DIY Window Treatment

Here's a quick and easy way to DIY!

1) Purchase or make your own valence with the help of a talented aunt

2) Purchase curtain rod at local Target store

3) Have wonderful hubby drill, hang, straighten, and affix rod & valence to wall... make sure to cheer him on! (BONUS: make him lunch afterwards!!)

There you have it! A really easy way to get any treatment over any window!! Check back for more DIY projects! :)

We also finished the changing table sheets & my aunt finished the quilt!! I'm lovin' it! Only one more project to go: diaper organizer...just because we can & have extra fabric!

Very Scary Sunday

What started as a very normal Sunday quickly became a very scary one. We were in church when W started telling me that he didn't feel very well but couldn't figure out what it was. We were both sitting and singing the songs after the message, when he completely passed out next to me. He was leaning on the chair ahead of him when it happened so I tried to push him back into his seat to see if he would wake up.

When he wasn't responding, I stood up & starting looking around frantically for help. People were standing up & singing so I couldn't really point out who I should get to help us. Thankfully, someone saw me & within seconds a friend, who is a firefighter, was crouched next to William (we were along the aisle way in the back), asking what had happened. I had no clue. He quickly picked up William while two other guys (who happen to be EMTs) joined in to help. And I just broke down, doubled over, and started balling--kudos to my already hormone-charged self. Our friend, Megan, who was sitting next to me, grabbed me & walked me out to where the guys took W. I just couldn't stop crying. I was so petrified.

W was laying on a sofa in the entry way & had regained consciousness while being carried out of the sanctuary. Paramedics arrived really quickly, started taking his stats and getting him into the ambulance. Megan drove a very frenzied and fragile me to the hospital to meet up with him and my parents joined us there. We spent 5 hours in the E.R. where they loaded W with IV liquid. All the symptoms pointed to dehydration and after almost 3000 mL of IV, W was feeling much better with re-gained face color & all the talkativeness that goes with it!

We're both feeling better and recovering well. W was back at school today, although he didn't bike. :) I spent most of last night, waking up just to make sure he was still breathing. Silly, I know. But just thinking about the potential of losing my husband can still create buckets of tears. (No more tear-jerker books either for book club while I'm still prego!)

(Loads of fun pealing all of these off when your hubby is hairy!! :))

It was definitely a terrifying event, mostly for me and I try to get those early moments of trying to wake him up & looking for help out of my brain. Weird, how such strong images can burn into our memories. I'm also eternally grateful for those guys who jumped up to help us within seconds. God is gracious and we are fragile. One moment things are fine, the next they are not. I'm just so not a good person in these types of situations. I feel like I'm over-affected and overly emotional. I'm not good at keeping my cool. I'm totally going to be that "Debbie-downer" mother who "suppresses all the fun" because she worries too much. Gosh, I really thought I'd *never ever* be that girl when I was a teen. Amazing what marriage and pregnancy can do to a once irresponsible teenage girl. Now I have too many invaluable things in my life... too much to lose. I'm truly NOT in control. This simple fact scares me. Yet humbles me.

Inspiration

I stumbled upon a great inspiration for nursery & toddler rooms! We definitely have a long way to go before our nursery is ready so the Project Nursery blog could be a great place to gather ideas! It looks like it features a real room each Monday & then post about various products that are super cute! They also have a DIY section!! :)

SALE

My other favorite word besides "FREE"! My great friend & fellow walking buddy, Tara, & I met up with another friend (& eventually my parents too) downtown for a Stork's Nest store-wide sale. It's basically the only time I could actually purchase something from there...when it's 40-60% off. The clothes, shoes, etc are so daring & very trendy! Tara & I signed up for their e-mailing list since they have the big sale twice a year! I got a few items for baby gifts. I love how my receipt says I saved $71 after spending $25! Definitely coming back once I know what our little one is!! ;)

Latest Discovery!

During our B&B stay last weekend, we were reminded of a really easy way to "yummy-up" our water: add cucumbers. So, today when W was at the grocery store I asked him to pick up some & tonight he made some! He peeled about a quarter of the cucumber & added it to some filtered water in a glass pitcher. And presto, what a difference it makes after they've been floating around--water infusion! I think we've found a new love!!

Splendid Afternoon

This morning we went in for our monthly check-up. Our baby decided s/he would rather kick the doppler than let us hear her/his heartbeat. It took awhile before we could finally get a reading. Other than that, it was all really normal & quick.

W & I decided so head over to Santana Row a few blocks away to walk around since we were over there. I like to think of it as the Rodeo Drive of San Jose. We had a nice leisurely lunch at a delicious Bistro called The Village. We also couldn't pass up one of my favorite stores. W actually really loves the store too, for it's rustic, wood furniture. I could seriously own one of everything in that store & be in pure heaven. Too bad it's way too expensive!! But I did come across a killer find: a super cute "S" made out of FABRIC to put in the nursery (at a price I was willing to pay)! :) Definitely a splendid afternoon! Now it's back to work for W, as he studies for his last midterm. As far as me? Perhaps a nap or reading my book-club book for the day! ;)

Productive Work Day

I really can't take much credit for the quilted blanket besides the design & cutting out squares, and animals. Everything else is completely my Aunt! And I LOVE it. We still need an extra polka-dot border, the filling & the back. She's going to stitch the squares to give it a quilted look. It's a pretty big blanket which I'm super happy about. When she made my newborn one, I kept that thing around until I was a teenager! I loved my blankie. So Baby S will have some room to grow with it! ;)

24

Today marks 24 weeks for us. We have our next midwife appt tomorrow & I have to take that silly sugar test this week too. The baby has been dancing in my belly & whoever I'm hanging with in the mornings or evenings can definitely feel our little one. It's really cool when I can actually *see* my belly moving on the outside.

