$5 towards a new Living Room

Blake and I are in the middle of seeing what Life brings our way. We have a couple of things showing promise for his career and we are looking into them. That means we are starting to think about a house. Well, we have to make the call on where, but we know our future means a new place. I've really enjoyed living in our duplex. WAY more than I would have thought I would. Its so functional. Its space is tiny, but the layout is so well thought out that I haven't had a whole lot of trouble fitting our stuff in here.
That said, the minute I started thinking about having a house my brain almost exploded. I love decorating and the thought of having my own place that I could paint, and tile, and makeover is enough to keep me awake at night day dreaming instead of night dreaming.
I also started thinking about having a "me" space. Right now we have 3 rooms and the living room open to the kitchen and a small bathroom.
I am always dreaming about a "grown up space" where toys can't touch, that I can go to and decompress once the girls are in bed.
So far our bedroom has not been that place. When Ruby was tiny she shared our room. Then when she got into her room I put the sewing table in our room because I couldn't find any place for that. And our room turned into a heap of projects and mess.
I am constantly rotating our house around to work with the stage of babyhood we are in. It works. I haven't hated it. Its kinda fun to rearrange.
Anyway, lately I've been feeling like we need a new rearrangement if I'm gonna be able to handle staying here any longer (post-new-place-day-dreaming-gone-wild.)
I wanted to find a desk to go next to our toy TV cabinets. There had been different baby things there --- bouncy, pack and play, what-have-you. But the pack and play had turned into a cage of toys that looked like a disaster, and Ruby doesn't really need the pack and play anymore. (If I NEED to corral her for a random moment, I can set it in the middle of the room.) I wanted somewhere to hold some more of my stuff and feel more grown up.
So I set out to my favorite mommy-online-shopping-place: Craigslist. :)
I love thrift stores. But since having Ruby and feeling like its too hard to haul the girls into one, I've turned to craigslist. If I find something, I just ask Blake to go pick it up for me after work. Its awesome. I've scored some great stuff so cheap on there!

Yesterday's amazing purchase....this crazy perfect fit of a desk. (Size and style --  which is turning into random vintage modern industrial eclectic.) For FIVE DOLLARS!! Holy cow. It even has this cool space in back where you plug in an attached-to-the-desk power strip so your computer cords are all tucked into this holder back there. (And it works -- for $5 I wasn't sure that thing would be good still. But it is!)

So I got to clear a lot of space on our TV cabinets off. And set up my stuff in a more appealing way. Plus now I have a place to work (Edit photos, blog, etc) (Ok, ok, also facebook and pinterest) like a grown up. This post is brought to you from this space.

On that top shelf, I have our diapers in a three sectioned basket. It holds our Size 4s & Size 3s, and my morning reading books are in the third space. To the left of that is my knitting. Underneath is a basket of more books I'm working through. (All baskets thrifted.) And space to tuck my computer away in.

Our toy box ottomans work GREAT as a seat, tucked away underneath when not in use. (That other thing under there is part of our surround sound stuff.)

In the cleared off space to the right of our TV I have a box where I put our library-borrowed movies and it also hold my iPod/iPad-etc cords. Next to the Vase I have our "charging station" for our phones and iPads to hang out when needed.

It all feels so much more functional and beautiful.

And I CRAVE functional beauty.

Its my biggest goal of our home. To have as perfect as possible function, that is as beautiful as it gets.

I like to have just the right amount of stuff. Not too much. Not too little.

I feel like  this desk nailed it for me.

Apparently I'm nesting despite not being pregnant. (I cannot stop myself right now from organizing like a fiend. I think its due to me being used to June being nesting month. Or it could be that I didn't nest too hard with Ruby, since I was focused on VBACing, which meant nonstop working out to go into labor on my own -- my body loves staying pregnant -- So maybe I'm making up for that. OR it could just be what needs to be done after a year of mothering two little ones -- LOTS of make up work for the days where I just didn't have it in me when they were smaller.)

