Red Rum

I may hate the paint color I picked for the picture shelves.

I broke one of my own cardnial rules...ALWAYS get a paint tester and try out a few shades before making a final selection.

I didn't get a tester, I just made a selection.

I may have messed up.

It may be too red.

I may have to repaint.

My plan is to do a final color check with the boards inside the house later today once everything is completely dry.

I may be painting again tomorrow.

Spending Money - Deck Day #3

Today was spending money day!

We decided to go with composite decking, TREX.  While the upfront cost is a bit more it does weather better and the upkeep is minimal.  Neither the husband nor the wife wants to be out there every year staining.  So composite here we come.

My dad and I headed out to the lumber yard in the morning.  His hook-up at the yard ended up scoring us an employee discount.   Not too shabby.  All of the materials have been ordered/purchased with the exception of the railing system.  That decision still needs to be made.

We had a slight hope that they would be able to deliver the materials today.  With the dad leaving tomorrow we had hoped that maybe some additional work could be done today.  Unfortunately we will have to wait for the materials to be delivered tomorrow.

The husband did take off a bit early from work so that they could work on getting the posts put up.  It was a race against nature as a rain storm decided to move in right when the deck work began.  Thankfully no one was made of sugar and even with the rain drops coming down the post work got finished.

The deck project is now on hold until the weekend.  The husband is going to recruit some help and hopefully by the end of the weekend we will have a deck (at least a deck without the railing). 

Also as a confession...I haven't started painting the picture shelves yet...maybe tomorrow.  Maybe not.

Too Many Pictures: Picture Shelf Project

I knew it was going to be a problem.

I have so many pictures of baby girl that I am a bit overwhelmed.  How do I pick just a few to print and display?  Where do I put them?

As I have posted in the past I am not really good at hanging things on my walls.  I over think.  Now with all of the cute baby pictures I need to get my act together and get displaying.

Have I mentioned how much I like Pinterest?  I have...well I am mentioning it again.

I knew I wanted some sort of wall display that I could easily switch out pictures.  With her growing so much everyday my favorite pictures change quickly.  I also want to be able to change the orientation of the frames from landscape to portrait and back again.  I hate being stuck with a specific direction needed for a specific frame as I don't like to think about what direction I need the picture when I am taking it.  I want to be able to shoot the picture in the direction that I think looks good in the moment.

Bottom line is that I wanted maximum flexibility.

After looking around at a ton of options I was really drawn to picture shelves.  Not only could I rotate the frames and switch out the pictures easily I could even potentially include a couple small decor items to add some additional interest.

Which wall to choose?

I immediately knew I wanted to put the shelf/shelves on one of the walls in the main living room.  After all I wanted everyone to be able to ooh and aah at baby girl (can't hide those away in an obscure hallway).

The wall I picked out is a main wall that is against the stairs.  The problem was that it had a light switch and thermostat on it.  The husband did not think this wall would work.  I begged to differ.

Visualization works well for both of use when we are trying to sell a project plan to one another.

So I took a picture of the blank wall.  Uploaded it to my favorite photo editing site PicMonkey.  Added in some shelves and then did another one where I did a quick mock up of some frames.

It really helped the husband to see how it would work around the light switch and the thermostat.  Doing the mock up also helped me get an idea of how many and what sized frames I wanted.  I highly recommend doing some sort of visualization either by putting paper up on the wall or by photo shop, especially if you are wall art impaired like me.

The plan is to build a simple shelf using a piece of crown molding.

So in the midst of all of the deck shenanigans I will be working on the shelving project.  Wood has been selected...

...I'm off to paint. 

When the Decking Gets Tough: Deck Day #2

So 2 days into the deck project and the shiz is getting real.

Like most all DIY projects numerous trips to the home improvement store were required.  In addition plans had to be redrafted, tweaked, and/or adjusted a few times.  The main issue being that the husband was trying to utilize some of the existing deck components (like the joists, posts, and ledger board).  What became clear is that the little walkout deck that the home builders put in was not built with any tender loving care...no pressure treated wood.  Also the size of posts and the ledger board did not jive with the new stuff decking.

So a lot of standing around and pondering happened today.

A lot...

Finally after a large amount of discussion the plan is to now rip out the entire existing structure and start from scratch with new materials.  It will be easier than having to jim-jam sizes and it will weather better with the pressure treated lumber.

Yeah it was a "2 pencil behind the ear" kind of day today.

