This Moment

{This moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, visit Soulemama to leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

He's Here!

Simon Kenton Powers

July 9, 2011 - 1:41 pm

7 lbs. 8.5 oz., 21 inches long

 Rob bringing him to see me see me for the first time.

I'll leave you with some eye candy.  He's changed so much in the week since these were taken.  We love him to bits.  I'm on a bit of a bloggy break as we all adjust to being a family of three (plus the bunny).

First Harvest

The first five tomatoes were ripe last week.  I have four more almost ready today.  We picked them and along with some basil and oregano made homemade pizza.  Yum!

We also tasted the first of the tiny strawberries.  I don't know a lot about berry growing, but I'm pretty sure the pots are restricting their growth.  And because this is the first year they've produced, I think they might be bigger next year.  We'll see.  But we ate them.  And it was like eating a strawberry candy.  a super sweet concentrated taste of strawberry explosion.

Also this year, the wildflower seeds I planted look like they are about to bloom in another of the pots. And the marigold is still alive.  This is the best luck I've ever had with flowering things.  Our little container garden along with our CSA share makes me almost feel like I have a real garden.

Birthday Boy

The birthday boy decided he didn't want cake this year, so I made him these Strawberry Ninjas I found on Pinterest.  They are a little sad and Rob says they look more like Santas.  Next time we will dip the strawberries in chocolate first.

The day was pretty low key.  We spent the morning cleaning.  So not what should happen on a birthday and the afternoon napping.  Then we went out to dinner.  Tuesday was a bit of a better birthday day.  We went to the MoMA for lunch.  The cafe we wanted to eat at was closed for unknown reasons, so we ate at a different one.  Then walked around the sculpture garden.  The food is pretty good, but expensive.  However, we knew that going in, and being members we don't have to pay for the museum.

I love this guy and am glad he gets to keep his special day all to himself.

now about that bathrooom

We are incredibly lucky to have a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom condo.  I use the second bathroom for keeping a lot of my stuff.  And I fix my hair in there, because when we are both working and getting ready at the same time, it is nice to have my own space.

in March.  see the bathtub 'o stuff in the mirror

But I've always showered in the master bath.  less to clean that way.  With the exception of when Josh was living with us, and a few times that we've had visitors, it is functioning as a half-bath.  Meaning most of the time we use the bathtub in there as a closet.

When I started to accumulate baby stuff, into the tub it went.  Because there certainly wasn't room for it in the disaster area we once called an office.

When we replaced the utility cabinet with the crib.  The baby stuff went to the crib or dresser and the books and things from the cabinet took up residence in the tub.  Along with the ill-fated bedding until it's return.

We've decided to give cloth diapering a shot.  We don't have a washing machine, but we do have machines in the building.  And I know a few people in the neighborhood who do it.  It will be a challenge at first, but if we can make it work will save us lots of money.  Even better, I've managed to get quite a few for free from Mom's who are cutting down their stash.  But back to that bathroom.

Because cloth diapering will require some rinsing of things in the toilet.  And because of our space constraints I thought it would be nice to keep all things nice in the bathroom.  I gave Rob a description of what I wanted.  And he modeled it for me.  Then my Dad helped me get the wood and we put it all together.

What is it?  Why, a changing table and shelves that fit into that not currently used second bathtub.  The books and things from the cabinet have found home on the re-organized shelving and closets elsewhere in the apartment.  The baby stuff is put away.

 

Behind the curtain is the seat for our stroller, until we are done with the bassinet attachment.  Also are the pack-and-play and baby bathtub that I got for free from other moms and we may or may not keep depending on usefulness.  It's also a great place to keep the "goodwill bag" that I take every few months to donate whatever gets tossed in there as I am constantly purging.

The top shelf is the changing pad, some diapers, wipes, and baby lotions creams, etc...  The second shelf has cloth diapers and behind the bins are all of our extra towels and baby bath supplies which I can get to from the side.  The bottom shelf holds the g-diapers, all disposable inserts, a pack of disposable diapers and extra toilet paper that I buy in the 20 pack.

