36 Weeks and Hating Nail Polish

Aside from all the morning sickness and crazy emotions and all the normal pregnancy things that happen to everybody, I have had the STRANGEST aversion to nail polish. 

Let me start off by saying that I don't think I have gone more than one hour without polish on my toes in the last 13 years. That is not hyperbole people, that is real truth.

For some strange reason after I found out I was pregnant last August, I took off my "end of summer" coral toe polish and I haven't painted the darn things since. I think I was a little paranoid about chemicals and what-have-you in the beginning. Which also caused me to go a few days sans deodorant and I even tried washing my face with olive oil. Fortunately for everyone, that ended pretty quickly and I am happily back together with my Secret and anything Sephora has to offer my skin. 

But not nail polish.

I keep thinking I will get the urge to grab a new spring color or go get a pedicure but I don't. And I certainly don't have the energy to contort my body so that my hands reach my feet for three coats and a sealer. 

Life is so weird. 

Part of me feels a little embarrassed that my toes are naked but the other part feels sort of liberated. Does this mean I'm becoming a feminist? Doubt it. 

I'm pretty sure I'll get them painted before James comes. I'll paint them for the same reason I laid out at the beach Friday to get a tan, and am hoping my bangs grow out a little more, and have written down in 12 different places not to forget my makeup bag and CHI when we leave for the hospital... 

Because infant boys ALWAYS care that their moms are tanned and coiffed. Duh.

Please don’t hate me as much as I hate myself for writing that.

Anyhow, here is what's going on at 36 weeks gestation!

How far along?  36 whole weeks.

Baby is the size of... honeydew melon.

Best moment this week?  Going to the beach on Friday!

Miss anything?  I miss sleeping on my back and stomach.

Movement?  Big ones! I swear I feel a little foot sometimes.

Sleep?  I sleep really well when I am asleep, I just hate having to get up or roll over a billion times a night.

Food cravings?  Ice. Ice. Ice.

What makes you queasy/sick?  Nada.

Other symptoms?  Hating nail polish??

Looking forward to... Andrew’s parents coming this weekend, our Dr. apt on Tuesday, and finishing the nursery!

Just a little more nursery progress....!!!

Andrew Weekend

We spent Monday-Thursday acting like it was Friday night so by the time the weekend actually rolled around we were plum tired. 

I had been wanting to take some time to have an Andrew weekend where he got to pick everything we did and I would cook him anything he wanted or take him anywhere he wanted to go. I just thought it would be fun to celebrate what a great husband and soon to be dad he is. And let's face it... every weekend is Charlotte weekend and the boy deserves a break once in a while.

Late Friday afternoon we decided this would be a good weekend to do it since he didn't have to work Saturday so we headed to the grocery store to get all the things to fulfill his requests. He chose Buffalo Chicken Macaroni and Cheese (say that 5 times fast) for Friday and steak, twice baked potatoes, Caesar salad and homemade brownies for Saturday. Man food.

We came home and I got to cooking and he got to sanding a piece of furniture that we had been putting off painting for a good six weeks. He got a coat of primer on it and we sat down to eat and I honestly can't remember what happened after that. I guess we went to bed.

Andrew got up ridiculously early Saturday and I slept until 9. We had coffee and he finished a big research paper. We continued working on the piece of furniture and confirmed the fact that I can't paint anything in less than 9000 very thin coats of paint. And it's still not finished.

He decided he wanted leftover Buffalo Chicken Macaroni and Cheese for lunch and to go to City Park. So we did. When we got there, there were about 2 billion other people there because someone decided to get married and someone else decided to have a barbecue competition. 

We spent 15 minutes finding a parking spot and 10 walking around before we decided it was windy and cold and not close enough for me to get to a bathroom easily. So we went back home.

We hung out and painted and got going on cooking dinner. Andrew decided he wanted to rent Skyfall so after we enjoyed our steaks (which by the way were cooked by Andrew and by far the best he has ever grilled) we sat down to watch the movie and have brownies.  

And since we are approximately 83 years old in our hearts, around 8:30 we decided it was getting late and we'd better go to bed and finish the movie the next day. 

Sunday was pretty normal. We went to church, ate more leftover BCM&C (he loves the stuff) and I grocery shopped while Andrew helped a friend move. I also got to stop by the hospital and visit with my friend Stasia who just had a baby girl! 

We cleaned up the apartment in mad dash like always and hosted Lifegroup. Then we finished Skyfall and went to bed early. Again.

And that is the story of how Andrew chose to spend his special weekend!

And how I gained three pounds.  

