What's wrong with this picture?

The other night I found the cutest little froggy stuffed animal- so I bought it and brought it home for our baby girl. Franz and I were joking around trying to decide whether it was a 'girl' frog or a 'boy' frog. I left the room (and the frog with Franz) for one minute to switch over the laundry...and this is what I came back to find:

I guess we have our answer. We've been laughing at that frog for 2 days now!

Nursery Teaser Picture

There is progress, and I've learned to sew again! I think I want a "craft room" in our next house. I've been trying to make by hand as many things as I can for her nursery- I just think that's a neat gift to give to our daughter, it makes me happy when I'm working on something for her. My inspiration for the artwork came from etsy.com- I can't take credit for it entirely. There is a woman that makes these collages out of clippings from magazines, so I thought I'd give it a try. I made the hydrangea shown above and I also have a zinnia that will go on the other side of the window.

25 Week Update

Well today I thought I'd give you all an upate with how I've been feeling these days. As you can tell, I've finally "popped"- meaning, my tummy now enters a room before I do! This has been a learning experience to say the least. There are so many common everyday tasks that require you to bend over or squat down, etc. and I am almost to the point where it is impossible to do these things. I think I gave myself my last pedicure this weekend- good thing winter is almost here and I can wear socks. But that brings another challenge- putting on socks and shoes. I have never had to put on my socks sideways, I've always bended my knee toward my chest and put them on that way. Well, of course I can't do that now, so I have to hoist my ankle up onto my opposite knee and put my socks and shoes on that way.

Sleeping- I've always been a stomach and back sleeper. Of course those are the two positions they say not to sleep in when you're pregnant, so I've learned to adjust to sleeping on my sides. The past few nights I've noticed my hips are pretty sore from sleeping on them. I'm going to have to figure something out. I've had one leg cramp (another common thing) that has awoken me in the middle of the night yelping out in pain. I think I scared Franz because he jumped out of bed so quickly he didn't know which end was up. He was quick to my rescue and rubbed it out. I am lucky to have such a good guy.

Appetite- I've gained 19 pounds so far and enjoyed putting on every single one of those pounds! I'm constantly amazed at how much I feel like eating now. Yesterday I had 4 pieces of pizza for lunch- yowza! Last night Franz walked away from his plate of mac and cheese for a moment and I found myself stealing his fork for a few bites. He caught me of course, but just laughed and got me my own plate and fork. I think I ate a whole loaf of pumpkin bread by myself a few weeks ago.

Speaking of food, I think it's time for a snack...

Seriously people...

Should I have a garage sale or not? That has been the question. Do I really have enough stuff to warrant a garage sale? Do I really want to spend Friday evening sorting and pricing stuff, posting signs, and all day Saturday dealing with people who want everything for free? I decided no way.

Instead, I decided to give Craigslist a try. Now I've heard some horror stories about Craigslist, but figured what do I have to lose. So far I've made $235 and maybe $45 more tonight! Not bad, totally beats a garage sale. Everyone I have encountered has been friendly, responsive and respectful.

Today I saw this posting on Craigslist and I just had to laugh. I mean really, who is going to respond to this ad?

FREE PINE TREES (RESEDA, CA)

FREE 7 (SEVEN) PINE TRESS IN THE FRONT YARD, THEY ARE MORE THAN 30 FEET HIGH. YOU NEED A CRANE TO TAKE THEM OUT. YOU DIG AND HAUL AWAY...SERIOUS ONLY..PLEASE SEND ME THE E-MAIL AND I'LL REPLY TO YOU ASAP. THANKS FOR LOOKING...

First of all, I don't think these are pine trees. Secondly, why would I want to do your landscaping for you? Are you serious?

Mindy and Me

My friend Mindy is having twin boys- due one week after me on February 14th. She just got put on bedrest, so when we were in town this weekend we stopped by for a visit. The guys went out to dinner, while Mindy and I got to hang out on the sofa. We had a good time!

Look what we saw!!!

Oh, I'd love to be an Oscar Mayer wiener.
That is what I'd truly like to be.
'Cause if I were an Oscar Mayer wiener,
Everyone would be in love with me.

Later that night when we were at Ikea, I had a craving for a hot dog (gee, I wonder why?) so I got their meal deal on the way to the car...2 hot dogs, a bag of chips and a bottle of water for $2.50!!! And of course I have the mustard stain on my shirt to prove it.

Blogging, by Franz

I casually asked Franz the other day if he had been following our blog and the updates. He casually changed the subject. I asked him again tonight, and since he was on the computer when I asked, he couldn't find a way out of it this time.

A few minutes later I hear a grunt, groan, and pfff. Here are some of his exact quotes:

"This blogging thing isn't for me."
"It's too chickish."
"Blogging is along the lines of fantasy football and video games- a waste of time."
"It's Jen's Design Blog."

So I asked him if he would like to make any entries, about work, or anything else that is of interest or importance to him.

"Pfff, why would I want to do that?"

Okay, how can I make it more masculine?

"You can't, you're a chick."

So I guess eventhough I started this blog with the hope and intention of us both contributing to it, I will be the only one making entries. So you will see more design entries, more thoughts by Jen, more rants by Jen, etc. Basically more of the same thing you've already been seeing.

This means I can make this blog as chick-ish as I want!

"Knock yourself out toots."

Let there be color!

Yay- last night I finally got started painting the nursery. Remember the room is only 8'-6" x 9'-0" so it really shouldn't take that much time to do. However, I think I'm finally starting to accept that I can't move as easily or as quickly as I normally do. Monday night all I could do was tape around the ceiling and the baseboards and cover the carpet with plastic. I was pooped, and called it a night. Last night I was able to paint around the baseboards, the corners and around the ceiling. Franz took over for the second coat and finished that for me, again, I was pooped. Hopefully tonight Franz can roll a couple of coats on the walls and we'll be finished painting! We ultimately decided on a color by Behr called 'Corn Husk Green'- it was actually Franz's choice and I think he picked a really good one. Oh yeah- there is a new kind of painting tape available called Frog tape, and it's a dark green. Supposedly it's supposed to actually keep paint out of the areas you don't want paint so you get a clean, straight line. The darker color green in the photos is the Frog tape, the paint is the lighter color.

Hmmm...now I need some help. We were throwing away some old color boards here at work yesterday, and as I was chucking them in the dumpster I stopped myself. The frames are in pretty good condition, I wonder if I could salvage them and do something for the nursery with them? So I have 2 identical frames that are 28" x 40" and I don't know what, if anything, to do with them. Currently they are a guilded gold color with a bead style trim, but I can do whatever I want with them and the best part is they're free! Any ideas?

California- the land of fruits, nuts and flakes!

I believe this will be my first blog rant- but this got me so irked I just can't seem to let it go, so I thought I'd share with you all.

This past weekend I needed to run to Target. Of course it's super busy it being a weekend and all, so I, at 22 weeks pregnant, had to park way out in left field and walk what seemed to be a mile. That's okay, I need the exercise and I'm going to keep walking that far as long as I can- it's good for me. As I finally get closer to the front doors, I see a 1970's Volkswagon van (yep, you know the kind I'm talking about, with the handsewn hippy-dippy curtains and do-it yourself paint job) idling in the first handicapped spot. Then I notice the Obama '08 bumber sticker, but that's a whole different blog entry. What's that smell I ask myself? Oh, that would be the exhaust fumes sputtering out of the tailpipe. I don't get it, I thought all Obama supporters drove hybrids and preached about reducing your ecological footprint? Considering how much exhaust was being coughed out of the tailpipe of this idling van, maybe the owners should be supporters of the "drill baby drill" campaign instead, but that's just my opinion.

I go on inside, return my purchase from the previous night, wander through the store, stand in line for my new purchase, pay and leave. What do I see upon my exit? That stupid van again, still idling in the handicapped spot. Only this time, I spot the driver- a twenty-something guy that looks like the bleached blonde curly haired kid from the Blue Lagoon movie! He's not limping, he's not in a wheelchair, in fact he looks perfectly healthy! Now I start putting two and two together and realize he left the van idling because he was parked in a handicapped spot and didn't want to get a ticket for not having a placard. And secondly because he probably wouldn't be able to get the darn van started again once he turned the ignition off.

Then the icing on the cake- my friend Sarah will appreciate this one- as the van drives by I see two youngish looking girls sitting in the back smiling and laughing as they were bouncing their 18 month old babies on their laps! My jaw dropped, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. As I was retelling this story, one of my friends wondered if there even were seatbelts in 1970's Volkswagon vans. If there aren't, then that would explain why the infants weren't in car seats. But as a mom, wouldn't you avoid riding with your kid in cars that didn't have seatbelts?

To the passengers and driver of the 1970's Volkswagon van: head north on the 101 until you come to Berkley, you'll fit in better there with all the other fruits, nuts and flakes!

I feel better now that I got that off my chest. Hope I didn't offend anyone :)