#1- Because I'm feeling oh so generous today, I'm going to let you in on the cutest crib bedding in the world, that I just ordered online!!!! I cannot wait for it to get here in person...
After a long and exhaustive search, that involved many trips to local stores and many hours logged online, I found this sweet bedding from Rachel Ashwell's shabby chic line. It's called Bella Rose and did I mention that I L-O-V-E it?? My wheels started turning the second I saw it. I have lots of fun things I've found and will be purchasing to go with this :) It's a little hard to see, but the same cabana stripe on the inside of the bumper is also the stripe on the crib skirt. Won't my baby girl be so sweet in this crib??
#2- It is an official winter wonderland here today! It's been snowing hard and fast since the moment we woke up today and I am loving it. It's gorgeous outside and thankfully, I don't have to go anywhere today :) I'm still in my jammies, happily cleaning away and paying some bills. I'm always floored by the incredible beauty of snow. It's such a great reminder of the picture God gave us when he told us that His blood is able to wash us "white as snow". It's amazing how clean and pure everything looks with a fresh foot of snow on it.
#3- I can't remember if I've mentioned that Ryley is still on vacation in Iowa?? Our baby stayed at my parents' house when we left after Christmas. They graciously took him off our hands so we could stay with Barrett and deal with New Year's Eve, without the hassle of the dog. That is one of the biggest reasons we are painting right now too. It's so much easier to have the house torn apart and furniture everywhere without it getting in his way or him getting in our way :) BUT, good news, he will be here on Friday night!!! My parents are coming for the long weekend, to deliver Ryley and to help us with some projects around here. We can't wait to see all three of them!
#4- I was having a little panic attack last night over childbirth classes. It seems they fill up quite quickly and we don't have too many options left before Ava is here! We're debatingabout whether or not we want to take one and trying to decide if we think $100 is ridiculous for a one-day class?? I can think of a thousand things I'd rather spend $100 on, especially for Ava's nursery...hmmm, what do you think? Did you take them and were they helpful?
#5- We are signed up for some hospital fun on Thursday night. We are attending "An Evening at The Birthplace." Doesn't that sound like a gala or something? Should I wear my fanciest gown?? Just kidding :) I signed us up for a FREE spot at this 2 hour tour of the birthplace at the hospital where we will hopefully get our questions answered and our paperwork pre-registered. I'm kind of looking forward to it, but I'm not sure Travis shares my excitement! It will be a good dose of reality for both of us though :)
#6- I am officially totally excited about American Idol starting tomorrow night! The timing of this season is perfect for me, as I'll be staying in a lot more in these coming months :) This gives me hours of fun T.V. that doesn't make me feel guilty! I'm not sure how I feel about a new judge, but Paula is the founding member of "crazytown" so I'm sure a normal female will be a nice addition!
#7- I'm so glad that many of you tried the chicken and rice recipe from last week! I got lots of emails and lots of raves about it...makes me think that maybe I'll try to share some of my favorite recipes in the coming weeks. I'm serving soup and grilled cheese tonight, so I'll spare you the nutritious details, but tomorrow night I'll probably cook, so look for something new after our meal tomorrow night!
I think that's all for now...I have some scrapbooking to do this afternoon :) Yep, I've been working hard all weekend and now I'm going to relax and do what I want to do. Happy Monday everybody!
Oh, I LOVE what you selected for your little Ava's room! It's so beautiful!!!!
ReplyDeleteIt's sunny down here in Georgia and I was just thinking that it would be fun to look out the window - JUST FOR ONE AFTERNOON or EVENING - and see it snow and pile up outside. Then I'd want it to melt the next day. I got sick of it when we lived in PA, but it's pretty and peaceful when it's fresh.
Don't you just love Golden's? Ours is as sweet as sugar. Ryley looks so comfy on your beautiful loveseat. That's where ours hangs out, too!
I LOVE Ava's room -- it's PRECIOUS!! I can't wait to see how it all turns out.
