Where Have We Been?

So a quick break from the house we were "building" to show you a peek at where we were staying. 

We (all four of us) stayed in the upstairs bedroom (my parents' room is the other one upstairs so they are fairly large rooms thankfully).  Handsome 1 and Handsome 2 slept in the bunk beds that were my sister and mine when we were growing up.  We had to put a bed rail up for Handsome 2.  He never rolled out of his toddler bed and I couldn't figure it out at first.  Then I realized, he normally had the wall to his right..here it is to his left.  He was used to rolling right and being fine...not the case here!  We kept all of our stuff in boxes.  Each of us had a box for clothes and then we had a miscellaneous box as well as each boy had a small box for toys.  Hubby and I slept on the floor on our mattress.  It was a foam mattress so it felt the same except for getting out of bed...it got harder as I got bigger!  Overall sleeping in the same room wasn't bad.  I thought it would be tough.  Actually, when it came time to move home I had a hard time getting used to them not being right next to me for me to keep an eye on.  They felt so far away at the other end of the house even though it was just probably 10 steps from our room :) 

As I mentioned, we were staying with my parents at their home.  We were so fortunate that they let us do that as it saved us a lot of money vs. renting for 6 weeks somewhere.  Also, the kids are there during the week while I work so they were familiar with being their regularly anyway.

Overall the stay went well.  I really tell people it went as well as could be expected.  I mean when people who are used to their own routines come together under one roof there is bound to be some tension at times but really overall, it went by fast.  Also, I honestly can say in some ways it made life easier.  I had someone to share house chores with!  My Mom cooked, cleaned, watched the kids, etc. while I did one or the other as well.  She did way more laundry than I and cooked some amazing meals.  It was nice!

However, as our house came together and I could see the finish line I was ready to go (as I am sure they were ready for us to go.)  Just having your own space and routine back is nice.  There is comfort in that.  Thankfully, it wouldn't be much longer and we would be home. 

 

 

The Stress Returned

The excitement didn't last long when in thinking more about the chimney about to be built, Hubby thought more about how if our other footings for our beams had very little to sit on perhaps the chimney didn't either and we might as well do that too.  The foreman was in agreement but it meant delaying the mason who was squeezing us in while working on another bigger job.  Couple that with the fact we needed to disassemble the old roof ASAP.  Thanks again to family, the next day Hubby, my Dad and all my brother-in-laws came to help.  My Dad and two brothers did the roof while Hubby and another brother dug and set a footing.  It required cutting a drainage pipe nobody knows what it belonged too.  Hopefully that doesn't come back to bite!

Here are some pictures from the work they did as well as the inside work that the company did.  Oh and the electrician even came to get our power all ready for hook up!

L to R from Top to Bottom: The house!  Getting the roof tied together between the two sides, Needed to move an outlet, the chimney is gone and framing that is to code going up around it, the mason's bricks are ready, plumbing going to the second floor through our first floor closet, the step ladder for access to the second floor, the footing prep for the chimney, the roof disassembly and the electrician finishing up!

 

Although the footing for the chimney was not fun, Hubby said that and the roof disassembly went fairly fast, which was good.  We saved a great deal of money by doing both ourselves instead of leaving that to the company and it allowed them to make some good progress inside!  Things were coming along...you can even see where some siding started to go up!  The house was starting to finally seem like a reality and not just a dream.

 





Don't Just Raise the Roof...Raise The Whole House!

Well the second story of the house at least!  The day finally came.  April 10, 2014 our ranch became a colonial.  It was exciting.  We had my Mom and Mother-in-law and the kids there to watch.  They said it would happen early but never really happened until closer to early afternoon so the kids got a little antsy but overall, they thought it was cool too.  Handsome 1 brought his crane over and set it on the old roof that was on the ground and "worked along with them".  The foreman later told me each worker slowly noticed his crane and got the biggest kick out of it. 

Here are some pics from the day...

You can see from top to bottom and left to right:  The house being unwrapped, the spectators with Handsome 2 being photographer, the new roof being raised,  and Handsome 1's crane.

 

I don't think these next photos require explanation...the raising and setting of our second floor!

 



 

What an exciting day it was.  Over a year of planning and more than that of thinking about what we were going to do.  Our house officially now had two floors and our little ranch we had made into a home had grown double in size to a big and towering (shockingly to us) colonial.  Hubby went in that night with a latter and took a peek around.  I saw his stress melt a little that day and was thankful for that.  At this point, I was 22 weeks pregnant :)

Gluten Free Judgement

So living with a gluten-free child we have settled into a rhythm and my 2 year old is amazingly strong with accepting his life as this.  Kids are so resilient.

I still struggle with the fact that eating out is hard.  We have a few places that offer GF menu options (although limited) but they are a start.  Breakfast though seems to be hardest to figure out for eating out.  He doesn't eat eggs so I can't go that route and although both my boys eat really well actually breakfast seems to be the one that is mostly pancakes, cereal, toast, etc.  Father's Day came and we haven't done a breakfast out in so long I would have liked to go out for breakfast for Father's Day as we used to pre- GF.  However, I don't know how I would do it.  Sigh....

