First Belly Pic

My phone says, "Writer."  I'll post something on that tomorrow.

So I am sharing something very special on here, my first belly pic.  I have around ten weeks left and many people who come into my work feel safe asking when the baby is due.  That's right, I am no longer at that awkward stage where folks are unsure if I am expecting or if I am I just gaining weight.  We're going to toss in that I recently woke up and have finally been able to relax a bit after an incredibly stressful week.  So yes, I am feeling brave today and everyone benefits.

The bunny book is my favorite.

I have a group of teens at work and they are sort of my bosses.  They tell me what they want to do and I make it happen.  They return the favor by coming to programs and telling their friends about programs.  These kids are fantastic and while I know so much about the kids, I frequently cannot point out their parents in a line up.  So I make every effort to get to know the parents and develop a good relationship with them and assure them that their kid is in good hands.  Plus, I have always thought that if your kid spends a lot of time with an adult that you should get to know that adult and I want parents to feel comfortable approaching me.  This is the present given to me by a parent of one of my Teen Council kids.  She said she was at a yard sale and found some of her favorite board books for a quarter and couldn't resist. As a librarian, these titles are going to take some wear and tear since Matt and I want Egg to be able to read and enjoy books without having to worry about ruining them.  Another note about me is that I am frugal or just plain cheap and love a deal.  Often, my friends know that if they are buying me a gift that I will enjoy it more if I know it was on sale or clearance.  We are happily adding this to the pile of gently used items from friends of ours who have mini-mes of their own.

Egg's Room

The cat in the crib.  You can guess that he only did that once.

I told Matt he was in charge of the baby's room.  I have other things to worry about and my husband has great taste, so I told him to let me know when he needed help.  We have a Parisian theme for the baby's room.  Why?  King Louis XIV, the Sun King and the name of a local brewery, is our hedgehog.  Claude, who has clawed us on occasion, is our cat.  Two French pets, so a Parisian inspired room makes sense.  We have many of the pieces of the room purchased, but they are not yet in the room, so their stories and details will be saved for another day.  We will start with the obvious piece, the crib. 

Claude recovering and making his way back to his cat shelf.

We wanted something that would convert from crib to toddler to full size bed.  The piece you see is not Matt's first choice.  His first choice was a stunning espresso colored piece.  It was a bit too expensive and while it is both beautiful and sturdy (we went to the store and "shook" the cribs), I reminded Matt that any piece we brought into our home would never look as good as the day we put it up.  We have a cat and kids like to carve and write on things.  It's just part of life.  I also told him that furniture changes and we should pick a piece that will not result in a heart attack if kiddo wants to paint it in a decade or so.  It is still beautiful and we hope that it will be enjoyed and appreciated for the next few decades.

Next is the face plate.  I am sure this one is easy.  It is currently the only Eiffel Tower in the room.  There will be another, which I will save for another time since it is not currently in the room.

Dresser below the cat shelf.  Note the paint on the wall.

Oh and how do you love the dresser?!  This is the newest piece which was added today.  I had hoped to get an amazing piece that looked Parisian and it had to meet a few requirements.  It had to be low to the ground and the drawers must to be easy to open with drawer pulls fairly close together.  This was actually the second dresser we saw.  The first was at a monthly upscale flea market here in Indy where we found an amazing and stunning piece, but had a really unattractive scene on it.  True we could have painted it, but Matt and I have had enough painting.  The owners had told us that if we really wanted to see something, that we should attend an event called an extravaganza in Springfield, Ohio.  We would be on vacation at that time, but ended up cutting it short to be able to attend the above event.  While we were at the extravaganza, which happens twice a year at the county fairgrounds, we tracked down the same folks who told us about the event and saw this piece.  It is actually a sideboard, which is fine with us since kids often like a change of furniture as they grow older, so in time we will happily absorb this piece into another room of our home.  The booth owners came down on the price, hauled it back to Indianapolis (also their hometown) for us and delivered it to our home at no extra cost. 

Someone Knew Before the 'Rents

My parents found out January 17.  Matt's family found out a bit earlier.  His family, his way and time of telling them.  I encouraged it.  Matt and I were a bit busy last holiday season and did not send out holiday gifts.  Everyone understood, especially when Matt told everyone by Skype on Christmas morning that I had not been feeling well, "especially in the morning." 

I am sure I am going to get some bad karma here, but someone did find out before Matt's family.  Just a few days before Christmas my friends came over to hang out and we exchanged gifts.  Our gathering place is our living room, which also serves as our dining room, so it was a bit difficult to get people to go into our "library," which is complete with a fireplace.  The library is the first room we enter upon coming in from the garage, but a room that guests may never enter if they come in through the front door, which everyone does.  Matt hung his handsome stocking by the fire, and while I knitted one for everyone else, I actually ran out of time to make one for me.  Sure, mine was lame, but the rest were unbelievably awesome.  It took a while for me to get one friend to check out our fireplace.  When she did, she found this.




Things got a bit worse when we exchanged gifts.  One of my close friends had a baby last November, so I had lots of questions for her and she figured things out pretty quickly.  Now the first friend was happy to know, but I believe she was taken a bit off guard when I opened my gifts and took out a onesie.  This piece of clothing based on the book "Name of the Wind" by New York Times bestselling author Patrick Rothfuss. Matt wanted one of these, but didn't want to pay for it.  He said if we bought everything that was cute, it would add up quickly.  I knew he wanted it and didn't want me to buy it, so I asked that friend who just had a baby if she had purchased me a Christmas gift yet.  She had not.  I happily held up my gift and heard, "She already knew?!"

My Parents and Their Egg

Before my husband and I had the initials EGG picked out, I had already scoped out a unique way to tell my parents Matt and I are expecting. In case you do not know, my husband and I are the last baby makers for both our families. Both of my sisters are done having kids, the youngest of the bunch being around 7 or 8 years old and I believe my husband has a nephew around the same age.  I will also add in the tidbit that when my parents found out Matt and I were getting married, they thought we were joking.  I needed a way to tell them the news without actually telling them.

I had scoped out a website and found the perfect way to let both my parents know at the same time, so not to give one an advantage of knowing over the other. The only problem is that I wanted to wait until I had an official due date from my doctor.  This is typically done at the first appointment which is at the eight week mark, or about the time of your second missed cycle.  This would have been the end of December and Matt and I wanted to schedule all of our appointments in 2014 for insurance purposes. This would have put the first appointment at the beginning of January, but Matt and I were heading out of town.  January 10th was the big day.  I got my due date of August 6th and set to work letting my parents in on our secret.

I found this on Etsy.  We only needed one and I was willing to pay a little extra to keep the contents a secret.  I asked the wonderful owner of Little Elephant Gifts if she would be able to ship the item directly to my parents house.  This would mean my parents would get a package addressed to them from someone they did not know in Oregon.  My hand writing or mark would not be found on the packaging.  To save a bit of time on this already long post, my parents received the package on Friday, January 17th (I tracked that little box online for the duration of its journey).  They found the little white box to be suspicious.  Who did they know that lived in Oregon?  No one.  Did they buy something and forget about it?  No.  Did someone buy them a Christmas gift and not tell the it was three weeks late?  No.  How did this person get their name and address?  And what on Earth was I that small box?  Dad stood on the other side of the kitchen while my mom bravely opened the box.  Inside was another box.  I could only imagine my parents anticipation building.   Mom opened the interior white box and found a quail egg resting inside a nest.  On the box lid were stamped instructions, "Crack Me."  She tried to be gentle, but ended up smashing the little egg to smithereens. Inside was a small piece of paper with a simple message, "Baby Glasheen Due 8/6/2014."