Dining room redo

Isn't it funny how an entire room will take on a new persona, just because one little detail needed to be changed? When I bought my dinning room set, I KNEW the padded chairs would be a problem, but I couldn't find any sets that I liked that had wooden seats. Originally they were cream, but I immediately recovered them in some duck cloth and scotch guarded them within an inch of their life.

 

Six years and three children later, it was time to cover them in something a little more durable than the straight duck cloth. Wait- let me rephrase that. These chairs needed something a little more Evan proof if they were going to last at all. Now that sweet Elyse is here, my four person family will no longer fit around my three chaired kitchen table. The dinning table will be the work horse. A work horse I'd rather not see covered in stains.

 

Plus, it was just time for a make-over.  Here's the before...

 

 

 Not terrible. But pretty boring. As you can see, I made the curtains to go with the recovered chairs, and it always bothered me that they were a tad short.

 

 

Since I was recovering the chairs, of course I would need to make new curtains. And once the new curtains were up the sad, dinky little plates on the wall just looked lost. Time for a "go big or go home" moment.

 

TA DA! 

 

 

I love how it turned out! I managed to find my favorite fabric (Amy Butler's Harriet's Kitchen from her Cameo line, now in the curtains above and also in my room) in a laminated cotton for the chairs, so now I'll be able to just wipe them down when a child spills on them. *note- I said when. Not if. Because it will happen.

 

The decoration details mostly came from Hobby Lobby. I found these hodge podge of letters all over the store, with the "O" being a plain wooden one I painting and covered with paper, like I did for Elyse's letters in her room.

 

This actually had a nice mat inside of it with places for several pictures, but I made it my own to display each of the kids' newborn pictures.

 

And this picture is one I found on Etsy. I've stared longingly at The Wheatfield for a very long time, and I was thrilled to finally find a home for one of her prints! (also, you don't know how long it took me to narrow it down between 4 different choices)

Anyway, I love how it turned out. It totally goes along with my new theory of COLOR! It was a project that really should have taken a weekend, but it ended up taking a month and a half. I technically still need to top stitch the right curtain panel, but it can wait. I'm so done for awhile.

Baby dedication and a boo boo

 Sunday was the baby dedication at church. It's the first time we've ever had one! I always wished we did this as a church when the first two were babies, and now that we have a new children's minister it something that hopefully will be done annually now. A great lesson was taught on remaking and keeping your house centered on Christ, then the families of all the babies born in 2013 were called up front. The congregation was charged with supporting us as families in various ways, and we as parents were charged with raising our children to know and love Jesus, and closed with the elders laying their hands on us and praying.

 

What is awesome about the picture above, is that not only am I standing next to two families that are dear friends of mine (remember how our babies are all two weeks within each other?), but since Roger is an elder, he and Cindy were up there praying, and Luke's school teacher's husband is an elder, so they were up there as well. THAT is a lot of support (not to mention Jacob's mom and step dad came, Ashley and the boy she is dating came, and obviously Mom and Dad were there).

had to get one for her baby book (which has nothing written in it. whomp whomp.)

 

They made these prayer cards for each of the babies dedicated, and after the lesson was over they were passed out to the congregation at random. There are so many so many people all committed to praying for my girl, and I don't even know who all it is! (I do know of a couple of families who excitedly told me they got Elyse!)

 

 

After the service I wanted a picture of my head-to-toe matching girls and handsome boy. This is true life in a photo.

 

Unfortunately the end of Sunday wasn't nearly as great as the beginning. Evan had a spot on her that had grown steadily worse all weekend, and by Sunday night I was super paranoid about it.

 

 

I loaded all three kids up in the car, dropped Luke and Elyse off with Mom, and took my middlest to Acute Kids.

 

 

Clearly she was dying.

 

The doctor did say it was infected and tried to drain it. Evan cried. I cried. But she was brave and got through it. Afterwards I took her to IHOP for some brave-girl pancakes (we hadn't eaten dinner yet) and wait for her prescriptions to get filled.

 

 

That's when things really fell apart. I went to pick them up and I forgot Walgreens doesn't take their insurance. That meant I had to wait until yesterday morning to call CVS and have them get the prescription transferred. Talk about panicking!  I was so afraid we would have to get her leg amputated or she would die of blood poisoning. Nothing like an irrational momma moment, eh? Yesterday when I got her clothes on her I could tell the whole inside of her knee was red and angry. Mom finally was able to get it out to Cindy's late Monday morning, and that stuff is TERRIBLE! (I tasted it last night to see what the fuss was about.) My poor girl. Now after 24 hours of antibiotics it is calming down a bit. She has to take it three times a day for 10 days- its being treated like staph.  Hopefully she is on the road to recovery!

Three months

 

My sweet baby Elyse, you are three months old today!!

 

Excuse me while I take a moment to compose my sad sentimental heart.

