What I'm loving and Thankful

First, some of my Facebook friends started the trend of "a month of thankfulness"...ok maybe not started but jumped on the bandwagon. Here's mine so far:
November 1: first run in 7 months (and post-baby). It was slowwwww, but it felt great to run again!!
November 2: seeing family. It's my great aunt's funeral today. She put up an amazing 10 year fight against cancer. And though it's not the greatest reason to get to see family, it will be a blessing nonetheless.

Now on to what I'm loving. I haven't linked up for at least a few months, so here goes...

[1] LIZA. Our baby girl is 6.5 weeks old and we fall more and more in love with her everyday. When she smiles, our hearts melt.

[2] IPHONE. It's helping me to stay somewhat connected, keeps track of Liza's feedings (app is called Baby Brain), and helps me snap quick photos of our sweet girl. And we can't wait to use FaceTime with friends further away!

[3] FAMILY. our families have been wonderfully supportive of our new roles of parents. They give Liza tons of love and help give us breaks here and there.

[4] HUSBAND. JW is SUCH a good daddy. He snuggles with Liza, helps with diapers and baths, and gives her tons of kisses. He's also been an amazing husband and support for me as we've learned how to live with less sleep, rushed dinners, and figuring out the whole feeding thing.

Happy Wednesday peeps!! What are you loving??

One Month!

I'm a little behind here (like 10 days) but I wanted to start the trend of a monthly post for Liza!  

Here are a few updates about our sweet little peanut:
-You give us between 6.5-8 hours of sleep every night -- not even close to continuous though!
-You mostly like baths.
-You love laying on your playmat and listening to music/watching the lights/looking in the mirror.
-You hardly fit in ANY of your clothes -- some are the right size in the body, but far too short for your long legs and some are huge in the body, but long enough for your legs!  What can we say, you're built like your mom and dad.
-You make mom and dad soooooo happy.
-You instantly bring a smile to grandma and grandpa's faces :)
-Whitney is still not sure what she thinks about you...though she seems to be warming up a bit.
-You love to sleep on mom and dad's chest -- curled up with frog legs.  And we love it too!

 Happy Thursday everyone! :)

Our lives have changed...

Everyone told us that once Liza got here everything would be different.  And they were totally right.  Only, we couldn't understand just how much life would change.  We are constantly amazed at how much we love this little girl we've only known for just under a month.  She makes us laugh and smile.  She makes us tired and cry.  She makes us talk about pooping and peeing like it's no big deal!  We are enamored with her...head over heels in love.

I mentioned in the last post that I'd talk about how she came into the world, so here goes...

I had a doctor's appointment scheduled for the day before my due date (9/17).  I was still feeling fine and hadn't really experienced any contractions so I thought (like many with their first pregnancy) that Liza would arrive later than scheduled, but I was ok with that.  During the appointment, the doctor had told me that I wasn't super-dilated yet and so I started thinking about heading to the football game later that night.  That is, until she mentioned that my blood pressure was still high (it had been for a few weeks) and my body and baby were ready and she thought I should be induced. 

Of course this was one of the few appointments that JW didn't come to with me!  So I was a little shocked, but we really trusted our doctor and I felt like it was the thing to do.  After quickly calling my mom and JW to confirm that this is what we would do, I headed home quickly to add a few things to my hospital bag, get the puppy ready to head to my parents and wait for JW to get home from work so we could head to the hospital.  When we got to the hospital we were both a little shaky.  We had just gone from thinking that it would be awhile for Liza to get here to "she'll be here tomorrow".  AAAAAhhhhhhh...in a good way.  Once we got all checked in, they started me on some medicine to see if my body would start to go into labor on its own.  They assured us that nothing would happen that night and so we should just relax.  So, we ordered pizza, listened to the Northmen football game (which they won), and watched some of the Tigers game.  Everyone kept telling me to get a good night's sleep since I'd need all my energy for the next day -- easier said than done.  I woke up every few hours thinking about what was going to happen the next day.

The next morning we met our AMAZING nurse.  We could not have asked for a better nurse than Denise.  She was so thorough and intelligent and made us feel comfortable throughout the entire labor and delivery.  Things went by pretty slowly that morning as we waited to see what would happen with the meds from the night before.  When it wasn't moving too quickly, our doctor stopped in and broke my water.  That started things, but still not quite enough and so I was given some more medicine to get the whole show going!  Throughout the afternoon, my contractions increased in intensity and length.  We had internal monitoring to keep an eye on me and Liza to make sure everything was going ok.  Around 4:00, I started to have more intense contractions and I was given the go-ahead to start pushing.  After about four contractions, Denise (nurse) and our doctor stopped to watch the monitor on Liza when they confirmed that with every push her heart rate was dropping and not rebounding nearly as quickly as what she should have been.  I pushed through one more contraction when they decided that we might not be able to get her out safely and a c-section was necessary.  


