Before vs. After...

Phew!! I've got some of my projects done and many more to go... So heres what I have so far! 

I bought this mirror back when I was single... about 3 years ago at DI in Provo- cost me $20. 

Went to Hobby Lobby (my new hangout) and got wood decals to jazz this plain gal up! $1.50.

Wood glued them on and duck taped them to the mirror so they wouldn't move while drying. 

Stained the decals so they matched the mirror, that way they'd have the same color after I distressed it. 

After that I rubbed a candle all over the mirror in random spots to make it look antiqued once i sanded it. 

Found the perfect turquoise material for the nursery and I wanted it to match. Took a swatch into Jones Paint and Glass and they mixed up a pint of paint. $11

After it dried, went through and rubbed all the wax off the wood and stained it to make it look like this... I'm so pleased the way it turned out! Can't wait to put it in the nursery. I'll always have an extra can of this turquoise paint. BEST PURCHASE!!    

Over all cost:

Mirror- $20 (DI)

Decals- $1.50 (Hobby Lobby)

Paint- $11

Stain- $5 

=$37.50  

Long story... went into Plato's Closet to find some shirts, ran into this one and didn't have time to try it on so I bought it thinking I'd just return it if it looked lame. And LAME it looked! It was horrifying on. Their return policy is 7 days, I'm very rarely in Orem so on the last day I decided to run some errands and take it back. I pulled into the parking lot and sure enough they had just closed. So there I was, stuck with a shirt that I could care less about. Granted it only cost $5 but still, what a waste. But not for long...

  

My friend Shantell gave me this lamp she was getting rid of. Too bad I forgot to take a before picture. it was bright pink and had a polka dot lamp shade. So I got yellow paint $3 and sprayed it down. Took the lamp shade off, bought a new rim at DI for $1. The Shirt happened to fit perfectly around the rim so I cut and glued. 

Threw some fabric together and made a flower then took some extra ribbon i had laying around.  

Cost:

Lamp- free

Paint- $3

Rim- $1 (DI)

Shirt- $5 (Plato's Closet)

= $9

Remember that nasty chandelier? Well here is the final resting spot. 

Searched high and low for an upholstered rocking chair. Found one I loved by 'Little Castle' - $650. I was not about to spend that! So to KSL I went... found this chair for $20! I jumped on it, I loved how it was so different, the wood arms had me at first sight! 

The color of the chair was not my favorite.  

Put Kills on the arm rest's so the paint would stick. Then sprayed it white. 

On one of my Hobby lobby trips I found some fabric I fell in love with... brought it home and it was the exact same green color!!!  I about died cus I didn't like the green at first. 

Stapled the fabric onto the chair.  Sewed the dust ruffle. 

My mom insisted that we do piping. 

Heres the Chair!! Haha, I refused to make the pillow- I've made too many projects!! I needed some sanity. 

Cost:

paint- $5

Fabric- $50 (Hobby Lobby)

Pillow- $25 (Target)

So here are my projects up until now. I'm very close to having the crib and bedding done, the dresser, drapes and many more. Only 3 more weeks, geez I'm cutting this close!!! 

I also need to thank my mom for all of the countless hours she's spent with me looking at paint, fabric, sewing and laughing. I honestly wouldn't have any of these things done if it weren't for her and all of her knowledge. She's taught me everything I know. She's my best friend, I'm truly blessed to have her!! I love you Mama-lou 

Anna's Journal

When I first got the news that we were prego I had some unrealistic ideas... i was going to keep a really great journal all about our 'Poppy'. It started out great, every doctor appointment i was jotting down info and keeping record of everything. Then all the sudden life took a hold of me and now here i am- 34 weeks along and I've hardly written anything!

I want to write down somethings that we may forget down the road...

February 9th (26 weeks)

Too much info? If so, stop reading :)

I started bleeding Thursday morning, I instantly began bawling. It was such a strange feeling that although I had never met our little Anna I couldn't bare the thought of loosing her! Mike called Labor and Delivery, I was so hysterical I couldn't get a word out. They said that I should be fine. It really offended me that they weren't as worried as I thought they should be.

