Baby J to do list update - 10.08.10

29. That's the number of days until Baby J's due date...you read that right, twenty nine! OMG, I can't believe how soon that is. I have totally been slacking on updating my Baby J to do list, but I have been continuing to tackle the items, so I figure better late than never, right?! I looked back through my posts & saw that the last time I updated this was on September 17th! Definitely time do another one...time is running short & we still have a lot left to do. Here are the latest updates:

House Related:

• Buy new area rug for living room. 
• Find (or make) & install valance over sliding glass door (not so sure this one will get done - depends on how much the valance I like will cost).
• Mop hardwoods in all areas.
• Clean base boards throughout house.
• Scrub walls where Dizz grease spots are --> LOL, yes my dog leaves grease marks in the areas where he always leans against the walls! What? Your dog doesn't?! Hahahaha. Who knows WTH is up with that..my dog is a weirdo - he gets bathed/groomed like every other month...promise!
• Buy & have the hubbs put together Billy bookcase from Ikea in basement office area.
• Clean out basement utility storage closet. -- I wish I took before & afters...my husband seriously did an AMAZING job cleaning out this area. 
• Buy iPod Clock/Radio for MB.
• Find & buy *small* entertainment system for MB TV (this is a DH added to do, lol).
• Do the fall decorating! -- post showing all of this year's fall decor sometime next week!
• Steam clean Dizz grease spots where he lays on the carpet - just like on the walls for the stairs, if he lays in one spot a lot, the grease from his coat makes that spot on the carpet dirty...eww!  
• ADDED: Buy & install new storm door. -- Because of the specific one we wanted, we had to get it special ordered, so we did that last weekend & are now waiting on it to come in!
  

Baby J/Nursery Related: 

 
Baby J Stuff (in no particular order)- 

• Take childbirth class - scheduled for September 26, 2010!
• Buy a few nursing tanks, sports bras & lounge pants. -- I got a these nursing bras the other day from Motherhood Maternity:

 

I plan to use these along with sports bras I already have. I also picked up a couple pairs of lounge pants from Old Navy in one size larger than my pre-pregnancy size for comfort & will use those along with lounge pants I already own. I decided against nursing tops altogether & will just stick with the bras & comfy regular t-shirts &tank tops. I didn't want to buy a whole bunch of nursing wear when I'm not sure how long I'll nurse &/or not sure how long I'll wear the stuff even if I nurse for a long time.

• Return any stuff we get duplicates of; freecycle/donate {hand-me-down} clothes we won't use. 
• ADDED: Buy any items not received as gifts that we will need immediately. -- Babies 'R Us has a pretty great sale this weekend, so I'll likely tackle this one today or tomorrow. We don't need much, mainly just the monitor, maybe a couple blankets (I surprisingly didn't get many as gifts, but my mom did give me several hand me down blankets) & several burp cloths (again, didn't get many as gifts, but I plan to buy two packs of the Gerber Cloth Diaper inserts & use those...I hear they are awesome to use as burp cloths).
• Pack hospital bag. -- Yeah, ummm...I need to get on this one. Hoping to tackle it this weekend!
• Install car seat in my SUV & get installation inspected.

  
Nursery Stuff -

• Hang curtains (on hold until we get the hardware in early Oct. :o( ).
• Put up remaining leaves/berries on tree & "blow" them around windows (also on hold until curtains are put up).
• Hang framed "Beautiful" & "Miracle" [ReDeemed] Unique wall art (also on hold until curtains are put up).
• Buy remaining frames for photo wall. 
• Wash all clothes & blankets; put away in drawers.-- I did one round of washing already, plan to do the rest this weekend.

Financial Related:

• Make 529 (college savings) plan choice & get/read enrollment info. -- Read all the info - just need to make a final decision now.
• Look into life insurance coverage & discuss/make any necessary adjustments. 
  

M'wah Related:

• Change name with electric company, school loans & long-term savings bank account (no, I still haven't done the name changes on a few accounts). 
• Finalize maternity leave plan, type it up & submit it to my supervisor & team leader; put leave requests in time tracking system.
• Get hair cut & straightened before due date. LOL, for some reason I want my hair straight when the baby's born (it's more manageable that way than in its natural CURLY state), so if I have time, I'm gonna try & keep it straight for the few weeks leading up to my due date. 
• Pick out design for birth announcements (so that I can order them soon after she arrives); make address labels for envelopes. 
• ADDED: Write & send out all thank you notes. -- I got all of them done for the gifts from Baby J's first shower, now I need to write & send the ones for shower #2!

So that's my update, we have gotten a whole lot done & still have a decent amount of work to do! The good thing is most of the labor intensive & major stuff is out of the way. And, if you look closely at the nursery to do's, we are all D-O-N-E with the nursery, woooooot! I'm so excited to show it off - big reveal coming up on Tuesday (since Monday's a holiday)!!! Last day of work in the office - October 29 - only 21 days to go! And only 4 weeks left till Baby J's due date - please come on time little one, mommy & dad can't wait to meet you. Gotta run now so I can work on tackling some more of this list. I'll be back later this weekend or sometime next week with my 35-36 week pregnancy update, to show off my fall decor & of course, Tuesday's BIG reveal of the nursery! Hope everyone has a wonderful Columbus Day weekend!! 'Till next time!

Baby J to do list update - 09.17.10

The weeks just keep flying by! This week at work has been crazy as usual, but I'm getting close to the end of my workload for the fiscal year, then I will just concentrate on clearing up any loose ends before I go out on maternity leave! Clearly this update is a little late this week, but I have been working like an insane person & not getting home till nearly 7PM during the week, so my time to blog has been reduced. After next week, hopefully my life will be back to normal - or mostly normal. :)

Now on to my list...we actually got a lot done over the past week or so, and I'm happy to say I think it'll all  get done (at least all of the REALLY important stuff) before our little girl arrives! I think I'm definitely slowing down, so it's making it hard for me to get too much done. My fall decor is definitely coming along, but I'm waiting on a shipment from Save on Crafts (GREAT discount online craft shop!) to finish up my DR centerpiece - hopefully it'll turn out good! 

