Also sorry for the lapse in posts. You can thank my friends at…
Yep. My sweet baby Mac had to be admitted to Apple Hospital for an overnight stay. That set me back a few days on posts. It is crazy how much I depend on having her happy and healthy. She’s fine – just a minor glitch (knock on wood).
I promise I’ll be back next week with a nursery to show you that will KNOCK YOUR SOCKS OFF. We’re talking chevron walls, fantastic palette, Ikea and Goodwill finds and a CUTE baby. I’m so excited to show it to you. (Nope, it’s not mine… you can see mine here.)
Until then, have a fantastic weekend.
PS – for those who may have noticed my “mom cliques” rant on Twitter, I do plan on blogging about that… but right now I’m too upset. If I say something now, I’ll most certainly regret it. However, I will be posting on that topic soon and will be very curious to hear other people’s experiences and advice. Can’t we ALL just get along and include everyone, though? WTH?! Peace out.
I can’t even begin to tell you what an encouragement you were to me last week. I loved reading about other women’s experiences with pregnancy and weight gain. I’m going to keep looking back at those comments when I feel discouraged – and after this baby is born, when I’m not losing the weight as fast as I want to! You gals are amazing. THANK YOU!
This WEEK 24 photo was taken at my mom’s house…
24 weeks!
I dropped Kenton off there this morning for my weekly “break.” Oh, how I live for Wednesdays! I love my kid, but I also love knowing he’s in Grandma’s loving and capable hands for the day and I can run errands, blog, visit with friends, get a pedicure, get my hair trimmed – all of that good stuff, without a little one to wrangle in the process.
It’s been really strange to go from working full time and having me/adult time every day/all day to being a mom 24/7. For the most part, I’m embracing this new adventure – but I still need a break at least once a week. I’ll admit, I’m looking forward to my MIL returning this fall and getting another day to myself. Of course, I’ll be working then too (more on that another day)… but it will still be nice to be out of the house and around adults. 🙂
Okay, I’m off for some more “me time” today… and Kenton is no doubt wearing out his Grandma as I type!
I think he’s transitioning now from walking to RUNNING… Have fun, Mom!
Since we gave you a brief look at the upstairs of our home yesterday, today I thought I’d explain a bit about what’s behind each door… and just how much work I have cut out for me before this bambino arrives.
And behind me is our master bedroom.
So, here’s what needs to happen in the next 16 weeks… In order:
Cleaning out an office is no fun. No fun at all. I found bank records from 2003. Our poor shredder is working OT. And books. All the books. We have SO MANY BOOKS. We’re going to need to get creative with that.
The sewing room has always been a “/storage room.” It’s basically holding the entire contents of a baby consignment store at the moment. Of course, I can’t get rid of anything because the child in my belly may have outdoor plumbing like his/her big brother – so, therefore, everything is currently being hoarded.
Kenton’s “big boy” room, by the way, is going to be AMAZING. In my head, if nowhere else. I have big plans… but you’ll have to wait for that. (Unless you follow me on Pinterest, then you already know.)
One of my favorite things about our nursery is that it is gender neutral. We basically just have to move out Kenton’s clothes and it’s ready for his new baby brother or sister.
So, that’s “it.” That’s all I have to do – me and my rotund belly (with the hubby’s help of course) – between now and October. Wish us luck! It’s basically completely overwhelming.
Oh, there is one more room… the bathroom.
This is our third bathroom and we’ve never used it. NEVER. It needs to be completely gutted. The shower is pulling away from the wall. The linoleum is pulling away from the wall – and it’s linoleum. The toilet is old. The mirror/vanity are outdated.
Eventually, this will be the kid’s bathroom and we will likely tackle that monster of a project this fall/winter.
Kenton takes his baths in our master bathroom, which has a fun big tub. Also, potty training is still a ways off – so, this room has not been a huge priority.
So, who wants to come over and help?! Don’t all storm down my door at once.
Last week, a scary thing happened. I got distracted for a few seconds and looked up… Kenton had opened a closed door and was gone. I jumped up and found him, literally, teetering off the top stair.
This top stair.
Of this staircase.
I caught him just in time.
Then, I squeezed him tight for a long time and bawled my eyes out. That was, to date, one of the scariest moments of my life. I still tear up just thinking about it.
Clearly, it was time for a major change in the Dream… the addition of a gate.
Young sir is certainly on the move…
Not only is he interested in climbing the stairs, he’s walking constantly now – but wasn’t allowed to in the upstairs hallway, because of the imposing death trap of the stairs…
We had been talking about adding a gate for a while, but the great scare – “Stairgate 2012” – was the last straw.
However, we had a problem.
We have an extra wide staircase – 5 feet wide – to be precise. So, that meant no average gate would do. We needed extra wide.
