Life...: 4 weeks to go until the due date...

Thankfully time is flying by pretty fast. I can't believe it's been 2 weeks since my last post. Nic is gone hunting (while he still can) so today we're going to play a little catch up. Today I'm at 36 weeks! Wow, next week I will be considered to be full term! I can't believe how fast my pregnancy has gone by. So what's been going on...

After having subpar cinnamon rolls at the Tulsa State Fair, I couldn't shake my craving for my Grandma's cinnamon rolls. If I didn't get car sick and wouldn't have had to stop constantly to potty, I would have gone down to Grandma's for a visit. So my alternative was to get the recipe and give it my first attempt. I first emailed my mom, of course she didn't know where the recipe was, so my next attempt was my Aunt Sareca. Thankfully she was able to give me the recipe as well as a few tips.

So last Friday night I pulled out my Kitchen Aid Mixer (which my Grandma got for us/me as a wedding gift) I used my bread hook for the first time and began making the dough. Fortunately I had spent many a Sundays watching Grandma make her rolls, so I wasn't completely lost. Unfortuantely I completely forgot how long the process would take. So I rushed a little bit. As I was approaching the 11pm hour, I decided I couldn't wait for the rolls to rise any more and had to get them in the oven.

After baking for 25 to 30 minutes, and making the icing,I was able to taste my first attempt at Grandma's Cinnamon Rolls. Had I not been so eager, I would have taken a picture of the hot pan of cinnamon rolls with the hot icing poured over them, however I couldn't wait. With a glass of milk I dug in immediately. They smelled right, and even tasted right, however they were not as soft as Grandma's and I'm pretty sure that's because I did not allow the dough to rise fully. Either way I was pleased and will work to perfect it with each batch.

Here's a picture of one after being in the refrigerator and reheated...just before I devoured it.

A few months back I mentioned to Nic about taking out the ceramic tile in our kitchen and laundry room and replacing it with laminate flooring that had the appearance of tile. I liked the tile, however the tile did not like our wood subfloor and the grout lines were beginning to noticeably crack. Also the grout never sealed properly and it seemed impossible for me to keep the floor clean or even make it look clean. So a couple weeks ago we headed to Home Depot with a 10% off coupon and we purchased the new flooring.

Since the mowing season is pretty much coming to an end, Nic has little extra time on his hands and he got to work. Last week he began to tear out the existing ceramic and pulled up the hardy board we had put down. He carefully removed the existing base shoe so it can easily be put back into it's original place. He also decided that while he was doing the new floors he would go ahead and texture and paint the laundry room. So this week he finished the floors and attached the base shoe in the kitchen. He also got the laundry room textured and primed, the painting should be done Tuesday. He also put up new trim in the laundry room. Already it looks great, and will only look better when it's painted.

I wish I would have taken a picture of the ceramic tile before Nic took it up, but we still have it in our entry so here is what the tile looked like that was in the kitchen before. This small area seems to be holding up much better than it did in the kitchen.

Here is the new floor in the kitchen. The color is little darker and the tiles are offset rather than squared up with each other. I'm really happy with it.

So while Nic has been working on the more strenuous projects, I've been working on some lighter duty things, such as Bryce's room. I have got all his clothes hung up or put in the dresser. I still have a couple things to put on the wall, like shelves. I also have a picture with his name on it that matched the bedding theme that I need to get framed and hung on the wall. We're getting really close.

Here's the crib and clothes hamper. Most likely when he starts sleeping in his crib, we'll take the mobile down and remove the crib bumpers.

Here's the view of his room from the door. I'm going to put shelves above the dresser (I need Nic's help with this part), and also get a changing pad cover.

Here's a shot of the bedding ensemble.

I also put the bassinet together. Since our bedrooms are split up, Bryce is going to sleep in the bassinet in our room for a while. Here it is waiting patiently to be used.