Well, we are now just waiting. All of our classes are done, our room is ready, we have diapers and a stroller and a car seat and clothes.
I've been reading like a madwoman, and have been baking/cooking some frozen meals to have ready. Tonight's prep was mini-meatloaves in a muffin pan, and they look SOOO good. Hopefully the burgers Nick is grilling will hit the spot. :)
We went today to get an adapter for our BOB stroller--it is made to hook into our BOB and is designed for our Chicco KeyFit--so we saved $75 by not needing to buy another stroller frame! We also bought a glider chair from Craigslist for $90. It was a little more than I was expecting to spend, but I also got a much nicer glider than I was anticipating. I thought I would need to re-cover the one I bought, but this one came from a really nice home and was taken care of really well.
I am definitely more uncomfortable. If I move too quickly, I have pains. If I roll over without thinking through my technique (like, in the middle of the night), I have pains. If I stretch my legs too far apart, I feel like she's knocking on the door of my va-jay-jay. When I walk around, I find myself holding up the bottom of my belly to take pressure off. And please, oh please, don't let me sneeze!
Most of the time, her movements are a lot more uncomfortable for me now. She hits me pretty painfully on the right side. It's really bad if I wake up having been on my right side--she is so heavy over there, and I feel like that side of me is stretching out like crazy.
All of this, and I still don't feel like I'm ready. I'm not ready for her to come out, because the next part of our lives are going to start. My body is ready, but my spirit is more nervous than anything else!
Doctor's appointment tomorrow morning, so we'll see how she's doing. And....Ashley gets here on Friday!!
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Preggo Pains Wrap-Up
There are definitely some pregnancy side effects that I have had full-force:
* indigestion
* thick hair
* back pain
* incontinence when sneezing/coughing
* round ligament pain
* sweaty crotch (totally TMI, but it is SO irritating to have wet undies all the time)
* weight gain (40lbs and counting)
But, there are other pregnancy side-effects that I have not had at all (and believe me, I am thankful!):
* stretch marks (none yet)
* feet are still the same size
* no lingering varicose veins (a couple stick out more after activity, but they go away, and aren't painful)
* my belly button hasn't popped out. It's really flat, but it hasn't popped.
* limited "pregnancy brain" moments--I really feel like I haven't lost my mind at all
* only minor moments of not being able to sleep--I think I can count them on one hand.
* NO Braxton-Hicks contractions
* indigestion
* thick hair
* back pain
* incontinence when sneezing/coughing
* round ligament pain
* sweaty crotch (totally TMI, but it is SO irritating to have wet undies all the time)
* weight gain (40lbs and counting)
But, there are other pregnancy side-effects that I have not had at all (and believe me, I am thankful!):
* stretch marks (none yet)
* feet are still the same size
* no lingering varicose veins (a couple stick out more after activity, but they go away, and aren't painful)
* my belly button hasn't popped out. It's really flat, but it hasn't popped.
* limited "pregnancy brain" moments--I really feel like I haven't lost my mind at all
* only minor moments of not being able to sleep--I think I can count them on one hand.
* NO Braxton-Hicks contractions
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
So Much to Learn...
This month has been full of reading, reading, reading! And not little fluff books, either (though, I have read a couple).
Part of the reason I am reading so much is because getting up and moving around is becoming more uncomfortable and painful. I spent today vacuuming and dusting, and my back hurt so much when I was done! Reading helps me to be able to sit with my feet up so they don't swell so much.
Here is my current reading list:
This stack is minus 2 books that I have already finished reading...
I mentioned that last Wednesday we finished our childbirth classes. I really enjoyed them, and have really appreciated going through this week and contemplating the things we learned.
I still feel like there's so much to know, though! I KNOW that I will learn a ton as I go. I guess I just feel like I need to read up as much as possible so that I can trick myself into feeling as prepared as I can be before Avonlea gets here.
