Window Treats And Tealy Goodness

Our front room is a major work in progress. For someone who is strongly affected by her environment, I've become quite numb when I enter this room. It's a coping mechanism I suppose, lol.

What's it lacking? Well just about everything.

Why? Because we don't have couches.

Yep I've realized that I haven't paid this room much attention because the time isn't right for us to drop a bunch of money on a sectional that I've measured out for the room (one day, West Elm Henry sectional, one day).

So I've decided to no longer let our lack of couches bring down the rest of the room. And in effort to help this room not sound like an empty echo-y hall, I'm turning my eyes to our dining room.

Let me start by giving a quick glimpse to the layout of this room. It has a dining room, and then what I'm calling the piano wall and then the area that will have a sectional couch one day.

Yep, no fancy drafting software here, just some good ol pen and paper. :))

And here's some older photos of the room at it's finest...har har. This was when we had to empty our closets for new carpet. In the first pic, you can see the piano wall (left corner), and if you look closely you can see the blue tape in the right corner on the floor that is the measurements of my future sectional :), and then the crazy lookin dining room below. Wow-zah.

We've almost purged our house of every window treatment that was previously here when we moved in. All were an older once white blind, like what we currently have in our dining.

Well this post isn't touching those blinds yet, but it does touch on the much needed curtains around it. I've searched a while for curtains for this room. I'm drawn toward patterns like at Urban Outfitters, however I didn't want to commit without knowing what the rest of the room would look like. So I decided on a solid. And to my surprise, velvet.

And to no surprise, teal.

See, I've discovered without my knowing that I have a thing for teal/aqua/turquoise.

There's Finn's car seat...

 Our outdoor chair cushions...

My fuzzy blanket from Target...

And now these teal curtains.

Here's the before...

And after...

Mmm, I'm loving it. I love hanging curtains close to the ceiling...it draws your eyes up and makes quite a dramatic statement. With the shape of the room I was able to place the curtain rod so it appears that it's wedged between the two walls. Also when you hang your curtains like this it visually expands the windows instead of shrinking them.

I love my realistic looking fake lemons.

So here's what else I have planned for the rest of the dining room:

• Purchase a rug (probably jute or some other natural fiber for durability)
• Update blinds
• Hang art/mirrors (mirrors to reflect light in this cave like dining room and make it appear bigger)
• Find 6 solid wooden dining chairs on Craigslist (paint white if not already)

Anyone else have an eye sore of a room that you're tired of staring at? Or have you found some recent motivation and started to tackle a project? Nothing like checking something off a long overdue list. Like my sectional. The day that's purchased and moved in our house, I'll probably throw a party and sleep out there for weeks. :))

V-Day

Valentine's Day. Typically Rob and I don't celebrate V-Day, but you know what my favorite thing about Valentine's Day was back in the day? The crafts you got to do at school. The little bags you'd make and put on your desk to collect all your valentines from classmates. Aw, sweet memories.

So I did a little craftin to celebrate.

I just did a little somethin...wherever my brain took me. Nothing fancy. Ended up making a card for Rob and one for little man. And I had a plan for using those hearts.

Here's a pic of Finn this morning with his first Valentine's card. He was happy for about a nanosecond...then just needed some soothing. A first Valentine's Day can be rough on these little baby emotions. ;)

His first Valentine given by his mama. That's the way it should be, right? :)

Rob also surprised me yesterday and organized for my mom to babysit and we went to our favorite Mexican restaurant. Rob has this joke, although he wouldn't call it a joke, that no matter what he plans ends up getting messed up somehow. Lol. It doesn't truly feel that way, but we do make memories in the process. This night was no different. First, I can't recall the last time we got some serious rain here and lo and behold as we're about to head out, a torrential downpour arrives. With no umbrellas, I grab a trash bag (super classy) and put it over my head and we run to the car. And we quickly learned that this wasn't a quick Florida rain, this one was holding out. We couldn't find close parking at our restaurant, so we had to park far away down the street. It sounded like the rain was letting up right when we were getting out of the car, however, it was a false alarm. We get out and there was no turning back. The wind was blowing the cold rain in our faces and my trash bag wasn't doing it's trick anymore. Needless to say, by the time we arrived at our restaurant, we were drenched. And cold. And wanting a dry towel and a heater. It was hilarious. We got our chips and salsa, and I couldn't help but place the warm chip on my cheek for some heat. Lol. Oh sweet memories. Love him. It was so nice to just get out of the house with him and simply talk and laugh over our yummy grilled chicken tacos.

