Introducing the newest addition to the Romeka family... Ashlyn Marie Romeka! She was born November 28th, at 10:22pm... 6lb 11 oz... Thanks to all our family and friends who have helped out, visited, and for all the prayers! (a special thanks to our dear friend ashlyn for sharing her beautiful name with our daughter.) everyone is doing well (including big sister!) and we'll see you back in blogland soon!

break time

with only a few days left in the baby countdown, i'm going to take an official blog break until she's here. i promise to come back with lots of pictures and new ideas, and hopefully the baby will have a name by then! have a wonderful thanksgiving!
10 Things I am thankful for (in no particular order):

1. My dear husband who tells me I'm beautiful each day... even though I am 9 months pregnant and hardly get around to doing my hair, let alone putting on make up.
2. My mom, who came all the way down from LA to cook up a storm and supply our freezer with meals for after the baby comes.
3. Naptime
4. Girlfriend time - going for walks, phone calls (which i am so bad at returning), coffee time, playdates, pedicures... you all know who you are & you keep me sane (relatively).
5. My sewing machine which was miraculously healed
6. blogs which inspire my creative efforts - i rarely have my own ideas, but it's easy to be creative when you see everything everyone else is doing
7. My little Emma. Her sweet yet bold, easygoing personality makes it so much fun to stay home with her.
8. Babysitters
9. online shopping (especially at Christmas time)
10. Tiny little baby girl clothes

fuzzy

with less than 2 weeks until we finally meet our beloved 2nd daughter, i am finding it hard to have an intelligent conversation with a friend, let alone put together a coherent sentence. this is not the kind of person who should be trying to finish up the redecorating the living room, bedroom and nursery... luckily i stumbled upon this amazing site for kids rooms... ohdeedoh.com love it... check out the pics!

liz romeka, master of the clutter!

Our home has been taken over by toys... and books, and clothes, and all sorts of clutter! It's amazing how, in two short years Em has gone from having practically no possessions, to having more than Dave and myself - combined! Needless to say, I've been searching for storage soloutions that aren't... well... ugly... and primary colors make me cringe. Martha to the rescue again... and of course a little elbow grease from my dear husband!

For all those books & toys:

So the new baby has room for her clothes:
and for all the clothes on the floor (although maybe I won't want to cover it up):

I promise to post some actual pictures once the room is complete!

Happy Monday

Happy Monday! D.I.Y. Holiday project later tonight if all goes well. and no, this picture is not from halloween. just a regular monday morning at our house!

check

With one day to go, Em finally has her costume for the Harvest Festival... a happy little blue bird. It took a bunch of felt, several hot glue sticks, and about an hour to put together... if you're in the same boat check out these EASY D.I.Y. costumes from martha!

again & again

I'll admit it, I love this print...maybe it's because it goes to the heart of my inner valley girl (yes, I really just admitted that - SFV!) It's been on 3 or 4 of the design blogs I follow and I've resisted the urge to buy it every time. I'm trying to get the house under control... my wandering ideas of what exactly is in good taste has resulted in a very *eclectic* look and I'd love for it to all just flow. The poster is ruining it for me... If I could find it in blue it would probably be too late already. Ahhhh if only home design came easily for me.

newest member of the family

I would like to introduce you to the newest member of our little family. She came earlier than expected, and still doesn't have a name... she's a little loud but I couldn't love her more...

Okay, so it's not the new baby yet, but it's something I wanted for a long time. I didn't think we'd get one for awhile due to the $300 price tag, but surprise of all surprises, my mom gave us hers! It's a ROOMBA. A nifty little vacuuming robot that I can turn on when leaving the house and the carpet is all clean and beautiful when I return... every day! no more dragging out the giant vacuum 3x a week (and wishing to every other day), or carrying emma while i vacuum because she's so scared she starts shaking and sobbing uncontrollably at the sound. YAY!

