Two Out of Three Ain't Bad

What do you call it when you meet two thirds of a goal?  Can you actually cross it off your list?  Maybe I can strike it two thirds of the way through.  But anyway, that's neither here nor there.  Let me just get to the point.
There are some new friends living in my garden.  And, this time, I actually planted them all by myself.  Last night, Byron and I went to Lowe's to pick up some random things, and I convinced him to walk through the plant section.  He was pretty tired, so we didn't do a very thorough search through everything like I was kind of hoping for.  Actually, it wasn't so much a thorough search as a deal on perennials that I was searching for.  In the few minutes I browsed, I didn't find anything that jumped out at me, so we settled for two little annuals.  Byron picked them both out himself, too!
Let me introduce you to our first addition, geranium.  This one is going to bloom pink buds.  If you look at the second photo, you can just see them.

Our second addition is something I had never heard of.  It's called fentas.  It will also bloom pink buds.  I'm excited for this one, because it appears that the buds are going to be pretty dense.  I hope it turns out as pretty as the picture on the tag.

Don't spend too much time looking at these pictures or you will notice the weeds growing in the background.  I'll get to those, I promise.
Technically, I only have two new plants for my garden.  However, living inside my home is this lovely little lady.

I have been instructed to plant this in my garden as well, but I'm just a little hesitant, and here's why.  Our garden is on the West side of our house, and anything I plant there is going to get drenched in the afternoon and evening sun.  The tag on this little guy says that it does best in indirect sunlight.  So although I love it, I don't want it to meet its instant death in our garden.  I think I can plant it in a pot to sit on my front porch, which is covered, and as long as I water it like crazy, it should be fine.  That is my plan, but due to another upcoming porch project, this will have to wait a few more days.
Two new plants in our garden, to do exactly what Byron likes - add color!  The little garden will probably be a work in progress well into next year, but we are learning some things and it is really taking shape.  Before I sign off for the night, I'll share a couple of updated photos of the flowers we planted earlier this year.  A couple of the blooms on the coneflowers (middle picture) have already turned pink.

A Pregnancy Progress Report

With less than a month left in my pregnancy, I thought it was about time to give a little update on things.  I've passed the 36 week mark, and at this point, I'm counting down the days left until my due date.  I keep telling myself in my mind that I'll go past my due date, but I'm secretly hoping that I won't, so I don't know what good that actually does me.  I don't know for sure, because I don't weigh myself very regularly, and I can't believe I'm going to admit this to the world, but I've probably gained at least 40 pounds.  Darn ice cream.
Other than giving in to the temptation of ice cream, I don't really have any cravings.  I've started a new "thing", which is waking up at 5:00 or 5:30 every single day (including weekends!) regardless of what time I've gone to bed the night before.  I guess this is preparing me for motherhood.  My nights of sleep are also interrupted regularly.  The only thing that is a bit of an annoyance is that my ankles have swollen to a disgusting size.  I often wear booty socks to avoid the discomfort of the band on regular socks, but it usually results in my having muffin-top cankles.  You can thank me that there is no picture to go along with it.
But all complaining aside, I've really enjoyed my pregnancy.  It has gone fairly fast, although with the excitement and anxiety building with each day, I do feel like this last month is going slower and slower.  Truly, in just a matter of a few weeks, Byron and I will experience the most life changing moment that will ever happen to us.  And we can't wait!
Here are some pictures to show how I got to where I am now.

Boom, Roasted!

I've been absent.  The reason?  Well, there are two.   The first is that I took a weekend to head up to Detroit to celebrate my cousin's graduation from high school.  The other is that I've just been tired.  I'm 8 months pregnant.  What do you expect?
Well, I'm back, and I want to share a little bit of our gradutation party experience.  I've been to many different graduation parties in the past, but this one held an experience that definitely was a first for me.  Before I give you the big reveal, let me start by setting the scene of the party.

How I wish that was my backyard.  Had it not been chilly and drizzly, I would have jumped in that pool in a heartbeat. But unfortunately I am still a baby and afraid to be wet and cold.  But it looked beautiful nonetheless.  And here are all the women in the kitchen waiting for the festivities to begin.  (The guest of honor, Lulu, is in the maroon sweatshirt!)

But once the party started, here's what really stole the show - my Uncle Oscar roasted an entire hog.

There's the graduate again, this time in green.

What an appropriate t-shirt choice, Oscar!

Let me just say, this pig was yummy!  Here's one boy who definitely enjoyed it.

Unfortunately, this budding photographer did a terrible job of documenting the affair.  In fact, I think I only made it into one photograph.

And don't worry, none of the alcohol at the party was consumed by me.

I do just have to give a shout out to this girl.

She took one for the team by getting thrown into the pool not once, but twice, by a certain husband of mine.  Thanks for not hating us, Lanes!

We had such a good time visiting with family and friends.  The lesson I learned here is that I need to work on the 'documenting of important events'.  I can't believe I escaped missing pictures of so many fabulous people!  At least I have the memories.

#26

I'm going to call this one officially done.  Mostly because we hit a couple of snags before the finish (mostly our real jobs requiring OT), but also because I feel if I dragged it out any longer it would get awfully repetitive.  The official goal was "plant flowers in front of the porch", and although there is room for a few more, ladies and gentlemen, we have flowers.

I am so proud of both Byron and myself for our work on this project.  Byron did ALL of the heavy lifting and manual labor.  I am also proud that between the two of us we didn't want to kill each other in the process.  We just both wanted this project to look perfect, and sometimes our way of communicating with each other takes a few unnecessary winds. Usually, and this time is no exception, we end up in a good place.

We also had help from my mom with this project, since my current condition doesn't exactly make bending down one of my strengths.  We got several plants for free from a coworker of hers and she donated some of the extras that she purchased and didn't need, as well as dug the holes, planted them, and helped me to place them.  I am also expecting some flowers from a coworker of mine, so I should only have to buy 3-5 things for myself, maybe even less.  I do have plans to add tulip bulbs in the fall, because what kind of good little Dutch girl would I be if I didn't plant tulips?

Truly, we still just have to glue the top layer of brick down, fill in a few more plants, and learn how to enjoy the view, but since those remaining items don't really change what people see as they walk or drive by, we are done.  Now comes the challenge of developing my green thumb!

June Goals

Breaking down a large to do list into smaller chunks always makes one feel like progress is more attainable.  Right? Well, I think so anyway.  I've decided to jump on the band wagon of publishing some of my monthly goals, with the intent to check in next month not only to see how I did, but also to publish new goals for next month.  (Here are some of my role models.)  If I never return to do that, I've officially fallen OFF said band wagon.
Without further ado, here are my goals for June.
1.  Take the dog (and myself) on at least 15 walks.
2.  Hem the bedroom curtains.
3.  Finish the nursery curtains.
4.  Line the nursery dresser drawers with fun paper.
5.  Plant at least 3 more things in the front flower bed.
6.  Visit the sculpture garden and the Art Festival with Byron.
7.  Read 50 pages in "Through Painted Deserts" (I try to be a reader, really I do!)
8.  Make a clothing drop at Goodwill.
9.  Find a pretty pillow case to use at the hospital.
Nothing too aggressive, and nothing that costs a lot of money, either.  I have been meaning to get to most of these things anyway, so I hope this will provide the extra motivation to get them done and checked off my list.  Here I go!

I Got Swept In...

...to Pinterest!  I had been watching others use it for awhile, and at first, didn't really think it was for me.  Let's face it, I just joined Facebook this year, I'm not exactly what you would call an early adopter.  But more recently, I had been following a few people more closely and watching how they are able to track all their DIY and project ideas, inspiration photos, AND it tracks sources - something my current system (basically we're talking about memory) was usually lacking.
So anyway, I requested an account.  And it felt like a year until I finally got my invite, but really it was less than a week.  And now I'm at it, off to a slow start, but I'm sure it will pick up in time.  If you are interested in checking out my pins, I think this link should take you there.

Nursery Update - Crib Mattress and Curtain Update

Good news - the crib has a mattress!  We now have a place for little baby Stover to lay his precious little head.  Phew! The mattress and the carseat are the two absolute must haves (aka stress points for this mama) in order to bring a little one home from the hospital.  I mean, don't get me wrong, there are plenty of other necessities, but the rest are things I can send Byron or a parent out for while I'm chilling (ha!) in the hospital.  The carseat and the mattress were musts for me, and now that the mattress is in place, there is one less thing for me to stress over.
I was really surprised at how big of an impact it has on the room.  It really makes a difference!

And here is a close up of the crib sheet I found.  Warning - although the color goes great with the rest of the room, it has NOT been washed and is incredibly wrinkly.  All things in time, my friends.

Adorable.  I think I need 4 of these for spares.  Note to self:  update registry.  I also really need to get a move on making a crib skirt.  I feel that in my near future.  Maybe with the long weekend I can get a start on it?
And now for some not as happy news.  Remember the fabric I was testing out for curtains?

Well, before I started cutting and hemming the panels, I thought I should probably test the fabric for length.  I doubled it up and clipped it in place and of course, this is what happened next.

Not so bad here.  Let's zoom in.

Noooooo!  There isn't enough fabric!  I know this isn't precise, but if I were actually doing it I would have to hem both ends, and let's face it, I would end up hating it.  I have another piece of this fabric, but it isn't long enough either.  I guess that's what happens when you buy remnants.  So now the plan is to switch it out with the other fabric I had found for the room.  I doubled up the material and clipped it in, and here is what it looks like.

Again, the curtain panels won't puddle on the ground, but rather I would end them just below the window's trim piece. And there would be two side by side, rather than just the one.  Of course, now that I can't have the cream fabric, now I have my heard set on it.  But the dark print is fun, too, and I'm sure I can learn to love it there.  And now that the dark print will go on the window, that leaves the cream to potentially use on the chair.

First of all, ignore the piles of baby clothes on either side of the chair.  It's garage sale season, and I haven't organized everything et.  Second, I can tell just by looking at it that the lines in this fabric are going to be a beast to keep straight. I can't go having a crooked print, now, can I?  No.  We won't have that.  But seriously now, I need some opinions. Would this print be better on the chair, or better as a crib skirt?  I go back and forth.
So anyway, with the holiday weekend giving me an extra day to work on the house, it would be really nice to get started on the curtain panels (especially because they are going to be so easy!).  I will at least consider it an accomplishment if I get the fabric washed.  That's one step ahead of where I am now.