Last Day of Leave

Wow... three months have come and gone so fast.  I feel like it was two weeks ago that we were bringing home this sweet little boy from the hospital, a little overwhelmed, very excited, a bit anxious and elated all wrapped up into two brand new parents.  We couldn't get enough of this little guy.  Now I feel like we've turned around and here is this grown up looking baby that is trying to sit up on his own (usually results in an almost-face plant on the couch), trying to roll over from his tummy to his back, and is showering us with smiles and little squeals.  L is healthy as can be and is growing so well that of course I can't complain, but I'm already feeling like it is going so fast!  Today is my last official day of maternity leave and I re-enter the world of kindergarten tomorrow.  While I am so excited to see my kiddos again and see how much they have grown too, I had NO idea just how hard it would be to leave my little guy.  He is going to a trusted babysitter, and I know he will be fine.  However, the mommy in me is screaming!  I have loved, loved, loved spending this time with him.  I have been there for almost every moment, and now I won't be.  That is difficult.  It takes time and it will get easier (so everyone tells me) haha :)  But right now, I am struggling a bit. The great thing is I will have 21 kindergarteners who will be more than ready to give me a hug anytime I need one! On Friday I already had the fact that this was my last weekend of leave on my mind, so I finished up some projects I had been meaning to do for L's nursery as a distraction.  (My ideas came from a previous post- Nursery Ideas- this has all the links to the original creators!)  Here they are:

  Originally, my plan was to buy an actual shadow box.  However, Hobby Lobby did not have the size or the price I was really wanting to spend.  My mom, L, and I were shopping in the scrapbooking area and I ran across this frame.  It actually was perfect.  It does not have as much room between the glass and the backing as a shadow box does but I was not going to need that much since most of the items I would be using were pretty flat.  Plus, this frame was 50% off- score!!  The next day I gathered all the things I wanted to put in- L's first hat and socks, his footprints from the hospital, his bracelet & card, and his newborn announcement.  I arranged them all on cardstock, adhered each piece (used a pin for the socks and hat), and added some stickers from The Paper Studio.  I adore it now and it will be hanging in L's room very soon!

My other project was inspired from this post.  Her canvas ended up a lot cleaner than mine, but I did do mine around 11 pm one night after L went down and I needed some "me time."  I underestimated just how long it would take!  A hour and 15 minutes later I was done!  I didn't want to stop because I was using mixed paint and didn't want to have to replicate the colors the next day.   But 4 am came wayyyy too fast that night! :)  Here was the beginning:

I used a canvas from Hobby Lobby and acrylic paints.

I found that Q-tips made the circles very easy to make. Paintbrushes- not so much.  The blogger in the original post used her fingers, which would have been a great idea too!  I mixed the paint and then started making a lot of circles in various colors and sizes!

                     (Like my makeshift paint tray?!)

And the finished product:

My whole purpose in this canvas was to encourage L to turn his head to the left while he is on the changing table (he loves his right side and is constantly facing that way).  It was a success! He loves looking at it and often tries to bat his hands and touch the dots.  Love it! 

Thank you for enduring my anxiety-ridden beginning and not judging too harshly. :)  I hope this is a great week for you, and send some good thoughts my way so maybe the transition won't be so hard for me.