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It’s Coming Up the Stairs…

February 17, 2015 Only Hsuman 3 Comments

Renovations are getting real, y’all.

Wanna know how real? The basement renovation just turned into a home renovation… as in, it’s no longer contained in the basement.

Hubby had this idea early in the process to open up the stair well (right next to the living room) so that it was a whole open space, and you could stand in one place and see to the other. I promise there will be pictures once it’s opened up to explain it, but that’s the best I can do for now. Anyway, what started as a crazy idea has morphed into a possibility, and now a reality. Anyone who has been to my house knows that the living room and kitchen are the most beautiful spaces in our home (as we wanted them to be!) and now it may completely change looks. I think it will still be beautiful, but I’m also a little nervous, because I don’t want it to take away from the look we’ve got going at the moment.

Anyway, the tearing out of most of the wall will be this Thursday or Friday. That TOTALLY happened fast. I had only just reconciled myself to the idea of doing it at all, and our architect suggested we get the demo done before the stairs and floors were finished downstairs, so that we wouldn’t get the dust, etc all over our finished spaces. That means the living room basically moves into the kitchen (there’s no room in the bedrooms with everything we moved up from the basement), we’ll stack the art against the far wall, roll up the rug, cover things in plastic, and cross our fingers that nothing is dirtied up irreparably. We’ve started to move things out of the way already in preparation.

A bunch of furniture jammed into one corner? Alright. (And yes, that’s J’s birthday banner from December 28th, still up.)

That being said, I went yesterday to buy our outdoor light fixtures and our big pendant light for the stairwell. I’m excited for fun, modern light fixtures in our home. I’m also on the hunt for something else to go over our dining table. I’ve hated that fixture ever since we moved in, and I’ve gotten used to it, but while I’m buying lights I might switch it out!

This is the light that will be at the outside doors in the basement. It’s from Lowe’s!

This Allen + Roth pendant caught my eye immediately, and it'll be the one in the stairwell. Also from Lowe's! — This Allen + Roth pendant caught my eye immediately, and it’ll be the one in the stairwell. Also from Lowe’s!

My biggest prayer for us at this point is that we survive a little bit of craziness upstairs. The actual building upstairs won’t start for a couple more weeks (after cabinets and tile are done downstairs) so we will be living with a plastic-and-plywood-covered hole in the wall. Eh. At least we can live around it!

Has anyone been through a home reno that totally displaced their life? Do you have any advice for us, as our situation gets a little bit worse for a couple of weeks?

home, mommyhood

Currently

February 16, 2015 Only Hsuman 12 Comments

Excited to be linking up with Becky at Choose Happy for the Currently series again this week! Link us with us, and tell us what’s Currently going on with you!

Thankful for || A few quiet days around the house. Towards the end of last week, things finally got quiet around here. Naps were at home, and therefore longer than they’d been somewhere else. I took naps, too! Cleaning got done – it was getting pretty bad, but we hadn’t been home long enough to deal with it – and some paperwork is all caught up. Thank goodness for getting over the hammering part of the renovation!

Organizing || Everything in my head. A lot of our stuff is packed in a storage unit out in the back yard, so we can’t even get to it easily. But I’m already deciding how the basement and the kids’ new rooms are going to be arranged and organized. It’s also going to be nicer upstairs, because we will have places for things we haven’t had places for in a while. Specifically, the laundry room and mudroom are going to change our lives, big time.

Watching || The Gruffalo. It was originally a book, but we have discovered the short cartoon on Netflix (which is surprisingly packed with famous voices). It’s J’s favorite thing to watch right now, so we’re watching it a lot. He only has an attention span of about 25 minutes, so he can zone out to this adorable story, and I don’t feel too bad, because he’s not sitting there all day watching episode after episode of Chuggington (or, God forbid, Caillou. Gross.)

