Happy Birthday Mom!

Did anyone else notice that the site was down for a while?  I was going to blog as a procrastination strategy Thursday night while grading, and I wasn't able to.  It was painful...I had to actually work the whole time.  Worst part of all, I kept on thinking of all the things I would write if I could.  What is that about our human nature?  We always want what we can't have.

First things first, my beautiful mom celebrated a birthday this week on the 11th.  I know I'm a little late in wishing her a happy birthday on here, but it's ok since I did spend the day with her in person. Which, even in this day and age, is still the priority, right? 

Isn't she gorgeous?  I hope I age like her.  These are my parents on my wedding day last June.  I was just a tad bit obsessed with my mom's dress.  She matched the wedding colors perfectly! 

She had a great birthday which may include some very exciting news this summer or later (other than baby, of course) that I can't wait to share, but I'm told I can't yet. 

Happy Birthday Mom! Love you!

A Ton of Bricks

Guys, it's hit me.  I totally feel pregnant.  I mean, don't get me wrong, I've known this all along, but I've been off the hook with pregnancy symptoms since the beginning.  Everyone always told me I'd feel sick, or uncomfortable, and I had no idea what they were talking about.  Until now.

This weekend was a busy weekend  for us (I promise I'll get some pictures/videos up from graduation...I just haven't been able to gather the energy for it yet) and I think I overdid it.  Saturday I was on my feet from 7am-1am and at the time I was just so excited for Chris I didn't let it bother me.  Sunday morning, when I went to get up (at 11am mind you), I put my foot down and almost fell.  It was that bad.  I looked at my feet and they were....swollen!  Everyone told me I'd get swollen, but everyone also told me I'd get sick and it never happened so I just considered myself one of the lucky ones.  But these feet...wow...they were monsters!  If anyone knows anything about being pregnant, I have a question for you...do your feet stay monstrous or do they eventually go back to normal?  Buying a whole new wardrobe of shoes could be dangerous.  And by dangerous I mean...fabulous!

Needless to say, this has been quite the week.  Each day starts with the battle of what shoes actually fit (the whole matching thing is not even an issue at this point) and ends with which position can I get in to actually fall asleep?   In case you were wondering, the best position I have found is on my side with a pillow between my legs and me cuddling another pillow in between my arms...basically anything involving a pillow is a good thing.

I've practically driven the hubs crazy with my irritability, too.  He's been the best, for the record.  He's made dinner, given massages, and just totally been understanding of the fact that all of a sudden I feel hit by a truck.  All in all, I do feel lucky that this uncomfort hasn't sunken in until the 36th week.  I know it could've been so much worse, but it's time, Beaners, we need you now!!

We'll see what the doctor says today.  If I'm measuring big, who knows, maybe we'll pop this kiddo out sooner.  If not, well, Chris will have a few more massages to give and dinners to make.  As for me, well, I'll just try to squeeze into my shoes and become extra close with those pillows.

Sleep

Do you ever get to work in the morning and wish somehow you could turn back the clock to right before you went to bed the night before?  Cause I do.  I wish that on a daily basis.  I just really love sleep.  And right now I'm craving some more. 

That's because last night I didn't get much quality sleep.  And trust me, I'm someone who knows the difference.  I was up at least 3 times peeing (tmi?  Thank you Baby Hasiak...) and the second time I got up, Baby decided it was also a good time to get up and the kicks/rumbling in my belly was so powerful, I literally couldn't fall back asleep.  Then I got a random coughing spell.  Is this some twisted joke for soon-to-be new moms?  Like God is saying You just wait...you have no idea how little sleep you'll be getting soon.  I mean, thanks for the heads up/preparation, but everyone says sleep now!  And to that I tell you...I'm trying!

On a side note...Christopher's graduating this weekend from med school and I couldn't be more excited or proud of him.  We're throwing a party at our house this weekend so check back for some pics.  Other than the fact that I'm totally excited for this weekend's festivities, you know what they mean? 

No sleep for this girl

Progress

One thing I love?  Making progress on our house.  As in, really making changes and getting things done.  Instead of just having the ideas in my mind and never actually doing them. 

Finally, we've made some progress on this baby room.  It's taken us forever, mostly because I haven't been able to think of the right theme.  We've gone from monkey/jungle to turtle/under the sea to preppy plaid to stars and back again.  I liked each of those for like a week and then I'd go back to not wanting them.

Then I just decided why do we need a theme anyway?  In the end I just wanted it to have the right colors.  I'm all about color.  You might be saying, you're all about color and you painted the baby room gray?  The answer: YES.  It needed to be gray.  Just had to be.  I loved the idea of a subtle, calming gray on the walls.  Not to mention, gender neutral. You know, just in case they're wrong about this whole boy thing.  Which if that's the case, we'll be needing to have a boy soon, cause I've got way too many clothes to have 'em go to waste! Here are a few pictures of the progress.

FROM THIS

We've had the crib for a while.  Christopher found it on clearance (50% off) at Target months ago.  Anyone surprised?

The changing table goes with the crib.  Do you see it over there in all that mess? 

