And then we were Four!

I'm thrilled to announce the arrival of my precious daughter Princess M! born on Thursday January 21st. Bouncing baby girl, daughter to myself and dear Hubby and a little sister for Princess L! It's been a month and I'm feeling great! Little one has me enamored and I love our little family of four! Four is perfection! I absolutely love saying "My Girls" or "the Girls"! I wouldn't want it any other way! nevermind that I've always had a thing for symmetry and even numbers...

Four also brings along it's fair share of sleepless nights, lots of juggling and mountains 'o mountains of laundry! amongst the hubble and bubble of family life I have rare moments of quiet to myself, besides cozying up with a good mug of java or indulging in a long hot shower my preferred means of escapism is reading my favorite design and parenting blogs. I read ohdeedoh and apartmenttherapy religiously and check in for any new stuff on Babble daily, there's nothing like a little eye candy! unfortunately all this eye candy either sends me on wild goose chases tracking down "stuff" I just have to have for the kiddos or ends up on my ever growing list of wants. Blogs also seem to have a way of leading you into a black hole as I jump from one to the next bookmarking and "favoriting" away... there are so many talented and inspirational individuals out there that my list of projects and DIY'S I'd like to try keeps getting longer too.

It's really difficult trying to organize and keep track of all my links and favorites and sometimes after seeing an image somewhere I'll spend a frustrating hour of more just trying to track it down again! If you have any suggestions on setting up an organized and user friendly system for filing I'm all ears...

Some days when all is under control I pat myself on the back and think heck you're a domestic goddess other days I stare at the pile of dishes in the sink and the smudges on the white floor (yes very impractical...not my choice it's a rental...) and tunnel vision starts to set in... it's probably too early to tell as were just a month in but life with two in tow will no doubt be a learning experience with some strategic tactical planning and a bit of flying by the seat of my pants but I'm excited by the process and hope you'll tag along for the ride.

Some for you and some for me...

If someone were to ask me if I think my daughter is spoiled the question would be an enthusiastic YES! I have vowed to spoil her silly with all of our time and the best of our assets. I want her to have everything I didn't and then some. It's funny because before she was born my husband and I were pretty sure how we'd fall into the roles of good cop bad cop, me being the bad cop. In theory I have a very straightforward, nononsense, strict, combat parenting, take no prisoners attitude... it has all but melted in face of those deep gorgeous dancing brown eyes... argh! works everytime! How do we balance wanting to give our children our all without setting our selves up for a downward spiral as they get older?

I recently read an interesting article on Babble about the invasion of plastic toys that's taken over most child raising homes. Believe me when I say that I hate!! stress HATE!! when it looks like a fisher price bomb has gone off in your living room! can't stand any of that cheap, plasticy, battery operated, made in china crap! I have wholeheartedly embraced a green, handmade, wooden, montessori inspired vision of what playthings should keep my little one entertained and interested. That philosophy carries over into the sheer volume of stuff I'd like to own as well as its child minded display and accessibility. We are lucky to have a large room designated as the play room but I feel it's important for my daughter to have representation in every room in the house, even if it's just a shelf here or a box of toys there. That said I think it's just as easy to get caught up in the green, eco freindly, montessori, waldorf, european made craze as it is with regular plastic toys and whoa it'll cost you! I'm the first to argue that it's better to buy one quality long lasting toy then 10 cheap ones but heck what happens when you covet the whole lot? As my daughter grows and matures each day I'm learning the very true adage about having children being a fantastic way to revisit your own childhood and indulging your inner child!

Just the other day I took a How is your inner child quiz and my results were

Your Inner Child Is Angry

You're not an angry person. But when you don't get your way, watch out. Like a very manipulative kid, you will get what you want. Even if it takes a little kicking and screaming .....

he he he temper temper now we now where she gets it from...

There are definitely purchases that I've made for her that have a whole lot of "for me" and "I, love it!" mixed in like this Mouse and House playset from Pottery Barn I scored on ebay recently. I'm very guilty of staying up til some ungodly hour of the night to ensure that this set became mine! umm I mean Baby L's... just couldn't resist the crafty handmade look of it, and it's even better in person!



I guess the trouble with spoiling is discerning who exactly am I spoiling....