Last Thursday night I had a complete mental breakdown when Chris came home. I mean, the ugly cry and everything. I was stressed out from potty training, from the demands of a newborn, from a house that never seems to get clean anymore and from the feeling that my days are so unproductive lately. And then I started crying because I had been crying every night when he came home and who wants to come home to that?! Lovely. haha!
He calmly talked me down off the ledge and reminded me of my word for the year (“Survive” – practical and all, but how boring is that, seriously?!) and gave me an awesome, encouraging pep talk that seriously swung me in the other direction. And then he told me to go out.
But by this time it was 5:50 and I don’t think I’d showered that day and there was no way I was using up my free night out card when it was going to be at least 6:30 by the time I left the house. lol So I went out on Friday. And boy was I ready by the time he came home! I was outta there. ;)
First I went to Panera and got a Greek salad (one of my faves!). I’m pretty sure as soon as I sat down, my blood pressure dropped about 20 points. lol This was my status update when I got there:
“Currently at Panera - BY MYSELF!!!! Because my husband rocks. And also because after 3 weeks of potty training and getting up at night with a newborn, it was either this or Mommy was taking a nice long trip to Mexico. Til Christmas.” LOL
I sat and ate my salad and checked my favorite blogs on the tablet and just took as long as I wanted! It was fabulous. Our local Panera is in a shopping mall with the grocery store and when I finished I contemplated going and getting groceries since we really needed some and I should be responsible…but then I decided to truly relax and take a night out for real and do just fun things. So it was awesome. I walked around Kohl’s because I still had a birthday gift card from my MIL, and then I headed down to Goodwill. I had some really fun finds that night!
Here’s what I got:
I couldn’t pass up these girly little lamp bases for Livi’s room. They need bulbs and shades but for $3.98 for the pair they had to come home with me!
Her room is gray and white with pops of light pink and navy. This is the third plate in this color I’ve found at this Goodwill! So random – there’s no markings on the back of any of them. I’m going to do a plate wall with them. I don’t know what I’m going to do with the cup yet in her room, but I’ll think of something! They were 99 cents each.
My best friend, Lindsay, totally got me started a year or two ago looking for vintage Pyrex. It is SO fun to hunt for them. It’s like a bizarre magnetic pull or something – if they’re in good shape and reasonably priced, I just have to snatch them up because finding them is so rare! lol The juice pitcher was $2.99 and the little teacup was 99 cents.
A little close-up on the vintage teacup pattern:
These two beauties were 99 cents each and they came home with me because their smooth, flat surface is perfect for doing-over with chalkboard paint! They have hooks on the back for hanging and I’m totally going to make them beautiful again. ;)
And lastly, these were just for fun. Chris and I love the “Awkward Family Photos” website and oh my gosh, this book will make you laugh til you cry! The magnets were only 99 cents and we’ve already had a lot of fun making crazy, ridiculous sentences on our fridge using cooking words. haha
It was a wonderful night out and I came home feeling so relaxed and refreshed. It was seriously just what I needed! I think it’s a necessity when you’re a mom, don’t you agree?!
Anyone been thrifting lately and found something they love? Anyone else collect vintage Pyrex?
Blogging is a funny thing, isn’t it? I mean, it’s real, and it isn’t “real” all at the same time – you know what I mean? I mean seriously – try telling an older person about your blog and how you write about your life on the internet and then how complete strangers comment on it except some of them aren’t complete strangers anymore because you’ve actually developed a friendship with some of them and may have even met some of them in person. Awwwwwwkward! I’ve definitely gotten a few glazed-over looks. haha!
But blogging IS a real part of life now and there are real people making livings off their blogs and getting book deals and it provides a real source of friendship, encouragement, and inspiration for those who do it (at least it does for me, anyway!).
So since I do spend a lot of my time in this invisible-but-very-real world, something I’ve been wanting to do for months now (okay actually years) is get a new design for my blog. Sometime back in 2010 I paid to have a designer revamp my site and give it an updated look from the standard Blogger template.