Everything happened so quickly after that.  Thank goodness the 'crew' that would perform the c-section was downstairs (it was a Saturday after all) and within 15 minutes of making the decision to have a c-section, JW and I were in the operating room getting ready to meet our baby girl.  Although I really didn't want a c-section, I have to admit that having the epidural after an intense afternoon of contractions and pushing felt pretty amazing.  I was finally able to relax a little.  JW watched much of the c-section (which he still wants to tell me about...I don't wish to know anything about it).  And within a few minutes, our beautiful girl was 'born' (out?).

It was not at all how we imagined having Liza.  But, what they discovered during the c-section was that the cord was pressed against Liza's head/face and so every time I pushed the cord would get compressed.  We are so thankful that we had a beautiful, healthy girl.  As for my recommendations -- go into your labor and delivery with some ideas about what you'd like, but ultimately your game plan should be healthy baby, healthy momma.  That mindset made it so that all the twists and turns in our labor and eventually c-section were much easier to handle.

More updates on our baby girl soon... :)

Liza is here :)

hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!  i realize i fell off the map for about three weeks, but we have good reason - our sweet girl made her arrival just over two weeks ago - september 17th (her due date -- what can we say, she's punctual like her mom)!

 our little peanut did not come into the world quite as we had planned, but she was healthy and in the end, that's all that mattered to us.  more to come on that story, but i just thought i'd let you all know that she is here.  i'm finally starting to feel like i can get a few things done around the house (when i'm not snuggling and loving on Liza), so hopefully i'll join the blogging world again. till then...here's a few more pictures of our peanut...

The Simple Things...

Well hi, guys!  I woke up extra early this morning and finally had a minute to catch up on the blogging world.  Because we've got a lot of good things going on, I thought I'd link up with Jesslyn Amber and appreciate the simple things...

--Liza's due date is Saturday...like 2 days...and we can't wait to meet this baby girl--

--Getting 8 hours of sleep at night (we are fully aware this will change)--

--Setting out for a walk down the street and being joined by my nephews, sister-in-law, and Mocha-dog--

--Whitney loving to cuddle in the mornings--

--Being able to celebrate family birthdays since we live so close--

--Working in a new position that is challenging, but so fun--

--And last, booking spring break flights to Florida last night--

 We'll be sure to keep you all posted on Miss Liza when she decides to make her arrival :)

Happy Thursday - it's almost the weekend!!

M...I...A

Life has been a little crazy this week.  I'm back to school, 39 weeks pregnant, and figuring out my new position.  I made mac and cheese for dinner this week...which may not seem like a big deal, but for a girl who loves to cook, you know I must be dragging.  As far as the baby update goes - she's still happy to hang out with me ;)  I just got home from a doctor's appointment and she thinks little Liza might just make it to her due date and beyond.  Fine with me -- I'm still pretty comfortable, only have a little swelling, and sleeping like a rock.  Those are the big updates, but I'm hopeful to get a blog post or two this weekend (seeing as we have nothing planned...yes)!  
Happy Friday everybody! :)

It's Ok...

It's been a busy busy week.  Life is starting to get crazy.  

And Liza is getting closer and closer to making her arrival like a little more than 2 weeks.

Weeks.  Craziness.

So when I found this link up with Neely and Amber, I decided it fit this week.

So here goes...

IT'S OK...

...that I didn't make it into school today to work on my classroom.

...that I may snooze on the couch this afternoon.

...that I can't always get everything done that I want to at 8.5 months pregnant.

...to spend the morning snuggling with the Whit-bug.

....to be a little nervous about this whole labor and delivery thing :)

...to be overwhelmed with thoughts of what our little girl will be like.

...to look forward to relaxing this weekend.

....that I'm not quite ready to head back to school just yet.

...to remember that I'm a pretty lucky gal with an amazing husband, a baby who will be here soon, and a sweet puppy :)

Liza's Room - the big REVEAL :)

Well, baby Liza will be here in less than a month.  The nursery is {almost} done and I've been waiting to share it with you until we got a few photos back from our photographer friend who recently did some maternity pictures for us!  

