Bumpdate - 28 Weeks

{another awesomely flattering picture in my office's bathroom}

I'm feeling great. I've been exhausted lately, though, which I read is probably a result of the anemia I was just diagnosed with, so it looks like it's iron supplements from here on out. I hate taking pills but it's a whole lot less expensive than steak dinners every night! I'm just glad my glucose levels came back all normal. Can you image me giving up sweets for the next 3 months?!

I swear, I've had a textbook pregnancy thus far, anemia aside. My face has started rounding out, boo, but I'll take it any day for what comes after these 9 months.

I'm feeling quite a bit unprepared for this kiddo. The nesting bug has hit but unfortunately, my nesting involves the need for power tools or money, so...lots of home improvement projects on my honey-do list! My mom is coming to town in 3 weeks, which kind of scares me that she'll be here to help with the nursery and there will only be 9 weeks left before the baby comes. It's a good thing the kidlet will just need diapers and onesies to begin with!

{taken on Monday - 28 weeks}

We've been slowly stocking up on everything else. The big things are already taken care of, now it's just a matter of getting it all set up! But first, painting the nursery/guest room.
{where Gran comes in}
This silly job of mine gets in the way of that...

Also, I turned 29Again on Thursday. Yikes. This birthday was infinitely better than last year's. My sweetheart brought me home some beautiful flowers with a sweet note that made me cry {which is a daily occurrence lately}, I went to our Relief Society activity that my friend Bren and I were in charge of {cake decorating! how fitting!} and the sneaky girls on my committee decorated the kitchen for my birthday! Additionally, a few sweet friends spoiled me with flowers, notes, and other lovelies. It was such a great day and I'm so lucky to have everything I do.

Saturday I ventured out on my own for a pedicure and to see if I could get a last-minute massage (didn't happen) and a little thrift store shopping and ending the night with friends and their little darling at a BBQ joint out of town that was FAB.U.LOUS. New fave.

All in all, February has been a great month!

Bring on March.

Cravings: taco bell nachos, chips and salsa, wedding cake
Weight gained thus far: 20 lbs :(
Feeling: Good! Starting to make involuntary noises when I bend over
Sleeping: GREAT. I can still sleep in the same position I always have. Double points for baby!
Nesting: I made a little soft toy! Made from this pattern, but modernized.

Building a Nursery

Exciting Friday night here at the Alexander house.

We dined on a delicious dinner of pulled pork sammiches (a la Biemer's BBQ) and onion rings, washed down with coke/diet coke for mr. and me (respectively), and I rejected the suggested movie and alternately suggested going to the theater to buy popcorn and come home and watch something we have in our colección--which is large--but that was also rejected.

So, we came home and he got on his computer and I played Super Mario Bros. downstairs on the Wii.

We're a thrill-a-minute around here!

I was about to fall asleep at 9:30pm, but then we started tonight's episode of Nikita.

Still awake? Good. I dozed off for a minute.

So, I have been planning the nursery.

Here's the crib we bought, which has been sitting in the back of the car for the last...oh...month?

And then last night I bought this fabric for bedding:

which, doesn't look like this really, because I found a pillow made from it on etsy:

{source found by clicking on image}
I'm pretty excited.

I haven't decided exactly what look I'm going for, all I know is that the words 'farm-house' 'modern' and 'vintage' need to fit in there somewhere.

I'm actually really antsy to get going on some projects. Maybe it's the nesting bug I keep hearing about. If only I didn't have to work this weekend I could get cracking on them! Good thing that's what I have Monday for!

Not that anyone cares, but here's more inspiration I've gathered for this kidlet's abode.
Building a Nursery Board

Starting with that foxy little fox. Felt will be ordered tomorrow.

Bumpdate

I've been exhausted lately!

Why did no one tell me this baby-growing business was so tiring? Oh, wait...I'm pretty sure EVERYone has said it at one point or another.

I'm now almost 24 weeks (!) and I've popped!

Here's a picture of the lil peanut, taken about a week and a half ago.
And here's a picture of me at 21 weeks


And again at 23 weeks

Isn't it amazing what 2 weeks does?

