What I've been up to...

Hi you guys! It's been a while. Like...a long while. Like...a over a year long. I had kind of abandoned this blog because I haven't really had time to do much crafting or projects with two in tow, but I saw some pins from my blog on pinterest, and I thought..."what??? People actually pin stuff from MY blog?" and then it got me wondering how my stats were looking. I was pretty shocked to see the numbers for views on some of my posts and that people still look at it regularly. So I've gotten a little re-inspired to try and do something with it again. I can't promise I'll blog super regularly. My personal blog has taken a big hit since having baby number two. Having two littles so close together (16.5 months) is no joke! It's hard work! And my poor hubby's work has been insane. Therefore, my down time is usually spent doing chores or trying to shove down some food (picture me at the kitchen counter stuffing my face with cookies while my kids nap because I don't want them to eat sugar but can't completely give it up myself...hypocrite much?), maybe enjoy a little quiet time and sit down with a cup of tea or coffee, etc. I'm trying to be a little more "unplugged" these days and more connected with my family. I use my phone for pictures and videos, but I'm trying to cut back on the social media. So again, I can't promise any regularity with my posting. But hey, I'm human. And the fact that I didn't blog for a while because I've felt like a failure in my lack of DIYing and crafting doesn't actually make me a failure. It makes me a busy mommy who has her priorities straight...I think.

So here's what you've missed:

Back in April 2012, we purchased our first home! So we've been here a little over a year now. It's a cute little craftsman style house in an amazing neighborhood (took us 2 years to get into this neighborhood). It's just under 1400 sq feet (finished) plus an unfinished basement and attic. It's 3 bedrooms, 1.75 bathrooms. We love it. But sadly, we have not done much to it. We moved in with guns blazing and quickly realized we just couldn't afford to do everything we wanted to. So we picked one project to complete (which is still not done yet...but that's another story). And we've been at a standstill since. We haven't even painted the walls, you guys. How horrible is that?! Not that the paint colors are hideous. They're just SO not us. My camera is in the office at the moment...which is where child #2 is sleeping right now...so I cannot get to my memory card to post any pictures just yet. But I'll get there. The only project we did when we moved in was to do an overhaul of the nursery. This house is old. It was built in 1923, and we knew there was likely lead paint in the house. And the plaster in that room was in bad shape. So we gutted it (aka my husband gutted it since I was super preggo and couldn't breathe in sketchy stuff), insulated it, put up new sheetrock, redid the whole closet, new windows (including making one of them bigger), new molding, paint, new lighting...big project. The reason I say it's not done yet? Well, we're first-time homeowners. We had never DIYed to this degree before. And we were terribly misinformed. We chose not to texture the walls because we wanted a smooth finish. And the lady at the Benjamin Moore paint store told us regular primer would be just fine on bare sheet rock (I know...all you experienced DIYers are shaking your heads). But it wasn't. So the paint peels off like a sticker. Literally. We taped a wall up to paint some stripes (which we love), and when we peeled the tape off, all the base color paint came with it! Well, not ALL of it. But some chunks. And we haven't had the time or energy to take EVERYTHING out of the room and fix it. It requires mudding, using a special primer, and repriming/painting the entire room. And painting over the beautiful stripes we worked so hard on. So it's just been sitting unfinished. Because we haven't had the time or the money. Good paint is expensive. Like...REALLY expensive. We're so frustrated with the whole thing that we just avoid it. It doesn't keep Thing 1 from enjoying her room or living in it. She doesn't care that there are chunks of paint missing from her stripe wall. Currently, we're doing some pretty major work in the yard [you know, since that's free]. I'll have to post some pictures of the progress. It's pretty dramatic!

In August 2012, I gave birth to a beautiful baby GIRL. She is gorgeous and I love her to pieces. But she is also a challenge. She had colic for the first 5 months and literally screamed 6 hours a day. And would be up most nights around 2am for another 2 hour scream session. It was rough. Hardest time of my life, actually. And thanks to that little miss, I think we're done having kids for good. But she's a whole 10 months old now...walking and all! And she's a joy to be around now (most times). She's still a much fussier and more high maintenance child than our first was/is, but she's just her own person. I don't know why we expected our second child to be just like our first. They're different people!

Introducing...

Miss Charlotte! Born August 23rd at 9:05am. She came fast and furious (as in...I was 9.5 cm dilated when we got to the birthing center and gave birth only a half hour after we arrived for a total of only 3 hours in labor).

Here she is last week at the spray park...

So lots of stuff going on. Plus, my hubby got a big promotion at work that completely changed what he does. And it's been good. And we've had some lifestyle changes as well (diet changes due to Eden and I finding out we're gluten intolerant). Thing 1 is up from her nap, so I better sign off! I hope to be on again posting some pictures soon. I'll post the progress we've made on Eden's room so at least I can show SOMETHING! Even if it's imperfect and not completely decorated yet (on account of knowing we'll have to take everything off the walls to fix them).

Happy Tuesday!