Garden Boxes

I have a great husband. Ever since we put our backyard in, he's been planning to build some garden boxes for me. He designed three--this is the "big" one. As you can imagine, they will all be quite large.

These boxes have taken us forever to finish. Our backyard is not very level, so we've been ripping out sod, altering the sprinkler layout, and digging and digging and digging. I've also painted this box (2 coats) with some deck restore stuff. That stuff's crazy--it coats the wood really thick and rubbery. We are hoping it will be a good alternative to the pricier Trex and vinyl options we considered. Stain just seems too labor-intensive (you have to redo it every few years).

I can't wait for the finished product and I'm ready to move onto other projects. But it's been fun.

**Oh, and when hubby and I were trying to move the garden box out of the garage and into the backyard, an older couple driving by stopped and asked if we needed help. They seriously looked like they were 80 years old! I appreciate the gesture, but also had to laugh to myself. I guess we always think we are just as young as we used to be.

Gratitude

My neighbor recently announced that she was pregnant with twins. Amazingly, she has a 10 month old and a 2 year old, so I imagine it was quite the news. I just found out today that she lost one of the babies. She made an announcement on Facebook (a fairly positive one about welcoming a new child into their family, but that they lost one of the babies) and I've had mixed emotions reading most of the feedback. Many of the people are simply offering words of congratulations, "I'm so excited for you," and "I can't wait to meet the baby!" I am wondering how she is taking all of this.

I think I would be devastated. But also grateful to still have one baby. I'm not sure I would be very understanding, however, of the people who just ignored the loss of one child and were just "so excited." But I suppose they are probably just trying to be positive and supportive.

(This is me a few days after delivering Roo. I'm pale as a ghost and sooo swollen. I used to be embarrassed about how awful I looked after delivery, but now I see these photos as evidence of the best sacrifice I ever made.)

A friend from high school also just lost her baby at 32 weeks. I can't even imagine how hard that must be. I am so grateful to be a mother and to have a healthy child. I had to have an emergency C-section with Baby Roo because I had HELLP Syndrome. I knew I was sick and I was in the worst pain of my life, but it has only been recently that I have realized how lucky I am to have a healthy baby. And also how lucky I am to be here to raise her. I really could have died.

I've been doing more research on HELLP Syndrome to help me understand what I went through and what the risk might be for subsequent pregnancies. I've learned how incredibly blessed I was to get HELLP Syndrome so late into my pregnancy. So many mothers are forced to deliver their babies due to HELLP at 20 or 30 weeks. Many of those babies do not survive. I thank my Heavenly Father that I got sick at 37-38 weeks. I thank Him that my baby was perfect. And I am so grateful that I was the one who was sick instead of my baby.

I am learning that pregnancy and child birth are not as routine and low-risk as I always thought. A lot of babies do not survive, a lot of mothers get really, really sick, and a lot of families suffer a lot of heartbreak. I pray for peace for those who have not been as fortunate as I and thank my Heavenly Father for His gracious blessings.

A Case for Stay-at-home Moms

The other day, I heard about some negative comments about Ann Romney and how as a stay-at-home mom, she has never worked a day in her life. These comments were from a woman. Wow. . .

Why is it that feminism will fight for my right as a woman, but only as long as I want that right to contradict tradition? I have the right to be a career woman, but if I choose to stay home to raise my children, it means I will waste away my talents wiping dirty noses and scrubbing toilets? Sad. Women should feel free to choose lives that work best for them. We cheer and clap when a woman pushes past barriers to a successful career, but look down on the woman who sacrificed financial gain and status to stay home. As women, we should also celebrate a woman's CHOICE to stay home. Who better to advocate for women than women? Who to understand the rigors of motherhood and housework than a woman? Why fight against ourselves? Why is it only one choice is celebrated as the modern choice?

I am a working mother. I would love to stay home with my child. And not because I am lazy or lack ambition. I am an educated woman with goals and ambitions. I work hard, I am a professional, and I am a valuable asset to my employer. I know I make a difference to the clients I serve. But even so, I only have 18 years to raise my sweet baby. And with all the good I do at work for strangers and acquaintances, I am not so sure it is worth the hours away from my child. I want to be the one who teaches her to be a strong woman, to treat others with kindness, and to work hard. There's only so much time left, the clock's ticking already and I know the impact I can have on my children will last far longer than anything I could do at work. In the long-term scheme of things, I do not want to be remembered for my career but for the influence I have had on my posterity.

Shame on you, Ms. Rosen. And three cheers for women who sacrifice so much to raise their children--as stay at home mothers or working moms.

Is it actually time, this time?

