Thursday, June 28, 2012

Words of Wisdom

Here are AilidhDaisy Words of Wisdom for New Mothers
(or anyone contemplating beginning a family)

1)  Marry a man who needs a lot of sleep.  Especially if you don't.  This may be frustrating for a time, but it will all be worth it if the baby takes after him!  If it takes after you... pray.

2)  Pray anyway.  No matter what, all the time.

3)  God has wonderful design for pregnancy and nursing -- your body will give the baby whatever it needs, even at the cost of your own needs.  The same thing holds true for brain cells -- in fact, the dumber you get while pregnant, the smarter the baby will be!  I do not know if this has ever been proven, but it is a very comforting belief.  It's also why I laugh to myself whenever Steve talks about college savings.  MY children will be geniuses.  Full scholarships, here we come.

4)  Anything the children do that is annoying, frustrating, or downright strange comes from your husband's side of the family.

5)  DO NOT teach your baby to say "Mama".  Concentrate all your efforts on "Dada".  "Mama" may be so cute at 10am, but "Dada" is wonderful at 2am.

6)  Take a weekend getaway with girlfriends as soon as the baby is done nursing.  It will do wonders for your marriage!

7)  Along the same lines, go to bed at the same time as your husband.  Again, this may be frustrating if he needs a lot of sleep, but will do more for you marriage than a dozen weekend getaways.  But never turn down one of those either.

8)  The phone will never ring unless you are changing a diaper.  Not really advice, but I wanted you to be prepared.

9) The world looks better after a cup of good coffee.

10)  When you find out you are expecting, invest in a nice, cozy set of fleece pajamas for your husband.  This will help considerably to ease the tension when you are burning up in the night, and will not allow the sight of a blanket in the bedroom, much less have one touching the bed.  It also helps prevent surreptitious wandering onto your side of the bed during the night as he seeks out body heat under the arctic blast of 2 fans and the AC set on 65.

11) Don't edit your photos or videos too soon.  That 10 minute long clip of the baby rolling to his belly for the first time may seem tedious once he's doing it all the time, but in another 5 years it will be incomparably precious.

12)  Don't share your chocolate with your children.  It will just make them expect it.  Besides, it's bad for their teeth.

13) Remember, potty training issues are not a sign of serious flaws in your toddler's character.  However, they do probably all come from your husband's side of the family.

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

House renovations: Final part

Probably my favorite part of the renovation project was the landscaping.  Gardening is one of my passions - I got my BSc in Horticulture.
Our new house needed a bit of cleaning up outside. It's been a slow job, done little bit by little bit.  We spent one whole summer digging up the entire yard so Steve could put in a drainage system and run power out to the shed.  We spent another summer putting in the stone patio and walkway (we collected almost all of the rocks free from roadsides and excavation sites).  90% of my plants have been free starts from family and friends, and sometimes I think I rearrange them more often then the furniture in my living room!

But I'll just let the pictures tell the story...

before



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after
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The side and garden
before
after
before - weeds, brush, and trash

after - the vegetable garden

a favorite fall activity - bonfires


Views from the front porch
before
after


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The shed
before
after
the creek
before - collapsing old bridge
after - new bridge




before - lots of old fencing, poison ivy, weeds, and trash

blueberries and strawberries

after - a great place for the kids to play

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

House Renovations: Part Seven

Today we're going to look at the nursery.

Before
the missing latch meant the door didn't stay closed

The original intent on buying the house was to turn this room into a closet and bathroom, to create a nice master suite.  However, on learning shortly after moving in that a baby was on the way, plans changed a little!  We decided to still use the back part of the room for a closet, but to turn the front into a nursery.  We did add a sink - it's not a full bathroom, but has been a real blessing!


This was another really big project.  It was a nice sunny room, but the paneling was in bad shape -- sagging and mildewed, a lot of it was pulling away from the walls.  So it all had to go.  Which exposed crumbling dry wall with huge holes and layer after layer of old wallpaper.  In the interest of saving time and money, we decided to simply patch the holes and do a textured plaster finish over the old drywall, wallpaper and all, instead of replacing it all.  We also redid the floors along with the ones in the bedroom next door.




Next part of the project involved framing in the new wall (those amazing men added some built-in cabinets for me) and the duct work, and plumbing in the sink.  Now there was a big job!


The new plaster coat really made a big difference, and the completed baseboards, window and door trim, and crown molding finished things off nicely.

Here's what we have now, with 2 little girls in there.  It's a bit small, but we make it work.


My grandfather gave us several antique switch plates to use on the new light switches.
We found an another old door at a salvage place that matched the others in the house very well, and used it for the new closet.

We searched and searched to find a latch that would fit on the 1/2" thick solid wood door and finally found one - just before the baby came!


And that's the Ailidh Daisy house! 
"home to my nest"