Monday, December 28, 2009
our first craigslist gem!
although i've done my share of browsing craigslist, until christmas eve, i'd never actually purchased anything from it. usually what happens is, i browse, i find some stuff, i show kenny, and kenny convinces me it's not worth the time or energy (or the "deal" i think i'm getting) to contact the person, look at the item, transport the item back to our place, etc. however, on the eve of christmas eve, i was browsing craigslist for a glider. now, for those of you who are not/have never been pregnant, those puppies are EX-PEN-SIVE! so i've been looking on craigslist every so often for a deal. well i found my deal!
a woman pregnant with triplets was selling her glider loveseat and ottoman for--get this--$100 to make space in her house/nursery! now, just a little background, chair and a halfs (which are slightly smaller than loveseats) are priced around $800 at the baby furniture stores (and that's the only place i'd been able to find them) and that's NOT including the ottoman. kenny and i daydreamed about sitting together with carter in our chair and a half one day, but eventually snapped out of it and decided that there was NO WAY we were going to hand over THAT MUCH CASH! when i showed kenny the item, even HE couldn't pass up on the deal!
on thursday (christmas eve), we drove out to citrus park, tried 'er out and loaded 'er up! the only small problem was that since it's a glider loveseat, it's rather large--too large in fact, for the nursery. however, we like the idea of making a space in our master that carter can come lay in and we can read to him in for years to come! now we just need to completely rearrange the furniture in the master to make this happen, which is easier said than done since the furniture is so freakin' heavy. here's a pic of our find in her temporary home.
oh, and she even came with a khaki cover for the loveseat and ottoman (not pictured here).
a woman pregnant with triplets was selling her glider loveseat and ottoman for--get this--$100 to make space in her house/nursery! now, just a little background, chair and a halfs (which are slightly smaller than loveseats) are priced around $800 at the baby furniture stores (and that's the only place i'd been able to find them) and that's NOT including the ottoman. kenny and i daydreamed about sitting together with carter in our chair and a half one day, but eventually snapped out of it and decided that there was NO WAY we were going to hand over THAT MUCH CASH! when i showed kenny the item, even HE couldn't pass up on the deal!
on thursday (christmas eve), we drove out to citrus park, tried 'er out and loaded 'er up! the only small problem was that since it's a glider loveseat, it's rather large--too large in fact, for the nursery. however, we like the idea of making a space in our master that carter can come lay in and we can read to him in for years to come! now we just need to completely rearrange the furniture in the master to make this happen, which is easier said than done since the furniture is so freakin' heavy. here's a pic of our find in her temporary home.
oh, and she even came with a khaki cover for the loveseat and ottoman (not pictured here).
Sunday, December 27, 2009
er visits and cowboy boot lamps
today we spent about 3 hours at tgh making sure i hadn't developed a blood clot in my leg after a severe charley horse three nights ago. now, i've had cramps and charley horses before, but the pain always went away after the cramp stopped--the pain NEVER lasted for DAYS, so i called my dad and asked him if he'd ever had such a thing happen to him.
now, you may ask, why would you call your dad, he's a nonpregnant male? well, i remember him having severe cramps in the middle of the night occasionally when i was growing up, so i just wanted to know if he'd ever had persistent pain after a charley horse in the middle of the night. he said that this had only happened to him once, and after a few days, my mom convinced him to go to the doctor and long story short, he had a blood clot in his calf. in his case, the clot was not threatening, the doctor advised him to take some alieve and that was it.
after talking to my dad, i called aetna's 24 hr nurse and talked to her. she advised that i go see a doctor. then i called my midwife practice and spoke to the on-call midwife. the on-call midwife said that i should come down to tgh to have an ultrasound done on my leg to rule out a blood clot.
there's no point in dragging this out any longer...after three-ish hours at tgh, there was no blood clot to be found. maybe i pulled a muscle in my leg during the charley horse?? who knows. all i know is that's three hours of my life i'll never get back and i still feel like i wasted kenny's day off. oh well, it is what it is.
even after our adventures in the er, kenny was still able to do one of the items on his list for today. when we got home, we ate dinner, and then kenny started on carter's cowboy boot lamps! they're partly finished, as in, you can see what they're going to look like when they're ready to use, but he hasn't run the electrical part through yet! i'll post a pic soon!
