Room Background Near Completion

Here is how I, and my husband, spent our July 4th weekend. Please observe the work, in X-Large images because I'm that proud, below:



Not much change here, but trying to portray that the majority of room objects are complete. Recent additions include the bolts on the blocks and the outlines, including the tiny little black dots in the corners of the quesiton blocks, which still need question marks.




Close-up on cloud #1. Ain't he cute?



 

Not sure why I can't get this picture to turn. Anywho: blocks, bricks, bolts all complete! What remains? The question marks, coins, and bottom of the world work.

 

A little higher up now, you can see clouds 2, 3, and part of 4 (the big, three-faced cloud). Everything pictured here, save the question block, is complete.




A little bit lower now on wall #2. Warp pipe one is outlined, as are the bricks, and you can see the starts of wall #3.




Ah, my lovely warp pipe! And cloud #4.



Wall #3 is complete, minus the question mark on its block, the bottom of the world, and the characters that we plan to add. Reinstalled the sconce and lightswitch cover, too.




Wall #4 - complete minus the piranha plant, coins, bottom of the world, and painting the closet doors with black chalkboard paint. I even put the vent back up!

 Can I get an "uf-dah?" Seriously! I am proud of what's done and looking forward to the work on the ground, doors, and characters. Now, off to create a question mark and mushroom! Happy July 4th/Independence Day to all my readers! Hope to see a few of you this weekend at the shower!

28 Weeks, Glucose Testing, and Room Work Abounds

So, Kiddo and are are officially 28 weeks along! Wow! This means that starting next week, I am in my third trimester (though technically, many say it has already begun) and I have to start seeing the doctor every two weeks! Holy smokes! It's JULY??? How did that happen? I can hardly believe that in just a few weeks Kiddo will be here, in my arms! Really, when you think about it, it's not that far off. Let's get the email update: "By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world." My little Kiddo has eyelashes! Hopefully, he gets them from Daddy, who has more lashes than should be allowed on a male. Mommy's are thin and always fall out!

Yesterday, I had my glucose test. Let me tell you, I've been stressing about this thing for WAY TOO LONG! I made sure to eat the night before (though I watched my carb intake for a solid two days prior to the test and every sugary thing I saw or thought of induced crazy-level cravings) and I even had frosted mini-wheats for breakfast, then I fasted for two hours prior to drinking the "glucola" and having the test. Despite what folks say, the glucose solution doesn't taste that bad. It reminded me of when I was a Safety Town instructor in Yankton, SD "back in the day" and I was dared to drink the undiluted orange Hi-C syrup. It really does pretty much taste like uncarbonated orange soda. I don't think I'd recommend drinking it warm. Aparently, there are several flavors of this charming beverage, including a brown one that is supposed to taste like Coke. I'm just going to recommend that if you are given the choice, choke down the orange one.

I drove to the doctor, stressing out the WHOLE WAY over this silly thing. I think I was more afraid of the results than the actual needle, but let's get this straight...needles and I don't get along. I thought there would be a big blood draw, but thankfully it was just a finger prick. The nurse was really sweet and comforting, said she understood the anxiety. It wasn't as bad as I had anticipated; perhaps I should have partaken in the blood typing labs in my science classes, because I didn't even tear up (yes, I can be that much of a wimp). Even though it was just a finger prick, she took like four little slides of blood, which makes me wonder what they do with them all. The nurse said that my blood sugar was actually lower than anticipated after drinking pure sugar, so I passed with flying colors! Woot! No three hour test for me! No more sugary drinks (save the two Mt. Dews I've had since the test)! I even got some free schwag again: sample of Enfamil and Similac with coupons for the mixes and pictures and fun little bags.

I had my weight taken again (only up 2 pounds this month) and then sat in my little room. Doctor Probasco came in then. She measured my belly (29 inches, but I'm not 100% sure what that means) and we heard Kiddo's heart a-pounding at a perfect 140 bpm! She said that he was certainly a happy little peanut in there. Then she actually felt my tummy and told me that (as of yesterday) was was lying up and down, though because of his size, she couldn't distinguish between his noggin and his booty. LOL! Now, I am required to start counting his kicks daily to make sure he's staying active and there's no distress.

Here we are at 28 weeks! That's also after two slices of amazing stuffed crust pizza to celebrate passing my glucose test! Haha!

I've been working on the room some more too and I'm proud to announce that, short of an outline in black, I have finished the warp pipes (minus the piranha plants)! Let's take a look around, shall we?

The big blocks are ready for bolts and shadows, now having all their coats of paint. Next to the pitfall, you can see that I'm getting ready to start painting the peach on top of the bricks.

More bricks getting ready for their first coat of peach.

Damn! That is a sexy warp pipe. It just needs a black outline!

All the blocks on wall #3 are ready for their shadows. I've already outlined them in black. Clouds are still waiting for some attention as well and there will need to be touch-ups on the wall itself once things are painted to eliminate paint drips and pencil lines.

The shurbs are now complete!

All they needed were the little green plus-signs. They could, of course, be touched up, but I am content to leave them alone for the time being.

