I'm gonna whore myself out a little bit.....

So the other day, Blogger went down for maintenance. Just as I was finishing up an update about my super secret news. Which got deleted. *sigh* So I'll have to rewrite it sooner or later. I have a couple things that I want to get around to writing about (and soon my super secret news...), but for right now, I'm going to do a shameless business plug.

So if you read my blog, you'll know that I am well on my way to becoming a doula. The only thing standing in my way right now is my births, which I have two lined up for later this month and in July. I've got almost all my reading done (literally, I am on the last part of a couple of books), and I need to do a survey of the childbirth classes available in my area, but I am this close to getting my certification.

I took a big leap and already started getting things ready for my own small business. I still get all excited thinking about the fact that I am going to own a small business. So I figured out a name...which I was stressing over for a really long time...but ya know, the thing about stuff like that, is it just comes to you. Which it did this time. I started thinking about what I wanted to do as a doula, and my personal goal is to make sure mama is as calm as she can be. So!

Calm Mama Doula Services!!  (you can find my website at that link)
Calm Mama Doula Services Facebook business page

You can also find me on twitter @calmmamadoula.

I know right?! Aren't you excited too?!?  I've been trying to make a list of all the stuff I need for an information binder for my clients to borrow during their time as my client. I'm also trying to put together my intake and confidentiality forms. I also have business cards that I need to get printed!!

I also have a ton of not fun business things to take care of...like signing up for an LLC (or obtaining?), and getting a business bank account, and getting everything set up so I can have a productive business. I also have to figure out how I'm going to pay for some things that I want for my "doula bag".....I found some awesome stuff at this website called Your Doula Bag, which I'll probably be buying from (and after my certification I can write off as a business expense!).

So you guys, if you read my blog, go like my fan page for my doula business! If you have any friends living on Oahu, who are pregnant and looking for a doula, point them my way! I know that not all doulas and clients fit together -- it's just like building a relationship.

I'm just so flipping excited!

OH! And can I just say how much I ADORE my husband for being so supportive of what I'm doing? Technically, he's helped me get my certifying clients, which I very much appreciate. He's been pimpin my business on his facebook. He's been helping me with reviewing my forms and information. He even sat down and helped me make my business cards! Aren't I super lucky?! The answer is yes. Yes I am.

So there it is!! Almost the official start of my new doula business. I know the business isn't going to be pouring in right away...which is fine with me...it'll give me some time to get everything together. Plus, I don't want a bombarded business...I want to be able to function, and still be able to spend time with my family.

I can't wait to share with you my super secret news guys, and I can't wait to get started on my doula venture.

<3

Two Kisses for Maddy

Yesterday, a friend posted a status on Facebook about the book she was reading. After a couple posts back and forth, I went and checked out the blog of one Matt Logelin over at his blog, matt, liz and madeline. For those of you who are unfamiliar with his blog, he writes about the love of his life, the birth of his daughter, and the untimely death of the mother of his child, just before she was supposed to meet their daughter for the first time.

His book is basically an extension of his blog...he goes through the meeting of his wife, their life together, finding out that she was pregnant, the birth of their daughter, and ultimately the death of his wife. He writes about the struggles he faced as not only a widower, but as a single dad. It's called Two Kisses for Maddy.

When I heard about this book, I had never heard of Matt's blog before. But I read the back story, which you can read on his website if you follow the "haven't been here before" tab. I cried. After reading a couple of posts, I decided to put even more money on my credit card to buy the e-book. (Which, I'll be honest...I love my e-reader, and appreciate that my husband bought it for me, but nothing can possibly compare to holding a real book in your hands -- plus, you look uber smart with a bookcase overflowing with books instead of a nifty little hand-held device with books on it.)

Two Kisses for Maddy

The book is short....well...short in my mind...at only 242 pages. It was a quick read (for me) and I finished it in just a few hours. I'll admit, I'm not usually one to read the sappy books, especially if its a true story. When I read, I like to be taken away to a fantasy place with fantasy people. I don't like to be reminded that bad things happen to good people. I don't like to read a book, knowing that someone went through all of these things. But this book was good. This book was different. This wasn't a self help book, but a very real, very raw glimpse into the life of one man, who gained a daughter and lost a wife, all in the span of 27 hours. This man, who was in a great deal of pain rose up to the challenge of keeping the spirit of his wife alive for their newborn daughter. He took it as a personal mission to let his daughter know what a special woman her mama was. All while dealing with the funeral arrangements, friends and family, and the death of the woman that he loved with all his heart.

