Animal Sightings

I managed to get out of the house this morning thanks to a new friend and it was like I had been released from my cage to wonder free….wow, now I know what it's like to be caged up…seriously. With the stolen time for myself I decided it was only necessary to do things today for me, rather than the usual grocery store trip or another boring household errand. Today, I went to Target, H&M, and Sephora and enjoyed EVERY.SINGLE.MINUTE!!! I didn't have to rush in an out, I actually got to stop and look, touch, and try on things…and to have a real conversation with the sales clerk that didn't consist of me apologizing for my child was almost too good to be true!! FREEDOM (in the best Mel Gibson on a horse Braveheart style!!)

I also managed to finish my little wall gallery. I had one up previously but decided I wasn't crazy about the style, size, and frames that made it. So out with some old ones and new with some new. I had been eyeing these awesome metal animal heads for sometime and have always loved them but never picked on up…don't know why. Well, HomeGoods must of caught me in a good mood because this little fella came home with me to make a grand appearance at the top of the gallery wall. 

After I hung everything, (actually, everything is on command strips for easy removal except of the head), I realized that I had an animal thing going on throughout my house. Like this awesome "When Pigs Fly" figure I picked up months ago in the clearance section at HomeGoods for like $4…love him! And my elephant head hooks that go in our mudroom/laundry room. I don't know if it's trendy or not but these guys are here to stay, and Christian adores them too. He is always pointing them out to me with fascination…maybe a Veterinarian is in his future ;)

I also finally managed to hang up this old Coca Cola crate that the hubby snagged from his parents place…it's the original kind folks. For the first year and half we had this crate we just put on top of furniture for display but after deciding to reorganize the house it found a new home to house some of Christian's car collection. It's just held up by 4 large Command strips…pretty awesome if you ask me.

I also managed to grab a seedless watermelon while I was out, his favorite of course, and Chrispy has become quite the little helper. After I cut up a few pieces he immediately went in for the kill feeding. He is some kind of serious about his watermelon eating.

I also managed to whip up a Quiche Lorraine for us to nimble on throughout the Labor Day weekend. Our plans are to hit up the pool every single day until they close it. He is getting so much better at swimming so it makes it so much more fun to go now. What are your Labor Day plans?

We are just counting down the days till Nanna arrives and Dada is home!!! This coming week!!

Happy Labor Day Weekend Y'all!

4 Weeks Without the Hubby

So far the hubby has been away for 4 weeks for some training for his upcoming deployment and I can already tell you it's going to be a rough 6 months without him. But I'm looking on the bright side of things and getting myself ready for the long road ahead. Making tons of plans to travel and visit friends and family is at the top of my list, along with enrolling Christian in a part-time preschool so he will out of the house 3 mornings a weeks, which will give me much needed breaks. It really does take a village to raise a child!!

But besides missing the hubby terribly, and having the extra help and hands, Chrispy and I are caring on with life and trying to stay busy….which is all he knows how to do.

I began my week with a near panic attack when I walked into the kitchen to find this!!!

Chrispy just climbed onto the counter with no help from me or a chair…he is like a monkey!! I don't even know how to baby proof this situation so until I have the answer it is me constantly running behind him yelling no every.single.time. :( Which causes tears from him…and next me. How do you discipline your child without being the worst person ever?!!!!

We also have ventured to the Air Force Museum in Dayton, OH like a hundred times!!! It's less than a mile from our neighborhood and completely free. Why I haven't done this more in the past I couldn't tell you. He loves to look at all the planes and history and honestly, this place goes on forever and as many times as we have been, we still have not covered it all.

We also have been spending lots of time outdoors going to splash pads and swimming pools just to kill time and get our sun on before the Fall gets here. Which, can I just say, Fall couldn't get here any slower!!! I'm so ready for Fall that I even have gone as to organizing my boots and scarfs and buying candy corn already…get here Fall!

I also got a bit crafty and made some DIY Laundry detergent. It's the first time every doing this but from the post of the person who created it, this should last me for sometime. Hopefully long enough for the hubby's entire deployment so I can check one more thing off my list that I don't have to worry about. So far it smells and cleans great. I still use a softener sheet in the dryer with it,  just because I love the extra smell and softness from using them, and they make for create dusters!

