mia | seven months

The last month has been a big one for our little girl. She learned to sit up on her own, roll and scoot around any which way she pleases, and is trying her best to crawl forward. If only those silly little arms wouldn't get in the way. I watch her sometimes and think she's just crazy with every part of her body wiggling, trying her hardest to will her body forward, only to scoot a few more inches backward. This most often leads to getting stuck under furniture and effectively moving away from the very item she was trying to reach. And even though this is our second time around with a little one, I'm continually amazed at what persistent little learners babies are and, because of their almost constant practice, how quickly they learn new things.

It feels like time is passing so much quicker with Mia than it did with Laci. After an agonizingly slow first month, where it felt like time was standing still, the past six months have just flown. How is it possible she's over halfway to her first birthday?

She still doesn't have any teeth, still doesn't sleep more than four continuous hours at night, and is still just eating baby cereal. But I have a feeling all these things will change in the next month.

 

We will head down to Sacramento next week for a follow up with her surgeon and a chest x-ray. I'm sure our visit will confirm what we so clearly see of her everyday - that she is a nearly perfectly healthy baby. I'm hoping to stop by the UC Davis NICU to drop off some goodies and share Mia's pretty little face. The people who worked so hard to save her deserve to see how fat and healthy she is. I imagine that seeing healthy babies is one of the more rewarding parts of their very difficult jobs.

She also has an appointment with the pediatrician the following week, so we will get an official weigh in and length measurement, and sadly, another set of shots. We got sort of off-schedule with her shots because she had a cough and I canceled her last appointment, and then never rescheduled, and then life happened, so you know, we got behind. The awesome part is that our insurance has decided to start covering well baby check ups and vaccinations, so we don't have to go to the county public health clinic for shots. I have never vented here about going to public health because I didn't want to seem ungrateful for the services they provide (at a much more affordable price than the doctor's office), but I am so glad we don't have to go back there anymore.

Seven things I love about my baby:

1. Her blue eyes.

2. Her squishy cheeks, legs, arms, neck, body.

3. The way her eyes squish shut and her nose wrinkles when she smiles.

4. How she laughs deep in her belly when I tickle her.

5. How she loves to touch everything - my nose, Laci's ponytails, the toys up on the shelf.

6. How she likes to play quietly in her bed when she wakes up in the morning.

7. That she reminds me daily to appreciate life, even without knowing it. Even though, most of the time I feel like I'm barely hanging on, barely doing my job as a mother, not loving my children enough, there is always at least a single moment where I snuggle her little body or look in her eyes and feel so very happy and thankful for everything.

shopping for toilets and other stuff

There has been quite a bit of of progress on the house since my last update. It is possible that I see a flickering light at the end of the tunnel. Some day, in the very near future, we will be living under a single roof and I'll feel like I'm ready to begin living my life again. I hope that doesn't sound too bad. Clearly, this is our life and we are still living it, and even enjoying parts of it, but it also feels like we've been in a holding pattern and are about to be freed. I'm ready. We all are. And while I don't have an exact move in date, I do know it will be very soon.

Enough with the metaphors, you say? Where are the pictures? There are pictures, except when I showed up the other day, I realized I only had my 50mm lens. What does this mean? It means I can only take close-ups, I can't get a whole room in the shot. But that's okay, these close ups are like little teasers, glimpses into the details. You'll have to wait for the big picture another day when I can zoom out.

~ the master shower ~ 

I could bore you with all the details of what has been done, and what still needs to be done, but I won't.  Because even I am bored by these details.  I will tell you that Ryan and I went toilet shopping the other night, which is absolutely a group decision and absolutely requires you to test sit on each commode (with your pants on, of course). You might not realize it, but a toilet you like is an absolute necessity, something I learned only after installing a free, yet terribly designed, toilet in our shop. I severely dislike that toilet, it isn't a good fit, enough said.