I'm not big on writing book reviews. If I like a book, I'll recommend it to friends who ask for book suggestions. But rarely to I flat out say "go read this book". But this was different....and I think it's because everyone, at some time or another, wonders what would happen if the love of their life died, especially if you still have young kids at home. I've probably thought about it more than most people, just based on the fact that my husband has been and will continue to be put in dangerous situations. Every time he leaves our house to go do something for the Army, there is always a chance he won't come back. Reading this book hit those nerves inside me that are specifically set aside for deployment times. It was hard enough to read it with him sleeping right next to me, where I knew he was safe and sound, and I'm glad that I didn't decide to read this book during a deployment where those feelings are always at the surface.

This book,  this glimpse into the life of a man with so much love, is heart wrenching. I cried through about half of the book. I laughed at a couple spots. I looked at my husband while he slept and I stayed up (late) reading (which I have a tendency to do if I find a book that's worth it) and thought about what I would do if my husband was suddenly ripped from my life. How would I react? Where would I go? What would I do? How would I tell the girls that their daddy was gone? How would I make sure that they had a strong male role model (or 5 or 10?)

Or what if it was me? How would Brad deal with it? Would he raise the girls how I would have? Would he remind them how much I loved them, and would he tell them all about our life together? Would he make sure their hair was perfectly and their clothes were matching? Would he bring them home to visit all their relatives and make sure that they were surrounded by love?

Obviously the answer is, of course he would. If either one of us was just suddenly gone, we would each do the best we could to make sure that our girls knew their other parent loved them. And to keep the spirit of that person alive.

We are very lucky to have the family that we do. Not just our immediate families....not just moms and dads, brothers and sister...we have an amazing extended family. Not just our aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents, but our friends, who are so close, they are like our family. We have strong, amazing men in our lives who would be there to help the girls if Brad was gone. We have equally strong, amazing women in our lives who would be there in a heart beat to help if I was gone.

This book made me so thankful that I have what I do. And it makes my heart break for this man and his little girl, because she will never get to know the amazing woman her daddy loved.

So. In short, read this book. Make sure you have some tissues.

Guilty of Being a Helicopter Parent

Over at The Deranged Housewife's blog today, she posted about "Free-Range Kids". She posed the question on her facebook:

Are you totally "free range," a helicopter parent or somewhere in the middle? 

photo from journeyerschronicles.com

 I thought about it as I read her blog...and answered that I'm more of a "helicopter parent" than I would like to be. With Reilly being my first born, and being a first time mom with her, I've always been a little overly protective of her. I used to scoop her up at every little boo-boo or bump and cuddle her till she felt better. I don't really let her move too far away from me...I want her to be in my eye sight, and me in hers, at all times. While my mom and sister-in-law were here, we went to the Aloha Stadium swap meet. I was with my sister-in-law, Trish, Reilly and Ophelia. Reilly said that she wanted to go see grandma, who was probably about 5 booths down or so. I said okay, and I watched her walk down into the booth that she was in. A few minutes later, she was no where to be found! I flipped out...my heart was beating really fast, I was worried...I couldn't find my baby! There were so many people there, and I didn't know any of them, or if they had any intentions that weren't good. 

 It was scary! Eventually we found her...she had walked out of the booth my mom was in to come back to me and Trish. I yanked her arm and we stepped aside to talk about WHY we ABSOLUTELY DO NOT walk away from people without telling them. I was furious and scared. I asked her what would happen if someone swiped her, and how that would make everyone feel! We agreed that everyone would be sad and worried if we didn't know where she was, and she would be scared. 

The idea of letting Reilly walk out our front door with her little bike and helmet and going for a joy ride up and down the block terrifies me. The idea of letting her go run off and play with other kids makes me wanna barf. There are so many things that scare me about letting her be a "free-range kid". I'm scared that someone is just gonna yank her off the street. Just the other day, down the road from us, some guy just grabbed a little four year old girl out of her front yard. Just reached over the fence and grabbed her! He said that the little girl "looked like" his own four year old daughter...I'm sorry...but no. You know what your child looks like. He was just trying to swipe a little kid. This was literally a mile or less away from our home. Now, how scary is that shit, right? 

I want to be able to give Reilly a little more freedom...she's getting older. When I was a little older than her, I would stay out as late as I possibly could with my neighbors, playing around where ever, riding our bikes in the neighborhood, never a worry on my mind. I remember one summer staying in a cold pool so long that my knees turned blue. I used to be able to do that....and now...it doesn't feel so safe. It's not that I don't trust my kid...I do...I don't trust anyone else though. I don't even trust other kids...because lets face it...other kids are mean and sneaky now! 

