Nursery Inspiration Board

Well here we are... the long-awaited inspiration board (is it really? I don't know!)

I haven't made a name for this room quite yet, so I've been calling it "Storybook - Castles and Dragons" which I think is confusing for a lot of people. It will involve:

• Primary colors: mostly blue and green with hints of red
• Artwork from Etsy in the children's book illustration style; also the style of Arthurian book illustrations
• Playful (not scary) images of knights and dragons
• Rustic, rough-hewn walnut shelves made by J
• The beautiful Stickley crib lent to us by my aunt and uncle

Let's take a look:

(click to enlarge)

The three fabric swatches in the top left are the main fabric elements of the theme (I want to use the blue one). I would like to make a cushion for the rocking chair and maybe also a crib dust ruffle with it.

I am not planning on registering for a bedding set, and I'll explain why: the bedding set usually has a fitted sheet, bumper, quilt and dust ruffle. The quilt and bumper (most expensive parts) can't actually be used in the crib [definitely not at first; possibly later on, but both are a danger for suffocation and/or SIDS] so I don't see the point in registering for a set only to use two pieces. Also, I like the idea of having a unique room theme and I'm not totally sold on any I've seen. They are all sports, bears, cars, or jungle themed and they want you to buy all the little matching pieces - I really think I can do just as well with various shades of blue and green! That way I'm not locked in to any set or store price. Fitted crib sheets are very inexpensive, come in tons of colors, and my aunt has already given me 3 white ones! I do plan on registering for a breathable bumper upon the suggestion of my friend Katie, so that I don't have to rush in there and pick up any small item he decides to drop through the rails, or rescue little hands stuck between them. 

The big scary part is making the crib skirt...I think I'm going to attempt to make it with box pleats, but I don't know if I want to look at that much castle fabric...I have even considered buying a white or blue box-pleated skirt and adding castle fabric to the box pleat reveals... ANYWAY, I digress. I didn't think I needed one until we realized we'd need the space under the crib for storage.

I would love to have the time and know-how to make a quilt, and I think I will attempt it, at least a simple one, so that it's done by the time baby can use a quilt...(I have a lot of time). I don't know how the through-sewing is done on quilts! But I can read a book on it. :) I'd like to make a regular-sized quilt (like a single bed size) so that it can grace his bed later on, and if not, well that's okay too.

I had this great idea of having J make these little wooden leaves (they were making some for a job) and staining them different colors for a beautiful mobile, but I suppose that's not visually stimulating, so I guess I won't have him waste time on that.

We won't have curtains, and I don't really want a lot of stuffed animals around as they are big allergen-catchers, and with my allergies I don't want to start this little one off with dust mites. 

I am still worried about "stuff" accumulating, but I'll have to worry about that when it happens. :)

I'm sure this will not be the last time I post on this, but I think it's enough for today. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Banana or cantaloupe?

Welcome to the HALFWAY POINT, folks!

20 weeks!

Baby O is the size of a banana (or a cantaloupe, keep reading to find out why), and is now started to be measured differently, so expect the size to seem to shoot up. Before he was being measured from head to rump, and this week marks the turning point where his whole body is measured. So he is a banana (according to babycenter.com) when measured from crown to rump at 6.5 inches, or 10 inches from head to heel. I don't know what kind of crazy bananas those people at babycenter are buying, but I don't usually find monster bananas that are 10 inches long! According to thebump.com baby O is a cantaloupe, which makes more sense at 10 inches!

We have an appointment on August 2nd for the anatomical survey so I should have some good pictures from that!

In the meantime, baby O is beginning to sense tastes from his tastebuds, and apparently what I eat now will be some of his fundamental first tastes, so that is a lot of pressure on me! No wonder EVERYONE on earth likes dessert! :)

Nursery Inspiration Board Unveiling! Friday!

Stay tuned, because I plan on unveiling the nursery inspiration board on Friday, after a new final tweaks and additions!

The Nursery

Well, geez is this hard.

In an effort to create a nursery that is functional and not overwhelming, we're stuck debating how much furniture to put in this small room. I vote for more furniture (I think the way to prevent clutter is to create spaces for things to go) and J votes for less (he thinks the room will look cave-like). We're at an impasse, I'm afraid. Either that, or I just give up and decide we should try it with less furniture and see what happens.

Please ignore the bag o' crap next to the crib - we're a work in progress!

Now we have moved the crib to the right wall, next to the dresser/changing table, leaving the left wall with the rocking chair, small side table, and floor lamp.

 So the question becomes: how much storage do we need? I'm afraid we will need a lot. My ideas were a free-standing tall bookshelf or a bench under the window that houses three cloth boxes that can store toys and books in a pinch. I thought I could make cushions for it and sit a couple of stuffed animals on it...but now I'm just looking at what we have in the room right now, plus a wall shelf above the changing table and one above the rocking chair.

