More Pix from Mom & Dads visit

Mom came up with a suitcase that was just filled with stuff for the baby. Look at that cute litle onesie with the ruffles on the bottom! So adorable!

Here is the blankie mom knitted for the baby. I just wanted to hold it up to my face and smell it like I did when I was a kid with my blankie. Apparently when mom showed it to Gavin- he did the same thing, held it up and said "oh, it smells good".
Me and Dad on our way to work (dad was going to the Canton office out here) Monday morning... running late as usual!
And.... taking time to pose with my man! Look how big and strong he is!!!
Of course, we also had to take time for some modeling shots for mom to bring back and show my sisters. Jackie told her she wanted a shot of every angle of me..... we didnt get that detailed!
Here is the crib that we finally decided on. It has all the features I wanted- I'm not sure I will like the drawer on the bottom, I dont want my little toddler crawling in and out of it as a toy- but I guess I could always remove it if needed. The crib is out of stock online until April- good thing the baby will be sleeping in our room in her pack n play for the first few months!!!

And here is the dresser we like- it looks a lot darker than I think it is. We've only seen it online, but the reviews have great things to say and people say it matches their other white furniture, so I think it will all coordinate well. I would like the "cottage / shabby chic" look for the room, so we'll see how it all comes out.
Shopping with mom (felix & dad were there...... helping) to find cribs and dressers. I was not able to find anything we liked at the store.
Me and mom (and Matti) relaxing after a long weekend of shopping. Mom is looking up knitting stitches on the computer- she has since completed a hat and is working on booties! As a side note- you see the teeny little stuffed donkey under the coffee table (and yes, the water bottle is a toy for matti, we are not THAT big of a slob!). Well, the little stuffed donkey is gray, and one day Matti came running insdie from the backyard with that donkey in his mouth. I am telling you, it looked like a mouse- and he kept running up to me shaking it in his mouth- I have never moved so fast in my life, I jumped onto our bed and was yelling at him to get that out of our house! Finally I thought- what if he eats it, he will get sick, I need to practice being a good mom and go do something about this. So I slowly crept out to the living room where he was nicely settled on the area rug chewing on his newfound love and realized it was just a little stuffed toy that he found in the yard. While it probably isnt the cleanest toy for him to be using since we dont know where it has been..... it is by far his favorite! He brings it to every room he is in, and I was just thrilled that it was not a mouse. I dont know what Im going to do the day we actually DO have a mouse- our exterminator told us we are in an environment where they are pretty common. Ugh. Here is the mezuzah Amy & Ariel (or as Felix now calls them- the "Hermanator") got us for our wedding. Isnt it beautiful!

It's the Little Things

Well, we are 27 weeks today... next week is our next progression picture, get excited! Here is a sneak peek in my maternity clothes- I feel even bigger than I look, and from what I hear- I'm just going to get bigger!!!!

Today I got to spend all day with my love. Felix didn't have practice so we slept in until 9am! Then went into Providence to try Bagel Gourmet Ole, one of Felix's favorite places near Brown. It is just a bagel place, so we got bagel sandwiches- and on our way out a family with 2 little kids walked in, and I dont know what they ordered, but the littlest child said "that's not a healthy breakfast"- I just smiled- Felix said he wouldn't expect to hear anything different out of our own child! I expect we will feed her healthy foods without making it a big deal, hopefully she likes them like her cousins Gavin & Ava do!

Then we checked out the Providence JCC. During our tour I actually met up with the Health/PE/Aquatics Assistant Director and we talked a bit about teaching there- she said she is always looking for aqua aerobics instructors. It's a start I guess! Even though the facilities were a lot older than the JCC I was spoiled with in FL, I am still excited to join later- I think it will be a great opportunity to go and do things with the baby and meet some new friends.

Felix and I finished off the day with a nice walk outside with Matti. It's the first time he & I went on a walk together since we moved here, it was fun to have company and show him all the things I have noticed on my route. We are trying to pick a color to paint the outside of the house. We are thinking beige, with white trim- and if we get a little crazy we may even go with dark navy blue shutters!

