Layla Jane

It appears that if it weren't for Chelle, I wouldn't have anything to blog about. :)

I am sorry for not posting regularly.  It's just that I don't have the drive to sit down and be that productive during my downtime.  I just want to veg in front of one or two screens, depending on if I'm "multi-tasking" by watching TV and perusing the internet at the same time.  But more on where my head is later.  Let's talk about something fun.

Meet Layla Jane!

Chelle's due date was the 17th, but Layla decided she was ready to see the world and arrived on the evening of the 8th, weighing 8 lbs 12 oz and measuring 22 inches long.  She has lots of dark hair and cheeks for days and she is perfect.

I visited yesterday and was lucky enough to be the only visitor once Chelle's parents left so I soaked up all those baby snuggles.  What is it about just sitting with a tiny baby in your arms that's so enjoyable?

We are all so happy to welcome Layla to the "framily" and can't wait to see her grow up alongside the rest of the kids.

Congratulations, Chelle and Jeremy, on your beautiful baby girl!

Chelle's Baby Shower

Heather, Vanessa, and I hosted Chelle’s baby shower at my house last weekend.  The three of us made a great team: we each fulfilled certain roles well, we figured out how to plan this thing without any drama, and we prepped the day of easily and with minimal stress.  Wanna see how things turned out?

I had the idea to use pinwheels as décor, but I wasn’t sure how I was going to affix them to the wall without messing up my newly painted dining room. I have no idea what turned the lightbulb on, but I suddenly remembered one day that I had window inserts/grills up in the attic, including a big one for the bay window in the dining room.  I super-glued the pinwheels to the grill and, well, I think it turned out pretty well.  I mean, I had two people who wanted to take it home with them so I guess that means it looked nice.

We used Vanessa’s wooden crates plus her basket and birdcages on either side of the food table to support our mason jars and birds theme.

 

I want to thank Bianca, Heather's daughter, who helped fulfill my last-minute vision to add a pennant to the window behind the drink table.  Thank goodness for otherwise idle hands!

 

 

  

And we used my sideboard cabinet for dessert.  Our invitations had mason jars on them and we used those in other ways  in the décor but nothing made as big as impact as Heather’s single-serving chocolate éclair dessert in small jars.

 

Other than the scrapbook paper, our main decorations were fresh flowers and Vanessa’s “BABY H” frames on the mantle.  Oh, and the birdhouses belonged to the McMom.

 

 

 I know, let’s see the guest of honor, huh?

 

 Each of us had to get a picture with Chelle individually, of course.

 

  

 Chelle with her (very excited) mom.

  

And with Amanda, who was at the shower because she was still pregnant even though the shower date was her due date.  Spoiler alert: she had Baby Emma the next day.

 

A couple of crowd pics for posterity’s sake.

  

And no shower post would be complete without a few pics of the mom-to-be opening her adorable (and sometimes alcoholic) gifts.

 

 

  

Before everyone left, we had to take a group picture of everyone who was there to celebrate Chelle and her baby girl.

 

Kim had to leave early so she missed the group shot, but luckily we got a photo of her and Chelle together earlier.

And finally, we had to document Chelle and all her loot.

 

That is one lucky girl!  The baby girl, that is. (But Chelle is, too.)

Chelle and I have known each other since we were about 11 years old; I can’t believe that in a decade, our kids will be the same age we were when we first met.  I can only hope that their friendships (and we’re including Karis here) stand the test of time like mine and Chelle’s has.

We can’t wait to meet Baby H next month!

(Sorry for any strange formatting.  I'm having to use Blogger for this post as opposed to Windows Live Writer, which is kinda like Word for blogging - it just made everything so easy and simple, but now it's not compatible with Google.  I hope to figure out a good solution soon.)

 

 

 

 

Argh!

So frustrating!  I had Chelle’s shower post all typed up and then Blogger and Microsoft wouldn’t cooperate so I couldn’t publish my post.  Please cross your fingers  and check back tomorrow for a rundown of how things worked out and lots of pictures.

A Pinterest win

The master bathroom in our new house is a good size.  The master shower is a GREAT size…except when it’s time to clean it.  Ugh, so many tiles, so much glass, so much surface area for soap scum to stick to.

Our bathroom is always the last place to be cleaned.  Not because it doesn’t need it, but typically because it needs it the most and that’s just no fun.  So I put it off and put it off until I just can’t anymore.  I’m hoping my new cleaner and method will help make the job a little easier and therefore I won’t dread it as much so it’ll get done more often so it won’t get as yucky.  That’s a lot of pressure to put on one little scrubber, but I think it’s up to the task.

I got one of those refillable wand sponge scrubbers like you’d find in the kitchen.  I used equal (to the best of my ability) parts blue Dawn and distilled white vinegar.  Then, I scrubbed.  I did the tiles first and because they weren’t pink or overly scummy, they didn’t impress me right of the bat.  I mean, I assumed they were getting clean, but it just wasn’t a jaw-dropping before-and-after experience.  What was noticeably different from when I use the bathroom cleaner is that I wasn’t being asphyxiated by the fumes and that was a major plus in favor of this simple cleanser.

