Decorating Type Nesting

We got our new dining room table yesterday!!!

We opted out of having it delivered and set up to save a little... but 3 hours to put a table together, was a little ridiculous.  OH WELL, it's here and together, and perfect! 

It's just what we wanted.  Let me tell you, furniture shopping is not easy.

Alyssa had the first "meal" at it this afternoon, a bowl of cereal for after school snack.

Now that we have new table, I'm in full on redecorate mode.

But I also don't want to spend a ton of money either.  So here's what I've done so far.

First started with a snack while I brought out the sewing machine! :)

 I sewed up a new curtain for above the kitchen sink.

I may get a new curtain rod, but for now - it's up there!

I had extra fabric, and the sewing machine was still out, so I sewed a little pillow for the recliner in my nursing  station.  I think I'll get a larger pillow for behind it, it looks a little small...

And I added the same fabric to our entry way bench.

Being that this part of the house is an open floor plan (entry/living room/dining room/kitchen) the fabric helps pull the space all together.

Then I finished off our Easter "mantel."  I say it that way, because it's the top of our entertainment center, not a fireplace.  But I pretend it is like a mantel.

Baby bow is due AFTER Easter (early Easter this year March 31, 2013), so I'll have to adjust this as soon as Easter is over so it can be left up for quite awhile.  I know I won't be messing with it this summer with baby boy keeping me on my toes.

So besides the dining room table, I haven't spent a dime on the adjustments.  I had the fabric on hand, and all the other decor.  I'm hoping, if I do buy a new curtain rod, that it is less then $10.  That will be a Walmart or Dollar General purchase!

Nights are not good

I love sleep.  I am good at it :)

Up until now, I was good at it anyway.  I am getting to the point where I dread night time.  I am up 4 times a night just to go to the bathroom.  Of course every time I roll over I have to wake up to haul my big belly over to the other side and adjust my pillows.  My ribs hurt so bad that I wake up in pain over and over.  I'm normally a belly sleeper, so this side sleeping is killing my back too.

It's just not been fun.

I think hubby is having the same type of issues and I'm calling it male pregnancy sympathy. 

So between all my waking up - he's not getting good sleep, then when I am sleeping - he's getting up and I'm getting even less sleep.

4 Weeks and 3 Days to go...

New Kitchen Table!

FINALLY!!!

We have a kitchen table on it's way.  We were literally on our way to buy a kitchen table (over a year ago now), when the transmission in our van went out on the road... no kitchen table for us at that point.

We've always had hand-me-down tables since we got married.  And yes, they are fine, but we wanted our own that was our style and our choice.

We wanted it to arrive in time for our baby shower/sprinkle that is in about a week and a half.  The store had to pull a few strings for us, but in 2 days it should be ready for pick up, yay!

Here it is!

We liked the pedistal style (no legs at the corners) and we wanted a counter height

We are getting 2 extra chairs to go with it (6 total)

The center has a lazy susan, which we will see how that goes.  It's not my favorite part, but it may be nice.  Won't know till we try.

The chairs are pretty comfortable.  I like that it's cushioned on the bottom and the back

The finish of the table and chairs is just the color we wanted

There is a shelf on the bottom of the table.  I'd rather there been a cabinet with a door instead (so people don't put their feet on it), so I want to find a basket with a lid that will fit under there.  Something that will kind of act like a cabinet and hopefully stop people from resting their shoes on the shelf.

Our old table only had 4 chairs, which is perfect for a family of 4, but not for when we have company.  So 6 chairs, plus room to pull the bar stools up to the table too will be nice since the table can seat 8.

35 Weeks

What?!

5 weeks left?

Here I am at my show this weekend.

I know, lovely bathroom shot

This day in particular was difficult.  11 hours working, on my feet.

About 8pm I started with contractions...

I only had 1 more hour to go at that point and figured, by the time we got to the car and I was able to sit, I'd start feeling better.

Let me tell you, that was a very long hour car ride home...

We stopped for dinner to go.  I started chugging water.

When we got home I got into my PJ's as fast as I could and had my dinner in bed so I could relax.

By 10:30 - they hadn't stopped.

I think at 11pm I was just so exhausted that I just passed out.

Because I had drank so much water I ended up getting up to use the bathroom 3 times in the middle of the night.  Each time I would wake up I'd have a contraction or two, but I was still so exhausted I was able to fall back to sleep.

By morning I was doing lots better thankfully.

