Baby Preparations

Today was an immensely relaxing day, and for that I am incredibly  grateful! The Doc had a staff meeting to attend, other than that it was his day off... so we ran errands together. I love when we get to run errands together, mainly because it doesn't happen very often. It is usually him or I getting the necessities, but rarely is it us together due to schedules etc. So we wandered through Target for pop 10- 12 packs for $5 (it is on coke products, but with spring around the corner our consumption of pop/soda/ coke whatevs you call it, increases significantly), we bought two Dr. Seuss board books for the baby, since they are on sale in honor of Dr. Seuss's  birthday in March. They have some great specials on books, that would be fun for Easter baskets! We also bought diapers in size 2, since we don't know how big baby is going to be. I had a coupon and it was buy 2 boxes get a $10 gift card, and we bought Easter candy! The Cadbury hard sugar shell eggs, with dark chocolate. They are my favorite, but you can only get them at Christmas and Easter. We then went to visit The Docs grandma, we had a great visit. We had lunch at Burger King, neither of us had been inside since they tore down the old one and completely rebuilt last summer. We then went to our appointment, which lasted about 15 minutes. We haven't heard the results yet, which means I am sure that they are grand! We had our repaired and we actually have heat in it, and it is amazing... if only it will stay that way until we can replace it with something newer. On our way home we got raspberry leaf tea and then we just relaxed at home a little bit before we did some finishing touches on the nursery... we hung the door curtain and the baby quilt... I forgot to have The Doc attach our changing pad to the back of the dresser, so we will have to do that another time... I also made labels for all of the little contianers in the nursery andthe dreser drawers. I am sure that I will have to do this again, but for now it works. I just didn't want anyone to have to think about where we have placed things. Quick and easy is how we like things here. Today is focused on finishing up laundry, because things keep coming up and we just can't seem to get it done. Tonight when The Doc comes home we are going to do a full house deep cleaning/ disinfect. It hasn't been done in awhile and it would be good to have everything done before the baby comes. The whole 9 yards... vacuuming, sweeping, mopping, dusting... that is my motivation for getting all of our laundry done, so that I can get our household laundry done-- so that everything is ready to roll.

It's a Jungle in There!

As of right now (it is 9:55 am) there is no baby, and so I have decided that I am going to use some of this time that I have to work on some projects for the nursery. I have the crib up, the bedding washed and on the bed, I have toys that we have organized, and I have organized the dresser drawers. It is just the little last minute things that need to be done, like hanging up the door curtain (our nursery doesn't have a door and I didn't think it was worth the effort of trying to find a custom made door that would match the rest of them.)We have a crib quilt to hang on the wall, and a changing pad to attach to the dresser. All relatively minor things. Eventually I would like to get an under the crib storage container for things like clothing that is too big or too small and extra diapers and wipes. My feelings are that since we are in such a tiny room we should make use of all of the space that we can. I would like to do a reading nook in the room, I even have the perfect little chair for it, but that is a project for another day. As is the name banner that I want to make for the room. We are not 100% on names for the baby yet, and so that project will just have to wait as well. I do have a fairly good idea of what I want to make. When I asked The Doc what theme we should use to decorate the nursery, his suggestion was jungle animals. So, that is what we have a room filled with monkeys, alligators, giraffes, elephants, turtles (and other assorted animals) in really bright colors! I think it is really fun! I will take pictures of our nursery once everything is ready. Today I am going to be making labels for everything in the nursery (as in the cabinet and the drawers) I have spent so much time working on it that I don't others to be frustrated that they cannot find what they are looking for since it was my pregnancy induced mind that came up with the set up. My plan is to laminate them, my mom is sick and so using her laminator right now isn't going to work. I can just do that later. I have my punch out and at the ready. I love punches, they are just so easy to use!

A Season of Waiting

Right now there are a lot of things that I am waiting on. There are projects at work that I am waiting to hear about, we are waiting for baby to come, I am waiting for spring to arrive because I honestly just can't handle anymore cold, and I am waiting to see what our year with our brand new baby will bring. I like routine and I right now I feel like we are just adrift, which we sort of are. Every day gets a little better, and everyday we get a little bit closer to meeting our baby. We are still waiting for baby to come, we are currently 5 days over due... I just keep reminding myself that baby will make it's grand entrance when it is ready. Not when The Doc or I think that it should make it's grand entrance. I had another doctor's appointment today. I was hooked up to the monitors.I dislike being hooked up to monitors, but I like the results. The best part about that monitor is that I get to hear baby's heartbeat. It was showing that I was having some contractions but nothing consistent. I have been at the point of having contractions for the last two week, but they haven't been causing a lot of change. I personally think that the baby is contemplating making its appearance soon. So, while I was waiting for baby to decide if he/ she was going to come today I took a nap in the living room, made myself lunch, vacuumed the nursery upstairs and collected garbage from the nursery. I want the doc to help me with the last two projects we have to do in the nursery. (We also have to install the carseat base in my car, but that doesn't seem to tricky and it has been to cold to fully empty out my car... that and it is really exhausting for me to keep trying to carry things out. I need help with that project.) It doesn't seem like a lot but it was enough to wear me out. I saw a blurb on Facebook about 40 Days, 40 Bags and I am so excited! I accomplished a lot last time, even though I did get sidetracked with illness and trying returning to work early. I don't now how much I am going to get done this time either, but I figure that every little bit helps. The Doc and I have too much stuff, but amazingly enough we didn't gather it all in a day. I have been working on it a little bit here and there since Easter. I think what I am going to do is to make a list of tasks that I want to do for each room, and then work on them either as I have time or the help. That way I can decide how much time I can devote to a certain project and not be stressed out about it. I have some general ideas of what I want to do, and I have some things that I would like to implement for baby. Things like a rotating toy system etc. I don't want the baby to grow up thinking that it is normal to be overwhelmed by your stuff. I want to be very intentional about what we bring into our home and how we organize it. Instead of having to take care of all of our stuff all the time I want to be able to spend time doing activities with our family and friends. This is where I am at today, who knows what tomorrow will bring.

