Sunday, December 30, 2012

Tearing it down

Well we FINALLY closed on our new home last week. The next day the renovations were set to start...and boy oh boy did they start. WOW is all I have to say. I have never been involved in any kind of renovations or building a home so this is all new territory for me. And I'll be honest while I am so excited about this amazing home that we have been blessed with and the means to basically rip it to shreds and put it back together I am really overwhelmed as is Gary. Again, VERY excited but a little freaked out too! You'll see what I am talking about when you look at this pictures. It is scary to walk into a home that you just bought and see it torn apart. We have a vision of what we want it to look like, just hope we can execute it ( and by "we" I mean our contractor! ha) I simply cannot wait to see it come together, it is so fun to pick everything out and have it just the way you want it. With everything we are doing it is going to basically be a completely new house. What drew us to this house was the square footage, the outside(all brick, swoon.), the pool, the lot. The inside left A LOT to be desired...I'm talking green toilets, barney purple walls, ....you get the idea. It needed help and a lot of it for that matter. We are so incredibly blessed to have this opportunity to make this house our home. My sweet husband has worked so hard to make this a reality for us.

The following pictures are ones I took today when we went to go check on things. I may have had a small panic attack when I saw all the demolition. I had a "holy crap" moment. ha!

This is the view from the carport(one of my favorite parts of the house!) We are tearing that deck down and building a larger one and landscaping

Walking into the master bedroom

Looking out from the master bath. To the left on that wall there is actaully a window behind the dry wall...dont ask, we have no idea. what I do know is that window will be born anew here soon :)

The view from the bathroom hall outside my walk in closet(yes!) don't you just love that vanity?! lord

Toilet room. ( held the camera up to try and get a good view. Kinda turned out weird) Oh the wall paper in this house just kills me

Looking out from the potty room :) I love that the toilet has its own room with a door, it will solve a lot of arguments over bathroom use ;) The whole vanity is being taken out

Our lovely shower/tub area. Again don't ask...we don't know. This is being gutted and turned into a big wonderful shower.

One of the shower heads in the shower..

and the other. wow

Coming out of the master you walk down into the Family room( hey D!) I personally love those red walls ;)

Right off the family room is the kitchen...this is being gutted. We are doing black to the ceiling cabinets, granite counter tops and an island. all new appliances including a double oven, thank you Gary!  I am really really excited about this

The foyer, I have never had a foyer so I am pumped about decorating this. The door will be painted black and the color in here is a custom color called "Ashley Grey" It was a Benjamin Moore paint called Sandy Hook Grey(bad choice of name) we got all of our paint from Sherwin Williams so they just matched it and renamed it after me ;) To the left of the foyer is the dining room and to the right is what will be the playroom.

Looking out from the kitchen is our lovely fire place. We are having a new mantle built and a built in to the right where the bookcase is now. Out that door is the carport

Playroom

Dining room

Standing in the kitchen. To the right is the living room and through that door way is the hallway and the dining room

Hall ( hey babe!)  He was checking out the disaster that was the hall flooring. When they pulled it up the sub floor( i think that is what he called it) also came up with it. so this all has to be ripped up and rebuilt. That was the first issue we came across today. But this is actually going to work out for the best because the floor was a little un-level so this will be fixed in the process

Looking from the hall into the dining room

Off of the kitchen is the laundry. This isnt getting much other than some paint and shelves.


Davis's room. Issue #2 of the day. The walls are actually just paneling with no insulation behind them. So this all has to be taken down, insulation and sheet rock put up.

Baby Walkers room

Guest bedroom. Don't you just love that faux wood paneling??
Hall Bath. This was demo'd on the first day and I wish I had a before picture. It had a nice emerald green toilet to go with the mustard yellow. oh and it has a ceiling fan in it. Just in case you get a little warm while using the bathroom. Again,...no idea what the previous owners were thinking.



View from the back porch looking at the pool and fenced part of the yard

This wood has seen better days. All new larger deck coming soon!
I did not take any pics of the outside or downstairs but I will be doing that in the next few days and will post them on here. As you can see we have a lot of work ahead of us but it is going to be amazing when it is done. Follow me on instagram ash_smith85 to see more day to day pics. I stop by there almost everyday and hope to post a pic or two of the progress along the way as well as doing full blog posts on it. Stay tuned!!!

