Baby #3 Update

Word has officially spanned the globe that we are expecting our third child. It's becoming more and more real to me each day and I become more and more terrified with each passing moment. I'm trying to strategize things I'll be able to manage next summer/winter with three kids. Rosemary will be up to 3 days a week in Preschool which will be great for her and keep her much more entertained than I'll be able to do at home. The summer should go smoothly as baby will be confined to a carseat and with Rosemary almost 4 and Gloria a full 2 years old, I shouldn't have too hard of a time getting out and about. The harder time comes when baby gets on a nap schedule and we are stranded in the house a good chunk of the day with two energetic kids and one sleepy baby. I'm starting to understand the 'youngest child' syndrome and that in fact, baby #3 will never have the pleasure of a nap schedule;-) I had my 12 week appointment today and the whole family came along. Rosemary was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited to be going to the doctor to "get our new baby!" It was tough breaking the news to her that all we would be doing was hearing baby's heartbeat, but she was equally as excited when I told her a sucker might be involved. The doctor used the doplar to find baby's heartbeat (160bpm). Once he had checked baby's heartrate, he asked Rosemary if she wanted to talk to the baby through the doplar (or 'two way radio' as he called it). She obliged and said, "Merry Christmas" to the baby. So cute. Gloria was more standoff-ish and chose not to say anything. Why am I not surprised? Ha! Aside from that, the visit was routine. Jeff and I have opted to not find out the gender of the baby during our previous two pregnancies. However, we decided it would be fun to do it differently this time and that we would find out during our 20 week u/s. The only problem is that Jeff's parents, now snowbirds, will be heading South when I'm 18 weeks. So I asked the doc if I could have my u/s a little early so they'd be here for us to share the news. He said that shouldn't be a problem. He wouldn't do it ANY earlier than that just because you run the risk of measurements not being as accurate...but thought 18 weeks would be just fine. YEEKS! So only 6 more weeks to go. I'm feeling a TON better. Still have the occassional bad day where the nausea seems to creep back, but all in all, my energy is slowly coming back and I'm having more good days than bad. Hurrah! Thanks for checking in!

The Story of a Light

Followers, I've been waiting to write this post for a LONG time...waiting because I was never fully confident that the light I'm about to tell you about would ever make it through my door. Several months ago, you may remember me posting this 'inspiration picture' regarding a dining room light fixture.

I came across this image COMPLETELY randomly on the world wide web (I think I first spotted it on a blog I found somewhere on Twitter) and it was instant love. I started my search for this light by stopping into a few of my favorite lighting shops in town to see if they recognized it (Southern Lights and Lappin Lighting). Neither store recognized it, both thought it was some sort of a custom fixture. They also showed me a few similar styled ones like this, which didn't have the leggy, vintage feel of my inspiration light.

You of all people know I love a good light hunt, so I carried on with my mission. Months passed as I continued combing online lighting store after online lighting store - all to no avail and all without sparking any interest in a fixture aside from this one. Frustration was building. Late one night, while reading a slew of home decor blogs on Twitter, I came across an image of a woman STANDING in the very dining room that housed my inspiration fixture. WHO WAS THIS WOMAN and HOW could I contact her? Several searches through blogs like Made By Girl brought me to the blog Look Linger Love and it's author Chassity...otherwise known as, "The Girl In The Dining Room With The Light Fixture I Love!" I immediately emailed her sounding like a complete light stalker pleading that the fixture not be vintage and instead be readily available for my purchase (gulp, and hoping the fixture be within my price range). Thankfully, Chassity was kind enough to respond to my email and share that the fixture was indeed NOT vintage, but one she purchased from a lighting store in Charleston, South Carolina called Carolina Lanterns. I immediately called the store and asked them if I could email a picture of a fixture that a customer had purchased from them roughly two years ago, could they PLEASE tell me who makes it and whether or not it is still available. A weekend later, my fears were confirmed - the fixture is No.Longer.Available. Insert heart sinking here:-( I tried to swallow the news and move on...Jeff even gave me a few pats on the back and told me I had put up a good fight. But I just couldn't close the chapter of this book quite yet. So I went online fixture stalking and specifically targeted the manufacturer this time (now that I knew it), Lam Lee of Europe. Their site was a dead-end as they only sell to businesses that need an access code to navigate through their site. On top of that, everything was in Belgian and even with translating things online, I couldn't figure out a darn thing. So I took a shot in the dark and sent an email off to their 'info' email address in hopes SOMEONE would respond. No luck. I sent one last email before putting this whole thing to rest and then Christ responded. Yes, his name was Christ and he was here to answer my prayers. The fixture was INDEED a Lam Lee fixture and INDEED still available and INDEED could be purchased by me and shipped to the US. I was OVER the moon with excitement. The fixture was slightly outside of my price range so I told Jeff I would turn around a quick Craigslist sale to make up the dividend (here's where I sold our old Queen bed frame...BAM). Next came the wire transfer where I took myself to the bank and sent my first international wire transfer (don't you feel like you should whisper those words when you walk in a bank?) I felt like a total criminal and kept repeating, "It's for a light fixture!" With the funds transferred, it was time to figure out how the heck I was going to get this bad boy to me in one piece and THAT, my friends, is where the story got VERY interesting. Stay tuned for Part 2 of The Story of a Light...and in the meantime, check out Chassity's blog which I ADORE and her gorgeous home, adorable kiddos and appreciation for all things beautiful www.looklingerlove.blogspot.com

