Chaotic Mourning

 We had reached an equilibrium, he and I. It wasn't perfect, but the Boy and I had a schedule. Breakfast with cartoons, playtime, nap time (for him, too!), cooking Daddy's supper together, family time, and bed time. I knew when Baby Brother comes, this would all change and throw us into a period of chaos. I have prepared myself for that eventuality. What I didn't realize was how soon the chaos would come upon us. I thought we'd have our normal, a crazy hospital stay, and THEN the chaos. How could there be chaos when there's no tiny, Hulk baby to make the world turn upside down yet? Ah, but the force is strong with this one. (Yes, I mixed universes, get over it.) Tiny, Hulk-baby-in-utero wanted to make sure no one forgot he's coming soon, and so, Mommy got put on bed rest. Now, suddenly, in the span of an afternoon, nothing's the same... But all seemed the same... Except that Mommy has to nap a lot (this is my devastated face). It's the same schedule, but with grandmas here to help. What could be more fun?

But after the 50th, "Mommy, where are you?" and the 100th screaming fit when I left the room (I had to potty...again), and the 500th defiance to "obey," it's become quite clear that something's not the same. The Boy can sense a disturbance within the force (I'm really not a Star Wars fan, I promise). And as I asked myself what am I doing wrong, I was made to realize, "something has changed within me, something is not the same. I'm playing by the rules of someone else's game." (Ok, I'll stop.)

But seriously, all theatrical references aside, Mommy's no longer in control... And while that's not a bad thing, perhaps it's good for both of us to have that experience right now, it still means chaos. Because in Boy-world, if Mommy's not in control, who is? And in Mommy-world, if I can't get our act together now, how on earth will I know which way is up when there's two of them (there's gonna be TWO of them!)?

Today, I failed at controlling the chaos. And then I realized that's what it is: chaos. Sooner than I expected, prepared for, but here nonetheless. I've been mourning the loss of normal, or the arrival of chaos, or chaotically mourning, or just having a chaotic morning. Who knows?! Time to embrace it.

And THEN, I'll get to embrace that squishy, 'little' Hulk-baby, and teach him how to upset Daddy with misguided geekdom references. I had the order backwards, but that's chaos for you.

Boys

It was 2:41am. I heard a door shut. The pitter patter of little feet. Our bedroom door open and close. Then, a little voice, “Mommy? I si’ wi’ you?”

 “I’m here, baby. You can sit with me,” not knowing or caring what time it was, the object simply being to just give him whatever he wants so we can all rest, principles left in the eye-grit of sleep.

“Daddy? Whatcha doomin?” as if most parents do any number of things in the dark in the middle of the night… I don't know, perhaps it was a valid question, but “Shh, baby, Daddy's sleeping. If you're going to stay in here, you have to be quiet and be still.” A whispered, “K,” answered from the dark.

We settled back down, somehow with Boy legs against my very large belly. Just as breathing becomes even and a mother’s hope rises, I feel the flops. “Mommy, was dat?” *Sigh* It had been one of those rare-at-this-point, hard sleeps. “That's the baby. He’s trying to sleep, too,” I hope, though I doubt his brother-in-utero really had much plans to that effect after having been awakened so early...or late, depending on which side of the clock you're on. “Shh...go to sleep.” Big brother settled back down; little brother did whatever he wanted.

And it was in that instant that my now-awake consciousness (it had been such a GOOD sleep) realized the beauty of motherhood encapsulated by that moment. The preciousness of snuggling my two boys in a way I soon will never again. The little boy wiggles, inside and out. The desperate clinging to some principle in the face of midnight requests for Mommy. The exhaustion...oh, the exhaustion (it had been SUCH a GOOD sleep). All rolled together into one shadow-hazed yawn of a soft mattress and warm blankets on a cold, winter night.

He tried. He really did. But an hour later, after a request of Mickey and, “I hungwy,” Mommy gave up. Between the three of us taking turns wiggling (I couldn't help it!), and waking the other two light sleepers up again, it just wasn't happening. Daddy sleeps hard, but his slumber can only take so much when faced with the wiggling elephant and her two offspring on the other side of the bed. So, based on the principle that he and I can't do this together much longer (that counts, right?), Mommy and the Boy snuck off for a little midnight (early morning?) snack and Mickey binging. Granmommy’s coming to play tomorrow (today). I’ll catch up on bedrest, then. If she’s lucky, maybe the Boy will, too.

I've Looked at Clouds from Both Sides Now...

