2 months

Persephone is two months old today!  I can hardly believe it.  It's such a short amount of time, yet it feels like she's been part of our family forever.  

She's growing so fast!  The fact that she is already past her newborn faze makes me sad.  But it's also fun to see her little personality emerge.  She's starting to recognize us when we walk in the room, and smile when we talk to her :)

So far, sleeping has been pretty good, and she eats like a champ!  She loves to nap in her swing, or on my lap while nursing.  Dano just put together her crib yesterday, so hopefully we'll try out some naps there soon.  

Her likes: nursing, laying on her back, shower time!

Her dislikes:  the car seat, being put down for stretches of time

While she has a normal amount of fussy time, I'm grateful that she is generally a sweet, easy baby!  

Gage is really good with her, just kinda letting her be, and not fighting for attention too much.  Until she starts to cry.  And then he puts his fingers in his ears and looks at me like I need to fix it :)

Life is definitely more hectic with two littles!  But I'm trying to focus on being even more patient, and cherishing each moment.  Time is gonna fly!

Managing Expectations

Hey!  How is your week going?  Mine feels like it's flying by!  Between two kids, outings, DIY and just trying to keep after the house, life is hectic.  

So time management has never been my forte.  But B.K. (That's Before Kids, in case you were wondering), things like all-nighters or an entire day of DIY were totally doable.  Now, not so much.  And what used to take a couple hours can now take days.  Which can be very frustrating for an instant gratification lover like me.  

On top of that, as I get older, I notice that not having things picked up or cleaned regularly bothers me even more.  And now that P is here, it's getting even tougher to keep up with things.  And it.is.frustrating.

Take for example our master bedroom paint job.  When we bought our first house, I painted three rooms in one night.  That's right, one night.  This time, notsomuch.  I think it took a whole week to get our room fully painted.  Which left our room in chaos for that entire week.  And drove me batty!  I mean, painting should not take that long!!  So, I got frustrated.  And I got snappy.  And I begged Dano to help (he despises painting).  And then I thought about all the other spaces I wanted to paint.  I may have shed a tear at this point.

So I had to stop and take a deep breath, and reevaluate my situation.  Manage my expectations a little bit.  Learn that I need to love the journey as much as I love the destination, cuz the journey is a little longer these days.  I'm making more lists to help me manage my day-to-day.  Trying to spread things out over a longer period of time, since having a chunk of hours to work on something rarely happens.  And I'm learning to be okay with the chaos :). It's better to take more time and really do something well.  Especially when we are going to be living with it for years!  

And with that, I'm back to work in the laundry room.  What is it now, two weeks?  Three?  That's alright, it will get done.  And it will be so worth it!

Airing my dirty laundry

Good morning!  How was your weekend?  Mine was awesome, very productive, and way too short :)

So I have a dirty little secret.  I have this dungeon in my house.  This dark, dirty little room where I am forced to do load after load of laundry.  I affectionately call it my 'laundry room'.  Oh, you have such a dungeon in your house too?!  Glad I'm not alone :P

In all seriousness, I've had a love/hate relationship with this room since we moved in.  I like that I have an actual room for laundry, in my house instead of the garage.  I hate everything else

The ceilings are low, there's no natural light, and the walls are painted this god awful fleshy tan color.  Ick.  There are two great big wire shelves, which are kinda ugly and just over kill for me.

Then there's the wall'o'holes.

Yea, so when installing the bar in the 'man cave', the previous owners thought the best idea was to run giant screws straightthroughthewall.  You read that right.  Through.the.wall.  Oh, and that drilling giant holes to pass electrical wires through was also a good idea. Facepalm

Did I mention that this is the room we always enter the house through?  So stepping through a dark, dirty little dungeon every time you enter the house=kinda depressing.

Some sweet little details, that just aren't my thing.

And the room just needs a solid cleaning in general!

So there she is, in all her former glory :). That's right, my dungeon is getting a face lift!  Because if I must be tortured with laundry, at least a pretty view will help me endure :)

I'm trying to keep this pretty low budget.  So, a little paint, maybe a wall treatment, some homemade art.  Oh, and the bar from the man cave!  Yep, we are taking those giant screws out of the wall, and reusing some of the cabinets for storage!

We've got a bit of work ahead, but it's looking sooooo much better all ready!  Can't wait to get to the finished product!!

