Rolling with the Homies

Change of Scenery

For the past few months, a quilt that my grandmother made hung above Colin's change table. At first, he loved to stare at it, often calming him during the most unruly diaper changes. In the past few weeks however, what was once an admired and stared at quilt, has become a grabbed at, and pulled down quilt. We are into grabbing around here. It wouldn't be such a big deal if the quilt didn't come crashing down each and every time his diaper is changed, especially if the dowel didn't smack him in the face as it has the last few times.

I knew it was time to make a change in that space of his room but I still wanted something that he would like to look at the 5 times a day his diaper is changed, however also wanted something that wasn't accessible to his tiny yet ninja like hands and grip. After a lot of looking online for inspiration, I settle on flash cards. I contemplated a few different sets but finally ordered the Alphabeasties Flash cards.

When they arrived, I was pumped. They are super thick, good quality flash cards that have animals and words on one side while the other creates a puzzle.

I am not in love with the display that I came up with so far but am thinking of adding some trim around the perimeter of the cards to create a picture frame-like look to the wall. What I do love, is how they grabbed Colin's gaze immediately and he already seems to love them.

It is a work in progress...

Oh the places we will go...

Inching Closer

This past LONG weekend, Jason and D were able to sheet the roof of our garage in order to close it in and create a somewhat usable garage. Although the truck isn't able to fit completely in yet (due to the large amount of snow that has been accumulating in the garage for the past 3 months), it has inched much closer! In the next while, shingles will complete the roof, windows will be installed (a job that I can actually help with) and the outside will be styrofoamed, tyvek-ed & eventually sided & stoned. Even though it would have been lovely to have had the garage through the winter, I have quickly realized that even nicer, will be to have it in the spring! Not only will it prevent having to run to and from the car in the pouring rain, but it will also provide a clean, dry place for Jake to hang out when the mud is at its worst.



Seeing this pile of shingles is almost tempting for me to volunteer to help complete the roof of the garage, however experience is ensuring that I do not. In my lifetime, I have shingled exactly one half of a single garage. It was one of the worst days ever, and I consider myself a pretty tough, pretty go-getter kind of person. That day in itself solidified for me that I will never, ever shingle again. The fact that Jason shingles as a "hobby" baffles me. I would rather do any other job than get on that garage roof. I'm glad that I can now use Colin as an excuse because after all, he needs me :).

Speaking of people who chose to shingle...wow does Colin ever love his Uncle Jordan. I just know that these two are going to have so much fun together partly because they share similar interests (eg. cartoons) but also because I know that Uncle Jordan will always be up for any activity, game or sport that Colin will want to play. Jordan is that "high energy" type of Uncle that I am sure Colin will learn to take advantage of very soon.

Shelving Tears.

The large wall in our "dining room" (I put "dining room" in quotations since our living room, dining room and kitchen are really one big space) has stumped me for months. It is a very big, blank, gray (white, if you ask Jason) wall that I could not figure out. Originally when shopping for our dining room table, I fell in love with a matching buffet and thought all prayers had been answered. It wasn't until the measuring tape came out that we had to come to the realization that there just wasn't the space for another piece of furniture and had to concentrate instead on the wall itself.

Since we do have an open concept house I felt slightly held back in terms of doing some bold, since you can see the wall from everywhere and it had to blend in with the rest of the house which is FAR from bold. After a few months of nothing (ie. staring at a blank wall), I finally decided that I wanted to do a grouping of frames with a variety of prints/pictures. I thought I had found the answer to the wall. I was wrong. Finding frames that I liked, that worked together proved to be extremely difficult. As was looking at Micheal's where the shopping carts are too small for a carseat :(. Now that the frames I finally did decide on are up, something about it just doesn't sit well with me. The scale is wrong, the prints are awesome on their own, but somehow just don't work as a set. I can think of other places in our home where each of these pictures would be much better suited.


So, this left me back at square one...unhappy & uninspired with this fairly major part of our home. It wasn't until I was forwarded this blog that I found the much needed motivation and creativity to start over and rethink what would really work in that space. After a lot of browsing, I found this picture on the blog of their living/dining space & instantly loved the 3 floating shelves mounted behind their table.

