Memorial Day weekend

Oh post long weekend comas... how I dread thee. As if work wasn't tough enough to get through, I'm now sitting here with a laundry list of things to do... yet I'm in my PJs ready to call it a day. Sigh.

Friday was the only evening in a 6 day span that I was able to see Clay for more than 10 minutes. We had our usual date night which consisted of dinner at Crapplebees and a Netflix movie. Yeah, that's how us old folk roll.

Saturday Clay had a golf outing and went both bass and bluegill fishing. I went into Muskegon early to drop Zora off at Mama Z's and then met with Pastor Kevin from Blue Lake Community Church about the website redesign I'm doing for them. Real nice guy and I'm excited to finally get rollin' on this project. Went back over to my parents to swim/layout. Well, actually I sat around for 5 1/2 hours in jeans and a sweatshirt waiting for the sun to come out. The clouds eventually disappeared and got some sun before going to the Station with the folks. Zora and I went home and Clay came rolling in sometime during the wee hours of the morning.

Pups dig carrots.

Kissin' friends... kinda.

We're all hot. 

Sunday, I was up bright and early to participate in my first craft fair with Ashley. She sold her jewelry and I sold/marketed my special dates and birth announcement prints. I have a good feeling about how many business cards and order forms people took... even for it being such a small fair. Even had a couple orders right there on the spot. Head over to my Etsy site people... prints are up and waiting to be ordered. :) Went to Grandma's house afterwards to hang by the pool with family and grill out.

3rd shifters up waaaay past their bed time results in shananigans like this...

Our booth at the Fruitport Old Fashioned Days craft fair

I spent a full 12 hours on Monday prepping for our garage sale. Ironed clothes, priced everything, laid out tables... gah. Mom came over after dropping Dad off at the airport to give me a hand. Luckily we got everything about 99% done. If you're in the Holland area on Saturday 9-4, we had 8 family members contribute to this garage sale... it's pretty outrageous. Check out the Craigslist ad for a fairly comprehensive list of everything that's up for grabs... cheap.

Two days of bathing suit wearing this weekend encouraged humiliated me into going to buy a tankini today. Um, tankini makers of the world, there are women out there taller than 5' 6". If a tankini falls 2 inches ABOVE my belly button.... it kinda defeats the purpose of wearing one. No one, I mean NO ONE, is going to want to see this belly bobbing in the water in the coming months. I finally found one that's meant to mold you and give you a more desirable shape. Yeah that's great and all, but at least it goes down to my butt. Hoooooowever... it has built in cup support. Normally, YAY! But pregnant me has a slight fear of looking like a pudgy porn star at family pool parties by mid summer. Sorry fam, but in the changing room battle of belly vs. boobies... boobies won. Shield your eyes.

Wrappin' up the 1st trimester

Many moons ago, I told Clay that it was going to be forever before the baby gets here. Uhhhh, I'm already a 1/3 of the way there?! Where did that time go? Well, I guess the first 10 weeks or so were spent in a highly comatose state, so maybe that's why I don't remember anything.

Spent Wednesday night confirming that I'd rather plan my wedding 100 times over prepping for a baby. Not that it's any more fun, but choosing the wrong shade of tulle wasn't going to result in a health or safety issue for anyone. Babies R Us and Buy Buy Baby should have warnings on the door that state "it is certain that you will instantly become very overwhelmed and your brain will explode." Most of my big ticket items were fairy easy to wrap my head around. Not that I've narrowed anything down besides the nursery furniture, but I generally understood the concept. Until I got to car seats...

I originally planned on going the humongous harnessed car seat option for both vehicles. They adapt to the baby's ever changing height and weight and then become forward facing when the time is right... makes sense. But then what does one do without the carrier?! I have a feeling I'm not going to be able to grow a second set of arms in the next 6 months, so I feel like a carrier is borderline necessary. (Moms, am I right?) So then I turned to the carrier with car seat base option. Still makes sense... but then when they grow out of the carrier, do you still have to go the giant harnessed seat anyway?

Apparently another pregnancy symptom is just feeling dumb.  

Anyways, pants don't reeeeeally fit anymore. Awesome. Already had a dress completely reject me, so why not all my dress pants too. On Wednesday, I still felt like I had just eaten a really big meal and needed to find some sweatpants asap. The very next day, I think my belly shot out of nowhere. It was crazy how different I looked and felt in just a day. Can't wait to actually feel the baby move so I don't just feel like a fatty pants.

