Before and After (with a bonus): Master bedroom

This makeover will be short and sweet! 

Our house is a split-level.  When you come in the front door, you have the option of going upstairs or downstairs. I suppose you could just choose to stay where you are, but you'd be standing on about a 4X6 landing with nothing to do.

The living room, kitchen, dining room, kids' rooms and full bath are on the upper level. The family room, playroom, Master, full bath, and utility room are on the lower level.

We toyed with the room arrangements for a while, but it has worked out really nicely. We put the kids to bed, clean up the kitchen etc while they fall asleep, and then we go downstairs to watch tv and go to bed without disturbing anyone. We have a monitor in our room so we can hear if anyone gets up or the baby cries.


BEFORE:  light blue walls, new neutral carpet. There is a door behind me to the left that leads to outside. We don't use it much now, but I think we will eventually.

We didn't paint or pull up the carpet. We didn't do anything to the room, actually, except move our stuff in. The room is long and narrow, but our furniture fits nicely.

We did get new bedding for Christmas (Anthropologie Rosette in a deep purple- LOVE), added lamps that had been in our previous living room, and heavy silver curtain panels from Overstock.

AFTER:

We generally keep the curtains closed (it's schmexy and romantic).
It looks a little plain in the picture, but it doesn't feel plain to me in person. We both really like the end-for-now result. Either way, it gets the job done (for now) and is being crossed off my list (for now).

Warning: crappy photo ahead.... I was too lazy to take another.
The other end:

 

That's the walk-in closet on the left.

I am changing out the photo in that frame, just haven't decided what I'm changing it to. It obviously doesn't belong on the floor. Those two little sweet things aren't in the right spot either ;)

In other before/after-related news...
AG got her first real haircut! Nothing dramatic, just cleaning up the stragglies... but it was the first time in the chair with the cape and scissors that aren't also used for household chores.

 

She did great and was very helpful trying to comb her own hair!

 

So big :)

 

 

The meat and potatoes.

BLERG.  I have a million thoughts running through my mind that I'd like to get down and I can't quite get them organized or decide if they should be all in one place (wonder if I can make a Pinterest board for that....).

I mentioned before that I hadn't picked up my camera in way too long. Of course, that doesn't mean I haven't been taking pictures. It means I've been taking advantage of the easy breezy beautiful cellphone that is always within reach, even if it means fuzzy photos of fuzzy moments. I have a feeling I'm not alone. But things they are a'changin.

This whole social media, texting while driving/walking/watching, on demand, paparazzi (papa...paparazzi) world is driving me nuts right now. Instant gratification and we ALL fall prey.

Don't get me wrong, obviously there are some huge benefits and conveniences because of it. For example, FB is the reason our experience adopting Anna Gray spread like wildfire. And because it did, just a teeny-tiny corner of the world might be more aware of our life which just happens to include adoption and DS and ASD and ADHD and OT and PT and IEPs and OCD (Nathan says he's going to join AA just so he can have acronyms like everyone else in this house).

Sometimes I get so wrapped up in trying to tell you about those things, I forget to tell you about the other stuff ... and sometimes, it's the other way around.

I put down the silly stories and kid-anecdotes and the precious pictures because I'm a mom. I want to save the moments and I want to brag on my kids. It's what we do. That's the meat and potatoes of life.  Or eggplant in our house, as I no longer eat/cook meat. Anyway, I could (and used to) just share that. Over time, I've come to realize that I have a responsibility to "educate". Partly because I'm a mom to children with special needs and partly because I believe it's the right thing to do.
I do the easy stuff pretty well.

Spread the word to end the the 'R' word.
If you know one child with autism, you know ONE child with autism.
Down Syndrome is what I have, not who I am.



Etcetera. Those things are important. Really important. That's why they're on tshirts and posters. They matter. But I'm seeing that I'm doing a disservice to my kids, to other kids, and to society in general by only telling part of the story, at least only part of OUR story. I hold back because... I don't know why. I'm worried about what people will think? I'm worried it will scare someone off of adoption or kids that aren't typical? I might say something someone out there doesn't like? 

I made a spirit-led decision to give up "negative words" for Lent. At least that's what I called them.
Already, I'm learning that there is a BIG difference in negative words and hard words. That's probably pretty obvious to most, but it's an eye-opener for me. It's okay for me to say that my broken collarbone hurts. It's okay for me to say it's tough when your non-verbal child cries all day and you don't know why.

It's harder... BUT OKAY... to say that Anna Gray fell down the stairs while on my watch. It's harder... BUT OKAY... to say that my twins are really very sad and angry about their adoption and I don't know how to help them.

I don't know why I leave that stuff out.
We do the best we can.We all do.

So, I'll share. Fuzzy photos or not.
I might tell you I'm having a bad day. I might tell you it's hard.
Not because I want your sympathy. Not because I owe anyone anything.
Just because we should be working together to become better people and because someone might have been there, done that and offer some ingenious insight that I'm too distressed to come up with myself.

Let's work together, people.
Let's talk. Let's listen. Let's share. Let's relate. Let's pray. Let's lift each other up. Let's fight for the right to party.

World peace.

And yes, clearly there was incident(s) that inspired this little soapbox moment. I'll share more... starting tomorrow. Moving on :)

Dance Jamaica Update/Reminder

Despite cold and snowy weather, I had 21 people at my first line dance class for my Jamaican mission trip!
It was mostly little girls (a birthday party), but I think they had fun :)

My next class is THIS Thursday, Feb 21st.
$10 per person with 100% going toward my mission trip.

The class will be held at Revolution Church. 3644 Hwy 31W in White House at 6:00 pm.

I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to have as many as last time, if not MORE!

If you had planned on coming before and couldn't make it, you get another chance!