Anyway, so because of that I decided because my sewing table/sewing machine should come out of our bedroom and I realized it would fit right next to our couch as a side table. And then when I want to sew it won't be so loud next to Ruby's bedroom like it was before. (I thought I could get stuff done when she sleeps but she would wake up from the noise.)

Plus I'll be forced to pick up my mess since I can't stand the living room to stay messy -- since its always covered in toys during the day -- I clean it up at night.

To my surprise the other toy box fits underneath it as another seat/ way to save space! Perfect!

I threw a couple coasters and decorations from around my bedroom on there and called it a day.

(To the left under the couch is a basket of shoes I tuck away. Jasmine pulled it out while I was taking photos to get her "glass slippers" and I figured you might like seeing where our shoes go.)

In that tray thing, I'm storing our remote controls and our keys. Behind the table I tuck our carseat and my mom-bag.

So yeah. I was just so excited I had to tell someone!!

$5 and my life feels so much more functional which feels so much more peaceful! Ahhh!

Little Update

So..I feel like I haven't said anything in a while...

Thought I'd fill ya in.

About a week ago we traveled back to Illinois to see my family. My uncle was getting married and I got to do the wedding photos.
(Did I ever tell you in a past life (pre-motherhood) I was a wedding photographer?)
It was so fun to get back behind the lens for a day. I'm such a wedding lover. I love seeing love.

And Jasmine was the flower girl. (She was so into the idea. She had been throwing flowers for weeks.)

It was such a beautiful wedding. And even more beautiful was the light in my uncle's eyes. He is LOVE STRUCK. It is so sweet.

Also, once we got back home, I realized that we had spent June 10th driving home.

I realized this on June 11th.

What does that mean?

June 10th was Jasmine's Due Date.

It had been a hard day for for me the past 3 years.

(I didn't go into labor on my own with her, and it broke my heart.)

This year, I didn't even notice the day come and go.

I was so excited to realize that!

If you've prayed at all for me and this June...THANK YOU.

I've been feeling great.

No flash backs.

And when I try to remember Junes of the past, they feel like memories, not being transplanted back into them. (I'm not sure if that makes sense, but before I would leave present day and be back in 2010 ---smelling the scents and feeling the feelings. So just remembering June 2010, like I remember any memory, feels HUGE. It is a big change for me. )

Next week is Jasmine's Birthday/ my c-section anniversary.

That's been the big day to face for me in the past.

So if you don't mind, keep me in your prayers, just in case.

Hope to share a few new thoughts coming soon.

Its just hard to balance everything.

Right now I'm editing those photos.

And trying to keep on top of normal mom-life.

If you're a pray-er...

wanna pray for me?

I just noticed that it's June.

Historically (of late) June has been emotional for me.

In June 2010 I faced a due date that came and went on the 10th. I prayed and begged that I would go into labor on my own. But I didn't. And two weeks later I was induced. And we ended in a c-section.

June 2011, I was bowled over by what I am assuming was post-tramatic stress -- that got me so bad I almost couldn't get out of bed. (If I didn't have a baby to take care of, I wouldn't have.)

June 2012 I was pregnant and facing another due date and Jasmine's birthday was extremely emotional for me. I felt really guilty for having such a personal vested interest in a day that was actually hers to celebrate.

I'm hoping, after Ruby's VBAC birth, that June 2013 will be an easy going month of emotions -- in terms of birth-stuff-flash-backs, anyway.

I think I feel good about things now. I'm sure because of the VBAC, but also just because its been 3 years now.

But I got a little nervous today when I saw it was June. The last two years the emotions came on as a surprise and almost in a tangible way. They didn't feel like emotions I've had outside of a trauma -- they were really unique and I didn't know how to cope.

So if you would be so kind, would you please pray that this June would not sneak attack me.

I'd really appreciate it. Thank you!

