Sunday, December 22, 2013

The Waiting Game

Well.... Its December 22nd, exactly 10 days until my due date. I'm getting antsy! Pretty much doing anything is painful at this point so I can't wait until this little girl is out of my belly. I can't help but think "This is it!" at every little twinge or contraction, however, nothing major has happened yet - although today I've been having more spasms and stabbing pains than usual... Could this be a sign?!? Lets hope so ;)

My Mom came up to help me with some last minute things a couple weekends ago, we made a freezer full of meals and washed/folded about 6 loads of baby things. We cleaned and baby proofed a few areas of the house, so I feel good to go! She will be coming back at the end of December and will hang around until after we have the baby. The rest of my family won't come up until mid-January to meet the new addition, which will hopefully give me a couple of weeks to recover as long as she doesn't decide to be stubborn and come late. PLEASE OH PLEASE let this baby not be stubborn!

Ryan is busy wrapping up some last minute house projects. He just finished installing a wood burning stove after removing the gas stove that came with the house.  We won't have to worry about making a railing to go around it to keep the baby safe until next winter when she is mobile. We're hoping to save money by using it as a major heat source and I think it will pay off! There is something about a wood stove that just makes the house feel more like a home anyway:


Christmas is just around the corner and I've been busy shopping (Amazon Prime is a life saver), wrapping presents and baking! A couple days after deciding we didn't need a Christmas tree this year with everything else going on, I felt like a major Grinch and changed my mind. Ryan went down and bought a tree, set it up and decorated it with my "supervision"... LOL! I wasn't feeling very well so I just pointed to where I wanted the ornaments placed... hahahaa, He is the best!


We decided to just do stockings for each other this year, in an attempt to conserve our Holiday spending. However, a few days ago I noticed 3 rather large boxes under the tree addressed "To Emily from Santa".... Welllllll then... So much for just stockings! Now, in my desperate attempt to avoid holiday shopping at all costs, I began Pinteresting homemade stocking stuffer and present ideas. I came across homemade firestarters - which I thought was perfect since we just put in the wood stove!  I went to work making Ryan a box full of these firestarters... Well, long story short, Pinterest is a BIG, FAT LIAR. For one, these firestarters are not nearly as cute as they were supposed to be. And two, it didn't really occur to me that a stocking full of empty toilet paper rolls stuffed full of dryer lint might not be the most suitable present to get on Christmas Day... LOL... Once I came to my senses (after making about 20 of these firestarters) I decided that this was not a worthy Christmas gift, no matter how desperate I am to avoid department stores right now. I gave them to Ryan early to use and good thing because they don't even work well.... TOTAL FAIL:


Annnddd, we have a stocking for our cat. Yes, we are definitely those weird cat people - Don't judge! Heehee :) Anyway, apparently a more appropriate name for Mozart would be "McGyver". He found his grocery bag of stocking goodies, ripped it apart, chewed a bag of treats open and chowed down early! HOW RUDE! So yes, technically we got duped by a cat. Which is just sad. Here's the culprit after he passed out in a food coma:


My last day of work was Wednesday... I had hoped to last until Christmas Eve but with the way I've been feeling I knew there was just no way that was going to happen. I'm glad to have the 2 weeks off prior to my due date so I can relax (if that is even possible!) and my only responsibility is being massively pregnant. YAY! I ordered a few books to keep me occupied, however, instead of diving into them right away I started re-reading The Hunger Games series for the 4th time... Typical. Ryan doesn't understand my love of repetition, neither do I really. I am aware that I have a few strange habits but I can't help it! ;)


In other exciting news, Ryan won a FREE paid day off work for winning the "Ugliest Hawaiian Shirt" contest at his office's Holiday party. YAY! I had a feeling that he would win when he brought home this little gem to wear... check out this horrifying thing:

Well, that is all for now... Here's to hoping that my next post will have some sweet pictures of our healthy baby! Merry Christmas to you all!

Saturday, November 30, 2013

Giving Thanks

We have a lot to be thankful for this year! November seemed to fly by fairly quickly, although this last week has been a little rough. Exhaustion is catching up with me now but the worst part is I'm just sooo tired of being tired! How ironic...