Chrispy's palette isn't exactly "refined" so we have been eating out at more "kid friendly" establishments. Root Beer Stande is an old stomping ground here in Ohio from what I've heard and an old school car hop style. Note to anyone on any diet or on a "all organic kick"….do not venture here!!

Little fairs have also been popping up left and right with bouncy houses and lots of things to do for the kiddos, so we have been jumping from one to another, tasting the ice creams, and looking at the old cars and Monster trucks!

Reading in our house has hit a whole new level also. Reading has always been big in our house but we have been doing a lot more of it lately, could be all the Books-A-Million stops we have been making. Christian is completely in love with the children's section, as he should be, because of one thing…this car/truck display! He stands there and looks at it…he is in love!! What he doesn't realize is that he has even more at home!

Our weeks are getting busier and busier with me trying hard to keep him busy and my mind occupied. I am so thankful for afternoon naps because they are the only thing that honestly saves me from having one of the worst days ever. I'm so thankful to have a good sleeper. Chrispy still takes 2-3 hour naps a day and sometimes, I join in too ;) I hope he never grows tired of taking naps because I might lose my shit mind :)

Ever notice how you don't have to do any touch ups to your babies photos? They are just so perfect on their own :)

Have a Happy Week Y'all! :)

Bunkie Board in the Make

To be perfectly honest I had never heard of bunkie boards until recently when I decided I had to have antique bed frames and went on this crazy adventure getting this bed together from the ground up. A bunkie board is simply a collection of what most know as slats (wooded boards cut to the width of a bed frame for support) that are attached by a material for easy transport, because you can just roll it up. 

I ordered a board from Amazon that ended up being way too short for my antique frame, because they were made wider at one point, so back it went and no other seemed to fit the correct description. Off to Home Depot I went to collect all the materials I would need to make this easy project happen.

Material:

13 pieces of wood, cut to width of bed when assembled

Upholstery ribbon (I got mine at JoAnn's for 79 cents per yard, so I bought 10 yards for some crafts projects)

scissors

staple gun with staples

1. Measure the width of the frame while assembled to get the correct measurement to have all of the wood cut. I measured three times just to be sure.

2. Lay out all of the slats as evenly as possibly from one end of the frame to the other.

3. Cut upholstery ribbon to the length of the frame, make at least two separate ribbons. I did three just for good measure.

4. Staple you upholstery ribbon to each slat in a solid line from one end to another, until they are all attached. I used about 3-4 staples per slat to get a nice tight ribbon.

5. Follow step 4 on the other side of the bed. 

And that's it!!! A Bunkie Board is Born!!! Custom fit to your bed.

(I did a third row because I am all about durability) 

I added a thin piece of plywood to the frame just for looks really, I wanted it to look complete and since the mattress didn't fully cover ever single corner I had to make it look presentable.  I also added cute little handles to the plywood for easy lift with the upholstery ribbon.

In all I'm very pleased, especially since I wasn't finding much luck in a store bought bunkie board. So far, the bed is really sturdy and Chrispy has already tested it's jumping ability and so far so good. Because I didn't buy a box spring the mattress just lies on top but is very low, might have to rethink this one and spring of the box spring….it just sucks that box springs cost crazy amounts even though it's just an empty box of wood :(

Any amazing bed frame makeovers that inspire you? Would love to see ;)

Have a great day y'all!

3 Weeks Without the Hubby

So we are into 3 weeks so far without the hubby and I can honestly say that it is getting a little easier, and by easier, I mean I've adjusted to lack of sleep again and being the sole caregiver. It just gives me so much respect for single mother's every day…and I'm still trying to figure out how I am going to manage it all when the hubby leaves for his actual deployment,….I guess I will just do it. Time to get those big girl panties out!

On a side note we have made major strides on projects that were needing to finally be addressed. As I mentioned before my mom is coming for a spell so getting a room with a bed ready was a must since our couch isn't exactly the most comfortable to sleep on. Luckily I had a crazy friend that was willing to venture to the great Ikea for a few hours and grab some much needed bedding. I was totally thrilled she excepted my invite since I hate going it alone to Ikea with a tod-in-tow, it just makes the whole experience better with another mother with her kids to add to the craziness that is going to unfold. Plus the meatballs are pretty awesome…yep, never pass down a meal at Ikea.

