Andrew's Nursery (Featured on Project Nursery)

 

Finally Andrew's nursery is complete.. only took me over a year, right?

It was a long first year.. nothing like our first year with SJ.

 

So the nursery has evolved into what it is today... the crib is now lowered to the last setting ... the burp cloths have been put away.. and there are no binkys or tiny newborn clothes in sight..

But its finished .. for now.. and is ever changing as I tend to quite enjoy and find peace in re-arranging and re-organizing certain areas when I feel inspired.

 

 

Floating shelves... something I wanted from the start

I have some fabric wrapped canvas' on the top shelf, along with a globe to keep with the "map" theme, and Melissa & Doug giraffe that was Samantha's

Below we have baskets with diapers and socks.

 

 Blankets and more blankets.. but every blanket has a story here...

From top to bottom:

Burlap Pillow (made by me)

Gap "ugg" blanket as we call it.. super super warm (was a shower gift when I was pregnant with Samantha

USMC Heavy Blanket.. Gift from Daddy to Mama when we were still dating!

Soft Blue Chenille Blanket (Hand me down from my dear friend Megan)

Red/White Striped Afghan (Mama's from when I was a baby.. My nursery colors were red and white.. and I have several blankets in great condition from my nursery)

Grey Polka Dot (Made by Mama for Baby #2)

Blue Polka Dot (Gift from Baka)

 

The Crib:

Bumper & Skirt (Light Linen): Made by Me

Pottery Barn Kids Chamois Crib Sheet

Gator: Pier 1

Painted Frames: Michael

Mobile: Made by Me

 

Ikea Frames with Maps

Each Map contains an area where Andrew has family across the country.

 

View from entering the room...

 

Small drawer unit..

Holds old burp cloths now.. and swaddle blankets

 Dresser: Target

 PBK Bookshelf

 Map Bunting from his first birthday party

 Chair where we spent many a nights together Andrew and I.

I made all the pillow covers.. I especially love the grey chevron.. Oh, and its actually the burlap pillow..(pictured above..) I found chevron fabric online and thought it looked better so I covered up the burlap..

Like I said.. his room is an ongoing project you could say.. Im always changing things, re-organizing clothes, décor.. and he's constantly growing too, I can no longer leave certain things within reach, and that forces me to change the location of certain things as well.

You can see his nursery.. and I think a few more

pictures... HERE @ Project Nursery.com

Wintry Week Happenings



This week its been really ccccold.
I know its winter.. but seems extra chilly and biting wind added in.. nice, eh?

 

I found a new favorite drink .. Iced Coffee. Right after I just said its freezing I know.

Instant Coffee - 2 tsp

Add sugar

1/2 cup water

Stir well

Fill a cup with ice

Add Half & Half

Stir

This has been my weekly drink.

Im steering away from my beloved Starbucks.

And I even added some chocolate syrup & whipped cream one morning..

Yum.



Andrew's party is this weekend, so the dining room table, work bench in the basement, shelves in the kitchen look like my craft areas as I prep, cut, and organize.

I finally hung these vintage metal numbers on Andrew's nursery wall this week.

His nursery is almost done.. yea took a whole year.

Its a work in progress, and I finally think it looks the way I want it to.

After dropping off SJ on Wed I took Andrew shopping with me...

I needed another new favorite beverage first

Iced Blueberry Coffee

Mmmmmm... again.. cheating on Starbucks...its so so good though.

First we went to Target..

And found the most colorful things..

Towel, Chevron Socks, stickers, xylophone, and mister mister needed some new boats for bathtime.. 

 

Then we went to Old Navy.. looking for dresses for Samantha.. but they only had spring/summer stuff already and not a whole lot of clearance for girls.

 

But for Momma.. I got these 5 shirts for 15.00 total.

Couldnt pass it up.. 

It just seems to get colder and colder..

Saturday is Andrew's indoor pool party.. nice.. and crisp 19 degrees for a high! Eek! 

 

We headed to Target again tonight.. and I was had again.. I just cant stand the colors and cute stuff!



 

I started working on the cookies for his party.. and now Im ready for bed.

Andrew is sleeping much better.. but I seem to be so much more tired.. go figure!

