Day #7: Getting Organized Challenge {The Pantry}

I think you're going to notice an emerging pattern here.  We, um, don't have a pantry.  They don't come standard in the apartments we live in (or any that we've ever lived in for that matter).  We do; however, have a few cabinets that house such things as might go in pantry.  See what I did there?  I organized those.  Again, didn't use any additional organizing tools, just cleaning, sorting and stacking.

Before:

After:

Before:

After (I found so many cookbooks I forgot I had buried in that pile!):

Before: {Yes, there were a surprising number of empty things... and one poor little Christmas candy.  Oh, dear.  Made me glad we have recycling on our complex!}

After :

And that, my dears, is that.

This is my girl...

This is my girl, my Antonia.  She's woken up screaming the last few mornings, just enough too early that we're unsure whether it's two oclock or six, sometimes it is two and we hold our breaths, hoping she falls back asleep on her own.  Her molars are coming in, and it's showing the dark side of toddlerdom.

She knows when Daddy is getting ready to leave for work and grips his hands as tight as can, ensuring that he can't leave without her.  Breakfast is a mix of deciding whether she needs pain medicine (or just cranky) and trying to convince her to sit in her seat and eat something.

Daddy's actual exit is heart-wrenching.  She tries to get out the door when he does and screams when she realizes he's going to leave us.  Some mornings she flips a switch and waves a cheery, "Bye-bye!  Wuuu you!"  Those mornings are better.

Her teeth coming in have amped up the toddler destruction.  She bites, hits and throws things with a vengeance.  The biting is usually her teeth hurting, and she tries hard not to get skin, but timeouts have abounded for this either way.  The hitting usually means, "Please, please cuddle me.  I just need you."  This is always the balancing act of filling her little love tank and redirecting the hitting.  She tries so hard.  The throwing things, well, that probably has nothing to do with the teeth and everything to do with the fact that it's fun to throw things.

This afternoon we washed all of the bed-clothes, and rolled around on the bed while we waited for everything to dry.

Well, she rolled, and tried to show me that she could jump, but my heart nearly stopped when she tried to step too close to the edge.  Stay in the middle, baby, I feel like I said a thousand times.

Everything in our little world was right for the afternoon, and the world smelled like fresh laundry.

When she started to wear out, she laid her head down, and I lay next to her and we had a little chat.

She told me all of the important things she needed me to know, and I told her some too.

I told her she could always talk to me, and that I would always love her.  I told her that she was beautiful, but that she would be beautiful no matter what.  I'm glad my parents told me that, I think I would be a much unhappier person if they hadn't.  She told me a story about all of her favorite people, and gestured with her little hands, always ending her toddler-speak sentences with, "Yeah?  Yes!"

I told her I hoped we would talk like this in fifteen years, and that she would know I would want to listen.  She said, "Yeah," and patted me on the back.  I still find that comforting.

You are my Antonia, and while many things will change my sweetheart, that never will.

Day #6: Getting Organized Challenge {Dresser Drawers}

Hi, friends!  I know I'm a couple days behind, but I gave myself permission to go at whatever pace I'd like, so no worries :).  Last night I took care of Day #6.  Technically, the instructions are to go through all of your drawers and clean/sort, etc.  However, this dresser is almost brand-spankin' new as it was a Christmas gift, so I didn't feel it all that necessary to show off our drawers as they're pretty recently organized.  The top of the dresser; however...

was pretty sad.  The dresser is tall enough that anything that needs to be set out of Anni's way gets put up there... plus other randomness.  We spent the evening watching old Bones episodes and sorting through bills, books and putting things where they belonged.

The after isn't necessary pretty yet, but it's clean.  I did leave the poster waiting for a frame up there, but things are much happier and more organized now!  The end!

Pregnancy Care Package 101

When a dear, sweet friend let us in on the fact that she was 20 weeks along in her pregnancy, I knew I wanted to send her a box of random goodness.  By the way, you know who you are, and while I don't think you read this, I'm giving you fair warning that this could ruin your surprise if you haven't gotten the package yet!  I remember feeling very lonely and overwhelmed amidst the insanely excited emotions when I was pregnant, marked by the fact that I was utterly sick.  And while I know she hasn't been sick, I do know that no one can refuse a box of happiness.  After doing a few searches for pregnancy care packages, I got a mix of things, but nothing that really called to me or my budget.  So... here we have it!

Like I said, a whole bunch of randomness.  I combined my research with some discussion with my sister (who, having had three littles, is pretty qualified on such things) as well as a couple of fun things I had tucked away to give away at just the right time.

The contents include:

Kleenex: I always had the sniffles when I was pregnant, and even without that, I cried all.  the.  time.  Hello, trailer for Blind Side, you can make me sob uncontrollably for 20 minutes. 

Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix: I could have made cookies and included them, but I figured this was a great way to satisfy the munchies when the time actually came.  What can beat fresh chocolate chip cookies right out of the oven?  I can tell you, cookies never made me throw up :). 

Peppermint Tea: Loved this for nausea, but also just for something hot and soothing to drink when the heart burn got bad near the end.  Things on the ginger and lemony side of things also help if you have a friend struggling with the nausea (I would just smell our bottle of lemon juice on bad days... weird, yes?  Worth it for a few seconds of relief?  Yes.)  That being said, if you have a friend who is really, really, sick, tell them to go talk to their doctor for some medicine to help.  I really wish I had!


Burt's Bees Chapstick: This is kind of self explanatory, but I especially recommend it for labor.  When I went into labor early I had absolutely nothing with me but my camera and the clothes I was wearing, and the thing I wanted first was chapstick! 

Notebooks: Yes, I just noticed the clearance sticker!  I promise I took that off before I sent it, but the notebooks were just so cute, I don't think she'll mind that they were on sale :).  There were a set of three in here, and I figured there are so many good uses: one for journaling, one for the "baby's born call list" and other necessary lists and the other, well, I'm sure she'll figure it out :).

Hop on Pop: I had to throw in a few little things for her sweet girl!  This has been Anni's favorite book since she was very, very little, so I decided to include that as well.  Any fun book will do, of course, but I love Dr. Seuss board books, because they are super sturdy, fun at any age and a little shorter for shorter attention spans :).

Frame: I included a little frame for her sonogram.  If I had been thinking, I would have printed the one she sent us all to put in it, but I wasn't thinking as I packed up (and my printer is now gone), so maybe next time!

See that adorable little onesie?  I love it!  I had been keeping an eye out for something that wasn't crazy pink and found this on zulily and loved this for her!  It's definitely a red color, which is one of this lovely mama's favorites.  (PS If you join zulily via the link above, I get a credit when you make your first purchase... so this isn't me begging, but if you haven't joined, I'd love it if you'd join through my link!)  I bought it in the largest it came (3-6 mo), because she will most likely have plenty of clothes in the newborn size!

Headband: I threw in a fun little headband from bloomz on etsy that I thought would appeal to the mama's sense of style.  I think anything fun and handmade is a great addition... I mean, it's one-of-a-kind! 

Last but not least, babylegs!  We've gotten a lot of use out of these for Nugget, and I bought a big pack of them when they had a deal a few months ago just to keep on hand for baby gifts.  I tried to go for fun and funky again, but this mama definitely has a really fun sense of style and I figured she would want the same for her sweet baby.

Now, that is all taped up and sent away, but there are a few other great ideas depending on your friend's situation and your budget. 

A maternity belly band: there are lots of different brands and types when it comes to these, but in the end they are all a stretchy band to help non-maternity clothes hold out just a little longer.  I never used them because I jumped into maternity clothes early on (pregnancy made me so very bloated!), but I've heard amazing things about them from other mamas.  Target had them for 16.99 today, and I think you can find them in nearly any department store or online.

If the mama you are treating has had a serious craving, get that for her!  Now, if you live far away, this may be in the form of a gift card or a call to a nearby friend to pick it up, but I have a feeling she'll appreciate it either way.  On the flipside, if she has a lot of aversions (this was me!), offer to make a dinner or buy whatever she *can* get down.  Nutrition can be hard to come by when you just feel like death all the time, so being pampered is definitely a treat.  Speaking of being pampered, pedicures before or after baby are a plus (I had one a few weeks after Anni finally got out of the hospital, and it made me feel feminine again... it was my first ever pedicure!)

A pregnancy body pillow: most pregnant women I know have to use 4 or 5 pillows by the end and had I known this beautiful thing existed when I was pregnant, I would have definitely considered buying it!

Tums: ah... I went through these like crazy!  Throw some in so she'll have them on handy when she runs out!

And, there's one more company I wish I could buy absolutely everything from Earth Mama, Angel Baby.  Their products are completely safe, natural and delectable.  The great thing is they have things for pregnancy, postpartum and babies... love it!   

I think that's all I've got for now, but there are so many ways to love and encourage mama's who are pregnant or who have just given birth (that would be a whole other package!).  You know your friend better than I do, so tailor the box to their needs and style.  I can promise you, 100%, that they will get some warm fuzzies when they get it in the mail. 

If you are looking for some great ways to love on new mommies (or not so new mommies ;-)), I would suggest this lovely list from the gypsy mama.  I found it through pinterest and have been loving it for the past few days. 

Love you all, hug your sweeties tight tonight!

PS I know I mentioned a lot of companies and linked to a lot of things, but those were all for your benefit, none of those companies, except maybe Zana's Ninis (she is my sister, you know) and maybe bloomz if she follows my blog, know I exist or that I'm giving them free advertising :).  I mean, if they want to send me something fun to give to you, I wouldn't hate it, but this is just me trying to help you :). 

Christmas in February!

Today we danced with fate and went to the grocery store as a family... right before Anni's bedtime and right after a fit-laden disastrous dinner.  Luckily, the fact that King Sooper's gives free cheese and cookies to kids kind of saved us.  None of this is my point, my point is that on the way home we picked up the mail and... AND... I got a very exciting package!!  I was lucky enough to win this random drawing (click on the link to see how adorably it was all wrapped up).  My hubby asked me as we opened it if it felt like Christmas... well, yeah!  Now, hopefully I got everything into the picture... Nugget tried to abscond with the pretty bangles, but I snuck them back once she was asleep.  There was also a sweet note explaining all of these fun things, but Miss Anni really did escape with that, and I'm not sure where it ended up.  The lovely Natalie at  Natalie's Sentiments based all of the fun gifts off of her favorite things.

We have an adorable little yellow and black notebook, a pink Volvo baseball cap, a decal for the kitchen that says, "Kiss the Cook", the book The Butterfly Effect (super excited to look that over tonight!) with two sets of earrings hanging from it (those yellow earrings?  wearing them tomorrow!) and a matching pendant hanging out next to the chocolate, a sweet ring, some super yummy smelling soap, a diet and fitness journal, sparkly bangles (that will be coming to Ireland with me if Anni doesn't sneak them away), two bags of beads and four pretty blue napkins (that are going to make an appearance at a tea party next week!).  Whew, pardon the run on sentence with all the asides, I get a little excited :).

Thank you, thank you, Natalie for the great giveaway!  Everyone, you can check out her lovely page by clicking on the button below!