fresh air

It's the end of January, can you believe it? It was a miserably cold month and I have had enough of cold. I take Hannah for a walk almost every day but lately it's been more like one or two a week. Boo. However, we did get out a few times, if just to play in the yard for a little bit. Last week I promised a post with pictures I took of Hannah playing outside. I think she likes to be out there more than anywhere and her favorite thing is playing in the front yard waiting for Daddy to get home. I realize when it comes to Daddy pulling in the driveway and letting her climb into the driver's seat with him to pull the car into the carport, I am chopped liver. That's fine. I'm not jealous. I love it actually.

I am so ready for warmer days and lots of fun times outdoors. You can bet when this baby boy joins the nest we'll be outside a lot. I also realize that we still have February ahead of us, and with it more cold days. But thank you Lord for the beautiful days You fit in between.

 

the nursery: part 1

Decisions, decisions.

I have started (finally, you might think) designing the nursery. Well, in my head anyway...and on scraps of paper and to-do lists. I really am just not that worried about it getting done. I know it will. Joseph's due date is three months from today. After that, he'll be in our room in his awesome bassinet (thanks, Mom) for at least two months. Hannah was in the cradle for almost three months, weeks after she started sleeping through the night. He'll have a room before it's time for him to sleep in it, is all I'm saying. And before you go all mom on me, I realize that once he gets here I will have even less free time. Free time, what is that anyway?

Like I said in the last post about having a hard time committing to a particular pattern or color in my own house (a typical problem for an interior designer), I have a hard time putting a room together too.

I've been looking at crib bedding. It sounds like I have plenty of time, but custom bedding can take a while. I found a couple sets that I liked online, but then went to a local baby store in Savannah and started pulling swatches and combining fabrics. I could go either route... At this point I don't know what I want to do with bedding...so, to furniture!

We have decided that instead of pushing Hannah out of the crib, we're going to leave her in there as long as we can. You may remember Joe and I wanted to go with a traditional crib - not a convertible - and loved the Jenny Lind style. It's what I had as a baby and what, I believe, Joe had too. It is a decision we have been very happy with. The crib's front side can be replaced with a toddler rail and then eventually have no rail (i.e. a daybed). I'll also remove the bumpers once the little monkey is too long or, since she's already standing on them, uses them to climb over the rail. Therefore, furniture purchase #1: crib. I'm thinking white. Again. Style: haven't decided.

Post from nursery numero uno: Hannah's room

I think we have decided to not buy another changing table. Hannah's getting bigger and I am not sure how much longer we'll even use her's. So, that will move to the nursery. Moms that have a strong opinion about this, let me know.

A chair. Possibly, the most thought-about decision I've made. Though that would imply that I have actually made the decision. I think I have. At first I hated the idea of taking Hannah's chair away. She still loves to be rocked and we read to her every night there. It is a great chair and was not cheap (thank you Mom and Dad Buck). Even more, it was the best nursing chair. Still, I feel kinda like I'm stealing her chair away. I know, sad. A purchase that big is not in our budget. However, I have ideas up my sleeve for Hannah's room that will replace the chair and changing table. For now, I'm planning on having the glider recovered and moved to the room next door.

Furniture purchase #2: dresser/chest. I haven't even looked yet so I'll come back to that next time. We found Hannah's little pale pink vintage dresser (1930) at an antique store. I'd like to find something unique like that. And for now, that's all the furniture I'm thinking about.

I haven't narrowed down color choices yet, but I like orange. It goes with blue or green quite nicely. As I was browsing fabrics online, I took a liking to these. Who knows maybe one of these will resurface in the nursery...or elsewhere in the house.

I'm pretty sure about one thing: there will be seersucker in this little boy's room. It's classic and I am a fan. Like 6 or 7 years ago I actually bought a seersucker bathing suit from J.Crew because of the fabric. I cannot part with it. I love.

Hopefully the next time I post a nursery update, there will be more headway made. Stay tuned...

under construction

I need a change. After a while I get tired of the same look and decide I want something different. It has to be just so or else I'll get bored. This is why I have such a hard time committing to patterns and bold colors. This is why I wanted a white sofa. But right now I'm just talking about this blog. So please be patient with me as I figure out what I want.

With the new year comes goals and resolutions, and for me it means getting organized too. This time of year I'm always itching to de-clutter. Maybe it's not just this time of year. It's more accurate to say that I have my moments. {Joe would add a lot here.} There is no way I could possibly be nesting already, but my husband has said a thing or two lately...

