Saturday, June 30, 2012

Basement Update: Phase I

Yesterday I made a point to show off the nasty mustard colored walls in our basement (not to say that color isn't glorious elsewhere, like accents in the kitchen, but not for a gigantic room where there's no escaping it. Besides, mustard isn't quite the proper description. My mom describes it as "baby shit", if that gives you a better idea.)

Need a reminder?


Sure you didn't. But, there it is.

First things first, we needed to paint the walls! J chose a color OVER THE PHONE (yes, he's that good!) and here are some pictures as we painted.




J is a huge fan of taupe. I don't mind it, so long as I'm not being suffocated by it and can add colored decor to it. Not happening quickly enough for me...

Unfortunately I didn't get the chance to take a picture of the completed basement, because just days after the painting was done we had the birthday party that destroyed all our hard work (see #2).

During the tear down I didn't attempt to go into the basement unless I absolutely had to for laundry. The plastic hung around the walls would blow outward into any open space possible, so it was literally a life or death situation every time I tried to maneuver around down there. I let it be...nothing too exciting, except for the lighting (dun dun dun)!!

Friday, June 29, 2012

Home Sweet Home: As We Moved

Yesterday I shared the pictures of our home pre-purchase. Mid-March we spent an entire day moving our stuff, and thankfully we had enough help from friends and family to get much of it set up and put away. Here are some photos of the rooms mid-move (it's messy, I warn you!).

Girls' room (B's bed...OLD I know, I had this as a little girl, and I know my older sister did too! Don't worry, upgrades are in the works.)

E's crib, and the doorway to the bathroom.

Closet/Doorway

Master bedroom

Master, beautiful large windows!

View from the bed; bathroom to the left (no door, but we fixed that!) and closet to the right. Yes, we have suite-like doors to our room!
  
Stairway; it's hard to tell, but the walls are beat to a pulp. It's like they literally threw their funiture over the railing when they left. Oh, and I hate the chandelier.
 
Formal Living Room turned Office for J.
 
Breakfast Nook turned Dining Room

View to the Living Room

Mustard walls. I need to look at this again and again to really appreciate how far we've come haha!

Another mustard view.

AND HELLO BANANA! This is my craft room, pre-attack!

Weird "windows" in the middle of the wall looking out to the rec room. Better than nothing I guess, but an odd set up.
Well, there you have it! Some rooms that weren't featured before and all our crap. It looks better now, I promise!

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Home Sweet Home: Before the Move

What a beautiful morning! Eh, eh? Well it is here, and I hope wherever you're reading from as well! I decided it's probably time to start the process on sharing home updates we have been working so hard on! Nothing really drastic, but now that the basement is well on its way to being finished I can start sharing my home decorating journey...my first!

These photos were taken from Northstar MLS in December (I would source the link, but it's long gone now that the property is sold) and were featured on the sites listing the home for sale. Take a peek at the house that caught our eye!



Front (gotta love the obvious "abandoned home" look!)


Formal Living Room


Kitchen (mudroom in the background, doorway on the left leads to the formal dining room, breakfast nook in the space on the right)

Living Room

Only picture of the downstairs (ISH on the color!...maybe the toilet overflowing was a blessing in disguise even after the paint job we finished!)

Master Bedroom

Master Bathroom

Bedroom #3

Bathroom (connects to Bedroom #2, not pictured)

Back

From the pictures, it's obvious many updates were needed to make the home ours, with painting being priority #1 (red, mustard yellow, and a light yellow weren't really our cup of tea), updating the deck, cleaning up the landscaping, and CLEANING (I swear this place was never cleaned...I've scrubbed many-an-inch with a toothbrush, but that could just be my OCD kicking in and the need to feel the home is "freshly" ours). I immediately fell in love with the available space, the number of large windows, and the neighborhood. Since moving 3.5 months ago, we've made many updates in between our jobs and family time but I can't believe how much is left. The joys of home ownership, right?

What made you fall in love with your house?

(I had to update the post with smaller pictures because it was overlapping the side bar on the right; I will have to fiddle with it when I can get on my laptop at home - and it doesn't black out on me.)

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Git-r-Done: Chores

Yesterday I promised my next post would be about a chore schedule...so here it is!

I started out by listing things that are necessary to keep a house clean - wiping down counters, laundry, dishes, dusting, etc - then determined what needs to be done weekly vs daily, and finally played around with our schedule to make sure that we could fit it in (example: Mondays B has gymnastics, so between driving, class, and dinner, that doesn't leave a lot of time for a long, drawn out chore). Here's my final draft!

Drumroll, please.....


I feel as though dishes seem to pile up quicker than laundry does, but I put laundry on the bi-weekly list as a way to catch up. While hampers fill with dirty laundry daily, I will wash loads as needed. Tuesday is garbage pickup, so it will be collected Monday night. Saturday's Kitchen Appliances chore includes cleaning out the refrigerator and making sure leftovers from the week are taken care of and food is within the expiration date (also wipe down the shelves). This will help a lot when unloading the groceries!

This feels comfortable and I'm excited to test it out (starting tonight!) and see how it helps with managing the household!

What chore system do you have in place, for either yourself or your kids?

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Tuesday's Tid Bits

  1. Squealed when watching The Bachelorette last night, literally. How is it television can capture an audience so? I loathe the thought but am extremely entertained by it, so I will accept my excitement for now. After all, just a few weeks until the finale (squeal!) then it's over.
  2. Over the weekend the girls played in the sprinkler and we met a few more neighbors who are, of course, extremely nice. I think we really lucked out when we chose that neighborhood! B made a new friend with a little boy her age who will also be in Kindergarten in the fall. It's good to expand our social circle outside of basements, emotional distress, and daily life.
  3. Speaking of daily life, I am working on a "chore schedule" that will help me in the upkeep of our home. I'll share my ideas in the next post!
  4. Oh! J got me the Kindle Fire last week, and I LOVE IT! I forget how much of a nerd I am until I open a good book (or in this case, view a good book on a screen digitally...). I read The Hunger Games trilogy in its entirety over the course of two days. Yep. The first two (The Hunger Games and Catching Fire) I plowed through in one day, and I read Mockingjay on Sunday. I was, and am, hooked. I can't stop thinking about the books so I am planning on rereading them and really understanding the characters because that's why I read: to analyze, reference, connect, think... not only do I get caught up in the story, and if it's a good one I picture myself right there, but I love to try to "get it" as well. This is probably more exciting than reading it in the first place because I take my time instead of reading just to see what happens. I'm a nerd and proud of it!
  5. In terms of goals, I decided that this week not only am I going to post about a routine for home upkeep, but I will also post a recipe and basement update. I'm actually hopping over to iHeart Organizing for some ideas on organizing a project to get a good grip on what I want, and make sure that my excel spreadsheet plans are covering all the bases (after all, Jen's a pro at projects, and organizing!).
  6. This weekend J and I are taking time to ourselves while B is at my parents' (thank you, mom!!!). I'm really excited about it because before we were so focused on home updates and recently our emotions were all over the place so it will be nice to find ourselves again...have a bonfire outside, maybe I can convince him to play a board game, go for rides on the Harley, maybe even steal off to a beach somewhere and just talk (ahh the thought of it is so romantic, and his idea too!)... honestly, we didn't get a lot of dating in before we became pregnant with B, so these opportunities are priceless to us.
  7. It's comical to me that we are in the upper 80s here but inside my work it's about 68...I keep a zip up here to wear but sometimes I show up in a sweater, yes - a sweater in 80 degree weather - just to stay warm. If this is how summer is around here, you can forget my pretty wardrobe!
  8. Tonight I'm in search of the perfect teal spray paint for a memo board that I have had on my mind FOREVER. I might even make a couple of them for work if this turns out, but I definitely want one for my craft room to post ideas or reminders. Can't wait to show it off!
  9. I've been looking into working from home, but haven't put forth as much effort as I should be to make it happen. That's another goal of mine; I check jobs daily but need to start thinking outside the box!
  10. Here to a good, productive week and a wonderful, relaxing weekend!

