Leavin' on a jet plane

Hello, hello! Well, we are in the midst of some last minute prep and then it's off to VA for a little holiday break. I'm looking forward to spending time with family, eating at all of my favorite places (a pregnant woman's top priority) and seeing all my favorite lady friends.

In total un-H-like character, I am actually done packing and have the house clean, ready to be left and am sort of feeling calm for once. It's crazy what not procrastinating can do for a girl. Who knew?

I'll be back around for my Week 27 update on Tuesday and pretty sparsely from there until we get home. I'm completely shutting down from work and this little slice of my world for the next several days, but I know I'll be checking in from time to time.

Hope you all have the happiest of holidays!! Check ya soon!

xo,
H

2 months

We are two months into deployment, and where we finally started to settle into a rhythm by the end of last month, we continued to cruise along through the second.

Really, I can't complain. I've heard deployment woes and all sorts of stories from friends and family, but I don't really feel like we've had it too rough. Did we have some dog and car issues? Yes. Did Grace go to the doctors and did we have off days? Sure. But that's just life and something that we'd deal with whether D was here or not.

I feel SO lucky to have my girl on this ride with me. I can honestly say, it's hard to feel lonely when you are in the presence of my sweet thing on a daily basis...or at least busy dealing with her when she's not being so sweet. ;) By night time when D and I would usually have time together at the end of a long day...honestly, I'm just too exhausted to even dwell on the fact that it's just me. Me time is something I need lately. I'm tired, I'm getting further into this pregnancy, and getting to end my day snuggled in bed without bickering over the TV channel is a gift. Sometimes you just wanna watch New Girl instead of Pawn Stars, ya know?!

New Girl fan. Kidding.

That being said, one of the main reasons we have dealt with the last 8 weeks so well is because my husband is still so thoughtful and helpful, even from afar. When I mentioned that I was still getting a Christmas card together this year, he took it upon himself to order return address labels with our new address. Were they what I would have picked out? Nope. Not at all. But in the end, they are perfect because I know he put thought into them and wanted to do something to help out. When I mentioned that I've been too tired to paint the girls' rooms at night, he encouraged me to look into getting them done professionally. My feet are tired? The man supports a good pedicure. Done and done husband.

Here's Grace checking out the Christmas book he recorded for her and sent to us:

I know our situation is unique. We are able to communicate much more frequently then many other deployed families, and it may be the key to my feeling so at ease with all of this. There was a short period of time this past month where I hadn't heard from D and knew my emails hadn't been read and I won't sugar coat it, I was starting to go into freak out mode. It was probably a good reality check to have considering the situation and made me very thankful for the communication pattern we've been able to establish.

If our months continue to fly by as quickly as this last one has, he will be home with us in no time...which is convenient considering an extra set of hands will be appreciated once Miss C arrives. ;) He will definitely not be here for her birth, but we are still holding out on a slim possibility that he will get some leave right after her arrival. If it happens, great. If not? It'll make his eventual homecoming even that more sweet.

Bring on 2013. I'm ready for it. (At least I am this week...)

xo,
H

26 Weeks

December 12 - 18

Whew! Much better week this time around. No crazy dog or child illness, nothing too difficult to deal with. Can't believe I hit 27 weeks tomorrow. Sometimes I forget what week I'm on and still love those email and app updates from Baby Center and The Bump. This is like the pregnancy sweet spot for me, I feel big enough that I'm obviously showing, but small enough that it's easy to get around and I still don't have a hard time picking up Grace, showering, shaving (not that I've done much of that...ha), and the bump looks cute in clothes. Obviously important factors. 3rd tri is so close I can taste it. Oh wait, that's just more chocolate... ;)
__________________________________________________________________________

Survey says...

How far along?: 26 weeks

Total weight gain/loss:  So literally all week I was 153.5 (+15.5 lbs) and then today, when I do my weekly weigh in for the blog, I was 155.5 (+17.5). Do I think I gained 2 pounds over night? No- this is just the time of pregnancy where I have to be really careful about retaining fluid. I'm drinking more water, added lemon, and picked up some 100% Cranberry Juice as well. I have some short runs scheduled with a friend for the next few days, so hopefully things will even out before my trip. I'll go ahead and stick to 17.5 for my gain though and we'll see what happens next week...after a plane ride and Christmas!

Maternity clothes?: Yup. Probably 95% of the time. Also I accidently ordered a couple more things for our trip home later this week...and had an incident with a hole in my fave pair of maternity leggings. Luckily I can definitely say I'm set through the end of this pregnancy now.

Sleep: Not too bad. I wake up a lot at night, not necessarily to pee, but mostly just to reposition and I end up laying there awak for a little bit. I am sleeping well, but still SO tired by like 2pm. I seriously almost fell asleep working the other day.

Best moment of the week: Got a little surprise in the mail from one of my favorite girls! As I was struggling to keep my eyes opened, the UPS guy (who I keep in business) rang the doorbell and had the sweetest treat from Jen (who just got engaged last night!!! Woo!)...a box of dark chocolate sea salt covered caramel! I promptly ate 3.

 

Jen was concerned, so let me clarify...that is just the first of several
 layers of amazing. She'll feed my addiction for the next week.
LOVE you lady friend.

Movement: Sure do. Wondering if I should remove this one.

