Preparations for Baby #2

Yesterday was my due date, which obviously came and went with no squishy baby to show for it. Normal? Of course.

While I'm not sure if I've technically "nested" (except the day I decided to vacuum out my car perhaps), we have done some stuff to prepare for our newest family member.

1. Getting the nursery ready (even though we won't use it for a few months)

Cora is staying in her room, and our office has turned into a nursery/office for now. We'll get the desk out of there when the need arises.

The empty space in the center bottom is where her name will go!

2. Getting Cora's room decorated
I had been meaning to do this since, um, August, when I repainted her room and decided on a coral and navy blue color scheme. So it was about time, but I knew we would switch some furniture out and rearrange so I let it sit.

 I made the 'artwork' with some art canvases covered in fabric. Then I cut shapes out of some other fabric and used fabric glue to attach. Easy project (although my stapler was not very good, and I ended up bringing home my work stapler to finish it. A staple gun is the best option, but the staples in ours were too big and stuck out too far.)

I think I still want to add some navy blue curtains to the window, and then we'll call it mostly done.

3. Buying new pajama pants
When I was pregnant with Cora, I had a short "pregnancy vs. x" series on the blog, with topics like Pregnancy vs. Habitat for Humanity and Pregnancy vs. A Music Festival. Well, this time around, pregnancy didn't stand in my way much. However, if I had to pick something to remember, it would be "Pregnancy vs. Pajama Pants."

I have ripped--the the point of needing to throw out--not just one, but TWO of my favorite pairs of pajama pants. They're the Old Navy lightweight cotton ones that I've had for YEARS, and they were the only pjs that still fit on my expanding bottom. The first pair didn't make it through the second trimester due to my own clumsiness in trying to put them on and stepping my foot right into the crotch part. On Wednesday, my second pair broke (also in the crotch) when I was cleaning up the house and squatting down to pick stuff up. I went to Old Navy on Friday and bought another pair (a size up, ugh). I even tried them on, which I don't recommend to any 40-weeks pregnant lady, like ever.

My newest pair. May they last as long as the old ones.

4. "Practicing" labor
Ugh. We thought I was in labor the day before I was due. Steady contractions all day long, but they were very mild. They never got more intense. I went to work the whole day and timed them with an app on my phone. Everyone was excited for me and was hoping to hear good news soon. My mother-in-law drove up to stay with us, expecting that she would be taking care of Cora while we were at the hospital.  But it never progressed to anything more than mild contractions.

I slept a bit, then woke up a bit nauseous on Friday morning (my due date) and decided not to go into work. Then it all just stopped. No more contractions, no more labor. I guess I ended up taking a "mental health day." I was mad. I felt like I was letting everyone down. And I was tired of getting texts from anyone and everyone about 'how was I doing, do you need anything?' (I think a lot of this was due to lack of sleep. Although I still don't want the bothersome texts.) I got hit by the one-two punch of prodromal labor, and I'm not a fan.

5. Looking at pretty nursing-friendly dresses online

Isn't this gorgeous? I still can't figure out if it's my size (it's a one-off listing on Ebay), and I have no desire to jump through the hoops for a return, so I'm refraining. But darnit, it's so pretty.

This dress on Amazon is also on my list.

6. Zumba and cartwheels
I think I've started to become a legend at Zumba, what with showing up the day after my due date for class. But I had so much energy this morning, and probably sweat harder than I had in the past 2 months.

40 weeks, 1 day, after sweating it out at Zumba Toning class!

I also did 2 cartwheels after the Tuesday class (during week 39), and it, uh, kinda hurt. As evidenced in this video:



Well, that's pretty much all the preparations we have made (aside from a half-packed hospital bag). Baby can come out now if she wants!

What I Wore Sunday

I'm lookin' so fine today I haven't even changed yet!

Haven't done this link-up in a while

Seriously, do you have those days where you just think you look exceptionally good? Such a confidence booster. Especially because I have an interview tomorrow with a temp/employment agency. Every boost of confidence helps, since I haven't had a serious interview since 2008.

