I appreciate the advice..

.. but OMG please make it stop!



I don't know what it is about pregnant women that makes complete strangers think it's ok to give out unsolicited advice, but seriously everywhere I go I hear something from someone about how to raise my baby.

- Don't hold a baby too much, they will be spoiled

- Don't let a baby have a pacifier, it teaches them to put something in their mouths when they are upset and when they are older that can turn into them being emotional eaters. (seriously I have heard that from someone..)

- Sleep now, you won't be able to later. OK, yes I get that babies keep you up a lot, but it's not like sleeping today is going to make me less tired next month. When I am tired I sleep, but I am not going to sleep every second of every day for no reason.

- Don't do this, don't do that..  blah blah blah..

UGH. Sorry, I know I shouldn't complain. Everyone is just trying to help, but it does get slightly annoying at times.

And while I am complaining.. let me also add that it is really annoying when people ask me all the time when I think she will actually be here. Umm.. do I look like a psychic? I have no idea.. all I know is it will be sometime between today and her due date (or maybe even after that).

Again, I know I shouldn't complain because people are just excited to come meet her and I totally get that (I mean HELLO obviously I am excited to meet her too).. but I promise I will make sure I call/text/post a facebook status or something so everyone knows once she is here, but until then please RELAX a little. Everyone constantly asking and hoping she is here soon just stresses me out.. obviously I would love to have her now, but I also want her to come whenever she is ready to come and not a moment sooner.

ughhh... OK, rant OVER. Sorry! It's just been one of those days!

Is it Friday yet?? haha ;)

d a y d r e a m i n g . . .

.. about all things baby.

Today is March 29th. My due date is April 29th. So that means that sometime in the next month I will finally get to meet my little girl and I CAN'T WAIT <3

I had the option of either planning to stop working before the my due date or working up until whenever the little one decides to grace us with her presence. I chose to work as long as possible so that I can actually spend all of my time off with her when she is here rather than just waiting at home for her to come.

Well, I made that decision months ago.. and now even though I still think that's the best way for me to do it.. there are days when it is so hard for me to focus and get any work done.

I spend hours thinking about her and making lists constantly of things I still want to pick up or add to my hospital bag (or just random things I don't really even need haha).

I imagine holding her for the first time and I tear up just thinking about it. (I don't however get quite as excited when I think about the actual delivery..)

I literally cry just thinking about seeing Vince holding her for the first time.

And I still have 30 days to go.

Sounds like such a short time, but there are days when it seems like f.o.r.e.v.e.r.

So for now, I guess I will just continue to daydream about my little girl (and try to do some work too) and hopefully before I know it she will be here in my arms. (probably screaming.. but I won't think about that part just yet.. haha)

All About Me :)

My good friend Angela  posted this earlier today and I thought it was cute so I copied it :) Thanks Ang!

1. If you have pets, do you see them as merely animals or are they members of your family? - if you have ever read my blog you already know the answer to this.. yes of course we consider Ty as a member of our family.. he is our first kid.

2. If you could have a dream come true, what would it be? to become a mom... and I'm pretty sure that dream is becoming a reality sometime very soon ;)

3. What would you do with a million dollars? to be honest I have thought about this a hundred times before and all I think I would really do with it would be pay off our mortgage and then save the rest... boring? maybe. But it would be so nice to have your house 100% paid for and still have a good savings put away.

4. What helps to pull you out of a bad mood? friends, family, vince.. and maybe a glass of red wine (when I'm not pregnant of course)

5. What is your bedtime routine? Well during the week Vince doesn't get home until around 10, so I eat dinner then with him (I know it's late, but I like sitting down and having dinner with him every night and if thats the only time we can do it then that's fine with me) and then we curl up with Ty and watch the 11 o'clock news (unless we have something good in the dvr) before going to sleep.

6. What activities did you do in high school? I was a cheerleader, I danced from the time I was 6 years old until 17 (I quit right before senior year because I was on two 2 cheerleading teams and couldn't fit everything in), I was on the ski team (really that was just because Vince was on it too) and I was a member of NHS.

