no snow day for me

woke up this morning to a few inches of brand-new, sparkly snow. it was awfully pretty. too bad work doesn't take the day off, but i guess even our schools were still in session, so at least i'm not the only one wishing i was home curled up by the window staring out into white loveliness, or thinking about grabbing the camera and snapping a few pictures. of course, my photo probably wouldn't have been quite as gorgeous as this.

image via here.

update: sweet! we're getting dismissed early because of the snow! i get to leave at 3pm today!

single digits!

are all that's left between me and my due date. woot!
which also means it's only 9 days until ally's birthday. we better get crackin' on that gift shopping!

project #2

i made good progress on the changing pad cover today. i think all that's left is some reinforcement on the stitching. but it fits, and doesn't look too bad, so i'm counting it as a success.

$1.50 well spent

we had a $5 off coupon for old navy that needed using before the end of january. so this morning we hopped in the car and went to take a look. after looking at all the tiny, cute little clothes, we ended up finding this shirt on sale for $1.50 and thought it was perfect for ninja. we got it and a couple other 6-12M things. this was by far the best find, though.

complete!

despite the fact that i have many (or many, many) unfinished projects floating around the house, i was able to finish up this bib for ninja last night. the completion of project #1 was greatly helped by a slight car mishap that had me waiting an hour and a half to be picked up at the doctor's office thursday. now on to project #2, the changing pad cover...

not so patiently

my mind is overflowing with thoughts of baby. i'm trying to be patient, to enjoy the last few days of kicks and rolls and other combat practice, but it's hard. i feel like we're ever so close to this special birthday, but knowing the when is still out of reach. mike described it perfectly when he said "its like bizzaro christmas. you know what your present is, you just don't know when christmas is."
whatever day it turns out to be will certainly be a day to remember.

(image via martha)

in the midst of week 38

so technically i'm not a full 38 weeks, but i'm posting the belly photo anyway.

lately, as i'm getting ready for bed, i think about the fact that in a few weeks i'll be getting two people ready for bed, and both of us will get our own pajamas. it's exciting and scary all at once, but i think mike and i can fake being grown-ups well enough that ninja won't really know it's all an act. or at least, it will take him a little while to figure it out, especially if i'm distracting him with toys and ticklings and stories and other things. that's my plan anyway. the trick will be getting the nieces and nephews not to give up our secret - i'm pretty sure they're aware of the fact that we're not really all that mature.

sweets for the sweet

today's project: cookies and thank you notes for those who gave us wonderful surprise baby showers at work. thankfully mike was able to give them a taste test before they're delivered to our thoughtful co-workers.

on the countdown: 17 days left!

mike's turn

mike got surprised at work today with a baby shower of his own. isn't he cute? he might even let ninja play with that lion.

playtime

now that the basement is nearly ready for playing in, i figure i might as well be looking at some toys. i can just imagine a little ninja on this or playing with this or this. he did get a set of alphabet blocks at the shower, so at the very least, there will be something to build towers with so he can knock them down.

the playroom returns

this weekend was all about returning the basement to its pre-waterproofed state (minus the wet, of course). mike and a friend were able to reinstall the tile and carpet saturday, and i spent a good part of sunday scrubbing walls and furniture, vacuuming the carpet and washing the blankets and pillows. there are still a few things that need fixing (grout needs to be done, paint needs to be touched up, walls need to get their pictures back), but at least we can start using the space again. hoo-rah!

one lucky baby

my co-workers threw me a surprise shower at work today. i sorta had a feeling something was up, but didn't want to say anything to ruin their hard work. they're so sweet, and ninja is one lucky little guy to get so much love! i'm going to have to think of something special to do for those who made me feel so loved, and who made my face about as red as can be!

taking care of business

i decided to (finally) do some of the backing-up of stuff on my computer this afternoon. i'd like to say that this would be part of my "getting my work and workspace more organized" new year's resolution, but i'm not even organized enough to actually have resolutions...

in any case, while i was waiting for files to copy and disks to burn, i stimulated my eyeballs with some of the eye candy here. mmmm.... eye candy....

papercut

i thought this artwork was so inspiring. more found here.

(found via)

oh so tempted

i had already bought a front/back carrier, and then i inherited karen's baby bjorn carrier, but i was still so very tempted by this sling. it's like a functional fancy scarf - and i'm all about a good scarf.

another cover approved

this was priority #1 when i got back to work yesterday. i'd had a working sketch before the holidays, but basically had to finish the illustration and pull the layout together yesterday so it could be reviewed today. the cover meeting was this morning, and my favorite version won out hands-down. huzzah! gotta love when that happens!

p.s. — this is the other cover from this author. it was a really good seller, so we wanted to make sure it was visually linked to the new title. hence the similar illustration for the new title.

more stocking up - man food

tonight i made an extra large pot of beef stew for mike in the hopes that there would be leftovers to freeze. there are now at least two heaping helpings safely put away in the freezer for another day. i'm hoping the potatoes will thaw alright, but might try defrosting one portion later this week to see how it works out.
also, this serves as proof that even though i don't eat it, i actually do cook meat. :)

sewing projects

we went to target and the fabric store yesterday to pick up a few more things for ninja. i decided on plain white cotton curtains for the room. i think i'm going to add color by using this striped fabric to do tie-backs or maybe some kind of applique or border on the bottom hem or something. i'm also using the same fabric to make a cover for the changing pad, and i started on a bib (a good "handwork" project). i'm hoping to at least get the bib done. i still need to make a pattern for the changing pad cover.

out of the box

today i started putting the books that came from mom's house and the new ones from aunts and uncles (thank you!) onto the shelves in the baby's room. i also took out the piggy bank and found the wooden stacker toy that came from granny and grandpa's house (it always gives me warm fuzzy memories). i think we've got a pretty good book collection going, but i'm excited to add to it.

hello month 9

35 weeks and excited to meet the little ninja.

packing for ninja

we tried to find something "go bucks" that was small enough and warm enough for ninja to come home in, but didn't have too much success (the pjs we have are size 6M). so i decided to go ahead and pack this warm little sleeper from aunt angie. i'm also packing a onesie (from aunt tiffany and uncle eric), a hat, socks, and little mittens to layer underneath, depending on how cold it is that day. we also bought a soft, fluffy blanket to put over him in the car on the way home (if i can stop snuggling it myself). i'm basically packed for the hospital now, which should guarantee that ninja will NOT get here early.

stocking up

i decided that one good way to bring in the new year would be to make an extra large batch of lentil-grain burger mixture. part of this decision was helped by the introduction of a food processor into my life, which makes all the chopping a much speedier process. i love this mix, though i rarely make it into burgers (i can never get it to stick together properly). instead, i like to freeze it in small portions for heating up later and putting into a pita, or just eating in a dish. yummy ummers.

happy new year

today is the day to break out my new "fold a day" origami calendar. this was a christmas present from mike, and i have been patiently waiting for the new year to break it out.

last night we rang in the new year in low-key style over at doug and karen's house, watching football and hanging out. i had a celebratory bottle of cream soda and a pizzelle or two. at midnight we broke out a bottle of sparkling grape juice and clinked in 2009 with our silly glasses on. today i'm working on my list for the new year, including packing my hospital bag, getting things for ninja (bedding, clothing) washed and put away, and finding homes for all the new toys we got for christmas.