Minty Fresh Baby Nursery

Mint, Peach, & Gold

Baby Nursery for Baby Girl #4

Scarlett is almost two, so I figure it's about time I post her nursery pics. I turned the room into my office a couple months ago, so now my little bundle of joy's baby room is just a sweet memory, and a beautiful place for me to work.

Having 4 kids has left me very little time or energy to do any blogging, but school is in full swing and my two higher maintenance girls are in school full day, so just maybe I can squeeze a little in.

When I was pregnant with my first baby, Penelope, we moved from Dallas to Tulsa and rented a condo until she was 9 months old. So, I never got to do a real nursery. I made her bedding, and she had everything for a nursery, but I was never able to paint or hang things, or make it a truly unique space. 

 

When I was pregnant with my second, Phoebe, Penelope was still an infant and I was working full time until I was put on bed rest around 5 months. That left zero time to do a nursery... I had a total freak out sad moment a few weeks before she was born and threw together a plan for her room, which consisted of a bedroom in a bag by Cocalo, it was super cute, probably the best room in the house at that point. But, it was still wasn't well thought out, it was just as nice as I could make it stuck laying down on my sofa 24 hours a day (and this was before you could buy everything amazing online).

Baby #3, Sophia, she's my poor hand-me-down child. We passed Phoebe's nursery right on over to her, zero changes.

When I found out we were having our 4th girl, I INSISTED on doing a nursery even if I didn't have room to put her in! We turned our office/playroom into a room for our sweet little baby Scarlett, and I did it exactly like I wanted. No bed in bag, no cheesy themes, just pretty. Our budget was pretty much non-existent, so I had to get creative. I did things in little bits at a time, used a lot of stuff I already had, and shopped for treasures/steals. I absolutely adore this room, and it's as sweet as she is!

My sweet friend Lauren Paull did our NB photos, it was a lifestyle shoot, she got some beautiful photos of the room. If you are in the Tulsa area, I highly recommend Lauren Paull Photography for hospital birth photos (will save that for another post), and newborn photos. She does a fabulous job with the more traditional baby poses, but I adore her lifestyle photography!

Cheers to all the Mommas of 4!
Christy

Oklahoma Winter Snow 2015

Oklahoma Winter Snow 2015

 I was really expecting a big snow this year, and we didn't get it (insert sad face).  But, we did get enough to bundle the girls up and play, and that's what really matters!  This was Sophia's first real snow, that she's old enough to remember, and old enough to really play in, so it was special.  There's just nothing like snow (except roller skates), that brings back a flood of childhood memories.  

Thankful for our yearly Oklahoma snows:)

Happy snow day!

DIY- Lemon Meringue Dress

Homemade Halloween Costume-

Lemon Meringue Dress

My five year old asked to be Blueberry Muffin from Strawberry Shortcake, for Halloween, so I decided to make my four year old daughter Lemon Meringue, and the two year old, a Strawberry.  The premade costumes are really plain and kind of boring, and I thought they would be fun to make a little more girly, more like what the original Strawberry Shortcake dress looked like. 

I selected a dress pattern that would allow them to wear the dresses after Halloween too.  The amount of time and energy that goes into a costume, I figured if I can make it a dress they can re-wear, it will be much easier to put in the labor hours!

  

I ADORE this simple dress tutorial from The Big Oak Tree blog, the instructions are for a 12-18 month size, and I resized it to fit a size 4/5.  

 

Follow the sewing instructions on original blog post. 

Size 4/5 yardage requirements were the same, plus 1/2 yard of a third trim fabric.  I added the third fabric for the bottom band, the arm ruffles and the ruffle on the bodice.  I selected a solid white for the trim, and it really popped off the yellow prints.  This may be my most favorite dress I've ever made!  (I purchased my fabrics at Joann.)

 

The new size 4/5 dimensions are as follows:

Outer Bodice: 13-1/2"w by 16" h

Inner Bodice: 11"w by 16" h

Neck Hole: 6-1/2" diameter  with 2" slit (centered on each bodice piece)

Body: the width of the fabric by 15" h

Trim: width of fabric (about 42") by 10-1/2" (I did it at 2" and surged the bottom edge to finish, it saved quite a bit of fabric)

Arm Ruffle: 16" w by 3-1/2" h

Front Ruffle: 7"w by 10"h  (I made a wider ruffle larger than the original)

 

 

 

 

The Fam: 1st Day of PreK

My Oldest Daughter is Officially in School!

Her first backpack selection was Hello Kitty, her first folder selection was Avengers, with that in tow, she has officially begun a quarter century worth of education.

 

She is going half days, which is only 2 hours & 4o minutes a day, but it still counts. I still have to get her up, try to talk her into the wearing the outfit I selected, get her teeth & hair brushed, get her fed, & out the door! The first week went surprisingly well, no hiccups. After the 1st day jitters were over, she was excited to go back.

 Her daddy took the morning off work, so he could walk her to her first day of class with me. She was hesitant to enter the classroom, she actually may have been the last one to go in.

She greeted her teacher, Mrs. Price, sat down to color, & we snuck out.

 Troy & I both had watery eyes as we pulled out of the parking lot... the reality that our little babies won't be little for long, is finally setting in.

 

When we picked her up, her teacher said she did great until the last few minutes & then she asked when she was going to get to see her mommy, & asked if they were going to get a snack. Mommy & food are her favorite things! She was too nervous to eat breakfast, so she was starving.

 

The night before school started a friend told me she couldn't wait to see pics of her with her cute little first day of school sign, I said "I don't have one", she said "print one off", I said "I'm out of ink"... Out of guilt, I made due last minute & pulled my chalkboard off the wall & made a quickie sign... keeping up with the suburban housewives;)

 

These are the answers I got as I asked her about her first day & week:

She played hopscotch

Her class has a sand table

She made a friend, his name is Eli, she's taking him a snack tomorrow

She didn't do anything

She went outside

She colored a smiley face

 

I am sure the answers will stay this vague for the next 14 or so years!

Shoot It: Mamarazzi of Tulsa

Photography Workshop for Moms

My mom bought me a Canon T1i body & the 50mm 1:1.8 lens, two & a half years ago. I use the green box most of the time, occasionally I will venture into the flower, the portrait silhouette, or the guy running. But, I have never done anything in full manual mode. I tried reading the manual that came with the camera, & it made sense, then I put the pamphlet down & forgot everything. I should have taken this workshop years ago!

(I was lucky enough to win a seat by entering the maximum amount of times on Jenny Collier's blog giveaway!)

My auto shoot days are over, I am movin' on up to manual! Here are some of my favorite shots from today's workshop (these are NOT my kids, they are little models).

And, these are the lovely teachers, Ashley Thompson & Jenny Collier!

Ashley is a full time professional photographer, you can take a peek at her work, or schedule a session with her here: Ashely Thompson Photography. Jenny is a blogger & co-teaches the Mamarazzi class, you can take a peek into her life as a blogger here: Jenny Collier. I am luck enough to be friends with these girls, & they are as beautiful on the inside as they are on the outside!

I highly recommend this workshop if you live in the Tulsa area & are wanting to step outside of the green box & learn to use that fancy camera of yours! You can find more info on their website Mamarazzi of Tulsa.