It all started with a trip to the dollar store....

I have a love/hate relationship with Valentine's Day. I think it depends on the year. This year the prognosis is good. Already I've made a Valentine's wreath (see above) and had a Valentine's dinner. And this new-found love for the holiday all started with a trip to the dollar store.

It just so happens that Dollar Tree is strategically located right next to the grocery store. One day last week I was in a pregnancy slum during grocery shopping and thought a trip to the dollar store was just what I needed. I was right. With so many fun items for so cheap I felt inspired to plan a Valentine's dinner with friends. I texted Ben about my idea and he agreed because, as he puts it, "I'd be a fool to say no to a pregnant woman".

The table complete with Dollar Tree decor (the plastic goblets are a must-have :) )

We invited two couples from our ward and had a great dinner. And so my love for Valentine's Day has been revitalized.

But the best part:

I froze red kool-aid in ice trays like the one above
(they were a birthday gift from my sister Laura). I then served them in
the goblets with Fresca poured over the top. The drink was delicious.
Sorry I forgot to snap pictures! :(

Nesting

Ben would attest that almost perpetually since I found out I was pregnant 8 months ago, I've had our dining room table piled with my sewing machine, fabric, felt, ribbon, etc. He says I'm nesting. He's probably right. I'll post my latest projects and let you decide for yourself.

The nursery colors I've picked are light pink, light green, and brown. I would love to paint the nursery this color... but there's only so much decorating you can do in an apartment.

Changing table/dresser:

For our dresser, my sister Tina gave me her old changing table. I then got four baskets for $10 a piece at Joanne's (during a 1/2 off sale) and sewed liners to go on the inside.

I used white duck fabric my mom had. It was my first time making a pattern, but it went okay. On the inside, they looked like this:

Then I sewed a paisley ribbon around it with elastic.

For the final touch I sewed a button on front.

In total there are 4 baskets and I use them to store the baby's blankets, toys, and clothes. So I paid only $40 for our baby dresser.



Baby quilts:

I sewed my first real quilt out of squares I bought at the Gardner Village quilting store (if you ever get a chance to go there, don't pass it up). It's not perfect, but it was a good sewing experience for me.


I backed it with a brown and then my mother-in-law and I tied it with light green embroidery thread.


I basically based the other colors in the nursery around this quilt.

As for my most recent project, I found some brown remnants at Joanne's of that ultra soft/ultra expensive fabric (I can't remember the name now). Later, I got a 50% off coupon and bought the same fabric in green. I then sewed them together.


However I didn't feel like the green and brown was girly enough on it's own, so I added some felt flowers to the corner. I took my inspiration from this tutorial.

This is when I had just pinned them, trying to decide how I wanted to sew them on.

I finally decided to zig-zag around the outside flowers and then use crochet thread on the inside flowers. I probably sewed the zig-zag 5 or 6 times trying to get it right. By the end I was pretty frustrated, but I think it was worth it.

The final product!

And here's just a bonus picture of me at 33 weeks (Ben was testing out the camera).

7 weeks left! How many more sewing projects can I do in that amount of time? I don't think Ben wants to know :)

Ben and Chels Go Hiking

This post is more for family than anything else, but I had to share this video Ben recently made for his little sister Chelsea. She's 9 years old and came to stay with us for a night during Christmas break. One morning I was asleep (having worked the night before) so Ben and Chelsea embarked on a hike to get out of the house.

This video melts my heart. Not only is Chelsea hilarious... but when I see what a good big brother Ben is, it makes me so excited to see what a good dad he'll be.

Enjoy it (cheesy music and all)!

Ben does it too...

When Ben and I first got married, I think he was surprised by how much I talk in my sleep. He even wrote a charming post about some things I said. However I recently found out that also has a sleep talking side.

The other morning I woke up at 4:30 am just starving (welcome to pregnancy). I told Ben I was going to grab something to eat and as I returned to bed after my snack he sleepily asked me,

"How was the tropical island honey? And did you find any lovely coconuts there?"

