belly shot :)

Yay for baby growing!  He/she has really popped out this last week, exciting!  I actually have a baby bump!

Diapers!

I really like the idea of using cloth diapers, but know that there will be times when we want to go the disposable route. BUT we want to go easy on the environment, so we were sort of a tricky spot.
I finally decided on gDiapers as our main choice and can't wait to start using them on our little one! gDiapers are very practical bc they combine both cloth and disposable options in a single diaper cover. You simply choose either a biodegradble disposable liner or a cloth liner!
I found some used covers on eBay over the last week and was excited to pick them up. When we find out the gender next week I will start purchasing more as they ate listed on eBay. Is prefer to buy all the covers used as that saves us $ and is much more Ecofriendly since we will be recycling a product that has already been made.  I have added a pic of the ones we have already purchased to show off how cute they are...and I really love the colors they come in. What do you think?

I love these colors, especially the blue.  Blue is probably my favorite gender neutral baby color, 

it goes with everything and is so beautiful and peaceful! 

rainy day productivity

After laying in bed for two hours this morning reading and listening to the rain, I decided to get out of the bed and get something productive done.  I went to work cleaning the kitchen, and reorganizing the pantry, which included making a list of foods that I had in the pantry and freezer so that I could plan some meals for the next couple of weeks.

Probably the most negative aspect of being pregnant for me has been complete lack of energy and motivation for getting anything done around the house.  I'll get maybe one task done a day, and then zone out in my recliner staring at the wall till Steve gets home, at which point I drag myself to the kitchen to make a salad to go with the steak he is grilling for himself and pour myself a bowl of cereal for my own dinner.  Either that or we would eat out.  Pretty lame, especially since I am usually a little bit obsessive about keeping the house clean, organized, and I love to cook and bake.  In the last week or two I have noticed a daily increase of energy in regards to getting house work done, and I am rejoicing in this new development!  Maybe I will be back to my old self just in time to be slowed down by a big baby belly lol.

One of the biggest reasons I have not been cooking at all has been my lack of any idea of what to make for dinner.  That or not knowing what we actually have and going to the store to buy more groceries that we didn't really need just to make one dinner.  So I decided today that I would tackle this problem by making a list of what we have and organizing it into possible meals that I can make without getting any additional groceries.  I'm so excited!  Now all I have to do is run to the store and grab a few extra staples that I don't have to complete some of the recipes/meals I've figured out, and I'm happy to announce that this list is only made of about 7 things (some of which we've been out of for a while, like brown sugar - so wierd!  I always have brown sugar!).

Hope you are having a productive, rainy, Monday!

Meatless Monday!

Today is Meatless Monday for the Harness family (although Steve did have a roast beef sandwich).  When we participate in this nationwide event which happens weekly throughout the country at restaurants, bakerys, and homes, we usually just focus on having a meatless dinner.  Although it will be a 100% meatless Monday for me, since I will not have eaten any meat all day.  I am not a big meat fan since I've been pregnant, so I have no problem with this!  I usually gag down as little meat as possible just for the protein, and then move on the much more pleasant aspects of my meal, such as fruits, veggies, and carbs :).  

Tonight we will be having tomato soup and cornbread, the perfect meal for a rainy day.  What are you having for dinner?

My baby has crabs!

The cutest little crab shoes ever, that is :) Just wanted to share my latest $5 find. I'm learning how to actually find good deals on eBay, yay!

best playlist ever!

So right now I'm listening to a playlist I made last year titled simply, "Fall".  It is so good and has kept me in an especially good mood today while I have cleaned/played on the computer, so I thought I'd share!