The latest problem I ran into though was judgement from others.  We were at a birthday party and I had not planned on bringing my 2 year old because it was a party for my 5 year old's classmate.  However, my 2 year old really didn't want to miss out and he is good at bringing his shy older brother out of his shell.  So along he came and thankfully I had a few GF brownie bites to bring along since he couldn't have the cake.  If I know he is coming ahead of time I pull out a cupcake I have made and frozen and whip up some frosting and bring that (which is what I did for the last party we just did the very next weekend).  No big deal, we do it all the time.

I got there and inevitably there were non-GF friendly snacks. I was prepared though and also told my son, which snacks he could and couldn't have on the table and at 2 years old bless his heart, he gets it so I let him snack away freely.  Then some unsuspecting woman offered him a pretzel.  He gingerly started to take it and I spoke up telling her he couldn't he was GF.  He understood and immediately let go of the pretzel.  She gave me a horrid look like I was stealing candy from him.  She walked off looking completely disgusted.  I brushed it off and a Mom nearby said, "Oh, XXX is SUPPOSED to be GF but she is eating anything she wants today so I suspect she wont feel well tonight."  Anger rose a little more in me.  I calmly said though, "Well Handsome 2 gets really sick, don't you buddy" and left it at that.

Then it was cake time.  Handsome 2 was excited as it was time for his brownie bites.  He didn't care about the cake.  He also got to have the ice cream all the others were having.  As cake was passed out they tried to give him a piece.  I again explained. This new Mom said, "So you never let him have cake?!"  In a judgy tone.  I explained he can, just GF cake.  She went over to the Mom cutting the cake and said, "She doesn't let her son eat this stuff so I guess no cake for him."  Sigh...

At this point I was frustrated.  I wanted to jump on my GF soap box.  I am sure I am extra sensitive but honestly most people are really good about our GF journey.  However, I feel like this GF "fad" has hurt those who really struggle with a disease/intolerance.  I feel like many of the people at this party thought it was just that.  That I was that Mom trying out the GF option on my poor child.  I wanted to shout out our journey.  How sick my guy was.  How hard it has been.  How if I could chose not to have this for my child I would.  It isn't easy.  It isn't fun. It sucks.  But, it is our life.  Please, don't judge.  Please try to understand.  But I didn't.  I bit my tongue and let it go.  Ignorance...that is all it was.  Sometimes though, it still hurts.

And just to show you how strong and smart my 2 year old is about gluten free here is an example of our conversation today...

Handsome 1:  I want Cheez-Its
Handsome 2:  What is Bubba having?
Me:  Cheez-Its.
Handsome 2:  I want Cheez (and without hesitation he self corrects) I want MY Cheez-Its.  My gluten-free ones.  The ones that don't hurt my belly.
Me: Okay.
Handsome 2:  Bubba can have those because his belly doesn't hurt. 
Me:  That is right buddy.  Some people can eat certain foods and others can't.

And that was the end of it.  God bless him.

32 Weeks....8 Months!

I am not sure where the time has gone.  I feel like it is flying by and it is bittersweet.  We are just so busy (as I say over and over) that this pregnancy is flying by, which is a good thing but also makes me sad, I want to enjoy what most likely will be my last time I experience the miracle of pregnancy.  Growing another human being inside you is just such a truly blessed experience and so amazing.  Love feeling him move (even if it can be painful at times) and knowing you are the home for this little guy for 9 months.

So yes, I am 32 weeks as of Sunday, June 8th.  Here I am just before taking my two guys to a birthday party in a heat wave we were having.  I am not complaining as the Winter was long and warm sunny weather seemed so far away BUT I will say the swelling that comes with it and the trouble sleeping in the heat is not the most fun.

Here are my "stats":

How far along are you:  32 weeks!  8 months already!

How big is baby: Your baby's the size of a squash!  Still growing, your baby weighs in at about 2.5 to 3.8 pounds and measures about 15.2 to 16.7 inches.  Or according to my ultrasound last week he is weighing in at 4 lbs 13 oz., which according to my OB puts him in the 98th percentile!  She is concerned so I will start checking my blood sugars regularly even though I passed my 3 hour glucose test and we will do an ultrasound in the next couple weeks at a larger more specialized hospital.

Weight gain/loss: I am 3 lbs up from my pre-pregnancy weight and 10 lbs. up from my lowest weight when I had lost 7 lbs. in pregnancy.  I think some is my eating (still working on the same as I mentioned to weeks ago) but also decreased water intake and increased humidity has made me start to have some swelling.  I was on my feet basically from 8 to 8 working the other day so that didn't help.  I will try to be better about all but also watch the swelling because for whatever reason, my left foot and right hand seem to be more swollen at times. My BP was good at my OB check on JUne 11th though so that is good.

Food cravings: Sweets. Ugh.  Doesn't help with the "gaining good weight only" idea.  I am especially fond of PB and J sandwiches right now on white bread...also not good combinations I know.  I eat one every day for lunch.  LOL.

