Little Man’s Room

Little Man is graduating to his own room! Finally, he’ll be out of the closet and ready to enjoy some more leg room. We’ve been using Cuz Ev’s nursery decor – Pooh and Friends, but I’m thinking Little Man might need a little decor of his own.

We’re already planning on getting this foam mat to help make his lilac room a little more blue, but I think this mat may end up in the family room so he’s got a place to crawl around. That is, once he figures out to scoot with on his tummy. He’s got the scoot movement down pact on his back and it’s really cute to watch him push off this legs and ram his head into things. Well, the ramming part is not funny – but as long as we make the path open for him, he’ll scoot on his back as far as possible.

 

Here’s Little Man’s room – we’re still playing around with the layout. It’s hard to manage furniture placement since he has three windows. I think we may end up putting a piece in the closet. His closet is 107’ long! What a lucky kid! I’m sure if Baby #2 is a girl, Little Man’s going to get shifted to the green room. It’s going to be a great first room. The first bedroom I remember is my bedroom in Florida – I must have been 5.  Hopefully LIttle Man will be here for years to come and remember all sorts of silly things in his room.

Almond Butter Sandwich

It may not be raw, but it’s gluten free. Elana’s Pantry is one of my favorite gluten free recipe sites. She does a lot with almonds: almond flour, almond butter – yum!

Zucchini Bread

Yes, I can’t wait to get settled into the new house so I can do my best to get back to my raw way o’ life. However, I will not be going as hard core as last time and will allow myself a little more freedom this go-round. Since I have to think about Pablo’s food needs as well as Little Man, I’ve been preparing to make some healthy food options.

Zucchini Bread is one of my favorite sweets and I found this recipe in Family magazine last month.

Six Items or Less

As a follow up to my post last night about cleaning out your closet, I found an even more wild challenge – Six Items or Less. No, this is not the new quick check out counter at Walmart, it’s a challenge that these folks are doing to see if they can manage with six clothing items. Undergarments don’t count, so yes, you’ll be able to enjoy fresh knickers.

THE EXPERIMENT:

What do our clothes say about us? Why do spend so much time on what we wear? What happens when we don’t?

Starting Monday, June 21st 2010, a group of people from California to Dubai are going to take part in a little experiment: each participant gets to choose six (and only six) items of clothing and pledge to wear only these six items of clothing for a month. They’ll share their experiences here at sixitemsorless.com

There are exceptions that don’t count towards the six: undergarments, swim wear, work-out clothes, work uniforms, outer jackets (rain slicker, outdoor jacket), shoes and accessories. You can get multiples of the same item for laundry purposes, but different colors count as separate items. Or you can tell us to stuff it and make your own rules.

People have asked what the philosophy is behind the experiment and most assume it’s a statement about consumerism. In reality, we haven’t dictated a driving thought. Rather it’s about putting a challenge out there and seeing what people bring to it, do with it and talk about.

Check back daily – people are posting all the time. or follow us @sixitemsorless. questions? sixitemsorless@gmail.com

It should be an interesting month.

Some of the stories are fun to read to see how people are making out. Most of them are artists, go figure.

Get off the Couch!

Isn’t it amazing that our homes are centered around the kitchen and family room? A place where we eat and a place where we sit and “relax” maybe after we eat or while we eat. Pablo and I gave up our cable early this year and have supplemented by watching more documentaries and Showtime series such as Weeds, Dexter, The Tudors.  While I can say we’ve certainly learned more about everything from Food to Fuel, now that we’re going to be in a new neighborhood, I’d like to kick up our exercise routine. This will ultimately eat into our viewing time, but the fresh air is going to be much more rewarding.

Knowing that we don’t want Little Man to watch the tube until he’s as close as possible to 3 years old, we’re going to have to modify our habits so that we can help him create good habits regarding the television and computer.  Although we likely watch less because it’s only internet, I still think we watch too much and with the upcoming fall and our new home, it’s my goal to walk more and spend some time digging in the dirt.