To me, this was the perfect compromise between the buffet I had originally wanted, the lack of space for a deep piece of furniture, and the desperate need for something on the wall. I knew that the shelves would be a great display area for art work, dishes and accessories, similar to the two we have in our kitchen as well. So, without further hesitation, 3 floating wall shelves were promptly ordered from IKEA.

I could hardly believe the speed of delivery when the FedEx truck (nervously) pulled down our driveway this morning (side note - I think it's funny watching people drive down our road so hesitantly...I can just hear the thoughts that must be going through their mind. Who has such a long driveway? Why are the ditches on either side so deep? How am I going to get back out of here? There better be a place to turn around or else I'm definitely ending up in that ditch!) I instantly started to figure out at what point TODAY, Jason would be able to hang these shelves for me because clearly, this needed to be done TODAY.

All of this excitement went out the window as quickly as it had began when the package was unwrapped, the shelves were pulled out, and ALL THREE were damaged.

We're not talking a slight scratch. We are talking about major dents, pieces broken off and veneer peeling away. So, now starts what I'm sure will be a fairly painful process of figuring out what my next steps are in terms of returning/acquiring new, non-damaged shelves. Until then, all ideas, decisions and purchases will continue to develop & hopefully once my new shelves arrive, I will have an even better idea of what will live on each one of them.

Garage & Sunny Dreams.

Of all the projects going on around these parts, the completion of the garage has made us wait the longest. Let's just put it this way, I will REALLY appreciate not having to scrape my car off next winter. Also, I hope to avoid going out into the pouring rain this summer when the garage will hopefully at least have a roof. So far, this is how we look...



This coming weekend, the roof will hopefully be sheeted and then all it will need are some shingles, windows and doors. It will be nice to have some extra space other than the basement to store some of our "outdoor things".

Prairie Chickens are popping up everywhere around here. Jake almost caught our dinner the other day, but they saw us coming & got out of there quickly.


I am starting to find myself longing for spring. I usually do around this time of year, where winter feels like it has been here forever, but this year, my longing is even more apparent. I think Jake is right there with me as the spring will bring more walks and more outdoor time in general. At least there are many exciting things that will happen as we wait for the snow to melt and the sun to heat up. There will be the arrival of a much anticipated baby to our group of friends, a visit from my brother, his wife, and beautiful girls from St Thomas, Ontario, as well as basketball playoffs and provincials for the team I am helping coach. Add in the ever changing and growing of our own little person and time will fly even faster, I'm sure.

Before we know it, we will be drinking Butter Beer, riding Space Mountain, and napping on "It's a Small World" in July :).

Exciting Orange

This house will always be a work in progress. As much as I love what we have done so far, I am sure that as time flies by, things will be changed, added & altered to every inch of this place. Recently, I was given a really neat idea for how to create a not so conventional book case in Colin's room. Currently, I had a very old, very rickety, going to fall over the second he can move around kind of bookcase in his room, so was already looking for a better alternative. Here is the finished product...




The shelves were actually made from ikea spice racks and after a quick coat of paint called Exciting Orange (CIL), the shelves were ready to be installed. I love the way they hold the books without ever wondering if they will drop in the middle of a nap. I love how the lowest shelf is low enough for Colin to reach very, very soon. I love that they hold the books that I will one day curse, after reading them for the thousandth time.

During a trip to Grand Forks that we have planned for very soon, I hope to find some sort of mat or rug to put by the shelves where I hope he will enjoy sitting and reading all his favorite stories. I hope to also purchase a tall, skinny, more conventional book case where we can place all the "top shelf books" as my brother calls them, among other things like baskets of shoes, bibs and facecloths.

As the months before his birth were by far, the busiest we have ever had, his room was complete, but not what I would call creative. Now that we know he is a HE, and a little about who he is and his personality, I know that his room will forever be a work in progress as his interests change and he grows older & has his own opinion of what he would like. As a kid, I loved changing my room. I went from a road motif, to green paint with a pink & green unicorn border, to red, red red walls, all with many other changes between them. I appreciate that although it was not absolutely necessary to switch things up, my parents recognized my desire for something fresh and new and to the minute with my ever so changing style. I am sure it somewhat contributed to the love of decorating that I have today, since as a child, I was encouraged to make my room my own. I am sure that one day, Colin's room will leave little to be desired with clothes scattered everywhere, posters on the wall, and dirty dishes & glasses throughout, however when that day comes, so will the basement bedrooms!

