a happy spot for a sick boy

he started crying when i took the couch apart to turn into a bed (change is hard when you are almost 2) but soon enough got the idea.  and got really into it, bringing animals, favorite books, and puzzles in.  

a bit later i came in to find someone else had discovered this cozy spot as well...

bathroom: before and after

we are so excited to finally share our bathroom renovation photos!  here is what the bathroom looked like for the first 1 1/2 years of our lives here.  the only thing missing is the rose-y wall paper trim that we tore off in our first few weeks here.  above, you can see a homemade cabinet by the previous owner that was so gross on the inside that we never used it.  the toilet had permanent rust and permanent marker running down the sides, and a top that didn't fit on.

mateo is standing in what once was the "monster cabinet".  it was massive, also homemade, and covered in layers of paint.  the drawers were broken and wouldn't open or close very well, so luke "surprised" me last august while i was away and tore it down.  since then, we've had all of our bathroom storage in boxes in our bedroom.  lovely.  :)

 the ceiling tiles were coming down on their own, so at some point luke finished the job to see what was underneath.  glue!

this bathroom (our only bathroom) was one of my #1 reasons for not wanting to host any events at our house.  the few times we did i actually left an apology note above the sink.  it really was that bad.

 lots of glue, really hard glue that didn't want to come off.  and an old light fixture.  below you can see where a plumber had to cut a hole in the old linoleum in order to fix a leak from the bathtub.  for awhile, if you were to sit on the toilet (before the wood was put in) you would see right into our kitchen downstairs.  yup.

 

the bathroom was always super high on our to do list, but we just didn't know where or how to start renovating it.  finally last november, with hosting luke's family for Christmas as our inspiration, we started calling around for handyman quotes.  we had no time (luke was interviewing out of state every other week) to figure out how to do it ourselves.  the handyman quotes varied - the lowest being $1000 and that was from the one who'd been obviously drinking.  we were stressed and out of time.  i was updating (complaining) to my mom through the whole process.  one day, she mentioned our bathroom problems to my dad (my dad who built an entire upstairs onto our house growing up, among other things) and within a few hours we got word that he had packed up his tools, took the week off, and was headed to michigan!  he lives in texas!  and he drove straight through the night, through a mega blizzard.  i am not kidding.  and he stayed for a week, working super hard while luke and i tried to help but mostly just watched in awe of him.   we can never, ever thank him enough!

so, are you ready to see the after photos?

ok,

here they are:

 the green paint we chose turned out to be brighter than we expected, but we like it.  i think we say that every time?

we searched and searched for a used dresser in lansing to renovate but couldn't find one at the right size.  we finally settled on this one from ikea and it seems perfect.   

we spent an hour getting rid of over 1/2 of our bathroom stuff.  it feels so good to breathe now, and know where everything is.  funny:  turns out i own not one single piece of makeup, but i do have 13 open burts bees chap-sticks floating around.  :)

above you can see the door that leads to the attic, and the beautiful, beautiful, beautiful floors that my dad and luke installed.

and above, a glue-less ceiling plus a clean, new light fixture.

 

this view above makes me so happy:  a new (clean!) toilet, a new (clean!) sink and cabinet, a new (clean!) medicine cabinet.  and a really bright light fixture.  it is the first time we've ever lived with a toilet & sink that has been only owned by the two of us.  and i actually enjoy cleaning them.

above is the simple little window next to the toilet.  and below are some more shots of the floor, just because it makes us so happy.  to see and to walk on.

the whole thing makes us happy.  we want to move our house to arizona with us.

i should include that we renovated the bathroom on a major budget.  i think we opted for the lowest-priced things in almost every case except maybe for the floor, which i think was a great place to spend a little extra money.  (thanks again to my dad for advising us).

this soap dispenser is the only thing that made it from the old bathroom to the new bathroom.  we gave the sink and other parts away for free on craigslist.  if we find the time, we might replace the gold door handles with silver, and the yellow-y outlets with white.  but for now, we are finished.  and feel so at home.  

all this is of course thanks to my dad, who gave up so much time and money to come do this for us.  when luke found out he was on his way he said "it's a Christmas miracle!" and it still feels like that.  so thankful for him and his many talents.

