8 months and three weeks of pure joy

I can't believe it has been eight months since Hadley and Layton were born.

And little Raylyn almost three weeks now.

She has my little toe!

Lala gets the easy, inexpensive bumper pad

I made the bedding for all three of my grand-daughters.  But, never got around to having one for the crib at my house.  

We were going to have the twin grand-daughter's over last weekend and I decided it was time for a bumper since they are rolling around now.

Here is Layton and Hadley's bedding that I made.

...and here is Raylyn's bedding.

You can see more on their bedding here and here.

And here is my super fast and frugal bumper pad.  Now, I don't use mine every day.  I would iron some bonding material to stiffen the inside of this if you plan to use it everyday.  

I purchased a set of four, and used three Carter's flannel receiving blankets. Walmart $7.99. 

They were folded and already the perfect size. 

I just cut off the one extra strip.

Experimented with a sample version of the finished product design.

Sewed one huge tube, turned inside out and ironed.

I attached tightly on one corner with grograin ribbons.

The seams where the fabric connected is behind a dowel.  

Much better than the sheet version I was using.  

My cost $7.99 for three blankets, I had the ribbon.  Took about one hour to complete.

Hadley, Layton and Raylyn's bedding cost hundreds and hours of work.  

Layton tried it out overnight and at nap time. She says "thanks, Lala.  It was so soft and pretty." 

She also loved gardening with Poppa.

Where the kitchen renovation left off

You might be wondering what is up with the kitchen renovations.  They were interrupted for our new grand-daughter's arrival.

I left off here..

Everything torn out and the guys were ready to bring in the granite.  Your first look at the stone we picked out.  Colonial Cream.

The old ceramic tile back splash had to be removed and that led to another part of the renovation.  I had to find tile to match the sink area back splash that we had put in four years ago.

The guy who measure for the template said he saw it at Floor Decor in Dallas.  Then up next, the entire kitchen needed to be painted.  Lynley helped me pick out the lighter tone for the walls.  (oops, now I think the den that the kitchen opens up to might need a fresh wall color too.)  

This was a hard part.  I needed a tiny sized stone to fill in the space between the old back splash and the granite.  After four trial pieces, all too wide.  I found one sheet of this in the designer stone section of Home Depot.  It was meshed together, I just cut strips and mortared in place.  Trust me, once grouted the end product is fabulous.  

I found this in one of the kitchen drawers.  I have absolutely no idea whose it is or what pictures are in it.  I can't wait to turn it in and see what decade or party it was from.   

See those tiny round dots in the granite.  They are a dark plum color and are called cranberries.  I looked at three granite houses before I found this light colored slab.  

Also on the renovation list, repaint worn and dingy cabinets for a clean, bright look.   For this project I used Annie Sloan chalk paint ~ Old White and two light coats of her varnish.  I think the entire kitchen will take two cans of the white and one of the varnish.

Just a tiny peek at the kitchen below, still not completely done.

Kitchen renovation list

purchase new cook top and faucet

Find the perfect granite

old counters removed

granite installed

sink installed

faucet installed

cook top installed

walls painted

cabinets refinished

ceilings covered with tongue and groove boards
  canned lighting installed
 pendant lights over the breakfast counter

redecorate

Notice the difference between the cabinets on the left with Old White and the old dark ivory, with a dark glaze on the right.  Yes, I went with a full one huge sink and I love it!  

Up next... before and after.

Just in case you need a smile.  Here are three nice reasons for delays with the kitchen work.

Now we have three gorgeous grands!

Raylyn napping

Hadley's baby doll lips and porcelain doll complexion

Layton's new trick and oh those eyelashes.

Introducing Raylyn

I have been busy lately and it did not include painting kitchen cabinets.  I have become a Lala and Lynn a Poppa to little Miss Raylyn McKee.

Melissa and Sean are great parents.  The delivery was amazing and everyone is well. Just very tired adjusting to their new world.  Except for Raylyn of course, who just eats, sleeps and lets us cuddle her.