A City Life For Me

We recently purchased a camcorder…Ben’s form of preserving family history.  In our attempts to learn how to use both the camera and the software, we made a tour of the baby’s room.  This is our first try, so please don’t laugh! I guess things are going well in the pregnancy.  My doctor insists I will go late, but I am praying that I will go into labor on my own next week.  I don’t want to be induced!  I’ve starting having a few “practice” contractions here and there, but not really anything to talk about.  Everything is ready, so the baby can feel free to come anytime.  Ben would like to finish out the month for work before taking time off.   Leave me a comment with suggestions for the filmmaker. 

Today is our second wedding anniversary.  I have been blessed to be married to my best friend for two years!  We are planning a special dinner out later this week to celebrate. 

Grandma!!! Do you know what is special about today?  Only 13 days until baby is due!  Just kidding.  While that is true, today is special because my Grandma, MaryLou Paul, is having a birthday.  She is…21!  Can’t you tell? This is me, Grandma, and Mom at our Christmas Tea in 2008.    I found this little picture while searching for the birthday cake, and it made me laugh.  I knew it would make Mom laugh too!

Ben drove to Shelby, NC on Saturday to pick up the baby’s crib.  Mr. Greene had stained and finished it for us.  It is a beauty!  We got it all set up on Saturday night.  On Sunday Ben had to finish mounting the locks on the hinged panel so that baby can’t fall out.  Here are some pictures.  Everytime Ben walks by the nursery, it’s hard to resist flipping on the light and taking a good look at the crib…again!  It’s hard to tell in the picture, but the bumper is baby blue with white polka dots.  It’s reversible to white with blue dots, so if it’s a girl we can make it a little less boyish.   15 Days and Counting…

I had an ultrasound yesterday to verify that the baby is gaining weight and developing properly.  Everything is fine!  According to our prepared child birth class, a baby at 37 weeks should be about 6 pounds.  I was 37 weeks two days ago, and the ultrasound estimated the baby’s weight at 6 pounds 14 ounces.  He/she should gain another pound to pound and a half before birth.  I don’t think the pictures are very clear, but here they are… Baby was looking right at us! This is a picture of the body, but the spine shows up very well! Only 19 days and counting…

Last night the ladies of my church threw me a baby shower.  I came home with a car packed full of goodies!   Linda Skinner is the Pastor’s wife.  She was in charge of the shower.  She decorated with a Precious Moments theme. Some of the ladies of the church – Kathy Lynch, Mary Hunczak, Janet Lancaster, Kayla & Hannah Russell   Yeah – Fuzzi Bunz!  (Susan Ruiz in background) I looked in the bag and thought it was a package of diapers.  But it was SO heavy!  After I managed to pull it out, I found a mega package of wipes – 6 refills!!!  What a blessing!  (Denise Sweede is the nursery coordinator at our church, and we have a great nursery!  She kept track of all the gifts for me) Julia Hutson gave me a Bumbo.  I am very excited to try it out because I have heard so many good things about them! Presents from Mom & Grandma – Fuzzi Bunz, Wet Bags, and a butterfly blanket with matching burp cloths.  Everyone was ...

Here is a picture of me at 36 and a half weeks.  I finally look a little bit pregnant, although I’ve been feeling it for a while!

I’ve been freezing some meals and things so that I don’t have to cook right away after the baby is born.  My freezer space is very limited, but I’m working with it!  Here is what we have ready: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins   1 batch.  I found this recipe via Money Saving Mom .   Sloppy Joes   2 batches.  This is the best ever recipe, compliments of my mom! Ingredients: 1 pound ground beef 3/4 c. chopped onion 1 1/2 tsp. garlic salt 1/8 tsp. pepper 1/2 c. chili sauce 1/4 c. brown sugar 1 Tbsp. white vinegar 1 Tbsp. mustard 8 oz. tomato sauce Directions: Brown beef and onion; drain grease.  Add remaining ingredients.  Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.  Serve on hamburger buns.  We like to eat ours with American cheese on top! Southwest Burritos   1 batch.  I made a batch and split it.  We ate half last for supper last night, and I froze the other half.  It was a new recipe , so I wanted to make sure we like...

I have a magnetic scrapbook frame that hangs on the wall.  I just started a countdown…in days!…until baby’s arrival.  We will see if it is on time or late!

The very last baby project is done!  I made a Beatrix Potter quilted wall hanging to decorate the nursery.  I purchase a piece of Beatrix Potter fabric off Ebay several months ago.  Today I finally got everything together and finished the project.  I was nervous because it is like a small quilt, and I have never done any quilting before.  I didn’t have a pattern, and I only had one piece of fabric so there was no room for error!  I only had to use my seam ripper a couple of times.  Ben was nice and made supper while I finished up tonight! I have to find a rod that is a little shorter…I thought this curtain rod would work (it matches the other curtain rod in the nursery), but it’s kind of long! There are scenes from Peter Rabbit, Jemimah Puddleduck, and Mrs. Tiggy Winkle (she is my favorite).

I am now less than a month away from my due-date.  Yesterday was packing and cleaning day!  I now have my bags packed and ready to go to the hospital, and I finished cleaning, organizing, and arranging the baby’s room.  The crib won’t be here until October 17th (pray that I don’t go into labor while Ben is gone on that day!), but everything else is set.  Ben requested that we purchase a changing table…only if I wanted him to help with some diaper changes.  That was all I needed to start looking for a changing table, which I previously not planned on purchasing.  I was able to find one on Craigslist that is a similar style to the crib, and it was only $20.  Now that we have the changing table I was able to pull out some of the diapers and better arrange all of the baby stuff that we have been collecting.  All we need is the baby! This is what you see when you walk into the baby’s room.  This is my nursing corner.  Ben picked the roc...

I thought this comic strip rather humorous, especially considering all of the advice that I have been receiving lately regarding this baby…and I haven’t even had it yet!!!

I have been working on a baby afghan for quite some time now.  Ben has teased me constantly that I won’t finish it in time for the baby’s arrival.  I was determined to prove him wrong, but not diligent enough to work on the blanket consistently.  Last week Ben issued an ultimatum – I’m not allowed to go into labor until the blanket is done.  So, I made up my mind to finish it.  Here it is! No, we don’t know that the baby is a boy.  But the nursery is going to be a theme of Beatrix Potter & Peter Rabbit characters, so the colors I chose are white, blue, and chocolate brown with a little bit of green.  That’s why the blanket is blue and white.  And, thankfully, now I can go into labor at any time.