going on 8 months + high chair makeover

Josie is changing so rapidly! Not only did she start crawling before she turned seven months, she hasn't reached eight months yet and she's decided it's fun to pull up on the furniture. *Gasp!* Her little body doesn't look like it's supposed to do that yet, but, dang is she strong! We had to move her crib mattress to the low position because she keeps standing up in there and hanging out like a little jail bird. She hasn't started cruising yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if she got that one on under her belt before her eight month birthday!

Here she is hanging at a the coffee table:

Sorry it's blurry! I rushed to snap the shot before she sat back down.

We've also noticed that she likes to watch tv. The other two kids didn't really seem interested in tv until they were around two. But she's definitely taking notice. Not good. Here she is losing interest in me and watching baseball or something:

Gotta love those luscious thighs!

See the owl onesie she's wearing? I adore it! It was a handmade gift by my good friend Betsy who had a little boy (Shepherd) a few weeks after Josie was born. I was so touched she made time to stitch me up a one of a kind beauty when she has her own kids to look after. That's just like her though.

Here is the other little project Betsy came through on:

What was supposed to be her helping me recover our old high chair turned into her completely doing the project for me! What a friend, right!? This high chair isn't very impressive, but it's functional and I didn't want to shell out any money for a new one. The old vinyl was so ugly, ragged, and dated (not in a good way.) I got some vintage oil cloth on Etsy for much less than I could get a new chair, even used. And now it has more life than your run-of-the-mill high chair. Thanks Betsy!!

the new bunkbed

Josie's crib is in my former office which is right off of our bedroom. Long term, our plan is for the girls to share a room once Josie sleeps through the night...probably after she weans. We decided to buy a bunk bed for when the little one transitions out of the crib and we found one we really liked at IKEA. Even though Josie most likely won't be sleeping in a big bed for another couple of years, we went ahead and bought the bunk bed while we were in Atlanta since we don't happen upon IKEA very often (boo hoo.)

The bunk bed has become the most popular place in the house. For the first week, poor Simon made teary requests to sleep on the bottom bunk. (Possibly related to the issue in my former post.) As a compromise, we've designated "school nights" as nights in your own bed, and "family nights" as nights where Simon can share the bunk bed.

Here it is. Simple. What I like most is that the top bunk isn't very high.

The canopy is like being under the stars. Very cozy. We also got a flower lamp for the wall. It casts a lovely glow at night.

During our Joplin trip, I found some vintage pillow cases, brand new in the package. I love the pattern and color. I switched out Ella's linens to all white so bottom and top match and the pillow cases add just the pop of color the bed needs.

Jungle themed vintage pillow cases

I'm so satisfied with the bed purchase since it was very affordable, is well made and sturdy, and the right height to keep my knees from shaking with little ones climbing up and down. And the canopy adds a sense of whimsy and imagination but also keeps kids from jumping on the top bunk (tricky, aren't I?) I do think we will go ahead and get one for Simon around his birthday/Christmas and use it as a loft bed. His room is about half the size of the girls' room and he could use the extra space to play. He's asking for a Superman room and it's on my to do list since I've never spent time making his room special for him. Now...to find the time!

it's just us...finding a happy medium

Well, we're doing our best to get used to a new rhythm of life now that Ella is in school full time. I must admit, it is a harder adjustment than I thought it would be. Things have just felt a little uncomfortable, like the ins and outs of our days just don't fit right. We miss her (I know I do) but it is still a sweet time with the younger two.

Yup. It's just us...

We've been trying to figure out a new rhythm for Simon as well since things have changed so much around here. Ella's day is so long, we're getting her to bed a bit earlier than what we've been used to, and with Simon still taking naps, (sometimes he can sleep three or four hours if we let him!) he just isn't ready to fall asleep when Ella is. For simplicity's sake, we'd like our kids to go to bed at the same time! In hopes of achieving this, for the last three weeks, we've ditched Simon's nap to make sure he's as tired as the one who is in school all day long. He loves getting to skip rest time and have "quiet time in his room" playing with toys, but we've noticed a real change in his temperament and we've faced many more discipline issues and emotional tantrums than we're used to with him. We've discovered, there really is no happy medium. We tried it, and it failed. After weighing the pros and cons, I re-instituted nap time, explaining to Simon that he's growing so much, his body needs rest. (Seriously! I think it's true!) He was slightly bummed, but here he is moments after I left his room today:

