Photos...

Happy Spring.

Gift

Life is a gift.
As I sit here at my laptop that's on its last leg and think of the bills that need to be paid, the things that need to be saved for, the car that needs to be replaced and the one that needs to be serviced...the unexpectedness of life... its seems the last thing that would be associated with these things is the word gift.

A neighbor stopped by a couple of days ago for a visit with her girls.  She asked how I was doing, how the little one was doing, and then we just chatted.  As we talked about life and plans for the future I was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of gifts that have been given to me.  Not the obvious baby gifts, but the more lasting gifts.   The ones that don't seem like gifts at first.  Like the gift of a failed plan.  The gift of broken will.  The gift of a failed adoption.  The gift of infertility.  The gift of cut hours.  The gift of a part time job.

I know, none of those seem like gifts, but we have been so very blessed because of those very things.  There are people my life that I wouldn't have known otherwise.  Activities that I have come to love that wouldn't have happened.  Even the home that I live in and the neighbors that come with it are a gift.  Unexpected.  Unplanned for.  Most assuredly a gift.

Loud

 

Everything is loud in the morning 
Everything
The smallest wimper
The lightest breath
The ticking of the clock
The slight snore coming across the pillow

Even my thoughts are loud

It's all loud because the morning is when I'm the most tired
The morning is what comes after a long night of little sleep
It's all loud because I'm trying to sneak in a few more quality minutes of blissful slumber
It doesn't happen often
The slumber part

But I can continue trying
right?

~~~~~
This post brought to you by the gypsy mama who posts a 5-minute Friday prompt.  Since I rarely am on time with anything, you just get what you get.

Benjamin: Days and Knights

Once upon a time there was a little boy named Benjamin.  He was only a month old, but he was more than he seemed.  His parents didn't know this of course, so they went on blissfully with their lives not knowing that a hero was laying amongst them.

Each night, Benjamin would be bathed by his parents.  He would be fed, and he would be rocked asleep.  Now normally this would mean that he would be asleep for awhile.  After all a clean, fed, and rocked baby was pretty satisfied.  And most of the time that was true.  But sometimes it was not. Sometimes, Benjamin craved adventure.

So, after he was bathed and fed and rocked, Benjamin would only pretend to be asleep.  This time, instead of his parents waiting for him to sleep, he would lay really still and wait for his parents to go to sleep.  Soon enough, they would stop talking about their day and drift off into slumber.  He knew they were really asleep when Dad would start snoring softly and momma wouldn't jiggle the bed to wake him up and make him stop.

It was then that Benjamin's adventures would begin.  You see, he really wanted to become a knight.  A real knight who carried a sword and shield, rode a brave steed, and defended the kingdom from harm.  He needed to prove his bravery before he could become a knight and he had a plan to do just that.

Sometimes when he pretended to be asleep, he would hear strange sounds in the night.  Something bumping around outside and making low roaring noises. At first he didn't know what they were, but he soon figured it out.  He was pretty sure that it was a dragon, and if anything could prove his worth to become a knight, it would be slaying a dragon!

He began making plans. He needed a sword, shield, helmet, and a trusty steed.  The first three were easy.  Momma's rolling pin would work nicely for a sword, Dad's flip-flop fit perfectly on his arm for a shield, and he had a magic crocheted beannie that was perfect for a helmet.  It was the steed that would be the problem.  After all, a brave knight could not go into battle on foot.

His problem didn't last for long.  He was soon introduced to the neighbor's dog, Sadie.  She was noble and friendly and just the right size for Benjamin to ride.  And most of all, she craved adventure too.  So when Benjamin approached her one night about his plans, she was more than willing to oblige.  As a matter of fact she almost knocked Benjamin over with excitement at just the idea of it!  He knew then and there that he had found his trusty steed.

There was only one snag.  Time.  You see, even though Benjamin was bathed and fed before he was put to sleep...  milk only lasted so long.  It took him awhile to wait for his parents to go to sleep.  And then it took quite a bit of energy to crawl out of his bed.  You see, he was still quite short and his bed was still quite high so he had to tie all of the burp clothes together like a rope and crawl down it to get out of bed.  And then it took time to find all of his armor because his parents kept on moving them to different places.  So by the time he was outfitted and ready to go... well his stomach would start to rumble.  He needed to eat.  And that was one thing that he hadn't figured out how to get by himself.  He still needed his momma.

So he would take off his armor, climb back into bed, hide his rope underneath the mattress and go about his business of letting momma know he was hungry.  Pretty soon he would hear momma start to stir and feel her hand reaching over to see how he was doing.  She would pick him up and calm him down and feed him.  Sometimes she would say things like "My goodness, it's only been two hours and you're hungry already! You must be going through a growth spurt!"  Benjamin would just smile.  But it was dark and momma wasn't awake enough to see it.  She would then feed him, and kiss him, and rock him back to sleep. 

It was times like these when Benjamin though to himself that maybe this life wasn't so bad after all.  Maybe he didn't crave adventure like he thought.  After all his momma's arms were so warm and comforting.  And she talked so softly to him.  He rather liked it.  Maybe he didn't need to be a knight.  The rolling pin was kind of heavy, and his legs didn't really reach the ground when he was on his trusty steed.  In fact he mostly just laid on top of her and gave the command to charge.  Maybe he should wait until he was a little older.

At least that's what he told himself.  Sometimes he even believed it.

