Rocking Chair

"Wagon Wheel" - Old Crow Medicine Show

Happy Monday, everyone.  

I've been looking forward to writing this post for months now.  

I knew when the time came to put words to the photos and memories, that I'd be well into my third trimester, finished the nursery and hopefully, feeling relaxed and as prepared as you can be for your first child.  I hit 36 weeks yesterday.  And this crazy feeling of ohmygosh-this-is-really-gonna-happen-soon hit me.  I think the emotions came sweeping in even more, because it's hitting Steve so hard.  When he sees baby girl moving all over my entire belly, when he rubs my belly and constantly keeps his hands on it while we're together, with wide eyes and complete awe...

It all sinks in on a completely different level than it has the past eight months.  

I go there - to that place where I'm in labor...we're headed to the hospital...we're meeting our daughter.

And then I think about the fact that she will be here in a month or less...

and my heart races so fast, I get dizzy from all the love swelling inside of me.

I get that same dizzy feeling whenever I rock in her rocking chair.

 The rocking chair was the first completed piece for the nursery.  

We began the project after Thanksgiving and by early December, it was finished.

It sat in baby girl's room for a good month before we tackled anything else.  I loved walking into her room and rocking back and forth, going to that happy place and imagining all that the room would become and all that would become of our life in the coming months.

Muffin loved the chair too. 

 I would often find her sleeping, curled up in one of my nani's old blankets that rested on it.

Two Christmases ago, my dad told me he wanted me to have it - the rocking chair that had been in our family since before I was born.   If there was any piece of furniture in the house I grew up in

 that meant something to me, it was that chair. 

That chair has so many stories...some heartfelt, and some very funny ones.

I remember my dad sitting in that chair almost every single night.  He'd put his headphones on - he always had really fancy headphones - the huge ones that cupped your ears just right.  He'd get lost in his music, close his eyes and sing at the top of his lungs...always in his own little world.

Even though I was young, I knew it was his escape.  I knew it was his "go to" when he wanted to forget and just be at peace.

And that chair means so much to me.  Because he wanted me to have it and because of the sentimental fact that I know how much peace it is going to now bring Steve and I every time we rock our daughter in it.

As for the funny stories it holds...

As I said, my dad would get completely lost in his music.  And you knew he couldn't hear a thing, let alone see anything, with his eyes wide shut.  My little (turd of a) brother (okay, okay, and sometimes I) would sneak behind the chair and tie my dad to it with this thin red and white rope we had from one of our old toys.  How my dad didn't notice Nicholas stringing it through one of his belt loops and tying it at least 8 times around one of the chair's spindles, I do not know.  But needless to say, it made for lots of laughter (on our part) once my dad came out of his music trance and realized his Levi's were now one with the chair.

I remember rocking in that chair when I was little.  Climbing into it and pushing off the floor with my feet...feeling the same peaceful feeling I knew my dad felt when he sat it in.

I found this photo last week while going through my old pictures - my mom and I - Christmas 1985 - in that same old rocking chair in front of our Christmas tree.

I'll be putting a photo of baby girl and I in the chair beside this photo and framing them after her arrival.

The beginning of a new chair and new memories...

At the end of November,

Steve took the chair down to the basement.  He used about six giant tarps to shield the basement from  all the dust and paint and joked that it looked like something from a horror movie.  He sanded for hours, prepping it for its first coat of primer.

Muffin left little paw prints in the dusty mess and scoped out the scene.

And a few days later, after picking the perfect color for the chair with Steve, I put on my mask and grabbed a few brushes and was ready to turn that gray into something bright and pretty.

It took me two days and about five and a half hours to complete the three coats of paint the chair needed.  It drank the paint right up.

This was after one and a half coats.

Red.  Happy, bright and cheery, red.

 "Red Wagon" to be exact.

I asked Jessica to join me for the rest of the ride.  I couldn't wait to paint together and share in the love that we'd put into the chair.  I didn't have a sliver of doubt that Jessica would put all her love into it.  The girl has such an imagination and eye for creating beautiful things.

Steve and I chose 7 tiny tubs of paint to compliment the red.  And the rest was up to Jessica and I.

We set ourselves up and got right to work.  The first day, spending about six hours together.

Jessica and I both had a vision for the chair.  We freak each other out with how much we sometimes think alike.  We pictured something a little MacKenzie Childs/a little Alice in Wonderland.

All we had to do was paint a few details on the chair, and we were already smiling and shrieking at our love for it. We get very excited about this kinda stuff.

You can just see Jessica's mind working here.

Jessica took the left side of the chair and I took the right.

(And then Jessica took the right whenever I messed up - which was only 4,391 times)

I think we laughed more than anything during the three days it took to complete the chair.

As I've said before, I can be a little careless - a little too quick when it comes to all things crafty.   

For instance - this would be Jessica's first spindle (before any cleaning up)

And this...

would be mine.  LOL.

Don't worry, we Jessica fixed it.