I have a few things left on my "before-baby-comes-to-do-list", so I recruited my mom to come up and help with some last minute things.... she's the best! I'll be picking her up at the airport on Friday and she'll stay with us for a long weekend to help me prepare for the next few months. I'm thankful that she is willing to come all this way just to help me with a few tasks in order to ease my pregnant mind.

The main things we'll be working on are:
- Making a few weeks worth of crockpot meals to freeze
- Cleaning the house top to bottom and baby proofing
- Washing and sorting baby clothes

***If you have a favorite crockpot meal, please share it with me! I've been pinteresting recipes for a while but would love more ideas.

As for November happenings, we had plenty to keep busy with....

I was surprised by my coworkers and boss in early November with a cute little party/baby shower at the office. I'm so thankful for their support and friendship! They showered me with presents and I even got a gift certificate for a prenatal massage. Whaatttt??? Best present EVER.... Which reminds me - I need to schedule that ASAP otherwise it might end up being a postnatal massage!

Next, my lovely sister in law, Ada, threw me a little baby shower up here. She did a wonderful job and will definitely be my go-to person for party planning ideas in the future! I'm thankful for her generosity and constant support. Here we are, relaxing on the couch after the party and this sweet boy wanted to say hello to his cousin:


We placed a few online orders for some last minute baby items... Shopping has become a strenuous activity that I no longer enjoy... lol... So I'm very thankful for the internet! And Mozart is thankful for the boxes to play in ;)


I'm also thankful for my husband's remodeling skills! For the last year, we've been using the original oven that was built into the house in the 1960s. It worked but was so tiny I couldn't even fit a cookie sheet in it! Not to mention that last Easter it locked our meal in there and Ryan had to go at it with a SAW to get the dang door open... Haha! Last weekend he tore apart the kitchen to get the old oven and stove top out, then installed a newer oven. I never thought the day would come when I would get excited over a kitchen appliance... but it has :)
 


I'm also thankful that I only have 5 weeks left of cooking this baby! I'm excited to see her face yet anxious for the events to come. The doctor says I'm measuring 2 weeks ahead of schedule and estimates that the baby already weighs 6 pounds. I'm hoping this means she'll arrive slightly earlier than expected... however, the doctor thinks that I'm just going to deliver a larger than average baby... How is this freaking possible?!? Whhhyyyyyyyyy...... LOL

Lets just pretend the doctor didn't tell me this information and completely SCARE ME OUT OF MY MIND. And I would personally be EXTRA thankful if you would so kindly keep your fingers crossed in hopes that this baby STOPS chowing down so her momma can have a smooth delivery!

35 weeks:

We're thankful for so much more than what I can list in this blog post. We are blessed with 2 supportive families, friends and a God that constantly provides for us. We are truly grateful for all the love and generosity we've been shown these past few months and hope that you had a November packed full of things to be thankful for too!

Sunday, October 27, 2013

October Update

So much has happened this last month, we have much to tell! Shortly after my last post, we had another baby doctor appointment where we were given some scary news... At a routine check up, the doctor found that our sweet girl's heartbeat was no longer regular - every 5-6 beats it would stop or skip a couple beats, then start back up again. I could tell something was wrong before a word was even spoken, the doctor listened for far longer than they ever did before and I could clearly hear the heartbeat skipping. The doctor stepped back and talked to me for a half an hour about things like Fetal Heart Arrhythmias and several other underdeveloped heart syndromes... Granted, I only heard about 5 minutes of this lecture before my ears started ringing and my brain turned to mush.

So, they scheduled us for a 2nd ultrasound to get a more detailed look at the heart. Ryan was able to come with me to this appointment, so I already felt a little better about the situation... After worrying relentlessly for a week, we finally went in for the follow up appointment and of course the heartbeat was already back to normal and the doctors couldn't say why it had already corrected itself! Thank God! We were so relieved... but really, by this baby's track record so far, should I have been that surprised? I think we may have a little drama queen on our hands.... ohhhh, boy ;)

After the heartbeat scare, we held a yard sale at the end of September. We had slowly been gathering items that we could part with for the sake of making a little extra cash. We didn't have much but luckily Ryan's parents helped supplement our sale so we could have more than 2 tables to set up! All in all, we made enough money to make it worth our time so I call it a win....


