Oliver's new do!

We have not had the best experiences with Oliver getting bathed and cut. I won't mention any names, but one larger company nicked him really good and he got infected...poor baby has been scared for life! Thankfully they were nice enough to pay for the vet bill!

Over the past month he has been in desperate need for a hair cut but I wanted to wait until I was on spring break to get him in. I had looked at a lot of different places in Columbus and finally decided that Woof 'n Suds was the perfect place. 

I first found out about them through facebook. They help one of the local humane societies around the area and I thought that was so nice of them. I definitely wanted to give them our business.

From the first phone call they were awesome! They got him in the week after I called. The people there were very friendly and really cared about the dogs. They were very prompt and had him done within the allotted time they told me {I know this is hard sometimes, but we've been to a place that called two hours after they told me they would be finished}. They are also very reasonably priced for everything that they do.

Another great option they offer is a place to bathe your dog yourself! They have huge tubs, shampoo, conditioner, and dryers. This is always an option for us but at the time Oliver desperately needed a hair cut!

Oliver came out happy and looking very handsome! We will definitely be going back again! If you're in the Columbus/Grandview area, you should give them a try.

Sweet boy and his bandanna! 

Thank you Woof 'n Suds!

This post is my opinion of the company. I was not compensated in any way.

Spring? Break

Today is officially my last weekday of spring break. I'm not going to lie--I'm sad. I've loved being home. Even though I definitely would not consider it a spring break (more like winter), it was a break nonetheless and I'm happy about that!

I wish I were here...

Thankfully I was able to get quite a bit done while home. Not everything was crossed off my list but a good portion has been. It will definitely help knowing that somethings have been accomplished when I go back on Monday. The biggest things on my "to do" list were to clean out the soon-to-be nursery. I got a lot of things packed up but a lot still needs to be done...including all new carpet! I was able to hang up a lot of Hadley's new clothes I've been buying for her lately or that friends have purchased for us. Love having cute little clothes in the closet!

We have decided to put our house up for sale in April. It was a big decision but we would like to have a little more living space. It difficult with teaching piano lessons and your living space/dining room all in the same area. We are looking at this as a test. If it sells then that is great. If not, then it wasn't meant to be and we will survive here. We are just so thankful to have a nice home and we don't want to be too picky. If it wasn't for piano, we would probably stay. So getting rooms cleaned out and deciding what furniture needs to go in storage has been a big "to-do" item.

Overall I just going to miss being home. I love my job and so thankful to have a teaching job but I think it's just been a long, overwhelming year. May 31st cannot get her soon enough! It's also been very nice to stay at home with sweet Oliver and Wembley...and take a nap during the day!

I will definitely be enjoying these last few days then it's back to the grind with my lovely 5th graders!

What's in a name?

Before we knew our baby was a girl we had a list of both boy and girl names up on the computer. We would add and delete one or two every few weeks as we felt was necessary. However we knew that there were three names we were in love with--two for a girl and two for a boy. So when it came down to it, our list was pretty pointless. But it was still fun to think about!

I heard our little girls name on the winter Olympics in 2010. No lie. I was watching speed skating and the camera cut to the audience. It showed a little girl sitting in the stands with her mom. As soon as they said her name, I fell in love. I had never heard used as a first name before.

At that time J and I were almost two years into our marriage and kids were not on our radar for us. However, he loved the name too and we never forgot it.

After we found out we were pregnant, we shared some of our names with our parents. Little did we know our little girls name is a family name! How cool is that? Not only did we wait almost four years to use it but it is also in J's family. I'm pretty sure it was meant to be.

So what will we be naming our little girl? What is the name we waited so long to use?

Now let me explain the middle name, Aleis (pronounced like Elise but with a short a sound). Aleis was my middle name. After we got married my maiden name became my middle name and I dropped my middle name. My dad didn't have any boys, so to me that was important. However, loosing Aleis was sad as well because I was named after my aunt Aleisha, who passed away. I feel extremely thankful to be able to have a little girl to carry on the middle name. And it means even more to be that I got to share with my aunt, before she died, the name we planned on using.

As soon as the technician said girl we had no doubts what we name would be. We are so in love with our girl already and just know her name will be perfect!

