New Car(s)

Well, we have had a strange turn of events regarding the vehicles in our household. Two days ago, I said goodbye to my 1997 Honda Civic after over ten years of driving it.

[There she is before I drove away in my new ride. Good old Silver, all stripped down.]

We actually made a two car deal in order to make this happen. We traded in two cars, and aquired two cars which is just absolutely nutty to me still. But it worked and now we have two equally safe cars to drive our future kid around in.

We traded in Matt's 2011 Nissan Altima and my 1997 Honda Civic in order to get two, yes I did say two, 2012 Nissan Sentras. Out of all of our options (leasing, buying new, buying used, a combination of some of these, etc.) this was the best financing deal and it won't affect our monthly budget much at all.

So I'm no longer a Honda driver. Oh, who am I kidding? I spent the first 15 driving years of my life in a Honda Civic and will always be a Honda driver. I even had tears in my eyes as I closed her up and walked away.

For now, I (much more reliably) drive a black Nissan Sentra just like the one in the stock photo above. And Matt drives a bright red one :-) Feel free to make fun as much as you want - we've been called "The Doublemint Twins" already and we're okay with it. We are just so relieved to be in two reliable cars that are safe and that get absolutely awesome gas mileage.

Bump Progression

Thought I'd include all of my sideways pictures at once so my family and friends who have asked to see what I look like now can have a progression. I've been scrolling through a lot of posts to do that myself so here they are. From the smallest to the biggest...er.....the earliest to the most recent.

[Baby Foster's first picture was our Christmas card/baby announcement]

[Beginnings of a bump - 16 weeks]

[Slow growing at 20 weeks - still wearing regular pants]

[24 Weeks - Obvious now. Now longer getting questioning looks]

[28 Weeks - Things like tying my own shoes are beginning to be a problem]

28 Weeks a.k.a. "Bigger Than Date Baby"

Our 28-week appointment was today. Everything looks good!

Baby is measuring big so when we go back - every two weeks now - we'll have another ultrasound to see what's up. It's apparently called a "bigger than date" ultrasound and it takes about a half an hour. Lately, I've been feeling huge for how far along I am and I thought it was all me. But the doc says it's actually a big baby and she even threw out the word "C-section." I'm sure hoping this girl can slow her grow so we don't have to go that route....

Here's a picture of the bump as she is at 28 weeks. Note to self: next time take picture earlier than 11:00pm so those eyes don't look so tired...

[28-Weeks and growing....]

Guest Room Makeover - Phase Three

Phase three was a big one! After painting, the fun really began. It's humorous to me that it took almost two weeks to paint and only three hours to complete the much more visually dramatic tasks we took on tonight.

We started by clearing the drop cloths and tools, placing the mirror on the back of the dresser and moving it out of the middle of the room and back into place along the back wall.

The nightstand also found a home under the window.

Matt assembled the crib, while I finally broke out the sewing machine and made some curtains.

By the time we were both finished, we were able to start seeing this room in a whole new way. Here are my homemade curtains. Don't look too closely - you might see a wonky seam here and there.

We moved our living room chair into the corner just to see if we like it. And we do. We have another chair (a rocker) to put in the opposite corner, but really wanted to have two chairs in the room. We just weren't sure if they would both fit. I think it's going to work, but I have to say I'm already missing it in the living room.

Here's the crib, all finished! It was by far the easiest piece of furniture either of us has ever put together - just a few screws. You'll also see the new carpet in this picture. It's a grey with cream speckles to kind of tie the walls in with the floor. And for $21 dollars, we think this 4.5 x 7 foot carpet is a steal!

And here we go. The best angle I can get of this room from the doorway. I finally figured out that if I stand on a step stool and aim just below the light on the ceiling fan, I can cut out the haziness from the light and get almost the whole room in the picture.

We are so excited it's starting to come together. Next step: Framed art and shelves on the walls for some fun punches of color!

Guest Room Makeover - Phase Two

The paint is on the walls! It took us two people, two painting sessions, two trips to the hardware store and one whole week to get it done, but this room is no longer a two-toned Winnie the Pooh explosion!

The flea market dresser we purchased is too heavy and cumbersome to move to another room easily, so we covered it with a drop cloth and prepared that room for a facelift - light switch plates, blinds and outlet covers were removed. Windows were caulked, nail holes were patched, paint was stirred, brushes and rollers prepared....

[Ugly two-toned blue/green before]

And then..... I took a last glance over the WHOLE room. Do you see it?

How about now??? Pooh! I can't escape him! I removed that wallpaper border months ago and am just now noticing the patch of Pooh right behind the door. It's always hidden when the door is open and I just plain forgot to check back there... I swear he's mocking me. So out came the wallpaper removing tools one last time.

[The last bit of that blasted Pooh paper]

After that little snag, we got to painting. Matt was on edging for a while until he relinquished the job and gave it to me since painting with a roller is more his forte. Let's just say we have a few spots on the ceiling and trim to touch up on that wall :-)

After our first session, Matt had about half the room painted a soft grey while the other half was still blue and green.

Six days later, we revisited the job to finish her off. It's not much of a before and after shot yet, but here is the original "before." I've come to realize that this room is almost impossible to take pictures of so the quality of the light and angles is seriously lacking.

[Guest Room Before Shot]

And here are a few "afters:"

[A fairly accurate portrayal of the new color]

In pictures it looks a little darker than it truly is, but at least Pooh and the two colors are gone!

And finally, a preview of what our windows have to look forward to.... Homemade curtains are the next project.