Hi all,

As I am entering my final four weeks of pregnancy, I will be taking a blogging break. I had planned on blogging up to the final week at least, but my mind is quickly becoming absorbed by all things baby and this time around I am going to give in to that feeling. So, I'm going into fulltime nesting mode now, making sure everything is ready in time for his (hopefully timely) arrival. I will of course share the news (and pics!) when he gets here, and as soon as my mind is able to do anything else besides think baby thoughts, I will get back into the blogging game.
Here's to maternity leave! See you all soon!

                                          Photo of me on the due date of my firstborn

Are you familiar with the term babymoon? Originally, it refers to the period right after birth, where the new mom and dad spend time with their baby, bonding and getting acquainted. In the last couple of years, however, it has taken on the meaning of one last getaway together of the mom- and dad-to-be. Baby gets to tag along too, but in mom's belly.
I've never been on a babymoon but I like the idea, especially for first-time parents. Despite all the reading you've done and the advice you've gotten and the courses you've followed, there really is nothing that can adequately prepare you for the roller coaster of emotions you go through when your baby is born, and how he or she changes the equation (including the one of your relationship with your partner) in such a major way. And while I think it is beautiful that most couples can't wait for those final two months of pregnancy to be over so they get to meet their offspring, I can't stop myself from telling them to please enjoy these very last, very intimate weeks together being 'just the two of you.' Things will, after all, never be the same again, and if all goes well, the next time it'll be just the two of you, you'll be well into your forties (if not fifties). So, savor this time, and go on a trip to somewhere that looks like this:

While we never did that particular babymoon (I'm sorry to say..), we've decided to go on a babymoon of sorts this time, but we're taking the family. And by family, I mean not just our almost three-year-old, but my siblings and all of my cousins as well. Luckily, our family isn't that big, so it'll be a party of 11 in total, but still more than just the two of us. Also, the location will look nothing like that dreamy, lovely picture above. Instead, we are in for an activity-filled weekend at a family-friendly park that looks more like this:

Anywhere between three and seven weeks from now, I'll be crossing over from being one very pregnant lady to being a new nursing mom again. I've been making so many lists these past weeks it is driving everyone crazy. It probably is a little crazy to be honest, but luckily very few people dare argue with a pregnant woman.
One thing on my list is nursing wear. I remember not being able to find anything that I really loved last time (I didn't start looking till my last week of pregnancy, somehow I wasn't able to look beyond giving birth), so I've begun my search a little earlier this time.
I must say I am surprised at the many elegant, comfortable nursing wear brands that are online now. Why look only in your own country when there is a world of pretty things out there? (Well alright, shipping costs are a pretty good reason) Today I ordered these items from Mothers en Vogue, based in Singapore:

Now that spring has arrived, so has the wedding season. We've got a couple of weddings coming up in May -don't you love going to weddings?- so I'm in full swing wedding mode at the moment. I've liked weddings even more since my husband and I tied the knot almost two years ago in what has got to be one of my favorite days of all time. We had a backyard wedding in August with about 100 people attending and we have such fond memories of that day. It has left me with a soft spot for outdoor weddings and to this day I love looking at wedding sites and inspiration boards.
Here are some pictures that leave me inspired and wishing I could get married (to the same guy of course...) all over again every year.

We are still working on the nursery, although it is mainly decoration by now, and I think I've found just the thing I want to add the finishing touch. It is Inke's wallpaper tree and birds:

Notice that bird at the bottom of the tree? Here's a close-up:

Sometimes I come across things, pictures, or stories that I like more than anything. These are the things I will share with you in my Most of all posts, starting here:

They came by delivery this week, and are the second pair we've bought for our son - rain boots. Not just any old rain boots, but my very favorite rain boots in the world: Bergstein boots.

                                           Note: image from Flavor-Style

I love them because they are very flexible (so no chafed calves after an afternoon of wearing them), and because they come in awesome colors, and because they are just the coolest. Makes you want to go outside in the rain to play!

                                                         Note: image from RoomRed


I just wish they would come in grown-up sizes, too, although they probably look lots cuter on kids...

In one of my previous posts I mentioned that we had agreed on a name for our baby boy. While I'm thrilled that this is the case, and that it happened relatively early, it has its drawbacks. With our first baby, finding the perfect name was a lenghty process that involved lots and lots of lists and discussions. We ended up writing down our top three names on a piece of paper and hashed it out over breakfast in a cute little breakfast place. After that, however, it took us a long time to really get used to his name, even after he was born.
This time it's been a little different. No real lists, no discussions. I mentioned a name I'd seen in a magazine and husband reacted by saying: "yeah, that might be a nice one." We pretty much left it at that and postponed the naming discussions until after the 20-week ultrasound. In the meantime (and ever since), though, when referring to our unborn baby, we called him "..." (the name we have in mind, not to be disclosed till he's born). This happened so often, that about a month ago, we decided it would be weird to change his name now, since we'd both gotten so used to it. A little too much so, as it turns out.
This weekend, my dad was over to help with the nursery when husband referred to our baby. Except instead of actually saying "our baby," he called him by his name. That's how much the name is in our system already. We were both stunned for a second and looked at my dad. He realized the mistake we'd just made and started to laugh, but was sorry that he'd not heard it properly. -Phew- We are going to have to be extra careful these last seven weeks...
I don't know about you, but I like to keep baby's name our little secret until he's actually born. Old-fashioned, right? What are your thoughts on this?

These days, I'm all about the garden. I'd say backyard, but since ours is pretty small (as in 11 by 5 yards...) I prefer using garden. Sounds more picturesque that way. With space being so limited, decorating and landscaping can be a bit of a challenge. Aside from not being able to have large trees (and how I'd love to have large trees!), we need to make choices all the time. Pergola or pond (going with pergola)? Larger sitting area or larger lawn (went for larger seating)? And these are the easier choices. When it comes to plants and flowers, however, I'm quite lost. Luckily I have a mother with a green thumb who is always happy to provide me with some expert advice.

So yesterday I enlisted her help once again, and we spent the morning in the gardening center picking out flowers and new plants to liven up our garden for spring. We picked out these climbers for the fence:

                                 Pink Clematis. Photo by RussG




Pretty, huh? They're not as big yet as the ones in the photos here, but they should be a decent size come June. We also got some new pots and white hydrangeas. These were our wedding flowers and so we thought we should incorporate them into our garden as well.

                                Hydrangea. Photo by WholeBlossoms


We spent the afternoon planting everything (well, mostly mom did the planting and I got to watch. The perks of being pregnant...) and my little one is proving to be quite the gardener as well. He loved watering all the plants and riding around a bunch of twigs and leaves in his wheelbarrow.
Next up will be building the pergola (again: watching the pergola being built by others) and hoping that our Bougainvillea survived the rather harsh winter we had.
Do you have a backyard? What are your favorite plants and flowers? I'd love to hear what your yard looks like!

Today I'm working on a comprehensive to-do list for baby's arrival. What to pack for the hospital, little chores around the house that I'd like to get done, some last baby clothes to buy etcetera. Just making the list is good fun in itself. I was looking at onesies and wanted to share with you one of my favorite brands in baby clothing: Petit Bateau. I fell in love with it after someone bought us a onesie as a baby gift for our firstborn. Most brands make their onesies and rompers pretty wide, but our little one was on the frail side and being a French brand, Petit Bateau has a slim fit. As it now turns out, they don't make just baby clothes, but kids' and even adults' clothes, too. Lucky me!
Here are some of my spring and summer favorites for babies:


And for kids:

Uh oh, writer's block hit me today... What to do? I've had writer's block before when I was in school and college, but that felt different because it usually involved boring assignments. Nowadays I can write about anything I want on my very own blog and find I have nothing to write about! I could do a post on some lovely things that I found online/in a magazine/in a store, but the thing about writer's block: nothing looks good enough to me today to merit a post. A quick tour around the blogging world convinces me that I am not alone. Question is, how do you fight or fix your writer's block?? In my case, writer's block usually means an altogether creative block as well.
So instead of writing something here, I'll ask you this:

Have you ever suffered from writer's block? When? What do you do to fix it?
Thanks for your input and I hope to be back with you tomorrow all refreshed and filled with inspiration.

Hi! Hope you all had a good Easter weekend and are feeling refreshed for the week ahead. We had a lovely weekend of nesting, as the weather wasn't all that great. We managed to get out a couple of times for little walks and bike rides (in between the rain showers) but other than that cosied up inside for most of the weekend, which wasn't too bad because of all the yummie goodness we'd bought and made.
Back to my topic: it has been amazing to see how many companies on the baby market have gone green over the last couple of years. One of my earlier discoveries was a Dutch company called Kindekeklein (how's that for a pronunciation exercise...). They make hanging cradles that are a joy to look at (and I imagine to lie in) and responsibly produced as well.

