Coming together

Okay, so I'm not even going to try and catch up on my "thankful for..." posts for the month of November.  Instead, I thought I'd give a little home update.

The nursery is finally almost complete!  We are just waiting to get the wall art from the painter, need to iron the curtains, and finish the bookshelf.  But all the furniture is finally here!  We just got the glider in tonight and my husband and I spent about 15 minutes in her room looking at everything and talking about how surreal it is that soon our little girl will be home with us.  We both sat in the glider and imagined rocking her... So exciting!!!

 

Many of the rooms in the house are still VERY empty and in need of furniture.  One of those rooms is the study.  We don't have a desk or bookshelves yet but my husband did manage this victory.  I had been adamantly opposed animals on my walls.  Just not my style.  However my mom convinced me the look is "in" to mix shoulder mounts with nice furniture in studies and rooms of that sort.  Since she is an interior decorator and I always like her finished products, I trusted my very talented mother.  My husband has never loved his mother-in-law more.  Three deer heads made it in the house.  More are in the garage but that's man zone and I don't care what goes in there.  I actually am glad this little piece of my husband has taken over a room.  Marriage is about compromise right?

And our Christmas tree is up!  Thanks again to mom for doing everything!  She does the decorative part (with my assistance) and then Brantly and I put our ornaments on at the end.  I think this was the fourth tree she did last weekend so I appreciate her helping her pregnant daughter!  Love you momma!



There is still SO much left to do in our house but having the baby's room come together is such a relief.  That was my main priority.  The rest will be over time.  And that's okay by me! 

Monday thanks

November 13 - I'm thankful for family dinners at my parents

November 14 - I'm thankful my husband had a golf tournament at work today and will be home early.  This means an evening walk together before dark!

Lazy Lauren

I have been so lazy lately.  It has been nice to be able to take naps, do laundry, relax, and spend time with family.  I have to admit I didn't even shower yesterday.  I have had a lazy week but am looking forward to getting ready and going to the couples shower of my dear friend Emily tonight.  It will be nice to get out and about with the hubby!  With that said, you can see I've even been too lazy to get on the computer and write what I'm thankful for this week.  So here is some catching up on what I wrote down.

November 9 - I'm thankful for books and the time I've had to catch up on reading.

November 10 - I'm thankful for all the wonderful girl friends in my life and all the babies that are on the way!

November 11 - I'm thankful for the holidays and the cheerful decorations that are already up around town!

November 12 - I'm thankful the weekends and time when my hubby is off work and able to be with me as a family.

November 8

November 8 - Today I am thankful for my wonderful mom who turned 56 today.  She is the best wife, mother, Mimi, and friend anyone could have.  I hope to be the woman to my family that she is to ours.  She is the glue, the rock, and the love that makes our family as close as it is.  I don't know anyone who loves their family like she does.  I hope to grow up to be just like her.  Love you momma!



Giving thanks for Thanksgiving...cont.

November 6 - I am thankful A now has a light in her room!  We have been replacing all the light fixtures in the house from the hideous lights that were here when we moved in.  We finally found a little white fan and light kit and hubby did his handy man work yesterday.  Let there be light!  On that note, I'm also thankful for a husband that can do pretty much anything around the house.  I grew up with a dad who can fix/build/repair anything on the planet (love that mechanical engineer of a father) and I'm lucky to have a husband who is like that too!

November 7 - I am thankful I grew up in a faith filled, religious family.  I don't know how people get through hard times without a solid foundation of faith.  I have had a life time growing in a relationship with God and I thank Him everyday that I had parents who taught me how important that is and how it has has helped me through life's challenges.

Short and sweet

Thankfulness catchup:

November 3 - I am so thankful for the beautiful weather!

November 4 - I am thankful for my sweet, littlest niece Kylee who was born two years ago today!

November 5 - I am thankful to be scratching many things off my to-do list.  Got pre-registered at the hospital.  Returned some stuff to BabysRUs and got more we needed.  Got my nursing tops and hospital clothes.  Worked on baby's room... So much getting completed!

