Friday, September 30, 2011

Buy this book...do it

Probably my most favorite blog to read is Mabel's House.  Liz is the best kind of blogger in my opinion.  She's an amazing story-teller, she's real, she's funny, she always posts good pictures, and she blogs for all the right reasons.

Sometimes I have dreams that Liz and I are friends in real-life...no joke.  Should I be embarrassed that I just said that?

Anyway, some of Liz's greatest posts are ones where she shares real- life stories.  Be it about her husband, her family, her dog, and now the newest addition of her beautiful daughter.  So, when I found out that Liz has a book coming out, I was totally stoked.   I knew that I would appreciate her stories during the difficult "adjustment-to-newborn" stage because Liz's stories always make me laugh, and most of all, I feel like I can relate.


Now, I will admit that I am doing this blog post to win one of her signed free books, as mentioned here.  But, I can guarantee that I probably would have done a post about her book after reading it anyway.  And I'm also strongly suggesting you subscribe to her blog.  It's the first thing I look for when I open my google reader every day.


So, buy the book, subscribe to the blog, I promise you won't be disappointed.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

1 week

It's been 1 week since we became a family of 4.  Time is already moving too fast.


At the end of my pregnancy when I was anticipating having 2 children, I started to feel really nervous.  Not sure that I would be able to do this, managing life with a newborn, nervous about how Aiden would react to a baby being in the house 24-7.  I came across this quote last week before having Brady...


"It always seems impossible until it's done"

I realized that I can do this, I will do it.

Also, looking at this sweet face all day makes anything seem possible.


Aiden is so in love with his brother, it is probably the sweetest thing I have ever experienced.  I know that down the road there will be hard days, and brotherly disagreements, but I'm not worrying about that now. I am focusing on the now- that Aiden wakes up in the morning saying how much he loves Brady, and how all he wants to do is hold him.





Brady is a really laid back baby so far.  He is spoiling me.


Rob worked this past weekend, but is now home the rest of the week. This makes me VERY happy.  Not only is he a huge help with the kids, he always knows what I need and there is nothing better than having him around.

So, it's been a good week, and I'm looking forward to many more.




Friday, September 23, 2011

Brady Alan Jones



Born 9/20/2011 at 10:42am, 8lbs 6oz. 20 inches



We're totally in love and couldn't be happier to all be home together.

 

Friday, September 16, 2011

Change

It seemed like in a matter of hours yesterday, fall arrived.  The change in weather and seasons seems appropriate, since we are having a baby in 4 days and life as we know it, will never be the same.  But, we're excited, to say the least.

Over the next few days I will do my best to make sure things are as ready they can be for the arrival of our son.  Although, you can never actually be completely prepared for a baby.

Rob's sister, Gwyn, came home from Uganda on Wednesday to be here for the baby's birth, she brought him this cute little monkey...


I feel extremely uncomfortable these days and I feel really huge.  Even maternity pants are horribly uncomfortable.  Thank goodness for leggings and sweatpants.  In some ways it will feel weird not to be pregnant anymore, although I think I will get used to it pretty quickly.  


Aiden started back to pre-school this week, which is another big change.  He goes 3 mornings this year, and he was super excited to be back.  I am glad that it works out that the baby is coming when he starts back to school since he loves it so much and I know it is a good outlet for him.


This morning Rob took Aiden to school and then is running some errands, so I've been doing some cleaning and enjoying a quiet morning, listening to my favorite band and smelling my favorite fall candle.  I won't get m(any) of these quiet mornings in the days to come, and that's ok, so I'm doing my best to enjoy these moments.

Monday, September 12, 2011

The Boy's Room

I can finally say the boy's room is finished.  It's a good thing, since I am literally 8 days away from my scheduled c-section and could technically go into labor at any point.

It took us all summer to get everything situated, but it all worked out and I couldn't be happier with how things turned out.  I am also happy because this forced us to do lots of sorting and much needed cleaning out.





Most of the furniture came from Aiden's room, and all we needed to buy was a dresser for the baby, which we are using as a changing table as well, and a new shelf.  Both from Ikea, obviously.

I mentioned before that I was going to do a blue/green/orange color palette and I think it turned out well.   Blue and green feels very "baby" to me, but adding the orange makes it feel more fun.

It's all the little details in the room that I really love and put a lot of time into.

I did a couple of sewing projects;

The curtains for the front small windows


I actually bought a curtain panel from Target's Dwell Studio line and cut it up to make these curtains.  I also put additional fabric on the back to make them black out curtains.  They looked cuter without the fabric on the back because the light would shine through them, but sleeping children outweighs cuteness in this case.