Eating || Krispy Kreme donuts. On Valentine’s Day, I wanted some (because they’re the prettiest donuts of the entire year, of course!) so we stopped by and got two dozen. We have shared some, but the leftovers came home with us, and we’re still eating on them. I’m trying to limit myself, but what can I say – the baby loves them..?

Loving || That we might get SNOW this week! The weatherman is calling for it – and we are ready! I’m going through the kids’ closets today to get out our best snow play clothes (they don’t really have ski boots/pants/suits and I don’t feel like buying them for one snow a year) so that we can at least do a little sledding! We’ve got our construction Dumpster at the bottom of our hill, but we will just have to sled around it! I hope we get the 4-6 inches they’re saying to prepare for!

Well, that’s about it in my world… what are you currently up to?

faith, mommyhood, My Big Jesus, parenting fails

You Ruined the Moment!

February 16, 2015 Only Hsuman 2 Comments

Today, I had a moment. A moment of full appreciation of all my little guy’s cuteness and quirks. He’d gotten up from his nap a little fussy, and just wanted to cuddle. He needed his mama. I was obviously glad to oblige. I was even tearing up, burying my face in his curls behind his ears, and telling Hubby how glad I was to have a little guy who loved his mama. Then just like that, the moment was over – squelched by a bit of vomit, rolling right down our sleeves and on to my pants.

Thanks a lot, kid.

Luckily, we both needed baths anyway, so I took him to my bathroom, figuring we’d just hop in the shower. As soon as I got his diaper off, he decided to make sure the aforementioned sweet moment was completely gone. He stood up straight, took a big breath, and peed right onto the bath mat.

It was gone. But thanks for making sure, kid.

But the truth is that I often look at my little humans and think about how incredible they are. I think about how EK has her daddy’s hazel eyes, with the speckles of gold. I think about how J has the ice blue eyes of my grandfather, who died while I was pregnant with J. I think about EK’s stubborn personality and wonder (batting my eyes and smiling sneakily) where she could have possibly gotten it from! I listen to J’s happy wordless jabber, probably making up stories and using his imagination already. They’re amazing. God has already given them a thousand unique qualities that I will love, struggle with, pray over and brag about. They are mine, my own. And they are wonderfully and fearfully made.

random thoughts

One Lovely Blog Award!

February 15, 2015 Only Hsuman 5 Comments

I am incredibly excited to announce that I was nominated for the One Lovely Blog award! A huge thank you Autumn at Welcome to my World for nominating me! I am truly blessed to have entered the blog world, made friends, shared my story, and been encouraged and challenge by all these wonderful people. I love doing it, so I’ll just keep it up!

The first of my two tasks upon winning this award is to share seven things about myself. So, since I’m better at talking about my kids than myself, I’ll give it a try…

1. I love 80s music. And clothes. And makeup. Yep. I said it.

2. I love Greek food. We have two wonderful Greek restaurants in my town, both of which I frequent. Also, the Greek Orthodox Church here holds a big Greek festival every May, and I LOVE it.

3. I can’t think of any boy names that I like for this next kiddo. My husband has decided on a name he likes, and I CANNOT reconcile myself to it. So I’m stuck.

4. I haven’t had my hair its natural color in several years. Honestly, if it weren’t for both my kids having it, I wouldn’t remember what it was.

5. I’ve never had pets really (I had a hamster. And also I think once we had a fish.) but I truly dislike cats. There aren’t really any cats I can think of that I like, or that have liked me. I don’t really consider myself to be a “dog person” either (probably because I’ve never had one) but I am DEFINITELY not a cat lover.

6. I’ve been planning a mother-themed tattoo – not a silly, cheesy one, but an artistic and meaningful one – but I can’t seem to stay not pregnant and not nursing long enough to actually get it. Maybe after this baby…

7. I get cabin fever really easily. I am a “go out and do things” type person, the opposite of a homebody. If I haven’t left the house all day, I go mad.

