No Baby yet!! Just 5 days past due date right now. I’m ready for her to come. Meanwhile – have you checked out Bloglovin?

Follow Romance on a dime on Bloglovin!

If you haven’t already read the news, Google Reader is shutting down
on July 1, 2013.  If you use Google Reader to follow Romance on a dime,
please consider following me on Bloglovin or subscribe to the blog and get it in your inbox.

To learn on how to transfer blogs you read over to bloglovin read this post:
Replacing google friends connect with Bloglovin’

I also recommend reading this post:
How to Move Your Google Reader RSS Feed to Bloglovin’.
Hope to see you there!

© 2013, Betsy Pool. All rights reserved.

The post Follow Romance on a dime on Bloglovin appeared first on Romance on a Dime.

How I feel

We are ready, ready, ready! As of Sunday last weekend I have felt ready to go into labor. I think in part it’s because my extended family came into town and I just really realized “this is it” – my family is in town for a week – the week leading up to my due date. And now it’s here! I would really like Baby Girl to come before they leave town, but now it’s probably not going to happen. That’s okay – Baby Girl will come at the right time. I was reassured while reading and journaling yesterday that God is preparing me for the kind of labor I specifically will have. I love this quote from my Pregnancy journal:

“As you approach the final moments before baby’s arrival, there is one thing above all others that you can do to prepare. Set your mind on things above. Don’t look at the daily things nearly as much as you focus on the Lord and His plan for you. Rest easy. Trust in Him, Mom-to-be.”

This week I spent some time reorganizing and decluttering stuff in our basement. I went through all my teaching supplies and decor supplies and weeding through my magazine. I basically barely maintained the dishes (maybe next week I will thoroughly clean the house…).

I also made DIY Cloth Diaper Detergent and a Aleo Vera Wipe Solution (recipe below). See my diaper changing station on the pack ‘n play? We plan on using disposable diapers the first week and a half or so, then switching to cloth diapers.

Aloe Vera Wipes (from Warmies)

This recipe is soothing for mild skin irritations.

• 1/4 cup Aloe Vera Gel
• 2 drops Tea Tree Essential Oil  (Please be sure to use only pure essential oil – do NOT use synthetic oil.)
• 2 cups Hot Water

Using a container or spray bottle with a tight lid, mix all ingredients, cover and shake to blend. Let mixture cool before use. You can spritz on each wipe prior to every use or pour solution over wipes inside wipes box to prepare several at a time.

Preparing for Labor

I have been walking every day, doing lunges, some squats, taking Evening Primrose Oil, and doing some pain coping exercises with ice cubes on my wrist – it’s very painful!!

Stats

Total weight gain/loss? I gained 4 pounds this week! Now, overall I’ve gained 32 pounds.

Movement – Yes, she continues to move a lot, especially when I’m lying in bed. Baby Girl definitely dropped Monday of this week. I was able to breathe easier during walks and have been going to the bathroom a LOT.

Hunger/Cravings – I’m still drinking lots of Red Raspberry Tea infused water. So good!

Labor Signs? All this week we have been anticipating signs of labor, but nothing yet.

Best moment this week?

I was proud of myself for making the DIY Cloth Diaper Detergent and Aloe Vera Wipe Solution! But I think my favorite moment will be going on a date with my husband tonight – to the movie theater!!

What I am looking forward to

Getting to hold Baby Girl!! AND getting to see my husband hold her. AND sharing her name with everyone – I can’t wait!

Our little “June Bug’s” Growth

We’ve been taking photos since week 6 and showing a fruit or vegetable in the picture that is the same size as our little “June Bug”. Last week: our little girl was over 19.5 inches long (lemon grass) and about 6.8 pounds in weight. This week: 20 inches long and weighs a little over 7 pounds (mini watermelon)! Yep – got my hair cut!

Linking up at The Friday Baby Shower.

© 2013, Betsy Pool. All rights reserved.

The post Week 39 of Pregnancy appeared first on Romance on a Dime.

Share the projects you been working on!!

Baby will be coming soon – my due date is fast approaching – June 14th. For that reason, this link up will be open until July 1st!

Love reading everyone’s posts!! Please:

*Link to a specific post (no giveaways)
*Post my button (found on the footer) on your blog
OR a text link on the post to be featured!)
*Visit & comment on at least TWO other links posted
*Come back to see if you’ve been featured or pinned!

