It looks like a real house!

So, after ripping out the landscaping from the previous owners... 

a year later, it is complete.

Let's go back to where we started.

I'm sorry it's not the best picture, but it'll have to do. When we bought the house in November 2010, there were two bushes, two small trees, and a bunch of red brick landscaping edgers that didn't match the house in the slightest. Don't forget to notice that the bushes are only evenly spaced, not centered under the windows. As if the front of our house needed more awkwardness to add to it's flat facade. 

Jumping forward to March of 2011, we were gung ho about giving the front of our house a face lift. 

We ripped everything out, replanting the foliage elsewhere. 

The edgers also bit the dust. See?

Then for whatever reason, it took 12 months to revisit this project. 

(a pregnancy, maybe?) I apologize if you visited our home in this time frame, as it looked like a hick family lived here with no landscaping (and for a few months, a car on jack stands- sorry, babe). I also decided to tackle it alone this time while Chris is deployed. It'll be a nice little something for him to come home to. 

First, I drew up a landscaping plan. Don't laugh. It came as no surprise to my mother when I mentioned I drew one up. She'll back me up when I say that every time I rearranged my room as a kid, I drew a plan (to scale, of course) for the new furniture placement. I still do. [See house layout below that I made on floorplan.com].

After determining the number of plants I needed to acquire, mom and I set off to Lowes. (Can't ignore that military discount!) I purchased a Pink Flowering Almond for the end of the bed, 5 Big Twister Rush grasses, and 2 Firepower Nandina bushes. I also have a handful of Liatris and 'Blue' (which I think is a Balloon flower) bulbs to plant here and there. 

After setting the edging and adding some good topsoil, I set out my plants to check my locations.

I planted everything, making sure to add in some Miracle Gro soil. 

The final step was to add mulch. I used newspaper as my weed barrier after seeing it posted on Pinterest a hundred times. Doesn't it look beautiful??

Now we just have to wait for the bulbs to come up to add some color, and for the bushes to fill out a bit more! I'm also planning on adding a trellis between the windows for some Morning Glories. I'm pleased as punch.

You probably noticed the 4x4 post on the right side of the bed. That's my new flagpole. Chris and I had a bracket on the house that kept loosening and was about to fall off, so this was my solution. And yes, I set it in concrete. I can't wait to get the bracket up and give the flag some air! 

What do you think? An improvement?! :)

...95 days later...

I'm baaaaaack!

I know you were thinking it wouldn't ever happen, but I'm determined to get back on the blogging train!

First thing's first: I'm a MOMMY!!

If you're just tuning in and missed the big news, the hubs and I brought a BEAUTIFUL baby girl into this world on November 30, 2011. 

Miss Camdin Elisabeth Freed weighed 6 lbs 13 ounces, and measured 20 inches long.

In my first post back, I'd love to share with you her birth story. For those of you who choose not to read this material, this is your exit cue and thanks for making an effort! I'm not afraid to share the details, so brace yourselves... HA!

Here goes:

Tuesday evening [November 29th] at 8:45pm, my contractions began. Considering I had only experienced Braxton Hicks contractions two days early, I was still new to the sensation. They seemed to be sporadic in length and intervals, so all I did was record them and watch them continue. Keep in mind this was the evening of the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, which I was excited to watch. I spoke with my mom and good friend Kim on the phone during the first few hours of contractions, with no consistency or pattern in sight. I thought this may be it, but no signs of increasing intensity were appearing. By 10:30pm I decided that we should start watching the show to get my mind off of the contractions. I figured I'd know when things were changing drastically.

Then it hit me. At 11:00pm, I started noticing the contractions appearing more quickly. I checked my timing, and they were... TWO MINUTES APART?! Are you KIDDING me? How did I go from no pattern, to TWO minutes apart? Holy geez! I told Chris immediately. Of course, he wanted to shower quickly, so I gathered all of our things : packed bag, snacks for Chris, let the puppies out to potty, and a towel in case my water broke in the car. (Gotta protect those seats, ya know?!)

We pulled out of the driveway at 12:30am, Wednesday morning. I was finally settled in a birthing suite by 1:30am. My first check by the nurse showed that I was 3 cm dilated and 80-90% effaced. Within 15 minutes, my entire dinner came up in 3 separate incidences. Lovely. I kept getting hot flashes and nausea with each contraction. This kept Chris attached to the thermostat, turning it up and down, up and down. I was able to have Zofran in my IV for the nausea which helped immensely. 

At 3:30am I was still at 3 cm, but with much more intensity and pain. I had originally thought my labor would be on the shorter side based on my mom's experiences, therefore I wanted to try it without an epidural. But, by this time, it didn't look like things were going to progress quickly. I asked for the epidural, knowing that it might be a while before I received it. Thirty minutes later the nurse came back with unexpected news. My blood work shower elevated platelet levels, which "disqualified" me for an epidural. Guess I was going to get what I originally hoped for. The pain was so intense at that point, that I asked for a little help with medication. The nurse gave me a pain narcotic (Stadol) which would last 2 hours. As as she hooked it into my IV, I was out. I got to sleep for 90 minutes!! Yay for re-energizing myself!

