Nursery 1.0

There's still a lot to be done in the nursery, but I think we're ready to do the initial reveal.

Here's the view from the door:

And the (somewhat more boring) view of the other side of the room:

At first we had the chest/changing table and the crib swapped, but I kept coming back to wanting to be able to look into the room and see the baby in his crib without having to actually walk all the way into the room.  Really there are several ways that the furniture could go, so we can try out this set up and change it later if necessary.  There was some concern about placing the crib over a heating vent, but I'm pretty sure we're not going to rotisserie our son.

While I know* that it's super dangerous to put pillows or comforters in the baby's crib with the baby, I put out one of our pillow sets/duvet covers for decoration until he comes.  We got two animal-themed blankets and one that's striped with primary colors.  Here's a close up of the one I have out now:

While we bought enough toys at Ikea to stock a pre-school, I decided just to get out the ones that are age appropriate for now.  Here's the crib gym with a couple other squishy/fuzzy toys:

That grey thing is an elephant.

Close up of Mr. Hedgehog:

The exception to the toy rule is my monstrous Cragslist impulse buy** - the Baby Einstein home entertainment center:

Can you picture me here at 2am?

Now what we really need are some decorative items for the walls.  We have one shelf that was in Daniel's childhood bedroom that we are planning to put up plus a mobile for over the changing table, but we don't have anything else.  Sounds like a good excuse for a little Etsy browsing...

*There was a giant sticker on the side of the crib that took me 30 minutes, 2 fingernails and 1/2 bottle of Goo Gone to remove that told me so.

**Which will probably end up downstairs anyway.

What I Did Not Eat Wednesday

Frozen turnips.  Mmmmmmmm....

I guess we're going to have to call someone to look at the fridge.

Ikea Excitement

Thanks to everyone for the encouraging words about getting back into shape and finding balance after the baby is born.  I agree that factoring in an hour to work out every morning is probably not realistic, and I need to remind myself that a 1/2 hour or so most days a week is a great amount of exercise for good health and, while I won't be running any marathons, is certainly enough to train for some 5ks if I want to race.

On to a much more fun topic... we're two days away from our long-awaited trip to Ikea to buy baby furniture.


View Larger Map

In some ways it feels wrong to drive so far you need an extra large Google map to show your trip just to go to a furniture store, but hey, it's Ikea!  And the truth is, we have shopped around in town, and we haven't found any baby furniture we like as much as what we've seen online at Ikea for the same price.  Yeah,  you have to assemble it yourself, but everybody knows (or should know) that I am terrible at things that involve spatial reasoning (ie putting things together) and am planning to hide keep myself busy during that process.

Right now we're for sure planning on buying this Sundvik crib that can convert into a toddler bed:

And the Hemnes dresser (not the Sniglar, sorry) to use as a changing table:

I'm not sure if/what textiles we'll buy, but they do have some super cute stuff:

Car playmat/ rug

And look at the toys!  Only $8!  Anyone else want to meet us at Ikea?  I think we might need a third car!

If we make it out of the baby section before closing time (debatable), we're also considering are a futon or sofa bed to go in the nursery.  The problem is that futons tend to be ugly (Ikea futons being more attractive than others we've seen locally) but in our price range and sofa beds are more attractive but also much more expensive.  We could potentially get a twin bed just to have something for me to sleep on in the early days, but that's not very useful for guests (don't worry, guests, we would move the baby to our room).  I can see us going either way on this one (and if we don't buy one, that means more room for toys!)

The other thing we need is a computer desk since our kitchen table has finally been repatriated to the kitchen (along with... unfortunately... the computer).  Like the futon, the problem with cheap desks is that they look really cheap and crappy and decent desks are expensive.  Buying a small table to use as a desk is an option, but with the way we have the living room/"office" arranged, we need some kind of storage for computer stuff.

I'll update on Saturday with what we actually buy.  There will definitely be baby furniture, but we'll see how it goes with the desk and bed.  Or if we return to Madison with a car full of toys.

Getting there

We made some major progress getting things unpacked and organized this weekend.  Daniel was actually the super hero who made all of this possible:

He got our TV* mounted above the fire place, did some surgery to the back of a bookcase so it could hold all of our electronic gadgetry, and lugged allllll the books (but ask him who 95% of those books belong to) back downstairs so I could put them in the bookshelves.  Both of us were amazed at how well this turned out.  It's not Southern Living, but it doesn't look like "my first college apartment" either.    

Having the TV hooked back up again allowed us to catch up on some Netflix watching last night - we have a bunch of Hitchcock movies in our queue - with Dial M for Murder and have Strangers on a Train on tap for tonight.

