I haven't posted in a while, but I swear to you that I have the best excuse ever for not updating.

So what's the excuse?

I had a baby!

On August 25th we welcomed Scarlett Marion Klein in to the world at 5:45 PM. She was my tiniest baby weighing in at 7 lbs, 11 oz and 20 inches long.

And she's also been my most exhausting (hence the web hiatus).

Nine hours of labor, followed by no sleep for her first three days of life left me positively wiped. To be quite honest, I had never been so tired in my entire life (which is something that well-meaning family members that kept calling repeatedly had a tough time understanding).

But with that said, we've made it to two weeks of life without any major meltdowns on my part and a healthy, growing baby. I have to say that I would not have been able to get through the last two weeks without the help of my amazing Mom, and my truly wonderful friends Katie, Jen and Melissa. You really discover who in life loves you the most when going through a difficult time, and those four women obviously care about me... a lot. Those lovely ladies knew that I needed some good food to nourish me back to health, and I feel truly indebted to them!

Expect to be hearing from me more over the next few days and weeks. I'm trying my best to get life back in full-swing, which is hard when pulling all-nighters but I'm trying to make it happen!

It has become quite apparent to me that life is going to continue moving 100 MPH after this baby arrives. The boys will still want to go to the pool, the park, play out front... and just be boys (as they should be!).

While I'm the type of parent that likes to wear my babies as much as possible when they are not of back-breaking weight, there is still times when you need to put the baby down (whether it's for he/she to nap, or to have a bit of a break).

I was so excited when Katie at OC Mom Activities threw me a baby shower. Along with that shower came a GREAT gift that she was able to score from the gals over at Luly Boo - they call it a baby lounge to go, but I think of it as a portable Moses Basket!

I've never had a baby lounge, Moses Basket, or anything portable (except for a stroller and car seat) for my babies to rest in. What's great about this product is that it folds up in to a lightweight backpack! Seriously loving the idea of this, as we often walk to the Water Park or Pool in our neighborhood and never can fit everything we need in the wagon our boys ride in.

When your little one is very little, it's important to put them down in a safe place. I love how the Luly Boo Baby Lounge to Go will give my baby girl a safe place to sleep when my husband and I are trying to keep up with our lives as parents of two very active little boys. And even when we aren't on the go, we can use our Baby Lounge to Go at home for keeping her comfortable when folding laundry, working at the computer, or doing our chores!

Thank so much to the gals over at Luly Boo for such an awesome Baby Shower Gift! I can't wait to be able to use it for my little baby girl (7 more days and counting!).

It's Wednesday night.

And instead of trying to forget what it felt like to have an External Cephalic Version performed on me this morning, I'm just here... just being.

Apparently all the the things that I did over the last week or so coaxed Baby S to come to her senses and turn to the head-down position. I don't think it was the Acupuncture treatment (as she would have moved within 12 hours of that), but I do think it was the Chiropractor! It seems as though he has freed up some space in my body, and I'm convinced it was what he did that allowed me to avoid what was previously planned for today.

I swear on Sunday night, as I was laying inverted at a 45 degree angle to try and get the baby to turn, that she was head-up. In fact, I'm certain she was! Monday morning I woke up, and Baby S was her normal inactive self (girlfriend sleeps in). When I went to my OB appointment later on that morning, I told my Doctor that she was still breech and I was very frustrated.

Well, that's until he checked on ultrasound to find her head down!

So for now, she's facing the right way... and I'm hoping she stays that way. I'm also hoping that she decides to come earlier than my planned induction date of the 25th. But of course, we'll just have to wait and see on that one.

Right now I'm just thankful that things are working out. It would be seriously crappy if they didn't, but I guess in the end it wouldn't be the worst thing that could happen.

These days I'm making my lists, and I'm checking them twice. Kind of like Santa Claus.

Funny thing is that I'm about the size of Santa Claus, except, you know... I don't have a belly like a bowl full of jelly!

On my list last weekend was making sure that the baby's room was all set and ready to go. Final touch ups on the walls... check! Carpet vacuumed... check! Everything put in it's place... check! Artwork hung up on the wall... check!

So at this point it looks like all I need is a baby and the room will be complete.

The bedding is made by Cottontale Designs, and is part of the N. Selby line in a print called Garbo. When I originally saw this bedding online, I didn't think much of it because the colors looked so muted in the pictures that just about every baby bedding site showed. When I saw this bedding in person at a local baby store is was love at first site. I'm not a fan of baby bedding with lambs and butterflies on it. In fact, I'm really not a fan of anything that is made for a baby with annoying juvenile prints on it! Why can't a baby's bedding look good in your home and make your house look well put together? This bedding satisfied all of my needs, and I got a terrific deal on it over at Overstock.com.

The paint on the walls is Behr Premium Plus Ultra Flat Enamel in the color Pink Ginger. Never in a million years did I ever think that I would paint a room pink for a little girl, as I've always been so against doing pink for girls and blue for boys! But this pink didn't have that sea of bubblegum feel for me, and with the shade being more on the dusty side it will be easy for my little one to transition with the same paint color to a "big girl" room when she is old enough.

The Custom Flash-Card Style Wall Art is from sarah + abraham. I chose the 11x14 size, and had the print done in brown to balance out all of the pink going on with the walls. The site also sells other Personalized Art Prints, Birth Announcements, Invitations, Stickers... you name it! Very cute stuff, and with standard shipping I received my item within a few days. I visited Aaron Brothers during the 1 Cent Frame Sale and found a nice Frame and coordinating Matting and framed the item my self. In a perfect world this would have been custom framed, but I have to be more of a Frugal Frannie these days!

Things I haven't done yet that I would like to do is create some sort of Wall Art for the wall over the changing table (I'm thinking a framed ribbon/hair bow holder), new woven shade for the window (which will happen when we get around to doing the rest of the house), and side panel drapes. I might scrap the drapes for a while though, because all I can think about is the child safety aspect of having drapes and I would rather avoid injury at all costs. At some point this millennium when my handy man is available to work on my house, our windows will have casings added around them which is a total bonus when you have children because it eliminates the incidence of chipped plaster around the window edge.

For now I'll just have to dream about how it will eventually all look, but the room is pretty much complete and will stay the way it is for a long time.

Now, if I could just figure out how to make a slip cover for my Arm's Reach Co-Sleeper... or better yet, find someone that makes one...

I'm lucky in the fact that I've actually won a few things lately.

Totally out of character for me. I don't "win" things.

My friend Jen over at Tiny Oranges was running a giveaway for a Chic Mama Diaper Cake back two months ago. So what the heck, I entered... and I won!

How stinkin' cute is this diaper cake?

I'm sure for all of those Fans out there for Sex and the City we remember the episode of where Charlotte brings a Diaper Cake to a Baby Shower because it was the "hottest thing" to do. And why not? A diaper cake is full of diapers, which any Mom can use with a new baby. Cute and quite the utilitarian gift without looking so utilitarian!

For the giveaway I had the privilege of choosing which diaper cake I wanted. I chose the Disco Waves pattern, which is very cute. The diaper cakes range in price from $49.00 to $125.00, can even be made according to Custom Specifications. The more expensive diaper cakes include such things as Baby Shampoo, Receiving Blankets, and other baby care supplies and necessities. The standard sized diaper cake contains 35-40 Pampers Swaddlers Diapers in size 1, and if specified you can request a different sized diaper for the cake.

If you aren't exactly crafty when it comes to Baby Shower Gifts, but want to make a statement with your gift giving I highly recommend a Chic Mama Diaper Cake!