{In my Opinion} The Best Way To Prepare For Labor

Its taken me longer after having Baby #2 to get back into regular workouts than it did after Baby #1 -- that is a post of its own -- but recently I decided to get my butt in gear and do this.  
Blake and I have been doing the "30 Day Shred".  
That baby is TOUGH!  
Day 1 -- afterwards I literally felt like I had the flu the rest of the night.  
But next day was much better (and no "flu".)  
And every day after that has gotten better and easier.  
We've been at it about a week and half now.  
Fingers crossed that I'll get to finish this time.  (Last time -- after baby #1-- I hurt my knee and had to do some other less-impacting work outs.)  

But anyway, my point of this post is: 

What I keep thinking every single time we turn the DVD on is

how much working out is like labor (baby-having-labor.)  

After having Baby #1 (which was a 12 hour induction [for post dates], including 2 hours of crazy-hard-nearly-passing-out-pushing, all ending in a c-section [due to baby malposition]), I was pretty disillusioned about all the stuff people told me about how to prepare for labor.  Nothing actually helped me cope.  And I didn't like hearing any new ideas on how to prepare for labor because I was SURE none of it would have helped me.  I was adamant that there was no way to actually prepare.  

When it came time to get ready to have Baby #2 however, I changed my tune and was out to read EVERYTHING about labor preparation.  I wanted to be able to get through it this time.  

I read a lot of stuff.  And a lot of it was wise and good.  But almost everything I read was specific coping techniques.  
What I did really not read in any having-baby-stuff-books was the concept that to prepare for labor you should work out.  I did find articles online about it --- when I specifically searched for that sort of idea  --- but most stuff out there just glazes over the idea that to do the suggested coping techniques (over and over for hours and hours) you need to be in good shape.  

(Please note: I'm just sharing my thoughts here, based on my own experiences.  I do acknowledge that many a non-working-out-women has made it through labor and delivery naturally.  And I also realize some women are placed on bed rest so that they can't work out --- this isn't a guilt trip.  This is just me talking about what I've gone through.  And hoping it might help someone else in their journey --- I know everyone has a unique one.)  

I blogged about it before, but during my first pregnancy I purposefully chose to be sedentary.  I thought this was my special time -- and lounging was how I was going to spend it.  
So then when I was in labor, and my body was telling me to do this squatty-bouncy-thing every time my contraction started, my muscles were so out of shape it was nearly impossible to make it through my whole contraction before my legs were on fire with muscle fatigue.  
And then when I was pushing (with every ounce of my being), I clearly had these two thoughts: "Why wasn't I preparing for this every single day --- like I would if I was doing a marathon --- this is more than a marathon!  Why did no one tell me?  Someone should have MADE me work out for this." and "I will never complain during a workout again.  If this is work --- I've never worked before."  

So, 
because of those two thoughts I knew that if I ever went into labor again, I would be ready.  I wasn't going to lounge the next time.  I was gonna train for the marathon of labor.  

So --- I got in shape between babies, and with my next pregnancy I ate healthily and stayed active (I mainly swam laps --- usually 5 days a week.)  (At the end of my pregnancy, I quit swimming and walked about 4 miles a day trying to get that baby out!!  My babies think they should be able to attend college from the womb!)  

And can I tell you?  All that effort --- My labor benefitted immensely!  {Birth Story Here}  

Me and Ruby right after she was born.  

My body wanted me to do a similar squatty-bouncy-thing with my contractions this time too --- but this time my legs didn't burn at all.  I could have kept going like that for a long time (physical-exersion-wise... I ended up switching to other positions because that's what my body told me to do.)  

But I just had so much more endurance overall.  

It's amazing to me the ways in which exercise gives you endurance beyond just getting better at each particular workout.  It's like a whole person kind of benefit --- body, soul, and mind.

Its come to this!

So I had been getting pretty good (not great) at getting dressed daily, lately. I mean, often it took me till Ruby's second nap to get it done, but usually had had accomplished it.

