March Art

Hallie has and is becoming quite the artist. She will spend some time each day coloring, drawing or both. She is becoming pretty good and I'm thrilled that she is finding activities she has real interest in. Here are some of her projects from this month

33 Weeks

This is what 33 weeks is looking like at our house. I am having mixed feelings getting this close to the end of this pregnancy. Matt and I have had some serious conversations about whether we will be having any more kids knowing the toll this pregnancy has taken on my body. I can't imagine only having 3 kids it seems so lonely but I know that in do time we will figure it all out so Im doing my best to take all of this in. My UC has been a roller coaster over the last month. My GI has wanted to put me on several meds all which have yet to work and so I am working on getting off all of them. So far the only thing that has helped at all are Doterra oils so that is what I am doing at this point. This past week I gained 1/2 lb and the baby is still measuring with dates so they will continue to watch and see how both she and I tolerate this hurdle. Some days are better than others some days I feel great and get a lot done and other days I don't leave the house knowing that I will be making several trips to the bathroom and not feeling good. At our appt last week we also found out that the little stinker is back to being breech. Hopefully she will get herself turned around in the next couple weeks if not we have a couple options. At 37 weeks they will admit me to the hospital and turn her as well as monitor her for complications if no complications then they will send me home for a couple more weeks to let her grow or we can just schedule a c-section. Initially I was way against turning her but the more I talk to our dr the more I think that is the route we will go before having a c-section but only time will tell. I just hope she turns on her own so we don't even have to cross that bridge. At this point I have gained 38 lbs which seems like a lot but I still can wear most of my clothes but I will gain what I need to gain and lose it later I just want her to be healthy really...I think this is what being a mom is really about. The name game is also in full swing here. I have become pretty comfortable with Adelynn aka Addie but Matt isn't 100 % sure and has started referring to her as Oakley which the girls are having nothing to do with they are pretty set on Addie as well. I don't love Oakley since I can't find a nick name for her that I like.  Im just now starting to have times that Im really uncomfortable with her squishing me and unfortunately I know that it will only get worse. Im grateful that Im sleeping good I think that helps my attitude about the whole situation. Im getting nervous about what we will do with the girls and the entire delivery process with the other 2 girls it has been really smooth and quick but since Im a worrier it is just how it goes. Regardless of how it all plays out Im excited to meet this new little girl the newest addition to our little family and another added spirit the lord has entrusted us with.

Little Adventurer Sale

This past week was something I have been looking forward to since last year...the little adventurers dress up sale!!! I love a good deal and I also love to spoil my girls and this is a great combination for the 2 things. This year Nic decided to brave the crowd and come with me so we made a day of it. The last couple years it has been outside and rainy and this year was the complete opposite they held it indoors and the weather was beautiful. The crowd was way more manageable than last year as well the line wasn't that long which made it way easier to look around at what they had too. After we found what we wanted we let the kids play on the playground behind the building...they needed to get some wiggles out

Then we headed for home. Im grateful for Nic and her willingness to share her time with me. Its funny everyone has 24 hrs in a day but some people think they are to busy to do anything, I think if you don't have time to spend with the ones you love you have filled your time with the wrong things. I can always count on Nic to have my back when I need her day or night and I am so grateful for that. I think one of the greatest gift you can give is time since it is a way of giving of yourself. Thanks Nic for being an example of that!!

Date Night

Wednesday Matt and I had set up a date night to meet with another kitchen designer and then attend a recognition dinner for Matt's 20 under the age of 30 award but before we got out the door we had a problem. A neighbor came and rang my doorbell to tell me she had seen one of the little neighborhood boys throwing rocks at my suburban and the back side window was broken. I thanked her and had Matt go check and it was broken...way worse than what we had even anticipated, Broken all the way through in 4 places and on 2 of the 4 corners.

I immediately went to talk to his mom. She came to the door and I asked her if she knew where her son was and asked if she knew what he had been doing. She said he had come in saying he was playing baseball and throwing rocks at a white car. I informed her that it had been our car and the window would have to be replaced. She was pretty good about it and said she would call her insurance. Matt and I headed to clean up mess and tape it up best we could until it could be repaired. Matt immediately called Valley Glass since they have done our windshields in the passed. It was 240 for the window to be replaced! Expensive cost for not watching your child. We made an appt for the following day and I made arrangements for Matt and Nic to help me get where I needed to go. When we went to get the suburban there was a new problem there was now a bunch of body damage that we can only assume the window place did while replacing the window....of coarse it couldn't just be an easy fix to replace the window and be done...right?!? Matt immediately called and we took it back to have them look at it. The guy that did the work completely denied that it was him until I told he we had pictures of it before we dropped it off. He was a complete jerk to me but I can hold my own. The manager on the other hand was very nice and asked for us to send the pictures and assured me we would get it taken care of. We will see what happens at this point we are waiting until tomorrow to see what they say.

At the end of all of it we made it to our kitchen appt and to the dinner. It was such a nice and much needed night out for us. I know that our nights are limited before this baby gets here and I'm going to soak them up as much as I can

Step 1 Find a Lot....Complete

Yes...you heard that right! We finally found a lot and closed on it last week after Matt got back from Florida. It is in Huntsville in the Edgewater Chalets Subdivision. To be honest Im not really even sure how we ended up looking in Huntsville but things have fallen into place for the most part. Our views are amazing...I don't know that there are better out there for us. Mountain views out the back and lake views out the front. It is 1/2 an acre completely flat so we will have the yard we want as well. This also meant we wanted to swith up our house plan trying to take advantage of the view in both directions. It is at the top of our price range at 125,000 but the developer was willing to pay the 10,000 in connection fees so that made it definitely doable for us. 

We are currently finishing our construction financing. We have also sent out invites to bid that should be back by the end of the week to make sure everything comes within budget. As long as everything comes back ok we are hoping to break ground the middle of May(after graduation but before the baby gets here). We have chosen several of our finishes but still have plenty of time to change our minds so we will see how that goes. We have been planning to do this for such a long time that we pretty much knew what we wanted and just have to make sure that it all falls into place at this point. They also sold the condo we are living in and the new owners would like to move in as soon as we want to move out so we are moving ahead to hopefully move in before Halloween but we have until December if needed. I think my favorite part so far has been going to design kitchen stuff just because it is such a huge part of our home. I can't wait but at the same time Im trying not to get impatient there is still a lot that has to happen but Matt and I have been working towards this for so long it seems so surreal.

Lunch Date with Daddy

Matt got home late Monday night well after the girls were in bed so I talked him into staying home Tuesday morning until the girls we awake and could get to see him for at least a few minutes. the girls were so thrilled when they got up and he was home. Shortly after he had to leave for a meeting and Hallie had a complete melt down all she wanted was her daddy and it broke my heart that I couldn't do anything about it. Matt made a point to call her a couple times throughout the day and talk with her but she needed some time to spend with him....so he asked if she would like to go on a date with him the following afternoon. She was thrilled and talked about it constantly until the time finally came. Matt came home with flowers for her and she wanted to take them to lunch with her. It was so cute. 

Hallie picked Arby's and just wanted to visit. Here are some pictures form their date

Matt in Florida and Normal Life

Matt had his longest trip yet when he had to go to Florida over an entire weekend and so he wouldn't have to travel two weeks in a row he combined it with another trip making it all in all 5 days gone. To be honest it wasn't as bad as I was anticipating but I think that was partially since I planned to keep the girls and I busy to help the time go by faster. I have found that I am becoming more patient and learning to only do things at the pace I know I can handle which is all new for me but its been really good. This dresser is just such an example. Matt and I bought it his spring break weekend but with his schedule he hasn't had time to put it together. The girls and I decided we would put it together but I made sure I told myself it would take several days and I wanted to put it together right. I have the habit of starting something and then getting impatient and rushing to finish it even if it means it looks rushed rather than taking a day off and then finishing. The first day I only got the side put together and was completely fine with it. All in all it took about 4 days to get it put together working on it for a couple hours each day. While Matt was in Florida I sent him a picture. He immediately called and gave me a hard time but I know he was relieved that it was done. I reassured him that I took it easy and had been working on it for days to which he laughed. Im just glad it is put together and ready to go. 

