Thursday, May 30, 2013

Summer Projects, never-ending?

Well, I did not get the job I interviewed for, which is a huge bummer, but I do get my summer back which is nice. It's a long summer too, because we started school early in the year at the beginning, which means it ended early (aka, next week!) but we start late next fall, so long summer for me.

Here is the plan! 

*Note- the plan is every changing, depending on finances, my mood, the toddlers mood, and how nice it is outside*

June 10th-16th : Creating Kaylee's "Big girl" room. This means taking down the molding, repainting, getting her a new bed (which is on it's way!) and redecorating. I highly anticipate this will take longer than a week, but I'm going to shoot to get it done as early in the summer as possible.

June 17th - 23rd : Heart of Kylassame pre-release week! I am so psyched! My second book in the Kaldalangra series, has a release date set for June 26th. So this week is going to be the huge pre-release push, and hopefully I can get the book out to happy fans a little sooner than anticipated. You can find more information about Heart of Kylassame on my author blog, as well as purchasing information for the first book of the series, The Lady of Steinbrekka.

June 24th- 30th : Maine prep! Yes, it is going to take me an entire week to prep for our trip to Maine. Have you ever done a 15 hour + road trip with a toddler? (No, seriously, if you have I would LOVE to hear your tips. I am terrified.). We will also be staying in a location with limited outside access (aka, closest store is about an hour away) so I have to go into packing overdrive (but keep it limited to what we can fit in our car. weeee)

July 1st - 7th : Maine Vacation

July 8th-July 14th : Hopefully this will be the big week/days to get a railing on our front step-porch area. Bug loves to sit up there and draw with her chalk, but all it takes is a moment of distraction and she would tip right off the edge. Railing time!

July 15th - 21st : Birthday prep and party!

July 22nd - 28th : Toy purge and play-room upgrade ( to account for any new toys coming in from the birthday)

I haven't quite figured out the rest of the summer (July 29th through August 25th), but I'm sure I will figure out something!

Playroom update

You know what is even more exhausting than having a toddler? Having a toddler with toys! Some days I just feel like getting rid of all of them and giving her a stick to play with, except she would probably just whack me with it, or poke her eye out, so maybe the toys are safer.

I've been working on re-doing the playroom since it first became a playroom. It's a never ending transformation. So far this system seems to be working (although I have tweaked it since taking these pictures)





 This is the first happy toy area. Bigger toys go on top where she can easily access them, and I can easily put them away. One cubby contains books for her (she also has a bookcase in the other room). The "ball basket" is an Ikea 4.99 laundry basket, and the other fabric boxes are from The Dollar Store.


The second happy toy area is a work in progress. This was before the work lol. Basically I took a bunch of bins from The Dollar Store and am separating her smaller toys into the bins. Each bin now has a labeled lid. It's perfect because she can see the toys, but can't quite get the lids off, so it's harder for her to scatter her toys to the wind.


Small container #1 (Also from The Dollar Store) is for all of her flash cards. She has actually managed to go through an entire set of animals (matching picture with sounds even) and then she also has a set for food. Mostly she likes looking at the pictures and playing with the cards. 5 packs of cards fit into one container. This is much better than acting as a second carpet. We have another e of those boxes for her puzzle





We also have a second box for her puzzle pieces. She loves doing puzzles but have you stepped on a puzzle piece? Those suckers hurt. This way they are nice and contained. She usually likes to do all the puzzles at once anyway, so I just help her sort them into the correct puzzle zone.


                                                                                                             



This was also a happy solution. It's also an Ikea product that was (I think, $2.99). We use it to hold her growing collection of stuffed animals. It hangs onto her changing table which is currently in use to hold her bigger stuffed animals, more books, and more storage containers.



Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Yard update

This is going to be the first of 2 yard updates. Mainly because I ran out of time before the rain came to take pictures of everything we've done, so I was relegated to shots of things I could take from within the protection of my roof and a 5 minute "dash outside" spree.

Remember my pathetic little TLC Cherry Tree that I rescued/bought for nothing when we first moved into the house? Here's a picture of it from back in 2010

What's that? You can't see it? That single branch coming out of the mulch with leaves on the top?

Here's my happy Cherry Tree now

(Excuse the bricks please, I didn't have a chance to get them in nicely prior to the rain falling).
That inner circle with the grass in it? That was the original mulch pile. I would say I got a pretty decent little tree out of $5 I paid 3 years ago.

When we moved in I started a little hedge in the back.


It is now filling in quite nicely!