Today however, I just didn't feel like it. I thought, "We have nothing to do. I'm kinda just not ready for the week to start after the long weekend. I'm just gonna leave my lounge clothes on." (Today they are a very old sleeveless knit black dress that has now become pjs since it is cozy and easy to nurse in and its all pilly and unacceptable to wear in public.


So...just because of this (I am sure) the mail lady needs me to sign for a package, so she gets to see me in my un-made up glory. Which doesn't phase me much. This is definitely not the first mail person to see me in a very stay-at-home-mother-of-a-baby disheveled-state.

But then I tried to take a nap when the girls did. But of course that didn't work (at least for me -- they got the sweet end). So I never got dressed at all.
I had just woken up Jasmine from her nap and she was crabby about it. Ruby's diaper really needed to be changed and....

someone is coming up to my door.

I see her through my window. I think she sees me.

A women and two children on bikes.

I know who this is.
But I don't know her.

Blake just met this family down the road. The husband works where Blake does and we all go to the same church. But I've not met any of them yet.
He mentioned how we should me sometime.
She must be taking the initiative.

Oh no! Oh no!
I'm still in my sleep bra in pajamas...she is already at the door, there is no way out!

I open the door and she is seriously... beautiful: looking way more perfect than I ever could in a work out tank. And...here's the thing, I don't think she's wearing any makeup either -- But she looks good.

Sigh.
I'm not sure if my face showed just exactly how much I wished I had gotten dressed today. Or at least fixed my hair.

I tried to make conversation anyway -- like I was totally in my happy place.

But I'm holding Ruby, and wouldn't you know....my side is getting wetter and wetter by the moment. Yeah....her diaper is giving way. Its done. And I'm still smiling and thinking, "wow I wish I were more equipped to live in a world where its the norm for people to drop by unannounced. "

But how many days have I gotten dressed just so the 3 other members of my family could see me? All the other days I get dressed .... no one drops by those days. And those days the mail lady doesn't need a signature...she just rings the doorbell and leaves.

Sigh.

There is no point to my story.
No moral.
Just me needing to say "Oh my gosh! I'm super embarrassed."

She seemed really nice.
So hopefully I'll be able to redeem myself by wearing clothes next time I see her!

Oh my.


Any tips on how to avoid another moment like this?...aka...best get dressed every day tips: go!

Project: C-Section Recovery Deadline

Ok Ladies,

I'm planning on putting my post on this together at the end of the summer.

So if you would like to participate with me, 

please fill out this survey and get it emailed to me by August 1st.

Original Photo Credit

I have heard back from some ladies on this

(And THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR RESPONSE! It means so much!)

but I haven't heard back from nearly as many as I had hoped.

So if you've thought about doing this, please do.

I think it will be a really helpful post.

My goal in this specific project is 

to help OTHERS (who've not had c-sections)

 to know how to help women who have had c-sections.

(Think husbands/partners, parents, siblings, friends, co-workers, even just random strangers.)

I think most people have no idea how to support women going through the recovery process and would genuinely appreciate some tips.

(In fact one response I got to my first post was just that -- someone emailed me who had not a c-section but who needed to support someone who just had one. This blessed my heart to pieces. And this is exactly what I hope my post will be able to allow for many.)

Therefore the questions I'm hoping you will answer for me are all geared towards helping me equip others in supporting women who've had c-sections (with both physical recovery as well as emotional recovery.) 

So I'm really hoping you will be willing to open up on the talking points listed and be as specific as you can. Because I want to give others very specific insight into what would be helpful.

Here's an example of what I mean, from my own experience, for the question:

What were some of the most painful statements you heard from others?

I have a few different things (and I don't wanna take your whole day with my post -- but feel free to take my whole day if you choose to email me!), 

but one specific that comes to mind right away is:

I came back into work to show my old co-workers my  new daughter, and a women asked me how much she weighed when she was born, and I told her "nine pounds" and she replied, "Oh then you should be GLAD you had a c-section... woo!"

