Weeks 35-36

Since the last update:

-I've cooked and stored meals for after our little one arrives.

-We've purchased everything else we "need" and some of the things we'll need in a few months.

-We've basically finished purchasing all of the Christmas presents that we can and wrapped them since family will be over here between now and Christmas.

-We've begun our final month countdown.

-I'm visiting the OB weekly.

It's official. The big 2-0.

Just a quick update..went to the doctor this morning and we are officially TWENTY days away from meeting our little girl!

I've dilated potentially another 1/2 a centimeter, no real progress with the effacement, but seeing as my body has started on my own we can induce on November 17th if she hasn't already arrived! My doctor told me that she is out of town this weekend so I shouldn't do too much just in case. I guess she's thinking our now 7 lb. baby may come early. I mean seriously, .7oz. in a week. Silly girl!

Christmas cards

I love sending out Christmas cards. I was beyond excited when we got married that I would get to start sending out cards each year. And of course being the overachiever that I am our first two years of marriage I had them ordered, addressed, and sent out the weekend after Thanksgiving. Part of my reasoning for this was so that we'd start making everyone else's list since we were newbies to the Christmas card mail out crew and part of my reasoning was simply that I was excited.

Anyway, obviously this year I have to hold my horses on ordering them because someone special has to be in the pictures! But of course that hasn't kept me from looking around at what we'll order once we get her newborn pictures back.

Freezer meals

I've known since the first trimester that I wanted to prepare meals for us to have once our little bundle arrives. Last week I did just that.

Actually, the week before (34 weeks) I made calzones and muffins and then last Monday-Wednesday I made everything else.

Perfect timing because I've reached a point of exhaustion I just can't really explain. Between headaches, slight nasal and ear stuffiness, body aches, getting up 3-4 times a night, and insomnia from 6-7am, I'm tired. I'm so thankful to have made it to our final month so I really can't complain. I'm just thankful I did soooo many projects early because I really only have 1-2 things I need to do, which really Peter could do if needed.

Guest post sign-up

Seeing as Baby's due in less than a month (wow!) I thought it would be a good time to see how many of y'all would be interested in writing a guest post that will be featured once she's arrived.

I'd set a deadline to have the posts e-mailed to me, give each guest writer a feature date (so I can have each post pre-set to post),  and send a button to include on your "Head over and check out my guest post" post if you choose to have one.

Jute balls

I love textured elements and I love simple crafts, so of course I super duper loved this project.

If you remember, I made yarn balls for the nursery mobile. For this project I followed those same instructions but used jute instead of yarn. These bad boys are awesome.

New blog

A "faithful follower" of Life with the Ellwoods decided to take the leap into the blog world. I'd love it if you'd take the time to stop on by, check out her blog, and say hello to Beth!

I can't wait to see what all you'll share with us, Beth!

Bethie Homemaker

Jute Christmas tree

If you weren't aware, I love easy but cute (and cheap!) craft projects. This one requires a Styrofoam tree (I got mine at Dollar Tree), jute/twine, a hot glue gun and glue sticks, and any other embellishments you may want. My total cost for this project? $1.08 for the tree. Perfect!

Let's get to work..

Great deal!

Ever heard of SaveMore.com? I just found out that they have a GREAT deal today of $30 worth of jewelry for $7.

The best part? If you're a new member you get $10 instant credit and the site has free shipping on this offer, meaning you'll get $30 worth of jewelry for F.R.E.E.

Hello, awesome!

Just go here to get started!

Organizing

I've been cleaning house from top to bottom in preparation of our little one. Since this has taken priority over crafting lately I thought I'd share a little bit of my progress.

I'm finished with this project now and have moved on to wrapping up the next: preparing and freezing meals for when Baby arrives. Then I'll move onto finishing purchasing Christmas gifts and wrapping those.

Here's how the organizing went down:

Weeks 33-34

Since the last update:

-I've washed just about all of Baby's diapers and clothes, yes even the big sizes. I know I'll be washing them again someday, but at least I know I could grab something if needed.
-I've washed Baby's sheets, blankets, burp cloths, etc.
-I've properly cleaned all of Baby's toys.
-I've started preparing and freezing meals for Peter and me to enjoy once she's arrived. (More on this soon)
-I've attended the second shower for our little blessing.
-I've packed our hospital bags and have everything (minus a few last minute items to grab) ready to go.
-We've ordered a few of the remaining items we need.
-We're about halfway through our Christmas shopping.
And..
-Most nights I can't sleep much past 4am. One morning I was up and about in the house from 4am-9am.
-For the first time in the entire pregnancy I've been experiencing heartburn daily.
-Baby Girl thinks my ribs are fun to dangle her feet from. Mommy is now bruised.