House Related:

• Get gutters cleaned. -- I think we decided not to do this, we don't think it's necessary this year, so this one will be gone next list update.
• Clean under the deck area; get rid of any debris in that area.
• Buy new area rug for living room. -- We are now leaning towards having no area rug at all - wdyt? I'm kinda nervous to have nothing at all, but it is a pain because Dizzle's hair gets all over it & it can't be too light because he gets it dirty too with his body oil, lol. Sheesh - what a weirdo dog we have! 
• Find (or make) & install valance over sliding glass door (not so sure this one will get done - depends on how much the valance I like will cost).
• Mop hardwoods in all areas.
• Organize pantry.
• Make room in kitchen cabinets for baby stuff.
• Clean base boards throughout house.
• Scrub walls where Dizz grease spots are --> LOL, yes my dog leaves grease marks in the areas where he always leans against the walls! What? Your dog doesn't?! Hahahaha. Who knows WTH is up with that..my dog is a weirdo - he gets bathed/groomed like every other month...promise!
• Buy & have the hubbs put together Billy bookcase from Ikea in basement office area.
• Clean out basement utility storage closet.
• Buy iPod Clock/Radio for MB.
• Find & buy *small* entertainment system for MB TV (this is a DH added to do, lol).
• Do the fall decorating!
• Steam clean Dizz grease spots where he lays on the carpet - just like on the walls for the stairs, if he lays in one spot a lot, the grease from his coat makes that spot on the carpet dirty...eww! 

Baby J/Nursery Related: 

 
Baby J Stuff (in no particular order)- 

• Do hospital tour - Re-scheduled for September 16, 2010!
• Take childbirth class - scheduled for September 26, 2010!
• Pre-register with hospital.
• Gather several recipes for frozen meals (to eat after baby gets here). -- Starting to think that I may not do this, so this will likely be off the list next week. I figure our freezer space is pretty limited as is & either the hubbs or I can take turns cooking meals & there's always take out!
• Buy a few nursing tanks, sports bras & lounge pants.
• Return any stuff we get duplicates of; freecycle/donate {hand-me-down} clothes we won't use.
• Pack hospital bag. 
• Install car seat in my SUV & get installation inspected.
• Cook freezer meals (between 35-37 weeks). -- See note above; this one will likely be removed next week.

  
Nursery Stuff -

• Measure & put in drawer liners in dresser/changer combo. -- I just found some cute green striped contact paper liner from WalMart to use for the drawers. I have seen lots of people do the whole cutesy paper + Modge Podge, which I LOVE. But since her drawers are brand new, I didn't want to line them with something that involved the use of glue. Plus, this paper can just be easily pulled up & switched out if necessary. Here it is in her drawers:

• Hang curtains (on hold until we get the hardware in early Oct. :o( )
• Put up remaining leaves/berries on tree & "blow" them around windows (also on hold until curtains are put up).
• Hang framed "Beautiful" & "Miracle" [ReDeemed] Unique wall art (also on hold until curtains are put up).
• Buy remaining frames for photo wall. -- I ordered most of them, I just need to select & order her first year frame!
• Wash all clothes & blankets; put away in drawers.

Financial Related:

• Make 529 (college savings) plan choice & get/read enrollment info. -- Read all the info - just need to make a final decision now.
• Look into life insurance coverage & discuss/make any necessary adjustments.
• Find out process for changing over health & dental insurance for the baby & I to the hubb's policy - we both work for the Federal Government & it was cheaper to have separate insurance until we had a little one, then switch to the family coverage.

M'wah Related:

• Change name with electric company, school loans & long-term savings bank account (no, I still haven't done the name changes on a few accounts).
• Get physical done at PCP.
• Finalize maternity leave plan, type it up & submit it to my supervisor & team leader; put leave requests in time tracking system.
• Get hair cut & straightened before due date. LOL, for some reason I want my hair straight when the baby's born (it's more manageable that way than in its natural CURLY state), so if I have time, I'm gonna try & keep it straight for the few weeks leading up to my due date.
• Pick out design for birth announcements (so that I can order them soon after she arrives); make address labels for envelopes.

So that's it for this week! We are definitely making progress & most of the major stuff is done! Our baby shower #1 is tomorrow afternoon & I'm so excited! My main baby shower is in two weeks! I remember when they were both scheduled, I thought we had soooo long till they got here, now they are both just around the corner, woot! I heart cute baby stuff, so I'm excited to see what all of our friends & family give to Baby J! Gotta run now so I can start packing & I need to get my nails/eyebrows done too. I'll be back after this weekend with my 33 week pregnancy update, shower pics & update on the maternity tour we did last night! And I still owe you guys my fall decor inspirations - I should maybe get that up before I finish the fall decor, huh?! Hahaha. 'Till next time!

Baby J to do list update - 09.08.10

The weeks just keep flying by! I had a GREAT long weekend, we went to the VA Tech vs. Boise State season opener game on Monday & had a blast! Makes me wish I went to a big football school (we {George Mason University} are a basketball school), but since I'm from VA, I routed for VA Tech ::wink::. Unfortunately, they lost in the last minute of the game, boo. I definitely want to go to more college games soon - that was a blast.