The Weekend I Felt Like a Tired Whale

This weekend pregnancy fatigue and discomfort really started setting in. I was having a hard time accepting the fact that I probably needed to slow down and rest, especially on the weekends. In my initial denial I committed myself  to baking 4 dozen muffins, completing 3 major nursery projects, taking a friend's maternity pictures, cooking 2 labor intensive meals, going to breastfeeding class, going to Sunday school and church, and hosting Lifegroup. 

By Saturday at 1:00PM I found myself so tired that I wanted to lay down on the carpet at the breastfeeding class and take a nap. It was clear in the first 10 minutes that babies have an innate ability to find the boob and Andrew was there to take notes, so what was the harm? I made the choice to exercise my social graces and not lay down in the middle of the floor but my exhaustion resulted in a little meltdown later that afternoon. I felt like I just couldn't be all I could be anymore and it was driving me crazy and making me feel behind in life. 

The good news is, Andrew and I ended up having a really helpful conversation about priorities and resting and making the most of the next few weeks together and not over-committing and avoiding run on sentences. Not really about that last part.  

I didn't get everything done that I had planned, but I think I got the important things done. The others can wait. Or be forgotten altogether. It helped that the city of New Orleans went under a boil water advisory on Sunday which meant I couldn't wash my dishes. Oh darn. 

I did complete a couple of nursery things that I am pretty happy with. 

I bought the wooden letters at Hobby Lobby for about $10 and painted them. The stripes were an afterthought. I may do a little tutorial about it because it got a little confusing and there might be at least one other person in cyber space as remedial as me when it comes to crafts. 

I covered this lamp shade with a $3.50 fabric scrap, also from Hobby Lobby, and painted the base of the lamp. 

If it weren't for my stellar photography, you would be able to see that the fabric is not perfectly smooth and flat on the shade. But it's OK. The weird part faces the wall and no one can see it. And I doubt anyone cares if it's a little bumpy. James certainly doesn't. 

And for kicks, this is me 32 weeks pregnant and tired. That's the outfit I wore to Lifegroup. Paint-stained sweatpants, non-maternity shirt that almost doesn't cover my stomach, and bedroom slippers. That's what I call doing life together. 

It's getting increasingly harder to angle my head in a way that disguises my 3-7 chins. But here's to trying!

Linking up! 

Nursery in Progress

I really didn't want pregnancy to take over the entire blog but alas, in these final weeks, it is sort of my whole life and I really have nothing else interesting to talk about. 

Everything in my world seems to be centered on all the things to do before the baby comes and all the  things we will be doing after he comes. I certainly don't mind it, but you may feel otherwise. I wont be offended if you take a 7-11 week hiatus from reading. I can't say I wouldn't do the same. But be warned, when you return it might be all about babies... I've been told they have a tendency to take over as well. 

So here is what's up with our nursery. It is by no means complete but it is further along than it was, say, when we moved to New Orleans. I should put a disclaimer out that I follow sort of an organic process when decorating. I don't really have a vision of what the finished product will look like or an inspiration photo. All my rooms kind of unfold piece by piece.  I do know that I want it to be calm and serene. Boyish but not in-your-face boyish. Timeless and practical. 

These are from when we moved in.

We are keeping a double bed in the room for multiple reasons, one being that we live far far away from the nearest family member and we foresee visitors in our future. 

Our crib came from Pottery Barn Kids and our changing table came from a furniture place in Auburn, AL. We scored an amazing Black Friday deal on it. 

These are the fabrics for the crib bedding. My mother in law is making the bedding. She is an incredible seamstress. She has made the most beautiful crib bedding for my niece and nephews and I knew long before James was a thought that I wanted her to make ours. 

I changed out the pink and green quilt for a white one and my mother in law is making shams out of the geometric fabric as well as a monogrammed throw pillow. 

We got the rug this past weekend at... wait for it... Kmart! And I couldn't be more pleased with it. The pictures kind of cast a shadow but its a soft blue and taupe check. 

We bought the baskets from TJ Maxx, aka, Basket Mecca. I fell in love with that bicycle basket and decided it would be perfect for toys. Andrew loved it too because he cycles as a hobby and loves all things bike related. 

The chair was Andrew's grandmother's. She rocked his mama in it and his mama rocked him in it. You know I LOVE sentiment! The side table and lamp are getting makeovers this weekend. And the beautiful sign was made by our neighbors who gave it to us as a surprise shortly after we found out we were having a baby.

That's it so far! Hopefully the next time I post about it, it will be the finished product. Even now I just sigh every time I walk by. I am falling in love with it and with visions of a tiny little boy who will call it his.