This is something I have been asking myself, almost daily, since Brayden was born in August. It seems like so many of my friends "knew" that they were done and I feel so uncertain. It doesn't help that I get asked almost daily " Are you guys planing on more children"?
Before we had Charlotte, Tim and I honestly thought we only wanted one child. Literally, the day we came home from the hospital with her we both declared we wanted another baby within the next two years. Brayden fell exactly into that time frame, fitting our plan perfectly. When I was pregnant with Brayden, I started to think "Is this my last time being pregnant? Will I know after he is born that our family is complete?' The answer: I still don't know!
At first Tim was adamant about only having two kids, after all three is a game changer. But then the night before my C-section we had a noncommittal talk about not being sure that this was the last time we would get to experience all the emotions that come with a new bundle of joy! Now here I sit, 4.5 months postpartum, honestly thinking about another baby. Is this hormones? Am I crazy? Or are three kids in the cards for us?
There are certainly advantages and disadvantages to each. This is a little bit that goes through my head almost every day:
+ If we have more kids, will we have to move? I love my house and don't want to move.
+Is is OK if kids share rooms?
+ I'll have to get a minivan (I have actually already accepted this as my fate with two)
+ Will we be able to vacation/ do fun things as easily with three?
+ I really love the idea of having a big family.
+ I want to be pregnant and snuggle one more newborn.
+ I have two amazing kids, why stop there?
+ Some days I feel overwhelmed by 2, will I be able to handle three?
+ If we do have a third, should we have them close together or wait till Charlotte is in Kindergarten?
+ Are the grandmas up for watching three kids?
I keep telling myself, I don't NEED an answer now. I don't have to know NOW... I am still young (enough). After all, I have an infant still. But my type A personality gets the best of me! So I guess my question is: Did you know when your family was complete? If so, how?
Thursday, December 31, 2015
Thursday, December 10, 2015
Brayden: Month 4
+ Can roll from tummy-to-back and back-to- tummy.
+ Has started sleeping in his crib at night but LOVES our bed. If I want him to take a long nap, I let him sleep in our bed in his "zippy" and I usually get 3 hours out of him.
+ Has the best belly laughs. My heart melts when he is laughing at his sister.
+ Has outgrown the swing and Rock-N- Play.. slow down little boy!
Thursday, November 19, 2015
Share Meal Ideas
I am late in writing this considering our last produce share is gone and we are picking up again this Friday. But we tried some new meals this go round- one of the best things about the share it makes me think outside the box and come up with new meals to incorporate the produce. This was our last share:
Apples: It is hard to tell from the picture but we got a bad of the smallest apples EVER. I am talking 3 bites and its gone small. While I had no idea how we were going to use these, Charlotte has been loving them. I washed them all and put them in the fruit bin in the fridge and she helps herself. They are perfect for a toddler!
Cauliflower: We used it to make Cauliflower rice fish taco bowls. This is a meal we have had before but it has been SO long that I had forgotten about it. Our cauliflower made quite a bit of rice so we actually had enough to make beans and "rice" for lunch the next day.
Broccoli: Although not healthy AT ALL we added broccoli to this recipe for Crockpot Pierogi casserole. I knew I was going to have a late night at work and needed something that would be ready when I walked in.
Kale, tomatoes and mushrooms- I had a butternut squash at home that needed to be used which I roasted. I also had some cooked sausage crumbles leftover. I sautéed the kale, mushrooms and tomatoes with onions and garlic. Scooped out and mixed in the cooked squash and sausage crumbles. Loaded everything back into the squash, topped with cheese and broiled for a few minutes. Tim and I both loved this meal. Its weird that often the most "thrown together" meals turn out the best. I will definitely be making this again!
Pears and grapefruit: Breakfast staples for me. I have been obsessed with pear and brie quesadillas. I use whole wheat tortillas, a pear, some brie and a dash of cinnamon. I press it together and eat it with one of the grapefruits from the share for an easy breakfast.
Red Peppers: One of my "easy" go meals is chicken fajita bake. I don't follow the spices exactly as listed here ( we like more kick) but here is a general idea. The nice things it is we typically both get dinner and a lunch for the next day out of this meal. Lunch is usually served over a salad versus on a tortilla.
The persimmons STILL are not ripe! I have been reading up on them and they are supposed to be delicious but the key is to wait till they are ripe. I have them stored properly and am waiting for them to soften!
Looking forward to a new week of ideas to plan out!
Apples: It is hard to tell from the picture but we got a bad of the smallest apples EVER. I am talking 3 bites and its gone small. While I had no idea how we were going to use these, Charlotte has been loving them. I washed them all and put them in the fruit bin in the fridge and she helps herself. They are perfect for a toddler!
Cauliflower: We used it to make Cauliflower rice fish taco bowls. This is a meal we have had before but it has been SO long that I had forgotten about it. Our cauliflower made quite a bit of rice so we actually had enough to make beans and "rice" for lunch the next day.
Kale, tomatoes and mushrooms- I had a butternut squash at home that needed to be used which I roasted. I also had some cooked sausage crumbles leftover. I sautéed the kale, mushrooms and tomatoes with onions and garlic. Scooped out and mixed in the cooked squash and sausage crumbles. Loaded everything back into the squash, topped with cheese and broiled for a few minutes. Tim and I both loved this meal. Its weird that often the most "thrown together" meals turn out the best. I will definitely be making this again!
Red Peppers: One of my "easy" go meals is chicken fajita bake. I don't follow the spices exactly as listed here ( we like more kick) but here is a general idea. The nice things it is we typically both get dinner and a lunch for the next day out of this meal. Lunch is usually served over a salad versus on a tortilla.
