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With just 8.5 weeks to go until the official due date (if he comes early like the princess we only have about 5 weeks), I was starting to freak out that I wouldn’t finish his room in time. We have had the crib and the bed but it required the room to be painted and for the leftovers from the craft/guest room to find its way out of the space which was much bigger task than I anticipated. So, last week the hubs had a honey do list that was sky high. Paint the room, move things to the basement, move things up from the basement, move furniture, install new lights all while I required frequent back rubs and trips to sonic for coconut cream slushes. So, I know he didn’t have it easy. But, with the exception of the lights being put up, the room is DONE!
Here are the curtains, bed, pillows I made (not the elephant one!) and cute clearance art is from babies r us
The Crib! Yes, it is a bright blue. Despite the horrible season, UK had this year we will bleed blue. The crib bedding and curtains are Circles from Dwell Studio that I got on clearance at Target. You can also see the Chicco Keyfit 30 carseat! Have I ever mentioned my love of carseats?
Here is another great clearance art piece from Babies R Us. The Amy Coe collection was 75% off so this alphabet piece was only $10! We decided against a dresser for now and just have the cubed storage unit from Target. The princess has a white one in her room with pink bins. I should have taken a better picture of the rug but it is a tranportation rug which doesn’t really match the whole stripes and polkadot feel of the room but I got it brand new for $6 at a consignment store.
The view from the room from the door.
Seeing it all done makes me so happy and so anxious for the little man to arrive!
When you have the croup and are not allowed to play in the snow! It really isn’t fair to an almost five year old to get 8 inches of snow and not being able to go out and play in it. But, when you have croup that is borderline bronchitis you just can’t take chances and breathe the cold air in for too long. School has been cancelled all week which meant the hubby has been at home. It was great to have the honey do list worked on…er..I mean it was great to have the honey home! During the times that we weren’t all hacking our lungs up we did manage to get things done and still have fun.
We ate our breakfast in bed!
We took extra long bubble baths
and we even learned about why we picked out baby Sam’s name!
We also got started on turning her room into a Big Sister room
It is very pink! More pictures to follow as we finish. Despite fending off the nasties only seen in the Mucinex commercials we have still managed to have a lovely time together as a family during this snowy week!
It has been five years since I have had a baby so there are so many things about pregnancy that I have forgotten. I didn’t get the urge to nest with the princess until I was on bed rest (not the most convenient time to scrub your baseboards). But, this time around I feel compelled to start now and it goes really well for a few days until I get too tired to do laundry for a few days or leave a dish in the sink and then overnight the mess multiplies (I refuse to believe that 3 of us could really be so messy, it must be reproducing on it’s own) The crib is already up and bedding has been bought and I even bought my first pack of diapers. Yes, it has finally kicked in that this little man is really coming.
I also forgot that that babies can get their feet stuck in your ribs. I am not making this up if you haven’t experienced this. Excruciating pain! I cried when he finally moved after 2 days of being stuck and I also pretty sure that the heavens opened and there was chorus of angels rejoicing with me. That has to be the reason I was humming Ode to Joy for the next day.
But, back to nesting. Today is a catch up day. I need to win the battle of laundry and now that it has been almost 24 hours since I went to the grocery store I don’t have a good excuse why there is still 2 bags of canned and boxed goods still yet to be unpacked. So, since I have a day off I am going to throw all child labor laws to the wind and make the princess help me get this house in order. Wish me luck, because I will most likely need to repeat this process in a week when a nap sounds more exciting than dishes again. It is a vicious cycle.
It seems to have been many moons since the owl swap has ended but I have seen owls everywhere! They seem to be hot on kids clothing and some to die for fabrics all have the owl theme! I am ashamed to say that I have been sucked in the cute little creepy birds! I went to the fabric store today as a last resort since a fabric I ordered didn’t get here in time for a project that I am supposed to have done by Thursday and walked out with some cute owl fabric instead. The little princess was with me and gave me her approval on the cutesy owl print fabric! An hour later the fabric was cut and sewn and the result are these cute lounge pants. (Yes, I know that this is what I made in my last blog entry too. It was worth repeating!) Here is the princess Alaina in her new owl jammie pants!
Above is her “owl face”!
Another update on the Home Challenge Front is that I have tackled my junk drawer. I decided that it would only be fair if I showed you a before and after picture. My junk drawer was a disaster. It had no rhyme or reason as to what I stuck in there. I had actually written down everything that I had taken out with the intention of sharing it here but the list would probably be pages long. The biggest reason it was so junky is that it was a quick hideaway. Almost everything that was in there had place that it should have ever gone in there to begin with. It is amazing how quick it all adds up. Lesson learned to put it away in the first place! How are the rest of you doing?