The weather has been beautiful and I am more and more every day missing our fenced backyard. I am so paranoid and wont let the girls play outside alone which means I have been hauling my lawn chair outside to enjoy the weather while the girls play. They love it outside and it makes me super excited for our yard once we get the house built. Gracie was so thrilled with herself, she has figured out how to drive the power wheels herself.

We were able to skype with Matt each night so the girls could tell him about their day and get to see him...it made me really grateful for technology and that he isn't gone like that all of the time. We also got in a lot of girl time. I love having girls I really do and wouldn't change it for anything. One night we ate treats, watched a movie, and painted nails. We of coarse had to take a picture to send to daddy.

While we were having girl time Matt was playing in Disney World in shorts and a t-shirt. Hopefully next time we can go with him. We decided with me being this pregnant and with my uc acting up it wouldn't be worth going since he would be in conference stuff at least half of the days leaving us to find our way around which would be a challenge and probably not worth the cost.

Unfortunately Gracie got the stomach flu while Matt was gone as well. She woke up Sunday night throwing up and feeling yucky. Monday I was able to trade carpool so Grace could sleep in and we spent the day just hanging out watching cartoons. Monday night she ran a fever but no more puking. Hoping that it doesn't make its way through the rest of us.

All in all we had a productive time while Matt was gone and he was able to get most of his homework and 1 big paper done. I will be so thrilled when he is done with school and homework! Also this will be one of his last trips for a while knowing the baby will be here soon. Then we will address the issue of him traveling so much. I have complete faith that we will figure it out and find what works best for our family. Until then we will enjoy our daddy when he is home and miss him terribly when he isn't.

32 Weeks and 32 Lbs of Strawberries!?!?

I honestly don't know what I was thinking...I think I had a lapse of judgement d/t my pregnancy brain. When I bought them I picked out 16 containers and only once I started thinking about it did I realize that they were 2 lbs each making it a total of 32 lbs! When we got home we started our jam and I used only half the strawberries to make 20 18 oz containers which will last us for quite awhile.

 The girls were more than happy to sample and help where I needed it. They dis most of the mixing and adding ingredients. They are at such a fun age when they want to be involved and really are super helpful most of the time.

I decided to do a little research this time with the jam products since I haven't ever used something consistent. I wanted to see how it compared price for how many containers you get as well as how much sugar or other product go into the finished result. So here are the results so far... I will have to update on the final tastings 

MCP 2.69/4.5c sugar/made 4 containers

Certo 4.39/8c sugar/made 6 containers

Ball 1.99/2c sugar/made 3 1/4 containers

Mrs. Wage 1.42/1.5c sugar/made 3 containers

It must be Spring....Baby Chicks!!!!

Every year when the weather starts to get warm Hallie starts to ask if there are baby chicks out and when she asked this past week I was happy to tell her that yup I was pretty sure they were out. This week Matt is is Florida for work and will be gone for 5 days so we have been doing our best to keep ourselves busy. After we did some grocery shopping at Winco we headed down to IFA to see the baby chicks and they did not disappoint. The girls were so excited although Gracie was a little nervous they would peck her. She would put her finger out and they would move and she would squeal with delight. We started reading the information about them comparing how big they would get, how many eggs, they would lay, and what color they would be which was quite interesting. I told the girls maybe Matt would let us have chickens once we moved into our new house. I think it might be fun to try something like that but only time will tell.

Kids make life so much more fun! Im trying to soak up all the time with them that I can. I think we will probably visit them again. Oh and there were also bunnies that the girls were happy to pet and cuddle.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

When I was younger St. Patrick's Day meant wearing green so you didn't get pinched and someone possibly mentioning a leprechaun. Now days society has once again done its best to commercialize another silly holiday but we are happy at our house just to wear green and that is just what we did. Hallie did some really fun stuff at school. The leprechaun even broke in while they were at break and left them gold coins along with destroying their classroom I guess.  

I asked the girls later that evening if they wanted green pancakes for dinner they looked at me quite strange and said eww thats gross why would we want green pancakes. And that is how we celebrate St. Patrick's Day.

