Happy Halloweekend!

Happy Friday Friends!
Hope your Halloween festivities are a scream.

cranky

 

yesterday was one of those days that i questioned my ability to be a good mom. 

i tried all sorts of things to help my fussy baby not be fussy.

we played in the leaves. 

lasted five minutes. 

he ate TONS of food by himself. 

lasted five minutes. 

played with Matty during dinner.

lasted about seven.

played in the tub. 

another five minutes.

an hour before normal bedtime we said goodnight to the world.
whoa.
i felt exhausted.
there is something about the cranky mccrankster that really drained me today.
so...
i sat and talked with syssa.
and finally blake got home.

the witching hour fast approaches

Just some last minute goodies to finish up the house...with almost no time to spare. I got the idea from my friend and ran with it. I love how they turned out.

Also get ready for some fun posts from the weekend. I am getting ready for our first Halloween Party that Blake is more than reluctant to let me throw! I don't know what his big fat deal is with holidays? Oh well!

the human experience

Today I read the story of Baby Ronan. The story left me feeling a bit vulnerable and disconcerted. As a mother, it also gave me some clarity and opened up my eternal perspective lens a bit wider. It is stories like Ronan's, or this, or this, or like Luke, who was lucky enough to survive, that have been teaching me more about the role of a parent than any parenting book will ever do. Although my heart aches for these sweet families, I am officially changed as a mother.
It is interesting that so many people are consumed by the success' of life. Especially when success has to do with being a good parent and vaulting your children into the skies of fortune. From birth, we begin to measure the development of our children in hopes that each measurement has met some unwritten expectation. An expectation with strings so invisible that some may not even realize how in control of us they may be.
My thoughts were provoked by a discussion I had with Blake about not pushing Nikson into certain developments, but letting him enjoy each step of the ride. We are pretty calm parents. Never stressing about Nikson eating apples before spinach, or if he should be growing teeth at four months. Right now he "should be crawling", but that is the last thing I want him to do. When he is motivated enough, he will probably just skip crawling altogether. But that opens up a whole new can of expectations. Will that cause him to be a bad reader? Or influence his choices of which college to attend? Most likely not.I think the only measurement that will truly invite our children to be successful, however that is defined by them, is through the measurement of the love we give them while we have them.
This article brought on a whole new meaning of love for me. Loving these little humans in the moments we have them. Nothing is certain. At least nothing during our human experience.
What a blessing the internet is that it enables us to connect with real people who open their hearts to the world. It is so vulnerable and scary and yet those who share strengthen others. I suppose that is why I choose to let so many people into my personal life. I write because it feels good, but some read because they need it.

Happy Monday.

Ronan story found via Bleubird

a long time coming

Let me introduce you to Blondie. 

 

 (Sorry this pic was taken under the carport so the shadows are all but flattering)

She has been a great dining companion since we moved into the little cottage. But she has been in desperate need of a makeover. I have been playing around with some ideas and searching Pinterest for some serious inspiration. That's how Clinton and Stacy do it so well right? I finally committed. I busted out Ryobi and found the finishing product more than fabulous, but not after I was feeling sick, betrayed, and worried.
I thought the old girl would just transition smoothly, but after the first hour of sanding I realized I had taken on a project that was more than I bargained for.
I sanded for two and half hours and after I finished I felt a bit dizzy and wobbly. It was like I had permabration from the sander. I started the stain after a quick dust off and my stomach turned.
IT LOOKED TERRIBLE!

I just kept thinking, oh no! what have i done?
Blake tried to make it not so painful by saying "she probably won't look so bad when she dries."
I kept staining. For four more days! Yeah, I know. I had a specific look and I just wasn't getting it. So I would stain, let dry overnight, then stain again. Finally by day four I felt the color was what I wanted. The only problem remained was that the stain was not setting and I was not about to get any poly-urethane. I really dislike the look of it. So my amazing neighbor Erin suggested Tung oil. (What The????) Whatever it was, it did the trick. Two coats of the miracle sealer and viola...a makeover to be confident about.This project took about all the patience I could muster, which was near painful. Can you imagine me waiting almost a week to get this back in my kitchen? It was a total sacrifice.

Finally embracing her age with true class. I used an ebony stain and sealed it with Tung oil. I also dipped her legs in a very soft gray (almost white). It just makes the kitchen feel a bit more finished and I love how the top turned out. It is a really smooth looking gray, almost like Restoration Hardware style. 

