long time...

 Wow has it been a while since I have blogged! There has been so much that has happened over the last year; that I thought I would do a little recap.

September 2010: We moved to Manhattan, Kansas

October 2010: We found out I was pregnant with our second child

 

November 12th 2010: My husband deployed and the night he left the pipes froze over and we got our first snow.

 

December 2010: Hello morning sickness, flu, & bug (threw up for four days straight).

 

January 2011: Evelyn turned two, and along with it the gift of tantrums began. More snow and the driveway shoveling started.

February 2011: Evelyn fell down the stairs and broke her tooth. She put the cat in the dishwasher (yes, it survived)...a week later, the cat had pneumonia.

March 2011: Van trouble. The van wouldn't start on a Sunday. Declared it was the battery. Monday with new battery installed the van still wouldn't start- in fact, it started smoking. Took the van to the dealership and they said it was nothing- that sometimes when you install a new battery it will smoke...I told them I was NOT an idiot. Tuesday, as I need to get to work, the van is sputtering and smoking again. I call the dealership they said to bring it in.

Not wanting to pay for a tow; I chanced it and decided to go on and drive to the dealer and stop every three minutes (it was only 3 miles from the house); however, before we left we discovered the cat had been locked in a tuber ware bin (Evelyn had put him in there a day ago)...so on the way to the dealership we dropped the cat off at the vet (they had a drive thru). Took Evelyn to the sitter, dropped the cat off (literally), dropped the van off and got a ride into Fort Riley to go to work. Then in reverse order, go another ride back to the dealer, picked up the cat and Evelyn headed home; as I was driving home the van just stopped. I ran out of gas. FIRST time ever!!! A nice cop gave me a ride to the gas station and I bought a tank and filled up the van (keep in mind I am 7 months pregnant, I have a two-year old in the van, and a very obnoxious howling cat).

April: I backed out of the garage with the van door open (not realizing I wouldn't have enough room) and knocked the door off. So off we go to the dealership with the van door in the trunk- luckily it was a warm day and we could have used the extra breeze.

May: May was ok...I was just miserable and ready to have the baby.

June: On June 14th at 7:29am we had our second child; Ian Gregory. I had him via c-section and he was planned on that date so my husband could be there for the birth.

The remaining part of June was a slow recovery. I was in and out of the hospital; as I would get better and then get worse. It really was two steps forward and two steps back. My in-laws were staying with me during this time to help me out after Greg had left. I seriously do not know what I would have done with out them.

July: I still wasn't doing well and was in a lot pain. On June 29th my fever spiked to 104.3 and I was in a lot of pain. I went back to the hospital. After several tests (all night of testing) they couldn't determine what was wrong and so I was discharged yet again. I went home and my fever never broke. So at 1pm I went back in to the hospital and was this time admitted. My doctor, to whom I thank God for giving the knowledge, figured out was going on. I had septic perpura thrombophlebitis (or child bed fever). One out of every 100 women get it after undergoing surgery and/or having a male child. Lucky me.

I spent the remaining part of July recovering and the first week in August.

August: I was finally feeling better and it was time for my sweet in-laws to leave ( I REALLY didn't want them to go). You can never put a price on what they did for me and my family. They are truly one in a million.

The end of August we got a little bug issue....yuck. This lasted until well into September, (always something I swear).

September: Things are finally leveling out. I moved Evelyn into her big bed and Ian will be moving into his crib soon. By the time that Greg comes home everything will be sorted out.

So that is what has happened to our family this year....

I have, however, been quite busy within our home and would like to share my latest project with you. I will be taking updated pictures of the nursery and Evelyn’s room (and even our room), as they have all been tweaked a little.

Ok so I wanted to give our entryway a little more spunk than what it had with out spending too much on framing. Taking my queue from Lauren over at www.purestylehome.com

I went to www.americanframe.com and ordered twelve metal frames. Taking the pictures out of Leonardo’s DaVinci's Notebook, I just simply tore them out and put them on the white mattes that I ordered. This was a MAJOR project and took about three days for me to complete.

 

You got to love the bottle on the table...

                                              

Ian was "helping"

Ready to go up!

Before:

After:

There is no rhythm or reason to my hanging- I just sort of scattered them...it was more true to our life :)

I found this lovely lady on Etsy and had her framed. Evelyn and I have named her Agatha and have given her the bio of a headmaster.

I like "Agatha" because of her colors seriousness; and I wanted something that didn't quite fit in the midst of the DaVinci prints- something a little off.

I have placed a white bench cushion on the bench since I have taken the picture.

A close up of "Njord" (the north wind)

I truly can't take any credit for any of my ideas with the entry- I got all my ideas from Lauren over at purestylehome.com- she is the true mastermind.

Hope you enjoyed my little ranting...

Happy Friday Everyone!!!!

~Cheers,

Melissa

~PS~

My Children...

Our little guy...

Living Room Transformation

I have finally finished our living room. It was been a long process, but it is complete. Well...almost I guess. I am still waiting for a floor lamp that I ordered over a month ago; ironically it will be here the day that I deliver the baby in the hospital (June 14th). 

My inspiration came from the lovely Lauren over at

http://purestylehome.blogspot.com/2010/04/just-year-ago.html

I just loved the light feeling that Lauren's room offered with all of the layers, textures, and the overall sense of "home." The floor lamp that I am waiting on for our living room is actually the same one in the picture above. Lauren has a way of adding style and ease to a room without making it feel too stuffy; it is still approachable and lived in.  

I wanted to achieve this same feeling for my own family; to some how incorporate style into a room for my husband and I, while still making it comfortable for a toddler and baby on the way.

When we moved into our 70s split level rental; I knew right away that there was A LOT that I wanted to change (after getting the landlords permission), I started painting and "remolding" room by room.

Before: On move in day...what a mess!

 When the movers brought everything in...it was nothing less than overwhelming.

 Our trusty dog Roscoe was there to lend a "hand"...

The lovely cornice board curtains- I took those down the first day!

A close up of the curtains...

 Look at all the packing paper!

Lovely view of the chaos...

After painting the walls, and putting up a stencil on one of the walls to add some texture (VERY tedious job!!!); this is what it looks like now...(warning: there are a lot of pictures).

And After:

 Although I am not that crazy about the back side of the couch facing you when you first walk in the door; it was really the only spot to place it.

 A close up view of one of the built in bookshelves. I left the bottom shelf empty because when the baby comes I will be spending alot of recovery time on the couch, and the lower level will make a great temporary changing table.

 The bust I ordered from an antique dealer from Spain. We almost thought it wasn't going to make it here. It had trouble getting through customs and he had to resend it twice! The antlers are from a gazelle and I thought they were interesting. I am still missing the candles to go in the candles sticks.

View of the other built in book shelf...

 Our rose bushes our starting to bloom out back and make a beautiful little arrangement.

 This was my little rocking chair when I was little and is now one of Evelyn's favorite places to read.

The box is an old wine crate that the bust on the mantle came in from Spain- I am recycling it to hold some of Evelyn's animal toys.

 The Eastlake chair is an antique I found at a flea market in Georgia for only $20; but it is very special to me because of the velvet fabric. My grandmother gave me the fabric as she had been holding onto it for over 50 years. Every time I look at it I think of her and our special memories.

 This little green book was another gift from my grandmother. Recently, they came to visit us and she gave this book to Evelyn. It's the very same book that she used to read to me for hours. It was the most precious thing for me to see my grandmother sitting in our living room reading this book to our daughter.

Just priceless.

I wish I had a seagrass rug that was much larger...but they don't make them larger than 9x12 unless you special order.

 A close up view of the stencil I did on the wall. Again, you must have extreme patience, for this is a very tedious task; and honestly, not one that I am sure I will do again. However, I do love the results.

I know I had a lot of pictures and hope I didn't overwhelm you all with too many of them. There are always things that I would love to change- like the actual fireplace itself, for example; if we owned the home I would completely reconstruct the way the mantle and fire place looked. I would also paint all of the built-ins and wood trim white...but, all in all I do love the way our living room turned out.  I hope you enjoyed my little "before" and "after" tour...

Have a happy week!

~Cheers,

Melissa

The Sweet Smell of Summer...

I have finally stopped running our heater, and have started running the air! It happened so suddenly, but at least it happened. I know it is not officially summer time, but when the air goes on, and the blow up pool gets put out- its instant summer at our house!

There are so many "loves" for me this time of year...

I love the way the birds chirp; like a symphony every time you open the door- or the way our linen curtains gently dance when the windows are open; or how the soft breeze feels like a gentle kiss when you walk outside.

Most of all I love watching Evelyn run through the yard barefoot picking danelions and making "flower soup."

Then there is my love for the smell of freshly cut grass in the summer time- to me there is nothing like the smell of a mowed yard after a light summer rain!

 Our pear trees have bloomed their beautiful white sweet smelling buds, and the honeysuckles and confederate jasmine are proudly waving their flowers like crisp white flags on the Fourth of July. Even the strawberries are starting to join the party.

I found these lovely little lemonade glasses at - where else; the dollar store!!! They are perfect for out door sips of rasberry lemonade.

Snowcones, backyard BBQ's, water balloon fights for the kids, blow up pools and sprinklers, ooh and grilled corn (yummy)...I am only missing a hammock! Wouldn't that be lovely? To lay out back under a shade tree and read a good book...such simple pleasures.

Ahhh...summer...I embrace you. I welcome you with full arms to our home...

I couldn't resist sharing these last few pictures of Evelyn on Mother's Day. We went to brunch and all she cared about was the ice in my IBC rootbeer! The waitress even gave her a little cup of ice- well, let me tell you; Evelyn thought it was Christmas!

What are some simple pleasures you and your family do during this lazy season?

Sending Warm Weather Cheers,

~M