room by room : a room for Myles

It has taken about 3 months or so to complete but I can finally say that this room is DONE.  I am just tickled with how it turned out.  Originally the plan was just "vintage kid stuff".  And then before our baby showers I realized that was a bit too vague and headed more towards a vintage air plane theme.  

Now normally when I design a room in my head... it completely does not turn out the way I wanted it to.  I'm usually really sad at the end because I had too many ideas and no way to mesh them cohesively.  Or I give up prematurely.  Or I never have an idea, but instead get caught up in the world of Pinterest and do a "project" at a time and then it just looks weird.

Not this time baby.

So the final result... minus the baby.

1. Watercolor painting based on Snoopy and the Red Baron (including the book itself below) by my Aunt Debbie.  So so so excited to have this for Myles!

2.  Cheap bookshelf from Target.  I lined the back panel with some fabric that I found on sale at a local store.  Filled with books, toys, and the bins have things like socks and pacifiers. 

3. Our son's name in photos.  Made by a friend of my aunt whom I used to dog-sit for back in Louisville.  She was also a huge help in organizing everything for me after the babyshowers :) (Thanks Stacy!)

4. Planet Wise wet bag for dirty cloth diapers.  Haven't found a good place for it yet.  The changing table is a little too low to hang it from.

close up of the painting

1.  Faux metal letters I made the past 2 days out of paper mache letters, black paint, and silver spray paint.  (seen on Pinterest somewhere)

2.  The family rocking chair.  My mom rocked us in it, her mom rocked her in it... I had to take it.  Kyle's mom and grandmother made the pillow cushion and a friend of my grandmother's crocheted the blanket.

3.  Antique children's magazines.  My dad built the wooden boxes, I put a burlap backing in them, and they are suspended by furniture tacks pushed into cardboard.  I didn't want to poke holes in them or ruin them with tape.

4.  Simple lamp from Target.  I like the look of the new with the antique furniture.

5.  Antique plant stand (I think) from my parent's garage.  

1.  Sort-of 3D metal airplanes from an old friend-Megan.  I had just realized I had almost no biplanes for my biplane themed room when these showed up in the mail!

2.  Antique chest from a local consignment shop.  My grandmother got it for us when she came to visit a while back.

3.  Basket woven from what looks like old Japanese newspaper.  Found at Hobby Lobby...to be used as a clothes hamper.

4.  The crib.  From BRU.  Chevron sheet from Target, bedskirt handmade by Kyle's mom and grandmother.  Small tag blankie with biplane and his name is also from Megan.

5.  Biplane/cloud mobile.  I made this a while back when I was resting in bed for a week after overdoing things.  Clouds are made from paper, hoop is part of an embroidery hoop, wrapped in twine, with various biplanes I got at the babyshowers.

The mobile, and Myles' friends are waiting for him!

1.  The changing table that I made out of an old hutch bottom.  The doors are hiding the diapers, and wipes are in the drawer.  Spent several days sanding, painting, and sealing that thing.

2.  Shelf was made out of reclaimed wood I found at the Habitat ReStore for $1.

3.  Various old toys/antiques from family and friends based on the original decorating plan.  They still fit in really well with everything else.

So what do you guys think?  Pretty cool huh?  I just realized that I totally never got a picture of the rug that the rocking chair is sitting on.  Maybe one day you will see it... It is cherry red and majorly shag.

I had a lot of fun getting this room together.  Everywhere I look there is something picked or made with love from a friend or family member.  And better yet... none of it is too "baby-ish" so the decor should last him as he grows until we have to move again... or can be converted to slightly more girlish if he ever has to share a room with a little sister :-p.  

How much did I do in the room? Kyle helped hang the shelf and the mobile.  My dad hung the frames and planes on the wall.  I painted the wall (Valspar Sea Salt) completely alone.  Same goes for the blue furniture.  And assembly of the crib and bookshelf.  It was such a fun project and I wouldn't do anything differently!

random readings

I thought it might be fun to start a link post about things I have found interesting to read each week.  The stuff I sometimes share on Facebook but other times don't think about... but wish I had.  If you have a few minutes, I hope you find some of them as interesting as I did!  I am still not sure what day of the week this will officially fall on... but since I haven't taken pictures of the nursery yet, I thought this would go up today instead of a Weekend Replay (it wasn't a very busy weekend anyway).  

