my baby is naked

Its almost the end of my first week home from work waiting for baby. I have been very productive, but haven't rested very much. I can't seem to relax as much as I'm trying. I want her to be here so bad, I have a hard time waiting! I know she'll come in her own time though. In the meantime, I have been writing thank-you notes, running errands, doing projects, cleaning, doing laundry, having visitors, organizing, and forgetting to take breaks to sit down even though my feet feel like they have daggers in them. Seriously, so much aching of the feet.

Anyway, I have no choice but to wait on my little one to arrive, and while I am waiting I have been dreaming of seeing her in all her sweet little outfits. Right now, shes naked. That's a cute thought. She has been naked her whole life, and she will not even know what is going on when I put clothes on her. I bet babies think that it is uncomfortable to be in clothes after being naked in a warm bath for nine months. I know I would! Here are some of my favorite things (mostly dresses, which I know is unrealistic) I am looking forward to putting the little kumquat in. I can't show you my favorite little newborn outfit yet because I'm taking her home from the hospital in it and it can't be revealed to the world. It just can't. Its my rule.

This came as a set from the Carter's outlet, so summery.

The pants have THE tiniest ankles ever.

This used to belong to Allison, my sister-in-law-even-though-i-hate-that-term, when she was a baby (25 years ago). Given to me from our cousin, given to her by Ben's mama when she had her first little girl.

Again, used to be Allison's.

Again. And this one has ruffled panties to match.

I used to call them "Sunday panties" when I was little.

This is my favorite. From The Children's Place. (on sale, $4).

Again with the matching panties.

From Ben's mom, I think from Target.

I don't know if I'll be able to put her in all of her clothes. I might have to change her outfit 9 times a day to get them all on her before she outgrows them. What a sad thought! I don't want to think about her growing yet, just getting here!

37 Weeks

Update- Week 37:

Well friends, I am headed into week 37 of being pregnant, which means I'm full term! This little peanut could be here any day :-) This morning at our appointment we got a little surprise when our doctor wheeled in the ultrasound machine to take a look at Evelyn. We haven't seen her since week 20 when we found out she was a "she". We could barely see her because her head was SO low! This is a good sign, and our doctor said she is looking down and turned sideways. I'm not gonna lie, I wish I knew what she was pointing at when she was showing us her limbs and whatnot, but I had to pull a Rachel from friends and pretend I knew what she was talking about (raise your hand if you know the reference I'm talking about). Confession! :-) I am feeling pretty good except for being really really tired a lot of the time and having very sore feet! I also have heartburn like no other! I will be glad for that to go away!

This last weekend we went to Ikea and got a chair and some shelves and organized everything in her room, so its all ready other than some artwork still missing on the walls! My tasks for the week include:

♥ Target for batteries, sugar free candies, baby monitor, etc.

♥ pack our hospital bag

♥ fold some laundry

♥ clean the bathroom

♥ empty the camera and video camera and load it with fresh batteries

♥ take lots of naps

♥ oh, and did I mention NOT going to work, since Friday was my last day :-)

I'm so excited to meet my girl! Seeing her this morning on the ultrasound put me in the best mood. Now I'm off to take a little nap with my puppy!

And just for fun, here's a picture of her room...

not the best picture, I took it on my phone.

Have a happy Monday!

Tiny Crafts

Last week I started on this little craft I have been wanting to do for Evelyn's room. I haven't been able to find any crib mobiles that I really like, so I was inspired by the one over at Young House Love, and wanted to give it a shot! I was trying to wait until I am done working to start on any crafts so that I have plenty of things to keep me busy, but I couldn't wait!

Here's what I did:

♥) I bought a bunch of fake flowers and plucked off the little buds one by one.

♥) Poked holes in the bud section of of the flower (the little part at the bottom), and threaded some lightweight floral wire through.

♥) once I had a ton of flowers threaded on, I wrapped the wire in an asymmetrical sphere kinda shape.

♥) I hung them all at different heights from a little wreath from the craft store.

Easy as pie (but kinnnda tedious)

soooo many tiny flowers.

The finished product! I love how it turned out!

Here is what her view will be, from in the crib.

♥

All together the whole thing only cost me about $35 and a few hours in front of the TV plucking off flower buds and poking holes!

Still to come: a big ol' chalkboard for above the changing table, some artwork for the walls, and some tissue paper garland.

This is the fun stuff!

Some Things I'm Looking Forward To

Well friends...its been a while! As you could probably guess, I have been one tired girl lately. I've been doing my best to try and relax as much as possible and take care of this little peanut in her last few weeks in my belly. Home stretch though...only 5 1/2 weeks left until her due date. I'm praying she comes a little bit early since I'm in a wedding on June 10th!