i just remembered: you can see our porch that he, my grandpa, and luke renovated by clicking here.

lansing: our favorite door

i saw this door when we first moved to lansing 4 years ago and have meant to take a photo of it ever since.  maybe it is because we are leaving, or maybe it is because a few weeks ago a giant dumpster appeared in front of it, but we finally managed to get a quick shot of our favorite door in lansing.  if they do tear it down, i so hope they save that door.

above and (way!) beyond

so remember a month ago when i posted about buying fabric for a baby quilt and then not being able to afford it?  and then how i got so much support from friends and family and even anonymous (but generous) people?  one of those people was our dear friend linda - librarian and master quilter.  she called right before i was headed to the store to return the fabric and very generously convinced me to let her buy it instead so she could make the quilt.  i didn't let her buy it, but i did happily give it to her.  and she made the baby a gorgeous quilt.  way more amazing than i could have ever imagined.  can you see in the photo below how she stitched the word "baby" into the fabric!?! 

 but that isn't all.  in the middle of her quilting, she asked me if i wanted it to be hexagon-shaped or crib-sized.  i told her to choose for me.  so what did she do?  she made the hexagon (above) and with the scraps, made her own design (below) for the crib.  pretty amazing, huh?

and that's not all, either!  she decided to make mateo one as well!  a big hexagon with all of his favorite things - trucks, blueberries, butterflies, farm animals, balls (dots, but balls to him), and even a bit of msu fabric for nostalgia.  are you in shock too?  well, there is more!  she made a matching little quilt for his doll!  can you see it there in his lap?  he has had so much fun rolling around on his blanket, pointing out his favorite things, plus wrapping his little baby up in the smaller one.

oh, and did i mention she made them all in a span of a few days?  we can't imagine all the work that went into them.  she is amazing to us.  and linda, we can't thank you enough.  we don't even know how to thank you.  we will forever think of you and your generosity when we see these beautiful quilts warming up our little ones. 

the best pancake ever

i know: if you are part of our real life, you have heard way too much about this pancake already.  but if not, i had to share, just once more. 

this is the pancake that changed our pancake lives.  easy ingredients that you probably already have, not very time consuming, and an excuse to use your cast iron skillet.  plus, even the cook gets to sit down and eat (instead of making more pancakes).  i found it in one of my new (to me) very favorite cookbooks.  we first tried it for breakfast one sunday morning, then made it again for dessert later that same day.  we topped it with lemon, confectioner's sugar, the blueberries we froze this past summer, and some cream cheese. the really beautiful part is how it puffs up in the oven to surprise you.

David Eyre's Pancake

(Serves 2 to 4)

• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• Pinch of nutmeg
• 4 tablespoons (one half stick) of unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
• Juice of half a lemon

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Combine the flour, milk, eggs, and nutmeg in a bowl. Beat lightly. Leave the batter a little lumpy. Ask a question about this step.
2. Melt the butter in a 12-inch skillet with a heatproof handle. When it is very hot, pour in the batter. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the pancake is golden brown. Ask a question about this step.
3. Sprinkle with the sugar and return briefly to the oven. Sprinkle with lemon juice, and serve with jelly, jam, or marmalade.

32 weeks

it's hard to be creative with belly photos when the days are cloudy and dark, your hubby is at the library, and there is too much snow outside to trek to your usual belly-photo-spot.

bodywise and babywise, things are pretty good. i tested myself for gestational diabetes and had conflicting numbers, enough so that my midwife said that she wouldn't call me diabetic. i'm still trying to be conscious of the possibility though by eating more snacks (why is snacking so hard for me?) and eating more protein. but hooray - no finger pricking 5 times a day or carb counting this time around!

we also recently discovered that the baby is breech. which might explain why my heartburn is worse than ever and why it is hard to breathe some of the time. the midwife said that while most babies have turned by 32 weeks already, there is still time for this one and that there are a number of things we can try. i've been laying upside down on an ironing board as per her suggestion (we need a photo of that - nothing has ever made me feel more like a whale!) and doing handstands in the community pool (google's suggestion) and doing the cat pose (friend's suggestion) and speaking the words of this baby turning out loud (another friend's suggestion) and praying and not worrying too much. i haven't felt the baby turn. but who knows. it is funny, though, since by signing up for a greenhouse birth i just assumed a natural, hospital-free birth was in our future. please pray, and think positive baby-turning thoughts for us if you are able.

