Happy and relaxed mums to be!

We just had a wonderful weekend away in Bowral attending a Calm Birth seminar. We went along with Phoebe and Josh and it was just such a beautiful and empowering weekend. We stayed in a gorgeous B&B, had dinner at Eschalot in Berrima, and spent the days meditating and learning about how birth can be a positive experience. And look how relaxed we both are!

Although our bumps aren't very visable in this photo, I'm 27 weeks and Phoebe is 33 weeks.

Finished picnic blanket

I'm so excited to post a photo of my first big major sewing project. A few posts back, I wrote about the beautiful fabric I'd chosen to make a picnic rug and here is the finished product!

Although you can't see it in this photo, the back is made from denim (nice and hardy), and it is hand-tied. The back corners have little fabric pockets, which you can put rocks in to keep the blanket from blowing away in the wind. Perfect for when the weather gets back to normal!

All things baby

I've been busy being preparing not just for the arrival of our new baby, but also excited by my friend's babies.

Firstly, beautiful baby Claudia was born last Tuesday to my friends' Karen and James, and recieved a little bib and onesie that I made.

And I've been making invitations for Phoebe's baby shower. I confess that this is not my original design - I first saw it on Anna Marie Horner's blog, and thought it was such a wonderful design.

I'm not sure what it is about being pregnant, but it seems to have ignighted my creative spirit. It is really nice to be making things again, especially for grateful friends!

Speaking of getting creative...Simon, Dad and Ewan are outside painting our house! Yep, the green and white colour scheme of the 1960s is slowly being covered into modern pollinate, jasper and deep ocean. Stay tuned to see photos of the results!

Spring has sprung

Spring is springing up everywhere! Last weekend we stayed at Milton Park to celebrate our second wedding anniversary. It still looks as beautiful as when we got married there. And coming home, the apple trees in our backyard are starting to blossom.

Speaking of blossoming... our second ultrasound is on Tuesday. Fingers crossed all is going well hopefully we will be able to see if our baby is a boy or a girl.

My growing belly

I've been a bit quiet for a few weeks. Busy with spring chores and renovating our laundry. What was supposed to be a two-week project is nudging 6 weeks! Fingers crossed that we'll have our washing machine back this weekend!

As you can see in the photo, my belly has really started showing. It is very exciting, although my wardrobe is becoming more limited by the day! We've bought our pram, and are slowly collecting more things for the baby. I now know all there is to know about modern cloth nappies, including how adorable they can be! They are no longer simple terry squares and pastel pins!

Off to the snow!

Our weekend to the snow has finally arrived! We're leaving today with friends B, Josh, Manda, James & Kurt. The girls aren't skiing, we'll be swanning around town drinking hot chocolate & getting spa treatments. The boys are supposed to be skiing, but our bet is that they'll find the bars more attractive than the chair lifts!

In between that, I'll be getting started on my new project - a picnic rug. I'm really excited as it is my first attempt at a 'quilt'. I picked up the loveliest fabric last week, which will be perfect for lounging around on with my big belly when summer finally arrives. And eventually it will be nice for the baby to play on.

Weekend project - recovering chairs

Simon and I are busily working away to get our house ready for the new arrival. Its less than 6 months away, but I am sure time will fly! So we've been finishing off lots of jobs that have been languishing on our to do list for a while. On the top of my list was recovering our old, stained dining chairs (see before picture).

As you can see, they have nasty marks all over the fabric. I never wanted white covers, but it was the only fabric available at the time. I vowed to get them recovered right away, but baulked at the expense. Instead, I thought I would wait until they inevitably got dirty and recover them then. That time has well and truly come!

I found some gorgeous fabric at a little village market during our holiday in Provence, France earlier this year. Although we only needed 2 metres, the guy gave us the rest of the bolt, about 4 metres in total. It is a dark beige colour, with a red and white striped pattern - very cute.

Recovering the chairs was relatively simple. I just unscrewed the seat from the chair, removed the existing staples using a screwdriver, removed old cover (leaving padding in place). I used the old cover as a template for the new fabric to make sure I cut out the right sized piece. Then it is a matter of pulling the fabric taut (but not too tight) and securing onto the base using a staple gun. I also finished the fabric with some scotchguard spray to give it extra protection. Once dry, the base was screwed back into the chair, and viola - ready for our dinner party last night!

French Toast

Although I haven't been having any crazy cravings during the pregnacy, I have been craving smoothies and eggs. So this morning, despite feeling terrible with my cold, I dragged myself our of bed to make french toast garnished with blueberries (for antioxidents) and bananas (for lots of good stuff). Yum!

Now back to bed...

Colds and babies

Simon and I have both been struck down with a vicious cold. I'm convinced that the baby is making my immune system about as effective as a turnip, as it has hit me particularly hard. Nothing to do but stay in bed and watch bad american tv and cruise my fave blogs.

We had our first (12 week) ultrasound on Friday. It was such an amazing, special experience. To see this tiny little baby growing inside me! It was really active - kicking and boxing - at one stage it even waved at us! Makes me think it is going to be a boy, but who knows? Last week I thought it was a girl. Either way, it is so exciting to think we'll be parents in six short months!

Over the weekend I finished my amy butler yoga mat carry bag. Perfect timing as ante-natal yoga classes start this week. Here is a photo sans the yoga mat.

Lazy mornings...

This weekend we are puppy-sitting Miss Coco Chanel. At the moment, both Bob and Coco are curled up on our bed slonking all over Simon. Its a very cute sight. Despite plans to start rennovating the laundry this weekend, we haven't even managed to crawl out of bed yet...

This terrible grainy photo is taken on my mobile. Terrible quality, but oh-so-cute!