Another Wall decal option...

And while I really love the Owl, at 4.5 feet tall, it's just too small...



Hopefully I can make the final decision this weekend since our Glider is scheduled to be here on Saturday!

Full Term, Full Term!!

And ready for this baby to make his debut. :)

Hopefully the last of the nursery dilemmas

I LOVE making progress. And this rooms, slowly but surely, is coming together.

Here it is with less crap on the floor and some drapes on the windows. (Yes, I still need to clean out the night stand!)




The question now, is what to put above the crib. Initially, we were going to put our four "critter" prints. But now those are going above the glider on the other side of the room.

(For reference, I ended up ordering the Bear, Opossum, Squirrel, and Weasel.)

I would imagine my best option is some kind of wall decal - and of course Etsy has a million options. Here is what I'm thinking for the Crib Wall:





Or, maybe something like this:






I'm a little worried I have too much going on in the room - but I need SOMETHING behind that crib.

Anyone have any ideas?

Completely late 36 week update

Maybe I should just call it an early 37 week update. :)

I think it has finally hit us that this baby could be here at ANY time. I've been having fairly regular Braxton Hicks contractions for a few weeks, and now I'm getting irregular, but fairly uncomfortable "real" contractions. (Just nothing regular enough for me to get worked up over!) Now, this could be nothing. I could be pregnant for a total of 42 weeks and have an induction for this little guy makes his appearance, so I'm trying not to get my hopes up.

I do however have a lot to do - and I'd like to get it done FAST.

- Install the car seat (inspection Appt 1.8.09)
- Pack a hospital bag (Started!)
- Buy a lamp for the nursery
- Hang Prints and/or buy wall stickers
- Hem curtains DONE!
- Return baby's R us duplicates and buy some last minute odds and ends
- take care of some lady business at the salon (Appt. 1.3.09)
- Touch up nursery paint DONE!

Actually, now that the lists is written out, it looks doable!

I also only have 3 days left of work until Maternity leave. Holy sheet. I can't believe it.

Since I haven't posted pictures of me in a while. He's a pseudo 36 week picture from Christmas eve. (Do you like my childhood stocking at the bottom?)


I promise to take a better one soon. And because of the kindness of Santa - I'm going to try to take a video of our little circus performer with our new Video Camera. Stay tuned.

Houston, we have progress

Yes - there is still PLENTY of work left to be done. But now at least the exploding Babies R Us has been cleaned up:





I'm also ridiculously proud of my drawer organizers. How cute are all my itty bitty baby clothes?



I also really need to start taking pictures during daylight hours. Sorry for the horrible quality pictures.

My due date is ONE month from today.

That, my friends, is nuts.

As a side note... This jumper is a monstrosity.



I've never seen anything so big. Between this and our swing - I'm not sure we're going to have any room to walk around in our house!

So that's what it looks like...

Yes, Babies R Us has exploded in our nursery...

This weekend, my goal is to ORGANIZE.

Two posts in one day? Who knew...

All you moms out there - Can you help me plan the nursery closet?

Koka and I decided to go with the Elfa system for the nursery closet since they have their big 20% off sale starting Christmas Eve. We've been working with a rep to plan the space, but since we don't have a child yet - it's hard to anticipate what we'll need.

Because we have limited drawer space in the dresser, getting drawers in the closet is very important to me. I'll store blankets and things like that in there.

We have sliding closet doors that make the space hard to divide - so keep in mind I can't really change the different columns - I can really only reconfigure the shelves/bars, etc.

That said, here are the three designs we like as of now. I'm also thinking I may add another hanging bar on the top left. I figure you can never have too much hanging space...

Can you tell me which configuration makes the most sense to you?

#1. This is the original design. It's the open elfa shelving and a movable tower of drawers. As I mentioned above, we'll probably add a 4th hanging rod on the top left.



#2. This is a slight modification of the original design to include solid white shelves. The drawers are 4" narrower to accommodate the dimensions required for solid shelving...



