never say never

Oh tacky baby gym, how we love you. You are such a monstrosity, yet you brighten even our darkest hours. You are the smartest $59.99 we have ever spent. 

Marian Wright Edelman

“Dear Lord, be good to me. The sea is so wide, and my boat is so small."

Baptism

My L.O. was baptized last month, and it was a special time for our whole family. Not only because it was so symbolic of our belief in raising him up with Christian values, but because it really dawned on me that he can be a light in the world. With teaching him to be a Christ follower, comes the potential that he can lead others the right way. He can be an example of good in the world to those living in darkness. This was the start of his adventure in the Christian faith. I was so proud.

weird

I was pregnant. ?????????????



don't have a heart attack

But we're back. I know. I let even more time pass than the last time I apologized for being incognito. I just simply haven't had the time to sit down and actually write a post worth reading in the short time I have "off". It's like when you don't answer the phonecall of someone you know you really need to talk to because it's been so long, but you simply don't have the forty-five minutes you need to REALLY catch them up, so you just don't answer. It's bad I know.





Right now he's asleep in his bouncy chair on the dining room table, so instead of dusting the office, I decided to sit down at the computer instead!



Things are going great! Bear is almost three months old and is the sweetest baby EVER. He sleeps through the night, charms absolute strangers and friends alike, eats like a champ, you name it. He rarely cries unless his hair gets caught in the velcro of his bib, or he's dirty or sleepy. Who can blame him for that?!



We are holding down the fort quite nicely as well. No time for TV or social networking, but fun nonetheless. Keeping up with cleaning and laundry has replaced a morning workout, which is probably not a bad thing. Along with breastfeeding, never sitting down has allowed me to fit into most of my pre-pregnancy clothes! See?...





I also had a birthday!: a wonderful 31st birthday where I did laundry all day while it rained outside and then went on my first outing since Bear's arrival. My sweet momma kept him while we went to Terry's for dinner. We spent most of our romantic dinner looking at pictures of Bear on my phone and talking/reenacting funny things he does. We are such PARENTS! I love it.

Here we are eating out at Bossa Nova. We love going here with Bear because the ladies that work here are so nice and seem to really like him. Even patrons at the restaurant look at him adoringly when we take him out of his seat if he gets restless. No judgement here! Love that! You'd be surprised at the looks you can get from people when you bring your baby with you out to eat. Uh!

My child loves to read! Hallelujah!

This face pretty much sums up the dogs' attitude toward the whole situation.

We'll see you soon~

xoxo,

C, F, and B







surprise!

Yes, we are still alive. I cannot believe it's been nearly one month since my last post. That's just embarrassing.

I will update you on my life: in a nutshell, I am busy. Busy as all get-out. Barron is easy. Yes, that's right. I said it. He gives me no trouble. Now, the house, laundry, dogs, shopping, cleaning...they give me trouble! It is a challenge to keep everything somewhat civilized, and half-way normal for my sweet husband's sake. He works all day, and the last thing he wants to come home to is a dirty house with a strung-out wife looking like who'd-a-thought-it and an unhappy baby that looks just like him! In the words of Truvy Jones, it's a bit like being a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest.

I have always thought of myself as a neat person, but when you have a peanut strapped to your chest (God bless the Balboa baby sling), every room seems to go to hell in a handbasket in a matter of minutes.

This picture is not posed. I really am asleep. Flynn likes to take pictures while we sleep. This one was the least unflattering. When you learn to function on less than six hours, you pretty much fall asleep at any moment you are still for longer than eight minutes.

On average, we try to get to bed around 10. But Barron likes to hang out in our room until he falls asleep. I know, that's not good. But it is so much fun to cuddle him when we smells so fresh from here:

He loves his baths. After his tee-tee healed and his belly-button thing finally fell off, we've been enjoying real baths in the Puj. I highly reccommend it. It's soft and allows water to constantly flow through it so you're not bathing him in dirty water. He likes to "dirty" his water right when he gets into it. I don't mind. xoxo

This is one of the rare moments he was swaddled. And even here you can see he is working his arm out of it. He HATES to be swaddled. Who can blame him. It does seem like it would be uncomfortable, especially in July. We switched to footed pajamas and let him flop freely in his Rock-and-Play. We had to switch him to that since the Nap Nanny was recalled for a child dying while sleeping in it in the crib with rolled up blankets and we were putting Barron in it in his crib with rolled up blankets. !!!! Oops.

See how happy he is? Xoxo. Much better than that old swaddling business. I reccommend the "Rock-and-Play" as well. It is a collapsable hammock thing that you can buckle them into and there is NO POSSIBLE way they can turn over onto their sides or stomachs. SIDS scares the hell out of me. Yes, I said "hell". I use the word "hell" when talking about SIDS. Anyway, the Rock-and-Play is awesome, only when you say it you have to say it in a KISSlike rocker voice.

Throughout the day, he naps on and off, and for some reason, I feel the need to sit and watch him sleep. It's a total waste of time if you consider my to-do list, but I can't help it. I can't believe he's real, and staring at him helps it to sink in. He is beautiful. He is precious. He is mine. I can't believe God has blessed me with this adorable little thing. Just when I thought life coudn't get any better, He goes and does this. That God, he's an alright guy.



welcome

Born June 21 @ 7:30 p.m.

6lbs. 13 oz. 20 in. long

I am in love.