We have made much progress on Baby's room! We've gotten a lot done in the last few weeks. It's been so exciting to watch things come together just like (or better than) I imagined!

 I think I mentioned before that we had bought the crib and the changing table/dresser. The dresser needed painting so that it would no longer look like a purply-gray Dalmation. We did indeed paint the dresser, a chest of drawers, a corner cabinet, and a wall shelf Sherwin Williams' "Dover White." All of the pieces look revived, refreshed, and relieved from years in a sad coat of paint.

While we had the furniture in the garage for painting, we also painted Baby's bedroom walls. When my husband and I were dating, and I would visit his family, I was always placed in what used to be my brother-in-law's bedroom. His room was on the second floor, as far as you could get away from everyone else (the privacy was appreciated in a house full of boys), and the walls were bright blue with clouds everywhere. My brother-in-law had planes and dragons everywhere, and I could see how cool it could be as a boy's room. BUT as a girl, staying in that room, surrounded by clouds, I always felt like a princess living in the highest room in the tallest tower. I could easily have made that room into a fairy castle in the sky. So, all throughout dating my husband, I always thought that if we ever had children, we'd paint the room just like that. And since my mother-in-law (former Art Studies major) had painted the room by herself the first time, we should have no problem recreating the paint job.

Fast forward seven years, and my husband and I were ready to paint the room blue with clouds. Except this time, I didn't want bright, little boy blue; I wanted soft, soothing, baby blue since we aren't finding out the gender of this baby. Sherwin Williams was helpful enough to carry "Aviary Blue," which was the perfect shade.

The technique to make the clouds was rather unusual. Usually when you think blue with clouds, you think, paint everything blue and then paint white clouds on top. My mother-in-law had a better way. We painted the entire room bright white first and let it dry. Then, I went around the room and marked where I wanted the clouds to be. She would roll on some blue around the cloud area, and then wipe off the blue with a wet rag to make the clouds. It sounds confusing, I know. I couldn't visualize how it would be done beforehand. I just trusted my mother-in-law. She'd done it once. I assumed she could do it again. 

You are in luck. I had took a video (of marginal quality) of my mother-in-law "finding" a cloud. You can see for yourself how we did it:

Isn't that amazing? It turned out perfectly! I'm so in love with the room! Here are some pictures of it in progress.

Brown-to-White Day

Brother-in-law helping

 

Mother-in-law painting

Husband on a ladder

Cloud Day!

I marked where I wanted clouds with blue tape.

Pregnant me wiping clouds with MIL 

MIL painting

And so we had our blue cloud baby room.

Since we aren't finding out the gender, I've decided to go with yellow accents for the room. I found some lovely yellow damask canvas fabric that my amazing mother-in-law helped make into a slipcover for the rocking chair I already had. I recovered the ottoman in the same fabric that I found at Hobby Lobby. At Lowe's, we found the same color yellow in a Valspar spray paint, which my wonderful husband used to paint a lamp we already had yellow. Also at Hobby Lobby, I found some yellow fabric that was already gathered with stretchy thread. I used that fabric and this lady's idea to make a crib skirt. We moved back in the furniture, cleaned out the closet, and soon will work on window treatments to filter the light for naptimes. Mostly, we're just waiting on Baby. We're are so incredibly happy!

Here's the (mostly) finished room!

Shutter Speed

I'm a semi-procrastinator. I put off things until they bother me so much I just can't take it anymore, and then, I get whatever it is I've been procrastinating done in a very short, very exhausting amount of time.

We moved into our house in December of 2011. In the master bathroom, the sellers had put up in the windows these paper shades that were stuck with heavy duty double-sided tape to the top of the window frame. They weren't the worst things I've ever seen... but they were by no means pretty.

Upon settling in, we immediately went about decorating, arranging furniture, and getting things the way we liked them. Yet, because, no one ever saw our master bathroom but us, we let it slide until we figured out what we wanted to do with them. I've always wanted a black and white bathroom. Black and white tile, white wainscoting on the bottom half of the wall, black paint on the top half, and black and white accessories. However, our house was freshly painted a tan color by the sellers, we didn't want to spend time painting before moving in, and I'm not entirely sure how to do wainscoting on these walls due to the weird wall ledge beside the tub. So, we left the bathroom tan.

