DIY Mantle

With everything that has happened around here through the fall and this spring, you know with the pregnancy, family visits, cruise, and working, I have not had a chance to tell you about our new mantle.  However, the Mr. really did build this back in September!  #badblogger I wanted it to be completed by the beginning of the fall so that I could use it to decorate throughout the holidays.  Hubby did not disappoint!
When we moved in I loved that we had a fireplace and a mantle.  I even loved that it was all brick.  The only drawback for me was that since the actual mantle was brick it wasn’t very deep which really limited what I could put on there.  So the Mr. set out to basically make a cap to fit over the current brick mantle that would make it deeper.

Let’s check out the before: 

It’s definitely a mantle already that I could live with.  It’s pretty and all, but is just wasn’t quite enough room.

See how narrow this mantle was? I couldn’t even safely fit candle sticks on there. 

Safety issue? Yes! 

Decorator’s issue? Yes!

Picky person issue? Yes!The first step was to purchase a wooden board that was wide enough and deep enough (1 x 6 ).  Once the board was cut to the correct width, the Mr. placed it right on top of the old brick mantle and, using a mason bit, drilled it into place.Using a compound mitre saw, which can cut on an angel, the Mr. cut a piece of crown modeling at a 45 degree angle so that it would fit together like a puzzle and go around the three sides of the mantle. Using finishing nails, he hammered the three pieces of crown molding to the top board.Using the left over breadboard from our kitchen island, the Mr. cut a piece that would serve as the bottom of the mantle.  He had to take special measurements to go around the support bricks at the base of the mantle because I really liked the charm that the bricks added and didn’t want them removed.
#ipromiseidonttrytomakehislifedifficult

Then all of the edges were sealed with white caulk, clamped, and painted.Then it was time to decorate to my hearts content! 

It was so nice to have the deeper mantle for the holiday season!  It was everything I imagined it would be.

A mantle is so much more useful when I can stack my junk on it ;-)

Here are pictures of our fall and Christmas mantles:

Thank you hubby for making this mantle for me :-)

Didn’t he do such a great job?!

Happy Monday friends!

Little Peep Bumpdate {32 weeks}

Date: 4/2/14

How far along: 32 weeks

Fruit-size comparison: A jicama (which I have only ever seen on Chopped! lol)

Developmental milestones: Little Peep should now be gaining 1/2 a pound a week until he is born.

Maternity clothes: Oh yes, thank you Jesus!  I don’t think I’ll ever want to wear another kind of jean again!

Weight gain: I am up 22.5 lbs since my pre-pregnancy weight

Stretch Marks: I have mentioned that I have some stretch marks on my sides and some around my belly button….well now it is more like a full on pink cheetah print belt…hip-to-hip. 

Sleep: Pretty good…..I just wish I could sleep all day, every day and everything would get done on its own.  Wishful thinking?

Best moment of the week: 1- I met with Little Peep’s pediatrician for our prenatal consultation; I adore the doctor and think she will be a great fit for our family.  2- My work showered us on Friday and it was such a special and sweet shower.  I was so honored that they would take time from their busy schedules to invest so much in us.  I truly feel blessed by God with where I work and who I work with.  3- After the shower I did my first 4 loads of baby laundry (sheets, towels, blankets, etc.).  It was the sweetest laundry experience I have ever had.  I had more fun folding his little clothes and towels and organizing them in his closet.  It was also fun to start laying out and picking what clothes I want to pack in his hospital bag.  eeeeeek so excited!  4- The Mr. & Rooney went camping for the weekend so Tomlin and I had a girls weekend and did only girly things.  It will probably be a long time before us gals have another quiet weekend like that, but I look forward to those weekends when The Mr. gets to take his son camping and building memories.  I can’t help but smile when I think about what fun those two will have.

Movement:  I just love feeling him move.  He still only kicks on my right side.

Cravings: Oreos and sandwiches (warm clubs & BLT’s) …and of course pizza

Gender: A little boy!!!

Belly button in or out: I’m still sporting my “flattie”

Wedding ring: On :-)

Anything making you queasy/sick: Nope

What I miss:  Nothing
What I’m looking forward to: My doctors appointment next week

Labor signs: I think I’ve started having Braxton Hicks contractions

Symptoms:  I've got my waddle on these days lol My body is producing the hormone relaxin (nice name, right?) so that my joints are starting to be looser and waddling is the perfect motion to get my pelvis ready for delivery.  Lately, I've been using my belly as a table and a shelf; it’s so convenient to hold my bowl of cereal or my cell phone hehe.  My heartburn is getting more consistent and it steals my appetite.  This week I have been extremely exhausted.  It takes every ounce of energy I have to focus on anything.  I’m either easily distracted or falling asleep.
Nursery: Done, and I can’t wait to add the final piece, Little Peep, to complete the room :-)

Emotions: This week I felt joy spill out of me all over the place.  With work showering us,  I felt so special and valued, like I was surrounded by love and it just radiated and spilled out of ever pour of my being.