Food Cravings: See above. Also, I'm trying out a crockpot French Onion Soup recipe today, so if it all pans out, I'll be one happy momma. Eggs or Raisin Bran Crunch at least once a day. Decaf with creamer.

Gender: Girl

Belly Button: Flat.

Stretchmarks?: Nope. There should be one for Veins?: I'd answer yes. Grace likes to point and say "Purple"...it's really cute...

What I miss: Nothing really.

What I am looking forward to: Being home later this week and catching up with family and friends.

Weekly Wisdom: Hug your babies, don't let the small stuff get you down, remember to be thankful.

Milestones: Got my first few things for Baby C's room! They are all waiting in the wings until I get Grace transitioned to her new space, but as soon as that happens, it shouldn't take much to get the nursery put together. Found a perfect mirror at Homegoods for a steal and little miss got her first onesies and outfits. Girl's gotta have a couple things of her own.

Grace's space: Very sweet, will put her hand randomly on my belly and put my hand over hers. Will talk a little more about "our" baby and seems genuinely excited. Room transition begins in early January, so we'll see how excited she is about that.

 

Belly Pic:

 26 Weeks with C

Note: 2nd day hair never looks good, Heather. Ugh.
Also, my face looks pregnant. :)

 

and

 

26 Weeks with Grace:

 

xo,

H

Thought.

I scheduled today's earlier post last week, before Friday's tragedy occurred. It seems silly now to have some of those things as my "currents" when there are far greater happenings going on around us.

I've never been one to get political on this blog and sometimes, when something is really bothers me I choose not to talk about it...but it seems in bad taste not to mention such a horrific act of violence. I don't know if there is anyway to adequately put my thoughts onto paper, but I will say I held my baby a lot tighter this weekend and thought a lot about her future, and a lot about those who, because of someones selfishness and senselessness no longer have their babies to do the same.

My prayers go out to everyone affected by the Newtown shootings and for the future of our country. I pray that one day, we will be able to send our children to school, or go to a movie theater, or a mall without having the slightest sense of unease. I hope that my daughters never have to worry about their safety in a place where the focus should be on learning and having fun. And to my family and friends who teach, you have always been heroes, but I especially pray for you all as you go back to work today and have innocent questions to answer and try to move forward in maintaining a loving, positive environment for your students.

xo,
H

Currently

Found this on one of my favorite blogs and thought it looked fun...

Watching: X Factor (OMG please tell me someone else is obsessed with Carly Rose Sonenclar!), New Girl, Modern Family, The B in Apt 23, Parenthood, The League, The Mindy Project, The Office...

I know this is a ridiculous amount of shows, but I DVR and then spread them out throughout the evenings so I'm not bored.

Listening to: Judge me, but right now I've been listening to Taylor Swift, Trouble a whole lot. I actually get easily annoyed by her music, but that song is a hit with me.

 

 

Thinking about: How freaking tired I am starting to get. Not cool. Considering getting my iron levels tested if I don't bounce back in a couple of days.

Trying to figure out: How I'm going to make it through Friday's plane ride with a very curious 2 year old.

Looking forward to: The holidays, ending 2012 and getting ready for an exciting 2013. I have such high expectations for this next year. Meeting my girl, ending this deployment, and settling in for awhile.

Reading: Bossypants, by Tina Fey. I've been just reading a little each night to drag it out...I love it so much!
 

Making me happy: A sweet, silly two year old, confidence in making my own decisions and a husband who supports me. An itty, bitty girl that reminds me of her presence daily with belly shaking kicks. Two (semi) healthy dogs who keep me on my toes and friends and family who have been more than amazing. Also, chocolate, hair appointments, and I have to second gel manicures. It's sad how put together they make me feel.

What are you currently up to?

 

xo,

H

Domestic Bliss - Laundry Room Update

Here's no secret: I'm not a domestic goddess. I don't have a cleaning schedule and my laundry often goes through several "air fluff" cycles before I get around to folding it throwing it on my bed in a heap and getting around to it eventually.

Oddly enough, as much as I'm not a huge fan of chores, I couldn't wait to get my hands on our laundry room. It is situated in between the garage and our main floor and serves a dual purpose, as mudroom and a place where the dogs can hang out and not get into things while we are out as well as a place where laundry is done and extra linens are stored.

In just the 5 months we've lived here, it has already gotten used and abused. It's a high traffic area, and the walls were marked up with dirt from the dogs and then room had turned into a place that was not conducive for cleaning.



Hot mess.

After Pinteresting for months and coming up with a plan, I moved forward with getting beadboard installed and painting it in a white semi gloss. It should be easy to clean and make the small room seem a little bigger. Above the washer and dryer I got some basic cabinets from Lowes and had them put up to give us more storage and hide the mess. Finally, I painted above the bead board when my mom and brother were here for Thanksgiving in Wythe Blue, by Benjamin Moore. Here is how it looks today:

I am so pleased with how far it has come and now I can play with the decorative touches and hopefully be compelled to keep things clean. (Let's not get ahead of ourselves though.) I'm planning to add hooks to the right of the door and still playing with some other easy ideas. When I can finally call it "done", I'll be back with more pictures.

