Today's (probably not) The Day!

October 7th.

I should be having a baby today.  Am I?  Not yet.  Still hopeful though.  I like the number 7.  And now that everything's done, I'm pretty anxious for her to arrive.  But despite the entire pineapple I ate last night, nothing but some serious acid reflux (pineapple is really acidic!) and some "I ate way too much pineapple" stomach cramps.

We'll see though.  She still has another 13 hours or so.

Maybe if not today, then this weekend...

I DID find another project to keep me busy this morning.

Introducing.... Project : Baby Mobile!!

Using digital images of the jungle animal artwork on the wall, I printed out three sets of my 7 favorite animals.  With a couple of wooden dowels painted pink, some embrodery floss, and a few pieces of foam core, I now have a mobile full of high-contrast images for New Baby to look at.
(Also, for people who walk into the room to look at, as seen in the two photos above.)

The coolest part of the mobile?? This is what it looks like if you are lying in the crib.

Note: I did not actually get into the crib to take this picture.  I probably would have broken it.  I just set the camera on the mattress.

Nesting: Day 3

Yes!  Finally... today was a day full of cleaning and straightening energy!  I finished unpacking the rest of the boxes.  I did loads and loads of laundry.  I picked up all the stray items lying around the house.  I cleaned the bathrooms (and scrubbed the floors).  I cleaned out and vacuumed my car.

And now... I am done.

There is no room in my freezer for more food.  My counters are covered with baked goods.  My house is clean and ready.  I've even done everything I can do for the birth announcements (aside from adding a picture of New Baby)...

What will I do next?

I'm antsy and anxious as tomorrow (her due date) approaches.  What if she's late?  What project can I tackle next?  Should I weed the garden?  Rake the yard?  Make some artwork?  Pace anxiously around the house???

Maybe to help her along and make sure she comes tomorrow, I will eat a whole pineapple.  It contains bromelain, which is thought to possibly bring on labor.


I will keep you posted...

Nesting: Day 2

So I really hoped I would wake up today filled with lots of "nesting energy" to straighten up, clean the floors and finish unpacking.  But, of course, my nesting could not be a productive, cleanly nesting... it could only be a nesting that would inevitably cause my floors to become dirtier and my kitchen to become 4 times messier.  (*note: having a dishwasher is amazing.  I didn't realize how much I missed it in Germany, but when you cook four dinners in one day, being able to run the dishwasher twice and have sparkling clean dishes is fantastic.  Especially when you plan to re-invade your kitchen the following day and create an even larger mess.)

So following yesterday's cooking-nesting-fest, I present you with today's baking-nesting-fest!

Now, my ability to remember things during pregnancy has gone down drastically.  Recall the unfortunate "Un-cinnamon rolls"... And the more recent "I think I'll make chicken pot pie for dinner and NOT buy chicken at the grocery store..."  So by the time I decided I wanted to post pictures of my baking extravaganza, it was too late, as the baking was done and the kitchen was a flour covered war-zone.

Fortunately, I chose my baking recipes from some of my favorite baking blogs, and the women who write them are fantastic at documenting the baking process.

So I present my two delectable baked goods for today:

Maple Pecan Pumpkin Bars (which I made without maple...)

courtesy of Gingerbread Bagels

and

Apple Pecan Muffin Cake

courtesy of Lethally Delicious.

I was also going to make a pumpkin quick bread, but the pumpkin bars were kind of a mix between a pumpkin bread and a pumpkin pie so I decided to hold off.  AND, who the heck is going to eat all these treats?  I, of course, devoured a good portion of both recipes "trimming off the ugly edges no one wants" and making sure neither was toxic... however, Bob doesn't like sweets... and unless I go into labor REALLY SOON, the remainder will probably go bad and I'll have to throw it away.  :(

Nesting: Day 1

So I've heard that towards the end of pregnancy most women experience "nesting".  (Read more here)

Well, today was not the day for hoarding newspapers, scrubbing floors or even finishing the last of the unpacking.

It was a day of cooking like a mad woman.

I went to the store, bought 4 lbs. of ground beef and spent the day in casserole making oblivion.

Four frying pans, five spatulas, 3 casserole dishes, 5 other ceramic dishes I dug out of the back of a cabinet, and the rest of my ziplock containers later, my freezer is now stocked with meals for after the baby arrives.  And I have dinner for two more nights this week.

Unfortunately for any other frozen food that wants to reside in my freezer, things will be kind of cramped in there for a while...

