Confessions Of A Scrapaholic

Time to Prioritize

I consider myself a pretty organized and prepared person, but there are times that I wonder what on earth I am thinking. For instance, 99% of the time I end up packing at midnight the night before a trip because I find all sorts of things that I need to get done before I pack. The thing is, they are never things that need to be done. Things like cleaning out the refrigerator. Is that really necessary? Not really.

As it turns out, I am doing the exact same thing preparing for Eden's arrival. Do you know what I spent last night doing? Redesigning Zoë's blog. It's all I could think about. Why? I have no idea. You would think that I would have spent that time doing something actually useful like get the nursery ready, but nope. Before I started this post I got an email from Shutterfly announcing their new "Year in Review" Photobook and immediately thought, "I should do that tonight! Maybe I can even do 2007 while I am at it...."

See? Craziness. (Although you must admit, that book looks pretty awesome.)

The other thing I had to do, baby or no, was make this for my laundry room. Cathy Zielske created something similar for her bathroom and I fell in love with it immediately. This is sooo me, and was super easy (once I found some clip art I liked.) It was all I could do to stop myself from making one for every room of my house.  This definitely falls under the "need to" category, especially since I had to make a trip to IKEA for the frame.

OK, now back to the point of my post. Since I seem to be having trouble prioritizing, I am making a list of things to do before the baby comes in a week and a half.

• Sterilize bottles and pump components
• Pack for the hospital
• Organize hang/fold baby clothes
• Paint Zoë's family tree mural (yes, that is a need)
• Finalize plans with Marie (Zoë gets to have a sleep over with Marie the night before the baby comes because we are leaving so early in the morning for the hospital...5am!)
• Harass our builder so that he comes and repairs the doorbell and Kelly's bathroom cabinet
• Order a few weeks worth of meals from Dinner's Ready
• Prepare address labels for baby announcements
• Mail baby gift to our friends
• Encourage Kelly to hang the venetian blinds in our room and the girl's rooms
• Order valance and diaper holder for the nursery
• Laundry
• Organize laundry room

It's not too bad really, totally doable. Which is how I usually end up frantically running around at the last minute, because I think, "I don't have that much to do, I should (insert completely useless task here.)"

Good Things

I have been compiling a list of "Good Things" in my head during the last few weeks to share on my blog. Originally each of them were supposed to get their own post, but I'm starting to get sore and tired, so blog time has been turning into nap time lately. Wouldn't it be cool if you could store up your sleep to fend off impending sleep deprivation? I think so. Until then, I am going to savor every nap and every solid night sleep that I get during the next two weeks. Two weeks from today Miss Eden will make her debut. Two weeks. That is only fourteen days. Yikes!

Good Thing #1: Tom Cruise in Tropic Thunder
The only reason I even went to see that stupid movie was because we had a free sitter (my mom) and Kelly wanted to watch it. The movie itself was mediocre at best. Normally I would say don't waste your money, but Tom Cruise's performance made the entire movie worth seeing. I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard. Seeing him dance and the end was hi-larious! I looked everywhere online to post a clip for you, but they have all been removed. Trust me, it is beyond funny. Tom Cruise may have actually redeemed himself.

Good Thing #2: Scotch-Brite Cook Top Cleaner
If you have a flat top stove then this is a must have. I hope Scotch-Brite makes millions off of this handy little invention. We bought a flat top stove for our townhouse and it looked dirty from the first time we used it. Even if water boiled over it would burn onto the "elements." I tried everything to get the surface clean and nothing worked. Enter Scotch-Brite Cook Top Cleaner. It is fantastic. You just put the little pad on the scrubber and go to town. Our stove looked brand new.

Good Thing #3: Etsy
Just in case you haven't heard about Etsy I thought I would share. It is the online destination to find all sorts of handmade goodness: jewelry, crafts, art... you name it, you can probably find it on Etsy. Without lead! Hehehe. Most recently I bought a camera strap, some cute pendants, some vinyl wall art, and some contact cards. I love that I can find all sorts of unique art and support a small business at the same time. I do have one question though. Does anybody know how to pronounce the name? I have heard it as both Eh-tsy and Eee-tsy. I have no idea.

Good Thing #4: Betty Crocker's Warm Delights
Three words: Mmmmm, Mmmmm, Good. Kelly brought some of these little guys home the other night. My first thought was, "Really?" But you know what? They are awesome. In 35 seconds you can have your own little dessert. You just add 1 TBSP + 1 tsp of water and stir, then microwave. In fact, I am thinking the individual servings are brilliant instead of cheesy, because otherwise I would probably eat an entire pan of it. They are that good. I don't even like chocolate and the Molten Caramel Cake (think caramel brownie) is one of the best things I have ever eaten in my life. Yummy!

Good Thing #5: Magic Nuudles
Magic Nuudles may be one of the coolest craft supply/toy developed in years. I found them at JoAnn's last week by accident. They come in a all different colors, are made of cornstarch and stick together when you wet them. (Just touch them to a damp sponge, don't dip them in water.) You can build all sorts of fun projects with them and they aren't messy at all. Zoë had a great time building a rainbow with them today. (And our new nanny, another good thing). You could even eat them if you wanted to, but I can't imagine that they would taste fabulous.

Good Thing #6: Spending a Girl's Day with Zoë
You can read all about our that on our family blog, HERE.

Good Thing #7: Bloglines
I have read about Bloglines on a few blogs over the past few months and thought I would give it a try. It is fantastic!!! I can't believe I waited so long! The only upside/downside is that now I don't spend hours checking blogs anymore. I just check my Blogline and see who has updated. Easy peasy! That is also why you don't see a "Favorite Blogs" section on my blog anymore. I don't have to click down the list to see who has posted. (You may need to refresh your browser to see the newly redesigned blog.)

I am sure I have forgotten to mention some good things (I blame pregnancy brain). I'll post them when I think of them. Meanwhile, if you have come across some good things, please share! I do love to shop. :)

One Happy Mommy

Ever since I found out I was having another little girl I have been so excited to dress them alike. I can hardly wait. And the best part? Neither can Zoë. We shopped at Gymboree online together this afternoon and picked out all sorts of cute matching outfits for them to wear. They are going to look so cute! Wanna see?

Yes, these are in fact summer clothes. I am buying ahead for next year. Gymboree is having their Circle of Friends sale right now, 30% off of your total order (including sale items.) The coupon code is GYMFRIEND and is good until August 24th. Oh, and you can also earn Gymbucks with your order. You can't beat that.

And there you have it. My little bit of enabling for the day. Happy coordinated shopping!

Twelve on the Nineteenth

1. Zoë and I enjoyed a very healthy breakfast of pastries at Seattle's Best.

2. We spent the morning putting up flyers for our lost cat.

3. Zoë picking a dandelion bouquet.

4. Victory! Archimedes stuck twenty five feet up a tree, two blocks away from our house.

5. The master bath tub, aka Zoë's swimming pool. Do you like our lovely window treatment? What you don't see in the picture is our glass shower on the other side of the tub that would give our neighbors a lovely show each time we decided to bathe. Thankfully our venetian blinds are arriving tomorrow. Woo Hoo!

6. Zoë and Dan, "The Cat Rescuer."

7. My Fred Flinstone feet. At least I have a nice pedicure, right? I forgot to mention that I updated my pregnancy journal if you would like to hear more about my feet. Or baby stuff. Either way. ;)

8. Lesson learned on the 12th: Don't stand of the metal B emblem on the door mat in bare feet unless you want your feet branded. Ouch!

9. One of Zoë's arts projects from summer camp...post-haircut.

10. Zoë's disaster of a room before she cleaned it up and made it "Spiffy."

11. Dinner.

12. Zoë's complete collection of Backyardigans. She has been saving up her responsibility gold coins for months to buy them all.

