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Monday, January 30, 2012

I'll Begin Taking Craft Orders Now! LOL

This past weekend was busy. But that's a good thing. After having a rough week (did you see my vent on Wednesday!? Ha!), it was nice to welcome the weekend and have it be full of projects.

Saturday marked 7 years since the day Sam and I met...January 28th 2005. Yes, we celebrate this. LOL We all loaded up in the car and went grocery shopping (the not so fun part of the day) and then out to Spooky's for lunch. Delicious. We Finished the day by watching "Water For Elephants." It was a pretty good movie. 

Sunday was the insanely filled project day. If you follow my blog, you should know by now that we are always doing projects around the house! We take a lot of pride in decorating, fixing up, and creating things for our home.

On Pinterest (my new obsession!!) I found a few recipes for body scrubs. I thought this would make a great Valentines Day gift for Anthony's Preschool teacher and teacher assistant. There are tons of DIY body scrubs out there...seriously endless possibilities....but I choose one that was insanely simple. Best part was I had absolutely everything I needed to make it in my pantry, including the mason jar and ribbon to decorate it with, making this teacher's gift free for me! 

Vanilla Sugar Scrub:

6 oz mason jar with lid
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Olive oil

Directions:
In a mixing bowl, mix together your two sugars. Pour your sugar mixture into the mason jar. Add your vanilla extract. Add enough olive oil to thoroughly soak your sugars and stir all together so it's mixed well. If it's still dry, simply add more olive oil and continue mixing until you get a good, wet consistency. Top with a bit more olive oil so you have a layer coating the whole top. Seal tightly! 

I grabbed my hot glue gun and decorated them with ribbon, then simply cut a circle out of white paper for my label on the lid. Voila! If I had a cute little wooden spoon to go with it, that'd be extra awesome! But it's easy just to scoop it out with your hand, really no need to stir it before you use it either. I made one for myself as well and I LOVE IT! The smell makes me want to eat it. I'll be using mine as a hand and foot scrub. Perhaps in the shower as a body scrub too....it does leave your skin super soft! Make it and try it!
 

For Christmas the Grandparents all got a home made mason jar soap pump. I discovered this idea in a DIY Craft magazine. I went to the website listed in the magazine and ordered a handful of soap pumps and their attachments accessories. I think I payed about $4 for each pump kit. I love mason jars and love decorating with them in different ways around the house, so I ALWAYS have a few laying around somewhere, making the jar free for me. This is the one we made this weekend for the bathroom. It matches the toothbrush and toothpaste holders. :)

The first week of the month, Sam put up some glass shelves above the toilet. This allowed me to complete my "Beachy Spa" feel for our bathroom. I put up my new perfumes, my bath salts and oils, mason jars filled with q-tips and cotton balls, and lastly I filled a small basket with little bathroom essentials for the guest who forgets their own. It was fun to finish up my bathroom projects. Does it make you want to come over and take a bubble bath? ;) Now if only we had the money to get a new shower/tub.........


Remember the wooden jewelry holder Sam made for Molly? (If you scroll down the page a bit, you'll see it in another blog post....). I told Sam I wanted him to make me one (please!!!!) so I could get rid of my jewelry box and make space on our bathroom counter. Mine is pretty much like Molly's, except the wooden boards cover the whole back and are at an angle. The nails he used for me to hang up my stuff are smaller also. Pretty cool, huh? I love it! I told him he should make a whole bunch and let me sell them in my Etsy shop. Instead of nails we could use small wooden spools or even small decorative dresser knobs. Lots of ideas. I love the nails though....makes it more rustic and that's what I like. We could use whatever wood we like, if we wanted to go out and actually buy fancy shmancy wood. This was made out of wood we had left over from our barn, so cost us nothing to make. I used sea shells to hold my rings and earrings, but could easily pin up a fabric strip and hang my earrings on that. I don't know, these might be making an appearance in my shop soon!


