Ready?

I love it when people ask if Boom and I are ready to become parents.  Of course we are excited and really happy to become parents, but can you ever really be ready or prepared?  I think it is always a huge shock…

I am confident, however, that we have done everything in our power to be as prepared as is humanly possible, without really knowing what we are getting into.

We’ve read numerous books (this is not even all of them!)…

and have taken 6 classes, totaling 40 (!!!) hours of our life this past fall.  And we’ve done lots of research on our own on a variety of topics.

The only thing missing is some on the job training, which will come soon enough in 2 days!  I can’t wait!!!

Can I get a ‘C’?

I wanted to do a lot of embroidery and crocheting while I was on bed rest. I didn’t, though, but I was able to get one project embroidered – I had transfered this onto my piece of linen back in late June! So glad I was able complete the embroidery part of it:

(Sorry for all the wrinkles, I haven’t ironed it yet, clearly) I got the pattern from Andrea Zuilli’s blog – she has a lot of great free embroidery patterns! Many thanks, for the free pattern! I just added a ‘C’ above the heart. She has a turkey pattern that I think I should embroider, in honor of our soon-to-be-born butterball!

I am thinking I want to make this into a wall hanging (originally this was going to be her bday gift, but clearly I didn’t get it done in time, but come to think of it, I did make her bday gift, and it did involve embroidery). C will be coming down in Dec for a wedding, and also to visit us (well, really the new baby), so hopefully I can get it done by then!

Springing to Action – Desk

A few weeks ago we finally got to dealing with the desk we had bought a few months back for behind the couch.

We raised it (by adding casters) – here’s Boom hard at work…

and waxed it (’cause it needed some love):

We used Pate Dugay wax that you apply with really fine steel wool (like the kind that people use, evidently, to polish guns – who knew?).

And when I say “we”, clearly Boom is doing all the heavy lifting and physical work – I am doing the mental work and supervising

I love how it turned out!  That wax really let the beauty of the old desk shine though.

Now I just need to get a couple chairs that I want to have behind the desk… Maybe I’ll have time in a few months (???) to do some serious chair shopping… all in good time.

Another Book Review: Sarah’s Key

This was 2 month ago’s book club book, the book club that I have only been to once (I feel bad about that, but the timing has been not so great.  I can’t commit to book club when I am fully preggers and in a very busy time with work.  And, to boot, all the ladies seemed to live in the Heights, which is kinda far from where I live.  So a little bit of laziness is to blame as well).

I finished it today, with all my bed rest time to do so.  It was a quick read (about 1.5 days) and pretty good.  I thought it was going to play out differently, so I guess it is good that what I thought was going to happen didn’t happen.  And I learned a bit about WWII history that I didn’t know.

Unfort, I think that means I have read all the unread novels that were on my proverbial nightstand.  I think my friend LB lent me a book, well, she did, but I am not sure if I left it at work or if it is somewhere here at home.  I will have to do some looking around.

I guess I can start another baby book – What to Expect the First Year.  Am sure it will be totally enthralling…

Book Review: The Help

My mother-in-law recommended this book to me, and Boom was kind enough to order it for me – came in quite handy now that I am on bed rest.  I just finished it (took me 2 days) – it is an easy read, and very engaging.  Totally crazy (and scary) that in our parent’s lifetime Jim Crow laws were in effect.  I can’t imagine how hard it would be to be black in the deep South – I am sure they didn’t like Asians much more.

Seems so crazy how mean people can be to other people, just based on their color.  and crazy that all the blacks were raising the white kids, even though the white parents thought the help were dirty and dumb.

She paints a lovely picture of the Junior League as well – too funny!  I know everyone thinks of the Junior League as so southern – ironic that it was started in upstate New York!  I guess the south just adopted it whole heartedly.

Anyway, a good read.  Especially for a first novel!

At 35 weeks…

everything that was going along just fine seemed to go bonkers..

Last Thursday, Boom and I went to see my OB/GYN for my normal check up that happens every 2 weeks.  She did an ultrasound and she thought my fluid levels looked low, so she sent us to the hospital for a biometric ultrasound.  The radiologist agreed that my fluid level is on the low side, so then i had to go to L&D testing to do some fetal monitoring.  CM is fine, but I need to get my amniotic fluid level up.

So… I am on bed rest until Wed, at least. Saturday we went back to the hospital for some more testing – the fetal monitoring went great.  So he is not being hurt by the low fluids, but I guess they just have to monitor is closely ’cause if the fluids get too low, then that would affect him and he would have to come out.  Wednesday is more fetal monitoring, then another biometric ultrasound to see how my fluid levels are doing, and then back to my OB/GYN for re-evaluation.  I hope that she will lift this bed rest decree – not sure the chances on that, but my hope springs eternal.

I am not loving bed rest.  I would much rather be up and about… doing!  This is a lesson learned to me and something I will pass onto anyone who is preggers – make sure EVERYTHING is done before 35 weeks!  I am doing my best to be a good rester… for CM’s sake.

And, to boot, I can’t find my camera!  Oh well, I am sure it is around somewhere.

Here’s what I am doing to keep myself occupied:

- Hand embroidery: finally finished a little piece that I will turn into a wall hanging for a lucky friend; have done some last name initials to make into ornaments.

- Working on my Belly Book… a journal that I was given to record the pregnancy.  Great idea, but I haven’t done anything in it for the past 34 weeks, so trying to remember… another bit of advice, take lots of notes and keep them all in the same place if you want to do a journal / scrapbook of your pregnancy.

- Reading lots of blogs and taking advantage of the Internet.

I am basically off my feet, either reclined or sitting for most of the day.  I take usually 1-2 naps during the day, and the amazing thing to me is I am still able to sleep at night!  This baby must really be taking all of my energy – he is moving around quite a bit.  Maybe he is restless and ready to come into the world?

