Catching Up

I know, I know, I've been a terrible blogger.  What can I say, work has really gotten into the way of my blogging life. :-D

I had my monthly OB appointment this week, on Wednesday 8/11, which also happened to be Eric and my 3 year wedding anniversary.  I can't believe its been 3 years, but even more so, I can't believe we have been together for the better part of a decade.  Time flies... ANYWAY, the appointment was good.  I am measuring a month a head of schedule, compared to a singleton pregnancy, and will be likely put on some restrictions in the next 3 weeks (aka, when September begins).  One of those restrictions will definitely be travel...

I have to admit, while I did expect this, it didn't stop me from being bummed out.  For starters, my MIL was planning a shower for Eric and me in Blacksburg on 9/12, since we were planning to be there for the football game.  I asked the doctor if it would be OK for me to at least go to that, and he definitely wanted to say no, but he said we would see how the next ultrasound looked.  I know missing a shower isn't the end of the world, but its still sad.  In addition, a close family friend of ours was going to plan a luncheon for my sister (who is also preggo, due in October) and I on 9/19, but it looks like that will turn into a "Welcome Babies" party later this year.  The biggest hit to me was that I would likely be missing most, if not all, of this season's Hokie games.  I know, I know, what's the big deal, right?  Except VT football season is my favorite part of the year.  I didn't expect to go to all of the games, but to find out that I likely will miss them all was sad, especially considering our season tickets showed up last week too.  But oh well, I'll get over it!!

The doctor also said they are about 95% sure I'll be getting a c-section.  Right now, both babies are breech, and I still have marginal placenta previa... both of these things could correct themselves, but they seemed to think its unlikely both will.  So we are scheduling the c-section for the first week of November, unless they come early... I hope I can bake them that long!

I'm really excited about all the deliveries I have gotten this week!  First, my uncle ordered and shipped the two high chairs we registered for.  I didn't expect anyone to buy these, but I was so excited for them to come!  Then yesterday, our crib mattresses came, and today, the bedding should be arriving (yes, I actually broke down and picked out some bedding, shocking, I know!!).  We decided to go with the Kasey bedding from Pottery Barn because it was simple with all the colors we liked.  This weekend, Eric and our close friend Brad are going to work on switching the furniture in our guestroom with the nursery so that the nursery has more space, and then I can start setting everything up!  I cannot wait!!!

So that is pretty much everything going on with me.  As it goes now, even though I am 26 weeks, I have about 2.5 months left in this pregnancy if they make it to my scheduled c-section (fingers crossed).  I can't believe how fast it is going!!  I'll leave you all with this week's belly shot, which is actually from Tuesday at 25w2d, but like I said, I'm a bit behind!  Have a good weekend everyone!!

I think we have made our decision...

FINALLY... I think we have picked out bedding (I know, this is a tired subject!).  I've looked at hundreds of sets and haven't fell in love with any of them.  Then I decided to check out Pottery Barn Kids, and found this bedding set:

Its simple, very basic... and Eric LOVES it.  I can actually see this in our nursery.  My only concern is that our furniture is very dark, and this bedding looks amazing in the all white nursery.  The set includes the bumper, crib sheet, and skirt, so we would probably hold off on the quilt for a while. 

There is another set I like as well, but the set includes the quilt, sheet, and bumper (no skirt). 

I'm going to try and stop by a Pottery Barn Kids tomorrow and check them out before saying 100% that this is the bedding for us.  I may even mix and match pieces from both sets.  We'll see.  So, what do you guys think?

On a side note, my employer has upgraded the firewall and, unfortunately, Blogger is now blocked at worked.  I typically blog on my lunch breaks, so now I am going to have to remember to blog once I get home.  I just wanted to let you all know in case you see my post rate diminishing.

Opinions Please!!

Ok, so I know I have posted on here a bazillion times about nursery bedding and decor, and I am sure its beyond tiresome at this point to hear, but I need some opinions.