  


 

So it is Easter weekend this weekend and I love it! Mostly because it means that there isn't a sliver of Winter left for Spring to hide behind, but also because of that yummie Easter breakfast we'll be having. I started my Easter baking yesterday, when I made lemon cookies with my 33 month-old. Admittedly, I was into it a little more than he was (with that 10 minute attention-span and all) but they turned out quite well. We'll be decorating them tomorrow, which should be more fun for him since it will involve chocolate and candy.
Now for the grown-up bit, I'm making lemon curd (just the thought of it makes me want to do a little happy dance!).

It has been a little more than a year since we moved into our new home, and though we love it, I can't claim it to be anywhere near finished. All the major things (new bathroom, new kitchen etcetera) were done right when we moved in, but the part that makes a new house a home, i.e. the decorating bit, is still a work in progress. So far, I had been looking to magazines for inspiration, but since hiking up my blogging frequency, I've found a wealth of inspiration on other people's blogs as well.
My latest find is one that has particularly inspired me. It is Sherry and John Petersik's blog Young House Love.

The blog is dedicated to the first house they bought and fixed up together. And boy did they fix it up! You really shoudn't miss their house tour, which is full of before and after shots that will leave you inspired and amazed. I especially love it because they used furniture and accessories that are available to and affordable for most, as opposed to buying only expensive design items. And have a look at this photo, isn't that just the most adorable house? Makes me wanna pack up my things and move to Virginia! Are you the fixer-upper type or do you prefer a turn-key home?

I've been getting increasingly obsessed with all things baby lately. I spend more time online looking at all this cuteness than I should, but hey, I'm 31 weeks pregnant and that's a good enough excuse for me. There really are so many cute little things out there, that I decided to share my finds. I'll be posting them at random for you to see in the Baby Things posts.
I'll start with a personal favorite. Among the many baby gifts we received when our first baby was born, was this cuddly blankie with Delft Blue pattern from Dutch company  Snooze Baby , which was an instant hit:

Tomorrow, after five years of sleeping in our double bed, we are upgrading to a King Size. Turns out the double bed was fine for the early stages of courtship, but as our family expanded, we've been getting a little cramped. Cosy, but cramped. So I am absolutely thrilled about this new arrival and have been thinking about what other pieces in our bedroom could use an upgrade. I already got new night lights, and I can't wait to add a touch of paint to the wall directly behind the bed, which is currently a warm, dark gray. I'll hold off on the painting part until the new bed is in place, though, so I don't mismatch the colors. I also found these wall graphics online that I really like:

Now that I'm getting bigger and bigger (see my Whale post), it is becoming quite the challenge to continue to dress nicely. I'm constantly looking for great maternity wear, even in the final two months of pregnancy. (Whoever said you can wear the same maternity clothes all through your pregnancy is wrong! This is only true if you belong to the lucky few who only add the pregnancy pounds to their bellies and boobies.)
Luckily, all the major brands have been debuting their spring and summer collections, so there is plenty to choose from. I really like these pieces from Fragile, a small Belgian brand that creates high quality maternity clothing.

They usually feature dreamy, ultra-feminine looks that are really gorgeous, but these are great as well. I think the hippie pregnant girl look is very cute, and love the bell-bottom jeans paired with those heels. I have to be honest here and say I've not worn heels for about four months now, but seeing this look, maybe I'll give it another go! What do you like to wear when you're pregnant?

Note: Pictures taken from Fragile

Every two months, some of my university girlfriends and I convene for an afternoon -turns to evening turns to night- of eating, drinking, catching up, and lots of laughing. You wouldn't guess it from my description, but this is actually a book club meeting. It's just that most of the time, we don't take the reading and discussing part so seriously, which is fine with everyone. Our latest meeting was Saturday, and I have to say, it was a little different this time. The book we had read (at least most of us had, and at least in part) was Johnathan Safran Foer's Eating Animals.

