Friday, January 31, 2014
Photo Friday #60
Remember when I said last week that I was looking forward to spending some time with my brother? Well I did and it was great! I flew into Baltimore last week for work and Scott was so nice to pick me up from the airport. We planned on grabbing dinner together before I headed to my hotel. To make the night even better there was an Iowa basketball game on for us to cheer together like the good ol' days. Unfortunately the game didnt' turn out the way we'd hoped, but we still got a few good hours together. We had a formal request from mom to take a picture so of course we obliged. Don't worry mom, we would have anyways. It was so great seeing you Scott!
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Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Fun With Onsies
One thing I've enjoyed during this pregnancy is funny onsies. There are so many out there that make me laugh and some that are so touching I could cry (not really, but you understand). For your viewing pleasure, here are a few I love.
Found here
Found here
Found here
Found here
Found here
Found here
Found here
Found here
Found here
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Weekly Pregnancy Update (27 Weeks)
This week marks my official entrance into the third trimester!! Oh boy, can you believe it? Part of me can believe it and part of me is having a hard time realizing this baby will be here soon.For the most part I'm just anxiously excited.
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Week Number: 27 Weeks, 2 Days
Baby Size: Head of Cauliflower (16 inches and 2.5 pounds)
Sleep: I have been trying a few new sleeping tricks lately. I started with borrowing a body pillow from a coworker. That didn't quite cut it. The thing is huge and took up a quarter of our bed. It made it very difficult for both of us to have enough space to sleep comfortably. Now I've been trying a pillow between my knees to help alleviate strain on my hips. So far so good I'd say. I still get a little bit of pain in the middle of the night, but my mornings have been much better. I think I'll stick to this trick for a while.
Movement: Lots of it! Every day is so different with the kick pattern and amount of movement. I haven't been able to find much of a link between the time of day or foods I eat. I also think this baby has graduated from simple kicks and jabs to full out somersaults. This change of movement has taken some getting used to on my part, but I still love it!
Clothes: Getting dressed for work is becoming more and more challenging. I have to really think through what I'm going to wear and what will fit, comfortably. I think that last part is key, I might be able to wear something, but if it's not comfortable then I'm doomed for the day.
Symptoms: A few aches and pains here or there, but nothing major to complain about. I think I've mentioned this before, but Joe is there to help rub out my back if I get any pains. I also think riding the bike and going for walks has help this.
Best Moment of the Week: This is a twofold. First, I passed my glucose testing! That means to gestational diabetes for this gal. I visited the doctor last week to have the test done and my results came back this past Monday. The sugary drink that everyone warned me about was really not that bad. I wouldn't say I enjoyed it, but I'd compare it to Hi-C or some sort of sugary sports drink. Secondly, we took out infant CPR class this past weekend. Afterwards I think we're both more confident on handling a little life in case of an emergency. Of course if anything were to ever happen it would not be easy, but at least now we know the techniques and what to do to help.
Looking Forward To: Seeing my brother. One perk of my job is traveling to DC, where Scott lives. I don't travel often, maybe four times per year, so it's not a burden. Actually it turns out to be a great opportunity to pop in and have dinner with my big brother.
Week Number: 27 Weeks, 2 Days
Baby Size: Head of Cauliflower (16 inches and 2.5 pounds)
Sleep: I have been trying a few new sleeping tricks lately. I started with borrowing a body pillow from a coworker. That didn't quite cut it. The thing is huge and took up a quarter of our bed. It made it very difficult for both of us to have enough space to sleep comfortably. Now I've been trying a pillow between my knees to help alleviate strain on my hips. So far so good I'd say. I still get a little bit of pain in the middle of the night, but my mornings have been much better. I think I'll stick to this trick for a while.
Movement: Lots of it! Every day is so different with the kick pattern and amount of movement. I haven't been able to find much of a link between the time of day or foods I eat. I also think this baby has graduated from simple kicks and jabs to full out somersaults. This change of movement has taken some getting used to on my part, but I still love it!
