This morning, I was the only one in our house who didn't get a haircut. Daddy and Elizabeth both got haircuts on Thanksgiving Day!
Here's the video of me cutting Ellie's hair:
Happy Thanksgiving!
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
On Thankfulness
I'm not doing that whole "post something you're thankful for every day on Facebook," thing. I'm not tweeting (much) about what I'm thankful for. But that doesn't mean I'm not. Thankful, that is.
Today, I worked all day. It was a long day. This week has been really busy for me at work. I feel like my days just fly by when I'm there! After work, I had my step-dad pick me up (Robert had to stay late, and since we carpool, I didn't want to sit around idle for an hour and 15 minutes). I came home, did the dishes, picked up my stuff around the house, got ready to go paint, and then took care of Elizabeth (she was with Robert's parents and sister today, so she actually got dropped off after I was home).
I nursed her, ate my dinner, took her 6-month pictures (to come later), and handed her off to my mom for bath time. It wasn't fun; I hate leaving her as much as I have to lately. Especially on her 6-month "half" birthday!
Robert came home and got himself ready to go. (We had committee meetings at church tonight. I skipped mine, because I had way too much to do). We went our separate ways for a few hours.
I went to our house as soon as I got Elizabeth settled with my mom. (It took a little while longer than anticipated, due to her clinging to mama and my camera pretty much quit working while I took her pictures).
I got to our house and found Robert and his dad working on our bathroom. Robert stopped what he was doing to unload my truck.
I started painting the entertainment center where my dad left off today. While we were at work, he went over there in the middle of the day just to help us out and get the first coat on the entertainment center finished!
Anyway, I painted until I was tired of painting the 2nd coat (2/3 done with it), and Robert picked up where I left off after his parents and sister went home tonight. I unpacked boxes of food into my new pantry, and then we came home. Robert made me dinner after stopping by his parents' house to pick up my laptop which I had left there accidentally.
As I got ready for bed tonight, I was going to thank Robert for dinner when I realized I needed to also thank him for driving to his parents' house to pick up my laptop. Then, I remembered I should thank him for helping me paint, unloading my truck, putting our ballots in the mailboxes, etc.
The point is that my list of thankfulness is so long, I often overlook it.
I'm vowing to pay more attention now, and say "thank you" more often.
Will you join me?
Today, I worked all day. It was a long day. This week has been really busy for me at work. I feel like my days just fly by when I'm there! After work, I had my step-dad pick me up (Robert had to stay late, and since we carpool, I didn't want to sit around idle for an hour and 15 minutes). I came home, did the dishes, picked up my stuff around the house, got ready to go paint, and then took care of Elizabeth (she was with Robert's parents and sister today, so she actually got dropped off after I was home).
I nursed her, ate my dinner, took her 6-month pictures (to come later), and handed her off to my mom for bath time. It wasn't fun; I hate leaving her as much as I have to lately. Especially on her 6-month "half" birthday!
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| Here's a little teaser preview of Elizabeth's 6-month pictures. :) |
Robert came home and got himself ready to go. (We had committee meetings at church tonight. I skipped mine, because I had way too much to do). We went our separate ways for a few hours.
I went to our house as soon as I got Elizabeth settled with my mom. (It took a little while longer than anticipated, due to her clinging to mama and my camera pretty much quit working while I took her pictures).
I got to our house and found Robert and his dad working on our bathroom. Robert stopped what he was doing to unload my truck.
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| Learning how to tile! |
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| It's setting up nicely. :) |
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| This is what Robert & his dad finished tonight! |
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| It's a mess right now, but it will be worth it when it's done! |
Anyway, I painted until I was tired of painting the 2nd coat (2/3 done with it), and Robert picked up where I left off after his parents and sister went home tonight. I unpacked boxes of food into my new pantry, and then we came home. Robert made me dinner after stopping by his parents' house to pick up my laptop which I had left there accidentally.
As I got ready for bed tonight, I was going to thank Robert for dinner when I realized I needed to also thank him for driving to his parents' house to pick up my laptop. Then, I remembered I should thank him for helping me paint, unloading my truck, putting our ballots in the mailboxes, etc.
The point is that my list of thankfulness is so long, I often overlook it.
I'm vowing to pay more attention now, and say "thank you" more often.
Will you join me?
