"I've never met a pizza I didn't like"

...is what I told my brother Tuesday night when he asked if the pizza place he picked was OK. And it's true. Pizza is my favorite food and I enjoyed my pizza family birthday dinner very much (even with the chaotic ordering confusion). I love family and I love spending time with mine. Este Pizza in downtown SLC is officially recommended by me!

To My Future Pregnant Self...

...I guess just assuming I will have more kids ones day :)

There are a few things I want to remember for my next go around of being prego and going through labor. I would like to do a few things differently so that hopefully I can have a better experience next time, and maybe some other mama's to be can pick up a few tips. **Although, I do realize that every pregnancy, labor, and baby will be different no matter what I do**

1. You can do it. Yes, it's hard. Yes, it was the hardest thing you have had to physically do in your life (note that I've never run a marathon, played on a real sports team, or broken/drastically injured anything before, so perhaps one of those things would be harder?). But you did it! And you survived.

2. Find a doctor you like. This one is hard for me because I'm a major people pleaser and I did not want to be that person who walks in with a 10 page birthing plan and won't budge from it. Well, I still don't want to be that extreme, but I was way to easy going about everything. I have decided that I am paying the doctor, and I don't have to do everything he says. This is my body and my experience and I can make choices about it!

3. Get induced. (I actually wouldn't recommend this to anyone who is anti-epidural because it's going to intensify your contractions a lot). I know there are a lot of people out there who are really against this, but I am not. I probably wouldn't have scheduled an inducement with Tavvin because he was my first (I'm not actually sure doctors will let you do that), but I would really have liked to be induced much earlier than they let me with Tavvin. I don't see the harm in kicking my body into gear a little faster once it's already started anyway? By the time I had suffered through two days and nights of contractions I was SO exhausted that I couldn't even function, let alone try to enjoy the birthing process.

4. Ban binki's, bottles, and shields... until I have had a decent chance to try breast feeding. I realize this sounds extreme, but it's only for the first few days, and I had 4 long months of breastfeeding failures so I think this is worth it. It may or may not make any difference, but after having the absolute worst time trying to get Tavvin to breastfeed, I want to try harder from the start next time, at least to see if it makes a difference. The nurses made me feel like my baby was going to die if I didn't give him a binki or a bottle because he wasn't breastfeeding, but everything I've read said they don't need hardly any calories for the first few days. I would rather keep them a little hungry for a day or two than suffer through 4 months of breastfeeding trauma!

5. If the contractions come before the medicine again, BREATHE. I don't know how I missed this, but apparently breathing really helps with the pain of contractions. After two days of pain every 3-5 minutes, a nurse finally took me by the shoulders, looked me in the eyes and said "Honey, you have to breathe." She sat like that and took really deep breaths with me until I figured out the rhythm and it helped so much. Go figure, just had to breathe.

6. Hospital Essentials. I was so stressed about having everything I needed at the hospital, but really you will be just fine if you bring nothing but clothes to wear home, and they can be the same ones you arrive in. They can give you everything you need. My strongest suggestion would just be to bring huge clothes. I brought a big scrub t-shirt and my biggest sweats and they still weren't big enough. I should have brought a large mens t-shirt and big mens sweats. This is because your belly is still going to be big, and not in a cute pregnant way anymore, and you will basically be wearing adult diapers stuffed with an ice pack. Just forget about what you will look like and bring huge clothes, trust me, it's more comfortable.
---> other than huge clothes, it's really up to you what you would like to bring. It's just like going on a 2 day trip to a well equipped (but not as fancy) hotel. Some snacks, a hair brush, tooth brush, and makeup (if you really want to put the time and energy into that) would be nice. I think it's most convenient to wear the hospital's gowns while you're there. If your house is nearby, it's not a pain to send your hubs or someone to retrieve things for you.

6. Stay active. During my pregnancy I got so worried that if I did any physical activity I would hurt the baby. So wrong! If you are healthy to begin with, staying active isn't only OK, it's good for you and the baby! By the time I figured this out I had gotten so out of shape and it was so hard to get back into exercise again, so next time I need to be active from the get go.

