So I've been doing a lot of research lately about food. I seriously think that a lot of the cancer, arthritis, and infertility going around have a lot to do with the foods we eat. I want to give my children the best possible life and if changing the way we eat will help with that then I want to do everything I can.
When you start looking around it is amazing what you will find. I know that you have to take everything with a grain of salt. One day the media will tell you not to eat something because it is bad for you and the next day they will tell you to eat it because it prevents something else. It is all very confusing but I have a good, solid list of things that are supposedly "the worst".
One food that is not on the list that should be - chicken. I still strongly believe that all the hormones they inject into chickens has a lot to do with a lot of common issues I have.
So with that being said. These are the 7 foods that most experts would not eat:
1) Canned Tomatoes. I know the reaction the acid in tomatoes has with tin foil so it is no surprise that tin cans have to be lined with something powerful to withstand the acid in tomatoes. Canned tomatoes cause reproductive problems (particularly with sperm), heart disease, diabetes, and obesity due to very high BPA levels. You can get 50 mcg of BPA per liter of canned tomatoes which in young men can greatly impact their fertility and their hearts. This one is SO simple to remedy - just buy canned tomato products in glass only containers.
2) Corn Fed Beef. This one definitely concerns me and that is why we are trying to switch to organic meat in general. It will be more expensive but well worth the extra cost I think. Europe has BANNED U.S. beef if that is any indication of how scary this one is. Basically ranchers have gotten lazy and cheap. Grass fed cows have beta-carotene, vitamin E, omega-3s, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), calcium, magnesium, and potassium; lower in inflammatory omega-6s; and are lower in saturated fats that have been linked to heart disease. So many benefits to organic meat because you are not eating artificial HORMONES.
3) Microwave Popcorn. This one shocked me so I will just give you the excerpt:
The problem: Chemicals, including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), in the lining of the bag, are part of a class of compounds that may be linked to infertility in humans, according to a recent study from UCLA. In animal testing, the chemicals cause liver, testicular, and pancreatic cancer. Studies show that microwaving causes the chemicals to vaporize—and migrate into your popcorn. "They stay in your body for years and accumulate there," says Naidenko, which is why researchers worry that levels in humans could approach the amounts causing cancers in laboratory animals. DuPont and other manufacturers have promised to phase out PFOA by 2015 under a voluntary EPA plan, but millions of bags of popcorn will be sold between now and then.
I prefer air popped popcorn over microwave, but I've always enjoyed the convenience of microwave. Guess my kids will get to experience the "old fashioned" way of making popcorn (and the old way is much much cheaper so score!)
4) Potatoes - Again this one was surprising. Supposedly potato growers will not even eat the own potatoes they grow. root vegetables absorb herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides that wind up in soil. In the case of potatoes, they're treated with fungicides during the growing season, then sprayed with herbicides to kill off the fibrous vines before harvesting. Plus treated again to prevent sprouting in the grocery store. They claim since the potatoes are grown in the ground that washing the potato off is not enough because the chemicals are absorbed into the potato.
5) Farmed Salmon - now if you catch your fish this isn't a problem but a lot of restaurants and stores use farmed salmon. If you eat farmed salmon more than once every 5 months you are at an increased risk of cancer (supposedly) due to carcinogens, PCBs, brominated flame retardants, and pesticides such as dioxin and DDT fed to these fish. This one is no big deal for us since we don't eat fish.
6) Grocery store Milk - This one is disturbing. Farmers give their cows bovine growth hormones to increase milk production which increase udder infections and puss - we drink this. They put dye in the milk to cover up the puss and blood (gag) The U.S. is one of only a few countries who allow farmers to give their cows growth hormones, most countries have stopped due to increased risks of breast, colon, and prostate cancer. Seriously how dumb are we? So the best advice is to drink organic milk. This one is a lot more tricky if you ask me. Organic milk is really expensive and the "other" milk is in so many foods that it would be tougher to make this change.
7) Apples - This one doesn't surprise me except that it is on the definitely don't eat list. Apples are the most pesticide treated fruit. Farmers do claim that the pesticides are safe to eat but logically the best way to avoid exposure to pesticides is to avoid the most treated fruit - so apples it is. More farming workers (who are around pesticides) are diagnosed with cancer than any other specific labor force. What does that tell you? Pesticides are also linked to Parkinson's Disease. You can still eat non-organic apples just wash them and PEEL them before eating them.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
Life these Days!
