Eleventy-One

Today is my eleventy-first post!

Yeah me!

I thought it would be more fun to celebrate eleventy-one rather than 100, besides, how many times do you get to say eleventy-one? (4 times so far in this blog!) I've loved that number since I first read the Lord of the Rings! Read it, I'm sure you'll love it. And if you're thinking I watched the movies good enough for me, I must say, while I love the movies, so many wonderful things were left out!

I showered.

I know you are all glad to hear that I shower. But, actually, I am talking about my baby shower, which was only the BEST baby shower of all time. THANK YOU EMILY and all her helpers for such a wonderful event- it was worth the wait!

As the guests arrived, we received a crazy celebrity baby name (taped to our back). We had to try and guess what it was. There was a lot of good natured, helpful clues and about everything short of actually cheating- because seriously, who would ever have thought of "Pilot Inspector" as your first born son's name? Sorry, if I just shattered your reality!

Here we are hanging out really close to the food. Which was heavenly! We had the best fresh fruit, dipped in a beautiful chocolate fountain. Cheesecake stuffed strawberries- I kid you not! Darling strawberry, baby rattle cupcakes. Pickles cuz I'm prego and much, much more. Oh, and of course she had my most craved food- steak! What a meal! And yes I went back for seconds...

I was so psyched to start. Here is the before. Yes, I do look really pregnant for sure! Etta is really trying to make herself as comfy as possible in there I think she may have moved in some furniture, like a crib, and refrigerator to make it more comfy til she has to come out!

We played 3 more games. The first was "Guess Who". Emily had contacted both Justin and my mother and asked them 20 questions. Then she had a list of Cassity or Justin specific childhood traits and we had to guess who was who. (I didn't even know them all for sure!)

Then "What am I wearing", where everyone looked at my outfit for 10 seconds. I left while they wrote down everything I had on, and whoever had the most correct detail won. I was doubly thankful that I had in fact showered!

After that they made me some great hats. Good for Sunday strolls, no need to bring the diaper bag. Here are our models, then of course I got to try them on too. (and later I made Justin do it too, and he did, because he is such a good sport)

And then it was present time. I was totally blown away. I was given the most wonderful things. To start was a special treat. Emily gave me an entire first year scrapbook she had made. And it included letters from family, all the local ladies, my dear girlfriends in Asheville and some of my dear friends from college. WOW!

Then I got the sweetest surprise of a video of my friends from Asheville. Leslie you are amazing. I bawled my eyes out, in front of everyone! It meant so much to me to see all these people I love so much, my whole soul misses them! Here is the picture of me explaining to everyone who this is.

Once my nose was good and red, it was time to open the other wonderful things people had lovingly prepared for Etta and me. I unfortunately had a slight problem with closing my mouth apparently! My jaw was dropped the whole time. Oh, well isn't it time I add some not so lovely pictures of myself to the blog? Okay! I wasn't able to get an image of every gift, some came out blurry, but I am thankful for them ALL.

Obviously from the expression on my face , the caption for this first image, said in a very valley girl tone is: "Dude!" Dramatic pause, "Shut! - Up!" I was obviously excited. Thanks to all those who contributed!!! And Shirley, you can totally buy me any girl outfits you ever fancy- I love them all!

I had a quick lesson of how you use my awesome "modest milker" shield. I guess it's time I find out what those things are for anyway. Shocking!

Even my older furry children were not forgotten. Kitty and Buddy are thankful to their cat friends Burt and Pumba, for their gift! And, oh my this diaper cake was loaded with goodies! Thank you Amy and Elva. I was going to leave it be for a few days and just admire it, but Buddy found the curled ribbon, which is his favorite appetizer(that is really dangerous for him too eat). I removed that, which took off the cellophane wrapping and went crazy taking it all apart- then, to my horror, I realized I hadn't photographed it!! So sad!

Here are some of the details of a few gifts, because baby girl stuff is so darn cute!

After the shower I had Justin come over. (He was home building his baby chicks a home)

He was excited about everything.

It was a wonderful day! Thank you for the love and support everyone has given us. Let the countdown really begin!

Fortunate

Don't you just love fortune cookies.

I especially liked my most recent fortunes!

(not to mention the sushi- or in my case, for the time being, California rolls)

Just me talking.

Well memorial day weekend was so nice.

It was a four day weekend- I love Justin's new work schedule. He had Friday off, and immediately got working on the chicken coop. This has been a frustrating project because whenever he actually has a day off, it is almost always used up before he gets it, with namely scouts and some other randoms. But, the situation is getting to be a little desperate because the chicks NEED a home and so it has to be finished. They are growing like weeds, and we can't keep buying them new intermediate homes.... So, that is all for the frustration in my life, it is ebbing away too, we are finally almost done.

Saturday was SO MUCH FUN! My friend Emily threw Etta's and my baby shower. YEAH! It was so fun (blog to come, I need the pictures first, so send them if you have them! Please!) so that is all I will say about that.