Have you ever seen that show Hoarders? Well, I haven't. I think I would have a fit if I saw what people keep. What about those little business signs on the side of the road that say "de-cluttering service" call this number? I want to know what those services actually do. I mean, I can throw stuff out. I can throw your stuff out too. Just ask my husband who takes things to work to make sure they don't end up in the trash. Just last night I was talking to him on the phone and mentioned something about getting rid of a few things in his closet. He responded, "Leave my stuff alone while I'm not there to defend it!!" I love to organize. I love to de-clutter.

Here are a couple lists I found on de-cluttering: Peter Walsh's 10 Tips to De-Clutter Your Home and Declutter in 4 Steps.

I thought I'd post some before and after clutter pictures here, but when I went to Google I almost got sick looking at some of the before rooms and wanted to spare you that. So, I'll just leave you with these:

decorpad.com

kitchenisms via mindbodygreen.com

 Suzanne Kasler via Ballard Designs

Lonny Mag - Feb/Mar 2010

The Holiday movie set

Suzanne Kasler via Ballard Designs

The Holiday movie set

While none of these pictures are our house, they make me smile nonetheless.

As I have spent a great deal of time converting our VHS tapes to DVD (trying to get rid of them), Monkey has found her way into the cabinet frequently. If you know of somewhere I might be able to donate all these Disney movies to, let me know. I've been moving them around forever and will now, since they can't be converted, be replacing them with the DVD version over time. And, excuse the mess on top of the console. I was sorting and packing up Christmas decorations. Which, I might add, now have a very organized system. (And that cabinet looks so much better!) Here's to de-cluttering!

losing my mind

I need to expand on the last post. Not enough sleep can cause me to leave out other details. I am not looking for sympathy, just want to be clear.

First, I neglected to mention that from the week before Christmas until last Sunday (that's a month) Hannah has had RSV. It has not been fun. Joe and I were sick on and off for about 3 weeks too. My OB put me on antibiotics which gave me a cause for concern for Hannah, so we took her to the doctor and sure enough: RSV. I'm not a nurse or a doctor but it doesn't take a genius to figure out that if I had the same thing, antibiotics was not going to be the answer. I had a horrible cough and respiratory problems (mixed with asthma = not good). I hate being on medication, especially while pregnant, and for them to not even help the problem really irritated me. And they didn't...it had to runs its course.

I also didn't mention that - as this morning proves - napping has not been going well over here in the Buck house. If the monkey gets a morning nap, we are lucky if she sleeps more than 30-45 minutes in the afternoon. We've tried the one nap/day thing, but that has proven to be a disaster. Up until recently a typical day would involve a 1.5-2 hr nap in the a.m and the same in the afternoon, along with the 12 hours at night. You see why I'm not liking this new deal?

Earlier, I planned to take a nap while she did. She was so tired and fussy I thought for sure we had a good snooze ahead of us. Alas, it was not so. She slept for less than half an hour and was standing up in her crib crying again. Now, there's the sobbing-break-your-heart cry and then there's the nagging-makes-me-want-to-run-away cry. The latter is what I've gotten much of this day (and in the past week). I click on the video for the monitor and there she is, standing on her bumper, hanging on the crib, Clementine and Prudence in hand (her bla bla dolls), crying as if I'm the meanest mom in the world. And it's not the cry that makes me feel sorry for her. It's the cry that makes me bury my head in the covers and plead with God for her to stop crying and sleep. Usually, she gets tired of carrying on and falls in an exhausted heap to her mattress and is out. Selfishly, I want sleep too. I'm up several times a night making trips to the bathroom as pregnancy does to me. And sleeping is sometimes the only thing that gives me a break from back pain.

I've tried putting her in bed with me and she gets a burst of energy and just wants to play. I've tried rocking her, singing to her and she's still and quiet...until I get up to put her back in her crib. So I just suck it up and get on with our day.

So that's what we've had a lot of lately. Crying, waking up early, and not enough nap time. It'll get better. It better get better. There will be a baby that will ensure I don't sleep much soon enough.

Now you know why I haven't blogged in the past week. My hormones take over and the posts sound like these last two. Pathetic. Simply pathetic.

To lighten up this post a little and prove that the last few weeks have not been all bad, I'll leave you with some pictures of Banana. I also took some of her out playing in the yard last week. I'll save those for another post.

Until then...

Hope you are having a good day.