On top of that, we had a little issue with our bannisters…
They stick out just enough and are just short enough to block a simple gate installation. What these bannisters don’t realize is that I’m married to the handiest man on the planet… who devised the perfect plan to gate around these pesky beasts.
Sure, it’s not the prettiest thing in the world. But it is SAFE. And that’s what matters.
Little Mr (and his best friend) are now free to walk around upstairs without mom (or dad) having a panic attack…
The best part about the gate though, is the look of panic on the Bulldog’s face as he’s racing up the stairs and suddenly encounters an obstacle. Okay, that’s mean – but it is funny.
The playroom is still (very much) a work in progress, but it is starting to come together…
I have put very little money into this room, which is awesome. That’s thanks, in part, to some pretty lucky thrifting finds…
I scored that little kid-sized table at Goodwill for less than a latte. Yep! Just a little bit of sanding, primer and paint…
And she was good to go…
I’m still on the hunt for two or three kid-sized chairs to go with it. I’m determined to find wooden ones for cheap… and I’m willing to wait! Which is fine as Kenton is still a bit young to actually sit at the table and do something productive.
We painted the table the same color blue as our downstairs bathroom, which is right across the hall from the play room. Also that shade of blue? The diaper storage shelf (former dish display rack) that I picked up for $12 at the Junk in the Trunk Vintage Market:
Remember what that first looked like?
It’s not quite finished either. I’m going to add a colorful fabric with elastic around the bottom shelf to hold those diapers in and add some more color.
The changing table is also a second-hand find.
We found it at a local kid’s consignment store for $30! That is so much cheaper than buying one new and even less than I could find on my local Craig’s List. And it TOTALLY beats the makeshift table we were using for a few weeks:
Pretty bad, no?
You may recall, even some of the fabric used in the embroidery hoop art is from a thrift store…
Finally, I made a really fun find at a thrift store in Del Mar, California last week:
These sweet little mirrors – and elephant and a hippo were just $2 bucks each. We still need to find a special toddler-height spot for them, but I’m sure we will soon.
Also coming soon:
Replacing the non-child-safe curtains and blinds with a valance and safe blind
New bedding for the daybed (currently, our former guest room queen-sized duvet is making an awkward cover up)
Kenton was taking a nap during this week’s photo session. His schedule is all sorts of messed up since we got back from San Diego.
Pregnancy has taken a toll on me this week – traveling probably didn’t help either – but I am TIRED. I took a blog break yesterday simply because I couldn’t muster enough energy to pull something together. PATHETIC. However, Jason FINALLY felt this baby move. Yippee! His/her movements have really increased this week, which is awesome. I love those little fluttery reassurances that everything is fine.
My OB, at my appointment today, confirmed that my lack of feeling much movement so far is due to the placenta placement (as I suspected, just call me Dr. Michelle!). She also confirmed that I’m gaining too much weight (I also called that myself – really? Why do I pay her the big bucks?).
But, let’s talk about pregnancy weight gain, shall we? I’m in a venting mood – and curious to learn about other momma’s experiences. So far, I’m on track to gain the same amount of weight this pregnancy as I did with Kenton, which was about 45 pounds (give or take, to be honest I stopped keeping track towards the end). YIKES. To date, 23 weeks in, I’ve already gained 22 pounds. How? I have no freaking idea. I suppose too much ice cream? Cheesy carbs? Chicken fingers? Milkshakes? A few too many “sips” of Kenton’s whole milk? Anyway, I digress… it is a bit much and I need to be careful. I would like to not gain 45 pounds this time around, if possible. I was able to lose those 45 pounds – and get back to my pre-pregnancy weight (albeit NOT quickly… breastfeeding melted off nothing but about six layers of skin from my nipples). However, my pre-Kenton-pregnancy weight was ten pounds over my usual weight, which is ten pounds over my goal weight. So, today, I’m 22 pounds over my pre-pregnancies weight, 32 pounds over my normal weight and 42 pounds over my goal weight. Depressing? HELL, YES.
I don’t think I ever shared here on the blog, but I did have a miscarriage before Kenton’s pregnancy. I miscarried at ten weeks along – and at that point had already gained a few pounds. I tacked on a few more while feeling a bit blue and knowing I was trying to get pregnant again right away – so there was no motivation to get back down to my normal weight at that point. The good news, I got pregnant really quickly – three months after miscarrying and those ten extra pounds came along for the ride and have been hanging on for two years now. Crazy!
Weight loss is definitely not on my mind right now – I’m not an idiot. I would just like to stall the gain. But, when this baby is born – hopefully, via VBAC (more on that another day) – I’m going to get really serious about that ever-allusive goal weight.
