Friday, September 26, 2008

Behold...the pregnant woman that everyone hates

I just wanted to announce that at 33+ weeks pregnant, I still do not have cankles. It can be done! Here is photographic proof of this claim, to settle a bet in my doula forum, and for proof to all you non-believers.



What this image DOES show (you know, since it clearly does not show cankles) is that I desperately need a pedicure. I only have one slightly puffy ankle, and this has been the case since my surgery in August 2007...there's a lot of fluid on my knee and it tends to pool in my ankles sometimes.

So there, be a believer. I am the pregnant woman who is NOT miserable with any of the following:

Heartburn
Swelling
Peeing every 10 seconds
consistent backache
chronic nightmarish fatigue
morning sickness
Inability to wear wedding ring
headaches
and most other stereotypical things that make you want to ask me "how are you feeling?" Go ahead, ask me if I have the stereotypical affliction that you think I probably have...go ahead.

I feel fine, and I don't have cankles. So THERE!

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Surprises on the Step

Yesterday we came home to a box from the mail man. Took me forever to assemble it (complicated baby stuff...pfft) and it had no packing slip, so we didn't know who it was from. Karen claimed responsibility...
My awesome big sister sent us this:




SO CUTE!

Monday, September 22, 2008

Way to Go Baris!

So, Baris just called. He finished his GMAT test and did really well! His preliminary score (we won't have the actual until the graders and the essay people get to his test) is a whopping 690!!! To get an idea of what that means see this:

"The most prestigious US business schools, including the Ivy Leagues, report that their students scored 700 on the GMAT on average. Less prestigious business schools, such as those at many state universities, report an average GMAT score of 550 - only slightly higher than the average score earned by all GMAT testers. In between those extremes, scoring 650 on the GMAT will beat the average and make you a competitive candidate at most business schools around the US." - Business Week

So all that studying seems to have paid off. We'll share more details once we get the final score, but looks like he did awesome! Thanks for all your well wishes, good vibes, prayers, etc!

A Sneak Peak...

Well, our nursery is well under way! We went to get the crib this weekend, and it couldn't look any better with the new wall color. Now we are waiting on the bedding which should be here in the next few weeks or so. But here are some pictures of our nursery as it is today, even a shot of his little cabinet of clothes. :-)

Sorry they are grainy, I took them with the cell phone this morning. Once it's further along I will put up pictures from the digital camera.

This is the crib (which unfortunately doesn't fit the mobile, so we have to get creative to hang that)and you can see the hamper in the corner. The silly looking bench thing isn't staying, we just have to get rid of it. But the crib is solid oak, and it's a lifetime crib so it will last him till we kick him out of the house. The mirror also has to go, it's too low to stay where it is, and if we move it any higher it will look silly, so it will eventually go on the opposite wall over the dresser after the futon is out of there. Speaking of futon, it's eventually getting moved to our den, which is going under redesign as well, so we'll probably have pictures of that in February. In the mean time, the futon is going to be used by guests since Aiden isn't sleeping in that room for a few months.


This is the hamper that matches the bedding, actually a clever little thing. The canvas is just decorative, it actually has a laundry bag liner so I don't have to bend over like a contortionist to get the laundry, just lift the liner out and dump it in the washer! I still need to get a diaper pail for his cloth dipes, but that's no biggie, just a cheapy trashcan at walmart or something. But I think I'll find some kind of paint that works on plastic so I can paint it to match his room decor nicely...like he cares. It's all about me! You can see the ugly floor lamp base in here too, it's going. Hopefully into Baris's new office at work once he gets one. I'm over floor lamps. And this one is white and brass...GAG! I'm considering painting the frame for the hamper a light yellow or something else that coordinates. If you're going to do it, do it right!

Here is the cabinet in Aiden's closet, all loaded up with his newborn and 0-3 sized clothes. Everything else is packed overhead for later. The red canvas totes are awesome. I got them for $7 each at Lowe's and I have them stuffed full of his goodies. Hats & Bibs in one, socks and foot stuff in one, receiving blankets in one, and burp cloths in one. I'm sure this will all get shuffled and changed, but for now, it works and it keeps everything neat and tidy so I don't have to worry about it and I can keep track of what we have on hand. I wish I had gotten a picture of the shelf we set up for Aiden in the kitchen cabinet. It's got his bottles, bottle warmer, and stuff in there. Eventually his little dishes, food mill and stuff will be in there too. He has his own shelf! YAY!

