Mosaic

A few years ago me, my  mom, and my Grand started doing mosaics.  There is a place here in town where you can go and she has all of the tools.  She also has a bunch of glass, tile, plates, old mirrors, etc that you can use.  You just pay depending on the size of the object (window, piece of wood, mailbox, tabletop, etc) you are going to mosaic.  


After we started doing it my friends started going as well.  Once you pay you can go back as many times as you like to finish up your project.  We haven't been in about a year.  I haven't been because last year was a pretty rough year for me and I was not very social.  But we have all been talking about getting back into it and starting a new project.  I figured I would do something for baby girls room.  So me and my friend Sarah went this morning.  I can't stop thinking about mosaicing!  I am back to being addicted :)


I bought 2 picture frames that I am going to put her newborn pictures in and hang on her wall.  When I finish them in a week or so I will post pictures for you.  In the meantime I thought I would show you some of the stuff that I have done.  

This is the first one that I did.  We use it to hang our keys on when we walk in the door.  

This is the second one that I did.  I wanted something to put in our bar and a martini glass seemed perfect!  This was in the beginning...I outlined the glass and the whole board in cut up mirrors.  Then I got some metallic foil and glued it where the martini glass was.  

Then I glued bluish tempered glass to make the glass.  I used green and red glass for the olives and then black glass for the background.  

Instead of just randomly putting the black glass on the background I made a design...just to give it some depth.  

This is with all of the glass glued on but without the grout.  

And here is the finished product....hanging in my bar!  I love it!

This is one that my mom did on an old mirror.  I don't have a picture of the final product but you get the idea. It hangs in her house on her sliding glass door and the sun shines through it every day.  So pretty!

The last two sections she did in red....

This is a mirror that I did for my guest bathroom upstairs.  I just got a large board, glued a mirror to it and then did all the mosaicing.  

Final product!

My friend, Sarah, did this one for her classroom.  She is a second grade teacher and the schools mascot is the wolves.  This one is amazing!

I love doing this.  It is so relaxing.  I can't wait to show y'all the picture frames I am making for baby girl!

Kelly Belly-23 weeks

How Far Along: 23 weeks!

Size of Baby: baby girl is the size of a large mango

Maternity Clothes:  almost all maternity.  I have some shirts that still fit and then some dresses that work with my belly.  I really need to get a new bathing suit.  I bought a maternity bathing suit on super sale but it is still pretty big.  I want one for now that shows my belly but is comfortable!

Weight Gain:  +10 total

Stretch Marks:  nothing new

Belly Button:  weird....it is getting really tight around it.  It is also getting shallower.  I almost feel like the sides of it are stretching and the top and bottom are getting closer together.  It is definitely changing....



Sleep:   sleep has not been good this week.  I have a cold so I can't breathe, which only gets worse when I lay down.  And yes, it is totally unfair to have a cold when it is 100 degrees outside....



Best Moment of the Week:  This week is the first time that I have been able to see her move from the outside.  She was wiggling like crazy and I looked down and my whole belly was wiggling like crazy!  How cool!  Also, I think she had the hiccups last night in the middle of the night.  I was awake all night, of course, and it felt like a little bounce in the same spot, every 10-15 seconds.  It lasted for about 5 minutes....


Also my brother in law and his wife and their two kids came down for the weekend.  They live about 3 hours away.  The twins' birthday was in May and we got them a huge tube they can ride in behind our boat.  It is called Big Mable and Collier and Syble LOVED it!!  Here are a few pictures.  How much fun does is this??

Movement:  feeling her move all the time.  My husband is convinced that we aren't going to be able to keep up with her because she is going to be so active.  

Symptoms:   I have been having quite a few Braxton Hicks contractions and I don't like them.  They make me nervous.  Last Thursday I was having what I thought was too many so I came home from work to rest.  When I got home I took a three hour nap and then I slept for 13 hours that night.  They stopped after that...still a couple a day but just not as many as I was having.  