Now on to my list...we got less done this week than in the past couple of weeks, but it's still coming along! I think I'm definitely slowing down, so it's making it hard for me to get too much done. I have been working on my fall decor a lot over the past week, but like I said in my last list update, I don't want to cross stuff off my list until it's completely finished - that way I'm not cheating. ;)

House Related:

• Get gutters cleaned. 
• Clean under the deck area; get rid of any debris in that area.
• Buy new area rug for living room. -- We went to 3 different stores looking for a new rug this weekend, no luck. So I'm going to start scouring the internet this week.
• Clean out front closet. -- Last week I mentioned wanting to get a cheap basket to put my winter scarves & gloves in. Instead of buying one, I just re-purposed a basket I had hanging out in my {in transition} craft/desk area in the basement.
• Find (or make) & install valance over sliding glass door (not so sure this one will get done - depends on how much the valance I like will cost).
• Mop hardwoods in all areas.
• Organize pantry.
• Make room in kitchen cabinets for baby stuff
• Clean base boards throughout house.
• Scrub walls where Dizz grease spots are --> LOL, yes my dog leaves grease marks in the areas where he always leans against the walls! What? Your dog doesn't?! Hahahaha. Who knows WTH is up with that..my dog is a weirdo - he gets bathed/groomed like every other month...promise!
• Buy & have the hubbs put together Billy bookcase from Ikea in basement office area.
• Clean out basement utility storage closet.
• Buy iPod Clock/Radio for MB.
• Find & buy *small* entertainment system for MB TV (this is a DH added to do, lol).
• Do the fall decorating!
• Steam clean Dizz grease spots where he lays on the carpet - just like on the walls for the stairs, if he lays in one spot a lot, the grease from his coat makes that spot on the carpet dirty...eww! 
• ADDED: Install new toilet seat cover on powder room toilet. -- Our old one was damaged on the hinges for a while & then it came clear off during my birthday BBQ bash from all those people putting it up & down!

Baby J/Nursery Related: 

 
Baby J Stuff (in no particular order)- 

• Buy onesie from our alma mater - she MUST have one since her daddy & I went to the same school...it's where we met!
• Make appointment to meet with pediatrician & tour office.
• Do hospital tour - Re-scheduled for September 16, 2010!
• Take childbirth class - scheduled for September 26, 2010!
• Pre-register with hospital. -- got the paperwork from my Dr. & I have filled it out & will turn it in during the hospital tour on September 16th.
• Gather several recipes for frozen meals (to eat after baby gets here).
• Buy a few nursing tanks, sports bras & lounge pants.
• Return any stuff we get duplicates of; freecycle/donate {hand-me-down} clothes we won't use.
• Pack hospital bag. 
• Install car seat in my SUV & get installation inspected.
• Cook freezer meals (between 35-37 weeks).

  
Nursery Stuff -

• Measure & put in drawer liners in dresser/changer combo.
• Hang curtains (on hold until we get the hardware in early Oct. :o( )
• Put up remaining leaves/berries on tree & "blow" them around windows (also on hold until curtains are put up).
• Hang framed "Beautiful" & "Miracle" [ReDeemed] Unique wall art (also on hold until curtains are put up).
• Buy remaining frames for photo wall.
• Buy TV for bookshelf - yes, we are putting a TV in the baby's room...it's more for us than the baby & we decided we wanted one in there for late night sessions with the babe. -- I think we decided to wait on buying the TV until Black Friday (to get a better deal), so next week I'll remove this item since it's not going to be done before the babe gets here.
• Wash all clothes & blankets; put away in drawers.

Financial Related:

• Make 529 (college savings) plan choice & get/read enrollment info. -- Read all the info - just need to make a final decision now.
• Look into life insurance coverage & discuss/make any necessary adjustments.
• Find out process for changing over health & dental insurance for the baby & I to the hubb's policy - we both work for the Federal Government & it was cheaper to have separate insurance until we had a little one, then switch to the family coverage. -- The hubbs called his HR representative today to ask about this & is awaiting a response from her.

M'wah Related:

• Change name with electric company, school loans & long-term savings bank account (no, I still haven't done the name changes on a few accounts).
• Get physical done at PCP.
• Finalize maternity leave plan, type it up & submit it to my supervisor & team leader; put leave requests in time tracking system.
• Order Thank You notes for shower gifts.
• Get hair cut & straightened before due date. LOL, for some reason I want my hair straight when the baby's born (it's more manageable that way than in its natural CURLY state), so if I have time, I'm gonna try & keep it straight for the few weeks leading up to my due date.
• Pick out design for birth announcements (so that I can order them soon after she arrives); make address labels for envelopes.

So we got five items fully completed & I have started on several others. Overall, I think we are still on track to get most, if not all, of the list completed! I will try to post this week's pregnancy update, the Project Nursery bedding selection & my fall decor plans this week, but my stupid work computer is infected or something, so our IT people took it & I need to get a  loaner until mine is all better. The problem with that is that it takes FOREVER to get a freaking loaner, which means I may have to go in this weekend & get some work done because I have done absolutely NOTHING due to my computer issues. Boooooo to computer viruses. They suck. On the plus side - the hubbs is going out of town on Saturday, so I don't really have anything to do anyways AND I get comp time that I can use during my maternity leave, woot! So hopefully I'll be back with all those updates soon! 'Till next time!

Baby J to do list update - 09.01.10

Wowza, the last week went by sooo quickly! I think I got a decent amount done on my list over the past week, but I still clearly have lots left to do, so it's time to get my booty into gear. A lot of stuff has been partially done, so in the spirit of not faking myself out, no item will get crossed off unless it is completely done. So here are this week's updates:

House Related:

• Get gutters cleaned. 
• Clean under the deck area; get rid of any debris in that area.
• Buy new area rug for living room.
• Buy new throw blanket for couches. -- I had a 10% off PB coupon + the throw I had been lusting over was on sale, so I ordered it:

Photo Credit

The PB Essential throw - omg, doesn't it just look so cuddly & soft?! I can wait to curl up on the couch with my baby girl, my hubby & this throw. :) I got it in Dark Ivory & I think I'll pair it up nicely with the knock off brown buttoned PBK pillows & these pretty & rich orange pillows that I already own from Target!