Anyway, I am still working almost full time for about 2 more weeks, so I am trying to conserve all my energy so I can make it through those last couple weeks. Other than work, I try not to do too much that I don't have to. Things are starting to get just a tad tight in there...and I'm jusssst about ready to get this little babe out of my belly and into my arms! I have been day-dreaming about things I am ready to enjoy again. Don't get me wrong, its worth all the things I've missed out on in the last 8 months. Here are just a few things I'm looking forward to after our Evy gets here.

Running.

Or exercising in general. More than just walking around the grocery store or on the treadmill at a speed of 2 for 20 minutes. Yes, 2.
I'm looking forward to having intentionally aching muscles and a sweaty face that isn't pregnancy induced. I'm excited about actually using my abdominal muscles for more than pulling myself out of bed :-)

Planting an herb garden.

Since I'll be home this summer, I'm planning on planting some yummy herbs to enjoy allll summer long. This one sure is cute...

Tomatoes.

I will be planting some of these too...and eating more.

Right now they give me the WORST heartburn, so I have to limit.

Cooking.

I have been cooking up a storm...but only because we have been trying to save our pennies, which means cutting lots of corners and having lots of the same things over and over. I'll be glad to be able to have a little more time in the kitchen.

Toes.

Being able to see my toes again. True story.

Sushi :-)

I know I can still have sushi without raw fish, but I'm too scared to.

I don't want to risk getting any weird bacteria or anything. I don't know. I'm weird.

I haven't had any shellfish this whole 8 months.

Heels!

I will not be one of those moms who sports her high heels to the grocery store or anything, but I do love a good leg-enhancing heel on date night :-)

Clothes with an actual waistline.

I am dying for a summer dress. Yes, it may take a while before I can rock something like this again, but please believe I will not be giving up femininity for motherhood. I miss my waist.

Coffee.

Regular coffee. I have been having only decaf on occassion, even though one cup a day is totally fine during pregnancy, I thought it would be better just to cut it out. When I'm nursing I'll probably be enjoying that ONE morning cup a whole lot.

And most of all...

I'm looking forward to actually SEEING my baby girl. I can't wait to hold her and kiss her and smell her and change her poopy butt and feed her and dress her up and look at her and tell her how cute and precious she is

♥

faulty water bottle+exhausted pregnant lady...and Day 2

Today's math lesson:

Faulty water bottle on bedside table with a lid that doesn't actually screw on tight

+

sprawling around in the night because pregnant lady has to turn over every 13 minutes or her giant hip gets a cramp

=

knocking over 16 ounces of ice water at 2:00 in the morning all over my pillow, slippers, bed, and alllll the way underneath the bed where I can't possibly reach it.

(combined this with the most exhausted person in the world, and the result is a lot of tears in the middle of the night).

I'm glad I have a patient husband who doesn't make fun of me when I cry over spilled ice water.

I have to say I am starting to reach that point in pregnancy I keep reading and hearing about, where you start to revert back to the beginning stages of feeling so tired all you want to do is sleep all day. I still feel great physically, no sickness or pain, but I'm starting to get SO TIRED again. I was sick last weekend, so I stayed home from work on Monday, went in late on Tuesday, and guess what...I'm home again today. I am up long enough to eat some breakfast (at noon?), and let it settle, then I'm going back to bed. Lets just hope its a rough week, since I still have about 2 more months left at work and I hate calling in to say I can't come. Side note...everyone I work with is amazing. They are so supportive and never make me feel guilty for not being there...I just hate having a responsibility and feeling like I can't do it. I need to get over it. Ben is so encouraging too. He always encourages me to take care of myself and listen to my body when I need to rest. I'm a blessed lady.

Anyway, all that to say, my update on week 28 of pregnancy is that I am bloated from drinking a large bottle of glucola at the doctor on Monday, and I am a tired girl. I am sitting on the couch staring at the computer like a zombie (i think I look like a zombie too), thinking about crawling back in bed. Its gonna happen any minute, folks.

But before I fall asleep...

Day 2:

What makes you uniquely you?

I don't really know how to answer this, I feel like there are a million things put together that make me unique. Here are some to give you an idea.

I have never had a nose bleed

When I was a kid, I wanted to be a pioneer really bad until I found out that in order to grow a garden you had to pull weeds every day.

My dad was a pastor all growing up.

My family is from the South (Tennessee).

I don't like Easter decorations.

My favorite food is mushrooms.

My other favorite food is chocolate.

I don't like chocolate and mushrooms together, but that's not unique because nobody would like that unless they are a nut.

I change my mind 147 times a day.

When I go to a restaurant, I really need to look at the menu BEFORE I sit down so that I don't get overwhelmed with the decision making process of ordering under pressure.