Now I'm off to finish my Family Room gallery wall, get a coffee table (it's been ordered!) and get serious about upstairs. I am SO glad I have had these projects to keep myself busy the past couple of months. It's been a blast.

xo,
H

Strike 2

A couple weeks ago, I think I mentioned that I had to have a tire replaced due to a nail...most likely from the construction going on next door or across the street. Obviously no proof, but lets be real, chances are that is how it happened.

We'll get back to how that is relevant to today's story later.

Last week, Major had a major (see, I'm okay enough to joke about it now! ;) pukefest through the night and didn't seem well the next day. I attributed it to him being a puppy, eating grass, or something else that was bothering his stomach and called it a day. The following afternoon and evening, there was more dog vom- and he hadn't eaten, which prompted a 2am call to the vet. Bright and early Friday, much to Grace's delight, Maj got to ride in the car with us to daycare, and was dropped off at the vet for a little check-up.

It was a long day, but let's just cut to the chase and say after an exhausting afternoon of approving serveral test and x-rays, it was determined that he had a blockage, which was not digesting properly and allowing food to pass through his system. The only answer was emergency stomach surgery to remove whatever he ingested, which I was told was more than likely cloth- think underwear or socks. This made me feel sick to my stomach, but mostly because if it was socks or underwear that I left on the floor, D would totally never let me live it down. I eased the pain by treating Grace and I to Mexican for dinner and was housing chips and salsa when I got the call where I had to give the go ahead to move forward with surgery. Fun times.

Later that night we got a call saying that everything went well, he'd be in recovery for the weekend, and they did find something that was causing the issue.

It was not cloth. It was hard, green plastic.

I immediately put on my detective hat and tried to figure out what the heck it could have been. I combed the garage, walked the fenced in backyard, and came up with...nothing. So, I made them save the evidence so that I could get a better look when we went in to visit Major the next morning.

Waiting to see her pup

When I saw it, it was completely obvious what it was. A freaking bottle cap. From a bottle. Cause that's where bottle caps come from. But my issue is that we don't have any of those in our house, so he had to have gotten ahold of it outside. And since I'm a shitty dog owner and hadn't taken the pups for a nice walk in a couple of days, he totally had to have gotten it when he was in puppy jail, aka, the backyard. Which my deductive reasoning leaves me to believe it got tossed over from the construction site next door. Maybe not on purpose, maybe someone was tossing something into the dumpster and it hit the side and fell into our yard...but still, the point is, it didn't come from our house and chances are that is what happened.

So at this point, in less than a month, I've had to replace a tire and pay to have my dog's stomach cut open. I actually have a picture of the stitched up incision, but it's so gross looking that it would be in bad taste to post it here. I have text bombed some people with it, which I think they really appreciated...

Today I went on a pregnant momma bear rampage and wrote a scathing email to the builder attaching all of our invoices. Nothing will probably come of it, but I figure if I don't do anything then I'm guaranteed something else will happen. If I do send it, than at least I can say STRIKE 3 if something else does and get really crazy.

Great times in adulthood and deployment.

xo,
H

25 Weeks

December 5 - 11

What a week! Grace had an earache, Major had puppy surgery (more on that later), and thank the sweet baby J, I had my friend Kara swoop in for the weekend and give me something to be excited about after that crazy few days. We got a jump on another house project (Grace's big girl room!) and even had a toddler free afternoon to run around Savannah and get a nice, adult, fancy dinner that was easily the best food this prego has had the pleasure of eating since we've moved here. I'll have to throw together a weekend recap...even though I basically just gave you one. Pregnancy wise, I'm feeling fine, but noticing that I'm getting bigger quickly and am more tired at the end of the day. Hopefully this is just because of everything going on and that will take the back burner for another few weeks.

__________________________________________________________________________

Survey says...

How far along?: 25  weeks

Total weight gain/loss:  UGH. I hate the scale. On Monday morning it had said I'd only gained a pound this week, on Tuesday, when I do my weekly weigh in, it said I'd gained 3. I know it's a lot of water weight, but seriously not cool scale, not cool. I'm just gonna take a bye week and say up 2 for a total of +15.5, but I'll chug water and get back to you next week.

Maternity clothes?: Yes sir. Whenever possible. Some layering of maternity under a regular button up, but all bottoms for sure.

Sleep: Alright. Nothing special. I'm waking up feeling less rested than usual. I made D promise I could have a morning to sleep past 8 when he gets home. I can't remember the last morning I've slept past 7 even. Wahhh.

Best moment of the week: Having Kara in town! I had so much fun with her here and Grace loved "Tara" too. ;)

Movement: Still my mover and shaker. Less crazy lately, but I've been running around a lot, so probably just less noticeable.

Food Cravings: Chocolate, daily decaf(s) with tons of creamer.

Gender: Girl

Belly Button: Starting to pop out up top.

Stretchmarks?: Not seeing any yet.

What I miss: I'm ready to really step up my workout routine. D is really getting after it while deployed and I know I'm going to want to get back into shape asap. Maybe I should put down the chocolate now and give myself a head start...(or not). Haha, yeah, not happening.

What I am looking forward to: Going home for Christmas.

Weekly Wisdom:  Stay on top of things while you have the energy. I'm the queen of leaving things till the end of the day, but after G goes to bed the last thing I've wanted to do these past few days is dishes or clean up.