• Clean out front closet. -- Got started on this, but I think I need to get a cheap basket or something to organize the stuff on the top shelf.
• Clean out & magazine & odds & ends baskets in LR.
• Find (or make) & install valance over sliding glass door {not so sure this one will get done - depends on how much the valance I like will cost}.
• Mop hardwoods in all areas.
• Organize pantry.
• Make room in kitchen cabinets for baby stuff
• Clean base boards throughout house.
• Scrub walls where Dizz grease spots are --> LOL, yes my dog leaves grease marks in the areas where he always leans against the walls! What? Your dog doesn't?! Hahahaha. Who knows WTH is up with that..my dog is a weirdo - he gets bathed/groomed like every other month...promise!
• Buy & have the hubbs put together Billy bookcase from Ikea in basement office area.
• Clean out basement utility storage closet.
• Buy iPod Clock/Radio for MB.
• Find & buy *small* entertainment system for MB TV (this is a DH added to do, lol).
• Do the fall decorating!
• Steam clean Dizz grease spots where he lays on the carpet - just like on the walls for the stairs, if he lays in one spot a lot, the grease from his coat makes that spot on the carpet dirty...eww!

Baby J/Nursery Related: 

 
Baby J Stuff (in no particular order)- 

• Buy onesie from our alma mater - she MUST have one since her daddy & I went to the same school...it's where we met!
• Make appointment to meet with & tour pediatrician's office - I think I know who her pedi will be (got referrals), we just need to make sure they take our insurance & go out to see the office/meet the Drs.
• Do hospital tour - scheduled for September 9, 2010, woot!
• Take childbirth class - scheduled for September 26, 2010!
• Pre-register with hospital. -- got the paperwork from my Dr. & I have filled it out & will turn it in during the hospital tour on September 9th.
• Gather several recipes for frozen meals (to eat after baby gets here).
• Buy a few nursing tanks, sports bras & lounge pants.
• Return any stuff we get duplicates of; freecycle/donate {hand-me-down} clothes we won't use.
• Pack hospital bag. 
• Install car seat in my SUV & get installation inspected.
• Cook freezer meals (between 35-37 weeks).

  
Nursery Stuff -

• Measure & put in liners in dresser/changer combo.
• Hang curtains (on hold until we get the hardware in early Oct. :o( )
• Put up remaining leaves/berries on tree & "blow" them around windows (also on hold until curtains are put up).
• Hang framed "Beautiful" & "Miracle" [ReDeemed] Unique wall art (also on hold until curtains are put up).
• Buy remaining frames for photo wall.
• Buy TV for bookshelf - yes, we are putting a TV in the baby's room...it's more for us than the baby & we decided we wanted one in there for late night sessions with the babe.
• Super secret DIY lamp project - it's only a secret for a few days until I get the post on it together. ;op -- Post on this cutie coming up tomorrow!!
• Make pom poms to hang over crib.
• Wash all clothes & blankets; put away in drawers.

Financial Related:

• Make 529 (college savings) plan choice & get/read enrollment info. -- Got the info all printed, now we need to read it & make a final decision.
• Look into life insurance coverage & discuss/make any necessary adjustments.
• Find out process for changing over health & dental insurance for the baby & I to the hubb's policy - we both work for the Federal Government & it was cheaper to have separate insurance until we had a little one, then switch to the family coverage.

M'wah Related:

• Change name with electric company, school loans & long-term savings bank account (no, I still haven't done the name changes on a few accounts).
• Get physical done at PCP.
• Finalize maternity leave plan, type it up & submit it to my supervisor & team leader; put leave requests in time tracking system.
• Order Thank You notes for shower gifts.
• Get hair cut & straightened before due date. LOL, for some reason I want my hair straight when the baby's born (it's more manageable that way than in its natural CURLY state), so if I have time, I'm gonna try & keep it straight for the few weeks leading up to my due date.
• Pick out design for birth announcements (so that I can order them soon after she arrives); make address labels for envelopes.

So that's it for this week - I'm making some headway, but still have lots to get done. I am still on track with my goal of getting 3-5 items marked off the list each week. This weekend coming up is a long one, so I'm hoping to get a lot of the house stuff done. Clearly I need to work on the "me" list a little more too! What about all of you - are any of you working on some sort of running to do list? How'd you do over the past week? Tomorrow I will be doing another Project Nursery post on my lamp makeover - it came out pretty darn cute thanks to some help from my favorite tool - the hubbs ::wink::. 'Till next time!

Baby J to do list update - 08.26.10

I had originally planned on doing this update yesterday & every Wednesday after that until the baby arrives or until I finish this list off...whichever comes first (preferably finishing the list up)! But I was SO busy yesterday running around, that I did not get a chance to do it, so I'm posting it now! Know you will think I am insane, but I have added just a few things from last week, BUT I also got a bunch of stuff crossed off too! The plan is to show completed items with a strikethrough line over them as they are completed & then not show them on the following week's list, that way you easily can see everything I accomplished each week. So, here goes - this week's updates:

House Related:

• Get gutters cleaned. 
• Clean under the deck area; get rid of any debris in that area.
• Buy new area rug for living room.
• Buy new throw blanket for couches.
• Clean out front closet.
• Clean out & magazine & odds & ends baskets in LR.
• Find (or make) & install valance over sliding glass door {not so sure this one will get done - depends on how much the valance I like will cost}.
• Mop hardwoods in all areas; I usually do only a few good moppings a year - I spot clean with our steam mop in between time.
• Scrub kitchen cabinets & pantry door.
• Organize pantry.
• Clean & organize Lazy Susan spice shelves. -- post on that FUN process coming soon!
  
