A favorite corner in my home.

So for those of you that have known me for a long time can you please explain to my husband my love of re-arranging!? He seems to be associating it with my pregnancy but with a little convincing I've been able to explain to what extent I can that it is a much more serious compulsion. Honestly once I find what I think is the best use of space I will leave things alone but generally speaking I've never lived any one place long enough or maintained the same furniture long enough to find that too often. Last night much to his dismay I moved the desk into a corner in the living room and I LOVE IT! It will be staying here, it's the perfect spot.

Big Sasha!!!

I'm not the only thing getting big in our house. Check out my bratty puppy...I can barely pick her up anymore. She is also getting more trustworthy and can play in the yard with minimal supervision. Every so often she goes to the empty house across the street but it seems that only happens when we are actually outside with her. She is a happy, playful, and people-pleasing puppy.

It is crazy to think this was just a little more than a month ago!

Fun with Julian at the park!

Julian and I met his Mom for a pick-up at the park yesterday. She was running late so we had plenty of time to play before she arrived. I decided to pull out my camera--and with all the wonderful bright colors I'm glad I did...he's a doll.

23 1/2 weeks

I've gotten a lot bigger in the last week. Oliver weighs 1 pound and I'm finally feeling the pinch around clothing bands. It is such a strange thing to be putting on weight and not doing something about it. I've been pretty fit for the last few years so this is odd. I'm still doing good and not gaining much weight but this baby is starting to pack on the pounds...less than four months to go--how strange.
My progress is fun to capture...especially when I look back on 15 weeks and see the change!

(Note, you can always click on pictures to make them larger).

PAINT time!

So now that I've had some time to arrange, re-arrange, and re-arrange my house again, I'm finally going to tackle the paint choices. The delima's are as follows: a)the home does not belong to me and I am not purchasing the paint so it must be subtle enough to appeal to my 70-year-old landlord; b) I have a lot of dark furniture and a minimal amount of space so I want the colors to bring in light; and c) I want it to help simplify a space that desperately needs some unity.

I hopped on Behr.com. I am using Behr paint (which the landlord has already approved) and decided using their on-line paint tool would be a fun way to play with the color. The benefit is that their pictures all have white trim (as do we). The disadvantage is the colors are a bit artificial looking on the computer and look much more sub-dued and dimensional in person. So...in other words please expand your imagination as much as possible.

I arranged the photos as if they represent the floor plan of our house. It is one big square and aside from the laundry room I was really able to layout how the colors would flow together.

Master Bedroom/Laundry Hall/Bathroom: Celery Ice
Living Room/Boys Room: Peanut Butter
Kitchen/Misc Room: Celtic Gray

So excited! Let me know what you think!

New pics, new people

I'm an aunt again and it couldn't get any better. Baby Austin is a perfect combination of Mom Maria and Dad Justin. With nearly a week under his belt he is as quiet as a mouse and almost as small and I think we're all in love!

he's just too cute. In person he seems much smaller. He weighs 6 lbs 8 ounces, he's a love who love to sleep.
Julian getting so big!!!
hanging out in a typical position, propped on the sofa with a car or train day-dreaming and talking aloud! (Look at those grubby big-boy feet).
Practicing to be a big brother! Uncle Justin showed Julian how to wash Austin's pacifier and gently put it in his mouth. At this particular moment Austin would rather sleep.

Sono pictures to come--I promise!

to do-to-ta done!

I am a big list maker. Grocery lists sure, but things that need to be done, prioritized from most important to least important, modified daily, trashed and restarted, lists of goals and plans, dreams and fantasies...I like putting thing in an orderly fashion and subsequently crossing them off as they've gotten done.

Being pregnant has given me a new outlook on my lists. I made a list for Friday which got pushed to Saturday which in turn got nudged to Sunday...and well Sunday...still nothing was done. A few things but very few things on my list--just basic what must be done in daily play sorts of things. I was just so tired. I had no energy. I would get this or that done and then wham, my eyes would weigh 100 lbs and I just couldn't keep them open. Then today--bam, I was overwhelmed with energy. I didn't even look at my lists...

So in the name of to-do lists (which I still accomplished very little on from my weekend list) I am making my ta-done list, of all the things I did today which I need to give myself some credit for...

Ta-done on Tuesday!

• Wash dishes
• do seven loads of laundry (including our bed sheets) and put all laundry away
  
• make the bed
• iron the pillow cases
• check voice-mail (huge for me in and of itself--I had not checked it since before our wedding)
  
• clean-up Sasha's shredded puppy bed
• mop the laundry room and Sasha's messes
• reorganize half of our crawl space
• hand-till a section of the yard to plant tomatoes
  
• plant tomato plants
• re-pot succulents
• straighten up unruly deck
• clean-up fridge
• wash-out glass milk jugs to be returned
  
• find an organizing solution to the dog and cat food
• arrange the bookshelf in the kitchen (recently moved there from living room)
• vacuum the house
  
• dismantle the vacuum and soak all the parts
• straighten the living room, bedroom, kitchen, and misc room
• watch a baby story
• call and set-up renters insurance
• pick-up insurance receipt and deliver to landlord
• return Dad's gardening tools
• shower and get ready for work
• work an evening shift at the restaurant
  
• take the trash out
  
• write a blog. lol

Tomorrow I have a Dr's appointment (more sono pictures to come) and Yoga so I'm glad I did the things today that I won't be able to do tomorrow!

