You got beat by a pregnant girl

A few weeks ago, I signed me and Hubs up for a 5k. I have been running 3 miles at least twice a week for this whole pregnancy (well, I was running farther and more often before this kid became legit GINORMOUS and decided that I don't really need my full and complete lung function anymore), so it didn't seem like a big deal. I like races, I love love love "free" t-shirts and I was going to miss two races I really loved doing last year (the Drake Half and Dam to Dam), so I decided to treat myself.

Hubs and me, pre-run, complete with giant, swollen preggo face.

The course was pretty flat and it was a super amazing sunny, 60 degree day - perfect for getting all kinds of sweaty and not finishing last.

You see, Hubs and I, we may be just a little competitive. Not with each other, but with all you people. You people with your fancy running shorts and tight abs and normal-sized ankles. And you people who are running with a crazed dog or two cranky toddlers in a stroller. We were not about to let all of you beat us. A few of you, OK. Most of you, yes. But ALL of you? Oh hells to the flippin' no, man.

This is what 37 minutes of running does to a woman who is 37 weeks with child.

I made the mistake of not warming up, so we had to walk the first few minutes. Throngs and throngs of people passed us, because who doesn't start a run by running? Hubs got nervous. I remained confident that we would not literally be the last people to finish.

My race goals: Don't finish dead last, don't pee my pants. Simple as that.

We started running and didn't stop to walk until about mile 2, when my darling bump got a little fiesty. One block later and we were back to running. We spotted a very nice woman who I had chatted up while in line for the bathroom pre-race. She had been sweet and talked to me about her grandkids. 

I decided she was the person I had to beat.

Hubs (who literally could have sped-walked and kept pace with my running), was on board with this plan and we kicked it into high gear (you know, for a lady ready to pop). My frenemy wasn't going down without a fight, though, and we passed each other a few times in the final mile before I went all out while she took a walk break. BOOM.

We beat that lady (and a surprising amount of other people!) by at least two minutes.

Disclaimer: even if I had finished dead last, I would still be proud as heck that I ran. I know I'm incredibly lucky to have had such a healthy pregnancy so far and to be able to still do what I love. It's a great, great thing and not something I take for granted. I just....am a competitive weirdo.

Not too shabby for a girl who (on numerous occasions in elementary school) would fake asthma attacks to get out of the Mile Run. 

Bathroom Bump Up: I Stop Being Lazy

Thanks to the nearly-ready human I've been carting around, I managed to dodge helping redo our bathroom. And I truly, honestly felt horrible about it. DIYing is never actually fun in of itself, it's just fun because it gives me and Hubs and excuse to hang out, make progress and eat basically unlimited Jimmy Johns. As a DIY team of one, Hubs got the short end of the stick, especially because this project has dragged on and on and on.

So, this week, with dust settled, heavy lifting out of the way and fumes finito, I decided to roll up my sleeves and park my buns in the tub to help install tile. 

Sausage fingers with caked-in grout to prove I was involved!

Obviously, as the more precise one in our pair, Hubs was in charge of cutting tile to size while I grouted and hung sheets of the subway tile.

After that set for 24 hours, it was grout time!

Another 24 hours and we again had fixtures.

Now, we're patching that cracked plaster around the edges of the tile and slapping on some more paint. Then, we can hang the shower curtain and finally bathe in our own home again! Can I get an amen?

Beyond that, we're just a few decorative touches away from my favorite thing - a good old fashioned Before and After blog post!

Bathroom Bump Up: You thought we were done?

You may have noticed I've been pretty silent on the subject of our bathroom makeover. We did the floor, the walls, the counter and the toilet - all with joyful hearts and one eye on our wallet and sanity. Ok, maybe "we" is a gross overstatement and "joyful" could be completely off-base, but you know. Hubs. Hubs did shit. And we have a prettier bathroom than we used to. And we spent a little money as possible.

