the bathroom is a woman's domain

I'm back with pics of the new place before we moved in...Afters will come later. I'd like to finish a few more things before I show off the semi-final product. We still have a couple of things left for the baby's room: art and a mobile and a rug. Our bedroom is huge, and pretty much all we have is a bed, so one day a dresser and night stands would be nice. The living room is close to finished, but it needs an oatmeal colored shag rug and a couple of other things - its a bit cold and drab right now. And the kitchen could use some personality, but it is at the bottom of my list. Oh. And the bathroom... 

The baby's room, is also the front room of the shotgun house. To my back is our bedroom, and to the left is a door that leads to the foyer and front door. We won't be using the front door, though, because there is a side door that goes into the living room. 

This is our bedroom. The doorway on the right of the photo goes into the baby's room, and the open door in the baby's room leads to the foyer, and the sliver of window beyond is on the front door. Those two windows look onto a side porch that leads to the side door AKA our new front door. To the left, aligned with the doorway into the baby's room is the doorway to the living room.

This is our new front door, and just 2 feet to the right of the door is our bedroom doorway. We are using the space in front of that window as our dining area. Behind me is the kitchen, and to the right is the living space.

This picture was taken from the front door. The dining space is to the right, the kitchen is through that blue doorway, and the living space is where all the junk is. 

This is the kitchen before we got appliances. The stove and fridge are now on the wall to the left. The doorway to the living room is behind me, and the door to the bathroom is on the right. 

James put his personal decorating touch in here. I insisted that the bathroom is a woman's domain and that I had to have the black/gray/white oversized floral print shower curtain from Target for $19.99, but he had something else in mind. He thought he was being sneaky by hanging this shower curtain, but I let him do it. One of these days I will have my bathroom back, but for now, it's his...

Improvising before we put the legs on the chairs and brought in our dining table.

And this is James sleeping in. I told him that if he didn't get out of bed when I did, he'd have to make it. So he just asked me to make it with him in it. And then he passed back out. I'm not sure how he exited the bed when he woke up, but it was made, so I was happy. 

So in baby news, I am still progressing well, and on the 12th the doctor said that she'd expect to see the baby in the next 2 weeks. So, that would put me a little early, but I can't complain about that. I am so ready to get my body back! My progress so far:

35 weeks: 50% effaced, no dilation, soft cervix. Baby's head is down. 146.5 lbs

36 weeks: 50% effaced, fingertip dilation. 147.2 lbs

37 weeks: 75% effaced, almost 2 cm dilation. Baby is starting to engage. 147.2 lbs

I'm maintaining steady progress, and I hope it keeps up. I have Braxton Hicks contractions all the time (painless practice contractions, basically). But they are starting to hurt a little at night and come with lower back pain and cramping, which are the signs of real contractions. But from what I read, I could be in this in between stage for a while. 

Tonight we are going to ANOTHER wedding. I am looking forward to the cake, of course. 

Speaking of cake, James made me a cake for my birthday, and it was delicious. He iced and decorated it himself, and although it wasn't the prettiest thing I have ever seen, it hit the spot. I love cake....Anyway, he got me some flowers, a card and one of the prints I wanted from Etsy for the baby's room. His sister brought some flowers over, and his parents got me a microwave! I was really struggling without one. So my 30th came and went without any scandals, unfortunately :) But 31 is going to make up for it for sure. 

The other day James won tickets from the radio station to a Gillian Welch concert at the end of August. It looks like we have our first post-baby date planned!

I think that's all for now, but I should be back soon with after pictures!

That's my goal. Don't weigh 150 lbs.

So we are finally in our own place. We moved July 1 after James got off work and I got my official Kentucky driver license. We started around 3:30 in the afternoon, and James' parents and sister helped. We had 3 cars take 3 trips, and we had just about everything. Of course I wasn't allowed to lift heavy things, so I made frequent trips with small things, but overall, it was my easiest move ever. It helped that we hardly have anything, but the place is looking good and coming together nicely.

We bought that buffet/hutch I mentioned last time, a vintage olive green vinyl couch (I stick to it big time - booo), and a dining table, which is made out of recycled bowling lanes. We were given a dresser for the baby's room, a coffee table, a bed/mattress, the baby's bed and a glider by James' family. And I brought 2 dining chairs and an old wooden ironing board to the table. Because the house is old and has only one closet in the entire thing, the landlord furnished 2 armoires, one of which we are using as an entertainment center, and one in the baby's room.

We have a bunch of projects that we are working on. James is refinishing the bowling lane dining table and the coffee table. James' mom is painting the baby's dresser, and we picked out new hardware from the architectural salvage place. I am making new cushions for the glider and a bedskirt for the crib. We have a bunch of curtains to  make (because the ceilings, and therefore the windows, are really tall). There are more projects to do, but those are first on the list.

We still have to get a car, which is stressing me out. We need it before the baby comes, but we are also really weary about money because James' job lead has been put on hold for an unknown amount of time. So he is back to looking for a real job, and I am still doing the online work, but the hours have been slim.

But other than job/car (two huge things...) things are coming together. The baby's room is no longer a phantom baby's room. It is real! It won't look exactly like I planned because finances won't allow us to buy the rug or the art I wanted, but I am making some art, and a rug will come eventually. We are using our resources wisely to put the nursery together, and I like it better that way. There's no need to spend a fortune. I will put some photos up in the next few days.

On Sunday I hit 36 weeks (out of 40). Next Sunday I will be considered full term. We don't think she will be coming anytime soon though. There is some progress going on down there, but it is on schedule I think. July 31, here we come.

We have a list of about 5 first/middle name combos. So we are going to wait and give her her final name once she's born. I'm not going to tell you what they are, though.

I am pushing 150 lbs these days, which is tragic. But the last two dr visits (they are weekly), I have only gained .5 lbs, so if I keep that pace, I won't hit 150. That's my goal. Don't weigh 150 lbs. FYI I started at 119.

In other news, I'm turning 30 tomorrow. Woo (please note the sarcasm). I have no plans. No big "Dirty 30" party or night out on the town. Thanks, Baby.

I told James all I want is cake. He started looking at the "fancy" bakery's website. I told him he could get it from Wal Mart for all I care. I just want plain white cake. And maybe a back rub....

Guess that's all the news for now. Pics of the house to come soon.