What I’m Lovin’ Wednesday: Felt Balls & Lady Pair

I’m not sure if you noticed last week when I shared Little Peep’s nursery, but hanging around the mirror over his changing station is a strand of customized felt garland. 
While I love the look of felt balls, they tend to be extremely overly-priced.  When my dear friend Bree started making these and offering them in her Etsy shop I was stoked!  Not only were they reasonably priced, but she worked with me on finding the perfect shade of mint (which included a bazillion emails of questions from me- sorry Bree!).  And truly, the speed at which they arrived and their quality are something that will stand the test of time.  You’ve got to check out her shop: Lady Pair Designs!  These would be perfectly simple decorations for all holidays (think Christmas colors wrapped around the tree, or Easter colors hung around the mantle, or even red, white, and blue for a 4th of July picnic!) Adorable, right?!

Seriously, go check out her shop and order some of these cute felt balls for your home :-)

Obligatory Blogger Disclaimer: I was not paid for this post; I just really like these products.

Debunked Brain Myths

By night I am a blogger,

but by day I'm something completely different.

I am a behavioral neuroscientist.

This means that basically I research how the brain interacts with our environment, and how our environment may impact our brain and behavior.

Today I wanted to debunk some rather popular myths about our brains. Pop culture influences a lot about what we know, or what we think we know, about our brains.
For example:
“We only use 10% of our brains!” or “I’m very artistic, so I am right-brained.  What are you?”
Many times these “facts” are not based on scientific evidence.
Today let’s debunk 7 common myths about the brain:

Little Peep Bumpdate {31 weeks}

And just because I thought it would be fun for comparison, here is my bumpdate picture from week 5 when I was wearing the exact same outfit.

Date: 3/26/14
How far along: 31 weeks

Fruit-size comparison: A coconut or a pineapple....depending one where you look

Developmental milestones: Little Peep is heading towards a growth spurt in the next couple of weeks (which means I am headed towards a growth spurt too I guess lol).  He has a lot of brain and nerve development this week, and all 5 senses are working now.

Maternity clothes: Oh yes!

Weight gain: I had my weigh-in with my doctor this week and I've gained 20 lbs since pre-pregnancy

Stretch Marks: Yep :-)

Sleep: Is getting so much better, in fact I think I forgot what good sleep was.  Since Little Peep has started to drop he isn't putting as much pressure on my bruised rib and it is starting to heal much faster now.  Of course I'm still getting up about 4 times a night for potty breaks, but I am able to fall right back to sleep. So all is good here!

Best moment of the week: 1- I think the best news from this week came from our doctor's appointment.  We had our last ultrasound before Little Peep's arrival.  The technician chuckled at how long he was.  He weighed 4 lbs 7 oz and is in the 88th percentile; his arms and legs are so very long.  During the ultrasound, the technician tried so hard to get him to move his hands, but he just kept them in front of his face.  His cheeks are chubby and his lips look just like mine.  We did get to see that he has a lot of hair.  The technician showed us some lines going across the screen and told us that it was hair.  Then she shook my belly (like a bowl full of jelly, sorry I couldn’t resist) and it looked like what hair looks like in a pool; it started to move in a flowy motion.  It was very cool to watch.  He is still head-down and his heart rate was 138.  The doctor said it was a little lower this time because he slept through the entire ultrasound.  It was definitely hard to believe that this was the last time we will see him before he leaves the womb; a very bittersweet feeling.  The doctor also checked, and it appears that the Lord has healed our placenta issues and we have been cleared for a vaginal delivery, and my pelvic rest has been removed.  All of our news was so wonderful and sweet at the appointment.  2-  Daddy ordered Little Peep his first (well, first two) Terrible Towels this week.  We also received a package of fabulous Pittsburgh Steelers and Penguins clothing for Little Peep (thank you Opett family!).  He is officially ready for football season now.  We are really looking forward to teaching him all about football. 3- I spent the weekend with our Texas family out on the ranch and it was the perfect weekend spent relaxing with our loved ones!  Thank you Lynch and Hill families!!!

Movement: He is still my sweet little wiggle worm :-)  He is busiest in the afternoon. 

Cravings: Sweets :-)

Gender: A little boy!!!

Belly button in or out: Something in between an outtie and a "flattie"

Wedding ring: On

Anything making you queasy/sick: Nope

What I miss: Nothing!
What I’m looking forward to: I'm very excited about sharing our nursery pictures!

Labor signs: I haven't noticed any contractions yet, but I can tell that he is getting very low because I’m feeling a lot of pressure, not pain but more like heavy weight.

Symptoms: I have always wanted to feel Little Peep have hiccups but I recently learned that research suggests that fetal hiccups are a symptom of maternal anxiety.  I'm genuinely glad that I haven't felt those hiccups now.  Even though Little Peep has dropped and my ribs are finally starting to heal, I'm still easily winded if I try doing too much at one time.  Of course I'm okay with this because it means my little boy is just growing and pushing on my lungs.  My heart burn now makes me feel like I can breath fire....or maybe lava hehe.  As for new symptoms, I've started getting mild cramps in my calves; not painful, just noticeable.  Also since my bump has started getting so large, I've realized that whoever designs public bathrooms does not take pregnant women into account.  Those stalls are just too narrow and wiggling around the toilet paper holder to shut the door means I am usually shutting the door on my belly.  Sorry Little Peep!
Nursery: Done!  Now I need to start getting some gear and products for him....like diapers, wipes, and oh yeah, a car seat lol

Emotions: I'm getting slightly anxious to know that we're now 31 weeks which means we're in the single digits in the number of weeks until we meet him....and really only 6 weeks away, which is just over a month, until I am full-term. That is so very scary for me.  This entire pregnancy has gone way too fast.  I keep reminding myself to embrace the days where Little Peep and I get to spend all day together; it really is the best feeling I've ever experienced.

Little Peep’s Nursery Reveal

I think I have received more emails and comments about Little Peep’s nursery than any other blog topic.  I really thought that today I would be sharing some DIY projects with you, but those will have to wait because I don’t want to tease you with black and white pictures anymore.  So today is the big reveal! 

I always thought I would have a black and yellow nursery, but like most things in my life, my plan gets derailed.  Last summer when we were still struggling to conceive, I was devastated every time I walked into the office because it was a tractor themed nursery before we moved in and I felt like it just taunted me with the thoughts of what I thought I would never have.  One weekend, I had had it and we had to paint immediately, so the Mr. and I painted it mint and white with coral accents (a super girlie office for me), and a couple weeks later when I was about to post the pictures here for you of the finished office, we found out we were expecting.  Thank you Lord for teaching me again that your plan and timing is always better than mine!  Needless to say I was not going to pay to paint all over again, so these were the colors we were going with.  I have to say that even though this was not what I had expected or planned for, I really do like the peaceful feeling in the nursery.  I don’t really have a theme (like animals or trucks), but I did have a peaceful, shabby chic and burlap vibe I was shooting for.  This nursery I think is pretty gender neutral in case the Lord decides to bless us with another baby.

Okay, so this is what the nursery started out looking like when we moved in a couple years ago; a nice mural of the Houston skyline with a tractor theme…..just not very Darby.

And here is the new nursery that is awaiting our sweet Little Peep:

Where it all came from:
Paint- Cool Gray by Valspar & Serendipity by Olympic
Glider & ottoman
Graco Lauren Convertible Crib with Mattress in White
Table Lamp on Book Shelf
Table Lamp on Window Seat Cabinet
Curtains- I purchased 4 panels of one size & hemmed them myself because I wanted them to be long
Crib Bedding
Floating shelves- I purchased in white & painted it the same color as the stripes
Picture frames- this model in various sizes in white & gray
Curtain rods and accessories
Closet Dividers
Faux Sheep Skin Area Rug
Felt Balls
Mirror- I purchased in brown and painted it the same color as the stripes
Faux Deer with Gold Antlers
Toy basket
Glider blanket
Baskets in the closet- Ross
Hamper in the closet- Marshall’s
Pillows on the window seat and cushion covers were all hand-made
Book Shelf- purchased at an antique show
*If I forgot something on this list please feel free to ask me :-)

Stork the Nursery: Showers for the Distant Mama-to-be

If you’ve been around here for a while you know that while the Mr. and I live in Houston, I am from Virginia and he is from the Pittsburgh area.  We have family in those states, as wells as Florida, Nebraska, and Tennessee.  My family wanted to host a shower for us, but we all knew that the distance was going to be a HUGE issue; there was no way that we could get all of our family together in one state…to be honest we couldn’t even do that for our wedding, and we ended up with two different wedding receptions…… I’ll save that story for another day, but suffice it to say, there was no way to get us all together.  So my sister, genius that she is, brainstormed a way for us to be showered from all corners of the globe. 

With a spin on the typical “Stock the Bar” engagement party, she sent out announcements to our friends and family to “Stork” our Nursery from the comforts of their own homes.  I think this is a great idea for showers where the bride or mama-to-be is too far away and the family still wants to shower her with love for the next chapter in her life. 

