My Slip is Showing, the Sequel

 Remember waaaaayyy back when I started sewing my very first slipcover? 

I actually finished it—ta da!

Decorating for the Seasons - Winter

When we purchased our current home, its decor was decidedly not neutral.  Each space had a very definite color scheme and those color schemes didn’t necessarily match with each other or our tastes.  As we’ve made changes, we have had an idea of general cohesiveness that we want to achieve, and we’ve kept a neutral color scheme in mind.  Most of what we’ve brought to the house is a palette of creamy tans, warm whites, and chocolaty browns.

Something Special Saturday - 2/26/11

We just got a brand-new baby niece, this month.  She lives far away from us, so we haven't met her in person...just in photos and videos.  I love pictures of newborns almost as much as I love newborns.  So, today's special picks from the blogosphere are all centered around babies and baby pictures, as a tribute to little Stella.  (Note: I'm not including pics from the featured blogs in my post because I don't want to infringe on the copyrights of any of the talented photographers.  Make sure you click on the links to enjoy the fun!)

Speaking of Stella, wouldn't you love to see the portraits from her sweet newborn session?

And About Happily Ever After

The other day, I wrote about choosing to spend time with my husband (here). I wrote about learning to appreciate the extra time I have on my hands right now, that I can choose to spend on our relationship. I ended that post very quickly, with thoughts yet to record , when my phone rang and the day carried on.

Later, as I read the comments, one made me stop and go back to the thoughts left unsaid:

I am neck-deep in mothering young children, and it's sometimes so overwhelming. I am that mother loading groceries and babies into the car, all the while trying to corral the toddler from running into the parking lot and oncoming traffic. And Oh No - the cart is rolling away and into that nice new car parked beside us...Whew!

When I wrote yesterday's post, I wanted to find a picture of Carl and Ellie of Pixar's Up sitting in their chairs. All I could find on short notice, was this one, showing them moving into their fixer-upper and arranging their chairs:

While it wasn't my first choice at the time, the picture I found is the perfect representation of what was on my mind while I was writing. The image I originally wanted to insert was just a small part of the whole story. And in the rest of the story, there is a lot of effort and many choices and not a little sacrifice. Marriage, even at its best, requires a lot of work. A lot of time. A lot of charity.

That comment made me think back to my days as a mother of very young children. How did I divide the little pieces of myself among so many needs?  How did I balance the needs of husband and children and myself?

About Ever After

{Contented Sigh.}

Well, it's just Hunter the Dog and I here at home today.  Just got the last two family members out the door for the day.  In fact, those same two were the ones lolling on the couches yesterday, looking pitiful.  Today, they left the house with bounce in their steps and PB&J in their lunch bags.  Bionic Man looks practically unscathed, unless you take a really good look at the back of his scalp and see the bump and the small cut.  And I was able to get every last drop of blood off the vintage Pottery Barn bedding that cushioned Bionic Man's landing after he conked his head on the bunkbed, thank you very much.

About that.....(Bionic Man's injury, not the vintage Pottery Barn or the bunkbed).....it gave me much cause for reflection.

Storytime

Once upon a time, there was a woman who was trying to clean up after dinner, help a child with homework, console another child who was very tired, listen to another child practice the violin, feed the dog, and talk to her sister on the telephone.  All at the same time.

You know, a typical weekday evening for any woman named Mom.

In the midst of all of these other normal, noisy activities, the woman heard her husband calling to her from the second story of their home.  He sounded upset.

The woman rolled her eyes and told her sister she'd have to call her back.  The husband must have run out of washcloths, misplaced his cell phone, found a hole in his favorite t-shirt, or something.

The woman climbed up the stairs, to discover her husband was covered with blood.  An actual emergency!

Random Thursday

Kids can be very, very funny.  Here are some things I've heard my kids and their friends say lately that I don't want to forget.

Justone:  (Said to me 1.5 hours before the school bus arrives.)  Um, Mom, all I need for school this morning is something I can wear that will make me look like a turn-of-the-century Russian immigrant who is a doctor and who is Jewish and works in America at Ellis Island.

Mission Accomplished

Whew!  My day went much better than anticipated!

The pediatrician checked Superkid for strep--negative.  Ears--beautiful.  Sent us off to the lab, for a quick urine work up and the tests our metabolic specialist ordered.  So far, everything has come back normal.  We had to wait a long time at the lab, but Superkid was able to go to school this afternoon.

With that out of the way, I was able to stuff the Bionic Man's car with red and brown balloons, and leave a card on his steering wheel.  Back at home, I dipped strawberries in chocolate, and wrote love notes to the kiddos and Bionic Man to find when they came home.  They were all surprised and thrilled!

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

Shhhh.....

Happy Valentine's Day!

I'm back!  And since the Bionic Man doesn't read the old blog on a frequent basis, I can tell you that I'm headed off to surprise him for Valentine's Day.  I haven't quite figured out what the surprise is, yet....but I'm thinking part of it will be 13 large balloons in his very small commuter car.  Good times!  

Since she's home from school today, Superkid will be my special assistant.  My special assitant and I will also be heading to the doctor and the lab and hopefully not to the hospital, but that is another story.

Something Special Saturday - 2/5/11

Here's a little somethin'-somethin' for your enjoyment:  a sampling of the things from blogland that have caught my eye this week.

Life in the Skating Rink

As my title suggests, it's been a little icy outside my house.  Today was the first day my children have been to school since Monday, due to the weather.  Luckily, we didn't get all the snow that some of the rest of the country got, but my town was encased in ice.  Literally.

Since my prime blogging time is while my kiddos are at school, I took a blogging break this week.  I put my kids to work and started several projects.  Now I'm on a roll.....I'm in the middle of several projects and I feel like I have to drop everything else and just get them done.  Do you ever feel like that?