Our Family Unit
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  • September23rd

    When we found out #2 was on the way, Kyle and I had the logistics talk.  We ended up deciding that whether the new baby was a boy or a girl, the kids would share a room.  Both of us had shared rooms at one time or another growing up and lived to tell about it, and to be honest, we didn’t want to give up our guest room / office.  After we found out Fritz was going to be a girl, I started brainstorming decorating ideas.

    Kade’s first nursery had a farm theme, which we loved since Kyle and I both grew up on farms and it was very “boyish”.  I don’t have a lot of great pictures of the nursery after we moved to NorCal, but here are a few from when it was set up in our LA condo.

    This time, since it was going to be for a boy and a girl, I thought a nursery rhyme theme would be cute, sort of a “Jack & Jill Nursery”.  Plus I already had a few family pieces that I wanted to incorporated.  My grandmother had made a baby quilt for me and it was nursery rhyme themed.

    And Kyle’s grandmother had given us a couple of wall cut-outs from the 1950′s that used to hang in her children’s room.

    Here is the result.  The nursery rhyme illustrations are from my parent’s antique shop and I painted 3 frames that I picked up at the flea market.  The bunting is made from the scraps my mom sent out.  I had made basket liners and a lamp shade for Kade’s farm nursery, but I modified them to both to fit into this new theme.  And the nursery rhyme nesting blocks I picked up on Etsy.

    I was glad that the grandparent picture frames still worked in my color scheme, and the farm overalls were a great compliment to the vintage pink dress I’d picked up at the flea market.

    My parents gave Fritz her very first doll and below her are the fitted sheets that I made, along with a few pics of the new white eyelet crib bedding.

  • June7th

    Routines are important – and I’m not just saying that because I’m a Type A personality who has a hard time with change.  Routines make life easier; the predictability and consistency they bring offer a stability and comfort that is grounding.  Plus, you don’t have to waste mental energy thinking about them.  Somehow you just know what to do.  This is especially critical for morning routines at our house because none of us are morning people.

    Let me give a little background before I explain our morning routine.  If the typical family gets up maybe around 6AM, working parents are at their respective jobs by 8-ish, done by 6-ish, dinner at 7PM, and bed at 10 or 11PM, we run about 2 hours behind “the Joneses”…literally.  The gaming industry as a whole is much more 10-7 than 8-5, so we’ve been able to slide things around and make them work for us.  Even Kade is on board – he goes to bed around 10PM and is our human alarm clock at 8AM.  And that’s when the routine kicks in…

    I go in to get him and bring him into our bed, then it’s his job to wake up Kyle.  The magic formula is 3 kisses.  Then once dad is awake there’s lots of kissing and hugging and wrestling until Kade decides he can’t wait anymore and needs dad to read him a book (he’s usually picked one out before he comes into our room).

    Then it’s time for a few iPhone games.  We have one where you collect rent and so Kade will say “Mom’s phone – Rent”, and we close the book and grab the phone.

    Around this point my withdrawal symptoms kick in and I head out to make a pot of coffee.  Then Kade joins me for breakfast and Kyle gets ready for work.  If I’m incredibly lucky, sometimes Kade is in the mood for more cuddles, which I am incapable of resisting.  I know he won’t want these hug fests forever so I’ve got to get them in when I can.  (Side note for my brothers: Go hug your mom!) I love our routine.  We get a chance to slowly wake up and get ready for the day, and it never includes making the bed. :)

  • October29th

    bedroom_chair2

    A friend recently told me about the Alameda Flea Market and her amazing finds, so a few of us decided to load into the Jeep (the vehicle with the most cargo room) and make the trek.  I was in the process of a bedroom redo and was keeping my fingers crossed that I would find some great accessories.  It turned out even better – I found a chair!  Now granted, it was dirty and a little very scuffed up and smelled a bit, but I thought it had good bones.  I’m afraid when I unloaded it though, Kyle was not quite able to visualize the potential of this little treasure.

    bedroom_chair1

    A habit I am trying to break, is getting so excited about starting the project that I forget to take BEFORE photos.  As I’m sure you can imagine, the canvas strips were woven together to form the back and seat and the sun fading is what caused the zebra striping around the wood.

    My family owns an antique shop and my dad has refinished furniture since he was about 15, so I immediately called him up for some tips.  He was excited that I was excited and gave me some techniques for stripping and sanding.  The sign below has been hanging in his workshop for years.

    refinishing_instructions

    Luckily there wasn’t much to repair, and once I got the stain color I was looking for (a nice dark ebony), things moved along quickly.  Next I needed some fabric for the seat.  Originally, I thought a cow hide would be heavenly, but after I realized that would cost about 4-6x the chair itself, I opted for this textured creamy weave for a mere $20.

    bedroom_chair4

    Even Kyle was pleased (and surprised) at the result.

    bedroom_chair3

    Here it is in our bedroom.  Because I hate being cold and love all throws, I draped a chocolate afghan over the edge and added a pop of bright orange to tie in with our duvet.

    bedroom_chair5