The persimmons STILL are not ripe! I have been reading up on them and they are supposed to be delicious but the key is to wait till they are ripe. I have them stored properly and am waiting for them to soften!
Looking forward to a new week of ideas to plan out!
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
Brayden: Month 3
+ I seriously CANNOT believe my baby boy is 3m old already.
+ He is quite the happy guy: smiles and laughs.
+ He loves sitting up: propped up, in the bumbo, on our lap.
+ Needs to be moving.. He is not happy unless the car seat or stroller is in motion.
+ We don't have a doctor's appointment until next month but we think he is over 15lbs.
+ Charlotte has taken to calling him " Mr. B" or " Little guy" which I think is hilarious.
+ Is a total mama's boy!
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Let's talk produce...
Let me start by saying, I think we eat pretty healthy. However, I also always think there is room for improvement. That being said, organic produce and meats are expensive! I have been purchasing organic chicken and grass fed beef at Costco since they regularly carry those for reasonable prices. While Costco does often offer organic produce, it is very inconsistent and the assortment is not that great.
A member of one of my "mom groups" started up a new local pickup site with Annie's Organic Buying Club. Tim and I wanted a way to incorporate more organic produce both into our diets and our budget. I did a little research and decided we would give it a go They offer lots of different size options and add on items. I like that you can order weekly or biweekly and there is no "contract". One of the things I like about it that it forces me to meal plan around what the share offers that week.
So far, we have been getting the 3/4share. Right now, I am signed up for weekly however, if there aren't enough people in your area for that week, you may get moved to biweekly which so far is the only con to me. Anyway, this was our latest share.
So, how did we use our share this week? Here is a breakdown of my meal planning.
Pears- used them to make Pear and Almond Steel Cut Oats. This was my first time making this and everyone ( including the Toddler was a fan). The nice thing about baked oatmeal is you can make it ahead of time and eat it throughout the week.
Eggplant- I LOVE eggplant parm but don't like that it is fried. I adapted this recipe a bit and made a Baked Eggplant and Chicken Parmesan Casserole served with a side salad. We got dinner and lunch out of this meal.
Sweet Potatoes- Tim doesn't really "like" potatoes. He will tolerate them but I have been able to get him to eat sweet potatoes by making BBQ Chicken Sweet Potatoes. I also add caramelized onions and garlic on top. YUM! We also had enough for dinner and lunch for 2!
Zucchini- We have a Veggeti and often use it to make zucchini noodles. This week we mixed some shrimp into the mix!
Sweet Peppers- Used to make sweet pepper nachos. This was my first time trying this and they turned out AWESOME! We had this as our main dish with a few adaptations... we skipped the olives and I mixed the chicken with spicy Latin beans.
Cauliflower- I decided to FINALLY try a cauliflower crust pizza after seeing it all over Pinterest. I will say that it was very tasty but the consistency was a bit off. I will try it again though. We served this with a side salad.
Apples, Bananas, Kale - lunches, snacks and smoothies. If the bananas start turning, we chop them up and put them in sandwich bags and throw them in the freezer.
Avocado and tomatoes- Salads, thrown in eggs. Charlotte LOVES avocado slices with her dinner. Tim doesn't like the consistency of Avocado but I can usually sneak some in the BBQ chicken sweet potato mentioned above. Sometimes he will even put some in a smoothie.
We pick up our next share on Friday and I haven't meal planned it yet. We also got a fruit add on this week which has persimmon which I have never had before but I am excited to try. So far, I am loving the share and trying to incorporate more veggies in our diets :)
A member of one of my "mom groups" started up a new local pickup site with Annie's Organic Buying Club. Tim and I wanted a way to incorporate more organic produce both into our diets and our budget. I did a little research and decided we would give it a go They offer lots of different size options and add on items. I like that you can order weekly or biweekly and there is no "contract". One of the things I like about it that it forces me to meal plan around what the share offers that week.
So far, we have been getting the 3/4share. Right now, I am signed up for weekly however, if there aren't enough people in your area for that week, you may get moved to biweekly which so far is the only con to me. Anyway, this was our latest share.
Pears- used them to make Pear and Almond Steel Cut Oats. This was my first time making this and everyone ( including the Toddler was a fan). The nice thing about baked oatmeal is you can make it ahead of time and eat it throughout the week.
Eggplant- I LOVE eggplant parm but don't like that it is fried. I adapted this recipe a bit and made a Baked Eggplant and Chicken Parmesan Casserole served with a side salad. We got dinner and lunch out of this meal.
Sweet Potatoes- Tim doesn't really "like" potatoes. He will tolerate them but I have been able to get him to eat sweet potatoes by making BBQ Chicken Sweet Potatoes. I also add caramelized onions and garlic on top. YUM! We also had enough for dinner and lunch for 2!
Zucchini- We have a Veggeti and often use it to make zucchini noodles. This week we mixed some shrimp into the mix!
Sweet Peppers- Used to make sweet pepper nachos. This was my first time trying this and they turned out AWESOME! We had this as our main dish with a few adaptations... we skipped the olives and I mixed the chicken with spicy Latin beans.
Cauliflower- I decided to FINALLY try a cauliflower crust pizza after seeing it all over Pinterest. I will say that it was very tasty but the consistency was a bit off. I will try it again though. We served this with a side salad.
Apples, Bananas, Kale - lunches, snacks and smoothies. If the bananas start turning, we chop them up and put them in sandwich bags and throw them in the freezer.
