Little Man's Day at the Park

The nursery is finished! (For now.)

I would like to place a "before shot" of the room here....however we accidentally erased a number of pictures and everything on our external hard drive while attempting to transfer old pictures to the external hard drive. Oops. Just imagine an empty room with a very small closet with sliding mirrored doors.

And now....

This is the view from the door.


Remember the turquoise dresser from DIY projects of months past? We brought it in to be our changing table and the room took off from there. The basket came from Ross for a few bucks and holds our diapering essentials (diaper caddies are EXPENSIVE!). Thank you Target for the great and inexpensive lamp (it only took three returns for me to pick out the correct lampshade).

Next, I had this vision of painting a tree on the wall, which morphed into a vision of starching fabric pieces on the wall to create an Eric Carle collage effect, which drifted its way into this final reality: I cut shapes out of thick cardboard and staple-gunned fabric around them, then nailed them onto the wall. And yes, that's our son's name: Josiah Benjamin Leboffe!

After the tree I started down the track of nature and parks so that's where the rest of our decor comes from. The tree is very imaginative and free-form and is more representative of what side of the brain I mainly use. Nate is more mathematically programmed. Because the tree was such a dominating presence of me in the room, I wanted to bring something in for Josiah that represented his daddy. What goes with trees? Birds! How do you make them graphic and mathematical? Turn them into a tessellation! And viola, you have the wall...
I'm no good at tessellations so I cheated here a little bit by printing off a picture, enlarging it, then using it to cut a stencil out of the side of an old Cheerio box. We LOVE the end result. It was definitely an act of love to finish: tracing all birds in pencil, painting in birds, painting in birds SECOND coat, touching up all the feathers with a small paintbrush. Many late hours and good friends helping. The birds are staying up until we move or Josiah graduates high school, whatever comes first.
Let's also take a moment to appreciate the fact that there are no more mirrored closet doors! The closet is small anyway. Imagine only being able to reach in there one half at a time! I got friendly with the power tools and set the mirrors up in the garage with Husband's exercise equipment. With a few homemade curtain panels, valance, and tie-backs, along with the fabulous hanging organizer, this closet is much more functional and eye-catching! (The curtains in this room were my first big sewing project.)



Here is our amazing new-to-us crib we bought from a lady for a very little amount of money. It is SUPER sturdy and also perfect for the room. A favorite of big sister right now is the shaggy green rug. It was my vision of really soft grass in the room. And didn't my friend Serena do a great job sewing Josiah a sweet little quilt!

Friends and family have either given us or made so many lovely little blankets for us to use that I needed somewhere to store them. How about in a fabulously turquoise metal drink tote from Target! Thanks Aunt Kathy for the fabulous patchwork quilt that ties all the colors in the room together and to mom for making a crocheted blankie the perfect size to cover up that infant Tylenol stain on the ottoman.

Instead of a mobile above his crib, we have kites flying high to complete the day at the park theme this room turned into. The cool thing is that they are real kites so we can go use them when he gets old enough!

And that is little man Josiah Benjamin Leboffe's room! It was a lot of fun just dreaming up fun elements and finding inexpensive ways to accomplish them. Now we're just waiting for him to come join us!

Prelude of Things To Come

Neon plastic eggs scurry along the hallway, reminders of the past holiday. Clean, albeit wrinkled clothes are picked out to be worn for the day not from drawers, but from the pile on the bedroom floor that never quite got folded. The hanging plant is looking slightly droopy, its slumped shoulders tacitly asking me for water and sunlight each time I pass through the living room. There is more than one tupperware of questionable content in the fridge.

At first glance this appears to be a slightly messy home. But today I saw it as a prelude of things to come. We get to meet our son sometime in the next few weeks! While I would like for our home to look like we walked into a magazine shoot with everything glistening clean and throw pillows plumped, that's just not our reality.

We're ready for this little one to come add to the mess and tiredness and joy!

Setting Boundaries

Boundary: (noun) A line that marks the limit of an area; a dividing line; a limit of a subject or sphere of activity.

I know all about setting and maintaining healthy boundaries...in theory. The actual practice of this needs some work. I like helping. I like being in the middle of the fray. I like knowing what's going on and enthusiastically want to be involved in the process. Basically I'm a busy-body that doesn't want to be left out. And if I can use my greatest spiritual gift in the process (bossing people) then that's even better! The result of these desires to actively participate and help make great visions come to fruition has left my boundary lines faded.

