Work it Wednesday

I forgot about this gem of a blouse till I started getting desperate for clothes to wear over my bump. The obviously funny thing about this top is that it's supposed to cinch around my waist and loosely flow over the elastic, not stretch out across my mid belly. But here I am wearing it anyway! I like that it covers my bum and that I can wear it with leggings. I'm getting pretty tired of wearing maternity jeans everyday!

this pictures reminds me to stop trying with the "skinny arm" pose. who am i kidding at this point? there is nothing skinny about me...

love that this outfit hides the "cankles"

Last night we M and a friend took out all the old non-working appliances in our new kitchen to get ready to install the new ones this weekend! I'm going to have a real dishwasher! That doesn't wheel across my kitchen to the sink! I will also have an oven that doesn't burn my cupcakes (no excuses now). I also loaded up some of my clothes and started arranging my closet. I MUST show you what I was dealing with at our current house so you can see how fully I appreciate the new closet situation. Let's just say my old closet required a headlamp (that I wear backpacking) and a special dance/shimmy to get to the clothes in the back...

Keys Please!

Yesterday was a good day... we officially have keys to our new home! If you had told me a year ago this was going to be my house I wouldn't have believed you. Also if you told me that I was going to be having a baby girl I wouldn't have believed you! So many blessings for us! And 9 more days of work... I am one happy girl!

And here are a few more things that B gets to add to her closet as of Sunday...

time to start bakin'!

this reminds me of rainbow brite...love!

I actually have a work it photo for tomorrow. Make sure you stop by and see how crappy crafty my outfits are getting... dressing a belly is hard work!

Maternity Mondays: Week 34

So we didn't get our keys Friday but I'm hopeful for today! Which was fine because we spent the majority of the weekend packing up our lives. Oy! Who knew so much stuff could be in a 1200 square foot home!? I'm confident that we will have lots of help these next couple of weeks moving and am not too worried about it. Life is busy but SO good!

taking a picture at 9:00 pm is not cute. i'll be remembering that for next week...

I had a doctor's appointment last Friday and everything looks great! I asked her if baby B was big for her age and she said no. I told her how people ask me all the time if I'm due that week and she said my belly measures totally normal, but since I don't have a large frame it looks gigantic. Then she told me to tell people to stop being rude. :) I like my doctor. Haha. 

On Sunday a few of my girlfriends took me out to lunch and had a mini shower for me at the Nordstrom cafe. It was so fun! I loved having girl time and the outfits they got B were precious!!! I'll have to showcase them later this week. We laughed a lot and it felt good to be forced to get dressed on the weekend. :)

I also got a couple of pictures from my mom-in-law of my last baby shower. My personal photographer (M) couldn't make it so I didn't have as many pics as I usually do so I was glad she was able to snap some! 

how fun is this? they live across the street from an elementary school and the marquee was personalized just for me! it even had our name on it. :) I was famous for a second!

pink and green to match the nursery! so chic and fancy!

tasty finger sammies and delicious cupcakes. they even had glitter on them!

it was so great to get some practical gifts! B now has a playpen, bouncy seat, toys, and some other great goodies!

Once we are done with our move I'll have to locate the handmade burp cloths and hat/booties to show you. They are so cute but unfortunately all packed up for the time being.

AWKWARD

-at my doctor's appointment the nurse asked me if I had anyone waiting with me in the waiting room. I said, "yeah, one other pregnant lady." She looked at me oddly and said, "no, like a friend or your husband." DUH. I'm an idiot. total baby brain. M thought this was hilarious.

- ankles have officially started swelling. yet i refuse to wear running shoes to work.

- trying to sleep. this should be labeled "annoying" not awkward. 

- back pain...always. no matter what. also "annoying."

- B's feet under my ribs when I least expect it!

AWESOME

- finding out I lost weight at my last appointment. thank God because I packed on 10 pounds last month! agh!

- a random lady who told me i was beautiful while out on a walk. bless her heart!

-getting a polish change at the salon...can't reach those piggies at all!

-getting a massage on saturday, this has been my ultimate pregnancy splurge.

- having my doctor tell me that she's putting me on maternity leave in 2 weeks!!!

Home, Home on the Range

Drum roll please! I think it is safe to say that this house is ours! While we are still waiting on the keys it is pretty likely that nothing is going to keep us from getting this house at this point. I am SO excited to have some space! We are going from 1,100 sq. feet to 3,400! Am I intimidated by the size? Not even. I can not WAIT to have room to store all this baby stuff and have a closet in which all my clothes fit so I don't have to keep half in the garage. I also can't wait to have more than one bathroom! And a real dishwasher! And windows that open and close! All the little things. :)

While this house is just wonderful there are a few things I want to change. I hope you are as good as seeing the potential as I am. :)

to do: trim roses and change front walkway plants

i love this garage door!

a huge front porch! totally painting our current Adirondack chairs black for this space

view from the front door

to the right of the front door, living room

to the left of the front door, dining room

living room in foreground. we plan on walling this off and turning the other part of the room into our office

family room. to do: paint all the oak cabinetry and mantel white. eventually get lighter carpet.

a HUGE kitchen! you could fit two of our old kitchen's in here! to do: paint the cabinetry white. it's too monochrome for me as is.

upstairs master

master bath

hallelujah! a walk in closet! is it bad this is one of my favorite room?!?!

master bath looking at master bedroom. to do: paint cabinets white, change counter top

looking out from the master at the rest of the upstairs. a nice tv area for the kids straight ahead

b's jack and jill bathroom

jack and jill shower

guest bath upstairs

guest bedroom, but eventually a child's bedroom God willing!

back yard to do: um, grass. and some serious trimming.

who wants to jacuzzi or swim? might i be tan this summer? how exciting! but wait, that means i have to get in a swimsuit post baby. blech. 

And there you have it! I am clearly excited and really hoping that I get those keys pronto! To all our local friends...free lunch for your strong muscles! Have a great weekend!

Baby Love

Prepare your oooh's and awwww's as I reveal some of Blair's sweetest gifts from my last showers. And while the practical items don't get as much blogging time that is not to say that I don't appreciate and love those items just as much! They just aren't as fun to look at. :)

crocheted blankie from my grandma

this will be blair's favorite stuffie! a mini bella!

cutest pjs ever from an LA boutique

blair bear

burp cloths (minus the stinkin cute ones that i got the next day that have cupcakes!)

oh so precious!

nighty night sleep tight!

i secretly wish i could wear this because it's so adorable. pretty sure b's thighs will look better in it though...

both blankie and stuffie were handmade by our neighbor...so thoughtful!

House update: we started boxing some things up last night. Was hoping for the keys on Friday so we could schlep some things over to the new place but I don't know if everything will "line up" by then. Either way I'm revealing our place tomorrow! Thanks for all the support and prayers. :)

Tasty Tuesday: shrimp skewers and risotto

(yes, I know it's not Tuesday but the Monday holiday threw off my blog!) On Valentine's Day M cooked me a delicious meal. It's sort of become a tradition for us and I look forward to it every year! This year we switched it up a bit and instead of having fish we had shrimp skewers with grilled artichoke hearts. He also cooked a cheesy risotto which melts in your mouth. See for yourself!

let it marinade overnight. M used the juice in the artichoke heart can, red pepper flakes, and other italian spices

grilled the skewers on the BBQ, arborio rice is extra delicious with dry white wine

apparently this bakery won on cupcake wars and i now know why! the banana one was TO DIE FOR. seriously best cupcake i have ever had. it wasn't too sweet which i love.

red velvet

Stay tuned for some of my favorite items from my last shower...coming tomorrow! Saving the best for last on Friday...get ready to see our new house!

Maternity Mondays: Week 33

I hope you had a great President's day weekend. I enjoyed spending time with my family over the weekend at the beach. The weather was beautiful and I was able to sleep in which makes for a happy mama! Although sleep is entirely relative now. It seems like no matter if I am awake or asleep my back is aching :(. Especially on days that I have work. Taking long walks and being able to sit in comfortable chairs made a big difference on my back pain this weekend but unfortunately I work usually. Boo. Here is proof of why my back aches below...

it's supporting a watermelon!

How far along? 33 weeks

Total weight gain: 25 pounds and counting...shoot
Maternity clothes? um yeah. i am SO tired of wearing the same two pairs of pants. I caved and bought a few more tops at Target.
Stretch marks? no. and they say if i've made it this far not to worry about it! we shall see...
Best moment this week: our vet told me i was the cutest prego ever when i took our cat in.
Miss Anything? deli meat sans microwave, sushi, wine. and being able to get up off the floor on my own...
Movement: all the time! and she gets hiccups which makes me laugh.
Food cravings: just food in general. love milk with nesquik mixed in...delish!

Anything making you queasy or sick: nope
Gender: girl! still confirmed at 30 weeks...phew! i think we're in the clear
Labor Signs: totally having braxton hicks contractions...not fun! but other than that no.
Symptoms: back pain UGH. not sleeping well. baby feet in my ribs OUCH!
Belly Button in or out? this is the great debate. i say in because technically there is still a hole in it. M says out because the skin around it is puckering and can be sometimes seen through my t shirts...
Wedding rings on or off? on! i think i may make it the whole time on this one!
Happy or Moody most of the time: very happy but over the back pain.
Looking forward to: moving this weekend! (highly likely at this point). it's a crazy time for us to be moving right now but I am beyond thrilled to have some much needed space. you should see our current garage... floor to ceiling baby stuff. no bueno. 

This week Blair's chandelier and bumper/crib skirt came in the mail. I love it!

 It's so hard to keep it all tucked away in the boxes but I know that is best considering our very likely move we will be making this weekend. Or starting to make I should say. I think we will be moving in shifts. First the things we don't use on a daily basis and then save the essentials for last. I can't believe it's finally happening! I am so so excited and love our new place. God's timing was best and when I think about the other homes we were set on this one is so much better. His plans are always better than ours. So blessed! I think it's safe for me to show you some pics this week!