Mel's latest projects

You may have noticed the two new links on the right-hand side of the page for home decorating blogs I've been reading. Now that I'm staying at home and we're living on one income, money for home decor is not exactly in abundance. So I've made it a game to see how cheaply I can find old items and give them a facelift (with Andrew's help, of course!) 

Project #1: a buffet

We were in desperate need of a buffet in the dining area for storage purposes. Over the course of several weeks I visited some thrift stores, keeping my eyes peeled for an old dresser. One Saturday I hit the jackpot! All furniture was marked 50% off, so I got this wooden dresser for only $75. I loved the wrought iron hardware, so I didn't have the expense of replacing them.

dresser before

After some sanding and several coats of spray paint, we had the perfect piece! We have an old mirror we're going to hang above it once we repaint the frame, but I love how it looks so far!

dresser after

Project #2: lamps for our bedroom

When we moved we got rid of our old nightstand lamps because Andrew's was kind of falling apart and they were cheap enough I didn't feel bad parting with them. I lucked out and managed to find two matching lamps at Goodwill for $3.99 each, and I knew I could spray paint them to match a color in our bedding. Goodbye hunter green and mauve, hello red! I bought two new lamp shades at Lowe's for less than $10 each, and the lamps look updated and brand new.

lamp before 

(I forgot to take a picture of this lamp's mauve twin because I was so excited to try out the paint!)

finished lamp--one on each nightstand

Labor Day 2013

Labor Day has always been a bittersweet holiday weekend for me. It marks the official end of summer and the beginning of a new school year. Until this year. It is truly a strange feeling for me to not have to set my alarm clock tomorrow morning and stand in front of a classroom of pre-teens on their first day of middle school. I haven't spent the past week making seating charts or lesson plans or jotting down notes on what I want to remember to say on the first day of school. I didn't shop all of the school supply sales (that always start way too early!) to stock up on things for my classroom. I didn't do any back-to-school shopping to add a few new things to my wardrobe. And if I wake up several times tonight it will be because of my precious Harper, not nervous energy of what tomorrow will bring. I've been in school as either a student or a teacher since I was 5 years old, so tomorrow is the first time I won't be going to school for as far back as I can remember. Wow.

We decided to go to a parade this morning that took place in the town just south of us. We just about melted in the heat, but the kids did great! Ryder sat patiently and watched the parade while enjoying a lollipop, tootsie roll, and popsicle.

Tonight we went over to Pops and Grann's for an early dinner. Ryder had fun drawing on a chalkboard easel that they set up for him. He started with some scribbles but then drew a "portrait" of Grann. He did it left-handed and impressed us all by putting important facial features in all the right places!

See the resemblance? :)

Grann had some extra party favors in a closet, and Ryder was excited to play with one.

poor little sister--she puts up with so much

This starts innocent enough....

...until Pops tries to catch it in his mouth! 

I love that Ryder is leaning and has his legs crossed in this picture!

Harper: 9 months

Here are a few new developments since Harper's 8 month update:

Feeding:
This girl can eat! We've been giving her more and more "real" food and she loves everything. Chicken is her new favorite, and tonight she chowed down on some meatloaf! It makes meal times much easier when I can put some finger foods on her tray and she's content to feed herself. She still drinks three bottles a day: morning, after nap, and before bed. At meals she has mastered drinking water from a sippy cup. For breakfast she likes her oatmeal and fruit, and at lunch and dinner she eats a mix of fruits, veggies, and some kind of protein. (She likes black beans just like her big brother!) Cheerios make a great snack mid-morning and late afternoon when she starts getting a little fussy.

Sleeping:
Nap--> Sometimes she wants a morning nap, but I limit her to 30 minutes or she won't nap in the afternoon. Selfishly I want her and Ryder to be on the same nap schedule so I can have a little quiet time to myself, so I do whatever I can to keep her entertained and awake in the morning. I lay both kids down around 12:30 or 1, and Harper will usually sleep 2 hours.

I'm knocking on wood as I type this, but Harper goes to bed like a dream now! I barely even rock her because she gets squirmy and just wants to be laid down. I walk out, close the door, and don't hear a peep out of her. At least for several hours. She's been getting up at least once a night for what appears to be no reason at all. Sometimes she's wide awake, and other times she falls right back to sleep when I pick her up. She apparently didn't get the memo that I'm staying at home now, because she has started waking up around 4:30 or 4:45 like I used to for work. She's my beautiful little alarm clock with no snooze button. I can usually get her back to sleep, but by 6:30 or so she's up for the day.

This is how she likes to drink her bottles now--lounging on the living room floor.

I LOVE this grin! :)

Have I mentioned before that she gets in to everything? She will single-handedly destroy these vertical blinds.

