Labor Day

Labor Day was one of the first cooler days that we've had this month. And this month has been full of them. I am really liking September! Most of the days have been in the 70's and it has been just perfect. I can take an early fall... as long as we don't get an early winter!

We decided to escape the house and actually do something with our lives, and I am glad we did. We headed SW to a little town called Attica and hiked the "Potholes" and we also hiked to an arch... which I am having a hard time remembering the name. Both hikes were short and easy, but oh dear did I pay for it that night. Being pregnant certainly changes things. We had a great time hiking and exploring with the kids, this is my kind of day off :)

On the drive there, Evan asked what a hike was. I told him it was a walk through the forest or mountains. Then he told me that we should drive to the airport. I asked why and he told me: "?So we can fly to Utah and hike in the mountains." Smart boy, I totally agreed. Except it's not as simple as that to hop on a plane to Utah :(

I didn't get any good pictures of the potholes or the arch... but oh well, I got some cute pictures of my family:

And here is the proof that I was there...

Oh and here is a little fuzzy friend that we found...

The countdown continues.

Today I told Dallas... "Don't be surprised if the baby comes tonight..." I was hurting so bad. Not the normal aches and pains I've been having. I guess baby is just changing positions or something. Seriously, I couldn't walk this afternoon, it was beyond the pregnancy waddle. Dallas told me he'd give me $10,000 (haha, yeah right.) if the baby really did come. He thinks I just whine too much. And maybe I do. But we both knew she wouldn't come today (thank goodness, she still has 8 weeks of growing to do). 

I am anxious though (not enough for her to come 8 weeks early)... I just want my baby to be here. I just want November to be here. I am soooo impatient, it's getting annoying. 

Here is a side view to compare the past weeks... 

But in all honesty, I do not hate being pregnant :) It is a neat time for me. I love feeling the baby move. I love making plans and buying baby clothes, bottles, car seats etc. It is all very fun and exciting. I am so grateful for everyone who has been helping me out. Dallas has now taken the role of homemaker/mom... on top of the family provider/dad :) He does so much around the house and with the kids. My mom listens to my complaints over the phone, or she just fills my time when I need someone to talk too. I have friends who are so willing to watch my kids so I can have some free time. Or friends who are willing to just come over and hang out. I am very grateful for the support system I have here. It has made this pregnancy so much easier. Thanks everyone :)

A Tutorial.

This is for all ya'll tall girls... or short girls... or girls who just don't like the choices they have for maternity pants. I have no problem (okay, except one) with maternity clothes. I think they have some great choices and cute things out there for us prego girls to wear. The only thing that really gets to me is that maternity pants that are "Long" are really only 32-34 inch inseam. I'm sorry. That is NOT long. The end. 

When I was pregnant with Evan I just wore dress pants to work. One pair that I special ordered... and another pair that my mom made me. When I wanted to wear jeans I just left my jeans unbuttoned and used a Tummy Sleeve to hold them up. It worked, but honestly... it wasn't the comfiest option. Especially when I was 7-9 months pregnant. 

When I was pregnant with Makiah I lucked out and was able to wear just maternity shorts and capris since she was born in July. 

With this pregnancy I've been wearing maternity shorts and capris again, but I still have 2 months left and I know we'll have some colder days.

So. With this random cool weather we had this week (which was fabulous), I finally decided that I had to do something about this "I can't wear maternity jeans" thing. I went to Vanity (my favorite place to buy jeans, yeay for 35-37 inch inseams!!) and found some cute jeans on clearance for $15. Then I went to Motherhood and bought a Tummy Sleeve. I probably could have made my own tummy sleeve of sorts but this was the easiest option... I like things to be as uncomplicated as possible. 

Then I went to work....

DISCLAIMER: I am not a seamstress in any way, shape or form. Please don't judge. Also, these pictures were taken with a point and shoot camera in bad lighting. They aren't the best. Please don't judge.

Step 1: Use a seam ripper to take the bottom of the belt loops and tags off the jeans. 

Step 2: Using a seam ripper, unpick the top part of the jeans as shown. I was going to just cut them off, but I'm glad I didn't. I would have had to re-sew on the pockets, also this gave me some extra denim for a seam allowance. 

This is what it looks like when you finish taking off the top (you will no longer have a button or button hole):

Step 3: Zig zag stitch or surge the top of the jeans to prevent fraying.

I was worried about the zipper being too thick to sew through. So before zig zagging I cut the bottom flap just below where the zig-zag stitch would be. It isn't sewn shut on the inside, but it lays flat and doesn't bother me. 

Step 4: Here is where it gets tricky and where I stopped taking pictures... sorry. Divide the tummy sleeve in fourths, mark each quarter at the bottom of the sleeve with a pin. Then attach to the jeans (the jeans are right-side out, and the tummy sleeve is inside out and upside down) by pulling the jeans inside the tummy sleeve. One pin will be in front by the zipper, one in back on the opposite side, and then one on each side. I really hope this makes sense. Basically, you will sew the top of the pants and the bottom of the tummy sleeve together. I used a straight stitch and then a zig zag stitch on top to re-enforce it. Since the tummy sleeve is stretchy and not as long as the pants you have to stretch it as you sew, just be sure to keep it is all even so you don't end up with more denim left then you have tummy sleeve. It should look like this when finished (well, I'm sure you will do a better job... I am not the best at sewing):

The inside:

And here is what it looks like when it's all right-side out:

And here are my finished Maternity Jeans!! They are soooo comfy and cute. I am very happy if you can't tell!

They are kind of low in the back, but I like to wear my shirts long so I don't think it will bother me. I could have bought a black tummy sleeve to match the jeans a little more, but I wanted white so it wouldn't show through my shirts. I've seen other tutorials that left more denim in the back to keep that from happening, but I really think it was just the style of the pants that made them lower. It could be different depending on the pants you use. 

Anyway, I hope this helps at least one person... I had fun and now I want to make another pair. It only took me an hour... if even that long. It was so easy... and look how long they are!

Busy Day

Here are some "Back to School" photos of my kiddos... they started their preschool group today. It wasn't at our house today, but I was the helper and it was so fun to be there. All the kids were super excited and did really well. I was kinda worried that Evan would be bored since he is older than the other kids... but he had a great time! He is good friends with all of the kids. Makiah was thrilled that she got to go to school with Evan. She didn't like having to come home with me last year. She certainly has grown and matured a lot since last year and is ready for a group like this. They both loved being at preschool. Some of Evan's 1st day of Joy School pictures from last year are in this post. He hasn't changed too much... but he does look older :) 

After Preschool we ran to the store, picked up Dallas so he could have the car and then ran home to eat lunch before the kid's art class. They car pooled with some friends and I babysat two napping toddlers while they were gone. It was so nice after a busy morning :) I even got to nap myself!  The kids LOVED their art class... and I loved that it wasn't me helping 8 kids paint and get messy (I am such a poor sport!). Here is their art teacher's blog if you want to take a look. She is wonderful and my kids had so much fun painting today!