Absolutely random

• I run my dishwasher at least twice a day, sometimes three. I feel like a raging environmentalist might target me for punishment. But it is the only way I maintain a clean kitchen and a pile of clean bottles for both my kids. And this, my friends, is sanity. (Of course, my hands are nearly raw with chap from rinsing all those dishes and washing after a zillion dirty diapers...I could use a good recommendation for lotion, and don't tell me Eucerin because I despise the stuff.)
• I would give serious money to be able to bottle up a smell; namely, "eau de Lucy's neck." She has that milky-sweet smell that all new babies have, yet it is also somehow uniquely her. I must kiss her neck a thousand times a day.
• Will and I had a great day today. Basically, I let him toddle around, emptying drawers and cabinets and playing with their contents (closely supervised). He thought this was the greatest thing ever. I had a blast just watching him enjoy himself so much. (Why is anything more fun when it's usually off-limits?)
• I browse a lot of blogs. I haven't been able to do this very much in the last few weeks (for some reason or another, *snort*), but since returning to my usual blog reading I've been struck more than ever by the disparity of experiences out there among women my age. The separation in financial blessing is perhaps the most shocking -- there are a few girls who truly have more money than sense -- but also the differences in life circumstances. Some seem to be virtually problem-free whereas others are struggling with situations that are beyond my comprehension in levels of pain and suffering. My takeaways are usually the same -- first, "Becky, don't judge." You just never know what a person may be hiding. I hid a horrible marriage for years and years. Made everything look dandy and kosher on the surface, yet in private, hurt very deeply. Second, "Becky, don't compare." I've found that comparison breeds envy faster than rabbits have babies. And envy opens the door to so many other nasty feelings: self-pity, greed, discontent. Yuck to all. Which leads me to my third takeaway: "Becky, be thankful." God has blessed me beyond my wildest imaginings. I once thought my life was an irredeemable wasteland but God made beauty from those ashes. And it's so important for me to always keep this perspective!
• I made an observation to a dear friend the other day that brought me up short: in commenting on her busy life, I rather absentmindedly observed that besides my husband, kids, and home, I have no commitments. I was shocked to realize this! I've always had my fingers in various inkwells -- coffee dates, yoga classes, Bible studies, family activities, etc. But here in Tennessee where my social network doesn't extend beyond my four walls, neither does my life. Part of me is extremely thankful for this; a host of other commitments would surely drive me to the looney bin (well, faster than I'm headed there now, anyhow). However, a girl needs to do something outside her domestic duties! The only thing is, I've tried branching out socially and all attempts failed. So I'm wondering what I could do? I'm contemplating freelance writing, if anyone would publish something I write. It's worth a look-see, in any case. Anybody have any other ideas?
• I'm obsessed with Pottery Barn. I swear, in the last few catalogs, they have really upped their game. A couple years ago they seemed to be veering toward more American styles, which is absolutely not my taste. Lately, however, the products seem to be more and more European-influenced. Seems like every other item is Provence-this or Tuscany-that! YES, please!!! I told Marty that he's going to have to find a way to support my Pottery Barn habit. Right now I'm confined to mere window-shopping and that ain't gonna cut it!
• I hear Lucy waking up so that's all the randomness from me for the moment. Happy weekend!

Lots more random

Because I'm so sleep-deprived (see random bullet #1 below), I've apparently been stripped of all ability to write in coherent posts or even paragraphs for that matter. So random is what you get.

