28 Weeks & Nesting

Here we are at 28 weeks. It doesn't feel like it's getting close but the next post at 32 weeks will leave us with a single digit countdown. We haven't especially started counting down. We have started preparing. Other than the obvious nursery preparation, I've begun to clean out closets and look for ways to re-organize the little storage we have in the house to make way for baby things. 

He'll need a portion of the kitchen for bottle storage and, soon thereafter, baby food. There will be toys (all of which appear too large to fit in a storage closet dang it) and clothes that don't fit yet and then those clothes will need saved and stored in case Baby #2 is a boy too. . . The list goes on. Needless to say, I'm nesting. I'm not sure it's just started because I don't think I've stopped since owning a home of our own. I am looking forward to the time when nesting drives me to deep cleaning because that urge has yet to set in and it is becoming obvious. . . Maybe that's the bug Mike will eventually get!

Also, at 28 weeks, it's pretty obvious we're expecting. . . 

The bump is in full swing. The sleeplessness is back and I would love to afford myself a massage every single week. Bending over is becoming more difficult and cramping has amped up in my legs and tummy. Let's see, what else have people asked? My belly button hasn't popped yet. I'm wearing mostly maternity clothes. No stretchmarks. . . yet. Yes, I'm using cocoa butter daily and no, I'm still not very good at taking my prenatal vitamins. Good thing I eat well! Baby has been measuring right on track to date and we'll find out this week about the gestational diabetes: I get to do the fun glucose test on Thursday!

Reality hasn't set in completely yet. It's funny, even when you do this on purpose, you still have to admit you have no idea what you're in for. So here's my confession: "I have no idea what I'm doing!" Lord help us!

DIY: Cute as a Button Mobile

As promised, much of the nursery is a result of some DIY projects that could be easily replicated for those of you who also have a nursery in the works! I have a completed project now hung up and ready to show off. I call it the Cute-as-a-Button Mobile because the circles hanging look like big buttons.

The idea I already had in mind began to take shape with this lightweight chandelier that already came in the creme color for just $22.50. I say just but we all know I prefer to get things much cheaper than that. Shoot me-it was a shopping day with my sister so she was the naughty little whisper in my ear: Go for it!

Adding to the chandelier, I contemplated pinwheels, made a few and decided against it. Then, I thought about vintage toys but some creeped me out and it would have made the mobile cost a  fortune. Any google search for DIY Mobiles will bring up the popular circles hung from an embroidery loop typically in bright colors and with fishing wire. I wanted something more muted, in our color scheme and with a more rustic finish than the fishing line. Once we knew it was a boy, I ruled out the floral idea I originally had in mind too! Below is what I used for the hanging pieces.

The blue thing is a circle cutter that I did go out and buy with a 40% Hobby Lobby coupon so I think it was $4-5. The scrapbook paper I got during one of their half-off sales so spent about $4 for all the sheets (8 total I think). The pink thing is a paper studio hole punch that creates two skinny rectangles side by side typically used to tie a bow or wrap ribbon through a paper document. And, of course, the hemp was to string them all together and hang them from the chandy. I only used the scissors to cut the paper as the circle cutter created edges that had to be cut away so I could get all the way to the center of the 12 x 12" sheets.

I then paired the "buttons" together back-to-back with non-matching piece on eiether side and used the two-pronged punch to go through the two. I made stacks after punching them two by two before starting to string on a seperate evening. The next night, I experimented with string lengths and how low the chandelier would hang above the crib and so on. I decided on 12-14" of hemp for the strands of 3 "buttons" and 16-18" for the strands of 4 "buttons".

I tied a knot at one end and then strung the buttons onto the hemp one ata  time about 2 1/2
 apart with no knot required to keep each in place. Then, I tied each strand to the hanging hooks. The strnds of 4 hung from the top row and the strands of 3 from the bottom until it looked like this:

And there it sat in my living room for a good 3-4 weeks before I dared climb up with the drill to hang a hook from the ceiling. I had to buy another 6" of chain (unfortunately in silver so it doesn't match) for 79 cents to get it the length I wanted when hung from the ceiling. End result: Baby G's mostly homemade mobile! Simple but whimsical and not too overstated. 12 more weeks before we find out if he likes it (maybe more if I never let him sleep in his crib. . . )

Master: The Before Before. . .

