Snowy Fun

We've had a very exciting weekend around here. Friday it started snowing at 9 am. School was released at 10 and I was home by 11! Since the buses ran it counts as a school day so we don't have to make it up. HOORAY!!!

Snow Anthony

Yes....that is a pregnant Snow Kyla!! Anthony decided it was only proper that we appropriately represent every member of the family! (Except that our future son is a snow person....and I'm pregnant, that's a little funny.)

Our wintery home!

Our future child!!!! And Snow Lile! How precious are they?!

Our sweet Snow family!!
We had alot of fun playing outside. Lile finally gave up and had to go inside. We picked her up for this picture and she was shivering! Our neighbors saw us outside and came over to have a peak. They said their curiosity got the best of them. I hope they last a very long time. We had 40 degree weather today so it started melting. But since it's packed so tightly, I hope the snow of our snow family hangs in there this week!

So it snowed all day Friday and we ended up with about 8 inches! We've not seen this much snow since I was about 8 or 9 years old. It's very exciting and soo very beautiful! During the snow adventure the wallpaper men came to remove the wallpaper from the baby's room.

This is the Lovely wallpaper before....all that painted texture. Yum.

This is what it looks like now. Yes, it's blue...but that's just what was behind the wallpaper. It still needs to be sanded and painted. We're going to do an Underwater Adventure theme with super cute sea creatures and such. I've gotta buy a piece of the baby's bedding so I can get some paint. Grandpa Carroll is going to do the painting for us, so we've gotta get some things together.

Busy People

Just wanted to show off some of our handiwork! We're up to 5 feet now and the next row is of accent tiles. It looks so good! I know we did it ourselves and we're proud parents of a new bathroom, but it's really nice! We're planning on getting lots more done this weekend. We didn't work on it this weekend b/c we ran away to Gatlinburg!

What a nice little seat that is! Thanks honey for working that in!

We're also getting ready to have the lovely textured wallpaper removed from the nursery. You have to picture this stuff. It's grass mat wallpaper....that's been painted. Yeah, just picture that for a minute. Yep, gross. If you run into it, or scrape your fingers against it you lose skin. Not ideal for small ones who fall down. Not only is it in the baby's room, it's down the hall, down the stairs, and in the mudroom downstairs. It's AWFUL! We've hated it since the day we moved in, but we knew we'd tackle it one day. We're so "home projected" out we just couldn't do this by ourselves, too. So there's a crew coming this week to remove the paper from the baby's walls. A very nice thought. And Anthony's dad wants to paint it for us, and he even wants to put up crown molding and do something really nice. So thankful we won't have to do it!

On top of all that we ran away this weekend to Gatlinburg, TN. We needed a break from the work at home and a chance to get away before the baby comes. We didn't want to travel too far from home in the 3rd trimester, which is only 3 weeks away! We stayed downtown Gatlinburg, since it's soo hard to park in that town. We walked around in like 20 degree weather on Friday night, bundled up with hats, scarves, and gloves. Oooh, it was soo cold. But the lights were beautiful and it was nice to be away. Of course I was AWFUL and didn't actually take any pictures! Except these:

Because I-40 is closed due to a rockslide we had to take an alternative route. We ended up driving the scenic route through Cherokee, NC to get to Gatlinburg. Just outside of town in Cherokee we saw some people parked in a random place. When we looked this is what we saw!!! I'm pretty sure they're elk! They're definitely not the white tailed deer we see here at home. They were beautiful! Just peacefully grazing on some yummies. They just stood there and ignored all of us. Of course, we didn't get out of the car, but some of the crazies behind us did. No way am I getting close to those wild animals. My dad always taught me a healthy fear of the wild. Look, don't touch.

Anyway, we had a great time and got some shopping done. We had hoped to see some snow,but no such luck. Just reallllly cold. We watched a really funny dinner show called "Hoot 'n Holler." We were served delicious baked ziti, manicotti, and chicken parmesan. It was yummy and the comedian was really funny. It was a cute Christmas show, with tons of laughs mixed in.

We also ordered baby furniture last week and went to pick it up tonight! This really feels real!! We're not setting it up until we have the wallpaper taken down and the new paint job up. However, my baby's future sleeping arrangements are sitting in the basement! What a feeling...

