Gradual Decline of the Diaper Bag

I've really noticed the gradual decline of my diaper bag this go round.

I think it's really comical.

Your first outing (usually the pediatrian's office a few days after birth) you meticulously pack that diaper bag with every thing you would think you could maybe need. 2 extra outfits, pacifiers, 2 burp clothes, extra socks...all kinds of things.

A month later you find yourself packing diapers, wipes, and an extra outfit. You figure you can use the underside of your shirt to clean up spit up if it so happens (or maybe this is just me).

A month later you find yourself carrying around a grocery bag with diaper and wipes in it. Nothing else because you figure they can just go naked if they happen to ruin their clothes (and you can bet on it the first time you don't pack an extra outfit).

Then you start carrying the diaper and wipes.

And today I got down the the bare necessities by carrying just one lone diaper with me. And when Sullivan had a blow out...I proceeded to use my creativity and wash his bottom off with the melted ice from my Large to go glass of water from three days ago.

Am I the only one here? Or is this normal?

What Not to Wear #1

It's that time of year again! Time to post pictures of the interesting people I had the pleasure of viewing this week. Unfortunately with a nursing baby and a crazy 2 year old, I wasn't always able to grab my camera as someone strange looking walked by, but I managed to get quite a collection. I'll have to do them in different posts because I got so many this year! I was very sad not to capture the glory of the bearded mountain man proudly sporting a shirt covered in cats that read simply, "I (heart) cats". Sad day!

Enjoy!

end at Merlefest.

I wonder if his beard ever gets zipped up in his pants?

I loved that purse!

I thought this little elfin creature was pretty cute!

Matchy matchy!

I thought this girl was so classy and beautiful!

Who doesn't love a tshirt covered in machine guns?

Way to be at home in your surroundings! Wear bedroom slippers!

I thought these girls were adorable! They were rocking the belly dancing skirts:-)

Check out that hair! That is a man, people! I literally ran with my 16 lb "newborn" to get this picture.

Fanny pack. Check. Elephant shirt. Check.

Cute little girl who was claiming her princess status.

This dude thought he was hot stuff. He was surrounded by 5 giggling middle school girls though.

Stay tuned for more!

Sarah Robbins!

Sarah Robbins,

Please add me to your private blog! I cannot find you anymore and I miss reading your posts! I tried to find you on fb but after several hundred sarah robbins I gave up.

Love Helen Joy

Balance

It's been a discouraging couple of days.

If I have learned anything from being a mother it is that, somedays, no matter how motivated and productive you WANT to be, your little ones may have different ideas and that is that. Forget it.

Last week was wonderful, I had gotten the house in order and I felt so much freedom! I noticed a huge difference in my husband's attitude towards me. I had more time to play and blog and do other things I wanted to do.

Then the weekend came and Sullivan started being really fussy (like waking up every 10 or so minutes throughout the day and night) and my house is filthy and I'm beyond achy and tired and Barclay has watch 4 shows on Netflix already, because I have to finish editing some pictures.

I'm just tired. I'm tired of fighting every single bite during every meal with Barclay. I'm tired of every time the baby falls asleep, Barclay falling down and sobbing for 5 minutes, and when that sobbing is over, the baby waking up. I know it's selfish, but I'm tired of these babies getting in my way of being productive.

I have come to the conclusion that I will never ever accomplish everything I want to in one day. Yesterday I excercised and edited but I wasn't able to really play with Barclay and I didn't read my Bible and I didn't clean. I cooked but I had zero energy or patience with my husband. I took a meal to a friend (which I LOVE doing) but I didn't brush Barclay's teeth last night. It just seems I should try to do all of these daily things in the space of 3 days, because there simply isn't enough time.

I'm really really trying to loose some weight. Not a diet but I am doing weight watchers (my skin cringes when I say that for some reason). I have come out of both pregnancies weighing about 8 lbs less than my prepregnancy weight. This is due to the fact that I throw up almost every day of the entire pregnancy. But as soon as the baby is born I become this ravenous beast. Breastfeeding plus the fact that food stays down makes me feel like I can eat and need to eat every single thing I see, and a lot of it. But I desperately want to focus on my body and be healthy. I feel like I've really beat it up the past three years. I want to feel attractive and proud. I just want to get back down to a size 10 (because all my favorite clothes are that size). I'm probably a 12/14 now so it's not a lot. Every single day I am tempted to quit, because there seems to be sooo many other things I need to focus on. But I am pressing on. I am determined to have a little bit of self control. I like weight watchers because it isn't drastic. I am able to eat salad for dinner if I know I am going to a party and might want to partake of some goodies. It's about portion control and really for me, self control. Don't worry, it has alloted me an extra 15 points because I am breastfeeding. I think they should have a box you can check entitled, "Are you breastfeeding a 16 pound two month old who likes to eat every hour and eats like a pig?" Ha!