Avocado and tomatoes- Salads, thrown in eggs. Charlotte LOVES avocado slices with her dinner. Tim doesn't like the consistency of Avocado but I can usually sneak some in the BBQ chicken sweet potato mentioned above. Sometimes he will even put some in a smoothie.
We pick up our next share on Friday and I haven't meal planned it yet. We also got a fruit add on this week which has persimmon which I have never had before but I am excited to try. So far, I am loving the share and trying to incorporate more veggies in our diets :)
Saturday, October 10, 2015
Brayden: Month 2
+ Usually wakes up once a night but has given us a few glorious nights with NO wakeups!
+ Is a mama's boy... only mama will do, especially between 6:30-8:30pm.
+Weighs 14lbs, 4oz. He is 25 inches long and in the 98th percentile!
+Gives us lots of smiles.
+ Is too long for 3m jammies already.
+Got his two month shots and handled them wonderfully... no fever!
+ Charlotte is full of snuggles for her baby brother.
+ While I still think he looks a lot like Charlotte, there are times when I think he looks like my dad and other times when he is ALL Tim.
Thursday, September 10, 2015
Brayden: Month 1
+ Good sleeper. Usually waking up once a night.
+ Took his first swim in the pool.
+ Looks SO much like Charlotte as a baby.
+ Big sister is warming up to him more and more.
Harrigan Party of FOUR
It has been a really long time since I updated. Between the addition on the house and the new baby, life has been busy. Hoping to get caught up some posts in the near future!
We welcomed our baby boy, Brayden Tate, on August 10th. He was born weighing in at 9lbs and 3oz, quite the contrast from my little Charlotte! This pregnancy and birth ended up being a completely different experience for me. Much like how I shared Charlotte's birth story, I wanted to share Brayden's. Even if I am the only one who reads it!
At 28 weeks, I mentioned to my doctor I felt very large in comparison to my previous pregnancy. She measured my stomach and sent me for an ultrasound that day. Baby was already over 3 pounds and measuring ahead. Then I failed my 1 hr glucose test by just a few points. As is common practice, I was sent for the 3 hour glucose test at the lab. Going to the lab to have blood drawn is a big deal for me. I have very thin, rolling veins. This typically leads to multiple attempts to draw blood from various parts of my body and is (often) accompanied by me fainting. The three hour glucose test meant 4 fasting blood draws! My doctor told me to schedule an appointment at the lab ASAP for the test. I could not get an appointment at the lab for more than 3 weeks out. So I took my chances and showed up when the lab opened. I was 7th in line. Due to computer issues, I waited almost 2 hours before being called back. They got my veins on the first try and I was able to get the glucose drink down. This time they made me drink the entire 100g bottle. 13 minutes in, I thew up the entire drink and was sent home. I am not sure if it was because, at that point, I had gone SO long with no food and my empty stomach just could not handle THAT much sugar? In the meantime, I started testing my blood sugars 1 hour after meals with an extra glucometer I got from my mom. All of my levels were within the normal range.
At my next doctor appointment I told her what happened. She was adamant about me taking the test again despite showing her evidence of good numbers and pleading my case that even if I tested positive, it wouldn't change anything with my diet. Yet again, there were no appointments at the lab. Ultimately, she gave me the option of skipping the test but proceeding with Diabetes Education classes and continued monitoring OR attempting the test again with Zofran. She called me in a script for 1 pill and gave me s referral for Diabetes Education classes and left it up to me to decide before my next appointment. I was really unsure about what I wanted to do. I scheduled the Diabetes class but ultimately ended up going in for the 3-hour test again. I was able to keep the liquid down and tested my own sugars after each draw. I knew I had failed before I left.
Since I had already been testing, I was able to bring that information with me when I went to meet with the Diabetes Educators. They made a few changes to my diet, gave me a glucometer and set me up to come back in a week. I followed their diet for a few days and noticed my sugars were increasing. My insurance company was GREAT. They have a Diabetes Care program and covered all my supplies at 100% and assigned me a nurse who checked in with my once per week. She called me that first week and I was able to talk to her about what was going on. We made a couple of changes to my nighttime snack to help with my fasting numbers. I also started walking 1-mile each night. This was the ticket for me... my numbers were perfect! I feel SO thankful that I was able to manage without medication!
Overall, I gained 30lbs this pregnancy. I really didn't think I would make it to my scheduled C-section. Despite my controlled glucose levels, I knew baby was measuring big so it was almost a blessing to have a repeat C-section this time around. We were scheduled to be at the hospital at 6am on 8/10/15. It was VERY weird knowing we were checking in to have a baby. They immediately took me back to start my IV, take my blood and monitor the baby. I did not have a spinal with Charlotte since I labored before having an emergency C-section so I was a bit anxious about that. I also really nervous that they would want to put the catheter in BEFORE the spinal but they assured me they would not do that to me!
I had an awesome team of doctors. Not only did I get my two favorite doctors from my OB practice, but the anesthesia team was amazing. Since Tim was not allowed in the room when they gave the spinal, they stayed with me the entire time, walked me through everything I would feel, and held my hand when I panicked. I felt pressure when they were trying to get Brayden out as he was stuck under my ribs. When they pulled him out they called him a linebacker and had us guess the weight... I was shocked to hear 9lbs! Since the primary doctor also delivered Charlotte, she even joked about getting a 9lb baby out of 6lb incision :) He was born at 8:07am.
I was taken to recovery and gained feeling back in my legs within 2-hours. My recovery this time was SO much better. I had very little pain and swelling compared to my first C-section. I was up and walking the halls that evening. One of the things they worry about with Gestational Diabetes is the baby's glucose levels which they monitor for the first 24-hours. Brayden's were completely normal and he took to nursing right away. My glucose levels also returned to normal as well.