It was really good for me to read the last couple of chapters of "What to Expect..." AFTER finishing our childbirth classes. It helped to reinforce things we had learned.
I do kind of feel like I'm cramming for this huge test, and I feel completely unprepared.
Monday, March 18, 2013
Baby Shower
My friends Jessie and Christy hosted a baby shower for me. What a cute invitation!
I have always felt that showers are really fun, but also really overwhelming. Something about everyone looking and focusing all their attention on you. I was incredibly honored to have friends that were willing to host for me. Right before the shower started, I went to the bathroom (surprise, surprise) and prayed that God would help me to be able to express my thanks to everyone. When I found out I was pregnant, I was sad that I wasn't going to be able to have anyone celebrate with me--but here I am, 8 months later, being honored by some amazing people.
I was really happy that I had the opportunity to publicly thank all the ladies that came. I wanted to make sure I got a chance to tell them how they have made my life here in this strange city easier.
It was hard to be the center of attention and take pictures, but I took as many as I could. Here are a few:
(Most of) The Guests:
My sweet hostesses, Jessie and Christy:
Friday, March 15, 2013
Baby Girl's Room...and Her Name!!
We have been announcing baby girl's name, and it is....
Avonlea Jeanne Walton!
Avonlea means, "A return to childlike faith, simple beauty, noble purity, and compassion for the least."
Jeanne, a Hebrew derivative of Jane, means, "God is gracious."
I have finally finished her room, and thought it was about time to post pictures of it! There are a couple of things that will be different, eventually. After Ashley and Dad leave, we will probably end up buying a crib. We aren't buying one now, because she won't really sleep in it right away, and we don't have room. Then we will move the futon. I also want to buy a glider chair and ottoman. I want to put it where the pack-n-play is, and move the pack-n-play to our living room. Nick isn't terribly keen on that idea, but we need a place to change Avonlea in the other room...and I really want the glider to be in her room! I have found it so peaceful in there. I often go in and sit and pray or read.
The view into the room from the hallway:
The finished dresser (yay!), lanterns, yarn letters I made, and the dogs poster that inspired my color choices. I will need to get a frame for the poster soon, right now it is stuck to the wall with blue painter's tape. :)
A front view of the finished dresser. Thanks to Nick for finishing the handles for me!!
The wall to the left when you come in the door. The cradle is from my room as a kid--Uncle Mel made it for me, and it holds some of my stuffed animals that made the trip out west. Nick's stuffed animals are on the shelf on the bottom, and her Star Wars collection is on the top shelf. :) Above the pack-n-play is a Lady and the Tramp vintage calendar poster that I need to get a frame for. The wall on the right is a completely mirrored closet.
I made some green and brown bunting to go over the window. We'll need to do a curtain eventually, I think. But it never gets too bright in here because of the tree out back.
Avonlea's side of the closet.
The letters I made with her name:
The wreath with mom's brooches:
Her personalized diaper bag on a dog hook. :)
The fun mobile that mom's friend Robyn got for me, and the Lady and the Tramp poster.
I found these fun bookends online, and knew they would be a perfect addition to her room (also love the green vase I got for 25 cents at Ikea)!
I made these shelves from a photo I found online!
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Our Birth "Plan"
Nick and I finished our last childbirth class last night. It was an awesome experience. I learned a lot, and I think Nick was really pleased with it, too. He came out of it saying that he was happy that he took the class, and would recommend it to others. Our instructor was great--she had 9 kids of her own, and was also a birth doula--so she definitely had experience on her side! She was blunt and to-the-point in her stories and instruction, something I really appreciated. While, yes, at times her words might have made us laugh uncomfortably, I would much rather have that than leave the class confused by something that she said.
I really learned a lot. I thought I knew a lot about childbirth, but just like any subject, there's always a lot more to learn. We started the class the first week by talking about the actual, physical process of birthing--what your body does at what times. Halfway through the class, Nick leans over to me and says, "I feel like we're becoming grown-ups." Haha--very true! There was definitely no sugar-coating the process. Then, we learned some relaxation techniques and practiced them...darn! I just hate that we had to practice massage techniques for a half-hour (haha!).
