new product: baby name nursery decor

New in the Etsy shop!

When I was a child, I had a very simple sign hung in my room. It had my name, written in black over a beige background, nothing fancy. But underneath it read "consecrated to God." A simple definition of my name, to be sure, but not insignificant. I saw that sign every day and pondered what it meant to be "consecrated." Even though I knew my parents hadn't labored and prayed over my name choice, I still felt special when I read that meaning.

That sense of identity is what pushed me to create this customizable sign (and this one for the boys), so the next generation can be likewise encouraged in who they are and what makes them unique. 

What message would you like your child to see every day?

 

a birth tale, take two

 Remember how I predicted that delivery would be different the second time around? I was totally right.

As zen as C's birth experience was, O's was zany.

It was a Saturday like any other, going out for donuts, wandering around town, home for lunch and naptime. Later we went to the mall to let C burn energy running around, and I began having contractions. Really small ones, 30 seconds long, a minute apart.  They were so minor, I thought maybe they were just Braxton-Hicks. Eventually it became apparent that I might actually be in labor, so what did we do, go home? No. We went to the grocery store because I had no food for C to eat while we were gone. Then when we got home, did we immediately prepare for the hospital? No. I thought we should take our dog for a walk before we left and called the midwife . The contractions still weren't a big deal, so I remained casual. So casual, in fact, we even tried to fit dinner in before we left!

The switch from casual contractions to serious contractions happened really quickly, and it became evident that we needed to leave *now*. C was placed in the loving care of her grandparents and we were off. We checked in at 6:17 and O was born at 7:15. I pushed for 11 minutes. Instead of a long, relaxed labor, it was a short, intense labor. The contractions were so strong I could practically feel her moving downward with each one. The urge to push was so strong and prolonged, I actually cried. There was no time for a water birth, there was no time for anything!

As different as the labors + deliveries were, the common denominator was the excellent care of my husband, midwife, and nurses. The adrenaline rush of delivery lasted for days, and I felt incredible. O slept for the first two weeks of her life, and I felt like a rockstar, totally capable of mothering two small children.

Then she hit that six-week mark. And I realized C + I were still living a toddler schedule, not fully respecting O's need for more + better naps. And remember how I said #2 would get more snuggles? She really does, because that's how she prefers to doze off. C's been a champ adjusting to this new routine and has amused me more than once with her mommy imitations.

There are days that I miss the simplicity of one child and question the wisdom of having two so close together. I keep hearing it pays off in the long run, so I'll hang in there until then! While in this moment I don't know when/how/if ever I'll get O to fall asleep on her own, or when/how/if ever I'll get C potty trained, what I do know is that I totally love both of my crazy girls. Though occasionally I want to run away, when we share smiles or laughs, all is right with the world. God certainly gives good gifts.

room darkening nursery curtains

I've always been a "project" person. In fact, my mother stated the thing she was looking forward to most after I moved out would be the absence of my "piles," which were generally various projects in many states of "on hold."

Unfortunately for my husband, this habit is hard to break. Fortunately for my husband, I've at least managed to limit myself to one[ish] project at a time. Got a new creative idea? Better finish that last one first! Sometimes this only delays the beginning of a new idea rather than actually finishing an old one, but I'm a work in progress.

One of my latest projects got a jumpstart by an upcoming visit of family. Isn't hosting the best solution for accomplishing tasks? I simply *couldn't* have this fabric lying around any longer. It had to find its way into curtains.

And find its way it did. Using this tutorial as a basis. [Though, can I add a note about width? It omitted that detail, so for your reference, total finished width should be 1.5x-2x the width of your window, adding 4 inches per panel for hem allowance.] The nursery does have room darkening roll shades in addition to white accordian blinds, but roll shades are my arch nemesis. The spring loaded action [or non-action] drives me batty. So I simply *had* to make darkening curtains to eliminate athe roll shade. Now if only I actually completed that portion of the project ...

polar vortex + chubby cheeks

Somewhere on the Internet I saw a headline that went something like, "The Winter That Killed Moms Everywhere." We've been colder and had more snow this winter than many past, but on the whole, C & I have been handling it pretty well.

