The This and That...

Hey everybody! I hope all of you are doing well. I wanted to thank all of you for your congratulations about the birth of Judah. We are so happy that he is finally here.

Not much other than baby related stuff has been going on around here. Our little man had his two week appointment on Friday and was back up to his birth weight. (There is a long story about this, but let's just say that he wound up gaining 11 ounces between last Tuesday and last Friday.)

We have been adjusting to being new parents, mainly the lack of sleep at night. My body is starting to adjust though and I just love to have an excuse to snuggle up with my little man for an afternoon or mid-morning nap. For the time being, I have been spending my days with Judah snuggled up on my chest. I figure this time will only last so long, so I am enjoying it while I can.

One of my friends did some maternity pictures for us around 36 weeks. I thought I would share a couple of them with you.

Welcome Little Blessing...

Our little boy has arrived!

Judah
arrived on Friday evening
8 pounds 14.7 ounces.

I will post more when time is more available.

Any New News (38 Weeks)...

Hello everyone! Apparently these little two week hiatuses are just part of my life right now. I am sorry if I have left you hanging about whether or not the baby has arrived...

But, our little boy still has not made his entrance. However, since the last post I did have a false alarm that had us spending half of the day in Labor and Delivery at the hospital and got my mom on the road between here and Florida. Turns out even though I was having very regular "mini-contractions" they weren't the real deal and we were discharged. My mom did wind up coming on out here though since we weren't sure if things would kick into high gear or not. We had a great time getting to have some girl time. We mainly shopped, talked, walked around, and ate. It was nice to actually get to hang with my mom instead of us being consumed by a project around here.

Me and the tummy at 38 weeks and 3 days.

This week is the week though. My Lovenox injections have been switched to twice a day Heparin injections so that I can have an epidural if I want it. I had a check up today and everything seems good. The baby is still happy and he had the hiccups almost the whole time I was on the monitor today. I go in later on this week to be induced. So this is the week and I can't believe that this time next week I will be holding my own little boy, my son. I am soooo excited.

Today I zoned the nursery and my hallway. Tomorrow I am going to zone our bedroom, the kitchen, and the bathroom. On Wednesday, I am going to zone the office/dogs' room and living/dining room. I had a lot of energy this morning and I think that the adreniline of the baby coming (nesting) and the fact that both my parents and my in-laws are coming is helping me finish off my to do list.

Hopefully I will be back before I am induced because I had a couple of things I wanted to share that I am just too tired right now to write out. But, if not, then next time you here from me I will be holding my little boy. :-D

The This and That of the Last Few Weeks...

Hey everybody! I hope that all of you had a good weekend and that some autumn weather is starting to show up around your home (I guess that is if you like fall weather).

Things have been busy and not busy around here. I have been getting some stuff done, just not as much as I would like to get done. My DH keeps telling me to not worry about it and not to be expecting myself to do everything I was doing since I am 8/9 months pregnant.

Yesterday was a busy day for us; but, I God supplied me all the energy I needed. Even though on the ride back home I could feel how exhausted I was. We went to church from 10-12, then some of me dear friends hosted a baby shower for me from 2-4 (pictures and a post to come about it), then a friend of ours did maternity pictures for us from 5:30-7, then my DH's work had its annual picnic from 5-8 (which we showed up late for).

I need to gather up pictures from different people's camera and do a post on the baby shower. I had such a nice time. I also feel really glad that our maternity pictures are done. I have a few that she took on my camera to share, but all of the ones of my DH and I don't have yet. (I had to degrade the quality of them so that they wouldn't take forever to load.)
On the pregnancy front, I am in the middle of week 36. We have been going to the twice a week appointments and they tell us that the baby is happy. I don't think he really likes the heart rate monitor very much because every time he moves out from under the monitor and we lose his heart rate. The doctor recommended that I eat some protein before we come and some sugar. So we have been eating some eggs and cheese and then eating a scone or an apple fritter before we go. On the days I eat the sugar, the baby moves around a lot. It is so funny.

The doctor said that he has dropped and I have been having a lot of Braxton-Hicks contrations; but no real ones yet. So we were less than 3 weeks away from meeting our little boy. Yay!!!

The nursery is almost finished. My DH finished the shelves he was building for me on Saturday and now they are off to the refinishing guy. I will give a tour of it once I get it done, which will hopefully be next week.

From August to September...

Happy September to all of you (3 days late)!!! Is the fall weather starting to pop its head around in your area? First thing in the mornings, the weather has the slightest little hint of fall around here. I just can't wait until it gets a little cooler and the air just smells of fall.

August is now history and I am really happy with all of the productivity of it. I made a ton of progress getting things around here ready for our little boy's arrival. His nursery is almost done; but, we have hit a few potholes in regards to the shelves my husband was building for me and the refinishing of the rocking chair. I am praying it works out though.

