The Secret it Out!

Well- it's official….

We'll be moving back home to Derby after Eli comes.

We've been getting ready for quite a while now (my sister was still pregnant when we "announced" it- her child is now over a year and a half old.)

We put the house on the market the first week of March.

We contacted a real estate agent this summer and had him tell us what was left to remodel. 

He laughed at us.

Dumass (seriously- that's his name):

We got the floors sanded and stained…here's a before. 

It looks worse up close than far away.

And now….dark and rich. 

We've taken multiple trips home with carloads of stuff.
"Pre-moving" if you will.
We loaded almost an entire car load full of JUST board games. 

Don't worry, we still have an entire shelf full in our closet.

Don't judge me.

We got to see BABIES while we were home the week the floors were getting done.

And hold them.

And stare at them.

Wonderful, sweet, tiny babies.

Sam got babtized….hence the tiny tie. He's so fancy! 

Ben is only 6 days old here! 

Rico held them both too. He's getting to be quite the baby holding pro.

Don't mind what looks like an awkward non-dad man-hold going on here (you know what I am talking about), I was leaning forward on the chair- I have an excuse

AHHHHHH- two cute babies in one room! 

I can honestly say that we left and breathed a deep breath.

We could do this!

The friends we had grown up with were parents- and they were rocking it. 

They seemed calm, cool, and collected. 

We laughed and joked and smiled- like NORMAL people

I don't know what I expected.

Zombies?

Actually, that's not far off from what I expected- and they would have every right.

Instead, they were still themselves. 

So wonderfully still themselves.

Beacons of hope.

I think I may have set some pretty high and unrealistic standards however:

#1- those little boys are SO cute and SO precious. 

We both laugh that with every ridiculously cute child our friends have, the lower our statistical chances of having an adorable child. 

We've basically given up hope at this point. 

No offence Eli- but we aren't setting the bar high. 

We'll still think your cute- right? I think that's how it works.

Seriously, our friends and family took all the cuteness.

Rude.

Oh well, at least I can awww over their instagrams.

#2- BOTH moms are teeny tiny. Yes, even Mrs. "I just gave birth 6 days ago" 

What the heck ladies. 

I'm just hoping to get back to pre-pregnancy weight within a few MONTHS! 

I spent YEARS preparing Rico that my after-birth body was going to be under long-term construction, and then these ladies go and pull a TLC reality home renovation speed body over-haul.

Again, statistics are not on my side here. 

We also took in a lot of Wichita favorites while we were home.

All foods…it's no wonder I've already gained 35 pounds (uh-huh…with 8 weeks left to go. My midwife gently told me that I might be ok dialing back on my high protein diet. "We DO want a nice big baby, but we also don't want you to gain so much weight that labor becomes difficult" Basically, a nice way to say, "Hey fatty, stop eating so much protein so you can actually get into all those crazy birthing positions you want to do!")

To be fair, we ate all these places BEFORE she told me this.

Picadilly (not like KC's version)

I made Rico get the pasta I ordered on the night we got engaged- hoping it would salvage our valentines. 

It didn't.

Oh well, at least it was super tasty.

Casa Martinez

My VERY favorite Mexican restaurant in Derby. I have a t-shirt.

Madrocks

The local Derby bar- where you literally know the waitress.

Jimmy's Diner

An old 50's style diner that we both grew up going to ALL the time. Neither of us had been in years.

Oh, and there's the bump.

While we were home we also go to see:

Rico's grandparents

His parents

My parents

His brother and his baby

My sister and her "baby" (who now has to warm up to me like I am a stranger----SOOO sad)

And- had timing worked out better, we could have easily seen the other set of Rico's grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins (on both sides).

Are you starting to see why we might be moving back?

One night, we were all sitting in his parent's basement (I want to say we were all in Pj's, but honestly that may have just been my pregnant self) watching the Olympics snacking, and chatting and I thought THIS is why we are moving back.

I had the same thought while I was shopping with my mom and sister at Hobby Lobby next to a sweet mother and daughter couple who were giggling and smiling with each other.

