The Mamahood

Nursery Eye Candy

Here's a long promised image of our soon-to-be daughter's nursery...we still need curtains, but we're pretty excited about how it turned out. It was a family affair...my dad painted the blue, my daughter and I teamed up on the clouds. The tree, as mentioned before, is actually a collection of stickers from Land of Nod. My mom painted the beautiful birdhouses on the wall, and made the baby blanket hanging on the crib. The desk is an antique that we had custom finished for us, the crib a lovely loaner from a friend (our original crib bit the dust).

The green rug here is a Target special (which one of our cats thought was so grasslike it was like peeing outside...YIKES). And the bookshelf is a nice, solid piece from Land of Nod.

I really love our other daughter's nursery/room, but I think we outdid ourselves on this one.

Being Creative

If you want to know who comes up with creative how-to projects for sites like Kodak Gallery's Idea Center, you've come to the right place. I love coming up with creative projects—even if I never make a single one. I can't lay claim to all of the ideas here, but quite a few of them are mine.

Almost Ready...

Our new daughter will have a cozy place to rest her head...we're just about done putting together the nursery! We'll post a picture later today, but here's one of my favorite details—we made a giant tree for our little one with this cool kit from Land of Nod. We'll be decking it out today with little birdhouses my mom painted, to give it a more three-dimensional look.

How hard is it with two?

Okay, all you moms out there...I'm starting to freak out about how to handle a 4-year-old and a 16-month-old and still maintain my sanity. Because my husband tends to work odd schedules, there are times when I'm on total bedtime duty, total morning duty, etc. And I'm trying to figure out how I'll get two kids into bed simultaneously. Anything you wish you'd known beforehand that you feel like sharing? Feel free to share your wisdom in the comments.

One little distraction...

All it took was a single e-mail to completely throw off what had been a really productive day. In the e-mail? Updated (as in from yesterday) pictures of our little girl. She's now really steady on her feet and has a lot more hair. It's so hard to concentrate when there are those beautiful pictures beckoning to me on the computer screen.

For the Birds

Our latest arrival is impending, so our family has kicked the house revival into high gear (since you know I won't have time to go through a mountain of paperwork with a toddler and preschooler underfoot). And of course, we have to create a nest where our little one can get cozy. After much internal debate (including our older daughter's insistence that we should decorate the younger daughter's room with her crush's photos), we're going for a bird theme. The room will be sky blue with clouds painted on it, and we're decking the walls with a big tree decal and painted birdhouses. Originally, I had planned to lovingly make a quilt for her bed, but reality has sunk in...since I managed to create one single square in the past six months, I think we're purchasing the cute (and yes, probably vastly overpriced) bird bedding from Pottery Barn Kids (so far, we've picked up the crib sheet and blanket, but still need the quilt and the pillowcase). Beyond the crib, we're getting a storage desk that can double as a changing table for now, and a tall dresser. I hope she'll like it!

And Baby Makes 4....

It's a girl! And that's about all I can tell you right now...except that she's adorable, she's in China, and if all goes well, we'll be traveling to get her sometime this summer. Needless to say, we're all over the moon here at the Mamahood.

Plastics (and Phthalates) Panic

As if we don't have enough things to worry about (lead in toys! pesticides on food! violence in schools!), now we have to worry that we're poisoning our little ones with their baby bottles and baby soap. Though, as usual, these terrifying messages only seem to hit the mommy network...my husband showed up with a big bag of new fun bubble baths and shampoos for our daughter...when I mentioned the phthalates, he gave that "Scooby Doo"-style "Huh?"

If you're looking to weed out the offending sippy cups and bottles from your cupboards, look at the plastic numbers: 1, 2, 4 or 5 are safe; 3, 6, or 7 are not.

I wondered what the media gave our parents to worry about?

The Second Time Around

My husband and I starting to feel relatively competent at handling our current brood...we can keep our daughter under control (for the most part), we've found just the right amount of exercise to keep our puppy in line, and our house stays tolerably put together. But I wonder how adding a new toddler to the mix is going to upset our order, and how long it'll be before we finally feel this under control again.

We're planning to bring our second (and last) child home in 2008 or 2009...and I'm starting to freak out. Any of you multi-kid moms have advice for keeping a lid on the chaos? Or am I right to be panicked?

"Push" Presents

Apparently, I'm missing out. Anyone else ever hear of "push presents?" I mean, I'm all for supporting your partner through the nine months of discomfort, pain and alcohol and sushi abstinence--not to mention the excruciating labor. And if diamond studs or a mother's ring is something a new mom would appreciate, by all means, her mate should go for it. But the name they've given these things is so creepy, and I think a gift commemorating the birth should be something thoughtfully chosen and given out of love, not wheedled and whined for...and registered for!

I'll admit that I picked out some pretty pearl and jade necklaces for myself on my first adoption trip, and plan to go jewelry shopping again when we head back for our second. But that's not exactly the same thing. Maybe I deserve a homestudy honorarium or a paperwork present?

All right, ladies, fess up: What did your guy give you when your child was born?