Giving thanks for Thanksgiving

Most of you probably know the tradition of listing something for which you are thankful each day in November all the way up until Thanksgiving.  I'm a day behind but better late than never.

November 1 - I am thankful for a husband who is easy going and laid back.  He seriously is happy in just about any circumstance and doesn't mind just going with the flow.  Yesterday I had big promises of a yummy meal waiting for him when he got home but after an afternoon of not feeling great he was more than happy to pick me up and take me for a lovely dinner date at Chickfila so I wouldn't have to cook.  He really doesn't mind doing whatever makes me happy.

November 2 - I am thankful I'm able to be at home during these last weeks of pregnancy.  This afternoon I found myself starting to get bored but quickly reminded myself how blessed I am that I am able to be in my home, lay in my bed, and nap when I need to during the home stretch of pregnancy.  It really is a blessing to spend my days in my house getting things done and resting.  I'm so thankful I'm able to do that.

I'm also thankful for my photographer sister-in-law.  She is amazing and I love having someone so talented for all our photo needs.  She recently did my maternity photos and I just got a sneak peak.  I love the pic!  It did, however, make me realize how puffy I'm becoming and my husband almost cried when he saw how bald he's getting from an aerial view.  LOL.  My face isn't quite looking like itself and that was actually the last day I could fit my wedding rings on my swollen little fingers.  Puffy-ness and all, there were LOTS of great shots from that day and I can't wait to see and share the rest!  A perk of knowing the photographer is that you can look through her camera after the session to see some of the goodies to come!  No matter how puffy I look and feel these days, I love seeing our little family together and cherish our first photos as a growing family of three! 

Love the sweetness in this pic!

I am so lucky to be married to a man who is so sweet to me and SO in love with his two girls.  He couldn't be more excited to hold his daughter and I feel that love from him when I look at this picture!

Obsessed

 So I've been a tad obsessed lately. 

Obsession 1.  Erin Condren

Even since Meredith told me about about these fabulous products I can't stop buying!  There are so many fun things for this stationary loving, organization obsessed, crafting girl!  I just got an order in and think my supplies should be complete (for the time being).  The hubby doesn't quite understand why we are in need of all the gift labels and stationary.  This is about all I can justify.

Obsession 2.  Halloween

I love all holidays!  I'm especially excited about this Halloween because it's our first Halloween in a home.  I'm beyond excited for all the little trick or treaters and seeing the costumes.  Kids truly do bring the joy to all holidays.  And it's a special bonus that I know so many of the kids in the neighborhood.  Can't wait!

I stayed home from work today and thought I could spend my time finishing the Halloween treat bags I'm putting together for the kids of neighbors and friends.  Not going to lie...there was a rather large number of wrappers that began to pile up during this process.



I've decided Aubrey's very first Halloween costume is going to be a pumpkin.  I'm stealing the idea from my sister-in-law who was nine months pregnant during Halloween of 2009.  So simple and cute!

Happy Hump Day!  Enjoy the rest of your week!

Change is in the air

With the new home and our baby girl's due date fast approaching, change is all around us.  It was quite apparent that after two baby showers, A's stuff was taking over our house.  It is heart warming to see her precious things filling our home.

These two outfits were little gifts from my mom.  I don't know why, but they are my FAVORITE!  The white one is just so petite and dainty!  I can't wait to put my little angel in that sweet outfit!  And the Polo outfit is SO cute.  Having a husband that lives in Polos, it couldn't be more appropriate.  She will be her daddy's daughter.

We are still waiting on A's furniture to arrive so her room is starting to form piles.  Can't wait to get everything organized.

I can't wait to change from my purse to this diaper bag.  I seriously love it!

Hubby spent a lot of time last weekend putting together the bassinet, stroller, and other baby gifts.  He basically spent Sunday in front of the TV watching football and constructing baby stuff. 

That living room is all about change.  The WHOLE thing is changing...new pillows, new side tables, new coffee table, new rug...the only thing staying from that picture is the couch and the husband.

