Annabelle's nursery

Nanaw's quilt on Grandma Rozelle's bed

As of right now I'm planning for our girls to ultimately share a room.  So Miss A's room will eventually go back to being a guest room.  Likely with a little reading/play area for the girls as well.  With that thought in mind I didn't want to make a lot of changes that wouldn't make sense down the road.  So I kept her nursery design very, very simple.  A similar vintage feel as her sister's but maybe even a bit more girly and sweet.  We kept my grandmother's brass bed in the room for when we have guests and put up the same custom shades.  A few shelves, a couple of baskets and another rocking chair and we were done save the closet.  The closet in this room was a disaster.  Tiny and completely nonfunctional.  I splurged on a closet system and feel like it was more than worth the money.  But more on that experience and my giddy organizational love for the results in a subsequent post;)



Aunt Dee quilt on the chair and Daddy's 'going home' outfit and baby blankets on the shelf = more family love



Emma's nursery

This is obviously a very delayed entry as Emma Rose just recently celebrated her second birthday.  The pictures are current so there has been a bit of an evolution from the original sweet baby girl vintage nursery to something a little more modern and functional.  But the (old) bones that I loved are still here with so many family heritage pieces that make me smile just walking into the room.  I've lost both my grandmothers - the most recent just this last fall.  So seeing things my maternal Grandmother (Nanaw) made for Emma be a part of her every day life warms my heart.  There's even a beautifully illustrated old children's book that belonged to her when she was a little girl on one of Emma's - higher!- shelves.  My paternal Grandmother (Grandma Rozelle) passed away when I was in college but her presence is felt in this room too.  Emma Rose was named for her and I love having the quilt of hers that I inherited help decorate this room.  The white teddy bear on one of the shelves was made by my aunt for all the granddaughters with the chenille bedspread that always dressed my grandparents bed.  I am blessed to have a family with so many talented people.  There is so much familial love hanging out in this room!



custom blackout shades, upholstered toy boxes that serve as a window seat and everyone's favorite rug



dolls and toys from my childhood along with a few other vintage finds



a teddy bear made by one great aunt and Boing dolls made by another



photos of 'Grammy' when she was a girl, an original painting by a cousin and a bulletin board covered with vintage fabric



top: vintage chenille quilt pieced together by yours truly
middle: wedding ring quilt from Great Grandma Rozelle
bottom: baby quilt made by Nanaw

shed redo

When my parents were here for Em's birthday party weekend my dad helped out with a few household repairs/projects.  During his work he relocated something out to our back yard shed.  His only comment on his return, you could use some shelves. His restraint was more than admirable because this is what he found:

 

 

We don't have a garage so this shed is a dumping ground for anything and everything I don't think belongs in our house.  A lot of what is in there we inherited along with the shed when we bought the house 5 years ago.  Extra paint, travertine bathroom tiles, bead board, and assorted other things.  All our-house specific so I felt we needed to hold on to it all for a 'just in case' scenario.  I usually take everything out twice a year in the spring and fall and reorganize.  But I'm pretty sure I've only tackled that project once since Emma was born.  And it's been a particularly crazy year.  The result is above.  When my dad mentioned shelving I was surprised.  For some reason it had never occurred to me that I could add shelves for an organizational assist.  So this past weekend I decided to 'redo' our shed. 

 

I started by taking everything out and spreading it around our yard so I could see what was what.

 

 



You can see that my assistant showed up to help about that time.  Next up, cleaning!

Emma Rose loved sweeping so much that we had to get her a little mini broom and dust pan cleaning set later that day:)

Once everything was out and the shed was an outdoor version of clean I started to look around at what needed to go back in so I could figure out how much shelving I needed and where to put it.  Then I realized something huge.  I had no idea where to begin.  And then the next revelation.  I SUCK at DIY.  I shouldn't.  I should be awesome at it.  My parents can do anything and everything.  And I watched them throughout my childhood and into adulthood.  So many opportunities to learn.  But I didn't.  I just did not.  Maybe because they're so great at it?  Maybe they are just always there to do whatever I need doing and so I never had the proper incentive to learn.  Whatever the reason, I am not the DIYer that my genetics and upbringing hint I should be.  But what I can do, and do exceptionally well, is organize.  I can organize the hell out of anything.  And so a mental shift into organization mode.  A trip to Big Lots for heavy duty storage containers (and the previously mentioned mini-me cleaning set) and we ended up with the following:

All those our-house extras that I still can't manage to part with.

 

A container each for gardening, party, paint, pest control, and assorted 'project' supplies.

