36 week update!

 

What Fruit are you? "large cantaloupe" 19-22 inches 6lbs

Due date:  November 15th

How far along: 36w5d

Next appointment:  Had one yesterday, and got some news. our tricky little guy who has been head down the ENTIRE pregnancy decided to flip and is now breech! Its not very common for them to flip this late in the game because there is not much room in there for them to maneuver. we are praying he flips back... if not we have a C-section scheduled for 11/11

Gender:  BOY!  :)

Total weight gain/loss: I don't even want to discuss this. ;)

Stretch marks: No new ones

Swelling: haven't really noticed any, maybe a little at the end of the day after walking a lot. but not enough to complain.

Maternity clothes: yes-maternity pants and I wear all my same shirts basically.

Belly button: innie

Sleep: a little bit better these last couple days! (its the little victories)

Food cravings: sugar sugar sugar!!!! I cant help myself... then I feel guilty...until I am offered more sugary goodness!

Symptoms: Its the last month... I think a better question is what symptoms do I not have? ;)

What I miss:  being able to stand up normally and not like a grandma. and having a bladder larger then a walnut.

What I'm loving: Its the final count down! if we have the C-section that puts me at 19 days!!

What I'm looking forward to: meeting our little guy :)

 

I don't know if any of you know the struggle of baby boy clothing. 80% of it is weird and has animals all over it or phrases like "daddy's little tiger"... not a fan. anyways I needed some little beanies for Nixon because he will be born in winter but all the ones I could find were so horrible, they had puppies in firetrucks or basketballs embroidered all over them.

OR

you can go to baby gap and find the most adorable clothes and beanies, and then you look at the price tag and they cost the same as your adult size clothes :(

THEN

you decide that you could probably make some of those trendy little beanies because how hard could they be... Right?

RIGHT!!

I made Nixon a little top knot beanie

for FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

I followed this picture tutorial-

 It took me about 10 minutes to sew, I made sure to use the original T-shirt hem for the bottom to have a pretty finished edge :)

 

 

Nixon's Nursery!!

Hello everyone! (more like the 6 of you that read my blog...) some have been asking for a quick tour of the nursery we made for Nixon... Here are some super awesome quality Iphone pictures showing the room. I eventually want to feature different sections of the nursery so I can highlight where I found super awesome deals for nursery furniture... and by then I will have used my camera to take some higher quality shots.

Until then:

 

Aren't these panoramic shots sweet?

 

There you go! Now we just await his arrival! :D

33 weeks!

What Fruit are you? Honeydew melon 19 inches and 4.5 Lbs!

Due date:  November 15th

How far along:  33w4d

Next appointment:  Had one today! we have one more 2 week apt and then we switch over to weekly

Gender:  BOY!  :)

Total weight gain/loss: 2 above Pre-Preg weight. so technically I have gained right around 19LBS so far

Stretch marks: I MIGHT have one  on my hip. but I'm hoping that if I ignore it and pretend it doesn't exist it will go away ;)

Swelling: zero! my wedding ring is still on too...wait did I just jinx myself?

Maternity clothes: yes-maternity pants, I don't want to buy anything else because I am so close to the end!

Belly button: My belly button has a mind of its own. one day its all stretched out and then the next day it looks normal. I'm guessing its all dependent on the positioning of my little guy.

Sleep: BOO, I wake up 5 million times a night to go to the bathroom.

Food cravings: crunchy ice! im sure nate loves hearing me crunch on it 24/7 when we are home.

Symptoms: My Iron was super low so I have to take some Iron pills, and also this really cool thing where I feel like I'm being stabbed by 1000 little knives in my upper abdomen.

Movement: I think he has perfected the robot dance. and the worm.. haha

What I miss:  Red Bull slushies, and laying on my stomach

What I'm loving: we have the nursery just about finished:)

What I'm looking forward to: we start our baby class on Saturday.

This is kind of cool, here is a picture of how Nixon's hand compares to what it will be when he is born... We are almost there!!

