Save the boobies

July 7, 2012

Sometimes it just seems like one thing after another.

I have hit a number of road blocks through this pregnancy and it is finally almost over.

I guess this is just the grand finale!
Luckily nothing has been super serious, just an extra step here or keep on eye on this there.

However, about a month ago I noticed a lump in my breast!

Yeah, I just went there.
Sorry if this is TMI, but I felt like sharing.

So I had the Dr. take a look at my next apt.

She agreed that it was unusual even with all the changes my body is currently going through being in my third trimester and all.

So she sent me next door to see a surgeon for a second opinion.

After that appointment, the surgeon wanted me to have an ultrasound done to see if it was a solid mass or just enlarged duct or glad, most likely due to pregnancy.

So, the next day I had an ultra sound done at the Breast Clinic.

They determined that it was large enough to be of concern ( About 3 cm, feels maybe the size of a dime) and a solid mass not a gland.

The Dr. from the Breast clinic said she wasn’t worried about it and I had two options.

A- Leave it alone, since I am about to have a baby and keep an eye on it.

It might go away and it might not.

It might continue to grow and it might not.

It might be cancerous and it might not…… ( option A sounds dumb)

B- Since you can’t truly confirm it is benign from an ultrasound, they could do a needle biopsy on it and send out the sample to be checked.

Then we can make a decision from there based off the results.

I went with B.

Duh.

Why would I just leave it and cross my fingers?!

Apparently A LOT of people do though.

Especially girls my age, who don’t have a family history of cancer and who are about to have a baby.

Which makes sense…

But in my opinion, knowing for sure if something is wrong or not kinda trumps all that.

So I went in for my biopsy.

The Dr. doing the procedure came in and reviewed my case and then attempted to talk me out of having the biopsy done.

Since I am so close to giving birth and so young, and healthy and yadda yadda yadda, she suggested we just leave it and keep an eye on it.

Once again, I refused and said I wanted it tested!

All I could think about were the stories I have heard or read involving girls who were typically so healthy, or under 30 and not at risk who had doctors recommend they just ” Keep an eye on it.”

So they wait and watch and then one day down the road something happens and they find out its cancerous and if only they had done something about it when they first discovered it, maybe things would have been different.

I don’t want to be that girl.

Take it out, let’s be done with it, let me move on and not have to wonder if this foreign object is possibly going to kill me one day.

The procedure was about 15 minutes and they used local anesthesia, so I didn’t feel anything.

I just have to ice for the next few days and take Tylenol for pain.

I got word today that the results came back negative and it is just a benign lactating tumor, brought on by pregnancy.
So it could possibly go away on it’s own later on.
If not, I will probably have it removed.
Even though they said it’s benign, I would rather be lump free and not have to think about it again.

So check yourself before you wreck yourself!

A few last belly pics

July 6, 2012

It’s almost time to meet little Pie!!

Steve and me

These two are my senior photo shots 🙂

Baby shower # 2!

July 5, 2012

My sister and a few close family friends threw me another baby shower!

It was great (Even though there was a storm happening outside!)

The shower was Tea Party Themed and we had tons of great food and treats.

Including scones and jams, cookies, cupcakes, fruit, mini sandwiches and cake!

It was delicious.

Some of the food

The party planners!

Opening Gifts

Keyboard cat!

Baby bodies on a frame!

Family photo ( can you tell we are related?

My cousin Lily and Aunt Cheryl

( Not to be confused with my mom)

My 2 moms

Bentley’s meet & great

Some of the loot!

I also got a pack and play and diaper genie.

Two things I was worried I wouldn’t have in time for the baby!

This cute little sleep sack my mom sewed for me.

It is so cozy.

I think I might need a matching one for myself, but then Steve would want one too…..

Hmmmm…..Awkward family photos, anyone?!

Happy 4th of July!

July 4, 2012

Cats and flags and cats and flags….

OOTD?

And a video to make you smile.

Have a safe 4th!

Life in an awkward shaped living room

July 3, 2012

One day I will figure out how to arrange this room in a functional way.

For now, it has a usable side and a wasted space side.

Here is the side we hang out on.

It has the sectional and entertainment center.

Behind it is the front door.

And on the opposite end of the weird rectangular space is the rest of the living room…..

Which has nothing in it.

I thought about creating a second sitting area there.

Maybe a big over stuffed chair and ottoman and side table?

But, would I really ever use that?

Maybe a fire place like we had talked about adding?

Or my upright piano that I need a place for?

But then what?!

It is still unusable space.

