8.30.2011

something old into something {tiffany} blue

A few months ago some friends called my husband to see if he could come help load and haul away their china cabinet. They had decided they didn't want it anymore and were going to send it to goodwill. So off he went to help. I remember thinking after he left, "hmm I can't remember what it looks like? I wonder if it's something we could use?" Literally in the next few minutes I got a text from my hubby, "are you interested in this?" (I had been saying on this blank wall across from the dining table, I either wanted to find a china cabinet or have a built-in that kind of looked like one.) So he sent me two pictures of it and I told him, just bring it home, we could paint it and if we still don't like it, we can just continue it on to its destination.



He got it home and we decided we could paint it....yes, tiffany blue. I took my recipe box lid with me to lowes to match the paint. We lightly sanded it (nothing too serious), dusted it off and then just started painting it. Now I don't know for sure, but I think because we didn't heavily sand it, the paint didn't go on very "solid" at all. We took a step back and it looked like it was done on purpose, kind of distressed. So we ran with it...we painted the whole thing, one coat, let it dry and that was it. We loved the finished product. I do still wrestle with do I want to switch the knobs, change out the bottom cabinet doors & line the inside with fabric/paper, but for the most part I am very pleased with it!


You never know what something can look like unless you just go for it! What's the worst that can happen? a) You either have to redo it and keep trying until you get it to look how you want or b) you send it on to someone else who will like it and/or do something else with it. You have nothing to lose!
So always oblige to help move something away, look on craigslist, or stop by that garage sale, you never know what you can end up with and re-create! You just might be able to turn something old into something {tiffany} blue! (or white, black, pink, green...whatever color your little heart desires!)


Until next blog...

8.25.2011

life in .*mommywood*.

So one thing I wanted to do with my blog, was to try and make posts every few days...as you can tell, I am a little behind this week! Happens when you are a mom, especially a mom of a baby, because a baby decides when you will and will not do things. Not in a bad way, but a baby requires more attention then say a 4 year old.

Before I became a mommy, I was a full-time nanny. I always assumed that nanny=mommy, and it pretty much does. Especially if you stay with a family for many years. You really care and develop a love for the children that you put all of your time into. But one difference I noticed when I became a mommy was a whole new level of concern. Example, when I would put the baby to bed as a nanny, I did the night time routine, put her in her bed, closed the door, turned on the monitor, and went on to do things I needed to do. As a mommy, it took me 7 months to let my baby sleep overnight in her crib. I just worried about her being alone in this "big" bed overnight. I never thought about it in that way when it wasn't "my" baby.

I also had a new experience Friday as a mommy vs. a nanny. When you are a nanny and something goes wrong with a child, like a high fever or uncontrollable crying (like something is wrong after you've tried everything..) you call the parents up, explain what is going on and see what else they would like you to do, sometimes resulting in them wanting to just come home. When you are a mommy, you have to try and figure that out yourself. And Friday I found myself going back to my nanny mindset, calling my husband asking what I should do! After the fact, I kind of had the feeling of I should have known.. "I am her mother and I should KNOW what to do," but sometimes you just don't.


This is why I am going to sometimes share my life in mommywood with the "world". Just in case I reach that ONE mom who thinks she is the only one going through something, but comes across my blog and says YES, I went through that too, I felt like that or I thought I was the only one. Because trust me, when you move into mommywood, there will be at least one time you will have a moment when you feel like you are the only one going through it.

Which brings me back to my Friday. It started as a normal day. Get the baby up, do the morning routine, and start the day. I noticed right away she was on the fussy-side and immediately started the routine of the rotation: being in her walker, playing with toys, trying a bottle & a nap. When the nap wasn't working, I decided I would try some Tylenol because it MUST be her teeth driving her nuts and making her fussy. Back to the rotation. After 10minutes of being in her walker, her fussiness suddenly turned into CRYING. Huge tears rolling down her face. So I picked her up and decided to rock her, I was thinking geez the last time she was teething it wasn't to the point of CRYING like this. As I rocked her, she started to clinch up and started to make a grunting or groaning sound. My next thought moved to maybe she is starting to get constipated...she did poo the day before, but it wasn't a "big" one, so it has to be that. I took her to her room to change her and feel of her stomach and maybe try some of those leg exercises I learned to help move things around. When I laid her on the the changing area, I first noticed her legs & feet being a grayish-purple tint. At first I thought, now surely my floors are not that dirty, but I soon noticed that was not the case. It was in fact her skin and they were cold. She was still making the grunting sound and now I noticed she was shaking...This made me start to worry and cry. I didn't know what was wrong or what to do.

I called my husband, told him what was going on and he asked me what I thought. I just kept saying I don't know. He said I should load her up and bring her to the office so we could decide whether we should take her to the er or try to get her in at her doctor's office. Plus his mother works at our office, so maybe she could help as well....maybe she was just constipated and I was over-worrying. So off to the office we went. By the time we got to the office (15-20min drive), she was burning up. She also became almost limp and didn't even want to hold her head up. I was at such a loss as to what was wrong with her and it was one of the worst feelings I have ever felt. I realize you can't know everything as a mom, but you still just feel like you should.