I'm apparently a walking ad for NY & Company today. Pants, blouse, and blazer all. However, the pants were thrifted, the blazer was bought from a blog-land friend, and the blouse was bought in-store off the clearance rack. I've had the blouse for over a year but never worn it because a) I couldn't figure out exactly how since it's an odd shape and b) the front hem had come out and I hadn't fixed it. I decided to address the latter this morning with my emergency sewing kit and had a hunch a blazer would do the trick for the former.

The shoes are from the Old Navy clearance rack last year, and I can't remember how the necklaces came to be.

As for mass, I'm so glad I could take Cora to the morning mass. We have been going to the 4:30pm Saturday vigil for months, and she has been bouncing around and talking so much. An usher asked us last week if we'd like to take up the gifts, and for the first time in my life I turned it down. Ugh. I was about to throw in the towel and take her to the nursery this week, but I decided to see what a change in schedule would do. Thank God! She wasn't perfect, but I got to hear the homily, which was amazing.

I have been reading Jennifer Fulwiler's book Something Other Than God, and I enjoyed reading about her first mass experience. She had researched it back to the writings of Justin the Martyr and Hippolytus, each describing Christian church services of the time. I think after growing up in it, I sometimes take for granted the fact that I participate in a basically-unchanged ancient ritual on a weekly basis. Except for now I can wear pants and leave my head uncovered.

7QT: In Which I Mostly Talk About Clothing

--- 1 ---

Let's start with Easter, my favorite holiday ever. If you're a Christian, it should probably be your favorite, too, since our religion wouldn't exist without it.

It was a beautiful day here, and we went over to B's grandmother's house and had a great time.

Aren't we adorbs?

--- 2 ---

I made my momma's strawberry cake, per tradition. This was actually my first Midwestern Easter (I went back to GA last year), and I'm not sure they quite understand this up here.

If this was in Georgia, I would have NEVER been sent home with this much cake left.

(Easter is NOT a time for moderation, people!)

--- 3 ---

While I didn't quite find an Easter dress for Cora, I love the cute little outfit I got her. I also got myself a new dress, and I'm in love with it.

Dress is from NY&Co. Cora's outfit is from Babies R Us

--- 4 ---

Speaking of clothing, in a mom's online group I'm in, there was much discussion over this article on Babble.

It basically goes through 5 mom no-no's and some alternatives. (Go read it, it's mostly pictures.) Some people said it was judgmental and condescending; others said it wasn't practical. And some were put off by the referral links to things out their own price range.

But I mostly agree with the article. In a way none of the other moms did. I'm not one for crop pants much, but I liked all the other styles. (And yes, mamas, there are nursing-friendly dresses out there. I have 2 in my closet.)

The biggie-offenders in that list, though, are the sneakers and the schlubby sweats look. I really like Carolynne's minimalist series over at FLAP, especially in which she makes the point that if you don't own it, you can't wear it. Therefore, you will always look good! I don't own any yoga pants, so I seriously cannot make the 'tired mom' excuses and sell myself short and wear them out of the house.

Really, my gym clothes are reserved for the gym. Always. I used to wear sneakers out, but I always hated how they looked (they were generally my former running shoes), so I found a nicer alternative in ballet flats, alpargatas, and boots when it's cold and/or snowy.

--- 5 ---

In related news, this is what I wore when I took my 2-year-old to the library this morning. It was 45° and raining, and sitting on the floor was involved. I was comfortable, I think I look good, and I felt confident in myself.

Sweater: NY&Co. clearance rack
Pants: Aeropostale
Belt: Old Navy
Shoes: Bongo from Sears

If it tells you anything, I'm still wearing the entire ensemble, minus the shoes, just lounging around the house.

I also learned that the camera on my phone has a self-timer. Who knew.

--- 6 ---

Can I just rave about those pants a minute? Yes, they are from the store's "uniform collection," but I seriously don't care. They were $15, and they are the most comfortable pants ever. Soft cotton twill, a good amount of stretch, and still a nice skinny cut in short length for my little stubs. I had been looking for a pair of khakis for a while after taking a cue from my husband. He wears khakis all the time, and he always looks put-together.