Why is the month of December the busiest month of the year? Seriously, I don't get it. Peter is super busy at work and I am super busy at work - we are both working 60 hour weeks starting with the alarm buzzing at 3:30 in the morning. I have to admit it is getting harder to have a "festive" spirit with the hours we're awake. Seriously, there is NOTHING joyful about waking at 3:30 AM.
Anyway, things are going well besides our crazy work schedules. The adoption has turned into a waiting game. I fully anticipate the next 6 months being one big waiting game. We're currently waiting for a referral. Get a referral, wait for a court date. Court date comes, wait for news. Pass court, wait for an embassy date. Get embassy date, wait for travel. Hop on a plane, wait for it to land 30 some hours later. Get to Addis Ababa, wait until we can meet our child. I'm already sick of waiting.
The good news is that we did receive our updated wait list numbers. Our paper chains have been reduced in size a little bit:
Anyway, things are going well besides our crazy work schedules. The adoption has turned into a waiting game. I fully anticipate the next 6 months being one big waiting game. We're currently waiting for a referral. Get a referral, wait for a court date. Court date comes, wait for news. Pass court, wait for an embassy date. Get embassy date, wait for travel. Hop on a plane, wait for it to land 30 some hours later. Get to Addis Ababa, wait until we can meet our child. I'm already sick of waiting.
The good news is that we did receive our updated wait list numbers. Our paper chains have been reduced in size a little bit:
We are now WAITING at #18 for a boy, #36 for a girl, and #15 for siblings. Yup, the siblings category is going the WRONG way further confirming that we are probably going to be bringing home a son :)
I am still hoping and praying that we get a referral in either January or surely by February. 7 families just returned 2 weeks ago from picking up their little ones, 10 families leave on Friday for Ethiopia, and 11 families leave on Christmas Day for Ethiopia so I count at least 30 openings at Hannah's Hope (knowing that some of the families traveling are picking up siblings). Now if roughly half of the incoming children are boys and half of the incoming children are girls, I think we should be top 5 for a boy by mid to late January! Doesn't that sound nice?
I have this renewed sense of happiness with our church - specifically the middle schoolers that we have spent the past few years working with. Their heart of service is seriously something that we could learn from. They helped us in September do a fundraiser for our adoption. We had 2 8th grade girls organize Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes not just for the youth group, but for the entire church. We have a 7th grader who is currently organizing infant layette sets for mothers in Guatemala who can't afford clothes for their newborns. We have a 6th grader who is organizing an event called Hoops for Hope to raise money for AIDS in Africa. Their example is something we could all learn to live by!
Our church is also busy trying to teach us to spend less for Christmas and give more. I love that our church is trying to get beyond its walls and actually do something to help others. Our church is currently raising money to help a pastor in Mexico build and also working on another project that will greatly impact a country we are growing to love - Ethiopia! It is a project where a guy is planting trees in countries all over the world (particularly Ethiopia). Ethiopians are using way more wood than they have for cooking and in turn the land has turned into a desert (no trees cause flooding which in turn causes the land to become a desert). This guy is going to Ethiopia, helping them plant trees and teaching them. He employs over 300 Ethiopians full time and a lot more part-time. The cool thing that they pointed out in church is that this guy isn't driving through Ethiopia in a nice Range Rover or blowing tons of money on nice hotel rooms or big corporate meetings that cost tens of thousands of dollars. He is doing his best to make sure that every persons dollars go to the real cause. That is something that kills me about non-profits. I want my money to go where they claim it is supposed to be going. I want my money to really feed the need. So I am very excited about this project and helping my baby's homeland :)
Just a general update on life. So far we've avoided that nasty flu bug going around (knocking on wood) and are working really hard and waiting for the call!
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Christmas in our house
Christmas has hit the Keyser house! Even though we were technically in our new home for the holidays last year - we were still unpacking so we didn't really decorate so this is our first official Christmas in our new house!
My North Pole Christmas Village all set up!
The awesome Disney Tree I received last year for Christmas! (With over 200 Disney characters)
Now some of my favorite Christmas ornaments:
The first ornament I bought for Peter for our first Christmas together. It says Sweethearts 2004!
