'Twas the Night Before Christmas

and everything finally came together... peaceful and serene. Oh wait, we were up til 2am fixing food and wrapping presents ;)

It was a beautiful Christmas Eve though. We spent it at Grandma's house with a nice dinner and afterwards came home with Mom and Dad Robinson to finish getting ready. When all was said and done, Mom and I took some pictures of the house before all the presents were opened.





In years past, I have always jumped the gun on Christmas decorating. In fact, 2 years ago when Steve and I got engaged, we bought our tree the night before Thanksgiving. This year, we didn't buy it until December 10th. Because we have had a lot of projects going on since we moved. We removed the carpet from both the living room and dining room and the baby's room, revealing beautiful hardwoods. Hardwoods that desperately needed some refinishing. So that project happened beginning of December... and it's a big project. So no decorating was begun until the floors were completely done.

Even then, I thought, "the more I put up, the more I have to take down" so I didn't put much up. Til Christmas Eve... when I decided the house needed more sparkle. So I did what I could with what I had to make the house twinkly and I was happy with the outcome :)





This is a view into our front room that used to be a front porch but has been remodeled (not by us) to an additional room in the house.



This is the other side of the front room. Eventually, when the baby is a little older, this will be the play room :)



And here is the living room, looking in from the front room.



And from the other side of the living room... you can see how the front is connected.



I wanted to wait until next year when it's officially Baby's first Christmas to get her stocking and all so this year I just bought this mini Yankees stocking and we put a little Aflac duck we had in it and hung it on the tree... lol



And since we don't have a chimney, fireplace or appropriate stairway for stockings, this is how it went down this year! I'd like to come up with something better for the future :) But I thought this was cute for now :)

Merry Christmas 2011!

36 weeks on Christmas Eve :)

Maybe I should rename this blog so that it's about the baby ;) hehehe it seems like that's all I ever think to post about. But I suppose that makes sense being that it's about my life, and currently, baby is my life. Basically.

Anyways, I wanted to keep posting on my progress. Today is Christmas Eve and I am currently 36 weeks with the little Robinson. I don't see the growth day to day but when I look at the comparison that 6 weeks makes (since that's the last time I took a picture) I can see she is definitely out there more! I just got back from Wegmans and while I was there I couldn't help but notice that most people would look at my face and then their eyes would go down, right to my belly. I guess it's hard not to see... :/

I'm thankful though, so far in my pregnancy I have had zero complications or health issues. Everything has gone very smoothly. That isn't to say I haven't been uncomfortable or felt amazing ;) just that nothing bad has happened. And while I originally thought I would pack on weight like a water buffalo, I've been shown that just isn't true. So far I've gained a net total of 13 pounds. With 4 more weeks to go, I'm hoping for only a couple more :)

moving right along...

I'll have to add 33+ soon, since the latest picture at 29 weeks is already a month old! Insane, it seems like it's going by so fast but at the same time it's taking forever!

baby blanket

At the beginning of my pregnancy, a friend of mine told me to journal. I am a random and sporadic journaler... not one to really write out all my feelings. Somehow I feel that thinking my thoughts, thoughtfully, is more effective than writing them down. Problem is, I tend to forget those thoughts.

So I thought to myself, why don't you want to write these things down? Well, because in the beginning it was pretty darn depressing to write down what was going on. And not only that, but my place of choice to "journal" is here on this blog... and not on paper. Knowing that certain people would see what I was going through kept me away as I didn't want to cause any more pain than I already had.

Sounds a bit silly, but it all made sense to me. Anyways, I am loving the new-found freedom in knowing that no one I don't approve can read this. I feel at liberty to express myself without fear of judgment.

Today I finished up another project I've been working on. There are so many! But I am determined to get them all done in time for this baby's arrival. In fact, I've determined to get it all done before CHRISTMAS!





