Game night

Yesterday was an all over awesome day. First I was made two job offers and ended up accepting a job in a growing area of my awesome company. I don't start until after my maternity leave, whenever that is. In the evening, our friends S and A came over to play some really cool European board games. We had so much fun. These days it's all about relaxation and distractions.

We played Carcassonne and Catan - didn't get to Dixit

Carcassonne - building towns and roads and scoring points

Catan - sort of an early settlers Monopoly game

Still waiting

The hospital bag is packed. Nursery is ready. Two job interviews have been completed in the last couple of weeks. A contractor is hired to work on the bathroom walls this week. Things have been pretty busy. I can't believe that we are in the 38th week already. Baby boy can be here any moment now.
Despite all the busyness, I am taking some time to enjoy a few quiet moments. Here are a couple of things that made me slow down. 

Snow in the morning on my way to work

It took my breath away

Nursery rhyme book with images from a childhood book of mine

Nostalgia - I had a book that used the same vintage Disney images when I was a child

Hurry up and wait

It's an exciting and stressful time. We can't wait to meet our little munchkin, but yet we want to get so much more done before he is here. It mostly has to do with getting the house up to par. But we find that cleaning up one day does not guarantee the house will stay spotless the next. Muddy paws, shedding dog, a quickly tiring mommy-to-be, and bathroom construction going on don't allow it.

How can something so cute cause such a big mess?

Baby boy is now full-term at 37 weeks and weighs an estimated 6 pounds 10 ounces. I'm dilated to a little over 2cm and effaced at about 60%. All we do now is wait for labor, which can be difficult and uncomfortable sometime. But then there are other things to look forward to, such as the Citrus Lane boxes I subscribed to. Just received my February box and I'm delighted with the contents. 

We got an Oball with Rainstick Rattle, Mommy's Bliss Gripe Water, Petite Lemon Alphabet Print, 479 Degree Popcorn Fleur de Sel Caramel, and my favorite, Elizabeth Mitchell's renditions of folk, blues, rock songs for children, an album called "You Are My Little Bird". It contains songs from Woody Guthrie, Bob Marley, Velvet Underground, Neil Young, Lead Belly, and many more. Even music snob dad likes it. I think this one will be on repeat in our car even before baby boy is here.

Cleaning ALL the things!

This weekend I've been obsessively cleaning my house. Not sure if it's nesting or spring cleaning or both, but it's been long overdue. I didn't cover more than the living and the dining room, but I cleaned every corner and crevice in detail. There isn't a speck of dust or dog hair anywhere. It won't last impeccable for very long, but we'll try our best to maintain the bliss. In addition to cleaning, hubby and I replaced an old lighting fixture in the dining room.

Before

The old 70s fixture had a cool design, but the gold plating has started chipping off at the bottom. We might spray it chrome and replace the light bulb covers one day, but for now, we were just ready for something more contemporary.

After

The new one was on sale at Menards and is more befitting our light, minimalist style. It also emits a lot more light than the old fixture, which is something we needed in this area of the house.

Happy Anniversary, honey!

I've spent more than a third of my existence with the love of my life. Our first date was on February 5th, 2002. I was 18, he was 17 (a month shy of his 18th birthday). We went to the Des Moines Art Center. I know it sounds cliche and unlikely, but I do remember thinking "this is the one". Granted, it might have been the infatuation talking, but it turned out to be right.

We married 5 years later on February 5th, 2007 at the courthouse (no wedding - just us and parents/siblings), followed by a dinner at Biaggi's (we rented their wine room, where this photo was taken). That is 10 wonderful years together. Nothing but love, support, and companionship.  And at this 5/10-year anniversary, we are expecting our first child.

I'm so grateful to have this good man by my side. He is the strong, quiet, but nurturing type - sometimes I think he comes from a different time, a different era. He is definitely one of a kind, and I'm lucky to have him.

Happy anniversary, darling! I love you!

Getting close

As the due date is approaching, I am becoming more anxious about getting everything ready. We've made quite a progress so far:

• Reserved a spot for baby boy in the child development center of our choice
• Selected and interviewed a pediatrician for baby boy
• Submitted registration papers for the birthing hospital
• Unpacked, assembled and put away all the wonderful baby shower presents
• Bought everything else we still needed for baby
• Gave notice for my last day of work at my part-time job (February 18th!)
• Wrote and sent out many, many thank you notes...

So much gratitude

I also managed to quickly knit a super-soft newborn hat for the little guy to match his cardigan.

Soft, warm little hat for my baby

Matching cardigan

Things we are still in the process of doing or need to do:

• My wonderful mama is in the processing of washing and ironing all the baby's newborn and 0-3 months clothes (hvala mama!)
• Hubby is working hard on getting the bathroom done
• Apply for FMLA 
• Make sure all my work is smoothly transitioned to coworkers (write instructions and train back up resources)
• Hubby and I have a couple of more prenatal classes to attend
• Start packing the hospital bag
• Install the baby car seat and have it inspected at a local inspection station
• Clean up the house from top to bottom
• More...

Baby Showers

I love my family, friends and coworkers. They are so kind and caring. I wish I could express my gratitude in a more profound way. Maybe one day I will be able to repay every single one of them with the kindness they bestowed upon me. This past week, I was showered with baby gifts and good wishes. The first one took place on Sunday.

Opening many, many wonderful gifts

Decorations

There were so many guests

Greeting everyone at the door

Presents for baby

My friend B was the photographer

The spread

Decorations at teta Mirjana's house

Beautiful winter day

Party favors: robin's egg scented soap in a nest

My mom prepared everything by herself - the food was delicious

Owls

It was so nice seeing everyone on Sunday. My baby is so lucky to have all these people in his life.

Baby shower at work

Today, there was also a baby shower at work thrown by my gal pals Jenny and Jana.  Lots of my favorite coworkers showed up for some cake and punch bringing beautiful presents. I took one picture but then got completely absorbed into meeting with everyone and forgot to take more photos.
I am so lucky to have these people in my life. I appreciate everything they have done for me.