For someone who doesn't work outside the home I have A LOT of responsibilities right now. Not to mention the newborn coming soon! When you ask me how I'm going to do it, I honestly don't know how exactly it is going to get done, but I do know it will get done. I thought about quitting all my responsibilities while I was worrying the other night. But we're "past the point of no return" as the Phantom would sing. And quitting is the selfish, easy option. But following through on the promise I gave in these relationships is more important.

Instead of quitting, I'm doing something I don't usually do. I'm asking for help. And to my amazement I'm receiving it...in abundance.

In this season of busyness here is a lesson learned.

In the words of "Dirty Harry", "A man's got to know his limitations."

So as these responsibilities begin coming to an end I'm going to be drawing a line and saying no even when I think it'd be really fun to say yes.

Happy Easter

There was a poll last week during our marrieds group of whether to do the Easter Bunny or not with your kids. (We're a pro Easter bunny/Santa/tooth fairy family as long as the true meaning of why we celebrate Christmas and Easter are the main focus.) We didn't really talk too much about bunnies this year with Selah, but she did have a basket that she adored with Cheerio-filled plastic eggs and had a grand time finding eggs in Grammy and Grandpa's backyard. We celebrated the resurrection of Jesus this morning at church and celebrated life and family this afternoon with lunch and yard games. It was a good Easter Sunday. And Selah Grace even wore the huge Easter bow I made for her the whole day! Unprecedented. We tried to take a nice little family Easter portrait, but it was too far past naptime for that to happen. So, here are some other pics from the day.

Playing in Grammy's garden. She calls the little angel statue, "Mama." So kind.

Yes, I let my child drink out of the fountain. All in the name of a good picture.

Selah loves playing ladder golf with us. While we were playing we felt the ripples of the earthquake in Baja California. It was crazy how long it kept going.

St. Patrick's Day Bows

My mom came out to visit us during her spring break. Selah Grace enjoyed having extra Grandy attention and also someone to share her bows with!

How To Eat Peanut Butter Toast

Step 1: Place Toast Squarely on Table in Front of You with Tongue Poised to Lick.

Step 2: Chomp a Bite Directly from Top/Middle. Must Hold Breath While PB Goes Up Nostrils.

Step 3: Chew and Cheer the Wonders of Peanut Butter Toast!

Competition

Whether from nature's design or a childhood filled with intense sports, I am an incredibly competitive person. It may not match my diminutive frame, but its the truth of who I am. I like winning. A LOT. Always have. The competition doesn't really matter. Competitive sports, group projects, Wii speed slice, "friendly" board games...I'm out for the kill.

Nate is a competitive person also, but in a different way. He played division one soccer in college. He knows what it means to want to win and to give all of himself toward that end. But he's able to draw a healthy line. Me? Start a silly round of charades with friends and I get crazy eyes. Adrenaline pumps and I start to bead up with sweat. I want to win. No, I HAVE to win. (For any Friends watchers out there, I am Monica Gellar in the great Barbados Ping Pong Tourney. I even have the hair.)

Sometimes this displays itself in ugly ways. Like the time I lost to Nate at cards and in disgust threw my hand in his direction and hit him in the eye. Hence beginning the great Jenny Card Probation of 2005 that was just recently repealed. I know I'm a bad loser. I'm working on that. I'm trying to learn a thing or two from Nate about being a gracious loser. Basically how to not throw a tantrum or think daggers at the competition.

After purposefully blocking Nate's next move while playing a board game the other night (and laughing maniacally about it) I was again so thankful that he appreciates the fact that competition is part of my makeup. That he knows and loves me because of it and not in spite of it. That he isn't trying to change me. Instead of trying to purge this part of me, I'm going to embrace it...and maybe just work on being better about losing.

So thank you Nate for loving me the way I am in all my competitive craziness. I'm so glad that the two of us aren't wasting years trying to strong-arm the other spouse into being a better person. There's freedom in that and health in our marriage. Also helpful to maintain harmony is being on the same team whenever possible.

