Lovely Chalkboards

As we all know, I'm addicted to pintrest. I love how it inspires little craft projects, suggests new yummy recipes,  and helps provide fun wardrobe ideas. The following craft project is straight from pintrest. I had an older wedding picture in a gorgeous frame that was just sitting in the closet b/c I don't have the wall room (or nerve) to hang a 2' X3' portrait of myself (very Vivian Leigh).

Anywho, the fame is lovely and I wanted to display it. Also needed something to put at the welcome entrance/sign in table for the baby shower next week. So, chalkboard it is...

We went to Lowes and had them cut a 2' x 3' piece of plywood (the smoothest board we could find). Then we sanded and prepped the board with two coats of spray enamel. Three coats of chalkboard paint later and we have this little jem. Super cute! Can't wait to see how it turns out at the shower. 

That was my little project. Care to see Justin's?

This soon-to-be daddy is building a shed this afternoon. Wow! I don't envy him in the least. He's such a hard worker and I'm super proud of how hard he works. It makes my chalkboard project seem a little elementary :) He laid the sand and paver foundation last week.

Please note the delicious coffee on the chair in the background. That was my contribution to the project. :) He's going to be a great daddy is 7 weeks! Yikes!

I'm off with the garden club to help pick a yard of the month!

UPDATE: Shed is done. It only took him 5 hours and 40 minutes. 20 minutes shy of the projected time frame offered by the directions with two people! So I'd say that is quite the accomplishment :) Here he is putting on the finishing touches...

Please close, please CLOSE!

Success!

And, he has someplace quiet to go when he needs a little alone time. The new man cave as the old one is about to be transformed into the little man cave ;)

Good job honey! Now who is going to clean up the yard? Just kidding, the aftermath isn't bad at all. Looking forward to decorating the outside of the fence now. But first, we have a nursery to do!

Wedding Bells Part II

The next Yandle girl to take the plunge was Chandler. She and Johnny opted for an outdoor wedding and reception. Brave girl! Wish I had the courage. I was terrified of the heat, rain, bugs, and frizz. The weather turned out to be perfect that day! The ceremony was held in a cozy, intimate garden setting and the reception followed under a pecan grove. The entire event was comfortable and very southern!

Below is the bride and groom during the ceremony. This is the first wedding I've ever attended where the groom cried when the bride came down the aisle. I have to say it was the most precious thing I've ever seen!

Well maybe the second most precious thing I've ever seen. Look at this sweet princess!!! Baby Julianne is six weeks old already! I can't believe it. I didn't manage to get any other pictures at the reception b/c I was too busy snuggling this little jewel. :) Can you blame me?

Sisters during the ceremony. Beautiful bouquets and dresses.

A picture of the maids and flowers that I stole from the very talented photographer. Click on the picture below to go straight to the Woven Nest website.

Check out this cake! Shannon made it. It was delicious with strawberry filling. I don't know how she had time to care for a new born and make this beauty!

The happy couple ran out under a shower of candy sprinkles. Also a first. What a fun day!

Wedding Bells Part I

I finally found the charger for my camera and was able to upload all the pictures I've been hoarding. This has been a busy wedding season...especially for the Yandle family. We were lucky enough to attend both Jacqueline's and Chandler's weddings in August and September. They were both so beautiful and reflective of each bride's unique personality. Part I is Jacqueline...

Jacqueline was married first, in August. The wedding was girly and pink. Very precious! Here is a picture of the bride getting ready, isn't she gorgeous!

Sherry and I hosted a brunch for the bride and her maids. They nibbled while they got gussied up. Justin and Cliff were big helps when it came to setting up, breaking down, and, of course, finishing up the left overs :)

A friend from work made these adorable and delicious sugar cookies! She is so talented and I'm hoping will be available to make a few for our baby shower next month.

The flower girl admiring her hair and makeup. Isn't she precious?!?

I didn't get great pics of the bride and groom but, trust me, she looked amazing! Just like a princess. The flowers were right off the cover of a magazine and the cake was gorgeous!

And they lived happily ever after...

Sunday Happenings

Today was a busy day. The weather this week has been gorgeous but the heat was definitely back in full force today as Justin and I headed to Lowe's after church to collect the shed he ordered a few weeks ago. In addition to the shed, we needed pavers, paver sand, and potting soil. Obviously, that was not all going to fit in our car in one trip. Poor Justin worked so hard loading, unloading, and hauling all the heavy stuff and not allowing me to help a bit. Below are the "before" pictures of the storage area behind the fence.

First, the storage shed. "Some assembly required," as in 6 hours according to the directions. And that is with TWO people! Yikes.

Next is the view to the left and right side of the fence. It needs to be weeded, the junk and old lumbar removed, the ground leveled, sanded, pavers laid, and finally the shed built and placed. I'm pretty sure we're going to have to someone secure it to the fence. My word, that is quite the project.

If only it were the only thing on the to do list. We also need to pack up the junk in the guest room/nursery, paint, assemble the crib and other furniture, decorate and find a rocker. Thankfully, we have 10 weeks left. We may not get everything done before he gets here but we will certainly give it our best. I'm hoping our October schedule doesn't get too full. So far, there is only one thing on the list...

