o geez

My baby is 11 weeks old & I have not updated this thing in weeks. I really do want to. There are a lot of things I want to do though and very few of them are getting done. I am swimming in holiday sales at my shop, which is wonderful, but unfortunately I have not blogged....have not sewn Jude that stocking I have wanted to...have not cleaned the house....

I hope to be back around Christmas when things finally slow down!

week 7 & 8

busy busy busy with almost 9 week old judah...christmas...back to work...lots of jewelry orders!

black friday sale!

i will get to jude's 7 and 8 week photo soon! we've been busy...but before i forget i wanted to mention free shipping for black friday at www.onedelightfulbutton.com....just use coupon code: blackfriday

coupon is good thursday-sunday!

happy thanksgiving...shopping...and the start of best time of the year!

week 6

We have been busy so this is a day late. Jude has had a lot of visitors and I have had a lot of housework, some one delightful button orders and Philip has been gone a lot. But here he is...

I can't believe he's already 6 weeks old. That means 6 weeks of sleep deprivation for me, but it's getting better. Jude is great. Starting to smile...a lot...when it seems like it isn't just caused by gas...Starting to coo and make other cute baby noises. He is also experiementing with holding his head up - so cute!

Okay, back to work...

must. stop. blogging.

i have really enjoyed blogging the past few weeks while i have been home with jude. here's the problem. for some reason it's easier to blog than do some things around the house. i happen to be sitting in a room with unfolded laundry, my dirty dish from dinner, a to do list with real things to do on it, unstamped birth announcements..........


and i am sitting on the computer blogging & making the blog look prettier. (any thoughts on what i have done so far? i am not html-er, but i am trying)

i need to take a little hiatus until i can get my priorities straight. if i blog again tomorrow...hopefully that means i have done so...or it means procrastination has taken a hold of me once again.

jude's birth story - part II

We went into the hospital very early Wednesday morning for the scheduled c-section. It was exciting and really scary. They prepared me for the surgery and after meeting nurses, doctors, next thing I knew I was in the surgery room and Philip was sitting by me waiting for them to begin. 

It happened really quickly. I could hardly feel anything besides some pressure on my stomach as they pushed him out. At 8:14am Judah William arrived. They had my husband snap a picture of him and the whisked him away. This part was hard for me. And still is. I had to look at my baby on the camera before I got to see him in person. Does this seem cruel to anyone else? I only grew him inside of me for 9 months. Then Philip went to be with him and take pictures while they sewed me up and Jude got cleaned up. After a few minutes they brought him to me. And that was wonderful. He was not quite as big as they feared – still big though. 9lbs 10oz. 16cm head circumference. Ouch – tell me how that fits out a hole that expands to 10cm. (One reason to be thankful for a c-section…)

As I said at the start, nothing about this day went as planned for me. But I had my sweet Jude. And he was & is perfect. He is here and healthy. A lot of my concerns about the c-section were not as bad as I thought. A month later I feel like I am almost fully recovered. My son is nursing wonderfully. He has healthy lungs. It still makes me cry when I hear about someone giving birth or see it on TV.  I am still healing from this, but I look at Jude and have to be grateful.

meeting Jude for the first time 

enjoy your weekend! 

jude's birth story - part I

Not much about Jude’s birth went as I envisioned it. I thought I’d wake up in the middle of the night and start to have labor pains. I would wake my husband, Philip, and that we would eventually head to the hospital after laboring at home for awhile. I had a playlist made for the occasion to make the hospital feel like home.

One week after our baby’s due date we headed to the doctor’s for another prenatal appointment where they had planned to do a Non-stress test (NST). When I got there the doctor said they forgot to schedule an ultrasound. So we promptly went in to get an ultrasound. The ultrasound tech mentions to us, “has anyone said anything about the baby being really big?” I kind of laugh and say, “yes, he has been in the 100^th percentile for size every ultrasound we have had.” She says, “well, I am measuring the baby at 10lbs 11oz.” The reality of what this could mean doesn’t hit me though and I just think its funny for some reason. I had read a lot about how ultrasounds could be up to two pounds off. We wait to see the doctor and Philip looks nervous. I am still feeling fine.

Until we see the doctor. She tells us we need to schedule an induction or a c-section. She goes over the risks of the induction and giving birth to that size baby. Something about a shoulder getting stuck. Something about permanent debilitating damage to the baby. I start to feel my dreams of a natural birth unraveling and my eyes start to water. She gives us some time to talk, but we need more time to make a decision and leave to go discuss it and talk to our families. The other glitch was they could not get me on the schedule to be induced for four more days. And that would be four more days for the baby to gain weight.

