Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Thankful

Today, I am thankful for:

A new day.

A husband that works so hard for our family - and is perfect (99.9999% of the time - and I'm pretty sure that rounds up!).

A dad who is patient, kind and willing to listen to my 34646843131 home repair questions.

A sister who is patient and sweet with this crying-overly-hormonal-brain-lacking pregnant chick.

And a house that feels like home, despite the fact it always breaks when Nate is no where to be found.

Oh yes, AND the fact that in 10 days we get to see our sweet little girl's face on a 4D ultrasound - and how much she looks exactly like Nate. I can just feel it.

That is all. :)

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Makin' a List - Checkin' It Twice!

So - two more things off the list today!

1. When I was leaving for work this morning - Nate was installing new smoke detectors. (Thankful he didn't have to go in early today - imagine that - even though it means closing tonight, it means one more thing off the list!)
Apparently, our house was too big to just have one smoke detector, and at that - we had never really tested it in the 2.5 years we have lived there. It's funny the things you think of when you have a baby on the way. :) He installed two new smoke detectors and moved the old one (which does work) to the laundry room/mud room. So now we have three. Which might be a little over kill. Better safe than sorry.

Smoke Detectors. Check.

2. Ordered the bedding today!! I found and fell in LOVE with bedding that was way over-priced and over-budget. boo. However, upon ordering swatches of the fabric it was made of, (bad idea) I knew I could not live without it. It was just so sweet - so soft - so perfect. Of course, Nate doesn't give a rip roarin' hoot what kind of money things cost - he lived by the phrase - "If you like it - get it!" Thank goodness one of us is cheap practical. However, I must say, I considered adopting the his motto, just this once. I mean, how many times am I going to have a first born baby girl?!? Bingo. Once. I could order the fabric - attempt to remember how to sew - be frusterated - and STILL not save that much money by the time I bought all the supplies....

Insert BFF Beka to the rescue...and her fabulous suggestion to check etsy. Boo ya. I was able to customize the set that I REALLY loved - into something I loved even MORE - and saved a ton of money. So now - sweet Skylar will have bedding that NO other little lamb has - and her mama's pocketbook is MUCH happier WITHOUT the new motto. :)

Bedding. Check.

Here are the swatches of fabric that will grace her sweet little bed.


Now it is about the details. Oh yes, and locating an old dresser that I will fall in love with that will be refinished to serve as a changing table/dresser. Back to Craigstlist I go.




Tuesday, August 23, 2011

27th Week Already??

So, apparently, I am almost to the third trimester. Please feel free to pinch me and wake me up from this dream that I am surely in - because this pregnancy has FLOWN by - FLOWN I tell you. I told Nate the other night (as I was laying on the bed watching my tummy bounce around and wondering what in the WORLD she was doing in there that could be so much fun) that it really does feel like just yesterday I threw that pregnancy test in the garbage - you know, the one that I was SURE would be negative - AGAIN - and then happened to glance down and see two little pink lines...and here we are - almost 7 months pregnant. I can't believe how blessed we are.

I also can't believe how much there is to do!?!

I had my glucose test yesterday (which deserves a post in itself - fingers crossed that I passed), and our regular doctor appointment (only one more left before I start going every TWO weeks - if THAT isn't a reality check I'm not sure what is!) Everything looks "perfect" according to the doctor. I am measuring exactly where I should be. Which feels to be one or two sizes smaller than a buick. :) The doctor was so sweet as she asked...so - are you getting ready for the baby....and that is when Nate and I looked at her and just started laughing...

....depends, doc, what does "ready" mean.... she said - do you have the nursery ready? (insert more laughter) does she have a place to sleep? (Insert a defensive "we bought a crib this weekend - but don't have a mattress!) ...that's a good start....does she have something to go home from the hospital in and something warm to wear at home?....(nervous laughter...) Have you toured the hospital and done a child birth class?....okay - This game wasn't so funny anymore. The more she asked - the more I realized - okay - we gotta buckle down. No more putting this off.