Meanwhile, I hear MY mom and sister 2 aisles away bickering with each other.

 I just had to laugh. 

Friends.

Food.

Family.

It's the trifecta.

OBVIOUSLY I will miss KC. 

I can't think about it too much or I'll cry. 

Our first home, our cute little "downtown", the festivals, our lake. 

A job teaching the EXACT classes I always dreamed of teaching.

A job that my husband LOVES with people that he actually respects AND likes.

Easy access to any sort of sporting event we may ever want to go to (that one will be hard for Rico).

NEW places to go and things to do.

It was a great place for us to spend our first 5 years of marriage.

I would do it all over again.

We've had MANY moments where we say to each other, "WHY are we leaving THIS?!"

Life is good. 

But- now it's time to stop being strangers to our nieces. 

Time to stop having to feel bad that we didn't spend enough time with so and so during our short visit.

Time to stop having to miss showers and birthdays and other fun events with our friends because of a  3 1/2 hour drive (1 way) and a hefty gas bill.

Time to stop being consumed by "busy", and to be consumed by family time.

Time to say goodbye to the ideal home that we thought we would raise a family in, and to say hello to a tiny little fixer-upper that let's us live on one income.

And, the most important reason of all- time to say that Eli needs to be near his family. 

Ok, so maybe I need them more than he will for a bit- but either way, 

a little boy needs his villiage…and we're moving back to our village.

And don't you DARE ask me 

"When are you moving" 

or 

"What will Rico be doing for work?" 

or 

"Where will you live when you get there?" 

or 

"What will you do for part time work?" 

or really any of the questions one should have an answer to when they move…because we don't know the answer to any of those things.

Any. of. them.

God knows. You could ask Him- but He hasn't even let US in on those little details yet- so I doubt you'll  get it out of Him. 

Seriously though, I'm "Letting go, and letting God"…and it's easier than I imagined. 

He's always provided and delivered beyond what we could have imagined, so I can't wait to see what He has in store for us- even fully realizing that what He might have in store is a serious of the largest challenges our relationship will ever face and that His answers might be "no" more than they are "yes"

He's got this. 

He's got this pregnancy.

He's got this labor.

He's got this move.

He's got this job situation.

We just have to do our part to move his plan along and to accept that whatever the answer is- there is a reason FAAAR beyond what my little whacked out pregnancy brain can fathom for why. 

Until then- we sell a house, have a baby, look for a job, buy a new house, and move all within the next few months. 

And you thought we weren't risk takers?!

A Rough Weekend

It was a rough weekend. 

It started with a lot of crying. 

It was filled with a lot of cleaning

construction,

and general hard work.

It ended again in crying.

Without wallowing too much- we got news last week that basically made out future crystal clear.

 It solved ALL our problems. 

It was a solution beyond our dreams.

It was too good to be true.

Well…it WAS too good to be true.

Friday- we found out that it wasn't happening. 

We were crushed.

Crushed.

But, looking on the bright side- we did get to spend some quality time with the in-laws who helped us do SO much work on the house. 

ANNND they took us to the Melting Pot. 

Thank God for them. 

She can clean (with a smile no less) with the best of the best, and he served as everything from our plumber, to our painter, to our mudding expert. 

We were so busy all Saturday that we didn't have time to wallow…plus who can wallow over a pot of melted chocolate? 

Not me.

"VD" day

"Happy valentines day!" was the first thing I said to my husband this morning. His response?

"Happy VD day to you too"

So romantic here in the Brown house. The sappiness doesn't end there- just wait until you see the thoughtful and romantic gifts we got each other!

This is what I made Rico for v-day.

Because I require a theme for ALMOST everything, and because I felt guilty about what a crappy gift  I was getting him and a theme made it seem better- I call this EITHER

"Our love is comfortable" (since that is our song AND these are all his comfort foods)

OR

"A Day Of YES" (since these are all foods that I normally don't allow in the house)

Either way- it's what you get when you won't tell your wife what you want 

AND all the non cheesy pinterest ideas involve beer. We can NOT have another bottle of beer in the house.

He literally has nowhere left to put them.