All of the adjustments aside today's To Do List was completed in time for some late afternoon naps by the husband and the dad. 

The concrete footings went in without a hitch.

All of the ledger board is up and ready for joists.  That almost went up without a hitch...almost.

There was a slight miscalculation on one set of holes which required some quick hole filling.  No big whoop.  You have to roll with the punches.  However it does always seem like the punches get thrown at the end of the day.

Tomorrow is an off day for deck work as the concrete needs to dry before the posts can be attached.

Monday's plan is to get the posts in as the husband will need help with those and Monday is the last day the dad will be able to help before leaving town. 

Also on Monday we will be ordering all of the composite lumber for the actual deck.  The dad was in the hardware/lumber business for about 40 years so he has hooked us up with a connection to get a great discount on materials...bonus!

Tasks Completed Day #2
**Ledger boards attached.
**Finalized plans for existing deck (will be tearing it all out)
**Concrete forms poured

Day #3
**Order composite materials
**Attached posts to the concrete forms

Hi Ho Hi Ho...a Decking We Will Go - DAY 1

It is official the deck work has begun!

Admittedly the husband started this project about 2 weeks later than first anticipated....

There was a last minute MAJOR change to the overall plan.  After a couple frustrating weeks trying to work with Lowes and Home Depot on the multi-level deck plan he made the decision to go a bit easier (and bigger in the end) and keep it a simple one level deck.

Getting rid of the two level design is really going to open up the deck.  The main issue was the levelness of the ground (or lack there of) and the fact that the stairs to connect the two deck levels would completely cut into the usable square footage of the deck. 

So this weekend is the weekend.  The wife's Dad is in town for a few days visiting baby girl before he takes off for his Alaska fishing house for the summer.  We decided to put him to work.  He has experience in building houses and decks so the husband welcomed some advice.  Drilling into the side of one's house will give a person pause.  It is nice to have some back-up support.

After spending the better part of an evening reviewing plans the first trip to the hardware store was made.  On tap for Day #1 was to dig the holes for the posts.

While this may not be a massive all day undertaking in most backyards ours is full of rocks.  I should say full of boulders.  If you look around the yards in our neighborhood you will see everyone has landscaped with large rocks.  Many of these landscaping choices were not made solely for aesthetics.  These rocks came out of the ground during the home building and had to go somewhere.

As we have chronicled in the blog previously it is always a bit of a crap shoot to make a hole in the yard.  If you are living right you may be able to dig a few inches before encountering your first rock.  When the husband was planting all of the fruit trees he would often start digging only to find a huge boulder in his way.  The nice thing about planting the fruit trees is he could pick a different spot to plant if the boulder was too big.

When digging holes for the posts on the deck they only had one option for where each post hole needed to go.  So if a boulder was encountered....it needed to come out.  Luckily there was only one really big rock in one of the holes.  Unluckily there were a ton of mid-sized rocks making the digging really slow hard work.

I am not sure that the Dad was fully aware of what a massive effort it was going to be to dig 5 holes.  By the end he was no doubt rethinking his enthusiastic "I would love to help with the deck" comment.

Of course as always there was plenty of pug help.

Task accomplished Deck Day #1:
**Post holes dug
**Concrete forms placed

Plan for Deck Day #2:
**Attach the ledger boards to the house
**Pour concrete

Little Red Riding Dress

 

I am really enjoying sewing little baby clothes.  I have about 5 patterns that are waiting in the queue for fabric and time.  (Time being the limiting factor...who knew having a baby would be so time-consuming....oh yeah, everyone!)

I did manage to make a Little Geranium dress by MADE BY RAE.  This pattern for 0-3 Months is free on her website.

The instructions were great and the dress came out very cute.  I do have to say that I wish the neckline was not so "boxy." I feel like it goes too far up on baby girls chest so that you can't see that she has a neck.

The good thing is that MADE BY RAE does offer a Geranium dress pattern for sale that includes additional options for necklines as well as shelves.  It also is for additional sizes.  I will most likely be buying the full pattern as I really did like the way the dress came together.  I even got to use my button hole maker settings on my machine for the first time.

The material is from the Little Red Riding Hood line from Riley Blake.  There are some really cute fabric patterns in that line.  I have some other patterns that I am trying to figure out what to do with.  They are just too cute not to use.

I also made another little pair of pants using the same pattern that I used for the Easter outfit.   I really do like that method for making leggings.  They are really easy to whip up and she has gotten a lot of use out of them.  I am ordering some fun knits online so that I can make some additional leggings for the fall.

