Harper Land.

I've had Harper's room designed in my head from the moment the ultrasound tech said she was 80% sure it was a girl. (Yes. I still lose sleep that she MIGHT come out a boy...it's fine.)

I knew it had to be a cheery, happy place with no pastels. Pastels depress me and make me want to vomit.

I knew it had to be girly and bright with personal touches so she knows how much she is loved.

I also knew I had to do it on a budget, Kristi style. Challenge, accepted!

Here's a quick 360 tour in photos...

bedding | bunting

Crib was Alex's. Ceiling tiles were a 30th bday present from my parents

...and yes, we'll have to move the tiles when she's older and more mobile

shelves| dresser| changing pad cover | blue cart | animal prints | world print

Chevron baskets and dot tin from Michael's

"harper" bunting handmade by the lovely Sarah of so sarah designs

The little doll was my Mom's when she was a girl

The cross was a gift from Joey

Everything else was crafted, found or spray-painted

Sources for this image in this post

Quilt was a handmade gift from my friend, Katy

Print was a gift from Uncle Kyle & Aunt Jill.

Stool is old - from Target

I ordered this piece from a Rendi party and it hangs on the closet door knob. I'd never heard of their products before a friend of mine became a consultant. Visit her page, here to see all the cool & customizable Rendi products that are available.

So that's a tour of our lovely little lady's room. I love it because it's a mix of new, old and meaningful pieces that will grow with her. Unless she wants to be a tomboy, in which case I guess I'll just start over in 5 years.

Hump Day, Bump Day!

bV is the size of a squash! 
Still growing, your baby weighs in at about 2.5 to 3.8 pounds and measures about 15.2 to 16.7 inches.

bV at 32 weeks:
- She's getting ready for her descent -- she's likely in the head-down position now. Confirmed.
- And she's probably feeling a even more cramped.
via thebump.com

In other news, we made some significant progress on Harper's room over the last few weeks, and I'm SO excited to share it in all it's pink and girly glory. Here's a sneak peek:

H - Michael's; I painted it; Clearance!

H flower - Hobby Lobby; 40% off coupon!

Canvas quote - Homegoods

Bedding - Homegoods

Tulle pillow - Meijer

Harper pillow - esty

Polka dot pillow - Homegoods; Clearance!

Alex was so excited when he saw her crib for the first time, exclaiming, "Mom! It's a bed for Harper! Now she has a place for her naps!" (I mean, as soon as we get a mattress in it.)

Can you see the mater sticker on the head rail? Harper is using Alex's old crib, so when we put it together his beloved Cars stickers were still there...and Joe was feeling sentimental so we just left them on. The second phrase out of Alex's mouth was, "But MOM! Those are BOY stickers and Harper is a GIRL." And he quickly demanded we take them off as to not offend Harper's feminism and he's placed them in their new & rightful spot on the wall in his bedroom. 

Sibling rivalry. And so it begins.

On general laziness and shopping problems.

My sister and her family are coming for a visit next weekend, and I had very, very good intentions on having Harper's room all set up so they could see it and generally "ooh" and "ahh" over all the things.

And then I remembered I would probably rather sleep and eat ice cream than set up a room that I legitimately have at least 2 more months to procrastinate over.

So I compromised with myself and put everything I'd been hoarding/buying/saving/planning that was scattered about the room and "organized" it in the closet, instead.

It's kind of the best of both worlds, because Kelli can still get a glimpse of all the things and I get two more months of procrastinating and ice cream eating and Joey gets 2 more months of figuring out how in the hell he's going to mount those giant yellow ceiling tiles on the wall. See? Everyone wins.

But the real winner in all this is Miss Harper, 'cause her room is totally going to be the jam. Here's a sneak peek at the collection currently stashed in the closet.

It's a dizzying and colorful spell of dots, flowers and chevrons and while sometimes I find myself blinking and confused that it's not all trucks and cars and planes, it is what it is: girly and fab. Joey opened the doors and I think he stopped breathing for 19 seconds, but that's fine.