Symptoms: Still tired but it has subsided enough that I haven't taken a nap in a while and don't need to lay down as much but I do sit for a rest mainly to prop my feet up for swelling.  I also seem to continue to need to rest more from shortness of breath with exertion.  Since I need to climb stairs more now that we have a second floor, I sure get winded when I get to the top at times.  Some days are better than others still.  All continues to depend on how this little guy is positioned.  I am getting more achy as I mentioned...my back and pelvis ache but again those seem to be settling thankfully and I have good and not as good days.  I continue to need to start exercising again especially the yoga.  I still do my gardening so that is good and Handsome 1's t-ball is over this week as is his swim lessons and school so his schedule should settle some as should mine as this is my last week of school.  I do move right into summer services to get them in before I am out on maternity leave but that and my per diem job should only have me working 2 days a week so that will be good.  More time to focus on my health and time with my boys!  My stuffy nose is there but it seems like it isn't as bad (fingers crossed) but we have added in sinus stuff where my right ear was plugged and popping for a bit and now I think I just have fluid because some days it hurts to chew and other days I feel better.  If I keep up on flushing my sinuses I think that helps some.   I definitely am feeling more uncomfortable with this little guy being more cramped too.  His movements are much more defined and sometimes uncomfortable and I can't bend at the waist.  Depending on how he is positioned, sitting without any back support can be hard too.  The heartburn has subsided again as I am being much better about avoiding triggers...mainly pizza or anything with spice.

Stretch marks: None other than the ones acquired with the first two pregnancies and would love it if it stayed that way :)  The belly is expanding more and more though so I am sure it is coming soon :(  I thought I saw a new one the other day but I think it was just an old one still.  I have officially noticed my belly button is less deep.  The past two pregnancies I kept my inny but it sure was stretched!  Yesterday the way the little guy was positioned I was really showing and feeling stretched!

Maternity clothes: Oh yes!  All non maternity stuff is primarily gone except for a few shirts and skirts :)

Sleep: A little better.  I have had some interesting dreams (which I know can happen) and I wake up several times a night to pee or change positions.

Best moment this week: Feeling little guy move is always great.  His movements are more defined and although painful at times, I love his constant reminder he is in there :)  Handsome 2 is also starting to talk of the baby more and feels my belly, kisses it, and hugs it.  He has a love/hate relationship though because sometimes he gives it a punch too...brothers....lol.  Handsome 1 doesn't talk much of the baby. I think he knows what is coming so he isn't as thrilled :)  Talking to the little guy and feeling him respond is awesome.  We have music time and feeling him respond to certain songs is cool.

Sex: Another boy! 

Movement: Oh yes!  He is a combo between Handsome 1's constant movement and Handsome 2's lack there of :)  He seems to move when he is poked or squished or when he needs to change positions but he doesn't seem to be just "playing around in there"...his movements are for reasons :)

Belly button: In but getting stretched!

Labor signs: No thank goodness!  Although as I mentioned I did have the L & D trip due to lack of movement.  No contractions showed up on the monitor thankfully!

What do you miss: A good night's sleep and being able to move around with ease. Bending over is hard and necessary with two kids...especially one being a toddler!

What are you looking forward to this week: Continuing to feel little guy moving around and hopefully the beginning of a more relaxing schedule!

Something interesting about this week:  Even at nearly 8 months pregnant and feeling it, I still "forget" I am pregnant at times!  Life continues to be so busy that it is easy to just go through the day and forgot at times.  I am so thankful for this little blessing growing in me though and want to try to remember to take a break to cherish this time!  Also, we still don't have a name for little guy!  We had one for BOTH boys at this point.  I thought we had a name but it just didn't feel right to me and now Hubby is more okay with a name I only liked so we may have completely steered in another direction!  I should also mention I am getting a lot of "wow you have popped!" comments this week and Hubby said I looked bigger now than I did with my other two...gee thanks!

This week's confession:  I am looking forward to a more relaxed schedule.  I need to focus more on my home, kids, prepping for baby and am really wanting to focus more on rushing less and enjoying my boys more!

See you in two weeks! 

Update to "Failed" Post

So, things have been crazy lately...actually, when have they not for us?  LOL.  Last Wednesday Hubby came home and announced he found a tick on himself but his co-worker got it.  When I looked at it, it looked like it was getting infected and had something in it.  I got what looked like a leg out but couldn't get the rest.  After some protesting Hubby went to Urgent Care.  Glad he did as he still had a pincher from the tick in him (they got it out) and they gave him a dose of antibiotics to help with possible Lyme infection.

Then it was my turn.  At 6:45 PM I still wasn't about to get little guy to move even with drinking o.j., poking him (he usually hates that) and laying on my side, etc.  So off to L & D I went. Once there they noticed his heart rate kept dropping.  I stayed for 2.5 hours and they let me go and had a Biophysical Profile scheduled for the next day.  He passed that thankfully.

At my OB visit yesterday my OB was concerned that he is still measuring so big.  (He was 94th percentile at my last ultrasound and with this one, he measured 98th percentile.)  I PASSED my 3 hour glucose test and it wasn't as bad as I thought thankfully.  The time didn't go to slow and once the first hour was over I felt pretty good.  I thought that was it.  However, my OB now wants me testing my blood sugars regularly to make sure we aren't missing GD even though I passed and to see how my blood sugars are at various points in the day. I am waiting on my glucometer as my pharmacy can't seem to find my prescription.

My OB also wants me to have another more detailed ultrasound at Maternal and Fetal Medicine to make sure he is as big as they think and although she wouldn't come out and say it, from her body language I took it as, make sure everything is okay with him.  That is supposed to be scheduled soon.

