Moving right along

As the blazing hot days of summer roll by, I'm amazed at how quickly the finish line of the 2 major events in our life (house and babies) are moving right along. Most days I worry about how in the world we are going to move into our new home with two newborns (or how we are going to handle two newborns. Period), until I realize what a dream come true our life is right now. I told Kyle the other night that I feel like pinching myself most days because everything we have hoped and prayed for for the past year is finally a reality. What an incredible journey God has taken us on.

With that said, here are a few things lately that have made me smile.

Here is 19413 Fieldshire Drive in progress. I know you can't see it yet, but it's beautiful! I'm hoping to get some better pics with a non-iphone camera soon.

And aren't Kyle's little chicken legs cute in this one? ;)

It's a little embarassing how exciting and giddy I got over seeing these today. This is the first monogrammed item I have gotten for the girls, and it just made me smile from ear to ear when I picked them up. But don't worry, I'm officially on a monogramming spree and just ordered these precious things on etsy.

Oh, and they will go in the girls' bathroom, not over a barstool in our kitchen-FYI.

And this is my little beauty, Sophie Kay. I'm sure Campbell is equally as adorable, but she decided (like her mother) that she wasn't feeling particularly photogenic that day, and abruptly turned her face away from the camera. Weird, because I feel like doing that anytime I see a camera these days, too. Anyways, I think she looks remarkably like her daddy in this one. Is it strange I still can't even fathom that this is in my belly, and will soon be a kicking, screaming real life baby? Because I can't!

Ok, I'm not one to particularly love graphics on a onesie (think: cheesy butterflies, teddy bears, etc. with human faces and hearts, "Mommy's little shopper", "Aren't I cute?", moons and stars, and don't even get me started on how I will have to hold back the puke if someone buys the girls anything with the word "diva" on it). Sorry, can you tell I get easily nauseated with cheesy baby things? However, I am loving everything from this particular dealer on etsy. Cute, hilarious, simple, adorable. She also has a bacon and eggs one.

And my dear, sweet mother-in-law brought the girls a TON of great, adorable stuff this past weekend including purchasing our car seats! I will have to do a separate post on all of the great things she got the girls.

Here's hoping everything continues to move smoothly along... ;)

DIY or DIY Disasterous?

I can't remember why I originally became so excited about these, or where I first saw them and were inspired by them, but I am somewhat obsessed with roman shades lately. I think they have such a clean, crisp look and are something unexpected from traditional curtains. It's the perfect way to show off a fabric you love. My sister, Sara, first introduced me to the idea of DIY curtains. I did a few of my own in our old house using an iron and fabric glue. I had seen DIY tutorials for roman shades before, but they always looked incredibly intimidating, and I had to believe they would look more like DIY toddler edition if I had tried them, but this new decorating blog I stumbled upon truly does make it look very doable! All she did was order a $30 shade from overstock.com and use fabric spray adhesive to attach her fabric onto the front, and fabritac to glue a 1/2 inch wrapped around the back of it. And then just turned it horizontal for the top of it. Sounds incredibly similar to the ones I have done in the past. She did say that using stripes was not a good idea because it was near impossible to get them 100% straight. Too bad because I love striped curtains, especially these grey and white ones. However, another obsession of mine lately is ikat patterned fabric like the red one below. I would love to use these as traditional curtains in my living room, or on roman shades on our 3 windows in our kitchen. I'm using this fabric somewhere regardless and found it for $18/yard at Vu's fabric store.

We'll see if I'm brave (or bored) enough to try this out...

let there be light!

So currently I am attempting to make lighting decisions for the new casa. Interestingly enough, the only room I really am being picky about is the kitchen. I think it's because I don't really pay much attention to anyone else's bathroom, bedroom, hallway, etc. fixtures. I think I have finally found some awesome ones (within our all-important budget).

This is one of the "finalists" for the pendants that will go above our breakfast bar. We will have 3 of them above it. If you look closely, it's actually a cake mold! I think the dark bronze color will look great against our light-colored kitchen.

This one above is actually closing in on my favorite. I love the vintage-y, simplish type look of it.

This one from Ballard Designs is also a favorite. I know it looks remarkably similar to the Pottery Barn one (above), but for some reason I like the Pottery barn one more. And of course there is about a $100 price difference after ordering 3 of them, with the PB one being more expensive. We would still be under budget for our kitchen either way. Maybe I'll just hide the Ballard one from Kyle...

I love this chandelier. Oddly enough, Kyle and I had ordered this to put in our old kitchen! I suppose I like this to go above our kitchen table because it's a little bit of our old house. It's extremely well-priced, but instead of the seagrass shades we put on it last time, I would choose to do the linen drum shades below.

Decisions, decisions....

Baby Books

One thing I have been on the hunt for lately is a baby book. At first I thought I could find a cute twin one they could share, until I realized they did not exist. The only one that kept popping up was titled "Twice Upon a Time" and had an ugly fairytale-esq stork on the front. Gag. Other ones had far too many twin puns for my taste (see above). I think I have finally found one I adore. And much to my surprise, they carry the actual book at both Paper 'N more and Storkland. I was able to find it pretty cheap at Storkland. I also think it will be nice to have 2 separate ones for them to each keep someday. It seems most people think I will not have the time or sanity to fill this out for one, much less two babies. I am determined to make it happen. I suppose this will be a testament to my organization and stamina.

Is it hot, or is it just me?

Whew!