By 5:00am the pain was coming back. The nurse checked me again, and I was 4-5 cm dilated, and 100% effaced. They gave me another round of Stadol, and I slept for an hour. By 6:00am, I could feel a lot more pain, which made me think I was much more dilated. Dr. Chang came in at 6:12 to check me. I was at 8 cm, and he broke my water. 

I kid you not, less than 10 minutes later, I felt this huge urge to push. It was like my body just went into pushing mode without me even knowing about it. Chris called up the nurse quick to have her check me again. She acted all nonchalant when she came in, like there was no way that I was fully dilated. Sure enough, I was right. 10 centimeters and ready to go... NOW! She called for Dr. Chang and the rest of the  team. Dr. Chang was in the room by 6:30am. This is the part where it gets fuzzy for me.

I remember being EXTREMELY parched and dry-mouthed. Chris started feeding me ice chips by spoon in between my contractions- which felt like they were 10 seconds apart. Craziness. The nurses prepped everything very quickly. I started pushing at 6:45am. Four contractions later, at 6:59am my baby girl made her debut! She was screaming so long that she could hardly catch her breath. I had to have an episiotomy to assist in her arrival, and honestly the stitching up of that was more painful since my adrenaline already had gone down a bit as soon as she was born. 

Chris cut the cord right away, and she was carried over to the table to be cleaned up right away while he snapped a ton of pictures. Her APGAR scores were 8 and 9. While her first diaper was being put on, she pooped. Then after getting clean from that, she peed while the second clean diaper was being put on. HAHA. That's my girl. Get it all out right away. So her plumbing worked wonders!

They then brought her over and laid her on my chest and I've never felt such immediate warmth and love in my heart. She was already holding her head up, listening to our voices, and making sweet growly sounds. 

... And three months later we are still SO in love, we can't even explain. 

Many more updates, stories and pictures to come. 

If you'd like to see the massive amount of pictures we've taken so far, head on over to Flickr.  Add me as a contact, and I will grant you access to her cuteness!

Time to feed her... again. Story of my life now!

No Peeking!

So much to catch up on!

I didn't realize it has been so long since I've posted something fabulous (or anything, for that matter). I had a doctor appointment on Nov 23rd, and he informed me that I was 1cm dilated and 50% effaced. I thought for sure I'd be headed to the hospital within a few days...no such luck. 

Thanksgiving was a GREAT time with friends. 

We shared a potluck style meal, and everything was delicious!!

Chris and I did a lot of relaxing and watching of football over the weekend. We wanted to be extra caught up on sleep if Mini decided to make her arrival soon.

On Sunday I had a few contractions, with no consistency in between. They fizzled and faded away after a couple of hours. We even took the dogs for a walk in hopes of getting things moving a little faster. Again, no luck. 

So what do I do? Bust out my crafting stuff and get to work, of course!

I bought some fabric at JoAnn's to make my own nursing cover. After seeing so many in stores, I couldn't swallow the $40 price tag that most of the stores stocked. 

I purchased 2 yards of fabric and 20" of boning. A whopping $13 total. I chose to make my cover with a  "lining", just to be extra private. I don't want nobody peeking in on me when my parts are hanging out.

I used this link and that link, combining the two styles together. I already had a couple of D rings left over from making the diaper bag, so I used them for the strap.

I had it completed in just a short while. Here I am (looking oh so grand) sporting the new cover.

I loved the "hand drawn" look of the paisley. I figured I had to choose a girly fabric to let people know that I've got a little girl under there. To even further prove my point, I lined it with hot pink. Yes, I did. If you know me, this was a big pill to swallow. However, I Aimee'd it up with a secret little pocket for a burp cloth.

After finishing the cover, I gave it one last college try to put my self into labor. I vacuumed the ENTIRE house. Chris will stand by me on this one. He thought it was cute that I was nesting, but it was a combination of nesting and exercise, really. I was working hard!

Since Sunday night, after no more improvements or changes, I've been cleaning the house daily, and sleeping- trying to stock up. I've got another project on the back burner- as always. Maybe I'll get that out this afternoon. At this rate, I'll be so bored of waiting that I'll throw myself into several projects, have them spread all over the house, and then have to rush to the hospital with the house looking like a tornado came through. Ah, well. Such is life. I'll get over instantly once that little bundle lands in my arms.

Any guesses as to what day she'll be arriving? How big she'll be? Dark/light hair? 

I just can't wait to see my little Mini in person!

Let it snow... kind of.

While perusing Pinterest this week, I came across an ingenious idea, taken from a department store window display. The designers found a miraculously cheap presentation of fake snow.

