The Doctors Wife

Hannah's Room

A couple of weeks ago we decided it was time to put David in a real "big boy" bed. The toddler bed just wasn't enough room for him, and now he is a little peanut in a full size bed. His whole room has had a little make over and I am loving it! I am waiting on a few last things that I have ordered to come and then I will share some pics of his "new" room. While updating David's room, I decided that I wanted to switch Hannah and David's furniture, and Mike being the trooper that he is, graciously agreed to do it. I am so happy that we did- I am loving how both of their rooms look! I don't think I ever really shared pictures of when we did Hannah's "big girl" room, so I thought I would share them now.

I love how girly her room is- it fits her so well! 

The lamp on the dresser is from my Grandma's home, I took it years ago when we were struggling with infertility in hopes that I would one day have baby's nursery to put it in! It stayed in a box in our attic for many years, and it makes me think about how God has such perfection in His timing!

I love the little cherubs and think they are such a sweet vintage touch for a little girl's room!(the picture is so bad, but hopefully you get the idea!)

Hannah's little kitchen and "dressing table". David was very busy making "coffee" while I was taking these pictures- this boy loves his boots even though we haven't had rain in awhile and the weather has been oppressively hot! There is a cute little shadow box on the wall above this, and I have some really cute vintage prints that are waiting for frames. I am having a hard time finding frames the right size and style that I am willing to pay for. 

 One more view, Sophie loves Hannah's bed. She is up there when the kids are not in there. (Sophie is still not a huge fan of being around the kids, she is not a fan of the loud and rowdy, unless they have food, especially bananas) (Do you like how I throw out 10 kinds of random that has nothing to do with this post?) I never realized how much bigger this set of furniture is compared to what is now in David's room, and I am just loving the switch! So that is a little peek at Hannah's room, when I get a few things done in David's room I'll post some pics!

 

Small Things

When I have a project, I tend to want to complete it start to finish. While sometimes that is a very good thing, since having a second child, I have found it to be much harder to find the time to start and finish any kind of project. This means that I have all kinds of things to do, but I put them off because I don't have the time to do them. Well, I am trying to break things up and find ways that I can have smaller projects that allow me to have the start to finish feeling. One thing that has been driving me crazy for several months has been my kitchen. The cabinets and pantry have been such a mess and I have really needed to clean them out, purge and re-organize. Since I know that the likelihood of me having the time to completely empty out my kitchen is slim to none, I am taking it one cabinet at a time. (revolutionary thinking, I know) So the other day while David napped and Hannah worked on a project, I cleaned out one side of my kitchen island. It is home to sippy-cups, cook-books, take out menus, etc. and it was a mess! I forgot to take a before picture- but just imagine too many cookbooks stuffed in, lots of loose recipes and take out menus, pizza coupons and appliance manuals all over the place. Here is the after:

Ahhh much better. The two pink notebooks on the middle shelf hold take out menus and recipes. You can see how I organize loose recipes here. I use the same method for take out menus, they are divided into categories, Italian, Chinese, etc.  And perhaps the best part is I got rid of a ton of cookbooks that I never use. I am trying to take it a little at a time and get my kitchen back under control, and thought I would share my progress. I love seeing before/ after pictures from others, and it always motivates me to get something done at my own home- now if I can just remember to take before shots!

Lighten Up

As a new year begins and I am assessing the last year and looking at the year ahead I have several goals for the year. Since we are anticipating a move in the next 6 months, I know that this year will likely be a year of big changes, and I have tried to keep this in mind when setting goals for this year. Two of my goals are to lose the last of the baby weight, and to "lighten up" our house in anticipation of moving. David will be 2 years old next month, and I think it is fair to call extra weight baby weight until the baby turns 2, then it's just fat. And I don't want the extra weight- so I have a first weight loss goal set for David's birthday, and a second to finish off the "baby weight" by Hannah's birthday. I am not a believer in traditional dieting and I think most diet foods cause more harm than good and I am not a fan of calorie counting. (I think that when you are a mother of little girls you have to be especially careful about dieting and calorie counting as it is modeling behavior to our daughters in a world that has absolutely lost it's mind about being skinny- it is a tough balance of modeling a healthy lifestyle with healthy attitudes about food, weight and body image) So my plan is to watch my portions and get my rear in gear and start working our regularly again. I have not worked out regularly in ages and I know that aside from helping me shed a few pounds, it will help me feel so much better. Right now I am thinking I will be alternating going to the gym and working out at home on the Wii. And as the weather allows, getting the kids out for more walks- that is one thing that I loathe about winter, being all cooped up inside! 

My second big goal is to pare down and get rid of a lot of stuff in preparation of moving. Not only will this clear up space for when we are showing our home, but it will make packing/ unpacking much easier if there is less stuff to deal with. I have a huge garage sale pile in the making, and I am hoping to go through the entire house, closet by closet, cabinet by cabinet and get rid of things that we don't/or rarely use. My tolerance for things with occasional use has gone down dramatically since our last move, and I think there will be a lot of stuff that doesn't make the cut.  ; ) So, those are my two big goals for the year, hopefully 6 months from now me and the house will be much lighter!

Getting In A Groove

Or more aptly titled, "Trying" to get in a groove! Now that the holidays are over, and the Christmas decorations are put away, the grandparents have gone, and homes for all of the new toys  have been found, I am trying to get back into a regular (or somewhat) regular routine. Late Sunday night David woke up with a second round of a stomach bug, thus thwarting my attempts of starting the week off with a normal routine. Luckily he has made a quick recovery and is feeling much better today and is back to his  rover-y self, however we will be staying home today, and probably tomorrow too, just in case he has a relapse or Hannah ends up sick. I am hopeful that by the end of the week, we will be ready to resume all of our normal activities. As this year is on track to be a year of big changes, I am really trying to have consistency as a goal, and am making more of an effort of keeping up a regular routine/schedule. As I have been trying to layout a basic plan, I am amazed at how quickly our days fill up and I often wonder how some of you fit in all that you do! This time of year always feels particularly busy due to both Mike and David having birthdays at the beginning of February, and Hannah's at the beginning of April. David's party is all planned, invitations ordered with just a few details left to wrap up, and I am working on a surprise for Mike. (and I won't say anymore on the off chance that he reads this!) So that is what I've been up to- I lead an exciting,  glamorous life, I know. ; ) Since we started off the new year with a sick Rover, I feel like we can only go up from here! Happy 2011!

 

I'm Feeling Like A List

Yes, a list is in order, I have been so negligent in my blogging that if it's anything but a list it will be ridiculously long and seem even more random than the list. ; ) 

1. We have had our Christmas decorations up since Thanksgiving weekend and I am pleased (and surprised!) to say that David has been so good about leaving them alone. Hopefully his good behavior will continue on through the end of the month!

2. Sophie had a seizure completely out of the blue a couple of weeks ago, and gave us quite a scare with her follow up vet appointments. She seems to be doing fine now, and I have almost forgotten that it happened, her next follow up is tomorrow and I am hoping her labs come back clean.

3. I am already over the cold. It is going to be a long winter.

4. I absolutely adore the Pledge multi-surface cleaner. It is so good. Normally I am a fan of more natural products, and I don't want to know what is in the Pledge that makes it work so good because I am sure it is bad, but oh my stars it cleans off sticky finger prints soo good and it works on everything and I really like it, so I will just live with my clean surfaces in utter denial that it is probably killing us all softly. 

5. I am not playing nearly as much Christmas music as I normally do. I am usually exclusively Christmas tunes this time of year, but this year, ehhhh. I usually buy a new Christmas cd each year, and I haven't this year- maybe that is it. Is there a new one that you love that I am missing out on? 

6. Even though I have not been completely into the Christmas tunes this year, my all time absolute favorite Christmas album is Harry Connick Jr.'s When My Heart Finds Christmas. It has for me remained the gold standard in Christmas music perfection. 

7. The UPS man has been to my house every day for the last week. Bless his heart. But thankfully, he has, not once, made the mistake of ringing the doorbell. Maybe he read my blog. ; ) 

8. David loves mashed potatoes, but he will not eat "fake" ones. He will literally spit them out and give you a look that says, "Seriously? You are trying to pass these off as mashed potatoes?"It cracks me up- what can I say but the boy loves his Mama's cooking. 

That is all for now, I think that is enough random for today! 

 

Ready for Fall

We have been experiencing a taste of fall weather this week and I am LOVING it! A quick and easy fall look for the blog, and  I am hoping to get my fall decorations up this weekend, and hopefully will make it out to the nursery to get some mums for the front porch.  The beautiful weather has been a wonderful break from the oppressive heat of the summer! Fall is my favorite season, hands down and I am so glad that we are finally getting the beginnings of the cooler temperatures! 

Routines- Reader Q & A

Reader Bonnie asks "What are your favorite ways to stay organized?" 

 I think for me a huge key to staying at a manageable level of organization is having a do-able daily/ weekly schedule. It allows me to stay (somewhat!) on top of things, which reduces my stress level and ups my enjoyment of my family and home.  Plus if things don't stay somewhat picked up, it is hard to organize in a way that will actually last and be helpful. This time of year can be tricky as schedules and routines tend to change, but that also makes it a great time to evaluate how things are working. With two small children I tend to get overwhelmed if I get behind, so I find it is easier to try my very best to stay "caught up", which doesn't always happen, but a girl can dream. I have a loose daily schedule of things that I do every day (unless I'm sick, and I have to be pretty sick to not do them, once a day or two goes by without doing them, I start to feel behind, and getting caught up is much harder than maintaining!)  This seem to be my absolute minimum to keep the chaos at bay, here goes, in completely random order: (of course it's random!! ; )

• Make beds- nothing makes a room feel tidy so quickly as making the bed. Plus there is something so much more luxurious about turning down your bed at night v. crawling into a heap of covers. 

