having a ball on the way to having a baby

 While I'm EXTREMELY excited and almost ready for the arrival of our little one, I'm trying to soak up and enjoy the last month or so left in this pregnancy instead of wishing it away. It's a weird mix of feelings to be almost fed up with this big belly and aching bones, but on the verge of tears to imagine it gone with no more little baby kicks or hiccups left to feel. We've got a lot finished latelyin preparation for baby and my stress is lightening with each passing day and freeing me up for more fun - which is good, because we've had a lot of opportunities to have fun lately =)

Last Thursday night, we went to an impromptu party celebrating the engagment of these two, Ginny and Andrew, two of my favorite people in the entire world.

To say I'm thrilled for them, especially sweet Ginny, is an understatement!

 

Britney, Ginny and me... Britney brought them the hats their wearing in the first picture!

Then the hats made their rounds and ended up in one of the cutest pictures of the night. Britney's little girl, Kennedy, was having a blast with all the dogs {6 total!} at Andrew's house.

Saturday night we went out with several of my work peeps who are always a fun bunch to shoot the breeze with. The only picture I got of the night was of Nick with his teacup and Curious George lunch box.

 

Should I explain that one of our friends had their 5 year old daughter with them who absolutely adored Nick and wanted to share all her belongings with him {as well as writing a note to him that he was a failure for not coloring a page as she had requested - hilarious!} or just let you think these are Nick's usual personal items he brings with him to Mexican restaurants?

Sunday afternoon we had a day of painting some very special pottery at the Mad Potter. An enormous piggy bank painted with love by Mommy and Daddy for baby Houston will be fired and ready for his nursery soon - I can't wait to pick it up!♥

 

 

Since all this fun has happened this past weekend, it's been back to work both at home and at the money maker.

My main job at home the last few days: curtain maker extraordinaire.

Okay, maybe not the extraordinaire part since I didn't stitch the first stitch... but I will say that at least 10 hours have went into making the 2 pairs of curtains I'm about to show you!

For all the sewing challenged out there, this stuff is M-A-G-I-C. This non-sewer has even hemmed her own pants with this stuff:






The new curtains made by moi in the dining room:

I even installed grommets and all!
{Yes I am strangely proud of my small accomplishments...}

The fabric used on the dining room curtains was originally ordered for the nursery.

HUGE FAIL.

The colors, the pattern - it didn't "go". I would call it disastrous except I've been wanting new curtains in the dining room for a while and I'm loving this quirky fabric in there.

Guilt demolished by a new found use for failed fabric choice, but back to the drawing board for the nursery.

Finished with looking for something unique that would turn out to be another big fail, I ordered the same fabric that the crib bumper and skirt were made of and hoped it wouldn't be overkill.

BINGO WAS HIS NAME-O!!

I love them!... you can see one of them here in this little nursery sneak-peak. You'll have to wait to the final reveal to see the pair together.

This space is quickly becoming our favorite room in the house. I've even found a certain Mr. Someone chilling in the glider and surfing the web on his iPad several times in here! It is quite adorable to see him hanging out in the nursery and I'm sure the sweet factor will be multiplied to infinity when I see him in the same chair with our son♥


2 BABY SHOWERS TO GO THIS WEEKEND!! and a recap of the precious shower the lovely, recently engaged, Ginny, threw for me coming up.

love at 35 weeks, 3 years AND 3 years =)

 

This past Tuesday, the love of my life and I celebrated 3 years of wedded bliss together. I am beyond lucky to truthfully tell you that I married my very best friend AND I would put my hand on the bible when I tell you that my love for him grows with each passing year and that I am excited to grow old with him as that trend continues. He is my everything and I could never imagine my life without him♥

 

{Can you handle all the mushy-ness?!}

 

On our anniversary after dinner at Buddy’s Bar & Grill:

 

I remember fondly that at this time last year, the day after our 2nd anniversary, we quickly came to the realization that we were ready to move on to the next step in our lives. The birth control was promptly thrown out the window and we’ve never looked back =) We are so LUCKY {and trying to never take that for granted!} to be almost 35 weeks into the journey on the same day this year.