It is still square footage that would be amazing to have as a living room rather than a place to have something sitting in.

So of course while I was out garage saling, I found some furniture that I didn’t need but couldn’t pass up.

One of the pieces found a home against this wall and temporarily give the space a little more meaning… but still serves no purpose at all!

Behold the $20.00 completely unnecessary vanity!

How freakin’ cute is it?!

So for now, I will just buy stuff and stick it in this end of the living room.

Unless you have a better idea???

Roo’s Wedding

July 2, 2012

Last month one of my oldest friends tied the knot.

This gave all of our friends who live in far away places a good excuse to come to Seattle and visit too!

I figured it was about time for me to upload this pics and do a post about the wedding, since I finally gave the happy couple their wedding present last week.

Better late than never, right?!

These ladies have been with me through thick and thin and I wish we all lived in sunny San Diego again!

The lovely centerpieces

Liz & Amy ( Matron of Honor)

Steve, me and Liz

On the dance floor, in flip flops and pregnant.

Baby got back

Liz cuttin loose

Steve and Amy’s daughter

A few pro pics

The Antheia Ballroom in Snohomish

Congrats guys!

Damn you , winter ice storm

June 29, 2012

You might remember my post a few months ago about the snow turned ice storm we had in Seattle.

It really did a number on my plants.

I moved all my potted plants onto the porch, against the house for protection before the freeze & they were fine.

The trees in the yard however, weren’t so lucky.

We lost some huge branches on our old pine tree, both off the same side.

Causing it to lean even further into the neighbors yard than it already was.

That may need to come out now.

Along our back fence we had a few Lilac and Magnolia trees.

I am assuming 20 plus years old.

Those were all destroyed and have been ripped out.

Last but not least, the huge Rhodidendron tree out front fell over.

The weight of the ice actually pulled the entire thing out of the ground.

Uprooting the trunk and laying the 16 foot tree at a 75 degree angle across the front lawn!

This tree has to be super old.

It made me so sad that it could die.

We decided the best option was to pull it completely out and then transplant it out back where we removed the broken trees.

No big deal, it’s not like we are in the middle of anything else right now!

Here goes nothin’

We thought we could dig it out and then drag it around back using the backhoe, but we were wrong.

This thing was way too heavy and the roots were way too deep to dig out with a shovel.

So dad got to digging

Sad huh?!

We had to trim almost all the branches off because it was so heavy.

Then we tied it to the bucket and pulled it out

Here is it’s new home in the back yard.

It might take a couple seasons to bloom again, but so far it is still alive and standing.

Yard work, yuck.

Nursery update!

June 28, 2012

As some of you may know already, I left my job to stay at home and get ready for the arrival of the baby. I am very lucky to have been able to do that and incredibly grateful that the husband unit supports it as well.

In my spare time when I am not sleeping and rolling around uncomfortably on the couch and whining, I have been completing the nursery

I have been working a little bit each day to get the nursery done and perfect.

I am not ready to show you all my big reveal yet, because I still don’t have the window treatments and bedding done.

Once that is all in, I will do a post with everything and before and afters.

Here is a sneak peak at a few elements though.

Since I last posted about the nursery in progress we have added :

This cute decal above the windows.

It looks hand painted in person but it is actually a rub on vinyl decal from JoAnn’s.

The wings are made of chipboard and came with the kit. They sit away from the wall for added dimension to the piece.

We rearranged some of the furniture in the room to open it up more.

It made a huge difference.

Though, after I moved the crib to it’s new corner I read in one of my ” Preparing the nursery” books that you shouldn’t stick your crib near a window, in direct sun, next to an AC unit and away from the door.

I am in violation of all bullet points… oops.

I started working on the dresser for the nursery.

I bought this a few years ago at a garage sale for $5.00 I think.

I remember the lady wanted a lot more for it because it was her grandma’s or something like that, but it was in bad shape.

I hate it when you try to bargain at a garage sale and people argue that it’s worth more because they have some kind of emotional attachment to the item.

It’s just an old wood dresser to me lady!

It sat on my back porch in a house I rented before I met Steve.

Then is lived inside a closet, then stored Steve’s clothes in our new house but was a pain to open and close, and finally it has reached it’s final destination.

( See, I knew I would need it one day)

Up until now, it was missing about half of it’s knobs and you couldn’t shut the drawers all the way if you wanted to open them again.

The bottom two drawers were missing stoppers, so they pushed way too far in when you shut them.

It was also a light honey color wood and had some water spots on the top.

