Hooray! Every contraction brings this pregnancy closer to its completion!

Now that Vince is here, acquaintances we run into are asking me how my pregnancy and labor went.  I feel funny telling them the truth…

It sucked.

That’s not to say I had a particularly difficult 40 weeks.  I am thankful for my textbook pregnancy which culminated in my healthy son.  I know I’m blessed.

My statement is an admission that there are two types of women: those who can handle being pregnant with grace and aplomb and those who can’t.  I fall squarely into the latter column.

Hopefully I faked it well to the outside world, but in my inner mind I was loathing every minute of my pregnancy.

In an attempt to reconcile my emotions, I penned a quick poem while my little man napped.  I hope other women can relate.

Now That You’re Here 

I already forgot…

the growing girth

the constant wondering

the incessant worrying

the crippling anxiety

topped off with colossal hormonal meltdowns

I can scarcely recall…

the waves of nausea

the leaking bladder

the chronic constipation

and the relentless heartburn

A distant memory now …

the back and forth bathroom waltz-

accompanied by the persistent pains

from my clouded baby brain

down my aching back

past my puffy face

over my disappearing naval

to my weary swollen feet

It has all been replaced by…

Your sudden smiles

blissful babble

and quiet coos.

Now I cherish

the late night lullabies

and the soothing snuggles

While I cradle

my swaddled bundle

of unrelenting joy

Forty Weeks-

erased in one instant

now that you’re here

Love,

I didn’t really have any intentions of turning into a “Mommy Blogger.”  I didn’t want to be “that girl” who becomes a mom and her entire world revolves around her offspring.  It was important to maintain some elements of my pre-kid persona.  Plus, I also didn’t want to alienate readers. Some people are anti-infants, and I know most people don’t want to read inane accounts of my sleepless nights or blow by blow descriptions of Vince’s bowel movements.

Naive pre-kid Jennie thought this was possible.

Well, you realize that you have inevitably slipped into the realm of “Mommy Blogger ” when you find yourself typing a post about bottle racks in your PJ pants with a kid sleeping on your lap.

But in my defense it isn’t any old boring bottle rack I want to share.  It is the perfect marriage of form, function, and fun.

My mom (aka Nana) put this faux grass bottle holder in Vince’s first ever Easter basket.  It holds all of Vince’s bottle paraphernalia while brightening up my kitchen counter.  (Plus it doesn’t take up that much room!)

Please keep reading even if I end up only ranting about my baby!

Thanks,

After being expelled from the comfort of your mother’s womb, the least you deserve is a lovely little spot in this big world to call your own.  I spent months compiling objects and creating pieces to make my child’s room just right.  I feel like it is the perfect combination of my husband and myself, so hopefully our son will enjoy it as well.  Allow me to share some nursery highlights with you…

Color

When creating this room I didn’t really know if I was growing a son or a daughter, but I did know that I despised pastels.  These factors led me to choosing red, gray, and black as the dominate colors of the room.

Marty likes the nursery too.

It was initially inspired by Dr. Seuss’s The Cat in the Hat, but I didn’t want to take that theme too literally.  I also wanted to work with the office items we already had in the room, such as the sofa and wall colors.  Why reinvent the wheel if you don’t have to?

Personalized Touches

I already blogged about the wall art I created, but that was not the only handmade item I created for the nursery.  My vast internet searches didn’t yield the perfect penguin baby mobile.

Vince enjoying his new crib and mobile

I wanted one that not only had penguins, but also played music.  No luck online, so I had to create my own.  I purchased stuffed penguins from Oriental Trading Co. and a cheap musical mobile from eBay.  I took the animals off the mobile and sewed on the penguins. Voila! Just what I was looking for.

My absolute favorite item in the nursery is the dresser/changing table.

Since our bundle of joy was a boy, I allowed Josh to leave the Devils art on the walls.

It was lovingly built by my godfather, Uncle Tom, to my exact specifications.  I purchased wooden letters online that he adhered to the drawers.   Not only does it give the dresser a fun look, but it also will teach my child the alphabet.

I hope my little Vince grows up happy and healthy in his special room.

Love,

Yup! I’m here.  I finally decided to come out of my Mommy and meet you all.

As you can imagine, she has been busy recuperating from the ordeal of shoving me into this world on March 23. Although I wasn’t too big (7 lbs. 15 oz 21 inches) I forced her to separate her pelvis on my way out.  After a few days of using a walker and tons of rest she is on the mend.

The dogs have welcomed me into the pack.  They like to smell me, and occasionally attempt to lick my head before Mommy or Daddy shoo them away.  Roxie especially likes to babysit me, and follow me from room to room.

Overall, life if pretty good.  I am sure my Mommy will resume her normal blogging soon.  I know she will want to show off the sweet nursery she created for me.

Love,

Vince

I’ve created a list of three sure fire signs that your pre-baby vacation is getting the best of you.

Number One: You turn on TLC’s endless stream of Baby Shows and realize within minutes of the opening credits that you’ve already seen the episode.  Twice.

I have no valid excuse for this behavior.  The births on these shows have the ability to inspire and horrify, regardless, it is inevitable that I let out a little sob when the mother first sees her baby each and every time.  It’s addictive TV.

Number Two: You’ve painted a stick figure version of your family onto a pillow.  