• BAD. My child refuses to sleep through the night. And is now getting up every 2-4 hours, just like he's a newborn again. It is killing me and Marty, even though we take turns. We are trying everything we can think of and we are taking suggestions, too. Basically, Will is in the throes of teething (his 2 bottom teeth are almost completely "there" now and he will move his jaw like he's chewing gum at many points during the day, like there's more gum activity going on and it's driving him batty) and I think it's just messing up his sleep cycles and restfulness altogether. New technique to try for tonight: cereal right before bedtime. Puppy refuses to take a bottle at bedtime but I haven't really ever seen him turn down actual food. Also, per my mom's suggestion, a jar of meat (ICK) at dinner. Has anyone else gone through this? Do you have any help to offer two very exhausted parents?
• GOOD. My amazing husband has insisted that we go ahead and buy the desk I've lusted after for over a year from Pottery Barn. Marty says I've "had to hodge-podge it long enough" and I certainly deserve a "real" desk after all the months of pregnancy I've gone through. He's even hinted at more presents, per the children contribution I have made (hmm...maybe I will have more kids after this!). So we ordered her last night. Here she is:
  I didn't get the hutch/organizer thingey on top, nor the chair. I'm opting instead for a slipcovered Parsons chair from Ballard Designs. Oh yeah, I get to order that, too!
• INSANELY COOL. My friend Mary won second place for her "Paranormal Romance" novel in the Chicago-North Romance Writers of America 12th Annual Fire and Ice Contest. I am simultaneously ridiculously proud and ridiculously jealous. Mary hopes to get her novel published and I'm certain that this award will open plenty of doors for her; fingers crossed, my friend!!! You rock my world (and give me hope that, like you, I can be a mom of 2 kiddos AND be a writer)!!!
• GETTING THERE. Once upon a time (in December), this girl and her Hubby and Baby Boy moved from a 3-story townhouse to a loft apartment (downsizing by 1 bedroom and 1.5 baths, and also losing a very large storage room). A lot of things went to a storage unit, but a lot of things (too many things) came to the loft. Just before Moving Day, this girl and her Hubby discovered that Baby Girl was on her way. Ultimately, this girl helped move in some boxes, cleaned a countertop or two, then promptly collapsed into bed with "The Illness" that claimed the next 2 months of her life. During this time, Hubby took over primary care of Baby Boy while this girl attempted to nourish herself and Baby Girl (rather unsuccessfully at many times). Nothing got accomplished and many things went undone. We were in survival mode. Around the beginning of March, this girl began to emerge from "The Illness," looked around at the mess and the unpacked boxes, and almost went BACK to bed in defeat. Instead, this girl somehow managed to find the courage to promise to herself to do at least a little bit each day until it got done and the loft was not only liveable, but decorated and clean and comfortable and cozy -- and ready for its 4th occupant come August! What has transpired in the 2 months since that time has been countless hours of very hard work: lots of purging, lots of organizing, lots re-thinking and re-organizing. And I am proud to say that we are almost there. Almost. I wanted to take a break from the loft last weekend but our plans fell through, so I ended up doing even more, and I'm now within just a few hours of finishing. And because I want to be accountable to a deadline of some kind, I am hereby promising to post pictures when all is complete. My desk needs to be delivered, we need to make a couple more storage unit and Goodwill runs, and a big, final clean needs to happen before then, but I promise, I shall post pictures of the finished product, hopefully in the next month or two. Wait for it.
• UPDATE. We will be having our follow-up to the follow-up ultrasound on May 13th. Please say a prayer with us that Lucy's heart is perfectly visible to this doctor. We would very much appreciate it.
• RANT. Why did baby clothing manufacturers decide that if a baby is over 20 pounds, he is no longer entitled to go to bed in sleepers anymore? (Yeah, I'm talking to you, Carter's.) Personally, I think as long as a baby is still in diapers, a onesie-type shirt with pants or what-have-you is more appropriate than 2 pieces, whether it be play clothes or sleeping clothes. We have a few 2-piece pajama sets but I end up using a plain white onesie with the pajama pants because otherwise, Will ends up sleeping with his tee shirt rumpled up under his arms! So I've been on the hunt for larger-sized (12, 18, 24-month) sleepers and have only found moderately expensive and very expensive brands. The former is Hanna Andersson, and we just ordered 2 sleepers at $25 each from there. I choked on the price a bit, but not nearly as much as when I bought sleepers in the latter brand category (very expensive). That would be you, Kissy Kissy. The children's boutique just a few doors down from us sells this line, and I coughed up the money for a couple of these sleepers (starting at $33 apiece!), but then immediately began looking for alternatives. And I'm still not finding anything cheaper than Hanna Andersson. Does anybody know of any other brands that offer sleepers in larger sizes?
• OTHER. You know, I had other random items floating around in my head but I'm just going to stop here because my brain hurts from the sleeplessness. Please leave a comment if you have any helpful hints to offer on any of the above!

