Almost done!

25 days until D-day.

I fully understand I could go past my due date- up to 2 full weeks even, or heck, I could have this kid tomorrow. However for the sake of having some sort of count down I am going with 25 days.

Today's post is going to be about all the things I am and I am not looking forward to once little Kingston is here...

I AM looking forward to meeting my baby- this is by far the strongest feeling I have right now.

I AM NOT looking forward to spending 2 days in the hospital away from my Avani.

I AM looking forward to seeing what Kingston looks like- will he be a chunky hairy baby like Avani or skinny and bald?

I AM NOT looking forward to learning how to change boy's diapers (just being honest here- not saying I WONT change those diapers)

I AM looking forward to time off work!

I AM NOT looking forward to certain people (let's keep them nameless) thinking it is OK to come over to my house 10 times a week to see the baby. -*Mom- if your reading this I don't mean you :)

I AM looking forward to Avani meeting her new brother and watching their bond grow

I AM NOT looking forward to the heartache I know is inevitable for my sweet girl to feel when I will need to focus more time away from her and on the new baby. My heart already hurts for these moments she has no idea are coming.

I AM looking forward to getting my body back- I don't mean figure wise, I know that will take time and realistically I will never be a model- I am totally fine with that. I mean I can't wait to bend over without feeling like I may pop, or sleep lying down, or go for a bike ride, or heck- get out of a chair without grunting! 

I AM NOT looking forward to how much work and dieting it will take me to do the above!

I AM looking forward to watching Nick with a boy- he is awesome with his girls, but seeing him coach the football team, or teach Kingston how to swing a hammer- those are the moments I really am excited for.

I AM NOT looking forward to the extra expenses a new baby brings (mostly in the shape of daycare and health insurance!).

In the end I am so excited for this blessing to come to it's next chapter, I feel so lucky to have the family I do and it will be so interesting to see how little Kingston shakes things up in our family of mostly girls ;)

Nursery in progress... Step 1 complete!

So the first major step has been completed.

The walls have gone from teal to gray!

I will update any "how to" and prices also. I am all about the budgeting and saving money!


BEFORE: Avani's Nursery

After step 1: Kingston's Nursery



The crib and changing table are the same. When Ava was little a friend of ours gave us the glider you see above. I was so grateful! Only, as you can see the colors don't match so I will be attempting to cover it- we shall see how it goes. Oh- and the reason it doesn't have a back padding is because Ava girl so lovingly threw up all over it and it was the kind you couldn't clean- so I have to make a whole new padding for it anyways- might as well make the whole thing covered in designs I like :)

The black shelves I got for my sewing room last year and decided they would be better in the nursery so I wouldn't have to buy a dresser. As you can see I have been starting to stock up on clothes and diapers whenever I see them on sale.

Step 2 is to make the bedding and changing table cover.
Step 3 is to hang the closet doors back on and get (or make) curtains
Step 4 is to make boxes for the shelving unit
Step 5 is to cover the glider
Step 6 is to get the baby here!

Hopefully step 6 doesn't happen before any of the others! I also need to get room decor in here somewhere along the lines as well!

Baby Sprinkle

7/16/2012- 32 weeks pregnant which means I am officially 8 months pregnant. Or starting my 8th month, or however you want to put it. Either way it is a huge reminder of just how much we have to do. We painted the nursery and I have started making the bedding but we still have a long way to go.

My sisters insisted on throwing me a baby shower. But I don't want others to think I am just asking for gifts. We were very smart about things with Ava and almost everything is gender neutral and in great condition so there is hardly anything we need. Even the things we didn't have, like boy's things, and diapers I have been making or buying myself in small amounts over the past months and really do not NEED much of anything. In all honesty if this baby came today we would be ready (as far as STUFF goes - mentally and work wise I need at least a month if not the full 2 months so stay in there little man!). So after much begging I told them they could throw me a shower but they had to let every one know it was not necessary to bring a gift and this would just be a fun afternoon to hang out with other woman, have some yummy snacks, and let me show off the nursery. My sisters are calling it a Baby Sprinkle :)

                               *side note- which means I have to FINISH the nursery!