Think he might still require a nap? I had to wake him up over two hours later to go pick Ella up from school. I'm happy to report, we had zero tantrums today and he's back to his old congenial polite self. Long live the naps!

the top ten

This is what I'm loving right now:

1. Kissing the back of Josie's neck. It's so soft.
2. Kissing underneath Josie's chin. It's so squishy!
3. Simon's big boy haircut.
4. Being first in line to pick Ella up at school.
5. Hearing Simon "read" The Little Pony Engine. He knows it by heart and I love how he recites it!
6. Making special notes for Ella's lunch every day. She has come to expect it now and loves when I cover the notes with drawings.
7. Ella's new bunkbed. It has a canopy on the top bunk with the night sky on it. Simon wants to sleep in the bottom bunk so badly that we've designated non-school nights "family nights" where he can sleep in Ella's room.
8. Seeing how Ella has already learned a lot in only one week of kindergarten. Her writing has already improved greatly!
9. Standing in awe of Josie and her determination to get mobile. She's not only crawling, rolling, and sitting like a pro, she's pulling up and standing in her crib and against the couch! She's only just turned seven months for pete's sake!
10. The sound of Ella's giggle. She loves to giggle. And I wish I had it recorded. It makes my heart warm.

+11. (just for grins) Morning cups of coffee. I can't seem to get enough. I'll get this new rhythm of school life worked out soon. Till then, there's just not enough coffee.

birthday party #2

Ella really lucked out this year. Our trip to Atlanta was a bit of a last minute decision and we hadn't anticipated celebrating Ella's birthday out of town. I had already promised her a "storybook" birthday party that we've been talking about for several months since she's been enamored with writing her own stories. So, not wanting to go back on my word, last weekend, we had a girly little "storybook birthday."

The invitation that I never found time to mail out. In the end, I turned it into a less-than-stellar evite.

She invited a few of her buddies and they all came dressed to the nines. The don't seem to need an excuse to get gussied up.

We had a spread of delicious and less than nutritious finger foods:

On a side note, in my busyness, I avoided making the cake batter from scratch and ran to the store to pick up some chocolate cake mix. After reading the labels, I couldn't find a single one without partially hydrogenated yuckieness, and, even though I was serving junky food, I just couldn't bear making a cake with that stuff in it. So I grabbed the healthiest option I could find and it happened to be Bob's Red Mill Gluten-free cake mix. YIKES! I threw the batter together at home and the kids wanted to lick the mixers. I obliged and Simon put his down after the first lick. He questioned, "Why does this chocolate taste weird?" Indeed. I was nervous about serving the gluten free goodies, but in the final hour, I didn't have much choice! Fortunately, I made some chocolate cream cheese frosting and that seemed to cover up any mysterious flavor that might have slipped by a discerning palette!

Our storybook party included a craft time where each girl/mommy team got to create their own book with matching bookmark.

Our supplies. Note to self: itty bitty beads are not a great idea with three drooly babies present.

The girls enjoyed choosing pretty papers, stickers and fancy lettering.

Here are a couple of finished books:

Ella had loved the time with her friends, especially after that rough first week of school. I heard lots of little girls crying when their mommies said it was time to leave, so I guess they had a good time too! (Crying is good, right?) Ella has already decided she wants to have a "rock star birthday" next year, whatever that means. I don't know if I can keep up with this pace though! She might just get another gluten free cupcake.

kindergarten

It's official...Ella is a big kindergartner! Yay/boo hoo. All summer, the idea of her being away all day (9-4pm) has lurked in the back of my mind and I've reminded myself to make the most of our moments together. (Not always great at that...I must confess.) I never considered myself the type of mom who would cry when their child went off to school. Frankly, I just felt excited for her because that's the angle she's been taking. I mean, check her out!

She's got the uniform, all her pencils neatly sharpened and in a case, a brand new backpack full of all kinds of gear. And she's feeling full of anticipation about lots of playing and learning and general merriment. And new shoes!

And then, reality.

Do you see that look? That's the look of, "Where do I go? What happens next? Who will be my friend? Where's the safe spot to hang out?" Seriously. She's all composed in this picture, and in this picture:

but after I left the classroom, she melted in a flurry of tears. Her teacher told me she had to "fan her face." I totally didn't expect that one people. I thought she might be nervous and a little apprehensive, but not weeping.

