One Week In

Greetings from Cirque de Tobin!  Let's talk about the past week, shall we?  It's been wild and tame and everything in between.

First, the obvious.  Baby Sebastian - one week young and in the business of making our family of four a family of five complete with three kids under TWO. 

It's as crazy and intimidating as it sounds.  However, I will tell you that taking care of one baby vs. two is a cake walk!  Where with the twins I spent the majority of my days during their first months nursing them, I spend about 10 minutes every two hours nursing this boy.  He came out of the womb knowing how to eat (I expect he gets that from his Pops) and gets his fill in no more than 10 minutes each feeding.  It took S and C at least 20 minutes to fill their bellies, making that 40 minutes plus to get them both fed when I wasn't feeding them at the same time.  It probably helps that I've got a little nursing experience under my belt now plus maybe men are just better and quicker at inhaling their food but the point is, it's crazy how much time I don't spend nursing these days.

A little more on Seb - he sleeps like a champ.  Those of you who have kids know you're supposed to wake your newborns up every two hours during the day and every 3-4 hours at night to eat.  Sebastian's pretty good at hinting he's ready to eat every two hours during the day but at night he'd go four plus hours without eating if I let him...which I have.  The nurse (just out of nursing school) who told us in a straight-from-her-nursing-textbook that we couldn't do that after he slept five hours straight in the hospital one night can sue me.  During the day he's in typical newborn-sleep-mode and while he's not sleeping is content with just peeking at his surroundings, which usually includes two over-interested twins getting all up in his biznaz.

They're absolutely smitten with him...a little too much sometimes.  C gives soft kisses (and licks) to his fuzzy head but then gets really excited and goes in for the ear grab or the binki snatch or the sock steal with full force.  S is always gentle with him and her fave place to be is nose-to-nose watching him bat his eyes or contort his face the way newborns do.  And then they're always pointing out his "nose" and stabbing him in the eyes to point those out.  It's cute and overkill all wrapped up in one big package stamped "sibling love".  

I have yet to type up a widdle birth story but let me tell you a little about the recovery...ouch, ouch, ouch.  I don't remember being as sore and in pain after the twins (whose labor was actually EASIER!)  Then again, I think a week after I had had them I was still constrained to a flat surface whereas a week after this one I feel 90%.  It's a real good thing you forget the pains that bearing a child brings because if you didn't, well, overpopulation wouldn't even be a word.  Am I right moms or amIright?

Anyway, the girls are still asleep and Sebastian is neatly tucked into the moby wrap strapped to my person so what else can I tell you?  Oh yeah, I FINALLY ordered a new laptop!  We actually ordered an HP a few weeks ago but sent it back because it had some major issues in the screen coloring department that couldn't be resolved after a frustrating call to HP and me repeating "I'm sorry, could you say that again" to the foreign man on the other line with the accent I just couldn't untangle.  Here's to hoping this one (which is supposed to come this week) won't disappoint and I'll be back and blogging per the usual because I SO miss it.

Oh and guess what?  I found my nesting bug!  Turns out it was waiting for me on the other side of pregnancy!  :)  I have all this new-found motivation to sew and create and paint and build and...and then I forget that I have a newborn.  So maybe it'll all happen a little slower than usual but there will be projects.  Actually, this week we're working on making a french door complete with inset glass out of a solid wood door to replace the hollow-core door between the kitchen and laundry room.  Also, we built that co-sleeper out of a thrifted changing table for Sebastian and so I'll get a post up all about that.  Here's a peek:

(There's been a little confusion with how it works based on the picture I took.  I snapped this after picture quick while it was not in it's usual spot of right next to the bed.  The short side at the top butts right up against our mattress and is the same height as our mattress, creating an extension of sorts.  The post will explain it better.)

Well, before I ramble some more I should probably scoot.  There's no time like nap time to do fun things like laundry, am I right?

#wrong

Evicted at 40.5 Weeks...

From my uncomfortable perch in the bed de hospitale, I don't have the brain power to write up a birth story quite yet (sorry Dwija, I hope this suffices for now!!) but be relieved that it's really not that interesting.  We checked into the hospital at 10 pm on January 2nd to start the labor process going and get going it did.  Not much sleep and way too many contractions before the anesthesiologist finally got around to me to deliver relief, lots of pushing and feeling like I was going to either pass out from exhaustion or just plain fall asleep during the process and Sebastian arrived, perfect and healthy in every way.  :)

More later!  Thank you all so very much for your thoughts and prayers!  

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P.S.  The blog and I have been battling insane amounts of spam so I had to cap the comment box with an ID login...so sorry!   

Missing: The Nesting Bug

Just waddling in to note the obvious...it's been a leedle slowwww around here. It's all because of this...err, him:

Yep, that's me and the boy at 38 weeks.  