First, let's remember what this room looked like before {back when it was our guest bedroom}:

We started by painting it blue over spring break.  At that point, we still had NO clue if we'd be having a girl or a boy.  And even though we thought 'it' would be a girl, we still opted for blue.  I'll have to find the paint can, but it is from Sherwin Williams.  

Don't worry we didn't leave their names on the wall :)

Then, we got the crib and the dresser set up.  And then the room stayed like that for quite some time...

Until we finally found some time and energy in late spring/early summer.

Here was our list for her room:

• Add closet organization and remove closet doors
• Add shelves to display pictures/"L"/etc.
• Add shelves for diaper 'bins'
• Find rug for the floor (DIY perhaps)
• Find fabric for curtains & crib skirt
• Hang paper lanterns
• Make curtains
• Make crib skirt
• Wash clothes/burp rags/blankets/etc.
• Spray paint "L" yellow
• Hang pictures above crib
• Get chair delivered and in place
• Make a bookshelf

Although the list doesn't seem too bad, it wasn't always easy to accomplish when JW works 10.5 hours every day and I can't do too much lifting/moving by myself!  But, we're happy to say it's done!

The first pic is from our maternity pictures...pardon the rest of them.  I was eager to post and didn't edit my own!

The quilt on the back of the chair is JW's baby blanket :)

Liza's "Anywhere Chair" from PBKids, so she can fit in with her older cousins!

We like to call this the 'Twister' rug.  Maybe we've played a game or two on it :)

Diaper bag packed and ready to go to the hospital

We also like that a lot of the colors and design will be great when she wants a 'big girl' room.  And if not, most of the items in there are easy enough to switch out then!

Here's a cost breakdown:

• Fabric for curtains & crib skirt ($65 from fabric.com w/ coupon)
• Crib (Free, hand-me-down from JW's sister)
• Dresser ($285 from Buy Buy Baby - apparently they take Bed Bath & Beyond coupons...if we'd only known that or if there was one closer than 4 hours away)
• Chair ($1100 - YIKES, we spent on this bad boy because we plan on using it in the living room for years to come and because my parents have the same model chair in their living room and we LOVE it...it's a Smith Brothers in case you're wondering)
• Shelves (FREE, leftover lumber & paint from one of our many other projects)
• Closet Organization (FREE, again leftover paint and lumber and JW used a wire closet insert from a basement closet we never use)
• Bookshelf ($3 - leftover white paint and lumber and trim, and then a $3 sample of the yellow paint from Lowe's or Home Depot)
• Frames & Art (Art = $5 to print at Walgreens [rather than killing our ink cartridge]; Frames - Ryba frames from Ikea - I think they cost $10/each)
• Blue Room Paint ($30 - we had some leftover from a room in our basement and had to buy another gallon from Sherwin Williams to finish it all off)
• Curtain Panel Rings ($8 - SUPER sale at JoAnn Fabrics plus my teacher discount)
• Paper Lanterns (Free - leftover from our wedding decor)
• Rugs (the big one was $40ish from Ikea...it was a great deal and we love the playful colors; the small blue one - FREE - my mom crocheted for us)
• Mirror ($40 from HomeGoods - one of our first purchases too)
• Bins (some free from our registry, some $5/bin on sale at Meijer)
 

Well, what do you think??? :)

The Simple Things.

Well it's been awhile, but I'm finally linking up again with Jesslyn Amber to share "The Simple Things".  She is such a sweet girl going through a tough time in her life, so be sure to check out her blog and send some happy thoughts her way.

Here's my list for the week.

~Having a job~

~Knowing that we get to meet this baby girl soon~

~Waking up to the thump of my puppy's (ok ok, 10 year old black lab) tail on the bed~

~A wonderful, hard-working husband~

~Great family and friends who were so supportive and encouraging during 'the great job hunt'~

~A job that will give me some flexibility once Liza is here~

~Having my long-term sub plans just about done for maternity leave~

~Having my Master's Project and therefore my Master's DONE~

What are YOU appreciating today?

Yay Wednesday!!

These past few weeks have been crazy thus the lack of blogging. I went from a super-reduced teaching position with no clear idea for the fall to a technology coach position. I'm so thankful to have this worked out before Liza makes her arrival. So now it's time to link up with Jamie for "what I'm loving Wednesday" because I certainly have a lot to love this week.

(1)

A J-O-B!!! I'm going to be the technology coach for our district! We just passed a millage this past spring for technology and I can't wait to work with our staff to help them implement technology I their classrooms!!