So if you have been reading the blog for the past couple months, you know I have been REALLY picky.  I really wanted to use bold blue/teal and green with some brown, but I could never find bedding I liked.  I wanted to avoid cheesy characters and just go with something simple.  Still no luck.  So I made the decision to just order/register for individual pieces that I like and sort of build my own bedding.

Well, today, I went onto BRU to update some items on our registry and see this new bedding set, and I can't help it, I think it is so cute!  I'm not planning to use the quilt, but I really like the sheet/bumper/crib skirt combo, and the fact that I can turn the quilt into a cute playset.  So I need to know what everyone thinks, since this is going almost 100% away from my original plan.  Is it too dorky for my boys or is a safari-type theme OK?

Opinions Always Welcome

Hey everyone!  Sorry its been quiet post-wise since my appointment last week, but life has been super busy for me.  Plus, the hubby and I went out of town this weekend to visit his family, and I didn't have access to internet.

This weekend, for the most part, was fun.  We hiked to the Cascades in Blacksburg, which was one of my favorite things to do when I was in school.  Apparently, they have made that trail longer in the last couple years because it was a bit rough.  I was pretty good for the first 2 miles up, but was definitely struggling the last mile.  I definitely do not have the energy level I once did, especially now that I am 19 weeks pregnant.  But I did it!  And thankfully, we took the easy, straight trail back down the mountain.  I think for the duration of the pregnancy, I'm going to stick with our regular evening walks in the park as my exercise, because the higher impact things I used to be able to do are a little much for me, I hate to say. 

Now, what did I mean about opinions.  Well its that same "issue" (for lack of a better word) I've been having for the past few weeks.  How to decorate the nursery.  I think I have said it before, but if not, I really want to go with a blue, green, brown, and white decor, but nothing too cheesy with lots of characters.  I have looked all over the internet, but still really haven't found anything I love (at least, that didn't cost more than $400 a set).  A lot of you gave me some great suggestions, like Etsy and Ebay and mix-and-matching sets, which are still viable options for me right now (and I had a GREAT time on Etsy), but I am actually thinking of just trying to piece something together on my own.  I really don't think I need a dust ruffle (or I can always get it later), so I was thinking about just finding a bumper and separate blanket that mostly match.

So here's something I am thinking for now:

Bumper:

Blanket:

What do you think?  Both of these are carried in store, so I am going to check them out to see how they really look together when we go register, but I'm always curious what people think.  There are tons of other bumpers and blankets too that are the colors I love too.  Here are some more:

Anyway, like I said, all suggestions on the matter are welcome... is it a good idea to try and do this from scratch, or should I just get over this "perfect nursery" vision I have in my head and buy a bedding set?  I hope to come up with something soon, as I am ready to move onto my next stressor, whatever it may be.

Know the Sex, Start the Nursery, Part II

Wouldn't you know it, as soon as I get the big things like the stroller, car seats, and nursery furniture out of the way, I just move on to new items to stress over.  This week's stress du jour is the nursery decor, specifically baby bedding.  Somewhere along the lines, I got this perfect vision of a nursery in my mind.  It was simple, no over the top themes, just basic colors and patterns.  And it was blue, and green, and brown, and white, and ADORABLE.  I even found lots of color examples at Lowe's for when we are finally able to paint said nursery.

But now that I have this awesome nursery in my mind, I can't find anything to put it together.  None of the bedding I look at fits what I want, and anything that is close or workable costs $400+ a set, which is just out of the question (because I can't imagine someone, especially me, spending $800 on baby bedding)... I also tried to find a place that will sell individual pieces where I could "build my own" baby bedding set, but the selection is slim and not really what I am looking for.

So I'm kinda at a loss... anyone have any ideas out there??  Here are a couple pictures of nurseries I found online (mostly through Google images) that I like:

This is pretty much as close to perfect as I could find.  I love the colors and the simplicity of it, the brown bumper, the green skirt, the blue blanket... and the RUG, love it!  I would probably do a solid shag rug since this one is probably expensive, but I do love it!

