Typing with two hands!

This is the first post I've typed with both hands in quite a while (the little one is sleeping in bed next to me, but is usually in my arms when I decide to post)!

My in-laws get here on Friday, and I couldn't be more excited. My mother-in-law is even going to cook Easter dinner for all of us! And on top of all that, next Monday is my 22 birthday, so they're going to babysit Emma for Bran and I so we can go out to dinner, wherever I want! We haven't been eating out in an effort to save some money, and the only "alone time" I've gotten was this morning when Bran watched Emma and Evie while I went to the doctor, so this will be an awesome birthday present.

One the docket for this week:

• Start working out tomorrow morning since I was cleared by my doctor today (I'm going to try to get up at 7, since Evie gets here at 8)
• Trip to the library tomorrow or Thursday with Evie and Emma.
• Whichever day we don't go to the library we'll go to the park.
• Moms and Tots on Friday morning.
• The Antkowiaks get here Friday night! 

It should be a great week!

Had to share

Most people know how much I love scary movies.  I love them SO MUCH that I close my eyes the whole time, even during the previews.  In light of this, you can imagine how much this spoof preview of "The Shining" gladdens my heart!

It's Friday!

Today was great. I took Evie and Emma to the "Moms and Tots" group started by some ladies at our church.  I'm so glad we went - lots of friends for Evie to play with and actual adults for me to talk to! It's a funny thing spending all day talking to an infant who can't talk back and a two year old who doesn't make a whole lot of sense yet.  It was nice getting to talk about something other than poopy diapers and why Emmaline doesn't play with big girl toys yet.

While Emma was taking her nap this afternoon, I baked cookies! I've been wanting to for a while and just haven't found the time, so when a friend posted a chocolate chip cookie recipe on her blog today, I figured it was a sign that I needed to make them today. They turned out great!

I gave Emma a bath when she woke up from her nap and she was actually happy about it.  She usually doesn't mind too much, but today she actually smiled! After bathtime we both took a nap until Bran got home from work.

I made dinner for us, completing my first week of planned meals! This couldn't have gone better.  We loved all the recipes, and I cooked dinner every night! I'm looking forward to next week :)

Some things I like:


This cocktail sounds so light and summery! I might have to add the ingredients to my shopping list.

These laptop covers are too cool.

I want to make this yellow wreath for my home.

Have a lovely weekend!

1 month old + 2 year old =

No time to blog!

I started watching Evie again on Tuesday.  I was very anxious to see how things would go, since having two kids (even if it's only for a few hours a day) is a big change from just having one! So far, things have been great. Evie comes over at 8, we hang out and she has breakfast while Emma nurses, then we play or go for a walk. By the time we get home both girls are ready to sleep and Evie's been sleeping until Michelle gets here between 12:30 and 1pm. Bran then comes home for lunch at 1:15, and Emma and I nap from when he leaves at 2 until about 5.  I start dinner at 5:30 and we eat when he gets home at 6.

Now if I can just figure out how to work a bath for Emma and a shower for me in there, we'll be golden!

It's fun having Evie again - I missed her. She does wonderfully with Emma, and has been such a little blessing. She made me laugh so hard today.  We went to the park (the one down by NSA in Friendship Square) and then on our way home we stopped by the library.  Just as we were ready to leave the park, Evie announces that she has pooped in her diaper.  I, of course, don't have any diapers for her on me because it was supposed to be a short trip.  I told her we'd change it when we got home, and she was fine with that.  I planned on ignoring the fact that she smelled pretty horrible and just hoped no one would notice.  Evie had other plans, and on our way to the library started singing to the tune of twinkle twinkle: Poopy, poopy, poopy, poopy!

...She just couldn't let it go!

Now that I'm a mom....

I'm having to re-vamp my way of doing just about everything. For instance, I used to shower before bed but now jump in first thing in the morning to help wake me up.  (I also was never much of a coffee drinker, but now have one cup in the morning to get me through to my afternoon nap.) My new sleep/nap schedule has made dinner time harder since I'm sleeping from 2-5 every day. To make cooking easier, I'm starting to meal plan.  I've got everything I need for dinner this week - all my meal ideas, recipes, and groceries. This week we're having Pesto Baked Chicken, then Meatball Subs, Spaghetti, Chicken Alfredo, and then a frozen pizza on Friday to give me a break. I'll let you know how it goes!