Despite everything I read about ultrasounds being off, I couldn’t ignore the fact that the “very accurate” ultrasound tech thought he was almost 11lbs. So we went with the c-section. I had a day to prepare, but was so sad. It was like death to a vision. I never understood that before. Why would people be so sad over a c-section? I won’t get into that now, but I felt like I was missing out on this very hard, but exciting experience of giving birth to your child. 


Here I am the night before Jude's birth: 

Here is my sweet husband gearing up for the surgery. I have to say...we did have fun those last few minutes together without Judah. 

 And I wasn't going to share this, but it's too funny to me. I look ridiculous. Philip and I were joking about how hot I looked in the gown. Nice...

to be continued...

week 5

me & jude are having a good week. it's chilly outside, but we are still getting to walk some. he is almost out of his 3 month clothes. last night we had our best night of sleep yet! we'll see how tonight goes before i consider this the new norm, but he did a 6 hour stretch last night and then a 4 hour stretch. our pediatrician okayed it because he is gaining weight so well. yipee! 

i am learning how to share the parenting with philip. i think the first few weeks i put pressure on myself to do everything. i thought it was my job to care for judah, but i am learning to share it with him. especially in the evenings. i realized if i ALWAYS do everything, i NEVER get a break. i also assumed it was an inconvenience to Philip too, but i shouldn't think of it like that. i am helping him to learn to parent our son. if you are a parent, what do you do to share the parenting with your spouse? 

i am glad to have 5 weeks under my belt of recovery. i am advised not to exercise another week, but i feel mostly normal. a strange little tid bit is that i may never recover feeling where the scare was. weird. 

speaking of scar, i will post jude's birth story soon. 

baby's first halloween

May I just say that I am so glad Halloween is over? I just do not really like that holiday. Maybe Jude will help me to enjoy it more, but I just don't like the whole dark theme to it. Dressing up is fun. And I like candy...but did you know this is one of the times of the year where people get sick a lot more frequently because of eating so much more sugar??

We had a little cow for Halloween. Ironic because he milks me all the time. Sorry, but true.

We went to Chipotle for $2 burritos...

And Jude slept...

Then we went to Leadership for Young Life...(we were farmers)

Not so happy baby...

Happy at home...what a big boy.

Now lets get onto the good holidays!

a bit early...

I know its a bit early for Christmas music. I am not listening to it yet. I am holding off on the Christmas festivities until close to Thanksgiving. My theory is I'd rather celebrate Christmas into January rather than start in October.

However, I was listening to spotify and I stumbled upon this album. Do you ever listen to the first few seconds of a song and immediately know you are going to love it? I felt that way about this song.

So I had to share...


xoxo.

Frugal Living 101

My husband & I are pretty frugal people. We have some nice things we splurge on, but in general we are cheap....especially Philip. I have to convince him to buy new clothes most of the time. He would probably spend $10 on wedding gifts if I let him. Being on Young Life staff we don't exactly have a lot of disposable income.

Now that Baby Jude is in the picture, we are trying to cut as many corners as possible so that I can maximize my time at home and minimize how much I have to work outside of the house.

Here are my top ten money saving tips so far...

{1} Use coupons...I'll give you more details on how this is going so far, but prior to this year I probably used coupons about never. Now that I have started to pay attention to coupons I realize how many things you can get coupons for & the savings add up!

{2} Share a meal if you eat out...I feel like the waiter is silently judging us whenever we do this, but really most entrees are enough for two people. Maybe we'll get an extra side salad or an appetizer. One time we ate at PF Changs for $20 for the two of us. It makes so we can eat out more frequently (which I love) and at yummier places.

{3} Cut the Iphone...tear. This was not a hard decision at the time, but now after a year of a Blackberry I really miss the iphone. It was fun. Now everyone takes all these cool pictures..blah blah blah. But here's the thing...I didn't want to be a person that was in love with my phone anyway & we save I think $30 a month by not doing the iphone.

{4} Lower your cable service. Philip dropped down our cable bill about $10 a month last summer by dropping our service to a lower programming. And we don't do netflix or DVR. I sometimes wish we had DVR, but I just discovered the ondemand channel last spring and most shows I want to see are on there anyway.

{5} Buy frozen veggies. Really there is not a difference I know about between frozen and fresh vegetables besides the price. They do not add anything to the frozen vegetables normally and that way they do not go bad.

