Blessings

Sometimes I find myself complaining more than pointing out all the wonderful things, so in order to right that wrong, here are the blessings I am so thankful for (pregnancy-wise) everyday.

• I have had no complications to speak of
• The swelling and water retention that I thought was just starting and would last all throughout the rest of my pregnancy has minimalized so much that I hardly notice it
• I only have 2 1/2 months left, and the rate my stomach is popping out just assures me that she is growing and getting really  close to meeting us!
• I'm not sick at all and can enjoy foods again
• And of course, the best part - - I get to feel more and more of her movements and activity as she stretches, turns, gets used to her body parts, and lets me know she's alive and kickin (literally). Its so fun to just watch my stomach move and feel all the different jabs and kicks! Especially now, since she isn't as crowded...she hasn't really attacked the ribs yet and only goes for the bladder every now and then.

Mike and I are going to the circus tonight. I won the tickets from work, and when I went to tell Mike about them, his response was "Isn't Josie a little young for this? We'll be going to stuff like this all the time in just a couple of years". I of course cannot wait. I haven't been to the circus since I was a kid and think it will be fun for a Friday night event, especially since it will be done by 9 so I can get in bed and get ready for tomorrow.

Tomorrow we are going to get the crib and changing table! My mom, Mike, and I are all driving down to the cities to load it up and bring it back. I'm sure we'll stop and shop along the way and one of the ways I got Mike to agree to going was promising and outing to Cabela's... he thinks he's getting another gun, can you believe it?? :)

You know what that means - more pictures once the room is set up. I'll keep you updated, don't you worry, readers!

Caffeine

My doc says that I can have two servings of caffeine a day which means two cups of coffee or one diet coke (really all the variety I would drink otherwise). This was all well and good when I was dying of thirst and drinking water like a camel, but I have not been nearly as thirsty lately and therefore my attention has turned to diet coke. Seriously, could it be more distracting? It might not help that I have a coworker who drinks 3-4 cans a day, or that the sound of a pop can makes my mouth water.

I do really enjoy coffee also, so the problem comes down to which one I have each day. Since its one or the other, it gets to be a hard choice. My current attempt at fixing this is the purchase of a twelve pack of caffeine free diet coke. It does wonders!! We'll see how long it "fills the need" since its not the real deal.

And today, I got a coffee from Caribou (favorite coffee place. ever). Here's the thing though - I ALWAYS get the white chocolate mocha, medium, with skim milk. Always. But then my seester got plain coffee with sugar and cream, and it was delicious (not to mention half the price). So I ventured out on my own and confidently  sheepishly ordered a plain coffee, hoping I could make the magic happen with the right combo of sugar and half/half.

IT WORKED. And I loved it! Goodbye $4.50 drinks, hello $2 drinks!

Baby steps people. You can't expect me to just love plain black coffee right away right?

So creamed coffee, caffeine-free diet coke, some water thrown in there.... no wonder I am using the restroom every half hour.

:)

Gotta love random posts!

Weekend Update

• My feet didn't get as swollen all week. Huge deal. I am not sure if I was unconsciously sitting more at work, drinking more water, wearing better shoes (don't think so... only have a couple of options!) or a combination of all. Either way, I am super thankful for this.
• I have now painted the baby room letters 2-3 times and they are just starting to look like something worth hanging up. Boring solid colors for now, hopefully add detail later. At this rate, I might get done... they day before the baby gets here. Yikes. I didn't realize I would need so many layers!
• Went to Target with my sister, spent over $75. Why is it so hard to spend less than $50? I don't think I've ever left Target without spending $50 or more. Target- you are not good for my pocketbook.
• Got to see sister's new apartment. She'll be living pretty nice in a brand new apartment, vaulted ceiling, her own bathroom! Best part is that she is only 5 min away from me! Or .6 miles away if you are planning on a nice jog or bike ride (which will most definitely take place this summer).
• There's talk of practice for a praise band in our church if I can get the youth group kids motivated. I cannot tell you how motivating this is for me since music is kind of my thing and these kids are king of my other thing. To combine the two would really be awesome. We have a potential drummer, guitarist (or two?), violinist (two for sure), and me on the piano for now. I'm not worried about singers at the time, so this could really happen! Anybody know of a young bass player? We could always do the bass line on the keyboard but you all know (or should know) that you can't replace a real bass.
• I'm getting super antsy for spring. Like dressing inappropriately kind of antsy. Don't get the wrong idea, nothing ridiculous. I just can't justify putting on a parka and boots when in my head spring is just about here! I'm ready for flip flops, sunglasses, sunburns (only a little please), no coats, and capris.
• Buckley has also caught the antsy bug. His amount of energy continues to astonish me... and he needs a walk. But I am not really feeling walking around on the ice outside. So he gets to wait. One more reason why spring needs to get here faster...
• I finished season two of "Dexter". What is it about this fictional character that makes me root for a serial killer?? Luckily, a coworker of mine is going to borrow me season 3 so we don't have to wait for Netflix to catch up and put it on their instant shows to watch.
• I worked on Saturday and got McDonald's for myself and a few other coworkers. Let me just tell you. If you have to work an extra shift, it needs to be wonderful. And this was a great start. Sometimes I just really like working on Saturdays. To my boss, who reads this: No thanks, one once in a while is enough for me :)
• I bought a new nail polish (my first OPI) and it is called Chihuahua bites. Yep -reddish/pinkish/orange piece of springlike heaven on my fingertips. I'm in love. It better last for a could week or so before I have to remove it. Thats my pet peave with nail polish... you get it perfect and it chips and looks stupid after just a day or two. Doesn't seem worth it in the long run but I just need  any reminder that spring is almost here that I can get. Because when I look outside - I'm not seeing spring!!
• Still ready for this baby to get here... Is it June yet?

