A last minute shabby chic approach

A. Bought sturdy bookshelf on Craigslist:$20

B.  Sanded top and distressed parts



C.  Pecan stained top

D. Stained exposed wood and all-over rub.

 E. Antiqued, dinked, and distressed. Done!

F.  Applied flat Clear coat All over

Okay, now Done!

For baby's room. 

38 Weeks and still chuggin' along

(you can almost feel the excitement in my eyes that i've lasted this long!) :o/

-Braxton Hicks have become a little stronger and stay a little longer.
-some changes "down under"
- increased dreams of delivery
-feeling the need(more than ever) to get the baby's room done
-belly feels droopy

Saturday at the Zoo

        Went to "Boo at the Zoo" with Rachel and Rob and Nancy.  We are thankful for the free passes provided by R&R (aka. Rachel & Rob).  Weather was cool and lazy.  M had her share of fun.  Daddy had his fair share of pushing.(me).  And I had my fair share of sitting and being carted around.(who you kidding?! A preggo @ 38 weeks, trekking around the zoo, for 4 HOURS! ForGet iT!!!) 
I'll be brief...but I'll tell you the good parts...

 Men and their Chit, chat.

 Ah, mother and child side by side.lol .nice to be the one pushed around

Family Photo

See, I told you it was a beautiful day

Grandma & M lookin @ the eagles

"Finally! Im free!...c'mon, I'll show you the way"

Petting Zoo

                                                                 "Im bloated,...too much pizza!"

She is teeter-tottering on the idea of liking it or not

                                                             
                                                    Waiting in line for a cool, refreshing, expensive Icee

They eat pumpkins...................................................................We drink Icee's

                               you ask..."was the 15 minute wait to see the Koala's worth it???" nah, not really.

        
                                                      But who doesn't like the teeny-faced monkey?!?!?!

                                           A brief intermission (potty break) but for Daddy it was Cart #22

                                                   I thought the backdrop was cute and fun...so what the heck! we took a pic

                                               ...and while in the Village we spotted some peacocks

                                  ...Or perhaps they spotted us...

                                               ...Grandma Nancy...

A pretty funny inside joke while looking at this scene of long-horned bulls.  The first Bull was hesitant to cross the stream hence, causing a "traffic Jam".  We kept making up all kinds of commentary....Like:
                                           "Hey, you blockhead, you're holding up the line!!"
                                                                      and
                                                           " Beep, Beep!"

                                                         Way upon the Hill stood Mr. Giraffe..just soaking the scene

                                                            The Fairest One of All

                      Boy, these prairie dogs were funny.  So tubby yet so cute, aint nothing like this on Nature

                                                                 ....The End....



First come, First serve

 Yardsales are all about..."First come, First serve".  And I love the fact that I found the object of my desire that wasn't known to me just until 5 minutes ago.Ah the truth...hahaha...you laugh because it happens to the best of us.  You walk away so happy because you were the one...the one that got there first to see it or its potential...and now you take it home! Goal!... Hole in One!.... Score!!!

Its funny because we are so caught up in the "joy" of it all that we don't fathom that the 5 minutes before your arrival someone walked off with a Gucci Purse for $4.  But see thats what is so great about yardsales...ignorance is bliss.  Ignorant of the fact that you didn't know you needed it until you saw it ~ OR~ Ignorant of the fact that someone else already came and walked off with whatever "it" was. 

And the 2nd best thing???  Negotiation is the Key to success of a "good buy/find".  Its the best feeling when the asking price was $5.00 and you talked it down to $2.00.  Its like discovering a  power that you never knew you had inside you.  I imagine it being like if you went up to the cashier in walmart and said I would like this sony player for $$$ and they countered it with "well, how about $$$" and then YOU counter with $$$ and boom, its SOLD.  Its almost a naughty feeling...like stealing, but whomever you are stealing from is okay with it.  So then i guess it doesn't make it stealing...but its that feeling of "I got a steal!". 

Well heres what it boils down to...my finale!  I am just so proud that I have to share...I am so high...I am on cloud 9!

These babies were originally $2 for the two. The yardsale was in my neighborhood and when I visited they were still unloading stuff.  I didn't see anything that I could use or needed ...however I did note the 2 jars sitting on the table but I couldn't see any use for them.  So I left. I got home, unpacked my Sprout's bags pulling out my bagged granola, sea salt, Quinoa, etc when it hit me...."I wish i had something to put these in,...some jars or something".  Oh boy, then I realized I really would like those lidded jars so that I can put my granola and such in them to store in my pantry.  So as I went back to get them it turned out there were 3 more jars added to the table.

"good things come to those who wait" rang in my head.  I was beside myself and even happier when i asked how much for all and he said $2!!! In this case, I didn't see it fit to talk down b/c the $ was already a steal. I see plastic ones like these all the time at store for $10bucks a piece.

