Happy 1st Birthday Michael!

Happy Birthday to my beautiful baby boy.

My Bucky Man!

I love you my handsome little guy.

You are crawling, cruising, bumping, and crying.

Biting, smiling, EATING, and opening.

Laughing, flirting, climbing, and driving.

Talking, singing, waving, and dancing.

Kissing, snuggling, curling, and hugging.

You are so cute and always happy. What more could a mother wish for?

Love you forever, Little Guy.

Mom

Merry Christmas from the Slove's

We hope you have a wonderful Christmas!

O {Naked} Christmas Tree

The Choo Choo Train

The Dangly Boots Snowman

The Colored Snowflake

The Owl

The Beads-for-Legs Reindeer

The Sparkly Snowflake

The Zig Zag Christmas Tree

The Shiny Reindeer

The Jingle-Bell-in-the-Middle Snowflake

The Sparkly Bow

The Tree

The Gingerbread House

The Icicle

The Crystal Prism

The 2008 Baby Ornament

The Nutcracker

I mean, what could possibly be SO interesting about these ornaments that my kids leave the bottom half of my tree empty???

The New Bedroom!

So here it is! The entrance is to my right as I am taking the picture.

I love the bed. The headboard and footboard are so thick.

Here is my nightstand. There's actually a little pull out ledge on the top.

Here is the dresser and mirror.

Matt wants to put a flat panel TV on the dresser and put the mirror on the wall next to my nightstand. I'm not in love with the idea cause I love the mirror right where it is. It keeps the room balanced.

I saw you checking this out! This is a PB jewelry box that I've had for a few years. It actually hangs on the wall. I just have to decide where to put it. Isn't it so cute??? Do you spot some Tiff & Co and Lia Sophia in there? Hee hee...

The bench. I'm hoping this will help the kids get on the bed.

This shelf is leftover from the old room. I thought I would be putting it in Autumn's room, but I'm not ready to give up those hooks. I LOVE hanging my clothes up at the end of a long day. You know, instead of putting them away. Who wants to do that when you're tired?

Do you recognize those sparkly frames? PB!!! Where else?!

And I'm ready to throw the flowers away. I just need something colorful to replace them with.

I need to find a good place to put these boxes. They don't necessarily need to be out, but they keep all the memories and trinkets for both my kids.

These lamps we had in the old room, and they seem to work in this room too. The only downside is that the shades do NOT dust well. They just kinda smear. Gross.

Take note of the pattern on the curtains.

The curtains are leftover from the old room. I got each panel on clearance from Target for $6 each. I'm not married to them, but I do love how they block out light on a summer evening or for a nap. So because of that, I'm not quite ready to give them up either.

But you can see why I was sad at the lack of color in my room the night the furniture was delivered.

And last but not least, I would like to draw your attention to the dresser drawers.

1. I am going to replace the knobs with silver ones to match all my pretty silver frames and (hopefully) silver jewelry boxes. I mean, I have one jewelry box, but hopefully I'll get more for Christmas. (cough cough)

2. The top set of drawers are lined with velvet, so I claimed one entire drawer for my jewelry. NICE. I love that!

So overall, I'm glad I waited and found a bedroom set I love. I will love it even more with silver knobs. But I can't believe how reasonable it was in price, and I like it just as much if not more as the PB one.

Now I get to have fun and find ways to decorate it!

Whatchu Lookin At?

I've been quiet on this here blog lately.

Maybe that's why nobody comments when I actually do write something.

But everyday, I am writing something. But it's in my head. And it never goes to publish. Because I don't think anyone cares whether I write it out or not. Because there are no comments. Just silence.

But today, I want to publish a lot of things. All the things that have and will be going on. With me. And my family. In the month of December. And I'm going to pretend like you care.

So, here they are:

