My Lovely Bath

We finally buckled down and updated our main bathroom.

The updates:
floor tile
caulking (silicone this time)
double towel and toilet paper racks
refinished cabinets w/paint and matching knobs
wainscotting on the walls
baseboards
dry wall patches
lined cabinets
toilet seals replaced and overall, cleaned well (a family of 6 lived here before us, 4 of them kids)!
new linens
paint


It took a lot of hard labor on hubby's part involving a day off, late nights, and a couple weekends. He had to teach himself how to tile and one night I came home to a house full of dust and a smile on his face. I helped by keeping Maggie busy, giving design input, shopping :-), and putting food on the table.

He also involved Maggie in the process, she loved helping.

Our bathroom looks so good I could lay down and take a nap in there. Hubby advised against it.

The only thing left for me to do now is get a new print and frame for the main wall.

I want to hammer out the master bath now that this is done - it needs just as much work but hubby will decide that timeline as he does the hard work and I think he's pooped. He told me before we started this project that it wouldn't be too much for him, consider it his "nesting".

We spent less on this update than I thought we would (about $450). We frequented Home Depot and I bought the linens at Cost Plus and Bed/Bath/Beyond. We used a muted rose color on the walls that I wasn't sure about at first but after shopping for linens and finding a great mosaic-patterned shower curtain and espresso mats and towels, it came together really well.

Joys of Pregnancy

It's not all rainbows and unicorns, but @ 33 weeks, I'm feeling pretty dang good. I've got my routine down and I do feel that pregnancy glow some women talk about. For me, it's the 1st trimester that really kicks my butt. I wallow...cry...and whine to get through it, but once it passes, it's mostly uphill. I wish in this pregnancy that I was getting more exercise but it's tough to fit in so I make due with stretching and chasing after Maggie.

I've indulged here and there with caffiene this time as it's supposed to be ok in moderation and I'd say half of my friends have their cups of coffee, etc. to get through the day and their babies were a-ok. Sometimes you are dragging so much from lack of energy that you need that little boost and treat to yourself. I'd love to color my hair as that also gives me a boost in the beauty department and supposedly that's fine too...a question for the midwives :-)

Life is good though as we make (shall I say final?) preparations. Things are coming together and I plan to work up until I can't work any longer. I have a long-term project at work that allows me to easily work at my desk and from home when need be and part of me is going to miss that involvement while I'm on leave. 

We just finished a bathroom remodel which now allows me to focus on getting the baby's bedroom ready. It involves getting rid of/moving/and buying furniture for both hubby and baby. Then I can organize and get the room all ready for nursing, changing diapers, and the like. I recieved some thoughtful presents this past weekend, including a handknit pair of baby booties from a friend that are just about the cutest little pieces of footwear I've seen in awhile (aside from my new Acorn slippers that just arrived today...oh the fleece goodness). The booties and an outfit my sister gifted to us might be the perfect birthday outfit for the babes once he makes his way into the world.

Birthday solution and stickers!

When Maggie was born one of hubby's biking friends gifted her money to start a college fund. After some searching around, we decided on this fund and have been happily watching it grow since.

And speaking of birthdays and kids, children's birthday parties have started taking over our lives.  That with our friends and family in town, it really does take over certain months of the year. My thought this year was to pay it back a little and make it easier on myself with the gifting. I kinda need that as I prepare our home for another lovely bundle of joy.

I love giving the perfect gift, but this year I'm looking for ways to not only not buy junk people don't need but to also pass on the love that our dear friend bestowed upon Maggie. So far, two of Maggie's little friends have recieved college fund money...soon to be four by the end of this month. I know it's not the most fun for kids, but parents I think appreciate it (I know I do!) and throwing in a packet of stickers puts all the fun back in it for the kids :-)

With being on a pretty strict budget, saving has become even more important because we have little ones to think about for the future and there is less to spread around so I often get creative with the use of money and how we spend it and I think there is a lot of fun in that! Hopefully this saving and scrimping as well as giving rubs off on our kids - it's a useful skill and makes you realize that you don't need a ton to live well.

One last note...Maggie recently got mail to join a sticker club. We sent stickers to one boy and six letters to her friends. Supposedly you get 36 pieces of mail back with stickers and so far, we've gotten close to 10! I don't think Maggie fully understands mail or why she is getting stickers, but it's cute to watch her open the envelope and find her treasure. Good job to all the moms out there following through!

Green smoothies

I needed to find a way to incorporate some green supplement powder that I'm taking for pregnancy into my daily routine, plus add more protein and iron to my diet in this last trimester. Green breakfast smoothies have been the answer and I'm loving them (and so is everyone else...it's quite the trend right now). I use what's on hand but have stocked up on fresh spinach. So, the spinach (a good handful) and supplements always go in, but then I add fruit (apples, banana, frozen mango, blueberries), fruit juice or some sort of milk (coconut milk so far), and yogurt but sometimes I leave that out. You wouldn't guess because of the color but it's so yummy and easy to drink. The baby loves it (starts kicking right after I drink it) and Maggie loves it - she gets a green mustache and today she said after blending that it looks like a frog :-) She's also getting pretty good at using the hand blender. Love my little helper!

A good laugh

I'm finding this blog hilarious and right down my humor alley. All woman and especially pregnant ladies should take some time to puruse this, we all need a good laugh at the end of the day!

2012

Our holidays were wonderful, not too rushed or crazy, and we were invited last minute by a family to their cabin near Yosemite for New Years. The weather here has been cold but with no rain for a long time and New Year's weekend it was hot outside in the sun...pretty strange. Maggie had fun running around with other toddlers at the cabin and we finished the weekend by taking down decorations and enjoying time at home.

Now that we're in the New Year, I'm simply excited for what's to come. So many of my friends are having babies this year-some their 1sts, some their 2nds, and some their 3rds. Maggie is just a delight and I think she is really going to enjoy having a sibling around the house. She is totally fine on her own but this little guy will be quite the welcomed distraction for her (I hope).

I really enjoyed my schedule too over the holidays, working a few days less. It gave me a lot of time to enjoy being home taking care of my family and myself. A great plus that happened around Thanksgiving-time was that I joined a mom's group specific to my area and it's a great fit for Maggie and I. I've looked for something new in the parenting arena since Maggie was born but nothing fit that well until this. Before joining the group, I connected with a local mom that I've seen at storytime for the past couple years who has three boys (5, 2, and 5 months) and she's been such a wealth of knowledge and has provided welcomed friendship. She is excited for us to be having a boy and Maggie loves play dates with her older two boys. It's really nice to meet other moms living similar situations just streets away.

Maggie was recently allergy-tested (finally) since we've had her off dairy products for a year and I'd been wondering if that was really the issue. Not so suprisingly, her results came back normal except for a mild reaction to pet dander and outdoor/environmental allergies. So, the good news is we've incorporated dairy back into her diet and she is very happy to be eating daddy's cheese and cow's milk. It's nice to not have to worry about it now, it took quite a bit of effort to eliminate it from her diet.


Enjoying "dairy" frosting!



Happy New Year!