I woke up Saturday morning with a scratchy throat, which has turned into an awful cold.  I took off work Monday and Tuesday because I haven't been able to sleep.  I slept a little bit last night sitting straight up...not comfy.  I had a small fever yesterday...the highest it got was 99.4.  Not high but enough to make me feel terrible.  I finally broke down and took one Tylenol.  That is the first time I have taken ANY medicine this entire pregnancy.  I feel a little guilty about it but it did make me feel better.  I figured it wasn't good for baby girl for me to have a fever.  I was able to take a small nap after that.  Today my head it just totally stopped up but I actually feel a little better.

Food Cravings/Aversions:  anything sour or tart.  I have eaten a ton of Starbursts this week.  



Gender: a precious little princess :)

What I Miss: being able to breathe through my nose....that is not overrated!

What I'm Looking Forward to: getting over this cold ;)  Hitting 24 weeks next week..viability!  Getting another estimate on the shelves I want built in my husbands office.  The first quote was entirely too high so that has slowed down the whole new office/baby room project.  

Weekly Wisdom: no worries!  I find it hard not to worry...

Milestones:  every day is a milestone and I am so happy and thankful to be here.  


Here is my 23 week belly

Advice for my 20ish year old self....

I saw this on Bridget's blog and I thought it was such a great idea!  There are plenty of things that I would love to tell my high school/college self.  Here are just a few....

1.  Listen to your mother.  She knows what she is talking about.  She has ALWAYS been right and your life will be easier if you just accept that fact and do what she says :)  There are so many examples of this I can't even count them.  Most of them are related to boys but she has plenty of advice about life in general as well.  When she tells you you can do better...believe her.  When she tells you that you are beautiful...believe her.  When she tells you he is the one after your first date...believe her.  :)

2.  It is ok to be picky when it comes to boys.  In college my friends gave me such a hard time because I never wanted to date anyone.  Or I would go on a date....they would be nice enough...but I didn't want to go out with them again.  For a while I thought maybe something was wrong with me.  But, it turns out, I just didn't like "college" boys.  I wanted someone who was more mature.  I guess that is why I married someone who is 9 years older than me :)

3.  You will have a great relationship with your dad.  I would have never believed it....in a million years!  My dad is an alcoholic.....an alcoholic that has been sober for 7 1/2 years!  When he was drinking we did not get along AT ALL.  I could do an entire post on that situation and all the HELL he put me through.  I hated him for a long time.  But, he got really, really, really sick....like they told me he was going to die any minute and I needed to just prepare myself for that.  Then, miraculously, he slowly started getting better.  No one could believe it.  He hasn't had a drop to drink since then.  I can't even explain how unbelievable this is.  Most people do not stop drinking....most people go back to it.  Especially people like my dad.  Anyway, it took a long time to repair our relationship but we did.  And now things are great!  He is very excited about having a grand daughter.  I still can't believe it sometimes...

4.  You will want to live near your family someday.  I wanted to get away from my family when I went to college.  See above for the reason.  But, that all changed when I got married and thought about starting a family.  They aren't so bad after all ;)

5.  You don;t have to be so shy!!  People are going to like you for who you are...stop worrying about it so much.  Who cares what they think?


6.  You have the best friends a girl could ask for....and they will all still be around when you are almost 30.  Cherish them even more for this fact.  


7.  One day you will LOVE your small boobs.  I don't think I would have believed this one either.  But it is totally true!  My husband is the one who made me start liking them...I guess because he liked them.  But anyhow, if I had known this it would have saved my mom a lot of money.  Padded bras, water bras (seriously had this at one point), push-up bathing suits, you get the point...


8.  The awesome CHI (or croc in my case) will be invented and your hair straightening time will be cut in half...I know...SQUEAL!!!


9.  Have a little confidence in yourself.  Confidence is very attractive and will get you far.


10.  You don't have to worry about getting pregnant....your eggs have a super thick shell around them (like a fortress)...so no worries!!!!   Ok...maybe I wouldn't say that to her but ya know...I would want to :)


Now, if Kelly that is holding a newborn baby girl in her arms would come and tell 22 weeks pregnant Kelly that everything was going to be ok....I would really appreciate that!


What are some of the things you would like to tell your younger self?  

Kelly Belly-22 weeks

How Far Along: 22 weeks!

