Baby Woo's Room

Here's the finished design board that Courtney made for me! 

I sent her photos of bits I've picked out and she put it all together! 

So what do ya think? x

I'm a chicken.

There. I've said it. I'm being a chicken. I've got this "thing". I don't think anything I make is good enough for me to keep. If someone else likes it that's great! But why would I want to make something for myself? Cause I know where I've messed it up and stuff. 

Well. I need to get over it. I knew if I told you I'd be accountable to doing something about it! My friend Courtney has really inspired me in nursery design. You've gotta see her design board for her little girl's room, it's sooo unique and welcoming! I mean, if you read my last post you know I can't actually set anything up yet but surely it can't hurt to make a few things in preparation right?! 

I just remembered I have done something! I made a poster didn't I?! Do you remember? 

I'd better send that away for printing! 

Here's a photo of my crib {in it's previous home}

It used to belong to two little boys! It needs girlifying now! Bring on the pink!

I need at least one wall letter initial 

I do have lots of ideas...I just don't have the confidence to carry things out. But I want to push myself.

I want to make a beautiful valance (aka dust ruffle/skirt), because I will need a custom one now that I look at the photo of the crib, I want mine to go to the floor.

I wanted a woodland theme but I'm not quite sure how to work that in and still having a room fitting for a little girl. I'm leaning more towards vintage now. Vintage fabrics. Can I be eclectic without the room looking a mess? 

I LOVE this one:

I think Courtney showed me this nursery now that  I think of it! I've also had it pinned in my Pinterest  baby board for a while! They've done 3 valances...Hmmm....I like it! 

Love that dresser/changing table!

what beautiful wallpaper! and I LOVE the toadstool seat!!! 

these are so cool!!!!

SO I think my first project to get over my chicken liver will be the valance for the crib. I want a ruffley one not a really tailored one. I think I'll do a few layers maybe? I guess I'll have to see what fabrics I find {in my stash!}. This tutorial looks pretty good and this one is great for measuring.

just LURVE that dust ruffle! 

I'm up for any tips you might have about how to make stuff for the nursery. Any ideas are also welcome! Here we go! 

6 months!

It is nearly impossible for me to believe that I am entering my 24th week of pregnancy. 6 months! 

I'm 6 months pregnant! 

This half a year has flown by. And I imagine that the next few months will be here and gone in a flash, before long our precious Baby Woo will be in our arms! January 18th is sooo soon! I'd better not blink!

We may move house, so I haven't set up the nursery. To be honest I don't even know how to set up a nursery! I've picked out the crib bumper & that's all so far. I do love this nursery idea:

I love this nursery but I'd use greens and pinks I think! 

I feel like there is still so much to get done and the time is going by so quickly I'm beginning to think I won't get it done! Silly things like shampooing the carpets and removing all the cob webs and actually setting up the nursery so that Baby Woo actually has some place to sleep in her beautiful sleigh crib{it was given to us by a friend & it's stunning!}! 

I signed up for my birth and parenthood class this morning though! Mr Woo wants to be there so we've signed up for a Saturday all day class at the hospital. 

Baby Woo is growing quickly, she's already around1 1/2lbs & nearly 1 foot long!!! My bump is starting to show and I'm beginning to feel uncomfortable especially when I'm tired. 

I'm craving lots of sleep and meat! Gimme a roast beef with a side of roast chicken. MmHmmm! 

So, 24 weeks, 6 months, however you like to count it we're well on our way! 

Crafty Challenge!

My crafty pal Nikki {from Whimsy Love}has taken part in the Do Something Crafty Challenge!! Nikki is super fun & creative and her two little girls get in on the creative action too! And now she needs our vote! I mean, obviously you can vote for which ever project you like best, but Nikki's Chair Top Covers are pretty darn cute & it's nice to support our little crafty community!

