It's amazing what a difference a year can make. Last year was miserable, but this one the Lord truly blessed us. There is no way I could list everything, but I can try:
St. Leo's
Hell Raisers
Babies
Adoptions
Promotions
The world's easiest pregnancy
And of course, the world's most beautiful baby <3

We are so unbelievably lucky, and blessed. 2011 was a great year and I can't wait to see what else is in store for us !!!

Amazing

It was like one day she woke up as is a baby, not a newborn.
She is smiling more, playing more, showing more personality.
It's so so awesome!

Love to the fullest

Baby girl was baptized on Christmas Eve. Seriously it was one of the greatest days ever. Church is something that was never important to us until it was, and now I can't imagine life without it. And now she is a part of the church, brought in on the day before Jesus's birthday.
I am so excited that she could have the (almost) perfect baptism--in her daddy's gown, in the church and by the priest who married us. It feels like we have everything we could have ever asked for.
Blessed isn't even the word!!

Baby girl <3

She is so awesome!

2 a.m.

It's crazy how acquainted I've become with 2 a.m.

And 3, and 4.

Not necessarily all three every night, but I am definitely experiencing the middle of the night. I wish my living room had a taco bell.

tired.

I didn't know it was possible to be this tired and to function at the same time.

Totally worth it.

There are burp rags in every room, pacis on every table, a drying rack full of bottles on the counter, and honestly... I don't even remember what it was like before.

I'm a mommy!!!!!!!!!!


Holy crap.

Day 3

Day 3 of being home.

Cleaning the stove, making cookies, folding laundry... And napping. That's my list for today. Just relaxing. That's it. In fact, I'd better get to the store so I have what I need for my cookies so I don't have to go out again.

I do really enjoy being home!

Ten plus

Ten years (and a half)

That's how long it's been just the two of us. We have been through so much together--buying and selling houses, getting married, moving across the country, making friends, losing friends, our wedding, friends weddings, adding a dog and a cat, buying cars, selling cars, and so much more. All of our adult decisions have been made together for such a long time... Both of us, together.

And now, there are going to be three of us. Wow. I don't know if I can quite wrap my head around that yet. I really don't know if I will be able to until she gets here. But, still, I can't wait!

Bring on the baby!

I am done with work. I made it to 39 weeks with the 45-50 hour (sometimes 5, sometimes 6 days) weeks, the standing half the day, the people yelling/griping at me because they didn't like change, the staying late to answer voice mails, often (again) of people who just wanted to moan, the 50 emails/day. Now I'm done.

I have a few phone calls to make, some errands to run, and some freezable meals to make. All stuff that if it doesn't get done, it doesn't matter (hear that baby girl? You won't be interrupting if you come now!!)

We are ready... and so is the nursery:

closet


changing table


wall 1


chair


dresser (SO many people ask if I painted the picture... no! That is 100% Target :))


crib


closeup of family tree

All it needs now is a baby girl!!

Ugh

I have so many grand plans of things to do... But I move so slowly I can't seem to get anything done all the way :(
The I keep on trucking though, because we really can't bring a baby into a house that isn't clean or a nursery that isn't fully decorated, right? Right.

Nursery Decor (part 1)

I really wanted to go with "no theme" (besides colors) in the nursery and I think I did a really good job of it.
I, of course, prefer lots of different themes and patterns and textures, and Keith likes plain, simple basic. So I think we struck a pretty good balance between the two-- its not "just stripes" or "just dots" but its also not PLAIDSTRIPEPAISLEYMORESTRIPEDOTSwhat.is.going.on?!
I won't post the whole nursery until all the walls are done (which I wanted to be this weekend, but thats totally not happening) but I will post the steps it took to come up with this:

Step one (not pictured) paint canvasses. I used 12x12 Artists' Loft Canvas and Apple Barrel Paint (SO UPSET that Michael's stopped carrying CeramCoat :( ). I didn't mix paint because I knew this would take days and I wanted the colors to all be perfect.
I used a trim sized paint roller, but for the next one will just use sponge rollers I have.

Step two:
After paint is dry (and second coat if needed), measure and tape off squares. I did 7.5" squares, but cut out 6, 6.5, 7, and 7.5" squares from pieces of paper trying to decide what size I liked best.

Step three:
Paint over squares, being careful not to get too excited and paint over the tape (like I totally did). I used sponge rollers to get the most even coverage. Let dry for a short-ish time (like 1/2 an hour maybe?) and do a second coat. Even if it doesn't look like you need one-- I swear you do.


Step four:
When paint is dry (3-4 hours to get both coats set) remove the tape. There may be tiny imperfections, but I don't mind those.
Check over canvasses to make sure they look how you want (no touchups needed on inside or outside squares, no cat prints like I have on the top pink one, etc)

Step five:
Paint inside your squares. I freehanded the letters and ended up having to completely re-do the "a" and I'm not in love with the "e" but overall I am happy with how they turned out.

Three day project (for me anyway!) but I got a whole wall done for the same price I paid for ONE picture for the other wall. I think I did okay :)
To hang, I just measured the whole wall, decided how much space I wanted between the letters (3 inches), subtracted 102 (3"x6 spaces and 7x12" canvasses), divided the difference by two (for the space on either end) and started marking! I used a pencil and a 4 ft ruler/level and it seemed to work great!

He had a camera, and I had a dress

We have a crib!

The nursery is slllooooooowwly coming together:

I will hopefully by today have a cover for that awful filing cabinet we are using as a table. I have the fabric and the idea, just need to put them together!

Anemia... and more

So, I'm anemic. No wonder the only pregnancy symptom I've been feeling is tiredness!
I'm on iron pills to fix it, but still. Ugh.

And then... I failed my gestational diabetes test. Which means I get to go back and take it again, and I get to have my blood drawn FOUR TIMES. Double ugh.

But, if that is the worst thing to happen to me this pregnancy, I consider myself lucky.

Baby girl is moving around a ton more than she was-- I feel her consistently every morning, and usually for a while before bed. I feel her all throughout the day, and I love it. It makes me happy. But even with all the movement, she's still considered a pretty calm baby, which is good. That means she'll probably be easier to console as an outside baby. And hopefully she'll be a good sleeper, like her Mama (NOT a light sleeper like her Daddy!)

Its been a long day, and I have a lot of chores to do before I can call it a night... so I'm just going to post some photos and be done with it!
In order, they are: 27 weeks, 28 weeks (and a nursery sneak peek) and 28 weeks in my new chair!

100 days

Thats all we have left. 100 days.

Yipes! There is so much left to do!

nursery overload

Fabric swatches.
Paint samples.
Crib skirt, curtains, crib sheets, diaper stacker.

There are just so many things to think about and plan for the nursery. I love so many different things that its just so hard to narrow it down!

self-portraits

I played around with maternity self portraits today. Here's a sample of what I did:

I'm happy with them, so far :)

Yard sale!

We definitely did better than I expected today... About five times better than I hoped for! I thought it would be great if we made enough to go out to dinner. We totally blew that out of the water. Looks like the (fancy, primer mixed in) paint for the baby's room is all set, plus a new set of wall hooks for the kayaks, and maybe some nursery fabric too, are all taken care of. Plus, we don't have to find a place to get rid of alllllll the crap anymore.

I thought it might be hard to get rid of our stuff, like charging $30 for a plastic necklace hard, but it really wasn't. We were practically giving stuff away. One guy actually gave me more money than I asked for for what he bought because I think he felt bad. But everything that didn't sell went straight to goodwill when the sale was over anyway (I mean, like, within half an hour). It's nice to see the garage with a lot less stuff. It will be nice to get rid of the storage unit, and just have our stuff in the attic.

tired

So today I finished sorting alllllll the stuff we have and... now it doesn't look like much. I did hide a lot of stuff in boxes and dresser drawers so it wasn't so overwhelming, but now it looks a little sparse. Maybe when It comes to actually putting it outside it will look like more-- a little spread out and all arranged nicely. We do have a lot of different things that I'm hoping will lure people in. All the money we make will go towards baby room stuff... which we still haven't even started on. But we have decided on a crib, so that atleast helps. A little.

yard sale... ?