I went on Amazon to look for a meal planning book (I figure I'm going to have to shop and cook, I might as well let someone else do the planning!) and I found this. I am so excited - the recipes look great, they're split up into seasons, and each month has either a big shopping list for the whole month (hello, Costco!) or weekly lists.  I'm hoping it gets here in time for me to start using it the first week in April.

Spring!

Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers to-day;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.

Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;
And make us happy in the happy bees,
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.

And make us happy in the darting bird
That suddenly above the bees is heard,
The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,
And off a blossom in mid air stands still.

For this is love and nothing else is love,
The which it is reserved for God above
To sanctify to what far ends He will,
But which it only needs that we fulfil.

Robert Frost

Moby Time

Emmaline and I have been doing lots of "Moby practice" in preparation for watching Evie on Monday.  I'm thinking that if I can teach Emma to be happy in the moby, I'll be able to stick her in there and have at least a slight chance at getting some things done next week. She hasn't exactly been cooperating, but we're working on it!


Please excuse my hair in this photo - I just woke up from a very nice/needed 3 hour nap!

St. Patty's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone!

Naps.

I've been a "napper" since my class ends at 10pm and I've got to get up at 5:30am the next morning for crew practice college days. I almost started this post by saying that I've always been a napper, but my mom would have thrown a fit (similar to the fits I used to throw about "quiet time"). 

My love of napping continued long after I quit the crew team.  During my pregnancy I couldn't function unless I napped at least once during the day.  And the napping continues thanks to the fact that my nights now look like this:

9 or 10pm - Emma nurses until she falls asleep

10 or 10:30pm - I fall asleep

Anywhere from 12-2am - Emma wakes up and eats again

20 minutes later - We both sleep again

4, 6, or 7am - Emma wakes up and eats, and gets a new diaper

8am - We both get up with Dad. 

As you can see, by about 2pm every day I'm ready for that nap. 

Until recently I would never sleep after 3pm, because I knew that if I did, I wouldn't be able to sleep that night.  Well a few nights ago Bran was working later than usual and I was exhausted.  It was 5pm and I hadn't taken my usual 2pm nap, and I didn't know what to do.  It was then that I realized it doesn't matter what time I nap these days, since I'm not sleeping normally anyway.  So I slept from 5-8pm and felt like a new woman. 

Getting so big!

I'm in Love

With the new Lands' End line, Canvas.

Especially loving their accessories, jeans, and eyelet shift dress.



Also, my baby is 1 month old today! The first month went by way too fast.  We went to a wedding today, and I had every intention of taking a 1 month picture of her, but got too caught up in making sure she was fed and changed in time for us to leave.  I'll have to take one after church tomorrow.

Lonny Online Magazine

This new online magazine (they've only put out 3 issues) reminds me of Domino.  I've been dying to find a replacement, and this one is HUGE - we're talking over 200 pages of design, decorating, and fashion with links to products and blogs of note throughout. I'm so excited about it!

Here's an excerpt from their first issue that says a little about the magazine itself:

In a time when shelter publications are turning their last pages… our mission is to reopen the doors of accessible design. By embracing an online platform we provide inspiration at the click of a finger, directly connecting our readers to their favorite products and resources. Our freedom from page limits means we can share more content in each issue, delivering an intimate look into the way people really live.

At Lonny, we value independent thinking and believe not in following trends but rather in making choices that lead to happiness. We believe that good design and affordable design can coexist and that true inspiration can be found in the teeniest of homes or in the grandest of spaces.

I've embedded the third issue below - check it out! (It's easiest to view if you run your curser over the cover until you see the "fullscreen" button).

Diaper bag and baby carrier all-in-one?

Yes, please!

I love my Moby, but these are too cool. Maybe when baby #2 comes along.

What to do with a balding baby?

Why, cover her bald spots with a huge flower, of course!

Home Renovations!

I  got my first tour of our house in April of 2008 during a trip to Moscow with my mom and my sister.  My first impression was that it was much bigger than it looks on the outside, and that it hadn't been renovated since approximately 1972. Shag carpet, huge tiffany lamp, wall to wall wood paneling... you get the idea. I remember how exciting it was to walk through the house with Bran, knowing that in a few short months we'd be married and living there together.  We made lots of plans (the upstairs closet really would someday be a third bathroom) and even started thinking about paint colors.

When we moved into our house in June of 2008, we knew we had a lot of work ahead of us. I posted about all the work we did that first month here. I have yet to take an updated picture of the foyer, or what was the upstairs living room (and is now our bedroom).  But I do have some new pictures for you!