So, before some of our before pictures was the real BEFORE picture. This is the pic we took of the room when we toured our FSBO house over a year ago. We only took one picture. Why? It was that bad. Mike kinda thought I was nuts to suggest its potential as our master. He'd prefer the guest bedroom which was a much easier re-do because it didn't start out so bad. However, the guest room is in the basement and the nursery is upstairs. So, I insisted it'd be glamorous after just a bit of work. Okay it was a lot more work than I thought. Here's a pic of the rough start we moved into:

By now, you've seen enough teaser afters to know that this room has seen major improvement. I just want to take this opportunity to outline just what we were faced with in this project. This was a daycare before it was our home. It was someone's home daycare but still, a daycare.

The entry room shows that it was the baby room with multiple cribs rolling on those hardwood floors. The other door housed a teenage boy who had to walk through the baby room and shut the door to have any space of his own. It was hardly big enough to call a bedroom (though they did in their listing) and with the door shut, closed off any natural light to the first room. The door, and much of the wall had to go: easy decision. However, when the wall was removed, you can see the floors changed. Why? The additional room was an addition (really you wasted time to add one an 8x10' room?) just 5 years after the house was built. Perhaps it was a porch at one time? Anyway, we still have to come up with a solution (which means cover-up) for that issue.

Then, you can see the massive shelves that were bolted into the walls in ways I never knew possible. The white one went the entire length of the space and the blue ones were replicated in yet another corner. It eventually came down to a sledge hammer to destroy the shelves before Mike revelaed and removed 3-4" screws to get it all out. We certainly had some patchwork ahead of us.

What you can't see clearly is the wallpaper border that was atop the sky blue glossy walls. It was a little something like this:

And UNDER that, contruction wallpaper border:

The bottom layer refused to be removed. It worked out because Mike insited on knocking out the walls anyway. The "addition" had drywall while the entry room still had lath and plaster and he refused to leave it that way with the two rooms as combined as we could get them. He wanted cohesion (how could I argue with such a design decision?). So that ballooned into the ceiling project as well. The ceilings were also made of two different materials so they got knocked down and drywalled, textured and painted. Are you beginning to see how this snowballed into a couple more months than anticipated?

Finally, we are so super duper close to moving in to our new space. New walls, ceiling, trim, baseboards, a new closet, new doors, new paint. . . I'm just decorating and trying to keep him motivated to move things in (since I'm not much help with lifting anymore). I hope to have final afters for you at month's end! There will be several tutorials to highlight projects as well. Be patient with me! Remember, I have a nursery to finish as well (and a baby to grow which has been draining my energy)!

Recipes to Share: Chicken Teriyaki Lettuce Wraps

Lettuce Wraps are all the rage! I was introduced to PF Chang's lettuce wraps a couple years ago but have never attempted any version at home. They don't have to be Asian-inspired but my first attempt was with this teriyaki marinade. Wrapping the mixture in lettuce just seems healthier than a tortilla. Mike's opinion: He loved them!

2-3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
3 Tbsp teriayki sauce/ marinade (plus extra to serve)
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1-2 tsp ground curry
1 head of crisp lettuce
1 steam-in-a-bag whole wheat rice
1 can crushed pineapple
Crushed nachos as garnish (to taste)

In a large skillet, cook the chicken breasts throuroughly on med-high heat with a small amount of water. Then, shred before adding teriyaki sauce to the meat and reduce heat to warm through.

In a small skillet, sautee the green peppers until cooked but still a bit crunchy.

At the same time, steam your rice in boiling water according to package instructions.

Add sauteed green peppers, curry, and pineapple to sauced meat to heat thoroughly. Add rice when done and mix completely.

Serve in leaves of lettuce. Tips on wrapping in lettuce: You may want to freeze the lettuce for just a few minutes before dinner so it's nice and crisp to serve and assemble. break the core of the lettuce from the head first by bashing th ebottom on a counter (or cutting board) as the leaves will be easier to remove while remaining whole if lifting from the sturdier bottom. Lay out with the open side up and fill with warm meat micture.

