More Holiday

Here are a few shots of the outdoor Christmas decorations. Enjoy!

*These pictures were taken by my hubby...I think he really captured the essence of the season around our home!

A Nesting Man?

You hear about moms-to-be nesting all of the time. There has been research done on the topic and even links have been made to the cave days of how a woman prepares her "nest" to make it safe for the baby. And I've been nesting since February...driving myself and Naeners crazy with all the things that "have" to get done before this baby arrives (as if the baby will know the difference).

But I am wondering...

Do men nest when they have a baby on the way? Has there been any research on this topic? And if men do nest, what does "nesting" look like for men who are soon-to-be-daddies? Just curious.

If men do nest, then here is my hubby's idea of nesting. He's been a busy bee finishing up projects around the house. (This list does not include all of the projects my hubby completed this summer while he was out on summer break. It only includes the projects that have taken place in the immediate time frame.)

Nae-Nae built a compost bin this past weekend. He said that he needed to get it done and set-up. As he has went with me so many times to pick up things to get ready for the little one, I went with him to get all of the necessary parts to build the bin. He had his checklist of items needed to get the project completed, and we methodically went through the list and the store to make sure he had everything. He had the bin completed a few hours after we got home.

Homemade Compost Bin

(lovingly assembled by my hubby)

He also built a rain barrel recently. He didn't build the barrel in and of itself, but he got all of the parts and made the necessary adaptations to make it a rain barrel. It's all set up and ready to go now. All we need is a little rain to get this baby working. 

Homemade Rain Barrel

(lovingly assembled by my hubby)

I wonder what the baby will think of these projects? 

I am only joking here because I know that Naeners is reading this post. We've wanted a rain barrel and compost bin for a long, long time. We are trying to be "green" as much as we can be to suit our lifestyle. We want to teach our child (or children...some day) how important it is to take care of the environment, and that there are many small changes that can be made in our daily routine that can have a profound and good effect on the environment. 

I think our child is lucky to have a father who is (1) handy, (2) creative, and (3) cares enough about this earth to implement changes around our home to benefit this planet our child will be inheriting. 

I also want to thank my hubby for all of the hard work he has put into getting our house ready, in general, for this baby. He did all of the work in the nursery from painting, to putting together furniture, to sanding, painting and finishing dressers, etc. While I was the director (of sorts), he was the man who made things happen. He handled my stress about nesting and getting things ready with such elegance and never made me feel crazy or absurd. He took all of my demands in stride and really came through for me. And for that I love him even more.

Somewhere to Sleep

I am really struggling right now. It is almost 8pm, and I am ready to crawl in bed and sleep for 48 hours straight. I have a lot of my mind, but I don't seem to have the energy to get it written down. But, trust me, I've been getting it out verbally to everyone around me...mostly my hubby. 

I am going to keep this short and sweet...our baby now has a bed to sleep in when he or she comes home with us. I am so relieved. As I had mentioned in an earlier post, we got the crib a while back but it had remained in its box for a bit until we got the room to a point where it was ready for the crib. It feels like a huge burden lifted off of my shoulders to have the dressers and crib in place. The crib has its bedding, and the dressers are filled with what baby supplies and clothing we've obtained up to this point. Everything else is gravy, at this point, when it comes to room decor. I must give a huge shout out to my hubby for getting it done...it really was all him!

We also started our birth and labor classes this past Monday. The beginning of the classes have brought up emotions of excitement, anticipation, and fear. I hope that by the end of the classes, I feel less fear...I hope!

32 weeks

Thank goodness for stretchy maternity jeans!!!

(This dresser will serve as our changing table...just need to add the changing pad to it.)

Nae-nae puts together the crib. 

I was glad to see that it looked relatively simple to put together and not a lot of little pieces to figure out. 

Here's hoping that it doesn't fall apart when we put the baby in the crib. 

Two thumbs up for a put together crib. 

I know I make it look like I had something to do with putting it together, 

but I didn't except for the nagging to get it done and putting on the linens. 

And yes, the wall does look bare behind the crib. 

We would like to put something up over the crib displaying the child's name, 

but since we don't know what we're having yet, the artwork will have to wait!

It's Hot!

It sure is hot outside!!! That is why I am glad that I am indoors. I stay in the cool air as much as possible these days. I only venture out into the heat when it's necessary. Unfortunately, some days at work, I am running in and out of the heat all day long. Besides staying indoors, I try to beat the heat by eating cold and juicy fresh fruit...yuuuummm strawberries, peaches, and cantaloupe...and drinking lots of ice cold water. 