My second task is to nominate 15 blogs for this award! I’m not sure I can come up with 15 (several in my “blog circle” have already won it) but I will certainly try!

1. Kizzy, Izzy and Baby

2. Our Cuckoo’s Nest

3. Way Off Script

4. I’m Totally Faking It

5. From the North to the South

6. Guns – n – Pemberley

7. So, I Had a Baby

8. Loves Do Vita

9. Mamacravings

10. Dandelion Pie

11. Snarky Momma with Love

Alright, I came up with 11. That’s close to 15, right? I would’ve given some of my favs a second award, but since they’ve already gotten it, I’ll stick with these. Go check them out, because they are all blogs I love! And thanks again, Autumn, for nominating me!

holidays, home, mommyhood

Life Update on Valentine’s Day!

February 14, 2015 Only Hsuman Leave a comment

In honor of proving that I didn’t boycott Valentine’s Day, here are a few (a lot of) photos from the last few days!

EK’s outfit for her preschool Valentine’s party. Heart. Explosion.

Getting together with friends to make gluten and dairy free cupcakes for our valentines!

Mini cupcakes for the mini-valentines in my life.

Hubby took me to a local production of Pride and Prejudice last night. It was awesome, and it had been so long since I’d seen anything on stage. VERY fun!

This valentine didn’t feel like getting out of his pajamas. And he also felt like eating socks.

Outfit #3 for the win, 80s Gator and all.

J’s actual Valentine’s outfit, as he looks at his cousin on the monitor and begs him to get up and play!

When we got home from playing and visiting, we took a little tour of the basement, and showed the kids their new rooms (we’ve finally decided where everyone will be). So excited to see drywall all finished, and doors and windows installed!

This looks like a construction fail (door leading nowhere?) but it’s actually where they ripped the old stairs out, and haven’t put the new ones in yet. Sorry for the blur – I couldn’t get back against the wall far enough to get the whole thing really.

Hubby posing next to the new window, basically in the laundry room. How adorable.

Tonight we’ve got a birthday dinner for Hubby’s best friend, so we’re hosting a few families for taco night. Should be a blast! What are you doing? How are you celebrating?

mommyhood

Don’t be discouraged, Mama.

February 13, 2015 Only Hsuman 6 Comments

So I had a text conversation with a mama friend today that was really encouraging and enlightening for me… and I’m glad that I made myself vulnerable enough to have it. Here’s a little cliff notes version: we talked about how being frustrated at something that happens with your kids (today it was lack of naps) can begin a self-pity party, and turn into frustration and even anger, and then all bets are off as far as having a good day after that. No one benefits when Mama is mad. Everything from that point escalates into a worse problem than it might have been when approached with a cool head and a loving heart.

How much did I need to have that conversation? A lot. When I’m frustrated over things that are totally out of my control (no naps were due to a loud house, what with screwing in the drywall ceilings today), I’m setting myself up for disaster. I could have just resolved for a snuggly afternoon in front of a movie, and early bedtimes, but instead, I got frustrated, strapped those kids into the stroller, and went for a run. That may have been the second best option (I didn’t yell or put them in time out or anything when it wasn’t really their fault) but I still feel like my heart wasn’t in the right place until I had the vulnerable conversation, opened my heart, and let a good word in.

Yes, as a mama, you get frustrated. Things sometimes will not go your way. Messes will be made, schedules will be off, kids will wake up in the middle of the night, your coffee will never get finished, and you’ll need your glass of wine earlier and earlier.

When your mama heart is tired and heavy, your kids’ tempers are flaring, and the clock says it isn’t bedtime or wine:30, just turn on that Disney Pandora station and have yourselves a little dance party. When no one slept well the night before, and the morning is starting way too early, invite your friend and her kids (who probably also woke up too early) for a cup of coffee in your messy living room, and let those kids entertain each other for a while. Sometimes breaking your own rules can be fun for all involved. When you feel like you’re not the best mother today – or you feel like you’re the world’s worst mother today – remind yourself that you love those kiddos, even when you don’t lie them. Remind yourself that they’re mostly fed (goldfish do count!), they’re wearing clean diapers (even if they should have peed in the potty), and they’re well-taken care of (even if you didn’t have an activity planned to stimulate each of their five senses). Some days are made for PBJs, all-day-PJs and snoozing in mama’s bed. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself to be the “Pinterest Mom” or the “Volunteer Queen” or the “Homeschool Heroine”. A mom who loves her kids and survives one day at a time is just fine.

mommyhood, parenting fails, pregnancy, siblings

Living with Multiple Toddlers

February 12, 2015 Only Hsuman 9 Comments

So, I don’t know what actually, truly constitutes a “toddler”, by definition anyway, but there is no one that “toddles” as much as my little one year old guy, so I’m guessing that qualifies him as a toddler. So, in effect, I have two toddlers.

That’s a scary sentence. Let’s say it again, for effect:

I. Have. Two. Toddlers. Yikes.

This means that life can be crazy. As a quick story, this morning, Hubby was in the shower, I was getting J dressed, and EK had been playing with toys in the living room. The next thing I know, I don’t see or hear her, so I dare to peek out the front door. She’s on the sidewalk, with a nice lady who has pulled over to ask the little girl where her mommy is. It could not have been more than 120 seconds that she was outside, but still. I know, awful things could have happened. I’m thankful they didn’t. We have a chain on the top of the door that’s usually locked, and when we took the trash out after breakfast, we forgot to lock it back. Parenting 101, epically failed.

She is the experienced toddler, who knows all about crying when she doesn’t get what she wants. She knows all about working the room. She knows all about needing to potty right after she’s gone to bed, and about sneaking around the house really quietly in the morning in search of candy before Mommy manages to drag her exhausted self out of bed. Right now, our biggest fights are over nightgowns. She has two frilly little nightgowns she loves to wear, and if I let her, she’d wear them all day. Every once in a while, I break down and let her put it on for a nap, because as she reminds me, nightgowns are something you wear while you sleep. (Cue face palm because I should have said “sleeping AT NIGHT”.) If they are both in the laundry, then all bets for going to bed are off, because regular pajamas WILL NOT BE PUT ON HER BODY. So there.

One of the two favored nightgowns. Funny side note: she’s never watched Sophia the First.

not caring meme — Photo from http://www.imgarcade.com

I also have one brand new toddler who, in addition to being extremely clumsy, is also very brave. Scaling furniture is less of a problem for him than simply walking from the car to the front door. Climbing the shelves in the kitchen is much easier than getting into his toddler-sized chair. He’s a little like the Tazmanian Devil, what with the messes that tend to follow him everywhere. He HATES the word “no” right now. If I have to tell him to stop doing something (smashing my laptop, carrying Daddy’s coffee around the room, etc) he immediately dissolves into wails. I think he just hears the word so often that he’s grown to hate it. I’m trying to figure out something else to say instead, but there’s just nothing as good as plain ol’ “no”.

My little guy, eating his eclectic meal and then spreading it all over creation.

We managed to never have this problem with EK…

However, there are some pretty hilarious perks.

J says “thank you” to and for everything. He hands me something, and says it. He takes something from me, and says it. Picks something up off the floor, and says it. Puts a toy away, and says it. I guess I say it a lot? He also is doing this funny thing where he will eat almost anything, but only about 5 bites of it. His plate is very eclectic, because I know that bites 6-10 are wasted, so it’s got to be 5 bites of 5 different things. The things we do to ensure that our kids are eating enough…

IMG_9438-0 — I ask them to eat dinner when we’re at home, they holler and make a mess. Daddy takes them out to eat, and they look like angels all night.

