{sugarlens}

Making Baby A, Week 38: 2 week countdown...(well, actually 8 days)

2010-03-09T13:03:00.009-05:00

Guys and gals, it's really been 9 whole months and Baby A is ready to pop! We are coming close to the end and a whole new journey is about to begin. I am feeling: anxious yet patient, wonderful yet whale-ish, and ready yet not.

I am ready to remember how it feels to be un-pregnant. To be able to leap off the couch, sleep in whatever position I please, un-gain 30 lbs, and (hopefully) fit into my old shorts just in time for spring. If I am up for it, I might want to do another little belly photoshoot this weekend to remember this special time.

Also starting to wrap things up at work. Sitting in a meeting today, I realized I soon won't have to deal with deadlines, but instead I will be following a feed/sleep/poop schedule. My life is about to take a 180-degree turn! I will miss the coworkers - they have all been so good to me, filling my head with praises and more. Lucky 3/19 is my last day at work, that is, if Baby A doesn't come before then.

As for labor and delivery, I am actually feeling calm about the whole thing, considering hubs and I passed on all the baby classes. It is natural, my body will know what to do to get the baby out, and worrying will only make my job harder. All women before me have done it, some even without medication. As long as I remain flexible, I am going to be just fine, right? I am not even afraid of my water breaking in public, believe it or not. Whatever will be will be. All I can do right now to prepare is relax and save energy, which is definitely something I have been doing without complaints!

On the other hand, I just have feeling that Baby A is going to be stubborn and wait at least another week or two before making her debut...but I promise to keep you all updated!

DIY: Card Sleeves

2010-03-08T19:58:00.009-05:00

I have accumulated a stack of gift cards and the thought of losing them was giving me panic attacks. So as a solution to keep myself sane, I made these little card sleeves. They are exactly what you can buy here.

Since I had no luck in finding a pre-made template online, I had to create my own in Word. It was easy. I drew a 4.75" by 3.625" box, just a wee bigger than the standard size you can buy because I wanted to be able to fit two gift cards in one sleeve. I then drew a dotted line right down the middle, where I would score+fold. Next, I placed two rectangular boxes outside of the big box - for gluing. Finally, since I was short on time, I simply put a large dot in the middle as the "design" and called it a day.

Once the template is done and printed on cardstock, the rest is even easier. I don't think it requires explanation. You can even cut the template and trace it on a pretty scrapbook paper for a different look.

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Now that all my gift cards all have a home, I can breath a sigh of relief. And it was a fun, quick project to boot!

baby goodies

2010-03-07T20:42:00.015-05:00

The other day I went to the mall after work. I had a coupon I wanted to use and I figured that walking might help me inch toward labor.

The mall was quiet at 3:30pm and I saw tons of moms pushing strollers. I made a mental note to do the same when Baby A comes.

Eventually I found myself inside Gymboree, a very cute children's clothing store. I wanted to buy everything! All the little dresses and jumpers and bubble tops! So cute! Of course I resisted. I know it will be a while before I put Baby A in outfits. For the first few months, she will live in onesies and sleepers.

I did dig deep through the clearance section and found a couple of things for Baby A. Four pairs of socks, a sun hat, and a newborn cap. All for $4.

As I paid for my purchase, the lady behind the register started a conversation with me:

Lady: {glancing at my belly} Oh, when are you due? {looking at the stuff I placed on the counter} I see you are having a girl. Get ready to shop all the time.
Me: Yup, a girl. My due date is in...um...less than 2 weeks.
Lady: Wow, you don't look it....you look good!
Me: Thanks...but I am just hiding behind this big coat.
Lady: Oh no, you look very good!
Me: {big goofy grin on my face} Thanks!

Well, I don't know if Gymboree trains their employees to flatter their customers, but I enjoyed my first shopping experience there and I will definitely be back for more of their tiny clothes! And next time, I may or may not just stop at the clearance section. :)

I ♥ their Little Goldfish collection!

just some random rambling

2010-03-05T07:09:00.009-05:00

by Pargo
Tap, tap. Is this thing on?