#3. This is with built in drawers vs. the tower. We lose some shelving to accommodate the drawer dimensions. To the left of the drawers will be a shoe organizer system. I really like the built in drawers, but I'm worried about sacrificing so much self space for them.



Option 4 would be "You're an idiot and you should do XYZ." :) You of course would need to provide the XYZ.

In contrast to my last post - these DO make me feel pretty...

Just a few of my lovely maternity photos swiped from the lovely Jennifer Kloss. I will forever be referring to her as "The Miracle Worker".

Yup. I look HOT

I'm rocking knee high compression stockings for my swollen feet. A maxium support bra with 2" straps and like 800 hooks. And full panel jeans.

Am I bringing sexy back, or what?

To my wonderful husband

I owe you an appology. Pregnancy has made me a crabby snatch. I'm sorry.

I truly don't know what's wrong with me...

I'm so excited to have this baby and become a mom. I'm loving the holiday season. I have you, a wonderful husband, a super cute dog, and a great home. I have a mother who loves me and would do anything for me. I am surrounded by my girlfriends who all care about me. I have so much to be thankful for and happy about.

I don't know if it's hormones or what, but I know I've been a cranky nutcase lately. I hear this is normal, and I don't need professional help. So please, just be kind to me in the next 6 weeks. I promise at least try not to bite your head off. :)

However, all bets are off when the baby gets here and we're not sleeping. I think we should agree now to a truce during the first few zombie weeks. Just know I love you.

EEK. It's already December

I am 33 weeks today. That's crazy talk. That means that I'm having a baby NEXT MONTH. I can't decide if I'm crazy excited, or just crazy scared... That little ticker to the right has less than 50 days. OMG.

Since I'm so bad at updating, I'll just recap my Long Thanksgiving weekend...

THURSDAY

• I woke up early to start making Ashley's FABULOUS Butter Nut Squash Gratin and Martha's yummy spinach Gratin. (Both big hits this year!)
• My mom held Thanksgiving this year at her house, so we packed up the car and headed over around 1
• I had a class of red wine. My first this pregnancy - and it was HEAVEN. The baby promptly got hiccups...
• Since my birthday is so close to Turkey day, my aunts always spring for a little something for me. This year they went in together to get me a pregnancy massage. I. Can't. Wait.
• I found my first stretch marks. ((Shudder))

FRIDAY

• Slept in until 8. This is VERY late for me these days. I can now only sleep until about 6am. So sad!
• Watched ridiculously cheesy movies on FX. (I think it was the second Bring it On movie. Hilarity.)
• Watched Koka set up the crib and dresser in the nursery!
• Walked Lola and avoided all retail establishments
• Had dinner with my Dad's family in San Francisco at a fun, hole in the wall Hunan Restaurant.

SATURDAY

• My Birthday!! Koka was super sweet and got me a signed copy of the last Twilight Book - Breaking Dawn. He was so nervous to give it to me - but I love it. I really am ridiculously obsessed with that series... My mom scored me a FABULOUS new handbag. (She really has learned the way to my heart!)
• Headed off to Ikea to pick up curtains and drawer organizers for baby's room
• Had wonderful Indian food and saw the new James Bond Movie with Koka. I actually really enjoyed it. But, Daniel Craig didn't get nearly naked enough in this one. :)

SUNDAY

• Had a minor panic attack surrounding how much I still have left to do for the nursery, so I called my mom in to help me run errands.
• Moved the current rug from the guest bedroom/nursery to the master bedroom. Realized the Pottery Barn rug I ordered is way too small.
• Ran to PB to return the rug and order the next size up
• Went to the Container Store to price out closet systems for the nursery. (Holy $$$!)
• Spent an unholy amount of time in Target buying Christmas presents, curtain rods, and giant Tupperware containers for project garage organization.
• Went to bed at 8:00. :)

Hope you all had a wonderful (and long!) Thanksgiving weekend.