7. What kind of books do you read? Anything really. I don't like to just pick out a random book, I prefer to ask friends/family/etc for suggestions so I know if it's good or not... but some of my favorite authors are James Patterson (I think I have read almost all of his books), Nora Roberts, and Nicholas Sparks.

8. How do you see yourself in 10 years? hmm... lets see.. I will still be married, raising a 10 year old daughter ( and maybe another kid too ;) ), and hopefully just being happy and enjoying life with my family like I am.

9. What's your fear? ugh spiders. I seriously can't stand them... just thinking about them right now gives me the chills.

10. Would you give up all junk food for the rest of your life for the opportunity to see outer space? Um.. is it lame if I say no. Not that outer space isn't fascinating (because really it is), but I just don't know if I really care to leave earth anytime soon to see it... I'm perfectly content just seeing it on tv or in movies haha.

11. What's the first thing you do when you wake up? brush my teeth. I hate morning breath, ugh.

12. If you could change one thing about your significant other, what would it be? I would make it so he never snored again.. ha, kidding.. kind of. But other than that nothing.. I love him for who he is, so why change anything?

13. If you could pick a new name for yourself, what would it be? I think I will stick with Jenna Nicole... not that I am in love with my name, but it's my name and it's never bothered me so there's no point messing with it.

14. If you had to choose between six months of sun or six months of rain, what would you choose? Sun. Would anyone really choose to have 6 months of straight rain??

15. If you could only eat one thing for the next 6 months, what would it be? Anything Mexican. Mmm.. I could eat it every single day and be perfectly happy.

16. What is the thing you enjoy the most about blogging? I just enjoy being able to write whatever I feel like and sort of keep a journal of what's going on in my life these days.

17. Do you prefer salty or sweet foods? Definitely salty. I've never been a huge sweets person.

18. What items are in your purse right now? ha.. what isn't in my purse right now? Let's see there is my wallet, my planner, 2 cell phones (BB for work, Iphone for personal), work keys, car/house keys, an apple, lots of chapstick and lipglosses floating around in there, business cards, sunglasses, checkbook, hand sanitizer, bronzer (because I am as pale as a ghost), and my flip video camera. I think that's about it ;)

19. Name 3 things on your bucket list. The #1 thing I know for sure I want to do at some point is move. Not that I don't like PA, but I would LOVE to live in North Carolina.. and thankfully Vince says the same thing, so we talk about in the future possibly moving there, but not right now. Other than that I would like to drive coast to coast and really take the time to see the United States. (I would love to travel Europe too, but there is a lot I haven't seen right here in the US too), and the 3rd I'm not really sure.. Vince really wants to go skydiving, so maybe I would try that with him.

20. What do you watch on television that you know you shouldn't? What don't I watch really? I guess the only thing I watch that I sometimes feel like I shouldn't is Teen Mom... I don't like that teens are getting famous for getting pregnant it's not something that should be glamorized, but OMG the show is addicting!

Life is a Roller Coaster

I got an email yesterday from my grandfather, he lives in Florida so we obviously don't see each other very often, so we email to keep in touch. He was my father's father. Typically when I write on here and I mention my "dad" I am talking about my step-dad, he is who raised me and I started calling him dad when I was 2 and never ever think of him as anything less than that.

My parents divorced when I was just a year old and while I had a relationship with my father it wasn't always an easy one. I loved him and he loved me, but whether due to distance or just not seeing eye to eye on things we had a lot of ups and downs. At the end of the day he was a good person who I loved more than words can describe and when he passed away of cancer when I was 17 I was devastated. I was sad about losing him, but I was even more sad for not getting the time to make up for all the ups and downs we had.

Well anyways.. back to my main point (sorry my mind trails off at times haha).. in my grandfather's email he was talking about all of those ups and downs in life. He has had a very interesting life (it could seriously be a lifetime movie) and he was saying that there are things everyone wishes they could take back or things they wish they could do again, but that's not reality. Life is a roller coaster. As cliche as it sounds you have to have learn to appreciate all of the ups and downs to really enjoy the ride.