*Yes, we finally bought a flat screen TV when we found out that it would cost almost half as much to get an antenna and converter box for our massive square one.  I'm still not sure what we're going to do with it.  Anyone want a really heavy TV that was manufactured the year I learned to drive?

I love my labor-saving devices

You know how I was feeling a little bit nostalgic about leaving Eagle Heights yesterday?  Yeah, I'm over that now.  Deciding at the very last minute to scrub all the windows helped.  And besides, I'm in love with all the appliances at our new place.  I have put together a short tribute to each one.  

Oh washing machine, I already don't know how I lived without you all to myself for four whole years.  I know you will never dump leftover bleach on my sheets and towels like other washing machines from my past.  

Dryer, lovely dryer.  I look ahead with delight to the wonderful hours we'll spend together after the baby is born.  I can rest assured that if I ever leave clothes in the washing machine after the cycle is over, no one will take a pair of jeans that justbarelyfits and throw them in you for 3 hours on the irradiate setting.

I forgot how much easier it is not to have to share laundry equipment with who knows how many people living 11 other apartments - plus the ones who sneak in.  I making it a personal goal to never ever ever ever have to go outside to do the laundry again EVER... especially not in the snow.

Dishwasher, sweet dishwasher.  This picture is lopsided because I can't help but incline my head to the right as I gaze lovingly at you.  Now the answer to the persistent question of has to clean the nasty pan left to soak in the sink is, "No one".  No one human at least.  Thank you, dishwasher.  You have improved our evenings at least as much as a half a bottle of wine and a trashy nightgown from Victoria's Secret good book.  

And last but not least, my dear friend Central Heat and Air.

Thanks to you, I slept under something heavier than a sheet for the first time in 4 months.  No more rattling window unit spewing mold spores on us.  No more waking up in a puddle of sweat at 2am, wondering how I possibly have been asleep in the oven for the last 4 hours.  Now we run the fan at night because we like how the white noise gives us trippy dreams and not because we'd melt otherwise.

You're the best.  Peace out.

Goodbye, Eagle Heights

One last look... Dear Apartment, I can only hope you are clean enough to get us at least some of our security deposit back. 

(Those smudges are from the camera lens, not big paint/dirt spots on the closet door and kitchen cabinet.)

We are going over to our old apartment for one last mission tonight... to check the cabinets and closets one final time, lock the windows, sweep out the storage unit, turn in our keys and parking decal and take one more crack at a spot on the wall with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser.  

It's hard to believe we walked into the same (albeit cleaner) empty apartment four whole years ago.  We lived there for longer than either of us have lived in any single place since we were teenagers.  And as much as I love love love our new place and think it was absolutely the right decision to move before the baby is born, I will miss a few things about EH:

• The sounds (kids playing and window ACs rattling during the summer, the radiator playing the xylophone and the building life-force during the winter, the marching band during the fall)
• Being so close to campus
• Runs and walks in Shorewood Hills and along the Lakeshore Path
• Cheap rent

There are also plenty of things I won't miss, but I won't get into those now...  

Goodbye, Eagle Heights Apartment.  Thanks for the memories.

And speaking of memories, insert 9/11 memorial here.  Not much to say about that... it's a day we'll all never forget.

The never-ending, always-growing apartment to-do list

I suppose it could be worse...

[source]

but the truth is, I think I've added more to the list than I've checked off...

• Sign lease and e-mail back to landlords
• Receive copy of signed lease back
• Send in security deposit and post-dated rent checks (I was afraid I'd forget when baby brain really started to set in)
• Get keys to new apartment (done 8/18)
• Put in 90-days notice at current apartment
• Pay final rent to current apartment
• Schedule movers
• Get coupon for movers from friend or buy a Bucky Book
• Transfer utilities
• Turn on water
• Turn on internet
• Buy TV antenna/ digital converter box/ thing that will play Netflix movies
• Update address with services/ put in change of address with post office
• Set up treadmill
• Pack and move small stuff
• Have movers take over big stuff
• Clean current apartment
• Unpack at new apartment
• Wash and put away dishes
• Transfer renter's insurance to new place
• Finish taking out trash at new apartment (long story...)
• E-mail new address to friends and family
• Update address for...
• Magazine subscriptions
• Bank
• Doctor
• Dentist
• Donation to St. Vinny's
• Figure out how to watch something/ listen to music while using treadmill in garage
• Vacuum treadmill motor + lubricate belt
• Voyage to Ikea for:
• Futon??
• Crib
• Desk
• Dresser/changing table
• Baby room decorations/bedding
• TV stand/ mount TV on wall
• Modify bookshelf to hold electronics for TV
• Put away books and CDs
• Put away other randomness in the nursery

Saturday Randomness

It's hard to believe it's already afternoon on Saturday!  It takes about 4 times as long for 1pm to get here on a week day (unless I have to give a talk the next day, then it takes about 5 minutes).

