: Kandy and Bonga :

Kandy and Bonga were married on a chilly Saturday earlier this month. The wedding was simple and beautiful, because it focused on the things that are truly important--the love of God, the love of family, and their love for each other. Their family was warm and inviting, and the wedding coordinator rocked my socks off {thanks Rochelle!}. We were truly honored to be a part of it. {And... a bonus of not having this baby yet: I got my editing finished early!}

waiting.

At the beginning of my pregnancy, when we first heard that baby G's due date was January 26th, I distinctly remember saying, "Watch. We'll have a February baby."

Ha. Ha. Ha.

So here I am, three days overdue, the epitome of a self-fulfilled prophecy. I'm like a time-bomb that someone apparently forgot to attach the timer to. A big, round mommy-bomb. But, as with all of life's difficult circumstances, there's always something to be learned. Here's my current list of things I've learned during this baby-waiting game:


1. If I ever see a pregnant woman who is overdue, I will not say the following to her:
"Gosh. I knew two people who were due after you, and they already had their babies!"
"Are you still pregnant?"
"Well golly gee, I didn't expect to see you here!"
"Tick... tock... tick... tock... any day now, right?"
Instead, I will say something pleasant, like, "Isn't this weather ridiculous?" or "Boy oh boy, did you watch that State of the Union address last night?" or even "Your hair looks nice."

2. Given my personal experience with the previous point, I've threatened more than once to stay home and not come out until Baby does, in order to avoid awkward situations where I pretend to not be upset by the well-meaning comments of people who really are only just trying to make conversation. {And really, my protruding belly is a built-in conversation starter. Can you blame them?}

3. As one friend reminded me the other day, there are many, many women who would give anything to be in my place. I need to count my blessings.

4. I don't have it very bad. Besides being generally clumsy, I'm not dealing with the running list of aches and pains that super-preggos generally seem to have. In fact, instead of looking for remedies on inducing labor... I'm looking for a cure for the common cold. {I seem to have caught a particularly nasty one--bad timing, eh?}

5. I plan my days so that I'm not sitting at home... but still, when you've got a bit of time on your hands, you tend to notice the little things--things that aren't really important, but eventually start to drive you crazy. For example, we recently painted the ceilings in our house with a purple-pink ceiling paint that turns white after it dries. {And for anyone who has painted 1,000 sq. feet of ceilings... you know what a genius invention this is. Pure, unadulterated brilliance, people.} However, the manufacturer forgot to warn that this paint was not meant for bathrooms... because whenever it gets wet, the paint reverts back to its original purple-pink state. In other words, whenever I take a shower, I'm entertained by a foggy purple haze that magically appears, streaked across the ceiling. Charming, right? I've threatened to take the ceiling by storm with a can of Behr semi-gloss Ultra White... but Marty wrenches the paint brush from my hand, reminding me that 10-month preggos shouldn't be standing on ladders. Psshh.

6. I've never heard of anyone being pregnant forever. This fact is obvious, and ridiculous, but strangely consoling.


Lord-willing, within a week or two (or three?!), I'll be popping back in to say hello with a healthy, bouncy baby boy in tow. Until then, I'm accepting visits from anyone bearing a box of tissues, vitamin C, a cup of tea... or a can of white paint and the physical ability to climb a ladder ;)

just the 2 (+1) of us

Tonight, Marty cooked me dinner. I laid on the couch, flipping through a book and half-listening to him shuffle around in the kitchen. We toasted to the past nine months, and talked about future decisions still to be made (you know--minor details, like, "Um, honey, what exactly are we gonna name our child?"). We munched on tortillas, and smiled goofy smiles. It wasn't anything spectacular; just two people, eating dinner in a tiny house, chatting about baby names, and private healthcare, and Joshua Bell's snazzy violin concerto, playing in the background.

Within a week or two, we're going to be adding another member to our family. And while I can't even begin to tell you how stinkin' excited I am to meet our little guy... I'm treasuring these last moments with Mr. G, my best friend in the whole wide world {who just happens to make a mean guacamole}.

change

I used to gulp down breakfast at my desk. I'd swallow yogurt in-between e-mails, or munch an apple as I flipped through proofs. But, as of last Friday, I left my day job in order to pursue a few other vocations... including photography, and full-time mommyhood. Can you believe it? It's been a strange transition--from scheduled, fast-paced days, to quiet mornings in my own home--but, almost a week into it, I'm starting to find a rhythm to life that I had forgotten existed for the past five years or so.