On why the Internet is the best.

As noted, Harper's name has nothing to do with the author of "To Kill A Mockingbird." However, on the slight chance she will inherit her Momma's love of  writing and reading words, I thought it might be a cool touch to find a really neat, old copy of the book to put somewhere in her nursery.

While perusing the aisles of resale book stores and library sales might seem very Belle-from-Beauty-&-the-Beast-gliding-across-the-big-screen-on-a-library-ladder-while-deep-in-song to some of you, to me it sounds hot, sweaty and smelly. And probably fruitless. So I turned to my old pal, ebay, who came through like a champ!

I know, right? It's so perfect & I love it.  Perhaps I can convince Joey to assemble the crib this weekend and I can start putting the room together. Because currently? It's a hot mess of Amazon boxes, Target bags and tubs o' clothing. But it's organized chaos, at least.

Hump day, bump day!

bV is the size of a papaya!
During month five, the average fetus measures about 10.5 to 11.8 inches and weighs about 12.7 to 20.8 ounces.

bV at 22 weeks:
- Now that she's got more developed eyes and lips, she's looking even more like a newborn.
- She's sleeping in cycles -- about 12 to 14 hours per day (hint: they're probably those times you're not feeling any kicks!).

Ooohhh baby Sheila is riding HIGH. As I remember it from what was mostly a 9 month sleepy stupor, Alex was really low. I felt his kicks and movements below my belly button for sure, but Sheila girl is all up in my stuff. Literally. I've heard terrible, uncomfortable stories from other mothers about rib cage kicks and other below-the-boob shenanigans, and I fear that's what I'll be experiencing as bV starts to run out of expansion room over the next 17 or so odd weeks.

In what comes as no big surprise to anyone, I continue to purchase girly things like an insane woman, partly because the Internet is the greatest thing ever invented, and partly because girl stuff is irresistible. Three words: BABY LEG WARMERS.

In summary, I'm sorry in advance if etsy is sold out of all.the.things, because everything is currently en route to my house, instead. A few examples:

hat | poms (i got different colors, obvi) | changing pad cover | onesie | closet dividers | baby leg warmers

P.S. - We're NOT naming her Sheila.

And so it begins.

If you are my pal on Facebook, you are aware of my recent shopping binge for girly bedding and accessories for bV's room. I can't stop.

The thought of standing in an aisle filled with baby bedding from floor to ceiling in a brick and mortar store makes me break out in hives and get all itchy and scratchy, so I've been managing most of my shopping addiction online. Thank you, Mark Zuckerberg and other creators of the interwebs for things like free shipping and online coupon codes. I'm the master of these things.

Baby (pastel) colors mostly make me want to vomit, and I want her room to be bright and cheerful and full of polka dots, chevrons and sunshine. I'm struggling with her bedding, because the Queen bed we currently have in her room will remain, so I want it all to go together but not in a matchy-matchy way.

In no way am I exaggerating when I say I ordered no less than 15 options to be delivered to my front door. Half of them arrived yesterday:

everything pictured is from target.com

The pastels will be returned immediately and the front runner is the polka dots. The one you can't really see in the upper left is a crib bumper that has multi-colored polka dots, which I'm also loving but I don't want bV sleeping in a dizzying mess of polka dots. What I'm saying is I need to restrain myself.

The pièce de résistance of the room has to be this:

I know, right? It's 4 tin ceiling tiles mounted together and painted a cheery yellow color with pops of teal poking through what kind of looks like a "weathering" process. It was a gift from my parents for my 30th birthday from one of my favorite home resale shops in Bay City, The Loft on Johnson, and I think it will be perfect hung in bV's room. The pennant bunting is from etsy.

I also have this, which I was considering spray painting hot pink, but it might be too much for the room with the yellow piece. We'll see as it all comes together!

frame. print. but I'm probably going to get this print instead.

