29 weeks: She was right!

My OB promised me at last month’s visit that I would NOT gain another nine pounds this month.  She thought I’d gain less and that the weight gain would even out.  I said later that I should have asked her to put money on that, knowing how huge I got during my first pregnancy.  Well, she was right… I did not gain nine pounds again this month.  Instead, I gained TEN.  My blood pressure is good.  The baby’s heart rate is good. (In case you aren’t keeping track, this means I’ve now gained 28 pounds already.  Go me.)

Click me for the full size version...

My OB also says I’m still moving well for someone so pregnant.  (Are ya kidding me?) I can’t get out of my own way, and I need a running start just to roll over in bed, but I’m not in a position to turn down compliments at this point. Which is why I was delighted the other day when Ian screamed “YOU’RE BEAUTIFUL!” at his top volume (which, for those who haven’t heard it, is pretty loud!) and then flung himself at me like he’d been shot out of a cannon.  Love you too, son.

At this appointment I also took my first (actually, first for most people… I had one at 8 weeks because of my history) glucose tolerance test and am waiting for the news that I’ve flunked it, as expected. Trying to explain Gestational Diabetes to my three year old is like pushing ropes… you can’t tell if you’re making any progress.  (So, okay sweetie, I don’t look sick, I don’t feel sick, but I might have to go to the doctor A LOT and you and Mommy may be going for a lot of walks and there’s going to be weird stuff that Mommy has to do, but don’t worry, okay? Okay?)

We’re still waiting for the results… should be soon.  Keep your fingers crossed for me!

PS: I failed the 1 hour test by three points.  I’ll be taking the three hour test next week.  I’ll keep you posted.

Overheard today…

Claire D: This is my baby brother. He grew in my mommy’s tummy. He’s crawling now.
Gregory: This is my baby brother. He grew in my mommy’s tummy too!
Ian: His name is Thomas. See? This is Thomas! Here he is!
Me: Ian, tell them where your baby brother is.
Ian: Oh yes! He’s growing in my mommy’s tummy.
Claire D: Gregory, Ian’s baby brother is in his mommy’s tummy.  Come on, you wanna feel? Let’s go feel him!

My love affair with paint continues!

I done told you that I love you, and there ain’t no more to say.  Just LOOK:

Basement Bathroom: Before

Basement Bathroom: During

PS: Thank you sweetie for getting started on this last night!

PPS: YES I am having an issue with some of the images on my blog.  My uploader apparently can’t handle images that are too big properly- so even though they’ve uploaded and they display just great in emails, sometimes they load on the page and… sometimes they don’t.  I plan to scale and replace them as my time allows, and I’m trying to get the upload problem fixed.  Sorry!

Playroom Upgrades: Installment #2

Does it seem like I’m getting a little frantic on The New Playroom? Well, I do have a deadline, and this is just one of the dominoes that needs to fall into place. We need to shift, both physically and mentally, some load to accommodate a new human being. That means, bring the planned playroom to fruition, create a separate space downstairs for hubby’s office, move hubby’s office out of our third bedroom, and, last but not least, set up the baby’s room. Whew, I’m tired just looking at that sentence.

As for The New Playroom, you may remember that last summer I had started paint swatching and deep cleaning with the intention of doing a major makeover in the basement before the snow flew. Clearly, that plan was derailed. Mainly by my first trimester, during which I felt well enough to do precisely NOTHING. Except, apparently, keep Ian alive. Hey, you live with a splitting headache for 12 weeks and see how you pull it off.

Which brings me to the latest “tick” on the list of “what must happen before this baby comes,” and that is that I have made over the second piece of basement furniture! Once again, paint covers a multitude of sins! I have completed the makeover on piece of furniture number 2 for The New Playroom. I’ve reached that point where a project in one part of your house means the REST of your house must be completely trashed for some reason no one fully understands, but hopefully we can get there before I lose my mind. We have 12 weeks (okay, technically, we have 12 weeks- probably actually 11 weeks total, with maybe five or six of them being weeks when I can actually do anything other than try not to hurt anyone because I’m so miserable in my enormous, pregnant body) to go!

Here’s today’s installment of the “Before and After.”

Freecycle Bookcase: Before!
Freecycle Bookcase: After!

Pulled it off!

At the start of this project (and, as you’ll see, during the rocky phase) I figured that this project would either succeed brilliantly or fail spectacularly.  We’ve decided that the verdict is that it’s a success.

