Little Bit Funky: 04/01/2009

call me crazy.

So...those of you who know me "in real life", know about my obsession with changing furniture around...a lot. It's like I am on some impossible mission to find THE perfect arrangement of furniture in any given space. I have friends who have been to my house lots...and have never seen it look the same way twice. Doug has even been injured because of furniture moves that I failed to inform him of...(he ran into the TV hutch with his EYE because I moved it over 6 inches...he has to get up for work in the wee dark hours...sorry honey!)
I can't explain why I have the compulsion to do it...but once the urge has hit...I have to move furniture. It helps that I am stubborn...that comes in real handy for moving the large pieces of furniture...scooting it across the room with every ounce of stubborn pride I have. :)
So when Doug called me on his way home from work on Friday...I warned him..."Honey, I've been moving the furniture...and I think we should try switching the living room and dining room".
He said "Ok" immediately...because this was his idea months ago. (I had to put that in there or I would NEVER hear the end of it. :)

I was convinced, although months later, by Kristi.

We did it for lots of reasons...mostly because we spend the most amount of time either at our dining room table (eating, playing with Moses, talking with friends, entertaining, etc) and the layout of the living room makes it IMPOSSIBLE for the furniture to ever "flow" well. That may have been why I was always moving the living room furniture around...because I never loved how it looked.

So now our living room is our dining room and our dining room is our living room.

There is now plenty of room in the new dining room for eating, playing...

and sewing! :) Plus now when I am sewing and Doug is watching sports on the couch...we can see and hear each other...which was much more difficult before.

Now the new living room has a more family room feel to it...

We just need to work out lighting for the dining room since there is no overhead light in there.

We sold the chaise lounge on Craigslist...we bought that when we lived in our old apartment and it never really fit this house. It sold within 30 minutes!!

We used the money from the sale of the lounge to buy a couple of upholstered stools for extra seating (one is the pink polka dotted one above-the other is a couple of photos up next to the bookshelf).
And call me crazy...but it really works. I love it a little more every day! :)

You can go:

Here. or Here.
To see what the rooms looked like before.

xo

p.s. I am working on four more of the Dream pillows from a couple of posts back...two are claimed...contact me via etsy if you would like to claim one of the other ones. :)

Happy Monday!

10 things.

I want to try to do this every Sunday...when my brain lets me remember. Be sure to leave your 10 things you are thankful for today in the comments. :)

1. We made it to church today!
2. Everyone did well at church today! :)
3. Doug was off this weekend!
4. Aaron is sleeping SO well at night!
5. Friends coming for dinner!
6. Brownies just out of the oven!
7. Finally getting to the grocery store...it was echoing in our fridge...that's how empty it was!
8. The Tuesday playgroup I am hosting starts this week!
9. Going to pick strawberries tomorrow!
10. My three beautiful and wonderful boys!

xo

3 things.

1. super cute new pillow in the shop that I am IN LOVE with!

2. super cute new baby blanket in the shop. equally yummy!

3. I learned how to make a button hole...

...so I could make these...I want to call them "build a bunting". :) They connect to each other by buttons!! Cute, right?
Right now, this one is in the shop...but I want to make some more to show for examples in the listings. You could order as many letters as you need...to spell whatever you wanted! :) I want to make an ABC's set too...we'll see when/if that happens!

Ok...so now that I got that out of my system (I couldn't wait to share!!)...I am off to be productive in ways that aren't nearly as fun as my sewing machine!

xo

casual friday.

Do they come cuter? seriously. :)

I have LOTS of cute new things to show you(ok, like three)...and one idea that I am SUPER excited about...I hope to share really, really soon. :)

But for now...this photo makes me feel so so blessed. Just look at those wonderful boys. :) My mind can hardly fathom how blessed I am to have them in my life...and how absolutely wonderful they are...I can safely say that we are back to normal...like pre-Aaron normal but now with Aaron. :) We hardly ever have to give time outs and Moses is back to his sweet, silly self. :)
We are looking forward to the weekend...Doug is off! :)
We hope to either play hard or work hard (if it rains). :)

More soon...I hope. :)

fakey. fakey.

Doug's favorite Starbucks drink is the caramel frap...tasty but not so nice to the budget at $4.50 a pop...so in true Crystal form, I am learning how to make them myself.

