21 Week Belly Picture

24 May posted by

21weekbellypicture 311x1024 21 Week Belly PictureThank you so much for all of your help in the previous post!  We’re going to give the room an entire week to a) dry & b) let us marinate on the color.  I’m heading out tomorrow to find accessories, where I’ll mock up the room & see how I like it once it feels “settled.”  Next weekend, we’re going to put one final eggshell coat on, either in the same color or a shade or two darker.  Again, y’all are blessings…we are not painters, obviously.


So here’s this week’s belly picture — can you tell how exhausted I am by all the paint dramz?  I have a double-chin in the picture, no make-up, a stain on my shirt, & I don’t give a damn.  I’m still putting it on the internet….because I have no shame.  I have managed to put on 2 lbs this week, so the doctor should be delighted when we go in next week.

How far along? 21 weeks!
Total weight gain/loss: Up 7 lbs total.  (holy crap, I gained 2 lbs in one week!)
Maternity clothes? yep.
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: Depends…I tire so easily that if I’ve had a busy day, I sleep like the dead.
Best moment this week:  Nate feeling him kick.
Movement: Every day!
Food cravings: French fries…I think this is my first junk-food, non-necessity craving so far this pregnancy after weeks of craving lettuce, eggs, dairy, & lemon.
Gender: BOY!
Labor Signs: None
Belly Button in or out? In
What I miss: Having boundless energy.  I can’t believe that I’m tiring so quickly this early in the pregnancy.
What I am looking forward to:  Feeling him hiccup.  Settling on a name.
Weekly Wisdom: Make a list of all the cleaning things you want to accomplish while you “nest.”  It will help things feel less overwhelming!
Milestones: He weighs about a pound now!
HeirtoBlair500x150 v41 21 Week Belly Picture

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Filed Under: Belly Pictures, Pregnancy Quiz

Epic Paint FAIL.

24 May posted by
Well…I am exhausted.  & almost at the end of my wits to the point that I cannot decide if my impending meltdown is hormonal or justified.  Shall we tell this story with pictures?
img 2177 1024x768 Epic Paint FAIL.
We begin our story a few weeks ago, when Nate coated the walls with one coat of Kilz primer to cover the stripes.  I taped off the walls after the first coat, & we decided that we needed another coat to be safe.
img 2178 768x1024 Epic Paint FAIL.
& there we have it, the second coat!   While Nate coated this, I pulled out the windows & screens for a scub-down with vinegar & bleach.  Because God forbid my son press his nose to a dirty screen, right?  Now it’s time for the color!   After an hour in the Home Depot to pick out the color, convert it to Behr (they were on sale), & pick up all the supplies, we headed back home & picked up the roller & brush.
img 2179 1024x768 Epic Paint FAIL.
First coat is on.  HOLY HELL, it looks like Superman.  Not at all what I envisioned; I desire near-navy walls.  Nate assured me it would dry darker, especially with a few coats of paint.  Placated, we let this coat dry.  & while it’s drying, Tuck walks through the paint pan on the floor, tracking blue paint ALL OVER THE CARPET.  Not just in the nursery, but also down the stairs.  Blast it all to hell, mutt!
img 2180 1024x768 Epic Paint FAIL.
So while I scrubbed in a futile & desperate fashion at the carpet, Nate added the second coat.  Please notice the beer that is involved.  At this point, I’m noticing how thick the paint is going on & how…shiny…it is.  & I realize that this is not flat paint.  I can’t believe I didn’t notice that when we bought it.  & while I’m staggering at this revelation & trying to decide what course of action to take, Tuck leans her fat ass against the white part:
img 2175 1024x768 Epic Paint FAIL.
…& leaves a trail of hair down one wall, which must be scrubbed off & repainted.  I’m 10 seconds from internally combusting at this point.  & putting an add in the paper that a German Shepherd mix is free to a good home (just kidding, promise).  I also realize that with the new white on the bottom, the chair rail & wood trim looks grey against it, which simply won’t do.  So now I have to repaint all the woodwork in the room as an unexpected “bonus.”
img 2181 1024x768 Epic Paint FAIL.
We sleep on it last night, & get up this morning to add the third coat of blue.  It looks better, no?  & in the morning light, it even looks closer to navy!  This picture shows exactly the color I hoped for.  This makes me happy, considering the LAST thing I want is some hokey bright-blue color on my son’s walls.  After a few hours to let it dry & one romp in the sack later to celebrate our tenacity, we got in to peel off the painters tape…to see this:
img 2182 1024x768 Epic Paint FAIL.
& this is where I officially lost my shit.  As we peeled the tape, the paint on the wall was literally gummy against it.  & pulled with it & pulled off in places.   WHAT THE HELL DID WE DO WRONG?!  So Nate pulled out a razor.  To try & separate some of the paint, of course….not to stab ourselves, which we were tempted to do at this point.  Which doesn’t work.  & I realize that I will have to get a water-color brush to do the tiny touch-ups.
img 2184 1024x768 Epic Paint FAIL.
Seriously, it looks TERRIBLE.  I’m not exaggerating.   & as you can see, as it dried even farther & the afternoon light came in, we have hokey hideously bright blue walls.  I think the starkness of the blue against the white makes it stand out even more, but there is not one spot in that room that looks like someone over the age of 3 painted it.  I’m at a loss for words at this point.  I just wanted his room to be PERFECT, & it’s simply not happening at this point.  All I want to do is rewind the past 48 hours & re-do the entire room.  Nate suggested that a) we have lunch since I was probably hungry without realizing it, thus fueling my teetering mental stability & b) put together the crib, which should make me happy.
img 2185 1024x768 Epic Paint FAIL.
So we pull out HJ’s crib & start assembling it, leaning it against the dry white part of the walls while we assemble it.  At least…they should have been fully dry after sitting for over 24 hours.  & when I pull away the footboard during the last part of the assembly process, there are FLECKS OF WHITE PAINT ON MY DARLING, LOVELY, VERY EXPENSIVE CRIB.  I scream.
No really…I screamed.  & then quivered on the verge of tears while Nate couldn’t decide whether he would laugh or chug a beer.  Thankfully, the paint peeled right off the crib with no residue or evidence of its crime.  & I screamed again that WHY CAN’T THE EFFING WALLS JUST EFFING DRY ALREADY?!?!  So as we attached the bumper to the crib (yet another attempt to cheer me up), we discussed our problems & our options.
Problems
1)  We have latex satin paint, not flat paint.
2)  We may have painted it too quickly, & should have let there be several days between painting coats.
3)  The paint is literally peeling in some places, meaning loads of touch-ups.
4)  The paint isn’t drying.  It’s still tacky to the touch, even the white stuff which was painted 24 hours ago.
5)  I don’t love the color.
Solutions
1)  Give it a few days to really, really dry & set.
2)  Razor off where it’s peeling & not setting.
3)  Repaint with a flat paint, one shade darker than the original.
So there we stand, with a nursery I currently hate, teetering the delicate balance between loathing it & not wanting to hurt Nate’s feelings because he worked so, so hard & I appreciate his efforts.  I’m trying to relax & roll with the punches, realizing that motherhood will require that of me many, many times….but it’s hard.
If you have any suggestions…any at all…I would love to hear them.  Especially ways to fix the walls & the paint.  I don’t even think I’m wild about the white on the bottom anymore, but I think that will change when the other furniture arrives & we get a colorful rug on the floor & curtains up.
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Filed Under: Nursery, Things that aren't perfect despite my best efforts