And now the last project of the day....a MUCH needed HUGE behind the door spice/organizing rack. We had so many spices and random drink mixes, etc. littering the bottom of our pantry. It drove me crazy. I hate clutter. UGG! For a long time we were wanting a large behind the door rack to organize everything, but couldn't find one that we liked. So, naturally, Sam just made one, lol. It's all made out of scrap wood we had left over form our barn, so again, it didn't cost us a thing to make. The shelves are different widths and heights, so plenty of space and clearance to fit everything we needed to. After hanging it, I must have spent 45 minutes to an hour cleaning out and organizing the pantry.


Phew! Told you we had a busy project day. Hooray for being married to a handy man!! I can't imagine being with someone who couldn't wield a hammer. HAHA! Let me know what you think of our handy work! AND if you have an order to place, lol.

With love,
Mama Hauck 

Friday, January 27, 2012

Special VIDEO treat!!

23 week belly
(24 weeks on Sunday! Eeep!!)

Sooooooooooo I am definitely not a "vlogger." I don't like being on video because I always think I look and sound dumb, haha. Doesn't everyone? I never know what to do or what to say. I'm not good with being put on the spot with no time to think. However, I really wanted to post a video of us getting Baby's heart beat so ya'll could hear it! 

Funny story....in the video I mentioned how I knew Grandpa wouldn't be able to hear it because he had no sound on his computer, but that maybe he could listen to it at work or on my brother's comp next time he's around. Whereupon Sam informed me that he also wouldn't be able to hear me telling him that message....because he has no sound on his computer. 

Fail. 

Ohh I'm a little slow, what can I say? After we turned the video off I laughed so hard I peed my pants. HAHAHAHA! Stupid weak pregnancy bladder. Ok, that's a lie. I can't blame it on being pregnant. I always pee when I laugh too hard. Curse it!

SO Grandpa, lol, I know you don't have any sound on your computer, so you'll have to maybe pull my blog up at work if you can and listen to it there. Or snag Matt's computer next time you see him and make him show you. But at least for now you can see it on the screen. ;) 

Hope everyone can hear the heartbeat!! If you can't, turn up your volume. Timothy was really squirmy and made it a bit difficult to catch him. If you listen close you can even hear a kick! 

Ok, don't laugh too much at me! It was my first video. And someone let me know if it doesn't play? I had to upload it to Youtube and it took FOREVER. Hopefully it works! 

With love,
Mama Hauck

Monday, January 23, 2012

I'm Counrty, But I Don't Like To Rough It.

When do sleeping photos cease to be adorable??


Friday evening we lost power. I had such a crappy night. I barely slept a wink. It had been freezing rain the whole day so EVERYTHING was coated with ice. Probably the reason we had no power. It was insanely windy and all night all I heard was ice breaking and shifting on the roof, ice falling off tree branches onto the roof, tree branches breaking onto the roof. *sigh* It was an extremely loud, restless night.

Come Saturday morning I was tired, haggard, and in need of a shower and a cup of hot coffee. Neither of which I got because the power was still out. Boo. The kids were rowdy, I felt greasy and disgusting, the bathroom smelt like un-flushed pee all day,  and for some reason I developed really, REALLY bad dry eyes. I'm talking blood shot, itching, burning, couldn't even cry if I wanted to dry eyes. Cold weather? Dry heat space heater? UGH. My eyes are still killing me today. And I can't keep my eyes pried open long enough to get the eye drops IN my eye to help give me some moisture and relief. The only good thing about Saturday (other than the sweet photo I took of Molly passed out on the floor with her baby on her chest!) was the breakfast dinner Sammy made us by hooking up the generator to a griddle pan and cooking us french toast, sausage, and eggs.  We ate our delicious breakfast dinner by candle light.

We decided to let the kids camp out in our room for the night. Just as we got their blankets and pillows all set up on our bedroom floor the power came back on, lol. We let them camp out anyway. I was soooooooooo glad to shower Sunday morning. 24 hours without power isn't a huge deal, but I do prefer my modern day luxuries. ;)  Now it's back to the daily grind. Anthony was delighted to returned back to school today. The main roads are clear and our road and driveway are clear enough for me to force my Focus down it.....hopefully I wont get stuck. I'm crossing my fingers for no more snow, rain, and ice! I love being home, but I don't like being STUCK at home.

