Pink or Blue... Pink or Blue...

As mentioned in my last post, I was disheartened to find out that I wouldn't have my anatomy scan (a.k.a. the big gender reveal) until April 10th, when I had been banking on March 20th. I called the doctor a few days later to find out if there was any wiggle room, the receptionist coldly replied "The doctor said eight weeks." Welllll.... maybe you should ASK him, you half-wit. I hung up before I bit her head off in my pregnancy-induced rage.

Over the next few days, I pondered my options. I could wait the looonnggg 5 extra weeks, or I could take matters into my own hands. Patience has never been my strong suit. I knew there were places in the area that did elective gender screenings starting at 16 weeks, but I was unsure about whether or not to spend the money on something that may or may not be accurate. I stumbled across a place not too far away that would scan me at 16 weeks on the dot, in 3D, for $100. They guarantee an answer, and allow you to come back for free if baby refuses to show the goods. They even include a 3D/4D DVD video of the scan as a keepsake. I justified that in my head as $20 for each week earlier I get to find out. Completely reasonable... right?

So, in ONE WEEK from today, we will hopefully have our answer! Will Jack have a little brother to show the ropes, or a little sister to look after?  I can honestly say I'd be 100% content with either. I love my little man more than anything in the world, and think it would be great to have another little guy just like him. I'd also love for a little girl to have a sweet big brother like Jack. Either way, we'll be thrilled. None-the-less, the anticipation is killing me.

I've got my first purchases ready and in queue... so what will it be?


Something frilly and sweet....

Or something preppy and plaid....

S E V E N  D A Y S

A Sibling For Jack

Just in case the title of this post wasn't clear enough, Jack is going to be a BIG BROTHER!! After an amazing first-day-of-my-second-trimester check-up, we feel 100% comfortable and excited to publicly share our wonderful news! It's been a loooongg first thirteen weeks, and my pregnancy so far has been very similar to my pregnancy with Jack. Could this mean another boy?? We'll find out on April 10th, which might as well be 8 years away, because that's what it feels like! I'm going to give them a call next week to see if I can negotiate myself down a couple weeks. Baby Hawkins is due to arrive on August 21st, so it will a long summer here in Virginia.

We've been talking to Jack a lot about babies and explaining (ha, "explaining" to a toddler....) that Mommy has one in her tummy. His only response so far has been, "Bebe? Wah! Wah! Wah!" while imitating a crying motion with his hands. Wonderful. Each and every time we ask him what he wants to name the baby he confidently responds "Bus." He's going through a transportation-obsession phase - we're hoping his taste in names will evolve.

Back when we very first found out I was pregnant we had some "Big Brother" pictures taken with the incredible Jenne Barron of Bright Eyes Photography. We wanted these to share the exciting news with our immediate families - and now I'm excited to share them with everyone! Here's a few of our favorites:

And without further adieu, I introduce you to Baby Hawkins! These were taken just this afternoon, and he/she proved to be quite a ham in front of a camera.

And just before she was about to turn the monitor off, baby gave a us a little wave goodbye! Until next time, sweet baby!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!!

Adventures in Upholstery

If you've been following this blog, then you know my house is a never ending work in progress. I'm constantly starting new projects, making changes, and convincing my husband that pink is not the color of evil. I must admit however, I have a bad habit of starting projects and not following through (see this post regarding my bathroom makeover - which by the way, is coming along, slowly-but-surely). My other bad habit is forking over the money for someone else to do a job I could very well do on my own. It's a cross between laziness and lack of confidence that I can do it well enough that it won't look "homemade". Well, this past week (with the help of two amazing friends) I conquered that habit.

So about a year ago I finally found dining room chairs that I didn't hate and weren't $850 a piece. They come upholstered with the natural linen shown - which is bearable but boring. Here they are:

 

I bought them with the intention of having the seats reupholstered immediately to brighten them up a bit. Then I ran into the whole we-can't-pick-fabric-until-we-pick-a-wallcolor-and-johhny-hates-every-color-I-pick dilemma. And again, I wanted to brighten them up, but with a pattern I wouldn't get sick of in a month. So after seventeen years a few months of debating wall color, we made up our mind. It's a lightish green color that ties into our kitchen wallpaper (yes, I have WALLPAPER in my kitchen. It's adorable and I love it so shut your mouth). The choosing of the fabric was 100x easier. 

With fabric in hand, I was ready to finally have my chairs done. I googled all the local upholstery places and started calling around to get a quote. Considering you unscrew the pad, wrap the fabric around, staple it into place, and re-screw the pad, I was dumbfounded to hear the average price PER CHAIR was $50. FIFTY DOLLARS. So we're talking $400 total. (keep in mind, that does not include the fabric, which I purchased independently) Clearly, I need to quit my job immediately, go to trade school, and learn me some upholstery. And people say financial services is where it's at... psh!

Enter my dear friends/neighbors/mommies-extraordinaire - Stef and Megan. Stefani convinced me that we at least needed to try to do this on our own. And Megan's got a fashion degree in hand, so surely covering chairs can't be too different from covering people, right?? Well, let me tell you, this is one project I am so glad I gave in to. (Rather - allowed Meg and Stef to do most of the work while I provided moral support.) This was easy-peasy, and my chairs look FAB! If you have a boring old chair lying around, this is such an easy way to liven it up. All you need is a tiny bit of fabric, and a staple gun... and wine helps. So here's how it went:

Unscrew seats:

Tightly wrap fabric around the pad and staple into place:

 Re-screw your seat and viola!

FREE TIP - when you unscrew the pads, number each pad and chair with a post-it. The screw holes aren't always the same for each pad/chair combo.   

So to the ladies over at Haute Middleburg, if you're reading this - we're available for freelance ;)