In Mid-October we took our last planned pre-baby vacation - we were able to visit my parents in Oregon for a week! Mozart really didn't want us to go.... hahahaa


The day after we got there, my mom's friends threw me a surprise baby shower... I'm so grateful for the time and hard work it took to pull off, our baby it already super spoiled and she isn't even here yet! I was tricked into stopping by the Hostess' office at the Winston community center to pick up a gift before we went out shopping for the day... She gave us a little tour of the facilties and when we walked around the back divider wall I saw 20 familiar faces and a brightly decorated room awaiting our arrival. They definitely got me good! We were blessed with their generous gifts and my BFF Aimee was able to make it as well! I hadn't seen her for 2 1/2 years and I am pretty shocked that she was able to keep the shower a secret from me. Hahaa... A good time was had by all!


We also spent several days at the coast, crabbing and fishing. We celebrated Ryan's 35th birthday and then  made our way up to Salem, OR, for my Grandpa's 85th surprise birthday party! It was nice to see my relatives that we haven't seen for a few years and it was the perfect end to our week long visit.

Ryan and my brother Joseph with their catch of the day:



 Sculptures in Bandon, OR, made out of trash collected off the beaches:



The beautiful Oregon Coast:
 
 

Camo Cupcakes my Mom and I made for Ryan's birthday:


My beloved pet, Mr. Kitty. We got him when I was in 3rd grade and every time we visit I have to say my final goodbye but he just keeps kicking! He's a senile yet resilient old thing:



Since I'm 31 weeks along now, I'll be going to the doctor every 2 weeks now and then in December once a week. At my last appointment on Friday, the doctor told me that I have a torn abdominal muscle/ligament which is causing me quite a bit of pain in the upper left side of my abdomen. Unfortunately, due to the weight of the baby and strain on the muscle, he also said it is unlikely to heal until after the baby comes.... Joy. Not the answer I was hoping for when I described the horrible burning sensation I am feeling in that area of my stomach but since there isn't anything I can do about it I'll just have to deal. However, I'm not exactly looking forward to icing my stomach and popping Tylenol for the next 2 months. Wahhhh!!!!!!!

Hopefully, with the Holidays coming soon, the next 2 months will go a quickly as this last one. I'm ready to get this baby out of my belly NOW... so I can only imagine how ready I'll be at the end of December ;) 

I'd say Auntie Rachel is excited... what do you think? 


Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Progress report...

My sister Rachel came up for a few days and we had a blast shopping for baby girl things :) 
We are pretty much set for newborn clothes now even though I want to just keep buying them because they are so little and cute!!! 
 
We also painted the nursery - I wanted to do a Dr. Seuss theme but no go crazy with it -  so I chose to follow the book "Oh, the places you'll go!" for the bright colors and fun quotes. 
We chose a tiffany blue paint and I'm currently looking for some fun coral colored wall decor. I made a hot air balloon mobile for above the crib and framed some illustrations. We have to wait for the paint to set but then we can put the vinyl quote on the wall:







I've also been trying to take pictures of my belly every couple of weeks so I can eventually put them together in a time line sort of thing... or maybe a flip book...  lol! I still haven't mastered the belly shot, its actually pretty difficult to take a side profile picture of yourself... who knew? 
Here is what I have so far:

14 Weeks:

16 Weeks:

 18 Weeks:


20 Weeks:

22 Weeks:

24 Weeks:

I keep having to remind myself that 24 weeks = 6 months. I think I'm either in some sort of denial or the time has just really creeped up on me. Luckily, I still feel like I'm able to stay on top of things for the most part and I'm not too uncomfortable yet.... although if I'm being totally honest, I'm not really looking forward to getting much bigger ;)

In upcoming news, Ryan and I are going to have a yard sale in a couple weeks that we've been working hard to get things ready for. And in Mid-October we will be visiting my family in Oregon for a week! We're excited to just relax and take our last vacation before vacationing becomes much more difficult :)  Crabbing, camping and shopping here we come!!!