Bumpdate: 18 weeks

I can't believe we are at 18 weeks already. Almost half way there!

How big is baby? A bell pepper

Maternity Clothes: Maternity jeans are the only maternity clothes I own. I will definitely be buying some dress pants later this week so when we are back from spring break I am more comfortable.

Stretch Marks: None 

Sleep: Tired all the time. I've took a nap yesterday and today. Thank goodness for spring break. I seriously lay down and am out. Not sure why this is happening in my second trimester and not my first. But I'm not getting sick so that's a good thing!

Best moment of the week? Buying a few outfits online (LOVE smocked dresses) and at Gymboree and finding the furniture and bedding we want!

Movement: I still feel little things at night. Yesterday I felt something big while in the shower. It scared me at first but it was the first time I really noticed it. Pretty cool!

Food cravings: Still pizza and back to spicy food....like buffalo chicken (Frank's Hot Sauce)

Food aversions: Not much right now...

Belly button in or out? In! 

What I miss: Nothing much...in fact I'm enjoying it all because I love being on break!

What I'm looking forward to: The 20 week ultrasound in April. I'm so excited to see baby girl again!

Milestones: No big milestones. Feeling her more and knowing what it is. It's definitely not a lot but it's something little. I can't wait until J can feel here. 

J and his girl

We have this blog mainly to document what is going on in our lives. Up until now it has been pretty bland. Our lives have consisted of our sweet furbabies and grad school. But now that I'm done with  school and J is almost done with school and there is a baby on the way, our lives have started to shine a little. Which has been quite fun!

Last week I announced that we are expecting a little girl! I also wanted to post about the short conversation I had with J later in the day. This is definitely more of a meaningful conversation between him and I but it's something that I never want to forget, which is why I'm posting about it. Honestly, I don't think I will ever be able to forget it. At the end of the year, when I will hopefully be able to make a blog post book, I will be able to go back and remember the excitement we had while waiting for our baby.

After we were told it was a girl I was ecstatic! But I was kind of worried about J. I knew we would both be happy with either one, but for him I wanted to have a boy because I knew how important it was for J to play football with him in the back yard or teaching him how to throw a baseball. But I'm not loosing this dream. One day it will happen. I know he will be a great girl dad because he has such a soft heart and a lot of patience with little kids. He's definitely the type to dress up and play tea party. No matter what it was, we both said going into the ultrasound we would be thrilled and we just wanted a healthy baby.

Later that evening J went out to get his haircut and run a few errands. I told him to give me a call if he had time or had to wait. A few hours after he left, the phone rang. We were talking about our wonderful day and I thanked him for making it so special for me. Then he told me the sweetest thing I had ever heard. He explained to me that as he was driving in his car he looked at the passenger seat beside him. He imagined a little girl sitting there in her dress and ruffled socks kicking her legs back and forth. He imaged taking her to one of my favorite tea rooms and having a daddy/daughter date. Just the two of them.

Melt. My. Heart.

At that moment I no longer worried about J being somewhat bummed it was a girl. He's not the type that gets excited. There's never been any jumping up and down or "wahoo-ing" from him {unless OSU wins} but usually smiles and comments. He doesn't even like to give me high-fives but will if I get super excited. But I didn't need that reassurance. What he told me, about imagining what life was going to be like with he and his daughter, was enough.

With lots of tears, I told him that was the sweetest thing I could have ever heard him say.

I can't wait to see that day.

Now that our family knows he has been telling everyone, helping me pick out clothes, bedroom decor, you name it. The excitement is definitely showing!

Menu Monday

Menu Monday is pretty bland this week...

Monday

J made homemade pizza

Tuesday

Subway

Wednesday

Chicken Quesadillas

I cannot find the website that has the recipe for the chicken, but it's very simple!

chicken breasts (we used 3 which ended up being way more than needed)

2 cans of rotel tomatoes with green chilis

cream cheese block

Crockpot it on low for 6-8 hours 

You can make a quesadilla, tacos, or nachos!

Thursday

Frozen Pizza

this is obviousally still a craving

and it was the last day of school before spring break

and I might have fallen asleep on the couch at 6pm

Friday

Quesadilla leftovers as nachos!