With love,
Mama Hauck

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls

I found this recipe on another Mama's blog and thought it would be a GRAND idea to make them today after a stinky day yesterday (more on that later). If you want the recipe and directions, please make sure to check out http://allgoodinmommyhood.blogspot.com because I'm much too tired to list ingredients and instructions right now and I always give credit where credit is due! ;)

I mixed the ingredients till they looked like this:


Then I rolled little 1" balls and stuck in the freezer for an hour:


Then I stuck each ball with a toothpick and dipped into chocolate, resulting in my finished yummy treat:


I just popped them in the fridge to let the chocolate harden a bit. I can't wait to eat one!.....I mean, other than the 3 I had while in the process of making them. :) 

With love,
Mama Hauck

Friday, January 20, 2012

Just For Funsies....Week 22

I thought every couple of weeks or so I would post the baby development info from the What To Expect website that correlates to whatever week I'm in. I go there every once in a while to read up on the baby's growth. It's fun to see how the baby is developing. I'm currently in my 22nd week!

Your Baby in Week 22 of Pregnancy

This week, your baby weighs in at a whopping pound and measures nearly eight inches, about the size of a small doll. But your little doll (who now has eyebrows, eyelashes, and maybe even some hair on that little head) is a living one who can now perceive light and dark. She can also hear your voice, your heartbeat, your gurgling stomach, and the whoosh-whoosh of blood circulating through your body. And as her brain and nerve endings develop, she may reach for her face (or whatever she can reach) just to experiment with her new found sense of touch. 



My baby belly info:

Week: 22
Starting weight: 98
Weight now: 110
Fundal height (measurement, in centimeters, of uterus.....usually round abouts equivalent to your gestational week): 22
Baby Heart Beat: 144

Things of note:
I'm definitely loving my belly. The 2nd trimester is the best because you've got the cute belly, but you're not a huge whale yet, lol. However, I'm not loving the accompanied love handles and thunder thighs, haha! That's where all my weight goes. At the end it'll show in my face, ugh! Like a little chipmunk, lol! 

The cold weather, in combination with my beloved hot showers, is not doing my skin any good. I'm so itchy!!! A few weeks ago I broke out my bio oil and I religiously slather my belly and sides with it and everywhere else with lotion. Definitely relieves my dry skin and the verdict is still out on whether it really honestly helps with stretch marks. Though in my opinion, I don't think it really does. I used bio oil with Anth and Mols and I still got stretch marks. If you're gonna get them, you're gonna get them. I think it's more of a skin type/genetic thing. You can slather bio oil on you all day every day and still get them, while the next gal wont do a dang thing and she wont get them. But, you know, it also doesn't hurt to just go ahead and use it. Makes my skin feel all soft.

I've also been having acid reflux issues now. :( One of the worst pregnancy issues in my opinion. I'll get it so bad it makes me throw up. Gross. So Tums have become my best friend. 

I haven't said much of anything about it for a while....but still bleeding. Remember all the bleeding drama I talked about a lot in the beginning of my pregnancy? It's still around. :( I pray every day it will stop and stay gone. *sigh* 

And now the best part! A few belly pics! ;)  


With love,
Mama Hauck

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Definately Winter Here

It snowed all Monday night, all day Tuesday and most of the day Wednesday, giving us (at my house....it's a little less in town) about 18 inches of snow. Anthony had a snow day yesterday, but even if school hadn't been canceled, there was no way I was taking him. I can't get down our mile long dirt road let alone my driveway! We are just stuck here. Usually if we get a fair amount of snow my neighbor Leonard comes and rescues us with his tractor, but it snowed so much and so fast that his tractor got snowed in and stuck, lol. Ah well. 

