baby stuff

While, I have been steadily collecting baby paraphernalia over the past several months (mostly from thrift stores and garage sales), we recently made what I would consider our first major baby purchase.


We are in a giant quandary about the whole nursery (you could basically scrap this whole plan...), so we've been diligently researching all kinds of furniture options. We ventured to Children's Fair because, well other than Babies R Us, they have the monopoly on good-quality baby furniture in Chattanooga. We didn't make any decisions on furniture, but David was quickly sold on a different item. First, I should mention how extremely not impulsive this man is. Second, I should mention how extremely thrifty he is. Third, he bought a BOB jogging stroller. On a whim. What?! Yep, that was my reaction. David is big on buying quality things (rubber wheels, not plastic, etc...) that will last a while, so that was his motivation here. Plus, they had a 2010 model (ridiculous that the model changes each year...) WITH the car seat attachment for nearly $200 less than what that package would normally cost. We couldn't pass it up! Plus, we had already decided on just getting jogging stroller with the car seat attachment instead of your standard travel system (we do also have a snap and go stroller, courtesy of Craigs List).



Anyway, David was/is pumped. I'm excited too! He pushed that thing all around the house and raves about the shocks. Harley is freaked out by the thing.


Second on our must-research list (second to crib/furniture) has been a rocking chair. I have been SO torn about what I want/what we want to spend, but while in Columbus a few weeks ago I found an awesome solution! My mom and I found this chair (that rocks and swivels) at Goodwill! Price? $25! Oh, and... it was 1/2 off! Yep, I paid $12.50 for this awesome chair.





Granted, it needs a slipcover something fierce, but it is super sturdy and even very clean. I figured, instead of debating about the "perfect chair" we should just use this one until we know exactly what we want- that is, if we decide to make a major investment in a(nother) piece of furniture down the road. We couldn't fit it in the Audi, so it's hanging out at my parents' house until we make our next trip to Columbus (in our new Routan! We are trading in the convertible for a mini van... haha! It'll be a fun no-commitment test. Thanks, VW!)

weekend projects

When our Labor Day weekend plans changed at the last minute, David and I ended up at home with a lot of time on our hands. It was WONDERFUL to just sit around and rest for several days. Our weeks end up so busy and our weekends usually have plans booked far in advance, so this was a true rarity. We watched tons of Law & Order SVU (DVR-ed) and 30 Rock (on Netflix). The rain started on Sunday night, and it pretty much kept us home bound all day on Monday. By that time I was starting to get a little stir crazy, so I busted out the craft projects.

2 new pillows:

an updated lamp shade:

and a baby monogram (that's finished now... oops):

I stayed pretty occupied and had so much fun finally doing stuff around my house. It had been way too long!

lake wedding

This is mostly for my family who wanted to see pictures from the lake wedding (oh, and Claire will appreciate it, I'm sure :)).

Again, I'm back-tracking several weeks here... David and I (mostly David) helped out one Saturday with a wedding at the Bryant's lake house. The bride was the daughter of one of Kevin's employees, and it really turned out to be such a nice event! The bride really made every detail special for the two of them, and I know their day was that much more memorable because of her hard work.

The whole day was a family affair, and everyone pitched in to help out. We all served food and refilled drinks and took pictures, and it worked out really well as a team effort.

This day wore.me.out. so I headed home early (to meet Ash & Chase who came in town for the night!), but David stayed until the bitter end and helped shoot fireworks off as the bride & groom left for the evening (by boat!). I know he was super helpful to the Bryants and the Cochrans, and they really appreciated all of his work. The Bryants went above and beyond to make that day special for Linsey and Brandon, and I think they're considering a side business in the wedding industry... maybe... :)

all grown up

I am oh-so-behind on blog posts, so forgive me if they come fast and furious over the next few days...

A cough... few... cough weeks ago I hurried up the mountain after work to watch Laney at her first football game! She is on the JV dance team at Signal Mountain Middle School, and oh. my. word.

I seriously died watching. I laughed. I cried. I kept hitting Shelby saying "Did you see that? Oh, she's so good! Look how happy she is!" and being all-around annoying, I'm sure. She was the most precious thing I have ever seen. Ever. So grown up and mature and... coordinated!

Now, a few observations:

• How the heck is Laney old enough for this kind of activity? Isn't she still, like, 5?
• Make up, zebra print uniforms, coordinated feathers... holy moly
• Out of all the Jenkins girls' activities I've seen over the years (swim team, cross country, dance recitals, etc.) dance team is BY FAR the most entertaining one yet.
• If she ever has a boyfriend, I swear I will kill him. Mark, I'm sure you'll beat me to it, but I'll tag team with you.
• I kept catching myself saying "Whoa, he caught the ball! Whoa, he blocked that guy!" and being all-around impressed that those tiny little boys (seriously, they were tiiiiny) actually played a real game of football. How do they know how to do all that stuff?
• I am so thankful this baby is a boy. I would not know how to handle all that craziness! Granted, the football playing may have been just as overwhelming as the dance team, so who knows what we're in for!

week 17

Compared to my 16-week belly, I feel like I'm smaller now than I was then. It's weird how some mornings I wake up with no signs of being pregnant. I'm trying to remind myself to enjoy it while it lasts, but I'm definitely ready to look obviously pregnant (not like I just ate a big meal). I'm still wearing all my normal clothes sans belly band and I'm still about +2-3 lbs. Sleeping is weird. I've been a belly sleeper my whole life, so I'm beginning to adjust to a new way. I'm not good at sleeping on my side yet, so I wake up a lot throughout the night. Fortunately, I'm not having to get up to pee anymore, so I can usually fall back asleep pretty easily.

The good news... I'm feeling human again! I haven't thrown up in about a week, and it's awesome. I forgot how wonderful it is to not be sick- I totally appreciate it now!

I forgot to mention... my sister gave me THE BEST pants for my birthday. I'm wearing them in my 16 week picture, and I rarely take them off (at home). I would love to finagle a way to wear them to work, and I would really never take them off then... They are going to be the bomb to have from now until... forever. I will wear them forever.

Sorry for the bare belly pics each week... I definitely didn't think I'd be the kind of person to take those, but at least for now, I don't think you can really see my bump when it's covered up. And admittedly, I walk around the house with my shirt pulled up all the time because it's so cool to see the changes. Weird, I know.

You can't tell in this picture (because my shirt is pulled up... geez!) but with 16 weeks completed, I'm 2/5ths of the way through this pregnancy! Ha! Not a normal milestone, but one this fun little shirt will help me celebrate :)

Just so I remember later... things I'm craving: fruit (strawberries, bananas, grapes, apples), ice cold water (cup FULL of ice with water poured on top, refil the water after every swig) and biscuits (individually frozen buttermilk Grands have saved the day)

week 16

Even though I forgot to cross out 15 on my shirt, this is really my 16-week-old baby belly! It looks huge uncovered! He's really doing some growing in there.

I'm actually feeling really good (right now)! The weekend apparently really took a toll on me, and it's pretty much taken all week to recover. I literally went to bed by 8pm every night this week, and I felt like I could have slept until noon the next day. It was awesome and ridiculous. Our 3-day-weekend plans have changed because of good ol' Irene, so we're staying home and getting stuff done! We (totally a team effort) did manage to get the house vacuumed, the kitchen mopped and the laundry and ironing done this week, but not much else. I'm anxious to start on some baby related projects, but I can't really justify that when there's a lot of other stuff that needs doing. 

PS- Did you see my facebook status? True story. I definitely just ironed a pair of pants with furniture polish instead of starch. Oops. At least they smell lemony fresh! And no, I'm not going to wash them and start over... it worked just fine :)

nursery plans

I've been feeling totally overwhelmed lately. Not with anything in particular, but just with every little thing. Like how my kitchen floors desperately need to be mopped, but I just. can't. do it. Maybe that's because I got home at 7:15, ate dinner and went to bed? Literally. I really thought this second trimester was supposed to be one full of energy? Not so much... I'm hopeful that is still to come. Oh, and I just ate three bagels at work. Amen.

In the mean time, I have the best friends ever. My birthday kinda stunk because we spent it in the car and I was sick allll day. I did come home to the sweetest balloons, brownies, chocolate and cards from Jodi AND Sarah, and we did eat dinner with the Bogs (well, they ate dinner, I nibbled on biscuits), so I can't really complain. However, Monday night topped all. I was meeting Jodi for dinner while our boys played golf, and she had wrangled up so many sweet girls to join us for a surprise birthday celebration. I nearly cried, I was so overwhelmed (notice a theme?). It was so nice just to visit with the girls, and for some of my friends to get to know one another. I love worlds colliding. I'm seriously still freaked out that they did that. I feel so loved.

Since I'm not being productive on, well much of anything, I like to at least plan my future productivity. Since our house is for sale all of this is subject to change, but for the time being, our current nursery plan goes a little something like this...

this paint color on the walls

this rug on the floors

some fun fabric like this and maybe this and this

several DIY projects such as this

oragami mobile-thing made by Uncle GG

linen crib skirt and pelmet boxes and bumpers

a cool (homemade) sign like this

We've got a lot to do!