• Make room in kitchen cabinets for baby stuff
• Clean base boards throughout house.
• Scrub walls where Dizz grease spots are --> LOL, yes my dog leaves grease marks in the areas where he always leans against the walls! What? Your dog doesn't?! Hahahaha. Who knows WTH is up with that..my dog is a weirdo - he gets bathed/groomed like every other month...promise!
• Buy & have the hubbs put together Billy bookcase from Ikea in basement office area.
• Clean out basement utility storage closet.
• Freecycle/CL any stuff hanging out in the basement that we no longer need/use.
• Buy iPod Clock/Radio for MB.
• Find & buy *small* entertainment system for MB TV (this is a DH added to do, lol).
• Do the fall decorating - this is a whole 'nother post...coming soon!
• ADDED: Steam clean Dizz grease spots where he lays on the carpet - just like on the walls for the stairs, if he lays in one spot a lot, the grease from his coat makes that spot on the carpet dirty...eww!

Baby J/Nursery Related: 

 
Baby J Stuff (in no particular order)- 

• Send final updates to baby shower guest list to older sis.
• Select package for & schedule 3/4D ultrasound, then book appointment!
• Buy onesie from our alma mater - she MUST have one since her daddy & I went to the same school...it's where we met!
• Make appointment to meet with & tour pediatrician's office - I think I know who her pedi will be (got referrals), we just need to make sure they take our insurance & go out to see the office/meet the Drs.
• Do hospital tour - scheduled for September 9, 2010, woot!
• Take childbirth class - scheduled for September 21 & 26, 2010!
• Pre-register with hospital.
• Gather several recipes for frozen meals (to eat after baby gets here).
• Buy a few nursing tanks, sports bras & lounge pants.
• Return any stuff we get duplicates of; freecycle/donate {hand-me-down} clothes we won't use.
• Pack hospital bag. 
• Install car seat in my SUV & get installation inspected.
• Cook freezer meals (between 35-37 weeks).

Nursery Stuff -

• Change out door hardware to brushed nickle (it's brass {bleh}, just like everything else in this house that we haven't already changed out yet).
• Find new closet door pulls & change them out OR spray paint the brass ones & see if they'll work.  -- we ended up spray painting them white for now & it looks fine; we will eventually switch them out for brushed nickle when we find good looking, affordable ones.
• Measure & put in liners in dresser/changer combo.
• Hang curtains (on hold until we get the hardware in early Oct. :o( )
• Put up remaining leaves/berries on tree & "blow" them around windows (also on hold until curtains are put up).
• Hang framed "Beautiful" & "Miracle" [ReDeemed] Unique wall art.
• Have Ashley (my little sistah's BFF) do canvas art for over the closet door. -- here is what she came up with:

Isn't it adorable?! This owl canvas wall art from Target was her inspiration! I think she did a fabulous job...and she's only 17!!

• Buy remaining frames for photo wall - more on this lata.
• Buy TV for bookshelf - yes, we are putting a TV in the baby's room...it's more for us than the baby & we decided we wanted one in there for late night sessions with the babe.
• Super secret DIY lamp project - it's only a secret for a few days until I get the post on it together. ;op -- Got started on this, waiting on some material to finish it up!!
• Make pom poms to hang over crib.
• Wash all clothes & blankets; put away in drawers.

Financial Related:

• Make 529 (college savings) plan choice & get/read enrollment info.
• Look into life insurance coverage & discuss/make any necessary adjustments.
• Find out process for changing over health & dental insurance for the baby & I to the hubb's policy - we both work for the Federal Government & it was cheaper to have separate insurance until we had a little one, then switch to the family coverage.

M'wah Related:

• Get filling in tooth where brackets previously were (I got a cavity from when I had braces & the bracket was...boo). -- Went to the dentist yesterday & found out that I actually need a freakin' crown! This is now going to wait until after Baby J arrives. In the mean time, they put a build up material to maintain the existing tooth.
• Change name with electric company, school loans & long-term savings bank account (no, I still haven't done the name changes on a few accounts).
• Get physical done at PCP.
• Finalize maternity leave plan, type it up & submit it to my supervisor & team leader; put leave requests in time tracking system.
• Order Thank You notes for shower gifts.
• Get hair cut & straightened before due date. LOL, for some reason I want my hair straight when the baby's born (it's more manageable that way than in its natural CURLY state), so if I have time, I'm gonna try & keep it straight for the few weeks leading up to my due date.
• Pick out design for birth announcements (so that I can order them soon after she arrives); make address labels for envelopes.

So those are my updates - I am on track with my original goal of getting 3-5 items done a week, woot! Wish me luck this weekend tackling some more of the list. Tonight/tomorrow I'll be posting my 29 week update in addition to 5QF!! 'Till next time!

I'm making a list & checking it twice...

But it has nothing to do with finding out who's naughty or nice, lol. Not funny?! Okay. But seriously, I have finally gotten the chance to sit down & write out a comprehensive pre-Baby J to do list. I'm nearly 29 weeks pregnant now, so perhaps I should have done this sooner...but I didn't b/c I have been crazy busy this summer. That's neither here nor there though - I'm handling it now & that's all that matters. I plan to update this every Wednesday with progress. My goal is to mark off a minimum of 3-5 items each week. Some of the stuff will need to wait until a bit later, but for the things that can be done now...then I'd really love to do them. I'm sure I'll be adding stuff to my list as the next few weeks go by & after we have the baby showers we'll of course have to go out & buy any important remaining items. The less I have to do later on in my pregnancy, the better!

So, for this list, I decided to break it up by house, baby/nursery related, financial & miscellaneous/personal to dos. Just FYI - you may have seen some of these things before in the spring/summer cleaning to do list I posted. Sadly, the summer is nearly over & all of those things have not yet been done! Some stuff is going to have to wait until after the baby gets here, but you will see a few things from that list too. Okay, enough intro, here goes!