It seems like the heat just gets heavier and heavier, along with myself. I swear this belly has grown an inch in the last 2 days (could this be why I feel so crappy today?). Here are some interesting updates with my pregnancy, or shall I say, things I can no longer do:

1. Sit cross legged on the floor for more than 5 minutes

2. Cross my legs for very long while sitting in a chair-this is especially attractive when I'm wearing a dress, considering the most comfortable position is for me to sit like a guy, legs spread

3. Ok, sit comfortably for very long in any position

4. Roll over with ease in bed

5. Roll over in bed without making a groan or noise that awakens Kyle

6. Walk 3 laps around Hafer Park (especially when I try to keep up with my speed walking partners)

7. Do #6 plus shower and run more than 3 errands without feeling like I've been hit by a truck

8. I have a sneaking suspicion the wedding ring is about to have to retire to the jewelry box, especially if this heat gets any worse causing me to feel like a swollen pig

Can you believe I have around 3-4 months left of my pregnancy? All without the possibility of a frozen margarita to ease the pain?

I know it all will be more than worth it, and I just mostly find all of the above quite humorous.

One of my current favorite things about pregnancy (other than the frequent kick or flip I feel the girls doing) is my sweet nephew, Canon, has learned to say their names. He affectionately calls them "Soapie Camel" and frequently will lift my shirt (sometimes dress!) to give them smooches. He has also been known to offer them apple juice or a cheeto. He's the greatest. And I am so excited to have found out I will get to be an aunt to another sweet little nephew, who for now Canon refers to by the name of "blue."

I just can't wait to meet Soapie, Camel, and Blue! :)

Sophie Kay and Campbell Jane

Now that we have officially named our little pumpkins, the nursery and clothing purchases are abundant. We have officially ordered the cribs, and bedding/rocker is next on the list. Here are a few things that have warmed my heart lately...

Just ordered these sweet things from Etsy (new, very dangerous hobby). And if you're wondering, yes, I did already try them on on an old cabbage patch doll of mine.

This picture made me smile. Can't wait to take one like this of Sophie and Campbell's hands in Kyle's...

Loving the colors of this nursery. As much as I would love to get a white rocker like this one, I can't help but picture spit up, milk, snot, etc. stains on it. I think we are going to end up purchasing a light khaki one.

I am really liking this curtain idea-both the color and the sweet little bows at the top. I also love the big branch. Where does one get a branch like this? How did they attach it to the ceiling? I have a feeling if I tried to pull this off it would look more like something the dog dragged in.

Til next time...

Growth

Sometimes I forget how much this belly has grown until I look back at earlier belly pics. I still look down at it and think it just looks like I ate too much Mexican food (which, let's face it, I do a bit too often these days), until I catch a glimpse of my profile and realize that it's definitely a preggo belly! I am loving starting to be able to feel them move. I am dying for Kyle to be able to feel them. I'm also dying for Teddy to feel them too. I can't wait to see what he does when he gets an unexpected kick. I'm beginning to think he knows there is something in there. He curls up to my belly when I'm lying down all the time now. He used to only curl up at my feet. I like to think he is just trying to get to know his sisters. :) Here is a progression from earlier until now...

20 1/2 weeks-very close to not being able to wear non-maternity stuff

Almost 20 weeks lounging by the pool. This picture just made me laugh at the time. It's crazy to look down and not be able to see my swimsuit bottoms.

13 weeks, when I could wear non-maternity shirts. Those days are numbered for me now.

I'm fairly certain this was around 9-10 weeks. So little!

Table Time

After searching and searching, we have finally found a kitchen table (within our budget)! I thought I was going to have to give up on my hopes for a farmhouse type table because all of the ones I had found were at least $500 or more out of our price range. However, we finally hit the jackpot this last week. I think what I love about these tables is that they are so timeless and seemingly indestructible. I feel like it will be difficult for me to get sick of this piece. I also love how distressed the tops of them are, and how they seem to just get better with age and wear (think marker stains, banging sippy cups, smeared PB & J X 2). We are having one custom built at El Paso, and I am so excited to see the finished product. Here are some bits and pieces of how it will look...
Above is the bench that will go on one side of the table, only it will be in the darker stains seen below.

This is the color of the bench (and table and chairs)

These are the chairs. I really like the pattern on the back of them!

The great thing about custom building stuff at El Paso is that you get to pick out every little tiny detail of whatever it is you are designing. This is what the legs of the table will look like. I mostly like them because they are called the "fat lady" leg (appropriate for a table of mine currently...).

And this is the table itself! Only of course in the darker stain. It will also have a "skirt" right below the table part that is not seen on this one. We ended up going with a 7 foot table with 4 chairs and the bench.

Now we just need a kitchen to put it all in. :)

Photo Shoot!

I know that millions of women every day, all over the world, for the last several thousands of years have been pregnant and given birth, but I am amazed daily at these little miracles inside of me. I just can't believe that they are ours, and that Kyle and I are capable of creating life together. I really do just gaze at these pictures and am so unbelievably thrilled at everything I see. Their noses, fingers, toes, hearts, movements are all so breathtaking. And I truly can't believe that just 6 months ago I felt like I would never get to experience this and couldn't believe that I was lucky or deserving enough to get to have this in my life. I still am in awe that we are blessed enough to have them, and can only imagine how unreal it will be to finally meet them.

"So maybe it's true, that I can't live without you
And maybe two is better than one
But there's so much time to figure out the rest in my life
And you've already got me coming undone
And I'm thinking two is better than one..."