This one I’m kind of proud of.  I found this awesome pillow via Pintrest (another popular maternity leave past time). But the version found at Uncommongoods.com  is $150.  Not exactly in my budget.  I bought a pillow for $20 at HomeGoods.

First I sketched the people and animals on with a fabric marker.  Then I went over the figures with matte black fabric paint.

I’m really proud of how I have captured my dogs’ personalities in their portraits.  

Now all I need is the kid to make this family rendering accurate.

Number Three: You have made yourself Labor Socks.

This pair was created when I free hand stitched the letters on an old pair of comfy socks.

They are a bit hard to read in this picture. Lefty says "You can do it!" while righty reminds me "You're Strong"

I don’t know why I did this.  I just figured I might simultaneously need  foot-warmth and encouragement. Not my finest crafting, but definitely my most motivational.

I guess I better enjoy this down time while it lasts.

Love,

I know this is a long time coming, and I really have no excuse since I have started my maternity leave.  My last day of teaching was March 2, Read Across America Day.  This year the NEA theme was The Lorax.  This is my absolute favorites children’s book of all time.  Its writing is poetic and its message is haunting.  I adore it.  To honor the day, and the book, my class and I worked really hard to recreate the setting of the book before the Once-ler messed it all up.

The Lorax is next to a mirror. Get it?

We repurposed wrapping paper rolls and large architect paper rolls (Thank you Uncle Tom) to create truffula tree trunks.  The tops are Martha Steward tissue paper puffs.  Super easy, I had second graders help me do it.

My fabulous co-teacher made beautiful and delicious truffula tree cookie pops.

Overall it was a grand celebration and a wonderful way to kick off my maternity leave.

Now if this baby would only come…

I need you to know that you are my hero.  Although I adore crafting, baking if beyond me.  These Lorax themed cake pops almost make me want to pick up some mixing bowls and confectionary sugar.  How perfect for today’s combo of Dr. Seuss’ birthday and the release of the Lorax movie.

First we have the Bar-ba-loots.  

Then we have the Truffula Trees.  And Truffula trees are what everyone needs…

And who can forget the man himself! The Lorax.

Amazing.  I am in awe.  My elementary school is having an NEA sponsored Read Across America celebration today with a Lorax theme.  (It coincidentally is my final day before my maternity leave!) I’ll post some photos of the decorations I created with my students soon.

Love,

Life if rough.  Your home must make you happy.  Here are three random objects I found online that could add some cutesy to your home and boost your mood daily.

Electro-Man $16.99 So cute its shocking.

I”ll be right there! Maze Door Chain $49.99

(Does this count as “baby proofing”?)

Um….Your stapler is staring at me! Anthropomorphize your home and office with stickers for only $4.99

The last two items were found at ThinkGeek.  They have tons of other humorous items for those of you who would rather browse the internet than get some work done today.

Love,

Sometimes it pays to be an obsessive fan of your network.  This is the story of one of those times…

A long time ago I saw an episode of one of the many shows starring designer Sarah Richardson.  Sarah’s shtik is that she takes a home and goes room by room to completely redesign the place.   I happened to catch an episode where Sarah was re-doing a nursery.  At the time I was not with child and had no need for a nursery, but I recall that Sarah claimed that she framed  baby flash cards for inexpensive and beautiful artwork.  Back then I had no idea baby flash cards existed, but the row of pictures looked pretty and I managed to mentally file it away under good cheap designing ideas.

Project supplies.

Fast forward a year or so and here I am, nesting away, and designing my own nursery.  All of the art work I was finding online was either cheap-o poster looking or way expensive overpriced pieces.  I remembered this random episode and decided to search the internet for black and white baby flash-cards.  Now, even as an educator I have no idea why one would really want to use baby flash-cards of random animals-but I found a set on Amazon for $12.99 that included a puppy, a panda, a penguin, a lemur, an anteater, and a skunk.  (Why would an American baby need to learn about a lemur?  What sound does a lemur even make?  But I digress…)  I decided to frame up the first three-cause I ADORE penguins and puppies (the panda was picked just ’cause it was cute).  I went to my local Home Goods and found 3 frames for $12.99 (seems to be a magic number here).  At home I used some hounds-tooth scrapbook paper I had laying around from back when I made my wedding scrapbook to mount the flashcards.  The frames already came with a white matte back, so this little burst of pattern was all that I needed.

Ta Da! Done in under 15 minutes and for under $55. I’ll post pictures of them in the nursery when the room is ready to be unveiled.  

Love,

Not all of you were as lucky this year as the members of my family and my friends who support Big Blue.  (Yay Giants) So what if your team didn’t win?  It is never too early to plan for next year.  I know I am.  As the Vince Lombardi trophy was being presented I noticed someone’s child on the field was sporting an adorable knit football hat.  It was too precious not to look up on the internet immediately!

I found it on Etsy (one of my new go-to sites for adorable baby stuff).  You can either buy the pattern for $5 to make your own or purchase an already made hat for $26. Clearly, Baby Burke will be rocking this hat next year.    What is unclear is who he/she will root for.  It will hail from a family with members who support the Jets, Giants, Cowboys,Forty-Niners, and Patriots.  I guess we will just plop a football on its head until it picks its own team.

Happy Off Season,