This is the blanket I've been working on, finally complete. I had looked around at different baby bedding but didn't find anything that stood out to me as being what I was really looking for. And since the quilts that tend to come in the bed sets for babies seem to be pretty impractical, I decided to make my own. Not without help though... I have connections ;)

So I put my list of things I would like to make together and set out to find the right fabric and patterns. I found exactly what I wanted, and so far Molly has helped me to make a crib bumper as well as start on the crib skirt. We're finishing that up as well as a hamper liner and some other random things next week. The blanket though is my major accomplishment... I can't believe I actually knew enough about sewing to do it!

It's very light. In fact, I have one just like it my mom made me a few years ago and that's where I got the inspiration for it. It's the patterned fabric on one side and flannel on the other.

So, I am very proud. Makes me wonder if I will start sewing more... umm, maybe ;) if I have time... lol.

back by popular demand

Sooooooo, since I decided to privatize my blog I've had a few people complain that they won't be able to get auto updated as to when I actually post...

A long time ago I had it set up for email subscription and even though the blog is private, it seems to still work! Therefore, I've inserted a link at the top right corner of the page so that you can still subscribe to the blog. As long as you use the email you log in with it should work for you :)



Click on the link and it will prompt you to enter your email in order to sign up. Hope it works! :)

2 years

It was 2 years ago (11/25, day this picture was taken) that Steve proposed to me and we were engaged to be married. How much things have changed!

baby girl's shower!

Last weekend was my first baby shower and it was at my Mom and Dad's house. Everything was sooooo beautiful and just perfectly appropriate. We were so blessed with all the gifts and love that our baby girl received :) It's amazing how much a baby can be loved even before anyone can see her!

I took some pictures before everyone arrived, and after that, I didn't. Ha! I'm not much into taking pictures when I could be enjoying people really... in fact, I'd rather enjoy the moments I'm in while I'm in them than take pictures of them... I didn't used to be like that, but I'm finding that to be true more and more lately. I kinda need to find a better balance ;)







I'm not actually using Winnie the Pooh as a theme... contrary to what you might think :) But it was a perfect theme for the shower. Steve's and my favorite growing up was always Pooh... I think him more than me even (hehe)

The clothes hanging on the clothes line my mother-in-law collected here and there for the shower and everything hanging together looked so cute!

There's also 1 cloth diaper hanging there, and that is because we are planning on cloth diapering. If you look closely, you can see in one of the pictures above that Pooh is actually wearing one of the diapers ;) If this blog were still public, I know I'd probably get some questions about that, but I'm figuring pretty much noone reads now. However, if you DO read and you want to know anything about cloth diapering, just let me know!





My mom and I made the bee hive and the hunny pot out of paper mache and the bees were just some little pom poms and wire. I loved them so much I want to eat them. OK, maybe that's a little extreme... but I'm kinda a little out of control.





Like I already said, it was a beautiful shower... I was very blessed by everyone there, and even some that weren't there! This past Sunday I had another shower given by my church... I just can't say enough how grateful I am to have such loving and wonderful people in my life! (I have no pictures of the church shower because I didn't take my camera... but if I get some from others I'll probably put a few up :)

update on life

Since it's been so very long since I've updated on well, anything, here's a quick update.

Last time I was getting ready to head to my 18 week ultrasound and we were anticipating finding out if our little Lemur (our nickname for baby...) was a boy or girl. Well, if you've scrolled down any, and/or follow me on facebook, you're well aware that we now know she is a she ;) But at the time, she wouldn't show us!

We ended up having a third ultrasound at 26 weeks and she was very forthcoming this time. Steve and I were so happy to know what we were having, though we had braced ourselves to not know and were ready to proceed with everything being a surprise.

As soon as we found out, we began painting and working on getting things ready... it's been a slow process though and still continuing. We painted our front room and the baby's room right away then removed the carpet from her room. It is hardwood underneath and we had planned to do this no matter what from the beginning.

The floor underneath needs some TLC though, so we've made plans to finish the floor in there as well as our dining room and living room (which we tore carpet out of earlier in the summer)

So in the meantime, we've painted the hallway and had some baby showers, began making nursery decorations, collected large baby items... and none of it has a home! We've tried to keep it mostly in the attic so that it's not everywhere, but I am soooooo looking forward to that floor being done so we can start moving things in!