Honestly, I really liked the lady who said that, and I didn't take that comment as hard as I could have because I knew where her heart was in it, but it has never stopped coming to mind at random moments for me. I was not glad I had a c-section, and it felt strange to think how pushing a nine pound baby out could have been worse than the incision that was still hurting me the day I came in. 

OR, for the question:

Is there anything you wish that your husband/partner/support had known about c-section recovery before leaving the hospital?

One big one we both wish he had known was that it hurts to be driven in a car after a surgery. My mom drove me home from the hospital (and she had had her own surgeries so she knew to drive very smoothly) but later when my husband went to drive me to the store, my panicking over hitting a bump shortly before we would take a sharp curve was a total surprise to him and he thought I was worried about waking up the baby. But I was actually desperately trying to get him to slow down before it started to hurt me even worse. We both ended up hurting each other's feelings in that moment of confusion, as well as in the rehashing of that event later.

So now, if I get the chance, I like to tell my friends's-who've-had-c-sections' husbands to make sure to drive smoothly, avoiding quick car movements as much as possible initially. 

So try and give me what you got memory wise.

And then I will try and combine it into something that may help other's understand better how to help.

Well see how it turns out! I may spilt it into different posts like: "cheat sheets for husbands"," lists for friends", "what to say to your co-worker" if I need to...who knows. (I doubt those will be the actual titles.) I'm just hoping to get some good stuff out there since its still kind of an untouched area.

So if you would like to participate with me, 

please fill out this survey {HERE} and get it emailed to me by August 1st, 2013.

Removable Contact Paper Backsplash

Our Family relocated a little over a year ago.

We went from our house we owned, to this duplex we would rent.

I absolutely love to decorate our home -- especially with paint! But alas, its not to be had here.

So for over a year I've been brainstorming how I could liven up our kitchen, but temporarily -- so when we move out we won't be in trouble! 

This is our kitchen the day we walked through

And after many a crazy idea that wouldn't have worked... 

I came up with 

CONTACT PAPER!

I apologize for the horrible color tone of this photo -- I took it at night, and no matter what I did in editing, it looked crazy.

First I started with just contact papering a couple cabinets and drawers, to mix it up. 

But I still was longing for a backsplash.

I don't know why but contact paper for a backsplash didn't come to mind for quite a while longer.

When it did, I went on a hunt for a shape I could handle.

I settled on this tile:

via

I printed that photo out, cut out the tile shape, and then made a stencil from cardboard. 

Then traced it OVER and OVER and OVER!

I got my contact paper from the dollar store. And I ended up using three rolls to do this. So this was a $3 project.

(The contact paper on the cabinets was probably another $3.)

As I traced a row of these it would create one row of the stencil shaped tile, and in between it would create a row with a bit more of a pointy-top (than the straight-edged-top I had traced.) I just decided to keep those and alternate rows. It worked just great, and I don't mind the differences.

I learned that you want to apply theses by going across the wall diagonally. That makes your spacing work out right. Going left to right, top to bottom makes spacing a nightmare.

Here's a photo showing the way to move across the wall:

 This is not a fast moving project.

And since I have a two year old and a baby, this crazy thing took me like three weeks to get around to finishing. 

Of course that's accounting for MANY breaks where I was too busy wiping noses, or not sleeping to work on this random project.

So this is not for someone who wants to get this done in an hour.

This kind of project needs someone who's willing to commit!

Also, this is a temporary solution.

We are planing to be in this duplex a year or less. So I'm not worried about long term .

This is "easy remove" contact paper, so I'm not worried about ruining the walls or cabinets when we move out. It peels right off.

I love it though.

It makes it feel so much more like home in here.

I'm really glad I did it.

If you are feeling inspired,

I made a pinterest board full of tile shapes that could easily translate into your own contact paper backsplash.  Check it out {HERE} and see if you can find something to suit your eye for design.

Its a pretty dramatic effect for $3!