long time, no post

Wow! It's been a long time, with no posting... I miss the blogging world (and hate that last picture of me). We've been busy busy busy with B + R's wedding in Washington, and getting ready for the still-to-be-named baby we're expecting in less than 4 weeks... yikes! i had to catch my breath after writing that last bit! Em was a flower girl again, and the wedding was beautiful. Washington was cold, and our good friends Tom and Kelley were so gracious to let us stay in their newly renovated home... they even turned up the heat for us freezing San Diegans every night - Thanks Guys!
Speaking of the little girl on her way, Ashlyn posted this great site for baby names on her blog... Nameberry. Super creative, and much less boring than the traditional baby name book or website. If you don't see anything new from me soon you'll know which site I'm stuck on! I've got LOTS of sweet new kid stuff to share, as well as a few simple DIY's for the holidays coming up. Stay tuned and I'll see you around!

Happy Birthday Mom!

A very happy birthday to my dear mom... two hours left, but I just wanted to let you know how much you are loved and appreciated!

and yes, I did call her earlier today!

something new

something new from "elephannie" on etsy... i couldn't understand why my mom would get teary when she read that book, now that i'm a mom i get it.

rock it like martha...

Yes! It's finally October... with it comes fall, cozy clothes and weather (nevermind that it was 100 degrees earlier this week), and Pumpkins! I'll admit that Em and I did this little project a week or so ago, but it's so easy, and not only that, but perfect for the little ones to participate in. It comes from MarthaStewart.com complete with instructions and supplies list. I've added my own here -
1. Pick a Pumpkin
2. Paint said pumpkin with Tacky Glue. This takes longer to dry than regular white glue, but it's less runny and holds the glitter better (yes, it works best with a paint brush)
3. Sprinkle with clear, gold, or silver glitter
4. let dry
5. If you want to be like Martha, you can even paint the stem of your pumpkin although I didn't see that as necessary.

eclectic

Why I wish we could get a kitten...Baby Names: I'm sure the list is actually longer, but off the top of my head we have all these names... and only 6 and a half weeks?! In no particular order:

Ashlyn Noah Cara Drew Dawn Juliette Sophia Addison Reece

Olivia Sophia Hannah Isabella Eisley Hazel Sydney

cute as a button

I was absolutely overwhelmed (in a good way) this weekend with an outpouring of love from friends and family at our baby shower. I was thinking it would be a quiet get-together. After all, I had a baby shower when Em was born, and didn't want to be too much trouble. When I walked in, it was clear that this was not the case... everywhere I looked there was something, some sort of amazing detail. The theme was "cute as a button."


Thank you to all the ladies who put this together, and to everyone who was there, for making it such a special and blessed day!

silhouette project

Alright, I know I'm late to jump on the boat, but I am totally into the silhouette craze right now. I remember posing for a silhouette drawing in third grade where they traced our shadow, the class cut them all out, and we gave them to our parents as a Mother's Day present. This DIY is similar, but a little more stylish, and doesn't involve getting your kid to sit still (always a plus)

1. find a picture of your child's profile, make it the size you want your silhouette to be. print out...

2. with a black, fine tip marker, carefully trace the outline of your child's silhouette

3. cut out

4. choose a paper (i chose one with a print) to trace the silhouette onto

5. cut out

6. mount on paper of your choice

7. frame it and smile!
The prints on my paper don't show up well here, but I used scrapbooking paper with a damask print for both the silhouette and backing. Happy crafting!

carrots

after all three of us getting the flu this week, friends visiting from out of town, and a day of watching some of our favorite kids (besides those in the immediate family), i was exhausted. as i threw myself down on the bed this afternoon for a 5 minute (right...) nap, i felt something strange, and cold, and... slimy? i jumped up only to see a half eaten carrot on our newly laundered, crisp, white duvet - yuck! but it made me laugh because at that moment, i realized that's what's great about being a mom. "half eaten carrots are what's great about being a mom?" you ask. well, yea, sort of. all those little things, the handprints all over a just-cleaned mirror, my jewelry box emptied on the bedroom floor, a trail of crumbs through the house... these things won't last forever, and i'm actually pretty sure i'll miss them when they stop happening. so for now, when i'm getting the paper towels out for the 14th time this morning, i'll choose to smile!