Holding the scrubber by the handle was more comfortable, too, so there’re two ticks in the “pro” column.

Okay, so onto the glass.  This is where the scum showed up the most.  I’ve scrubbed it away as best as I could once, and we used the squeegee for a week or so afterward to help keep the glass clean, but I knew that wasn’t a habit that was going to stick.  When I cleaned the glass the time before, I swear I used half a bottle of that noxious mold and mildew bathroom cleaner and enough elbow grease to scrub off the top layer of glass.  But guess what?  The glass looked better, but not as good as I expected considering my efforts.

Fast-forward to Sunday.  I used the scrubber all over the glass, pressing enough to get the job done but I wasn’t bearing down more than necessary.  I rinsed the soap off and voila!  Perfectly clean glass!  I really was expecting to be at least a little disappointed, but this stuff worked!  Simple ingredients + a simple tool = a perfect combination.

Before

After

I admit I’m not totally sold yet because I want to see how long the cleanliness lasts.  Is there something in the bathroom cleaner that keeps future scum at bay a little longer?  Honestly, even if that’s the case, cleaning the shower with these ingredients and tool was so much more enjoyable that I won’t mind having to do it more often, which means just doing it on a regular basis since I already admitted to going too long in between scourings.

{Inspiration site}

Our weekend + a recipe

Another weekend on the books and it was a good one.

We had the Fall Festival at Connor’s daycare on Saturday and unlike most Saturdays in recent memory, the weather was perfect.  Connor’s class and one other sat in a semi-circle while their teachers sang a song.  Connor had some performance anxiety but luckily the McHusband was there to help.

Other than those few minutes of unhappiness, Connor had a blast and we appreciated the school coming together on a weekend for all of their attendees’ and their families.

Connor’s school is only a mile or so from our house and since the festival took place at the same time as my normal Saturday-morning class at the Y, I decided to run home afterward.  It was a great afternoon for it and I was very glad it worked out for me to “do it all” that morning.

When I got home, the McHusband was talking to the buyer of the Magnum, who eventually drove away in the car.  He is on a roll with the sale of our cars since this is the third time the first person to look at and drive the car has bought it.

We went to a couples’ baby shower Saturday evening and were home in time to Connor to bed at his normal time, and then I pretty much went to bed at my normal weeknight time as well.  I was tired and looked forward to catching up on my sleep a little.

Sunday was our day to play catch-up from all the playing we did on Saturday.  Connor and I got groceries, then while he napped I tried a Pinterest tip for cleaning my shower.  More on how that worked out soon.

Connor has decided that his favorite snack – or “nack” as he calls it – is raisins straight from the container.  So, yeah, keep that in mind if you come over here and we offer you some.

He had to fuel up for all his yardwork.  As soon as he heard the McHusband start up his mower, he got excited and ran to the door to the garage yelling, “Guide!” which is how he says “outside.”  Luckily the McHusband just so happened to be in need of an apprentice.

While the boys used the mower to move leaves off the grass and into the natural areas, I did some cleaning inside.  I don’t have good toy storage in the den yet so I am struggling with having them all just kinda piled in the corner.  I do have a basket, but what happens is Connor only plays with what’s showing. So I went through the basket and took some meant for younger kids out and put some others on a table in the den so Connor will see them and can easily access them.

Finally, we wrapped up our day with this Chicken Noodle Soup Casserole, which was very good.  I’m already looking forward to my leftovers for lunch today!

So there you have it, our weekend in a nutshell.  Hope everyone else had a nice one as well!

{Recipe}

Who needs Duplo when there’s Alpo?

We had an interesting weekend with Connor.  I think whatever’s been bothering him hung around a little, plus he didn’t have a great appetite so I think he was probably hungry but wouldn’t eat so it was a vicious cycle.  Let’s just say I’m not sorry that I’ll be in the office tomorrow.

Finally, toward the end of the day on Sunday, Connor was a little more himself.  I was making cookie dough and Connor was toddling around the kitchen just making his own fun.  And making a mess but it was worth it.

I was scooping the cookie dough into a bowl and had my back to Connor.  I knew he was playing with some cans and other stuff but I didn’t realize exactly what he was doing to them til I heard the first crash.

It was so nice to see the little boy I normally spend my weekends with even if it was only in those final moments of the day.

PS  Happy Birthday, Kim!

TGIF!

I am home with Connor today since he was still running a 101+ fever through the afternoon and his 7:00-bedtime last night so we’ll keep our fingers crossed that he is feeling better today.  If he still has a fever around mid-morning, I will probably end up taking him to the doctor.

This was Connor at lunchtime just before his nap yesterday.  Poor guy obviously wasn’t feeling too well.  (The McHusband stayed home with him yesterday.)

I hate that C0nnor is missing out on the fun and chance to wear his costume, but he probably isn’t going to school at all today, not even just for the little parade this afternoon.  My plan is to still drop off the fruit cups; no sense those going to waste and everyone missing out on my snack o’lanterns.

Thank goodness I don’t get sick and have personal days to use for Connor.

Hope you guys have a fabulous Friday and a wonderful weekend!