Sorry, no pictures!!

How we told the family

When we decided to do the early gender ultrasound we agreed that we just wanted it to be us. We wanted to find out together before anyone else. We wanted it to be special and memorable that way. We are so thankful we had the opportunity to do the early ultrasound and are very blessed to have had such a wonderful day together.

Originally we had a play to do a gender reveal party at our house. However, due to our weekends filling up and a wedding we had to go to out of town, it wasn't going to work out. So, we decided to surprise our families.

This was rough. Not going to lie. No one in our family knew we were going to the ultrasound on Monday. No one knew we had to keep it a secret for a few days. It was a killer. However we wanted it to be something special and that no one would forget, so we decided just to go all in.

My parents were in Hilton Head for the week celebrating their anniversary. They usually don't do spring trips, but since my sister was playing tennis for college down there they decided to go down then so they could see her play a little. This was my parents first vacation alone. Ever. They never really had a honeymoon and they never went on vacation without us.

J and I decided that we were going to send them cupcakes with pink inside of them. I found a fabulous cupcake shop {Sweet Carolina Cupcakes} close to their hotel, however due to some recent delivery issues, they told me that it would be best for my parents to pick them up. So, I told my dad we all (including my sister) had a gift for them. They would have to pick it up at the date and time I give them. No questions. I also couldn't give them directions until an hour before they would leave.

Thankfully everything worked out perfectly. They went to the cupcake shop, no questions asked and picked up the cupcakes. My mom overheard one of the bakers talking about these cupcakes being the gender reveal cakes. She immediately began freaking out and had to cut one in half right away. She was screaming and jumping up and down after she saw the pink.

...Meanwhile I'm on the phone with my dad laughing hysterically at her reaction!

A few minutes later she was calm and could talk. She said it was the best news she could have heard on their anniversary vacation and it was something they'd never forget.

J's family was a little easier to tell and not as much prep work since we were going down to see them. I ordered their cupcakes from Our Cupcakery. Oh my gosh. They were delicious!! I will order cupcakes from here from now on.

I rushed out of school Friday afternoon and went straight to pick them up. I couldn't wait! The longest hours were Friday night into Saturday morning just wanted to tell them.

J's mom, dad, brother and sister all gathered around for what they thought were birthday cupcakes for his mom. We even gave her her early birthday present so it didn't look totally weird we only had cupcakes. They didn't have any idea until they saw the pink inside! They were very happy as well. J's mom makes beautiful afghans and she showed me some ideas she had in mind. I'm excited to see her finished product in the fall!

We had to scoot out after we had the cupcakes because we actually had a wedding to go to for one of J's good friends Saturday evening. J was thrilled to tell all of his friends at the wedding we were expecting a girl! It was so nice to see both family and friends over the weekend because that doesn't happen too often.


I would say our gender reveals, even though small, were a huge success. Overall we are thankful for having a healthy baby girl and supporting families.

Kitchen lighting

When we first moved in we hung up a basic light above our kitchen table. It wasn't anything special but it did the job. It matched well with our kitchen sink and hardware but it was never my favorite. I wanted to get something a little nicer, especially since our house is very small and you can see it from almost everywhere downstairs.

first light

Sorry for the poor quality of photo

After my parents moved and downsized their home, they had quite a bit of "stuff" left. One of the things they were not using was their dining room light. I always adored this light. It definitely was not cheap so I'm happy to see it hung up some place where we can enjoy it.

I know it doesn't follow the "kitchen table rules" of lighting facing down but since we don't have a dining room I'm not following the rules. Either way, I'm in love...

I especially love how much more light it brings into our small room (obviously). We have a dimmer on it now but it's not working correctly. Once we fix that we will be good to go!

Love how just some little updates can change the look and feel of the room. This definitely dresses it up a bit more.

What are some of your favorite changes?

Bumpdate: Week 17

Total Weigh Gain: I only gained 1 pound when I was at the doctor last week. WAHOO! I wanted to do a happy dance. Even though my craving is not good for you, I've tried to eat healthy and in moderation. So that makes it 5lbs for 17 weeks. Not too shabby...?