(2)

Fresh food and local food! Last night we had bruschetta burgers for dinner - so delicious! The beef was from Jon's sister's cow, tomatoes and basil from our CSA, and some organic mozzarella from our local co-op.

(3)

Celebrating the new job with our family last night. We had brownies, ice cream, and hot fudge at our house along with lots of giggles and play-time with the nephews!

(4)

My little sweet pea, Liza. We are less than a month away from her anticipated due date! The time has flown by and we're so excited to meet her!

(5)

Technology blogs and working in my classroom. Yes we are crazy in northern Michigan and don't start school till after Labor Day!

(6)
Our newly arrived Sparty Tervis Tumblers and using camelcamel.com to get them on sale.  Have you guys used camelcamel before?  You can set price alerts and wait to purchase your item when it's on super-sale.  These bad boys were normally $40 for a 4-pack and I got them for $23.95!!  I love that they don't sweat and help keep your cold drinks cold and hot drinks hot!

(7)

And of course I'm loving my amazing husband and our sweet pup! :)

JW caught this fish on Sunday night in the bay -- woohoo for fresh salmon!!!

Oh hey Wednesday.

It's Wednesday -- halfway through the week!!  It's also time to link up with Jamie and share what I'm loving this week.

Here goes...

{1}

We had maternity pictures taken last night by a friend who also happened to sing at our wedding.  Here's a sneak peak!

Photo courtesy Meagan Neal Photography

{2}

I only have 2 more days left of summer school - I'm ready to be done and relax for a few more weeks before school officially starts back up.

{3}

We are EXACTLY one month away from Liza's expected arrival date -- CRAZY!

Photo courtesy Meagan Neal Photography

{4}

A job interview tonight...wish me luck :) 

{5}

Of course my sweet husband and our sweet pup!

Photo courtesy Meagan Neal Photography

What are you loving this week?? 

Liza's Adjustable Crib Skirt

I promised this post last week. 

And then I got busy.

And now I'm editing my Master's project for the kajillionth time.

I was losing some steam so I figured I'd take a break and actually get this post going.

But first a few Liza updates!

We had an ultrasound on Friday and by the calculations, our little lady is a growing 6 pounds, 1 ounce!  Her dad has begun to affectionately call her the "6 pounder".  This means that if she makes her arrival close to on-time, she'll be a little under 8 pounds :)

Because of this, we've been on a mission to have her room completed soon!  And we're close.

But, here's what I've been meaning to show you all: how to make an adjustable crib skirt.

I had seen some no-sew crib skirts and some that took way more sewing skill than I had and I opted for somewhere right in the middle.  I think you could easily make this an almost no-sew project, though, if that's not your thing.  

I also wanted a crib skirt that could adjust when we move Liza's mattress down as she gets bigger.  I saw this post, but she didn't have the directions as to how to actually create the crib skirt.  So I started measuring and brainstorming...and before long I had an idea.  But don't expect too much, I know very little about sewing.

Here's what I came up with...

Adjustable Crib Skirt Tutorial

Materials:

3.5 yards ribbon (mine was about 3/4" thick) or leftover ribbon 

2 yards fabric (just to be safe) - I only did 3 sides of my crib since one rests against the wall

Thread or Iron-on Hem Tape

{1} Measure the sides of your crib that you'll want to have a skirt hang from.  Make sure your mattress is at the highest setting.  Add an inch or two on to each width and length so you have enough for a hem.  (I worked on this while I washed my fabric to ensure it was pre-shrunk)

{2} Cut material for each panel (rather than one large piece).  Then, iron and pin a hem around each edge of the panel.  Sew these down (or use iron-on hem tape) EXCEPT for the top.

{3} Cut your ribbon into 10" strips - you'll need approximately 11 of these.  Then, fold them in half and iron at that point.  

{4} Pin three of these at the middle of the ribbon to the top of your side panels and 5 to the top of your front panel, keeping somewhat equal distance in between. (You'll be using the ribbon to tie knots, so you need to have the two ends out)

{5} Sew a hem on the top of each panel while sewing the ribbon down.

{6} Press the panels one more time before hanging.  Then, ask your husband to help you (especially if you're 8 months pregnant) tie the ribbons to the bed springs of the crib so that the crib barely grazes the floor or is slightly above - whatever you prefer.

Then, stand back and admire your work :)

This is Mocha, my brother's dog.  She was baffled by the noise of the camera.  She was also a good helper when it came to getting the crib skirt up :)

More on Liza's room soon!!!