I hate math but I like numbers.

I love art but not when someone tells me I need to do it a certain way.

I hate cats

I would rather change a poopy diaper than wash a stranger's dirty dishes.

I really like shopping by myself instead of with other people.

One time I met Hilary Duff in the airport, and she said "what's up, yo?"

When I walk in the house, I leave a piece of whatever I'm carrying in every room I walk in, and none of them are the correct place for that item.

I wore the same toe ring for 6 years without taking it off. I took it off 6 months ago and my toe still has an indent.

I got engaged in New York City.

There are a few things about me. All random, nothing too deep. I am a little bit sleepy for that! If you're still reading, I commend you! Hope you all have a delightful Thursday.

hot chocolate, tacos, magazines, and cribs

We have been havin' ourselves a lot of fun lately! This last weekend we went all over Portland looking for a dresser for Evy's little room, with no luck. We won't give up though! We saw a couple things we really like, so that's a start. We also found some cute fabric for a crib skirt and maybe a couple pillows, so we'll go back in few weeks with a pattern so we know how much to get. When I say "we", I really mean "I", because I don't think Ben really loved the fabric store. That's kind of a girl thing :-)

♥

My cute husband treated me like a million bucks this weekend. I ended up being really sick on Sunday, so I got a sweet surprise...breakfast in bed! ♥ I forgot to take a picture because I was so hungry, but I will say he even put a little flower on my tray! Then he touched up the paint in the baby room, and even vacuumed it and totally cleaned it out.

See, cute guy.

We made our way out to Ikea since we were disappointed by not finding anything on Saturday, so we bought Evy's crib! Look at this handy man.

Ta Da!!! Our little blueberry will sleep in here. I can't believe it.

There is no purpose of this picture. I just think its funny.

♥

We have been trying to find fun things to do to get out of the house without spending a ton of money or going out to eat, since we're trying to save as much as we can. One of the things we have found that is so fun is going to Borders, grabbing stacks of books and magazines, and reading while sipping on something yummy. My sipping is usually a little yummier than his (this is obviously mine). Look closely and you'll see he is reading some crazy books about stocks and mutual funds, and I am reading a pregnancy book, Making Magazine, and Whole Living.

Another fun thing...taco night. Always a favorite. Just look how happy it makes this guy...


The spread.
We usually don't go with crunchy, but we loved it this time. Pretty classic. Adding a little bit of super food to them...black beans, plain Greek yogurt, and of course avocado.



muy bueno.
Enjoy Evy girl!


Being married is the best. I can honestly say I have so much fun with Ben, I would rather be with him than anyone else in the world!

Day 1

Project 31.

Day 1.

What does beauty mean to you?

Hmmm, starting out with the deep stuff. Here goes!

I think beauty can come in a million different forms. When I think something is beautiful, it means that I am finding a deep appreciation for it either to my senses, or my soul...or both. Beauty is when I can see the creativeness of God's hand in something else. I am a lover of beautiful things. Who isn't?

But here's the thing about beauty...the bible says beauty is vain. What does that mean? Sometimes when I read that, I have a hard time understanding why a God who made so many beautiful things, including women, says that beauty is vain. I really don't think it means that I should not be beautiful. I also don't think it means don't make myself lovely for my husband. I think it means that beauty according to the world's standards, is vain...as in someday, it will be gone. The verse goes on to say, "..but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised." (proverbs 30). This is what lasting beauty is.

I work at a retirement home. The average age of our residents
is 90. Everyday I look at people who are at the end of their life, and all their
worldly beauty has faded. Not even one of them has been able to fight off the
effects of age on their body and mind. Every single one of them, no matter how
healthy and stunning they may have been in their younger days, has a million
wrinkles, crooked fingers, drooping eyelids, grey hair (or no hair), a hunched
back, and yellow teeth (or no teeth). There is one couple, John and Irma who are
in their 90's. She can't make him dinner anymore, he can't build her a house or
buy her nice things. They can't go dancing anymore, they can't make
love.

This last year, the celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary.
Everyday they go to breakfast together, walk back to their room, come down to
lunch, walk back to their room, walk down the hall to dinner, check their mail,
buy milk, and go back to their room. They are companions. They have children and
grandchildren and great grandchildren. They are still together and loving each
other after 70 years of watching all their physical beauty fade away right
before their eyes. And they are still side by side. Beauty does not stand the
test of time, and there is no point in spending thousands of thousands of
dollars on products and surgeries to make your skin tighter and your boobs
perkier. A man and woman who have had an entire lifetime honoring God with their
lives, through every season, even when all the beauty is gone

.

That is very beautiful.

♥