A Dream Come True

Our mini-Dreamer is here!

Kenton Albert arrived on May 31, 2011 at 1:14 am.

8 lbs, 13 oz

21 inches long

We are over the moon and incredibly grateful for this sweet and precious gift!!!

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Nursery Dream Art

Still pregnant.

To “celebrate” let’s talk about the nursery. It’s just about finished. Before we share true “DONE!” photos… we just want to show off a few of our recent additions – filling up those wall spaces that were lacking. First up, the original piece by “Grandreama:”

Isn’t that fantastic?!

We shared in our last post that the two paintings she gave us are amazing – but just didn’t fit into the aesthetic of our space. Here they are:

We love those faces! However, our nursery isn’t your typical “cutesie” space. It’s modern and simple. That’s why we absolutely LOVE the new painting she did for us:

(If you’re super-observant, you’ll notice that we painted the holder for our changing table pad white. Poll results were an even tie between white and yellow. Don’t worry, yellow fans – we’re working on another addition that will dry your tears… because you’re certainly all broken up over this.)

The two birds on the right represent us (Mr & Mrs Dreamer) the smaller one is the wee one in the oven – and there’s plenty of room on that wire for future chicks. The artist promises to add them when that time comes. We love the symbolism behind it and the way it fits perfectly in the nursery.

Here’s the other side of the room…

You’re probably thinking, “Wait a minute! I thought you decided against the lamb painting?” We did, it’s just a placeholder. We’re planning on ordering a newborn portrait of the bebe on a 16×20 canvas – and the lamb happens to be that size. So, it was perfect for planning out that wall space… bebe photo flanked my portraits of mom and dad at 6 months…

More on those later – the girl child may have a mullet and double-chin, while the boy is the cutest darn thing in creation. Both frames were a simple, cheap DIY project and we’ll share more about that soon… it will give me something to do while sitting around not going into labor.

Also, one more signature piece for the room to share. I figured out how to do this art I pinned on Pinterest and it turned out fantastic for this non-arteest!

Now, back to gestating…

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Keep on Dreamin’

FYI: still pregnant. (Assuming that’s what all of those views are here to check on.)  Trust us, you’ll be among the first to know!

Week 40 bump update here.

New nursery post coming shortly!  We thought of some crafty projects to keep us busy while waiting (im)patiently for BOB’s arrival.

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Grandreama

We, of course, are anxiously counting down the days until our mini-Dreamer’s arrival. But we’re not alone.

The wee one will be the first grandchild on both sides (we know, we know – we’ll never have to buy the bambino a Christmas gift ourselves!)… and all four grandparents are getting very excited to meet him/her.

Mrs. Dreamer’s Mom is channeling some of that anxious energy into the nursery. We’ve already mentioned what an accomplished artist she is – and you can check out her paintings here. We have several of her originals hanging throughout the Dream. Here are just a couple of examples:

adorable pet portrait of one of our bulldogs, Bowdoin

the Portland Headlight in Maine - the state where the Dreamers met and got engaged (awe....)

and here she is herself with her "first" grandbaby of the four-legged variety... Bowdoin at 4 months

Yes, a “Grandreama” original will hang in the nursery… more on that in a minute. But first, her artistic skills expand beyond the paintbrush and canvas… to the sewing machine. So, after several ill-fated attempts at making pillows, Mrs. Dreamer realized that DIY’ing the pillows might induce pre-term labor… so she called in the expert. And, boy oh boy are we glad she did! Check it out:

The Dream came equipped with this fantastic bay window in the nursery. In fact, the seat opens and doubles as a toy chest. How AWESOME is that?!

We don’t want the wee one climbing in/out of there just yet – so, for now, we’re utilizing the space as a bay window. We think these awesome gray, silver, white and yellow pillows are just what was needed to fill in that space. THANKS, MOM!

A couple of the pillows have cool stories…

This one started life as a HUGE table cloth on clearance at Home Goods. We got enough fabric for this pillow and many more future projects. Since it’s a little “girly” we’re going to wait and see if we use the rest of the fabric in the nursery or elsewhere.

This one is made from leftovers from the valance and ill-fated curtain projects. Talk about recycling!

We are THRILLED with how all of these fantastic pillows came out… aren’t you?

Of course, we really want to hang an original painting in this room as well…. and the arteest graciously gave us two adorable options from her collection:

Aren’t they precious?

Unfortunately, after careful consideration and consultation with the artist – there is just not a spot for them in this room. While they are adorable – they don’t match the overall theme. So, we’ve commissioned a different one – which is going to be AMAZING. We can’t wait to reveal it… soon!