AND your wife is pregnant so her new love language is food. 

So what does a man get a wife whose new love language is food- but who shouldn't be eating tons of candy?

A compromise.

Of note: I really like presents. I do LOVE surprise gifts, but I'm not above just telling Rico what to buy for me if there is something I really want. 

I'm a strong believer in not making your husband have to read your mind- it just doesn't seem fair and then everyone ends up disappointed.

Most years I say- "I don't want a gift, I just want something thoughtful" and he'll deliver.

Our freshmen year of college he surprised me by secretly driving up, standing in the quad between 3 dorm room towers, calling me to tell me to look out my window, and holding up posters telling me that he loved me and asking me to be my valentine…so don't get me wrong, the man can be romantic.

EVERY year I have put my foot down on 1 item. 

I HAD to get a box of Russell Stover's candy.

The white box. 

With the pink ribbon. 

(except one year he got brave and got the purple bow because he read what was in it and it was WAAAAAY more Alli- friendly- so I let him start making that decision all on his very own)

 and it HAD to be the BIG box. 

Why? 

Every year, for all of my life, my dad gave my mom a card and a BIG white box of Russell Stover's candies with the pink ribbon. 

Always. 

It was always sitting on the kitchen table when she got home from work.

Always. 

He would get my sister and I the mini-4 piece baby box version of the same candies.

Always. 

(I know, he's a really cute daddy)

Clearly that MUST be the only acceptable way for a man to say "I love you" on valentines day. 

Duh. 

Aren't you glad you know now.

Having a giant box of candy around the house is just asking for gestational diabetes- so I thought of the perfect compromise…well, really my cravings thought of it. 

This year, I REALLY wanted chocolate covered strawberries instead.

Clearly, I refuse to pay (or let him pay) $20 for a half dozen (that's the going rate here)- so I asked him to make them.

…and here they are.

God bless him.

I didn't do a very good job of not laughing. 

It's ok, you can chuckle too. We weren't even home yet when he started warning me, 

"Just so you know, the strawberries didn't go so well"

You see, he's made these before. 

Successfully. 

On our 7 year dating anniversary he even made chocolate covered dried apricots to go along with them- they were BEAUTIFUL. 

Clearly it has been a while and he is out of practice. 

"Honey, where are the stems?"

"I cut them off- so you can eat the WHOLE thing!"

"So how did you pick them up to dip them?"

"Toothpicks"

Man, I wish I had a video of him doing this at 7am.

**He had to wake up early (before the people came to sand/ stain our floors) to make them. **

Now, before you start thinking that this VD day is just TOO perfect and sweet and sentimental

 (did I mention that all week I was bossing him around about what type of chocolate to buy and that eventually I just bought it all myself because I am such a control freak?)

 I haven't even GOTTEN to the eating out portion.

Yes, we went out to eat. 

At the same place we went last year.

A bar.

Yes, he took a pregnant lady to a bar.

Ok, not A bar- THE bar.

It's called Stuey McBrew's and it really is SO good.
We've tried to eat there every weekend for over a month and have never been able to get a table. 

They were out of tables, again, but we were determined.

So we ate our valentines day meal sitting at the bar. 

And it was DANG good.

At least this year we didn't overhear the table of bitter single ladies behind us talking about people getting married too young and pointing to us saying that we weren't going to make it. 

On valentines day! 

Meanies.

So there you have it. 

We bought each other unhealthy food.

We exchanged a quick kiss while we hurried to get to work/ get the dog to the groomers. 

We ate at a bar. 

For lunch- we'll be going to Oklahoma Joe's BBQ…you know, the place where you stand in line for 30 minutes to get your food and there are rolls of paper towels on the tables- super sophisticated and classy (AND super tasty AND also my idea)

I'm sure later tonight I will drag him to the card section (as we've done a few random years before), and we'll pick out cards for each other, show them to each other in the aisle, laugh, kiss, and then put them back.

We don't "do" cards.

Or flowers (I lost that privilege when I asked him who he bought red roses for…since I am "Too cool for what every other woman in America would have been excited about"…oops. I can't help it, I think they are cheesy.)

