Firstly, I finished my second year of medical school! Hooray! I can't believe I'm halfway done! It's been two tough years, but at least I'm beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel! In other news, we finished (at least temporarily) decorating our home, attended our final Natural Labor class, and celebrated our baby shower! Yes, for those of you who are wondering, I am completely exhausted! It has been far, far too busy these last several days, and my feet are definitely telling me to take a break! Which I'll gladly do now!
Anyhow, decorating our home was certainly a labor of love. Since moving in, I've worked each day on organizing our things and finally everything had found its place. The only thing missing was some decorative touches. The only problem? With a little one on the way and a sole income, we're certainly on a shoestring budget. Thankfully, with a little creativity, a lot of patience, and the help of a decorating-savvy friend, we made our house into a home! One of our biggest projects included our "frame wall." This project involved the purchasing and painting of six large picture frames. We then hung these frames on our living room wall to add a bit of modern flair to our otherwise traditional home. I purchased all six frames from a local Goodwill and then my sweet husband graciously transformed them thanks to a couple cans of spray paint! Below are a few photos of the project:
Before:
After (excuse the junk on the table--we were still working on things!):
Here are more before & after photos. Remember we tried to make due with things we already had, so the house doesn't always flow perfectly together.
Entryway
Before:
After:
Canvases from our wedding and a collection of other photos made our stairway a bit more homey! A couple affordable rugs added a bit of coziness to the entry.
Living Room
Before:
After (sorry for the blurry image!):
Yes, that's our TV! We know it's super outdated but we just can't justify spending tons on a new flat screen right now! The framed art above the TV was another fun project--it's just framed fabric! The curtains are from Lowe's and the lamp is from Target. The furniture pieces are antiques from my family.
The frame wall
Dining Room
Before:
After:
Kitchen
Before:
After:
Oops! Forgot to remove the stool and junk from the island :-)
Study/Den
Before:
After:
Rug is from amazon and bookshelves are from Wal-Mart!
Downstairs Bath
Before:
After:
Upstairs Guest Bath:
Before:
After:
(Excuse the lamp cord. It's the only outlet in the room!)
Guest Bedroom:
Before:
After:
(we bought another curtain panel later on, so excuse the ill-fitting curtains)
Master Bedroom
Before:
After:
The bedspread and cherry furniture suite were wedding gifts!
Master Bath
Before:
After:
Grayson's Room
Before:
After:
After all that work I was ready for a rest on the back porch! Gotta love this view!
After decorating our home, it was baby shower time! Mom, Tiffy, and my Aunts & Cousins all helped to make our baby shower extra special! We got so many goodies for Grayson! Thanks to all of our family & friends for coming! Below are some snapshots from the day!
Aunt Debbie made us this lovely quilt!
We had a great helper :-)
Love my Mommy!
Here's our cute diaper cake! Thanks Mom!
(In this photo you really can't see the snippet of fabric from the gorgeous quilt Mom made Grayson. I'll have to post photos of it later!)
Later in the week we attended our final Natural Labor class. We actually practiced numerous different laboring positions as well as the breathing techniques, stretches, and relaxation exercises we learned earlier in the series. We also toured the labor & delivery wing of the hospital. With all of the information we learned, Andy & I were both feeling much more prepared for our son's quickly approaching arrival!
Here's our update:
How Far Along: 31 weeks
Total Weight Gain: 21 lbs
Stretchmarks: I think I'm noticing the beginnings of a couple on the bottom of my belly :-( Hopefully they don't get too bad!
Sleep: Great
Best Moment this Week: Finishing our house and celebrating with loved ones at our baby shower!
Movement: Lots!
Gender: Baby boy
Labor Signs: None, but I've been having Braxton-Hicks contractions at least a couple times a day.
Belly Button: In :-)
What I Miss: Nothing
What I am Looking Forward to: Next week's 32 week appointment
Milestones: Grayson has become very, very active over the last couple of weeks! I love feeling him jostle around inside my tummy! He's now over 16" long and weighs approximately 3 1/3 pounds. This week he enters a growth spurt and will practice moving his head in preparation for delivery.
31 Weeks
Til Next Time,
Hugs & Kisses,
A Southern Sweetheart
No comments:
Post a Comment