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Tuesday's Tid Bits

  1. I am oh-so-excited that our basement is nearly done...this means I can get crackin' on my craft room, and I have already done some prep work for it all! This weekend I went to IKEA and purchased a few items for organizing the shelves and made a purchase from Oriental Trading with the same intention. I can't wait to get my hands dirty down there and get everything in order exactly where I want it! And yes, I WILL POST PICTURES!
  2. This weekend aside from shopping, my hubby and I went out for a Harley ride to western Wisconsin and rode for a while with his parents. About an hour into our drive, we stopped and checked the weather only to see storms were headed our way. Great. An hour and a half away from home and not a darn thing we could do about it. We made a beeline out of there, but still got stuck in the rain. Let me tell you, being on a motorcycle in the rain is miserable. Not only are you getting wet and cold, but the raindrops hitting your face is like getting a tattoo...constant stinging. My poor hubby got the brunt of it being in front, but I was soaked to the bone and terrified! Thankfully we made it home safe. I spent the rest of Father's Day at my Grandpa's visiting, so it ended on a good note.
  3. We've had some bad storms the last few days and it's making me nervous that it happens at night when we're sleeping! Word on the street is we're to expect more severe storms tonight so I better be on the lookout for that. Not like we have a basement to hideout in, but we'll make it work.
  4. I chopped my hair yesterday again, and I love it! It was at the point where it wasn't short enough to be cute and wasn't long enough to put in a decent looking ponytail, so I had to decide if I wanted to stick it out or chop it. The latter sounded more appealing...
  5. Last week at gymnastics B took her little circuit exercise to the next level. On the uneven bars, the coach was having the girls stand on the lower then jump straight down to a mat. During free time, B asked her coach for help and decided not to jump to the mat, but jump to the higher bar and swing! She learned a few more skills in relation to that (where to put her feet, etc) so I am absolutely beaming with pride and so excited to see how the summer turn will enhance her skills.
  6. Speaking of B, she adapted really well to the school age room transition, thankfully. Now I just have to sit nervously until September when she starts Kindergarten (eep!) and see how she reacts to that change. I have a feeling it will be a little more difficult for her, but I have confidence that she'll make new friends quickly!
  7. When E comes over this weekend, I am definitely going to make sure I take a ton of photos. I feel like I haven't had my camera out in FOREVER.
  8. I need/want a subscription to Scrapbooks, Etc. Hopefully when I get my Kindle Fire I can get it for a good price, if it's too expensive through that I will definitely go with the paper copy.
  9. Speaking of the Kindle Fire, J is going to get me one as a belated birthday gift in a couple weeks! (Obviously with the basement project coming to a close, we had to budget out our income a bit tighter this month.) I am THRILLED! He also bought me riding boots for the Harley, which should be delivered today. Does everyone love receiving packages as much as I do?
  10. I don't feel like working today...yesterday I dedicated myself to catching up and got a few things crossed off my "to do" list, but today I come in and there are emails galore regarding those items so I have to go back to them. One step forward and two steps back. BLAH.

Friday, June 15, 2012

Goals

I have a countdown in my cubicle showing how many more blog posts I need before hitting my 2012 goal of 200 (see, I haven't forgotten!)...I have 151 more to conjure up! There are plenty of projects I started, pictures taken that were intended for a blog post, and ideas written down and/or filed away in my brain...but they haven't made it to blogging status yet. I decided I need to set some goals on the types of things I want to post about for the next six months.