Our childbirth classes are over with. I learned a nice amount of stuff. Next week I am attending a Breastfeeding Class and then my DH and I are attending an Infant CPR class a few weeks later.

I have worked on a few sewing projects over the last few weeks. I am currently finishing up a few nursing covers and need to accent some burp clothes. My goal is to have both of these projects done by the end of the long weekend.

This month one of my goals is to actually get my ETSY shop up and running. I have several items that I have been wanting to list for the last 6 months but I haven't gotten around to it. Hopefully this month is the month.

This week I am wanting to put away all of the random summer decorations around the house and give everything a good cleaning. Then next week I have hopes of putting out all of my fall decorations. I just absolutely love to decorate for fall and light spice scented candles.

I am pretty sure that fall (autumn) is one of my favorite seasons. I enjoy rretty much everything that surrounds fall. The apples, the pumpkins, the leaves, and smells. What about you?

Week 33 (For Lack of a Better Title)...

Happy Monday everybody! I hope that your weekend was pleasant.

I have a new tummy picture from Saturday. I am currently in the middle of week 33. The time is getting closer and I am sooooo EXCITED! I have been feeling our little boy move around a lot, even when I am standing up. Tomorrow I start with the twice a week appointments. My hospital suitcase is packed. So, we are just waiting on him now. :-D
I am hoping to get some maternity pictures taken around week 35. I want to have some cute pictures of my DH and I with the baby bump. I figure that I will be big enough by then and that I don't risk him coming before we get them taken if we get them done before week 37.

On Saturday, one of my good friends threw a baby shower for me. I don't have the pictures from it yet, but it was really nice. She did such a nice job. She decorated in blues and greens with little cars and polka dots. I will have to share some pictures when I get them. I had such a nice time visiting with the wives' of my DH's co-workers.

Not much has been happening around here. The high is only 91 degrees today. It makes me want to do something outside, like take a nature walk or something, maybe we will do that this evening. Today I am zoning the dining room, as well as doing my weekly home blessing. If I have the time, which I probably won't, I will work on a couple of nursing covers I started last week.

What is your day looking like?

The Last of the Normal...

(Photo Credit goes to my DH)

Happy Wednesday everybody!

Well, this morning I had the last of of my normal doctor's visits. Starting Tuesday, we begin our twice a week monitoring appointments. I can't believe we are getting so close to meeting our little boy.

My appointment today went well. We were able to ask a few questions and get a little better picture of what to expect in the upcoming weeks. One thing I was very curious about was what happened if the baby was found to be under stress and if that automatically meant that I would have a c-section. My doctor said depending on what kind of stress it was, I was not for sure going to have a c-section. She said that there were several factors that would result in my having a c-section. I also found out that I will not be going past my due date due to the anticardiolipin antibodies, that are the cause of my daily blood thinner injections, and concern of stress on the baby. Basically, if our sweet little boy hasn't made his appearance by the 16th of October, I will either be induced or have a c-section. My doctor is hoping he will come around week 37. We will have to see what God has planned because we aren't in control of that.

My DH and I went to our second of three child birthing classes yesterday. We learned some breathing techniques and toured the Labor and Delivery area. We also watched videos of several births and I do believe that I would have been just fine not seeing them. The whole time we were watching them I kept thinking this is really private stuff that I feel like I shouldn't be watching. I don't think that watching the actual deliveries was informative or helpful for me, instead I think it gave me mental images I didn't need. Okay, on to something else now...

I will be posting a picture on Friday of my 33 week tummy. My doctor said, based on tummy measurements, the baby doesn't seem too big or small. She said me being on the blood thinners could make him small/underweight, but she said he seems to be a normal size. Yay!!!

How is your week going???

Pecan Sandies...

Yesterday I made some Pecan Sandies from a Martha Stewart recipe. My DH is a big fan of pecans (as am I) and one of his favorite store bought cookies is the Kebler Pecan Sandies. I tried the recipe and they are delicious. I don't think I will ever think that the store bought ones taste any good now. Mine did get the slightest bit overcooked, but they are still tasty.

The recipe is very simple to make, is very fast, and has easy clean up (just one bowl plus your measuring utensils). I hope you enjoy!

Pecan Sandies
(Prep: 15 minutes
Total: 30 minutes + cooling)

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy; beat in vanilla and salt. With mixer on low, gradually add flour, beating just until combined. Fold in pecans.

Roll dough into 1 1/2-inch balls, and place on two baking sheets, 2 inches apart. With the dampened bottom of a glass, lightly flatten each ball.

