Stop the bleeding!

Between Christmas and preparing for the baby we are hemorrhaging money right now. Major purchases in the past 2 weeks include a crib and dresser for the nursery, a new couch for the living room, stroller, car seat, bouncer, Steam Vacuum for the carpets, vinyl wall stickers, and Christmas presents.

Explanations??? Hopefully you understand why we need a crib and dresser for the nursery. If not, then you shouldn’t be having sex. Both grandmas helped with that expense and we will pay the balance when we pick them up. Couches? The couches we have are 8 years old. I have never really taken care of them and they weren’t nice couches to begin with. They can seat 5 uncomfortably. Aside from being a little old, we needed something with a sleeper sofa for guests. Without a guest room having a sleeper sofa is the best alternative we could come up with. The new couch has a chaise, long couch with a sleeper, and recliner all built in one. It will wrap around the living room and provide seating for 7. It will be delivered in February or March. We made sure to get the stain protector for impending throw-up or dirty diapers.

Getting a stroller is something we went back and forth about getting. Ed and Tiffany (our guinea pig parents) have a 3 month old son. They like having a stroller and convinced us to get one. Car seats are a no-brainer if you want to stay out of jail and like your kids even a little. The bouncer is a good place to place the baby for exercise and if there is a moment when you need both of your hands to do something. My dad was nice enough to pay for all three of these items as our Christmas gift. Thanks Dad!

For the last 6 months I have wanted a steam vacuum. The carpets in our place were looking bad. Aside from ascetics, I cringed every time I thought about a baby crawling on our floor. Vanessa got me one for Christmas, so this weekend I cleaned the front half of the living room. Wow. What a difference. First I vacuumed with our regular vacuum cleaner, then I used the steam vacuum. I emptied the water 3 times. The first two times the water was black. Not brown, black. So much nicer now. I will be conquering the rest of the house over the next two weeks. This is also good for upholstery.

Vinyl stickers are for the nursery wall. We aren’t sure how many years we will stay here before getting a house, so I looked for alternatives to having a mural painted. I found some vinyl stick-ups online that are transferable. You can stick them up, peel them off, and stick them back up. So we will paint the wall to look like it’s underwater, then use these to add to the effect. We bought the dolphin, turtle, a shark, 2 angel fish, and a shcool of yellow fish.

Vanessa is doing well and is 23 weeks along. She started feeling the baby moving around Thursday night. It was a nice Christmas present. I’m looking forward to next year when we will be spending our first Christmas with the new addition to our family.