 

Cassidy threw me the cutest baby shower a couple weekends ago! I am mad at myself because I didn't take pictures. I am the worst at remembering to take them. so here are a couple that she sent me:

The decorations were adorable and we had a waffle bar for the food. It was so fun having my friends come out and celebrate Nixon! :)

String Art Tutorial

When we found out we were having a boy, 90% of my nursery ideas went out the window. It was the girl nurseries that had been catching my eye and so I had to start from square one. when planning the nursery I wanted a big statement art piece but I didn't want to spend the big bucks.

Earlier this year I made a string art quote for our entryway, and I thought it would be a fun fit for the nursery!

 

Although I LOVE the finished project I curse the day I got the idea for it. learn from my mistakes...

 

Supplies:

OSB board-9.00 for a huge 4x8ft piece. I had them cut it down to 4x3.5 feet for this project.

finishing nails- I used about 1.5 lbs of these nails-5.00

paint and primer-both on hand-free

crochet yarn- around 2.00 with coupon

"Wow this is super cheap and its going to be super easy! I cant wait to knock it out in a couple hours." I was So naïve

 

What caused me to want to light this project on fire?

I loved the texture the OSF board gave, and I especially loved the price tag, but I had a TON of problems with the nails popping up and out of the surface of the wood as I nailed in all the letters. This caused me a ton of frustration because I would hammer in a whole letter, it seemed stable and then five minutes they would be wiggly again! I never had this problem  when I used a solid piece of wood.

 

1. Prime and paint your wood. I used 2 coats of both paint and primer, there was some print on both sides of the OSF so I wanted to make sure it was covered up.

 

2.Find a font you like.  I use dafonts.com for a lot of my projects. you will want to pick a bold blocky text so when you string it up, its obvious what your words are saying. I just guessed at the size of letter I wanted for the project. use trial and error when printing out size and placement. For your letters

I used blue painting tape so I could remove it without scuffing up my paint.

3. After you position your letters you just take your nails and evenly space and then nail around each letter (while the paper is still attached to the board)

 

 

You will probably want to cry at this point because you have been sitting on the floor for 4 hours nailing in stupid nails, and you are 27 weeks pregnant, and you smashed your thumb twice, and you are bleeding, and you try to stand up but your bones feel like you have aged 75 years. oh wait...that's just me?

 

4. After you have finished  nailing in 1 zillion nails you just pull the paper off. (usually the nails will stay in the board no problem but with the OSF board I had nails popping out all over the place so I basically RE-NAILED half of the words in again at this point. but I was too far to turn back at this point so I chugged along)

 

 

This is the thread I used for the letters. you could use embroidery floss or whatever other type you want to use. I like this stuff because its cheap and I used less then half the roll for this project. I would recommend checking out different craft stores for color options. Hobby Lobby had the best selection from what I found.

 

5. When starting the string portion I tied a knot around one nail, and then you "outline" each letter, I weaved around each nail and went around the letters twice. then you just go crazy going from nail to nail until you get the fill that you want with each letter. once I got it to where I wanted I simply tied another knot around a different nail.

 

 

when you are done lay on the floor and let the tears of joy flow! and then Vow next time to just cut out the letters out of vinyl and call it good:)

 

Just kidding. I think the personality of this art is worth the time. It brings a lot to the nursery without seeming too busy.

 

Hanging Instructions.

Nate and I were scratching our heads at how to we would hang this on the wall. its a 4ftx3.5 foot piece of wood so its fairly heavy. we ended up using D hooks on the back of the wood and then used these things called 'gorilla hooks' in the drywall!  the gorilla hooks are awesome and the art seems really steady on the wall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

29 Weeks!!

Is this real life? Am I  already in the third trimester? Am I creeping closer to my due date?? I cant even believe how close we are to the arrival of our little man!

What Fruit are you? A pineapple. He is  around 3lbs and 17 inches this week!

Due date:  November 15th

How far along:  29 weeks.

Next appointment:  Starting my 2 appointments a month now! its crazy!

Gender:  BOY!  :)

Total weight gain/loss: 1LB below my pre pregnancy weight. kind of depressing.. I know the scale is SUPPOSED to go up but its hard seeing it.

Stretch marks: none yet. fingers crossed.

Swelling: I noticed a little when we were on our trip but that's typical with traveling

Maternity clothes: yes-maternity pants. I think I'm going to be sad when I have to wear real pants again! Maternity ones are just sooo comfy!

