Sunday, January 30, 2011

some huge questions...

[my journal]

Depending on the day, sometimes the hour, we have wavering feelings of capability to be having a child. We have some huge questions that we have asked ourselves, and continue to daily. This is where reading other wonderful blogs is incredibly helpful. Just seeing that other couples are taking this huge leap and succeeding. I have found it also helps me to read books about what to expect, how to budget for a baby, and talking to other people at work in the exact same situation- same health insurance, same 12 hour long days of work, and all the while maintaining great relationships with husbands/wives they love. I have found that if I write them down in my journal, then I am better able to address our concerns based on feelings, research, and thoughts in an organized manner. But as you can tell, I love making lists.

Some of our big questions...
-how do we have time for a spud?
-do we have enough money?
-should we wait?
-what will our schedules look like with school and work?
-can we keep our house clean, yard picked up?
-how about with 3 dogs and a spud?
-how can we balance our time?
-can we handle school? w/ pregnancy? w/ baby? w/ appointments? w/ a sweet little face looking up at us when we have other less fun obligations?
-will nursing clinicals allow a pregnant student? give slack with due dates when delivering?
-insurance costs? day care?

Do you have any big questions about rearing a child? How it will affect your lives? Any advice?

Friday, January 28, 2011

camera update!


...big smile. check...

It's here!! We bought a camera... I couldn't be more excited. Matt and I spent hours researching which grown-up camera to buy, and after thinking about it, posting about it [here], budgeting for it...we finally did it! I ordered it: an adorable non-camera-looking-camera bag, cutest etsy amy butler camera strap, a guide of how to use this camera, and the camera- Canon EOS Rebel T1i. And it only took 2 days to get to the doorstep. Amazon sure is amazing. Matt and I will be taking a photography class over the summer before the spud arrival so that we know how to take great pictures and we even have plenty of time to play around with it.

Once we narrowed down the brands, the big decision was between the Canon XS and the "upgrade" [aka more expensive one] T1i. The T1i has a video function, which we read in the reviews totally blows in quality... but then I saw some videos of the camera-video-portion in action. Oh my. Unbelievably perfect. Exactly what I want. Blurry pictures AND videos. Perfect. [of course I do need want an additional lens, to be totally perfect] Just look at this video with the T1i, this video, or this one. Fun right?! So, I was sold on it. And Matt convinced me to spend the extra money, splurge on something we will keep for decades. I will let you all know if it was all worth it. I added a link to each of the items we bought, but watch for the prices to drop on amazon...they flucuate daily it seems. So we just waited for the best deal, which I think we really lucked out.

This is our purchase...priceless I hope:


Wednesday, January 26, 2011

our little greeting card family

...the picture may look familiar...

This is our first time we decided to do a happy-holidays-card at christmas. We have been together almost 3 years....and yet we hadn't even considered sending out cards before. I guess since we are married now I feel like a grown up, so this would be the grown up thing to do. We have a tradition that each year we cut down a christmas tree in the wilderness [with a tree permit of course] and we bring our snow dog with us on our excursion... this year we decided we could bring all three, go snow shoeing, AND take our little family photo. Now I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a little bit of excitement about next years photo....perhaps it will have a big ol' bump...or even a sweet little spud in our Idaho wilderness. I can't wait!!
Want to see the progression?!

-Feb 2008: Fort Collins, Colorado-
[Matt and I snowshoeing on our second date in Colorado...what can I say... its our thing!]
-2008: Mt. Hood, Oregon-

tree victory...our first one.
-2009: Idaho City, Idaho-
...second tree, less enthused...

-2010: This year...Idaho City, Idaho-
...so how adorable are these guys? Sticking three of their heads out one small window in the back of the truck driving up to the snow...


...we could not get the dogs to sit still, it was ridiculous, we had to take 30 pictures just to get the one for the card, I think because Matt usually throws the dogs in rivers, they didn't want to turn their backs to it. I think Chewy's face says it all. What a good old dog...

...walking to the truck with the tree of choice, crossing the river with the 3 goonies in tow...

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

the nursery...a small nursery.

...my office that will be turned into the nursery...

