Loquacious Lady

Tom and I had a crazy busy December. The nine days leading up to our leaving town, we had plans every single night.

We left for Covington on the 23rd, and we were busy every day and night there doing dinners, lunches, Christmas Eve and Christmas day (both of which include a lot of driving around for us), and more.

I love seeing how much my family changes every year. We have always done a photo of our entire family on the stairs leading to the basement, where we do our Christmas morning. (It’s a finished basement. We aren’t just sitting in a musty basement exchanging gifts.)

But this year, we finally agreed that we have too many family members to all fit in a good picture on the stairs anymore. So we did just a grandkids picture. Aren’t they cute?

It was fun watching them open presents too. It’s always fun to see what gets their interest.

Ella was hilarious this year. She would watch her older cousins open presents, pick one, go take it from them, and say “Thank yoooooou!” as she walked away, their toy in her tiny hands. Kristen would admire whatever Ella brought her, then returned it to the rightful recipient when Ella wasn’t looking. Her cousins were very sweet about it all.

But then, after we opened all the presents, we still wanted a family shot, so we dragged a couch in front of the fireplace and posed. And yes, two of my nieces had changed into gymnastics leotards that they’d received that morning (most noticeably, the zebra print-clad Violet, front and center).

I wish I had some photos of us doing the same thing on Tom’s side, but there were so many cameras out there, that I had left mine packed during all the kids’ presents being opened.

After our time in Covington, we came back, unpacked, had more dinners with friends, and put away Christmas decorations.

So while all that we did was fun, it was also exhausting. By the time we reached New Years Eve, we had decided that our New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day would be spent chilling out, just us and the dogs. Tom and I made no plans and turned down all invitations this year.

In our living room, we have two couches. The one facing the TV has a queen-sized mattress that you can fold out from it. So on New Year’s Eve, we put on pjs and pulled out the bed on the couch to get extra comfy. Which is hard to do at 9 months pregnant.

We had Chinese food delivered, watched a movie, kissed at midnight, and went to bed. Fairly uneventful, but just what we wanted.

On the first day of 2012, we slept in. Then we spent the day doing nothing but what we wanted to do. We lolled about in pjs all day. Tom played a video game while I read books. We grilled out and watched some tv. It was relaxing.

The reality is that most days are completely packed for us. And weekends fill up before we know what’s happened. When Josey gets here, it’s not going to slow down any. So starting off this year with nothing to do was JUST what we needed.

How did you spend your holidays?
~Meghan

Today, Tom and I had Terminix come out to spray.

The guy who showed up was perfectly nice, wished me a merry Christmas, even asked about my due date…but he arrived over two hours early. I was still in my pajamas and glasses, and was completely unprepared for someone to ring my doorbell.

Twice.

Which my dogs loved, let me tell ya.

I got downstairs and saw it was someone expected- just not that early- and let him go about taking care of our yard. Then I went upstairs to put in my contacts, brush my hair, my teeth, and wash my face.

As I was doing that, this thought ran through my head, “Working in the pest control industry would be a great cover if you wanted to case a place.”

Yes, I know that sounds crazy, but think about it:

• People let you into their homes, or at the very least, they let you walk around their homes right up where the windows are. You can see the layout, what’s inside, etc.
• Home owners have to sign for the work, which generally lets you know A.) who is home during the day and B.) how big they are (in a fight, I would want that info ahead of time).
• If they have pets, you could find out how many quite easily. If they aren’t barking dogs, like mine, you can just ask because they can’t get in the spray/pellets that pest control people put in your yard for at least an hour.
• You can ask about kids the same way as with pets.

Okay. So, there I am, washing my face and thinking all that over. And it occurs to me that I think about this kind of stuff a lot.

When I’m at the mall, for example, I am always thinking about how I could take down the people around me.

Yep. Almost 9 months pregnant and not quite 5’3″, and I’m trying to figure out if it’d be more effective to elbow the dude in his gut, or rip his ear off (since his ear is so much harder to reach if he’s tall).