Belly button: innie, but its always growing and shrinking, it has a mind of its own. I don't think it will pop though.

Sleep: cant complain.

Food cravings: I feel like I am missing the whole pregnancy cravings thing... I had more before I was pregnant!

Symptoms: itchy tummy, Braxton hicks contractions

Movement:  he moves a lot in the evenings.

What I miss:  Red Bull slushies, and laying on my stomach

What I'm loving: having nate home!

What I'm looking forward to: my baby shower this month!

On the cheap: Ten dollar pantry door makeover

A couple weeks ago I went to the parade of homes with some friends, and I saw one thing in common with all the homes I was drawn to...color. I love the personality and life that it brings into a space.

then I came home and thought... my house is boring... my house needs color.. my house can look like these show homes.

I showed Nate a couple pictures of painted pantry doors that I found on Pinterest and he jumped on board.

This project cost me less then $10.00 total and took about 3 hours (start to finish--prep and drying time included)

Supplies-
Paint- I had this already at home--0.00
sign- pinterest printable I will talk about later 0.00
frame- old
chipboard letters for above door-6.00 @ Hobby Lobby
spray paint- I used the sterling silver spray paint w/ coupon it was 3.50

The paint I used was Valspar-Lake Breeze.

funny story about this paint. I was SUPPOSED to use the paint I had left over from our herringbone wall in the living room but due to pregnancy brain I was an idiot and used the paint I bought for the nursery!! SO STUPID! I didn't realize it until I was hammering the lid back on the paint can. (this is more of an aqua where the other one was a mint green) luckily the paint colors are kind of similar so it looked fine. But I am still kicking myself over it.

 

Anyways I slapped two coats of the paint on the door and called it good. I used a brush and I think it went on just fine.

 

 

 

I painted the chipboard letters a sterling silver color- I wanted an anthropologie knockoff look.

similar here-Anthro letters

 

 

I pinned the quote ages ago and always planned on displaying it in my kitchen, so I was happy when I found a place to use it/ found a printable of it for free!

link here

 

Isn't that the greatest kitchen quote?

 

I was really happy with the HUGE improvement it brought into my kitchen, it is amazing what a little color can do for a room!

 

 

What Fruit are you? I'm a veggie this week-Head of lettuce baby boy is 14 inches long and 1.5-2.5lbs. He is getting so big!

Due date:  November 15th

How far along:  25 weeks!

Next appointment:  September 2, for the dreaded glucose test!

Gender:  BOY!  :)

Total weight gain/loss: I'm at -5lbs pre pregnancy. but the numbers just keep going up.

Stretch marks: nope!

Swelling: haven't noticed any

Maternity clothes: yes-maternity pants and I have a couple maternity shirts but I mostly wear my normal shirts.

Belly button:  innie still. I don't think it's going to pop out.

Sleep: not a good day to ask me this ;) I feel like a zombie

Food cravings: none this week.

Symptoms: vegetarian, and zero energy. also itchy tummy-must be stretching!

Movement: Yes! he is so active. the doctor had a hard time finding his heartbeat at the last appointment because he was kicking around so much.

Labor signs: no

What I miss:  having more then 2 pairs of pants I can rotate. :)

What I'm loving: making grand nursery plans

What I'm looking forward to: Nate coming home in 12 days!! being apart when you are married is lame, being apart when you are pregnant is lamer. never again.

Insta-life. What i've been up to lately

Quick DIY on a target clearance item to make it match my space.

(I painted the base white, as well as some pebbles I had hanging around the craft room.)

 

 

 

I am finally starting to put the nursery together now!

(I know its completely void of color and personality now... that will change soon I promise!)

 



 

 

We decided on a theme and I'm getting a quilt made for our little man

I made a felt mobile for over the crib

last but not least, Cass and I went on a sister date to see WICKED!!!! loved every minute of it!

 

That's what i've been up to the last week or so. Nate gets home in 18 days and lets just say I am a tiny, tiny bit excited about that! And then off to Hawaii :)

 

 



Hanging yarn art

I have been looking for a statement piece of art/mirror/decoration to hang over our master bed for the longest time. I like unique artwork and with that usually comes a hefty price tag... I don't like hefty price tags, I like getting things for cheap. I have noticed in the blogging world that hanging woven tapestries are very on-trend,  but I wasn't ready to commit to making a loom for this project.

