Hiding

The Frog has recently decided that hiding himself and other things is the new favorite indoor activity. Especially when he's being looked for. I am often greeted by little surprises everywhere I go- little toy horse in bed, cars behind sofa pillows, and even a little audience when I play the piano.
The other day, I went to get something from his room and I found myself struggling to open the door to his room because, what else? All of his stuffed animals were hiding behind his door.

Living Room Update

When we first moved in, 2 years ago (has it really been that long already?!) The former owners left a swag and throw pillows that matched their red/gold-swirl/crackle paint job above the fireplace. I had enough to worry about, moving into a house and owning no furniture and everything, so I left it. It didn't look bad. It was nice.

(Sorry about the mess. I'm surprised I took the picture like that...)

But I was having a really hard time finding chairs that would look good in here, for a price I was willing to pay. I finally found some chairs that I really liked, but when I got them here, they were a lot more orange than the picture. Still, I really like them and so I decided to finally make the room my own.

I used the stuffing from the old throw pillows and made some new (though I may change the one with the bow to have a slightly different look. Maybe more like this one)
I'm still not sure what to do with my looooong mantle. I'm thinking about some big bright flowers in the vases, but what to do with those candle sticks? Keep them? Paint them? Get rid of them? I'm not in any hurry, though, so whatever happens will probably happen accidentally. I'd love some ideas though :)

Happy Mommies' Day

love,

The Frog.

PS. In case you couldn't understand what he said at the end (with his tie clasp in his mouth), he wanted to say it "again!"

Maren's Baby Shower

I threw a baby shower on Saturday for my neighbor. How convenient that we live so close and are having girls so close together! I had a lot of fun planning it and preparing, but that will probably be the last shower I throw by myself, with so many people invited. I got the invites on clearance for a steal and then printed on them at home. I think they turned out so cute!

I probably spent the most time on making the food. My mini tartlets made a reappearance.
I got the recipe for raspberry lemonade punch from Martha and I think I had more comments about how good this was than anything else. I used pink lemonade powder, instead of regular, and I think it was a good move. Also, notice my paper circle garland, draped all over the table. A simple but cute touch- which is why I copied it from some other blog...
I decided to turn my triple-layer coconut cake with lemon curd and cream cheese frosting into mini-cupcakes, and I think the result was well received.
My neighbor last minute offered to make some pull-apart cheese bread, for which I am extremely grateful. I had planned to make these before I talked to her, but I'm not sure when I would have had time to do it and have them still taste fresh. I'd still like to try them sometime. They look so cute! I also served strawberries, fresh pineapple, watermelon and cantaloupe balls, brownie bites and cream puffs (both from Costco) and lemon-lime water.

Here's Maren with some of the goods :) It was so fun to see all the cute baby girl things, for me especially because I haven't bought anything yet. It will be really hard to restrain myself, I think.
There was another little boy, about The Frog's same age, who came (same name as The Frog!) and when The Frog saw him, his first impulse was to give him a hug. This picture was captured just after the hug and just before the huggee broke down into tears.
Here we are, preggo together, bellies touching :)

Special thanks to Kira who took all the pictures for me! I knew she liked doing it and that she'd do a great job!

It was so fun to plan a cute party, but I'm glad it's over. I feel like I'm going to have a lot of free time this week, and that's just fine with me.

The Big Boy Bed

Not a whole lot has been going on around here, as I've been getting over a cold and planning a baby shower. I keep forgetting to take photos, though I probably have ample opportunity every day. I had to put at least one of The Frog sucking his thumb and poking his belly-button. Lately he's been asking me to unzip his full-bodied pjs so he can touch his belly when he falls asleep. So funny!
So, I had a coupon for 20% to BabysRUs and decided to use it to get a new mattress for baby #2. (no name yet) I got a free toddler bed from freecycle and after having it sit in our garage for months, I decided to finally get out there and clean it off and set it up. I thought it would be good to have around so The Frog can see it and get used to it and we can start talking it up. I just KNEW that it would be a big pain to get him to stay in bed if not in the crib, and we'd need plenty of time to train him before we need to hand the crib over to the next one. The very first night I set it up, during our bedtime talk (I always ask about his day after prayers) I told him what the "big boy bed" was for. I could tell he understood by his reaction and the next day he asked to take his nap in it. I reminded him that the only way he could sleep in it is if he was a big boy and stayed there during his whole nap. Much to my surprise, he willingly did it! We did the same thing that night at bed-time and it worked again... however, we woke up at about 2am to a big thud and a crying little boy. He moves around quite a bit in his sleep and he ended up on the floor. After that, I couldn't get him to settle back down and he slept the rest of the night in his crib. Since then (it's been several weeks), he has taken one other nap in the bed, and all other attempts to get him to stay there have failed miserably. Anyone have any ideas?! I'm going to have to make it a huge privilege somehow, but I haven't figured out what will work yet. For now, he enjoys reading and playing on his bed and putting all his stuffed animals on there so they can take a nap. :)