Cotton balls and fishing line.

Behold.

OK, let me back up.

It'din'it purdy?

I was so please with the way it turned out, I made more.

Lots more.

It's hard to see with the windows open, but that's how I got the best lighting here.

Even if we hardly get snow in Arkansas this year, I'll have snow at my house!

Now here's the rest of the holiday cheer around the house.

I still have yet to make Mini her stocking. And no I won't take a picture of it when it's done unless she's already arrived. Her name will remain a secret until she gets here. She told me she wanted it that way.

The ornament clusters are to go outside on our garage lights, but I'm not going to be that person in the neighborhood to put them all up before Thanksgiving. 

A little party-time cheer in the kitchen.

These were left over from one of my baby showers.

Lastly the tree.

Nothing fantastical, but all of our ornaments are from Chris and my childhood years or our recent years of marriage together. They all have great meaning, which is super sweet.

Side view.

Oh, you noticed it's a little bit close to the wall? That's because I didn't add all of the branches this year so that it would be a bit more "out of the way" while family, friends, and baby things invade our home upon her arrival. I'm pleased with how easy it was to squeeze it into place.

Have you guys thought of how to decorate for the holidays? I thoroughly enjoy looking at the designer photos of home decorations, but I'm so stuck to tradition and sentimentality that I'm afraid Better Homes and Gardens will never be knocking at my door to photo my home during the holidays. Better for it. There's something to be said for a season of green and red. Any other time of year it just seems silly to pair the two together. Why not celebrate the twosome in all their glory... after Thanksgiving, that is.

Tummy update!

We are now officially under 20 days until the wee one makes her debut. Hopefully. I'm betting she's going to arrive early based on what the Dr. said this last week. He mentioned that I've started to thin out quite a bit already. We'll get another update tomorrow at my appointment. Chris and I are betting November 26-28 as her window of arrival. Do you have any guesses?

Today I'm sitting here at 37 weeks and 2 days. I THINK I've started to have some Braxton Hicks contractions, but I'm not exactly sure. There are times when my stomach will get insanely tight and you can't feel her positioning at all, but this doesn't hurt and isn't a lot of pressure either. I'm crossing my fingers that this is what's going on and I'm just "immune" to the pain.

Other than that, I've really be so lucky with a great pregnancy thus far with hardly any complaints. My back is holding up strongly, and my feet don't look like stuffed sausages yet, so we're doing OK!

Here are some pictures that we shot yesterday (after a nap, hence my lovely appearance).

I wish I had more to post about with projects around the house. The truth is I've been nesting and getting the house organized and all of my supplies purchased before we bring her home. I did get my Christmas decorations up yesterday in preparation for her homecoming. I decided that I didn't want to be putting decorations up after Thanksgiving in my 39 week...if I last that long. If I waited too long, I'd be putting them up after she's born...in which case Chris would be putting them up. Disaster. So I opted for the extremely early approach. No one can blame me. I'm pregnant. I do what I want.

Today will be spent vacuuming out the car and installing the car seat. Also making a run to the store for last minute items to throw in my hospital bag. Then to choose my going home outfit and get that packed (hers has been decided on and packed for MONTHS). Then we will finally be in business. The bags will go in the car and we will be ready for whenever her little heart desires to bless us with her presence. Don't worry, the cameras [still and video] are already packed and charged. Expect photos very soon after the birth, as I know we'll be anxious to brag about her immediately.

Any plans for your lovely Wednesday? Any guesses as to when she'll arrive? Any last minute guesses on her name? (No, we're not giving it away, but the guesses keep us entertained!) Later gators.

Dancing Queen

So... Miss Mini has been dancing up a STORM lately, and I broke out the video camera again to document her new found love. She's quite a bit more active in this video over the last, so enjoy.

I think she really gets her hips into it. Or elbows or feet. Whatever it is, it's cute. 

Music by: Dave Barnes "Crazyboutya"

Feature Creatures

This week I got my hands dirty in the acrylic again...

I painted a lovely little something for Miss Mini's room.

I saw all of these little creatures in multiple prints and totally thought I could gather them all together to make a nice forestry scene. The grass is painted newspaper in various shades of green. Much more fun and "poppy" than more brush strokes. The sun if strips of fabric with a fabric flower embellishment in the center (from an old shirt I've been scrapping out).

The nice thing about it is that I could incorporate all of the colors in her room (which is pretty much every color) rather than searching for the perfect print or painting that's already been created.

There have been lots of updates in the room- most of which I haven't blogged about.

Here's what you see now when you enter her room.

And the opposite wall.

And the doorway.

The painting fills a void above the crib nicely. I'm sure I'll continue to add little projects here and there, and eventually I'll give you a close up tour of everything in here. But until then, enjoy everything from afar. Only 4 more weeks (ish) until she's here. So hard to believe!