But, one major eyesore loomed. You see, kindly reader, previous bathroom renovators failed to seal the grout in the shower, resulting in horribly disgusting grout lines that refused to budge no matter what manner of noxious chemicals I poured on them and how much grease my elbows did put forth.

Gag.

The original plan was to do a quick and dirty fix - scrape out the old grout and slap on some new, white, sealed grout.

That plan was all good and well until we realized that gol dangit, we ride by the motto Bigger, Better, Best 'round these parts and no quick and dirty fix would do for us. Especially because scraping all those grout lines promised to be only dirty and not very quick.

So, we're re-tiling the whole thing. For an extra $170, it seems like a good plan since many of the original tiles were cracked anyway. Plus, that soap holder is NASTY.

So, last weekend while I napped, Hubs demo'd.

Then, he rebuilt.

Last night, tiling began, but was short-lived because our tile nippers kept breaking. This is a Very Bad Thing when it's 8:00 on a work night and you're surrounded by wet grout. Luckily, I can get to Home Depot and back in under 30 minutes, so all was not lost.

T-minus two days until we can again shower here. Until then, it's hobo showers and abnormally frequent trips to the gym for all!

Dishless

Last summer, we took advantage of Direct TV's deal where you can cancel service for up to six months. And we survived the long, dark winter with just Hulu and local stations.

Well, it took paying just one full bill for us to start tossing around the idea of dropping the dish for real. Forever.

$100 per month just for me to mindlessly zone out to Snooki and Jwoww once a week and binge on Bar Rescue marathons on Sundays just isn't a good value.

So, we took the plunge and as of midnight tonight, it's all over.

Now, we aren't total hippies, I mean, we love brainless entertainment as much as the next dudes. Between a Hulu Plus subscription and the recent discovery of the Amazon Prime app on the Wii, we'll still be able to unwind with some shows, but without feeling like we are paying for 200 channels we never watch.

Are you already getting your TV this way? Did I just blow your mind or am I like super behind the times? It's hard to tell.

Quittin' time, boss

I've been a 100% work-from-home employee for about a month now. It's been an adjustment, for sure. I love not having a commute and not having to jam my up-40-pounds self into respectable business attire for 8 hours a day, but the lack of face-to-face interaction with real humans is kind of a bummer.

Luckily, I have two feline office mates who are more than willing to get all up in business and make sure my work-life balance stays balanced.

My office manager, Trip

They are used to getting dinner right at 5:00 and about 4:30, they start hovering at my desk. Climbing in my lap, face-swiping the monitor - anything to let me know it's almost time to close up shop.

They are seriously smarter than they look. And super punctual.

Next week, I'm going to start scheduling at least one day each week where I work outside of the house because if I don't, I'm pretty sure neighbor kids will start horrible rumors about that "hermit cat lady." Which. Is not my preferred reputation.

Local peeps: Any suggestions for fun spots where a gal can get her WiFi on?

Oh, hey. We're ready for a newbie.

Days are flying by me so fast I can barely even fathom that in 5-9 weeks, I'll be carting around a brand new person - in my arms and not my gut. Luckily, said new person will have the most pimped out room in the house.

The lounging side of the room. We got the glider from Homemakers because big-box baby store gliders are the ugliest things I'd ever seen.

Admittedly, the least fun corner of the room. But how much do you love the woodland storage bins? They make my world so happy.

My masterpiece. Stenciled from a projected image of our wedding invitations, the tree is going to be reason number one I'll cry when we sell this house.

The nursery is about 95% ready for inhabitation. The drawers are piled high with washed cloth diapers and jammies, and the closet is organized and brimming with all kinds of totally weird shit like nipple pads and cabinet locks that will definitely make me feel stupid someday.

Baby BBB is going to have one pampered heinie.

These PJs are so tiny!

Honestly, I don't really know what to even do with half of this stuff.

 Toys and blankets. These, I know how to use.

All that is left is some art on the walls, which we'll get to sometime in the next month or so. Until then, focus 'round these parts is on soaking up the beauty of sleeping in late, not feeling guilty about having three types of ice cream in the freezer, and watching Game of Thrones without worrying that we may be traumatizing an impressionable young mind.