Oddly enough, sometimes I totally forget that I'm pregnant. Take for example, the most stupidest thing I've done so far this pregnancy: doing a back somersault in the pool with my cousin's kids last week. Yup, definitely hurt my stomach muscles on that one. Dr. said I probably just pulled 'em & they'll heal in time. I feel better now, but definitely still lame.W says I look undeniably pregnant now, or that I just have a really big tumor in my belly. I'm still pretty comfortable unless you ask me to sleep through the night without getting up at least 5 times to pee. I'm starting to not like standing for long periods of time. And I've noticed a change in my physical stamina when it's really hot.

But overall, it's been really great and I keep telling people "It's been wonderful! I could definitely do this pregnant thing multiple times!" ;)

Country Weekend

We just got back from a lovely night up in Auburn!! We attended & celebrated a beautiful wedding. Then made a night of it by staying at the wonderful Flower Farm Inn B&B! The wedding was outdoors in the bride's parents' farmhouse with a beautiful barn, pond & scenery. It was a hot ceremony, but we each got a fan at our seats!
Announcing Mr. & Mrs. Brock Beauchamp!!
Taking pictures by the beautiful pond...which had floating candles in it when the sun went down! Breath-taking!
Reception! Hard to see but there were twinkle lights strung all through the trees...so awesome especially when you can see the stars!! Man, I love weddings! Especially since I get to take my date home with me at the end of the night!! ;)
We stayed in the super cozy "Wild Poppy" room at Flower Farm & were surprised to find out they also had a coffeehouse & nursery on the grounds--talk about owning LOTS of space! It was truly a retreat & so refreshing to get out of town for a quick break. Our cute room with pond & flowing fountain just outside our window!
Our B&B favorite: vintage claw-footed bathtub--perfect for relaxing!!

Date Night

Date night last night was a movie one! And boy, Julie & Julia has got to be the cutest, sweetest, yummiest movie I've seen in awhile. Pure, simple entertainment!! Both W & I enjoyed it immensity (it did help that he has a culinary background!). This is a "totally worth it" movie. And W said it made him get antsy to start cooking again...All right!! That's what I'm talking about! :)

Fitted Sheets

We finished the crib sheets today so I have 5 different ones to choose from! The green flannel is on for now, making our crib bedding pretty much complete! My aunt & I will tackle the blanket tomorrow & then the window treatment. We're running out of projects with tons of time left so hopefully we can make some more fun baby things!

House Concert

Last night, we were invited to a house concert for a musician named Rocky Votolato. It was very cool!! I've never been to such an intimate venue before. It was a beautiful night outside! Apparently, he's taken this year just to downsize & just do home concerts for about 30-50 people. I'd never heard of him before, but it was great! I really liked his music and loved the fact that he played the harmonica!! Oh, and, one of his songs appeared on an episode of the "OC". I may download a few albums onto my ipod!

Image taken from his website

Movie Night

Saturday night we watched "Fireproof". And although either the acting or the script was pretty cheesy, we both really liked it and cried during it! I was balling by the end. I really liked how it showed a couple in the midst of marriage unlike almost ALL romantic films when they lead up to marriage & end the movie then. The couple's passive aggression conversations broke my heart. But, this couple does regain the romance after years of struggle, sin and suffering has worn them down-- only through true love...a love that loves unconditionally & with sacrifice. Just like Christ did on the cross. The message was great!! And the film respected the covenant of marriage throughout. I recommend this film, but beware of the cheese!

Have I mentioned lately...

how much I love being pregnant?! And how much I love my hubby who will kindly indulge my cravings :)

Crib Skirt..Check!

We finished our second set piece today: the crib skirt!! My aunt & I just flew through this one compared to the bumper, although it took pretty much the whole day. I've been gaining lots more confidence and my aunt is amazing! At first, I thought I wanted chocolate brown for the main piece, but today we stopped by Joann's again & found this killer green color! It was perfect! And I'm glad it doesn't quite reach the floor since the crib has a drawer at the bottom. I still can't believe how well it's all turning out & really impressed with the quality!! Homemade rocks!!

Our Baby's Bumper

Well after lots and lots of online shopping for crib bedding, I decided to make my own! With the sets I was seeing, I'd only love one or two pieces and want to change the others. So I figured with the mastery sewing skills of my awesome aunt, we could just make what I wanted. We started last month with a trip to Joann's to gather supplies. Since then we've slowly chipped away at the first piece: making the bumper. My aunt & I finally finished that dang bumper yesterday...And I LOVE it! It looks so amazing! It took a lot longer than we thought because we made some changes to the original pattern-- using stripes was a challenge & we did a double-sided version. But it was all worth it in the end! And I've learned so much about sewing with just this one piece. Our next bedding piece is the crib skirt. It's been so wonderful getting in auntie time & working towards a really satisfying goal! Here's stage one completed...

Mini-Golf

Back around May for Teacher Appreciation Week, our district gave us the Entertainment Book** which contains SO many more coupons/discounts than you will ever need or use. We've been meaning to use some of them. This week W took me on a fun date night to Golfland. Every time we drive past on it, on the way home from our midwife appts., he reminds me that he's been wanting to take me since we were dating!! Apparently, there was one that he went to as a kid and has fond memories of. So, we took our little coupon, some snacks & off we went! And it was a blast-- complete silly fun!
I hadn't mini-golfed for like 10 years, but by the second hole I got a hole in one!! I really thought I would beat my husband until we got to holes #3-19. I even discovered that my hubby had an 8th or 9th bday party at Golfland and cried because he got so frustrated with one of the holes and was embarrassed by his score. The things you learn on dates! :) Like an excellently trained boy scout, W discovered another ball on the course which we used to "practice" and over 10 tokens in the arcade area. W also got a hole in one on the last hole so I guess we're going back sometime to use the free round. Hole in One Victory...
We played lots of arcade games! I'm so excited for when we take our kids. W's totally going to be that dad who wins his kids LOTS of tickets at the kiddie games. I was awful, but so excited when he would win me tickets. But I did beat him at air hockey once and a car racing game!! Whoo-hoo. Celebrating the victories! :D

**My mom gave me another book a few weeks ago, so if anyone wants it...please let me know! I'd really love to not have two of these coupon books!!

2nd Annual Shakespeare in the Park

One thing that I really love and appreciate about our little community is all the fun FREE things there are to do, especially during the summer. And FREE is definitely both W & I's favorite price!! SF Shakes did a fabulous job with this year's production! We totally loved the up-dated comedy with funky costumes & props! Last weekend we went to our 2nd Annual Shakespeare in the Park on Saturday night! Three other couple friends from church joined us in the fun. We rode our bikes to the park, enjoyed a picnic dinner & watched "Comedy of Errors" from the comfort of blankets & chairs-- as cute Addy demonstrates here...
Joy showing off the night's program with BJ!
Um, yup! Just us!
The lovely Fosters!
Our new neighbors! Whoo-hoo!

Strolling Through Fog City

Two weekends ago, we met up with some friends of mine who were visiting the city for a wedding. And oddly enough, I have them to thank for ultimately meeting William so it was super fun for him to meet them. God definitely paved the way through this cute family! Together, we hit all the classic tourist spots: Pier 39, Fisher's Wharf, Ghirardelli Square, and Palace of Fine Arts. We walked over 10 miles that day! Phew! (I was totally all about the sofa the next day!) W & I also got some great practice with their 9 month old and the stroller. Navigating through all those people was tough! W was a total natural!
One little gem we discovered in the Marina District on Chestnut St. was SweetDish... an amazingly shabby chic (if candy stores can be that) confection shop! Yum! So I walked away with some Coke-Cola gummies and sour grapefruit gummies in cute little wrappers! Definitely made all that walking worth it! We ended the day with a fabulous Sushi Dinner (only cooked rolls for me!) around Union Square before heading home on bart. Thanks for a fabulous day in the foggy city, Reeves Family!

Diapers

Cloth vs. disposable?!? I can honestly say, I had NO CLUE that there were so many different issues surrounding child-bearing & child-raising with different sides--co-sleeping vs. own room; find out gender vs. not; bumper vs. no bumper; side sleeping vs. back; on-demand feeding vs. scheduled; this product vs. that one!! The list goes on! Having to navigate through them all & figure out what we want to do as a family sure is tough. It's enough to make a mom want to live in a Amish village without modern choices!! ;) But typically I like to refuse the popular/most used choice as the best or only option so it's off to research & evaluate or bust!

But thanks to my parents, I really enjoy the research part & don't mind spending energy until I find our answer and what I think will work for us. So after figuring out our next year budget plan, prenatal plan, birth plan, and some of our baby supply plan, I have embarked on a new plan: diapers! I found a cool resource that really helped an ignorant mother-to-be (me) by providing the information is an easy to understand format & with pictures! :) This bump article had a comment that included this wonderful blog called Simple Mom (oh, I like that name!) with a series of articles on the subject! I'm still doing my homework so no conclusive data to report yet! But I'm starting to at least comprehend the mystery that is the cloth diaper option!

"You have a funny Honey, Wife!"

Last night as we were getting ready for bed, the follow conversation occurred:

Me: "Man, feel my belly button area. It's super hard now because my uterus is up here. Points above belly button. Can you believe that by week 35, my uterus will be a THOUSAND times bigger than normal?! Wow! I mean, when is any body of yours a thousand times bigger than usual?!

Husband:"When I flex!" Flexes arm and shoulder muscles while grunting.*

*I'm completely confident that I got my point across about the miracle that is MY uterus!