Hello from Florida!

I'm not doing a MWW post today, because we are on vacation! But, I will leave you with some pictures to show you what we've been up to in the gorgeous Sun Shine State!

Maddison is LOVING the beach! 

This is what MK did the whole 2 hour flight from Houston to Orlando... it was amazing! 

We are playing a lot of Catan on this trip... Mike's kicking our butts so far, not out of character for him!

These two are two peas in a pod... she's in love with her poppy!

Playing at the park with Dada!

Swinging with mama!

She's loving her arm floaties that Gigi got her... she can swim on her own and loves it! She's turning into a little fish.

Checking out the "fishees" at lunch! 

We are so blessed to  be here with my wonderful parents in this gorgeous place!

Hope y'all have a wonderful rest of the week!

Love,
The Sun-kissed Vogs!

MWW- The Wait

Those of you who have been tracking with me for a while know that I'm in a stage of my life that's characterized by waiting. Those close to me may also know that I am a type a planner, so me and waiting don't go together too well. My whole life I've never really waited long for anything I wanted. I wouldn't necessarily say that I was a spoiled child, but growing up in an upper middle class family in the USA hardly means that your left wanting for anything that you truly need (needs vs. wants is a totally different subject!). I can think of maybe only two times that what I wanted didn't actually happen- not making the basketball cheer leading squad (haha, I can't believe I actually tried out with ZERO cheer leading experience, no surprise that I didn't make it!) and when my high school sweetheart broke my heart....looking back, I am so thankful for both of those events turning out like they did.

 Now I find my self in a 9 month wait... Ya it is kinda strange that if what I had pictured as the perfect time to add to our family was God's plan, then our family would be adding a new member next month.

What's getting me through the day.... 

 I'm also currently in the dreaded "two week" wait... The time between ovulation and menstration. I hate this wait, it messes with my content heart. I get anxious and uneasy during this wait. Thoughts of doubt and hope flooding my mind constantly. I have learned after 9 months though how to get through- the key to keeping peaceful during this wait is to dwell on the truth that I know in Christ. He has got it under control, that's all I need to know! I'm not going to let Satan steal my joy, peace and contentment away by placing doubt, fear and self reliance in my heart.

My fertility brain! What did people do without the iPhone?

I am so excited to get out of town next week and relax with Mike and Maddie at my parents house. It will be a much needed reprieve from our busy life with people that fill me up and spur me on. Ugh, so ready to spend some quality time with them!


Are you waiting for something? I hope that you know that God is right there with you in the wait and He wants to teach you more about Himself, His love for you and yourself through this wait.... Will you let him?

Love y'all,
K. Vog

Sewing up a storm!

Meet my new baby- my Bernina sewing machine. My 2 year old Singer was more to service than it was worth, so I did some research for a reliable machine and ended up deciding on a Bernina. There is a Bernina sewing center literally 10 minutes from my house which is fantastic!  

Hello love! :) 

My mom is a wonderful seamstress and she tried teaching us girls when we were little (I wasn't super interested), but it wasn't until I was pregnant with MK that I got seriously interested in sewing. I went to a big chain baby store to buy a nursing cover, looked at it and thought "I can totally make this!"... So, I ran out to Joann's, checked online for a tutorial and made myself a $40 nursing cover for less than $10! My second sewing project was recovering cushions for MK's glider. 

My first big project- MK's glider cushions 

 Since then I've been sewing random things- onesies, dresses for MK, crayon holders, diaper holders and wipes cases, DSLR camera strap covers, rice bags, college t shirt quits, recovering friends glider cushions, a bed skirt for our bed and MK's new bed. Most of these things I've given as gifts, which helps tremendously with the gift budget when you have a lot of family and your daughter has a lot of sweet friends with birthdays close together. It also helps the decorating budget to know your way around a sewing machine!

A yoga mat bag I made this weekend- solves my problem of not having enough hands for my yoga mat, Maddie, keys and my water at the gym! Plus it has a handy little pocket to hold my cell phone and keys! 

Recently, one of my best friends was talking to me about custom baby bedding for her little one and how expensive it is- seriously, $400+ for baby bedding! I mentioned to her that I would make her bedding as my gift to her sweet little boy. She found the most wonderful fabric store in Dallas (City Craft) and purchased gorgeous fabric that I transformed into a blanket, bed shirt, nursing cover, bumper and pillow for her modern nursery. 

Baby boy bedding for a best friend! 

