Laundry x 3 - An Ikea Rast Makeover

I gave you an iPhone in-progress photo of the laundry basket dresser that is seriously changing my day-to-day life. It's actually allowed me to stay up on washing, drying, folding, and dare, I say it, putting away the clean clothes. This is a first. I have wondered for several years now how people keep up with laundry (I think I could write my own rendition of Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty, and it would go..."Every time I get ahead, it's taking off another dirty shirt....").

Well, now I know the secret. You have to find an organization system that works for you and your laundry needs, and then have a little bit of diligence. This revelation came just in time, too, since we will have a third little one's clothes to add to the mix any day! Now that I have all of these neatly folded clean clothes, we needed a place to put them.

So we picked up 3 Rast dressers from Ikea, which look like this:

And I gave them a little makeover. Now they are housing THREE little ones' clothes.

I really like how accessible they are to little ones; Dmitri and Damon put away all of their own clothes when we fold laundry together. Dmitri has been dressing himself for a while now, and this little dresser makes it super easy for him to get his clothes.

They were reasonably priced and they are solid wood. However, they are pretty small, so as the children grow, we will probably have to find something a bit bigger. But for now, they are perfect.

Sources
Dressers x 3 - Ikea Rast dresser - $34.99 each
Knobs - Hobby Lobby (18 knobs cost me $30 with tax)
Stain - Minwax Dark Walnut (leftover)

I also put a beeswax polish on top. I originally planned to paint the light wood part bright yellow, but now I am second guessing myself - I really like the wood on wood tone. I will give it a little bit more time and decide. (Opinions?)

The wall above these dressers is the last uncharted territory in the playroom. More playroom photos will be coming soon; I'm ridiculously excited about how it's turning out.

And there is still time to guess whether dresser # 3 will be housing little boy or little girl clothes!

Make It and Hoard It...

There is something about nesting that leads me to stockpile household and personal items. As if, when I have a baby I suddenly need to have two years supply of deodorant, toothbrushes, and toilet paper. Maybe I fear not leaving the house for months. (As if I won't be looking for any excuse to get out of the house within the first few days). I suppose I don't want to feel like I HAVE to leave the house because I am out of something essential when it's inconvenient to me.

Whatever it is, I have been filling my shelves with some of my favorite DIY products. So I thought it would be a good time to share some of the things that I like to make myself. Pinterest and the blogosphere are full of homemade product recipes, and over the last few years I've experimented with numerous recipes for everything from toothpaste to dishwashing detergent.

My love of doing-it-myself merged with using natural ingredients only takes me so far, though. So I have some criteria for things that I make myself.

1. It has to work as well as or better than store bought products. If it doesn't work well, then I think it's a waste of my time and I could just buy some from the store instead of going to the trouble of making it. Who wants to use deodorant that only works when you are in air conditioning? Not me. And I'm not saving any money if I have to wash the dishes twice.
2. Ingredients must be inexpensive, easy to come by, or something I have on hand.
3. Simple to make. It should make my life easier and better. Not more complicated.
4. Saves me money. I'm not going to make it myself and then it end up being more expensive than store-bought.

With that being said, here are a few recipes that I mix up myself that I think are totally worth the effort:
Deodorant:

Recipe. 

I use baking soda, tea tree oil & coconut oil (and I'll throw in some shea butter if I happen to have some.) I use whatever essential oils I have on hand- my favorite are lemon and lavender. I add more baking soda to make it thick, and I stick it in an old deodorant tube.

Cloth Wipe Solution:

Recipe.

I used the ingredients above because it's what I have on hand. It smells AMAZING. I cut up an old stained flannel receiving blanket to make extra cloth wipes. Not only is it much cheaper than buying wipes,  they smell better, work better, and have less harmful ingredients. The "Gentle Baby" essential oil blend is from Young Living - it's a bit expensive, however, it works wonders on diaper rashes. I store it in peri-bottles. Easy to squirt and portable.

Vanilla Extract:

Two ingredients: vanilla beans and vodka. Steep for 3-4 months. Bam. Amazing, homemade vanilla extract at fractions of the cost. Also makes a great gift... ; )

Bathroom Spray:

Witch hazel + essential oils in a spray bottle. Took two minutes, smells fantastic, and is all-natural.

So there you have it. A few things I like to make; I have tried making other products, but none that I'm crazy about like these. Have you found any DIY products that you love?

37 weeks and counting...Time to make your final guesses!

37 + weeks and counting...

Time to make your guesses!

Boy or girl?
Birthday:
Weight:
Name:

Thoughts to go on:
-My due date is May 12th.
-Dmitri and Damon weighed 6 lbs. 12 oz. and 8 lbs. respectively.
-Dmitri and Damon were born at 41 weeks and 39 weeks and 6 days respectively.
-Both of the boys' initials are D.A.

Today I was supposed to have my home visit. But we had to re-schedule for Thursday. I'm excited about officially having everything ready for our newest arrival. I'm planning to rest, and wait, and enjoy the next few weeks as leisurely as my two boys will allow.

This Season.

My infrequent blog posts are becoming more of a normal thing than I would like. On the one hand, I miss blogging more. But on the other, the reason I've been more quiet is because of how full my life is right now. Mostly in a good way. Little thoughts that could be longer posts, but a look into life right now:

Dmitri and Damon have become even more rambunctious and demanding of my time and intervention. I think that I was quite lucky that they played so well together from the time Damon was 6 months until nearly 2 years old. Over the last couple months they have become increasingly more challenging. I am not sure if it's just their own developmental stages or less structure in our lives over the last couple months, but some days it just seems like the day is one constant fight. Navigating this has required us to make some lifestyle and schedule changes- honestly, just keeping ourselves more involved, busy, and playing with friends. They both love to "go." The last thing that Dmitri says before we say goodnight is "Let's talk about what we are going to do tomorrow." In the morning, Damon wakes up saying "Ready?!!!!! GO!!!!" I am eternally thankful that we had children when we did, even if it was younger than we originally planned. I am not sure that I would have the energy to keep up (and at full-term with baby # 3, I feel like my head is bobbing under the water rather frequently these days).

Friends. We have some wonderful old friends, and are continuing to make new ones. I feel so lucky to live in a place where there are kindred spirits to be found. I've really felt recently how important it is to invest in relationships and build community. I don't think it comes naturally, and I choose to make this a big priority for me and the little ones too.

Springtime is here, and is probably the busiest season for us. I think it's my favorite (although, I think I say this every time a new season comes!) There are so many fun things to do in Athens this time of year. Farmer's market, festivals, enjoying the outdoors before it's too buggy, muggy, and wretchedly hot.

With the fading of winter, I am ready to be done with all of the illness that we have been dealing with since last August. One (or all) of us has been sick every two weeks since August. I have been researching and reading, seeking any and all knowledge on the immune system. I have always been fairly health conscious, and we eat a whole foods diet, so it's not new to me. But something really needs to change for us. It's greatly effecting our quality of life. The first steps we are taking is extremely limiting all added sugar (pretty much no sugar with the exception of what occurs in fruit and a small amount of dark chocolate), making sure that we are getting a minimum of 30 minutes of direct sunlight every day, going to bed earlier, and eating less dairy (and switching to raw dairy) and less, but only, whole grains. All in all, we are just trying to eat more fruits and vegetables. We will see where this leads us and what we need to do next. Here's to hoping for well children this summer, and a well new baby!

And springtime means planting. My "planting day" yesterday is clearly becoming a planting week. As long as my garden is in before the baby arrives, I will be content. Hopefully sooner though. My belly gets in the way, my back aches, and the heat is already bothering me (It is in the upper 80's in the afternoon!) I've spent a couple hours each morning weeding, composting, and digging, and I have one bed fully planted. Just three more to go...my seedlings are looking happy and the only plants that I bought this year are a couple of tomato plants. I'm excited about re-arranging my garden layout and I'm going to give some pretty crazy trellising a try to maximize my garden space. I am also planting a bigger herb garden this year, which I am excited about. We will be growing 7 varieties of tomatoes, cucumber, yellow squash, okra, kale, brocolli, eggplant, melon, and watermelon (plus herbs). Not a huge variety, but they are all things that we eat a lot of! I would love to try to do some potatoes if I get around to it.

Aside from gardening, we are still busy pre-baby project-ing. Several building projects are close to finished, and we are installing a farm fence around our property this weekend. I am excited to have a contained space for the little ones to play. I'm hoping that it will put less stress on me, as I re-learn taking care of a newborn while chasing 2 other growing ones around. And hopefully I really will have some photos soon.

Speaking of photos. I have an SD card thief on the loose. I am suspecting that Damon has been taking my SD card out of my computer after I upload photos. I've lost two in the past two weeks this way....and so my photo taking has been limited. I need to find them so that I can 1. Post photos to the blog 2. Take a bunch of photos of my two boys while I only have two boys and 3. Be ready to take a gazillion photos of baby # 3 (I'm getting the photo props ready! Pom pom hats, hair bows (?))

For now, iPhone photo dump:

 35 weeks on Easter

Honeypops - our Saturday morning farmer's market ritual 

A little sneak of one of our building projects. This laundry basket organizer is seriously changing my life.

Mixed Emotions at 36 Weeks Pregnant.

David said to me last week, "Are you ready to not be pregnant anymore?"

I stopped and sighed. Yes, I am. In some ways, very ready. And yet, I'm not. And that simple question, which I think my husband thought would be so easy to answer and he probably meant as rhetorical, has led me down a long and winding self-analyzation this past week as I enter my 36th week of pregnancy.

Pregnancy and I - we have a love/hate relationship.


I hate...

...puking for weeks 5-18.
... the exhaustion, at first from the hormones, and later from hauling around the two of us.
...when my body fails to allow me to follow through with my to-do list.
...wanting to fall asleep at 11 AM after a full night's sleep.
... the constant weight fluctuations, changing sizes, and awkward in-between clothing moments.
...having three or four different sized wardrobes.
...being so exhausted, yet unable to sleep.
...the anxiety.
...being overly emotional.
...swollen feet.
...heart burn.
...dizziness.
...hot flashes.
...round ligament pain. (So severe that at times I physically can't walk).
...back aches.
...Braxton-Hicks.
...peeing. All. the. time. (And 4+ times a night).
...post-pregnancy body.

...and love...


...the excitement of looking forward to a new life, that grows mysteriously and wonderfully.
...the first butterfly flutters of a moving and growing baby.
...hearing the heart beat for the first time. And then every time.
...the motivation; getting things done makes me happy and an impending arrival is incredibly motivating for a goal-oriented person like me.
...that my body is able to create a human. That's crazy.
...that by my third pregnancy, I actually have maternity clothes that I like.
...the anticipation of labor starting.
...nesting.
...picking a name (or two.).
...the new appreciation I will have for my non-pregnant state. The littlest things will amaze me (like not having to pee every 5 minutes).
...(and this time) guessing whether it's a boy...or a girl....or a boy?
...the opportunity to write a new and different birth story that's my own.

But most of all, I absolutely love having a newborn- those first moments, days, weeks. The cuddles. Every single move and eye-lash twitch seeming somehow magical. Falling in love. And that's why I do all of this. All the loving and hating. The mixed emotions that leave me a mess (and probably annoy everyone around me. Although, I'm lucky enough to have a husband who knows better than to say anything-- except after the baby arrives I'm sure he will exclaim over and over how happy he is that I am not pregnant.)

I'm not quite ready yet. I'm still savoring more of the loves than the hates.

But, I will be soon.

I'm focused on finishing my to-do list - I think everything that was an "absolute necessity" has been accomplished. Now just tying up some other projects that would be put on the back burner post-baby(organizing the playroom, building, fencing).

A bunch of teeny tiny diapers arrived today, and I couldn't help but feel giddy to think of the little one who will be wearing them so soon.

I'm reading Birthing from Within. I'm finally making room to prepare mentally and emotionally for the birth - which after having done twice, is still overwhelming and intense.

We are organizing and decorating what will be "the birthing room". Building a new bed, re-arranging, building an awesome laundry basket organizer. Photos to come, I am sure.

I am so excited about my Blessingway this Friday.

And other things are growing, aside from my belly. Like my spring garden sprouts that I need to transplant this week. (But weeding, I'm not sure that the growing belly is going to allow for that. We will see. And at least try).

A belly photo soon.