Babies R Us can suck it.

Well, we registered. And it was awful. Awful, I tell you. Licks total balls. I'm pretty sure I am going to delete half of the items I registered for after I finish this post. There is soo much stuff. And sooo much of it is uuuuuugly. Super ugly. Super cutesy ugly. For reals. It sucks.

Why does the vast majority of baby stuff have to be all over the top cutesy? Why? I just don't get it. The baby sure as hell doesn't care. Lets face it, all that baby stuff is really for me. And. I. Hate. Cutesy.

Why must all boy stuff have either cartoon smiley animals or cars? Hmmm? Where are some nice basics. Some good geometric prints. Or even just plain freakin colors in something other than baby blue, pink, brown, or mint. Seriously. This shiz does not go with my nursery decor. It is looking like Judah is going to be getting an awful lot of white.

I need create a Target registry as well. I think I will probably just do that online.

My issue is the things I want are not sold at these giant places. Instead they are only available at little boutiques or online. I'm totally down with buying things online, but that doesn't help registering for baby showers (which I will have at least 3 of. That's right. 3. 1 at work, 1 in Oregon, and 1 in Washington.). So I need a pretty decent registry list for people to choose from.

Is there any place online that I can create a registry from a bunch of different sites? I need to to track when people buy stuff so I don't get 15 of one thing and 0 of something else. I know you can make a wishlist on amazon, but not all my stuff it available on amazon.

Sigh, why can't there just be more non ugly baby options out there? Hmmm, why?

Also, I pretty sure I registered for 30 things I absolutely in no way need. The store just makes you feel like you have to have them, because they have about 20 different options on said thing. So you think, "Well, this must be important since there are so many option." But, really, you don't need it. You really don't. At least, I think you don't. Hell if I really know since, you know, Judah will be my first baby and all.

In summation: registries (specifically at Babies R Us) suck.

It's a...

We had our midwives appointment this week. You  know, the super exciting one where you get the gender identifying ultrasound! I really did not have any strong feeling one way or another. I had dreams that I was having a boy. I had dreams I was having a girl.The Chinese Gender Chart said we were having a boy. Bill was really hoping for a boy- he has been hoping for a boy since he was 2 (when his first sister arrived, and then he had another sister, and another). However, on the way to the ultrasound he told me that he had a feeling that it was a girl. I had my class vote on what they thought I would have. Girl was ahead in the classroom vote (15 for girl, 11 for boy).

So here it is. The gender identifying ultrasound shot. Can you tell what it is?

Well, did you see it? I think it is pretty obvious, but in case it isn't- here is the cheat sheet.

That's right- it's a boy! We plan on naming him Judah. It is just so nice knowing who is in there. It just makes it seem that much more real. Last time we saw him on an ultrasound he looked like a fried egg. Now we looks like a real baby. Crazy.

Here he is looking all baby like.

I know I am a bit biased and all, but I think he is pretty damn cute.

And here is how the iris of the eye shows up on ultrasounds.

Super creepy, right? Here's hoping Judah has Bill's blue eyes. There is chance that it could happen, since my Mom has light blue eyes. I carry that recessive gene, we will just see in 4.5 months if it makes an appearance.

It is amazing how much you can see on the ultrasound. The ultrasound tech get measurements of all the bones and identified all the organs. Everything is as it should be. All the parts are there and appear to be correctly formed. Ahh, such wonderful news for parents-to-be to hear.

They gave us a cd with 9 images from the ultrasound and they also gave us a 5 min dvd of the ultrasound- which is pretty cool. To us. And our parents. I'm sure anyone else would find it incredibly boring. However, we think it is the bee's knees. In the movie they show the heat beat (visually and you can hear it). You see Judah move around some. He wasn't moving around a ton by the end of the ultrasound (which is when they took the movie portion). But, he still does move his head, arms, and legs a bit. There is no full on body twirling though.

They also were able to see that my placenta is in front of him. Which explains why I haven't really felt much (if any) movement. As Judah gets bigger and stronger I will be able to feel him move and kick through the placenta. I think I have felt him a little bit, but it is still those super early movements that kind of feel like indigestion.

Well, here is what Judah is looking like these days without an ultrasound.

It is no nice knowing that Judah is Judah. I feel like I can really start moving forward on getting ready for him. I can start really decorating the nursery (that is after we rip out the old carpet, paint the trim, and install carpet tiles). It just seems so much realer knowing that Judah is Judah.