Well, unfortunately it was a total disaster. This girl took MONTHS to do my design, didn’t listen to what I asked for, and was overall horrible to work with. In the end she actually apologized to me and offered me some work for free in the future (nooooo thank you!), so I’ll give her some credit for at least admitting she didn’t do a good job. I mean, at least by the end we were in agreement together that she pooped out on me! haha
{Thankfully I just checked out her personal blog and it looks like she doesn’t do design work anymore – so there’s no need for me to warn anyone else about her – whew!}
Anyway, I’m itching for a fresh new look! I’d love something crisp and clean and white and a place where I feel like I can breathe, not feel claustrophobic. God has been very gracious and I’ve been steadily earning a little bit of money each month through my Google ads on the sidebar, so I’d like to put a little of that money back into my blog design now. We’ve been putting my ad money aside toward our “new car” fund (aka “used car” fund, lol) since both of our cars could die at any second, but I talked it over with Chris and he is ok with me rolling a little of my blog money back into the blog. Yay!
My blog is getting a makeover! SHUT UP. {A little Stacy London for ya ;) }
So my question is: have any of you had good success with a blog designer? I’m just looking for someone reasonably priced and ethical – that’s not too much to ask, is it?! lol I have about 10 websites saved on my Pinterest board so I have a pretty clear vision of what I’d like. Anyway please share if you have someone you know! Thanks guys!
Oh. my. gosh you guys. I’m just going to cut right to the chase here: two kids is HARD! (Moms of more than 2, I know you’re laughing at me right now, and that’s okay…I’m laughing at all the moms of 1 who think – like I used to – that their life is hard! lol}
I mean seriously. One blog post in February? Because all I do all day is take care of the kids (aka make sure they both survive), then Chris comes home, we eat, I do housework like a crazy woman while he spends time with them, we put Luke to bed, we both do a little housework together while one of us tries to hold Olivia and then we basically crash…before getting up to feed her in the middle of the night, of course.
Did I mention that Luke decided he wanted to wear big boy underwear last Saturday? When Livi was 4 weeks old? So that means I’ve been potty training for the past 11 days with a newborn? And that my baby girl happens to have pretty bad acid reflux and is on a prescription and needs to eat more often than she had been (but a little less at each feeding so her stomach can handle it better) and needs to be held upright for at LEAST a solid hour after she eats or else she will projectile vomit and/or scream bloody murder but that sometimes she does those things regardless? Did I mention any of that?! lol
Anyway, I end most days feeling like I got absolutely nothing accomplished except that nobody ended up in the ER and Mommy didn’t and up as the crazy lady on the 6:00 news. (haha) So I randomly woke up this morning and decided this morning to record my day – boring as it might be - in photos. Because somehow I already have a 6- week-old so even though the days draaaaaag on and on the weeks really are flying by.
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So for better or for worse, here’s a visual diary of my day today:
Basically, most of my days now consist of watching Luke play and verbally interacting with him (rather than getting on the ground as much)while I hold Olivia upright so she’ll stop screaming bloody murder be comfortable and happy. ;)
Morning activity that lasted about 10 minutes: letting Luke use one of my canvases to make “art” with the blue dot marker. It actually turned out really neat – I think I’m going to hang it in the playroom when we re-do it this summer.
Bought a bag of Easter M&Ms for Luke’s potty rewards; gave him 3 and he gagged on them and spit them out. I think he was afraid of the pastel colors since they’re different than the regulars? (Seriously, people don’t always take me seriously when I tell them my kiddo has serious food issues – but that’s whole other post for a different day!) Since it’s basically a sin in my world to throw out perfectly good chocolate, they now sit on my counter and I spent my day today trying NOT to eat this entire jar.
Good news: I didn’t! But I wanted to.
I remember at 10:00 that I haven’t given Livi her morning dose of medicine yet. I cringe when I have to administer it because she hates it and usually cries. (Ummmm, because bless her heart, it smells like Listerine strips!) But I do love seeing my girl’s name in print, regardless of the reason! It just makes me so excited that she's a real person and she’s really here with us. I am a total dork, I know. (I kept this photo blurry on purpose.)
