Tying the Room Together

Yesterday we went to Ikea for a few things: some inexpensive green rugs for the floor, a bed frame, and some pillow inserts (not pictured as they are for a future project and are stashed in the closet).

Last night Jeffrey and I put the rugs down and get the bed together. The furniture portion of the room is now nearly complete (that side table with the lamp is not staying there). The crib is behind me and isn't yet photogenic, so I'll wait to show that part until it's a little more visually interesting. Cribs never really are that interesting though, particularly because I'm against crib bumpers and such.

The bed is the Ikea Fjellse which, in a twin, is only $49 for the frame and slats. It raises up the box spring and mattress to a height where I won't topple over when trying to carefully sit on the bed with the kid in the middle of the night. Normal people usually do the glider thing, but with a poodle that will also want to join me for night feedings, and occasional guests or me needing to sleep in there, the single bed seemed like a better way to go. The Fjellse comes in an untreated wood finish, so at some point I'll surely treat it with paint, but for now, you can't really even see it, and I'm exhausted today and our travel schedule for the next month is a bit hectic -- so painting won't be happening for a bit.

Next projects to finish include making some wall art and creating pillow covers for the Ikea inserts that are stashed in the closet.

And, you know, finishing up the baby baking.

Dresser Project

Before

I bought this dresser at an antique and estate sale shop. I liked it in black but the extra bedroom, which is going to be Ada's room, is in the back corner of the house and the citrus trees block a lot of the indirect light the room may get. So to brighten things up, I painted the dresser with Martha Stewart's Aegean Blue in eggshell.

After

 

In person, it's a bit more saturated in hue -- at least on my monitor.

What I used:

• 1 used dresser
• cheapo drop cloth to protect the floor
• medium grade sanding paper on a block
• 1 4" foam roller
• 1 1.5" angled brush for the tight spots
• one coat of Zinnser Bulls Eye 1-2-3 All Surface Primer
• 2 coats Martha Stewart Paint in Aegean Blue - eggshell finish
• Knobs - Anthropologie

What I should have done differently:

• More sanding on the drawer pull areas (the only part I sanded). The paint job the dresser came with was done with the pulls on, so there was paint buildup around the edges which I sanded down. I wasn't sure I was going to reattach the pulls, otherwise, I would have just left them on and painted around them.

Tips:

• Tie your hair back if it is longer.
• If you use a brush, make sure the hairs aren't leaving the head and lodging themselves in your paint.
• After you put your drawers back in to take a picture, immediately take them back out again so they don't cure in place (thanks for saving my ass, dad!)
• Keep a damp rag with you to immediately hit spots that shouldn't have paint on them.

If you turn it on it's side, it kind of looks like Hitchcock!

TERRY! Spoiler alert! It has a head!

Today I went for an ultrasound and here's the picture of the kid at 22 weeks. And it is definitely a girl. Or a boy with some issues...

I realize my posts have become a little babycentric, so here's an update on non baby news:

My dad is here visiting for the week and leaves tomorrow. This weekend in Phoenix it is supposed to hit about 76 degrees. In Raleigh? It's snowing.

Jeffrey is still clerking for the judge and, as he goes off everyday without complaining, I can only assume he likes it.

I'm working remotely still and things are pretty much just ho-hum.

The dogs are doing well. The other day we took them for a walk and just a few minutes after getting back to the house one of Lucy's paws swelled up to about the size of a tennis ball. Benadryl was dosed and by morning her paw was normal again. We have no idea what got her.

Pregnancy Update: 50 Percent Baked

Today it is officially 20 weeks and the bean has completed half of the "trying to be human" course. Keep going bean!

Pregnant Yogis or "I'm not like you people, but you seem friendly enough"

Last night I returned to the prenatal yoga class for the second week. The class was a bit smaller as several of the participants from last week had birthed their kid and transitioned out of the class.

At the beginning of class we go around and say who we are, when we're due, and how we are feeling physically/emotionally/spiritually. Normally I would think this was a waste of time, but when you are pregnant, it IS kind of nice to get to vent what's going on to people who aren't just thinking, "Shut up, pregnancy has been going on forever and you are not a special snowflake," which was my attitude when I wasn't pregnant.

However, as we go around, it is continually underscored for me that I should not truly share because I Am Not Like These Women.

I jokingly told one girl, who is about as far along as me, that towards the end when we couldn't take it anymore, we could make a pact to secret punch the other one in the side to spur on the labor. She looked at me, eyes gleaming, and said, "oh, I want to embrace every moment of this and cherish it." Later in class, during a pose, she started weeping.

Another girl shared that she was trying to bring all the good energy in to her and she was excited that her tub arrived. For clarification, that would be her birthing tub. For her home birth. In a tub.

Ew. How do you clean that thing afterward? Do you store it in the garage? Do you sell it on Craigslist?

It is really nice being around a bunch of pregnant women who are educated, excited, and there to smile and relax. But I don't think I can have coffee with them. For one, I'm pretty sure they've totally shunned coffee because it could have negative effects on the pregnancy.

When I mentioned I was still riding horses and that a challenging lesson on Monday seemed to be causing some residual pain in my shoulder, even the teacher was like, "Wait, you mean you are riding horses?" The room was pretty quiet and my sharing time felt cut a bit short.

I'm more from the "women have been doing this for centuries and I'm pretty sure I can handle this" camp. I'm not having a home birth (at least not on purpose), I'm welcoming any drug at the hospital they offer me, and I am not under any delusion that being pregnant is particularly fun. It's interesting in a science experiment kind of way and I'm delighted that I can feel the little bean wiggly around in there (or it's gas, but gas is not as cute as thinking Flipper is in there doing tricks). However, I'm pretty sure by week 34 I'll be over it and the back pain, constant need to pee, and lung compression will no longer be the "cherishable" experience my little yoga friend is hoping for.

Right now it's just an excuse to buy really cute stuff.

And I'm drinking coffee (and eating junk food. and soft cheeses). Not excessive amounts and generally within the agreed upon scientific community's levels of safety for sane pregnancy. Usually.

I'm an enthusiastic pragmatist: I know this baby is going to change our lives forever in mostly the best possible ways. I just think this whole incubation period is kind of part of the process and wearing a little lipstick to yoga is not weird or somehow against the process and that it's OK to not need to overcome this challenge by being tough: I think you get through it by being smart -- not by meditating, taking probiotics, or submerging yourself in warm water.

Or maybe I'm just a jerk :)

I can no longer sleep directly on my stomach

My dad asked me why I hadn't blogged anything about the pregnancy.

I guess part of it was laziness but the other part was just because I don't know how interested anyone really is. I mean, every time I point at my little tummy protrusion, someone takes that moment to point out that their stomach still sticks out a lot more than mine.

When someone asks, "How are you feeling?" I can see them brace themselves for the horrors of my pregnancy symptoms. But I'm fine. I've been fine. No horrible morning sickness. No real "hit by a truck" exhaustion. It ends up being a short, fairly boring conversation.

They ask then, if Jeffrey and I are excited. "Yes we are!" Also a short conversation.

Thin pregnant women with few symptoms and who are happy about the baby but not yet crazed just aren't that interesting.

Jeffrey and I ARE excited. I browse online for stuff I may need for the baby and each week I go poke around at the "What your baby is doing this week" links on baby info websites.

This week, the little bump is definitely sticking out more. From nearly the end of the first month of pregnancy I was switching up to maternity jeans because It didn't like being touched but now there is no squeezing into my normal skirts and bottoms unless they have a very stretchy waistband. But, as my more upsized friends are quick to point out, my bump is still smaller than most people's normal extra body reserves so all my shirts still fit just fine -- though yesterday I had a little trouble with the zipper on my hoodie and when I tie my bathrobe around my waist, the knot in the bow just isn't in the same place.

I'm now in week 16 of this little human baking adventure. Want to see an artist's sketch  of a 16 week pregnancy? Click here! The real pics on Google Images are still a bit alien looking. Artist's sketches make you want to buy it blankies! Pictures make you want to poke it with a stick.

Apparently It can hear a bit more now. So I like to yell, "Hello!" at it occasionally.

In two weeks we are scheduled for the ultrasound. We might even get to peek to see if it's a boy, a girl, or maybe a puppy!

New Bicycle

So my drawn out bicycle obsession can now be closed. I finally sucked it up, ordered the bike I was coveting, and picked it up this past Saturday.

Hello, lovely!

This is the Electra Amsterdam Classic Ladies 3i. It has a fully enclosed chain guard, skirt guard, integrated front and back lights, and spiffy little bell.

I love all the old school styling on it and it is amazingly well-balanced, not as heavy as I thought, and has lots of little design details like a leather saddle and grips, chrome on the outside metal parts, and zippy little swirl designs all over it.

For the record, I had no idea that Julia Roberts rode a similar bike in Eat Pray Love. I hate when that happens. Just like Posh Spice ruined my pixie cut for me ...

Doesn't matter. I love it.