~~~~~~~~~~~
Momma: Good heavens I wish this child would stop getting his days and nights mixed up!
Benjamin: Silly momma! The business of knights is for the nights.
Then he smiled and went back to sleep.

Original story by Lora Sullivan.
Created in the wee small hours of the morning.

More Random Observations on This Whole Thing

1.  I'm pretty sure there are a few outfits that David has never seen on our child, but that he has worn.  David doesn't get to see them because they don't quite last the day.  When the child decides to spit up... he goes for the gold.  10 for sheer volume, and a 8.5 on style.  It's pretty casual but could draw the attention more.  He just looks at you, and then out of the corner of his mouth, it all comes out... down his shirt and working it's way to the back.  Ensuring maximum soakage.

2.  I love that David takes all of this seriously.  So much that I find him humming lullabies around the house even when he doesn't have the child in his arms.  My favorite was when he was swaying back and forth while reading the scriptures to me (I was nursing at the time).  Oh how those habits get into you!

3.  I absolutely hate daylight savings time.  I know, I should move to Arizona. Apparently I don't like to sweat either.

4.  Mornings are precious.  They are the perfect time to get things done because my child sleeps.  Now if I could actually get up in the morning and get said things done... well that would be amazing!

5.  I'm actually reading on my Nook again!  In case this doesn't sound as amazing as it should, I did read a lot on my Nook when I was really stinkin' sick.  So much that after I got to feeling better I couldn't even look at it because it just brought all those trips to the toilet gods back.  Bleck!  But, miracle of all miracles, I'm reading on it again.  And I enjoy it.  Life is good my friends.

6.  And the book that I'm reading on said Nook is called The Book Thief.  It was a Book Club choice last year that I never got around to reading.  I am thoroughly enjoying it!  It's set during WWII in Germany and I had no idea that I would be completely captivated by it.  I want to hurry and finish it but at the same time I'll be sad cause then it's done.  Don't you love it when books become good friends instead of just words.

7.  My baby is 3 weeks old.  He's weighing in a 8 lbs 13 oz and 21 inches tall.  There are so many newborn outfits that never even had a chance.  The doctor said that he should start smiling and meaning it anytime now.  I can see the desire in his eyes, slowly working its way towards the mouth.

Happy Tuesday everyone.  I'm off to try and get a little more into that magic morning slot of time... like laundry.