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

20 Weeks and Counting

Ahh! We're half way done! Its hard to believe... in a way its gone by really fast. In other ways its felt like 20 years. I'm starting to feel a little better now, getting sick less often. I think God started feeling sorry for me... or this baby just decided to chill out. Either way, I will live a happy life if I never throw up 3 times before 7am ever again :)

We had our 20 week appointment today. Annnndddddd......... its a GIRL! We are so excited! Here are a few pictures from our UltraSound:

Two blurry little feet... wouldn't keep still long enough for the picture:


 Body is sitting up on the left side, legs extended with feet on the right:


Upside Down baby! Feet on top right and head on bottom right, body on the left:


Profile shot... look at that face! You can see a little arm behind it too:



The best part about knowing now is that we get to start picking out cute things :) Here are a few things I'm really excited for, now that we're having a baby girl:

A girly Dr. Seuss room:


Cute dresses and leggings:


Sweet sweaters:


 Baby beanies:



In other July/August news, Ryan has been working hard on our deck remodel. Hopefully we'll get that and the fire pit done in time to have a summer BBQ before it gets too late in the year.

We also decided to adopt our sweet Oatus out a couple weeks ago. He is a 4 year old golden retriever that unfortunately was still in his puppy phase, much to hyper and wild to be around a newborn. He went away to a nearby farm with 15 fenced acres, other dogs, cats, sheep and goats - its perfect for him! He loved it there so much it was much that it was pretty easy to say goodbye. Its a better situation for him and better situation for us... A win-win all around! He will be missed though (mostly by Ryan lol... I'm not really a dog person).... but I even found myself missing him a couple days ago when I was making dinner. I dropped some onion on the floor and thought "well I'll just let Oatus inside so I don't have to bend down and pick that up". Fail...  :(



My mom came to visit me for a week in July and we baby shopped til we dropped! I have all the staple furniture that belongs in a nursery now. We found some great deals and got to spend some quality time together. My sister Rachel is coming out in early September as well, so we will get to shop for fun girly things! Clothes, decor and so much more :) .... the fun begins!!!!

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Never Ending Home Improvement...

We always manage to under estimate the time and cost of house projects... maybe its wishful thinking? Or denial? Either way it seems that we finish a project just to start another one. Of course, we did all the fun stuff at first when we where excited to make the house our own... now we're left with the boring stuff - painting, changing outlets, swapping out floorboards. Its fun to look back at where we started though! Since I cleaned today I was able to take some more "After" shots... haha! 

The Kitchen came with old appliances and HORRIBLE wall paper. We were lucky to find that the wallpaper was so old that it was actually really easy to peel off, it just came off in big chunks with no scraping required. However, underneath there was this thick pink glue residue that we were stuck looking at until we managed to paint over it:

Before:

 
 After:



I really don't have a good "before" picture of this part of the house, but when we first moved in there was an iron railing (like one that is meant to go on an outside porch) separating the den from the kitchen. Our realtor gave us the idea of building a half wall with a bar top instead, so we did!

Before:

After:


Then there was the Pink Bathroom. I'm almost embarrassed to say I didn't hate the pink all that much... I don't know whats wrong with me! We started doing some research on how to update a pink bathroom with out stripping it of all it's vintage glory. I found this little website and was inspired: http://savethepinkbathrooms.com/
We still have some work to do - find the perfect paint color, update the doors/window covering and get a new shower curtain - but all in all I'm pretty happy with how it is looking so far:

Before:



After:



The Guest bedroom had wall paper that was as equally bad as what was in the kitchen, we tore it down right away so we wouldn't have to look at it any longer!

Before:


After:

Lastly, my piano. This wasn't necessarily done for our new house, but i just love it too much not to post it!!! We got it for $50 from a church that just needed someone to haul it away, it was in pretty bad shape on the outside but amazingly pretty well in tune. I browsed Pinterest for ideas and decided to paint it rather than try to re-stain.

Before:


After:


We're holding off on any more inside projects for the time being now, since the weather is nice we can now work outside. Our summer projects are repairing/restaining the deck and building a fire pit & bench out of cinder blocks! Oh and of course building our nursery :) Yay!