Oh and Finn did wonderfully with his Nana. He slept. Yep, he has impeccable timing sometimes.

Don't worry, Nana was awake while she watched him. :)

Here's a few Valentine pics that I took this morning...

Our very own little cupid. :)

Happy V-Day everyone!

One Month

Baby boy turned one month old yesterday

I was thankful to get a photo without Mr. Finnious fussy-pants coming out. But I told myself, rain or shine, tears or no tears, this photoshoot would go on.

The lip and almost tears did come out sooner than later though...

His little face melts me. So here's a little synopsis of your first month, Finn.

Dear sweet boy, it's been quite a month for you. Your first month of life has felt much longer than just a month. Maybe because of all the feedings every couple of hours since you're such a growin boy. You've showed us a few smiles this month, I think it's cause you're happy. Your favorite things to do are eating and sleeping and being in your swing. Oh that blessed swing that soothes you so wonderfully sometimes. Oh and you love love love to have your hair washed. I could just stare at you all day. You are so precious, sweet boy. Your mama and daddy love you so much. Happy one month!

Xoxo,
Mama

It's A Balancing Act

God. Rob. Finn. Family. Friends. Church. Decorating. Music. Blogging.

Lots of other things weaved in there too. How to balance it all...I have no clue. Lol.

So in effort to not lose focus, I wanted to start making a few little goals for myself...I probably won't be putting a timeline on anything, but to see it written out will help me.

God: My goal is to make a point to set aside time each day, I don't care if it's 3 minutes or an hour, no matter what, to either play some worship songs on the piano, read a verse/chapter, or just sit and pray. I'm most centered when I'm centered around God. And I'm not setting any time frames, because quite honestly I'm not the type that can follow a set schedule without it feeling like I'm just marking off a task on my to do list. It's the way my brain works. I just want to spend more time trusting what I believe and living it out.

Rob: Go on a date with this man...and not in 6 months.

Finn: Trust me, sweet boy, you've got my attention. I'm gonna try to be the best mama for you.

Family and Friends: Once little guy is less fussy and pumping is in full swing, go out with friends and family. I know this will happen eventually, it just feels hard to do at the present moment.

Church: We'll be there eventually. Missing LifeQuest! Thankful I can listen to the topics online.

Decorating: Start offering decorating services (for a small price) via mood boards. What is a mood board? They're a digital compilation of a room design or makeover. For example, here's the mood board I created for Finn's room...

The idea is to gather all the information (wants/needs/design dilemmas) from the client and find items/paint colors/art and create a mood board to be used as a guide by the client. The beauty of this is that the back and forth correspondence is done via online, meaning that these can be created for anyone, anywhere.

Music: Oh music. Oh writing. I miss you. I'll never let it die. And never want it to fall off my things that I want to do. It takes probably the most dedication, but I still gotta do it.

Blogging: Blogging has become quite a wonderful outlet for me. This is my 91st post. Wowzah. Can't believe I've stuck with it this long, but I'm thankful I have.

I just wanna make sure I keep my head around the right things. And not just one thing. Cause I can get some major tunnel vision sometimes, ya know what I mean?

Love to you all!

New Adventures

These past three weeks have been an adventure. An awesome, tiring, lovely, draining, beautiful adventure.

Still when I see pictures of myself with Finn, I naturally think I'm holding someone else's kid, but then in a nanosecond, I realize that it's my son. Our boy.

And then I swoon.

I was one of those who didn't grow up around babies. I was usually the youngest kid around. But during these past three weeks, I have found that these motherly instincts do kick in as I've been told.

There were things I was afraid of. Simple things. First, babies, specifically newborns, always seemed so scary fragile to me. To think of bathing, dressing, holding and nursing this fragile little being was a little nerve wrecking to me before having Finn. The funny thing is, he came, and I didn't think twice about these things...I just did it.

Yeah, the nights have been long, as well as the days. I'm learning the power of incredible multi-tasking and making the most of his naps. For example, here's how I'm blogging right now. :))

He's completely worth it.

Three weeks tomorrow. And here we all are learning and growing together. Trying to soak up each moment because I know time moves too fast.

I get it now. The obsession with babies. I never completely got it before. Don't get me wrong, they're adorable, but the obsession to hold a baby or ogle over him/her wasn't there for me (probably due to my previous fears listed above). But my goodness, I get it now. How precious this sweet soul is. I just want to hold him and kiss him and make him smile (one day!). Truly precious angels given to us. Such a blessing.

Oh Finn, you're messing your father and I up. In a good way. Goodness, I love you little man.

Birth Story - Finn Isaac

5:20am - Just three days past my due date, I wake up to go to do my typical bathroom run, returning to bed shortly after. Rob was already up for the day and wasn't in bed.

5:30am - After falling slightly back to sleep, I wake up to a kick and then a little trickle. I quickly realized that I didn't just pee myself. I got up with a pounding heart and walked to our bathroom. I then stood over the toilet and it was official, my water definitely broke. I then called for Rob. It took about 5 calls for him to hear me and come into the room since he was on the other side of the house...he gets there, and me wide-eyed tell him my water broke. He's smiling, I'm smiling, but just so shocked and in a bit of disbelief that it actually happened. He gets my phone and I call my mom. The reception is horrible so I lose her, then Rob calls her from outside our room. I then call my sister and tell her the news, she was excited. I'm pretty sure she wanted me to be induced days ago, she couldn't wait.

6:00am - Rob then calls his work to let them know he won't be coming in and I send a few emails on my work computer notifying my HR that I'm starting leave. The whole time I'm getting ready, I'm nervous thinking that the contractions are going to come any second, but still felt nothing. I then straighten my hair a bit, and end up braiding back my bangs (best thing I could of done!) I then grabbed a few almonds and drank some water knowing I wouldn't be able to eat or drink for a while. 

Waiting area at hospital

Temp when arrived at hospital, lol :))

6:30am - We get to the hospital and when we get to the front desk, I tell the guard that my water broke. It felt easier to say than, "hi, I'm here to have my baby today and I need a room." We then go and sit down in the waiting area, the whole time I'm nervous that contractions are going to start any second. We then get called back by a nurse and start the registering process. Afterward, we were escorted to triage where I changed into a gown and was assessed to verify my water broke, and then to get my very first IV inserted. Scary! But I did well. As long as I don't look, I surprisingly do pretty well with needles and such. (this is coming from a girl who has never been to the hospital since birth, no broken limbs, cuts or surgeries...needless to say, I'm inexperienced in that area) We had a great nurse who was very sweet. Every person we encountered made me feel so peaceful and at ease. So thankful for that.

While in triage we got our first visitor, my sister, lol, ecstatic to say the least. Between Rob and my sister, they both had me laughing which kind of hurt with the slight contractions (still just felt like a pulled muscle). I then was assessed by my dr, she found that my cervix was pointed downward which she hoped it would move as I dilated. Nothing to worry about at that time. We then got a second and equally ecstatic visitor, my dad. He lives the farthest away, yet he was there bright and early. His face when he first entered the room will forever be imprinted on Rob and my memory. He was so happy. Right behind him were my nurses who came to escort me to my room. It was so bizarre entering the labor/delivery room knowing what was going to go down in there, knowing that I'd be leaving this room with my baby boy.

9:00am - I was in the bed hooked up to everything. The IV, the blood pressure machine, the heart and contraction monitor. Still no pain. Which my nurses kept saying they want me to feel pain. "Pain is good." Rob and I also got a few more visitors, my dad came back again with my step mom and Rob's parents came in as well. My mom and Leah came soon after. My sister got Rob a bagel and a banana. I didn't mind that he ate at all, I wanted that man to be awake and coherent when the contractions came and time to push. :)

11:00am - I was assessed again and it was determined that I needed pitocin since I continued to feel no pain through my contractions. So the nurse started me on a low dose. The anticipation of what the first contraction was going to feel like had been a curious thought on my brain throughout this whole pregnancy. So I was a little apprehensive, but having Rob right there by me made me feel confident. I knew I could get through this. The contractions were eased on me by increasing the amount of pitocin given. Slowly they got stronger and stronger. Rob, my mom and sister were in the room with me and we discovered pressure points. Rob or my mom would squeeze the pressure point between my thumb and pointer finger and I had a cold wash cloth in my hand. I love me some coldness. They did feel just as many people explained them, a strong period cramp. I used to have horrible cramps when in high school and this reminded me of that, however, yes, much stronger. But bearable as long as there was recovery time between.

before and after epidural...(deuces for Lar!)