It's been over 14 months since baby. I can't believe how quickly time passes. It's been quite the adventure learning how to adapt to life as a working mother. I really do not know how so many women do this--and with more than one child! I am an aspiring stay-at-home-mother and find solace in the hopes that someday (and hopefully soon), I will have the opportunity to stay home. Funny how I day-dream about being able to stay home to scour a tub or organize a closet! I wonder how long that will last once I actually have that opportunity.

In January, I was super-mom, super-wife, super-Amber. My house was clean--every day! I even found time to organize several of my closets and de-cluttered most of the rooms in my house. I planned menus and grocery lists and made healthy, home-cooked meals. I also had a consistent work-out routine. I was motivated. Amazing, this was all during a terrible period of a vitamin D deficit (which is so exhausting it feels like pregnancy!).

But something happened. And I don't know what. But I couldn't push myself anymore.

Two months later, I'm wondering why I burned out. I am particularly anxious to lose the baby weight. I always considered myself active and athletic. But I can see that's not really accurate anymore. I'm wondering how to actually get motivated. How do I care enough to make it stick?

During pregnancy I felt bad that I gained so much weight and so quickly (I gained about 40lbs). I wasn't totally consistent in working out (do you want to hear excuses about feeling exhausted or nauseous?) but I did not feel like I ate that much. Looking back, I realize that most of that weight was water-retention. I was sooo swollen nearly my whole pregnancy--my eyelids and nose were even swollen and my hands were so swollen I even got carpel tunnel. Ultimately, I got really sick in the end and I think the swolleness was perhaps related to my illness. Still, I fluctuate between 5-10lbs heavier than my pre-pregnancy weight and I was 8-10lbs heavier than I should have been at that point.

The following photos are motivation to get back to my old weight. I often think that's unrealistic, but I also know the longer I wait and the more babies I have, the harder it will be. This post is an attempt to get myself moving again and watching my food intake. Here's to hoping it sticks this time!

**Oh, the good ole' days when we all thought we were so fat! ha ha

Upstairs Bath

Love, love, love my blue bathroom. I am pleased with myself on how this one turned out and especially satisfied that I thought outside of the box--at least for me. I didn't plan on orange but had a small thought about the color wheel, talked myself out of it, but then found some orange on clearance, and then the fab curtain with orange accents. I decided to go for it. As with every room in my house, still nothing hung on the walls. I'm too non-committal! By the way, this is now baby's bathroom. Still have to touch up some details on the new bathroom downstairs before I take photos.

Fireplace--Finally Finished

Before

After

We finally finished the fireplace. It was very complicated to frame because there were pipes in the way but husband did a great job figuring it out. We got the fireplace from Alpine and they installed it. Father in law had a great tip and we saved a ton of money by having the plumber run the gas line instead of the fireplace crew. Husband and I tiled and grouted. And we finally got the mantle installed (custom built) this week. Now I have no idea what to put there. We tried the painting in the photo but it just isn't the right shape or size.

Totally worth the investment by the way!!

Framing

Step 4: Measure your top and bottom plates (green board--treated wood so it doesn't soak up moisture from the concrete) and cut to size. Next, mark each every 16" so you know where to place each stud (on center).

Line up a stud on each 16" marking between the top and bottom plates. For the basement, we also had to measure how long to cut the studs by finding the lowest point along our wall/ceiling. Upstairs, we kept all the studs the same length.

Use your nail gun to nail each stud into place.

Clean where your wall will go and place glue onto the concrete to make extra secure. Lift the nailed wall into place--remember your chalk-lines? Line up the green board along your chalk line. Use a nail-set (basically a small gun that shoots the nail into the concrete) to secure the green board into the concrete. Use a level to make sure plumb and level with existing walls and/or ceiling.

Basement Update

I'd like to do some more step-by-step updates on the basement, but I've been so swamped that I haven't gotten around to it and I'd like to post some kind of update. I'll hopefully get to this with actual photos within the next few days/weeks.

We are on track to meet our "finish the basement before Christmas" deadline. Our sheetrock mudding and texturing got finished yesterday. Our doors and trim were delivered today. And tonight we plan to tile around the fireplace. The doors and trim came many hours later than we hoped, so we'll likely spend tomorrow installing them (instead of husband doing it today during his day off). We were hoping instead to rent a paint sprayer to spray all the trim, doors, and ceilings. I wonder if that is still realistic? Probably not because I still have to paint prep. :(

Next week we'll be painting the walls with color. We've decided on a light blue; who knows for the bedrooms and the bathroom, though. It is hard to make color decisions, especially when you don't know what you plan to do with the decorating scheme yet! Volunteers are certainly welcome.

