Baby Higgins #2 Update

So I had my first real appointment with my OB this morning. When she came I mentioned the huge difference between dates that I received when I had my sonogram. This concerned her and so we did *another* sonogram in her office. Apparently I was wrong... as wrong as you can be when you know good and well you did NOT have a period at the end of June... Anyway. The baby is extremely healthy and I am only 8 weeks 6 days. This means a due date of April 3rd and we will probably schedule the c-section around March 26th. YES I am already thinking about that. If you know me, you know I am relieved to know this information. My OB said she still saw a yolk sack with the baby and no arms or legs kicking around which are two things that wouldn't be present in a sonogram if I was 12 weeks. She also said that I should be glad that I am not 12 weeks because she would assume something was wrong with the baby and without the heartbeat (which I got to hear) she would think I had a miscarriage. So. Dates don't always matter. It's all up to your body and what it wants to do. Also, she said my Altenelol (heart medication) does not seem to be affecting the baby at all. She kept saying over and over how healthy the baby was. Probably because she was just as shocked as I was. So, healthy baby, not as far along as I thought/wished I was, another sonogram :) Good morning.

A Pure Heart

I have been doing a lot thinking lately about wasted time and a pure heart. I don't want one... and want to strive for the other and until the other morning, they seemed like two entirely different things. We have such a limited amount of time and such a limitless amount of things to do. I found a quote the other day that said, "The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted". To me that means that only you can deem what is worthy to spend your time on. When it comes to me, if I find pleasure in it, then I will continue to do it. That is also the same for people in my life. If you bring me happiness or I look forward to hanging around you, then I do not think you are a 'waste'.

This whole concept was really weighing heavily on me the other day while I was at work. It was before the store opened and I had just finished listening to Miranda Lambert's song "Heart like Mine". I have really been trying to focus on loving people for who they are and forgiving them for their eccentricities, because everyone has them. A line in the song says that Jesus could understand a heart like mine. That particular line really spoke to me. It is up to Jesus to understand everyone else and not us. It is up to us to love others and try to make the world a better place.

This is easily done in the larger sense, but for me, my hang up becomes my day to day life. Sure I can listen to Christian music to soothe my bad mood or I can volunteer my time to helps others out, but can I control my temper with bad drivers? Can I keep my cynical view of the world and people to myself? Not usually :) To me, even if I get happiness from being sarcastic or snarky, does that waste my time? What is the main outcome of those things? Can it really change things if I try to only put good words out there? Yes! But I truly believe I can do this and still be myself. I can be sarcastic and dry without being offensive. I can not have strong opinions about things that don't necessarily affect on a personal level. I will try to have my own thoughts and not adopt those of others because I think I lose a lot of my personal identity that way. Not hopping on a bandwagon in regards to my family, friends or even Facebook will help me have a pure heart because at least all the things I will put my efforts into will be original emotions.

Everyone should always be on a journey for self improvement, because if you are not, you can become stagnant and it will begin to affect parts of your life. Or at least I believe that to be true. Over the next few weeks I am going to watch what thoughts come to my head and figure out if they are pleasant or pertinent enough to be said. I believe this will help me be a happier and nicer person and if we want the world to change (be it big scale or just immediately around us) it has to start somewhere, so why not me?

A Wreath for Laikyn

So my new obsession in Pinterest. Its a web site and an app for my phone. If you don't know what it is, you should check it out! Anyway, I found a wreath on there I decided to make as a gift for my friend's new little girl. I followed the tutorial for the original wreath and learned a few things along the away.

First you need a round wire hanger and you need to bend it into the best circle you can make.

I was experimenting with the right length of fabric to achieve the right look. Longer is better. But there is your circle and don't worry about making it perfect. Once your fabric is on it, you would be able to tell where it isn't perfectly round.

You need 1/4 yard of fabric. I cut my fabric into 1/2 inch strips and had plenty left over. I also chose four different patterns, so if you choose more, you can buy less. This is where you can make your own choice for your own wreath. The tutorial I was following said to cut your strips to the right width and then cut them in half. So that is the length I used. Now, I wish I had kept them longer so have more a messy, shabby effect, but it is up to you. To look like mine, cut the strips in half lengthwise.

I would say it will probably take you 2 hours to do this process all the way through. It took me longer, but I had to stop to take care of Emily. I also can't sit still for that long tying fabric in knots. I kept my fabric in the order you see above and kept a pattern. I also sometimes double knotted the fabric on the wire (which is the way the tutorial instructed) and sometimes I decided one knot was good enough. I think this helped it not look so uniform.

That is the finished product. I made a bow out of ribbon for one side and painted a wooden block for the middle initial. I am not sure if you can tell, but the wood is 'distressed'... as much as you can distress a small block of wood. The letter is from the scrap booking section and was all one piece. To do this, you can also use ribbon, but I felt like fabric was much more cost effective and I was able to find the same fabric Kayla used for her daughter's bedding and incorporated it.

It was fun and easy and actually really cheap. Probably about $10 for all of it. Although, I did get the fabric on sale at Hobby Lobby.

Have fun!