This ornament I have owned for many years. I collect All God's Children Figurines and I have several of these collectibles and a few ornaments. When I opened the box and found this ornament with the others this year it struck a special place in my heart for our little guy who is on the way! I had no idea when I started collecting these figures years ago where my life would lead me :)
My mom bought me this ornament to commemorate my "paper pregnancy". Seriously, I develop a lot of the hormonal symptoms myself these days.
I call this one my "Small World" ornament. It is turned to face Ethiopia where our hearts are right now!
Oh yes, I can't forget miss Tinkerbell at the top of our tree!
My precious little Sweet Pea ornament!!!
This ornament I made in remembrance of my brother John who passed away when I was younger. We have a Tree of Remembrance at our local funeral home that I made this ornament to go on for him. I copied a Christmas Card but somehow spelled JOY backwards when I was copying it. It has spent several years on the Tree of Remembrance before returning back to my home.
We have a ton of Disney ornaments on our tree but some of them are more special than the others. This one we bought on our 2nd Anniversary trip to Disneyland last year.
Of course we have one to celebrate our marriage!
And one to celebrate our first home purchase!
We have ornaments for our little Chinchillas! We also have some Schnauzers so we really need to try and find a boxer.
My grandma who passed away this year always painted ornaments for us and this is my favorite one that she painted for me.
My great-grandma also made us ornaments every year for Christmas and this is one of my very first one's she made for me when I was a baby but it is my favorite.
And our stockings already all hung and ready for Santa! Looks like Santa already left something for our puppies (which they've already stolen and eaten a bag of treats Santa left for them). We have one more spot in the middle there waiting to find out if we'll be getting a baby boy or baby girl!
Lots of great memories and traditions go into this time of year and I really do enjoy having the tree lit up and being able to pull out years and years of Christmas memories. It has been fun to watch more memories grow and develop on our tree just in the last few years and I can't wait to see our tree develop as the years go on :)
Saturday, November 28, 2009
One Year - Home
In all the hustle and bustle of Black Friday yesterday we were also celebrating being in our home for one year! Last year we did just a little bit of Black Friday shopping and then headed home to tear our bed apart and get the chinchillas in their travel boxes and ready for moving day!
This year we were able to shop until we dropped from midnight to 9:30 AM and let me tell you - we dropped!!!
We were able to pick-up lots of great deals on baby clothes and bottles and a few little things for us.
So in honor of being in our home for one year we decided to devote a whole post to OUR HOME!
It is not the same house that we walked into 13 months ago, that is for sure. It was hard to envision all the spiders being gone, all the toilets coming clean, the floors being covered in shiny wood! Flowers in the yard. This house is certainly not the same house it was a year ago.
To prove our point, here are some before and after photos:
Our yard before: The very before which we did not get photo's of, envision basically the walls of the house being torn off and water all over the interior. They pretty much had to replace one whole side of a wall on our house due to the sheeting being installed wrong. So we got all new siding and a wonderful new paint color added to our home! So this before is only of the yard, not of how different the exterior was.
After:
For this one, a picture is worth a thousand words: Before
After:
Before:
After 
Before:
After:
This year we were able to shop until we dropped from midnight to 9:30 AM and let me tell you - we dropped!!!
We were able to pick-up lots of great deals on baby clothes and bottles and a few little things for us.
So in honor of being in our home for one year we decided to devote a whole post to OUR HOME!
It is not the same house that we walked into 13 months ago, that is for sure. It was hard to envision all the spiders being gone, all the toilets coming clean, the floors being covered in shiny wood! Flowers in the yard. This house is certainly not the same house it was a year ago.
To prove our point, here are some before and after photos:
Our yard before: The very before which we did not get photo's of, envision basically the walls of the house being torn off and water all over the interior. They pretty much had to replace one whole side of a wall on our house due to the sheeting being installed wrong. So we got all new siding and a wonderful new paint color added to our home! So this before is only of the yard, not of how different the exterior was.
After:
For this one, a picture is worth a thousand words: Before
After:
Before:
AfterBefore:
After:
Before:
After:
These pictures are only a snapshot of how filthy and spider infested this house was. You are fortunate that I didn't get any pictures of the toilets!!! We have made it into a great home that we are proud of and are looking forward to growing our family in!!!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Blessings
As Thanksgiving is once again upon us I want to take a moment and reflect on some of the many blessings in my life. For whatever reason I have been reminded more of the many blessings in my life this year. 2009 has been a very tough year for us and thru the tough journey's we've been on I remember more and more what really counts and how lucky and blessed we really are!