But try as we may, I know we’re going to watch the tele and if so, imposing a few rules and regs never hurts. I love Becoming Minimalist’s list below:

To help inspire parents, here are 12 Tips to Help Limit Your Child’s Screen Time.

1. Set the Example. Sorry to start with the toughest one, but there is nowhere else to start. Children will always gravitate toward the modeled behaviors of their parents. If they see you reading a book, they are more likely to read. And if they see you watching television, so will they.
2. Be the Parent. It is your job to encourage healthy behaviors and limit unhealthy ones – sometimes this means making unpopular decisions. Make these tough decisions for your children. And always go the next step of explaining why you have made the decision – this will help them follow through and someday choose it for themselves.
3. Set Limited Viewing Times. If you are not going to turn off the television completely, choose the appropriate television viewing windows for your kids. It is much easier to limit their viewing habit if they understand that they can only watch one show in the morning and one show after school (as just an example).
4. Encourage Other Activities. And provide the necessary resources (books to read, board games, art supplies, and/or sporting equipment).
5. Play with Your Kids. Get down on the floor with your kids and pick up a doll, truck, or ball. It takes intentionality and selfless love when they are 6. But when they turn 13, you’ll be glad you did.
6. Be Involved in Their Lives. For many parents, it is just easier to turn on the television than to actually be involved in the lives of their children. But those intimate life details are required for successful parenting. So observe, listen, ask, and parent.
7. Cut your Cable / Remove Your Television Completely. If you want a sure-fire way to limit your child’s television viewing habits, cut your cable/satellite television feed (or remove your television completely). It will change your family’s life overnight (it changed ours). Oh, by the way, it will positively impact your checkbook too.
8. Observe Your Child’s Behavioral Changes. Television has an immediate impact on your child’s behavior. After too much television/video games, my children get irritable, aggressive, selfish, and impatient. I can tell almost the moment I walk in the door. Be on the look-out for these behavioral changes. When you start to notice them yourself, you’ll be less inclined to put your kids in front of the screen.
9. Don’t Worry if They Miss Out on Parts of the Conversation. Your child’s friend will talk about television. They will compare notes about cartoons, Nickelodeon, or prime-time programming. You will think that you are depriving your child of friendships because they can not join in on those parts of the conversation (I’m speaking from experience). But don’t worry. You will have successfully prepared to your child to enter into far deeper, richer conversations than the most recent Hannah Montana episode.
10. Value Family Meals and Car Rides. About two-thirds (64%) of young people say the TV is usually on during meals. That’s too bad because your family’s richest conversations will always take place during meals and in the car. Value those times with you kids. Don’t let the TV steal them from you.
11. No TV’s in Bedrooms. Not your kids’ rooms. And not yours either.
12. Find your mantra. A mantra is a sound, word, or group of words that are considered capable of creating transformation. While the words may not be magic in themselves, the consistent use of them can be. Every parent should have them and use them effectively. My “too-much television” mantra goes like this, “There’s been too much screen time in this family.” And every time my kids hear me say it, they know what it means… they know we are about to spend some quality time together.

Simplify

In preparation for moving into our new home, I’m prepared to purge and will do my best to teach Little Man the same. I read a blog about purging kids toys and keeping their items minimalist, as we should be.

Toys. Sometimes, they feel like they are everywhere… like a never-ending army in a never-ending war.

Personally, over the past two years, we have taken intentional steps to minimize the number of toys in our home. Sometimes we feel like we are winning the battle, other days we feel like we are losing. But I did want to begin a conversation by offering some of the practical tips we have used to help minimize the number of toys in our home. Hopefully, you’ll have some helpful tips to add as well. And perhaps, we can encourage one another in the seemingly, never-ending battle against toy clutter.

To be fair, the exact “ideal number” of toys will vary from family to family (if there even is one). But hopefully, each of these tips will be helpful to those of you who know the ideal number is certainly less than you have today.

