Decisions Have Been Made

Yes, we decided on Nursery fabric!! It has been purchased and washed so there is no turning back now! I know that I am crazy for wanting to sew my own stuff, but we could not find anything in the stores that we liked. I figured that it can't be so bad...I only have to make the crib skirt, bumper and widow treatment (I am thinking roman shade at this point, but we will see where that leads). So, with a little planning and a little work each week I think I can get it all done before Peanut gets here. It will also help that MJ's classes are starting this week. He will have 2 night classes (time to sew) and home work (more time to sew) to do, so I SHOULD be able to get it all done...wish me luck!

Here is a sample of the fabric:

We also picked up the previously mentioned rocking chair (here and here) on Craig's List a few weeks ago--thank heaven for deals! Needless to say, I had to give a little when it came to the rocker. As usually, I knew EXACTLY what I wanted: An upholstered chair with a square back and arms that ROCKS--not a glider. Let me tell you that they DO NOT EXIST. I found the chair I loved and wanted, but only if it could be made into a rocker. So, hopeful Keliann e-mailed the maker and asked if they could put the rocker base that they make for another chair on the chair that I wanted, scratch that--NEEDED, and got a big, fat "NO" for an answer.

Now, I know that some of you are thinking that I am weird for wanting a true rocker over a glider--I get that. BUT, there is such a different feel between the two that I am willing to do the extra work in order to ROCK and not glide. Call me crazy...

So that left us with a close second: the Dream Rocker from Pottery Barn Kids. It is nice, I can't complain (but I really wanted the other chair to rock...). Like I said, we got a real deal on it by buying it second hand (which also makes it a "green" purchase) from the nicest couple in Holly--The Millers. They purchased the chair during their last pregnancy, which turned out to be a set of twins!! She laughed and said that she never got to use it much since they already had 2 girls and then added 2 more instead of just one. I would like to add them to our "new friends" list now that I think of it, but anyway...back to the chair. It came with a denim slip cover, which will not work in the above color scheme, so we have been exploring our options. Actually, I've got a funny story about that....

Lunch with Grandpa Bill

T.G.I.T. Yup, Thursday--I don't have to work tomorrow :) (but I do have to work on Saturday) That is the only reason I am posting at 11 p.m. (Yes, I took a short nap on the couch while MJ watched Lost. I will have to catch that later).

I went to lunch with my dad today, so fun! Grandpa Bill got me a book--What to Expect the First Year! I was so excited to get it (I just put it on my registry on Tuesday), I even started to read it today....along with the 4 others I am currently reading. I am happy to report that ONE of them is NOT a baby book but a Nicholas Sparks book. I figured it was o.k. to do a little "reading for pleasure" since MOST of what I've read the past 6 months is for "knowledge".

We have a busy day planned for my day off...we are headed to Ann Arbor tomorrow to get our rocking chair re-upholstered, hope to stop by Ikea, hit some maternity re-sale shops (my wardrobe options are getting rather low), check out 2 daycares and get working on the nursery bedding. More on that later, I am off to bed. Enjoy your Friday working!!!

Round Out the Week

Short and sweet tonight, WAY past my bed time....

Here is my belly at 23 weeks (yes I know that I need to post these on Saturday instead of Sunday in order to be posted on the last day of the given week...maybe next week will be more timely). Enjoy!

Yikes!

Michael and I started the hunt for baby furniture in January and it proved to be as difficult as agreeing on our own bedroom furniture. We have come to realize that when it comes to decorating, each of us has to give a little...well more than a little. It always seems like what I like, MJ does not. The same is true for what MJ likes, I usually say "yuck" with a crinkled nose. So, since the beginning of our search we have heard the word "no" a lot.

One day in early March we were out and about doing a little shopping and MJ suggested we hit A Baby's Room in Sterling Heights. I agreed to look, though I did not have much hope for finding something we could agree on. Now mind you, at this point we had perused the obvious and not so obvious: Babies "R" Us, Buy Buy Baby, Art Van, JC Penny's, Burlington Coat Factory, Target, (Walmart-online only--I swear!!) and either could not find anything we could agree on or no options at all (boo to Penny's and Art Van for not having ANY to look at).