Next Friday the carpet is coming. After that we'll simply have to put the vent covers and light fixtures in. Oh, and get a mantle for the fireplace, tile the bathroom, install the toilet and find a vanity for the bathroom.

I can't wait!

Chalk Lines

Step 3: use a tape measure and chalk line where your walls will go (use your plans/blueprints). Our chalk seemed to get dumped out so we have a great big red mess--be careful that the chalk doesn't get tracked upstairs--it can be permanent or semi-permanent!

By the way, framing before plumbers come is way easier! We have a few big pipes that we are having to problem solve some solutions to work around. We also decided last minute that we might as well add a fireplace in the corner (gas). Better to do it now than have to rip things out. If you have any clever ideas of how to work around this pipe, let me know!

Bathroom/bedroom closet wall (with tub box on top).

Prepping for more framing

Step 2 on the basement project: take down all the insulation so we can build the walls. Wow was there a lot of insulation. Reminder: insulation is not comfortable near your nose, eyes, or skin! After we are done framing we will have to cut the insulation into strips and place it between each stud.

Back to Construction

We planned from the beginning to finish our basement as soon as we could. After taking a longer break than we anticipated and finishing projects outside, we finally got started. Step number one was to finish the HVAC, which husband and dad-in-law were able to successfully complete themselves. It turned out great and I even helped fill in the gaps so no air leaked. I am simply amazing! And hurray for DIY projects that save money!

Mystery

What do people do with the space above their kitchen cabinets? It looks so plain and dull, but I also do not want to make it look cluttery, either. I bought a few vases that coordinated perfectly with my color scheme for a few bucks each at Thai Pan and threw them above my fridge. But now what?

Oh, and what about plant shelves? I only have ideas for Christmas decorations--garland and statues of Santa, maybe?

Plates

I knew all along I wanted to put a plate rack in the kitchen, but didn't know what plates to use. I acquired the retro apple pie plate from Russell's grandmother, made use of a Christmas gift card previously unused to Thai Pan where I picked up the rack and the blue plate, and found the yellow at Wal-mart. I like how all of the plates have the tan/brown complement.

This is how much I love you all--posting a terrible photo of myself because I am sure you are all dying to know how big my belly has become. Maybe my excuse is with all of this decorating and sewing I am worn out--look how tired I look! This is me and baby at 23 weeks.

Painting

I went back and forth about hanging this painting in the kitchen. It just doesn't seem like anyone ever has a large painting in their kitchen, but after deciding on my curtains, I thought it coordinated too well. Plus, it matches my cabinets and I didn't know where else to put it and I really like it (or maybe that it IS so big).

Husband did a great job hanging it for me. It was challenging because the studs were not centered (obviously) but I think it looks pretty good. The frame got a little scraped up in the move, so I need to either use some leftover stain from the table or a wood marker to touch up the scrapes.

Kitchen Curtains

I need to get sewing again--I have to finish my nursery set. But, I was determined to finish the curtains I planned to make in the kitchen first. I needed some inspiration to know what color scene to commit to for the rest of the decor and I figured fabrics were a great place to start.

I was originally going to go with some pinks to compliment my green paint (I was surprised at this plan myself as I'm not really THAT into pink). But, we came across some tasteful designs with a different scheme. Husband ended up consulting me and we ended up with some fabrics I absolutely love! I am happy that I managed to match stripes with a pattern--that's usually totally out of my comprehension (or maybe husband did the matching!).

I couldn't decide between just loops or knots. I couldn't commit so I went with both.

I didn't originally plan to make the laundry room valence, but had extra fabric and decided to go for it. I like how it coordinates, but has more stripes than the rest of the kitchen to add a little contrast. I totally made up this pattern myself by observing features from a few store bought curtains and valences I already have. I have plans to get blinds soon. After I made these curtains, I decided to surprise husband and hang them myself. I was a little apprehensive but figured I built almost entire houses, I could manage. Not so. I ended up making a useless hole because I forgot about the metal around the window. Plus, when husband hung them for me, he followed my lines which we decided I placed too low. Oh well!

By the way, what do you think of the golden naked baby? I got it as a hand-me-down and swore I'd trash it, but maybe it's retro enough to get away with? At least for a laundry room?

I know most people make these door curtains out of sheer, but I wanted to add a little color. Both the tie back thing and the actual curtain are reversible so I can change to stripes if I need a change. I like how it still lets in some light but offers more privacy. BTW, I started to follow a pattern on this from the web, but ended up with my own creation. And the curtain rods are magnetic. Totally cool!

