Playroom Update

I love having a  playroom. Especially a family playroom! You might think having a computer, toys, AND music equipment all in one room would be a challenge. I call it cozy. And it's not bad! As long as the toys win.In this room anyway, I don't mind. I love having lots of floor space for Oscar. And as he gets older, we see what works and what doesn't. 

This was the original playroom and since then, some things have changed! Oscar has outgrown the exersaucer (sniffle) and we were given an awesome little tikes desk! We also inherited a few more toys from the older cousins and I got a little bookshelf so Oscar can see what his options are.

The book organizer is the most recent addition and I love it! I got this one from Target and at my store it was 50% off! Definitely a good deal if you are in the market. It's smaller than I imagined but perfect for Oscar. Our little playroom is really coming together!

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Becoming Mom: Having Hobbies

I have always been a project starter. Some projects I have even finished! However, since Oscar has entered our lives, my projects have taken a back seat. In fact, I am not even sure that they are still in the car! But now that Oscar is a year old, I think I am feeling pretty good about adding some of these things back into my life. For instance, we still don't have a kitchen back splash. Remember this post from 2008?

Well, it hasn't happened yet. In fact, despite my premature posting of my newly painted kitchen, the half that ISN'T in the picture remains unpainted. Maybe this week? I hope. And while I'm at it, I sure would love to finish that backspash, paint the cabinets and redo the floors. But lets not go crazy.

I can say with some certainty that the kitchen WILL be painted before I start any of these projects, but here are a few things that are on my plate for the spring.

For instance, this table. This is a table I got at a consignment sale in January for $5. I am not in love with the creepy mickey face peering on or the assortment of superhero sticker that are peeling off. So, it's getting painted. At least white if nothing else.

I am also taking over the vegetable gardens this year. After last years unfortunate "nature's catbox" incident, well, let's just say Jerry became disillusioned with the idea.

I'll still use the two garden boxes we already made, but they will have a new home closer to the house and in what we think will be better sun. I don't plan to have a lot of variety this year. Just the basics I know we will eat. Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Basil, Squash.

If I am still feeling ambitious after all that, I have a hallway to paint, shelves to install and closets to organize. In fact, my list is growing as I type. It feels good to get going again!

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The 3/50 Project

I came across this project while browsing the website of a local business here in Raleigh. The store is called Babiology and oooh boy is it fun! They sell new items as well as consignment AND cloth diapers!!! YAY! Found out about the store from my friend Regan and loved it immediately. Sidenote, this is completely relevant to the book I am currently reading called The Tipping Point, which is all about interconnectedness and social epidemics. Love.

So anyway, I found the 3/50 Project and I love it! See if you can spend $50 a month at a local business and how much it will help! Not suggesting an EXTRA $50. Just, if you need something, try and see if you can shop locally first. I know 'shop local' seems to be everyone's mantra these days, but this just makes it more tangible if you ask me. Certainly there are things I could get from a local vendor instead of oh I dunno, Target? Plus I love that hometown feel. So there! Go shopping!

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Kitchen Reveal!

OK so I am jumping the gun a teeeensy bit here because the WHOLE kitchen isn't quite finished yet. BUT we did the whole dining room side and I LOVE it. I can wait no longer! You might remember the unfortunate GOLD pain (HA! that should have read "gold paint", but I think that typo was more accurate) we have been living with in our kitchen/dining room for the past 3 years. I don't know how we ever made it that long. Here is a refresher:

And now here is the new look! I mean seriously, I don't even have words. This paint looks SO good that it makes the old paint look worse. As if it wasn't already bad enough. Come on spring! Doesn't it just make you want to go work in a garden or something? The color is Valspar's Dancing Mist. Yay!

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Mishmashmush Much?

It's only Wednesday and this week is already a blur. Our weekend was insanely busy with Jerry at work all day Saturday, a friend's birthday, us both in the band on Sunday and then Oscar coming down with his first fever of 103.6 on Sunday night. Monday started with a visit to the Pediatrician and trip to the grocery store followed by a visit from a Plumber. Tuesday we celebrated O's birthday and tried to relax a bit, but with him still coming down from his fever it's hit or miss. Today was another visit from another plumber and a temporary fix so we can finally wash dishes and do laundry again!

I am exhausted and yet feel pretty together. I feel great knowing that I can finally clean my kitchen and get some things done. We have a party scheduled for Saturday to let Oscar celebrate with his friends, but we're playing it by ear. We want to make sure he is totally better! Thankfully, his 1 year well visit is Friday so we'll know for sure at that point.

I just have so much going on in my brain right now and I don't know where to put it all. I want to talk about Sunday. I want to talk about the projects we have on the horizon. I want to post pictures of the AMAZING paint in our kitchen. And I will. I promise, I will.

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Splashing on a Cold Day...

Here is another cool idea I stumbled upon somewhere on the Internet...I can't remember where I saw it, but when I did I filed it away in my memory for future use. I like chilly weather, but I am not built for COLD. And lately it has been just that. We pretty much stay inside except to get from point A to point B, those points being heated buildings or cars. I don't want Oscar to get bored though, so I am always on the lookout for fun things to do.

He loves bathtime and water in general so I pulled out his infant tub and put some towels down in the middle of the kitchen floor. We grabbed a few toys and got wet! I let Oscar go splash crazy and he loved it! I thought about stripping him down to his diaper but even inside it's a little chilly so I left his shirt and pants on. He got soaked and cold after about 15 minutes, but what fun it was! I am sure that if we find ourselves in a particularly long afternoon stuck inside, this activity will be just the trick!

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All good things must come to an end....

It's the end of an era. The red bed is gone. 

Sometimes you just have to do the right thing. After Oscar's first Christmas, it became clear that our guest room, albeit adorable, was a silly waste of space. We needed that space. For what you ask? For playing and building and imagining. That's what!

The room is now an all-purpose family room which hosts our computer, music equipment a dog bed and toys! It's a play room for the whole family and we love it! Ahhh the times, they are a changin....

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Handmade Stockings

Just in time for Christmas! Jerry and I have never had matching Christmas stockings. It's just one of those things we always forgot about until Christmas. And then we would immediately forget again for another year. This year, with my holiday antennae on high alert because it's Oscar's first Christmas, I decided we needed family stockings! I started to look around in a few stores but they aren't cheap. At least the ones I like aren't :-). So I decided to make some!

I scoured the internet for patterns and ideas and decided it looked simple enough. I had a lone stocking from years past that I used to trace the pattern and decided to add some embellishments. It was VERY simple! So easy that you still have time to whip some up for yourself. Read on for the how to.

Step 1 - Go Thrifting

I decided to use men's cotton shirts to make our stockings. They don't stretch but I am still a bit of a beginner and stretchy fabric is harder to sew (at least for me). I found 3 plaid shirts for a total of $8. This was more than enough for our 3 family stockings plus one for Krusty!

Step 2 - Make a Pattern

Like I said, I just traced an old stocking for the pattern, but really, you could probably freehand this. I also drew the cuff and patches and then cut them all out of poster board. I like using poster board instead of paper because it's easier to trace.

Step 3 - Cut your fabric

I decided to make 3 stockings using different contrasting colors. Get creative. This is the part where you make it your own! Don't forget to cut the mirror image of the stocking for the back - you want the right sides to match up hehe.

Step 4 - Attach patches/cuff

On the front side of the stocking, I used fusible bonding web to iron on the patches and cuff. I didn't use alot, just enough to make it stick. The point of this is to keep the patches in place for sewing. Are you seeing a pattern here? i'm ALL about the ease....

Step 5 - Sew Patches

I used a zig-zag stitch directly over the part where the 2 pieces come together. This hides the unfinished edge and gives a fun little decorative touch. Contrasting thread is really fun here!

Step 6 - Join Front/back

Again I used a contrasting color for the backs of the stockings. You want to lay the two pieces flat - right sides together - and stitch along the edge ( I gave about a 1/4 inch seam allowance). leave the top open. Before you turn it right side out, fold the unfinished edges of the top over and sew along the inside, attach ribbon loop to heel side of opening.

Step 7 - Turn right side out and Press

All done - Tada!

I still plan to add our names to each stocking but that is going to take some more cutting and stitching. I haven't decided exactly how I want to do it yet either. Anyway, this was so much fun and SO easy. I promise. I made all 4 stockings in under 3 hours! Happy Sewing!

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The Untree Tree

This year, Jerry and I decided not to get a Christmas tree. We went around and around about whether to get a real one, fake one, when to go, how much to spend etc. But the bottom line was, we were gone the week of Thanksgiving, I was sick last week and we are going to the Mountains for Christmas where we will have a real tree in our cabin. It just didn't make a whole lot of sense to shell out good money for a couple weeks so we decided to skip it.

Of course, me being stuck at the house all week and staring at the empty space where there COULD be a tree, I decided to improvise! I got some ghetto fabulous silver garland at Target and decided I could do SOMETHING with it. I have to say I am loving the result! I call it the Untree Tree. It feels very Ralphie Parker to me and besides, now we have a baby friendly tree and a place for gifts when we open them before leaving on our trip! Win!

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It's Party Time!

***photo by Holly Dwan

Yesterday, we had our very first EVER Halloween Party. We invited lots of friends with (and without) kids and had a ball. We ended up with over 50 people! YIKES! It was the first time we have hosted a party since Oscar was born (I think) and I think it went really well. We love having people over and we haven't done it NEARLY enough. So, as is custom for me, we jumped right back in head first!

***photo by Holly Dwan

The party was all about the kids so we had all the toys out and made goody bags and yummy snacks. I even made a few decorations for kicks. We had a chalk drawing area for the older kids and tried to cover the bases on kid friendly food. I'll admit, I really didn't do anything healthy. But hey, my job is to provide the bad-for-you treats that are required at this kind of shindig. You can double up on the broccoli at home ;-)

Also, Suzanne brought an AMAZING pumpkin cake that her mom made and it was so, SO good. No one wanted to cut it because it was too pretty but once we found out it was pumpkin it was ALL over!

Oscar was The Very Hungry Caterpillar and he was adorable! I copied a costume I found online and I think it turned out pretty well! I really loved making his costume and while I am sure I won't be able to do it every year, it was really fun this time. Jerry was the 'nice green leaf' and I was a ladybug.

***photo by Holly Dwan

***photo by Holly Dwan

We had an awesome time with friends that we don't see nearly as often as we want. I would love to see a tradition come out of this! All of the kids (and the parents) looked amazing in their costumes! I would love to carry on and watch them all grow up together. We had so much fun!

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Kitchen Itchin....

Fine I'll admit it. I am a compulsive fixer-upper. If you've been to my house more than once, it was probably different than the last time you were here. I can't go more than a couple of months without changing SOMETHING. Even if it's just rearranging furniture or moving a picture from one wall to another. I guess it's sort of artistic(?) My canvas is my home and I keep adjusting it until it feels just right. Which it does for a few weeks, and then I have to do it again.

However, my kitchen hasn't seen TOO much change as of late. I did FINALLY get the living room curtains re-sewn and hung in the dining area and I love it so much that I now feel the need to paint the whole kitchen and maybe the cabinets! UGH. Painting cabinets. I am not ready to commit to that. But, I am definitely going for the walls.

Right now they are a beige-y gold color and I am going to paint them a serene aqua-ish color. Yes that is how I talk. This color combo is something I NEVER get sick of no matter what room it's in. Currently we have it going on in the guest room and I. LOVE. IT. For a while I wondered if it would be too much to have it in the kitchen too, but then I was all, UMM...MY house. So it's on. Now I just need to find the right color.

Oh yeah and I am going to move a couple shelves from one wall to the other and create a real space for Oscar's high chair. It's sort of been crammed next to the window and it just bothers me. I'm not gonna lie. I love a project.

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Swingin Around

A few weeks ago swings went on sale at Target. I suppose they are cleaning out their summer stuff (though I am pretty sure you can swing all year long) so we decided to take advantage of it. However as soon as I got home I went right out to the back yard and realized that we don't have a single branch! What to do? It became clear that the swing would go in the front yard, which meant buying chain and borrowing an extension ladder. That's code for, this ain't gonna happen for a while.

This weekend we finally got it together and made it happen. Turns out the project was much easier than the anticipation and it only took about 30 minutes. Sadly, Oscar had already gone to bed so we had to wait A WHOLE DAY to let him use it. We talked about waking him up to play but decided against it....

Looks like it was worth the wait! Anyone wanna come swing with us?

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Love this....

This is going in my mental suggestion box for Oscar's room. I have always wanted to add a chalkboard painted area to one of the walls in his room but I really didn't want to do a half-wall with a straight line separating it from the top. I also plan to wait until he can actually hold and use chalk. I LOVE this idea of silhouettes! The possibilities are endless.

**picture courtesy of decor8

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Loose ends...

We are currently living in a state of loose ends. Right now the house feels like it did right after I moved in, or right after Jerry moved in, or as we were preparing for Oscar's arrival. Actually, maybe we live in a constant state of upheaval...hmmm....

At any rate, we are painting the living room and maybe the kitchen, reorganizing the guest room/office and trying to baby proof. It always gets worse before it gets better and while I hate the feeling of "worse" I LOVE "better" so we power through. It's also helpful (?) to move things around and realize that you really REALLY need to clean. My strong point is organization and making a place for everything. Jerry is definitely a cleaner. I am stating for the record that I LIKE things to be clean. I just have a higher tolerance for dirt :-) So, moving everything around means I need to reevaluate how I do things, and how often. I love Simplemom and specifically her Master Weekly Checklist for cleaning and how often to do things so they don't get way past due. Yes, I need to be told. I don't have that part built in for some reason. That's my goal. Clean before it LOOKS like it needs to be cleaned. Revolutionary! I have a plan and hopefully once I get into the groove it will actually be much easier than what we do now.

We shall see.

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I'm pretty sure I don't even need words....

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Sneak Preview

Oscar is attending his very first wedding today! I thought it would be fun to get him a tie except all the ties I saw (in the one store I looked in) were zippers or clip-ons and too expensive for a one-time deal. So, I decided to make one! I found this pattern online through Sew Mama Sew and followed it loosely. In the end, my tie was too small to turn right-side in, so the seams have a rugged "frayed" look. Even though it was completely accidental, I really like it! This was also my first time sewing "on the bias" and it was hard! Especially the cutting. I need a new rotary cutter or to get mine sharpened or SOMETHING.

Anyway, I am excited to see Oscar all dressed up! Since he is currently napping, we'll just have to make do with this preview....

All ready to go! Just insert baby!

We wear shoes to weddings :-)

Krust borrowed the tie for his job interview yesterday.

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Sewing!

I've been a sewing fool lately. In the past couple days I decided to make a shirt! I found the pattern online and I think it turned out pretty well. I used fabric I already had so it wasn't optimal. I also didn't have anything to contrast with so we'll call this a trial run. I think I could change a couple things to make it fit me better, but I need the practice! I need to get some lighter fabric for summer so I can make more things like this. Nursing brings a whole different set of issues to shopping for clothes so I need to get creative. Anyway, here is my new shirt!

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The Onion

Love is like an onion, and you peel away layer after stinky layer until you're just... weeping over the sink - Pete from 30 Rock.

Yesterday was one of those onion days. It was just crazy. It was up and down and back up and then WAY down. One minute I'm saying, this is the greatest, I love my life! And the next I am crying and counting to myself before trying to console my baby at 10:30pm.

The day started out innocent enough. Oscar woke a couple times in the night but it wasn't too bad. So when he decided he wanted to start the day at 6:30 I rolled with it. I try to get up at 7 but if he wakes 30 minutes early or late it's all good. So we had a nice morning. Jerry and I joked around before he left for work, Oscar had an excellent morning nap and I got to planning our day. After Oscar got up and was fed, we went to the Library and Fresh Market for lunch. It was a good day! We came home and it was time for another nap. I decided it would be a good time to sew. I made a couple things that I am really happy with and am now excited to keep going! I made a block for Oscar and a headband for me. I want to make more shapes to go with the block and also more headbands! There are a bunch of really simple sewing tutorials through The Long Thread. I will have plenty to do for a while!

Oscar loves his new block!

This headband is a little snug for me...more to come!

Since Oscar's first nap was so long (2.5 hours) the last two were only about an hour each. Normally his big nap is around lunchtime. So by about 6pm he was fading fast. We usually have him to bed between 7:30 and 8pm but I knew he would need to go down sooner than that. So I fed him at about 6:40 and that's when the screaming began. This is the second time this week with newborn/colic-like behavior and it doesn't take very much to send my nerves to the shredder. Jerry and I tried everything we could think of. Oh this 4 month battle is ugly. It's so very very ugly. I looked back at my log and we have been having problems for 5 straight weeks. At first it was naps and night-wakings. Then it was just night wakings. Now it is DON'TEVENTHINKOFMAKINGMEGOTOBED for 2. hours. straight. The child would not sleep or calm down. Not in our arms, not in the crib, not nursing, not cuddling. That is, unless we left the nursery. Step into the hallway and it was magic. The crying ceased. Back into the nursery, mayhem.

I know what you might be thinking, OH he doesn't like his room, he's afraid of the crib, etc. And I might agree if he hadn't taken 3 perfect naps in that very crib that day and is currently sleeping there now! So we thought pain? Gas? Reflux? Interesting that he only cried in his room. If it were pain wouldn't it be pain in the kitchen as well? I think we have a strong-willed baby on our hands. A little before 9pm I finally decided he was fine and by this time so overtired that he was just bonkers so I put him in the swing and started the white noise that used to calm him as a newborn. He was asleep in about 90 seconds. So what's a mother to do? When it was time for me to go to bed, I moved him to the crib while I brought the swing into his bedroom and after feeding him again, plopped him right back in that bad boy for the duration. And guess what? He slept FOR 7 HOURS.

Happy ending right? Well, maybe if it were the end. I am starting to get used to the crying and a lot of the time I think I can help him through it. But it's those moments when you know he is ok and he still won't stop that really make you sit on your hands and cry. At least I did. This is the part that I think moms aren't good at talking about. I mean we say, "oh yeah it's hard sometimes". But the word hard doesn't even cut it. It didn't matter that we had a great day. In those moments I was a failure. I was neck deep in screaming, agonizing, mysterious hopelessness. There was no tomorrow. No yesterday. Only screaming. It's actually paralyzing. Once Oscar finally relented to the swing, I was almost shaking as if I had just been in a car accident. sitting on the couch in a post tantrum haze and hardly seeing in my wakefulness. When I moved him to his room and the crying started again, I just sat on the floor in tears. Jerry was not home at this point because he had a show. It was only me. I don't know how single mothers do it. I really don't. Thankfully this time he ate well and went right back to sleep in the swing and I went to bed.

Jerry got home at about 2am and we both slept peacefully until 3am when his pager went off and off and off about 10 times. He had to get up and work the rest of the night. I woke up a few more times after that listening to Jerry's clack clack clack on the keyboard and wondering if Oscar would wake up soon. Today we started the day at 6am. Oscar and I got up and Jerry went to bed at 7. It was a weird weird night.

I know the temptation is to tell us that it will get better, or just look at how cute he is! It's all worth it right? Or, suck it up I have it WAY worse than you. Or just wait til your kid is doing ___________ (insert whatever your kid is doing right now). But really, it's not a competition. Sometimes being a mom is awesome and sometimes it sucks and rips you apart. I don't really believe people anymore when they say it will get better. I don't think it will. I think this problem will go away to be replaced by a new problem. I think I will hate that one too. I also think that Oscar will soar to uncharted heights of cuteness and genius and I will bask in the glow of my love for him. But it won't mean the bad stuff isn't bad. It's bad. We'll get through it and hopefully be stronger on the other side.

New moms, single ladies, wives, friends, this is real. It's scary and it's ugly. I love being a mom, but at times it is open heart surgery with no anesthesia. So prepare yourself for the journey. I'm only just getting started.

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