Please ‘like’ my facebook page!
Follow me on Google +!

I make it my priority to follow everyone’s blog by the second time they link up. I also pin your projects on my Favorite’s Board.

My Take it on Tuesday Project: Rest and Last Minute to-dos and cleaning!

This week, since my due date is in 3 days, I’m going to be doing a lot of resting, reading, some cleaning, and some to-do items. We are ready for baby - Nursery is done!!  It’s my favorite room in the house!! Our house has been through declutter the past two weeks, so now it’s just a little bit of cleaning and resting. I can’t wait until I get to hold our little Baby Girl – and share pictures with you!

Click on picture to see full size image.

TIOT Features!

#1. How to Seal Painted Flower Pots from Practically Functional

#2. DIY Canopy Bed from Naturally Nesters

#3. Red Lobster Cheddar Biscuits from The Pin Junkie

#4. TMNT Birthday Party from Pieces of Me

#5. Using Your Wedding Website for all it’s Worth from Let’s Drink Coffee, Darling

#6. Lemonade Cupcakes from Don’t Mess with my Tutus!

If you’ve been featured today, or in the past, please grab a feature button from the footer!

What projects have you been working on?

© 2013, Betsy Pool. All rights reserved.

The post Take it on Tuesday (TIOT) blog hop #81 appeared first on Romance on a Dime.

How I feel

I’m satisfied at how ready we are. The nursery is done!! I’ve read the chapter about the first week of a baby’s life in Wonder Weeks and our bags are packed and residing in the car for the most part. I’m excited to see lots of family this weekend!! Next week my plan is just to relax, clean the house some, and maybe work on a hobby.

I went swimming yesterday and that felt good!! I definitely got adjusted to feeling buoyant because as I was stepping out of the pool – I DEFINITELY felt baby weight on my back again!! I probably will visit the swimming pool again next week.

I’ve been still feeling pretty good and sleeping pretty well (only waking up for about 1-2 hours each night). My feet are pretty swollen so I’m staying out of the heat and propping my feet up when I can! Little tasks this week seems like a lot more work!

I am, however, starting to feel nervous about going into labor…

Stats

Total weight gain/loss? No weight gain this week, so overall I’ve gained 28 pounds. I’m pretty satisfied with that, if that is all I gain.

Movement – Yes, she continues to move a lot, especially when I’m lying in bed. I keep wondering if she has dropped, but since I can’t really tell, I’m assuming she has not. She is still in a head down position.

Hunger/Cravings – I’ve been drinking lots of Red Raspberry Tea infused water. So good!! And I’m making smoothies probably every other day.

Labor Signs? Nope, just Braxton Hicks contractions at this point. There have been a couple of times that I’ve had a stronger Braxton Hicks contractions, but since they are not regular at all – it’s not labor contractions.

Nursery Reveal

Best moment this week?

Getting the nursery done and showing it off to friends and family!! If you haven’t seen it yet, check it out by clicking on the picture!

What I am looking forward to

Getting to hold Baby Girl!! AND getting to see my husband hold her. AND sharing her name with everyone – I can’t wait!

Our little “June Bug’s” Growth

We’ve been taking photos since week 6 and showing a fruit or vegetable in the picture that is the same size as our little “June Bug”. Last week: our little girl was over 19 inches long and about 6.3 pounds in weight (papaya). This week: over 19.5 inches long and about 6.8 pounds in weight!

Linking up at The Friday Baby Shower and My Pregnancy Journal.

© 2013, Betsy Pool. All rights reserved.

The post Week 38 of Pregnancy appeared first on Romance on a Dime.

It is finally done – all details in place (minus a name banner which I might add later above the changing table).

Nursery Reveal

About six months ago our office resided in the room that is now our Nursery. Here is what it looked like:

And the other side of the room was a MESS!

We first spent time decluttering it, which I show before and after pictures here. Then, with the help of a friend, I painted the room gray and the small dresser white. Here are the befores:

And the after:

At my first baby shower, my sisters came up with
the idea to have everyone at the shower decorate a letter of the alphabet in the colors of my nursery – Gray, Yellow, and Pink. It turned out SO CUTE!

