Special Edition: This is from Jason’s phone, though I took it. His mom found his and his brother Daniel’s Cabbage Patch Doll piggy banks recently. They were quite excited! I love how one has orange hair and one has yellow hair. It’s hard to tell now that they’re adults, but as little boys Jason’s hair was pretty red and his little brother’s was whitish-blond.
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Art, Art: Phone Photo Friday, Family, Family: Extended Family and Friends, Family: Jason | Tagged: 1980s, brothers, cabbage patch dolls, cell phone photography, Phone Photo Friday | 
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Posted by mahlbrandt
A couple weeks ago some friends threw me a lovely “Baby” Shower. It’s kind of unusual circumstances; at least in my circle of friends it’s the first shower for a foster mom that I’ve ever heard of. There definitely have been a lot of things we’ve needed to purchase to prepare and we’re just like expectant parents in a lot of ways. It was very sweet and generous of these friends (and family) to bless us. My friend Jenna hosted the shower at her house with the help of my sister-in-law Ginger and another friend Katelyn. Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures of the three of them (or me)! Boo.
Jenna took these pictures of the decor. The food table was decorated with books. Tons of books (for us)!
Foam letters were super cute as window decorations and will be fun bath toys for the littles:
Jenna also crafted this sweet mobile:
The food for the shower was make-your-own ice cream sundaes. Hello! All kind of yummy toppings and waffle cone bowls. Yummo!
Angela (and baby in the belly) and my mom:
My mother-in-law enjoying a sundae. (Sorry I didn’t get better pictures.)
Rachel, my niece Eliza and my mom. At least half the pictures I took were of my niece. What can I say, Aunt Martina is enamored!
Leila with Eliza. Leila is soon to become a new mom through infant adoption. I hope we’re throwing a shower for her soon!
Everyone brought a book signed with a special message instead of cards. Between these special books and the ones used as table decorations, we now have a great book collection for our kiddos. I love Dr. Seuss. Yay!
I got all kinds of thoughtful and generous gifts. My mom put together a medical kit from Nurse Memaw and paid for our first car seat. My mother-in-law gave us a gift card for Amazon.com (where I’m keeping a wish list of kids stuff!) and my sister- and brother-in-law paid for the crib I’ve been drooling over for a while now:
This shop & play cover from Angela was a very clever gift and one that hadn’t occurred to me. It’s a shopping cart cover and a restaurant high chair cover. It can also be used as a play mat. Plus it’s farm/fruit/vegetable theme since we love to garden.
I love the compact portability of this booster seat from Rachel. If we get an infant or young toddler we might also want to get a foldable high chair with a tray.
Leila got us finger paints and bath toys. Get covered in paint and go straight into the tub. I like the way she thinks!
Angela also gave us this sweet baby blanket. Animals on one side and blue, green and tan stripes on the other. Perfect match!
Jenna and Katelyn got us this awesome pack-n-play with a bassinet and mobile option. I love the pattern.
My favorite big sister, who is also a soon-to-be mama, sent me this fun stuff from my Amazon wish list. I am really excited about this puppy backpack. I can’t wait to see one of our little ones bopping around with it on his or her back. Also, magnetic cabinet locks, outlet covers, and a chalkboard eraser and dustless (!) chalk for our chalkboard door.
And my sister- and brother-in-law keep giving us random things like a set of Mrs. Potato Heads, play doh, baby wipes and a sound machine/night light for a crib. I can’t keep track of it all. Needless to say, we are very blessed! We’ve got the greatest friends and family. I’m so excited to welcome these special kids into our lives. They’re going to be surrounded with an instant community of love and support.
6 Comments | Art, Art: kids room, Art: modern design, Family, Family: Extended Family and Friends, Family: Foster Parenting, Family: Me | Tagged: baby shower, foster parenting, kid shower | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
…or any new parents, really.
I got some wonderful, thoughtful, generous gifts at my shower. Most of them were from Amazon.com where I’ve been keeping a wish list of baby/kid items for my own reference. A couple gifts were totally original ideas. And one gift really took the cake with it’s thoughtfulness. I call it the Nurse Memaw Medical Kit. My mom, soon to be “Memaw” to our foster kids, is a nurse so it’s even more perfect coming from her. This is a great idea for a new foster parent or any new parent.
Medical supplies for kids:
baby wipes
sunscreen
shampoo for kids
baby bath solution
kid-safe toothpaste
fun kids toothbrushes
fever reducer for kids
fever reducer to infants (drastically different dosage!)
medicine droppers
bandaids
neosporin wound cleaner
My mom is awesome! So clever with her gifts. This reminds me of my bridal shower when she gave me a huge basket full of kitchen staples and spices. All those little things that it’s so nice to have on hand when you need them in the middle of a recipe, or in the case of the kids medical supplies, in the middle of the night.
A week later, a friend gave me the medicine lock box and infant medical pack off my Amazon list. I added this kit to my list because it contains a thermometer, nail clippers, a nose sucker (what are those called?), and some different kinds of medicine droppers. I think we’re all set now. Did we miss anything you can think of? Do you have any other great gift ideas for new foster parents? Is my mom amazing or what?
