Theme! Rhyme! Reason! Purpose!
I've FOUND all of these things in my blog. Just now. Go me.
I've been waiting and watching for something to come of my blog other than random blabber and words. Here it is. This is what I'm passionate about.
I have been thinking hard about writing a book but have yet to figure out what I would write it on. This may be a good start.
There are so many things that I wish people had told me about prior to having JJ. SO MANY THINGS. I want to make those things available to other women out there who wonder how in the heck they can make it back to daycare before they close if they get stuck in traffic and a host of other random things. These things I've learned on my own - it hasn't been easy. I'll share personal experiences, ways to save money, DIY projects, how to get more sleep, and many other fun things. I'll share things that I struggle with like Post-Partum depression and stress management.
This blog is now available on Google, Yahoo, and other search engines. It is also emailable. I would love to receive questions from other new moms about every day events that seem very complicated, and offer help and advice when I can.
My whole point of this: Being a new mom does not have to be a constant guessing game!
See you in the next blog!
Friday
Thursday
New Challenge
I can hear the frogs practically screaming at each other through the open window. A cold front just hurried through and now the temperature is WONDERFUL outside - a nice break from the thick humidity that's been hanging over Chester for the past few days.
Monday is the day. I start a new job and I have to admit - I have some reservations. Sure, I'm excited about starting something new... but there is so much that sits on that excitement and smothers it.
I want to be with my son. I'm not talking spending some time with him - I'm talking about spending ALL the time with him. I worked really hard to find a stay at home job, but it just didn't work out. Perhaps one day. I'm going to keep looking.
Being a working mother is incredibly hard. I can't even describe how difficult it is to leave your child, come home exhausted just to put your baby directly to bed, and start all over the next day. When I'm at work, all I think about is my baby. When I'm away from him, he's on my mind.
I realized the other day that perhaps the root of the post partum depression wasn't because JJ is here... it's because he's not here. I haven't had a SINGLE symptom since I've been out of work. Not one. Now I already feel it coming back, just with the thought of going back and leaving him once again. Coincidence? I think not.
The real challenge here is not the new job, or the magnitude of the work, or the commute - it's surviving and coping with being away from my child. It's inevitable anyway... kindergarten is just around the corner, right?
Monday is the day. I start a new job and I have to admit - I have some reservations. Sure, I'm excited about starting something new... but there is so much that sits on that excitement and smothers it.
I want to be with my son. I'm not talking spending some time with him - I'm talking about spending ALL the time with him. I worked really hard to find a stay at home job, but it just didn't work out. Perhaps one day. I'm going to keep looking.
Being a working mother is incredibly hard. I can't even describe how difficult it is to leave your child, come home exhausted just to put your baby directly to bed, and start all over the next day. When I'm at work, all I think about is my baby. When I'm away from him, he's on my mind.
I realized the other day that perhaps the root of the post partum depression wasn't because JJ is here... it's because he's not here. I haven't had a SINGLE symptom since I've been out of work. Not one. Now I already feel it coming back, just with the thought of going back and leaving him once again. Coincidence? I think not.
The real challenge here is not the new job, or the magnitude of the work, or the commute - it's surviving and coping with being away from my child. It's inevitable anyway... kindergarten is just around the corner, right?
Tuesday
DIY Nursery: JJ's Room, Volume I
I've been telling people that I will do this. I've been promising that I would divulge my secret on how I outfitted my kid's ENTIRE room for under $200. Now, I'm coming through on all of those (partially empty) promises.
It's true. I outfitted my kid's room for a serious fraction of what I could have spent (I'll explain how in another blog!). I'm not including gifts, here, but really the only thing that we received as a gift as far as the nursery goes were the crib bumpers. JJ's furniture is all handed down, with the small exception of his new crib, which I will talk about later. I will post a separate blog with instructions and tips for each piece in subsequent blogs, with close up pictures. Let's take a tour of the room!
