The Nursery!

All the baby showers have been had, and oh boy, were they fun and amazing and a reminder to me of how God provides beyond our needs. With not only "stuff", but with the love and support of so many wonderful women, who have encouraged me in the faith and in the future journey of being a mommy. I am forever grateful to these women who allow God to use them as faithful stewards in the home. They are true servants.

Ok! So here are some pics of the nursery. D and I finally got everything put together (at least for the moment. I know you moms are thinking, "HA! Put together! Enjoy THAT while it lasts."). So the room is set up, semi-decorated, diapered  and wiped out, and ready for occupancy! JUST in case Baby DJ decides to come a week or so early...which mommy wouldn't mind;)

The crib we got from craigslist that matches the changing table. I love the finials on the posts- stars and moons:)

My rocking and nursing corner. Rocking chair was 15 dollars at a garage sale! What a steal. Might get one of those fancy gliders later on, but in the meantime, we are going to try this beauty out.

The bookcase containing most of Baby's toys, swaddling blankets, books, and a cute piggy bank that CiCi bought. Gotta start saving early, right? College is expensive!

Changing table, baskets of diapers, super soft changing pad, polka dotted Boppy pillow, and a Diaper Champ that a wonderful friend from church is letting us borrow:)

My dad had this white dresser when he was little. We had my aunt paint flowers on it when I was little, and I recently added the funky green and zebra knobs. It's got a sound machine, clock, cute little monkey shoes, and a picture frame just waiting for a cute baby face to go in it! On the door hangs a super cool matted print that says simply "Love". Cuz that's all you need, right?

Bought this curtain from Pier One recently after getting married. Thought I would use it (plus it was on SALE! haha), but never did. Well, it came in handy finally. Mom and D hung this up to cover the closet (we took out the super-hard-to-slide-doors), as well as the soft and sheer dotted curtains over the windows.

The baby bedding was made for me by an amazingly talented friend (not the sheets). It is so soft and just what i was looking for. The sheets say "i love mommy. mommy loves me. I love daddy. daddy loves me"...we are starting early on the subtle subconscious mind-controlling. The bear is from Meme (great grandma) and the giraffe is from CiCi (grandma). The hat was made by another amazing friend. She's in med school and planning her own wedding, so i'm pretty amazed she had time to make such a cute owl hat!

can't wait to put a picture in that frame and little feet in those shoes!

As full of a picture as i could get.

Three more weeks and this room will never look this clean again! So enjoy it while it lasts, right? Now, onto filling the hospital bags and writing the birth plan...(Plan??)

Top Five Things I Get to Blame on Crazy Pregnancy Hormones:

1. Running my car full speed into my parents’ house (brick wall and garage door=totaled). Yes, this happened. Technically, I was two weeks pregnant, so I can now blame that incident on the body’s preparation for the babe. 
2.   Fast food cravings- McDonald’s, SONIC, Wendy’s and Taco Bell in one week=seriously? I don’t think I’d been to ANY of those in months, if not years for some. I was actually driving thru KFC the other day, on a particularly snowy day, craving one of those mashed potato bowls where they add the popcorn chicken (kinda craving that now, actually). The lady in front of me was taking FOREVER. Finally, i pulled up. Waited a minute. Yelled some tentative "hello?"'s into the speaker. The line behind me was getting longer. HELLO?? No answer. So i pulled around, only to find a flyer taped on the window that said they were closed due to the snow. Why they put the flyer there and not on the drive-thru speaker is beyond me. 
3. Erratic sleeping patterns and excessive sleeping. Really, it’s hard to want to do anything but sleep when you don’t feel well. Sad, but true. Last night, i stayed up reading a cookbook that my husband won at a church auction years back. It was all these Dutch names and strange recipe combos. "Recipes and Remembrances: Celebrating 100 Years Lebanon Christian Reformed Church". I will have to do an excerpt on some of the strangest recipe ideas they have in there.
4. Taking special trips to the grocery store for that “one thing” you just have to have! Or the only thing that remotely sounds edible.
5. Crying at virtually any song I hear. There’s always a line in the song where I reach my “breaking point” and I all of the sudden choke up. Sometimes it’s completely random. For instance, take the line that choked me up when I was listening to Jason Wade’s “You Belong to Me”: … “fly the ocean in a silver plane…” Yep. The silver plane got me.

In reference to #2, I got great advice from a friend who has had 5 little ones of her own: Eat whatever junk food you want in the first trimester, because you are likely to never want those foods again after it’s over! Excellent. I’m already disgusted by tots. Chicken nuggets, on the other hand…let’s hope that craving goes away;) 

And then i heard that they put the equivalent of SAND in the taco meat at Taco Bell... there's just no way i can get over that mental picture. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Does_Taco_bell_meat_have_sand . 

Oh, and it's snowing just beautifully outside today here in Wichita, Kansas...

You’re Gonna Need to Check That Extra Baggage…

…and let’s hope it’s under 50 pounds. Yes, I am carrying a parcel. A little human the size of an orange is resting inside me just below my navel. Right now, the cost of this carrying this baggage seems high, especially when the nausea sets in. But I KNOW beyond a doubt that it will seem exponentially lower once I am holding Little Orange in my arms.

 What have I learned so far in this process of being pregnant?

*Determining a baby’s due date is a little different than just counting nine months away from conception. Who knew?

*I have WAY too many names on my list, and I am WAY too obsessed with thinking of names and first-middle combinations. I will easily stay up all night, thinking of names.

*Morning sickness is not just in the morning. Darn.

*There is no cure-all for the “ickiness” of pregnancy, but there are some helpful temporary remedies. Here’s what’s worked for me:

-Apple cider vinegar- about a shot glass a day interspersed within a few glasses of White-Cranberry-Strawberry juice.

-Phosfood liquid drops- about 4-5 drops in a glass of ice water. Gives the water a slight bright yellow tint, but the taste is virtually non-existent.

-Papaya pills- these chewable pills are great for after meals, especially if you have something spicy.

-I’ve HEARD blackstrap molasses is great for what ails ya, but I have not yet conquered the fear of swallowing this thick goo. So I can’t personally recommend it. Maybe someday I will get desperate enough to try itJ.

-Eating small bites of something bland throughout the night and day- especially so it doesn’t hit you like a freight train when you wake up in the morning. I like KIX or a piece of gluten-free bread.

-Doing some yoga or going for a walk outside in the fresh air.

-Sleeping with a heating pad. I put in on my neck and shoulder-area.

-Drinking sips of water throughout the day and not drinking a whole lot during meals.

-Eating small meals. About 6 a day.

-Sometimes the only thing that helps is lying down and praying you will wake up feeling better.

*The first trimester blues are sometimes encored into the second trimester. Some even have it into the third. It’s different for everyone. AND even though your mother and grandmothers did not have a LICK of morning sickness DOESN’T secure you a spot in that coveted group. Darn Tootin’,

*The best pregnant food ever is Mike’s Wine Dive’s Parmesan Encrusted Chicken Caesar Salad. Hold the dressing. Can’t get enough.

*Having mom nearby=priceless. I have quite the servant-hearted mother, and she is quick to come to my aid when I need her.

*I have the most servant-hearted husband in the world. He is loving me through his acts of service and kindness. It can’t be fun having a sick wife all of the time, but God has blessed me with a man who seeks God’s will and to glorify Him. Ladies, appreciate the men God has given you and let them know how much you appreciate them. I assure you that they won’t tire of the deserved praise.