{6} Cloth diapers. I cannot give you numbers of savings, but I cannot imagine how this will not be a huge money saver for us! Diapers are so expensive and we go through so many a day. We did Fuzzibunz, but I'll give more details on it soon.

{7} Energy efficient appliances & low flow toilets. We have gradually switched our appliances and toilets to be more energy efficient.  This also goes hand-in-hand with the diaper savings because we have to use the toilet and washing machine a lot more now with the cloth diapers.

....I'll stop there. There are probably more. What money saving things do you do?

Autumn & Soups

Is it me or is pumpkin all the rage in the fall? Don't you love things that make you feel like its fall? Or any of the changing of the seasons really. I love the newness of it. Pulling out my winter/fall clothes that I haven't worn in months.

It's a good thing by now I have forgotten February. I just hate the cold by the time February gets here and don't get me started on March. But for now I will enjoy the fall and pretend like those terrible cold winter months are not coming.

For me soups are sacred in the fall. That sounds strange. It just doesn't feel right making soups in the summer. I do on occasion because I love that it is a whole meal in one bowl, but it isn't the same as making a soup in the fall. I have not done much cooking yet this fall because of baby Jude. Fortunately lots of friends have brought us meals, but here is one of my favorite chili recipes.

It's called Tarheel Chili...(credit)

What you'll need: 

• 2 1/2 pounds ground beef
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 stalks celery, diced
• 2 large onions, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (29 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (6 ounce) can mushrooms, drained
• 1 1/2 cups dark beer
• 2 (16 ounce) cans chili beans, drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1/4 cup chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 1 dash Worcestershire sauce

Directions

1. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook beef until brown. Drain.
2. In a large pot over medium heat, cook celery, onions and garlic in olive oil until onion is translucent. Stir in beef, tomato sauce, tomatoes, mushrooms, beer, chili beans, kidney beans, cumin, chili powder, coriander, cayenne and Worcestershire. Simmer over low heat 3 hours, until flavors are well blended.

It is delicious. Honestly...the beer makes it so good. 


Let me know if you try it or if you have any fall recipes. 

why do you blog?

As I am beginning to have a bit more free time (...well some days I have more free time...some days not...)...I am considering trying to blog more frequently. I have a glitch though. I am not sure what the heart of my blog is. When I started blogging last year, I mentioned it to a friend - who told me - make sure your blog has a focus. Like...a blog about home design...or a blog about my life...or a blog about my business...or a blog about fill in the blank...I thought well I don't know what my focus is.

It kind of started as home renovations - inspired by Young House Love. But we have slowed down on projects and I also found that I didn't really like documenting all of the project and then trying to write about it. And that honestly - Philip was doing the work and I mostly had no idea how.

Then I would sometimes blog about my business....or random ramblings on stuff...or just our life...and now the baby. Pretty much all baby lately...sorry people...but its hard for me to think about much else besides this little bugaboo recently.

So I would say my blog is in the identity crisis phase was a possibility of fizzling to nothing. Or maybe its going somewhere FABULOUS.

Another piece of advice I have heard is to blog in way that serves as a tool for readers. But again, I am not sure that I really am offering readers much...if I have any readers...I don't know who they are (besides that little news feed telling me someone has stopped by....)

So - in short - do you blog? Why!? 

4 week update (almost 1 month!)

I don't know that I'll really do a full on update every week, but I will try to post his picture at least.

He is a big little guy. We go for a doctors appt on Friday, but I feel like he has packed on some pounds. He is officially out of his newborn clothes and mostly wears 0-3, sometimes 3 months & occasionally a 6 month if it is big.

Life is great right now. Still having some hard nights, like last night, where he was up from 1:30-3am. We still have him in the room with us...which I really love. Love love love. I just like knowing he is nearby and when he sounds like he spit up I can grab him and burp him again. Or if he drops the pacifier I can pop it in his mouth, but I understand there could be some negative consequences of this.

Did you co-sleep? Or have the baby in the room? When did you change it up?

We are starting Babywise. I'll try to do a longer post on its progress and some early thoughts, but I'd love any feedback from moms that have done the same.

I can hardly believe its almost been a month. Life moves fast.

the first few weeks...

