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!

Project Nursery - the bedding selection!

Hi there everyone! Sorry again for being extremely MIA lately...at the end of next week my life will hopefully go back to being semi-normal. Our fiscal year (well the part I need to be concerned with) will be done & over with & I'll be able to breathe a little.

So today I want to share the selection we went with for Baby J's bedding! Before I found out we were having a little girl, I told myself that I wanted something neutral that would work for either sex. And I fell in love with lots of stuff from PBK's baby bedding selection, so I knew I wanted to go with something from there! Their stuff is expensive, but I had a 10% off coupon & they always have sales going on + I planned on doing so many DIY projects, that I knew we'd save $$ in some other areas. As I mentioned, I originally wanted something pretty neutral, so I was looking at this:

 Sweet Lambie Bedding from PBK

It's cute, but wouldn't have really gone with the walls in our room & I needed aqua walls - love that color! So I was thinking something simple and not overly decked out, but still neutral. Perhaps something like this:

Pique Bedding from PBK

I figured with something like that, I'd be able to do whatever I wanted with the rest of the room because it's pretty versatile. It's also pretty...well WHITE & IDK if that goes too well with a newborn, so I started to look at more gender specific bedding.

It was so tough finding cute boy bedding that would go well with aqua & that was not overly themey. I looked all over the internet & found only a few options that I thought were just okay. I decided that if Baby J was a boy, then I'd likely go thru Etsy & find someone to custom design a bedding set. Lucky for me, I didn't even have to go there because shortly after making that decision, we found out we were having a little girl! Lucky because I had already fallen in love with a few PBK baby girl bedding sets. My choices were narrowed down to:

Kelsey Bedding from PBK

Coco Dot Bedding from PBK

So I polled my friends, co-workers & ask the hubbs for his opinion on which bedding to go with. Everyone was pretty unanimous in selecting option #2 - the Coco Dot bedding. I think it's because it has aqua in it & would essentially match perfect with the walls. But I LOVE birdies & the Kelsey bedding has birdies & the colors in it would still look really cute in the room. In the end I decided to go with... ::drum roll please::

The Coco Dot bedding! I think it works perfectly with her room! The quilt is not pictured above - it's hanging on the arm of her glider, but we got that too. I ended up going with this in the end because it has so many bright & fun colors & I thought it would just work better in her room. Plus, if I ever decide to get rid of the owl "theme", I can still use this bedding & just switch out some of the owl room decor. That's not likely to happen before we move out of this house (the plan is to be here another 2-3 years then upgrade to a single family), but just in case. ::wink:: So anyways, what do you think of her bedding? Once you see it along with everything else together in my big reveal post, which should hopefully be in the next few weeks (after we receive the curtain hardware & remaining wall frames)...eeek {it's almost October}, then I think you will definitely agree that we made the right selection!!

P.S. - later (like after I had already made my choice), PBK came out with a nursery line of their Haley Bedding, which would have also worked pretty well in the nursery. Check out this cuteness...it has owls & everything!! I still like the bedding we selected better, but it's definitely cute. :)

And bonus - check out the little GMU onesie I got a couple weeks ago:

Adorbs right?! I think I just created a word, haha! As I believe I mentioned before, we met & fell in love as undergrads @ GMU, so she just had to have something from our Alma Mater! You can see a little peek of her lined drawers there too. I'll post a full pic of all the drawers tonight/tomorrow with my weekly Baby J to do list update. Time is ticking away & we are so close to meeting our little girl, yaaay!

Wanna see our little one's nursery progress from the beginning?! Check out the master plan for the room, the first set of DIY goodies I made for our little girl, the major furniture all put together, my cute owl accent finds & my decision to do a understated owl theme in her nursery, my "owl" bean bag score turned FAIL, how we "planted" a tree behind the glider to read books to our sweet baby girl under, my easy peasy DIY owl wall art that I made using recycled greeting cards, the finished dresser/changer combo & crib walls plus a simple & cute DIY bow holder, her cute bargain bookshelf & the plans for the wall it's up against plus a simple DIY framed monogram, and the DIY Salvation Army reading lamp makeover I did to go next to her glider! Enjoy & 'till next time!

