Last weekend was officially a great weekend. Charlie and I celebrated our one-year anniversary (June 28) and we spent most of the weekend eating and nesting. What else could a pregnant lady ask for?
We started out bright and early on Saturday morning and headed to our local UHaul place. The goal was move to stuff out to make room for the baby. Renting a UHaul turns out to be a very emotional experience for me. When I was growing up my parents were sales reps and I spent many hours at UHaul hanging out with my dad, renting giant trucks for trade shows. Let's just say I'm a very good packer.
We didn't need a big truck for our move, just a cargo van. My high school "car" growing up was a 15-passenger maroon Dodge Ram Van with a silver racing stripe (same size as the photo at the right). Super cool, as you would imagine, but I loved it.
Right now I have a very nice VW Passat that is a hand-me-down from my mom. I love that it starts every day, but it just doesn't feel right. So when I climbed into the UHaul van this weekend, I actually started to cry. I felt like I was home.
Once we loaded up the van, we headed to my storage facility in Brockton, Mass. After I sold my mom and dad's house about four years ago, I decided that rather than sorting through everything at the time of the sale I'd just move it to storage. This ended up being a very good decision for me. Over the years I've retrieved quite a few items, but I still have a small storage unit.
Side note: I love my movers. If you're in the Greater Boston Area, I highly recommend Kilroy Brothers Moving & Storage out of Brockton. Karl, the owner, is awesome. They made what was a fairly big, daunting, and sad move for me very easy. Their rates are very reasonable and the storage facility is immaculate. If you ended up using Kilroy, make sure to ask for Richie to be on your crew. He's the best.
While we did drop off a couch and some other items at the storage facility, the main goal was to retrieve my stuffed animals. I know that may sound crazy and that many moms consider stuffed animals "dust collectors," but I'm very fond of mine (although we definitely don't need any more). The motley crew is pictured on the left.
My old friends are in great shape; they are a little squished but they smell fine and aren't moldy at all. It's really good to have them under the same roof again.
On the way home, we stopped by my Aunt Robin and Uncle Ari's house. They donated some book shelves for the baby's room, which is terrific. Then we ended up having an impromptu lunch. Robin made us some fabulous panini sandwiches. I always feel spoiled when she cooks for us - yum!
Saturday afternoon I took a huge nap while Charlie installed our air conditioners. That night we had a nice dinner at Gargoyles, a restaurant right down the street from us in Davis Square.
On Sunday, our official anniversary, we (well, mostly me) decided it was a good idea to plan out the layout of the furniture in the what's going to be the baby's room.
So here is the big decision we could use some help with: What size rug should we get?
I've fallen in love with this rug (pictured below) from The Land of Nod. We're trying to decide between the 4x6 and the 5x8.
The photo below demonstrates what the 4x6 would look like space-wise. Now imagine that the piano moves to the right side of the room (roughly where the stuffed animals are grouped) and the crib goes where the piano is. The dresser is going down to the basement.
The next photo with the added towels around the quilt is meant to illustrate the 5x8 version of the rug.
So what do you think? Here are the issues:
- I have a moderate fear of big rugs (I hate vacuuming).
- If we choose the smaller version, will it look lost in the room?
- We also don't want to cover up too much of the wood floor. There will also be an over-stuffed chair, some book shelves, and a dresser in the room.
- The larger rug is about $100 more expensive.
We need to make a decision by July 15 because that's when The Land of Nod sale ends. Decisions, decisions .... Any ideas?
Next up on our Anniversary Weekend Itinerary was a trip to Singing Beach at Manchester-by-the-Sea, Mass., which is where Charlie and I met nearly five years ago on July 3. It's a cute little town and a great stretch of beach. Here we are striking a pose.
After our walk on the beach we had lunch at The Landing at 7 Central. Lobster salad roll and fries for Charlie, fried fish sandwich and fries for me. Delish.