So with that 10 Blessings in my life that I am Thankful for:
10) A wonderful home to call my own. There is still so much that I would like to see done to it, but it is ours! It is warm and cozy and is big enough that we can grow our family in it. Almost everything in the interior is still new and we have a yard full of projects to keep us busy! I love my big bedroom! I feel safe in it and it fits our needs perfectly!
9) Living in the land of opportunity. I do not understand why God blessed me with a life of opportunity and security, but am so glad He did! A place where I can worship God without hiding or facing persecution. A place where I can earn good money and seek numerous opportunities. A place where we go to bed every night safe and secure because other's are protecting us.
8) Our jobs. As much as I do not enjoy my job, I am thankful for it. It has provided us with numerous opportunities. It allowed us to get married while Peter was still in college. It allowed us to buy our first home. It has allowed us to pay off lots of debt and it has also allowed us the opportunity to adopt a child! The way they have treated us employees with integrity and honesty when a lot of company's are doing the opposite right now truly makes me proud of the company I work for! I am thankful that Peter works for a company who treats him great! I am thankful he only had to endure 6 weeks of unemployment when other's have faced far worse. I am thankful I have a husband who loves what he does!
7) Our puppies. Our animals truly do bring us happiness. I love my unique little hairless boxer. I love how she always tries to sneak up on the bed in the middle of the night. I love how she always give me the sad eyes when I talk to her. I love how her whole body wiggles when she wakes up in the morning and how excited she is to face another day! I love how she curls up under blankets. I love how she curls her little tail to keep it from hitting things :) I love my little boy puppy! I love how he truly loves me and gets so excited to see me. I love that he always wants me to carry him. I love that he is spoiled rotten. I love his green eyes. I love how he runs around like a crazy dog! I love that he growls at Peter when Peter tries to move him away from me :) They really do add so much fun to our lives!
6) I am thankful for a birth mother who is going to give us the greatest gift! I am so happy that she carried this child. I am so thankful that she will continue to care for this child for days after birth. I am so thankful that she is going to make the most difficult decision a woman ever could make and give her child up in the hopes that someone else could give her child more opportunities. Truly an amazing woman!
5) I am thankful for in-laws who truly treat me like part of their family! They listen, they encourage, and accept me. Not many people are so lucky with their spouse's family. I really feel like I have been accepted like a daughter as part of the family! When I married Peter I inherited 2 more sets of grandparents and 2 more brothers! They are willing to take care of the grandpuppies on a daily basis and they enjoy having us be a part of their lives! They are looking forward to being grandparents and offer encouragement on this adoption journey as they just walked this road a few years ago.
4) I an thankful for my family. They gave me a solid foundation in my faith. They support us and pray for us constantly. They can't wait for us to bring our baby home and they pray for our adoption and our baby all the time. I have 2 adorable niece's who have been a constant source of happiness for the past 8 years. I could not love and care about these 2 little girls anymore and I would do anything for them! I am thankful that I get to be an aunt again in just 6 short weeks (not that I'm counting!) I am thankful to be part of a family who loves me and cares about me. I am thankful that they have also accepted Peter as part of their family!
3) I am Thankful that I get to be a mother. I have wanted this for so long and knowing that I have a child out there in this world and my dream is going to come true makes me truly joyful! I am thankful God asked us to take this journey through adoption. I am thankful for an awesome agency who walks with us and offers encouragement every step of the way! I am thankful that God has picked out a baby specifically for our family! I am thankful that I am going to get to see my baby very soon and hold him/her in just a few short months. I am thankful that God has provided "special mothers" who will care and love on my child until I am able to take over. I am glad that I can rest in peace knowing my child's needs will be me while we wait.
2) I am thankful for the most amazing husband! I am so thankful that bus broke down 5.5 years ago :) I am thankful that he takes his role as my husband seriously. He is my best friend and so much more! He provides diligently for his family. He takes care of things around the house. He is always there to offer a hug and an encouraging word. We've weathered some really tough storms in the past year but he has not faltered. He takes his commitment to me very seriously. He trusts me and thinks I am capable of anything. He has the most amazing faith in God! He is honest! He is loving! He has the biggest dimples :) He is truly my life-mate and I love him so much and can't imagine life without him! He is looking forward to being a daddy and is already taking that role seriously. He can't wait to learn how to care for our baby! He already loves this baby so much and my heart melts when he prays for our baby! I know he is going to be an amazing father and our child is already getting a great daddy!