Better late than never -- Will's nursery

Back on my old blog (which is private) I shared all our plans for Will's nursery, but I never shared pictures of the final product. Well my wonderful Leslie (uh, the best photographer EVER) took some shots back in October and even though Will is 5 months older and we're now living in a different place, I thought, what the heck, I'll post them anyway!

I had asked Les to do some "an evening in the life of Will" kind of shots, so she captured us doing his bath and bedtime routine.

Getting ready for the tub -- I love how he's completely naked here but you can't see anything because his ROLLS are in the way! I miss those rolls of baby fat. He's getting leaner now as he's getting more and more exercise at playtime.

Suds-ing up!

He looks sweet on his Mama here. Breaks my heart with preciousness.

Now for lotions and powdies...

...and an attempt at taming Will's wild hair. (It's tame now and I miss the wildness!)

Daddy prepares the blanket for swaddling...

...while Mama gets in more kisses and cuddles.

Will always liked to look at his "friends" while Mama swaddled him. (And no, I did not lay him down to sleep in his crib with all those blankets!)

Will's room in the loft is not as bright and cheery as the one pictured here, and I plan to remedy that as soon as we make our next move. He'll even have to (hopefully VERY briefly) share a room with his little sister when she arrives! In any case, I'm so glad I had the chance to create a fun, boyish, yet sweet nursery for our Will. I can't wait to really put together a nursery for Lucy!

Nursery furniture

So I've been logging ridiculous numbers of hours on the Internet (mostly post-midnight when my menfolk are asleep) looking for little-girl nursery furniture that won't cost me my firstborn. And I'm here to say that it's HARD!

I've always wanted a white crib for a baby girl, and I want it to be feminine (since we'll probably hang on to Will's crib in case we're joined by another little man -- ahem, YEARS from now). And of course, one that doesn't cost a jillion dollars (hello Pottery Barn, you're pretty and all, but could you get real? The economy isn't doing so swell). AND, in the aftermath of the crib recall scare of 2009, I will only look at non-drop-side cribs. So, I finally found one that met all the above criteria:Isn't she a beaut? Just imagining this crib with the Shabby Chic bedding gives me little goosebumps of anticipation.

Next up was an armoire. Will's nursery set came with one, and I removed a shelf and hung a tension rod in it to have all his sweet little clothes hanging at the ready (instead of using a closet, because we're pretty short on those in the loft). So I had my heart set on getting one for our daughter. And oh my gosh, just google "nursery armoires" and see if you don't have a stroke looking at the prices. I saw a lovely white one with some scrolled woodwork that cost, I'm not kidding, $1700. WHAT??? So I got a bit clever and just googled "armoires" and found some at JCPenney meant for bathroom storage that are only $160! I guess if you have an armoire and label it for nursery use, this means you can make a big fat profit? But if it's just for towels, you're forced to sell it for a reasonable price? How silly. In any case, I found this one that will be just perfect:

Nope, the nursery isn't going to be all matchy-matchy, but then, I think that's frowned upon when adhering to true "shabby chic" style. :) Who cares, I love it! Marty has given his official nod of approval, so we're going to order it the next week we have room in the budget. Have I mentioned how excited I am???

My palms are sweaty, I'm so excited

...not just to write my first post on this blog, but to celebrate the coming arrival of my long-dreamed-for little girl! Don't get me wrong, I'm gobsmacked-crazy about my son, and never expected to enjoy a little boy so much. He is heaven-sent and I adore him to bits and pieces. But since I was a young thing in pigtails, I've always dreamed of having a little girl to love (and yes, play with!!!).

I've looked at so much crib bedding, my eyes hurt. And I have rejected 99% of it out of hand. I'm sorry, I'm just not into bright raspberry and lime colors and themey-theme nurseries for little girls (but for some reason, I love fun themes for little boys, explain that one!). I've had in mind what I wanted, something shabby-chic-ish, a la Rachel Ashwell. So, duh, I finally googled Rachel Ashwell baby bedding and found IT, the ONE. Here she is!I just love the classic look and the soft colors and feminine prints. I want to paint the walls in the future nursery (after we move out of the loft) a pale, pale pink, and I want to continue buying Shabby Chic bedding as my daughter grows, until such time as she's old enough to declare her interest in zebra prints or something (God forbid).

Oh, I'm so excited, I have to wipe my palms on my pajama pants now!!!