Gotta squeeze in a bathing suit tomorrow... this is gonna suck. The Bump.com says lots of couples take "babymoons" in the second trimester to get away and women feel super sexy sporting their lil baby bump in a bikini. Uhhhh... kudos to those moms. I think I shall remain content in my sweatpants well into the summer months.

Fruits + Veggies Pregnancy Reveal

Do you remember those paper link chains that you used to make way back in kindergarden to count down days until school was out or days until your birthday? Well, those are still a running gag in my family. My sister and I both had one to count down the days until college graduation and my dad has one until retirement. So when it came time to announce to my parents that we were expecting, it seemed only fitting to do it with a chain.

The was a link for each week that contained the following information: how far along the baby is (in weeks), the dates of that week, how big the baby is (compared to fruits and veggies) and a picture of the appropriate food. If you're tracking your pregnancy on thebump.com, it'll tell you each week how big your baby is in reference to a food. I decided to steal borrow the images from the website and use them in my chain.

After giving my parents a sweet pea (week 6) and telling them that was the size of their grandchild, we presented them with the chain. Now we celebrate mini birthdays every Wednesday. Next week, Peach will be 13 weeks. :) Since we're not finding out the gender and don't have any creative nicknames, we just refer to the bump as whatever food it is that week.

WE'RE EXPECTING!

I'm please to finally announce that my husband and I are expecting our first child! Lil Arch is due November 28th and we cannot be more excited to become parents!

We discovered I was pregnant back in the end of March. I actually knew way before we took any test... roughly around week 3. You just don't go from sleeping through the night to waking up 4-5 times a night to pee for no reason. Ya know? Clay's parents took us out for dinner to celebrate his birthday on April 3 and that's when we announced that their fifth grandchild was on the way.

My parents luckily came home from West Virginia for Easter weekend. I told them to hold out their hands and I placed a frozen pea in each of their palms. My mom, who thought I was trying to get her to eat edamame, popped it in her mouth and said, "this is a pea!?" Yes mom, but that's also the size of your grandchild. God Bless mother Z.  :)  We informed siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins on Easter Sunday.

8 week ultrasound

We had our 12 week appointment this morning and finally got to hear the heartbeat. Clay and I made the decision to wait until after this appointment to make the big announcement. We wanted to make sure everything was ok throughout the first trimester.

We also are doing things a little out of the norm (or so it seems). We are not going to find out the gender of the baby ahead of time nor are we planning on sharing the names we selected with anyone before the baby is born. (Yes, we have names picked out already). Unless the baby decides to take up permanent residency, we are not scheduling an induction date either. Yes people, this is going to be a full out surprise! I just feel like everyone nowadays is like, "We're having baby X on this date at this time." I feel like with everything in life that you have the ability to control in manipulate, why not let this miracle completely take you by surprise? But that's just me...

Anyways, so yeah... we're ecstatic to start this new chapter in our lives and can't wait to begin working on the nursery and registry. Updates on that will hopefully start happening on within the next few weeks... stay tuned for nursery and further pregnancy updates!

I'm not dead.

Hellooooo everyone, yes, I'm still alive. Between a sheer lack of time and ambition, I really haven't had any new DIY projects lately. What's new in the Archambault household? Not much. This weekend I drove to Bay City to see my bestie Sarah and attend her future sister-in-law's bachelorette party. Apparently life was going too good and I was overdue for a shitty life moment. You all remember my last trip to Bay City?

Well shit, you'll never guess what happened on the way there this time. I took an exit to get more gas and as I was changing lanes, I lady darted out of parking lot into the lane I was heading into. Made a mess of the side of her nice shiny red Caddy, but put some dents and paint on the front driver side corner of my car. Boooooooooo! I can't win. I'm going to hire a chauffeur to drive me to Bay City next time. 

Anyways, this weekend was great. Finally got to meet Miss Emmalyn... who is an absolute doll by the way. If I hadn't been so nervous about driving back home, I probably would have kidnapped her. Went to the bachelorette party last night and it was confirmed that we're old ladies and need to go to bed early. Got up super early for church this morning, napped and had a delicious lunch with the entire Miller family. Great times, I always love spending time with my other family. 

Other than that....... house projects include another round of grass seed, hopefully some landscaping this year, getting ready for a huge multi-familiy garage sale (mark your calendars! June 2nd 9-4 Holland), etc. I'm hoping to get going on a few new craft projects in the near future, but with the next two weeks full of weddings, vet appointments, doctors appointments and work functions... I'll touch base in a little bit. Stay tuned! 

