owning it

Alright lovelies, here are some photos of our place-  mess and all!

These are NOT "before & after" photos. They are "in progress" photos as we are very far away from the "after"!

So our front living space was this dreadful lavender as some of you may recall

On Friday afternoon we chose a paint color for this room and the master in about 10 seconds and went to work. It's hard to tell from the photos, but it's a tan color by Dutch Boy called Fresh Linen and we're very happy with the result.

Our bedroom is right off of this front room and was an odd blue color. The before pictures aren't that great. The second one is kind of funny because you can see the blue, purple, and greens that this house had all in one space. While painting someone likened it to Easter eggs.

We decided to go with the same color as the living room. (nevermind Ben's desert scene pillow case, haha)

Next door, down the hall is Malakai's room. It was very VERY pink!

Ben and my father-in-law tore down the border and FIL did the first coat. Later my mom and aunt did the finish work to paint it the same color as his old room. This is a custom color that I had done when his room at the rental was just a guest room. 

Now if only we could figure out how to fit all his furniture in a room almost half the size of his previous one!

We also have a guest bedroom now. We didn't paint it, but it's become a sort of "catch all" at the moment. 

The bathroom was the worst when it came to painting because it had been badly wallpapered. Getting the paper down alone took 5 hours. Ben's dad painted the first coat while the truck was getting unloaded on moving day, and I did the finish work after everyone had gone and I needed  a break from the kitchen.

We haven't put up our shower curtain yet or the switchplates and towel bars. Also, Ben broke a vanity bulb during scraping. We plan to add a shelf/cupboard above the toilet.

The living room/dining area in the back of the house is where we've spent most of our time. It's also the messiest. We didn't paint in this room because we liked the green.

A closer look at my happy boy.

Eventually we'd like to replace the tile in the dining room/kitchen and extend the laminate flooring. This before picture looks MUCH cleaner than it was close up. It's taking the longest and driving me crazy!

There you have it. 

I best get back to cleaning and unpacking!

here we are..

And another post without photos- what is becoming of me!?

Well the camera isn't packed away {although that would be a really good excuse} but I still haven't had the time to take even one photo of the new place yet. It will happen soon, although it's just a pile of boxes at this point.

We spent our first night in the new place on Sunday evening. We popped out the pink champagne that our realtor gave us after Malakai went to sleep and sipped them out of our wedding glasses in our bedroom. That is, until Malakai woke up and I was sipping by myself for awhile. Anyway, it was nice to finally start the settling process.

Yesterday we finally finished all the clean up at our rental and just have a few things to pick up tonight that wouldn't fit in the car last night. Even after that, we still aren't completely done with it...Ben still needs to mow the lawn. With the Oregon spring (meaning rain storms) underway who knows when that will happen! Good thing my parents own the place and are being patient with us.

My mom has also been helping out at the new place. Thank goodness for her cleaning abilities, because the kitchen is GROSS! I just think the kitchen and the bathroom are both disgusting places to have to clean up after someone else...especially a total stranger. I won't unpack these areas until they're totally scrubbed down!

Anyway, that's the quick update of where things are as of yet. More to come when I find the time!

the one where I need more hours in a day

Well yesterday was in fact "key day". Ben took a vacation day and we packed at the rental all day until about 3:30pm when we got the call. By the time we picked up keys, assessed the paint left at the house, dropped off Malakai and spent $100+ on more paint it was about 5:30pm.

My mom, my aunt (who happens to be my age and more like a sister), my FIL, Ben and I got straight to work. The plan was to paint three rooms. The living room, the bathroom, and two bedrooms. I was then hoping to clean the carpets, the oven, the fridge and anything else I could get my blue gloved hands on.

Things don't always go as planned.

The wallpaper in the bathroom was adhered so well (although it was peeling) that the backing had to be wet down and scraped off inch by inch. With 2-3 people on the job, the scraping alone took 5 hours! Thank goodness my mom is a speed painter and got the front room done in no time. My FIL did the first coat in Malakai's room and I went back and forth between cutting in and rolling in all the rooms.

Even with 5 of us working til 1am the bathroom just got as far as being primed. But the living room, master bedroom, and Malakai's room should be good to go!

So today is MOVING day! We pick up the truck in about an hour and the only reason I'm finding time to write this is because of my stationary task of pumping. At least it forces me to take a break! Last night was the longest stretch I've left Malakai with someone else (MIL). We were gone for 7 hours and I just gotta say to all you working moms, it is HARD! We all knew that already, but it's different once you experience all the emotions of it.

We still need to do some packing in our current house to be ready, but I'm confident that it will get done! So today, once again, I'll be running around like a mad woman between the rental, the new house, the store and my mom's (she'll be watching Malakai).

I'm going to be without internet until Monday night. Once I'm back I hope to post some before and after photos of the painting and the moving.

Gotta run!

photo friday: throwback

Since my husband has packed away the imac I'm typing away on my laptop. The laptop I bought over a year ago with a student loan because it was required of all Masters of Education students to own one... I rocked it in class every week for a whole 2 semesters! ha!

Anyway, due to the fact that all my recent photos are on the imac and not my macbook I'm going to post some oldies but goodies. Not recycled however, as to the best of my memory I have not posted these photos here before.

This first one isn't too far back. Malakai is about 3 weeks old, we were in Lincoln City for a week on vacation.

This is even more recently, but cracks me up. My sister says he reminds her of the e-trade babies in this photo.

For my newer readers, here's what I looked like at 7 weeks pregnant in December 08 and 37 weeks in June 09. Seems like a crazy long time ago already!

 

Going further back now, here are some photos of Ben and I from a photobooth at the county fair...I think this is from summer 2006???

This is seriously one of my ALL TIME favorite photos on the planet.

My siblings are 9 and 11 years younger than I and this photo is from 1995- the cuteness KILLS me! There's just so much that I love about this photo- the look on my sisters face and the way she has her legs crossed so properly despite the fact she's in her underwear, and the hats...my brother's face is also priceless, like that popsicle is the best thing that ever happened to him...

Here's proof that I'm my father's clone {2003}

and that I missed out on my mother's flawless genes {2007}

(yes, that's really my mom)

but my sister didn't {2009}

Here's an outtake from mine and Ben's engagement shoot {March 2007}

and in honor of Easter, the last one is of us after family brunch with our goodies from my mom {March 2008}

Well that was fun. I could probably go on and on with all the old pictures I have on my lappy, but for now I'll leave you with those.

Happy Friday!

Thankful on a Thursday: Marriage

Ben and I have only been married 2 years and 8 months but over that time we've been through quite a bit. We've been blessed and we've been challenged and there's no one else I'd rather have by my side.

I'm thankful for...

31. Ben's never ending patience.

32. his love for God and the way he prays over our meals and before bed.

33. his love of learning and willingness to try new things.

34. his knowledge about electronics, I'd never figure out how to get online or watch anything on the TiVo without him.

35. his musical talent. I love the hear him sing and watch him perform.

36. his perseverance. He has never let us go to bed before resolving a disagreement even with how stubborn I can be.

37. the millions of times that we know what the other is thinking or finish each others' sentences. It reminds us that we are a lot alike.

38. the way we never run out of conversation or get bored of each other. It reminds us that we're very different.

39. how he supports me in whatever I want to do.

40. how much he loves our son and the way he unreservedly shows Malakai affection.

moving on

T-minus 3 days until our move and our current home is really starting to show the evidence. We are living among boxes of all sizes, having slowly packed the unnecessary items to more recently putting away the essentials.

We've been using paper plates, plastic-ware, and those red cups you see at house parties in the movies for the past week. I feel like a game of "beer pong" could start up in my front yard at any given moment.

Yesterday I had to try to "clean up" so that a friend of mine could bring her 18 month old son with her to watch Malakai while we signed our lives away. Yep, we finally had our signing appointment. Now, we could get the keys between Thursday and Friday, as late as 3pm on Friday. Oh, and by the way- we're moving on Saturday.

This is crazy.

The house is in need of some paint and cleaning, oh the cleaning! I don't care how nice a house looks, if it has been lived in previously it is getting a scrub down before we move in.

And the painting, well the front room is lavender

No offense to anyone with a purple living space, but this just isn't going to work for us. We plan to go with a neutral tan or off white and bring it into the master bedroom, which is blue, but it doesn't match any of our decor.

 Also, Malakai's future bedroom is pink and the bathroom has sponge paint wallpaper. His room will be the same green as his current nursery and the bathroom is simply going to be white. 

We've got a lot to work to do in very little time. My to-do lists are three pages long. This is no exaggeration. I have a page for moving, a page for cleaning our current home, and a page for cleaning and painting the new house. 

Well, I guess I should get back to packing!

a subtle mourning

There is a lot to be excited about here at my house. My husband and I are wrapping up the purchase of our new home, I'm taking on a lead volunteer role in the nursery at our church and Ben is going to be in the Easter drama, Malakai is learning so many new things including a hilariously adorable army crawl.

Yet, I'm grieving.

After trying over and over to continue breastfeeding, I finally had to stop. I've been exclusively pumping for 4 days now and my heart hurts.

Just a few days ago I was able to nurse Malakai if he was asleep {and sometimes if he was just groggy} without being bitten. Then he started to chomp every time, but I pushed through. I've read in books and on websites how babies will rarely self-wean before 10 months.

My baby is rare.

I tried everything. I don't feel defeated and I don't see this as giving up. I persevered through a lot of physical pain.

I'm hurting because I miss the bonding. Malakai latched perfectly from the moment he was born and I experienced very little soreness when we were getting used to nursing, so I thought that we'd made it through the hardest part and it would be the same for the following 10-12 months. I'm here to tell you that it doesn't always work out the way you think it will...and while I'm grieving, it's okay.

Today I held him close while giving him his bottle and cuddled up, stroking the soft skin of his round legs. I can still bond with my son, I just have to get used to how different it is.

I'm doing my best to get excited about the stage he's entering and all the things I get to teach him. He's been  doing this funny "call & response" thing when he calls out and if you copy him he'll keep going and just giggle with delight. I'm also teaching him to use a cup. I do plan on giving him breastmilk until about 12 months if my body lets me.

I just felt like I had to share about this for anyone out there in a similar dilemma, whether it be nursing or something else. Parenting can be difficult, and that's okay. The joys far outweigh the trials.

new location...

update your bookmarks, readers, dashboards, etc. I'll be moving my blog from the old "www.shanleann.blogspot.com" to "www.breakingnewground.us"!

I'm so excited!

This isn't the end to the updates around here. More to come soon!

photo Friday

Malakai turned 8 months on Tuesday and we had our monthly photoshoot.

We started out with the jammies he was already wearing...

Then mama decided to be brave...

don't ya just love a naked baby bum?

he obviously enjoyed it...

this shot cracks me up. It's like he's embarrassed!

Then we put on an outfit for some more photos...

He matched the walls

and clashed with his bedding

we both had a great time.