Five Favorites: Baby Items

So I don't know about you, but when I'm looking for new items, or products to try, I love reading reviews from my favorite bloggers.  It makes me feel like, if someone I connect with digs this item, then I will too!  Which led me to want to share some of my favorite things with ya'll!  Thus my Five Favorites posts are born :) 

Since I am definitely in 'baby mode' these days, I thought the first group of things I'd share would be baby related items.  Let's get to it!

First up, the JJ Cole Stretch Agility carrier.  Love it.  Like, hardcore love.  Basically, going out in public with Persephone without this thing, is impossible.  It's stretchy and comfy, and offers multiple ways to wear baby as they grow.  Plus it folds up super easily in the diaper bag, and can just get tossed in the wash whenever she spits up all over me.  Did I mention I love it?

Next up, California Baby products.  In particular, I dig their French lavender shampoo and body wash.  It smells clean, and is very soothing.  Plus, all their products are made right here in the USA!  Woot!

Aden and Anais swaddle blankets.  Need I say more?  I never used these with bean.  I thought they were too expensive and didn't understand the hype.  I get it now.  These are huge, and made from a nice light weight material.  So when you swaddle baby in their jammies, they don't get too hot.  I've used these as everything from a swaddle blanket, to a nursing cover, to a car seat cover.  I also love that they fold up nice and small, so they don't take up too much of my precious diaper bag real estate.  With two littles in diapers, every square inch counts :).  Bonus, they are ridiculously cute!

The swing.  Oh man, how did I ever survive newborndom with Gage without one of these?!  We decided to get the Graco Snuggapuppy swing for P, and I'm so grateful we did.  Other than on me, it's the only place where she will take a nap.  Actually, the only reason I am able to write this post right now is because it's gently rocking my little girl while she sleeps :)

And last but not least, our city mini double!  We had the city mini single for Gage, and it is still the best stroller I've played with.  It's so easy to open and close, it's the lightest weight one I've come across, and it has two giant canopies to cover the littles.  Plus it's super sturdy.  It's taking a little bit to get used to the double-wide action, but I like it!  

So there you have it, five baby items I'm really digging this time around!  How about you?  Any kiddo products you swear by?  Anything you used the second time around that you wonder why you never bought for the first one?  Live and learn, right!

Going to the dark side

Use the paint, Luke!

The painting skills are strong with this one!

This is not the master bedroom you are looking for!  

(Feel free to stop me at anytime)

So I am not a fan of white walls.  Like, at all.  I see some people who have entirely white homes, and while it looks beautiful, it is not my jam.  So after being in a rental for 2.5 years, I was super excited that our new house didn't have a single white wall!!   But, upon closer examination, it also wasn't painted in 'my' colors.  Or in schemes that made sense to me.  Like our master bedroom, which was rocking two light blue walls and two tan walls.  With each color adjacent to one another.  

Please ignore the unmade bed.  And the hamper of clothes.  I have a six week old :)

They aren't hideous colors, but their placement was a little odd.  And together they are a little more country then I tend to go for.

So after living with them for almost two months, I was ready for a change.  A drastic change.  Enter, Nights View by Valspar!

It's a deep dark blue-gray.  Different from anything I've ever done in a bedroom.  But after looking for inspiration,  I found myself gravitating towards dark rooms, and specifically navy rooms.  Our master bedroom has a big window on one wall, and a well lit bathroom on the other, so I figured this room could handle a darker paint treatment.  

So I learned a couple new tricks with this paint job.  First, see that little blue piece of plastic on my paint can?  It's .99, they sell it at the paint counter at lowes, and it will change.your.life!  It just clips to the edge of your can, and prevents drips.  So when you go to put the lid back on, your not popping it into a puddle of paint.  Brilliant!

Then there was the 'plastic bag method'.  You just put a plastic bag over your paint tray.  This way, there's no messy scrubbing for hours to get paint out of your tray.  Just peel off the bag and toss!  Definitely a trick I'll use again!

And there it is, complete!  I even made my bed and folded the clothes for my after pics!  You're welcome ;)

I love how cozy it is.  Of course, now the bedding is too dark, but that just means I get to go shopping.  Darn :P 

I can't wait to add some art, and furniture.  I think some bright white, and maybe a giant mirror leaning on a wall?!  We'll see!!  But for now, I'm enjoying the new, dark look.