I know I can't continue to be a "helicopter parent" for the rest of my life...I know eventually I'll have to let my kids do things by themselves. I know one day, Reilly will be okay riding her bike down to the park and I can trust her to come back in safe condition. I'm confident that I can teach her to avoid bad situations and people. But when does that start? When do I let the leash go a little bit, and let her do things herself without me there?  How to a become okay with myself and her ability to be a "big kid", and not stress over it?

I know that down the road, there will be other things along this same line that I'll worry about...I'll worry when she starts driving and stays out past her curfew...which...she's my kid...she'll do it eventually. I'll be worried when she doesn't call me when she's supposed to, or when she's not where she said she was going to be. And I'll cross that road when I get there...but right now, I'm just worried about how to transition from my baby being a baby to a big kid, and how to deal with that.

Mamas (and daddies) -- how have you dealt with letting your child venture out? What do you think is an appropriate age to give them a little more freedom? And how do you calm your anxiety about it?

I Have Some Great News....

I have some great, fantastic, amazingly awesome news.

That I can't share.

I know, aren't you sad too? But I can't share my news just yet. And it's important that I don't share quite yet. I want to...I really want to do. I want to scream it from the roof tops because I am so excited about this adventure we're about to embark upon, as a family.

Go ahead and make your guesses...I'm sure there is already tons of speculation from my friends on facebook (minus those that I HAVE told, which have been only a few). But there are so many things it could be, that honestly, it's so up in the air that I bet you probably can't guess, which is exactly how I want it. I could tell everyone who has asked, but it is honestly in the best interest of my entire family for me to keep it quiet. So I'm sorry if I've hurt anyone's feelings, but really, this is for the best.

However, I will be able to talk about it soon, so no worries. It's a huge event in our lives, and I feel like I should talk about it...to either explain myself or just discuss the matter, or a little of both. So expect some updates about whats going on in our family, and how it is going to get more awesomer. (Yes, that's not a word, I know)

So yay! Expect that readers. Expect. That. *said like Antoine Dodson*


In other news, I got an email back from my trainer for the doula class regarding the rough draft of my communication assignment. Overall, she thought I did a great job, and just wanted me to elaborate on a couple points, like why I felt like I wouldn't be able handle contractions, and the like. So tonight or tomorrow, I'll be elaborating a smidge, and submitting my final draft. I was worried about how the trainer would react to the paper, since they have their own format for the paper, but I feel really good knowing that she thinks I did a great job. *phew*

That's it for today readers. I've been trying to blog a little bit more, and now that I have exciting new topics to blog about (soon! soon, I promise!), I'll be doing that a lot more.

Mrs. Obie - The (soon-to-be) Doula

Since the beginning of March, I've been working (slowly, but surely) towards obtaining my doula certification through Childbirth International. I've been looking into becoming a doula for quite some time now, and I WAS going to start up before I had Ophelia, but I decided to wait until she was older, since I was looking into taking the program DONA offered, and I would have had to be gone for 8 hours a day for a weekend to a workshop. Which...I didn't really like...but alright. So I found CBI (Childbirth International) after some research online. This program is awesome for a SAHM like me. It's 100% online, aside from one childbirth class that I have to observe, and the two births that I have to attend.

I'm VERY excited that I started this class. The last couple weeks have been a little difficult...Ophelia has been crawling around the house like crazy and she's been needing extra attention lately. Not to mention my mom and sister-in-law were here for a week. But, I love being able to do this on my free time. And I love that I don't have to be gone for a long period of time to go take a workshop (though, taking a workshop later on down the line as a refresher is always an option). If all school could be done 100% online, I would be super happy. (Not possible, I know, but still...)

So I'm about a third of the way through the course right now. I just turned in my communication assignment. We had to follow their model of describing, talking about our feelings, our actions, and other choices we could make if in a situation like this is in the future. I found it utterly exhausting to do. I didn't realize how irritated I was with some points in Ophelia's birth. It was very informative for me to write though. I honestly did find out a lot about myself, and how I experienced Ophelia's birth. Also, my amazing husband shared with me how he felt during the whole experience...which was amazing for me. Though we love each other, and we talk, he doesn't always share his feelings with me. Which is fine. It really is...I don't try to get him all emotional and "feelingy" with me. But when its something like Ophelia's birth...I really appreciate that he shared that with me. So that was fun. So I turned that in...my instructor is going to get back to me. I hope I did well enough that I don't have to completely redo the assignment. It was almost 8 pages long if you can believe that. If you read my birth story on my blog, it was no where NEAR 8 pages...like I said, it took a lot out of me...not just because I've been tired lately, but because writing about emotions, especially with something like the birth of your child...it was just emotionally tiring.