So I just feel overwhelmed with all the daily stuff I need and want to do. With the trying to be healthy, with the maintaining of my marriage when at the end of the day, all I want to do is crumple into a ball in front of the TV and escape. I want to be a more imaginative mom and teach my little Barclay all kinds of wonderful things. I want to hold my baby who is growing a pound a week, and love on him instead of try to just get him content enough that I can do something else. I feel like the worst friend in the world to all my wonderful friends. I take like 6 days to return calls and texts, I never check up on them...

But there are only 24 hours in a day, and I'd LIKE to sleep at least 7 of them.

Hall

Ta Da!

This is the first time since we moved in three months ago that no boxes were lining the hallway! This beautiful hallway is my favorite part of the house. It makes it feel so much bigger!

This little guy is sad that his obstacle course is ruined and now it is easy to navigate:-)

On top of the wardrobe, we have a 100 year old bowl that I use for my baby photographs and at home I store baby blankets in it. The basket next to it has baby toys...so Barclay wont steal all of Sullivan's toys:-) That painting to the left is one of my favorites I've done. I did it in a dark time in my life when I was really struggle with Bi Polar Disorder. It's a woman crying and next to it is a jar of tears. Because of the verse that God bottles our tears. I love it. It's modern and emotion. My husband isn't a fan, but it reminds me of how good God has been to draw me out of despair into His hope.

The wardrobe where we keep our linens and towels and our blanket basket.

I got this awesome vintage poster (I usually am not a fan of posters) at a yard sale for 2.50.

Our wonderful little dresser that we keep mail, and things we use almost every day in. Those brass busts hanging there were inherited from Noah's grandparents. I love them, I think I'll probably move them though. They look odd there.

I love this old, weather pewter bowl I bought at a yard sale. It holds change, our keys and cell phones and a timer that I use when I clean.

This is one of my favorite parts of the house. This was such a big space behind the front door but not a lot would fit there. I created a little station. A wooden bench that we can put all our bags on when we come in and out. The basket is my "to-go-to-people" basket. So if I know I'm going somewhere and need to bring something to someone, I just put it in the basket that day. Then all the diaper bags. It works great!

The little bird hooks I bought at Maste General in our downtown. They are iron and I LOVE them. I had my grandfather put them on a piece of old barn wood from my mom's farm. The painting above it is one of my favorite that I did in college. It's of a dandelion field. There are actual bugs in the paint because I did it on site one spring day.

My big project with the hallway is to line it with all sorts of family pictures from our parents as youngins down to our newest little one. Should be fun, and HARD! Hard to pick just a select few!

Bathroom

Ta Da!

I love this bright shower curtain I found at walmart. I hated having just a plain white one because it showed dirt and because when you walked in you were distracted by dirt...and now you're distracted by the curtain;-)

This room was pretty much in working order as well. But we had 2 problems. 1 being that our single bathroom is pretty far away from the laundry room and our bedroom so we were constantly leaving our dirty clothes on the floor after our showers. Especially when you are wrangling 2 naked babies, taking the clothes into another room to put in a hamper didn't work. And the room is far too small to put a hamper in.

I was so excited when I found this back of the door hanging hamper. I know it's a little dorm roomish, but I don't care. It's so functional!

When we moved in I was really annoyed with the medicine cabinet. It was HUGE and every time I went to wash my hands, my face was almost pressed against it because the sink is pretty small and the cabinet stuck so far out. I finally convinced Noah to let me take it down. It opened the whole room up so much! Unfortunately I don't have a before picture of the cabinet, but I replaced it with this pretty blue mirror my mother in law handed down to me. After we paint, I'll eventually hang it on the wall, but I kind of like it leaned instead of hung..but I'm 5'3" so it works for me:-) You would think that lack of storage would be hard for us, but we are a very simple family who hard use anything other than what's in the shower. I blowdry my hair about once every six months, I brush my hair three times a week, I put lotion on about every six weeks...we're simple so we can keep all that stuff in the bedroom for the random times we will use it:)

I got this awesome photograph already framed for a dollar at goodwill. It's developed in a really cool way.

I love the little turquoise vase to the right, a gift. And then a framed picture of my cute little Barclay's bare butt, and then I filled an old glass bottle I got for free with dried green peas.

I got this painting at a yard sale in Asheville. It was an artist who was selling all her work to move to the west coast. I met her and she was so cool. I spent a little more than I do at yard sales for it...$20. But I felt like it was more of a gallery sale than an actual yard sale. It is fabric stitched and then painted. I love the colors and the simplicity. In all our moves, the matte actually got damaged so I got a new, offcentered one at Michaels. Here's the funny thing...I forged the artist's signature! But it's an original piece of art and I love it!

I got this tiny shelf that fits perfectly next to the opened door and the sink. I want to decorate it and maybe get some small baskets to put on it. It's good for extra rolls of toilet paper and the very few toiletreis we use.

All I want to do to this room is repaint, hang up a towel rack, and decorate the little shelf.

Lovesick

I really cannot even breath sometimes I just love my boys so much.