It's a bit hard to see because of all the green, but I have taken Rose of Sharon plants and used them to grow a hedge between my neighbors fence and my yard. There is also Ajuga on the ground to provide a nice ground cover that is all pretty and purple and happy. This was taken in early spring before the bushes really popped out.

This is my lovely pea tower.


My dad made the raised bed out of some scrap wood in his yard. It plops around a tree stump that was never removed from our yard (even though we paid a company $300 to remove it) and actually works perfectly to make a pea tower/teepee. I left one side open so we can go inside and gather peas. The yarn (which will be replaced) is black and white, which is why it looks so odd.

My Japanese Maple has exploded!


This gorgeous lady has exploded in growth after I cut off a few large dead branches once spring hit. That little circle garden once was larger than the canopy of the tree, and needs to be redone. The tree is probably 1 foot higher than my head at this point.



K was very concerned that I was out in the rain taking pictures.















Thursday, May 23, 2013

A lesson from Pioneer Woman

Pioneer Woman is one blog that I love to peruse, mostly for recipes (although I feel daunted to try any of her recipes because, well, I suck at cooking lol).

I also like to read over her Dear Pioneer Woman section, because Dee really has some incredible advice. This particular letter struck a cord with me. See, our kid is almost 2 years old, but not 2 months old, but we still feel this way. I am "at work" (I consider the commute time "at work" hence the quotes) from 6:45 am until 5:30pm. My husband has a constantly changing schedule, but frequently his shifts are 4am to 2pm, noon to 10pm, or 9am to 7pm. Then add in the overtime he has to work and...well...we don't get much time.

To make it worse, the time we DO get together it usually tense, because we have to fill it with the parts of being an adult, parent, couple that are not to pleasant. The cleaning, the bill paying, the talks about raising K, bath time and bed time and packing lunches and...you get the idea.

It's a confession I hate to make, but there have been several times in the past two years that the big D word has flitted through my mind. Times when I realize/admit that neither one of us are getting what we need, emotionally or physically, from one another. Times when I wondered if it was worth all the work when, at times, there seemed to be nothing positive coming from the situation.

And no, it's not the kid. It's just life. But we both come from families who have set us up with mindsets that you fix a relationship, not give up on it, and so we keep trying to find ways to reconnect. I love the ways Dee suggests below, and they are all things we used to do (like text "Good morning" to each other every day when we worked odd shifts). So I'm going to start doing them again, and hopefully he will start doing them back, and we can start workings towards giving each other what we need once again.


From www.thepioneerwoman.com



Dear Pioneer Woman,
My husband and I have been married for three years and were blessed 2 months ago with a baby girl. He is a police officer that works in the evening and I have a traditional “day job”. We hardly ever get to see each other anymore due to our schedules and when we do we are exhausted from baby wrangling and work. Do you have any advice on keeping the romance alive for new parents, specifically those that can’t always be in the same place due to schedules?
Thanks!
Working Woman

Dear Working:
Oh, I know this must be tough. Baby exhaustion is a profound phenomenon, and if you throw in two diametrically different work schedules, it can make things even more complicated.
First of all, keep in mind that your baby won’t be a baby forever. While life will always be busy for you (welcome to parenthood!) there will come a time when she’s sleeping better and is easier to care for.
That said, it’s still important for you and your husband to maintain a connection during this time of exhaustion. You don’t say whether you’re together at night or whether he works all night. But if so, I think the best thing you can do is to find small ways to let him know you’re thinking about him and that he’s important to you.
Example: Tuck a note into his wallet (use colored paper so it’ll be noticeable) so that when he pulls it out, he’ll see it. And it doesn’t even have to be an elaborate love letter; just a simple “Love you, honey” will go a long way. “I’ll miss you tonight,” “Hurry home,” or (not to bring my own issues into this) “I love your muscles” are some other ideas.
I know you’re just as busy as he is, but if you ever have a window to whip up some cookies, you could wrap up a few and stick them in his vehicle so he’ll have something to take with him when he’s on duty. (Or, if he’s more of a health nut, homemade granola bars would work.)
Another thing to consider is the importance of making the most of your time when youare together. Turn off your computer, put down your phone. Talk about work, talk about current events, talk about the things you talked about when you were dating and falling in love. In other words, don’t let your conversation be dictated by diapers and spit-up and bathtime. You can change diapers and clean spit-up and give your baby a bath, just talk about interesting things with your husband while you do it. It’ll remind you both that the world is still spinning out there.
(Note: If your husband had written me, I’d be giving him his own set of tips and pointers for how to keep the romance alive. It goes both ways, but if you start taking steps in that direction, chances are he will too.)
Hang in there! I get it. Big time.
Pee-Dubya

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Emergency Preparation

Are you prepared for an emergency? I definitely am not. I was for a little while following the earthquake in Mineral VA that shook my house even though it was 100 miles away. That was in 2010 and I still remember the day clearly.

I was sitting on the couch, enjoying the last bit of freedom before returning back to work. Kaylee, who was just over a month old, had just finished nursing and was happily in a milk-induced coma. Suddenly I had a feeling of being nauseous, dizzy, like the floor had suddenly gone soft underneath of me. I chalked it up to being exhausted, or the dizziness that sometimes overtook me while nursing (totally normal, due to hormonal surges).

Then the dog started whining and ran to the door. When I looked up, the walls in front of me swayed and shook. For a second, I was angry that the construction people in the next neighborhood would be blasting to severely it would make my house move, then I realized the house was still shaking.

I immediately grab my cell phone to call my mother, as my husband was at work. Instantly busy. I try again, the cell phone has signal, but the call cannot connect. I feel myself beginning to have a panic attack. What do I do in the event of an earthquake? All I can remember is "get in a closet, or a doorway, but which one is it?" and freeze. The dog barks at me and, literally, uses her body to force me to the door. We run outside.

After nothing happens, we go back in and the phones are still a mess. I text my mom and finally get through (VERY IMPORTANT!!! In an emergency, text, don't call) and hop on FB. Plastered on my wall was "Was that an earthquake? Did you feel that? Wtf was that?".

I can't get a hold of my husband, so I email my dad (who is at work) and ask him to call Scott and let him know we were okay. He was working 20 miles away from home and hadn't felt, or heard, a thing.

So back to the original story.

I quickly put together an emergency kit after that, but after a year of relative safety and security, it became disassembled and fell by the wayside. Now the horrible disaster in OK has me reminding how completely unprepared and sick I felt in the wake of the earthquake, and now it's time to build it back up.

Sunday, May 19, 2013

More summer projects

More summer projects! These ones will hopefully not take as long as the room, and I have less pretty pictures to show now, but will show later!

Railings for the front step. Yep, we need these now. Not only is it apparently a violation of county code to not have them (oops, yet our house is 13 years old?) but Bug loves to chalk at the doorway and sit and wait for Scott to come home. So we need to make railings to keep her from absent-mindedly falling off the 3' drop into the holly bush, or onto the driveway.

Clean out the garage - My husband sold his Ninja about a month ago, so there is now a ton of space in the garage. Now I just have to go through and organize and clean it all! It has to happen sooner than later since Kaylee can reach almost all of the garage surfaces, so we can no longer just toss tools, paint cans, etc. on top of the current surfaces. It's going to be a lot of sorting, donating (do you really need more than 5 Philip's Screwdrivers of the same size?), and organizing.

Make the yard pretty - I always want to do this in Spring, and by the time I have time it's scorching outside. But, I'm going to at least create the garden space so that next Spring I can just pop everything in and be good to go. I've done a lot already (I'll try to remember to take pics and do another post), but there's still a bit to go.


Friday, May 17, 2013

Summer Projects - Big girl room

Oh yes, it's summer projects time again! Although I just had an interview for a job today that would require me starting July 1st, so I may have to pare down my summer projects quite a bit if I do get the job!

Project 1, and the biggest....Big Girl Room!
Yes, it is time for Bug to get a big girl room. (notice the tear falling from my eye). We are lending her crib to an employee of my husband's so now there is just a big blank space where her crib used to be, and where her bed will go. The current plan is to paint the walls gray, with turquoise, pink, and purple decals and accessories, a la Organizing Made Fun . I'm having some trouble finding the perfect shade of gray, but I know it's out there. I love how the (inspiration) room is the perfect blend of feminine, but not overly girly.

We will be getting this bed from Walmart, South Shore Twin. I love the storage drawers underneath, as well as that little lip on the edge to keep the mattress from sliding. It is also only 16" high (not including the mattress) which I feel is a great advantage for a toddler like Bug (who, at her last doctor's visit 5 months ago, was still only 30" tall). She can easily get in and out of the bed, and a fall is not a huge, scary, painful thing when it's so close to the floor.
We will be keeping her new dresser in the room (also South Shore from Walmart) as well as the glider. This summer is the big transition from our bed to her own room, so I have a feeling I'll be spending some time in the rocker reading as she gets used to falling asleep without me in the bed with her.