I am in LOVE with my girlfriends

My wonderful friends threw me the worlds most spectacular baby shower over the weekend. I'm still in awe of their talent and creativity. I spent my entire ride home telling Koka how blown away I was, and how every single detail was truly perfect. Everyone was so generous, and Koka and I now have a living room full of fabulous baby goodies.

Here are just a few pictures of the shower. Really, there are no words...

No real updates

Just a picture of me from last week.

31w1d


Looking large and in charge...

PSA - If you're pregnant

If you're pregnant, and it feels like your labia may explode

You could have varicose veins of the vulva.

Just saying.

Oh, and if you have said pain - don't bring your DH to the OB appointment where you ask about it and your Dr tells you to invest in a "Vulva belt"... or female jock strap. Because if your DH is anything like mine, fun making will ensue.

Nursery purchases

Well I may have been pretty absent from my blog over the last few weeks, but my credit card has been working hard!

K and I (ok, who am I kidding, mostly me) finally picked out and ordered a bunch of stuff for the baby's room. I'm giddy to start putting it all together. That is, after I finish painting the million inches of crown molding and window trim throughout the house - but that's a story for another day...

Anywho - here is what I've picked up:

This rug from PB. I went with the 5x8, which is little on the small side - but I'm hoping with all the furniture in, it will look fine.



Our glider from Room and Board. It was kind of a splurge - which is why I waited so long to get it. But I actually think it's cute enough that I can move it to another room in the house when baby outgrows the nursery. Of course, it won't be here until a week or so before baby is due. Just call me the queen of procrastination. :)



And I actually didn't get the ottoman. I got this super fun one instead. (I had a hard time gliding in the chair if I used the ottoman.) I need something more stable.



I found this picture a few months ago - and it's what gave me the idea. (Well the photo planted the idea. the fabulous Becki at SMC gave me the nudge I needed. Thank you Becki!)



Now, the closer I look at it - the more I think that's my glider in the picture...

I also picked up the bedding I think I like from RH Baby and child. But, I didn't want a white crib skirt - so I mixed and matched sets. I have NO idea if I'll like it when it actually gets here. We'll see. But since I'm just not sure how I feel - and Target was offering free shipping. I went ahead and pick up this set as well.



I actually like it a LOT better in person than in the picture. It's a really pretty light blue.

So, again. We'll see. One set HAS to go back.

Ok, really?

Target has the Britex Marathon Carseat (in a nice normal grey color), for only $43. And free shipping.

Pick it up here before they're gone!

Ok, it looks like it's already gone. (Along with a video monitor they had listed for $12.94! I wish I knew about that one.)

Of course, the inwebs are blowing up saying it's an error Target will not be honoring. I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

I suck at blogging

It's true. I'm lame.

Sadly, I'm only here to wish Heather and Jeffrey lots of love. And to ask that they find comfort after the tragic loss of their sweet baby Grace at 38 weeks.

I'll be back later when I'm better able to compose my thoughts.

Almost into the 3rd Trimester

Holy Geebus. Where in the world did the last 6 months go?

I'm 27 weeks today and about to start on the end of this pregnancy. It's amazing to me how quickly it has all flown by - and really makes me stop and try to enjoy the rest of this experience. This little guy will be here before I know it. (Um, 3 months... hello!)

Here's what I looked like last week at 26 weeks exactly



And here, unfortunately, are what my feet look like. It's truly terrifying...


Thankfully, I'm still feeling really good. I haven't barfed in a month or so. I'm sleeping between the many nighttime bathroom breaks. (That god for Snoogle and dirty dreams...) And my energy is still holding strong. I'm LOVING the almost constant baby movement - even when it feels like someone is rearranging furniture inside my belly.

So far, I have to admit I'm one of the freaks that is really enjoying being pregnant. But I will also say, that I'm ready to meet this little guy.

Now, if only we could finally name him...