Size of Baby: she is the size of a spaghetti squash...it would help if I had a clue what that even was :)

Maternity Clothes:  Yes....pretty much all maternity shirts.  I still wear a couple of non-maternity T's from Old Navy but they are starting to get pretty short.  I need to get some more shorts because I only have one pair and I wear them everyday!  I know my husband is getting tired of seeing me in them....

Weight Gain:  + 10 pounds overall

Stretch Marks:  nothing new

Belly Button:  still the same but it is feeling really tight around the edges...



Sleep:   sleep is pretty good.  I wake up every time I want to turn over and my hips hurt.  I am getting used to this though and trying to sleep on top of my body pillow to help.  I am still peeing at least 3 times a night.  



Best Moment of the Week:  Lonnie being able to feel her move again.  I swear he is like a calming influence on her.  Every time he would put his hand on my belly she would be totally still.  


I also put my iPod ear buds on my tummy and let her listen to a little Bob Marley and she seemed to like it.  Lots of rolling around!


I also loved spending time with my honey while he was off this week. Lots of lake time and lots of afternoon naps :)

Movement:  all the time.  She is such a wiggle worm!

Symptoms:   still peeing a ton.  Still lactating, which I am sure will continue to the end.  My muscles are feeling crampy all the time.  You know when you wake up in the morning and stretch out?  Well my legs go into complete cramps when I do that.  

Food Cravings/Aversions:  My sweet tooth has definitely kicked in.  This week I made these pretzel/rolo/pecans thingies.  Basically you put mini pretzels on a baking sheet and put a rolo on top.  Bake them for a minute or two and then take them out.  Press a pecan on top of them.  YUMMY!!

Gender: precious little princess :)

What I Miss: nothing really...maybe sleeping on my back....

What I'm Looking Forward to: I honestly look forward to every day being pregnant.  
  
Weekly Wisdom: no wisdom from me this week...

Milestones:  making it to 22 weeks and feeling her move all the time!


And here is the 22 week belly!

Lazy summer days

The past few days have just been awesome summer days.  My husband was off the past part of the week and so was I.  We’ve just been hanging out with each other and spending time on the lake.  

It is quite hot here...high 90’s to be exact.  Sitting out in the sun all day in this heat is just not an option.  Thankfully, we have a boat.  Every day we take the boat out, find a shady spot near the shore and anchor there.  Then we eat our little lunch that we have packed and read or just talk for a few hours.  When we get tired we come home and take a nap.  Amazing!!

On Friday, my mother in law came down (she lives about an hour away).  We took her on the boat and she, of course, loved it.  My husband’s brother, his wife, and their two kids were supposed to come and stay with us this weekend but plans fell through at the last minute.  Hopefully they will come down soon and enjoy the lake with us.

Saturday morning my husband and my friend, Keisha, ran in a 5K.  They had a one mile run/walk for kids and I decided to do that one.  It was early in the morning but IT WAS HOT!!!  It was a nice little walk I had though...it was mostly in the shade and near a creek.  Lonnie and Keisha did good....the humidity is killer for running though.  

After the 5K and after my little nap, I went shopping with my mom and Jenni (aunt).  We were looking for a rug for Lonnie’s office.  His office now is going to be the baby room.  He is moving into a room that has tile floor so I wanted to get a huge rug to make it feel more cozy.  We found one at Lowe’s at a great price!  He loves it so I am excited to set up his little area.  

I may have mentioned this before but my husband has a zillion books.  Not even kidding....  The room his office is moving into has a huge closet.  On Thursday, I had some people come out a measure to put bookshelves throughout that entire closet...wall to wall, floor to ceiling.  It should only take them a couple of days to build them and install them.  Then after I get them painted we will be able to move all of his stuff into that room...which means baby room will finally be empty!  Hooray!  I have taken some before pictures of the rooms that I will post later.  

This morning we had my family reunion for my dad’s side of the family.  It was nice.  Lots of talk about our baby girl which I love :)  We came home after that and took a nap, which I just woke up from.  We have no plans tonight except to watch the NBA game.  Not sure if any of you are watching but it has been pretty good.  We may take an evening boat ride because it has cooled off a little bit today and they are so romantic.  

Sorry this post is so random.  Hope everyone else has had a fabulous weekend!