Sometimes I think I forget that. I feel like I spend a lot of time worrying about the "downs" or wasting a lot of energy trying to reach the "ups" and not just letting things fall into place.

I would say that is probably my biggest weakness. I over analyze things or try to plan everything in my life, and the truth is you can't.

There is no way to know what tomorrow holds, you can drive yourself crazy trying to plan for it. In the end whether things work out perfectly or not, life is still going to go on. So instead of worrying about it so much, I need to learn to relax a little and kind of go with the flow. Be thankful for what I have, the family and friends who are always there, and just enjoy life.

It's a little late, but I think that should be my new years resolution: learning to just enjoy the ride.

Kaylee's Nursery

This weekend Vince and I worked a little bit more on the nursery and I thought I would share with you what we have done so far.

**Please note.. it is not painted because we are living in an apartment right now... BUT things with our house have finally started moving along and looks like they will be done building in July (thank goodness!), so then we will be able to really finish her room. However for now we are working with what we have and I think it's looking pretty cute ;)

I loved the saying on the diaper cake from my shower so I took it apart and framed it ;)

 

I thought this box was so pretty and it ended up being perfect for holding diapers and lotion/creams/etc on the changing table

Girl has more clothes than me ;) haha (and this probably isn't even half of them lol)

So that's it on the nursery for now. I found a wall decal with a cute saying that I want to put over the crib and I need to hang curtains, but other than that I doubt we will be doing much more to her room.

Once our house is finally done being built we plan to have most of the rooms painted before we move in, so the nursery will look more finished then. Plus her room will be quite a bit bigger in the house and I want to get a book shelf to put in there too.. but anyways for now I am happy with how it turned out (there's no sense going crazy with it just to use it for a few months before we move haha)

Baby Shower

A few weeks ago my family and friends threw me a beautiful baby shower and I wanted to share some of the pictures from it. (I meant to post this awhile ago, but kept getting too lazy to upload all of the pictures) It was such a special day and I really appreciated everyone being there to celebrate this time with me. 

We are extremely blessed and clearly Miss Kaylee is very loved already <3

Baby Shower 2.26.11

Some of my favorite Hokies came to town for the weekend

Such a cute diaper cake from my sister-in-law Lauren :)

SO many presents!

Loved the cute favors my mom got

With some of my bests from high school

with my mom<3

With both of the Kaylee's grandmothers! A huge thank you to both of them for putting together such an amazing shower :)

Make sure to check back tomorrow for even more pictures... I finally decided to get out my actual camera (the iphone just wasn't cutting it anymore haha) and take a couple pics of what we have done so far in the nursery :)

Weekly BUMP Update

I took these pictures this morning and the sun was really bright so it was messing up the coloring, but at least I have some pics this week ;)



How far along: at about 34 - 35 weeks (ahh just typing that out makes me realize how close I am to 40 weeks!)

Total weight gain/loss: according to my scale no change since last week... so at a total of 16lbs (but I will find out at next weeks appointment if that is accurate or not)

Maternity clothes: Same as before.. some pants, but other than that just trying to make my normal clothes work. (and actually in the pictures above I am wearing my regular jeans with a hair band looped through the button so that they still fit haha)

Stretch marks: not as of now.

Sleep: This week has actually been somewhat better. I think that is because I have been so exhausted that I just kind of pass out at night haha.

Best moment this week: This has nothing to do with the baby.. but my dad called me Tuesday afternoon and said he just found out he had to fly to Philly that night so we got to meet up for dinner before he headed off to an appointment in Jersey. I miss my family so much and it really did make my entire week :)

Movement: constantly... and at times it hurts a little, but I can't complain I am just happy to feel her moving <3

Food cravings: same as normal, nothing crazy.

What I miss: well since yesterday was St. Patty's day I kind of missed being able to have a green beer ;)

Anything making you queasy or sick: Thankfully no.  

Gender: girl :)

Labor Signs: a couple contractions here and there like usual, but nothing out of the norm. Not sure why, but I kind of feel like she plans on staying in there until right around 40 weeks.