Then I go with my old stand-by of “if it’s a dude, take him down by his crotch. If it’s a girl, elbow to the face (or neck).” I’m also not above pulling a girl back by her hair and smacking her face into a rail or a wall. Not if she comes at me.

I know that most of you are probably reading this and thinking, “WHAT. Is. Wrong. With. You.”

I mean, at the mall, your “old stand-by” should be “do I buy this or not?” or “Food court or wait for a restaurant later?” Not how to most quickly take down the 5 tall guys walking towards you or the lady that just bumped your purse (because no way would I go down without a fight).

The problem is that I think I’m Dirty Harry, and in reality, it probably looks a lot like this:

(source)

So as these thoughts go through my head, I tried to think back to when it all started. I’m not a violent person.Why am I like this?

I grew up in a friendly little town. I wasn’t worried about being mugged, and we had so much privacy at our house that no one really rang the doorbell unless they knew us.

I do think I’ve always been a little feisty, and I can usually hold my own. These days, I might go into labor. But still, I grew up with two older brothers and an older sister. I had to be tough to survive that!

I think part of it started in high school when I would want to run grab something at the mall by myself. Tom would be worried because the mall was a little sketchy, and he hated for me to walk around by myself.

And I started thinking of how awesome it would be to take some mugger out and prove there was nothing to worry about as I walked through the mall.

Then, in college, I heard story after story of girls in Athens being attacked. Every year, a police officer came to my sorority and and taught us about self-defense…and told us more scary stories of things that had gone down in the past year or two in Athens.

That’s when I started imagining scenarios of people trying to break into my apartment and how I’d handle it.

I got strict with myself about always checking out the window or peep hole before opening my door for anyone. And I started sizing up people in the parking lot when I got into or out of my car.

Now I’m a grown up, in a neighborhood I like, married to a guy who would never let a thing happen to me if he was home to stop it. We have two dogs, and most of the week, Tom is at home with me.

And I still wonder if the nice Terminix guy can figure out where our bedroom is based on what lights are on upstairs when he sprays the backyard.

Dang.

Thanks, college.

~Meghan

Here’s Week 33′s Cartoon. If you have no idea what I’m referring to, you should read this post first. (It’s a comic strip of my pregnancy. I’m adding new ones each week.)

And trust me, I do think Josey is worth it.

But there are things far more awkward (in my opinion) than what I put in the comic strip today. Things that I don’t want to discuss on my blog.

Pregnancy OWNS you. The body you’ve had your whole life is no longer yours. Everything you are used to just goes away and leaves you with this new body that cares very little about how you think it should behave.

And that’s why I think being a mom must be super awesome. Because it would have to be to go through this again and again.

~Meghan

You know those emails that used to be popular, where a friend would fill out answers to all these questions, and then send it to his/her friends, and they would all reply with their answers? And then you knew everyone’s favorite color and food and what they were most scared of?

I’m going to do a Christmas version of that with my blog. Because I like knowing things about you people. Especially since you already know a lot about me.

1. Christmas music- when should you start listening to it?

Tom and I try to hold off listening to Christmas music until Thanksgiving night. Every now and then we slip up and cheat by listening to a song before then, but we’re pretty strict about saving Christmas music for Christmas time. Same goes for Christmas decorations and movies.

2. When do you put up your Christmas tree? Real or fake?

Tom and I have always gotten our Christmas trees the day after Thanksgiving. Until this year. This year I had a photoshoot that had me getting home late, and we were both tired. So we went two days after Thanksgiving. 

We always do a real tree for our main one. They smell so good, and I like the tradition of hunting down the perfect tree. (I think I like that more than Tom because I’m super picky. I like BIG trees. Tall, lots of full branches, and only may have one bald spot, because we can make it face the wall.)

Upstairs we do a fake tree. Eventually I’d like a fake tree in every bedroom too.

