Made by Mom

I'm nearly five weeks into this mom-of-two gig and I'm still alive, my friends.  I haven't had much to report because it's not really noteworthy.  On one hand it's great - I don't have the fear and uncertainty I did with Sofia because this is no longer my first rodeo.  When Andrea cries I'm not struck with panic, wondering and doubting if I have what it takes to soothe her because the answer is Yes, I do.  They're called boobs and they're awesome.  On the other hand, there's not much to blog about.  We're just over here, living life.  

So, thanks to my awesome boobs and the Ergo, we're actually making it and doing ok.  Of course, please don't let me sound like it's easy.  It takes a minimum of four trips to get them both in and out of the car.  I thought I hated winter with just one kid but two kids makes me LOATHE winter.  I have never been more thankful for a warm-ish sunny day because it means I don't have lug blankets and coats back and forth to the car.

We still haven't figured out sleeping, which has been super not fun.  I haven't figured out how to be in two places at once to get two small people to sleep in two separate places while nursing one and soothing the other.  Bedtimes and naptimes have been a straight-up battle with Sofia and my heart breaks for her because I know this is just her adjusting.  I have lost my patience with her a couple of times and I fully regret that but I think we're making progress.  

Now, Andrea is adjusting rather nicely.  She tolerates her sister squeezing her cheeks with grace.  She cries when she's wet or hungry and stops just as soon as she's dry and/or has a boob in her mouth; she's gaining weight like a champ and I count my blessings every time I look at her sweet face.

I kinda can't blame Sofia for wanting to squeeze her cheeks.

I mean, just look at them!  They're begging to be squeezed and kissed and chewed on!

Speaking of other things that are made by Mom, I've made some decorating progress.  Some things I did before I had the baby, but others I've managed to do since she's gotten here and I'd love to share them.

Floor cushion, take two

The first floor cushion for Sofia's room was decent - for my first try.  The second try was much better, although still not perfect.  That navy panel wasn't supposed to be there but I ran out of pink fabric; I won't tell if you won't.

I also got around to making a new pillow cover for her chair too!

Not too shabby if I do say so myself.

Then I switched out the wall art above the dresser.

I really loved my Avalisa canvases but I couldn't find exactly what I wanted this time, so I decided to try my hand at making my own canvases.  That's the best thing about kids' rooms - nothing has to be perfect.  At least that's what I'm telling myself.  I went to AC Moore and got some canvases, paint and frames and made a new trio.

Plus, it's automatically better than anything you can buy when you sign it.

This new trio was super easy and I really like how it turned out.

I finally made progress in the nursery too!

The first try was decent, but I didn't love it.

Thanks to hanging everything but the mirror with Command strips, 

changing the frames around was easy.

I like this setup much more.  Obviously I need to change the pictures and I'm 

going to paint the middle black frame white, but I got stuff on the walls.

And now I'm hating that I hung the mirror with nails because 

I'm thinking it needs to be a little higher.

A little close up of my sweet girl

And one more because there's no such thing as too much cuteness.

Additionally, the original furniture placement wasn't doing it for me.

I poached the bookcase from the playroom downstairs to bring it to the nursery.

There really isn't room for it down there anyway.  Sofia has a ball pit, slide and a trampoline in her playroom now so it's not like she'll really miss it.

I gave it two coats of primer specifically for laminate furniture, two coats of white paint that we already had and it looks pretty decent in the nursery.  Now I just have to fill it and decorate the top and it'll make a nice addition in there.

I'm thinking about a big piece of art for the left wall, this room needs a floor cushion, I need something over the crib and I'd like to put something on top of the table but for now, I'm just glad the room isn't so bare anymore.

And yeah, I still have to sew the slipcover for the chair but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Design stuff makes me so happy and while I make plenty of mistakes (remind me to show you the living room rug) I like to think I'm learning and making improvements.  You know what they say, If at first you don't succeed, buy another rug.

...As Drew's nervous twitch gets worse...