But its done...now to move on to the more physical parts of labor and delivery...which should be fun! I'm pretty excited about that.

On a different, but some-what related note, I have THE best husband in the world. I was asking him the other day if there were any couple pregnant in his unit. He said there was one that he knew of. The day after we talked about that, apparently he had a huge long discussion with the dad-to-be about how awesome natural childbirth is, and how great having a doula can be. *Swoon*. What wife WOULDN'T appreciate that?! Well, I mean, as long as you were passionate about natural childbirth/doulas and were on your way to becoming a certified doula and wanted to ultimately become a midwife. Unless you were one of THOSE wives, you probably wouldn't appreciate it. But seriously, I was just so proud of him and so thankful that he takes how I feel about NCB (natural childbirth) and doulas seriously, and thinks the same, otherwise, he wouldn't have said anything...right? Right. So I'm so, so happy about that little thing that happened. It was just...seriously...swoon-worthy.

I'll try to keep my blog updated with the goings-on of my doula class. I am so very excited about this venture. I really am. I think its great that I'm doing this now, while Ophelia is little, instead of going into nursing to start with my midwife stuff.


much love!

Why I Can't Win as a Mom

All moms (okay, the majority of moms) and dads want to do the very best that they can for their children. Some of us moms, take the extra step and buy organic, natural, good things for our children. It's not easy to find great things for out children to use...especially in this economy because generally, those things are really expensive.

After a conversation with my best friend this morning about Aquafresh Training Toothpaste (designed for babies 3-24 months), and being curious as to how good it is for kids that little to be using toothpaste, she pointed me to a website called Cosmetics Database, where they rate how good a product is for you to use based on the ingredients. It's on a scale of 0-10, 0 being the best and 10 being the worst.

I looked up the current shampoo/body wash that I use for Ophelia, which scored a 4-5. Now, a 4-5 out of 10 doesn't seem too bad...but if you were to grade it in school, that would be an F.

Now, a bottle of Yes! To Baby Carrots Shampoo, which costs about $8 or so, will last me MONTHS. Literally. I bathe Ophelia two-three times a week, and so far, the first bottle that I bought her still has a good couple of months left, and she'll be 7 months old this week. I picked out one of the bottles that Cosmetics Database rates a 0, called Baby Poof, is an 8.5oz bottle for $13 a pop. 8.5oz doesn't really last all that long. Probably a couple of months? So, for almost twice the money, which I'd be spending every 2-3 months instead of almost a year. I'd be spending over $50 for the best of the best that I can do for my baby (with shipping to Hawaii and tax, if applicable). Now, I'm not sure about you guys, but I can't be spending $100 a year on shampoo for both the girls. With the economy the way it is, and living on this little tiny island, the only way to get things to me is by airplane. And with the inflation of gas prices, it costs a ton to get things shipped out here.

So how can I be expected to do the very best for my kids that I can, without going broke?! Especially since we are a one income family, living off post and paying for everything (rent, utilities, tv/internet, cell phones, plus groceries and gas, which is an abomination that I won't even get into right now.).

After reading "Spit That Out!" by Paige Wolf, I've come to see that I shouldn't be worrying about buying everything organic or natural, not vaccinating, buying plastic toys, etc, because if I were to do everything like that, all the time, and worry continually about what I'm using to wash my kids, or what their clothes are made of, or what goes in their tummies, I would be an anxiety ridden mess. And no doubt I'd be filing for bankruptcy, and possibly getting a divorce from spending all my husbands hard earned money. The book makes a point to do things the very best that you can, without losing your shit.

But we obviously can't win as parents. Something is always bad for you, something is always going to cause you cancer, or disable or disfigure you somehow...its tiring. Its tiring to know so much information. It's tiring to try to keep your family safe and healthy.

So I've come to the conclusion that I can't do it all....I can only do the best I can, and leave it at that. And I think that's all we can do as parents. So if you are an anxiety ridden mama, trying to do the best for your kids, and you feel like you're failing...just remember to do the absolute best you can. Make compromises. But don't over analyze everything...because you're going to be stressed out, and broke.