I found this frame (on the right) at a garage sale, and my husband spray painted it yellow.

Our Baby Girl’s name starts with an A, so we put her initials on either side.

 It hangs above our crib and next to our dresser/changing table:

Our lovely white crib, and the beautiful quilt made by my sister-in-law, Gabi!!

Here is our changing table area. Doesn’t the dresser look so much better painted white? The blank wall behind the giraffe will have a banner with Baby Girl’s name after she is born.

Remember when I talked about a solution for not finding the right sized dresser pulls? Found the answer on Pinterest!! Aren’t they adorable? The horse rocker below is from when my husband was a baby. One of his Dad’s co-workers made it for Matt. Now we have it for Baby Girl!

 The dresser holds our cloth diapers, burp rags, blankets, swaddles, and extra crib sheet:

You might have seen our DIY Baby Armoire before that holds all of Baby Girl’s clothes. Isn’t it ADORABLE!? We also have my homemade version of a headband holder hanging on the wall – and room for more!

Next to the DIY Baby Armoire is the glider with a little side table (for momma’s drinks and reading material). No, I never did get the glider covered like originally planned, but with the curtains and everything else I think the light blue blends with the room. Who knows, I may eventually still do it. We found a small table for pretty cheap at Walmart that Matt used homemade chalk paint to cover it so that it matched the room – love the white!

On the other side of the room we have a big 4 by 4 expedit cabinet from IKEA (which I got off of Craigslist). Follow this link to see a close up of the lamp I added gray and yellow ribbon to. For now the cabinet contains baskets of toys, shoes, bottle and feeding supplies, some books, and our baby carriers. There is still plenty of free space to fill as baby gets older and needs different things.

The Nursery is now my favorite room in the house!! Check out the full reveal pictures!

Click this picture to see it larger.

 We are ready for Baby Girl!!

 Linking up at these parties!

© 2013, Betsy Pool. All rights reserved.

The post Romance on a Dime Nursery Reveal! appeared first on Romance on a Dime.

Share the projects you been working on!!

(I’m going to try my best to keep up with this, but my due date is fast approaching – June 14th. If no baby by next week I’ll have the features and a new link-up!)

Love reading everyone’s posts!! Please:

*Link to a specific post (no giveaways)
*Post my button (found on the footer) on your blog
OR a text link on the post to be featured!)
*Visit & comment on at least TWO other links posted
*Come back to see if you’ve been featured or pinned!

Please ‘like’ my facebook page!
Follow me on Google +!

I make it my priority to follow everyone’s blog by the second time they link up. I also pin your projects on my Favorite’s Board.

My Take it on Tuesday Project: Nursery Reveal

We are done with the nursery and I can’t wait to show you pictures!! Look for a post later this week FULL of pictures!

TIOT Features!

#1. Dining Room Table Redo from Lovin Life One Day at a Time

#2. Gardening on a Budget from From Nature to Nurture

#3. Moist Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Cake from Mrs. Southern Bride

#4. How to Paint your Subfloors from I Dream of Jeanne Designs

#5. Birdbath Made from PVC Pipe from Crafts A La Mode

#6. Banana Blueberry Bread with Oats from Ladies Holiday

#7. Framed Art Display from Callie’s Crafts

#8. Whale Cupcake Toppers from Ashley’s Dandelion Wishes

If you’ve been featured today, or in the past, please grab a feature button from the footer!

What projects have you been working on?

© 2013, Betsy Pool. All rights reserved.

The post Take it on Tuesday (TIOT) blog hop #80 appeared first on Romance on a Dime.

How I feel

I’m a lot less stressed because over the last two weeks we have gotten so much accomplished!! Over the 4-day Memorial weekend my husband and I (with 2 piano lessons thrown in there) completed the nursery, spent our gift cards and have all the “needed” items purchased. A couple things will arrive in the mail this coming Monday.

I’ve been still feeling pretty good and sleeping pretty well (only waking up for about 1-2 hours each night). My feet are pretty swollen so I’m staying out of the heat and propping my feet up when I can! Here I am grading this week:

Stats

Total weight gain/loss? I gained 1 pound this week, so overall I’ve gained 28 pounds.

