Our Bedroom

I never really liked our bedroom in our last house. I was practically embarrassed of it and never really showed it off. I closed the door when people came over and certainly never put pictures of it up on my blog. It was small, dark and had the most stained up carpet in it. When we moved out and that carpet was ripped out and those original hardwood floors refinished (not to mention the walls being painted), my heart jumped a bit. Alas, I never lived in it in that state. I lived in it how it was and I treated it how I felt. It became a dumping ground for anything and everything...before Callum came along and we had to make space for another roommate in that tiny room! 

Anyway, our bedroom in our new house is literally the opposite of our old. It is a true master bedroom. It has a bathroom attached. Something that we have for the first time in 13 years of marriage. And, I have to say, I totally love having our own bathroom. Anyway, this room is larger, brighter and has beautiful hardwood floors. Since moving in, we painted this room, added baseboards, installed a ceiling fan and got some furniture. Just in October we got "adult" dressers. Before, we had been using dressers from Ian's childhood. I also scored our headboard from craigslist. And we replaced the curtains that were in the bedroom when we bought the house. My newest addition to the bedroom is the house plant. And I totally love it. It makes me ridiculously happy. No joke. A house plant. I know, it doesn't make sense, but the plant actually makes me smile. Eventually I would like to find a big rug that would go under our bed, as well as night stands and some sort of fun (I'm picturing something hanging) lights for either side of our bed. Oh, and I have my eye on an industrial laundry hamper. 

In the mean time, enjoy what our room looks like now...I know I certainly do. I mean, I actually make my bed now because my room just brings me such joy. And, if I actually get the opportunity to nap (which rarely happens with three kids anyway!), I just mess up the bed. #nuffsaid

 

^^ How can you not smile looking at that beauty?!

^^ This picture man. Circa 2001. I had bleached my hair and was growing it out. But look how happy we were. We apparently didn't care about the hot mess that was on my head! Oh, and that heart shaped rock I picked up off the beach in Hawaii this last summer. 

^^ I literally fretted so much about what to hang over our bed. In the end, I went with two pictures of us, printed on wood. Which my brother made fun of because apparently he doesn't decorate his room full of pictures of himself...to each his own, I guess ;)

^^ My aunt got us this pillow as an anniversary present one year. I love personalized things, so totally dug it.

In case you want to see more of our home, here's a bit about how we found it, what our living room looked like (i've already rearranged it and changed some things) and Connor's room (before I decided to have Connor and Isla share a room). I'm one of those people that love's rearranging and changing things up, so our house is ever changing.

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Callum's first dentist appointment

Callum had his first dentist appointment last week. It happened to be on his 13 month "birthday". He still only had five teeth. The dentist said that all that really means is he will probably hold on to his baby molars much longer than other kids. But, she saw it as a good thing, given that it gives him more time to "practice" his brushing and flossing on non-permanent teeth. I have been taking the kids to the same pediatric dentist for years and this is the first time she has told me to plan for braces. Of course, I got a laugh out of that and made some comment about everyone having braces. Which is true. But, it's also true that Callum's bottom teeth are coming in both very crowded and very crooked. My bottom teeth were always much more of a problem than my top, so I can relate a bit. Other than that, she said his teeth look great. Her and her assistant seemed surprised that Callum immediately stopped crying after the exam and still liked them. Of course, that doesn't surprise me much, given his smiley and happy disposition.

Of course, fast forward a week and Callum is super sick and not his happy self at all. It's actually really sad. He never just cries all the time and that's how the past couple days have been. I have heard people referring to the sickness as "the plague" and I am starting to understand why. The poor guy is miserable. Here's to hoping he is on the mend soon...and that no one else in our house gets it!

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Splish, splash

With the only bathroom being downstairs in our new house, and all the bedrooms being upstairs, we had kind of abandoned bath time after we moved. The kids happily switched to showers and Callum just hung on the shower floor with whoever happened to be showering at the time. Or Callum was also treated to a sink bath, if dinner got too messy. But, with it being winter, the shower floor got a bit cold and we seem to have taken up bath time again.

