Nursery Furniture

To finish off the nursery, I wanted to redo some furniture that we had. The changing table was the hardest to come with. My mom & I pinned a bunch of different options before finally determining the desk was the right option. I brought home a ton of paint samples and eventually went with Bermuda Bay. I love my mint green, but knew it wasn't quite right, so had thought about teal before finding this color which is kind of a mix of both.

We sanded down the old furniture we had and then painted, 3 coats later it was essentially done. I tried to polyurethane over the paint to make it shine and easier to clean and that was a failure. Luckily I had just done the drawers of the desk. Turns out if you try to do that with old wood it pulls what I can the wood oil and gives it a yellowy tint and definitely not what I wanted. So sanded down the drawers and repainted them. All was good.

Then I found new knobs for both that matched each other so they now look like a set, because they were far from a set when we started!

Here's the picture report:

Restored Country Style Table

I love country style tables & Greg hated the table we had because it was too short for him to fit his legs under. So began my obsessive pinning of country style tables and plans to have someone (preferably the little bro) build it for me this summer. Well lucky for him I spotted one on a for sale group that had good potential. I made my father-in-law & hubs drive up with me in the wind & rain to take a look and pick it up. It fit Greg well and 3-5 tarp wraps later we were cruising back to our house.

The table sat in our garage for a bit waiting to get it's facelift. The plan was to sand it down, reinforce weak areas in the legs and table top as well as fill in some of the cracks. Then stain and polyurethane it. All went very smoothly.

Suggestions for supplies:

• Electric detail sander
• Minwax stainable wood filler
• Minwax gel stain (this stuff is awesome, it goes on easy & you truly just need a small can!)
• Minwax polyurethane - gloss/high gloss (read the gel stain can to get suggestions on which one & gloss will wipe assist in wiping the table off.)

My mom was a trooper doing this, I had ideas, but this far into pregnancy wasn't really able to help much. She sanded, stained & polyed it all. We do suggest multiple layers of poly to make sure it is solidly covered and can handle being wiped off. 

Then I had to find some chairs to match. At 1st I was thinking of trying to match the wood, but a suggestion from a friend to do a solid color & not match changed my mind. So I looked for darker chairs that actually match our kitchen island stools. Couldn't be happier with the results!

Sanded & ready to stain

Half stained

Ready to go!

Prepping for Baby

We've officially had a baby shower and are in the homestretch. I am not a huge fan of showers, I hate having all the focus on me, I know it's friends and family that are happy for you, but boy is it out of my comfort zone.

But my sister put together an awesome shower and am grateful to have the love, support & gracious gifts of my family & friends.

Up until now I knew I was getting bigger and the baby was there, but with all the things filling up the nursery it is now sinking in that this is real. And we will have a little one joining us soon. We are in the 'safe' zone of this pregnancy.

After the shower, I used some of the decorations and gifts to get the nursery decorated. I started pulling things out of boxes and trying to organize. It blows me away how many items a baby uses at the start of life and what will be used during their development through the 1st year of life. It is incredible how far they come, how much their personality will change and how it will change you as a person.

Every night and on the weekends, I have been leaving the nursery room door open to allow the cat and dog to come in & sniff around. I don't want them to be locked out of it and reach shock when we introduce a new family member. The cat is currently in love with the stroller and the dog loves one of the super soft blankets. Sadie also feels the need to know where I am at all times, she makes sure she knows where I am before she takes her naps which is typically right next to me on the floor. Her dog senses are kicking in and she's protecting me and the baby, pretty sure she's going to be a good fur sister. And I also sense she will know when I am in labor before I do.

I can't say my nesting has hit in full effect, but I definitely have decided to have the nursery ready and also my hospital bag. If I am anything like my mom there is a chance we will be going early and I don't really want to have to have a neighbor pack my bag the 1st time like she did! :)

Reading Nook

Never stop the dreams, little one.

Backyard Refresh

Well it was a long time coming. We planned to get the fence & deck stained & repainted early in the spring but rain & work schedules haulted that plan. So after a couple months of storing all the paint & stain the garage we can say it's done! My mom & dad took on the deck with the thickest paint I've ever seen...specifically deck paint so makes sense. While Greg took on the fence...the whole fence...in one day. I believe he now regrets the one dat thing but boy does it look good!

