Baby Update - 31 weeks

I'll let you in on a little secret.. I'm not good at keeping a journal. You were hoping for a more embarrassing secret, weren't you?! Anyways. I just want to take a quick sec and document a few changes in life since getting preggy. (Just so I can look back at this and remember) First, for anyone that knows me well, knows how big of a picky eater I was. HA! That has changed.

Things I hated and now LOVE are:

• Apples. - Crave them!
• Mustard. - Yes please, On anything and everything. ;)
• SPICEY HOT. - The hotter the better.
• Mexican Food. - So good but so bad. (if you know what I mean. haha!)

The other day my husband looked at me at dinner and said "Who are you?" I think my picky eating habits was one of the things he liked least about me. I'm glad that pregnancy has brought me ONE other good thing besides a cute little baby in a couple months.

Third trimester is throwing me for a loop. (I'm 31 weeks now.) I now am up at least 3-4 times a night. My poor bladder. And because I'm not working we are trying to save as much money as possible, this means opening windows at night instead of using A/C. TORTURE, I tell you! Last night the thermostat read "85" degrees and we couldn't open the windows because it was storming. So I broke down and turned on the A/C. Sleeping is impossible now and it makes for a VERY cranky Johanna in the morning. I hope these last 9 weeks go by fast. Never thought summer would become my enemy. Sad.

Our choice of baby name has changed. Which is why it was a good reason we were keeping it a secret. Who knows, it might change 3 more times! I'd really like to see her before we decide for sure anyways. I can't wait to bring her into this world and hold her and have a whole new reason for living. I'm getting more and more anxious but I have to remind myself to enjoy every little moment along the way.

Burns & Blisters

This is the latest of my fabulous creations.

I found some cute material and lace at the fabric store and voila! I now have an insanely cute shabby chic headband! Can you tell how impressed I am with myself? Mainly because it wasn't easy. Hot glue can be a cruel teacher. Especially for an inexperienced crafter such as I. I have the burns and blisters to prove it. ;) Anyhow, I like that I can wear it different ways as you can see by the pictures. I can wear it fashionably as the trendy hippy-style or functionally and keep the hair out of my face. Either way, so much fun! If you want one for yourself, let me know and I might just make you one! :)

Hello kitty!

Now, don't tell me that this isn't the cutest flat face you've ever seen. :) This is my little Persian. We got her when she was a couple months old and now she is 8 months. She has several names we like to call her. Miss Kitty Meow Meow, and Pretty Princess Fluffy Pearl are the 2 names she goes most by. She's the best. She acts like royalty and never gets into trouble. She looks sad all the time but that's just how her face is. I love her. She's such a good kitty.

My Summer Escape

Last month I quit a job I had worked for 3 years. I decided it was time to focus on becoming a mother and a better wife. I also wanted time to enjoy my pregnancy without the stress of work. After all, I haven't had a real vacation since the day I started working 3 years ago. I figure motherhood is a full time job in itself and I really need a break before the little one arrives. So what have I been doing with all my free time? WHATEVER I WANT. And I haven't been this happy in a long, long time. I wake up every morning with a great big smile on my face and thank the lord for all my blessings. I eat my breakfast, do the dishes, tidy up, surf the web and then some days I head off to my favorite place. The other day I took some pictures so I could share the beauty that I get to experience so often.

After being so wound-up and up-tight every day for the past 3 years, it's been nice to come here and completely relax and let go. This is my parents garden. They've worked hard on creating this sanctuary.

It's been such beautiful weather and I've been able to soak up the sun, get all my vitamin D and smell all the sweet aromas the lilacs and locust trees give off. The chickens are so much fun to watch! And fresh eggs beat store bought any day!

It's nice to get away from my obnoxious neighbors whose kids are constantly outside yelling at the top of their lungs, and come here where the only noise I hear is a tractor off in the distance somewhere or the many different varieties of birds singing. Life is beautiful. & I sure am happy.

Dreaming up a home office

My house has 3 bedrooms. One is our master, one is obviously reserved for our little cupcake and the other was occupied and labeled as my dear husbands "Man-Cave". Recently, I got tired of the sound of loud speakers resonating through our walls and not to mention what an eye sore it was. (Huge TV, every type of gaming console your could ever imagine, wires running everywhere & blue BSU turf as a rug is NOT my idea of the quaint little home I had always wanted.) Therefore, I agreed to let him move his dreadful "Man Cave" to the garage. Problem solved! He gets to call the garage his own and I get to dream up an office for our now vacant room. The previous owners had painted the walls blue and green and on one of the walls there is a mural from the movie "Cars". Kinda cute if I had a little boy, but I don't. So it needs to go. I would love to give the room a fresh new look. I have been searching for inspiration and came across a website called HomeOfficeDesignBlog. There I found this -

I love the idea of a simple, fresh yet chic home office. No, I could never get my office to look exactly like this but I could try to replicate it the best I could. Those who know me best know that I have a slight.. (who am I kidding) HUGE obsession with shades of white and grey and everything shabby chic. I think this picture incorporates a lot of that. Oh, wouldn't it be wonderful if I had a million dollars and could spend my days creating beautiful spaces and arrangements in my home!

And they were all yellow

This whole gardening thing has proven to be a bit of trouble for me. However the past week has been very rewarding. My Irises are blooming! The previous owner had planted them and so it was a mystery what color they would turn out to be. They are a cheerful yellow! I personally would have preferred white or purple, but I have to admit that the yellow looks great and does provide a smile on my face every time I see them.

Having SEW much fun!

Last week I started working on a little sewing project. I picked up a cute pattern for a baby outfit at JoAnne's and found a lot of material at Walmart for only 1.50 per yard! I decided to go with Teal & Black and White Polka dots. Thank heavens my mom was there to help me. She knew exactly what she was doing. Good thing, 'cuz I hadn't a clue! The package the pattern came in said "Easy". I disagree, although it is my first try. I guess it will just take some practice and a lot of patience. It is still a work in progress, but I thought I would share how it's coming along! I gave my husband a little sneak peak of the nearly finished product and he seemed to be impressed. WooHoo! I'm getting this whole "house wife" thing down. ;)