ReplyDeleteI have had 2 babies and did not take child birthing classes with either one. My husband traveled so much that he was never home to attend one with me, so I said to heck with it and figured I was paying the hospital and doctors enough money, they would tell me what to do -- and they did. I did have an epidural (not sure if you are doing that or not) and that made things a LOT easier for ME. I had 2 completely easy, seamless deliveries. Hope that helps with your decision .... I do know A LOT of people that took childbirth classes.
Good Luck with everything!! Enjoy your snow -- we are down in Tampa, so we'll never see that!!
That bedding is beautiful!
ReplyDeleteSince you've already witnessed a birth, I'd say you'll be fine without that class. I do recommend a breastfeeding class though...or at least see a special lactation consultant afterwards:)
ReplyDeleteWe did not take birth classes with out daughter and she came just fine without them :) Baby Ava will come no matter what is the way I see it and you will do just fine :)
ReplyDeleteLove the bedding!!
The bedding is beautiful!
ReplyDeleteWe took the childbirth class and our baby came so quick that I never had time to even think about what we learned. The main benefit was seeing where we were supposed to go when I went in to labor and it sounds like your getting that with your "gala"!
Also I took the breastfeeding class and was glad that I did. I made my husband go and was glad because he remembered more of than I did since I had a serious case of pregnancy brain at that point.
Skip the classes...but do take a breastfeeding class. All the other stuff you learn in the books for expectant moms...save the $100 for something fun!!!
ReplyDeleteLOVE the bedding!! So sweet and girly. I can't wait to see how you pull everything else together. What y'all have done so far looks so good!
ReplyDeletesteph-- L-O-V-E- Ava's bedding!!! It's so chic! oh, and I TOTALLY laughed at that teacher's blog!! We all know I've had my fair share of what we in the biz, like to refer to it as "TEACHER TRASH!"
ReplyDeleteHappy Monday, Stephanie! I LOVE the bedding for Ava! It is too sweet!
ReplyDeleteOn the birthing class issue, we had a free one at our hospital and I don't remember learning anything I had not yet read in a book or heard from a friend. I don't know if your birthing class is also a Lamaze class or not, but mine was not. I think if we had learned the breathing, it might have made it worth while. We did learn a few pointers on breast feeding which was good since I planned on doing that and did do it for 1 1/2 years with Cait.
Have a wonderful evening.
Hugs and prayers,
Amanda
Jeremy cooked the chicken tonight because I have been in bed. I am pretty sure she is lounging against my spine and its super painful, but the chicken was great!
ReplyDeleteYour bedding is beautiful! Ava is going to be adorable in it! Can't wait to see pictures of her in it!
I can not wait for Idol! yay!
Childbirth classes were actually a little useful for us I suppose. We took 4 of them. A basic one, breastfeeding one, natural labor one(which was a nice idea, but I had the epidural anyway), and one more I can't remember. Unfortunately I went SO fast with Tate I didn't get to use any of the stuff that they taught us. Except one thing,
With every single painful contraction, you are getting closer to meeting your sweet little baby!
That helped, along with the fact that my contractions weren't very painful!
Steph: we have a toddler and did not take a birthing class, because like you I could think of 100 other things to do with $100. Shae came out fine and the nurses and doctor tell you what to do. As long as you go into it knowing GOD is in control and has you & your precious little girl in his hands, I'd say your fine. I went through it WITHOUT pain med, so no, I wasn't thinking he was in control at the time. Save your money & trust your doctor and nurses. Really, they know what they are doing.
ReplyDeleteSteph... LOVE the bedding. skip the birthing classes. we did 2 8 hour saturday classes in raleigh with abby and they were a WASTE of time!!! i do recommend a breastfeeding class though.. the info is so good and usually it's taught by the lactation consultant you'll see at the hospital. hope you all are staying WARM! love ya!
ReplyDeleteSteph- About the birthing classes....Talk to your mom and see if she took them. I remember something about throwing a wash cloth at a doctor...I don't know if that is apart of the class or not!! :)
ReplyDelete