1. I got a promotion at work. Yesterday, my boss called me and told me about it. I will be moved up another level in my company and will have exactly 1 direct report. My dream finally came true. I will be somebody's boss. But more importantly, I will learn how to manage someone else and I will have the wonderful opportunity to mentor them and train them in everything I know. I'm very excited.
2. I dropped my kid on his head yesterday. I ran into an old friend at the Coach store last night and unhooked my son's stroller tray to get him out and show him off to her. But when I put him back in, I forgot that the tray wasn't latched. Bucky saw an interesting wristlet, went to go grab for it, and the tray shifted and opened, allowing my son to fall--HEAD FIRST--onto the hard tile floor. I officially suck as a mother. And now my friend knows it.
3. Christmas is here. In exactly 55 minutes, I will exit my workplace and have 16 heavenly days off with me, my husband and my children. I have plans of cleaning my house (yet again), painting my master bathroom green, washing my children's coats, baking a monkey cake (or bread--whatever), rehearsing with my nieces for our Christmas Spectacular--a little show we put on at Grandma's house (Matt's mom's) before everyone opens gifts, attending exactly 5 Christmas celebrations, and celebrating my boy Bucky's birthday by smooching him like all day long.
4. I have stopped dieting. And exercising. I don't know why. There isn't any excuse. I just have. But I have full plans of starting up again on Monday, December 28th. I will be starting what I call Round 2 of my quest to lose weight. And I have a fantastic goal to set my eyes on--vacation in March to Florida. (Aaaahh! I cannot wait to go. It's going to be so fun!) I have a goal of losing another 15lbs by my vacation, and I know I can do it. Dare I wear SHORTS that week??? I guess we'll see...
5. I have had an absolute blast spoiling myself over the last 7 months. No saving involved. I spent. I bought a ridiculous amount of new clothes. I started going to a dermatologist (which by the way is finally starting to pay off). I bought new makeup as a part of that. I bought new shoes and a LOT of jewelry, including Lia Sophia, whose jewelry actually turned out to be AMAZING and I love it. And I can't wait for my last two pieces to come in the mail. I have actually gotten haircuts every 8 weeks like you're supposed to. We got an iMac computer. We bought a new bedroom set. We've gone out to eat like whenever we wanted. I've just had so much fun. Which brings me to my next point.
6. I now have to chill out on my spending again. My husband and I need to go back to the Dave Ramsey Total Money Makeover plan and start on step 4: Saving for Retirement. We have some saved, but now it's time to hit it hard and bring it up to 15%. Yikes! I am so grateful my promotion will help us not feel the impact as much. But we will still have to get it back under control. It won't be as fun as spending money whenever I want, but I'll feel better that we are doing what's right with our money.
7. My daughter's hair is getting longer. She's very pretty. And she's getting prettier as she gets older. It's amazing to watch her grow up. She sings all the time. She dances every chance she gets. She cracks jokes about burting (farting). She is my little angel. I love her so much. I soak up the times when she wraps her tiny little arms and hands around me. It's like a piece of heaven every day. And I'm in love.
8. Autumn starts school in April, right after her 3rd birthday. I was so worried about it for the longest time, but now that I see so much maturity in her, I think she's ready and will be more than ready by the time her birthday rolls around. Her classes will be structured learning in the morning, and naps and playing in the afternoon. She'll actually have to learn how to play in a social setting. I can't wait to see how she does.
9. Bucky can climb the stairs like nobody's business. We have to be careful. He can master those suckers in like 6 seconds, and it's a full flight. He's also cruising and pulling himself up and down and crawling like a MO FO. Bam bam bam bam bam! Just hits the ground running (so to speak). I'm not sure when he'll start walking, but I doubt it will be long. He's a strong little dude and he eats like a HARSE. Last night, before the falling on his head incident, I took the kids to Culvers and ordered a whole kids meal for Michael too. He ate a WHOLE ENTIRE CHEESE SANDWICH BY HIMSELF. Holy Cow! I had to cut a deal with Autumn to get her to eat ONE chicken tender. But not him. He and his six teeth just mowed that thing to death. Nom nom nom! And get this, the whole time he was bopping to the Christmas beat in his high chair. Nom nom, boing boing, bop bop! It was the cutest thing ever.
10. Our bedroom set has arrived!!! I know, I know. Where are the pictures, right? Well, it was delivered on Tuesday. And when I saw it in the sunlight, I thought it was the nicest set I had ever seen. I was so excited, I was giddy. But then when the sunshine went away, all I saw was DARK. The set looks so DARK at night. And we have light khaki on the walls and white everywhere else. There's no color anywhere. Conclusion: When you're PMSing, don't have your bedroom set delivered. You will be depressed that the whole entire room isn't decorated at the same exact MOMENT that the set is delivered. Ugh! Am I a woman, or what?...

So, that's my life. Please, say something about it so I know you're there.

Thank you.

And Happy Holidays.

Sparkly, Shiny, and Oh So Giddy!

Yesterday, I woke up with a butterfly in my stomach. I hopped out of bed and ran downstairs. I opened my laptop and began to search.

Aaahh, yes. There it was.

An idea.

I knew exactly what I wanted for Christmas now. I thought of it in my sleep.

So I called my mother.

"Mom? I have some ideas for you for my Christmas present."

Then I emailed my sister-in-law who had drawn my name in the grab bag.

"Sheila, I don't mean to sound too presumptuous, but sometimes it helps when you know what people really want when you are shopping for them, so I thought maybe I could send some ideas your way..."

Oooh.


Aaaah.



A new sparkly jewelry box to go in my new bedroom.

And for my big chunky jewelry? A shiny new stand.

Ooooh. So shiny!

I have one of these shiny frames already.

But I don't mind if you want to get me more.

Cause I love them.