Belly Button in or out? In, but looking like it might pop out any day now...

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Weekly Wisdom: All first time mom's get nervous about being a new mom. I am SO excited to hold my little girl in my arms for the first time... but I am also getting a little nervous about whether or not I am going to know what I am doing. There are days when all I do is worry about if I will know how to do this or that the right way, and I read books about babies and search things online constantly. But after talking to a good friend this week, who is also a mom, she just laughed and said she felt that way too and told me to relax because everything just kind of falls into place and I (like all new moms) will figure it out as I go. So I am going to try to just not stress about it and instead just looked forward to meeting my little girl soon <3

Milestones: hmm... well I can't really think of any milestones that I have reached this week, but in general I am just so happy to finally be past all of the craziness that was going on in the beginning/middle of my pregnancy. It's nice to actually be able to just enjoy being pregnant and not have to worry about every little thing.

 

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Bloggers Block

So I have had a little case of writers blogger's block lately.

One reason being that I have been really busy the past couple of weeks with work and when I get home (I usually type up my posts the night before) I would rather just relax (or nap.. what can I say, pregnancy has turned me into an 80 yr old grandma) than think about something interesting to write about.

The second and main reason is that I feel like everything I want to post about revolves around either pregnancy or babies. I mean I could put up a post every single day (probably twice a day, seriously) about something related to that, but I'm sure you guys don't want to read about it ALL of the time and to be honest I didn't want this to become a baby blog 100% of the time. BUT since this blog is about me and my life, and right now my life is centered around being pregnant it makes it a little hard to avoid talking about it a lot.

So ANYWAYS... that is the reason for my current lack of writing... and since I like blogging and I can't think of much else other than babies these days, guess you are just going to have to read some more about it ;)

BUT I will promise to try to put in some posts about other topics too.. and to prove that I thought I would start with a post about my current obsessions (only non baby related ones of course! haha)

My Current Obessessions:

1. Starbucks Passion Iced Tea. Mmmm it is SO good. I'm not big on sweet tea so I always ask for mine unsweet (they just don't put the syrup in), but I'm sure it's just as good either way.

2. LIGHTS OUT. If you haven't seen this new show on FX and are looking for something that both you and your guy will like, then I totally recommend this! Vince and I both watch it every single week and talk about how good of a show it is. Basically it's just about a boxer who lost everything and is trying to make a comeback so he can provide for his family. It may not sound that great, but trust me it really is! (if you can find it on demand then I would try to go back and watch from the beginning)

3. Cover Girl Lash Blast Mascara. I ran out of the Bare Minerals Mascara that I usually use and while I was at Target last week I saw this on clearance and just grabbed it to use until I got a chance to go get the other one. Well, after using this the past week I LOVE it. It's cheaper (like seriously it was only about $5!), it works better, and I can get it anywhere instead of having to go to certain stores.

4. SPRING. I (probably like everyone else) am obsessing over the weather. I just CANNOT wait until it feels like Sring everyday! Tomorrow it's supposed to be sunny and around 70 degrees, and just thinking about it puts me in such a good mood. If I could I would choose to live somewhere that you get that kind of weather all year long ;)

5. and last but most importantly My Little Man <3. Ty is by far my #1 obsession of all time. With Vince working nights I would get so lonely if he wasn't there, plus I get lots of quality time snuggling with him ;)

(Please excuse his messy hair.. he has an appointment at the groomers this weekend and he needs it done bad!)

I'll be back tomorrow with a bump update post (yep, back to talking about the baby already lol!)

OH and Hope you all are having a great St. Patty's Day!! Make sure to drink some green beer for me :)

Weekly Bump Updates

Before I get into my normal post, I just have to say I (probably like most people) have been glued to the news all morning about everything happening in Japan and Hawaii. The footage from Japan is indescribable, it's hard to even believe that it's real. I can't imagine what all of those people are going through right now. It really puts some of our issues and every day complaints into perspective and makes you focus on what is and isn't important. My heart goes out to all those dealing with this disaster.

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I know I should have a weekly picture with my bump update... but I wrote this last night and Vince wasn't home to take one and this morning before I left for work I completely forgot about it. SO I will definitely make sure to get a new picture before next weeks update!

How far along: at about 33-34 weeks (depending on if we are going by my original due date of April 29th or the updated due date of April 22nd.. it's kind of weird not having an exact date to count down to anymore haha)

Total weight gain/loss:  I had my Dr's appt Tuesday and I have put on 2 lbs since my last appt (2 weeks ago)... so still gaining about about a 1lb a week, making the total 16 lbs so far...

Maternity clothes: Same as before.. some maternity pants, but mainly wearing leggings or dresses with tights to avoid having to buy too many maternity clothes.

Stretch marks: still none, for now at least... hoping it stays that way. ha.

Sleep: Some days aren't too bad, but still getting up about 2 times a night to pee

Best moment this week: packing her diaper bag and picking out her outfit to take her home from the hospital in. It made me so excited, I couldn't stop smiling the whole time I was getting everything together.

Movement: all day long :)

Food cravings: fruit is the only consistent food craving I have had throughout this pregnancy... not that I don't eat junk food too (because trust me I DO) but I just don't crave it the way I crave fruit.

What I miss: turkey hoagies (the Dr said to avoid deli meats while pregnant and it has not been easy.. I really miss being able to just have a normal sandwich for lunch haha)

Anything making you queasy or sick: I have started waking up in the middle of the night feeling nauseous almost every single night, but not sure why..

 

Gender: Little Lady <3

Labor Signs: nothing more than some random contractions, which have been going on for awhile now so nothing out of the norm.

Belly Button in or out? still in for the moment (and still praying it stays that way lol).

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Weekly Wisdom: Don't rush. Obviously I want to meet my little girl SO badly.. but I also know that she will be here when the time is right. Besides I would rather her be late than to come too early and have to go to the NICU instead of being able to come home right away with me. So I am not going to hope to have her soon.. I'll just hope to have her healthy, whenever that may be.

Milestones: Finally feeling ready for the baby. Not that I (or anyone really) is ever fully ready for all the changes a baby brings... but I at least feel prepared. The car seat is in my car (thank you vince), the stroller is in my trunk, and the swing, bouncy seat, pack n' play, and a bunch of other random pieces of baby gear are all set up and ready for whenever she decides to come. (which as I mentioned right before this, I don't want to be anytime too soon) The nursery is also ready and fully stocked with clothes, diapers, wipes, etc.. but it still needs some finishing touches as far as the decorating goes.


Hope everyone has a nice weekend! I plan on doing a whole lot of nothing ;)

completely random thoughts..

It's raining and not just a little bit. It's supposed to rain from now until sometime Friday and they are calling for some flooding.. somewhere between 2-5 inches of rain (every news channel I check has a different forecast of course lol). Rain makes me feel so blah.. the only time I like the rain is on Sundays when I have nothing better to do but curl up and watch movies all day.

On top of this ugly rainy day, I am exhausted. I am used to getting up at 7 (and really I don't get out of bed then, I lay there until Vince is done showering and until I absolutely have to get up and start getting ready), but recently I have started to have to work from our Harrisburg office on Wednesdays and Thursdays so I have to leave my house by 6:30 am (at the latest). I know some people have long commutes every day, so I really shouldn't complain.. but I much prefer my normal 2 mile drive (seriously my office is that close) over this hour and a half (sometimes more with traffic drive) drive. Thankfully this is just temporary.. they are in the process of restructuring the Harrisburg office so I am just filling in until that happens. Which will hopefully be soon, because I like my normal 7 am wake-up much better. (and yes I know that once the baby is here that will change, but at least then I won't have to get up and drive that far to work I can stay in my pj's at my house... )

OK enough complaining.. Last night when I got home from work, I pulled up to see Vince's car outside. Which is odd because he typically works late (until like 10pm or later), but he surprised me and called off work and took me out to dinner instead. I love random date nights like that and I love that he knows how much those little things mean to me.