Clothes: Getting dressed for work is becoming more and more challenging. I have to really think through what I'm going to wear and what will fit, comfortably. I think that last part is key, I might be able to wear something, but if it's not comfortable then I'm doomed for the day.
Symptoms: A few aches and pains here or there, but nothing major to complain about. I think I've mentioned this before, but Joe is there to help rub out my back if I get any pains. I also think riding the bike and going for walks has help this.
Best Moment of the Week: This is a twofold. First, I passed my glucose testing! That means to gestational diabetes for this gal. I visited the doctor last week to have the test done and my results came back this past Monday. The sugary drink that everyone warned me about was really not that bad. I wouldn't say I enjoyed it, but I'd compare it to Hi-C or some sort of sugary sports drink. Secondly, we took out infant CPR class this past weekend. Afterwards I think we're both more confident on handling a little life in case of an emergency. Of course if anything were to ever happen it would not be easy, but at least now we know the techniques and what to do to help.
Looking Forward To: Seeing my brother. One perk of my job is traveling to DC, where Scott lives. I don't travel often, maybe four times per year, so it's not a burden. Actually it turns out to be a great opportunity to pop in and have dinner with my big brother.
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
The Nursery - $10 Floating Shelves
I showed you our reading nook in the nursery already. Now I want to show you how we made the floating shelves you see on the wall.
It started with (what else) some inspiration. I found the idea for the shelves here and the idea for a book display here. But let's be honest, we didn't construct these shelves quite like she did. We got the materials from Lowe's on one of our weekend trips. Our purchases included two 1x4s and one 2x4. Total cost? Almost $10 exactly, which is just like what the inspiration video said it would be.
Once we got the lumber home we cut them all in half (to create two shelves). We arranged them similarly to the inspiration shelf. Instead of me trying to explain this, I'll show you a diagram instead.
Here Joe demonstrates the size of the shelf in our dining room. At this point in the project it was still very much a secret that I was even pregnant. We couldn't give anything away until we were ready to announce the big news. In the meantime we just gave each other a pat on the back and admired our handy work, quietly.
This shows you the little lip in front to hold the books. You might notice we arranged our 3 pieces of wood a bit differently than the diagram. We didn't feel we needed quite as much depth to the shelf so this is how we arranged our the three pieces.
And here are our floating shelves once we got them on the wall in the nursery. We used some books to approximate on the best distance between the shelves. We also wanted them a bit low for easy access. (Sidenote: these pictures are driving me nuts today. The yellow you see below is really not the yellow we see on the walls. I wish these pictures didn't show the color so brightly. I am just not a good photographer to capture these colors correctly.)
It started with (what else) some inspiration. I found the idea for the shelves here and the idea for a book display here. But let's be honest, we didn't construct these shelves quite like she did. We got the materials from Lowe's on one of our weekend trips. Our purchases included two 1x4s and one 2x4. Total cost? Almost $10 exactly, which is just like what the inspiration video said it would be.
Once we got the lumber home we cut them all in half (to create two shelves). We arranged them similarly to the inspiration shelf. Instead of me trying to explain this, I'll show you a diagram instead.
We just used some very long nails and ensured the shelves would be sturdy enough for a few books. Simple as that! After they were both assembled it was time to paint. We used the same white paint as the trim in the nursery. Again, very simple!
Here Joe demonstrates the size of the shelf in our dining room. At this point in the project it was still very much a secret that I was even pregnant. We couldn't give anything away until we were ready to announce the big news. In the meantime we just gave each other a pat on the back and admired our handy work, quietly.
This shows you the little lip in front to hold the books. You might notice we arranged our 3 pieces of wood a bit differently than the diagram. We didn't feel we needed quite as much depth to the shelf so this is how we arranged our the three pieces.
And here are our floating shelves once we got them on the wall in the nursery. We used some books to approximate on the best distance between the shelves. We also wanted them a bit low for easy access. (Sidenote: these pictures are driving me nuts today. The yellow you see below is really not the yellow we see on the walls. I wish these pictures didn't show the color so brightly. I am just not a good photographer to capture these colors correctly.)