So, she got through the first day with a couple of teary moments. That was good. Then at bedtime, she tells me she doesn't want to go back to school and she cries. Really cries. And my heart breaks. Because I can totally remember the feeling of anxiety she's feeling at undertaking such a big change with lots of unknowns and newness. And I want to rescue her, but there's nothing I can really do to keep her from growing up.

Day two was much worse. I promised to walk her to class again, but that I wouldn't stay because there weren't any other parents taking their children. When she was seated at her desk and the tears began to flow, her teacher, Mrs. Morton, whispered to me to "Just go." I whispered to Ella some words of love and encouragement and then headed for the door. It felt so strange to leave her crying. I haven't ever done that before. It felt so horrible to climb the steps outside her classroom and hear her call out, "MOOOMMMM!!" as she saw me leaving. I felt rather hollow and haunted by that. But I kept it together.

Day three, was the day I finally shed some tears. We had lots of conversations since school had started where I assured her that it would get easier and even fun the more she got used to it. I promised a special surprise if she could make it the whole day without crying. That seemed to intrigue her. But then when I took her to the playground where all the classes line up in the morning to proceed to class, it overwhelmed her again. (This change is significant since her class last year was only seven kids and this year it's twenty. Plus, the recess time is multiple classes together, all the way up to fifth grade.) I could see her lip start to quiver and her eyes well up. She was trying SO HARD to keep it under wraps, but it just refused to be squelched. I hugged her and she said, "Can I still get my surprise?"

That morning, I came home and cried. She is such a sensitive girl and I want to do right by her. I just hated to see her hurting and overwhelmed. Turns out, she has actually been missing me more than struggling to adapt to the social change. She told me that she wished her teacher was, "more like mom." To quote more accurately, she said, "I wish she was like Mom and we could hang out in the kitchen. If she was like Mom, I wouldn't miss you so much. But she doesn't have a kitchen at school!" And then she broke down. I'm so moved by how she communicates her feelings.

Anyway, to wrap this whole experience up, today was Monday, day one of week two. We got up early and played before school. After finishing up breakfast, we were getting her backpack together to leave. She looked at me as if something had dawned on her. Then she said, "You know what, Mom? I don't think I'm going to cry today!" And she didn't. Something just clicked.

It's all downhill from here. Phew.

end of summer

These last three weeks before school have been insanely busy. After getting home from our visit to Mimi's, we only had a few days to unpack, do laundry, then repack for a trip to Atlanta. I found myself savoring every moment with the kids while Ella was still underfoot all day, knowing that her start to kindergarten would mean a whole new chapter in our lives where I don't have a little buddy for every task I undertake. *sniff*

One afternoon, in the midst of laundry, the kids requested a tea party for their lunchtime. Why not? You only live once, right? So I brought them a fancy tray of tidbits that they shared in Ella's room.

Our trip to Atlanta coincided with Ella's sixth birthday. Seems we celebrated it every night of the week, starting with a trip to Chuck E. Cheese. We hadn't taken our kids there before (except Ella when she was under a year so she doesn't remember.) They went absolutely gaga for the place and we had lots of fun. The pizza was nasty, but they didn't care because they had soda and cotton candy. The best part was when the guy dressed up as Chuck came over to the table in his big mouse suit. My little sister Keely is creeped out by the guy in the suit and has been known to hide under the table when he is present. Simon assured her that Chuck E. was nice and "happy."

Carousel ride at Chuck E. Cheese

On Ella's actual birthday, my step mom, Cimi, went to an awful lot of trouble to decorate and make the morning special. My dad and brother, Ty, went out the night before (actually 2 a.m. the day OF) to get lots of cool balloons. Anyway, she felt quite special when she came downstairs and saw all the fuss made over her.

After breakfast and opening of presents, we got ready and headed out to the Atlanta Aquarium. What an experience that was! It was incredible. The kids loved petting the stingrays, playing on the indoor pirate ship and slides and seeing all kinds of crazy water life like sharks up close and personal.

Keely and Ella

My favorite part was the tunnel surrounded by all kinds of amazing creatures!

Josie's favorite part of the whole experience was this:

 

These banks of screens surrounded the whole main atrium. The colors shifted and changed and she was mesmerized. She also rather enjoyed this:

A vibrating, spinny ball of light thanks to Grampy

When we got back home, we had steak and all kinds of trimmings and topped it all off with birthday cake. I can't believe my little Ella is SIX!