I also have been experiencing some slight swelling.  For some reason in particular in my right hand and left foot. I was on my feet most of the day until well into the evening last night so I am hoping that with the heat we had over the last few days is the cause.  I am trying to get more water, put my feet up more and watch my salt.  Luckily at my OB check yesterday my BP was good.  I will keep an eye on the swelling though.

This little guy it seems likes to keep me on my toes.  He gives me a little scare and then things settle and then back to a little scare.  He sure seems to have a mind of of his own and isn't afraid to let me know :)

Raise the Roof!

As soon as the clouds parted the very next day the roof removal began! 

As soon as the roof was removed the second floor was delivered! 

 

Things are happening now!  The roof was covered with tarp (as you can see in the collages) and it was planned that the pieces for the second floor would be set the next day!  And the crane spent the night ;)  I wish by the way I could capture accurately just how huge the crane was.  They wanted a smaller one but it was not working when they needed it so we got a VERY large one...you could see it before you even turned off onto our side road from the main road as you approached...it was huge!

I just have to add one interesting event.  I had an OB appointment on this day and watched the roof removed but then left to go to my appointment.  On the way there I passed two pieces of a home being delivered "somewhere" and coming from the direction I would expect our home to come AND around the time I would expect to meet it in the location it was for it to be on time to our house.  I noticed that near a doorway opening the plastic was ripped and flapping in the wind.  I called Hubby and said  I think I passed our home!  I told him if the plastic was torn in that spot, I had seen it.  Sure enough....it was our house!  How cool is that?

Today was a day of excitement.  It was much needed after the start we had but tomorrow was going to bring even more excitement as the second floor would be set!

Highs and Lows

The weekend we completed what we thought would be our last footing to dig for another post in the basement (Phew....we thought) we also had to clean out our bedroom closet.  Remember I mentioned we weren't supposed to need to so we used our room for storage and then got word we may need to?  Well we did.  So this is what our room now looked like.

 

Nice huh? The closet is empty though!  LOL.

We also had the power turned off on Friday in preparation for the plans for the week ahead.  With all the below freezing temps we have still had at night this made us a little nervous and with the planned rain, we were nervous to not have our humidifier running in the basement.

The plan for the week was to start the week with ripping the roof off and then setting the new floor on but the weather forecast was not looking good so we assumed there would be a delay.  Nope!  They still tore off the soffets of our house (April 6th) and planned to let it rain Tuesday (pour to be exact) and do inside work.  For a moment on Monday things were halted (about 20 minutes) as Hubby was unsure he liked this plan.  I thought after talking that we should trust them so we went ahead and things were covered in plastic and we prayed (and Tony went over on Monday night as he just couldn't sleep in the wee hours of the AM actually and checked on the house) all stayed dry thankfully.  Here is what the house looked like with power and all utility lines down, soffits off and roof wrapped to keep the pouring rain out.

Then we hit another snag.  Our chimney.  Turns out it sucked to be direct.  It had an "s" shape to it and had obvious cracks you could see all the way through!  It appears that we were getting nice chimney soot coming into our house without evening knowing it.  Thank God we found it.  So, this meant rebuilding the entire chimney and not just adding on to it as planned.  Thus more money too. And just for fun, the chimney was not sitting on a footing really so guess what....that is right, we dug another hole and did another footing.  Hubby was so happy (exaggeration here).  Sigh...it was beginning to feel like we were not going to catch a break.  Things were not starting off well at all and tension in Hubby was high...sigh.  And things had just begun.  What had we gotten into?

L: Notice the "s" shape to the chimney?  Doesn't touch the wall on the bottom and does at the top

R: Notice along with the photo on the left the damage...hard to see the cracks but they are there too!

And here are some pictures of the final destruction and then a light...some construction!  A temp wall went up to support the weight of the new floor being set, the ceiling was cut for the chimney to go through, the bathroom closet and behind our vanity were prepped for running plumbing and plumbing did start in the basement!  Also our closet was cut into to prep for tying the second floor into the first and our exhaust fan for the stove was installed and properly vented OUT of the house.  Finally, the wall to Handsome 1's closet was cut into to make the entrance to what will eventually become our living room!  Some light!  Wahoo!  Still complete mess but so grateful to be seeing some movement from destruction and "problems" to progress.

 

Stay tuned.

What Have We Done?

The first sign that this was really happening...

 

The port-a-potty arrived.

 

I went over to the house to pick up a few things we forgot and I noticed that the port-a-potty had arrived.  Nothing else had happened other than us moving out so this made it start to feel real.  Things were really happening now.

 

Then as I mentioned on Tuesday, April 1st (yes, I did think is this a cruel April Fool's Day joke?) we got the call that they would meet at our house to talk "plans". 

 

We were told after this meeting (of which Tony was able to attend because he had taken the day off because he hurt his neck at work the day before and could barely move) that nothing would most likely happen the rest of the week.  That day they did manage to tare off the boards on the wall the TV was on (we didn't know they were going to do all of it and were unsure if it was a misunderstanding.  I said to one of the workers he could have the boards as I hate them and he said he liked them and were all through his home.  I meant the ones they had to take...not sure if he just took them all or if that was part of the plan and we misunderstood.)  Turns out it was part of the plan and the guy ended up not taking the boards as the person who put them in did it all wrong and it made a mess trying to tear it out the lead guy told me.  No surprise here....this house is quirky and at times we wondered should we have just left as we found out more quirks.  Sigh.

  

The next day I drove by to find a triangle cut into the gable side of our house, insulation all over the porch and the inside had a bunch of "gutting."  Although nice to see this progress it was shocking as we were last told it wouldn't start until the following week and we hadn't yet covered everything as we would like and I had left the fridge and freezer doors open still airing out...yuck.  Also there was A LOT more gutting than we thought.  We are now unclear why this is all being done and whether this is something we are going to have to sheetrock or is "in the budget" in our plan.  Ugh. 

(As an update, most of it was planned and we just did not realize the extent of the work...thankfully that meant most of this was budgeted for already...phew!)

 

Our living room wall gutted.  The length of the house with a strip of sheetrock missing in the ceiling.  The old coat closet ripped out and you can see where handsome 1 is standing, that was the entrance to the basement.  They started cutting where the new entrance to the living room will be (Handsome 1's current bedroom closet).  His closet ceiling gone as is the ceiling at the entrance to his room.  Looking up from the basement, no wall coming up the stairs now, just boards.  And the basement, it now has its beam in place temporarily held up by makeshift boards.

 

 

We also received some horrible news that they also needed us to dig yet one more hole in our foundation (remember the other three we did and I said, "thankfully it was done?"  Not so much.)  A miscommunication from the engineer is what they said.  That lady has haunted us from day one.  Asking for the holes in the first place when nobody else thinks we need them, delaying our permit because she didn't turn in paperwork, and now this among other things.  Ugh. 

(As an update, we found out that the "holes" being repoured were probably a good thing.  Our posts were sitting on very little support for footings...all things happen for a reason right?)

 

We were also told that they planned more work the next day so the dumpster had to arrive ASAP so luckily my Uncle is in the business and I could use my connections to make that happen.  Finally, we were told we may need to clear out our bedroom closet and allow them in there.  What?!  Where is all that stuff going to go?  We were using it for storage from everywhere else we can't have stuff.  Sigh...I knew these things would come up but a lot has come up in just the first week!  Thankful things are moving but man, this sucks.

 

 

So this weekend's project April 4, 5, and 6) sadly for Hubby (with a hurt neck and the cold the kids gave us) has been to dig one more hole, ugh.  He also needed to get a new range hood so they can properly vent our range for us for our stove.  Poor guy can't get a break from the work on the house.  Positive note, progress is happening. 

 

Breath, just breath.  Did I mention I am now 5 1/2 months pregnant during all this?  What were we thinking!

The Beginning of the End

The end of March arrived and we got confirmation that the project was going to be held up (twice) because the project before ours had not yet been completed.  I had mixed feelings about this.  Glad as we were able to stay in our home a little longer and give the weather a chance to warm up a little more.  Upset thought because now our house had been a month without any siding and we have had some major rain. 

Due to the expected heavy rain again over the weekend and the belief that the project may start the first week of April now we bit the bullet and decided to move out.  It was a blessing and a curse.  A blessing because we got to move out and ready the house more slowly versus one big rush of chaos but a curse because we were out of the house 5 whole days before anything even began with our home. 

It was the beginning of the end.  The beginning of this new chapter and the closing of the chapter on this home.  The one we bought and completely renovated.  The one that had no doors, no flooring, no cabinets, etc. when we bought it.  The one we worked away at year after year.  The one we got married in and had and have been raising two kids in.  Bittersweet.

 

We officially moved out on Saturday, March 29th.  That sure was an exhausting day.  We each got a box for our clothes, we packed a couple boxes of food, the boys each got a box for toys, etc.  We moved our chest freezer out as well.  And then we were officially moving in to my parents house!

The "mess" that ensued with "the move out"

Yes that is right, we moved in with my parents.  All four of us (Hubby, Handsome 1 and 2 and myself) are sleeping in my old bedroom.  The boys are in bunk beds and we are sleeping on our bed mattress on the floor.  Oh and did I mention that day Handsome 1 had come down with a bad cold and Handsome 2 ran a fever so high I took him to Urgent Care.  Sigh...it was a rough night as Handsome 1 coughed all night long and Handsome 2 still ran a fever.  Not to mention everyone adjusteing to living in a new location.

Sunday Hubby and I spent the day organizing the house for the project. I tackled the fridge and freezer (not a small task) while Hubby tackled emptying Handsome 1 and 2's closet (they needed access for these for the project) and Hubby emptied/prepped the living room (tall orders!)

The organized "chaos"...the kids' rooms are tarped and closets cleared, our room is packed, the basement is cleared out where it needs to be and the kitchen and living room are tarped and cleared out for the most part.

We then had the next couple days (Monday and Tuesday) to slowly bring things together.

We got a call on Tuesday night that Wednesday they would be down to look at the house and "make a plan".  We were told likely that would be all they did for that week.  Kind of a bummer as at this point, being out of the house we were ready for the project to start.  However, Hubby was glad to have a few more days to work.  Or so he thought....