Advice?

The confusing numbers game

This week I decided that the numbers are very confusing in pregnancy. They say "you're really pregnant for 10 months" - but you aren't. Not really. Maybe 42 since they advance you by two weeks in order to calculate how far along you are. But here is the problem: as I approach the "halfway point" of 20 weeks, which is 5 months for all intents and purposes, what do I tell people? I can't say 5 months, when I have 5 left. Should I say 4 and a half and hope I don't confuse them? What the heck happened to this system?

A quote for today

“To be happy, we must not be too concerned with others.”

― Albert Camus

Photo session up...

Have you checked out my photo blog lately?

If not, just sayin', maybe you should... ;)

What I made for dinner

Buttermilk-marinated grilled chicken

Green salad with green beans, peas, and a fresh herb vinaigrette

This dog kills me

I'm sure I'm biased, but this is a darn cute dog!

What I made for dinner

Enchilada casserole from Cooking Light...

 Also a Mexican cabbage salad (which I made up), corn on the cob and a chipotle sauce for the corn, also from Cooking Light.

Cabbage salad:

Cabbage
White distilled vinegar
Red Wine vinegar
Sugar (about a tbl)
Lime juice
Vegetable oil (about a tbl)
Salt and pepper
2 dashes of cumin

Heirloom Tomato!

This week, baby O is the size of an heirloom tomato.

He weighs 8.5 ounces and is 6 inches long!

His senses are starting to develop and he may be able to hear sounds now. His arms and legs are the right proportion to his body, and he can flex and stretch them. Hair is beginning to grow on his scalp. 

A quote for today

It is our failure to become our perceived ideal that ultimately defines us and makes us unique. It's not easy, but if you accept your misfortune and handle it right, your perceived failure cam become a catalyst for profound re-invention.
-Conan O'Brien

On those moments in life...a serious post.

In December 2008 I experienced one of the most profound things a human being can experience. The transition of life from this world to the next. I didn't know, going to my grandparents' house that day that I would. I was there for a visit in the afternoon, and sometime after 10 p.m. I was watching my grandpa's life end. Had I known, would I have stayed? I don't know. I'm still not sure if I was the right person to be there. You come of age in a world where death is tangible, but do you see it? Have you witnessed that moment, first-hand? It's very different than just knowing. Something happens in that room, at that moment. Life is irrevocably changed, and you are as well. I use the word "profound" because it doesn't attach a positive or negative, but tells you that the impact was great. I could describe it in both positive and negative ways. It was horrifying. It was beautiful. It was a nightmare. It was an honor.

When I left, I played the song "What Sarah Said" by Death Cab over and over in the car. I didn't want to go home. I didn't want to go to sleep, and let this day pass as though it were any other. I wouldn't wake up the same. If you don't know the song, there is a line it it: "I'm remembering what Sarah said: love is watching someone die." I used to find that line ridiculously melodramatic, but suddenly I knew what he meant. To care, to want to be there, to witness this transition, to care enough to put yourself through this, what would happen to you afterward: that is love.

I've come to realize what an honor it was, truly, to witness this part of life. So few will see it in their lifetimes. Would I recommend it to anyone? Certainly not. You really must love and respect the person, and you should know, better than I did, what you are getting yourself into. You should also know what an act of love it is to hold the hand of a person as they pass into the next life. I wouldn't want to be alone. And yet I'd feel badly for whomever had to experience my passing -- it's that complex.

So why reflect on this?

If the moment of death is profound and moving, life-altering and hard, think of the beauty there must be in witnessing and ushering in a new life into the world. You may have already. Having seen the end of life, I cannot wait to see the beginning. The hope and promise are never greater than in that first moment. You can do anything, be anything...and life has only just begun. To hold that small hand as life begins is an honor, a privilege, and a joy so unique, I'm not sure I'll do any better at expressing it in words as I have with the end of life as I described above. I hope I'll be able to do better, but some things, as Helen Keller said, must be felt with the heart, and words just won't suffice.

My grandparents, 2005

Bell Pepper

Sorry I missed the update last week (I took the week off from EVERYTHING I guess!) but here is the last-week status for baby O:

Baby O is the size of a bell pepper.

5.5 inches long and almost 7 ounces. He is flexing his arms and legs and growing...growing...

Cute

Click on this photo to enlarge so you can see the cute face of my dog as we prepare to leave for Big Bear on vacation. He's so happy to be going anywhere, and I love to see his happy face in the rear view mirror.

The canvas wrap came!

We haven't hung it yet (still need to have a new mantle made and installed by J) but I set it up on my existing mantle in the "art gallery" of leaning and interchangeable art work for now. :)

It is beautiful and these phone pictures aren't doing it justice!