Letter

Dear baby,

Today is the last Saturday of my whole life that I won't know you. From now on, I will be forever learning your personality, needs, wants, dreams. My Saturdays will now be spent taking care of you, taking you to the zoo, going to your ballgames, wondering how you're doing, and waiting on your phone calls.

I can't wait to meet you. It is a bittersweet feeling to bid farewell to my former life. One that consists of Saturdays spent lunching, on sporadic housework, or the occasional shopping spree. They will seem much more important now, not just a lazy filler in between a hectic Friday and spiritual Sunday.

Thank you for the past nine months. You have already taught me more than you'll ever know.

See you on Tuesday.

Love,
Mom

nesting part II

Nursery completed: Check.

Clothes washed and baby gear ready for use: Check.

Downstairs baby station: Check.

Very cool and untacky European collapsable bathtub: Check.

As you can see, I am now in full nesting mode. The only thing missing in this equation is a bouncing baby boy. And fortunately for mom and dad, my nesting has carried over into our personal spaces as well. Our closet has never been cleaner. I am purging, scrubbing, organizing like crazy!

I can't stop!

Even in the kitchen!

And what baby-ready household would be complete without Summer pillows?

Oh who am I kidding! I've been nesting my whole life. It's just that now I can give it a cute name and a darn good excuse. Until now, I've just been labeled a psycho. Now, I am a "nesting mother". Much cuter.

Have a great holiday weekend!

button owl project

After hanging the mirror in the nursery, I realized that hanging a pair of something on either side would give a symmetrical look that I really crave in a room. In fact, after walking around my house, I noticed I have a pair of something hanging on either side of every mirror on the wall. So I dug out two old frames that I'd been saving. I got them at my local flea market for $10 each about two years ago.

I ordered vintage brown-toned buttons off of ebay for $8.50- a bag full of them! Then I went to Hobby Lobby and picked out two pieces of scrapbook paper that matched the decor of the room. I chose a green and white plaid gingham because of the other gingham accents in the room. It was much easier to find paper in this print, and I was afraid the buttons glued to the fabric might make it sag a little once I put it in the frame.

I laid out a design and played with it a little before actually gluing them down. For the glue, I used Liquid Stitch fabric glue. Elmer's would have probably worked too, but this stuff is really sticky, and I didn't want to risk the buttons coming loose.

After the buttons dried for a few hours, I wrapped the paper around two measured-to-fit pieces of cardboard and glued it down.

After that dried, I used a heavy duty staple gun to staple the cardboard into the frames. Overall, this project took about two hours, once I had all of the supplies at hand. I think it turned out great!

We also added a green stripe to the color pattern on the paneling, just to tie everything together. The nursery feels complete- now the only thing missing is a sweet baby boy!

Have a happy Mother's Day!

holy week

It's Palm Sunday. Hope everyone has a blessed week!

nesting

Like the mother bird that has made a nest over our front door, I've been doing a lot of primping, cleaning, and fluffing in preparation for baby Smith's arrival. I know he will really appreciate the new arrangement I added to the dining room table.

I bought an old toy box at a garage sale for $30. We had it professionally painted by a car painter with car paint. It looks great and the paint job is super durable.

I added a mirror on the wall by the crib. Note: an earthquake couldn't move this thing. It is secured with a three-prong nail hook that is made to hold up to 100 pounds. I also pulled the crib away from the wall a bit. Safety first!

This is a picture of my PawPaw when he was a little boy. Doesn't he look dapper? After all, baby Smith's namesake was PawPaw's grandmother.

In our room, recent additions include the crochet lace valences and new alabaster lamps. I used Pottery Barn burlap lampshades and love the way they turned out. Also, there is a white matelasse bedspread for spring/summer, and a new needlepoint owl pillow that was a gift from hubby.

The little shelf on my side is new too. It doesn't hold much, but I like the look of the white with the wood framed blue jay print.

Storage baskets for baby Smith's toiletries replaced an array of knick knacks that used to fill these bathroom shelves. These will be for baby wash cloths, toys, baby wash, hooded towels, etc. I like them so much better than the decorative items that were there before. These had been hiding in the closet for years! It's amazing how you can love something you already own even more when it's repurposed.

Last weekend, we had a very successful garage sale at Mom's. (Trying to bring OUT more than is brought IN.) Closets are sparse, and we even have a few empty kitchen cabinets and drawers. There's a lot to be said for simplifying! Feels so great!

Have a great weekend!

take it outside

Our poor little house has needed so much work. Not just on the inside either. Decades of overgrowth had taken over. Creeping slowly, taking it over like a disease. We knew it was not in the short term plan to start on the exterior. We had to get rid of the roaches and rotted floors on the inside first. But now, two years later, we have made our way outside.

Bad.

Better.

Best.

It's amazing what a little back-breaking work and a couple of thousand dollars can do. Of course, we won't be the envy of P Allen Smith anytime soon, but it looks great to us. Clean, manicured, not a rat or snake in sight!

Want to see more? Yeah you do.

Bad.

Better.

Best.

We planted azaleas, hydrangeas, boxwoods, and a bit of rosemary. They're babies now, but in a few years, this garden will be in full bloom. We also have a plan to add two crepe myrtle trees in front on either side of the front windows. I can't wait to watch it grow. The little garden statue was found in the backyard, under years of overgrown ivy. She now sits prominently in front as a reminder to water these little guys.

Before:

After:

We can't stop admiring it. We've been doing a lot of this lately:

Cheers to Spring!