Lately... & 32 Week Baby Bump!

Lately I've been super tired and running around trying to get everything done. Unfortunately I always have to stop and take a nap or collapse on the couch before I am finished doing what I want to do!

I finished up painting the second dresser for the nursery and Joe attached the mirror. I also managed to clean out all the stuff that got piled up in there from the move and made it look a little more like a proper nursery, though we are still waiting on the crib my mom is bringing down in April. I even went out and got a glider rocking chair with an ottoman! I wasn't too excited about how it was going to look, since I would prefer a more mid-century modern style, but once I realized how uncomfortable I was just sitting on the couch with my big belly I figured I would really enjoy a comfy chair instead of just a nice looking one.

Speaking of being tired, I really don't have energy to make dinner or do much of anything these days. I'm too lazy to even do my weekly baby bump updates! I'll settle for a blurry iPhone photo this week :)

I am allowed to leave work early now (so only 8 hour days... whoopee) but I am still totally pooped when I get home. Joe has been awesome and is taking over even more of the household chores, including cooking. He even makes me lunch when I get home on my break! 

Mister doggy is doing very well and fitting in really nicely. We decided to name him Bill Murray, or Murray for short. I'm not sure where I got the idea to name him that, except maybe he reminds me of Bill Murray's character in Lost In Translation. He's pretty melancholy, he just wants to fit in and have a bit of fun too. Mrs. Peacock is getting more and more used to him and doesn't hiss (as much) when he rudely sniffs at her tail. She is still the princess of the house though!

The last picture is of the courthouse in the town we live next to. We had quite the Valentines Day weekend! It was full of not-so-great events and happenings. Nothing too major, but it kind of piled on top of more of those not-so-great grown up things we have been dealing with lately too.

Overall everything is going really great! I'm looking forward to these last 8 weeks and hopefully taking some time off before the due date. I can't tell if I want it to be over sooner so we can see our little Ellie, or if I wish it would last just a little longer.

DIY Kitty Tower - Kitty's 13th Birthday!

Mrs. Peacock turned 13 a few days ago! What an old lady! Since we got a much bigger place to live I thought it would be nice to give her a little spot to hang out and look down on the lowly humans. It would also be a great place for her to feel safe away from a dog, whenever we get one. 

We purchased a couple of floating shelves from Lowes because they looked nice and were wide enough for Kitty to be comfortable. Make sure you look at how much weight the shelves you buy can hold, since you wouldn't want your kitty to fall down. Mrs. Peacock is only 6 pounds and these shelves can hold 12 pounds, so I think they will work out just fine. 

Make sure you put the shelves where there is at least one wall stud to support it. We used drywall brackets for the side that couldn't be drilled into a stud.  

Do a staggered set up so kitty can jump easily to each level! We put two above her kitty tower so she can get pretty high up and one behind the couch because she loves to sit with us.

It's really important that you put something they can dig their claws into so they don't slide off. I used a double thickness of black felt for the tops. My kitty loves fleece but I didn't have any to make pillows out of for her. A good idea is also to use scraps of carpet for scratching or an old bath mat.

Happy Birthday Mrs. Peacock!

DIY Inspiration Links

I've been so anxious to start getting our home together but there is nothing I can do until we get our house and furniture. This means I've been spending a LOT of time on Pinterest and Google maps, seeing how far away Babies R Us and Ikea are from us. Turns out it will be a good three hour trip to Texas if we want to shop in-store! I think it still beats paying for shipping, but it looks like shopping will take up quite a bit of time.

Here are some pretty sweet links I found:

I've got some jeggings that have a broken button and I think I might use them to make these DIY Maternity Jeans.

This Painted Dresser Inspiration is some of the best painting jobs I've seen on dressers!

27 DIY Ways to Hide the Litter Box led me to a website I feel like a FAILURE for not knowing about before, Ikea Hackers. This FAKTUM Kitty Loo looks easy to customize!

Speaking of home improvements for Mrs. Peacock, I've been thinking of installing kitty shelves so she can have a place up high to hang out. Since we are going to get a dog soon I think she would be pretty happy having a safe place to hang out where the dog won't be able to reach her.

Not only am I thinking about giving her a sweet kitty play space and a hidden litter box, but her bad breath is just about driving me crazy! I really want to improve her diet. Poor kitty had really bad teeth when we got her and the vet wanted over a thousand dollars to clean them. There is just no way we could ever afford that, so I checked out feeding cats a raw diet with a supplement from Felines Pride. The thought of getting a meat grinder is a little ridiculous since we eat a pescatarian diet ourselves, but I think I can use my food processor just as easily. I hope it can improve her teeth, poor baby!

Beach Kitty

Santa Barbara is absolutely beautiful! Joe wanted to go to Skaters Point which was right by the beach so I decided to take kitty out to stretch her paws in the sand. She was a little afraid at first but eventually was curious and ventured out of her carrier into the sun. We went on a little walk on her leash and she was so funny! People were pointing at her to show their kids there was a cat on the beach. Pretty weird, yes, but the car was too hot to be sitting in. Plus I think she needs some fresh air and a stretch. This trip has been tough on her, especially the ferry ride. She has gotten used to the car and only gets upset when the roads are loud or badly paved, but most of the time she sleeps. The climate change may also have given her an occasional sneeze. So far so good though. Soon we will have a home, kitty!

"I wonder if this is a giant litter box?"

"Too much sunshine!"

"I'm not so sure about this..."

Soaking in Seattle

When we arrived in Seattle we ended up staying at a pretty fancy hotel. We got an upgrade to a room with a Japanese Hydrotherapy Soaking Tub...right next to the bed and within view of the TV. Needless to say I took two baths in it that day. It was awesome.

This is Misses Peacocks "stink face." She gave us stink face bad when she was in the car by herself on the ferry ride for four days. She is extremely happy to be snuggling up with us, getting pets and snoozing by our feet.

Getting on the Ferry

I have a ton of great photos and posts coming up! Unfortunately there is no internet anywhere up here. We spent a night in Tok, then Haines Junction and arrived in Haines last night. Of course the ship won't have internet so I will be on hiatus until Friday night when we get to Washington.

The only phone photo I have is Mrs Peacock acting like the Princess and the Pea on top of her pillows. 

Fire Alarms

This is only the beginning of our big trip! We moved into the hotel and had all our stuff packed up. Of course I forgot to pack the cord to my digital camera, so the whole purpose of buying the camera in the first place is lost! Looks like I'll be blogging with iPhone photos, which isn't too bad but still is disappointing.

We are actually not supposed to have Mrs Peacock in the hotel with us, so we have had to make sure she is quiet and we don't let maid service in. So of course, this morning the fire alarm went off in our room for no reason! Joe was in the shower at the time and had to jump out. We had to pack up the litter box, her food and hide everything. Kitty ran under the bed because the noise scared her, so we had to chase her out and get her into the carrier. Finally we had to go out to the car which was completely frozen. It was 3 degrees out this morning! I called the front desk and told the lady that the alarm went off and she said she would notify housekeeping. I waited another 15 minutes and the front desk calls again and asks me if the alarm clock was going off. Alarm clock. Right, lady. I'm not that stupid! Finally after an hour someone finally came and turned it off! Ugh!

After that debacle we decided to get out of the hotel for a bit, so we went out to the Build-a-Bear Workshop and made a bear for the bear cub, Ellie. We picked a cute little punk outfit and a skateboard so she can be just like her daddy! 

We had a pretty nice Thanksgiving over at Joe's friends house. They heard about my failed baby shower and were so sweet to put together a little gift bag for us with some cute clothes and an absolutely adorable pink baby carrier! They have really been such nice friends to us, I'm sad we are moving! I got to hold their little baby girl and play with her too. I'm so excited to hold our little Ellie! I'm still having trouble deciding on a middle name, but we have plenty of time still.

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

Forlorn Kitty

 Mrs. Peacock is going to hate the road trip! I want to make her as comfortable as possible since we will be on the road for a while. She will have to live inside the car on a boat for five days too. We went out today and picked up a carrier, leash, harness, new collar with a name tag, some Calm Down tonic and At Ease spray. I put some spray in the carrier and set a few of her toys in it so that maybe she won't hate being it so much (...yeah right, she will hate it anyway!) All we have to get now is a travel litter box. Target didn't have any good size plastic containers with lids so I'm going to have to look somewhere else.