10 Comments | Family, Family: Extended Family and Friends, Family: Foster Parenting | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
I’ve had a very busy week. My husband is home on a break from traveling so we’ve been in full-force project mode at home. That means I have blog material but no time to blog. 🙂 So this is an update on our friend’s post-flood reconstruction house with photos and lazy captions. Click here to watch a video update from one of our local news channels that aired on the 1 year anniversary of the 2010 Nashville Flood. It recaps Jeremy and Leila’s freshly renovated house being flooded, their rental house getting robbed, the demolition of their flooded house and where they’re at with the construction of their new house. Here are my pictures from a couple weeks ago…
From the dining room, facing the kitchen:
Jason and Jeremy in the living room:
Living room with high sloped ceilings since it’s at the back of the house and paper covering up the finished wood floors:
Hallway from the living room. Master bedroom is at the end to the right. Full bath on the right. Guest room, laundry room and nursery on the left, which is toward the front of the house:
Guest room:
Nursery:
Master bedroom:
Deck off the dining room:
Maggie Moo, the cow-dog:
Bonus room (office):
Bonus room looking toward the kitchen. Lucy inhaled construction dust to the point of vomiting. Fun times:
Kitchen:
Dining room shot from the kitchen. (Leila, Jeremy, Jason):
OK, all of those were my pictures. The rest of them are Jeremy’s pictures that I snagged off facebook.
Tile, countertop and vanity consideration for master bathroom:
Wood flooring installation:
Finished wood floors. Solid white oak with a stain mix of 50% jacobean and 50% dark walnut. Semi-gloss oil poly on top:
Full overlay style cabinets in the kitchen, oak with espresso stain:
Granite choice for kitchen countertops, “white sands”:
Radiant heat for concrete bathroom floors:
Master bath vanity in cherry wood with espresso stain, with finished “permacrete” concrete floors:
Same in the hall full bath:
Master bedroom accent wall in a brownish, copper color. (I’m not sure what is going on with the color in this photo. The foreground walls are either white or light gray…not blue. I didn’t take this photo but I think the orange is pretty accurate.):
That’s it for now. As you can tell, it’s very close to completion. Hopefully just another week or two and they’ll be moving in! Which should be pretty easy considering they lost 80-90% of their belongings in the flood… They have a mattress, clothes, dishes and kitchen items that could be salvaged, a few boxes of personal items, and some electronics that either weren’t in the house during the flood, have been recently purchased or survived. (Can you believe their LCD TV was submerged half way in floodwater and still works?!)
1 Comment | Art, Art: CBB 3.0, Art: interior design, Art: mid-century design, Art: modern design, Family, Family: Extended Family and Friends | Tagged: CBB, modern house, Nashville Flood, new house | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
Today is my mama’s birthday. I love my mama! I aspire to be as generous a mother as she is and always has been with her love, time, help, advice, friendship and prayers. I hope to never take for granted how blessed I am to live close enough that we can grab lunch, meet for dinner, go for a swim or a walk, or plan a shopping date whenever we feel like it … I don’t know many people in Nashville whose parents live close (it’s a city of transplants for the most part) and I’m very grateful for it.
Here’s a picture from Easter Sunday of my mama with my niece Eliza. She’s going to be an awesome Memaw!
I love you, Mama! Glad we can celebrate together tonight.
2 Comments | Family, Family: Extended Family and Friends | Tagged: birthday, mama | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
Our friends’ home building project is moving right along. (I’m way behind on updates, sorry!) Since the last time I updated, the walls have been framed, the metal roof added, and the exterior walls have been closed up:
Nice high, sloped ceilings. 9′ in the front half of the house, up to 12′ here in the back of the house.
I love how the house looks from the back. That beautiful deck looks out over Shelby Park where we can sit to watch the tides roll in next time we have a flood. Just kidding. But we will definitely be spending a lot of time under that sloped roof. I heard a rumor that Leila and J might even be installing an outdoor TV and surround sound stereo system out there…
The front of the house looks… well… I think it’ll look great once the stairs and landscaping are added.
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Click CBB 3.0 under the “FILE UNDER” menu on the right to see all the updates on this house.
1 Comment | Art, Art: CBB 3.0, Art: interior design, Art: modern design, Family, Family: Extended Family and Friends | Tagged: CBB 3.0 | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
Have you ever been on the brink of something huge and felt simultaneously excited and inadequate? A couple weeks ago Jason and I made an important decision about our future. I feel without a doubt that it’s the direction God is leading us — it’s something that’s been in our hearts for a long time but lately has been stirred up to the point that we can’t ignore it. Immediately after the decision was vocalized and we were in unity about it, I started getting overwhelmed with fears about my shortcomings and worrying whether or not this is something we’d be able to pull off. As Christ-followers, we recognize this as a spiritual attack. Obedience with passion and excitement to move forward is met with resistance in the form of fears and concerns. I tossed and turned that night, wrestling with my thoughts.