Twinks joined us on numerous occasions.

The end of our first day!

The second day, we began the top of the chair.  Jessica had the (very smart) idea to create stencils for the paisleys and heart.  What would I do without her?!  I woulda totally tried to draw them on.  And we all know what that would have turned out like.

Yep, it would have turned out like these super straight and even lines I created on some of the spindles.  I had come home from cleaning one night and thought I'd add some purple stripes.  About two hours (and some very fun choice words) later, I gave up and sent Jessica a string of hilarious text messages about my adventure.  I liked the way my weird white speckles turned out on the other spindles, but the yellow and purple - they looked like brokeass honeypots. 

They looked like I painted them in the dark with my feet.

We got some tape the next day and fixed them up.  The best we could.  And laughed and laughed at my steady hands.

On the last day, we designed the paisleys.

*I wrote baby girl's nickname (one of her many nicknames) in the solid yellow paisley.  Just photoshopped it in the upcoming photos.*

Jessica busted out these cute designs in no time.

And I...I messed up just once or twice, naming one of my paisleys "the eyeball flower of death" - the paisley below my fingers.

This is my favorite part of the chair (besides all the little white dots).  I painted LOVE in the middle and Jessica shaded the blue banner so beautifully. 

After two weeks and at least 24 hours of work love, the chair was ready!!

We set the timer on my camera and got ready for some fun pictures.  We were finished and it felt so good.  I could have cried.  And I did later.  But, right after, we just wanted to jump up and down and celebrate.

There's no way this chair would have come out nearly as pretty, had Jessica not been by my side.  

Working on it together makes this sweet rocking chair even more sentimental to me.

Jessica and I signed our initials on the back legs of the chair (even if Steve disapproved of our location choice) and smiled at our masterpiece.

And later, Mr. sprayed on a couple coats of gloss and upstairs, she went.

36 weeks...

Rocking our daughter in this chair for the first time is going to take my breath away. 

Rocking our daughter in this chair while I carry her inside of me

 is such a peaceful feeling.

Have a rockin' day, everyone. <3

I'll be back on Thursday or Friday with the nursery reveal!!

Peaceful Lovin',

Come Away With Me

 

"Come Away With Me" - Norah Jones

 

 

 

 Last weekend, we took a break.  From all the cleaning.  Nesting.  Fixin' things up. 

Putting things together.

 

And we relaxed.

And we ate.  Oh, did we eat.

 

For once, it didn't take a lot of coaxing for Steve to get me to step away from the Lysol and disinfectant wipes (I've become obsessed with them over the past month).

All he had to do was ask me out for a Mexican dinner date and I put down the sponges, spray bottles (and those amazing wipes) and hopped in the shower right away.

 

Saturday night, Steve earned himself the name of "pregnant man." 

He ordered two meals at dinner.  The burritos weren't enough.  He needed a second plate of chimichangas (I honestly don't know if that's what the second plate was...I forget).

 

 

 

I bet him he wouldn't be able to finish it all.  And I won.  He couldn't even finish his chimichangas (whatever they were).

And ahh, my mole enchiladas.  I had been majorly craving them.  But I couldn't finish

my plate either.

 

 

 

 

So Sunday morning, we continued the relaxing and ate our leftovers in bed.  Steve brought up two trays with our feasts from the night before.  And we watched "Despicable Me."  I always cry when Gru reads the girls that kitten book.  Not just because I'm a sucker for kittens.  Because I'm a sucker for the sweet relationship that begins to truly develop between the girls and Gru during that scene.

I sat, blubbering into my last enchilada 

about how if that was a real book, I'd read it to baby girl every single day.

 

 

I love when they drink the milk.  We may have rewinded this scene a few times.

  Yes, I know, I'm crazy.

 

 

We stayed in bed until mid-afternoon watching t.v.

I was happy I didn't feel the urge to break out those lovely wipes or furiously scrub anything.

  I just wanted to savor those moments with Steve. 

 

And the next few days too.

 

 

Monday, we woke up and headed for a little getaway - a pre-baby vacation.

 

We stopped at Wawa, grabbed a couple of bagels and coffee (and gummi bears - a roadtrip essential) and were off to Maryland. We tossed around a few different ideas as to where our destination should be.  I really didn't have a preference whatsoever.  I just wanted to relax.  And that's so not like me.  I usually get extremely bored with "just relaxing" on vacation. 

I think being 35+ weeks pregnant had something to do with my change of opinion.

But not just because I'm getting bigger by the day, because I wanted to spend quality time with Steve...not feeling like we have to see this and do that and go here and go there every minute of the day.  I just wanted to wing it.  I told the Mr. to choose.

 

 

 

 

He went with Annapolis, MD.  And we quickly discovered that it was the perfect choice.

 

 Our first day there was just the right mix of seeing

and doing absolutely nothing.

The weather was pleasantly warm and perfect for taking in the the city.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The streets were filled with tons of unique shops and restaurants.

