Loving it...

This marks week three of staying home.

I love it.

My house is clean.

I have candles going.

The groceries are taken care of.

I am cooking all the time and I am not stressed about what time dinner is on the table.

I'm not stressed much at all actually.

Today I had my coffee at the table with Logan while the doors to the back were open to let the 68 degree weather in the house. After I got him all dropped off at school I headed to Target.

One thing on my list there was a bottle. Though my goal is to nurse Ellie, I know that with Logan it went terribly and I want to be prepared in case it goes south this time as well. However, Logan and I went nuts with bottles. Some made him spit up. Some had too many parts (*ahem* Dr Brown *ahem*) I received a free Avent bottle in the mail after putting my name on some list at the maternity store. This happens to be the bottle we stuck with for Logan.

I didn't want to have just one bottle in the house, but I also am not going out and purchasing a ton. I wanted to get one of the new Munchkin bottles because they look really interesting in regards to nursing and air flow.

$80 later  (oops) I left Target and headed to Highland Village shopping center. I needed to get a few items to decorate Ellie's room as well as a new Toaster and some bread mixes at Williams Sonoma.

The rest of my day is cleaning up the house, making one of those breads, and picking Logan up from school.

I am cherishing this time before Ellie comes to recharge myself and get mentally ready for new baby. Her room is done and it's pretty much perfect.

Sorry, the lighting is odd..

Complete with loyal schnauzer 

Logan's stool for "helping"

I have a few new items to put on the shelves above the changing area. Otherwise the drawers are full of clothes. The diapers and wipes are organized in the cart, and the diaper bag has some odds and ends ready for our first outing.

I better get that car seat installed... two weeks left!

Dinner for.. Two?

Last night, I used my little bit of extra energy to whip up this amazing recipe I found on .... wait for it.. Pinterest.

Who needs cookbooks anymore, seriously?

I do. I covet them and the photos.

Anywhoo, I had pinned this a few weeks ago so I was excited to make it.

Skillet Dijon Chicken Penne

We devoured it.

I told Lee the funny thing is the recipe says serves 4, but we ate all of it between the two of us.

He said "Well really it serves 3. Ellie ate some too."

Clever.

Week Two

I am in the middle of Week Two as a Stay At Home Mom.

My house is pretty darn clean.
ALL the laundry is done.
All the errands are run.

Now what?

I'm trying to follow orders on laying on the sofa and drinking water. I need something fascinating or really entertaining to watch on TV/Netflix/Hulu/Amazon. I tried re-watching True-Blood. Gave up in episode 2.
How did I make it through all 7 seasons last time?
I made it through a few seasons of Desperate Housewives. Again, just ok.

I realize that once Ellie is here I am not going to be so bored, BUT I will still need something to watch on tv during the day...

This weekend we stayed pretty low key. The heat is causing me to get pretty dizzy off and on. I even missed out on pool time Sunday and Monday because I was feeling yucky. Logan and Lee had a blast though. I am loving watching them have fun together. I know Logan will lean on Lee a lot after the baby comes.

I am starting my freezer meals this week. Instead of spending a whole day on my feet cooking I am choosing two meals this week and next that I can cook double of. I also plan to make a pan of plain meatballs that can easily be added to noodles and sauce or used other ways in a pinch.

This week I have made these Enchiladas - and they are DIVINE.

Creamy Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas

Tomorrow I plan cooking up one of my favorite stuffed shells recipe and freezing a 8x8 pan of them.

Three Cheese Stuffed Shells

I have some tamales already frozen and I am focusing on keeping sides in the pantry (rice, beans, etc) and that way Lee just needs to pick up fresh veggies as needed to add salads on the side.

Last time we didn't have a chance to have any food in the freezer before Logan came and it was tough around dinner to come up with something easy. My hope is that Lee just has to turn on the oven and pop something in.

Otherwise my first shipment of Honest Diapers arrived today. I unpacked a few into the diaper cart I am using, put some in the diaper bag, and stashed the rest. I looked around and I really feel like for the amount of diapers and wipes (plus a throw in of travel wipes!) it is a great deal. I looked at Pampers on Amazon (with subscribe and save) and the diapers alone were as much as the bundle from Honest and that didn't include any wipes. We will see how Ellie does in them. I do have a small package of pampers newborn as back up.

I can't believe that in 3 weeks we will have a baby girl and be a family of four...

September 1st

Today is September 1st.

My second day as a stay at home mom.

I'm a little bored to be honest.

This is mainly because my Dr. told me to rest and drink water because my amniotic fluid was low. Therefore I have spent since about 8:30am sitting on the couch watching Hulu and dozing.

I don't have as much guilt or heartache over leaving my job as I thought I would. I do miss my coworkers and the jokes and conversation we had during the day. It feels weird that I don't have a desk to go back to. If I do pick up some hours I will do so from home.

Once Ellie arrives I am sure I will be too tired and busy to think much about those things. My days will be filled with diapers and naps and fussy time. Logan will come home from school and I will be focusing on giving him the attention he needs and getting his dinner and stories and play time taken care of.

For the next few weeks I'm on this sofa for most of the time. I have a few items to take care of - like freezer meals, a trip or two to Target, and packing my bag and making a list for the hospital.

Otherwise I am trying to give Logan all the hugs and kisses I can and tell him over and over again that he is my special boy and Mommy and Daddy think he will be the best big brother ever.

Starbucks Date

Back to School Haircut

With or without new haircuts :)

Pass the snorkel...

That whole "just keep swimming" phrase was created just for me. I am convinced of this!

Don't worry, I'm not about to pout online again about being busy or upset.

Logan is doing better these days but still has some challenges I am trying to address. The hardest part is that he is just the sweetest kid ever. Full of kisses and hugs and random "I love you mommy!" So watching him get so angry/frustrated over pretty much nothing is tough. He is doing great at school, especially after the room change. His new teacher told me last week she is really enjoying him and he is just a little sponge for knowledge! Our little road here with Logan will forever be a process, I am sure.

We started setting up the nursery last weekend. Crib, rocking chair, and dresser are all in place. We need a few more essentials (changing pad, mattress, diaper pail, etc) but it's coming together. I sat quietly in her room last night and took all the tags off the onesies and hung up all the pretty dresses. I have an entire laundry basket of items that need to be washed and put away already. I still don't think we have enough basics in clothing but I know one trip to Carters on a sale day and I'll be set.

I only have a month left of work until I take an extended leave/quit. My initial idea was to just quit. My boss is trying to find creative ways to keep me around so now I have said that I will do nothing until January and then maybe I can work from home a few hours a week on non-essential issues to help the other staff keep working hard for the clients. This way my brain will stay active!

I am looking forward, in a way, to this new life headed towards me. I joined a beautiful and fancy new gym/studio that will have child care on top of Pilates, Yoga, Barre classes and showers full of fancy toiletries. This helps me know that I have a plan to lose the weight I want plus actually get a shower most days. That's a large hurdle with a baby.

In some ways, I have always seen myself as a stay at home mom. PTA, Bake sales, cookies with homework... Dinner on the table on time? (I kind of feel like I am kidding myself on that one). With Lee's extensive travel we both felt that my being home was the best solution to how crazy life has been and is about to be.

I have a few items arriving this week and then I can take a few shots of the baby room.

Friday we are headed to Dallas to go to Great Wolf Lodge for a little family vaca. Logan is super excited and sings the days of the week song every morning to see what day we are on.

Countdown to baby is around 8 weeks. September 28th.

Two kids. Something I never envisioned and I am super terrified about but...

Just keep swimming.

Thankful

The thing about blogging that gets me is about how in the moment it is. You share about what you are thinking, feeling, hating, loving, etc RIGHT THEN.

I feel I need to apologize for the debbie-downer posts of late but I won't because it's what I was going through at the moment and I needed to get it out.

So let's focus on some good, shall we?

1 - Ellie (in the belly as she is referred to at my office) is A - OK! All is well. She just has to grow for the next 10 weeks. I'm concerned about how much MORE uncomfortable I will be as she gets bigger. She has had a foot in my rib cage ALL DAY today - just moving it around all willy nilly with no real care about how I feel about it.

2 - Logan is amazing. We go through ups and downs with him, but that is normal for all parents and I have to actively remind myself of that. Just because he has some special behavioral/emotional issues that we address doesn't mean that when he gets mad at me when it's time to turn off the ipad and get in the bath tub that it isn't normal kid stuff. Some aspects of it aren't but that is what I address and then I get his dirty boy booty in the tub and move on.

He changed rooms in his school this week. Partially because it was time because of his age vs. the age of the kids in the room. Mostly because his teacher was not following through with the tools/advice that both myself and the school director had given for addressing issues she was having with him. I was appalled at her lack of cooperation and the director made the move swiftly upon my call up there to talk over what I was seeing and hearing. I am grateful that she was so accommodating. I wasn't asking for anything special and out of line.

3 - Lee and I are as happy as can be. He's the best husband I could have ever asked for. He lets me cry and be unreasonable and is loving and patient. I'm sure I'm pretty much Shrek most of the time. Angry, sweaty, super fun to deal with...

There you have it. An update with happy stuff and not just complaints about life being difficult.

"As long as it's healthy."

Ever hear the cliche "we don't care if it's a boy or girl, as long as it's healthy."

Well I am sitting here at the point where it doesn't sound like a silly saying anymore.

It's true.

So - the little spot on the heart has so far turned out to be nothing. It's common and not harmful and doesn't mean she has any issues.

Last week I went to the Dr and we did another ultrasound to double check the heart and check on her growth since she looked large.

My Dr. comes in and is like "well... now we found a little something between the heart and the lung in a spot where there shouldn't be anything. I need to refer to to a high risk Dr. to double check that."

Fabulous.

Then the whole "how have you been feeling?" conversation starts and after I whine about being so tired I can barely function, she decides I am more than likely depressed.

Well I am sure if I read back to the last 2 or 3 posts, it's more than likely true. 2015 has been killer and I am just not able to cope with it anymore.

So I call Lee and cry about this finding and depression and he is pissed he didn't go with me - though we both thought it was just a check up.

The next day the babysitter texts me as she picks up Logan from school. "He got into a fist fight today and was very aggressive with his friends. " So now my mind rewinds to January when all the stress with his behavior issues came to the surface.

Let's say no one should be surprised when I spontaneously burst into tears in the car Friday in the HEB parking lot and cried for at least 10 minutes. Lee just watched and Logan was confused.

Today we were supposed to see the Dr. about the ultrasound. I had ANOTHER ultrasound and the tech seemed confused as to what she was looking for, so I guess that's good. The genetic counselor didn't see anything concerning on her end. And the Dr. was stuck at the hospital delivering twins. So the one person I needed to see to ease our worries didn't show up.

I really miss those large glasses of wine right now.

Baby Ellie looks great. She is estimated about 2.5 pounds and is moving all the time. All I can do is sit and pray (and worry, let's face it) and hope she is healthy.

Prayers are welcome.