This is Easy!

You know, living together is a piece of cake.
I know two weeks (today) is a little early for such a declaration but I feel like I'm beaming from ear to ear.  We are having so much fun and it is FAR easier than I expected.

I expected to bicker more about decorating.  
I expected to need to "nag" him to clean up after himself. 
I expected to lose as many battles as I won.

The division of power seems to have sorted itself out.  I cook - he does the dishes; I vacuum - he takes out the trash.  I make the bed in the morning - he walks the dogs at night.

I think living together has made it easier to find common ground and compromise.  Maybe I've just adjusted my own previous expectations.  It's a joint effort that can only be accomplished by the two of us rather than any one individual alone.  I know personally, the pristine and classically decorated home I envisioned isn't coming to fruition; however, I like the one we're building together even more.  It feels like us - not some interpretation of a magazine ad.

We haven't paid the first round of bills together; however, we've already started to share more about our individual finances than ever before.  Each decision to spend or save seems to be more collective.  We've developed a "wish list" for the house and as we add to it we discuss where the item/project/wish lies in the priorities and what the requirements are to make each of us happy.  In fact just last night he poked fun at my ridiculous wish for a Roomba, while I reminded him that the 80" television may have to wait in terms of priorities.

It's not perfect.  We still bicker over silly things.  He still leaves the cap off the toothpaste and the toilet seat up, but it doesn't seem to matter as much.  Maybe it really is me that's changed; maybe, we're just growing up but I like it.

I'm happy and this feels easy!  At least far easier than hanging a gallery wall.

A giraffe in my purse...

Last night I babysat two of the sweetest, most adorable, little girls.  I arrived early for the opportunity to play with them before their 7:00 pm bedtime.  As I sat on the couch, anxiously awaiting "Daddy" to wrap up baths and bedtime prep, "Mommy" and I laughed as we discussed the little things that change when you have kids, really without trying.

Let me elaborate.  

"Mommy" is shopping for a bag to tote her computer back and forth to work.  Seems easy enough; might I suggest my Brookstone bag? No, no - you see that just won't do.  In addition to a laptop this bag must carry: diapers, a constant supply of snacks, under-eye concealer, lipstick, Advil, pictures of the babies, bottles, juice boxes, and of course this squeaky giraffe.  You think you've found one big enough? Remember it must be "work-appropriate;" oh & it absolutely must have a closure otherwise all the aforementioned contents will be scattered all over the mall, the car, the living room, the stroller, etc. 

 "Mommy" just colored her hair, something I've done a million times.  What does your two year old do when you come home as a blonde but you left as a red-head?  Her answer:  silently stare.

Do you know how capable you are of eating with only one hand?  What about with a 2.5 foot tall, 30 lbs object on your lap, that is most likely swaying, bouncing, singing AND dancing?  Sound easy? 

These obviously only touch on the little changes you make in life without noticing.  If you haven't read this article on facebook, you should.  It consists of 11 lessons before you think about having kids. 

With all of this being said....I still love kids.  I love spending time with the little ones in my family and look forward to the opportunity to have my own some day.  

For everytime they dig through the oversize, maybe less than perfect bag you carry you get an image like this:

And for every blank stare you get, you see a 1,000 of these:

And after all, even though they make all the little tasks a little harder...

they make life a lot easier.

Family First

I heart my crazy, silly, uniquly formed family.

Baby Shower Weekend

My boyfriend's sister-in-law had her baby shower this weekend.
I did want to share a quick snap-shot of the cupcakes we made for her Safari themed shower.

There were purple elephants as well; however, I didn't get a snapshot of them. 

I also wanted to share the picture of the shower gift I gave her, I call this my "boyquet."  In this particular instance it is a bouquet of baby clothes stuffed into a diaper caddy. 

Happy Crafting.  Catch you next time.