Hump Day, Bump Day!

bV is the size of a navel orange!
The average fetus at 15 weeks weighs 2.5 ounces and measures 4 inches -- and his proportions are becoming even more normal, since his legs now outmeasure his arms.

bV at 15 weeks:
- You probably can't feel it yet, but he's squirming a ton!
- He might even be hiccuping in there.
- He's making lots of progress: his joints and limbs can all move now.
via thebump.com

Our next appointment is tomorrow morning, and then the appointment after THAT is when we find out if bV is a girl or a boy. (Squee!) Joey says girl. I say boy. We'll see! If memory serves, that's also the appointment where I have to drink an inordinate amount of water and then hold it as if I'm being waterboarded. All the perks of modern medicine and they still can't figure that one out? Go figs.

I won't even bore you with the I-still-feel-like-garbage-from-noon-until-midnight drama, because it is what it is. Everyone who said 14 weeks? Liars, the lot of you.

I've also started designing the nursery both in my head and on a Pinterest board. It will be a combo nursery/guest room so it's been fun finding things that make me swoon but also have an adult feel to them.

And for fun, here's a snuggly wuggly picture of both of my babies:

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things.

My expression of lurve for the SwaddleMe blanket got me to thinking: what are the great baby products in my life that I could not live without? I got a lot of great tips and product reviews from friends before I registered, so I thought I would share my top ten list with all of you now that I've lived it.

1. Obvi, the SwaddleMe blanket. Unless you are employed as a nurse and/or learned some secret ninja skill at a secret Mom camp, you will never, ever be able to swaddle your child like they do in the hospital. Never fear, this contraption is foolproof. Jake could probably swaddle Alex in it if push came to shove. Right now they are buy one, get one 1/2 off at BRU...just sayin'.

2. The Happiest Baby On The Block. Specifically, the DVD. There's a book, but why read when you can watch? Joe and I had big plans to watch it over pizza the night my water broke, but we just got around to watching it about a week or so ago. Dr. Harvey Carp is a Baby Whisperer, I swear. I promise you will learn some serious baby soothing skills that will save your sanity on more than one occasion. If you're local, I have a copy you can borrow. Have your people call my people.

3. Travel infant swings. (The link is the one we have.) The 'travel' part is k-e-y. The regular swings are so big and bulky, and unless you have the Jon & Kate + 8 diesel minibus, you can't take it with you anywhere. I've already taken mine on two different trips, and even if I would have paid retail (Yeah, right. Like I would EVER do that!) it would have already paid for itself a billion times over. But since I am awesome and scored it for $15, I would say it's been more than worth it. Score!

4. Skip hop bottle drying rack. So many people told us the typical drying racks you would register for are cheap and crappy, so we actually weren't even going to get one at all. By some freak accident, we found this one on clearance at T.J. Maxx and thought it looked cool. Turns out, it's such a great product! The brush fits right in it, and there's a place for all the different pieces of the bottles to dry. Not to mention it actually looks pretty spectacular on the counter.

5. Soothie pacifier. I'm fully aware that this one might be specific to Alex, but it's the only pacifier he will take. I think it's because that's what they gave him in the hospital and the nipple (it's even a gross word when you're not referring to boobies) is shaped like the ones on his bottles. He just won't take the Nuk-type pacifiers that are wider and flatter...I will have to post a video of me trying to put it in his mouth. The look on his face is like I'm trying to feed him brussel sprouts.

6. Binki Grip. Brills! Keeps the pacifier from falling on the floor, and this particular one will fit ANY brand of pacifier, so you don't need to buy one for every kind. Thanks to Auntie Jen for ours! :)

7. Bibs. Buy 100 of them. You cannot have enough. Personally, I will use a burp cloth as a bib from time to time, but Joe claims he "is not a heathen" and will only use a fresh, clean bib every time. He likens it to eating a delicious steak with dirty silverware...it ruins the meal.

8. White noise machine. I honestly thought these were ridiculous until about a week ago. So many people told me to register for one and that they were worth their weight in gold, but they have always annoyed me. I take it all back. They are awesome. The one we have (in link) also has a cool projection feature that will project lighted fish, stars and animals on the ceiling.