So, tell me, how much weight did you gain during pregnancy? Were you able to get it off? If so, HOW? (Seriously, don’t keep that to yourself). Or, how is your pregnancy weight gain progressing and what is your plan post-baby? Do share! I’ll go grab some Doritos while waiting to monitor all of your comments…
I intended to share this post with you last Friday, but I didn’t have access to the nets of Inter. (That’s something my dad would say… like, “tay of lots” for a latte). Anywho, here she is today… a recap of our FABULOUS break from the Arizona heat in gorgeous Del Mar, California:
What a week we had! San Diego was a BLAST. Here’s a recap of what we were up to, via Instagram:
So. Much. Fun.
Most of my mom’s family lives throughout San Diego County. So, we spent a lot of time with family – and doing as much R&R as possible – including Kenton’s first day at the beach and first trip to a fair!
My mom, Kenton and I stayed with my Grandpa in Del Mar.
My mom’s dad. Can you tell? Ha! There’s a definite family resemblance.
My Grandpa’s house has not changed in decades, which means it holds a million memories for me, (but isn’t even remotely close to being baby-proofed!). I actually wrote an essay about it in elementary school. The assignment? Write about paradise. Yep, I nailed it. I still feel that way about this little corner of the world. From Grandpa’s balcony, you can see the water and sand.
Everyday, we walked from his house to charming Del Mar…
Grabbed a cup of coffee at Starbucks… and some milk for the kiddo…
In my defense, the pic on the left was taken after Kenton decided
to party All. Night. Long. (good times)
We’d stop by the playground…
And carry on down to the beach…
Yep. Paradise.
We spent a day at the San Diego County Fair… a place we’ve been going for many years.
We’ve been practicing Kenton’s “MOO” with the painting in his playroom, but this was the first time he saw cows (and sheep, and pigs, and ducks, and hens, and roosters, and goats, and bunnies, and even a baby turkey) up close. His first encounter with a cow drew tears and screams, but he warmed up after that and loved all of the animals.
Overall, it was a fantastic trip. We were sad to leave our extended family and the gorgeously overcast weather – but were very glad to get home to DADA and grandpa in time for Father’s Day:
And… one more thing… we OFFICIALLY have a TODDLER on our hands, folks. All of the distraction and stimulation on the trip made my BABY start toddling like a little drunken sailor… every.where.
Okay, I’m back with more on the living room makeover… for a refresher, this is what we were dealing with…
We ditched the couch set on Craig’s List for way less than what they’re worth. There are a surplus of couches on Craig’s List. We had to keep lowering the price until we got some bites. That hurt a little, but we were beyond ready to part with these out-of-date hand-me-downs.
Once they were gone, we brought in the couch and bar we had in our family room:
The ottoman stayed and gets to hang with our new couch that I’ll reveal in a later post… but here she is in progress:
And here’s a sneak peek… and a gratuitous Bulldog shot (love getting those in when I can!)…
Anywho, back to the living room. With re-arranged furniture, the other – most OBVIOUS – thing we desperately needed to do was paint… which we did and I already described in great detail – so I’ll save you that story again.
Looking down on the living room from the stairs… here’s a brief description of what we currently have…
Bar – from Crate & Barrel, but we scored for 60% off retail on Craig’s List
Bench – saved from our neighbor’s curb on bulk trash day and DIY-reupholstered. (We’ve had it forever and I blogged about years ago – literally.)
Couch – already had – it was another hand-me-down. (We reap the benefit of my parents upgrading their furniture every few years!)
End table – I hate and will be getting rid of… but we found it at a consignment store.
Rocking horse – Jason’s dad made it for him when he was a baby and brought it out for Kenton. I don’t want it to get destroyed, so it sits in the living room.
Blue chairs – from West Elm. We scored an incredible deal on those babies the day after Christmas.
Coffee table – we’ve had it for a while, but I don’t think I ever blogged about it. It was a floor sample at Pottery Barn, which retailed for $599, but we scored for $159. Nice, huh?!
The rug – the circle rug, also from West Elm. We snagged it for cheap on eBay though.
Here are some close-ups….
The giraffe on the bar was a treat my parents brought back from a recent trip to Kenya. The wine corks in the jars are something we’ve been collecting for YEARS. (Or they’re from last weekend??? You decide.)
Why, yes, that is temporary wine storage under the bench! Nice eye.
There’s the dining room. If you’ve been reading the blog for a while, you may remember that table in the kitchen. I wanted a more eclectic dining room set, but we already had this one – so it’s sits there for now.
Nestled on this little wall between the family room and the stairs is our buffet – and an original painting by my mom. It’s of the Tour de France and was a gift for Jason – who is a cycling enthusiast. The buffet used to sit in the dining room, but doesn’t quite fit with the current table – so now it’s here, which actually works.