And not that I need a shiny bulldog or a weiner bank,

but they are so sparkly.

So maybe I do.

While visions of sparkly boxes danced in her head...

A Bedroom That Fits Us

Autumn's Room when she was a baby

At first, I had a hard time picking out what I wanted for Autumn's room. But when I saw these striped curtain panels, matching baby bumper, and bedskirt in the Pottery Barn Kids catalog, I fell in love. I decided to go with a pink and green theme everywhere else, which allowed me to buy her the chamois sheets I loved so much, and I went nuts from there.

In between the two striped panels (sorry, bad picture), I put one single butterfly sheer, which is so whimsical and fun. Kinda like a peekaboo affect.

And the best part of the room--her butterfly mobile and matching fabric butterflies of varying sizes resting on her wall.

My mother-in-law blessed us with buying the glider in the corner where I used to rock Autumn to sleep every night and read stacks of books to her. That chair holds some of the best memories for me.

On the opposite wall, I hung a white wooden mirror over a large dresser hoping she could grow with her furniture. I filled the shelves of her diaper changing table with adorable canvas buckets and totes. From where else? Pottery Barn.

Michael's room

The whole room was decorated around PB light blue chamois bedding and blankets--the softest substance on earth. I wanted Michael to love where he slept. His baby bumper is actually Carters chamois, but the sheets and blankets are all PB.

The white PB curtains were originally from my room--I gave them to Michael since they matched his room better. They fit perfectly with his color scheme, but will eventually get replaced with navy to match his "big boy" bedding once he moves into a bunk bed. Autumn will get her crib back which converts to a full size bed.

Green PB canvas hamper, blue PB chamois changing pad cover, chamois-lined baskets to hold diapers and wipes, and blue buckets to hold books and toys.

Autumn's room now

Since Michael needed to use Autumn's crib, we bought a toddler bed for her to use in the meantime. She was also in desperate need of a bookshelf, so the glider and changing table got replaced with a bookshelf and a dollhouse.

*****************

Two weeks after Matt and I got married, we attended a marriage conference. At the conference, the speaker said that the last room in the house that people usually put money into is their bedroom, because "nobody can see it". But he said that the bedroom should be the first place you decorate, to make it an escape for you and your spouse, and that it is the room where you should spend the most money.

I never forgot that. He was right. And now, it is the last place we have put money into, despite the fact that we agreed with what he said.

When each of my kids were born, I of course had to put money into their bedrooms. I wanted them to know I cared about them enough to give them a nice bedroom. I carefully chose the wall color, the furniture, the knick knacks, the pictures on the wall, and the adorable storage totes and buckets.

But now my children both fall asleep in nicer bedrooms than we do. There's something wrong with that picture.

Every Saturday (i.e. cleaning day), I clean our bedroom, but it never really feels clean. It's so mismatched and there really isn't a right place for anything. We have wrinkly white sheets and 2 different down comforters on the bed, a nude wooden-shelf nightstand paired with an IKEA beech fake wood 2-drawer nightstand on the other side.

Then there are the two dressers--an old painted white one (retrieved from a dumpster) that desperately needs a new paint job, and an IKEA birch fake wood dresser where only 3 of the 5 drawers work. A white shelf near the closet to hang clothes, and brown curtain panels that were on clearance for $6 each at Target. The room is horribly mismatched and a complete afterthought. (I'm saving pictures for a before and after blog post.)

It could be worse. But it just never felt like us. I love my kids' rooms. They are so cute. I put a lot of thought into both of them. But now it's our turn. I need to put a lot of thought into ours.

This week, our brand new bedroom set will be delivered. I know the first thing I would like to have Matt do is change out the dresser pulls so they are silver instead of a muted gold. And I'm sure Matt and I will have to decide on the layout of the room, like where to put the bench we purchased and the mirror that won't stay above the large dresser. (Cause the TV is clearly the winner of that space.)

I know I will be keeping my silver picture frames and silver plated wall jewelry box. And I wonder if I will still like my brown clearance curtains or the green PB duvet cover I have sitting in our closet?

But what else? What will I be doing to this bedroom to really make it us?

I wonder if I will decorate it differently in the winter vs. the summer. Will I change out the duvet cover and make it red for Christmas? Maybe add a wreath hanging from a big bow over the bed? Or what about when spring comes? Will I add little vases of tightly packed flowers on the nightstand and lighter, more airy curtains?

What about the lamps? Will I buy new shades since these don't dust so well? Will I create a Crazy Craft of 2010 and make an adult mobile/chandelier for the center of the room?

I have no idea. But I am sure that once we get our new furniture in, my mind will begin to swarm. Over time, I'm sure I will piece our new room together. I just hope it proves to truly be an escape for Matt and I, and a place of warmth, cuddles and kisses for our whole family.