Warning Shots...Misfired

This kid.

IS SO GREAT.

She's been sleeping through the night since she was about a month old, she smiles all the time and she only cries when she's hungry, tired, or needs a diaper change.

I'm not telling you this because I think I've found some secret to having a perfect child - I thank God every day because I realize it's not that way for everyone.

I'm telling you because I've noticed that when people find out I have an easy baby, they feel an overwhelming need to warn me that MY NEXT BABY IS GOING TO BE TERRIBLE.

"She sleeps through the night? Just you wait - your next baby is probably going to spend the entire night screaming and punching you in the throat."

"Oh your baby smiles a lot? Enjoy it now, because your next baby won't be physically capable of smiling; she'll just walk around looking like Ice T during every episode of Law & Order: SVU ever made."

"You say she doesn't cry much? Don't get used to it - the only way to get your next baby to stop crying will be to blast Nickelback's Greatest Hits."

Of course this didn't begin after the baby came.

When I was pregnant, it was, "Enjoy your freedom while you can! Once that baby comes you're gonna have to live in a cage."

And a few years before that, when we announced we were getting a dog, we heard a lot of, "Oh you're getting a dog, huh? Better kiss all your favorite shoes goodbye." 

To be fair, that last one turned out to have a ring of truth to it - but you know what? I'D DO IT ALL AGAIN. I knew when I signed up for this gig that it wasn't going to be easy, and a lot of times it's not, but just because something's hard doesn't mean it's bad.

I just don't think you can go through life in constant fear of whatever horrible thing is coming when your kid turns three ("it's even WORSE than the terrible twos!") or thirteen ("you might as well just lock her up until she's out of high school") or twenty three ("she'll still be living at home, just watching your cable and eating all your cereal!") and come out sane at the other end. You just have to roll with whatever happens and enjoy the (many) good parts.

Speaking of which...

Nerd Alert

You guys.

I got new glasses.

They are totally nerdy but that isn't the point.

The point is that they were CHEEEEAP!

And I have my mom to thank for it! She told me about this website called Zenni Optical. It's awesome! They have all kinds of cute frames and you can upload a picture of yourself to see how the different frames will look on you.

I've been wearing the same pair of glasses for like four years because since I usually wear contacts, I always use up all my vision insurance money on those. Plus even after insurance, I feel like glasses always end up costing me like over a hundred bucks. BUT NOT THIS TIME!

These babies only set me back forty five smackers, including shipping.

I'm pretty happy about it.

CLICK HERE to check out the site. (I got style #628021 in case you want to be twinsies.)

Hey Baby

 

Seriously though...we should have had one of these a long time ago.

Carolina just turned three months old and is now entering what they call the "golden age" where she just laughs all the time and is generally in a good mood.

Sarah and I took her to the grocery store this weekend, and when we were standing in the baking aisle and she had fallen asleep in the Ergobaby, and I just looked at Sarah and said, "I am so happy right now...I think I could actually cry."

I don't know what triggered it, but I was suddenly overwhelmed by the fact that I finally had this little person I'd wanted for so long.

So there's a little extra sap for your Tuesday. :)

If you're looking for something a little manlier, head over to the G. Gray blog where we have lots of tools and wood shavings and no crying.

Work Nowitski

The title of this post goes out to all the Mavs fans out there. To everybody else - sorry I'm a such a weirdo. 

After a full twelve weeks of maternity leave, I went back to work on Wednesday.

I'm pretty sure I only cried like three times. The first was when I was dropping the baby off at daycare, closely followed by the first time someone tried to talk to me when I got to the office. Don't worry; it was totally professional and not at all embarrassing.

The third time happened when I was talking to Sarah so it doesn't really bother me. She's used to it since she sees me cry on the regular about things like how badly I want a Dr. Pepper. You probably think I'm joking, but I can assure you that is a real thing that has really happened.

Anyway, the rest of the week went pretty well. I'm sort of in the best possible situation since I really do love my job and I'm leaving my baby with my best friend who I trust completely and is a fantastic mom*, but it's still hard. It's exciting to be able to start and finish a project without stopping to feed her or change her or get spit up on…but then I think about how someone else is feeding her and changing her and getting spit up on and I'm like awww…

So I guess the moral of this story is that being a mom is making me even weirder than I already was.

THE END

But not really! Here's a little postscript action for ya:

Carolina keeps waking up in the middle of the night crying because she accidentally rolled onto her side and can't figure out how to get down, or because she's inch-wormed her way into the corner of the crib and her head's all smushed up against the bumpers.

It happened this morning and Gary said something about her doing somersaults in there, so I was like, "Hey, maybe she'll be a gymnast! WAIT - do they ever let anyone do gymnastics in like really baggy sweats?"

*She also happens to be a professional photographer, which doesn't suck. If you're gonna leave your kid with someone, it might as well be someone who will send you glamour shots all day long. 

Also she's the best cook I've ever met in real life. That doesn't really have anything to do with this except that this is my blog and I WILL SAY WHATEVER I WANT. 

THIS IS EXCITING!!!

Gary and I are opening an Etsy shop!

This has been a dream of ours for a long time, and we could NOT be more excited. The majority of what we'll be offering is woodworking done by Gary Gray himself - cutting boards, clocks, bottle openers - and every once in a while you might also find something I made! Seriously you guys I AM SO EXCITED I CAN'T STAND IT.

The shop isn't live yet since we're still working on some final touches, but in the meantime we will be posting some behind-the-scenes stuff on our blog. You can check it out HERE.

I'll be sure to let you guys know when G. Gray officially opens for business. I think you're gonna love it!

Hang Out

Several months ago, I saw this tutorial for hanging planters. I've never successfully kept a plant alive for more than a couple weeks (with the exception of Gwyneth Plantrow, may she rest in peace, who thrived for nearly 5 months before her untimely death) but I thought maybe if they were super cute I'd be motivated to water them.

The thing about plants is that they don't scratch at your bed or scream at the top of their lungs when they're thirsty, and so it goes that even though I went with succulents, which I sort of thought were impossible to kill, I ended up with three very nice looking hanging dirt planters in my living room.

They can be seen in the top left of this picture of Carolina being hilarious and adorable.

They probably would have stayed like that forever if my mom hadn't come up with such a GENIUS solution: FAKE PLANTS!

I didn't even bother taking the dead ones out. Seriously. I shouldn't be allowed to have plants.

So there they are! Safe, happy, and totally self-sufficient. And no one has to know they're not real! Well except for the whole internet I guess, but whatever.

P.S. Remember this coffee table we made? We're selling it! For just $250, you could take home a piece of (internet browsing) history! CLICK HERE to see the Craigslist ad.

We'll Be Counting Stars

I've been suffering from a little bit of cabin fever while on maternity leave.

Okay it's more than a little bit. It's like to the point that I frequently get the urge to run around the block screaming just so I can go outside. And y'all know I don't run.

Anyway, I've been looking for some cheap projects to work on in between feedings and I found this himmeli wreath tutorial over at Vintage Revivals. It was posted on my birthday so I'm pretty sure we were made for each other.

It's made out of cocktail straws, floral wire and some oil-rubbed bronze spray paint I had out in the garage.

Because that's what I can afford to decorate with. 

I've been looking for something to put up in the big empty space over the computer for a while so I feel pretty proud of myself for doing it so cheaply.

I'm going to cry when we move out of this house. I love our living room. 

In other news, here's Gary's favorite thing to do with Carolina when she falls asleep on him. 

If you're wondering what's all over his fingers, it's the oil-rubbed bronze spray paint we used on the wreath because he does all my dirty work.