39 1/2 weeks.

Waiting for a baby is no easy feat--every time I get in the car, I think "yup, I'll probably go into labor on my way to the grocery store..." Or I'll feel the familiar tightening of braxton-hicks contractions and my eyes will dart to the clock, wondering if it's the real deal and not just practice.  Nothing yet, besides lots of practice, but we're getting closer. (My official due date is Nov. 5th.) It kind of feels like waiting for Christmas morning... all day!

I'm glad I have little Liv to wait with me. I tell her that we're going to meet little sister soon, and she'll smile--but I can't wait to see how she really reacts when she meets the baby for the first time, and she realizes we're bringing her home with us! I'm praying that transition goes well--R and I are going to do our best to help Liv with the change. If you have any suggestions that worked for you, I'm all ears. :)

[My big girl and me, after taking her to the park this weekend. Soon we'll have two to take, two to smile with in pictures, two to love! Can't wait.]

it's officially fall.

Yup; right now, the trees are being pushed around by some crazy wind, and leaves are everywhere, crinkling down the street and flying over the fences. Even Dex is happier observing the backyard from the back door instead of going outside. I am so excited for cooler weather and a reason to bundle up again...!

Last Sunday, we went to Cider Days, an annual event in our area where you can press your own cider, buy tasty carnival food, watch tractor pulls, enjoy music, kiddie rides, etc.  Even though Liv was completely wiped after the nursery at church, she found her second wind and enjoyed the afternoon dancing to country music and petting some animals in the petting zoo.

The cider was delicious--we left with two bottles (although we didn't press them ourselves). I've always thought of cider as being apple juice seasoned with cinnamon and cloves, not just juice squeezed from particular kinds of apples... Now I know. Good stuff.

Next week: the pumpkin patch. Probably one of my favorite places to go during the whoooooole year.

file restart.

We recently moved an old, clunky filing cabinet to the basement from the baby's room (former office).  It found a home in ours when my parents downsized last year, and we quickly filled it with anything and everything... it's industrial sized. I have no idea where my dad bought this thing! We were tempted to sell it on Craigslist and get something smaller, but decided to keep it and utilize it for more things.

Re-placed in the basement.

Before we moved it, we took everything out and combed through all of our files, discarding old papers and pay stubs, etc. We had filled almost all four drawers with paper; after downsizing, I can fit all of our files into two drawers! So here's my plan:

...Use the third drawer for crafty kid supplies (finger painting stuff, pipe cleaners, whatever Liv, sister, & friends will enjoy using, etc.) and the bottom drawer for office supplies that won't fit in our upstairs desk (extra pens, pencils, tape, copy paper, etc.).  It's kind of silly how giddy this makes me, but I'm glad these things will finally have a designated space vs. floating around in basement land.

At this point, we've:

Moved the cabinet
Organized our files
Filled cabinet for use

Before I put everything in its place, I wanted to show you how I organized our actual files.

 

I came up with broad categories, like Health Records, Government Documents, Investments, Credit Cards, Receipts, Taxes etc. and labeled 11 x 17 file folders with these titles, and then filled them with specific manilla folders:







Then I put the main categories in alphabetical order:

It feels good to know what we have instead of wading through pointless paper when we're looking for something we need!

I suggest sitting down with your favorite cup of tea or coffee for this job, as well as some tunes that keep you awake. :)

pumpkin moon

Soo...How is it already almost October? I have six more weeks until baby bug is born, and I'm feeling mentally prepared with a twist of nervous right about now.  More excited than nervous, truly; I just have so many questions that won't have answers until she's here. Like: How is Liv going to react to a new baby? Will this baby be jaundice too? Am I going to feel as emotional as I did with Liv afteward? What is bug's name going to be...? We've been practicing breathing exercises and discussing our "birth plan," so on that front, I feel good about things. There is just so much to look forward to and not know right now, and that's what's giving me butterflies. I can't wait to meet you, baby girl!

I moved a few things into the baby's room last week, to R's dismay... But hey, when you feel a burst of energy, you just gotta go for it, right? Okay, so it probably wasn't smart to move a dresser and a couple of rocking chairs around, but I went slow and shimmied as best I could, no lifting. All was well. I remember taking it fairly easy when I was pregnant with Olivia--this time around it's almost as if I forget I'm pregnant, and try to do much more than I should. The exception to this has been yard work--I can't bend over that well, no matter how energized I feel, haha. I'd still like to winterize my pots and get some of the old plants out of our beds though... Nesting much?

I'm finding I'm more of a fall cleaner than a spring cleaner. Okay, so again, this year is kind of an exception as nesting has been my driving force, but it's true. Digging out fall decorations lights the cleaning torch. Maybe it's the whole getting-the-house-ready-for-winter thing vs. cleaning-it-out-for-spring thing. So it's been a great time of purging and organizing and getting back to what I had originally dreamed about way back in January.

More about that on the way.

For now, here are a few of my favorite little things I dug out a couple of weeks ago:

Who wouldn't love to own a bakery named Pumpkin Moon?

Cream pumpkins... love it.

Bought this in Idaho Springs in 2009. Makes me smile.

Little pumpkin tealight holders - $1 a pop at Hobby Lobby

Homegrown Jack-Be-Little pumpkins! Liv helped me pick these.

Faux pumpkins on candlesticks. Brilliant. Thanks, Pinterest.

I also made a little Owlish art insert to display in a frame, heehee:

October is upon us! What are your favorite things to have around you this time of year?

card storage.

Got this idea from seeing some gals at Bible study use these rings to keep notecards with verses together...

Originally, I thought I'd put Liv's baby shower and birthday cards in her baby book, but now I can put them in a memory box for her to comb through someday--I like how all of the cards are corralled, but easy to flip through (vs. just using a rubber band or something).

I did the same for R's 30th birthday cards as he has a drawer he keeps mementos in. Sweet.

Punch. Click. Done!