Let's start with the door hanging, which was one of the last things that I made from his room. I purchased the guitar wooden cutouts for this door hanging and painted them, then put glitter and glow in the dark paint on them. They are mounted with guitar picks and letters on a yellow satin ribbon. The letters I cut out of cardboard and covered with decorative paper.
As you walk into his room, on your left is something interesting. Jerry had this OLD guitar (his first one actually) that he was going to get rid of. It was beat up and ugly, but I took it under my wing, worked hard on it, and this is what happened:
It is bolted to the beam right behind that wall. I always get tons of compliments on it when people come into the nursery.
Directly in front of the door is JJ's crib. His original crib was given to us by my parents, who still had it from when my 5 year old nephew was a baby. It was recalled and we exchanged it for this crib. Even if this crib wasn't exchanged, it was very inexpensive and we probably would have bought it if we didn't have a hand-me-down. It is a 4 way convertible and it cost about $89 on walmart.com. I'm not kidding. It's very sturdy and perfect for a kid that will just chew it up anyway.
It's true. I outfitted my kid's room for a serious fraction of what I could have spent (I'll explain how in another blog!). I'm not including gifts, here, but really the only thing that we received as a gift as far as the nursery goes were the crib bumpers. JJ's furniture is all handed down, with the small exception of his new crib, which I will talk about later. I will post a separate blog with instructions and tips for each piece in subsequent blogs, with close up pictures. Let's take a tour of the room!
Let's start with the door hanging, which was one of the last things that I made from his room. I purchased the guitar wooden cutouts for this door hanging and painted them, then put glitter and glow in the dark paint on them. They are mounted with guitar picks and letters on a yellow satin ribbon. The letters I cut out of cardboard and covered with decorative paper.
As you walk into his room, on your left is something interesting. Jerry had this OLD guitar (his first one actually) that he was going to get rid of. It was beat up and ugly, but I took it under my wing, worked hard on it, and this is what happened:
It is bolted to the beam right behind that wall. I always get tons of compliments on it when people come into the nursery.Directly in front of the door is JJ's crib. His original crib was given to us by my parents, who still had it from when my 5 year old nephew was a baby. It was recalled and we exchanged it for this crib. Even if this crib wasn't exchanged, it was very inexpensive and we probably would have bought it if we didn't have a hand-me-down. It is a 4 way convertible and it cost about $89 on walmart.com. I'm not kidding. It's very sturdy and perfect for a kid that will just chew it up anyway.
Those crooked bumpers are awesome, and practically started this whole DIY nursery. I didn't want to invest in bumpers that I would have to take out of the crib anyway due to safety reasons, so I registered for these breathable ones (which aren't always crooked, I just didn't feel like taking another picture!). You can check them out at: http://www.breathablebaby.com/.
The crib skirt was made from a pattern I found online. It took about 20 minutes from start to finish. I also made the rail cover (JJ is a chewer!) from a cut up towel covered with music note fabric. I also got the idea and a pattern online. Each rail will soon have a cover, too, because I'd rather JJ not eat paint and wood as a midnight snack.
On the wall above the crib is JJ's name - the real one:
I printed the letters (big ones!) and then used them as a pattern to cut these letters out of cardboard. I covered them with the guitar fabric that I used for the crib skirt. Hot glue works great to fasten the fabric to the back of the letters. They are hanging with yellow satin ribbon.
On the other side of the room is the changing table, which was also a hand me down from my parents. It was a little scratched and beat up, but I sanded it and painted it, bringing it back to a very nice finish.
The changing pad cover was a PAIN to make, but it was worth it when I was finished. I don't know if I can even make directions for it. I don't even think I want to.
I used guitar pics and painted wooden guitar cut outs to decorate the changing table. I bought those bins at Walmart for $3 each, and they are worth twice their weight in diapers.
The next edition of DIY Nursery: JJ's Room will include a diaper stacker, curtains, two mobiles, and a rocking chair cushion.
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