Throughout the day I just stressed and worried, I couldn't focus at work. So I called my Dr. and he said to get to the hospital ASAP. Mike was already up in Salt Lake at the U so I called him and said i was on my way. My emotions were so out of whack, driving to SLC gave me some time to try and calm down.

Going into Labor and Delivery at 26 weeks was not on my list of things to do. They hooked me up and checked everything, all the while Mike and I just sat there waiting... Ah I hate the waiting! The Dr. came in and said that I was contracting- immediately my thoughts rushed to my mom who delivered my brother at 26 weeks, he was a pound and a half, not to mention all of his health issues since. The Dr. brought me in a big jug of water, she said that I was extremely dehydrated and that I had to drink the whole thing in the next 20 min. You wouldn't believe how fast I started drinking- how selfish of me to have allowed myself to get to this point! After nearly drowning myself the Dr. came in again and said that I was still contracting and that I needed to get an IV- honestly anything I could do to help Anna, I was up for.

Finally the Dr. said that the contractions were starting to slow down and that I was getting hydrated. Gosh after the big jug of water and the whole bag of fluids I was ready to go home and pee my brains out!

Phew what a relief!! No more Diet Coke for me, pure H20!

March 22 (32 weeks)

Went in for my Dr. appointment and everything was going just swell until he measured my tummy... at my last appointment he'd measured me and I was 2 weeks behind. So this time he said that he wants me to measure at least 30 cm. He gets his measuring tape out- measures me and makes this "huh." sound- not a good thing to hear... he said that I was measuring 28 weeks at 32! My Dr. wasn't feeling very good about it and that made me start to worry. When the Dr. shows concern thats when you really know something isn't right. He ordered an ultra sound for the following day. I called my clients and canceled their appointments. What a scare! I couldn't think of anything else the rest of the day, that night and into the next morning.

FINALLY it was time for my ultra sound (time went by so sllloooowww)! The Tech measured her little head, tummy, heart, etc.. Wow she looked so big on the screen! I hadn't seen her since 20 weeks! It's amazing how they grow so fast. After all the measuring the Tech said that she was growing fine and that she's actually measuring 33 weeks- a week ahead! That dang little turkey, she had us so scared!! Phew another big relief! Other than the fact that her head is in the 75th percentile and her tummy is in the 30th. Haha we joke that she's going to come out looking like an orange on a toothpick!

Geezo this lil gal sure knows how to throw her mommy and daddy into pandaemonium! But we still love our lil Poppy.

This pic is her at the ultra sound. Some may wonder what that is. Well her mouth is wide open with the biggest looking lips I've ever seen! Thats her nose to the right with her little nostril holes showing. Ah she looks so real. Duh I know she's real but its still hard to believe that that is inside me!!

This is her sweet profile.. look at the dome!We love you Anna Jane... life wouldn't be complete without our little turkey. We'll be seeing you in 43 days. The count down is on!

Prego pics

Mike and I have been exploring new places we've never been to before. A couple of weeks ago we headed off to the Grand Canyon- Had a blast! We love our little road trips, we have the best conversations! It's tradition that we stop by the St. George DI and pick up a scary children's chapter book. I drive cus there's no way I could read without getting sick! So Michael reads to me and he does all the voices- its so much fun! Needless to say we got home from our trip and all of our pictures got deleted! I was heart broken! We took the coolest pics! I can't think about it for too long or it gets me so upset!

Anyway we thought our next excursion would be a little closer... perhaps The Great Salt Lake...

We drove to Antelope Island, it was a beautiful day, overcast. We spotted our first Bison, that was amazing, they're just roaming around the island minding their own business.

The lake was so breathtaking!

In this picture you have to look at the clouds... Mike took this pic and he managed to catch an 'eye' above my head and to the left a little. And no, we didn't do photo shop! I love this pic!

Oh this is me at 31 weeks...

Ah I love this man, he's such a goof!! Thanks for being such a good sport lover.

