6.28.2012

an urge--or more

I have this urge to post before I head off to work this morning, but I don't have a solid idea of what to write. Please excuse the lame post title--I have only so much to work with when I need to jet in 10 minutes.

This week I've been filled with the urge to buy everything we need for the baby, to read everything I can about labor and delivery, and to really get that nursery going.

I've had the urge to clean, to maintain the clean, and to--gasp--even do laundry.

I have a surge of motivation to hang pictures that still haven't found a home since our move, to prepare and ship birthday presents, and to actually plan dinners.

I've felt a huge urge to hurry the rest of this pregnancy along, because I'm just really, really excited to meet Mr. Babe. I want him to see Josh and me. I want to hold him and snuggle him and smell his newborn-ness and pat his perfect bum.

Okay, now I have the less pleasant urge to change out of stretchy pants and go to work.

6.27.2012

summer reads 2012

We're a week into summer, and since returning from Emily's wedding, I've hit a writing block. So what better way to work my way out of that than to write about books?

{via}


Headed to the mountains or to the beach and need a light and delightful read? Try Summers at Castle Auburn by Sharon Shinn, Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson, The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale, or Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine.

You might want a meatier summer read. Check out East of Eden by John Steinbeck, The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Middlemarch by George Eliot, and My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok.

Serial reads are always fun during the summer. If you haven't read it yet, go out and get The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins (if you put your name on your library waiting list, you'll be waiting until Christmas, so borrow or buy). If you like Western novels, The Border Trilogy by Cormac McCarthy is a solid choice. The 44 Scotland Street series by Alexander McCall Smith is lighthearted Scottish fiction, a series so lighthearted that you can start and stop reading whenever you feel like it. And hello, Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling is never a bad idea. Obviously.

Parents, read with your children. And make sure you read The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles and Mandy, both by Julie Andrews Edwards. Read the Anne of Green Gables books with your daughters. And again, please don't overlook Harry Potter.

You may need a book that will be a favorite. These Is My Words by Nancy E. Turner, The Help by Kathryn Stockett, Ride the Wind by Lucia St. Clair Robson, and Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell will all do the trick.

Are you looking to learn new skills this summer? Read Stitch by Stitch by Deborah Moebes to help you start sewing, Baking Illustrated by America's Test Kitchen to kick-start your baking, 9 out of 10 Climbers Make the Same Mistakes by Dave MacLeod if you want to rock climb this summer, and The Millonaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley if you want to make bank.

I think I've given you some good material to start with. So head to the library, the bookstore, or your Kindle and get started--it's almost July!

What are your favorite summer reads? What would you add to these lists?

6.23.2012

32 weeks--on food and pregnancy

I've never had to think so much about food as I have since becoming pregnant. I don't like having to think much about food--it's frustrating. I used to think about food when I had to, when I was hungry. With this babe, however, food and eating has taken a more prominent role in my life and mind.

First trimester
:: I felt continually nauseous.
:: Only bland foods settled well.
:: If I felt even a little hungry I started to feel sick, so I had to make sure I had snacks at the ready to keep the nausea at bay.

Second trimester
:: My appetite returned--in earnest.
:: I'd wake up in the morning completely ravenous.
:: I should have planned better meals.
:: But I'd get so hungry so fast that I cared more about eating something than eating something "good for me."
:: Think Donut Gems for breakfast. A lot.


Third trimester
:: Babe isn't very accommodating to my organs.
:: So I get really full. Really fast.
:: Then I feel sick for a while.
:: Because my stomach fills so easily, I feel like I really need to make my meals count now.
:: But I'd usually rather have cookies over carrots.
:: Don't worry--I still eat my vegetables.
:: And I also eat my cookies.
:: Babe really likes chocolate chips. You understand.

6.13.2012

another wedding week

I'm back in Colorado already. I know--pretty great, right? This time I'm back because my Number One is getting married. You read that right--Emily, my Numero Uno, is getting married on Saturday. Why haven't you mentioned this any time in the past six months? you ask.

Well, I still don't really know what to say.

She's my little sister, and while I have every permission to grow up and get married, who said that Emily could? I love my little sister so, so much, and while sometimes it's hard to see her all grown up and in love, I really couldn't be more happy for her. Her fiance is wonderful and loves her and treats her just as my Number One should be treated.

{Emily and me on my wedding day almost two years ago.}

So once again we're in the midst of a wedding week complete with family and flowers and crazy and fun and probably some tears, but I wouldn't want to be any place else.

Now if only the bride could blow off finals and come here now! I guess I'll have to wait to see her tomorrow.

6.12.2012

shopping for my man

Josh hates shopping--especially for clothes. He usually errs on the side that says, "The clothes I've had since my sophomore year in college are fine, so don't spend money on clothes for me." Whenever I have the choice to buy clothes for me or clothes for him, I almost always buy clothes for me. It's way more fun that way. Obviously.

So when Josh accepted this new job and he asked me if we could update and improve his wardrobe, I didn't know what to say. After I recovered from shock, I made sure he understood a couple things about what he was asking of me.

1. Shopping means that I will be buying him clothes.
2. We'll have to spend money on those clothes.
3. I insist on buying him new shoes.

{If your man needs a wardrobe overhaul, go to JCPenney's and Kohl's--seriously. Great deals.}
 
He understood these ground rules (though stated that his homeless-looking shoes were fine) and accepted them in full. I didn't even make him come with me (though I could have avoided some exchanges if I'd had him around to check sizes).

I derived serious satisfaction in updating his clothes situation, and the shoes I found are awesome. He's not hard to shop for when it comes to style. I know not to buy v-neck t-shirts or any kind of cardigan, and only complaint I got was that I bought too many plaid/checkered shirts. ("Charlotte, I don't want to be the checkered-shirt guy at work.")

Now that he has a more thorough and updated wardrobe, it will probably be a while before we have to do this again. And if you see him in a checkered shirt, make sure to tell him how awesome he looks. And maybe throw in something about how great his shoes are too.

6.10.2012

30 weeks

He was all, "Um, Mom, it's starting to get crowded in here."



And then I was like, "Babe, we don't even know what crowded is yet."

Ten more weeks.

6.09.2012

an upgrade

Yesterday we brought this home.


And I'm kind of feeling like this.


So, kind of silly but kind of cool. Really I'm thinking that it's about time we became a two-car family with Mr. Babe on the way.

If you've been at all privy to any of the discussions this Wilson family has had about getting a second car, you'll know that it's taken quite a while for us to finally get on the same page. But on the same page we are now, and we're liking it. Especially the four doors, power windows, and power locks.
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