EK is extremely good at communicating now, but every once in a while she gets stuck on something. She can’t quite get herself unbuckled from her car seat (I’m pretty sure I’m glad about it) but she can get one buckle undone, and then yells, “Somebody! HELP ME!” like I’m kidnapping her. I think it’s hilarious, but the passersby may think otherwise. She also loves the song from The Sound of Music “Do-Re-Mi” and whenever she sings it, she starts like this: “Do a deer, I call myself. Fa, a long long way to run. So, I need to pull a thread. La, I need to follow so. Ti, blah-blah-blah-blah bread! Sing sing back to do!” It’s basically the best. Whenever she starts singing it, Hubby and I just look at each other and try not to laugh until she’s finished. Her other key phrase is “Oh my gosh!” No explanation needed.

Keep the toddler on your lap for a snuggle whenever you can, because it isn’t often.

What are some crazy antics of your toddlers? Anything they say that’s hilarious every time? Any silly habits or funny things they do?8

Featured on April’s Everyday Mom Link-Up!

holidays, random thoughts

Valentine’s Day – Why, Again?

February 11, 2015 Only Hsuman Leave a comment

Is anyone else totally underwhelmed with the marketing ploy that is Valentine’s Day?

I mean, I get where it came from. I’m not arguing that. I’m just arguing what it has become. Why does my husband (or your boyfriend, fiance, etc) have to be pressured to buy item A (chocolates, flowers, ugly teddy bears, etc) and take you to nice restaurant B (local favorite, most expensive, or hole-in-the-wall with privacy) so that you know his love for you extra on this random day in February? There are already birthdays, anniversaries, and other special occasions to show me that.

I think holding our men (or ourselves) to that standard is ridiculous. Just my two cents. I think that showing love and affection to our significant others should be an every day thing. Not, everyday like boring or common, but every single day, like kisses and hugs and quality time and acts of service and words of affirmation and even gifts. Gifts don’t have to be extravagant, or expensive. Gifts could be a favorite meal prepared for dinner, or a favorite latte brought to them at work, or a pint of their favorite ice cream gotten during the grocery trip. Showing love shouldn’t be a “special occasion”. It should be the way you live your lives.

That being said, if you and your love waited too long to get those dinner reservations, or the show you wanted to see is sold out, go some other night. Make it a random Tuesday about showing each other your affection and admiration. Do those things any day and every day. You can make a boring evening, a typical lunch, or a stay-at-home weekend a special one, just by the way you treat someone.

home, mommyhood, pregnancy

Happenings with the Hsumans

February 10, 2015 Only Hsuman Leave a comment

First of all, thanks to my readers and friends for the sweet comments here and on Facebook about our newest news that bump #3 is a boy! Everyone seems just as pumped for a little brother as we are!!

Here’s a little life update on the house and bump numero tres…

I’m 16 weeks tomorrow (we go ahead and count it, right?) and I’m feeling awesome! Nesting would be happening if renovations weren’t already making things crazy… however, I’ve been reorganizing things here and there, and a little interior design sure feels like nesting. I’ve been making plans for the kids’ new rooms, their furniture, and what I need for the new baby.

Here’s my dilemma of the hour, so if you have some advice, hit me with it!

When I had J, EK was old enough to move to a big girl bed. So what I did was change over the nursery colors, and move all of EK’s clothes, etc to her “big girl room”. We amped it up big time, and started letting her do everything but sleep in there a couple of months early. Then, when J was born, she spent a couple of weeks really getting used to sleeping in there (J was still in his little Moses basket anywhere we felt like letting him sleep). Then, when he needed to move to the crib, she was already in her new room and big girl bed. Well, J will be too young, I think, to put him in a big guy bed, especially downstairs in his new room, so I think I’ll want to keep him in his crib/a crib.

That seems like no big deal, but I have a few problems. #1: We only have one crib. #2: It’s too big to get through the doorway of his bedroom (to move it downstairs) and it’s a MAJOR pain to dissemble and assemble. #3: Yes, we have a pack ‘n’ play, but it’s in rough shape, and I don’t think it could contain my 30lb son if he wanted to get out.

