Help Me!

I have a serious problem.

I am incapable of decorating my home.

There, I said it.  We've lived here for two years and there isn't much hanging on our walls.  What is hanging up is hung on nails that the previous owner left in the walls.  The house has tons of potential, but I have no idea what I'm doing.

That's where you, my fine readers, come in.  I need to pick your brains.  I need suggestions.  My entire house actually needs help, but this blog will focus on one area at a time.

This is the area in question.  When we first looked at this house and I saw these built-in bookshelves, my eyes lit up like it was Christmas morning.  I imagined all of the books I could put on the shelves.  Fast-forward a few months and the side containing my books (on the right) looked like a tornado had just ripped through.  Fast-forward two years and the right side is as empty and barren as the day we moved in.

On the left set of shelves I have a bunch of photo frames with family pictures in them.  It's cluttered, messy, and some of my frames are downright cheap and ugly.  The bottom shelf holds our Friends DVDs and Michael's xBox games (barf).

The mantle goes all the way across the room.  It's pretty barren.  In front of the right window is a philodendron I've managed to keep alive for two years.  In front of the left is a candle warmer.  Other than two pillar candles that I switch out with the seasons, there's nothing up there.  

So what do I do, bloggers?  How do I decorate the area tastefully? 

Happy Birthday!

Happy 27th birthday to my amazing husband, Mike!

142

Monday morning I woke up bright and early to do the one-hour gestational diabetes screening.  It wasn't as bad as I had heard, but it wasn't the most exciting thing either.

Since my 28 week appointment was today, I knew I'd hear the results.  

Guess what?

I failed.

The cut-off for passing is 130 and my blood sugar level was 142.  

This means I get to take the three-hour test to determine whether or not I have gestational diabetes.

Ugggggh.

I was not happy to hear this information from the nurse.  In fact, I had to turn away so she wouldn't hear the slew of potty words I was positive were about to come spewing forth from my vocal chords.

Once she skipped out of the room, I had the opportunity to stew over the information she had just given me and decided it must somehow be my fault.  Then, in typical hormone-fueled fashion, began sobbing.

My doctor walked in a few minutes later to find me wallowing in a puddle of my own hysterical tears.  It clearly shocked him.  I think he thought someone close to me had been hit by a train or that my dog had died.  He spent the next ten minutes consoling me and telling me it wasn't anything I did.  At one point I recall the words "I don't want a big baby!  I want to deprive you of the opportunity to cut my uterus open!" coming out of my mouth.  True story.  I said it. 

Pray for me, people.  Pray for my pancreas.  Pray that it does its job when I go in for the three-hour test.  I don't want to meet with a nutritionist.  I don't want to test my blood sugar several times a day.  I definitely don't want to give myself insulin injections.

And, most importantly, I don't want to do something that can jeopardize the health of my unborn baby.

Window Shopping

After a frustrating week of ill-fitting clothing, I spent the evening "window" shopping on the world wide web.  I guess I should be happy that going up a size in normal clothes made it with me to 28 weeks, but now I'm sort of in need of larger clothes.  Unfortunately, money doesn't grow on trees, so the following are things I'd buy if I actually had money.  Enjoy!

[Photo Credit]

This top is from Motherhood Maternity.  I love the bright, coral color.  It's on sale right now, but considering I need an entire wardrobe, it'll just have to stay on my wish list.

[Photo Credit]

How gorgeous is this top?  It's also from Motherhood Maternity.  I love the colors.

[Photo Credit]

YOGA PANTS!!!  My scrub pants are getting quite snug.  Buying a larger pair to wear occasionally over the next two months seems like a waste.  Yoga pants, however, can be worn everywhere.  These are from Old Navy.  I am likely going to purchase these next payday.

[Photo Credit]

Since I'm window shopping for myself, why not window shop for my little man?  How adorable is this onesie?  It's from She She Made and the front can be embroidered with the baby's name.

Never Thought I'd Say This...

...but I miss winter!

I can't handle all of this heat and humidity.  I prefer to dress in layers and living on what feels like the face of the sun isn't good for that.  More and more I am realizing that I am a cool weather gal.

28 Weeks

How Far Along: 28 weeks 1 day

Size of baby: This week the WTE application on my phone, our little man is 17" long and weighing in at a staggering 2.9 lbs!

Total Weight Gain/Loss:  I've been hungry this week, so I don't want to think about what the scale will say at my appointment on Thursday!!!

Maternity Clothes: My shirts are slowly getting shorter.  Most of my "maternity" tops are actually normal tops that I bought in a larger size.  I'm not sure how much longer they'll last.

Sex: It's a boy!

Movement:  He moves SO much!  The other day he was so active that it was a little uncomfortable for a while.

Sleep:  I just want to sleep on my stomach again!!!

What I miss: My feet!  I can still reach them, but sitting down to paint them and breathing at the same time is difficult.  My wonderful husband was kind enough to paint them for me over the weekend.  He chose the color.  It's a dark teal.  I appreciate the gesture, even if the color is less than amazing.

Cravings: I love cereal!  Raisin Bran Crunch is my favorite.

 

Symptoms: Puffy feet, a bit of heartburn... you know, the usual.  

 

I did my one-hour glucose testing this morning.  I didn't realize that the outpatient lab at the hospital opened at 6AM or else I'd have gone then.  I showed up just after 8AM.  I hadn't had breakfast yet.  I finally got back to the lab and drank the orange flavored sugar drink at 8:45.  The first 15 minutes I felt a little off, but it may have been the glucose added to the fact that I hadn't eaten in 12 hours.  Whatever it was, the sudden spike in my blood sugar was interesting.  

 

Good news, though.  It only took two phlebotomists two tries to draw my blood (versus the three people and five sticks last time).  They asked if I was a hard stick and didn't believe that I was just cold.  Hopefully my results come back all right and I pass.  I can't imagine sitting through the three-hour test!

 

We've also made a bit of progress on the nursery.  By "a bit" I mean that we finally have a mattress and bedding for our crib!  Here's a shot of the adorable sheets:

 

 

My baby shower is in less than two weeks!  It is taking place at my house and I have a lot of cleaning to do before then!

Shoe Love

Sarah posted pictures of some seriously cute TOMS wedges she recently purchase.  Curiosity got the better of me and I browsed my way over to the website to check out their other shoes for myself. 

Since this is the summer of Fred Flintstone feet (love that pregnancy symptom), I live in tennis shoes (work) or flip flops (any other time I am forced to wear shoes).  Keeping this in mind, I looked at styles more appropriate for the cooler seasons and found these:

[Photo Credit]

Tweed?  Awesome.

Metallic threads sparkling throughout?  Even better!

At $54, they aren't the most expensive shoes I have ever purchased, though they would likely replace my favorite shoes.

What shoes am I talking about?

My beloved Birkenstocks, which I purchased as a gift to myself on my 19th birthday.

I love those shoes.  I look forward to fall ALL year just so I can wear them again.  

I found them 50% off at a Vincent's Shoes in Missouri, paying $65 for them.  For those of you who aren't mathematicians, $65 divided by 6.5 years is $10 a year.

So what happened to my shoes?

Ask my husband.

If you are familiar with Birkenstocks, the soles form to your foot once broken in, making them incredibly comfortable.  Ignoring this statement, my husband decided to shove his feet into my shoes when he would take the dogs out, run to the car, or take out the garbage.

Needless to say my shoes have been stretched out to the point that I walk out of them if I'm not paying attention.

So I've bookmarked those shoes and have every intention of owning them or a similar pair before November 1st.  If anyone would like to donate to the Mama-Needs-New-Shoes fund, I will gladly accept donations.

I Got These For Free!

I've mentioned Swagbucks on here a time or two recently and wanted to take another opportunity to do so.

I use Swagbucks on a regular basis as a search engine.  Occasionally -- normally 2-3 times a day -- I will receive free points (called swagbucks or SBs) for my search.  These are automatically added to my account.  When you receive enough SBs, you can trade them in at the Swagstore.  They have tons of things you can redeem them for -- everything from books and magazines to giftcards.  My favorite item to redeem for is the $5 Amazon giftcard.  In one month I was able to redeem enough SBs for $25 in Amazon giftcards.

Seriously.

This evening I spent most of that $25 balance.  What did I buy?  Have a look...

[Photo credit]

I purchased a Thirsties diaper cover in blue for $11.50.

[Photo credit]

I also bought the same Thirsties diaper cover in aqua for $11.50.

I used my free two-day shipping, so my total was $23.00.  After applying my giftcard balance, there was no charge to me.  

Isn't that awesome?  I was able to get free baby stuff just by using a search engine a few times a day.  Why wouldn't you want to try it for yourself?

By signing up for Swagbucks (which is free, by the way) using this link, not only will you start earning your own SBs, but you'll be helping me out as well.  You see, referrals are a great way to increase your SB earnings.  For every SB you earn through searches, I will earn a SB as well.  So if you earn 11 SBs for searching for the perfect chocolate cake recipe, I will automatically be credited 11 SBs as well, all because I referred you.