1:00pm - I was assessed again to see how the pitocin was working and asked if I wanted the epidural yet. I wanted to wait because I just didn't want to get it too early...I was still able to handle what was happening, yet I completely planned on getting the epidural.

2:00pm - By this time, the contractions were strong and super close together. The lack of recovery time between them was the killer. The moment I thought I had to breathe, another contraction came. My dr then came to assess me and I was 4-5 centimeters dilated and decided I was ready for the epidural. I should mention the personality of my doctor. Rob and I saw her at various appointments, my OB is a group, so you don't necessarily see the same doctors all the time, however, we saw this doctor often and really enjoyed her. She had a very calm and peaceful personality. Very soothing and right up my alley. Rob's impression of her is hilarious...she was absolutely awesome.

3:00pm - The epidural team came in and I was ready, barely getting a moment to breathe between contractions. A needle in the spine at that time doesn't sound scary at all. My mom and sister were kicked out, but Rob was able to stay. They had me lay on my side and curl up (which feels impossible when you have a watermelon sized belly and contractions. The doctor who applied the epidural then spoke through everything he was doing. "I'm inserting the needle and then in a moment your left leg will jolt and you'll feel a tingly sensation..." everything he said happened as he said it. Quite amazing. After the epidural was given and the tube taped up my back, I then was placed on my side to encourage further dilating.

4:00pm - I didn't feel any pain anymore, just maybe some pressure. I wasn't completely numb which I was thankful for because I hear that you don't want to be too numb. You want to be able to push when the time comes.

4:15pm - My mom and sister left to get lunch, and it was just Rob and I. We then got a call about a possible visitor coming and there was some kind of mix up so Rob went out there to ask that no one come back so I could rest. Well, not Rob's fault because he thought I was resting, but he was then sucked up in the crowd of people in the waiting room and ended up being away for a little longer than he realized. I couldn't sleep, I just wanted him back. Maybe I was feeling that things were close, because my dr then came back to assess me and I panicked because Rob wasn't back. He then came walking quickly into the room. He told me later that he got nervous he missed something because he saw my doctor and nurses rush into my room. Thankfully he was there by the time my dr assessed me and to my surprise, she said my cervix is lined up perfectly and I'm completed effaced and 10 centimeters dilated. The next statement she said was so shocking and beautiful to hear..."yep, you can start pushing".

4:45pm - Rob calls my mom and sister to get them there stat. They came running in like they ran a marathon, lol. I wish I could see video of them running down the hallway. :)) Pushing started around 5:00pm I believe. I felt inexperienced, but the nurses and dr just talked me through the whole thing. I soon realized I wasn't going to be one of those cases that pushed my baby out in three pushes, lol, so I just took each break as a chance to breathe. During this time I really clinged to the verse "with my God I can scale any wall" Psalm 18:29. I pictured God and I attempted to scale a wall together. We kept falling, but I knew with God's help we would get over that wall in time. It was a comfort and was incredibly meaningful to me.

6:00pm - Probably around this time, I was getting tired. I was feeling the contractions toward the end as well. Rob was great, kissing me and encouraging me. I could see on his face he hated seeing me struggle and be in pain. He was amazing. There was no scenario of me screaming at him "you did this to me!!!". He was precious in that room, I'll always cherish that. My sister helped a ton too during this part and my mom stood on some kind of stool behind them with her iPad filming or taking pics. Yeah, those will never be shared, lol, I don't even want to see them. At one point my dr calmly said, "oh...he's blond." He was really coming, hope filled me again as I went through a few more sessions of pushing and then Finn finally entered this world at 6:15pm.

To describe the whole experience of seeing him for the first time, there aren't words. The relief of seeing him combined with the relief of getting him out put me in a euphoric state. I was over the moon to hear that cry for the first time. They placed him on my chest and I met my son. Our sweet boy. He was perfect, and how amazing to see so much of Rob in him. They then took him off of me and he went to do his tests. At some point when he was doing his tests, he peed on my mom. Oh sweet boy. :))

Lots of surreal moments filled that night and the following days...our families and friends meeting him, Rob and I being alone with him at night time, changing his diaper for the first time, first bath, nursing, first dr appointment...so many adventures.

When the time came for us to go home, we left the AC and were wheeled into the lovely humidity of Florida. Poor little guy had to experience it soon enough. While driving home, I had a mama moment and started tearing as I sat next to Finn in the backseat. I was just so happy...felt so blessed. Am so blessed.

We're loving this boy and are looking forward to all the new adventures ahead of us.