Once again, here is our finished product in our reading nook. I'm so happy with how this project turned out! As you can see we've already filled the shelves with great books to read our little one. We've got some true classics up there including a few Dr. Seuss books.
Friday, January 17, 2014
Photo Friday #59
Are you sick of all the baby related posts I put on this darn blog? I apologize. You can tell what has been on our minds lately. Well after sorting through gifts and getting the nursery ready for our big reveal we saw a few common themes. Although the Bears are done for this season, our little baby (boy or girl I might add) is ready for next season. Between the two onsies we bought online, the blanket my mom made and the pacifiers I bought for Joe's birthday (not shown here unfortunately), our baby will be decked out in Bears apparel. As for this season? I'm cheering for Denver. Go Broncos!
Monday, January 13, 2014
The Nursery
In order to show you what the nursery looks like, I have to show you what we started with. I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but the previous owners had 3 little girls. With these 3 girls came 3 colorful bedrooms. The one we selected for the nursery was a lime green color. The green was pretty, don't get me wrong, but we needed to change that for our new addition. What I did really like about the room was the crown molding, chair rail and all the white details.
My color inspiration came from (where else) Pinterest. I had been browsing for some time and pinned a few ideas like this, this and this. We went to visit our paint friend at Lowe's and chose some Olympic paint in eggshell. The colors (shown below) are Forsythia Blossom and Stormy Weather. We used some white paint already at home for some touch ups. We also painted the ceiling a lighter shade of Forsythia Blossom called Butterfly Bush.
Here was our after with the room still empty. You can barely see the ceiling color, but the white crown molding shows the different between the ceiling and wall color well. I like our decision to go with a lighter yellow instead of the standard white.
And here is our nursery today. I literally took these pictures this past weekend after we cleaned up and found a home for all the baby clothes, toys, cards, etc. I'm sure this will all change a bit more before (and after) baby arrives, but I love the (for now) finished product.
You'll notice a few blankets draped on the crib. Like I mentioned before we've received some great gifts. My mom sewed the one in the middle (with characters from Where the Wild Things Are) and my aunt Deb bought us the blanket on the right which fits perfectly with the nursery colors.
This is our little reading nook. Some of the books you see were gifts and we we've purchased a few ourselves. You'll also see a few fury friends hanging out on the rocker, again gifts from family.
Update: instructions on making the floating shelves here.
The double doors lead to the closet, which needs a lot more work. We need to move lots of boxes out and find new homes for them before we can hang up little baby clothes and such.
I'll expand on a few of the details in the room too. Here is a closer view of the paintings above the crib. Once again I got my inspiration from Pinterest, found here, here and here. I shared my thoughts with Joe and we each took over with our own canvas.
The canvases were bought at Michael's with a coupon making only $4 (originally $10) for the pack of two. Then we just took wine corks and dipped them in the paint we had left over from the walls and ceiling. It was a fun project for both of us to put our own touch on the nursery. Can you tell who made which one above?
We bought the crib on Wayfair online. It was a store I had never purchased from before, but once we settled on the style and color we wanted, they had the best price. We were pleased with the price and how quickly it was delivered. The more I look at this picture the more I think we need a crib skirt. Nothing fancy, just maybe a white one to cover up the wood board you see below the mattress. Another project!
Of course the night the crib was delivered we were anxious and took the time to put it together. It maybe took us an hour in total which wasn't that bad. This picture was taken from my iPhone, hence the different color tones. Funny thing is this picture probably shows the wall color better than the ones above. The yellow is a nice soft color, I love it.
My color inspiration came from (where else) Pinterest. I had been browsing for some time and pinned a few ideas like this, this and this. We went to visit our paint friend at Lowe's and chose some Olympic paint in eggshell. The colors (shown below) are Forsythia Blossom and Stormy Weather. We used some white paint already at home for some touch ups. We also painted the ceiling a lighter shade of Forsythia Blossom called Butterfly Bush.
Here was our after with the room still empty. You can barely see the ceiling color, but the white crown molding shows the different between the ceiling and wall color well. I like our decision to go with a lighter yellow instead of the standard white.