What's this you ask??? Why.... it's our automatic ice maker that dispenses through the freezer door!!!!!!

And finally..... the ice maker!!!!!!! I haven't had an automatic ice maker in over 10 years- let alone water that comes out of the fridge door!!!! We finally got a new filter for our fridge and realized that is how we stop the massive leaks we had been having and how to get the water & ice to work. I can't tell you how cool it is- the little things that excite me!

Mom & Dad save the day!

Mom & Dad came to visit us in Boston ... - well, I guess I should start saying "North Attleboro".... this past weekend. They came in on Friday evening and stayed with us through Monday morning. We did a lot of work- on Saturday Dad & I walked around the house looking for what projects needed to be done while Felix was at practice & mom was knitting. We went shopping for all necessary materials, then all of us went to look for a crib & dresser for the baby's room.
Sunday we got to work- put up shelving in the laundry room, fixed doors & windows, installed light fixtures in the ceiling and a fan in the living room. I think the VERY BEST thing dad was able to do was show us that we actually have heat in our master bathroom! I never knew what all those light switches were for :)
Dad was also able to help us connect all our lighting outside so we can now see when we come home at night, and he helped us figure out what all the random light switches in the house went to. Lastly, he shaved down my closet doors in the bedroom so they actually close. What a productive weekend! He was also able to walk around our 100+ year old house and figure out how it was "originally built"- pretty cool to figure out the history of this cozy home of ours.
Mom spent the weekend shopping with me, helping us pick out an outfit to bring our new baby girl home from the hospital in, and she even knitted a precious little hat for the baby.
We were so so so busy, yet it was the most relaxed I have felt in a long long time. Parents are something special, huh!!!! I can't wait to do the same for our kids.


Mom has more pix on her camera from their visit- I'll post them later.

New Levels of Hunger!

WOW! Today was quite the experience.

I'm not sure if this has anything to do with it- but last night I didn't have any dinner. Our floors were being refinished and were wet, so I was confined to our bedroom and would have had to walk outside across our back patio in the pouring rain in order to get back inside to get to our kitchen, so I just decided to go to bed without dinner. Felix wasn't home.

Anyways, this morning I woke up very hungry and had my healthy egg white sandwhich and a yogurt. Things were going well, and I got ready to go to the store and even packed myself a banana & PB&J sandwhich for lunch while I was shopping. Well- I ate those pretty quickly after I left the house, and was STILL hungry. I decided to head home because I was tired, but got a donut for a treat. I split the donut with Felix and continued my shopping online. Feeling like I still hadn't eaten anything all day, I snacked on some carrots & hummus. All in all, I was feeling pretty healthy with my fruits & veggies. I certainly was not following my tried & true HMR rules of packing in the veggies & fruits, but I doubt that would have made a difference today! Not more than 5 minutes after I finished the carrots... I felt as if I was STARVING!!!! This was absolutely unbelieveable!!!!!! I can honestly say that I have never been this hungry in my entire life!!! So, Felix & I left for an early dinner of chinese food.

Once we got home, I topped off my day with a dessert that reminds me of my dad. A nice bowl of creme cake & ice cream. I felt inclined to put the pix of the cake up- because first of all, I didn't think any store except Publix even sold creme cake..... I was very surprised when I found it in our store! But I was disappointed... it didnt even come CLOSE to Publix. (which is probably a good thing incase this type of hunger strikes again!)

an end IS in sight!!!!!

I cannot contain my excitement any longer.... the 1st floor of our home is almost done!!!! The wood floors have been re-sanded & re-stained. One final coat is going on tonight. The dining room floors had to have 7 clear coats of finish in addition to the 2 stains. The contractor said these wood floors were the worst wood floors he has ever worked with and actually brought back to life. The living room floors only needed about 5 coats. See my shiny floors!!???? The pix is a bit blurry bit it was the brightest one. The walls have gotten their 2nd coat of paint and the baseboards are being painted so they can be put on tomorrow. As we speak, the baby's room is being painted upstairs!!! I just cannot believe that there is really an end in sight to this construction!

