Peace in Small Places

There has been a lot of buzz recently about Spring cleaning tips, organizational ideas, and all that comes along with changing of the season, warm weather, and lighting a fire under our butts to get life back on track once again. But let's face it...it's daunting. I saw an article recently about a 10 "easy" step guide to Feng Shui your home so you were happier and more productive - I practically had a panic attack after reading step one. The idea of carving out enough time to accomplish that step in our current living situation made me sweat!
Kyle and I were talking about the differences between our old house in Durham (about 3300 square feet) and our current rental (about 1500 square feet). You would think that it would be a lot easier to keep clean because it's so much smaller - at least that was my initial impression when we moved in! How wrong was I!! First, with three big dogs (no fenced in back yard anymore) and a toddler, it takes about 30 minutes for the entire first floor to be "destroyed". Then the stress level rises because there is nowhere to send the creatures while you try to pull things back together. I'm still trying to figure out why I try to pull things back together because it only takes another 30 minutes to destroy it all again.
Then, the cabinet space and dishwasher size are both significantly smaller than what we had. If there is one thing toddlers are great at, it's getting dishes dirty and Dablet is going through the "I need a snack" phase...all   day    long. So what has happened? I LOT of purging! And we're going to have a BIG yard sale next month as well. Goodwill has become our best friend, and this time not for shopping, but donating! It's a nice life exercise to focus on what you actually NEED versus things you think you have to have, and creative small space storage ideas! I'm sure that when we move again in September back into a bigger space we will thank ourselves for this time!
But until then - I wanted to share some little ideas I found that made me feel better, and were quick small space ideas! Sometimes you just need a little corner that you can see to get started and be your happy place before you move on to the rest of the chaos!

Give yourself something when you walk in that makes you feel good!

I don't mind doing laundry, I'm not hugely successful at putting it all away once I'm done with it however! Part of the problem is being so worn out by the process - this would make life easier! 

Anytime you can get things onto a wall and off surfaces is a win!

SHELVING!!! It's your best friend in a small space! 

The top picture is an easy find at Target or Lowes, and the bottom one could be installed easily above ANY door! Life is better with functional storage!

All pictures featured here can be found on my Small Space Peace board on Pinterest, along with others!

Happy Spring cleaning!

The Hormonal Truth

At a recent doctor's visit for this pregnancy (now almost 16 weeks along!) my doctor and I were chatting about the differences between first and second pregnancies. I should probably preface this by saying that my main OB is male, something I was TOTALLY skeptical about in the beginning, but I will be scheduling this repeat c-section based entirely on his schedule in the operating room. While he may have never birthed a child, he has NEVER made me feel crazy or dismissed any of my questions. So the conversation that ensued I totally bought into without ever thinking "ya, but this guy has never experienced anything I'm talking about so how would he get it?!"
The short of it is most mamas-to-be don't really read pregnancy books with subsequent pregnancies. Even if they did, there isn't a ton out there that talks about things to expect during subsequent pregnancies except the age old "you'll start showing sooner" mantra. Maybe it's not true for everyone, but what else comes along with the showing sooner is earlier more severe round ligament pain, earlier/more back pain, even more exhaustion (why?! because you have at least one other small being running around this time), and for most the sheer bliss of first time expectancy has flown out the window. You KNOW (unless you were super lucky and absolutely LOVED being pregnant every second the first time) that pregnancy is NOT a cake walk or remotely glamorous. And with that knowledge can sometimes come fear. You've been through a delivery before, and realize that no matter how many of them you will go through, you'll still never know what to expect!
We talked about that too. About how during my c-section with Abby I had the mother of all anxiety attacks and wanted to bolt off the table - paying no mind to the fact that that would have been physically impossible. We talked about why it happened, that I'm not alone, and that there are ways we can try to work around it this time! We talked about me considering getting my tubes tied...yes...at 27 years old I am legitimately considering this. Why?! BECAUSE! I LOVE children. I would have a huge houseful of them. I have miserable early (if not entire) pregnancies.
This beautiful little fact was something I didn't even realize until this pregnancy. If you had asked me after my pregnancy with Dablet how it was, I would have said "fine! no issues!" HUH?!?! Let's reflect - severe nausea and vomiting the entire pregnancy, migraines, two early labor scares, choking acid reflux, almost two weeks of early labor contractions every two minutes for intervals of hours on end with no progress...sounds like a day at the spa! But I was BLISSFUL, and honestly I am convinced that your body produces something as soon as that little bit is born causing amnesia so you continue to procreate.
And yet, my dearest friends still have to dig deep to ask me how I REALLY am this time, why? Because there is that "I'm not sure what to do with these frustrated woe is me feelings because I should only feel blessed" gray area that comes after having a miscarriage let alone multiple miscarriages.
Here's the truth - it's 40 weeks of unpredictable chaotic hormone filled physically draining exhausting wonder, during which time you literally lose your mind. Pregnancy brain is a legitimate thing people! There is NO reason to feel guilty for not feeling good, wanting the pain/nausea/exhaustion to go away. None of those feelings discredit the recognition that life is a blessing, and because this is something we wanted so badly we are lucky to be experiencing it. It's kind of like the ultimate fear factor - every crazy mind-boggling task you go through to get the prize is so entirely worth it, but it doesn't mean you can't gag when you see some of the things you go through!
So here's to hormones and embracing whatever is about to happen next!