Sunday was pretty normal. I did get a new church calling/assignment as the Laurel advisor (I teach the 16-17 and some 18 year old (til graduation) girls their Young Women lessons on Sunday, it is like Sunday school, for your age group). I am totally psyched about this! I love teaching, and I love that age. (and is it okay that I love that it is a Sunday calling? There is prepping the lesson yes, but otherwise- Wahoo! this is a big relief)

Monday Justin and I both worked all day on the coop. I caulked all the cracks on the moldings and trim and painted, while he was just ahead of me putting it all on. I have the two front sides basically done, we are installing the front door tonight. And I will be out caulking and painting the back today- I really should get out there while it is nice a cool.

Otherwise it is the 26th today. I am due July 29th! That means almost exactly two months. We have reached the countdown stage. I am starting to get really big!!! Etta can almost kick me in the ribs (they are pretty high up there in my body) Right now she is contenting herself to kicking me "somewhere ouchy" in the upper right hand "corner" of my body- who knows where my organs actually are or what she is kicking.

Lately, Justin and I often find ourselves breaking into song. "Etta, Etta bo betta, banana fanna...." or a chant of "She likes to move it, move it, she likes to move it, move it." Both are occasionally joined in dance.

We are getting so excited!

We ran to Sonic for dinner - I know, healthy, right? I got a kids meal, that at least is smaller? Anyway, I was thinking, in a few months we will have a car seat all hooked up in the back, witha baby in it- wahoo! I mentioned this to Justin and we both just took in a deep breathe, (of anticiaption, not fear) It is just starting to feel more real. We really do have a baby on the way.

Other people reading this may be like- duh, you've been showing for months. But to me, the whole experience has been so surreal. Like something is coming, that is you are throwing up constantly, and belch like a sailor, why your hips hurt, and you can't sleep on your stomach anymore. But what that something is... we'll never know.

All this time has been counting up and now we are finally counting down. Maybe I should go make a paper chain- it's like counting down the days til we get to go to Disneyland. After 8 years of waiting, we finally only have two months, and that is not bad!

And the best part, I think is that I have finally allowed myself to imagine hanging out with MY child. Like laying on my bed and cooing at her, while she stares blankly back- until she learns how to smile. Holding her like a little curled up bunny on my shoulder and patting her little diapered behind. Or giving her a warm bath, and cleaning all that crud stuck in her neck, (gross I know, but true). Or loving those cute little chubby baby thighs- isn't that the best part of babies, their little thunder thighs. Or sneaking in just one last time to look at her little sleeping face and watch her belly rise and fall. I could go on and on.

I JUST CAN'T WAIT!
**Although, I know from the warnings in my dreams, that I want a baby not a monkey so I'll wait til she's fully cooked before I demand to see her!

In-betweenish

Since Justin and I love to remodel the house we are living in, we are used to changes. When living in the "project home", there are many times where we just have to make due. We are, if I do say so myself, pretty adaptive people and don't complain too much about "living in the chaos". I know some of our friends think we are nuts, but with the equity we've earned and the sale of both our houses in the first week, we'll deal, and happily too.

Of course, we are always doing these little "in-between" projects to make it livable in the mean time. But surprisingly, I like this because it really makes you appreciate the end result. It is also fun when you want to reminisce, for example "Remember in college, after we ripped out everything in our bathroom and school started and we ran out of time, so we lived with a tub and toilet for a year (no flooring, no shower no sink or interior walls- just studs), and had to wash our hand in the tub...ahh, good times"

We haven't done very much to any space in this new house. We are kind of at a stand still, trying to get the yard in shape while the weather is good, and getting ready for the baby. But back when we bought the house, the very first thing I did after our "2 week house closure- that should have only taken 45 minutes", as soon as I knew the house was ours? I went into the master bathroom and ripped out the disgusting, moldy, mildewey, pee-stained. probably been barfed on carpet!!

But, I must ask- Who is their right mind puts carpet in a bathroom?

DIS-GUS-TING!!!

Please I beg of you, never do this, it is gross. If you need something comfortable and soft under your feet, use a machine washable bathroom rug!

Back to the remodel- After ripping out the carpet, I scrubbed the concrete sub floor and we have been living without proper flooring ever since. We have been considering staining the concrete, but I am afraid it would be a little too slick for a bathroom, instead we will just be tiling. The problem is, we have a few other changes in mind before we get to that point, removing a closet, putting in another cabinet, installing a pocket door, things that will change the floor plan and therefore ruin a brand new tiling job.

Enter the in-betweeny projects!

