A Day in the Life....my baby had surgery.

Yesterday I made the most of the day with my kids.  We went to the zoo and had a picnic with some friends.  I needed yesterday to be a good day too, because I knew that today could be a hard one.

Hudson had his adenoids out this morning.  And tubes put in his ears.  And really, the worst thing of all to me was the frenulectomy.  Don't worry, I didn't know what that was before either.  It's for kids who are "tongue-tied."  Meaning, when they stick out their tongue, it looks kinda like this....

See...it doesn't stick out all the way...kinda curves back downwards. (that's not actually him.)

Well, Hudson had that.  So, they go up under the tongue and clip that piece of tissue that holds your tongue down because it's too long and can cause speech issues, etc.  (In infants it can often cause issues nursing, but didn't for Hudson ever which is probably why we didn't notice it earlier.)


Tid bit had his adenoids out last year (and tonsils), so I was prepared for that part.  And the tubes in the ears, well we know LOADS of kids who've had that done.  But this tongue thing....well it just made the whole thing pitiful.  And noone ever told me that I should wear a shirt I don't care about to the hospital because my shoulders were covered in blood when we left.

I don't know about you, but when my kids are bleeding...and a lot of it, well it just makes me cry.  Not to mention that when they come out of anesthesia they're just pitiful.  Crying and crying.  Man...just broke my heart!  I'm not the pass-out -at-the-sight-of-blood sort of person either, but it does make me sad.  And today, well his poor little mouth...it just kept bleeding and bleeding.  All over me when i was holding him after his surgery.  I feel sure I'll come up with some new tips for everyone about how to get blood out of a shirt that you really like.  Or not....  It remains to be seen.

Anyhow, we're home and he is sleeping now, and I'm thinking that despite the nice weather, I might just go take a nap too.  I'm exhausted.  Watching your child be pitiful just takes it right out of you!

Hopefully he'll be feeling better soon.  Sure do appreciate any prayers you feel like tossing to the Big Daddy in the sky on behalf of us!

PS.  You'll never guess who almost made an appearance at the hospital today either?!

No, I'm not kidding.

First words out of the anesthesiologist's mouth when he walks in to meet us and go over things.... "Oh, he has a crooked eye.  Do you know that he has a crooked eye?"

GROWL!!!

"Yes I know...does it have any affect on his ability to have anesthesia for this procedure today?"

"No."

"Alright then, moving on."

Are you kidding me?!  He clearly doesn't ever read my blog!?!?! LOL!

Ok...forgiving now.  Just had to tell you!

Little Bit's Nursery...one of the few finished rooms in our house!

So, pretty much Little Bit is about to have his name revealed when I show you pictures from his nursery.  I figured that it's high time I show you a picture of something in my house that is actually finished.

EXACTLY how I want it to be....

I go into this room and feel happy, calm, inspired, loved....it's just a good good room.  And it's my most favorite nursery that I've ever designed.  One day though I really hope I have a girl because I have the best idea for a girly nursery ever....I'm not telling that though because for now it's this super fun dream just swirling around in my head.  So cross your fingers that the next time we have a baby (no idea when that is...just sayin') it'll be a girl...just so I can do this fun project.  But...shocker...I digress.

So...here it is.  My favorite room in our house.  Little Bit (ahem...Hudson's) nursery.  Hope you enjoy!

My very talented sister painted that most gorgeous tree on the wall as a gift. I wanted it to look painterly and soft... like something Beatrix Potter might have done.  I do have little bunnies in this room, and while I take some inspiration from a theme sometimes, I will NEVER go all out with one.  I think there should be hints of ideas around, not look like a particular idea vomited all over a room and took it over.

Oh, and because I'm sure you all want to know what the paint color is...it's Sherwin Williams North Star.  (Which you might like to know looks very gray on the swatch...it does in fact translate on the wall to the most perfect soft blue.)

The reverse side of this bumper pad is like that blue tattersall stripe that you see on the monogrammed panel, except that it's green.  I wish I could take credit for all the amazing sewing work done here, but alas, I cannot.  My dear dear friend Mary is an amazing seamstress and she did all this fabulous stitchery!  I designed what I wanted and she executed it.  In fact, she's very very talented and just came up with all these fun pillows and the awesome trim on the window treatments and that bolster pillow (she folded the fabric over and cut it in 1/2 inch sections...leaving it a little stringy and frayed which I just LOVE for trim in a boy's room!)

This little harlequin chest was one The Hubs and I found on a weekend away a few months before Hudson was born.  I LOVE it and will always always find somewhere fabulous to put it!  I think it adds just the right amount of drama to what could suddenly become an otherwise super soft looking room. (Not that there's anything wrong with super soft, I just like to add a little flair somewhere in every room!)

There's a different lamp in the room now...but I can't take a picture just this minute because Hudson is napping and I'm surrounded by mounds of laundry that I let get away from me lately.  I should really follow my own advice about laundry!

This darling little chandelier below was $70.  I bought the shades for just $3 each and painted stripes on them and hot glued the trim on.  I love it!

I should also add that there are in fact books on the shelves of that great primitive bookshelf that I found while antiquing.  And the chair and ottoman are actually covered in that fabric...I took these awhile back.  One of my favorite things in the room are the antique french shutters that are on the outsides of the windows.  The hubs gave them to me for my birthday and again...they're another thing I'll always find something fabulous to do with them!

Below you can see the changing table which was actually my childhood dresser .  It was sort of a honey oak color that I didn't love, so when Tid Bit (my other son who's 4) came along, we stripped it and stained it with Minwax Walnut stain. Then the Hubs built a box to hold the changing pad to keep it from slipping around with a wriggly baby! (there is a panel along the backside that's screwed into the back of the dresser)  So this piece, the corner green shelf you can see, the crib, and the rocker (recovered) were all used in Tid Bit's nursery.  I'll show you pictures of that one another time.

This birdcage was something I'd used as a centerpiece from some baby showers I helped throw.  I wired the little birds into it to look like they are perched and put moss in the bottom.  I just LOVE it hung in the corner here!

The picture frames actually have real pictures in them now as well...but I do appreciate that Hobby Lobby carried such cute frames!

I bid on these prints on Ebay and got all four of them for $3.26!  Check out 99centprints.com for more great finds!  Then I waited til Hobby Lobby had openback ready-made frames on sale 50% off and had them all matted and framed.  So the grand total for all 4 pictures was a hair over $80.  I'm sure some of you amazing women out there could have done it for cheaper, but I'm still pleased with the result!

You can see the tree and shutter a little better here.  I specifically asked my sister to paint a few leaves extending onto the crown moulding so that it would feel more whimsical and less confined.  I love the effect!


And finally, a canvas that I painted for Hudson...I did one for Tid Bit when he was born, and I guess I'll reveal that when I show you his room sometime too! (Then you'll learn his name as well!)

One trick to when I painted this canvas...to get the lettering of the name done really clearly, I printed it like I wanted it to be on a piece of paper, taped it to the back of the canvas and traced it in front of a window so the light would shine through.  This way was much easier than freehanding the one for Tidbit which took forever!!!

Well, thanks for stopping by today!  Hope you enjoy the pictures of our nursery as much as I enjoyed creating and now being in it!

- Logan

Little Bit is ONE! A Very Hungry Caterpillar indeed...

OK people, you are all going to have to bear with me as i figure out how to actually create a blog,  formatting and all.  I am not kidding when i say i have no idea how to do this! Mostly I'm pressing a button and if it works, then it works...if not, I'm pretty sure you'll all notice too!

So my Little Bit turned ONE yesterday!  I'll probably continue to write ONE in all caps because really i can't believe he is ONE!  Time has flown by and i hope that there's been a good amount of savoring this first year despite the fact that i cannot get enough of this cute little snack pictured below!

 Don't you just love that shirt?!  Thank you M for making it, and thank you to some chick on Etsy in Australia for selling the embroidery design!

 The table spread.  Our guests ate their way through the book pretty much with the exception of a few foods (pizza, ice cream, and cherry pie were left out because i didn't think we needed that much extra food for a bunch of toddlers... and besides, my Tid Bit is allergic to dairy.)

 I made signs for the foods...aren't they so cute?!

 My friend B made this cake.  She says she thinks i could do it, and perhaps so if i knew how to make or work with fondant...but i don't, so for the first time ever, i paid someone else to make a cake! I found several ideas online and combined my favorites to do this cake...but again, some chick in Australia did one very similarly.  What is it with Australia?! They must love them some Eric Carle!  I hope neither the chick in Australia or Eric Carle mind that i swiped a couple of ideas...i mean it is the finest form of flattery right?

 These little grape and cherry gems happened because I'm a dufus.  No really, I am.  I forgot that Monday was Martin Luther King day (and therefore a school holiday), so after i drove Tid Bit to school only to realize he didn't have it, we went to the grocery store, where i then brainstormed in the produce department. So, that's how these happened. Six inch skewers with grapes and cherries.  We made a few frozen shorties (with toothpicks) and floated them as ice cubes in the giant water container which i think i pictured somewhere below.

 the plates from Target that really inspired the whole thing

 I found a super cute caterpillar cookie cutter on Amazon.com and made these with Tid Bit on Monday as well. I'll post the recipe for the actual sugar cookie sometime too because it was REALLY good!  It was very similar to cookies I've had from Cookies By Design which are super tasty. I'm suddenly realizing i should perhaps note here that any endorsements i make are purely my opinion.  And you know about opinions...they're like belly buttons...everyone has one!

 the balloon caterpillar...Little Bit's favorite thing about the party (well aside from eating cake!)

 This was another produce dept inspiration, but on the morning of the party.  Ran in because my kitchen island needed a little spice and when i saw these lime green spider mums and red gerbers...this idea just hit me upside the head.  So i grabbed them right up!

 Our front door opens up into the stairs and i thought we really needed a greeter

 This is me...and Little Bit blowing out the candles. The caterpillars strung from the chandelier were a craft project last week with Tid Bit when we were stuck inside with a weeks worth of snow here in SC!

Happy Birthday Little Bit!  I hope every moment of your life is as tasty as that cake!