Day 130

I've been wanting a tire swing put up for the kids for as long as we've lived in this house. Now they're finally big enough for one! The big tree we had in the backyard had to be cut down because it had termites so bad, so the front yard is our only choice, til the baby tree outback gets bigger. That'll be years from now! My brother-in-law said it looks white trash in the front, haha! I guess he's right, but who cares. Steven came home from work and put one up.

This is what I pictured in my mind:

Perfect.

(From Pinterest)

But this is what we ended up with:

Close enough!

And the kids love it, that's all that matters.

The front of our house needs so much work, but I don't even know where to begin! There are tons of things I'd love to do, but they're all costly. New trim paint, front door painted (this is a maybe, once I figure out what door I want, then I'll decide what to do with it) new screen door, flower boxes, shutters, barn style or wood garage door, on and on. I'm also not a fan of the porch area design, but it'll be many years til that's gone, or maybe I'll just learn to like it. So I have plenty of time to make decisions!

This morning I spotted a little. That's never happened in my other pregnancies. And it wasn't until sometime after I had Rian, that I would spot every now and then before my cycle started. So it's still a pretty new (and scary) thing. I have a regular check up on Monday, so I wasn't too concerned until I started cramping about three hours later. I decided to give them a call and the nurse told me I needed to go to Labor and Delivery. I couldn't even think after that, when she asked for my birth date, I was blanking out! I kind of talked her out of me going, since I'd only spotted once and it was mild cramping. She told me to relax and drink water, but if it got worse, or even, if it didn't get better, then I had to go. :(

So I spent the rest of the day in bed or on the couch. It sure was boring! But obviously, I'd do it til the end of my pregnancy if I had to, for a healthy full-term baby. Good thing I only babysat for a few hours today (and also, after 7 days of a grumpy baby, he started being happy yesterday! Fingers crossed he comes back Monday still happy.) About six hours later, they weren't consistent anymore and a few hours after that, they were gone! My body was obviously telling me I need to start taking it easy. I'm almost always doing something. Busy bee. Time to force myself to rest more often.

Day 129

The flowers in my whiskey barrel were looking a little out of control, so I trimmed them this morning. I was bundling them in my hand as I cut and I wondered, "Why don't I do this more often?!" I could have fresh flowers in my house almost all the time! That's a huge bonus to having flowers in your yard. Duh.

Pretty.

I had to move my plant to the right into a bigger pot last week. My gardening skills are so iffy, sometimes I'm good, sometimes I'm horrible. I've had this one for over a year. Yes!

When I picked AJ up, he had a little gift for me:

Love.

His teacher said she planned on having them grow the flowers, but Mother's Day snuck up on her, but they did plant them! He was so cute waiting for his teacher to hand it to him so he could give it to me. She said, "You sang the Mother's Day song so well, don't forget to sing it to Mommy at home." But he won't sing it, boo!

Today I'm feeling really pregnant. My hips and lower belly are hurting- ugh! I guess the start of the widening and my body prepping for labor, all that fun stuff. Hopefully it doesn't stay for the next 17ish weeks. It seems way too early for all of this, but I guess it happens sooner during 2nd, 3rd, etc. pregnancies.

Day 128 (23 weeks pregnant)

The baby's just over a pound and 11 inches! I think I felt hiccups today. S/he goes crazy every time I start to eat!

The way my shirt fits in the picture to the left makes me look extra huge!

So I did a side-by-side just because.

This made Steven and I laugh this morning:

The baby won't be fazed by my yelling! Good to know. ;) 

 

Steven's dad gave me some really good news today! He's taking off every Monday in June, so they can finish my kitchen floor. How awesome is he?! In his words, "Steve's just taking way too long to get it done." Agreed. 100%. It was last Mother's Day that the tile was ripped up. I've been living like this, in this construction zone, vacuuming it on my hands and knees (and it takes forever that way) because it's way too bumpy to vacuum it the regular way, for a YEAR. His deadline has come and gone! I can't even imagine what it'll be like to have it done. I'm so excited!!!

Day 127

I love that Rian's almost 3 1/2 and there's still nowhere she'd rather fall asleep than with me! (It's taken her a bit to get over that she can't lay across my lap anymore.) She's always been my cuddly child. Aiden used to like to cuddle, and sometimes still does, but it's rare now. She always wants to be with me!

She doesn't show any jealousy when I babysit, so hopefully the same goes for our baby. It took her awhile to warm up to my bump, but now she's constantly hugging and kissing it. She always wants to "see the baby," she says as she lifts my shirt.

I can't wait to see my babies together!

Day 126 (Teacher Appreciation gift)

Today I sent Steven and AJ off to school with gifts for his teachers, Teacher Appreciation Week!

I feel like these ladies have set the bar so high for me. Yeah yeah, it's just preschool, but still! Being a teacher is hard (not that I was one, but close enough!) I know how much Aiden loves them. I wish they could go to Kinder with him! I'm so thankful he was able to go to this school. It's given him a great start to his school life and these teachers have sparked his love of learning. We'll be sad to say bye to them in a few weeks.

Just a simple gift and a little poem, but from the heart.

(From Pinterest, of course!)

 

Green is for the inspiration you give me each day.

Blue is for your patience in showing me the way.
Orange is for your warmth and caring style.

Yellow is for the way you always make me smile.

Red is for my life that you have touched this year.

You're a very special teacher, just like this jar, that's clear.

You place knowledge in our children's hands

and melt into their hearts and lives forever.

You're a "Magnificent" and "Marvelous" teacher

Thank you for being my M&M

I feel like teachers aren't thanked nearly enough. They do so much for our kids!

Day 125

Rian ended up on the floor by my side of the bed last night and AJ made it into our room bright and early, we were hanging out in our bed and I had the perfect idea for breakfast, donuts! I've only taken Aiden to the donut shop one time, last year after his shots at his well-check. I've never taken Rian, but remembered my parents took them once before about a year and a half ago. (I remember when because I was working on Halloween costumes that day, robot and peacock!) So donuts are a rare, special treat for us!

Of course, its closed on Sundays. Why didn't we think of that?! So we decided to try the muffin shop, which I figured would be closed too. It was. But across the street was another donut shop, we totally forgot about that one and one right by our house. So the kid's moods were saved- phew!

Steven went to Lowe's and came back with a Coca-Cola Icee for me.

Best husband ever!

 

He has one more door to do, the hall closet. But I didn't pressure him into doing it this weekend. :) He got the bead board for the island though, I still have to paint it to match the white of the cabinets.

 

 

I was finally able to take Rian's birthday streamers down! I kept them up for so long because Steven had taken off the board that matched the cabinets before. So what showed was ugly! (If you've ever seen the back of a cabinet, that's what it was) He has an idea of how to make the wood island top easier to build, so he's supposed to be starting on that soon. Can't wait!

Day 124

Every day Rian waits to feel the baby move, poor girl's patience is wearing thin! She now yells, "Wake up, Baby! Move!" haha love!

This morning while I was making my grocery list, I was watching The Pioneer Woman. I looove her! (It's totally normal to dvr cooking shows, right?!) She was making chicken strips, so I added them to my list!

Soaking in buttermilk

Add a little buttermilk to the flour and seasoned salt so it gets clumpy

FRY (exactly why they're so yummy!)

Homemade honey mustard and chipotle mayo

 

I thought I made way too much, but they were a huge hit! There were only about 5 strips left. With homemade coleslaw, yum. Steven said making them was a mistake, he already wants more. I've done homemade (baked) chicken strips before, but these were by far the best ever. Maybe I'll try the same method, but bake them instead and see if they're still good.