I bought a great old cast-iron skillet for $3 back in November at the Salvation Army. It’s been under my dresser for the past three months (story of my life, people!) and today I decided it was getting ridiculous and it was high time to clean it. After a good scouring and rubbing with oil and baking at 500 degrees (my house smelled horrible like smoke afterwards, even with the windows open), it came out looking tons better but it still needed to go back in for round 2 of seasoning.
Quick standing-up lunch/snack: amazing restaurant salsa leftover from girls’ night out with friends on Saturday night. I have eaten entirely way too many carbs since having Olivia…but what can I say? I eat standing up these days and they are fast and easy.
This picture was technically taken the other day, but it pretty much represents how I spent most of today, and the day before that, and the day before that…and you get the picture: hanging out with Luke by the potty, with Olivia hanging out in the sling.
Back to today: the time stamp on this photo is 1:44. Because someone in my home is apparently always having a crisis, I don’t get to drink many hot sips of coffee in a row. Hence the “reheating rings” – I count 5 and it’s not even 2:00 yet! I specifically picked my “Today” show mug this morning because it reminded me of a happy day in my life (visiting the “Today” show live with Lindsay). The memory of that makes me smile and also simultaneously miss my best friend all day long.
(Somewhere about this time two friends dropped by separately for a short time each – praise the Lord for adult conversation!)
Little Miss Thing spits up a ton, bless her heart, and we go through a lot of clothes here (she’s had two more outfits on today - for a total of 6! - since this photo was taken). Clorox stain remover is my new best friend!
Time for an afternoon sensory activity! We traced letters in kosher salt on the tray and then buried objects under it. (And no I didn’t do that to his hair {it’s seriously been standing up like that for days} but I am loving his little faux-hawk!)
Miss Liv took a nap on me while Luke and I played with the salt:
P.S. Salt activity came to an abrupt halt when Luke decided to repeatedly dump it all over his head. After being told not to. Like 3 times. But…YAY for my kiddo being totally cool with touching salt! I mean, still a win, right?! haha
Right about this point in the day I am super thankful I actually had 10 free minutes this morning to pop a chicken in the crockpot for dinner! It’s starting to smell really good!
I somehow manage to grab another 10 peaceful minutes (I heard the angels singing when it happened) and throw together these no-bake energy bars that my sister recommended. Verdict: I love the clean ingredients but they don’t come together all that well. Next time I will add more peanut butter {I ran out after I made the recipe}. I think I still prefer my morning cookie. :)
{Loving my “new” aka vintage Pyrex bowl that I got recently for $2.50! Perfect for mixing!}
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Not long after this Chris came home (Haaaaallelujuah, thank you Jesus), so the pictures stopped. But just think more potty breaks (including where Luke accidentally peed on his face – yup, think that one through with me! haha), bath time, playtime, clean-up time, bedtime routine, dishes, 2 loads of laundry, and me and Chris talking about our days and singing out loud to Bruno Mars’ “Marry Me” on Pandora (best part of my day!).
It’s 9:32 and I’m about to help Chris give Livi a bath and then head to bed!
I’m not going to lie to you – these are some of the most emotionally draining days of my life. The days are long and hard and demanding. (There are no pictures of me today because there was no shower for me today! I chose sleep instead this morning, which I don’t regret one bit!)
Between having shingles in December and being stuck at home for two weeks, then staying home a lot in January to avoid getting the flu while pregnant, then having a newborn and being at home to keep her healthy and learn her routine, then having a little boy potty training who has max 5 seconds to make it to the toilet right now (so going out with him is not really an option for a while), and I don’t get out a lot. I love my home and my kids but it’s hard for me mentally to be stuck at home and feel like I don’t have my freedom.
But then I think about all the people who would just love to be able to have babies and be home with them…and I try to change my bummed-out attitude and cherish the good parts of my day: the baby smell and snuggles, kisses from Luke, tickling him, sharing his joy when we make it a day without accidents.
Let’s just say I live for 5:00 when my relief pitcher walks through that door.
Oh and weekends…when I can take a nap! Don’t even get me started. ;)
Goodnight all! This mama is POOPED OUT – LITERALLY! haha
I’ve thought about sitting down to write this post about a million times, but I just couldn’t stop crying long enough to actually do it. I’m crying right now just thinking about it, but I’m plowing ahead. Here is her story:
On Monday, January 21, 2013, at 11:26 am, my beautiful daughter, Olivia Noelle, was born. It was single-handedly one of the most spectacular moments of my existence.
