Internet is down tonight so I am posting from my iPhone.
It’s not as user friendly as my MacBook, but nice that I can at least put a post up to let you know I can’t put a post up.
I mean, I just did, but it’s just to let you know that I can’t “really” post the way I want to.
Got a new Boden catalog in the mail today. I am hoping to post about that tomorrow since I can’t scan the photos to my iPhone.
That was your heads up about a clothing post father-in-law!
home is…blogging from my iPhone.
our living-room-turned-play-room-sometimes-guest-room
Call it flexible.
Call it multifunctional.
I call it our living-room-turned-play-room-sometimes-guest-room.
It is my belief that just because a floor plan or home builder calls a room by a certain name does not mean that you have to use it as said space.
We technically have a 4 bedroom house, but one of the bedrooms is small, downstairs, and used as a full-time home office for my husband. That leaves us with 3 bedrooms upstairs…one for baby girl, one for the little guy, and the master.
We also need a guest room. We moved away from all of our family, so when they come to visit we like for them to be able stay with us.
One year after we moved into this house that we thought would have plenty of room for our family and guests, the little guy was moved out of the nursery and into the room that was the guest room. Baby girl was on her way and we no longer had a dedicated space for our guests to stay.
When baby girl came along she stayed in our room for the first couple of months while we had visitors in town to help us out. Our visitors were able to stay in the nursery (where we set up the old guest bed) and have a bit of privacy. When our guests left, we set up the crib and baby girl took over the nursery. That is when we really no longer had a guest room!
At some point in the nesting frenzy that took place before baby girl was born we invested in an IKEA Ektorp sleeper sofa to fill the void in our empty living room (along with new carpet, new entertainment system and storage, new family room furniture, and new furniture for the little guys room).
We also invested in some storage solutions (also from IKEA) for all of the toys that we were accumulating.
When baby girl turned one, I decided that we no longer needed a dedicated living room and needed to move the toys out of the family room. So we turned the living room into the playroom.
Through all of this, we have had visitors come stay with us. I use the red storage ottoman (also from IKEA) to store all the bedding for the sleeper sofa.
Sometimes they choose to stay in a hotel (for a bit more privacy) and sometimes they choose to stay with us in the living-room-turned-play-room-sometimes-guest-room space. The kids love it when we have guests and they can go snuggle with Nana or Meme or whoever happens to be in the guest room. It’s definitely not a private space for our guests, but it works.
What do you think? How have your spaces evolved with new additions to the family? What kind of flexible spaces do you have in your home?
home is…using the space you have to meet your needs.
the little guy said…
“It’s not sparkle magic. It’s Reecie magic. Like Mommy magic.”
teaching our children well
First of all thanks for all of your comments on my post from Tuesday!
If a post hits home for you, please share it with others…you can use the Facebook, Twitter or e-mail buttons at the bottom of each blog post!
Also, please don’t be afraid to comment. This is my blog, but I love to hear your thoughts, too. And, I know in yesterday’s post I said I could delete comments, but I wouldn’t do that unless it was an entirely “mean girl” comment.
It seems that more of us have been “Heathered” at one time or another in life. Although it makes me feel better to know that I am not alone, I feel terrible that it happened to any of us at all.
My husband, Ryan, read Jen’s blog and remarked on something that I have also thought about all these years, the glaring hypocrisy of how girls and boys are viewed, or treated in many situations. He said that in Jen’s situation she was labeled a “slut” (as is most always the case in high school situations such as this), but what about the boy? Typically, the girl is referred to as a slut (or similar name), yet the boy is often placed on a pedestal for his sexual conquests. Of course, as adults this hypocrisy is blatantly clear, but as children and young adults it is unseen and hurtful. I think this merits working on, to make sure that at least our children understand that this hypocrisy is wrong.
