32 weeks

It is crunch time! I have two weeks off and plan to make the most of them!

Cason weighs about 3 3/4 lbs and is the size of a jicama... whatever that is! 

Day 1- I ironed and put the crib skirt on, washed all the baby clothes in fragrance free detergent and re-hung them in the closet. 

Look at all of those clothes?!? Lucky boy (and parents). 

I also framed the $2 deer print I found at a thrift store. Ian wanted some outdoorsy things in Cason's room, like duck pictures and deer... If he had a deer head to put in there, I'm sure there would be one. So I found a deer print that I liked. I don't have a picture of it right now but will take one at some point. 

I also scheduled a class and hospital tour for us :)  

Day 2- I made thank you bags for the staff that take care of us when we go to the hospital. Of course I saw the idea on Pinterest, but thought it was such a sweet gesture. Everyone loves to feel appreciated from time to time... and being that I work in a setting where that appreciation is rarely expressed, I understand the importance and value, even if it is something small. 

Day 3- I went and ate lunch with my step-grandma, Pat. We went to Olive Garden and it was so delicious! It was great to spend some time with her! 

Day 4- I had lunch with my best friend Karleigh. Always SO great to catch up with her. She was like the paparazzi as soon as I stepped out of the car. She started snapping pictures of my belly... haha just like her dad. 

Day 5- I got to pick Ian up from the airport!!! Now, the challenge was staying awake until 11:30 when their flight got in! That was WAY past my bedtime. But I managed to do it and picked them up in the beginnings of the hurricane- wind and pouring rain! 

Day 6- We went to breastfeeding class... poor Ian got dragged along with me. But it was very informative! 

Day 7- We went and took a tour of the hospital so we would know where to go when I'm in labor, what the labor and delivery rooms look like, etc. Seeing the rooms made me a little nervous... made it feel real! We do not have much time left!

 

31 weeks

Thirty one weeks! Wow, it's getting closer! This is the last week of work before my 2 week fall intercession for year round schools... and it is dragging! I have a lot of meetings to get through before I am free!!! And sitting through a day-long continuing education workshop was torture. Sitting down is NOT comfortable. Neither is standing. Or laying. My lower back starts to hurt so badly... so I apologize to the women sitting behind me because I kept trying to adjust my position to make it better!

Cason is the size of a coconut this week, and it feels like it! My update email said he would be very active and is doing somersaults! Sounds about right...

I spent what felt like the entire week in the bathroom thanks to him kicking my bladder. Or every time I stand up it feels like he is right on top of it. 

Ian left for Canada at the end of this week for his annual duck hunting trip with his dad and friends. Such a special trip for them and wonderful memories made. I'm so glad he was able to go this year and that the trip wasn't too close to our due date, so that he wouldn't be worried the whole time he was there! It sounds like they are having a great time- and eating good (if you like duck, that is). 

I have no picture this week because my photographer was out of country on the day that we typically take my picture!! I'll make sure we get a 32 week picture though. 

30 weeks

We got to hear our sweet baby's heartbeat again this week! He is head down right now, but could still move around some. After a few more weeks he probably won't be able to flip around due to lack of space. He is about the size of a large cabbage right now, and growing quickly! 

I bought a few new things for the nursery this week. Two new pictures, one that I scored for $2 at a thrift store! I just have to get a frame for it. 

I also got started packing the hospital bag... just in case! Ian keeps reminding me that we have a lot of time left (10 weeks) but I have a feeling it's going to fly by!!!

I'm still swelling up, I spend what seems like every free moment in the bathroom, and I'm still not sleeping well. But other than that, no complaints!! Here is my 30 week picture:

29 weeks

Fall is in the air!!! And in our house.

All of the above crafts (pumpkins, fall sign, and letter C) cost me a total of $2! Woohoo! Love when I can use what I have!

This week was a short week at work-- thankfully! This weekend was my favorite. Just waking up to the cool weather on Sunday morning was amazing. We left the screen door open all day long. I cooked some pumpkin spice pancakes for breakfast. Ian grilled some wings for lunch while we watched football. We spent a little time out in the yard with the dogs. Ate pizza for dinner while watching more football. And I got lots of things done around the house, while trying to take breaks in between to sit down! Great day! :) 

Things are about the same in terms of how I'm feeling. I've not been sleeping very well and I think it's because I can't get comfortable at night. It might have to do with the fact that Cason is the size of a butternut squash this week-- 2 1/2 pounds and over 15 inches long! Not to mention I always have to get up to use the restroom and can't seem to fall back into a deep sleep after that.  