The first week I couldn't decide what kind of weekly picture to take...so it is super lame, but I think I will probably try to take a picture of Jude in his cloth diaper every week. I don't know if this is something I can maintain, but it is worth a shot & should be fun to see him grow! He already looks so big to me...

judah is here!

judah william

9.28.2011

9lbs 10oz

...i'm so tired...he is so precious...more posts to come!

waiting...

if you haven't noticed the ticker at the bottom of the screen....i looked at it today & thought i'd point it out to you. i'm sitting upright, walking a lot, and drinking my hippie tea from macy.

just waiting still...

no baby yet.

Yesterday was my due date. My unborn child did not get the memo. We are still waiting. I am 75% effaced...2cm dilated....the babe's position is 0. All good progress, but now we wait. I have never been really good at waiting. I'm hanging in there though.

I am still working a few hours a day. People have told me to take off and some days that is nice, but I am afraid of sitting around and being aggravated that he is not here yet. I think I should look for a good fiction book to keep me busy. Any suggestions?

I'd love to sit on our screened in porch and read. We had a great taste of fall weather last week, but we're back in summer again. I am still pretending its fall. (Officially the 23rd I believe...so mostly our little baby will be a fall baby - even though most people think its fall already).

a snapshot of our lovely screened in porch from last halloween

I have found it's harder for me to want to go places at this point. Everyone laughs about how the baby is not here yet and I think it makes me anxious. And I get tired of answering questions about whether he is here or not. Obvi we will let you know people!

Anyways. Waiting. And sorry if I sound sassy.

40 weeks (on tuesday)

I can't believe we have made it this far. Nine months feels like forever. I feel like I have been pregnant for an eternity.  Am I ready to have the baby? Yes, but I am also just used to the uncomfortableness of being pregnant. The baby is somewhere around the size of a watermelon....and he feels like it this weekend. I feel like Philip has to pull me up off the couch most of the time and then my feel hurt to walk on. And don't get me started on my knees. I haven't done lunges in quite sometime because of the terrible pain associated with bending my knees. 

I'm not one of those huge - whoa! - pregnant people. In my mind I am not that much bigger than I was earlier this summer, though I am sure I am. The doctor estimated last week the baby was about 7lbs. We'll see. I had high hopes he would come early. It just seemed like a good idea, but so far it is not looking like he is going to make an early appearance. I am 1cm dilated & 75% effaced if you know the lingo and this was two weeks ago....I did not have them check me again because I didn't want to know if I had not progressed. I go again tomorrow & I will be having them check this time.

I also had in my mind that the baby would be here by the time new shows started coming on. (like Modern Family & Grey's & the Office this week). That may not be the case.

Enjoy your Sunday & this fall weather!

Have you had the baby yet?

Have you had the baby yet? 

how to make furniture lovely + shiny

We have been working hard to make the baby's room wonderful. We are also still very cheap. This was the look of the furniture before Philip made it beautiful and shiny and white. 

The changing table was purchased for $10 at the Thrift Store. The dresser was $75 from our favorite antique store in Norfolk - Country Boy.

Here's what he did: 

1. Strip the dresser with paint stripper
2. Light sanding
3. Oil-based primer, then lightly sanded (repeat 2x)
4. Two coats of high gloss paint
5. Two coats of water based polyurethane

...I am grateful that he is super patient because that is a lot of painting & waiting, but we love the final product!

Only a few more things to do. Hopefully we will be ready for him when he is ready!

limonata

yum! Have you ever had this delicious drink?

I went to a lovely wedding on Sunday of a wonderful friend. They married on the water in a beautiful neighborhood in Virginia Beach. Following the ceremony, the guests were sent to the front of the house cocktail hour. Usually being pregnant this time is not a winner for me. All the fun drinks involve alcohol, but to my delight I walked around the house to see lots of guests drink coca-cola from glass bottles with yellow striped straws & this yummy drink.

I had two & probably would have had more had they not run out. But now I love it. Pregnancy has really made me love lemonade & limeade. Not sure why...but thank you San Pellagrino for making this delicious drink.

In other news...38 weeks pregnant...no baby yet.

how i got the stroller of my dreams

As I mentioned in previous posts I had a hard time making up my mind on a stroller. Let's just say I have expensive taste and not the wallet to match. I had started looking for strollers on Craigslist...with some potentially interesting options, but nothing worth following up with.

One Saturday in June Philip and I set aside the morning to do some yard sale shopping. (One of my favorite things to do on the weekends...especially with all the steals you can get on baby stuff!) I had mapped out a few places to go and before we left I packed $100 cash and I decided so search on craigslist one more time. However, I decided this time to search "bugaboo yard sale." I had not even seen a bugaboo listed on craigslist in our area, but then...the first post that pops up was a yard sales with a bugaboo stroller at it in Virginia Beach! woo hoo!

