38 Weeks

It's hard not to get your hopes up at this point that it could be "any day now". I did that at 36 weeks with Natalie and each day was a bit of a disapointment as she didn't come and didn't come. Having her come two days late was absolute torture.

Unfortunately, I'm kinda in the same gear now. As long as I don't go into labor on my birthday (hey, a girl's gotta have her OWN birthday) then I think I'll be fine. Anytime after that would be JUST FINE though. =)

Wow... I found this 38 week picture from 2007. I'm definitely smaller in it. And younger-looking....YIKES!

End of a Decade

Today is my last day as 29.

This was not how I planned on celebrating it.

For starters, I feel huge. I'm exploring numbers on the scale I've never before seen and it's not fun. /Sigh

I also wanted to be splashing my way through a water park, but not just ANY water park...the MAC DADDY of water parks. However, I don't think that's recommended for women 2 weeks away from their due date. Hmm...that MIGHT be a good induction technique though.

I guess I thought I'd leave my 20's with a bang... but instead I feel like I'm just sort of sliding into 30, like it's just another day. Being in my 30's just sounds kinda weird. I mean, 39 is still in the 30's and I feel so far off from almost-40. But, then again, the more time I spend with people in their early 20's I realize that I'm eons away from that group too.

I wish I could say I was doing something to celebrate this last day of a decade, but alas I'm off to go make some dinner.

They say the 30's is the new 20's... maybe I should be excited.

Resolutions for this next decade: Do something EXCITING. Run a 5K. Visit more wineries. Brush up on my swing dance skills. Maybe even rekindle the Japanese I took in high school and in college?

And DEFINITELY. No matter what...make it to my water park and ride ALL the rides.

We Didn't Kill It ALL!

This year is our first attempt at a garden. Mostly, it's Kevin's garden. I like to claim ownership, but I really only helped set it up the FIRST time. It's been Kevin who replanted everything when we realized we planted too early and frost claimed a number of plants and him, also, who waters and weeds on a regular basis.

But I digress.

Monday, after being away all weekend at the beach, Kevin wandered out to water and found this full grown pepper and zucchini ready to pick and eat. YEAH! Besides the one cherry tomato and two itty bitty strawberries we've picked, this is our first REAL harvest. I'm excited now for the rest of the summer!

Down the Ocean, Hon!

This past weekend we went a place Marylanders call "Down the Ocean, Hon!", also know as Ocean City, MD. We had a blast and, fortunately, I didn't go into labor amongst all of the 4th of July partiers also at the beach. It would have been a nightmare getting out of there. I was envisioning having a baby in a crowded Ocean City emergency room right next to the drunken college students and not-so-bright firecracker newbs.

But, I didn't. And for that, I'm thankful!


Natalie had a good time playing in the sand and in the water; however, she didn't really understand the importance of not roaming the beach and checking out what other people were doing and what toys they had to play with. It seemed we were chasing her around the entire afternoon telling her to "come back" and "no, those aren't our things" and "please stop throwing sand at the neighbors". *Sigh* Maybe next year will be a little bit different.

We actually stayed near Bethany Beach, DE - which is only a few miles from Ocean City. We really enjoyed walking the boardwalks at both beaches, eating lots of junk food, playing in the water and the sand (although I got a killer burn on my back), watching movies and taking lazy naps back at the beach house. I'm sure it's the last hurrah before we have the new little guy, so it was a welcome get-away.

Kevin and I were scratching our heads at what was up with the name for the bay in the area. Click on the photo to get a closer look at the inset I highlighted. I'm not sure why anyone wouldn't want to be the woman the "little" bay was named after???

I debated putting this picture up. I thought they all were horrible of me, and alas I'm saying "cheese" in this one. I settled for cropping my bottom half out of the picture. Uggg...

Kevin on the other hand is steadily losing more and more weight. He's been swimming and doing a South Beach-ish diet for the past couple months. It's not so fun to cook for, but he's seen great results. Granted the food he isn't eating just gets gobbled down by me, but hopefully I won't keep that up for long. I mean he even LOST 2lbs on vacation AND he cheated just a little. Grrr... WHO loses weight on VACATION????

The Room is Done!

For the past few months I've been working on putting together a new room for Natalie. Moving her into a new place made more sense than making a new nursery since the nursery is already blue and also the smallest room of the house. Poor little boy... already getting the shaft! I figure he won't know the difference, though, for a couple years at least.

So I've been assembling her room piece by piece from treasures I've found at yard sales and Craigslist (trying to save a bit of $$). The inspiration for the color scheme came from a piece of scrapbook paper that I really liked and I just kind of ran with that. The fact that it really all came together was an exciting surprise - I definitely found myself at times wondering "did I make this too hard?"


This is the view from her doorway. All of the furniture is a second-hand find (except for the bookshelf, which we already had, and the beanbag cushion, from Walmart). Did I mention that I found the little table and chairs for only FIVE dollars? It was a natural color and Kevin lovingly spray painted it for me.

The wall is covered with removable vinyl clings that I cut myself using my Cricut (that Kevin got me for Christmas). I really love that thing and use it way more than I thought I did. It was definitely WORTH it.
The cubby shelf with baskets is a toybox of sorts. Obviously she's not tall enough to reach the top baskets, but it's useful for storing things with little pieces we don't want her getting out on her own. I'm excited because it means fewer toys in our living room. Maybe that means it can actually look like adults live here now!

The dresser was by far the hardest thing to find. I had a specific price I wanted to spend and nothing new was within that range. I scoured Craigslist until I came up with it.

And as for the window seat cushion, I wish I could say that I made it myself, but I'm just not that talented. That was actually a gift from a friend.

I did, however, repaint this little doll bed and make a new mattress and pillow for it to match the room. All in all, the whole thing was a fun project. I honestly can say, though, that I'm glad I'm done!

Ms. Potato Head

Natalie is obsessed with Ms. Potato Head earrings. Any time she finds them in the Potato Head bucket, she insists that you put them on her and that you hold her up in front a mirror. Yesterday she wanted me to wear them.

Ahhh... this girl needs some dress up clothes!

Cheyenne Kathryn

My friend Jill (who WAS due 4 days ahead of me) went into labor yesterday and gave birth to a beautiful little girl, Cheyenne Kathryn. Just look at all of that hair!!We had a great time holding her and reminding ourselves just how small they start out!

On the way home Kevin and I were all "I'm not ready for this, I'm not ready for this, I'm not ready for this!" Is it possible to be excited and scared all at the same time?!?!?!!