So much to be thankful for!

I am very, very thankful that the weather has been below 70 all week. I know it's going to start changing tomorrow, but I am loving these fallish days right now!

We are all mostly healthy again! Yay! And Laurelei's ENT appointment went very well yesterday, whew.

I am thankful for Matt taking care of so much around here. He's pretty great.

Harrison turned 16 today! I am so very thankful for having him as a little brother. I can't wait to spend sometime with him tonight celebrating.

And last but not least, I am VERY thankful to have our bathroom finished, finally! Woo HOO! It has been a long time coming, but was worth the wait. I love everything about the way it turned out. Now Abbott can come and we will all be ready, house included!

Here are a few pictures of the finished product...

 

 It is nearly impossible to get a good picture because the bathroom is very, very tiny! Our goal for this remodel was to do it as cheaply as possible without sacrificing our style, and I think we did it. I LOVE the simple subway tile in the shower, and the slate floor really makes a difference I think too. The little details are mostly new (i.e. the towel hooks, mirror, light fixture...) but we kept the big items to save on cost (like the vanity, faucet, and toilet.) There were a few hidden fees we didn't anticipate before we tore down the walls, but all in all we came in right around budget!

{linking to Thankful Thursday}

On my mind

As I was trying to fall sleep last night, I could just not turn off my thoughts. They kept rolling on and on and on. And I have to say that some of them surprised even me! I pulled out my phone and jotted them down in my notes. I figured emptying my brain was the quickest way to shut them down and hopefully drift into a peaceful sleep.

I admit, I giggled when I looked back over my list this morning. This is what keeps me up at night? I thought I'd share with you my randomness today...

...Today I got to sleep under the covers on for the first time in 9 months. It might have been the highlight of my day. 

...OMG my new 'life planner' is going to be here soon! I can hardly wait. I know as soon as it ships I will be stalking the Fed-ex man every time he drives down my street and I am so okay with that. Have you seen these? I'm so, so excited!!

...Losing 3lbs since last week (and don't be jealous, I have that terrible bug to thank for that! No dieting here I swear!) totally justifies indulging my chocolate milkshake habit, right? Both today and tomorrow? and maybe the next day too?


...Having stretch marks with this pregnancy is completely ruining my week.  Before I know it my belly is going to look like I was mauled my a bear. This is so unbecoming, no matter what What to Expect says about it being a "mother's badge of honor." I totally disagree, and think that women just say that to make us feel better. I do not feel better. 

...I need to find some good amateur photo-editing software. Anyone know something that is really easy to use and not outrageously expensive?


...Matt twitches when he falls asleep. It makes me mad. It lets me know he's all comfortable and sleeping while I am awake and not happy about it.


...I am not cool enough for my 'style pins.' I love pinning cute fashion ideas on Pinterest, but who am I kidding? I will never be able to put those kind of outfits together without trying very, very hard. 

...I miss adult time at work. I work with some really great people, and I really miss seeing them everyday. Texting is just not enough. (I know, gasp! right?)

...I have a million projects I want to do. When I get my new planner I need to make a list of them in order to be completed. I should schedule in advance which projects I am going to complete for which week. (Does it surprise you that I don't already do this? I am chronically unorganized really!)

...I wonder if I will ever learn to love to cook? Probably not. Good thing I have Matt or we might starve. (Well and good thing I have him, for loads of other reasons too!)


...My patience level is running at a level zero. I suggested tonight that Matt try to scare the baby out of me. This is a bad sign. 

Does this officially make me crazy?

The good, the bad and the crazy...

This hasn't quite been the restful weekend we all were hoping for. That doesn't mean it has been all bad, it's just been, long...with some good and bad all rolled into one.

The weekend, as you know, started out with the good. I am still full over the day I got to spend with Laurelei, just the two of us.  I am well aware that these days may be few and far between, so I feel totally blessed that I got to soak up such a good one on Friday.

 

The good continued onto Friday night. Matt and I got some much needed one on one time with a great dinner out. Our lives have been 100% about babies and family lately that we really needed to just invest in each other for a couple of hours. It was so, so refreshing. In fact, this is the last real picture Matt and I took together just the two of us, at a friends wedding LAST NOVEMBER! And, I don't think it really qualifies as a 'real picture' anyway, but we were both dressed up and looking happy...

Anyway, the good of Friday quickly segwayed into the crazy of Saturday. We ended up spending 3 hours in an emergency room. As we were eating dinner Saturday night Matt looked over and noticed that Laurelei's ear had something suspicious looking in it. He barely touched it with his pinky finger and it began just gushing with blood. It was terrible. Of course we freaked out and ran her to the hospital, where they were terribly less concerned than we were. After 2.5 hours of waiting we still hadn't seen a doctor, I mean even visually located one. It was torturous. Thankfully Laurelei was a real trouper. Matt entertained her with the cutest little magic tricks, which she then would perform for us too. She was extremely patient and even sat very still when the doctor finally came around. Turns out one of the tubes in her ear burst out. The bleeding stopped and we were able to go home with just some very expensive ear drops and a follow-up visit to the ENT this week. I'm fairly certain the real fun comes there, where they are going to have to use some form of scope to clean out her poor little ear. It was a crazy night and poor little L's ear is really put her through the ringer!