Sprinkle, as desired, with crushed tortilla chips for added crunch and serve with additional teriyake sauce on the table for everyone to enjoy! This goes great witha simple oriental ramen noodle dish on the side as your veggies, fruit, and meat are already wrapped into one! Yum!

Pupdate: Bike Oops!

With all of the nursery projects, the bedroom re-do and vacation, the dogs haven't gotten much love on the blog lately. Just to show you that they're still getting attention and affection at home, I have pictorial proof of our latest summer adventure as a family including our four-legged kiddos! They're from a recent bike ride in the neighborhood (before the sweltering heat indeces kicked in mind you).

Tucker has had more experience than Lily being bike-side being that we got Lily after we were in CF with much busier trails than when we lived in smalltown, Iowa. I thought it was time to introduce her. Night one was awesome. She loved it so much, she pulled me along for a portion of the trip. Night two did not fare as well when we came across two other dogs. As I made a hasty and regrettable decision to pick her up and ride rather than walk my bike, my one-handed steering failed me when she tried to flee my arms half a block later. I fell and the bike came tumbling down upon me. A few scrapes and bruises ensued. . .

Just one of several more bruises that were realized as they blackened by the next morning!

The palm of my hand from catching myself-oops!

Even Lily had a little injury I've been boiling out with peroxide.

We've yet to get back on the bikes. We will, but I think I'll be walking her in case of another dog encounter. It was pretty embarassing, scary, and painful to pick myself up from that tumble with my pregnant belly. Shameful! I'll be more cautious next time I PROMISE! He's moving plenty (especially when I'm trying to sleep) so we're sure he's fine!

Master Bedroom Update: After Renovation but Before Decoration

Yes, I'm still on updates versus reveals, BUT this one is kind of a reveal. It's a reveal of the "naked pics" of the bedroom. All the reno is done (except a couple small projects) so it's time to decorate and move in! I'm not looking forward to the anguish in Mike's eyes (or that which flies out of his mouth) when I have him putting a dozen holes in these brand new walls!

I lost sleep last night placing things on the walls and dressers in my mind. You would too if you had all of this chaos for the past 4 months waiting for its home:

And that's not the half of it. There's more piled up throughout the house plus our clothes are currently in three different rooms on two different levels. Add that disarray to the actual mess and I'm ready to get things back in order! I've been helping from time to time (not as much as the beginning and now the very end) and cleaning up as I go. Needless to say, Mike cannot find a thing when he needs it. "I left it right here in the closet". . . or "right here on the floor in the corner". Well, I cleaned out the closets and swept and steamed the floors. Woops! Now, it takes 20 minutes for him to find what he's after just to get a small finishing project started! Sorry, Hun!

Oh, but the rewards will be here before we know it! As a teaser, I've shown you some of my thrifty finds in past posts and pictured a few more in the messy photos above. As even more of a teaser, here are shots of our "naked room" after renovation but before decoration. I did give it a little frill to cover its private parts before posting! :)

 

A view from the entry door (the curtains are the one touch of frill at this point).





A view of the "addition" we rehabed to make part of the room.
Here, Mike added a closet so we have his and hers.
You can't walk in, but still. . .





Far right corner: my "reading nook".



 

Far left corner: my vanity.





All that work and who seems to be benefiting the most? Sorry, Mike but I think I'll love all of my new "spots"! I can't wait toget it decorated and show you all the projects that have gone into the decor! Not nearly as difficult as the work Mike has done. . . but more fun and interesting!

Back From Austin

Our trip to Texas led to a long hiatus from blogland. Sorry! So, now that I'm done chillin and sippin lemonade, I have pics to share and stories to unveil at last!

First things first: THANK YOU to Miss Sarah: Our Hostess with the Mostest! She was the bomb and the itinerary was a perfect balance of fun, sun, and relaxation. . . and food as you'll see!