Christian was just as excited about the ice cream we managed to grab right before we picked one of the kids up from the play land area, Chrispy was too short still to go in and isn't potty trained :(, so we made the most of the time stolen. I really have never given him a full ice cream cone without a spoon or me feeding it to him, safe to say, he figured it out ;)

I also managed to make a bunkie board for the antique twin frame (post to come). A little lesson in frames for twin beds, not all are made a like. I originally ordered a board (slats) for the frame through Amazon.com and they arrived just as they should, with one major problem, they were short width wise about a full inch, which meant the wood kept sliding off the metal rails anytime anything moved just little, not ideal if a full adult was going to be resting here. So a return to Amazon.com was made and research was done. I found a few ideas on Pinterest on how to create my own and what it came down to was me making exact measurements of the width and length of the frame and rails and having wood custom cut for me. I also had some thin board cut to fit the entire frame as extra support and for looks of course since the twin mattress doesn't completely cover from edge to edge.

History Lesson or more like just an FYI: Antique Twin Frames will be wider then the one's of today, I still have no clue why but something tells me it's because at one point people shared a bed (two adults) in a single because lack of living quarters and money, but I could be totally wrong about this.

 Getting it all home was a challenge since I had to pack it all neatly in my brand new Jeep, praying not to get any damage to my baby…I really love her. And traveling with a huge board over my head for an hour and some change while trying to do a million errands in a few hours while the babysitter watched over Mr. Chrispy, well, let's just say I was driving like 10 miles an hour everywhere!

 And since I'm going through major withdrawals of Japan and missing the hubby, I have been downing my favorite green tea almost everyday now…just reminds me of home, that is, Japan. When I used to be an English teacher at one of the Japanese schools, my class (adults only) and I would be served some flavor of delicious hot tea and pastries after every class…let's just say, they spoiled me rotten. Tea time should be enforced in every home…it's just so pleasant, and not just a British thing ;)

I also have been steadily throwing myself into creative projects, really just to keep my mind and hands busy, so I picked up this cane chair that will be getting a makeover. I'm totally obsessed with cane style furniture and am constantly on the hunt for some french style cane dining chairs, but my luck is that they are in such horrible shape I am afraid I don't have the skill level to repair them or out of my price range…the hunt will continue.

While I'm working on this sweet accent chair I will also load a tutorial on how to reupholster and paint these style chairs due to an overwhelming email flood on how to.

And lastly for this week, and most  importantly, Chrispy and I. We have fallen into a small routine in the mornings which has been rather nice but I'm afraid that is about to change as well when I enroll him in a part time preschool on top of his MDO program. He will be moving up into another class of kids and it honestly scares me to death but makes me so proud all at the same time. I love this little boy so much that at times my heart begins to ache. Is that normal? But even with all the struggle we have had just trying to adjust for a time without Dada, we are holding strong to each other. Some days are going to be just so rough and I will just call it at day by 4 p.m. and others I will want it to never end, and that's my challenge now.

For all the mommies and daddies that are about to send your children off for the first time to school, my heart goes out to you. I can't even imagine how your feelings, thoughts, and emotions have probably kept you up at night worrying over your baby beginning their little journey out into the world without you to be there for every moment of it. I just know that one day it will be my turn with Chrispy and it hurts now to even think of it. Good Luck on your first days of school!! :) Grab some tissues and strong coffee! ;)

Have a Happy Week Y'all! ;)

 

6 Weeks and Some Change After Surgery

It seems like 6 weeks has come and gone since I was having my breast lift and reduction and honestly, there are some days I totally forget it even happened. I will say that I haven't been so happy with my chest size since middle school, and not only does every shirt I own (all button ups) fit perfectly, I'm discovering I'm a much smaller person than I thought. I love that cute bras fit me now, and that I can actually fit in them without completely spilling over the cup! I love how my shoulders and back feel, relieved of their duty ;)

 Don't get me wrong, it's not like I took a lot off to begin with, I just went down a full cup size, and still rock a full C, but it's just such a nice and comfortable state I'm in now. I would do it again in a heartbeat if I had a do-over.

