Overwhelmed

The kids are doing great but I'm definitely feeling overwhelmed. Having 2 young children, working full time while trying maintain a semblance of a decent well run household is wearing me down. I've almost finished implementing a menu planning method that is making things slightly easier. At least I'm no longer having to wonder what dinner is but as a result I'm making better meals (a plus) but they take more prep work and more dishes to clean. I've also started trying to schedule chores through the week to take the load off the weekend. The result seems to be that I'm doing more work because I'm not neglecting as many things anymore. On top of it all work is sucking right now and I'm stressed over a few set backs we've had in getting our debt paid off. I'm sure I'd be handling all of this better if I was getting adequate sleep but the wee rose has only slept through the night once and there has yet to be a repeat performance. Other than that she's a wonderful baby, she's very happy and only occasionally cranky to where nothing will consol her.

I'm just stressed to the max and I see no end in sight. ::le sigh::

Recent Crafts

Yes Yes I've been incredibly quiet. I've gotten a few things done at home though and here are some pictures. The first 2 are things I did awhile back for Lil' R's room.

A Spiderman lightswitch cover for his room.

And a matching wall clock that I made from a $4 Target clock.

 

Shadow boxes that I made for each of the kids. Each has decorations from their baby showers, their coming home outfits and then something else I thought meaningful. Below each shadow box are their hand and foot prints also.

This is the top part of the growth chart that I just completed for them. It's hanging in their bathroom. It was very simple to make. All I did was paint a 1inx4inx6ft board, add markings for the side and then some eye hooks and picture hanger wire at the top to attach it to the wall. I covered up the wire with some white ribbon.

Wee Rose's First Home Photo Shoot

I'm no professional and all I have is a decent Cannon Point and Shoot camera, but I think I sometimes can get pretty decent shots. She's not even a week old in these pictures and I'm happy she co-operated so well with all the outfit changes.

This last one is the picture we used in her birth announcements we sent to all our family and friends. I just love that she's sticking her tongue out.

It's amazing what just a basket, some pieces of fleece and a few desk lamps can do to improve a picture. I also used Picnik for all my post processing. It was crucial to get the proper white balance.

Wee Rose is Here!

So finally I'll show off pictures of Wee Rose's arrival and her birth story.

On July 13th at 6am we arrived at the hospital to be induced. Things took awhile to get rolling and we were both anxious along with fairly bored.  We spent much of the morning watching the news about George Steinbrenner (Owners of the NY Yankees) passing away at the main part of the hospital across the street. The women's hospital wing is separate from the general hospital.

At a bit past 11am my Dr. came in and broke my water. He warned that he had surgeries scheduled all morning but worst case he'd call the office for another Dr. to come by. At this point I was still 2-3cm dilated. Right before 1pm he came to check again because he was about to go into another surgery and I was 5cm. The reason for the induction is how fast my first labor was so he called the office and put them on notice. About 15 minutes later I started having a lot of pressure and let the nurses know. Go figure I was 10 cm at that point. They call the other Dr. to hurry in, he arrives in a rush, we say quick hellos and with only 2 and a half pushes Wee Rose arrived at 1:28pm.  She weighed 8lb 5oz and was 20.5 inches in length. It seems I have a tendency to make Drs have to run. I did it with Lil' R and now again.

We were at the hospital for the 2 days and boy was I bored. I had my laptop so I spent a lot of time surfing the web and watching day time tv. 

Once we were home it's been a mix of loads of things to do and little sleep. I knocked a lot off my to do lists which I'm very proud of. I got almost all the things I wanted done during my maternity leave finished and a few more. I also got to spend some great time with the family. Now I'm back at work though and Hubby is fully on duty at home. He's doing great though, just as I knew he would. 

My plan next is to update on some of the specific things I've accomplished since Wee Rose was born and some of my up coming plans.

Completed Nursery

For eons there I was seeming to be making a hundred things for the nursery. Well I completed it before Wee Rose (we've upgraded from Baby Bean #2) arrived.

Items made in picture: crib bumper, crib skirt, items on mobile, plushie name on wall, stuffed animal hammock, light switch cover.

You can see the curtains to the far right that I made, they are lined with black out material. The glider I recovered is now in this corner. By far one of the best investments we made for her room. I am loving having that in there.

The custom light switch cover from fabric and some liberal use of ModPodge.

I love how Wee Rose's room came out. I wish we'd been able to do as much for Lil' R when he came home but I think we're making up for it in his big boy room. I did a light switch cover in Spiderman for him also but I don't have a picture of it yet.

Overall I'm very proud of what I did. In some things I feel the quality of what I sewed could have been better. In many ways that is because my sewing machine needs to be serviced and is causing me problems right now. I did learn a lot of new things along the way though.

Oh boy how much has happened!

I think for everyone's sanity including mine I'll be making multiple posts in very short succession to encompass all that has occurred since my last update. A quick synopsis is:

• The baby is here
• I already took my maternity leave and am back at work
• Lil' R seems to be adjusting pretty well
• I've knocked a load of things off my to do lists
• I still have a bunch on them though! (but what else is new)
• I've started planning a side business

And I have plenty of pictures of the new little one. So stay tuned in for more detailed posts on what I've been up to. This has reminded me I need to add to my to do list to take some pictures of projects I've recently finished.

Weekend Update

First the surprise shower was great and there were a few true surprises about it. There were a few people there that I had no idea would come and a few I was surprised to not see. The girls even did a small raffle and a few other prizes. We now have some cash for pizza to cover the first night home with Baby Bean #2. We also got to spend some time with a few friends that we don't see nearly enough, the wife being one of the organizers of the shower. I was so happy to have something done.

Other than that the 2 last major things are done for the babies room. I finished the curtains and we finished painting the closet doors. They should be good to be reinstalled today by Hubby. Maybe he'll surprise me and get her room vacuumed too. Now that'd be nice. Then just a few last little details and voila! Yeah, I finally feel ready for her to arrive. Late last evening the nesting bug hit me full force too. I've heard that can come on right before labor happens. I really hope so. I'll be full term tomorrow so we're all ready. :)