by Rachel | Family Life
Every week I write about how fast time is flying by, and that I can’t believe how far along I am. But 30 weeks feels like such a huge milestone — I’m 75% of the way there!
This weeks is off to a great start so far. The weather has warmed up considerably, and I’m enjoying going places without a coat on and having people notice my bump. I’m still getting lots of comments about how small I am for 30 weeks, but I don’t feel small! Especially after all the food I’ve eaten this weekend.
On Saturday, we went out to dinner for my mom’s birthday at one of our favorite restaurants, American Harvest. And then after our huge meal, we decided to get frozen yogurt at Cherry Berry…big mistake! The baby is taking up a lot of room these days, which doesn’t leave much space for extra food. You’d think I learned my lesson, but I followed another big dinner tonight with a bowl of ice cream. Where are the Tums?
To balance out all that food, we did manage to get in some exercise this weekend. Sadie had the time of her life at the dog park yesterday, followed by a long walk around Washington Park today. And we discovered that she loves riding in the back of the CR-V, as opposed to her usual spot in the passenger seat. That will help keep dog hair to a minimum :)
This week is a little busier than usual as far as work goes; I’m trying not to think about everything I have to do, and instead concentrating on the fact that at this time next week, we’ll be in California! This will be the baby’s 3rd out-of-state vacation…he will be quite the experienced traveler by the time he is born.
by Rachel | Family Life
This week we started making progress on the nursery after several delayed attempts. The first step was getting the carpet cleaned, which had to be pushed back two weeks — first due to a sick puppy, and then thanks to 18 inches of snow (which inevitably resulted in several days of muddy paw prints).
But it finally happened last Monday, and we didn’t waste any time moving the baby furniture in afterward. To be completely honest, I was a little nervous about how the bright white furniture would look against the white-ish carpet, but it works…especially since our beautiful rug covers so much ground.
I am in LOVE with the yellow walls paired with the blue and white. I chose the nautical theme because it ties those colors together, but little did I know that there is SO much out there as far as decorations and accessories to complement this theme.
Here’s another shot from the opposite side of the room. The changing table we picked out is so cute, don’t you think? I like that it provides extra storage space, since there’s no closet in this room.
What I like best about this room is the big picture window, and all the natural light it provides. Of course, we will have shades and blackout curtains so that Baby Rambach can sleep during the day, but this room just feels so fresh and airy when the sun is shining in.
The newest addition to the nursery was delivered on Wednesday — a beautiful navy blue rocking chair that perfectly matches our rug! It’s so comfortable, and I love that it swivels all the way around so that I can face either the inside of the room or the window.
I’m anxious to start decorating the walls and adding accessories, but with three showers coming up this month and next, it seems a little silly to go out and start buying things just yet. For now, I’m just happy to have the basics in place, and I can’t stop walking by the room and admiring it :)
by Rachel | Family Life
If you’ve followed this blog for a while now, then you’ve probably seen the evolution of my home studio. When my husband and I first purchased our house in 2009, I set up my studio in what quickly became my favorite room in the whole house. It made for a beautiful work space, and it stayed that way for 2 years. The studio looked like this:
But when I decided to go into private practice full-time, my husband and I agreed that I needed to make some changes to my studio. Since I’d be working longer hours, it made more sense to have a studio that was separate from the rest of my house (so that Zach didn’t feel like he was intruding on my business when he came home).
We came up with the perfect solution — one that still allowed me to have a home studio, but offered a separate entrance and was closed off from the “home” part of my house. So in the summer of 2011, we renovated the two back bedrooms and turned it into my new studio.
After we moved out my studio, we talked about the fact that someday that room would make the perfect nursery. It’s right next to our bedroom, the space is bright and cheerful with lots of natural light, and like I said before, it’s my favorite room in the whole house. That time has now come, and the transformation has begun! Here is Baby Rambach’s nursery it in very beginning stages:
We’re still missing a glider, curtains, and of course, decor, but at least now we have a starting point! I’ve been collecting ideas for a nautical-themed nursery on my Pinterest board for a couple months now, and I’m so excited to bring those ideas to fruition (with the help of my female family members).
It’s pretty hard to believe that in just two short months, this will be home to a newborn baby. I’ve spent some amazing moments in this room, and I have a feeling there are many more to come.
by Rachel | Family Life
Holy cow, this is the LAST week of 20s before I enter the final 10 weeks of pregnancy. 10 weeks. That’s just mind-boggling to me. I am so grateful to still be feeling awesome, though that 3rd trimester exhaustion kicks in earlier and earlier each night, it seems. Other than that, I’m not having any discomfort, aches or pains — just lots of happy kicks and wiggles from inside.
We had a great weekend full of friends and family, and spent Sunday celebrating Easter. First came two church services, followed by a delicious brunch at the Inn at 835 with my mom and stepdad. We got a couple photos while we were there — I had to show off my bump in my cute new maternity dress!
Next, we went over to Zach’s parents for more Easter fun with his siblings and our nieces and nephew. Holidays are a lot more exciting with kids around, and once our baby is born, there will be 5 of them to keep us busy and entertained at Rambach family festivities!
Thanks to a gracious neighbor, we actually got the whole family in a photo. After an Easter egg hunt, lots of playing, and dinner, Zach and I were ready to crash. But that wasn’t the end of Week 29 excitement — I’ll fill you in on the rest soon!
by Rachel | Listen & Learn Music
This is one of those songs I wrote on the fly about an hour before a session, but still find myself using consistently month later. The student for whom it was written is working on identifying numbers 1-20, but she was having trouble telling the difference between single digits and the “teen” versions of those numbers.
What number is this? (3)
3 is all by itself
What number is this? (13)
Thirteen has a 1 in front
This number is (3)
This number is (13)
They are different because (13) has a 1 in front
{Repeat for numbers 4/14-9/19}
I use the song Single and Teen Numbers in conjunction with a visual — a simple PDF I made and display on the iPad — so that my student can see the numbers and point to them as we sing about them. The PDF is included in the download, along with the lead sheet and both full and instrumental mp3s.