So we got to her doctor's office, barely got out of the car and a nurse had met us outside. She was trying to check her out and then I got her out of her car seat and the nurse shut the car door. With our bag AND keys still inside. So we had to call a locksmith while they were checking her over. My husband dealt with the locksmith while I explained everything she was doing. They decided to do a urine test and wanted to send us over for a blood test. They gave her some Motrin and sent us on to the lab. By the time we got to the lab her fever broke, she got her blood drawn and back to the office to wait for the results. They ordered them STAT but we still waited an hour and a half, which with a 9 month old in a room that seems to be getting smaller by the minute, felt like f o r e v e r. They came in and said the results were in and it was an easy fix, she had a UTI caused from ecoli. It explained all of her symptoms and just needed an antibiotic. I asked if they could just call the prescription in so it was ready by the time I got back to the pharmacy by our house, she obliged and we were on our way.

Getting in the car, I do what I do a million times...set my bag down, start the automatic start, set my keys down by her seat,  put her in her car seat, told myself DO NOT FORGET THE KEYS and then this time I thought, better grab my wallet for the pharmacy, get the phone to call the husband for an update, and don't forget the paci in case she needs it while I am driving. Shut the door and tried to grab the door as soon as I released it. TOO LATE. Keys AND THE BABY INSIDE. First thought was bust a window out, but I did remember that I started the car so we had about 10-15mins before it would shut off without the key in the ignition. Ran inside in near meltdown mode and told them I locked her in the car. They told me it was okay, it happens all the time and they will just call 911 because the firemen can get there and in faster than a locksmith. I'm still just bawling my eyes out and go back outside. They are hugging me telling me it's okay, I had a rough/emotional day and that it does happen all the time. It may happen all of the time, but you still just feel like you are a failure and that it doesn't. The firemen came, sirens blaring, and started trying to get the door unlocked. 3 firemen, 5 minutes of the car NOT running and they got it open. She was crying because she was scared with them being on her window, and we took her in to be looked over. She was fine, other than being sick and on we went (with help to the car) to go get her home.

Now that was my Friday...one of the worst days I have ever had and by far the worst thus far in mommywood. But through it all, we survived. A fussy weekend but slowly improving. Monday night was a night of no sleep. She was up most of the night and all morning-day. She finally crashed at 3:45pm and got a much needed nap! Monday to Tuesdays ordeal was now due to teething. Teething is not a fun phase...although, it truly is different for every baby.  

So to sum it all up, it comes down to this... even though I vent, cry & complain, I still try to take the approach I have since I got pregnant, enjoy every single tiny moment, good or bad, because at least I am blessed enough to go through all of this. This philosophy lies underneath all my stress and bad moments I have, even though I might not always show it, I do always stop and think about it. Some people never get to have a child of their own or some never get to hear their child cry or see what they look like...or one of many other things that happen to people or babies. You just have to step back, remember to say thank you and be grateful and embrace all of the moments...even when they have you awake at 2am.

Until next blog!

8.18.2011

[pley-room]

When we bought our home, we were expecting our first baby and we knew that a baby does not stay a baby long therefore she was going to need somewhere to play! We envisioned doing an addition. Phase 1:remodeling the original house. Phase 2:the addition. Phase 3:the deck. Phase 1 was complete before we moved in. Phase 2 started (& almost completed!) a few months ago. Phase (end of 2) and 3 are going to be started soon. When you are the owners of a roofing/construction company, your things are always the a)last to be completed and b)almost always done in the fall/winter months.. So we patiently wait to complete our master bath & closet and the laundry room. As well as our deck out the back door...But the good news is our home is almost all complete and is at least 100% livable. One of the spaces, other than the laundry, that I have started decorating is our playroom...

play·room [pley-room] n. a room set aside for children's play.

When I think of a playroom, I think of toys, books, a child's size table & chairs...tv, movies, art supplies, pretend area...you know a playroom! So I knew right away that I wanted it to be colorful, happy and bright. I wanted to have plenty of children's things but I also wanted the adults to be able to utilize the space. At first when we put our furniture in there, it screamed boring...brown...and just plan blah. (wood floors, tan walls, tan couch, brown chair, wood buffet, you get the idea, Brownsville!) It did not feel like a playroom at all. Then I decided, well I could add colorful pillows, some shelves with colorful accents on them and toys.

It kind of started when I found this little teal vase at michael's...then I found these glass bottles at hobby lobby and I thought well I will buy them, all else fails I will return it if I don't start to find fabric and such to go with it. Then I found some fabrics at hobby lobby and decided they would be the pillows. I just ran with this teal, pinks, multicolored setting. By now, you might start to gather that I am drawn to pinks, tiffany blue, teals, pastels, etc...and I have to say you are right. I can't help it...these tend to be my "colors". It hasn't always been this way though! Our first home when we got married was actually a grey sectional & black accented furniture, with black & white pictures and Marilyn Monroe everywhere...then I soon discovered that black furniture and 2 little dogs that shed white hair, do not mix. It wasn't exactly my plan to dust e v e r y single day!! So I decided after we moved, our next home would not have black furniture. I decided to take my love of creams, whites & tans with splashes of color, outside of the bedroom and into the "main" parts of the house.