Monday, November 4, 2013
More DIY House Progress {and Bittersweet Notes}
We're making more progress on our new house! Big things are happening!
So what's the problem?
I miss my precious baby girl. Most nights, I don't even get to spend time with her, because we're working so hard to get the house renovations finished. Robert and I have made it a point to cuddle with her in our bed on the weekends now, and really give her a special morning on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. She misses Mama and Daddy very much, and my heart just aches when I have to be away from her.
Don't get me wrong; everyone has been very helpful and understanding throughout this entire process. We are forever grateful for people who are willing to babysit, and people who are willing to help us at our house. And by "people," I mean grandparents. It makes me very thankful that my husband does not have a job that forces us to move away from family, and even more thankful for my own job! I absolutely love what I do, and I'm so glad I get to do it to make a living.
That being said, I'm feeling very stretched. I'm tired all the time. I feel like there aren't enough hours in the day to get everything done. I'm desperate for some sewing/ crafting time (that I currently don't have), and maybe even a pedicure (very selfish; I know). I want to spend all the time I have with my baby, and I just can't. It's so hard to work on our house this hard and this long - but I just try to remind myself it's all so that Elizabeth can have a special new house to start growing up in. It's a season, and it will be over soon.
And then, it will be Christmas, lol.
Speaking of seasons, I've had some questions lately about plans for Elizabeth and breastfeeding. I was finding it really difficult (almost impossible) to keep up my supply while I'm working and renovating a house. Elizabeth started on solid foods within the last month. It was really hard for me. I didn't want to start her on solids that early, but at her 4-month check-up, her doctor suggested that she was probably ready, based on what I told her about Elizabeth's behavior around food/ bottles. (Lunging forward for my food when she saw me eating, opening and closing her mouth a lot when she saw anyone else eating, etc.) She's always been a good sleeper, though, regardless of what she's getting for nutrition. She has had to have some formula recently, as my supply was low (due to a cold, I had to take cold medicine, which really impacted my supply negatively). Anyway, it's been a challenge for me to deal with it. All this to say, I was previously considering weaning her sooner than later (because my supply wasn't as high), but I was encouraged not to, and I'm not going to. It's better for both of us if I don't do it yet, and I am getting better about eating enough to actually get a good supply built up. Water (surprisingly) hasn't been an issue.
It's getting tough to be so "in between," with our house. Having all of our stuff scattered between 4 locations (our house, Robert's grandparents' house, my parents' house and our temporary storage unit), has been really trying. We emptied out the storage unit, and turned in the keys this weekend, so that's a step in the direction of getting back to one location, one home, one family together.
So, all in all, we're hoping to move into our new house this week, and I'm looking forward to being in our new place - settled, and all together a lot more often!
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| Here's Elizabeth's cherry blossom tree - with the first layer of cherry blossoms! |
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| Here's our good friend, Paul, installing our new custom-built entertainment center! He is seriously amazing with carpentry! |
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| It fit beautifully! |
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| Here's our bed in our new room! I think the hardwood stain looks beautiful, especially with our bed! |
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| Almost ready for us to sleep at the new house! |
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| Entertainment center installed! Just need to paint, and add hardware, and glass or panels to the doors! |
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| My kitchen is starting to look like a kitchen! :) |
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| Got our dining room table in, so we can sit in real chairs to eat! (As opposed to the camping chairs we've been using!) |
So what's the problem?
I miss my precious baby girl. Most nights, I don't even get to spend time with her, because we're working so hard to get the house renovations finished. Robert and I have made it a point to cuddle with her in our bed on the weekends now, and really give her a special morning on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. She misses Mama and Daddy very much, and my heart just aches when I have to be away from her.
Don't get me wrong; everyone has been very helpful and understanding throughout this entire process. We are forever grateful for people who are willing to babysit, and people who are willing to help us at our house. And by "people," I mean grandparents. It makes me very thankful that my husband does not have a job that forces us to move away from family, and even more thankful for my own job! I absolutely love what I do, and I'm so glad I get to do it to make a living.
That being said, I'm feeling very stretched. I'm tired all the time. I feel like there aren't enough hours in the day to get everything done. I'm desperate for some sewing/ crafting time (that I currently don't have), and maybe even a pedicure (very selfish; I know). I want to spend all the time I have with my baby, and I just can't. It's so hard to work on our house this hard and this long - but I just try to remind myself it's all so that Elizabeth can have a special new house to start growing up in. It's a season, and it will be over soon.