The next couple of classes we went through more specifically into managing contractions and going through the stages of labor. We watched a couple of birth videos and practiced massage techniques some more.
In the fourth class we discussed expectations for birth, which was one of my favorite classes. She talked a lot about having a "Birth Preference" sheet instead of a "Birth Plan". The reason being you will never follow a birth plan exactly! She compared it to your wedding day. How many people's wedding days go off exactly as planned with no complications or disappointments?
Everyone has expectations and worries and concerns going into their baby's arrival. Everyone has preconceived notions about how it is going to go. The instructor told us to really think about what we wanted to happen, but also be willing to be flexible and keep in mind that your birth preferences might need to change 180degrees from what you anticipate!
The way she got us thinking about this was to have us write down the typical things that show up on birth plans onto little index cards. On one side, we would write one aspect of the birth process, and on the opposite side, we would write the opposite of that (for example, epidural on one side, no epidural on the other). The only card where we didn't write the opposite was "healthy baby", which we wrote on both sides.
She then told us that we had to put a star on the side of the card that we wanted on our birth preferences sheet.
I starred:
* baby born before due date
* no epidural
* vaginal birth
* my own gown
* bag of waters breaks on its own
* spontaneous pushing
* periodic monitoring of fetus
* immediate skin-to-skin contact
* no pitocin
* healthy baby girl
* walk and move during labor
* no narcotics
If everything goes exactly as I hope, this is what my birth will look like. And yes, I am that crazy fool who wants to try a drug-free birth!
Anyways, after we put our cards out, starred-side up, the instructor told us that we were now in labor, and there were 3 things we needed to get rid of. She said to choose the 3 things that we were willing to compromise on first, and turn them over to the other side. (I don't remember exactly what I chose, but I *think* I first switched to hospital gown, continuous monitoring, and baby born after due date)
After that, she told us to do it again. Let me tell you, after the first 3, it got a lot harder! I think I chose rest and lay down during labor, pitocin, and direct pushing. After the 2nd 3, she told us to do it one more time, choosing 3 more things that we had to be willing to change on.
At that point, she said that the whole process was to see what you were willing to change on, and also to get you thinking about how things will probably not go as you expect. But she said that with everyone, the one thing they wouldn't change was "healthy baby". No matter how your birth preferences change, everyone wants a healthy baby at the end.
I know I have grand plans, and in fact during this entire pregnancy, many of my grand plans haven't gone as planned at all. But the important thing that she stressed was to prepare for change, and then process that change as it happens. She also recommended getting together with your hubby about 3 weeks after birth and talking about what happened at the birth, and really dissecting how you felt about the pleasures and the disappointments. A lot of resources exist for moms before birth, but there aren't a lot of resources for moms after birth--at least not in relation to how they felt about their childbirth experience. A lot of women bury their feelings and then struggle to come to terms with them later.
I am praying now that if even I have to have EVERYTHING the opposite of "my plan", I will be able to process those disappointments and still be able to enjoy the whole experience as much as possible.
On a side note, I think it's hilarious that I now do this more often than not:
It's handy to have a built-in table to sit my food on! Too bad that table also makes it so difficult to get up and down. :)
I really learned a lot. I thought I knew a lot about childbirth, but just like any subject, there's always a lot more to learn. We started the class the first week by talking about the actual, physical process of birthing--what your body does at what times. Halfway through the class, Nick leans over to me and says, "I feel like we're becoming grown-ups." Haha--very true! There was definitely no sugar-coating the process. Then, we learned some relaxation techniques and practiced them...darn! I just hate that we had to practice massage techniques for a half-hour (haha!).
The next couple of classes we went through more specifically into managing contractions and going through the stages of labor. We watched a couple of birth videos and practiced massage techniques some more.