How I Spent My Winter: A Theme

Okay.  Not so much a theme, but for some reason I thought of the Christmas Story and the Theme that Ralphie wrote on "What I Want for Christmas".  It just seemed appropriate. 

Ahem.

I spent my winter months searching the DI for items that needed to be brought home, painted, loved and made into something that makes me happy.  I also gave some make-overs to stuff I already had.  So... a series of before and after photos should do the trick.

A DI find that I wasn't sure what to do with but could not pass it up.  Loved the handles.

The finished product now hangs in the "hallway" between the kitchen and the bathroom.  I love it. And it reminds me of my goal for the year.  To keep things simple.  Let's see if I can actually follow through on that one!

Having spent a lot of time in the bathtub, I became increasingly aware of just how much I hated, absolutely hated my bathroom cabinets.  You can't tell from the picture but the paint job was really quite terrible. It was spotty and see through in places and I hated looking at it.  So I painted them!

I did a layer of brown spray paint and then did acrylic black over the top so it's kind of streaky looking.  I then distressed the edges and I really like the way it warmed up the bathroom.  I wish that I had finished the edges in black though.  I'm sure it will drive me nuts soon enough, but until then I find the view much more to my liking.

This used to have small picture frames hanging from it, but I decided it needed a change.  However, the color scheme just wasn't making me happy anymore.  I wanted it to pop a little more and not be so country rustic.



So I painted the hearts blue and green and did a little "dictionary art" on the chalkboard.  I'm quite pleased with the way it turned out. 



I found this quilt rack at the DI.  It was a pine color.  So I painted it black, distressed the edges, and hung it in Benjamin's room.  I plan on putting some pictures in between the stuffed animals.  But that's for another day.

Close up of the distressing. 

A few more DI items.  I have a plan for the rolling pin and small wood dishes, but it's not finished yet.  I did fall in love with the square shelves though.  Hate the sign, but all I really wanted was the wood.  I paid $1.00 for the sign.  Just can't beat that.

Here's the finished of the sign and the shelves.  I painted them black to cover up the brown, distressed the edges, and hung them above my oven.  The vases fit perfectly, and were also only $1.00.  I think I totally scored big with the green vase.  I scraped off the vinyl from the purple sign, painted it black, covered it with scrapbook paper and ribbon.  I was originally going to do some kind of saying, but I liked the paper better.  So I broke it up with ribbon and hung it!

There are some other works in progress, but they may not get finished until next year!  Seems to be some other project taking all of my time.

Some Observations on This Whole Thing

This whole thing being the motherhood thing, and I guess other random things as well.  Some were anticipated, some... well, were not.

1.  I completely underestimated the sheer amount of laundry that this little guy would bring into the house. Piles and piles of soft fluffy fabrics and itty bitty confetti-like socks.  All doused in some bodily fluid or another.  Good thing nothing stinks yet!

2. I'm pretty sure the only reason it snowed last week was because I could finally put on regular shoes.  That's right my friends, the ankles are back with a vengeance!  The day they were not swollen I was surprised at how delicate they looked!  Which means they were swollen for a really really really long time.

3.  I've finally accepted the fact that my schedule is run by my son regardless of what is on my agenda for the day.  I can merely try.  I am becoming comfortable with failure.

4.  David is much better at putting Benjamin to sleep than I am.  I think it's his voice.  Or the fact that by the end of the day my patience is severely depleted.

5.  I'm so glad that we have 11 am church.  9 would probably rendered me inactive.

6.  My brain is only performing at a fraction of it's capabilities.  I feel that I must apologize to lots of people for having AADD in the middle of a conversation.

7.  Sometimes Ben giggles in his sleep.  Yes, giggles.  And he occasionally smiles.  A real one.  I don't think he knows he's doing it, but it is definitely a smile.  It even lasts awhile.

That is all.  Oh, and yesterday was the two week mark.  Seems like a lot longer than that!  He's already taken up wrestling though.  However, the bear just might win this one.  Happy Tuesday everyone.