This is the view from the hallway into her bedroom and I only took a pic of that because I thought the balloons with the car seat looked extra cute sitting there from yesterday's shower ;)



We put Pooh in the car seat because it would just be ridiculous to carry a car seat around with nothing in it... right? hehehe :) And actually, yesterday, my mom and I went out for a little stroll with the new stroller and the car seat... ya know, just to make sure everything works well ;) and Pooh quite liked it, he never made a peep ;)

At this point, my house is not ready for a baby to arrive, but my arms are. I am so happy to be having this baby girl I can't explain it. More happy than I ever thought I could be when we had that conversation many months ago now...

last call before the big move

Over the past few months there has been a lot of change in my life. Ok I guess it's really been more like a couple years of change now! I don't really see it stopping very soon!

Anyways, all this has gotten me to thinking about my blog and the fact that it has been a very public account of my life in the past. For some reason, I found it absolutely fascinating in the beginning knowing that total strangers would read what I wrote... now it's totally terrifying. Ironic huh? Am I just paranoid? No, I don't think so. My life has evolved into more than just me now and I want to still share, but only with those I know are reading.

Therefore, if you would still like to read my (much more frequently updated) blog please leave a comment with your email, or send a message to me aboynamedbarry{at}gmail{dot}com and I will be sure to add you!

I have so many things I want to post about... pictures, personal things, random things etc, but I just haven't felt the freedom to do so. This is my solution :)

ps if you have already commented on facebook to let me know you want to be added, no need to comment again :) I gotcha ;)

well hello baby

This morning we got up bright and early to get ready to see our baby! Today I am in week 18 and definitely starting to show. It's pretty obvious now (at least I think) and I'm more than happy to be sporting a bump now rather than just an extra large looking stomach ;)



A good friend of mine lent me some maternity clothes yesterday for which I am so thankful! I have bought a couple things myself, but I am not generally one to buy clothes anyways and maternity clothes can be so expensive! So I've been picky on what I've gotten. But it's gotten to the point where my wardrobe is pretty limited, and I am busting out of almost all my regular clothes... yikes!



We were so excited to see our little bambino this morning! What a cool gift to get to see it all moving around and happy in it's little cocoon! We were also hoping to see if it was a boy or girl during this ultrasound, but baby just did not cooperate, not even enough of a look for a guess. Crazy huh? But I can't say I was all that surprised, I kinda thought that might happen. I was just so happy to see it happy and healthy ;) And we even got to see a little yawn! SOOOOO unbelievably cute! Absolutely melted my heart ;)

memories

This month 2 years ago was such an amazing month for me. So many great things happened.

I was in the process of making a decision whether I would stay or go.

I was in pretty much the best shape of my life and felt absolutely amazing.

I met the love of my life out of the clear blue.

It was also the last time we had a family reunion, which we'll be doing again in just about a week!



Today I've spent a bunch of time remembering that summer of 2009... and I can't help but smile when I see how happy I was then, and how happy I still am! And everything is totally different :) Makes me happy to know that I really have succeeded in embracing my life and treating everyday like a gift.

Looking forward to what this month brings!

give the pregnant lady some food!

I thought I paid pretty good attention to the friends around me who have been pregnant over the years... thought I would have a pretty good handle on what it would be like to actually be pregnant... but I was wrong.

I was utterly unprepared for the total body makeover. I thought that meant I would just get bigger. But um, question: how does one get bigger? The obvious answer is food.

I have never in my life had a problem not eating enough. In fact, I've always struggled to not eat so much!

Things are a little different now though. In my first trimester I lost 11 pounds. With literally NO exercise and little movement at all. I was stationary on the couch or in my bed for approximately 6 weeks... and while there's been more time of feeling notsohot at least I've gained enough energy back to be able to accomplish some daily tasks. AKA eating.

