The Doorbell Rings Again!

So despite our doorbell sounding like the last squawks of a dying bird, I'm starting to like hearing it. Yesterday it heralded the introduction of my neighbors. Today is was the mailman, who thoughtfully dropped a package on the front step and was back in his truck, speeding away before I even had time to holler thanks.

And what was in the package, you ask?

 

This absolutely amazing, handmade quilt from Matt's Aunt Ruth Ann! I can't even explain to you how gorgeous it is. All pinks, whites and brown. Delicate and feminine. Simply pretty. And marvel of marvels, the backing fabric Aunt Ruthie picked matches one of the fabrics used in the crib bedding Lee Anne made! I have no idea if this was coordinated or not, but I'm amazed. Here's a closer look:

 

I love handmade things. I think they are so special because of the time and effort someone put into making it. As an amateur knitter, I know a little about time and effort. This will certainly be treasured for years to come. I'm continuously blown away by the kindness and generosity of so many people we are blessed to have in our lives. So many people love this little girl, and she's not even here yet! Violet might just be destined to become the next Martha Stewart, that's how crafty her genes are! Now, want to see what the quilt looks like in the nursery?! I thought so!

 

 

Ninety percent of what you see here has been lovingly handmade just for Violet. There's the bedskirt and a hint of the bumper my mom made, Lee Anne's quilt on the right, and over on the left, the pink crocheted blanket my sweet dental hygienist Cindy completely stunned me with at my teeth cleaning this week. One of these days I'm going to learn to knit more than a scarf so I can pay it forward...

The Welcome Wagon Rolls Up

So yesterday was fairly mundane. I had an OB appointment and was appalled to find out I gained four pounds. This is not cool, people. I have four weeks to go and I'd really love not to keep up this rate. So instead of going to Starbucks like I had planned (I had a coupon, so hard to resist!) I ran errands instead. Once home again, I vacuumed. (See, I told you it was boring.) Well, there was some minor excitement caused by what I'm pretty sure was a chipmunk trapped inside our gutter drain pipe, but it's too horrible to imagine so let's not.

It grew dark. Matt had a work dinner, so I was hanging out alone, listening to the classical channel on my fancy new DirectTV when suddenly (dun dun duuuuuuunnnn) the doorbell rang. It was the first time I've heard it ring when I wasn't expecting anyone and I'm not gonna lie, I approached the door with caution. (Also, I've decided our doorbell sounds like a dying pelican.)

And what was on the other side of the door, you ask? There in a pool of porch light, with beaming faces upturned with smiles of welcome, stood... MY NEIGHBORS! That's right, I finally met the neighbors! And they brought brownies! It was beautiful, everything I hoped for since we moved in. I met the two moms who live on either side of me, and they brought along their kids (two boys each). After apologizing for not coming sooner (I love them already!), they were thrilled I'm having a girl and promptly offered to take me to the hospital should my water break when Matt's not around. In fact, if I need anything, I'm supposed to call. Their kids swiftly made themselves at home, including trying to make friends with the cat. Needless to say, she was her completely bitchy self. It was embarrassing actually. I couldn't even pick her up to lock her in the bedroom because she probably would have mauled me. Hopefully they weren't scarred for life.

But I'm just thrilled I finally met my neighbors. Everyone was so sweet and seemed genuinely happy to meet me. See, this is why I love my neighborhood. I knew it couldn't be bad when everyone kept waving at us! It was a quick, crazy visit, what with four little boys running around and my cat attempting to assassinate anyone within four feet of her (what is it about the cat that makes her irresistible to little kids, and Travis? Gluttons for punishment, all). And to top it off, once they left, I heard one of them pulling our trash can and recycling bin to the top of the driveway for me. How sweet was that? Hopefully now we can move on to the business of actually getting to know each other, borrowing a cup of sugar or an egg, picking up each others' mail, all those things neighbors do.

However, being new to this neighbor thing, I have a question. When I return the brownie container, should I make them some thank you cookies? Or will that just perpetuate a cycle of continuously baking things for each other? (Not that it's a bad thing. Except for those four pounds I packed on last week.) I realize it's been a long time since I had neighbors and I'm not quite sure what to do next... I kind of feel like I just got back from an awesome first date and I'm not sure how long to wait before calling again. And hopefully, should they ever read this, I don't come across as a needy, stalkerish girl!

