First of Our Two Moves...Comin' Up!

     This year we aren't only saying goodbye to "the old year" and hello to the new one, but we're also saying goodbye to the home we've had for 5 years (as of February 2nd). Although I've been pining away over various houses for the past year and felt as though I might wither away if we didn't move, I am a little sad to be leaving this house. Its significance certainly isn't lost on me. Never again will the biggest, most monumental life events occur for me all while living in the same residence.
The arrival of this baby made moving seem all the more real:

     The Pack Rat representative said it will hold up to 4 rooms' worth of stuff, but...when I look at it, it just doesn't seem all that big. The inside may resemble a sardine can by the time we're through with it. Lucky for us that a portion of our belongings is coming with us to our temporary housing locale. The stuff going into the Pack Rat we won't see again until we move into the house we're buying. In other words, I have to be parted from my piano and Victrola until March! Sad, I know. :(
     Yesterday I was actually able to venture out into the world, with Mr. Wonderful and Junior. We went Christmas shopping...for Junior, who, although he was wide awake the entire time, isn't likely to open the books "Santa" got him and say "Hey, wait a minute...you got these at Barnes & Noble on Wednesday--I was there!"

We then went in search of a Sophie Giraffe--ever heard of these?

Apparently they're all the rage and chewing, teething kiddos everywhere adore them. We wandered through the Plaza in Kansas City, MO over to Pottery Barn Kids and they were sold out. The sweet lady who helped us (sweet because she oohed and ahhed appropriately over my darling boy) told us there'd been a run on them recently. All they had was the bath version, which Junior already has, thanks to his Aunt Sarah Craft.
The last stop we made was Target. Mr. Wonderful is a huge fan of Dunkin Donuts coffee--every flavor except Original. And Target was having a pretty terrific clearance sale (for those of you interested--Leslie Camara!) so we found Dunkin Donuts coffee on sale...for over $2 less. And we came home with good ole' Hazelnut...and this:

     I needed photographic evidence to show you, otherwise you may think I'm more creative than I really am. Strawberry Shortcake coffee. Depending on your viewpoint, it may or may not be a surprise that this (the last bag left) was marked down even more than the other coffee flavors. Suffice it to say, strawberry shortcake being my all-time favorite dessert, this little beauty came home with us. When we made coffee this morning, Hazelnut didn't stand a chance of making it into that pot. The verdict? Different...but good...but takes some getting used to (that particular flavor first thing in the morning).
     Today I'm off to take Junior shopping, visit a dear friend and drop off a Christmas gift. For those of you from "back home" who may even now be scattered around the entire southeast (and in one instance, Colorado), you are sorely missed this Christmas season. Love you all dearly and cannot wait to see you again. Have the merriest of Christmases!

Matthew 1:18-25

Bah-Humbug

Today is December 16th, as you're probably aware. Typically at around this time I have forced myself to put up our Christmas tree, grumbling the entire time, only to be pleased to have it up once it's done. (And no offense to Mr. Wonderful, but this is almost always done by myself. Hoping Junior will help when he's older.) Also at around this time, I have put into rotation my Christmas 78's on my 1921 Victrola. I've also at least attempted by now to make some sort of Christmas cookie/baked good/treat. Baking doesn't always go so well for me, as you may know.

However, this year is...well, different. There is not and will not be, a tree in our living room. Currently Junior's play pen is sitting where the tree would go anyway, and if his play pen can make him happy for just 5 minutes a day...it's staying right where it is. My Victrola motor is at the repair shop. I should be receiving it back soon, but it probably won't be much before Christmas if at all. That was Mr. Wonderful's push present to me--getting it repaired.
This less-than-convenient move, forced on us by less-than-considerate people (or so I think in my less generous moments) has taken away every single bit of anything slightly Christmassy around our house. And although I have battled Grinchiness off and on for about a decade now, having the option to indulge in the commercial Christmas trappings is something I never wanted taken away.