That night after I had tucked the girls in bed Hallie came up the stairs upset. I asked her what was wrong and she said she was afraid the leprechaun was going to come to our house and destroy our stuff and that she didn't want that to happen. I wasn't quite sure what to say but I told her that the leprechaun doesn't visit our house just her school. She seemed ok with that and I tucked her back in reassuring her that the leprechaun would not be messing up our house.  I don't know that holiday characters are supposed to be something kids are afraid of!

We Love Play Doh

Play doh is a big hit at our house. The girls play with it often and come up with some pretty creative stuff. The other night Matt and I were trying to finalize some house stuff and the girls were more than happy to entertain themselves with the play doh. Here are some of the things they came up with.

I wont lie sometimes it makes a huge mess that takes a bit of time and help to get all cleaned up but I have to remind myself that its part of being a kid and I really do think its great for their imaginations.

Matt's Spring Break

Matt's spring break this year was so needed. He has been working so hard and is hardly home and when he is it is usually after the girls are in bed for the night. Funny enough we didn't have big plans to go anywhere or do anything we just wanted to have some down time together and that is just what we got! Matt still had to work 8-5 at Sure Steel but it was so nice to have him come home for dinner every night and I found I looked forward to the day even more knowing that he would be home shortly after 5 each evening. Earlier in the week we spent some time organizing the house and getting prepped for this baby. But Friday when got home form work we shut out all outside distractions and just spent time together. We ordered chinese take out and had a picnic in our front room(one of our favorite things to do) while we ate we watched Big Hero 6 which is such a cute movie and good even if you have seen it a couple times. Gracie quickly found her cuddle spot and Matt was in heaven.

Saturday morning we got up and going with the intention of heading to Salt Lake to run some errands and go to the movies. Matt always comments when Im doing Hallie's hair blow dried that one of these days he is going to learn to do that when we aren't in a rush and really have no where to be and that day was the day. Matt is such an amazing dad and I think is perfect to have all girls at this point.

Here is the finished product...I think he did pretty good especially since it was his 1st time. Hallie was also pretty thrilled that her dad had done her hair.

Then we headed for Salt Lake we stopped to look at a couple house exteriors we were debating between and then decided to grab some lunch before venturing to Ikea. BBQ is one of our favorite things and this place wasn't half bad. The ribs were really good but everything else could use some improvement. Hallie thought she was so hilarious using the rib as her smile.

Gracie's favorites were the sweet potato french fries and the mac and cheese

I love this guy and all the time we get to spend with him. I can't wait for this semester to be over to possibly see him a little more

My kind of family photo...all cuddled together! Its crazy to think that we will soon be a family of 5 and not 4!

Silly Faces

Gracie singing full out in the car

Then it was time to embark on the adventure that is Ikea. I have never been in this place for less than an hour even if I know just what I'm coming for and this day was no exception. We had picked out a dresser for the baby is the main purpose of going but of coarse we found several other things to play with a long the way

Then it was time for what the girls had waited for all day. Our real estate agent, Sold by an Angel, had rented out the entire theater for their clients to see Cinderella and even more awesome each person got a gift card to the concessions stand. Im not sure which one the girls were more excited about. They each picked a "kids meal" with a drink, popcorn, and a treat. The theater also had cool trays to hold it all so it wouldn't get spilled....my kind of theater for sure. During the previews they showed a short movie featuring Frozen the girls were captivated and thought it was so funny. It really was very cute

Something that Matt and I have always done is always sat by each other whether its at dinner, movies, or church we always sit next to one another. Sometimes it makes it harder to keep everything under control but definitely worth it.

As far as the movie was concerned it was ok. No new twists on Cinderella about half way through Gracie lost interest and wasn't very into the movie anymore. I like Ever After better but it was fun to get out and do something together. The girls were so excited when they found the poster afterwards so of coarse we had to take a picture

By this time we were all exhausted it had been a fun and eventful day. We were stuffed full of theater food and ready to call it a night. The girls talked all the way home about what their favorite parts of the day were. I love days with just our little family no ones schedule but ours just doing what we like and today was just one of those days