Baby Bump Update: Week 20

Here I am at 20 weeks! I can't believe we're halfway there already!!

At least I have a tiny bit of color this time, which isn't saying much, but better than my skin matching my white tank top! Haha! Hoping to have a nice tan after our upcoming beach trip!! :)

Week of Pregnancy: 20 weeks, 2 days

Baby size: Baby is the length of a banana this week!

Baby is about 6 1/2 inches from head to bottom, and 10 inches from head to heel. Baby weighs between 1/2 and 3/4 pound.






Symptoms: It appears that the nausea may have finally subsided within the last week. Whew. Back and hip pain are probably my biggest complaints right now. It's hard to get comfortable for sleeping and I feel like my back is going to give out on me most of the time when I stand up. Acid reflux is up there, too. I don't remember these things starting this early with my other pregnancies, so I hope it's not a long ~20 weeks to go!

Food cravings: EGGS! More specifically, sunny side up eggs. Growing up, we called these "dipped" eggs, because we dipped our toast into the runny yolks to soak it up. So good. As an adult, this is something I usually only have when we're visiting my parents, but I have been craving them so much the past few weeks. I am fortunate that Josh has been making them for me now every weekend. :) I could probably eat them every single day, but we may have to invest in some chickens for that to happen!

Food aversions: Nothing specific. I'm finally able to drink my morning coffee again now, though! Woo hoo!

What I'm excited about: My 20-week ultrasound!! We haven't found out the sex yet, as we are waiting to find out when we get family pics taken in a couple of weeks. We'll be doing a gender reveal with cupcakes! :)

Baby Seeley looked great - measured right on with my due date, and weighed in at 13 ounces!

What I've done to prepare for baby: Sadly, still nothing, at this point, unless you count buying maternity clothes for myself?? That should be changing soon, once we know the sex!

Funny moment: The other night Ethan said, "It will be so good when the baby is here. I can give the baby the toys I don't play with anymore. Like some race cars." So I asked, "What if the baby is a girl? Will she want race cars?" Ethan responded, "Not the preschool girls, but the baby will." So, I clarified, "Oh, so the girls at preschool don't like cars, but a baby sister will want your cars?" Ethan said, "Yep!" :)

Just for fun, I looked through some old pics to find the pic on the right...so here's a pic of Ethan with my 20-week belly this year, and then almost exactly 2 years ago, with my 27-week belly!

He'll make such a great big brother...again!

Noah is excited to be a big brother, too, even if you can't really tell in this pic, taken while we waited for my doctor this morning. ;)

I can't wait to return in a couple weeks to reveal the gender of baby #3!! :)

The Wednesday One: Week 16

The Wednesday One: Week 15

DIY Canvas...for under $5!

Welcome to those of you visiting from the Literally Inspired blog! I hope you find this DIY Canvas tutorial to be helpful. :) If you enjoy DIY projects, please check out some of my other projects, like this great DIY paint chip calendar, my "kids' station" in the hallway for displaying their artwork, or my solution for meal time organization. Thanks for stopping by!

I have been wanting to try making my own canvases for awhile now, but had never gotten around to it until this past weekend. I wasn't really sure how I wanted to do it, but finally decided to just give it a try and see how it looked. Given how much the kids are constantly changing, and the fact that our family is still growing, I didn't want to spend hundreds of dollars to have canvases professionally made every 6-12 months. So, I decided to try making my own to save us some money! I was pretty happy with how they turned out, especially given the fact that I spent less than $5 for each of them!!

I decided to purchase 2-12x12" and 2-9x12" canvases for this project. Since I was printing the pictures (taken by our wonderful photographer, Kristy Vest) at home, 13x19" is the largest print I can make with my wide-format Epson printer. I have some 11x14" canvases to use for another project, but wanted to display these pictures in a square pattern, so using all canvases with a 12" side worked best for this. I purchased my canvases at Michaels, as they were 50% off. I was able to get the smaller two for $1.75 each and the bigger ones for $2 each. What a steal! If you'd prefer to shop online, you can find great deals on canvases there, too!

Here is my step-by-step tutorial for making your own canvas at home:

Supplies:

• Canvas(es) (I used Artist's Loft canvases)
• Black acrylic paint (I used Martha Stewart Crafts Multi-Surface Satin Acrylic Paint in beetle black)
• Paintbrush
• Photos (printed on premium matte photo paper)
• Mod Podge (I used the matte variety)
• Foam brush

Step 1

Start by painting the edges of your canvas with the acrylic paint and the appropriate sized paintbrush. The canvases I purchased were just 1/2" thick, but you can purchase thicker ones if you desire.

Step 2
Be sure to coat onto the front of the canvas, over the edge, so no white will be showing when you place your picture on.