9. Bath Sling. We don't use this when it's both Joe and I giving him a bath, but when it's just me this thing is the BEST. You only have two hands and those little buggers are slippery! This helps to keep him in the warm water, but with his head above the water line. Plus, I can actually have some hands-free moments and just let Alex enjoy the water before he is old enough to sit up on his own!

10. Washcloths. Sometimes, wipes just don't hack it. We keep a stack of about 25 white washcloths next to the changing table for those emergency situations...whether it's a ginormous poo or an impromptu whiz block. The white is necessary so that you can wash them with bleach once they are, um, soiled.

Is It Just Me...

...or are all of the most disgusting words in the English language associated with pregnancy? This is probably a little bit of a TMI post, but I think it's necessary to get it out in the open.

Think about it: ovary, fundal/fundus, uterus, discharge, cervix, placenta, sperm, vagina, mucous, fetus...I could literally go for days. They're just gross words. Ew. Ew. Ew.

Speaking of things I think are gross, a friend recently shared this article on breastfeeding with me. It's a little long, but totally worth the read. One of my faves so far.

In related news, and forgive me if I've already blogged about any of this...I can't even remember what I had for breakfast this morning, but we are totally, 100% ready for WIP. I packed my bags for the hospital, so that milestone is behind me. All of WIP's clothes, bedding and blankets are washed and ready for him. Joey spent the weekend refinishing the tub/shower so we can play with him for hours in the bathtub. The carseat bases are installed. We bought batteries for all the crazy baby things that require them. (Rechargeable, nonetheless. You're welcome, Earth.) I mailed in my pre-registration forms for the hospital. I have all the necessary *cough*breastfeeding*cough* accoutrements. And, above all, I'm most happy to report that we visited Pediatrician candidate #4 last night and are SO happy with him/the practice. Winner, winner, chicken dinner, indeed.

So now we just wait. Hopefully, not too long!

A Masterpiece.

WIP's nursery has officially become my favorite room in the house. We've finally finished everything - I've even washed a good portion of his clothes and have them all put away in the drawers. Note: 'twas during said laundry-putting-away session that I realized not only do I have a sick obsession with baby denim, I also am addicted to baby shoes. He probably could wear a different pair every day for the first year of his life. The good news? All were purchased at least 75% off retail. Woot!

I digress. Here are some pics I snapped this weekend of the finished wall decorations. I ADORE them. This post will explain the long quote...I'll cry if I have to explain it again.


(See the new Legos Daddy made for WIP on the windowsill?)

I ordered the quote from The Simple Stencil and am so pleased with how it turned out. They offer a free "test" stencil up to 12 letters with your order to practice with, and instead of wasting a freebie (um, like I would ever do that!), I decided to order "Alex Joseph," since that was the flavor of the week we liked for names at the time I bought it. So, I suppose it's decided! Unless he comes out looking like something else, he's dubbed our little AJ for eternity. Although I think I will call him WIP until the day I die...how embarrassing will that be on his High School graduation day? Meh meh meh...

In related baby news, congratulations to Jamie for becoming a 2nd time Aunt to Mr. Brady Thomas. Also, WIP has a date for prom 2025 - "Peanut" Johnson! Keliann and Michael found out they are having a girl...yippie!! :)

Bargains!

I realize my posts are a little out of control today...I just can't help myself.

You're all aware of my addiction to deals, coupons and bargains, so this should come as no surprise.

I must share with all the local moms a sincere treasure I just discovered in Sterling Heights - at the corner of 16 and Dequindre, to be exact. It's called Kids Go 'Round Auctions and is a children's resale shop (they also have an ebay storefront). The super cool thing is that the store is broken into 2 sections - clothing and "other."

In the "other" section, they have everything from cribs to toy chests to wagons to swings to strollers to carseats...so. much. stuff. But the BEST news is that they had the aquarium bouncer I've wanted! But instead of the ridiculously overpriced $54.99 pricetag I would have had to swallow at Babies 'R Us, I snagged it for $18!