Hazzah!

From Mi Momma

This knitted hoodie came back from France with my Mom for our baby boy. I can't wait to put him in it. It has big wooden buttons and is as cute as can be. The hood is pointy and it's just too cute~I couldn't have picked something better myself.

So big.

so bratty.

21 weeks

I'm huge. (and Bobby adds "beautiful") Which he yelled "type-it" when I didn't put it down. lol. So there you go! More than half-way there!

A Hop, skip, and a jump

...Or at least that is what it feels like.

Baby Boy Blakley is a very wiggly fetus. Any time I'm sit still he starts thumping around in there. It has certainly added to the excitement of things to come. Just last night Bobby was finally able to feel him moving and tonight when I worked I could feel him moving as I roamed around the restaurant. As the moving gets more pronounced I feel secure that he is growing big and strong.

I was handed a six-month old baby tonight. I just didn't want to put him down while equally thinking--I can't wait to hold my own baby. I'm ready for the magic--oh wait, I'll take the last four months~
:)

Susan Boyle

I'm sure you've seen it, but if you haven't--this made me tear up!

New Favorites

I found this amazing website chalked full of incredible leather boots.
These were my favorites! The Jane Cuff style. So sweet.

Dishes I can't resist!
They can be found here. They also have these and these, which are of course amazing as well.

Oh boy, or Oh Cat--as it may be!

Hopper, the Amazing and Inquisitive Cat!

I am cute, yes. I am also in heat! My Mom does not care what the vet has to say about it--some things are just obvious, me being a horn-ball is one of them! But still...very cute.

20 Weeks

My belly is shooting straight forward and Pregnancy just got fun! I can definitely feel him moving now. Cons being a major lack of energy--I think I use it all at work and then am just exhausted when I'm not there. Also stomach ligaments stretching--not exactly a comfortable thing. Baby doing somersaults first things in the morning--very cool! Other than the belly growth I've not gained any weight elsewhere. Things are getting excited and we're pretty certain we've decided on a name. For now, I'm finally half-way there!

Some Julian favorites!

I was thinking today that there are things Julian says and does that I don't want to forget. He is growing and changing so fast that it is easy to move onto what is new. So in respect for preserving time, here is a little Julian-time-in-a-bottle action.

Julian Words

• In the land of Jayhawks--they are all around. Not only does Julian know the fight song (which most adults around here can't do), but he says "Rock Chalk Hayhawk" There are "hayhawks" everywhere you know.

• He is big into super hero's these days. He spends a lot of time with cousin Jack (6) and is learning the ends and outs of superheros. He happily sports Spider man undies, drinks out of Spider man cup, and munches over a Spider man placemat. He has no trouble saying spider man and is constantly spewing webs on us, what he does get a little mixed up is The Incredible Hulk, at our house it is "Incredible the Hawk."

• Something he recently learned to say correctly, but for preservation sake--until a couple weeks ago, a Helicopter was a Hopter-copter.

• I call Hopper (our cat) Hop-Pop, so does Julian.

• I call Sasha (our puppy) Sashi-boo, so does Julian.

• Person- "what is your name?" Julian's response-"Julian Xavier Blakley, and I can poop in the potty"
  

Favorite Color

• Green

Favorite Books

• The foot Book
• The Lorax (in which, when the story proclaims that "out in the field, they heard a tree fall, the very last truffula tree of them all!" Julian says "Oh man!" every single night--for months now).
  

Nighttime songs

• I'm a Jayhawk
• ABC's
• Rock-a-bye-baby (with various different pets or friends/family in the cradle that falls--sometimes with several encores just to include everyone)
• and always to end the night: Hush Little Baby

Things he is interested in

• Being a big brother...he is very excited
• Sasha, the puppy--they are the best of friends and she wimpers with glee when he comes home after a few days with his Mom
• Taking long baths (full of talking and imagining and great play)
• telling stories "once upon a time..." and so he goes
• Rolling his eyes and making silly faces
• Eating (anything, mostly strawberries, cereal, toast with Jelly--just to name a few favorites)
• Bossing the animals around
• Helping Daddy with ANYTHING
• Watching Cartoons in our bed in the mornings
• Superhero's
• Chalk
• Letters--he wants to know what everything says
• Which direction we're driving (he almost knows his left from his right and nine out of ten times gets his shoes on the correct feet)
• Wearing safety Glasses!
  

Julian Xavier these days!