I don't know about this girl though, we got her a new litter box with a lid and swing door but she hates it and won't go in! Ugh. Princess kitty. I hope she doesn't end up getting sick from all the stress of the move! 

Here she is, as usual, looking forlornly at her bowl which is FULL of food! But of course she wants totally fresh mushies at all times! Princess kitty.

How to Annoy Your Cat: Halloween Edition

We put kitty in a little costume as the trick or treaters started showing up. She really didn't like it! Anytime she successfully took it off Joe put it right back on. Poor Kitty! She looks like a Babushka Lady doesn't she? She is an old lady cat, after all.

Our Halloween is going well. We watched Night of the Living Dead and will probably watch another horror movie before the night is over.

Pumpkin Carving with Kitty!

One thing about being long distance from your spouse for so long is that you can't celebrate holidays together. Last year Joe came to Alaska for Christmas, and even though I'm not a big Christmas person, I went "all out" as much as I could so we could have a nice first Christmas as a family. This year we actually get to celebrate Halloween together! No flights, no paperwork so I can take leave, no trying to live out of a hotel or house sitting for someone else. Just us and kitty in our little apartment carving pumpkins. I think kitty liked the smell of pumpkin guts because she kept coming over to sniff it. 

This is going to be the only major holiday we can spend together in our little apartment, seeing as we are supposed to be moving by December. We are just waiting for the paperwork to come through so we can know for sure. I hope it works out! I'm tired of Alaska and I want to have our road trip to California because it will be our last trip before the bear cub is born! We will most likely be living in a hotel by Thanksgiving and still on the road by Christmas and New Years.  

I can't wait to have a house of our own in New York so we can host our own Halloween parties! No one around here ever throws any and it depresses me. I can't wait to make glittery decorations and hot cider, donuts, pumpkin martinis and little pumpkin painting stations for the kids! I think this calls for a Pinterest board!

The Sweet List - Ugly Christmas Sweaters, Cat Edition

I'm really not a Christmas person, Halloween is my favorite holiday, but there was something today that inspired me to post about the infamous Ugly Christmas Sweater! I think I just love irony. I would love to throw an Ugly Christmas Sweater Party, but unfortunately I will be in the middle of an epic road trip during the holidays. Hopefully I will be visiting my grandfather in California by then, in which case I can still wear an ugly sweater!

I especially love the first one on the list, but all are amazingly ugly!

Vintage Ugly Hand Knitted Kitty Sweater

Vintage Cat Intarsia Sweater

Cheap Ugly Christmas Sweater

Ugly Christmas Sweater

Today.

Enjoying her three story condo.

Spoiled Kitty

Guess who got a brand new giant play tower today?

She still loves the couch though!

Dear Miss Kitty,

Monday, September 16: Write a public love letter to someone in your life. (It doesn't necessarily need to be romantic.)

Dear Miss Kitty,

Who is the fluffiest girl?    YOU ARE!

Who is the prettiest girl?    YOU ARE!!

Who needs ALL the pets at ALL times?    You do!

Who isn't allowed to have Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers any more because she eats it too fast and barfs it up?   YOU, Miss Kitty!!

Oh Misses Peacock, why do I bother watching Cats From Hell for tips on improving cat behaviour when you are already so well behaved? You don't scratch or bite. You are always so mellow and you talk to us all the time. You even come to say hello when I walk in the door. 

Were you really stuck in the shelter for two months? It seems impossible that no one scooped you up right away. As soon as we saw you we knew you were the kitty for us. I even passed up that poor kitty with only three legs because you seemed so perfect, and you know how I feel about special needs kitties.

Sorry again, about the Gravy Lovers. I hope the Meow Mix Savory Shreds is a decent replacement.

Love,
Mommy

28th Birthday

Today I'm turning 28! I would be posting some birthday pictures and also a 7 week belly picture, but I have to pull 24 hour duty again instead. Oh well! Belly picture can wait until tomorrow. I plan on enjoying some fancy cupcakes today once I get a break for lunch. 

I hope everyone has a great Labor Day weekend! 

A sweet e-card my friend sent me today! Look at those cuties!