We emptied out the storage unit today... planning on having a yard sale and getting rid of enough stuff to not have to have the storage unit anymore.

But... That means sorting through all the crap. And there is so. much. crap. Almost a whole garage full of stuff. TVs, dresser, cart, storage, DVDs, clothes, pillows, decorations. Just stuff. Today we moved it back here, tonight I start to sort.

Ugh. I think I need a nap.

Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies

makes 16-20 cookies

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup cocoa powder (I used Ovaltine because its sweeter (and therefore much better)

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup white chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 375.

Cream butter and sugars together until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and combine until smooth. Beat in red food coloring. Stir in cocoa, flour, baking soda and salt until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

Using (big) rounded spoonfuls drop dough on cookie sheets and bake for 10-12 (I think 11 was perfect) minutes. Cool on pan for 3 minutes, then transfer to wire rack. I didn't cover mine and they were good overnight. I don't know about the second day-- they didn't make it that far!

also

I haven't posted a belly pic in a while so here is one in my new favorite dress:

Also you can see my hair just keeps on growing-- almost as fast as my belly. I really need to get it trimmed.

Photo Book

I got a coupon for a free photo book that had to be used by tomorrow. So I made a "first 20 weeks" photo book. Check it out:

Click here to view this photo book larger

I can't wait to see it for real!!

fabric!!

I think I have finally decided on fabric for the nursey!!
This for the crib skirt:

this for the curtains:


I am thinking button tab curtains. I might take the two fabrics and make a diaper stacker too--Or I might find a new fabric I like and make one out of that!!

happy

Do you ever have those days where everything seems to go right?
Its nine a.m. and I have all the regular Saturday chores done-- weekly menu planned, groceries shopped, bills paid.

The new kid at the grocery store put all my fridge/freezer stuff into one bag, so I only had to open the doors one time, and somehow managed to get the other stuff into a (mostly) pantry bag and cabinet bag. He must be magic!

Because my day has gone so smoothly so far, I think I will clean out the fridge and pantry because they need it DESPERATELY. Too bad I can't do too much manual labor or I would seriously consider taking apart the spare bed. Maybe I'll just take photos and try to sell it on Craigslist for $20. That can go toward fabric!!

Nesting

I know nesting isn't supposed to start yet, but since I have done everything else (except tell) early, I am going to say that is starting early too.

My version of nesting, so far, does not include scrubbing. I am too cool for that. Mine is planning for the end of the year, and making lists. And by lists I mean color coded excel spreadsheets with formulas and headers.

So far, I have one for diapers, one for Christmas gifts, one for how many frozen casseroles to make ahead of time, and one for nursery themes/ideas (FYI I'm going for a non matching patterns/matching color scheme thing). I also have a less coded, but still very-much-there list for registering, which includes what to get at Target, Babies R Us (even though I swore I wouldn't register there because of their awful prices and even worse customer service), and Amazon.

List making makes me feel better about the things I want to do, but can't do yet.

Baby Stuff

Gosh, babies need a lot of stuff. And you can get this, which does this and this, or this and this and this (but of course, thats more $$) Its so overwhelming.

We were thinking about registering today, but honestly, I just didn't feel like it. I was tired, we had other stuff to do. Even thinking about where to register is hard. I really wanted to do Target and Buy Buy Baby and Amazon... except there is no BBB or Bed Bath and Beyond with a baby section (thats what we have) within 50 miles of Toledo. I guess Babies R Us it is... even though I despise that store. Their prices are way too high and their stuff is the same as everyone else (just more) and their customer service is horrible. But, thats what makes it easier for everyone else. I do think we are going to register for travel system and pack and play at Target though, because they have them in store and they are way cheaper there. All the smaller stuff will probably be BRU.

