In this post, you can see the start of a canvas for Brennan's room.  It was the first of three canvases and some letters that ended up taking over a month to produce (I always have too many projects going at once!).  I am happy to report that they are now done and hanging in his transportation-themed bedroom!

I used a Pottery Barn train quilt and sham as a starting point for choosing colors, and I used two of Brennan's tee-shirts and a picture off the internet to help with the design.  I photocopied Brennan's shirts that had a boat and an airplane, blew up the copies until they were the size I wanted, and used carbon paper to trace them onto the canvases.  Then I just got creative with color and had some fun!

At first I was going to wrap the solid paint colors around the canvases, but I ended up deciding that patterns and alternate colors on the sides would have a much greater impact.  I am so glad I made that decision.  It was a lot of extra work, but it was totally worth it.

Here is what the room looked like without any artwork:

... and here is what it looks like now:

(Apparently I need to move the red airplane up a bit since I always bang my head on it and I can't see the artwork behind it!)

Here is what the boat and airplane look like closer up:

So, here is where I need some design help.  When I look into Brennan's room and see this...

... it makes me happy.  But when I turn my head and see this...

or this...

... I'm not so thrilled.  Why? 

1.) The furniture colors are not my favorite.  I hope to someday paint all of the furniture, but I am not allowed to paint while I'm pregnant, and it's just as well because I don't have time or energy to tackle something that big at the present time.

2.) The bare walls are driving me crazy, and I'm sure if they weren't so white it wouldn't be so bad, but since we're renting, I'm kinda stuck.  I do plan to infuse some color into the room by hanging (still unmade or unpurchased) panel curtains and a (half-finished) red bed skirt, but I really need to figure out what else to put on the walls.  I have some ideas, but I'm stuck on implementation.  I would love to get a big red barn star to put someplace, and I was thinking of incorporating these photos somehow:

I could do them framed in color, black & white, or sepia and use all of them or just one, but I'm not sure how to arrange them.  I thought about a floating shelf, but I'm just so unsure of what I want or where to put it where it wouldn't look like an island on a big white wall. 

I need some design help...  I really want to get the room done by the end of July so I can focus on the nursery in August.  I only have fourteen more weeks until baby girl gets here, and there is a ton to do!

It has been forever since I really pursued my craft business.  Major life changes will do that, I guess.  But now that I am experiencing a few months of productivity, I thought I would go back to what I enjoy!  This month several of our friends have had babies, and in an attempt to personalize some gifts, I came up with a personalized onesie / tee-shirt that I plan to sell in my Lissalaneous shop later this month.  I think these make perfect sibling gifts.  How fun to give one to each child and get some group pics in the hospital or during those first few weeks at home! 

Making these shirts has turned out to be a minor chore because the transfer paper is for ink jet printers only, and we have a laser printer.  (Yes, I tried the paper in the laser printer, and it melted, leaving our next hundred printed sheets of paper with funky black stuff on them!)  After trips to Kinkos, the UPS store, and Office Depot, I discovered that no one has ink jets available to customers anymore!  One of Jim's co-workers has an ink jet at work and kindly helped me out, but borrowing a printer every time I get an order is not ideal.  Luckily, Jim found some iron-on transfer paper for laser printers online, so I guess I will special order some before I start taking orders!

I made a shirt for Brennan yesterday, and he got to model for some of my listings.  All it took was a trip outside and a few sticks, and he was happy to oblige.  

Another project I've been working on is the invitations for my friend Kylie's baby shower.  The shower is in two weeks, and I'm in charge of the decorations, favors, etc.  The theme is a "sweet" baby shower, and we'll be using lots of sweets with green and brown, since those are her nursery colors.  Here's a peek at the invitations.  I made the cupcakes using color-copied fabric from her nursery, so it adds a personal touch!

So, back to the personalized shirts.  I'd love your input.  If you were to order one, would you be inclined to order one for older kids and adults too, or just little kids? Also, and you can be honest, how much would you expect to pay for one? Thanks for your help!

My friend Gaylene had her baby boy on Sunday, and we went to meet him on Tuesday morning when I was at the hospital for my doctor's appointment. Brennan was so precious with him, asking to hold him, gently stroking his cheek and hair, and pointing out his tiny fingers and toes. He was quiet, curious, and very gentle. It tugged at my heart. He is going to be a great big brother.