Weekend Bliss (Mondays) and Tuesday's Tid Bits I will keep up just because I love showing off my kids and the tid-bits allow me to vent a bit if I need to. Here are some ideas I have for future endeavors:
  • Craft Room: I have pictures of painting it (well, I think just the striping), can take pictures of the state it's in now, and have a whole spreadsheet dedicated to the project plans I have for it (Excel is my BFF, I love it!).
  • Basement Updates: The toilet incident from April required lots of fixing, and the ceiling replacement is already nearly complete. Since it was worked on during the day and I was going through my own personal hell, taking pictures of the progress wasn't the first thing on my agenda when coming home. In fact, I was impatient with how long it was taking! But, there's still a lot to do even once the repairs are complete and I could document that.
  • Scrapbooking: I really enjoyed posting my work, but I think I would need to come up with a standard day to do so and really hold myself accountable for completing a page a week, at minimum.
  • Recipes: There are some I took pictures of and just haven't posted, so I better get around to that! B has a few new favorites too and loves to take the photos while I make the meal (my favorite is when I view them later and there are about 20 self-portraits of herself, 5-going-on-16 I tell ya!), so that would be a fun project with her to keep up.
  • Projects: Off the top of my head, I have four projects that I have been planning for a while and need to get done...gallery wall, extra bedroom, recipe book, and memo boards.
  • Organizing: This is something I need to get better at. I have the jist of it under control, but really need to crack down and make sure the smaller details are taken care of as well. It would be fun to track my progress.
  • Meal Planning: I did this for a while and it worked wonders with the budget...I would love to challenge myself to get below $300/month on groceries while cutting back on food waste. It could be a weekly/bi-weekly post.
Thoughts? Questions? Complaints? Ideas?

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Tuesday's Tid Bits

  1. No "Weekend Bliss" post yesterday due to the lack of pictures I took over the weekend. Acceptable for this week :)
  2. I took B to the park yesterday and met some neighbors who have three adorable daughters, one of which is a year older than B and they suddenly became BFFs. The parents are great too and I'm glad to have started getting out there so the kids (and us) can make some new friends!
  3. Speaking of neighbors, we found out my OB/GYN lives on our street. Did I mention that before? Anyway, super crazy small world, huh?
  4. Anybody own a Kindle Fire? What do you think of it? I want a tablet for reading, but I think I would also like the additional features the Kindle Fire offers.
  5. Do you ever feel like you spend a night cleaning the house only to find it messy 10 minutes after you get home the next day? Oof. I wish there was a cleaning fairy...although B is a huge help when it comes to "dish duty" and putting away laundry. I give her $1 for cleaning her playroom only after we have E for the weekend because she is more than happy to dump all the bins out but doesn't quite understand the concept of picking it all up. B asked for money for doing laundry and helping put dishes away, but I told her that those are her special ways to help the family. She said, "Ooooh!" and not one more word. I think I like having a little helper very much!
  6. Even though I'm still pretty behind at work, I am feeling less anxious about my personal life and that's helping me focus and get things done. I just hope it isn't too late!
  7. Yesterday was B's first day in the school age room and she was so excited! I think her favorite part was not having to take a nap anymore haha but luckily she went to sleep pretty easily tonight so that might benefit me as well! I personally am thrilled that her transitions seem to be getting easier; there was a time that she was so attached to people she didn't adjust. Back when she was about 18 months old, we moved her to a new daycare center (we moved) and in the four months that we lived there, she never adjusted. They had a camera system that allowed me to watch while I was at work and it just broke my heart seeing her so lonely and sad...I don't take that lightly any longer and am so glad that she makes friends so easily now. I am nervous and anxious to see what Kindergarten brings! 
  8. This past weekend we had E and she is talking so much more! She sometimes babbles the same five jibberish words over and over, laughing at herself then saying it again to try and get a response out of the rest of us. It's so cute, but we have no idea what she's saying! Kid has her own language. I'm impressed. She caught on very quickly to her baby cousin's name and would pull out little commands here and there that we haven't heard before...like, "Go potty!". I love watching her grow and seeing how she reacts when she figures stuff out!
  9. I definitely need a pedicure!
  10. Also, I have the itch to go shopping. I think there's some kind of chip in a woman's mind that triggers the shopping kick whenever the weather changes. It's not worth fighting, it's going to happen.

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Misoprostol Miscarriage: My Story

READER DISCRETION ADVISED

I decided to write out the story of my experience with using Misoprostol to miscarry. In preparation for yesterday, I scoured the Internet for stories so I was aware of the types of experiences real women have had with this drug. I found many from years ago, a few from more recently, and none with a comparable experience to mine, at least in some of the details. Doctors do relay information, and mine is wonderful, but details are lost in the shuffle too often so I needed to educate myself. If you choose to read this post, please be aware that I'm not going to hold back on details in hopes that my story will help others going through the same thing.

