Happy 4th of July!!

I’ve been reading about how moms rarely take pictures of themselves.  This is certainly true in my case.  There’s always some aspect of my shell that I think should be improved before I take pictures.  However, I’ve looked the same for several years.  So, the past few weeks I’ve made sure to ask Mr. Petrie to take a few pictures of me when we have the camera out.

I know that taking pictures of myself isn’t brave in the traditional sense, but looking at myself and accepting what I look like requires some measure of courage.  I know I’m not the only woman, or person, who feels this way.

As a side note, I jokingly combed Miss Petrie Deux’s hair in a mohawk (or fauxhawk) after her bath and it didn’t come out until the next time I bathed her.

Have a wonderful day.

Over the past few days, Casa Petrie has had some changes occur.  We rearranged our living room.  We have mulched a good part of the backyard.  We took a club chair from the library and put a baby swing in there instead.

This week we have my family visiting from Texas.  My brother has been living in Europe the past 6 years and recently moved back to the U.S.  He finally met Miss Petrie Deux yesterday and of course he loved her!

Our garden is doing well.  Many of the seeds we planted have turned into little plants.  The berry bushes look like they might actually produce some berries this season.

I’m looking for patio furniture for the back yard.  I’ve been checking out Craig’s List for a deal.

The girls and I went to Target last week and found a fun little pool we could all enjoy this summer.  We’re clearing an area in the back yard for it and our sandbox.

Pictures soon to come.  Have a great day.

I just noticed I have done 250 posts in the past year.  Wow…yay for Casa Petrie!

I also noticed that I missed my first blogaversary because with a new baby a lot of stuff went out the window.  It was on February 26th.  Blogging has been a good creative outlet for me and a place for me to chronicle the happenings in our home.

Have a great Sunday.  Cheers.

Having a new baby takes some adjustment.  I’m figuring out how to take both kids out in public and how to get all three of us ready for the day.  We’re using cloth diapers with Miss Petrie Deux (we used disposables with Miss Petrie).  The cloth diapers are easy to clean so far, but I hear that cloth diapers are more complex (that’s a euphemism for gross) when a baby starts to eat solids.

We’ve had lots of visitors to welcome our new baby, which has been fun, because for most of the month of February we stayed at home due to H1N1.  People would ask if they could bring anything and I was not shy about asking for food.  We still have lots of leftovers and have been eating great meals.  Today I took out a container of frozen beef stew and used the Crockpot to heat it up.  It’s ready to eat whenever we’re ready.

This week I ordered baby announcements and pictures of Miss Petrie Deux.  I used the Walmart online photo service, which is inexpensive and very fast.  Miss Petrie and I had also dried flowers from Miss Petrie Deux’s welcome bouquets and I made a collage with them.  I’ll post pictures soon.

I’m looking forward to the warm weather.  When I woke up this morning there were snow flurries.  Brrrr!

Have a great day.

We have lots of these all over the house:

I love to buy candles after the holidays. This candle (vanilla bean) was marked down to $3 from $9. I'd never pay $9 for a candle!

Mr. Petrie got me these flowers for my birthday.

Pink blooms to celebrate Miss Petrie Deux's birth.

Flowers and candles make the house seem fresh and smell good and a new pair of Dansko clogs help me move around more comfortably.

Have a splendid day.

I had three new posts with pictures and the pictures I uploaded to Flickr didn’t actually upload.  Blah!  And the pictures that did upload didn’t get put into the correct set.  Rats!!

Anyway, we’re adjusting to having a baby in the house.  She is a really calm baby.  She is still sleeping a lot and we’re enjoying when she is awake.  In fact, Mr. Petrie, Miss Petrie and I fight over who gets to hold her.

Mr. Petrie made us waffles from scratch this morning with sausage and syrup warmed with butter.  Yummy!  It’s nice to get to spend time together as a family.  We’ve all had time to bond with Miss Petrie Deux.

Enjoy your day.

I started Casa Petrie in March of 2009.  This blog is my way of documenting the work we do on our home and our family life.  I’ve really enjoyed the creative outlet of writing and taking photos for Casa Petrie.

These posts are some of my favorite posts from this past year.  Thanks for reading!

Ikea Hides at the Dollar Tree : I was totally shocked to find these awesome dishes from the DT were actually the Ikea brand.  I’ve had the dishes for a few months now and I still enjoy them every day.  They are so versatile and chic.

Fresh, New Window Treatments: After the destruction of our wooden blinds, I finally sucked it up and bought a new window treatment for our living room.  I purchased the roman shade at a deep discount, but it was torture for Mr. Petrie to put up due to there being no directions in the box.  When I called Bed, Bath and Beyond to inquire about directions, the person I was speaking with laughed at me!  I’m so lucky to have such a persistent husband who puts up with my constant barage of home improvement requests.

Photo Transformations: I took sweet photos of Miss Petrie then Mr. Petrie made them artsy and interesting using Photoshop.

Living Room Shelves: Our living room shelves had started to look really cluttered and I spent some time re-organizing them.  I think I will need to do this process again when we put the Christmas decorations away.

Organizing the Kitchen So It Works for Me: We have a little kitchen, but I love to cook, so I needed the space to work for me.

Create Your Own Calling Cards: As a stay-at-home-mom, I often find that having a calling card is necessary to exchange information.

New Bathroom Storage: I love how these cheap vases turned into usable storage in my bathroom.

Our Living Room- Before and After: I got a nice shout-out from the DIY Showoff for this transformation.  We have spent a lot of time making the living room comfortable and I think the room is now sophisticated and comfortable for our family.

My parents did a big renovation on their century-old home.  I documented what they did in a series of posts.

From Empty Wall to Photo Mosaic: For the past 3 1/2 years, this chocolate wall has been an enigma to me.  I finally took the plunge and put up some pictures and I LOVE it!  Why didn’t I do this sooner?

Horses and Frugality: Since I’ve stopped working, I’ve made a huge effort to search out low-cost or free activities for us to do.  This post talks about my philosophy of living well with less money.

Cheers to a fabulous 2010!

Thanks to the Inspired Room for this fun linky party.

Have a wonderful day filled with love and laughter!

I am so thankful to have a life that I love.  I had lots of exciting expectations of life when I was a kid, but I don’t think I could have imagined how rich and challenging life would actually turn out.

I hope you have a wonderful holiday and enjoy some relaxation with friends and family.