Stella's Tale

Baby

It keeps growing... and growing

9:05 PM

Prepare yourself. Look away if you have to.

I'm about to post growing belly pictures. Don't worry, they are not of an exposed belly.

So, if you're ready, here goes nothing!

And if you're not, well, tough crap. I warned you.

And now, for a side by side to show just how much I've actually grown:

Today I am 15 weeks and 1 day preggo. And we got to hear our little monster's heartbeat on the Doppler. Pretty. Darn. Cool.

I've been feeling really good throughout this pregnancy, thus far. No morning sickness. Clothes (somewhat) still fit so far. And the only cravings I've been having are for sweets, cheese and mexican food. Not really that unlike myself.

Oh, and my sense of smell has turned up a few thousand notches and I pee about 72 times a day.

Luckily, I discovered the wonderfulness of gummy prenatal vitamins. I hate to swallow pills. Especially ginormous pills. And I can't do so without applesauce because I'm a huge baby. So the gummies have been awesome. Who doesn't like to eat candy before bed? And that's just what they taste like.

Oh, and Erik has been wonderful throughout all of this. He's come to every doctor's appointment. Puts up with my laziness when it comes to wanting take out pizza vs. the perfectly good pork chops that are sitting in the fridge waiting to be cooked (which may or may not have happened tonight...). And is overall just wonderful, supportive and amazing. I'm quite lucky and so is this little boy or girl that we get to meet in 5 months.

In case you were wondering, nope, we are not going to find out if it's a boy or girl until this little monster, or Frank as we call him//her, decides to make an appearance. I know. It's hard to believe with what a planner I am. But it just seems more fun this way.

So, that's the update for now. Stay tuned.

PS - Hopefully one of these days I'll get back to actually posting regularly with updates on our house. We'll see. That would take me getting off the couch and actually doing something new to the house!

Baby

A Letter

9:57 PM

(originally written February 14, 2012)

I woke up Sunday morning without any realization that my life was about to change so dramatically. In fact, all week I had been telling myself to be realistic and not to get my hopes up.

So, when I was sitting in the car on Sunday morning at 11:39 AM, I don't know why my hands were shaking when I dialed the phone. I left a message and waited. Impatiently. Thank goodness Erik was right there with me or I would not have been able to handle it.

And then at 11:43 AM when the phone rang, I was prepared for the worst. And I told myself that either way, I wouldn't cry.

And then I heard those words.

"Your test came back positive."

And I looked at Erik in disbelief and simply said, "Are you serious?"

And the voice on the other line said "Yes."

And I couldn't help it. The tears just started flowing.

Tears of pure and absolute joy.

At that moment I realized that I was going to be a mom. And that Erik was going to be a dad. An awesome and amazing dad.

After 18 long months, our prayers had finally been answered.

There's not a lot of moments that you can say will really change your life. And there's not a lot of moments that you remember so vividly.

I remember as a kid when I had the chicken pox and my dad stayed home to paint with me.

I remember meeting Erik the first time (by the bathroom).

I remember sitting in my living room in my first house when my mom told me my grandpa was in the hospital and wasn't going to make it.

I remember when Erik got down on one knee and proposed.

I remember walking down the aisle toward him on our wedding day.

I remember sitting in the hospital the day Erik was diagnosed with a blood clot.

And now I have the memory of the moment I found out I was going to be a mom.

And the moment where Erik told me that he would be there for me no matter what. And the many times he and I have said the words "I love you" in the last 2 days.

It's still surreal. And I have a feeling it will be for at least a few more weeks.

So, here goes nothing.

I can't wait to meet you, little one.

Thank you for already changing my life. And for giving me yet another memory. And so many more to look forward to.

Love,
Your Momma

Bathroom

All About The Benjamin

6:56 AM

I used to buy the cheap paint at Home Depot, Lowe's or Menards. In Indiana it took me 4-5 coats of yellow paint to cover my dining room walls and even after it was done I still wasn't completely happy with it.

So, when it came to painting our master bathroom and bedroom I decided it was time for a change. Because I hate painting. Despise it. But I love how it makes a room so different and so I will continue to torture myself.

I ended up putting on my big girl pants, taking a deep breath and purchasing Benjamin Moore Regal Select in Annapolis Gray for our bathroom.

And I loved it so much I painted our master bedroom with it. It even inspired me to buy a new duvet for our bed since the big yellow duvet was proving difficult to decorate around. Which then further inspired us to order blinds from my brother to replace the nasty old white 'wood' blinds that are in all of our bedrooms. And once we have those, I'll be getting curtains to hang as well.

All that because of a little can of paint.

And I have to say that this stuff is ah-mazing. I will never buy cheap paint again. Ever.

It's as thick as a paste and takes 1 coat plus some touch up if you're like me and don't take your time painting.

I also just used it to paint our half bath because I was so sick of the dingy walls in there. And I have other plans for that room to update it a little during its wait to be remodeled. But more on that another day.

Original image can be found here. Oh, and I was not paid to recommend this product. I just love it so much I decided to write about it at 6:30 on a Wednesday morning.

Bathroom

The Bathroom

11:05 PM

After many, many, many months I've decided to finally show you pictures of our finished bathroom.

And by finished, I mean painted and sort of clean. But definitely not decorated. And no window treatments are up. And there may be a shower cap in some of the photos. Because I am apparently an 80 year old woman that uses a shower cap.And forgets to put it away before she takes pictures.

Anywho... back to the main event.

The bathroom.

Oh, and if you need a refresher on the befores and durings (including the previous layout) then be sure to click on the links. I'm A) too lazy to repost all of it and B) I don't know where my illustrator layouts disappeared to.