That being said, the older I've become, the more disgusted I am with certain aspects of the Christmas Season (and yes, I mean the Christmas season, not the holiday season). Pardon me as I rant for just a moment.
You see, I'm a stickler for that little phrase "The Reason for the Season". I even contemplated circumventing the whole Santa Clause thing with Junior because it truly takes away from Christmas' entire purpose--the remembrance of Christ; the marking of His birthday. After consideration and discussions, we are going to do Santa Clause with Beau but once he's old enough to really question...I won't be going to huge lengths to re-persuade him.
So, feeling that it's unfortunate that so many, when you ask them the meaning of Christmas, choose to say "It's about getting together with family and friends..." it's not going to be too difficult to skip all of the commercial trappings of Christmas this year. Every single one.
Besides, we have the following distraction:

What on earth did we do before Junior??

Boy Oh Boy

     Today my dear friends learned that they are expecting their first boy, thus providing for their gorgeous little girl, a little brother. To them I say: Welcome To The Club! It's a fun-filled, joyous membership with tons of perks. Not the least of these is sloppy boy kisses (i.e., where your son licks your face and you call it kisses), super-loud gutteral noises emitting from his windpipe, the noisiest poops imaginable, little stinker smiles and particularly for us mamas--a bond that's really difficult to put to words. Even for someone as wordy as myself.

Junior and I, pooped out after his baby dedication and luncheon this past Sunday. Geez I look mad when I'm alseep!


     In short, there's nothing in the world quite like a little boy. Which was probably what prompted me, when Junior was roughly 24 hours old, to look at Mr. Wonderful and say "I want 10 more just like him." Lucky for Mr. Wonderful that there was a chair behind him to fall into. :) After all, I was the girl who never really wanted children until about 2 years ago!

But Mr. Wonderful changed my mind...man, am I ever glad he did--look at the super-cute guys I get to spend my time with now! (Sorry, Mr. Wonderful, for cutting part of your head off in this photo!) Imagine the frustration when you have the World's Smiliest Baby--until someone points a camera at him. This photo, taken, last night, was one of a few attempts to capture his cheeseball grin...no luck this time!

All this to say, I never knew what kind of excitement would be involved with expanding our family before we brought Junior into the world. I can only imagine the excitement my friends are experiencing today, with the expectation of their second child.

Note: I am a reckless boy-diaper changer. I do not lay a cloth, diaper or anything down on his little anatomy while changing his diaper. I "wing it" every time and hope for no whizzing the best. This is reckless, reckless behavior and is not recommended!

     

Tipping The Scales

     No, that is not a reference to the baby weight that is clinging to me as if for dear life (all 25 pounds of it--dear Lord!) I am currently seeking a little balance in my life. I appear to be somewhat off-kilter. And by that I mean:

This small person takes up all of my time. I mean all. Even when he's asleep, which he only is during the day for 30 minutes at a time, I am racing around the house doing his laundry, setting up his bottles for the next round and looking for spare minutes to swipe the kitchen counters with a rag and swiffer the living room. This is nothing new. Every new mother faces this, I know. I'm just looking for ways to combat the problem. Because currently in neglect are the following:

Mr. Wonderful
The House
The Cat
The Dog
My Friends
Myself

     Although I may be the happiest I've ever been, I do see the problem areas. I just can't get to them, because Junior is hungry or wet or tired or bored or lonely or smiling (which means I always want to hang around and make him smile some more). We recently (and finally) purchased a baby monitor. Which I believe overall is a wonderful thing but now I have compounded my problems by the fact that while he's in his crib sleeping, I'm in the living room watching him sleep on the monitor. I've named it "Beau TV--all Beau, all the time". The really sick part is that I like to watch him wake up--so I can race to his side before he starts crying.

                                    Anything to avoid seeing that particular expression on his face
This pretty much ensures that not a lot is accomplished while he's snoozing. I would love to be able to, in addition to caring for Junior, keep a clean house, work out every day, chat with friends for a few minutes, wash/dry/straighten my hair a couple times a week, give the cat a few minutes of attention and still have the energy left over to make out with my husband (if you're reading this Dad, I'm really sorry!)
If I'm not going to be able to do it all, how on earth do I decide where to make "cuts"?