Now, onto the bad. Remember that virus Laurelei suffered from on Thursday night? Well, it seems it hadn't completely run its course. Sometime after we got home from the hospital on Saturday night I started to get really sick as well. I will definitely not be too candid with the details, but let's just say being 8 months pregnant and unable to keep anything down is far from a party. It's now Monday morning and I am just now feeling well enough to actually sit up and eat a cup of dry cheerios. And of course poor Matt, who so graciously took care of both L and I in our extreme moments of sickness was down for the count all night last night as well. Seems it was his turn for the terrible. Poor guy. 

The rain today seems a fitting end to our holiday weekend. It should be just the perfect backdrop to relax and hopefully recuperate. All of our plans of finishing the bathroom, cleaning up the house and getting the final touches ready for little Abbott look like they will have to wait for another weekend. Let's just hope Abbott agrees to wait for another weekend as well!!

{linking to miscellany monday at lowercase letters}

Sick Days...

It seems someone wanted to take a sick day with mommy today...

I know, she looks like a little faker doesn't she? But trust me, after what poor Matt had to go through last night in the way of clean-up, this little girl definitely earned herself a day off of school! I wasn't complaining too much either, as it was finally a reason for us to get to be together alone all day for the first time in a long time. We did a lot of playing...

And cooking...

 

And of course mommy did some back rubbing, for both L and Belle...

And hanging out watching movies...

Fun was had by all. I think my favorite part was the large part of the afternoon Laurelei spent cuddling with me and serenading me with her version of "the ABC's" over and over again. She has picked up quite a bit a school already, I'm pretty impressed!

 Isn't she perfect?

I'm very happy to report that this day of rest and recuperation has made us both feel a little better. I anticipate a great long weekend ahead for sure!

I'm thankful for time...

This has been a big struggle for me recently, but today I decided that I would be thankful for time.

 

{photo via}

Let me explain. 

I am having a hard time waiting. I know, I know, you've heard it before but this has felt like the longest pregnancy ever. Every day I am off of work and just sitting around the house feels like an eternity to me. I start to think about how everyday I sit here without the baby and not working is one more day I can't provide for my family. It's one more day I'm alone, doing next to nothing, one more day without Abbott, putting extra responsibility and stress on Matt, missing active playtimes with L, waiting, waiting, waiting. The thought of what I am not doing makes me feel so guilty it's overwhelming!

People keep telling me to, "enjoy this time because once the baby gets here..." It's something I've definitely heard before, and while a lot of people say it in a negative tone (insinuating all of the difficult things that I know are going to come with having another little person to rely on you) I think a lot of people are just being genuinely honest that I should just stop worrying and enjoy-the-time. So, I've decided today that I am going to be thankful for the time. The time to rest. The time to talk on the phone to great friends who I miss a lot. The time to have breakfast with L in the mornings and lunch with my mom. The time for Abbott to grow healthier each week without the added stress my body was giving him. And the time to plan more specifically for the future instead of just running headstrong into it.

I guess all this 'time' isn't such a bad thing. I just have to remember that I didn't chose it, but maybe it was given to me for a reason?

 

{linking to Thankful Thursdays with Blissfully Burton}

Lemon Tree Linky Party!!!

Any chance you are not a follower of Lemon Tree Creations? Well, just in case, we are having a LINK PARTY today. It's only our third one, but there is lots of inspiration to be found!! Please stop on by and join us if you can.

Hope to see you there!!

Big and little things...

Here are some of the big and little things I'm loving this week...

one.  I'm loving that my husband told me the bathroom will be done Saturday. SATURDAY!!! Then we can get our dusty house back in order, get the last bit of baby goodies down from the attic and be ready for baby!!! Yay!! Oh, and L will get to take a bath in her new tub, no more kitchen sink! :)

 

two.  I'm loving my sweet husband for taking such good care of me. I was totally pampered yesterday with a manicure and pedicure at the Baby Belly spa. It was such a great way to relax, and got me out of the house for a little while which felt pretty good I must say.

three. I'm loving that after a couple of days of absolute toddler-tantrum torture, L and I had the best morning ever today. We ate breakfast, got dressed without a fit and cuddled for a little extra time. The new morning routine seemed to work great, so I'm hoping for a repeat tomorrow for sure!.

 

four.  I'm loving these project ideas from Pinterest! (And that I have a little time to maybe get them done in the next couple of weeks?)

five. I'm loving that I have gotten to have some quality time talking to good friends this week. My best friend Jessica from Dayton called and we finally got to chat for a few minutes! And of course Katharine always provides a good laugh and lots of perspective, we need to do that more often ok? :) (I do not love the fact that both of these great friends don't live in town!)

six. I love that Abbott could be here in just about 3 weeks! I will be welcoming that little boy with open arms and simultaneously loving the fact that the longest pregnancy ever will be over. 

(and this is the last time I do show this picture I promise, but I am loving these pictures 

my sweet husband took still, and all the positive feedback about them :)

{linking up with finding joy}

and
{linking up with Jamie for What I'm Loving Wednesday}