Odds and Ends

I was planning to take our Christmas tree down last Thursday, but then Sunshine came down with strep, and I spent the next three days nursing my girl back to health instead. In the glow of the Christmas tree lights.

Then I came down with a horrid cold and found myself curled up on the couch under a blanket while Sunshine fed herself and Sweetheart cheese crackers until Daddy woke up and fed everyone some real food. (Bless my sweet girl and my husband.)

We are both much recovered now, but that tree still sits there, looking beautiful and festive. And mocking me.

I'm hoping to get to it this weekend.

For Christmas, my parents gave me a beautiful little four-foot white birch tree with white lights, and I am eager to set it up on that loft ledge where the Christmas tree stands. We love the soft glow of the lights in our small house, especially on these long winter nights, and a white birch seems like the perfect winter tree now that Christmas is over.

My parents also bought me a medicine cabinet from IKEA. I don't plan to keep medicine in it, of course, but I am excited to have more storage space in our bathroom so we don't have to leave everything sitting on the counter all the time. It always looks so cluttered now. My dad, the quintessential handyman, is hoping to install it tomorrow, and I can hardly wait.

I never updated what happened with our plans to carve out a corner of the loft for Sunshine. The reason for this is quite simple. It didn't happen. Chris works odd hours, and lately he has been sleeping in the loft a lot during the day. It seemed unfair to create a beautiful, fun space for Sunshine and then tell her she can't go up there because Daddy is sleeping. I am eager for the day when we will turn the whole loft into a bedroom/playroom for the girls. I think that will make our home feel so much bigger, but it will likely be a while before we have another place to set up Chris's "man cave," and Sweetheart is still too little to navigate the steep stairs by herself anyway. Someday, though.