Some how Nikki is currently in last place! SHOCKING! We have until September 30th to give her a boost!  Come on bloggy mates! Won't you go cheer Nikki on?! Here's the link for the contest again & the voting bit is on the right side.
So you can put a face to a craft:

Heeeere's Nikki! 

Nikki currently lives in a small town in Nebraska where she is a mommy to two super kidlets. She's also an award-winning newspaper columnist & photographer, a blogger, jumper extraordinaire, lover of thrifty & vintage & currently obsessed with knit graffiti. Take a peek into her world by visiting her blog, WhiMSy love.

Cute ain't she? :)

Release?

I don't normally write about personal issues here. But I feel like maybe other people struggle the way I do and maybe it's helpful to know you're not the only one.

I suffer from an anxiety disorder called Generalized Anxiety Disorder. I also suffer from depression. It's all part of the same chemical imbalance in my brain which I normally take medication for. I've been stepping down my medication because of being pregnant. Pregnancy hormones + heightened anxiety symptoms = hard times, lots of tears and a not much sleep.

This is a pretty good simple description of GAD:

GAD is a particularly difficult disorder to live with as it is constantly on the sufferer's mind – there is no respite as the anxiety is not tied to a specific situation or event (it is for me ie. to do with family members, friends or stressful situations). It can cause problems with sleep, ability to maintain a job as well as impact close relationships.  

GAD is a difficult thing to explain. People think I'm unreasonable or causing drama and I've been called crazy. I've been asked "what's your problem?! why do you care?!!!!". I don't want to care about the irrational things I worry about. But I can't seem to help it. I think there have been times when my dear, sweet, gentle, kind husband has wanted to shake me. Some of my worries can start out normal. But they escalate. Worries start out small but can get huge and life consuming to the point I can not escape the intrusive thoughts. There can be a constant stream of thoughts causing me to suffer from physical symptoms. At one point recently I actually pounded my head with my fists begging the thoughts to stop. That was the worst it has ever been. I can be besieged by thoughts that do not feel like my own. My attempts to deal with those thoughts impact those around me.

I worry about future events mostly. The "what ifs". They kill me.

The other side of the disorder is that I find things that could normally be a bit stressful INCREDIBLY stressful! Like packing to go away...that's a bad one for me. British driving lessons...I quit because I got so frustrated with myself. Dealing with bills...ooooh man. I had to avoid the supermarket for a while at one point because people not obeying my rules of personal space and shopping etiquette was too overwhelming - I've worked on that one, it's ok again - so don't you worry!

It can be really tough. I'm very, very lucky to have a loving and caring husband & patient friends who see passed my anxiety and don't take it personally even when it is personal.
I've just been through a very, very bad patch that lasted a couple of months. It is a huge relief  to be on the other side. I'm trying my best to learn to relax for my little Rosebud's sake. Mr Woo and I have had a lovely few nights in lately which have included lots of laughter. A very good medicine you know. I think I will have a bubble bath tonight and do some knitting. I've been thinking about maybe making my own cot bumper, maybe a patchwork one, so maybe I'll start sorting through my fabrics tonight too. That all sounds a lovely way to relax to me.

My Dad used to say "Let go and let God". It was sort of his mantra. I am trying to learn to let go. To release the thoughts that lead to anxiety. I am learning to release. I am learning to have empty hands. One day I'm going to be great at it. Until then I must do my best.

Teddy Bears & Illustration Inspiration

Mr Woo has been thinking a lot about what gift to give our little RoseBud {what I've taken to calling Baby Woo}. He wants to pick out a special soft toy for her. He's been trawling every toy store we pass, but he still hasn't found the perfect one yet. Everyone needs a first teddy don't they.
I found an extremely soft elephant & Uncle Laurie bought the matching cheetah. Mr Woo could pick a zebra from the same collection...but it's just not right. He wants the PERFECT soft toy for his baby girl. It makes my heart swell with love for him.