How big is baby? An onion

Maternity Clothes: Maternity jeans, which are super comfortable but hard to stay up. I'll probably get a few pairs of dress pants over spring break. The pairs from The Loft still fit great. The pairs from The Limited will not button :)

Stretch Marks: None 

Sleep: If I could sleep until 8-830am every day, that would be perfect. My body is good to go then but when I have to wake up at 645 for school, that's a no go.

Best moment of the week? Finding out the gender and telling our family and friends!

Movement: Sometimes at night, if I'm laying on my right side, I'll feel something. But I'm not counting on it to be the baby. Probably just bubbles or something.

Food cravings: Still pizza. Seriously like week 3. I was talking to some other girls online and they all said they craved pizza too with girls. Funny!

Food aversions: Not much right now...

Belly button in or out? In! 

What I miss: Breathing through my nose...still...

What I'm looking forward to: The 20 week ultrasound in April. Since we did the early ultrasound (not at my doctor), they only did a quick scan of everything. I'm very excited to see how our girl is doing. She seemed to be measuring a little ahead on their machines, but who knows! They did say everything looked good and she looked healthy, but they definitely advise you to see your doctor.

Milestones: Finding out the gender! It's a girl!!

Dancin'...yeah!

{I was singing that song in my head...were you?}

I've watched quite a few seasons of Dancing With the Stars. I didn't get into all of the seasons but if there are people I liked on the show then I will usually watch it.

My favorite season has definitely been the all-star season. I just loved Shawn Johnson and Sabrina Bryan. I also really liked Bristol Palin, no matter what others think. That season will be hard to beat!

I'm pretty excited about this season too. Here are some of my favorites!

{via}

Aly Raisman with pro Mark Ballas

This doesn't really surprise me but I'm excited to see her there! And with Mark Ballas?? Top three for sure!

{via}

Dorothy Hamill with pro Tristan MacManus

Always a fan of Olympic athletes and Dorthy Hamill is a legend! 

{via}

Kellie Pickler with pro Derek Hough

Girlfriend cracks me up. I'm glad to see how well she is doing because I she had a rough childhood. Not a fan of the hair though...

{via}

Lisa Vanderpump of "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" with pro Gleb Savchenko

First I love Lisa. She is a riot on RHOBH. I love how she says what she thinks. Also, who is this Gleb guy? I don't mind watching him either.

{via}

Sean Lowe and Peta Murgatroyd

And if you didn't get enough of him already...Sean from the Bachelor

Super excited to see who makes it to the top!

Who are your favorites for this season?

Thoughts on the top two or winner?

It's a...

J and I had talked a lot about when to find out the gender of this baby. I wanted to know as soon as possible where he was okay with waiting...until week 20. We both agreed that we could not wait until the baby was born. That just wasn't our cup of tea.

After a little convincing, J agreed to do an early ultrasound. We shopped around online at the different places in Columbus and decided that Ultrasona was the place to go. I had heard wonderful stories from friends about their experiences with them and also read some great reviews. They stated that they had a 99.9% accuracy rate and that if baby wasn't cooperating that day they would bring you back in for free to try again.

Like our friends, we had a great experience with Ultrasona. They were very kind and happy to have us there. While the time went by very quickly, our technician explained everything she was doing very thoroughly while she printed out our pictures. We first got to see the baby while she was measuring. It was so cool to see how much it had grown since our last ultrasound a few months ago! Then we were able to hear the heart beat. Finally one of the last things she did was find out if it was a boy or girl.

I so wanted to know how our technician liked her job. Does that seem weird? To me, the thought of telling a family or couple if their first, second, or third baby is a boy or girl seems so amazing. She told us that most days it is wonderful but there are days when people get upset with her because she doesn't tell them what they want to hear. That made me chuckle a little. A baby is a gift from God...it has nothing to do with the technician. How could a person be mad at her for their baby's gender?! Thankfully she has many more good days then bad. {All besides the point but fun tidbit to share}

With a few minutes remaining in our short session she showed us the bottom of the baby where we could tell the gender. I studied it the best I could and told myself at that moment and days prior that it was a boy. I didn't care what the baby was (although I was secretly rooting for a girl) I just wanted it to be healthy. Within ten short seconds of seeing the picture she shared with us that we would be having a sweet little

I was shocked and became very emotional. I wanted a girl so badly but I wanted a healthy baby no matter what. I would have been just as emotional with a boy as well. I had already had ideas and plans of being a football mom! But knowing it was a girl definitely was a delight.