Goodbye...and Goodbye

     This week has been chock-full of BIG news for Mr. Wonderful, Junior and I. We have been planning, since Junior was about a week old, to travel to Virginia for Christmas so Junior could spend his first Christmas with his Grandaddy (my Dad). But unfortunately, Thursday rolled around and we learned that the owners of our home, who for the past 5 years have been missionaries to China, are coming back...and they want their house back. We have to be out of here by January 1st. So no Christmas with my family this year. :( I was heartbroken. Really looking forward to that trip.
The frustrating part about all this is that we weren't going to be officially ready to buy a house until after the first of the year. So...we're going to have to move twice. The first move will be into temporary housing that we may have already lined up:

     So, not too bad. It's waaaay far away from the city and from where we ultimately want to end up, but temporary is the key word here. Besides, it looks pretty nice and the owners have been really pleasant so far. AND they accept both cats and dogs--SCORE!
     That was Thursday's news. 24 hours later, our mechanic told us that our SUV should be sold immediately...before the engine blew on us. Wow. Just...wow. By this time I was so preoccupied with our housing situation that I almost took this news in stride. As if someone had simply said to me "I like peanuts." I give credit to Mr. Wonderful for how he handled each of these situations. He immediately found us the temporary housing (I mean 5 minutes after we got our notice) and today--he sold our SUV. Now all we need is a permanent residence and a vehicle. No biggie. :)

So, tell me: Ever been hit with a major double whammy like this??

Hello There Self...

     As my previous blog posts have made abundantly clear, being pregnant and having a child is all-consuming. Every waking thought is in some way centered around said child--their needs, their wants, and in my case--frantically coming up with ideas to entertain him during his wakeful times. (Mr. Wonderful has no worries in this department, as he is naturally entertaining, and elicited Junior's first laugh from him just last week.)
     But there comes a point when you begin to miss...well, yourself. Just a little. The aspects of yourself that make you uniquely you; your hobbies, and as discussed in detail on SATC, the quirky things you do when you're alone. (I believe they referred to it as Secret Single Behavior, but it applies to anybody!)

    
     Just this week, I have begun to make a slight comeback. On Sunday evening I went shopping for long, baggy tunics and sweaters, and cheap jeans in a size I hope will shortly be far too large for me. Earlier on Sunday I had washed, dried and straightened my hair. This process takes me about an hour so it was no small task. But it made me feel more like me. The girl with the frizzy hair piled on top of her head that's been lurking around my house in a bathrobe for the past 8 weeks is not going to be here forever--I'm determined! And to add to the increase in "self" I've seen lately, I got up this morning and combined the following ingredients in a blender:

1 scoop chocolate protein powder
1 banana
5 large frozen strawberries
1 cup strawberry-banana V8 Fusion
1 handful fresh spinach

And I drank it all! Minus the workout that usually follows a protein shake like this, it reminded me very much of the morning routine I had in place prior to pregnancy. The workouts will come as soon as my brother-in-law can help Mr. Wonderful move my treadmill back into our office...poor Todd!
    
     All these little activities are so small--tiny, really--that nobody else would think it remarkable that I've managed to incorporate them back into my days. But really, it's huge. In 8 weeks I've gone from feeling as though I were flying by the seat of my pants without a parachute to driving on a paved road with the occasional pothole. It is impossible to do this (parenting) long-term without taking care of yourself, without treating yourself and without reminding yourself to be yourself. It was a gradual wake-up call for me. I am not just Junior's mama. I'm still me, I'm still Mr. Wonderful's wife, I'm still a daughter and I'm still a friend.
     The friend aspect especially is something that I realized today I have been failing miserably to do. A close friend, who is pregnant and the mother to an almost 10 month old lives what feels like forever away. She sounded so tired when I spoke to her today. I realized I have not asked her how she was feeling near enough as of late, and was so surprised to hear she's going out of the country next week! Every conversation with her the past few weeks has been about Junior, and she's been more than happy to help me with my issues with his napping problems.
I have not kept up with others' goings-on as I should--I've let the parenting role dominate me! Today is going to be the start of reverting back to the old me in that department as well--taking an active interest in those I care so much about.