I am starting to think about nursery ideas... even though the Dr. said we still have to confirm (on Tuesday, yay!), I am sure this baby is a girl. When she said it, I knew she was right. I am thinking yellow walls-- which is funny because up until about a week ago I HATED yellow. But I think yellow and pink will be really pretty.

Peaceful

We went to the beach Thursday and Friday. Originally I had just taken Friday off, and was contemplating a weekend beach trip... then we had a good deal pretty much fall into our laps. So Thursday and Friday it was.
Thursday was good, we left early so we got there early, our room was ready when we go there so we didn't have to wait, and we got to spend plenty of time by/in the water. Thursday night I decided I was going to turn off my phone, take off my watch (it has the date on it) and focus on relaxing with my husband and our baby. I had a nice, peaceful day, one on which I didn't focus on sadness, and I didn't think about anything, except about how lucky I am right now. I think I did a really good job, and I know I did what was best for me.
I am, however, so thankful for the kind words I received (today) and all the great people who kept me in their thoughts. I truly am blessed.

And, because I can't resist... here is little lady's first trip to the beach:

I hope she liked it!

Off to the store

I wanted to have a nice day in today, because its supposed to be ninety million (or ninety five) degrees today, but I need to go out and pick up a few things... including a new sprinkler for the yard, and a blowup pool for myself (I'm not spending another summer dying of heat, especially not when its already consistently in the 90s and we're not even out of May yet!!).
I wanted to join a pool club, but Keith thinks we won't get enough use out of it. Oh well, at least he compromised on the blow up pool!

Things Hershey Ate Today

Sometimes, I wonder what is wrong with her. Today she ate:

Watermelon
Corn Pops cereal
Grass
A bug (or two)
Kitty treats that Jimmy wasn't hast enough to get
Another bug (or two)
A hair tumbleweed (of her own hair)

She sure is an interesting creature.
Oh, and PS? She also licked the hose sprayer, probably trying to see if it was edible.

Eight pounds

I have gained eight pounds. I have never ever gained (or lost) that much in a three month period that I can remember. But at the same time, I think, "wow, that's it?!" especially at night, it seems like it should be higher than that. But, I'm on a good pace and hope to stick with it for the next five (OMG is it seriously only FIVE???) months.
Now, if I can limit my ice cream to once a day, maybe that will actually happen...

16 weeks

Here is me today!!

I have noticed the belly sticks out way more prominently after I eat dinner. During the day this shirt was loose, and almost looked too big. After I ate, BAM! It filled out.

On a different note, I went to the dentist today, and nothing is seriously wrong. I got an antibiotic to take if the pain doesn't continue to lessen (which it has been) or gets worse.

And, one more thing. We may be having a baby girl, but right now we already have one and she is just my favorite.

15 weeks, 5 days

Today is Tyler and Michelle's wedding day! I have known them for a very long time (like 6 years!) and am so excited to see them take this step. Ahhhh.. Weddings :)

I have a super cute black dress that I can show or hid the baby with (depending how I hold my arms) and it's very lose, so very comfy. Plus I have nice flat shoes. Those are more for Keith than for me though. Heels scare him right now (so I have fallen a few times, who hasn't!?)

Hopefully I can post some photos when we come home!

Fifteen weeks, 4 days

Toothaches. Not something I have had a whole lot of experience with... But before if it did happen I could take Advil and Oragel and sleeping pills. Now I have this horrible pain where one of my wisdom teeth is and in the jaw all around it, and all I can do is take tylenol until the dentist can see me on Monday. I wanted to get in earlier but we are out of town for the weekend for Tyler and Michelle's wedding in Cincinnati so no luck.

Oh well, it could be worse. I could have broken a bone or something.