* * * * *

I took these pictures last week on the 12th, but never got around to actually posting them. Now that my laptop is back in tip top shape, I am back in digital action. It would have been cool to take eight pictures on 08-08-08 but I didn't think of that until a few days later. Dang! What I really need to do is get my 20D unpacked and get some good pictures, but for now my little Elph will have to do.

Do you know what the worst part is? I am registered for Barbara Carroll's Photography 101 class at Big Picture Scrapbooking right now and haven't read a single lesson. The class started a week before we moved and needless to say, there have been other things occupying my time. I really want to take some time and play with my camera, especially before Eden makes her debut. Maybe this weekend...

Things That Go Bump in the Night

Getting used to sounds in a new house takes some time. I never used to be a light sleeper until I had Zoë, now I hear everything. It could also be that I am a bit twitchy ever since the break-in at Nana's house a couple years back.

Now if that weren't bad enough, when we moved into our new house Kelly told me he wanted new locks. I was thinking that was a bit extreme. Re-keying, sure. But new locks? Then he told me all about lock bumping. Like I am not paranoid enough. How have I never heard of this before? You must click on the link and watch the video.

We had new security system installed last week. It took TWO DAYS. The installers were the most polite and kind men I have ever met in my life, but the poor guys had no clue what they were doing. Kelly had to tell them how to program the security system. They were very impressed with him. Personally, I don't take that as a good sign when the client is teaching the "expert" how to do their job. Yikes! So tomorrow some experienced security specialists will be here to finish the system. One more thing to check off my pre-baby list. Whew!

Now that I have completely freaked you out, let's move on to a more happy and scrap related topic, shall we? Has anybody seen the new issue of Simple Scrapbooks? Well, I've got a layout in there! They selected a few of my layouts for the next two issues (back when I actually had time to scrap...) Keep in eye out in the next couple issues of Digital Scrapbooking Magazine as well.

Alrighty, I am off to prepare for our Summer Olympics Play Date tomorrow. It has been 90 degrees in Seattle for the past four days and guess what the forecast is for tomorrow? 68 degrees and rain. It just figures. That's OK though, I welcome any break from the heat. I have a few indoor game ideas and some fun crafts. I'll make sure to share pictures soon.

Weird Photo of the Day

Ok, so this isn't the best photo but I was trying to be stealthy while I photographed this crazy woman. So what are you seeing exactly? She brought her THREE dogs with her to Home Depot and was giving them a drink of water out of her cup. Dog people are one thing, but I think this lady ranks right up there with my ex-MIL who had SIX dogs. Good grief. I am posting this from my cool new iPhone. Hopefully it looks alright. It is pretty cool to be able to post from anywhere. Now if I could get my email to sync up correctly I'd be set.

Mmmmmm, Oil Change Smell

I have a totally weird pregnancy symptom right now. I love the smell of gas. Love it. I love walking into our garage and just smelling. You know that lawn mower gas smell? Or the smell when you are filling up your car? Normally it gives me a headache, but right now I can't get enough of it. So at this moment I am sitting at Jiffy Lube while my car gets an oil change and enjoying the lovely aroma. Totally bizarre, I know. At least I don't want to eat dirt. I hear some pregnant women crave dirt.

I usually save all the baby talk for my pregnancy journal, but I wanted to share my latest purchases and get some advice from my digital mommy friends. I have been having so much fun the last few days stocking up on baby gear. I kept most of Zoë's baby things but there are some new gadgets out there that I could not resist. I had to buy the cool crib sheets and baby blankets that my friend Jenn recommended. How cool are those? Instead of a bassinet I chose a multi purpose play yard. We will get so much more use out of this, and it will match our new bedroom decor. (Yes, I think about these things). I also just bought a pretty diaper bag. I went for durable and efficient with Zoë (and honestly, the diaper bag/backpack is in perfect condition) but this time around I wanted something pretty. This is my last baby and I am going totally girly this time around. Let's just hope my sweet husband doesn't look at the credit card bill this month...