33 Weeks Pregnant - {Nursery Peek}

33 Weeks Prego & Nursery Peek

Im poppin out for sure.. I dont feel as big as I was with Samantha.. {see below}

{12.20.11 - baby #2}

33 weeks Pregnant with Samantha

{May 2009}
I seemed to be carrying more WIDE and all over with SJ.
My ankles were swollen, legs swollen, face....everything was distributed all over with her. Brother just seems to be a little ball and seems to be lower

Size of baby: Weighs about as much as a Pineapple!
Gender: IT IS A BOY!! – We are between 2 names now, I really cannot decide and I might wait to see what he looks like when he is here.. I definitely knew with Samantha, I was already ordering Monogrammed burp cloths, onesies, bibs, outfits, but with this one, I just cannot decide!
Weight Gain: Another lb. since last week’s Dr’s visit.
How am I feeling: Im trying to get motivated to wrap Christmas presents, be a creative Martha Stewart, but most days I’ll do one or two things, and want to fall on my face afterwards. I wrapped 1 gift today.. and that was enough.. I hope since Im procrastinating that I will get a surge of holiday energy and get back into the swing of things.. I also have to make so many treats for Christmas too.. ugh.. Im mainly just tired. If I do too much in one day I find my back, feet and pelvic area are in a lot of pain too.
Snoring. Yes according to hubby, since I’ve become quite large .. I’ve been snoring and waking him up apparently… I didn’t believe him, but then last night I woke MYSELF up.. and I couldn’t believe it! Ha!
Nothing fits anymore. I wear the same pants to bed everynight.. I wash them during the day if I need to. I have ONE pair of Motherhood full panel jeans that are my life saver… I wear them almost every day. I refuse to buy anything and have for some time now. I just have to get through these next weeks with what I’ve got .
Driving has become uncomfortable. Getting in and out has been pretty tight..ha!
Contractions? – Almost every night I’ll get a sharp pain on my lower right side, under my belly. It lasts about 30-40 seconds, and then sometimes never returns, sometimes does. So I’m wondering if they are contractions, or Braxton hicks.. whatever those are anyways.. haha…


We finally got these floating shelves up this past weekend.. Im not sure how Im going to decorate them, I just wanted to see how they'd look with a few things on them, I really like them though...

More laundry.. I've been washing and folding and getting so excited while doing it!
Baby Movement: He moves A LOT lately.. and im pretty sure his feet get stuck in my ribcage multiple times per day. But you can see a lot of movement from the outside. My sister and mother have both felt him from the outside. Oh, and Samantha too! Every time I’d say “brother’s Kicking!!” She’d come running and put her hand on my belly. But this time she really felt him give her a quick jab! She was so excited!
Appointments/Events: Next Tuesday, 12/27/11
Craving: Bread, Juices (Cranberry, Blueberry)
Funny Things:We’re trying to prep SJ for when Momma has “brother” and telling her Grammy is gonna watch you, and grammy is gonna put you to bed, etc.. Im so nervous, but I hope she’ll be okay.. it could possibly only be for one night. Who knows how this labor will be.. I just want a healthy baby again, so if it takes another 30+ hours of labor, so be it.. I went through it once, I can get through it again.

Special Buys/Finds This Week: A warm sleeper from Target.. it was on clearance for $3.00.. It’s a NB size, but for $3, I couldn’t pass it up!

Im eyeing up a Diaper bag from Etsy..but the seller isn’t making any more till after Christmas.
I ended up selling my old OiOi one on ebay.. I needed a change.. new baby .. new diaper bag.
I have a few I have still from SJ, a custom one from NC, and a Kate Spade that I still use, I just want something new for this baby too I guess. Diaper bags are like purses when you’re a Momma, because there really is NO sense in lugging around BOTH… for what??

I made this blanket as well for baby brother. I love the grey dot side, and the other side is flannel red dots..
Nursery Sneak Peak....

I finally finished his crib skirt. I didnt even know if I could do it at first, so Im really proud of myself that it turned out so good. Its just a plain linen crib skirt, nothing fancy. I dont really know how to do pleats but I think it looks good just plain..

His crib is vintage. Its an off white color, which matches a LOT of the furniture.. (nightstand, bookshelf, etc.. )

His room is more beige/blue/white/grey/off white colors. Im working on a mobile for above the crib that I got inspiration from Pinterest of course...More to come! What do you all think??

Randoms & Recipes

This weekend (past) we had no plans.. it was really relaxing and nice.

We didnt do much at all, but it still went by fast of course.

I took 2 naps BOTH days ... yeah.. I can tell Im slowing down again.. right as I entered the 3rd trimester..