Charlotte got to meet Brayden the next day. Initially, she was not very interested. When she left we asked her to kiss her brother and she said no. Then she cried all the way home because she didn't get to kiss her brother...toddlers! :) We got discharged a day early and have been loving being a family of FOUR! There are definitely days were things have been a challenge but my heart is so full with love for these two kiddos!
We welcomed our baby boy, Brayden Tate, on August 10th. He was born weighing in at 9lbs and 3oz, quite the contrast from my little Charlotte! This pregnancy and birth ended up being a completely different experience for me. Much like how I shared Charlotte's birth story, I wanted to share Brayden's. Even if I am the only one who reads it!
At 28 weeks, I mentioned to my doctor I felt very large in comparison to my previous pregnancy. She measured my stomach and sent me for an ultrasound that day. Baby was already over 3 pounds and measuring ahead. Then I failed my 1 hr glucose test by just a few points. As is common practice, I was sent for the 3 hour glucose test at the lab. Going to the lab to have blood drawn is a big deal for me. I have very thin, rolling veins. This typically leads to multiple attempts to draw blood from various parts of my body and is (often) accompanied by me fainting. The three hour glucose test meant 4 fasting blood draws! My doctor told me to schedule an appointment at the lab ASAP for the test. I could not get an appointment at the lab for more than 3 weeks out. So I took my chances and showed up when the lab opened. I was 7th in line. Due to computer issues, I waited almost 2 hours before being called back. They got my veins on the first try and I was able to get the glucose drink down. This time they made me drink the entire 100g bottle. 13 minutes in, I thew up the entire drink and was sent home. I am not sure if it was because, at that point, I had gone SO long with no food and my empty stomach just could not handle THAT much sugar? In the meantime, I started testing my blood sugars 1 hour after meals with an extra glucometer I got from my mom. All of my levels were within the normal range.
At my next doctor appointment I told her what happened. She was adamant about me taking the test again despite showing her evidence of good numbers and pleading my case that even if I tested positive, it wouldn't change anything with my diet. Yet again, there were no appointments at the lab. Ultimately, she gave me the option of skipping the test but proceeding with Diabetes Education classes and continued monitoring OR attempting the test again with Zofran. She called me in a script for 1 pill and gave me s referral for Diabetes Education classes and left it up to me to decide before my next appointment. I was really unsure about what I wanted to do. I scheduled the Diabetes class but ultimately ended up going in for the 3-hour test again. I was able to keep the liquid down and tested my own sugars after each draw. I knew I had failed before I left.
Since I had already been testing, I was able to bring that information with me when I went to meet with the Diabetes Educators. They made a few changes to my diet, gave me a glucometer and set me up to come back in a week. I followed their diet for a few days and noticed my sugars were increasing. My insurance company was GREAT. They have a Diabetes Care program and covered all my supplies at 100% and assigned me a nurse who checked in with my once per week. She called me that first week and I was able to talk to her about what was going on. We made a couple of changes to my nighttime snack to help with my fasting numbers. I also started walking 1-mile each night. This was the ticket for me... my numbers were perfect! I feel SO thankful that I was able to manage without medication!
Overall, I gained 30lbs this pregnancy. I really didn't think I would make it to my scheduled C-section. Despite my controlled glucose levels, I knew baby was measuring big so it was almost a blessing to have a repeat C-section this time around. We were scheduled to be at the hospital at 6am on 8/10/15. It was VERY weird knowing we were checking in to have a baby. They immediately took me back to start my IV, take my blood and monitor the baby. I did not have a spinal with Charlotte since I labored before having an emergency C-section so I was a bit anxious about that. I also really nervous that they would want to put the catheter in BEFORE the spinal but they assured me they would not do that to me!
I had an awesome team of doctors. Not only did I get my two favorite doctors from my OB practice, but the anesthesia team was amazing. Since Tim was not allowed in the room when they gave the spinal, they stayed with me the entire time, walked me through everything I would feel, and held my hand when I panicked. I felt pressure when they were trying to get Brayden out as he was stuck under my ribs. When they pulled him out they called him a linebacker and had us guess the weight... I was shocked to hear 9lbs! Since the primary doctor also delivered Charlotte, she even joked about getting a 9lb baby out of 6lb incision :) He was born at 8:07am.
I was taken to recovery and gained feeling back in my legs within 2-hours. My recovery this time was SO much better. I had very little pain and swelling compared to my first C-section. I was up and walking the halls that evening. One of the things they worry about with Gestational Diabetes is the baby's glucose levels which they monitor for the first 24-hours. Brayden's were completely normal and he took to nursing right away. My glucose levels also returned to normal as well.
Charlotte got to meet Brayden the next day. Initially, she was not very interested. When she left we asked her to kiss her brother and she said no. Then she cried all the way home because she didn't get to kiss her brother...toddlers! :) We got discharged a day early and have been loving being a family of FOUR! There are definitely days were things have been a challenge but my heart is so full with love for these two kiddos!
Monday, May 11, 2015
Harrigan Update
Obviously, I have been updating a lot about the progress on our house. I have kind of brushed over some of the other exciting things that have been going on around here lately.
I mentioned a few weeks ago that we are expecting baby #2. Before Charlotte was born, Tim and I honestly weren't sure if we wanted more than one kid. Pretty much as soon as we got home from the hospital with Charlotte, we knew we wanted a second baby. I am an only child and Tim and his brother are quite a few years apart. We thought 2 years apart sounded perfect for our family. Shortly after Charlotte's first birthday, we decided to try for a second. We found out the first week of December that I was pregnant!
