Kitchen Remodel

Our kitchen update is finally complete and I am so happy with how it turned out! I painted the cabinets and Brenen did the demo work, trim around the windows, and backsplash tile. Before we get to the reveal lets take a minute to remember what it looked like when we moved in and for the first year we lived here.

During Demo:

AFTER:

Kitchen Details
Quartz Countertops: Home Depot- color: Calacatta Vicenza Matte

Top cabinet color: Benjamin Moore Simply White

Bottom cabinet color: Benjamin Moore Aegean Teal 

Tiles: Tile for Less Warehouse- matte white

Grout color: Platinum

Roman blinds: Select Blinds- color: Cloud White

Bar stools: Amazon

Paper towel holder: Amazon

Sink Caddy: Amazon

Meet Baby C!

I was so bad at documenting this pregnancy but I still wanted to share Baby C's birth story because I love reading them and I know many of you do too!

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I woke up on February 20th not at all thinking that I would go into labor anytime soon - I thought I would have at least a week or two before having another baby. E woke up at his normal early hour and we were in the living room watching a show and I started having cramp-like contractions that started at 6:30am. B woke up around 7:00am and I went to the bathroom after getting them breakfast and noticed thick discharge and blood. I texted my husband and told him to keep his phone by him and I called the hospital to see what I should do about the bleeding. 

They said I was probably in the early stages of labor and not to come in unless my contractions picked up or the bleeding got worse. Contractions came and went, sometimes being 3-5 minutes apart and then almost 10 minutes apart. That went on until 3:00ish when they started to pick up again and became a lot more painful. The boys went with the some friends to a preschool activity and we decided to go to the hospital at 4:00pm just to see what was going on.

We got to the hospital and went to triage. They checked me and I was only at a 1cm....I was so mad that I was only that far along! They were going to let us stay and walk the halls because it wasn't my first baby and they thought things would progress faster. The baby’s heartbeat started dropping a little with each contraction so they had me stay in bed and checked me again at 6:45pm and I was at 3cm. 

Contractions got pretty unbearable soon after and I was dying to get some medication/ the epidural ASAP!!! They finally admitted me and took us to a room at 7:30pm. The anesthesiologist was already there waiting for me, I just had to sign a few consent forms and was told the risks of getting an epidural when I "supposedly" was only at 3cm when I knew I wasn't!  I still demanded to get one and I'm so glad I did! The epidural was placed at 8:10pm, my water broke (more like went gushing everywhere) at 8:30pm and baby girl quickly came at 8:54pm! She weighed 6 lbs 12.5 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long.

We love you Baby C!

Photos by Kristina Sponseller

Free Things to do this Christmas Season

I can't believe we are almost to the middle of December! This year we are trying to be creative, frugal, and just better with our money and only doing Christmas activities that are free. It has been more challenging than I thought it would be but I thought I would share our list with you because many of you are probably doing the same!

-Make sugar cookies and decorate them.

-Take dinner to a family in need.

-Go to your local Christmas tree lighting.

-Have hot chocolate (We are doing this daily!) and play games.

-Make gifts for your friends and neighbors with things you already have on hand in your kitchen and craft supplies.

-Look at Christmas lights in your neighborhood.

-Do service for the family members that are in your home.

-Make your own Christmas cards and order free 4x6 prints from Shutterfly to add to them. (B drew the pictures on ours!)

-Make ornaments out of popsicle sticks, paint, and glitter!

-Read Christmas stories as a family.

-Play hide and seek in the light of only your Christmas tree.

-Have a candy cane hunt. (My boys love this!)

-Serve, Serve, Serve! (Take out your neighbor's trash, scrape someone's window, etc. There are so many ways to get into the Christmas spirit with service!)

I'd love to hear your ideas and use them with my family!

Pregnancy {Round 3}

How far along? 25 Weeks 4 Days

Total weight gain: About 15 pounds.

Maternity clothes? I'm wearing all the maternity pants! I am still wearing my normal tops and dresses though.

Stretch Marks? I haven't found any new ones! The ones on my stomach are starting to appear again.

Sleep: E still wakes up at night occasionally, but other than that, I sleep great!

Best moment this week: Passed my glucose test!

Miss anything? Being able to sleep on my stomach.

Movement: Yes and getting stronger every week!

Food cravings: Usually french fries or cereal, this week was jello.

Anything make you queasy or sick? The smell of cooked eggs.

Gender: Girl!

Labor signs: Some Braxton Hicks but it's way too early for anything else!

Belly button in or out? Out and it's so weird!

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or moody most of the time: Mostly happy!

Looking forward to: Getting the baby's new car seat in the mail sometime this week!