 

I just can't believe it's already been three months. It's a mile stone that is special to me in several ways. Today marks the time when you have been a part of me for a whole year. For a whole year now you have depended completely on me for sustenance. For a whole year my body had provided for you what your body needs to grow. And that I find completely amazing. Not that it's going to stop any time soon. I plan on nursing you exclusively for at least another two months.

 

So what have you been up to for the last month? Well, you've finally woken up a little. You are in no way on a 'nap schedule' but you are awake for a few hours a time.  Sleeping at night hasn't changed much. You typically go to sleep for good around 10:30, then are up between 1 and 2, then again between 4 and 5, to nurse. LUCKILY you always go right back to sleep, if you were even very awake to begin with. You don't really cry out, but more start tossing and turning veeeeeeeery heavily and I can't sleep until you calm down (aka nurse). Probably would be a lot better if you weren't sleeping right next to me in bed, but I don't care. It's worth it.

 

My favorite thing that you are now doing? SMILING. You are the happiest baby when you wake up and have a full belly. You love to smile and coo and (almost) giggle at your family. Luke gets the BIGGEST kick out of you paying attention to him. He eats it up, and you love when he makes you laugh. At the grocery store last night it was just you and me, and you only had eyes for this momma. Made my heart so happy how you just sat there and tried to talk to me the whole time.

Your neck strength is getting better all the time, despite the fact that we hardly ever do tummy time. Heck. You very rarely get put down at all. If I'm not holding you or wearing you, you are in your bouncy chair (but that doesn't last very long. you are a little spoiled, girlie!)

 

You are wearing size 3 month clothes and a size 1 diaper. I nurse you MULTIPLE times a day, and you take about 2 bottles while I'm at work. Only once have you cried during bath time and I still swaddle you spastic arms down at night. (although, you usually manage to work them out)

 

Little girl, I love you so much. I cannot believe that the first fourth of you first year is over and I'm so sad that my leeeeettle baby gets a little bigger every day. While I am greatly looking forward to seeing who you develop into, I'm definitely not wishing away the days. I am fully enjoying you just as you are and am totally content to take it slow. You are my baaaaaaby. Lets keep it that way as long as we can.

Ordinarily ordinary

So. Life. Amiright?

It's been busy in an uneventful kind of way. Kids have played. I've taken 2+ weeks to redo the dining room and I'm STILL not finished. Y'all. This should have taken me a day and a half. I didn't even paint anything.

Alas. My life has been filled with princess twirls and nursing sessions and plane discussions and a little bit of sleep. I'm trying so hard to let things like house work and the desire to just friggen finish the sewing projects in favor of actually going to bed. Wednesday I hit a wall and was so run down that I had Jacob come take care of the baby, while Mom took the bigs to bible class then bathe/bed them, all so I could go to bed at 7:00. Of course I didn't fall into deep sleep until 10:30, but I was usless in bed. Having a babe that gets up at 1 and 4 with an alarm set for 5:45 isn't very conducive of REST.

 

But we are all good. We are better than good. This face and I are getting along better. She's doing great at potty training (finally), and my patience for her pokiness is (mostly) new every morning. I'm trying to just soak up her 2 year old quirkiness. Last night at dinner our conversation went like this:

 

Evan: "I be da mom and you be da sister."

Me: "Okay!"

Evan: "Hey Evan-Mom!"

 

Then she proceeded to eat an entire bag of green beans for dinner. I wish I was exaggerating. I mean the WHOLE THING. The first time she asked for second I gave her mine off my plate (too lazy to get up). The second time she asked for seconds I gave her the green beans off Luke's plate (he wasn't touching them). Finally when she STILL asked for more, I just got up and handed her the bag.

 

She's also crazy into dress up right now. For small group on Friday we had a tea party for Jordyn's birthday, and I let her wear a dress up dress. Saturday she wore 3 different ones at various times during the day, and right before we were leaving for bible class yesterday morning Luke informed me that Evan had her clothes off. She was trying to put on a "pwincess" dress and was DEVESTATED when I wouldn't let her wear one to church. Oi.

 

This picture is the story of my life right now. Biggest one refusing to come get his picture taken, much more interested in his remote control car. Littlest one asleep (although she is waking up more- Saturday she barely napped at all!). Middlest one in her princess gear (top three things a princess does- strum guitar and sing, draw, and twirl). You should see how well she prances around in her little heels.

"Mom, I wock wif you. And wets take a pickta."

 

So, nothing earth shattering going on over here. No big announments. Trying to say yes more and no less.  Nothing out of the ordinary.  And that's perfectly fine with me.

 

 "Pwincess Evan is going to da pawty!" (On our way to small groups)

See, I do have a biggest. Luke practices numbers the way everyone else practices letters. I think it's a true testament to the way he thinks and what he excels in. BTW- nothing makes him seem like a big kid than when I see him WRITING. LEGIBLE WRITING.