Frecklewonder

brotherly, motherly love

i consider myself pretty darn lucky to have married into a big family of (mostly) boys. growing up, it was just me and my younger sister, and i kinda always wondered what it might be like to have some fellas around in the mix. matt comes from a family of 7, with 5 brothers and one sister, all of them are pretty close in age, too. there's dan, kari, matt, ben, josh, jeremy and ed, or "dude" as he is known in the family.

in a recent email exchange with my mother in law, i became even more impressed with her superwoman-supermama-like abilities. we were chatting about pregnancy, and all the stuff that comes along with it. and from what i could tell, the pregnancy part of things seemed to really be a breeze for her. in fact, i often get the feeling the whole darn thing was pretty easy for her. she's one of those women who is just an absolute patient pro at motherhood. i think because she just loved it so, so much.

and how could she not? look at those faces!

in later years though, when little sweet babies grew up into young boys, you'd think maybe she could have gone nuts, or found herself completely exhausted. just imagine- all those boys being boys! but my mother in law would never tell it like that. she loved having all those kids, loved every minute of it. and reminiscing stories to this day, you can tell she'd go right back in time if she had the opportunity.

raised in wyoming, matt tells stories of how they used to catch black widows and scorpions and bring them home and hide them in the house. they'd take off on their bikes and be gone for hours at a time, not telling mom a thing. they'd go through gallons of milk in a day. and don't even get matt started on how soda was such a hot commodity. he was maybe 10 or so at the time, and he thought he'd come up with a brilliant solution to hide a couple of cans of soda in the back of the toilet, reserving them all for himself whenever his little heart should desire. little did he know, his younger brother, ben, was onto him and when matt confidently strutted his way in one day to fetch himself a can o'coke, guess what! no cokes! ben was somewhere enjoying them, along with the last laugh too, i bet.

it's the funny stories like this that make me ask matt, "wasn't it just so much fun, growing up with all those siblings?!", to which he jokingly replies, "um, no!". but the truth is, it was. just think of all the all the memories- the birthdays, the christmas times at grandmas, the fishing trips, and most importantly, the friendships + bonds they have between them. 

i'm lucky to call them all family today, and wish that i had known them way back when.

sending a very special happy birthday today to my brother in law, ben. matt and i wish we could be there to take you out for a birthday dinner full of laughs and good times. have a slice of cake for us!

we love you!

worry wart

this little baby in my belly is due to come out sometime in the next 8 weeks or so (for some reason, i am convinced that she will be a little early, maybe that's just cause i already feel so big), and when i stop to think about that, i realize that i'm both totally ready and totally not. on the one hand, 8 weeks seems like forever to have to wait to finally meet her and hold her, smell her, kiss her, love her. but then, i think about all the things that i feel like we have yet to due, and i feel the need to put on the breaks just a bit.

these questions (and more) swirl around my head on a daily basis now:

when will we make that big ol' trip to ikea for things like a CRIB?
when will we decide on + purchase that infant car seat so that we can actually take her home?
when will the weather be nice enough so that we can crack the windows and start painting her room?
for the love of god, there are only a handful of weekends left!

if i didn't know better, i'd say i hadn't done this once before. i feel overwhelmed by things like purchasing a car seat. if any of you readers with infants want to weigh in on this and recommend a brand for me, i would be ever so grateful.

i am aware that she isn't going to know whether her room was filled with a giant welcoming circus upon her arrival just as much as she will be clueless if it remained in its painfully modest state, and that it really doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things, and that most of this is sort of for me at this point in time. but i also know that once she actually gets here, we aren't going to have time to do things like make trips to benjamin moore and have paint mixed, and drive around looking for the perfect dresser and i most likely will not have time to sit down and craft up that duvet cover that i want to make for her. i just want to have some peace of mind and get this stuff taken care of now.

in the meantime, i settle my nerves a bit by obsessively nesting what i can. her clothing is washed, hung, and impeccably folded. and sometimes re-folded. (i did this while waiting for henry, too. it usually involves holding little onsies up and saying to anyone nearby, "look! how tiny! how sweet!" and taking in big lung-filled breaths of the baby laundry scent. do i sound crazy yet?)

also. i am nervous about labor, and i'm not really sure why. last time i had pretty much a perfect textbook experience. quick, and relatively easy and i managed to pull it off naturally. perhaps it is the knowing that's making me a little scared? in this case, surely ignorance must be bliss?

mixed bag

it's very windy here today, and i keep imagining the roof blowing off as i sit here at the desk printing shipping labels. paypal is acting like a bad child, giving error messages, causing me to log out and log back in, and generally just crawling through my simple tasks. if only i could give paypal a little time on the naughty chair or something.

in other news, i fell last week. being 30 weeks pregnant with that clumsy-ness that seems to occur around this time doesn't really mix well first thing in the morning with icy outdoor steps and trying to walk and talk on the phone simultaneously. not a good combo, i tell you. my maternal wits were with me, however, as it seems my body did everything possible to *not* fall flat on my mid-section, but rather, i landed on both knees, an elbow and my palm, with my butt up in the air. kind of looking a bit like bambi when he is just learning how to walk and all fours are sort of sprawled out all funny. that was me, sort of. but probably not as cute. i got a nice, black bruise on my knee and managed to freak my boys out big time. it was a fairly rattling experience, but i am happy to report that no significant damage was done. my little lady girl in there is a-ok, just had a check up yesterday, in fact. heartbeat is great, movements are great, we're healthy all around.

had a parent-teacher conference last night and wow, she had such nice things to say about my little henry. nothing that i didn't already know, i suppose, but it sure is nice to hear, and i am so proud of him, i could pop. afterwards, we came home and had noodles + ice cream cause, you know, that's how we roll sometimes.

so despite today's arctic winds, i can feel the season changing. we spent a few hours in our back yard on saturday (as it was 60 degrees and impossible to resist), clearing out the beds and getting them all ready for the spring blooms. i noticed buds on trees and little new sprouts coming up from the ground. daffodils and tulips, and lots of other things are on the way. i can't wait.