Movement – Yes, she continues to move a lot! While at my appointment with the midwife I was talking about how far to my right side I was feeling kicking and my midwife verified that Baby Girl was still head down, with her back and butt slightly leaning to the left and her legs were what I was feeling on my right side. The midwife remarked that she must have long legs…hmmm…that doesn’t seem right, does it?

Since I’ve been feeling some sharp twinges of pain with my inner thigh on the left side this week, my midwife suggested lying more on my right and pushing on Baby Girl to try to get her to lie straighter inside me.

Hunger/Cravings – Not really. Mostly with all this heat I’ve been drinking a lot of water.

Contractions? Nope, just the normal Braxton Hicks contractions at this point. And they are not very regular either.

Best moment this week?

Here is what we crossed off our to-do list last weekend: hanging the frames and alphabet letters in the nursery, setting up the pack ‘n play in our bedroom, washing the baby clothes and re-hanging them, putting a crib sheet on the crib, and making a trip to buy buy baby!!

What I am looking forward to

I’m looking forward to have the nursery done and showing you pictures of it!! This Saturday I will try to take some pictures so I can show off our nursery next week!!

Our little “June Bug’s” Growth

We’ve been taking photos since week 6 and showing a fruit or vegetable in the picture that is the same size as our little “June Bug”. Last week: our little girl was 18.5 inches long (bok choy) and about 6 pounds in weight. This week: over 19 inches long and about 6.3 pounds in weight (papaya)!

So, why do I look bigger during week 36 than 37? It’s because Baby Girl leans to the left quite a bit!! I always look bigger on the left side.

Linking up at The Friday Baby Shower and My Pregnancy Journal.

© 2013, Betsy Pool. All rights reserved.

The post Week 37 of Pregnancy appeared first on Romance on a Dime.

How I feel

I’m getting excited to meet baby!! My husband is too. In fact, he is mentioning it more and I think he is a little bit more impatient to meet her. He has set a deadline of getting everything ready for baby by the end of Memorial Day weekend – we’ll see if we can make that happen. We did get our “go” bags packed and just have a few more things to buy to put in them. If you are curious what we packed, I made a pdf. Yes, we have two amazing diaper bags!! In the back is the skip hop double duo. I’ve heard it’s the best bag to have for cloth diapers – and Matt likes it too. Then, Matt surprised me by buying the diaper bag in front – smaller, for when I’m out and about with baby on my own:

Most of the time I still have pretty good energy. This week I set aside Friday to do Freezer cooking all day long – 8 hours!! I was SOO exhausted by the time my husband got home from work. (I was going to have two freezer cooking days before Baby Girl comes, but the second one is NOT happening after all.) But still, I had prepped 16 freezer meals!! After resting a little bit and enjoying dinner I even had enough energy for a short 20 minute walk. It was so beautiful outside.

I’m getting bigger!

Stats

Total weight gain/loss? I gained 4 pounds this week!! Biggest weight gain week ever, but it’s gotten me back on track for gaining 30 pounds overall. Right now I’ve gained 27 pounds overall. Lots of people have noticed growth in my belly lately.

Movement – Yes, she continues to move a lot!

Hunger/Cravings – Not really.

Best moment this week?

I had a surprise shower last weekend!! It was so much fun. My husband told me NOT to plan anything on Saturday – just leave it open. I kept thinking about what he could be up to, but I never guessed that there was a surprise shower planned by my Kansas City family and friends. It was so much fun to be treated again!! I feel so blessed!

I didn’t take any pictures, but my husband took a picture of the awesome punch fountain set up by “Aunt” Danielle and Marmie (as Baby Girl will call them).

What I am looking forward to

I’m looking forward to have the nursery done and showing you pictures of it!! We finally found a side table that will work this week, except we have to paint it – which Matt started working on the next free moment he had. I’ve got a great husband!!

Our little “June Bug’s” Growth

We’ve been taking photos since week 6 and showing a fruit or vegetable in the picture that is the same size as our little “June Bug”. Last week: our little girl was over 18 inches long and about 5 1/4 pounds in weight (honeydew melon). This week: 18.5 inches long (bok choy) and about 6 pounds in weight!

Linking up at The Friday Baby Shower and My Pregnancy Journal.

© 2013, Betsy Pool. All rights reserved.

The post Week 36 of Pregnancy appeared first on Romance on a Dime.