So what have I read this week?  Lots of baby stuff...

10 Things New Dads Need to Know About New Moms  (1, 3, 4!!!!!)

likewise...

10 Things New Moms Need to Know About New Dads  (2, 3, 4!!!!!)

and finally...

5 Ways to Help Your Stay-At-Home-Parent

I'm going to be reading more from her...and what do you know?  She has written a book!

Crotch Care 101

Not for the faint of heart... (Postpartum care list)

Confessions of a Doctor's Wife

Making Mistakes: Part1, Part2, & Part3

Advice from a Doctor's wife recently out of the trenches and into their first real job in the medical journey... what not to do with your finances.

Jen Lancaster

A few weeks ago I asked for book recommendations from friends... A friend from college recommended anything by Jen Lancaster.  I picked up "Pretty in Plaid" and followed it up with "Bitter is the New Black".  I have not been disappointed.  If you can get past her shockingly rude personality...it is a pretty hilarious memoir series.  I will be picking up one or two more at the library soon.  Nice quick reads :-).

Usually I am not this heavy on baby related stuff...but I have been doing a lot of prepping this week... so its just what I keep running across.  

Have you found anything worth reading lately?

five on friday

one

surprises.  My play-date mom friends used the monthly resident wife dinner night on Wednesday as time for a surprise baby shower.  So thankful for these sweet ladies.  Even more thankful for their openness with their lives to help prepare me for what is to come.  Because of them and other resident families (some of which I just met or have yet to meet), little Myles is going to be fully prepared with plenty of newborn outfits when he gets here :).  We are so beyond blessed by the people in this program.  I have really enjoyed all of the cards to Myles, welcoming him to the Surgery family.  :)

two

peace of mind.  At my last 2 doctor's visits, my abdomen has measured a little small for how far along I am so we had an ultrasound scheduled yesterday just to be sure that everything is good.  Thankfully it is all very good; he is an average sized baby in a little mom. He is just waiting to be born.  And just like I knew would happen, he wouldn't stop putting his hand in front of his face again.  We didn't miss much though... it was just a normal 2D scan so we couldn't see what he really looked like anyway.

three

laundry.  While my parents were in, dad installed a laundry line that runs from our deck railing to the random light pole in the middle of the backyard... so now I have a fantastic 20 foot line to dry future cloth diapers on, and little bitty baby clothes.  Which I love washing and folding as part of my nesting routine.  I got all of the new outfits washed last night so I can pick out his "coming home" outfit.  :)

four

rest.  I have made sure to get out of the house everyday, because I really just feel better if I get up and move around for a while.  Afterward though, I spend a lot of time resting.  I'm still restless, but I am trying to enjoy the peaceful time and cuddles from the cats while I still can.

five

(really wishing I had my camera on me this morning when he was trying to stuff the cats into the baby carrier as soon as he got home from work.  It would have been the perfect photo for this spot.)

kyle.  I'm so thankful for my husband.  I'm so in love with how excited he is to become a dad.  How much he already loves his son.  That he woke up a little early to be able to be there for the ultrasound.  That he called me later to hear how the last of the visit went since he had to leave early.  I know its going to be hard for him to always be around, but I know he will try his best for us.

any time now

Today I am officially 37 weeks pregnant.

3 weeks until my due date.

But technically "at term" now.  Were he to come today, he should be developed enough to be fine.  

These stretches and kicks are quite uncomfortable now.  It almost feels like I'm getting bruised under my ribcage.  But that might just be everything stretching and moving some more.  I guess it all just means he is a strong little boy in there.  

My parents came in this past week and helped us get more things done around the house.  The nursery is finished (hoozah!) other than waiting for one last decoration to arrive in the mail (and then I PROMISE to share it on here).  We also got my wall-o-frames hung in the living room (though only 3 frames actually have in them what I intend to have displayed).  And several cute outfits may have been purchased for Myles by my mother and I.  

Saturday we had our tour of the labor and delivery floor at the hospital.  I was pretty impressed.  The trick is going to be timing... assuming Kyle is working when I go into labor... I'm going to need to figure out someone to drive me to the hospital... but not until I have dealt with progressing to 5 minutes between contractions (go too soon and they will send me home), but taking into account that the drive could be about 30 minutes to the hospital (rush hour...).  This is going to be interesting.

