Thursday, May 15, 2014

Crab Nursery and Guestroom

From nurspiration here and revisited here to reality, I wanted to finally share the finished product of our crab-themed gender neutral combination nursery and guestroom (say that three times fast) that our little one now calls home. 

With the limited space we were working with, we combined the changing table with the dresser and added a DIY paper lantern mobile to give the baby something to look at while he or she was getting changed.

Henry now points at the lanterns and class them balloons

With little room for a crib and double bed, we got creative and turned the existing closet into a nook for the crib with bins on the shelf for extra storage.  I then prettied it up (sorry, son) with a DIY fabric banner.



The double bed was left in the room for when we had guests, with some new linens to match the updated color scheme.


Of course a little patriotism was inserted with a DIY Flag collage




And I included some shout outs to NC so any child of mine would know a little something about the place Mommy calls home.


An insert from Our State magazine turned into a canvas with some Modge Podge

Framed pictures of Chapel Hill from an old UNC Alumni Calendar 

Pretty close to the original inspiration right?

Crab Themed Nursery and Guest Room


Sources:
Dresser // Bed Linens - Home Goods
Coral Pillows - Target //  Crab Pillow
Paper Lantern Mobile, Flag Collage, Fabric Pennant Banner, NC Icons on Canvas: DIY



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Thursday, May 8, 2014

Much Appreciated

It's Teacher Appreciation Week so we wanted to make sure we recognized the daycare workers who take such great care of our little one.  However with several teachers instead of just the one, plus being entirely new to this game, we weren't sure what would be the best way to do that.

Overwhelming internet consensus (for what it's worth) seemed to be that gift cards are the best bet, but it just didn't feel right buying a stack of them and saying hey here you go.

Here's was my idea to make it a little extra special:

Teacher Appreciation Gift for Daycare Workers


It seemed to be a big hit with the ladies and I wanted to share in case anyone else was at a loss the way we were earlier this week.

Show your teachers some love, y'all!


Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Flying Solo with a 12-Month-Old

How does the saying go?  Do one thing every day that scares you?  It is amazing how accomplished you can feel after you doing something completely terrifying that you never thought you'd be capable of.

Liking taking a 3 hour flight, with a 12-month-old crawler, with a convertible car seat, without checking bags, all by yourself.

That's what I was faced with a when a planned family trip to South Florida to visit my parents at their timeshare, was upended with a last-minute work conflict for the hubs.  I was in desperate need of some beach therapy and L&B were so excited to see their grandson, but could I do it on my own?  A 15 minute drive to the grocery store is enough of a challenge, how was this going to work?

Well, I'm here to tell you it can be done, and I'm a better person for it.  Here's how I survived:

1.  No stroller

Pushing a stroller requires one, if not two hands and on this trip I was going to need every available appendage at my disposal.  Not only that, a stroller would've been just one more thing to gate check, and already towing a roller bag and car seat, it just wasn't in the cards.  Hands-free was the way for me, so baby carrier was Henry's mode of transport through the airport, namely this one.  Thank goodness for the Baby Trekker, it's uber comfortable and literally can be worn for hours (unlike some of its less-comfortable brethren).

What to do when your plane is delayed:  Take selfies!

Note, FAA regulations do not allow a baby to be worn during the fight, this thing came off as soon as we got to our seat.

2.  One carry-on bag

Since we'd be arriving after bedtime on the return trip, the last thing I needed was to wait another 30 minutes (or more) for baggage claim after the flight.  It was going to be one bag and a carry-on at that.

But wait, how do I make it through the airport by myself, carrying a baby, pulling a bag, and holding a car seat?  Even one of those expensive rolling car seats didn't seem like the right answer.

3.  Get a Travelling Toddler
{toddler not included}
Thank the travel gods for this contraption.  So simple, you'll wish you had thought of it, it's just a strap that lets you attach the car seat to your rolling bag and voila, instant travel carseat.  I'm waiting for this thing to show up on Shark Tank any day now (or maybe it already has?). I'm not so sure about putting your child to said car seat as that picture indicates, but hey I won't judge.  For me, though, wearing the baby was the way to go.

Important usage note, DO NOT TRY USING THIS FOR THE FIRST TIME AT THE AIRPORT.  Speaking from experience, y'all. It was kind of a disaster trying to figure it out curbside while the hubs was double parked in the zone for loading and unloading only.   Once it's properly adjusted, it's super easy to use, so just do a test run at home with a fully-packed bag first.

With these simple tricks, all of the sudden I was Supermom, wearing my baby, nonchalantly sipping my latte and taking selfies as I waited for the plane.  Some nice woman even came up to me and complimented me for how well I was handling it all.

Very kind of her to say, but what she didn't know was despite my calm demeanor and fancy travel contraptions, I was still scared to death how my little one was going to behave on the actual flight.  Thankfully, due to the kindness of strangers (i.e., no one wanted to sit next to us) we had plenty of room to stretch out and my boy was easily entertained by snacks, toys, and the airplane reading light.  All that plus a bottle for take off and landing, and we were good to go.

A scary selfie and the guy behind us questioning his decision to sit so close to a baby
Was it all worth it? Heck yeah, we got to spend a long weekend in Florida in early February with lots of family QT.  We were even in bathing suits one day for goodness sake.  Going solo: not ideal (we were missing the hubs big time) but totally doable and should not be a deal-breaker (ladies).


Waterfront dinner at sunset, I could get used to this  #FlaLiving






Friday, April 25, 2014

Better Late than Never: H's First Birthday Party

This is way overdue (what isn't in my life these days?) but I still wanted to share how we celebrated our little guy's first birthday.

The past year had left us a lot to celebrate, and preparing for this party all of the sudden felt like a way of expressing my love of him and to him: which is probably why I went a bit overboard.  I couldn't help myself!

When Henry was first born, I loved the idea of taking monthly pictures, so I picked out these cute stickers from Etsy.  At the time I wasn't thinking first birthday theme, but 11+ months later when I was beginning to plan, I realized ties would be perfect!

A few pinterest searches later, and the idea of a tie-themed little man birthday was born...



My in-laws hosted the big day and we were overwhelmed with gratitude for all the family and friends who came to celebrate with us.


The inspiration:  Henry's Monthly Baby Pictures




Favors


Necktie Bag Favors for the kids

Chocolate Mustache Lollipop Favors for the Big Kids (and let's be honest, the little ones, too)

Dessert Table





The cupcake stand kind of fell apart in transit, oh well

Yes, that would be Necktie Cake Bunting 


Food Table





Drink Table


Complete with Mustache Straws

Homemade House Wine


And the Birthday Boy!

No doubt about it, the kid likes his cake

Fascinated by the mustache straws



Thank Yous




Everyone says it, but now I understand what they mean when they say babies grow up so fast.  I still don't know how his turned a year old so quickly, and so much has even changed since his party we just to cherish it all while we can. We love you Henry!!

Sources:

Invitations:  Little Birdy Prints
Necktie Onsie:  Leo and Lyla
Signs and Thank Yous:  DIY on PicMonkey
Monthly Picture Banner, Cupcakes, Cake, Cake Bunting, Favors and Tie Banner:  DIY



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