The view from here.

Working underground

Of the three projects we've been chipping away at lately (bathroom, baby room, home office), I'm so excited to say that one is totally done! The home office is all set up and has already seen some major productivity out of this gal.

So, I'm the world's worst DIY blogger in that I was sure I had before pictures of this basement corner when it was the fooseball table's home, but I was sorely mistaken. So, you get a screen shot from our basement before and after video:

And here is the office, all gussied up. I painted a chalkboard wall, got a pretty sweet new desk at Costco, an office chair and (thanks to my amazing co-workers), a Scentsy warmer because this space is still shared with an aquatic turtle and three litterboxes.

Work is so much more fun in a pretty space, don't you think?

The only downside to this home office gig is that the fooseball table had to go. There just wasn't room, so it's heading back to St. Louis, where I can visit it and blow people's minds with my fooseball intensity (not skill, just enthusiasm).

One down, two to go!

Baby blizzard

All has been seemingly quiet on the Bigger, Better, Best front for a few weeks. We ditched the never-ending horror that is living among three in-progress re-dos and headed east then south for some baby shower action.

First up, was a brunch soiree in Chicago. Hubs' mom went all out, decorating each table with a different kids' book, which was adorable.

I parked myself at the Curious George table, mostly because the candy favors there were runts and if there is one thing I love, it's sugar shaped like fruit. Sneaky candy!

There was also a Pete the Cat table, in homage to our crazy cat person-ness.

Can't beat a classic - Goodnight, Moon.

And Berenstein Bears!

My parents came out for the bash, too. I donned the belt to keep up my end of the bargain of being the most pregnant lady at the party.

We played pinned the pacifier on the baby and each person had to choose a pink or blue blindfold based on what they think baby is going to be. The girl votes edged out, but only by one vote.

Next up was St Louis, where the greatest appetizer ever:

 A giant soft pretzel heralding the impending arrival of my first-born. Seriously perfect.

The crowd went wild while we opened presents.

Can't you just hear us going "Oooooo!" as we opened this card saying a bike trailer was on it's way to our place? Psyched to cart around that little homie!

And my dad went for the gold and gave Hubs the shirt he wore the day I was born. He even wrote a classic Papa BBB poem to immortalize the moment. Want to make a pregnant lady cry? This is how you do it.

What dries happy tears better than hot chocolate? I enjoyed the basic version while most other guests spiked theirs with tons of fun add-ins. 

The whole BBB clan. Holla!

Of course, in addition to hanging out with our nearest and dearest, we accumulated a hell of a lot of baby gear. Now that the room is nearly ready, it's time to organize and decorate. Get excited!

Bathroom Bump-Up: In which we reflect

Originally, we bought a pre-framed mirror at Home Depot for $30 with the intention to hang it in the space between the beadboard trim.Sadly, we failed to account for one measly half inch and the mirror hung so low, it overlapped the tile backsplash.

So, we set about making our own framed mirror. We got a mirror cut to size at Lowes and then Hubs decided that adding more beadboard would be the easiest way to get the mirror to lay flat against the wall and not sit at an angle as it hung from plaster to beadboard.

There was much measuring and mathing.

I'm thankful everyday that this flannel-clad man is my husband, but especially when projects like this require extreme precision.

I think you can see him thinking in this picture. We secured the beadboard with a bajillion nails.

Then, it was time to hang the mirror. We busted out the construction adhesive and Hubs got to work making the beadboard a cozy home for the mirror to hang.

A scientist and an artist, Hubs never ceases to amaze.

I love when we can hide cats in our DIY projects.

And then, a moment of sheer terror.

Construction adhesive sets up pretty quick, but we still had to fight gravity to keep it level while we hung the bottom trim to keep it steady.

The rest of the trim went up lickety split.

And I finally can apply my hot rollers in the bathroom and not the dining room.

It's coming together!

If our DIY graffiti tag is cats, what's yours?