now, you may ask, why would you call your dad, he's a nonpregnant male? well, i remember him having severe cramps in the middle of the night occasionally when i was growing up, so i just wanted to know if he'd ever had persistent pain after a charley horse in the middle of the night. he said that this had only happened to him once, and after a few days, my mom convinced him to go to the doctor and long story short, he had a blood clot in his calf. in his case, the clot was not threatening, the doctor advised him to take some alieve and that was it.
after talking to my dad, i called aetna's 24 hr nurse and talked to her. she advised that i go see a doctor. then i called my midwife practice and spoke to the on-call midwife. the on-call midwife said that i should come down to tgh to have an ultrasound done on my leg to rule out a blood clot.
there's no point in dragging this out any longer...after three-ish hours at tgh, there was no blood clot to be found. maybe i pulled a muscle in my leg during the charley horse?? who knows. all i know is that's three hours of my life i'll never get back and i still feel like i wasted kenny's day off. oh well, it is what it is.
even after our adventures in the er, kenny was still able to do one of the items on his list for today. when we got home, we ate dinner, and then kenny started on carter's cowboy boot lamps! they're partly finished, as in, you can see what they're going to look like when they're ready to use, but he hasn't run the electrical part through yet! i'll post a pic soon!
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
carter has crib bedding and curtains!
after talks with my grandmother about making carter's crib bedding and talks with cheri about how to pick fabrics and visits to every freakin' fabric store in the greater tampa area, i managed to completely stress myself out and make nursery decorating no longer fun.
for kicks, i went to visit my grandmother one day last week to give it all one last shot. the visit just further confirmed that this "project" wasn't going to happen---at least not in the timely manner that it would need to happen in if it was going to be ready by the time carter got here. i left my grandma's and headed home.
as i walked thru the door (completely dejected), i hear kenny say, "hey, have you seen this one before?" i go in the office, look at the monitor and start crying. he'd found the PERFECT set! and, to top it off, it was all on sale!! let me just take a moment and say how wonderful my husband is and how lucky i am to have him as mine for life. anyway, we took some time to really look at all they had available and added everything to our shoping cart that we wanted. i was trying to soak in the number in the "total" line when kenny insisted that we get it all. now. so we did. and it all got here yesterday! here's a picture of the comforter/quilt. all other photos will have to wait until the nursery is finished!
for kicks, i went to visit my grandmother one day last week to give it all one last shot. the visit just further confirmed that this "project" wasn't going to happen---at least not in the timely manner that it would need to happen in if it was going to be ready by the time carter got here. i left my grandma's and headed home.
as i walked thru the door (completely dejected), i hear kenny say, "hey, have you seen this one before?" i go in the office, look at the monitor and start crying. he'd found the PERFECT set! and, to top it off, it was all on sale!! let me just take a moment and say how wonderful my husband is and how lucky i am to have him as mine for life. anyway, we took some time to really look at all they had available and added everything to our shoping cart that we wanted. i was trying to soak in the number in the "total" line when kenny insisted that we get it all. now. so we did. and it all got here yesterday! here's a picture of the comforter/quilt. all other photos will have to wait until the nursery is finished!
Sunday, December 20, 2009
so the predictions are in!!
kenny and i have just finished making our bets on when carter will be here and how big he will be.
the winner will receive one day of no diaper changes.
whoever is the closest to the actual number (on either side) and the best two outta three wins.
and now, for the predictions...
kenny - carter will be born on april 10th, 2010, weighing 7lbs 2ozs, and 18ins long.
mrs. az - carter will be born on march 23rd, 2010, weighing 7lbs 9 ozs, and 21ins long.
feel free to make your own predictions, although you won't be able to claim the prize. ;)
the winner will receive one day of no diaper changes.
whoever is the closest to the actual number (on either side) and the best two outta three wins.
and now, for the predictions...
kenny - carter will be born on april 10th, 2010, weighing 7lbs 2ozs, and 18ins long.
mrs. az - carter will be born on march 23rd, 2010, weighing 7lbs 9 ozs, and 21ins long.
feel free to make your own predictions, although you won't be able to claim the prize. ;)
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
24 wks!
so here we are. in four weeks carter will be "viable" and it will be absolutely definite that we will be having a little one here! it's exciting and alarming at the same time. i was telling kenny last night that i'm gonna be a crazy lady when carter gets here. i know i'll be like "is he getting enough food? am i burping him right? is he latched on correctly?" i still have so much to read and learn before he gets here, it's quite overwhelming!