3. Themed decorations on the tree or a mishmash of ornament memories?

Upstairs, I do a themed tree. This year it’s blue and silver ornaments with peacock feathers coming out the top. And some silvery, glittery thingy I stuck in with the feathers. (It looks good when the tree’s lights are on.)

On the main tree, we do a mishmash. We do like to add a new ornament every year that we’ve been married. It makes it fun for us as we pull those ornaments out each year.

4, What goes on top of your tree?

We have a star on top of our main tree. And some glittery red thing from Hobby Lobby that sparkles and adds pizzazz. Either it adds pizzazz, or it makes me look like I couldn’t decide what would go on top of the tree this year.

5. What is your favorite Christmas movie?

That’s a tough one. My two favorites growing up were Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer and A Muppet Family Christmas (which Dad would get us to watch on Christmas morning so mom could get a few minutes to shower and dress before we all went on film opening presents).

Now my favorite is probably Elf. It gets funnier for me every year.

6. What’s your favorite Christmas song?

That’s hard too. I think for Christmas hymns, it’s probably “O Holy Night.” And for secular, I like “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” “All I Want for Christmas” (Mariah Carey’s version, fo shizzle) and “Santa Baby.” The last one just makes me laugh.

7. Did your family do Santa presents growing up? Will you with your kids? (Not trying to start a debate on Santa vs. Jesus here!)

My family didn’t do Santa as part of our Christmas, but Tom’s did.

Tom and I are really excited to do that with our kids. I think it will be a really fun tradition to do with them.

Since none of Josey’s cousins do Santa either, we are going to start doing Christmas Eve/Christmas morning at our house in the future so that we can do this without any little ones accidentally spilling the beans for her or her future siblings.

8. It wouldn’t feel like Christmas without ________.

Seeing all of my immediate family members and Tom’s family. I’ve been celebrating Christmas with Tom’s family since I was 15, so they are just as much a part of my Christmas tradition now! We do a lot of driving on Christmas day to be with everyone, but it’s so worth it!

9. I will never forget getting ______ for Christmas when I was a kid.

My American Girl Doll, Samantha. I LOVED her and was actually allowed to play with her (some people just collect them). She was loved and played with for many years.

Now she’s been discontinued by the American Girl brand, but I have her (and Felicity, whom I got later) tucked away for Josey and her sister(s) to play with someday.

10. I’ll never forget giving ______ as a present.

Chocolate covered cherries every year for my dad.

Poor dad. I was the youngest in the family, and I had the least money to spend, but it was a big deal to me to buy the Christmas gifts myself when I could. I would always give him a box of chocolate covered cherries- the kind that came stemless and with that yummy gooey stuff all around them inside the chocolate.

It probably cost about a dollar, but he made such a big deal out of them that I felt like I had given him his favorite gift.

And he would put them in the fridge and share them with everyone. He probably only got to eat about 2. Hmm…..I wonder if he even likes those things?

Your turn! Answer the same questions (or as many as you want) in the comments. I’d love to hear about your Christmas traditions!

~Meghan

Every December, Tom and I send out a Christmas card, usually with a letter. I LOVE stationery, and shopping for cute Christmas-y paper is so much fun for me. I like to use coordinated envelopes and address labels too. And holiday stamps.

Not this year.

This year, Tom and I laughed at the stacks of plain, white envelopes that came with our Shutterfly cards, the plain, white address labels I printed everyone’s address on, and the very patriotic “forever stamps” that I am using to send them on their way.

Not to mention that I used plain, white paper and black ink to print our Christmas letters (which are basically just an update of what we did this year). At least the cards are more festive.

The envelopes weren’t even wide enough to hold the letters, so I had to fold them down and then over as well.

A huge stack of these are going out today. Tom said it looks like we’re celebrating July 4th rather than Christmas, and he’s not wrong.

