{the blog}

Did I mention she has a name?

You may have to click to enlarge the picture...

Sloane Chancy is her name and we absolutely cannot wait to meet her. 

My very talented friend Marla has done 3 maternity sessions for me this summer.  Summer is her busiest season and I am so grateful she squeezed me in.  I have only seen a few of the pictures she has taken and yesterday I found this photo in my in box... she took this last week. 

And then a few minutes later she sent this:

For the first part of the photo session I had on cute dresses then Marla said, "Go put on your uniform, it's only right to document you in those Gap pants and a Target tank top!"

I am looking forward to these next few days before my daughter arrives.  I need some down time and plan (hope) to take it easy.  This morning before work I got in the bath tub and didn't want to get out... I think that's a sign that I need a little more rest? 

The nursery isn't 100% complete yet... that is okay.  My clients and my work have been on the front burner these last few weeks.  I'll have time to finish the nursery up once the little girl arrives.  I promise I will post pictures when it is complete! 

Happy LABOR Day weekend!  You know the moon is full tonight.... hmmmm....

still very pregnant

Hi friends.  Thanks for the emails and phone calls... I am trucking right along and still very pregnant.  I am working like a crazy woman, which leaves very little time for anything else... sorry! 

Do I really need to pack a hospital bag?  People keep asking me if my bags are packed... they aren't.  I did buy some magazines and snacks for Chance and family (I know I can't eat in the hospital until after the baby is born).  I'm afraid if I pack a bag I'll get impatient.  I know what needs to go in the bag... I just don't want the bag to haunt me every time I pass by it.  Am I crazy?

does working really hard induce labor?

 

On Monday I wore this* and that day I had a construction jobsite meeting... you know the type where you hurdle concrete blocks and 2x4s, climb on dangerous stairs, and rub elbows with some of the work force's finest.  A worker saw me and said, "Oh my gosh!  You look like you are about to explode!  Is it twins!?" 

To which I replied, "No, actually its quadruplets, don't I look great!?"

Grrrrr... don't mess with the pregnant woman. 

Speaking of which.

For the past few months I have set the thermostat to 76 degrees before bed.  This is nice and comfortable to me.  Chance thought the power bill was too high last month so unbeknownst to me when he comes to bed (later than me) he has been tapping it up to 77 degrees.  He thought I wouldn't notice.  At 3:00 this morning we had a very serious conversation about him not touching the thermostat anymore... or else.  I had been suspecting foul play for the last few nights and finally solved the mystery early this morning.

My creativity is being sucked up by the design work I'm working fervently to wrap up in the next week or so, and as a result the blog might take a hit, I apologize in advance, please bear with me.  I'm hoping that working my booty off equates to going into labor naturally (and sooner, rather than later).

Peace.

*- the shirt is Gap maternity, the skirt is Old Navy

busy busy weekend

We had a busy weekend.  Had a delicious dinner at the in-laws on Friday night!  Have I mentioned before that they have cows?  I like these cows now more than ever, likely because I still feel small in comparison to them.

 

 

 

 

Saturday and Sunday it was full-fledged Nesting Central.  Laundry, organizing, cleaning out... and wrapping up nursery workings! 

 

Seen the infomercials for those Space Bags?  I have... and I buckled, we have a local As Seen On TV Store-  I bought them there. 

 

More on the nursery later! 

* About those pants I have on... a few of you asked in the last post where they came from.  I bought them from Gap Maternity online back in January (the word "Organic" was in the pant description, but they are long gone now).  They came in lenghts (I'm short)... and as soon as I received them (and loved them) I went back for another pair, but alas they were sold out.  I have worn them a LOT.  They are part of my uniform, they have held up very well!   

pregnancy and the camera phone

Sorry for the light posting this week, I have had very little time to spare.

I'm getting sentimental about this baby that has taken over my body for the past 9 months.

On Saturday I dropped my cell phone in the swimming pool.  It survived.  I grabbed it so quick the water barely had time to get past the surface.  I was immediately reminded that I have not backed up any of the camera phone pictures since last September. 

Here's a snippet of what I almost lost documentation of due to pool water. 

Second doctor's visit... where we found out the sex of the baby...

 

A picture of her face that I immediately emailed to my sister after the ultrasound...

 

Chance was thrilled when Annmarie shipped the bassinet, booby-trap style full of peanuts... (and duck tape instead of packing tape!?)...

 

I've eaten my weight in fruit and I lived in those jeans for the first 4 months...

 

When I'd get home from work (in the first trimester) I'd do a lot of this...

 

And over the course of the past 9 months... I'd snap pictures for my sister, family, and friends in the mirror so they could see the baby grow...

 

(I saved 2 spots for pictures over the next couple of weeks)

I almost lost all these pictures, which would have made me very sad. 

Went to the doctor on Wednesday, she scheduled an induction for September 8th... that's about 3 weeks away!?  I can cancel it, and likely will.  I'd rather not be induced, but because September is so busy she wanted me to get on the schedule... so I complied.  I've been walking and swimming and praying this baby will come without induction.  I've also been making mental checklists at 3am of everything I need and want to do before she arrives.  It's rather overwhelming.  

TGIF!

more shower

I know, I know... social central.  I'm feeling sentimental, so bear with me.  New photos arrived in my inbox today that I didn't have when I posted the first round of pictures.  And since you kind people want to know about my dress... another shower post. 

 

Some of my girlfriends.  All the party hostesses are not pictured... and my biggest regret of the evening: no picture of me and the hostesses.  I don't know what I was thinking!?

 

My sister hasn't been away from her children for a night since giving birth to her last.  For the record, I don't think 2 or 3 nights in the hospital after a c-section really counts as a "night off".  I was so glad she was here.  She makes me laugh really hard.  I thought I was gonna go into labor early from laughing.

 

Two party hostesses with the mostest... friends from college who I love to pieces.

 

Future Uncle & Auntie.

 

Sister-in-law Leah who I love dearly.  About the dress.  I got the dress at TJMaxx in Boston.  It's not maternity... just 8 sizes bigger than I usually wear, it didn't have to be altered (which is kind of a scary thought), I just had to wear tall shoes.  Tag in the dress says Donna Morgan... and their website says "Dresses for All Shapes and Sizes"... that couldn't be more true!   

PS- nice commenter let me know the dress is available online at Nordstroms - here's a LINK.

showered

Saturday night we were showered with lots of love, good company, gifts, delicious food, flowers, cupcakes and my recent personal favorite... pink lemonade!  I could hardly fall asleep Saturday night after the party as I laid in bed and kept replaying the evenings events over and over again in my head.  My precious friends (party hostsesses) went above and beyond to have a shindig in our honor, no detail went unnoticed (thank you again my friends).  In addition to the hostesses, our party guests are our favorite people which made for a lot of fun too.  My in-laws, Mom, DaddyBoy, and Darby were here... it was perfection.  Here are some photos... these are all from Darby's camera, other friends have promised to send me their pictures too (hint, hint)...    

  

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

polite disclosure

 

My friend Marla took this picture on Wednesday evening after work.  My wide angle lens was not right for her camera and created this crazy vignette affect.  She liked it, so I kept eating my ice cream and let her take my picture.  Pregnant or not, doesn't the end of every very-long work day call for a big bowl of ice cream?  Alright, enough of my big pregnant self eating ice cream... on to some house-keeping.

 

I can't give free design advice.

I feel the need to mention this here because I receive an overwhelming amount of emails from people requesting quick design advice... for free.  There is no such thing as quick design advice.  The design process takes a lot of research (think about how many paint colors and fabrics are available today) and with each new space there are millions of variables to consider.

There are many reasons why I can't and don't work for free, all of them are obvious and don't need to be listed here.  My business has paying clients. If I gave away all the same services to blog buddies for free, that would not be a very good business decision, now would it? Not to mention breech the relationship between myself and my clients.

Behind this blog is a blogger who happens to have a design business.  This is not a hobby manifested in a blog.  

I work for the same reasons most working Americans work. 

Please note that I have worked professionally with many wonderful "blog" clients and am more than happy to discuss serious design projects.  Thank you for understanding and if you wish to inquire about design services there is a form on the website where you can do so. 

I can't give all the details on my design projects. 

In my working world every project is under contract.  A contract full of Legal jargon, signed by the client and myself.  A contract that states "hey I realize this is your home, and I won't share the details of your project."  My clients pay well for their designs, and if I were to post pictures and tell the world-wide-web every last detail on how to implement this design it would be a breech of my contract.  Not to mention it would likely tick my clients off considering the investment they have made in the design process both in time and money.   

You may have noticed, I have no problem explaining the process of design on my own projects, hence The Nursery Diaries... where, by the way... I will answer your questions in the coming chapters.

Thank you for understanding!!!!

it has been decided... I think

[will get back to Nantucket posts on Monday]

Been stroller shopping lately.  Thought I wanted the Maclaren Quest Sport, then thought I wanted a Bugaboo (via Craigslist, but still couldn't stomach the cost, even @ 1/2 price), then Annmarie offered me her old Maclaren, but we were too lazy to haul it home (although we were very grateful).  I pulled my neighbor's jog stroller out of her trash (thanks Kelly!), so the BOB type was ruled out.  Sort of been at a loss over what to pick. 

I really wanted a beefed-up umbrella stroller.  I'm of the muscleless type, wanted lightweight, easy to fold, big canopy (live in The Sunshine State), wanted a cup holder, an accessible basket, wanted it to be a reasonable price and I wanted it to look cool.  My husband is concerned with the mechanics, needs good wheels that turn nicely, I agree.  Too much to ask?  I just couldn't find one that fit the bill perfectly.  Until now.

Tonight I found the Joovy Kooper.  Quite a name, huh?  I read reviews.  It got good ones here, here and here.  The price is nice at $199.99. AND another GREAT review HERE.

The apple green color is a bit much for me.  Worried the black will be hot and it's not available at Babies-R-Us for some unknown reason.  Leaves me with lemontree (yellow) or red.  My gut says yellow, because really... it's not overwhelmingly yellow when the canopy is folded in.  Agree?  Will it be harder to keep clean though?

Anyone own this?  Or test-driven it?  I hate to buy it without test driving it, but it's nowhere near me... so I'm relying on the video below.

You Tube video reviews are the best things ever, this one is complete with rap music and a pit bull (!?), gotta watch to the end to see that though.  

*- guy in the video mentions "3-point harness" - he meant 5-point.

Joovy Kooper

PS- I failed to mention that I have the Graco SnugRide carseat (for when the Peanut is an infant), I plan to get theSnap & Go thing for the early stages.

big momma thanks you

 

Y'all make me feel good.  I might just keep blogging forever if you nice people promise to keep leaving kind comments.  I appreciate it greatly.  I'm having a long, hard day today and I needed the encouragement.  About the dress (above) it is from MOTHERHOOD MATERNITY.  We have an outlet locally, but here's a LINK to the dress I'm wearing above... it's super comfy and not too pricey.  It's not that "maternity looking" so I might be able to pull it off post-baby, if I don't wear it out first.  I ordered a small... which is true to my regular size.