So, out with the old breakfast table...


...and in with the new.


:)

false alarm :)

Last night, I was sure Baby was on his way.

I wasn't having contractions, but something felt different. I chalked it up to "mama's intuition," and lay in bed, waiting for something to happen. I was restless, unsettled, queasy. Something was different. This was probably it.

Fast forward to 7am this morning, when--surprise, surprise--I wake up to a quiet room and a baby that's still happily kicking from the inside. Gah. Total "motherly intuition" FAIL. But, after thinking things through in my now not-so-foggy brain, I realize that, why yes, I did have two cups of very caffeinated coffee around nine o'clock last night. And since I've been pretty good at avoiding caffeine of all kinds lately... I can definitely chalk my restless night up two my two cups of after-dinner java. Brilliant.

{The coffee was totally justifiable, by the way. It was my beautiful mom's birthday party, and since I couldn't celebrate with a glass of Merlot, alternating between coffee and pellegrino was the next best thing I could think of!}

The waiting continues... but in the meantime, here's a quick shot from a recent wedding we did, taken just a few minutes before the bride walked down the aisle. Isn't she lovely?


Happy Wednesday!

moving day

Quick recap: just about six months ago, my husband and I bought a fixer-upper. No really. A real fixer-upper... complete with raccoons in the attic, lots and lots of cat poop, and a nasty smell that permeated just about every inch of the property. {you know, not trying to sugarcoat things here or anything...}

We started the demolition work in July--ripping out floors and subfloors {before now, I didn't even know what a subfloor was}, most of the walls and ceilings, and all of the plumbing, electricity, ductwork, and windows. With lots {and lots and lots} of generous help from our family and friends, we started putting the house back together in September... and it's taken us until now to get it all in. New subfloors, walls, ductwork, electric, plumbing, cabinets, windows, doors, soffits, tile, trim, insulation--you name it, we replaced it. {Some have asked if we might have been better off ripping the whole house down and starting from scratch. Honestly, though, where's the fun in that?}

We plan on officially moving in this weekend {and really, not a moment too soon... our little guy is due in less than 2 weeks! ha!}. There are a million projects left to finish... but it's cozy, and livable, and 100% completely ours.

Here's a picture taken back in August, on the first day the guys started ripping out the floors. {Look at our expressions. Marty had just started to understand the gravity of the situation, but I clearly still had no idea what we had gotten ourselves into...}


And here's an "after," taken a few nights ago:


For a full recap in pictures, check out my facebook album :)

absence makes the heart grow fonder {?}

Hello bloggy friends :)

{It's totally unrelated... but aren't these Apartment Therapy pom poms the cutest?!}

It's been nearly a month since I've posted, so I'm due for an update! The past weeks have been filled with:

*family parties, Christmas shopping, and lots of late afternoon naps
*putting the finishing touches on our house, and {slowly} moving things in {Note to self: I have too much stuff.}
*wrapping up loose ends at my day job, and getting ready to say goodbye to my lovely coworkers
*weekly OB appointments {where they tell me that all is well, and that baby has a huge head. goody!}
*getting ready for baby: washing onesies and a bajillion pairs of tiny socks, setting up his room, trying to figure out what in the world we're supposed to bring to the hospital, etc. etc. etc.
*photography {yes, i still take pictures; they're sitting patiently on my CF cards. but somehow, uploading photos has taken a back-burner to getting our house livable before baby comes. imagine that??}
*trying to picture what life will be like in 2 weeks... 1 month... 1 year... crazy!

Baby isn't due for another three weeks, but who knows when he'll decide to make an appearance? If he holds off for awhile, expect more posts in the coming weeks -- including a final update on the house! which is almost! done!! hallelujah!!!*


*P.S. If you told me six months ago that I wouldn't yet be moved into our house with three weeks to go until my due date... I would have probably died. This is exactly why God doesn't let us see into the future. To keep perfectionistic, idealistic list-makers like myself from unneccessary deaths.

ha!