 

 

 

 

 

I totally meant to go back and get one (or 13) of these.  Now I'm really wishing I did.

 

 

 

 

 I told Steve to pick our first food destination.  We were starving.  We were starving during the whole trip, pretty much.  But I think it was more that the food was just so stinkin' good.  It always left you wanting more.

 

 

 

 

The best damn crab dip we've ever had.  And they gave us each a loaf of bread - awesome!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Afterwards, we took a drive.  The sunset was gorgeous; a mix of fire orange and hot pink.

 

 

 

 

 

We went back to our hotel room.

I always love scoping out the room service menu.

Food excites me, people.

 

 

 

 

Steve placed the order and I laid in the tub for a good 45 minutes. 

 

 

 

 

A classy dinner of chicken fingers and fries.  That would be a big bowl of honey mustard sitting next to my plate.  Steve has learned that condiments (or should I say, forgetting to ask for condiments) can make Maria a little nuts.  He won extra points with that bowl, right there. 

 

A few chicken fingers (and hours of channel surfing) later and we were snoozin'.

 

 

Ahh, what do you know, more food!!

 

Friends recommended this restaurant to us earlier Tuesday morning.  There was no doubt we had to go once we found out it was one we saw featured on "Man vs. Food."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 We didn't even try to give their famous "Colossal Challege" a whirl.  I don't think a 6 pound milkshake paired with a

1 pound burger would have made mama (or baby) feel too hot.

 

 

 

 

But we did have room for a chocolate chip cookie dough milkshake.

It was so good.  And ya know, it helped balance out my veggie omelet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Afterwards, we stopped at the casino nearby.  I was so happy it was non-smoking.

 

 

 

 

And so happy when I saw they had one of Mr's favorite games - "Deal or No Deal."

 

He shoulda chose DEAL!

 

 

I found this penny slot and pressed my luck for a good half an hour.  Those puppies were lucky little pups.  If it were called "Kitten Stampede," I bet I would have been even luckier.

 

I think Steve said "Come on, puppy stampede.  Gimme a puppy stampede!" about 378 times.

 

 

35 week bump shots...

 

 

 

 

 

This picture cracks me up.  After my fifth bubble bath of the trip, I begged Steve to massage my feet.  I've mentioned before that Steve is horrible in the massage department.  He knows he is and I've told him since day one.  Well actually, the first time, many years ago, he caught me whispering to Jessica about his wimpy and pathetic massages. 

 

But Tuesday night, Steve earned some more points  He made my big, fat, achin' dogs feel like

big, fat, happy dogs.   And I even gave myself a pedicure - for the first time since late summer - Ewww)!  That was a Kodak moment.  I could barely reach them...sitting on the floor, huffing and puffing with my bath towel half falling off of me.  Grunting with each reach to every piggie.

  I had to call Steve to help me up.  We were cracking up.

 

 

 

 

More bumps...

 

I found this dress during one of my nesting frenzies.  It

 was in a bag with the tags still on it.  And from a good two years ago from a shopping trip with Kelly.  It's not maternity.  But I decided I'd have some fun and squeeze baby and I into it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our last night was a good one.  We found a window seat at a restaurant close by.  I ordered a giant "crab pretzel" and cranberry and club soda.  Requested music, and smiled when the guy playing that night knew "our" songs.  We talked about old times and funny memories.  We talked about the good stuff.  The happy stuff.  The amazing stuff that has come from the sometimes what was sad and scary stuff.  We talked about us. 

We talked about our soon-to-be new family. 

It was one of those nights we'll always remember.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On our last day, we woke up early and enjoyed the late checkout time...relaxing in bed with coffee, the news and game shows we've never heard of.

 

 

 

 

 

Our last food destination...

It was a sweet one.

 

 

 

 Mocha cream stuffed french toast

 

 

 

 And coconut cream cheese stuffed french toast

 

 

 

 Impossible to finish even half. 

I had it for breakfast again today (I mean, yesterday...it's late...you know the deal with me and my "night" posts).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Home sweet home...

 

 

 

There was a package waiting at our door when we returned home.

It was addressed to Steve.  But with a silly expression on his face, he asked me to open it.

 

The note attached said to "read before opening"...

 

I was a bit confused.  Okay, completely confused at what his letter meant.

 

 

 

But then I opened the package.

And I cried so very hard.

 

 

 

 

I had no idea there was a real "Sleepy Kittens" book.

  I had no idea that Steve was not looking at ESPN on his phone whenever he ordered the book on that relaxing Sunday.

 

It was the perfect ending to our trip.

 

I can't wait to read it to baby girl. 

 

And I can't wait to watch our daughter with the amazing man

 I spent the past 5 uninterrupted days with.

 

<3<3<3

 

 

 Have a wonderful day, everyone.

 

I will be back at the end of the weekend or beginning of week with the rocking chair post.

 

 

 

 

So Much Lovin',