Normally, it would bother me beyond description to break from my tradition. To not use pretty paper. To not even have an envelope the right size for the paper I am using.

For some reason, this year, I just can’t be bothered. I even find it kind of funny. This month is so crazy anyway, and I’m so much more focused on getting the nursery finished, that I think I’m just happy to be sending something out at all.

Happy Fourth of July this Christmas!

  ~Meghan

I have been trying to track down all the things I want for Josey’s nursery at an affordable price. It’s been interesting to see where everything has come from- mixtures of old and new, homemade and store-bought, custom and as-is.

I’ve got my eye on Ikea for a few things (a specific basket I want and a rug). Target might be providing my little side table to go next to the rocker, but a better guess is I’ll find it somewhere like a yard sale. The shelves I plan to put up…who knows. And the “storage” I plan to put on the walls (will tell more about this later) is probably coming from Sears. Not sure where I’ll buy curtain rods yet either.

A few days ago at an estate sale, I FINALLY found a dresser I liked for converting into a changing table. It’s solid, has lots of storage, is in good condition, was super affordable, and – best of all- it’s actually tall enough! I never realized how short most dressers are until I tried to find one to use as a changing table. Today, Tom and a friend from our small group are trekking back with me to pick it up. Then I plan to sand it down, paint or whitewash it, and replace all the hardware.

Right now, I’m hunting down the right mirror to go on the wall over it. I’m so darn picky, and I have a price range that’s hard to match with my style preferences. If only I had $500 to spend on a wall accent. Ha!

Here’s where everything we have in her room has come from so far:

Rocker- My parent’s basement. (Will buy fabric online and pay someone to reupholster it.)

Ottoman- An antique/consignment shop in Covington. (It will be reupholstered in the same fabric as the rocker.)

Crib and crib mattress- New, from Babies R Us. (Gift from my parents.)

Closet Dividers- Homemade.

Hangers- Target. (Theirs are cheaper than Babies R Us, it turns out.)

Dresser in Closet- Hand-me-down from my Nana to my sister-in-law to me.

Clothes, Accessories, Toys, Books, Diapers, Wipes, Bedding, Etc.- All gifts except for a few items I bought.

Curtains and Crib Bumper/Bedskirt- Don’t have them made yet, but will be making them with my mom with fabric I bought online. It’s slowly trickling in with the mail.

Chandelier- Home Depot (online).

Lamp- My room at my parents’ house. (If this stays in her room, I will probably paint it.)

So that’s everything in her room right now. Pretty much everything that is brand new, with the exception of the chandelier, was given to us. Her room will be pulled together from a big mix of places, but I love that.

I’m not the kind of person who wants all my furniture to match. I don’t think I’ve ever bought a set of furniture that all goes together and kept it like that in one space, with the exception of the table and chairs in our breakfast area of the kitchen.

Our living room has matching leather couches, a rug from Pottery Barn that I waited to be discontinued to buy, a console (made in China in 1870) from a flea market, hand me down tables I want to replace, an awesome little side table my Nana bought at an antique store with me when I was about 9, and a coffee table that’s actually a cart I found in a friends’ garage, bartered for, and refinished.

My rooms come together over time with lots of hunting down for the right fit. Looks like JoJo’s room will be no exception.

~Meghan

Last year, I did a little compilation of some of my Friday Favorites that would make good gift ideas for Christmas. Since it’s now December, I figure it’s time to do it again with Friday Favorites from this year!

Give them Food!

Here’s a great (i.e.: simple and delicious) recipe for a treat to give teachers, neighbors or friends.

Or you could give a gift card to any of these restaurants. They’re all delicious!

Prime (They’ll serve you a steak you will want to take pictures of, no joke.)

Farm Burger (Organic and local burgers AND burgers for vegetarians. Amazing food.)

Der Biergarten (Lots of beers in lots of sizes. Also a menu full of German food that I’ll actually eat! It’s yummy.)

Give them Fun!

Buy them a game of Whirlyball with their friends. They will love you for it.