But regardless. We still can't win as parents.

Mother Nature -- She's a Bitch

As we are all aware (hopefully), there was a magnitude 8.9 earthquake yesterday that rocked Japan. Aftershocks are still following the massive quake -- there have been hundreds. A tsunami hit and devastated the country. I am deeply saddened by this whole situation, and the people of Japan, and people I know who live there are continually in my thoughts.

Japan

 The state of Hawaii, where we live, issued a tsunami warning around 9:30pm last night. People were rushing out to fill their cars with gas, and hitting up 24 hour grocery stores to stock up on non-perishable food and bottled water. We didn't. The zones closest to the shore line were evacuated. The tsunami was scheduled to hit the island of Oahu at about 3:21am. 

Diamond Head Reef -- which drained about 5 times before I finally fell asleep. It was seriously eery.

I'll be honest, I went from "nahhh, nothing is going to happen" mentality to "oh shit, we're fucked" in about an hour. I flipped out. Brad probably thought I was completely over reacting, and maybe I was (okay, I was) but natural disasters are no fucking joke. The only natural disaster I've ever been in was an earthquake in Washington in...2001, that was a 6.8 magnitude quake. I was going over to my boyfriends house after getting all my classes for the next trimester, and as I was getting ready to step in the door, the quake hit. It was scary, but it was over before I even knew it, and there was hardly any damage...1 person died due to a stress related heart condition, and about 400 people had reported injuries. That was the only natural disaster that I've ever been in, and to tell you the truth, the word "tsunami" never popped into my mind when we were getting ready to move here, but last night really made me reevaluate our emergency preparedness....of which we have none. I scrambled around the house for forty-five minutes to an hour, gathering clothes and diapers for us (the diapers were just for Ophelia), and any non-perishable food I could find (which we have little of), and try to fill some jugs with water. I finally managed to gather about two sets of clothes for each of us, and the food, which consisted of crackers, tortillas, cereal, Reilly snacks, chips, bread and peanut butter. Oh and a couple of huge cans of fruit. You can tell how prepared we were. 

Fire in Japan

Luckily for us, unless there is an earthquake that causes a tsunami right next to us, we will have at least a couple hours before anything hits us. But this made me realize that we are not prepared at all, and if we needed to be evacuate, we would have to rush to gather things we need, and in that rush, I can guarantee that we would grab everything. So now my new project is to slowly gather things for a disaster kit. This is from FEMA for a disaster kit. I suggest that everyone make one. There are also places you can buy one, but I think making one to better suit your families needs is better, while using a list as a guideline. Really, I do encourage everyone to make one. Even if you don't think you'll need it. Plus, it might come in handy for a zombie apocalypse. Just sayin. 

Sunken house in Japan

You never know what could happen with a natural disaster. Mother nature is a crafty, crazy, unpredictable bitch, and we need to be prepared for what she has in store, even if that means putting together a box that we may never use. Well, that we hope we'll never have to use anyway. 

Tsunami strength path. Hawaii is about at 220 and 0. (There abouts, not exact)

So friends and family, please, take precautions for any natural disaster...tsunami, earthquake, flood, hurricane...whatever it may be. Make sure you provide things for your family. 

Also, if you feel the need to help out in Japan's time of need, you can text REDCROSS to 90999 and donate $10 to relieve for Japan. You don't have to, but the Red Cross is doing the same thing they did with Haiti (which I donated money to, and probably will again). And yes, it's legit. I looked on the Red Cross website.

Taking A Break...

So I know I posted yesterday about how I've been on hiatus and I'm oh so sorry, but I'll be back right?

Well, sorry to disappoint (if I'm even doing that), but because of the lovely Sayward Rebhal over at Bonzai Aphrodite , I will be taking a month long break from the internet. Okay, not a complete and total break from the internet, but I'm limiting myself to about an hour a day; checking my email and facebook in the morning and then in the evening, and then I can go online for however long it takes me to do my weekly menus. (And possibly doing school work for the doula class that I am hopefully going to be signing up for this week that is 100% online...obviously I can't ignore the internet if I'm doing school work right??)

I spend the majority of my day with my laptop on and open to facebook and I usually have about 8 tabs open on my browser as well. Even when there is nothing to do! I waste A LOT of time. Seriously...a lot. So I'm taking a break. I know, I know, I'm sad too, but with my family coming to visit in just a short couple weeks, I need to concentrate on my house and my family and less on my computer and the internet. If it wouldn't break my heart, I would just cut our internet all together (and plus, I don't want to make the husband sad by cutting off his xbox live...)