Milestones: This isn't a great one, but towards the end of this week I definitely have felt myself slowing down. Still a couple of weeks until I'm in the 3rd trimester, which I both love and hate. Love because it means we are getting closer, hate because I know that all of this great energy I've had is going to go away and I'll be exhausted and huge.

Grace's space: G is on board the baby sis train, and has been so sweet. She will hug my belly, put her hand on it to feel the baby kick, and we have practiced saying her little sister's name. I don't want to jinx anything, but she is going to be so great.

Belly Pic:

 

 

 

and 25 weeks with Grace:

 

 

xo,

H

Bring it on.

This week. It's been a doozy. Apparently yesterday's post was just the tip of the iceberg, and let's just say if bad things happen in threes, I'm ready for the third to hit any day now.

On the plus side?

It's Friday. And all of these little frustrations will be forgotten by next week. Also, I'm gaining deployment sympathy points from the hubs left and right, and I'm glad he realizes what I've had to deal with in his absence. In the end, it's all not really a big deal and any of these things wouldn't be newsworthy if both of us were here to divide and conquer.

Anyways. Things are falling back into place and this weekend is gearing up to be a great one. I've mentioned in previous posts that one of my best friends, Kara, is coming to visit for the weekend. Her trip couldn't have come at a better time and I'm really looking forward to the next couple of days. Some weekend plans include: showing her our town, lunch at our favorite restaurant on the marina, house projects (haha...), our Farmer's Market is doing a holiday edition of the market this weekend with a ton of fun vendors, and of course, no trip would be complete without a trip downtown to Savannah, which is on the books for Sunday afternoon/evening!

We'll see if I can get my act together and manage some pictures. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Check ya Monday, peeps.

xo,
H

Keepin' it real

It's been a really good week. I've gone on 3 mile runs everyday, we had an awesome weekend (that I never recapped...whoops!) full of Christmas parade's, dinner with friends, and a quick photo sesh by Madeline. Gotta get our Christmas cards together and get some pictures off to D for a little present.



Didn't she do an amazing job?!

Then yesterday/today happened...

Mid bath, while I was gloating at the fact that I can shower while my kid plays in the tub and save precious time, there was an incident. Involving poo. Cleaning out the tub, toys, and my child was a lot of fun.

Then I had a 4 am wake-up call care of one of the pups (take your best guess...) who decided he needed to throw up 4 times because grass is apparently both delicious and bothers his stomach. We made it into the laundry room and off of the rug.

Then at 6 am he was hacking again. We made it off the carpet a second time and when I went to the kitchen to grab paper towels he followed and puked on the family room rug.

Obviously this signaled Grace that it was an appropriate time to wake up.

We got off to school without a hitch and I pulled back into the house ready to start over and get my day on. I bring the dogs into the garage from the backyard if they are dirty so that they dont run through the house. As I closed the garage door and opened the door to the house, I noticed Major was no longer with Molly and I.

Wanna know where he was?

Oh, he had run back outside and jumped into a construction worker's car. Ready to make a break for it.

At that moment I officially decided today was just not destined to be awesome and had chocolate with my coffee for breakfast. That actually seemed to help. ;)

I'm off to finish work, get the casa in order, vacuum my rug and air out the laundry room that smells of cleaning solution and stank.

Is it Friday yet?

See also, why we keep the dogs...she's using her whisper voice and telling him to be quiet because Molly is "sleeping"...

xo,
H

24 Weeks

November 28 - December 4

Time is moving again. I go through such weird lulls and then things speed back up. I wish I had more consistancy. Some days I think about how soon 15 ish weeks are going to be up and get all anxious about writing down directions for feeding the dogs and caring for my child and getting things in order. Others, I realize that I've done an okay job of pacing myself so far and shouldn't need to worry about the little details until after the holidays. I just want to make sure that as things get closer I am overly prepared since I won't have D here as my back-up. On the plus side, I have some pretty great help, and that makes me feel less stressed about it all.

__________________________________________________________________________

Survey says...

How far along?: 24 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: +1.5, making a total of +13.5 so far. With Grace I was up 18 lbs at 24 weeks, so I'm still slightly behind that still. I'd like to keep it that way. At this point with Grace I started gaining like 2 pounds a week and my weight skyrocked quickly. I'm hoping to stay closer to a pound a week and give myself some wiggle room around Christmas.

Maternity clothes?: Most of 'em.

Sleep: Really well, aside from waking up before 6 am with Grace both days this weekend. Not sure what her deal was. Then, just when all seemed well, the little one woke me up at 4:45 on Monday morning with her party rocking. I'm already being ganged up on.

Best moment of the week: Got my first little run in since being told I was good to go. Aside from wanting to pee myself, it went great! Looking forward to some more this week.

Movement: See the Sleep section above. Girlfriend gets jiggy with it. So yes, yes to movement.

Food Cravings: Not too crazy. Still love my dark chocolate. I'm getting more and more into the habit of having a bowl of cheerios/banana and almond milk for breakfast and an egg/veggie wrap for lunch. Trying to get smoothies back in as an afternoon snack and really stay semi on track between now and when we go home for the holidays. Easier said than done.

Gender: Girl

Belly Button: Awkward as ever. I should take a picture some time and you all can show it to your teenage girls one day to scare them away from getting their belly buttons pierced. Mama does know best. I should have listened to her on that one!

Stretchmarks?: No newbies, but I look veiny. It's really attractive.

What I miss: I had a dream that I was crossfitting and someone was going easy on me instead of telling me to add more weight to my push press. I was SO frustrated. I guess I miss crossfit a little bit? Planning to get back into it more seriously post babe.

What I am looking forward to: Kara comes this weekend! Looking forward to hanging out, maybe doing a few house things, and having a fun few days.

Weekly Wisdom:  Time flies when you are having fun...or just distracted with other things. Staying busy really helps with both the pregnancy and deployment.

Milestones: Nothing big this week. I used viability last week, so I guess that can still apply.

Grace's space: I always laugh when I come to this section of the survey, because this is really such a funny age. Grace has put her hand on my belly to feel the baby, but it's hit or miss as to what she thinks about everything. You'll see in the video below, I've documented a big, fat miss.

 

 

Oh well. Just this morning she pulled up my shirt (at home, haha), gently rubbed my belly and then pulled it back down. It was cute. 

 

Belly Pic:

 

24 weeks with C

 

24 weeks with G...

 

xo,
H

Survey says...

I took this survey during my last pregnancy right about the same frame. Thought it would be fun to do again.

Survey says...

Is this your first pregnancy?: Nope, numero dos.

How did you find out you were pregnant?: A lot of tests. :)

 

What kinds of pregnancy test did you take?: What kind didn't I take? Clearblue, EPT, and First Response.

How many?: Around 8 or so.

What were your first symptoms?: Nausea, followed shortly by exhaustion. 

Who did you tell first?: I guess D. Since I kept going back and forth there were different people around each time. Last time was my best friend Amanda via chat. Very formal...haha.

 

Who was with you when you found out?: No one...again, the dogs I guess.

 

Was baby planned?: Sure was.
 

When was baby conceived?: Mid-late June 2012.

 

How far were you when you found out?: About 4.5 weeks.

 

Due date: March 20, 2013

 

Do you know the sex?: Girlfriend

 

Any names?: We're close. Right now known on the blog as "C' if you've noticed the weekly pictures.

 

Who do you think baby will look like?: No clue. I've learned from Grace that all of my expectations probably won't happen and it will be even better than I could have imagined. I'm still holding out for Baby 2 to get D's blue eyes though. They're pretty gorgeous (although G's large brown eyes are one of my favorite of her features)! We also have some red heads in D's family, so we always joke that our baby could have red hair too. Genetics are pretty cool and I think seeing the baby we made together is such a great surprise. For now, I know she has a pretty darn cute profile.

 

 

Have you and dad felt baby move?: I have, as have other family members. D didn't get to feel her move before he left.

 

When did you start to show?: Early. Like 11 weeks.

 

Do you have any mood swings?: I guess, but minimal. It mostly relates to when I get tired and need to relax.

 

Any complications?: So far so good! Marginal previa has resolved and I'm feeling great.

 

What is your favorite thing about being pregnant?: This probably sounds creepy, but I love having someone with me all the time. I love movement and feeling like I have a little buddy that's always around.

 

How many kids do you want?: 2-3. If D were reading this he'd definitely say 2. I'd like to make sure we feel like our family is complete before ruling anything else out. I think we'll know in the next year or so.

Do you talk to your baby?: Not as much as I should. Sometimes I'll get a big kick and say hi and ask her how she's doing in there. ;)

 

How far along are you now?:  24 weeks, 2 days

xo,
H

Car Singing

Earlier this month...



 

xo,
H

Thanksgiving Recap/House Pics

What a fun filled few days! I can't believe we are already cruising along towards Christmas. I'll give you one guess as to how prepared for that I am...

Anyways, back to Thanksgiving- our Turkey day was wonderful, full of great food, family, and friends. I have no food picutres, because I was too busy stuffing things into my pie hole to spare a hand for anything like a camera. Our friends Maddie, Chris, and their sweet girl Emmie came over to feast with us and lucky for me, Maddie does use her camera lot and takes awesome pictures. Here are some that she got of us outside. Mini photo shoot! I keep telling her to start a side business. I'm planning on taking Grace to the park for a photo sesh with her this coming weekend. Gotta get some good pics to send to daddy!

 

 

I was really excited to see how Grace interacted with my brother. She is super friendly with most females, but boys still make her shy (not a bad problem to have ;). We skype with my mom and brother Michael a couple times a week, so she knows them pretty well and goes on and on about "Unka My" and how "toot" (cute) he is. Crush much?! I knew that she would be a little hesistant when she saw him in person, but by the end of the weekend, they were besties.

 

 

As a guest in my home, I can't promise I won't put you to work...although, everyone came very willing to lend a hand. I had curtains put up in the master and office, the hallway between the master and laundry room painted, the laundry room itself painted in preparation for this week's re-do and an accent wall in the family room (not pictured) done in the darker stripe color. The rest of the walls in that room are the lighter stripe. I also got my garage swept out, backyard raked, and was off of doggie duty for a few days. Thrilled doesn't even cover it.

