36 1/2 Weeks!

Well, we're really in the home stretch! I guess there's a pun there...

Nothing new to report. Just trying to keep the house clean and keep my legs shaved. The latter is more difficult than the former.

This Sunday she'll be technically full-term, my bag's packed, and I'm planning on doing lots of walking, bouncing on a yoga ball, and eating delicious spicy food.

Who knows...by my next post, she might be here!!

Well...

...nothing new really to report. And I don't want to seem whiney, so I'm going to keep this short and sweet. I'm feeling fat. And tired. And clumsy.

In other news, I've finished up my last two projects until baby gets here...one of which you can see here. 

When I finish a project, I always feel like I'm coming off a design high and if I don't have something to immediately delve back into. I go through a little design withdrawal. So I'll keep up with designerly-type things on my design blog for the weeks to come. 

But if you don't hear much from me here, it's probably because I'm trying not get too repetitive with the whole "I feel huge and am ready pop" stuff. 

Anyway, here I am at 34 weeks with my pretty friend Lindsey at her wedding last weekend, a lamp that I love in Eva's nursery (love that it looks like a little lady hat), and Mo. Just keeping the Cuddle Bunny warm for her for a couple weeks. How thoughtful of him. 

Notes on the Third Trimester

I'm about a month into the home stretch. With each day getting closer and closer to our baby's arrival, I find myself feeling so many different things. Some days I feel very prepared and have a generally laid back attitude. After all, they don't call them maternal instincts for nothing. They'll kick in all will be well.

Other times, I catch myself in a little panic that I haven't done enough research and hastily whip out my iPhone, looking up everything I can re: "what they don't tell you about having a baby." Sometimes that's scary. I don't know if I recommend it.

Overall, I think we are as well prepared as we can be. Brendan has done a phenomenal job getting the nursery ready and reading through books and blogs with me that are full of really good info. And I feel really lucky to have lots of great friends who are moms to little ones, so their experiences are still pretty fresh and their insight has been so helpful.

Lately, Brendan and I both are short on sleep and he said the other day that it's just preparation for what's in store. While I do find myself wanting a nap pretty much all day, when I actually do get the chance, my mind just won't cooperate. I'm wrapping up my last two design projects, and in my line of work, you never really stop working on something.

Projects are constantly in the back of my head and even if I'm just flipping through a magazine or running my own errands, the designer in me is still scoping out things for projects or concepts. The "off" switch doesn't really exist. This isn't a bad thing; it means I love what I do, it just makes rest difficult when combined with all the other million things running through my head.

Good thing preggos need to skimp on the caffeine...otherwise I'd really be in trouble.

Luckily though, yesterday was super relaxing and Brendan and I both napped on the sofa for a few hours. It was heavenly. And for my first mother's day (which feels pretty weird!) all I wanted was to have a breakfast food feast at home and to lay around in my sweats. It was all a girl could dream of. And then we had fro-yo and it was officially the best day ever.

By the way...those are Danish Pancakes from Trader Joe's. You need to get them. They're delicious.

Anyway, I'm off to get some work done! Hope your Mother's Day weekend was great!

Happy Mother's Day!

Brendan and I were walking back home from a friend's house last night and happened to catch a glimpse of this lovely little mama and her two little babies nesting in a beautiful hanging flower basket. The picture looks fake, but I promise it's real! It was such a sweet site and so fitting for this Mother's Day weekend. 

If you're someone who's close to your mom this Mother's Day, count yourself lucky. My mom's nine hours away, but thankfully I was able to spend some great time with her when she came down to Charleston for the shower last weekend, which I promise to post pictures of soon!

Since I'll be a mother myself this year, I'm all the more appreciative for the sacrifices my mom's made for us over the years. And I love this point in my life where my mom can truly be a best friend. If you're a twenty-something girl, you probably know what I mean. All of sudden, mom goes from being someone who's keeping your curfew and what you wear out of the house in check to someone who you can giggle with over a glass of wine. And then all of sudden you find yourself telling her about how you snuck out of the house that once at a little tapas bar in New York. Once that "WHAT!? I can't believe you did that!" quickly wears away, you laugh and she tells you something funny she did when she was that age and you're both just happy to be able to enjoy each other's company.