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

23 Weeks

Ok so I have gotten behind on this whole weekly bump update thing, but I swear I've had kind of a good reason. We have had some crazy stuff happen since my 20 week anatomy scan. Lets just say I left there in tears, by myself bc Gary was out of town and with the words "your body may be trying to miscarry, and there is nothing I can do" ringing in my head. This was a few days before Thanksgiving..and Gary was out of town for 10 days hunting. It was a mess. Without making a long story even longer the doctor saw a shortened cervix and a "developed" lower uterus. Which means that I've been having contractions which has caused my cervix to shorten. I went on bed rest and camped out at my moms until Gary came home. I drank tons of water...like 80+ ounces a day and really tried to not do too much. The plan was to come back in a week and measure it again and see if it had shortened more. When we went back the next week the Doctor took a look and said not only had it not shortened but it had actually increased in length a little and my uterus didn't look near as aggravated. PRAISE HIM!!
Seriously, I don't even want to think about what would have happen had it shown that it shortened. The doctor told us things looked much better and that my regular OB would keep an eye on it from here on out. I left there on cloud 9. You hear so many heart breaking stories about babies that are lost, I felt like for a week I was on the verge of living that nightmare. I kept saying over and over "you cant tell me that this baby that is kicking me, is healthy,  has a name, and hopes and dreams being made for him is just not going to make it and there is nothing you can do. I just refuse to believe that." I cried a lot and thank God had a great support system to help me with Davis while Gary was gone.

So here we are at 23 weeks with a healthy precious growing little baby boy. I still have the contractions but not near as much..I'm telling you, DRINK YOUR WATER. It has helped a ton. I probably have about 4 a day, they last about 30-45 secs and then fade away. As long as they don't get any worse we should be good. I'm still on a modified bed rest of sorts. Meaning I rest as much as I can with an almost 3 year old ;)

How Far Along: 23 weeks



Size of Baby: ummm....a grapefruit I think? 

Total Weight Gain: None yet...but I have gained a few since last update, I'm at 8 lbs from my pre preggo weight now

Gender: BOY! Walker Hanson

Movement: Yep! All day and night. He is an active little thing

 
Sleep: Awful. How am I already this uncomfortable???

Maternity Clothes: All maternity bottoms but the tops and tunics are a mix

Signs of Labor/Symptoms: refer to above.

Bellybutton: In

Cravings: Still love salads, and Ice cream...or milkshakes. I'm not picky ;)





I wanted to write this down so I remember it years from now...we have been talking a lot to Davis about baby Walker and when he gets here what it will be like, etc. He ask about 5 times a day to "see" baby Walker. He looks at my belly button and says "Oh! I see him!" then proceeds to take him out of my belly button and put his shoes on? Such a silly boy.



We are in the process of trying to sell our house and buying and renovating our new one....needless to say we have a lot on our plates. Prayers would be appreciated for a smooth rest of the pregnancy and smooth house selling, buying, renovating. My head spins just thinking about it all.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

18 weeks

I'm loving the styles that are in this pregnancy. I find myself in leggings and tunicy shirts with boots almost every day. So comfortable but I also look half way decent. I've had a few people ask so I'm going to start including what and where each item of clothing is.

Green slouchy cardigan : motherhood. LOVE it. Got it in 3 different colors and will wear these even when not pregggo
White shirt: motherhood
leggings: maternity from target. they are a slick material which I love my tops dont cling to it.
boots: Uggs



How Far Along: 18 weeks


Size of Baby: The length of a bell pepper from head to rump 

Total Weight Gain: none. Still holding strong at about 10 lbs from my pre pregnancy weight. loving this!

Gender: BOY! Walker Hanson

Movement: Yep! Kicks :) Waiting to be able to feel it from the outside.

 
Sleep: Starts out great and then ends with me on the couch uncomfortable and wide awake

Maternity Clothes: Mostly maternity bottoms but the tops are a mix

Signs of Labor/Symptoms: none. But I am on modified bedrest until further notice because of Placenta Previa and bleeding. Baby is doing wonderful though and it does not seem to be effecting him at all but it has the doctors a little concerned so I'm supposed to be taking it very easy, resting, feet up, no heavy lifting, pelvic rest . How fun does that sound?! You can imagine how well this is going with an almost 3 year old. Needless to say it really hasnt been working.

Bellybutton: In

Cravings: I'm all about salads right now. Yumm






17 Weeks :)

This was actually last week ;)


How Far Along: 17 weeks


Size of Baby: A turnip....where do they get this from? It makes me laugh every week  

Total Weight Gain: none. Still holding strong at about 10 lbs from my pre pregnancy weight. loving this!