So, tell me: Any major event in your life ever lead you to neglect being you?

Sickly Prickly

     I had not been sick in a year, maybe a little more. And that's amazing, because I'm one of those--know me long enough and you'll experience my sinus infections, colds and flus right along with me. I get sick multiple, multiple times a year. But as soon as I was pregnant--wham! Sickness didn't stand a chance with me. According to my doctor, it's because your body approaches a baby in your uterus as a foreign object. Baby isn't wholly made up of you, he or she has your husband in them too. So to deal with this, your body makes tons and tons of steroids...which in turn kept me from getting sick. Fast-forward to Junior at his six and a half week old mark...and I'm sick. Sore throat, weak, a cough and a headache. In other words, I feel lousy. And since Mr. Wonderful is on the tail end of illness himself...it's not too fun around here. I have come to the conclusion that if I'm sick, I can tolerate no other stressors before I become extremely irritable; read: prickly.

Add to all this the fact that Junior is less than a fan of napping. And by that I mean he screams bloody murder for the majority of the time he's in his crib. We've tried swaddling, not swaddling, pacifier, no pacifier, warmer outfit, cooler outfit, a bath beforehand...

with no luck. As I write, this very second--he is hollering to the extent that I fear the neighbors will call CPS to accuse me of beating my child. But when I check on him--he is fine. He's crabby and tired but doesn't want to nap. Mr. Wonderful questions whether he is truly my child, as I lay down to nap and am out before my head hits the pillow--for hours. We're lucky to get 20 minutes out of Junior. So the new method we're trying is to put him down for a nap every couple of hours and just see what happens. It worked this morning at 7:30 like a charm...less so at 10:30 but he still napped, and when I put him down 15 minutes ago, well--I may never hear quite right in my left ear ever again. That being said--it's getting better. Only now do I hear the fan and his Sleep Sheep's ocean sounds in his room (trying to get him accustomed to the ocean!) rather than his tonsils vibrating around in his little head.

                  Yes, this was taken 7 weeks ago, but not much has changed...that's still his mad-face. :)
     In order to ensure that Mr. Wonderful and I do not strangle each other during this most frustrating of times (illness, screaming baby, etc.) we will, I believe, have to find a regular reliable babysitter and make sure we bring back Date Night, stat. One recommendation is...

     He's reliable, I'll give him that. And the two of them are very interested in each other. He's generous too. During one of Junior's earlier-on crying fits (this was before we figured out his tummy issues), I opened Junior's door to leave his room and Tyson had brought the baby a toy and a bone and set them down outside his door. :) We have promised Tyson a saddle when Junior's a little older so he can offer the baby "pony rides".
     I am off to finish reading "Baby Wise". I would stop at this point, as I am somewhat frustrated by all the varying parental advice out there, but I never feel good about stopping a book before I've finished it...unless it's a text book. :)

The Things You Do For Love

     Mr. Wonderful is a patient man. He puts up with my moods, my snoring at night (pregnancy did this to me!) and my penchant for watching the same black-and-white movies over and over...and over yet again. So when his one request in seemingly forever was that we dress for Halloween as a family unit, I felt I had to acquiesce. Little did I know what I had agreed to. Here we are:

And again:

And yes, that's Junior decked out as a penguin as well--Mr. Wonderful's favorite animal. Thanks to my brother-in-law Brandon, for keeping a straight face long enough to snap these photos. :) I guess if I was willing to move to Kansas (still trying to cope with that decision all these years later) I should be able to humiliate myself in a penguin costume for him too. After all, he isn't Mr. Wonderful for nothin'.
Have a happy and safe Halloween, everyone!
So, tell me: What was the most embarassing thing you ever did for a loved one?