In the fourth class we discussed expectations for birth, which was one of my favorite classes. She talked a lot about having a "Birth Preference" sheet instead of a "Birth Plan". The reason being you will never follow a birth plan exactly! She compared it to your wedding day. How many people's wedding days go off exactly as planned with no complications or disappointments?
Everyone has expectations and worries and concerns going into their baby's arrival. Everyone has preconceived notions about how it is going to go. The instructor told us to really think about what we wanted to happen, but also be willing to be flexible and keep in mind that your birth preferences might need to change 180degrees from what you anticipate!
The way she got us thinking about this was to have us write down the typical things that show up on birth plans onto little index cards. On one side, we would write one aspect of the birth process, and on the opposite side, we would write the opposite of that (for example, epidural on one side, no epidural on the other). The only card where we didn't write the opposite was "healthy baby", which we wrote on both sides.
She then told us that we had to put a star on the side of the card that we wanted on our birth preferences sheet.
I starred:
* baby born before due date
* no epidural
* vaginal birth
* my own gown
* bag of waters breaks on its own
* spontaneous pushing
* periodic monitoring of fetus
* immediate skin-to-skin contact
* no pitocin
* healthy baby girl
* walk and move during labor
* no narcotics
If everything goes exactly as I hope, this is what my birth will look like. And yes, I am that crazy fool who wants to try a drug-free birth!
Anyways, after we put our cards out, starred-side up, the instructor told us that we were now in labor, and there were 3 things we needed to get rid of. She said to choose the 3 things that we were willing to compromise on first, and turn them over to the other side. (I don't remember exactly what I chose, but I *think* I first switched to hospital gown, continuous monitoring, and baby born after due date)
After that, she told us to do it again. Let me tell you, after the first 3, it got a lot harder! I think I chose rest and lay down during labor, pitocin, and direct pushing. After the 2nd 3, she told us to do it one more time, choosing 3 more things that we had to be willing to change on.
At that point, she said that the whole process was to see what you were willing to change on, and also to get you thinking about how things will probably not go as you expect. But she said that with everyone, the one thing they wouldn't change was "healthy baby". No matter how your birth preferences change, everyone wants a healthy baby at the end.
I know I have grand plans, and in fact during this entire pregnancy, many of my grand plans haven't gone as planned at all. But the important thing that she stressed was to prepare for change, and then process that change as it happens. She also recommended getting together with your hubby about 3 weeks after birth and talking about what happened at the birth, and really dissecting how you felt about the pleasures and the disappointments. A lot of resources exist for moms before birth, but there aren't a lot of resources for moms after birth--at least not in relation to how they felt about their childbirth experience. A lot of women bury their feelings and then struggle to come to terms with them later.
I am praying now that if even I have to have EVERYTHING the opposite of "my plan", I will be able to process those disappointments and still be able to enjoy the whole experience as much as possible.
On a side note, I think it's hilarious that I now do this more often than not:
It's handy to have a built-in table to sit my food on! Too bad that table also makes it so difficult to get up and down. :)
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
The Best Advice
At my shower in Ohio, my cousin and friend put out cards for people to give me advice. I've also gotten some really good advice since then, too. I thought I'd assemble them all here:
* "Be your own best advice giver. God gives you the best instincts for your kids. Do what's best for you and your family!"
* "Just be like you always are! You are so much fun and will be an amazing mom!"
* "Reading and snuggling with baby are the best times! No matter how old he or she is, NEVER stop praying for your children."
* "It is a wonderful adventure Enjoy every minute of it and 'go with the flow'. LOL. You will be a wonderful mommy!"
* "Love your baby like you loved your students!"
* "Give him a soccer ball early."
* "Keep a journal or at least find a moment to jot down the things that make you smile. The moments pass so quickly as they grow. It's a blessing to have something to read over the teenage years and remember where the story began. Oh...and sleep when the baby sleeps."
* "You have so much love in your heart to give--just follow your heart!"
* "Be sure to enjoy your entire pregnancy, it goes so fast! Make sure to have mommy time, we all need it."
This letter came from a friend...I love it, and am going to post it in its entirety. I can feel that what she says will be a struggle for me, so it was a timely note. I want to be able to come back to it in the future to remind myself of the truths it contains:
"I’m starting this letter off by telling you that it is full of grammar errors. I did not take the time to reread or change anything! Sorry!! At your shower, there was a little basket with note cards asking us to write down a word of advice to you, the new Mom-to-be. I’ve never really liked shower advice cards because I have a hard time thinking of the important things to say on the spot. Well, I’ve taken some time to think of the best advice to give you and here it is ….
DO NOT COMPARE YOURSELF TO OTHERS!!
I don’t know how else to tell you this. It’s going to be rough. Comparing yourself to other Moms is HARD stuff. Maybe since you’re an older (don’t that that wrong way) Momma with a lot of confidence, then you won’t fight with this pesky struggle. I hope so!! Sleepless nights, moody kids, sore nipples, temper tantrums, explosive diapers, throw up, food stuck on walls, lack of showers … none of these will hurt you like comparison will. Of course I know that it’s tempting to compare ourselves to others in all facets of life but there is just something about motherhood that brings out the worst in the jaws of comparison. I read a quote on a friend’s blog that said, “Comparison is the thief of joy.” If you’re not careful, it will suck the joy out of your Mommy days and your life. I’m sure you’ve already heard the words, “Mommy Wars.” While it’s true that these so called wars surface in varying opinions about parenting choices, I think the real Mommy war is in our hearts.
Allison, you will know when comparison creeps into your heart because you will most likely respond in 1 of 3 ways; anger, discouragement, or pride. You’ll walk away from a blog, someone’s house, facebook or a conversation with another Mom and feel angry at yourself or your spouse and take it out on everyone and be crabby! … Or you’ll be feel discouraged and try to implement some new “plan” to measure up to some aloof status or maybe you’ll wallow with a bag of Doritos and then feel even worse because you did that. Or you’ll pat yourself on the back and think yourself superior to another Mom who can’t cook or craft the way you do or communicate with their child in the most awesome way you can.
Unfortunately this comparison struggle starts during pregnancy and rolls over into even the early days of Mommydom ;) One of the first questions that Moms get asked after birth is, “did you get an epidural?” As if that is the beginning of how awesome and loving we Mothers can be. Maybe your birth plan doesn’t go according to plan. Or worse, your birth is as perfect and predictable as you have ever dreamed and pride creeps in when you hear of a Mom who opted for an early epidural. Maybe you’ll read a blog about a Mom who is feeding her kiddos 100% organic food 100% of the time since day one and making her eggnog and cheese from scratch and you feel inadequate. You’re at a friend’s house and her bathroom is spotless and everything appears to be perfectly organized and you feel like a failure because instead of “getting things done” yesterday like she did, you watched the today show, took a nap, made an easy dinner, and just kept the baby alive. Maybe you’re at “In and Out” with baby girl and you hear a Mom get impatient with her young son and you think, “I can’t believe she said that to him, I’ll never do that.” Maybe down the road you’ll read about some amazing tradition or awesome cupcakes that someone made and you’ll feel angry that Nick isn’t on board with all the rules and things you want to implement. Or maybe you will be the Mom that has the best birthday parties with the perfect cakes and all smiley faces. The list could go on and on and on ….
This war rages in our hearts because we have set other Moms and Pinterest as our standard. We have let earthly (sometimes good) things become THE things and before you know it, you have forgotten where your real identity lies. You have forgotten that you are a child of God. You have forgotten that the only person we can compare ourselves too is Christ and every time we will fall short! But, Guess what?? You don’t have to wallow in self-pity and focus on self because you actually have Christ’s righteousness and you have his Grace and forgiveness that abounds and gives life now and forever. You can focus on being a faithful parent and let all of the other preferences fall as they will over time as you learn and grow. You can forgive and understand and empathize with Moms who struggle and respect them when they prefer something different than yourself. In your heart … Want the things that God wants and believe what God says about himself and about who you are IN CHRIST!!!
Don’t get me wrong. Learning from other Moms and emulating good decisions is great. Admonishing our friends is what we should do. So, when you see or read something and comparison creeps in, celebrate with that Mom or person for their skill and good deed. It’s popular now to judge Moms for seeming to be too perfect. You know, we say, “No one is perfect” and “I like her because she’s real.” Most of the time we say and think those things to make ourselves feel better instead of being happy for someone else. We think that crafty Moms with obedient kids aren’t being honest. Oh well, some Moms really are more optimistic, manage time better, are craftier, better cooks, or have easy kids! That is wonderful! When you see a Mom struggle, admit your own struggles and pray for them and for yourself. Admit your sins, walk in grace, ask for forgiveness, love, and don’t compare ….. but if you do there is grace for that, too."
* "Be your own best advice giver. God gives you the best instincts for your kids. Do what's best for you and your family!"
* "Just be like you always are! You are so much fun and will be an amazing mom!"
* "Reading and snuggling with baby are the best times! No matter how old he or she is, NEVER stop praying for your children."
* "It is a wonderful adventure Enjoy every minute of it and 'go with the flow'. LOL. You will be a wonderful mommy!"
* "Love your baby like you loved your students!"
* "Give him a soccer ball early."
* "Keep a journal or at least find a moment to jot down the things that make you smile. The moments pass so quickly as they grow. It's a blessing to have something to read over the teenage years and remember where the story began. Oh...and sleep when the baby sleeps."
* "You have so much love in your heart to give--just follow your heart!"
* "Be sure to enjoy your entire pregnancy, it goes so fast! Make sure to have mommy time, we all need it."
This letter came from a friend...I love it, and am going to post it in its entirety. I can feel that what she says will be a struggle for me, so it was a timely note. I want to be able to come back to it in the future to remind myself of the truths it contains:
"I’m starting this letter off by telling you that it is full of grammar errors. I did not take the time to reread or change anything! Sorry!! At your shower, there was a little basket with note cards asking us to write down a word of advice to you, the new Mom-to-be. I’ve never really liked shower advice cards because I have a hard time thinking of the important things to say on the spot. Well, I’ve taken some time to think of the best advice to give you and here it is ….
DO NOT COMPARE YOURSELF TO OTHERS!!
I don’t know how else to tell you this. It’s going to be rough. Comparing yourself to other Moms is HARD stuff. Maybe since you’re an older (don’t that that wrong way) Momma with a lot of confidence, then you won’t fight with this pesky struggle. I hope so!! Sleepless nights, moody kids, sore nipples, temper tantrums, explosive diapers, throw up, food stuck on walls, lack of showers … none of these will hurt you like comparison will. Of course I know that it’s tempting to compare ourselves to others in all facets of life but there is just something about motherhood that brings out the worst in the jaws of comparison. I read a quote on a friend’s blog that said, “Comparison is the thief of joy.” If you’re not careful, it will suck the joy out of your Mommy days and your life. I’m sure you’ve already heard the words, “Mommy Wars.” While it’s true that these so called wars surface in varying opinions about parenting choices, I think the real Mommy war is in our hearts.
Allison, you will know when comparison creeps into your heart because you will most likely respond in 1 of 3 ways; anger, discouragement, or pride. You’ll walk away from a blog, someone’s house, facebook or a conversation with another Mom and feel angry at yourself or your spouse and take it out on everyone and be crabby! … Or you’ll be feel discouraged and try to implement some new “plan” to measure up to some aloof status or maybe you’ll wallow with a bag of Doritos and then feel even worse because you did that. Or you’ll pat yourself on the back and think yourself superior to another Mom who can’t cook or craft the way you do or communicate with their child in the most awesome way you can.
Unfortunately this comparison struggle starts during pregnancy and rolls over into even the early days of Mommydom ;) One of the first questions that Moms get asked after birth is, “did you get an epidural?” As if that is the beginning of how awesome and loving we Mothers can be. Maybe your birth plan doesn’t go according to plan. Or worse, your birth is as perfect and predictable as you have ever dreamed and pride creeps in when you hear of a Mom who opted for an early epidural. Maybe you’ll read a blog about a Mom who is feeding her kiddos 100% organic food 100% of the time since day one and making her eggnog and cheese from scratch and you feel inadequate. You’re at a friend’s house and her bathroom is spotless and everything appears to be perfectly organized and you feel like a failure because instead of “getting things done” yesterday like she did, you watched the today show, took a nap, made an easy dinner, and just kept the baby alive. Maybe you’re at “In and Out” with baby girl and you hear a Mom get impatient with her young son and you think, “I can’t believe she said that to him, I’ll never do that.” Maybe down the road you’ll read about some amazing tradition or awesome cupcakes that someone made and you’ll feel angry that Nick isn’t on board with all the rules and things you want to implement. Or maybe you will be the Mom that has the best birthday parties with the perfect cakes and all smiley faces. The list could go on and on and on ….
This war rages in our hearts because we have set other Moms and Pinterest as our standard. We have let earthly (sometimes good) things become THE things and before you know it, you have forgotten where your real identity lies. You have forgotten that you are a child of God. You have forgotten that the only person we can compare ourselves too is Christ and every time we will fall short! But, Guess what?? You don’t have to wallow in self-pity and focus on self because you actually have Christ’s righteousness and you have his Grace and forgiveness that abounds and gives life now and forever. You can focus on being a faithful parent and let all of the other preferences fall as they will over time as you learn and grow. You can forgive and understand and empathize with Moms who struggle and respect them when they prefer something different than yourself. In your heart … Want the things that God wants and believe what God says about himself and about who you are IN CHRIST!!!
Don’t get me wrong. Learning from other Moms and emulating good decisions is great. Admonishing our friends is what we should do. So, when you see or read something and comparison creeps in, celebrate with that Mom or person for their skill and good deed. It’s popular now to judge Moms for seeming to be too perfect. You know, we say, “No one is perfect” and “I like her because she’s real.” Most of the time we say and think those things to make ourselves feel better instead of being happy for someone else. We think that crafty Moms with obedient kids aren’t being honest. Oh well, some Moms really are more optimistic, manage time better, are craftier, better cooks, or have easy kids! That is wonderful! When you see a Mom struggle, admit your own struggles and pray for them and for yourself. Admit your sins, walk in grace, ask for forgiveness, love, and don’t compare ….. but if you do there is grace for that, too."
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Well, That's.....Disappointing.
A few posts ago, I wrote about some of my worries. One of those worries was about the nursery. For a long time, I didn't seem to think I needed a nursery. But I don't know if it's the nesting drive that has kicked in, or some weird, instinctual mother thing to get the den ready, but I NEED to have a quiet space now. Seriously, it is keeping me up at night.
I also posted (in that same blog entry) pictures of the nursery in it's then current state. It was a sad site, y'all. It was giving me nightmares, especially every time I had to climb over the futon in order to hang something in the little corner of the closet. Thankfully, since then, I have been BUSY. The electrical work is done, so all the tools are out of the space. I used to have 2 Ikea bags full of things for the nursery, but I have emptied all of them out. I also cleaned out the closet. Unfortunately, I didn't take before pictures, but suffice it to say, it was in DIRE need. For example, here is a pic of my organizing work, in progress:
The closet is now finished, though. There were a ton of boxes filled with random junk, and they have all been reorganized and labeled (I really think my labelmaker is my favorite gift ever--yes, I am a huge fatty nerd).
Now, I am able to safely and neatly get to the pack-n-play, and also to the closet, without climbing over anything!
I have also been crafting. I made yarn-covered letters that spell out baby girl's name:
I hung up my Chinese lanterns:
I made a wreath and pinned mom's old brooches to it:
I made some shelves:
And I bought a dresser on Craigslist to refinish:
The refinishing has been a process. I thought about just painting over the existing color. But the people hadn't done the greatest job on it--they had painted it a white color, and then put a light brown stain on the top to make it the cream color. The stain had run in several places, and it didn't look great. Plus, on a couple of places on the drawers the paint was peeling off. I decided to just sand the whole thing down and start over.
The sanding took a while. As you can see, the paint didn't completely come off all of the drawers, but I went down as far as my preggo muscles could take it. I figured, a rough sanding, a finer sand, then Kilz and paint would be great.
I found a really fun ombre paint design on Pinterest and decided to do the drawers in green, and the rest of the dresser in straight white (Polar Bear White, to be exact).
Even had the boys to help me.
Well, they were more like supervisors, to be honest.
The whole sanding/priming/painting process took me about 4 days total. My landlady came over and helped me sand the dresser (lots of little crevices), but other than that, I did all of the work myself. I was so proud!
The only thing left was the handles. I'm thinking that this weekend, we'll have the handles on, and Nick and our landlord can carry the dresser into baby girl's room. The original handles looked like this:
The brass part was okay, but where it is darker was just grungy. I asked Nick to help me clean the handles off. We've been soaking them in boiling water for days, and when I took a nap on Sunday afternoon, he scrubbed the handles and applied a primer coat--I've decided to paint them a glossy white.
This is where the problems started.
The primer that Nick used was old, and so it didn't stick well to the handles. It clumped in places, or plain rubbed off in others. So, we stuck them back in to take another soak bath. Yesterday, I went to take them out and start scrubbing again, when I realized that sometime in the last couple of days, the lid on the soaker must have moved, and so there was no water--which means the handles were just baking and making the paint extra crispy. Nick tried to work on them today, but he thinks they'll need to soak a little more.
No problem. We'll just move the dresser upstairs so that I can start putting things away--I am almost literally itching to do ANYthing to the dresser at this point.
But, no. Currently, the dresser is in the garage, and Nick is heating all of the drawers and scraping the paint off, and sanding it down to bare wood.
Wait, what??
Yeah. Apparently, when the previous owners decided to paint the dresser white and then stain, they didn't do anything to the dresser to prep it for painting. They just slapped the paint down on the stained wood that was underneath. When I sanded, I got down to bare wood in a few parts, but overall it was sticking well, so I just did the best sand I could. I didn't even realize there was a darker wood finish underneath (now I do--if you go back and look at the 2nd picture of the dresser, you can see the darker finish).
BUT...
When my paint was drying (sitting in the sun, because I was doing all my painting outside--the only place that has room), a bubble formed on one of the drawers. I didn't think much about it, but when Nick looked at it, he decided to fix it. He cut a square around the bubble and started to sand a little bit of it to repaint that section--and all the paint on the whole drawer peeled off in a big strip. Because of the previous paint job's lack of prep, my beautiful paint couldn't stick, and was now going to have to be re-done.
If there is one thing I REALLY hate, it's finding out that 3 weekends of work was for absolutely nothing. And since I painted almost a month ago, I am much bigger in the belly than I was then, and painting this time around is not going to be easy.
I went down and watched Nick sand for a few minutes, and I couldn't help but cry. I really haven't been emotional at all this pregnancy (really, I haven't--I think baby girl is evening me out), but watching all my hard work get stripped off in about 5 minutes did me in.
I was SO proud. I kept going back to my "finished" dresser pictures and smiling, and thinking, "I did that! I did that all by myself!" I would go and look at it in the garage and think, "In 15 years, when we're still using this dresser, I can be proud to know I did this work myself!"
But now, I'm sitting upstairs in my baby's room, looking at a space where the dresser was supposed to go today, and wondering how it all went wrong.
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