 

We have a lot of home changes in the works.  I don't know what I would do without my mom and her friend/business partner Jana.  They are interior decorators and are so good at what they do.  And I'm not going to lie, it's a pretty awesome job for your mom to have.  There are quite a few perks!  So when we started the process of a buying a home and everything that goes with it, we had some decorative decisions to make.  The main thing I had to decide was "do I change a little of each room or do one room at a time but finish it completely"?  I decided to do one room at a time, but completely finish it.  We are starting with the living room/kitchen area.

First thing is we are getting rid of this hideous light fixture above the kitchen table.  No offense if that's your look, but it's not me.  I want a fun, bright look.  So we are changing from the light fixture on the left to the round white fixture on the right.  It still has the plastic wrap on it so it looks shiny.

We are totally changing the colors in our home.  When we lived in the apartment we had all earth tones and it was a darker, warmer feel.  Now I want my furniture and accessories to be a much brighter feel.  So our colors are changing from warm earth tones to lots of whites, creams, apple greens, and aqua.  We are having the kitchen chairs recovered with this green fabric.

We are having some pillows made to go with our new oatmeal colored couch.  LOVE these fabrics!

And then this rug will go in the living room.  We are also having an big ottoman made and moving the bulky coffee table to a front room.  I think we are also going to have some leather chairs made to complete the room.  I'm so excited about this whole process.  I've never had a home to decorate before!  And as "nesting" mode takes full affect, it feels so good to have a plan for our family area.

With that said, there are still four other rooms in our house (front living room, dining room, study, and third bedroom) that are COMPLETELY empty.  And they will remain so for quite some time.  LOL.  Not sure what room will be next but it will probably have to wait until after the baby is born.

This is what you see when you walk into my house. 

Front living room and dining room.  It is quite a sad scene.

So much change going on and have to say thank you to my precious husband for letting me do so much for our home.  I know he could really care less if the house stayed empty or if we sat on lawn furniture so it means a lot to me that he is letting me fix things up how I want it.  The routine conversation in our house goes something like:

Hubby: "I just closed a new client"

Me:  "Oh good, that means we can buy _____ for the house"

He is such a hard worker and giving husband.  Thanks babe for making our house a home!

And HUGE shout out to my mom and Jana.  Y'all are amazing at what you do and I could never say thank you enough.  What would I do without "the moms"?!

Baby shower!

This weekend was the baby shower given to my by my family.  We called it the "new generation" of hostess because showers have historically been given to the girls in the family by my mom, aunts, and God mother.  This shower was given to me by my sister-in-laws, cousins, and God sister.  It was AMAZING!  I have to say, the youngsters gave the moms a run for their money.  It was so sweet and adorable!  All the decorations were amazing and I was so proud and happy!  Great shower girls!  I had such a good time socializing with all my favorite girls!

They had a cake made to match my invitation!

My cousin Taylor

 

Thanks mom for letting the girls use your house!

Me and my amazing mom

My cousins Jen and Taylor with my mom

My God mother Lisa and me

My wonderful sister-in-laws!  Love them so much! 

The hostesses - LOVED the shirt idea!

I got so many sweet and wonderful gifts!  I felt very loved and so thankful the amazing women in my life!

One of my favorite gifts!  Love this diaper bag!

A gift card and Juicy outfit from her aunts!  Too cute! 

The gift from my mom made me want to cry.  In addition to buying all our baby furniture and giving me a bassinet at the shower, my mom had a cute hat box filled with cherished items of mine from when I was a baby.  There were all the glass collectible Beatrice Potter music boxes I had growing up and my Amy doll.  I got my Amy doll for my first birthday and had it with me my WHOLE childhood.  I can't wait to pass her on to Aubrey.  Such a thoughtful gift and passing of love from mother to daughter.  Thanks Mom! 

Hubby took a break from football to come say hi to all the ladies and load up all the gifts.  Love him so much!

Love this picture my cousin took as we were talking.  Pretty sure I was probably giving him orders on loading the car but sweet how he's always touching my belly!

It was such an amazing, love filled weekend.  I feel very blessed with all the people in my life.

Now off to a family dinner at Buca de Beppo!