Getting Crafty: DIY for Baby's Arrival

Woo! Last week felt like finals week around here. I was cranking out a bunch of client work with the goal of having a little downtime before the baby arrives. Mission accomplished!

I still have enough to keep me busy (to-do lists are never really complete) but I'm feeling less anxious on the work front. And with all the extra effort, it was my best month yet income-wise (let's forget about the fact that I won't be working for the next few weeks and go with it!).

In the midst of the writing and editing, I got some baby prep done, including a couple of crafty little projects. First up, I wanted to make a fun sign for the door to our condo unit to announce "it's a boy" or "it's a girl." It's an easy way to share the news with our neighbors and to decorate for our visitors.

But I didn't feel like spending a lot, and I had an idea in my mind of a simple, not-too-cheesy sign. Rather than order something, I decided to visit Michael's and get inspired. I picked up four sheets of scrapbook paper: pink, pink sparkle, blue, and blue sparkle. Total cost: about $4. After a little cutting and gluing, here's the result of my DIY efforts:

And for my second project... I'd heard about people bringing a treat for the hospital nurses when they go in to deliver their babies, which I thought was a nice gesture. My dad is a family physician and two of my sisters are studying to become nurses, so I know first-hand how hard those in health care work -- and they do a lot of things I wouldn't ever want to do, all to help people get and stay well. A little thank you goes a long way.

So I picked up an extra-large "Chinese takeout" box from Michael's and filled it with a bunch of full-sized candy bars (it would have taken a lot of fun-sized ones to fill the box and hey, who doesn't love a big ol' candy bar?). A piece of notepad paper and ribbon were all I needed to craft a note and finish it off. Total cost = about $20.

I reach 39 weeks tomorrow, so we're getting really close! Any day now...

38 weeks!