A realistic valentines day.

It's NOT like the movies. 

It's weird. 

It's kind of trashy.

It involves me being a control freak- and him loving me in spite of that.

It's US. 

So, happy VD day to all of you too- I hope you get to celebrate in your own odd little ways too.

Happy Birthday Cankles

Happy birthday to my sister! 

My "gift" to her is that I now have CANKLES! 

She requested evidence…so here they are- your birthday cankles.

Rico told me that angle wasn't really capturing the full width of my ankles, so we tried again. 

I feel like if you have a sister, you understand this. 

In other pregnancy news…I also had my first wake-up screaming leg cramp. 

I'm still walking funny.

Boo.

My body is revolting against this stressful week….BUT I survived

and I have the cankles to prove it.

No Good, Very Bad Day

Today was the day we detailed the kitchen. As in empty all the cabinets, clean, paint, and re-stock/ re-organize. 

Like most projects- it looks worse before it looks better.

Like way, WAY worse

Rico took a break from all this fun to watch the K-State game.

With my ever-impeccable timing I yelled down the stairs: "When is this game over?! I'm lonely"

…with 1 minute left in the game.

So, let's say his mood was "not good"

Then it got REALLY good. 

Rico found THESE in our dining room

…AND more water stains in the living room.

Ice dams. 

Grrrrrrrrr.

Aptly named.

Let's just say: frustration was everywhere. 

Fuses were short. 

Crying was involved. 

A no good, very bad day.

The good news about a bad day is that it will get better.

In my case- it got SUBSTANTIALLY better. 

As in, as bad as it WAS, it was equally if not MORE awesome. 

I got a message from my friend who I've asked to be my birth photographer and to encapsulate my placenta (don't freak out…both are actually pretty awesome. As in I usually get most of my students to go from almost gagging at the idea to saying, "huh, maybe I should do that!" within just a few minutes. Check out her website http://www.katieballardphotography.com/placenta if you are intrigued about the WHY and HOW parts.) 

Basically, she is awesome and is gifting me a gracious discount AND a maternity photo shoot for my baby shower.

I almost cried.

Seriously. 

I didn't think that I would get to have maternity photos. 

We had reasoned that most people don't get to have photos from their labor AND maternity photos, so I had to choose. 

I chose labor. 

Raw, half naked (don't worry- you won't be seeing ANY of that), sweating, crying, in the most intense pain of my life-labor. 

Why?

Because it's real. 

It's capturing the most vulnerable moments of Rico and I's lives. 

It's capturing the moment we get to meet our little boy. 

It's capturing the moment I become a mom and Rico becomes a dad. 

It's capturing the moments that I might otherwise not remember- at least not with clarity.

and...for a much less mushy reason, it allows Rico to focus on me, Eli, and the labor rather than taking pictures. He can be all-in.

So I gave up on getting a maternity shoot. 

And now…now I get to HAVE IT ALL.

It's like Christmas!

Rico, although VERY excited (he did some fist pumping at the news of all the awesome savings), still needed an upper after spending some quality time freezing in the attic trying to prevent the leak from getting worse. 

Cue the GALLON of cookies and cream ice-cream. No bowl for THIS guy.

Now I think we are ALL back on track.

Braxton Hicks Happenings

I've been awake since 4:30 am. So what does one do at 4:30 am?

 Read peoples' birthing stories of course.

I eat them up. Seriously, I love it.

About an hour into my reading, I felt my very first Braxton Hicks contraction! It was pretty dang cool. No pain- in fact, I would have barely noticed the sensation except my hand happened to be at the top of my belly and I felt my uterus tighten up underneath it.

I got a little excited.

Maybe more excited than a normal person should be.

My body is learning how to contract- good job body!

So, as I'm sitting here feeling this hardening under my hand and smiling from ear to ear I HAD to wake Rico up.

"Honey- I'm having my first Braxton Hicks contraction!"

You can tell he knows his stuff, because even dead asleep he just calmly reached over toward the top of my belly to feel it. In waking him up and fumbling with the covers to get his hand in the right spot, the contraction ended.