1. Be convinced that less is better. As with any minimalist (or simplifying) project, it always begins with a heartfelt belief that less is better and desirable. I’m assuming if you have read past the title of this post, you already believe this to be true when it comes to toys. But if not, take a moment to read, Why Fewer Toys Will Benefit Your Kids.
2. Fewer toys is different than no toys. Toys can be educational and play an important role in a child’s development. Just to be clear, I’m not advocating no toys, I’m arguing for less.
3. Analyze your own motivation for purchasing toys. Most children don’t buy toys for themselves – somebody else does. If there are too many toys in your home, start with yourself. Why are there so many toys in your home? A healthy look at your own motivations may go a long-way in solving this problem.
4. Choose quality over quantity. You and your children will benefit more from toys that are chosen for their quality (in workmanship) and purpose (playability) than for their sheer quantity. And just like everything else in life, too many toys will always distract from the truly important ones.
5. Purge often. Most likely, you need to make a clean-sweep of your childrens’ toys right now. Removing the “low-hanging fruit” (toys that are no longer used) is a great place to start and shouldn’t take too long. Put the clean, unused toys in boxes and donate them to a medical center, nonprofit organization, local church, homeless shelter, orphanage, school, or Goodwill. Simply discard the dirty or broken ones. Then, stay on top of the clutter by purging on a regular basis and going beyond the low-hanging fruit.
6. Set a confined, physical space for toys. Whether it is a container, a shelving unit, or a closet, set a confined physical space for your children’s toys. Once the space is full, there is no room to add more toys. Help your children understand that principle by clearly marking the boundaries. If they want to add (think holidays and birthdays), they’ll need to remove first.
7. Limit your purchasing with a budget. If you budget for other categories in your life (groceries, clothing, entertainment), you already understand how this principle helps keep your spending and consumption in check. If you don’t, start today by setting a monthly/yearly budget for toys. Enforcing a predetermined budget amount will help in limiting your toy purchases.
8. Don’t give into fads. Just like clock-work, toy companies will generate a new “toy-fad” every few months by artificially generating a cultural buzz. If done well, this artificial buzz will become mainstream in the culture and no longer feel artificial. But it is. And it will always pass. You don’t need to give in just because every other parent is.
9. Keep a healthy, realistic attitude toward toy companies and toy stores. They may tell you that their main goal is to help or educate your child, but often times they are driven most by their bottom line.
10. Avoid duplicate toys. Instead, require your children to learn the invaluable life lessons of sharing, generosity, cooperation, and compromise.
11. Find a local toy library. Consider borrowing toys rather than purchasing them.   
12. Watch less television. Consider the fact that marketers are brilliant at shaping the desires of men and women, young and old. Now, imagine giving them hours each day to shape your children’s minds too… and you’ll quickly realize that you don’t stand a chance.
13. Don’t give in to temper-tantrums at the store. Every time you give in to a temper-tantrum at the store just to avoid a scene, you embolden your child to do it again. They quickly learn how to manipulate you. Don’t worry about the scene that is taking place in public. Wise parents in the store will respect you for not giving in – and the foolish ones will learn a valuable lesson.
14. Equip your children to make wise choices. Involve your kids in the purging process. Help them make decisions about which toys should stay and which should go. This will serve them well into adulthood. After all, don’t you wish your parents had forced you to learn that skill?
15. Teach them to value other activities. Although all kids have natural tendencies towards certain endeavors, expand their mind by regularly introducing them to new activities that don’t revolve around toys.
16. Limit your toys too. Kids will always learn more from example than words. If your life is caught up in always needing to own the latest fashion, technology, or product on the market, theirs will be too. And it would be unreasonable to expect anything less.

Another valuable lesson that I’d like to incorporate into our cleaning routine is shedding items that are not FUNCTIONAL nor PERSONAL.  I

How else shall we shed? I know Pablo will be happy to see that I’m reading an article about living with less clothing. While I may be packing it all up for a purge later – it’s the purge that counts. 