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HOA = Not so Dreamy

The Dream is in a neighborhood with a Homeowner’s Association (HOA). Everyone who has experience with a HOA knows this cuts both ways. It protects us from having to deal with our neighbors painting their houses purple – but we have to DEAL with the HOA and their sometimes over-the-top demands.

As far as HOA’s go – ours could be worse.  We only pay $165 a year, for one.  Also, they approved our new door – which is basically the only door in the ‘hood that’s no longer original.

HOWEVER, they go completely over the line in some cases (in our humble, first-time-homeowner’s opinion).  For example, we had to repaint our side yard gate or face a fine.  The kicker was that even in its less-than-perfect state it was better than about 90% of the other home’s gates – which makes us wonder why we were picked on.  Also, our neighbors had to replenish their landscaping rock because they had “bare spots” – which were not noticeable to anyone but HOA inspectors, apparently.  (Landscaping rock is very common here in the southwest – we detailed our “rocking” fun time here.)

At some point, someone in the high court of HOA-dom decided that all fences in our ‘hood had to be one color.  Up until now, they’ve been the same color as the house – one of three paint choice colors (another reason HOA’s stink – three choices don’t leave a lot of room character ifyaknowwhatI’msayin’.)

So, that nice uniform look is now no bueno.  Our white house needed a brown wall.  We ignored the notices for a bit – until the one with the threat of a fine came.  FINE!  We’ll paint the darn thing…

our white house

...with white fence

matchy-matchy, joy-joy

cue: an unhappy painter

also cue: a borrowed paint sprayer (that ended up not really working)

prepped...

ready to go...

the completed project...

no longer matchy = sad dreamers, but satisfied HOA

This little side project didn’t come cheap either.  The paint cost us $190.  Only about 15% of our neighbors have complied with this order from the HOA on high.  This weekend was the deadline to get ‘er done.  We’re very curious to see what happens to those who do not comply… fines? flogging? shameful signs posted in their yards?  nothing?  (The latter would INCREDIBLY frustrating!).  We’re still new to this game… so, we shall see.

Any one else have HOA frustrations to vent?  Please let us know that we’re not alone!!!

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Gone to the Dreams (again)

What’s up studs and bitches?

your guest bloggers for the day... paris and bowdoin the bulldogs.

We’re baaaaaaaaack!

We took over this blog once before and promised to chime in again when our world was rocked.  And let’s just say, we can’t quite pinpoint why – but OUR WORLD IS GETTNG ROCKED.

Something just seems different ‘round the Dream lately.  For instance, mom’s been hiding this big ball under her shirt for months and refuses to throw it for us!  Rude.  Bowdoin even asked politely twice (here and here).

So, that’s weird.

Also, there’s all sorts of cool new things coming in…

Toys, things that look like toys, things that squeak, and more toys.  However, we’re getting ZERO access to them.  What gives?!  Mom even posted about torturing us with keeping them out of reach – and shared this incredibly unflattering photo of Bowdoin royally pissed off about it…

Hmph.  That’s all really strange – but the kicker is that we haven’t been allowed out of the kitchen area in over a week!  Not since these two, scary men came with big machines that made lots of noise, smelled weird and spent hours erasing all Bulldog scent from the Dream’s carpets and floors.

the way life used to be

Do they have ANY IDEA how much effort we put into making this place smell just right?!  Mom and Dad really love the new grout “paint” – as they call it.  We call it crap.

Anyway, we wish someone would tell us what the CATNIP is going on.  Mom keeps pointing to that big ball under her shirt and asking if we’re ready to meet “BOB”… we think she may have gone crazy.  More snooping is necessary… we’ll keep you posted.

but, for now, we nap…

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Dreaming in Pink or Blue?

As the mini-Dreamer’s arrival gets closer and closer – we’re getting SUPER curious to learn if the nursery closet will fill with tutu’s or mini baseball uniforms!

We are SO excited about our impending delivery room surprise.  However, we love hearing everyone’s predictions about what they think we’re having.  In fact, every visitor to the Dream has to vote…

Yes, everyone.  Friends, family, the Stanley Steamer crew who cleaned our carpets last week (they went one for boy, one for girl – if you’re curious).  It’s close… but the girls are slightly ahead in the chalkboard poll.  But… what do you think??  Please vote and let us know… are we have a BOY or GIRL???

(It’s okay to vote even if your vote is already included on the chalkboard!)

If you need a little help… here’s an ultrasound pic of the wee one’s face…

And if you’re one of those who has to see how mom is “carrying” here is a recent bump pic (you can see the bump progression from week 16 here):

After you vote, please comment and let us know why you think we should be dreaming in pink or blue!

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