1.  The Way I Am, Ingrid Michaelson
2.  Hey Soul Sister, Train
3.  Song for a Winters Night, Sarah McLachlan
4.  Down the Road, Kenny Chesney with Mac McAnally
5.  Song for a Winter's Night, Gordon Lightfoot
6.  Ice Cream, Sarah McLachlan
7.  Grandpa (Tell Me 'Bout the Good Old Days), The Judds
8.  Landslide, Dixie Chicks
9.  Rich Man's Spiritual, Gordon Lightfoot
10.  Turn Me On, Norah Jones
11.  Ain't No Sunshine, Bill Withers
12.  Shelter from the Storm, Bob Dylan
13.  Adia, Sarah McLachlan
14.  Hotel California, Eagles
15.  She, Elvis Costello
16.  Nothing Compares 2 U, Sinead O'Connor
17.  Lullabye, Billy Joel
18.  Kind and Generous, Natalie Merchant

I know it's not fall yet, but I'm ready for it, and it is kind of blustery, so that counts for something, right?!  This is always the time of year when I start to get REALLY excited about fall, then the snow, then the holidays, and I think this year is going to be worse than ever because of the excitement for baby getting here too!

Yellow Brick Road

I made the mistake of going into the Quilt Tree last week when Kelsey was working.  There was just so much cute fabric, I decided to make a quilt for baby, even though it had to be gender neutral since we won't find out the gender until the first week in August (17 days to be exact!).  Kelsey suggested the Yellow Brick Road pattern for the fabric I picked out, and I agreed.  So I bought the fabric on Wednesday, started the cutting and such on Thursday, and finished the entire thing on Friday!  Now it is just waiting to be quilted by my wonderful sister and then there will be the task of hand sewing the binding on.  I can't wait to see how cute it is with the teal striped minky for backing and the rainbow stripe fabric for binding, but it is already pretty cute.

Here's what I got done on Thursday, just waiting for the border now!

And Friday morning, the border was on!  I just love that fabric, it's got owls AND beavers!

And a close up...just a little blurry oops

Anyway, now I'm just waiting on Aug 4th to get here so I can go buy some gender specific fabric to make another one! I love this pattern and it's really good practice for me, as I tend to not pay attention to seam allowance while I'm sewing and wind up with really wonky stuff...Not so with this quilt, it turned out almost perfect!  yay!

Michigan Trip

Okay, I know I promised that I would be updating more, but I actually have a real excuse for my latest absence from posting!  At the end of June I went on a last minute trip to visit my Grandpa in Michigan to keep him company while he was dealing with some health issues.  It was so nice to be back in Michigan at my grandparents house again.  I love that place, so many great memories.  This time it was just me, mom, my Grandpa Wes, and my Uncle Leo.  The entire time I was there I think there was one day that was below 80 degrees for like, one hour.  It was SO hot, especially for a pregnant Alaskan lady!  lol.

Mom and I flew all night on a direct flight to Chicago, without getting much sleep, so we were pretty exhausted when we picked up our rental car in Chicago at 9:00am.  Luckily, we had planned on being to tired to drive all the way to our final destination, so we only had to get to Benton Harbor, MI, just past the Indiana border.  Driving on a crazy busy toll road on the fourth of July weekend didn't exactly help us feel relaxed; it was crazy!  But we eventually made it to the twin cities of Benton Harbor and St. Joseph, and used the last of our energy to visit Lake Michigan and soak up some sun on the beach there.

 Mom with the beach and the lighthouse behind her...(and a thunderstorm rolling in)

Gotta love unexpected beach time! 

Beautiful beach with lots of boat traffic nearby...and Whitney, the whitest person at the beach lol

We slept for about 14 hours then headed off feeling VERY refreshed to Mt. Pleasant.  The drive flew by and before we knew it, we were there!  We had a great week there with Grandpa and Uncle Leo, and got to have a impromptu, miniature family reunion of sorts at a local golf course.

All in all it was a great trip and so good to spend time with family, even if it was for slightly scary reasons!  Happy to say Grandpa is now on the mend and feeling much better!

Dog

So now I will try one with a picture to see if it also works.

I've added a pic of Beau I took last night upon entering my room. He is such a lazy poodle!

This is a test

I just got a new Blogger app on my phone and had trouble with it last night, so I am testing it today when I have more time. Hopefully this works!

PS - I am eating Dean & Deluca Swedish fish....you're jealous aren't you? Lol