our poor nursery room has been the one in the most desperate need of repair and thankfully having such handy men around has begun the process of renovating this darling space. edward and peter have managed to strip all of the (four) layers of wallpaper from the walls and are stepping into the process of sealing the old drywall and button-holing the ceiling. i am preparing to take some storage bins up there soon, as the large bookshelf residing in the room still cannot be moved until all of edward's vhs tapes (he has hundreds) have been removed from the shelves. once the room is painted, i am so looking forward to adorning it with lovely things for our baby boy.
our little house keeps surprising and pleasing me more and more as we step further into it's facelift. whereas before it was in need of much updating, each small measure taken changes the prospect of this home and our own lives within it.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
mediocre motivation
i have to admit to being rather lazy the past few weeks about unpacking my kitchen boxes and starting my kitchen revival project. with the heat, my motivation nose-dived, my feet swelled, my head ached, and my eyes burned. BUT. excuses no more. the hot spell is broken as the weather is ten degrees cooler, and i have begun the final steps in my kitchen unpacking.
before, i was taking out piece by piece from the boxes as we found need for them. leaving us drinking solely from coffee and tea mugs (which, let's face it, don't hold nearly enough water for a thirsty momma-to-be.) i have finally unpacked my glasses, more than happy to fill one to the brim and gulp it down, and also my plates, bowls, and other cookware. the happiest moment was last night with the discovery of my long-mourned coffee maker. my dearest not being a coffee drinker, i was lost without my 'one cup' allowance each morning.
the other task in my kitchen revival is getting rid of the miscellaneous junk that has cluttered the kitchen. my darling edward, being a man of great talent but little belongings, had collected hand-me-down kitchenware over the years. the kitchen is full of things like ancient dishes, mismatched mugs, lids to pots and pans no longer in service, a coffee maker without a carafe, and a rather sad drawer of utensils that would never form a matching set. soon many of these items will find their way to the donation center of the local goodwill store.
with the kitchen finally finding order, we will begin our painting project... well, we'll at least think about it.
edward has started the task of stripping wallpaper from the baby's room, then will need to seal the old drywall, mud and tape, button-hole the ceiling, and finally! paint! following that is the spare room.. which boasts a great deal of wallpaper on wallpaper and also more need of sealing the drywall. we agreed to leave our bedroom and bathroom for after baby caleb arrives. that will be my personal project.
just over three months until our bundle of love arrives, and said in terms of weeks, 15 weeks never felt so short!
before, i was taking out piece by piece from the boxes as we found need for them. leaving us drinking solely from coffee and tea mugs (which, let's face it, don't hold nearly enough water for a thirsty momma-to-be.) i have finally unpacked my glasses, more than happy to fill one to the brim and gulp it down, and also my plates, bowls, and other cookware. the happiest moment was last night with the discovery of my long-mourned coffee maker. my dearest not being a coffee drinker, i was lost without my 'one cup' allowance each morning.
the other task in my kitchen revival is getting rid of the miscellaneous junk that has cluttered the kitchen. my darling edward, being a man of great talent but little belongings, had collected hand-me-down kitchenware over the years. the kitchen is full of things like ancient dishes, mismatched mugs, lids to pots and pans no longer in service, a coffee maker without a carafe, and a rather sad drawer of utensils that would never form a matching set. soon many of these items will find their way to the donation center of the local goodwill store.
with the kitchen finally finding order, we will begin our painting project... well, we'll at least think about it.
edward has started the task of stripping wallpaper from the baby's room, then will need to seal the old drywall, mud and tape, button-hole the ceiling, and finally! paint! following that is the spare room.. which boasts a great deal of wallpaper on wallpaper and also more need of sealing the drywall. we agreed to leave our bedroom and bathroom for after baby caleb arrives. that will be my personal project.
just over three months until our bundle of love arrives, and said in terms of weeks, 15 weeks never felt so short!
