grey color scheme, I hope to do something similar before baby arrives. That gives me 6 weeks, if I can keep myself awake long enough to accomplish anything!

Post 176: Happy Fathers Day!

So as a tribute to my Dad on Father's Day I thought I would share a photo circa 1992.

Hehe!

I wish this video were of better quality so you could see the deer-in-the-headlights look on his face when he found out he was going to be a Grandpa! By the way, if you have not guessed, all the little blonde kids are my little siblings :)

Post 175: Adorable Giveaway on Facebook!!

The awesome and incomparable Wichita Handmade is hosting a fabulous giveaway for the next two weeks!! It begins today and a winner will be drawn on Saturday, June 19th. The prize is a lovely, summer-inspired lemonade, linen, and lace wristlet created by Folk. It really is a little cutie!

All you need to do to enter is head on over to Wichita Handmade's facebook fan page, become a fan (or "like," as they're calling it these days), and leave a comment on the giveaway status!

I am providing a direct link to the status right HERE.

Post 174: A Peek at Lucas!

Today I got to take a little peek in at my lovely baby Lucas! Im 31 weeks along but he is measuring a whopping 34 1/2 weeks! Eeek!

He has my nose! Ah! I am so excited and terribly nervous about his arrival!

Post 173: I Daydream Of Sewing In An Organized Space...

Oh how I wish I had the motivation to organize and clean the sewing room. It has become a catch all for unpacked boxes, paint buckets, and all of the clothes i can no longer squeeze my pregnant body into.

(I love this pic! Found on flickr)

I have managed to squeeze myself in there when I am feeling brave and sew up some fitted crib sheets and start working on Luke's crib 'quilt'. I use the term quilt loosely because it may just become a patch work blanket since quilting sounds like a daunting task...I will post pictures of my works in progress very soon. I promise. Maybe.

Post 172: Oh My Peonies

My lovely flowers!
Peonies are my FAVORITE and they make my heart happy! The owners did a fantastic job with flowers around here. Every two weeks I get a new kind of flower blooming :D
Too bad they were not able to keep up with the vegetable garden...It is my project for next year!

Post 171: Nursery!

Baby Luke's room is coming along! Here was my sloppy 'design board' of what is going on thus far:

We put in hardwood floors and painted the walls...I love the little chandelier that came with the house, but I am not sure I will being keeping it in a boys room... And my favorite part...the fabric! Yum!

We have made it a bit further than the picture shows but I have been busy sewing up Luke's bedding and have had no time for pictures! Over the weekend the husband and I assembled the crib and put the quarter round around the room. I am in love with it!!

Things are settling down a little around here and I hope to get back to my sewin' blogging self for a little while at least!