Bake until cookies are golden brown, 15 to 17 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer to wire racks, and let cool. (To store, keep in an airtight container, up to 5 days.)

Yield: 18 cookies

A Week of Absense and Productivity...

Hey everyone! This past week has really flown by and here were are at Monday again.

Today, my DH went back to work in his office. It was so nice to have him working here at the house this summer. I do believe I got a little spoiled having him at the dining room table all the time. Today, I have been doing chores around here and stuff, trying to keep myself occupied and trying not to feel a little lonely.

Last Wednesday was the last "official" day for me to watch the precious little kiddos I have been watching for the last 2 1/2+ years. While I may watch them here and there in the future, the multiple times a week opportunities to spend time with them is over. They have been such a joy to watch and spend time with. I am pretty sure I could fill up a whole notebook of random and funny sayings from A, she has completely cracked me up over the last few years. As that chapter of my life slowly closed on Wednesday, I must admit that I did have to fight back a few tears as A. and I sat at the table doing "crafty things" like we have done many times before. I just can't believe that over two years have past since A. and J. came into my life and brought the joy that children bring into my DH and I's home.

The new chapter of my life will be brief and busy. I have had what some people call nesting pretty severely and I am sure that it won't quit until everything on my list of to do's is done. I have managed to get about half of my list complete, so I feel like it is possible to get it all done. The next chapter of my life may start anytime now, but we are hoping for sometime after October 1st.

One of my big projects over the last week was reorganizing the laundry/sewing room. When we moved my sewing stuff into the laundry room, there was ample space yet we didn't take the time to organize it. Instead we, for the most part, haphazardly just put the stuff on the shelves and let it be. I meant to take a picture of mess before, but I forgot. Now, my fabrics are organized as well as the rest of my crafting supplies.


Last week, my sewing project was a nap pad for J. made out of a vintage cowboy print and some soft denim. I forgot to get a picture of it though before he took it home though. I think that it turned out really cute though. This week, I plan on sewing a nursing cover and embellishing some burp clothes. I am hoping that they will both be rather quick projects; but, we will have to see.

Saturday, my DH and I did some touch up painting in the nursery. There were a few places we had missed and we painted the closet doors and main door. I hope to have some pictures of the nursery up with in the next two and a half weeks, once everything is complete. For now, I will share a picture of the little hanging on his door. My mom and I found early in my pregnancy and I knew just the place for it. I love that it says "Bless This Baby".
Well, I had better get to cooking some dinner. Lentils and rice are on the menu and I think I might bake a batch of pecan sandies as a surprise for my DH. Hope that your evening is blessed!

"You Must Be Due Any Day Now"...

I went out and about today running some errands. I have been surprised by how much more talkative many women that I have never met before are. I think that it is some sort of a "mommy-bond" that makes women seem so interested in how big you are, the baby's gender, and whether or not said baby has a name yet.

To me, when I look in the mirror, I see my tummy as big, but I don't see it as humongous or about to pop. However, to the world I apparently look significantly larger. I had 4 ladies start a conversation with some variation of "your baby will be here any day now..." They look extremely surprised when I tell them that I have nine more weeks left and most of them responded with something along the lines of "you aren't going to make it that far". One lady followed her first statement with "are you having twins or triplets?" Being a part of these conversations has actually made me smile, cracked me up a little, and increased my anticipation of our little ones arrival.

I previously had the mind set that we had at least 9 weeks left; but the last few days I become more aware that 9 weeks may be the maximum and not the minimum amount of time left. I am beginning to less anxious now that I am getting things checked off of my "Things To Do Before the Baby Arrives" list.

My mom was here last weekend and worked in the nursery. We finished the little painting on the wall and I now have a plan for pulling the rest of the room together. I have completed one curtain and now I just have to finish the other curtain. My DH is going to build me a couple of shelves to put around the room. The last week of August my rocking chair, the nursing stool, and the shelves will be going to the refinishing guy and he should have them completed about a week after that. We also bought the crib mattress too. So things are starting to come together.

I have made my hospital packing list and purchased the items that I didn't have. My goal is to pack my hospital bag this weekend and have it sitting by the front door.

I have been feeling really well and have had a nice amount of energy that usually runs out about 8 or 9 pm. My shots are going well and all of my blood work came back good from my last lab. I have another appointment one week from Wednesday and then we begin the twice a week appointments. I am getting so excited just thinking about our little boy finally arriving, and I am pretty sure that I have used the word "excited" a hundred times in post about our little boy. I just can't help myself, I am so happy.

Also, one of my friends, who's due date was a week and a half before mine, had her baby this week. He is in the NICU and last I heard was in "unstable" condition. Please keep their little baby in your prayers. His name is Sean.

I hope that all of you have a very nice weekend!