Kimberly

You can read about the beginning of my journey here, and an update in this post.
________________________________________________________________________

Friday, June 8th, 2012

The dreaded day was here. We dropped B off in Hudson early in the morning and headed up for the doctor appointment. It hit me about 30 minutes before we got there that this was really happening. I was nervous, anxious, scared, and wished for temporary amnesia so I wouldn't remember any of what was to come.

My blood pressure was on the rise and I knew it. The nurse seemed concerned since it has never been that high in my past visits, but understood that I was very stressed and would test it after seeing my doctor. We waited for about 15 minutes before she came in. She expressed her condolences once more, and all I could think about was how it's so much easier to keep myself together around people who don't know, and who aren't about to administer a pill to shed the tissue in my uterus. She went over what was going to happen (by the way, I had to go to the pharmacy to pick up the Misoprostol the night before and bring it to my appointment) and offered some advice on symptoms that would send me to the ER (fever, immense bleeding, intense and unbearable pain). She informed me that she would administer the first dose and I would need to administer the next three myself every 4 hours, two pills at 200mg each (400mg a dose total). I was also prescribed Vicodin for pain and Ondansetron ODT for nausea. I was ready to get this over with.

The first dose hurt slightly; I mean it's someone else pushing up behind your cervix. That's where the pills needed to go, and she explained that the cervix has the same density as the tip of your nose so I would know where to find it, but the furthest I could get it up would be sufficient. I had to lay there for about 15 minutes to let the pills dissolve, and the nurse checked my blood pressure again (it had gone down only slightly). J and I left to pick up the prescription and headed home to do some more waiting (Dear God, is this about patience?).

Four hours passed and I hadn't had a single symptom. I was convinced that this wasn't going to work for me, just as expectant management (miscarrying naturally) hadn't. All we did was sit and watch TV (well, J vacuumed) and wait. Wait, wait, wait. At 1:45pm I had to administer the second dose. I was concerned about how far I had gotten it up, although I found my cervix pretty easily thanks to my doctor's description. I laid on my back, again, for 15 minutes, then back to the couch I went. Shortly afterwards, maybe 20 minutes, I started getting cramps comparable to menstrual cramps but a little longer lasting. This went on for the next 3 hours, coming and going. 

At 5:45 pm it was time for my third dose, so as I prepped for that I noticed some spotting. I had mixed emotions. The blood indicated the process was starting and the Misoprostol was working, but at the same time I had the realization (once again) that I was losing my baby. As I administered the third dose, I could feel that one of the pills from the second had not yet dissolved. I sat on the nurse's after hours line for much too long before talking with an RN and being directed to let it be and continue my doses so long as I was experiencing cramping and seeing blood.

At about 8:15pm, the cramps started getting more intense and were constant. I was sitting on the couch so I just kept adjusting to find a position that was bearable. J suggested I take the Vicodin (I haven't had good experiences with the drug in the past so we were hesitant to take that route) so I went to the kitchen to make some food before taking it just to avoid any stomach mishaps. The pain that I experienced in the short time waiting for water to boil was comparable to labor. I walked in circles, breathing through them and stopping to bend over when it became too much. Suddenly, at about 8:45pm, I felt a gush and went hobbling to the bathroom. My water had broken.

I spent the next half hour on the toilet, unable to get up for just a minute because blood and clots were pouring out of me constantly. Had I not read about one woman sitting on the toilet for over an hour I would have rushed to the ER. I didn't look at the clots when they came out, afraid of what I might see, but there were some that I would have to relax for and push out. I knew this was happening when the stream of blood would stop because the clot would be blocking that pathway. I probably passed six or seven clots that were large enough to make a "plop" sound in the water. I also experienced diarrhea during this time.

