A feeling of accomplishment!

For those of you who have not heard me talk about the baby's dresser incessantly...we bought an adorable dresser that we found on craig's list that fits perfectly in the little space we had for it...only problem, even though in great shape "woodwise", the paint had been loved to death by someone's children...think sticks, marker and chipping paint but I envisioned something just perfect for our nursery!  Of course undertaking such a task was probably a better idea in my 2nd trimester when I had a ton of energy and X wasn't "reshaping" my spine...but alas, I was not to be daunted!  Ricky has learned quickly when it comes to something for the baby, stand back until the dust settles...never has nesting met a more willing victim...

Leave it to me to choose the HOTTEST weekend since August! I tried to get up early so I could get started early, but X kept me up in the night...which meant I slept til 10am.  Not the best time to go shopping in a home repair store since everyone and their mother has decided to do a project at 10am on a Saturday morning!  No lie...I think Hatboro, Willow Grove AND Horsham was there...!  I quickly picked out sandpaper to match the electric sander Nonno loaned me and than headed to the paint counter to grab the paint.  When it was finally my turn, my request went something like this..."Hi, I'm pregnant (as if you can't tell at this point lol) I hate painting because it's smelly, I hate sanding because it's time consuming...what's the easiest way to get this job done?!!"  I had the presence of mind to bring one of the little drawers with me as a visual so it made it easier for the person behind the counter to assist the crazy desparate pregnant woman.  Good news: I didn't have to sand, they had some smelly stuff (ugh) that would "strip" the paint so I could paint overtop of it.  Bad news: I would have to do at least 2 coats no matter what paint I got: P  The lady took off the drawer hardware and showed me how to use the smelly stuff and sent me on my way.

Back at the ranch, I had Ricky move everything out to the porch so I could work in the open air...it was hot as hell!  And the sun was now on that side of the house...there was no getting away, but I would not be detered.  Ricky put water bottles in the fridge and kept checking on me, he also helped "strip" the drawers so they were all prepped.  The painting is something I like to do alone besides the fact that my perfectionist self will not allow for his assistance!  Rather quickly I discovered that not only did I think it was wicked hot, but the paint thought so too!  This led to me being rather annoyed...Ricky ever the practical "fix it" man decided that I should paint in the house...this would solve his anguious over me dehydrating myself and would solve the paint getting clumpy... Thankfully the lady at the paint counter was right and the paint had virtually no smell, which is saying something considering my superpower prego nose!  With 3 fans running and the hall door opened for circulation, you would never know I was painting!  After a coat on everything, I was frustrated with myself for not getting a paint roller since the brush was leaving brush strokes rather than a clean paint look...no worries, we were headed for Nonno's house and would just borrow one to do the second coat!

Flash forward, yummy dinner with Nonno and Nonna...no paint roller...oh well, another run to the home improvement store!  Ok, this is the part where I advise all of you who decide to do projects such as these to go to the Home Depot/Lowe's type stores at 5pm on a Sunday...NOBODY'S THERE!!!  It was like a ghost town, I walked in and walked out!  Now to say this project was taking a toll on my body is an understatement...my back was literally angry with me, my shin had a bruise the size of a peach from one of the drawers and my feet felt like they'd been hit with a hammer... Thankfully I have an awesome husband who has very strong hands to rub my feet and back...and the presence of mind to run for ice when I holler while tripping over yet another sharp thing that I mistakenly forgot was in front of me and couldn't be seen because of my belly blockage... Yet again, 2nd trimester would've been a better time to do this...

But I was almost done, the end was in sight:)  And soon all the coats were finished and I was only partially bespeckled with sage green paint droplets, not bad for someone as uncoordinated as me!  The feeling of satisfaction grew with each tiny drawer handle that I re-affixed to the drawer...until I got to the last one and found that I was missing the handle!  All the hardware was there right in the little baggy that the lady at the paint counter has taped to the inside of the drawer, but NO HANDLE!  This is the part of the story where all of the aches and pains and hours of tedious labor caught up with me and I spazzed...royally...tearing everything in the house up trying to find the damn thing only to finally decide that it must still be at the paint counter...at 11pm on a Sunday night the paint counter is long closed...ugh...so it was not to be, I would not finish the little dresser in one weekend...

Monday came too early...all the work I put in caught up with me, not to mention we had to get up even earlier than usual for an ultrasound before work.  X's kidneys had to get another check...and unfortunately one of them didn't pass inspection.  In goods news, he's 4 pounds, 3 ounces and healthy overall (and still hates ultrasounds lol!)...the bad news, we have to go see a pediatric urologist for a consultation to see what to do if the kidney doesn't "fix itself".  So looks like we have to pray a little more that God will step in and help Xavier's kidneys to develop healthy and correctly!  My prayer is that his kidney will fix by the time he's born so we won't have to go through any of the stress of monitoring his kidneys or possibly surgery to fix it...  Needless to say, my tired body couldn't take the news and I was a mess of "what did I do wrong"...(which is ridiculous because they have not been able to link anything the mother/father have done to this very common abnormality which happens in babies while in utero)...and we're talking years of studies, but of course my first reaction is "I'm a terrible mother"...