Not long after we moved in, I realized it will be years, if not never, before I have the chance for a bathroom exactly like I'd envisioned. So, rather than waste time and money on a decor that was my second choice, I decided to incorporate the tan into the black and white theme. So, our bathroom is black and white and tan. Once I'd decided that, I picked out window treatments. At first, I was going to make Roman shades with the fabric from my Bathroom stool project. Then, I realized that for decency sake, I'd have to keep the shades all the way down most of the time, and I really wanted more sunlight than that. That's when I went to the Houston Library in Athens, AL. There in the bathroom were old fashioned shutters. I fell in love. That was the moment I decided I had to have shutters for my own bathroom.

My husband and I took measurements and checked out prices at Lowes. Yeah, there was no way we could afford that route. We then turned to one of my favorite home decor solutions: Antique Stores. We visited Hartselle, AL, and scoured the shops for four shutters that fit our measurements. It was not easy, but we were successful. As the shutters had a natural finish, now all we had to do was paint them white and hang them. Then, the month turned to June. It was simply too hot to be outside painting. Trust me, I tried. I took my little brush and a can of paint and sat for hours while making very little ground painting each slat one by one. So, I set the project aside for cooler weather. Granted the ideal time would have been Fall, but I was just incredibly busy in the Fall with other projects, and didn't have the motivation. It wasn't until after Christmas, when I worked on my Candlestick project, that I became inspired.

In my off time, I had decided that spray primer and paint was my best bet, as long as I was careful not to paint the shutters closed. So, armed with my trusty trigger tool and a can of primer, I went to work.

It was not a short project. I first sprayed all the shutters with primer. This was very important. The paint refused to stick without it... I tried. Then, I let it dry. I sprayed on another coat of primer. I let it dry. I sprayed on a coat of paint. I let it dry. I sprayed on several more coats of paint and let them dry. As I began to work on the last shutter, I ran out of the cheap Lowes paint I'd been using. You see, I didn't want this to be a million dollar project, so I bought the cheap stuff. I thought paint is paint and white is white (in the spray paint world at least). I had on hand some Rustoleum paint I'd used to paint my patio furniture. So, rather than go back to the store and buy more paint, I used it. I was shocked. One coat and it was covered. A few sprays of touch-up and it was done. Lesson learned, I thought to myself. If it looks like colored water, and it acts like colored water, it probably is very near to colored water. Don't buy the cheap stuff. You'll spend more money on more cans of it than you would on quality spray paint.

Despite my mistakes in paint choices, the shutters were FINALLY finished. Now, to hang them. I knew I got married for a reason. We bought shutter hinge kits at Lowes so we'd have matching hardware, and I commandeered my husband to help me for a Saturday project.

We relished the pulling down of the paper shades:

And after the shades were down, we found a couple of helpers:

^Zeus and Apollo^

After much measuring and many escape attempts by the screws, we got our bathroom shutters up! I love them so much! I love how they provide privacy while letting in light through the slats and through the unfiltered window at the top.

Damask Stool, Black Candlesticks, and Shutters!

Aren't they wonderful?! Just to prove it, here's a Before and After:

BEFORE

AFTER

Seven Days....

NO, I've never seen that movie, but I think it's fun to quote that line.

It's Seven Days til Christmas folks! Yes, I just said, "folks." Which when pronounced, does not have an 'L.' If it does, ya ain't from round here. "Here" is north Alabama. Where it's a sunny 59 degrees, and little chance of a White Christmas in sight. However, we can dream, can't we.

In all actuality, the one White Christmas we've had in nearly a century (2010), though amazing and a dream come true, was not much fun. You see, there are no snow plows in Alabama. We have no need for them. Therefore, when it does snow, we shut down. Entirely. And wait for the next day, when it will have inevitably melted. Nonetheless, shutting down on Christmas Day really wasn't all that much fun. Several gatherings were cancelled and couldn't be rescheduled. So, in all honesty, once was enough for me. I'd rather be able to actually go celebrate Christmas with family, than have a White Christmas while I'm stuck inside. Don't get me wrong, 2010 was our first Christmas as a married couple and was simply magical to have that special, get-up-and-it's-snowing, hey-it's-also-Christmas feeling together. But, it's not something I need every year.

What I do need every year, is Christmas music! And lots of it. So, while my cat tries to open the Christmas presents... or vanquish the terrifying train around the tree, I shall share with you some of my favorite Christmas songs. Maybe they'll help you get in the Christmas mood. You only have Seven Days...




First, an obscure song that's played at my parents' every year while we decorate the tree. Such a silly song, but SO much fun!

Yah Dis Ist Ein Christmas Tree- Mel Blanc

Because Karen Carpenter is Awesome, you get two from her:

Home for the Holidays- The Carpenters

Really, the entire Carpenters Christmas Portrait album is fantastic. It was hard to choose just two, and I can't really call these my favorites because almost all of them are favorites from this album.