Window shade for the kitchen window over the sink. As you can see, it is adjustable. It works well for me, but husband has requested I add more buttons so he can see out the window better. Hmm. . . I guess I am a little ego-centric and didn't even think of that when I made it!

Halloween

Apparently my dog goes CRAZY for pumpkins. Weird. He couldn't get enough of the scraps--made for easier clean-up!

The great thing about being part of your own construction is the left-over tools. We used some painters plastic to keep the kitchen clean. Plus, a nail and utility knife came in handy for husband's design (below).

Husband's masterpiece. I was very impressed, especially because most pumpkin sculptures use special tools. Husband was limited to a steak knife, potato peeler (which broke), nail, and utility knife. Not too bad!

I was careful to plan my own pumpkin so the hanging man had enough support but accidentally bumped it afterward and he fell down. Luckily husband is very crafty and we strung him back up with a proper noose (sewing thread).

I've never been much into decorating for holidays. I think I am 1) too lazy, 2) too cheap, and 3) lack the decorating sense for regular decor, let alone keeping up with the seasons. My other excuse has been that up to this point, I didn't have a house to put the decorations in.

I did find myself, however, a little disappointed that I didn't have a single Halloween decoration. So I made my husband buy me a pumpkin--the night before Halloween. I was impressed with the ones we found--apparently the only pumpkins left at the store were monsters or teeny tiny. We went with the monsters.

I also tried to get batting to make spider webs outside and husband found a blacklight for the porch. Unfortunately, I unknowingly bought the wrong kind of batting and it simply pulled apart into fuzzy clumps instead of becoming stringy like webs. For indoors, I got a $2 ghost tealight holder. I know, I really went all out. We had some guests over for dinner and I bought an orange ghost plastic table cloth, some candy pumpkins and a few rubber mice (husband contributed a few mouse traps for effect).

I have decided that I can handle a tasteful wreath for each season. I am counting on finding a discount one after the season is over. Maybe next year I'll be ready.

Time to finally get to the nursery!

This is my little gummy bear--I mean, baby, at 9 weeks. I am now about 13.5 weeks and looking forward to the "golden trimester." I am optimistic the morning sickness and fatigue will be subsiding soon.

Just in time for me to resume sewing my nursery set (it was definitely put on the backburner while we built our home). I began sewing a yellow and blue nursery set probably 2 years ago as a hobby. Boy am I glad I started it early--being pregnant is tiring and I am glad I don't have to stress out about finishing a whole set by myself. I am excited to start sewing again. I hope I'll have enough time and motivation to also make some additional baby accessories--clothes, burp cloths, blankets, toys.

I plan to paint--or rather, have the nursery painted by someone else, yellow. I am semi-motivated to do it myself, but keep hearing insistent pleas from others that I will damage the baby with the toxic fumes. I wonder if that means I shouldn't clean the bathroom, either. ;)

My in-laws are generously providing us with a crib--once we pick one out. I found a cute one I liked, but I guess it was cheaply made with fake wood. The idea of getting a nice crib is that it will be an heirloom. Anyone know of any cribs with style that are also durable and high-quality (solid wood)?

I also know a nice chair is an absolute MUST-HAVE. I'll have to keep my eyes open.

Work Bench

Our garage has been a disaster since we moved in. Ingeniously, or maybe foolishly, we decided to load all of our belongings into the garage and box by box unpack and place everything in its place. It is taking significantly longer than I anticipated and I must admit I am losing steam. Where does all that junk come from and if it truly is junk, why can't I stand to part from it?

As soon as I heard my in-laws were renovating their kitchen several months ago, I knew I wanted the old cabinets. They graciously saved them for us until our home was complete and I just convinced my husband to finally put them up. At first he didn't see the vision, but the following is what he ended up coming up with.

Pretty cool work bench and storage area, huh? I definitely wouldn't have thought of doing this and I am very impressed with the way it turned out. I am grateful for the extra (hidden) storage space and like to see that every tool has its place. My husband really did a great job.

The best part, this entire project cost less than $40.

Cabinets: free

Counter-top: $3--old solid wood door cut down to size

Peg board: $15

Peg board accessories: $20

I like this alternative much more than the $350 workbenches my husband has been drooling over.

Open House

Found some photos from our open house.




This is my house on a cake. Funny!

View from the front

This is our view from the front of our home. We live right by a turf farm and several fields, which are very pretty. Word is an elementary school will be going in soon.

Notice the pheasant (a rooster) in the middle of the field.

Notice how exciting a hunting dog gets when he lives so close to a field--especially one full of pheasants.