A long day of work was the perfect distraction and also my cousin's baby was in surgery today so I spent time praying for him throughout the day...that helped me to focus on more important things and not my irrational thoughts... a train ride home with my train buddy Katie and a hot shower had me perked right up to make dinner and prepare for Ricky to get home:)  And with him came the handle to my final drawer in the dresser!  He was a sweetheart and stopped by the paint counter to pick it up on his way home...thankfully they saved it and didn't throw it out...or this story may have ended with me blowing up a certain home improvement store on 611 in Willow Grove!  It was like putting the final piece in a 5,000 piece puzzle that you've been working on for months...it was such a great feeling to have the dresser all done and set up in his nursery!  And it looked just as adorable as I imagined! :)

65 Days until Eviction Day...I mean my due date!!! ; P

It's hard to believe so much time has past already...feels like there's still so much to do before my little caramel latte arrives... Of course regardless of this fact, I'm so ready to have him here with us!  I've taken to calling November 22nd, the day he gets evicted...to which Ricky said I'm a terrible mother, but hey after 215 days of this I've started having talks with him about the fact that "arriving late" is NOT an option in Mommy's book! : P  With 9 weeks left, the end is now in sight and looking oh so good!  This does not mean that I haven't enjoyed our journey together or the adventure of watching my baby grow...it just means that I'm ready to move on to the next stage!  The later it gets, the harder it gets to remember how I got into my pants by myself or how I managed to tie my shoes MYSELF...not to mention how once upon a time my belly button was a lovely little slit...but is now stretched out flat in a disc-like shape the size of a walnut!  It's a shame the Victoria Secret looking ladies on my chest couldn't come when I had the abs to match lol!  *sighes*  It's all worth it though...every second... Even the nightly karate tournaments in my tummy at 3 am...

The fact that I'm still working full time helps the time pass as well and for the most part helps with the sanity levels...though this last week had me in more than one prego meltdown to which my poor boss was subjected!  I must say, he's a champ and has taken to finding them hilarious rather than pathetic or annoying like some might have :)  In fairness to me, I would've had a hard time dealing with some of the nonsense NOT being pregnant...being prego just made them "entire bottle of wine" worthy issues!  (though I did not allow myself to go there so don't worry people!!!) 

My boss has also decided that I would be a great extra on the Blue Collar Comedy tour since he regularly finds me at my desk with a can of peanuts propped on my belly...add a beer and I could give Larry the Cableguy a run for his money apparently lol!  All and all God has been good to me in the fact that entering this 3rd trimester hasn't added anything extremely severe symptom-wise!  I've honestly had a rather enjoyable pregnancy...and as long as the delivery portion is past with flying colors, I may not mind doing this again in 3 years lol!

The fun part of this past week has been the baby consignment sales!  My loving husband likes to call my spendthriftyness "cheap", but I think my "frugal" side is a great contribution to our marriage lol!  Yes, there are sometimes where I can take it to the "cheap" range and he has to talk me back from the edge but honestly with things the way they are frugal is a necessary attribute!  So back in May, I signed up for a huge baby consignment held at the Philly Expo Center...as first-time parents we were able to go to the "Pre-Sale" event which meant we got first dibs on most things there!  Fast forward to Sept. and Ricky got called in for night work and couldn't go :(  Which meant I didn't have a ride either!  Having signed up for this months ahead, I really didn't want to miss out!  But Nonna came through!  And she turned out to be a much better shopping companion than Daddy lol!  Not that Daddy couldn't do it, but I'm sure he would've parked his behind on one of the gliders they had for sale and told me to call him when it was time to put stuff in the car! : P  Ricky is NOT a shopping fan!  Nonna and I left there with multiple bags of maternity and baby clothes and some great baby gear for $112!  If you added up what we should have paid for everything brand new, we saved over 50% probably closer to 65-75% on everything!  That my friends is a GREAT feeling!  My advice to all my friends becoming moms, go to http://www.playgroundbuzz.com/ and mark your calendars with ALL of the baby consignment sales in this area for the next year!  I'm planning on consigning X's stuff even if he doesn't need anything the next go-arounds!  If he grows at the rate Daddy did, we're gonna have barely worn stuff lol!

Saturday, we went to see my sister-in-law and little niece! :)  She's so tiny and adorable!  Ricky is absolutely in love with her...and it's so cute to watch him hold her like she's made of glass!  She loves him already too and fell sound asleep laying on his chest!  Everytime I hold her, X kicks around as if to say "I wanta play too, wait for me" lol!  I can just see them now, running around with my niece bossing him cause she's "older" and him wanting to do everything she does "better than she does"! :) 

Oh I remember those days with my cousins well lol!  We, the oldest 3, were 6 months apart and like the 3 musketeers! - In the picture, is me the oldest, Evelyn the youngest, and Joey the middle musketeer :)  What great memories we have!  Pretty soon it'll be my niece, his other cousin Liam and my little Xavier!

This post has taken slightly longer than the usually...and it is now 64 days and counting : P  Spent the rest of the time Saturday with Daddy before he went to work, then met him for his break and finally we took a nap until we had to go back to pick Daddy up from work.  This morning, Sunday, my neighbor Katie and I went to a 1/2 price consignment sale at Doylestown hospital to look for more clothes for my niece who is a little peanut and needs more newborn stuff!  And even though my sister gave me a lecture about NOT buying stuff for X since his shower is coming up...I couldn't resist a few things!  My favorite is his new bathtime pal Quincy Quackman and his friend Dirty Duck (as named by Daddy after being introduced to the new members of our little family lol!)

When me and my siblings were little, my mom and dad used to have "Mr. Washcloth" who would "eat our faces" to clean us up and always found us "very delicious" to which we would giggle uproariously and ask for our faces to be cleaned again!  Things have progressed a bit since then where they actually make the washclothes into handpuppets lol, but we're looking forward to seeing X giggle over his bathtime cleaning buddies just as much as I did when I was tiny!  (Not to mention, they match his robe...this part tickles mommy lol!)  Little moments like these make me want to hit the fast forward so he's here in my arms, but I know the time will pass just as fast without the fast forward...and heaven knows we need to the rest of the time to get the nursery ready!!!  Hoping to get the changing table and dresser moved in by next week the latest...though I'm going to have to do a sand/re-paint on the dresser if we get the one we're planning on.  Oh yeah, hey Nonno, you still got that electric sander thingy? Lol! :)

Well that was an eventful month!

What a couple of crazy weeks! First of all, August is birthday central with my mom on the 16th, Ricky on the 22nd and his sister on the 25th! But this year, my niece decided to join them! And throw a monkey wrench into the birthday celebrations:) But boy is she worth it and what a great present for Uncle Rich and her mommy! Of course it would’ve been nice if the process wasn’t so long and drawn out on mommy! Listen up, Xavier, don’t go getting any ideas! When it’s your turn to come, you need to get out fast lol…please!!!! My sister-in-law was in the hospital from Tuesday night until Saturday afternoon when my niece finally graced us with her presence…talk about an ordeal…plenty of fodder for the “Do you know what I went through to bring you into this world…” mom story!

To back up a little before all hell broke loose…my aunties came to visit the weekend of Ricky’s birthday the 22nd, unfortunately he had to work all weekend, but they helped me make plans for the nursery and took me shopping for fun stuff for little X’s room! Auntie Sha Sha also brought down the most adorable car walker that she happened to find…Daddy and Mommy both think this will end up as one of his favorite toys cause it’s just too cool with it’s like faux leather seat and gleaming red paint job! :) Maria and Marissa drove me home later that night so we could set up the baby stuff and I could be there when Ricky got home since it was his birthday! I hate not being able to cuddle up with him to sleep, but there was no way I was gonna miss being with him on his birthday!

The Monday night after his birthday, Mommy and X worked on a birthday dinner for Daddy and wrapped up his present! We were very excited to give Daddy his first birthday present from X! (And yes, I got X’s full input on this present…namely describing it to him and then asking what he thought…to which he kicked around happily…so it was settled!) It was a nice relaxing time with just the 3 of us celebrating another great year of Ricky being on this earth…and then he opened his present…you’ll have to get his side of the story on this, but from where I was sitting it looked like Mommy and X hit one out of the park:)  So now according to Daddy, he and X have something to wear for their very 1st bboy event together! I cannot wait to get pictures of the two of them together in these!

Tuesday rolled around and we got the call that they were going to induce my sister-in-law so we were all excitedly waiting for the call that my niece was here, (even thought we would have to cancel Ricky’s small group birthday party) but alas…Wednesday…Thursday…Friday…still nothing… this was getting crazy… Me looking down the way to 11 weeks from now, was in a panic… Holy cow…I don’t think I can do this! Holy Toledo…he’s just gotta stay in there or something!!! I was nearly beside myself by the time Saturday rolled around… then she was here… and so beautiful… and perfect… and as I held her I just wanted X to be here so badly that the nerves didn’t matter as much… I’m still not looking forward to labor and delivery but I know when I’m done they’re going to place the most beautiful thing in the world in my arms…my little Xavier… yes, this is the part of the story where I cry thinking about it…

Things have slowly calmed down and now we’re going to try to celebrate the August birthdays this weekend lol! Better late than never! It’s hard to top the joy that’s already filled this past month, but it also makes me even more anxious for November to come! Still have a lot more fun to go through first, our baby shower…my birthday…Halloween (and seeing my little niece all dressed up lol)…and then finally sometime in November…little X is going to make his appearance! Of course Mommy’s hoping for earlier rather than later, but he’ll arrive when he’s supposed to…hopefully in a quick and relatively painless fashion… Hey I can wish can’t I?!! : P  Also as per requests...Here's a new belly pic:) 30 weeks and counting!