When we found out I was pregnant in May of 2009,we knew our little upstairs apartment would have to change to accommodate the little one.  As it was we had a teensy bedroom (with no room for a baby) and a big living room, and that was it. We decided to forgo the living room and turn it into a master bedroom, and turn our old bedroom in to the nursery.  We also decided at that time that the big upstairs closet needed to become a bathroom. 

We immediately moved all of our things out of the nursery and set up our new bedroom (which I LOVE).  Turning the old bedroom into the nursery and installing the bathroom took a little more time.  As in, 9 months. Two weeks before Emmaline was born I was painting the nursery and the bathroom still wasn't done.  Bran kept telling me I had to hold her in until it was finished, and it just so happened that they finished the new bathroom the night she was born!

NURSERY

My mom bought the glider for me, and also put my idea for the curtains into effect.  I found the purple curtain panel at goodwill for $3 and knew I wanted to turn it into a window covering for the nursery, but have no sewing skills whatsoever.  So mom took my idea and made it happen! I love how they turned out.

Then we have the changing table Bran surprised me with, complete with some cute cubbyhole boxes Karen (Bran's mom) picked up for us while she was here.  We're planning on hanging a shelf and some photos on the wall above the changing table, but haven't gotten to it yet.

The crib came from friends of ours.  I absolutely love the white crib with the yellow walls and have plans to do some stenciling on the wall above the crib.

It still needs some decorations to give it that finished feel, but I think it's a great start! 

BATHROOM

The upstairs bathroom is my favorite room in our entire house, but it definitely didn't start out that way!

This is the only before picture I have, thanks to the fact that Bran was so
excited about the demo that he had it all finished before I could get my camera out.

When we moved in we called this particular room the "weed room" thanks to the big lamp that gave off a blue ambiance, the shag carpet and the heavy duty fan. It was evidently also the massive beehive room, as the guys quickly found out.  Thankfully, the bees had evacuated the hive months before!

We designed the bathroom and picked out all the elements and fixtures, and the Antkowiaks (Bran's parents) made it happen financially.  Bran did some of the work himself (all the demolition, some framing, and some plumbing) but most of it was done by a good friend of ours who owns Anderson Construction here in Moscow.  We're thrilled with the results!

First, there is the "spa-like" tub with an all-tile surround and built in shelving on either side,

with storage cabinets below the shelves.

Then we have the toilet and little cabinet that matches the vanity and shelving.

And finally the door, vanity, and mirror! We had to play with the fixtures a bit to get everything to fit (talk about a major ceiling slant!), but with some custom wood work and a bit of imagination we did it!

The only thing left to finish is painting.  Everything is primed, and the bottom half is done, but now the slants and the ceiling need to be painted.  I'm hoping to finish it with my sister's help next week, 

and will post a few more pictures when we do it.

Is it spring yet?

Crankypants

Well if these aren't just the cutest...

...too bad they're $80!

All baby all the time.

I realized while I was cleaning up around here that I have fallen into the trap of only blogging about baby stuff.  My mom and mother-in-law and maybe a few others are thinking "What's wrong with that?" The rest of you who don't have kids, (or do, and that's why you want to read about something else) probably aren't as excited by all things baby as I am.  In light of this realization, I'm going to do my best to blog not just about my offspring and the fun, cute things that come with having a little girl, but keep blogging about other things, too.

Like digital cameras. I have the hardest time taking decent pictures! I read a bunch of different blogs and it seems like so many people take these beautiful photos of their kids, their homes, even what they ate for lunch.  I know that a big part of my problem is that I just need to break out my camera's manual and figure out how to get the right lighting (my biggest pet peeve is how ugly photos look when taken with the flash, but without flash they're blurry). I have a feeling that another part of my problem is that our house gets little to no natural sunlight, so we really have no great spots to take well-lit pictures.

My sister is an amazing photographer (though she would deny it), and her latest photography obsession is with film cameras.  She showed me a roll of film she snapped while home in Annapolis over Christmas, and I couldn't believe how gorgeous every picture turned out.  The colors are amazing, and it helps that the photos were all taken outside (and in Annapolis, no less... what a gorgeous place!).  If it weren't so expensive I'd try going that route myself, but for the time being my goal is to learn how to use the camera I have.

We've been hard at work...

...Re-vamping the blog! Let me know what you think - too busy? Confusing? Just right? 


While I've been putting around on the interweb the little one has just been hanging out....  :)