Weekend Foliage (or lack thereof) Drive

Since there's a good chance we'll be spending next weekend at the hospital rather than enjoying the mid-70 degree weather coming our way, we decided to take a drive to see the foliage... I've been so excited about fall in the northeast that this was one more thing I couldn't miss.  I'd been tracking the foliage progress on the news with the "foliage map" and even though we were at the "beginning to turn" stage, I figured we'd at least get to see a few nice trees and take a nice Sunday drive.

Unfortunately, the weather didn't really cooperate.  And by didn't really cooperate, I mean it was cold, damp, cloudy and drizzly.  Pretty much a miserable day for doing anything but sitting inside with a blanket and a cup of hot chocolate watching movies.  Yet there were were, driving miles from our house to see some trees in the rain.

On a positive note, I've heard that the best foliage viewing is on a cloudy day is best, especially for taking photos because direct sunlight is too harsh and a cover of clouds produces soft, uniform lighting.  It was definitely cloudy... with a smattering of showers...

Fortunately (or unfortunately) there were about seven trees the whole trip that were in full color so even if the conditions weren't exactly perfect for photographing (and were certainly not perfect for getting out of the car for a bit of hiking or leaf collecting), we didn't miss much.

Sweet artsy-looking mushrooms

Awesome store design... At least we saw something cool on the drive.

Hopefully New Baby loves driving in the car and we can go on a foliage drive when the "foliage map" shows that we're in "peak" foliage season...

I *Think* I'm Finally Ready...

It took a couple more days of hanging shelves, arranging, unpacking, cleaning, organizing and feeling a bit like I was losing my mind, but I *think* I'm finally ready for the baby.  I *think* the house is pretty much done (aside from that box of clothes I don't have any space to unpack, which is okay, because they don't fit right now anyway seeing as how there is a watermelon growing inside my ever-expanding stomach).

The nice things about being ready?  Well, obviously, any time the baby comes (which according to the doctor I saw today could be tonight or in two weeks.  Thanks, super helpful...), I won't have a zillion things on my "To Do List," so maybe I can actually spend some time with her.  I have more time on my hands for awesome things I've been forgetting to do my whole pregnancy--like napping, and also more times for things I haven't done much of and wish I didn't have time for--like worrying.  About EVERYTHING.  But I've saved a few projects to keep me occupied during the next week (or two, or three...) while I wait for the arrival of... *gulp*... a real, live, crying (but hopefully also cute and squirmy) baby.

And probably the most exciting thing about being unpacked and finally at home for blogging is that my camera is set up and I can get all my pictures onto my computer and POST THEM!!!

As promised, here are pictures of the baby's room, complete with crazy jungle mural!

The crib bedding is totally thanks to my awesome mom who sewed everything with a couple sets of Target sheets.   It's really hard to find awesome material that coordinates with a brightly colored, jungle-themed room!

Note: sweet books in German and adorable kitten

Target has these super cute mini box shelves (above changing table and between closet doors).  I highly recommend buying at least 3 for your house. 

The rest of our house turned out pretty well too.  Maybe I'll turn photographer this weekend and walk around taking awesome pictures of it since the next week will probably be the only time until we move out that it will be clean and organized.  It's on my "To Do List."

And as a final photo, here is me (in the baby's room--it's so cute I just want to live in there myself) almost ready to pop!

Home Sweet Home

We are finally *almost* settled in our new house.  The first week was super stressful with only half a day in the house before our giant international shipment with all our things arrived.  Unpacking is still a work in progress, though most of the boxes are finally gone.  We had some small projects to do around the house, even though it was basically move-in-ready (a necessity since a baby could have arrived right as we were moving in...).  But now that most of our projects are done and almost everything has a place (with the exception of the piles of things in our garage... but we'll worry about that later), it's finally starting to feel like home!

The most exciting change we're making to the house is the nursery (which sounds like a silly word, so from now on, "baby's room" will be used...).

What seems like a million years ago, I posted about the artwork I was creating for the baby's room.  While I sat around in our temporary housing, I painted, and painted, and painted- a total of 15 jungle animal canvases to hang as a mural on the wall.

We painted the room in orange and pink and green stripes (for grass) and just have the finishing touches of putting up the chair rail and arranging the furniture, which hopefully should be done tomorrow!

SO, until then, no pictures (wouldn't want to ruin the surprise!!)...


And in other exciting news, we finally have reliable, full-time internet (and cable- I love you, HGTV and DIYNetwork) so I will be posting much more frequently.  At least for the next 10 days or until the baby decides to arrive... not sure how that's going to go, but there are lots of other blogging moms out there who do it, so hopefully I can step up to the plate and make this blog what I intended when I started it a couple months ago.