Donating time + talent

I'm a firm believer that if you are blessed with a certain talent or skill, there's no reason that you shouldn't use that gift to better a cause or circumstance... without seeking reward or monetary gain. I've blogged a few times about my favorite news cast showcasing how photographers are donating their time and skill to take better adoption photos for local animal shelters. Well, I'm no photographer, but I do know a thing or two about marketing and design. I just wanted to take the time to showcase a few projects I've taken on pro-bono to prove that it doesn't take much time or effort to make a difference in a cause you feel passionate about.

So get out there people. Donate your time and talents to whatever cause floats your boat. It's worth it.

Lakeshore Pet Alliance

Logo design

Because Of Mandy

Logo design

Website design & maintenance

Twitter account setup and maintenance

YouTube channel setup and maintenance

Harbor Humane Society

Fundraising group logo design

Animal Placement Bureau

Monthly e-newsletters

March 2012 issue

February 2012 issue

January 2012 issue

December 2011 issue

November 2011 issue

October 2011 issue

DIY: "Silk-Screened" Easter Eggs

Tired of staining your eggs (and fingers) in that same 'ol typical Easter Egg dye? I am. Here's a different way to make your eggs oh-so-beautiful by using silk ties!

You'll need 100% silk ties (or scarves) for this tutorial. Be sure to check the tag... the polyester blends won't do. I picked these up at my thrift store of choice for a $1 each. Not bad at all. Don't worry if they're ugly, old people ties... the transfer will still come out pretty cool!

With a stitch ripper or pair of scissors, remove the ties innards so that all your left with is the printed silk material. 

Cut pieces large enough to be able to wrap around the entire egg and secure with a small rubber band or twist tie.

You'll also need to wrap them in an old pillow case or sheet and secure them with another rubber band/twist tie. Again, check your thrift stores... I found a pillow case for $.50. Once they're all wrapped up, carefully plop them into a pan filled with water and 1/4 cup vinegar. 

Bring to a boil. Once boiling, set your timer for 20 minutes. You may have to keep rolling the "floaters." Side note: if you're worried about the pan boiling over, lay a wooden spoon across the top of your pan. It won't overflow... I promise.

After the 20 minutes is up, remove from the boiling water with some tongs and place in a dish or colander to cool down. Once they're cool enough to handle (about 20 minutes), go ahead and unwrap them.

You'll find that your jewel tones (reds, purples, blues...) will transfer the best. Now they're ready for Easter dinner (or all those leftover egg salad sandwiches). Enjoy! 

Banana Chocolate Chip (Mini) Muffin recipe

I love breakfast foods. And I love chocolate. So I look for ways to combine the two. (Don't judge.) These tasty little morsels can be made as muffins or mini muffins. Beware! With mini muffins, you may lose count on how many you actually ate!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 C. mashed bananas
• 2 eggs
• 1 C. brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 C. margarine, melted
• 1 t. vanilla
• 2 1/4 C. flour
• 2 t. baking powder
• 1/2 t. cinnamon
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1 C. chocolate chips
• 1/2 C. walnuts

INSTRUCTIONS

In medium bowl, beat bananas, eggs, sugar, butter and vanilla until well blended. In large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Make well in center of dry ingredients. Pour in banana mixture. Mix until just blended. Spoon into greased muffin cups. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes (large muffins) or 12-15 minutes (mini muffins).

Yields: 1 dozen

A lazy Sunday with the kids...

Sweet dreams while spoonin' with me on the couch...

with Clay screaming at little boys on COD... 

"Now Zora, bark once when you see snipers and twice for gernades..."

Daddy's girl

No affection for me during video games... I see where I'm ranked.

Nap time with Daddy...

Getting a little warm...

...let's try the floor.

The Zora couch... juuuust right.

DIY: Make Your Own Swiffer Pads

If you own a fleece shirt or jacket AND own a pet, you know that these fierce enemies never play nice. Fleece sweatshirts, blankets and shirts are no match for my fur ball of a dog even after washing and drying. With this frustration in mind, I thought, why not use it to my advantage? A cloth that attracts any dog hair within a 10 foot radius? Sounds like a Swiffer solution to me.

I purchased an old fleece blanket from a thrift store (that supports a local animal shelter, naturally) for around $2. From one blanket, I could get eight approximately 10"x10" squares. I was going to hem up the edges, but who cares!? Not my dirty floor.

I actually think these work better than the actual Swiffer pads. They glide along my floor a lot nicer and pick up the smaller sand particles better. When I'm all done, the large clump of dust and dog hair peels right off to be thrown away. The rest goes into the washing machine and comes out perfectly clean.

Go ahead, try it.