How I Stay Organized

Kelly over at Kelly's Korner asked how we stay organized. Since this post doesn't involve photos, I can write about it now!

My level of organization has changed dramatically in the past three weeks since I became a mom.

In the Past:
Schedule: When it was just my husband and I, all of our dates/commitments, etc were kept in my daily agenda planner which came with me to and from work everyday. I kept track of both of our travel schedules for work, potential visitors were penciled in, etc.
Food: When it comes to groceries, I kept a running list in a notebook and revisited it every week before I went to the grocery store with my coupons.
Coupons: For about three years I have kept my coupons organized in a small accordian "folder" by category: grocery, cold, frozen, personal care and household. Every Saturday the coupons get cut, organized and expired ones get thrown away.
Laundry: We have two laundry baskets in our bathroom, one for whites and the other for colors. This helps me see if I only need to do one load of laundry or run both. It also prevents me from having to sort the laundry.
Crafts: I am very lucky and actually have a craft room! I know I should share a picture of this, but right now I have all of my spring/summer clothes out in the room since I am trying to transition my closet and also pack up the maternity clothes (woohoo!). I have a large armoire in the room and the right side has shelves and it is all scrapbook stuff. Scrapbooks I have made, photos, paper, stickers, scissors, etc. The left side of the armoire has a shelf and also a hanging bar. On the bar I hang already washed and pressed fabric on hangers so I can see what I have and then I have other fabric folded in an old open suitcase along with all of my sewing notions. My sewing machine is on the shelf beneath the fabric.

Presently:
Schedule: I still use my daily planner, but it now stays open to the current week on our dining room table. It doesn't have meetings listed, but doctor's appointments and commitments to visit with family and friends.
Food: I bought a small notebook that has a shopping cart on it (genius!) and I keep my grocery list in there. I have a "Standard List" which is items I buy each week and then I add things that I need. This was real helpful when people helped me with grocery shopping when baby arrived (thank you Mom and Meghan!).
Coupons: I still cut coupons, but it isn't always done on Saturdays when the newspaper gets delivered. It is okay if it takes a few days, but my system is even more helpful now.
Laundry: Our laundry is still separated, but our son's is all in one hamper since everything is so small. I do separate it warm and cold based on what the tag says, and then I just wash the bigger pile first. My goal with his laundry is to get it washed, dried and layed out flat so it doesn't wrinkle. I have been able to put it away quickly, but even if I don't, at least it all looks good sitting on top of the washing machine.
Crafts: Same since I haven't had time to do anything sine baby arrived :)
Baby Feeding: I keep a notebook on the ottoman in the nursery to keep track of the time of feedings, diapers, and amount of feeding so I don't have to think about it. Since we are supplementing with formula, I prep a few bottles in advance by making sure they are clean and assembled and filled with purified water. That way all I need to do is mix in the formula. Since the water is room temperature, I don't need to warm the bottle (according to my pediatrician) so although I have to mix the formula with each feeding, I don't have to heat it up with hot water in the middle of the night. It has worked for us so far.

That is a little glimpse for now....

It's a Wonderful Life

Our little man turned us from a couple into a family less than two weeks ago and it is true what they say about life not being the same. This is how I spend most of my days when I should be getting extra sleep or even taking some time for myself.

Nana (my mom) and Auntie B. (my sister) have been in town so we have had some great pictures taken with our baby boy. I don't want to bore you with all of them because I'm sure you will be seeing plenty of him from now on, but he is a precious little doll.

As for my blogging, I know it has already taken a "hit" but can you blame me? Just look at this little face! :) I'm also going to start brainstorming more boy-centric ideas since I won't be sewing ruffles and flowers for him. (Too bad I already know how to make those...) So please just bear with me as I get adjusted to my new life as a mommy and enjoy even more time with him.

Baby is here!

Well, I am in love again. WE HAVE A BABY BOY!!!

Our little cutie surprised us on Wednesday night while we were watching a movie and my water broke. He was born 21 hours later, soon after 8 p.m. on March 31, 2011. Believe it or not, he was pretty big at 8 pounds 2 ounces and we just can't get enough of him.

I will share when I can, but for now I am very low on time (at least time I want to spend online). Please keep us in your thoughts as we embark on the journey of parenthood!

Overdue

Do you know what one of the few things in life you don't get fined for if it is overdue?? A baby!! Our baby as due on March 28th, but I still know exactly where he/she is...in my belly moving all around. I feel very blessed that I was able to carry our first baby to 40 weeks considering some said I might have a hard time since I am 5'5 and a bit under 120 pounds (normally, def. not now), but I did it.

No complications, no bed rest, high blood pressure, edema, etc. I am VERY grateful. How I am VERY ANXIOUS. We haven't seen our baby via ultrasound since week 20 since all has been just fine, but time is up little one, we are ready to meet you!

