It's ON when this boy comes out!

One of the hardest things to deal with being pregnant with a toddler (that is not being physically pregnant with a toddler inside, but being pregnant and chasing a toddler around the house at the same time!) is my absolute lack of ability and energy to take on things that sound outright fun. You know, like the crazy projects I take on throughout most of the year.

I have to lend props to my hubby this pregnancy who has helped maintain my sanity by doing projects for me that normally he wouldn’t be given the chance to do. I tend to get bright ideas, bounce them off him, and get to working on them before he contributes. While he is great about doing the things I ask him to do, they typically get done in his timing, not my rush-rush get it done so I can enjoy it in a jiffy type of timing! And, I might add, I think he finds it entertaining to let me do all the work while he rolls his eyes (then is pleasantly pleased I might add, at the outcome of my labor) at my crazy ideas. It's part of why he loves me :)

Take for example, Nathaniel’s new dresser! Matt’s oldest brother Pete and his wife Ashley had an old dresser sitting in their garage that they offered to give us when I shared with Ashley that I was hunting for an inexpensive solution for Nathaniel so we could put his old dresser (low, with changing pad) in baby Noah’s room. I saw that thing and wanted to get my paws on it that day so I could start sanding and painting!

To Matt’s benefit, he did go and get the dresser within a week or so…but then it sat in the garage for quite a while. He sanded it, then began painting it weeks later (the first coat anyhow). Then he waited a couple of more weeks and did another coat (you see how this is going). Meanwhile, I can’t just go into the garage and start fuming my lungs with spray-paint and lacquer being pregnant (however tempting it was).

That said, as soon as that last coat of paint was dry I begged him to bring the drawers inside along with some sandpaper so I could lightly distress his masterpiece. Painfully he did, then took the "destoyed paint job" back out to the garage for a coat of lacquer. He hauled the piece upstairs to Nathaniel's room a few days later and I have to say, I la-la-love how the piece turned out! I’m so inspired by this makeover that I’m looking forward to garage sale season to see what kind of treasures I can buy on the cheap and refinish (totally doable with a newborn and toddler, right?!). Right now, I'm not sure if our existing furniture is safe! (I'm thinking dining room set makeover soon)

Without further adieu, here is my new baby:

 Okay...this is my "real" baby. I think he likes his new dresser!

Another project Matt has worked on by himself, for the most part, this pregnancy is our chicken coop! It seems ridiculous, even to me, to say out loud how excited I am about getting chickens this spring. Ask me again a few months after we get them but for now I’m elated! Our future chicks have even been subject of crazy pregnancy dreams (okay, that sounds even stranger out loud). Nonetheless I’m so grateful Matt worked on this for us! I was able to help with some of the fencing but mostly acted as general contractor when it came to brainstorming things like how it should look and to help troubleshoot how we should incorporate things like an antique window from his grandmother’s house, where the egg collection access should be, how the doors should swing, etc.

We (Matt) still have a little bit of work to do before this project is wrapped up but I’m so pleased with his craftsmanship. A bit of the cedar siding to add yet, a roost to construct for the inside, a bit of soil to add under the gate to reduce a gap, and a planter to add for additional aesthetics and we’ll be in business. Chicks begin to be delivered to the feed store the last week of February so I’m hopeful we’ll be able to get the breeds we want by the time spring rolls around.

It’s snowy today but I wanted to get a picture up of the coop from the outside so far. We added the coop to the side of our shed so it has solid walls the chickens can be locked into at night, along with a good sized run for them to be let out into during the day.

Here is my sweet hubby working on the access doors we (he) built in this fall (they're on the far side, inside the run, that you can't see from the photo above).

So, a newborn is joining our clan very soon and while I'm delighted and excited to meet the little guy, my mind is racing with all the things I want to do but have had to put off. Seriously, can I handle planting a garden this year? I'm not sure yet, but I have been browsing seed catalogs and have been trying to figure out things like whether it would be beneficial for me to rip out a stretch of rose bushes I have to make room for an asparagus patch. I'd also love to spend some time and energy working on decorating our house too. To be honest, it's quite bland..and Pinterest has been more than inspiring for a few projects I'd like to take on inside. 

All my ideas are probably just dreams to take on right now, but they're keeping me occupied while I wait for Noah, and mostly, energy, so I'll keep dreaming on!