We had so much fun! We started with an amazing meal on Lake Travis (pictured with Sarah above left and with Mike below center). Saturday morning, we traveled to the Alamo in San Antonio and then the Riverwalk downtown (pictured below top left). There, got some great baked good with a Spanish name: champanchana pina. Mike got to pick our lunch spot so we ate at an Irish pub called Waxy O'Connor's! We stopped at an outlet mall on our way back and scored some clearance clothes for Baby G! Saturday evening, we went to a baseball game in Round Rock where the stadium was awesome, our seats were great, and the game went into extra innings (pictured below bottom left). The only bummer was that we waited to eat until afterward so by 10pm, we were ordering Rounders pizza to be picked up when we got back to Austin. Yum and done-passed out! :)

Sunday, we decided we'd take it easy so we were at Barton Springs by about 10am! (Sorry, no pictures in our suits!) Our leisurely morning went on into mid-afternoon giving us all the lovely medium rare look we were sporting the rest of the trip (clear from most pics in the post)! A random trip to a fast food chain called Jack-in-the-Box mid-afternoon left time for a nap before our road trip to Salt Lick in Driftwood (pictures below)!

The Salt Lick in Driftwood was featured on one of those "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives" type shows as being a hidden gem in great BBQ! It took us outside of Austin yet again and gave quite the spectacle! Picture 1 shows the waiting area outside their General Store. They sell apparel specific to their restaurant including a shirt that read "You can smell our pits from a mile away!". Picture 2 is the restaurant, enclosed dining area 1 of 2. Picture 3 was a place to buy beer. That's right-it was BYOB and CASH only! Luckily, they had an ATM and a place to buy beer and wine (so sad I missed out on some Texas wine)! Picture 4 was an outdoor seating area where people had their pets and their coolers enjoying the food and ambiance. Picture 5 was their Fresh Squeezed Lemonade stand. Only $2 a glass and I could have drank it all night. I was so pleased they had a specialty drink I could indulge in! Picture 6 was the live music venue where the typical country acoustics were being played. And finally, Picture 7 shows just a portion of this parking lot which required a sheriff on hand to help orchestrate! Texas must have a large police force because we saw them at several of the venues we made it to! Oh yeah-the food at Salt Lick-It was good. They served family style so we could try a bit of everything. I won't say it blew me away but the experience itself really was worth the drive!

Then, the drive continued on to the Nutty Brown Cafe & Amphitheatre. Clearly, we were there for the Amphitheatre portion which was a huge outdoor concert venue. We spent so much time at dinner that there were few places left to sit as we went to see Bob Schneider.  This preggo chick sat on the ground with the rest of 'em and then stood and jammed out for over about an hour of the show. When it came time that I could take the pain of my swelling sunburnt feet any longer, we went in pursuit of a place to sit for the last couple songs. Howdy Honda was a proud sponsor with a truck on display. We were very appreciative as we let the tailgate down and sat (okay, I laid) in the back for the remainder of the show. Again-home and passed out!

By now, it's Monday and our last full day in Austin. We went down to Sarah's pool (which I should have taken pictures of just like we would at a hotel) by mid-morning and stayed til lunch. Then, we lunched at Tacos and Tequila where the waiter looked at me like I was crazy when I asked for a virgin margarita. The bartender struggled to come up with th best way to fulfill my request but the end product was awesome! We spent the afternoon going through some of Sarah's scrapbooks filled with some people Mike remembered and some he didn't. Then, we went to Chuy's, a tex-mex restaurant in Austin where the Bush twins were cited for underage alcohol offenses in 2001! We discussed politics, religion, and family over dinner before heading to a birthday party for one of Sarah's friends, Emily!

Emily had rented a karaoke room at a bar/ bowling alley/ concert spot/ dance floor/ karaoke venue. :) We stayed until they finally started karaoke after 11 and then rocked the house with a group of about 20 people (in a room that smelled like urine thanks to their tactic of using straw as a sound barrier and decoration)! I sang whatever was requested: "Straight Up" by Paula Abdul, "Always Be My Baby!" by Mariah Carey, and then "Waterfalls" by TLC. Half-way through "Waterfalls", I remembered there was a rap and kinda panicked. Then, it all came rushing back to me and word-for-word, beat-for beat, I rapped three pages of lyrics as if I knew the thing by heart. I saw Sarah and Mike look at each other with mouths gaping open and heard Mike say "I didn't know she could do that!". Luckily, neither of them could figure out their video recording devices before it was over so there's only a pictorial shot of me with the birthday girl below!