I am hearing all sorts of suggestions from everyone on how to get things moving. From the traditional: walking, housework, yard work, spicy foods, the activity that put us in this position to begin with, bumpy roads...to the ones that I think have developed more recently: labor cookies, dancing, lifting, stairs, etc. Well my friends, I am proof that baby will come when baby is ready and although these may help encourage the onset of labor, they don't magically cause it to happen, or I wouldn't be writing this post right now.

So for the time being, my husband and I are doing things around the house together and doing some sort of activity everyday to keep us distracted. I am of course looking at the clock everytime I feel a new movement. I have completed some new projects and am working on drafting log posts for them so I can maintain this once the little one arrives (although I know it won't be as regularly for a bit). I will let you know when baby arrives!! Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Kitchen Update

What is the least expensive way to update a large space? Paint!! We moved into our home in November 2009, but haven't made painting a priority for a few reasons: (1) We have 1.5 acres of land that needs to be maintained, beautified, landscaped, etc (2) My husband prefers to do all the painting which is great since we don't have to pay anyone and he does a perfect job (honestly), but he also has a full-time job that had more than full-time hours (3) I hesitate when choosing colors.

The rooms we have painted are our master bedroom (January 2010), master bathroom (June 2010), nursery (November 2010) and now our kitchen/dining room (March 2011). I had three color blocks painted on the wall in our kitchen that I looked at for many weeks. I am very pleased that I went with the middle option and my husband surprised me by painting the kitchen while I was out one afternoon and finished it into the dining room until the gallon of paint ran out.

This is a before picture of our kitchen from Thanksgiving 2009 when my family was in town. All of the walls in our house came standard in this "bisque" color:

After:

Of course, once the kitchen was painted, we decided that we really do need a piece of furniture where the cat's bowls once were. We have a two-seater bar where we frequently eat and also our informal dining room so we haven't purchased a small kitchen table since I am picky about what I want. Well, our large kitchen seemed to get cluttered with mail, keys, etc. and we finally found a buffet-style unit that we liked for the kitchen so we bought it!

I purchased a small bamboo tray to collect our mail and also my husband's black leather valet for him to charge his cell phone, drop his wallet, etc. So far so good (and organized!).

Since our kitchen and dining room share one large wall, we carried the same color into the dining room.

Before:

After:

I love it and it feels so good to see color on the walls downstairs! And to think it all got done before our baby arrives and additional visitors. Next project for this area are curtains for the double windows in the dining room and panels for the sliding glass door.

P.S.: The color is more green than gray in person...sad it looks gray here!

Whatever Goes Wednesday

Spring has Sprung

As my family and friends in Connecticut experience a fluke end-of-March snowfall, I can't resist sharing photos of our spring blooms at our home in Maryland. I know it doesn't look like much now, but considering most of the plants were rescued from choking vines in our woods and "split off" from a friend, I am very happy to see everything coming back strong since this is the first year we have seen them come up on their own. Maybe I am better with flowers than I thought :).

I am still waiting on our trees: cherry blossom, peach, apple and walnut, but here's a glimpse of the signs of spring so far.

Daffodils

Hydrangeas

Lilies

Sedum

tree (don't know the kind)

another tree

We planted our vegetable seeds a few weeks ago indoors in a Burpee container that was successful last year. This way, our veggies have already started growing by the time we put them outside in early May (depending on the weather). We start everything from seeds except for our Butter Boy tomatoes. This also makes it practically free. We also planted carrots, onions and lettuce into the vegetable garden already as seeds since they are more hardy.

Crazed Fan Weekend Hop

Taggie Toy for Baby

This is a project I meant to complete months ago, but then I got distracted, which is par for the course. If you are a mom, or even if you aren't, you may have heard about "Taggies." Apparently children like tags on stuffed animals and other toys. Funny how this reminds me of cats and dogs liking empty grocery bags more than their toys, but I will withold judgement.

I bought 1/4 yard of this bright color striped fabric on clearance and then purchased 1 yard of three different coordinating ribbons. The total cost for material was less than $5.

I went with a raw size of 13x15 inches for the fabric portion of the Taggie which is because I liked that size, it wasn't too big or too small. I didn't use batting or any other filler, just the two pieces of fabric sewn together. But, before I sewed the pieces together I cut several pieces of 4-5 inch ribbon from each of my three colors: orange grosgrain, red satin, and lime green with blue dots grosgrain.

I folded the ribbons in half and pinned them around the right side of one of the pieces of fabric and then stitched them in place. Then, I added the second piece of fabric and stitched the two together. At this point, I couldn't see the ribbon anymore because the loops were "inside" the fabric.

When I turned the fabric right side out, I went around the edge with a tight straight stitch and wa-la, project is done! I have some extra fabric and ribbon so I will probably make another one because, well, why not?!

Making the World Cuter, Take a Look Tuesday, Get Your Craft On, Tip Me Tuesday

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Hookin' Up w/ HoH, Keep it Simple Sunday