Sunday, February 24, 2013
Valentine's Day
The words 'romantic' and 'husband' will never be paired together when describing Matt. There are times that I think it would be nice to have Matt 'sweep me off my feet', but when he knows me so well, I really can't complain.
Friday, February 22, 2013
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Nursery Mood Board
After weeks months of consideration, we decided to go to go for a grey / yellow / teal theme for the nursery. (And when I say "we" I really mean, I decided and then told Matt and he didn't have any objections.) It's fun but still neutral enough (hopefully) that we won't have to repaint the room when we decide to sell. Here's my current mood board.
I have gone around and around on this... but I finally made my first purchase today so now I'm somewhat committed. I bought the yellow zig-zag (chevron) fabric to make curtain panels and also a crib skirt. Thankfully my mother-in-law can (and likes) to sew, so she's going to make those for us. And depending on prices I might ask her to also make some teal crib sheets, a pouf/ottoman, a changing pad cover and also pillows. More to come!
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Nursery Design Brainstorming
You know how some girls have been planning their wedding since they were little -- that most definitely was not me. But I have been thinking about babies for a long time. One of my favorite girl names was "discovered" back when I was in high school because it was the name of a baby at the YMCA nursery where I worked. While I'm not willing to share the names we're considering for our little bundle of joy - I will share some of the ideas I've been mulling over in regards to the nursery.
Gender Neutral
As I've previously mentioned, I always thought I would wait to find out (again something I probably decided in my mind way before getting pregnant) so throughout the years I've gravitated towards gender-neutral nursery themes. And when I say themes, I really mean concepts instead. I don't want a bunny theme or carnvial theme, etc. I want it to be more eclectic (mostly because I don't think I could commit to a theme and it will end up eclectic anyway). The soft, calm, quiet, neutral nurseries are so stunning but because I don't think I could keep that vibe going, colorful is more my thing. Thanks to Pinterest there is lots of colorful nursery eye candy. Here are a few that I pinned...
You are my Sunshine
Back in February 2011 I did this quick post on art that I want in my baby's nursery someday. While I love the bright colors above -- I do like the vintage / muted / restful vibe that this picture invokes so I'm going to do some compromising to make the nursery work. I've already got Jackie thinking about creating something similar to this for me. She just needs to see the rest of the nursery to know how to make it fit in.
Rocking Chair
My Grandpa refinished lots of wood objects and rocking chairs were one of the most popular. I'm not sure if it was on purpose or by accident, but they accumulated so many rocking chairs at my grandparent's house that each of us grandkids gets one (plus they have more to spare). Here is the rocking chair that I received and want to incorporate into the nursery. (It had a home in the downstairs den for awhile so ignore the background.) Just add a few pillows and I think it will be comfy enough (and if we decide later that we wish we had a glider in the nursery - no big deal. We can just buy one then and use this in other rooms where we won't be rocking in it for hours on end.
Gender Neutral
As I've previously mentioned, I always thought I would wait to find out (again something I probably decided in my mind way before getting pregnant) so throughout the years I've gravitated towards gender-neutral nursery themes. And when I say themes, I really mean concepts instead. I don't want a bunny theme or carnvial theme, etc. I want it to be more eclectic (mostly because I don't think I could commit to a theme and it will end up eclectic anyway). The soft, calm, quiet, neutral nurseries are so stunning but because I don't think I could keep that vibe going, colorful is more my thing. Thanks to Pinterest there is lots of colorful nursery eye candy. Here are a few that I pinned...
You are my Sunshine
Back in February 2011 I did this quick post on art that I want in my baby's nursery someday. While I love the bright colors above -- I do like the vintage / muted / restful vibe that this picture invokes so I'm going to do some compromising to make the nursery work. I've already got Jackie thinking about creating something similar to this for me. She just needs to see the rest of the nursery to know how to make it fit in.
Rocking Chair
My Grandpa refinished lots of wood objects and rocking chairs were one of the most popular. I'm not sure if it was on purpose or by accident, but they accumulated so many rocking chairs at my grandparent's house that each of us grandkids gets one (plus they have more to spare). Here is the rocking chair that I received and want to incorporate into the nursery. (It had a home in the downstairs den for awhile so ignore the background.) Just add a few pillows and I think it will be comfy enough (and if we decide later that we wish we had a glider in the nursery - no big deal. We can just buy one then and use this in other rooms where we won't be rocking in it for hours on end.