Also, please pardon the gay bathroom picture. I truly do not have a full-length mirror in my house and work, although the bathroom is less-than-desirable, will have to suffice!

I've been feeling great with the occasional heartburn. I bought costco-sized containers of tums the other day - one for my desk at work, and one for the house.

I've been worrying lately about not feeling the baby move as much. It's ridiculous. I know it's ridiculous, yet I'm unable to stop being paranoid. Last night I dragged Ryan to the store to pick up one of those baby womb-sound amplifiers. Thirty minutes later and my worrying was still there. Don't waste money on it. I promptly returned it today and last night ordered an FDA approved Fetal Doppler on eBay. Yeah...so...I'm a little anxious, what can I say. Peace of mind is worth the $48 I forked over for a little piece of equipment that will let me hear our little bebe's heartbeat. And I've decided that since I've gotten bigger, I'm just feeling the baby differently.

Of course, as I type, the kid's going crazy and I can totally feel them moving. Of course!

Here's something amusing.

Baby dreams. I have been having the funniest and weirdest dreams.

A few weeks ago I dreamt we were at the Alexanders for Christmas. But it was like National Lampoon Christmas - extended family, little kids everywhere, etc. So many kids that there were kids sleeping on stairs and so in the middle of the night on Christmas Eve/Early Christmas Morning I had to step over kids.

Apparently in the middle of the night I delivered the baby myself and handed him to my mother-in-law so I could get some sleep and whatever. So Christmas morning everyone gets up and gathers around the Christmas tree and my MIL comes in holding the baby and asks Ryan, "so what are you naming your son?"
Ryan wanted to consult with me--how considerate--and pulled me aside for a minute, wanting to get the ok for the name.

Chelsea: Okay, what do you want to name him?
Ryan: I think we should name him Britton Smoker Alexander
Chelsea: Smoker? Smoker. Hmmm...Where did THAT come from? Really, Smoker?
Ryan: (after a pensive pause) What?....I love barbecue!


Since this dream, Ryan's been referring to the baby as Smoker.

A Quick Favor {and a Sweet Reward}

**Thanks for voting, everyone! Comment #3 is the winner!** Also, it's not too late to vote! It's open until the 11th.

Two of my old roommates have a photography business together. Their work is really impressive and I wish they were around when I got married!

BUT, I have a chance to win a free photo shoot from them through their beYOUtiful Campaign. I am one of the 15 finalists.

What is beYOUtiful?

To sum it up, all women deserve to feel beautiful no matter what shape, size, or how they look. Cristi and Jessi want to promote this attitude and have done so with a little giveaway/contest.

For more information, click here to read Cristi and Jessi's post.

While you're there, if you could vote for #14, you would help get me in the running. Currently I'm totally out of the game. :( Bummer, huh?

So, I'm using all my internet tools to shamelessly request help.

What's in it for you?

I'm doing a little giveaway.

Please go vote, then come back here and leave me a comment. I'm going to give away a full set of felt hairbow headbands. That's 10 bows and 2 headbands. $60 prize for simply clicking a button.

The colors will vary from those above. I have more browns, tans, blacks, fall, and spring colors!
I've been wanting to do a giveaway for them for awhile, so this is a perfect reason!

Giveaway ends on Sunday night, January 8th. Not sure when voting at HiyaPapaya ends, so please vote soon! Thanks, all!

Vanilla - Out and About

Did I tell you my friend Laura designed the vanilla labels for me?

She did such an awesome job. I tweaked them a little because I fell in love with a shape that was/is exclusive to Silhouette, but the design is ALL her!

While at Spark I met April Atwater, an amazing woman, a strong leader, and a creative giant!

She's working on her own magazine, Simply the Sweet Life. This is her second year and it looks to be great!

I provided her with some product and I was supposed to provide her with a little bio, but, uh, yeah...I got really busy, really, really quickly and I dropped the ball. Still, she was SO kind to include me in her December/Winter issue of Simply the Sweet Life.