It's me, Pargo.

I know I’ve been MIA for a while, but now that spring is just around the corner, I am finally crawling out from my warm bed to say hello. Hello! Wheeeew...(stretching front legs)...that feels good!

So lets talk about this winter. Hasn't it just been insane with all the snow storms?! I don't know about you, but Pesto and I are sick of the white stuff and we are ready to hop around on green grass and smell pretty flowers again. After all, we are two small puppies and 2+ feet of snow was just a bit too much. Thank goodness Daddy always shoveled a path for us whenever we needed to go outside, but my poor puppy paws still took a beating. All that sand and salt, yuck.

The only good thing about the whole mess was that Mommy got to work from home one entire week in February. It was so nice to have the family together 24/7.

But now that snowy days are (hopefully) behind us and since Daddy switched jobs two weeks ago, Pesto and I have been home alone more often. I mostly just do some spying on the neighbors from my window box and catching a few Zzzzz's to pass the time.

Speaking of sleep, I haven't been sleeping well lately. I don't know why, but Mommy is huge now and she's taking up lots of room on the bed. Us 3 men are squished to one tiny corner. In addition, our entire place is filled up with weird stuff, but regardless, my brother and I still have room to run and chase so we are still two happy campers.

Oh and one last thing, I hear the 'rents talking about Baby A a lot. Not sure what is a Baby A...maybe they are getting another puppy?! Yes, it all starting to make sense, my 4th Adopt-versary is coming up later this month, I bet they are planning a surprise for me.

Have a hip-hoppity March, friends! I promise to be a better blogger this spring!

xoxo, P

the start of a little library...

2010-03-04T16:43:00.009-05:00

When the time comes, I will surely introduce the wonderful world of libraries to Baby A, but I thought it would be nice to have a tiny library of her own as well. So we have been slowly collecting books as we see good deals.

I can't wait to read these books to her!

What's your favorite book from childhood? I remember adoring all Amelia Bedelia books.

Chinese-Style Fried Pork Chops

2010-03-03T17:06:00.007-05:00

Large family-size assorted pork loin chops is on-sale at my local super market this week so I picked up a pack the other day. Instead of cooking it my usual way - Deep Fried Pork Cutlets - Tonkatsu - I decided to look for new recipes.

I combined two recipes I found online (Christine Recipe's Pan-fried Pork Chops with Spicy Salt and Recipezaar's Chinese Style Fried Pork Chops) and came up with my own version.

Overall, I thought the dish was just so-so (although hubs enjoyed it a lot more than me). I do know what I need to do to improve next time, though - tenderize the meat more and use center-cut pork loins. The nice five-spice spicy flavor was there, but it was a bit dry and hard to eat with all the bones. My favorite part of the dish was the sauteed spring onion and chili. It made the dish not only more tasty, but aesthetically appealing! Will definitely try again.

Chinese-Style Fried Pork Chops:

- 4 pork chops or pork tenderloins
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp rice wine
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 dash pepper or five-spice powder
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 egg
- 6 tbsp cornstarch
- oil (for frying)
- 1 red chili, chopped
- 1 spring onion, chopped

1. Tenderize pork with a meat mallet.
2. Mix together all ingredients except cornstarch, oil, red chili, and spring onion in a large bowl. Allow to marinate for 30 minutes.
3. Just before frying, coat the pork with cornstarch.
4. Heat enough oil in a large skillet to cover bottom. Place pork chops in pan when oil begins to shimmer. Cook pork chops over med-high heat until cooked through.
5. Push pork chops to the edges of skillet. Add spring onion and chili. Saute until aromatic.
6. Dish out and garnish with the spring onions and chili mixture.

Weekend Summary Feb 26-28

2010-02-28T10:56:00.002-05:00

Making Baby A, Week 37: "Are you ready?"

