D-Day Approaches

If your office looks like this...

And you've got one of these sitting around...

And some of these...

One of these for collecting stuff...

And one of these waiting to be used......you might be about to have a baby!

We are less than six weeks away from BF's due date, and we could not be happier. Well, the only thing that would make us happier is if the baby was coming sooner. We are really eager to meet this little one!

But all told, this has been a fabulous pregnancy, and even in my last few weeks I continue to feel good and enjoy being pregnant. Lindon is a fantastic help, too. This weekend we took a trip to Target to gather more stuff from our registry. Now we feel like we are kind of prepared for bringing home a little one from the hospital, even though we know we'll never REALLY be prepared. But with every passing day, we know that we are getting closer to being parents. We are so excited!

Long Time, No Post

I cannot believe it's been two weeks since I've updating this thing! Really, I've meant to post more frequently, but time has slipped away from me. Despite my best attempts to de-commit in anticipation of Baby Fowler, last week and the two weekends around it seemed to be rather full. To illustrate, below is a post I began writing last week to fill in readers on my crazy weekend. I never got to finish the post, but what I did get written (and it's unfinished state) illustrate just a little bit of how busy we've been. So that's all I've got for now. I hope to post more later...including baby shower photos!

Drafted 9/14/09:

Monday came far too quickly. Or rather, that weekend was crazy!

It's not often that I feel like a weekend was too short. My two days of freedom each week tend to be quite restful, and returning to an great job never feels as burdensome as returning to a sucky job. So typically I cannot relate to the plethora of Facebook posts on Mondays that say, "Where did the weekend go," or "I have a case of the Mondays," or "Wish the weekend was longer."

But last weekend went by far, far too quickly! I get tired just thinking about all that happened last weekend. Friday evening I made dinner, and we ran some errands at Target. We picked up a few odds and ends that we needed and got some snacks in anticipation of Saturday.

We spent most of Saturday at the hospital learning how to have a baby. Sort of. We took a Childbirth in a Day class at the hospital where I plan to deliver, and we found it to be very helpful. It provided just enough information without overwhelming us or boring us. And now we are pretty much pros at childbirth...pros who have zero experience.

While the class was helpful, it was very long. Our snacks from Target helped to ease to pain of sitting in class all day, but it was still long. We got home and felt exhausted from all the energy we expended trying to retain information on labor and delivery. I think I also felt tired from thinking about how exhausting labor and delivery will actually be.

All week we had told ourselves that after class on Saturday when we were tired and didn't feel like making dinner, we would go to Qdoba for dinner with a buy-one-get-one-free coupon. This was a wise decision and one we did not regret. Lindon, being the trooper that he is, then spent the evening working on our sidewalk, which still needs to be completed. I watched him and read Sports Illustrated until I ran out of daylight. We crashed very early.

Summer Projects II

So the first project of the summer was renovating our bathroom. This bathroom was in pretty sorry shape before Lindon worked on it. There are some things we could not change; namely, we could not make this 40 square foot space any bigger. But at least we could make it feel bigger and look nicer. Here is a "before" photo.

The tile on the wall was a hideous shade of pink. The plaster walls did not hold the paint, so paint constantly chipped off into the shower (lovely), and the existing shower was a wonderful breeding ground for mold. Despite our best efforts to clean it, this tub was always growing mold. And the shower doors did not do much to make the tiny space feel any bigger. In this photo you can also see the corner of the vanity, which was very bulky for such a small space. And the medicine cabinet, while adding extra storage, was not tall enough for Lindon and I to use without bending over to look in the mirror. Basically, everything in the bathroom needed to go, except for the toilet. And that's what happened!

Lindon had assistance on this project from his father, and we are so grateful for the extra help! Lindon and his dad gutted the room, worked on the plumbing, put up moisture-resistant drywall, installed a new tub and shower, put ceramic tile on the floor, painted, installed a slim pedestal sink, and added a mirror that was tall enough for us.

The paint color we picked was a greyish blue, and it makes the room feel incredibly serene and relaxing. The shower curtain (shower doors are gone!) bows out to add extra space to the shower. But it can be pulled back when the shower is not in use to make the room feel bigger.

And having a tall mirror makes the room feel taller. It's also nice to not have to bend over to look into the mirror. We still need to change out the light fixture. The pineapple-looking light just doesn't cut it. But we are so pleased with the new look and feel of the bathroom. Since it's our only bathroom, it's nice to have one in good shape!

Summer Projects I

Each summer Lindon has taken on a project or two around our house. He loves these projects because they increase our home's potential value and allow him to use the side of his brain that doesn't get used when he sits in a classroom all day. Typically these projects are fairly ambitious, which means the house is in a state of chaos for a few days or few weeks while said project is finished. Lindon works like crazy on the task at hand, and he always does a fabulous job. The end product always makes it worth the few weeks of upheaval in the house.

This summer was no different. Upheaval and chaos reigned for a few short weeks, but they have been replaced by serenity and some fabulous improvements. Let's start with the latest project, and later I will post about the first project.

Project #2: The Deck

Before this summer, we had no deck. We had narrow concrete stairs that led from our back door to the driveway. Here is a "before" photo from last fall. Notice the cute puppy curled up next to our pumpkin. So sweet.



These stairs were fairly narrow and very steep, and many times I came dangerously close to slipping down the stairs. They also iced up very quickly in the winter, which made them extra perilous. It's never a great feeling when just getting to the car without a broken ankle is an accomplishment. And the prospect of trying to negotiate said stairs with a baby made me really, really nervous.

Lindon had been talking for a year about putting in a deck with a better stairway, and as soon as he had the time he got to do it. The first order of business was to get rid of the old stairs. The trusty sledgehammer did the trick. This was the scene when I came home from work one Wednesday (yes, Lindon had told me in advance what he planned to do):

With the help of some faithful friends, Lindon managed to get the deck built before he left to spend a week in PA.
With more help from faithful friends, he finished the deck last weekend! Here is the finished product. We also got some patio furniture which makes the deck all the more enjoyable.
Here are our new, wide stairs that will make this winter less frightening. At this point the only thing left is for Lindon to create a new sidewalk leading from the stairs to the driveway. He's working on it at I type this, and it should be done before the end of Labor Day weekend!