We’re being swallowed whole.

22 May posted by

My house looks like it is vomiting HJ’s nursery & gear.

Literally. 

I have a crib in a box barricading me from my laundry room (although this is a blessing, no?).  The conversion rails are balancing precariously on the arm chair downstairs.  The Babycook machine arrived today, & it sits on the coffee table with two cans of formula, a stash of formula checks, & baby toys that I picked up for free today.  Not to mention two potential bedside tables, perched on either end of the huge box that contains the crib bedding.  Oh yeah, & a bag of bottles & a massive flat box that contains the sailboat mobile.
We’re working on the nursery this weekend, so hopefully I’ll have some pictures to show off next week!  We’re being super-lame & missing a lake trip & a golf trip to stay home to clean & paint, but it’s much-needed.  We apologize to everyone that suffers a direct effect from our sudden loss of radness.
oh, & I’m working on a breast feeding, aka “Blair’s Nipples Don’t Function” post…yet trying not to have it rival the length of David Copperfield is a struggle. 

Y’all have a wonderful (hopefully long!) weekend!
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Filed Under: Baby Gear, Nursery

Screwing until you blister.

21 May posted by

img 2173 1024x768 Screwing until you blister.

First, LOOKIE WHAT I FOUND!!!  Seersucker pants!  Imagine my surprise when I scoped the Pottery Barn Kids clothing racks, only to find that they are discontinuing the “Threads” line in the stores & all of their clothing was reduced ridiculous amounts.  I am beyond excited to put the kid in these on Easter 2010 icon smile Screwing until you blister.

img 2164 1024x768 Screwing until you blister.

errr…not that he really needs any more clothing.  This is only about half of it…there are two bins full of onesies.  Needless to say, the child shall not be naked.

img 2163 768x1024 Screwing until you blister.

& this, my friends, is the BANE OF MY EXISTENCE.  Nate & I were so psyched to find this at Target for $11 vs the original asking price of $40.  I thought it would be perfect for storing all the loose accessories, toys, blankets, etc & I was correct!  But putting it together?  Holy shit.  Y’all, I have a degree is business & a minor in Econ…I’m a pretty smart lady on a regular basis, if you don’t mind my tooting my own horn.  But this thing was IMPOSSIBLE.  I was determined to complete it while Nate was out playing golf, simply because he has issues not screaming at inanimate objects during furniture assembly.  It took me 15 minutes to figure out which piece to start with, then it wouldn’t screw in correctly, then I tried to put the bottom on & realized that I switched the second to the last piece.  To cap it all off, I couldn’t get one of the screws in without stripping it.  & they don’t give you extras — Target has no mercy upon your petty construction mistakes.  Nate was tearfully called to lend a drill & his strength.

So several hours later, the thing is put together.  I have 3 blisters on my hands, carpel tunnel in my wrist from screwing, & there are several pieces that don’t quite meet up…but I couldn’t care less.  The thing is up, & as long as HJ doesn’t try to tap dance on it, it should hold.
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Filed Under: Nursery

It's like Christmas in May!

20 May posted by

& you can just call me Santa’s Little Elf!

My good buddy at Bebeology, Nicole, shot me an email several weeks ago (okay, embarrassing confession: it was like 3 months ago) saying that she had a special little snack for the readers of Heir To Blair. Trust me, I’m not withholding the goodies, I’m just lazy at best sometimes & so easily distracted by shiny things that my to-do list never whittles down.

If you get the itch, check out her store, which is stocked full of the stuff we love — Moby wraps, organic clothing, cloth diapers, high chairs, even bottles.

& when you’re checking out, enter the code HEIRTOBLAIRFAN to receive 10% off your entire purchase.

Happy shopping!


and p.s. since this has already been brought up within 5 minutes of this posting,i receive nothing in return. i’ll be happy to share the emails. i posted it in a comment, so not to clog up the blog with it.

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Filed Under: Baby Gear
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