This has been such an awesome day! It comes on the heels of two of the hardest days I have ever had as a mother, so it is especially significant. I have wanted to blog about my difficult few days recently, but I didn't even know where to begin. Let's just say things have been harrowing in every way and I more than lost my cool. (I had a meltdown yesterday that brought Jim home from work early, and that has never happened before.)

Today has been different. Today Brennan and I ran errands and stayed busy for six hours away from home, and he kept his underwear dry and used public restrooms four times. This is huge.  Huge! Before now B has refused to tell us when he has to go, and he has refused to sit on big toilets.  This is a total breakthrough.  No more pull-ups in public (fingers crossed).  No more limiting our outings to two hours or less and praying for the best.  No more carting around a potty seat converter in shopping bags.  Oh, happy day!

As one way of celebrating, we bought Brennan some new sunglasses at Target.  He is very proud and wore them on his head in stores, just like I do.   Here is proud Brennan, sporting his shades:

(We still have to tackle bowel movements on the potty, but that's another story for another day...)

Another few momentous events occurred while we were out today.   As one of our stops, we went by Reliant Bank in Cool Springs, where we do our banking.  They were having a customer appreciation day, and they were serving free food.  I was a little concerned when I heard the menu, as I knew that the only thing stubborn Brennan would eat would be some potato chips.  However, much to my shock and delight, he said he wanted to try a hot dog on a bun.  Now, people, I realize I may sound like a lunatic for being so happy about my child eating a hot dog, but Brennan has never eaten a hot dog on a bun, and he hasn't willingly eaten a hot dog of any kind in over a year!  He eats almost no meat, so while most good moms look at a hot dog and see processed meat, I just see protein. 

The fact that Brennan was willing to eat something outside his comfort zone was a big, big deal!  And, to make things even more exciting, when we were done he told me he wanted to try a fruit bar (popsicle)!  I couldn't believe my ears!  He ate a grape one and loved it!  It ended up all over his shirt, but I didn't care.  Up until today he balked at popsicles.  He balked at anything new that didn't have a familiar color, taste, consistency, texture, etc.  I realize that popsicles are not a health food, but I also realize that his open-mindedness today could help open the door for trying other, more healthy foods down the line.  Woohoo!

While I was at Reliant, Jim told me to fill out a little piece of paper to win a door prize.  I didn't even look to see what was in it, and I told the girl at the table that I was only filling it out because Jim told me to. I wouldn't win anyway because I have never won anything.  Well, when Jim walked in the door after work this afternoon carrying that door prize, I told him I couldn't believe he won.  He told me he hadn't been able to reach me (I left my cell phone charging on the counter), but I had actually won!

Check this out!  It contains all kinds of poolside, summer goodies including snacks and drinks, water bottles and cups, a beach towel, outdoor placemats, a first aid kit, a disposable camera, a cooler, and... a $50 gas card and an iPod Shuffle!!!  Shut up!  I can no longer say that I have never won anything!

The only thing that would make this day perfect for our family would be if the Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup tonight.  Let's go, Pens!

In the mean time, I will go to bed tonight a very grateful mom for a desperately-needed happy day.

In an email from my mom today she mentioned that my face doesn't look as puffy as it did at this point when I was pregnant with Brennan. I couldn't really remember when my face got swollen last time, so just for kicks, I decided to look through my photos and see exactly what I did look like at this point.  Here is a picture from Christmas 2005, when I was almost 24.5 weeks pregnant (about two weeks further along than I am now):

And here's how I look now:

Here is a different angle:

It's hard to say how I look different, given the different clothes, but I do think I'm carrying differently.  Baby girl seems to be sitting a little higher and rounder than Brennan did.  I don't think my face looks puffy yet in either set of pictures (it's round, but that's just me!), but I do look very, very tired in the first pregnancy.  That's probably because I was anemic and didn't find out until week 28.  I think I also look more content this time around, which I probably am.  I am much more at peace with my body changes, having been through this before.  I've gained almost exactly the same amount of weight so far (uh-oh!), but my body is handling it more gracefully. 

