Monthly Archives: January 2011

Nursery Progress: Fabric Wall Decor

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I have seen this great idea on lots of baby blogs to make a fabric collage out of embroidery hoops and fun fabrics. I’m not sure what it would be called but I have been calling it a “bubble collage”.

See? Adorable.

I decided to attempt the same thing in our nursery, and I loved the results even more than I thought I would!

First I picked out a few fun fabrics from Walmart that coordinated with “the” fabric that we made the curtains and crib skirt out of. I only had to buy a quarter of a yard of each so it was super cheap. I picked up a ton of various sized embroidery hoops from Michaels for 16 dollars and I was ready to craft.

First I put the fabrics into the hoops and pulled them tightly.

Then I cut around the edges so there is only about a half inch of fabric sticking out.

Then I hot glued the edges of the fabric down to the embroidery hoop.

I also laid out the hoops before I started so that I had the configuration in mind before I decided which patterns to put together.

TA-DA! The finished product! It was cheap, easy, and brings a lot of color and whimsy to the room.

Upgrade!

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Our house recently got a big new upgrade…a new couch! We have had our couch since 2006, and although it has served us well in 4 different houses, its had its share of issues. It has overstuffed cushions and a narrow bench, which makes it difficult to not have grammar school posture while on it, and although it is huge and bulky, it doesn’t seat that many adults comfortably. With our new(ish) entertainment center and living room configuration, it was also positioned funny in relation to the t.v. There’s was really only 1 place you could sit on it to watch t.v. comfortably…(which somehow Sol always ended up in). The most annoying problem with the old couch was how much cat hair it collected and how hard it was to get off. The texture of the fabric was a magnet for cat hair and there was no easy way to get it off…it involved a rubber glove massage technique and an hour of rigorous vacuuming to get even a little bit off.

We have been looking at new sofas on and off since September, and we had a very specific list of qualifications. We wanted:

-a micro fiber sectional

preferably chocolate-brown or some other shade of brown

-with chaise, on the right side

-small enough to fit on our window wall but large enough to fit more than a few people

-wide bench

-cushions instead of big pillows

-comfy!

-NOT an arm and a leg

-ottoman compatible

With this list of detailed list of specifications we had exhausted our efforts and pretty much abandoned our search when we went to our friend Jennifer’s house and saw her new couch from Costco. We were in LOVE! It was exactly what we were looking for AND only 750 dollars, with ottoman. It meets every one of our criteria AND was in our price range. We worked it into our budget and had it delivered just days later. We won’t have much expendable income for the entire month of February, but we decided it would be worth it if we had to be sitting at home being bored on our new couch! We also sold our old couch within 18 hours after our new couch was delivered, and made 200 dollars on it, bringing the grand total of our upgrade to only $550!

Old couch:

Sol getting the spot ready for the new couch:

Where the old couch lived for 18 hours:

And the glorious new couch!!

In Costco:

And in our living room! It fits like it was made for the room and we have been enjoying it SO much! The kitties love it too, they’ve barely left it.

 

Nursery Progress: handy-dad’s problem solving

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We inherited a beautiful crib from the McFarland’s, there was just one small problem. Not with the crib, but with our wonderful and helpful kitty roommates.

The crib has 2 drawers underneath, and behind the drawers there was a gap between the bottom crib railing and the drawer, large enough for cats to get through and climb into the drawers.

See?

They had already started to sneak into the drawers and this wasn’t a problem yet, but I could foresee them crawling in there to nest in her clean blankets or hiding in there until I close the door for her nap and then using the opportunity to meow loudly, snuggle, pounce…you get the idea. It would look something like this:

We brainstormed for a while how to block the gap without hindering the functionality of the drawers or permanently damaging or altering the crib, but we couldn’t think of a solution. My handy, creative, problem-solving dad came over and took one glance at it and knew what to do. He would build a box that would fit snuggly under the crib against the wall to block the back entrance to the drawers. A few days later, voila! Problem solved! Thanks handy-dad.

 

Fits perfectly and is invisible from afar!

 

Now the blankets can stay cat hair free and there won’t be any cat sneak attacks! (The blankets on the right were knitted for me when I was born, and the one on the left was made by Amanda!)

Cute baby face

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We had our 3D ultrasound on Friday and we got our first peek of our little girl’s cute baby face, and boy is she CUTE! It only makes me more anxious to see her little face in person and pinch those adorable little baby cheeks. She was being a little coy, she had her hands curled around her face almost the whole time we were watching her, but we did get a couple of sneak peaks. The things you see right under her face are her elbows, because her hands were down around her face. I can’t stop looking at her picture and I am so excited that in 9 more weeks (or less!) I will get to see that adorable face in person.

Week 30

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This week I have been feeling much more like myself. The swelling is down, my feet aren’t sore anymore and we are in full-on nesting phase! The name of the game this week has been “cross it off the list!”

Baby K has been busy in there too, rolling around, kicking, elbowing…generally abusing my insides! It’s getting to the point now where we can feel and distinguish body parts from the outside…her head, her butt, her elbow…it’s pretty crazy. Sol’s new favorite thing is that when I curl up next to him at night with my belly against his side, he can feel her pushing and kicking him!

Tomorrow we are going to get our 3D ultra sound! Pictures of our little lady’s face are coming soon.

the professional bridesmaid gets married

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Bianca and 3 of her brides!

 

Bianca has had a lot of practice at being the doting bridesmaid. In a year and a half she served as bridesmaid for FOUR of her BFFs and was awarded the title of professional bridesmaid. She IS the perfect bridesmaid: giddy, attentive, picture-taking, drink-pouring and she looks hot in any bridesmaid dress!

First for Lindsey Tennis:

Then for me:

Then for Amanda Smith:

And then for Leslie Blakeman!

Well now, her time has come, Bianca is going to be the BRIDE! And all 4 of us will be in tow as her doting bridesmaids. Her giddy, attentive, picture-taking, drink-pouring bridesmaids. I can’t wait! It’s going to be the wedding of the year.

It will also be very special for the Kammans because all 3 of us will be in the wedding: Sol is officiating, I am a bridesmaid and Baby K will be playing the role of “cute baby in a wagon” serving as the flower girl.

 

more baby love

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We haven’t even had either of the 2 showers being thrown for us yet, but Baby K has been getting lots special gifts from her admirers. She is going to be the most fashionable baby I know! The baby love makes me (and I’m sure her!) feel very special.

Aunt Amanda has been doing lots of spoiling…with these adorable pink baby crocs:

And then with these adorable headbands!

PLUS she sent the cutest note, this is totally going in her baby book!

This fairy doll is from Sue, who affectionately refers to Baby K as “Sunshine Daydream”, (which never ceases to make me smile). She is made from organic material, blonde, AND has a flower in her hair…how perfect!

This Goldilocks doll is from Cindy, she is cute AND does a trick….

She turns into the 3 bears!

Bianca and Justin got her this sweater in Monterey. She WILL play well with otters!

This cute SF Giants outfit is from her Giants-loving Uncle Tahoe and Aunt Ethel!

This cute-as-a-button dress is from her boyfriend Sage (with help from his mom, Liz!). He sent her a handsome picture of himself and note, he is already courting her in-utero!

And OMG little matching briefs

2 of my seventh grade girls got me this outfit, isn’t that sweet!?!

Sara made, MADE I SAID! her these hats and booties! She is amazing and they are sooo precious!

And of course, her first pair of baby flip flops from the Wards!

Thank you so much to our friends for making our fetus the most spoiled fetus on the block…already!