Why no honey I didn't :) And he has no memory of saying this. What I'd like to know is what kind of dreams spawn sleep-talking like that.

Pregnancy Chatter: 31 weeks

30 weeks- complete with facial swelling :)

Today I am at 31 weeks. We're moving toward the home stretch people. Mentally I think I'm pretty ready. Well... as ready as I can be to have my life completely change, forever. Physically we've still got a ways to go. Right now we're just working on how we're going to rearrange the den to fit a crib. If you've seen our den, you'd know that once we conquer that battle, having a baby wake us up every 2 hours will be no big deal.

It's been nice to cut down on work hours lately. Now I'm only part time, which means just two 12-hour shifts a week. It's much more manageable that way. And yesterday I tried on my first pair of TED hose (compression stockings) and loved them. I look like an old lady under my scrubs, but it is worth it to not finish a shift with the swollen legs I was getting before.

My sister Emily is also expecting and due in just a few weeks. You can click here to see all the ridiculous things people have been saying to her about how big she's getting. But on my end, people keep telling me how small I am. For example, "You're soooo tiny! Wow, you don't look that far along at all!" On days that I'm defensive I think, "Well I'm not starving myself lady. I average 3 milk shakes a week" (that is really true by the way). Or "I am only 5-feet tall. Do you think my body wants to push out a 9 pound baby?"

Truth is, you can't really say anything to a pregnant woman that won't offend. You're only safe with these three remarks (as taken from this blog):

You look great!

Would you like to sit down?

Can I get you a cookie?

There you have it. Three safe remarks that don't require you to stumble for words or back-track when the pregnant woman you've just offended begins to get teary-eyed.

In the meantime, I think I'll just get a shirt with one of these logos on it and save myself the confrontation (courtesy of www.cafepress.com).

I'm a Cougar

Turning 27 when your husband is still only 24 is a little disheartening. See, yesterday happened to be my 27th birthday and for 6 more months Ben is a young and vibrant 24. It's for this reason that he teasingly called me a "cougar" when we were dating (having just returned from my mission I had no idea what that word meant).

So for half the year we get to tell people that we're only two years apart- but until then it just appears that I used my age and wisdom to pull the wool over some poor 22-year-old's eyes. And if you're familiar with our story, I pretty much did.

However I'm willing to face the consequences. Because he's wonderful and my birthday yesterday was great.

Ben made me a crepe breakfast- and served me in bed.

For lunch I met my mom and Laura at Mimi's Cafe, then my mom came with me to Babies 'R' Us to look at cribs. I spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning up the house and watching "House Hunters: Million Dollar Homes" on my computer (I'm in love with that show).

Once Ben got home from school we went to Communal for dinner. It's a new restaurant on University in downtown Provo. The food was absolutely delicious; it's a little pricey but all local and fresh. And you sit right next to strangers at a communal table. Luckily we got to sit by a nice old couple and they didn't come until half way through our dinner.

Sunday Ben's mom threw me a party. Landon and Liesl were even
here from Arizona. After dinner we hit a pink elephant pinata.

Landon broke it open.

And of course I had to put it on my head as a trophy.
It was full of candy and fun baby gifts. My mother-in-law thinks of everything.

Pregnant Husband's Support Group...

I thought this comic was so funny when Ben and I first got married. Doesn't it sum up the male/female relationship so well? What I've recently discovered is that when you add pregnancy, it takes this comic to a whole other level.

This comic describes the past 7 months of our life perfectly. With my pregnant emotions doubled, I've been prone to bursting into tears unexpectedly, getting heated over minute details and even completely changing my personality in 30 seconds flat. All I know is, in the Petersen household I'm caring enough hormones for all three of us.

As I shared this with my co-worker Shaun (whose wife is also pregnant for the first time), my experiences resonated with him. I mentioned he and Ben should chat, to which he replied, "We shouldn't just chat. We need a pregnant husband's support group". Apparently, I'm not such an anomaly.

But with my emotions the way they are, I haven't yet decided if that makes me feel better or not. Maybe I'll just think about it once I have the baby. Otherwise I may burst into tears while trying to decide.