July Life

My last couple posts have been about the house, so I thought I would play catch-up on the more personal side of life for a bit.
I find it boring to write about our daily lives for the most part, so I do try to wait until there is enough to write about. The house updates are more fun, I feel; plus there are pictures. But I will try to dig up some things to write about that don't involve paint or furniture.

Last personal blog was while Chris was in Denver, and I was sick, and I was up to my ears in paint. So, let's see, you know I finished the kitchen (thank the Lord), and you know I didn't die from my illness, and you probably figured Chris returned home from his trip... 4th of July was nice. We saw lots of family and worked in a decent fireworks display. The music was not to my liking though, so that kind of changed the way I enjoyed them. That, and I was trying to get Addy to sleep (unsuccessfully). We also had a spur of the moment change when my parents' car wouldn't start at the end of the show. We drove my mom back to their house so she could pick up another car to carry everyone home in. Luckily they eventually got it started and no one had to walk home in the dark. ;)

Adalaide had her 4 month check up. Everything is looking great. 11lbs 10oz, 251/8 ins. We saw a different doctor than our usually one, since he was out on vacation. I like our usual dr. more, but that's ok. She got 2 shots and an oral vaccination and oh-my-gosh, they turned her into hulk baby.

Chris will appreciate this

She would be doing fine and something small would set her off. I mean something super small; the paci would fall out of her mouth, someone would shut a door too loudly, I would put her down...or pick her up, etc. She would then morph instantaneously into this monster baby who would scream and cry for half an hour. She couldn't sleep well or eat for very long. This lasted for 2 and a half days. It was tiring...to say the least. It did pass though, and we have our happy, smiling Addy again.
She is getting really good at tummy time and is even trying to pull herself up on her knees. She's getting close.
As my mom said: "Stop that. You are too young for that. Slow down." I laughed, but I agree. She's a fair amount smaller than Lorelai was, so I think that adds to that whole be-a-baby-longer feeling. Still, 4 months, slow down kid.

Up to no good

Lorelai is doing well. I was amazed she didn't get my cold...Addy too, for that matter. She's just being her 2-year-old Lorelai self. Loving strawberry milk and french fries. My little health nut. Not. She has taken to applesauce lately, but only the kind in the pouch. *shrugs*
She does enjoy sweet potato fries, so I try to get them as healthy as I can. Then we still go through our usual yogurt, grilled cheese, banana, muffins, chicken nuggets, apple, pop tart menu. A Lorelai-themed restaurant would do quite poorly, I think.
She is also OBSESSED with The Lion King.
Simba, Nala, Mufasa, Scar, Timon, Pumbaa...the whole gang. At least twice a day I hear: "Naaaaaaaaaaaaants ingonyamaaaa bagithi Baba..." I made the joke earlier it should be my ringtone, just so Lorelai would light up every time it went off; but I think hearing it any more than I do might actually kill me.

We met up with a couple of friends this week for a playdate, which was awesome. We need to do it more.

Water!

I have been trying to make an effort to do more fun, local, inexpensive things with her, but having an infant and chronically tired parents makes it a little tricky. I think we've done ok though. We have hit the splash pad 4 or 5 times, and their little sandy beach playground area. We've gone to the aquarium and have visited a couple of pools and played in the crazy sprinkler in the backyard. I would still like to try to take her to the movies, but we'll see. I do enjoy seeing her enjoy life. It's pretty darn amazing to watch her grow, learn, and experience new things...until the crying starts.

In case you missed it, I have opened a supplemental blog that I will use more like a journal about my girls. It's for the cute little instances that pop up and that I don't want to forget. It's open to you all, but it's mainly for my own logging purposes...since I get a bigger kick out my kids than anyone else. :P

I have also been getting serious about losing a lot of this cursed baby weight. I don't like to talk about it much, maybe I prefer being modest, maybe I feel embarrassed, but I am so sick of looking in the mirror and thinking "Ugh". I still don't have much time or energy to devote to working out (though I think my lifestyle in general is pretty active), so I have been focusing on eating better and eating less. Needless to say, it's not easy. I can't (and won't) do anything too drastic because I am still breastfeeding, but I have been looking into supplements for when I am through nursing. I had a really hard time losing weight after Lorelai, my body just didn't function like it used to. I never thought of myself as "thin" until I pull out my old clothes and realize I am no. where. near. close. to fitting in them. We'll see how things go. I am not expecting a grand transformation, but getting within 10lbs of my pre-babies weight would be nice. Honestly, getting into pants with a zipper would make me happy.

We have been getting an odd amount of rain lately, and I love it. I am not so worried about my foundation cracking and it cools off the air from "burn off the first two layers of skin when you touch your steering wheel" to "maybe I can get the mail without shoes on" hot. Come on, Fall.