And then, it will be Christmas, lol.
Speaking of seasons, I've had some questions lately about plans for Elizabeth and breastfeeding. I was finding it really difficult (almost impossible) to keep up my supply while I'm working and renovating a house. Elizabeth started on solid foods within the last month. It was really hard for me. I didn't want to start her on solids that early, but at her 4-month check-up, her doctor suggested that she was probably ready, based on what I told her about Elizabeth's behavior around food/ bottles. (Lunging forward for my food when she saw me eating, opening and closing her mouth a lot when she saw anyone else eating, etc.) She's always been a good sleeper, though, regardless of what she's getting for nutrition. She has had to have some formula recently, as my supply was low (due to a cold, I had to take cold medicine, which really impacted my supply negatively). Anyway, it's been a challenge for me to deal with it. All this to say, I was previously considering weaning her sooner than later (because my supply wasn't as high), but I was encouraged not to, and I'm not going to. It's better for both of us if I don't do it yet, and I am getting better about eating enough to actually get a good supply built up. Water (surprisingly) hasn't been an issue.
It's getting tough to be so "in between," with our house. Having all of our stuff scattered between 4 locations (our house, Robert's grandparents' house, my parents' house and our temporary storage unit), has been really trying. We emptied out the storage unit, and turned in the keys this weekend, so that's a step in the direction of getting back to one location, one home, one family together.
So, all in all, we're hoping to move into our new house this week, and I'm looking forward to being in our new place - settled, and all together a lot more often!
Friday, November 1, 2013
First Halloween
While I would love to write that I was a super prepared and have 100s of pictures of Ellie Jo's first Halloween.... I cannot. I have been so exhausted this past week, trying to get everything done. I'm counting it a blessing, because big things are happening in our lives, but I was also very grateful for 2 full nights' rest this week. (Not Elizabeth's fault; we just get to bed super late when we're working on the house!)
Yesterday (Halloween), I was at work for most of the day, as it was my boss's birthday and Halloween. It's a huge celebration day! We had a breakfast banquet for her, and then an Open House in our department. (I missed out on the Logistics Open House this year, which was sad!) At 11:45, my awesome mother-in-law brought Ellie Jo in her pumpkin costume to join in the festivities! (She has those pictures, I will post them later!) We did a costume parade in the Student Union, along with 500ish other people! It was crazy! Elizabeth did so well! No tears, no fussing. I can't tell you how many people snapped photos of her, undoubtedly to Instagram the cuteness. Glad that kind of thing doesn't bother me very much, it was kind of funny!
I ended up leaving with Leah after the parade, because my office was being used by other people, so I decided to come home.We stopped at Great-Grandma Crombie's for a surprise trick-or-treat!
After our visit, Leah and I packed up Ellie Jo, and then we dropped off Grandma. Ellie and I went straight home.
I carried everything in, put it all away, and came upstairs to change into some comfy clothes. I brought Elizabeth up, and nursed her. I started my nursing app on my phone, and laid my head back on my pillows. I picked my head back up to see that I had been nursing her for 55 minutes! WHOOPS! She was still nursing! Didn't seem to bother her, lol. So I pulled her off, burped her, and laid her next to me.
I slept another hour.
When I finally woke up, we went downstairs to find my stepdad home. He didn't even think we were here, because we were so quiet! Crazy!
Anyway, after that, Robert came home and we loaded up to go to his parents' house for the Halloween party. Elizabeth had fallen asleep in the car, so we let her rest until she woke up.... at 8:00!
We stayed until 9:00ish, and then drove a mile or so away to trick-or-treat at my Auntie's house. I had called ahead to let her know, so she put Jullian back in his costume!
We did not get a family picture, mostly because we were so busy doing other stuff! Robert and his dad went to our house to attempt finishing up the baseboards - not easy with 0 workspace now, as our storage unit has been unloaded into our garage, due to the $200+ rent on it! We weren't going to keep it more than a couple months while we have been at my parents, anyway, but still! It has made me decide that I will be doing some major purging every week as soon as we get settled.
