Twenty Percent Plus

When I first hit triple digits on a scale in my mid-twenties, I was so excited. Then my mom and sisters came to visit and mentioned they could see the weight I'd put on was all in my bum. Lately I'm obsessed with the scale. My first goal was to gain 20 pounds by 20 weeks. Yesterday I hit that goal, and I'm only at week 17! My next goal is to be at 35 pounds gained by 28 weeks, which is very doable. Considering most single pregnant mommies gain 1-2 lbs a week during trimester two, I have extremely good odds of hitting 35 by week 24-25. So far, the biggest drawback to this is the fact I've gained twenty percent of my body weight. My meager frame is crying out in agony. My back muscles didn't have time to keep up with the weight gain, and my feet don't understand where all the new pressure has come from. Last night I started working on some long awaited blanket projects. At first I did my cutting and measuring at the table, but my back couldn't handle the angle any longer after the first blanket. I then tried the hands-and-knees approach, but my knees screamed out in bony snaps, crackles and pops. It's strange having a belly in the way, that absolutely does not squish. The reward for all this awkward uncomfortableness? The kicks, thumps and rolling about that happens every so often. I can tell the difference between our twins; twin A rolls often, and kicks very lightly while twin B rolls rarely, but when s/he kicks, it's a powerful 1-2 punch.
I also got the bug to clean, clean, clean this weekend. Seems a little early to be nesting, yet I've always been an overachiever with a bee in my bonnet to get things done efficiently and with plenty of time to spare. I took the time to snap a few pictures after the thorough cleaning, as who knows if I'll be able to squat (bending is out of the question), stretch, climb a footstool, or push a vacuum easily much longer.
I loved my kitchen in Logan, and this one is slowly growing on me. We haven't done much in this room yet, but there's a stack of tile on the floor next to the cabinets which are due to become the backsplash this next weekend. We also will add under and above cabinet lighting. Oh, and if you ever get a chance to splurge on a Fisher-Paykel (pronunced fish-er pie-cull) dishwasher, DO IT. I love the dish drawers. For a small family it's been absolutely perfect. I can fill up the top drawer on a many dish dinner night, or just the itty bitty one on bottom. Saves energy, water, and gets those bowls we're constantly running out of clean again quickly. Once we're a large family, I'll have to revisit this subject again, to see if the dishwasher is keeping up with us.
The entry in our first home was tight and we filled it with a brick arch, a Venetian plastered wall with a few bricks peeking through, and a faux copper colored tin ceiling. This entry is so spacious, we were able to purchase a credenza. We also took the time to do Venetian plaster on this wall, which happens to be the pantry on the other side in the kitchen. The homebuilder did a slight texture on all of our walls, which caused the plaster to look like worn leather rather than smooth glass. I love how it turned out. Now to just get the credenza filled and adorned with decorations...
After living with 6'5" to 7' ceilings for nine years, I caught myself staring at the spacious vaulted ceiling in our great room rather than watch TV the first little while we lived here. I couldn't believe you could actually have that much space above your head. The homebuilder also installed one ceiling fan with a light...yes A light...in this space. Trying to see anything by the one lightbulb 12 feet above your head was horrible. I sat with a lamp on the back of the couch for the first 10 months until we finally figured out the lighting we wanted. Bryan took out the fan and installed the track lights. The lights are suspended by wire and give a planetary solar system look to the space. We also just purchased a 10x20 piece of sculpted carpet that will be bound and given a mat to create a rug that will tie the living room side with the future office side. We've had a difficult time with the furniture placement of this room. The homebuilder also put the cable access above the fireplace, which is handy to keep your TV off the floor, but not so much when you don't want the heat to ruin your wonderful electronic device. Besides, we already had our TV 'console' set up. The layout of the patio door, fireplace and large window make it such only one wall truly works for the TV, hence only one layout works for the couches too. I'm hoping with my office joining the large empty space in front of the fireplace, and the addition of the rug, they will finally give the whole space a cohesiveness it longs for.
And at long last, my office. Right after moving into our home, we set about finding a desk. This was not an easy task. Bryan and I have always longed for a library with floor to ceiling bookshelves, a commanding desk, gargantuan fireplace, and deep leather chairs. We're not quite to the stage of a home that can accommodate this dream, but felt we should be selective about the office furniture we purchased. After visiting several furniture showrooms, we were at Mor Furniture in Portland where the salesman told us we had fantastic taste. He couldn't believe at our age we were going straight for the rich woods and classic traditional styles. He said most couples at 20 purchase only what can be afforded, by their 30s (our age group) purchase the light colored oaks and maples, and by late 40s to 50s, finally move into the age old classics. We've always been detailed about our purchases. Why buy the cheap or unwanted, when with the right quality product, you can make a buy that will last a lifetime? When I mentioned I was going for a 1930s look with the desk, the salesman told us about Classic Home & Antique. He said they'd have what we were looking for. And boy, did they ever! We've spent countless hours visiting this showroom, and purchased my desk, filing cabinet (which is cleverly hidden as a small desk), and credenza from here. The commanding desk definitely fills the space, but I've loved every moment I've done my work at it, which is 8 hours a day Monday through Friday. I'm also glad we went with it, as now that this room will become a nursery, the large great room wouldn't have been done justice by a small table and chair.
Right before I learned I was pregnant, but after we had purchased the credenza, I set to work on a couple of cross-stitches. The first is "Something Wicked". It's the tiniest aida cloth size I've ever worked with (35 count!). The final product turned out beautiful, and I purchased a special mat which I plan on using the papers featured in a collage. Once framed, the plan for this piece is to be out at Halloween, adorning the credenza. I then went straight to work on a Christmas themed cross-stitch titled "Tis the Season". I finished the stitching of both projects in time for their respective holidays, but unfortunately, babies A&B made it difficult to continue and get both framed up. Now that I'm past the icks and have more energy, I can finally complete the framing in time for this year's holiday season.
Finally, the stroller. I never in a million years thought we'd need to buy this type of furniture. Classic Home & Antique actually has a pram in their showroom, but it's more for display than use (the rubber on the wheels is just about worn away). Bryan spent several hours researching our best options for car seats/infant carriers/stroller. I needed infant carriers that were light since I'd be hoisting two babies around, and I needed a stroller that wasn't a double wide trailer coming down the grocery store aisle. His hard work paid off with this gem. The stroller comes with two removable seats that also double as infant carriers, and then triple as car seats. Once your babies grow big enough, you upgrade to the toddler size seats (which unfortunately do not do triple duty, they only work for the stroller). The toddler seats are featured right now, as the infant carriers haven't shown up in the mail yet. The whole ensemble can be yours for the low price of $3000, but with a few tweaks, searches, and exhausting email debates, can be bid upon at eBay for a mere $700. A much needed bonus, as the purchase of duplicate on everything adds up quickly.