Mother Love

motherhood + home + family

A MONTH OF NESTING // the baby room

I am absolutely not an interior decorator at all.

It is almost virtually impossible for me to envision how something will look until it’s actually in place, and picking out paint color for a room or project is one of my most feared tasks. We’ve literally changed the color in our master bedroom three times because I just couldn’t get it right. I’ve learned I have to stick to the basics and simplest color palettes (which means whites whites whites), or else it just totally freaks me out and I don’t know what to do. I admire people who can take patterns and colors and make it look amazing…but I’ve not been gifted that ability at all.

This baby room was actually really fun for me though…I guess because I’ve now learned more what works for me and what doesn’t. It’s full of white and neutrals, which is really all I know how to use. The room actually came together like I envisioned, and that never happens! Fun surprise.

Ben actually did most of the hard work…he painted the crib and the changing table and the wall, plus he built me shelves and hung a birch branch to use as a closet rod. I had originally envisioned a dark wood branch for the hanging branch above the clothing shelves, but he had the idea to use birch wood, which went so much more perfectly with the soft neutral theme of the room. He’s the best!

We were able to put together the whole nursery very inexpensively, which is always a fun challenge to me. We found the crib on Craigslist for fifty dollars and a coat of paint made it like new. Some friends of ours gave us their changing table they were no longer using, and more paint made that like new too. The shelves were made from wood we scavenged from an old barn, and the shelf brackets were only a few dollars each at Lowe’s. We did have to paint those black since they only came in white, which wasn’t what I was looking for. The glider was gifted to us, as was the little Moses basket (which was something i wanted so badly…and here my mom-in-law had one in storage that came all the way from ireland! such a fun gift). We bought the rug new, and the night stand was on clearance at TJ Maxx. I’ve learned that you can often create the style you want if you can be creative with what you have on hand and do simple transformations to make it what you want.

Now that the nursery is done and the little clothes are washed and the diapers stacked, it’s just the waiting left. We are just ready to fill that room with snuggles and kisses and poopy diapers and sleepy smiles and sweet baby smells. This little baby has already filled our hearts to overflowing, and it’s about time for him or her to fill our home and arms and this little room. We can’t wait!

What about you: do you enjoy interior design? What styles work for you?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!

A MONTH OF NESTING // freezer meals

I can tell the thing they call “nesting” is hitting me.

I’m making lists and trying to knock out cleaning projects and empty closets and organize drawers and get rid of things we aren’t using or don’t need any longer. I’m a huuuuuuuge list-making-lover, and I always keep a composition notebook around with all my respective lists inside, which now has even more lists than normal inside. I have a phone app for lists too, but there’s just nothing quite like taking an actual pen to a page and crossing off something you accomplished. Don’t tell anyone…but sometimes I even put something on the list that’s already been done just so I can cross it off, haha.

Our countdown to baby is down to about five weeks, give or take however many. I’m actually not emotionally attaching myself to a due date because I know that babies come when they come, so mentally I just make myself think April. Maybe the beginning of April or maybe the end…and while of course I hope our baby decides to come sooner rather than later, I know it will hang out in there as long as it needs to in order to be ready to be born. And that’s ok.

One of the things I’m setting out to do before baby is stock our freezer with some ready-made meals…breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. We like to eat tasty and nutritious food as much as possible, and I know that my time will be limited in the kitchen in the weeks and months after our baby is born. The more I can prepare ahead of time the less we will need to rely on take-out or throw-together meals. We’ll want to have as much time as we can soaking up our little one’s first weeks and enjoying that short newborn stage, so the less we have to worry about making meals the better!

Some of the meal prep I have on my list include a lasagna or two, breakfast sandwiches, lentil hot pockets (crossed off yesterday!), white bean and sausage soup, batches of brown rice, lunch wraps, meatballs, and some chicken curries. I also want to do some snacky foods too, since I hear that keeping up with a hungry newborn can keep your appetite rolling and hungry as well! Nut and seed bars, granola bars, and oatmeal cookies are all on the list too. I’ve also cooked up a bunch of chicken to have on hand to throw on top of a salad or make chicken salad sandwiches or a quick chicken and hummus wrap. Quick and easy is where it’s at!

What about you: what are some of your favorite freezer meals to have on hand for those busy days? 

I’d love to hear your thoughts + suggestions!

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