Step 3
Also be sure to coat well onto the back of the canvas, too, so no white will show there either, while canvas is hanging.

Step 4
Let the paint dry for 20 minutes and ensure that the edges are well-coated. Give it another coat if needed (I only needed one coat), then grab your bottle of Mod Podge. I used this matte variety and was very happy with how well it worked.

Step 5
Coat the entire front of the canvas with a generous layer of the Mod Podge, using your foam brush.

Step 6
Place your printed picture carefully on the front of the canvas, turn the canvas over and apply pressure to the back of the canvas, smoothing it out from the middle to the edges, to eliminate air bubbles.

Step 7
Turn the canvas back over and ensure that everything is lined up how you want it.

Step 8
Apply a coat of Mod Podge on top of the picture using your foam brush. Brush it both horizontally and vertically onto the picture, using small strokes.

Step 9
As you apply the Mod Podge (foam brush is pictured), the print may develop air bubbles on the sides as it is saturated with the glue.

Step 10
Apply a generous amount of Mod Podge to the edges. Using your fingers, tightly hold down the edges of the picture to the canvas, for about 20 seconds, to get rid of the bubbling.

Step 11
Repeat this step around all of the edges to secure the print, not leaving any space between the print and the canvas. You can clean up the excess glue on the edges with a wet paper towel.

Step 12
Allow the first layer of Mod Podge to dry (at least 20 minutes), then apply another layer to be sure you didn't miss any spots. Allow it to dry one more time, then it's ready to hang! The Mod Podge gives the photo a great glossy finish with a nice texture that resembles an actual canvas.

Please feel free to ask any questions about this process if any of my steps are not clear. This was my first attempt at trying to make my own canvas, and when I started, I didn't know how it would turn out. I was very happy with the results and surprised at how closely it resembles an actual professional canvas print! It may not look completely perfect, but for under $5, it looks pretty darn good! :)

The Wednesday One: Week 14

The Wednesday One: Week 13

The Wednesday One: Week 12

Baby Bump Update: Week 16

So here I am at 16 weeks...

Um, can we tell who needs to go to the beach to get a tan?? Yikes! Though not flattering, I want to try to get a pic in the same top through the pregnancy, so I picked that white tank top because I know it will fit at the end and it will be nice and cool for the hot summer! :)

Week of Pregnancy: 16 weeks

Baby size: Baby is the size of an avocado this week!

Baby is 4 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and weighs ~3 1/2 ounces. 

So, I guess I can't say the 6 pounds I've gained now is all from the baby. Oh well. Not too bad. ;)






Symptoms: The nausea has stuck around, but is getting better. This past week I have been able to survive without the Zofran, but TUMS are still my best friend to help with stomach issues. That value size bottle is disappearing quite quickly! While I had to invest in Imodium A-D last month when I had the stomach virus, this month I am having the opposite problem. For real. I had neither of these issues with my previous 2 pregnancies, and I am not thrilled with these new problems this time. :( All of my ligaments are definitely relaxing because my body is snapping, cracking and popping like never before! I feel like a bowl of Rice Krispies! Ooh that sounds good...

Food cravings: Speaking of cereal, I am still craving it (I love a bowl of Frosted Mini Wheats before bed at night), string cheese, and other comfort foods. Add to that list fruit, especially pineapple and all things lemon (I craved lemon with Noah, too!). My latest craving is Cape Cod's salt and vinegar chips (I ate so many yesterday that I think I burned my tastebuds off my tongue...yikes!) and pineapple-cranberry juice. These two items go great together, by the way! ;) I never had weird cravings with the boys, so that one if kind of new for me.

Food aversions: Nothing specific, but a lot of things still don't sound good to me most days.

What I'm excited about: Feeling the little bean move!! Just this past weekend I've started to feel the flutters. So awesome! I didn't feel either of the boys moving this early, but I definitely notice it this time if I am lying really still in the morning or at night. I'm pretty sure the little bean is getting the hiccups a lot, too. :) I had a dream last night that the little bean is a boy, but my dreams have been wrong before, so we'll see in a month!

What I've done to prepare for baby: Still nothing, at this point. I'm dying to go shopping though!!!

Funny moment: While watching baby videos with the boys last week, we watched a video about getting an epidural. Ethan said, "Ouch! I never want that!" I said, "Don't worry, Ethan, you can't have babies. Only girls can have babies." Ethan, thinking to himself for a minute, "So, Rachel (his cousin) can have babies when she grows up?" I said, "Yes, she can have babies." Ethan's response, "Well, I'll be like Daddy when I grow up and grill hotdogs." Um, ok, yeah, that's pretty much the same thing. ;) Hahaha!

The Wednesday One: Week 11

The Wednesday One: Week 10