Bedroom Style

You always hear that when a house is being renovated/redecorated, the bedroom is the last place to go. Whether that's because no one sees it but you, or it's too much of a hassle to tear apart your place of rest, it definitely seems to be true. It certainly has been true in our apartment. We've painted and arranged, searched craigslist for our first real dining table, contemplated colors, etc, until finally, we feel like we're home. During this flurry of activity, however, our bedroom has become more and more decrepit. First, it was just disorganized. Then we actually bought matching side tables. But the old ones are still living in the room. We craigslisted an ikea coffee table for the living room and now the previous one is taking up residence at the foot of the bed. While painting the other rooms and hanging frames, all the extra materials were conveniently set in our room, out of sight of guests, never to leave. I'm so tired of having to sidestep coffee tables, old blankets from college, piles of things for goodwill and other projects, as I'm just trying to get into bed at night. The one time I can truly feel relaxed and like no one needs me. The clutter and junk is like static in my head. I think it's time to clean it away and make our bedroom as comforting as the rest of our house. Accordingly, I've been working on what I want it to end up as, and have decided to do a neutral space for the first time in my life. I'm a huge fan of color and pattern, of bold and big. For our room, though, we really need peace. We see so little of each other now, and sitting in bed at night is our true moment of zen each day, especially on the ones Mark's home. I want our room to reflect that. I also want it to be warm and enveloping, our own little cocoon, that is (at least we can pretend) free of all the usual stressors (ie the moniter...). Hence, I think we're going to go with a darker color on the walls, which I've also stayed away from in the past. I've also been on a Hollywood Regency design kick lately, loving the chinese-inspired details and the general poshness of it all. I'm not sure Mark will go for foo dogs, but we'll see. I found this site this morning, with lots of fun ideas. I'm in love with the wallpaper, which we won't be able to do, but perhaps I can figure out how to do it with tape and paint. I also really love in the bottom photo how they've used a lot of traditional Regency elements, but still allowed it to be eclectic and fun.

Fair Madison

Our little family recently took a great trip back to Madison (which we still sort of see as our hometown) to visit Mark's parents. It was wonderful to see them and also wonderful to know that they were as eager to hang out with Dane as we were to let them have him! Mark and I spent the whole day together on Saturday, something we get WAY too few chances to do these days. We started the morning by heading to the last Farmer's Market of the year at the Capitol. We enjoyed some of the best pumpkin nut bread I've ever had and a strawberry-rhubarb hand pie while walking around the Square and checking out all the late fall produce and crafts.

Next up on the schedule was Ultimate Frisbee, something Mark and I used to do every Saturday morning. It was so great to get there and see all of our good friends from Blackhawk again. Although the game seemed to go on forever (given our current fitness level, not a surprise), it was too short a time to be with them and catch up. Such a blessing though, to be out playing frisbee on a gorgeous fall day at the zoo! Next, Mark and I took a quick trip back to his parents' house to clean up and check on the little bean. He, of course, was great, because of all the attention being lavished on him by his grandparents! We showered and stopped at Jimmy John's for some lunch, then headed out to the Pheasant Branch conservatory, where we've been checking out some houses online. We're not sure we'll end up in Madison yet, but it's been fun to dream about it anyway! From there, we drove out in the country surrounding Middleton to look at a few more homes and make a quick stop at Appleberry Farm. After dinner with the Andersons, we got dressed up and went out on a real date. After walking up and down State Street to wake up a bit (we haven't been up until 10 in a LONG time), we hit the Ivory Room, a piano bar. We put in our request for some Ben Folds and finagled ourselves a loveseat. While we sipped on cocktails, we sang along, did some people-watching, and just enjoyed being ourselves, alone, together. What a treat, and how it makes us remember why we need to enjoy these moments when we have them!

It's the clothes that make the man

Well, in this case maybe it's more like the clothes make the mom...happy. I met a couple friends from work for lunch a few weeks ago, from all spectrums of mom-hood. From one with older boys, to a new mom like myself, to a pregnant mom, to a maybe-mom-down-the-road. During our lunch, I was talking to the mom of the older boys, who became a very close friend while I was at Tyndale. She's given me great advice and been there to laugh and cry over all the craziness of the last year with me. I had dressed Dane up for the day, but typically, when I was at home, had been in the habit of just leaving him in his footie jammies. It just didn't seem worth it to get him all dressed up only to have him spit up or wipe snot across the new clothes minutes later. My good friend said something along the lines of, "I bet you're getting fun clothes for him!" To which I replied, "Well, yeah, sort of." It made me think though, about how I sometimes have been so caught up in the basics of taking care of him and keeping him well, that I forget to do the fun little things that make all the harder stuff more bearable. I talked to Mark about it and we decided it was time to buy some clothes for our little guy, clothes that I liked and picked out especially for him. We truly appreciated all the hand-me-down stuff that we've gotten, but it was so much fun to go to Target and BabyGap with Dane, and actually choose a few outfits. From a grey, green and orange striped onesie with little green sweatpants, to a bright red polo with a neat elephant printed on it to the bright orange chenille jacket below (that accentuates the orange hair), we've really enjoyed seeing our little man look so grown-up. Some days, we swear he looks like a toddler to us! All in all, thanks, Babs, for the reminder to enjoy the little things that we can do right now!

AND...relax...

The perfect snack, with Dane napping and the cold wind whipping the trees outside, for getting caught up on blogs and emails. Natural super chunky peanut butter and a banana.

Eating my feelings

So, one of the things I've realized since I started staying home with Dane is that when I'm stressed, I eat. When I'm lonely, I eat. When I'm bored, I eat. NOT good combined with more time sitting on the couch while Dane naps. I've always loved sweets, etc, but have really realized how little self-restraint I have when I'm alone and not busy. It's been frustrating to realize what's happening and still feel like I have no ability to control myself. In my past life, when I've been busiest, it's been easiest to keep in shape. When I have a schedule full of other people, I focus on that and eating isn't on my mind. Hence, I've realized that in my current life, one in which my visits with other people are few and far between, I'm filling that void with food. Does a rice krispies bar make me feel better long term? Not at all. But for some reason, it makes me feel decent in that moment. While I haven't been outwardly gaining weight, I have been feeling slower and have had much less energy than normal. Some of that is due to the lack of sleep lately (Dane's sick again, for the fifth week in the last three months), but I know that all the sugar isn't helping either.

I recently visited my sister in Miami, and one of the things she observed, just from talking to me, was that she thought I was alone too much. With Mark working between 60 and 90 hours a week this year, he can't be the support I need in that area. With all the craziness of Dane's birth and development, I've had trouble meeting other moms. I have a few friends from Tyndale, but my days are mostly spent keeping Dane happy. I've made a point to work out 4-5 days a week, and while I've met a few people at the sport center, I haven't actually been going long enough to make friends yet. So basically, I'm realizing how important community is for me to be the happiest I can be. It truly affects all areas of my life. I'm thankful God is making this apparent to me, never more so than this weekend, when I was able to spend some quality time with my best friend in Madison. The real challenge now is to do something about it. Since my good friends are now spread out all over the country, but not nearby, my goal is to make close friends nearby. Everyone needs to share their life with others. I'm going to start praying more about it, and would appreciate your prayers as well!