He also wants to write a little book for our little RoseBud. She'd be the main character and she will go on many adventures just like her Daddy and I have. I'm going to do the illustrations. I'm feeling quite inspired at the moment but I obviously need to wait for the story before I can go off drawing & painting!
The  Black Apple has been especially inspiring. I first saw Emily's artwork on my friend Kitty's blog.

I think it's just so sweet! 

One day when I'm not so tired I'll bust out my sketch book and watercolors. 

New Big Knitting Challenge

I'm a novice knitter. I enjoy it & find it really relaxing. The only problem is I'm not that skilled. Within the past year or so I've tried to branch out from scarves and work from simple patterns to push myself to learn more stitches besides knit & purl...which has handily given me the wonderful excuse to collect as many vintage knitting patterns as I can get my grubby mitts on :)

When I found out that Mr Woo & I were expecting a baby I wanted to knit as many sweet tiny things as I could! I started a little dress but decided to wait until I found out if we were having a girl to finish it, because it's a hard/scary pattern for me. Now that I know we are having a girl I'll pick it back up again. Booties are my other new obsession! I started a pattern for the above baby Mary Janes, but it got complicated putting stitches onto double pointed needles and I couldn't figure it out....

so I moved on to this pattern. 

Here's the pattern link. It's sooo easy! I finished the first bootie in sage green with brown polka dot ribbon. Mr Woo will take a picture for me when they're done. It's adorable! I can't wait to finish the other one! 

And then....I saw THIS 

I had to have the pattern for this Baby Cashmerino Bonnet! The pattern is $6 from the designer Irina Poludnenko's website Hats & Not Hats. The pattern is out of my comfort zone! It's knit on circular needles and obviously has cabling and ribbing. I ordered Debbie Bliss' Baby Cashmerino in this purple: 

I will be so proud of myself if I can do it! If I can't I'll have to ask my dear sweet friend Kirsten to do it for me. She's the one who taught me to knit & she's amazing! 

So there you have it. My big challenge. I am going to give it the ole college try! 

It's A.......

Geeky Clean Fun

Because I don't have a robot or futuristic kitchen computer to help me around the house I struggle to stay on top of the cleaning and tidying. I didn't used to have such a problem. Friday used to be my "blitz the house day". I lived with 3 men in a 1930s bungalow, the house wasn't ever horrible but they didn't ever see dust or crumbs or toothpaste scum in the sink. You know what I mean....it's similar to male refrigerator blindness.
These days I don't have a set schedule and so I can't get into a rhythm.

I follow The Spotted Sparrow on facebook and I think she might have just saved my bacon!  She been posting tips on how to keep your house clean in just 15 minutes a day. I KNOW!
And this morning she posted a calendar with a job for every day. I am in geeky housewife pleasure overload! I was just talking to a friend about making up a rota for keeping the house clean but The Spotted Sparrow has done the work for us!

Are you ready for this? Maybe you should sit down. Maybe I should sit down.

Here are a few notes she posted with the calendar:

The Spotted Sparrow

 

I've been cleaning one thing a day for the past few months and my flat is clean and tidy. No massive cleaning sessions before company comes over! You can do it too with this little cleaning schedule. Remember, this is based on my 2-bedroom flat. If you have a large home or children you can adjust the schedule to your needs.

surface clean: pick up anything laying about, dust, sweep, vacuum

deep clean: surface clean + baseboards, artwork, appliances, any anything else you've been avoiding when surface cleaning

touchables: door handles, telephones, remote controls, etc.

Want some more good news? SHE'S GOING TO MAKE ONE EVERY MONTH!
I'm just too excited about this (in case you couldn't tell!). I've been fretting about how I was going to keep a tidy home when Baby Woo arrived when I can't even do it now! Thank you The Spotted Sparrow you've answered my prayers!

On a Baby Woo related update my ultrasound is on Wednesday, that's just 2 more sleeps til I can see my sweet kicking baby again AND find out if I'm being pummelled by a footballer or ballerina!