Now bleached, washed, and dried they are ready for use.  Aren't they purrty?!

These here I got two weeks back at another yardsale just for $2!  I had been wanting an end table and another table to put into the baby's room. Man did I score or what?!?!

A Happy Me indeed!

36 weeks, 4 to go

      So as we are nearing the end its been rather difficult to do daily things.  Such as anything with a sink(washing hands, etc).  The belly has become preventative now.  Some things include:

• holding M
•  seeing spilt food upon shirt
•  joy of marriage
•  dish washing 
•  about every clothing item
•  cooking on stovetop 
• any counter really  
• enjoying church
  
  
  
  
  WARNING: (Turn away now if you don't want to bother with my pregnancy at this point)
  
  
  This is starting to wear on me.  The pains aren't helping either.  A week or so ago I began feeling the aches in my "butt bones" as I tend to call them.  Doc says that is the norm; bones moving to make way for baby's passage.  You'd think i would remember these details from my last pregnancy but ironically im don't.
  
  My right side of belly is bigger than my left. This is due to her normal position in my belly; with her butt and feet next to my right ribs. Oh, did I mention they ache too?  She tends to like kicking/tickling that side alot...its REALLY annoying.  I remember at this point in my pregnancy with M that my belly visibly became lop-sided.  Well so be it with this one too.  My belly no longer resembles the perfect round basket ball...its more of an egg shape. :o( 
   I waddle too. Yup, just like penguins do.  Its embarrassing but Tin man kind of walks the same way...and i do feel a lot like Tin man with all me rusted hinges en' all!  And don't get me started on the tail bone! Ooooooh it hurts. It hurts! Its starting to feel like I have an abscess on it...like its swollen er something. 
  
  
  
  
  The turkey timer is still as protruding as ever.(AKA belly button).  I hate it.  I feel like im exposing something that shouldn't be exposed.  Its kinda the feeling when yr woo whoos get hard and you notice them through your shirt. Yeah, embarrassing right?! (sigh) But hey, at least soon that will be the least of my problems.
   Im starting to get excited about her being here and getting back to my norm again...but with that also comes the realization that life as I know it will never be the same.  All my current freedoms, gone.  I don't think Im ready for that yet...so I try to be happy with the aches/pains/lack of sleep/killing feet/ fat appearance/40 xtra lbs/exhaustion/and anemia.  Oh yeah, i forgot to mention, I am anemic again.  Darn too! Cause I thought I was getting away with it this time.  My glucose came back normal but not my iron. Can't win em' all i guess. However, I do have to note that it has not been nearly as bad as I was expecting.  I am not nearly as tired as I was with M.
  
  
    
  
   This baby has had a noted growth spurt.  On a Thursday my uterus measured 26 weeks perfectly on the dot. Came in the following Tuesday with an issue and my uterus measured 28 weeks. YIKES! I knew i wasn't crazy...I was sure my stretch marks were way more itchy.   
   My ankles and feet for the past 2 weeks have begun retaining water. Up until a few days ago my back hadn't hurt...now its at a subtle constant ache.
   I've begun the midnight wakes with feeling like I can't breath.  I just sit up a bit, regain my steady breathing, and lie back down again.  Ain't no lie, its crowded in there.
  
   Preparing

  
   As of late, my favorite things to do is Yardsale-ing(yardsaling, yard sale ing...aw whatever).  Getting up super early sat morning and driving around to all the local yardsales looking for good finds.  Do I dare share my findings? Okay, why not.
  •  2 three-legged round tables for $2.00
  • Gucci purse for $4.00 (its fake but I love it!)
  • 2 shirts for $1.50
  • spool of red satin ribbon .50cents
  • new glue gun .25cents 
  •  new lawn chair $1.00 
  •  lampshade to replace my broken one $1.00 
  • electric sander for $3
  It all started with this need to find a bookshelf for the baby's room and the table...which i got.  I've seen many yardsales with those darn plasterboard shelves but I wanted something sturdy and real.  Something  belly high and about 1 1/2yards across.  I need it to store stuff in the nursery:.  Heres an example:
  
  
  
  
  
  I did see a changing table...but it was in poor condition and would have been difficult to sand. Those do have some shelf space on them but the rest is worthless since I can't change babies perpendicularly. Do you or anyone you know have a bookshelf they don't want or could part with for a few bucks??? I need one quick.  My new sander would come in handy...can't wait to use it!
   I finally figured and bought the paint for the baby's room!  Thats a big step for me. . Now just painting it.  And i've got to get on the ball.  M came on the day i turned 37 weeks.  So Im thinking I'd better get into gear.  I don't think she'll be coming like M did...just because I have not lost any plug nor have I been nesting.  However Im not due till November but I do feel like she may be here before Halloween.  Or maybe in the back of my mind Im just wishing.  
  
  
  
  
  -aezra