So, YES - we bought a crib this weekend - and I. LOVE. IT. (Shabby Chic to the max! I sure hope the ultrasound was right - and that she is a girl - otherwise this is gonna be one girlie-fied little boy! :) ha!)
I also finished (finally) the bookcase! I plan to order the bedding before the end of the week - and then the only major thing for the room we still need to get is some kind of chest that I can refinish and use for a changing table...I haven't found one that I absolutely love yet. This is our goal for the next two weekends - finish all major projects before FSU football steals my help for the entire day of Saturday. Must. buckle. down.

Today, I scheduled our child birth classes (which we will graduate from approximately 18 days before she is due - impeccable timing, I might add - sure hope the little lamb isn't too early!) - these include a tour - so we will knock that out too. I have also printed out calendars of the next three months and penciled in all the showers, classes, doctors, and hopefully a mini baby-moon. Therefore, I feel I can go to bed tonight, slightly more organized than I did last night. So take that, procrastination. Boo.ya.

Anyway, here are a few pictures - 27 weeks (and tired faced) - crib and bookcase.

**disclaimer - while in all my wildest dreams my house looks that grand - in my dreams it also has a wrap around porch and is located on the water with at least 5 acres - so no, that is not Skylar's nursery. drat. Just a picture of the crib.


Friday, August 19, 2011

wish for skylar leighton

candace and colette made this for skylar. so. sweet.

So....I might have gone back on my word...

....and made a few Skylar purchases. Simply because I love all things monogrammed, appliqued and smocked. And because these were just too cute and too good of a deal to pass up. I couldn't do it. She had to have them. Can I just say that I am ready to meet this little girl. Like yesterday.



Plus, it gives me something to look forward to in the mail - because we all need a little something other than bills and junk mail. :) This is just what the doctor I ordered.


Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Planning Ahead...

Hold your breath. This post might knock your socks off.

I have been planning. I mean really REALLY REALLY thinking things through. Weighing all my options. And have finally made a decision.....

WHEN I pass my glucose test on Monday (I am saying this as if I will definitely, most certainly - for SURE pass on the first time - hoping this will increase my chances of only having to get stuck with a needle once.) ... anyway.. WHEN I pass that test...I will celebrate...

with this.....



I found the recipe here. And I cannot WAIT to make this.

Sure hope I get the results QUICKLY. :)


Thursday, August 11, 2011

BumpWatch

For some reason just typing "Bump Watch" made me envision a group pregnant-bellied ladies in high-cut red swimsuits running down the beach with rippling muscled men chasing them....ha. I probably shouldn't type/say everything that comes to mind - My mom used to tell me this. Sometimes I find my thoughts hilarious - even when no one else does. Baywatch BumpWatch - it's all the same.

I cannot BELIEVE that in 15ish weeks we will get to see our girl's sweet little face!! I just can't wait!! Well, actually, considering the fact that I have done NOTHING to get ready - I can wait. Totally wait.

I really shouldn't say we haven't done ANYTHING -- we have registered at Babys-R-Us AND primed a bookcase. So there. she might have a bookcase when she gets here - and she can sleep in the bathtub. Kids don't need much - just love, right?

In the past 4 weeks - I feel I have become a balloon - and every night some little fairy person MUST sneak into my bedroom and add a little more air to that balloon. That or maybe it's the kid growing. ehh, details. But its awesome to see my belly growing - terrifyingly scary to think holy cow - did I get bigger overnight!?!?! - but totally awesome thinking that her little self is IN THERE!

These pictures are taken exactly a month apart. 1st one in beginning of the 21st week and the 2nd & 3rd at the end of the 25th. Crazy! (please excuse the sleepy look and messy head at 25 weeks - did I mention this whole growing a baby sucks the energy right out of you. Just be glad this was BEFORE work and not after - THAT is when it gets really ugly!)