So there. Have more babies Brooke, you are capable! :)

Maxi Skirt DIY

My sewing confidence has been partially redeemed with this one. Woohoo! I followed a tutorial for a maxi skirt from this blog here. It turned out really cute, but there is one flaw... my fabric wasn't stretchy enough! If I eat an M&M this skirt will explode at all seams because the pattern is written for stretchier fabric and it is so tight. The reason I didn't use stretchier fabric is because this was just a cut of fabric I wanted to use from my grandma's magic basement fabric stash (If you don't know, my grandma worked at a fabric store most of her life and has collected a whole room full of fabric, it is awesome). I totally want to make another one of these with some fabric that has a bit more stretch because it was such a cinch to make and I love it!

Men's Shirt Refashion Fail

So... I don't have my own sewing machine, and I am not a very experienced seamstress, but I like to try my hand at sewing projects every now again just for fun. When I do, I usually borrow my sis-in-law's machine (thanks, Haven) and just punch out a bunch of projects all at once. (Hence all my sewing projects typically getting posted in clumps).

Shad was throwing out an old an old button-up work shirt and I've seen people upcycle those on pinterest, so I thought I'd give it a go. It was way farther beyond my skill level than I even realized in the beginning. They make it look super simple in the tutorials! Here's some of the pictures of how it all went down:

I traced a shirt I already had/changed it a little bit to be the size I wanted. Then cut up the sides and sewed. Then I cut off the sleeves, decided how skinny they needed to be, and sewed them onto the shirt. Then I cut off the collar and sewed a not very good neckline. Then I decided where I wanted the sleeves to hit, rolled them up, and tacked them in place. 

The end product really isn't terrible... it's just got some issues. The shoulder seams really would look better if they were a little higher (something I would have known if I was experienced). The front looks like maybe it's a bit too long (I actually like the back really long with it's duck tail). The neckline, as I mentioned before, looks pretty amateur. And the color is what I would call "work shirt blue." (When I tried this on for Shad he actually said, "It looks like you came here to clean the house" haha) I'm wondering if I switched out the pocket for a lace pocket if it would look more feminine? Or maybe it would be better if I used a white shirt instead of blue?

Anyway, I spent so much time sewing then ripping, measuring and remeasuring, cutting and recutting to get it to this point, I'm going to give it a rest for a while. What do you think?

The Little Moments

Something I have always aspired to be is a patient mother. I think that is probably one of the most difficult things in this world to be, but I believe it makes a big difference in good parenting. I am so new to this gig, and I only have one, and it is already so hard. I know it will only get harder as Tavvin gets older!

The other day I was trying to feed him rice cereal, but all he wanted to do was fuss and shove his hands in his mouth then wipe them, mush covered, all over his face. I know he's just a baby and has no idea he's frustrating me (oh this will be so hard when he frustrates me on purpose), but I was still about to lose it! I was just having one of those days anyway, ya know?

Well I stopped myself before I threw a tantrum (ya this is sounding more and more silly as I write it out) and just took a deep breath. I asked myself, "Why does it matter?" Messes can be cleaned and it's not hurting anything! Just to help myself chill even more I grabbed my camera and snapped a few pictures:

 Honestly, this isn't even the messiest he's gotten with his rice cereal. At least he's darn cute right?

Over and over again I have to remind myself to just enjoy these little moments because he'll only be this old once. I don't want to be that person who is so worried about making everything perfect that I forget to just live my life.

Being a mom has so far been the most rewarding and difficult thing I've ever taken on. I love Tav more than I can explain. I also constantly feel very anxiously responsible for his well-being; something I've never experienced before.

I just hope one day he can look me in the eye and tell me I did a good job. Here's to wishing!

Look What I Can Do

Last year all my decorating focus was on Tav's nursery. I had so much fun with it but was excited to move to some new areas of my house this year. The past few months I've (I should actually say WE've because Shad is very much part of the process) been focusing on the living room. So far we've gotten curtains,an entertainment center, and a few decorations.

My most recent project for the living room was making some throw pillows for the couch. I am so not good at putting things together that look good, so finding the right fabric has been a challenge. I've spent a long time searching for the right fabric for these pillows, and thought that having curtains might help, but.. it didn't really haha. I'm also only a beginner at the sewing machine, so this was a bit of an undertaking for me. 

Well, last Saturday I dragged Shad to the fabric store with me and we just hammered it out and made a decision! I'm not sure that the fabric we picked matches the curtains at all... but we both loved it, it does match the rest of the room, and I feel like I can make it work with other decoration elements. 