 

The striped hall is a little crazy, but I'm going to live with it until after the holidays are re-evaluate if it will stay striped. The bottom left pic is the laundry room. I had cabinets installed over the washer and dryer yesterday and am going to try my hand at beadboard wallpaper this weekend and will have a couple other small changes made in the next couple weeks. There are some other little things left to do, mostly wall hangings and a family room coffee table, but I'm ready to call it good and move on.

Above is the start of a gallery wall in the family room and a view of the stripes from that room. They just sort of peek out. Still unsure. It's a little visually distracting.

Alright, wrapping up for now. I have so many Grace videos and pictures I need to share sometime. Maybe tomorrow?!

xo,
H

23 Weeks

November 21 - 27

I stayed true to my promise and ate everything in sight with reckless abandon this past week. It was glorious and I'm only a little guilty (but not much)! My mom and brother arrived last Wednesday and left Sunday and Monday, which really made the week go by so quickly. They were also SO helpful while visiting. I am looking forward to moving my house focus from the main floor to the upstairs towards the end of this week. Girl room time!
 
__________________________________________________________________________

Survey says...

How far along?: 23 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: +1.5...thank you Thanksgiving. :)

Maternity clothes?: About 80%. Comfort is key and I have some pretty cute things.

Sleep: Can't ask for much better than I've been getting. I had a few late nights with guests in town and I'm making sure to get in bed earlier now that things have died down.

Best moment of the week: Just an all around kick ass week. Seeing family was wonderful, Thanksgiving was great, and yesterday I got to take a peek at my little girl again and find out that my placenta issues have resolved. Can get back on the running train (slowly) and feel great knowing that I no longer have limitations.

Movement: All.the.time. Total belly shaking movement. Still most happening at night.

Food Cravings: Still all about chocolate. Specifically dark chocolate covered caramel with sea salt. It's dreamy.

Gender:  Still my sweet second girl.

Belly Button: Getting flatter by the day.

Stretchmarks?: None yet.

What I miss: Not much.

What I am looking forward to: I have another visitor (Hey Kar!) in town in a couple of weeks and then a holiday trip home coming up. Fun times ahead!

Weekly Wisdom: Being pregnant during the holidays is the best. I don't know why everyone doesn't plan things this way.

Milestones: 24 weeks tomorrow, so I'm going to go ahead and use viability as my milestone today. Always love hitting 24 weeks and feeling a sense of calm about things to come. Obviously still want my little lady to stay put for a longggg while.

Grace's space: Oh, Grace. :) I love this kid more and more every week. She is going to be so much fun to see as a big sister. Right now she gets most of her practice with her buddy Emmie. I still need to do a Thankgiving recap, but Emmie and her parents celebrated T-day with us and the girls just get cuter together every time we hang out. One of my favorite moments was watching them look through a bucket full of toys. Grace would take something out, "explain" what it was, and pass it to Emmie, who is just the happiest little thing and puts up with G when she doesn't want to share, etc. They are becoming such little buddies and I hope that the same thing happens as her little sister starts being able to interact with them as well. :)

Picture time: Thanks to Maddie for the non-mirror self photos this week! ;)

23 weeks with C

with G:


xo,
H

22 Weeks

November 14 - 20

Well, I've officially made it a month into this deployment (a whole post in itself), and routine has definitely set in. Grace and I have our schedule down and I no longer dread weekends like I did the first few weeks. I really look forward to all of the time that we have been spending together and I know that she is enjoying it too. On the pregnancy front, I really don't have much to say this week. Things are comfortable, I feel good, and I'm enjoying it. We are pretty set on a first name, but not set at all on a middle. I refer to the baby by her name in emails to D and should probably confirm that we are 100% sure it's what we've decided on and get Grace on board as well. I'm sure we'll share eventually. :)

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Survey says...

How far along?: 22  weeks

Total weight gain/loss: Up again. +2, for a total of 10.5. I'm dealing with some potty issues (or lack thereof...TMI?!), so honestly I think that has something to do with it. At this point with Grace I was up 15.5. I really started packing on the pounds the last 20 weeks, and with my decline in exercise and inability to run, I'm feeling it start. I don't mind getting bigger, I just don't enjoy feeling softer. Back fat and chub rub isn't cute, bump or no bump.

Maternity clothes?: About 80%. Comfort is key and I have some pretty cute things.

Sleep: Awesome. Couldn't ask for more...well, other than later mornings, and let's be real, that's not going to happen for another several years.

Best moment of the week: Weekly brunch date with my big girl. We've gone to our favorite breakfast restaurant at some point during the weekend for the past two weeks and it's gotten to be such a fun time for both of us. We love food and people watching, so we're pretty much in our element.

 

Movement: I have a night owl on my hands. I feel movement throughout the day, but like clock work from 9:30 - 10:00 pm my little ninja comes out in full force.

Food Cravings: Give me chocolate. Seriously. Can't get enough. We have a chocolate shop right down the street and I need to be banned. I wish I was saying give me a big, fat salad. Actually, that does sound good right now.

Gender: Mamasita.

Belly Button: Getting more shallow by the day. I can make it flat if I push out my stomach. Great party trick...

Stretchmarks?: No newbies yet. All of my existing are on my hips and thighs and were pre-G. Fun times.

What I miss: Running and not having a giant ass/hips/thighs. It's where I gain my pregnancy weight.

What I am looking forward to: Stuffing my face this week.

Weekly Wisdom: After last weeks nesting craze, my new motto is: rest when you can. I laid down during one of G's naps this weekend, and even though I didn't get any sleep, it was nice just to put my feet up and stop moving for a little bit.

Milestones: Big sister acknowledges that there is a baby coming! See below...

Grace's space: Grace pointed to my stomach and said "baby" over the weekend. She totally knows what's going on. I was trying to read something in What to Expect, and she stole the book and wanted the "baby book" for herself. We have to talk a lot about being gentle with mommy's belly because- shocker- she's not. If we are sitting together on the couch, she'll use it as something to elbow herself into a more comfortable position. If we are getting dressed or changing a diaper, I can't tell you how many swift kicks I've had to dodge. Poor little sis, already getting rough housed.

Picture time:

22 Weeks with C :)

and at 22 Weeks with Grace:


xo,
H

Monday Madness

Hola! Just getting all set for our Thanksgiving guests to arrive on Wednesday morning. Even though I have the dogs scheduled for the groomers tomorrow and a cleaning service coming during the day, I still feel like a crazy person getting things prepped.

P.S. I've never had a house cleaner before and I feel so adult being able to have one come out.

D thinks I'm ridiculous, but mama got a groupon and deserves it. (I use that excuse a lot these days.)

Captain Sassypants (hmm...or no pants?)

Last week I got to deal with replacing a tire due to a stupid construction nail, Grace having a double ear infection, and was just busyyyy in terms of our schedule. This week and next will be equally as busy, but it shouldn't be as stressful. In fact, I'm already looking forward to seeing my baby girl again a week from today.

I'll pop in tomorrow with my 22 Week update and then will probably be MIA for the until next week when things die down again. Hope you all have great Thanksgiving festivities and eat like you're eating for two! That's what I'll be doing... :)

xo,
H

Confessions

Haven't done these in awhile...I confess:

• I have a new shower routine where I wake up, do my make-up, take Grace to daycare and then jump in the shower...careful not to mess with my face. It's so dumb, but already having make-up done allows me to look like less of a hobo when I drop her off and cuts my post shower getting ready time.

• I rented Magic Mike. It was not what I would call a quality film, but Channing Tatum dancing to Pony? Worth the ridiculous rental price.

• The stripes in my bathroom are my new favorite thing. I go in there for no reason (other than to stare) at least once a day. I already have my next striped area in mind and want to paint it in the next couple of weeks. (Gotta have them somewhere more visable!)

• D wants an iPhone...so I upgraded myself to the 5 and he's getting my old 4s. 'Tis the season of giving, but let's be real, I deserve the new phone considering the circumstances.

• We've been doing "breakfast for dinner" at least twice a week since D deployed. It's my favorite meal of the day, easy, and G LOVES her eggies, oatmeal, or whatever other concoction I whip up. Sorry I'm not sorry.

• I confess, I'm not going all out for Grace's Christmas this year. We will be traveling, she'll get a lot from family...and truth? She could care less whether or not shes opening a book versus a giant dollhouse or something. Mama's saving that dinero for her room swap.

These are my confessions. So- what do you need to spill?!

xo,
H

Seeing stripes

I mentioned in my weekly update that I've been a nesting fiend lately. I don't know if nesting is the right word, but the urge to clean, de-clutter, organize, and update is out of control. Mid-day I randomly decided that I was going to paint stripes in the smallest room in my house. That room is the itty bitty bathroom within the master bath. Basically there's a toilet. There's no pretty name for it.

I used leftover paint from the kitchen (Benjamin Moore - Putnam Ivory) and the existing wall color (Sherwin Williams - Antique White). Using Young House Love's tutorial I measured the wall, decided on my number of stripes and got to marking and taping, which p.s. SUCKS. I'm definitely not an "attention to detail" type of person...so there was a lot of eyeballing and things are not perfect.

I ran out of tape towards the top of the wall around the last stripe and definitely need to get some touch up paint for the builder Sherwin Williams color, so that's on the agenda for tomorrow. But the point? It was an easy update that only took a few hours...and now I want stripes everywhere.

xo,
H

21 Weeks

November 7 - 13

Productive to the max this week! House stuff getting taken care of, work and life things in check. Just an all around good 7 days. I seriously have off the charts nesting urges, but I think that the holidays and visitors have something to do with that. I also have a feeling this baby will be early. I hope I'm wrong- I'm honestly down to carry this kid 40+ weeks just to have more time before things get crazy, but I just doubt it will happen. Also felt like this week went by slower than the others. Not sure if it's because of the long weekend or what, but I kept having to second guess myself about what week I was in. Time can feel free to move again, thanks.
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Survey says...

How far along?: 21 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: Down! Thank the sweet baby J, I must have been really bloated when I weighed myself last week, because things evened out after a couple of days and the scale read 146.5 this morning, which is 1.5 less than last Tuesday. Puts me at +8.5 lbs overall and I am happy to take it. This puts me back on track, gaining closer to 1 pound a week than 4!

Maternity clothes?: In LOVE with maternity clothes. All of my Loft swag came in and I was hoping to return some of it, but everything fit perfectly, looked great, and I'm pretty sure my Winter maternity wardrobe is complete for now.

Sleep: Can't complain.

