Day 56

So being home with baby all day is really weird.  I miss getting out, but I don't miss all the running around.  I love the time I am getting to spend with Elsie.   I'm sure I'll be getting cabin fever soon, but for now I'm going to try and enjoy my little break from the world.

Annie has really taken to being a big sister.  She takes the job very seriously.  She tells us Elsie loves her the most and that she loves Elsie the most.  They are so sweet together, that with all these hormones I am prone to crying when Annie holds her little sister.  Prompting Annie to wonder, "whats wrong with mommy?"  I tell her mommy is just having happy tears, it works for now.  She shrugs and goes right back to giving her full attention to her, "Little One," (Annie's nick name for her sister).

Today we made our first attempt to bake in the kitchen.  We stuck with something simple, oatmeal raisin cookies.  It only took about 5 trips to the basement to sift through the various boxes of kitchen gear and 2 trips upstairs to find the flour and baking soda.  And since I can't really do stairs, Texas got a good work out.  Even with all that, we couldn't find a few things.  Unpacking is going to take a long time. 

Texas has already tired of us having our bedroom in the dining room, so he plans on getting back to work on the house this weekend.  We'll see if he can actually get any work done.  When he's home, he has a hard time putting Elsie down.

Day 50 The OVEN!

So the day after our "Home Birth Renovation Reality" Texas went out and got the oven for our kitchen!  Unfortunately I couldn't get up and go see it.  It was like torture being stuck in bed and not getting to see our new oven, so my sweet Annie took the camera and shot a few pictures of it.  Our land lord from our last place was replacing his home oven and was nice enough to give us his.  I can't believe our luck lately.  Texas found a fridge for super cheap at Home Depot (granted it's shorter than I am, it's still better than having 2 mini fridge's on the counter), and then we get an over for FREE!  So our kitchen is now functional, and I can't wait to get in there and start cooking.

Home birth renovation reality (day 49)

So... If you haven't heard we had Elsie at home.  Not quite what we planned.  I was actually home alone when I realized she was planning on coming out.  I called Texas to come home as fast as possible and the Doula, Julie (who is the most amazing woman).  By the time Texas got here with Annie in tow, I was in labor.   I told him to get Annie out of the house (I'd rather be alone than traumatize my daughter) and thankfully the Doula showed up just then.   So Texas goes on a walk around the block with Annie and by the time he came back Little Elsie was born.
We had planned on being in the hospital, having a baby in a clean hospital bed with clean hospital sheets, that aren't covered in dog hair and don't have to be washed by my husband.   No such luck.   Our luck did come in when Julie showed up in the nick of time, knew exactly what to do and was able to keep mamma (and baby) calm and safe.  I am so grateful to Julie.  She's now delivered both of my girls, and as I've said before I would NEVER attempt child birth without a doula, EVER.  Even if you want to use drugs, go for it, but don't go it without a doula.   I can't attest for other Doulas, but Julie is amazing.
The whole process probably took about 20-30 minutes, and created about 18 loads of laundry (sorry Texas).

Texas cutting the umbilical cord.

Annie holding her baby sister just hours after she was born.  I was glad she wasn't there for the actual delivery.  When she showed, about 5 minutes after she wanted to see everything.  This kid is not fazed by anything.

I think they like each other.

So the home delivery actually went OK.  Especially when you considered it wasn't planned, we are mid renovation, and we had less than 30 minutes to prepare.  It has been so amazing to be home with my family where I feel safest and most comfortable.  And having Annie close by has really been a blessing.  She wouldn't be able to spend nearly as much time with her new sister if I were in a hospital.

Really?

I don't know where this weather is coming from, but I hope it never leaves.  Yesterday we all went on a super long walk in hopes of getting little Elsie out.  It didn't work.  We did have a great time walking through our new neighborhood though.  We walked to a local restaurant for lunch, and Annie rode her bike the whole way there. 