Josephine is 9 long letters. Didn't realize that when we picked it!

Remember how I said I was going to go crafts shopping? Oh I did, and it was grand. A little overwhelming, but grand nonetheless. I started out at Hobby Lobby (love that place) but the randomness and overwhelming amounts of everything did not help me out when I was looking for specific things. I could walk around in that store for hours and not get bored. Every time I turn the corner, something new and "perfect" for me. ahhhhh....

So, on to JoAnn's. My experience there consisted of walking back and forth between the sewing section and then painting section. I'd get to one side, realize I forgot something on the other, think of a "great idea'' for a different project and rush over to the other, etc. Good grief. Talk about exercise. This is what I came home with:

Yes you see that correctly. I have some work to do on those letters! I can hardly wait... but am also nervous that I'll screw them up. They were $1.29 or something each, so I can just go get a new one, but I find that with painting, I usually do awesome the first time or two, and then slowly decline as I get too huge of an ego. I know that sounds ridiculous, but I seriously just get worse and worse as I try harder. Taking a class for actual technique or something may help but I have no idea where I could do that for cheap or where I'd find the time. I'll add that to my "to do" list, and for now just continue to float along with my limited ability. I'll keep you updated on this lovely project once I get the nerve to jump in!



Yep, these brushes should only add to the fun!



Like the colors?   



I know, random. But I didn't have one til now...

                                                  



 

Are you wondering what these are for? Don't peak ahead, but I made some lovely ribbon bows for the curtain. I won't lie, I stabbed myself in the finger way too many times, and wanted to throw my hands up in the air at least 3 times. But I like the end result! Velcro in the back so I don't have to retie the bows. What do you think??

 I feel like a creep always takig pictures of the neighbor's house..luckily I've never actually seen anyone in there looking back! That would be ... awkward.




Front



Back



I work tomorrow morning and will be doing some painting in the afternoon. Looking forward to a McDonald's iced vanilla sugar free coffee in the A.M. and some serious creativity in the P.M.

I'm nervous already...

Arts and Crafts

Warning: This post contains many random thoughts and brainstorming. You've been warned.

Mike made the comment the other day that my style is "arts and crafts". I wouldn't go so far to say that this is true for every room of the house, but for the nursery, I would have to say that yes, I can agree with that. So much so, that I am finding  myself spending hours and hours pouring through arts and crafts websites trying to figure out what my next project will be. I just had so much fun with the curtains so I figure, why stop there?

Here's what I am thinking. I know I want to do letters on the wall, whether they are hanging on a string or scattered across the wall, I'm not sure. Maybe something like this:

found here
or
 found here
or
found here

So  many different directions! SO I am thinking I will make them myself. Cheaper, more room for personalization, and may even fill my "creative" funk fix. :)

Another thing that I was thinking: Since the wall decal and curtains are so busy, I don't want to overdo it. The bedding is something that will be changed frequently since children grow (shocking, right?) so I have thought I would do just a solid color for the sheet and then whatever blanket we get/use at the time. I found a website that shows a way to make the fitted sheet that seems super easy. This way I can make numerous fitted sheets in different colors. Pink, green, blue, even brown! So exciting, I know. I cannot tell you how exciting it is for me to have so many practical options even when laundry must be done. And talk about cheaper! So. I'll keep you up to date with that project. It might be a total disaster,but we'll see.

I need to find the right shade of pink. I am hoping to find a lamp that will have a white base (well I found this at Target already, but no shade yet) and a solid pink shade. Simple, small, and cheap.

Still working on the rug, although I did get one suggestion to go with a brown rug. I hadn't thought of that before and honestly I kind of like it. I wasn't planning on having brown be a major color in the room, but it would definitely be pretty neutral and blend in well since the tree is primarily brown and the color works well with green and blue (and this mysterious pink I keep hoping to find).

See how my head is spinning with ideas? So today I will be hoping to get started on at least one of these projects just to ease my  mind a bit. I'll keep you updated!

PS. can you tell this is my day off? Glorious. No time to waste!