I say it to my  class at LEAST once every few days, but "Our bodies are SO amazing!"

I must say, one of my favorite things about pregnancy has been getting to actually feel and experience the things I've been teaching for years. It makes everything so exciting!
I have lots of "Whew- I wasn't lying!" moments.

I've also recently realized how prepared Rico is for this. I asked last night, "Hey, I never asked you, are you ok after watching that water birth in class? Did it freak you out at all?"

"Why would it freak me out?"

"Well, have you seen a birth before?"

He stared at me with that look that says, I'm going to give you a few seconds to realize what you just said was foolish- just in case you want to go ahead and take it back or blame it on pregnancy brain:
"Alli, I'm married to you- I've seen a LOT of births before that."

Oh... Right.

I forget that "normal" people don't talk about the uterus and contractions and interventions and birth plans years before even trying to have a baby (although I recommend it)

"Normal" people don't have to  tell their wives not to use the "p" word (placenta) in conversations with people you just met

"Normal" people don't  buy dvd's about natural labor and  make their husbands watch them years before they even want to start trying. (I wanted to be sure he didn't just understand my reasons for waning a natural labor- but that he felt some of that passion too)

So, yes, it was silly of me to worry about his emotional state after watching what I would label one of the least graphic labors I now remember making him watch.

This man continuously surprises me.

I remember the first time he went on a granola-grunt (a term I just made up to capture the moment of frustration when you hear a story that reinforces all the reasons you are choosing natural methods and you can't say a thing.... Until you are alone with your spouse... Because you don't want to hurt any feelings, or cause some big debate, and frankly, because it isn't any of your business.)

I don't  remember  what story we heard, whether it  was on the news or if it was after I told a story about things kids say in class and the misconceptions they have- but I remember him being SO frustrated and saying, "How do people not know this?!"

I know, it sounds rude- but everyone does it.
You do to.
It's like when you and your spouse agree on, let's say, politics.
You nod politely in public when people say things you think are insane.
You hold your tongue because it's polite.
 You don't start rambling about YOUR opinions, because, again it's none of your business how others make their decisions and why.
You're not the boss of them (Rico has to remind me of this a lot…I think it's the teacher thing)
But THEN you get in the car and let it out with each other. 

You've all been there.
Admit it.
I'm not the ONLY Judgy McJudy out there.
I'm sure there are plenty of people who do the SAME thing when they get in the car after a convo with me.

The first time he started spewing facts and talking about the cycle of intervention I remember stopping him mid sentence to kiss him. Now, years later, I know he is not only prepared for this birth- but he is my strongest ally. There's not much better than knowing you've got a supportive partner.  

So I started my post thankful for my body and contractions... And somehow I ended thankful for my husband and his support.
I'm a lucky girl to have all this to be thankful for  before 7 am. 

Snow Day #5

Seriously. 

#5. 

Don't be jealous…unless you have children you could be spending time with. 

I'm boooooored.

I've made bowties for my friends' babies (and 1 dog). There are lots of baby boys in my circles.

aaaand for Max-

I've had some amazing meals. Breakfast every morning was freshly made egg sandwiches with spinach and also peanut butter toast (except today, I ran out of eggs, so I had a Greek spinach salad with grilled chicken. Again- this. is. not. normal.) This was lunch. LUNCH people. 

I've looked through old scrapbooks (searching for a picture for school- they are posting teacher's winter dance pictures to get the kids excited about theirs) and found these:

Oh 2001…check out how LONG those tendrils in front are. Look how TINY we both were. 

Here is a picture from our 1 year Anniversary (October 7th…yes I still remember).   

He woke me up by knocking on my window. Then I followed a trail of rose petals down to the back of my house where he had set up a "picnic breakfast".  I should have known then that his love language is McDonald's breakfast. Later that day we went to the pumpkin patch together for the first time…of many many many times to come.

When I showed Rico this picture his comment was, "Whoa, look at me springing for the big waters! Nothing but the best for you!"

The BEST part about this picture? He was wearing that shirt yesterday- well over a decade later. 

