Caught Off Guard

A while back I started making some changes in my home to reflect what I was learning about alignment and restorative exercise.  One of these such changes is our low table.

This is a photo from a couple months ago, but it shows the table well.  It does not reflect our current state (which is sans pillows at meals and with Zipporah not off on her own in the Bumbo), though, as I describe further on.

Now, let me begin by defending it from a non-alignment-nerd perspective.  This table is the largest we have owned thus far in our lives and it is really almost too big for our space.  Although it is PERFECT for our family (as we have plenty of room to all sit and have our food on it as well - bonus!) if we had to put chairs around it, it would clutter up the main part of our house and we would constantly be walking around it (or into it) and I am sure I would feel as though I were constantly butting up against it.  As it is, having it low to the ground makes it much less intimidating to the overall feel of the room - it is much more open.  Likewise, the lack of chairs simplifies things and allows it to be placed quite close to the wall (especially considering it is mostly just the children that sit on the far side by the wall).

I must add here that I did not anticipate these benefits when asking for the table to be prepared and placed as such (with shortened legs).  And only recently have I truly "cleaned up" the space by outlawing pillows at the table during meals.  Let's be honest, the children do not require pillows to sit comfortably on the floor - even on hard wood.  Even I can manage to sit on the hard wood floor for that amount of time with little distress.  So the pillows were really just getting in the way (and getting soiled covers - repeatedly).  Thus, although I still have pillows "floating about" we do not use them for meals (unless I am nursing the baby during - I usually sit on a pillow so I can relax more while nursing).  Now we do (or at least I do) use the pillows at the table during the day for our school work or other activities, but the kids often just forgo them altogether.

I should also note that we did not transition from pillows to no pillows cold-turkey.  I picked up some cheap little foam mats that can easily be wiped clean.  They are a little sparse for adult use, but the kids appear to find them acceptable.  And they stack nicely in a pile (or can be put under the table) when not in use!

So back to the topic at hand (and heading toward what has caught me off guard).  Zipporah has been sitting in her Bumbo chair for meals (as we got her a little tray that attaches and since she is so small she still fits quite well).  Now she sits up well on her own (though she still does not get there on her own - that is a post for another day) so I have started simply setting her on the floor by the table for meals.  I can feed her (for those messy, difficult-to-eat foods) or she can feed herself in this position.

What caught me off guard was the feeling of having her at the table with us.  She is truly part of the family.  Normally "baby" would be near the family during meals, contained in a high chair - often pushed somewhat away from the table, simply because there would be no room.  Now, perhaps because of the table, or perhaps because Zipporah is so special (as she is not crawling all over yet - so she actually sits by us for meals and does not go around being a general nuisance - as I imagine a "typical" one-year-old would do, stealing from his/her siblings plates or running off).

In addition, she has started showing interest in MY breakfast and I have started making more (I usually have scrambled eggs with mushrooms, onions, avocado, tomatoes, and salsa) and simply feeding her from my plate.  It creates a bonding between us that I did not expect.  She sits beside me.  She eats with me.  It is really sweet.  I am so thankful for God having her develop as she has or I would have missed this.  Likewise, I am thankful for these crazy new habits I have been forming that led me to the low table which has been such a blessing for us.

Zipporah munching a "breakfast cookie" while she waits for me to bring the main course to the table and join her.

Rebekah's new dresser

Many moons ago. . . one of the drawers from Rebekah's current dresser (which was really quite small and pathetic) BROKE (and I mean, SERIOUSLY broke, as in there was no turning back, no hammer it back together, nothing - IT WAS DONE).  So she used three drawers and one hole (with one of those plastic baskets from Wal-mart in part of it - yes, we are pretty ghetto around here).  We just do not have the cash in our budget to replace her dresser with something really nice and new, so I was looking on our local want-ads, but I kept just missing good deals.  It was really frustrating.  Finally, I got fed up with waiting (and maybe I was getting a little grumpy with God, too) and snagged the following "beauty" the minute it popped up!!  Now, in my defense, the picture on the want-ads did not look "quite so grungy."  It was a bit less zoomed in and kinda blurry - but I assumed it was fine.  They were in a rush to deliver (coming to town the next morning!!) so even though we had another obligation I went ahead and set up for them to leave it on the porch and collect their money from the mailbox.  It all went fine but I must say I was less than happy with the immediate results.  It smelled (just a bit, but still noticeable) like smoke and was just "yucky looking."

What it looked like upon delivery. (Except that there was a handle on the third drawer - I had already started removing them before I remembered I should take a picture!)

It actually all turned out ok, I think, but I had to wait ANOTHER TWO WEEKS for the dresser to be completed (haha, God, you are so funny).  But Rebekah and I got to have a "girls' afternoon" were we went off to the hardware store and she picked out the lovely color (which Daddy affectionately termed "pepto-bismol-pink" and so that is how I shall forever think of it - thanks, Honey).  Then we stopped at the grotto by church to pray the rosary (her choice) and then topped it off by heading to the grocery store to pick up some things for dinner.  It was actually a lot of fun for just the two of us.

Slowly but surely we got the dresser fixed up.  First I removed the hardware and filled the holes (which turned out to be pointless as the new hardware ended up being the same size - haha) then I primed it with this awesome smelly primer that did not require sanding.  Then I let Rebekah help and we attacked it with color.  Over and over she kept saying, "Momma, this color is just SOOO GREAT!!  I am going to have THE BEST DRESSER EVER!"  (She was beside herself with glee.)  Two coats and we were doing good.  A couple more days and Daddy was ready to put on the new hardware.  And here the new dresser is in all her glory:

The inside of the drawers needed to be painted as they were a little smelly, too.  I thought of painting them pick, as well, but then I found a can of paint from the girls' room (it was painted purple when we moved in - but we had gotten another small can to make some repairs a few years ago) so we made the insides purple and I think that makes it "even more awesome" - seriously.