So there’s my dilemma. Basically, I need a crib to put downstairs in J’s room for a few months, until he’s ready for a bigger bed. He will probably move downstairs sometime between April (when the renovation is done) and July (when the baby comes) and then into a big boy bed in the late fall or early winter. I don’t want to go buy a crib just for 6 months or less, but would love to borrow one or take one off someone’s hands if they’re done with it (or done for 6 months time). I’m trying to work out the time where I need it for the shortest amount of time (without rushing J into a big boy bed), in case we end up borrowing from someone.

And on to other things… current prego status…

Craving PIZZA and Arnold Palmers
Taking less naps (finally)
Working out a little more (weather-dependent)
Getting to the bump stage instead of large dinner stage (no bumpie yet, sorry)
Getting up to pee in the middle of the night (I didn’t miss it)
Not into maternity clothes yet, but wearing mostly leggings and yoga pants for now.
Still really excited to get those Piko shirts that shipped today (I mentioned them here )

Today we’re at my in-laws’ house, because the drywall installation is loud (think power drills x 100) and because they installed the tub, which turned off the water for several hours (think about the potty training toddler and the pregnant lady and see the importance of having the potties). We’ve done several loads of laundry already, and caught up on some paperwork, and decided on preschool plans for next year, so I’d say it was a good, productive day so far.

I’ve got two basically boring pictures of the basement I can put up… and I’m sorry they’re not better. The first one is the laundry room getting insulation, and the other is of the powder room. They were the only two spots that had enough light to see what was going on when I took the pictures. Once the drywall is done and the lights are hooked up, I’ll be taking more and better ones.

You can see the washer/dryer hookup on the right side.

Standing in the mudroom, looking into the powder room.

That’s what’s going on in my world right about now. What’s going on in yours?

mommyhood, pregnancy, siblings

5 Reasons I’m Excited About Having Another….

February 9, 2015 Only Hsuman 12 Comments

Yes, it’s true! The Hsu Crew is adding another bouncing, baby boy to our ranks. And we couldn’t be more excited! We obviously would have been thrilled with a baby girl (especially to reuse some of the adorable clothes EK has grown out of) but we were ecstatic to hear we’ve got another boy to wrangle! That was a little bit of a perk that came along with the genetics test we had to take – it always tells the gender! So here are my reasons I’m excited for another little boy:

1. I’ll have a second chance on bowties. J’s neck got too big for baby bowties almost immediately, and I feel like I lost the whole “newborns-don’t-care-what-they-wear” phase to a fat neck and thighs so big half his pants wouldn’t fit (that’s still happening). I digress.

2. Boys playing – and fighting – together. I’ve basically heard that boys play together really well, and that girls have a lot of drama, and boys just duke it out and it’s over quickly. I’m kinda looking forward to most of the conflicts being resolved quickly.

3. Planes, trains and automobiles. We love cars and trucks and construction vehicles, Legos and blocks, and tool sets. EK does too, so that’s an extra plus. But it’s nice to know that those toys we’ve started to accumulate are going to get a lot more use. (And, my brother was a big Thomas the Tank Engine fan, so we have access to a TON of trains and tracks. Win.)

4. EK can still be the resident princess. My daughter’s diva status will go unchallenged. Right now, we’re trying to look at this like a plus. We are certainly aware that it could turn into a negative thing. We will cross that bridge if we must.

5. Boys love their mamas. Sometimes this can be detrimental (as in, big time mommy attachment, and huge adjustment for my elder son) but usually it’s just plain sweet how much little boys love their mamas.

My little guy, just learning to sit up. Those were the days, am I right?

Do you have a little boy? More than one? Do you agree with my excitement for having two?! Or have anything to add?

We're Only Hsuman…

Monthly Archives: February 2015