Of course, it was high school and there was a boy in the middle of all the “mean girl” stuff for me. It bothered me at the time that the boy was able to keep all of his friends, still live his life, and not have anybody treat him badly. The fact that he had done something wrong was ignored (and probably celebrated) for the most part.
That being said, the more important part of this event is not so much what happened, but that I want to do everything I can to teach the little guy to treat girls with respect. No girl should be treated as if they can be cast off when the next best thing comes along. As I mentioned before, I want to teach baby girl about being a kind and strong girl/woman, but it is just as critical to teach our young boys to be kind, strong and respectful of girls (and truly all people regardless of gender).
When it comes down to it the old adage is true: “Treat others the way you want to be treated.”
home is…teaching our children well.
on a lighter note
Yesterday’s post was hard for me. I got butterflies in my belly when I posted it. And, believe it or not, I am still scared that some of those “mean girls” from high school will read it and post mean comments on my blog. I am also worried what you all would think of me if you read them! Seriously?! Ugh!
The good news is that this is MY blog, so I can write what I want and delete “mean girl” comments if I wish.
Moving on.
So, on a lighter note…no pun intended…
I think new lighting can make a big difference in a room.
Our master bedroom is in need of a makeover. Seriously people, we sleep in what we call the “duck blind”. I have no idea what the people who lived here before us were trying to do with this wall finish, but it is horrendous. Of course, the only rooms we have painted in the whole house in the almost three years we have lived here are the kids rooms, but I digress.
I would love to add this to the ceiling…
What do you think? Do you think lighting can make a big impact in a room?
home is…moving on.
believing that you can believe in yourself
We are now a month in to a new year. There are some who make resolutions…are you sticking with them? I don’t actually make resolutions, but I do set goals. Of course, a general goal is to become a better person. Inside of that general goal are smaller ones…being a better wife, mom, sister, daughter, friend. I am constantly questioning and evaluating how good I am at any of the roles that I play. I never really feel that I am doing a good job at any of them. I’m not looking for sympathy…it’s just how I feel. Not sure where this comes from, but it’s just how I feel.
Anyway, yesterday I read this blog post and it hit home.
Over the years I was hurt by friends that I thought were my BFF’s. Eventually, I think I just decided that it was better to not get too close to my friends. Not to mention, before high school my parents almost got divorced/separated/whatever, but decided to stay together. Needless to say, there was a lot of turmoil at home, but nothing that I felt that I could share with a friend…at least nothing I thought they would be able to understand. So, I think I stayed distant for that reason.
I played sports, got good grades, went to parties, had boyfriends, and always had girl friends, but never a BFF. Why? I don’t know. (Maybe part of it was because I always had my sister as a BFF since we were just a year apart in school)
What I do know is that I wasn’t perfect. I made mistakes, but I didn’t deserve what happened to me halfway through my senior year of high school. The blog I read yesterday put it perfectly. In some ways I feel that I was “Heathered”, too.
I actually watched part of the movie Mean Girls 2 the other night on ABC Family and it made me sad. Girls are mean. And, it’s not true…they aren’t just being mean because they are jealous (what my parents used to tell me)…they are just MEAN!
It is almost 20 years later, and I still feel like a bad person. I made a mistake, but they made it worse. I cried everyday at school. I couldn’t eat in the cafeteria that I ate in for 3-1/2 years. I ate lunch alone. Stayed home from parties that I used to be able to go to. My sister was my lookout and only confidante. Eventually, I found new people to hang out with, but come on, this was my senior year in high school. It was miserable.
I hope I can teach my daughter to not be a mean girl and protect her from those who are. I need to feel good about myself so I can teach my daughter to be a strong girl and grow up to be a strong woman who believes in herself no matter what other people think about her or do to her. I need to find something within myself that makes me feel good about being a friend. I need to believe that I can believe in myself…as a wife, mother, sister, daughter, friend, and any other role I play in this life.
That’s all I have for today.
home is…believing that you can believe in yourself.
get moving…
…it’s Monday!