There's been a lot going on around here, but nothing too exciting to write about. We're just in that everyday sorta rut in life. I go to work and Naeners is finishing up his last month at home doing projects around the house. I am tired and irritable most days. I am not sure how my hubby has been able to live with me these past few weeks. Maybe that is why he's been out in the yard so much....

We did celebrate our 3rd year wedding anniversary last week. It was a very low-key celebration with dinner and a movie. I wouldn't change it for anything...it's exactly what I needed...time to be with my hubby and reflect on our marriage and look forward to our expanding family. 

Our 3 Year Anniversary Picture 

I make us take a picture every year on our anniversary so we can look back 50 years from now and laugh at ourselves.

Of course, I had to snag a picture of the baby bump. It sure is getting big. I've heard a lot of people say that it looks like I'm about to pop...and it feels that way some days. I just wonder how much bigger I can get since I still have 2 months to go. 

30 weeks (and 2 days) 

And finally, we've made some major strides in the nursery department. Curtains and blinds are hanging. Dressers are finished with hardware and drawers are lined. We've got the rocker and lamps. We have the crib and bookshelves (still in their boxes...but we've got them). I am super excited about it, and I can't wait until it is totally finished.

31 Weeks

(Can you see the waistline on my pants...just under my boobs? Look closely. I never thought that I would wear pants with a waist line that almost touches my nipples. Being pregnant is so fashionable!)

New Rocker

I was so excited to get this rocker. Naeners ordered it for me. I think it looks quite lovely.

New Rocker with Stain

Yea, see the lovely stain? I put that there. It was only a matter of time, but I thought the baby would at least be here.

Ottoman hiding Stain

The good news is that I can strategically stage the ottoman to cover the stain. 

And you can see our colorful palette for the room...lime green curtains, aqua dresser, multi-colored lamp, bright pillows and blankets...it's fun and festive! 

4-Week Round-up

It's been a busy 4 weeks. We've been going here, there, and yon on the weekends and doing stuff around the house. Plus, for some reason, work has been atrociously bad the month of June (I've been investigating more CPS reports than usual). By the time I am done each day with work, with home stuff,  or with traveling, and oh yeah, with growing a baby, I am plum tuckered out. But here is the whirlwind tour of the baby bump growth and a few other things we've been up to these days. 

On June 12, we drove down South to just outside of Charlotte for the annual family reunion on my paternal side of the family. It was great to see family and catch up with everyone. There was, of course, good food to be had, and we sure did gobble it up. The heat was quite....shall I say...HOT! But we survived. We can't wait to go back next year when we actually have our little one in tow!

Me and my Grandma 

There was even a little baby shower for us at the reunion!

We sure do appreciate the generousity of our family, 

and we got some really neat and thoughtful stuff for the baby-to-be!

Baby Bump - Week 26 (almost)

A little sweaty...but takin' it!

The next weekend, June 19, we were off to the Charlotte area again for a wedding. We got to see one of my college friends get married. She certainly was a beautiful bride (as I knew she would be). Everything at the wedding was perfection, and we really did enjoy ourselves. 

Me and the Bride

(My face looks so chub-a-licious in this picture, but it wasn't about me...

it's all about the Bride, and she looks gorgous!)

Baby Bump - Week 27 (almost)

We did take the opportunity to get a bump picture in front of the fountain at the reception site! Plus, I really liked my dress and wanted to show it off!

We continued to work on all things home and nursery related in our "down" time...which for me has been after work. I am glad to say that we are actually making some progress in the nursery. It had been a while...let's say...maybe March...since we've really touched anything in the nursery. But we're in full force now. I hope to have it done sooner rather than later. I just hope that in the meantime I don't drive my hubby stark-raven crazy harping on what we need to get done before this little booger arrives. Again, he has taken things in stride by saying, "Okay, honey!"

Baby Bump - Week 28

I love our new little floor lamp. It is very colorful (which you can't really tell by the picture)!

I know I look beautiful...Ha! Actually, it is the look of being completely worn out and tired from going to work, watching Naeners play soccer in awfully hot weather, and cleaning out the sunroom (kind of). I think I went to bed right after this picture was taken, and from the looks of me, I needed to!

My Mom gets in on the painting action this past weekend.

Doesn't she look like a proud grandma? She was at my beck-and-call and went along with whatever I needed done this weekend. I hope I can be that kind of mom to my kid!