A few doctor updates:

We had another ultrasound on Thursday, December 10. He's so cute! He was nodding his head like yeah! And he waved and kicked and wiggled. She just needed to get a couple more pictures, that's why we had another ultrasound. It was the first time the doctor measure my tummy with the tape measure. We were 25 weeks but measured 30 weeks. I asked if my weight gain was significant or if I needed to cut back, but no that's not it. So they're sending us to Charlotte this Thursday for a level 2 ultrasound. They just want to get some better pictures. Dr. said the measurement might be because the baby is very big, or because I have excess fluid. Either way, we're just going to check it out and get some really good baby pictures in the process. The doctor said we might even get 3-D images, too! How exciting! I'm sure everything is fine, but we'll see later this week.

Updates

Ok...I know it's not a very pretty picture, but look at that belly! This is from Sunday, 23 weeks!! It's very round, solid, and tight. One of my friends at school is also preggo...but 2 weeks behind me. Our body types are quite different and she has belly envy! She rubbed it on Monday and just sighed and said "I want one, it's so big and round!" That truly makes me feel good! I have to admit I'm pretty proud of it myself. It's only going to get bigger and I'm really looking forward to it.

If you haven't heard...it's officially a boy!!!!! We'll just ignore that earlier post about a baby girl. Evidently the umbilical cord was hiding a VERY important part! We have decided on a name, but I haven't unveiled it yet. We happen to love it (obviously) and hope you will, too. We go back to the doctor Dec. 10th for a follow-up ultrasound. The tech couldn't see everything she needed to see last time so we get to look at him again!! We don't mind! If it's still a boy *wink* when we look next Thursday I'll tell you all his name! You're gonna love it!

And an update on our shower! For the last two weeks we've been tiling! Hooray! We have used almost 3 boxes of tile and have laid up to almost 3 feet. The bench is finished and the bottom 2 1/2 rows are complete. It's very exciting! It looks soo good. I'm already pleased with it, and there's only like 30 tiles up! Can't wait till it's finished. I wish we could work on it more often, but we have to mix the thinset before we start, and it's impossible to save. So we can only make what we will use in the time we need it. Anyway...it's looking good. Pictures to follow soon!!

Shower update

Last time I posted info about the shower there were holes in the ceiling and bare 2 x 4s. Behold the shower now!!

Now the shower has a lovely corner bench and is fully covered in cement backer board and is ready for tile! We've bought all our tile and things and we're ready to get started...well we think we are! It's quite a daunting task, just getting started. We're only working on it Saturdays, and maybe one day through the week with all the stuff we've got going on. Just hoping it's done before the baby comes!!!! There's still a nursery to be worked on!

It's a baby!

My most recent preggo pic! 21 weeks, Sunday, November 15, 2009. There is a belly for sure! I'm in all maternity bottoms, but can still wear alot of my pre-preggo shirts and tops. Unless they're too short to cover the lovely panel on those maternity pants.

I've gotten lots of great maternity clothes from Kelly Wortman...and some from Alyssa at work. It's quite nice to not have to spend so much money on things you wear for only a few months! So thanks, girls!

Say hello to our tiny baby! We have had a total of 3 ultrasounds so far. One at the doctor's office and two from a friend at the hospital! It's nice to have connections!

Anyway...we know the sex of the baby but I'm not posting it until I get to see the whole family at Thanksgiving!! That's not too much longer to wait!

Seeing this baby on screen was incredible!!!! Just to see the chambers of the heart fluttering, the little hands and feet wiggling all over the place. Amazing...we are so blessed!

You'll all know what I am soon!!!

Anyone

Does anyone read this thing? Or am I just wasting my time?

Refrigerator Ridiculous-ness

Okay..let me start by saying this fridge was FREE.

So our friends in Boone, the Garners, had their kitchen remodeled in an incredible way! It's gorgeous and 5 star! So they got rid of all their old stuff and asked Erin if she knew anyone who needed a fridge. It's a black side-by-side GE Profile with ice and water in the door. A very nice fridge! So of course..."If it's free, it's for me" is our motto. And we volunteered to take it off their hands.

Ant's friend, Collin, agreed to go to Boone with us to pick up the fridge. Seeing as how I'm in the family way...I can't really help. Anyway, let's start with borrowing a big truck.