Look at that girl. 
Now tomorrow I will get Blondie's little sister stools done and I will be a happy camper...errrr... 
eater, I mean. 

nine months

 

It is hard to believe that nine months is already here. I feel so blessed to have been given the opportunity to be the mother of this amazing soul.

Nikson has been a total delight to raise and everyday is better. It is amazing how his little personality is actually not quite so little. 

He has things he likes, things that make him laugh, and ways of getting things accomplished.

He thinks crawling is for the worms and decided that rolling to get around is his mode of transportation. Most of the time I find him under my bed or wedge up against something that is too big to move.

He has five teeth, all of which came right at seven months and have not quit yet. Number six is slowly making it's descent.

He loves being outside, whether it's early in the morning or late at night. It's almost like he just wants some fresh air. 

He could lay under our tress and stare at the sky forever.  

He taught himself how to give high fives, wave hello and goodbye, says "Mama" all day long. Sometimes he will humor Blake with an occasional "DaDa". 

I think he knows Blake wants him to do it, so he holds off. 

Blake will kindly remind him that "Dada" was his first words and then politely ask him to say it and Nikson will give him a coy smile and then burrow into my shoulder. 

It's actually quite darling. 

 Sometimes when I watch my baby sleep or playing by himself I feel really overwhelmed. 

I think to myself, "Why would God entrust us with such a noble soul?" 

It really makes me think about how I live my life and how I respond to situations. 

Raising a baby is not easy and I have definitely had my moments, but raising Nikson is the ultimate pleasure. There is nothing quite like knowing your child loves you more than anything. 

Some people think babies are too little to know anything, but they would be wrong. 

This little man knows his parents and how to make them happy. 

I love it. 

The Patch

Every year we go to Schmidt's Pumpkin Patch to pick out the "most perfect pumpkins". We walk down the aisle and I ask Blake what he thinks about certain candidates. He replies with an enthusiastic, "It looks like a pumpkin to me." I roll my eyes and keep searching. This year I had some extra help. I would show Nikson certain pumpkins and he would kick his legs and flap his arms. I took that as a go-ahead and found three perfect pumps.

I also made this banner with the help of my friend Brandi. (I can't cut worth peanuts so she cut and I glued.)

I got the idea via pinterest. Happy Tuesday.

Hey Kiddo

(this was taken our first week hanging out, before we knew what we were getting ourselves into)

Sometimes Blake calls me kiddo. 

I like LOVE when he calls me that.

Weird.

Also, I have been listening to Beginners Soundtrack, it's swell for a night like tonight.

Sleepy Hollow

 (waking up)

i have a little mister who happens to love to snuggle with his mom at nights. i also am a mom who LOVES to snuggle with her misters all day. I have absolutely no problem with that. In fact, from the beginning of our relationship we have slept together with the babe. we have never rolled on him or suffocated him. I think i am too aware he is there. but there comes a time in a mother's life when she has got to let reality sink in and she has got to get some rest. i had seen other friend moms encountering the same perplexing difficulty and was encouraged by their triumphs and so i had to make the choice and severe the ties. after four nights of one sad night owl, two closed doors, and a loud heater, i finally can say that this little guy is sleeping through the night. he is finally on a schedule and i really love it. but i will say, with the permission of my bed partner, we sneak him in for family naps still. its just a sacrifice i am unwilling to make. 

 

i have to talk him into it sometimes.

  it starts with getting all cozy

and then it's off to dreamland for this sleepy squirrel.

(pictures via instagram)

something wicked this way comes

The little and the man are fast asleep in their beds. Boy have I got some goods for you.

I have a dilemma I come across about once a month, but the dilemma gets a little more frequent when October hits. You see, I have married a man who truly believes that decorating for holidays is quite ridiculous. He thinks buying holiday themed things are a waste of money. Although I do tend to agree with the mister to a certain extent, I can't help myself when I see something I really, really, really love. Luckily, I found some little items that will last me more than a holiday.