Easy, right?

So what are you waiting for?

27 Weeks

Sorry this post is going up late this week.  It was a rough weekend at work.  All I wanted to do last night was lay on my sofa and never move again.

 

How Far Along: 27 weeks 2 days

Size of baby: This week the WTE application on my phone, our little man is 16" long and weighing in at a staggering 2.5 lbs!

Total Weight Gain/Loss:  I got on the scale the other day and was down a pound and a half from my doctor's appointment at the end of June.  I figure so long as my weight just fluctuates around the same number, I'm happy.  It feels weird to say that I am now in my 3rd trimester (when did THAT happen?) and haven't gained any weight.  Anyone who knows me in real life (or as seen pictures of me) knows that I was on the fluffy side when I became pregnant.  My doctor is happy with the numbers, which means he isn't lecturing me.... and that always makes me happy!  I'm sure that as my little guy starts packing on the weight my numbers will go up.  Until then, I'm going to do my best to eat healthy and keep that number where it is.

Maternity Clothes: I do believe it is time to retire the scrub tops and buy red t-shirts.  It's getting more difficult to get my hands into the pockets where I keep my pens, chapstick, and name badge.  Scrub tops don't stretch.  I'm almost surprised that I haven't ripped any of my shirts just moving around!

Sex: It's a boy!

Movement:  He is quite active these days.  It's really strange to look down at my stomach and be able to see him moving around.  It's like a scene from an alien movie.  Also, if I slouch over, he'll stick his legs/arms (I'm not sure if he's head up or head down right now) up into my ribs.  I can be seen throughout the day pushing there, trying to get him to move.

Sleep:  If I fall asleep too early, I wake up around 3AM and can't fall back asleep for at least 30-45 minutes.  It's incredibly frustrating.  At least I'm only waking up to use the bathroom once at night instead of 2-3 times like my first trimester!

What I miss: Being able to grab anything out of my closet and know that it will fit.  My selection of clothes that are long and big is getting smaller.  I had bought a bunch of shirts in the next size up that have fit for quite some time.  I've noticed that they're getting shorter, though.  Thank goodness for the Long & Lean tank tops from Target!

Cravings: Ben & Jerry's sounded good the other day, so I bought a pint of Phish Food.  It's so hot out, though, that all that milk made my tummy hurt.  I suppose I'll stick to the sugar free popsicles I've been enjoying.

 

Symptoms: My feet are pretty puffy this week.  Spending 8 hours a day on my feet when it's 435 degrees outside just makes my day end with painful, swollen feet.  One day last week I looked down and barely recognized them!

Who's Next?

What is going on with my dogs this week?

This is the picture the hubs sent me this afternoon.  Her eyes are puffy and you can see hives all over her head.  She has definitely had two baths with an oatmeal/baking soda dog shampoo.  Fortunately, they don't seem to be itchy and she's not having any trouble breathing.

I think she'll make it.

I just wish the hives would go away!

It All Ends Here

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!!! DATE NIGHT !!!

Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

I'll be packing my tissues.

Sick Puppy

We experienced a heat wave earlier in the week.  As a result, my flowers desperately needed watered.  Being exhausted and just wanting to get it over with, I watered them around 5PM (big no-no in the heat).  As always, I took the pooches outside with me.  Since it was so toasty out, they stayed near the back porch instead of running around behind the garage like a pack of wild animals.

When we got back inside, I noticed that Wally was stretched out on the floor under the dining room table.  This is unusual, as our dogs only lounge in the crate or their dog bed in the living room.  I figured the hardwood floor was cooler and that was why he chose that particular spot.

 December 2008

A couple of minutes later he stood up and we realized he was holding up one of his front legs and wouldn't put any weight on it.  I quickly scooped him up so that we could investigate the situation.  We manipulated his leg from the shoulder joint down to see where it was hurt.  He never really cried, but didn't want us to manhandle his paw.  

While Michael held him down, I flipped his paw over and saw something sticking out just below the larger pad.  I thought it was a thorn or something and pulled it out.  Wally chose to lounge on the dog bed after that.  

 July 2009

Now, you have to understand that Wally weighs 9 1/2 pounds.  This is big for a chihuahua.  His vet, Dr. R, said that he looks like a potato, which is pretty accurate.  Because he weighs so much, it's darn near impossible pretty difficult for him to hobble about on three legs, which meant a lot of falling over and crawling whenever he wanted to change positions.