3:20

     No, it isn't the time as I write. No, it's not my average marathon time. It also isn't the amount of time it takes for me to get myself and my child out the door (although it's not far off).
3 hours and 20 minutes happens to be the length of time that Junior cried today...straight. From 2:00 until 2 minutes ago, when I had the bright idea to plug in a box fan in his room and crank it on high. Ever seen the movie "Life As We Know It", with Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel? I watched a snippet of it last night for the 20th time and as I was nearing the end of my rope this afternoon I remembered a scene where they hold the baby up to the fan above the stove in the kitchen. Quick as a flash, I grab Junior and the next thing he knows, he's being rocked over the stove with the fan blasting. For about a minute and a half, there was peace for the first time in hours. It was just the two of us, gently swaying and enjoying the white noise of the fan. It gave me enough time to remark to myself (again) that he was quite possibly the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. (It's hard to see all his bee-yoo-tifulness when he's red in the face and screaming.) And then the peace and love fest was over, and he reared back and deafened me in my left ear.
Today also happens to mark his one month birthday...and the first day of his life that when he cries, actual tears come out. It makes his unhappy moments that much sadder for me. Real tears=real heartbreak in my book. Even if they're really of the crocodile variety.
I thank the Lord that I remembered the old white box fan of Dusty's that we'd stored away in Beau's closet. I had meant to take it apart and give it a good cleaning before its first use in Junior's room, but this was an emergency. Dust be danged. My son was going to go hoarse and I was going to go deaf, and the dog was going to wear a trench in the floor from nervously pacing back and forth. (Junior's crying really gets to him.)

                                                                      "Is he alright??"
I expected the dog to bring his bones to Junior's door any minute. He did that once, in a sweet and obvious effort to cheer the baby up when Junior was pulling an all-nighter (and coincidentally, so were Mr. Wonderful and I).
All I can say is, between levels 1, 2 and 3 on the fan, Junior was only happy with "3", and is currently snoozing peacefully (or is he? the fan is so loud I'm not sure I could hear him anyway!), and has been long enough to allow me to blog.  :)

So, tell me parents: Any secret weapons or tricks out there that works/worked on your little one?

Things I Never Knew...

Well, ladies and gents...you'll have to forgive my absence in these past few weeks. I've had a very good reason. And here he is:

     Meet Beau: 9 lbs and 20 inches of a rip-roaring good time! Mr. Wonderful and I couldn't be happier. Our boy is sweet, snuggly and only cries if there's actually something wrong, like the end of the world when we give him a bath. He'll be 3 weeks old the day after tomorrow, and the time has flown by like I never thought it could.There are a few things about parenthood and myself in particular I didn't realize until Beau joined our family. I thought I'd share them with you:

I Never Knew...
1.) That I could eat an entire meal in 2 minutes.
2.) That most of my meals would consist of a handful of mini pretzels and half a granola bar.
3.) That I could run from one end of our house to the other in 4 seconds.
4.) That once I got to the other end I'd have to wait through 4 minutes of Beau's screaming while a bottle    warms up.
5.) That given the choice between sleeping or eating, I'd choose sleeping every time.
6.) That a post-baby belly could be so much fun--you can roll it up, fold it in half and try to find designs in your stretch marks--like you did with clouds as a kid.
7.) That I would look at the clock before bed at night and not really know where my day went.
8.) That I could be this happy and this tired simultaneously.
9.) That watching a baby sleep could qualify as entertainment.
10.) That when your baby's in pain, you would do anything in the world--literally--to stop it.
11.) That I could shower, shave and wash my hair in the time it used to take me to do just one of those.
12.) That my former perfume habit would be replaced with "eau de milk".
13.) That two-part questions would now be out of the realm of possibility for me. I can now only
intelligently answer one.
14.) That crazy drivers could make me this angry. Don't they know I am driving around the World's Most Important Person in my backseat???
15.) That successfully retrieving a booger the size of Mt. Rushmore from my son's left nostril would feel
like such an accomplishment!
16.) That I could dole out this many kisses in one day...unsolicited, sometimes unwelcome kisses.
17.) That I could feel physically violent towards nurses who prick my son for testing purposes, then try
to say the first time might not have "taken" and they need to do it again.
18.) That I could spend so little time with my cat.
19.) That anyone so small could eat this much and this often.
20.) That I could spontaneously cry tears of joy at 4 a.m. while being spat up on.

                                            Check out the belly on this bear cub!