Oh, and guess what? Both the neighbors hated their dying pelican doorbells as well. Good to know they are replaceable!

Pie Town!

So our really good friends Travis and Wendi came over to hang out at the house this weekend. And guess what they brought?

Pie! Do we have the greatest friends or what?! Looks like someone has been reading this blog and took pity on me. Who needs neighbors when you have friends like this! (Ahem...for the record, I still need neighbors. Just in case one of them discovers this site by chance.)

I still can't believe Wendi brought me a delicious apple pie!

 

Yum. Just like mom used to make. Warm and gooey in the middle (because I heated it up in my fancy convection oven that I don't really know how to use yet), golden brown and flaky on top.

Travis samples some of the goodness.

It was a delicious start to the weekend. Plus, we love Travis and Wendi, regardless of whether they come bearing pie. The rest of the weekend was filled with a house visit from the Loughman's, who brought Grandma to see the place. In honor of their visit, Matt went all handyman on me again and hung the curtains in the nursery, which were much admired. Then they took us out for an early birthday lunch (yeah yeah, it's almost my birthday, I'm getting old, blah blah). I'll be 29 on Sunday. Let's not talk about it.

Speaking of the nursery, it's almost completely finished. All the remains is to get the changing table and wash the sheets and we'll be good to go. And Violet's closet is coming along nicely as well, thanks to the wonderfully sweet Heather, who gave me a huge crate full of her daughter Lucy's outgrown clothes. Check it out:

I wasn't kidding. It took me the better part of a morning to go through everything. And Heather has fabulous taste. Violet is going to be one lucky, fashionable girl. I'll be changing her outfit three times a day just to make sure she gets to wear all this stuff.

So right now I'm sitting in the living room, watching some rather brave golfers go by on this deceptively sunny day. It looks like ghosts have taken over the porch swing, making it rock back and forth something fierce. The wind chime is doing its own merry twinkling dance. This is the kind of wind we used to get in Texas! It reminds me of  Winnie the Pooh:

Oh the wind is lashing lustily
And the trees are thrashing thrustily
And the leaves are rustling gustily
So it's rather safe to say
That it seems that it may turn out to be
It feels that it will undoubtedly
It looks like a rather blustery day, today
It sounds that it may turn out to be
Feels that it will undoubtedly
Looks like a rather blustery day today 

Sometimes I wonder if the ghosts have gotten tired of the porch swing and have decided to come inside. I hear the strangest noises in here. I think it's because I'm not used to the regular house sounds, plus the acoustics can make the cat jumping off the table in the sunroom sound like someone rustling around in the dining room. Then there was the morning I heard knocking. I checked the front door - nothing. Could it be one of my long lost neighbors tapping on a side window, freshly baked pie in hand? Nope. The cat and I walked through the entire house, trying to figure it out. Meanwhile, the knocking continued. Then finally I spotted them - blue jays, happily banging away on the wood trellis over the back deck. The bad news - there might be bugs. The good news - I'm not insane.

And finally, a word about our childbirth classes, which wrap up this week. Last time we talked about medical interventions, like c-sections. Supposedly the national c-section rate is around 1 in 4. However, the last four women I know to give birth have all done so via unplanned c-section. So now I'm starting to wonder... I'm not worried about having one. I mean, I was a c-section baby and look how fabulous I turned out. But being the planner I am, I'd just like to know. I need a vision in my head of how all this is going to go down, and I'm really not great with last minute changes to the plan. Not that there will be much I can do about it at the time. And really, I'm fine with a c-section, I promise. I'd just really like to know what's going to happen so I can visualize it in my mind. We'll see...

Grab your umbrella, there's been a shower!

Dear Friends, tonight is Conan O'Brien's last Tonight Show. I'm planning a viewing party. And by party, I mean Matt and I will attempt to stay up late enough to watch it live and drink hot Coco (get it?) in honor of the man, the myth, the memories.