It actually motivated me to do some nursery things .. Im only going to get bigger and more tired.. so I had some nesting motivation!

I made these cute burp cloths for Baby ... and I went to JoAnn's and got MORE adorable Boy fabric.. so I see no end in sight with these.. they're just too cute!

And we put up his book rack and Samantha graciously shared a bunch of her books with "brother"
I also made a yummy dish last week that I wanted to share...
Crispy Baked Chicken - just a simple Allrecipes find that I'd been using for a few years!
I served it with:
Roasted Cauliflower & Crescent Rolls
Simple and everyone liked it!

Project #2 - Baby's Crib Skirt
I had my eye on a linen crib skirt from a fancy boutique.. But no offense Baby #2.. Im not spending $230.00 for a crib skirt if I can make it myself.
So I took a spare crib skirt and used it as a template.. Cutting out the middle rectangle part first and hemming the edges all around.

I Hemmed it for a more crisp look, and also so it holds better with the actual part that will show. This seersucker part will be under the mattress... but I have spare fabric to decorate with.. as in the burp cloth above...I love seersucker!

I layed it in the crib after to make sure it fit.. and it looked pretty good.And I bought the skirt fabric (linen) this weekend, and started measuring and hemming..

Next step is to attach the front piece first.. then I'll work my way around with the shorter side pieces and back.

Dessert: Samantha and I made cookies this weekend .. I promised her after her nap on Sunday.. and dont think she for a minute forgot. As soon as I opened her door and walked in her room, she said.. "make cookies now Momma?"...

We made a super yummy Martha Stewart cookie!

Banana Walnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies!

Here's the recipe

Other than that.. Its the 3rd trimester and Im pooped..... 28 week update coming soon!

27 Weeks Pregnant

27 Weeks – 13 weeks to go.
Size of baby: Small Head of Cauliflower.. about 14.5 inches total length, and he’s already starting to be awake and sleep in small intervals according to babycenter.com
Gender: IT IS A BOY!!

Weight Gain: 24 lbs to be exact as of last Dr’s Appt.
How am I feeling: Felt a few Braxton Hicks this past weekend.. certainly forgot how those felt, Eek! Overall, just more winded and tired, and my tummy is getting really really big. All of my shirts aren’t long enough, except a few (*preggo fav’s that I wash multiple times per week) So I end up feeling a draft under my belly on almost everything I wear cause Im carrying so low. Posterior Pelvic Pain – I have been feeling this a lot. Its worse some days than others, but by the end of the day I sometimes cannot lift my legs, or even walk up the stairs without feeling a lot of pain. Leg Cramps- often in the middle of the night one or both of my calve muscles will tighten and be very painful for about 30 seconds.. Oh, and my milking area.. is getting soo big…none of my bras fit me anymore, I’ll just say that..
Appointments/Events:
Next Appt – November 30th – routine. Marks the start of my every 2 week visits.. I CANNOT believe im to this point already.

Craving: I’ve eased up on the carbs.. I used to be craving/eating a bagel and cream cheese EVERY morning. It was the only thing that would satisfy me, and make me feel better on days I felt nauseaous.
Missing: Nothing much this week. I surprisingly have been sleeping pretty well for as big as I feel Im getting.
Baby Moving: Moving all the time, sometimes he’ll jab me and it is starting to hurt a little! i feel him in my low low low belly, and on the top now.. so either he's getting into place, or he still needs to flip around.
Funny Things: Samantha is just funny I guess in general. Always asking me “what’s he doing in there?” And I recently told her he is coming after Santa comes, which she repeats now. She’ll touch my belly and say “gentle to brother” or “nice,” “he’s sleeping”

Special Buys/Finds This Week:
All the BIG things have been purchased I think!.. We got the Rocker on Friday, I ordered his magazine rack from PBK on Sunday, Rug is here, Dresser put together, Crib all ready (minus bedding)
I guess bedding decisions, which I have decided to TRY and make Baby Boy’s crib skirt.. and if that goes well, I’ll attempt the bumper.. Im thinking of a light blue crib sheet, and I have a navy/dot one from PBK that I bought, but need to think about it.. Bedding is so particular.. Esp cause the crib I have is an off-white color.. so anything with too much white looks silly.


{both images I "pinned" on Pinterest.. my latest addiction}

Next week Im in the 3rd trimester.. Holy Cow this pregnancy has FLOWN by, and I dont see any slowing down with the holidays approaching.. that always goes by too fast.. pregnant or not!