Aaaand, after praising the hubs on that, I just noticed he's wearing jeans in that Easter picture above. But hey, collared shirt!

--- 7 ---

A picture of Cora eating cake? Don't mind if I do.

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What I Wore and What We'll Eat

Double link-up Sunday, because, well, because I want to.

Outfits over thisaway.

Top and skirt: thrifted
Leggings: so old I don't remember, but I ran a 5K in them once
(ugh, can't wait until I don't need leggings for the simple task of walking outside
[read: it snowed AGAIN yesterday])
Boots: from Shoe Carnival, last year--and I think they may make it to next winter!

And the scarf? Oh, I just happened to WIN this lovely thing from a giveaway at Jenna's blog. It's from the Etsy shop DesignedByChloe, and it is awesome. It's in the 2 colors that can never go wrong for me--University of Georgia colors! She also sent me the nicest little hand-written note, so that's a double dose of awesome. Check out her shop for cute stuff and what looks to be free shipping (seriously, girl‽).

I really wanted to wear my hair down to church, but it got super-static on my coat right before we left. Lilla Rose to the rescue.

It doesn't match, and I don't care.

Now on to this week's noms.

Meal ideas over thataway.

Sunday: Chicken Parmesan. I better figure out the recipe, but I bet Betty Crocker has one, right?

Monday: Leftovers OR Breakfast for Dinner. I have no idea how much stretch that chicken parm will have to it, so I made a contingency plan.

Tuesday: B cooks. Knowing him, it will involve chicken, but if breakfast for dinner doesn't happen on Monday, I might push him that way.

Wednesday: Tacos. Who can argue with taco night?

Thursday: Pizza. Such an ambitious week over here.

Friday: Fish fry! At our church. All you can eat. Thank you, Lent.

Saturday: Ranch Pork Chops. Saturdays are tough around here because we go to church on Saturday night and I have to scrounge up dinner quickly when we get back. Unless I use the slow cooker, which is precisely my strategy!

I have also switched out my monthly meal planner to a calendar-style. All meals subject to change, as always.

Skirtember: Week Four Recap

September is done and gone, and that means so is Skirtember! I am currently sitting here in my favorite pair of jeans and couldn't be happier. You'll be seeing me in skinnies and riding boots soon enough.

Last Monday did not bode well for a skirt. I wore one for an hour at home and forgot to take a picture. On to Tuesday.

My chambray dress is cute and comfy, but it was a mistake to wear this to an alteration shop. After they took the pants I needed altered away, I was left with the shirt I needed altered and no pants on! Luckily, a woman came into the dressing room and pinned the shirt while I stood there, pants-less.

On the upside, I had a cute headband on (which you can't see in the above picture).

This is actually a Sweaty Band that I wear for running. Cute enough to wear with a dress, too!

On to Wednesday. This outfit looks so dressy to me, but the shirt is just a cotton jersey t-shirt, and the shoes are pretty casual. The skirt and necklace (made by my aunt) do a lot for this basic tee.

Thursday was my favorite outfit of the week, but unfortunately it got too hot for both the boots and the cardigan within an hour of taking this picture.

Friday was actually the skirt I wore for an hour on Monday. It was good for whatever I did on Friday.

Saturday we went to the Notre Dame game. I am sooooo glad I did not wear a skirt. The weather was autumnal, so I went from cold to hot to cool in the span of time we were there. (I wore pants that were easy to roll up.) Also, the bleachers at the stadium are wood and were giving me splinters--mostly on my hands, but I was feeling it through my pants a bit, too. None of my skirts would have stood up to that!

Touchdown Jesus is in a 'dress' but I am not.

We also went to mass right after the game in B's old dorm, so yep, that's what I wore to mass.

Sunday was spent doing stuff at the new house, so no skirts that day either.

I ended the month on the right foot, though.

My feet were cold all day yesterday, and I wish I'd worn different shoes.

Overall, I'm glad Skirtember is over. I'm glad I did it, but I'm glad it's over. I wore skirts 24 days out of 30, and I didn't repeat any entire outfits. I call that a victory!