1) I am so thankful for a God who loves me and adopted me! I am thankful that he forgives me over and over and over again and welcomes me back into his arms. I am thankful that I am allowed a personal relationship with him. I am thankful for a Savior who suffered and died so that I can live with him. I am thankful that He desires and pursues me and is patient with me. There is no God like our God!!!
So with that 10 Blessings in my life that I am Thankful for:
10) A wonderful home to call my own. There is still so much that I would like to see done to it, but it is ours! It is warm and cozy and is big enough that we can grow our family in it. Almost everything in the interior is still new and we have a yard full of projects to keep us busy! I love my big bedroom! I feel safe in it and it fits our needs perfectly!
9) Living in the land of opportunity. I do not understand why God blessed me with a life of opportunity and security, but am so glad He did! A place where I can worship God without hiding or facing persecution. A place where I can earn good money and seek numerous opportunities. A place where we go to bed every night safe and secure because other's are protecting us.
8) Our jobs. As much as I do not enjoy my job, I am thankful for it. It has provided us with numerous opportunities. It allowed us to get married while Peter was still in college. It allowed us to buy our first home. It has allowed us to pay off lots of debt and it has also allowed us the opportunity to adopt a child! The way they have treated us employees with integrity and honesty when a lot of company's are doing the opposite right now truly makes me proud of the company I work for! I am thankful that Peter works for a company who treats him great! I am thankful he only had to endure 6 weeks of unemployment when other's have faced far worse. I am thankful I have a husband who loves what he does!
7) Our puppies. Our animals truly do bring us happiness. I love my unique little hairless boxer. I love how she always tries to sneak up on the bed in the middle of the night. I love how she always give me the sad eyes when I talk to her. I love how her whole body wiggles when she wakes up in the morning and how excited she is to face another day! I love how she curls up under blankets. I love how she curls her little tail to keep it from hitting things :) I love my little boy puppy! I love how he truly loves me and gets so excited to see me. I love that he always wants me to carry him. I love that he is spoiled rotten. I love his green eyes. I love how he runs around like a crazy dog! I love that he growls at Peter when Peter tries to move him away from me :) They really do add so much fun to our lives!
6) I am thankful for a birth mother who is going to give us the greatest gift! I am so happy that she carried this child. I am so thankful that she will continue to care for this child for days after birth. I am so thankful that she is going to make the most difficult decision a woman ever could make and give her child up in the hopes that someone else could give her child more opportunities. Truly an amazing woman!
5) I am thankful for in-laws who truly treat me like part of their family! They listen, they encourage, and accept me. Not many people are so lucky with their spouse's family. I really feel like I have been accepted like a daughter as part of the family! When I married Peter I inherited 2 more sets of grandparents and 2 more brothers! They are willing to take care of the grandpuppies on a daily basis and they enjoy having us be a part of their lives! They are looking forward to being grandparents and offer encouragement on this adoption journey as they just walked this road a few years ago.
4) I an thankful for my family. They gave me a solid foundation in my faith. They support us and pray for us constantly. They can't wait for us to bring our baby home and they pray for our adoption and our baby all the time. I have 2 adorable niece's who have been a constant source of happiness for the past 8 years. I could not love and care about these 2 little girls anymore and I would do anything for them! I am thankful that I get to be an aunt again in just 6 short weeks (not that I'm counting!) I am thankful to be part of a family who loves me and cares about me. I am thankful that they have also accepted Peter as part of their family!
3) I am Thankful that I get to be a mother. I have wanted this for so long and knowing that I have a child out there in this world and my dream is going to come true makes me truly joyful! I am thankful God asked us to take this journey through adoption. I am thankful for an awesome agency who walks with us and offers encouragement every step of the way! I am thankful that God has picked out a baby specifically for our family! I am thankful that I am going to get to see my baby very soon and hold him/her in just a few short months. I am thankful that God has provided "special mothers" who will care and love on my child until I am able to take over. I am glad that I can rest in peace knowing my child's needs will be me while we wait.