As long as he is this cute though, he is welcome upstairs anytime...

Old, New, Borrowed, Blue.

This table is something that has been in our family for who knows how long. A piece that has been passed down from past generations, and also passed around, from house to house. I called dibs on it a few years ago after it ended up at my parents house. Knowing that I ultimately wanted something to be done with it, I tucked it away for the past few years until it could be transformed into the perfect addition to our home. After being refered by a great friend, Lenore Hume (See her work at : www.latherwriterepeat.blogspot.com), a local furniture transformer extraordinaire took the tired, beaten up table and created a beautiful antique.

Before:


After & in place:



I love the pop of color it gives our main floor as well as the distressed look...it feels like it has been in that spot forever.

Names.

I am sick of not putting our real names on this blog. I figure I have pictures of our house, pictures of all of us who live and visit here...putting our first names is not going to be an issue. Let's get serious. My name is Lee, my handyman's name is Jason, our little man's name is Colin...but you all knew that already anyways, didn't you?

Done.

We heart schnauzers.

Our dog Jake has been known to have his issues. At a year old, he got hit by a car. At three years old, he fell through the ice on the red river and somehow pulled himself out after a few minutes of paddling. Now, at almost 4 years old we have come to another one. Two days ago, Jake started suffering from mild seizures. After a few during the day, he had two major ones, lasting a minute or so throughout the night. It was scary.

Yesterday morning, I took him to the vet to get checked out, somewhat expecting the worst since again, he has been known to have his issues. After blood tests & a series of others, it has been determined that Jake is epileptic, which apparently is quite common for dogs. It can be controlled with medication and hopefully the seizures will stop. We have gone over 24 hours now without one so here's hoping we don't have another as they are no fun for anyone...especially the pup.

So, in honor of the one we call Jake, Jakey, Jacob, Jacobi, Bub, Bubaloo, Pup, Puppy, Poop, Pooper, Poopaloo, Schnauz, Schnauzer, Schnauzy, The Black Devil, The Professor...a look back...







It is amazing how a pet truly becomes part of your family. What a privileged it is to have him here with us. Just like our little man, he makes everything better.

5 Months

Dear Little Man,

Today you turn 5 months old. The past month has been like a roller coaster around here. We have had great days and we have had horrible days, but lately, we seem to be hitting our groove. If there is one major thing that I have learned from you this month is that the key to your happiness is sleep. It is pretty much a guarantee that anytime you are not happy, you are tired. I am so glad that we have somewhat figured out how to communicate, you and I…it makes the days so much better.

This month, you have really transformed from an infant into a baby. You like to sit up & see the world and are grabbing everything in your reach and sight. You have started eating cereal and seem to really enjoy that part of the day :). You have also become officially too big for your bucket car seat and therefore we had to make the move into a “real” car seat. This of course requires that you now wear a snowsuit that makes you look even older than you already do. You have started to talk A LOT…and also, love to randomly yell when you are excited. You laugh every time your Dad or I swing you around or throw you up in the air. You still love the bath and even on the crankiest of nights play & laugh in the tub. As your Dad texted me the other day while I was at basketball and you were at your crankiest “the bath makes everything better”. You still can’t quite make it totally over onto your stomach but are so incredibly close. I can imagine that you must be so frustrated but also trust that one day it will all fall into place and you will be flipping and rolling all over the place and I will curse your new skill :).

A few days ago, I thought I lost every picture we have ever taken of you when my computer suddenly crashed. This scare made me think about how important the memories I have of you are. I started to think back to everything I can remember from my labor with you, bringing you home, and other milestones over the past 5 months. I thought hard about the details, trying to ingrain each and every part into my memory. I never want to forget you, and the little man you are becoming each and every day. I know it is not possible to remember everything, but I am really going to try.

After thinking about the past 5 months of memories, I felt FULL…full of thoughts, but also so intensely full of LOVE. I am so full that my head and my heart are at odds, competing for every inch of space. My heart is so full of love for you that it aches with every smile, every laugh, every one of your new discoveries. My heart aches for you and every moment feels special when you are around.

You are my most specialist little man.

Love you to the moon and back,

Mama

xoxo