The first 10 weeks or so were rough. I wasn't "sick" but very queasy and very tired. Dealing with that, work and chasing a toddler during the holidays was difficult and I was so thankful to get some relief. We held off on telling our parent's until after my first OB appointment. It was SO hard to keep it a secret over Christmas!
I definitely started showing MUCH earlier this time around. I took out the maternity clothes at 14 weeks and have been enjoying my maternity pants ever since. We were really on the fence about if we wanted to have an elective gender ultrasound this time around. Mainly, the cost of doing so. Ultimately, curiosity got the best of us and we scheduled an appointment without telling anyone art 16 weeks, 5 days. I thought we were having another little girl and had a name all picked out. Tim and my mom also thought it was going to be another girl. My pregnancies were pretty similar at that point and I kept having dreams about two little girls. When we went in for our ultrasound, the tech said "first impression is it is a girl"... a few minutes in he said " I am going to change my mind on that, you are definitely having a boy"! Tim was ecstatic, I was going to happy regardless!
We went that evening and bought some "It's a boy" balloons and told our parents who are SO excited we will have one of each. This is the picture we posted on facebook.
I had an anatomy scan at 20 weeks to confirm gender ( along with other important developmental milestones). I was SO nervous. The first thing the tech says... "so you are having another girl" immediately followed by " Oh wait, its a BOY". Apparently, our little guy is just a little shy at first :)
We have decided to name him Brayden and have started working on his nursery. We are both excited and nervous. I think the nervous part is more about how Charlotte will react and how that period of transition will go. I know its normal to feel that way so I try not to let the anxiety get to me too much!
I have been feeling great and am just hoping that will last through the summer! I am now 26 week a long and will likely be a repeat C-section at 39-weeks. I feel a bit guilty about not doing weekly posts with this pregnancy like I did for Charlotte. I am taking weekly belly pictures and posting on Instagram. It is SO much harder to be consistent with things when you already have a toddler running around. I am going to post about Brayden's nursery in the upcoming weeks because it is starting to look AMAZING :)
I mentioned a few weeks ago that we are expecting baby #2. Before Charlotte was born, Tim and I honestly weren't sure if we wanted more than one kid. Pretty much as soon as we got home from the hospital with Charlotte, we knew we wanted a second baby. I am an only child and Tim and his brother are quite a few years apart. We thought 2 years apart sounded perfect for our family. Shortly after Charlotte's first birthday, we decided to try for a second. We found out the first week of December that I was pregnant!
The first 10 weeks or so were rough. I wasn't "sick" but very queasy and very tired. Dealing with that, work and chasing a toddler during the holidays was difficult and I was so thankful to get some relief. We held off on telling our parent's until after my first OB appointment. It was SO hard to keep it a secret over Christmas!
I definitely started showing MUCH earlier this time around. I took out the maternity clothes at 14 weeks and have been enjoying my maternity pants ever since. We were really on the fence about if we wanted to have an elective gender ultrasound this time around. Mainly, the cost of doing so. Ultimately, curiosity got the best of us and we scheduled an appointment without telling anyone art 16 weeks, 5 days. I thought we were having another little girl and had a name all picked out. Tim and my mom also thought it was going to be another girl. My pregnancies were pretty similar at that point and I kept having dreams about two little girls. When we went in for our ultrasound, the tech said "first impression is it is a girl"... a few minutes in he said " I am going to change my mind on that, you are definitely having a boy"! Tim was ecstatic, I was going to happy regardless!
We went that evening and bought some "It's a boy" balloons and told our parents who are SO excited we will have one of each. This is the picture we posted on facebook.
We have decided to name him Brayden and have started working on his nursery. We are both excited and nervous. I think the nervous part is more about how Charlotte will react and how that period of transition will go. I know its normal to feel that way so I try not to let the anxiety get to me too much!
I have been feeling great and am just hoping that will last through the summer! I am now 26 week a long and will likely be a repeat C-section at 39-weeks. I feel a bit guilty about not doing weekly posts with this pregnancy like I did for Charlotte. I am taking weekly belly pictures and posting on Instagram. It is SO much harder to be consistent with things when you already have a toddler running around. I am going to post about Brayden's nursery in the upcoming weeks because it is starting to look AMAZING :)
Sunday, May 10, 2015
Construction: Week 3
So much to report this week! We were away last weekend at Disney. We came home Monday to find our drive-way loaded with supplies and a dumpster.
Wednesday morning, the framers also arrived at 7am. As I was leaving to drop Charlotte off at my mom's, the roofers also arrived to begin working on the roof. When I got home from work that evening, there were NO shingles left on our house. And the framers has completely finished up.
Thursday morning, the installer was coming to remove my existing sliding glass door and install the new window on the room. The roofers were also there working on replacing tar paper and waiting on an inspection. I came home from work and the roofers were just wrapping up. The new window was in and the sliding glass door was gone. Unfortunately, the door could not be installed that day but they made sure we were covered up for the night.
Tuesday morning the framers arrived at 7am. I had no idea what to expect and was amazed with the amount of progress when I got home from work that evening. Here is where we last left off:
And this is what things were looking like Tuesday:
The framers and roofers works togther to open my existing roof and tie in the new addition. They put in a FULL day. To be honest, after the slab was poured I was a little concerned about the size of the new room and patio. After seeing the framing in place, I was surprised about how much bigger everything looked.