So here we are today! The playroom is in the middle of its finishing (decor) touches. You'll see that I lack storage for the toys (I have been on the hunt for the perfect baskets or containers to put on the buffet to hold them) as well as, we need some more trinkets (or something!) for the shelves on the wall and on top of the buffet. I also want to do some abc artwork or something for the other wall (the one with the large picture on it) and/or we are considering some built-ins and a desk...but for the most part you can see which direction it is going. Oh and that would be my little assistant sneaking in some of the pics... :D


{fabric details}
front pillow fabric (multi): brother sister designs fabric
pillow in the back: leopard print


{fabric details cont'd}
teal fabric: solid teal fabric



{bottle details}

So there you have it, our playroom. Hope you enjoy it, find some inspiration or spark a new creative idea for your own home or space!

Until next blog!

8.16.2011

dirty laundry

We have a couple of rooms in the house left to finish on our list: 1)being the laundry room 2)being the master bath & closet.

I've started adding some decor to the laundry room because all it lacks are the cabinets and the sink..Now for a laundry room you can really go for whatever look you want. It's one of those spaces in your home where not everyone is going to see it, but it is where you will be spending a lot of time. So you might as well have a fun, enjoyable space to work in!

For me, my inspiration came from my washer & dryer. I fell in love with them the very first time I laid my eyes on them. That's right, love at first sight does exist! Now I realize not everyone is going to have a colorful teal W&D that can set the decor in motion, and that's okay! If your W&D are a neutral color, you can really go in any direction you wish. But for me, I went for a look that involved jewel tones because of the teal...

I will do a followup when it is complete because I have it all envisioned and planned. I just have to wait for the cabinet and sink to be able to complete my look! But here is what I have so far...






{the details}

1) curtain- multi pattern stripe fabric: sewn by none other than little o' me! ((sewing is a new adventure/hobby I am currently learning and enjoying I might add!))
2) vintage laundry prints- frames from: a)pink 5X7 baroque style frames and b) teal 5X7 recatangles
3) chandelier-((the key to making laundry time more enjoyable, I promise!!)) If you haven't tried placing chandeliers anywhere other than above a dining room table, I challenge you to give it a try...they spark a little happiness and a touch of glamour to any space! Other places you will find them in our house: over the kitchen sink, dining table, master closet, entry, laundry, & nursery..I would probably put them in every single space in the house but I realize it might be a little much :D And don't let a chandelier intimidate you, not all of them are expensive. Shop around, check places like lowes, home depot or garbe's...or even online. You can find fabulous chandeliers that aren't too gaudy or expensive, so don't let that discourage you either. I know some people think chandelier=gaudy or expensive but it really doesn't!

So that's where our laundry room stands right now! I can not wait to finish the look and have it all complete. But for now you can find me washing our dirty laundry under the glow of a chandelier darling!

Until next blog!

8.15.2011

e v e r y single time!




Is it just me or do babies KNOW when you are going to do things the next day?! I mean seriously, every single time I put things off and say we are going to do this tomorrow, little miss does NOT sleep through the night! I think it's her way of saying, you shouldn't put things off mommy...so here it is 4am and I get it! Lesson learned, no more putting things off until tomorrow, now can we PLEASE go back to sleep??!


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8.11.2011

DIY or BUY?

Recent Kitchen DIY...

Sometimes I just can't seem to find the perfect things for my home decor...I search and search finding some things that might work, but never truly finding the perfect thing that I am looking for or that seems to fit. I'm not picky where I look either...it can be anywhere from pottery barn, target, hobby lobby...tj maxx, anywhere. I'm just in the search for certain things that I just can't seem to find. Then I was fabric shopping, of all things, and had a light bulb moment...I'll just DIY! All else fails, stop searching for what you are looking for and make it! Just go for it! Not only will it be exactly what you were looking for, but you will have a sense of pride because you made it and you can't buy that anywhere :D












These are hanging in my kitchen! Above the sink, on the end of our cabinets. I bought 2 (5x7) picture frames (50% off @ Joann's) Acrylic Paint (@ Michael's for .99) and made the two pictures in Word. In the top one (Keep Calm & Carry On) I embellished it after the fact with a cute crown sticker I found in my scrapbook stuff!

DIY, Cute, Personal & Inspirational when I'm in the kitchen! Now go make what you are looking for, it may just be hiding inside you, not on a shelf at the store.

Until next blog!

8.10.2011

Here I blog...

I feel as though I'm a little late in the game to start a blog, but why not? I am a stay at home mom that has nothing but free time on her hands right?! (and all of the stay at homers literally laugh out loud) I think as a stay at home, I am starting my blog because I have a lot to say, tons of thoughts & ideas...and let's face it, communicating with my nine month old is almost always one sided. I know, I know, one day I won't get her to be quiet, but this mommy needs some conversation! So here I blog...

Until next blog!