Happy Labor Day Weekend

Or for us, our last weekend of time to hang out together with no house to work on or baby to take care of...

Not that we're not thrilled with all the new changes coming up, it's just going to be different.


So I'm hijacking Bob's computer to post a post with pictures!!  All our stuff is scheduled to arrive a week from Monday, so hopefully after that, I can post more often.  Well, for a few weeks anyway...

Let me fill you in on life since returning to America with the following:

Finding a House:
-I looked at a bunch of condos/townhouses while here on my own
-I found one I liked and put an offer on it
-The offer was accepted... we almost have a house!!
-(Bob liked it when he got here)

The Kitties:
-Love having carpeting (no sliding on the hardwood into walls)
-Love chasing each other up and down the stairs

-Got a new kitty condo as a present for moving back overseas

-Like exploring and sleeping in the sun

Austin, Texas:
-we used to live there
-we went down for a week as soon as Bob got home to check out our condo
-we thought we were just packing up a few things a touching up some paint
-we ended up spending the entire weekend cleaning, scrubbing, steam cleaning and painting :(

-we saw a really cool owl

The Baby:

-I'm getting ginormous

-Found a good doctor and a good pediatrician

-Bought a ton of stuff for her

-Made my own crib sheets

-Just finished painting the mural for her room

This Weekend:

We have lots of plans to enjoy this weekend since next weekend we'll (hopefully) be in the house and have lots of projects to work on until the baby arrives!

Last night we went to the Saratoga Park to walk around.  It was also the evening of a Journey concert, so we ended up waiting in line just to get into the park and had to park at the golf course, which really didn't put us near the walking/jogging trails, BUT we did get to walk around a bit and hear Journey from afar.

Today we went apple picking.  I haven't been in YEARS!! and I was so excited to move to New York just to go apple picking.  This was the first weekend for apples in New York, so there weren't hay rides yet (one of my requirements for a good apple picking experience), but there were tasty apples, apple cider and hot donuts, so I was a pretty happy camper.

Here is the most recent picture of me... only one month left!!

This weekend is the last weekend of the races at the Saratoga Race Course, so there is live music downtown.  We'll go see a concert and go out to eat at a restaurant that isn't kid-friendly.

Tomorrow we're going to the races, playing mini-golf, relaxing by the pool, and anything else fun we can find to do.

Monday is supposed to be stormy, so we might check out the local YMCA, which looks pretty awesome.  Or we could sit around on the balcony at our apartment and watch thunder storms.  I love thunderstorms.

Hopefully next week will be full of closing on the condo, starting to move in and completing some projects!

Computer, how I miss you...

8 weeks left until we expect the baby to make her appearance, and to be honest, I'm kind of flipping out a little bit.  I was sick all week after taking a trip to Austin, TX to fix up our condo so we can rent it out.

Being the crazy person I am, I thought I would add a little more stress to my life by deciding to sew my own crib sheets and make homemade birth announcements.  AND I still have to finish (and probably start) the mural for the baby's room.  AND we still have to close on the house, do a couple DIY projects when we get in, and move all our stuff in.  ACK!!

I'm missing my computer because I can't post any pictures, it would be really handy to have it since my mural design is on there, I want to work on promoting the children's book, but I need to do some internet research, and of course, I can't post nearly as often.  I CAN get the internet on my iPod touch, which is nice for keeping in touch through e-mail, but doing much more than that on the teeny tiny screen is more than I can handle.  I applaud all you fantastic iPod and iPhone users... I just can't get the hang of it.  Maybe my fingers are too big??

Anyhow, I thought I would post something since I haven't posted in a while.  And hopefully I'll figure out a solution to this lack of computer/internet situation and can post some pictures soon!!

Home, Sweet Home... Almost

So after months of stressing about the overseas trip and temporary housing and house-hunting, I'm finally sort of settled in Saratoga, NY.

How'd it go? It was better than I thought. But then again, I was expecting the worst...

Plane Trip Overseas With Cats:
They were a lot better than they were on the way over. I think they actually slept, and even when they were awake, the noise of the plane drowned out the meowing. The only hitches? The mean-looking man across the aisle who was apparently a cat hater, and when one of the cats bit my mom (who was awesome enough to fly all the way across the ocean to help bring the cats back) through the carrier. Apparently animal bites are pretty painful, though that was a week ago and my mom is now fine.
I think I was more upset about being on the plane than the cats. I was uncomfortable and the baby kept sticking feet in my ribs and I had heartburn and my left leg swelled up so I looked like elephant woman.

