Extreme Home Makeover - Linders Edition

We just spent the entire last week turning our guest room into the beginnings of a true nursery. I decided to call it an extreme makeover because any time we venture into the "home improvement" world, it's a very long, multi-Home Depot visit adventure! After several colors and sheens of paint, we found just the right color of green and just the right sheen to make the stripes that R saw on some crazy home decor website. I think he looks for the most challenging, most impressive project - cute and simple will just not do! He gets ALL of the credit for this one. I would never have measured and taped off all of those lines! It's amazing, and I couldn't be happier with it. I can't wait to fill it with cute baby things! Here's a little preview:

Feeling Thankful

We just spent a great week away from life enjoying family and great food (a little more food than usual on my part). I feel especially thankful this year as I ponder becoming a mom - feelings I'm sure pale in comparison to what I'll feel when she arrives! K and I met my Mom for a "girls shopping spree" in Oklahoma City on Monday. We hoped to get most of our Christmas shopping done, but somehow ended up in Babies R Us and maternity stores more than anywhere else. . . By the way, K officially announced that she is expecting a baby May 29 - just ten weeks after us! We are thrilled to embark on this journey together - we know it will be crazy, but if you've known us for long, you already know that's how we tend to do things! We spent most of Thanksgiving day giggling at our cousins as they "wrestled" with their kids over food, naps, and playing on the stairs, the whole time thinking that this is very possibly one of our last holidays before we find ourselves in the same shoes. We also had quite the Black Friday experience, which involved the craziest Wal-Mart scene I've ever experienced in my life. We always promise each other that we will NEVER be this stupid again, but those deals always seem to get us out of bed in the middle of the night, pushing and shoving with the rest of the crazies to get the limited quantity item we've decided is just too good to pass up. Saturday was the highlight of my week - baby girl has been very active lately, and both my niece and R got to feel her move! It was very exciting to share something that only I've been able to feel so far. I'm starting to think that my kindergarteners are rubbing off on her - she always seems to be moving! I can't believe that we're already at twenty-three weeks, and I can't wait to see what the coming weeks bring. . .

The elusive "good night's sleep"

So, between waking up to go to the bathroom and my recent struggle with allergies, I can't seem to catch more than a few hours of sleep at one time. I broke down and took some allergy medicine today (after calling my doctor AND my Dad, of course), which, unfortunately, gave me a sore throat. I thought a cup of hot tea might help, so I had one before dinner tonight. I failed to remember that my body is no longer used to having ANY caffiene, and here I am awake at one am. . . If anyone has any brilliant ideas about helping me sleep, I'm up for suggestions :)

Ready or Not. . .

Apparently, this is the way moms share the adventure of having children with anyone who loves them (or their children) enough to listen. . . I figured I better get started! We found out on Tuesday that we're having a girl! We had so much fun watching the sonogram and can't wait to meet her! The sono tech. commented on how much she was moving her mouth during the sonogram, to which R commented, "Yep, she's just like her Mom!" (very funny).

I also felt her move for the first time during my niece's choir concert on Saturday, which was very exciting! She must have known that her very cool older cousin was performing and didn't want to miss it.