Baby wise no news. Still haven't felt her move or anything. Although I did notice the other day that I can see into my belly button and see where it stops, which I have never ever been able to before.

My musings over the past 15 weeks

I didn't blog before we went public (as you can see) but I did jot thoughts down on the iPad. Here are those( with photos to be added later)


5 weeks, 0 days. 3/12/11
Symptoms: pimples, trouble sleeping

So far I feel good. I'm not a whole lot different right now--except trying to eat more healthy and make sure I don't skip breakfast. Plus I didn't fast on Wednesday like I was supposed to.

I just bought my first book, and I took my first belly picture... Which was not as flat as I hoped to start off, but oh well. What can you do?

Blood test results from last week were good, 1059 HcG and 49 progesterone on Monday, 2600 + HcG on Wed progesterone the same. So everything looks good so far, now we're just waiting for our ultrasound!!

5 weeks, 1 day. 3/12/11
Symptoms: none!

I feel great today. Totally normal, no different. I took a nap, which I usually don't do if Keith is home, but it's not that unusual. I did a light card workout, but didn't go to the gym because I was lazy (plus gas isn't cheap!)

6 weeks, 3 days. 3/22/11
Symptoms: a little tiny bit nauseous when I eat but that's it, plus tired earlier in the evening than usual

Today we saw our baby!! It was the most amazing thing I have ever ever seen. The little flicker on the screen was so cool... And then they turned the sound on and I sobbed like a little baby. 130 beats per minute, absolutely perfect. They gave us a DVD so we can keep it forever. When our baby is old enough, we can show him the first time we ever saw his picture. That will be unbelievable.

7 weeks, 2 days. 3/28/11
Symptoms: same

It's time to tell the parents... And we are terrified. No one is expecting this. No one knows it's coming. Mike and Cindy are coming this weekend, and we are telling mom on Skype tonight. Eek!

8 weeks, 1 day. 4/2/11
Symptoms: same
Told mom on Monday. She cried and was so happy. Can't wait for me to tell Mag. Told Mike and Cindy tonight, and it went great. Everyone is happy and I'm over the moon. Now I just have to figure out how to tell dad and Mag.

8 weeks, 1 day. 4/3/11
Symptoms: a little gaggy, tired enough to go to bed 1/2 an hour early, and tonight I was too nauseous to eat dinner... But I'm hoping that has less to do with morning sickness and more to do with the fact that I ate half a bag of cheetos puffs about 20 minutes before dinner.

Today the baby starts to move! I won't be able to feel it for a while, but that is so neat to know that our baby is is there, moving around on his/her own.

8 weeks, 6 days. 4/8/11
Apparently baby hates dinner. I eat fine until about 6 o'clock, then nothing sounds, looks, smells, or tastes good. It is so strange!

9 weeks, 4 days. 4/13/11
Had an appointment today, just blood work and info though, nothing interesting. Right now I am most interested in researching cloth diapers. I am pretty much obsessed.

11 weeks, 3 days. 4/21/11
Wait, what? Those days are wrong!!! Or not. The doctor who saw me today moved me forward five days, so I totally skipped what seems like forever!! Besides that, baby sounds good. Heard the heartbeat today, very strong at 170 bpm. 
Symptoms: acne seems to be getting worse. Besides that, nothing. Still just feeling the same!

12 weeks. 4/25/11
My counselor said I'm showing. Eep!!! I still haven't told work so I am trying to hide it as long as possible. No news on baby though, everything is quiet on that front.

13 weeks. 5/2/11
Symptoms: I can't stand chicken. Sight, smell, thought. Chicken = vom
We had a scan today! I drank some orange juice so little Obi Wan would move around, and WHOA BABY did s/he move!! Little person was jumping all around, waving his hands like crazy and wouldn't settle down for any measurements!! He finally calmed down enough to do what the tech needed, but he was def. playing shy and hiding from the camera. Silly baby!!