But on to happier things. First off, I guess I haven't watched the blog poll in a while, because I was shocked today to see how far up Winston Churchill has climbed! Also, a very quick shout-out to some of my "fans" who confessed to actually reading and enjoying this little thing last Saturday at the baby shower. Hello ladies! And finally (this might drive all those said readers away, but all in the name of full disclosure) there has been a request to post the picture of Spooky's boyfriend. If you'd prefer not to see it... close your eyes and scroll down, I guess.

(I pulled his pants up for the picture.)

Ahem. Moving on. Last Saturday, my dear mom and mother-in-law threw me a shower. It was fabulous, from the handmade invitations to the ridiculously delicious cake! It was wonderful to be surrounded by so many people who already love baby Violet. And she sure is one lucky girl... we came away with all manner of lovely gifts, from the practical and much needed to the simply cute. Many thanks to all who came and helped celebrate.

33 weeks at the shower. Lee Anne bought me this dress. She has good taste, no? Still, the number one comment I heard was "you barely look pregnant!" Dude. People. There might not be a basketball under there, but it's at least a pineapple.

And how fabulous is this flower arrangement? So cute! My moms have the craftiest friends. And the best part is, I can reuse the basket!

Danielle (Violet's Godmother) me and my sister Bhavana before the present opening commences.

The quilt for the nursery!

It suddenly hit me this week that I'm 34 weeks along. Meaning I only have six weeks to go. That is NOT a lot of time. Now there seem to be all these things I need to do and I'm just hoping I have time for them all. Finishing the nursery, washing Violet's clothes, packing a bag for the hospital, stocking up on bagels so I can carbo-load before being admitted, breaking the news to Spooky that life is about to change, practicing with my new video camera (which will NOT be used during the birth), so on and so forth. Then there are all sorts of regular life things going on, like dentist appointments and book club meetings and Super Baby Bowl parties. Oh yeah, and somewhere along the way, I turn 29. Yet in between all this, I still find time to be completely obsessed with West Wing reruns...

I'm back! But where's the pie?

Hello friends! I've missed you! The Dark Ages were dark indeed. But I'm happy to say I'm currently indulging in two of my favorite pastimes: watching tv and checking the internet. I will say, I was far more productive before we got plugged in. Yesterday by 10:30 a.m. I had showered, dressed, made a return to Target, stopped by Office Depot and was halfway through grocery shopping. Today at 10:30 I was still in my pj's, teeth unbrushed, glued to the laptop catching up with all the snarky Golden Globes fashion comments I missed over at www.gofugyourself.com. Thank goodness I managed to get so much done before. The house is in decent shape. I spent a lovely four hours arranging my bookshelves, we're slowly remembering where the various dishes and utensils have ended up in the kitchen and we (my proudest accomplishment) have actually eaten dinner at the table every night since we moved in! No more eating on the couch in front of the tv for us! Of course, now that the tv actually turns on, it might be a different story. Stay tuned.

So some quick updates. Matt finally shaved the beard. I discovered my first stretch mark. My parents finally visited the house and loved it. The cat has yet to throw up. Although she's obsessed with carrying her boyfriend from room to room, accompanied by the most awful yowling. Her boyfriend is this little stuffed dude wearing a shirt saying "World's Sexiest Lover" and a pair of boxers with hearts that mysteriously won't stay up. She is totally devoted, despite the fact that he doesn't have much of a face anymore. (NOTE: I totally planned to take a picture of her boyfriend and post it here, but the photo was so freaking creepy that I just couldn't do it. Trust me, it's for your own good.)

So here's a question for you. When do the neighbors show up on my doorstep bearing pie? Or does that not really happen anymore? I'm not saying I need to be living next door to Martha Stewart or anything. In fact, that would be rather intimidating, although terribly convenient when it comes time to wrap Christmas presents next year. But I was really hoping someone would stop by to introduce themselves, welcome us to the neighborhood, the like. Instead I'm reduced to skulking around the neighborhood message board, discovering what celebrities reside down the street through means of internet stalking. I could, of course, invent some excuse to knock on the neighbor's door. The old "can I borrow a cup of sugar?" routine, perhaps. We'll see...

Moving On Up!

This morning I woke up to a beautiful sunrise over our new house.