Giraffe
At the end of December Matt introduced this giraffe into the mix. In all honesty it has kind of thrown me for a loop. His grandpa made it for him and then it was in his sister's room and then got sent off to his cousins in Cali. Given the sentimental value, we're obviously including it and we can't really change it (like painting it white). When he showed it to me, I started wondering if maybe the nursery should have a giraffe or animal theme. I've seen some cute fabrics that have giraffes on them - and elephant ones too. But as I said I'm not really into it being too much of a theme. So I guess we'll just throw this in to the eclectic category and call it good.
So that's where my head has been at... there's just so many decisions to make and I keep going around and around so I haven't actually made any decisions yet. Hopefully soon...
Monday, January 14, 2013
Vacation day!
I used my first vacation day since starting the new job in October on Jan 4th! (Even though I have PTO time to take, it's weird to take it now knowing that it's "stealing" time from baby later this year.)
We started off the morning with a doctor's appointment. Around 20 weeks they do the ultrasound where they check the baby to make sure they are developing properly and if you want, they can typically tell you the gender. Because of Christmas, I was actually at 21 weeks + 2 days for my appointment. After lots of discussion we decided not to find out the gender. It was a split decision - Matt wanted to know and isn't into surprises at all and I kept going back and forth about finding out. I've always thought I would wait, but the temptation to find out is pretty strong but I really want the surprise - for me and for telling our family and friends. I knew if we did find out we wouldn't be able to keep it a surprise from family and friends so that helped encourage me to convince Matt we should wait.
The ultrasound was really neat. It was a huge relief to finally see the little one growing inside of me. Everything they check for medically at this appointment was just as it should be. The baby had its hand up near its face so it was a little more difficult for the ultrasound tech to get the profile and face pics but we got a couple to bring home with us.I did find out that I have an anterior placenta which means the "thick" side of the placenta is near my belly button rather than my spine. It's not a big deal, but it does mean that we won't be able to feel the baby's kicks as well as we would have with a regular placenta. While it's kinda a bummer, finding out was mostly a relief. People told me - oh you'll know when you feel the baby. But I've been feeling movement since Christmas but wasn't sure if it really was Baby (which made me nervous). Doctor said that my questioning is typical - whew.
After the doctor's appointment we did some window shopping for floors (nothing purchased yet) and then drove over to Iowa City. We got to hang out with Stacy and Maya before heading to an Iowa Wrestling meet. I never thought I'd be someone to get pumped about wrestling, but weirdly it's actually a really fun sport to watch (maybe because Iowa is/has always been good makes it more fun). Plus trips to the Carver Hawkeye Arena mean ICE CREAM CONES. Such a delicious tradition. After we watched Iowa win the meet we went over to our new favorite IC hangout - BackPocket Brewery.
We stayed the night in IC (actually we got "upgraded" to a room with a jacuzzi tub because the tv in our original room didn't work) and before heading back to Huxley we stopped at Wendy and Kyle's new home. It was fun to compare pregnancy notes with Wendy and I was totally jealous of their custom built home. Love their floorplan - especially their master suite!
We started off the morning with a doctor's appointment. Around 20 weeks they do the ultrasound where they check the baby to make sure they are developing properly and if you want, they can typically tell you the gender. Because of Christmas, I was actually at 21 weeks + 2 days for my appointment. After lots of discussion we decided not to find out the gender. It was a split decision - Matt wanted to know and isn't into surprises at all and I kept going back and forth about finding out. I've always thought I would wait, but the temptation to find out is pretty strong but I really want the surprise - for me and for telling our family and friends. I knew if we did find out we wouldn't be able to keep it a surprise from family and friends so that helped encourage me to convince Matt we should wait.
The ultrasound was really neat. It was a huge relief to finally see the little one growing inside of me. Everything they check for medically at this appointment was just as it should be. The baby had its hand up near its face so it was a little more difficult for the ultrasound tech to get the profile and face pics but we got a couple to bring home with us.I did find out that I have an anterior placenta which means the "thick" side of the placenta is near my belly button rather than my spine. It's not a big deal, but it does mean that we won't be able to feel the baby's kicks as well as we would have with a regular placenta. While it's kinda a bummer, finding out was mostly a relief. People told me - oh you'll know when you feel the baby. But I've been feeling movement since Christmas but wasn't sure if it really was Baby (which made me nervous). Doctor said that my questioning is typical - whew.
After the doctor's appointment we did some window shopping for floors (nothing purchased yet) and then drove over to Iowa City. We got to hang out with Stacy and Maya before heading to an Iowa Wrestling meet. I never thought I'd be someone to get pumped about wrestling, but weirdly it's actually a really fun sport to watch (maybe because Iowa is/has always been good makes it more fun). Plus trips to the Carver Hawkeye Arena mean ICE CREAM CONES. Such a delicious tradition. After we watched Iowa win the meet we went over to our new favorite IC hangout - BackPocket Brewery.
We stayed the night in IC (actually we got "upgraded" to a room with a jacuzzi tub because the tv in our original room didn't work) and before heading back to Huxley we stopped at Wendy and Kyle's new home. It was fun to compare pregnancy notes with Wendy and I was totally jealous of their custom built home. Love their floorplan - especially their master suite!
 |
| Hello Maya! |
 |
| OT - Hawks get the win! |
 |
| Love BackPocket's stone-fired pizza! |
 |
| Checking out the fire pit at BP |
 |
| Seriously... smiling for the camera isn't so bad Matt. |
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
13 To Do's in 2013
Besides having a baby, I thought I'd make a list of other things I'd like to accomplish in 2013. Kinda like a new year's resolution - but more fun :)
(In no particular order...)
1. Pick Berries
http://berrypatchfarm.com/ isn't too far from us and I've heard it's fun. But I won't be too picky (pun intended) about the location - rather it just needs to be a PYO (Pick Your Own) farm.
2. Visit Becky at Loras
I'm kinda a bad sister. The last time I visited Becky at school was back when I was still in grad school (fall 2010) so 2 years ago. Oops. The spring is her last semester so I really want to go visit her. Remember how fun college was! (I have no idea who the girl is on the right, because I don't know any of her friends, which is obviously terrible.)
3. Go (back) to Galena
Matt and I have been to Galena twice and it's a fun getaway, without being too far. Plus if we're already in DBQ visiting Becky, we could extend the trip to include Galena.
4. Run a 5K
I participated in a handful of 5K's this year which has been really fun and I want to do more next year. Some I will obviously just have to walk with the baby in a stroller, but in the fall I think it would be a great goal to RUN one. Drop the baby weight and have something to look forward too. Last year I recall the Ft. Dodge AppleFest run was in October but there are hundreds of races across central iowa all posted on the Fitness Sports website.
5. Visit the Bridges of Madison County
Ideally in the fall when the leaves are changing colors. It seems like everyone has been there but me. It's well past time to go. It may have to be without Matt if we want to do it in the fall (due to his work) but I don't want his work to be my excuse for never having been there.
6. Explore the Rose Garden
Rumor has it that the Rose Garden by the DSM Art Center is very picturesque -- especially in June. I've never been there but June sounds like a fantastic time to go, explore and take pictures! Julie and Mike took their engagement photos there this fall and their pics look great so I bet a visit in the fall would be fun too.
7. Get Professional Family Photos
I talk about doing this every year but the last professional photos we had taken were at our wedding. And unfortunately it was crazy sunny out and we're both a little squinty in our photos and it was way too muggy to take more than a few. Using Baby as an excuse I think this year will be my best shot at some outdoor family photos. And I'd love to add my parents and sisters on to the end of that photo session. Similarly the wedding photo is the last professional family photo that we have and it would be nice to have some that are more casual. And maybe we can take pics at the Rose Garden to knock out two of these in one shot.
8. Tackle some House Projects
We had lots of plans for updates around the house but none of them really happened this year. The big one that we talked about over and over again was new floors. Since the carpet is too dirty for a baby to be around, we know have a hard deadline to make changes to the floor. But changing out the floor leads to lots of other things -- new baseboards, painting the baseboards that aren't being replaced, painting or replacing doors since they no longer will match either, determining flooring for the bathroom (which might lead to a bigger bath remodel). Plus thanks to Baby we will be changing out things in the second bedroom, this means moving / getting rid of a lot of stuff. It's exciting but overwhelming. Creating Baby's room will be multiple posts I'm sure.
9. Visit Out-of-Town Friends
We kinda are horrible at this. Matt's job doesn't lend itself very well to getting this accomplished, and with the baby coming it'll probably make it more difficult, but I really really really want to travel to see a least some of our friends. I don't think we'll make all of the places on my list but at least a couple would be great.
- Winona
- Philadelphia
- Kansas City
- St. Louis
- Chicago
- NYC
- Clear Lake
- Iowa City / North Liberty
- Salt Lake City
- Eagle Grove / Fort Dodge
10. Go to 5 New Restaurants in DSM with Matt
I'm not the most adventurous diner in Des Moines but I check out a handful of new places each year. However, I tend to do this with my girlfriends. I realized that there are a lot of places I've been but Matt hasn't. So next year I think we should check out TOGETHER at least 5 places in Des Moines. They don't have to be new new, just new to us.
11. Buy a Car
There's definitely excitement in buying a new car but I also am very hesitant. We currently don't have any car loans but my car can't be worth much anymore so buying means probably having a car loan again. And while that isn't a big concern financially right now - I have no idea what life will be like financially with Baby (probably should start looking at that soon). Also, I bought my car before Matt and I got married winter 2008/2009 and somehow it kinda feels wierd to let it go. The next car won't really feel like mine but rather OUR car. (But I guess that's probably how Matt felt about trading in his truck last year for the Trailblazer.) Also, I feel like I haven't held on to this car long enough to be getting rid of it. But it's got over 125K miles on it and I'll never be able to transport BABY and Gable in it together. I've got my eye on a Kia Sorento but we'll see whatI we actually end up with.
12. Host a Party at our House
We use living in Huxley as an excuse for a lot of things and unfortunately one of those is related to having people over. While we're used to making the drive to DSM all the time for events, our friends are not. It's not that people have said - Huxley is too far for us to drive for a party, but I hear those off handed remarks about not wanting to drive way out to West Des Moines or all the way downtown so I know they think Huxley is too far. But screw them - I drive it pretty much every day and it's not torture, so if they think a party at our place isn't worth it, then I guess they're not really our friends after all.
13. Be more Cultural
I am quick to defend Des Moines and all the great things the town now has to offer. The metro really has changed so much since I was young. But I feel like I'm not taking advantage of all the culture that exists. There are so many things I would love to do (more). Examples: Attend an event at the Salisbury House, Go to the Symphony, Hear the Opera, Attend an event at the Art Museum, See a show at Hoyt Sherman, Learn to do something artsy - blow glass, throw pottery, cook. So this is just a challenge to say YES when the opportunities come up, and when we we're not seeing those opportunities to go out and seek them more. It's important to always be learning and growing.
Plus One More: Volunteer / Give Back More
We have so much to be thankful for and there are so many ways that we can give to others. We should be doing this so much more!
(In no particular order...)
1. Pick Berries
http://berrypatchfarm.com/ isn't too far from us and I've heard it's fun. But I won't be too picky (pun intended) about the location - rather it just needs to be a PYO (Pick Your Own) farm.
2. Visit Becky at Loras
I'm kinda a bad sister. The last time I visited Becky at school was back when I was still in grad school (fall 2010) so 2 years ago. Oops. The spring is her last semester so I really want to go visit her. Remember how fun college was! (I have no idea who the girl is on the right, because I don't know any of her friends, which is obviously terrible.)
Matt and I have been to Galena twice and it's a fun getaway, without being too far. Plus if we're already in DBQ visiting Becky, we could extend the trip to include Galena.
4. Run a 5K
I participated in a handful of 5K's this year which has been really fun and I want to do more next year. Some I will obviously just have to walk with the baby in a stroller, but in the fall I think it would be a great goal to RUN one. Drop the baby weight and have something to look forward too. Last year I recall the Ft. Dodge AppleFest run was in October but there are hundreds of races across central iowa all posted on the Fitness Sports website.
5. Visit the Bridges of Madison County
Ideally in the fall when the leaves are changing colors. It seems like everyone has been there but me. It's well past time to go. It may have to be without Matt if we want to do it in the fall (due to his work) but I don't want his work to be my excuse for never having been there.
6. Explore the Rose Garden
Rumor has it that the Rose Garden by the DSM Art Center is very picturesque -- especially in June. I've never been there but June sounds like a fantastic time to go, explore and take pictures! Julie and Mike took their engagement photos there this fall and their pics look great so I bet a visit in the fall would be fun too.
7. Get Professional Family Photos
I talk about doing this every year but the last professional photos we had taken were at our wedding. And unfortunately it was crazy sunny out and we're both a little squinty in our photos and it was way too muggy to take more than a few. Using Baby as an excuse I think this year will be my best shot at some outdoor family photos. And I'd love to add my parents and sisters on to the end of that photo session. Similarly the wedding photo is the last professional family photo that we have and it would be nice to have some that are more casual. And maybe we can take pics at the Rose Garden to knock out two of these in one shot.
8. Tackle some House Projects
We had lots of plans for updates around the house but none of them really happened this year. The big one that we talked about over and over again was new floors. Since the carpet is too dirty for a baby to be around, we know have a hard deadline to make changes to the floor. But changing out the floor leads to lots of other things -- new baseboards, painting the baseboards that aren't being replaced, painting or replacing doors since they no longer will match either, determining flooring for the bathroom (which might lead to a bigger bath remodel). Plus thanks to Baby we will be changing out things in the second bedroom, this means moving / getting rid of a lot of stuff. It's exciting but overwhelming. Creating Baby's room will be multiple posts I'm sure.
9. Visit Out-of-Town Friends
We kinda are horrible at this. Matt's job doesn't lend itself very well to getting this accomplished, and with the baby coming it'll probably make it more difficult, but I really really really want to travel to see a least some of our friends. I don't think we'll make all of the places on my list but at least a couple would be great.
- Winona
- Philadelphia
- Kansas City
- St. Louis
- Chicago
- NYC
- Clear Lake
- Iowa City / North Liberty
- Salt Lake City
- Eagle Grove / Fort Dodge
10. Go to 5 New Restaurants in DSM with Matt
I'm not the most adventurous diner in Des Moines but I check out a handful of new places each year. However, I tend to do this with my girlfriends. I realized that there are a lot of places I've been but Matt hasn't. So next year I think we should check out TOGETHER at least 5 places in Des Moines. They don't have to be new new, just new to us.
11. Buy a Car
There's definitely excitement in buying a new car but I also am very hesitant. We currently don't have any car loans but my car can't be worth much anymore so buying means probably having a car loan again. And while that isn't a big concern financially right now - I have no idea what life will be like financially with Baby (probably should start looking at that soon). Also, I bought my car before Matt and I got married winter 2008/2009 and somehow it kinda feels wierd to let it go. The next car won't really feel like mine but rather OUR car. (But I guess that's probably how Matt felt about trading in his truck last year for the Trailblazer.) Also, I feel like I haven't held on to this car long enough to be getting rid of it. But it's got over 125K miles on it and I'll never be able to transport BABY and Gable in it together. I've got my eye on a Kia Sorento but we'll see what
12. Host a Party at our House
We use living in Huxley as an excuse for a lot of things and unfortunately one of those is related to having people over. While we're used to making the drive to DSM all the time for events, our friends are not. It's not that people have said - Huxley is too far for us to drive for a party, but I hear those off handed remarks about not wanting to drive way out to West Des Moines or all the way downtown so I know they think Huxley is too far. But screw them - I drive it pretty much every day and it's not torture, so if they think a party at our place isn't worth it, then I guess they're not really our friends after all.
13. Be more Cultural
I am quick to defend Des Moines and all the great things the town now has to offer. The metro really has changed so much since I was young. But I feel like I'm not taking advantage of all the culture that exists. There are so many things I would love to do (more). Examples: Attend an event at the Salisbury House, Go to the Symphony, Hear the Opera, Attend an event at the Art Museum, See a show at Hoyt Sherman, Learn to do something artsy - blow glass, throw pottery, cook. So this is just a challenge to say YES when the opportunities come up, and when we we're not seeing those opportunities to go out and seek them more. It's important to always be learning and growing.
Plus One More: Volunteer / Give Back More
We have so much to be thankful for and there are so many ways that we can give to others. We should be doing this so much more!
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Merry Christmas!
This year Gable wrote our Christmas letter. It's amazing what dogs can do without opposable thumbs. :) We were a little late getting it in the mail today but at least the letter was written and the pictures printed prior to Christmas. Hooray!
We hope you and your families all had a blessed holiday with those you love!
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