I have to admit, I forgot the joy of watching a little one in the bath. Callum is past the stage where I literally have to sit there ready to rescue him at any moment. In fact, he is currently in the sit-stand-sit-stand-sit-stand stage. I thought it would give me a heart attack, but he actually handles all the up and down really well. Not to mention, he seems so incredibly pleased with himself and laughs with joy each time.

It's so fun rediscovering the joy of the various stages of babyhood. The bath phase really is a good one. Kids love em and moms love the break! Of course, with three kids to bathe, bath time for each kid doesn't last as long as say when Connor was little...oh man, I remember him having some super long baths...like so long that I had to add hot water. Like I said, kids love em and moms love the break.

P.S. Don't mind the booger in the first two pictures. Callum was just so full of joy, so I was too busy capturing the moment to wipe the boog from his nose. 

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4th Annual Christmas Card Challenge Winners

I feel like every year the cards keep getting better and better. And I totally love it. We got so many creative and fun cards this year. We got beautiful, fancy cards. We got funny photos, beautiful photos. We got a lot with handwritten notes this year, which I really enjoyed. In fact, I was inspired to keep the back of our card blank this year, so I could write notes on there. Sure, I didn't do notes to everyone, but it was fun writing little notes to those we don't see very often. We got so many amazing cards this year, I actually thought about adding categories...but I didn't. Now, without further ado, the 2016 winners:

First to arrive:

My friend Heidi is always great about getting her cards out early. She has won in this category a few times now. Her card always arrives before I have even ordered mine! 

Best handwritten note:

To be fair, I don't think anyone could have topped this card. Just seeing the envelope made me giddy with excitement. That Amber is such a dear and special person to me. Her whole family is. But I will say, people really upped their game this year with handwritten notes. It even inspired me to write some notes on some of my cards. 

Besto photo:

It's hard to top a photo that makes you laugh. 

Best update:

Their update included highs and lows for each family member. Not only were the highs and lows witty and funny, but when getting a sister was listed on both categories for one of the kids, I was hooked. 

Best overall:

I picked all my favorite cards and had Ian help me pick the winner in this category. I had several picked out and all for very different reasons. Alas, I went with this one because I loved all the pictures they included. And the sense of adventure this family has is palpable. 

Now for the moment everyone, or possibly no one except my cousin, has been waiting for...who will take home a bag of coffee...

Best overall!!! Our friends who aren't even on social media...so won't know they've won until they find me creepily staring in their windows with a bag of coffee in my hands. Hopefully they won't shun me forever for putting them on the internet for all the world to see. Either way, they won coffee, so they should be happy ;)

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Stuff

Can I be honest for a minute? The day after Christmas I nearly had an anxiety attack from all the stuff that found its way into our house over the two previous days. Though I am not a minimalist, I don't like clutter. And though I am not an amazing organizer, I like things to have a "home" within my home. Instead, I was met with great piles of things that needed to work their way somewhere into our home.

For Christmas my kids got an unrealistic amount of stuff. It blew my mind. It also obviously blew theirs. Not only did they never ask to watch tv on Christmas, but also in the days that followed, they asked every single person we saw if they got them a present. So. Incredibly. Embarassing. And if someone did happen to get them A present, they responded with "Only one?"

Here I spend so much time and energy trying to keep our home peaceful. And I also tried so hard to keep Christmas as least materialistic as possible (each kid gets three gifts from us - wear, play, read) yet that's exactly where it went. And there I was, on December 26th, feeling so incredibly overwhelmed with all the stuff we had gotten and trying to find homes for it all.

I took the kids to the playroom and had each kid pick five toys to get rid of. It literally didn't even make a dent. That's embarrassing to me. Especially embarrassing because I don't want to be that person, that family, that places an extreme value on things, stuff. And I almost feel like it's being forced on me. As if I say not, I'm the bad mom or the mean person not allowing people to "bless" my children.