Friday, July 16, 2010
paper shredder
so, i've begun my task of removing the wallpaper border from our upstairs bathroom.
i also began a small section of our spare room just to see what i was up against...
not only is there a beautiful layer of pearly bamboo paper.. but underneath there is
a colorful orange, lime green, and bright blue paisley-style print, which i must say is classy.
this isn't going to be easy!
summer sizzle
this summer has proven it's intentions of outdoing last year's chilly weather, leaving me living largely in the cold shower. it's a nice relief, albeit short lived.
this weekend belfast is hosting it's annual celtic festival. beginning late this afternoon the streets of downtown and the waterfront will be full of my fellow celts enjoying the games and traditions of the heritage. my parents had intended to make the trip down for lunch tomorrow, but only just remembering that the festival will be crowding the streets and surely the restaurants, we may need to reschedule or rethink our plans for that.
the house is slowly coming together. with the dining room painted, edward is getting anxious to finish the other rooms in our house. he's made plans to work on the baby's room possibly as soon as tomorrow which will involve sheet-rocking, mudding, and painting. i'm going to look into ways to strip wallpaper that do not include a steamer and try to get the large spare room stripped soon as well as looking into different kinds of textures to put on imperfect walls that can be painted over. this may save us a great deal on having to tape and mud and sand down all of the imperfections, plus.. i think it's a fairly unique way to bring character to a room. and let's face it, our little house has a lot of character to be spruced up!
the baby is getting bigger, though my belly is taking it's time truly showing. i keep hearing 'you can't be in your third trimester, you're belly's so tiny!' from the majority of people i encounter, which i know is not a reflection on our baby's growth being stunted, but needless to say it's a little disconcerting. the scales don't lie, i'm putting on the appropriate weight to keep us both healthy, he's just going to be a wee one with parents who are not so big themselves. this is not a reflection on how strong he is, though! this bitty boy can kick and kick hard! i attribute these sometimes startling jabs and thumps to his feisty and veracious nature. being pleased that i have not outgrown the majority of my shirts and clothes, i am, however, ready for the big bump of belly, and even more ready to get through to our final weeks before he arrives. 16 weeks is not far away, and with it fast-approaching we are beginning to feel more and more excited to meet our little caleb. edward has begun reading to him a few nights a week from the original animated film book 'the lord of the rings' by jrr tolken. i love those moments spent lying on the bed with edward next to me, close to my belly, reading aloud a story we both love while caleb (either happily or unhappily) kicks away to the sound of his father's voice. i cannot express fully the sense of peace and comfort i gain from spending an hour in our little family bliss.
this weekend belfast is hosting it's annual celtic festival. beginning late this afternoon the streets of downtown and the waterfront will be full of my fellow celts enjoying the games and traditions of the heritage. my parents had intended to make the trip down for lunch tomorrow, but only just remembering that the festival will be crowding the streets and surely the restaurants, we may need to reschedule or rethink our plans for that.
the house is slowly coming together. with the dining room painted, edward is getting anxious to finish the other rooms in our house. he's made plans to work on the baby's room possibly as soon as tomorrow which will involve sheet-rocking, mudding, and painting. i'm going to look into ways to strip wallpaper that do not include a steamer and try to get the large spare room stripped soon as well as looking into different kinds of textures to put on imperfect walls that can be painted over. this may save us a great deal on having to tape and mud and sand down all of the imperfections, plus.. i think it's a fairly unique way to bring character to a room. and let's face it, our little house has a lot of character to be spruced up!
the baby is getting bigger, though my belly is taking it's time truly showing. i keep hearing 'you can't be in your third trimester, you're belly's so tiny!' from the majority of people i encounter, which i know is not a reflection on our baby's growth being stunted, but needless to say it's a little disconcerting. the scales don't lie, i'm putting on the appropriate weight to keep us both healthy, he's just going to be a wee one with parents who are not so big themselves. this is not a reflection on how strong he is, though! this bitty boy can kick and kick hard! i attribute these sometimes startling jabs and thumps to his feisty and veracious nature. being pleased that i have not outgrown the majority of my shirts and clothes, i am, however, ready for the big bump of belly, and even more ready to get through to our final weeks before he arrives. 16 weeks is not far away, and with it fast-approaching we are beginning to feel more and more excited to meet our little caleb. edward has begun reading to him a few nights a week from the original animated film book 'the lord of the rings' by jrr tolken. i love those moments spent lying on the bed with edward next to me, close to my belly, reading aloud a story we both love while caleb (either happily or unhappily) kicks away to the sound of his father's voice. i cannot express fully the sense of peace and comfort i gain from spending an hour in our little family bliss.
