Fall, into the third trimester...

Let me start by saying, Hooorayyy for cooler temperatures! I am finally feeling the lovely, sweet relief that used to be brought by September and is now barely swept in by October. Time to start lighting my dozens of adorable Halloween candles without having to put the central air on. And, while this will quickly turn into a ho-hum challenge, I am enjoying the task of choosing a jacket, sweater or hoodie for Scarlett each morning. It really is the little things.

Right around this time of year I start to get antsy for all things Christmas. I know! I KNOW! I wait all year long for Fall and am practically daydreaming it away when I see so much as a candy cane candle in the stores. Red and white and silver and green ... it's commmminnnnnng. Hee Hee! I just hope I'm able to enjoy all of my favorite things as I always do ... while being nine months pregnant. Waddling around the tree farm will most likely result in a You Tube video.

I'm into my third trimester, folks. It may seem like it came quickly - and it sorta did once those pesky first fourteen weeks were behind me. I did regain my energy for the most part in the second trimester but lately am back to feeling tired and already getting uncomfortable. My belly now, at twenty-eight weeks, is comparable to my belly at thirty-six weeks with Scarlett. I'm in good health, thank God, and just have minor complaints. Mostly, the numbness/tingling in my hands and arms, the four hour gaps in overnight sleep and the crazy heart-racing and shortness of breath when the baby is pressing on a main artery. I remember the same with Scarlett, I got way less sleep in the third trimester than I did once she was born.

I had Scarlett in late September and wore flip flops throughout the entire pregnancy. It's a different ball game heading into the cold weather - I have just one option for footwear these days, a pair of brown boots. I can't squeeze into anything else, so any upcoming events require a trip to the shoe store. I have just two sweaters and one long sleeved shirt so you can get used to seeing them because I refuse to spend any more money on maternity clothes. (It's tough when your husband wears a size medium shirt).

I'm having fun these days working on the baby's room. Finally getting some ideas and it's starting to come together. I've sorted through Scarlett's old clothes and, although the seasons are a little off, I think we'll have a pretty good head start. It's nice to see all of my old favorites that I'd forgotten about. Even Scarlett is enjoying looking through her old shoes and things - I think she's getting excited! (I'd be more excited if she slept more than nine or ten hours a day).

Sure, I have moments where I think, how the hell am I going to pull this off? Another child? A BABY?? That needs me constantly for at least two years?? The bottles?? The bibs and spit-up rags? The witching hour/s??? The teething?? The extra laundry?? The poop?? The "Don't Touch That!!" stage?? The extra gear?? Getting out of the house with two instead of one??

Then I think, YEAH. I think I'm ready for that, I can do it.

We've had our struggles and we've waited a long time to create our family. I feel very, very blessed to be harboring another feisty little girl. I know it will be a challenge and I just hope I can keep my head about me, be as patient as possible and love my girls in every moment. As always I pray for a healthy full-term baby who is sure to become another beam of sunshine in our lives.

a heart in every room

It's Valentine's Day! What? You're not excited? Haha well neither am I. I have never really done anything special on V Day. It's not because my husband is a deadbeat. He's not, I assure you. But I guess I'm not really the 'gotta go eat some fancy meal in an expensively fancy restaurant in a fancy dress and get fancy chocolates in a fancy heart box with fancy roses tied with a big fancy ribbon' kinda gal. Sure, I buy some pink, white & red peanut m&ms because they look cute in a candy bowl. And I MIGHT buy a box of Russell Stover's every three years or so. But you'll more likely see me sitting in my recliner, clad in my favorite pjs, eating boneless buffalo wings and watching The Big Bang Theory than catch me in a fine dining establishment followed by a show. Not that there is anything wrong with the people that DO go out on the town to celebrate their love! To each his/her own! 

Anyhow, in honor of this heart-smothered holiday I thought I would make up a little game for myself. I LOVE hearts (always have) and decided I would challenge myself to find at least one heart in every room of the house. So here are just a few that I found... 

I cut this from a card years ago and has been on my refrigerator ever since. I like to think it's me & my husband... but I don't wear dresses and he doesn't have a rake on his head

(kitchen)

The Nursery ...

Hello All, 

Many of you (and my facebook friends) have been requesting pictures of the baby's room so I figured I would put them in a blog rather than bring you over here one by one to see it for yourself. The nursery was always something I could not WAIT to get started on... long before I even thought about having a baby. I always wanted to offer to help my pregnant friends pick out colors and furniture and decor for their little one's nest but I figured they would be much too excited to let me do so and in a selfish way I kind of wanted to keep my style to myself! Anyhow, the day came when it was my turn... and man was I up for the challenge. 

I began by checking out websites and Google-ing images of nurseries. I loved so many things that I came across but none of them really reflected my own personal style. I had TONS of ideas about what colors I wanted, the furniture that I liked, the curtains etc. And I knew for certain that I didn't want any kind of theme. Sure it would have been easier to register for every necessity at Babies R Us like most normal people but I like hand-picking items from all over. I decided to ultimately go for it on my own - with Gregg's blessing of course. He said "it's all you" ... but you'll notice he definitely put his special touch on things! Whether you like it or not I had a ball from start to finish. There may be one or two more things that we'll add but for the most part the room is ready and waiting for its guest of honor ...

When we found out we were having a girl I knew I wanted wooden bureaus painted white with knobs painted pink. This bureau was actually Gregg's from when he was a wee tot. He sanded it, painted it, fixed up the drawers and here it sits for it's second life.

I always loved the idea of white sheers blowing in the breeze and I thought it would be a nice, feminine touch added to the little pink valance. 

The window mirror above the bureau was a consignment shop find. It was painted a dark raspberry pink and the hearts were butter colored and placed on the corners. Gregg sanded and painted once again and we chose prettier colors and placement for the hearts.

 The crib. Pretty self explanatory.

Baby's-eye-view of the mobile.

Her little coat rack, you know so she can hang up her adorable raincoats, bathrobe, hoodies, pocketbooks and such :o)

My mom found this lamp and told me about it days later. 

We rushed over, I fell in love with it and she picked up the tab.

 

This bookcase was another mom-find. She saw it in a flyer and Gregg and I picked it up shortly after. I LOVE it. How cute are the little cut-outs? 

I only wish we would have bought one of the other matching pieces.

This shelf hung in our old apartment and we haven't used it in years.

New purpose! The little animals were carved by Gregg, we painted them and decorated them with little accents. The lion is Gregg's favorite (he had the idea to make the fuzzy mane too!), I like the elephant best. The caterpillar up top was made by my very talented Mother-in-law. He's not so creepy since he's pink & yellow!

My least favorite piece in the room ... the glider. Sure, it's comfy but that sage color is not for me. I was going for pastel. Not spice jar. 

But whatever, can't have everything perfect... can you?

This little dollhouse bookcase was yet another flyer-find by my mom! It really is adorable although once we put toys & books in it I feel like it looks SO cluttered! It bothers me haha

 I came across this flag banner on Etsy and knew it needed to be in the baby's room. When it arrived I immediately noticed that the green flag matched the heinous glider color exactly! Hey at least it ties it together! Isn't it so cute though?? There are buttons in the center of the hearts and they are GINGHAM buttons. I can't even ... too sweet.

Here lies the million dollar bureau/changing table. You laugh... but I cannot believe how expensive this thing was. I thought Hey, let's just get one from the Mill Store and have it painted. Really thought it would be the cheaper way to go. Wrong-o. Anyway we, again, painted the knobs pink and added the little basket o' goods for easy access.

 And a drawer full of diapers ... this oughtta be enough for the first day or two, no? 

 

The sweetest, pink bouncy seat.

 

The adorable swing.

 And the crib quilt that I couldn't live without.

 That's basically it! There are just a few more little things to do but I thought I'd get this blog done so you all could see the pictures. I think it's a very sweet little room and I have to thank Gregg for putting everything together as we bought it or received it as a gift. And for all of his hard work sanding and painting like a madman. It all came out so great, I couldn't have asked for more. Now I want to see the room in action! Rocking this baby girl to sleep, changing her messy diapers and picking out her adorable outfits everyday. I have about 6 or 7 weeks left ... it's gone by so quickly and I have loved being pregnant! 

We can't wait to meet our little darlin and see her sweet face.

22 weeks down ...

Well, let's see. I have been pregnant for 22 weeks. Huh. Seems longer. And shorter. I remember the days where I wouldn't 'realize' that I was pregnant until it came time to take all of my vitamins. Now I have constant daily reminders. Here's whats been going on ...

I feel the wonderful flutters of this baby girl (the female Ivan Drago), mostly using my bladder as a speed-bag but sometimes just tapping me to say "hi, can you please not sit like that anymore".

I will sometimes suddenly require a nap. At that very moment. I have learned to just march into the bedroom and let it be. 

4" heels are no longer as comfortable as I used to pretend they were.

Dressing my "bump" is not adorable like you might see in the magazines. You know, the tall, thin, toned woman with a beautiful tan and little peanut sticking out of her abdomen that's draped in a gorgeous outfit with accessories to die for. Yeah that's not me. Although the doc says I've only gained 7 lbs as of my last appointment I can assure you that those 7 lbs have chosen their destination with a vengeance.  

Getting a good night's sleep consists of two to three hour intervals of being awake. But I get to decide what I obsess about whilst tossing and turning during that time, so TAKE THAT! 

Flip flops from Old Navy no longer provide the "support" that they didn't exactly provide before but I just never noticed. Oh, I still wear them, but after two hours of standing it gets ugly.

Ice cream has never been more awesome. I try to remain strong, never finishing a pint in a sitting or anything - but I do polish off about one pint per week. (See comment about hips).

I have two choices for getting up from a seated position. One: get up like a normal person all hectic and carefree. That results in a burning pain under the belly that is quite undesirable. Choice two: the grandma get up. 

I think I have basically covered the good stuff. I am enjoying being pregnant so far. The heat has crept over to our neck of the woods but we have central air and I plan to hibernate in the bedroom watching movies when it's unbearable. I am having fun picking out different things for the baby's room too. I found a patchwork quilt online and an adorable pillow at HomeGoods and a few other things here and there. I have so many ideas for the walls and decorations, it's going to be just perfect. It will all match in a non-matching way. We picked the paint color last night - Lemon Twist - mmm now I want a lemon square. And that's about it! 

Hope you are all enjoying this beautiful Memorial Day Weekend. 
Love to you!