Today, Bill and I are making the scary trip to Babies-R-Us. Ack. We need to create a registry. Yeah, like we have any clue what we will really need. I'm sure I will see lots of cute stuff to register for. But, I'm also sure I will probably leave off some super important things. I know it is going to be overwhelming. Bill HATES shopping to start with, let alone 'window' shopping which is basically what creating a registry is. Sigh. Well, this is one of the many hurdles we need to get through.

We also need to pick up gifts while we are there. I have 2 showers in February that I need to buy presents for. Maybe looking at their registries will help me create mine? I also need to pick up a gift for my adorable niece, who turns 3 today.

Wish us luck.

Carpet Weekend

We did our research at Lowes today. Blurg. Totally more expensive then I was hoping. And, they won't give you an estimate in store about how much it would cost to tear out and haul away old carpet. To get that estimate you have to put a down payment of $40 and have them come to your house. The $40 is all fine and dandy if you decide to go with them, then it just goes toward your carpet purchase... but, if you decide you don't want to go with them they keep the $40. Seems to me like you paying money to get a bid. Hmmm, I don't much like that. And even with our rough estimate based purely on carpet price per sq foot the cost was more than I wanted to spend... especially for something I don't really want. What I really want is nice hardwood floor like the rest of the house, but that is definitely not in the current budget. Some day, some day...

I've used Flor tiles in the past (as a hall runner upstairs). I am very happy with their products, so we decided to check out how much it would be do wall-to-wall flor tiles. Sigh, out of our budget.

However, that led me on an internet journey seeking out other modular carpet tiles. Low-and-behold there are other carpet tile options out there. Cheaper tile options. Within our budget tile options. The websites for the discount places definitely are not as user friendly as Flor. The images are not as detailed and their are no side images showing the thickness of the pile, but whatevs. It will do. Now we just need to figure out which we want and we are on it.

Here are the sites we are looking at:

http://www.carpet-wholesale.com/carpet-tile-squares.htm

http://www.icarpetiles.com

and

http://www.focusfloors.com/

Anyone out there used and of these companies? Any feedback to offer?

Other than that the weekend has been pretty low key. The in-laws came up to visit yesterday and they brought up a crib from my parents house. It is sleigh style crib in dark wood. I'm not crazy in love with it (I would prefer a more modern streamlined crib and for it to be white), but I am crazy in love with the price (free!). Me might end up painting it white; it just really depends how it looks all set up in the room. We shall see.

The best part of the weekend was having Bill home- ALL WEEKEND. He is know on his new Mon-Fri day side only schedule. Which. Is. Awesome. It is just so nice having him home so we can do little errands (like going to Lowes) and hang out. I really enjoy having him around and not spending the majority of the weekend home alone. Yay, new schedule!  Yay, getting stuff done together! Yay!

It happened. Sort of.

We actually did (most of) what we said we would do. We painted the nursery to be!

But... we did not paint the closet (ran out of blue paint and gumption) nor have we painted the trim (the carpet's pile is too high to be able to do a decent job) and we did not remove the closet door...

Here are some befores:
(But first, a warning. I just got a new iTouch and all the photos are from that. So not very high quality and pretty grainy. WTF on the iTouch having a crappier camera than the iPhone.)

That photo was taken at night. I swear the room was not neon yellow.

And here it was during the day- this is definitely closer to the buttery yellow it used to be.

Ready for it? Here are some as it is now. I'm not saying after, because this is most definitely not finished. Or anywhere close to being finished. But, at least we are making progress. We have 5 months to get to the after stage. It will happen! I have faith (and an inflexible deadline- give or take a few weeks).

I primed the trim. I have the paint. It will just take some time (and carpet removal) before the trim is a nice glossy white.

This would be the sunrise from one of the windows in the nursery. If that apartment building wasn't there we would have a killer view of Mt. Rainer. But it is, so we don't.

We were planning to rip out the old carpet this weekend, but we did a little test to see what was underneath (hoping for nice hardwood floors). What we found was wood. But it was not nice. It was some sort of sub-flooring. It was definitely a bit lower than the wood floors in the hallway, the planks were wider, and not so pretty or shiny. Oh, well. It was a fun idea.

Now we are going to look into getting the carpet replaced. I think we will go to Lowe's tomorrow to get some info and figure out costs.

The major questions are:

• Should we replace just the nursery carpet or all the bedrooms?
• Should we tear out the old carpet ourselves and remove it or have the installers do it? It will really depend on the cost for that... It sure would be nice to have them do it all for us, but I have no idea what that will do to the expense.
• If we do the other rooms, where will be put all the furniture during the installation process? 
• If we do the other rooms, should we pay to have them move the furniture in and out? After all, pregnant peeps are suppose to avoid heavy lifting and all that. So Bill would have to a one man show on moving furniture (or enlist the help of some very nice friends).
• And, of course, there are those super basic questions that revolve around style, color, pile, yada yada.