Temporary housing:
Awesome. With air conditioning. But no computer or business center. Pardon my lack of posting, but the iPod is NOT a computer...

House-hunting:
Stressful. The second day here in Saratoga I looked at a lot of condos we had seen online, but nothing lived up to my expectations. The last place we looked at, which hadn't really been on our radar was perfect! Things moved super fast, bit we're on our way to having our perfect new family home!

Bob gets here Friday and I can't wait for him to see it.

While we wait to get in to the house, I'll be working on paintings and sheets and other projects for he nursery!

Q

Pregnancy Brain?

So I've heard rumors that when pregnant you are off balance (makes sense, you're carrying a watermelon in your stomach) and clumsy, and maybe a bit forgetful.  I wasn't really sure I believed the last two...

However, in the past few weeks, I've turned into a mess.  I drop things everywhere, breaking glasses, plates and exploding soda all over the kitchen.  I trip over my own feet, fall up the stairs, and run into anything with sharp corners.  And I forget everything.

Even when I go to the store, list in hand, somehow I end up unpacking the groceries wondering "where did that milk go?" only to realize I never bought any... despite it being on my list AND crossed off.

I decided to make cinnamon rolls and spent two hours on the recipe, preparing it a day ahead of time.  When I took them out of the fridge to bake them, they seemed to look funny.  I forgot the cinnamon.  REALLY??? Cinnamon rolls without cinnamon?  What is going on in my head??

People ask me questions and I respond with answers that don't make any sense- words are mixed up or I change my mind halfway through...


I'm just not really sure how pregnancy brain is a useful trait for expecting mothers... At this rate, I'll have my baby, forget I had it, bring it home, leave it somewhere, hear it crying and think it's the neighbors and probably forget I'm a mom all together!

I just hope it's like the swelling in my feet and it goes away after the baby gets here.  Otherwise, I apologize to my baby in advance...

The Effects of Construction...

by MissKris
Last week we saw a sign on the elevator door about something going on in our building.  This happens pretty frequently, and I usually stare at the sign, pick out a few words, note the dates and just assume what's going to happen.  Usually that works out alright for me.

Like the time I figured out electricity, meter, please be at home + date and time.  The meter reader came and all was good.

This time, however, I didn't do quite as good a job, and this is probably the one time I really needed as much time as possible to process the information in said sign so as not to lose my schnitzel.

I figured out construction, noise-intensive, sorry for the inconvenience + date.  This lead me to believe that Monday would be a day of loud construction noise.

If only I'd read a little further... Monday starts the day of loud construction noise, which will likely continue until the middle of August.  THANK GOD I'm leaving in 20 days.  So far it has been 3.2 days of construction noise and I'm ready to throw myself out the window.

Let me explain...

In Germany, the walls are built of reinforced concrete and brick.  This must be the most effective sounding board ever, because though the construction is two doors down, it sounds like it's right here in my apartment.  Pair that with our 6 story staircase (also concrete and brick) which acts as a giant megaphone (that's one of those cone things you yell through, right?) and you have the same noise but once right after each other and twice as loud.

This is NOT ordinary construction.

It begins at 6:30am.

If I had to be at work at 7:30, maybe this would be incentive to get out of bed.  But such is not the case.  Currently, I am pregnant and trying as hard as humanly possible to save up my sleep for after the baby comes (okay, I know it doesn't work that way, but let a woman dream!).  This means I get up in the morning and usually decide it's too early and go back to bed for a few hours.  Or maybe take a nap in the afternoon.

Not. Anymore.  Thank you construction men...

From now on I will be up at 6:30 and will not sleep again until nighttime.  For a normal person, this is probably fine, but I'm TRYING TO SAVE UP MY SLEEP!

In addition to the ungodly hours these men work, the noise is reminiscent of road construction.  No ordinary hammers, nails and drills here.  They're going all out with jackhammers and other vibrating power tools.  Plus some sort of industrial sized sledge-hammer that sounds like an army is about to pound through the wall of my kitchen.

I might be okay with the noise if it was constant.  Maybe I would get used to it.  Like the noise the refrigerator makes, or that weird humming you hear when you have a new electronic item and it bothers you for weeks until you figure out what it is, but then you forget about it.

But to add to the fact that I'm not a super huge fan of loud noises and I would probably be driven batty even if it was constant, IT ISN'T.

