Saturday

Ashlyn went to visit my parents for the weekend.  We took full advantage of not having a toddler running around the house yesterday and cleaned out our laundry room, linen closet, master bedroom closet and bathroom.

In between nursing my baby, I also cooked.  Like a madwoman on a mission.  I now have 14 meals in our freezer - all kinds of yummy Rachel Ray recipes.  To be honest, I can't remember the last time I have chopped fresh garlic and cilantro.  It felt so nice to actually cook with real spices and seasonings.  I even watched a YouTube video to figure out how to deglaze a pan.  Don't you love the internet?

Meanwhile, my husband played dress up with Chase.  Gamecock football kicks off next Saturday, and Christopher needed to make sure that his son had adequate attire.  Dress up day with Daddy.  While I was sweating it out in the kitchen.  He pulled out all the stops - and I laughed so hard my stomach hurt.

Like me, you may be wondering if the toboggan is a necessary part of the outfit?  It is August in South Carolina.  But if you know the Newman clan, you know that no detail is spared when it comes to USC football.  My poor son.  Sorry little guy.  This was all your Daddy's doing.

Lucky Number Seven

Chase is SEVEN weeks old today (born on 7/7).  I can't get enough of this sweet little face.  He has started to smile which makes my heart melt absolutely every time.  Aren't those gummy newborn grins just the cutest things ever???

I feel like the newborn fog is slowly lifting.  A couple of weeks ago, I went 5 straight days without leaving the house.  5 days.  

Then I realized I was reaching the brink of craziness.  I have now been trying to plan activities every day to either go somewhere or invite someone to come over to our house.  I feel that I am starting to master getting two babies in and out of the car by myself (somehow managing not to let Ashlyn run off in the parking lot).

Chase is sleeping great at night which means momma is feeling much more rested.  For the past couple of weeks, I only have to get up once to feed him.  Joy.

The Chore Door

I am so unorganized when it comes to cleaning our house.  Yesterday, I got together with a good friend of mine, Stephanie, to create a "chore chart" in hopes of keeping track of what we wanted clean each week.  My goal is for Christopher and I to spend 10 or 15 minutes each day so we don't have to spend an entire Saturday morning cleaning the house.  We will see how long this lasts.

We recently discovered that our kitchen door leading to the garage is magnetic.  Actually, Ashlyn discovered it when she started sticking magnets on it.  So I decided to use it as my "chore door."

I painted it black using an interior satin paint that we had in the garage.   Painting it black has absolutely nothing to do with anything other than I thought it would look cooler than the plain white door.  I used scrapbook paper to make little flags with the days of the week on them.

The chores are on little magnets that Stephanie and I made - I can just stick them on the day of the week that I want to complete them.

So that's my little arts and crafts project for the week.  I probably could have had the house cleaned in the time it took us to make the little magnets.

But that wouldn't have been any fun, right?

Master Bedroom Wall Stencil

I was so very excited to win an Olive Leaf stencil giveaway hosted by Amber over at Simple Dwellings. After lots of contemplating, I chose the Damask No. 1 pattern for our master bedroom.

This really is a terrible before picture (and yes, we did let our toddler sit on the bed and watch Elmo while my husband and I got ready to paint - it was almost time for her nap, haha!)

The stencil came rolled up in a tube, so I laid it on the ground with heavy books on top for a few hours so that it would be completely flat.  We used Elmers spray adhesive to lightly coat the side of the stencil that would stick to the wall, and then a few pieces of frog tape to keep it secure.  

I honestly cannot take any credit for this project.  My husband did the ENTIRE wall.  I kind of sat around, fed my baby, and cheered him on from the rocker in the corner of our room.

We re-sprayed the adhesive about every other time.  They stencil was super easy to use - you just have to take your time and not expect to finish an entire wall in 3 minutes.  Christopher is a perfect "stenciler" - he is oh-so-patient and very meticulous.

And here it is all finished.

22 months.

My oldest "baby" is 22 months today. Ashlyn is so full of life.  I love the sweet time she and I spend together while Chase is napping in the mornings.  Just us girls.

It is hard to believe we will be celebrating her second birthday in just two short months.  

My sweethearts...

Primitive & Proper Guest Post

Happy Friday!  Today I am over at Cassie's blog - Primitive & Proper.  Hope you will stop by to say hello!

Maybe we should have...

...saved it for Christmas??  haha :)