I'm sorry this one is SUPER grainy, but it's cute. I had to have the switchplate, it's just too damn cute. I love it. We actually had originally wanted to match the wall color to the green color in the lower right hand corner, but we had them match it at Lowe's off of a fabric sample which doesn't match as clearly. I'm glad it turned out a bit darker, because I think if we had gotten this lighter green on our walls, it would have been WAY too bright. The wall color now looks good with the bedding without being abnoxious. I have to say that my husband and I are mighty good at this decorating thing...when all the pieces are provided for us!! HAHAHA!



Here's the crib from another angle and with bad lighting because of the window, but you can also see the valance in this picture! You can see the cute sheet on the mattress too, and part of the mobile. I promise I'll post pictures when we get the bedding in there.

On a side note, B is off taking his GMAT as we "speak." We're both glad this test is nearly over. I feel like we haven't done anything together for over a month! Wish him luck!

Thursday, September 18, 2008

32 weeks!

Well, today was my 32 week appointment, everything looks great! Aiden is even head down now, his heart sounds strong, and he still doesn't like being poked, so he kicked the doppler today. HAHA! That's my boy! He should weigh about 3.75 pounds now, and is about 17 inches long. Most of his energy goes towards packing on baby fat now and we wait...wait...wait until he comes. :-) Here's a 32 week belly shot to share:



It's still a belly!

Baris has been feverishly studying for his GMAT over the last couple of weeks. The test is on Monday, send all your good luck vibes and prayers his way. I'm taking him out apple picking on Sunday so he has a resting day before the test...Apple pie anyone?! :-)

Monday, September 1, 2008

Too pooped...

to poop. :)

Well, the shower went well, I saw a lot of friends and we had a good time. I"m a little weird about showers, I'm not so good at being the center of attention when there is a great big group of people! BUT, I was delighted by how many people came to shower and it was so nice to see everyone. My sisters really threw a nice little bash! I'll post pix when I get to it, I've been a little too busy since we've been home and this weekend was full of productivity.

Even though last week was only 4 days for me, I was completely off kilter, unfocused, and down right out of whack. It's getting hard to stay focused on my job. B and I are both a little out of sorts, feeling like there is so much to do, so many things we need to get (yes, I know you don't really need much to have a baby). I guess we are both having that "MUST NEST" problem right now. This weekend helped. Anyway, all this mental distraction makes my days very long and hard since my mind is in 15 different places and I have to work hard to get my job done AND write instructions for the contractor who will hopefully start mid October.

This weekend we did a whole bunch of great stuff. B finally hung our stray cabinet in the laundry closet, this took FOREVER. He's never hung a cabinet before and the measurements were a pain since he was trying to avoid all the electrical conduits. So that was most of Saturday for him. I spent Saturday cleaning and sorting items in the baby's room and getting things moved around and baseboards taped so I could paint. Saturday night we went to a wedding reception and came home and CRASHED.

Sunday B cut and hung our new shelf next to the cabinet and attached an awesome hanging bar before he came in to help me paint. That felt like it took DAYS. I really hate painting. I hate prepping walls. I hate taping. I hate pouring paint. I hate dumping it on our carpet (thank god for Bissel). I hate pulling tape down, rolling, brushing, all that. I hate it. BUT, the final result was well worth the wait AND the work. Both of us were exhausted by Sunday afternoon, and it was hot as hell. It was definitely a relief to crank the AC when we finished the room (had to have windows open for ventilation).

We were up this morning for some breakfast and B's all day study day. I went to Babies R Us to get the valances for the windows (can't have a curtain rod with no curtains on it, afterall) and the switchplate that all match the bedding set for the nursery. When I came home I put the valances up, and have decided I would like to have some decorative curtains in there as well...and that the curtain rods need to be raised about 3 inches. Boo. I put the room back together, sorted the remaining STUFF, vacuumed and called it finito...for now. The new color is really awesome and looks great with the accessories so far. I was also running laundry which I later had to finish. We had all this delinquent laundry we had been neglecting to fold for...let's just say forever. So I had to go through, fold and hang all that, fold and hang what was coming out of the dryer, get the upstairs hall cleared for vacuuming, gather up trash from the bathroom and bedroom trashcans...I mean it just went on and on. I also go our dresser sorted out and cleared off so I could put the changing pad etc. on top (where it will stay until B's parent's leave in January). I then got the hall vacuumed at long last, crabbed about how we don't have anywhere convenient to store our vacuum, and now here I sit. I'm waiting on the last load of laundry to get out of the dryer while I take this little break. I still need to clean up our hall desk, we've been piling crap on it again, B needs this space to study. I also still haven't sent my thank you cards as several still need addresses, so I'll do that before I go to bed too. But right now, I'm starving, so I"m going to go make dinner (and probably clean the kitchen...AGAIN) before I do my thank you cards.

Only about 60 days until my last day at the office! =-o