Daddy's Boy

In the last week or so I've realized that my little boy has been a Daddy's Boy! At least 5 separate times a day Jared will turn to me from whatever he's playing and say, "Dada? Dada?" I always explain that Dada is at work and he goes back to his fun, but you should see the sad little face he gets when he realizes that Dada isn't here. The real realization came the other morning though. Background: Jared normally just cries when he's ready to get up in the morning, no words, just crying. Jon and I were letting Jared cry a bit to see if he would go back to sleep because he woke up at 5:50. All of a sudden I hear "Dada, Dada" coming from Jared's room. Then again today he was refusing to take his afternoon nap and I hear "Dada Dada." I've decided it's because he already knows that Jon is the softy in the house.

Living Room Plans

As you can see by the slideshow on the side I've been busy looking at stuff for the living room. Here's my newest find from Crate and Barrel:

Found Here

My favorite part is the it's from reclaimed wood so it's got some real distress marks. Here's the top view.

Now to save up for it.

No Motivation

Grr! Today was a rough today. I've noticed that after I have a busy day of running around (like taking Jared to Chicago) I have a really hard time getting back into the swing of things. It's too easy for me to make excuses. Do you have any suggestions for motivation? My most recent thought is just to schedule something I have to do earlier in the morning so that I get moving immediately and don't end up sitting around. Without a set schedule I have a really hard time getting motivated and getting things done. Jared definitely doesn't make things any easier because he wants to be right in the middle of everything, just like any toddler.
Luckily tomorrow is a new day! Here's to a better day!

House Stuff

I think I've finally been inspired to get some design into this house. Jon and I have been talking about what to do with some of the space since Big Jared moved in. Having an extra roomie has really made us aware of the space and what it does to us. Right now our living room is the big problem and I do mean big. It's a pretty large space, especially for the size of our house, but it's become a catch all. Here's a description for those of you that haven't visited.
We have a large L shaped couch in the back corner that Jon says one just "falls" into. Actually we've been practicing my GRE vocabulary so he would more accurately say that we wallow in it. Next to the couch is a cabinet record player that takes up a decent amount of space. There's also a cheap bookcase, our tiny tv on a cheap tv stand, and all of Jared's toys. We've also got a coffee table in the middle of all that. Now moving on to the other end of the room. It's more open because the boys just moved another couch down to the basement. There's a large comfy chair, drumset, end table, glider, and lamp. There's also a fireplace and a large wooden secretary (that's what my mom would call it) type piece of furniture on that side. The walls are a shade of white that has a tint of green and the ceiling is dun dun dun...dark brown.
So here's what we're thinking. We want to have two sections of the room: a comfy relaxing section and a more "straight back chair" feeling (those are Jon's exact words) section for work. We don't have much money to spring for new stuff so we've got to work with what we've got. I am really drawn to clean modern designs, which I think Jon likes too, but he's a bit more quirky than me. Basically I need to pare down and organize all the stuff we have. All the designs I like have less clutter than I have and look much cleaner.
Jon would really like to get a big table to work on. The idea of painting a small section of the wall with chalkboard paint in order to create somewhere that Jon can jot down ideas. My understanding is that it will be framed out. I've also talked about getting organizers for the walls, so that Jon can just put his papers in there when he is done for the night.
Do you have any suggestions? Please send me links if you find any.
I've been looking at Young House Love and really love the overall look that they have going and the DIY stuff is always good. I'd love to hear your suggestions. Hopefully eventually I'll be able to post some before and after pictures.

My Life

Life has been moving along as usual. Since my last post Jared has started and become confident in his walking. It's funny how much more of a big kid he seems now. He's absolutely loving the independence too. That boy is going to be one interesting kid. So impatient already and he gets real frustrated when he can't do something immediately. I can also see glimpses of the terrible twos, which should be loads of fun.

In other news: I'd really like to be able to use this blog to update life in general instead of just life with Jared. I've been working really hard on fully developing myself and want somewhere to share it, besides with Jon. So, what's new with me you ask?

I am looking into some new options for more schooling. Throughout my time of thinking about what I'd like to do with my life I've been pulled towards the sciences, but the idea of having to complete so many prerequisites before even starting grad school was just daunting. The most appealing thing I had been considering was neuroscience, specifically looking at sensory processing. One day last month I decided to forget about the prerequisite issue and look into programs. I was surprised to find that there are PhD programs in Psychology that concentrate on Neuroscience. Yay! With these programs I'd probably only have to take one prerequisite class at the most. How exciting! So, I've purchased a study guide for the GRE and have taken a practice test (which did not go well, but now I've got some room to improve). There are several programs in Chicago, so that's encouraging too. Now, I just have to work on getting accepted to one. Applications are due in December and any suggestions or help you have to offer is greatly appreciated. It all seems a little daunting right now.