Contrary to popular pregnancy side effects, I am not nesting and I have no clue where/when I missed that bus.  Believe me when I say there's lots to do around here, just no one to do it cause I sure ain't gonna.  

Mornings used to be prime time for me but these days I get out of bed to a rising twin(s) only to find myself really wanting to get back in.  Coffee?  I've become immune apparently.  Their first nap is also my first nap and their second nap is mine as well.  Anyway, I'm just trying to excuse away the fact that I've been a little quiet on the blog front.  I wish I could say I'll be back at it next week but sadly, I can't.  Actually, I'm going to take a little break for a couple of weeks until the boy is here and a new computer arrives at my door step.  Right now I'm writing you all from Anthony's work computer while my dino sits dead on the kitchen table.  It still works but I don't have the patience anymore to find the 3+ hours (on average) it takes me to write a post on that thing.  But, Santa promised he'd bring me a new laptop so you can bet that once it comes and I'm happily stuck nursing a wee one for hours on end, I'll be populating this here blog with a lot more words and some projects that have been on the waiting list.

I'll even be telling you all about this:

We scored this old changing table for $10 at a local thrift store with plans to transform it into a co-sleeper.  I know what you're thinking, "You mean your son could come any day and you don't have a place for the kid to sleep yet?!".  Yep, last minute.  That's us.  We'll (ahem, Anthony will be) working on this thing this weekend and praying #3 doesn't pop out before then.  Offer up a few for us if you think of it.  Speaking of last minute, did I tell you we just bought a swagger wagon??  Up until last week neither of the two vehicles we owned could fit a family of five without utilizing the trunk or roof as prime seating space but now, NOW we can fit seven!  Hallelujah!

Well, all I have left to say is have a great week!  You can be sure I'll still be gramming over at the Insta (quickly becoming my fave form of social media) so you can catch me and us - @beaninlove - there with any and all updates on the daily, baby, and changing table front.  Should be fun.  :)

     

Green With En-…Paint

I’ve been keeping my eyes peeled the past several months for some chunky new/old lamps at our local thrift stores to replace the tall, thin ones we have in our master bedroom. 

So many times I’ve found only one really cool lamp without a matching partner but a few weeks ago I lucked out and found these heavy, vintage glass lamps:

They were nice and dirty and in need of some tlc…just like I like ‘em.

Here’s what they look like today:

After taking apart and refurbing these lamps in the girls’ nursery, I knew a little of the how-to’s of wiring and taking apart/putting together lamps.  It’s really not hard at all and so worth it if you find a sweet pair for cheap and in need of some paint or just new wiring.

Here’s how to do it.  One lamp at a time; slow and steady does it.  Turn the lamp over so you can see the base.  You should see the end of the threaded rod and a nut holding everything in place.
 

Unscrew the nut from the rod, which allows you to pull apart the lamp piece by piece.  Be extra careful if you’re working with a glass lamp with lots of pieces like me.  You’ll want to make sure the lamp is on it’s side and slowly start sliding each part down the rod just enough to loosen the whole thing up and get enough extra wiring at the top to remove the wiring from the light bulb base.
 

See what I mean by loosening everything up?
 

You won’t be able to remove all the pieces individually until you remove the wiring at the top of the lamp, which looks like this after you simply pull off the little top cover (sorry, no technical terms from the non-electrician over here).
Depending on how old or new your lamp is, this top part might look a little different.  Some you simply unscrew and some you might have to remove a screw to separate.  Mine simply pulled off.

Next you’ll want to remove your wiring.  There should be two wires to remove (at least in the lamps I’ve messed with there were two) and those wires will be wrapped around two screws.  Unscrew the screws which then loosens the wire and pull off the wire.

The light bulb casing will now be on it’s own and your wiring might be tied underneath it like this:
Untie it and now you can completely disassemble your lamp, piece by piece.

VERY IMPORTANT:  Make sure that when you’re taking all the pieces off that you either take lots of pictures showing how they go back on to use as a reference later or take them off and line them up as you’re going and snap a shot.  Unless you’re a master lamp maker, it’ll be hard to remember where each little piece goes!  I lined all the pieces up and took a couple of pictures:

Now we get to the fun part.  Painting.  :)

The metal pieces of my lamps were peeling and discolored so at first I decided I’d spray paint them gold.  So I did:

And then I changed my mind and spray painted them silver instead…fickle me. 

And then after I put the lamps back together I regretted the silver and wished I’d have kept them gold…fickle fickle me.

Whatever.  Moving on.

I’ve had plans to inject some more color into our bedroom for some time now and thought the lamps would be a good place to start.  So, the girls and I made a little trip to Michael’s to grab some acrylic paint and came home with this color:
A minty green called Spearmint.  (Side note:  Is it just me or do you go into a craft/home improvement store on a mission to get paint knowing exactly what color you want, only when you get to the paint aisle you stand there dumbfounded because you thought you knew what you wanted but then you see the other shades of the color you thought you wanted and all the other colors and the other shades of every other color and all of a sudden you just don’t know what you want so you stand there looking like you got hit by a truck until you finally just grab a color hoping you won’t regret your decision (or you just leave thinking you’ll sleep on it another four nights)????  Whew, take a breather Sheena.  Well, that’s me every. single. time.  Fabric decisions and paint decisions.  My life be like rough.)