When Luke was born, I was bone-tired from being in labor all day and scared TO DEATH about having an emergency c-section. He didn’t cry right away and they took care of him in a part of the OR that I couldn’t see and then after letting me give him a quick kiss, they whisked him away to the nursery and I didn’t see him for hours. (Luke if you’re reading this sometime later in life, you know I love you like crazy, buddy – I’m just saying that your delivery was different, that’s all.)
But with her? Ohhhhh, it was miraculous. Thanks to a different hospital and different philosophy of birth experience, I was able to watch everything about her first moments – I watched Chris cut the cord, I watched them clean her off, I even got to hold her on my chest in the OR with the help of the nurses (because I was shaking so badly).
This girl made my heart want to burst. I loved Luke from the beginning but I didn’t feel bonded to him right away (I think due to the stress of the situation – again, sweetheart, you know I love you!). But with Olivia I felt this overwhelming love and gratitude and just all-encompassing peace that our long-awaited-for baby was finally here.
It was amazing.
The nurses described her as “perfect” – her 2 Apgars were 9 and 9, she had a beautiful rosy glow, and no apparent physical disabilities whatsoever. She checked out fine every time they looked her over. So for one blissful period of 24 hours, that’s what we believed. That we had been miraculously given a perfectly healthy daughter, after the scare of an ectopic pregnancy at 6 weeks, being told she might have Down Syndrome at 13 weeks, and me getting shingles at 35 weeks pregnant.
We were both totally mesmerized by her. I think I told Chris at least 5 times over that first 24-hour period that “I never want anything bad to happen to her, ever.” From 11:26 am on Monday to about 1:00 pm on Tuesday, we were pretty much blissed out. We felt so blessed and lucky.
Then at about 1:00 one of the pediatricians from our local practice came in to do a routine check on Livi. He finished and I very happily and confidently asked, “So everything’s fine, right?” (Remember, she’d been checked by nurses every few hours of her life so far and had repeatedly been described as “perfect.”) I was totally floored when the Dr. said, “Actually, I hear something.” He told us he heard a heart murmur, but not to worry because lots of kids have them and they often close up naturally. He ordered some ultrasounds and Chris went with the nurse down to the ultrasound room for about an hour. (My nurse told me to stay in the room and just take it easy and rest.)
I cried but Chris reassured me not to worry and told me about someone we both knew who had a heart murmur and is basically healthy as horse now. I thought of that friend and felt calm and told myself it would be fine. When they finished the tests, they let us know they were sending the results to Yale-New Haven hospital for review and we’d probably know in the morning.
Chris went home at about 4:00 to spend the night with Luke since kids weren’t allowed in the hospital due to flu season. We had agreed beforehand he would do that, both for Luke’s sake and because Chris had had a bad cold and we wanted him better as soon as possible for Livi’s sake - so we knew a good night’s sleep was necessary for him.
My parents, my aunt, and my grandmother all came that early evening. We talked and laughed and I really enjoyed having them. We talked about Liv’s heart murmur but we all agreed it would be fine and honestly I wasn’t thinking about it much. My aunt took my grandmother home, and then my mom had to leave for a hair appointment, so my dad stayed with me for a little while longer, just to keep me company.
And then abut 6:00 pm, everything went downhill fast. Three nurses came into the room at the same time, and one of them touched my arm. A nurse I didn’t recognize said, “Jessica, we got the results back from Yale, and I need you to know it’s a lot worse than we thought. You need to be prepared that your daughter might have to be transferred by ambulance to Yale tonight.”
And my world stopped and simultaneously started spinning all at the same time.
They told me they were taking her down to the NICU and the Dr. there would talk to me and I could come down in 15 minutes once they’d hooked her up.