We were talking about going to a movie after dinner, but decided we would rather go home and rent a movie on demand instead.. but then we ended up getting caught up watching American Idol. Vince usually can't stand that show and the past few years I only watch it on and off, but like Vince said last night this year has some really good contestants and it makes it a lot more fun to watch. So I have a feeling after watching last night, I am going to be hooked on it for the season..

This Sunday we are switching churches. We are going back to the church we got married in (which was actually my family's church for years and I used to go with them every Sunday). Right after we got married Vince and I moved about 20 minutes from where I had been living, and not that it was a far move or anything, but it made more sense to start going to the church that was literally across the street from our new house. Plus since my family moved to Missouri they weren't going to the other church anymore either. Now, we have been talking a lot about when we have our baby baptized and if we really want to do it at the new church.  Not that there is anything wrong with it at all, the pastor is actually a really nice guy and I like going.. but it just doesn't feel like our church. Somewhere that we want to stay with long term. So, after discussing for awhile we decided that driving the 20 mins to church on Sunday's to go back to where we feel is our church was the best decision for us. I feel a little weird going back after being gone for over 2 years now, and hope the pastor doesn't mind that we switched... but it just feels like a better fit for us and our little girl. (plus I like that the pastor is friends with my family, married us, and can now baptize our baby).

Well.. that's really it. I know it was a random post, but that's really all that's been going on lately.

Hope everyone is having a good week... I'm sure you already know, but tomorrow is FRIDAY! Yay! (and I couldn't be more ready to be able to sleep in on Saturday! haha)

Top Two Tuesday



Top 2 Things you've learned about relationships

1. Pick Your Battles. OK so we all know that it isn't always easy trying to mesh two lives into one. Everyone is different and has their own way of doing things and once in awhile those differences can cause people to argue. BUT what I have learned (and really try to implement in our marriage) is to PICK YOUR BATTLES. Obviously there are going to be times when you may need to argue (seriously, no relationship is perfect all of the time), BUT there are other times when you can just let it go and move on. There is no sense arguing over who does what chores or things like that.. as long as both people are pitching in and things are getting done that's all that matters. There are way more important things to worry about.

2. Appreciate your time together. With Vince's work schedule these days (he leaves the house before 8am and gets home after 10pm Monday-Friday and usually works Saturday mornings too) our time has become limited. When he was just working a normal 8-5 schedule I never really appreciated our week nights in just relaxing together, now when he has a night off they are my favorite nights. We also try to make time together other ways during the week.. about once a week we meet for a quick lunch together and even though it's not a lot of time it's a nice break in the day and something I really look forward too. At night even though it's late when he gets home I still wait up and have dinner with him. It's all about taking whatever time you have together and making it count. This will obviously get even harder once our Little Miss is here, but we will find a way to make time for just us every once in awhile. (Plus hopefully this summer his schedule will be going back to typical 8-5 hours and then we can get back to a normal routine!)

To join in go to The Undomestic Momma :)

Weekly Bump Updates

So I have seen a few different versions done of these pregnancy updates and I think they are cute and a good way to look back and remember what each week was like. So I am going to start doing this weekly (I probably wouldn't normally do it every single week, but since I only have about 7-8 weeks left I figured I might as well :))

**Please excuse the horrible picture. I am SO bad at taking my own photo! Apparently I can't keep my hand steady enough so it comes out so blurry. I normally have Vince take a picture for me, but since he wasn't around I had to take this myself. Next week I will try to get a better one!

How far along: between 32-33 weeks now (it's crazy how quickly this pregnancy is flying by!)

Total weight gain/loss: ughh this question is definitely my least favorite on the list, but as of now I have been consistently putting on a lb a week since about 18 weeks (before that I lost a lot in the beginning months and then finally got back to my original weight right about 4 months).. so that would make it a total of 14 lbs so far (and obviously I know that number is just going to continue to climb over the next couple months). Can't believe I just put that on the internet..

Maternity clothes: I actually wore my first pair of maternity dress pants to work yesterday. I finally gave in about 2 weeks ago and bought a pair of jeans too.. but mostly I wear either leggings with long sweaters or tights with dresses.