13 weeks, 1 day. 5/3/11
It's my birthday!! I took the day off and got a pedicure, spent the day doing a whole lot of nothing. Haven't had any baby updates in a while, mostly because everything is keeping audit. My belly is slowly getting larger, and the waistband (thankfully no other parts!!) of my pants is getting tighter, but that is really it.
Symptoms: none!

14 weeks. 5/9/11
I am feeling very strongly that this baby is a boy. I'm not sure why, but I have a hunch. I was right about Maggie, so we will see, in about six weeks!!

14 weeks, 3 days. 5/12/11
Dr. called today and said they have an opening for an early ultrasound. Interested?! UH DUH! We will get to find out what little Obi Wan is in FIVE DAYS!!!

15 weeks, 1 day. 5/17/11
Apparently my hunch was 100% wrong. Obi Wan is a girl. Keith doesn't like calling her Obi Wan(ette) so we will have to come up with a nickname while we come up with a real name.
A girl!! Sugar and spice, and everything nice. Squee!!!!

out of hiding!

We finally made the jump and everyoneis told, even facebook.

It's so nice to not have to keep it secret and to tell the whole world about our little girl!!

We are not 100% sure yet, but for now we will just go with it. A little girl is NOT what I expected, although knowing me, I'm not sure why. Frilly dresses and pink curtains are obviously a given in our future.

I am so, so happy. Keith is over the moon. Our little baby girl. I can't wait!!

Well

No new posts for a while. We've been busy enjoying the nice weather... until today. Its cold and rainy and just yuck. Oh well though, there is always next week!

I've had a nice day full of grocery shopping, new book buying, and bill paying. A little fun mixed in with a lot of chores is the way to get through it I guess.

I haven't done any crafts lately, but I have a craft night planned for next week and I'm going to be making these awesome fabric flowers... hopefully they turn out well and I will post a photo!

4 days in and doing great!

Four days of no facebook, and it's going well. I may even skip cheat day tomorrow... Or not!

Yesterday was really tough... All day long I wanted a cheeseburger, and then at work we had a soup/chili/stew cook off-- and almost EVERYTHING had meat in it. There was a broccoli cheese soup that didn't and a vegetarian chili... Both of which were gone by the time I made it down there. But all was well, I had a veggie sub from Jimmy John's (my favorite anyway!) and we had tilapia for dinner.

I am going to have to think up a few more vegetarian meals though... I don't know how long I can take fish or spaghetti!!!

Oops

Looks like I didn't post the photo correctly. I will when I can get to the computer.

Day two of no facbook is going fine. I'm finding other things to pay attention to. It's going well!

IMG00151-20110309-2045.jpg

This is the picture of me the little girl I sat next to at church drew. I was so flattered!! She had a lot of talent for a kid--she even drew the different colors of my shirt and my watch (and of course, my high heels)!

Happy Valentine's Day!

A poem, by e.e. cummings -- my writing soulmate, because he also hated capitalization and punctuation:

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

I stalk other blogs too...

I really enjoy looking at blogs. I like to look at other people's creativity to get my own inspiration, especially photography. I found this blog:
Laura Winslow Photography
and after I got past the fact that her name is Laura Winslow (HELLO FAMILY MATTERS!) I fell in love with her ideas. I am definitely going to take some of her projects and turn them into my own (tweaked a little, of course)

I am an aunt!

This is truly the most amazing thing I have experienced so far.

The only thing that would make it any better is if we lived closer, but that will happen eventually, when the time is right.

For now, I will adore him from afar and send him pressure and thank God for him and count down the days (20) until I get to see him for real.

We got to meet Isaak tonight on Skype... We are truly blessed with that little guy!!

I am in love.

my girls = love

These are mostly of kitty because Hershey hates to pose. Jimmy prefers to keep her distance, so she's better at the photos.

Hershey with her shadow

I could say I used a long lens to get this, but that is incorrect. She was really that close.

they are never far apart.


See? Hates distance.

Blurry because that is how they usually look.

She thinks she is stealth.



My favorite of the day.