1. Admit that you own too much clothing. That’s all you really need to get started.
2. Wear fewer colors. Most of us already have a few favorite colors that we wear most often anyway – usually because we like the way we look in them. Choosing to intentionally wear fewer colors means less accessories (shoes, belts, jewelry, handbags, etc.). It also makes too much sense not to try.
3. Embrace the idea of one. When one can be enough, embrace it – one black dress, one swimsuit, one winter coat, one black belt, one pair of black shoes, one pair of sneakers, one handbag… insert your own based on your occupation, lifestyle, or climate.
4. Donate, sell, recycle, discard. Depending on the size of one’s existing wardrobe, an initial paring down won’t take long. Make a few piles – donate, sell, or recycle. Start with the clothes that you no longer wear. You’ll be surprised how much you can remove.
5. Donate, sell, discard some more. Removing the clothes you no longer wear is easy. Removing the clothes that you don’t really need can be a tougher choice. Turn around all the hangers in your closet. After the season, remove every article of clothing that wasn’t worn. That should help get you started on a second round of paring down.
6. Impose an arbitrary moritorium on shopping. For many, clothes shopping is just a habit – and habit always takes over for inattention. To begin breaking the cycle of purchasing and discarding (the average American throws away 68 lbs. of textiles each year), set a self-imposed buying freeze. I recommend 90 days. If given enough time, this simple exercise in self-discipline will change your view of your clothing and the stores that produce, market, and sell them.
7. Set a monthly spending limit. Pick a low number and stick to it.
8. Purchase quality over quantity. Only buy clothing that you truly love – even if it costs more. If you stock your closet full of things you love, you will have less desire to add to it.
9. Avoid the sale racks. Sales can (and should) be used to help you get a better price on something you need. Unfortunately, most sale racks are designed to convince us to purchase something we don’t.
10. Impress with your character, not your clothes. Lee Mildon once said, “People seldom notice old clothes if you wear a big smile.”

Based on zen habits and their list of zen,I think we’re already halfway there:

less TV, more reading
less shopping, more outdoors
less clutter, more space
less rush, more slowness
less consuming, more creating
less junk, more real food
less busywork, more impact
less driving, more walking
less noise, more solitude
less focus on the future, more on the present
less work, more play
less worry, more smiles
breathe

Our newest family member “Rae”

We’re so happy to introduce our newest family member, Little Miss Rae. I’m not sure what nickname she’s going to get, but I like Little Miss Rae O’ Sunshine, so that’s what I’m calling her. My sister set up this photo shoot of Little Miss Rae the first week here – Isn’t she just precious?

   We couldn’t forget the adorable big sister! Here’s Little Miss Shortcake. Short for Miss Strawberry Shortcake that is.

This one is my favorite. She looks like she’s ready for tea my dear!

Little Man Update

I know, I know Little Man’s not been getting too much attention blog-wise as we wrap up the house renovation. He’s super excited about it and has been doing inspections with Dad this week.

He’s been helping us pack. Albeit getting a little curious as we pull items out of the closet. Indiana Jones better watch out!

I guess all the packing must have worn him out. This is his newest habit – putting his face under the bumper while he sleeps.  The best part is when you go to wake him up, he’s looking at you through the bars and you get to start a little game of peek a boo. We went in for a check up on his tongue and frenectomy and everything is looking great. They even checked his ears and throat and Little Man is in top shape. He’s had a bit of a rash on the corner of his mouth this week, but the docs say it’s just a little contact dermatitis and that it should dissipate. If not, we’ll put some cream on it. The hardest part is that we have to do this while he sleep otherwise, he’ll just end up rubbing it off, licking it off or drooling on it.  The most exciting part of this week was at the docs when we got to weigh him in. Nanny Becca and I were sure he was 18 lbs or more, but Little Man checked in at 16 lbs, 1 oz.  No wonder why our backs are killing us!

