Well, my due date was Wednesday and still no baby. I know that this is very common (especially for first-time moms) and am not too surprised, but it really would have been very nice if she had come as scheduled, especially since it was Josh’s birthday and all he really wanted was a baby. In an unexpected turn of events, however, I found out that my midwife is out of town until Sunday night and I’ve never met the backup doctor, so I am really hoping that I don’t go into labor until Monday. Monday would be nice, though. After a relaxing weekend and before my mom comes. Hear that, baby? Please come Monday.
Until then, we are trying to enjoy as many low-key, non-contraction-producing activities as possible. Out with the long walks, in with relaxing laps around a (borrowed) pool. It has been ridiculously hot here in northern FL, so anything that doesn’t involve a/c or large bodies of water is officially a Bad Idea. I think we’re going to go spend some time at the movies this afternoon…doesn’t that sound lovely? Comfy seat + dark air-conditioned room + distraction = the ideal way to pass the time. I don’t even feel guilty spending the money since who knows when we’re going to go to the movies again.
As you might have guessed, my nesting urges — which have never been as strong as I’ve heard other women describe – seem to be running low at the moment. I’m supposed to want to scrub the bathroom sink with a toothbrush instead of relaxing, right? I did manage to get some more work done in the nursery before the lethargy hit, however. These are a few photos of its current state, which is still not quite final.
It’s a little hard to see, but I labeled each of the dresser drawers using pretty Martha Stewart labels (and an ugly black sharpie…didn’t think that through!) since I figured that husband’s chances of successfully changing and dressing the baby are much higher if he doesn’t have to pull out all nine drawers in the process. I was all ready to start on the curtain the other day when I realized that we somehow lost the curtain rod mounting gear during our last move so I need to get a new one. Sigh. Hopefully I will pick up a new rod and finish the project today or tomorrow since the ”hole in the wall” look is a little annoying.
This is the painting that I’ve been trying so hard to finish before baby comes. It doesn’t look like much, but it’s actually the culmination of a four month saga and about 10 coats of paint. It all started when husband read (and loved) The Little Prince and began a fantastically complicated drawing for the baby on a whiteboard in his classroom. It was full of stars and asteroids and special symbols that he developed through discussions with his omnibus students and which they then started drawing on all their papers. When I was thinking about art for the baby’s room, the first idea that came to mind was to take his whiteboard drawing and turn it into a big painting. I worked on some sketches for a while and then drew my final composition on the canvas and painted the background (you can see it in this photo). I didn’t get any farther before we moved, however, so the canvas then sat in the baby’s room until two weeks ago when I decided that I ought to at least try and finish since who knows when I’m going to have the time to paint again. By this time, however, I had changed my mind about the project and wanted to do a collage. Initially I wanted to paint the collage paper myself (I even managed to finish 4 or 5 pieces) but ran out of steam and decided to use National Geographic photographs instead. So I primed over my old painting, applied three coats of blue (the first was the wrong color), bought a bunch of old NGs, and spent a few days happily clipping and cutting and pasting my pieces together. And then I arranged them on the canvas.
And I hated it.
It took a little while for me to explain to husband how it was wrong, and in the end all I can say is that it was just too busy. I don’t go in for a lot of popular baby decor, but I do like the idea that a baby’s room is restful and calming. Simple. Which was not at all what the collage looked like. So I scrapped the idea and decided that I should do a painting after all. I primed over my dark blue background, applied two coats of light blue, and started on an acrylic painting.
Four hours later, I hated it too.
At this point I had put a lot of hours (and tears) into the project and was wondering whether I should keep trying on principle or just give up. I decided to give it one more shot using the same contact paper stenciling technique that I used on the bird wall (remember that?), since I was still pretty happy with the way it looked. So I applied yet another coat of primer, took out my scissors and contact paper, and started cutting again. And this is the way it turned out.
The scene is the one where the Prince leaves his asteroid by harnessing a flock of birds that “happen to be flying by.” I really love the imagery and thought it fit well with the rest of the bird-ish nursery, so I added some of husband’s special asteroids and called it good. Not quite what I originally had in mind, but at least I managed to FINISH. Hah!
As I was working on the painting I remembered that I had ordered some Julia Rothman wallpaper samples from Hygge and West a while back and checked to see if any of them fit my color scheme. The piece above the bookshelf had the perfect combination of green, blue, and white and happened to be just the right size for a frame I already had, so it went on the wall. I think I may paint the frame blue eventually, but it’s okay for now. Hygge and West has just started selling wallpaper by the yard, so I think I’m going to get a yard of the same stuff and use it to cover a new shade for the lamp on the changing table. The brown is just too strong and I haven’t found a replacement I like — a wallpaper’d lampshade should be pretty easy, right?
The ottoman is also new, a happy Goodwill find. The color’s not perfect but the price was right and I am pretty positive that I am going to want to put my feet up during all those late night nursing sessions. Since the painting ended up being light blue instead of navy that stripey rug really stands out to me now…I’m not sure if it’s going to stay in this room, but I haven’t made up my mind yet. I did order a mobile to go over the crib (this one — the seller is totally sweet and agreed to a partial trade for some prints from my shop) that has dark blue in it and might balance it out.
Of course, all of this obsessing about the baby’s room is a tad ironic since she’ll be sleeping in a bassinet in our room for a while. But it’s so hard to NOT decorate her space, even when I know that it won’t really matter at first. It makes me so happy to peek through the doorway and see her bed and her chair and her painting.
Come soon, little baby…the only thing missing is you!