So, in we went. Much to our surprise we both like, I mean really liked, the second one we saw there! What, you like this?!? I like it too!!! The longer we looked the more we liked it. Yes, both of us were giving a little on what our "perfect" crib and furniture would be--MJ did not LOVE the front of the long dresser and I was hoping for white, but hey other than that we AGREED!!! That in itself is sometimes something to celebrate! Now, those of you who know me, and I mean KNOW me, realize that I can't just buy something...I have to shop around before I commit. Hey, this is a long term investment. I will have to look at this set for the next 20 years or so, so I have to be absolutely sure I like it AND know that I got the best price. Besides, at this point I realized that I wasn't able to say much about the wonderful customer service at this store, so on to Direct Buy we went (Yes, I am a member and Yes, you do save money).

Lucky us, Direct buy carried the manufacture so we were able to compare prices. Once again, Direct Buy was the cheaper route :) but resistant Keliann kicked in again. What if the dresser is too long? What if we get it in and I don't like it? What if we find something we like better once we order it? I made MJ wait before processing the order. Home we went and out came the tape measure. I don't say this too often but, Michael was right. The dresser would fit and we really did not have many other shopping options to explore--if any. So, Saturday, March 7th Michael and I ordered baby furniture! Unfortunately, the shipping time was 6-8 weeks. Well, we will have time to decide on bedding and paint before it gets here, I thought.

Boy was I wrong! MJ picked up the furniture this week!! Yes, its here! We have BABY FURNITURE!!! Crap, time is flying by...from order to my house in 6 weeks, and that was with it sitting in the warehouse for almost 2 weeks!!! And no, I have not committed to bedding yet. That is actually another post of its own! Well, here is link to what what we picked: Bonavita

We went with the dark cherry (room 1) not the black. The crib converts into a toddler bed and a full size bed (yes I made MJ order the nightstand too, though he did not understand why at first. Hey, what do you expect a teenager to put his/her alarm clock on??), the long dresser in the back (without the hutch top) and the tall dresser (right side of the picture). We will have to put the nightstand and tall dresser in the office/spare bedroom for now, but we will have the full set when the time comes. We are SO excited that the nursery is coming together, we have a rocking chair too (that is also another story to be told) and have the bedding narrowed down to two options (though they both require my sewing abilities...we will see how that goes). MJ tells me we HAVE to decide this weekend so he can get to painting before his school and work schedule gets too crazy--but I don't see the rush since the furniture is gassing off in the garage for now...but wish me luck on this decision!!

Round Out the Week...

Well, here it is. What you all have been waiting for...belly pictures! I post these against my free will and only because I have too. I must say that I have been enjoying the whole "eating for two" WAY more than I should be. Being an American girl, I can't remember the last time I was not on a diet or "watching my weight" so eating when I am hungry has been fun. I know I will pay for it once Peanut is here and I don't have an excuse for my belly any more. At that point I know I will have to start running my butt off...literally!! Til then, I swear it is all baby ;)


Here is me at 20 week (3/29/09):





And today at the end of 22 weeks:

Peanut's Wardrobe

Hello! Yes, I know it has been a while since my last post....what can I say? Not much has been happening, so I guess I will share some of the fun things we have purchased and received since finding out we are going to have a baby:

This was the very first baby thing I got! Michael purchased and wrapped it for my birthday :) When I opened it our friends found out we were expecting! Here is a close up:

Here are some of Daddy's other purchases:

This cute, little hat is from Grandma and Grandpa J:


These next few are from Aunt Stacey, Uncle Mark, Julia and Gracie:

Here is the first thing Auntie Emily bought for us:

Emily came over this past weekend and was also kind enough to bring with her three LARGE bags of cloths and baby items...Peanut loves having twins born in August "in the family"!! Lots of goodies in those bags, too many to share! Thanks Charlotte and Emerson! :)

Peanut's first Disney item was from Auntie Kelli! She was in Disney running a half-marathon when we made the announcement! She came home with Mickey:

This is what we purchased right after finding out we are having a girl!

It is an organic cotton gown, which makes changing Peanut in the middle of the night SO much easier. I just hope we don't have too many rolling poos, right Emily?

But my favorite item of all was purchased on day-two of our "We're having a Girl" shopping trip is this. I was hoping that this would be the outfit that we bring our little Peanut home in, but I am scared it will be too big...

YES...that is Peanut's first pair of shoes!! I just had to have them! They are just PERFECT!

Needless to say, we have TONS of other things--too many to post all of them. If I posted all of them, you would be here all night looking. Thank you so much for the love you have already shown this little girl. She is so lucky!