J sat calmly on the big, comfy couches that were in the room. He was cool as a cucumber. He had been telling me for days it was a girl {via the Ramzi method} so this didn't seem like any big news to him.

Our technician printed off a few more pictures and we were finished. We gathered our things together and were given a bright pink bag with our pictures, a letter, and some coupons to go back (possible 3D with the family later?).

After our ultrasound we headed to BuyBuyBaby to look at car seats and strollers. BBB is on the other side of town for us and we were already half way there so we thought that we could just made a day of it! I was also able to buy the cutest little cupcake outfit for baby girl. The tags will definitely stay on though until our 20 week ultrasound with the doctor...just in case.

I'm sure I was smiling all day because I felt so overwhelmed. Poor J was bombard by a thousand comments and questions. I was worried he would be disappointed because I knew he wanted a boy but after our conversation later in the day (which I will share soon) I knew that he was very happy. Either way he is going to make a fantastic father and I'm so proud of him!

Still to come...
*Story about J and his little girl
*How we told the family
*More about emotions
*Possible name post ??

Ultrasona did not compensate me for this post. These are all of my own thoughts, opinions, and feelings towards the company and the services they provide.

Bloglovin'

I never really understood or got in to Google reader, which I guess is a good thing now that everything is switching over. So if you use Google reader (and soon will not) you can find me on Bloglovin. If you have no idea what I'm talking about then don't worry.

I've used Bloglovin for a long time now and love getting emails every morning with all of the blogs I read and follow. It makes it so much easier for me. You can me on Bloglovin by clicking the icon on the right bar or below!

{via}

Bumpdate: Week 16

To say this week is busy is an understatement so this week's bumpdate is short and sweet. But because this blog is to document our life, it's a must!

I should not take these pictures in the morning.

I look exhausted!

How big is baby? The size of an avocado.

Maternity Clothes: I caved in and bought a pair of maternity jeans. They're more comfortable than my regular jeans but too big in the waste. Couldn't quite find that happy medium right now but I'm sure they'll soon fit.

Stretch Marks: None 

Sleep: Okay...I had to sleep at my parents a few nights this week since they were on vacation. It was not fun. I was so uncomfortable and was thrilled to be back in my bed!

Best moment of the week? Talking to J about everything coming up.

Movement: Nothing yet! 

Food cravings: Nothing really specific this week.

Food aversions: Nothing again. I've been pretty good.

Belly button in or out? In! I hope it stays this way. It freaks me out when they pop...which means it probably will.

What I miss: Breathing through my nose...still...

What I'm looking forward to: Finding out the gender soon, wedding this weekend, SPRING BREAK {even though I thought it was next week...it's not...2 weeks}

Milestones: Scheduling our 20 week appointment. YAY!

Menu Monday

I was not good with pictures this week.

Monday

BLTs and homemade baked french fries

I actually took a picture of this but deleted it off my phone before I emailed it to myself.
I blame it on pregnancy brain which seems to be a commonality for me lately.

Tuesday

J had class and I was sick

Wednesday

Tortellini soup...that turned out not to be soup

Not our fav but not terrible

Thursday

Patty Melts...nothing special

Friday

Pizza at school while at the Spring Bash/Dance

Gender Poll & Upcoming Reveal

I can't put in to words how excited I am to find out the gender of this baby. I don't know how people wait the nine months without knowing (God bless you)! I've had several friends wait but I'm just not one that can handle that. I'm a planner. I do not like surprises. I like to be in control. I know my world will come crashing down with planning, surprises, and control once the baby is here, so I might as well enjoy one last hurrah while I still can.

I've been reading a lot into old wives-tales because honestly, what's not fun about that. I love the guessing game and I keep going back and forth. I have not the slightest idea what this little baby of ours is but I'm super excited to find out!

