Settling in One Room at a Time: Crib to Big Girl Bed

We did it!

We transitioned Miss Ara from her crib to a big girl bed! For reference HERE is the post of what her room looked like as a Nursery complete with Crib : )

Her dresser, book shelf & play kitchen all in their new locations.
Loving the poofs on the ceiling (finally got that pic).

Instead of only changing her bed we of course decided to change EVERYTHING and it wasn't necessarily the easiest thing ever... & not for the reasons you would think.

We did kind of do it in stages.

Close up of this wall decor.
All but the frame with the castle are items that
either Donnie or I had in our Nurseries as babies.

Day 1: we moved the whole room around & put her crib where her big girl bed would go (theoretically) the next day.

Day 2: We were complete dunces & thought we had a head board & foot board for a twin bed but it turned out that it was for a full size bed... we did not discover this until we had already taken the crib apart. So we cried while we took it apart (for nostalgic oh my goodness my baby is growing up and is officially a toddler reasons) & then with frustration that it was 10pm (way past baby's bedtime) & we were going to have to put her in a real bed the next day. Ara of course was a champ & slept on her mattress on the floor.

Her other dresser, tea table & chairs.

Day 3: Uncle Tony was awesome & brought the rest of the bed over, helped Donnie spend Gramma Kim's money to get a box spring/mattress & then helped transport it home & into Ara's room. AKA: VICTORY!!! Transition complete!

Before we switched her we were struggling with her waking up between 2:30-4am ready to go for he day. We were hoping that if we switched her that she would get up & play in her own room and crash out again. Alas this did not fix the issue, but she definitely enjoys her new freedom within her room, we enjoy being able to lay down beside her for cuddles and we don't have to worry about this transition later. She's in her little twin bed to stay :)

Happy Toddler in Big Girl Bed.

 Special thanks to Aunt Becky & Uncle Tony for helping us that crazy late night trying & failing to put together her bed round #1 & also for the WHOLE twin bed headboard & frame. Thank you Gramma Kim for the Mattress & box springs!

Valentines Day in the TownHome

There is one superfluous thing that gets me through the month of February: Valentines Day. 

Please don't stop reading me yet...

Let's start with my reasons:

1. I like reasons to be unnecessarily festive...
2. I love the flowers, chocolates & small to grand gestures that this "created for making money" holiday instigates amongst lovers, friends & perhaps just for yourself.
3. Hearts & Lace & Sparkles... Oh My! The Frivolity!
4. I'm a Hopeless Romantic 
5. Oh yeah, I'm still madly in love with my Husbie & can't get enough of my not always sweet but fantastic daughter :)

Our Engagement Pics with Cut Up an old Placemat, Ribbons & Buttons
All Framed for Valentine's Day Decor :)

Bragging Moment:

 Husbie has been buying me flowers a TON since the beginning of the new year. This bouquet is #4 so far & possibly my favorite (fun colors!). Vase is from a past Valentine's Day gift & of course those are some of my Stella & Dot jewels off to the side :).

Unnecessarily Festive:

In addition to switching my wooden calendar & monthly heart (pictured at the beginning of this post) I have a storage bin for Valentine's Day decor...  I have red flowers that I add to my arrangements, heart window clings that I stick on windows & mirrors and random heart themed knick knacks that I hide like Easter Eggs around the home. I even started packing up Ara's Valentine themed toys to bring out for the month of February each year (another way to try & win the Toy War).

This year I even took lipstick & wrote on our Blue Mermaid Bathroom  mirror: "We Mermaid for Eachother"

The Best Part:

These are ALL of the Valentines Day cards that Husbie & I have purchased since we got married. This is the first year I put them all out & I was sooooo stoked that I found ALL of them :) They are definitely going to be part of my yearly display from now on. It was amazing to read the notes we have written to each other every year. They reflected now only the oooey goooey lovey dovey stuff but also some of our struggles. It was encouraging to see how far we've come & hopeful to think about where our love will take us in the future. :) 

Are you feeling our feels?

All our Valentine's Day Cards EVER
Ok, Except the ones from the year we were engaged...
Those are cut up in a scrapbook
Come on over & I'll show it to you... every time you come over b/c I forget whom I've shown

NHL Party

What?

So apparently the National Hockey League hosted their all star game here in Columbus, OH & I suppose this is quite a big deal.  I am not a big sports girl, much less a hockey girl nor much less someone who would even be aware of this at all... except for: 

The Stage Pre Party

There was an AWESOME after party featuring Columbus themed decor & entertainment! There was an area for Octoberfest, an area for Italian Village (complete with Bocce Ball), an area for the Short North, an area for the Arts, much more areas featuring festivals & experiences (I think by Experience Columbus?)... but the reason I am aware that any of this happened is because they had designers showcase their designs from HighBall Halloween on a runway & then mingle in the crowd throughout the evening.