And then they left with her and left me with information that my brain wasn’t really processing. My daughter was going to the NICU. She might have to leave me tonight. By ambulance. She had big problems with her heart. The heart is a vital, huge, crucial, major organ. This was bad. This was horrible. This was horrifying. I will forever, ever, ever be grateful that my dad decided to stay with me that night. I can’t possibly fathom going through all of that devastating news alone. I remember crying my eyes out on his shoulder, and then we got on the phone because we knew we needed people on our side. I called Chris immediately and my dad called the prayer chain for his church. Chris called his parents soon after hanging up with me and got the prayer chain started at his parents’ church. He also called our small group, who happened to be meeting that night. Immediately we had dozens of people praying for our situation.
We walked down to the NICU – and let me just say that nothing prepares you for seeing your child hooked up to machines and monitors. It is not a part of the hospital I ever wanted to be in – ever.
The NICU Dr. came to talk to us and let us know that Olivia had been diagnosed with “Tetralogy of Fallot” – a congenital heart defect that involves 4 problems in the heart. One of those problems is a hole in the heart, which the pediatrician had correctly heard – except Olivia’s can only close with surgery. The other problems involve her aorta being in the wrong direction, her pulmonary valve being too small, and one of her ventricular walls being much thicker than the other one.
The whole time, my head was totally still spinning and I couldn’t stop crying. Here was my perfect, rosy, beautiful daughter and I was being told that she had all of these very serious problems. It was incomprehensible to me – not to mention she’d been diagnosed with something I’d never heard of and for pete’s sake couldn’t even remember how to pronounce.
We waited and waited – all the while expecting her to be transferred to Yale. And here I was only about 32 hours out from having had a c-section…I could barely walk, much less be discharged to go be with my daughter. So if she went I wasn’t going to be able to travel with her. I just begged God over and over to keep her at our hospital so I didn’t have to leave her.
After about 2 hours, the Dr. said that based on her stats and how amazing she was doing (her oxygen saturation levels in her blood remained at 100%), she was going to be allowed to stay here for the night…but that a team would probably come get her in the morning to bring her down to Yale. I thanked God for that and called Chris immediately. My dad left and I stayed with Olivia a little while longer before heading back to my room for the night so I could try to sleep since we had no idea what tomorrow would bring.
And so I went back to my hospital room, completely alone, with my baby down in the NICU and my husband at home. It was basically the worst night of my entire life. I have never felt more overwhelmed with sadness or more utterly alone. (I wanted Chris more than anything in the world at that point, but by this time it was about 10 or 10:30 at night and I knew he was fast asleep at home. I definitely could have called him, but I decided that the best thing for our family would be to let him sleep since we needed him to get better quickly now more than ever.)
So I called my good friend whose children have had 2 heart surgeries, because I needed to talk to someone who knew what I was feeling. Then I called Lindsay and talked to her for a while. And then I was just alone in the dark, crying out to God. I posted on Facebook our urgent request and the e-mails and comments and messages started flooding in. That helped SO much – to know that people were praying. I can truly say that sustained me through the night. That and the song “Not For a Moment” by Meredith Andrews…I played it over and over and over again.
I tried to sleep, for Olivia’s sake. I really did. Every time I woke up, I would check the tablet to see who had commented to let me know they were praying. At 5:30 (Wednesday morning now) I couldn’t take it anymore and asked to be wheeled down to see my girl again. I stayed with her until Chris came at about 7:30 after dropping of Luke at my parents’. I can’t even describe to you how awful I looked that morning. No kidding, it looked like I’d been stung by hornets repeatedly around my eyeballs. They were SO swollen and puffy from no sleep and from crying all night long. And Chris didn’t look much better.
{Thursday afternoon in the NICU – after a shower and the puffy eyes had *almost* gone away}
And now I’ll try to make this faster! The Dr. told us she was doing so well she wouldn’t have to be transferred and could stay at our hospital’s NICU (double praise, thank you JESUS!). We would both be discharged in the morning (Thursday) and travel down to Yale in our own car (no ambulance, hooray!) to meet with a pediatric cardiologist there. We stayed with her all day and held her non-stop, thanks to the extra-long cords that were monitoring her. {Although let me just say that one time I moved her and the NICU machine started alarming and I saw something flat-line on the screen. I thought for sure she was having a heart attack and I had caused it – the nurse came running over to turn the beeping off and just told me I’d bumped the monitor and it happened all the time. Scariest moment ever! It happened a ton more times after that but that first time was horrifying.}
{So happy here because we’re about to be discharged! And the nurses wrapped her in that girly quilt and tied a little bow in her hair – I about died from the cuteness!}
The next day {Thursday} we were both discharged together and traveled to Yale. She had an EKG done and then we met with her fabulous doctor, Dr. Fahey. He listened to her heart and looked at all the results and confirmed that she did have Tetralogy of Fallot. He explained it more in detail to us and let us know that we were definitely facing surgery, most likely at 3 months old. Because her condition was one of the milder forms of ToF (again, thank you Lord!), she would “only” need one surgery at 3 months (some children need upwards of 8!) and then possibly another one between 8-12 years old if her pulmonary valve was too small to grow with her (and that can only be determined during the first surgery).