Morning sickness: I threw up just a few times, but I was very nauseous throughout my first trimester. I had some days where I wasn't sure how I was going to make it through the day. GIRL

Cold feet: My feet are always cold and have continued to be. BOY

Soft or dry skin? Dry. BOY

Are you craving citrus? Not really. I want vegetables all the time. GIRL

Have you felt glowing or less than beautiful and had lots of breakouts?  I've had breakouts and I don't see the glow nor has anyone else told me that I have one. GIRL

Ramzi Method: One of my ultrasounds is on the right the other on left but when I use the home doppler, I hear it on the right. This one is really getting to me. BOY

Heartbeat indicator: At my last ultrasound the heartbeat was 162. But I know others who have had a higher HB and it's been a boy. In this case signs point to GIRL.

Dreams: I've had several dreams about a GIRL recently. However at the beginning I had dreams about a BOY.

Chinese Gender Calendar: I've looked at six different sites. 4/6 say GIRL

Hair on legs:  About the same...definitely not faster. GIRL 

Addition test (Month you got pregnant + age when you got pregnant):  

Odd. GIRL

Do you eat the end of a loaf of bread?  This has never bothered me. If it's there, I'll eat it. I have always loved the ends of fresh baked bread! BOY

Craving sweet or salty: Both. I love icecream but salty olives are amazing too. I actually prefer spicy which I've seen as both. BOY GIRL

Eli Test: A good friend of mine has a little boy, Eli, who is the master at guessing baby genders and due dates. He's only been wrong once and that time he was one day off of a due date. The kid is three and a genius! For me he guessed GIRL

Mother's intuition: When I first found out I thought it was a BOY. 100%. Now, I'm not sure.

Girl 10   BOY 7

While I'm not taking any of this to heart, I definitely think it's fun and entertaining to check it out. We want a healthy baby whether it be a boy or girl.

Don't forget to add your vote on the poll at the top right!
We will let you know in a few weeks!

Bumpdate: 15 weeks

No picture today....I've been sick :(

Total Weigh Gain: I go to the Dr. next week. I'm still saddened over my 4 pounds but so far I think I'm still maintaining that. I've eaten very well lately and have had a big salad almost every day at lunch. Trying to load up with fruits and veggies!

How big is baby? An apple...which I have been loving lately!

Maternity Clothes: Still in regular clothes although the wastes are a little tighter, especially when I sit. Only occasionally wearing the bellaband. I don't need it, the rubber band trick works, but I'll occasionally wear it with jeans.

Stretch Marks: None 

Sleep: Still sleeping a lot...especially since I haven't felt well. The cold has struck me!

Best moment of the week? Seeing my cousins!! It's been a year and a half. {not baby related}

Movement: Nothing yet! 

Food cravings: Pizza. I've only giving in twice over the last three weeks. We have homemade pizza on the menu for Thursday and I cannot wait. I figure that is better than store bought.

Food aversions: Not much, but I have a hard time eating out certain places. Thankfully I've been on a cooking craze!!

Labor signs: None, thank goodness!

Belly button in or out? In! I hope it stays this way. It freaks me out when they pop...which means it probably will.

What I miss: Breathing through my nose...

What I'm looking forward to: Finding out the gender soon

Milestones: Everything become more real each week. 

Menu Monday

This week was so much better with J not being sick however it was a very easy week!

Monday

Grilled Veggies & Hummas Wrap

+ we added chicken

J didn't like these as much as I did because he's not a veggie fan. I stuffed mine with red peppers, yellow peppers, mushrooms, and eggplant. 

Also the wraps we used were only 90 calories!

Tuesday

J worked and I went out with a coworker after a funeral showing.

Wednesday

Leftover William-Sonoma lasagna from a few weeks ago that was frozen. It was still really good!

Thursday

J really wanted me to get deli turkey for his lunches last week. By Wednesday it was all still there, so he had a turkey melt for dinner and I had a frozen pizza (big craving lately).

Friday

J worked...leftovers

Saturday

Open face roast beef sandwiches

& potato soup

*Not to worry, my roast beef was heated a lot*