Today we are cleaning out the kitchen, if you can call it that.  The only kitchen like quality it has is the sink and my toaster oven, otherwise it's just a messy room.  On Thursday we're getting an oven from a friend who is replacing theirs with a new one.  I'm so excited.  I know this might sound strange, but I need to know I can boil water when I need to. Texas found a fridge at Home Depot for $250.  It's small, but for $250 we'll have a makeshift kitchen to get through the next few months till Texas has time to start the renovation.

 

Don't be fooled by the cabinets.  You can't actually put anything in them at the moment because they are hanging on by a thread.  Whoever installed them didn't have a clue what they were doing.

 The plywood is screwed in the keep people from falling into the basement, and yes they used various types of stick on linoleum for the flooring.  The best part is, instead of cutting the pieces to fit, they just overlapped them.

 

Day 43 We're in!

So it took us 43 days to move in, and I'm so glad we're here.  We don't have a kitchen yet (or a bedroom), but we do have the best doughnuts less than 10 minutes away and a slew of restaurants just up the street, so this pregnant mommy is happy.  Now we just need little Elsie to come out!  We were thinking it was going to happen yesterday, but after a full day of contractions it seems she wore herself out and is now less than interested in coming out.  Normally I wouldn't mind, but the doctor thinks she's already at 8 pounds.  Annie was 8.2 after being two weeks late.  If this kid stays in there much longer she'll get too big.   This is what I get for praying she doesn't come before we're moved in.  Now she's decided to just stay in there.  Maybe it's the doughnuts, they are really good.

 Annie's room is pretty much done.  We're still looking for a light fixture, but for now we're using what we have.

 I'm not posting any photos of what our dining room looks like now, because it's currently functioning as our bedroom and it's a mess.

 Annie helping Texas organize his tool kits, in full princess attire.

Ready set GO!

We are without internet at ether house right now, but since we are now staying at my mothers I am sneaking in one last post.  We are in high speed go mode right now.  It's looking like baby sissy, is getting ready to make her debut.   I've had a few major contractions but with lots of prayer they have stopped (We just need one more day if we can get it).   We are officially packed up out of our house, just waiting on the movers to get the furniture moved.  Staying at my parents in the mean time.  It's a little nuts not knowing when the baby's coming, when we'll be in our house, and how long we'll be staying at my moms.   And on top of all that, the painting isn't done, we have no kitchen, and I think Texas is likely to pass out in the delivery room (he literally stops breathing when I have a contraction).  The good news:  Life has not been the least bit boring since I met Texas and I couldn't be happier.   I'm not falling to the floor in pieces or panicking about any of this chaos (which is so old me).  God is being incredibly gracious to me because there is no way I wouldn't be a mess right now if it weren't for him and Texas holding my hand.  And baby sissy is on her way!

Day 37 Moving day?

So today was supposed to be moving day, obviously that didn't happen.  Thanks to the ice storm, that didn't really produce as much damage as promised, we were still set back a lot.   Thankfully all the people who had generously volunteered to help us out last Tuesday (canceled due to ice storm), were able to make it today!   Even with 4+ inches of snow and the surprisingly slow response of the street plowers, they showed up ready to work.  So no, we didn't move, but we did get a lot done.  The living and dining rooms are now painted and Annie has a purple bedroom. 

 The living room

Notice the paper Texas had me tape to the new floors.   I almost want to leave it down as long as we can, it took me over 4 hours of crawling on the floor to tape it all down.

 Dining room

 Behr calls it, Extra virgin olive oil, Texas calls it mustard, but I love it.

 Annie's room

It's hard to tell in the photos, but the room is a very light purple.

 Our room

So our room still has a long way to go, but thanks to all the help we had today, the chimney is dry-walled and the walls are mudded and ready to be sanded and painted.   I can't believe how much got done and am so thankful to all our helpers.  At this point I just want to call it done and move in.   I'm pretty sure we could live without a kitchen for a while.