I don't mean to sound ungrateful, I really don't. But when stuff becomes overwhelming, when it becomes anxiety inducing, what is one to do? I really don't have an answer. Obviously a more thorough purge in sin order. But what's hard is figuring out what toys are most logical to get rid of. Is it the ones that take up the most room? The ones that are the least sentimental? Or maybe the ones that are the most annoying?! Because, in the interest of honesty, my children claim all their toys to be their favorite and too special to part with. But now that we are in January, and the kids are headed back to school, I am sensing a major purge and reorganization of the kids stuff coming my way...which, incidentally, I swear the kids have so much more stuff than Ian and I.

How do you part with kids clutter/cherished items in your home? Do you involve them in the process?

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2017

The past several years, I have been on a journey of living life with more intention. Of really thinking about how I spend my time and money. Of learning to have boundaries. Of learning how I really want my life to be lived, and how to make that life a healthy one for me...both physically and mentally.

The past several months have been weird ones for me in terms of relationships. Connor going to school full time seems to have provided less time for me to see friends, rather than more. But, I think the reality of it is not as much full day school as it is the baby that needs his naps. This has left me in a weird spot. Friends who I once saw multiple times a week, now I'm lucky if I see them a couple times a month. I don't like talking on the phone, so it's not like I am connecting that way. I've been trying a little, but really, I need to try more. Which brings me to my focus for the year.

Friendship

I want to be a better friend. I want to be the friend that stops by to say hi. I also want to be the friend that always welcomes people into her home with open arms...not with reservations that people will judge me for toys being everywhere or the dishes from the last meal still on the table. I want to be the friend that makes an effort, even when it's not easy. I want to be the real friend that is there when things aren't so easy. I want to be the friend that is there to celebrate the victories. I want to be the friend that makes you smile over the little things, like an unexpected card in the mail. I want to be the friend that makes an effort. The friend that is praying for you behind the scenes, even when you don't know. I want to be the friend that is spontaneous with you. The one ready to do fun things. But also the one that will listen when you need to talk, and offer a shoulder to cry on when you need that too.

I have always believed in quality over quantity in my relationships. To be the type of friend I strive to be, I definitely plan on focusing more and more on the quality and less on the quantity. So, my friends (I think one or two of you still read this blog), just know...I'm coming for you!


And since I am a list maker, and a total nerd, I completely plan on making a list of the people that I plan on pursuing this year. Sure, this list won't be made public. But keeping a list of people will serve not only as a reminder to me, but will also let me really think about the type of friend I am truly being to the very people I am wanting to have a deep meaningful friendship with.

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Around Christmas

Though Christmas day itself was quite relaxing, the days surrounding Christmas were anything but. I spent over 1000 miles in a car (for two different trips). It felt like we were running all over the place. Callum's schedule got all out of whack and I was the one that had to pay for it. I didn't pick up my real camera much, but instead captured a lot on my phone. 

^^ Smiley boy always enjoys the morning

^^ A dapper looking Connor after his haircut

^^ My dad, brother and I drove down to LA for my uncle's open heart surgery. My aunt and uncle came and stayed with us the night before the surgery. It was fun talking the evening away and staying up way too late for how early everyone had to be up the next day.

^^ Using a lactation room at the hospital to pump. Everyone seemed shocked that I even knew to ask to see if there was one. But, it was Kaiser and I know they are all sorts of breastfeeding friendly, so they came through.

I got home from LA on Friday night, after the kids were already in bed. So I didn't actually see them until they woke up on Christmas Eve. 

^^ At church on Chistmas Eve

We spent the bulk of Christmas Eve with Ian's family. We went to an early church service, before heading back to their house for dinner and presents. Then, Ian and I put the kids in their pjs and took them to a drive through light display before heading home. We've now gone to the light display for the past three Christmas Eve's. 

^What Isla got me for Christmas...she was quite proud

^^ Isla trying to steal practically half of the cinnamon rolls!

^^ A Starbucks gingerbread house was built on Christmas

The Tuesday after Christmas, my mom, the kids and I, drove down to visit my grandma. It's about a 3.5 hour drive. Doing all that in one day really makes for a long day. The kids were actually amazing on the way down, but the trip back home got a bit l-o-n-g.

Ian has this next week off work. So, here's to some family time before we get back to the schedule of school, ballet, homework and more! 

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