31-32 weeks...my little squash!

Side note - sorry for being MIA the last few days - I was without computer access at work for most of this past week, so I was not able to blog during my down time & too exhausted to do it when I got home...forgive me please?! Now back to your regularly scheduled blogging...

OMG, as usual I can't believe how quickly time is flying & how close we are to meeting our little sweetie in person! We have been hard at work knocking out some of the major things on our Baby J to do list, so hopefully I'll have lots of updates to share on Wednesday about that. The official beginning of fall is just around the corner, although the weather around here is cooling down already! We were supposed to do our maternity pictures with my little sis this afternoon, but she wanted to do a bunch outside & it was rainy today, so we decided to wait until September 26th. Why two weeks?! Because our Baby J shower #1 is this weekend in the hubb's hometown! I am so excited! We spoke to his mom the other day & she told us about 20 people should be there - probably some we (or at least I) don't even know, but it'll be so much fun opening all her cute gifts & seeing everyone! We are leaving on Saturday since I have to work on Friday (& can't really use leave right now until the babe arrives or closer to my due date), and we'll come back early Sunday!

Speaking of his fam - we had a talk about how visiting would go when the baby arrives & he is going to ask his mom what her plans are this weekend. The problem is - we only have two bedrooms in our little townhouse - ours & the baby's. Dizz (our dog other child) sleeps in our room on the floor, on the hubbs' side of the bed. We have a futon that can convert to a full size bed in the basement, but besides that, we don't have any room for many people to stay. I also don't really want a lot of people staying over - his mom is a definite since I'm sure she'll wanna be around her only grandchild when she arrives for a few days before she has to go back home for work, but besides that...I really want us to have our family time to adjust to our new life with the baby. It'll be an adjustment for all of us - me, Dennis & Dizzle & I guess I just don't want the added stress of feeling like I have to host guests - do you know what I mean? At the same time, his family lives hours away & mine is right around the corner, so they can just come over & visit whenever. And my parents & sisters & brother will all be able to see the little one MUCH more often than his family. I can see how he  feels about that, but we live where we live & work where we work, so there's not much I can do about it. He understands, but I think he just wants me to understand as well. And I do, but that doesn't change the way I feel about a lot of people staying over our house RIGHT after we come home with the baby. Did/do any of you have to deal with a similar situation? How did you handle that? I want to be fair - I love him & his family & want him this to be a very happy time for us, not a stressful one. Le sigh.

In other news, my baby buying obsession has picked up again over the past couple of weeks. :o/ I couldn't help it! I just happened across lots of cute stuff @ great prices recently, so I got:

This cute little personalized pumpkin beanie (since she'll be a fall be beh) from Etsy Seller cherylengelstad. I found a tip about this cutie & her shop on Molly's great new blog - A Little Birdie Told Me. She looks for lots of great stuff (she has a theme for each post) on Etsy & posts the links to the seller's shops! Most of the stuff she finds is pretty affordable too. I love Etsy & I love great deals, so her blog is pure awesomeness to me...go check her out some time :)

And these...

 

A cute & very functional diaper caddy & Boppy cover from Target.They were both on my Target registry & I know it's bad to buy stuff of the registry before your shower(s), but they were both on sale for a great price (more than the discount will be for the completion of the registry) & both were online only items (thus less likely to be purchased as gifts), so I went for it!

And finally:

This cute baby sling, leg warmers & bracelet gift set from Seven Everyday Slings (the makers of Udder Covers). IDK if I'll actually use the bracelet, but the sling & leg warmers are adorable! You can use the sling from infant to 6+ months & I got a one-time use coupon code for a FREE sling (a $39.99 value), so all I had to pay for was the difference between the sling alone & the gift set + shipping. You know I can't resist free stuff, so I went for it too!

