It is worth it...

Yesterday after our shower, Kate was bundled up in her hooded towel, and looked at me funny. She pointed to a stretch mark on my stomach and we had this conversation:

Kate: "Mommy, what is that?"
Me: "That is a stretch mark I got when you were a baby inside my tummy"
Kate: "I stretched you Mommy?"
Me: "Yes, when you were in my tummy before you were born"
Kate (with a genuinely concerned, compassionate look on her face): "Oh Mommy, I'm sorry I stretched you"

Ok, the darn stretch marks were worth it.

Nursing cover and another apron

These were made last month when I had a few days to myself after my mock boards and while Loren, Kate, Kent and Debbie were in SC. I actually had time to do something!!

Reversible apron for Romina:

Lined nursing cover with boning at the top so you can see your baby (my favorite kind of nursing cover ever!!) and terry cloth and a pocket. Mailed just in time for the arrival of Lindsay Stortz Cashen's baby Ellie!

 

OBX

Part of my spring break was spent in the outerbanks with Loren, Kate, Kent and Debbie. Kate was somewhat less than cooperative, but we had a good time anyway! It was very cold!

A little shopping yielded this cute cake stand loaded with zucchini muffins made with zucchini from last summer's garden:

The garden is waking up!

Kent and Debbie helped me to make the garden I've been dreaming about for the past few cold months. It is loosely based on the Square Foot Gardening method except the author has 4x4 foot raised beds and I have four 2x14 foot beds. This is in the space where my garden was last year, but more organized now! And check out the trellis in the back!! We turned over the existing soil, put up the boards to separate it, amended the soil and put in step stones. It is beautiful! I am very excited. I moved the strawberries and spinach and lettuce that survived the winter to their appropriate spots in the grid.

...and here is my seed starting station in our master bathtub:) So far we've got parsley, brussels, basil, peppers, eggplant and marigolds up!

I'll keep posting updates of the garden as it grows and as the weather gets nicer and nicer!

...and the projects never end...

After a week of totally non-stop projects with my in-laws Kent and Debbie, we are totally exhausted and thrilled to have gotten so much done! Yard work, massive deep cleaning, hanging curtains, touching up paint, etc. It has been awesome!

One unexpected project did crop up that will keep us going for a while. We've had a black spot in the wood floor in our kitchen for a while.

Well, we decided it needed to be addressed. They pulled up the base of the cabinet and discovered a massive crack in our concrete floor.

So then the floor guys have to come and rip up the wood that was affected...

and then Loren and Kent patched the crack

and now it is drying. So my kitchen currently looks like this. I'm glad this will be fixed!!

From the Kate style archives...

Thought you'd all like to see another of Kate's fashion creations. This includes the dress my mom made that I wore on the first day of first grade!

Take a break!

Man it has been a stressful, busy time at our house...but in the midst of studying, I had to take a break. I've been wanting to make these matching twirly skirts for Kate and her doll "Maya" for a long time and on Sunday, I couldn't study any longer. They were a huge hit! Often Kate is a stinker about wearing the things I make, but she loved this one because it twirls!

Kate definitely has her own fashion sense. She is VERY into picking out her own clothes and putting them on by herself "Go away Mommy." She comes up with some interesting combos! I'm curious to see how this manifests itself when she is a teenager...will she be very into the latest fashion and clothes or will she have an "interesting" sense of fashion??

My dad is coming this weekend and Loren's parents are coming next week. I'm definitely looking forward to having some extra hands around!!