Baby Bump - Week 29 (that's today)

As you can see, the bump has grown, and the dresser is complete with the exception of the hardware! 

Oh, yea, and there are now blinds hanging in the windows! Woot!

So that pretty much brings us up to speed. Whew! Well, I am actually off to relax right now. We got some fresh NC peaches from the farmer's market today, so I think I will have a peach and enjoy watching the bachelorette! 

Until next time...

Around the House

We have been busy doing things around the house...mostly little stuff...but important nonetheless.

I must say that my contribution of physically doing the stuff has been minimal. I've taken on more of the director role at this point. I am not sure that Naeners enjoys my new (but temporary) position as director or his position as manual laborer, but that is kind of how things have to go these days. I do prefer, in all honesty, to be able to jump in and do the stuff myself, but I am supposed to be taking care of myself physically. But, all in all, we're making things work between us so that things around the house get done.

Project: Pelmet Boxes

I've never been one that was very good with picking out window treatments. Although I think window treatments do make a room look complete, I've just never been good at picking them out for my own house. Nae-nae used to jokingly call me a "bad nester" because I never hung-up curtains. We'd go visit our friends, and he'd point out, "See, they have curtains in their home." Ok. Point taken. We've lived in this house since 2003. and I am just now getting around to putting up window treatments.

I am not a designer. I do not have an "eye" for these things. And I am indecisive. Window decor always seems to fall on the bottom of the list of things to be done around the  house. Until I got pregnant...and I officially started nesting.

Luckily, I came across a window treatment idea on Boots & Totty, and I thought to myself, "Now this is a window treatment that I could actually do. Really!" Totty included more information about how to make pelmet boxes for windows from The Little Green Notebook. I took notes and I was on my way to finally getting some window treatments completed for our home! Woot!

Now mind you, mine are in no way as fancy as the ones in the above mentioned blogs...I was doing good just to even attempt this project, therefore, I left out any "fancy designs" that would complicate the process for me. Quick and easy is what I am about when it comes to these sort of things.

Pelmet box in for our dining room window

This treatment is over 6 ft long, and I had some trials trying to manipulate the fabric and line things up, but I think I did okay for my first attempt at this pelmet box thing. I am just hoping it doesn't fall apart. So far, so good!

Pelmet box for our bedroom.

I actually made 2 boxes since we have 2 windows in our bedroom. As you may have noticed, we don't have a headboard. I don't why we don't, we just don't. So I knew that pelmet boxes were the perfect choice for window treatments in our room because we do not have to worry about curtains hanging behind our bed and us ripping them down in our sleep. (We do usually having bedding on our bed, but I was washing it when this picture was taken...just so  you know.) I think my craftsmanship on the bedroom pelmet boxes was much better than on the dining room pelmet box...but as long as you can't tell...so be it!

Project: Nursery Dressers

Naeners has been hard at work on completing the dressers for the nursery. I do feel for him because he has spent much of his time out in the hot, hot heat sanding them down. He's a hard worker and does a thorough job with any job he tackles...no matter how big or small.

It's kind of cool because the nursery will have 2 dressers...one from my childhood and one from Naener's childhood. I love the idea of using hand-me-down furniture. Although, I must say there have been times when we thought it would've been worth the money just to go out and buy something new and say "to hell with it" with all the time and energy in making something old new again. However, I do honestly believe that once the dressers are completed, it will be well worth the time, effort, energy and sweat (literally) put into the dressers.

Nae-nae's childhood dresser.

Look at the years of paint just come right off!

Nae-nae paints our dresser drawers for the nursery.

Project: Between a Deck and A Wall

It's kind of like "between a rock and a hard place." We have this terrible area between our deck and the house where the AC unit is located along with the outdoor water spigot. It was totally overgrown with weeds, and it looked a hot mess. It was awful to go back and turn on the hose because it was so muddy and infested with weeds and mosquitos. 

Naeners got a wild hair up his butt and decided to make this crazy space a little more friendly. I must say that I'm glad that he did. It sure does make turning on the hose to water the plants a lot more pleasant...and less dirty and less chance of getting eaten up by bugs!

The Before:

The After:

Nae-nae did a mighty fine job if I do say so myself. Again, I can take no credit for this job as all the labor was him. I did go with him to Lowe's to purchase the materials, but that is about it.