We moved in yesterday. It was surprisingly smooth. See, we don't have the best history with moving. When Matt's company moved him to Texas, it took three weeks for his furniture to show up. When we moved to Midtown, we discovered a toilet sitting in the middle of our bedroom floor and the promised new carpet not yet installed, so we literally piled all our belongings into the kitchen until work was completed. When we moved to Lawrenceville, Matt ended up in the ER due to dehydration. Fun times.

So this time, we decided to do it right. We hired professionals. Atlanta Peach Movers are apparently the official movers of the Atlanta Braves. And if it's good enough for the Braves, it's good enough for us. It took four guys only three hours to get us out of our third floor apartment, drive to the house and unload everything into its rightful place. It was incredible to watch them pick up entire bookcases, sling them over a shoulder and haul them off without so much as gasping for breath. Totally worth the money, and I totally recommend them if you're planning a move yourself.

Here is Spooky checking out her new digs. She was NOT happy about four big guys in her house, but she eventually recovered and has since sniffed everything at least eight times. She's also reclaimed the kitchen table, a favorite perch of hers back in our Midtown days. I think she'll be pretty happy here.

Speaking of the cat, however, we gave our 60 day notice to the apartment complex yesterday. These two things are related, stay with me. Today I came back to the apartment to vacuum and was greeted by two pieces of paper. One was our move-out notice with a list of things we need to have done before we turn in the keys. The other was a notice of lease violation for an unauthorized pet in the apartment, giving us three days to pay the pet fee (and in my opinion, a substantial one at that, considering she's a six pound cat). Suspicious timing, don't you think? They must have known about Spooky for quite some time, since they haven't entered the apartment (that we know of) recently. And yet they hold onto this information until we tell them we're not renewing the lease. Mmm-hmm, I see how it is. Oh well, there's not much we can do about it.

Moving on. We ate our last official Lawrenceville meal at Bi-Ba's Italian Restaurant. Since the day we moved in, we've talked about eating our last meal there. It's in the shopping center across the street and I have no idea why we were so obsessed with it. Perhaps because the name cracked us up. Perhaps because it always looked slightly sketchy, one of those places you can't tell if they're open or not. But regardless, we made our vow a reality. And it was actually pretty good! I highly recommend the garlic rolls.

And speaking of carbs, I had an OB appointment today and only gained a pound or so since last time! WAY better than the four pounds I packed on courtesy of the holidays. The doctor (who I really liked, and who  said he always spotted patients whatever weight he himself put on over the holidays - what a gentlemanly thing to do!) called my pregnancy "perfect". Perfect with a capital P! Plus, Violet is already head-down like a good girl (here's hoping she stays that way). Here's me at 32 weeks (I'm 33 now):

And now for some random tidbits. Matt decided to shave his beard. Here he is, right before the big moment:

Then he totally chickened out and just trimmed it instead. Oh well. He is under strict instructions to have it shaved by labor day, but I really don't mind it until then. I don't really mind it in general, but it might be a little rough on Violet's skin. Oh, and here is my fabulous shoe rack that I bragged about in the last post:

Beautiful! Besides the nursery, it's pretty much the only thing that I've completely unpacked. Who knew I had so many shoes?! For years these poor babies have lived in shoe boxes stuffed in the closet and now finally they can come out for some air. For those of you who are wondering, I generously donated the top two and a half rows to Matt.

Finally,  lots of love and congratulations go out to my friend Aesook, who gave birth to her baby girl Zoe just a few days ago! Aesook and I met in grad school and both had the genius idea to get pregnant at the same time (well, she's was a few weeks ahead of me). She's been keeping me up to date on everything I can expect down the road, and I'm just thrilled that Zoe is finally here.

We have a jam-packed weekend coming up and once the house is internet-connected, you'll hear all about it. Oh, and Go Team Conan!

Super Quick Update

So I had all these big plans for an update, including pictures of the progress being made on the house (namely, my awesome new shoe rack). But I packed the camera cord. And tomorrow is moving day, meaning I'll lose the internet. And the darlings at Comcast and/or Direct TV (we haven't decided who to grace with our presence) can't set up new service for at least a week. So here is a little update to say... you probably won't hear from us in a while.

In the meantime: I met some neighbors when UPS left their package on our doorstep. It was their daughter's sixth birthday party, but they took the time to say welcome to the neighborhood. Very nice.