{Chris holding Livi while we waited to see Dr. Fahey at Yale}
He assured us that her condition was totally common and very treatable. He told us that they do several ToF surgeries every month and that these surgeries are “bread and butter” to them. We learned that she might start to decline a little (as in, her blood might not oxygenate as well over a period of time), but it certainly wasn’t that she was going to turn blue in the middle of the night on us. She would be monitored repeatedly and her heart would gradually show signs of distress. In the meantime, though, we don’t have to treat her any differently than any other baby. He told us repeatedly that once her surgery takes place, she will live a healthy, active, normal life. I think his exact words were “she can play high school field hockey if she wants.”
So we got in the car feeling oddly encouraged. Here we had just learned she would need surgery before the summer came but we had learned that it wasn’t fatal and wouldn’t impact her future quality of life. We went to pick up Luke from my parents’ house and went home to try to start our lives as a family of four.
Definitely not how I imagined it, you know? But God knew this would be our story.
So here we are. My daughter has seen her pediatrician 3 times and Dr. Fahey 2 times, all before 3 weeks old. We’ve gotten a crash course on the heart and say things we never have before, like “pulse ox” and “ventricular septal defect.” Each day we live with knowing that her surgery is coming and we will have to walk through that. (She needs to be approximately 13 pounds, so they predict around 3 months old, which puts us at the end of April.) We’ve prayed harder than we ever have before and have learned just how many people are supporting us and continually covering us with prayer. We’ve had friends tell us their entire churches are praying for us (still). We had multiple friends post on their FB walls about Olivia and had dozens of people we never met write that they were praying for us.
We’ve learned that we are the lucky ones. Some babies don’t survive ToF – their blood never gets enough oxygen. Some babies, as I said earlier, need multiple surgeries to repair their hearts. Our girl just needs one.
It’s horrifying and absolutely nerve-wracking for me to think about my precious little girl getting opened up in the OR and having her heart cut open. I let myself think about it for a little while and then I stop – there’s only so much my own heart can handle. We pray earnestly for a miracle but as my father-in-law put it, “Sometimes God heals completely by using doctors.” I was really encouraged by that thought. God is NOT forsaking us by letting us go through this trial or by choosing to not heal her miraculously.
Mostly I just pray that she survives the surgery. I trust the doctors – I mean, it’s Yale! – but they have to bring her back to life, essentially, when they’re done. I fear that they’ll try to bring her back and she won’t come back to us. I think about it all the time and it’s this big giant black pit in my stomach. I am not promised an easy life, and I am not promised a life without sadness, either. I have no idea what God will do with Olivia’s life. I do beg Him all the time to let us have a full life with her. I beg Him to let me be her mommy and to let me raise her. I beg Him to be merciful and let our girl stay here on earth with us.
But usually I force myself to be optimistic. I remind myself of what Dr. Fahey said – that there would have to be an accident (like one of the machines would have to break in the OR) for her to die in surgery. That this surgery has been happening since the ‘50s and they do it all the time. That hers is mild. That my daughter gets to be treated at a prestigious hospital that has a whole team of pediatric cardiologists! And I remember that my girls’ name is literally being lifted up to God all around the country, continually.
Mostly we just try to enjoy her and let ourselves be in awe of how beautiful and adorable she is. :) She is *such* a gift to us and we just treasure her and her precious little life – made even more precious to us now.