Mom's are so special.

 I'm so thankful for my mom's creativity, her sense of humor and her friendship.

Happy Mother's Day Mom! I hope your weekend is relaxing and delightful! You deserve it! 

Scatter Brain

Oh boy...I can't believe we only have about eight more weeks until our little Eva Joy gets here! In some ways I feel like it was just yesterday that the faintest pink line appeared in the little window of the pregnancy test. Already, our lives have changed so much and it's only about to get crazier!

Brendan and I got a book called Baby 411...which by the way, we have no idea who sent it to us...so whoever you are, thanks!...and it's been super helpful in preparing us for what we're in for.

I'm starting to pack my hospital bag, just in case this little one decides to make an early debut. I can't believe I'm saying that! All of a sudden, time has flown!

And I know I'm a little all over the place...but here's a sneak peak of the nursery...

Can't wait to show you the finished room!

Third Trimester!

So I've been pretty terrible about keeping up lately. Things have been busy busy busy around here. I don't even know where to start.

We've been working like crazy people trying to get the nursery done, which has mostly been lots of painting. Two opposing walls in the nursery have stripes, so that's been fun. And the ceiling needed to be repainted. And pretty much all of the furniture, which includes the dresser/changing table, rocking chair, and a little side table. And let's not even talk about the crib. That's a bit of a sore subject right now. See, when I say "we've been painting" I really mean Brendan and various other helpers. Not me. But Brendan endured a seven-hour stand-off with the crib I used as I baby, first trying to figure out how the heck to put together such a...shall we say..."vintage" piece. Then painting said piece for hours upon hours, meticulously detailing each spindle, trying to get sufficient coverage, only to find that upon drying the perfect shade pealed off like a bad sunburn.

Yikes.

We've surrendered and will be picking up a new crib soon.

We've also been getting a lot done around the rest of the house too. I think Brendan has caught the nesting bug too. We've put up curtains in the living room (finally!!), got some stuff of the walls so it doesn't look like we just moved in, and finished the old gun cabinet turned wine rack we found on the side of the road a looong time ago. We're not done, but are making huge strides and I'm feeling really good about it. I'll get some pics up soon. There are a few other things to get done first, though.

And on a sad note, we had to do something really rough last week. After finding out that our little Gigi has kitty-diabetes, we had to give her away. It was really sad, but we didn't have a choice because with a baby on the way, we don't have the time or money to worry about what treatment entails. And I know she's making plenty of new friends and cuddling with everything she sees at Pet Helpers. They can treat her there and I just know that some rich old lady will adopt her and not worry one bit about paying for her diabetes medicine. And maybe that old lady will even have diabetes too, so they can check their insulin together and be best friends forever.

But enough about that.

Eva is growing like crazy, which means I am too! Thankfully I don't have diabetes (gestational diabetes, that is) and am right on track with everything, but I was shocked that I hadn't gained more weight since my last doctor's appointment because I feel like every morning I wake up and am huge! She's totally popping out and everyone's taken notice. It was a total shocker to read that babies can come as early as 32 weeks and are generally fine. Holy crap...that's in just three weeks! Not that I think she'll make her arrival that early, but I know she'll be here before we know it. I feel like it wasn't long ago that I spent my days hugging the toilet and eating a steady diet of saltines. Now I'm just tired a lot and getting used to jabs in the guts. Things are really starting to sink in.

Here's me, my baby belly, and my sweet girls at Fuse last Wednesday. No, they don't always dress like this. It was Old School night. And they look pretty awesome.

Speaking of awesome...I'm gonna go lay on the couch. Good night.

Matthew 6:26

"Consider the birds of the air; they do not sow or store away in barns, yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?"

{Matthew 6:26}

Breach Inlet, South Carolina