The power went out for a hand full of hours yesterday as well. I was not pleased about that! I had just gotten done with my shower and didn't have the chance to blow dry my hair. Grrr! The kids were funny though, they kept walking around trying all the light switches and TV and couldn't understand why nothing was turning on. I must have explained a million times what it meant when the power goes out. :) Silly kids. I lit some candles and got out the warm blankets and we all curled up on the couch with books. Sam got out of work at 9 yesterday morning. It took him an hour and a half to get home. It's typically a 30-40 minute drive. The roads were just covered in snow. It was nice to have him home instead of at work. He was able to shovel out around the front porch and then shoveled a path down to the barn. When he was done we all got bundled up and went out to play! The kids ran up and down the snow path and even tried to create a few of their own. Molly kept getting stuck in the snow so Papa had to go and rescue her, lol. I took a few photos, but not many. My fingers were cold! I do have to admit that as much as I dislike snow, it looks really pretty.


Today is a different story. We still have all the snow, and we were actually suppose to get more snow last night and all through today, but so far it's been freezing rain. So you take all the pretty snow we have and add a thick layer of ice on top. This made for a snow day for Sammy today. :) And probably another snow day for Anthony tomorrow and perhaps Sam again too. When there is ice on the wind turbine blades, it's a HUGE safety hazard. The ice goes flying off in huge chunks and could kill someone. So definitely better safe than sorry. Besides, it's not even safe to drive to work. Everything is covered in snow and ice and it's just nasty out. Everything is closed and no one is driving anywhere. Being out where we are snowed in like we are, it's like our own little world out here. My only connection is my blog and FB! We're preparing for the the power to go out again today. I hope it doesn't, but with all this ice it wouldn't surprise me. We've got water bottles and water jugs filled up, lots of candles and blankets, the generator ready, and I made a few things this morning that require no heating up....jello, noodle salad, etc. So we'll see what today brings! I made sure to take my shower early this morning and blow dry my hair so I wouldn't get caught with a wet head again. ;) 



With love,
Mama Hauck

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Weekend Projects

It's currently dumping snow at the Hauck residence. While the kids have their faces glued to the window taking much delight at this spectacular show, I, on the other hand, am screaming NO!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was perfectly content with the little dusting we had Sunday morning. I like seeing the grass. I like not freezing. I like pretending it's Spring time. ;)

Ahhhh well. Maybe it will get Anthony a no preschool day tomorrow. That'd be super nice as I am NOT a fan of driving my back country roads covered in ice and snow. 

Anyway, the whole reason for the post....I wanted to show off our weekend projects! A couple days ago I showed Sam a photo of a jewelry holder and mentioned how much I wanted to make one for Molly. He used some old, pretty, rough cut scrap wood we had and some nails and made this simple, yet lovely jewelry holder for her. I just love it!! And there's enough room at the bottom for me to get her some cute little boxes to put earrings or rings in when she gets older. What do you think?


While Sam was working on that, I finished up my bibs. Well, almost finished. I still have to buy my button snaps for them and attach them. I have some chenille left, but no patterned cotton. So looks like I've got to head back to the store for 1/2 a yard or so of cotton so I can finish doing all the washcloths I had in mind.....but I'm in no rush. At least I got all the bibs (6) and burp cloths (10) done that I wanted to! Next up, baby blanket!


With love,
Mama Hauck

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Snow Play

It snowed a bit last night! Definitely not much, but enough for the kids to get excited about! Anthony came bursting into our bedroom this morning yelling all excitedly about the snow. So this morning at 8:30, after a hot shower to wake me up and a yummy breakfast of raspberry chocolate chip pancakes, we all headed outside to play. I took my camera along and got a few good shots of the kiddos having a good time.


I also took a few photos of the animals.


And one of my pretty gem filled mason jar hangers dusted in snow.


It's now after 1 and the sun has melted all the snow. And I'm just fine with that. :) 

With love,
Mama Hauck

Friday, January 13, 2012

My Busy (Crafty) Week

This week has been a busy one for me (so please excuse the monster of a post)! I'm definitely ready for a nap. I could probably sleep the whole weekend away. I'm thinking it's a good thing MLK day is Monday and Anthony doesn't have any school that day! I'll need that extra day to recover from this looooooong week. 

