30 Weeks!

Woohoo!  I made it to the 30 week mark!

Thankfully, this has been a fairly easy (if memory serves me correctly!) pregnancy, compared to all the things that could make it horrible.  So, the things I'm grateful for at this 30 week mark:

1. Energy - I haven't been too tired yet, but I'm sure as the last 10 weeks go by, that could absolutely change.  I managed to squeak in a 2.5 mile hike with my husband this weekend, all without a stumble AND I did not die.
   
2. Weight gain - so far, I've managed to keep the weight gain to a reasonable level.  But, admittedly  I haven't been trying too hard.  At my doctor's appointment this week, I am just shy of the "gained 20 lbs" mark.  Sigh.... but thankfully the only place that seems to be ballooning is my stomach.  The tracker-trailer "BEEP BEEP BEEP" noise goes off whenever I make a turn.  But, hey! NO stretch marks so far!
   
3. Outie - So far it hasn't, but I am terrified of my belly button flipping out on me... the situation is being constantly monitored.  I just don't think I can go on if it does flip.  Icky! But, I suppose if it does, I'll have the cleanest belly button ever before it goes back to an innie..... if I have to think of anything positive out of that situation.
   
4. Done with work - my last day of work was July 31, so I'm officially a Stay-at-home-mom (or Kept Woman/Housewife until our daughter gets here)!!!  And the villagers rejoice!  The most common question I got my last few days of work - "What are you going to with all of your free time?".  Ha!  Free time indeed!  I haven't been this worn out in a long time!  I finally tackled all the remaining boxes from my DrH's pillage of his childhood room... we came back with 4 boxes of books!  4 boxes!? I'm stalking him to make sure he reads them all.
   
   But, seriously, in my free time I need to take care of all the organizing things in this new house that I haven't done yet (craft table, linen closet, laundry room.... and on and on and on), PLUS get ready for this little girl.  Truly, if she came tomorrow, I'd have to take myself to the hospital because DrH would need to run to Buy Buy Baby and pick up emergency supplies, including the car seat.  All the nursery has at the moment is a crib (with mattress, at least) and a changing table.  Nothing else.
   
5. Summer heat/AC - I have been so shocked at our North Carolina summer!  It's been rainy (don't have to water the lawn!) and on the "coolish" side.  For North Carolina, that basically means 85 with 80% humidity, but, hey!  Better than 95 with 100% humidity!  But, that being said, I'm still grateful for the AC.

The one thing I'm not super excited about is that I am now in the "can't get comfortable to sleep" phase.  I swear, each night gives me a new challenge of how best to arrange the pillows.  Do I sleep more upright tonight?  Or should I grab a pillow to prop under my knees?  And I'm waking up right at midnight every night.  It actually makes me laugh... a sarcastic laugh.

So yay!  30 weeks!  Technically 10 weeks to go until October 11!

Planners - Making Them Your Own

I’ve always loved purchasing and organizing planners!  I used to be so excited when Back to School time rolled around, because it was time to by another At A Glance planner with a jazzy cover.  I’d spend a day filling it in with several colored gel pens.  Then as soon as school started, I’d fill in all the important test dates, papers, etc. 

Bliss……

Since I haven’t been attached to a class schedule for quite a few years, finding a planner for the adult Katie has been difficult!  I have tried planner after planner…. I usually buy several planners each year, hoping that one sticks.  I’ve also tried going paperless.  But that just doesn’t work.  I enjoy the pen to paper feeling.  I bought a Moleskine® soft cover calendar last year, and I just shocked myself when I realized I’ve had this and USED it for a whole year! 

The last few days I’ve been cruising examples of Moleskine hacks – modifying a Moleskine notebook or planner to be custom to your needs.  There are awesome ideas out there!  I’ve been trying to pin them to my Organizing board on Pinterest.

Just a few from my cruising:

-  Kyla Roma’s blog post takes a Classic Extra Large Moleskine Notebook (with grid paper!) and adds her own weekly pages.  She also describes how she uses it daily, including where she puts to do lists (and clever shading ideas!)

- This is just one blog dedicated to modifying a Moleskine Notebook to be a weekly, “At A Glance” style planner!  Love it!  Even down to the pen recommendation J  Check out how clean the planner looks -http://www.flickr.com/photos/rohdesign/152626650/

- But wait!  Yet another Pinterest Board dedicated to Moleskine Hack ideas!

- I love the price of the Moleskine Volant that this hacker used

- This is perhaps MORE complicated than a SAHM needs (i.e. tab pages and utilizing the GTD system), but this blog has 100 tips!

- And, of course, Moleskine’s own website has a compilation of hacks!

I’ve decided that I don’t need a large scale planner post-retirement, but as a soon-to-be SAHM I still need a planner of sorts.  There are appointments, play dates, and errands that need scheduled.  But, more importantly, I need a place to jot down notes, Blog ideas, to do lists, and maybe grocery shopping or menu ideas. 

Buying a fresh, new Moleskine for my retirement may be the perfect gift to myself!! :)