• Run Dishwasher (usually at night, I set my automatic timer so I don't accidentally forget to start it because I'm waiting in case I find one more glass, or we have a late snack)

• Empty kitchen trash (usually in the evening after I've set the dishwasher)

• Sort mail and toss junk

• Clear off kitchen counters and bar-top. Our bar-top is a magnet (a very powerful magnet) for clutter so I try to clear it down every evening. I bought a cute little box to drop the mail and any of Mike's paperwork in so it is accessible for him without being spread out across the whole counter. I will also hand-wash anything that is a hand washable item and anything that didn't fit into the dishwasher so I don;t have anything in the sink. I hate waking up to a dirty kitchen. It feels very defeating to me to start the day in the previous days mess!

• Laundry- at least 2 loads (I typically do not do laundry on weekends)

• WIpe down kids play table and dining room table (otherwise they start to get sticky very quick)

• "Reset"- Each night before I go to bed I try to put anything out of place up, this helps me make sure the kids help put their toys away before bed, and keeps things from getting out of control. Again, I like to start each day without feeling tethered to the previous days messes. I am pretty much a pick up as I go girl, and I am trying to teach my kids this too, but let's face it, sometimes things just don't get put away throughout the day. 

• Pick out clothes for the next day (usually requires a check of the forecast!) This helps me so much- I do it for the kids too, and it really helps us get out the door in a timely fashion. I can be sooo indecisive and having something pre-selected cuts out on me taking 20 years to get dressed!

Okay... I think that's all. If I think of anything else, I'll add it later. (Because I'm sure you are all just dying to know ; ) Tomorrow I will share how our weekly schedule breaks down, and next week I will share pictures of some of my favorite ways to organize.

He Said, She Said

I have been attacking my to-do list over the past couple of weeks. I have been very motivated to cross things off- especially things that I have been putting off for a sweet forever. Case in point:

This little chair is from my Grandma. My brother has one too- they were at her house and we sat in them in her playroom when we were little. While I LOVE this little chair and the memories that it holds, the orange just doesn't work in my house. Recovering this chair has been on my list for ages, and it really is a simple project but it never gets done. Well, my crossing off fury came to this chair and I was on a mission. However one thing was hindering me, I could not find the staple gun. It was not in it's assigned place and I racked my brain and looked anywhere I thought I could possibly  have put it. So I asked MIke where it was because obviously he had used it last, because of course I would have put it away. He insisted that of course he would have put it away and I had obviously been the last to use it. We both looked, and no staple gun. But I was ready to cross this thing off my last, so I continued undeterred. 

Oh yes I did. Duct tape fixes anything. It's not as taut as it should be, I will have to fix it whenever I find the staple gun (from wherever Mike put it ; ) But for now, it is crossed off of my list.  

 

As for the staple guns whereabouts? I have not a clue, I am guessing we will find it whenever we move- and then we'll know who used it last!
 

What's For Lunch?

We have been surprisingly busy during the past few weeks, so lunches have been simple. Hannah surprised me and ate just about everything, except for the strawberries. (which were soo good!)

Top Left: crinkle fries, ketchup for dipping, breaded chicken

Bottom Left: bananas cut into flowers, strawberry applesauce, strawberries with powdered sugar and chocolate sprinkles

What's for lunch at your house?

This post is linked up with Muffin Tin Monday

Muffin Tin Meals

Hannah is a VERY picky eater. I know that everyone thinks that their kid is picky, but I am willing to bet that Hannah would beat out 95% of other kids in this category. Little did I know as I smugly fed my eat-anything 15 month old (Hummus! Vegetables! Pasta! Meat! Breads! Vegetables! Cheeses!) that she  would soon turn into the pickiest eater I could imagine. Included (but not limited) on the list of things that she will not eat (that most people can feed their kids, and even manage to sneak in some veggies) are pasta (including mac&cheese), pizza, hamburgers, sandwiches, eggs, breads (rolls, croissants, etc.) and pretty much anything that any other kid would happily eat. (She won't even eat a donut, I mean seriously, come on!) So I have to be very creative at meals in order to make sure she is generally getting nutritionally balanced meals- I have also found that with the minuscule amounts that she eats, it is a better goal to get the nutrition balanced throughout the entire day spread out in meals and snacks. In the past few months I have started doing bentos, and muffin tin meals. They have helped Hannah in her willingness to try new things, and for me that is a step in the right direction. With school starting back up next month, I thought it would be fun to share some of the things that I feed my kiddos, in hopes that you will all share some of the things/ ways you feed your kids and get them to try new things. That is one thing that I LOVE about the internet, you can gather so much information and get so many wonderful ideas from other moms- and when it comes to my picky eater, I need all the ideas I can get! So here is one of Hannah's lunches from this week:

 

Starting at the top, clockwise: Cheese cut into animal shapes, strawberries, yogurt with sprinkles, crackers with peanut butter, Annie's organic pasta stars (the one exception to pasta she will eat!) apple slices. 

So please, please, please share what/ how you feed the picky eaters at your house!

This post is linked up to Muffin Tin Monday