All in all it is a great use of creating new storage.  And one day when the kid needs his own bathtub the shelving is easily removable and the baby stuff stored there will no longer be needed.

Due.

Today is my due date.  As of Friday's appointment we are still waiting.  Lots and lots of waiting.  My fingers and ankles and feet are swollen, but not so bad that most people would notice.  Thank goodness I own a pair of flip flops though.  I usually reserve them for the pool or beach, but my sandals no longer fit.  At Fridays appointment I was up 40 pounds, but today it was only 35.  So that is my final weight gain fluctuation.  I'm good with that.  The clothes in these pictures so don't fit anymore, but I wanted the outfit for comparison.  I have enough to get me through a week, but since I'm mostly staying home, I am re-wearing as much as possible.  My waist is still 42 inches around.  Baby boy has definitely dropped.

We spent the weekend cleaning.  And by we, I mean mostly Rob.  I helped some but he did the bulk of the work.  We also have the bassinet table in place.  We covered a remnant piece of plywood with batting and fabric and it is supported under the mattress and on the bookshelf, perfect table for the bassinet (which is also part of the stroller).  The baby will sleep bedside for awhile.  Our living room seems so big when it's clean.  And we also wonder how we fit so much in here to begin with.

"Baby, when are you coming???"

Rob is betting the baby will come Wednesday July 6, on his birthday.  It will be a post of it's own if he has to make his own birthday cake.  I think it will be Thursday or Monday.  Regardless, we check in Monday night for a Tuesday morning induction.

To continue the Birthday Week celebrations we went to see Transformers this morning.  We went to the 10:20AM show.  What we have learned is that the weekend of the 4th is a great time to see movies, because most of the world is at the beach or a BBQ or not at the movies.  Especially not in the morning.  There were about 12 people in the theater, amazing for an opening weekend.  The early morning also meant we aren't taking chances that I "might" go into labor tonight.  I'm not counting on it.  Tomorrow we have a quick doctor appointment then are spending the afternoon at the MoMA and eating lunch in the cafe there.

Here is a quick morphing movie Rob put together of the growing belly.  It hasn't gotten a ton bigger in 7 weeks, but you can see growth.  This is 21, 33, and 40 weeks.  You can also reference THIS post from a few weeks ago with the side by side shot.

my baby's room: the after

Evolution of a Room

chapter 3

We've gone through a lot, this room and I.  And now it is ready for a baby.  Once I made the decision to go with the robots.  And the robot bank was mine.  I returned the deer bedding.  Once that was done I had much less anxiety.  I started cleaning out the crib and putting baby clothes in the dresser.  We started putting things on the shelves and tossing even more.  The under crib space is used for storing our new suitcases (officially carry-on size), the air mattress, extra paint, and some other odds and ends.  There is still a ways to go in purging and organizing, but the room is ready.

I have made peace with the fact that my home will never be "finished."  It will never be 100% clean and organized.  That's life.  I'm ok with that.  Most of the time.  Here is the reveal:

We hung the Robots Fighting painting under the existing shelves filled with some of our childhood favorites and toys we've collected.

And I found some orange sheets in crib size.  These are NOT easy to come by.  Most baby sheets are in pastels and blue and pink and maybe green and yellow.  I was really excited to find the orange.

 

The monkey mat is living here for now, but it's kind of like a pillow friend for an infant and will likely move around the apartment as a soft place to lay the baby. 

I found the mobile on Amazon for $9.99, which is the perfect price, since once he can pull up I'll probably have to take it down.  It plays Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

 

I'm still not sure about how and where to hang the art.  I like the Monko cells and how they match.  The one in the window needs to go somewhere, it is usually stacked with the other art we don't know what to do with or don't have room for.  The fisherman boards don't really go, but again, not sure where to move them.

But the dresser looks nice.  I have a couple of pictures of us, and frame that will have Simon's first day picture in it once he gets here.  The bank and the lamp are perfect!  Baby monitor is plugged in.  The bead necklace I bought from a friend at a craft fair recently.  I figure it will be something I can wear once he is teething and starts chewing on me...