It's a BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzz (the little z's are the echo) BZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzz BZZzz BZz .....          ... BZz BZz BZz BZz BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzz .....  ....  BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzBZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzz.... BZZzz.  (approximate 5 minutes of jackhammer noise)

Seriously.  This.  Is.  Freaking.  Ridiculous.

If I were not a pregnant woman I would be driven to drink.

Wait.  I think it stopped.  Shh... don't let it know I know.  Maybe they're on break.  Maybe I can sneak in a 15 minute nap.  Or do the dishes in the kitchen without wearing earplugs.  Or think clearly without my thoughts being inter--- never mind...

The Fun of a Visit to the Doctor in Germany

by MissKris

For any of you out there that have been to the OB/GYN, you know that this is not a particularly fun and/or eagerly anticipated event for any woman.  In fact, I believe the majority of us despise this visit.  It might be a tie with going to the dentist.

But really, when you think about it, what could possibly beat going to a pre-scheduled appointment where you wait in the waiting room 30 minutes past your scheduled appointment time, are ushered into a room where they weigh you, are told to strip down and re-dress in only a paper gown, wait another 15 minutes on a cold table in said paper gown, only to have a person you've met a handful of times in your life shove a cold, duck-shaped metal object in places you don't want things shoved?  I mean, what isn't fun about that? Right?

Well... let me tell you about something even MORE fun.  Doing the same thing, but in Germany-- where rules about nudity, privacy and cleanliness are something a little different... 

Imagine this... 

Not only do you arrive at the office and wait in the waiting room for 30-60 minutes, but before you are allowed to sit down you must use the WC (restroom) -- which is convieniently a one-room toilet with an old rickety door with a lock that works sometimes and is right across from the waiting room so everyone can hear ALL noises coming from with in -- and pee in a cup.  BUT, not just any cup; a small, white, plastic dixie cup with your name written on it in Sharpie.  Which, after filling you do not cover or leave in a special door in the wall, but on the back of the toilet alongside many other white plastic cups.  Really??

Then, after waiting your allotted time, you are weighed (ugh), get blood taken, blood pressure, etc. 

Then you wait some more.  Finally, you go to see the doctor, who asks you to kindly go into a small changing cabin and remove your shirt.  BUT, once in said changing cabin, you realize there is NO PAPER GOWN.  WHAT??  So you walk out of the cabin shirtless to be felt up by the doctor.  Fun. 

THEN, you are asked to put back on the shirt and remove the rest of your clothes.  Again... where is the paper skirt??  What is going on here?? 

Not only are there no skirts, but the office is on the first floor of a HOUSE, and even though the blinds are down, you can clearly see a man in the yard next door MOWING HIS LAWN.  REALLY??  And still, there comes the metal duck.

I must say that of all the things I will NOT miss about Germany, the visits to the doctor are right up at the top of my list.  I just want my paper clothes...

My First Mommy Post

by MissKris 


Okay, so technically I'm not a mommy YET.  But I will be.  In 4 months.  I already have a blog about me and my travels and my artwork at www.misskrisart.blogspot.com.  But I figure in the coming months (and definitely years) I will have less time for stuff about ME because it will all be about NewBaby.

Basically, I need a NEW blog to share all sorts of cute and adorable photos of NewBaby, but also because I want to try (try being the operative word here.  I know for all you veteran parents out there, you're going to read the next part of this sentence and start rolling on the floor because you know I won't have time for what I'm going to say- I'll be lucky if I have time to sleep more than 5 hours or take a shower... but let me have these next 4 months of unrealistic expectations...) to share mommying experiences, fun and easy food, and artistic and creative projects that will (hopefully) be part of NewBaby's everyday life.

Of course, the next 4 months of not actually having a baby will not include things about having a baby, but might include some thoughts on upcoming mommyhood, some strange new recipes, or artsy projects I have planned for NewBaby's room and things I want to make for NewBaby (that is if I ever decide to un-glue my expanding butt from the sofa or the comfy computer chair).


And hopefully after 4 months I'll be adding lots of fun and exciting tales about NewBaby, ways I figure out how to squeeze food into my new life, and projects that NewBaby and I can do when s/he isn't sleeping, eating or pooping.  For those of you with new babies of your own, these will be super awesome, extremely fun and inevitably messy things to keep you and your baby entertained.  For those of you without new babies, sometimes we all need some simple art projects regardless of how old we are.  So maybe you can try them on your own.  Think of it like "art therapy".

That said, I'm going to go eat some cookies and lie on the couch.