Some anyone else getting their paint on?  Anyone taking a walk on the dark side?

A baby story

Hello and happy Monday!  Hope you had a fantastic weekend!!  So, as the title suggests, today's post is about the birth of my little girl.  If words like 'epidural' and 'dilation' make you squirmy, feel free to skip this one!  I happen to love reading about others birth experiences, and wanted to record my experience for future reflection.  That being said, let's get to it!

It was with mixed emotions that I headed to the hospital on January 12th.  I was bummed to find myself needing an induction a second time.  This whole pregnancy I felt I'd have her early, that I'd finally get the chance to labor at home like I wanted.  But it simply wasn't meant to be.  So I tried to be grateful for other things.  Like being able to schedule care for beanie, having a healthy, full term baby, not going through a crazy rush to the hospital, and knowing exactly what to expect.

We got to the hospital around 8, and by 9:30 I was hooked up to pitocin and ready to rock.  But not until they had stuck me three times trying to get an IV started.  Not fun.  Actually, for those who know me, you know that is basically my nightmare brought to life ::shudder::

But once it was over, we were ready to just chill.  My induction with Gage took 36hrs, so I was prepared to be there for a while.  Dan and I just hung out in the room, reading on our iPads and napping.  Until about noon, when my doctor broke my water.  And things got real.

Since I had a great experience with an epidural last time, I wanted to do it again this time.  But I wasn't in any rush.  You know, since it took 36hrs last time.  Well, in hindsight I should have rushed.  But I wasn't expecting to go from 1 to 10 on the pain scale in 45 minutes.  I also wasn't expecting the anethesiologist to take an additional 45 minutes to get to my room.  So I breathed though the pain, and death-gripped Dano's hand, and was begging for the juice before they got there.  Imagine my dismay when the epidural didn't work right the first time!

That's right, I was one of the lucky few whose epidural left them with a 'hot patch'.  So while I was about 80% numb, there was still a spot where I could feel everything, at max intensity, and it.was.brutal!  After an hour of flipping, and adjusting, and no relief, they had to redo my epidural (more needles yay!).  But it finally took!  Sweet relief :)

After that I remember resting a lot, and just waiting until the real show started.  When the nurse came in to see if I wanted to push around 7 o'clock, I was ready.  When she barely let me get a push out before saying 'whoa, stop I better get the doctor, I don't want to deliver this baby!',  I was excited!  After nine incredible months, we were finally going to meet our little princess.  Once the doctor got all set up it almost happened too fast for me to register.  One push, and suddenly this tiny thing, with dimples and tons of hair, was laying on my chest.  And there she stayed, getting rubbed down and squealing, just pink and perfect and beautiful.  I felt my heart burst for a second time.  I now have two amazing little ones, and more love than I ever thought imaginable filling my heart.  I am truly one lucky momma!

Fast forward 6 weeks, and life is great!  My recovery was almost ridiculously easy, and I am so very grateful.   She is an easy, sweet baby.  We've had to go back into the hospital twice now though.  Just for minor colds, but still absolutely no fun.  And Gage is very sweet with her :) He'll kiss her head every once in a while, and my heart just melts.  I can't wait to watch their relationship grow :)

Adjusting to being a family of four isn't always easy, but we are getting the hang of it!  I'll pop in with monthly updates, and let you know how it's going :) So until next time, have a great day!

Well hello!

How the heck are ya?  I'm fantastic, and crazy busy these days :). But I have missed this place, and really want to get back to sharing.  So here we go!

I just looked back and realized I haven't posted since Thanksgiving.  And it's February.  How did that happen??  Thanks to a little something I like to call 'two holidays, a move and a baby', that's how! (Sounds like the title of a made for TV movie lol)

Anywho, after months of trying and wishing, we finally closed on our house on December 12th.  Then, exactly one month later, we welcomed our daughter Persephone into the world!  And since then we've all had colds and been working to adjust to life as a family of four.  

Now life finally seems to be settling into its new normal, and my creative wheels are turning!  I love love love our house, and can't wait to share it with you guys.  As well as bringing you along for the ride while we put our own little stamp on it :). Plus I can't wait to tell you all about our little P,  and what bean thinks of his sister (who is affectionately referred to as buggie).  

So that's what's been up!  And there is lots of excitement to come!!  I have a feeling it's going to be a great year :) How is 2014 treating you so far?