2) I am thankful for the most amazing husband! I am so thankful that bus broke down 5.5 years ago :) I am thankful that he takes his role as my husband seriously. He is my best friend and so much more! He provides diligently for his family. He takes care of things around the house. He is always there to offer a hug and an encouraging word. We've weathered some really tough storms in the past year but he has not faltered. He takes his commitment to me very seriously. He trusts me and thinks I am capable of anything. He has the most amazing faith in God! He is honest! He is loving! He has the biggest dimples :) He is truly my life-mate and I love him so much and can't imagine life without him! He is looking forward to being a daddy and is already taking that role seriously. He can't wait to learn how to care for our baby! He already loves this baby so much and my heart melts when he prays for our baby! I know he is going to be an amazing father and our child is already getting a great daddy!
1) I am so thankful for a God who loves me and adopted me! I am thankful that he forgives me over and over and over again and welcomes me back into his arms. I am thankful that I am allowed a personal relationship with him. I am thankful for a Savior who suffered and died so that I can live with him. I am thankful that He desires and pursues me and is patient with me. There is no God like our God!!!
Friday, November 20, 2009
These are a few of my favorite things
So the Holiday's are here once again. I have to admit that most years I do not look forward to the holiday's like I am this year. I think last year we just really missed out on the holiday's because we were re-modeling our new house and moving and we didn't get to decorate last year. So this year I think the holiday's are going to be a great time and so with that here is my list
of
My 10 favorite things about the holidays:
1) Getting a 5 day weekend for Thanksgiving
2) Thanksgiving: spending time with family, pies, pies, pies, playing Bingo for candy bars
3) Black Friday Shopping. Not that we have anything specific to shop for but it is always fun to run around in the middle of the night trying to find great deals!
4) Decorating the house for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving. This will be the first time we get to decorate this house and I am looking forward to it!
5) Homemade Fudge - It's one recipe that I'm good at!
6) Watching our wait list numbers get lower and lower
7) Getting more days off over Christmas and New Year's
8) Watching college football bowl games (go beavs)
9) Spending time with family over Christmas, watching my niece's open presents
10) Meeting my newest little niece or nephew on January 4th, right after the holidays!
Lots to look forward to and anticipate this Holiday Season!!!
of
My 10 favorite things about the holidays:
1) Getting a 5 day weekend for Thanksgiving
2) Thanksgiving: spending time with family, pies, pies, pies, playing Bingo for candy bars
3) Black Friday Shopping. Not that we have anything specific to shop for but it is always fun to run around in the middle of the night trying to find great deals!
4) Decorating the house for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving. This will be the first time we get to decorate this house and I am looking forward to it!
5) Homemade Fudge - It's one recipe that I'm good at!
6) Watching our wait list numbers get lower and lower
7) Getting more days off over Christmas and New Year's
8) Watching college football bowl games (go beavs)
9) Spending time with family over Christmas, watching my niece's open presents
10) Meeting my newest little niece or nephew on January 4th, right after the holidays!
Lots to look forward to and anticipate this Holiday Season!!!
The Perfect Nursery
So Peter and I have had lots of time to figure out what we wanted to do in our baby's nursery. We really wanted to pursue a Disney theme (go figure) and use all of the toys we had collected for our wedding reception. Each table at our reception had a different Disney movie theme to it so now we have all of these leftover toy sets. We knew our kids (who will hopefully love Disney as much as their parents do) would appreciate these toys.
I see lots of different colors everyday at work and a long time ago I found four colors that I call my happy colors and they make me smile when I see them. I told Peter that I really wanted to incorporate these colors into our nursery. So we had our inspiration of theme and colors. The next challenge was for me to get caught up on my scrap booking so we could take apart my scrapbook room and turn it into our baby's nursery.
This was no easy task:
I finally got caught up on the scrap booking and so we were able to go out and buy paint. My favorite "happy color" from work is a blue color. It would be no surprise to anyone who walks around my house that I like the color blue. So another blue room it is!!! While blue can be considered a cold color research studies have shown that blue is the best color for a bedroom because of its soothing nature. With our bedroom and the baby's bedroom being blue, lets hope that holds true and we all get some good sleep patterns developed early on :)
I see lots of different colors everyday at work and a long time ago I found four colors that I call my happy colors and they make me smile when I see them. I told Peter that I really wanted to incorporate these colors into our nursery. So we had our inspiration of theme and colors. The next challenge was for me to get caught up on my scrap booking so we could take apart my scrapbook room and turn it into our baby's nursery.