Something had to be done, for my sanity, so I painted the walls with $5.00 paint, which now has become my third favorite mis-mixed color ever. I added an accent wall above the bath in a blue tone. I made drapes out of $8.00 worth of fabric and an old white cotton sheet for a liner. I went to the family dollar for cheap sheers and shortened them. (who ever designed our house put a 6' x 6' window, on the ground level, front of our house that looks directly into our master bath- genius?!!- I'll let you decide) Lastly, for my our "mean time" project, I painted the floor with yet onother mis-mixed, we'll see how it holds up, but hey at least it looks cleaner to the eye, and I can live with this til we get to demolishing and the remodel truly begins.

So here are the changes, FOR NOW:

(although the drapes will stay for sure and I LUFF the color too)

The Befores (from our walk through):

No color, wall and carpet are all the same light beigey-tan.

And when they moved out and took their rugs with them, the stains on the carpet almost warranted a crime scene investigation.

**Don't forget to play "Where's Buddy" while looking through the pictures.

Here is the blessed window to our front yard.

Undressed, although the walls have been painted at this point.

Here are the sheers, before they were shortened. They were really were a pain to get the same length, because while they said they were the same size, they totally were NOT.

The finished drapes:

Here are the pictures of the floor. I could never get all the plaster off the concrete from the darned textured walls- another pet peeve!!!

And finally, the floor painted and the random junk moved back in, totally not staged or beautiful but hopefully in a few months it can be. For now, I am just glad it feels sorta finished. Although, I am chomping at the bit to paint the vanity white, but all good things come in time.

Washing spree

Happy Monday!

Today is an unscheduled washing laundry day. I have about 17 loads to do. How is that possible with only two people? (I realize to all you seasoned mothers of 18 or even 3 this sounds like nothing, but still, yuck- 17 loads? really?)

About 3 weeks ago our washer decided to spew water all over our laundry room. The culprit was found, the part was ordered. I washed six loaded of laundry by hand... (lazy or crazy, not sure which) The part was waited for, and finally arrived a week late. But guess what, wrong part, they charged us $12.00 for a screw. Yes, that is what I said, a single screw.

We drove to a local repair shop, to see if the part was there. Yes, victory! (why didn't we do this 2 weeks ago) They had it on hand, a bit more than 12.00, urgh, but available for pick up. We got the part.

Justin was finally free to install it Saturday. We had enough time to wash one load of unmentionables before Sunday. I don't do laundry on Sunday, sabbath and all so now, I have everything and it's dog to wash, including every single rag and dish towel in my house! But I already have about 4 loads down and plenty of day. And it totally beats washing the stuff by hand- we have no idea how blessed we are as a society to have washing machines!

Sneak Peek

I am not nearly done with Etta's room. I don't think I will be able to really post it until I get a crib for the room, but for now a have a little peek at what I've been collecting. Which is far too much for one room, but when it all gets "installed" I am sure it will be very exciting.

First, one of my most favorite things, is this hand made rag-rug. I LOVE it because my mother's mommy made it. The colors are ideal and I love that it has meaning, and adds a TON of color to the room!

This shows the basic wall color. I opted for neutral, because there is a heck of a lot of color everywhere else. I painted the ceiling blue-BUT, NOT because that is the color of the sky!!! I had my ceilings blue in Asheville and it is just a fun surprise to have a color on the ceiling. The Robin Egg blue is also a major part of the color scheme.

You may have also noticed from the previous picture, a paper lantern. There are more where that came from, but I am not showing you them in place, (I guess 'til they get there!)

I think this "hope" sign is just cute. I got it in the dollar bins at Target at Christmas, but it is sparkly blue, so perfect. And also states perfectly what we have been feeling for the last few, or eight years!

I have WAY too many art options. I have three more that aren't even photographed. I think I am actually going to hang two in her walk in closet, just because I can. But here are some of the options, that will not all be used but may be. Who knows.

Remember, I love modern art. I was at the Dallas museum a few weeks ago and someone walked by and scoffed at a simple modern art piece. They said " I can do that". But guess what- you're too late, it's already been done.

That is what is interesting about modern art. Sure, you can paint an orange square and call it art, but it wouldn't be original unless you think of it first. A majority of the history of art has been trying to create more impressive works. Only in the last just over 100 years has that idea been put to the test. AS artist began to step back and simplify. It is a whole different thought process, and makes it interesting. Besides try recreating a modern art piece sometimes, it is not as easy as you may think. There are subtleties that you miss, with out understanding the work behind it. (that said I like respectly modern art, there are definitely peices that are NOT good)

I cross stitched this a few years ago. It is just a little kit you can buy at Joann's but it is cute. I may put it on a shelf or something.

Here is Etta's first baby blanket, made by me, exclusively for her. It is so cute and soft. I can't wait to cuddle her in it.

My sister Tiffany gave my this bassinet a few years ago. I am excited to finally be able to use it. I am planning on making a skirt and cover etc for it. Meanwhile, it is holding toys and the crib bedding that Tiff also gave me. I have two sets, both adorable, So, we will see which one we use at least this time around!

I don't know how or when I am going to get all this together. Let's hope it just sorta happens, like it has been collecting stuff it will magically finish itself! (somehow)