House Related:

• Get gutters cleaned. 
• Clean under the deck area; get rid of any debris in that area.
• Buy new area rug for living room.
• Buy new throw blanket for couches.
• Clean out front closet.
• Clean out & magazine & odds & ends baskets in LR.
• Find (or make) & install valance over sliding glass door {not so sure this one will get done - depends on how much the valance I like will cost}.
• Mop hardwoods in all areas; I usually do only a few good moppings a year - I spot clean with our steam mop in between time.
• Scrub kitchen cabinets & pantry door.
• Organize pantry.
• Clean & organize Lazy Susan spice shelves.
• Make room in kitchen cabinets for baby stuff
• Clean base boards throughout house.
• Scrub walls where Dizz grease spots are --> LOL, yes my dog leaves grease marks in the areas where he always leans against the walls! What? Your dog doesn't?! Hahahaha. Who knows WTH is up with that..my dog is a weirdo - he gets bathed/groomed like every other month...promise!
• Buy & have the hubbs put together Billy bookcase from Ikea in basement office area.

I either want this one:

 

 Or this one:

I need to do some measuring down there to figure out which size would work best in the area.

• Clean out basement utility storage closet.
• Freecycle/CL any stuff hanging out in the basement that we no longer need/use.
• Buy iPod Clock/Radio for MB.
• Find & buy *small* entertainment system for MB TV (this is a DH added to do, lol).
• Do the fall decorating - this is a whole 'nother post...coming soon!

Baby J/Nursery Related: 

 
Baby J Stuff (in no particular order)- 

• Send final updates to baby shower guest list to older sis.
• Select package for & schedule 3/4D ultrasound, then book appointment!
• Buy onesie from our alma mater - she MUST have one since her daddy & I went to the same school...it's where we met!
• Make appointment to meet with & tour pediatrician's office - I think I know who her pedi will be (got referrals), we just need to make sure they take our insurance & go out to see the office/meet the Drs.
• Do hospital tour - scheduled for September 9, 2010, woot!
• Take childbirth class - scheduled for September 21 & 26, 2010!
• Pre-register with hospital.
• Gather several recipes for frozen meals (to eat after baby gets here).
• Buy a few nursing tanks, sports bras & lounge pants.
• Return any stuff we get duplicates of; freecycle/donate {hand-me-down} clothes we won't use.
• Pack hospital bag. 
• Install car seat in my SUV & get installation inspected.
• Cook freezer meals (between 35-37 weeks).

Nursery Stuff -

• Change out door hardware to brushed nickle (it's brass {bleh}, just like everything else in this house that we haven't already changed out yet).
• Find new closet door pulls & change them out OR spray paint the brass ones & see if they'll work.
• Measure & put in liners in dresser/changer combo.
• Hang curtains (on hold until we get the hardware in early Oct. :o( )
• Put up remaining leaves/berries on tree & "blow" them around windows (also on hold until curtains are put up).
• Hang framed "Beautiful" & "Miracle" [ReDeemed] Unique wall art, here is a pic of it - I LOVE it:

• Have Ashley (my little sistah's BFF) do canvas art for over the closet door.
• Buy remaining frames for photo wall - more on this lata.
• Buy TV for bookshelf - yes, we are putting a TV in the baby's room...it's more for us than the baby & we decided we wanted one in there for late night sessions with the babe.
• Super secret DIY lamp project - it's only a secret for a few days until I get the post on it together. ;op
• Make pom poms to hang over crib.
• Wash all clothes & blankets; put away in drawers.

Financial Related:

• Make 529 (college savings) plan choice & get/read enrollment info.
• Decide on cord blood banking - we are leaning towards donating the cord blood to a public bank.
• Look into life insurance coverage & discuss/make any necessary adjustments.
• Find out process for changing over health & dental insurance for the baby & I to the hubb's policy - we both work for the Federal Government & it was cheaper to have separate insurance until we had a little one, then switch to the family coverage.

M'wah Related:

• Get filling in tooth where brackets previously were (I got a cavity from when I had braces & the bracket was...boo).
• Change name with electric company, school loans & long-term savings bank account (no, I still haven't done the name changes on a few accounts).
• Get physical done at PCP.
• Finalize maternity leave plan, type it up & submit it to my supervisor & team leader; put leave requests in time tracking system.
• Order Thank You notes for shower gifts.
• Get hair cut & straightened before due date. LOL, for some reason I want my hair staright when the baby's born (it's more manageable that way than in its natural CURLY state), so if I have time, I'm gonna try & keep it straight for the few weeks leading up to my due date.
• Pick out design for birth announcements (so that I can order them soon after she arrives); make address labels for envelopes.

Whew. I *think* that's it. :o/ I have LOTS to do, right?! Better get on it...hopefully I can get it all done before Baby J makes her appearance!! Wish me luck! Up next...answers all of you asked during my GTKM CSN Stores Giveaway. 'Till next time!

Revisiting the list - Part I

Hey there everyone! This past weekend (including Friday) has been SO busy for us, which is why I did not participate in this week's 5QF, but I'll be back to normal this week. I have officially hit the halfway point in my pregnancy, so I am trying to take a look back at our spring/summer/getting-ready-for-Baby J to do list now to see how much more we have to get done. And also since it's the first day of summer, I decided it might be a good time to take a look at what we have gotten done already and what we still need to do. So, here goes:

As a reminder, I split up our list into several sections to better organize the list. I'm really type-A and love to organize & then organize again, lol.

• Part I: exterior of the house - front & back yard, back deck & patio.
• Part II: main level - entryway, living room, kitchen
• Part III: upper level - both bedrooms (including closets), bathroom, attic
• Part IV: lower level - basement, basement bath, under stairs storage area, utility storage area, laundry room.

After breaking up the parts of the house, I started my to do list for each area. I have already deleted the items that were done as of the original post on that area, but this post will focus on Part I only.

Front Yard To Do's:

• Possibly remove tree completely (need HOA approval to do this).
• Pull up weeds in flower beds & around tree.
• Plant annuals & re-mulch.
• Get house & stairs power washed.