I snapped this one the other day in the car and for an iPhone, it came out pretty good. I love how the sunshine lights his little face.

Week 17 – Let it be GREEN!

I rented this 10’ UHAUL truck yesterday and picked up these gorgeous plants at Growers Outlet in Loganville.  There was a little room left in the truck, but we got everything we needed.   I backed up the driveway and dropped them off for planting.

Today? We had the electrician out this morning to move some lights around and our bathrooms are ready to go! Here’s our master bath…we’re just waiting on our mirrors and shower door. 

We found out that our ceiling fans are a little quirky and we might have to change the light fixture. Doesn’t this look like something out of the future? I think that the electrician can change them out to sockets and we can put a regular bulb in there.

Our plants were installed yesterday and today were dusted with some pine straw.

Our patio and hydrangeas:

TA – DAH! No wonder why our neighbors are so excited! Finally, some nice greenery to look at!  

Sooner or later Little Man’s going to be kicking a ball back here with Daddy – O!

Are you ready for the BIG reveal? Pablo and I are UBER excited! Now we just need some folks to help us get moved in.  Whose schedule’s open next week? We’re going to need you!

We’re so happy that this Dogwood made it – look how perfect it fits in to the landscape plan. There’s 6 hydrangeas that circle it with mondo grass.  On the right in front of the garage we planted boxwoods and some Emerald Green arborvitaes. If they get as big as they’re supposed to, we’re going to have some 6-8 footers on our hands! On the left side of the house next to the door is a Camellia and boxwoods.

Week 17 – One more week to go!

Can you believe we’re only a week and a half from our move in? It’s going to be a crazy couple of weeks around Casa Weintraub with packing and moving and unpacking and moving. Heck, we don’t even know what furniture is going where. But it’s going to be fun and exciting and such a joy to have our first home together. Pablo and I are really can’t believe that we’re almost there! Pablo’s been waiting over 9 years for this! Me, well, this will be my first official home that I had a big part in. I moved in with Pablo after he had been there for a couple of years and I helped dress it up over the years, but we worked together to pick out cabinet colors and hardware and paint and oh, I can’t wait.

The kitchen counters were installed Tuesday and Pablo, our friend Shaun and Little Man did a fabulous job choosing the 3 slabs of granite. They blend together beautifully and it’s hard to see the seam without looking underneath.

Our new sink with pull out faucet and nice and wide open for all Little Man’s bottles I’ll be cleaning in here.  The plumber would have been all finished, but our contractor didn’t have our garbage disposal with him today, so that’s getting installed tomorrow and then we should have the plumbing inspection taken care of.

The fridge had not been fully installed when I arrived today. Turns out it’s a little tight in between the cabinets and they may have to shift it around. When I first saw the small sliver of space for the dishwasher I was sure that that was going to need some shimmy-ing, but it looks like it’s going to be perfect.  The double over looks fabulous, but the cabinet door on the right above wouldn't open…Whoops!

Our backyard is shaping up pretty nicely. While we’re focusing our landscape funds on the front yard, we’ll be putting down some seed and hay for the backyard to culminate over the fall/winter. Next Spring will probably be ready to spend some time and money back here. I really want to have a couple of raised beds to start a veggie garden in. Everyone knows I’m already planning my compost stash in the back corner somewhere.   Pablo’s at the store now trying to figure out what kind of light to hang here over the sink. There’s so much light in the kitchen, I love it! I can’t wait to see what it’s going to look like at night.

This week they also installed the gutters. The brown compliments the cream color nicely. I recently discovered that for $40, the City of Atlanta has a rainbarrel class where they provide you the materials and you go home with a rainbarrel! I can’t wait to take the class next month. It’s likely that barrel will go somewhere in the back of the house because I can’t imagine it’s a very attractive barrel.  Yes, I’m doing my part to go green. Over time I hope to have a couple of rain barrels in the back for who knows when our next drought is going to be. 