Stretch marks: as of now no (thank goodness!)... but I still have plenty of time for that to happen.. ugh

Sleep: not the best. My back hurts a lot when I lay down so I toss and turn a lot during the night... I feel bad because it keeps Vince up too. (sorry babe!)

Best moment this week: Our crib and dresser/changing table got delivered on Tuesday so I could finally start putting things together in her room! I REALLY need to stop being lazy and get out my actual camera so I can get some decent pictures, but for now you can see these I took on my camera phone of just the crib so I could send the pic to my mom haha. (once I get the rest of the room at least some what together I will post more)

Movement: All of the time and I love it. Even though, it is starting to hurt every once in awhile.. but still, I know this won't last much longer so I am trying to enjoy it while I can :)

Food cravings: people ask this all of the time, but really I haven't had any crazy cravings. The only thing that I seem to want all of the time is fruit... specifically oranges. For awhile there I was going through about a box and a half of clementines a week lol.

What I miss: Sleeping on my stomach.. can't wait to be able to do that again!

Anything making you queasy or sick: nope, not really.

Gender: Girl :)

Labor Signs: Nothing crazy. The Dr said at my appointment last week that she is down and in position.. so I am noticing more pressure and a random contraction here or there, but nothing that has me calling the Dr's office yet. I want her to stay in there a bit longer :)

Belly Button in or out? In and praying it stays that way. Just ask Vince, this is something that has seriously worried me since day 1... I don't know why, but I am dreading the fact that it may pop out haha.

Wedding rings on or off? On. My hands have occassionally swollen, but not so much that I can't wear my rings.

Weekly Wisdom: Stop worrying about my weight. It's part of pregnancy and it has to happen, so just deal with it. I won't get to experience this very many times in my life, so stop stressing and just enjoy it. (but you can bet I will be worrying about it again after she comes out and I have to start getting ready for bathing suit season! haha)

Milestones: Getting past week 32. With some of the issues we were having earlier on, the Dr just kept saying as long as we could get to that point I could let out a sigh of relief. So, it's very nice to know that I can relax and stop counting the days until week 32 ;)

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Well that's it for this week! Hope you all have a great weekend... Happy Friday! :)

Thankful Thursday

First I have to say just how very thankful I am to all of my family and friends who came to my baby shower this past weekend. It was such a nice shower and meant so much to both Vince and I. I really can't express enough just how much we really appreciate everything. (I plan on doing a post with pictures soon)

I am thankful that tomorrow is FRIDAY. I started a new position at work (which I am also thankful about), but the downside is that on Wednesday and Thursdays I have to drive to our Harrisburg office (which means I leave at 6:30am and get home after 7pm).. and I am not used to those hours yet, so I am exhausted. Can't wait to sleep in this weekend!

I am thankful for a husband who knows how to deal with my crazy up and down emotions... thank you hormones..

I am extremely thankful that we have an accountant do our taxes instead of using turbo tax. When I put in all of our info in turbo tax it came up that we would owe a small fortune (at least to us).. but thankfully when our accountant called to tell us our taxes were done, he was able to get them down by a TON.. which was a nice little surprise yesterday :)

As I mentioned in my last post, the builder started working on our house again which I am thankful for. NOW if only he could actually FINISH it sometime over the next few months I would be VERY thankful..

Our nursery furniture got delivered Tuesday and I am oh SO thankful that all of the bedding and everything put together looks just how I wanted it to! (as I type this I realize I should have taken some pictures... the rooms not done yet, but I will try to take some this weekend so you can at least see what it looks like so far) 

I am thankful for a dog who likes to take naps with me... since right now naps are one of my all time favorite things ;)

And lastly I am thankful to be sitting here with my baby kicking me as I type.. it reminds me of just how soon she will actually be here in my arms, and that I simply can't be thankful enough for <3

Happy Almost Friday Everyone :)



So much for that perfect plan..

Back in May I wrote this post telling you all how excited Vince and I were because we had just signed and bought a house. (We had sold our townhouse earlier that month and were excited to be getting a single home). We had decided to go with new construction and had a lot of fun being able to pick out all of things that we wanted in it.