That should be it for my buying stuff for awhile. I think her showers over the next couple of weeks will satisfy my fix for a bit, so I should be good until she arrives, minus the stuff we may still have to purchase that we need if we do not receive them as gifts.

According to The Bump, baby girl is the size of a squash & is about 3.75 lbs. & 16.7 inches. My ute is pushing up near my diaphragm & crowding my stomach, which can lead to shortness of breath & heartburn. All of which is definitely happening to me - it's not extremely unbearable, but not fun either. Baby Center says that I can help myself out with these symptoms by sleeping with pillows propped up & eating smaller meals more often, both of which I have been doing. I'm also normally pretty sore in my feet, legs, hips, sides & lower back by the end of most days & exhausted. The hubbs is pretty good about helping me out if I need it in the evenings & gives me frequent massages whenever I need them too. Love him. At my 32 week appointment this week, we met the newest Dr. at my OB practice & I actually really like her! I'm so happy I feel comfortable with all four of them, so whoever delivers her, I'll be happy with. I surprisingly have no preference at all. The appointment was pretty routine - peed in a cup, did a weight & blood pressure check & the Dr. met with us briefly & checked the baby's heartbeat with the doppler - a healthy 144 bpm & everything else was normal too. Baby J is in the head down position & getting plump & prepared for birth, which is just 5-8 weeks away now! She's moving away a lot still - more shifting than kicking, but she still kicks a lot too. Funny side note - this week, the hubbs & I were watching my tummy to see if we'd see her move & she pushed out against my stomach with her foot or elbow & Dennis was so weirded out! Hahaha, he said it was cool, just weird! But he kissed my tummy after & told her he loved her! :) Can't believe how close we are...and we can't wait to meet her!

And now on to my 31 & 32 week bump pics. I'm actually kinda happy we are waiting two more weeks for the maternity shots - perhaps the belleh will be a little larger? It's pretty big now, but I figure a bit of a bigger belly couldn't hurt for the pics, right?!

31 weeks - clothed & bare:

32 weeks - clothed & bare:

This week I'll be posting the bedding selection we went with & showing off her cute lined drawers, which we just completed today! And I'll be posting my fall decor inspiration projects - I have already gotten started on some fall decorating..love the fall, yay!! '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!

New Friend + 5Q Friday - 09.03.10

Woo hoo, another Friday here & it's SEPTEMBER (I heart the fall)!!! ::waves hi to all my new & long-time followers:: && welcome to anyone visiting for the first time from New Friend Fridays!! Look around - I hope you like what you see & come back more often. :)

Since we are in our final few weeks of the fiscal year at work, I have been SO busy as usual. I can't wait until September 24th is over - that's when we have to have everything done by to get it in to our finance office by the actual end of the FY (September 30th). The good news is - I got approved for 50 hours of comp time between now & then...hopefully I won't need all that, but anything extra is just getting tacked on to my maternity leave, which will begin in just about 2 months!!! I am so excited to meet my little girl & enjoy the holidays without having to worry about work! Woo!

Anywho, now on to 5QF! If you want to participate, head on over to My Little Life & link up (and let me know if you do, I'd love to read my reader's answers)!

1. What do you do when you have time to yourself?

I like to pamper myself with a nice mani/pedi/eyebrow wax day. I USED to get massages about once a month, but haven't gotten one since getting pregnant. In the first tri, I was too much of a nervous nellie to get one &  after that,  I have just been so busy each weekend that looking for a good place that does pre-natal massages in my area (for an affordable price) has slipped my mind. I think I'll treat myself to at least one before this little one gets here. :)  As you may have noticed...I also love crafting. It's fun & very fulfilling for me to make pretty stuff for my house, baby girl & friends! I feel like handmade decor & gifts are just that much more special.

2. When you look out your kitchen window, what do you see?

The house right across from me, a tree, the parking lot for the set of town houses behind ours & the street leading out to the main roads. Ahhh, the suburbs. But it's what I know & love!

3. Who/What would you want to be reincarnated as?

Ummm, IDK - I guess someone who's rich, but not famous & happy. I would love to have endless pools of money to shop & decorate to my heart's content, but I love my life as is so I'm good just being me too. :)

4. What is your biggest pet peeve about other people's kids?

When they scream & run wild & carry on when their parents are in public, trying to get something done & the parents just ignore them! It's more of a pet peeve with the parents than with the kids I guess because I realize that the kids clearly just want attention &/or are bored doing whatever it is they are doing. I'm talking about older children, not babies - kids who know better, but are never corrected by their parents or the adult they are with. I'm sure with my little one on the way,. I'll get to experience this at some point, but I hope we can figure out a way to curb this as much as possible.

5. Regular or Diet soda?

Regular, but I only drink Sprite or Ginger ale every once in a while...even before getting pregnant. I gave up caffeine & soda (besides chocolate & the occasional Coke float - yum!) long ago just because I hear it's good for you & I didn't care much about coffee or soda, so it was easy for me. 

And that's all I got this week! This weekend, I'll be keeping busy with a community Labor Day weekend pool party & BBQ on Saturday, fall decorating, my pre-Baby  J to do list & a VA Tech football game on Monday (bought the hubbs tickets for the game for our anniversary & it''s finally here)! Busy, busy. 'Till next time!

Project Nursery - we have light...a DIY lamp makeover!

Well we always sorta had light, lol. There is actually a ceiling fan in Baby J's room with three lights on it, but they tend to be a little bright (they are energy efficient bulbs though ;), so I'm not sure how often I'll use them. Originally I was just gonna buy a lamp because I didn't think I'd want to DIY anything else since I was planning soo many other DIY projects for her room. So, I scoured the internet for the perfect lamp to put right next to her glider & I found this pink gingham lamp at Target a couple months back that I had been drooling over ever since:

Photo Credit

Cute right?! So cute. I even put it on my Target baby registry & everything! But then I thought, $60? And it was online only thru Target, which means no one would probably give it to us as a shower gift & that's kind of a lot of money for a lamp anyways. Right? So I decided that I could definitely fit in a DIY lamp makeover project.

So, I headed to my local Salvation Army to check out their selection of lamps & I found this ugly duckling:

She wasn't pretty, I thought the detail on the base was kinda nice & had potential...and at only $13.99, I figured why not & decided to give her a chance! I think that she was actually originally the fugly brassy/gold that I loathe & whoever owned her before painted her this creamy looking gray color, which ended up working out for me because it served as sorta of a primer for my paint! The lamp came with a shade that was pleated, starting to turn yellow & basically falling apart - didn't even make it the ride home - so I just threw it away before even getting a chance to take a pic.

After giving her a good cleaning, I commissioned the hubbs to spray paint a few coats of some nice glossy white spray paint (be sure to tape or somehow cover the cord & bulb socket since you definitely don't want paint on either of those things). She already looked 1 million times better after the clean up & spray paint job!

Sorry for the dark pic - it was overcast that day, I know now to only take pics when it's nice & sunny out!

