This update is coming later than I originally planned for a couple reasons. 1. I got some sort of wretched stomach bug/24 hour flu a couple days ago, barfed my brains out (for the first time this pregnancy!) and spent almost the entirety of yesterday sleeping and/or complaining. I was even too sick to tweet! *GASP* 2. Uhm, the kid is HOME now, which means productivity levels went from nearly a 10 to 1, and blogging suffered because of it, wouldn’t you know.

I’ve been itching to tell you all about it, though, so let me just start by saying it was one of the most wonderful weeks ever! I mean, as much as we enjoyed our vacation to Sonoma earlier this year, I think we got more satisfaction out of this one, and we didn’t even leave our zipcode most days. Our outings mainly consisted of those to Lowes since we decided on a whim to redo the kid’s bathroom, complete with ripping up and replacing tile.

Side note- the Pica is still going strong. The little bits of mortar that my husband was chipping up from the bathroom floor looked as appetizing as Cheddar and Sour Cream Lays Potato Chips, the grout he laid down looked as delicious as buttercream frosting. I kid you not. Yes, I spoke with my midwife about it. No, she *wasn’t* alarmed. This is… common??

My mother is an angel and the world’s best grandmother, or “Nae Nae” as Kendall insists on calling her. She had him for a solid 7 days, and we got SO MUCH DONE. We really must make this a yearly tradition. It’s not like I didn’t miss the kid, because I surely did, but the anxiety I felt after dropping him off rapidly faded and was replaced with the awesome sense of accomplishment as we crossed things off our mile-long to do list.

Sure, our week wasn’t as full of resting and relaxation and formal date nights as I’d hoped, but we still managed to connect and have fun together. I’m fairly certain we never even got into a heated argument a single time we were at Lowes (though there were still several disagreements). When you are away for vacation, I think it’s expected that your relationship will perk up a little bit, the arguments will subside, but it was so nice to experience that same feeling while living our “normal” life at home.  And since Kendall’s returned, I find we’re both working harder to be a little more patient with him and with each other.

So a rousing recommendation from me for more kid-free staycations!! You should really give it a try if you haven’t been so lucky to yet.

Now, time to brag.

As you may recall, I spent much of my week in my own personal sewing hell. Not only did I have my temperamental sewing machine and her bitch-ass bobbin to deal with, but I also had a new frenemy, the Olfa Rotary Cutter, who damn near sliced off the top of my finger. (For real, people, do not underestimate the deadliness of this crafty tool. I’m sleeping with it under my pillow the nights Scott is gone so I can get deadly crafty on intruders if need be.)

While Scott slaved away on the bathroom remodel, shouting obscenities at his equally deadly mortar scraper thingy (hmmm.. I’m beginning to wonder how much our relationship really benefited from having inanimate objects to scream at for the week), I sweat and swore and knocked out baby girl’s crib skirt, baby blanket, and curtains lined with blackout fabric.

I still have a few sewing projects to tackle, like the crib rail guard and a couple pillow covers, and we still have some furniture and accessories to add to the room, but here’s what I’ve got so far.

The baby blanket is definitely a labor of love, but not so much skill. Crooked stitches and wonky ruffles turned “pleats” abound. Never, ever try to hand ruffle 9 yards of fabric. Never.

Not quite satisfied with the curtains. I think I’m going to move the rod up a bit and put them on those clippy hook thingies. The blackout fabric was a huge PITA, but it makes all the difference. That room feels 10 degrees cooler.

This is the next big project I’ve got to tackle. We’re adding a hutch to the right of the changing pad where we can display her “worldly souvenirs,” like the Matroyshkas I just won on Ebay! Then I have some crafty things up my sleeve for decoration above it. The dresser is from Ikea (surprisingly sturdy, I’ll add) and the trash can is for cloth diaper laundry.

Not too shabby for a week’s worth of work in the third trimester, eh? We also managed to organize the garage a bit and finally figured out what to do with 3 of our 5 strollers (and I swear, every SINGLE one of them gets used- or will be- and has a purpose). Scott screwed in some $9 bike hooks to the studs and whala!  So much better than the real estate they were taking up in our front room, temporarily turned stroller garage.

I wish I could say we accomplished everything on the list that gives me anxiety daily, but at least we made a considerable dent. To top the week off, we got to go to a bar where we watched, in it’s ENTIRETY, the Mizzou Homecoming game vs. OU, and we got to see the most epic smackdown, not missing a single play. We ate greasy, spicy appetizers and Scott drank like he was in college again, which I found to be pretty amusing and was secretly jealous. Best. Date night. Ever. GO TIGERS!!

Mizzou Homecoming 10 years ago