This was no easy task:
I finally got caught up on the scrap booking and so we were able to go out and buy paint. My favorite "happy color" from work is a blue color. It would be no surprise to anyone who walks around my house that I like the color blue. So another blue room it is!!! While blue can be considered a cold color research studies have shown that blue is the best color for a bedroom because of its soothing nature. With our bedroom and the baby's bedroom being blue, lets hope that holds true and we all get some good sleep patterns developed early on :)
So we finished up our base coats of blue. We loved the color and so we were able to start on the decorative painting. First part of the decorative painting was finding round objects of all different sizes. A quick run around of the house (Which was kind of fun) and we had lots of objects to choose from:
I let Peter do all the detail work. He did a great job of tracing perfectly round circles. The best idea we had though, was being sure to mark each circle with a piece of tape so we knew where they all were. Great tip if you are going to try something like this :)
After marking them, we assigned each circle their color and got moving! We started with the orange circles which proved to be the most difficult color. 3 coats of paint on these darn orange circles.
Next color up was green, which was fortunately a great color to work with and after only 1 coat of paint looked fabulous!!
Last was the red, which I admit I was concerned about. It was a very bold color but I think it gave the wall the final flare it needed!!! Red was the typical color and took 2 coats of paint. It all evened out in the end. Again, I gave Peter the difficult job and he traced the outside of the circles and I filled them in. We had to personalize the wall with a little Disney touch of our own with a hidden Mickey for our baby :) (Can you see it?)
After cleaning the carpets we were able to put the baby's crib together. Cribs can be very expensive but we found a crib at a great price on Walmart.com that we really liked. I was even more pleased when I went back a few weeks later and found our favorite crib with a great sale price attached to it complete with free shipping!!! Peter got to assemble his first of many baby items. No pressure when you are assembling something that is for your baby to sleep in :)
My mom and I went shopping a few weeks ago to my new personal favorite store - Babiesrus and we found bedding and decor that perfectly matched my colors and theme on CLEARANCE!!! Whoohoo!!!
The missing link for the wall came yesterday in the mail. The open space in the wall was reserved for us to add a wall decal of a favorite Disney quote.
I let Peter do all the detail work. He did a great job of tracing perfectly round circles. The best idea we had though, was being sure to mark each circle with a piece of tape so we knew where they all were. Great tip if you are going to try something like this :)
After marking them, we assigned each circle their color and got moving! We started with the orange circles which proved to be the most difficult color. 3 coats of paint on these darn orange circles.
Next color up was green, which was fortunately a great color to work with and after only 1 coat of paint looked fabulous!!
Last was the red, which I admit I was concerned about. It was a very bold color but I think it gave the wall the final flare it needed!!! Red was the typical color and took 2 coats of paint. It all evened out in the end. Again, I gave Peter the difficult job and he traced the outside of the circles and I filled them in. We had to personalize the wall with a little Disney touch of our own with a hidden Mickey for our baby :) (Can you see it?)
After cleaning the carpets we were able to put the baby's crib together. Cribs can be very expensive but we found a crib at a great price on Walmart.com that we really liked. I was even more pleased when I went back a few weeks later and found our favorite crib with a great sale price attached to it complete with free shipping!!! Peter got to assemble his first of many baby items. No pressure when you are assembling something that is for your baby to sleep in :)
My mom and I went shopping a few weeks ago to my new personal favorite store - Babiesrus and we found bedding and decor that perfectly matched my colors and theme on CLEARANCE!!! Whoohoo!!!
The missing link for the wall came yesterday in the mail. The open space in the wall was reserved for us to add a wall decal of a favorite Disney quote.
I love how it is all turning out. I couldn't be happier with it actually!!! The final steps to the Disney Nursery are going to be shelving around the walls where we can display all of our Disney toys (uh, I mean the baby's Disney toys) and we also need to frame and hang the 4 Disney ride attraction photos we bought on our last journey to Disneyland but we can really see it all coming together. Getting ready for the very final touch but that is on back order from Ethiopia right now and we can't wait!!!
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