A Visit from Mom

My mom flew up to spend a weekend two weeks ago to help me get ready for the baby; and of course I’m delinquent on writing a post about all the wonderful things we accomplished while she was here! (The photo above with my sister was taken last weekend when we went to Atlanta; my mom and I forgot to take photos while she was here!)

She arrived Thursday evening, and I was planning to rent a car at the airport so we could spend all day Friday driving around the ‘burbs seeking items for the nursery and elsewhere. Unfortunately, my driver’s license is EXPIRED (has been since November), so my efforts to rent a car were thwarted. On the upside, my mom rented the car and I navigated the whole weekend, which actually worked out best since neither of us really knew where we were going.

I had a prioritized Action Plan prepared for her visit, with A-list items I wanted to accomplish most (see organized pantry, above!), and B-list items we’d tackle if we had time. We hit everything on the A list but did not reach the secondary stuff.

Friday, we headed to Rockville/Gaithersburg area, where there’s a good concentration of stores I wanted to visit: Target (maternity clothes, organizing items, frames); Kohl’s (maternity clothes); G Street Fabrics (fabric for nursery); Pottery Barn Kids (nursery ideas); Home Goods (lots of stuff!); and more. Mom and I have always been hardcore shopping buddies. We got on the road by 10 a.m. and didn’t return until after 10 that night!

 

 

Highlights:

• We spent at least three hours in G Street fabrics seeking the perfect green and purple fabrics (see colors in the flowers above) to complement the green striped and purple striped fabrics that I have from my grandmother’s sewing stash. Those two pieces have been the inspiration for our green walls but I don’t have enough of either of them for all the things I want to sew. (I told a friend after my mom left, that she’s probably the only person who would wander around a massive fabric store for three hours with me as I realized I was completely unprepared to make any of the items I want to make because I didn’t have time to research fabric quantities before we left; and then the next day, vacuum out my kitchen drawers and organize my pantry. More on that later.)
•  We ended up going to Home Goods at about 9 p.m. (closed at 10) and really hit the jackpot. Mom bought us a beautiful rug for the nursery (photos at the unveiling!) and a painting for our bedroom (lots of blank walls that have been bothering me!)
• I got some wonderful pants, capris and shorts at Target maternity (city Target options are sorely lacking) since I owned only one pair of pants that fit.
• DSW: My feet were hot and swollen, which is pretty typical for me, but getting worse since I’ve been pregnant and now that the weather is warming up. My mom bought me the MOST AMAZING pair of Clarks Privos sandals (in a half size larger than normal). I have been wearing them nonstop!

Saturday, we went to IKEA and bought the Billy for the nursery. We were so tired by the end of the day that we watched a film with Steve.

Sunday was the day I really felt like we accomplished a ton. My pantry organization project had been stalled for weeks; I got halfway through and got overwhelmed and couldn’t finish; plus, I couldn’t find enough of the right kinds of bins and couldn’t decide how to deal with that problem.

• We spent hours organizing everything in the pantry and then LABELING it. I originally scoffed at mom’s label maker but thought it would be nice to borrow it. Now I might keep it forever because it’s so awesome!
• We ventured into the dark abyss of the basement and brought up some of the frames that I’ve been wanting to hang. Steve spent a couple hours with us pointing and instructing on exactly where to hang 8+ items on the walls. Amazing how adding artwork can make a room feel finished!
• We moved the baker’s rack into the dining room temporarily so Steve could start work on the window in the kitchen; then we reorganized all the bins on it and moved the ‘liquor cabinet’ elsewhere and made room for baby stuff.

These projects may seem small, but we were thorough, and they took all day. I’ve been wanting to organize the pantry like that since we moved in! Besides, as my energy levels have waned since I got pregnant, I have less impetus to start big projects — and have a really hard time finishing them (never a problem for me before!). I wanted to just cry with thankfulness at getting eight frames on the walls!

I’ve recently recounted to several people about my uber-hardworking family, who visits and works their rear-ends off to help us on our house (reference Thanksgiving construction extravaganza; backyard concrete break-up; and Mom’s visit); one acquaintance recently remarked, ‘How did you get THAT family?’ It is truly a blessing!

Thanks for all the help, Mom!