A room for Finnegan

Our baby room is done.  All it needs is a baby.  When I think back over the past year and a half of what this room has looked like, I can't believe it.  One of my fears about moving back to our house is that I would never be able to get the vision out of my head of that room on fire.  While the fire destroyed so much of our house, this room was were it started and this room was a shell of black nothing.  Would I ever feel safe putting a baby in that room.  When our priest blessed our new house, he paused in that room to pray for comfort and peace and it calmed me.  My goal in decorating the room was not just to make a sweet room for our baby but to also make a room that did not look anything like William's old room.  I guess that I wanted to be able to keep the picture of how sweet his room was in my mind while at the same time, feel safe in a space that looked different.  I love how it turned out - it is simple.  And the best part is, we feel safe in it - in fact, we all seem drawn to that space now.

So, here is the space were Finnegan will grow:

Skip, Hop, Jump owl bookends from Target.com

Crib made by Bart, yellow bookcase from Home Decorator outlet sale, Corduroy print from oversized book by Don Freeman and framed by me for Caroline's nursery in 2000.

Babar print from Art.com

Finnegan's random letters sewn, painted and glued from various letters at Michaels and Hobby Lobby.  Mobile is vintage Irmi from eBay

Crib skirt fabric is Big Top -Green by Fabricut

Lovies picked out by Caroline, Owen and William

Finnegan's name print made by my super cute neighbor Wendy and her business , Signifiprints

Art gallery wall by Caroline, Owen and William, paper lanterns from Target's party section, apple pillow from Target.  Afghan made by Bart's mom, slipcover is a white diamond matelasse

Curtains are Waverly cross-section, bird tray from Ikea (bought originally for my kitchen just a few hours before we were matched with our birth mom).  Paint color is Bamboo leaf by Behr, Home Depot 

On another note:  I am giving a "my bathroom has never been shinier" award and shout out to my husband.  Is there anything more attractive than a man who cleans bathrooms?  Really think about it - there isn't.

 Tomorrow Bart and I start our travels to meet our baby!  Wish me luck!

Nesting mode

Cover of family profile.  Dear Birth mother, please pick us!

Last page of family profile

Now that the family profile is in the hands of our adoption attorney, I have moved on to the next phase of my "pregnancy", one that I like to call neurotic nesting.  I am, by nature, a nester.  I loathe clutter.  I love organization.  The one and only part about being a mother that is hard for me to take is the stuff that comes with it - the cheesy cast-off stuffed animals that come from the church festival, the hundreds of homemade creations (and I don't mean the treasures, I mean the mass of foam frames that come from scouts, VBS etc), the pile of pajamas that don't fit my daughter, but for some reason she is emotionally attached to.  Wasn't I the mother who wanted simplicity?  The mother who wanted her children to have a few things that they adore versus hundreds of things that they don't even know they have?  Where did all of this stuff come from?  Here is where it came from:   kids' meals, school party favors, birthday party favors, "just because" gifts from family, store $1 sections, etc.  All well intended, but now having an effect on my children that I do not like - not really appreciating things.   Am I the only parent that doesn't think its necessary to provide party favors at school?  Shouldn't we find the joy in sharing a holiday cupcake with your class, not the cheap trinket that you take home?  And the junk that comes home from birthday parties - yuk.  I'm sure the little guests at William's baseball birthday party thought I was a big cheapskate when I handed them their parting gift - a box of Cracker Jacks.  Or maybe they liked it - now wouldn't that be a lesson for us parents?

Today, I headed up to the kiddos' bedrooms and took a trash bag with me.  Now here is my system:  trash and the above aforementioned items get thrown away.  Down from the attic comes the box of things that the kids chose to stash up there last year.  Those items went in the donation bag.  Up to the attic went the same box now filled with stuff that I know they never play with, that hopefully they won't miss and then next year,  those things will be donated.

When the school bus arrived at 4:00 and the clean rooms were seen by their owners, there was a nice sense of peace in our house.  We sat and talked about their days.  The nesting had eliminated clutter, around the room and in our minds and we enjoyed each other's company.

Happy Everything!

My new find.  Don't you just L-O-V-E it?!   I have been stalking this platter for months.  Today, I decided it needed to be mine.  It was my "Happy belated birthday, my husband is out of town for 7 days, and by the way he'll be gone for our 15th anniversary" present to myself.  The school bus at the top is held on with velcro so that you can change it with the season.  Check out the new link to the left for details (Coton colors) or click here.  You'll love their ornaments and all the goodies that you didn't know you needed but must have!