I'm ready for the weather to be consistently cool so I can start wearing my fall boots. It's getting harder to find shoes to wear to work that my swollen feet actually fit in and that provide me with support for being on my feet all day. I think it will be boots for the win ;)  as long as my feet will fit in them! I couldn't fit in my cowboy boots for the concert last weekend... so that was a bummer! 

Here is my picture for the week!

Faux Mantle

We have really tall ceilings in our living room. On the main wall, where you would think a fireplace would be, there isn't one. If we had found our house before they had finished building it, I would have seriously considered paying an upgrade fee to have a fireplace added. But since it was complete when we found it, that wasn't an option! 

Anyway, so we are settling for a faux mantle. We had our tv on a tv stand that was low to the ground. So the wall looked very empty and unfilled! At our last house, our tv was mounted above the fireplace and that is what I was missing. I also wanted somewhere to hang our stockings and decorate for the different seasons! 

Here is the wall before:

For some reason, we didn't even have it centered on the wall... as you can see. 

It just looks so empty! Here are some pictures of the mantle in progress. 

As you can see, the cords are in the center... this proved to be a challenge later on... because we had to find a removable solution to cover the inside part with. Just in case we needed access to the outlet. 

Here it is before we did anything to the center. 

Then we had this first plan of using a thin piece of plywood, painted black in the middle. And I was going to tile the outside. However, the thin piece of plywood warped and we decided that the tile would be really heavy and probably make the warping worse. 

So this is how it stayed for about a week. Until we came up with another plan. We needed something lightweight and removable. Here's what we came up with. 

A faux brick panel painted black. Lightweight and removable! I'm so excited about how it turned out. The project really turned out to be a pain, with little mishaps along the way. But ultimately it looks so much better than the empty wall! 

BEFORE: 

AFTER: 

28 weeks

This was a busy, busy week! Thankfully it was a long weekend, but we had a lot to squeeze in! 

I've been swelling up a lot in the ankles this week. It's really cute... not. Not only is it unattractive but it is quite uncomfortable! Some days are worse than others but thankfully it goes away each night for the most part. Just to start all over in the morning! 

At our last appointment, I passed my one hour gestational diabetes test!!! My blood sugar had to be under 135 and it was 127! The orange glucose drink they gave me was not as bad as I had read about... maybe birth will be the same way, hahaha. 

The babe is measuring just right, although me stepping up on the scale is a different story. A little terrifying to see those numbers... 

After our appointment, we rushed home and changed clothes so we could go to the Jason Aldean concert! My sweet husband surprised me with tickets :) the weather was a little iffy while we were tailgating and the concert was delayed a little bit. But after we went in, we didn't get rained on and the lightning stopped so that was good! All in all, we had a great time with our neighbors and friends! We got home around 1:00 AM, so it was definitely a late night (and you could tell by looking at my ankles...)

Then, we woke up early to head to Greenville for the football game! We got to see our favorite people ever and they graciously hosted us in their home! We miss them like crazy and wish they would just hurry up and move to Charlotte ;) I'm glad Lindsey took a picture of us all, because I have gotten so bad about that! 

On Labor Day, I took a trip to IKEA with my older sister! I need to stay far away from that store. It makes me want to do so many things! Like spend ridiculous amounts of money, make over rooms, and eat meatballs and cinnamon buns. I got out with only a few things and they were mostly items that I went there in search of, like Cason's high chair! 

I'm aware that we won't need a high chair for a while, but I've had my eye on this one and figured I'd go ahead and get it now. Just as I like things, it is very simple. It is pretty compact and will surely be easy to clean (hooray!). I also got a washable cushion for the inside but didn't take a picture of it. 

I got a new table runner for my fall tablescape... oh, is it not fall yet?? Well you wouldn't know it by stepping foot into our house! I put out all of my decorations this week. And I have plans for acquiring and/or crafting more. I just love fall. Since we will probably put our Christmas stuff up earlier this year with Cason's arrival around Thanksgiving, I needed just a little extra time with my fall decor. 

I found this cute picture frame at Dollar General for $6! That's what started my urge to decorate. 

Woo, what a busy week! I'm exhausted! Can't you tell by this picture? We've got to stop taking these at night when I'm sleepy!