 ~ a cabinet door and pendant lighting over the bar ~

~ the stove hood...I really, really can't wait to use my stove~

~ which isn't installed yet ~

~ hence, no picture ~

I will also tell you that I worked with Ryan for a few hours in the kitchen the other day and I am repeatedly amazed by how long it takes to get things done sometimes.  My intentions were to start cleaning up, vacuuming the wood shavings out of the cabinets and getting the concrete prepped for flooring, but we got sidetracked by installing hardware on the cabinet doors.  I rationalized that drilling holes through the cabinet doors would create a bit of a mess, so it didn't make much sense to clean the cabinets and then drill the holes.  So, we decided to "quickly" install the hardware.  After debating for twenty minutes if the door knobs should be 2" from the bottom or 4" (yes, this required much discussion, and handle holding, and handle moving), we decided to go with our first decision, thereby making the previous twenty minutes a complete waste of time.  I then measured door and drawer fronts, made a stencil, marked holes, and Ryan followed with the drill.  Then it got fun.  The door knobs when on without a hitch.  Woohoo!  The drawer pulls on the other hand were a complication.  Some of the pulls came with two sets of screws, a long set and a short set.  Well, the long screws were too long, and the short screws were too short, and some of the pulls only came with short screws, and it all really didn't matter because NONE of the screws worked.  Thankfully, my husband is the kind of guy who just has a bunch of screws laying around all the time and we got enough to work.  And really, my point isn't about having screws that are the proper length, it is that this "quick" job took like three hours, and then I had to leave to go take care of our children, and I effectively accomplished NONE of the things I had intended to.  BUT our cabinets have hardware, and although they are a cheap replica of the handles I really wanted from Restoration Hardware, I like them and we can now move on to the rest of the tedious little projects involved in building a house.

~ bin pull handles ~

You can thank me now* for not boring you with a list of chores we have left to accomplish, but instead boring you with a short story about shopping for toilets and a less short story about screws that are the wrong size.  I'm sure this is exactly the way you wanted to start your weekend.  Also, I will hopefully get my act together and get better pictures this weekend, like the final color coat of stucco that went up this week, and the laminate that is being installed at this exact very moment.  But, getting my act together only works under extreme pressure, and if I waited until then to post pictures, it is likely they would never be posted.

*You're welcome!

doors {you capture}

I have lived in the same town almost my entire life.  I have seen it change in many ways.  I have seen it stay the same in even more ways.  I often wonder what a stranger would see of this little town I call home.  Would a stranger find and appreciate beauty in the landmarks I have seen so many times they no longer make an impression?

Today, I ventured out to the Bath House in search of an interesting door for this week's photo challenge.  The Bath House was built in the 1930's near the river to provide restrooms and showers for swimmers.  It was abandoned after a major flood in 1937 made the river too dangerous for swimming.  I have never been inside the bath house (tours are available by appointment), nor have I ever considered it as an interesting photo subject.

It was an enjoyable five minutes of shooting (while my mom sat in the car with two sleeping babies).  I am thinking this should become a regular thing - me shooting my hometown, but with new eyes.  If it happens, I will share.

more of the same

It has been a nothing kind of day.  No crafting, no cooking, no doing.  Just sitting, and staying, and rocking babies.  For me at least.  I don't think kids ever have a nothing kind of day.  They are always doing.

Little sis has been doing a lot of rolling, spinning, and scooting, mostly backward.  I had hoped she wouldn't want to move so soon, but she is moving.  More and more each day.  Time to start keeping a better eye on the little toys that find their way into her path.

Big sis has been doing a lot of playing, imagining, coloring, wrestling with the dog.  I enjoy watching her play.  She does not like when I take her picture, so I get to shoot the top of her head and her eyelashes mostly.  That's okay, her eyelashes are pretty.

None of these pictures are from today, just some random ones from the past week or so, but they could have been from today.  So many of our days are spent doing the same things.  I'm mostly okay with that.  Every once in a while, it gets to me, and we go out and do something different.  Tomorrow I think we will go somewhere.  And I'll return home exhausted and be happy to do nothing again for a few days.

when it's a little too quiet

As I enjoyed a few moments of quiet yesterday morning, I had a nagging feeling that Laci was playing a little too quietly.

She was.

"Did you color all over yourself?" I ask, as if I'm not sure how this could have happened.

She grins wildly, barely able to contain how proud she is of her artwork.

In one of my better parenting moments, I smile at her, tell her how pretty she colors, and take her picture. Then I take a dozen more because her joy is contagious and I'm as much to blame for the "crime" as she is.

After admiring her work for a few minutes, I ask if she wants to wash her hands.

She nods sweetly and we enjoy some soapy, splashy moments at the sink. She is now proud of her clean hands, although the tummy art had to wait for bath time to be completely removed.