That's right, Rico was home with me for 2 of the 5 snow days. JUST long enough to do all his laundry…and then leave it in the living room for the next 2 days. 

Thankfully, our dog is OBSESSED with laying on Rico's clothes. 

Oh, I'm sorry, did you imagine that with all this free time the house was clean? 

No. It is a sty.

Between his laundry, my cooking, my sewing (in the living room), the paperwork loose ends we've been working on (that are strewn all over our counters), and my general un-showeredness (it seems silly to shower when no one is here)- our home is gross. 

We DID have a hot date outside the house…TWICE. I know, be jealous. 

Once we went to the grocery store to get ice melt- and walk around because it was nice to see the world. 

The other time we went to our birthing class. We practiced birthing positions in a "labor rehearsal".

Very helpful- but also entertaining. 

She said, "Dad's, I know some of you might be uncomfortable, but you can certainly go ahead and practice giving those affirmations to your wife now if you want."

I immediately looked up at him and said, "If you do that- I will make fun of you"

The last thing in the world I want is to think that my husband is insincere when he compliments me. ESPECIALLY during labor. If he starts going on and on about what a great job I am doing and how proud he is of me when I am just sitting in certain positions in zero pain….I'm going to laugh at him. 

…and maybe ridicule him for the rest of the night.

…and maybe tell him how proud I am of him in my sweetest and most gentle voice as he cleans a dish, or brushes his teeth. 

Thankfully, Rico was on the same page. 

I will say, we have a go-getter couple in class. I mean they get an A+ AND a golden star. They take notes. They take pictures of diagrams. They ask questions. They follow directions VERY literally. AND….they practice affirmations during labor rehearsal. 

They are everything Rico thought I would be in class.

God bless 'em. 

We knew it was going to happen. Rico and I exchanged a look that said, "Oh, this is going to be good"

There was one point that I actually had to stifle a giggle though- I mean he was REALLY into it. "You're doing amazing, you can do anything" …which, to be fair, is true. She was doing a really good job (of laying still in one position while having zero contractions) AND she can do anything…and she WILL here in a few weeks. 

Just not our style. Different strokes, right?

Good for them. I mean, you play like you practice, right? 

Seriously- gold star. 

I DO have to praise Rico in another area though. The poor guy has had to do ALL our snow removal including the back deck so Max could get to the yard AND the driveway, AND the gutters that got so heavy with ice they started to pull away from the house, AND throwing rock salt on a spot on our roof that has had issues in the past. I may be stuck inside, but it seems that he is perpetually stuck OUTSIDE taking care of the house. 

In my rubber houndstooth rain boots. 

No pictures were allowed…which is a shame.

What else does one do with hours of free time that they can't really use to plan school because the odds are it is going to get canceled again and make you re-do all the work you just did? 

Belly mapping. (http://spinningbabies.com/baby-positions/belly-mapping)

Basically, it is an idiot's guide to figuring out how your baby is positioned in you based on where you feel kicks, where you hear the heartbeat, and where you feel hard spots in your belly. It's all pretty logical.

Here's what I determined:

Yes, that's right, I'm having a t-rex.

Actually, he's moved since then. I think the birthing ball did some nice little tricks to move him from transverse to a little more head down- at least that's what my ribs are currently telling me- unless he is practicing his own version of pelvic rocking exercises in there.  

On this, what I can only ASSUME to be the final day of snow days, I am left doing what I shouldn't be doing. 

Calculating. 

We did a great job planning to have the baby in early April so I could use all 6 weeks paid maternity leave and then have summer. There was even a little buffer for some snow days. 

SOME snow days.

So, at this point, if Eli comes on his due date (obviously a HUGE if since we've heard MULTIPLE times that the actual average gestation is usually 41 weeks and 1 day), I would have to come back to school for 3 days.  

As in, 

"Oh, hi long term sub who has been teaching all my crazy lesson plans and working so hard- please let me come and take over now that it is officially the easiest part of the year."

Not a bad time to come back- especially since I was thinking I would be coming back after school hours to do my inventory and check-out procedure stuff anyway. 

I can take the guilt. 