Which you can read here:

You can see my beauts on page 55.

Also, if you follow the amazingly cute party blog, One Charming Party, a recent post included a recipe and a bottle of 16oz Vanilla peaking up from the bottom of the picture:

It was pretty awesome to open my email for one of the daily posts and see a picture of something I created!

Now that December is over (the busiest month I've had in a LONG time), AND I'm well into my second trimester, I feel better and have a little more energy to get crafty and maybe even share it with everyone!

Spark the Event - October 2011

From what I saw from years past and the previews we were shown through the website, I thought I had an idea of what to expect from Spark.

I had no idea.

What I ended up with was a new desire to learn, to stretch, to create, and of course, to make things pretty!

Two days filled with 200 other women all with the same desire to share their lives and talents and make new friends was AMAZING.

I really don't know how to sum up the whole event except to tell you that you really should start saving your money and try to attend next year. It's worth every dollar I paid (and there were 350 of those just for tuition) and every mile I drove (about 1100 each way!) to get to spend time with my sister.

Oddly, what I think I learned more was how to market myself. And by myself, I mean my goods. And by my goods, I mean Vanilla Extract, vintage goods, handmade hairbows and headbands, and trinkets.

Here are the fabulous pictures my sister took for me, who is equally fabulous.

My labels and hang tags were designed by my blogging friend Laura.

My display was an old hotpoint stove from the 1930s (which I was lucky enough to find IN Utah, thank goodness) and an antique collapsible wire laundry basket.
{Both are available for sale, should you fall in love with them like I did}

How did I do at the Market?

For my first one, I was pleased. I really had no idea what to expect.
I am ALWAYS curious how much people make and how much they have invested when they do craft events/boutiques, so I'm going to break it down for anyone who happens to stumble across this post.
8 - 16oz. bottles of vanilla extract (VE), priced at $20 each - sold within 2 hours
27 DIY Vanilla Extract Kits - sold all but 9, $8 each
12 - 4oz. bottles of VE - sold all, $7 each
24 - 8oz. bottles of VE - sold 15, $12 each
7 vintage aprons - sold 2-3 (don't remember) $13, each
countless felt hairbows - LOTS left over $6 each...no clue how many sold and no idea how many I have left.
The event took 10% of all sales, so my total sales was $676 something. I sold a few of the above items via trades with other vendors (madebyjewls and EmilyRooney) which don't factor into the number above. And I did a sale after the market closed and ended up with $100 bill for vanilla (also included in goods above) which didn't factor into the total above.
So, my take home was $690-something, after the 10% take and sales tax factored.
Was I happy? Yes. Very.

Will I do it again? Definitely. I am already figuring out how I can leave my 5-mo.-old baby for two days (well, he/she would come with, but maybe stay with my MIL during the day?) and at the same time, recruit my friends and sisters to come. And not just to help with my booth. ;)

And I'm already getting batches of vanilla stewing.
(The leftovers ALL sold right before Christmas to Ryan's coworkers!)

Unconditionally, Head-Over-Heels, in Love

I have a post about Spark the Event coming but until then, I just wanted to share my and Ryan's happy news:

We're having a baby!

After 4.5 long years of trying, our little miracle is on its way.

I'm due in May, which means I'm almost out of the first trimester. I really had planned on waiting to say anything until I was 13-or-so weeks, but I'm just so excited that my big mouth can't be shut {or held responsible! - do you blame me?!}

We're thrilled, to say the least. So many years and tears and prayers have lead me to now and I'm still praying and the tears keep coming, this time out of gratitude and unconditional love.

I'll probably make everyone sick and tired of the things I start making for this kiddo, but bear with me, I'm sure they'll all be cute.

Here's another kicker - we're not going to find out the sex ahead of time. Ryan put it into words so well that I'm going to steal his.

"It's like finding out what you're getting for Christmas ahead of time but not getting to play with your new toy for 4 months!"

heh. This is why I love that man. He gets me and better yet, allows me to dictate.

So, that's that.

Thanks for sticking with me. I know it's been FORever, but I have news and updates forthcoming.