Best moment of the week: A lot of great moments this weekend. Things are falling into place with our new routine and I am just really enjoying all of my one on one time with Grace. She is so much fun to be around (don't get me wrong- I still need her to take long naps and be in bed by 7:30) and is going to be the best big sister.

 

Didn't put her baby down all weekend.

 

Movement: Every day. Seems less crazy than with Grace...although, I wonder if it's just early still and I'll get some of those big strong jabs and flips in the coming weeks.

Food Cravings: Still hungry most of the day. Not really craving much, but still enjoying my good 'ol faves like French Onion soup, Tuna sandwiches, and 2 mandatory cups of decaf a day.

Gender: GIRL. I have to say, now that things have sunken in, I couldn't imagine it any other way.

Belly Button: Getting more shallow by the day. Pretty much a mutant.

Stretchmarks?: Not yet. Need to take my own advice and lather up. I've been so awful this time around.

What I miss: I miss D being around to partake in all of the excitement. In the last week he's mentioned wanting to get Grace a Christmas outfit and also asked me to start telling him what we need for the new baby so that he can order and have it shipped to us. I can tell he is trying to be as involved as he can from far away. :)

What I am looking forward to: Thanksgiving and my mom and brother visiting next week. I was not pregnant during the holidays last time around and I plan to take full advantage this year. I think this is the first year ever that I'm not worried about gaining holiday weight. Bring on the mashed potatoes!!!

Weekly Wisdom: Embrace the nesting urges. How often do you find yourself wanting to clean, organize, and update things?

Milestones: This is the first week I've had strangers comment about the belly/baby/etc. It threw me for a loop because I don't ask unless I'm confident I could have someone's water break on my shoe. Guess I'm showing more obviously than I thought? I literally had a handful of people say things, whether it be the cashier at Old Navy, random mom at the park, and yes, even my UPS delivery guy. He made a comment about how I'll be getting more packages soon and I was thinking, "Why? Because of Christmas? Does he know I have a shopping problem? Has he seen Grace out playing?" and then it hit me. The belly. Things for a baby. (Slaps hand on forehead.)

Grace's space: As you can see from the picture above, Grace is also in full on baby mode. She asked me to swaddle her baby in an old Aden + Anais blanket and insisted on taking it everywhere with us this weekend. People died of cute everywhere we went. In other news, we have officially purchased a big girl bed and will have it by the end of the week! Big girl room update is going to start getting underway in the next couple of weeks and I have fun plans for a DIY upholstered headboard to kick things off.
Oh hey, belly:

21 Week with #2

21 weeks with G

xo,
H

Bellayyy

Dropped the ball on the belly pic for my 20 week update on Tuesday, so here we are today (aka, I actually dried my hair)...

Hi, baby.

xo,
H

Around the casa

Well, hello there! Happy Friday. I am looking forward to the three day weekend and spending some quality time with the little miss over the next few days. No big plans here, but we'll have fun and I'd like to continue trucking along on some house stuff during naps and after bed time.

Big news of the week? We made some major progress in the Office/Dining room by adding board and batten to the walls!

Before: Builder Blah

After:

 

Now I'm working on 3 fabric covered corkboards for behind my desk, looking for a better light fixture, and I ordered some fun curtains. I have a couple of little accessories I need for around the room and also need to give the walls another couple coats of semi gloss to really finish them off. I'm hoping to have it all together by Thanksgiving.

 

Right now I'm on a serious "get it done" house kick and my goal is to get the first floor finished by the time we head home for Christmas. I'd also like G's big girl room to be pretty close, because when we get back from our holiday trip, operation Big Girl Bed will commence. That gives us a little less than three months to get her all set and then work on the nursery for little sis. :) Since we have most of the big things, this should just be a fun, relaxing way to wrap up the pregnancy.

 

But back to the first floor. Wanna see some of my plans? Ok, great. First up. The Wall of Shame- aka the MASSIVE blank wall behind the couch in the family room. It's just aching to be transformed into a gallery wall, right?!

 

Wall of shame...and messy room. Keepin' it real.

 

Inspiration

 

 Next up on my hit list: The Laundry Room. It is right off of the garage and I'm ashamed to say, the dogs have pretty much taken over and already ruined the builder grade paint job. Solution? Tall beadboard around the entire room in an easy to clean semi-glass with hooks to the right of the door. Cabinets over the washer and dryer, a bright, fun paint color around the top of the room. Throw a couple things on the wall and calling it a day. Planning to get this done the week after Thanksgiving/first week of December. :)

Needing storage...

Already testing colorssss!

 

Inspiration - color and light fixture

 

Inspiration - Bead board

Finally, finishing off the Powder Room and Master. All they need are little things. Something on the wall in the powder room and finishing off the shelves over the toilet. Curtains (which have been ordered) hung in the master, a large full length mirror to replace the crappy college one we have now and take up some wall space. Wall decor and lamps for each for our nightstands to finish things off.

Powder Room

Master
(Yes, that's my snoogle pillow on the bed...)

 Lots of little details, but doable! Definitely keeping myself (and wallet) busy. ;) I love the feeling of getting things accomplished, and I hope I can keep up this momentum. Exactly 6 weeks till we head to Virginia for Christmas, so here's to hoping we stay on track!

xo,
H