I announce the hanging yarn wall art- a project decided on because of cheap-ness and laziness!

but I think its pretty cute :) Total cost was around 20 (and now I have TONS of leftover yarn)

 

Supplies:

Wooden Dowel-Lowes

Yarn- any craft sore

Paint- Spray or craft acrylic

 

I purchased my dowel at lowes because they came in a 48 inch length vs the 36 inch length they sold at hobby lobby. I  have a king bed if that puts the picture more into perspective.

 

1.Paint your dowel- paint, stain or leave it natural, I chose a gold metallic craft paint.

 

2. I placed the wood between two chairs, this way you can kind of see what your project will look like, and it makes it easier to assemble

 

 

3. Start cutting your yarn, I would loop it around both my hands about 6 or 7 times, then knot it on the dowel, and cut the loop at the bottom

 

4. Go crazy with colors and lengths. I made sure my lengths were longer then I thought I would want so that I could trim them later.

 

5. you are done! hooray!

 

isn't that easy? I think it took me about an hour and a half total.. not including paint dry time.

23 Weeks

 

 

What Fruit are you? Cantelope

Due date:  November 15th hoping he comes earlier :)

How far along:  23 weeks! never thought I'd say that!

Next appointment:  July 30th

Gender:  BOY!  here is the picture we used to reveal the big news!

 

 

Total weight gain/loss: No idea, I am terrified to step on the scale. I feel like my bump has doubled in size.

Stretch marks: nada

Swelling: nope, none this week!

Maternity clothes: maternity pants, still wearing my normal shirts, and a couple of nate's mixed in there where I can.

Belly button:  innie but its like a crater!

Sleep: I feel like I never get enough, but sleeping alright. I shouldn't complain

Food cravings: I had my first REAL craving.. spinach and artichoke dip, and it was divine.

Symptoms: still mostly vegetarian, nausea is coming back, heartburn, indigestion and I am so so so tired. this little guy is sucking me dry!

Movement: yes, he is so wiggly! especially in the evening and around lunch time. Its the coolest!   I can see him wiggle from the outside, haven't been able to catch it on camera for nate yet. boo.

Labor signs: no

What I miss:  being able to lay on my stomach, take medicine without thinking about it and red bull slushies!

What I'm loving: I picked out fabric for his quilt this week.

What I'm looking forward to: HAWAII in ONE MONTH. EeeEEE

 

20 weeks

What Fruit are you? Mango

Due date:  November 15th. they moved my due date back 5 days.. I am so depressed.

How far along:  20 weeks..again. haha, I guess its more time to prepare right?

Next appointment:  July 30th

Gender:  its a secret:)

Total weight gain/loss:  i'm at -12LBS since pre-pregnancy weight. starting to get more of a bump.

Exercise: is working 40 hours a week exercise? I am so tired and sore every day that I cant even imagine going to to gym, which is probably a sign that I NEED to go! 

Stretch marks: nada

Swelling:I noticed a little swelling in my hands and feet when I was outside all day in the heat

Maternity clothes: I bought maternity pants! they are magic! not only are they SO much more comfortable.. but I think they help my bump look more like I am pregnant. less like I ate one to many muffins.

Belly button:  innie

Sleep: Ive been sleeping a little better, but I get SO HOT.

Food cravings: not too many this week, more food aversions.

Symptoms: still mostly vegetarian, sciatic pain, and  the cool new symptom is nerve pain in my right arm. I guess its a result of scar tissue being inflammed mixed with pregnancy. I get to wear a super stylish wrist brace. hahah

Movement:  Yes! I feel kicking all the time. I love it Labor signs: no

What I miss:  being able to shop, walk without hurting

What I'm loving: we had our anatomy ultrasound this week, it was great seeing our little one's feet and face:)

What I'm looking forward to: heading to Portland for the 4th!

Best moment this week: My mom was in town this week, and we went to the Gavin DeGraw concert. (wait is this supposed to be pregnancy related? haha)