Little did I know that the reason Steve was rushing me out the door and driving to our last day at the mall that day was to get me to the surprise baby shower that was waiting for us :)

After that, I knew that it was best that this be our last expo and the end of me working so hard.  Time to start taking it easy, and checking off the last few things on our "to do before baby arrives" list.

Baby this week is still moving around like crazy!

He is getting heavy, and I can really tell that now that I'm having back pains.

I can't wait to see if little face at the ultrasound next week!

Surprise Baby Shower!

I couldn't believe the sight I saw, walking into our last day of our last expo Sunday!

All of our vendor family had planned a surprise baby shower for us <3

I was completely shocked and had no idea.  Even my daughter had kept it a secret for 2 straight weeks, and that is a miracle for a 6 year old!!!!

People who were there:

Roz - The hostess

Sarah & Brian (Smugg Mutt)

Lisa (Scentsy)

Cathy (Little One Designs)

Lou (The Balloon Man)

Neana (Beijo Handbags)

LaVon (Tupperware)

(The Rock People)

My mom and daughter, and Steve of course

Our long table of friends at the mall.

Our booth is wrapped up in a tarp in the back, ha!

Roz, the wonderful hostess, in the bottom left corner 

The was a hockey baby cake and fruit to eat.  Bread Co. coffee (which I couldn't enjoy) and orange juice (which I did enjoy!).

It was so much fun and made us feel so special.

Being that we are all small business owners and "crafters" all the gifts were so unique and from the heart,

Personalize burp cloths from Cathy

Sleeper and outfit from the Rock People 

Snuggle bunny and bibs from Cathy 

Handmade outfits from Cathy 

Embroidered onsies from Sarah and Brian 

Amazing blanket from Sarah and Brian 

Necktied onsies and toy from Samantha (Girly Girl booth) 

Scented cat from Lisa 

LOTS of goodies from LaVon and Caroline (Tupperware) 

LaVon made the receiving blankets

Beautiful handmade blanket from Cathy 

Two more outfits from the Rock People

Neana gave us money for something that we might need
And Roz and Jerry (Beads R Us) gave us a gift certificate to Lumiere Place, a Casino, for a night out and All You Can Eat Crab Legs!!!!

We are so so blessed to know so many great people who really have become like family to us!
I can't wait to introduce them to baby Carter when he arrives.

Surprises in the Mail!

The last two days I've gotten great surprises in our mailbox!

Enfamil came Tuesday

Similac came Wednesday

Even though I plan to breastfeed, it's always nice to have these options on hand just in case.

Then I was talking to hubby yesterday and thinking it would probably be a good idea to request some of the formula bottles from the hospital to take home with us too.

I understand that it's not good to formula feed and breastfeed both in the beginning because you don't want nipple confusion.  However, I remember Alyssa was a horrible cluster feeder at night the first couple of weeks too.  I think that had a lot to do with me cutting our go at breastfeeding short (at 6 weeks).

I was lucky to not have any trouble producing and she had no latch problems, but it was very exhausting and I just didn't have the will in myself to keep going.

So in the end she was formula fed starting at 6 weeks on anyway.  I feel like if  have formula bottles/powder on hand, I can at least have that in the back of my mind if I need a single feeding break.  Or if things aren't going well for whatever reason.  I don't see any reason to supplement if necessary.

I'll be going with the flow as they say, when the time comes.

Mother/Daughter Day with MY Mom

I get a lot of mother/daughter days with my own daughter being that I'm a work at home mom.  She just had a day off school yesterday for a holiday.  But I rarely get a day with my own mom.

She surprised me and took the day off work today to take me to my doctor's appointment.  I'm so glad she went with me!

After the doctor's appointment she took me out to lunch.  We tried a new trendy place, neither of us had ever been - Jilly's Cupcake Bar A-Go-Go.  Of course we had lunch and a CUPCAKE.

Yum!

My sister gave us a gift card to a child's resale shop just down the road from Jilly's so we went shopping there!

We got Carter a couple of cute onsies, an adorable plaid button up shirt, and 4 used pre-fold diapers for a great bargain.  I also got myself a new maternity top to wear for Easter and for my upcoming sprinkle (baby shower).

Then before heading home we ran into Trader Joes.  It's a great little mom and pop feel type grocery store with lots of great organic and natural type foods.  They sell my ALL TIME FAVORITE yogurt, so I stocked up on that since we don't make it over that way often.

We went to the school together to surprise Alyssa and pick her up.  She didn't know Gramma would be coming along.  She that was fun.

We had a great day together and I'm grateful to have such a wonderful mom.  It's a day I'll remember for a long time to come.