As I entered my 21st week of pregnancy on Monday, I got to thinking how fast they flew by. And then, the inevitable thought of how fast the next 19 are going to go! With that, thoughts came pouring out of my mouth about everything I "need" to get done before the baby arrives.
Some are fun (dates!), some are my quarky must-get-done-now's (purge our DVD's?!) and some are definite musts (new nursery). But, once I started rambling, Matt suggested I make a list. So, here is my official Pre-Baby Bucket List.
I’ll be updating this as I check items off my list, so make sure to check back! (And I will likely also be updating this as I ADD items to my list!) I am putting this out there for thousands of you to see so that maybe, JUST MAYBE, someone will hold me accountable. ;-)
✓1. Find out if our new peanut is a boy or girl before our 20 week appointment. ~ Luckily, Baby To Be Images pulled through for us and was able to let us know we were having a BOY at 17 weeks! Such a fantastic experience and the owner has graciously offered $10 off to Macaroni Kid Annapolis readers! Make sure you check them out if you are considering an optional baby scan!
~~(Yes, I am THAT person who puts something on their "To Do" list that has already been done. It's a motivator to already have something checked off!)
2. Go on a fancy dinner date with Matt.
✓3. See a movie in a theater with Matt. ~ We checked this one off the list this weekend! My mom was in town visiting and in true Grandma form, jumped at the chance to take Nick off our hands for a few hours while we went on a movie date. We saw Get Hard (better than I thought it'd be!), complete with popcorn, soda and pretzel bites!
4. Get at least one prenatal massage.
✓5. Get a pedicure (and dare I say manicure?!) at least once/month with a friend! ~ Off to a good start here. I started this past weekend! Went in for a nice (although "express") pedicure and enjoyed every last minute of my alone time. The downside? My polish is already chipped. :-( ** Update 5/7: Got another! WOO! No chipped polish this time!... yet...
✓6. Go on a weekend trip (maybe even just overnight) as a family. ~ Matt and I will be taking Nick to Sesame Place in Langhorne, PA for a special overnight trip in June! We cannot wait! Nick is obsessed with Elmo, and will absolutely adore an entire amusement part dedicated to his favorite show, PLUS a water park! We're making this a super special overnight trip for him (he is going to freak) and staying at the Radisson Hotel Philadelphia Northeast. We'll arrive for an early check in and let him play around in the pool before heading to Sesame Place the next day!
7. Go on a weekend trip (maybe even just overnight) with just Matt.
8. Research and purchase a double stroller. (Email me with suggestions!)
9. Research and purchase a new diaper bag. (Again, email me with suggestions!)
10. Move Nick to a big boy bed in his new big boy room.
11. Paint and decorate the baby's nursery.
12. Speaking of his big boy room: clean out our guest room to make room for Nick’s big boy room. ~ So close to having this finished it's not even funny. The closet, which was the BEAR of a task, is cleared out! Now just to move (sell) furniture and get his new set in there, and we'll be good! Anyone need a queen bed??
13. Buy Nick a big boy bed and furniture and decorate that room! ~ making progress a little! We have furniture picked out, but haven't bought yet. We still have to clear out our guest room before we can start getting his room together. On the bright side, I got him the most darling bedding set from Land of Nod. I can't wait until we have the room together so he can see it!
✓14. Purge and organize our whole house. ~ Work in progress, I swear!
✓15. Have a yard sale! ~ Scheduled for May 23!
16. Potty train Nick. ~ Weeelllllll, I suppose there's somewhat progress here. He went in the potty. Once. That counts for something, right? ** Update 5/14: We're up to four times in the potty. Progress, people!!
✓17. Get all yard work completed! ~ I guess technically, this is still in progress, but I am super excited to have CMR Property Services back to my home to help with this item! CMRPS, if you remember, put our holiday lights on our house this past Christmas season. This Spring and Summer, Chris will be helping us out with spring cleanup of our yard, mulching our gigantic flower beds, fertilizing and lime application and lawn mowing. We've always done our own yard work (every last thing), so it'll be a nice relief to have some help with it this year, especially from someone who is honest, knows what he's doing and pays such close attention to detail!
We've also signed on with Mosquito Squad Annapolis to handle mosquito control barrier protection for our yard. I must have the sweetest blood mosquitos have ever tasted because even stepping foot in our backyard at 7am for 5 minutes or less gets me at least 3 bites! With Mosquito Squad taking care of them for us this year, I plan to go bite-free, and to be able to work in my vegetable garden without jeans and a long sleeved shirt!
✓18. Research and purchase new nuring bras. ~ Done! I am sticking with the tried and true Bravados that I found late in the nursing game with my son. They can get a little pricy, but boyyyy is it worth it!
✓19. Get maternity family photos taken. ~ Mike McEwen Photography will be taking my maternity photos for my family and me! I can't even wait to see the final photos and will be sure to share them with you guys! Mike has been a featured business in our Business Directory since 2014 and I feel fortunate to have him handle our maternity family photos!
✓20. Get newborn family photos taken. (OK, this is post-baby. But it counts.) ~ Mike from Smile on Life Photography will be photographing our bundle when he arrives! Mike does awesome newborn photography and has been a good friend of Macaroni Kid Annapolis since last year, even donating his time and services to photograph events like our Sofia the First party! Given his easy going personality and willingness to capture what you want, I have no doubt our newborn photos are going to be amazing!
✓21. Get my house cleaned professionally! ~ I am so thrilled and excited that I found an amazing cleaning company, Clean Team Cleaning Services, to take this on for me. Because I'm getting bigger, more tired (lazy?) and feel like I have barely any spare time during the day, we decided to start now! I can't even wait to have an amazingly clean home (at least twice a month, anyway!). And to top it off, Rachel (the owner) is so fantastic to work with! Can't beat that.
22. Stock my freezer with freezer meals.
If you are a local business who would like to help me check any of these off my list by sponsoring an item, please contact me at nicoledonnelly@macaronikid.com!