Bride & Wolfe

So, after two bouts of the flu, a bike catastrophe (em's favorite toy in the world, her bike, got broken by a big kid), and an unusually crazy week... we're back! I'm still working on getting things together in our little apartment - after we've lived here for a year - and so I'll admit, I'm really into decorating. As I was perusing the internet from bed today, I found this fantastic company: Bride & Wolfe. They are an Australian company which specializes in wood cut silhouettes. I am in love with pretty much everything on their site


I particularly like the one in the middle, and the "climbing girl," bottom right. We're considering all of these for em's room... or maybe one for ours? Be sure to check out Bride & Wolfe... great for kids and their parents!

Stay tuned this week for a DIY (do it yourself) project any parent would love... and it makes a great gift! See you then!

yikes!

SO much has been happening in the last week that I'm afraid I bit off more than I could chew with last/this week's themes... I'll reschedule them for this coming October. We do have some great things to share, so be sure to check back! until tomorrow... Good bye, and have a great day!

big kids week

So I must have babies on the brain, because I haven't posted anything for older kids in quite some time... so here it is "Big Kids Week." Where we'll be featuring neat products for those kiddos who can speak in full sentences!

Monday's Pick: eeboo - eeboo is a company which produces, "beautiful, useful, and well made products for children." All their artwork has a vintage feel, and their products are all educational (and you'll love to look at them)
Their line includes counting cards, composition notebooks, growth charts, good manners cards, puzzles, flash cards, and even a line of products for the preschool set.

My personal favorite was actually featured in Parent's magazine recently : Story Telling cards!
$10/pack, these cards give prompts for telling a creative story of your very own. Take turns with the whole family for a real laugh! They also make the perfect birthday present...

you make me happy

We returned from A & T's wedding yesterday in Ventura. It was perfect. The weather, the location, and of course the couple, handpicked by God for each other. Congratulations to them both, and we can't wait to see you when you return from Hawaii! Emma was a great little flower girl, she didn't throw any petals, but she walked out into that crowd of strangers like a professional (sort of).


Today I ran out to the store for the weekly groceries while Dave stayed home with a napping Emma. When I walked in the front door, they were both singing and doing the motions to a "Dora"song. Em was giggling and Dave was smiling. I have to admit that as of late, I've been kind of stressing over the "5 year plan"... just what exactly are our goals & how are we going to get there? As I stored groceries away in the kitchen and then moved onto the everyday tasks like folding laundry, putting it away, and picking up toys it came over me... I am incredibly blessed. I could hear them in the background, my daughter and beloved husband, playing together and carrying on... and I was filled with the joy of knowing that no matter what we have or don't have, what careers we take or where we live, my family is the blessing I hold closest to my heart and the gift from God which is most precious.

talk about the obvious!

After scrolling through my recent posts, I just now noticed I left something out. All this talk about things going with your theme... and I didn't post any themes! First off, I don't think that a theme is necessary, but it can make things a lot easier. Even a unifying color can be a theme...


"wild" baby shower, polka dot theme, goodnight sleep(take pictures b/c this is the last time she'll see a good night's sleep for awhile!) shower, cherry theme, eclectic, retro

green tea party, lemon theme, "Sweetest Thing"- a perfect occasion for lots of desserts and candies!This last one is something new to me... but cool. It's called a "sprinkle shower" and it's for mom's who have other children, and most of the needed items, but still want to celebrate the occasion with friends and family - adorable!

look what i made

Em's making her social debut this weekend at a good friend's wedding. I actually made her dress - yikes! but it turned out pretty cute, even if she doesn't like wearing it.

decorating

Decorations are the best part about hosting a baby shower (except of course the joy you are bringing to the mom-to-be)! The kind of decorating you do will depend on the theme of your shower, and of course the atmosphere you wish to create. As Martha says, "you'll want to keep decorations to a minimum at baby showers, because most of the focus will be on the mother's growing belly anyway!"