An attempt to capture the house from the road. Tomorrow I’m heading to Loganville to pick up over 80 plants for our landscape installation tomorrow. I think the sod will also be going in, so get ready to see some green in this picture. Pablo and I met with our neighbor on the right tonight and took her through the house. It’s going to be really nice to have such warm neighbors. We talked about placing some trees on the border of our properties to help create a fence-like line. I think the Arbor Vitae are going to look great once they’re installed.

Our master bath. We went with cultured marble tops and some single set faucets. I think it’s a nice clean look and I can’t wait to see the finished product with the mirrors and shower door installed next week!

In the laundry room we salvaged the former kitchen counter, cabinets, sink and faucet so that we could have a place to wash up if coming into the house from the backyard or from soccer games. To the right of this will go our washer and dryer and directly in front of this are the lockers.

Old School Day

Cover of Old School (Unrated Edition) [Blu-ray]

We had a very own Old School day today. You know, where Will Ferrell, man of the newly married couple goes to Home Depot in the morning and if he’s lucky they go to Bed Bath and Beyond in the afternoon? Well, yeah – that was us today.

At Home Depot we picked up our garage and pantry lighting along with one more fixture for our master closet.  We also purchased shelving for our walk in pantry.  We made it home in time for lunch about 1 and then Mr. Pablo crashed for a nap and Little Man headed for the crib shortly after. 

Now I’m writing this post while the men rest up for our afternoon pilgrimage to BBB.

 

Week 16 – Lights, Cabinets and Door Handles

All of the switches and lights went in this week! There’s a couple of random light switches that need to be moved, but all in all – it’s looking really sweet!

The cabinet guys came out today and darkened the cabinets. The hardware is on, but the cabinet doors themselves are still a little off kilter. I think once the counter top is in they’ll straighten the doors out a little more.

It looks a little better now than it did last week.

They finished painting the outside of the house and finally got rid of that icky orange trim on the windows. Even the basement windows got a once over. Ah! Gutters should be going in any day now, in a chocolate color…

The fireplace was painted today and it looks mighty sharp with it’s touch o’ black. Another coat is going on it tomorrow.

Part of the old kitchen cabinet installation in the laundry room. The rest of the cabinets were used in the garage for storage. My plan is to have an area where we can hang dry some of our clothes just to the right of this wall unit. I’m really happy that we were able to reuse some of the former kitchen. When the countertop guys come tomorrow, I’m hopeful they’ll be installing the sink and countertop here in the laundry room too.  

The master bath is shaping up nicely with the knobs now installed. 

Our master bath windows bring in a lot of light, but we may have to dress them up a bit so our neighbors don’t see us in our birthday suits in the shower. 

It’s almost surreal! I can’t believe that we’re almost done! I think another week and we’ll be wrapping up. I can’t imagine that there’s that much paint left to do and once they get the countertops in, all the faucets and vanities will be ready to be installed. What else is on the list?

Week 16 – Let there be Light!

I walked into the house today to see the dining room lights installed.  I’m anxious to see what they will look like over our black dining room table. I miss that table. It’s been in storage since before Little Man to try to give us some additional space in the condo.

Our front door light.  Remotes for the ceiling fan and lights! Love it!

Fans are now up in Little Man and the master bedroom.

Hallway track lighting. I want to make the hallway where all the family photos are and these lights are going to make it very warm and inviting.

Little Man holding down the fort.

Our master shower floor with grout!

 

It’s hard to take a full house picture with the location of the house, but from what I could piece together, this is it! They are painting the trim around the windows this week, so all the nasty orange should be gone.

Little Man at the Wheel

We visited our new house yesterday and Little Man was getting awfully hot without the air being on, so we propped him in the car while we all cooled off. I think he’s found a new love, steering wheels. Look at how happy he is!

Yes, we’re already considering car insurance for him.