     Lastly I'd like to point out that if you were to hold baby photos of Mr. Wonderful next to baby photos of Junior, you may be hard pressed to tell them apart. My baby is a little carbon copy of his daddy (but with my hair and monster-grip toes)--just the way I like it. :)

     I hope to be able to blog regularly again, now that my little family and I are getting into a routine. But until then, tell me:
Did/do you resemble one parent more than another?

The Last Hurrah and The Home Stretch

     I had my Week 37 doctor's appointment today. I am 37 weeks and 4 days into what some (mainly me) consider to be the World's Longest Pregnancy. I feel more like an elephant than a human (their gestation periods are 22 months). However, Junior has finally decided to make something happen, as I am 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced. It's better than nothing! Still having serious concerns about his size, as again today the doctor kept indicating that he's a big baby. Yay for Junior, boo for me!
     The nursery is now 100% finished. There's not anything else we have to do/add/purchase (no more "have to's" but there are still some "want to's" left at Pottery Barn Kids!) To show off the final touch, here's a quick look:

                                                  ...and the close-up...

                                                         close-up...

     This dying with tea project turned out 100x better than I thought it might! It was actually fun, too. I used plain ole' Lipton...

...and dumped 10 tea bags into a paint tray (after dealing with the nursery walls we had plenty of those just lying around in the garage).

     Given that the paper the copies of these prints was on was just regular copy paper weight, I ignored any and all directions advising me to let it soak for 30-45 minutes. I spread each sheet into the tray and used a wooden spoon to make sure all the edges were covered in tea....then took them out about 6-7 minutes later. I laid them on the back side of a cookie sheet in the oven at 185 degrees, and just kept an eye on them. When they were 95% dry, I popped them out and let them finish air-drying on the dining room table. It was PERFECT! They look antique, and coupled with the great matting and framing that Hobby Lobby and I were able to pull off, the prints look deceptively super-expensive. Here's a before-and-after shot:

     I left Miss Jemima Puddle-Duck off my little boy's walls as I was afraid she may be just a tad bit too girly. Thoughts?? Mr. Wonderful, of course, agreed with me.
     Moving on...
     Saturday morning I woke up to Ming, our Siamese, howling his head off and racing wildly around the house for no apparent reason. And it wouldn't stop. I was still in bed, trying to wake up gradually and praying his attack on my eardrums would call a cease-fire, but to no avail. Finally I threw back the covers, hopped in the shower and when Mr. Wonderful asked me what I was doing, I said "I'm getting out of this house." I assured him he was welcome to come with me or stay, and although he'd had a late night the night before with his fantasy football draft (don't get me started--many of you are already aware of my opinion of all things football) he hopped in the car with me, and we drove to Weston, MO. I like Weston. It's microscopically small, and you can literally run from one end of it to the other in about 2 minutes. However, it happens to be the home of my favorite wine winery, Pirtle's. It's in an old church, and although the steps leading up to the front door were a challenge for someone in my condition, the wine at the end of the tunnel is worth it!

                              Mr. Wonderful, after having purchased 2 bottles of Mellow Red...just for me!
     This place is so fantastic. Inside is ongoing wine tasting all day long, AND--drum roll--you can order a picnic lunch and eat under the arbor in the shade to the left of where you see Mr. Wonderful now:

     A lunch basket nets you a hot-out-of-the-oven loaf of french bread, cheese, sausage, fruit...and wine. The picture's a little dimly lit, but under the awning are tables and chairs. Very pleasant way to spend your afternoon!
     After Pirtle's, we parked in front of a historic bed-and-breakfast we once hit up on a Friday night. I vaguely remember the room, but the breakfast the next morning is permanently etched on my brain. Wow. Unforgettable eats!

     We then walked the rest of the way into town, where I unabashedly dragged Mr. Wonderful into a dozen shops, most of them containing antiques, before we stopped at a tea room for lunch. Weston may be tiny, but they have crammed it full of so many wonderful things I love--amazing wine, amazing food and antiques! This was officially my last hurrah before Junior, and I was grateful for every minute of it, as "the home stretch" is turning out to be the most difficult. 
     Thank you, my friends and family, for reading my blog. Even though we're so far apart, it's truly a comfort to know that my loved ones read up on my silly little adventures. Soon, I'll have to begin a chapter on "Adventures In Diapering", as not being that coordinated, I always fear I will diaper my son's head rather than his behind!