And this is what things were looking like Tuesday:
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| Ignore how "lime" my house looks in this picture! |
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| New "bedroom". |
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| New patio |
Wednesday morning, the framers also arrived at 7am. As I was leaving to drop Charlotte off at my mom's, the roofers also arrived to begin working on the roof. When I got home from work that evening, there were NO shingles left on our house. And the framers has completely finished up.
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| Standing in the new closet, looking into the room. |
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| Where the new window will be. |
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| This window will be the new door into the room. |
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| HUGE storage closet! |
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| New patio. |
That night, my dad came over and we walked the room and marked where we wanted electrical outlets/ cable etc. We thought the electrician was coming Friday morning but he isn't actually coming till tomorrow. The roofers got held off due to another issue with the inspector. We also had another a/c company come out on Friday to walk the house and give us a second estimate on some work we would like to get done. We are waiting to hear back from them before we make a decision on that. Hopefully will be able to do so this week as we are ready for a/c rough in on the addition as well. Luckily, we did get a door and a deadbolt installed where the old slider use to be.
While Friday was a slow day, I am SO, SO happy to see some real progress this week. Tomorrow morning we are scheduled for an inspection. If all goes well, the roofers anticipate finishing up either tomorrow or Tuesday. We also have the electrician coming tomorrow.
Friday, May 1, 2015
Construction: Week 2
The forecast this week was looking pretty rough so I wasn't sure what, if anything, would be done to the addition. Luckily, Monday morning was overcast but no rain! The construction crew showed up before 9 and got to work on the back patio. I was at work all day but was able to meet with the them briefly before heading out for the day.
We decided against pouring new concrete over what will be the new patio. You can clearly see this in the photo above. There are several deep cracks in the concrete already and the contractor felt pouring over it would ultimately result in the same cracks showing through. We eventually planned on either tiling or putting pavers out there anyway. You might remember that we did tile in the front patio over 2 years ago due to the cost of pavers. In retrospect, I am not sure that was the best idea. There are several areas that are cracking and I am pretty sure it is due to the same issue that our current contractor is concerned about for our back patio. So as of now, we are pricing out pavers since it is a smaller area and we want something to last.
Tuesday and Wednesday it rained. We tentatively had the framers/roofer scheduled to start on Thursday but due to the rain earlier in the week, everything got pushed back. Everyone did come out and take final measurements for supplies. We are scheduled for a supply delivery on Monday morning and to start framing on Tuesday. The weather looks good for next week so I am hoping for a lot of productivity!
We decided against pouring new concrete over what will be the new patio. You can clearly see this in the photo above. There are several deep cracks in the concrete already and the contractor felt pouring over it would ultimately result in the same cracks showing through. We eventually planned on either tiling or putting pavers out there anyway. You might remember that we did tile in the front patio over 2 years ago due to the cost of pavers. In retrospect, I am not sure that was the best idea. There are several areas that are cracking and I am pretty sure it is due to the same issue that our current contractor is concerned about for our back patio. So as of now, we are pricing out pavers since it is a smaller area and we want something to last.
Tuesday and Wednesday it rained. We tentatively had the framers/roofer scheduled to start on Thursday but due to the rain earlier in the week, everything got pushed back. Everyone did come out and take final measurements for supplies. We are scheduled for a supply delivery on Monday morning and to start framing on Tuesday. The weather looks good for next week so I am hoping for a lot of productivity!
Cozy Coupe Makeover
Charlotte loves her a play car. Anytime we take her out and they have a play car, you can guarantee she will be in and out of it 100 times. My kid also LOVES the mouse... especially Minnie! I had seen some really cute "Cozy Coupe" upgrades on Pinterest. I wasn't actively looking for one but one Saturday we stopped at a local shop, Reruns for Little Ones, so I can try out a toddler sized Tula. As we were walking up, we spotted a used Cozy Coupe for $15. Charlotte immediately started saying "my car" so we knew it had to come home with us!
We decided to go with the Minnie Mouse theme. I went to Lowe's to pick up some plastic outdoor spray paint. They were out of white so I picked up red and black only. I read a lot of reviews online and no one mentioned primer. However, the guy at Lowe's was adamant about us priming first. So I also picked up one can of primer.
Back at home, Tim literally set up a car wash station for the coupe. After everything was cleaned off we took it apart. We actually used WD-40 to remove any stickers/residue.
Since I am pregnant, Tim had to do all the spray painting. Even though the body of the car was already red, we gave it a coat of primer and two coats of red paint. A lot of the tutorials I read said to sand the car. We had several rough spots so we did attempt this however they are visible through the paint. I would skip the sanding and opt for the primer. All the yellow parts got a coat of primer and two coats of black paint.
We gave it a good 48-hours to dry before re-assembling the car. Once it was re-assembled, we applied two thin coats of Rustoleum's plastic sealant. Then came the fun part... deciding how we wanted to finish it. I originally was planning on spray painting on white dots with a stencil and having my dad cut out the ears/bow from wood. I read about being using foam or cardboard for the ears but that didn't seem too sturdy. I actually found a lady on Etsy who makes a "kit". I was planning on just purchasing the vinyl dots but then decided to go with the whole kit even though it was more than I originally wanted to spend. Jamie, the shop owner, was super sweet and got my items to me out FAST despite being ready to have a baby any day. I ordered on a Sunday and had everything by Wednesday!
I worked on the applying the vinyl dots and nameplate that evening. Tim was able to apply the mouse ears as well. Unfortunately, Charlotte was already in bed by the time we got done but we were able to show her the final product the following morning. She LOVES it and I have to admit I love the way it turned out too.