otherwise all is well. i've given up jeans and pants which are so heavy and binding and wear leggings and dresses and skirts every single day. it's funny. and so comfortable.

we registered

google says some people are offended by second baby registries. if that is you, please stop reading and forgive us. you know us: we are the people that didn't include registry info for our wedding because we felt bad asking for things. it makes us uncomfortable. and we don't need anything. but after much, much debate and some requests from family and friends, we made a baby registry.

our general list for this little one is pretty small:
a bed: we're hoping to go with a moses basket and cosleeping until we move
a swing: found this one this weekend at a sale for $20!
a nursing cover: i had this really great one with mateo, lost it in ann arbor, and replaced it with a cheapie one that didn't work at all
a mirror for the car: we didn't have one the first time around, but this time i thought it might be a good idea to know what is going on in the back seat, especially because of mateo. i found one this weekend for .50 cents!
a mei tai: a baby carrier that i rented and loved using with mateo (we felt so close!), and would love to have again.  i've been looking for a used one around town.
a bob double stroller: (just a dream) mainly because we've spent so much on cheap stroller after cheap stroller that won't make it down our bumpy sidewalk, and since i've got a little runner in mateo. i am determined to find this used as well, maybe down the line in arizona.

other than that, we registered for little luxuries: favorite books, a few spoons and forks and a sippy cup to help us with our years-long goal of ridding our kitchen of plastic, extra sets of sheets, cozy swaddling blankets and some really pretty toys.

we registered through amazon (is that strange?) since i can't support an always-overpriced babies'r'us store any longer.

so after all that, if you were one of the ones to request it, you can click here for our registry.

all we need is amor

happy valentines day!

we are celebrating with an impromptu family photo shoot, a "ladies lunch" at my neighbor's, sugar cookies, and listening to last year's valentine's mix.

luke surprised me this morning with my favorite german pancake covered in strawberries and cheesy eggs. i am surprising him with homemade granola a little bit later.

and we're joking about going out to the new crazy-big all you can eat cafeteria on campus tonight. it can't be busy right?

happy day of love!

getting ready

we went to our first birth class at the greenhouse this week. it was informative and empowering, and just like when we went pregnant with mateo, it gave us a specific place and period of time away from the madness of life to concentrate on this little one coming.

there was another couple there expecting their 2nd baby the same week as us. they have their things in order and even their bag packed. luke and i squeezed each other when we found out because here, at 7 weeks out from our little one's due date, we haven't done, prepped, planned or bought a single thing. i'm not sure why? i think we just get wrapped up with what is right in front of us that we don't think that far ahead. and the past 7 months have flown by. and since we are moving in the months following the baby's birth, we aren't really changing much in our house. i feel guilty about it. i am feeling deep inside that it is time to realize that there will be another little one here in a matter of weeks.

later this week i was telling some friends about my worries and fears about my lack of prep. one said "all you really need is milk and tiny diapers, right?". so right. and i so appreciated that statement, and luke and i have been going back to it ever since. i am really going to miss this community when we leave.

but also, talking with them switched something inside me and ever since i've been actively preparing and making lists. things are feeling more real. it is like we are making things happen instead of letting the days happen to us. luke stayed home all saturday with mateo while i went out to search the mom sales, look for a tiny bed and a few other things, and most importantly, buy tiny diapers. :) i had time to search 2 thrift stores and left with a few tiny and sweet vintage-y clothes. we definitely don't need these things to have a baby. but finally making space in our home, seeing a few things that now belong to this little one, and knowing that we will be ok no matter what has been really giving me peace.

a few of his favorite things

my mom sent this handmade car quilt for mateo for Christmas. he loves it.

he asks to get it out every day and we sit and play on it.

and my sister sent a matching handmade car roll stocked with cars. he loves them and has one or more cars in his hand at all times.