PROJECT Chandelier

K can I just start with how busy I've been these past few months. I didn't think it'd be that hard to work 6 days a week and get a nursery ready... well it is! Especially since I'm obsessed with buying everything cheap, used and hideous! It's really a sickness that I have. So why spend an arm and a leg on something thats 'so so'... when I can basically pay a penny and paint it myself and deck it out with my own flare.

So here is the very 1st project that I've accomplished so far- I know what you're thinking- yes, I'm due in 10 weeks and I still have:

* Crib

* Dresser

* Reupholster Rocking chair

* Make Lamp

* Sew Bedding

* Sew Blessing Dress

This list stresses me out... so maybe I shouldn't dwell on it.

But I assure you, it'll be done by the time Anna graces us with her sweet self.

Maybe a day off or 2??

By the way, I love doing before and after pictures and placing the price I paid so everyone can see how fun and addicting this art is!!! So there are definitely more posts to come...

When I heard we were having a little girl I knew she HAD to have a chandelier in her room- duh! So while I was strolling through DI I came across this: what may look nasty and hideous to the naked eye. I was thrilled and threw it in my cart. Immediately I began thinking up all the fun things I could do to doll this piece of brass up.

Ha ha Mikes extremely used to me walking through the door with the ugliest pieces and he knows to keep his mouth shut. Through our marriage I've bought: 13 wedding dresses, a full size piano, our kitchen table, dressers, mirrors, picture frames, clothes, plates, etc. You name it, I've come home with it from DI. With a little TLC these items become jewels!

So here she is... bent, brass, broken... $5

I ripped out the electrical wiring (which wouldn't have worked anyway). Took the lights off and threw that big ball in the trash- it was bad news.
Spray painted this lovely lady white... you can start to see the transition she's going through.
Went to Hobby Lobby and found beautiful pearls and bling. I'm not super proud of the price that I paid... mind you I have a ton of the beads left over and this covered the spray paint, bling and candles... $45
Just a creative random touch
I went to town threading the diamonds and making little patterns, it was a blast. But it was so much better checking out the finishing product!
This still isn't the final picture... I have a beautiful cream piece of material that goes over the chain at the top- it finishes it off! But here she is!

P.s. I've looked into the cost of a intricate candelabra and it isn't pretty!

Full price $ 50

Hopefully I'll be posting the crib in the next week... It'll knock your socks off! Truly

Mike and I showed up at our appointment on December 15th in Salt Lake City.... so nervous. Well I guess I was the only one. The morning of I was stressing out about the pros and cons and the different future things we may have to worry about with each sex. Haha I was already worried about this child as a teenager. Mike assured me that we have time and not to over think it. I agreed but still had the butterflies.

The Tech asked us what we thought the sex was... For weeks we'd been pretty convinced that we had a little man on the way. WRONG- the tech wrote GIRL with an arrow. We were shocked but so excited! I automatically began to think about all the cute girl things that I could buy. Wow and there is a lot of it out there!

We'll be welcoming our Little Anna Jane Jensen soon!! Special fact about her name... My great grandma's name was Anna and I've always loved the name Jane so we decided Anna Jane. Then later we found out that one of Mikes Great Grandma's name was Jane! Very special, she's got a lot to live up to :)

THE UNVEILING- We got the family together, popped the DVD in that they made of the Ultra Sound. Oh don't worry it didn't work!! It was so lame! So we just gave them the pictures and had them figure it out. It turned out so good, I wouldn't have changed it. My mom was so shocked when she saw the word 'girl' she's been so used to always getting grandsons. Haha there was a lot of screaming and hugs. Ah I love my family, Anna's going to have the best Grandmas!
This is me at 20 weeks...
23 weeks...Then all the sudden she stretched out!! She's been kicking like crazy! Ah I'm so blessed to experience motherhood.

WON'T WORK FOR FOOD

I need some serious encouragement to start cooking. I've NEVER liked it and it's a possibility that it'll never tickle my fancy. This morning as I glanced in the fridge I couldn't help but laugh, do you not see this picture? We have more condiments than food!!