Hopefully our trip tomorrow will be enlightening and not frustrating. Also, hopefully, it will be far cheaper than all the dollar signs that are currently floating about in my noggin. I mean, it can't be that expensive, right? Rentals get the carpet redone fairly often and what not.

Any advice out there? I some of you out there have gone through this already and have awesome advice to send our way. Right? Right????

It's Happening

We really are going to paint the nursery this weekend! The fun will start today and, my guess, be finished up tomorrow. At the moment we are on hold, because Bill is sleeping (he had to work a night shift last night). Once he gets up and gets his coffee, we are gonna get to work.
Are you ready for it?

Nursery Colors- for reals this time

After much hemming and hawing (I think) we have made a decision. Are you ready to see the wondrous colors for the nursery?

Here they are in all their glory:

Sigh, aren't they lovely? The top one is By the Sea and the bottom is Secret Passage. They are from Olympic  Paint (a line carried at Lowe's). Best part? Zero VOCs, even after tinting. Yay! That means it will be safe for me to paint, and no toxic fumes will be coming off the walls (and into baby's lungs). The ceiling will be By the Sea and the walls will be Secret Passage... except, for the walls in the closet which will be By the Sea (to mix things up and to copy the Youngsters). The trim will be white (haven't picked a precise shade, we may just use what we already have sitting around).

And here are some pretty gray nurseries. However, none are as rad as mine will be, because they are all lacking one key element. The aqua ceiling. Boo-yah!

Source:

1 Baby Bedding

2&3 Copy Cat Chic

4 Decor Pad

5&6 My Mod Baby

7 The Bump

8 The Crafty Nest

I also found another potential Etsy wall decal maker: WallDecors. I'm still loving the birch decals, which I guess is fitting since we planted a birch out front last year.

I like to pretend that we will paint the nursery next weekend, since it is a 3 day weekend in honor of MLK. However, it is only a 3 day weekend for me, not so much for the hubs. Which is why I am only pretending. You never know, I could surprise you (and me) and actually get it done.


P.S. Whaddya think of the new layout? Yay or nay? The header is currently pretty damn boring, but having a super awesome header would require time and effort in photoshop, and that is just not my forte. 

Doula or No Doula?

There was one thing on the fetus' wish list for Christmas: a doula. And lucky for the fetus, Nei Nei and Yai Yai delivered (that would be the grandparents-to-be on my side). No, there wasn't a lady with a bow on her head tucked under the tree, but there was a doula certificate tucked into a stocking.

So, this week Bill and I have interviewed a couple of doulas. Both women were very nice, knowledgeable, and professional... but, now we just aren't sure if we really want a doula or not.

If the birth goes according to plan, we will deliver at the Birthing Inn and will be attended by (one of) my midwives and a birthing assistant (who is also a trained doula). However, the assistant would be a stranger, we don't meet them until the birth (I think it just depends who is on call) and if we have our own doula (in addition to the birthing inn assistant) than it would be another familiar face. But... it would still be kind of redundant to have two doulas at the birth.

If the birth does not go according to plan, as in, I become high risk due to gestational diabetes or blood pressure or deliver super early or... then I would not be able to deliver at the birthing inn. I would have to transfer to a- gasp- hospital. And if that was the case I would totally want a doula. The hospital definitely does not provide one for you. Instead you get a nurse, but come shift change you get a new nurse. There are no shift changes at the birthing inn. The people who start with me are the people who see my through.

The other thing to consider is if I do become high risk it would happen so late in the game that I most likely would not be able to find an available doula. They only book a couple of clients a month. Now is definitely the time to get one... if we are going to get one. 

Everyone who I have talked to that has used a doula had a great experience. I have never heard of anyone regretting getting a doula. I have heard of people who didn't use one for their first, but when (and if) the second comes along they will totally get one. Of course, I also know people who did not use a doula and were just fine with it. Bill and I plan on looking into the Bradley method- it sounds like the dad does the duties of the doula. We are going to borrow a book from some friends, who highly recommend it.

You see my dillemma. Do we get a doula or not? Do we plan for the plan to go smoothly? Or, do we plan for the plan to fall through? Doulas don't come cheap and there are definitely other things we could spend that money on (if Nei Nei and Yai Yai okay it, that is). We could outfit the nursery and then some (hello crib, dresser, changing table, and all that good stuff).

Sigh, I just don't know. Doula or no doula?

Goodbye sweet glorious vacation. Hello work.

Today marks the last day of winter break. Sighhhhhh (that was a really big sigh, in case you couldn't tell by the excess of Hs). Tomorrow I go back to work. I am so not ready for that to happen. Winter break goes by so quickly. I was envisioning that I would have a lot more down town this break, but notsomuch. These last two weeks have been jampacked with friends and family and doing stuff. It was lots of fun, but as per uze, I did not get done all the stuff I had hoped to get down around the house. Story of my life, I suppose.

To start break off there were a lot of trips to the mall. Our exchange student, Liza, flew home two days after xmas and needed to get gifts for everyone back home. I did my first dint of maternity clothes shopping while she searched the mall for gifts. I got a lot of good basics at Motherhood Maternity and one cute shirt at H&M.

On the first Monday of break we also took her to Zoolights at out local zoo. It was a nice night to go, no rain, but very chilly.

The next day was my first appointment with the midwives. It was a pretty short appointment, since it was just establishing care. I didn't even meet with a midwife, just a nurse and we went over all my intake information. Then that afternoon we took Liza into Seattle to see some of the sights. We went to the Market and poked around. After that we took the monorail to Seattle Center and looked around there. We ate dinner at the restaurant at the top of the Space Needle. Of course, it was Liza's first time there, but it was also WM's. He had never been to the top before! So it was a real treat to eat up there and enjoy the beautiful views. After dinner we went up one floor to the observation deck.

The next morning, Liza and I took the train down to Oregon to spend time with family. Wm wasn't able to come down until Christmas eve because he had to work. It was nice to spend time with family and friends we don't get to see as often as we would like. We headed back north on Sunday, because Liza flew back home to the Netherlands on Monday, and Wm had to work Sunday night. Sunday was mostly spent trying to cram all of Liza's belongings into her one suitcase. Monday we got up early and took her to the airport. After we got back home we just lazed around. WM was pretty tired from working the night shift, and I was just worn out from all the go-go-going.

On Tuesday we decided the time had come... for us to get a new TV. We have had the same crappy hand me down tv for years. We have put up with its floating discoloration spots and super dark picture. WM and I had made a deal that when he finished building a new entertainment system we would buy a new TV. But, here we are with a new TV and an unfinished entertainment system down in the basement. Eventually (hopefully this month) we will have an entertainment system like this only in a different color (photo and plans from Knock Off Wood):

On Wednesday, WM went to work. I met up with him and a coworker for lunch, and then I headed out to the Super Mall for maternity shopping. There have a Motherhood Maternity outlet and the closest Old Navy that carries maternity. I got tons of stuff. My hope is that I am basically set for the next 6+ months.

On Thursday, I prepped the house for guests. I had to clean out the rest of the stuff in Liza's room and make it back into a guest room. I also got the second guest room ready and just kind of picked up the house in general. That evening some friends arrived from Oregon.

Of course the next day was NYE. We went out to our favorite bar and played our favorite game (Big Game Hunter) and everyone (except me) enjoyed delicious microbrews. That night we had two more visitors arrive from Oregon. We ate good food and they enjoyed good beers, which I would sample but not drink.

New Years Day everyone was pretty worn out, so we headed out to get yummy bfast food at Alfred's Cafe where one of our good friends is the head chef. It was jam packed, looks like we weren't the only ones who wanted good grub the morning after partying. The rest of the day was pretty low key. Two of guest headed back down to Oregon. WM and I took Ralph for a nice long walk. And other than that we vegged out in front of our new tv with our friends and just kind of took it easy.

Which brings us to today. Sunday. Our guests headed out this morning and now WM and I are enjoying the last few hours we have together before he has to go to work. We will talk the Ralphster out for another walk in a bit. I'm doing laundry and right now WM is playing videogames.

I have made a slight amount of progress on the nursery. I emptied out the closet in that room. That had been where I was storing all of my clothes (gotta love old houses and their postage stamp sized closets, right?). I packed up all my non-maternity clothing (at least the ones that I don't think will work) and moved the rest into a different closet. The plan is to get a free standing armoire to put in our bedroom and install an organizational system in the closet that is in there so that both WM and I can keep out wardrobes in our bedroom (how convenient would that be?).

There you have it. My winter break in a (pretty large) nutshell. I had hoped to empty out the nursery completely, paint it, rip up the carpet in there (and the other guest rooms) as well as paint the living room. But, none of those things even remotely happened. The good news is that soon WMs work schedule is changing and we will have a lot more time together on the weekends. I am very very very much looking forward to this. Perhaps we will be able to get some projects done together on our (ready for this?) weekends at home.