You Would Look Cute In This

Dear Ellen
Sign up for Zulily and the will email you daily deals. It sounds annoying but it's all maternity and kid stuff and they really are good deals.
xo
Me

Dear Schmellen,

Oh, man, you are going to croak when you see Roost. I know you are not in cooking mode at the moment, but I also know you will be again in five seconds.

I like the clean bedroom advice. It is much easier to adhere to now that we have a larger closet. That is my new dumping ground, but it is slowly getting cleaner too. I got all wooden hangers and enough shoe storage. Storage makes me happy.

Complain to the grandparents to be that it sure would be nice to have some wood, batting, fabric and a staple gun so you can have a cushy headboard against which to lean while nursing baby. That should do the trick.

Hee hee,
Hannah

Chores

Dear Hannah,

Have you seen this website? Flylady.com - she's a woman on a mission and a ministry to help people take care of their homes. In anticipation of the New Year, I resolve to take care of my home.

Currently our most neglected, least attractive, and most cluttered space is our bedroom. According to Flylady:

"Your bedroom should be the cleanest room in your home. Many of you still use yours as a garbage/clutter disposal for the rest of the house. If your bedroom is clean and clutter free, then it becomes an inviting haven for building your relationship with your spouse. The best gift you can give your children is a strong marriage. This is true whether your children are 2 or 40 years old."

Besides decluttering, I want to create clear zones - sleeping, dressing, and rocking baby. Also, we need a headboard. The room feels out of balance and so I did a little research on Feng Shui. Here is what I found. We need a headboard for which I have no budget - as in no $. So, I'm thinking something like this. I've got some other ideas posted on pintrest here.

What do you think?

Love,
Ellen

Speaking of which...

Dear Hannah,

I finally joined pintrest and found this fun website All for the Boys (this is in direct response to my Mother's concern, "I just don't know what to do with little boys!") and this cool project from Katydid and Kid.



I want to make it now!

Love you so very much,
Ellen

Ps. Thank you for the sweet photos!

Proof

Dear Ellen, below is proof that you were meant to mother a boy.






Recently having a little boy has meant things like finding a shriveled Cheerio in the poinsettia pot. Or a crayon in the bottom of my essential oil room freshener. It turned the whole bottle green. It means being handed a booger as if I wanted it, and waking up to my husband and son playing with Dad's old He Man characters.

I think, however, if we ever do have girls, we will be surprised by how similarly indelicate they are. They will probably still hand us their boogers. They'll just do it while wearing tutus.

I like...

Dear Ellen,
I like 1, 2, and 4. They have the desired combination of color pop for your situation, combined with timelessness.

I speak with authority that perhaps I don't actually possess, but I'm just telling you what my gut says.

xoxo
Hannah

Pillow Dilemma

Dear Hannah,

I'm pondering pillows for my living room and bedroom.

For the living room, the walls are Whetstone Gray, the couch is beige-ish tan, and the current pics are cream with silvery-blue designs.

For the bedroom, I just got new bedding from IKEA. It's dark slate gray with a blood-orange throw for the foot of the bed.

Here's what I've been able to find so far... (they are all from etsy)


Lauralaurelie


MarthaandAsh


ElemenoPillows


KarensDesignerFinds


AnnasFabulousThings


SewSusieDesigns


Mazizmuse


frumafar


ClassicByNature

What do you think? I need your professional opinion here!

xoxo,
Ellen

So, to Sum Up...

You are pregnant. And now you are thirty! This is a big year for you, Schmellen!