Another schmexy warp pipe!

Final warp pipe and shrub.

Obviously, there is still work to do, but there is a long weekend ahead with the holiday, so we'll see what gets accomplished when both Aaron and I are working together. I hope we can get the "end of the world" border and the block shadows up, the bolts complete, and master the bricks and clouds, but that's quite a bit of work, so we'll take it a step at a time. It would be great to have the whole background done prior to the shower next weekend, but I'm not going to force it. Hasta la pasta gente!

Room update!

Been a few days since I updated everyone on the progress of the room. I've been working on a lot of little things and, the newest headache, the warp pipes. Here are some photo updates for you all! New belly photo to debut at a later date.

Warp pipe #3 and its little shurb. The bottom of this pipe is done, minus the touching up part. The top is obviously untouched. The shrub has its final coat of paint and has been outlined. It still needs its light shading. Not pictured here: the beginnings of the jagged black line that will mark the "end of the level."

Warp pipe #2. It needs one more dark green line, touch ups, and its top painted. Notice the blue paint tape is starting to come off! yay! That means its nearing completion!

Wide shot from the door. The clouds are done being painted white, but still needs outlines, the light blue shading, and their eyes. I've been painting the bricks by the pit fall and in the air orange. (That process has been frustrating because the paint is coming out SO THICK!) The one open brick will eventually be a question block. The forest has been outlined and the paint tape has come off of the colored blocks under the window as I touch them up. They still need shadows and their bolts, but I've drawn the bolts on with pencil!

Bush set #1 is complete since it has its outline now! More signs of things nearing a more complete point as paint tape is off of the first question block. I've been testing an orange color for the bottom of the world, too. This is just a test coat. Until the rest of the background is done, I won't be working any more on the ground, since it involves moving the tape line up.

Close up of the blocks under the window and the pit fall (which is now painted blue, because you know, it's a hole in the ground). Still have to make the bricks into bricks, but that has to wait until the painting of the base orange is done. They won't be so bright once I add the peach and black to them.

Another shot of the bricks and forest on the other side of the pit fall.

Hey look! Clouds! You can also see the top of warp pipe #1 also.

The wall by the door is the nearest to completion (minus environmental hazards (goombas and koopas) and rewards (coins). I'm pretty sure that Mario himself will eventually grace this wall, most likely atop the white or yellow block. The paint lines are off and the bolts are drawn on. Blocks needs shadows and bolts painted. Cloud needs its outline, blue shading and eyes. Shrubs only need their light green shading.

Ok, so lots of work done and lots of work ahead. Hope you enjoy the picture update. Wish me luck at my glucose test on Thursday!

New room pictures!

There is still a lot to do, but there has been some progress over the last few days.

All touched up and outlined with sharpie. All that is left on this is to paint the sharpie line.

Blue block added and new coats to the other blocks. Blue will need to be freshened up also.

Forest complete except for the paint outline. Fairly satisfied. Though not pictured, one of the two clouds on this wall also has its first coat of paint.

Blue blocks and white block added. Both need more coats. Small shrubs painted with first coat and just need touch-ups, their paint outline added, and the small amount of shading. This wall will soon bit goodbye to its tape lines.

Here you can see the first cloud I painted. Clearly, he's not quite done. He needs at least one more coat (white doesn't cover very well) and then he'll need his blue shading and eyes.

Not much change here except that the warp pipe up top has a fresh coat of paint and will be ready for shading once dry. Also, the shrub is outlined in sharpie, so it just needs its paint outline and shading

 Things are coming along nicely, though I still wish it would go faster. Here is the weekly update on Kiddo's growth and development! He's able to open his eyes! Yup, I can feel the hiccups for sure!

27 weeks - "This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother her, so just relax and enjoy the tickle."

Hey, Look What I Can Do!

With a lot of tape, gianormous amounts of patience, and a great husband here is what has been accomplished as of today in Kiddo's room.

After a rocky start of JUST working freehand, I migrated to making tape lines again to help make the edges of the triangles better. The first set of bushes will be complete tomorrow (ok, not with the black outline, but there will be no more triangles to paint)! Next to the shrub is the first question block with its first coat of paint. It will need several coats, but I like the color so far. Aaron painted all of the blocks in the photos below too.

Here are a few more of our blocks, painted orangey-yellow and red. They'll need second and perhaps third coats of paint to ensure coverage.

Here is the large set of bushes, aka. "the forest." It's half complete and I plan on finishing the rest of the triangles tomorrow so I can work on the black lines on Friday. No progress on the warp pipe; that will have to wait until I get the bushes done.

First coat of paint up on some of the floating blocks thanks to Daddy!

You can see the red block just by the door and the second warp pipe that I added yesterday. The one coming out of the vent will have the piranha plant coming down from it.

Other new, but not very visible additions to the nursery are several small shrubs and the clouds. They are just pencil now, until I can get some of the other work done; plus, I don't have the paint for them yet, though I DO have plenty of green with which to work!