The next morning, I cracked open my short daily devotional book, Jesus Calling. It is a 2 minute read of encouraging words from the prayer journal of missionary Sarah Young. What it said on March 11 is exactly what I needed to hear that morning to squelch the burning feelings of inadequacy that had plagued me the night before:
“Walk by faith, not by sight. As you take steps of faith, depending on Me, I will show you how much I can do for you. If you live your life too safely, you will never know the thrill of seeing Me work through you. When I gave you My spirit, I empowered you to live beyond your natural ability and strength. Thats why it is wrong to measure your energy level against the challenges ahead of you. The issue is not your strength but Mine, which is limitless. By walking close to Me, you can accomplish My purposes in My strength.” (based on 2 Cor 5:7 and Gal 5:25)
I’m sharing this hoping it will encourage someone else as much as it did me (not just to make you wonder what’s going on with us.) I can’t reveal what it is yet; for now we’re still holding it close as we figure out the next steps. (Hint: I’m not pregnant. I know some of you were thinking that.) If God has put you on a precipice with a view of what’s ahead, be strong and courageous! Though I may not be capable of what will be required of me, I know that He is with me and He will make me able.
4 Comments | Faith, Family, Family: Extended Family and Friends, Family: Me | Tagged: courageous, Faith, fear, first step, inadequacy, trust | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
My sister-in-law Ginger, who is also one of my best friends, had a baby 2 weeks ago. (Happy 2 week Birthday, Eliza!) I have been thoroughly excited for mama and daddy these past 8 months anticipating the baby’s arrival. When Ginger mentioned that she was hoping to find some new pajamas to wear after the baby was born, I thought it might be nice to put together a hospital gift bag for the new mother – some things to do, something new to wear, some snacks. I couldn’t find much reference online for what to include so here’s what I came up with in case anyone else is looking for ideas for a gift for a pregnant friend:
• a cute tote bag, perhaps that can be used later for baby items (I added a wool felt “e” to a plain white bag)
• a fun kid/parenting/baby/craft magazine to flip through
• comfy pajamas; a nursing-friendly top
• snacks like fruit, granola bars, gatorade
• crossword puzzle or Mad Libs book (I ended up skipping this idea)
• A card or encouraging letter
The new mama seemed to really enjoy the gift. The pjs were reportedly soft and comfy and didn’t rub the C-section incision spot. She said the magazine also came in handy during some middle of the night sleepless times at the hospital.
Any other ideas of what a new mom could use during her hospital stay or the first days at home?
7 Comments | Family, Family: Extended Family and Friends | Tagged: hospital gift bag, new mom | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
My niece was born yesterday afternoon! Her name is Eliza Kiley. Not the most flattering photo…she was still pretty fresh. I have better ones in my camera. But it is Phone Photo Friday after all. Eliza is absolutely adorable and I am totally smitten. She has soft, fuzzy brown hair and stunning, big blue eyes. I already LOVE being her aunt. We’re going to have lots of fun together. Uncle Jason and I even got to change a poopy diaper last night.
4 Comments | Art, Art: Phone Photo Friday, Family, Family: Extended Family and Friends, Family: Jason | Tagged: aunt, baby, niece | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
From here on out, I’m going to refer to our friend’s house (the one needed painted, then was destroyed by a flood, then knocked down, and now has started to be rebuilt) as CBB 3.0. Why? Because that’s their nickname for their house. They have called their home Camp B_name-of-their-street_ Bottoms since they bought it. The original was version 1.0, completely renovated it into version 2.0 and now they’re building version 3.0. (Search for CBB for anything about this house, CBB 3.0 for the rebuild.)
Jeremy and Leila gave me the OK to share their progress with you. Their new home will be modern with some mid-century influence to fit it with the other 1950’s-1970’s houses in the neighborhood. The biggest challenge has been fitting a design into FEMA’s strict regulations. This had a major influence on the overall design of the house because the foundation had to be raised 4 feet from where it was before but the space below that foundation can not be living space. The solution was to make a garage and storage space under the house … kind of like an above ground basement. Here are some pictures of the recent progress:
The foundation is 2/3 concrete block and 1/3 wood frame.
The large opening is for the garage door at the back of the house.
Flat roof graded toward the front of the house:
The build is moving so quickly, I can’t keep up with pictures. (Hopefully J is OK with me stealing pics off his facebook for now…it’s still dark in evening when I get home from work.) The roof should be complete by the end of this week. Target completion date: 1 year anniversary of the flood, May 1st.
2 Comments | Art, Art: CBB 3.0, Art: interior design, Art: mid-century design, Art: modern design, Family, Family: Extended Family and Friends | Tagged: CBB, CBB 3.0 | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
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Graphic designer, MCM interior design enthusiast, wife to amazing guitarist and hard working realtor, mama—by way of foster care, adoption and biology—and follower of Jesus Christ.
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