The buffet is the Kipling from Crate & Barrel. It retails for $699, but we paid $75 at a charity auction. I KNOW.
So, there she is… a bit more about what’s in our living room…
We still need to do a few things…
Popcorn ceilings. UGH.
Replace the Eiffel Tower photo with an original painting, which my mom will do.
I was in San Diego at 22 weeks pregnant with Kenton! Crazy, right?
Since my Grandpa made an appearance in that shot, he amused me again and is making another appearance this time around.
Something I distinctly remember about the 22 week mark last time – that’s when I first saw a kick. When my belly physically changed and “jumped” with a baby kick. Jason saw it too. This time, the baby’s movements are not strong enough to see yet. That may be because my placenta is along the front wall of my belly (behind my belly button) or we have a calmer second child. We’ll see!
For now, the babe, bump and I are off to the beach!
Oh my goodness, you guys. I can’t even tell you how happy I am with how this project turned out. And I was worried. Seriously WORRIED… at several pivotal moments.
Aren’t those stripes GORGEOUS? Okay, that’s some serious patting myself on the back, but I can’t help it. I’m so proud of them!
Maybe you’ll understand too when you see what we were working with:
Why, yes! That is, in fact, the most boring living room in America. Bowdoin the Bulldog even mocked it in a video we made pleading for a makeover from West Elm last year:
We didn’t win. (Can you believe that? Even with a talking dog! Psssh.)
So, we were on our own. On Thursday, I’ll share more about how we styled the room. For now, allow me to brag about my beloved STRIPES.
For three years, that room was a boring white. I’m really embarrassed now that we let it go that long. But… no longer!
And by “we” painting, I mean Jason, of course. I am still pregnant, after all. (However, I did cheat and did some painting myself… read on…)
This was a 100% DIY paint job. From the easy stuff… to the make your knees weak vaulted ceiling…
I’m afraid of heights, so it was traumatic for me to be in the same room as Jason and take this picture of him. YIKES! At one point, he actually sat on top of this ladder to stretch and reach one tough-to-paint spot. I’m SO GLAD that part is over.
We followed this tutorial for painting stripes on textured walls. Worked like a charm!
Next, we needed to tape off the stripes. DRAMA. This was not nearly as simple as I thought it would be. Not even close.
My first thought was to use a similar method to how we arranged the polka-dots in the nursery. That would entail stringing off sections and taping between them. However, I could not get a straight line to save my life. I even blogged about how frustrated I was and made a plea for help. You see, the wall is about 30 feet long and neither the ceiling nor the floor is 100% straight. So, those were not good bases from which to set a level starting point. Several people offered some awesome suggestions – which I ended up using a combo of to get those darn lines straight.
We started by using this $15 laser level from Home Depot for one of the lines. The laser didn’t always go as far as we needed it too – hence the tape pushing it into place.
Once that line was straight and taped off, we used a plumb line to measure the other lines off that one. Since we weren’t sure it was going to work, we didn’t think to take pictures. But basically, a plumb line is a long string that you put two nails on either end of – then snap to reveal a chalk line – which, in theory will be perfect level. We didn’t use chalk though – we just taped along the string and that worked well for us.
I’m certain there are far easier ways to do this – and if you think of any, please add a comment to this post for others who may come along and want to replicate this.
Once our lines were level and taped off, we painted the lighter color on top of the tape where the darker color would eventually go.
We made sure the lighter paint filled in all of the nooks and crannies in the textured wall and sealed that tape in as close as possible – the hope being that we wouldn’t have any bleed over between lines.
He got about 75% of the first coat on this wall – and the accent walls in the dining room done when we ran out of paint. That was a huge bummer because he had to leave the next day on a business trip, and preggo over here wasn’t supposed to be painting. But… I did grab another gallon of the darker color, slapped on a mask and finished the job while he was gone. BECAUSE THAT’S HOW I ROLL. Baby in the belly, I hope you still have all of your brain cells.
Before the second coat of the darker color is dry, you have the moment of truth. The moment of truth involves peeling the tape off and praying that the line didn’t bleed.
I literally leaped with joy when I saw how straight our lines had turned out. They look like decals – so perfect and straight! HAPPINESS.
We painted the long wall that connects the living and dining rooms and the wall that you immediately see when you enter the house…
Those stripes seriously make me smile every time I see them.
Here’s the view from the family room…
(That black table is a leftover ‘stache bash staging area… it’s not there in real life. Okay, it’s still there right now, but it’s not supposed to be. It’s leaving soon. Promise.)
Okay, I’ll be back on Thursday to explain some of the styling in the living room, but for now… here’s one more look…
What do you think? How did we do? Would you do something similar in your house?
Our Dream Foreclosure 