We discussed for the 426th time that we only color on paper and the white board, and everyone is happy.

Sometimes, occasionally, she makes being a mama easy.

And because I've been missing her face here...isn't she cute?

feeling spoiled

Here's a little glimpse into our Saturday morning:

Yes, her hair always looks like this in the morning.

No, she does not like wearing shirts lately.

Yes, she is eating ice, shirtless, in the Winter.

No, I do not understand any of this,

but I do know she is happy,

and that's all that really matters.

*****

Sometimes, I forget how many amazing people I have in my life.  I get so wrapped up in my little world, feeling alone some of the time, I forget that there are people out there who care about me. I just need to learn how to accept their help graciously.

For my Valentine's gift, the Mister tracked down my awesome hair stylist and made an appointment for me. I was completely surprised (he's such a sneaky guy sometimes).  On Thursday, I got my hair done for the first time since before Mia was born.  I felt so spoiled, and not just because she did an awesome job cutting my hair (like she always does), but because she spent over an hour just smoothing, volumizing, and styling.  She knew we were going out that night, so she gave me the extra special treatment.

Thursday night, Ryan and I had a date.  A real date, not the kind that involved a home improvement store, or grocery shopping, or fast food with the kids in the backseat.  Ryan's parents bought us tickets to a comedy show for Christmas, so we had dinner together and spent the evening laughing at jokes that probably should have made me blush instead.  I wore too much makeup, put on a shirt without spit up, and rocked my amazing hair.  No pictures.  Lame.  I need to learn to record those rare moments when I make a real effort.

Now, my awesome hair has been washed and I'm sitting in a hole-y, paint stained sweat shirt.  But, I still feel spoiled.  My mama made coffee for me while I took a shower, Mia is napping, and Laci is playing quietly (probably too quietly).  It really doesn't take much these days to make me feel spoiled, that is, when I remember to appreciate the little things.

sugar scrub

I have wanted to make a sugar body scrub for a while, but never got around to it. With my sister's birthday yesterday, and a quite limited budget, I figured that now would be a great time to try it out. And after I realized it only took about five minutes, I wondered why I had waited so long. Bonus: I made enough for myself, too.

If you've browsed the Internet at all, you'll know there are a hundred different recipes available, most of which are very similar to one another. So, I picked the most simple recipe of all, found on Pinterest, at this site.

I decided to swap the regular white sugar for raw sugar for a more abrasive result. You know, to really scrub that dead skin away. I liked that she used vanilla extract for scent, leaving the essential oil (which always smells awesome, but can be kind of pricey) as an optional ingredient.

Here's what you do:
Mix equal parts raw sugar and brown sugar in a jar. Fill the jar with olive oil, add a tablespoon, (or 2 or 3) of vanilla extract, and mix it up.  The oil will compress the sugar quite a bit, so if you want the jar to be full, you might need to add more sugar and then more oil again. It isn't an exact science.

Since I was making a gift for only one person, I used a huge 20 oz jar (found at Walmart for $2). I think I used about 1 1/2 cups of each sugar and 1/2 cup or so of olive oil. If you want to make a bunch of gifts, I would recommend smaller jars. Also, if I were to make it again, I would experiment with using only the raw sugar, just to see what texture it creates.

This scrub is super oily, as if you didn't already figure that out, so, unless you have really dry facial skin, I wouldn't recommend using it on your face.  You can also substitute the olive oil for something lighter, like almond oil, if you would like a face scrub.  I think the olive oil is great for hands and feet and elbows and knees, especially during the dry Winter months.  I used it in the shower this morning, and it was awesome.  The heat of the shower brings out the vanilla scent and I didn't even need moisturizer.  And yes, the color is kinda gross, especially in these pictures, but there's nothing you can do about that (that I know of).

And because my sister is awesome, and Pinterest is full of awesome ideas, I also crocheted her two washcloths. With some cotton yarn I had in my bag and a simple pattern you can find here, I thought these were the perfect colorful compliment to a jar of what looks to be scum.

One last thing. Before it is assumed that I'm Miss Super Suzie Homemaker, please remember that I don't currently have a home, which means I don't have to spend much time cleaning, which means I have time to do crazy things like crochet and make sugar scrub. I suppose there are some perks to being homeless.

Follow me on Pinterest here.  If you need an invite, let me know, I'll send you one.  That is, if you're ready to risk pinning addiction.