_______________
{{112 days to go.}}___________
how far along: 24 wks 2 days
total weight gain/loss: +17ish lbs--which means i'm slowly approaching the 140s! i haven't weighed that much since like 7th grade--you know, when everyone goes thru that awkward stage. i keep telling myself that i'm not going to weigh myself until i go to the midwife again (which isn't until the beginning of january), but there's always this question that's staring me in the face, so i cave and get on the scale.
waist circumference: 35 inches!
how big baby is: the size of a papaya! about 11.8 inches long and 20.8 oz!
maternity clothes: same old stuff--except for my comfy pink plaid sleep shorts that eaten by the bed in las vegas and were never seen again! don't ask...it makes me tear up.
stretch marks: i'm not sure that i really know what stretch marks look like. there are new somethings i've noticed, but kenny says they look like veins, which he said he read can/will happen. we'll just go with what he says. :)
sleep: i was actually just thinking about this this morning before i literally rolled out of bed. i'm getting lots of sleep these days, since i don't have a regular job. kenny told me last night (for the first time) that he's glad i'm not working so that we're able to still spend time together at night during the week. he's right, if i was still working at sydney's school, i would probably be out by 8pm every night! of course, i still get up about 4 times a night, but it's easy to go right back to sleep.
best moment this week: consistently feeling carter move around in my belly! :)
movement: yes! lots of it! kenny's new position while we're watching tv is with his right hand on my belly. we just laugh to ourselves everytime we feel him move around. :)
food cravings: just the weekly craving right now for a regular iced vanilla chai with 2% and boba from kaleisia.
gender: boy
labor signs: none
belly button: it's in still, but my mom said that her belly button never popped out when she was pregnant with me or my brother. but kenny informed me that my belly button is "a little skewed" these days. you can see in the picture that my belly button is no longer in the center of my abdomen. i swear that it used to be!
what i miss: going to algusto for dinner and being able to order sangria or a margarita :*(
what i am looking forward to: finally getting the fabric decided so that we can start priming the nursery. did you know that you can't just buy primer and get started, you're supposed to get the primer tinted?? who knew?
weekly wisdom: do the kegel exercises--at least that's what i read this morning on thebump. i'm gonna try my hardest to do so, especially since i just learned that they're the muscles involved during an orgasm. i'd hate to mess that up!
milestone: um...i don't know! maybe seeing carter move from the outside?? now THAT will be WEIRD!
Monday, December 14, 2009
fabric shopping
last thursday, my mom, my grandma and i went to lunch together and then went fabric shopping. we wound up in brandon at joann fabrics and found quite a few cotton prints in the colors i was looking for. we really had a great time shopping around, but we didn't buy anything and we didn't find a pattern with cowboys on it, which i think is absolutely necessary for a cowboy nursery!
so on saturday, kenny and i went to calico corners--another fabric store in tampa--in search of a cowboy print. we didn't have any luck at calico corners, which is okay by me since it's VERY EXPENSIVE, but on our way back from calico, kenny saw this other place on kennedy called "that fabric place". we nearly got in an accident pulling into the place and, in my opinion, the people weren't super friendly, but their inventory definitely made the saturday trip to south tampa worthwhile!
we found this print and it very well may be the winner.
here's an up close shot of the cowboy.
they also had the same print in blue, but i'm not a fan. i think the baby blue background would get old superfast. plus, i want to paint the walls and that wouldn't be necessary if we chose the blue version.