There was SO much more I wanted to buy, but I refrained because we're going to a Mom2Mom sale in Farmington next week and there's still another resale store I have to check out in Troy. I'm also planning on heading to the warehouse I snagged our glider from to get one of those fancy tummy playmats (new!) for $35...as opposed to $64.99 @ BRU.

It's a sickness, I know. But when we take a vacation in November with all the money we've saved it will be so, so worth it. :)

Snow White Can Bite Me.

I'm Grumpy the Dwarf today. I don't know why - I have absolutely no reason to be in a bad mood. I just am. I feel like I could burst into hysterical tears at any second or, as an alternate, tear through a cement wall with my bear hands while screaming at the top of my lungs in anger and frustration. Truly, there is no ryhme or reason for these feelings. I'll chalk it up to my first pregnancy-related emotional roller coaster. Not bad for 6.5 months into this, right?

So, I am dealing with it and moving on. I'm putting on my big girl britches. Yeah, the ones with the adjustable panels on the side to fit my Jupiter-sized arse. (Should have used Uranus there...) And if that's not bad enough, my britches are covered in fuzz from my sweater. No lint roller in sight, either.

To counteract my grumpiness, here's some happiness:


Isn't it the CUTEST! Total IKEA find...WIP's my little "Frog Prince."



The changer! It's obviously not in its final resting place, nor do I have the baskets for the shelf or cover for the pad...but it's something!



A friend/coworker (who had all boys) gave us all her old baby hangers! You know what that means...more shopping!!!



AAAHHH! Le crib! We finished it last night. (Well, I haven't actually washed any of the bedding yet...too excited to see what it looked like.) I still have to put the decorations on the wall and arrange everything how we want it. SO.EXCITING.

That's the end of the happiness train today. I might go home and go back to bed. Steer clear if you are in my general vicinity. You've been warned.

Fit For A King.

Alrighty...as promised, here's a sneak peek at the lil' bugger's room. Take note that it's not completely done - it's missing some serious ingredients...most notably, the crib and changing table. It's also missing some decorations; those are on order.

But first, you must get a glimpse of what it used to be: our office/spare bedroom. And while I miss my desk, what's there now is much better. Agree?






And now, for the "after" shots:


Bookshelf with some MUCH needed extra storage.



This is where the crib will eventually go. The bedding is waiting there patiently!

New dressers! I love the armoire...it's the perfect size for his clothes. And it's almost full!!

The changing table will go where the hope chest is now. Not sure where the hope chest will go after that...but it's an heirloom from my Grandpa, so I want to try to keep it in the room. Plus, it's nice to store blankets.

This is my favorite spot in the whole room. The stuffed animal is one of the first things I bought when I found out I was pregnant. It's a hippo, but we call it Wippo. :)

I'll post another batch once we get some of the decorations up, and for sure once we have the crib and changing table.

Such Accomplishment!

I am pleased to report that we're through nearly 50% of that to-do list I went on and on about a few weeks ago. ...and by "we," I mostly mean Joe, since he has been working his tail off doing all the hard jobs. Again, I'm so lucky. :)

Here's a rundown of what we've accomplished.

• Totally emptied former office. (WAY harder than it sounds.)
• Moved boxed/bagged contents of former office and GIANT desk, bed and chair into basement.
• Semi-organized 50% of basement. (You could actually find things down there if you wanted to!)
• De-Christmased the house. (Also harder than it sounds. As mentioned previously, I am obsessed with Christmas AND bargains. Thus, the after-Christmas sales are nearly irresistible to me. I bought an extra red/green 95 qt. Tupperware container this year and managed to fill it. My count is now going strong at 5.)
• Shopped for all necessary paint/nursery accoutrements at Lowes. (Wooo! Used the $250 gift card we got for doing our kitchen there.)
• Painted entire nursery, including trim and ceiling...it should also be noted that the prep work wasn't easy - a great deal of spackling and taping had to be done. (Snaps to Joe for going solo on this task. Due to fumes, I could be found at IKEA and the movies for the duration of this day.)
• Put up new light in nursery...an IKEA purchase.
• Replaced all outlets, switches and outlet covers in nursery.