So today she turns four weeks old, and that’s where we are right now. I simultaneously dread the end of April and also want it over with immediately. I am ready, as Dr. Fahey said, “for this all to be just a bad memory.”
I think it did my own heart good to get this out in a post – my underlying prayer, through all of this {besides that Livi stays alive, obviously}, is that God would use me through all of this to be a great testimony for Him. I want to be a shining light and let others know that God is GOOD and LOVING and MERCIFUL even when life seems to go horribly wrong.
I know the Lord has a wonderful and perfect plan for my girl’s life!
{Ironically, I’ve had this post in my head for weeks and finally sat down to type it last night. Then this morning I found out that due to steadily increasing high blood pressure for the last 3 straight weeks, my c-section has been bumped up to this Monday morning…as in, less than 72 hours from now! So I’d definitely appreciate any input as I enter these final days as a mom of one!}
Confession: I truly can’t wrap my head around having two kids.
It’s not one of those situations that you hear a lot like, “I just can’t imagine how I’m going to love another child when I already love my first child so much” or something like that. On the contrary – we are soooo in love with this little girl already! She was such an unexpected gift to us and we already feel so blessed by her presence. We wanted another child for years and just never expected she would come to us this way. It also might help that she is a different gender – it’s been SO fun to prepare for a little girl coming and Chris keeps walking around saying, “I just can’t wait to hold my little girl.” ;)
Nope, my issue is more that I seriously can’t picture my everyday life with two kids! (I mean, I can in the future, but not with a newborn, if that makes sense.) I mean, it’s been a looooong time – 3 1/2 years – of just me and Luke. We have a routine and a system. We want to go somewhere, we go. He fits easily into a cart at the store and I only have to worry about one set of snacks, one drink, and one bedtime schedule to adhere to.
He doesn’t take naps anymore (it’s okay – he sleeps great at night), but if I’m tired during the day (aka like now near the end of pregnancy) I lay on the couch next to him while he plays or watches a movie. He consumes all my time and attention – and it works just fine. He’s my life during the day!
So I just can’t fathom how this is actually going to work! I can’t wrap my head around giving two kids my time and attention. I anticipate feeling like a rubber band, constantly being pulled in opposite directions. How will I balance it all? How will I ever go ANYWHERE?! Will I ever have FIVE minutes to myself again?
I’m looking for advice here – or words of wisdom, or really anything. What has worked for you, personally? Strict schedules? Just going with the flow? Everyone has told me that going from 1 to 2 kids is the hardest transition there is, and I believe it. It’s funny now to look back at having Luke and thinking how hard that was in the beginning…and now realizing what a piece of cake it actually was in retrospect. I could take a nap or do whatever I wanted when he slept! Now, on the other hand, if I’m exhausted from being up all night with Livi, I still have to be on my A-game because my preschooler will be wide awake and wanting to play even when she’s napping during the day.
I’m prepared to hear “It’s really horrible during the transition time.” Honestly. (And on the flip side, if it wasn’t a big deal for you, feel free to let me know! ha!) I just want to know what it’s like from moms (and any dads!) who have been there.
Before I start, let me just say that if good quality photos are important to you, you’re gonna want to skip right over this post from me. It has been cloudy here for 3 straight days, and since “She was patient” will never be inscribed on my gravestone, I decided to just wing it.
So cloudy days combined with my cheapo camera combined with my stellar horrible photography skills…well just don’t say I didn’t warn you! :)
I am totally one of those people who’s like, “Oh, I’m having a baby soon?! Clearly I must do something non-important and totally non-essential to prepare myself well for this life-changing event.” haha! I can’t explain why it was so important for me to decorate for Valentine’s Day, but having the house dressed up for the pink holiday somehow makes me able to complete on other, more crucial tasks…you know, like getting a hospital bag ready or putting baby sheets on the crib. It’s like cleaning the cobwebs from my brain. So weird but that’s how I’ve always been.
So here we go! Everything is super simple, probably thrifted, and mostly pink. Red looks great in other people’s houses but it is not my color at all so you won’t see it here!
Here’s my “mantel” for Valentine’s:
My mom was getting rid of the old milk-glass vases and I thought they would look cute here. I made the easy rosette out of felt for a pop of pink.