2010-02-26T11:14:00.007-05:00

Operating under the assumption that if Baby A decides to stick around inside my belly past 3/17 but the doctor makes her come out no later than a week after that, I am looking at a max of 26 days before she arrives. Gulp.

A question I have been getting almost on a daily basis: "Are you ready?"

I never really quite know how to answer that.

I am prepared to see Baby A, but at the same time, I also would like to hit the pause button - maybe indefinitely - until I'm really ready.

I have known about the 3/17 date for almost eight months now. I have had eight months to prepare. She has a full wardrobe, washed and neatly folded in the dresser. She has enough diapers and wipes to last several months. Car seat has been installed and inspected since January. Her crib is all set up in the little corner of our bedroom.

Gear-wise, we are fully prepared.

But am I mentally prepared?

It's strange. This baby situation is something I created for myself - I wanted to get pregnant and have a baby. The pregnancy is completely intended so automatically one would assume that I should be mentally prepared. But admittedly, it still feels unreal and my mind still can't wrap around the idea that I am going to be a MOM to a HUMAN soon. So every night, I think to myself - another day is over and we are one day closer to the BIG DAY...and I freak out a bit.

So what I'm saying is, I am not mentally ready and don't know if I will ever be. I guess I will just fake readiness and close my eyes tight and wing it. Hope Baby A won't notice.

DIY Maternity Photos

2010-02-21T09:30:00.007-05:00

Although I had the best intention of documenting this pregnancy, week-by-week, it just never happened. Being pregnant was so exhausting for me that sometimes anything other than getting out of bed, eating, showering, and sleeping is a pesky chore. So weeks went by and no pictures got taken...and already, I am 3 days away from 37 weeks.

As I am getting close to the end, I know I wanted some nice pictures to remember being pregnant, and since paying a professional photographer to do it seems silly to me, I had hubs took some quick photos yesterday. There was still snow on the ground and the sun was out!

Nothing fancy schmancy. No special artistic effects. Straight from the camera. Just good ol' me in my regular maternity clothes, light makeup, and everyday hair. I think it gets the point across, though - I am pregnant, I am huge, and this is what I look like at this moment.

Making Baby A, Week 36: Dear Baby A:

2010-02-19T13:25:00.010-05:00

Hope you are enjoying your last few weeks (or maybe days??) inside Mama's belly. Soon you will make your grand entrance to the world and I have to admit that I am a bit more than excited now. Can't wait to meet you.

This week has been productive.

On Wednesday, Mama visited your future pediatrician. It's a practice of four pediatricians and I spoke to one of them. The doctor is enthusiastic, friendly, and personable. The waiting area is clean and big and has a play area. They also have a doctor on-call at night to answer any emergency questions that I, no doubt, will have. They also provided me with immunization and checkup schedules, which is important for a planner like your Mama. Perhaps the best of all - the office is next to Potbelly's and Ben & Jerry's (both you will come to appreciate when you are older).

It looks like a good fit so we will go with them for now, but you let me know what you think when you come out, okay?

Then yesterday, your Papa came with me to my 36-week appointment. You continue to be doing fantastically. Very active and your heartbeat is healthy and strong. This time, however, the doctor couldn't tell whether your head was in the right position so we had a surprise ultrasound! Definitely very happy to see you again. And yes! Thank you for your cooperation, you are a smartie and your head is exactly where it should be.

The doctor also said you are an average-size baby, with head circumference measuring at 36 weeks exactly. Good job for being average, Baby A! But don't make it a habit because once you are here, I expect you to excel in everything. :)

Oh, and after some more examination, the doc said we may be expecting you earlier than we thought! Oh boy...

Papa also got a few goodies for you this week, all by himself. I will keep them a surprise, but hint hint, you will love him for them.

Not much longer to go, Baby A. Stay happy and healthy and I will be holding you soon. In the meantime, take it easy on Mama's bladder, please. It's not a toy.

