Heads Up!

Don't adjust your screens....You'll soon see MLHP's new look! Over the last few months, I've been working with a graphic designer, and putting a lot of thought into a remodeling of sorts for the site - I'm so happy to announce it's ready for unveiling. See you on the flip side!

Isla Clayton

So, she finally arrived! Please meet Isla Clayton.
She made us a family of four on Friday, April 16. Amazingly, weighing and measuring exactly the same as Avery did: 7 lbs, 10 oz and 19 inches long.

For as long as it seemed (for me) for her to make up her mind to join us, once she made that decision, it was a "done deal." In an effort to get Baby G moving, I spent Thursday evening sitting and moving around on an exercise/birthing ball (per the wonderfully-supportive and helpful instructs from Linda), but had no contractions, etc that night.

When I woke up Friday morning and began making breakfast for Avery, etc, contractions kicked in about every five minutes, and I thought - well, OK, here we go! Then they fizzled, jumping anywhere from seven to fifteen minutes apart. (This baby was toying with me, I thought!) Around eleven a.m, they ticked back up to every five minutes, and became tougher to talk through, so I felt certain we'd be heading up to Labor and Delivery. They maintained at five for an hour, then quickly progressed to being three minutes or less apart - all the while, Ben was fighting a bad rain storm, trying to get home!

We arrived at the hospital around 1:30 pm, and I was ready to push (see told you, she had DEFINITELY made up her mind!) - from the time I got into the hospital bed, to the time Isla was born was forty-five minutes. Fast and furious - whew!

I've you've had difficult births, you have my full blessing to hate me at this point. I am lucky, but if you've followed me through this pregnancy, you also know I was very involved, informed, and pro-active about wanting as natural a birth experience as I could have while still delivering in a hospital, and I communicated this to my obstetrician. I can't tell you how much it means to me to have had those wishes respected.
More importantly, Isla is perfect and healthy - we are truly blessed.

Some highlights of the day:

Not much sweeter than a Big Sister loving "her" new baby.

Or the beam of a proud, new Daddy

And kisses from Mims...

Some of our good friends from Brazil sent us these handmade lembrancinhas - a token of remembrance of a baby's birth to hand out to family and friends who visit the new baby. I can't send you each one, but please accept the virtual gift as a thank you for all your support in reading MLHP.

We're enjoying our "Babymoon," but I will catch up soon!

P.S. - Isla is pronounced, "EYE-la" ;)

Drool, much?

This morning, Daniela at Aesthetic Oiseau posted some of the Chinoiserie offerings from the new Spring 2010 Schumacher line, and I just couldn't resist continuing with the latest version of a trellis pattern: Summer Palace Fret - a slightly more delicate relative of Imperial Trellis. Picking one of the colorways would be akin to choosing a favorite child!

smoke

mineral

wisteria

sand

Happy Chairs - The Shield-back "Afters"

Every room needs an element of Happy - something that connotes a sense of style, while still imparting the truth that one need not take themselves too seriously. That's why, for Mary's room, I went with this fun, apple-green color on the traditional, shield-back chairs I picked up for $15.00 a piece at our local Habitat Re-Store. Then, recovered the seats in a natural, nubby linen.

Remember their sad beginnings?

Also...I felt like such a Taskmaster this weekend, getting Hubster to sand down the Wisteria-wanna-be console table. "Afters" to be disclosed soon...

In Baby G News: Nada. Zip. Nilcho - that's what I have to offer. Still holding steady at 3-4 cm - apparently, she dipped her toe in, and decided the water's too cold. Wishes and prayers for her to get motivated for life outside the womb are most appreciated ;)

Hey! Look over there...

Please join me at Odi te Amo for my take on the best places to snag "designer" looks!

Madwoman on a Mission

I feel like I'm racing against Time to get all my little projects associated with Mary's room redo done before Baby G arrives. Not that I'm not enjoying every busy minute. It has been so much fun watching the room transform, little by little each week.

After our successful trip to Warrenton, we still needed a console/side table. Knowing my travel days are limited (or at least, not advisable) I started hitting the internet bigtime in search of a table that would work for the space, and found this one on Wisteria. The price wasn't great, but also wasn't anything near what we've all gawked at on their website.
However, that's the same day I waddled into Tuesday Morning, and staring me right in the face was this wanna-be...

We're still determining what color we'll paint it, and now that I have The Hubster in town, it's likely he'll get roped into helping with this project. Could be a dead-ringer, though, huh? Isn't design fate funny?

Easter Blessings to You

Happy Easter! Wishing you lovely lilies...

Pretty springtime tablescapes...

Ridiculous amounts of goodies...

...And, the treasure of a day with family and friends

But most of all, a Blessed Easter.

S*&#!

So, here I was, feeling great about finding a nice pair of lamps for Mary's room here in our small town - at Tuesday Morning. Nice shape, color will work, great price.

UNTIL... the slightest tip caused this to happen...

Yes, they were the only pair, and yes, that glass is paper thin. As Mini-Me was in the car at the time of "the incident," she suggested "Daddy can fix it." I wish, Sweetie, I wish. Double Turds!

What's in a Name?

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet."

Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2)

I told myself this was NOT a blogworthy topic, but as some of you have inquired, and it's at the forefront of my brain these days, it made its way to a post... What will Baby G be named?
Unfortunately, she still doesn't have one - not even close - and I'm starting to panic!
At this point in the Waiting Game with Avery, we had three names picked out, but wanted to see her before we decided which one fit her best. I feel the same way with this baby in that I wouldn't be able to settle on a name for sure without first meeting her, but the ugly truth is that Ben and I can't agree on a name! I have a favorite he doesn't like, he wants to use the name we've been pressured suggested by family to use, so we've pointedly avoided the subject.

In desperation, I've hit up the baby name books, only to be inundated with overly trendy suggestions. I don't want our children to have the same name as two or three other classmates, and I was dismayed to see Avery had moved up the popularity chart of names since we selected it {sigh}. I know, it may be silly, it's just one of my things...

Although I'm not a fan of "leaking" name considerations, I'm opening the proverbial can of worms. These are a handful of names I would at least consider naming this baby girl (and a couple I wouldn't, to keep it fun!)

I don't necessarily need opinions on the names per se, but I would love to hear how you, or a family you know, came to agree upon a baby name. Also, if you have one more sec, please take this poll: