Nesting? Or Winterizing?

So if this really IS nesting, there are ways to make those nesting instincts work in your favor if you're a green-lovin' momma like me.  In the pictures below, you'll see two exciting things happening in my kitchen.

First, my Advent Conspiracy gift from my husband and parents-in-law is that my kitchen was finally painted!  Huzzah!  I love that bright, cheery yellow color.  It goes so well with the candy apple green in my living room and I'm convinced we'll actually turn the lights on less because it reflects so much of the natural day light we get in our windows.

But second, take a look at my hubby using his mad skills to help me winterize my kitchen windows!  This is a chore I've been doing since I was a kid.  I remember my mom putting this stuff up and then enjoying poking at it, watching the cold air billow on the other side.  I'm sure what my mom loved was that we weren't going to spend a fortune on heating the house that winter!  After some coaxing to get my pregnant belly off the couch, we've now winterized everything but the bathroom window... just one to go!  What a GREEN friendly option - green for my wallet AND green for the earth!

What techniques do you use to save a little green during the winter months???

Merry Christmas!

So all of you out there who feel I need to slow down and take it easy will be glad to know that during the entire Christmas weekend, I repeatedly thought to myself, "I should blog right now," but never actually did.  The result means that I've been absentee from this space longer than I wanted to be.  But the other result is that I actually did do a lot of nothing on my 3 day weekend.  Perfect, really!

Christmas this year was excellent - on Saturday we went to my in-laws and participated in an excellent yankee swap where Ben received a knife sharpener (very baby friendly, I think...) and I received a singing, dancing christmas tree.  I haven't put the thing together yet to make it sing and dance, but let's be honest, that's AMAZING!  Sunday was literally a whole lot of nothing.  My Advent Conspiracy for my hubby was not really a secret.  But I think he enjoyed it anyway.  I made his favorite sausage rolls and delivered them to him in bed on Sunday morning.

The rest of Sunday consisted of watching movies, chatting with family and doing a whole lot of nothing.  We returned back to Boston on Monday where my hubby (and his family who came down with us!) painted my kitchen and hall for me!  An excellent yellow color which I think is going to be absolutely cheery and beautiful.  Just what I'll need if I'm gonna be around the house full time for 3 months this spring/summer.

And then surprise of surprises, my parents-in-law stayed in Boston today and my mother-in-law cleaned my house for me!  Literally the best Christmas present I could picture... better than anything she could have purchased.  Our bathtub (and the rest of the bathroom for that matter) is actually cleaner than I've ever seen it-- like, cleaner than when we moved in.  My laundry is done and folded.  And cobwebs are swept out of corners I didn't know existed.  I feel SO RELAXED and blessed tonight!

But it makes me think about the concept of "nesting" which the websites say kicks in during the 2nd trimester.  As I'm rounding out my 2nd trimester (just a couple more weeks to go!), I'm wondering if I've felt the nesting urge.  Ben and I started the long, slow process of reorganizing and redecorating our apartment in the summer (before I was pregnant).  It's been long and slow because we're both sorta ADD about it, but also because we both work full time and it's hard to get to any of it.  So yes, when we have free time, I crave things like finishing the living room projects, starting the kitchen painting, or planning out what we're gonna do in the nursery.  But I don't think it's really to a full blown "nesting" situation.  I think it's just who I am!

Have you guys felt the "nesting" feeling? What did it feel like to you? Did you end up doing any crazy things around the house?

2nd trimester aches and pains

So today I'm learning about fibroids.  Maybe it's a little TMI, but it turns out I have one (as MANY women do) in my uterus.  In? On?  Near?  I'll be honest, I'm not sure.  The ultrasound tech told us a few weeks ago when we were there that it was no big deal, not near the cervix, and we shouldn't worry.  So we haven't.  But today I'm having some bizarre cramping and my midwife wonders if it could be the fibroid giving me issues.

If you're related to me, DO NOT GOOGLE THIS!  Googling medical diagnoses is never a good idea without actual collateral medical back up.  It only serves to freak you out, no matter whether the diagnosis is fibroids or something as simple as toe jam!  Trust me on this.

For the time being, I'm taking it easy, using a heating pad, hydrating, and taking a little tylenol for the irritation.  Ben is, meanwhile, making fun of me for how silly I look while typing and lying in bed. :-)  We'll see the midwife this week and get another ultrasound just to make sure everything's doing okay, which I'm 100% sure it is.  But if you're the praying type... prayers are also welcome.

Consider me registered

Is it odd that I want to have a well stocked library for my little one?  Probably not, given that I'm the daughter of a librarian myself.  But wow... this list is awesome...

http://kids.nypl.org/reading/recommended2.cfm?ListID=61

If I got nothing except the items on that list as gifts this year, I'd be THRILLED.

DIY baby wipes

So... I suppose I owe at least some of you a status update before I talk about DIY baby products.

We're 22 weeks pregnant today!  I've got a bit of a baby bump going... I mean, I think it's more than a bit.  But everyone at work very kindly says, "oh you ARE showing just a little!!!"  Ben, on the other hand says, "um... did you grow a belly over night?"  :-)  So yes, it's there.  Our little girl is definitely moving around and I can feel her, but she doesn't keep at it long enough for Ben to feel it (or maybe I can only feel it on the inside?).  I can't wait for it to be enough that he can feel it and participate in this excitement.

So this week, along with discovering pinterest.com, I'm thinking a little about ways that we'll DIY life both to make it healthier/more organic but also ways to save money rather than just simplying buying things mindlessly.  One thing that I've come across on my blog hunting is making your own baby wipes.  The top two/easiest "recipes" are here:

Kitchen Stewardship

Homemade Mamas

Of course, it would be more eco-wise to create/use something that isn't disposable, like this:

My Crazy Happy Life

hm... has anyone done this?  I continue to weigh the pros and cons of reusable (which means less landfills) and washable (which means more quarters required for the laundry in my basement... no one factors that in when they say that reusable is "cheaper.")

My First Christmas Tree!

This weekend for my birthday, my husband bought me my first christmas tree.  My first real one that I have to water, at least.  It was quite fun and I even teared up a bit-- I'd love to think that I'm just sentimental, but let's be honest, it was probably the hormones.

Regardless, we had a great time blending his traditions of Christmas with mine.  I insisted on shrimp, sausage, cheese, crackers, and Manheim Steamroller (per my family's traditions)

and he taught me how to string cranberries and popcorn (per his)!

p.s., don't ask me why he didn't tell me to smile.  I suppose I'm just special like that.

Meanwhile, we've begun some of our own new family traditions, even before little girl Warren is born... if you look closely at the tree, you'll see two different, unique-to-the-Boston-Warrens things.

First of all, we have mostly home made ornaments on there right now.  We made a bunch together in 12/2009 out of clay and paint.  And then last year, I used our saved wedding cards to make some paper ones too!  I love them.

But second, did you notice the green glow behind/above the tree?  That's right... marry an Event Engineer and your christmas tree gets it's very own LED spotlight.  I'm a lucky girl, no?

I can't wait to include baby girl Warren in some of these traditions next year, in whatever way she's capable.  She'll be about 8 months old so I'm thinking finger painting more ornaments.  Anyone else have ideas on ways to get a little one involved in home made Christmas crafts?