Merry Christmas Darling- The Carpenters

For a little (law-abiding) joyriding...

Little St. Nick- Beach Boys

Because we all love Brenda Lee, whether we know it or not, and we all wish for a little snow.

Marshmallow World- Brenda Lee

And another... (See, I told you. You love her. You just didn't know it.)

Rockin Around the Christmas Tree- Brenda Lee

For a little romance... and duet:

Baby, It's Cold Outside- Johnny Mercer and Margaret Whiting

I love duets. And I love Bing Crosby:

Silver Bells- Bing Crosby and Carol Richards

For heartbreak... with a little bounce.

Last Christmas- Cascada

Straight out of the Rudolph movie. Brings back memories.

Holly Jolly Christmas- Burl Ives

My husband insists I sing the back-up on this song. He will sing his part over and over and over, until I chime in. He's really very pushy about it. It's tradition.

Snowflake- Jim Reeves

A little Judy Garland, anyone?

Have Yourself a Merry Little Chrismas- Judy Garland

Really, what music list can exclude Elvis? It just can't. Here's the King, without Martina McBride sticking her two cents in.

Blue Christmas- Elvis Presley

Here's a little energy boost to send you on your cheery way! (Be sure to try to hit that high note! Good luck!)

All I Want for Christmas is You- Mariah Carey

Clearly, these are not ALL of my favorite Christmas songs. How could they be? There are so many to choose from! However, if I counted correctly (and it's very possible I didn't), here's 14 of my favorite Christmas songs. So, you have 7 days to get in the Christmas mood. Take two and call me in the morning.

Merry Christmas!

"Sweet & Spicy Chunky 'Spaghetti'"

John and I had not been married long. I worked my own day job, while my husband worked night shift, three nights a week at the Mental Health Facility of a hospital. I was tired, he was tired, we were out of groceries, and we were starving. In our cupboards were just the staples--things my mother taught me to never run out of, no matter what. Among them, that could yield quick suppertime results, were frozen burgers, but no buns; tomato soup, but we were hungrier than that; a can of Rotel, but no Velveeta; linguine noodles, but no makings for Alfredo sauce; and the emergency can of tomato paste that Momma insisted I would need someday, though I'd had no use for it yet. 

Growing up in the country, grocery stores were not just around the corner. When I was taught to cook, I was taught improvisation in the extreme. What do you do when you need buttermilk for the pie you have halfway mixed and just realized you don't have it? You mix regular milk with vinegar. What do you do when the chicken casserole calls for more chicken than you have? Mix in a can of cream of chicken soup. These are just a few examples, and I'm sure every family has their own versions. The point is that my mind has been trained to look at ingredients and compute the edible items I can make out of them. Call it a gift. Call it military training borne out of perceived starvation.

So, on that dreary day when my husband needed supper and neither of us had energy to grocery shop, "Sweet & Spicy Chunky 'Spaghetti'" was born.



Sweet & Spicy Chunky 'Spaghetti'

1 can of tomato soup
1 can of Rotel
1 (6 oz) can of tomato paste
4 frozen burger patties OR 1 lb of ground beef (for less chunky)
1 pkg of uncooked linguine noodles
1 tbsp dried oregano (optional)
1 tbsp dried basil (optional)

Begin boiling linguine in a pot of water with olive oil and salt until al dente. Brown burger patties (or ground beef) in a large skillet. Once browned, drain off grease and return to pan. If using patties, cut them into bite-sized chunks. Add tomato soup, Rotel, and tomato paste. Add 1 tbsp oregano and 1 tbsp basil. Cook on low, stirring occasionally, until warm.  Drain linguine (and if desired, toss with 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp of salt, 1 tbsp of lemon juice, 1 tsp of oregano, and 1 tsp of basil.) Toss sauce with linguine and serve.



What I love about this recipe is not only the sweet flavor of the soup with the spicy flavor of the Rotel and the flatness of the linguine (I have issues with actual spaghetti noodles, blame my mother), but also the fact that each of these ingredients could be part of many other recipes. I've learned to keep these ingredients on hand at all times, so I know I always have at least one thing I can make. In fact, it's when I run out of one of these that I know it's time to grocery shop again... something I have gotten better at, you'll be pleased to hear. I think this is the perfect recipe for every young married couple, college kid, and bachelor with a stinky bachelor pad. So, "Stick with me, and you'll never go hungry again!" (Please, somebody, get the reference!)