Gender: BOY! Walker Hanson

Movement: Feeling kicks more and more. Love this

 
Sleep: Starts out great and then ends with me on the couch uncomfortable and wide awake

Maternity Clothes:  Its a mix. Gary took me shopping this past weekend for maternity clothes because I was starting to have very limited options and it was putting me in a bad mood. He was so sweet to recognize that his ever growing wife was in need of something to wear. Sweet man

Signs of Labor/Symptoms: none. But I am on modified bedrest until further notice because of Placenta Previa and bleeding. Baby is doing wonderful though and it does not seem to be effecting him at all but it has the doctors a little concerned so I'm supposed to be taking it very easy, resting, feet up, no heavy lifting, pelvic rest . How fun does that sound?! You can imagine how well this is going with an almost 3 year old. Needless to say it really hasnt been working.
Bellybutton: In

Cravings: I'm all about salads right now. Yumm

Monday, November 5, 2012

Halloween Parade

 Last Tuesday Davis had a Halloween Parade at school and his Halloween Party. We all got a good laugh at watching these little ones "parade" around the courtyard. I'm not sure how much parading there was but there was a lot of herding ;) Bless these teachers hearts...there were kids going in every direction and some crying at the sight of seeing mommies and daddies. I was proud of D, there were no tears...a little detour to the grandparents but no tears! We all bundled up and enjoyed the "show"!
Here they come!

See our little bat leading the pack? His costume cracked me up...I think i was the ears that were so funny to me! Thanks Didi for our costume we loved it :)

Parading

This was about the time he realized we were all there...and this is where we lost him to the grandparents!

Our resident rock stars

Sweet little fairy

Umm up here buddy!

Flapping his wings
 After the parade I took the boy back into his classroom to get him changed and settled in for his Halloween party. Apparently he felt the need to break out in a little dance routine...
Gettin' low

Those are some sweet moves D! This childs personality cracks us up on a daily basis. I mean no music playing but dancing to his own beat...keep dancing buddy

Pumpkin Patch

 A week (or so) ago Davis's class went to the pumpkin patch at their school. Every year the church that their preschool is at puts on a big pumpkin patch. It is always so fun and has such nice people at it :) I grew up enjoying it and it is just so fun now to be there with Davis. I helped with face painting and then went and sat with his class during story time. The kids had fun and were all over the place!


Coming down to the patch!

Sweet Leyton(and mommy Kristen) at story time
Davis was more concerned with checking out the tent we were sitting in

I love this picture. He insisted on sitting right in the middle of all the pumpkins.
Ever tried to take a picture of nine 2 year olds? not an easy task...

no one looking...
This way D! Hadley, front and center!
poor Leyton was trying to poke her head up....I gave up at this point! ha! 




Love his sweet classmates..they are all just precious :)

Up next....Halloween parade!



Tuesday, October 30, 2012

16 Weeks





Woah belly!! I just laugh when I look at myself in the mirror! The belly popped out pretty quick this go round and I have decided to just embraced it and rock it ;) I'm going to "try" and keep up with this pregnancy updates every week..or so! ha
This pic is from last week so I need to get on taking week 17 picture....crap..I'm already behind



 How Far Along: 16 weeks


Size of Baby: An apple, I think?. 

Total Weight Gain: none. Lost 12 pounds in the first trimester and am still about 10 away from gaining anything. This is HUGE! At this point with D I was up 10 lbs.

Gender: BOY! Walker Hanson

Movement: Feeling kicks here and there. Mostly at night when I lay down, I can feel him rolling around through out the day.

Sleep: Starts out great and then ends with me on the couch uncomfortable and wide awake

Maternity Clothes:  mostly regular with maternity things thrown in here and there. Belly band and maternity leggings are a must 

Signs of Labor/Symptoms: none
Bellybutton: In

Cravings: It changes from Day to day. When I want something though I want it right that second.

What I miss: hmm..not having heartburn

Best Moments from the Past Week: Feeling baby boy move more and more and being told we are having another sweet boy :)

First Day of School

Stay with me here as I do a little back blog ;)


I figured the boys first day of school deserved it's own post. Just a quick picture to look back on!

Davis is at Faith again this year with Mrs.Pearson and Mrs. Bass. He absolutely adores both of them and I'm just so happy with our school choice. I love everything about it. It is such a good feeling to know you are where you belong. We struggled with this at the beginning of last year. Davis was at a great preschool but it just wasnt a fit for us. I never felt completely welcomed and I just didnt feel like Davis was getting everything he needed so in January we switched schools. Picking a school for your child is such a tricky thing and can be so hard. I'm just glad we eventually landed where we are supposed to be. Faith is like a second home and I thank God for the wonderful staff everyday.


Sweet boy before leaving for school


Cheese!!  

Here is to a fabulous year!!