Preparing for a Little One Link Up

My friend Kaitlyn and I came up with a great idea that I absolutely love. 

As you know, Kaitlyn is expecting her first child. This can be so overwhelming and I know that other first time moms probably feel the same. She has so many questions and would love to hear the opinions of moms who have already been through this a time or two before.

Because of this, we are hosting a weekly series for a few weeks to try and get some answers to some of the most common questions.


We divided the series into two mini 4 week series grouped into questions Pre-Baby & Post Baby. The first mini series will be:

Friday, April 5: Registering (Everything you need to know, Must Haves, Don't Bothers, etc...)

Friday, April 12: Nursery Organization & Ideas

Friday, April 19: Packing For The Hospital: For you & the baby

Friday, April 26: Birth Stories (The good, bad, and ugly) / Birth Plans (yes? no?)

Let's get to it! Week #2-  Nursery Organization and Ideas

It took me quite a few tries to finally get things how I wanted in my first son's room.  In fact it's still changing  every so often because as they get bigger and their needs are different items need re-arranged.   Organizing babies room is so exciting and what makes sense to you before the baby is born will most likely change once he/she is here.  That's okay!  Set up the room, don't worry too much about it and once baby is here be ready to change a few things around.

Here are a few ideas in pictures!  Always better than words!

We have a changing table with drawers in our boys room.  The top drawer holds wipes, diapers and other necessities.  Similar to the one below.  This way all the items are right there when you need them.

www.neatmethod.com

We have always had a combination of hanging space, baskets and drawers.  Some items you will want hung up, others like sleepers, burp cloths, and extra blankets are good in baskets or drawers.  

http://www.kidspacestuff.com/blog/2012/02/baby-nursery-decor-closet/

Babies go through clothes so fast the first year, and change sizes quickly. This is a great idea to keep all the sizes separated.  

http://thestir.cafemom.com/home_garden/108537/nursery_organization_diy_for_babys?utm_source=pinterest

This is genius, wish I would have seen this years ago.  One thing you will realize with babies is it seems like you never have enough storage and you go through everything so quickly.  Great idea to keep extra supplies!

Get a bookcase or another type of shelving unit.  You will want some where for baby's book and early toys. At first we had a bookcase that was used for books and toys (we put baby toys in baskets on shelves).  Now that we have a lot more books it's filled up with just books and toys are elsewhere.

It's also nice to have because it's another flat surface for pictures, monitor and other items you might need a place for. 

http://rustsunshine.blogspot.com/2011/08/nursery-tour-part-ii.html

Enjoy organizing your rooms future mama's!  Before you know it your little one be in it!

Homemade Potpourri

A year ago, I got rid of all my Bath and Body Works Wallflowers that I was pretty much addicted to for years.  I went cold turkey. One day unplugged them all, and haven't used them since.  I also don't hardly ever burn candles unless we just really have something going on in here.  I made that choice for the health and true cleanliness of our home.  When I was introduced to Norwex, I started researching about lots of products in the common home and was determined to rid our house of all the chemicals I could.  I like to say our house is mostly a chemical free home but  there are still a few areas that needs some work.

Now that we don't use any air fresheners there are still those times when I just want our house to have a smell.  I have been seeing some Homemade Potpourri recipes and just had to try some for myself.

I decided to do oranges and vanilla.  I love the clean citrus smell of oranges and absolutely love everything vanilla so they should be great together right?

Here's what I did:
-I cut up 2 little cuties with the rind still on, put them in a saucepan.
-Then added 3 tsp vanilla.
-Brought to a boil, then let it simmer for the morning.

 It smelled wonderful and did fill the house with the scent.   I could really smell the vanilla.  I think I would even be just fine with boiling a little vanilla because that scent alone is like heaven to me.

What about you, have you ever made any homemade potpourri or something similar?

Tuesday Topics

This week we are on #6.

Onto my 6 favorite Things in My House

1)  My living room pillows

2) The kitchen island
I love having an island, always wanted one and especially love how big ours is.  Not too giant but plenty big for 4 seats.

3) Our master bedroom closet
excuse the mess, I love this closet, it can hold some serious stuff!

4) Jones decal
 It doesn't look that big in the picture but it's almost 4 ft wide

5) Boys canvases
20x24 canvases, the hubby painted for our boys shared room

6) Kitchen curtains

For fun I thought I would ask Matthew his as well
The Hubby's Favorites

1)  Headboard he made
He did a great job, he knew I liked sleigh beds and upholstered, so he combined the two by sanding  the top down to be rounded like a sleigh.

2) New lights
Our house had all gold/brass fixtures when we bought it, so at the beginning of this year we got new fans, pendants, entry way bowl, hallway, and dining fixture.  We found a collection we liked and got all the different versions for the appropriate areas.

3) TV mount
I didn't take a picture of this but our Tv is over our fireplace and we wanted a place to house the Xbox and other items, so he bought a mount with a movable arm.  The TV can come almost 2 ft from the wall, and swivel and pivot.  Then he put shelves behind the tv for all the items we didn't want laying out but wanted hooked into the TV.

4) Comfy couches
When we got our new house we needed furniture and our only requirement was that it have recliners.  We have found a set where every seat reclines.  It's oversized too and we love it!

5) Fireplace
We didn't have one at our last house and  this is one of the things that was on our wishlist.  Someday we will probably fancy/ modernize it up and get rid of the brass.

6) Jones Decal
Same as above

Someday I am going to loose them

One day last week Matthew was working on replacing a fan in the living room that was smoking the night before ( It was only a few months old so we got a replacement) and my boys wanted to be right there with him working on it.  They were climbing up the ladder, Noah was doing everything he could to help him.  Carson was trying to carry screwdrivers up to give to him as well. Listening to Noah talk to him about what he was doing and asking what he needed blessed me a lot.

Then I got to thinking about how I get annoyed some days that they only want to be with me.  Most of  the time it doesn't matter what Matthew is doing both boys want to be right where I am, asking me for everything and hanging on me legs.  I'll be in the shower, getting ready or in the kitchen cooking and they want to be there.  Matthew can try to get them in the playroom but they just run right back to find me.  Somedays it's hard and frustrating because I want to be left alone for a few minutes.  It doesn't seem fair sometimes that it's always mom, mom gets tired darnit.  I get jealous of Matthew that he can just chill on the couch for a few minutes and not get bothered.  When I'm frustrated it's hard to explain it to him because the way the kids are with him is just different.

Then as I sat and watched this

I realized someday I will loose their constant attention on me.  They are boys.  They are going to want to do everything dad does outside.  They will want to fix things with him.  They will want to play ball with him.  They will want to water the plants, and mow the yard. They will want to work on the tractors with daddy. They will want to pull weeds and play with bugs.  Pretty much all the boy stuff that I'm so not into.

Someday I will wish they were inside with me, asking me for a snack, to color or to play with trains.  I will miss them wanting their moms constant attention.  I will miss them just sitting with me and reading books.  Someday I will miss them needing me so much.  With that, I'm going to try and remember this time is short.  It's hard and it's challenging every day but I know someday I will look back on these toddler years and remember how fun and cute this stage was.  And I will probably be doing that while watching them hang out with their daddy and give anything to have them little again.