Monday, July 5, 2010
heat of the moment
as this past weekend and the now beginning week have boasted temperatures in the 90's and humidity well above 50%, i find myself drained and nearly miserable from the heat. though the sunshine has done nothing but lift my spirits, i cannot shake this pregnancy discomfort that even a cold shower does little to quell.
but, to find the silver lining, spending the fourth of july weekend with beloved family members was something to smile about. though my parents' deck threatened us all with sunburns, even edward and i enjoyed the shade of the ever-growing oak tree in my mother's leafy garden. snacking on crackers and cheeses, fresh berries from her raspberry bushes, and the juicy hamburgers and hot dogs, accompanied by homemade pasta salads, we lounged under the leaves and thrilled in the stories of my family. edward was soon whisked away to a 'battle of brawn' as the men played a round of horse shoes, while i took several quick dips in the refreshing waters of my parents' pool. i enjoyed the time spent with my family, all gushing over 'baby caleb', our growing son who has finally turned my thickening middle into the tell-tale bump of pregnancy. my mother, in all of her anticipatory grammy-to-be splendor, asks me frequently 'how's caleb doing? does he like his dinner?' among other grandmotherly questions. i feel my child being encompassed by the love not only his father and i have for him, but our entire families, too.
later that evening we made a quick stop-by at edward's parents' where we were greeted not only by two happy grandparents-to-be, but also by edward's sister jes, and his niece, emelia who were up for the night. cooing over caleb's ultrasound photos, i also was happily surprised with a small baby-hoodie from jes, a photo album momma gail, soon to be caleb's 'nana', had started from our ultrasound photos, and as a wonderfully silly joke, a maternity shirt that was once believed to be edward's grandfather's and was being saved by pop-pop, soon to be caleb's 'grandpa', before the tag was revealed by gail to say 'maternity wear' not 'mens wear.' i plan to turn this very brightly striped shirt into something for caleb as a cute keepsake that we can all share laughter over.
among other things, the house is becoming more and more the home we've been planning as edward has completed another painted room. our dining room not only is brighter, but feels larger and more inviting than it did before. just one more accomplishment in our long list of to-dos as month five of maternity comes to a close and our third trimester is about to begin. three more months and we will be holding in our arms our sweet sweet little wren that we've been feathering our coastal nest for.
but, to find the silver lining, spending the fourth of july weekend with beloved family members was something to smile about. though my parents' deck threatened us all with sunburns, even edward and i enjoyed the shade of the ever-growing oak tree in my mother's leafy garden. snacking on crackers and cheeses, fresh berries from her raspberry bushes, and the juicy hamburgers and hot dogs, accompanied by homemade pasta salads, we lounged under the leaves and thrilled in the stories of my family. edward was soon whisked away to a 'battle of brawn' as the men played a round of horse shoes, while i took several quick dips in the refreshing waters of my parents' pool. i enjoyed the time spent with my family, all gushing over 'baby caleb', our growing son who has finally turned my thickening middle into the tell-tale bump of pregnancy. my mother, in all of her anticipatory grammy-to-be splendor, asks me frequently 'how's caleb doing? does he like his dinner?' among other grandmotherly questions. i feel my child being encompassed by the love not only his father and i have for him, but our entire families, too.
later that evening we made a quick stop-by at edward's parents' where we were greeted not only by two happy grandparents-to-be, but also by edward's sister jes, and his niece, emelia who were up for the night. cooing over caleb's ultrasound photos, i also was happily surprised with a small baby-hoodie from jes, a photo album momma gail, soon to be caleb's 'nana', had started from our ultrasound photos, and as a wonderfully silly joke, a maternity shirt that was once believed to be edward's grandfather's and was being saved by pop-pop, soon to be caleb's 'grandpa', before the tag was revealed by gail to say 'maternity wear' not 'mens wear.' i plan to turn this very brightly striped shirt into something for caleb as a cute keepsake that we can all share laughter over.
among other things, the house is becoming more and more the home we've been planning as edward has completed another painted room. our dining room not only is brighter, but feels larger and more inviting than it did before. just one more accomplishment in our long list of to-dos as month five of maternity comes to a close and our third trimester is about to begin. three more months and we will be holding in our arms our sweet sweet little wren that we've been feathering our coastal nest for.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
transforming
as each color is applied over the oh-so-trendy faux-wood paneling, i am seeing the transformation of our home and loving the clean and bright vibe it's radiating. our hallway is so minty fresh, and edward is preparing to paint our dining room this mild shade of tan to bring light to the room and give it a nice warm glow.
speaking of transforming, my belly is now transforming from the thicker, but still fairly flat bump, to a rounder and higher bump providing more proof of the growing baby held therein. today is the special day when we hear the words we've been longing to hear: "it's a...." followed by "boy!" or "girl!" our names are selected and we cannot wait to begin referring to our baby by name/gender instead of the less enthusiastic use of "it."
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