A real gem.

We sanded it down and painted it with a high gloss trim paint and then I stenciled the numbers on the fronts of the drawers using the grey wall paint we accented our upstairs with.

I had a hard time finding number stencils for this project.

I went to two different craft & fabric stores and one Hardware store.

It turns out everyone has tons of ABC stencils sets, but not numbers.

I ended up getting the set I used at Michaels Crafts for $7.00 ( rip off) considering I only needed 5 stencils and it came with the alphabet, numbers and punctuation.

After completing this project I was in the house number aisle at Mclendon’s Hardware and of course I found number stencils and decals in packs and sold individually and in a selection of sizes.

Now I know where to go next time I guess.

Finished Product:

As for the windows…

This is the fabric I chose for the roman shades in the nursery.

My mom did a great job at sewing the shades in my master bedroom, so I enlisted her to do the baby room too!

They are a soft white with charcoal cursive writing on them.

I bought the fabric off the bolt at Ikea for $4.99/yard.

They will have a room darkening lining inside them (just like my master shades) that works great.

I have also done some touch up painting around the room and finished the white trim around the door.

My next dilemma was that there is no closet in this room!

I have a few outfits and jackets that really deserve to be hung up and I didn’t have a place to put them.

After brainstorming a lot of unconventional ideas, I came across an inexpensive Ikea solution.

I admit it isn’t the most glamorous contraption, but it works, it was cheap and it’s hidden behind the door anyway, so who really cares.

I then had Steve build a shelf to install above the rack for more storage.

We used some scrap wood that came off the original walls upstairs.

I wanted something raw and rustic looking and it came out perfect.

That’s all you get for now.

They are watching us

June 27, 2012

For the last month or so, I have been sleeping in my new master bedroom.

Unfortunately it has taken me a lot longer than I planned to get the curtains up.

Most of my time in the room is spent strategically standing in certain spaces to avoid one window or another while trying to change clothes.

I need some privacy, damn it!

Not to mention, the sun blaring in on Saturday morning.

Eh, who am I kidding, this is Seattle, the sun doesn’t live here.

None the less, I am sure my neighbors have seen more than they need to.

So I got down to business and finished sanding and painting out the trim around the windows, so I could hang curtains.

I chose a light airy layer cotton curtain for my hall window.

I didn’t want to block out light, but I needed some privacy.

They look great with the rest of the space.

Best part?

They were 19.00 a panel in the “preteen” bedding section at Target.

Yeah, I am so refined.

For the window in my bedroom, I wanted Roman shades.

Which cost a fortune.

So instead, I talked my mom into sewing me some.

We went to the fabric store and the few materials I actually liked were a lot more per yard than I wanted to spend.

We ended up going to Ross and buying a Calvin Klein sheet set for 12.99 that matches my bedding perfectly.

My mom then used the flat sheet as material for the shades.

She doubled it up and lined the middle with thermal, so it will keep it warm and keep all light out and all privacy in.

My pet peeve are curtains that look opaque but when you turn your lights on inside and its dark outside, everyone can see straight in.
It’s such a false sense of security!

My mom followed the DIY instructions I found online from Martha Stewart to create the shades and add the cord and ring system on the back side to make it fold correctly.

I chose to omit the dowels, so I would have a softer billowy fold, rather than the traditional crispy layered fold you get with a Roman Shade.

She also stitched a white boarder around the edges to finish it off!

Now we need to get going on the nursery windows.

Garage Sale finds get a new Makeover!

June 26, 2012

Since we have had a couple nice days of weather around here, I have had some success with garage sale treasures!

I picked up this funny little corner shelf .

I knew it would fit perfect in the nursery or master bedroom upstairs with the low slope of the ceilings.

I started by painting it white to match the rest of our furniture.

While it was outside drying, my parents stopped by.

I heard them outside debating and went to see what they were looking at.

They had stopped & were looking at the shelf, talking about how they hadn’t seen this shelf for years and remember when it was in the house they lived in on such and such street and oh we thought we gave it away, no, maybe your aunt took it, did she give it back? Where did this come from?

I stood there totes confused and said…. “Um, this is not yours, I bought it for $5.00 in West Seattle at a garage sale!”

However, it is very likely it COULD have been theirs previously.

Which is really creepy.

But stuff like that seems to happen in my family ….a lot.

(Like yellow kitchens.)

It is obviously made by someone, it wasn’t store manufactured.

So it does seem likely that in some weird way it could have come back to our family?!

Too bad it’s not something way cooler.

Before: