friday fives

{one}  I took the girls to the Main Street Children's Museum in Rock Hill.  Totally surprised, but in a good way.  It is not a museum...  The name is a bit misleading.  It is basically a big indoor play area.  Phoebe had fun.  It will be especially good in the winter and on rainy days.

{two}  We went Blackberry picking at Bush-N-Vine farm on Monday.  Phoebe got the hang of it pretty quickly and learned to only pick the ripe, black ones.  We have been enjoying fresh blackberries and blackberry cobbler this week.

{three}  Mom and Dad are in town this week and dad brought back some chocolate from his travels to Japan.  This included not only green-tea flavored chocolate, but also a Green Tea Kit Kat.  Sounds gross right?  It was surprisingly good and I would like some more.

{four} I am the proud (?) new owner of a minivan...  Ok, so to be honest I'm not 100% sure how I feel about it yet.  The plan wasn't to get a minivan until we had three kids and all the car seats wouldn't fit in our cars anymore.  But my car was on the verge of dying so we took the plunge.  More on this later.

{five} Couldn't resist this cute picture.  And guess who is going to be TWO tomorrow?!?

 



 

H54F

Thank goodness it is Friday.  Really.  It has been a crazy past couple of weeks, but now that we are moved into our new house and unpacked life should slow down and I can get back to the blog.

Looking right to left...
1//  We are officially South Carolina Residents.  We actually drove up with all our stuff a couple weeks ago, but weren't able to move into our house until last Friday.  We had the hardwood floors re-done and because of the rainy and humid weather they took much longer than expected to dry so we couldn't walk on them.
2// This stray black dog keeps jumping our fence into the yard and I don't like it!  He is obnoxious and although not overly aggressive, he isn't neutered he is a bit more testosterone driven than Knox.  Of course he always comes after animal control hours and on the weekends, so there is nothing I can do except walk him back out to the front of the neighborhood.  (You might think this sounds mean, but he has no tag or ID and I already walked him around the neighborhood and no one knows him, so I don't know what else to do with him.)
3// We have spent a lot of time swinging on the swing set out back.  We love our new backyard! (except the unwanted visitor)
4// After we finally were able to move in, our hot water wasn't working.  We didn't have hot water for 6 days.  So I started boiling water for Phoebe to pour in the tub to take the chill off the water.  It was miserable.  I felt like I was in a third world country boiling water to take a sponge bath out of a bucket.
5// Amidst the chaos, we started Summer RUF this week.  Its going to be real low-key this summer because our lives are still in a bit of transition.  Chris is calling it "Snap, Crackle and Pop Culture".  Everyone brings a box of cereal to share (we provide the milk, OJ, and decaf) then we will watch various movies and find gospel themes in them to discuss.  This week we watched Wreck It Ralph.  It is a super cute movie if you're looking for something to rent this weekend. Hope you have a great weekend!  I will be back next week with more updates on our house, the move, and the kids!

H54F

1// How sweet is this picture?  A friend our ours kept Phoebe for a day so we could get some packing done.  She took this picture.  Thank you Christina!
2// Our house is in boxes.  The movers were supposed to come Monday to load the truck but that got delayed for several days.  Our house is practically unlivable with all the boxes packed up in every room so we came up to Chattanooga for a few days to escape the chaos.  The cousins all had fun playing together
3// I had really been wanting a La Z Boy recliner for the nursery in the new house.  We have a glider off Craig's list that we had in Phoebe's room (we didn't have room for a recliner in her room) and it is just not very comfortable.  It works well to rock her, but I can't sleep in it.  And there were many nights teething where she would just want or need to be held because she was hurting and I was miserable in that rocker.  I wanted a comfortable chair for Haddie Grace's nursery and Chris swore by La Z Boys.  If we were going to buy a recliner it was going to be a La Z Boy.  Thankfully I was able to find one that was only a year and a half old on Craig's List for a fraction of the cost of a new one!  (Love me some Craig's List)
4// Phoebe almost got wrapped up and packed this week
5// The unlivable chaos that is my house right now

Have a good weekend!  Movers are coming tomorrow morning!   Be sure to check out my giveaway!

H54F

It's Friday again, and I'm not sure where the week went.  One of my goals for the month was to slow down.  Spoiler alert- I'm failing.   Anyhow, here's a brief recap of my week.

1. On Monday my sweet husband surprised me with flowers and movie tickets when I came home from work.  Yay!  I LOVE stargazer lilies and have been enjoying their scent all week.

2. Chris also installed this New Wave Enviro shower filter to our shower head to filter the chlorine out of the water.  Did you know that your body absorbs more chlorine through skin and lungs while showering than from drinking tap water?  Chlorine strips the body of protein and can leave skin feeling dry and itchy.  I had been looking at and reading about this shower filter for awhile and wondering if it would help the insane itching I've had during this pregnancy.  Y'all I'm not going to lie-it has helped.  Absolutely amazing.

3. We finally took Phoebe to a new pediatrician and loved him.  It was a great experience.  I felt like he thoroughly laid hands on my child and did a compressive well-check.  He also sat down and talked to me, answered my questions, and listened to me.  Why did we not do this sooner??  On the downside, Phoebe only weighs 18lbs 3oz.  I was really hoping for 20lbs.  We're back to adding butter to her food to try to increase her calorie intake...

4.  I have hit that point in pregnancy where I am no longer sleeping well.  I know some people have trouble sleeping throughout their pregnancy and I am thankful that it is just the last few weeks for me.  As much as I dislike medication I did dig out my Tylenol PM I had leftover from Phoebe's pregnancy.  I only had a few left in the bottle so I went out to get some more this week.  Did you know that Tylenol PM is currently unavailable?!?  I went to 2 different drug stores looking for it and can't find it anywhere!  The manufacturer website says its currently unavailable due to manufacturing and system upgrades.  WHAT?!?  I need it now!!!  I might resort to taking my Ambien that expired in 2011....

5.  Yes, I hit 100 followers on Monday!!  I can't believe it!  Thanks so much for stopping by to read my little blog.  Y'all are awesome and I appreciate you so much!  To celebrate I'm participating in a $150 GAP card giveaway.  Go enter to win!


Have a great weekend!!!

high five for friday & february goals

1.  The tornado that touched down in Adairsville, GA on Wednesday.  Although this is about 40 miles north of us, it was still a little scary.  I was driving home from an OB appointment listening to the weather when within a span of 5 minutes: my phone started alerting me that I was in an area under a tornado warning and to "take shelter", my husband is texting me telling me to get home as soon as I can because the tornado sirens are going off in Kennesaw, and I then hear the tornado sirens in Marietta.  I just wanted to be home and not on the road.  It was the first time I've ever gone down to the basement during a tornado warning.  We only stayed down there for about 15 or 20 minutes before the "dangerous" part of the storm moved out of our area and they changed it to a severe thunderstorm warning, but it still wasn't very much fun.

2. I made vegetable lasagna on Sunday night and I thought it was pretty good.  We've been eating off of it all week.  Do you like leftovers?  I love leftovers... It means I don't have to cook again.  You be the judge of whether this was healthy or not.  I'm sure all the cheese adds quite a bit of fat, but its more veggies than we would be getting otherwise.  Paired with a salad it is a pretty veggie-heavy meal, and let's be honest most of us don't eat enough vegetables.  This picture really doesn't do it justice.  I adapted the recipe from the Pioneer Woman.  Why do her pictures of food always look so much better than mine?  Anyone have any tips for taking pictures of food?  I've seen some great ones on some of your blogs and of course pinterest...

3.  We switched Knox's dog food back to PurinaOne this week and I am so thankful.  You see we had started giving him Iams and I kid you not he had the WORST gas on that stuff.  This might be more than you wanted to know, but honestly one of us was about to get kicked out of the house because there wasn't enough fresh air for both of us- and it wasn't going to be me...  I love my dog, but I had about had it.  What kind of dog food do you feed your dog?  I know PurinaOne isn't the best dog food out there and a lot of people do feed their dog premium dog food.  But quite frankly I can't afford all-organic food for myself, so why would I feed it to my dog?  My dog is not going to eat better than I do.  I love him, but he is a dog...

4. Speaking of OB appointments, I really don't like them.  Once I start to feel the baby move I find them to be a waste of time and more hassle than they are worth dragging a toddler with you.  Really, I pay $4 for parking (well I don't because I refuse to pay for parking so I park in the hospital parking deck that my badge gets me in and walk 10 minutes up the hill to the doctor's complex) and then wait at least an hour sometimes an hour and a half to see the doctor for 5 minutes.  It is AT LEAST a 2 hour ordeal.  All she really does is listen to the heartbeat, which quite frankly this baby moves enough that I'm pretty sure it still has a heartbeat.  Not that I'm ungrateful for the pregnancy or my doctor (who I really do like) I just dread going to appointments.

 5. Yesterday we met some friends at Catch Air for a play date.  Catch Air is an indoor kid's paradise.  Really.  The floor is completely padded, there are blow-up things to ride, obstacle courses, multiple moon bounces, ball pits, slides, a disco party floor, and more.  Its a blast.

To recap my January Goals- January Goals
1. Take a prenatal vitamin 5 times/week  Done 2. Clean out 2012 files and move into storage.  Shred 2009 files.  Done 3. Get all Christmas decorations cleaned up and put away by this Saturday Did it! 4. DO NOT LEAVE work early today!  It is a holiday and I am getting holiday pay.  I need to stick it out for the whole shift no matter how tempting it is to go home early! It was actually really busy at work so I didn't have the opportunity.   So we'll count this one as a yes! 5. Enjoy more "play-time" with my sweet baby girl and encourage her to play with her baby doll in preparation for the new baby Yes!
6. Do one DIY project this month Nope, didn't do it.  I posted about the DIY Mason Jar soap dispensers, but that was actually a December project...
7. Stick to our grocery budget.  (We'll try this one again) It was perfect!  Literally less than $1 leftover.  I didn't go over though!  And I bought a lot of "bulk" stock items this month that will last several months
8. Complete proof for 2011 family photo book.   Nope.  I'm working on it, but probably not half way done yet.  I actually decided to do a combined 2011/2012 book and then I'm going to do one "pre-kids" book of our adventures between marriage and children.  I figure it will be fun for our family to look back on someday.

February Goals 1.  Complete 2011/2012 family photo book AND pre-kids photo book.   (This is a lofty goal...)
2.  I want to try for another DIY project.   I'm thinking liquid hand soap to fill up my mason jar soap dispensers http://www.thefarmersnest.com/2011/11/liquid-hand-soap-diy.html 3. Get a pregnancy massage Chris gave me a gift certificate groupon/living social deal for a massage for Christmas.  I think it is getting time to redeem that :) 4. Exercise- walk, walk, walk!  I have been pretty good about exercising most of this pregnancy, until this past month!  I hardly did anything in January.  I could make excuse after excuse, but there's really no good one.  I'm certainly past the point of hard-sweat exercising, but I really do need to get outside and walk or get on the treadmill at the gym and walk at least three times/week 5. Slow down and enjoy more "down-time"! It has been a really busy month.  We've tried to pack a lot in- too much really.  I'm tired.  I need a break.  I can't keep up this pace much longer.

What are your goals this month?

Oh and today is my mother-in-law's birthday.  Happy Birthday Margaret!

high five for friday

From left to right:
1. Phoebe slept in her big girl bed all week this week!  Chris' parents brought down his old bunk beds last weekend for Phoebe.  I am so proud of her and it was a much easier transition than expected!  (There is a second rail on the front side of the bed too...)  She didn't fall out, she hasn't tried to climb out yet, she hasn't gotten her head or any other body part stuck between the wooden rails which are 30+ years old and I'm sure not approved by the CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission), and there have been no major tears shed so I'd say it has been a success.  
2. Highlight of my week was definitely seeing Les Mis with Chris for a date night.
3.  I am not a computer/techie person AT ALL.  Every time we've bought new phones or any new computer or computer equipment we've had one of Chris' students come over to set everything up for us.  We have been concerned about my computer dying for several weeks and for some reason we didn't think our external hard drive was backing up properly.  So we had a former student come over and not only fix our external hard drive so that it automatically backs up wirelessly at regular intervals, but he also suggested that I could possibly** extend the life of my 5+ year old MacBook by purchasing a new hard drive and some extra RAM.  He told us exactly what to get and he came over and installed everything in my computer did a bunch of technical stuff I don't understand but now my computer is running on a Lion operating system instead of Leopard (it came with Tiger...) and I love it!  Thanks Steven!!
4.  I am not a beauty product person.  (Unless its Aveda and then I do have a weakness.)  Until recently I used Pert Plus shampoo.  Before we got married I used Pantene or Garnier or whatever was on sale when I needed shampoo, but then one time I ran out and started using Chris' Pert Plus.  If anything I noticed my hair was a little bit softer and the 2:1 shampoo/conditioner shaved a few minutes off my morning shower as well as a few dollars off my drug store tab, so I've been using it ever since.  Over the past couple months I'd had heard several good things about this Organix Moroccan Argan Oil Shampoo, and have been curious.  I found the 13.5oz bottle of shampoo & conditioner, and a small bottle of penetrating oil at Costco all for $9.97 and decided that wasn't too expensive for me to try.  I've been using it for almost 2 weeks and I must admit I have noticed a difference in my hair.  It looks and feels much healthier and most importantly- it is not as frizzy when I wear it straight!!  It still looks shiny and smooth on day #2 after washing too.  I am pleasantly surprised and impressed.  I'm a convert.  I read the most about this on Meghan's blog.  She does beauty product reviews from time to time that I always enjoy reading but admit I am not one to venture out to experiment with new products.  Thanks Meghan!
5.  I had fun playing outside with Phoebe during the warm afternoon sun this week.  She has always loved bubbles, but this week has started wanting to blow them herself.  Adorable.  It has been so much fun to start to see her learn things and become more independent. 

Have a great weekend!!!

Linking up with Lauren