A few of my favorite little happenings from July via my phone’s photo album.
^^^ Making progress on our DIY kitchen reno! What we thought would take 3 weeks, has taken over a month to complete. And when I say ‘we’, I mean Charles. Since I’m prego, he’s been doing most of the sanding, painting, all around manual labor. (Literally anytime I came close to the kitchen, he’d kick me out lol) Meanwhile, I’ve been serving as project researcher/manager, supply orderer, and overall, inspector. I’m so so sooooo so proud of Charles and his developing handiwork especially considering we/he’s never done anything like this before. Two more mini-projects to complete and then we’re officially done with the kitchen. After that, we can finally focus on getting our crib and other baby things situated in our home… The nesting is *real*. Can’t wait to share the official ‘before’ and ‘after’ photos of our dining and kitchen areas. Until then, sneak pics above of how the kitchen is coming along. :)
^^ Toasting to 7 years of marriage and 14 years of togetherness… I still can’t believe Charles and I have been married for 7 years already?! We celebrated by taking the day off from work (our anniversary fell on a Wednesday this year) and getting a game of mini indoor golf in at Swingers, located in the Dupont Circle area of DC.
At this point in time, we had yet to announce we were pregnant but my belly was starting to finally round out at 26 weeks and I couldn’t really hide it under baggy tops anymore… I remember us discussing when we should make the formal announcement and laughing about how we should not say anything until the baby arrived. It was a thought we seriously considered for a minute or two (I mean, we eloped and didn’t tell anyone – not even immediate family – until after it was done so keeping things to ourselves is not new lol) before ultimately deciding we’d share the news after our trip to Maine later in the month.
Continuing on with our anniversary celebrations, we came back home after mini-golf and took a nap. It was supposed to be just me taking a nap but, three hours later, I woke up and Charles was in bed snoring right next to me lol. We quickly freshened up and made our way over to Del Mar Restaurant, a swanky Spanish spot located in the District Wharf area of DC. In remembrance of our honeycation in Europe, where we spent the last leg of the trip in Barcelona, we were craving paella and Del Mar did not disappoint.
^^^ For tapas, we ordered their ham croquettes, patatos bravas, and grilled octopus and then their seafood paella which came with a generous serving of Maine lobster, tiger prawn, PEI mussels, and monkfish. Everything was soooo good and the service was impeccable – highly recommend if you’re looking for a dinner date night spot in DC. Even though I was full, we still ordered their hazelnut churros which took us over in the best way possible. Afterwards, we walked up and down the Wharf area until our stomachs weren’t tight anymore and made our way home to zonk out.
^^^ As someone who hates needles, no one prepped me with just how prevalent needles are throughout one’s pregnancy. July was a month where I found myself constantly giving fluids and blood at almost every doc appt, getting my whooping cough shot, and then more blood taking for my glucose test. I’ve got my routine down now tho… To get through the needle pricking, I stick my arm out and turn my body and face away from the phlebotomist (the person taking my blood), close my eyes and take deep yoga breaths. As long as I don’t see the needle go in or watch my blood come out, I’m good and don’t get lightheaded or nauseous… But it’s got me nervous about actual labor day where I should anticipate get stuck with a needle or two and having to *keep them in my body* the whole time?!?! O_O I don’t know.
^^^ Charles and I spent a week away at my family’s cabin in Maine without a tv, cell or internet service. Just us and nature. It was the perfect babymoon. Highlight of the trip was getting to see, hug and spend time with my Grams and Grandpa in person for the first time in almost two years, as well as my Uncles, Aunts and cousins. I’ve got two posts recapping our time in Maine, first one going up next week. Charles and I also captured a bunch of video footage that I’ve been editing (very slowly and clunkily – video editing is it’s own beast) with the hope to share as a vlog sometime sooner than later.
^^^ Bridal shower celebration for my sis, Mijan. My brother, Gino, and Mijan have been together for 10 years, gave me the cutest two little nephews and are *finally* getting married! Like, she’s already my sister but everyone in my family is super excited that it’s finally gonna be legal lol. My other sis-in-law, Jen, really outdid herself with planning the bridal shower. She had my brothers over the day before to build the woodframe for the lights and turned my aunt’s backyard into such a dainty, magical space. The decor and overall experience was *chef’s kiss*.
^^ Week 26 – July 2, 2021
^^ Week 30 – July 31, 2021
The baby and belly are GROWING. 10 more weeks to go and I can’t believe how slow and yet so fast time is moving. Charles and I are really feeling the fire under our butts now to get everything together so here’s my checklist of things that need to get done by the end of August/early September before baby arrives in October.
– Finish our kitchen reno project.
– Charles and I need to submit our parental leave paperwork to HR.
– Build the crib and dresser and organize all the gender neutral second hand baby clothes we’ve received from friends and family.
– Get a baby carseat.
– Charles needs to get his whooping cough shot and we both need to get our flu shot.
– Complete my hypnobirthing digital course – I purposely don’t have a birthplan. Early on in my pregnancy, I decided that this baby will arrive exactly as it is supposed to and that I’m letting go of control and expectation. But I do want to get my mind right to prepare for however my labor and delivery might manifest soooo here’s hoping this hypnobirthing course will help with that.
– Pre-register for our hospital and pack our hospital bags.
– Clean out and prep our guest bedroom for my mom to move in later this year.
– Purge, purge, purge to make room for all the baby stuff that’s been taking over our home.
– Relax and rest… (can you hear the sarcasm dripping off this bullet point)
Have I missed anything? Until next post..
xo, Setarra
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