A look back

I’ve been looking at Ella’s 9-12 month and 12-18 month clothes, to see if Eva will need anything else. It is so fun to look through these clothes. I have the worst memory, but I can pick up every piece and remember where I bought it and many times what Ella wore these clothes too. It kinda makes me sad she’s growing so fast! But I’m excited I’ll get to see Eva wear them.

Shirt: Hand-me-down from cousin London. Pants: part of jams from Gap outlet. Shoes: given to her by her friend Liam. She cried and cried over wanting to have a pair of red shoes like his, so he gave them to her.

Mudroom makeover: Before and after photos

Before: This is the closet in our small laundry room, which is attached to our garage. It is a very small room – too small for four doors.

The inside was a hodge podge of stuff. Not much organization, just a shelf and a rod.

The other side of the room has the washer and dryer in it. And also becomes a dumping ground for things we want to remember to grab on our way out – such as that pot I needed to take back.

After: Our carpenter turned the ordinary closet into a mudroom, complete with four lockers (one for each of us), plenty of hooks, cubbies to place sunglasses, wallets, etc., cubbies for baskets and a bench to sit down at to put on shoes, which are stored beneath. It is great to have a place to put the many bags, jackets and random stuff we bring home everyday. And now when Steve has something I don’t know where to put, I just throw it in his basket. I think it’s helping me to remember everything to take with me too. I just throw everything into one of the bags that’s always there.

The laundry side looks cleaner now too that I don’t put any junk over there. And I love the new paint color. A little lighter and brighter in there.

The key hooks finish the room and I added a great picture of the girls that Steve took. I just converted it to black and white and printed it off at home too – and grabbed a frame I had at work for it. So that detail was free! I think this may be my favorite room in the house now. And it’s the smallest!

Interesting night

I took Ella to the gym with me last night – she loves the daycare room there. But as I pulled into the parking lot I noticed she was asleep. So, I woke her up and took her in. But by the time I finished working out, she was done. Exhausted. I had a hard time getting her to leave the daycare until I offered up a “treat” when she got home. I told her it would be a reward for being so good all day (up until then!). And she really was. She even got herself dressed as soon as she woke up. It was a small miracle.

Then on the way home she started bawling. And with tears streaming down her eyes and taking breaks to catch her breath she explained her problem. She said “A girl at the gym had sharks (cheesy crackers) and she wouldn’t share! I asked and asked and asked and she just wouldn’t share!”

For some reason this was the saddest thing to me. Just last week Ella went to the movie with her cousins and we packed her up some treats and she kept talking about how she was going to share with her cousins. I felt so bad that she was learning to share and now she wasn’t getting the same justice. But then again, she’s not always great at sharing, so maybe this will be a good lesson …

Anyway, she went to sleep fine, but later on my mom called a few times, warning us there was a tornado. Everyone in their area was in their basements and it was headed our way.

Well we never did get the full brunt of it, but we did end up waking up the kids and sitting with them in our tiny pantry. I kept joking that I was so glad we’d have snacks during all the turmoil. Being with kids for an extended amount of times without a snack is an emergency on its own.

Anyway, we’re all good. Hopefully today will be less eventful!

6 month appointment

Kids know when you’re at your limit, and Ella was so sweet all day.

We took Eva to her 6 month appointment. Today she is exactly 6 months old. Crazy how time flies. Even crazier to think of where we’ll be in the next 6 months.

Eva weighs 15 pounds 4 ounces, now in the 40th percentile for weight, 20th for height and 75th for head size. She was in the 10th percentile before for weight, so she’s catching up with her peers. And I’m not surprised – the way she eats. I can’t believe how all that food fits in her little stomach. She really caught on to eating solids quickly.

That’s all for today. It’s 11 p.m. Too late for me!