Doing-it-myself (and encouraging Mr. H)

Happy 27 weeks, L Bean!

It’s hard to believe that my third (and FINAL) trimester is almost here. Time is flying. I’m excited to meet what I’ve been cooking for 27 weeks, but holy cow. Let me just reiterate – the third trimester is the last one. Did you know there’s only three trimesters in a pregnancy?!?!

We didn’t get much done this past weekend, but the ideas are still flowing. We have managed to start some projects, though. I’ve documented everything, of course.

I ordered these, and let me tell you how excited I am: SO FREAKING EXCITED. My only complaint is that there isn’t a zero month sticker, but I shall survive. I’m already day-dreaming of the frame collage in his room and monthly picture updates on the blog. I’m also excited to have something other than our pets to take pictures of with my fancy new camera. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE our babies. But I recognize that people don’t want to see a billion pictures of our pets. Pictures of babies, on the other hand, are universally adored. Even the snarling cartoon version of the church coordinator this past weekend (she was kind of evil, people) would enjoy pictures of a baby.

You know those fancy glass canisters with the chalkboard strip that you can buy for $15+ at Crate and Barrel or Target? Waste-o-money, my friends. We made our own. We purchased two jars from Michael’s for $3.99 each. We also got the can of chalkboard spray paint at Michael for $7.99. They will reside on L Bean’s changer and house Q-tips and cotton balls (babies need those, right?).

Josh used painters tape to mark the strip and protect the rest of the jar.  He sprayed five costs of the chalkboard paint.

I started L Bean’s baby book. I saw the idea on a friend’s blog, and I immediately fell in love. I knew I wanted to do a baby book, but I didn’t want a canned, store-bought version.  I also knew that L Bean wouldn't have a baby book if I didn't do the set-up pre-baby.  I have the template downloaded and plan to spend some time tweaking it. So far, I’ve cut the backing paper and put in the pages. It resides on L Bean’s tall dresser waiting for the template inserts and pictures. I’ll get there eventually.

A trip to Ikea is planned in the near future. I’ve made a list (go figure!) of a few items that I want:

(1) Drawer organizers for L Bean’s dressers (in white). I saw a picture on one of the MANY blogs I read (which of course I cannot find today because my brain had a pregnancy fart and can’t remember ANYTHING) and the organizational freak within did a happy dance. I picture diapers, rolled-up blankets and onesies, socks, underwear, and so many other items nestled neatly into their cubbies.

(2) Venetian blinds for L Bean’s windows. The blinds currently on the two windows are the cheap-o ones what don’t block any light. We’re not big curtain people, so nice, thick blinds are perfect.  I perfer to sleep in the dark, so I'm assuming babies appreciate it as well.

(3) A bookcase for L Bean’s room. There’s a sad, lonely space of wall that needs some bookcase love. The bookcase will be a good place to keep books (NO WAY), boxes/baskets of toys (I’m thinking the square version of the drawer organizer mentioned above), and any other random items that I will pick-up obsessively. And no, that part of me won’t go away when L Bean arrives because I’ll be too tired, numb, or could care less. Clutter makes everything (like focusing and falling asleep) nearly impossible.  It also makes me cranky, and nobody likes a cranky Betsy, trust me.

Our plan is to get there early and leave quickly for two reasons: (1) I hate crowds, and (2) the amount of time spent at Ikea is directly related to the amount of money spent at Ikea.

We’ve got a few more projects on our list that I am super duper excited about, but there will be more about that later. For a couple, I need to learn a few things first (anyone know how to use a sewing machine?). For my favorite, we need a free weekend for painting, building, and more painting. Two things that I’m not much help with right now. But, as I’ve mentioned before, I am the BEST observer and encourager around.


Random thought of the day (moderate TMI warning):

I'm going to write a book about pooping during pregnancy.  Think Eat, Pray, Love, but it'll be Sit, Wait, Hope.


And since our dogs have gotten some photo representation thus far, here's a picture of our youngest.  SO HANDSOME: