Friday Randoms

1.  As a family, we got a new ipad for Christmas, and the kids are all about taking pictures and making videos.  As such, we've been finding all kinds of little gems when we open those folders.

2.  Jacob had his first Upward basketball game last weekend.  It was...interesting. I'm hoping this week will go a little smoother now that he knows what to expect.

3.  It was really cold a few days ago, and when I went into Jacob's room after he'd left for school, I found that he gave Mimi (his stuffed dolphin) a blanket before he left!

4.  Speaking of cuddly, the boys decided to have a "sleepover" in the playroom during the long weekend last weekend.  They spent two evenings tucked in bed with all their blankets and pillows and stuffed animals watching movies.  They actually even slept!  However, early Sunday morning, the first thing I heard was Carter whispering, "Get away from me, Jakey.  I don't like snuggles!"

5.  We have a few coyotes that have been hanging around the subdivision in recent weeks.  I snapped the picture below midafternoon last week, and I was so glad Shadow was inside!  I saw the coyote again yesterday just behind our fence and when I stepped out the back door to "shoo" it, it looked at me like, "Really, lady?"  So they're not exactly scared of people.

6.  Some of you know that we lost a friend and neighbor to suicide a few weeks before Christmas.  Another neighbor organized a run in his memory last weekend.  Frank did the running; I lent my moral support.

7.  Our library hosted a program for new readers where kids could read to certified therapy dogs.  Even though Jacob isn't a huge dog person, he said he wanted to do it, and he even brought a book about dogs.  I was picturing the dog as a sweet little beagle or something--- nope!  He had the biggest dog in the whole place!  To her credit, she was a sweet dog, and laid her (giant) head on his leg as he read.

8.  And I leave you with some big news:  My man Carter finally- FINALLY- earned his "No Diapers Party," complete with a cake and decorations.   Before the cake was even eaten, he was already propositioning me with things he could do to earn more cakes in the future.  Cake as a parenting strategy-- it could work!

Seasons

Yesterday, Jacob lost his first tooth.  Late that evening, after performing my very first duty as the Tooth Fairy, I remarked to Frank that I couldn't believe we had a child old enough to start losing teeth.

The next morning, he smiled at me with that gap-toothed smile that every kid smiles in the primary grades.  "Can I play basketball in the basement before I leave for school?"  he asked. And off he went, pausing briefly to inhale a poptart and some bacon  (we keep it healthy around here) before the bus came for him.

Later that morning, Carter and I met some friends from my mom's group in the Discovery Room at our local library.  The Discovery Room is an awesome space where kids can play with trains, puppets, Legos, etc.  The kids and I have been going to the Discovery Room for years, and it's especially nice to have available in the winter.

As the others arrived, I watched them lug around strollers and infant seats and diaper bags.  I watched them dole out snacks, wipe little noses, and play trains with one hand while bouncing a baby with the other.

Life has changed in such incremental little bits that it's hard to believe that isn't my season any more. Not that I'm an experienced mom or anything, but the whole new/young mom gig has a very limited shelf life, and I am certainly at the end of that.  As everyone said it would, this time has flown by.

Instead of worrying about cutting teeth, my kids are losing them.  Instead of washing t-shirts with cute little animals on them, I wash Nike socks.  Instead of wanting to be read to, they want to read to me- even Carter who has memorized most of our books!

(Okay, so maybe Carter's PJs have a cute little animal on them!)

Although I wouldn't want to go backwards in time, days like this are a reminder to savor every little bit of preschooler and little kid-ness that I can. 

Re-decorating Craziness

The new year always makes me want to organize and redecorate. I want to clean out every closet and make a huge trip to The Container Store to find cute little bins, boxes, and baskets for all of my necessary items (read: useless stuff).

So then I decided to use some of the Christmas money from my parents to redecorate our office and living room.  Here's how the office currently looks:

And because the rooms are on opposite sides of the foyer, I want to update the living room, too.

Here are my concerns with this space:

The floor in the entry and office is Brazillian Cherry, which I don't feel lends itself as well to the usual blues/greens/creams that I've used as I've updated the rest of the house.  

The desk was custom-made, and the cabinet above it was built by the previous owner, recycling the top of a neighbor's hutch.  This character is why we bought the house, and I feel like a bold wall color better highlights these features yet I think a lighter wall color might be fresher and more modern.

I like the current level of coordination and color-flow between these two rooms, and I'm not sure how to create that on my own.

And last but not least- Frank likes the red and thinks it should stay!

Now, I'm a smart girl, and I know when I'm in over my head, so I emailed one of my very favorite designers who occasionally does e-design.  I haven't heard back from her yet, but I'm hoping she will take me on as a client!

This week, I started a few small updates on our bathroom.  Seriously, we haven't made any changes here since we moved in in 2009.  New towels have been purchased and a new mirrored tray is on order. It's a small space, so I think I can just change up some accessories here and make us think we're in a new room.  

Another potential reorganization is the playroom.  The kids toys are changing, and rather than 234, 876 toy cars, we have fewer, larger toys such as a play kitchen and a "school room" easel/chalkboard. We also have a new TV that Frank received as a gift, and in true Frank style, he bought an antenna that gets randomly odd channels that he thinks are fantastic.  Of course, the antenna only works in the part of the room opposite the entertainment center, so for now the TV is on the floor.  The entertainment center is too tall to move to the other wall, because the ceiling slopes.  Do we need two TVs in one room (cable and antenna)?  Should I get rid of the cable TV, cut off the top of the entertainment center, move it to the opposite wall, and use it for Frank's TV?  These are the things I think about in the middle of the night.

Then, I realize my ACTUAL project in 2016 was supposed to be turning Carter's room into a "big-boy" room over the next few months.  That's going to be much, much simpler, though.  I've narrowed my bedspread choices down to three:

The one above would match perfectly with the navy, light blue and orange already in his room
.

This sporty one above just somehow looked like Carter to me.   This is kind of my "out-there" choice, since I typically don't like themed rooms.

And then there's the good old madras plaid.  Jacob almost got this bedspread, I've loved it so long. Maybe madras plaid with some combination of sporty pillows?  Maybe I will keep thinking...

So I've been like a hmmingbird fluttering from project to project, probably not making much headway in any of them!