Love, Mama

Making Baby A, Week 35: Thinking Positively

2010-02-16T11:52:00.010-05:00

After giving birth, many women say they miss being pregnant. Well, I can say with confidence that I won't be one of those women. As soon as Baby A is full term, I will be wishing her a speedy + easy exit.

However, this post isn't to rehash about the body aches I have been experiencing, the frequent trips to the bathroom, or the overall fatigue I feel throughout the day, it is to write down my thoughts on the rewarding physical aspects of being pregnant.

Being able to feel Baby A move and kick with her little limbs has been amazing. I love feeling her become active at certain times and in certain situations (such as whenever I eat!). I enjoy watching my tummy move and gently pushing the top part of my stomach area where her butt is, now that her head has descended. Despite the discomforts I am experiencing, I love the feeling of closeness I have with Baby A as a physical part of me.

So as much as I wish I can be normal size again this instant, I'm aware that all these aches and pains will be over soon enough, and the experience of being the incubator to our little girl has changed me in many ways.

Chinese New Year 2010

2010-02-15T07:50:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was the first day of the Chinese New Year (also known as Lunar New year or Spring Festival). CNY is probably the most celebrated Chinese holidays and there are many traditions that people do for it:

Families give their home a thorough cleaning because it is believed the cleaning sweeps away the bad luck of the preceding year and makes their homes ready for good luck. Homes are decorated with paper cutouts of Chinese auspicious phrases and couplets. Children play with firecrackers and card games. Everyone wears new clothes to welcome a brand new year.

I definitely remember doing some of those things when I was a kid living in Taiwan!

But here in the US, CNY is just like any other day. No cleaning, no firecrackers, no new clothes.

We did go over to hubs' parents' house on the eve of Chinese New Year for dinner. We went in the early afternoon and snacked until dinner. Then had a huge dinner with noodles, fish, veggies, and roasted pork. After dinner came dessert. Needless to say, I suffered a very bad food coma.

We also received red packets! Yes, hubs and I married and in our 30s and we still shamelessly accept the money and wish it will never end.

Happy Chinese New Year, everyone! Good fortune to you! Have a prosperous year!

it's v-day, make these brownies!

2010-02-14T07:05:00.006-05:00

I made these sinful brownies yesterday...and we only have 4 pieces left. Luckily, I am happy to say that we didn't eat them all on our own. I served some to a couple of friends who came over and took the rest to hubs' side of family for Chinese New Year.

Everyone seemed to like them a lot!

I found this recipe via Bakerella. According to directions, the last step is to smear the brownies with store-bought frosting or homemade ganache (see recipe on Bakerella's post). I skipped that because 1) I didn't have the frosting handy, 2) I didn't have the ingredients to make the ganache handy, and 3) I thought it would be too sweet.

To fancy them up, serve the brownies with vanilla ice cream. That's what we did and it was gooooood!

Disney 2009: Celebrating Our Anniversary Day Around the World

2010-02-10T19:07:00.014-05:00

Five months and one day later, I am finally going to finish recapping the Disney trip we took back in September 09. Forgot about the trip already? I almost did too. I had to read here, here, here, and here to catch up.

On the day of our actual anniversary (2 years!), we spent the day traveling around the world. We wandered around the bustling marketplace in Mexico, saw picturesque landscape of a Scandinavian village square in Norway, and posed for pictures in front of Temple of Heaven in China.

After cooling off with some red bean ice cream, we ventured on to the remainder of the countries, strolling through all the trinket shops along the way. We made a point of spending more time at some countries that we usually glanced over, such as Morocco, UK, and France, but realized that there was a reason why we did that to begin with. Not too much to see there. And France really needs to update their prehistoric film.

We didn't have any must do's. It was all about spending the day together in a relaxing environment (yes, Disney can be a relaxing place!).

Somehow the day passed us by quickly and already it was time for our dinner reservation. We had the most fabulous steak dinner in Canada. Fabulous!