One last thing before I go. Cleaning my house is not something I enjoy and because of that it is often dirtier than I'd like to admit. I am trying to keep it cleaner and somehow work the cleaning into my normal routine. Since it's abnormal for me to be cleaning I recently sent Jon an email proudly listing my accomplishments for the day. He found it amusing, so here's a small excerpt:

"Here's my completed tasks so far today: cleaned the bathroom sink, counter, mirror, floor, and toilet (having two grown men makes the toilet much messier...yuck!); swept and mopped the kitchen floor (unfortunately it still feels dirty...maybe it's just my feet though); cleaned the kitchen; cleaned Jared's high chair; and I also thought about some ways of rearranging things in the kitchen, mostly the microwave and accompanying cart. My additional plans include cleaning the floor again because Jared just decided to dump his food there and vacuuming. I think that will be a productive day for me."

A day in the life of Torrie. =)

I've Failed at Blogging

Yep, it's finally come to what I knew would eventually happen. I just don't seem to have time to blog anymore. I feel like I'd like to continue and now that there's a laptop in the living room I might, but we'll just have to play it by ear.
Here's a rundown of life at the Boggs house:
Jared turned 1! What?! I know, I was surprised too.He's a cute little bugger who's refusing to walk, but talking up a storm (most of the time I have no idea what he's saying, but it's super cute). When Jared was younger everyone we talked to including his pediatrician thought he'd be an early walker, but he's proving everyone wrong (I wonder if this is what I can expect from now on). He takes a few steps, but always sits down nicely and finishes his journey by crawling. I know I shouldn't be in a rush, but it sure is tough.
He is talking now and the signing has been going great. Most of the time he's able to give me a good idea of what he wants without crying. Unfortunately he's very impatient so the crying starts while I'm getting whatever he's requested.
Jared has this adorable thing that he does that just brightens my day. Background: Jared pretty much refuses to give kisses across the board. I don't know what it is, but he just doesn't want to do it, even when he's being bribed with food (and the kid always wants food), just ask Mimi. So, in lieu of kisses Jared has started coming over and putting his forehead on someone else's. It's his own little show of affection. I think it's so fun because he came up with it on his own (At least I think he did, but maybe Jon and I do this. Who knows?). The other funny thing is that he gives his stuffed animals kisses with his lips all the time. He's a funny kid.
In other news, I've been working hard on my plan for 2010. My style book is getting more filled up and I even bought some pieces that I feel are perfect. Dresses are my new obsession for summer. I don't want to wear jeans again until fall. =) Too bad my wardrobe doesn't fit my style just yet, but it'll get there eventually. I was even able to go window shopping with a friend and articulate why certain pieces would or wouldn't work for me. The next step is gonna be even tougher though. Finding things that fit properly. Darn that long torso!
I also made a fun decorating decision. We have a white hutch in our kitchen and I have some things displayed on there, but I've never really liked how it looked. While visiting LA I saw some really cute teapots/cups and decided to do a hodgepodge of those on the hutch. My idea is very modern looking items in mostly solid, bright colors. I've starting looking at Goodwill and will hopefully find some at garage sales this summer. I like having direction while shopping. =)
Finally I emailed an instructor at Erikson to find out more about how she got to where she is. She does research and her area of expertise is neuroscience which has been interesting me more and more lately. We'll see what comes of that.
Hopefully I'll post again soon, but no promises.

My Year So Far

For those of you that care about my project to deliberately improve myself this year, here's a little update on what I've been doing.

• Purged by closet and dresser- I had way too much stuff that I never wore anymore
• Went through Jared's clothes to remove those that don't fit anymore. Unfortunately, I have to do this again. The little bugger keeps on growing. =)
• Put some of Jared's toys in the basement to free up some room.
• Started my style book of clothes that I like.
• Talked to a friend about starting latin dancing lessons.
• Tried a few new recipes from Real Simple.
• Bought some Bath & Body Works soaps. Yes, this was on my list as a splurge. =)
• Tried some red lipstick and it was definitely not the right color, but I'm going to keep trying.
• Went on a date with Jon. Whoo hoo!
• Decluttered one of the bathroom drawers.
• Got a friend to help hold me accountable to the things I want to do and help me reward myself for a job well done.
• Started a list of specific clothing items that my wardrobe needs and my mom helped me get a few of those already. Thanks Mom!
• Spent some time at the mall walking around and seeing what stores I like.
• I took Jared to the library storytime and signed him up for the Kindermusik class that we have a gift certificate for. =)
• Signed up for a knife skills cooking class.
• Signed up for a cake decorating class, but it's postponed because I'm the only one who signed up.
• Invited friends over and spent more time with friends.
• Signed up for a class at the library about vegetable gardening.

Well, that's what I've been up to. I think it helps to write it all out like this so I realize how much I've done and it's only March! =) Hopefully I can keep it up.