Just the Two of Us

Well tomorrow is finally the day and it can't come soon enough. The hubby, Braedan and I will welcome our little girl into the family and a part of me still can't believe the day is actually here. We've done all this preparation and even anticipated an early arrival but as one of my cousins put it, she is just showing up fashionably late. I know I've had the past nine months to prepare for her to join us, and when I say I can't believe the day is here, part of my perplexity is just due to the fact that I can't believe the hubby and I have this wonderful, blessed and growing family. For so long, eight years to be exact, it was just the two us and even as we entered our 30s and welcomed Braedan I still saw us as the young 20 somethings who may or may not seem like they knew what they were doing, and for myself at least, still wondering if we were prepared enough to be parents and bring a little person into the world. I mean many of you know the hubby and his sense of humor. Even though we're approaching our mid-30s he still says things like "When are you gonna drop it like it's hot," his version of "When do you think you'll have the baby," or referring to my ongoing struggle with the discomfort of this pregnancy as, "I don't remember you breakin' down like this the last time." But that's what has made this ride into parenthood so fun, because of him. I'm so glad we have each other to share in this adventure.

I mean just look at the guy's grin, he never smiles that big for a picture unless he's
up to something but that's what makes him fun.

And just as he and I were just the two of us for so long, I grew accustomed and savored every moment of Braedan and I being "just the two us." For the last three years, it's been just Braedan and me, and we both have had so much fun. My sweet boy has taken me on one of the best rides, that of a mother and son relationship and with his sister now arriving I wait with wonder and awe as I prepare for the mother, daughter relationship. Today we went on a small date for frozen yogurt and as we sat there it made me smile thinking of how he will now move into a new kind of "two of us," which is that of big brother and little sister.

We head out early in the morning so that I can be induced, and I wanted to thank all of our friends and family, near and far, for your prayers and well wishes. You have all made the preparation for her arrival that much more exciting and we can't wait for all of you to finally meet her.

Crossing Over to the Crafty Side

Well it's happened, I have officially become crafty. I know my title says it all, and before you let the excitement overwhelm you, don't imagine Martha Stewart-esque type work. The things I've made are baby steps compared to what others might do, but for me this is a huge deal. About a year ago, an inkling of this newfound, creative energy began to slowly creep in as I watched a friend paint a stool for her daughter to use as an aid for hand washing at the sink. I saw her work and suddenly remembered I'm qualified and fully able to do that; as any fellow sorority girl knows you gain the skill of craft painting during your college career what with all the letters, paddles, frames and stools you must paint. It's too bad that I could never list that as as skill on my resume, because I spent so much time doing it during college I think I should have gotten some sort of credit out of it.

So as I mentioned this made me feel fully qualified. to paint a little stool for Braedan, and I went with a sports theme only because all I needed to do was paint a few sports balls. And not to sound too full of myself, but it actually came out ok. Then again, how hard is it to paint a few circles, hence why I went with sports. Around that same time was Braedan's 2nd birthday, and I went ahead and made his birthday invites. It was very simple just because I don't have any graphic programs loaded on my computer AND I don't own a cricut. If you have no idea what that is don't worry, I didn't either. I just learned what it is a year ago, and I have to admit not having one made me feel a wee bit inadequate as a mom. Forget the perpetual "concerns list" that may run through your mind throughout the day regarding your child: 1.) Did he eat enough at breakfast? 2.) What did he touch at the library? 3.) Was anyone coughing or with a runny nose? 4.) What am I going to feed him at dinner tonight? No, when I learned about the cricut I thought, "Eek, I never made him cute onesies using a cricut to celebrate his monthly milestones. I didn't make any cute decorations for his 1st birthday."  But alas, I am making up for lost craft time, and I have Pintrest and the impending arrival of my baby girl to thank for crossing over to the crafty side of motherhood.

It took me a while to get into the whole board and pinning action of Pintrest, but now that I've gotten the hang of it I cannot stop. From what I hear from others, that part of it is perfectly normal along with actually keeping up and doing all of the projects/ideas you have pinned. (Another area I was feeling inadequate.) Needless to say my dabbling in the stool project turned into a full-fledged painting marathon of the decorative pieces for our baby girl's room. And when I say marathon, I'm not exaggerating because it seems like it's taking me forever to finish. I learned other wild side effects of Pintrest are the number of simultaneous projects you have going on and your frequent visits to Michael's or Hobby Lobby to gather supplies for these numerous projects. I make a stop at one of these places at least every other week, or I try to limit it to every other week. It's funny how times have changed, because before kids while living in Chicago I developed a shopping addiction, specifically to clothes and boots, due to the fact that I worked downtown and was within walking distance of it's shopping mecca. I couldn't help dropping into a store during my lunch hour and if I purchased something here or there, I would unsuccessfully try to hide it from the hubby to keep him from knowing that I had yet again gone shopping. But there was no fooling him. I swear it was like he had a mental library of my clothes because every time I wore something new, he knew it and asked the inevitable question, "Is that new?"

This time around though I don't feel too guilty about my craft purchases because of all the coupons I literally have on hand due to my IPhone apps. That thing is a godsend, I don't know what we ever did before. But as I mentioned earlier, this crossover is a huge deal for me and if I can do it, you can too. All you need is a little PINspiration.

My first craft project, as I mentioned very simple.

As many of you know, we're keeping the name a surprise so had to cover up the first canvas.

And don't ask me where this idea came from because Pintrest didn't help here. It just came to me one day. All we need now is for her to get here to fill in the other picture frame.