So now we wait.  I will keep trying to add a few things to the freezer, force myself off the couch on occasion, continue getting things ready (getting the car washed today and planning on packing my bag) and attempt to keep things decent around here.  

I'm not sure what I'm looking forward to most right now... getting this kid out of me, or Kyle's month of night float being over.  I'm ready to have my husband back.

Dear Myles, I'm pleading with you to come a little early.  Not only would it let your daddy enjoy you during his entire week of vacation, but now your Uncle Lucas meeting you is depending on it.  (On his way to SC last week he got word that his AF training plans have changed... instead of training in TX in the beginning of Dec, he is now leaving directly for Japan on Nov 21st).

Early son.
Not late.
Early.

But right now I'm more concerned with whether I should have candy ready for trick-or-treaters next week (or if the kids only do trunk-or-treat at the churches).  

freezer cooking - burritos

i'm going to need a bigger freezer.

I'm really excited about all of this freezer cooking.  I have had small bouts of doing this over the past year or so and every time, I am glad I did it.  It is so much cheaper and healthier than running to the drive-through and really doesn't take very much time if you are just stock-piling one thing at a time.

In the past I have frozen quart bags of chili, breakfast burritos, and baked pastas.  I am branching out a little this time.  Monday's event was brown-bag burritos.  No idea why they are called that... ask the Money Saving Mom.  I ran across this recipe on her site a couple weeks ago when I was looking for something I could easily microwave and eat while comforting a screaming baby.  This fit the bill... and while it is already healthier than Taco Bell just because you are controlling everything that is going in there... I made it a little healthier by substituting fat free refried beans (because to me they taste no different than normal beans) and turkey meat.  I also only did half of her recipe because I want to make sure I like it before I make 20 burritos.  Also I don't think I have a pan large enough to do 2 lbs worth of meat plus all of the other ingredients that you mix in to simmer.

I have tried to include an idea of the cost of fixing these but had to guess on the ingredients I bought at Aldi since I had already pitched the receipt when I decided to write this post.  So its my best guesstimate.

Brown Bag Burritos

For 10 burritos- Adapted from Money Saving Mom who got it from Amy's Finer Things

• 1 pound ground turkey ($2.99 Aldi)
• 1 can fat free refried beans ($0.89 Aldi)
• 1 can red enchilada sauce ($1.08 target)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup diced onion (an entire large onion is like <$1 so I'm going to call this $0.10 since I barely used any of my onion)
• 1/2 of a taco seasoning packet (full seasoning packet at Aldi is $0.59  so $0.30)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (negligible)
• 2 cups shredded cheese (I used fiesta blend) (~$1.50 at Aldi)
• 10 burrito-sized flour tortillas ($2.48 Walmart)

Total Cost for 10 burritos: ~ $9.34 = $0.93 per burrito.  I mean come on... why not?

Time to make the burritos: about an hour.

Brown the ground turkey with onions. Drain meat and add all remaining ingredients except tortillas and cheese.

Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20-30 minutes.

Spoon 1/4-cup of the meat mixture onto a tortilla, sprinkle with cheese.  Fold sides in and roll up tightly.

to freeze: Wrap each burrito in a paper towel and then in a foil square (Dollar Tree has pre-cut aluminum foil squares... 25 per box for $1).  Put burritos in airtight ziptop freezer bags and store in the freezer for 2-3 months.

to serve: Pull out desired number of burritos. Remove foil (you can save the foil and reuse it the next time you make brown bag burritos!) and heat a single burrito in the microwave for about a minute or leave the foil on and heat one or more burritos in a preheated 350-degree oven for 30 minutes or until heated through.

I tried the pan-scrappings with a leftover tortilla after I finished the burritos.  Pretty tasty!  I think they will be fantastic with a little sour cream!  Very glad I made these.  I just might do a second round of them next week :).

baby prep

I am officially nesting.  (My previous post was about mentally doing it...this one is about me actually doing it.)  People thought I was nesting before... no I was just scratching a curious itch for trying new things.  Like building a mobile or baking cinnamon rolls.  Now its real.  We are less than 5 weeks from the due date.  

And I am freaking out.

Every minute of the day has my thoughts towards wanting to be "ready" (as ready as you can be) for Myles' arrival.  