I am getting close...here is the recipe so far:

1/2c coffee chilled
1/2c milk (something with a little fat in it 2% or more)
3tbs sugar
3tbs caramel topping (you can also buy Starbucks caramel)
2c ice
Blend it all together until the ice is crushed smooth, pour in a glass (like the super cool insulated Starbucks cup I bought Doug for his birthday) and top with squirt cream and a drizzle of caramel.
I am still tweaking with it...I think the caramel needs to be adjusted but this is a comparable version. :)

We went on a mini adventure last night...Moses got to feed some koi fish, see some ducks and turtles and spend some good boy time with his daddy. :)

We woke up this morning to a huge to-do list...and then I invited friends for dinner...always a good motivator! :) In the spirit of "instead of doing nothing", which is always a work in progress, Moses and I made some of my favorite chocolate chip cookies for the childcare workers at MOPS. Those ladies are the BEST and you can tell they love what they do and that they really love Moses...and Moses loves them. So the cookies are just our little way of saying thank you. :)

I love the photo above because Moses is totally engrossed in the cookie making, Aaron looks totally annoyed at having to be part of it...and my muffin top is hardly noticeable! :)

Doing lots of thinking about the direction I want my blog and shop to go...serious thinking. If you have some feedback you have been dying to share...then now is the time! I would love to hear what you would love to see and hear about! :)

Hope your Wednesday is wonderful! :)

xo

brothers.

Sweet, sweet, sweet!

How cute are these babies? Same jammies, same play-mat...same stinkin' cuteness. You can tell who is who right?
There are some photos where they look so alike...and others where you see their differences plain as day. :)

We had a good weekend...a visit from Uncle B, walks out side, projects completed and others started. Aaron has slept 8+ hour stretches at night for the last two nights!

We didn't actually celebrate Mother's Day this weekend...we are going to celebrate it in a couple of weeks...if you want to know why you can email me. :)

I hope your Monday is off to a good start. Mine is...I am feeling more and more like my old self again. :)

xo

10 things.

I am feeling more peaceful already. Thanks to all the wonderful feedback from all of you lovelies. It blesses me that even though we don't "know" each other in the traditional sense you still care enough to pray and encourage. Who knew the internet could be so lovely?
I know for certain what I need to do. And something that one of you said rang like a loud clear bell to me...basically the statement was "You know what you need to do...it's just accepting the consequence that you have to deal with". True. So very true. Just what I needed to hear. Thank you. I am seriously more peaceful already and working on what I know I need to do now. Won't be easy but must be done.

I am also trying to refocus...face in the direction of Jesus and really study the details of his work in my life...now that the fog is lifting and I can see more clearly. I thought I would start with a list...ten things I am thankful for. And I challenge you to do the same before you leave here...surely we could all use a little refocus?

1. My patient and wonderful husband.
2. The sun shine today!
3. my morning coffee.
4. Aaron sleeping for a 8 1/2 hour stretch last night.
(may have been longer if I hadn't checked on him).
5. My sweet Moses.
6. A new book to read (Crazy Love).
7. MOPS
8. Vacation in one month!
9. friends everywhere!
10. Clarity...even if it hurts.

How about you? Can you list ten things right now? I would love to see them

xo

for his i-pop.

Yes, my 2 1/2 year old has an i-pod...or i-pop as he calls it. It's actually mine...but he loves it a lot and has kind of claimed it. He carries it everywhere and loves to push the buttons. Just today i put the headphones in for him and he sat in the same place for 20 minutes listening to music.

It gets dropped a lot...so I made him a cozy for it. May be the simplest thing I have ever made but I have never had a more satisfied customer.

When I gave it to him and explained what it was he said "Ooooooohhhhh....daaaaayyyy doooooo". Which means "Oh, thank you". : ) It's like he was amazed that I could come up with such a thing.

And he knew it was a robot on the front without me telling him.
That made me happy. I needed some happy.

I needed to make my favorite 2 year old happy...it's good for my soul.

Thanks for all your words and emails...I feel like clarity is settling down on me...slowly but some how I feel like the slower it comes...the more confidence I can have in my decision.
If you emailed me...I will get back to you as soon as I can.

xo

feeling the mess.

I have felt like a complete and utter mess lately.
I lay awake at night thinking about it.
Thinking about how to fix it.
If it can be fixed.
If I need to lay it all out and walk away.
See what happens.
When do you know when it is time for that?
When are you allowed to say "no more...that is enough of that"?
When are you allowed to say "You won't hurt me anymore"?
I feel like I am there.
I don't have it in me to do it any more.
I have already pulled from the reserve.
Again and again.
Now it is starting to cost my kids and my husband.
And that is not fair.
Not to mention the cost to me.
I feel stifled and stuck until I deal with it.
It's one thing to deal with your own mess.
Quite another to deal with someone else's.
So that is where I am today.
Hoping and praying that the weekend will bring some clarity.
And some inspiration.