Towards the end of that 30 minutes (of which I spent 26 minutes bawling my eyes out), I started experiencing a few things that I had not read about in stories about Misoprostol. I began feeling very lightheaded and dizzy and asked my husband for prenatal vitamins to replenish my body. Suddenly I felt extremely nauseous, so J brought me a bowl to vomit in (obviously since the toilet was occupied), and right as that was happening I felt as though I was going to faint. I have never felt like that before in my life...I was swaying and I could feel my eyes rolling into the back of my head and just as that was passing, my hands went completely numb and cramped up. The numbness tingled from halfway between my wrist and elbow to the tips of my fingers. They were so numb that I couldn't pick up the bowl or glass of water J had brought me. My fingers would cramp completely straight, then they would cramp into a claw. I was terrified. J got on the phone and was waiting to talk to a nurse to see if I needed to go to the ER, but as he sat on hold I started to feel less panicked and slowly the numbness started to subside, so I told him I was going to be OK for now. I also noticed that the bleeding had decreased significantly, so I cleaned up and went back to the couch, spending a few minutes shaking away my anxiety and controlling my breathing.

After that, I became very, very tired. My eyes were so heavy and my whole body felt as though it was shutting down. I must have fallen asleep for about an hour before my husband decided we should both go to bed. By that time, I was an hour late for my last dose and debated even taking it since I felt I had already experienced the miscarriage. However, both of us were concerned that there might be some tissue left, which would lead to having a D&C, so I quickly administered the last dose before bed.

Throughout the night I didn't feel any cramping and only woke up twice to go to the bathroom, with bleeding very similar to a menstrual cycle. This morning I had a headache, but no cramping and the bleeding is steady and slightly heavier than a normal period. I hope that the worst is over, and that the gestational sac was discarded during that half hour nightmare. It's an odd thing to hope for, but knowing it wasn't a viable pregnancy for nearly three weeks has made my outlook on this split down the middle: a part of me was still in denial and the other part just wanted this over with.

I hope anybody looking for information on using Misoprostol for a miscarriage finds something helpful in my story. I read 70+ stories on experiences, but none had the numbness and cramping of hands or the extreme faint feeling. Expect the unexpected I guess...although I can't confirm if those reactions were from the Misoprostol directly, the immense amount of blood that was leaving my body, or even the emotional toll that time took on me. Regardless, that's my story. I would never wish to have anybody go through this, but if trying to avoid a D&C, using Misoprostol is the least of two evils.

Good luck and God bless.

Kimberly

*Update 6/11/12: The last two days I have had bleeding that is less than a normal period, but no other symptoms. This afternoon, however, I started having cramps stronger than menstrual so I was concerned I had more tissue to pass. Since I was at work, I ended up leaving and took ibuprofen, which helped take the edge off but didn't make them go away entirely. The bleeding has been a little heavier in the last couple hours, and after speaking with my doctor I was told that it could be my uterus contracting back to normal size, which would typically take six weeks following a full term birth. I stopped in for a lab appointment to have my hCG levels measured and will have results tomorrow (my birthday...boo). Hopefully the levels are at or near zero to confirm that I did have a complete miscarriage and can avoid surgery.

**Update 6/12/12: Received a call this morning from my doctor's care team with the results from my hCG level test. On May 24th it was at 181,000, had dropped to 87,000 on May 30th, and my last check on June 4th indicated a drop to 36,000. As of yesterday it was at 1,400, which in comparison to the last few weeks is nothing. So in that half hour disaster on Friday night, I fully miscarried. I go in once more for blood work so they can document the levels at or below zero. Then I wait. I wait and we decide if we are going to attempt another pregnancy and risk another miscarriage. Physically, my doctor told me I'm young and there isn't any reason we can't try again. Emotionally is another story...although it's easier to talk about, I still feel depressed and hope that I can find a way to get through this in one piece. As far as how things are going days following the Misoprostol experience, my bleeding is much less than a normal period still and I was told that it's OK for it to be that light (I was afraid it meant things were moving slowly and there was still tissue left). Nothing hurts, the cramping from yesterday subsided pretty quickly as it had made its appearance. Overall, it wasn't a terrible experience in comparison to having a D&C and I consider myself pretty lucky for only having an hour of full on pain and "shedding". That half hour was torture though, and I am so grateful that my husband was there helping me through it otherwise who knows what might have happened.