 

Easy access to our coolers and camp chairs as well as the super cool ladder Mom and Dad gave us as a wedding present;)

 

 

I still have to make labels for the containers and find a more appropriate home for all of our patio cushions.  Plus I have a rarely used bike that needs a parking spot.  Overall I'm pleased with the weekend's work.  That shed may still see shelving someday.  But for now, my organized soul is happy:)

 

 

 

balloons, bubbles and birthday fun

I can't believe my baby girl is already 2.  And that she is no longer my only baby girl!  How quickly a year can pass . . . but, oh!  What a year!

 

This time it was a balloons and bubbles celebration for Miss E. 

 

Both kid-friendly and adults-only bubbles were purchased in bulk.  They were each well enjoyed by the appropriate demographic but unfortunately that enjoyment wasn't successfully captured on camera.  You'll just have to take me at my word.

 

Then balloons for décor, fun and deliciousness. The pics below are of the ridiculously cute and perfect balloon cake pops that stole the show.  I outsourced this year - was convinced by family and friends that throwing a 2 year old a birthday party less than a month after her baby sister was born meant that I had to let go of at least a little control;) The amazing cake pop stand was made by my parents for the occasion and I am in love with how it turned out.  My dad scavenged the beautiful piece of walnut from our family farm and then sanded the hell out of it before passing it off to my mom for staining.  One side has holes drilled for the pops and the other side is smooth so we can use it for whatever future function I dream up.  So fun!

 

 

 

 

Happy second birthday, Emma Rose!

 

 

vintage spring first birthday party

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

sunday

It's crazy the things that go through your head when you hear bad news.  The first being, maybe this news isn't so bad?  Maybe this is a blessing.  Maybe this is something to thank God for.  Maybe this is actually good news.  Tame (ie normal and understandable) in comparison to 'why couldn't I get my shit together enough to send him that picture of E with hair?'

Uncle Dave passed away this morning.  My phone rang at 530 and when I saw my sister's name on the caller ID I knew what she was going to say.  I've known this moment was coming for a long time now.  But despite all the heartbreaking - and oftentimes numbing - experience I have with death, I just can't predict when someone's last moments will be.  I wish I could.  Patients and their families ask me all the time.  And I so badly wish I could have better answers for them.  Something more helpful that 'I don't know.'  Give them the time they are asking me for - time to prepare.  But the truth is, I just don't know.  No one does.  And the even bigger truth?  You can't prepare.  You can't.

But even as I write this post I realize that part of me did know.  Part of me knew when I spoke to him 2 days ago.  We talked about nothing.  We talked about everything.  He expressed concern that E wasn't walking yet and I assured him that at 11 months old she still had time yet.  Our conversation left me with a smile on my face and so much love in my heart.  And part of me knew.

I wish so many things.  I wish I'd had more patience.  That I had made it home more often to see him.  That I could have helped shoulder the work load that my family has taken on these past 2 years of illness.  But more than anything I wish I could have made him better.  My body aches with how much I wish I could have saved him.

David Lee.  I am so happy that you are no longer in pain.  So happy that this life is done and you've moved on to the next.  Moved on to a place where you can walk.  Run.  Maybe even ski downhill with a ridiculous top hat on.  I've heard all the stories;)  But I will miss your potato salad and your deviled eggs.  I'll miss your under the radar thoughtfulness that would pop up at the most random times.  I'll even miss the prying - sometimes usually frustrating - questions that I had to remind myself came from a place of pride and affection.  I will miss you, Uncle.  So much.

All my love.  Amy Michelle.

2014

2013 ended on - frankly - a shitty note.  It was a stellar year overall - my little e.r is the absolute best thing that has ever happened to me.  But towards the end of the year life just got, I don't know, funky?  And not in a good way?  I don't even know exactly how to describe it.  Definitely there are specific events and experiences I could recount.  But they wouldn't really capture the basic feeling of yuckiness.  Was hoping that with the start of 2014 everything would feel somehow fresher, cleaner.  Which is kind of stupid.  Counting on the turn of the calendar to make me feel good about where I am is way past lazy and naive.  Right?  So here I am 4 short days into the new year and I am deep into one serious funk.  This morning I sat at my kitchen table because the kitchen is my happy place (side note: less happy since I saw a scary sized gray mouse dart across the floor during dinner a few days back).  I sat and I thought.  Trying to figure it - everything - out.  And in walked my Clayton.  Quite a bit of my current funk I laid on his shoulders.  Some appropriately.  Some unfairly.  But I put it out there.  And you wanna know what he did?  He took it.  He just took it.  And now I can see how maybe this year might be the best one yet.  Because he's here with me.  Always.