Finished Projects

     Having taken a few weeks off from blogging has been a wise decision. There are so many things that are "new" to me now. For one, I had crazy intense and consistent contractions for 51 hours straight two weeks ago, so my physical therapy has been cancelled. This was done in an effort to make me "do nothing but rest" so Junior isn't tempted to make his debut too early, but that's awfully difficult for me to do. I can't lay around all day--that would really get me down! (pardon the pun!)

                          I need to start hiding the camera from Mr. Wonderful before I take a nap...

     Secondly, the nursery is completely finished--except for one last project. Earlier today I went to Office Max and, I'm sure, annoyed the guy who helped me no end.

   
     I am thisclose to being officially Petered out (Peter Rabitt-ed out??). But regardless, I had no artwork for Junior's room. Not a bit. Even though we painted the walls a neutral color and did nothing fancy to them in anticipation of moving (which is still on, by the way!) I can't let his walls sit naked like they are. So I marked the pictures in this book that I wanted blown up:

     I currently have 11"x14" and 16"x20" color prints ready to go up on the walls, as soon as I tackle one last thing: dying the prints in a big vat of tea. They are sparkly bright white at the moment, and I want them to look aged, so this afternoon I'm brewing a pot of tea, throwing in about 10 tea bags, and soaking each print in tea for about 45 minutes apiece. Wish me luck! I would hate to have to go back to Office Max and harass the same little guy again if I screw up on this dye-job!

                        The semi-finished product...rug, cushions, end table and everything!


One shock I had for the day that I think I'm still reeling from is the cost to get these prints (all 4 were blown up beautifully at Office Max for only $7.50) matted and framed at Hobby Lobby. I have known framing was expensive since I was really little. My Gran used to embroider the fanciest, most beautiful work, and she'd take me with her to have it framed.  But I wasn't prepared for today. I only had 4 prints, and they were not being custom-framed (I purchased ready-made frames at 50% off). The mats I purchased did have to be cut to fit the frame, but...$176.00 later (yes, you read that correctly) I am convinced that something somewhere went horribly wrong. They didn't even frame them for me, as I have to dye them myself first! So unfortunately I will be marching back in there tomorrow, receipt in hand, to have some of the charges on the receipt explained to me...slowly and carefully!


     In other news, Mr. Wonderful has installed the car seat! It's ready to go, and it feels so strange to be riding around with an empty car seat in the back, but when this child makes his appearance, I want to be ready! I played candid camera and caught not only Mr. Wonderful wrestling the car seat into place but his favorite assistant, supervising. I'm afraid he was convinced he was going to be taken "bye-bye" any second in this shot.

     

     Difficult to believe there's going to be a little man riding in there soon...very soon. Which brings me to my last bit of news: When having our last sonogram on Monday, we learned that although Junior gives no indication of wanting to come out anytime soon, he isn't exactly....well, small. In fact, he is currently already the size of a healthy newborn baby, and he has 4 more weeks to go. Doc estimated he could be around 9.6 lbs at birth. Oh and he has a big head, according to the sonographer. For the very first time, inducing and c-sections were brought up. It was interesting to see him on-screen again. He has chub-tastic cheeks and thick hair standing up on the top of his head. In fact, he looked pretty darn cute. He's just BIG. While I'm so happy to hear that my son is super-healthy it's a little daunting when your doc says the following:

"I wouldn't buy any newborn diapers if I were you."
"Don't worry--we can always get big babies out."
"You're going to want that epidural."
   
     This was just a sampling, but there was quite a bit of nervous laughter going on during the appointment--mostly mine. I tend to crack bad jokes when I'm nervous, and nobody laughs harder at them than I do.
     So all this being said, I enjoyed my blogging break, am excited to tackle the first few days of motherhood and to share our progress!

So, tell me: How much did you weigh when you were born?