Here's what the pillows looked like that came with the couch (note that this is after I stole the poor thing's zipper and some fluff):

 Gross. 

And here's what the new ones look like. The red ones are just slip covers from Hobby Lobby and the tan ones are hand-me-downs. I made the blue/brown ones. A little better right?

I'm most proud of the zipper. I've never put in a zipper before and just followed an online tutorial. Not too bad for my first time right?

So perhaps with a small turquoisey throw pillow and some maroon and turquoise decorations I can tie this room together? Wish me luck! 

Oh and just a side note... I was watching Sean Tells All on The Bachelor last night (I am loving this season p.s.) and noticed that these pillows were on the couch! So there, my pillows are famous, even if they are homemade.

Tav's 1st Swimming Experience

Shad decided to take a 1/2 work day for Presidents Day so we could meet up with Cody & Amanda and the kids, and Grams at the Lehi pool. I've gotten in the bath with Tav quite a few times so he's pretty used to water and I know he likes it. The pool was a little different though. It was way crowded, loud, and a bit chillier than our bath water. He liked it for about 15 minutes and then was done and screaming. We'll probably have more luck in the summer when he's a little older and it's warmer.

It was still a fun little family activity though!

Daddy's Boy

Tavvin is definitely a daddy's boy. He LOVES his daddy and he laughs at practically everything he does. Me... not so much haha. It's ok, he may think daddy's the most fun, but I know he loves me the most in an I'm his mommy sort of way :). Shad got this video of him laughing and it's soo cute. I swear Shad can do anything to make him crack up!

Cookie Monster

We left Shad's parents house after hanging with the family tonight and Shad grabbed a few cookies for the road. He didn't have anywhere to put them so he set them on top of Tavvin's car seat cover. When we finally got all settled in the car he noticed he was missing a cookie, but figured it had just fallen off on the road while getting in the car. He opened up Tav's car seat cover to check on him once we got going and this is what he found:

He could not stop laughing! I kept saying "What?? What???", but he said I just had to look at the picture. When I saw it I couldn't stop laughing either. Tav is only old enough to be eating formula and rice cereal right now! The little cookie monster!!

Pinteresting

I'm loving what pinterest is doing to my house and closet. Such cute stuff on a dime! I love it. My latest project was a t-shirt scarf. It was way easy and it turned out pretty cute.

I got this shirt for $3 from the D.I. You could easily use an old shirt you already have, but I like that the D.I. has lots of color and fabric options for cheapo. Just make sure the shirt is a knit and preferrably cotton because that will work best. If I did this again I would cut the strips less far up so there's a thicker block of shirt to make up the actual scarf portion (does that make sense?), the strips get about 1/3 longer when you stretch them. Also, this would work even a little better if the shirt was skinnier, especially at the waist, because it would make the circumference of the scarf a little smaller. Test that out before you get started to make sure it will even work--a big mens shirt will be too big, this was a size small women's t-shirt.

V Day

Happy Valentines Day! I soaked up all the love and pink and red with my 2 boys.

 I just downloaded Picasa, so I've been having a lot of fun playing around with it's features and finding some hidden picture gems I didn't know were on this computer:

 Tav and I had a photo shoot. Little cutie.

 I saw someone do this on another blog and just had to, haha so funny.

The quilt I got 5 Valentines ago when Shad proposed!

Our V-day dinner last night complete with heart shaped ravioli. 

Rolling Over

It's a big deal around our house, and Tav just conquered it. He acts like it's so hard in this video, but now every time we set him on his back he flips over immediately. Followed promptly by lots of complaining because he hates to be on his belly! We're pretty proud of him though. Like I said before, the things that are exciting to you as a new parent are pretty small!

Rice Cereal!

Oh the things that are exciting to a new parent. Or maybe it's just me.

The doctor told us we could start giving Tav rice cereal if we wanted to and I was so excited, haha. The first feeding was pretty funny. The cereal was everywhere and by the end T was covered in it and screaming. Since then we've made a lot of progress. I make the cereal thicker now so it's not so messy. T gets excited about it now and seems to know what's going on more. He'll open is mouth wide and if I'm too slow he grabs my hand and shoves the spoon into his mouth (this has resulted in a few minor injuries) or resorts to sucking on his hand. 

Pictures from our first try: