2012 in review...Happy New Year!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's looking forward to 2013...Have a safe and Happy New Year, everyone!

 

 

 

 

 

A very vintage find and a handmade gift

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas....

My husband and I had such a special day with our little girl....magical in so many ways....

 

 

Loved looking over and seeing her perched on her new desk with her nose in a book several times yesterday.  I found this darling vintage desk that came from an old school house for $10 

 

(yes, I said $10) I know, I thought the girl was out of her mind for selling it so cheap.  Thank goodness I claimed it first, there was a string of people behind me in line for it. It is quite solid with an adjustable writing top and an open bottom for storage under the seat.  Classic.

 

Now, on to more creative things...

It's no secret that I love a handmade gift.  I'm just not always a fan of the mess and sticky fingers that may accompany it.  I think this project was worth it though as I hear they were a big hit yesterday morning when wrapping paper went flying through the air Christmas morning. 

The project: I decided to make letters for my niece and two nephews using fun paper and the first letter of their names. 

I bought the letters at Jo-Ann's and went to a local 2nd hand book store to find the essential Star Wars books for my two nephews and then an old, darling nursery rhyme book (which I hated to cut up but it was only $1.50) for my niece.  You would think this would be an easy project, right?  My advice is to only do one letter to start with....because each letter took about 3 hours when all was said and done.  (I know)

I just used watered down glue rather than spending a lot on Mod Podge...but the problem is it is awkard with parts of the letter drying or wet while you are trying to work and then you have to fit pieces nicely to make them fit...etc.  Thats the time consuming part.

These little yellow triangle guys came in handy...I remembered I had them about mid way through:

 

 

The K turned out really sweet for my niece....I used a sublte layer of Martha Stewart glitter glue with a hint of pink just to give a little princess flare....

 

 

 

 

I also ended up doing an M for my sister and brother in law's last name....I used a vintage style New York map which I love and is appropriate since they travel so much and my

bro-in-law grew up near nyc.

 

 

So, that's that!  An inexpensive, fun gift that you can do a lot with and customize accordingly...so glad I was able to get these out for Christmas (please note I was a bit stressed with the turquoise Mylanta bottle on the table which has become my constant companion as I approach week 28 of pregnancyville)....breathe in, breathe out :)

Have a great week, everyone!

preparing for little brother

Just a thought:  Would it be premature of me to go ahead and pack my bag for the hospital in hopes that either A) my doctor somehow messed up my due date or B) I accidentally lift our daughter too abruptly and the baby comes early?  No joke, I feel like this little guy could come tomorrow.

At the same time, on an emotional level....can we delay this 2nd little arrival just a bit?  I'm just not sure I am ready to give up my one on one time with my girl.  So many thoughts go through my head...Will the bond be the same with a boy?  Will I feel this overwhelming love for him like I do for my little girl?  Will he be an "easy" baby or will I be banging my head against the wall trying to figure the little guy out?  How will Leila react to him...my heart aches to think she may feel abandoned or jealous.

It's amazing how two pregnancies can be so entirely different.  Leila was a breeze pretty much.  I worked up until a few days before my due date. I hate to sound like a broken record and annoying in any way (feel free to stop reading, my feelings won't be hurt)...but I am pretty darn miserable at this point and to think there are 3 more months to go.  Between being so sick the first tri-mester, 2 bad colds, an allergic reaction to amoxicillin, feeling like I can't breathe and my lungs are squished, my back in total pain and the endless nasal congestion and acid reflux, an air bubble that seems lodged in my lung at night...I feel like one big blob of yuck.

I was going to a friend's house last week and before I stepped foot in her house I tried to blow my nose one last time so I wouldn't be blowing my nose rudely, non-stop for an hour while we discussed boy names and the ugliness of shopping with children over coffee.  I blew my nose so hard in her driveway that I managed to create the mother of pinched nerves in my neck.  (for those who don't know, I am part of the lovely 20-30% of women who suffer from congestion throughout their pregnancy).  It was the kind of pinched nerve which leaves you having to shift your entire body to see something 20 degrees to the left.  The kind where you can't hold your phone with your neck and shoulder unless you want the person on the other end to hear every foul mouthed sailor curse word known to man.  Yeah, it was bad.  I awkwardly walked up and rang her door bell and couldn't help but laugh.

So, I immediately took action.  The moment of needing and desperation for a prenatal massage had called my name.  No price would have been too high...I called my sister in law who's husband knows someone who knows someone (that kind of thing) who is a local massage therapist and pretty well known.  She was able to get me in that night.  And, God bless my husband who told me to go ahead and get the 90 minute vs. 60 minute massage....the clock ticked.

Fairly loud spoken and definitely not shy, she runs her business out of a little attic in her house...it was not what I expected.  But, let me tell you.  The girl knows what she is doing.  I painfully let her knead the pinched nerve and muscles while I bit my lower lip and tried not to laugh....the kind of pain that hurts but also kind of tickles.  While doing this, she began to tell me her life story.  Telling me how I was laying on her very first massage table...the same table she has given Tori Spelling and Snoop Dog massages on.  Wait, what?  Apparently she was out in California on a yacht (or something like that) and they were filming the Tori and Dean reality show and she got to hang out with Tori Spelling.  The 90's image of Donna in daisy dukes and red lipstick popped in my head....and then Snoop Dogg with lazy eyes and smoke swirling all around him.  Not what you expect to be thinking about during a massage. 

Anyway, I could tell you more about that massage but it would be a novel.  When it came time for her to massage my feet she turned psychic on me and was able to tell me things about myself no one else could know (no joke!)  Bottom line, she worked the pinched nerve sucker out and I am thankful for that. Things have been eventful with this pregnancy and I'm just a little overwhelmed by the mix of emotions and the early feeling of being "done"....and trying to prepare my mind and heart for a new little being in our family when all I can do is love on our girl these days as much as I can...I could simply eat her up.  She is talking in full sentences now, calls me her best friend, gives me and her daddy kisses galore....life is good the way it is.....and all of it will change very, very soon.  Here's to preparing for little brother and praying I will be able to give out the same love that I have doled out so far for this little girl:

Hope for Newtown

In light of the recent tragedy in Newtown, CT I can't help but feel the need to write...if it is the very least I can do.  I don't know about you, but I feel an emptiness so deep...I wish I could take some of the pain away from the parents and families who lost loved ones and feel it for myself.  I am sad, worried for our future and concerned as a mother.  What is happening in our world?

I know there are no answers, I'm just speaking from my heart. Life is too fast.  Between school, extra curricular activities, sports, friends, households where both parents work full time and the stress of surviving in this economy to make ends meet...what is important seems to slip through the cracks today.  I can't help but think and feel, maybe we need to...stop. breathe. lets get back to the basics. Pay attention.

In the last few weeks my husband and I have have begun talking about school for our little girl.  Today, the very thought of dropping her off somewhere that should be one of the safest places for our children sends chills up my spine.  But, we can't keep our kids in a bubble, can we?  This could happen anywhere. 

I don't consider myself an extremely religious person, but I do believe in God and I do have faith.  We sit down to dinner each night, hold hands, say a blessing and give thanks for the gifts in our lives. I don't bow my head, rather I look right at my little girl and give thanks for her so she knows how special she is.  The fact that the parents who lost their precious gifts on Friday will never be able to look at their child again or hold them is unfathomable to me.  Why did this happen...why?

Maybe we need to slow down and have more faith all around.  I feel for the parents who sent their children to school today and I feel for the teachers and administrators who care for them.  I wonder what kind of conversations will be had around dinner tables this evening across the nation...

Thank you for reading and allowing me to share some of my feelings during such a difficult time for everyone...

Getting back to it...

I have been in such a bubble with this pregnancy, trying to feel okay...but to be perfectly honest...it has simply been harder this time. Which is okay, I've read this is normal. But, to say I have not felt like myself would be an understatement. I miss my art, my usual self motivated, project oriented self...all of that seems unimportant right now though.

I'm putting one foot in front of the other and starting today, going to work on a few small projects just so I can start filling my creative hole back up. Thanks for riding it out with me!

More pics to come but just to give you an idea of my mental state (the first pic shows what my entire body has looked like lately after my allergic reaction to amoxicillin last week...and it itches), the current project (a xmas gift, completed pics to follow after the holidays) and what's to come (this is a new piece of furniture and the wall above is in need of some love, don't you like my lone Christmas garland?...so I have plans for a huge acrylic city painting...really looking forward to this one!!!)

Stay tuned!

chartreuse Christmas

I know, I know...I have been MIA in terms of blog posts....so sorry for dropping off for a bit. Between working on the nursery, being sick, taking care of our little girl, dealing with an unexpected basement flood....sigh...and the latest, an allergic reaction to amoxicillin....it has been busy around here.

My husband is getting ready to start busy season and there always seems to be a calm before the January 15th storm begins. And the weekends leading up to this date are always spent enjoying our time together as he himself will literally be MIA until April 15th. Today was one of those days, went for a drive, got some coffee.....and ended up at chartreuse where we spent a long time enjoying all the eye candy. And eachother.

PS...if any of you mommas are looking for a sweet book for your little girl (or boy) this Christmas or need a gift idea: And Then in a Twinkling with illustrations by Becky Kelly is darling. My sister gave it to Leila
last year and she loves it (pic below!)