***Update 6/20/12: Nearly two weeks into it and still spotting/bleeding...however it isn't as steady or predictable as it has been. Some days I will bleed for a couple hours (less than a period) and other days I won't have anything but a tiny bit of spotting. I had my hCG levels measured again on Monday and received a call from my doctor this morning with the results. She told me they were at 208, which is "encouraging", but was concerned when I told her I would still bleed a bit heavier every now and then instead of it slowing down. Personally, I am surprised it has only dropped 1200 when previously I was dropping tens of thousands within a week. I'm not a doctor, so I'm not educated in what's "normal" but to me that seems like an immense halt in the process. If the spotting/bleeding continues for the next week or so she wants me in for an ultrasound to make sure all the tissue is out...so a D&C obviously isn't out of the picture quite yet. All I can do is pray, although my faith is severely shaken after all of this. How fair is it that children born out of wedlock are healthy, but those trying within marriages struggle with infertility and loss? What kind of biblical lesson is that for anybody? This feels like a never ending experience and I am so beyond words of how I feel about it I wouldn't even know where to start. I'm on the edge. Of what? That I'm not sure. I just feel like I'm teetering on something, so an edge it is.

****Update 6/29/12: I haven't talked to my doctor since last week; I guess I'm afraid that if I do and she finds out that I am still spotting just a little (not enough by any means to fill even a liner), that's a sign that the shedding has halted and she will order an ultrasound. I am so ready to be past this...maybe I will call next week.

*****Update 7/27/12: Oh boy. Check it out here.

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Tuesday's Tid Bits

  1. B has her preschool graduation today. I may cry. Will post pictures and write about how fast time flies later.
  2. Work is extra stressful this week; I am training on a new program (which, by the way, isn't part of my job role - it's an addition to assist another department which I am more than happy to do, but have barely gotten my toes wet with two other programs they gave me in May...oye) and will have to work longer days to cover for the said graduation ceremony and dreaded appointment Friday.
  3. Speaking of which, my hCG levels have been going down, but still no symptoms, so my doctor wants to see me on Friday even if progression starts to happen naturally before then. I doubt it though, I had a dream I had to go through the procedure so I'm expecting it. Not how I would like to spend a Friday off if you ask me.
  4. My hubby took me to my favorite Mexican restaurant for a date night this weekend and it was delicious! They have the best cheese dip for their chips, and I swear I put on a couple pounds from that (totally OK).
  5. Draw Something is my new favorite app. Have you played?
  6. Towels seem to disappear in my house. Same with certain clothes for a certain 5 year old. The heck? Is the washer eating them? I don't understand how things can get lost like that if they stay in the house! We have one "catch all" room at the moment with boxes that we haven't unpacked yet, but it's 80% home decor that we aren't ready to display yet, 10% clothes to donate (I checked there, don't worry), and another 10% miscellaneous stuff. There's really only one wall with boxes by it, and the rest of the house is pretty put together. Ghost?
  7. I watched a couple movies on abc family the other night and was on edge every time a commercial came on. They played the same ones over and over and over again and I swore if I saw one more commercial for their upcoming series "Bunheads" I was going to throw up. Or rip my arm off to throw at the TV. I will not be watching that channel any longer!
  8. My left contact has been giving me hell for the last few days. I have replacements, but want to hang on to these as long as possible. Anybody else do that?
  9. I cannot believe it's only Tuesday. And already June. It's practically Christmas!
  10. B and I checked a few things off our Summer Bucket List 2012 this weekend...can I get a "woot woot"?!

Monday, June 4, 2012

On a Mission

Not sure how long this mission is going to last, but I am determined to try and find some work-from-home job where I can earn about $300/week (I guess-timated our monthly budget and took out my husband's full time job income, then added a couple hundred just as a safe cushion). I don't have any "super talents" that are high in demand, so this might be pretty tough.

I thought about a home daycare, but with the toilet incident a few months back, I'm not positive how well that would work out. With that I also feel as though I would need to add in some for repairs, food, maintenance, etc.