Check out these awesome stamps my sister made too!  She used the pictures from our gender reveal!  I was so shocked and surprised to see that! 

Thank you Kellyn for organizing this for us!  We are so grateful!!!! You are going to make one heck of an aunt!

Little Peep Bumpdate {30 weeks}

Date: 3/19/14

How far along: 30 weeks

Fruit-size comparison: Large cabbage

Developmental milestones:  Little Peep is about 3 lbs now.  One of my favorite things that is developing in Little Peep this week are his "brain wrinkles" (these are really called sulci & gyri, but it's the gray matter in the brain that looks like wrinkles; this will enable Little Peep to have more complex thinking, somatosensation, and personality).  His grip is also getting stronger and he is able to clasp things in his fist.  His eyelids are opening and closing now, though they will be closed for the majority of the time.  The fine hair (lanugo) that has coated his skin to protect his body is going to start falling out this week.

Maternity clothes: I think I'm starting to outgrow some of my maternity clothes :-/  It’s getting pretty tight around here!

Weight gain: I will have my official weigh-in at my next appointment, but I think I'm up 20 lbs since pre-pregnancy.

Stretch Marks: Yep :-)

Sleep: I still have 3-4 potty breaks a night, but so far so good as long as I stay on my left side.  My bruised rib cage on the right side is still pretty sore, so rolling to that side is not favorable.

Best moment of the week: I have to say that by far my shower was the best moment of the week.  I had been looking forward to it all week.  To be honest I never thought I would ever have a baby shower.  We struggled for so long that I just thought that this event wasn’t in the cards for me.  So the fact that I had the opportunity to be showered and by such loving women from my smallgroup, I felt so honored and blessed.  It really was the most beautiful shower I have ever been to; it was picture perfect!  I really didn’t want it to end; I didn’t want to leave.  I would have stayed there all day if they would have let me.  Thank you ladies for such a wonderful baby shower!

Movement: Remember when I mentioned that I felt a big "pop" in the middle of the night during week 27? Well before then, I had never felt Little Peep kick on my right side.  He only kicked me on the left side.  At the next appointment, the doctor confirmed that Little Peep had flipped head down.  Perhaps that big "pop"was him flipping?  Since then I feel him kick mainly on the right side of my abdomen and upper right belly.  So I'm thinking that his booty must be on the left side now so that the majority of his kicks are on the right.

Cravings: Pizza, salad, and milk :-)

Gender: A little boy!!!

Belly button in or out: Partially an outtie and partially a "flattie"

Wedding ring: On

Anything making you queasy/sick: Nope

What I miss: Nothing!
What I’m looking forward to: My next appointment to see Little Peep.  We're praying that all of the placenta issues have resolved themselves and that the doctor has a great report for us.

Labor signs: Nothing that I'm aware of.

Symptoms: Nothing new that I can think of.  Heart burn has reared its nasty head again but that’s just to be expected so nothing really new.

Nursery: Is done, and the pictures have been taken.  I can't wait to share these with you!

Emotions:  This entire week was a week of joy.  I was so very much looking forward to my baby shower and it certainly did not disappoint.  I left feeling so loved and valued.  The shower was so beautiful and perfect….it was so Darby!  I am very blessed to have such giving women in my smallgroups! Thank you ladies!

What I’m Lovin’ Wednesday: Desert Song

As I walk my journey, it seems like this song always comes back to my mind.  This song meets me where I am and ministers to my heart.  No matter what I’m facing, no matter how large or minuscule, this song has something to teach me and remind me.  I hope this song provides you with the encouragement that no matter what you're going through on a daily bases that you are NOT forgotten, but are valued and loved.

Since the video isn't really anything but singing I have posted the lyrics below for you.

This is my prayer in the desert When all that's within me feels dry This is my prayer in my hunger and need My God is the God who provides
This is my prayer in the fire And weakness or trial or pain There is a faith proved of more worth than gold So refine me lord through the flames
I will bring praise I will bring praise No weapon formed against me shall remain
I will rejoice I will declare God is my victory and he is here
This is my prayer in the battle When triumph is still on its way I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ So firm on his promise I'll stand
I will bring praise I will bring praise No weapon formed against me shall remain
I will rejoice I will declare God is my victory and he is here
All of my life In every season You are still God I have a reason to sing I have a reason to worship
All of my life In every season You are still God I have a reason to sing I have a reason to worship
All of my life In every season You are still God I have a reason to sing I have a reason to worship
All of my life In every season You are still God I have a reason to sing I have a reason to worship
I will bring praise I will bring praise No weapon formed against me shall remain
I will rejoice I will declare God is my victory and he is here
And this is my prayer in the harvest And favor and providence flow I know I'm filled to be emptied again The seed I received I will sow lyric source Have an awesome Wednesday my sweet friends