Before
After
Any home challenge updates, girls?
Weather wise we have had a very strange year. Warm sunny days in March only to have it snow with freezing temperatures in May. We had a hot dry summer that didn’t want to end and this past week the temps have finally fallen and the rain has been pouring here for a week. The leaves are finally changing and we can wear our fall clothes and start our fall activities! We went to a very disappointing pumkin patch that was very picked over. It was pretty pitiful for the lovely pictures that I was dreaming of! So, instead we went to the local farmers market to pick out pumpkins. Alaina’s main requirement for her pumpkin was that it had to be small enough for her to carry. Unfortunately, her eyes are bigger than her little arms because she dropped a few pumpkins! Thankfully we didn’t have any pumpkin smashing charges brought upon us!
Secondly, how are my home challenge girls doing? I have the kitchen, living room and craft room completed! I am getting excited about decoratorating for the holidays and have all sorts of crafty ideas that I can finally do because it is all organzied and I can find the tools and mediums I want to use! I am sharing a picture of my progress and I wish you this could be a scratch and sniff picture because my home is bursting with the yummy scent of Spiced Pumpkin! By far my favorite fall scent! (Yes, I linked the biggest candle they have. Get it and you can thank me later! You be glad you splurged!)
(Yep, I really have bright green walls and I love them!)
So operation get the house organized is in full swing. I made myself clean and organize my craft (read: former crap room) before I got my crafting on again. I have a swap to finish and we had an event at church tonight that I wanted to make a custom top for Alaina so the furious cleaning was on! I was thrilled to get it all organized in time to get everything I wanted to make done today!
The first was for the patchwork swap. We had to make a patchwork item and to send off 30-40 scraps. Here is a picture of my swap package! I hope she likes it! I included some of my favorite yummy scraps from old projects, some fat quarters that didn’t get used, remainders of charm packs and even a little yardage of the super popular euro mermaid fabric!
Here is the patchwork item I made! It is a fabric covered journal using Moda’s Summer in the City fabric line. I saved enough scraps of this for me to make one for myself as well!
Lastly we had a church event tonight that had a 50’s theme. Well, we have no poodle skirts and I didn’t have enough time to get that ball rolling today so a pettiskirt and a custom initial top had to do the trick. She was a hit at church this evening and I was a proud mama as she must have thanked me a dozen times for her “A” shirt. Everyone else could have hated it (thankfully they didn’t) but to have her appreciate it is always a stellar mommy moment!
It is second week in October and I sit with my diet coke with the sounds of Dora the Explorer in the background, looking at a mound of laundry waiting to be folded and put away and my mind is already fast forwarding to decorating and holiday get-togethers. The mere thought of inviting people into my home in its current state is enough to make my head spin and give me a quick spat of nausea. To those who know me best they know that my gift is not organization. It never has been. I have a messy wrap sheet that dates back to my childhood room, my desks in school and even my car is embarrassed to be driven by such a slob.
I have been mocked at my lack of cleanliness skills in the past and although I have shrugged it off in the past as “just who I am” with a bit of laughter but the truth as always stung. I am the woman who had a room strictly to throw things in when company came over. I am the wife who left the dishes in the sink and left the laundry in the washer so long it soured. I am the mother whose toddler doesn’t want to make her bed because her mommy doesn’t. My mother in law once told another family member that she cried at night because I was not a good enough wife to my husband because of my lack of homemaking skills. (You can insert knife through heart icon here.)
Now, before you send someone to commit me you must also realize that I want to be different. I wish my home reflected my heart and my love for my family. I am the woman who handcrafts her friends’ presents because I want them to know that they are worth the time and expense of a one of a kind gift. I am the wife who buys or bakes my husband’s favorite treats to surprise him after a rough work day. I am the mom who takes my daughter our in the leaves to explore and find a craft to make together. However, my house does not reflect that love and creativity. The truth is I own a house but I have never made it my home.
I have often referred to my house as having the “lived in” look but today I am admitting what I am lacking and committing myself into a plan to have a home in time for the holidays. I want a home that people feel comfortable in that I don’t have to spend a week getting ready for it. I want to find whatever utensil I need right away without having to search through several drawers because it has been put away in the correct spot.
Join me, mock me or support me. I know there will be a few of you who can feel where I am coming from and several of you who can’t believe that there is someone who has a home in such disarray. At any rate by the holidays I will have turned my house into a home. Not by decorating but my taking pride in my possessions and my family enough to make our home as enjoyable as our time together is.
Home in time for the holidays personal challenge begins….now!