Another week at home and another project

So Hubby thought we needed a boiler mate put in since we were having a second floor put on.  We already had some trouble with hot water and having another bathroom was not going to help it.  Amazingly we had our furnace guys tell us they could do a boiler mate very quickly so we bit the bullet and decided to finish that part of our project too so the next week in March (March 18th) that happened (I told you March was crazy busy!)  Again, little did we know, this was not a smart idea.  Later we found out we needed to do more work and some of the plumbing for the new boiler mate was right in the way...of course.

Light and More Prep Work!

The NEXT week in March (March 12) my Dad came up to help Tony do some wiring for a light that would eventually go over our dining room table (currently our living room). 

Our two-way switch for the light near our front door never worked right so we fixed that and I also had two switches changed around so they made sense to me as to what switch went to what.  It sounds simple but running wire is not easy when you have to do a lot of fishing (little did we know that weeks later in the deconstruction process they would ripe the wall near the outlet out and remove a whole layer of insulation in the attic meaning that the project would have been a lot simpler had we waited till then.  That is what you get for trying to accomplish tasks ahead of time!)

This project completion meant we were pretty much done (or so we thought) with what we needed to do in order to be ready for the work on the house (other than moving out of course.)  We continued with "readying" the house and debated (and I worried) about whether the project was really going to start the end of March.  The weather was NOT cooperating regarding temperatures still and I just was not seeing how it was going to warm any time soon (and neither were the weather people!)

Windows...

The very next week in March (March 7th) we replaced the windows.  We got lucky and hit a warm patch over the weekend (warm as in got into the 30s and hit 40 just barely on one day) so we pushed and got all three windows in.  While the windows were going in Tony's brothers (all three of them!) helped with removing most of the remaining siding. 

The big "picture window" below was the "elephant in the room" that had to be replaced.  We went from the window in the top photo to the one shown in the bottom two photos.

 

We also replaced our bedroom windows...the last two to get done.  Now our house after 5 years of work on windows and doors has all new ones. Phew!

 

I took the boys with me to Handsome 1's swim class so that they would be out of Hubby, his father, and brothers' way to get the windows in and work on removing siding some more.  Again, so thankful for the help of family.

After swimming I took the boys on a short hike in a place I had always meant to but hadn't yet and since the weather was so "warm" and we needed to be out of the house, I took advantage of that.  The boys had a great time using their "maps" to find our way.  Handsome 2 fell numerous times as it was so warm we wore our rubber boots but that wasn't a smart move for the ice we encountered.  He also refused to hold my hand a lot, which didn't help...Mr. Independent.

We then did a quick visit with Great Grammie then home for lunch where we found construction still going on.  We did a quick lunch as the boys were excited but obviously slowing progress and then went over to my parents (who were away for the weekend visiting my sister and brother-in-law) to try to get the boys naps/rest time since it was not happening in the noise and chaos of our house!  They of course were too excited to get any rest but enjoyed a movie in MeMe and Papa's bed. 

 

So it was a crazy and productive weekend (as most of March has been.)  We got most of the siding off and the windows are in. We need to patch some sheet rock around the big window since it was shorter than our last and the trim work still needs to be done as does staining of the big window.  Not sure that this will happen anytime soon.  Next up, finish removing siding, put in a switch and wiring for a light where our dining room table will go and continue to move out!  Project still is on the books for starting the last week in March but I am still skeptical.  I am confident we will be ready but less confident the house will be okay to cut power for a week.  Temps are expected to dip again into the teens if not single digits at night again.  No warming other than this quick "tease" in sight.  We will continue to wait and see...

March = BUSY!

So March was busy.  As you know we found out we were expecting another baby boy!  Such a blessing.  We also began major overdrive on the work with our house. 

March 1st Hubby was out working on the house.  We began to remove shutters, remove siding, and clean out closets that would need to be worked in (the one pictured is where the stairs would go).  The boys were loving the cleaned out closets...a new hiding place!  They were also doing fairly well with all this change an chaos.  You could see at change in them.  How could they not be impacted?  But overall, for 5 and 2 years old, they were handling it well. 

At this point, by the end of March it was planned that the house project would start and we would be living with my parents.  How this was going to happen though I had my doubts.  Doubts we would be ready and doubts that this was really happening (although we knew it would since contracts were signed and we closed on our house loan too...the same day...March 19th...we went to find out we were having another healthy baby boy!).  My biggest doubt was that this would happen by the end of March because the weather was still so darn cold!  They needed to cut power for at least a week and there was no way we could do that with the temps getting into the negatives or at the least teens at night still.  We could only just keep pushing forward and see what would come.

Oh and now...5 months pregnant at this point!

The Beginning...

Last year we started seriously considering what we were going to do.  Stay here in our current home?  Build new on some land we are fortunate to have?  If we stay, how do we expand our home as we wanted another child and were in tight quarters.  We began seriously looking at our options.  We checked out all of them.  However when making the big decision between "staying" or "going" both of our hearts were drawn to staying here and making "here" work somehow.  Why we are drawn to stay I don't know for sure.  A few times it looked like "going" may be our only option for expanding and it may be the smarter option.  It may still be the smarter choice.  I know plenty of people think we are crazy to stay.  We could have a brand new home and a lot more land if we went.  However, our hearts, our hearts said stay.  Our hearts still do.  And when the possibility of not being able to do what we wanted in order to expand here arose, my heart broke.  I wanted to stay. 