Every time we go to the house, it feels more and more like our new home, rather than just this empty building we owe lots of money on. And now that mail has started arriving with our names on the envelope, it has gotten even more real. Granted, most of it is junk mail. But the beautiful Shelly wins the prize for being the first person to send me a letter (and totally unexpected but much appreciated Target gift card!! That girl knows me!) at our new address. I took a picture of it with all intentions of posting it here, but alas. I'll try to get it up at some point. Thanks Shelly! I love you! If my stupid fridge was magnetic, I'd totally have your card up there for all to see. I promise to buy something pretty with the gift card if you promise to come visit and see it in person.

Today we have an appointment with a pediatrician. Apparently you have to have a pediatrician picked out before the baby is even born! Who knew? Just another fun fact I learned at our first childbirth class (WAY more on that later). But anyway, we're off to meet with one, located ever so conveniently to the house. I'm sure they'll be just lovely.

Alright, I'm off. Hopefully the move will go smoothly and quickly, and we'll get internet/cable back soon. I'll be in touch! Wish us luck!

PS Confession time. We are leaving a tv and Tivo in the apartment for the next week so we can record all the shows we're missing during the Dark Ages. How pathetic am I? But I don't care. I'm missing all my regularly scheduled programming, plus the Golden Globes! That's pretty much my Superbowl. Or at least my National Championship. So if it takes me a few extra days to get back on the blog, it's only because I've passed out in front of the tv trying to catch up with what I've missed.

Crib? Check. Closet? Check. Magnetic fridge? Nope!

So here's what we've been up to...

Since I can't carry too many boxes, I busy myself unpacking them as Matt brings them in. Naturally, I had to make sure baby girl had her outfits ready to go. Look how stylish she's going to be! Look how tiny her clothes are! And already her football alliance has been made. That's my girl!

Next up, assembling the crib...

Real men read the directions.

Getting closer... (Matt has proven himself quite the handyman, by the way. Obviously he was just waiting for a house/baby to show off his mad skills.)

And it's done! Personally, I think the white crib looks fab and fresh against the apple green wall (props to the former owners for having excellent taste in nursery paint). The antique rocking chair courtesy of Matt's grandmother looks nice too. Look closely and you'll see Classic Pooh, Violet's first teddy bear (her first Christmas present, with love from Lukas and Danielle).

Now, just to prove there's more to this house than just a nursery...

New Year's Eve. No better way to usher in a new decade than unpacking some dishes and wine glasses. The heat hadn't really kicked on in the house yet, but we forged ahead.

My bearded man hanging out by the beverage station. Don't the wine glasses look fancy?! I've always wanted to hang them up like this. We're already taking bets on how many times we have to reorganize the drawers and cabinets before we figure out the best places to put everything.

Anyway, things were going along swimmingly until I made a stunning discovery. Our fancy new, slick stainless steel refrigerator... IS NOT MAGNETIC! I didn't even know such a thing was possible! Imagine my shock and dismay when I plopped the first magnet up there and it promptly fell to the floor. Seriously. Who makes a non-magnetic fridge? It's almost as bad as non-alcoholic wine. I mean, why bother? Of course, it will keep said fridge from getting cluttered up and ruining the nice, clean aesthetic of our new fancy kitchen. But it certainly was disconcerting. Never one to be foiled, however, I managed to find a tiny slice to put a few choice magnets.

This was just one of the amusing things that happened upon our new appointed ownership of this house. Other fun events: not being able to figure out how to turn off the exterior floodlight (we must have flicked every switch before we located it. I'm sure the neighbors thought we were nuts.) And discovering, by accident, that the kitchen lights are on dimmers. (At first we thought we just had major electrical problems. Let me also point out that this occurred on our first visit after officially closing and we were left wondering if we'd been totally suckered into buying this place. We were totally bummed by the disintegrating lighting until the happy revelation that we're really just idiots.)

So that's the house! The parade of friends and family (who will all be forced to carry at least one box over the threshold) are quickly lining up their inaugural visits. In the meantime, my doctor called my weight gain at my last appointment "okay". Not good or great like previous visits. It was like getting a B on a test. And those of you who know me well know what a blow that was. So as soon as I polish off Pam Lower's Paula Deen Pound Cake, the sweets are out of here!

31 weeks down!