We decided to go with the Minnie Mouse theme. I went to Lowe's to pick up some plastic outdoor spray paint. They were out of white so I picked up red and black only. I read a lot of reviews online and no one mentioned primer. However, the guy at Lowe's was adamant about us priming first. So I also picked up one can of primer.
Back at home, Tim literally set up a car wash station for the coupe. After everything was cleaned off we took it apart. We actually used WD-40 to remove any stickers/residue.
Since I am pregnant, Tim had to do all the spray painting. Even though the body of the car was already red, we gave it a coat of primer and two coats of red paint. A lot of the tutorials I read said to sand the car. We had several rough spots so we did attempt this however they are visible through the paint. I would skip the sanding and opt for the primer. All the yellow parts got a coat of primer and two coats of black paint.
We gave it a good 48-hours to dry before re-assembling the car. Once it was re-assembled, we applied two thin coats of Rustoleum's plastic sealant. Then came the fun part... deciding how we wanted to finish it. I originally was planning on spray painting on white dots with a stencil and having my dad cut out the ears/bow from wood. I read about being using foam or cardboard for the ears but that didn't seem too sturdy. I actually found a lady on Etsy who makes a "kit". I was planning on just purchasing the vinyl dots but then decided to go with the whole kit even though it was more than I originally wanted to spend. Jamie, the shop owner, was super sweet and got my items to me out FAST despite being ready to have a baby any day. I ordered on a Sunday and had everything by Wednesday!
I worked on the applying the vinyl dots and nameplate that evening. Tim was able to apply the mouse ears as well. Unfortunately, Charlotte was already in bed by the time we got done but we were able to show her the final product the following morning. She LOVES it and I have to admit I love the way it turned out too.
Friday, April 24, 2015
Construction: Week 1
Construction started on our addition last Friday. Unfortunately, its been a pretty unproductive week since then!
Around 7:30am last Friday the crew showed up to prepare our existing back patio for the addition. I didn't take any " before pictures" but here is a shot of the back patio a while ago.
The new plans involve replacing that double window with french barn doors. The sliding glass door ( half pictured on the left) will be replaced with a single glass panel door. Our third bedroom window ( not pictures but would be to the far right in the above picture) will be filled in and will be the wall for the new closet.
We will also be getting a new roof on the entire house. The new roof for the addition will cover the entire existing slab. Most will be "addition" but some will be saved for a new screened in patio. Charlotte LOVES being outside and we really have no shaded area to take her. Currently, my car has been given the boot from the garage to allow her to play in there.
Last Friday, they came and dug for the new footers. This was pretty much wrapped up in half a day and they called for inspection. I was super excited because the roofers were even scheduled to start this week. Unfortunately, due to issues with the inspector we didn't get a full inspection till Thursday! They were set to pour concrete this morning however due to all the rain we had yesterday, we got bumped to Monday so they could finish up the job they had scheduled for yesterday.
I am so anxious to get things moving. Because we have decided to do a lot of the finishing work ourselves, there is a ton to be done before baby #2 arrives! As of now, the forecast next week isn't looking too promising either but hopefully I will have more progress to report. Here is what we look like now.
Around 7:30am last Friday the crew showed up to prepare our existing back patio for the addition. I didn't take any " before pictures" but here is a shot of the back patio a while ago.
The new plans involve replacing that double window with french barn doors. The sliding glass door ( half pictured on the left) will be replaced with a single glass panel door. Our third bedroom window ( not pictures but would be to the far right in the above picture) will be filled in and will be the wall for the new closet.
We will also be getting a new roof on the entire house. The new roof for the addition will cover the entire existing slab. Most will be "addition" but some will be saved for a new screened in patio. Charlotte LOVES being outside and we really have no shaded area to take her. Currently, my car has been given the boot from the garage to allow her to play in there.
Last Friday, they came and dug for the new footers. This was pretty much wrapped up in half a day and they called for inspection. I was super excited because the roofers were even scheduled to start this week. Unfortunately, due to issues with the inspector we didn't get a full inspection till Thursday! They were set to pour concrete this morning however due to all the rain we had yesterday, we got bumped to Monday so they could finish up the job they had scheduled for yesterday.
I am so anxious to get things moving. Because we have decided to do a lot of the finishing work ourselves, there is a ton to be done before baby #2 arrives! As of now, the forecast next week isn't looking too promising either but hopefully I will have more progress to report. Here is what we look like now.
Friday, April 17, 2015
Love it or List it?
Not too long after Charlotte was born, Tim and I started to talk about our house, space and future kiddos. We knew we wanted to have one more kid and while we do have three bedrooms, we really needed a 4th for an office/ play space. We started to look at houses locally just to get an idea. I am a *bit* more particular than Tim in that I did not want to move outside of our current school zones. This means we are limited to a pretty small area.
I went to a couple of open houses and religiously checked the Real Estate listings. To gain a 4th bedroom and a mere 100 more square feet, we would be paying nearly DOUBLE what we paid for our house just 4 years ago. Then we started thinking about how much work we have done here and how we would need to essentially start that process all over with a new house. Only this time with a toddler running around.
So back in October/November, we decided to get a few estimates to see how much it would cost to add a room on to our existing house. We have a 500 ft back patio and a 500 ft front patio and quite frankly we do not utilize our outdoor space. We got two estimates that were pretty comparable. We sat on it for a while, really weighing our options. We like our neighborhood, we like our schools, we are close to my parents who help our tremendously with Charlotte. We decided financially, it made more sense to stay put.
Then in December we got some pretty exciting news...