These are the rain gutter shelves we put behind the door.  The lowest one is about 15 inches from the floor, so perfect for board books.  The next shelf holds the paper books for kids.  The upper shelves are for extra CDs, DVDs, video games, and odds and ends.  Someday when we purge some more Simon can use them for his things.

The play mat is a perfect size.  And the baby toys are in an orange tote that I've had forever.  It used to hold our extra towels.

And here is Rob's side of the room.  Because it is a Nursery / Office combo.  And I still have the closet.  Someday I will have to give that up as well...  The boxes to the right of the desk hold all of the crafting and crafting tools.  We hope to replace the giant box with a cabinet or something similar soon.

Overall I think it works well.  Here's to hoping the sharing works well.

And my final project for the room.  Or my next crafting project.  I bought all of this fabric, among other things,  with money I got from returning the deer bedding.  I want to make the quilt in the picture on the bottom left.  So that when Simon gets big, and we convert the crib to a toddler bed he will have the perfect quilt.  So I have a long time frame.  And if I actually finish before the toddler years, it will be a great blanket.

Birthday Week for Rob

Today is the official start of Rob's Birthday Week.  He will be 34 on July 6th.  However, there is a chance that the baby will forever ruin Rob's birthday, because if they have to share we all know Rob will take the backseat.  We want to make this birthday a good one, but we also knew we should start early.  When Rob said he'd like to see a show for his birthday I bought the tickets.  For May 31.  To see  The Book of Morman, which is a pretty hot ticket to get right now.

When I bought the tickets there were only partial view seats (boxes) available until mid-August.  But since we live here I just asked for the best available seats in May or June.  That's what we got.  The downside to box seats is we missed action on the far right, but not such a big deal.  The upside is that we were in real chairs so it was easier to move as needed and Rob had LEG ROOM!

Our location also made it a prime spot to scan the audience for famous people.  I am not so great at spotting celebrities.  I once literally walked into Hank Azaria on 42nd Street and didn't recognize him.  Rob pointed it out once I'd apologized for my clumsiness and we were out of earshot.  But the woman behind us recognized Jack Nicholson sitting just below us.  There were also some other well know theater folk in attendance, but I didn't recognize those names.

in the blue and black about to sit down

We had no camera on this outing, so the iPod photos throughout this post will have to do.  I know you can't really tell, but trust me, it's him.

in the blue and black behind the two guys in blue

Happy Birthday Week to my awesome husband who puts up with so much from me!

Also on the agenda for birthday week: 1) dinner this past Wednesday at Salt & Fat, the new hot restaurant in the 'hood  2) Transformers 3 and brunch one morning this weekend  3) an activity or meal TBD  4) cake at home, maybe with a few friends over  5) most likely have a baby

my baby's room: the during

*As I wrote this out, I realized that there are lots of extraneous details about the shopping trips and my strange emotional attachments to furniture, etc...  I apologize somewhat for the tangents, but hey, it's my blog.

 

Evolution of a Room

chapter 2

I left off with the mess and the big job ahead.  By March I had cleaned and purged.  A lot.  The room looked like a room again.

We planed a trip to Ikea.  And scored a great deal on a crib.  We had a big (not really) decision to make.  Which of the three cribs did we want.  It was pretty easy to decide on the closed end crib, as opposed to the one with slats all around.  It just felt sturdier.  Then we went back and forth on the wood color or white.  The dresser is not white.  We had to decide if we wanted the furniture to match.  Painting the dresser white had been vetoed.  Then we realized that the wood colors didn't match, and that the desk in the room (actually what was originally going to be our dinner table and also from Ikea) was black.  So there would be no matching.  And Rob thought the white would look nice with the white shelves already in the room.  He's the artist, so we went with it.

On the way out of the store we walked past the "As Is" section and saw two of our cribs sitting there.  As we were discussing if saving $50 was worth having to disassemble to get it home an employee heard us and asked if we would take it for $50.  This was now a billion % off or $90.  We went for it.  I think Rob got a little frustrated in the taking apart process.  And I think it was partly my fault, but I'm not a mind reader, and wasn't very good at anticipating what help he actually needed.  We got it though and the crib was assembled in the room.