Bedding is going to be slightly more difficult. I love this set but my husband is not sold. Then again, if it were up to him, the entire room would be in various shades of pink :-/

Monday, May 6, 2013

Author signing

Saturday was so much fun! I attended my very first author signing and it was a blast. I had worked with my mom (certified Brain Gym as well as in a ton of other mind/energy/body holistic healing fields) on my panic attacks but still assumed I would get one. It's a common thing for me, as annoying as it is. If I have an interview, go to a meeting, or even take my car to a new mechanic I will have a panic attack. My stomach churns, my breathing gets heavy, my hands shake and, most lately, I get dizzy to where I fear blacking out.

But I did none of those things Saturday! I was nervous, but was able to control the nerves. By the time I finished setting up my booth I was calm, collected, and those around me were stunned that it was my "first rodeo" as they say.


It was a great time, if not a profitable day. The encouraging factor was that I sold just as many books as 19 out of the other 20 authors there...but I didn't sell any books, though several people did take a bookmark because they wanted to buy the e-book version. I was able to network though, meet a lot of great authors as well as discover several writing groups that meet around my house.

All in all, an excellent day.

Me with my stuff. I was amazed at how much I ended up bringing. Two bags of stuff (ipad, business card holders, etc) and then the box of books.
Bug has fun with her daddy while I was gone all day. She is apparently going to grow up to be a tattoo artist (don't worry, hers are washable marker)

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Happy Anniversary to me!

It’s hard to believe that I have been married for 4 years (and 1 day, if we’re being specific). Some days, I say “it’s only been 4 years?” and others “wow, 4 years already?”, but yep, there it is. A lot has happened in 4 years, good and bad, happy and not. There is an ebb and flow with relationships, just as there is with anything else in life. We’ve had some hard moments, and there are still some struggles that we are working on but, ultimately, we’re in it for the long haul. 

Here are some highlights (I like highlights) - 
- Honeymoon at Disney, our first (and only as of now) vacation when it was truly just the 2 of us) 
- Buying our first house 
- Finding out I was pregnant and giving birth 
- Having a family of 3 instead of a family of 2 

And some challenges 
- The house hunting process. We began looking for houses in March 2009, intending to put in an offer shortly after we got married in May 2009. We were up against two deadlines that happened on the same day, the expiration of the housing credit and our lease ending, both on Nov 30th. Both were extended which was good, as we didn’t close on our house (the 3rd house we had a contract on, by the way) until April 30th 2010 
- Getting pregnant. It took me 14 cycles to get pregnant, and it was hard. I still don’t know if my husband realizes how hard it was, and part of that is because I kept it hidden. It was my dark secret that I had two miscarriages (both at 6 weeks) and my emotions running with the fertility issues. 
- Struggling with finances. I think this is present with every marriage. Credit card debt, loans, you name it, we have it. But it is slowly going away, and all progress is good. 
- Adjusting to a family of 3 instead of 2 individuals who share a life. Trust me, having a baby changes everything. 

So…I guess if I were to offer advice for those who are thinking about getting married or are newlywed it would be this (and yes, I often need to read my own advice because I’m bad at taking it) 
1) Communicate. Always, always communicate 
2) Take pleasure in the little things. Life is big, and life moves quickly. Make sure to treasure the good moments when they come. 
3) Remember that everything has an ending. If things are looking bad, remember that at some point, it has to change. Do what you can to make the change for the positive. 
4) Tell your spouse what you need. Whether it’s a hug, a clean kitchen, or a talk, don’t expect them to just read your mind. 
5) Go to counseling, even if you are in the good times. (See, this is where I don’t listen to my own advice, but you should!!!)

Oh, and in case you are wondering what we got each other for our anniversary. He bought me a cookie sheet (YES!!!) since my toddler-ninja-magician has hidden my only good one, and I gave him 30 minutes of toddler-free video game time (which is a rare occurrence now that our toddler has learned she just had to grab daddy's controller and run away to get his attention)

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Staying positive even when it hurts

I'm struggling with my new positive outlook today. We just entered state testing at school and it's a trying time. I run around the school, busting my butt every second of the day for a month, and at the end of the month all we hear is "The technology team doesn't do anything". Combine that with the principal of my school designating our office/room as a permanent testing location (even though there are far better locations available) and the school board deciding to eliminate my position on the middle school level, and I'm feeling a bit let down. It's hard not to get sucked in by the negativity, and hard not to say "Well, if no one thinks I'm doing anything, then why bother to do anything to begin with?" It doesn't help that Kaylee had a really hard night last night, so I am running on 3 hours of sleep, most of which was consumed by nightmares that I don't remember, but which made me wake up several times during that 3 hours with my heart racing and my breath short.