 

 

The ticker at the bottom of the page says we’re 35 weeks along with 35 days to go – fun stuff!

 

I don’t know if I could ever say this enough, but God has blessed us beyond any dream I ever had for our life together.

 

 

{That’s about all I can type now on the subject as the hormones have caused a huge lump in my throat and I’m ready to burst into tears with all the happy thoughts and memories right now… seriously. I already cried at a Huggies commercial this morning and I’m still trying to keep it together!!}

 

 

Moving on… to something else that makes me want to cry – our first fur baby turned 3 years old in June and isn’t such a baby anymore.

This little creature has seriously been a light in our lives. {Laugh if you must…} We adopted him just 3 weeks into our married life and have had a blast as a family of 3 ever since!

 

Was he really ever that tiny?!

 

His little world is about to be rocked with the arrival of a little brother. This dog wants to be cuddled, carried, and FED continuously and has been our baby our entire marriage. Though I think it’s safe to say he would prefer to not be literally babied – I put him in this bassinet my mom is keeping in my room at their house and he wanted OUT immediately!

{and the scruffy homeless dog has since had a very nice haircut, just so ya know…}

 

We will need some willpower to not spoil our child as much as we have this dog or he will be ruined… I would prefer Houston to move out of our house by age 30 ;)

 

Then just as I was uploading this picture from the car’s thermometer last night on our way to church {it was 100 degrees and felt like 150!} and about to talk about how I think I almost melted into a puddle on a 20 minute walk with the dog early this morning…

 

I read a friend’s facebook status that put the heat into perspective for me and thought I’d share it with you since I’m betting 90% of the people reading this are in a hot climate somewhere today:

“I was going to complain about how hot it is... then I realized: 1.) It isn't 109 degrees; 2.) I'm not 5,700 miles from home; 3.) I'm not dressed in a full BDU uniform & helmet and carrying 70+ lbs. of gear; and 4.) There is very little chance that anyone will shoot at me or that I might drive over a bomb in the road today! Thanks to all who serve!!”

 

AMEN!

Nesting… it ain’t always pretty.

As we get closer to D-day {Delivery Day… not Doom’s Day, mind you} my anxiety levels seem to be on a roller coaster ride of peaks and troughs. My inner-most thoughts swirl around what still needs to be organized in the house, what still needs to be purchased, put together, nailed to the wall, what information we need to bone-up on and just which particular day in an already hectic schedule this is all going to occur on. When I’m not panicking, I’m planning, scheming, executing, and asking my dear husband to do just one more thing, which seems to calm the panic.

It must be said that the only true panic I’ve experienced happened last Saturday. After a 10 hour day at work on my feet, I came home determined to turn this house upside down until everything was neatly organized into 1 of 12 totes or in what I deemed to be the “correct closet” for an item to be stowed. Nick had been home that day and even though he had finished oodles around the house, I felt the need to do more. After carrying the 13th load down the stairs at almost midnight, I broke into hysterics at my dear baseball loving husband watching America’s favorite past-time in the living room.

Had he already worked all day on the house and deserved a break at almost midnight?

Yes.

Did he know I was idiotically carrying large totes of junk up and down the basement stairs by myself and fearing I would go into pre-term labor at any moment, still just couldn’t stop myself?

No.

Would he have jumped up to help me if he had 1.) Been aware or 2.) I had asked?

Yes.

After I sobbed a tiny dramatic bit, I decided I had finally hit bottom and called it a night {setting my alarm clock extra early so I could get up and do more on a Sunday morning before work…}. I was them able to more rationally explain to my poor, confused husband my fears and apologized for the water works.

Thankfully, most of this pregnancy has been rather calm. More psychotic breaks like this and I may have been admitted to the looney bin.

{Though Nick probably enjoys it – One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is one of his favorite movies!}

Amazingly, in the week since that small panic attack, progress has been made beyond anything I had ever imagined possible in such a small amount of time. {Hence, my absence from blog-world!} The glider and ottoman finally came in for the nursery, all the furniture is finished being painted and put in place, the fabric arrived for the curtains, the majority of the house has been organized to a more tolerable arrangement, our new dining room suit has been delivered {pictures to come}, and the kicker: the house has been cleaned spotless and I didn’t have to do a single second of it!

We have hired what I consider to be, my very own cleaning fairy god-mothers =)

4 ladies + 4 1/2 hours cleaning every window inside and out as well as every piece of woodwork in the house and every inch of everything else including moving furniture to find socks I haven’t seen in years {thanks, Hendrix!} = one very happy preggo.

Previously, we had discussed possibly hiring a cleaning lady when I returned from maternity leave, but not before then. My plan had been to cut back to the minimum to still be considered full-time for a pharmacist, 32 hours, after baby and then determine if that was enough of a "break" to get the house done myself or consider the alternative. Long story short, my company decided to do a major overhaul this past June making all the managers salary positions at 40 hours with no option to cut back.

I have to say that a big reason for me going into this particular profession was the great amount of pay I could still make at part-time when I would “one day” become a mother. A great amount of time at home with my little one with a few hours of adult interaction and self validation in the business world seemed like the perfect mix. To say I was disappointed with this change right at the time I’m about to have my first child is an understatement.

I went through a little grieving, prayed about it and as usual, God gave a little push and made me see all my blessings once again: thankful I even have a job, thankful to be the manager and make my own schedule, thankful I’m being “forced” to work 40 hours and not having my hours cut back and begging for more work. It was a process and I’m sure I will have to remind myself of all the positives when I’m back at work after baby, but I am much more at peace with the situation today.

Back to the cleaning ladies… my other big blessings!

With the change in plans at work, I now knew I wanted some help when I went back. But with the little time we have left before Houston gets here and the many things besides cleaning that needed to be finished, hubs and I decided the time had come to go ahead with the hiring. These babies following me home after work each night helped the decision as well:



{Believe it or not, this was after an abnormal work day of SITTING in a meeting all day - not my usual 12 hours of standing... believe me, they actually get worse than this!=)}

All that to say my panic has almost disappeared with the progress we've made and cleaning fairy god-mothers coming bi-weekly... we may have even saved my marriage ;)

Nasty story about my nasty behavior combined with a nasty picture of my cankle - just keepin' it real, people!

Speaking of keeping it real... you know, Britney - go read her hilarious blog post about her preggo brain mix-up over my shower last night. {Shower re-cap to come, we had a fabulous time!!} You will laugh and feel compelled to say "Bless her heart..." in true Kentucky fashion. I love that girl!

33 weeks and a GREAT start to July!

 

I won’t technically be 33 weeks till Friday, but since I’m usually about 5 days late on the belly posts, what’s a day early for once?

 

At 33 weeks, things are just starting to get serious around here… seriously exciting. We’ve even started child birth classes which have made this whole thing feel very real. While there hasn’t been much progress on the nursery since I posted this picture…

 

…I am feeling a lot more clear headed {as of just today} about what direction we’re going in with this sweet little room and feeling inspired again. That being said, I’ve made quite a long list of things to shop/search for but don’t find it too daunting as L-O-V-E cyber shopping. Getting out and actually walking through stores? Not so enjoyable for me pre-pregnancy and made even less enjoyable at 33 weeks.

 

But BOY do I enjoy curling up on the couch with a computer and a credit card =)

 

{P.S. Several of you asked about where I found the crib when I posted this picture. We are so lucky to have friends who are loaning us this crib. The warranty card says it is “Legacy” brand and has a website of www.childcraftind.com though I haven’t been able to find this specific crib on the web to link you to. The friend loaning it to us use to own her own children’s store and ordered it back then. Just wait till you see the GORGEOUS wood carved heirloom bassinet she’s letting us borrow as well – you will melt. Again ~ we are so blessed!}

 

My extra awesome hubby decided to take matters into his own hands last night to iron the crib skirt and put the bedding together since I finally bought a mattress. I didn’t really realize this until he finished, but it literally is perfect. I love the colors and fabrics more now then when I picked it out! This was definitely the kick that got me inspired again.