I've been fairly productive so far.  I got in a 4mi walk around the neighborhood and saw 16!!!!! turkeys in a flock grazing (do birds do that?) in someone's yard.  It was actually kind of intimidating.  If they were a turkey gang and wanted to, they could have taken me down.

Daniel is working today, and I've been busy running errands.  I went back to Eagle Heights with some Resolve to finish up the cleaning job we started last night.  I know in my heart of hearts that we won't get our security deposit back (What incentive does a landlord have to give you back 300 of your dollars that he/she could keep instead?) , but I did want to leave the place looking fairly nice.  We (plus S and K) really scrubbed everything last weekend, and Daniel and I got up most of the dust that was left under our furniture, but there are still some spots... okay a lot of spots... that won't be fixed without a carpet cleaner (which the complex says it will take care of) and a coat of paint.  To console myself, I bought 2 24-month old outfits for baby Moonpie - one with dinosaurs, one with a gator- from the Eagle Heights yard sale for $0.50.

There's still a ton to be done at the new place, too.  Books need to be put away.  The furniture layout needs to be tweaked.  We need to vacuum and mop to pick up all the detritus that's been tracked in.  I need to put in a change of address and figure out where the nearest mail box is (The post office delivers but doesn't pick up here... crazy, huh?) and change things on our renters insurance and order new return address stamps, and give out our address to friends and family, etc. etc. etc.

But instead I'm going to a friends' 1-year-old's birthday party this afternoon at his fancy tea room-type place, which sounds infinitely more fun.    I can't believe she's already 1.  Like I had to go and dig out her birth announcement because I could have sworn she was born at the END of September, but no... it's this weekend.  We bought her this sweet toy flip phone.  It plays sounds when you open it.

[source]

Gotta start 'em young.

Have a good Saturday!

Welcome to the neighborhood

The good news is that I got out and explored our new neighborhood on foot for the first time early this morning.  I think I've found a nice 4 mile loop that's well lit and well traveled by joggers and walkers.  It's hilly, and there are lots of connecting streets that I can turn down to keep things interesting.

The bad news is that I think my running days are over.  Some part or parts that keep my left leg attached to my torso are really painful - not so much while I'm running - but during the rest of the day after I run.  It happened for the first time two Saturdays ago, and I took a whole week off hoping it would get better (the elliptical and walking don't bother it).   Sadly when I ran last Saturday before we moved the same thing happened.  At the end of the day I was gimping around and my leg HURT.

It's disappointing because I'd hoped to make it way farther along in pregnancy before I had to give up running, and I'd thought that it would be a slower decline rather than a sudden end.  I plan to keep up walking and doing the elliptical and lifting weights and going to yoga, but I know stopping now is going to make it EVEN harder to get back in shape after the baby is born.  But on the other hand, I'm afraid if I don't stop I'm going to get injured, and that's not going to help anything either.

On the other hand, I made it to 24 weeks, which isn't too shabby either.

On the other other hand, there's still lots of exercise to be had climbing stairs, putting things away now that our furniture is here.

Getting there

We did a lot of work sorting and moving things around today to get ready for our furniture to arrive tomorrow.

Here's the downstairs storage area:

It's right inside after you come in from the garage so we plan to use it for storage and also as a closet for winter coats and hats.

We also finished the second bathroom:

It will obviously be a long time before the baby could take a bath in here, but I think the map shower curtain and neon green (the bathmat is "avocado" colored) will make for a cute bathroom for a little boy.

It's back to work tomorrow, and I have to say, I'm not sad that I'll be sitting down.  Daniel is going to meet the moving guys and direct our furniture over to our new place.  We're both looking forward to having a real bed again.  The air bed just doesn't cut it.
 

Kitchen

While there is are still dishes to be washed and put away and the floor ALREADY needs to be vacuumed and mopped, the kitchen is mainly done.

The long view:

Pantry:

The sink area (A fair number of things are still in the wash/put away cycle).

The stove and appliances:

I wish I could think of something interesting or funny to say to go along with these boring photos of my kitchen, but I'm physically tired and my brain says it has Labor Day weekend off.  I'm hoping that 30 minutes or so of mindless blog reading will be the miracle cure, and I'll be able to get up and do some more work upstairs/ in the living room.  I'm so so so so glad I don't have to go back to work tomorrow.