Now, with the addition of the new and perfect sewing machine and several years of experience, I've decided to start a sewing business! And only a day after posting the picture above on Instagram, I've got my first paying client! I am so excited about making a little fun money for MK and I to play with - I am already dreaming of affording mothers day out with my earnings.... I  might be dreaming a little too much! ;) I am also excited about creating beautiful baby bedding, pillows, curtains, for people to enjoy! 

This is my happy place!

I am struggling with coming up for a name for my little business- any suggestions my lovely blog readers? 

Happy sewing!
Love,
Katy

MWW- We can't protect them from everything

This picture is of MK's arm on Sunday. While we were eating lunch Mike noticed this on her arm. It's a toddlers bite mark! Our first thought went to church- someone must have bit her in Sunday School. MK wasn't bothered by us touching it and she wasn't crying when we picked her up. Her Sunday School teacher didn't say anything about a biting incident (and I know they would have if they saw it or if MK was upset about it). But, the marks don't lie!

How did we react?

Was I mad? No. Did I feel sad that MK was hurt? Yes, I'm a mom! Was I upset that church let this happen to my precious MK? Heck no, how can they stop toddlers from being toddlers! Honestly, my thoughts went to this: How can I use this as a teaching opportunity for MK? Even though we try, we can't protect our children from the bad in this world. Given our best efforts they are going to be hurt and betrayed. Instead of freaking out about the incident, we need to teach our children how to react to the inevitable.

This isn't the first time MK is going to be bit by a friend. How do I want her to react? That's how I should act. I need to be forgiving, understanding, rational, not giving a bad report. How is MK going to learn if I don't teach her, show her by example. She will do what I do, not what I say.

Lessons learned and slowly being applied... it's a work in progress.

It turns out MK probably bit herself- she's teething and has been biting herself a lot since Sunday!

Love,
K. Vog

Springtime fun+ Easter= a wonderful weekend!

Spring has sprung in the Vogelaar household! Flowers are blooming, noses are running from allergies, Easter was upon us, and there has been a lot of spring cleaning projects crossed off the list. Here's a sneak peek at what our busy Easter weekend looked like!

We all slept in until 8am Saturday morning! :) Thank you Maddison. If you're a parent you will realize how much of a gift sleeping in is- remember the title of the blog... a baby changes EVERYTHING! 

I love our little family!

On Friday afternoon the Wideman girls joined us at a wildflower field to take Easter pictures! This was the only picture we could get of all four of us with all of our eyes open (kinda hard with the bright sun!) and sort of looking at the camera! 

Beautiful Texas Wildflowers! 

Are these girls not the cutest things you've ever seen. They are singing "if you're happy and you know it, clap your hands!" 

She's my favorite! 

It's becoming increasingly hard to get her to smile and look at the camera for pictures! 

Maddison added some sass to our weekend. When I asked her to smile for the camera she said "noooooo" and turned her head. 

Eating jelly beans in bed on Easter morning... a great way to start the day! 

She had to have her Little People eat breakfast with her on Easter. The Little People school bus I got her for her Easter basket was a hit! Mike even made them baby pancakes and she fed them "pancates".

The Vog girls in their Easter dresses. I wore this dress for my nursing school graduation almost 3 years ago and I LOVE it. Wow, I can't believe it's been 3 years since college and how much my life has changed in those 3 years. 

Walking around Watermark before church. The service was amazing as usual. 

Enjoying a post Easter service swing on her new tree swing we put up this weekend. She's clearly loving it! 

She hasn't stopped playing with this since she got it- I feel like the mom of the year for picking this out for her. Thank you Target 50% off Little People sale a couple weeks ago! 

We put the finishing touches on Mk's room this weekend. I got that little table from First Mondays at Canton last weekend for $10! It was intended to go next to her bed as a bedside table, but she kept playing with it when she took naps in her big girl bed, so it's temporarily by the rocking chair until she develops more self control.

You've already seen the bed, but I wanted yall to see MK changing baby Elmo's diaper. She needs to be a big sister- it's in her genes! The crib is still in her room (on the opposite wall). She's been taking naps in her bed, but not sleeping in it at night. I'm still not ready! I've decided that if the Lord blesses us with another girl next I'll sell the wood crib and buy a white one and keep the girls in the same room once the little one is sleeping through the night. 

We also finished painting our $30 garage sale dresser this weekend. It looks great now with a couple coats of white paint and some new knobs! (Note baby Elmo is now being changed on the dresser!)

I love having the extra drawer space for our cloth diapers. Maddie likes it to, makes changing baby Elmo more convenient for her. 