Another example of the colors that I love.  I was able to find these wall decals, so that may be on our list of purchases in the future.  We are probably going with a solid brown chair, but isn't this one fun??

So anyway, there's an idea of what I am looking for, and now I am calling out to anyone who might have a clue where to look... I've tried all the basic places like BRU, Target, Buy Buy Baby, etc, but I'm still not having any luck!!  Suggestions welcomed and encouraged!!

Know the Sex, Start the Nursery

With all the excitement of the ultrasound on Tuesday, I forgot to mention that, while home visiting my parents this past weekend, I found and purchased some nursery furniture (two cribs and a combo dresser).  It was just one of those situations where everything aligned and I decided to go with it.  Now, I must admit, I'm a little picky about things (OK, a-lotta-picky), especially when it comes to home decor and furniture.  A few weeks ago, I visited USA Baby in Richmond and loved basically all the furniture there... but of course, that's because most were solid wood and cost ALOT.  Everything I have looked at since has just seemed cheap.  I've been to BRU, Target, and finally Baby Depot (aka Burlington Coat Factory).  Walking around Baby Depot, I had that same feeling (i.e. the feeling of "This is all crap that will not stand up to a baby, let alone the test of time to be able to use the convertible crib for its full purpose").  Then, I turned the corner, and there is was...

The Suite BeBe Hampshire collection.  I fell in love.  It has darker wood like I love, but it also has a very slight cherry color to it, which made it different.  It was made pretty solid, and I couldn't get enough of it.  Plus, I got a 20% off discount on one of the cribs for having twins, and I had a coupon for 15% off the dresser, so I saved about $200 total... AND it was in stock.  Granted, we were 3 hours away from my home and my hubby wasn't there (though I did send him pics and links so he would see and approve), but my dad picked it up in his truck and will be bringing it to us the last week of June.  I. CANNOT. WAIT.

The room we will be using as the nursery is pretty small (9x10, currently our office), so I'm thinking we will start with one crib and wait to set up the second one.  Right now, we live in a townhouse that we rent.  Even though we have been in Northern VA for 5 years now, and have looked into purchasing a home about 3 times over those 5 years, it really just wasn't possible (and boy am I glad we didn't buy, since I'm seeing how much housing costs dropped for my friend's who did buy during the housing peak... some are losing hundreds of thousands of dollars and are essentially stuck). 

While we knew we could afford to buy, we didn't want to be "house poor", plus we have been discussing (for the better part of 3 years) leaving Nova to be closer to friends and family, by moving to the Ric.  The trouble is finding a new job, but we have decided, we are making the move... the "plan" (in quotes because plans never seem to work for us) is to spend the last month or so of pregnancy and hopefully my maternity leave looking for jobs (I'm probably not being realistic, but oh well).  I'll return to work around January (assuming they do not come too early) and keep up the search.  Our lease ends in February or March, and hopefully, by then, I'll have found another job and we can get outta here.  Luckily hubby doesn't have to find another job as he can work remotely from home.  Its me holding us up at this point, so fingers crossed it will work.  I'm hoping that even if I don't find something before our lease ends, we could still make the move due to the lower cost of living based off my husband's pay, but that isn't ideal and I would like to avoid that.  Two paychecks is better than one!

Sooo why am I tell you all this?  Well, basically because my dream nursery is gonna have to wait.  Since we hopefully won't be in the townhouse for very long after the babies are born, I'm going to hold off on painting and hanging things.  I will plan to have it all purchased and ready, but I will just have to wait on completing the final project for a little while.  It makes me a little down, since I feel like I'll be itching to do stuff during the nesting period, but I just don't want to have to deal with painting everything back to white before we leave.

Anyway, this post ended up longer than I had anticipated, so I'm going to forego my discussion of nursery themes and colors for right now.