Whew

All of our belongings sans the big furniture that will be moved on Tuesday has been migrated to the new apartment.  I've done about 5 loads of dishes and 3 loads of laundry today, and things are slowly but surely finding their new homes.  No pictures today - or maybe even this weekend - until the chaos subsides.  Even though I know they aren't reading this, we are so so so so grateful to K+I and K+S who packed, lugged, and cleaned and to K + S who made it possible for us to have dinner waiting in the Crockpot right now.  I don't even want to think about how long it would have taken to do everything ourselves.    

That is all.

Apartment update

The move-in process is in full swing.  I'm at the point where I swear our stuff is secretly multiplying in the closets because every time we take another car load to the new apartment I think, "We have to be getting close to done," but when we return there's still so so so so so much left to do.

We moved almost all of our kitchen items to the new place yesterday, and this morning I turned on the water and started running everything through the dishwasher.  This is so gross that I can't believe I'm admitting it on the internet (although the only 3 people who will read it are people who already know this is true) but our current kitchen has horrible ventilation and honestly, a lot of our cups and bows and things are... sticky... with a stickiness that is not easily removed through hand washing.  And we have incredibly hard water.  (As a side note, all our good china is in those cloth china protector things so it hasn't gotten gross like our regular dishes).  Anyway, I was delighted to stop by after church and find that all the cups, plates, etc. that I'd put thorough the dishwasher were really actually finally clean.  I'm planning to wash EVERYTHING that can be washed before I put it away.

The apartment to do list is evolving.  I got to check one item off the list (getting the keys) and added a few new items in blue.

• Sign lease and e-mail back to landlords
• Receive copy of signed lease back
• Send in security deposit and post-dated rent checks (I was afraid I'd forget when baby brain really started to set in)
• Get keys to new apartment (done 8/18)
• Put in 90-days notice at current apartment
• Pay final rent to current apartment
• Schedule movers
• Get coupon for movers from friend or buy a Bucky Book
• Transfer utilities
• Turn on water
• Turn on internet
• Buy TV antenna/ digital converter box/ thing that will play Netflix movies
• Voyage to Ikea
• Futon???
• Kitchen table Computer desk
• Update address with services/ put in change of address with post office
• Figure out how to watch something/ listen to music while using treadmill in garage
• Pack and move small stuff
• Have movers take over big stuff
• Clean current apartment
• Unpack at new apartment
• Wash and put away dishes
• Transfer renter's insurance to new place
• Finish taking out trash at new apartment (long story...)
• E-mail new address
• Update address on magazine subscriptions
• Donation to St. Vinny's

We'll plan to take another load over tonight - hopefully everything from the storage unit plus more random odds and ends- and put away and wash one more load of dishes.  Even though it's a lot of work to get everything moved and unpacked, I think we both agree that it's going to be very nice living there.  

iThink iLike iT

Was the title way too much?

Yesterday evening we joined the 2nd decade of the 21st century and bought an iPad2.

Daniel got it all set up last night, and I played with it for a little while this morning.  I was proud of myself for figuring out how to open my e-mail, use Google reader, set up an Apple account, download the NPR app and listen to a program over the computer speakers all on my own and all without getting angry and throwing something soft.

So far today has been busy.  I got the grocery shopping done this morning and then loaded and unloaded a car full of kitchen stuff at the new apartment.  We're planning to take a second load over this afternoon once Daniel gets home from school and will probably load up the car once more tonight so I can unload and start organizing tomorrow morning while Daniel is rehearsing for the church service.

We also have tentative plans to have dinner at Eldorado Grill tonight as my official birthday dinner.  Here's hoping they'll make a virgin margarita!  Now I'm off to play with our new toy until Daniel comes home and it's time to start packing again.


 

We got the keys!

Our new home sweet home:

There were many days when I wasn't sure this was actually going to come through (including yesterday up until about 4:30pm), but we got the keys to our new place, and we're really really moving!

Proof!

We took over a load of stuff yesterday and packed the car last night so I could unload more this morning while Daniel was rehearsing at church.  Not bad for an evening's work:

There's rain in the forecast, but I'd love to take one more load over this afternoon (with Daniels' help, he's planning to take the afternoon off).  We have a few boxes of books (mainly books from our childhood) that would be good to take over plus more decorative items that are easy to move.  Moving one car load at a time actually makes the whole thing feel more manageable.  I can't wait to start putting things away and thinking about the nursery!