The final event of the weekend was defrosting and eating our one-year-old wedding cake. Now I am a very traditional and superstitious person. But for some reason, this particular tradition is not that important to me. Not so for Charlie. I was afraid of getting food-poisoned from mold. But we did eat the cake Sunday evening, we did survive, and it actually tasted fine. Ironically, at our wedding the cake was the only food I consumed the whole night. It tasted very good fresh as well.
I can't believe Charlie and I have known each other for nearly five years and have been married for one! It's really flown by. I feel really lucky to have a met such a special guy who has already stuck with me through both good times and tough times.
And I think he's going to be a great Dad.
Final side note: We spent a lot of time looking at photos this weekend and can't believe that I weigh almost 40 pounds more than I did on our wedding day. And alas, it's not all baby weight :)
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Adrienne is Mom Central's Community Manager.
adrienne@momcentral.com | http://twitter.com/adriennelb | http://www.facebook.com/AdrienneLB
It's a good idea to have the rug far enough away from the crib so that baby can't throw up on it through the crib rails. Ask me how I know.
Posted by: renee | 06/30/2009 at 01:08 PM
Ha! I would never have thought of that. Wow. So much to look forward too :) Thanks for the tip!
Posted by: Adrienne | 06/30/2009 at 01:12 PM
Looks-wise, I like the bigger rug. But I have no secret tips about cribs and throw up, so my opinion shouldn't carry that much weight.
Also, I can't believe your wedding was a year ago!
Last thing: Roomba! Great for those who hate vacuuming (like me).
Posted by: Marie | 06/30/2009 at 02:26 PM
My vote is for the bigger rug! Super cute!
Posted by: Sarah Jones | 06/30/2009 at 03:23 PM
I also vote for the bigger rug, mostly because the floor will be a major playing area. I've been admiring that one at Land of Nod too! I also like the "beach ball" rug they have on sale and we're thinking of going as large as 8x10 so the room is cozy.
Sounds like you had a very busy weekend! We spent ours beginning the painting the nursery and hope to finish tonight.
Congratulations on 1 year!
Posted by: J.M.D. | 07/01/2009 at 11:48 AM
I actually like the smaller rug. I think once you get the crib in the room and the other furniture, it won't look lost. It'll sit nicely in the centre of the room. Happy Anniversary!
Posted by: Kathryn | 07/03/2009 at 08:57 AM
Bigger one, most definitely. Your baby may never (???)throw up...it will only cost you $.05 a day extra for the 8x10 for the next five years, and a rug is a much softer place to fall on when the babe tries to climb out of her crib, which she will probably try to do.
I never blogged before. Do you like this job??
L
Posted by: Luanne Jacobs | 07/06/2009 at 03:54 PM
Sorry...5x8. I could never do your job. Anything in writing is too much of a committment.
L
Posted by: Luanne Jacobs | 07/06/2009 at 03:56 PM
Bigger rug - you'll want to let the baby crawl and roll around on the floor, and the hardwood for me was too cold and hard, but the rug was fine.
Posted by: Julie P | 07/07/2009 at 06:05 AM
I'll go for a bigger rug so the baby can crawl around safer than with the wooden floor.
Posted by: hair accessories | 07/14/2009 at 01:58 AM
Congratulations on your one year anniversary! I would go with the bigger rug.
Posted by: Ares Vista | 07/23/2009 at 11:23 AM
Congratulations on your one year anniversary! I would go with the bigger rug.
Posted by: Ares Vista | 07/23/2009 at 11:23 AM
I love your blog. Thanks for sharing your life with us loyal readers!
Posted by: download music | 07/23/2009 at 11:24 AM
what a nice rug...
Terrance,
ibabystore
Posted by: Terrance | 07/28/2009 at 02:15 AM
Congratulation on the anniversary. I would go for the bigger rug. You can always spot clean it if you need to and it makes a softer play area once the wee one is moving about.
Posted by: JT@BigBabyBargains | 08/09/2009 at 04:23 PM
The bigger the rug the better. Just make sure to keep it clean!
Posted by: Baby | 01/04/2010 at 08:29 AM