I hope this satisfies your need to know how things are going at the moment. Aaron felt Kiddo kick again and my small, precious tormentor has decided that Momma's not a Momma without heartburn, so I'm growing accustomed to the taste of chalk (aka. mint flavored Tums). Next week brings the doctor's appointment with the glucose test, so keep your fingers crossed that I am sans GD! More updates to come!

Room Progress

I waited almost 20 minutes at Walmart just to get two quarts of paint! Arg! I told the guy to mix the cheapest, flat quarts he could, but he ended up having to mix one of one brand and one of another because the two different greens looked the same when they came out. I told him just to match the paint brand to the chip I had, so one quart cost me about $8.00 and the other was $12.00. Yeesh! So here is the rest of the "taping" and the start of the painting.

 

Wall #3 is taped-off with floating boxes, a question block, and the ability for Mario to jump over the door.

Wall #1's bushes, painted light green. This is clearly only a first coat, because the paint is being obstinant with its coverage. Also new on this wall is the question block that will allow Mario to gain his growing mushroom.

Wall #2's "forest" of bushes and the warp pipe painted green. Hopefully this crap looks cooler when I get the details done. The warp pipe will likely have a piranha flower coming out of it.

Wall #4 is currently just a warp pipe. It may have been funny to put a warp pipe coming down from the vent, but eh, best laid plans. Three coins will form a "triangle" of sorts on top of the pipe and if Mario does climb the door frame on wall #3, then I'll have to have a way for him to get down without the GIANT leap of faith.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the Daddys out there! My awesome father, Rick Johnson, deserves a special shout out, as does my father-in-law Jack Robinson and my grandfathers Johnson, Schabacker, and Griffin.

Today is Aaron's first Father's Day! Kiddo and I didn't do too much, but we each got him a card to express how happy we both are. I thought about getting him a grill, but Aaron and I have discussed how expensive they can be with the propane and we don't want to buy a "cheap" one just to have it. I think I may take him out this week to purchase a streaming box for the bedroom, since we've been talking about it for a while and it will be nice once Kiddo is here to be able to stream netflix in the bedroom if we choose.

Yesterday, after I ran to Kohl's and spent WAY too much money on maternity clothes, Aaron and I sat down to full-on plan out Kiddo's room space. The plan is grand, so we'll see how the execution holds up. Today, while Aaron took it a bit easy (other than being called in to consult every 30-45 minutes), I began to lay the room out, draw a bit, and tape some of the straight edges. I plan to try to finish drawing/taping off the bigger stuff tomorrow after Aaron gets home from work.

Perhaps, as early as Tuesday or Wednesday, I can start painting some of the items I've taped off. The "bushes" are going to take the most work in my opinion because I'll have to paint them light green to start, then go back to outline in black, and THEN go back and do all the detail work in dark green. I'm having trouble deciding if I want to pay $11 a quart or just switch to acrylics now. I think I'll NEED the quarts for the big boxes and bushes we're planning, but maybe not for the other parts, but if I switch, will it look weird? I'm not sure.

Anyway, here are some pictures of the progress on the room so far. Please excuse the mess, but the crib can't come out of the room and there's not really a good place to stick the dresser at this time. After pics, I'll post the weekly email update about Kiddo!
 

Wall #1 (It's BLUE!)

Wall #2 (It's BLUE!)

Wall #3 (It's BLUE!)

Wall #4 (It's BLUE!)

Plan for wall #1 includes tall bushes, a shrub or gooba, three large blocks/boxes for Mario to climb, and half of a pitfall. It's kind of hard to see, I'll try to scan the plans.

Plan for wall #2 includes the rest of the pitfall, a LARGE set of bushes, a warp pipe, and part of a suspended block/box. We'll add things like clouds, question boxes, and maybe a chomping flower in the pipe.



Plan for wall #3 includes many floating blocks, some clouds and small shrubs. I'll have to add in some question blocks and hazards too, like a koopa or two.



Plan for wall #4 is to have another warp pipe and coins. This wall will be partially covered when the door to the room is open, plus there is a very large closet. I am going to paint the closet with chalkboard paint, since the end of levels in Mario 3 is a black screen. Later on, Kiddo can draw on the closet doors. I may paint magnetic white paint UNDER the black chalkboard paint if I can afford it, then Baby Boy will be able to use magnets too!

Beginnings of the bushes on wall #1. Just taping straight edges.

More of wall #1. The blocks/boxes are taped and so it half of the pitfall hazard. You can also see my "plan" hanging from the ledge of the windows.

Part of wall #2. Pitfall and the straight edges of the large bushes.

More of wall #2. The bushes are planned out (not the curved tops yet) and the warp pipe has been marked out.

Uff dah! I've been working hard. Let's see if the execution holds true to the plan and looks as excellent as the picture in my head. That's not likely, but we'll see. I'll post more photos as I continue to work on the room! TTFN folks and watch out for shower invites!

26 Weeks - "The network of nerves in your baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. He may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. He's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when he's born and takes that first gulp of air. And he's continuing to put on baby fat. He now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber) from head to heel. If you're having a boy, his testicles are beginning to descend into his scrotum — a trip that will take about two to three days."