Nesting begins.....

This weekend was a balance of a lot of work and a lot of rest. Saturday I rested a lot, did a little housework, and watched Brad continue to work on a two-tiered retaining wall/planter. Today on the other hand, I got a bee in my bonnet about sprucing up the house! Brad returned to Lowe's for more bricks and finished the lovely planter. I had him take a can of paint (that we bought off the reject shelf last year for $6) back to Lowe's to have it shaken and set about painting the powder room on the first floor! It is sort of a grey-ish periwinkle color. I realized I needed to have taken a before shot after I had already started the trim but you get the idea. It looks great! (And for any of you Nervous Nellies out there it was non-toxic, low odor paint, I had all the windows on the first floor open, the exhaust fan going in the bathroom and a giant fan pulling air/fumes out of the bathroom). The first set of pictures shows my handy work.

The next pic is of the laundry room which I decided needed to be painted too (again in a lovely shade of reject....this time chocolate). I have only completed about a third of the laundry room because I need to take down the shelving and Brad needs to move the washer and dryer out for me. So I will save some fun for tomorrow! Apparently, I am also advertising Tide.

The last pic is of the finished retaining wall/planter that Brad built! I am so proud of him and it looks awesome!!! I can't wait to get an ornamental tree to plant there this fall! That unruly holly bush is going to go though we don't know what will replace it. Weeding around it is a pain (literally). I would love to go for some hydrangea bushes but I don't know how they will fare in our mostly sunny west facing front yard. New construction=no mature trees=no shade. We are going to also plant some 'real trees', as Brad likes to say, this fall in the front and back yard.

So all this activity means nesting has begun. Since we are finding out the sex of the baby next Saturday (if the little monkey is cooperative), I think we both want to try to get some projects out of the way before the nursery task is upon us. I think I will be limited to the next 2 and a half months for climbing in chairs to paint walls and hang curtains (and as previously mentioned I am a control freak and need to have my hands in everything!). My mom is coming up next weekend to witness the unveiling of the genitals (LOL) and to teach me how to use my sewing machine. I have had it 2 years and it has only been out of the box once! I don't think I even remember how to load the bobbin or make the simple pillows that were my first and only project! My goal is bibs and a quilt. My mom is going to show me the ropes and then help me machine piece a quilt for the baby that I will later hand quilt (my mom is a very talented quilter!). In the mean time, I have to finish painting the laundry room and put my wreck of a house back in human-inhabitable form! But not tonight.....yawn!

A ship under sail and a big-bellied woman,
Are the handsomest two things that can be seen common.
~Benjamin Franklin

17 weeks

Baby Cathey is continuing to grow (as is his/her mom's belly!). The picture on the right was snapped just this morning before a trip to Lowe's to get more retaining wall bricks. We have a very exciting stay at home weekend planned and I love it!

About Baby, it is supposed to be the size of your hand spread out wide this week! I'm picturing the little Hamburger Helper glove man. Scary, I know! By now the major elements of Baby's lung are formed except those involved with oxygen-carbon dioxide exchange (rather important) so breathing air is not yet possible. Merconium (early baby poo material) is beginning to form in baby's bowel. Great...this one's brewing for 5 months...it should be lovely!

On a more pleasant note, I think I felt the baby move in the middle of the night a few days ago. I am often up off and on during the wee (or should I say wee wee...ok I know that was bad) hours and when I got back in bed I felt a weird fluttery sensation...I thought I was imagining it but then it happened again! I have been trying to lie still when I am fully awake to try and feel it again but I haven't had any luck. All my baby books say early on that I may not be able to feel it everyday. I'm sure there is plenty of time for that! :)

More regularly, I am feeling the sharp round ligament pains when I roll over in bed (normal) and general discomfort when trying to sleep. I am still waiting for the fantastic uplift of the second trimester!!!! I have instead been having continued fatigue and new onset horrible sinus headaches (I have seasonal allergies anyway but lack of medication is proving a little tough). Geesh...what a whiner, huh? I know, I know! My skin on the other hand is great and Henry (and I) are getting more walks in around the lake. Also, since the discovery of the 'Tummy Sleeve' from Motherhood Maternity last week I have loads of wardrobe options! (This little sleeve allows you to wear some of your pre-pregnancy clothes by covering unbuttoned pants and bridging the gap between your regular shirts and pants! Brilliant!).

My only goals this weekend are to rest and do some household chores. This coming Thursday is my next OB appt, although nothing spectacular is expected. Next Saturday on the other hand, we have an appt scheduled to visit 'Becoming Mom' (a pregnancy spa and imaging center) to have our sex determination u/s!! (We won't have an u/s with our OB until August @ 22 weeks). So the next couple weeks will be exciting!! :)

A grand adventure is about to begin.
-- Winnie the Pooh