And here is our nursery today. I literally took these pictures this past weekend after we cleaned up and found a home for all the baby clothes, toys, cards, etc. I'm sure this will all change a bit more before (and after) baby arrives, but I love the (for now) finished product.
You'll notice a few blankets draped on the crib. Like I mentioned before we've received some great gifts. My mom sewed the one in the middle (with characters from Where the Wild Things Are) and my aunt Deb bought us the blanket on the right which fits perfectly with the nursery colors.
This is our little reading nook. Some of the books you see were gifts and we we've purchased a few ourselves. You'll also see a few fury friends hanging out on the rocker, again gifts from family.
Update: instructions on making the floating shelves here.
The double doors lead to the closet, which needs a lot more work. We need to move lots of boxes out and find new homes for them before we can hang up little baby clothes and such.
I'll expand on a few of the details in the room too. Here is a closer view of the paintings above the crib. Once again I got my inspiration from Pinterest, found here, here and here. I shared my thoughts with Joe and we each took over with our own canvas.
The canvases were bought at Michael's with a coupon making only $4 (originally $10) for the pack of two. Then we just took wine corks and dipped them in the paint we had left over from the walls and ceiling. It was a fun project for both of us to put our own touch on the nursery. Can you tell who made which one above?
We bought the crib on Wayfair online. It was a store I had never purchased from before, but once we settled on the style and color we wanted, they had the best price. We were pleased with the price and how quickly it was delivered. The more I look at this picture the more I think we need a crib skirt. Nothing fancy, just maybe a white one to cover up the wood board you see below the mattress. Another project!
Of course the night the crib was delivered we were anxious and took the time to put it together. It maybe took us an hour in total which wasn't that bad. This picture was taken from my iPhone, hence the different color tones. Funny thing is this picture probably shows the wall color better than the ones above. The yellow is a nice soft color, I love it.
The pillows I bought off Etsy from here and the pillow inserts came from Amazon. I wanted something to spice up the white chair which believe it or not I got from my grandparents back in college and we slip covered. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for contributing to the nursery. Bet you never thought that would happen 8 years ago when you gave me this chair!
The curtains (which are one of my favorite purchases for the nursery) are from West Elm. I found them here and you'll notice, it's actually a shower curtain! I actually got this idea from this blog and fell in love. I knew I wanted gray and white curtains and the wide stripes were perfect. I shouldn't refer to plural curtains because we only bought one. It's plenty wide to cover the whole window. If you clicked on the link and saw the inspiration blog post you'll see that she added an orange panel to the bottom of the curtains. I decided against this for two reasons: 1) the length was good and I didn't feel I needed to add to it and 2) I don't have a sewing machine so adding the panel would be somewhat difficult. One more victory for this purchase... I got the 10% off for signing up for West Elm emails. Gotta love saving some money! Oh and don't let the first picture below fool you, we use to have the rocker in front of the window, but moved the furniture around recently.
I plan on telling you more about the changing table, dresser and shelves in separate posts. Joe and I got crafty and did some major DIYing!I'm so happy with how the nursery turned out and I feel very accomplished with how much we've done. It was fun to have a blank canvas to work with and Joe and I really put our heads together to come up with a fun room for our baby.
Friday, January 10, 2014
Photo Friday #58
Here is my little sneak peek into our nursery. Also included are the items we've started accumulating for this baby of ours! We've received some really wonderful gifts from family and friends, thank you all! I'm really hoping to put together a full post about the nursery and items in it. We've both very pleased with how it's turned out. Until next week... have a wonderful weekend!
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Weekly Pregnancy Update (25 Weeks)
Well I'd say my baby belly has officially popped. I can definitely be pegged as the pregnant lady. I've even had a stranger and coworker ask if I'm pregnant. Is that appropriate to ask someone? Probably not. Luckily they were correct so my feelings weren't hurt. Granted I don't wear clothes like this dress on a normal day so I'm still able to hit this little baby belly pretty well.
