Nora's Closet (Link)

I posted this on my personal blog, but it technically belongs in this blog too.  My husband and I made a custom closet for our nursery, and it turned out great!  Check it out, if you haven't already... http://thedougs.blogspot.com/2013/01/noras-closet.html

<3 nbsp="" p="">Amanda

Nora's Closet

 We hate the closets in our house.  They aren't very big, and they all have this useless wire shelving that seems to be just randomly placed.  We are gaining a beautiful baby girl, but losing an entire office space that housed a lot of "stuff".  We are also gaining all of the "stuff" that comes with having a baby.  Clothes, toys, books, etc.  We knew something had to be done about the closet.  In fact, it's the one house project that I felt NEEDED to be done before Nora makes her arrival.  So we finally got the nerve to tackle it.

Here is the before... We hated the wire shelving, to bad we didn't get a picture with all the stuff and creative stacking that was involved.

First, I spent a lot of time on Pinterest looking at closet ideas and tutorials.  Doug had some ideas of his own, but I always feel like I have to watch videos and look at tutorials before I make a big decision.  Here are some tutorials I felt were helpful: Shanty-2-Chic, Pick Up Some Creativity,

Spackling all the holes...

We also had to figure out the layout.  The best thing I found on the web was at Easy Closets, a company who does custom closets.  You put in the measurements of your closet and the style of closet (reach-in, walk-in, etc.) and they suggest a design for you.  Then you can play around with it, adding shelves, removing shelves, etc. until you like what you see.  They can then send you a kit to build your custom closet.  But we are better than that.  We don't need a kit!  We can DIY (or DIO?)!  The kit they would have sent would have been nearly $400.  We were able to make our own for a fraction of the cost.  And I think it's even sturdier. 

Painting the closet.  We decided to go with a clean white.  After the paint dried, Doug drew the outline of the closet to show where the support boards would go.  

Buying the supplies.  1x2's for the supports.  We bought two big pieces of MDF board and had them rip it into 14" wide pieces.  Way cheaper than buying the pre-cut particle board, or buying the shelving boards that have the little holes in it. 

Cutting the boards.

He got reprimanded for not wearing safety goggles in the picture above.  Here is a picture to prove that safety is first!

After all the boards are cut.  Good job, Doug!  Sawdust for miles.

We pre-painted the boards.

Putting up the first support board.  Some tutorials say to glue these on, but we just screwed them into the studs.

The top board. 

Adding a shelf and making sure everything is level.

Shelves and support boards in place.  Just needs the vertical board.

All the shelves are in place.  Now we just have to finish painting and add the rods!

Completed but empty!

Amanda filling up the new closet! 

We have had a lot of hand-me-downs given to us, and we put some bins up for all the odds-and-ends. 

Doug did an AMAZING job, and I helped a little too!  The space is so much more useful.  We can fit 3x what we could fit in there before!  I feel much more at ease with things being organized.  We hope to re-do all of our closets soon.  But not too soon, lol! 

All done, except for the doors!!!

21 weeks and a look at Nora

Well, it's been a while since we have posted on this here blog.  I am now 21 weeks along, and everything is going very well.  The other night, Nora gave a kick big enough for Doug to feel!  Now he doesn't just think I'm crying wolf.  

Yesterday we had another ultrasound with the perinatologist.  My dad and Mel came with us this time.  Nora was all curled into a ball, so it was hard to see anything, but the tech was able to measure everything she needed to see, so that's all that really matters.  My favorite part was seeing her "little" feet!  The tech said she had Smurf feet and a fat belly.  

Eleanor's face!  She looks like Jello.

Smurf feet!  :)

How Revealing!

Well, we weren't expecting to know so soon, but we were lucky enough to find out the gender of our little baby!  Aaaannnndd....

It's a GIRL!!!! (Hence Doug's bright pink shirt, purchased exclusively for this event.)

We are so thrilled!  We would have been happy with either gender, but it is so awesome to know!  And we have a name for her! 

Eleanor Fern Standridge

We'll call her Nora for short.  Eleanor means "light", and she has already been a light in some really dark times.  Fern was my great-grandmother's middle name, and the main character in my favorite children's book, Charlotte's Web.

She is a healthy, active girl.  She was scratching her head, kicking her feet, and moving her mouth.   She's already a little chatterbox!

We had to have the ultrasound because I have an M antibody in my blood, which, if it crosses the placenta, can cause the baby to be anemic.  Thankfully, there is not much of it in my blood, so it could likely be a false positive, or not enough to have much of an effect on the baby.  They wanted to do an ultrasound to make sure she is growing and developing properly, which she is!  She weighs 7 oz., and is measuring the right size for how old she is. 

Her little profile.

You can see her cheekbones in this one.  Crazy!

This shows the bones of her leg and foot, as well as her arm and hand.

We can't wait to meet our little girl! 

2nd Ultrasound

We had our 2nd ultrasound last week and everything is looking good!  The baby even danced and waved at us!  For pics and more info, see our other blog, Trials of Trying.

First Ultrasound

Last week we had our first ultrasound.  So cool to hear the heartbeat and see our little blueberry!  Everything looked good, and I ultimately got to get off of my meds (awesome!).  I am due April 11.  Spring baby!  We go in a couple of weeks for our second ultrasound, and then I guess if everything looks good, they'll release us to a "regular" doctor! 

If you'd like to see a more detailed post or catch up on our journey, go to http://trialsoftrying.blogspot.com/. 

Good heartbeat, I guess!

Beanie Baby.  Better keep this in case it is worth something someday.  But I have to keep the tag on.

Baby News! Guess What This Post is About!

Well, it's been 2 1/2 years of waiting, praying, doctors, what-ifs, and heartache.  After all this time, we finally have good news!

Yup, that's right!  We're having a baby!  Thank you all so much for your prayers and support during this time.  It hasn't been easy, but it is definitely worth it.  We are so blessed to be a part of one of God's miracles!

And as per usual, Doug used this as an opportunity to do a mini photoshoot.  Here are some samples of the nerdiness:

Get it?!  Get it?!

I am a legitimate longboarder.  No.

Excitement!

So in love.