So anyway, I got my paint and a little craft paintbrush and painted the inside of each glass piece (after washing them out nice and good-like).
I gave each piece one coat and I know it looks a little streaky but the streakiness doesn’t show once the lamp is put together because no light illuminates through the glass, only from the top down…comprehendo?

After the paint was dry I referenced the picture I took of all the lamp pieces lined up in a row and put the lamps back together, starting with the bottom-most piece and working my way to the top.  If you’re working with painted glass pieces like me, be extra careful about scratching the paint.  It will scratch off if scratched (one reason I wouldn’t recommend using acrylic paint on glass if you’re painting parts that will be touched once you’re finished).  On the plus side though, if you change your mind about the color 10 months down the road, all you have to do is scrub and repaint.  :)

Here’s an “unofficial” after picture showing the fabric for the pillows…
      
and the Tums I rely so heavily on every night set on a cluttered night stand.  Plans include painting those nightstands (white?), adding some legs to raise them to bed level, and adding mirrors.  :)  I can’t wait.  Other plans include building an upholstered headboard, hanging some much needed art around the place, and convincing Anthony we need some matching faux sheepskin rugs on each side of the bed.  Then there’s always other ideas like hanging some faux roman shades under the curtains, maybe building a bench for the foot of the bed, yadda yadda yadda.  All of this with three kids in tow.  Should be done circa 2020. Am I asking too much if I say “stay tuned”?  :)

Back to the project at hand though, here’s a budget break down:
Lamps:  $12 ($6 each)
Shades:  free (stolen from the guest bedroom whose lamps now sport some clearanced shades I found months ago)
Paint:  37 cents (from Michael’s and purchased with a 50% off coupon…because $.37 saved is $.37 earned people)
Spray Paint:  already had (but purchased at Walmart for around $4 a can)
Total Cost:  $12.37

What do you think?  Isn’t the pattern on the glass the coolest?  That’s what had me at hello…and cha-ching.
   

Funny, not-related story:  As I was eyeing these lamps in the thrift store, an older gentleman eyeing some other second-hand item next to me looked over and with a serious face and twinkle in his eye said “You’d better pay for that basketball before you leave Miss.”  (He was talking about the baby bump in case that one flew you by.)  Usually I’m not one for comments on the belly (“Any day now, huh?”, “Looks like someone had too much to eat!”…), but that was cute, I had to admit.  :)

Anywho, let me know if you have any questions or if I can explain anything better.  I know the thought of taking apart a lamp can be intimidating but trust me, you can do it too! 

Have a good Tuesday all you people!

.           .           .

P.S.  If you already have your Christmas decor out and lit, you’re ages ahead of me…which I assume since Christmas is umpteen days away, you do.  I was all excited to get ours out but the past few days have left me wondering if, on January 13th (the day Christmas officially ends, fyi) my future self will hate my past self for putting it all up so that I can take it all down while recovering from labor, nursing/caring for/changing/being attached to a newborn AND painfully chasing the twins.  Is it worth it?  Is singing Happy Birthday to Jesus enough for this year?  I’m leaning toward yes…

I Wear Short(er) Shorts

I like bermuda shorts (see here), but when I found these maternity bermudas on a Target clearance rack several weeks ago, I knew if I pulled the trigger on them that they’d be in for a little alteration. 
The fit – a little notgreat and a lot awkward.  Besides they did nothing for my twig legs and miniature calves…which I say with the greatest admiration for you lucky ones with curvy legs.

I figured that by shortening them just a tad, I might be able to up their appeal.  So, first I figured out how short I wanted to go by rolling and unrolling to different lengths while they were on until I was satisfied.  Then, I pulled out my measuring tape and measured the inseam, took them off, turned them inside-out, and made a little pen mark on each leg at my desired length, adding an inch and a half for a hem.    
 

Next, I rolled each leg up so that the rolled edge was right at my pen mark.
Snip, snip, all the way around…

Then, for extra fraying protection (and not at all following any sewing rules so if this be wrong, well, sew me), I sewed a zig-zag stitch around the bottom of the shorts before folding the bottoms up an inch and a half and and sewing in a hem.

And then I went crazy and paired them with some tights, boots, and other fall/wintery gear because all the real fashionistas are doing that on Pinterest. 
 
[Add a little overexposure and incorrect camera settings and call it a fashion shot.]

What do you think?  Am I breaking every 2930 fashion rule in the book?  Would you wear shorts with boots and tights?  Maybe you would, but would you in public?  I have yet to.