It seems no matter what I eat, or how much of it, I'm always hungry! and the scale is not reflecting this!!! It's a dream come true... lol.

Don't worry, I'm sure I will be gaining some needed poundage over the next couple months... I have no doubts :P

But what's a girl to do when getting up and going to the grocery store seems like an insurmountable task? You send your husband... well at least that's what I did. We have not made a comprehensive grocery shopping trip since the first saturday in June! That's insane right?

Anyways, the point here is that I never thought food could be such an issue. Yesterday afternoon I was resting for a bit in between a house project we're working on and I realized just how dang hungry I was... and how there wasn't really anything in the house I wanted to eat.

I wanted pizza.

I feel like a different person. I don't even know who this person is! I don't feel comfortable with the new me and honestly, I hope I don't get comfortable, because I want the old me back! And I am told that will happen.

My superman husband heard my plight and dropped what he was doing, went to the store, bought the ingredients and made me a homemade pizza. True love.

I have no pretty picture to show you of the lovely pizza he made, but let me tell you what. I couldn't have asked for a better man. It's a good thing I'm the pregnant one and not him because I doubt my compassion level would compare to his. He's the best decision I've made so far ;)

i miss my baker today

Once upon a friday night, Steve and I set out to make our more favoritest cookies in the whole wide world, we call them "backwards chocolate chip cookies"

They're cocoa cookies with white chocolate chips and a recipe I invented one day... soooo delish! But, the point of this post is that it just so happened that I was mixing up the batter and he offered to do the baking. I couldn't have been happier (albeit slightly skeptical). Since my baking abilities are rather, well, hap-hazard... I think it's because I multi-task too much! I can whip up a mean batter, but if it flops in the oven, what good is it?

But it turns out, Steve has just the right attention span to be an excellent baker. So since then, we have a system. I make the batter, he bakes it. Perfection!

Today I wanted chocolate chip cookies though, and my baker is working studiously at his, well, job.



I did ok for myself though. Maybe because I only have enough energy to do like, 3 things at a time ;)



Today cookies, tomorrow the house! (cleaning it that is ;)

lately...

I've spent too much time sitting on keester.

I've been totally uninspired.

I've been a little depressed with all I want to do but haven't been able to.

I've been happy to have the extra time to think about all the ways I am blessed.

I haven't taken a single personal picture...

But yesterday I had a sudden burst of inspiration and took advantage of it searching for nursery ideas online. I started to feel like my old self again! Summer is after all my favorite time of year, but I haven't gotten into a groove yet. I swoon over the silly romanticism of the summer months. Beautiful outdoor picnics, perfectly decorated. Huge chandeliers hanging from trees and such ;)

But alas, most of those things look better in my mind than actually played out. One thing however, that always seems to appease my desire for the romance of summer is a display of flowers on my table.

My church has been so amazing and has arranged for a few meals for us this week. What a huge relief! I haven't been as sick as I know some people get with their first tri-mester, but enough so that I have been down and out for over a month! It's been hard and I'm grateful for loving people to come to the rescue ;)

Yesterday, our dinner from Annette came with a beautiful bouquet of flowers picked right from her garden. The BEST kind!



I love it!

first ultrasound

When I found out I was pregnant, I was so excited to see the little bambino! But then I realized that I wasn't going to be able to have an ultrasound until like 18 weeks. They basically told me that they only do them if they think something is wrong or if you aren't sure of the due date... which I can't complain that nothing is wrong! and I actually am quite sure of the due date and all that.

So I was really tempted to go to like a free clinic and just get one, but I didn't feel right about it. So I called again and asked if there was any way, and basically they sent me in for a dating ultrasound... which I was extraordinarily happy about ;)



So here it is! Baby didn't move much during it, looked like it was just chillin in it's hammock in there... good baby ;) and honestly, this is in my opinion a pretty terrible pic! It looks like a blob to me, but when I was seeing the video you could see it a little better. So little baby is 9 weeks 5 days today... and mama is hopin to be done with this morning sickness soon ;)

a different kind of feeling...