We decided no matter what, we would stay.  We would make it work.  I prayed a lot.  I prayed alone, I prayed in church, I prayed my prayers with my children.  I asked for guidance and as my heart grew stronger in the desire to stay I shifted my prayers to making it happen for us.  I felt God guided me this way and now I needed him to guide me in "making it happen".  Through ups and downs it did.  We made it happen.

We got a plan.  We signed a contract (December 24, 2013) and just about a month later (January 17, 2014 with Handsome 2 coming along and after an OB appointment for Baby #3) we finalized plans too.  We picked out carpet, shutters, siding.  This was really happening. 

About another month later (February 12, 2014) we had a big "team meeting" at our home where final plans were drawn in terms of how we would make this happen.  We had our contractor, the company heads, the plumber, an engineer, the foreman.  We were all here.  This was happening.

We began renovations the end of February. We were thrown a curve ball (nothing is ever easy) and the engineer decided we needed to basically cut out 2 feet by 2 feet and down about 12 inches in 3 different spots in our basement floor near the current support beams.  We needed to dig it all out and then fill it with a concrete she approved of. Oh and we needed to get this done ASAP in order for her to agree to finalize plans.  Say what? 

Technically we were supposed to begin moving out and begin the house project in just a month and we still had to move out, remove siding and replace 3 windows (and the weather had been less than cooperative for that...very cold!).  I honestly don't know how, but we got it done.

That week my husband, brother-in-law and his co-worker and another one of my brother-in-laws stopped by and they got it done.  It wasn't without its chaos.  The drilling of cement is LOUD and messy (thankfully not quite as messy as we thought) and time consuming.  I took the boys out of the house several times those nights as the noise was so bad.  They were carted around to various houses when Hubby was working on it and I had a meeting.  Overall though, it went smoother than we hoped thank God. 

We had so much help.  My Uncle guided us on the cement and loaned us his portable mixer.  My brother-in-law and his co-worker came over on their day off and in the evenings to help.  In 3 days it was done.  It sounded impossible.  We almost said no.  We tried to find other options.  In the end, we went for it with the pushing of my brother-in-law and it is done. 

Now it was on to finding a good time to replace windows and remove siding.  And so far, we still had just over a month to go before move out.  Ahh...the stress.  I prayed my way through it all and kept reminding myself, it will all be good in the end. Oh and don't forget...I am pregnant through this all!  At this point, I was 3 months along.  We sure are keeping life interesting!

29/30 Weeks And We are Home! (Memorial Day Weekend)

As you will read in my posts to come we have been out of our home since March 29th and I missed the 28 weeks post because we were busy moving back in (May 17th).  Yay!  Two weekends ago (May 23-26th) we went camping for Memorial Day but when we returned I managed to remember to snap the picture below. So really as I type this I am 31 weeks and I spent this past weekend in our home without an agenda other than my garden, getting Handsome 1 his first pet (two goldfish) and settling in....it felt so good and the weather was gorgeous!

You may notice my post says 29/30 weeks.  That is because I started my bi-weekly OB appointments (I can't believe we are at this point!) and at this appointment since the growth ultrasound I had to make sure little guy was growing well (due to lack of weight gain on my part) showed he was in the 94th percentile and because my fundal height measured 32 weeks AND because the anatomy scan I had dated me a week ahead the OB reluctantly changed my due date from August 10th to August 3rd.  Yikes!  I lost a week!  This also matches what I originally thought based on my last period.  This also means I am now due ONE day before my sister who is expecting my niece!

Baby will come when he is ready but as I told the OB, I just want to make sure they are all on the same page so that if he comes early/late they aren't wrong about it.  I don't want them thinking the little guy is earlier than they want when he isn't or trying to induce me for being really overdue when I am not.  I suppose that is where advocating for myself comes in though and with this being my third baby, I feel more comfortable with this at least right now.