We have made some more progress on Elizabeth's tree! Ashley and I have learned that we really cannot do it all at once, or even a lot at a time. We aren't artists, and although I did attend private art school and enjoy creating and painting, we just really underestimated how much time and car is needed for this kind of project. It's not a bad thing at all, we're just changing our plan a bit. We're working on it slowly, a little bit more every day that we can. Sometimes, we can't work for more than an hour. Sometimes, we get 3-5 hours in on it. But it requires so much concentration! We want it to be very special for precious Elizabeth!
Anyway, we're heading to the house to do a lot of work this weekend, including having a dryer vent installed! The previous owners did not have one, so we are going to have to get that taken care of before we move in. Thank goodness we have had an expert for every step of the way - including the dryer vent. Our friend, Vance, is coming up tomorrow to take care of that for us.
I promise to continue posting pictures!
Yesterday (Halloween), I was at work for most of the day, as it was my boss's birthday and Halloween. It's a huge celebration day! We had a breakfast banquet for her, and then an Open House in our department. (I missed out on the Logistics Open House this year, which was sad!) At 11:45, my awesome mother-in-law brought Ellie Jo in her pumpkin costume to join in the festivities! (She has those pictures, I will post them later!) We did a costume parade in the Student Union, along with 500ish other people! It was crazy! Elizabeth did so well! No tears, no fussing. I can't tell you how many people snapped photos of her, undoubtedly to Instagram the cuteness. Glad that kind of thing doesn't bother me very much, it was kind of funny!
I ended up leaving with Leah after the parade, because my office was being used by other people, so I decided to come home.We stopped at Great-Grandma Crombie's for a surprise trick-or-treat!
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| Great-Grandma was thrilled! |
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| Ellie Jo was happy, too! |
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| "Look, Great-Grandma! I have feet!" |
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| "Great-Grandma hold me, and I hold my feet! Hehe!" |
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| Great-Grandma snuggles :) |
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| Such a happy baby! :) |
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| Happy Great-Grandma, happy Ellie Jo! |
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| I went out to the car to get Elizabeth's diaper bag, and saw a huge figure crossing the driveway. I came in and said, "Did you guys see the huge deer?!" Right when I said that, a young buck came down the driveway! |
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| Poor lost baby! |
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| He had some little horns! |
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| Bye-bye, Mr. Deer! (He walked through Aunt Kathy & Uncle Kelly's yard after this picture was taken!) |
After our visit, Leah and I packed up Ellie Jo, and then we dropped off Grandma. Ellie and I went straight home.
I carried everything in, put it all away, and came upstairs to change into some comfy clothes. I brought Elizabeth up, and nursed her. I started my nursing app on my phone, and laid my head back on my pillows. I picked my head back up to see that I had been nursing her for 55 minutes! WHOOPS! She was still nursing! Didn't seem to bother her, lol. So I pulled her off, burped her, and laid her next to me.
I slept another hour.
When I finally woke up, we went downstairs to find my stepdad home. He didn't even think we were here, because we were so quiet! Crazy!
Anyway, after that, Robert came home and we loaded up to go to his parents' house for the Halloween party. Elizabeth had fallen asleep in the car, so we let her rest until she woke up.... at 8:00!
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| Baby got sweet potatoes for dinner! |
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| She loves sweet potatoes! |
We stayed until 9:00ish, and then drove a mile or so away to trick-or-treat at my Auntie's house. I had called ahead to let her know, so she put Jullian back in his costume!
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| Here are the kiddos, a bumblebee and a pumpkin! |
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| They sort of tolerated us taking pictures. |
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| The laughing pumpkin! |
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| Sort of holding hands |
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| Pretty cute! |
We did not get a family picture, mostly because we were so busy doing other stuff! Robert and his dad went to our house to attempt finishing up the baseboards - not easy with 0 workspace now, as our storage unit has been unloaded into our garage, due to the $200+ rent on it! We weren't going to keep it more than a couple months while we have been at my parents, anyway, but still! It has made me decide that I will be doing some major purging every week as soon as we get settled.
Anyway, we're heading to the house to do a lot of work this weekend, including having a dryer vent installed! The previous owners did not have one, so we are going to have to get that taken care of before we move in. Thank goodness we have had an expert for every step of the way - including the dryer vent. Our friend, Vance, is coming up tomorrow to take care of that for us.
I promise to continue posting pictures!
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