eating too much lettuce is soporific

Things around here lately have been a curious mix of the good (for instance, a birthday celebration at Founding Farmers with delicious non-alcoholic Cranberry Cucumber Coolers), bad (for instance, giving up our garden plot), and some events that were decidedly mixed (great - yet scary - beginnings). As a result, I haven't blogged about my second baby shower as of yet... and I figured I'd better do so soon because baby shower #3 is just around the corner!

At the end of April, my mother-in-law decided to host a shower at her house in Loudoun County for Mr. Beeton and me. She decided on a Beatrix Potter theme, which is right up our alley and extremely appropriate given that Baby Beeton will be born in The Year of the Rabbit.


The invitations (and stamps!) featured Peter Rabbit, and the whole place was decked out according to theme. There was an adorable "Welcome Baby" banner with Peter in the background, a spinning carousel with Potter characters, and cute Potter character cutouts on top of the cupcakes.


The tables were decorated with glass vegetables, and some of Mr. Beeton and his brother's baby clothes with Peter Rabbit on them were hanging about the house. The favors came in these adorable little Peter Rabbit gift bags and included small plants for everyone's own gardens. If you've ever met Mr. Beeton's mother (or better yet been invited to her house for a party), you know that she knows how to throw a theme party in style. She even had a Beatrix Potter game where you had to guess the Potter character (I did not fare well on this one even though I had just been to see a really compelling lecture by a former University of Delaware professor of mine about Miss Tiggy Winkle).

The food, too, was amazing. My mother-in-law had invited all of her neighborhood friends, as well as some close friends and relatives in the DMV area, and they each contributed dishes. There were excellent finger sandwiches, delicious salads, and my absolute favorite - deviled eggs.

(Sidenote: I've been getting asked a lot lately about my pregnancy cravings. I have to admit that I haven't really had them. When I first found out I was pregnant, there were definitely foods I could not stomach and foods that I could stomach - see here for details. But, in thinking it over, this last month, I really do crave deviled eggs and fruit, mainly watermelon! Many thanks, too, to The Baraness for sending the deviled egg recipe my way.)

All of the women present were so generous. They gave us so many wonderful gifts! A scrapbook, a pewter dish and cup, a snugabunny bouncer, blankets, books, and many, many more terrific items! In particular, I'm excited about the Beatrix Potter teacup and saucer, which will go in Baby Beeton's room along with the banner my mom made for the shower at her house to remind Baby Beeton of his/her two loving grandmas.

Speaking of the nursery, the stripes are finished, the fan is up (thanks to Handyman T), the crib is in, the changing table's last coat of paint is drying, and the blinds have been ordered. It's coming along nicely. Pictures will be posted soon, I promise.

In the meantime, I've got to get this house cleaned before our friends descend on Saturday for our final May shower.

Keep sweeping, Martha

Watched The Dilemma and Please Give (so, so good!)

crenshaw melon

36 weeks! Photo courtesy of thebump.com.

Watched Due Date, How Do You Know, and Creation. Finished reading Out of the Shadows by Joanne Rendell.

do not panic

The other night I had a mini-meltdown. I knew it was coming. Instead of being my usual moody self these past seven or so months, I've actually been quite content. It's like this pregnancy has given me happy hormones, which I love. But, the other night I lost it.

I think it's just been the increasing level of stress. It's the end of the semester. I've had research deadlines to meet. I've had papers to grades. And, we've had lots and lots of people giving us advice, which we haven't necessarily asked for. I know everyone means well, but sometimes, you've just got to let a girl and guy and a dog figure out their own way.

So, when I grabbed a pan off the stove that was filled with water (unbeknownst to me) and sausage grease, spilling it all over our already pretty disgusting (aesthetically and cleanliness-wise) kitchen floor, I kind of freaked. All of the sudden the hideous dining room light fixture, the half-painted nursery, and the partially completed guest room seemed too much to handle. I kept thinking, "I cannot bring Baby Beeton back here. We'll have to stay at The Hay-Adams for at least the first six months."

Nevermind that until Sunday night, we had made some good progress - especially for a pair of notorious procrastinators. We'd taken a breastfeeding class at the Breastfeeding Center of D.C. and signed up for a pumping class and an infant care class there in the next few weeks (what can I say? I'm a teacher... I love classes). We'd ordered our crib. I've been keeping up with my prenatal yoga classes (which I love ) at Lil Omm. We'd taken our labor and delivery class. And, we'd toured the hospital. Not to mention we'd scheduled an appointment with our pediatrician. But none of that mattered to me when faced with a greasy kitchen floor.

Today, though, things seem much better. I have only nineteen, 15-page research projects to go and only twenty-six rewrites left to grade. We've come up with a plan for finishing the nursery. And, today was the last day of classes for me until Fall 2012. So, really, what's a little grease on the kitchen floor, right?

Keep sweeping, Martha

happy anniversary!

april showers

This past weekend, my sister, sister-in-law, and mom hosted my first (of three! yikes!) baby showers in Pennsylvania. They each know me well enough to know that I'm not one who craves being the center of attention, so they planned a very low-key celebration with family and a few of my closest friends. While there wasn't an obvious theme, I think they were going for "old-school" or "retro," which was perfect since that's the code by which Mr. Beeton and I live.

My sister and mom made adorable invitations using their combined crafty-ness. Since Baby Beeton's sex will be a surprise, they couldn't find any good, gender neutral invitations and came up with their own. I think they should go into business.


They decided on having brunch, which consisted of a delicious egg and sausage stratta, a French toast casserole, bagels, and some yummy danishes in a variety of flavors. My mom does not love cooking, so I even doubly appreciated her going to all this effort (and will be getting the stratta recipe from her because it was so darn good!).

They also asked guests to bring children's books instead of cards, which I thought was such a wonderful idea, especially given my chosen occupation. Very fitting. We got everything from Harry the Dirty Dog (from Honorary Aunt J) to A Day at the Seashore (from Cousin M). And, the gifts that we received from everyone were so wonderful! The thank you cards are in the mail, but I wanted to also say here just how much we appreciated everything!

My mom had the living room decorated so cute, too. She put out the cradle which has been used for several generations and filled it with books. A yellow sweater and hat that my Aunt Ruth had knit for me when I was born was hanging from it as well (Aunt Ruth is the one who collected "falling-down men" - a habit I have acquired... I told you I like old-school). And above it was hanging an alphabet banner, which my mom had made, which we absolutely love! In case you didn't know, banners are all the rage on various baby sites (see here, and here, and here). We're going to hang ours up in Baby Beeton's room (check out lil Ella).


And, for favors, my mom made these cute little pinwheels. She found candy sticks at a candy store in town in all different flavors, and she attached yellow and green pinwheels in a variety of patterns with yellow and green ribbons, also in a variety of patterns. They were adorable and looked very cute sitting in vases in bunches throughout the room.


Overall, the weekend - despite my stressing about it - was a great success. Everyone had a good time, and they all seem even more anxious to meet little Baby Beeton when he (or she) arrives.

Keep sweeping, Martha

Finished reading Cleaving by Julie Powell (depressing).

jicama

30 weeks! Photo courtesy of thebump.com.

miracle on quackenbos street

As some of you may know, every closet in our house is wallpapered with strange brown stained wallpaper, circa 1940s. It's gross. It depresses me. But, since it's in the closets it hasn't really been a priority. Especially because we've been scratching our heads, trying to figure out the best way to get rid of it.

We have a wallpaper steamer, which we bought to tackle the equally nasty wallpaper border in our living room (see here for those details). But, frankly, I've been afraid to try it because I've been afraid that it won't work. And if it didn't work... well, who knows what we'd do!

But last night, we decided to give it a go. We realized that there was absolutely, positively no way that we were hanging all those cute and clean baby clothes in that nasty closet. And, wouldn't you know it... it worked! One blast with the steamer, and the wallpaper literally melted off the wall. So, pretty soon, we'll have a cleaned out baby closet as well as a newly painted hall closet. Stay tuned for pictures.

Keep sweeping, Martha

PS - Welcome to the world Baby B! We are so excited you are finally here! Wishing k&d all the best as they embark on this exciting adventure!

Watched Switch.