I am starting to get really excited about the 4D ultrasound (we still have 3 or 4 weeks to wait for that one)...to see her little face! Is it 4D or 3D? That just dawned on me - I have no idea - either way - you know - the one where you can see her and all her smushed-up cuteness! I certainly hope that her body has caught up with her head - and that her sweet little noggin had just decided to grow a little earlier than the rest of her - at the last ultrasound the Dr. said her head was (and I quote) "HUGE".

Geez-oh-pete. Just what I wanted to hear - along with Nate snickering behind me as she said it. That brings me to a whole-lotta other questions and concerns.....
another post for another time. :)

xoxo


Monday, August 8, 2011

The Logistical Nightmare.

....that is the pregnant belly...

*Note* This is NOT BY ANY MEANS a complaint about the sweet baby in my belly, nor is it a complaint about the belly itself. It is simply an attempt at humor regarding all the things you never ever think of until the baby bump is your own.

You know those super cute preggo ladies in magazine pictures and on TV? Ever wonder if they sit in the floor of their closet with half of their clothes on the floor instead of hangers - and just stare at the remaining clothes and wonder "what in the world will I try on NEXT - and will I really have an emotional breakdown and be admitted into the nearest padded cell because I can't get dressed??". I don't wonder - because I am CERTAIN that 99% of those ladies that are modeling "9 month preggo" clothes are not really pregnant - A) because all of their noses and cheeks show no signs of being swollen and B) they still have little butts. Maybe B only applies to me - but Skylar is currently being housed there. I am positive.

Anyway, even when friends of mine or family would be pregnant - they always looked so CUTE and PUT TOGETHER at church and work - I had NO IDEA what in the WORLD kind of effort went into to dressing that sweet bump!

So enter Sunday Mornings at the Cass house. For the past two weeks, I have missed my belly band... OR so I thought. (sidenote - I left it at my grandmas house after wearing it for the first time and changing there). I have been wearing dresses every day since or maybe the same black-fold-top skirt a minimum of three times per week. This, obviously, means no pants - except the ones I know still fit (bellow the bump) which is basically just shorts on the weekends or gym clothes in the mornings for our walks and gym visits. None the less - I thought SURELY this belly band has to be quite possibly the greatest invention EVER in the history of stress relievers for pregnant ladies. right? ehh. not so much.

You have to SERIOUSLY THINK about the outfit that goes with it. You don't just PUT ON your normal pants, smack that thing on over top of your 4 inch gaping open - unzipped fly, and then grab the nearest shirt. Oh no, not. at. all. You must think - A. Is this shirt too tight? Because if so you will STILL be able to tell that there are 4 inches between my button and the button hole on these pants, and despite the fact that these pants aren't going anywhere - they might just get a mind of their own and start talking out of that gaping hole in the front. B. If A, then can I wear an undershirt? If I can, is shirt in exhibt A really thin? Because if so, and if you are in the position that I am in right now (the one where you bought maternity undershirts - yet they are not by anymeans "tight" they are just simply long enough to cover said belly band and give room to grow for the next 3ish months) - this same undershirt that you think is going to make this belly band ACTUALLY be a good thing, is going to wrinkle under the tight shirt you want to wear, and then you will have WRINKLES - PLUS still be able to tell your fly is open - and wrinkles usually lead to riding up -- which brings me to letter C - which is - EVEN if your pre-preggo tops are loose enough to wear - which most of mine are, they are not long enough to COVER this WONDERFUL belly band that is showing the 4 inch gap which is covered now by a belly band, a too loose undershirt, and now a flowy top that doesn't cling to the gap in your pants, but it shows it anyway - because it's not long enough.

Sheeewwwhhheee.. Are you tired yet? Because I sure was. Which is why I resorted back the stretchy skirt. The black one that I ended up wearing 5 times last week. Don't judge. I wore it with different tops. shhesh. Give a lady a break.


On another note - Skylar-bug's Christmas outfit came in the mail on Friday night - I sure hope it fits - because it's so digity-dang cute!