Renovation Day One

Today we started fixing up the new house. Ry and I got up at about 7am and left the house to get things started! I headed over to Greenbrier to get the glider for the baby's room. The regular price was $300, but today they had an Early-Bird Black Friday special for $150! Here it is:

I picked this out last week and it just happened to be one of the Black Friday specials. I'm so glad!

After I did a tiny bit more shopping, I headed over to our new house (technically on Monday) to get started on the updating. Ryan, Roger, Louise, and my dad were already there, and Bryan got there right after me. We figured out what we needed for paint, and Bryan and I went on a two-hour journey to get just that. The others were hard at work sanding floors and scrubbing walls. Once we returned, it was work, work, work for the rest of the day! Ryan and Dad concentrated on the floors, Roger and Louise scrubbed and prepped walls, and Bryan painted the afternoon and evening away. THANK YOU again to all of you for your help. We are so blessed to have such a giving, hardworking family! I worked on taking out the old contact paper in the kitchen cabinets and replacing it with sticky floor tiles. They are turning out really well! Pictures to sum up the evening...... (I didn't get any while Rog and Louise were there....I will next time! :)

Dad, sanding down the floors

Ryan, reaching for the stars! :)
Bryan, taking care of business
This is the baby's room.....before. Can't wait to post the after!

The plan for tomorrow is to get up bright and early and head over to the house with a stop at Home Depot on the way. More painting and floor sanding is on the agenda. I am exhausted right now, so I am going to get up to bed! I will try to continue with the regular posts since I have lots to take pictures of now! Goodnight.....

"Homeless"

Kind of. We finally closed on our old house on Wednesday. It was kind of an ordeal, but all is now well. We moved all of our belongings out of our old house this past Saturday. It took pretty much all day. I was basically worthless that day and needed so much help getting last minute things together. Of course, Ryan could not move any big furniture on his own. We had so much help--THANK YOU SO MUCH Bryan, Lacy, Roger, Louise, Pat, Michele, Lisa, Frank, Haley and Ian!!!! We literally could not have done it without you and are so appreciative. We are set to close on our new house on Monday, but we are starting the "renovations" before that. We tore off wallpaper on Wednesday night, and Ryan starts on the hardwood floors tomorrow. Hopefully we will get some painting done starting tomorrow, as well. Things are going really well and we are looking forward to moving in!

On that note, we are currently staying with Ryan's parents, and it is wonderful! It is interesting living with "the parents" again and thinking about things like who will cook dinner or being quiet when we go up the stairs at night so we don't wake them up.....it's very nice, though. We are blessed to be able to stay here as long as we need until we can finally move into our new home. THANK YOU Roger and Louise! :)

Tomorrow we are both getting up early to get the day started. Ryan is going to the new house to start on the floors, and I am headed to Greenbrier to get a head start on some Christmas shopping. I looooove Greenbrier because all the stores are so close to each other and you can get a lot done without going all over the place. As for the weekend, Ryan will be working on the floors as much as possible, and I think we will be doing a lot of painting.

Here are some pictures to catch up with what's been going on this week:

The brothers hard at work
Getting the first truckload together
Load 2
My wonderful inside helpers Michele and Lacy
Me in our empty living room
Ry driving the Uhaul
Getting the piano moved in
Smiling for the camera during a break!
Finally in the door
Ian, just being cute :)
The garage in the new house--completely filled

When Ryan closed on Wednesday, our realtor gave him a beautiful gift basket as a gift for us.
It had a t-shirt for the baby, a glass frog to hang in the window, and two wine glasses, along with the frog attached to the outside and the storage box that held the gift together. Her "theme" as a realtor is that she is a "toadally" awesome agent. It was a very cute and nice gift!

One of the wine glasses

Okay that is enough for this evening. I am getting very sleepy and have to get up early to shop, shop, shop!! I finally hooked up wireless internet her at Casa de Jefferson this evening, so I will be able to blog easier in the evening time from the comfort of the couch. Goodnight all....

Last Weekend in Aragona

This was the last weekend we will spend in our current house. We are so excited to move but also sad because it's our first home together and we are leaving it. All weekend, we've been saying things like, "This is our last Saturday here," and "this time next week, we'll be showering in a different house." It's crazy! We did a lot of packing over the weekend. Ryan also did a large amount of yard work to clean up from the storm. We have pretty much everything packed up that we could pack now. I couldn't pack up my pots and pans, some glasses, bathroom stuff, etc., because we need them this week! I'm thinking that on Thursday evening/Friday during the day, I will be able to pack all of this kind of stuff up so that on Saturday, we can load up the moving truck and take it all to our hew home!

This evening, we went to a carpet store in Chesapeake and decided to stop by Babies "r" Us to check out a crib we've been looking at online. We wanted to see what the color looks like in person. While in the store, we also saw the stroller I've been looking at online. It's a new style from Graco, and I was so happy to finally see it in person! I wheeled it around in the aisle a little bit and it's definitely the one. Here it is:
I couldn't get a bigger picture, but I thought this looked so much better in person. I can't wait to stroll around with our sweet baby boy in there! So after we checked out the stroller, we went back to where the cribs are, and I saw it. The crib we were there to check out--in the CLEARANCE section. We walked over and saw that the crib as well as the "chifferobe" were both on clearance. They are having a big clearance sale right now, but I didn't expect to see this furniture in the sale because it was online and didn't appear to be sale-material. The sales associate told us that they had received a new display crib and that the chifferobe was being discontinued. There is nothing wrong with either one, except that each has a small scratch, about 1/4 inch big, on the side. We can deal. We both loved the color and style of both pieces, so we decided that we should go ahead and buy them. The crib's regular price is $429, and the chifferobe's regular price is $549. We got both for $429!!! Amazing!!!!!!!! Needless to say, we were very excited. VERY excited. We walked in the store expecting to check out the color and put them on the registry and ended up buying two for the price of one. We will pick them up later this week with Opa's truck. Here are pictures:

This is the chifferobe. I've never heard of that term before, but it's kind of like a small armoire.