So we rush over to the address listed, trying not to get my hopes up. I tell myself if it is red, I will be interested. Nice neutral option. And if it is less than $200. We pull up and I can see the red stroller sitting there and Philip drops me off. I casually pretend to be interested in the stroller before other people can get a good look at it. The owner (the father, thankfully the mom was not home!) showed us how the features worked and all the accessories they had purchased. I would guess valued at over $1000 - mind you - about 5 years old. But the model had not really changed.

We offer him the $100 we have and he asks for $125. Philip goes to scrounge up any spare change we have in the car and we make out like bandits!

I am so grateful & excited to use our stroller once the babe arrives...could be any day now by the way.

Here she is in all her yard sale glory...

Total purchase for $123: 

...New Bugaboo Stroller - $880 new

....Hot Pink Fabric covering (to swap out with the red) - $99 new

...Black Fleece Fabric covering (also another option to swap out) - $99 new

...cup holder $25 new

...rain cover $49 new

...upgraded bassinet mattress $??

Total $1152...booya!

36 weeks pregnant!

We just broke the news to Lucy about her baby brother. She took it pretty well, but it's convinced of how it's going to change her life. Philip said the other day he thinks she has attachment issues. Poor Luce.

I am 36 weeks pregnant today! Holy Moly! And our 3 year wedding wedding anniversary I will be 37...which is a full term baby! Woo hoo! People have continued to tell me how small I look. The baby was in the 80th percentile of size at our 34 week ultrasound, which reminds me that most people don't know what they are talking about.

Baby to do list...

Almost 36 weeks! It's hard to believe. I have been overwhelmed with things to do around the house and to get ready for the baby. Well maybe not overwhelmed, but I just tire easily...

Here is my remaining baby to do list (that I have thought of)...

• Hang pictures in nursery
• Find a Pediatrician (Decide on vaccines)
• Pack our hospital bag
• Finish thoughts on our birth plan
• Get any final things off the registry that we will need
• Find a glider/rocker (thinking about reupholstering an older sitting chair that rocks...)
• Keep the house clean for the baby's arrival!

But here's the good news. We have made some real progress on the nursery.

We fortunately kept the room the same color it was originally which saved us a lot of time! 

Philip paint this white & did an awesome job. He did a primer, 2 coats of paint and 2 coats of polyurethane to make it nice and shiny. I lined it with cute polka dot contact paper. 

Lots of baby clothes! However, they are for his first year of life...so we have a nice variety of sizes. 

Our adorable bedding and crib with the chinese lantern in the bed until we hang it...

diaper bag thoughts

I have probably given 50 hours of my life in the past few months to looking for the perfect diaper bag. Mostly online searches. Staring at bag. Wondering what size is it really and trying to find the best deal on a cool different looking diaper bag. I don't want a diaper bag that looks like a normal diaper bag. 


Here's my criteria: 

• Not too childish/momish/frumpy if you know what I mean
• Functional - will go with most outfits 
• Not too heavy
• Durable - hopefully could last through a few babies
• Will temporarily replace my purse
• Affordable ($100 or less)

Here are my favorites so far...

{new favorite}

Pompeian Red Ikat Tapestry Hobo Diaper Bag

{petunia pickle bottom weekender} 

I can't decide if I'm in love with this fabric and I am not sure if they have it more as an overnight bag and not a daily use? 

{jj cole: swag bag}

most affordable, but can't decide if it's me. 

All of this though begs the question...do I need an actual diaper bag or do I just need a large purse with a changing pad. If anyone has any wisdom...please share :) 

Yay for Friday & hopefully kicking this cold that is zapping all of my energy!!

34 weeks & home from camp

It feels like we ran a marathon. I didn't mention this prior, but the last month we spent at Rockbridge, a Young Life camp nestled in the mountains of Virginia. It was great. We got to be a part of something bigger than ourselves and see lives changes. It wasn't the easiest place to grow a baby. Overall it was good, but I left with a cold & am exhausted & missed fresh food. 

I have started to feel like my belly hasn't grown. Baby is in the 80th percentile in size....so I guess we are still on target. He already weighs about 5.5lbs.....and I have 6 weeks left! (Please don't get too big little baby...) Here are a few snapshots of me at camp...(mostly around 32 weeks)

Looking at these pictures...it is starting to make sense why it is so uncomfortable to be on my feet right now.

The nursery is finally coming along. Will post pictures soon.