Paper flower balls

I love crafts that involve book pages, thus the label I have devoted solely to projects using book pages. :)

I've had my eye on these bad boys for a while so I decided to make a few with this new-found "I gotta get it done now" spark that has taken over me.

My love

My favorite thing about these last few weeks of a family of three (don't forget Butter!) is spending time with Peter.

Each weekend we've tried to carve out time for us in between gatherings, classes at the hospital, and the typical errands and chores. We've been to the movies, out to eat, blown up the air mattress and had movie nights with popcorn at home, and just enjoyed walking hand-in-hand around shopping centers.

Let me tell you, after knowing the man for over 6 years now, he still makes my heart race and my skin tingle when he holds my hand or touches my shoulder. I still love it when we break out into a random dance party (every Saturday morning when we get to sleep in a little I choose a song for us to rock out to as we get up) or even when he grabs me and we slow dance in the kitchen to no music at all.

Nursery organization

I mentioned in this post that we made another trip on our busy weekend and that I'd share more on it later. Our fabulous stop? Ikea.

We enjoy going to Ikea..especially since we know the layout and where things are so when we go..we can head straight to our destination, get our item(s) and checkout. It isn't crazy for us like it is for so many others. :)

Liebster blog award

Ever heard of the Liebster blog award?

Ya, me neither. 

But, as of last night I am one of five to receive this sweet award.

I received an email last night from Lizette over at Just So Lovely saying that she loves my blog and has award me this precious prize! Of course I headed over to read all about it. I was completely blown away and so incredibly honored! Thank you, Lizette!

Rockwall shower photos

Back in August we had our first baby shower which I shared all of the details about here. I've received all of the photos from my dear friends Taylor and Lee Ann and am here to share them with you!

Thank you, Mom, Morgan, Taylor, and Kyle for such a beautiful celebration of our daughter!

Shabby Apple

I love finding new sites that offer products that can't necessarily be found at your typical store. I recently came across a site that sells fabulous dresses and accessories for women and children and wanted to share it with you..Shabby Apple. Expecting mamas, they even have a maternity line! Score!

Head on over and check them out!

Blocks--holiday signs

I love how simple wood projects can be and what a fun little statement they can make in the home.

For these projects I had Peter cut a 2"x4" into 12" long blocks and sand the edges (the heat and fumes are not my friend).

The A-Z of me

Chrissy over at The Johnsons has participated in an A-Z all about me survey, so I thought I'd join in on the fun!

A. Age: 24

B. Bed size: Queen

C. Chore that you despise: Vacuuming

Monthly onesies, take 2

A few months ago I shared a set of onesies I created for a friend to take monthly pictures of her little girl. When it came to creating ones for our little munchkin I decided to try something new.

My hope was that I would be able to do it on my own, but my first run at the sewing machine was bad, real bad, so I headed over to my mother-in-law's for some help.

Dishwasher magnet

Peter and I've had a dirty/clean magnet from Bed Bath & Beyond for as long as I can remember..it's decently cute and we definitely use it. But, I wanted something cuter so when I came across Suzy's blog, Joy Is At Home, and found her easy peasy free dishwasher magnet tutorial I was sold. The tutorial can be found here and the Pinterest pin here.

Bed frame turned bench

A while back I shared that we redid our guest bed. With that redo we had to decide whether we wanted to sell the guest bed or repurpose it. Being the DIYers that we are, we opted for the latter.

Now all this project really required of me was the design, size, and paint color. The rest, the Hubby mastered on his own. Man, he sure has learned a lot in the past (almost) 2 years of homeowner-ship! And without further ado, I introduce to you my Hubs, who has graciously offered to write this post..

Weeks 31-32

We've officially entered the final 8 weeks of pregnancy, wow!

Since the last update:
-We've had our baby care class to learn a few things about how to tend to our little one when she arrives. (I've loved every single one of our classes but this one was definitely my favorite. I loved swaddling, diaper changing, and burping our baby doll with Peter. He is the cutest daddy ever!)
-We've entered the 8th month.