Tonight we're going to relax a little after dinner, then move in the rug and put together the dresser and armoire...and maybe do a little decorating with some of the items I've been collecting. EEEEEEEEEE we're getting so excited!

I'll post pictures as soon as it's done, promise!

Bargains and Bargains and Bargains Galore!

I have a confession to make: I love a deal. I seriously cannot resist them. I love, love, love coupons, discounts, sales, clearances...you get the gist. When purchasing things online, I will Google for hours to find checkout codes for free shipping, discounts or extra freebies and usually won't buy something if I can't find a deal on it. It's an addiction, I understand. But it's also an addiction that saves us hundreds and hundreds of dollars a year - so Joe tends to indulge me. :)

Today I am so jazzed to share some of my bargains. Some were blessings and others are plain and simply the result of some serious hunting on my part. Either way, I'm elated.

Item #1: WIP's Halloween custome for next year! :) (S)he's going to be a pea pod! How can you not love it? $14.99 at Target - but I got in on the 50% off Halloween sale. TOTAL: $7.50!!


Item #2: Starbucks tall decaf coffee. Totally free for voting. I'm still sippin' the goodness as I blog. Shoulda set me back $1.40. An extra bonus: I got it in a holiday cup. (Christmas obsession blog coming soon.) TOTAL: FREE!!




Item #3: A glider for WIP! Well, technically it's for anyone holding WIP, but you get my point. It's for the nursery. I about DIED when I went into Babies 'R Us and saw them retailing for $400 or more! So, I started doing some digging on Craigslist and found some really great deals on used ones. Then, lo and behold, I found one NEW in Troy for $100! It was at a place called the Troy Merchandise Mall, a big warehouse where retailers send all their out of stock or last season stuff. Kinda like a Marshalls or T.J. Maxx, only way less organized (if you can believe it). Anyway, we went to check it out and managed to talk the guy down $10! We looked online and the same rocker retails for around $200 and got great reviews (which you all know Joe loves). TOTAL: $90!!

Item #4: Delicious doughnut/donut from Krispy Kreme. Again, an "I Voted!" freebie. Would have cost $2.95 on any other day. Suckers! TOTAL: FREE!!

Items #5 & #6: This is the "blessing" part of the post. I didn't do any googling or sleuthing to get this deal - it just fell into our laps and we are so, so thankful. A wonderful friend and coworker of ours is ready to put his youngest into his "big boy" bed and offered us their crib AND changing table...as a gift! Needless to say, we are elated. They will be perfect for WIP's room - and unlike the IKEA set we were originally going to get, they won't cost a dime! More money for the college fund! Plus, they (intentionally) match the glider we got today. (Note: the pics are of the crib still set up in their house.)

All in all, I'm super pleased with our bargains. I'm still on the hunt for an armoire and dresser - so stay tuned for more bargains - KVW style! :)

And, if you haven't yet - GO VOTE!

Casa de WIP

So, those that keep up to date on Facebook stalking know that we spent a part of this Saturday at IKEA Canton checking out nursery furniture. We haven't committed to anything yet, but we really like the Hemnes set in white. Plus, we have the black Hemnes set in our bedroom, so it will match! What do you think?

Since the room that will be the nursery is really our only "spare" bedroom, the daybed would be in there for guests and for mommy and daddy's sleepless nights. :) The changing table actually turns into a cabinet after you take the top off, so it's multi-purpose...and who doesn't love that? The crib also turns into a kiddy bed, so it's perfect!

Again, plans will likely change before April, but it's fun to look in the meantime!

On a non-WIP related note, I can't believe it's only Tuesday. I actually woke up this morning under the false impression that it was Thursday. Crap.

Gotta pee--catcha ya' later!