The one thing that wasn't handling this cold very well were her poor chubby cheeks. Combine the chapped side effects of teething with daily windchill advisories, and they were starting to really look bad. Granted, I'm a first timer, but right when the weather turned cold they got so red I was self-conscious that someone would report me for neglect. But we have to brave the outdoors at some point, even if it's just hustling down the parking lot towards the heated respite of the grocery store, so what's a paranoid mom to do?

As they say, necessity breeds invention. You can spy her normal get-up in my previous post. Warm shirt[s] covered by warm fleece jacket, topped with pink panda hat from the talented Pam Court, which is then topped by circle scarf, made by me. Putting it over the hat makes it tighter and covers her cheeks better, and the fact that it's a circle means it's really quick to plop over her head and she can't untie it. Win!

The above photo was right after it was finished, so she wasn't too sure about wearing it yet. She's since figured out it does help block the cold, and lets it cover her face to right under her nose. Her scarf is two-toned because of course Mommy was trying to use up some soft scrap yarn she had and ran out. I've gifted similar scarves to other moms, but theirs are all one color. Turns out knitting is a great way to pass the [chilly] time!

second time around

Oh, uh, p.s., we're expecting?

That's kind of how announcing our second child has been approached. We're excited, but also a little nervous. Our children will be 20 months apart, which is more than many sibling spacings, but at the same time I feel a little crazy. Here I am, excited that my daughter is walking and learning to talk, and I'm what?! Going to have *another* baby? I fear the incredulous look in their eyes when they hear the news. "They" could be just about anybody, but fortunately, it has been only a few. In reality, people are excited for us. While they do say, "You're going to be busy!," they're supportive.

Things that are different the second time around:
- The first trimester was harder. Being tired and feeling a little icky at a desk job? Just another day in the office. Being tired and feeling icky while your toddler is crying because she wants you to play and be fun but you feel like you have nothing to give? Now that's exhausting.
- You *do* feel the movement earlier, because you understand the difference between baby and gas. [tmi?]
- Gender is seen less as "how will it be to raise a boy vs. a girl?" and more "what will C's life be like if we have a boy vs. a girl?"

Things that might be different the second time around:
- I'm more confident about delivery. Been there, done that. Obviously, each time is different, but at least I understand pushing now.
- When the midwife hands me our baby, I won't be surprised. Somehow throughout the whole labor and delivery my brain was so concentrated on relaxing through the contractions and obeying my Bradley instructor that I didn't really grasp the end result would be a newborn in my arms. Strange what the mind can do.
- In the same vein, with C I was caught up in "acing" the whole process. I wanted the perfect labor, delivery, baby, breastfeeding, you name it, I was going to go by the book. As you probably know, life doesn't go by the book. This time, I'm going to relax and not worry if I'm not doing everything "right." And if things don't go as expected, I'm not going to be ashamed that I did something wrong. You can't control everything. [repeat]
- This baby is probably going to get snuggled more. With C, I was tired, sore, overwhelmed, maybe confused, mostly overwhelmed, and I didn't cherish those newborn snuggles. I didn't know what to do with a newborn besides feed her, change her, and desperately try to get her to sleep. Here's hoping for a sunnier experience the second time around.

Anyone else have similar first-time experiences? You with multiple children, what differences do you remember?

holding firm to letting go

It is a little weird quitting your job to become a stay-at-home mom. My days are full of baby care, baby teaching, baby playing, then also managing the house, making phone calls, keeping appointments, cleaning, cooking, working out, errand running, gardening, etc. Yet none of this earns an income. My now full-time job has no salary, no PTO, no commute. It has some similarities to my former career: some days I love it and feel incredibly blessed to call this my job, while other days it's a drain and I wish I could call in sick [particularly on days when I am, in all actuality, sick].