It also crossed my mind that I could try coming up with a make-at-home product to sell on Etsy and through my blog, however, I have no idea what my creative juices could come up with that would be high enough in demand to support that weekly income necessity.

Photography has always been something that I wanted to do, in fact, I wanted to go to college for it (...a big fat NO followed that request...) right out of high school. I could train myself in that field, but again, with needing that $300 a week I can't be positive that's something I would be able to reach so early on in the game and be able to upkeep during the winter.

There are many ideas to explore, and I better get on it! ...Any ideas on where to start?

Weekend Bliss

Friday called for some 'bling-bling' sunglasses on the way home.
Found some basket organizers for our pantry at Target on clearance. Must. Get. More.
B LOVED my taco bowls - she had two helpings! Kately she's been surprising me with the foods she's enjoying...not as picky! She even added onions and tomatoes...what a big girl!
J sold his Harley Sportster on Saturday morning...and we went and picked up his Harley Dyno downtown that afternoon. He's much happier with it, and a happy husband is a good one to have around! Can't wait to go riding this summer!
I fancied up the driveway and made B sit by her name and age, and of course she pulls off her little supermodel pose. That started when she was a baby, not kidding.
This made me laugh for 5 minutes straight; it's a drawing out of her journal that she brought home from school last week. I don't know what it is, but it's just hysterical to me!

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Summer Bucket List

 
 Started our Summer Bucket Lists today! B worked hard on hers, drawing pictures along with the fancy (note the special dots at the beginning and end of each letter) words!
Here's the official Summer Bucket List 2012! I'm excited to create some amazing memories with the girls and J this summer...and see how much of this list we can get through - taking many pictures along the way!
As you can see, we also created a Rainy Day List (I bypassed the jar idea for this summer - but it's on the back burner for next year!). We didn't make it too long in hopes that we won't have many rainy days, but if we're ever so bored we don't know what to do, we can look at our lists!

What's on your Summer Bucket List?

Friday, June 1, 2012

Summer Prep

When I look at my life right now, I realize that more often than not the wrong things get in the way of living. My husband and I both work full time jobs, plus he has worked a second job for years to supplement our income (he's a very ambitious man and I am very proud of and lucky to have him, running your own business is tough and he's been doing it for years as a side job). Anybody who works full time knows that at the end of the day, once dinner is made, dishes are washed, stuff is picked up, and activities are over with, you're ready for bed. Or at least ready to wind down. Add to that a house needing updates, repairs, and maintenance; the TV, phones, and computer...our life gets pretty full with "busy" work, time fillers. I started thinking, is that really how I want my kids to remember their childhood? What colorful memories are they going to have as they grow up?

Now, I will never pretend that I am the perfect mom; I'm far from it. I can be selfish, impatient, lazy, and have too high of standards with certain things. I know this, and it's a work in progress on a daily basis...parenting is easily the toughest, most trying job on the planet. Anybody would agree to this (that have children at least), but wouldn't change it for the world. The last two weeks have changed me and my husband in many ways. Things that upset us before we are suddenly able to brush off with ease. We've become more patient with the girls and prioritizing their activities over our own. We communicate more. We love more. It's a good start. In fact, it's a great start! Now I need to figure out where to go from here, what the next step is.

I'm a blog reader and an avid pinner, and between the two I have found hundreds of activities to do with kids. It's time to put that into play, practice what you pin. I want to look back on my life and not think about how exhausting life was, I want to remember being excited, creative, young...I want my kids to remember me as someone who was involved with them and made them feel special even on an ordinary day. So, our mission this weekend, as a family, is to come up with a "Summer Bucket List" and a "Rainy Day Jar". Both are going to hang out in our home where we can see them and yes, we will be checking things off as we go. Since this is the first year trying this, I can only assume that the list will be long and at the end of the summer we will realize that we overstretched. But, it's OK to dream, and the important piece to all of this is that we will be making a constant effort. We'll learn for next year what kind of capacity we have.

Stay tuned for the results, and I promise to start adding more pictures to my posts!