That was our last night and it was a late one with us not crawling into bed until about 2 am with a flight leaving at about 11:30 the next day. We got up, got packed, and got ready in time for brunch at Magnolia Cafe where tortillas are offered instead of toast if you prefer! I had clearly pushed my limits during the trip (or at least the night before) because I didn't even make it through brunch without a bout of "morning sickness". I put that in quotes because I've luckily hardly suffered from that symptom and think it was simply brought on by lack of sleep and a whole bunch of Texas sun and fun!

We made our flight in plenty of time. The flight into our layover in Memphis had the worst landing ever which required three attempts at landing and a couple extra climbs in the altitude similar to additional take-offs. With a sensitive tummy already, it was no picnic. We then rushed with only 20 minutes til our connecting flight was scheduled to take off so it was boarding as we landed from the first delayed arrival. We got to the terminal for our flight back to Des Moines to find a delay of 2 1/2 hours. We spent the time catching lunch and then went back to read and rest while we waited. After eating a  $25 airport lunch, we were told we'd get meal vouchers for our delay. . . A little late. . . Oh well! We used them when we got back to Des Moines at dinner time. The layover did bring about an exciting first! It was the first time Mike saw our kid cause my belly to literally move and my shirt to move out with it. His eyes widened with his big grin: our only memory of Memphis! Then, we were back to Des Moines where we paid our $60 parking fare and headed home to get back to reality the very next morning.

Home sweet home with our pups and our bed and our vacation laundry waiting for us! (All of our other laundry was already done thanks to my mother for house and dog-sitting!) We had a wonderful babymoon and I loved spending time with Sarah! I also loved being reminded of how much I enjoy Mike. It's easy to forget I married my best friend when we don't get as much time to hang out and have leisurely "fun" together. This trip was a great reminder and refresher. Now, I still need to schedule the birthday massage I saved until after this trip. Then, all will be well!

Recipe: Easy Chicken & Noodles

For those of you don't know, I do my grocery shopping, basically, one month at a time. I clean out the car, pack up my 20+ reusable bags and have a typed-out page-long 2-column grocery liste divided by categories (or where it's found in the store) and get ready for a 2 hour adventure (at least 2 by the time the groceries are actually put away)! If I put myself in a situation to do this on a weeknight, I'm in trouble. Who feels like cooking dinner after that? I have to avoid the temptation to make grocery night frozen pizza night. After all, with frozen pizza, tehre are no leftovers for lunch the next day so we'll have to buy lunch thus starting a vicious cycle costing money I never intended to spend!

On my last shopping trip, I knew I already had one leftover uncooked chicken breast from the weekend before. I also knew I needed to start dinner while also putting away my slew of groceries. So, in twenty minutes or less, you can make a great dinner from leftover chicken breast-just one and some staple ingredients I bet you have on hand!

Easy Chicken & Noodles
1 large chicken breast, thawed
1/2 bag of egg noodles
4 oz. sour cream
1 cup milk
1 large can (14-15 oz) cream of chicken soup

Small (9-inch) skillet, Large (12-inch) skillet, and boiling pot

Spray your small skillet and add a few ounces of water. Add chicken breast and cover cooking on med-high heat. Turn after about 4 minutes. After another 3-4 minutes, it should be cooked thoroughly and ready to shred.

At the same time, boil water for your noodles. Once chicken is cooked, shred with two forks pulling apart into small pieces. Transfer to the large skillet. Add egg noodles to boiling water and boil for about 9-10 minutes until tender.

In the large skillet, combine all other ingredients with the shredded chicken and stir frequently while on medium heat. This is basically to mix all creamy ingredients thouroughly and heat through. Add any desired seasoning at this point. I used Mrs. Dash and black pepper.

Once noodles are done, drain and add to the large skillet stirring all noodles together and reduce heat to low-medium until it's warm enough to serve.

If you want, add biscuits to the oven while you're cooking everything else, slap in a vegetable when the noodles are done boiling and your meal is well-balanced and prepared in just about 20 minutes!