The “XOXO” is one of my fave TJ Maxx finds ever from years ago and I made the typewriter prints two years ago. You can’t tell from the picture but they are actually covered with pink translucent paper. If you are a Moulin Rouge fan you will notice that they are both quotes from songs they sing in the movie – and the typewriter font is a nod to Ewan MacGregror’s character. “Come What May” was sung at our wedding so I love seeing some of those words printed out!
Luke painted this little heart last year and I plan on pulling it out every year until he hates me for it. haha!
Over the computer I made a simple little heart banner using a punch and that adorable wrapping paper from the Dollar Spot at Target this year. It’s just taped to pink embroidery thread.
I did the same garland for the kitchen chalkboard and added one of our favorite verses to it.
The words above the kitchen sink were inspired by a print I saw from Jones Design Company. Polka dots are so cheerful, aren’t they?! :)
In the dining room I added this adorable felted-heart ribbon that’s also from the Target Dollar Spot. They had such cute stuff this year!
I finally got to use my pink tablecloth that I found at a church sale last spring! It might be a little tacky but we do SO much at our kitchen table that having vinyl with a 3-year-old is really a lifesaver. Oh and I totally know you’re jealous of the Cat in the Hat puzzle. I contemplated taking it apart but realized it realllllly wasn’t worth it to me. haha!
In our bathroom I just have this little free printable (which I LOVE) and a simple cylinder wrapped in pink tulle and secured with a bobby pin. And sorry if you’re cringing over the flash – but our bathroom has no windows since it’s in the middle of our house. Flash was the only way to show you the true colors!
Lastly (okay really firstly) is our front door. I wanted SUPER simple so I just fashioned some simple pink and white felt rosettes and then hot-glued them right to the wreath form. It’s so simple and I love it. It got all whited out but you can see the detail in the second picture.
And that’s pretty much it! I’m happy to have a little bit of pink around the house to enjoy for a while! And to welcome my baby girl home to in EIGHT DAYS! Whooo!!
{Scroll down to see giveaway winner and details below. Yes, I’m mean. haha}
Since I’m a SAHM with no money more time than money, sometimes friends and family will let me peek though their junk piles headed to Goodwill to see if I can find anything to sell on our local Facebook resale sites for a little extra cash (I explained more about those here). I am SO grateful when people do this – I have made a decent amount of money this way and it seems to be a win-win for everyone!
Yesterday my mom watched Luke while I was at an OB appointment (TWO! WEEKS! UNTIL! DELIVERY!) and told me she had a bunch of stuff that was headed for Goodwill unless I wanted to look through them. Ummmm yes please!
Some of it was junk but I did find quite a few things I’m going to try to sell before the baby comes. But I almost stopped breathing when I saw this little number among some kitchen odds and ends:
That’s right, people, this hideously avocado green Tupperware has been a part of my childhood memories as long as I can remember. I’m pretty sure my mom got it as a shower gift way back in 1983…and it held more tuna salad throughout the 80s and 90s than I can ever recount – somehow that became its life purpose in our family?! haha
The thought of shipping it off to Goodwill?! CRAZY. It will stay a part of my life and my children WILL have memories of it in our fridge and around our house, I’m determined. This puppy and me are bonded for life.
Tell them to pot it with flowers at my wake. ;)
Anyone else have something from childhood that brings back memories for you like this?!
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Drumroll please! The winner {picked by Rafflecopter} of a FREE print from my sister’s business, Creative Type Designs, is #2 – Kate M! Woot!
Congratulations, Kate! And a huge thank you to all who entered!
PLEASE remember that Jill is offering a 25% coupon code good through this weekend on ANY of the prints in her shop! And because the prints come directly to you via high-resolution pdf, you can buy it this morning and have it printed and framed in your house TODAY! Talk about instant gratification! ;)
One final plug for my sister – she is the real deal, you guys…a real graphic designer with a degree! She does wedding invitations, save the dates, you name it. If you’re going to need some professional “paper help” in the near future, definitely consider her! She’s extremely accommodating and very affordable!
Have a fabulous weekend, everyone! I’ll be back next week with my VALENTINE’S decor! :)