One thing you may need to know about me is that when it comes to clothes, I am a plain Jane. Not that I like anything drab, I just am highly particular about prints and patterns. Think simple and that's me. I have a huge ridiculous problem with the "puppies on the feet" look, or the "bear ears", or anything that has a Disney or Nickelodeon character on it. I am sorry if that is your thing, but it definitely isn't mine.  I really don't even like the "Mom's Biggest Fan" or "Dad's Superstar" stuff that has become so popular. When I found the owl pirate at Gap, the "Trick rrrr Treat is even a stretch, but I gave in. The owls are too rad to pass up.

Now to elaborate on the dilemma I have spoken of, the following story has been dramatized, uh I mean, played down and efficiently told for a greater effect...

One cold Wednesday evening, three days ago to be precise, I decided to add some finishing touches to complete my partially bone chilling and somewhat eerie home for Halloween. I chose Wednesday for it had gotten cold outside, the wind was whistling across our porch, the clouds were low, and dropping random drops of icy rain. It also was an evening, "you know who", would be at school. You see, I try to do these decorating things when Blake isn't home so I can be spared from his snarky remarks. Wednesday was my day and I quickly pulled out the Halloween bin as I watched him drive off to school. With hot chocolate in hand, the baby in his bouncer, and Bing Crosby warmly singing "The Headless Horseman", my witching hour began. But no sooner had it begun than my heart sank as I heard the familiar sound of my husband's super charger engine roll back up to the house. As I was placing the last of my webs, Blake walked up the walkway, "My class got cancelled. Hooray!" I smiled, feeling his excitement, but wondered how long it would last. He ducked under the webs I had strung across the porch and into our cozy cottage. Much to his chagrin, he found I had strung web all over our nicely tidy home. Webs covered the windows, mirrors, and picture frames. ( I admit, it may have gotten a bit out of control, but I was really in the webbing mood.) I winced, wondering what he would say. After what seemed like ages he finally spoke. "We should probably call an exterminator." His eyes were bright and he smirked a bit, "We have a rather large spider problem." I laughed and quickly whipped back, "Your mom has a spider problem." (No offense Cheryl., it's just what we kids like to say nowadays.)

 

 

Happy Weekend Everyone!

Halloween Giveaway

I am in the mood. It's a simple mood, but a mood none the less.  I decided to do a little Halloween giveaway to get everyone in the spirit. This cute little witch nesting doll will be one lucky reader's. I am sure someone out there is dying for a vintage nesting doll to adorn a table or shelf. Maybe to give as a gift? Just leave a comment with what you are going as for Halloween. I will close the giveaway Thursday and announce Friday.  And Canada...I will ship to you too! Happy Halloween.

** Giveaway Winner**

Cristina Morales said...

I'm not sure what I'll be, but Johnny wants to be a Crayon. 



Congratulations!

burlap and snores

Sir Nikson and I have been quite busy here at the homestead.  Blake is working full-time, going to school full-time, and mowing the lawn full time so we try to fill up those empty moments with some fun things.

I needed something for an open spot in the kitchen and this proved to be the filler. I fell in love with jones design company's woven pin board.
I am not the best at these crafty things, but I love how it turned out.

 

 We painted the back wall, and by we I mean, Blake and Nikson played while Mom hastily tried to finish during conference break. I wanted something that would make the palisades sofa POP! and I think the color did the trick. (Lessey, what do you think?)

We busted out the Halloween bin. It's funny how different houses create different looks. We have been in a different place for every Halloween, and so far, this house is my favorite.

This is also what I have come across in my efforts to do projects. I always wondered when he would fall asleep in the high chair. Early Saturday morning whilst I was preparing breakfast I turned to find my partner had given out on me. So I cook solo. Why is it that the mom never gets to sleep? I think it's because she has to be there to capture the moment. Check out those lashes!

Dr. Seuss said it best.

A Six Month Awaited Weekend

Every six month we get the opportunity to watch and listen to the LDS General Conference.

It's my favorite time of the year.

I love snuggling with the family and listening to the messages shared.

It is also fun because you can feel a change in the air.

Not only do I get to be spiritually edified, but it marks the beginning of fall.

A lot of people love spring because it marks the beginning of things.

Fall for me marks the putting off of old things, and a sense of renewal.

The changing of the leaves are brilliant in the Rockies this year.

The air is a little crispier.

And I now can wear cardigans and people don't think I am crazy. 

(I wear them all through summer, I know, heat stroke, right?)

Hopefully today I can 

get a wall in the house painted, 

some bulbs planted, 

and then tonight...

caramel apples with my sister.

I love this weekend.