Amazement.

(Note: no idea why the spacing isn't working on here, so please excuse the lack of paragraphs!) I was inspired to write a quick post today as Rosemary has been incredibly inquisitive lately. You can no longer slide anything past her. She wants a full and often lengthy explanation of things we used to say and hope she just kind of swallowed for the time being. NO more. She will ask multiple follow up questions wanting more and more detail. Here are a few of the conversations we've had lately that have left my jaw on the floor in wonder - when did my baby become a person? Jeff was trick-or-treating with the girls on his own for the last few houses on our block while I passed out candy. A house on our block has a 'ghost' hanging in the tree. Jeff pointed it out to Rosemary, "Look, Rosemary, there's a ghost in that tree!" Rosemary went over to it, inspecting it, front, back, examining it thoroughly and then replied, "Nope dad, it's just a sheet hanging in the tree." Which indeed it was, but...??? Rosemary, Gloria and I were riding in the car today. Rosemary asked me if Gloria is 1 year old or if she's one and a half yet. How does she know that???? Roseary picked out a new winter hat at the drug store. There were many animal hats to choose from...she chose the owl. "I picked the owl because owls are nochternal." I made Rosemary a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch today (her usual fav). I normally do the grocery shopping and always buy the same kind of bread, but Jeff had picked up a random loaf of bread the other day, different from what I buy. Rosemary this afternoon, "Mom, why'd you buy different bread, this bread is harder." I have to say, the age Rosemary is at is SO incredibly fun. She has become so self-sufficient: no needing reminders to go potty, no needing reminders to stay in her bed, getting herself dressed, clearing her plate after meals, washing her hands and mouth when she's done eating and even putting her own seatbelt on. It is A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!!!!!!! And at the same time, my heart feels a bit heavy when my baby doesn't need me for every single solitary task in a day. Of course I'm proud to death of her and it's what I've been hoping would come of my little person...I suppose it's more just disbelief that time can go so quickly. Gloria, my dear Gloria. This morning I was awoken by her COUNTING in her bed. "2...5...2...5" SO cute! Gloria happens to be entering one of my least favorite stages: 18-24 months. This seems to be the time of the arching backs, throwing of oneself on to the floor and lots of frustration for the little one. I feel better versed for it this time around - patience are a little thicker and I know more what to expect (namely that it doesn't last forever;-) But she is still a complete joy these days. Hilarious! So completely different from her sister, but absolutely loving Rosemary to pieces. And of course, since this is a kid update, it's only appropriate I update on baby #3. I'm actually feeling substantially better. While still exhausted, the nausea has definitely, definitely, definitely subsided a great deal and can now be managed primarily with eating the right things at the right times. If I can squeeze a nap in my day somehow, I feel great. The days Rosemary has preschool, Gloria and I nap while she's gone. The days Rosemary is home, my mom has been super helpful in watching her while G & I catch a few z's. Only one time was I so desperate I dropped Rosemary off at the drugstore to hang with Jeff while I slept for an hour. I go to the doctor again in 2 weeks, so I'll have more to share about "baby Sparkle" as Rosemary has named her, then. Yes, she thinks it's a HER (how could she not, it's all we know in our families!) Most of our furniture is scheduled to be delivered about Thanksgiving time. A couch would be dreamy right about now!