April 2011

The next morning he was back to his old self and was walking on all four legs.  We could never figure out if he stepped on a thorn or if perhaps it was a bee or a wasp that stung him.  The area was somewhat inflamed, not to mention someone threw up on the dog bed the next day while I was at work.  Either way, we're glad he's doing better and didn't need a trip to the vet!

Nearly Wordless Wednesday

After spending 15 minutes in the break room listening to girls talk about their baby daddy drama and child support issues today, I sent my husband a text message telling him how much I appreciate him and our amazing relationship.  I'm so grateful that God blessed me with a man who knows the value of hard work, taking care of the family, and isn't in and out of prison on felony drug charges!

My heart goes out to the girls at work who struggle to support their families on one income with very little assistance and the absence of a strong father figure in the lives of their children.

26 Weeks!

How Far Along: 26 weeks 1 day

Size of baby: This week the WTE application on my phone stopped measuring the baby from crown-to-rump and is now telling me the length of the entire baby.  This week our little man is 15 inches long and 2.2 lbs!

Total Weight Gain/Loss:  I only step on the scale at my doctor's office.  It's difficult to see the number go up since I was already fluffy, so hearing it once a month is more than enough.

Maternity Clothes: I finally bought a maternity swimsuit top!  It's amazing.  Swimming is a great relief from the heat.  Other than that I'm still wearing tank tops in a bigger size on my days off.  My scrub tops are getting a bit snug, though.

Sex: It's a boy!

Movement:  He moves all the time!  The other night I couldn't get to sleep because he was so active.  It felt like he was spinning in circles.  When I would lay on one side, he'd go over there and start punching.  If I flipped over, he'd do the same on the other side!

Sleep:  Getting up in the morning is pretty tough still.  I blame the fact that I wake up several times during the night to flip from side to side.

What I miss:  Reaching the floor!  A resident dropped something and needed me to pick it up today.  I told her it looked good on the floor!  haha... I also miss laying on my stomach.  I have a chair float that I use at the beach.  It has a piece that goes behind my back and one that goes under my legs.  Saturday I flipped over and let my belly fall in the space between the two pieces.  It.  Was.  Heaven.

Cravings:  Iced tea?  My drinks of choice currently are iced tea and iced water.

Symptoms: I'm SO sweaty right now at work.  I tried to talk the maintenance guy into turning the air down to 60F today.  He said it was fine at 74F.  Fine?  FINE?  I'm heating for two here!  It's not fine!  My back, legs, and feet generally hurt at the end of the day, especially if I've been at work.  The heat and the physical nature of my job don't help.

Sewing for Baby

I've finally started sewing for our little guy!  I had planned to make all kinds of clothes and bedding and stuff, but Arline (that's my sewing machine) and I haven't been seeing eye-to-eye lately.  Her tension is usually messed up and I end up swearing like a sailor at some point, though that's not important...

Anywho...

In case I haven't mentioned it much on here, the hubster and I plan on putting cloth diapers on our babe's butt.  There are tons of stores on Etsy that sell handmade cloth diapers.  I saw them all and decided I could do that.  I mean, how hard can it be?

Do you know how stretchy knit fabric is?  Do you know what a pain it is to sew with knit fabric?  It wasn't easy.

But I persevered and I finished my first cloth diaper.

It's not pretty and it's not perfect.

This is the inside of the diaper.  It's made from a stretch terry fabric.  Yes, it has pink polka dots on it.  Yes, I will still put it on my son.  It was either this or all pink.  The pad across the diaper is a soaker.  It absorbs the urine and pulls it away from baby's tender tush.  You can tell that the elastic on the left side was the side I did first.  I've never sewn with elastic before.  The other two sides are a little better, but not by much.  It's a good thing this diaper was already going to require a cover.

This is the outer fabric of the diaper.  it's a knit fabric, which is really stretchy and soft.  Again, you can see that the elastic on the right side is better than the elastic on the left.

You may also notice that there are no snaps or hook and loop tape on this diaper.  I chose not to put H&L tape on it when I realized it wasn't going to be a great diaper.  I'll still use it on our little man, but will hold it closed with a Snappi.

Another reason things didn't go great was in part due to the terrible pattern I used.  It wasn't very clear and it felt like one of those choose-your-own-ending books.  I kept having to go back and forth to various pages, which became confusing.  I have a different pattern I'm going to try and attempt #2 will take place soon.  This diaper may not have turned out great, but I did learn a lot that will help my next one turn out better.

Happy Birthday!

Happy birthday to my dear ol' dad!