Is the person you’re shopping for under 2? They’ll LOVE Baby Signing Time. Fun music and videos for little people.

Shopping for a geeky parent? They will crack up over these onesies and shirts for their kiddos.

Give them Gadgets!

For the coffee addict, a Keurig is the way to go.

For the photographer, an expo disc and a gray card are both great presents.

For anyone clumsy with a phone, they will LOVE having an Otterbox. My phone still looks brand new, and my case has taken a beating!

Give them Something Useful!

I LOVE my Copco cups, and I take them with me everywhere. They keep me from spilling my drinks too! (Basically, it’s like an adult sippy cup.)

Karma Cards are a great gift for the eco-friendly person on your list.

From home decor to tote bags to invitations to jewelry, In Sweet Violets offers plenty of gift solutions. I love my earrings and necklace from that store!

That’s a Wrap.

If you weren’t sure of something to get for someone on your list, there are plenty ideas above for you to think over. And they span every type of budget. Happy shopping!

~Meghan

Man, I LOVE Pinterest. It has been a great resource for many things (recipes, craft ideas, etc.), but I’ve found it especially helpful in planning Josey’s nursery.

I could see all the things I wanted to remember (fabrics, organization ideas, decorative things), and crafts I wanted to do for her room as well.

Today, I’m going to share a craft that I did for Josey’s closet. I actually did it all last night, so most of the pictures were just taken quickly in between steps with the on-camera flash (feeling lazy), and the pictures are kind of awful.

But they do show what I did, step-by-step. I also took a few photos this morning of the finished product.

I had seen some pins about clothes dividers for hanging clothes in nurseries. Babies clothes are generally in these categories: NB (newborn), 0-3 months, 3-6 months, 6-9 months, and 9-12 months. Then they also have 18 months and 24 months, and then you’re just in kid’s clothes sizes instead of sizes arranged by month.

To make it easier to figure out where to reach in the closet for the right size for babies, these moms had created adorable clothes dividers for the hanging clothes in the closet.

I actually read the tutorial on this blog that I love, but her closet rod is the kind that lifts out, and mine is not. I needed to work around that. Here’s what I did.

I bought wooden letter “O’s” at Hobby Lobby and used a jigsaw to cut slits into them. That made it where I could slip them over the rod in the closet. But they were also kind of rough, so I needed to sand them down.

I did all of this crafting (minus the jigsaw- that was outside) over an unfolded box from Amazon (hello, Christmas shopping!) to keep our living room coffee table free of crafting mess.

After I sanded them down (that picture above is pre-sanding), I had to choose a scrapbook paper to use for the front. I had bought three sheets each of two different ones because I couldn’t decide in the store.

In the end, I went with the birdies. They were so cute. Once I had my paper picked out, I picked out my paint color- light pink. And I painted the “O”s on both sides.

The paint dried fairly quickly, so I then traced each “O” on the back of scrapbook paper and cut it out. I tried using my x-acto knife, but it was easier to use the scissors.

Then I used Mod Podge to stick the paper cut-out onto the front of the “O” it went with. They looked like this (front birdies, back and edges pink):

Then I used some black scrap-book stickers I already had to stick on the months for the dividers. I put another coat of Mod Podge over the front- paper, numbers, and all.

I also made sure to put it on the edges and push down any overhanging paper onto the edges of the “O”s to make it smooth. Then I let it dry. Again, that didn’t take long.

Once, that was dry, I felt like it needed a little something extra, so I tied a sheer black ribbon into a bow on the top of each one. I used no-fray glue on the edges to keep the ribbons from being stringy/unraveling at the ends over time.

With that done, I put them in her closet.

It’s easy to see where to put her clothes after washing them. And I’m sure it will be nice to have when I’m trying to pick something quickly to wrangle her into in the mornings.

But for now, I’m just loving them because they’re cute.

Also, these were not expensive to make.

It cost me $1 for each two-pack of “O”s at Hobby Lobby (I needed 3 packs), 59 cents per sheet of scrapbook paper (I needed two), and the cost of Mod Podge, which I was out of. But I used so little of it, that I would say that added up to about 30 cents worth or less.

I already owned the paint, the stickers, the no-fray and the ribbon.

So this whole project cost me about $4.50. Not bad!

Paired with a pack of hangers or a cute outfit, this would make a sweet baby shower gift for someone as well. It’s inexpensive, but it’s homemade- and that costs time. It’s also cute and easily customizable. So don’t forget it as a gift idea! Or just try it for your own little one.

~Meghan

I can’t draw at all. I have never been skilled in that area.

I’m also not funny. At least, I’m not intentionally funny. Sometimes people find me hilarious, but it’s usually on accident. When I try to be funny, you hear crickets.

So guess what I decided would be a good idea? I drew a comic strip of my pregnancy.

Yeah.

I know it makes no sense. But I decided it would be a fun (for me) way to remember some of the funny (for me) things that I’ve experienced. And one day, I can show them to Josey. I’m sure she’ll love her dad even more after she reads them.

First, though, I decided to scan them and share them with you. If you can read my handwriting and discern what my drawings are, I’ll be truly impressed.

Some of the drawings are so bad, I had to write explanations next to them so you can tell what you’re looking at. In fact, some of the funniest parts, to me, are the extra bad drawings.

So here’s the format: First and Second trimester were a page each, and I chopped them up on the computer.

Third trimester gets a page per week. Probably because I’m still in that trimester, and so, obviously, it’s the freshest in my memory. I’ll probably add a new cartoon to the blog each week to show that week’s craziness. I plan to type a few explanations for the various comics as well.

You might have to click the images to enlarge them in order to read them.

Without further ado, here we go.

First trimester. The nausea- even from foods you used to love. The hormones. The exhaustion. Your husband starts to wonder where his wife went.

Second Trimester. Once you start feeling better and people can tell you’re pregnant, and not just fat, you are really happy.

Third Trimester.

Week 27. Third trimester starts to remind me of the first.

Week 28. So… going to the doctor’s office and getting weighed on a regular basis is not fun.

Week 29. If you’re wondering if this is about you, it probably is. Not that I mind that you look amazing. But, sheesh, it does nothing for my self-esteem.

Week 30. I do love that the bigger the belly, the nicer strangers are to you (most of the time).

Week 31. You already know this story actually happened.

Week 32. This actually happened the other night. Except I didn’t literally rip Tom’s head off. I hate when I’m in the middle of working on something and my computer decides to screw me over. Grrr.

Then, Tom tried to cheer me up, and I wasn’t having it. I remember when I used to have a sense of humor. Now it’s hit or miss.

And that pretty much catches us up to speed on where we are in this pregnancy.

More next week!
~Meghan

A few weekends ago, Tommy, Ben, and Tom all went to work in the nursery, putting up the last of the crown molding, bead board, chair rail, and baseboards. Then everything wooden got a coat of white paint.

A few days later, Tommy came up and smoothed out some areas that needed extra work and caulked some crown molding and chair rail that was too far from the wall (our walls curve all wonky).

While the guys were hard at work, Lana, Patti and I hit up the mall for some shoe-shopping. Life is tough when you marry a hard working man.

There are still a few areas that need to be touched up on the gray paint from where the caulk went up, and all the wooden parts of the wall need another coat or two of white. One corner needs a corner-trim piece. Other than that, the walls are done!

I went ahead and put the crib and rocker/ottoman in there too, along with some other things.

Big difference from where it started out right?

Don’t worry…the duck fabric on the rocking chair my mom and dad gave me is going to be gone, and so is the old leather/fabric combo on the ottoman I found for $20 at a flea market. I have a great white and yellow fabric picked out for them….but you have to wait to see it!

