Jane Austen and Star Wars baby shower weekend!

I had so much fun this weekend. SO much fun. Be warned, this post may get kind of photo-heavy.

We started out with the Jane Austen festival on Saturday. I managed to get my costume finished in time for the festival thanks to my awesome mom coming to the rescue when my sewing machine conked out. (And doing some of the sewing for me, because I'm a sewing noob and had a hard time with the arm holes.) I couldn't get together with DH's cousin so that she could do my hair, so I wore a bonnet and just pinned it all up underneath. We didn't stay at the festival very long because it was hot, but it was a lot of fun to dress up anyhow. (Note to other pregnant ladies: Gold Bond chafing stick is AWESOME if you're in a dress and your thighs rub together. Kid you not, it spared me so much discomfort.) Several of DH's cousins dressed up, too, and we were a cute little group, if I do say so myself.

Guess which one is me? ;)

That night, a bunch of DH's family got together and did a baby shower for me and Wee Laddie. It was Star Wars themed, and I was SO impressed at how cool it was! I didn't know a baby shower could be so much fun. They had a big sheet up on the wall that said "may the force be with you" and they had people write advice on a chalkboard and take pictures in front. Some of the pictures were really cute!

It seems like most of the pictures of me are either blinking or with my mouth open...super attractive, right? I got some seriously cool gifts, including a Kate Spade diaper bag and a Star Wars mobile that DH's uncle made. LOVE it. We also got some really, really adorable baby clothes from Janie & Jack, which is more along the boutique baby clothing line. I love anything with smocking on it, and we got some of the cutest overalls you've ever seen. We also got some teething toys, books, bath supplies, teensy shoes, and my MIL and FIL got us a great car seat/jogging stroller. I didn't even know I wanted a jogging stroller until I had one!

I'm really blessed to have married into such an enthusiastic, loving family. They're not without their issues (what family is?) but they're excited about our little boy and they've always treated me like I had been there all along. It's kind of wonderful. :)

I think I know why sewing is a dying art.

Because it's HARD. Seriously...I am so impressed at what my mom and DH's Mammaw can do now that I've tried my hand at sewing. When I was a little kid, my mom made my sister and I TONS of clothing, usually matching of course. I've always wanted to learn to sew, and I guess I'm getting my chance now. I am in the process of making a pinafore to go over last year's Jane Austen dress. It's almost finished; I have to hem the bottom and around the edges of the neck and shoulders, but that's it! Have I made mistakes? Yep. Did I maybe cry earlier because I was so frustrated? Yep. But such is my dedication to dress up for the Jane Austen festival. Two more days!

About 9 weeks until baby boy gets here. Insanity. We still aren't anywhere near ready in terms of the nursery, but I haven't wanted to buy anything until we are done with baby showers so we'll start making purchases in a couple weeks.

DH gets off early today and will be home about an hour before he normally arrives. Yay! I can honestly say that I love, love, LOVE having him home. I'm cooking some minute steaks for dinner tonight, along with some mashed potatoes, corn casserole, and country-style green beans. Mmm. Making myself hungry just thinking about it. I've never cooked minute steaks before, but I'm a much more adventurous cook than I am in sewing. ;)

I'll post a picture of my Jane Austen getup once it's finished. Wish me luck!

I'm so negligent...

So, I fail at life and haven't updated in forever. Not that much has been going on, but yeah...

I think that I've finally gotten the knack of being a housewife. I don't know what it was, but something just...clicked. For the last couple weeks, my house has been clean. All of it. (Well, my bathroom needs to be swept and mopped, but whatever.) It started with the kitchen. One day, I got it all clean, and just kept it that way. I've been sweeping when it needs swept, vacuuming when it needs it, keeping laundry done, etc etc. It feels really good, to be honest. Part of me is sort of afraid that I'll fall back into my old habits, but I haven't even been tempted so far. I think DH is thrilled to bits to come home to dinner cooked every night, a clean kitchen, laundry done and folded, and a happier wife.

This year's Jane Austen festival is coming up fast, and I'm excited! I'm a little worried about how I'll handle the heat, but there are a couple buildings that I know I can retreat to if I need to hang out in the air conditioning. I decided to see if my dress from last year would still fit, but I expected my belly to be way too big. Surprisingly, the belly wasn't the issue...my boobs were. I ripped out a couple of seams we had done in the bust last year, because it had been too big at the time. It gave me at least another inch of space, and it helped drastically! I'm going to make some other little adjustments, but it'll work. I'm such a nerd...any excuse to dress up in a cool costume, right? :p

We're finally getting a break from the heat around here. I never thought mid-80s would be "cool", but it's fantastic because our AC unit can actually keep up now. For this big ole pregnant girl, that is pure bliss. DH and I haven't been walking at night in a long time because it was still ridiculously hot even when the sun went down, but I need to start doing it again. Especially since I'm totally bad about sticking to my modified gestational diabetes diet...walking will help burn up some of those carbs so that it's not all just sitting there turning to sugar.

In pregnancy news, I'm about 30 weeks along now. Crazy to think that I'm this close to being done. Little boy is still pretty active, but I'm feeling more nudges and rolls now, instead of kicks and punches. I'm up about 20lbs, which feels weird but is totally normal so I'm trying not to be too self-conscious about it. Stretch marks are springing up all over the place, but not in the places that I expected them. I've got some on my love handles but none on my belly yet...I think they all decided to go for my legs and butt instead. It's weird, because I don't FEEL stretched out in those places. Here's my bump picture from Wednesday night.

I think I did, I think I did...

I've started looking for a part-time job here recently, just to supplement our household income a little bit. I applied at Rite-Aid and it looks like I've got the job! (All within a matter of a few days. Nice.) They're waiting for the background check to run, and assuming I pass it, I'm good to go. I may have made a mistake on the paperwork that is making me ULTRA paranoid, but even that would just be listing an address that they didn't need. My criminal record is totally clean. I don't even have a speeding ticket, for crying out loud. So hopefully, I'll hear back from them soon. God is very good. :)

Jane Austen festival this weekend. Yes, I'm excited. Yes, I'm planning to dress up. Yes, I am a total nerd. No, I don't care.

I have a warm, purring kitten asleep on my stomach. It's incredibly cute. I'm so thankful that we have these little furballs in our life. They're good little companions, even if they do stink up the litter box something fierce, and they occasionally fart on me. Life is good. Life is blessed.

My relationship with God is growing so much lately. I'm just struck by how many second (and third and hundredth) chances I've been given, and I'm tired of taking that for granted.

"Nearer, still nearer, while life shall last
'Til safe in glory my anchor is cast
Through endless ages, ever to be
Nearer, my Savior, still nearer to Thee."