5 quick things!

1. my feet are way too ticklish to ever be able to indulge in a pedicure.
2. swedish fish are one of my favorite candies ever.
3. i hate uggs, but i secretly wear them as slippers around the house.
4. we are settled on a name for the baby. (i think. at least, i am.)
5. i had cereal for lunch today

fyi- these are peanut butter bumpers, the healthier, organic version of captain crunch. *wink*

a happy valentines day to you

i'm gearing up for an early spring update, and i've got to move this stuff along + make some room! perhaps there was something you were considering... now the deals are a bit sweeter!

please note: the necklace sale is for today only! 25 bucks gets you a pretty handmade necklace, shipping included! you can't beat that with a stick!

a little love from frecklewonder.

hope you have a happy day. xo

in the kitchen with frecklewonder

10 super fun vintage 50s & 60s Better Homes and Gardens cook & design books just added to the shop!

all in excellent condition, $6.50 each.

 

weekend recap

spent a few hours on saturday afternoon in a new favorite antique mall with henry, my mom, sister, aunt and cousin. good finds all around. my mom collects maxfield parrish prints, and was thrilled to find one she didn't have. my sister added to her little vintage milk pitcher collection, my cousin picked up some pretty necklaces, and i- well, i went a little nuts. had been coveting this stunning 50's cocktail gown that i finally decided to seal the deal on (and plan on wearing for my upcoming 10th anniversary!), nabbed some mint condition johnny cash + hank williams records, found a super cute red metal 50s kitchen/bar cart that i'm going to use in the baby's room (which, incidentally ended up changing the entire design idea that i had going on, but i am now sold on a mostly red + white theme, more on that later), got a couple sets of vintage cocktail glasses (one of which has a matching cocktail shaker- dreamy!) and a few other bits and bobbles that i can't even think of at the moment. at the end of the day, we were all pooped. as i like to say, antiquing is an exhausting sport :P

otherwise, we just took it pretty easy. it was super windy on sunday, and we had plans to make waffles for breakfast but ended up losing power for a couple hours. so we hit up this local "greazy spoon" breakfast joint called "weasie's kitchen". it was the kind of breakfast that leaves you feeling sort of stunned and in need of a nap afterwards, you know? the company was nice though, and it was good to eat something other than cold cereal. we've been making nice breakfasts on the weekends, and i think henry has gotten quite used to rolling out of his room to a nice spread on the dining room table.

matt brought home some movies on friday night- one of which was some of those old pink panther cartoons. we ended up snuggling in our room (the three of us, plus the cats of course) and watching those on both nights. it was c-o-l-d outside, and it seemed like the perfect thing to do.

i suppose that about sums it up!

today i am prepping images for another shop update, some of which will be available today. i just have to take some quick measurements and get the new things added.

hope you all had a nice weekend. happy monday!

quiet adventures (or, stop and smell the roses)

since henry was a tiny guy, we've taken these "quiet adventures" around our neighborhood. i can't remember if he came up with the name, or if it was me. (when he was 2, he liked to do a lot of whispering and talking in a very quiet voice, so perhaps it was the hush-hush-whisper that gave our walks their name). we just walk quietly, with no real destination, and listen to the sounds and find little treasures along the way. henry loves to explore and collect. interestingly shaped rocks and pieces of bark covered in moss will get pocketed or added to a little bag that he's brought along, so as to be observed later at home. he also loves to meet up with an affectionate cat here and there, and to sit down by an area stream and toss in leaves + little stones and check out the geese.

i am reminded this week that it's times like this that are so important in my life. when i am able to check out of all the regular hustle-bustle, slow down, turn off my thoughts + worries. for me, it's the fuel that's needed for weeks like the one i'm in. when life is so busy, and there's the health + well being of family members to worry over, and the house is an utter disaster because our schedule has been so whacked out- it's the quiet adventures that i'm so, so thankful for.

remember to carve out your own quiet time to rest + refuel your tired body and busy mind- maybe it's a hike or jog through a woodsy path, a yoga class, a little bird watching with a cup of hot tea, preparing of your spring gardens, an indulgent massage.

a little stopping and smelling of the roses, if you will.

xo

feelin the love

thank you: Giselle, Lena, Kate, Lotta, Sonali, Michell, Elizabeth, Kimberly, Virginia, Teresa, Saer, Danielle, Shihui, Rebecca, Jenny, Abigail, Youn, Karin, Melodie, Rebecca P, Melodie, Shannon, Melinda, Rachel, Deborah, Lorraine, Michelle, Abbey, Nicholas, Kelly, Jessica, Karen, Emily, Sharmaine, Elizabeth T, and Grace for all your orders last week.

I have been a busy lady, getting everything prepped and out the door. By now, most of you have received notification from USPS that your order has shipped, and if not, you will shortly. these boxes take a while to prepare, i always put a little extra lovin' in them, and then there's logging onto paypal and crawling through their system to get shipping labels printed. takes me all dang day long. while i sit and print labels, i try to listen to some good tunes, have a nice little snack or cup of tea and imagine that i'm combing the racks in the thrift store instead of being chained to the desk. it's safe to say that this is not my favorite part of this whole process, but i do get excited about packaging up your orders as special as i can, and imagine what it might be like to get a fun package in the mail.

i hope your order brings a smile to your face! all month, in honor of valentines day, i will be including these fun vintage romance novels with your orders (while my supplies last- i do have a pretty huge collection of these though)

you'll have to let me know if you actually read your copy! xo