Clockwise from top: Alphabet block cakes (martha stewart), nesting (martha stewart), party chicks- great for place cards, or just hung as decoration (heather bailey), polka dot theme shower (again from martha), fresh flowers are always perfect for a baby shower!, Paper globes are a fun stand- in for flowers... beware though, these take much longer to make than you'd think (heather bailey), a tea party theme, Garlands with pics of mom and dad growing up, or big brother/sister, baby clothes, and candles... lots of votives are one way to bring warmth and comfort to any location.

creepy

As I've been browsing the internet, I've come across a few disturbing, yet amusing things... loosely related to children (but I wouldn't recommend them for that set!) here they are:

The first is one I found in the archives of Design Sponge (a new favorite), the second is from Silhouette Masterpiece Theater - they have a very, um, interesting brand of humor!

baby shower week

As I mentioned last week, many many of our friends are adding to their families... which means one thing - BABIES (and baby showers). I've come across so many cute ideas and things I'd love to put together for these showers I figured I'd give you a little inspiration if you find yourself in the same place. If you have any ideas, or pics of things you've done for baby showers, send them in and I'll post them on Saturday!

#1: Invitations:
The invitations are key to a great shower. Ideally, they should be sent out 4-6 weeks before the shower so everyone has plenty of notice. They let guests know when, where, and for who the shower is being held, as well as setting the tone for the rest of the day. Below is a blend of invites from varying retailers - - -

Clockwise from top: Invites from - Urban Park Papers, Tiny Prints, Petite Pear (etsy), Tiny Prints, Target.com, Chick Print (etsy)

Another option, and one I particularly love, is DIY (do it yourself) invites. This adds not only an original touch, but is fun and (can be) a $ saver. Postcards, stamped invites, and even online invites are all readily available!

stuck up

Sorry for my absence yesterday, I was consumed by the space that is the girl's new bedroom. We switched with them in an attempt to keep toys from taking over our life (living room). Everything is finally together and weeded out, and now it's time to decorate! Sounds fun, but I consider the basis of home decoration to be paint... and since we're renters... that's not exactly an option. I've been a fan of ScribbleIt! for some time now, and they're great. But I happened to stumble across this etsy shop which I felt had a better selection for a little girl's room.


Elephannie - removable wall decals to beautify your space... simply :)

in addition...

I should have tacked this one on the end of my last post, but the bed was calling my name. Something else every mom should have is one of these...

They go by many different names, but it's basically a little pouch for a couple of diapers and a pack of wipes. This has saved my life so many times. For those quick trips out when you're dying to ditch the diaper bag (no matter how cute it is).

They come in many different styles, and some are a tad bigger, but include a changing pad. Honestly, with a little ingenuity and a sewing machine it's not difficult to make one yourself!
click the pictures for links to their etsy shops!

something for mom

I wanted to post about something I'm searching for right at the moment... the perfect diaper bag. Now I realize this means different things to different people. For me, it means something that is big enough to hold all my stuff, easily washable, and most importantly... it looks nothing like a diaper bag! Other people might have differing opinions, so I've decided to post some different looks, all cool, funky and totally worthy of toting around EVERYWHERE with you.

#1 - My Fav, by Retrofied: fully reversible and machine washable HOORAY!


#2 For those who like something more artistic, and a bit more whimsical, try one of these little totes from Bestiary. Not a ton of pockets for organization, but very fun... and many of the fabrics are "upcycled."

#3 Something more traditional, but doesn't leave you sporting "Winnie the Pooh". The Ultimate 9 Pocket Messenger Bag by GlamBaby:


#4 And Runner Up to my favorite is this bag from TTPeas & Carrots:

The best part about all of these bags is that they are not outrageously expensive. When I had Emma, my MIL bought me a gorgeous Juicy diaper bag which I adored... but I had to clean it with the upolstery attachment on our vacuum, not to mention a bag like that wasn't exactly in the budget! The perfect diaper bag is the must have accessory for every mom. So mommies, take a look... just because your baby is a fan of Tigger and Roo, doesn't mean you have to wear them!