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Week Number: 25 Weeks, 3 Days
Baby Size: Eggplant (2 pounds)
Sleep: For the most part sleeping has still been decent. I've been experiencing some pains on my hips when I sleep on my sides though. Of course those are my only options for sleeping positions so I wish I could figure out how to get rid of the pains. All in all I still can't complain.
Movement: I think we have an active baby on our hands. I read that these next 3 weeks are the most active for the baby and I totally believe it. It has been so much fun to feel the baby move, but also see the movement on my stomach. I got to share this with many family members while home for the holidays too.
Clothes: I'm still able to wear most of my work clothes, however my pants are not buttoning completely. It has worked out well to leave them partially buttoned or completely unbuttoned (yet zipped). By some miracle they still stay up! I did just purchase some more maternity clothes over the past weekend (thanks to a Christmas gift card!) The complete transition to maternity clothes is definitely in my near future.
Symptoms: I've experienced just a bit of back pain here and there. Nothing substantial or worthwhile to complain about. Luckily Joe has jumped in to help rub out my pain.
Best Moment of the Week: It wasn't this past week, but seeing my family and close friends over the holiday was very special. Although we've seen most of them since finding out about the pregnancy, this time it was far more evident that there truly is a baby in my belly. We also got to share stories and got lots of helpful advice for our journey ahead. We also received a baby book for Christmas (thanks Scott and Amy!) which I'm thrilled to have and start filling out. It includes spaces for us to share our journey from confirming the pregnancy through school age. I really hope we can stick with it and fill it out well for our little one to look back it years from now.
Looking Forward To: Continuing to prepare for our babies arrival. We have an infant CPR class coming up at the hospital which will help us feel more at ease once responsible for a tiny human. We'll eventually start washing clothes, arranging the nursery, etc.
Week Number: 25 Weeks, 3 Days
Baby Size: Eggplant (2 pounds)
Sleep: For the most part sleeping has still been decent. I've been experiencing some pains on my hips when I sleep on my sides though. Of course those are my only options for sleeping positions so I wish I could figure out how to get rid of the pains. All in all I still can't complain.
Movement: I think we have an active baby on our hands. I read that these next 3 weeks are the most active for the baby and I totally believe it. It has been so much fun to feel the baby move, but also see the movement on my stomach. I got to share this with many family members while home for the holidays too.
Clothes: I'm still able to wear most of my work clothes, however my pants are not buttoning completely. It has worked out well to leave them partially buttoned or completely unbuttoned (yet zipped). By some miracle they still stay up! I did just purchase some more maternity clothes over the past weekend (thanks to a Christmas gift card!) The complete transition to maternity clothes is definitely in my near future.
Symptoms: I've experienced just a bit of back pain here and there. Nothing substantial or worthwhile to complain about. Luckily Joe has jumped in to help rub out my pain.
Best Moment of the Week: It wasn't this past week, but seeing my family and close friends over the holiday was very special. Although we've seen most of them since finding out about the pregnancy, this time it was far more evident that there truly is a baby in my belly. We also got to share stories and got lots of helpful advice for our journey ahead. We also received a baby book for Christmas (thanks Scott and Amy!) which I'm thrilled to have and start filling out. It includes spaces for us to share our journey from confirming the pregnancy through school age. I really hope we can stick with it and fill it out well for our little one to look back it years from now.
Looking Forward To: Continuing to prepare for our babies arrival. We have an infant CPR class coming up at the hospital which will help us feel more at ease once responsible for a tiny human. We'll eventually start washing clothes, arranging the nursery, etc.
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Stroller and Carseat... Check!
Look what we got in the mail yesterday! After much research and debate we settled on our stroller and carseat travel system from Graco. It includes an infant carrier carseat and the matching stroller.
We didn't waste anytime getting it out of the box. It was surprisingly very easy to put together and really only took us about ten minutes from start to finish. We chose this particular one for the great features (one second fold it amazing) and also the color. I should be clear, we chose the style first (for safety and security) and then decided on the color. No, we're not having a boy and keeping some big secret from you all, we just thought black and blue would be nice looking and useable for all babies in our future.
Now can't you just imagine a little baby sitting in there? It's such a relief to have this big purchase complete and checked off our list. What's next?