I'm a failure as a wife. I know. I've tried, but it never sticks. I work 6 days a week and the last thing I want to do is come home and cook. You may wonder how I'm still married. Well I am, Mikes fine with it. We just go out to eat!

Since being pregnant I hate meat! I can't look at it, let alone cook it. Especially chicken, I could do the occasional beef but other than that it's a no go.

So what do I do? Starve? It sure would be easier if we didn't have to eat- it'd save a lot of money... but not an option :(

Please help.

Recipes welcome.

The Test

So I found out about you on Sept. 6^th at around 9:30pm. Your daddy was at school when I figured it out. I was walking through DI in AF and it hit me “YOU’RE PREGNANT!” I kept telling myself not to get too excited. I quickly ran out and jumped in my car and sped to the Dollar Store. Everyone at the salon swears by the $ Store prego tests- So there I was, heart beating, pacing down each isle trying to act calm. I picked up some dish soap and a scrubber ( ha, not that that’s important or anything, just don’t want to leave anything out).

The ride took forever, not as long as the 3 minutes it took to wait for the results. I decided not to peek until the 3 minutes were up. So I did some more pacing. During the wait, Friends was playing in the back ground. Haha, it was the episode when Ross was wearing leather pants, he was on a date and was sweating. He goes to the bathroom and sprinkles water on his legs, then his pants wouldn’t go back on, they had shrunk!! Hah I was in and out of consciousness but still threw in a couple of laughs.

The time was up… I slowly walked down the hall (literally, I probably looked like an idiot). I peeked around the corner into the bathroom and saw 2 LINES!!! I couldn’t believe it, so I took another test and waited the 3 long minutes. Peered into the bathroom and sure enough 2 LINES!! At that point I began to doubt the Dollar Store product. I put my shoes on and ran out the door, walked into Kohler’s about 5 minutes later and picked up an expensive, more reliable test. Ran home and was able to pee again… sure enough 2 LINES!!! I started to cry, wow, me a mother!

Your Daddy called me to let me know that class was over. I fibbed and told him I’d started my period. He immediately was concerned about me, asking me how I was and that next month would be the month. I went along with it.

So before he got home I had to come up with a cute way to tell him he was going to be a father. About 3 weeks ago I was on a cooking kick (which lasted 2 days) and in that time I’d made some rolls in the oven. After the timer went off I turned the oven off and totally forgot to take the rolls out!!! So weeks later your dad mentioned it to me while we were laying in bed. I promised I’d clean them out the following day. Everytime it was mentioned I’d forget to do it! So this very night I remembered! I took all the rolls out except for 1 and I put the pregnancy test right next to it and left it in the oven.

Daddy “rolls” in, hugs me and says again that next month is our month. We walk into the kitchen cus dad was hungry.

So I said

“Mike did you take those rolls out of the oven?”

“No, I thought you were going to.”

“Will you please throw them out?”

He gave in, walked over to the oven, opened it and peered in. He just sat there looking in, and finally looked up at me:

“What does this mean?”

“WE’RE PREGNANT!!!”

Ah man I wish you could have seen his face, it was priceless. He smiled so big and hugged me and kissed me. Hah then he realized that I had lied to him about starting my period. Haha what a wonderful night that was! I sure wish I would have video taped it. What a special night and beginning of our new life!!

Ah I fell In love the moment I laid my eyes on you!

Mike and I call this special one "Poppy" ever since I saw on babybump.com that at 4 weeks he/she is the size of a poppy seed- it just stuck.

So this is our lil Poppy at 14 weeks. The Tech said that he was so chill and she literally jostled my body half to death to get him to budge. He kept on licking his hand (like a kitten). The tech couldn't figure out if IT was a boy or girl- so we could possibly be having a hermaphrodite kitten... Oh I'd love shem just the same ;) Oh I love those little knees.

Now this is him sucking his thumb-

K I'm obsessed! I can't wait to see this little gus... 25.5 weeks to go...

P.s. He was not happy after the ultra sound, he apparently kicked my guts right out- I had to puke in a bag in the car... not my best moment.

But I love you Poppy, I'd do anything for you.