My next clothing project is most likely going to involve making some shorts.  It is finally warming up around here and will soon be too hot for little pants.

I have not been able to find a pattern online that I really like.  Most seem too involve for infant shorts.  I don't want to spend a bunch of time with pleats and darts when the little shorts are going to be bunched up sitting in a bumbo or kicking around on a playmat.  I will save the super cute time consuming stuff for when it can be toddled around.

I think my plan is to approach the shorts in a similar way to the pants.  I am going to use a pair of existing shorts as a pattern.  Hopefully I will be able to post a tutorial soon. 

If you don't ever see a BABY SHORTS post...it means they did not turn out. Don't hold your breathe.

Really all of this baby clothes making is just an excuse to take pictures of baby girl.  She is an adorable model.

Bottle Boot Camp

The past week has been rough.  If you read the "Hitting the Bottle" post you will remember that baby girl was still not taking a bottle and my maternity leave is rapidly coming to an end.

At our 2 month doctor's appointment we mentioned the "no bottle" issue to the pediatrician.  We were anticipating her telling us "it's okay she will eventually get it" or "don't stress just keep trying."  Instead she told us we were in trouble and if we wanted her to take a bottle we needed to start getting aggressive.

Aggressive...

Her suggestion was to leave the baby all day with a grandmother.  And I do mean LEAVE.  She said that we should not be around, especially me.

The gist of the plan was to leave the baby with someone patient, familiar with feeding babies, and someone that could listen to crying for hours without giving in to nurse.  Parents usually crack under the pressure.

After leaving the pediatrician's office I felt panicky.  I guess I was pretty delusional.  I had just thought that one day we would wake up and she would magically take the bottle.  We were now facing the harsh reality that we had a baby that would need some additional training.  I was not certain I could just leave my baby for this stressful but necessary time.  I didn't want to put stress on a Grandma and I didn't want my daughter to think I had abandoned her when she was hungry.  While on some level I knew that baby girl would not feel abandoned, I struggled to get past that hang up.

After going back and forth over the options I decided I wanted to be the one to work with her through the "bottle only" feeding period. 

I did not fully realize how hard it was going to be.

We started at 2:00 PM on Sunday.  She cried pretty much non-stop until 8:00 PM.  They were full blown gut wrenching cries.  She would look up at me with red-rimmed tear stained eyes, pleading.

It broke my heart.  I cried, a bunch.

I was very close to giving in and nursing multiple times.  It is extremely difficult to see your child cry.  Usually there is nothing you can do to stop the discomfort.  This time there was something very easy I could do to make it all stop...but I didn't. 

I felt like a horrible Mom.

When she finally took the bottle it was a mix of emotions.  First being great relief.  The second caught me a bit off guard.  It hit me that she may not go back to nursing.  What if our experience was over?  I felt an overwhelming sadness as I was not sure I was ready to let that special bonding go. 

The tears continued to flow.

The next couple days were a mess.  I did not want to offer nursing as an option until I felt like she was really getting the hang of the bottle.  There was NO way I was going to go through the boot camp again. 

It is really hard to bottle feed a breast milk baby.  I found myself really tied down the next few days.  She was still fighting the bottle so our feeding sessions would take up to an hour and a half.  Then I would need to pump.  After the pumping I would need to wash and sterilize nipples, bottle, and pump accessorizes.  Pretty much by the time I finished with all of that it was time to feed again.

I hate the bottle.  I hate the time it takes away from me being able to hold and play with my baby girl.  I hate the cold feel of it against my skin as I tried to struggle with her hands and tongue to keep it in her mouth.  I hate the way I have to hold her away from my body to get her to take the bottle.

I hate it.

True it does give us more flexibility.  The husband and I are looking forward to our first date night in a long time.  I will be able to go off to work confident that she will take the bottle from her caregivers. 

I still hate it.

There is one redeeming quality to the bottle.  One that almost makes it all worthwhile.  With the bottle the husband does get to share in the special experience of feeding his little girl.  True she is a fussy little thing right now but he still enjoys her looking into his eyes as he holds the bottle.

I hate it a bit less.

I am gradually introducing a few nursing sessions into each day.  I am limiting these to the night feedings. Thankfully she did go back to nursing with no problem.  That was a large relief for me.

I know that far too soon she will not be nursing and will eventually be graduating to sippy cups.  When that time comes I will miss the bottle feedings.

But for now, you guessed it....I still hate the bottle.