In-Progress

Forgive the chaos of our blog's eye-sores. Consider this an insider's look at the "during" of a creative process, the time right before everything comes together when everything is seemingly so disjointed. I'm trying to figure out how to add bits and pieces of pretty things to our blog, but it requires a lot of the technical computer know-how that I just don't know. I'm learning...and until then you get to be in the middle of the mess!

Every Heart Beat Bears Your Name!

Nate and I went to Rady Children's Hospital today here in San Diego to get a special ultrasound on our little guy's heart. Until today doctors have been telling us that there is something wrong with his heart, but they aren't exactly sure what, but most likely we're looking at heart surgery between birth and two years. Ug. So unsettling not knowing WHAT is going on. So today Nate and I were praying that we could get some answers and make a gameplan with the doctors for when our son enters the world in May.

Walking down the seemingly overly cheerful hallway of the children's hospital toward the cardiology department I had the realization that if our guy has a heart problem, then maybe he's going to not be able to oxygenate his brain properly and end up with brain damage as well. Glad I just thought of that a few short steps away from the appointment and not weeks earlier so that worry didn't have time to stew.

About 30 minutes into the ultrasound I was thinking about how much I miss our South African OBGYN who delivered our daughter. And then...a nod from God; the pediatric cardio specialist walked into the room and said hello in his South African accent. Already a good sign.

This intelligent man then proceeded to use a diagram of a heart and draw in his own illustrations as he explained (HOORAY! A DOCTOR FINALLY EXPLAINED TO US!) what is going on inside our son's heart. Not only was this doctor intelligent, he was also gifted with patience because he repeated the explanation multiple times to this concerned mom and remained with us until all questions and doubt were exhausted.

And now the diagnosis in Dr. Fripp's own words:
"There is no problem."

And now the prognosis in Dr. Fripp's own words:
"Nothing needs to be done."

For you scientifically minded people out there, our little guy has what is called a persistent left superior vena cava. Basically, everyone has a right superior vena cava and our baby also has one on the left side. Little overachiever! This is pumping some extra blood into the right atrium and making it difficult for the doctors to see and measure the mitral valve. We're going to go back in four weeks just to triple check everything, but that is really just precautionary.

So here we are. The medical journey isn't over yet, but it feels like closure is being ushered forward on our family's medical uncertainty. Nate and I were prepared to just take whatever comes one day at a time, to commit ourselves for caring for one another, and to know that we are being cared for. (Something we learned in the Great Malaria Scare of '06)

We have prayed through a path of doctors hearing news that something could seriously be wrong, to not knowing if our baby would survive being on its own after birth, to maybe a chronic heart problem, to potentially heart surgery at birth, to he simply has an extra vein and nothing is wrong. Wow, what a progression!

Thank you for your prayers. We will sleep very peacefully tonight.

Mediocre Housekeeping

I'm no housekeeper. Far from it. But there are a few little tricks I've realized that don't take long and make the whole house feel cleaner and more manageable. These are three housekeeping tricks that make me go "MMM" inside.

1. Manage the dining room table.
Yes, it is the easiest place for piles of mail, projects, diaper bags, clean laundry, and whatever else to get dumped. Ours is often hidden under mountains of grab-and-go life as we rush in and out of the house. But in those moments or days when I can keep off the clutter, it truly brings air to my lungs!

2. Mop.
Moping I can do. Mopping? I dread it. I put it off for days that turn into weeks because in my head mopping is such a dreaded ordeal. If it weren't for hosting community group at our house and my pride it may never occur. Today I timed it. After just one One Republic song and two minutes of Jimmy Eat World, the whole ordeal was done. Six minutes friends to retrieve and fill bucket, mop an entry way, hallway, dining room, kitchen, living room, and sunroom, find hidden Zofrans under the table, discipline toddler who wanted to Sharpie the furniture, and put bucket away. So if Amy Grant and Rod Stewart were dominating the airwaves the last time you mopped, go ahead and try again. It won't take more than two good songs.

3. Make the Bed.
It seems like a pointless task. Really, you're just going to crawl back in them again later. But straightening out the bed only takes a minute and it makes the entire room clean. Nate has dubbed me the Princess and the Pea because I can feel every tiny little crease or weight-distribution inconsistency with our bedding and can't fall asleep until its fixed. So if I'm going to be getting out of bed huffing and puffing pulling sheets around at night, then I might as well take a minute to make the bed in the morning and enjoy the benefits of a clean bedroom all day long.