And then, there's Phoebe. Good ol' pup whose own eyes reject their very use and purpose. She has another eye ulcer. I took her in Tuesday AND Wednesday for her issues. After several prescriptions of eye drops, eye serums, and eye gels, not to mention pain killers and a lovely e-collar; we are finally on the road to recovery. The only question is "How long can we go this time?" I do hope we can find a way to control this problem. I am afraid to leave her alone for any length of time and with anyone besides myself. I know what to look for, I know what her symptoms are, and I know how to tell if it's healing. Did you know, that if you tackle an eye ulcer the wrong way, the ulcer grows and (in the vet's words) "melts" into the layers of the eye?! Holy. Cow. I am stressed about this daily. You have no idea. Yay, life.

Hard to sleep with the cone...and that goes for everybody

Well, I think that covers things. It doesn't seem like much, but all of this has eaten up half of our July and then some. Let's hope the rest of July and August goes by as fast, but not as dramatic.

P.S.- I also created an instagram account. Come find me.


M.LEWIS

Thankful for Nothing

The last couple weeks have been a bit of a doozy.

Between Chris leaving town, me finishing up the kitchen, Lorelai...being 2, and Adalaide crying for what it felt like days; I am kind of spent.

This rain came on a good day. I feel lazy. I feel lazy after I cleaned out and reorganized the laundry room, but still. I am sitting here in the familyroom watching HGTV by myself. Quietly. No one in my arms, no one in my lap. No one crying, no one shouting. Nothing is pilled up on my kitchen table, no toys blanketing the floor. The plants don't need watering (yay, rain), there is no mail to pick up. Dinner is figured out, grocery shopping is done. I have no more chores and no more errands.

It. Feels. Awesome.
Nothing is going on, nothing is wrong. Nothing.

It's been quite some time that I have experienced this. I'm sure it will fade faster than I could imagine, but for today, I am loving it. I am happily sinking into my chair, sipping my tea (that I don't have share with my 2 year old), and not watching Nick Jr.

Not every day I am so thankful for nothing. Keep snoozing my babes, it's been a long couple of weeks, indeed.


M.LEWIS

Just a Little Stripe

My latest home project was a minor one; which is good because my kitchen satisfied that "project urge" for a while.

I wanted to spruce up my laundry room; if you recall, but I didn't want it to be a big deal...at this point.

I like the striped look, but I didn't want it to over-power the room (it's a pretty small room) and I wasn't crazy about moving around the washer and dryer.
I had left over paint from my family/livingroom and kitchen, and I figured that would work nicely; tie the room to the rest of the house a bit.

I ordered, assembled, and placed a new shelf unit but I haven't purchased any baskets/bins/etc for my wall shelves. I also want to get a nicer rug for the door, but for now the single stripe is sitting pretty well with me. :)

P.S.-scrubbing the floor and door molding along with touching up the caulk make a huge difference in appearance.

UPDATE: I got some boxes for storage and finally hung up my drying rod to finish off the room.

M.LEWIS

The Kitchen Remodel Pt 3: The FINAL Reveal

If you have been following me, you know I have made it my goal to remodel my kitchen this summer. I have been busting my butt trying to get it all done, super fast. Why? Well, 1) I have a hard time leaving things "undone"; 2) I wanted to get it done before my almost-4-month-old is mobile and in my way; and 3) I just want a pretty kitchen. We moved in June 2011, so it's been 2 years with my "nothing-special" kitchen. It was just dying to be modern and clean. Once again, I have done all the projects myself (no hired help) and I have found the least expensive way of doing so...without skimping on style.

The first part was the countertops, the second was the backsplash, and the final part of the remodel was the cabinets.

Instead of ripping out the old cabinets and spending $$$ on new cabinets, I knew from day 1 I was going to paint them...otherwise, redoing the countertops first would have been pretty stupid.

After 2 weeks of sanding, priming, painting, and sealing, I am soooo done with this project.  Aside from the usual sandpaper, paint brushes/rollers, these are my tools:

Primer used:

Paint used: 

Sealant used: 

Also, my hardware choices:

Knobs for the doors:

Pulls for the drawers: 

(All items found (at the best price) at Lowe's.

I could go into detail of all the annoyances and frustrations with each step, but why be negative? I AM DONE! I installed the hardware today, and I am ready to share the final result. So here is the real reason you are reading; the before/after pictures:

BEFORE STOVE AREA

AFTER STOVE AREA

REFRIGERATOR CORNER BEFORE

REFRIGERATOR CORNER AFTER

SINK AREA BEFORE

SINK AREA AFTER

 (I know it looks like I forgot two drawers, but they are faux, and don't open...therefore adding pulls would be tricky and ultimately pointless.) I still am debating (with Chris) about changing the blue to a more neutral shade; either way I need to touch up the spots on the walls from the cabinet paint.

So there you have it, my last BIG project done. Queue the hallelujah chorus and stare in awe. Just one more time:

M.LEWIS