One other thing I notice is that I still have my rings on in the first picture.  As of just last night, I had trouble getting my rings off, and today I am just wearing my wedding band.  I'm hoping that it is just because I'm volunteering outside at VBS this week and the heat and humidity are getting to me.

What do you think?  What differences do you notice?

In a few more days I will kiss the fifth month of pregnancy good-bye and begin month six.  It is just amazing what has happened in the last five weeks.  I went from having a small baby "bump" to having a certified belly!  I actually like the way I look at this stage - feminine and happy - but I fear how large I have yet to become.  I wish I could stay this size until the end!

I haven't been sick (throwing up) in four weeks, and I am truly enjoying this honeymoon trimester.  I know it will end soon enough...

Yesterday Brennan was asking a lot of questions about how the baby would take a bath, so I pulled a few boxes from our storage closet and showed him the baby bathtub as well as some toys.  We put a stuffed animal into the tub and I showed him how the baby will sit in there.  Then we talked for the millionth time about what to expect when the baby is born.  He has told me two or three times in the last twenty-four hours that if they baby cries when it comes out, he will go get it "a toy or somethin'."  So sweet. 

This is how I told Jim that we were pregnant last February. I showed it to him during the first week in February, over a week before Valentine's Day. I thought it would be a great way to surprise him as well as a terrific keepsake. We sat down, I watched it with him, and I watched his face as he began to understand... Very special.

Here are bunch of completely random things that have been going on with the Riggs family:

A few weeks ago Brennan had his last day of Mother's Day Out.  This September he will start a three-day pre-school at a different church.  Hopefully he will adjust pretty well in a month (if you know Brennan, you know he doesn't like change), just in time for his baby sister to arrive at the beginning of October!

I have been sick with a terrible cough / allergies / cold that has turned into what I think is bronchitis.  Last week I also decided (on my birthday) to go in and get my blood tested because I was feeling exhausted, winded, and light-headed.  It turns out I'm anemic (not a surprise), and I am now on iron for the anemia and an antibiotic for the chest stuff.  During all of this craziness, I decided to chill by working on my gift registries from home.  It is so awesome that you can do them without ever leaving your house!  Babies R Us, Target, and Amazon all have great registry sites that walk you through everything, which is a huge blessing when you're not feeling well and have an active three-year-old boy.  I was especially excited abour our Amazon registry because it now enables people to add items from unrelated websites.  That means I was able to add adorable clothes from Janie and Jack and fabulous handmade items from Etsy!  So cool!

I have also been busy finding great deals for our little girl in person, although a few of them were bought under duress.  To make a long story very short, I was at my local Kid to Kid and Brennan had an accident, peeing all over his pants, shoes, the floor, some toys, and more.  After cleaning everything up I felt like I needed to spend a few dollars if I was ever going to show my face there again!

Finally, to keep with the random theme of this post, here is a picture of Brennan enjoying his (current) favorite toys (while I was trying to make the bed):

Jim and I have birthdays that are twelve days apart, and for the last few years during that two-week stretch, we have gotten away for the weekend while Jim's mom has come to watch Brennan. (Thank you, Sharon!)  This year we knew it was especially important to get away since we probably wouldn't have another opportunity for a long time.  (Summer heat and baby belly do not mix, and infants do not contribute well to romantic getaways!)  So, this year we made the easy three-and-a-half-hour drive to Atlanta.  We don't have many pictures and honestly didn't do much that was too exciting (we wandered, we shopped, we ate, we slept, and we enjoyed being alone), but we did go to the World of Coca-Cola while we were there, and we have a few pics from that trip:

After we returned home from our trip, we had most of Memorial Day to spend with Jim's mom, and we decided to take a trip to Edwin Warner Park to explore the frogs, salamanders, and tadpoles, and to do a little hiking.

This past Friday was my actual birthday, and Jim took the day off to hang out with me!  We started the morning at the Pancake Pantry, and unfortunately that was one of the most fun parts of the day.  I have been sick, Brennan has been sick on and off for about a month, and B had to go to the doctor for a 104-degree fever that day.  However, Brennan and Jim made me a delicious strawberry cake with Jim's new 8" cake pans. Yum!

Happy birthday to us!

that you live with a three-year-old boy: