4 months ago

4 months ago heaven smiled down on us and our little lovebug, Celia, was born.

It has been 4 crazy months! No one can prepare you enough for the jump from 1 child to 2 children!

First of all, you are now outnumbered. If they are both crying at the same time, you have to choose whom to soothe first.

And Luke, who is 2 1/2, gets a little jealous sometimes. This manifests itself in tantrums, yelling, throwing things, etc. Loads of fun.

But the emotional changes are the most drastic.

I didn’t think it was possible to love another child the way I love Luke. But you can, and for me, having 2 to love makes the love so much more intense!

Of course it makes all of the other emotions intense as well…
If I get stressed, I get twice as stressed.
If I feel guilty over not spending enough time playing with them, the guilt is twice as intense.
If I worry about them not getting enought to eat, the worry lasts twice as long.

All of this said, I would not give this up for the world! I am so beyond blessed to have two happy, healthy children, and I can only thank God for allowing me to be their mother.

And now for some pictures of the little darling who gives the best gummy smiles and likes to have full babbling conversations at 5am :) Words cannot express how much I love her.

DIY Gold & White pennant garland

This year we finally dug deep in our pockets and invested in a pre-lit, 9-foot, artificial Christmas tree…

…the only reason why I made this promise to Deric:
“I’m going to decorate the tree without buying any new ornaments”. Gulp.

Luckily, I had a bazillion or so shimmery orange ornaments that I scored for 6/$1.00 a few years ago. Those along with some blue, silver and glass ornaments made the tree look just ok.

It needed garland.

So, here’s my updated take on garland. Super easy, but gave the tree an extra umph! (All supplies were left-over from previous projects).
p.s. the color combos/possibilities are endless! use any color paper, with a contrasting paint color to achieve a personalized look for your tree.

Instructions:
Start with 8 x 11 cardstock, gold acrylic paint, any old paintbrush.

Paint 5 rows of triangles (pennants). (If you want your triangles to be larger, paint less rows.)

Paint your lines fairly thick, and then cut in the middle of the lines. That way, each triangle (pennant) will have a gold border.

Use a gold/beige colored thread to sew the pennants together. I used a medium stitch. Pull the thread out about 6 inches before you start to sew, this will be used to attach the garland to the tree.

Very important: leave about a 1-inch space between each pennant – the space will allow the pennants to hang over the branches without looking too stiff.

Also very important: Sew only about 3-4 feet of garland at one time. If you make a longer strand, the pennants will get tangled. It is also easier to drape a shorter segment on the tree.

And there she is! kind of a mish-mosh of styles, but it’ll do!

Rewind – Maternity pictures

I subscribe to the “better late than never” philosophy – it’s mandatory if you are a procrastinator, it’s in the handbook.

So that’s why I’m posting maternity pictures after baby is born…

Also, my sister did such an amazing job that I want everyone to see how talented she is.

Here are a few of my favorite shots:
If you want to see more, visit her blog post where she writes about her visit to Dallas. As a bonus you will also get to see me at the fair without make-up in my mommy costume (jeans, tank, tennis shoes, whoa sexy!). and If you have an extra hour in your day and are a sucker for punishment, you can check out her flickr page and see more pictures of me pregnant than should be legal. Thanks again Tabi, you are the best!

We took our family pictures in the park down the street. It was windy, and close to Luke’s nap time. That’s why our best family photo has him sticking out his tongue. But that’s ok because it captures what he is really like – a spunky, strong-willed 2 year old boy!
Wardrobe:
Me – Dress: H&M, Shoes: Thrifted
Luke – Shirt: thrifted, Jeans: thrifted, Boots: Target
Deric – Shirt: TJ Maxx, Jeans: Levis

I had envisioned casual maternity photos wearing a maxi dress or jeans. But as I scoured the stores for a green maxi dress, I stumbled upon this polyester satin gown at Target… it cost me a whopping $8.65 my friends!! I wasn’t planning on doing such a formal look, but once I found the dress, it set the tone for these pictures taken in our home. (this group is my favorite :)
Wardrobe:
Dress: Target, Lipstick: Tarte

And finally my sister wanted to take some photos at sunset because of the golden light at that hour. Luckily, there is an overgrown field very close to our house. By this point I was pretty tired and my poor feet had enough. That’s why my smile looks a little forced… because it kinda was :) But the pictures turned out so lovely in that light!

Rewind!

So much has happened since my last post!

And so I will attempt to play catch-up…

The MAIN event:
Baby Celia made her world premiere last week! More on that later, but here’s a photo of our angel -cuz that’s what mommas do :)

Pure sugar and spice!

And the other stuff:
- Our master bathroom remodel is complete! At least on the contractor’s end. The finishing touches are up to the resident designer (me), who I hear is a major procrastinator and commitment-phobe – yes even when it comes to choosing a soap dispenser, so it might never be really “finished”.

- My sister came to visit from Washington state and took my maternity pics – they turned out so fantastic! and brought her baby with her, Bonus awesomeness!!

- I sewed my first crib sheet(s)! I found a super easy tutorial – watch out friends with babies, this may be the new baby shower present :)

- A dye and refashion job on white maternity jeans.

- Luke’s “Despicable Me” minion crochet hat.

I have the greatest friends!…. that have great stuff they want to give me!

Seriously I do.

This past week I was fortunate enough to be the recipient of two amazing pieces from 2 friends. Score!

First this beauty:

A retro/mid-century? Lazy-Boy Rocker/Recliner. I have never seen one of these before.

My friend Laura bought it second-hand, and she didn’t want to haul it with her as she will be moving back to her hometown. So she offered it to me, FREE!

Its permanent residence is now in the nursery, and I think it’s just beautiful! and the room will be designed around it, because it’s my favorite piece in there!

And then, there is the most beautifulest, grandest, most regal of all chandelier cinderella stories.

My friends Jeff and Joanna bought a new house around the same time we did.

And with the home came a collection of chandeliers that didn’t fit their taste and style of the home.

But I remember the first time I walked in and saw this beauty.

I tried not to gasp out loud, but I just thought it was so beautiful! Eventually I couldn’t contain my admiration and offered to buy it if they ever wanted to replace it.

Well lucky me! After several months of my husband resisting (he couldn’t visualize it in our home), and the J’s not ready to replace it yet, we finally became the proud new parents of this baby :)

Ain’t she grand?!

Oh, and being the awesome people they are, the J’s even came over and teeter-tottered on ladders in order to help my husband install it.

Yep, I’m a lucky gal with awesome friends and the best husband that loves and trusts his wife enough to let her buy this chandelier*.

*no J’s, hubbies, or wandering toddlers were harmed during a somewhat tense chandelier-hanging that included 3 adults on 3 ladders, plus 1 clumsy pregnant woman on the ground barking orders, rude..*

How to commission an abstract painting from your 2-year-old

I found this large frame and canvas at a garage sale several months ago for $10.

I thought it was a steal because the frame alone is worth more than that.

The art that came with it, eh, yuch. Not to mention it was just a paper print that had been glued onto the canvas. And it looks like someone already started painting over it.

So, the frame has just been sitting on my mantle, all by its lonesome for several months.

Recently I placed Luke’s first non-watercolor “painting” up on the mantle. And the more I looked at it, the more I liked it! It was fun, colorful and it was my baby’s :)

!Lightbulb!

I could have Luke paint over the canvas that came with frame! And it would be an original piece of art, and it would mean more to me than any other painting ever could, AND he would have so much fun doing it. (he LOVES to paint!)

After putting it off for a few weeks, I finally decided it was time.
I prepped the canvas by rolling 3 coats of white acrylic paint over the print.

Then it was time for Luke to go!

Here are some important tips:
PREPARATION:
1. Begin by recruiting a well-rested, well-fed, paint-loving, non-paint-eating, happy and excited 2-year-old (if any of those qualities are missing, ABORT!)

2. Cover a corner of your kitchen with cardboard and plastic.

3. Strip your toddler down to his skivvies or put them in an old shirt (acrylic paint does not come off once it dries).

4. Choose the colors for your toddler since they prob haven’t had a chance to take a class on color theory yet.

5. Have at least 4-5 clean brushes on hand. El-cheapo kids’ brushes from Wal-mart is what I used.

6. Squirt the paint onto a plastic plate or cheap plastic artist’s palette, also from Wal-mart.

7. Recruit a spouse/helper (willing or unwilling) to be nearby – just in case your toddler decides to jet from the designated painting area and decide to go hug a white wall (we were fortunate not to have this happen).

8. Put on your painting clothes and your most patient self.

9. Have a large roll of paper towels/old towels and baby wipes on hand. You will need them!

Although Luke did all of the painting, it was not without a little direction from mama :)
TECHNIQUE:
1. Let him choose his first few colors and just go for it!

2. After he uses 4-5 colors, switch his brush out for a clean one. This will keep the colors from becoming muddied. (and the switching of the brushes didn’t appear to stifle his creativity any ;)

3. Suggest to toddler that he should paint on the white areas. This will get your canvas covered much faster and keep the colors from mixing too much and turning into the color of dirt.

4. Keep an eye on the paint palette and top off the paint with fresh paint as needed. If they use the same brush for multiple colors, there will be a lot of cross-contamination.

5. Once the masterpiece is completed (mama makes this call), remove from the area and let dry.

6. Supply your toddler with poster board and let him use up all of the paint from the palette.

7. Paint a purple “Mickey Mouse bear” for your toddler per his request.

8. Throw in a little bit of learning by painting his name on the poster board.

9. Show toddler that if you paint his hand, he can make hand prints. Let toddler dictate which color he would like for you to paint on his hand.

10. Then suggest he paint his feet, sit back and watch the real fun unfold!

11. Once baby is completely covered in paint, take some pictures and then it is time for a bath.

12. Take a minute and enjoy the feeling of being a cool mom or the mom-I-had-always-hoped-to-be. Smile :)

Aaaaaaand, for the piece-de-resistance!

Amazing abstract art or just a pre-school painting?? You Decide :)

After all, art is very subjective, and beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And what is more beautiful than a cost-effective, memory-inducing, sentimental, colorful work of art?

Master bath – the floor that almost sent me over the edge

Sigh… the floor tile has been laid… and I like it, I like it alot…

I might actually not leave my bathroom once it’s done… I can hear them now…
“Where’s mama?”
“Why does mama have to use the bathroom so much?”
“Is mama ok?”

.. but I think I had my first panic/anxiety attack with this floor.
This is what the pattern looked like last Friday – not the herringbone I had asked for.

Worst part, I noticed it after they had finished laying the tiles and grouting.
Even worse, I have been staring at this floor, watching the progress, ALL week, and never noticed anything wrong… until Friday afternoon when the workers were gone for the weekend.
What I was most upset about was that I hadn’t caught the pattern error earlier.
Yup, obviously I’m a stickler for details. I’m going to blame this one on pregnancy.
( I know, I know, First-world problems)

Since it was Friday, there was nothing I could do about it but email the contractor.
Thankfully, he was not phased by it, and assured me that it would be a quick and inexpensive fix.

True enough, the tile sub-contractor came yesterday and had it all completed by the end of the day. Aaaand they were able to use the existing tile, so no extra $$ spent on materials :)
Lesson of the day: Don’t remodel your bathroom while 7 months pregnant. Do it yourself! and if you can’t, pay attention to the details, and hire an awesome contractor!