It felt so great to have such a productive weekend, and also to take a day and reflect on the hope of Easter! I pray that Easter isn't just a day you celebrated yesterday and forgot about today. I pray that you are living in the truth of Easter everyday and that you know the power, love and peace of our Savior.

What did you do this weekend? Did you get any spring cleaning projects done? Once we have our garage sale in a couple weeks our spring cleaning will be DONE! YAY! :)

Love,
K. Vog

Sunday's coming!

Happy Easter Eve from the Vogelaar's!

Easter for us is about hope. Hope that there is life after death because our Savior conquered the grave. Our Savior, who died a perfect man 2012 years ago because He loved you (a sinner separated from God) and wanted you to have an eternal relationship with His father, ROSE from the grave after 3 days.

Do you know this hope? I pray you do!

We are so excited to celebrate another Easter with sweet MK. We are going to Watermark in the morning, having a Vogelaar family brunch afterwards and then going to the Widemans for an Easter egg hunt and dinner with some of our favorites! It's going to be a wonderful day! :)

I can't believe that this was our little Maddison a year ago on Easter- she's grown up so much! 

Easter is also a little about Easter bunny fun! :) 

Do you know this hope? I pray that you do.

Love,
The Vogs

MWW- Treasure what you have

Happy Wednesday!

My MWW post today was inspired from a trip to Pei Wei last Saturday night. As a disclaimer, I don't believe in karma or that the fortune in a fortune cookie is true and I never take them seriously- in fact Mike and I ALWAYS add "in bed" or "while naked" to the end of our fortunes for a good laugh. But, the fortunes from my fortune cookies (yes, I ate more than one!) last weekend had me thinking.
Here was my first one:

"A small gift can bring joy to the whole family."

Of course, my silly TTC brain start swirling into a cycle of self-pity... "a second child would bring us so much joy... why not now? why are so many others around me getting to add to the joy of their families, but not us?"  And then, in them midst of my wallowing, I opened another fortune cookie and got this one: 

"Treasure what you have"

                                              

Ouch! Thank you Lord for that sweet reminder to be content in my moment of weakness. So, that's my piece of wisdom for the day- treasure what you have! Here's how I am treasuring my sweet MK: 

We are dancing in the rain! 

We are smiling in the closet while keeping safe during the storm

We are playing together, even at the doctors office- this was my first time taking MK to a doctor appointment for me, and it was hard! 

We are cuddling when MK's not feeling well. 

We are celebrating new milestones- sleeping in her big girl bed for the first time! It was short lived because I was so worried about her all night and couldn't sleep... Maddie was ready, but mommy was not! 

 Although my heart still desires to add to our family and we are still trying, I am trying to be content in the here and now. I am trying to be ok with this waiting, treasuring my time with Maddison.

I hope you can treasure what you have today!
Love,
K. Vog

A bed skirt tutorial!

Just as promised- here's the tutorial for the bed skirt I made for MK's room!

The hardest part of any sewing project is the preparation and planning. First, you have to measure your mattress length, width and height from the floor. For an average twin mattress that would be 75"x39'x18". Add 1/2 an inch to your measurements for a hem allowance. 

Next, find your fabric! I got 4 yards of a 54" width fabric (I got more than I would had I used a solid color because of the pattern repeat on this fabric).  You also need a piece of fabric the size of the mattress- I used an old sheet, you could use muslin. 

After you plan out how long and wide your fabric strips need to be, start cutting! A little tip, for most cotton fabrics, you can cut a small straight line and rip the fabric so that you can get a straight line- but test this first! To keep the pattern in my fabric consistent, I made sure that every panel had a centered flower. I ended up have a couple inches of wasted fabric between every panel (that's what I was talking about with the pattern repeat). Had I not done that, the pattern would be off on every panel and it wouldn't look uniform. 

Next, I had to piece together my two 75" panels. This was tricky, but I made it work! Pin the panel pieces together, sew them right sides together, and cut off the excess fabric to make your long panels. 

Pinning together the panels! 

The sewing part is easy. Iron out your panels, turn the bottom edge in 1/4 inch and iron a hem, then pin it together. Do the same on the ends. Sew all of your hems using a straight stitch. 

Once you have all of your panels hemmed, start sewing them onto your base. Make sure you pin them in place before sewing. Sew the panels and the base right sides together. 

Finally, iron all of your panels so that they look pristine on your bed! And voila! You've got a beautiful new bed skirt! 

Happy sewing!
Love,
Katy