About 5 weeks ago I ran into a strain of pms I was unfamiliar with. Like, I felt as though anything and everything steve did was to intentionally tick me off and instead of just sitting sweetly, I was about ready to literally bite his head off.

There have been times I've felt this (mildly) and I'm always like, oh you rascally pms, let's get this over with!

But this, this was not normal. Through tears on a couple evenings I sat apologizing to him for being such a meanie head. What in the world is wrong with me?

We were on vacation that weekend and when I got home and realized my period hadn't come, the thought crossed my mind that I might be pregnant. Which I could only hope for! Oh how exciting! I had thought about that so many times in my life before, but figured naaaaaaahhhh. I'll wait a few more days, it's sure to come.

But it didn't. And didn't.

So by the time I was like 8 days late I decided to take a test. Thinking, if it's not positive, then there is positively something wrong with me!

But that second little line began peeking through and sure enough... it was positive :)

I called the dr the next day and they sent me for bloodwork, which also came back positive (phew! because at that point I had pretty much told everyone ;) how embarassing would that be for them to be like, uhhh no, you just have bad eyesight and can't read pregnancy tests (a dollar store test no less) Ha! ;)

But the case is such that I am currently growing a human inside of me. I am so very happy and excited! My first appointment with my midwife is at 10 weeks, so just a few more days!

I would post a picture from 7 weeks, but I am still feeling pretty dang self conscious that I feel like I could save that one for like 4 months... because I look that prego lol. I've actually lost 8 pounds in the last few weeks, but my belly is growing, it's a very different feeling...

But a very good one ;) Well, besides the nasty morning sickness. I hope that only lasts a couple more weeks, but whatever the case, I'll get a pretty sweet reward out of the deal! I'm good with it :)

So there you have it! Come January, our family of *two* will be a little bigger ;)

Thanks!

Dear kindest readers and friends,

You are so awesome! Sometimes when I sit in front of this screen and type my stories, life and random happenings I forget how many people actually read it... and all of your comments to my last post really meant a lot to me. So thank you!!!

I have been meaning to write this sooner, but somehow, the week has literally flown by. I feel like I blinked and then I was here. How does that happen? Like seriously!

So I wanted to play a little catch up, here we go!

- Last week I traded in my beloved civic for a very nice honda accord. I was sooooo sad to see it go, but it's been a change we've been planning for a few months... I just love the new car though! It's 3 years older, so I traded down, but honestly I feel like I traded up! It's a V6 and let me tell you, those 2 cylinders make a huge difference. I feel unstoppable bwahaha! OK... calm down ;)

- I painted our upstairs bathroom. My old bathroom was near perfect to me... minus the fact that there was like mold growing on the ceiling and ants everywhere... how is that perfect? Because i had a beautiful shower curtain and pretty towels and it all matched so nicely ;) So I painted the new bathroom the teal blue that's in the shower curtain... I was afraid at first that I had made a dastardly mistake, but in the end it turned out so good!

- my next painting project is the guest room, woot woot!

- I have a dresser I acquired from a friend that is pretty old and run down. But I'm going to liven that up with some white paint, I can't wait to see how it turns out.

- Still no pictures on my walls... I have been slackin lackin. I kinda want to paint the living room before I put them up... but I don't know exactly when that will happen. What have you done in this situation, should I just hang stuff for the sake of hanging it, or wait. And also, should I use the 3M hanging stuff instead of nails? I've seen it on TV but not sure it would work... and it's not super cheap so I'd want to know it worked before doing it.

- I got a new to me couch for the living room. It's circa 1992 probably, but it was $150 and that kinda cheap talks to me ;) It's a sectional and fits pretty perfectly in here. Plus it's comfy, bonus! lol

- I still hate folding laundry...

- I want to get a kitten soon... I hope I can find one that doesn't make me itch and sneeze like crazy.

That's about it really! I have some other stuff I want to share but I'll save it for another post ;)