No skills required, just a little fun for missions. Bring a friend!
Hope to see ya'll.

Feb 16

I can just hardly believe that she's TWO!!
Two years old and one year free from orphanage life!

Gracious, she's grown :)

We are still patiently waiting for her to hit some big physical goals, but she's sooooo close.
And of course, little things are big things.

She mimmicks EVERYTHING, including fist pumps (She says, "Yesss") and giving "rocks".

 

 

 

She attempts to brush her teeth and fold laundry.

She also loves to dump out bags and Mommy's purse! Such a toddler thing to do!
After months of practice, she is consistently stacking two blocks and nearly three.

With Mrs.Jill's (OT) shape puzzle, she can put a shape in the right spot. She even answered, "circle" when Mrs.Jill asked what shape she was holding! Smart girl.

I caught her on video today pulling to a stand (quickly!) to get a puzzle piece. Once she got the piece, she sat down and put it in the right spot and then said, "Boom!"... JUST.LIKE.HER.DADDY.

She can find her nose, your nose, Elmo's nose. If there's a nose in sight, she can find it.

We started working on belly button, but then she wanted to find MY belly button, so we nipped that in the bud real quick.

Her newest words are: balloon, Big bird, dog, circle, duck, Jill, and diaper. She says buh-buh-buh for Cale/Buddy and something for Brynn. I think she's just saying 'B'? TBD.

She's drinking juice now, drinking from a cup (still working on a straw), and turning AWAY food... which is great. When she came home, she ate e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g she saw as fast as she could. She literally ate until she puked. Thanks to her former home, she had to. She didn't know if/when she would eat again. So, now, turning away food... it means she trusts us. She knows if she doesn't like or want something, she can say no and trust that she will get something else, even if it's not right away :)

Basically, she's amazing.
And fun. And beautiful. And so very our's  :)

We couldn't have been happier to celebrate her Sunday with cake, ice cream, and family.

Being her very first birthday party, I would have loved to have thrown a big bash (that's my jam)... but she's not exactly a huge fan of crowds. In fact, we were pretty worried about her reaction with just the "few" that were here, but she did great!

She was sweet and fun and didn't mind the attention one bit.

She also didn't mind trying to fit a whole cupcake in her mouth!

Happy happy birthday to our sweet Anna Gray!

 

ETA: As of three weeks ago, she still hadn't quite cracked 20 lbs. (She has on our scale, but apparently it's a little high- WOOHOO!). She has grown three inches in the last two months :)

PA

Hi, my name is Amber and I'm a pinaholic.

{Hi, Amber.}

Ya'll.... Pinterest has made me a crazy person.

I mean, it's basically my OCD dream: creativity and organization in one spot.
Being a creative overchiever is kind of a double-edged sword. I can't do anything half-way.
Like... anything.
If you're gonna do it, do it right. Go big or go home. Enter any other cliche that justifies this behavior.

 

It must be contagious. Layla won Most Original for her "Love is in the air!" Valentine box :)

So proud of her hard work and imagination!

 

 

Only a monster truck would do for Cale. After lots of suggestions, he was insistant on just glueing a El Torro Loco on top of his box and nothing else... until I told him he could use a hammer to smash his cars. It was a fun little project for us :)

 

 

Brynn decided to cover her's with all the things that fill her heart <3 em="">



Most of the countless projects around my house at least started from a pin. They usually take on a mind of their own once I get going, but were likely Pinterest-inspired. Inspired, not copied. Usually. Probably 80% of our meals every week are straight from Pinterest. It's so bad that Nathan asks before he throws anything away, just incase I had Pinterest project I could use it for. And worse.... he brought home chocolates on Valentine's (for the first time ever)... and chose them based on which box I might want to upcycle. CRACKED ME UP. Pretty sweet though, right?

I do love a good theme. Or any theme.
(There's a place and time, of course.)

Teacher gifts: Sock cupcakes!

I thought these turned out pretty cute. Poem attached:

This cupcake is not to eat, it was baked with love to warm your feet!

Happy Valentine's Day to a teacher who deserves to relax!

 



Pinterest just makes it so easy.
Valentine cards. Valentine boxes. Valentine outfits. Valentine breakfast. Valentine gifts. Valentine hair-dos. Valentine decorations.

Insane, right?
That's why I'm at this meeting. The first step is admitting there's a problem....

Although, I will say... I think Nathan kind of loved his surprise.
A dozen of my favorite memories of us. Each ballon has a photo attached (printed on cardstock with a little note added).

Is this a good time to bring up Instagram?
This week I realized I hadn't picked up my actual camera since the twins' party. And before that, not since Christmas. Not okay!

More on that to come.

 

 

 

See you soon, Pinners.

SIX!

It's been a few weeks, but my beautiful babies are now six year olds! CRAZY.

She loves dress up, he loves superheroes. So for what will most likely be their last joint celebration, we had a "Create Your Own Superhero" party. BAM!

SUPER SASSY: She has dance moves like no other and kills things with her eyes. (She asked me to make her a tutu and the rest she put together by herself, love it!)

SUPER AIR FORCE MAN: He flies faster than a fighter jet and shoots fire from his fingertips to protect his country. His weapon of choice: Charm. (According to his momma... he wanted to know what "jarm" was.)

SUPERIO PALEO: Her xray vision helps locate fossils and she digs faster than the speed of light.
(Who knew glueing a dinosaur to a headband would make her THAT happy??)

SUPER AG: She shines bright like a diamond :)

 

 

 

Some of my favs from the photobooth:

 

 

 

 

We also played "Toss the Kryptonite" and "Mr.Freeze Dance". Total chaos. I think they liked it!

 

 

Happy birthday to my very favorite SIX year olds! You sure make life fun!!