a pretty grown-up house

I've been seeing a lot of trendy homes nowadays and while I enjoy most of the trends happening like the muted pastels, the brass and copper, the loads of black and white; some of the interiors are just a little too hipster for my tastes. I found this house amongst my searchings and I realized that I have a tendency to enjoy things that are midcentury modern but I really want things to have a skew of simplicity and traditionalism. American. Classic. But modern. I was particularly into this living room because it had a blue couch and I like to see what people do with their blue couches.

Of course I was crazy for their kitchen with the big island painted blue.

The missing element to most homes I feel like is the presence of their children but these people put it front and center with a little table just for them. 

Oh and I'm crazy about banquettes of course. 

And glass front cabinets.

And soothing marble bathrooms.

This is a grown up's house. Someday I'll be a real grown up.

9 decor items to replace before you turn 30

Well, I'm three years, almost 4 over 30 but I found this article and thought it would be fun to see how well I did. It lists the 9 decor items to replace before you turn 30 which you should have read before you turn 30 but you didn't so you're giving yourself 'til the end of the year to fix it.

1) Mass Produced Art
2) Plastic Dining Chairs
3) The Classic Bedspring and Metal Frame
4) A Basic Mattress
5) A Builder-Grade Flush Mount
6) Mismatched Bedside Tables
7) The Futon
8) Stacking Plastic Drawers
9) A Makeshift Desk Chair

Overall, I was good on 8 out of 9 and this really made me want to get on #5, the lighting situation. While there's a lot of things we'd reconfigure when we eventually do some serious gut jobs to the kitchen and living area, some good lights would be an excellent addition to the house. We've added ceiling fans to the living room, master, and Alice's room but to be replaced would be: the laundry room, master closet, master bathroom, guest bath, and my office. I'm still not sure if I'd want a pretty light or a ceiling fan for comfort. Decisions decisions.

the high and low

I had lofty plans to post some pretty interiors in here but on Saturday I experienced some parenting highs and lows that kinda took the top spot priorities wise. 

On Saturday we spent the night at my in-laws and Alice was up at 6am which is unusual for her. When we're home and she's up at that time, she'll usually go back to sleep but since at my in-laws we're all in the same room when she wakes up, she sees us and we can't just ignore her. She gave me the ole pick me up arms so I did, put her on the floor and laid back down on the bed that's low to the ground and she climbed up and laid next to me putting her little head on my pillow. We snuggled for awhile before she wanted to be up playing and she just wrapped her little arms around me being super cuddly. If I gotta be up at 6am, that made it all worth it. It was an incredible mom high.

Unfortunately that night as we got back home, she fell asleep in the car and the normally smooth transfer resulted in her waking and giving us some cries. Usually she is just protesting it and falls asleep promptly after but she kept crying and I gave it a few minutes and I saw her lay down so I laid down but she got a little louder and Matt came in to take the monitor so I could sleep since I'd been up so early. A few minutes or so passed, I must've dozed off and Matt comes in telling me she's thrown up. Other than when my sister Liz woke me up to tell me she was in labor, I have never woken up so quickly in my life. I went into the room and it just smelled awful. There was throw up all over her, the crib, it was bad. We took her PJs off and put her in another pair and awhile later she threw up again and then a few more times which by then was just bile. She was so tired that she'd fall asleep on me and then be woken up by having to throw up. We called our doctor's office and they said to take her in to the ER for fear of dehydration and such. I was hesitant to take her in to the hospital since it was 2am and I was afraid of more germs and more waiting and misery but Matt said if she throws up one more time we're going. And she did. I've never seen that look on my normally happy baby. Just absolute misery and confusion like why did this happen to me? What is going on?

The urgent care was closed so we went back to Providence St. Joseph where she was born. It was pretty empty and they took her vitals fairly promptly thankfully but smarty pants kept pushing out the rectal thermometer and they had to do it three times to get it. No fever. Nothing else.

Back to the waiting room we went and she perked up enough to have a few sips of water and to point at the fishes in the pediatric waiting area and wanted to play with the kid chairs which was grossing me out imagining all the germy sick kids that touched it so I had to pull her away. We went into the ER and were attended by a lovely volunteer, nurse, and PA. They were so gentle with her and super nice to us, I guess everyone feels bad for a sick baby. She drank a little more, they gave her a tab of zofran and she fell asleep a few minutes later. By then it was about 3am. They sent us home with a prescription and what to look for and she stayed asleep until about 10am the next day.

Woke up perfect as if nothing ever happened and was pretty chipper but when it was nap and bedtime she let us know and would lean on things and be sad looking. She took a really long nap and bedtime was rough with a loss of pacis but slept until about 9 the next morning.

But today was not the same. She was not herself. I could tell something was wrong and after breakfast and a little mild playing she gives me this awful look and cry face and wants to be picked up and once I do she barfs all over herself and myself. I could have cared less. We went into the bathroom, I peeled off my soiled sweater and her clothes and just held her in the bathroom with tears in my eyes. I've never loved someone this way. Her pain is mine. I wish I could take it away.

back home!

I returned home on Saturday afternoon a very tired lady indeed having not slept much in Austin for the week I was there. I've napped every day except today (Tuesday) since today and tomorrow are my designated work from home days to handle the payroll for our crew. I tried to let Alice hang out here while I work but she decided that she would not be anywhere but in my office chair so... 

She's being pretty clingy lately. Wants to be held A LOT. I dunno if it has to do with this age or with the fact that I was gone for a week and she's afraid I'm gonna leave her again? That makes me sad. Let's pretend she's going through a clingy 18 month old phase yes?

alice at 1.5

She's one and a half my wonder kid, here's what she's up to at this age which I am enjoying so much.

She has recently become a little too handsy with the dog. She lays on him, leans on him, pulls his fur, tries to carry him like a doll. Lebowski for the most part has been okay with it but there have been a few times when she grabs his paw and he growls at her. I know she'll outgrow it and the dogs will grow into appreciating her. At the moment, Woz is pretty terrified of her and mostly stays away but Lebowski is kind of a goober and stands his ground even though he knows she's gonna be all up in his business. 

Her playtime is a funny thing, mix of playing with her regular and new toys and some more quieter activities too. She loves being challenged and having to learn things like recently simple things like opening a book and teaching her the words and asking her to point out where's the doggy, where's the shoes is a fun to her. 

And you know how everyone thinks their kid is so smart? My kid is so smart. I was classified as "gifted" pretty early on as a kid and Matt's no dummy so I assumed we'd have a child that was intelligent but I was not really prepared to be raising a gifted kid. It's going to be dependent on us to ensure she thrives and that means structure and exploration. She needs to be challenged or she's gonna be bored and destructive. All the things that could have helped me are going to be good for this kid so I think I need to put her in school pretty early on.

How smart is she really if she prefers to play with an empty jar of chili powder though? And let's talk about TV. We are a TV/movie family. We watch a lot of TV and movies and we didn't expect that our kid was gonna be any different and refuse screen time. Currently Alice watches TV right before dinner so I can make dinner and then a little bit after dinner before her nighttime routine.

When it comes to mealtimes, Alice is a pretty good eater but has acquired a particular taste for berries, quinoa and most all carbs, fruit, and doesn't really like veggies except roasted broccoli and sweet potatoes and corn. Too bad for her because I'm on a healthy kick and when I get back from this trip she is in for a world of veggies and healthy things. 

She loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, is okay with Doc McStuffins, enjoys Sesame Street, and Matt says she's tolerating Lion Guard. Disney Junior is our channel. We make it as tolerable an experience with Matt and I cracking wise about the characters on the show to keep our sanity. "Ugh, Pete is the worst!" "Do you think Hallie the Hippo was a present from Doctor McStuffins because she knew her daughter wanted to be a doctor so she gave her a nurse doll?"

One of the funniest things to me is the way she caught onto our bedtime routine. 

After her bath I would put her in a towel and then brush her teeth but she being she realized that's what happens next so she would gesture emphatically toward the toothbrush as if to say "I know! I know! The toothbrush is next!"

After her bath and when she's in her pjs, once we told her it was bedtime she would walk to her room, get up on the chair, click the white noise machine and touch the lamp; all the elements of her bedtime routine. It also reminds me of how important it is for a kid to have a routine.

She doesn't like having her diaper changed for reasons that are beyond my capabilities and she gets cranky and annoying when she's sleepy but overall... she is an intelligent angel we adore and enjoy.

And being gone from her for a week is the maximum amount of time I can stand being away from her. If I get a job that goes any longer, Matt and Alice are coming with.

Can't wait to see her tomorrow!!

austin!

I have been trying to come to Austin for two years. After our Chicago trip I said "Austin next year". Then something happened, I can't remember why I couldn't go in 2014 in July.... oh yeah... BABY. Then in 2015 we was po' so we could na go. I said 2016 we're going to Austin, this is it. And it was! 

Well... I'm here for work so it's not exactly the fun times explore the city trip. I am working all day at our rental house and then at night I can maybe go out for dinner which I got to do on Monday and meet up with Biola friends and new Austin residents The Burges, but I don't get to go out much. This morning my boss Robert and I went for a run around a cool bike trail along the river, my first run in months. The first mile sucked major butt and then I felt better and might have kept going but we had to go back. We're gonna try again on Thursday.

Also... I can't expore the city through food because... I'm on a no-carb no-sugar food train. WOO. Basically eating diabetic but without meat. And unlike Portland where it's vegan central, Austin is a big meat town and since we have a rental we've been making our own breakfasts lunch and dinner. Today, I only ate food at our house. It helps that my house mate/boss is a very healthy cook and eater and he was only too happy to make food for us and I can easily control what I'm eating by just making the food at home.

As far as when I'm out and about this carb/sugar thing is a matter of just making an extra effort with my food choices. No croutons. No syrup. Etc. I honestly... don't miss the carbs and I'm feeling pretty good and not hungry. Instead of thinking about it as removing carbs I'm adding vegetables, fruit, legumes. I'm not being SUPER strict about it, I did have a tiny bit of brown rice with my kale and seitan but that was once a week and aside from that, it's really opening up my mind to what we're putting in our body. There's no nutritional value to pizza and pasta when you think about it. Once I get to a better weight, I might add a pasta here and there but right now I am not even tempted (except by the local donut place but I did not dare enter). I am really enjoying this challenge.

And you know what? Apples and peanut butter are so freaking tasty. Seriously!

operation playroom update

As you know, I'm trying to make our office into more of a little playroom for Alice. Most of it involved lots of kid-proofing and then adding in the toys she plays with into the mix.

Wooden toys are so helpful to convey the purpose of being played with plus being decorative.

We were thinking of having the little kitchen in her room but I wanted her room to remain mostly for reading, changing, and sleeping.

I added it here next to the window along with her baby doll's crib and stroller.

My tea cart was moved to the corner where we used to keep the litter box. Keeping it out of her immediate line of sight has been nice because then she's not grabbing all the stuff on it. I moved the breakable stuff out her reach and hopefully she'll not be too interested in the stuff that's left.

It does leave this corner of the room looking pretty busy but... oh well.

 I still haven't finished painting the doors but Alice took to drawing on it already. Magnetic primer would be cool too then it could be a place for her to hang little alphabet letters or whatnot.

The coffee table was cleared of all my magazines and now it's just her books and puzzles.

Usually the top is full of her toys and we have tea parties on it. 

Even with all the stuff in here the room still has lots of open space for playing. 

I still maintain that it would be nice to have a few poufs for her to sit on while we play around the coffee table. It's a good thing the room was girly to begin. 

my top 5 home items for 2016

I've told Matt that in lieu of a bunch of small updates for the house, I'd rather save up so we can do a big gut job for the guest bath. That's not to say there's a few smaller items I wouldn't mind buying.

I keep changing out the front door mat seasonally but I'm over it (except for summer). Just a simple front door rug with our initial would be cool. I was thinking of having it say The Fredrich Family Farm but I dunno if I want our name outside of our home that way. I'm thinking it would be a good candidate for a DIY situation. 

Recently Alice has gotten into the habit of grabbing the corner of the living room TV and trying to move it which is scary. It's secured to the unit for baby and earthquake but I'd like to just mount the thing to the wall and just keep it away from her. For the record, while Matt is the designated male of the family, when it comes to gadgetry I'm always at the forefront when encouraging upgrades. I wanted a wireless sound system right away when we got married but the prices weren't right and the technology was a few years away from when we eventually bought the Sonos system we know and love now. To his credit when we moved into the house he's the one that suggested the particular system and I heartily agreed. That was pre-baby/low-cash life. Memories.

Some cool new bedding for our bedroom would be nice to have. Our current one is fine and dandy but I've got the hankering for some fluffy duvet action. 

We've had the same toaster since our wedding and it's probably going to die soon so a new slim four slice toaster would be good. I'm just not sure if I should go for a silver color to go with all the other major appliances or a black one to go with the smaller appliances. 

This is my numero uno thing I want for the house. Big mirror over the sofa table, which I wrote about in this post. All in due time.

I have a list of a few tools and mini things for myself like a custom address stamp for the family, enamel frying pan, new waffle maker, and large crockpot but that's another post.