Integrating Children into your Decor

So, I have been giving a lot of thought to this lately:  Once the baby arrives and becomes a destructive little toddler, how will we keep our sanity and still manage to live aesthetically as my husband and I are used to?  

I see it all the time.  Parents that let go of their houses once kids arrive.  In my opinion if you are one of those people that doesn't mind seeing your house upside down with toys and garbage everywhere, then it really poses no threat to you. But my husband, an architect and I are from another mindset.  We like our home to be tidy and clean and we enjoy having guests and people over some times.  For this reason, I don't see how we will change our habits once kids arrive.  I have a cousin that has a lovely modern apt.  Her husband happens to be an architect too. She has two toddlers and they are happy, well-adjusted kids who play all day long.  But there is one rule in that house:  The toy bins outside in the living contain a few selected toys the boys have picked from their room and agreed to play with until they get tired and get replaced with another new toy.  That way, they get to play with all their toys and are organized and tidy about it.  What a genius idea!  I think I might implement that.

Another more progressive idea is to integrate your children's toys and crafts into your decor.  I always wanted to do this, and finally found a post on Apartment Therapy that covers just that. I agreed with the writer of the post that there should be a happy medium between allowing the house to be run by toys or not allowing toys at all.  The pictures speak for themselves.

It's not so hot!

Today was the first time I could not drink my morning cup of espresso. I waited a few days to write this new post in order to keep up with the wave of symptoms I’m now struggling with. Last week I wrote that I hadn’t felt any discomfort. But that was last week. This week has been marred with nausea and sleepiness, or what the experts call “extreme fatigue.” You feel like you want to lie down immediately. My biggest fear is falling asleep in the metro and waking up in Maryland, although that wouldn’t be so bad, except having nausea as well and things get a little more complicated.

I start my day at around 8 a.m. I eat my cereal as usual, do some house chores, write for a while, then take the dog for a mid-morning walk. By 11 a.m. I feel exhausted, so I take a shower and lie down for an hour. Then wake up, prepare lunch, usually sandwich or salad or any dinner leftovers and then head off to work.

During the entire day, the morning sickness is there, mild but gnawing at the bottom of my stomach. Sometimes if I don’t put anything in my mouth it turns into heartburn. It only subsides when I nibble on something, usually a piece of fruit or cheese. By lunch time, it’s on full force and then it comes back again an hour after I have eaten. In the afternoons, my fatigue is so extreme I have to take a long walk around my building to avoid falling asleep at the desk chair. I cannot imagine enduring this for the next two months. It’s not so hot being pregnant right now.

Are you in there?

According to every pregnancy website I’m five and half weeks pregnant.  I say this because I still haven’t been to the OB/GYN for the first pre-natal visit.  It so happens that in this wonderful, highly developed country most doctors don’t see you until you are at least 8 weeks pregnant.  So in other words, you are responsible for your own well-being, eating healthy, taking your vitamins and therefore any gestational question you might have at this point will be answered by the highly informative internet.

So what have I learned insofar since no doctor will see me?  The 5^th week is one of the most important in the development of the embryo.  The egg has entered the embryonic stage and its highly specialized cells are working infinitely to create the three membrane layers that will target the creation of internal and external organs.  Also the neural tube, which is responsible for the baby’s brain, spinal chord and backbone will sprout soon. The rudimentary heart and circulatory system begin to form as well, and the primitive placenta and umbilical chord have already started to work.  The size of the embryo is that of a sesame seed and the uterus has grown to look like a plum.  Not bad for only 3 weeks of actual pregnancy.  The body and its functions is a mysterious harmonious living thing, and I’m so in awe of how everything works exceptionally well to nourish this alien body growing inside me.

According to these websites, I should be feeling the early symptoms of pregnancy.  However, none of that has occurred yet.  Either I am a lucky woman or is too early.  No nausea, hunger, fatigue, moodiness, etc has interfered with my everyday activities.  So hopefully when I write again next week, I hope I can say I’m still symptom-free.

 

Recreating the stuff of life

I came across this post on Ohdeedoh via Apartment Therapy and couldn't help sharing it here.  I have tons of pictures with my parents I would love to recreate with my kid.  Duplicating your parents' prints is a fun way of commemorating your family.  The website responsible for the idea is called Like Mom, Like Dad: Recreating Pictures of your Parents. Here are a few samples. For more samples checkout their website.