Oh boy...I can't even begin to describe how enormous my belly is. These days, if I turn sideways, most people are just plain ol' horrified (she's going to pop any second!), while others seem incredibly curious as to how much longer these little legs are able to support all that weight.
Whatever. At least I have not bought ONE STITCH of maternity clothes this time. Believe it. It is absolutely possible. During the summer, I relied on J Crew summer dresses to keep me cool. Now that there's a little chill in the air, I opted for some cotton jersey dresses by American Apparel.I love the sleeveless tri-blend pleated pocket dress. It is stretchy and roomy through the waist; perfect for expanding bellies. Although, the dress is intended to be short, so I'd suggest pairing it with capri leggings for more coverage (as suggested by my not-so-subtle husband).
The fine jersey t dress is also an excellent choice. It even comes in 21 delicious colors. My favorite dress is the melange jersey sleeveless funnel neck shift dress. The classic "A" shift dress shape works well with ginorma-belly.One piece of advice: get the XL size because the dresses run small.
Browse through the AA online store for a huge selection of clothing and accessories for women, men and kids, or visit a brick-and-mortar AA store in your city.
Built NY, a design company that started out selling neoprene wine totes, has added the reusable Munchlers lunch bags to their home collection. A product of Built's joint collaboration with children's book illustrator, Stephen Savage, the Munchler's line is not only fun, but incredibly utilitarian. Each Munchler is easy to clean, easy to handle (for small hands) and it even unzips into a flat placemat.You can purchase Munchlers directly from the Built NY website, or from Home Rule if you live in Washington, DC.
You may have guessed, from my lack of postings, that I've been taking a vacation--a mental vacation that is. Since it is getting harder and harder for me to care for O by myself, we decided it was time to get a full-time nanny for her.So in my spare time, I've returned to my books. So far, I am averaging two books a week. Non-fiction is still my preferred genre, but I've ventured a little into the world of historical fiction. I know, sounds a little scary, but it actually makes sense.As a mom about to give birth to twins in two months, you'd think I wouldn't want to read a book about the history of botched-up midwifery and chauvinistic obstetric attitudes. Yet, I found it enormously interesting and informative. It hasn't changed my mind about how to bring my twins into the world (drug me up, cut me up, and sew me up!), but it certainly has opened my eyes to the different opinions of how other women think of the birthing process. I highly recommend "Birth" by Tiny Cassidy for those who are less squeamish.From the other end of the spectrum, I highly recommend "The Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follett. In a way, the book is factually informative because the author makes a point of describing life as it was in 12th Century Europe. But as a plus for me, the entire storyline centers around the building of a medieval cathedral. There are some common-sense inaccuracies (wool doesn't burn!!!), of course, but still entertaining nevertheless. There is one HUGE drawback though: the book is freaking looooooong!
I'm starting to panic a little bit. While I'm only 6 months pregnant, the impending day is looking dangerously close. So on a rampage, I finally ordered the nursery furniture and accessories all in one go.
I decided to forgo the Target/DwellStudios cribs due to low customer ratings. It was brought to my attention by Uncle M that Nurseryworks now makes a less expensive crib, the Loom Crib, for half the price of O's Aerial Crib. So we bought two cribs and the matching changing table. We also bought the gender neutral Lime/Noir Dottie bedding sets. The quality of Nurseryworks furniture is not perfect, but it is surely better than Target???
From Modern Nursery, I ordered the Happy Geese wall decal in lime/dk grey/lt grey. I also ordered a matching Tree decorative throw pillow in lime/grey. As for lighting, I ordered the Offi duckie lamp in white. Sooo cute...Finally, my biggest offense of the day. I ordered another set of Candeloo night lights from Vessel! I know, I know, why didn't I learn?! Well, at only $39 (as opposed to $50 on other websites), I couldn't resist. More importantly, I also ordered spare batteries for O's old set to see if we can fix her pair with new parts. Fingers crossed.
Uncle M suggested the Karlstad chair and ottoman in place of the expensive Nurseryworks glider. Not bad, sort of an Eames-inspired lounge chair in grey fabric.Now if I can only find inexpensive velvet curtains (to block out strong morning light) for the room...Uncle M????????
For Architectdad's birthday, I bought two incredible floor seats for the George Michael concert. Yup, you are correct, GM of Wham! fame.I gotta tell ya, it was fun! We were less than 100 feet from George and he was awesome. A little wrinkly around the edges, but nothing a little tuck and Botox can't fix. The dancing was still great, although the whole we were hoping he wouldn't throw out his hips or something worse.I believe I even saw tear welling up in Architectdad's eyes :-) Of course everyone seemed very concerned about the hugely pregnant lady...I really think they thought "Faith" was going to send me to the hospital! Funny.George asked the audience if we remember where we were in the 80's when Wham! toured in the U.S. He joked and said that most of us probably came to the concert with our parents. I never saw them in the 80's, but I would've been only 11! Good times...
So far, O's toy collection has been pretty much unisex. However, I ordered her a pair of baby dolls from American Girl last week to prepare her for the arrival of her new sister and brother. From the AG Bitty Baby collection, you can choose the "look" of your doll by choosing the hair, eye and skin color of the doll. I chose one that has dark hair and almond-shaped eyes--which incidentally looks a lot like O when she was a baby. A little creepy :-)
To balance out the gender spectrum (stereotypical, I know), we bought her some cars and trucks from the Playmobil 123 collection. Playmobil is a German company that also makes Lego-like toys that are suitable for kids 4+. The 123 collection, on the other hand, is a set specifically geared towards toddlers 1.5+. The play pieces are larger and smoother, yet they are still compatible with the classic Playmobil toys. So instead of replacing the 123 collection with the classic collection when O gets older, we can just add to what we already have. Excellent!
Whatever. At least I have not bought ONE STITCH of maternity clothes this time. Believe it. It is absolutely possible. During the summer, I relied on J Crew summer dresses to keep me cool. Now that there's a little chill in the air, I opted for some cotton jersey dresses by American Apparel.
The fine jersey t dress is also an excellent choice. It even comes in 21 delicious colors. My favorite dress is the melange jersey sleeveless funnel neck shift dress. The classic "A" shift dress shape works well with ginorma-belly.