What's Cookin'?

Here is what is cooking for dinner last night (Wednesday): Easy Balsamic Chicken Roasted Carrots It won't be ready until 8:20-ish, but that is okay The Doc didn't get home from the sale barn until 7:30 and is currently moving snow. These recipes are brand new to me and I am very excited to try them! I love easy recipes, seriously the most time consuming part of prep was peeling the carrots and cutting the tops off and defrosting the chicken! Seriously gotta love a recipe like that! My house also smells totally amazing right now! I figure I will make some instant rice to go with it and we will have an easy peasy dinner! It was delicious, I did check on the carrots and chicken half way through and ended up adding more liquid to them. If I had left them I think they would have been very dry.You just need to keep an eye on them. One of my goals for 2014 is to limit the amount of waste that we have... and what I am starting with is limiting the amount of waste that we have in the kitchen. Historically we have thrown away tons of food because we didn't get to it before the expiration date, or we didn't feel like eating that particular leftover for the hundredth time, or it just got lost in the deep dark recesses of the fridge. It was frustrating to me because we spent all of this money on food we didn't eat. It was a waste of our resources, especially in light of all those who don't have enough food. I have had to become more intentional about making things that can be used in more than one way or will last a little bit longer. While we are not perfect at this, we definitely have come a long way in terms of what we need to throw out. Unfortunately food does spoil before we get time to eat it, but we are definitely getting much better at it.

The Next Step

I mentioned yesterday that I had submitted a panel to of mamas and bloggers, to get some of their insight into how to dress post postpartum for my business casual settings... because honestly that is what I feel most comfortable in. I like to have a pj or sweat day as much as the next girl, but honestly I can only wear those types of clothing for so long during the day/ all day before it starts to negatively impact my mood. I was so excited to read all of the ladies responses to the question as well as the responses from their readers. While I am barely dipping my toe into mamahood via the newborn stage (as in we are waiting for baby to arrive and are still patient enough for that to happen)it is good to keep strategies dealing with tantrums or picky eaters in the back of my mind. I think this series will open up a lot of opportunity for dialogue amongst mommies... because honestly Mompetitions: "Nobody ain't got time for that!!" "Where does this sage advice go from here?", you may be asking yourself. I started looking at the recommendations and started doing a little bit of online window shopping. While my mind is fairly clear and not sleep deprived! I haven't bought anything yet, because obviously I haven't had the baby yet, and I will want to wait a little while before purchasing clothes. Here are some things that I have come up with from the Must Ask Mama series and from Ain't No Mom Jeans to get some ideas of what I am looking for and what will mesh with my personal style. Gray Knit Plaid Skirt Black Calf A-Line Skirt I do love skirts and I do think that wearing skirts would be appropriate not only with the transition my body will inevitably be going through, but also with the transition of seasons. Spring is cray-cray up here in the upper midwest. We have 80 degree temperature swings within a 24 hour window of time. Wrap dresses are definitely popular with the postpartum dressing crowd, and it is easy to see why. They mask poochiness, they can be great for nursing and I personally believe that it is a very classy shape! I have a red and beige printed wrap blouse that I am excited to be wearing again after baby comes. I was so sad when I couldn't make it work anymore. I did find this lovely wrap dress though! You may or may not know about my love of animal prints. Leopard Print Faux Wrap Dress I personally think that this would be fun with a blazer, which brings me to the my next tip.. Find a boyfriend blazer. I will be honest I have personally had a hard time understanding what all of the hype about "boyfriend" styling clothing is all about... it wasn't my style, because I prefer my clothes more fitted. But I can see how this would be appealing while working on getting your body back into shape. I found a couple of blazers that I love right now, which would be great for right now, but won't break the bank either. Because here we are all about thrift and quality! Black Boyfriend Blazer and there is also this option from Target Color Block Draped Front Blazer (Black & Blue) I feel like I this particular blazer might be a little bit too much, but I can' help but love it! I think the draping is what sold me. It is hiding the belly without looking like it is intentionally trying to hide the belly. Black Pants: I do love my maternity black pants, they fit really well and were super comfortable... which I can wear until I can fit back into my NY & Co wide leg black pants. Those pants seriously are my favorite ever! Comfortable stylish and I could wear them halfway through my second trimester... man I miss those pants so I should be able to wear them again after I get back tot he five month pregnant looking stage. ;) I also bought myself a pair of maternity skinny jeans in black that will work out great while transitioning. I almost didn't buy my skinny jeans in black, but I am so glad that I did! I love them, and would seriously wear them everyday if it wasn't for the fact that someone would notice and totally call me on it. These are definitely a possibility, black skinny jeans. Tunics are another popular on postpartum dressing, as they should be! Tunics are awesome... I have some that are a little bit shorter that I think will work great again. I wore them also half way through second trimester... But I was also looking for some extra inspiration- Coral Tunic and Floral Tunic Some other tops that I adore the shape of and think would be great are: This Lace Chiffon Tank and the shape of this Anchor Print Tank Top. I am not sure I could go for that exact print, but I thought the shape was really nice. I really like this whole outfit from anthropologie The top is roomy and would hide s poochy tummy and the jeans just look really nice. Some other flowy tops that I just love are these: a pattern peplum, a pretty button down (though I wouldn't wear something see through or that low cut), great ideas from aint' no mom jeans. I have found that I tend to go for sleeveless because I get so stinking hot! It is way easier to where short sleeve or sleeveless and through over my jean jacket or a sweater! Another thing that I am loving are these cardigans and super chunky knits. They are very versatile for work and home. I am cardigan obsessed. They can be found at very reasonable prices and can be worn mostly all year round depending upon the weight of the fabric. I have worked in some deep-freeze air conditioning locations ;) When I was doing my search I was looking for interest pieces that would jazz up basics like tank tops and t-shirts and other fairly neutral pieces that could be worn with skirts or pants. Here are my top 3 choices from everywhere: a sparkly drape cardigan the amount of sequin/sparkly tops that I wear are steadily increasing. This is more ore less a personal style thing. If you don't like sparkle I am okay with that! a drapey houndstooth cardigan, a cable knit poncho This looks super cozy to me on the days when I am feeling more chilly and can do light layers, This cardigan jacket/ hybrid (I actually like all of these tops, the leggings just aren't my style),love this cardigan (once again I love this whole outfit concept.) New purchases: The last t-shirts I bought pre-maternity are x-small,so I might as well get some comfy t-shirts in the meantime. These Old Navy t-shirts come highly recommended across several blogs, it is also hard to argue with the price. They have very basic colors which would mix and match nicely with everything else. Old Navy's Vintage Style V-Neck Tees There are a lot of things that I haven't been able to control throughout pregnancy, and honestly that is sometimes the hardest part about it. Though, my attitude is something that I can control, so taking the time to think through this and get advice from other mamas makes sense now. Right now is when I am able to fully reason through everything because pre-baby I have been able to sleep through the night! I will be shopping my closet as my body changes once again, and I will probably still be wearing some of my maternity clothes, but I was expecting that. I found items of maternity clothing that I could wear afterwards that don't scream maternity at me. I will once again have to navigate a constantly changing body, but this time I feel a little more prepared for it. My plan will be to shop my closest, consignment shops, and invest in pieces that will go the distance. My maternity wardrobe is neutral dark wash jeans, black skinnies, white jeans, navy blue cords, black skirt, navy blue dress, and a gray and mint dress. I made sure that there were a lot of coordinating pieces so that I could get the most out of what I wear... I also wore a lot of my scarves and jewelry. I have a lot of jewelry-- mostly costumy that livens things up. Tootles xoxo Mrs. Bookworm

Waiting for Baby

The weather is crappy here and the baby hasn't decided to make its' entrance, so I am going to work on some different projects. Today is the day for laundry, cleaning the fridge, dishes (there are only a few), and vacuuming the upstairs mainly the hallway, nursery, and the bedroom. I also have a few boxes that I want to sort through today. I am feeling motivated today, who knows how long that will last so I should probably get started... With all of the preparation for baby, I have also started thinking about what to wear for when I return to work. I had done some research, but everyone was suggesting leggings and t-shirts and very casual clothing which is fine when I am at home. Yet, it does not jive with the professional vibe that needs to be happening with at work. One of the blogs I read One Little Momma is participating in a panel of bloggers who are fielding questions from readers. My question was selected and I think that their responses were super helpful! I am excited to see if there are any responses from readers with ideas in response to my question. So here is this months Must Ask Mama series. One aspect of pregnancy that I have disagreed with the entire time is that you get to the point where you just wear whatever... I didn't want to do that my entire pregnancy, because I do believe that while what you wear is not the end all, be all of pregnancy it is good for your piece of mind to feel as put together and pretty as you can. Being intentional about what I have chosen to wear has given me a little bit of confidence during a time that has had lots of changes going on all at once. Happy Monday everyone!