Aiden's "comforter"


I had really wanted to find an orange comforter for Aiden's bed, but wasn't able to find one that I liked anywhere.  I had found a set of sheets at Home Goods that were the perfect color, so I decided I would make  my own.  Aiden's bed is kind of funny too because you need something that is thinner to tuck underneath.  All I did was take the top sheet and sew it to this blanket I got from Ikea.  The blanket was a little bit longer, so I folded over the top which gave it a more finished look.


Pillow Covers


Pillow covers are the easiest thing to sew.  I wanted to make an "A" pillow for Aiden's bed, and then there are a few under his bed, which is a little reading/playing area.

I also made this little pillow for the white chair.  Adding little things like the "A" pillow, and the elephant are super easy, it's just time-consuming.  But, I'm glad I took the time to make personal touches.


The Wild Things pictures were in Aiden's old room, as were the ABC print and number print that are now hanging above the changing area and are both from Etsy.

The one Etsy purchase I did make was the alphabet garland that I hung above the crib.


It was Rob's idea to paint the two sleeping "nooks" a darker color.  It's such a large room that it really helps break it up a little bit, and I love how it turned out.

The shag rug had been in Aiden's room, and I got the 2 green circle rugs from Ikea.  Aiden calls them lily pads.

Like I said before, I really couldn't be happier with how the room turned out.  Aiden had no problem adjusting to his new room  and is looking forward to his brother joining him.  I'm looking forward to lots of time spent up there playing, it's so much larger than Aiden's old room that he can really have a play area here, which is nice.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Gabby

This week has been very up and down for me.  I've had days where I have felt awful- physically and emotionally.  And days where I have felt great.  I can't believe there are less than 2 weeks left until we meet our baby boy.

But one thing that has been on my mind is Gabby.  Gabby is a little girl from our town who has been battling a brain tumor the past few months.  My really good friend, Lindsey, has been putting together a fundraiser for Gabby which will take place on Saturday September 24th.  That is how I first heard about Gabby and her story.  This past week, Gabby has not been doing well,  but the good news is she woke up from her coma yesterday and is going home today to spend time with family.  There was a picture on facebook last night of Gabby and her 2 sisters lying in bed with her at CHOP, where she is being treated.  It was so overwhelming for me to think about what they are all going through.  I just wept.  I think having kids of your own definitely changes your perspective when you see things like this, but I think anyone would ask, "why?".  Why is this family going through this.  She was perfectly healthy as of May this last year, and then all of a sudden their world has been totally turned upside down.

I haven't talked much about my faith on here, but my faith is part of who I am.  I know that when I see something like this, it is easy for me or anyone to question why God is allowing this to happen.  But, I trust that God is bigger.  He sees and knows things that we don't, and that's hard for a lot of people to accept (me included sometimes).  I believe with all my heart that God can heal Gabby, and I am praying every day that he does.

I don't know how people go through life without knowing God is in control.  I am thankful and blessed that I don't have to feel that way.  It doesn't make things like this any easier, but I cannot imagine not having God to turn to.  I know that He loves me and I know that He loves Gabby.  He has a plan, much bigger than mine.  And I am thankful for that.

So, I hope you will pray for Gabby and her family.  I hope that you, like me, will hug your loved ones a little closer today.  And, I hope that you too take comfort in the fact that God is in control.

Friday, September 2, 2011

Nesting and Backaches

This week has been a hard one for me physically.  I have been blessed with a very healthy pregnancy, and have felt pretty great since a rough first trimester of morning sickness and migraines.  Now that I am in my last couple weeks though, the aches and pains are coming, and I am having a hard time with it.  Mostly because I am in serious nesting mode, and I just want to be able to get things done.

You know how you always hear about "nesting" when you're pregnant? Especially towards the end, it is very true.  I have been trying to get super organized around here so that when the baby comes, it will make life just a little bit easier.

As I shared previously, we brought this dresser down to the dining room for some much needed storage. I am using the top drawer for baby stuff. Living in a 3 story home, with the bathroom on the second floor, and the kid's room on the third, I need to be able to have access to these things without having to walk up 2 flights of stairs.

{I LOVE these boxes from Ikea, I use them everywhere}

The boy's room is almost finished.  I have  few sewing projects that I am hoping to finish up this week, and then I will post pictures.  Aiden is all moved in and seems to love his new space already.  It is such a huge room, it gives him a lot more room to play.

Rob and I worked on cleaning out the closet in there yesterday and now the 3rd floor hallway and new guest room looks like this.  I actually feel like I will be able to find a place for everything, my biggest issue is all the off season clothes/coats that we had hanging in there.  But we are working on an option for the basement to be able to store those things.



I'm hoping to get a lot done within the next week, but I also know that I need to be careful, not to push myself too hard.  Tonight Rob and I are having a date night, which I couldn't be more excited about!   It is strange to think about how much our life is going to change in just a few short weeks, so I am glad that we are taking some time these last few weeks to just be together.

I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!