But seriously, I am done with snow days. No more. Please. 

I feel gross.

I'm out of routine. 

I don't drink enough water.

I don't exercise enough.

I'm sloppy- and nothing makes you feel grosser than being sloppy for DAYS on end. 

Nursery Update (Snow Day #2)

Snow Day #2

Today was a great day! Eli let me sleep in until 7:30 AND Rico worked from home today (because of the weather) so I could bug him all day in PERSON instead of just through text messages. 

As we went down for breakfast I jokingly said, "Do you want some home made cinnamon rolls?"

I don't know why I said it. 

It literally just popped out.

I NEVER do this.

"Sure!"

Wait, what just happened here. 

Do I even have a recipe? 

Do I even have ingredients?

I found a recipe (albeit the most high maintenance recipe ever made. I had to scald milk and let the dang things rise like 5 different times. COME ON!)

I found the ingredients (kind of- we didn't have brown sugar, so I got creative with white sugar and syrup since we don't own molasses)

I also found...out that I am never doing that again. 

That was a stupid amount of mess.

Not to mention that I STILL had to make scrambled eggs with (turkey) sausage and veggies so I could actually feel like Eli was getting SOME real nutrients for breakfast. 

The unfortunate news- they were SO freaking tasty. 

Clearly...since you can see that Rico and I (and Eli) finished off nearly an entire pan in one sitting.

Still- never happening again. 

I followed that up with a glucose overload nap before waking up to finally take the plunge.

Today, today was the day I would FINALLY commit and hang up the nursery artwork I'd made so very, very long ago. 

So...here's a sneak peak at the nursery as it is coming along. 

It's woodland themed- hence the fox's, porcupines, hedgehogs, and owls.

I wish you could see his hat tree (on the right with the little fox hat and blue owl hat)- I just painted it blue today)

Here's his little owl rocker and tree (yes, we totally stole that from our next door neighbor's trash pile) with all his little woodland ornaments. You may also notice the little gnome at the base of the tree. That's Rico's pick.

The hedgehogs finally made their way up to the wall! We clearly still need the mobile, a changing pad (and cover) and a crib skirt- but we'll get there. 

And finally, the nursing corner...where I am sure I will be spending a LOT of time.

Oh, just kidding,  here's his closet. He has a lot of clothes...and car seats. 

....aaaaand here's a bigger perspective. 

I love his room. I leave the door open so I can look in it every night. Sometimes I just go in and sit. 

Here's what I love about it. 

1- Each piece has a story. We never went out looking for any of these things- they just came to us over the past year or so.

2- Almost nothing was full price.

I asked Rico, "How much do you think we've spent on this room" and we both decided less than $200. 

I. Love. A. Deal.

Between 

Presents from Grandmas: basically his entire closet of clothes, not to mention the blankets/sheets, lamp, etc.

Garage sales: the wooden display shelf, the hat tree, the hedgehog frames, the car seats (I know, I know, but we checked them out), cloth diapers (I know, I know), and other little knick knacks (like little lanterns filling up the planter under the tree. I got those garage saling with my mother in law before she even knew we were trying for a baby. i managed that one, but had to put down the pregnancy yoga dvd I REALLY wanted because I couldn't think of a lie fast enough that would explain why I wanted it)

Craigsist: the crib/ changing pad (again, don't worry, we checked it out for safety)

Hand-me-downs: the nursing chair was Rico's family recliner for YEARS before he took it with him to college. One of those stuffed animals on the changing pad is his VERY favorite elephant stuffed animal from when he was little. We even have some of his old little outfits. Very vintage. Very cool.

Gift-cards:  I may currently hate my insurance with the fire of 1,000 suns- but it DOES have its perks. The best perk? You get points for doing good things (like getting a physical or taking health classes) You can then redeem those points for visa gift cards. You can then use that visa gift card to make a purchase you would NEVER let yourself make otherwise (like a $50 tiny owl rocking chair. That is an insane price. There is no logic to it. Thankfully, I can justify the purchase since I paid with money I earned for basically proving that I am healthy)

The Dollar Section at Target: While new items are rare in this room- there are a few knick knacks here and there that I couldn't pass up.

