Welcome 2011 babies!

In just 3 short weeks of 2011, several friends have welcomed precious new babies into the world.  For most of them, it is their first child, which is extra exciting.  A special thank you goes out to the Handlon's who allowed us the bliss of visiting sweet little Sadie Grace this past week.  This thank you is emphasized because it came after a 5+ hour drive to Delaware in which our 19 month old was cooped up in the car with nothing but her "Nemo" DVD and an endless supply of juice.  When we arrived, she was covered in pee and was on a mission to run and get into anything she could.  When we first brought Julia home from the hospital, we could have never imagined the chaos that could unfold in just 19 short months, but somehow it happens.  The pristine world of having a newborn greatly changes, so soak it in friends!  I do promise, it just gets better and better!

And there is no better way to celebrate a baby than with their very own personalized onesie!  These owls were so much fun to make and are perfect for boys and girls!

 Happy snow day! 
The perfect kind of day to sew (after a round of sledding and some hot cocoa)!

The "oFFiciaL" kitchen tour

Julia would like to be the first to introduce you to her new kitchen, though I'm afraid that her highlights would include Scout's food area (she likes to assure it stays well stocked) and a few select cabinets with her favorite surprises inside. 

This post has been delayed primarily because of events associated with pregnancy. With all of the love and energy poured into the design and remodel, I found out that I was pregnant just as the finishing touches were added. One week later I was sick. Sick sick. Like lay on the couch, can't move, can't keep anything down, can't look at the kitchen because it is associated with food kind of sick. Our poor kitchen stood alone with only Charles' attention, which for the most part included cooking for himself and Julia and baking lots of soft pretzels. Charles was really amazing with putting things away while I threw in my input from the couch, but I longed for the time to really dig into OUR kitchen.

The other day I made Moosewood ricotta muffins for a friend who just had a baby, on Christmas eve I managed to make pierogies, tonight I made enchiladas.  There was a joy that transpired in these recent baking moments.  I have slowly arrived. It was a gradual introduction to this kitchen, but the love has been there, tucked away, waiting to be enjoyed!

So there it is, a 360 degree sweep of our newest addition (non-human addition that is!)  We did not have many pictures of our old kitchen, but it was gutted to the bare bones.  Despite the complete remodel, there is a retro feel that we were able to retain in this space.  Our old kitchen was completely non-functional, but very much congurent with the New England cape style.  Our focus throughout this project was to remain true to the 1950's cape style, but to add elements of our personality.  Each choice we made from the cabinet pulls to the paint colors were fun and pretty stress free as we held true to our focus throughout the entire process.  It was just so much fun to watch it all come together! 

So,  there are still a few pieces that have remained on hold as we have focused on other priorities.  We still need outlet covers and a smaller pendant light (the first one that we ordered was a bit to big for the space). 

My favorite elements?  Definately the farmhouse apron front sink.  It just pulls the whole space together.  Also, I love the functional open space between the kitchen and dining room.  It is not only functional, but essential as I can now see what Julia's up to in to while I am able to actually get some things done in the kitchen.  And I love the color of our dining room (this was hard to capture in pictures, more of the dining room to come).  It is a slate gray/green Benjamin Moore color that served as the catalyst for much of our inspiration.  The color pulls the kitchen and dining room together, which makes it feel like one big cozy space.

For those far away, welcome to your first view of the space.  What we can't capture here is the smell of freshly cooked breakfast, which is always on order for our favorite visitors! 

Enticing?  Come on up and see for yourself!

Fabric love (part 2)

So, with some down time this winter I have decided to tackle some bigger projects.  Inspiration for these projects always starts with some great fabric and a few really neat ideas from some of the blogs that I follow.  My latest ambition?  Bedding and curtains. 

Now, apparently these are easy tasks, but I was reading a great book the other day that encouraged the reader to think about the type of sewer they are:

1) Perfectionist (focus on details)

2) Miser (thrifty, attempt to use all of your fabric at hand)

3) Artist (creative, fly by the seat of your pants)

4) Speed Demon (in a rush to do a lot of sewing in a little amount of time)

These are good things to know about yourself.  I am by no means a perfectionist.  The route from start to finish for me is often pretty bumpy.  I make changes from the original plan and I am often at a loss for how I got to the end result.  Therefore, I tend to avoid projects that require measuring and calculating, and (most importantly) patience.

Maybe it's the knowledge that I probably won't have extra time to do these things for at least another few years or maybe it is the itching reminder that I'm going to need to learn a thing or two about patience with another child coming along, but I think it's about time to buckle down and figure this out.  

For now, I will just embark on my favorite part of this journey and choose some fabric for the room. 

I don't think I'll use the one below, but it's awful fun!

 No, we don't know the gender, but I do have a magnetic draw to greens and blues. 

Here is proof that we are thinking of both options :)

Big/little news

We are thrilled to announce a new addition to the Gray family (to make his/her debut in July)!

Yep, there's a bun in the oven!

I would expand on the highlights, but I am just reentering the world after a 14-week hiatus.  The first trimester was fairly difficult, but we have survived and are looking ahead with lots of excitement.  Julia is a bit oblivious, but we think she's just as excited.  She points to the baby in mommy's belly (but she also points to the baby in daddy's belly).  I'm sure that this will become more defined as time passes :)

So, with the sickness behind me, I am looking forward to getting back into my studio to prepare for this little one.  I have some great ideas and I have even greater inspiration after my friend gave me Amy Butler's book: Little Stitches for Little Ones.  Take a look - the little monkey hamper will convert any non-sewer!  The designs are precious!