After nearly 2 years of dogs running across the decktop a the paint makes it look brand new. And the fence took on its first stain well. It's amazing what a coat of paint  or stain can do to give it all a facelift.

Glucose Test

Okay, this was one test I was nervous about, not that I would have Gestational Diabetes, but that it wasn't a fun test.

From what I had heard it was a long test, the drink was awful and I'd probably get sick or lightheaded from it.

Wrong.

The fruit punch we had in Bible School all through elementary school definitely had more sugar in it than the fruit punch glucose drink I had to drink.

I made sure I didn't over carb before the test and just had a bit of fruit before I headed in. Took one sip of the drink & was shocked that it wasn't a thick syrup of sugar gross-ness.

The only part that kind of stunk was sitting in the waiting room for an hour until I could have my blood drawn. The rest was a piece of cake.

Everyone reacts differently, but this is definitely not anything to get worked up about! :)

Freezer Meals Round 2

We did another round of freezer meals about a month ago. We wanted to try a different group with a better mixture of tastes. So far, they've been great...and by that I only have 1 left in my freezer and I am ready to go again!

We again doubled the list to make a batch for me & a batch for my mom. We spent under $200 & made 24 meals!

Here's your grocery & recipe list!

6+ months coffee free

Yes, it's true. The girl who typically drank from a coffee mug as big as my head hasn't had coffee in over 6 months. The day I discovered I was pregnant again, I had poured myself a cup of coffee and an hour later it was still just as full because I couldn't stand the taste of it. Then as the pregnancy progressed the smell of brewing coffee made me gag. So lucky for me, I didn't have to go through the caffeine headaches as I stopped drinking coffee cold turkey & lucky for the baby, they don't have to deal with the jolt of the limited amount of caffeine I could have had from coffee.

In the fall, the 1st thing I wanted after my miscarriage was a hot steamy coffee, something I had missed over those 9 weeks. It was the the symbol of the end of the pregnancy. I could have coffee.

This pregnancy, I'm good leaving it alone. At first it was easy, but as I started to feel better and it didn't make me gag, I was like I could have a decaf. But I've held out, I don't need it to survive, and to me holding out is now the symbol of the healthy and continuing pregnancy I am going through.

Will I need it after the baby is born? Will it even taste good anymore? I don't know. I'm sure I'll need caffeine at times, but hey it may be something that changes.

Mother's Day Brunch - [Recipe]!

I wanted to something different for my mom & mother-in-law this Mother's Day becuase it is the last one before they are grandmas. So I had this French Toast bake at a friend's house a few weeks ago and then discovered it came from one of my favorite blogs & knew it was what I needed to make them.

So I planned a Mother's Day brunch a day early so they could celebrate with our grandma's on Mother's Day. It was a hit & fun to have our moms over for brunch!

Blueberry French Toast Bake

Ingredients
1 loaf of french or sourdough bread
4 eggs
2 cups milk
2 tbsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon (I added a bit more)
1/2 cup of fresh blueberries

Directions
Grease a glass baking dish and line the sliced bread. Layer the bread so it overlaps just slightly, but not so much that it doesn't cook evenly. In a small bowl, mix together egg, milk, vanilla & cinnamon. Pour over bread evenly. Sprinkle blueberries on top, cover & place in fridge overnight.

To bake, remove cover & place in oven at 350 degrees for about 40 mins. You'll want to check it towards the end so it doesn't get overly crispy.

Dress with a dusting of powdered sugar & serve with maple syrup. Enjoy!

Why I Don't Care to Know the Gender

As my little brother says, "with technology these days, why wouldn't you find out the gender?"

Short Answer: I don't want to, it won't change if I have the baby or not or if I love them or not. Same with the genetic testing, I don't care, and I don't need to know.

Long Answer: Why does it matter that I know?

It doesn't change how I carry the pregnancy, I still have a baby growing inside of me, it's kicking, I've been sick, I go to my appointments, I follow the diet, I grow out of my clothes, etc.

I don't plan to paint my nursery pink or blue, I want it to be neutral. I plan to have more kids, so why would I want a room I am going to have to paint over & over again?