i got some input from cheri on saturday evening and she said that if i chose the cowboy pattern with tan background, we could definitely paint the walls blue. however, when she pulled out her color wheel and showed me which shade of blue would go best based solely on that fabric, i was no longer interested in blue walls. i'm currently leaning towards painting the walls green, but i'm not sure that i'll be able to convice kenny of this. cheri said that it's all about what fabric i choose as the curtains and crib skirt/dust ruffle. she said that it would be completely acceptable to do the comforter and curtains in the tan cowboy fabric, but i think that that would be too much cowboy. i guess we'll have to wait and see what fabric(s) i find to do the curtains and skirt. i want to check out this other fabric store, "boca bargoons", and see what they have. maybe they'll have yet another cowboy fabric! my goal is to go to boca sometime this week, but kenny can't go until saturday. i'm just so anxious to get the ball rolling on carter's room! i'm ready to be painting the walls! :)
so on saturday, kenny and i went to calico corners--another fabric store in tampa--in search of a cowboy print. we didn't have any luck at calico corners, which is okay by me since it's VERY EXPENSIVE, but on our way back from calico, kenny saw this other place on kennedy called "that fabric place". we nearly got in an accident pulling into the place and, in my opinion, the people weren't super friendly, but their inventory definitely made the saturday trip to south tampa worthwhile!
we found this print and it very well may be the winner.
here's an up close shot of the cowboy.
they also had the same print in blue, but i'm not a fan. i think the baby blue background would get old superfast. plus, i want to paint the walls and that wouldn't be necessary if we chose the blue version.
i got some input from cheri on saturday evening and she said that if i chose the cowboy pattern with tan background, we could definitely paint the walls blue. however, when she pulled out her color wheel and showed me which shade of blue would go best based solely on that fabric, i was no longer interested in blue walls. i'm currently leaning towards painting the walls green, but i'm not sure that i'll be able to convice kenny of this. cheri said that it's all about what fabric i choose as the curtains and crib skirt/dust ruffle. she said that it would be completely acceptable to do the comforter and curtains in the tan cowboy fabric, but i think that that would be too much cowboy. i guess we'll have to wait and see what fabric(s) i find to do the curtains and skirt. i want to check out this other fabric store, "boca bargoons", and see what they have. maybe they'll have yet another cowboy fabric! my goal is to go to boca sometime this week, but kenny can't go until saturday. i'm just so anxious to get the ball rolling on carter's room! i'm ready to be painting the walls! :)
Friday, December 11, 2009
carter has (some) furniture! now he just needs a crib! :)
a few weeks ago, kenny and i were among a group at chenelle's place having cake from chocolate pi and celebrating her birthday. while at chenelle's, i showed kenny the pieces that her and karl got from treehouse gallery (an awesome furniture store in st.pete). kenny liked their pieces so this past saturday, he went with me to treehouse to take advantage of their 20% off sale for the holidays! (kenny's informed me of the ridiculous markup on furniture already, but if there's a "sale", im there, even if they're still making a crapload of money off my purchases!)
i don't know why i'm always shocked after i go shopping with kenny, but i always am. my head winds up spinning for hours after we go shopping like that! i mean, i'm the kind of person who goes eye shopping first. then if i find something i like, i take a photo of it. then, after a few hours, i go home and look at the photo. do i still like it? then a few weeks later, if im still thinking about the item, i'll go back and look at the item again. if i still like it, then i'll have kenny go with me and see the item. and then, 9 times out of 10, he'll buy the item even if it's the first time he's seen the piece in real life!
i was under the impression that we would be "just browsing" at treehouse and then come home and envision the future location of any pieces we thought would go well in carter's room. yeah, no, that's not what happened. we wound up purchasing a dresser, a bookshelf, a coat rack, and two nightstands! essentially, all the pieces that carter will ever need in his room (with the exception of the headboard that we might go back and purchase in a few years when carter's ready for a "big boy bed").
i think my head spins from the surprise of actually getting something the first time we go look together, especially considering all of the eye shopping that i'd done prior to going to treehouse with kenny. all the baby furniture stores in tampa, orlando, and atlanta; all the chain kids furniture stores in tampa and atlanta; all the internet searches; a trip to treehouse on my own. i've seen a lot of stuff and we knew the pieces from treehouse were EXACTLY what we were looking for for carter's cowboy room!
enough of my blubbering, here are the bookshelf and coat rack. all of the other pieces are still at treehouse, waiting for us to come retrieve them after we prime the walls, and paint the walls, and get the carpets cleaned! they said they'd hold them however long we need them to. i'm keeping my fingers crossed that they'll be in their permanent home before january is up!
the coat rack
the bookshelf
i don't know why i'm always shocked after i go shopping with kenny, but i always am. my head winds up spinning for hours after we go shopping like that! i mean, i'm the kind of person who goes eye shopping first. then if i find something i like, i take a photo of it. then, after a few hours, i go home and look at the photo. do i still like it? then a few weeks later, if im still thinking about the item, i'll go back and look at the item again. if i still like it, then i'll have kenny go with me and see the item. and then, 9 times out of 10, he'll buy the item even if it's the first time he's seen the piece in real life!
i was under the impression that we would be "just browsing" at treehouse and then come home and envision the future location of any pieces we thought would go well in carter's room. yeah, no, that's not what happened. we wound up purchasing a dresser, a bookshelf, a coat rack, and two nightstands! essentially, all the pieces that carter will ever need in his room (with the exception of the headboard that we might go back and purchase in a few years when carter's ready for a "big boy bed").
i think my head spins from the surprise of actually getting something the first time we go look together, especially considering all of the eye shopping that i'd done prior to going to treehouse with kenny. all the baby furniture stores in tampa, orlando, and atlanta; all the chain kids furniture stores in tampa and atlanta; all the internet searches; a trip to treehouse on my own. i've seen a lot of stuff and we knew the pieces from treehouse were EXACTLY what we were looking for for carter's cowboy room!
enough of my blubbering, here are the bookshelf and coat rack. all of the other pieces are still at treehouse, waiting for us to come retrieve them after we prime the walls, and paint the walls, and get the carpets cleaned! they said they'd hold them however long we need them to. i'm keeping my fingers crossed that they'll be in their permanent home before january is up!
the coat rack
the bookshelfcarter's u/s pics from the big u/s!
here are carter's 19 wk u/s pics! i know, im 23 wks now so i've been a bit of a slacker about putting these up, but nevermind that. enjoy!
he's soo cute! but im biased. i told kenny that i think he's gonna have my mouth. :) mouth-shape that is, NOT my potty-mouth. ;)
kenny and i didn't know if we should post this one, but it's such a good toilet shot and it's in 3d i couldn't resist. plus, i've shown it to all of our friends and it's not like strangers read this thing!
kenny's hoping for a little soccer player that he can kick the ball around with. we shall see!
carter's face is a little blurry in this one, but he's so cute with his arms back behind his head! he's just chilling in my uterus with a slight smile on his face! when i showed this one to our hair lady, she said, "now don't be surprised if he insists on sleeping this way when he's out of the womb." it'll be interesting to see if that'll be the case!
and lastly, we have the infamous profile shot that they take everytime. it's not super exciting, but it kinda looks like there's a little less room in there than there was at 13 wks! eek!
he's soo cute! but im biased. i told kenny that i think he's gonna have my mouth. :) mouth-shape that is, NOT my potty-mouth. ;)
kenny and i didn't know if we should post this one, but it's such a good toilet shot and it's in 3d i couldn't resist. plus, i've shown it to all of our friends and it's not like strangers read this thing!
kenny's hoping for a little soccer player that he can kick the ball around with. we shall see!
carter's face is a little blurry in this one, but he's so cute with his arms back behind his head! he's just chilling in my uterus with a slight smile on his face! when i showed this one to our hair lady, she said, "now don't be surprised if he insists on sleeping this way when he's out of the womb." it'll be interesting to see if that'll be the case!
and lastly, we have the infamous profile shot that they take everytime. it's not super exciting, but it kinda looks like there's a little less room in there than there was at 13 wks! eek!
Sunday, December 6, 2009
we have movement!!
this morning was the first time that kenny was able to feel carter kick! in fact, this morning was the first time that i was 100% sure that i felt carter! i'll be 23 wks tomorrow, so i guess we're kinda early for kenny to be able to feel him. i've been telling kenny that he wouldn't be able to feel carter until i'm at least 28 wks, especially since i have an anterior placenta, but i guess i was wrong. the first thing kenny said was, "it feels like a muscle spasm" which is pretty hilarious b/c i read on thebump just last week that that's what most women's others say when they feel the baby move for the first time! it's so exciting! kenny speculated that carter was enjoying 16 and pregnant too and that was why he was kicking so much but who knows! all i know is it's so awesome to know that he's still alive in there! :)
Friday, December 4, 2009
nursery planning
yesterday i talked to my friend becky and my sister-in-law cheri about how one goes about decorating a room. now, i'm aware that i'm not exactly design-inclined--or at least, ive never had the opportunity to design/decorate anything, so i had no problem asking around for some pointers on where to start. now, i've learned a little bit about coordinating fabrics from cheri's beautiful home that she decorated herself and from the wonderful job she did on kenny's home before i was a part of the picture, but i'd never seen her, or anyone else for that matter, in action. what do you decide first? furniture? paint? fabrics? i was completely overwhelmed but really ready to get started on making my vision for carter's cowboy room come to life.
after a nice long chat with cheri, i now have a gameplan:
1) find one fabric i absolutely LOVE
2) find three or four other fabrics that coordinate with the fabric that i love
3) once i have chosen my fabrics, THEN i can pick out a paint color
4) use graph paper to chart out the size of the room i'm working with and then cut out (scaled) pieces of the furniture i'd like to put in the room
5) arrange the furniture pieces on the graph until i find a set up i like--adjust the dimensions of the furniture as needed
6) choose a finish for the furniture that i like and just go with it
i was really hoping that kenny and i could go paint shopping this weekend, since he says that we need to paint before we get the carpets cleaned and buy furniture and really get started. too bad i haven't even stepped foot in a fabric store yet! maybe i'll go today, but it's SO NASTY outside! there's a 100% chance of rain today. gotta love florida!
after a nice long chat with cheri, i now have a gameplan:
1) find one fabric i absolutely LOVE
2) find three or four other fabrics that coordinate with the fabric that i love
3) once i have chosen my fabrics, THEN i can pick out a paint color
4) use graph paper to chart out the size of the room i'm working with and then cut out (scaled) pieces of the furniture i'd like to put in the room
5) arrange the furniture pieces on the graph until i find a set up i like--adjust the dimensions of the furniture as needed
6) choose a finish for the furniture that i like and just go with it
i was really hoping that kenny and i could go paint shopping this weekend, since he says that we need to paint before we get the carpets cleaned and buy furniture and really get started. too bad i haven't even stepped foot in a fabric store yet! maybe i'll go today, but it's SO NASTY outside! there's a 100% chance of rain today. gotta love florida!
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
im back!
so i've been a huge slacker these last few weeks--only posting updates every so often--but things should be turning around now that i have regular internet access. we were gone the majority of the month of november, in north carolina, then new york and new jersey, and lastly in the great las vegas nevada for thanksgiving! whew! now we're back in the comforts of our own home and i'm glad! it's great to have my fiber one pop tart and glass of skim milk every morning! but back to the baby...
so i'm 22wks(-ish) now and things continue to gradually expand. i have to hold back the tears every time i have to force another pair of pants or top into early retirement in the back corner of my closet. jk--kinda. but seriously, i know it's okay--it's for the baby. and plus, i don't eat like a cow ALL the time. and even if i did/do, they say you bounce back like nothing after the first one, especially if you breastfeed. im keeping my fingers crossed that carter's a good latcher-oner! speaking of carter, he's about as big as a papaya, according to thebump! here's a visual for the fruit ignorant...
that's pretty crazy! and now, for the photo you've all been waiting for...what carter looks like from the outside...
{{126 days to go.}}
so i'm 22wks(-ish) now and things continue to gradually expand. i have to hold back the tears every time i have to force another pair of pants or top into early retirement in the back corner of my closet. jk--kinda. but seriously, i know it's okay--it's for the baby. and plus, i don't eat like a cow ALL the time. and even if i did/do, they say you bounce back like nothing after the first one, especially if you breastfeed. im keeping my fingers crossed that carter's a good latcher-oner! speaking of carter, he's about as big as a papaya, according to thebump! here's a visual for the fruit ignorant...
that's pretty crazy! and now, for the photo you've all been waiting for...what carter looks like from the outside...
{{126 days to go.}}
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