So, let the nesting begin!

Christmas highlights

Christmas this year was a mixture of quiet contentment and unending activity.  Quite a combination.  We stayed in Massachusetts and celebrated Christmas with Charles' parents who live nearby.   Ironically, despite the fact that my family was far away, there were these wonderful bits of tradition that somehow made their presence known throughout Christmas.  First of all, my Gram from Florida sent some wonderful oranges (yes, special ones straight from Florida that could never be replicated in the grocery aisles of New England).  It was a little piece of sunshine.  Babci (my great grandmother) sent me home from my last trip to Delaware with peirogies.  Pierogies have been a staple for our Christmas eve dinner throughout my life.  It wouldn't feel the same without them.  Although Babci's cooking could never be replicated, pierogies made their appearance on our table Christmas eve.  A little piece of family tradition that means more than the pierogies themselves.  My parents and sister sent gifts and Kirstan and I had a wonderful chat on Christmas eve that temporarily cured my homesickness.  With some time to reflect on our day, I realized that despite the fact that my family was not physically present, they were well represented in everything we did thoughout the day.  I am proud of the traditions that we carry out and even prouder of how they have come to be real in our lives.

Here are our favorite moments:

Scout is still waiting for a Santa sighting...

 Julia dressed for Christmas eve service.  Don't let that cuteness fool you.  We let her go to the front of the church for the children's message.  Charles and I had her contained from each side (we were waiting for her in the side pews).  While attempting to adjust herself on each child's lap to hear the message, she just couldn't get comfortable so she ran down the center aisle to escape.  It was the longest children's message ever!  And Julia pulled out all of her tricks for it!

 Christmas morning. Taking it all in.

Once she figured out that these packages were for her, she decided that she wanted to place them throughout the living room.  Santa should have sent blocks this year.  She was perfectly content stacking and unstacking the presents.

 

And the wrapping paper.  Oh the joy!

 Favorite gift of the day?  Daddy found her a perfectly sized Grays field hockey stick. 

The start of something wonderful!

 We woke up openening gifts and ended the day opening gifts.  I realize that not every Christmas will be this slow and methodical, but it was nice to watch Julia unwrap each gift with great intent.

 Post Christmas pajama day.  Julia and daddy are watching some cartoons in her new fort/tent.  She grabs her blanket and is perfectly happy in her own little space. 

We will wait out the blizzard from here.

Merry Christmas! 

May you experience the joy of family and the peace of faith in each moment of the holiday!

Christmas (an 18 month old's perspective)

Here is just a quick glimpse of our lives over the past week as we continue to prepare for Christmas. Seeing all of this from Julia's perspective has been so much fun as she attempts to make sense of these traditions.  Each part is a wonderful opportunity to practice the presence of the moment as she learns (and I relearn) why we celebrate as we do.

Watching for Santa (and squirrels).  She's not quite sure which is more exciting. 

Scout votes for the squirrels.

Playing with her manger scene - we have to remind her to be careful from time to time, but for the most part she is enthralled by arranging and rearranging each piece. She likes to separate the animals and she is pretty perplexed by the fact that the manger is empty.  (Jesus is waiting for His arrival on the 25th).  Julia walks around with her hands up calling for Jesus. 

And Christmas tree shopping, which is always a daunting task in our household.  My goal in choosing a tree is to pick the perfectly imperfect tree.  The one that will look beautiful in our home, but will probably go unselected by those seeking perfection.  It's my Charlie Brown perspective that has been instilled in me since my own childhood.  This year I attempted to pass this on to Julia, but she was pretty content to run up and down the hill.  She was also pretty excited that she had a pine tree companion in the back seat with her for the ride home. 

Next year.

Joyful Joyful!

The month of November could probably be classified as the most "interesting" month that we have survived as a family.  We have so much to be grateful for and we have successfully accomplished several major feats including the official completion of our kitchen and dining room remodel and some other special projects. :)

Now that November is behind us, Christmas time is approaching with great speed (as always).  As of today, December 9th, we have yet to get a tree and our decorations remain packed neatly in their tupperware bins.  Our only reminder of Christmas is our wooden advent tree - a focal point in our dining room that helps us to slow down each day to prepare in this advent season.  It has kept me grounded.  The decorations don't matter yet, the preparation is the important part.  Today our advent challenge is JOY. We told Julia that we are joyful because we are anticipating Christ's birth (she is pretty excited about Jesus lately and has started folding her hands as we pray to Him).  Charles gave Julia a goofy demonstration of how we show joy and then asked Julia to show us how she shows joy.  She promptly broke out in a very excited clap for us.  It's these simple gifts that remind us of the true meaning of this season.  Sometimes life gives us reasons to stop.  Our recent circumstances have caused us to do this, which has been such a gift for our family.  We have had a "we will just do what we can" perspective, which has allowed us to rally as a family and invest in the important things this Christmas.  Other times, we must be ever mindful of our need to slow down and just enjoy the ride.  Being in the presence of a child is the ultimate excuse to do this! 

Here are a few of my simple JOYS over the past few weeks:

A new found love for the hide-n-seek - a great game when new cabinets go in.

Celebrating Thanksgiving with some great family and friends.

Enjoying our cozy comforts of home in our new kitchen.

 And enjoying some family time after the turkey trot.

Where do you find joy this Christmas?