I purchased this dresser ages ago at Goodwill in Wooster, OH for the grand sum of $10.  I promptly stripped it, and then, suffering from terminal indecision, never refinished it at all.  It had been sporting, in addition to its original blond finish, neon green and dark mud brown paint layers.  Someone had replaced the original hardware.  Judging by what they replaced it with, this is because the original pulls were not ugly enough.  The effect, with the dated brass hardware accessorizing a piece of furniture adorned by spots of neon green showing where the dark mud brown was damaged, was hideous.  Also, it was most likely the reason the dresser was only $10.

I’m truly, deeply sorry that I have neither a photo of the dresser in its original (to me) state, nor a photo of the look on my first husband’s face when I informed him he’d be helping me take that thing home.

What I do have are photos of how it has looked for the last seven years or so:

Archimedes and The Dresser.

The naked drawers with their original (to me) hardware.

This dresser has been hanging around unfinished for so long that it’s sustained some minor wear and tear, and I actually considered tossing it to the Freecycle wilderness and shopping for a replacement.  But I eventually decided that since it was a sturdy piece that I actually do like, as far as its bones go, I would finally refinish it to serve as toy storage in The New Playroom.  The New Playroom which, in case you were not aware, must be finished before this baby arrives or it will be another three years before I’m up to doing it.

Ian announced that he wanted the dresser to be “BLUE!” Blue is actually on the list of colors in the “color scheme” for the new playroom, so that was fine with me.  My original thought was that since I had stripped it, I’d use a tinted stain.  Well, I don’t know if the problem is that the dresser has been naked to the world and soaking up stuff for seven years, or if I didn’t do a proper job of the stripping so it would hold stain, or if I’m just massively unimpressed with the colored stain I bought, but it seems unlikely that I’ll attempt this again any time soon.  Because this is what I got:

Nice... not.

Did you happen to spot that there are extra holes for the drawer pulls?  Yeah, that’s how we knew the original hardware had been replaced.  The fact that someone drilled new holes and… never filled the old ones.  AWESOME!  I’m proud to be a part of this process.

So, having concluded that stain was not for me, I proceeded to the nearest Home Depot, where I shelled out a few extra dollars for the Behr paint plus primer.  I also grabbed some new hardware.  Here you have the result:

Under most circumstances, I’d find this color combo a bit strident, but I have two thoughts on this.  One, this is for a playroom for two small boys.  (Okay, one small boy and one soon-to-be small boy.)  Two, I’m pulling my colors from an “inspiration piece,” and if they’re good enough for Vincent VanGogh… well, I guess they’re good enough for me.

Stay tuned for more on The New Playroom.

Don’t Go Without Me!

Firemen always travel prepared. There's no way we're running short on matchbox cars on this walk.

Ian insisted he didn’t want to go on a walk until I said I’d go by myself.  “Don’t go without me!” After some elaborate preparations, we were off.  Turns out, a backpack full of matchbox cars makes a really fun noise when you jump over the cracks in the sidewalk.

Quotable Moment: “No Daddy, don’t walk on the grass.  That’s MY job.”

Current Weather Conditions:

Distance traveled: 0.95 miles

Current Total Distance Traveled: 6.55 miles

I owe the babies: $3.28

A Little Thrifty Upgrade

When I got my new desk, I originally stole a lamp out of my bedroom to sit in the corner.  The desk was a very welcome Freecycle score, since my old one was literally falling to pieces; then I put a different, homeless lamp into the bedroom.  Although I like that other lamp and it is visually imposing, if I’m reading in bed I can’t reach the switch to turn it off.  So I’ve been on the prowl for a replacement lamp that would liberate my “stolen” one back to my bedside table.

Today at the thrift store they were having 50% off a lot of items.  This lamp did not have a shade, and this shade had a really ugly lamp.  Since they were on sale, I bought them both, donated back the ugly lamp, and here I am typing by the light of one really cute lamp.  And my bedroom can have its matching lamps back.  That’s $15.56 well spent, in my opinion.  Since Mommy cannot come home from the thrift store with nothing for Mister, Ian is loving the dump truck, too.

And if you are wondering about those darling little hats, they are not my work.  They are an early baby gift for which my dear friend Joan can expect a lovely thank you note.  And some day probably a really cute picture of a chubby face wearing them.

Today Will Go Down In History…

as The Day Mommy Bought Me A Happy Meal.

Milk, apples, a hamburger, and the clincher: A crappy plastic toy onto which Mommy DID put every single itty bitty, eensy weensy, totally ridiculous little sticker because I asked her to.

Yes, fast food is normally a Daddy Only (aka: Over My Dead Body) experience, but we were running late for bedtime, he was hungry, and I hadn’t fixed him any dinner yet.  So I shelled out my dollar bills and handed him his Happy Meal.  Much to his delight.