I'll update you all when I get back at the beginning of April. In the next month, we're having my mom and my sister in law visit, and Reilly turns 5!!!!! FIVE PEOPLE!! She turns FIVE.

(PS - I'll still be uploading pictures from my phone, I'm totally sure. I have friends and family that need to see my cutie patootie girls!!)


So farewell intrawebs. Farewell (tomorrow).

I LOVE YOU INTERNETS!!!

Hiatus

I've obviously been on a blogging hiatus. Sad, I know. I'll be back soon though, I promise!

Making a Multifunctional Playroom

So this is what our playroom currently looks like. Kinda sorta. There are dots all over the wall by the chalkboard. And there is a whole other part of the room just to the left of that bookcase. But there isn't anything there other than a big pile of books that came down from my bedroom about pregnancy, and a box full of Ophelia's toys and books. So really, there isn't anything going on in my playroom.

Since we've moved here, I've had visions of putting a comfy chair or small loveseat in that room to make it have a little more of a grown up feel to it.

So I've been looking all over Craigslist for a nice looking and CHEAP chair or loveseat. 

This is the chair I found. Nothing spectacular. Brown in color. Plain. It was $85, so it didn't cost a whole bunch. Just a nice little chair. Brad SHOULD be picking it up soon. So this is the chair. I'm waiting for it to get here so I can evaluate what colors I can use with it. Right now I'm thinking plum and cream as main colors...but we'll see I guess.

Since I think every piece of furniture needs either a table or ottoman, I'm looking for a cheap and junky (but functional) coffee table so I can Make an Upholstered Ottoman in my color choice! Seems simple enough right? Then I'll just add a side table and BAM! Got myself a nice little reading nook.

But that's totally not all. Previous to moving, we bought these shelves to use as part of a TV stand...unfortunately, we could only use one due to the space that we had. So I have that thing that I'm planning to put under the smaller of the two windows in the reading nook to use for storange -- books, magazines, blankets, what have you. I'm also going to have my mom see if she can find any chair cushions in the as-is section at Ikea the next time they go. I saw this post about using the cushions as a cheapy dog bed. Since we don't have any dogs, I'm going to make some to use as my own floor and bench thingy pillows. That isn't all -- I'm considering making these Floor Poofs or these Floor Cushions. I have yet to decide, but I have so many options!

Next. I want to kind of put a wall between the reading nook and the playroom. Not completely closed off or anything like that. But I want to definitely give at least the illusion of separation. So remember that bookcase in the very first picture? {Go ahead and scroll up, I'll wait....} Okay, you see that big huge bookcase? I'm going to turn that around so that the book spines are facing the front of the house. On the back of that bookcase, I'm going to put some pretty paper or something, followed by a piece of plywood or particle board, and then some cork board. That cock board is going to be facing the play room side of the room, so Reilly (and eventually, Ophelia) will be able to put her pictures up on board to show off. I'll also have some storage on the side of the bookcase that isn't up against the wall for toys and stuff too.

Then, the playroom side will be super fun. I'm going to put in a built in desk, just like this with one exception. I'm going to put it in the corner. I'm going to cut out two holes in the top and put in little metal tins for Reilly's markers and pencils and crayons. Underneath I'm going to add some storage...I haven't quite decided what exactly yet, but it's going to be storage for Reilly's coloring books and paper and stuff like that. Probably add a garbage can and some kind of lighting as well.

Next task is to figure out some storage for Reilly's board games, puzzles, and random little toys that she keeps in the play room. And storage for Ophelia's things as well. That's where her play mats and little toys and her exersaucer are to be stored. (PS! If you have storage ideas for board games, puzzles, crap like that, PLEASE let me know and send me links! I'm looking for ways to store everything).

Here's a little rough layout (yea, I did it on Paint. Sue me!) for you to look at and see where the things will lay. I know, it looks like a disaster. I'm well aware that I have zero artistic skills. See that white space up there on the right hand side? That's where storage is going to go. It's sloped down because thats wall is where our stairs are.

So check that shit out! How excited are you for me?! Seriously, I am stoked. I'll continue to post on the progress I'm making. Like I was telling Brad a week or so ago -- our house feels like home, but it's never felt homey. It's just kind of put together and it holds all our things where the should be. I'm just so excited to do something DIFFERENT with our house. Playroom/reading nook is going to be first -- then I'm going to be tackling the kitchen. I'm excited for that as well!

Be back to posting soon. Promise!