Now, on to the fun stuff...the lamp shade! For this feat (& it really was a feat), I gathered up my supplies:

• The largest {& cheapest, but still sturdy} (non-pleated) lamp shade they had at my local Walmart. I'm pretty sure it's this same one. $14
• A can of spray adhesive (I found the one pictured below at Joanns on clearance, so I decided to try it out although it was an off brand). $3
• Scissors; already owned.
• 1.5 yards in the fabric I chose to cover the shade - I got the Life's a Hoot, Owls Dot Pink fabric from Ribbon Retreat for a steal! Check them out if you haven't before, they have the cutest ribbons & fabrics for awesome prices! $13.50
• Embellishments - I just got a simple large, pink ric rac ribbon on sale at Joanns to use for this project, I didn't want it to be too embellished. $4
• A light colored marker; already owned.
• Some craft paper or newspaper (or in my case old wrapping paper that I didn't plan on using before) - you just need something large enough to trace the shade pattern on to; already owned.
• Sewing pins; already owned.
• Hot glue gun & extra glue sticks (not pictured); already owned.
• Clothes pins (or in my case binder clips) - anything that'll clip to the lampshade to hold down the edges while they get nice & dry (not pictured); already owned.
• TOTAL =  $48.50 - saved a little money, woot!

Next I drew a pattern for the fabric on to the back of the wrapping paper by rolling the shade along the paper & tracing the shape as I went. Then, I cut out the pattern & pinned it to the wrong/back side of my owl fabric. 
WOD Tip: 1) when tracing the shade pattern on to the paper, you want to make sure that you start at the seam of the shade, so you know where to end your pattern on the paper; 2) make sure you iron your fabric really nice before pinning it.

Ignore all my random extra lines - I messed up a couple times on the pattern until I finally got it right!

Next, cut out your pattern, leaving about 3/4 - 1 inch border of fabric around the paper. Then, cut about 1 inch slits/flaps on the top & bottom of your fabric up to the beginning of the paper pattern (you will end up folding these inside the lamp shade) - make sure not to cut the sides of your pattern!!!

Next, iron a hem line on to one side of your fabric (sorry, no pic for this step, but I just ironed about a 1 inch hem (about the same size as the overhang on one side of the pattern). Then spray a coat of adhesive to the back of your fabric (be sure to cover your work area). Next, starting at the seam of the shade with the raw (un-hemmed) side of the fabric, carefully cover the shade, smoothing out any bubbles as you work (also no pics of this step since it required 2 hands, or in my case 4). You should end this step by applying your hemmed end of fabric to cover the "Raw" edge of the fabric you started applying at.
WOD Tip: I had to get the hubbs to help me with this part, the spray adhesive is quite tacky & it was too hard to keep straight enough on my own without having the flaps get stuck to parts of it or it getting bubbled/wrinkled as I applied it to the shade. If you can get help with this step, I highly suggest you do!

Fold in the flaps on both the top & bottom of the shade. Then, using your clothes pins (or in my case, binder clips), clip them to the top & bottom of the shade for about 10-15 min until it dries up nice.

Next, use the hot glue to glue the ribbon/embellishment(s) around the edges of your covered shade, working in small sections - I just eyeballed the distance I wanted the ribbon from the edge.

You can see my hemmed side here; if you need to glue it down a little more because it's sticking up, you can use a little hot glue in small sections on it & that should do the trick.

Closeup of completed shade w/ ribbon embellishment.

Screw your shade on to the base, throw in a {energy efficient} light bulb & step back to admire the finished product!

What do you think? A HUGE improvement from the starting product, eh? I think it's perfect for her owl themed room! It may even be one of my favorite DIY projects I've done for the nursery! I can't wait to read lots of bedtime stories to my little girl under this reading lamp!

Wanna see our baby girl's nursery progress from the beginning?! Check out the master plan for the room, the first set of DIY goodies I made for our little girl, the major furniture all put together, my cute owl accent finds & my decision to do a understated owl theme in her nursery, my "owl" bean bag score turned FAIL, how we "planted" a tree behind the glider to read books to our sweet baby girl under, my easy peasy DIY owl wall art that I made using recycled greeting cards, the finished dresser/changer combo & crib walls plus a simple & cute DIY bow holder, and her cute bargain bookshelf & the plans for the wall it's up against plus a simple DIY framed monogram!! Enjoy. :)

Linking up to:

So that's it for this installment of project nursery - up next...my bedding selection! '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!