Oh, crap.

I woke up this morning and wanted to check some things out online, you know, the morning Facebook/Pinterest check in? We'll, I was greeted by this: 

I'm hoping not all is lost, especially since I have a paper due today and a family picture session booked for Friday. This could be a very depressing day. 

Helping the Hubs

I never know what to expect.

Some mornings I get a text "hey, can you come help me?" and off I run to the physiology lab to help the hubs practice setting up for classroom labs or research. Some days that means I carry things or drive them from one building to another, some days I breathe air with certain oxygen percentages and bike until I can't push a pedal one more time, and sometimes it means I get studded with electrodes to measure who knows what. 

Yesterday it was the latter.

 

It's  kind of fun actually.

I like that whole practical science thing. Only today I woke up and found tape stuck in my hair from electrodes that he attempted to stick to the back of my head. Fortunately not much hair was lost in the removal. I mean, a girl can only sacrifice so much for science. 

Moon Phase Wall Art

This is perhaps one of the simplest things I've ever done and I am completely IN LOVE with it. The nursery is evolving and I'm coming up with a theme gradually. My love of Earth sciences is definitely going to be evident when all is said and done.

Seriously, to do this you need only cardstock or other heavy paper, white craft paint, a fine tipped brush, something small and round (I used the lid to a 1 liter soda bottle), and about fifteen minutes.

I used a quilt cutting mat to guide my placement so I didn't have to draw guidelines, but you can do whatever you like. I honestly just eyeballed it. I was going for slightly imperfect (I think it's charming) or I would have just put it together in illustrator and printed it out. Want to make one? Here's how:

1. Trace two rows of 4 circles each, spacing them how you like. I cut my paper to 5 x 7 first and spaced it how I thought it looked good.

I actually made two in 10-15 minutes because I wasn't sure if I liked the black or grey paper better.

2. After all the circles are traced, use craft paint and an extra-fine paintbrush to trace the circles.

3. Once the outlines are done, freehand the moon phase shapes. If you're not sure what they should be just mimic mine. I've seen other moon art that had them in a different order (most likely to change the black/white balance of the piece) but I wanted mine to be in an accurate sequence.

I left the solid white and solid black moons in corners, but if you follow the shapes around in a rough circle they are in order of how they appear in nature:

No visible moon (solid black) = New Moon

Small crescent illuminated on the right = waxing crescent

Right half of moon illuminated = first quarter moon

Right three-quarters of moon illuminated = waxing gibbous

Whole moon illuminated = Full Moon

Left three-quarters of moon illuminated = waning gibbous

Left half of moon illuminated = third quarter moon

Left crescent illuminated = waning crescent

That's it! Let dry and then slip into a frame and voila! Accurate sequence moon phase art for literally pennies and hardly any time.

I already had this frame that I'm planning on using in baby boys room and although I'm digging the gray one, it didn't look so great next to this color. I think a high contrast color choice would be awesome in a bright white frame, maybe teal and lime green? turquoise and coral? bright white and yellow? The options are endless.

Babymoon

If I'm being honest, I've never been drawn to the idea of a babymoon. It seems like just another excuse to get away and spend money that you may or may not have while preparing for a major, and expensive, life change. It didn't occur to me that I'd ever take one. For the last little while, the hubs and I have been stockpiling our frequent flier miles (his, really) so that we could go to Hawaii once he passes his comprehensive exams. I lived in Hawaii as a kid but haven't been back since I was 5 and have been counting down the months until this trip would be upon us. We tentatively scheduled it for this coming January, and then boom! I got pregnant.

{Somewhere around 1979 outside our house in Hawaii}

Needless to say the idea of taking off to Hawaii with a week old baby was not terribly exciting, so we scrapped the idea. The hubs decided he wanted to go do something before the baby came and I reluctantly agreed. In truth I was a little disappointed at the idea of using up our free fares to the islands on something that we I may not like quite as much. We'd only have a long weekend to donate to the cause which significantly limited our choices. While I leaned toward San Francisco, he leaned toward Alaska, as it seemed silly to use up our miles on a destination we could feasibly drive to. He arranged child care (since we left the second day of school and my mama guilt would have prevented me from figuring it out) and off we went.

I cannot say how amazing it was. My mind has forever been changed about babymoons.

Not only did we see breathtaking scenery:

{Denali}

{Random view from the side of the road headed south from Denali}

{Matanuska Glacier}

{Kenai Fjords}

And gorgeous animal life:

{One of the Orca pods that swam along our boat}

{Grizzly Bear}

{One of the prettiest sled dogs I've ever seen - Denali National Park}

{A sea otter who gave us a great show until he was scared away by someone's flash}

Most significantly we were able to reconnect with each other; which I suppose is the entire point. 

{A random stop along a highway, somewhere in Alaska}

{We jumped in our wedding photos too}

I haven't been too worried about what life will be like once the baby comes. I know it will be busy, and crowded, and I'll be tired. I know the hubs will still have to study for his comps and work very long hours in the lab. I know our girls will each have rough adjustments to make (one is also getting a new sibling a month later from the other parent, the other has a new step-parent entering the picture) and that none of us can really anticipate what becoming a yours/mine/ours family will really be like. 

What I learned on this quick trip is that I seriously adore my husband. 

There was a point this weekend where I realized that we won't always be parents. Despite my early worries, I had not stressed about the kids once during the entire trip (an answer to a prayer for sure). It hit me that life as an empty nester has the potential to be really fun. I truly enjoy my husband's company, and I'm not sure daily life lets me remember that as well as being far from home having common adventures does. It's too easy to focus on the dirty clothes next to the bed, that we each own too much stuff, that one of us didn't do x, y, or z the same way the other would, etc. It was remarkable, and not just because of where we went, but rather because of the way it helped us reconnect and make sure we are completely unified before the roller coaster of life takes off once again. 

So I'm sold. Babymoons rock. Do I have to be pregnant to get another one?