What happened to the utility cabinet you ask?  Well while in the store we ran into some friends who had recently moved into a house and were shopping for shelving for basement storage.  We asked if they wanted a cabinet, and DONE!  The cabinet had a new home.  So we now had to deal with all of the stuff that had been in there.  For now we put some of it in the crib and a lot in the bathtub (more on that in another post) and some of it on the new shelves we put up.  And quite a bit was trashed.  We are getting good at purging.

old drawer liner, likely pre-me getting the dresser 18 years ago

And on the way home we picked up the dresser.  This dresser has been mine since I was about 10.  When I lived at "home" there was a matching chest with a mirror.  Not really sure what happened to that one.  But this dresser, it moved with me to college and then to Brooklyn.  Then when we got married I passed it on to some friends, because i couldn't bear to leave it on the street with some of the other furniture I left behind (my mom's childhood bed - which was "luckily" broken beyond repair so we were able to leave it with minimal anxiety).  I gave it to them with the caveat "if you ever need to get rid of it or we have a baby we want it back".  I had kind of forgotten, but was reminded that oh yeah, we don't have to buy a dresser.  It worked out well because they had some other friends who were moving out of state and offered up any furniture for free.  It was a dresser swap.

cute new scented liner I replaced it with

While at Ikea we made a round through the kid and baby section and I found this lamp.  It's perfect because it doesn't get hot, the light bulb is completely surrounded by plastic.  And the clouds glow making it work for a nightlight.  I'd been looking for something like this and here it was.

oh the mess in the crib...

We had also been looking for a suitable rug.  The one I really really wanted and had been looking at for a year was discontinued sometime between Thanksgiving (when I knew I'd be buying soon) and Christmas (when I went to buy it at 12 weeks).  I was sad, but moved on.  So while walking through the kids area we saw these play mats.  For $10.  When the options are $$$$ for something you don't really like or a playmat that is cute and will work for $10 you take the playmat.

 

My Dad came to visit in April and helped with lots of little home improvement tasks that we needed to get done. (On this visit Rob learned about the "honey-do" list, ask him to tell that story sometime.)  One of the things was to fix the drywall on the formerly leaky window and to repaint.

We also insulated the AC box in the wall below the window and hung additional shelving over and behind the door.

I just love how it always seems to be one step forward, two steps back with the stuff and the mess.

chapter 2.5

crazy pregnant brain 

Once the room was ready I really had to think about decor.  Unfortunately for me (and Rob who had to listen) pregnancy brain made me a little crazy when it came to making decisions about things that don't really matter.  Like baby bedding.  I found this bedding and thought it was cute.  My sister who is the absolute best bought it for me, not knowing I was having second thoughts.

It is super cute with deer walking through the grass.  However, it doesn't really match the rug or lamp.  And I was ok with that.  And white bedding with a white crib I wasn't sure about.  It also didn't match the artwork we already own and should use because we are out of wall space and are storing lots as is.  But Rob said it was fine, and he didn't care so much about matching and we were going to go with it.  BUT, because of the solid sides on the crib, the bumper didn't tie right. (I was going to use bumpers, I know there is lots of controversy about this, whatever.)  And the style of the platform for holding the mattress, it fits into a box rather than sitting on slats, didn't allow for the skirt, so I would have had to heavily modify.  And you can't use the quilt until they are toddlers.  So really I had a really expensive sheet.  Oh, the agony and anxiety I suffered over this.  It really made me crazy.  I think because I really do love this bedding.  It just wasn't working for us.

Then I went to New Orleans with my Mom.  And I was telling her about the crazy.  And she really didn't get it.  But I was wanting to work with what we had.  And Emily said it was fine if I returned the bedding.  

We have this pinball machine, turned table.  I've always thought it would make a great play table someday if we lower the legs.  Because someday Rob's desk will probably have to move out and there will be room for a play table.

And we have the Robots Fighting painting in the third photo of this post.  And the blue and orange look nice, and work with the room color.  And we have the Monko animation cells form the living room that Rob did and would match.  So I was thinking a robot room could be fun.  And in NOLA we found this.

And how could I now not do a robot room?