The nursery is coming along!

A new beautiful shade in the window.

Crib from my Aunt Kere and Uncle Mike, rocking chair from my parents.

It's a...

You may have already seen this...

Hold onto your hats...we're having a boy!

Busy

My goodness it's July.

Where has this year gone?

Despite the fact that the year is already more than half over, I feel like I still have a LOT of time left before this little one comes. Speed up, time!

We entered July and this is what my calendar looks like already:

Yes I blurred it on purpose, as no one needs to see more!

It's all fun stuff, but still a bit overwhelming to enter a month with no free days! It's all planned out for me!

Living Room updates!

The living room is just about done!

Sorry for the blurry picture; I have better ones to come! 

 If you recall, there used to be an un-drywalled frame-only spot in the wall above from the door we deleted!

Look! No wires under the tv!

Beautiful doors!

What I made for dinner

I just don't think to photograph my dinners often, perhaps because they never look appetizing in a picture. But they are!

Here is one I did remember:

From my new Cooking Light cookbook: oven-fried buttermilk chicken and corn fritter casserole served with green beans.

What to wear to work (and a haircut)

Here is Tuesday's outfit...becoming all the more challenging lately!

Shirt: my mom, pants: maternity pants from Linda

I got my hair cut!

I chopped my hair off again. Well, for me, anyway...I think it's SHORT! I like to have her blow dry it straight because it feels so healthy and wonderful, but then of course J loves it curly most and it is very cute and very BIG curly! I will try to take a pic sometime of that.

Goodbye, dear friend

I feel as though it is the end of an era for J and I.

Yes, our non-parent lives are coming to an end, and I think we're both fine with that idea...not that it will always be easy, but we're able to accept that things are changing. The one thing I didn't see coming was the loss of our beloved Harley.

It does make sense, and fiscally responsible J was correct in suggesting that we sell it. We won't get a lot of time to ride it, and as it ages, its value will only depreciate; and we could really use the money...We paid it off before we started house hunting last spring, so it's interest-free. To be honest, we haven't ridden it a ton in the past entire year. After J's accident neither of us had the time or inclination (or ability) to ride for a while. Then we got the house and started devoting a lot of time to it. The weather seemed to be ridiculous this year; every weekend involved rain for more weeks than I can ever remember. Ironically, we had so wanted a garage so that we could simply pull away on the Harley without squeezing it out from behind my car in our condo garage, and having to painfully maneuver it back in.

I think, more than all of this, it's just hard to let go of it for sentimental reasons. To get this story straight, I'm the one who is having a difficult time with it. J is not sentimental of material possessions, and I wish I could say the same for myself. It's just represented so much to me. We wanted one so badly, and planned and talked about our future together, and a Harley was in it. We worked hard to save money. We bought it together, in the first combined credit purchase we'd made, and the largest until the house. I remember that exciting day at the dealer, and the feeling that our dreams were materializing. Then to ride, and enjoy the beautiful weather, and the sights and smells of everything around us was so exhilarating. It felt like freedom.

It was so fun to customize the bike; picking out the accessories with great care and admiring them was another part of the personalization and personification, if I may, of the bike. And then there were our own accessories: the jackets, boots, gloves, t-shirts and more that we bought, gifted, were given.

The joy of being able to want something and then to have it, the very adult feeling of saving and spending money as you choose, and the (also very adult) twinge of sadness when you make the right decision, and that decision involves saying goodbye...these are all things that I have felt and will continue to feel in life, this I know.

I know that if we're in a place in life where we want one again, we can just start over. Perhaps we'll want something else; something more comfortable for our older behinds, or something with a stereo... but right now, this Harley, which has represented so much for us, needs to move on to someone who will love it as much as we did, but ride it more.

Still, it feels like a sad, harsh reality that we have to move on, to other things, or to eventually start over. There will be an empty space in our garage and it will make me sad for a while. As excited as I am about things to come, I so appreciate the opportunities I've had, the experiences, and yes, the things. This motorcycle has nothing but fun memories attached to it; about how many things can you say the same? I'm so thankful that we were ever in a place in life in which we could experience what it was to own one, and I will never forget the feeling of riding...

:(

Race pictures

A couple of good shots from Tuesday's race:

No results yesterday :(

So here's the deal: in my last appointment, on June 2, I asked when we would find out the sex. He said "next time." Apparently that didn't mean my next appointment, it meant my next ultrasound (2 appointments away) so I have 4 more weeks.

J and I were obviously pretty bummed, and while I was getting blood drawn he stood in the hallway and started calling elective ultrasound places. We are going to visit one today, but depending on how certain they are, we may or may not tell anyone. :)