How far along are you:  30 weeks!
How big is baby: Your baby's the size of a cucumber!  Your 15.2- to 16.7-inch, 2.5- to 3.8-pound baby continues to grow.
Weight gain/loss: Weight loss from 28-29 weeks since I was sick.  I got back to my pre-pregnancy weight, which is what prompted the growth ultrasound from my OB.  But then I got my appetite back and gained 5 lbs. back again by the time of my 30 week appointment.  Ugh.  I have gained back 5 of the 7 lbs. I lost once again and am really trying to maintain that.  I guess it had to happen at some point since from what I read the little guy is putting on his fat now and I can easily gain a lb. a week now (yikes!) but I want to try to keep the gaining in check and I feel like I have lost control of it a little bit once again since the OB "gave me permission" to eat crap when she seemed concerned about my lack of gaining (obviously she didn't say this but I think my mind felt that is what she said!)
Food cravings: Sweets. Ugh.  Doesn't help with the "gaining good weight only" idea. 
Symptoms: Still tired but it has subsided enough that I haven't taken a nap in a while and don't need to lay down as much but I do sit for a rest mainly to prop my feet up as swelling is starting.  Nothing severe but with warmer weather, etc. it is happening.  I also seem to need to rest more not from fatigue but more from shortness of breath with exertion.  Since I need to climb stairs more now that we have a second floor, I sure get winded when I get to the top at times.  Some days are better than others.  All depends on how this little guy is positioned.  I am getting more achy as I mentioned...my back and pelvis ache.  I fell off the exercise band wagon but did get some yoga in recently and that felt good so I need to try to get it back in.  I have started my garden this past weekend and worked on it today too so that is at least some physical labor.  My stuffy nose is there but it seems like it isn't as bad (fingers crossed.)  I definitely am feeling more uncomfortable with this little guy being more cramped too.  His movements are much more defined and sometimes uncomfortable and I can't bend at the waist.  Depending on how he is positioned, sitting without any back support can be hard too.  Sometimes he is so pressed up in my ribs and lungs I get chest pain...like achy not heart attack feeling and for about a week last week I lived on Tums.
Stretch marks: None other than the ones acquired with the first two pregnancies and would love it if it stayed that way :)  The belly is expanding more and more though so I am sure it is coming soon :(  I have officially noticed my belly button is less deep.  The past two pregnancies I kept my inny but it sure was stretched!
Maternity clothes: Oh yes!  All non maternity stuff is primarily gone except for a few shirts and skirts :)
Sleep: A little better.  I have had some interesting dreams (which I know can happen) and I wake up several times a night to pee too. 
Best moment this week: Feeling little guy move is always great.  His movements are more defined and although painful at times, I love his constant reminder he is in there :)  Handsome 2 is also starting to talk of the baby more and feels my belly, kisses it, and hugs it.  He has a love/hate relationship though because sometimes he gives it a punch too...brothers....lol.
Sex: Another boy! 
Movement: Oh yes!  He is a combo between Handsome 1's constant movement and Handsome 2's lack there of :)  He seems to move when is poked or squished or when he needs to change positions but he doesn't seem to be just "playing around in there"...his movements are for reasons :)
Belly button: In but getting stretched!
Labor signs: No thank goodness!  Although I was nervous with the back pain, diarrhea, pelvic pressure and light brown spotting I had over Memorial Day weekend!  I did call the OB on call and he figured as I did that I most likely overdid it getting ready for camping and was dehydrated too.  Good wake up call to take care of myself!  OB checked me at my appointment and my cervix was as it should be but she also said to take it easy...easier said than done but I am more conscious of it...I knew better but I kept pushing.
What do you miss: A good night's sleep and being able to move around with ease. Bending over is hard and necessary with two kids...especially one being a toddler!
What are you looking forward to this week: Continuing to feel little guy moving around and hopefully finishing up round one of my gardening!
Something interesting about this week:  Even at nearly 8 months pregnant and feeling it, I still "forget" I am pregnant at times!  Life continues to be so busy that it is easy to just go through the day and forgot at times.  I am so thankful for this little blessing growing in me though and want to try to remember to take a break to cherish this time!  Also, we still don't have a name for little guy!  I believe we had one for BOTH boys at this point.  Handsome 1 we decided by now and Handsome 2 took a little longer but we knew by now I  believe but this time around, we just can't decide!  We have two in the running and one I can't seem to let go of by Hubby doesn't like.  We shall see!  I should also mention I am getting a lot of "you look great!" comments or "you don't look like you are that far along!" although flattering in comparing to my photos from my previous pregnancies I look about the same and the pregnancies themselves (especially Handsome 2's) were very similar at this point.
This week's confession:  My appetite has increased and I am turning to sweets and quick snacks.  Need to get back to water, fruits and veggies!  (Yes I know I said this 4 weeks ago but it happened again!  I also am feeling the pressure that this little guy is coming soon and I feel so unprepared.  Again, life is crazy not just with two kids but with all life has thrown at us (sickness, a house project, etc.)  I feel truly blessed and want to make sure that I take moments to appreciate this amazing time in my life!  One more confession, with the added stress of the home, baby coming soon, work, etc. I am more short tempered with my two boys.  I hate that.  They are going through a lot of change too and I need to remember to enjoy them as well and remember they are along for the ride whether they want to be or not!

See you in two weeks!  (I will be doing two weeks from this point on as I believe I did with my other two because it seems when you hit 30 weeks the time just flies!)

Where to Begin...

Aren't they handsome?  I know, I am a little bias :)

Life has been crazy busy hence my absence between baby, house, kids, work, etc., life is busy.  Yes, I know, I will be adding one more to the mix so things wont get easier (oh and we added 2 fish yesterday too!) but when I share the "house" and "kids" stuff in some posts to follow you will understand why it is that much busier!

So stay tuned as I have A LOT to share it is just a matter of getting it all typed out.  This is my first chance I have had to sit down and type and I have a little guy whose favorite show is on ("Mickey") and he isn't interested.  He would rather play with me.  How do you tell your child no cause you need to blog?  Right?  And who wants to put T.V. on for their kid just so they can type right?

I want to get this stuff down for record keeping if nothing else though.  I want to document our life so I can look back at it and smile but finding the time is crazy.  Bedtimes used to be it for me but that has turned into housework and then bed for me too since I am slower and more tired these days.  LOL.

So this blabbering session is basically to say stay tuned...this has house been busy and I can't wait to share!