PS - Joe left for Kentucky again yesterday. This is his last week of coursework for his doctorate and I'm so glad. Hopefully, he'll come home to a happy well-rested wife. I mean toddler.

dress up

Can I just start by saying how tired I am? A pregnant woman needs sleep. (And this pregnant girl is really bad about going to bed late. Read: new year's resolution.) Well, Hannah has given me no breaks in that department.

So week before last, two Mondays ago, I decided to take Hannah's pacifier away for good. She only had the pacifier in her crib and during long trips (like to Savannah) in the car, but still we thought it was getting to be time.

I didn't exactly plan the scenario of how it would all play out, but the day came and I just did it. She was in a great mood, content and happy all day. I put her down for her morning nap and she went right to sleep with no problems. That night was about the same. Tuesday was a little bit bumpier. She fussed a little in her crib, but settled herself. At this point I'm thinking that this is going waaaaay too smoothly. The rest of the week went pretty well considering. A few times I did have to listen to some severe fits coming from down the hall and over the monitor, but eventually she'd work it out and fall asleep. On a couple of occasions I felt like a horrible mommy, child sobbing with buckets of tears and runny nose.

Back up. Did I mention that I did this while Joe was in Kentucky? Yeah... He was spared all the drama. It's ironic actually. When we talked about taking the pacifier away, he joked about me doing it while he was away. (He's in school at Asbury in Kentucky.) And then I did.

So fast forward two weeks and, while we are still having some problems going right to sleep, the main issue is this: she's waking up way. too. early. I guess she'd wake up before, but then she'd hunt around her crib for her pacifier and then settle herself back to sleep. And then she would sleep until 8:30 or so. I'm not kidding. We got 12-12 1/2 hours every night from her. Now she's waking up about two hours earlier that she used it. Not a huge huge deal, but not good either. It's every day. I'm exhausted and the worst part is she's exhausted too! So we're dealing with a tired, fussy toddler.

I feel a little bad complaining, but not really. You get used to a routine and then you function off of that. We go to bed pretty late, and I like to read once I get in bed, so it would be midnight or later. Let me just add that, ask my Mama, I've always required more sleep than the average 7-8 hours a "normal" person needs. On top of that, when I'm pregnant I really need sleep. My energy is totally drained by mid-afternoon and nighttime is when I recharge. I am not a happy camper when I haven't had enough sleep. You other pregnant moms know what I'm talking about. A toddler is quite a disruption to good rest.

I am trying to get better with the whole "sleep when she sleeps" thing. But other stay-at-home moms out there know that it's not that easy, especially if you have to fit work in too. There are a million things to do and I live for the quiet hours when she's napping to get some things done. But in a few minutes, I will be heading to the bed when I put Hannah down for a nap.

So to the point of this post: dress up. 

Already? I mean, I knew the time would come. But already? Hannah has always liked things around her neck - beads, clothes (clean or dirty, no preference), scarves, belts, bags...umbilical cords. For real. She came out with the cord wrapped around her neck. Twice. She also likes to put things on her head and has recently taken a liking to blankets, headbands and hats. I'll be in the kitchen, at the computer or elsewhere and I'll go to find her like this:

these were clean, thank goodness.

yes we're still wearing christmas pajamas. and we will until they don't fit.

i am proud of her coordinating ability.

She's 16 months by the way. I have a long way to go in the wonderful world of dress up. Bring on the high heels and tutus.

happy birthday daddy!

 

Hannah and I were so happy when Joe came home last night from Kentucky. It was a busy week for him and he was exhausted when he walked in the door, but to make things a little easier, I cooked dinner. Yes, you heard me right, I cooked dinner. A nice tilapia with roasted peppers and onions and a caper and parsley vinaigrette (I can't believe that's how you spell that word, but that's what spell check says). It wasn't the best thing since sliced bread, but it was good.

Then for dessert...

Hannah and I decided to surprise Daddy with an ice cream cake early.

Today, his actual birthday, Joe had to do some work, but we did get to go out to lunch (in the bigger city of Hinesville - haha). Here are the two cuties at breakfast this morning:

 

I wasn't exactly wife of the year with Joe's birthday gift. In fact, I failed miserably in finding something. Joe doesn't ever need or want much, and everything he could possibly want he got for Christmas. We also have a small budget for birthday gifts since we go on a birthday trip every year. (This year we went to Charleston.) But he'd been talking about a new pair of cords so I went looking. And found nothing. So, between that and an Auburn National Championship t-shirt that he can't get for another week or so, I made him an IOU. A clothes line, naturally. Clever, huh? 

Tomorrow we'll continue the birthday celebration in Savannah.