No more work! well...sorta ha ha

I turned in my work badge today!!!!! No more crummy shift work hrs, no more missing out on things with Luke on the weekends, no more missing out on sleep and a whole lot more happiness in my life because I won't be so stressed out (because of work and all the other things I just mentioned)!!!
I know that being a Mother isn't a cake walk, but I think the stress that comes with it will be much more worth it than the stress I would get from work. Besides, a little stress is ok. It makes me push myself more when it is a manageable amount. I think being a Mother is going to be the most difficult career I will ever have in my life. At the same time though, it's going to be the most rewarding one too :) And I'll have Luke to help me all along the way. No way would I be able to do this on my own! There are days when I just wish I wasn't pregnant anymore (as in the baby was born already) because of the aches and pains I'm dealing with and the restless sleep that I'm getting. He has been good at comforting me when I'm not feeling so well and need a bit of cheering up. I hope this last trimester goes by quickly and that the labor and delivery does too so I can just hold my little man in my arms! That way he can wiggle all he wants and it won't involve me being kicked/punched/headbutted in the ribs anymore! And I will get to sleep on my tummy again! Well, I need to go now so I will ttyl.

~Nicole

my first cake creation!

I've been wanting to try cake decorating for a few months now and today I finally just did it. And not just decorating with frosting and sprinkles, but using marshmallow fondant (cuz I hear it tastes way better than regular fondant). The cake I made today is going to be for my friend Erin's baby shower this Saturday that I'm hosting. I hope she likes her cake! It took me FOREVER to tint the fondant and get in on the cake the way I wanted it to. By the time I was done I was covered in cornstarch and very tired from standing on my feet for so long (took about 4 hrs total from start to finish to make this thing). But here is the final result:

I hope it tastes as good as it looks! I'm excited that it turned out cute! I'll be trying this out on a bunch of women at my friends shower this Saturday so here's hoping they like it! It's just a two layer white cake with vanilla frosting under the fondant. Pretty simple. My next cake will be for Luke's birthday on Sunday. The booger is turning 26! My other friend Jasmine will also be celebrating her day of birth that day too so we are having her and Joy over for dinner to celebrate! The cake I'm going to make won't be using fondant though. Just good ole chocolate cake with chocolate frosting! seems simple enough. Well, hope everyone had a great day! ttyl!

~Nicole

call me crazy but...

I think I want to paint the Nursery. I'll be out of the military on the 29th and will have all kinds of free time until the baby comes, sooo I was thinking that maybe I could keep myself busy by doing that. Now I just need to get a color scheme for the room (I'm going to go off of the star comforter that I got for the baby) and then all the supplies that I'll be needing to complete the job. I'm actually really excited about this! I've been asking Luke if we can paint some of the rooms for a while now and he hasn't been too keen on the idea (probably because he thought he'd be doing ALL the work which I told him wouldn't be the case). He said that I could paint the nursery, but is concerned about me doing it, being pregnant and all. I told him I'd wear a mask and the windows would be open the whole time so the room would be well ventilated. That seemed to make him feel better. I can't wait to get started!! I'll take before and during and after pics (as long as I remember to do that ha ha) and post them when I'm all done.

I can't believe that on Friday I'll be ending my second trimester and starting the last one...according to many people I don't even look like I'm 7 months pregnant, but I sure am! And I'm so excited for the next three months! And even more excited for when the baby is actually here! I have a routine doctor's appointment on Monday and then I will get to schedule our tour of the Labor & Delivery floor and the baby classes that we will need to attend soon. So much to do! Our biggest issue right now is thinking of and agreeing on a name for him. Hopefully we can have one picked out before he is born, but if not we'll just have to hurry up and think of one after he's here! He can't be called "baby" for the rest of his life ha ha :) Here's a pic of me today at 27 weeks and 4 days along. Luke thought it would be fun to make me laugh while taking my picture ha ha :)


Well, I'm going to go play some video games until Luke comes home so talk to you later!

~Nicole

The "finished" Nursery :)

Here it is! All done ( I think). I put the glider together by myself the other day (it was really easy to do too!) Now all we need is...a baby to put in it :) I really like how the room turned out.

I'm 27 weeks along as of today. Just one more week and I'll be starting my 3rd and final trimester! It's crazy how fast time has gone by! Before I know it I'll be holding my little man in my arms :) I'm just 2 weeks away from being out of the military too (well out as in going on my last month of leave and then I'll be out on 2 Mar)! Can't wait to really get into the nesting phase since I hear that I won't be doing much cleaning after the baby comes for quite a while. Well, hope everyone had a great week! Talk to you later!

~Nicole

The Nursery :)

Here's some pics of what we've done with the nursery so far:

The Crib

the bedding for the crib
(I LOVE the stars on it!)

The dresser/changing table
(the changing table is just a thin piece of board on top so I'm not gonna use it as a changing table)

it will just be used to hold other things :)

And that's about all we have so far. My glider rocker is coming in the mail sometime within the next week or so and that's pretty much the last piece of furniture that will go in the room for now. I'm so excited for the baby to come! I'm 26 weeks along as of today so just 14 more to go! That is, of course, if the little guy feels like coming on time and not early or late ha ha. Well, I'm gonna go do some tidying up before bed so talk to you later!

~Nicole

another crafty moment :)

I made a blanket for my friend Erin today for her baby boy that she's gonna have in March. I think this one turned out pretty cute too.


~Nicole

crafty me :)

I made a rag quilt for my baby yesterday and wanted to show you all the final product. I think it turned out super cute :)

The Front

The back

~Nicole

Happy New Year!

2010 is finally here! I can't wait to see what this year will bring! Hope everyone had a safe and fun New Year's Eve! Everyone (and I really do mean everyone) on the island felt that we needed to feel like we were under attack with all the booming, banging and crackling of fireworks! Some sounded like cannons going off (which of course made me jump!)! We had a great time at our friends the Bloomfield's home for dinner and a game of Settlers. We also watched a movie together before heading home. Erin (the Mrs.) is expecting a little boy in March so we are belly buddies ha ha. She is so cute and so fun to be around! I'm excited for our boys to have play dates together :)

Luke and I went and saw Avatar yesterday afternoon. All I can say is WOW! It was definitely an awesome movie, and it definitely didn't feel like it was 3 hrs long either!

Well, I better call it a day and go to bed now. I made it till Midnight though! Woo! Goodnight everyone and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

~Nicole