Combs in Unlikely Places

We just spent the last half hour trying to rescue a comb that had been inadvertently flushed down the toilet.  It was not one of my brightest moments.  You would think that one of our two sweet, mischievous toddlers would be behind this whole shenanigan but alas, I only have myself to blame.  I had a comb in my pocket that I didn't expect and down it went to my horror earlier this afternoon.  

Heber and I set to work about 10:30, because really, what happens before 10:30 at our house?  It's always the time when something huge happens and we don't make it to bed on time ever.  He tried his technical tools including a long snakey professional one to no success. 

Heb stuck his hand in first to see if he could reach it and it nearly got stuck there forever, and really, how do I explain that one to the first responder that would have to show up to our house to save him, "you see, I accidentally flushed this comb and he was trying to fix it and couldn't get his hand out ever."  We didn't want that to happen so it was all up to me. 

In I went.  First up to my wrist, then up to my elbow and still I reached.  Before moving forward, can we just add this to the list of "places that I never thought my hand would be"?  Okay, good.  It took some time but I was finally able to jiggle it free.  I don't think I could have done that a year ago.  Perhaps all these poopy diapers have trained me for something. 

I am now heading to bed, sans comb because I couldn't in good conscience ever use it again.  It is sad because I've owned that one a while and liked it.  It's done good work over the years. 

So there's our adventure for tonight.  Gross. 

The One About a Keyboard

This old blog has been a little quiet this month.  Do you want to know the truth?  Well, I've been working on Amy's baby book and sometimes I just get one track minded on projects.  I just work on one thing and nothing else (in my little free time).  Do you get that way too?

Well, with all of the many things to talk about, today I want to talk about a keyboard.  I just barely bought a plug in keyboard to attach to my lap top.  My lap top has been a good little computer, peppy, runs well but, it drops key strokes.  I will be typing along and it will just leave letters out.  This is not a big deal in the whole scheme of things and honestly, I've just lived with it for the past three years.  But last week, I threw up my hands and started looking for a keyboard.  Do you know how much they are on Amazon?  $8.  Eight dolars!!  I could have avoided the three years of frustration for just $8.  I ordered one right then and there.

What else in my life could be fixed by just a tiny bit of effort? 

Well, now I'm on a mission.  Our first fix was a spice organizer.  I have looked through piles of bottles forever.  Now, every time I open the cabinet, I know where everything is.  So satisfying.

Ever since we moved into our house, there's been a corner in our front room that drove me crazy.  I kept putting different pieces of furniture there in the hopes of improving it.  What we really needed was a bench that would add some seating but have storage too.  We finally bit the bullet and went shopping.  There was nothing I even half liked for under $1,200.  We aren't really in the $1,200 phase of life with wildy kids.  So, we went to Ikea and got creative.  We started with this:
 

It's a sofa table.  Heber took it out to the garage and cut the top part and that I painted it.  And now it looks like this.

 

 It's just the right size for the space and it makes me happy every time I walk past it.  The whole space looks and feels so much better.  I'm still working on the bench cushion.  It's all a process, right but at least we're moving in the right direction.

Amy's Nursery

This is the first of many posts to come about the new house.  So many of our family and friends are spread across the US, I want to share our new space, even if you can't see it in person.   This is my favorite space in the house so far.  We all spend a lot of time playing in here, nursing, wishing for sleep....

Welcome to Amy's room.

Our little Amy was born amidst a whole lot of transition.  We were in the Logan two bedroom condo with no idea where the next months would take us.  I put together a little corner for her but never really figured out how to get a 2 year old and a newborn to sleep in the same place together. 

This is why it was so important to put together a special space for Amy in the new house.  I'm one of those people who like to have a nursery all prepared before they are born.  I want to mark the big occasion it is to be born and to be a person, even if they probably won't remember it.  But you see, I'll remember it.

This is how it looks most of the time.  Leo and Amy playing, toys everywhere!  This is how I like it best.

When I decorate, I want things to mean something to me.  I don't want to go to the store and just buy what goes together, even though that would be much easier, I want to have a connection to it if I'm going to look at it everyday.   Many of the things in this room were given to me from my mom and sisters, Heber built the changing table and his dad built the crib.  Most is handmade and I think that is even more special. 

Heber bought this poster for me when he was out in DC at the job interview for his current job.  It just happened to work perfectly in this space.

The heart mobile

When I was expecting Amy, I knew immediately that I wanted her room to incorporate two things, butterflies and coral.  The first time I was in the Amazon in Peru was the summer before my senior year of high school.  I brought a framed butterfly home.  It's blue and has been something that I've loved for a long time.  It reminded me of being an adventurer and seeing the world.  That trip changed my perspective about the world and myself.  Butterflies have had a special place in my heart since. In fact, I purchased the butterflies for Amy's mobile a full year before she was born.  Just thought I'd be prepared if it happened. 

Butterfly mobile

 I hope that Amy loves growing up here. 

There's a special place for Amy's blessing dress.  My mom made this using lace left over from my wedding dress.

The closets here are huge.  Her room is relatively small but it makes it a little better to have a nice big closet.

With sweet little house bedding.