We are probably going to buy this combo dresser as a third piece. They are all so beautiful, and our plan is to have this be our boy's furniture for the next 18 years. The crib is convertible, so if we buy a toddler rail and a conversion kit, it will change into a toddler bed, and then a full-size bed. The furniture is very strong and sturdy, so it should stand the test of time.

I realized before I wrote this that I never did a 25 weeks entry. Here is the 25 weeks info:

This is a rutabaga. I had no idea what it was. It's not something I think I've ever eaten!

Head to heels, your baby now measures about 13 1/2 inches. Her weight — a pound and a half — isn't much more than an average rutabaga, but she's beginning to exchange her long, lean look for some baby fat. As she does, her wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and she'll start to look more and more like a newborn. She's also growing more hair — and if you could see it, you'd now be able to discern its color and texture.

Going to bed now.....goodnight!

Still Moving!

So we had our home inspection on our new home last night, and it went great! There were only some minor things that need to be fixed, and we are not asking for anything to be repaired. It's not worth the time it could take to get the items fixed! As of now, we should be good to go for closing on 11/23. Our goal now is to finish packing up the house, pick out carpet, and figure out whether Ryan will refinish the hardwood floors or we will hire someone. It's a LOT to do--but we can't wait to do it! We are both soooooo excited to be moving to a new home and getting everything at least partially the way we want it so that by the time Baby J gets here, we will be pretty much "settled." I feel like we are just so blessed. Things are working out really well and I feel that this was meant to be our house all along. One of the best parts is that we will be in our new home for Christmas time!!!!! I can't wait to decorate!

My plan for today is to run a few errands this afternoon (groceries, returning a few things, and stop at TJ Maxx to get some decor ideas) and then for us to go look at some carpet this evening. All weekend we will be packing and organizing so that next Saturday we can load up the truck and move everything over to the new house. I've already packed up a lot of stuff, but you can't really tell because it's things that were in cabinets, bookshelves, and closets! We will also have to do a little bit of yardwork this weekend because of all of the branches, pine cones, etc. from this crazy storm! Yard work is probably about the last thing we should be doing, but we can't leave the yard looking like a complete mess.

Okay I am off to get ready to go out for my errands! Have a wonderful weekend--I will try to take pictures of something, anything to do a blog post over the weekend.....

Moving...

We are so moving. It is crazy! I can't believe that after next Monday, we will no longer be living on Cunningham Road. This weekend was pretty busy. I spent allllll afternoon Friday packing up our office.....
....and then Saturday we continued to pack up the office, some stuff from our hall closet, and a few other random items. I didn't think we had very much stuff but WOW we do. I feel like the bulk of it was in the office, though, so hopefully the rest won't be too bad. That is what we will do when we have any downtime for the next two weeks.

Here are the boxes we have packed up so far. Our living room will be filled up soon!

We put in an offer on this house today: http://501sarahcircle.com/. We think it will work out and really hope that it does. We are just waiting to hear back from the seller to see. Please pray for us because we are hoping that this is our house! If he accepts our offer, we will be able to start moving in the weekend prior to closing on our house. This would be AMAZING because we will not have to put our stuff in storage and only have to move it one time! This house just feels right, but we will see if it is actually the one for us.

On to baby stuff.......I am 24 weeks now, meaning that I am a full six months pregnant. W-O-W! I can't believe it. In a little more than three months, our sweet baby boy will be here. It's amazing! Here is the information about being 24 weeks pregnant:



Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

Off to relax a little before going to bed and starting a new work week! Goodnight...

22 and 23 Weeks

Yeah...I slipped up. Sorry! I am in the middle of my 23rd week right now, and I forgot about doing a 22 weeks post....I'll blame it on the baby for now since I can :) You'll notice the pictures are a little different--the website where I usually get them doesn't do weekly pictures at this point--they're now monthly. So I'm finding my own pictures of the veggies/fruit they mention. Here is alllllllll of the information:

22 Weeks:

Spaghetti Squash

At 11 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound, your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. His lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and he's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums. His eyes have formed, but his irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If you could see inside your womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers his body and the deep wrinkles on his skin, which he'll sport until he adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside his belly, his pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily.

23 Weeks:

Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With her sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance. And now that she's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango), you may be able to see her squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing her for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze her when she hears them outside the womb.

Just to let you all know, this baby is moving around like crazy in my stomach! I feel it the most at night when I go to sleep and in the morning if I lay in bed for a few minutes before I actually get up. It is an amazing feeling, and I love it. This week should be a pretty normal one. We're both working all week, and we have no big plans at all. We will hopefully be able to look at some houses and maybe find one.........we'll see about that. The home inspection was done on our house today, and for the most part, everything was fine. There were only a couple of minor things that the inspector mentioned, so we should be good to go for 11/23. I am going to really try hard to pack up some stuff this week that can be packed now like things under the beds, books, DVDs, things in the closets, etc. Wish me luck!