A short video of Harper's "crab crawl"

A super Saturday

A trip downtown to the fountains, a hot dog at the jetty, and pool time in the afternoon made for a great Saturday!

"I'm not getting into Mommy's cabinet, I promise." 

"See! I'm innocent!"

silly face!

splashing in the fountains downtown

on a mission

my little "fun guy" :)

Yum...belly buster hot dog!

squirting some lizards on the screen

Ryder is relentless with this squirt gun!

Ryder found my headphones and discovered he could use them with his game. So cool!

Ryder's latest expressions

A few Ryder expressions that have popped up recently:

"Not yet"
It doesn't matter what we ask or even tell him to do, his reply is "not yet". Ugh, does that get old fast! I am no expert on toddler behavior, but I'm guessing it's just part of him wanting to be in control of things. He wants to do things on his terms, not Mommy and Daddy's.

"Actually"
This one cracks me up! He just started saying this two days ago, and it makes him sound so educated! He says it sweetly, so it doesn't come across like he's a know-it-all. :) Here's an example from today.
(It was lunch time, and I had just reheated some stir fry from last night's dinner).
M: Honey, the rice might be hot so make sure you blow on it before you take a bite.
R: (blows on his food and takes a bite) No, Mom, actually it's not too hot.

"Talk to me!"
It's rare for Andrew and me to have an uninterrupted conversation until both kids are tucked into bed for the night. We've just accepted that our "daytime" conversations will revolve around the kids for the time being. Well, the other night at dinner Andrew was trying to tell me about something that had happened at work that day. As he was talking to me, Ryder's little voice piped up and said, "No! Talk to me, Daddy." Without skipping a beat, Andrew continued his story but looked at Ryder instead of me. Ryder looked amazingly interested, and even said "yep" and "uh huh" as he listened intently. Andrew had been working on an elevator at a condo that day, and he was talking about some of the rules of the condo association. I just thought Ryder's verbal agreements were his way of mimicking what he had heard us do, but I knew he was truly paying attention when he asked, "What an 'association' is?" At that point I couldn't keep a straight face, especially as Andrew tried to explain it to him using words Ryder would understand. My little man just wants to be included as one of the grownups!

Bubbles, bubbles everywhere

 The kids have a tub toy mounted on the shower wall that blows bubbles and plays music. When we give the kids a bath together, Ryder pops all of the bubbles before they get a chance to land. The other night I gave Harper a bath first. See what happens when her big brother isn't around as the official bubble popper? (Look very closely at her head!)

a happy crab!

The "Paci Princess"

Ryder was pacifier-free last fall. He no longer used it, even for sleeping, and I was proud that it was a thing of the past. Why I didn't throw it away, I have no idea. It was in the back of his sock drawer, so I guess 'out of sight, out of mind'. Then in January he went through a phase of not wanting to nap or go to bed. He screamed and pounded on his door, and of course there was a new baby in the house getting more attention. Andrew and I decided to let him have the paci back to help him sleep because surely this was just a phase, right? Ha! He no longer fought us when it was time to sleep, but he has NEEDED his pacifier for naps and bedtime ever since. He had some kind of virus this past weekend, so he pretty much laid on the couch looking pitiful and feeling like a dishrag. I didn't mind letting him use the pacifier when he had a fever of 101 and felt awful; it was soothing to him. But the next day when the fever had gone down and he obviously felt better, I was tired of listening to him trying to talk with it shoved in his mouth. Andrew and I decided it was time to remove the paci, cold-turkey. But how? Enter the "Paci Princess". When Ryder laid down for his nap yesterday and asked for his pacifier, we told him we couldn't find it. He had us look in all of the usual places we might keep it during the day, but it was nowhere to be found. He was so mad at first that there was no reasoning with him. Once his screams turned into sobs, I told him that the Paci Princess must have taken it to give to a baby who needed it. Since Ryder is such a big boy and so good at sharing, the princess decided he was ready to share his pacifier with someone who really needed it. He was heartbroken but seemed to understand what I was explaining to him.

R: A baby was crying?
M: Yes, a baby was crying and didn't have a paci to help calm him down.
R: But I didn't want the princess to take my paci. (Picture a pouty lip and big crocodile tears).
M: I know sweetie, but you're a big boy now and too grown up for a pacifier.
R: The baby's not crying now?
M: No, I think the baby is happy that someone like you shared a pacifier to make him feel better.
R: Yep.

When he woke up from his nap, he asked about it again. I told him it must have been the Paci Princess because while he was napping she delivered a present for him in exchange for his pacifier. This caught his attention. He was hesitant at first about the present, like he knew that accepting it would be officially giving up his pacifier. (Wow, when did my baby grow up to be such a smart little boy?) I would say he's still "in mourning", but he's going to be okay.

his new scooter!