This is the Box that David Built...

This is the box that David built.

 

This is the stuff

That goes in the box that David built.

 

This is the cat

That loses his fur all over the stuff

That goes in the box that David built.

This is the dog

That chases the cat

That loses his fur all over the stuff

That goes in the box that David built.

  

Aaaaand, that's as much nursery rhyming and photographing as I can do.

So, David built a box. I take credit for the idea. Well, actually, I'll give credit to HGTV for most of the idea but I decided to use their window seating and storage idea for a toy box. David took my idea and implemented it while I was in WV for the first baby shower. I painted it, attached the foam and fabric to the top and found the pillows for the back. It was a team effort and this thing is going to last a lifetime. Seriously, Evan is going to be giving his toy box to his kid one day.

It's built out of oak plywood with wainscoting on the front and sides. Its approximate dimensions are 50"W x 24"D x 24"H. It weighs close to 80 pounds. We still need to add some hydrolic lifts because the lid is HEAVY and would crush adult fingers, let alone kid fingers, and some kind of handles for the sides for easier carrying.

I used a three inch thick piece of foam for the top and stapled the fabric to the inside of lid. I'm brainstorming better solutions that will enable me to remove the cover and wash it but it'll be fine for now. I found the pillows at Meijer on clearance. Here's a close up of the fabric. It goes so well with the colors of the room! 

And, if you look back at the "Stuff that goes in the box...," you can see how much stuff really fits in there. It's currently storing the Pack 'n Play and all of it's auxillery pieces, the box containing the Rock n' Play sleeper (not assembled yet), a ginormous gift bag of diapers, all the picture frames still waiting to go on the walls and the boppy pillow. And it's not even completely stuffed full.

It's kind of huge, especially in such a small room, but it makes up for its hugeness with its storage capacity. And, it's awesome.

Baby Showers Numero Dos and Tres

Jodie, my very first friend in Ohio, hosted a shower for me in Dayton. It was at my house (which was super nice that I didn't have to haul my loot home afterwards) but Jodie took care of everything.

I begrudgingly let her play games which all worked out really well. As it turns out, my hatred for baby shower games didn't really matter because I wasn't playing them. It was all just quite entertaining to me! We played "What's in the Bag", where you put 10 baby items in brown paper bags and everyone has to guess what's in each just by feeling it through the outside of the bag. My favorite quote of the day:

"Well, I don't really know what this is... because I didn't go to BLIND SCHOOL!"

We had a diaper raffle where anyone who brought a package of diapers was entered to win a $25 Five Guys gift card. I have so many diapers now but Jodie assures me that even though it seems like a lot, they won't really last me very long. There's way too much poop in my future. They also played bingo while I was opening gifts.  

And my favorite-- everyone filled out advice cards for me. Those were also very entertaining. I got everything from "Be sure to sanitize the grocery cart handle." to "Kids are just like pets and after meeting your pets, I know you'll do a great job." What can I say? We have some very wise friends. I'm slowly but surely putting my scrapbook together of everyone's picture and advice. Those advice cards are so wonderful. It's something I'll treasure forever.

I had everyone take a picture with me to use in the scrapbook. I don't know why we ended up doing it in front of the back door, but whatever. This one is my favorite:

Odd choice of favorite, right? But, guess how many people are in that picture. FIVE! Yep, Amy's pregnant with twins!

As with the first shower, everyone was so generous. David and I have really wonderful friends. I got everything that I needed to finish up my "must haves" list.

I did, however, notice an interesting phenomenon. People don't buy boy clothes like they do girl clothes. I remember Annie getting sooooo many cutsie girlie outfits. I got some adorable onesies but almost no outfits. Odd. I'm not complaining though-- I got lots of hand-me-downs from Cari so I don't really need much for the first year or so!