We didn't waste anytime getting it out of the box. It was surprisingly very easy to put together and really only took us about ten minutes from start to finish. We chose this particular one for the great features (one second fold it amazing) and also the color. I should be clear, we chose the style first (for safety and security) and then decided on the color. No, we're not having a boy and keeping some big secret from you all, we just thought black and blue would be nice looking and useable for all babies in our future.
Now can't you just imagine a little baby sitting in there? It's such a relief to have this big purchase complete and checked off our list. What's next?
Monday, January 6, 2014
Crochet Pattern: Snowflake Ornament
This Christmas I wanted to do something crafty to give as gifts. I searched and searched for a nice ornament pattern I could easily follow and finally found something I had pinned on Pinterest last year, but never attempted. Sorry this post is late for anyone wanting to try this pattern, I had to keep it secret until I gave these as gifts! I'm now toying with the idea of crocheting Christmas stockings for us to have next year. With our new addition we'll be a family of three next Christmas so I thought it would be great for each of us to have a stocking. We shall see!
Back to the crochet snowflake. I thought the pattern I found was pretty easy to read, but like always I made a few tweaks and then wanted to record my version. Once I got the hang of this pattern I could whip one of these out in about 15 minutes. The perfect project to work on while watching TV!
Crochet Pattern: Snowflake Ornament
adapted from the new crochet
Abbreviations
ch = chain
sl st = slip stitch
sc = single crochet
dc = double crochet
Size K hook
Row 1: ch 7 and form a ring with 1 sl st in first ch.
Row 2: ch 1, 11 sc in ring, finish with 1 sl st in first ch.
Row 3: ch 2 * 1 dc in next sc, ch 6, 1 dc in next sc * repeat 4 times, 1 dc in next sc, ch 6, finish with 1 sl st in 2nd ch from beg of round. End with 6 ch spaces.
Row 4: ch 1 * 1 sc between the next 2 dc, 4 sc in ch space, ch 3, 1 sc in 3rd ch from hook, 4 sc in ch space * repeat 4 times, 1 sc between the next 2 dc, 4 sc in the ch space, ch 20, sl st in last sc, 4 sc in the ch space, finish with 1 sl st in ch from beginning of round. Fasten off, weave ends in.
Back to the crochet snowflake. I thought the pattern I found was pretty easy to read, but like always I made a few tweaks and then wanted to record my version. Once I got the hang of this pattern I could whip one of these out in about 15 minutes. The perfect project to work on while watching TV!
Crochet Pattern: Snowflake Ornament
adapted from the new crochet
Abbreviations
ch = chain
sl st = slip stitch
sc = single crochet
dc = double crochet
Size K hook
Row 1: ch 7 and form a ring with 1 sl st in first ch.
Row 2: ch 1, 11 sc in ring, finish with 1 sl st in first ch.
Row 3: ch 2 * 1 dc in next sc, ch 6, 1 dc in next sc * repeat 4 times, 1 dc in next sc, ch 6, finish with 1 sl st in 2nd ch from beg of round. End with 6 ch spaces.
Row 4: ch 1 * 1 sc between the next 2 dc, 4 sc in ch space, ch 3, 1 sc in 3rd ch from hook, 4 sc in ch space * repeat 4 times, 1 sc between the next 2 dc, 4 sc in the ch space, ch 20, sl st in last sc, 4 sc in the ch space, finish with 1 sl st in ch from beginning of round. Fasten off, weave ends in.
Friday, January 3, 2014
Photo Friday #57
We made it safely to Iowa and back to North Carolina over the holidays. Luckily we had no troubles with flight delays or weather of any kind. That is one thing that always worries me about trips in December. You never know what the weather will do! Meanwhile Joe enjoyed growing his holiday goatee. It seems to be a tradition between his brothers and mine to see how long they can grow their facial hair before having to shave (aka, before going back to work). I'd say Joe did a pretty good job, plus he was a good sport for letting me post this picture. Maybe next year all the boys will donate a picture of their holiday beards to share... hint, hint!
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