Our baby shower!!! Invitations were sent out this week. Mom and Katie worked very hard on them. From poor copies at Kinkos to jammed printers, there were many obstacles to overcome but I think they look wonderful. As for the name, well we're not 100% committed but it'll make for a very funny story if we decide to go another direction. :) More shower details to come! For now, I leave you with a new baby bump picture and "my view from the couch."

30 weeks and feeling great! No cravings, no issues. Heartburn under control with Nexium and still sleeping soundly. I haven't spotted any kankles yet either but, I may not be the most reliable source as I rarely see my feet. :)

"My view from the couch" complete with convenient food shelf. Loving all-things-protein: Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, and these yummy Nature Valley Protein bars that taste more like a dessert than a  protein bar. Gotta love that!

Baby update

I haven't done a great job at capturing the baby bump but below is my most recent at 26 weeks.

Whoa baby! Everyday I feel like he gets bigger and stronger. Kicks are not just flutters and in fact, are becoming more like slithers b/c he's running out of room. The first time he sent a foot slithering across my belly was a few nights ago while I was sleeping. It was so forceful and foreign that I shot up in bed, wide awake, and threw the covers off of me looking for a snake...well, I'm not sure what I was looking for but I thought something was in the bed. Nope, just a baby in the belly.

Other new things, I've gained a total of 24 pounds so far (as of my 28 week visit). They want you to gain 24-30 total so I'm thinking I'll surpass my goal. I always was an overachiever ;o) The Braxton-Hicks contractions are very routine. Nothing too uncomfortable and baby is always so active, I am reassured that all is well. Heartburn has completely improved with Nexium. I love that little purple pill! 

Additionally, I've developed sciatica down my right leg which involves numbness that extends into my calf. Feels like my leg is asleep sometimes making a little awkward to walk but it did earn my a coveted parking space in the parking garage near the building I work in. My commute that is usually 45-50 minutes b/c of parking and shuttling in to the hospital is now 15 minutes from start to finish. I repeat, 15 minutes! I leave my house at 7:30 and am in my office my 7:45. It almost makes me want to stay perpetually pregnant so I can keep this parking space. I'd be willing to go through natural labor for to keep this space! Okay, enough about the parking space.

Lastly, Katie and mom are coming down this weekend to look at the baby shower venue. So looking forward to spending some time with them. I'm nervous but excited for the shower and it is coming up very soon...October 6th from 12-2 at the Harbour Club downtown. Such a great spot and amazing food. It's going to be great!

That's all for now. I'll leave you with a teaser picture of the crib. :o)

Fall is in the air

Today was the most gorgeous day! So much has happened around the Archie house since my last post so please excuse me if I ramble...

1. Our first shower was this weekend in Mooresville, NC. Justin's grandmother and aunt threw us the sweetest shower with a nautical theme. Food was yummy, company was great, and presents were flowing! We got our pack and play thanks to Sherry and Shannon, bath tub full of bath goodies from Sherry, and our Little Einstein activity chair from Jojo just to mention a few. What a great time we had. So blessed and so undeserving of all the love. This is one lucky little boy!

2. Justin and I had our first lamaze class last night. After a long day of work we went over to Mount Pleasant and joined about 12 other nervous couples to learn the basics of child birth. Not pretty but very informative. There was one girl in the front row who...how shall I put this...made me seem charming and calm on my worst day? I think she had Justin counting his blessings. We're looking forward to going back next week. I learned that I need to up my protein intake this third trimester so we hurried to Harris Teeter at 9pm to load up on the protein (cereal, edamame, yogurt, cottage cheese, etc). I was also reminded that I can't lay on my back anymore or the weight of the baby may compress my vena cava and reduce blood supply to the baby. Not a good thing so side-sleeping it is!

3. Working on finding a place or person good enough to look after my sweet boy after I go back to work. I still have a long way to go but Justin and I interviewed our first candidate Sunday afternoon when we got back into town. Let just say, it isn't going to work. She informed us that her granddaughter (who she also babysits during the day) will be two in December and is still on formula b/c all she will eat is M&Ms and chips. Hmmm...not to sound critical but that's just nuts. We thanked her profusely for inviting us into her home and promptly marked that one off the list. Then we went to eat Basil. Yum!

4. The nursery: Well not much to update here. So far, we've ordered the furniture but that's about it. It arrived last week and I LOVE the color of the crib (which is sitting boxed in the hallway). It's a rich espresso and just to die for. The end table on the other hand was the wrong color so I have to send it back but is very exciting to walk into the house everyday and almost trip over all the baby things in the dining room. I can't wait to see it all come together in a few weeks.

5. Baby names are still up in the air. My vote was for Robert Holden but Justin likes Robert Jackson. Well he really likes Robert Jack but I just don't think that flows. We'd call him Jack either way which Justin says is an "honest, nice-guy" name. Other names that I volunteered but were quickly nixed were Owen, Bennet, Jake, and lots of 'C' names (Carter, Collin, Carson--all no's.)

But look at this sweet profile. No matter what we call him, he'll be just perfect!

That's all for now. Promise I'll do better with the updates!