I'm starting the countdown.

10 weeks from today I will have baby no. 4 in my arms. How can 10 weeks seem like an eternity, and not nearly long enough at the same time? Being pregnant is so weird.

Every Wednesday until the baby is born, I will share one thing I'm doing to prepare for his arrival. I feel so much more relaxed about it this time around. Maybe that's what 4 does to you?

Today, I am planning his bedding. What do you think, is toile boy-ish enough? What if it is green and paired with a check? I don't know, but it's in the stash so I'm using it anyway.

p.s. I used the same fabric for Oliver's nursery, and he turned out pretty manly.

Excuse me while I gush.

I like to kid Mike and say that I married him for his looks. But really, when we married at the tender age of 21, I kind of did (although I did have a really good feeling about my decision). I knew he was a catch, but I had no idea just how completely lucky I was. The past few months have been hard. Mike has been working long long hours and we haven't seen much of him. I have been consistently amazed at his determination, his ambition, and his ability to leave his work at work. When he is home, he is patient and helpful and kind and makes us all laugh. I'm not sure how he does it. But I am grateful.

Nine years ago today I made my best decision when I married him. I love him now more than ever.

Happy anniversary, honey.

a sunshiny day

Fall is by far my favorite season here in the desert. But every time February comes around, I am tempted to change my mind. We have been enjoying the loveliest weather this week. Today we took advantage of the sunshine and played outside on princess scooters and things. I even attempted to control our weed situation. But I think my effort was too little, too late. Oh well. It just felt good to sit in the sun for a bit.

bitten by the bug at last

Yesterday I went through my fabric stash and made myself a purse that is big enough to double as a diaper bag. Then I made some throw pillows to finish off Oliver's new beds. And I found some fabric to remake the crib bumper for this baby boy. I was serious when I said I couldn't spend any money on the nursery re-do. It's a good thing my stash is in good order.

I was wondering if it was going to happen this time, but I am happy to report that I am now in nesting mode. I love nesting. I love that it makes me do things like inspect every inch of our baseboards for dust. Because our baseboards totally need to be spotless before we bring a new baby home. :)

I'm even gearing up to install the paneling in Oliver's room, with or without Mike. Well, not really. I don't quite have the brawn required for something like that. But I am getting anxious to cross that project off the list. It might not happen for a while, though. Because let me tell you something. Opening a frozen yogurt shop while simultaneously keeping another business afloat keeps a guy busy. I'm hoping he'll be home for dinner sometime in the near future. We miss him.

But the free yogurt is definitely a perk.

If you haven't been to Yodipity yet, the big Grand Opening is this Saturday! I'll see you there!

It takes a lot of oranges to make a gallon of juice.

But freshly squeezed orange juice from my own backyard is just about my favorite thing about living in Arizona. So it's totally worth it.

Plus, I had a really good helper this time. He thought juicing was "fun". I'm so glad.

p.s. Yodipity's pre-opening weekend was a huge success! Thank you! I hope you had a nice time. Don't forget, there's free yogurt for bloggers today through Wednesday. Here are all the details.

We spend a lot of time at Yodipity.

But someone has to try it out, right? Stella is happy to oblige.

Grand Opening details are coming soon. . . I promise.

News

1. My most comfortable gray maternity dress is out of the closet and into rotation. That's not a good sign. It means I've kind of given up on pants.

2. The winner of the beautiful "Be Still" necklace is:

Yay Katie! Send your info to barefootstephanie@gmail.com and I will pass it on to Lisa. Thank you all for entering! Now go to Lisa's site and order something pretty for yourself for Valentine's Day.

3. As of tomorrow, our yogurt shop will be open for business! Stay tuned for all the tasty details.

Be Still

This is my personal mantra.

So when I saw this necklace by Lisa Leonard, I was smitten. Not only is it beautiful, and beautifully crafted, but it is also a constant reminder to me to be still. To slow down. To listen to that still small voice that is inside of each of us. As a mother, I rely on that voice everyday. It is nearly impossible to hear it when we are always hurrying from one thing to the next. And so I try to sit quietly. And to listen.


Don't you love Lisa Leonard? I do. And I'm not even a jewelry person. But her pieces are so perfectly classic and understated and easy to wear. Her teenie tiny initials necklace is another of my favorites. I can't wait to order another charm for mine (But what letter will it be? It's killing me.).

Not only is Lisa super talented, but she's really nice, too. She is offering one of my lucky readers their very own "Be Still" necklace. Do you want in? Then comment on this post before Wednesday night, 11pm MST to enter yourself in the giveaway.

The winner will be announced first thing Thursday morning.

Good luck!

**This giveaway is now closed.**

I have nurseries on the brain.

When my sister moved recently, I was the lucky recipient of her pristine collection of Martha Stewart Baby magazines. They are a treasure. I just love Martha Stewart's people. Don't you?

I have been poring over them, looking for ideas for our new nursery.

I am aiming for something sweet and simple, and of course kind of boy-ish. The only requirements are that I use our existing furniture (including my favorite red crib) and the wall color (a warm neutral from Behr called Oat Straw) cannot be changed (because I don't feel like painting). Oh, and I can't spend any money.

This is why I am not the kind of person who can wait until birth to find out the sex of my baby. There is decorating to be done.

image from Martha Stewart Baby Spring 2001 issue

Welcome February

I am so glad that it's February.

This month Mike and I will celebrate our ninth anniversary (has it really been that long!).

Also this month I am one month closer to delivering this still un-named babe. We went back to the drawing board in the name department. Maybe starting over will help us decide? I hope so.

Last week I was featured on Today's Creative Blog. Can you believe it? I am totally flattered. It is such a fun blog.

And today one of my vintage posts was re-posted by Sarah at Clover Lane. She has wonderfully strong opinions about motherhood. I couldn't agree with her more.

This week I am taking it easy. I feel like I've been running myself a little ragged lately. So today Stella and I are reading books on the couch and putting our feet up.

What do you have planned?


image from better than fine