 

Did I mention how wonderful my husband is?!♥

 

As for 33 weeks updates, there’s not much that has changed, especially when it comes to weight! While I can tell he’s getting bigger in there, taking up more room and people keep commenting on how fast my belly has been growing lately, I haven’t gained a pound in a month - weird. No complaints on that front!

Symptoms: I’ve developed the slightest case of heartburn lately – not that it actually “burns” but just feels like it’s coming back up and just sitting in my throat. Lovely, I know, but it’s really not bad in the least, just a tad annoying. I’m still sleeping like a rock {Praise God!} and getting around fairly decent – I already got in an hour walk with the dog this morning and he’s the one tuckered out snoozing in my lap now as I type. The swelling in my hands and feet is getting worse with each week, making work a little miserable and bending over truly sucks BIG TIME but I still feel I have been crazy lucky and have breezed through this pregnancy thus far.

 

Plus or minus 7 weeks to go – I can do it!!

 

 

 

Thanks to my great sister and brother-in-law, we got to enjoy this past 4th of July weekend on their boat with a visit from my parents. Even Hendrix got to tag along!

 

Baby boy took his first ever swim ~ he was a natural.

{It was amazing to see his little legs start dog paddling in the air before he ever hit the water for the first time.♥ How do they just know what to do?!}

 

 

Our family picture on the shore we all swam up to together. Enjoy the only {far away} picture of this preggo in a swim suit!

 

Nick and Dad chillaxin’.

 

Lots of fun tubing for Mom, Dad, and Nick. I can’t wait to get back in on the fun next summer!

♥♥♥♥♥♥

Vegas Babymoon! Part 2

 

Did you catch Part I of the Babymoon?

 

Part 2 of our Babymoon in Vegas actually shows us stepping outside of the Bellagio and onto the famous Las Vegas Boulevard for lots of sightseeing fun =)

 

 

Why can’t our shopping malls look like this at home?!

 

 

Dressed up and ready to party!!

 

 

A grainy cell phone pic taken inside of Eva Longoria’s restaurant, Beso.

It was delicious!!

Funny story that while we were there, Eva’s cheating ex-husband’s NBA team was playing and getting killed… the entire wait-staff was cheering in the back =) Way to support the boss, guys. Ha!

 

After dinner we went to our first Cirque Du Soleil show, “O”.  It was phenomenal to say the least. I was frickin’ frackin’ amazed at the acrobatics, water stunts, and gymnastics. We had awesome seats in the second row and never took our eyes off of the stage. It was by far my favorite part of the trip!

There are several Cirque shows to choose from in Vegas and I read tons of reviews before deciding to see this one and I am so glad we did =) It’s the only one you have to reserve tickets for ahead of time, the rest of the shows you can still get tickets the day of on sale. I can see why this one never has any seats left to grab last minute!!

 

{Sorry – I can only show a picture of the outside of the theater. No photography allowed inside. Just imagine the most amazing thing you’ve ever seen and multiply it times 10 =) }

 

 

 

 

The next day while strolling the streets, we decided to see the strip from the top of the “Eiffel Tower”.

 

 

 

What a great view!

 

 

The Bellagio, right across the street:

 

 

 

And onto more amazing sights we saw – giant boxes of Nerds! =)

 

 

 

Getting lucky {not!} on the slots:

 

and didn’t we already see New York, New York this past November???

A jelly-bean Lady Liberty inside NY, NY:

 

Would this re-cap be complete if I didn’t show this pic from inside Caesar's Palace?

I think not.

 

 

Even with all of these pictures, I felt like I didn’t take many on the trip. There were so many nights out with great restaurants, comedy shows we took in, saw the fantastic Penn and Teller magic show {I highly recommend this!}, a day of lounging by the magnificent Bellagio pools and ENORMOUS breakfast buffets each morning that I didn’t take a single picture of.

We might just plan a second baby sooner than we thought just for another great Babymoon =)

Thank you, hubby, for being the reason all of our trips are such a blast. I am so lucky to have truly married my best friend♥

 

Our smallest souvenir…!