Well... since that time it has been a NIGHTMARE. Seriously SO MUCH DRAMA nonstop.

It is now March, and we are still waiting on our house. It has been a very long 10 months to say the least.

I could go on for days about the roller coaster ride this has been, but rather than bore you to death with all of that (and get myself all worked up and annoyed) I will give you the short version of what has happened.

Basically we signed in May and then had to pick out all of our options and then wait for the builder to get everything submitted to the township for approval. It took a little over 2 months for that, which was normal and exactly how long the builder told us it would take. (and just to clarify.. we had our townhouse built as well, so I understand the process of new construction and what is and isn't "normal").

So finally on August 6th (I'm not the type of person who remembers every date like that, but with all of the legal issues I now know the date of everything for this house) they broke ground. We were so excited because that meant we would be in the house sometime between the end of November and the beginning on December. Which, since we found out we were pregnant a few weeks later, the timing worked out perfectly so we could move in and still have a good 4-5 months before the little miss would be here. Well, at least we thought it would work out perfectly... turns out, not so much..

The builder worked on the house for about the next 3-4 weeks. They got it up and framed.. here is a picture of what it looked like at that point (it actually has the windows in too, but for some reason I can't find that picture).

 

Then from the first week of September until the end of November they did NOTHING. Not one thing was touched in our house for almost 12 weeks. We drove by daily and called and emailed constantly, but NO one would give us any answers on what was going on. (and also just to point out this was not just happening to our house, it was the entire neighborhood as well as the other 4 neighborhoods the builder owns). The problem, not only being extremely frustrating,was that they had framed our house but not finished the roof. So every time it rained outside, the inside of our house was flooded. (and if you live in PA you know we had some serious rain the month of October.. the mall here even flooded, so you can imagine what our house was like).

Finally the day before Thanksgiving one of the project managers finally called us back. He said they had been having financial issues (well duh, we figured that much out ourselves..) but not to worry that they had paid all of their contractors and everything would be back up and running the following week. So at this point we figured they have about 2 - 3 months left of work to finish until we would get our house... so at the latest we would be in was February. Wrong again.

They started working like he said and finished our roof the week after Thanksgiving. Then stopped working AGAIN. Since that time our house has continued to just sit there, with nothing else being done to it.

I know you are probably asking.. "well then why don't you get out of it and get another house" (because EVERYONE asks us that). The answer: if we could we would.

We gave the builder our down payment and signed a contract. He legally has up to 2 years from when we signed to finish the house before we get our money back. We can't just walk away and lose that money. But we recently started working with a lawyer who actually found one stipulation in the contract that might make it possible for us to get out of it. We were just about to have him send the builder a letter that would basically be telling him to either release our money (he doesn't technically have it the title company does) or we would go to court.

And then, of course, they started working again. Apparently since it's a new year, the builder was finally able to get loans from the bank. He has actually done a lot of work and seems to be getting things finished on the other homes. However ours isn't going that smoothly. The reason ours isn't getting anywhere yet is because as I mentioned it sat in the rain for 3 months, so now they are having to tear apart and replace a lot of the damaged wood. As much of pain as it is to have to now wait for them to fix problems they caused, I am just glad they are fixing them. Once they have made the repairs we are supposed to have a sit down meeting with the builder (for the first time in this entire process we can actually talk to him.. should be interesting) and find out what is going on.

We would rather not have to go to court, so if he can actually continue work from here on out and get us in the house then we will wait, but if it looks like they are going to stop again then we will start the court process. (which like everything else will take awhile).

SO I will definitely keep you all posted as to when (and if) we ever actually get the house. It has obviously been a huge stresser for us this past year, BUT to be honest at this point we are just focusing on having our little girl. The house is kind of out of our control and there is no need to continue worrying about it. Besides for now we have an apartment so it's not like we are homeless and eventually one way or another it will either get done or we will get our money back. It all may just take a lot longer than we originally planned.

Guess that just proves you can't always base your life around plans. That was probably a lesson I needed to learn sooner or later.. haha