Craft Projects: Like the frames with the scrapbook paper. When we bought them they looked like this 

(still cute..in fact I love them- but we originally bought them for a playroom that isn't going to be happening). 

The hedgehog frames had grosgrain ribbon and cheesy cartoon butterflies when I found them at a garage sale on our anniversary.  Now they look like this:

I made these birds for his soon-to-be mobile (I hope- that one could be tricky), and some bow ties with the extra fabric. 

And then there are the many, many things that just needed a coat of fun paint!

Other People's trash- to be fair, the tree was just sitting next to the trashcan. It was only outside for about an hour. I know those neighbors and they are very sweet (and clean) people who would have totally given it to us had I not played Russian spy and taken it under the cover of night. 

2 years ago. 

I knew what I wanted.

 Thrift Stores: more clothes, some random trinkets that I got to paint, and the wooden hamper and hangers (in the closet).

I realize that for some people this list is gross. Luckily, I get a thrill out of finding trash (sometimes literally) and making it into something better. 

On a more serious note- it is also one of the "sacrifices" I have to make to afford to stay at home with my baby. 

COULD we buy a brand new crib, and changing table, and dresser- sure. 

COULD we buy one of those SUPER cute gliding over stuffed nursing chairs- sure...and in fact I REALLY wanted one- until I saw the price. Even then, we still toyed with the idea of splurging. 

COULD we buy all new decorating items and clothes for our little one- absolutely. 

But, unfortunately, money doesn't grow on that little tree we picked up from our neighbors- so we make decisions now that will set us up to be able to have the things we REALLY value...because, for us, money is our biggest hurdle to me getting to stay at home.

I realize that these savings alone don't make the difference between being able to stay with Eli or not- but it DOES help to get me in the right mind-set. I practice now, so the future sacrifices won't seem so crazy. 

I want to be able to stay at home with Eli (at least part time), and if that means spending less than $200 on his nursery- then I am going to celebrate accomplishing that goal... 

and blog about it- because it was hard work!

But goodness do I love it. 

I really, really do. 

Snow Day #1

SNOOOOOOOW DAY(s)!

Snow Day #1: 

Slept in, made breakfast, showered, messed with some insurance stuff, picked up the house, did some laundry, updated my Target registry (turns out- they have cloth diapers online!), and sent Rico excessive amounts of unimportant texts. 

Now what?

I called my mom: "WHAT THE HECK DO YOU DO ALL DAY?!"

After an hour long conversation, I still had no real answers. But hey- it killed an hour.

I decided to finally give up and throw away my old sewing machine. The bad news: that required that I ice skate down our driveway holding an awkwardly shaped (and heavy) sewing machine box and trying not to fall on my butt. 

Getting DOWN the driveway wasn't the problem. STOPPING at the end of the driveway almost went poorly, but thankfully I grabbed on to the trashcan just in time.

Getting UP the driveway was another story. I just kept slipping back down. It was like a cartoon. I briefly considered getting on my hands and knees and crawling back up the driveway, but managed to use the trash bin to shimmy over to some crunchy grass.

Here's some evidence of how slippery it was on or driveway- watch Rico get the mail and pay special attention to how his feet are skating- not walking.

 I returned some things to TJMaxx, and took a random trip to goodwill (Eli needed hangers)

I also took a trip to the school to pick up my work laptop and blockout. I also wanted to get some mileage in since going on a walk outside was CLEARLY not going to happen

.

"It sure might be nice if these hallways were quiet and not packed full of kids standing in clusters in the middle of the hall and yelling or moving negative 2 miles an hour because they are texting while walking." I used to think to myself.

And THEN I saw the halls empty, quiet, and dark. 

Even when I walk at 5pm, there are usually a few lingering students, teachers, and janitors for me to say hi to. 

Not today.

CREEEPY.

NOT as creepy as when we had to go in at 2am (in pitch dark, wondering if we were setting off a silent alarm that would call the police) to program the electronic babies so we could head to watch my niece be born...but creepy none the less.