Those books on the floor also have a spot in my plans, but again, you have to wait. See where the lamp is on the floor? I’m thinking that would be a good spot for a table, and I might paint that lamp or replace it all together. It used to be in my room at my parents’ house.

Here’s her crib! I still need to make the bumper and bedskirt (and the curtains…) with mom. I also hung it for now with a banner my friend, Esther, made for the Covington baby shower.

The artwork on the floor will most likely go on the wall it is leaning against, beside the closet. But it will be on the gray part of the wall, not the bead board, obviously.

I’m waiting to hang art until the end, though. Here’s a better view of that wall:

Notice Liam looking in? The dogs aren’t allowed into her nursery anymore. But they like to think about it.

While we’re facing her closet, why don’t we look inside?

This should change a good bit as the nursery gets finished. Starting on top:

• The things right in the middle, still in packaging, are grocery cart covers and baby carriers (for us to “wear” her), so they will probably stay in our cars once she’s here.
• One of the monitor screens is up there, and that will obviously be in use elsewhere in the house when she arrives.
• Her brushes, thermometer, suction bulb, etc. are in boxes, but they will come down and be put in drawers where they can be reached.
• To the right is her huge pile of blankets, and those will be in baskets in her room, where I can reach them.
• To the middle, left  (beside the grocery cart cover), is stuff to go in the car or on her car seat. So that will be with her carseat. Or in the car. Duh.
• And her burp cloths will be down where I can reach them too, instead of in a pile on the top left of her closet. (There are some frames on top of her burp cloths, and the box beside it is full of lightbulbs.)

On the bottom of the closet:

• Her playmat (collapsed right now) and “super seat” will both come out when she’s ready for them! I will probably move them to the top of the closet as well, when room is available.
• The paint that is beside the dresser will obviously be moved out (to the garage) once we finish touch-ups.
• On the other side, there are two pink bags full of toys. The toys will be put in baskets/storage in her bedroom, where she can play with them.

So all of that will change.

The dresser belonged to my Nana, and Lisa had used it for her girls, hence the pink and green knobs. I haven’t decided if I’m going to give it a makeover in the future or not. Since it’s just in the closet for now, we’ll see.

On top of the dresser are:

• A tote box with shoes (I love shoes, and I LOVE baby shoes!).
• A basket with hair accessories and hats (and a feathery tiara and some sunglasses- she is SO my daughter).
• A flower pot that was painted and filled with gifts from a friend. Now it holds jewelry that Josey’s been given (and some pretty rattles she was given that I plan to put out in her room).

Drawer 1: Bloomers, socks, tights, and legwarmers.

Drawer 2: Onesies.

Drawer 3: Leggings, pants, and shorts.

Drawer 4: Pajamas.

Drawer 5: Crib sheets and changing pad covers.

As for her hanging clothes, I plan to make some dividers (got the craft supplies for it yesterday), and I will definitely take pictures and show how I do it and how it looks in the closet when it’s done. Can’t wait to do that project!

Okay, moving on from the closet.

Standing beside the crib, you can see the rest of her room. We plan to put a rug down in the center of her room. I’m thinking something neutral with a lot of soft texture would be nice. She would like the way it feels, and once I add fabrics, it might be too much to have a colorful rug as well.

The toys that are in the corner (the jumparoo and the baby bouncer) will probably find their way into the closet, once there is room for them. And then they will come downstairs so she has somewhere to hang out with us when we’re working on our computers or I’m doing house stuff.

That corner is where I plan to make a little book/toy center for her. Can’t wait to get that done and share it with you!

The place where the changing pad is on the floor is approximately where her changing table will go…once I find a dresser with the right dimensions and right price AND convert it! =) (Another blog post, I’m sure.)

And, of course, the new chandelier is a happy addition to the room. I love it against the striped ceiling!

That’s all I’ve got for now. I’m so grateful for family members who are willing to share their skill and time with us to make this room beautiful! It would not look like this without them!