10,9,8,7,6 ....

6 days til' our due date. A countdown has never seemed so slow... but, I will say that it was nice having the weekend with my mom and G to prepare even more for baby K. The house is spotless, food is stored, our bags are packed, the gas tanks are full. I think we are as ready as we can get.

Last week's dr. appt went much better than the week before. Blood pressure is back on track, there's no protein in the urine and swelling is minimal. Thank the good Lord! I'm accrediting our Bradley Method instructor for much of this progress, as she suggested taking Epsom salt baths.. which made me 1. feel much better 2. kept the bp and swelling down. Yay! We're at 2cm and 60% effaced for the time being and just waiting for that 2 to turn to a 10 so we can get this baby out!

I'm so hoping that this is the last blog post without Baby K here! I can't wait to share all of our exciting news with everyone! We might just have a little Thanksgiving turkey on our hands :)

Speaking of Thanksgiving, I don't think it's ever been more apparent how blessed Garrett and I are. We have so much to be thankful for this year... life just keeps getting better!

just a lil' bump in the road.

37, and now 38 weeks pregnant. 12 days til' the due date. Too many numbers to keep track of. I despise the term 'due date', and would rather know a 'delivery date', but I guess that's part of the fun. Each day goes by, and each hour I'm on my toes wondering, 'is today THE day?'. No such luck yet, but I keep telling myself with each day that goes by Baby K is hopefully healthier and G and I are a little more prepared for our, what some my call, crazy/insane birth plan. 

Last week, at our 37 week appointment, Dr. Kauffman found protein in my urine sample and I also was charted for high blood pressure. This was the first time we had any 'bumps' along the way. My feet were also the most swollen they had been throughout the entire pregnancy. I'm guessing a lot of this had to do with the 12-hour workday, the day before, but you never know. Dr. told me that I should stop working and stay home and keep my feet up. So, for the past 5 days I've been at home... trying to rest. It's a bit tempting to bake, eat too much, and work on the house, but I think I've been doing a pretty good job at my 'do nothing' instructions. I had my blood pressure taken on Sunday and it was a lot better than what it had been the week before, so I'm hoping it stays that way. Let's just say the not working routine drives me crazy, and I'm going a bit insane and the days are draaaaggging. 

All of this time has me looking for more baby names - what am I thinking!!? -  and coming up with all different birth horror stories. I have way TOO much time on my hands.

So, I sit here and pray/hope/dream that Baby K decides to come soon! Maybe tonight's KU game against #2 Kentucky will get the baby excited for basketball season. I know this baby wants to watch some KU basketball.. come out!!!

Bode Lee Meier

Well it's official. My other half had her baby, so I'm officially the sole pregnant bff. Being pregnant with your best friend is awesome. We had so many things to talk about and stories to share and I'm sure those stories will continue to grow as we raise our kids. I could not be more proud to announce Stacey's delivery of Bode Lee Meier on 11/1/11 at 9:38am. Bode weighed 8lbs even and measured 20" long. He looks just like Big Brother Brooks and is the cutest lil' guy. One of the reasons I wanted so badly to have a family of my own was because of Big Brother Brooks. He is so fun and I just love being around him. I'm so excited that Baby K will have two bff boys to play with. I can't wait for our kiddos to grow up together! The Meier family is now a family of four and I couldn't be more happy for anyone! I love you all to pieces! Congratulations on your new addition! :)

Laying on mommy right after being born.

Big Brother Brooks meeting Little Brother Bode for the first time. "Hi Bode, I'm here!" 

Showing me his 'World's Greatest Brother' t-shirt! So cute.

Bode opened his eyes and looked up at me! Love him!

Proud Momma Stacey and baby Bode.

Bode Lee Meier

growing in october

It seems like I was just writing about how September had gone by so fast, now it's October 30 and I'm trying to remember where this month went. Time is flying by and November, BABY MONTH!, begins in 2 days. This is incredibly hard to fathom, but it's here and it's real and I'm nothing but excited, anxious, nervous and grateful that this pregnancy has been such an awesome and memorable experience. Our appointments have continued to go well. The heartbeat has ranged from 142-162 at each of our bi-weekly appointments, which keeps us guessing boy or girl, although I won't be fooled by the wives tales :) From week 30-34 baby K was a crazy dancer and wouldn't stop kicking and rolling, but mid-week 34 I noticed that baby K was probably running out room to move. Contractions happen daily now, but nothing painful - which actually makes them exciting. I swelled up for the first time post-Klein/Larison wedding after 2 days of being on my feet constantly. We go back to the doctor this week and will now go once a week, every week, from now on. Although Garrett said we were done buying clothes for the baby until we find out what we are going to be clothing, he insisted on one  blue and one pink Under Armor onsie. For Garrett to want to buy clothes, but baby clothes that are over-priced at that, shows that he is truly excited for this baby :) I couldn't be more proud of the work he has done around the house to prepare for Baby K's arrival and the time he has put into our birth class. It's funny to hear him make comments about babies being born on television or birth situations happening with friends and how he knows, or insists he knows, that they are doing this or that wrong and need to be doing so and so... at least I know he's prepared to be the best Coach K. Yes, that means Coach Mike Krzyzewski can move over, because there is a new Coach K in the house.

33 weeks - before baby K went to his/her first concert, Sugarland with G daddy, Grandma Julie and Grandpa Wayne :)

35 weeks

36 weeks - bridesmaid and bride at the Klein/Larison Wedding!

copy + paste

Although I sit here and drink from my creativi-tea cup and like to think of myself as a creative person, I'll admit the Internet is a wonderful source for brainstorming new ideas for decorating, invitations and the list goes on. I'm sure many of you reading this entry most likely have a Pinterest account and are falling in love with it just as I am. It's a wonderful source for finding new recipes, fashion ideas, home decor must-haves and the next go-to hairstyle.

the go-to creative brainstorming mug

So, rather than taking credit for some of the home additions I've made lately, I thought I would share how you can make Pinterest ideas come to life!

Pinterest Inspiration

The Konen Family version, ta-da!

Another great web site for ideas - Etsy. Looking for something specific? Go to the web site and type in exactly what you are looking for and enter the price range you'd like to stay within and there is sure to be  something that will fit your needs. I've also found this great for inspiration. I found these alphabet prints  that I knew would be perfect for baby K's nursery. Problem? Budget. Of course. What's new, right? We aren't made of money, which I'm guessing the person who is reading this entry, probably isn't either, and therefore shelling out wads of cash for something you haven't even seen in person probably isn't your ideal situation. Solution? Make it!

Alphabet prints found on Etsy.com for $45/print - frame and mat-board NOT included :(

Numbers Print

Alphabet Print

A little work in Photoshop, printed at Kinkos for $1.29/print and found frames at target, mat-board included for $3.49/frame - savings of $80.44. Dang, that feels good!

So, challenge yourself to find inspiration, make it your own, and do it for less!

a few finished projects.

before dresser - purchased at antique store for $50

painted and perfect for baby k's nursery!

homemade fall wreath

dresser for spare bedroom - mom and dad's garage sale find years ago

painted, distressed and fun knobs!

plenty of pumpkin.

it's that time of the year. pumpkin lattes, pumpkin pies, pumpkin rolls, pumpkin seeds, pumpkin this and pumpkin that. it's all delicious. last week we had friends over to have a fall dinner complete with homemade chicken noodle soup, mashed potatoes, rolls, pumpkin pie, cinnamon rolls, apples with caramel and apples with pumpkin-cream cheese dip and pumpkin dump cake. yummo! i'm always up for a new dessert recipe, since desserts seem to always turn out, even if i mess up a few steps. as long as it's sweet, i'll eat it! i went for the pumpkin dump cake recipe tonight, and let me tell ya, add a dollop of whip cream and a cup of pecan coffee and it's fall deliciousness.


What you'll need:

pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

1 can pumpkin
1 can evaporated milk
1 cup sugar
3 tsp cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
4 eggs
* I added a little pumpkin spice
1 box yellow cake mix
2 sticks butter
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

mix together in bowl and pour in 9X13" greased pan

sprinkle yellow cake mix on top of mixture

melt 2 sticks butter and drizzle on top of cake mix

bake at 350 degrees for one hour (I also added cinnamon and sugar  on top instead of pecans)

Add a dollop of whip cream. YUMMO!