xo

birthday boy.

today is doug's birthday.
he is just the best.
THE best of so many things.
a wonderful husband.
an amazing father.
a faithful friend.
a thoughtful son.

a lover of Jesus.
a hard worker.
smart.
handsome.

funny and fun.

he's a good brother.
a loyal blog reader. :)
(he reads ONE of your blogs regularly...can you guess whose?)

i love him.
i am spoiled by him.
i am doted on by him.
i rarely feel like i deserve him.
he is THE best.

happy birthday honey!
xo

help me smother him with lots of birthday wishes! :)

crafting therapy.

lunch bag.

drink coasters.

baby quilt.

an hour or two at the sewing machine is much cheaper than therapy.

the kids are great. my husband is wonderful. i am dealing with "other".
maybe i'll get a lot done while i am sorting it all out.
praying for wisdom and patience with each stitch.

a peek. a visit. a baby.

here's a peek at something new for the shop...

...it was super fun to make...I plan on doing more...look for it in the shop soon!

Doug's mom, dad, grandma and grandpa came to visit us this weekend. I have the best in-laws. We all had the best time...one of the best moments was when Doug's mom asked Moses if he was going to grow up to be a foot doctor...he said "No, I be Dr.Phil".

And thanks for all your church info...believe me...if dropping the fussy baby off in the nursery was an option...I would do it. Our church is still very small and we aren't really set up to have nursery workers. It's basically self-care nursery...thus part of my issue. I know this is a phase that will pass...but it helps to know that it is not unique to me. We have started to listen to sermons from our old church in Radford...this helps. :) I also am sure to keep up with devotionals and such. Maybe eventually we could take turns going but for me...being there as a family is part of what is so fulfilling and Aaron is exclusively breastfed...sigh...it's a work in progress.

Can anyone recommend any good Sunday school type sites that would have Moses age lessons?

Hope your start to the week is good!
xoxo

i have a secret.

We haven't been to church since Aaron was born. Actually since before Aaron was born. And I feel tremendous guilt about it. Like a lot. Not because I really think that I am doing something "wrong" but that others do. I feel guilty because I want my boys to grow up going to church...I didn't and feel like I have had to do a lot of "make-up work" in my spiritual journey. And it's not like we don't LOVE our church because we do. And even though we haven't been going we have been working on relationships with other believers...which I feel are just as important.

Our reasons are generally schedule related...or lack of a schedule. While Aaron's night schedule is pretty predictable...his daytime nap schedule is still working itself out. And he doesn't nap well "on the go"...meaning crying cranky baby. We take each Sunday as it comes...reevaluating the situation one week at a time. At this moment I still feel like it's not a good idea...but yet an opportunity for disaster. I just don't feel ready. I miss it...but don't feel up for the stress of it with a baby who will be miserable. Miserable baby = miserable parents.

So my question to all you Jesus loving mom's of two or more...Is this normal? This is just a phase of life right? And my boys aren't going to suffer spiritual damage because of it...right?

Or not?

I could really use your input...and encouragement.

xo

i am so thankful.

moses has an ear infection.
and it reminds me to be thankful.
weird? maybe.
or not so much.

we had to take him into the doctors yesterday. it was only the third time he has ever had to go for a non-well baby visit.
only the third time.
ever.
i am thankful for that. so thankful.
how many children have to go three times a week?
or to multiple doctors a day?
my boys have always been healthy and huge.
i don't think Moses has ever dipped below the 80th percentiles for height and weight.
at Aaron's 2 month check up this week he was 98th for height and 90th for weight.
i am SO thankful for that.
i am thankful for my healthy babies.
Moses having an ear infection reminds me that there are mommies who deal with so much more and if they can handle that...we can handle an ear infection and all it brings.
i love how God uses our "rough patch" to bring me to a place of thankfulness.
All for the Glory of God.
makes sense to me today.

happy friday to you!
xo

gotcha...

Someone found his hands recently...

I love the way that they are a completely new surprise and treat when he finds them again and again...

...and the way he seems to be like "Ah ha!...Gotcha!" when he finally gets them to his mouth! It's the little victories we should be thankful for. :)

A new item in the shop...

Plastic bag holders. Nothing "new" like I made it up or anything...but after a friend requested one I searched Etsy for them...and found some. But. They were....hmmmm...how do I say this nicely...Let's say they lack the funk to make them a little bit funky.

So I fixed that. :) Done and done.

I also made another dress...or at least turned a cute shirt into a cute dress. I am positive that someone has to have done this somewhere before but I haven't seen it. The closest I have come is Julie's tu-tu shirts. I wish I was half as cool as she is. :)