I am happy to report that we have essentially finished this area! We decied not to remove the evergreen tree right next to our stairs & just got the large branch that was damaged during the crazy snow storms this past winter tied with a clear plastict tie to the main body of the tree - looks good as new. We also decided that the house did not need to be power washed this year, but we did get the stairs done, along with the front sidewalk due to that oil spill. My husband attempted to plant gass seed, but that didn't work out too well, so we hired a contartctor to lay down sod. Since it was a small area, they didn't charge us much at all. You can view additional photos of the area before on my Spring Cleaning - Part I original post, but I snapped one more before we got the sod laid:

This was taken right before the sod was laid - most of our grass was killed by the snow & then by us attempting to plant new grasss - obviously NOT our specialty. So we brought in the experts (best.money.ever.spent)...and here's what it looks like now:

A yard that we can actually be proud of! I can hardly take any sort of credit for this outcome - I really owe all the credit to the contarctor who laid the sod for us & my wonderful hubby who got up early every morning to water the grass & goes out every several weeks to weed the area. And now it looks awesome!

Back (upper level) Deck To Do's: 

Embarassingly, we have pretty much neglected this area once again this year. Now that my husband has finished most of the assembly of the nursery stuff, he may get around to working on our deck. We were actually waiting for quite some time for word from our HOA on the approved deck stain colors, which we received in early June, but by then we were already busy with other house & baby stuff. So while we may get around to this area before the end of the summer, it's doubtful. If we get to anything, I'd love to see the deck get re-stained and sealed, but unfortunately, in my current pregnant state, I am of little to no help in this area, so it may ahve to wait until next spring, when I can help out. Sadly, we have crossed nothing off this part of the to do list. :o(

• Look for & purchase an outdoor dining set (we currently have a cheapo plastic set).
• Get deck power washed.
• Re-stain & seal the deck.

Perhaps I was a little too ambitious? :oP It doesn't necessarily look bad in this area, it could just stand a little TLC, you know? Sigh.

Back Yard & (lower level) Patio To Do's:


This area has also undergone a complete transformation! We used the same contractor to lay sod in theback that did the front yard & they did an amazing job back here as well. Again, my husband deserves the credit for the up-keep of this area - without him, our little bit less than $300 sod investment (for the front and back yards), would have most likely gone to waste.

• Get sod laid surrounding the patio.
• Clean under the deck area, get rid of any debris in that area.
• Fix exterior water spout (it has never worked since we bought the house; but we need it for the sod!!
• Buy a small sitting/bistro set for the patio.

As you can see, we still need to clean out under the deck area (there are a few spots where small weeds have grown in & I'd also like put down new rocks back there to cover the old, dirty rocks, but overall, the backyard area looks 1,000 times better!! I don't have any true before photos of this area because it was pretty embarassing. The previous owners had so much shrubery and crap back there that it literally looked like a jungle. We never went out there - not even the dog, so the only "before" photos I have are truly the "in progress" photos that I took shortlay after all the debris and weeds were removed, and you can check out my original post on this area for those photos. And now for the after:

::tear drops:: I am seriously SO happy with how this turned out. It looks fab compared to what we started out with. We will likely eventually buy a small bistro-type set to sit down there, but for now, it's just nice to have a decent looking patio area.

In other news, I have been accumulating (read: shopping like crazy) sooooo much cute baby stuff that I need to devote a separate post just to that! This week is sure to be hectic as well since my little sister is graduating from high school & my nephew's 2nd birthday is this week, but I have several posts lined up including the rest of the house spring cleaning updates, a new project nursery post & of course, my weekly pregnancy post. Lots going on over in the World of Dennifer. So, what about you? Have you completely finished your spring cleaning, or do you still have lots to do?! Please tell me I'm not alone in being a spring cleaning slacker!

Spring Cleaning - Part Deux

Finally right?! OMG, life has been so busy the last few weeks & I have been procrastinating on actually putting this list in writing. Don't ask me why, but I feel like if I blog it, I must DO IT, lol. But, I got a lot done at work today, so I'm taking my last 30'sih minutes at the office to put up this list...finally. This list will be for the main & upper levels of our townhouse (Parts II & III if you are following along form my first Spring Cleaning post). I'll do the basement list separately, but I need input from the hubbs on that b/c that's his "man cave" & I'm not to make plans for down there unless he approves them first, hahaha. That's so changing when Baby J gets here! After I get all the lists up, then I'll post updates on how we are doing on everything.

As I mentioned before, these have turned more into spring/summer/getting-ready-for-Baby-J lists, so everything won't be done before the spring is over (in just a bout a month...eeek!).  Anywho, here goes....

Main Level To Do's:

Living Room

Powder Room

Dining Room

Kitchen

We actually don't have too much to do on this level for the time being, or at least anything we anticipate having done before Baby J gets here. We are absolutely going to be either painting or replacing our cabinets (you can see how sun damaged some of the sides are in the above photos - boo to the sun for that one) & getting new counter tops in the kitchen at some point & we'd also like to add a back splash. I'm looking at a few options, but our main D&R priority right now is the baby's room. Eventually we will also replace our old @ss fridge & oven with new appliances that are a bit more energy efficient (read: not original to the house - like our fridge is & the oven is just crappy). I'm also trying to beg persuade my husband into some DIY crown molding, which I think will make our little joint kitchen/dining room look 10 million times better. Oh & I'd also like to replace ALL of the white, aluminum horizontal blind in the house with the shades we got for our bedroom, which are these fabricky {I realize that's not a word, lol}, light-blocking, honeycomb shades - I LOVE them!  So the list for this level will be short, but here goes:

• Replace all remaining brass/old light fixtures in all three areas - there are a total of 4 left, including the powder room light fixture.
• Get ceiling painted in all 3 rooms, but especially the living room.
• Buy new rug for living room.
• Mop hardwoods in all areas; I usually do only a few good moppings a year - I spot clean with our steam mop in between time.
• Replace powder room brass fixtures - everything in this house was brass when we bought it, so we are slowly, but surely switching out everything for brushed nickle fixtures.
• Find & install valance over sliding glass door.