The third shower wasn't really a shower. I would've called it shower number two and a half, but I don't know how to say that in Spanish. Work (Tracy!) organized a lunch at the Olive Garden for us. About fifteen people showed up and it was a good time. What was particularly nice was that three levels of my bosses showed up and my old boss. David's boss was there too. Lots of other office friends came too. Tracy apparently sent an envelope around the office and collected enough cash to get us the Pack 'n Play! Again with the generosity. I'm blown away.

So, we're set. Really, really set. Just 5.5 more weeks.

Change is Good... I guess

Well, it's official. The mom car is here. It's fantastic and I love it...I just hate what it is. I always said,

"My mom never even had a four door car while we were growing up. And there were three of us! David and I will be just fine using our current cars. People who get SUVs for ONE child, let alone a BABY, are just dumb."

Well, Mom never had to have a rear-facing carseat...or a carseat at all, actually. I seem to remember holding baby Chase on my lap in the car... in the front seat. Alas, times have changed and it's amazing we're all still alive. And my, oh my, have I had to eat my words.

So, out with the old...

And in with the new...

 It's a badass mom car, but a mom car nonetheless. 

This is a New One...

We've all heard about the crazy things that happen during pregnancy. I feel like I've known someone with just about everything. This one, however, is completely new to me: pregnancy carpal tunnel.

For just over a week, I've been in really bad hand pain. I've found it nearly impossible to close my hand (and therefore grip door knobs, wash my hair, grab a gallon of milk, etc.) every morning. It gets better during the day-- presumably when the swelling all goes to my ankles. The doc confirmed that it's pregnancy carpal tunnel and it will probably go away after delivery. Lovely.

People Are Strange...

and rude and stupid.

The one thing I was most dreading about pregnancy was the comments from strangers...and some from people who are not strangers at all.

The very first comment from a stranger was about a month ago when I last traveled for work. It was a middle aged guy that was touring the plant with our group. We were looking at some airplane component. He leans over and says out of the corner of his mouth, "So, when are you due?" Pretty ballsy, dude. Pretty ballsy. I wasn't even 6 months at that point. I could've easily just been fat. He then proceeded to tell me about how uncomfortable his wife was during the end of her pregnancy. Apparently I looked uncomfortable. The flip flops must've given me away.

On that same trip, a bunch of people were waiting on an elevator. One came and filled up. Someone indicated that there were stairs right behind us. We all turn around to take the stairs (down two flights) and some lady looks at me and says, "You may not want to take the stairs." Huh? Are my legs broken? I said, "Oh no, down is not a problem. Once I get going, I have lots of momentum."  She didn't seem to think it was nearly as funny as I did.

Last week I was on a pepperoni roll mission. In Meijer, they keep the pepperoni on the end of the freezer isle. They also keep the summer sausages on the end of the freezer isle and no matter what I'm looking for, I always turn up the wrong isle. So, of course, I turned up the summer sausage isle but quickly realized and put it in reverse. A Meijer employee was stocking the freezer nearby and saw my maneuver. I sort of smiled at him and he says, "Yeah, the ice cream is up the next isle. That's what you're looking for, right?" Now, why would he assume I'm looking for ice cream? Unbelievable! I said, "No. Pepperoni." and just walked away. I have also had Meijer employees yell, "Ooooooooooh! What are you having?!" at me, attempt to guess what I'm having by intensely-- and I mean intensely, studying my stomach, and comment about the weight of the grocery bags-- "Let me know if any of these are too heavy for you." There's nothing you could put in a plastic grocery bag that could be too heavy for me. I'm not a delicate flower! I spend too much time in Meijer.

In JoAnn Fabric the other day, the cashier asked my due date. After I told her, she said, "Oh! You're gonna have a big 'un!" Um. WTF is that supposed to mean, Lady? A big 'un? I'm pretty sure she was saying that my stomach is quite large... except, it's not.

And the winner of stupid comments to date.... who else? Megaphone Man!

Me: Check out my ankles! Haha!
Megaphone Man: Those aren't ankles, those are cankles!
Me: Yeah, I know. Impressive, huh?
Megaphone Man: Your feet are plumped up like hot dogs in a microwave! I'm afraid they're about to split open!