If I was still working and moving about, I’d be so so tired, and extra crabby, I am sure.  I still hope I can be off bed rest on Wed – I would really take it easy, but then I’d be able to wrap up loose ends at work.  I never imagined I’d be put on bed rest!  or that CM would really move from transverse to full on breech, but that is what he has done.  I am really, really, REALLY hoping he has moved back to transverse or, best case, head down.  We shall see…

My nesting = sewing

I love to sew sew sew…

A blanket and burp set, two different ways:

Blanket is flannel on one side and the cotton print on the other, with a rick rack trim.

In this one, the blanket is a flannel receiving blanket, in which you could snug a baby quite well, with the trim being the matching cotton print.

Both burps are the same. I love both sets, but will only keep one set for CM, the other will go off to a lucky friend! I think I will keep the top set, as I have already made quite a few flannel receiving blankets.

I also made a couple of burp cloths of a different type:

The striped side is flannel and the polka dot side is cotton – with a rick rack trim. I also made another version of this, with rick rack on the flannel part, and no trim (but don’t have a photo).

Here is the floor playmat I made for CM – I made it extra thick with 2x the bamboo quilt batting.

I really don’t know how people are quilters. This pieced floor mat nearly killed me. I guess I am not that precise, so makes quilting or faux quilting, in my case, very difficult. I had also made him a shirt pocket quilt floor mat earlier, but that one took a lot of time and I kinda don’t want him to drool on it, so this is the one he can get messy

To make some plain bins much cuter, I decorated them with felt and rick rack. Much, much cuter! I guess I’ll use them to put random stuff in, maybe diaper changing stuff or bath stuff?

I also upcycled a huge Giggle.com gift bag (that our Stokke Tripp Trapp chair came wrapped in – made out of the material that resuable grocery sacks are made out of) into 2 large (so far) round bins, which I think came out totally adorable:

I have cut out the bottoms for 2 extra large bins, which I think I want to have lower walls. I could use those to put diapers and stuff in… Boom seems to think CM has plenty of buckets, so we’ll see.

I also finally got around to making some Wee Wee Wigwams - many thanks to Make it and Love it blog for the free tutorial! Not to hard to make – since everyone I know is having boys, I will make these and put them in packs of threes for gifts.

So I have a few more projects on my list:

- basket liner for an oval basket;

- little slipcovers for the white plastic of CM’s Dwell Studio swing;

- a plastic bag holder (with an elastic opening)( for all of our bags that we use for Ruby’s deuces (need to get that under control!);

- some handmade felt ornaments;

- some handmade embroidered ornaments;

- a few more small softies to hang off CM’s bassinet mobile / floor activity gym;

- a cute handle cover for CM’s carseat;

Whew – I’ve gotten a lot done, but there is still much more to do!  and that doesn’t include all the non-sewing stuff that needs to get done…  hopefully CM doesn’t decide to make a too early appearance!

Rockin’ Rhino

This past weekend Yarbs and a few friends threw me a shower. It was great – everything was so cute! and it was an intimate crowd – as it seemed to be an out of town weekend for lots of folks – I really enjoyed myself and everyone seemed to have a good time.

So this past spring, when we had just found out we were preggers, we went to the Urban Market and picked up an old playground rhino, that didn’t have a base – Boom was highly suspect, as the paint was peeling and the whole thing seemed a mess, to him. He was all, what are we going to do with this thing? He liked the idea of it, but he is still coming around to liking old things…

Anyway, I figured S, our friend and designer, would be able to have someone do something with it.  So finally, a few months ago, she took little rhino off with her.  And since he left, I had been emailing her and asking about rhino… all requests that she kept ignoring… finally I realized she might be doing something with him for my shower – and I was right!  Rockin’ Rhino is the BEST GIFT EVER!  especially since it was a joint effort – and he came out so adorable!

I love love love him!  I guess we need to come up with a name for Rockin’ Rhino…  Boom will be able to come up with something good.

And Ruby seems to like him alright:

I am sure CM will love Rockin’ Rhino – how could you not?!

Craftiness I’ve been up to…

After watching Dr. Harvey Karp’s Happiest Baby on the Block DVD last weekend on Sat (Life with Baby class) and Sunday (7 of 8 birthing classes), I really took to heart that Cash Money needed more blankets, but ones that he can be swaddled (one of the 5 S’s) in – so the thinish flannel ones. Up to this point, I had been making him all kinds of blankets – I think I’ve made around 7-8 blankets of all kinds – some crocheted, but mainly flannel with fabric on the other side and rick rack for the trim.

Now I have made a bun (5? 6?) flannel receiving blankets that we’ll be able to swaddle CM nice and tight (snug it!) in:

I think they are adorable!  And SUPER easy to make, which makes me happy.  And I may still give some away as part of baby gifts – or I may make new ones for gifts…

and I’ve also been making more buckets.  Some small (I’ll put them to use somehow!):

and some large (good to hold CM’s lovies):

I also finally found the “Hot Blue” yarn I needed to finish up my fleece blanket with the crocheted edges:

I’ve made a few other things (baby sling, floor play mat) but don’t have photos to show yet, so I’ll just go into detail about those later.

I swear my nesting instinct has taken shape in just wanting to craft, which I really think is driving Boom a little nuts.  But I am trying to reign it in and help out with other baby things.

They look so happy…

We still need to get candy for the trick or treaters… at least Halloween is on a Saturday this year.  Many thanks to My Pal Al for making this post so easy for me (and for dressing up the pups – Ruby is jealous!  Well, not really…)!

More next week on the craftiness that I have been up to… have a great, safe weekend!