Now I know I have a good nine weeks of pregnancy ahead of me, but the birth of baby has been occupying my mind lately. My history in delivering babies is this: one unplanned C-section after 42 weeks of pregnancy and 12 hours of labor, and one very premature natural birth with epidural in the birth of our little angel at 23 weeks of pregnancy. Both deliveries were pretty hard.
In spite of my less-than-ideal history with delivering babies, though, I am rather looking forward to not scared of going through it all again. What has been keeping me busy is how this baby will be born. Will I need another C-section (I pray that I don't)? If it's a natural birth, do I do it the natural way or with epidural? Lately, I've been inclined to go with the epidural because I know from experience that once my body gets going with the contractions, I'll have a maximum of 20 to 30 seconds between them, which is pretty hard to endure for hours on end. I am not a 0-to-10cm-in-3-hours-kind-of-girl, unfortunately.
Like I said, I was leaning towards an epidural, until I read Jill Di Pietro's hypnobirthing story on Design Mom. What an amazing birth! This is how I imagined giving birth was when I was pregnant the first time and had taken birthing classes. I was going to deliver my baby at home in a birthing tub, with just my husband and a midwife there, and lots of candles and soft music in the background. I was in shock when it turned out to be just a big, bloody, painful mess and I became quite sceptical of people who claimed to have had beautiful deliveries. But then every now and then a story like Jill's comes along, and it gets me thinking. Maybe a birth like that is possible, maybe even for me? I can only imagine the sense of empowerment after pushing out your baby all by yourself, no help from pain medicine or anything. Now I know for sure I won't be delivering this baby at home, but the epidural I will give a second thought.

I just couldn't keep these images to myself! This is exactly what my perfect spring/summer scene looks like.

You know how you can be drawn to the same things over and over while shopping for your home? Even when looking for something completely unrelated? This is what happens to me with trays (and lanterns. And to be completely honest here, with throws too). I might be looking for new knives or mugs or chairs or even a soap dish for the bathroom, when I spot a good tray, I have to have it.
The thing about trays: they are so versatile! You can use them to get your food things from the kitchen to the dining room, which is probably what their original purpose in life is (though not what I mostly use them for). However, just as easily they convert into decorative little tables (when placed on a stool) and gorgeous gathering places for candles/rocks/picture frames/memorabilia. The really nice ones even do well by themselves. I especially love trays with an ethnic look. Most of the time I find those in smaller stores that import their things from Asia or Africa, but these two I came across at Crate and Barrel:

I wonder what the Mr. would have to say about me bringing home some more trays...

Now that the weather is slowly starting to improve and my due date is fast approaching (May 29th), I thought it was time for some springtime redecorating while I am still mobile. So the past two weekends have been spent with friends and family and lots of tools. We rearranged the hallway to accommodate our new Bugaboo stroller and this was a good excuse for me to also get out a can of paint to freshen up the color. So instead of a muted gray, the main wall in our hallway is now a soft green with the lovely name pasta verde.
The nursery is still a work in progress but it is in much better condition than a month ago. Because our budget isn't sky-high, we ventured to Ikea for some nursery furniture. We bought a wardrobe and rocking chair as well as these lamp shades.

This Winter, our street received a makeover. That is what happens when you live in a new suburb like we do. While the suburb is not so brand new anymore -going on seven years now- all of our street's inhabitants were still living with a temporary layout, consisting mostly of ugly pavements and no trees. The reasoning behind this was that all the heavy traffic that is involved in building a new residential area frequently passed through our street (as it is rather wide) and would damage the fancy brick that is now in place. Anyway, we have been able to enjoy our street's new and improved look for a couple of months and I have to say I quite like it. The only thing that still needs to be done is planting some trees. There is a plot of grass (or would-be grass if it would start to grow already) separating the pavement in front of our house from the road. This is where the trees will go. Now here is my plan: I bought some flower bulbs this week (irises and tiger flowers for the gardeners among you) with the intention of planting them at the base of the trees when they are put in. A clandestine and wildly courageous act on my part of course. So come June, when the leaves on the trees are the freshest hue of green, lots of colorful flowers will be blooming and it will be a marvelous sight. Grass or no grass.

I got them from popje.co.uk and their entire site is filled with adorableness like this. Aside from birth announcements, they also make greeting cards and wedding announcements, and you can even have them make you a unique design. My birth announcements quest is far from over, but I'll be keeping these in mind!

I thought I got pretty big during my first pregnancy. I was wrong. This -third- time around, I am ballooning to never before seen proportions. This would've been kinda okay had I been in my ninth month of pregnancy while writing this or had the weight attached itself only to my tummy, as planned (by me of course). Alas, I just entered my third trimester last Saturday and the weight seems to be evenly distributed between my legs -or cottage cheese pillars, as I now call them- and my rear, which means I carry a lot of extra "junk in my trunk." I seriously considered not putting on my bathing suit to go swimming with my Two-and-a-half this weekend. Thankfully, my maternal instincts beat my vanity, but I am doubtful this will be the case two months from now, when I look (and no doubt feel) like a beached whale.