Now for my questions. Have you heard of any other revolutionary baby gear that I must have? I have about a month left and so we are getting down to crunch time. (Today I am on a mission to go through all of Zoë's old clothes and wash/sort them.) I am specifically looking for pump recommendations. I pumped with Zoë, and while the unit I had worked very well it beeped during the entire process. It sounded like a semi truck was backing up in our house constantly. I am looking for a quiet model but haven't been able to find any information online. Everything I find is about specifications and usage recommendations, not noise level. Go figure.

So there you have it! Look at me, posting TWO days in a row. Who knows? Maybe I will post again tomorrow and set some sort of Maegan blogging record. Hehehe. Have a good day!

Hello, My Name is Maegan

I thought I might need to introduce myself since it has been oh, about a month since I posted. Honestly, though reading about someone packing and then unpacking can't be terribly interesting anyway. There is most definitely a light at the end of the tunnel. The basement (future man room and Kelly's office) have not been touched since the poor guy has been working like a dog, but most of the other rooms are 95% unpacked. He actually slept at his office on Wednesday night and got home around 5am on Friday morning. Good grief! But, his met his software deadline so all is well.

Our townhouse went on the market on Friday, which is very exciting. I spent the last two weeks over there while Zoë was at summer camp getting things ready. I must have been a vision. Picture an eight month pregnant woman crawling around on her hands and knees painting molding. Kelly thought I was completely insane, but if I were buying a house I would want scuff free molding and walls. I can't even blame that crazy behavior on the nesting because I have always tended to be a slight perfectionist...

You know what I realized? I never posted pictures of our townhouse after we finished all of our renovations last winter. Duh. That I blame on baby brain. Here are some photographs that the were taken for our marketing. I will say this, our townhouse never looked this good while we were actually living in it. We hired amazing stagers/interior designers to come in and help us get everything ready. The majority of the furniture you see is ours, but in a totally different location. It looks amazing though. I was so impressed that I hired them to help me decorate our new house. That is going to be fun.

This week is my last week of free time for about two years so I am taking advantage of every moment. Zoë has been attending summer camp for the last four weeks M-Th from 9-Noon and it has been a godsend. I have been able to get so much accomplished, but this last week of camp is going to be me time. There will be no more relaxing/errands while Zoë is in school come next month. By then, I will have a new little person to take care of. It really is amazing how much you can accomplish with a few hours to yourself. This morning after dropping Zoë off I: dropped off donations at Goodwill, washed/vaccumed/filled-up the car, went to the YMCA and canceled our membership. bought a new mailbox, bought Kelly some new shoes, and now I am updating my blog. Nice.

But back to the me time. Last Friday I had the best pedicure of my life. It is the pedicure by which all others will be judged. You should absolutely treat yourself to a Gene Juarez Signature Pedicure. Your spa treatment is held in a private room, with soothing music, tea, low lights... They recline you back under a nice blanket with a warm compress over your eyes and make your toes pretty, massage your feet and legs, and dip your feet in paraffin to make them soft. It was heavenly. Two thumbs up.

Next up, some beauty recommendations. I went to Bare Escentuals last week with the intention of buying some of my favorite lip gloss, and walked out with Skin Rev-er Upper, Moisturizer and the Primer Kit for Face & Eyes. I am happy with the moisturizer and Skin Rev-er Upper. I haven't noticed a difference either way in using them, but then seem fine. The Primer Kit though is fantastic. My eyeshadow actually stays on my eyelids now. That has not happened ever. Usually my make-up magically vanishes after about two hours. Where does it go? Very strange. Anyway, that doesn't happen anymore. Everything remains in tact! I didn't know that was possible! So there you go, my product recommendations for the day.