To me, ready is having quick, relatively healthy meals to survive on when cooking is the last thing on my mind.  And having a house that isn't so gross dysfunctional organizationally.

My house is still cluttered (sorry Nana...) but progress is taking place.  I have sorted through piles.  I have washed (and ironed!) the crumby table runner and wiped down the table.  I have scrubbed the kitchen.  I have vacuumed the dining room.  I have vacuumed off the duvet that was covered in cat hair.  I cleaned the shower.  I folded laundry.  I have started making stacks of pictures for my wall of frames.  I have started stocking the freezer.  And I have been trying to do this all leisurely so I don't overdo it and get back to square one with pain in my hips (I'm finally mostly better...just really pregnant so always uncomfortable)  Problem is... all I want to do is stock the freezer.  Because that is fun.  I made a special freezer stocking supply run to Aldi Saturday morning while Kyle napped just so I can work on that this week.  And I even held back on buying everything I wanted because lets be realistic... My parents are coming on Wednesday... I won't work on freezer cooking while they are here and I need to use part of the next few days to clean.

What else do I want to do?  

I think the better question is; what do I need to do?

all of those errands that I will not want to do alone with a newborn.  I need to get the oil changed in my car.  I should probably get my eyes checked/new glasses ordered (they are covered with our insurance so why not?!)  Oh.... and figure out who his pediatrician is going to be.

soak in social time.  I have been really working on this one.  I have been trying to go to as many social events as I can... in the past 2 weeks I have had 2 play dates with the residency moms, gone to a Thirty-One sales party, gone to Oktoberfest in Greer, stayed up late at a resident's house watching football (ok the guys were watching football... I was enjoying conversations), and gone to Fall for Greenville (lots of local restaurants set up tasting booths downtown).  It has been exhausting, but oh so nice to know we didn't miss out on anything.

soak in me time.  I have enjoyed doing a little browsing/shopping while Kyle sleeps during the day.  I treated myself to a purse at JCP (on sale with a gift card).  I have turned thrift store shopping into a sport looking for good baby clothes for super cheap (can't beat $1 babyGap onesies that look like new!).  I haven't hesitated to stop for a pumpkin spice latte* if I feel like it while I'm out.  And spend hours on the couch reading a book?  Why not?

share my house.  I've neglected my blog.  I'm not sorry.  I haven't felt like writing lately.  But I would really like to finally take pictures and share what updates we have made... finally reveal the nursery to you.  Unfortunately this item is at the bottom of the priority list.  

I wish I could have done a whole "babymoon", or had some awesome list of fun things to accomplish before I'm a mom... but that just wasn't in our cards.  And I don't think we have done too bad making the most of what time we have had to work with.  

*Dunkin Donuts gift cards are welcome at any time (think of it as the new-mommy-sanity-fund)

nesting

I know... its been over a week since I posted.  I'm getting really pregnant... give me a break.  

I am mentally going into nesting mode. 

Physically not so much.  

My hips still bother me... Doc basically told me "sorry bout your luck".  So I've been toughing it out when its worth it (this weekend I went to the zoo and enjoyed Oktoberfest with Kyle). Other times, I just lounge around and read a book.  

While seeing the clutter around the house that is driving me nuts.

While thinking about all those meals I ought to be freezing.  

For the past week we have been getting used to Kyle's first night float... its a bit brutal.  Being home while he is asleep is much worse than being home alone.  At least when I'm alone I can crank up the music and do whatever I feel like doing...  For the past week I have sat in the living room and read while he slept.  

Until today.  He is so exhausted all the time that he seems to be sleeping pretty hard.  So I shut his door and turned on the kitchenaid mixer.  And I made bread.  Two loaves, one for now and one for the freezer.

And I didn't stop there.

I also threw together some homemade cinnamon rolls for the freezer.  How awesome does that sound post labor and delivery?  

He never woke up.

I can totally do some freezer cooking while he sleeps!  

The problem is going to be keeping myself from only freezing bread products.  But it is just so much more fun to make that stuff than to make real food!

Right now I'm thinking of slowly accumulating the following things in our freezer:

breakfast

cinnamon rolls

scones

breakfast burritos

lunch/dinner

chicken taquitos

sour cream chicken enchiladas

chili

baked spaghetti

marinated meat for the crockpot

bread products

sandwich bread

dinner rolls

french bread

I need to buy some groceries and freezer bags.