With that, our Disney trip came to an end. As we left the park that night, an "end of an era" sad feeling washed over us. I was 13-weeks pregnant at that time and we knew that our free spirited ways would soon come to an end. But now at 35-weeks, I am much more optimistic again. I am looking forward to family vacations, either local or exotic, and making new memories! Maybe we will be back to Disney (Disney cruise?) sooner than we thought? :)

Baby Purchases, Round III

2010-02-09T12:26:00.015-05:00

I truly believe that babies don't need much to be happy and healthy. After all, during the first few weeks, all they need is to be fed, changed, burped, and held.

Having said that, there are just too many temptations out there that I still strayed away from the original shopping list that I made while 14-weeks pregnant (what the heck did I know back then anyway?) and ended up with more stuff than intended. Still, I don't feel I went overboard and I know all these things will make taking care of Baby A a little bit easier and more convenient.

This last round of baby purchases was made possible mostly by friends and family, a tiny bit by us.

Sleep

Graco - Lauren 4-in-1 Convertible Fixed Side Classic Crib - We wanted a crib with no moving parts and something that can be converted to a toddler bed or day bed. This one fits the bill. It was also a snap to put together - hubs did it without reading the instructions.
Sealy Baby - Ultra Rest Crib and Toddler Bed Mattress - I picked this mattress based on the good reviews. I also wanted something firm and this one has 204 coils.
Sealy Baby - SnugFit Crib Mattress Pad - This fits perfectly over the mattress.
Infant Stim-Mobile - Award-winning and, best of all, it doesn't require any batteries.
Graco Pack 'n Play Portable Playard - Wyndham

On the Go

Skip Hop Duo Deluxe - A diaper bag seemed frivolous at first, but this one is so cute and has many compartments. I am sure to use it all the time.
Moby Wrap - If/when I figure out how to use this thing, it will be easy to have the baby close to me while doing household chores.
BABYBJÖRN Baby Carrier Active - I originally ordered one on my own, but it got canceled due to pricing mistake. Hubs' sister ended up buying this for us. I imagine hubs using this to carry Baby A when we go on walks.

Feeding/Nursing

Born Free BPA Free Wide Neck Bottles - 5-Ounce - I had already bought some, but I registered for a couple more for convenience.
Born Free Stage 2 Silicone Nipples
Philips Avent Bottle Brush
Munchkin Powdered Formula Dispenser
The First Years - Modular Drying Rack
Gerber Pre-folded Organic Cotton Cloth Diaper - I returned the fancy, cutesy ones I bought earlier after I heard these are very effective as burp cloths
Philips Avent ISIS Manual Breast Pump, Lansinoh - Breast Milk Storage Bags, Lanolin Breast Cream, Lansinoh - Disposable Nursing Pads - Because I don't know how breastfeeding will work out for me, I am keeping all the receipts and I am not buying any nursing cover, bras, or tops until later.

Health/Safety

Safety First Fold-Up Nail Clipper and Nasal Aspirator

Gear/Toys - Definitely nice-to-haves

Tiny Love Gymini Super Deluxe - Lights & Music
Fisher-Price Precious Planet Jumperoo
Fisher-Price Lil' Laugh and Learn Bouncer
Bumbo - Baby Sitter
Jacques the Peacock, Musical Inchworm, Stack & Roll Cups, Vulli Sophie the Giraffe Teether, My First Mirror, and Baby Einstein Lights & Melodies Mirror.

Wow, I doubt hubs and I had nearly half of these stuff when we were babies!

Catch-up:
Baby Purchases, Round I
Baby Purchases, Round II

Snowy Photos

2010-02-07T09:10:00.014-05:00

The snow storm that swept through the northeast left me with the opportunity to take these pictures just right outside of my doorsteps.

And I am loving how soft and fluffy they turned out!

Cheap Breakfast Burritos

2010-02-06T08:44:00.015-05:00

You can stuff your breakfast burritos with anything you like. Mine consisted of scrambled eggs, ground sausages (Jimmy Dean brand), my ultimate home fries, and Velveeta cheese (just for the hubs).

With little prepping and cooking time, we had the most delicious burritos to start the weekend!

And just a side note: McDonald's new Dollar Menu at breakfast sells breakfast burritos for a dollar. I did a rough calculation and my burritos (bigger than McD's, btw) are less than $0.50 a piece.

My Secrets to Cooking Good Fried Rice

2010-02-05T18:04:00.009-05:00

Nowadays, we almost always have fried rice on Friday nights to use up all the leftover rice from the week. Cooking this humble one-pot meal is not hard, but there are a few techniques I follow to make sure they turn out light and fluffy each time. I thought I'd share.

Secret #1: Rice. Day-old rice makes the best fried rice (storing in the refrigerator overnight). This will turn the grains firm and get rid of the excess moisture. They will also be much easier to separate. I use jasmine rice for fried rice. Leftover rice from Chinese take-out restaurants also makes great fried rice.

Secret #2: Cook the ingredients separately and salt+pepper as you go. Fried rice has many different ingredients, and in my kitchen it’s usually just a mixture of whatever vegetables (I love using peas and carrots), meats, or seafood I find in the fridge. Whatever the ingredients, though, you want to make sure that you can taste each individual one. To do this, you have to cook meat or seafood first, remove from pan when almost cooked through and then toss it back in towards the end of the stir fry to finish cooking.

Secret #3: High heat. The high heat ensures that whatever ingredients that you put into the pan gets fried quickly and that each grain of rice gets hot to the core. I always crank up the heat at the very end to add that burnt taste.

Secret #4: Oyster sauce. I just recently discovered this. In the past, I normally used soy sauce, but the end result always turned out too salty, too dark, and un-appetizing. Salt+pepper as you go to flavor the fried rice, but use oyster sauce to give the dish that golden color.

What are your secrets in cooking fried rice?

Easy Origami: Bookmark of Heart

2010-02-02T16:51:00.018-05:00

Valentine's Day is creeping up on us!

Today I used up my last scrapbook paper and made a couple of these heart bookmarks. I followed the instructions from here. There is even an animated version of the how-to - for people who follow directions better visually...like myself.

I had to rewind several times, though.

One for the hubs and one for me. I already replaced the piece of paper he uses as "bookmark" with this handsome handcrafted one. I hope he likes his early V-day present. :)

Learning to Swaddle...on Pargo

2010-01-31T18:54:00.007-05:00

We spent another weekend cooped up at home due to snow.

Besides napping, surfing, and eating, I worked my way through a book I borrowed from the library, The Happiest Baby On the Block. On Amazon, the book has over 700 reviews with an average of 4.5 stars! To me, that makes it a must-read.

The book talks about the 5 S's in calming babies. The author, Dr. Karp, believes that babies, especially in their first few months of life, can experience "fourth trimester" issues. Babies can have a difficult time getting used to the huge amount of stimuli present in life outside of Mom's body. Their reaction to all of this is to cry and cry.

To sooth crying babies, follow the 5's: swaddling, side/stomach position, shushing sounds, swinging, and sucking.

In the book, it shows you how to do a perfectly tight swaddle. So to put it to practice, I grabbed one of my swaddling blankets and Pargo.

Ah, he wasn't happy with me. And hubs called it animal abuse.

Making Baby A, Week 33: Packing for the Hospital

2010-01-30T12:42:00.015-05:00

I had my 33-week prenatal appointment the other day and it went really well. Baby A's head is already where it is supposed to be and her heartbeat is at a healthy 150 bpm. Time is zooming by now - 7 more weeks go to!

But as the doctor reminded me, it could be sooner, too.

EEEEK!

Also on that day, we received a bunch of goodies in the mail (thanks to hub's sister and mom!). Among all things, I am most excited about the diaper bag! It's cute and roomy and will be one of the bags we take to the hospital.

And now since we are on the topic of bags and since I have a tendency to do things way in advance, I've already started packing! :)

Here is my master list. I know it's a bit long, but better be safe than sorry!

Toiletries
toothbrush/toothpaste
face wash/lotion/soap/shampoo/conditioner
lip balm
hair ties/clips
hair brush
cosmetics

Clothing
pajamas x2
sweater (hospital rooms can be chilly)
nursing bras and pads
loose going home outfit
clothes for labor coach (aka hubby)
socks
slippers
flip flops
underwear
sanitary pads

Electronics
camera
cell phone and charger
laptop

Miscellaneous
notebook/pen
snacks/hard candies
driver's license
insurance card
hospital paperwork
pediatrician number

Baby
infant car seat
going home outfit
receiving blanket

Too much? Am I missing anything?

February Freebies: Food

2010-01-28T02:26:00.010-05:00

Since we will be writing another big, fat check to the government come April 15, it's nice to not have to pay for some things. :)

I stumbled upon the following deals recently that I thought I would share:

~Einstein Bagels (expires on 2/7) - Free bagel & shmear
~And mark your calendars - Auntie Anne is giving out free pretzels on 2/20 from 10 to 3.

February is a cold and dreary month, but that probably won't stop me from going out and get in on these tasty promotions.

Happy Thursday!

Project In A Flash: Treat Bag Toppers

2010-01-26T18:01:00.001-05:00

Hubs may be turning 32, but not many things will make him happier than chocolates. For one of his birthday treats, I got him a bag of York Peppermint Patties. Of course, I couldn't just give him the bag and call it a day. That would be too boring. So I re-packaged them in little cello bags and topped them with these labels that I whipped up in no time.

The skinny:

1. Open a blank document in PowerPoint (or Word, or Photoshop), draw a box that is 4.67" in width + 2.54" in height (the width should be the same width as the bag, but the height is up to you), and design the label as you wish! I find the simpler the better.

2. Print, cut, score, and fold in half. I used cardstock, but I think vellum would look equally nice.

3. Place the label on the bag - the folded top of the cello bag should be sandwiched between the font and back of the label - and staple.

Easy, easy, easy.

Making Baby A, Week 32: The (Inconvenient) Bump

2010-01-25T13:42:00.004-05:00

I’m not a very big person. I don’t take up much room.

So moments like squeezing between a wall and a chair, or walking between parked cars, or through a semi-closed doorway – doesn't usually require second thoughts.

Until now.

With an expanding belly, I have to be mindful of the increasing area of my “personal space”.

I find myself bumping into walls, tables, and chairs.

So I make a conscious effort to park the car as far as I can (without going over the yellow line) to give myself plenty of room to get out. I remember not to push my chair too far in to give my belly some breathing room. I know not to try to squeeze between closing elevator doors for the sake of safety.

There are also other inconveniences. I have trouble putting on pants while standing up. I need to sit down while putting on shoes and pull myself back up with the help of stair railing. Instead of getting up like a normal person, I roll out of bed.

I feel so BIG and HEAVY and it's just going to get BIGGER and HEAVIER.

I am not tired of being pregnant - not yet anyway - but I cannot wait to move freely again.

DIY: Hub's Birthday Card

2010-01-22T17:42:00.003-05:00

~~Inspired by~~ Blatantly copied from How About Orange's latest ingenious creation, I made this card for hub's upcoming birthday. Click here to get a rough guide on how to make the card.

And here are my notes:

I didn't have many colored papers (in fact, these papers are leftovers from a card hubs made for ME almost SEVEN years ago), so instead of colorful flag banners, I used two very basic colors.

I also didn't have any thick strings so I used sewing threads! It was hard to work with, but I think I successfully did it.

To avoid being a total copycat, I put a little "Handmade with Love" message in the back. I ran the cardstock through the printer twice. It took several tries to get the text placement just right. I used a plain sheet of paper as my tester. Also, to properly center the text on each panel, I used the "columns" feature in Word.

This was a fun project. I started it while cooking and finished it after dinner. The $3 saved will go toward hub's birthday cake!