calm before the storm

We're getting prepared for Hurricane Irene's visit to Long Island over the next 24 hours.  I expect we'll be fine, but without power for a bit.  Hopefully not the 10 days it took to recover from the storm in 1985.  Most of the homes around us are older and the power lines are swinging in the breeze - and tangled in tree limbs - so yeah, I think we'll lose some power.  Sigh.  

So since tomorrow is one long Scrabble game, I'll update today!  My brother was visiting us for a few days and takes great pics.  It's nice to have some of Bo and me - and Matt and Bo - since usually it's just Bo by his lonesome.  Matt worked late one night and had the next day off so we headed East for a drive.  The boys wanted to try for some fresh raspberries, and even though a recent storm had stripped the fields, we tried anyway.  It was worth the couple handfuls we drummed up just being outside in the perfect weather.  Ryan lives in Houston and was really loving the 75 degree days! 

Matt has recently discovered the Bjorn, and I'm not complaining.  I always feel like the baby heavy on my shoulders when I wear that thing.  Bo looks very cute strapped to his daddy.  :) 

 Good helping, Bo!

There was an earthquake here that day . . . ripples from the quake in Virginia.  We were on the road and didn't feel it, but our neighbor said her whole house shook.  We're really stacking up the natural phenomenons.  

Four Months

Exactly a week ago, Bo turned 4 months old!  He's rolled both directions, loves to smile at people more than the camera, and is generally a happy baby but will let you know when he needs something. :)  His laugh is kind of a throaty chuckle and he makes us work to get it out of him! He won't be weighed until next week but I'm thinking he's got to have put some pounds on since last month.  We know he's longer!  On his four month birthday he decided he didn't love his regular pacifiers anymore.  In a desperate one-handed search for a replacement, I found these mustache pacifiers that we'd received as a gift when he was born.  As a newborn, he spit them out, but when I discovered they now soothed his screams, they became something of a hilarious life-saver.  After a day of quickly switching pacifiers before putting him in his crib (because of the mustache choking hazard), I bought some unadorned pacifiers of the same brand.  But these are still our favorite.   

18 weeks

I kind of like how Moose snuck in there.  My brother is visiting so he gets the credit for this photo.  

a tragic tale

My mom sent us an inflatable baby pool for Bo to use on these hot summer days.  We've had some rain recently so I had to wait until the end of last week before the pool party could happen.  One of my friends brought her little boy over and the guys enjoyed the water - Jeremy more than Bo since he can sit up and stack cups and play and all that.  But it was still pretty cute!  After going through all the work of putting up the pool, I decided to leave it out to use the next day.  I left the water in it because I didn't want it to blow away at night.

After Bo went down for his nap on Saturday morning, I went outside to change the water in the pool and let it warm up so we could use it that afternoon.  As I approached the pool, I noticed a large piece of bark floating in the water along with leaves and flower bits.  I knelt to fish it out of the pool and realized, to my absolute horror, that it was not a piece of bark.  It was an animal.  A squirrel had drowned in our baby pool.  

I immediately felt SICK and oddly close to hysterics and ran over to Matt, who was mowing nearby.   I didn't know whether to laugh or cry as I screeched the news.  Matt fished it out with a couple pieces of firewood and determined it wasn't a squirrel, it was a chipmunk.  Now THAT made me really sad, because we have a little chipmunk that lives in a hole near where I park the car and he always dashes about so cutely on the brick wall.  Poor buddy.  I really wish you hadn't defiled our brand new baby pool.

My first instinct was to just throw the whole pool out but Matt assured me it could be saved . . . so I spent the morning disinfecting it with all of the cleaning products I could find.  BLEH.  

We didn't tell Bo about the tragic end to the chipmunk; we didn't want him to feel badly about it.  

Check out that six-pack.

\

You can't really tell, but he's yelling "It's COLD!" in this picture.

We got him out when his feet turned purple. :)

17 weeks

I admit, I forgot to take a picture yesterday, when he was actually 17 weeks.  But I'm kind of glad I forgot, because today we took these . . .

I almost didn't put the second one in because he looks a little skin'n'bones . . . but it was the only one where his hand wasn't in his mouth.  I promise you, he eats.  He's just long.  And thin.  And you can see his little bug-bitten elbow in the first pic . . . we're just keeping it real around here.

And no, the beach didn't go so well.  Yes, I should learn my lesson already and quit attempting it.  At least we had a pop-up shelter this time around, unlike the umbrella fiasco of June, but homeboy doesn't love the wind in his hair.  

That is my beloved beach towel that I think I got in second grade.  It has my name on it in Sharpie because I'm pretty sure I took it to camp . . . or at least a pool party.  Land's End, people. It's quality.  

out of my league

So we had this chair.  