No, we don't have an older child...we just inherited the bed from our brother and sister-in-law.  I think we'll have to move it eventually because that's the only place the rocker goes. 

Yay clutter!  And we had that dresser before, but doesn't it go perfectly with the other furniture?  Too bad it's full of all my clothes.  Sorry Beany, there's no room in there for your stuff.  Daddy thinks I have a shopping problem because I have 2 closets and 3 chests of drawers full of clothes.  He's not completely right.

That diaper genie's gonna really come in handy.  No stinky diaps in our house!

We hung the shelf.  I found most of these items at the goodwill and painted that quote.  Very cheap decor!  Just the way I like it.

TO THIS

I love the twin bed in there.  I think I'll be sad if we have to get rid of it for the rocking chair.  The sheet on the crib matches it so well.

I'm going to sew a crib skirt.  I just couldn't find one that I loved at any store so the next best option: make one yourself.  Much cheaper too.  Also, I couldn't handle the curtains that were just hanging straight down.  I have the weirdest pet peeves.  Got a little extra wedding ribbon and tied them back.  I love that look so much more! 

Sometimes I get sad about leaving this house and moving to St. Louis.  This is one of those times:  when I look at that window and think about how cute it would be to have the kids sitting on the window seat reading....or let's get real...playing on their DS or ipod (I'm a 3rd grade teacher...I know what kids do these days).

Yeah, I will never not love this green....from wedding color to baby color.  Thank God it works for a girl or a boy!

This area is still a work in progress...

One last pic of the room...for now.....

Baby, we're almost ready for you, Love.   Get here soon (er than later!)

Yum to the E

Forgot to tell you about our dinner last Friday.  As many/most/all of you know, I'm not the greatest chef in the world.  Like, I would never spend my time cooking a meal if let's say, I didn't have to.  So I usually don't.  I mean one day I might.  But for right now my hubs and I are totally fine living on ramen and mac n cheese.  We save a lot of money and time this way.  But I took a pic of the most amazing strawberries we had the other day when we had our own little 'fish fry' together.  I am so craving them right now. 

Tell me your mouth isn't watering.  I need them now! 

Happy Easter!

HAPPY EASTER! It's been a great long weekend so far.  I had Thursday and Friday off last week, which let me tell you, was well-needed.  I had today off and even get tomorrow off too which makes it even nicer.  One of the greatest things?  I got to see my sister Lauren.  She came home from the big MN.  I was so excited for her to come home!  I wanted her to see the bump  in person and feel the Beany kick.  She saw the bump alright...but as for the kicking...well, let's just say our little one wasn't into performing on the spot (perhaps a little foreshadowing of what's to come?).  I laid down, stretched out, drank orange juice.  Nope. nothing.  She's convinced he's not real.   But RIGHT when I got home, who'd I feel all active and ready to play?  Yeah....he's already got a mind of him own.  Yikes.
Anyway, guess who took ONE pic on Easter?  Yep, count 'em....ONE.  I had fabo plans to capture the day with the fam, the bump, etc. and I was only able to bust out my camera at the end of the day when we were over at our brother and sister-in-law's house.  But since I did end up taking the one pic afterall, I better post it.

Hopefully I become a better picture taker when Beany's born.  Which reminds me that I'm in the market for a nice, new, profesh-style cam.  Anyone have a good one they like?

Besides Easter Sunday, I've been meaning to tell you that Chris and I are pretty much 100% on the name for our little Teaner Beaner.  And we've been this way since the 18th week when we found out he was well......a he.  But for some reason it feels so much more official now.  It's amazing how this feeling of 'rightness' just comes over you.  I've liked this name for a while because it's the name of a Saint who I've prayed to for a few years and who is super special.  And not very well-known.  But the more Christopher and I look up the life of this saint, the more we are totally sure about it.  So excited to name our first born son after him.  June just can't come soon enough!

Baby at 33

My baby is just going crazy this week!  He must be getting so big because I'm feeling all sorts of body parts in all parts of my body (ok, mostly just my stomach...but he's pushing on things I didn't even know I had in there).  What a cute love!  Here he is at 33 weeks.

A few things I notice when I look at this picture:

1.  Wow, I'm actually pregnant.

2.  I think I need to go back to being a blonde. I miss it.

3.  It's too hard to keep the blonde up. and expensive.

4.  When can I get a tan?

5.  What will Baby look like?!

Besides being in love with Baby already, I rediscovered an old love today.  Ok, not so much a love, but sort of.  In the form of music.  Don't you love when you re-listen to a CD you haven't listened to in a while?  It's one of my favorite things.  Totally brings me back to my life when I loved it.  That's what happened to me when I was listening to my Adele pandora station.  Feist came on.  And it reminded  me how much I loved this CD.

I first became obsessed with this CD years ago when it came out.  I remember I was working at Ann Taylor Loft in the summer with some super fun girls who became my good friends.  We'd go out all the time.  This was sort of our summer soundtrack.  I love how music can bring you back.  For some reason I have a feeling this summer's soundtrack will be something...um...different.  Like in the form of baby einstein. ish.