So we decided no time like the present, right? We started the construction plans with one of the contractors and JUST got our permit approved this week! We will be getting a new roof on the entire house, adding a room with lots of storage and getting a new back patio! We decided to do all the finishing ourselves so we have LOTS of projects coming up. They actually just started construction this morning so I am going to TRY to do a weekly update as it comes together. I am both excited and nervous for everything to come together before this baby arrives in early August! :)
Friday, April 10, 2015
Ikea Kitchen Makeover
Every time we took Charlotte to a Birthday party or event, she would gravitate to the play kitchen... and then wouldn't leave. Tim and I both knew we wanted to get her one for the house but simply did not want something plastic. I had toyed around with the idea of making one from an old TV stand... I even went as far as to track one down for $15 at our local Goodwill. At the last minute we changed our minds. We didn't want another heavy piece of furniture in the house either.
So, we decided to pick up Ikea's basic Duktig play kitchen. However, we had NO intention of leaving it as is! The same day we brought the kitchen home, we headed out to Lowe's for supplies.
We knew we wanted to paint the kitchen, add a back splash and come up with someway to make a fridge. That is where my dad came in. We bought an inexpensive shelving unit and asked him to make a door for it. We has a really hard time finding something that already had a door. Then we had fun with it! For the fridge, we painted the bottom portion in chalkboard paint. The freezer portion was coated in Magnetic paint. This was my first time using Magnetic paint... I purchased a quart of Rust-Oleum Magnetic Primer. I was nervous because it seemed like it got pretty bad reviews overall and a lot of people complained it simply didn't work. While it isn't an easy product to work with... it does hold our magnets perfectly! My tips would be 1) use a brush/roller/ tray you are fine with throwing away after, 2) Have it professionally mixed just before using, 3) Use multiple thin coats ( we did somewhere between 5-7 coats), and 4) Stir, stir, stir between coats! I was nervous that adding a "top coat" like the product calls for would negate some of the magnetization but it held up just fine! Once everything was dry, we added some handles and attached the door.
The remainder of the Kitchen got a thin coat of primer and two thin coats of paint. It hard to see in the picture above but the paint is called Lazy Days from Valspar's Signature Kids Collection. We opted to only paint what was wooden. We left everything that was white originally, as is. The counter was sanded down ( there was some type of thin clear coat on top) and then given a few coats of Red Mahogany Stain and some spray poly.
Next we added under cabinet lighting. Yes you read that correctly... my daughters play kitchen has under cabinet lighting and my own kitchen does not. We use one of these lights from Ikea we happened to have at home. The switch is on the side of the kitchen. I have to say, it is one of her favorite things about the kitchen! She loves turning the light on and off. The final thing to be added was the back splash. We used the same product we used on our Kitchen Ceiling, just a different pattern. We attached it on the back with the staple gun and left a small hole in the corner to feed out the wire for our under cabinet lighting. Oh and the knobs.... this was more of a struggle than I would like to admit. We could not find real oven knobs small to fit this space. We ended up painting regular black wooden knobs and adding white stripes. We added a washer behind them so they do spin. And this is what the final product looked like.
So, we decided to pick up Ikea's basic Duktig play kitchen. However, we had NO intention of leaving it as is! The same day we brought the kitchen home, we headed out to Lowe's for supplies.
We knew we wanted to paint the kitchen, add a back splash and come up with someway to make a fridge. That is where my dad came in. We bought an inexpensive shelving unit and asked him to make a door for it. We has a really hard time finding something that already had a door. Then we had fun with it! For the fridge, we painted the bottom portion in chalkboard paint. The freezer portion was coated in Magnetic paint. This was my first time using Magnetic paint... I purchased a quart of Rust-Oleum Magnetic Primer. I was nervous because it seemed like it got pretty bad reviews overall and a lot of people complained it simply didn't work. While it isn't an easy product to work with... it does hold our magnets perfectly! My tips would be 1) use a brush/roller/ tray you are fine with throwing away after, 2) Have it professionally mixed just before using, 3) Use multiple thin coats ( we did somewhere between 5-7 coats), and 4) Stir, stir, stir between coats! I was nervous that adding a "top coat" like the product calls for would negate some of the magnetization but it held up just fine! Once everything was dry, we added some handles and attached the door.
The remainder of the Kitchen got a thin coat of primer and two thin coats of paint. It hard to see in the picture above but the paint is called Lazy Days from Valspar's Signature Kids Collection. We opted to only paint what was wooden. We left everything that was white originally, as is. The counter was sanded down ( there was some type of thin clear coat on top) and then given a few coats of Red Mahogany Stain and some spray poly.
Next we added under cabinet lighting. Yes you read that correctly... my daughters play kitchen has under cabinet lighting and my own kitchen does not. We use one of these lights from Ikea we happened to have at home. The switch is on the side of the kitchen. I have to say, it is one of her favorite things about the kitchen! She loves turning the light on and off. The final thing to be added was the back splash. We used the same product we used on our Kitchen Ceiling, just a different pattern. We attached it on the back with the staple gun and left a small hole in the corner to feed out the wire for our under cabinet lighting. Oh and the knobs.... this was more of a struggle than I would like to admit. We could not find real oven knobs small to fit this space. We ended up painting regular black wooden knobs and adding white stripes. We added a washer behind them so they do spin. And this is what the final product looked like.
She LOVES it and plays with it everyday. We picked up the utensil and pots at Ikea too. We purchased the food from Amazon since most of the playfood at Ikea is plush and we wanted plastic. So while we might of spent more than we would have on a generic plastic kids kitchen set at the toy store, we LOVE the way it turned out and that it blends in with the rest of our house.