And here is Cora's Skirtember collage, since she participated a bit too!

Cora also learned the word "cheese" this month. Can you tell? She's definitely a ham for the camera.

Skirtember: Week Three Recap

All but one day in skirts again. Well, that's sort of a lie. I'll get to that in a bit.

Linking up over yonder

Monday, I took Cora carpet shopping. I wanted to be taken seriously, and it was a bit cooler that morning. Hence, the one long skirt I own.

I am sooo glad I found that white cardigan again. I thought I'd lost it forever, but it turned out to be tucked way behind a bunch of winter clothes. I really love this outfit! (And my aunt made that necklace.)

I seriously don't remember anything about Tuesday other than the re-debut of my riding boots.

Warmed up a bit on Wednesday.  Cora wanted to be in the picture, too.

Missed Thursday completely. I probably had reasons, probably involving working at the new house, in which I'd rather wear old basketball shorts or painting pants.

Friday, I took Cora to the library for story time. I was a bit overdressed, but I didn't care one bit. I also had forgotten that they didn't have story time this week for whatever reason, so she just got to play in their children's area (which is an amazing place) and look at the fish tanks.

We did some shopping on Saturday and went to vigil church. Yes, I wore this to church.

I don't think the alpargatas worked so hot in this one, but I gave it a shot. At the end of the day I remembered how uncomfortable leggings get after a while.

On Sunday morning, I put on the brown skirt from Day 17, but got cold before we even left for the park. I nixed leggings and opted for jeans. Later in the day, we went to the church picnic, and I stayed in the jeans. I actually got hot and wished I had been wearing a skirt! Oh, autumn, you are a fickle one. I changed into this church after getting home and still being hot.

I don't like the way the button protrudes on the skirt, and the skirt also likes to move around me a bit much--as in, the front seam ends up over on my hip and the whole thing is sideways. You can see it creeping in the picture. I think this one might be ready for the donation pile. (I've had it since college.)

Overall, I did okay this week. I'm having fun with it, and I haven't even used all the skirts and dresses in my closet (some are more on the formal side). It's this next week I'm fearing, though. The mornings now are hovering in the 40's, and the afternoons are sunny and nice. Since I get dressed in the morning, I seriously don't even know what to do since I get cold easily. I also need to be adjusting my lungs to the cold so I can run a 4-mile race on Saturday morning. I miss the South already!! If you'd like to hear more on just how much I hate winter, here is a post I wrote back in April when it snowed. Again. 

Maybe next year we could do this in June or July? Skune? Skuly? (We'll work on the name.)

Skirtember: Week Two Recap

Another week of skirts and dresses!

Linking up with some lovelies

B had Monday off, so we painted a room together at the new house while Cora napped. I did determine that one of my skirts was so old and ratty that it could be used for painting. I wore a t-shirt, which stayed behind at the house and changed into this so we could go to the store and look at refrigerators.

Looks like I'm still in college...

Tuesday was a lot better. No manual labor. I took Cora to Chick-Fil-A for a free breakfast in the morning, and then we went shopping. I actually wore this same outfit for some family pictures we had done in July.

Don't remember what I actually did on Wednesday, but this was super comfy. Love my jersey skirt from Old Navy.

Also, I'd gone back-and-forth about TOMS-style shoes (actually called alpargatas in Argentina) for a while, but Chantal's post last week convinced me that they looked good with skirts. So I bought some! These are Bongo brand from Sears, and wayyy cheaper than TOMS.

The jersey skirt and alpargatas returned on Friday.

Saturday was a manual labor day, and I never made it into anything other than my painting pants. If I do this whole month and just don't do the Saturdays, I think I'm okay with that.

Sunday was church, of course! The weather turned cooler, and it was time to debut a new sweater dress.

I suppose it's a *tad* form-fitting, but I didn't feel to weird about wearing it to church.

And with all of this Skirtember madness, I've even been putting Cora in more skirts and dresses lately.

Who can resist an adorable toddler in a cute dress?