Before and After

My friend's blog recently had a post entitled "Pre-Owned Wedding Dresses." A few of us posted comments on this subject and I mentioned what my plans were for my wedding dress. You can see the post with all the comments here.

I took my dress to a seamstress who made it into a Baptismal gown for Luci. One of my friends asked for pictures, so here they are:

Before

After
The details are remarkable! I absolutely love it. There is even enough fabric left over to do a 1st Communion gown in the future. Here is a picture of the bonnet that she made as well:

The details are unbelievable! She did such an amazing job - I am so happy with the result!

Jillian - Episode #4

Finally - she got rid of David and Juan. I was kinda hoping that they were going to be the ones chosen for the 2-on-1 date...that would have been entertaining. I can't believe that David was surprised that she didn't give him a rose after how she turned her cheek when he went in for a kiss. Then he actually blamed Juan for the fact that she sent him home...seriously - you don't think that it had anything to do with the fact that half of your conversation with her on the date included the F-word? What a loser.

So Tanner (AKA creepy foot-fetish guy) is the one who spilled the beans to Jillian about other guys having girlfriends. He wouldn't tell her who. She was very upset about the news; therefore, she cut the cocktail party short and confronted them, but of course no one admitted it. According the the previews, Tanner says that he knows that Wes is one who still has someone back at home. Unfortunately, she seems to really like him - but I am not a fan, I think he is creepy too.

I still like Kiptyn and Jake the most, and Reid and Jess are probably next. But I am sure that she will keep Wes around for a while.

Until next week....

Jillian - Episode #3

I totally can't stand David...he is worse than any girl that has even been on this show. He has such a hatred for Juan still and it is getting uglier. I can't believe that Jillian kept him an additional week...although it looks as though she totally disses him next week - can't wait for that.

I have to say that I was really disappointed that she got rid of Sasha. It looked like they were having a good time. When things like that happen, it makes me think that the producers are leading them a little. Like maybe they told Jillian something along the lines of this: "You already gave a rose on all 3 of the 1-on-1 dates, it's time to give someone the boot." I was really impressed with the way that Sasha handled the whole thing - very gracious.

It looks like the drama comes full tilt next week - someone spills the beans that other guys have girlfriends back home. Can't wait to see what happens as a result of the revelation!

So - one of my top 3 is gone - bummer, but I am still rooting for Jake and Kiptyn. Robbie, Ed, and Reid are growing on me too now - I wonder if any of them have girlfriends - I hope not!

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It's 11:00pm - just put Luci down, hoping that I will sleep till 4 or 5am!

Thrilled, but not getting too excited yet

Luci has slept 5-7 hours for the past couple of nights...amazing! I know that this may be a fluke, so I am not getting ahead of myself with excitement, but if this is any indication of the future - going back to work will not be a bad transition.

As a result of her longer sleeping patterns at night, she is clustering her feeds throughout the day now. She was going 3-5 hours with long naps in between. Now, she goes 2-3 hours with short little cat-naps in between. The nice thing is that awake longer and she doesn't fuss. Sometimes, I hold her and talk to her, and she smiles and laughs at me. Other times, I put her in her swing and she just stares at the window and makes all sorts of funny noises. She really only cries when she is hungry, and I don't fight her during the day if it means that she will sleep well through the night.

Also as a result of this new pattern - I am able to get up before John, exercise for about 20-30 minutes downstairs, shower, get dressed, and be ready for the day before John leaves for school. It's a nice little routine that we have gotten into over the past week.

We'll see how long this lasts...

Post-Partum Clothes Shopping

I mentioned in a prior post that I am in a very awkward stage where I don't quite fit into my regular clothes, but my maternity clothes are not fitting with the season. I made a quick visit to Target the other day and purchased some capri's and shorts - STRETCHY ones! These should easily hold me over until I fit into my regular clothes.

However, with Luci's Baptism approaching and with having 6 weddings from now till October, 1 baby shower, and 2 wedding showers - I was in desperate need of dressy outfits. My Mom and I ventured to the Mall this afternoon, and I am happy to report that we were very successful! I was able to find a few dresses that were flattering and very conducive to nursing easily.

This makes me feel a lot better about the body image that I have now...hoping that it will change soon!

Jillian - Episode #2

I missed about 30 minutes of this episode because I was in route from my parents' house to my house. So I missed the 1-on-1 date with Jake - but he got a rose, so I guess that it went well. I have been meaning to watch it online to see what I missed, but I haven't had a chance yet.

Other than that - I think that the 3 guys I picked as my favorites last week are still my top 3: Jake, Kiptyn, and Sasha - no drama, and they seem to be quality guys.

I have now picked guys who annoy me - #1 is David. He actually received the "First Impression Rose" last week, but he is not impressing me at all. He has it out for Juan for something that happened on their group date (I missed that whole thing too). So I can't be too judgemental about it, but none of the the other guys seem to be dwelling on it as much as David is.

I am not a fan of Wes's either. He's way too into himself and his music.

One of the Tanner's creeps me out too - he was the one obsessed with Jillian's feet. It's a little strange. Also, he and Michael seem to have a love-affair going on - they are way too friendly with each other.

I am sure that the drama will continue next week - I love it!

Luci - through Nonno's eyes

My Dad (aka Nonno) has taken TONS of pictures of Luci. He loves his granddaughters and his new camera, so of course he goes a little overboard with taking pictures. I uploaded these pictures to my Snapfish album "Luci - 1 month." So if you already looked at that album, check it out again with the additional pictures at the end, which are my Dad's. The link is below.

http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=799861009/a=40662473_40662473/

BTW - thanks for the compliments on how I look - but I feel like a tub of lard because NONE of my pants fit and it's really frustrating. I have to buy new clothes to get me through this in between stage. I have NO spring/summer maternity clothes, or else I would just wear those.