I am actually excited about it. Because for Avani's shower I asked everyone to bring a childrens book to add to Ava's library. But not only that I asked everyone to write something to the baby in the cover. This was a very inexpensive thing to ask everyone to bring so I hope I didn't offend anyone by asking them to do this. I am SO grateful for those books now! She has at least 30 books with wonderful words of encouragement, stories of family, and notes of why that particular book is important to them. I love that she has these and a great keepsake for her to pass on to generations later.

I need idea's of what to have everyone do this time. My sister's are buying Kingston his first guitar (which will hang in his room). We thought of having everyone write notes and placing the notes in the guitar. I like the idea... but I don't LOVE it - so if anyone you know did something different I would love to hear them!

THe A.B.C's of Me!

I wasn't planning on doing a blog today, but I saw a friend post this- and I love these, so I figured I would do it too!

The ABCs of ME

A. Age: 25

B. Bed size: King... Baby Girl all curled up after her afternoon nap one day- watching Cartoons :)

 

C. Chore you dislike: Anything outside.

D. Dogs: I have 2- VERY big Dogs- Vixen is my girl, she has been a wonderful family pet, I will never EVER get any other breed then a Greater Swiss after having her - and her pups - my parents taking one of her pups because they loved the breed - and now they just got another one too! Now my husbands dog Pete the Blue Tick- he has made up my mind about the most annoying breed and I will NEVER own another EVER EVER EVER! The pictures are of my Vixy Girl and her 3 beautiful Pups, Ron Burgundy (now Hank), Big Blue (now Chef), and Lil Pinky (still Pinky!).

 

 

E. Essential start to your day: Hitting snooze at least once... O.K. 5 times!

F. Favorite colors: Purple

G. Gold or silver: Silver

H. Height: 5'4"

I. Instruments you play(ed): Piano, I was actually very good but I have horrible stage fright and because of that I don't play anymore- it's a shame, I have lost most of my talent :(

J. Job title: Which would you like? Haha, M-F 9-5 I am an Accountant. Then I am also part time Doula and Childbirth Educator.  

K. Kids: Step Daughter Kylie, Daughter Avani, and our boy Kingston should be here in about 2 months!

 

L. Live: Northern Virginia, my whole life- I would love to make a big move some day.

M. Mom’s name: Katherine - but she goes by K.C. -My Mommy, Sisters, and Me (and baby Kingston in my belly) :)

 

N. Nicknames: Kait or Leelaa- A friends daughter couldn't say Kaitlyn and came up with leelaa for me about 8 years ago- it has stuck!  

O. Overnight hospital stays: Back surgery when I was 19 for a week, and 2 nights for labor of my daughter.

P. Pet peeves: Parents who think other people are around to watch their kids. Like when I am at the pool and there are kids in the baby pool- but no parents. I don't care if you were just running to the bathroom- you bring your child with you, you don't leave them and guess they will be O.K.

Q. Quote from a movie: You put the wrong Emphasis on the wrong Syllable - I don't know why that one came into my head, but that's all I can think of right now. View from the Top.

R. Righty or lefty: Right.

S. Siblings: 2 Sisters, Emily and Rachel.

 

T. Time you wake up: between 6-7, doesn't matter what day it is.

U. Underwear: Every day- Can't stand not to wear them.

V. Vegetables you don’t like: Beets, Lima Beans, collard greens, radishes.

W. What makes you run late: What doesn't!

X. X-rays you’ve had: too many, Name a body part- it has been x-rayed, at least once.

Y. Yummy food you make: Sweet and Sour Kielbasa - I will totally do a blog about this, it could not be any easier if you didn't have to cook it at all!

Z. Zoo animal you like: Bears

Certified!

I think I want to just keep taking classes to become certified in as much as I can. Hah! Eventually I would love to have my own business in which I work with pregnant woman as a doula (ideally one day even become a midwife), but also teach a lot of classes related to family education.

So far I am an Internationally Certified Childbirth Educator and now I just passed the test and I am a Certified Safe Sitter Instructor as well and I teach my first class next weekend!

And call me crazy but I just signed up for 3 (YES-3!) more certification programs.
I was already in the middle of my DONA International Doula certification so what the heck why not spend more money on more classes and get my ICEA Doula certification too right?More work, but better credentials to have both organizations.

I also am working towards my Prenatal Fitness Educator Certification- My goal is to take the exam by the end of my maternity leave (it is an online program in which you complete at your own pace).

AND... to top it off, I am now working on becoming a CPR instructor as well. Just to add to the chaos in my life. This also I would like to be done with around the end of my maternity leave.

My end goal- by the end of the calendar year be the following-
Certified Childbirth Educator - CHECK
Certified Safe Sitter Instructor - CHECK
Certified Doula
Certified Prenatal Fitness Educator
Certified CPR Instructor

I CAN DO IT- I CAN DO IT - I CAN DO IT!

IF I can do all of this- By early next year I can add a whole mess of classes to the list of classes I teach.

Nursery prints!

So I just purchased all of the fabric for Kingston's nursery, and I literally cannot wait to get it in!

The fabric is normally $14.99/yard, I got it for $7.89/yard. I also got free shipping, and 15% off my total so a normally $120 purchase (I got 8 yards) was only $50!

Here are the prints I got- I am over the moon excited to get to work on the nursery!

FINALLY!

After a few months of switching rooms around and my poor sewing machine being pushed aside until we found space for him, I can finally say he is BACK in action! WAAAA HOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!! Not only that but we have started setting up Kingston's nursery.

side note*- Nick and I decided we are 100% sure that is going to be his name, and if I hear any more negative comments I will ask that person if they really want to continue this conversation because if they are going to give me their politically incorrect, rude, unasked for, and opinionated thoughts then I will give them the politically incorrect, rude, unasked for, and opinionated thoughts on how I feel about them.

Anyways- we now have Ava moved 100% into her big girl room, she now has a walk in closet and we put her toy box and barbies house in there- she LOVES it- its like her own little hide out space. She still says that her bed is too heavy to lift so she can't move it back to her old room (which means that she has tried- damn do I wish I had seen that!) but she is getting more and more used to the room. We have even come a little way with the night time routines, Nick or I don't need to stay in there until she falls asleep anymore because she isn't as scared to sleep in there by herself and having Vixen (one of our Dogs) sleep in the room with her makes her feel safe. Also- once she is asleep we open her door so that we can hear her at night, we just don't do it while she is awake or she would keep getting out.

So now we are starting to get things ready in the nursery. We have taken all of the pink down, patched the holes, and started painting. There is a chair rail about 1/3 up from the floor - that and the wall below it will be white, and above it will be a medium shade Gray color. Once the wall is painted I am going to start making the nursery decor! I am so excited. Navy chevron, gray, and white is what I am going for- no real theme.

I took Kylie to Joann's over the weekend and let her pick out fabric so that I could help her make the baby a blanket. She picked out marvel comic book fabric (not my favorite- I was never into comic book cartoons - but this is what she wanted to do, so I said I loved it!). I also got a few small pieces of the soft flannel fabrics to make burp clothes out of. We are making those this week while Nick paints the nursery and hopefully by next weekend we can actually put the crib together!

I can't remember 100% what the fabric looks like that Ky picked out, but when I googled I am pretty sure it is something like this- We also got red minky fabric for the other side.

Here are the flannel fabrics I picked out to make some burp cloths-

I know I have said it before- but I PROMISE I will get some tutorials up these next couple weeks!