I don't want to have a shower where I get 57 headbands for my little girl. I want to have a shower that would provide me with things I actually NEED to have a kid and kids in the future.

I don't want my kid defined by their gender color, pink or blue. I am not a big fan of pink, so I don't want them dressed in their gender's commercially assigned color. I want to have it open, let them decide if they want to be a princess or an outdoorsmen on their own.

I don't want to have a name picked out that I am calling the unborn child, sure we have names we like but maybe they just won't fit when I see the new baby. I don't want to be calling my stomach, Shania or Jim, Baby O. suits it just fine.

I like the sense of not knowing, it doesn't change how I am feeling through the pregnancy, the unknown is just part of becoming a parent. How they will behave is unknown, how it will change me is unknown, why not just relax and live with the unknown.

My love for them will not change if they are a boy or a girl, Greg's love for them will not change. We enjoy the mystery and don't think we'll change in the future either.

ADDITION: This came up on my Facebook feed this morning, I fully agree with this post: http://www.scarymommy.com/not-find-out-boy-or-girl/

[Recipe] Honey Chicken

A quick 30 minute recipe that has become an easy go-to for us over the last few years. (Sorry not picture this time, you'll just have to trust it tastes good!)

Ingredients:
1 pound chicken breast
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/8 cup chopped onion (or 1/16 cup onion flakes)
1/8 cup ketchup
1 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 clove garlic minced
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

Instructions:

1. Cut the chicken into bite size pieces, put into a baking dish (that has a lid).
2. Season the chicken with the salt & pepper. Mix to help cover the pieces. 
3. In a separate bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, onion, ketchup, oil, garlic & pepper flakes. 
4. Pour the liquid mixture over the chicken.
5. Bake at 350 degrees, stirring every 10 mins until the chicken is cooked through. It typically is 30 mins, but based on the size of chicken pieces we have had to go to 40 minutes.

Life Changes Quickly

Well, as quickly as life shuts a door another is opened. While drinking a cup of coffee in December that I could barely gag down, I realized I may be pregnant again. I didn't know what to do, I was still freaked out and emotions were still whacked by the miscarriage. As the weeks went by I finally was able to step out of the denial of being pregnant again enough to call the doctor's office to make an appointment.

I have switched offices, and let me state from the 1st appointment on, I have felt more welcomed, comfortable and informed at my new office than I did at the last one. This time we actually told our family members earlier, I wanted to have a support system around me if anything happened again, I didn't want that alone feeling.

We had our initial ultrasound and the heartbeat was very strong, I just wanted to keep listening. It was such a change compared to the last ultrasound I had seen. The weeks continued, my stress level between appointments remained, those 4 weeks in between were tough because I didn't know what was happening. The one thing I could find ease in was being nauseous and sick for 15 weeks, I knew if I was sick, things must be continuing to progress. While I no way enjoyed it, I found comfort in it.

Just before we hit 20 weeks, I started to feel the movements, another great ease in my mind. Probably more ease than the monthly appointments listening to the heartbeat, because this could be felt daily. Then the 2nd ultrasound made it more real with new measurements and images.

As the weeks progress and we long to meet the little one in August, I find comfort in the kicks that keep me awake. And treasure the exhaustion more than I may have before.

[Recipe] Blueberry Muffins

I've been wanting blueberry muffins, but not boxed, they didn't sound appealing. So I started the Pinterest search to find the perfect muffin, 5 pins later I picked one that I had all the ingredients for and went for it. And they were great, hubby liked them, little bro liked them & my mom liked them. So we'll flag it as a success.

Here's the recipe.

Ingredients
2/3 cup white sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sour cream (or greek yogurt)
1 cup blueberries (or as many as you feel you need to put in)
White sugar to sprinkle on the top

Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
2. Combine the sugar, egg, oil, milk & vanilla. Mix well.
3. Add the flour, baking powder & salt. Once mixed well with the liquid ingredients, add in the sour cream. Mix and then add the blueberries.
4. Fill in the muffin tins, should make about 8-12 regular sized muffins. Sprinkle sugar over the top if you want it.
5. Bake for 25 mins.