Our first house in Long Island (two houses in two years of marriage, hooray) was pretty large and Matt brought all the furniture he could to fill it up.  But in our current house, we didn't have the space for it.  It rocks and swivels and I contemplated recovering it for use in the baby's room, but since I'm such a novice, I didn't want to drop $70 on fabric and then hate the way it looks.  

I tried to Craigslist it. (Do you like my staging?  The pillow and the brick wall? I mean, it kind of worked, we got two phone calls.)

But despite interest, no one actually came and got it.  So after staring at it for a few weeks, I began moving it around the house and tossing fabric on it from a large bolt I picked up at a garage sale.  You know I like throwing fabric on things.

And then one Saturday, when Matt was gone most of the day, I just went for it.  I decided to cover the chair.  I read this very basic post about a hundred times, and then just dove it, without really thinking it through.

Bo was a good little buddy.  

I just started draping and cutting and pinning and darning my heart out.  

Taking it to the machine was scary, as I really did not know what I was doing.  But at that point I was eager to have the thing done, so I just started sewing away.  The lady who's (basic) tutorial I followed actually sells an ebook on how to make slipcovers, and I think if I'd bought it I might have avoided some questionable spots.

So if there's ever a next time, I'll definitely spend the $10 on the ebook.  Corners are not easy.  BUT for this project, I really didn't want to spend anything, and I didn't want to over think it and scare myself out of doing it.

And, after two Saturdays of labor . . . voila!

Of course I have a chair model.    

And his jacket has his name on it.  

Anyway . . . its by no means perfect, it could use a pillow to hide some of the rough spots, and I didn't feel like hemming the bottom so that's a bit raggedy.  And perhaps my little side table with the typewriter leaves something to be desired?  

But, for a $3 project, I'm feeling pretty good about it.  I got some experience in slipcovering and we might actually sit there.  Looks like a good coffee spot.  

kitchen transformations

Our rental house is old.  To make it sound more charming, I like to tell the story of how it was a Sears kit house that the original owner bought and had built on his property.  He made some additions, and while I would've picked a second bathroom over a huge kitchen, nobody asked me.  So that's a nice little story, and it's plopped in the middle of five acres, which is kind of what made us fall for the place, despite some of its flaws.  Anyway, one of the home's charms is a farmhouse sink.  These are all over Pinterest and people seem to have a real thing for skirted sinks.  I might have thought I had a thing for them too, until I lived with one, and now I'm content to have cabinets under the sink.  But it kind of fits the vibe of the kitchen (old-timey).  

When we first moved in, there were red curtains under the sink:

But I was having a hard time working the red in with the yellow walls and blue backsplash (sigh), so I took on my first-ever sewing project to create this:

Lemon-yellow curtains.  With one upside-down panel and perhaps hemmed a few inches too short.  Ta-da!  Despite my original feelings of pride over my first sewing experience, I ditched the green rugs and found a big yellow and brown one, and the decided I didn't love the lemons anymore.  Actually I had picked up some fabric for a different project and wondered if that might be a nice change under the sink. I hung it up for an afternoon to see if I liked it.  

I had no idea that someone ELSE had an opinion about it!  I heard a bit of a scuffle and a growl in the kitchen, and came in to see Moose hilariously interacting with the big piece of fabric.  I didn't think dogs cared about that kind of thing, but apparently Moose is a breed apart.

Oh, Moosey.  What would we do without you?

So, I liked the change so I made some new curtains for under the sink.  

Hooray.  

They also go with THESE new guys, another summer project:

Ice cream parlor stools!

I don't think that's the actual name of these guys, but that's what they remind me of.  My mom bought them for me at a garage sale when she was visiting.  The owner said her parents had purchased them in the fifties as part of a table set.  They looked pretty lame when we got them:

Except you have to picture the seat as cracked in half.  And everything all cobwebby. 

Matt dismantled them for me and I sprayed them down with the red we had leftover from last year's porch furniture.  Matt also had to use a jigsaw and cut a new seat for me.  Thanks, dear!

I purchased the thickest foam I could find from JoAnn's and cut it to size before covering with the same fabric I used for the curtains.  

It looks cute on the stools but I think it's too matchy-matchy.  Oh, well.

They were originally supposed to go on the side, where the lip is bigger, but I think they're too big.  

I do like a summer project. :) 

sunday morning likes

I like that our church has a summer schedule of one morning service and one evening service.  We've been going to church at 6 PM all summer.  I  love our long Sunday mornings, the relaxed atmosphere of the sanctuary in the early evening, the sermon series on Judges that our associate pastor is leading us through, and the occasional late trip for ice cream before the rush of the week takes over.  Right now this means that we're snug inside listening to the rain watering the garden so I don't have to.  Bo's taking nap number one . . . and since I haven't heard anything from him, I assume we've beat the 45 minute mark on this one.  Like!

I saw The Help last night with a couple friends.  LIKE the movie, and the fact I was out on my own, knowing that Matt and Bo were having sweet time together at home, just made me happier with the situation.  My first girls' night did include poop on my shirt . . . but that was because of a dinner incident that included no changing tables at the restaurant and a little wardrobe change for Bo in the car.  (Mental note to fill up the wipe container . . . I tackled that whole mess with just 2 wipes.  TMI? Sorry.)  But that was all ok because we had our first successful dinner out with friends.  Normally Bo is in meltdown mode around dinnertime but he was great last night!  I'm glad we risked it and left the house.  It's nice to be with friends.

We've had perfect weather the last three days.  This is what NY SHOULD be like!  I've been outside as much as possible . . . reading and snacking on a bowl of cherries, and less glamorous activities such as weeding the patio.  I hate those pesky plants that start peeking up through the pavers . . .  but I love being outside and not sweating!  

My weeding buddy

Bo's become fascinated with his feet.  It's really cute.  He's started rolling in the other direction now . . . which means I've got to be more vigilant on the changing table.  It also means Bo is getting into some funny little predicaments.  

Not sure how this happened . . . 

Lately Moose has been showing more interest in the baby.  I've found him lying next to (or on) Bo's blanket a few times this week.  

Or just on the baby.

I like that they're buddies, and that Bo seems entertained by Moose's presence, and not scared of his loud barks.  

Just being thankful on this Sunday.  I spend a lot of my time scurrying around trying to fix this or clean that.  Today I just want to enjoy our downtime and not think about the patio cushions I left in the rain.  They'll dry out in a couple days.  It's all good.  

snacks and more

When looking through my phone, I found a few photos of food that apparently I found noteworthy enough to take pictures of.  So, here they are.  

Please don't think me strange, but I think I had this for lunch for a week straight:

 PB&J yogurt

Umm, that's weird, isn't it?  I don't think Matt even knows that, he's going to be grossed out.  :)  I used to make a tasty protein-filled snack of greek yogurt, peanut butter, and honey.  Yum!  And sometimes I'd do yogurt and blackberries or strawberries, with a spoonful of jam to sweeten it.  Out of this was born the greek yogurt + peanut butter + jam.  Somehow the consistency gets all light and whipped like one of those Yoplait whips.  Don't knock it till you've tried it, is what I'm saying.

My other food venture of late has been in the organic/homegrown department.  We joined a CSA again this year and split a box of fresh organic veggies with a friend every week.  I like the program because we support a local farm and it pushes us to eat more vegetables, and try new ones (kholrabi? purslane?).  And organic is a nice plus!  We have a small vegetable garden as well.  Granted, the random pumpkin/squash that sprung up in the middle of the yard looks healthier than anything we actually planted and water, but it is so fun to go out in the morning and see what is ripe for the picking.  Our tomatoes are looking great- I love looking out and seeing spots of red signaling I need to come pick them!  Our cucumber was doing well but now is not . . . the zucchini gave up the ghost after one squash . . . but we've enjoyed several types of pepper and my rows of onions have yielded some small little guys.

Of course tomatoes + onions + jalepeno + my new birthday Ninja ( + cilantro and lemon from the store) = homemade salsa.

I'll tell you what, I got such a good feeling from picking the veggies in the morning and turning them into salsa for lunch!  We're practically self-sufficient.  (If we can figure out how to live on one bowl of salsa a week.)

Random - our tree . . .

And while we're being random, here's the breakfast in bed Matt made me for my birthday:

For not liking eggs, he sure makes a mean omelette.  Also, it was breakfast in bed with the WHOLE family. Moosey too.  Watching me eat and licking his chomps.

While we're on the birthday topic . . . a little story . . . A month ago we took a picture of Bo riding Moosey.  Last week Matt's brother Adam had his cousin edit out the arm holding him in place to create this wonderful photo:

How can you not look at that and laugh?  It's so funny to me!

You know what else is funny?  Matt had the image immortalized in a chunk of glass.  Crystal, he says.  

A 3D image of my boys.  Captured forever.

Funny, I know.  

AND, Matt really hit a home run here with my other gift. 

Actually, we got to go out to dinner last weekend, which was a surprise, and he organized a Bo sitter and everything, which was ALL I wanted for my birthday and was a perfect treat.  Thank you, honey.

But ALSO . . . 

He got me an old typewriter.

Which I have always (unexplainably) wanted.  

True!!

I don't know why I've always wanted one, but seriously, since like high school.  So.  I was PRETTY excited about it.  And it works!!  What a great birthday.