Monday, July 26, 2010

House renovation Updates


I can't remember the last time I updated about the changes going on in our WV house. Of course we painted the baby room and started setting that space up, but since we moved in last November we have done quite a bit to improve on the space. Here is a list of things we have done so far (and when I say we...I mostly mean my husband because he has done a lot of work):
  • Renovated the bathroom
  • removed ugly tile from entry hallway to discover hardwood flooring underneath
  • Painted our bedroom
  • Painted Guest/Baby room
  • Put together furniture for baby room
  • Installed a ceiling fan in our bedroom
  • Built closet doors for our room
  • Built a dining room table
  • Built a bookshelf
  • Built a coffee table
  • Planted a garden
  • Releveled upstairs hallway flooring
  • Installed new upstairs hallway flooring
It is a good start for not having even been here for one year. Not to mention there is a lot of things that needed to be done to fix things. We don't just live in a normal house. Ours is over 100 years old and has been wired, added on, and built by those that probably did not have to follow any regulations. So every step is that much harder once you really see what is behind the walls.

Our next project is to finish the upstairs hallway by putting drywall in the ceiling and finish off the walls while hopefully also finishing up the walls into the downstairs hallway. We are going to be working on this next month with the help of my dad and grandfather. It will be the last project before the baby arrives. Then it will be a little of a break until next spring. Then we are going to get started on the downstairs renovations! One step at a time! So hopefully the next time you see the hallway and stairs it will not look like this!



Monday, July 12, 2010

Baby Shower

About a month ago I went home to Northern VA to visit with family and friends for a baby shower. I was excited to see everyone and eat some yummy cake. My sister, mom, mother-in-law, and sisters-in-law all worked together to make food and get the shower together. We decorated onesies and enoyed each other's compnay. Below are some pictures of the cute cake my sister bought from the same person who made our wedding cupcakes and some of the decorated onesies! I'm thankful for everyone's kindness and and getting more and more excited for baby Jack to make his debut.





















Saturday, June 26, 2010

Starting the Nursery

I started working on the baby room the first week I finished school. First step was to pick out the room colors. I knew that I wanted a neutral color for most of the walls, but have one accent wall with a bright green color. After checking out a few sample colors, I found my picks, bought the paint, and prepped the room. It took me two days to paint (by myself) because my husband was building our dining room table at the time. Don't worry, most paints today are safe for pregnant women with no odors!

After our baby shower last weekend (which I need to post about) Joe started to put together furniture for the baby room. The dresser, which we put on our registry probably took the longest (and sadly, it is a pretty cheap piece of furniture for a lot of money). We also got our crib from my parents and thankfully that went together nicely and looks good too, for half the money of the dresser!

I have also started washing the new clothing and fabrics in vinegar to eliminate any chemicals. Then today I made a crib skirt, and lined the dresser shelves with cute paper. This room will be officially put together by the end of July. I still need to attach the wall decal, assembly the IKEA chair, put pictures on the wall, and read the manual for the baby monitor. Then I guess I should make some room for baby bottles in the kitchen, get the car seat in our car, and all the rest of the stuff that I should be thinking about with a baby on the way. So at least here is a start to our preparation for baby Jack!








Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Summer Goals

Tomorrow is the last day for me this school year....yeah for summer break! I was looking back on my last summer goals and plans and I am happy to report that I completed almost all of those projects. So I figured, if I write it down again, then I will complete it all:

1. Get the baby room together - I cannot wait to start painting this weekend!
2. Make some pillows with cute fabric I bought at IKEA.
3. Make a dining room table (with the help of this blog Knock-offwood.com)
4. Pick lots of yummy veggies from my very first garden!
5. De-weed around my house
6. Go to the beach
7. Make a trip up to NY to see Joe's family
8. Get ready to have a child in my life
9. Read a few new books (and get a membership at our public library)

Thursday, June 3, 2010

A Pregnancy Post

I have been looking at a lot of different blogs lately and I am jealous that I have not been updating how I have been through out my pregnancy. So although I am 6 months pregnant already it is never too late to start sharing a little about what I am experiencing. Plus, I figure when I am a stay-at-home mom, this blog will be an outlet for me to communicate with others in the world.

1st Trimester-
I found out I was pregnant almost right away. Of course, we had been trying to get pregnant, and in December I decided to try an ovulation kit. I guess it worked in our favor because within a few weeks my body was not doing it's regular thing! I was afraid to actually take a pregnancy test, since I didn't want to psych myself out. However, my sister was in town for a weekend trip and she convinced me to get a test (she even bought it). Actually, she bought two, and when I tried to use the first digital test I did not follow the directions and I messed it up. So I had to wait until the next morning. I woke up before everyone else and took the test. It did not take long to say that I was pregnant, and surprisingly I was very calm about it. It was as if I knew this all along but I was not as excited as I wanted to be. That came later though (it just did not feel real yet).

I walked upstairs and told my sister, then snuck back into bed to tell Joe. He was super excited. Of course, there was no way we would be able to keep a secret so we called all the family, starting with my grandparents. It was special and very exciting! Pretty much right after I found out that I was pregnant I started to feel the symptoms. I was tired, had to pee all the time, and I had a strong sense of smell. In fact, I found that I really hate a distaste for tater tots...ugh, they still sound gross. Luckily I did not really have morning sickness, but I did feel nauseous in the afternoons. It was weird, but as long as I ate regularly I was not that bad. I definitely can not complain, because many of my friends were sick their whole pregnancies.

We took a trip to Seattle towards the end of the first trimester and I was feeling great and just starting to show with a little gut. In fact, most of the time I really just feel like I have a huge gut. I guess I thought it would feel different. It was also on this trip that I first started to feel things...I didn't know if it was the baby or not. Now I am thinking it was probably the first movements from the baby and pains from my stomach stretching.

Of course, everyone was asking us if it was a boy or girl, but we did not know yet. Plus, I had no clue what to expect. We both wanted a boy, but I did not really have any inclinations that it was a boy. Well, at one point I did have a dream that we had a boy and I thought he was the most beautiful baby. However, I figured it was just a dream. Now I find that experience to be really special.

2nd Trimester -
My appetite started to pick up, even though I don't feel like I am eating that much more. I just went through a month were I wanted to eat a lot of fatty foods. I guess you might call them cravings, but it really doesn't feel that desperate. On the other hand, I have grown to love fudgcicles. Yum!

I also have started to notice the baby movements a whole lot more. Usually at night or when I am sitting down. I think I am just too busy to really pay attention to the feelings. I also noticed that my stomach was really starting to grown. In fact, I was forced to look for other options in clothing. So I bought a few items of maternity clothing. Mostly dresses, because they seem to be the most comfortable. In fact, it wasn't until last week that I realized I cannot wear my jeans anymore, so I figure that is pretty good if I lasted six months in my normal clothes. Joe and I also went rock climbing for the first time in a while...I was horrible. I was trying to be careful and felt really off balance at the same time.

Two weekends ago my parents came for a visit and we worked on a vegetable garden. I was so excited to get things going, but of course we needed to get a little weeding out of the way. Let's just say my back was killing me and I noticed how much more exhausted I felt at the end of the weekend. I'm continuing to feel tired quickly...and since we don't have air conditioning I am starting to feel uncomfortable in my skin too. I'm hoping I will be able to survive the heat with very little swelling in my ankles. I feel like a blimb already. I had my husband take pictures, as you see above and I look so bad. Actually, I think I look much better in person, but that never seems to come out on camera.

Tomorrow is the last day of school for students and it could not come too soon. I am anxious to get started on the baby room. Plus, my heartburn is getting worse. So it will be nice not to experience that while encouraging teenage boys to stop talking and focus on their assignment! I have also been paying attention to my belly a lot more, with hopes that I might see the movement, but to no avail. In fact, Joe has still not felt our baby boy and that makes me sad. I can't wait for him to be part of the excitement. Each time I feel him kick me, I notice that I am more inclined to talk to him as well. And then I think, is this really happening? I'm going to be a mom...am I ready for this? Will I be good at it? I hope so. I want to be more excited, but I feel really scared for all the upcoming changes. And to make matters stranger, I have three students that are also pregnant, who see more excited to be moms than me! Weird...maybe I am just more realistic about it.

So at this point, I'm going to try and take a few more pictures. It will be nice for baby Jack to see them one day. Plus, in two weeks I am going to paint the baby room and start the decorating process! So there will be lots to post about. It might not be my travels, but it will be something.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Lake Quinault, WA

One of our favorite places that we stayed while traveling through Olympic National Park was in Lake Quinault. We had heard of this old lodge where Franklin D. Roosevelt had once stayed. Apparently he was there to check the area out and make sure it was a great place for a national park. I think he made a great decision and I must say, I loved the lodge as well. I felt like we had gone back in time, when people went on vacations to the mountains and signed up for an all-inclusive package. There was a lake to swim in, canoes to take out, lots of hiking, board games to play, a great big fire to sit next to, and a delicious restaurant.

In fact, I ate one of my favorite meals (that only cost as much as our stay for the night!). We didn't think we would be able to get a room, but since it was the off season they had a great walk-up price. We jumped at the chance to stay in a small, simple room. It wasn't about the room, it was about the lodge itself. Plus, we had really enjoyed the hiking too. We definitely hope to go back there one day with our kids and highly recommend others take a trip there too (just remember to go in the office season.





Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Our First UltraSound

So I don't know if this will be the only one, but I can say it was very exciting....especially because we found out the sex of the baby! It is going to be a boy. It was the last thing we found out, but right when the technician focused in on that part of the baby, Joe could see the baby's penis! It was right there for us to see just because he wanted to make sure everyone knew! And right away he was doing karate kicks...Joe loved that too. Needless to say, we are thrilled and so excited to be having a boy (secretly it was what we both wanted). And just seeing the baby made me realize this is really happening! So in the picture you can see the baby's head and he has his hand on his forehead. The second picture is a front image of his face...doesn't it look like skeletor? And last is a video where you can even see the heart beating!

Update in February

One might think that having several snow days would give me the time to write in my blog, but I have been spending a lot of time working on ...