Upper Level To Do's:

Master Bedroom

Master/Upstairs Bath

Guest Room...being turned into Nursery!!

This level has already gone thru many many changes this year between our Master Bedroom re-do & the Master Bathroom re-do & now the currently in progress Guest Room/Nursery re-do! Because of our newest edition, we have lots of things to do on this level:

• Remove all the furniture & other misc. stuff from the guest room, go thru it, get rid of what we don't need, recycle anything that can be recycled, sell/give away furniture, pack up our personal items that we are keeping for storage in the attic.
• Clean out guest room closet; buy additional storage drawers for extra storage (something like this).
• Paint, buy furniture for, replace all outlet covers, replace blinds & decorate nursery.
• Find fillers for master bedroom apothecary jars/vase.
• Purchase lightweight bedding for the master bed for use during the hotter months.
• Go thru clothes & pull out items to donate.
• Buy same type of storage drawers for extra clothing space in my closet.
• Decorate master bath over toilet storage nook.
• Go thru boxes in attic & get rid of anything we don't need any more.
• Get carpets steam cleaned.
• Replace any remaining brass light fixtures in hallway.

I think that's it. The list for the upper level doesn't look that big, but it's a lot of work. The first item, which is done (yaaay!), took us like two weeks to complete. But all the stuff (minus the stuff in the closet) is gone or put in a new location. :)

Stay tuned for the lower level of the house portion of this list & updates on how far we've come since starting spring/summer/getting ready for Baby J cleaning! Tomorrow is my 27th Birthday, woot! And we are having a big summer BBQ @ my casa {complete with my fav mocktails}, so I'm not sure I'll be participating in 5QF this week, but I'll post some pics from the BBQ on Saturday or Sunday. 'Till next time!

Spring Cleaning - Part I

The spring has sprung in the NOVA/DC Metro Area & in the World of Dennifer that means time to actually do some spring cleaning! I have decided to break up our spring cleaning this year into a few different areas:

• Part I: exterior of the house - front & back yard, back deck & patio.
• Part II: main level - entryway, living room, kitchen
• Part III: upper level - both bedrooms (including closets), bathroom, attic
• Part IV: lower level - basement, basement bath, under stairs storage area, utility storage area, laundry room.

I am going to be posting before/progress pics as we get thru each of the areas. We'll likely be doing each of the areas concurrently, but I'm going to post the "to do" lists & before pics in parts (so as to avoid a ridiculously LONG post). So, I'll start with Part I - the exterior since we actually got started with the work we want done on this area this past Friday.

Front Yard To Do's:

Last summer, we did a MAJOR clean up of what I lovingly called our "forest" - AKA our former front yard. It was a hot mess to say the least. We were sooo happy to see it cleaned up. I'm happy to report that even after the snowmageddon + the two other huge snow storms that hit our area this winter, our front yard/landscaping held up pretty well. We lost two of our little solar lights & the rest are all crooked, but still work! And as you can see from the photos above, parts of our grass were ruined. Also, as you can see in photo #1 - the Evergreen tree to the right of the house was damaged. So, on the spring cleaning to do list for this area of the house (crossed out are the items that have already been completed):

• Trim branches on large tree away from house & from hanging low over stairs.
• Trim off damaged parts of the evergreen & possibly remove tree completely (need HOA approval to do this).
•  Plant grass seed, keep watered, cross fingers that it grows!
• Pull up weeds in flower beds & around tree.
• Plant annuals & re-mulch.
• Get house & stairs power washed.

Back (upper level) Deck To Do's: 

We have never really done anything with our deck since buying the house three years ago. We have been waiting & waiting & WAITING for our HOA to approve some deck stain colors so that we can stain & seal the deck. It's badly in need of some TLC, but unfortunately we are under the rules of the HOA as to what we can do to the outside of our house. We plan on attending the next HOA meeting on May 11th to find out about their decision on the deck stain colors - urrg, it gets really frustrating with them sometimes.

We also purchased a really cheap patio table & chairs from K-Mart the first year we bought the house just to tide us over until we could afford to buy what we really wanted the following summer (2008). Well, three years later, we never bought a new set. It just was not high on our priority list, so it fell to the side. This year we may or may not get around to it, but the set we have will continue to do for now. I added it to the spring cleaning to do list for this area just in case we decide to purchase one this year:

• Look for & purchase an outdoor dining set (we currently have a cheapo plastic set).
• Get deck power washed.
• Re-stain & seal the deck.

Back Yard & (lower level) Patio To Do's:

I was a little embarrassed to take before pictures of this area, but I also kinda forgot to take a picture before the work got started in the back. You can see a little of the forest pat deux in the deck photo above. It was pretty bad - I mean weeds, small bushes, small trees, etc. and none of it ever kept up. But to make up for that, I took some in progress pics:

Ahhhh, so clean, such a blank slate!

We hired an independent contractor (referred to us by my mom) to do some of the work around the outside of the house that we couldn't or didn't want to do ourselves. They cleaned out the back yard area, trimmed the trees up front & cleaned up all that stuff for $225. We thought that was an awesome price b/c we had gotten a quote last summer for $500 just to clear out the back yard! Here is the spring cleaning list for this area:

• Get weeds, bushes, etc. removed from the area.
• Get sod laid surrounding the patio.
• Clean under the deck area, get rid of any debris in that area.
• Fix exterior water spout (it has never worked since we bought the house; but we need it for the sod!!
• Buy a small sitting/bistro set for the patio.

Now you see why I needed to break this up into several posts! And I still have three more areas left to make spring cleaning lists for! We are doing pretty good so far on our Part I & plan on getting even more done next weekend! Have you started on your spring cleaning yet?! I'd love to see what you've done so far!