Some days the lack of earning income bothers me. I realize my job is very important, but that saying feels like a cop-out when I'm believing lies that tell me I’m a leech. But when I attempt income earning pursuits, it doesn’t feel right. It either fails, or I can’t get the motivation to work on it, or I feel unrest about even pursuing it. That's when God seems to be telling me,

“Be still, Lisa, and know that I am God. Know that I will provide for you. Know that I called you to this life. The job I have given you is to raise up my child in the way she should go. Shower her with love and discipline. Teach her my Truth. That is your job, and it's not a light one." 

So I will cherish this time. I won't be an impressive businesswoman, I won't be earning a full-time income out of my home while my daughter naps or plays. The women that do, I salute you. I don't know how you do it, but I won't feel guilty for being different than you. I won't feel lazy or less than. Instead I'm going to rest fully in the knowledge that I'm right where God wants me, and when that changes, He'll let me know.

And the days I do find time to work on a digital scrapbook or design shirts for my husband's brainchild (Happy Nerd Shirts), I'll soak that in, too. I truly love designing, but it just isn't going to be a full-time thing right now. At this point, our daughter is 9 months old, I'm loving staying at home with her, and that is where I'm meant to be.

how time flies

If there’s one thing I learned when we announced we were expecting, it’s that parents of all kinds will give the most enthusiastic congratulations upon receiving the news. You know what? I get it now.

When I hear a friend say they lost a baby or an adoption fell through, my heart breaks for them. When I hear a friend is pregnant or the adoption papers are official, I rejoice with them. I want to dole out hugs to my entire network because this whole motherhood thing is just as life-changing as you all told me it would be. 

The first twelve weeks were extremely stretching and I only felt half alive, but then the clouds opened up and started pouring down baby smiles and longer stretches of sleep, and I was able to wake up and see what a miraculous blessing our daughter really is. Now she’s 7.5 months old, full of giggles and curiosity, and I can’t resist hugging and kissing her pretty much any chance I get. I love watching her grow and develop, seeing what discovery she’ll make next. I look back at her infancy through rose-colored glasses and stare fondly at cuddly, sleepy newborns as my own daughter wiggles + kicks in my arms. I can hardly watch or read anything with children in it without getting teary because I see everything now in light of my own child. All those cliches about being a mom...I get it now.

So here’s to all the mothers [+ fathers] out there: to the new, *congratulations* on the transforming journey you’ve begun; to those who’ve been at this for years, *thank you* for the encouragement you give to newbies. 

baby monogram

Back in the day when we were still expecting and the name was top secret, I did very well at keeping my mouth shut. It came as quite the shock, then, when my coworkers were asking me questions about the nursery room that I almost let a *big* hint slip. You see, while my lips were sealed, I forgot that hands can speak, too [particularly mine - watch out when I tell a story]!

Descriptions of curtains, shelving, and wall decor were willingly shared, hands flailing as I described this and that. Excitedly, I described how I wanted to create a monogram to hang on the wall - and that's when I almost slipped. Just as my index finger flew into the air and started to swing in a C-shaped flourish, I caught myself with wide eyes [meaning I had to explain what I had almost done]. Fortunately, they weren't able to gather the letter I almost drew for them, so the name remained a secret. Phew.

This was a super easy DIY project, and it was created entirely of items I found around the house. It's quick, too, so totally doable while the baby naps. Win. 

Step 1: Sketch your letter on Styrofoam. You could print the letter really large in a font you like, but in the interest of time, I drew freehand.

Step 2: Use a knife to cut out along your lines.

Step 3: If you're re-purposing packaging Styrofoam, cut off dramatic outcroppings. 

Step 4: Sweep up those loose bits and gather your materials, because this is where it gets fun.

Step 5: Wrap it up! First wrap a base layer where the yarn is wrapped basically in line. You can stop there, of course, but it felt a little mummy-ish to me, so I added more texture with yarn wrapped in a crisscross fashion.