We borrowed my grandpa's big grey truck. One I haven't ridden in since high school. It's like a 1980's model Ford. On the outside the paint job looks great and it sounds really good. Ant looked in the truck bed and realized it was rusted in so many places he could see straight through to the ground! The whole back end of the bed was a giant line of scary rust! Not to mention you have to pump the gas before it'll crank, and there's only two seat belts. Dad says it'll make it up the mountain, no problem.

We get to Boone without any trouble. We get to the Garner's w'out any trouble. The fridge is DISGUSTING! Mel hasn't cleaned it out yet and it's stinky and gross. So we (they) get the fridge all wrapped up on the hand truck and lift it into the truck bed. Then we realize there's a 5th wheel in the middle of the truck bed. You know...a big ball sticking up in the middle of the bed. So we have to borrow several of the Garners for help and finally wrestled it over the ball and get it secured. Not an easy task. I believe it took 5 grown men. So we get back in the truck and head back down the mountain. Again, an uneventful ride. Although there was a chance of running out of gas....there's two tanks on the truck and we were running below E in the tank we were using. Nice.

Ok...we get it home and it's just me, Ant & Collin. We call Ant's uncle Phillip. Again, the wrestling of the fridge over the 5th wheel then off the tailgate. This fridge is a monster! Huge and tall and heavy. Our entry is a split foyer, steps going up, steps going down, w/ a wall in the middle. Nice usually, just not when you're trying to move a monster fridge! We end up getting the fridge on the landing, then realize it won't go up the stairs b/c of the door. A) take the door off its hinges B) close the door to maneuver the fridge up the steps. We choose choice B. But the door won't close b/c the fridge is too big. We have to hang it off the lower set of stairs with Collin holding it up until we could wiggle the door past and close it. Keep in mind that the fridge has been unplugged hours before...meaning it's been leaking the whole time from the melting freezer. Yeah. We have to remove the pictures, mirrors, and candle sconces from the walls and unplug the wall flower. The fridge makes it up the stairs, but won't fit in th first kitchen door...so we have to move allll the furniture in the living room to roll it over the carpet...leaking. We got it. This took about 6-7 hours of our Saturday afternoon/evening. We left it there till Sunday afternoon.

Now Ant decides to measure it one more time to make sure it'll fit. It won't! He's so mad!! We measured, of course, before we picked it up...but I neglected to measure the bottom of the hole, where the molding is. Yeah....that takes over an inch off the space we have. Nice. We peeled the molding off the wall...not pretty and still had to FORCE it into the hole, scraping paint off the wall as we go! But at this point the fridge is still disgusting! I spent almost 3 hours scrubbing, spraying, washing, rubbing...layers of sticky gunk, kool-aid spills, and dog hair! EWWWWW! Ant helped with the drawers and such and we manage to clean it up. I reallllly regret not taking a before/after picture of the fridge. You really wouldn't believe this thing! We plug it in, shove it in, and wedge it safely in it's place. As we begin to load food in from the old fridge we realize the ice maker isn't making. Now, the old fridge had been hit by lightning and the ice maker didn't work. So we've been using ice cube trays...which I HATE! I didn't trade a fridge that didn't work, for a fridge that didn't work. SOOOOO mad at this point! Ant says the fridge isn't leaving..it's now a permanent staple in the house! We also forgot to plug the wall flower back in and Phillip had laid it on my $500 coffee table. Just so you know, fragrance oils remove stain and varnish from oak coffee tables. Yeah...ultimately pissed off at the fridge at this point!! My poor table now has two nasty circles that are a totally different color. Gross.

Well, after returning all the food, moving the old fridge downstairs, moving everything around, cleaning the house and mopping the floors and returning the hand truck we borrowed we were EXHAUSTED! Turns out the ice maker does work, as does the water in the door. It's in there, although I don't think it'll ever move! I like the shelves, the lighting, and the storage! My hands and feet were very, very swollen from all the hard work..hours and hours of it. I rested the rest of the night with my feet up and went to bed early. What a disaster of a weekend! I totally expected it to be an easy-peasy pick-up and delivery, no sweat. Boy, was I wrong!

Moral of this story: Always let your husband measure where your new fridge should be before driving and spending hours picking it up.

Ant was so wonderful to help and to put up with this. There were a few times I felt like he was ready to throw in the towel, but he never did. A HUGE shout-out to him for this. And thanks to Collin for helping on Saturday & Sunday!