Then, it was time to pack up and head back home...a very sad ending to a wonderful visit. Keely was so sweet with the kids and entertained them non stop the whole time we were there. I was impressed with her patience and generosity. She had activities for them to do and had put all kinds of planning into making things fun for them, including creating a "box of mystery" where each day they got to choose a prize out of a decorated box while wearing a blindfold. Keep in mind she's nine years old. How amazing is she? Needless to say, there were tears on the first leg of the journey back...goodbye is never easy.

Keely and Josie

Can you believe she's only 9? She's amazing.

post script: the sickies

In my excitement about all my thrifty treasures, I forgot to mention that all three kids were sick during our trip to Edina. Ella started out with the sickness...a minor cold. Then Josie chimed in with congestion and runny nose that got worse as the days passed. The last night we were there, I only slept about three hours off and on because she couldn't breathe unless she was upright. That was tough. But Simon was the worst off. On the second day there, he got a fever. Then he woke up puking. By the end of the day, he was complaining of ear pain that was so severe, I could barely console him. We got him all dosed up with Motrin for the remainder of the trip, but after taking him to the clinic back in St. Louis when we rolled back into town, we found out he had a pretty nasty ear infection. He's on ten days of the pink stuff now.

Why do my kids seem to always get sick when we take trips? I hope they've gotten it out of the way before we leave for Atlanta!

nostalgia (part 2) and thrifting treasure!

The kids and I had a great time in Edina with Mimi. I find time in northeast Missouri incredibly relaxing...the pace is just so darn SLOW! I dig it. I need to go slow sometimes.

Mom relished the time with the kids and spent lots of cuddle time with Josie. I know she'd kill me for posting this photo of her since it was first thing in the morning, but I thought it was too sweet.

She's so silly with the kids. They just love spending time with her and Ella giggles more with her than anybody!

You see why they love her? She's a goof!

Anyhoo, we took several trips to the Edina park I mentioned in the last post. I took lots of photos of the kids on the playground equipment just because it tickles me that they love the park that I spent so much time at growing up.

On the "covered wagon" at the Edina Park

Our time with my Uncle Steve and Aunt Elaine was really nice. Elaine let the kids make our lunch and they had a blast doctoring up ham sandwiches and pimento cheese and then cutting them out into heart or flower shapes. And then Elaine had them put their creations on a lovely platter with a doily underneath and the table looked so pretty with candles lit. It felt like a special tea party just for them. They were very good to my kids even though they DID bang on the grand piano.

Uncle Steve holding Josie

I spent some time uptown where I took this shot. I've always liked the side of this building. There used to be a restaurant/bar through this door in the basement called "The Blue Room." I used to love eating hamburgers here with my grandma and parents and they had amazingly greasy onion rings. We played Tron and pool in the back of the restaurant and always stayed away from the end of the room where the bar was since it was so dark and smoky. As a kid, this place held mystery and charm. I have a feeling I would find it dark and disturbing now...but I choose to remember it fondly.

Mom was kind enough to hang with the kids to give me some time to scour the two thrift shops uptown. I just LOVE going into small town thrift stores because people in rural communities think the stuff that I like is just old junk. I like finding treasure in the discarded! And it's all so much cheaper in smaller communities. I have to share what I found!

I've been looking for a small lamp to use at my computer station. My keyboard is on a slide-out tray and if it's evening or nighttime, I can never see the keys. My computer is in an IKEA cabinet and is narrow, only slightly wider than my monitor, so finding a mini light that isn't stupid looking has been a challenge. But all hope is not lost! I discovered the cutest little lamp that seems almost as if it was made for the little spot by my computer! And it was only five bucks!

Isn't he the cutest little thing?

And this afghan was only three dollars. You couldn't even buy the yarn for that price! The colors (teal and yellow trim) match my living room perfectly, it shows no sign of ever being used and I love that some little old lady made it. It's unique!

Then we have a couple of small framed pieces. I spotted a cheap framed paint by number. I know it's kitsch, but I like it anyway.

And the embroidered mattes in these two frames charmed me. I love that someone took the time to embellish them and I imagine doctoring up the frames and hanging them in the girls' room.

Did your grandma stitch these?

Finally, the pièce de résistance. I finally found a nightstand for Bryan's side of the bed. I've been looking off and on for a few years. And this baby was under twenty bucks! I love the little legs and small drawer.

Ain't she a beaut?

 

 

 

 

I won't bore you with the little cups I bought. But they're sweet and only a dime each. Edina is on it's way out, I think. But I still like visiting. And so do the kids. Thanks Mimi for the fun!