Celebrating Life

Lost in Transition

A lot has been going on the last two weeks.  We found out we are having a baby girl, my 97 year old grandmother passed away, we became a two car family and coordinated the transport of a car from Oregon to Colorado, we moved the little guy to his “big boy” room, we had new carpet put in the house, and today we had to say goodbye to our beautiful little kitty, Murphy.
It seems that every time I sit down to write something that the right words don’t come out.  I guess that’s why I don’t write for Hallmark.  I want to be deep and meaningful, but I am at a loss.  The ups and downs of life come at us all the time, but the last couple of weeks they have come with lightning speed.  Some of the events were planned or “expected”.  Others, like the loss of our sweet Murphy, came on suddenly and have been quite a shock to the system.
The good news is that we have a healthy baby girl on the way, the little guy is sleeping well in his new room, and we have beautiful new carpet.  The hard stuff is dealing with the loss of Grandma and, right now, Murphy.  And, while dealing with all of these emotions, my house is not put back together and that will have to wait until the weekend after Ryan returns from Seattle.
I am on a roller-coaster of emotion due to my fluctuating pregnancy hormones as it is, and I am feeling a bit lost in transition.

Bring on the PINK!

We decided to find out the gender of our second child due in September.  Yesterday, at 2:20, I emptied my bladder and then proceeded to fill it back up with 16-20 ounces of water in preparation for our 3:20 ultrasound.  Ryan met the little guy and me at the OB’s office, and we waited until my name was called.  It was a really long wait for me!

While sitting in the waiting room Ryan said, “Are you sure we want to find out?”

We did not find out the gender of our little guy until he was born on July 5, 2007.  We agreed that was one of the “last good surprises” you can have in life.  It was a great surprise to find out that we had a little boy…that was definitely what Ryan was hoping for (and I really was, too)!  The first thing I said to Ryan in the operating room (I had an emergency c-section) was, “You got your little boy!”

This time it is different.  I want to PLAN!  My days are filled with chasing the little guy around, keeping the 3 dogs out of trouble, and many other household tasks.  Ryan thinks I sit around and eat bon-bon’s all day while watching my “stories”, but I tend to disagree.  At any rate, I want to know if we keep the boy stuff, or pass it on to friends who have recently had (or will have) little boys?  Do we “need” to add some pink to the nursery?  Does Ryan need to get used to the idea that baby #2 might be a girl (again, he is hoping for a boy)?  In addition, we can prepare the little guy not just for a baby, but a little brother or sister!

So, we got called in by the ultrasound tech, I got the goop on my tummy and away she went!  We didn’t have to wait too long, but she did check on a few things before she double checked that we wanted to find out the gender.  And…she’s a girl!  I had a “feeling” that we were having a girl this time, but Ryan asked the tech how sure she was about the gender!  She said she would never say 100%, but that she was 99.9% sure this baby is a little girl.  I think Ryan was in shock.  I am sure the concept will sink in by September, but I am glad that we found out now instead of waiting until then.  I am excited to have one of each, but it will take some getting used to after only knowing little boy raising for the last almost-2-years!

So, after I am done with the little guys “big boy” room, we will have to bring on the PINK in the nursery!

new blog

As some of you know, I started a blog called Stephany’s Blog last year.  I have used it to cover everything…life, the little guy, and interior design.  Recently, I have decided to start a blog that is for family and friends about our life in the Northwest.  From now on, Stephany’s Blog will be strictly about green living and interior design.

I tend to publicize my Stephany’s Blog posts on my Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter pages and would like to keep some aspects of my life “private”, meaning just for family and friends, but would still like to blog about them.  So, I have started this new blog called Our Northwest Life…about the Taddeo’s living in the Northwest!

I hope you will enjoy reading both of them!

Green Living is Just Living

I have been immersed in this “green” movement for at least 15 years since I majored in Environmental Studies while going to the University of Colorado at Boulder.  It probably started before that, though.  I remember picking up trash while we were out on hikes as a family, and leaving our campground better than we found it when we went on weekend camping trips.  My parents grew fresh fruits and veggies in our garden, and while some may disagree with this, we ate organic meat that my dad shot each hunting season.  My dad would also remind us to to turn the thermostat down to “6-0″ before we went to bed at night. 

In addition to the things I learned as a child, these days:

• I drive a hybrid.
• I recycle more than I contirbute to the landfill.
• I bring my own bags…to every store.
• I buy organic.
• I shop at local farmers markets.
• I have replaced every bulb I can with a CFL.
• I use a programable thermostat.
• I plan and group my outings…even using right hand turns in my routes as frequently as possible. 

These things, and more, are just living, and I don’t even think of them as being a part of  “green” living.

Currently, I am struggling with the term “green”.  I have been fighting with it while updating my ”Services” page on the Stephany Taddeo Interior Design website…how do I market “green” without using the word “green”?  To me, just like “green” living is just living;  ”green” interior design is just interior design.