Our master bathroom, still waiting for its new baseboards, but the decorating has been done! I put a new toilet paper holder & towel holder and some soap & toothbrush holders in there. I think we are going with blue & pale green colors. Curtains to be put up later- but just look! I wish you could truly understand the joy I feel as each room gets closer and closer to being finished. It is a day that I honestly thought would never come!

I realize I am talking about paint on the walls here, but there was a lot that had to get done before we could even paint. If it was JUST painting walls... we could have done that ourselves!!! I'm so glad I took videos of the house before we moved in so I can look back and see all the incredible changes that have taken place. Literally EVERY SINGLE room in the house except for the upstairs office & bathroom have been re-done!!! We still have more to do, but that will be a long time from now!

24 Weeks and Growing Strong!

Well, here it is!!! 24 Weeks- and although it seems we have come a long way, we still have quite a bit to go. 16 weeks, and I know time will fly by but it seems like it just cant get here soon enough! I was in the kitchen cooking dinner tonight and I really felt like my belly was so tight, like my skin would rip if it had to stretch anymore. I tried to bend over to pick something off the floor and I felt like there was a hard stick inside of me that wouldnt let me bend in half. I honestly can't imagine what these next few weeks will bring.
I have to say, I absolutely LOVE being pregnant! I love feeling her move and knowing I am growing our little daughter inside my belly. It is the coolest feeling ever. I cant wait to kiss her little fingers and toes and snuggle with her. I (obviously) think about her every day. I feel bad for Felix because he can't experience what I get to, but when I asked him if he wishes he could he said NO WAY!!!
Our house is coming along....slowly. Our bathroom has been tiled, all of the fixtures are installed, and we even got a final coat of paint on today. I think tomorrow- or soon- we are putting up the trim and painting the ceiling, and then the bathroom will be done. Felix has asked the contractor to start working on our wood floors in the living room & dining room. I think I might cry tears of joy when the floors are done- I can't imagine them looking the way I want them too, all smooth and shiny..... but they are supposed to, and if they actually come out that way when all is said and done it will be something that I will appreciate for all the years that we are living here. I certainly will never take ANYTHING for granted in this house!!!!!!!!! It has been - and still is- a long road, but has made me appreciate every little thing- even the simplest little things like having bedroom doors and light switch covers on the walls!!!!!

Preparing for Exhaustion

Well, not too many exciting pictures for this post, but I thought I would update anyways. Today I am 24 weeks- Felix is out of town so we will have a picture up tomorrow of the ever expanding belly. Silly me, I looked in the mirror this morning and thought "I bet if I tried on my jeans, they would still fit", and my friend Kristy who was there just laughed. She said I am just getting used to seeing my new baby belly that I have forgotten how much I have actually grown. It's ok though- I will ALWAYS remember these times with my baby in my belly, and how much I just LOVE to lay in bed and feel her move around. It's a very special moment just between me & her. I am seeing her move a lot more too, she makes my belly bump all over. Good thing she is so resilient, because if she was like those memory foam pillows, she would come out with finger prints all over her from me pressing on her to feel where she is!!!
So why the title for this blog? Well, my weekends are usually packed with running errands to get the house finished, or shopping for food, or cleaning. I have still been doing my aerobics videos and going for walks, but I have got to tell ya... I get tired a lot faster than I used to! Today I walked with Kristy this morning to breakfast and then back home, then cleaned and unpacked more stuff in the house, lots of laundry and dishes, food shopping, cut up a bunch of fruits & veggies for next weeks lunches, and then finally sat down for dinner and my poor little feetsies are just aching!!!! So I figure, my body slowing down is just good practice for getting used to functioning when exhausted after the baby comes!