34 weeks

I haven't done a pregnancy update in a while so here it is. We can call this a gripe session if you'd like.

• My carpal tunnel never went away after I had Mason but it did get better. Now it's back with a vengeance. My hands go numb all_the_time.


• My back pain is still present but now I have been seeing a spine and joint doctor and he told me I have a disc injury (news to me!) has been using Active Release technique to ease the pain. It has given me much more relief than chiropractic adjustments and I am still able to be active and go to the gym.


• I have officially given up my cardio classes. I did one spin class last week but it about killed me so I have been enjoying my time on the elliptical. I hit my goal though. I wanted to make it to month 7 doing classes and I did!


• My fingers, face, and feet have started to swell and I'm not happy about it. It's hard enough to bend over and put on boots when my feet are their normal size.


• My belly button is an outie now and bandaids do not work. ick.


• I can feel a finger-NAIL like scratch from the inside. It feels like she is trying to claw her way out.


• My heartburn is back too. Tums are my BFF.


• I am still sleeping really great thanks to this little contraption. It is a pregnancy pillow wedge I found at my favorite store Essex for 5 bucks. Hands down, the best 5 bucks I've ever spent. I just sleep on my side and put the wedge at stomach level for support. It's amazing. My first pregnancy, I used a gigantic body pillow but this pillow is so small and easy for changing positions. I can turn from one side to the other with ease.

• I have gone back to taking naps again which is were I am headed right now. Night Night everyone!
  
  

A few more details..

A few more details have been updated to Melissa's blog so check them out here

In case you missed the first post you can check it out here

The nursery is done!

Myla's nursery is finally done and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out! As soon as I found out I was having a girl, I had all these ideas and plans in my head of what I wanted the room to look like but felt I didn't have the money or motivation to execute my plans. That is where my friend, Melissa came into the picture. We bounced ideas back and forth and then I set her free to let her creativity flow. I trusted her so much I ended up giving her a pre-loaded Visa gift card to pick out the items she felt essential to completing the nursery. Since she is well trained on Dave Ramsey's teaching I knew my money would not be frivolously spent. Melissa was always on the lookout for items on sale and was great at using what I already had to create the look I wanted.

So now that I am done hogging Melissa talents, she is available to you to help you achieve your own design dreams, regardless of your style or budget. She can help fill blank walls, create a vision and help narrow your focus for a room. She can assist you in choosing where to spend your money for the biggest impact, give suggestions for shopping and DIY projects, painting, accessory staging, and more. She could be as involved - or uninvolved - as you would want or need her to be. She also provides services of a shopping assistant and stager for an additional cost, which would be negotiated for each client depending on what tasks needed to be done, the location of the home (driving distance), etc.

I know without a doubt, I could not have dreamed up all the creative projects that she incorporated into the nursery.



So now is the time to give credit where credit is due... hop on over to Melissa's Blog and check out the rest of the pictures. She will be posting another blog soon with some more details so I will link to that as soon as it's available.

Baby Shower

I have the most creative, fun, and thoughtful friends. I have been friends with these girls since middle and high school. We went to colleges spanning the states from California to Florida and now we are all back in TN. These girls hosted the most adorable shower for me today. I told them don't go to a lot of trouble and keep it casual and low key. They just can't help themselves. Gotta love em! Thank you Elisa, Angie, Whitney, and Tara!

Katie made this for me along with a personalized pillow (in last photo) that was just pure awesomeness. It is perfectly coordinated with the nursery colors. You can have one of your own here!

I may have liked this gift a little bit too.

This is Dara my almost-cousin. She happened to be in town from Dallas. Well I'm not related to her at all but I should be. She is pregnant with her third and due May 19. Thanks Dara for being the unofficial photographer.

Milk..It does a baby good.

I never got a sister growing up but I am lucky to have two of them now.

All the goodies. :)

My walls got a facelift!

We've lived in our house for about 4 years and there were some unfinished projects that had been on my to-do list for a while. I realized with baby #2 coming it was now or never. We had several blank walls and spaces that I had no clue what to do with. Since I am furnishing and decorating a baby room at the same time, I was definitely on a budget. My friend Melissa, gave me some great ideas for the spaces and helped me implement them on the cheap!

The picture below is our foyer.. This is the beautiful blank wall that you see when you walk in our house. So welcoming isn't it?

BEFORE...

Table: Avington Console Table from Target ($119). While I don't like buying furniture from Target because it's not solid wood and I always feel like it's so cheap, this piece proved me wrong. It is a solid wood/veneered mix and is very sturdy.

Wall Decal: Etsy (homesweetwalls- $24)

Decor: Things around the house. I still need to get some lamps or something with height for the table but right now the baby room is priority so it will stay like this for a while.

AFTER

Our staircase which you also see when you first walk in the front door has been an eyesore for a while. I had a couple of frames there but they weren't quite large enough to fill the massive space. We forgot to take a before picture so this is mid-placement of the frames.

I couldn't be more happy with the final result! Finally! It looks like a real family lives here.
AFTER



Recognize this tree? It worked so great on the staircase and was so lonely in it's original home. This is a wall in our living room and it obviously needed something larger to fill the space. (My walls aren't really pea-green.) The lighting in my living room is horrible.

BEFORE

Since I was on a budget this was super cheap way to fill the space on the wall. The fabric was about $50 and Melissa already had a canvas. I think I bought the other two for about $15. I would eventually love to find 3 or 4 great mirrors to hang on this wall. It would help with the poor lighting in this room.

AFTER

I don't have a before for this picture but it was just a blank space in our bedroom between two windows.

Table: Free from my in-laws. The hardware on it was brass so I took it off and spray painted it nickel to match our dresser knobs. I already had everything else around the house..except the floral vase which I got at Homegoods for $12.

AFTER
I have to give Melissa credit for all this. I get very overwhelmed at the thought of hanging anything and just shut down and get lazy. She went through my house room by room and we made a list of things to do. I like list and could handle that so I got to work on making the purchases from her suggestions. She did all the leg work. Thank you Melissa! You are such a blessing to my non-crafty personality.

Ch-ch-Changes

This last weeks theme has seemed to be focused around change. Other than the obvious physical change I am going through, I have had a couple of environmental changes as well.



As of last week, I officially "retired" from Keller Williams and now have my Tuesdays and Thursdays open to run errands, clean, socialize, and relax until Myla arrives. This past Tuesday was glorious and I am looking forward to accomplishing more tomorrow. During this new free time that I have, I plan to make another change: My name. No, I am not divorcing Eric or going through an identity crisis, I have decided to officially become a Lackey. According to the Social Security office I am still Rachel Kee so for the last 7 years, Eric has had to file our taxes separately. He told me that since we would soon have two children with the last name Lackey, it was time for me to share the name with the rest of my family. He's also bribed me with a party and nice dinner out. I am hoping I find the motivation to make it to the social security office soon.



The other change we have made this week is our gym. We left our current gym due to a security issue in the nursery. Long story short: Mason escaped from the nursery, walked past two swimming pools and pressed his little nose up against the glass of the room I was in during a class. By the time he was taken back to the nursery, they had no idea he was even missing. The good news is they are currently taking actions to improve this problem and when they do, we may consider returning our membership there. For now, I am loving the YMCA and the classes they have to offer and most importantly, their nursery is totally secure. If anyone needs a workout buddy, I have five days a week available to accompany you. :) Just give me a shout!


The final change is some home redecorating that my friend Melissa has helped me with. I had mentioned in a previous post some blank walls I needed to fill so I will soon post pics of before and after shots of my wall's little facelift.