Upcoming Projects

We're pretty excited because we've got some more things going on around the house. My parents are coming to town this holiday weekend, so they can help us around the house and yard. Nae-nae really needs some strength and help out in the yard...especially when it comes to taking control of the weeds that have taken over our yard...and that is where my dad will help out. My mom and I will do little things inside the house...like make a bedskirt, hang curtains and blinds, wash baby clothes, etc. 

Nae-nae and I also got to work on the sun room (aka junk room, aka storage area, aka catch-all room). We're trying to clear out things and make better use of the room for storage purposes. We made a little progress tonight and have plans to get more done to it over the next few days.

So that is all folks...at least for now!

In our Bedroom

I am so happy to be back in our bedroom. Last night was the first night we slept in our bedroom since March 31st. The sad thing is that I did not sleep all that well because I was so excited and I felt like I was sleeping in a new place...like a hotel or something. I am hoping to get better night's rest tonight. 

It is nice to have a freshly painted room that was thoroughly cleaned before moving back into it. It is amazing how much dog hair had accumulated in places that were covered up by our furniture. We'll just call it a good ole spring cleaning...something I should do more of and more often. (Don't get me wrong! I clean my house, but my cleaning typically does not involve moving furniture, washing windows, and vacuuming blinds.)

There are few more things we need to do to make our "adult" bedroom complete. Most of these things will involve help from Mom. I need to make a bedskirt, window treatments, runners for the dressers, and slipcovers for new doggie beds. The night stands also need a little makeover with some some spray paint. We would eventually like to get a tv that mounts to the wall, but until the budget allows for that, we are stuck with on old school 1995 tv sitting in the middle of the dresser. We're making it work and using what we got!

17 weeks pregnant and feeling good!

This picture is in our "adult" bedroom because nothing has changed in the nursery. Since the kid will be spending the first few weeks in our room, I thought I would do a pregnancy shot in it. Plus, I wanted to show off the "vintage" furniture we inherited. In an odd sort of way, it feels like my maternal grandparents get to be a part of this moment. 

Self-photography with a timer and a tri-pod. 

I thought I caught a pretty good candid moment!

So things are moving along. Now, I just need to get the rest of the house in order. It's a good thing one of my bestest buddies is coming into town on Friday because nothing motivates a good house cleaning like guests coming into town.

We've Been Hit...

by a NATURAL DISASTER!!!

Not to worry, though, it's only a natural disaster inside of home courtesy of ourselves. Whenever we take on a home project, even if it's only one room, the rest of the house seems to turn into chaos. Does that happen to anyone else?

We Naeners and DadLaw are working on the future nursery as well as our bedroom. They are hard at work getting the walls painted. And to get the rooms ready for painting, they had to be cleared. The rooms are cleared, but the junk had to go somewhere. I had no idea that we had so much STUFF. We are overwhelmed with stuff. The good thing is that I get a chance to go through our belongings and weed out some things we no longer need. (I hope Naeners doesn't miss that stack of t-shirts that went into the Goodwill bag! I kid! I kid! I know Naeners is reading this post, and he's made it clear not to throw out any of stuff without his seal of approval!) WHEW! I've gotten side-tracked here. Let me get back to my original point...our disaster area. Let's take a look.

The nursery is cleared, spackeled, and ready to be sanded and then painted. 

This picture also shows my baby bump at 15 weeks.

Here is our front room in all of its cluttered glory. Very inviting, isn't it? 

The dining room table...can you see Naener's skivvies? Makes me want to go eat dinner right now!

I am not going to show you a picture of our bedroom...I am too ashamed of its before state to share it with the world. Let's just say it is getting a much needed makeover, and maybe Naeners and I can finally have an "adult" bedroom! 

All of the drawers you see pictured above are our "new" furniture for our bedroom recently inherited from my maternal grandparent's home (RIP Merle & Papa). They definitely have a vintage look about them, but alas, we will have a matching set and plenty of drawer space. It's big times for us. Ultimately, it's the little things (like inheriting a dresser and chest-of-drawers) that make life exciting. And, you learn to work with what you got!

The dresser we had been using was mine from childhood. And I think my parents inherited it from somewhere/someone when I was about 4 years old. It's a pretty good piece of furniture, but it just doesn't meet our needs anymore. Sooooo, it's getting a makeover and will become a fixture in the new nursery. It's getting sanded down and painted and will become a changing table for the Mini-Stink. DadLaw worked his butt off yesterday sanding the dresser. 

DadLaw was somewhat hesitant to sand it because he likes furniture in its original state, 

but he obliged me and sanded away. 