Sam had super long days at work on Tuesday and Thursday and didn't make it home till about 7. This means I had super long days on Tuesday and Thursday as well! But it was a fun week! Any free time I usually would have spent on my blog was spent on making these:


So far I've made 13 cotton/chenille burp cloths (3 of which aren't pictured because they are being gifted to my cousin and his wife who are due with their first child in April), 4 wash cloths, and 2 bibs. I think I'm done with the burp cloths, but there are many more wash cloths and bibs to be made. I think this weekend I'll finish those up. I've also got my materials to make a two sided minky blanket with silk trim. I'm nervous about that project, so hopefully it goes well! 


Aren't you proud of my sewing skills!? I am. It's been a lot of fun and I can't wait to catch baby puke with my pretty burp cloths. ;) 

I even surprised myself a few times recently by shaking the sleep from my tired eyes and making dinner....something other than a sandwich or hot dog. Feast your eyes on these goodies: 

Tuna casserole pot pies. I made these with my mini pie maker Sammy got me for Christmas. I've also used it to make apple and raspberry pies so far and everything has turned out delicious! My ideas for this mini pie maker are endless! I'm thinking mac n' cheese pot pies as well as pulled BBQ pork pot pies. YUM!


Chicken, broccoli, and cheese noddle dish. Everything is better topped with cheese. Don't argue with me.


In other news, I received a box of baby goodies purchased off my Registry by my brother's girlfriend. YAY! I was super excited to get it! Every little bit helps me out tremendously! I also got in the mail this week my new changing pad cover, crib skirt, and crib sheets....thus allowing me to spend forever agonizing over different paint swatches. I was finally able to pick out just the right shade of baby blue so hopefully soon I can start painting the walls! I mean, have Sam start painting. ;) I don't think I'll take a photo of Baby/Molly's room until it's all done being made over, so ya'll will just have to wait. I'm tempted to go and buy a few things I've had my eyes on, like a baby book and diaper bag, but no! I'm trying to be sensible with my spending and space it out over the next 18 weeks. Besides, in the past month Anthony has managed to put holes in the knees of all 4 pairs of his jeans so I had to go and buy him new ones. How the heck does that happen!? Boys.


Speaking of Anthony, we had a play date yesterday! His first play date (other than the winter party I threw for him) with one of his pals from school! He was soooooooooooo excited and it swelled my heart to see him having so much fun. We got to his pals house at 1 and spent three hours there. Anthony and Molly ran around and played really well with the two boys while I chatted it up with their Mama. It was AWESOME and I really enjoyed myself. Hopefully there will be more play dates like that in the future. And hopefully I've found myself a new Mama friend. I'm in desperate need of those.

On top of all the busyness that this week was, I also had an appointment with my midwife. Nothing new to share except that I've gained 11 pounds since the start of my pregnancy! Oiy!! But I'm measuring pretty much on track at 21/22 weeks. Baby kicked while she was listening to the heart beat and it was fun to hear the loud thud through the sonogram machine. I'm hoping to have Sam take a video of me getting the heart beat on our sonogram and post it on my blog soon. I think that'll be really fun, I just have to remember! All in all my pregnancy has calmed down in the bleeding drama department and other than being dead exhausted all the time, I feel pretty dang OK and things are going fantastic. I'm really looking forward to the next 18 weeks being mellow and filled with tons of kicks and squirms from Baby. :)

Snow is in the forecast for us this weekend, so we'll see if it really comes. As long as it doesn't interfere with me getting Anthony to and from school I don't mind all that much.....though I really have been enjoying not having any snow. Sammy has plans for this Saturday. My sweet gal pal that moved away and left me :( is having a music gig with her band at a bar and grill Saturday evening and she invited us all. Unfortunately it's in her town, an hour and a half away from us, and it's not till 7:30/8 at night. So I will be staying home with the kids while Sam goes. I think its important for him to go see her and get some hang time with her husband (who happens to be Sam's really good friend) and I'll take a rein check for next time. I'm thinking movies and junk food with the kids then an early bed time.

Whew! I think that's all the news for this week! Have a good weekend!

With love,
Mama Hauck