Now that I'm 6 weeks out and have had a full recovery with positive results, I'm allowed to be active again and workout as if normal. So running and workout videos are in full swing again. I'm starting to make my way back slowly to a gym but it is really difficult with the hubby deployed and Christian screaming the whole time he can see me at a Momma workout room the Air Force provided. Seriously, first time we went, he screamed and cried for a total of 30 minutes all because he could see me but just couldn't get to me…so at home will have to do till I get him completely comfortable at the gym.

Now that my incisions have completely healed it's time to focus on the scarring. I was told my doc at 4 weeks not to put any scar cream or gels on just yet and let the incisions completely heal, so I waited. I ordered this stuff called Derma Gel so hopefully I will be able to see enough of a result in a few weeks for me to tell you if the stuff works or not. I'm just looking forward to a year out to see the results really, because the scars at that point should be almost completely gone. With the gel I'll rubbing it one about 3 times a day and when I do I also make a point to massage the incisions, which can be a little painful, but pressure is supposed to help break down scar tissue and flatten out any lines. We shall see.

I have also noticed that the shape of my breasts are becoming more natural, a perfect teardrop as they should be. Immediately after surgery and for a few weeks, the breasts will lay high and almost a boxy shape, but with time they will go to a natural look. I am truly amazed by how great I feel wearing a bra now and how my confidence has risen. No more two-sportsbras-when-working-out-problem here :)

In all I would say my experience with my surgery has been wonderful and I feel that I was a simple case in comparison to those that have to experience the drains and long recovers due to the their size to begin with. Every person is different in terms of scarring and recovery time.

Anyone had the surgery or considering getting it done? Anyone with suggestions on the best scar gels/creams available?

Have a Happy Weekend Y'all! :)

2 Weeks Without Him

Going on 2 weeks since the hubby left for training for a deployment and I can honestly say that at this point I'm trying to find things to do. Chrispy is a huge help just being difficult so that keeps me really busy but it's the time that he is napping or at night that are usually the hardest for me. I've been taking that time to watch seasons of shows that I've been missing for years now, since we lived overseas for so long, and it really does help to pass the time. As soon as I finish a whole show I move onto the next one, but soon I will run out of shows that I'm interested in so hopefully by than I have found something else to entertain me.

It's really nice somedays that I can decide what we are going to do that morning instead of having set plans. We discovered a new park nearby and managed to even met up with a friend and her kids to have a picnic, which turned into more of a chasing after your kid marathon. Whatever happened to the days of going to the park and actually sitting and enjoying it? Now it's me running in every direction.

Something that has me really looking forward to the next month is my mother coming up to visit us. We are heading up to Indiana for a few days for a wedding. Since our office/guest room is no where near ready for a visitor it has gotten me in the mood to really start on some small projects I've been holding off. A few months ago at a thrift store I came across two antique twin bed frames that I absolutely fell in love with. They remind me so much of the Land of Nod Jenny Lind Toddler Bed but even better, they came at a $10 price tag for each!!! I bought them both  and they have waited patiently in my garage until now. The only other problem I was having was finding bed rails with hook-on ends that were not going to cost me over a $100 for each…yuck! So after a few weeks of searching I managed to come across a set for one frame for only $8!!! Seriously…talk about perfect timing. I will worry about the second frame later but for now this baby will be going into our guest room. I still need to buy the twin mattress and bedding but it is going to be great. The only issue now is if I want to paint these frames to give them some life again. I'm thinking they would look great in a simple white finish like the picture below. Thoughts?

And since most of my rules lately have felt a little mean now that Chrispy doesn't have his Dada here, I'm allowing him to park his car in the house. I know..I'm a push over, but it makes me him feel better…and we are bringing a new way of having a "drive-in movie". As long as he is happy, I'm happy these days.

A huge event took place this week, Chrispy's first visit to the dentist!!! I was so proud :) He actually did really well for the doctor but unfortunately the assistant felt his wrath and I had to lay under him and hold his arms down while she cleaned…it was like holdings down an alligator.  Seriously, a two year old boys strength is not to be messed with!

After the dentist we promptly went to Tim Horton's and picked out donuts to fest. He ate every.single.one.of.those.donuts!!! He didn't even offer me one!!!  Payback for holding him down I'm sure ;)

I managed to get a little perky when a pair of sneakers I've been wanting for awhile came in. I had to hunt them down on EBay to get my size but the finally came in!!! I love a good animal print shoe :)

And lastly, Chrispy's fashion is a little weird these days. I've been trying to make it fun getting dressed for the day so I allow him to help me pick out his clothes in the morning. After he spent the whole day in this adorable sailor romper we had to run up to Home Depot to pick out some paint and these are the shoes he picked out….camouflage boots. Yep, he is a country boy I think but it might still be too early to tell.