Sorry folks, Monday and Tuesday this week really got away from me. I’ve been doing a lot of nursery and baby preparing type stuff. Just to insure this doesn’t happen next week, this is a 2-week link up!!

Share the projects you been working on!! This will stay live until June 3rd!

Love reading everyone’s posts. So inspiring! Please:

*Link to a specific post (no giveaways)
*Post my button (found on the footer) on your blog
OR a text link on the post to be featured!)
*Visit & comment on at least TWO other links posted
*Come back to see if you’ve been featured or pinned!

Please ‘like’ my facebook page!
Follow me on Google +!

I make it my priority to follow everyone’s blog by the second time they link up. I also pin your projects on my Favorite’s Board.

My Take it on Tuesday Project: Nursery Prep

Really this is an all week project. I’ve washed all of Baby Girl’s clothes, sorted the nursery YET AGAIN, added touches of ribbon to a lamp, and created a headband board. My husband has been spray painting frames we will hang. AND we found a great deal on Craigslist for a second car seat base we have been needing!! Here is a sneak peak of the nursery – more to come later this week! (Full nursery reveal might be around the first week of June.)

TIOT Features!

#1. Easy way to Refresh Sidebar Content from Mums Make Lists

#2. Plastic Lid Stamps from Crafty Journal

#3. Hossier Potting Bench from Penny’s Treasures

#4. Nursery Makeover from Mommy-in-Training

#5. Master Bedroom Sneak Peak from Callie’s Crafts

#6. Dry Erase Board Desks for Less from If it’s Not Baroque

#7. Half Pallet Herb Garden from Eyes on the Source

If you’ve been featured today, or in the past, please grab a feature button from the footer!

What projects have you been working on?

© 2013, Betsy Pool. All rights reserved.

The post Take it on Tuesday (TIOT) blog hop #79 appeared first on Romance on a Dime.

How I feel

I’m still enjoying the nesting phase! We’ve been crossing more off our to-do list: spray painting the frames we are going to hang in the nursery, and getting all of our “to donate” piles to the car. This weekend we will try to pack the baby and momma bags for the birth center.

Most of the time I feel great, but this week on Monday evening I had a really rough night. I was up all night, going to the bathroom every 20 minutes or so. I called my midwife, my husband ran to Walgreens for some medication, and then I was finally able to sleep from 6am-11am. It took that Tuesday for my body to recover, but amazingly enough on Wednesday I felt normal again (well, pregnant normal)!

Stats

Total weight gain/loss? Didn’t gain anything this week, so overall now I’ve gained 23 pounds. When I was measured at my appointment this week I was 35 cm – so even though I haven’t gained weight the past two weeks, my belly is still growing!!

Movement – Yes, she continues to move a lot! Mostly I’m seeing belly rolls when she is moving her feet and butt and occasionally I can feel fluttering of her hands. It’s so funny to see the outline of her back and butt whenever I have a Braxton Hicks contraction (I am having those daily, but not too often or regularly).

Ring on or off? – My wedding ring is off. So we bought a simple sparkly band for me to wear until it will fit again! I was so missing having something on my hand!!

Hunger/Cravings – Yes, I’m craving random things as random times. Sometimes something healthy like Juice stop (which I usually give in to), sometimes something unhealthy like fries or fried food (which I usually try to ignore and not give in to).

Best moment this week?

Last weekend we had our church shower (unfortunately I don’t have any pictures). It was so much fun and we received a lot of cute girl clothes and some gift cards to spend on the things we still need! By the end of next week we plan to try to have everything we need and want purchased.

What I am looking forward to

I’m looking forward to have the nursery done and showing you pictures of it!! It will probably be the last week of May when we get it done. My husband wants us to be 100% ready for baby by May 26th. That’s our goal, but I think it might actually be closer to May 30th.

Our little “June Bug’s” Growth

We’ve been taking photos since week 6 and showing a fruit or vegetable in the picture that is the same size as our little “June Bug”. Last week: our little girl was almost 18 inches long and 4 3/4 pounds in weight (cantaloupe). This week: over 18 inches long and about 5 1/4 pounds in weight (honeydew melon)!

Linking up at The Friday Baby Shower and My Pregnancy Journal.

© 2013, Betsy Pool. All rights reserved.

The post Week 35 of Pregnancy appeared first on Romance on a Dime.