And last, but not least, I want to give a shout out to my hubby for all of his hard work and for putting up with me. It hain't been easy!!! Since I currently have some limitations with what I can and can't do, he's had to do the brunt of the hard labor (I'll return the favor later when I birth his child in September). He's been a trooper...for the most part...and has been able to appease my ever-changing mood and demands. And that, my friends, is why I love this man!

Naeners is happy to be doing the trim work! 

Well, not really, because that is usually my role when we paint, 

but I've gotta stay away from those paint fumes! Ack!

Broken Marriage?

Don't worry! Don't fret! I didn't throw our wedding picture in a fit of rage! Nae-Nae and I are still happily married (on most days-hee!hee!)! Let me explain, however, how our wedding picture got shattered.

Naeners and I are in the process of re-doing the front room (an additional living room in the house), dining area that opens to the front room, and the hallway coming off the front room that leads to our bedrooms and bathrooms. As you can see in the picture above, Naeners has been busy spakling (sp?) and sanding the walls. On that particular wall, I thought I would finally hang a collage of our wedding pictures (it's only taken my 2.5 years to get to it). I saw an ad in the Michael's circular advertsing the Hang Your Own Gallery system. I thought, "Perfect. There's a template and all the frames that I would need. It takes out all of the guess work of measuring and arranging the frames.Cool."

I ordered the pictures I wanted to frame and purchased all of the frames in the system with the black mat except for the "F" frame because Michael's didn't have the black matted "F" frame on the day I went to purchase them. With the frames that I had purchased, I went ahead and framed the photos. I tucked away the framed pictures in a corner of our office and covered the frames with some towels. I thought I would keep them safe in the office until I got the "F" frame and was ready to hang all of the frames.

In the meantime, I made 3 to 4 trips back to Michael's to purchase the "F" frame with the black mat. Every time I went, Michael's didn't have it. So yesterday I was told by a Michael's sales associate that the black matted "F" frame does not exist. What? That doesn't make any sense to me. Why would wouldn't all the frames include a black mat and a white mat? I called Michael's corporate office to complain, and the lady on the phone confirmed that this Hang Your Own Gallery system does not make a black matted "F" frame. I bitched (in a nice tone of voice) that I was going for a certain look with the black matted frames, and now there was going to be a big gaping hole where the "F" frame is supposed to hang.

I was pissed, so I made the decision to unframe all of the photos and take the whole system back to Michael's. I'll just figure out another way to hang the collage of wedding pictures using different frames. I went to the corner of the office where I had carefully put the frames for safe keeping and pulled back the towel. And just to add the cherry to the top of this debacle, the largest frame (and most expensive) was shattered to pieces (see picture above)! Siiiiiiggggghhhhhh! I guess I won't be returning that frame. My guess is that one of our lovely mutts stepped on the frame causing the glass to shatter. Oh, well!

Ugghh! I am so over the Hang Your Own Gallery system! Everytime I try to take the easy way, it winds up being a disaster! Lesson learned!

Rub-A-Dub-Dub...

...we got a new tub! I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am for the installation of a new bathtub. For those of you who know me and Nae-Nae and have used our shower or even peeked into it, then you KNOW we needed a new bathtub. I couldn't even bring myself to take a picture of the old tub because it was just too embarrassing and disgusting to document that we have used that thing to make ourselves clean. Truth be told, I never even took a bath in that old tub because there was no way I was going to let my butt sit in the crusty tub. Don't get me wrong...it wasn't dirty because I neglected to clean it. I cleaned that thing on a very regular basis. And despite attempts to clean that thing, it still looked dirty and disgusting. I finally told Nae-Nae that if we're ever going to have kids, I have two requirements. 1) Get a new tub...we can't have a child taking a bath in the condition of that old thing and 2) well, I'll keep that one between me and Nae-Nae (to be shared at a later time when meet that condition). Well, we got the new tub.

Anywho, the tub guy got here around 1pm on Friday. He was supposed to be here at 9am to get it finished in one day; however, the guy assigned to our tub job up and quit that morning, so they had to scramble around to get another guy to come in and do the job. He worked from about 1pm until 8pm on Friday, but didn't quite get the job finished. So he had to come back on Saturday. He was there bright and early and worked on it until the early afternoon. Once he was finished, I could not believe my eyes.

A brand new shiny clean tub (that I will actually sit my butt in to take a bath)! What more can a girl ask for? For me...not too much more gets better than this!