The Nursery

FIVE DAYS! Until the due date, that is!

Below are some pictures of the (mostly) finished nursery. I am still waiting on one little storage cube project to be finished. I can't stress enough how much it rocks to have a Mom that is handy with a sewing machine!

As you can see, there is no "theme" and I prefer not to have things too "matchy-matchy". Lets all be honest here... this nursery is more for me than the baby. Although black, white, and red are the first colors a baby can see... ya... uh ... that is why I went with these colors :)

Here are the details because I know everyone wants to copy this exact nursery :)

Crib: Baby Mod - Olivia Crib purchased at (gasp) Walmart... this was hard for me... you can call me a snot but I don't shop here.

Glider: Dutailier - Purchased at babies r us as a floor model. Major discount!

Dresser/Changing Table: Already owned & store no longer in business.

Bookshelf: Ikea Expedit

Bookshelf Storage Cubes (not shown): Target's itso Fabric Storage Bin

End Table: Ikea's Lack Side Table

Curtains: Ikea (similar to these but plain white)

Added Curtain Fabric: Media Black/White Fabric from Warehouse Fabrics

Crib Skirt: Fabric from Hobby Lobby

Crib Sheet & Changing Pad Cover: Fabric purchased from a local quilting store and sewn by my Mom (aka Grandma). I have an additional red crib sheet that was purchased. It was NOT any cheaper to sew these on our own because you need to buy higher quality fabric since they get washed so often. We only did this for the color!

F-A-M-I-L-Y Photo Project: Photos taken by yours truly and printed at costco. They are hung on Ikea's Deka and Dignitet products

"K" Art: This was my favorite project and it was super cheap. I bought a blank canvas at Hobby Lobby and then used the magic of painter's tape to create. My friend Ashley at Decorating Obsessed gets credit for the original inspiration!

Mobile: Wimmer-Ferguson Infant Stim-Mobile from Amazon

Fun at the Farm with "B"

My nephew only has a part-time spot at daycare this summer before preschool starts in the fall. Therefore, my Mom is watching him 2 days a week. I usually head up there hang out for the afternoon at least one day. I was (of course) playing with the camera again and got some fun shots.

"B" spends a lot of time playing with old toys from my childhood (and his mother's). Anyone that knows my Mom would not be surprised that she kept a ton of these toys.



Another favorite toy of his is very much NOT old. He calls my iPad "my game" and he loves to play on it. This picture is pretty funny because there just isn't much room left on my lap for him!

New Toy for Mama

The baby doesn't get all the fun stuff this year. I just got a fancy new camera and have been having fun playing with all the settings. My Dad laughed when I showed him the pictures so far. He said as soon as we have kids, I won't be taking pictures of the animals anymore. But for now.....

These 2 pictures pretty much sum up the personality of our dogs.

Rocky is intense. This is him staring at a toy, daring us to attempt to throw it past him.


Duke is basically the polar opposite. Sleeps and begs for pets all day long.


Oh ya, we have a cat too :) She is a bit of a third class citizen in this household but she is not deprived in anyway and surprisingly, Duke (all 110 lbs of him) is terrified of her.

Baby Flood!

A flood (literally) made this shower rather memorable. This shower was hosted by my family. We like to meet in the middle since we live spread out across multiple states. The middle point is Omaha. Due to extensive flooding, the route to Omaha was a little complicated and slow.

The crew...

We played Baby Pictionary. I am not generally a fan of many shower games but for some reason, this family gets very into games. This is the same group that had an incredibly intense spoons tournament last Christmas.

Along with a lot of great gifts, everyone included their favorite (or their kid's favorite) children's book. I LOVE KIDS BOOKS!

It was a VERY long day going to and from Omaha (following all 2-lane routes) in the matter of 13 hours. It was well worth the trip!

SIDE NOTE: YES, I wear this teal outfit a lot. When you aren't working, it is hard to justify buying too many cute pregnancy clothes. I generally bum around in gauchos and a tank top!

Baby Downpour!

The second shower of the month was thrown by my good friend Anne & her mom, Kim (who happens to also be a good friend of my mom's). Anne and I have been friends since FIRST GRADE! She has a little boy and another baby on the way. I can't wait for our kids to grow up together too!

Anyway... On to the amazing downpour of friends, family, gifts, and delicious food that was this shower. It was a tad overwhelming the amount of friends that came to this shower. They were (as always) an absolute hoot. Never a dull moment with this group of crazy women :)

The Hostesses...

My friend Megan...

My pregnancy buddy, Casey. She is due a few weeks after me (also with a boy)!

My Grandma happened to be in town from Nebraska so she made it to this shower too (along with my sister and mom, of course).

I used to babysit these girls and now they are all in college or older. They make me feel OLD!

Baby Shower!

Wow! June has been a busy month! I had 3 baby showers and feel almost completely ready for the baby. The first family shower was thrown by Joe's family. The gracious hosts, my sister-in-law and mother-in-law, put together an adorable, fun, and delicious celebration!

The hostesses

I received a lot of great gifts, including a lot of beautiful handmade goodies. Joe's great-aunt crocheted this blanket...

My sister-in-law made this adorable hat!

Overgrown Landscape

When we moved in 3 years ago there was some incredibly overgrown and old shrubs in our front beds. The project has been ongoing since then and is still not really complete. One of my biggest annoyances with landscaping is when people don't think about the full growth potential for the plant. Between our house and sidewalk we have a 18" space for plants. That is pretty darn narrow. The plants that were there when we moved in are designed to get anywhere from 6-10' wide! Needless to say, it was a maintenance nightmare. They took over the sidewalk and actually damaged the side of our house! I almost forgot to take pictures but here is a progress shot of the removal (completed a few years ago).

Before:

Progress (today):

Obviously, these plants have a ways to grow but it will eventually look great. The Sky Pencil Hollies (3 in the middle) will eventually be about 6' tall and less than 2' wide. The ornamental grasses on either side of that will also be about 6' tall and just as narrow but for some reason they didn't do well and are struggling to grow back in this year. I planted Little Henry Sweetspire under the windows (and oh look! there are lights!) and they will stay less than 3' tall. Obviously, the Clematis and Daylilies will stay narrow enough as well.

Hopefully, in a few years I can post new pictures of a completed front landscape. We had some loss and setbacks this year due to some mud(d)jacking but I think it is coming together nicely.