Just thought I would share with you all how I get moving everyday, not just on Monday. Following is my exercise routine for the week. I guess you could call it a schedule, but I like the word routine. The word routine makes me feel like I am in charge and can be flexible, schedule seems rigid and inflexible. So, I call it a routine.
As I said, this routine is flexible. For instance, last week I didn’t follow it exactly. Here is what I did instead:
On Tuesday morning I had errands to run and wanted to go to storytime at the library with baby girl while the little guy was at school. I was also feeling a bit tired, so decided to postpone my run, and instead, tried out a new class at our health club. On Wednesday, I made up my run at our health club while the kids were able to play in the childcare. On Thursday I went to a Stroller Strides class with baby girl while the little guy was at school. The rest of the week I stayed with the normal routine.
I usually try to get in 2 days of Stroller Strides, 3 days of running, and a couple of classes at our health club depending on how I am feeling. I know it is important to give yourself some rest time, so if I need a day off I take it. Or, I take it easier by doing something different (yoga, pilates, etc.).
I am so thankful to Stroller Strides for giving me the ability to workout with my children and show them the importance of exercise. I am also so thankful for our new health club membership where I can get some time for myself to workout, relax, and even take a shower without kids interrupting. I am also looking forward to the spring and summer when I can mix in some additional trips to playgrounds and water parks, the zoo, hikes in the nature parks, time at the pool, and other outdoor activities with the kids.
home is…creating a flexible routine that keeps you moving!
sunny day in the pacific northwest
Sorry father-in-law, I couldn’t resist!
not dressing like I stay at home with my kids all day
If you check out “who inspires me…” on the right sidebar of this page you will see Jones Design Company. I can’t even remember how I came across her blog, but I love it! She is a momma, she is creative, and she lives in the Pacific Northwest. I am inspired by reading her blog.
One of my favorite features is her “what I wore” posts. She takes photos of the outfits that she wore for the week. Now remember, she is a mom. We all can get stuck in the stay in your pajamas or workout clothes mode once in a while, but doesn’t it feel good to get dressed up? Even if you put on a pair of jeans (I prefer Seven or Hudson), a white t-shirt, a cute sweater, some make up and a cute pair of shoes or boots it can make you feel better!
Check out her most recent post, which also has a link to her past “what I wore” posts.
I absolutely love her style! I also love her mindset about shopping for clothes. I do a lot of shopping at Target, spend more money on designer jeans, and then add to an outfit with some cute things I find at Anthro, Nordstrom or elsewhere. Some of you may also know that for a short time in my past I was Silpada Designs representative. I have some awesome jewelry from that gig, so I try to accessorize with it when I can!
I am thinking about doing a similar type of post on my blog. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right? What do you think?!
home is…not dressing like I stay at home with my kids all day.
the being an interior designer part of my bio
Thanks for those of you who gave me feedback on Facebook and the {get moving…} post on Monday.
It sounds like a lot of you want to hear about the “being an interior designer” part of my bio.
It’s interesting to me that most people mentioned that they want me to blog about interior design, yet I get the most visits to my blog on the days when I post {the little guy said…} or a {wordless wednesday}. I’m hoping that by writing about interior design and answering some of your questions you will all visit my little old blog a bit more frequently!
That being said, I will try to make a point to blog about interior design once a week.
I can pick topics that interest me to start, but I would also like to answer your questions or write about topics that are of interest to you…my readers.
Leave an interior design comment or question on this post.
Or, better yet, email me (homeis at stephanytaddeo dot com) a photo and explanation or question about a design dilemma that you have.
I will plan to post about interior design on Friday’s. I will work on answering your questions, post ideas about what you are interested in, or just share information that I am excited about!
Lastly, any ideas on what I should call my Friday posts about interior design?
If I like your name I will give you credit for it in a blog post. You could become rich and famous!
home is…the being an interior designer part of my bio.
stephany taddeo 