Step 6: Grab some ribbon you have lying in your craft drawer and hang that stylish monogram on the wall!

Now doesn't that sound easy and fun? Trust me, it is. What are you waiting for? Go make one for yourself!

a birth tale

"Oh, hello there. My name is C, and I decided to inhabit my nursery after all! I held off for 8 days past my mom's due date, and I've been keeping her on her toes ever since."

It may be cliche to blame a baby for not posting on your blog...but here I am, blaming her. Where I once lived a life of great efficiency and productivity, my goals are now limited to one a day. Well, one goal + one nap. Conquer those amidst feeding, rocking, and diaper changes, and my day pre-husband-arriving-home-from-work is pretty much used up. 

But today, on her 6 week birthday, I decided it's time to share my birth story.

As someone who doesn't like to take pain killers for her headaches, I wanted to have a natural birth. After talking to other moms and getting recommendations, we decided to pursue care at a midwife clinic, give birth in a tub, and attend Bradley classes to prepare. Great decisions, all of them.

The day before she was born, I was at the clinic for my 41 week check-up. At that point, I was dilated to a 3 and everything looked good...if only that baby would come. We had a feeling that she might make her appearance soon, so my husband and I took the opportunity to go on a date to a Thai restaurant, where I of course ordered spicy food. 

My stomach felt tight all night, so once more, I went to sleep wondering if this was really it - could I really be going into labor? At 1 a.m., I woke up with a contraction. Knowing I would need the energy for pushing, I stayed in bed and tried to relax and sleep as much as possible, despite the contractions holding steady at 8-10 minutes apart. When the alarm went off at 6:30, I immediately turned to my husband and told him, "I think this is it!"

As soon as we started to move around and get dressed, the contractions became even stronger. After a few calls to the midwife, some oatmeal breakfast, and an attempted bath, it was official: time to go to the hospital. After 20 minutes or so of electronic fetal monitoring, they checked me and found I was dilated to a 7. Time to fill the tub! 

Once the midwife arrived, I walked across the hall to the tub, shivering and shaking the whole way. The water was such a relief. It warmly encased me and eased any gravitational pressure or discomfort so I could really focus on relaxing through the contractions. They continued strong, and I kept trying different positions to maintain comfort without slowing labor. When the urge to push came, it really took me by surprise. Then, although it didn't feel like it, I pushed for 1 hour, 40 minutes under the gentle coaching of my midwife and gave birth to a beautiful baby girl with a head full of blonde hair [only 4 hours after arriving at the hospital!].

And so began the complete, utterly radical changing of our lives forever.

nursery tour

The phrase may be "if you build it, they will come," but our baby's not paying attention to that. As of right now, she's overdue by 4 days and showing no signs of remorse. I'm still comfortable (maybe too comfortable...), just dealing with nightly sleep that seems to come in 2 hour increments at most. Guess my body is just preparing me for our daughter's contribution to that scenario?

Or maybe she just wanted to give me time to show off her nursery photos. So let's do this!

The vinyl branch and birds are from Etsy seller Vinyltastic. She was an awesome seller to work with; if you're in the market for vinyl, seriously check out her store! I wanted to pair fabric-covered leaves with a vinyl branch, and she kindly created a custom listing that allowed me to do just that. The birds were icing on the cake!

In order to fit a shelf and its essential storage, we had to remove a mirrored bi-fold closet door. Replacing it was a breeze with an IKEA curtain and tension rod. I used the other panel in the package to make a matching curtain and crib skirt. 

One of our friends gifted us with this quilted art - isn't it cute? She's a crafty lady, that one. Now we just need to find some complementary pieces to fill out that wall.

My favorite square in this shelf is the one filled with books. I can't wait to have our daughter snuggled in my lap while we read together. Next to that is a bin of toys, which is second favorite. How can you not love all those squeezably soft friends? 

So, baby, what do you say? Are you ready to inhabit this space?

accessories for baby

Earlier this summer, I entered a giveaway over at Sandy A La Mode and actually *won*! The prize was store credit to Etty and Amelia, an Etsy shop filled with adorable hair accessories for all the girlies in your life. There happen to be a great many of those in mine, considering my three nieces plus our own future daughter, so I was a kid in a candy shop looking through her treasures!

In the end, I chose the four at the top of the photo above. The purple is sized for newborn, the cream is sized for 3-6 months, the yellow is sized for 6-12 months, and the coral + sparklies is for little ol' me. How could I resist?

Not long after these came in the mail, a lovely friend of mine (Mikalah of Posy the Porcelain Pig) stopped by to deliver a baby present. Since she's expecting her own bundle of girly joy any day now, she whipped up a couple headbands for ours! Those are the dainty flowered headbands at the bottom.

The day of her arrival is coming soon - so while I'll still try to keep my post subject matter a little varied, you can expect at least some gratuitous baby photos featuring our daughter in these headbands. You've been warned.

outfit + nursery sneak peek

stretching shirts at 21 weeks

Well, folks, the bump is growing! And happily, I might add. Thanks to the good folks at Old Navy, I was able to score some nice *long* tanks, this shrug, and skinny maternity jeans, all for clearance prices! Love.

This shrug will definitely come in handy this summer, when I'll want to wear those long tanks to keep cool in the weather, yet will need something to keep warm [and modest] in the office. Since it doesn't have a zipper, I don't have to feel in any way that it is meant to entirely cover my growing front.

What's that in the background, you ask? Why, that's our new [to us] crib! We also [finally] removed the wallpaper diamonds and painted over the sponge-painted pink walls. The nursery is now 3 walls of grey and 1 wall of green. Soon we'll begin the registry process and will pick out some *pink* and *purple* bedding, because we're having a girl!

styling the bump

Having a bump that sometimes looks like a lump can make for a bit of a wardrobe challenge. When you're just starting to show, it's not yet obvious enough to flaunt, and it's also not subtle enough to hide.

This outfit has become one of my recent favorites, for a host of reasons:

1. the skirt = low-rise. [no problem buttoning that one!]
2. leggings = elastic waistband. 
3. shirt = stretchy cotton. [pretty much the best feeling ever]
4. boots = flat. [safety first, right?]
5. great big pashmina scarf = bump camouflage!

I'm hoping to stretch my current wardrobe as long as possible [no pun intended, ha!], though it definitely takes creativity sometimes. 

It's a whole new learning curve, dressing an ever changing body. It's also a whole new learning curve *embracing* this ever changing body. Never in my life have I been desirous of displaying a little extra around my middle, but this "extra" is extra special, so maybe displaying it is exactly what I should be doing? 

There's so much pregnancy paranoia swirling around in my head; forgive me for my rhetorical pondering. These 9 months are definitely an experience in trusting God with the unknown and leaning on Him for peace!

october promise

bunny by pamcourt

Some "bunny's" arriving around October 9th!

That's the big announcement...and then I get tongue-tied.

What does this all mean? I wondered the same thing before I got married. Since that was such an unknown land, I wondered what it would mean to be a wife. Fortunately, married life was a fairly natural transition and now I feel pretty confident in my role as my husband's helpmate.

But motherhood, oh boy, another big transition. While I feel called to become a mother, and God's perfect timing is evident in our situation, it's still a big unknown. It's encouraging that, besides our family, our friends *with* kids offer some of the most enthusiastic congratulations. Somehow they know something that we have yet to experience: the joy and blessing it is to have a child - despite the pain of childbearing and sleepless nights.

We got to hear the heartbeat for the second time yesterday and even scheduled our first ultrasound! The anticipation is killer. I can't wait to know more about this little guy or girl, pick out a name, decorate the nursery, and otherwise prepare for the greatest life-changing experience.

So what do you think, girl or boy? ;-)