Since I'm not there celebrating with you in person, here's a reminder of the amazing birthday cake you're missing out on (this one is from 2007).  

Love you!  Hope you're having a wonderful birthday!

25 Weeks

How Far Along: 25 weeks!

Size of baby: According to the What to Expect app on my phone, 9.2 inches long and weighing in at a whopping 2 pounds!

Total Weight Gain/Loss:  At my appointment last Thursday, I weighed what I weighed the day after I found out I was pregnant.  I actually got a "good job" lecture!  Whoo!

Maternity Clothes: I think I may need to go shopping for some new t-shirts.  My current t-shirts are definitely getting shorter by the day.

Sex: It's a boy!

Movement:  I was reading in bed the other night and decided to place the book on my belly.  The baby immediately started vigorously kicking at the book.  I hope it's because he's going to love reading like me, not hate it like his daddy!

Sleep:  Rolling out of bed in the morning is torture.  I went in to work an hour early today, which meant waking up at 5AM.  It was tough.  Did you know it's still dark at 5AM?

What I miss:  Being able to pick up things from the floor and knowing I'll be able to get back up!  I managed to spill a bowl of spinach at work today as I reached down to get a tray from the bottom of our food cart.

Cravings:  No real cravings.  There are definitely no strange cravings going on, thank goodness.

Symptoms: I'm one hot mama... and by 'hot' I mean sweaty.  It's nasty.  I'm also not wearing my wedding rings right now, which makes me sad.  When I get really hot at work my fingers get puffy.  It's more comfortable keeping them off.

I know that I posted this photo the other day, but I know how much y'all like seeing the bump...

And just to show how much I've grown in the last three months...

Good Times!

Several positive things have happened this week, but none of them really warrant their own post, so today's post will be a bunch of random things.

•  Anyone at work can tell you that I swear by Shout! wipes.  I love them.  I generally always have one in my purse.  Unfortunately, I can only ever find them in packages of four in the travel aisle.  Yesterday, however, I came across the Holy Grail of Shout! wipes -- a 12 pack!  It was quite a bit cheaper -- per wipe -- than the four pack, so it definitely found its way into my cart.

•  The UPS man paid a visit to my house today, bringing with him the hubs' birthday gift!  Unfortunately, his birthday isn't until July 29th, so it's wrapped up and put away until then.  I can tell you this much, it's a really nice gift.  You'll have to wait until after his birthday to see what I bought him.

• This week we went to the beach!  I think it took half an hour or so to get there.  It's a pretty big beach, I think it's advertised as having a 1,000 foot shoreline.  It even has a real bathroom.  If you grew up going to the local beach where I grew up, you remember the gross, port-a-potty-like hole in the ground.  There were a lot of people there when we went.  They even rent out the large, black tubes.  We're planning on going back this afternoon, so we went to Target and bought our own to take with us.  I'll be floating in style:

• I had my 24 week appointment with the OB yesterday.  Good news: I don't have to pee in a cup for a couple of months!  Not-so-good news: I got orders for the glucose testing that I have to do at 28 weeks.  Yuck.  Oh well.  At least I only gained 1 lb in the last 4 weeks, bringing my total weight gain since the end of February to 5 lbs.  I'm totally fine with the number, considering it's what I weighed the day I found out I was pregnant.... so really I haven't gained any weight.  Dr. M must have been in a really good mood, because I got the "good job on watching your weight" speech rather than the "you need to watch your weight" one that I typically get (I think because I'm already on the fluffy side).  I told him I plan to push this baby out, so it's in my best interest that he not weight 9+ pounds.  Oh, and since I haven't posted one in forever and a day, here I am before my appointment yesterday... I'm sucking my stomach in.

• A huge 'thank you' to those of you who signed up to use Swagbucks through my referral link!  Thanks to your help, I've cashed in enough Swagbucks to get $20 in Amazon gift cards! I'm contemplating having a giveaway in hopes of attracting more referrals, but I haven't decided yet.  The $20 I've got so far will really help with my cloth diaper purchase.

• Speaking of cloth diapers, the mailman has been to my house twice this week with my first diapers!  Cotton Babies had a "seconds" sale this week and had their bumGenius 4.0's for $10!  These are brand new diapers with incredibly small factory defects.  I went over mine with a fine-toothed comb and found nothing wrong with them.  So now we have 6 bumGenius 4.0's.  I l-o-v-e all of the cute colors.  So far we have moonbeam, ribbit, grasshopper, butternut, clementine, and white.  It amazes me how happy I get over something my kid will poop in...