A Birthday Reflection

One year ago today my life looked very different. Brandon and I had been in our new house for a few months. We didn't know we were pregnant yet, but I avoided alcohol just in case.

About a week later we would find out that we would be having a baby...and that this year would be life changing.

And it was, but not only in the ways I expected. This year I lost my best friend. It was unexpected, and the hardest thing I have ever been through.

A few months later I would give birth to my son. I never knew how much one event would change me. I've turned into a nervous nut :-)

In the next year I am looking forward to enjoying my little family and every day  that I'm given.

Maternity Leave

                                                             Photo by Amber Engfer :)

Well, since my last post, I had a baby. A healthy, 9lb boy. And I started my 12 week maternity leave, which ended two weeks ago. I've gotten some questions (mainly from people who don't have kids) about what I did all day while on maternity leave, and I have to admit, that I had some strange ideas of what maternity leave would be like myself.

So, here it is, what managed to do, and what I didn't:

- Despite being set on it, I didn't watch any Downton Abbey. Or any full season of a tv show for that matter. I also haven't read any magazines cover-to-cover or finished any book that wasn't intended for children (and I mean small children, not teenagers like usual). I did watch a lot of the Olympics...and found a somewhat abnormal love for the British show Top Gear.
- I made one trip to the State Fair, which is a totally different experience with a crying infant.
- I went to one Gopher game. The other home game I could have attended fell on a day Brandon had to work, and I realized that carting a baby around a football game all by yourself doesn't actually sound like fun. We went to the zoo with my sister-in-law and nephew instead.
- I filled my time with BYOB (Bring Your Own Baby) Yoga, Baby Massage classes, and Baby and Me classes. I learned the secret about Baby and Me classes as well. Some people think classes with other mothers are there so that you get out of your house, are able to see that you aren't alone in your struggles to adjust to motherhood and in the end don't harm your baby. That is mostly true, except they aren't to prevent you from harming your baby. You wouldn't do that. They're to prevent you from harming your husband. Because at 2 in the morning when you're rocking a crying infant and he's fast asleep...you might do that. And, I maintain, if judged by a jury of your sleep deprived peers, you would be found not guilty.
- I did not go on any vacations, but did make a road trip to Owatonna - for ice cream, because let's be serious I still have priorities.
- I attended my 10 year high school reunion. Nothing like a reunion to make you feel old.
- I called the nurse line more times than I'd care to admit, obsessed over everything, and consulted Google far more than should be allowed. I've probably been sure my healthy son almost every affliction known to man. Note to self: don't Google at 3am. No good can come of it.

So now that I'm back to work, and the baby is attending daycare full time, I'm starting to see what my actual every day life will be like. It is hard to believe that the only days I'll get to cuddle full time are weekends, and that I have to spend the majority of my waking time with adults, not the baby that thinks everything I say is pretty much the most hilarious thing ever. Which is sad, because I could totally get used to that.

Bedroom Updates

One of the things I've been slacking on in the 10 months we've been living here is getting any sort of art up on the walls. I'm not sure why...we have a lot of photos/art to hang up, but somehow committing has been a bit of a problem.

I knew we needed something more in the master bedroom to add some interest...and to hopefully make the walls look a little more grey vs. blue, and I was hoping black and white wedding pictures would be just the thing to do it.

First, however, we replaced the tall bookshelf with two shorter bookshelves (the tall one seemed to make the room unbalanced, and fit nicely in our living room for dvd storage).

We started out thinking we would put the two shorter bookshelves right where the old one was, and the photo collage would go above it.

The problem with that was, it prevented us from opening our bedroom door all the way...

So instead we decided on putting a shelf on each side of the window...

and a photo collage above each. I'm really liking how they both turned out, even though I've been struggling to take an acceptable picture of it. Here's the best I have right now:

And for kicks, a totally dark photo of the whole thing:

 But you get the idea.

Now hopefully I'll feel motivated to put up photos in other areas of the house...right after I finish the newest Sookie book.

Last Weekend

This last weekend was pretty fantastic in a lot of ways.

I got to hang out with one of my favorite girls...

My husband took me to one of the new donut spots in town (I'm a little peeved by the popularity of donuts these days...while they have brought some new options to the area, the posers in line around me annoy me). And by the time we made it to Mojo Monkey a lot of the good stuff was already gone, but we got to try a selection of their other offerings...and they were tasty...

I spent a bit of time in the garden, putting together potted plants. I'm really liking the bright pop of color they bring to the backyard.

 Oh! And my very favorite flamingo came out for the summer...

And finally, we got the crib up.

It is kind of weird walking by the bedroom and seeing a crib in there...and pretty soon there will be a baby! (apparently I'm the only one who is a little surprised by this fact, but apparently I haven't entirely wrapped my head around bringing home a little person in...8ish weeks)
 

So Much For Spring Cleaning

So, it may have been a little ambitious to think I was going to do one spring cleaning task a day for a month. Apparently, it's a little ambitious to think I'm going to do one spring cleaning task a week...

This has been a pretty productive last few days though...whether they've been blog worthy or not. Last week we had a daycare interview that went pretty well, even though it is really difficult to try and interview a stranger to watch your baby.

Yesterday was my baby shower with Brandon's family. It was a lot of fun, and we are very lucky to have such amazing family.

Today was spent getting a start on the thank you notes, and running a million errands. We went to Ikea (which I have to admit isn't my favorite place in the world) and bought the baby a dresser and bookshelf...as well as a bed for Melissa's room. So more to come there!

Then we went to Home Depot and picked up a few not as fun things, but apparently Brandon thought we needed them.

So now there are piles of boxes in my living room of furniture just waiting to be put together, as well as baby items that need to be organized. I'm thinking that I'm in for a pretty busy week!!

Pinterest Project

 Like most people these days I suffer from an addiction to Pinterest. I pin everything...and make nothing. It's good for inspiration, but some days it can leave me feeling a little overwhelmed.

When I came across this project though, I knew I'd found a perfect place to start. (You can read all about how to make your own here).

 

Photo from: Little Miss Mama

And so I decided to make my own. The only state that has real significance to my husband and I is Minnesota. It's where we were raised, met, got married, bought our first house, and where we'll have our first baby. 

So first I drew out a rough MN outline, and outlined it with black embroidery thread.

 

Once that was finished I added a red felt heart.

 

Framed it in an inexpensive frame from Target...And that was it! I'm mostly in love with the way it turned out...though there are a few eraser marks that I wish would disappear.

 

The nice thing is, they aren't very noticeable when it is hanging on the wall. 

So what do you think? I like that it adds a little more interest to our master bedroom photo collage, AND it was homemade...couldn't be better!

Spring Cleaning - Day 1

It seems like everyone's been bitten by the spring cleaning and organization bug. I'd like to say that I'm no exception, but with the difficult last month I've had, things on the home front have become a little messy. So my goal for this month, is to accomplish something home related every day...little organizational projects, actual decorating projects, or silly things that needed to be done.

When I came home from work today the table was covered with an embarrassing amount of clutter. Mail that's been piling up (a theme across the house lately), craft supplies that I swear I'm going to use one of these days, ultrasound photos from months ago, coupons that I hadn't clipped and a rubber duck. Don't you wish I had a photo of that?

Well, after a little bit of organizing (and bill paying and junk mail sorting) I'll end the night like this:

Much better if I may say so myself...now we just have to keep it clean...and keep the momentum going.

Wish me luck!