 I will admit that I was so strong all week and didn't cry once over the hubby being gone until he put these boots on and said, "likkke Dada" and smiled at me. My heart exploded into confetti and the tears ran down my face. All I could do is say, "Yeah buddy, like Dada"…..my baby missing his Dada is probably the most pain I could feel. And it officially sucks!!

Have a Happy Week Y'all! :)

1 Week Without Him

Happy Friday y'all! So, this week was the first in a long time that the hubby  has been away from us but I guess we will have to trudge on because he is getting ready to deploy. Yep, the man of the house is leaving us to serve a greater good and so far, it has really really sucked!!! It's not that we haven't done this before, we have plenty "away from each other time" under our belts, but this time around, we have a toddler who just turned 2 and believes the sun falls and rises to his Dada's command.

It does really break my heart more now to see Chrispy suffering because of the lifestyle we have chosen but I feel with time, and lots of Skype we will make it through it. And of course lots and lots of wine for Momma…because I feel like crying every 5 seconds or when someone puts there hand on my arm to tell me how sorry they are for me….yep, epically the worst move to make on a girl who is trying to hold it all together.

The first week, of course, our dryer's element burns out so we were faced with ordering the part, no one had in stock locally, and dragging baskets of wet clean laundry to the laundry mat to do some drying. Have you ever been to a laundry mat with a toddler? Not cool….no cool at all! Thank God for the UPS guy that showed up right after I got home from the laundry mat with the part…bless you good Sir!!

I also attached Chrispy's bike seat finally to my bike, only took the whole summer to do it :), and while trying to get a lug nut free I managed to give myself a really good pinch. Don't worry, it only hurt really bad for 2 days :(

At least the one thing that you just don't feel too bad about when the man is away is your diet. Normally I'm very good of everything I eat, down the calorie, but with the first week I'm usually off by a lot and just trying to coop with the feelings of being so alone and so responsible. So this amazing place called Piada, and Italian style street market, has become my best friend. It's really bad when you walk in and they know what your going to order, and every time I'm guilty of the same thing, the Calamari Salad!!! OMG…and Shut the Front Door is it good! Chrispy usually get the spaghetti which is also really good too.

We also have been "touring" many bakery areas for something sweet at night after we polish off whatever I haven't cooked all week…I'll be honest, we went home with that chocolate cake Chrispy has his paws on. Good choice son, good choice ;)

Many, many, and many walks have been taking place to fill our time in the evenings. Though I had Chrispy all day normally, evenings were always the hubby's detail. He would entertain Chrispy while I finished up dinner, go on little walks just them two (both wearing their baseball caps), and usually playing some kind of wrestling game upstairs on the bed, plus he also covered bath and pj's. So lots to fill in on my own now, a real full time job.

I also had Chrispy's 2 year Wellness check up and he is growing perfectly, very smart, but is having a little sore throat and runny nose right now. We also had to have blood drawn for the first time since it wasn't done previously to check for things like lead….could have died when they stuck the needle in my baby's vein..the man apologized like a million times to me but I still wanted to take him out. :( On top of it, sleep is like not a option right now with him being sick and we I am weaning him from his pacifier :(

 We have visited Chick-fil-a so many times this week alone I think the manager knows us by sight and even called little man Chrispy…wow, this girl really needs to start cooking again. We are going for the play area so he can play and make some friends while Momma gets to just sit and breath quietly in my own "special space" as I've started called it.

And of course, this is the saddest, though we still communicate through phone and Skype, it breaks my heart every time to watch them. I feel so awful, knowing how much they miss each other. I just keep telling him everyday that Dada is working and everyday he continues to ask for him. That is really what is so hard about deployments with kids, they miss their parent so much and you are trying your best to fill up as much of that longing as you can, it is a very hard job.

(Do not judge my dirty carpet! Carpet cleaning tonight….it rained and the dogs ran through the living room with mud. Go me!)

Hope everyone else is having a better week than me! How did you get through your long deployments with toddlers? Have a happy weekend y'all! :)