My Official Wrist Band
Had to put one on our models too!

I was VERY excited that Ashley & I's winning costume & one of our ready-wear looks were selected, however, I do have to mention I'm getting a little more anxious each time the costume is requested just because it seems that a 6 foot sphere (YES this costume is a 6ft in diameter circle with two 6ft + models in it) is a little hard to anticipate. Needless to say our costume did not grace the official "runway" each hour, but rather mingled. I actually LOVED this way more! 

Picture Break Backstage!
Jessica Rose & Abby Bowman

So after the awesome Annah Ijams Davis from Phia Salon worked her magic on the hair & Rahela Akasha Williams did so with makeup, I got our lovelies geared up & we went a wassailing among the crowds. Not gonna lie I got a little emotional:

Twins & Ragdoll
Jessica Rose & Abby Bowman
Note New Model for Ragdoll: Lexie Demyan
She was AWESOME... Came last minute, Improvised with some spiffy boots (hers)

Everyone who saw the costume had a reaction to it. Sometimes it was "whoa!", "creepy", "crazy", "what IS that" but so many people seemed generally impressed or in awe/wonder & so many wanted to have their picture taken with the models. The fact that I was part of a team (a small team of two with Ashley Wills of StyleOnHigh) who created something that people wanted to have their picture taken with (like it was some sort of monument/tourist attraction) felt pretty darn good. I got all sorts of feels, I felt proud, humbled, excited, protective, honored & just generally like wow... I guess I did something pretty cool. 

My Favorite shot of the twins from the evening
Jessica Rose & Abby Bowman

As a woman who has gone from being so passionate about making art to a woman so passionate about leaving the work force to be a mom... it feels good to know that I'm still relevant. I'm still making something. I haven't lost it all. I've still got some skill & creativity to share with the world and hey look... some people really like it. 

With the HighBall Logo on the Stage in the Background
Jessica Rose & Abby Bowman

 I'm just feeling really thankful for being a part of HighBall... it is so crazy fun! VERY thankful for an amazing co-designer, Ashley Wills. Also thank you to Stephanie Stein for making us a part of this event!

It was a long evening but we have the best two models who kept positive attitudes & smiles throughout the night.
Jessica Rose & Abby Bowman

Photos by me & my Iphone :)

The Toys are Back in Town: HELP

Do NOT get me wrong. I love my daughter. I want her to have everything I had... I'd say & more here but:

There's no need for her to have things I didn't b/c I really truly believe that as I was a spoiled only child (VERY SPOILED) she should not want nor need anything I didn't have growing up. I remember having my bedroom & a playroom.... I HAD IT ALL & I am okay with this.

http://izquotes.com/quote/313222

 However, while I remember having LOTS of toys one or both of these two things HAS to be true... Either

1. My mom had me so well trained that I kept my playroom impeccable on a daily basis.
2. I was never allowed certain, shall we say, the detonative ticking bomb toys... you know the ones: they come neatly packed into containers. Containers your child only has one thing in mind to do with: DUMP THEM OUT & spread the contents as wide & thin as possible (like shrapnel) so that the feat of putting them all "away" seems akin to climbing Mount Everest.

http://www.kennycolors.com/blogs/blog/9020269-the-recycled-toy-art-of-hiroshi-fuji

I'm going with both for the time being or until Mom tells me otherwise. 

Oh, Hi? Mom!? Yes, I do remember picking up my toys. Yes, I do remember having blocks. 

http://www.gomommygo.com/thanks_behaviors.html

Ok so I clearly need to be more on my game at making Ara pick up her toys. BUT...

Let's say, solely for the sake of argument (b/c surely I'm not THAT lazy of a mom... nor THAT mean of a mom) that, in the heat of frustration during a nap, I decided to pack up all the "eruption risks" & hid them in a closet. That should cut down on the overwhelming feeling of being hostilely taken over by inanimate objects... right?!  (no it doesn't)

Or! Let's say, you pack up over half of her toys that she doesn't play with in trash bags (even though you have no intent of donating or throwing them away... yet) You just want to see what a week without them would do. That should quell the fear?! Right!? (no it doesn't)

Okay, I did ALL OF THE ABOVE.... and the toys, I sh** you not, kept expanding! The toy box that closed after all of the "combustibles" were packed into the closet did not shut a week later! The toy box that shut after HALF the toys were bagged did not shut a week later! HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE!? The toy box is not shrinking! She isn't getting new toys every week! 

There is only one explanation

ONE

Here it is...

The Chinese are invading the US by way of self cloning toys...

Its all I got....

PS Ara's Bday is coming up.... 

http://dejohngarrison1984.weebly.com/fear.html
MIND BLOWN