We happen to be renting a house in a very cute part of Boise that we LOVE. The house is old, small, quirky, and it just so happens that the owners did an incredible job with paint color, style, etc. So we don't want to move, even with the addition of one more little human being to this small house. Therefore we will be keeping the color of the room the same, bright sun-yellow. I actually love how bright and welcoming the room is, and it is gender neutral, for whatever that means these days. I want to stay with the yellows-then add in accents of turquoise for a boy, pink for a girl. You can also see those dark brown bamboo curtains and hardwood floor- so we will be sticking to dark browns also. The room is 87" x 88" = small! or... 7.25' x 7.33'= just big enough for a small spud, small crib, small changing table, and a small recliner. And ideally all on a small budget :)

The furniture in the nursery-
Matt's parents have a changing table just like this one, that they used for all three of their kids back in the day. They have saved it all of these years and have offered to give it to us! It happens to be a dark-stain wood, which I'd like to paint white and perhaps put some cute drawer knobs on.

Cost: free! [at pottery barn, this one goes for $799!]

I LOVE jenny lind cribs, and yes I know they were recalled. That was a little bit of a tear jerker. However I still love the old fashioned look. So to deal with the recall issue- Matt will be stabilizing and permanently locking the rails in the upright position. I am 5'11, Matt is 6'1..and we aren't dainty people...I know we are going to have a massive child. Stabilizing the rails, sturdying the whole frame sounded like an ideal plan from the start for the spud to be safe. So we found a jenny lind crib on craigslist for a steal, and it too is dark wood. We will be re-finishing it and painting it white this summer (with low VOC paint of course and outside for zero harmful fumes). While researching how to accomplish this I found some great sites- our green house-which is all about organic, safe products to use in the home and then-eco childs play-about a great paint brand to use that is low VOC. Recycling is eco-friendly right?!

Cost: $15 [at Toy's R Us this crib is $199]


We have a little closet/nook in the office that I plan to clear out and place a little white table in with this lamp on top of it. I already own this lamp, so that's easy. With a few books, supplies, and a blanket we should be set.

Cost: free!

I need to find a brown leather recliner. This is a trickier issue. I have been searching on craigslist for a used one from a smoker-free house. So this is still in progress. I am hoping to find one there or I found a super comfy recliner at Costco for $470. Not too bad, if we must. This recliner will also go in the closet/nook and serve as the primary feeding chair, in which Matt or I can rock the lil spud to sleep and be utterly comfortable for hours upon hours. This rocker we can also incorporate into our living room when needed, for we have a couch that is also brown leather.

Cost: to be determined.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

prego- book thoughts...

...at home in my office-to-be-nursery you can see the bright yellow walls...

Well I spent my last day off over winter break at Barnes and Noble. This is usually my "treat" to myself... for the past 6 years or so...its my thing. I go and wander around the store, pick a handful of books, and buy a coffee and just sit and read them. I really don't have the money to actually purchase handfuls of books, even though I really would love to. So I journal about what I read, what strikes me, and titles I hope to buy one day and I just soak it all up. In the past I'd love the relationship...I believe its technically called the self-help aisle... ha! Oh college days. Then it was teaching books...to decorating/ nesting...then weddings galore...and now babies! I love this me-time.

So this past Tuesday it was all pregnancy books, hypnobirthing, pregnancy magazines...and hot chocolate instead. I happened to actually buy a book- Hypnobirthing: The Mongan Method by Marie Mongan. I haven't had a chance to read the whole thing, and once I do I will post more about it. But it follows all of my ideals of having a natural child birth that I want. Like I mentioned before with my plan, that I'd like to be fully prepared about what will be happening to my body... then letting it take over and having the faith in myself that I am capable. I can get past the pain (in theory) and that fear causes pain...so I can try not to be fearful, to believe in myself. I need Matt, as my birthing companion, to be able to keep this peaceful environment for me, our spud...and potentially to help alleviate some of the stress that potentially the hospital staff may create. So I plan on reading this book before I meet with my OB, that way I am confident and educated in my natural-birth choice and armed with a non-epidural pain killer...positive thoughts! Anyone ever done hypnobirthing? Does it work?

Saturday, January 22, 2011

nursery decor...


wee gallery
Adorable!! Go check them out!! [ http://www.weegallery.com/artcards.html ] The wall decals are a great idea for rental apartments/ homes...a fun way to add color to the babe's room. So simple and beautiful. Or maybe this little girl is just irresistibly adorable?!
wee gallery
I also LOVE the poms. I had great intentions to hang poms at our wedding, over our dance floor grass but it never happened with the hundreds of other projects. So perhaps this is my time now. How do I attach them to the ceiling though?! We have a bright yellow room that will be our nursery so I am actually trying to add a lack of color to the room... maybe some white and neutral poms? Are poms okay for a boy's room too? I doubt Matt would go for it. More before and after pictures to come of the office-to-nursery transformation takes place...


covet garden

oh dee doh